Published Thursday, April 25, 2024 | 11:01 p.m.
Updated Friday, April 26, 2024 | 12:05 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kim Kardashian marshaled her celebrity in one administration to spotlight criminal justice reform — and she’s doing it again in the next. The reality TV star and entrepreneur joined Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday for a roundtable highlighting the administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform and how President Joe Biden has used his clemency powers, particularly on those convicted of non-violent drug offenses who faced significantly longer sentences than they would under current laws. The Biden White House invited four people pardoned earlier this week by the president, who granted clemency to 16 people who had committed such crimes, for a roundtable with Harris and Kardashian.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City residents may soon see warning labels next to sugary foods and drinks in chain restaurants and coffee shops, under a law set to go into effect later this year. The rule requires food businesses with 15 storefronts or more to post a warning icon — a black and white spoon loaded with sugar — next to menu items containing at least 50 grams of added sugar. Businesses will also have to post the following written label to accompany the logo: “Warning: indicates that the added sugar content of this item is higher than the total daily recommended limit of added sugar for a 2,000 calorie diet (50g). Eating too many added sugars can contribute to type 2 diabetes and weight gain.” Critics of such regulations have long argued that officials are turning the city into a “nanny state.”
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — It’s now illegal to sell weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York, under a first-in-the-nation law that went into effect this week. Experts say loose federal regulation of dietary supplements has resulted in these products sometimes including unapproved ingredients, like steroids and heavy metals, putting kids at risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees the market, but it doesn’t test products before they’re sold. New York’s law allows the state to fine businesses who sell kids diet pills or supplements that promote themselves as helping build muscle or burn fat. Protein supplements and shakes are exempt, unless they contain another weight-loss or muscle-building ingredient.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Thursday advanced legislation that could see librarians prosecuted under the state’s obscenity law for providing “harmful” materials to minors, the latest in a wave of bills in Republican-led states targeting library content and decisions. The Alabama House of Representatives voted 72-28 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama Senate. The legislation comes amid a soaring number of book challenges — often centered on LGBTQ content — and efforts in a number of states to ban drag queen story readings. Opponents argued that proposal would threaten librarians with criminal prosecution at the whims of community members who disagreed with their decisions on books and programs.
