A petition demanding the removal of Lee Zeldin from his role as head of Environmental Protection Agency circulated on social media highlights a rift between the conservative health-focused bloc behind the Make America Healthy Again movement, or MAHA, and the mission of the Trump administration when it comes to deregulatory priorities.

The petition, written in the form of a letter to President Trump, criticizes Zeldin for prioritizing the interests of chemical corporations over the well-being of American families and children, warning this approach will inevitably lead to higher rates of chronic disease, greater medical costs, and tremendous strain on our healthcare system.

Organizers of the petition include Alex Clark, a wellness podcast host that partners with Turning Point USA, and Zen Honeycutt, the founder and executive director of Moms Across America, a group that focuses on food safety, pesticides and vaccine standards.

Also on the petition is Moms Clean Air Force, an advocacy group of U.S. mothers seeking to protect children from the effects of air pollution and climate change.

With every proposed deregulation, hes allowing families and children to be exposed to more soot, more mercury, more methane, more toxic chemicals, more tailpipe pollution, and more climate pollution," said MCAF founder and director Dominique Browning. "Lee Zeldin must go.

Zeldins EPA recently rolled out new pesticide approvals, and a rollback of chemical safeguards, directly contradicting MAHAs focus on public health. Policy around PFAS chemicals, known as forever chemicals that are tied to severe health issues, appear to have spurred the call for action online and underscores growing tensions within President Trumps political base over the chemicals in the nations air, water, and food.

An active ingredient in newly approved pesticides, isocycloseram, is slated to be used on agricultural crops, turf, and potentially around homes and commercial sites.

Around the same time, the agency moved to roll back drinking water protections for several PFAS compounds.

The changes come just about a year after then President elect Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Health and Human Services Secretary. At the time he explained that Kennedy would "play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country."

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While HHS and EPA are separate agencies, frustration from the MAHA organizers has lead to the call for an EPA leader who will genuinely defend public health and truly put America First.

An EPA spokesperson wrote in part to Scripps News that every decision under Trump's EPA "is grounded in rigorous, transparent, gold standard science. We are simultaneously protecting human health, safeguarding the environment, and driving economic growth. Those who claim this is impossible are either uninformed or dishonest.

HHS did not respond to Scripps News request for comment.

The petition, and the pushback from the entity it criticizes, highlights a widening fracture within conservative and MAGA-era political alliances, as traditional industry-friendly Republicans who back deregulation and point to economic benefits face the growing popularity of a section of the party who say they prioritize health and chemical safety.

Zeldin appears to still have the support of President Trump.

At a recent White House roundtable discussing the $12 billion aid package for farmers and his plan to roll back environmental regulations on farm equipment, President Trump said Zeldin is doing a fantastic job.

Newly unsealed court filings allege that Meta knew for years about significant risks facing young users on its platforms, including widespread contact between minors and adults, exacerbation of mental-health issues, and the easy spread of self-harm and eating-disorder content. Plaintiffs in a sweeping national lawsuit say the company did not disclose those dangers to families or Congress, even as teen usage continued to fuel Metas growth.

First reported by Time Magazine, allegations also detailed a high threshold for sex trafficking violations; court documents citing testimony from Instagrams former head of safety and well-being, Viashnavi Jayakumar, who described you could incur 16 violations for prostitution and sexual solicitation, and upon the 17th violation, your account would be suspended. By any measure across the industry, [it was] a very, very high strike threshold.

The allegations come from a partially unsealed opposition brief filed in the Northern District of California, part of a case which spans thousands of families, school districts and state attorneys general targeting Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.

The master complaint alleges the companies relentlessly pursued a strategy of growth at all costs, recklessly ignoring the impact of their products on childrens mental and physical health. The brief specifically alleges Meta failed to disclose these harms to the public or to Congress, and refused to implement safety fixes that could have protected young users.

The plaintiffs brief includes testimony from a variety of Meta staff describing an ongoing trend of not prioritizing safety and that the company maintained their focus on growth even though [t]hey knew the negative externalities of their products were being pushed onto teens.

Brian Boland, Metas former vice president of partnerships who resigned in 2020, is allegedly quoted in the brief, detailing that user safety is not something that they spend a lot of time on. Its not something they think about. And I really think they dont care.

In addition to documenting safety concerns, the filing alleges that Meta executives failed to warn Congress about these risks and misrepresented the companys internal findings. Plaintiffs say Meta continued to design features they argue were addictive to young users, prioritizing growth, engagement, and advertising revenue over safety interventions.

A Meta spokesperson told Scripps News the allegations rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions in an attempt to present a deliberately misleading picture. The company said the full record will show that Meta has for over a decade listened to parents, researched issues that matter most, and made real changes to protect teens, including introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and expanding parental controls.

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While theres a heavy focus on Meta, the litigation makes similar allegations against Google, YouTubes parent company, TikTok, and Snapchat, though parts of the brief are still redacted.

The brief alleges Snapchat intentionally didnt warn parents about known dangers that exist on the platform, instead expanding proactive reputation management to focus on PR and communications for parental perception over mental health research and interventions.

It also claims that while Youtube publicly supported age-appropriate experiences for young people, behind closed doors, it undermined those features by ramping up efforts to increase youth consumptions.

In a statement to Scripps News, a Snapchat spokesperson wrote in part that the allegations fundamentally misrepresent our platform. Snapchat was designed differently from traditional social media it opens to the camera, not a feed, and has no public likes or social comparison metrics. The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority. Our goal has always been to encourage self-expression and authentic connections.

The company recently released an update to the Family Safety Hub, and introduced an interactive course to educate teens and families about how to protect themselves about online risks.

Google and TikTok have not yet responded to Scripps News request for comment, but Google told Politico the lawsuits fundamentally misunderstand how YouTube works and called the allegations simply not true, pointing to safety tools built in consultation with experts.

Stock indexes were mixed Friday as a lack of economic data muddied the waters for investors. And analysts preparing their outlooks for 2026 are doing so without key economic information due to the government shutdown.

The Nasdaq closed higher Friday with a gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed its loss to 309 points after being down nearly 600 points earlier in the day.

This slight recovery follows Thursday's closing plunge, marking the worst single day drop for the S&P 500 in a month.

Despite the government shutdown coming to an end, the economic effects will linger, according to Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council.

"Our council of economic advisors said that it cost about $15 billion a week," he said on Thursday.

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Investors initially entered the second half of the year expecting multiple rate cuts, according to Investopedia's Caleb Silver.

With delayed economic data, like the monthly jobs report and inflation metrics, traders now question whether a December cut to interest rates will actually happen.

"Now the picture looks a little bit cloudier because we don't have hard government data, but the Federal Reserve is looking at the fact that prices continue to rise, that's inflation, due to tariffs and other causes, and the labor market is slowing," Silver said.

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed Democrats for the lack of "critical government data."

"The democrats may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released," Leavitt said.

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced it will release information regarding September employment on Nov. 20. This will be the first look at any jobs data from the government since the start of the government shutdown.

Hassett said data will be compiled and released as it's available but confirms some information will stay in the dark.

"We will never know what the unemployment rate was in October because there wasn't a household survey," Hassett explained. A delayed October jobs report would still include a nonfarm payroll count, but the household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived wasn't completed.

With high valuations and anxiety around an AI bubble, Silver said it's understandable for investors to be on edge.

"A pullback like this, 5% or so is not crazy, especially in a year where we've had such aggressive gains," Silver said.

The Federal Reserve meets again in early December. The Fed cut its interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at each of the previous two meetings after holding steady for the bulk of the year.

What Fed officials will decide in December is a tossup. Especially with missing and delayed data points, another rate cut is not guaranteed. Cutting rates would help protect the labor market, but keeping rates the same is a move to help combat inflation.

Flight anxiety is reaching new levels as an emergency order by the FAA mandated reductions due to the government shutdown.

Flights at 40 major airports are on the chopping block, starting Friday.

"It is not a science it is an art that we're trying to deploy to try and keep people safe in the airspace," said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Delta, United, and American Airlines have waived fees for travelers who want to cancel or change their upcoming flights, a move that allows for some flexibility, according to aviation expert Chris Dane.

"Even for folks like in basic economy where they're non-refundable, they're allowing them to be refunded during this period. So the airlines are acting responsibly," Dane said.

The CEO of budget airline Frontier warned passengers should buy a backup ticket if headed to a wedding, funeral, or other must-attend event.

RELATED STORY | These 40 airports are reportedly among those facing cuts due to government shutdown

The FAA has ordered flight reductions to start at 4%, which will impact hundreds of flights.

That proportion is supposed to rise to 6% on Tuesday, 8% on Thursday and 10% by the end of next week.

Even with recent upgrades to TSA technology to make air travel smoother for customers, Sec. Duffy on Friday said the decision stems from systemic issues in air traffic control.

"We have more complaints from pilots about stress from air traffic controllers and more complaints about the lack of responsiveness from controllers," he said.

Duffy largely blames Democrats for the shutdown but Dane argues the shortage of air traffic controllers is not political.

"It doesn't matter what party you're affiliated with, you're both traveling and everybody's upset," he said.

There were nearly 1,500 cancellations and more than 5,600 flight delays in the U.S. on Friday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. As of Friday evening, the site forecast some 845 cancelations on Saturday.

A pivotal United Nations Climate Summit is beginning to take shape in Belem, Brazil as world leaders arrive for this years Conference of Parties known as COP30 notably without a United States delegation in attendance.

Climate advocates worry this move threatens to derail momentum behind new emissions and financing commitments, especially as China tapped its deputy prime minister to attend over high-level representatives, raising concerns over whether the worlds two largest emitters will shape any actionable outcome.

Thursday kicks off a gathering of heads of state over the next two days; the leaders of China, the U.S. and India all absent before the formal U.N. climate talks begin next week.

The United States empty chair prompted activists to fill the void; hundreds of representatives from organizations like Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity are on the ground instead.

Jean Su, the energy justice director of the Center, wrote to Scripps News in an email that their presence is essential to convince international leaders that they should not allow a bully like Trump to derail decades of negotiations and that the activists are there to represent the majority who care passionately about having clean air, clean water and a safe climate future.

Trumps stance affects the whole global balance. It pushes governments further toward denial and deregulation, said Nadino Kalapucha, the spokesperson for the Amazonian Kichwa Indigenous group in Ecuador. That trickles down to us, to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, where environmental protection is already under pressure.

The host city of Belem exemplifies the stakes of the global summit on climate action; as leaders and attendees fly in, theyll likely see barren plains surrounding the coastal city, dotting the green carpet and winding rivers. Around seventeen percent of the Amazons forest cover has vanished in the past 50 years, swallowed up for farmland, logging, and mining.

Known as the lungs of the world for its capacity to absorb vast quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet, the biodiverse Amazon rainforest has been choked by wildfires and cleared by cattle ranching.

It is here on the edge of the worlds largest remaining rainforest that Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva hopes to convince world powers to mobilize enough funds to halt the ongoing destruction of climate-stabilizing tropical rainforests in danger around the world and make progress on other critical climate goals.

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Large-scale marches, sit-ins and rallies are essential aspects of annual U.N. climate talks, but the previous three summits have taken place in autocratic nations that outlaw most forms of protest. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan complied with U.N. rules that facilitate pre-approved protests within a walled-off part of the venue not subject to local laws.

Brazil is a different story. As world leaders arrived Thursday for the summit, environmental advocates were reveling in their much-missed freedom. Youth activists, Indigenous leaders and climate campaigners banged drums outside the sprawling convention center where main debates will be held and sailed into Belem on vessels outfitted with giant protest banners.

The debate and negotiations come under the shadow of a recently released and controversial memo by Bill Gates, who has long advocated for innovation in clean energy and climate solutions, published in the lead up to the summit. In it, he called for a strategic pivot" in how the world approaches climate change, and that while it is a serious threat, it will not lead to humanitys demise. He argues for shifting towards improvements to human welfare, to prevent suffering for those in the toughest conditions in the worlds poorest countries.

That framing has drawn sharp criticism from climate scientists who say it creates a false choice between fighting climate change and fighting poverty.

That mental model is fundamentally flawed because climate change is not a separate bucket, Katherine Hayhoe, the Chief Scientist for the Nature Conservancy and a professor at Texas Tech University said at a press conference hosted by Climate Now following the memos release. The reason we care about climate change is because it affects everything else we already care about. Our health, our welfare, our wellbeing, poverty, hunger, disease, and the economy, national security, you name it. So climate is rather the hole in every other bucket.

We dont necessarily live in a zero sum world, said Zeke Hausfather, a climatologist and energy systems analyst. Its fundamentally a policy problem, not a resource problem. I think in cases where there is money going to the poorest countries today for mitigation, maybe more of that should go to adaptation. Maybe more of that should go to disease eradication. But that's not the fundamental thing that's standing in the way of solving climate change. The fundamental thing is emissions, and that's mostly coming from the rich countries today.

Scientists and climate advocates ultimately warn that without U.S. leadership at the table, it will be harder for negotiators to push forward new commitments before warming crosses dangerous thresholds.

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Whether you get health coverage through your job or buy it on the marketplace, youll likely pay more next year, as health insurance premiums across both public and private plans are spiking heading into 2026. Health policy experts blame inflation, higher prescription drug prices and increased demand for care that drives up costs across the system.

Affordable Care Act plans, which enrolled a record 24 million people this year, are set to rise an average of 26% in 2026, according to policy analysts at KFF. That estimate is one of the largest spikes since the ACA debuted, and doesnt factor in the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies, so analysts show astronomical increases in some states. For example, New Jerseyans could see a nearly 175% increase, while people in parts of West Virginia could be paying as much as 599% more.

For Anne Griffith in Ohio, who recently retired in order to help care for an aging relative, that will equate to a cost of $1,200 a month.

RELATED STORY | You can now sign up for 2026 Obamacare coverage but costs may still rise

My jaw hit the floor, she told Scripps News. Paying that each month is going to be very, very difficult.

A CMS fact sheet lays out that 60% of enrollees will be able to find 2026 plans on the federal exchange with premiums at or below $50 a month, factoring in the original Obamacare subsidies, which are included in the 2010 health reform law and not expiring. However, that differs significantly from the 83% of consumers who could find plans in that price range for 2025 plans.

What you're seeing right now on Healthcare.gov and state-run marketplaces, you're seeing the price that is your worst-case scenario. This is a very active situation in Congress. Obviously, this is the crux of the issue with the government shutdown, Louise Norris, a writer with HealthInsurance.org, told Scripps News. Subsidy enhancements could be extended, or extended with some modification. They could be allowed to expire. If theres some sort of extension, a lot of folks will see a lower premium than what they're seeing right now. But this is all just very much up in the air.

RELATED STORY | Obamacare plan costs to soar despite Trump officials claims

Meanwhile, employer-sponsored plans, which cover the majority of working Americans, are also expected to surge by nearly 10%, the largest increase in 15 years, according to an Aon survey.

The cost of healthcare in general in this country just keeps going up. The cost of a physician visit, a hospitalization, prescription drugs, said Emma Wager, a senior policy analyst at KFF.

Health policy analysts point towards GLP-1s, prescription drugs used to treat diabetes and weight loss, as a major driver of cost. With one in eight adults reporting theyve taken a GLP-1 agonist, the popularity and expensive price point of the drug drives up costs for employers who include them in their benefits packages.

Wager also explained that the premium increases are outpacing the rate at which wages are growing, combined with inflation driving costs up.

It's just eating up a higher percentage of the amount of money that they take home, Wager told Scripps News.

That squeeze is being felt on both sides: employees juggling stagnant wages, and employers struggling to keep benefits affordable.

Employers want to provide robust coverage, but its becoming a barrier for them financially. One of the biggest struggles right now is how do we continue to offer benefits at a certain value point, because its one part of a budget thats been increasing pretty rapidly, said Noel Cruse, Vice President and Benefits Consultant at Segal.

To account for that, Cruse says employers have looked for ways to narrow networks, shrinking the number of providers who are covered under an employer plan. Theres also a focus on increasing telemedicine options, which are less expensive. The intention with these efforts is to ideally keep co-pays and deductibles at the same rates.

A KFF analysis found that some employers are shifting towards high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and tax-advantaged accounts (HSAs) as another tool to contain costs.

Policy experts say the best defense is doing your homework during open enrollment. That means comparing plans carefully, even if youve been enrolled in the same one for years.

I think it's definitely worth looking at your estimated health expenses and your family's needs to determine which is going to be the best option for you financially, Wager said.

Experts warn that if costs keep rising, more young and healthy people could drop out of insurance markets altogether, a move that would drive prices up even further, as insurance markets rely on a diverse pool of people paying into the exchanges in order to cover everyones needs.