first opinion
A chief executive without executive function?
Adobe
Within the brain, executive functions include skills like behavioral self-control, attention, mental flexibility, and working memory. But the term has also become a business metaphor for the work of a CEO. “The CEO could be the head of a university, a private corporation, or a nation state,” two doctors write in a new First Opinion essay. “The same principles of higher-order mental processing, prioritization, and behavior apply.”
But what happens when a chief executive loses their ability to perform executive functions? The challenges become immediately apparent, the essay authors write. Read more. And as the authors note, “any similarity to real people, living or dead, is unintentional.”
food
When food insecure families don’t qualify for SNAP
Around the country, eligibility for public food assistance programs is tied to household income, with 200% of the federal poverty level or lower being the most common criteria. But in a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers found that 2% of children who live in households with higher incomes still experience food insecurity. Black, Hispanic or Latino, Spanish-speaking, and publicly insured families were more likely than their peers to be struggling. About half of the kids experiencing food insecurity above 200% were living in families with incomes 201% to 250% of the federal poverty line.
The researchers used self-reported data on more than 33 million children from the 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health, conducted by HHS. That 2% translates to 658,704 hungry kids whose families are ineligible for SNAP. The authors argue that policymakers should advocate for an expansion of SNAP income eligibility, but predict that changes made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will instead tighten requirements — and access.
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