Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Florida gubernatorial candidate Jerry Demings has suspended his campaign after he disclosed his cancer diagnosis.

Demings, the mayor of Orange County, made the announcement surrounded by family members.

He said the cancer was discovered during a routine check up but it was caught in the early stages, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“I intend to continue running through the finish line as the mayor of Orange County,” said Demings, 66. “But in order for me to receive the treatment that I need, I’m going to have to come off the campaign trail.”

Demings is a Central Florida trailblazer.

He was the first African American to serve as Orlando’s police chief in 1998 and later served as the first African American Orange County Sheriff from 2008 to 2018.

That year, he was elected the first African American Orange County mayor, winning a second term in 2022.

His wife, Val Demings, is also a former Orlando police chief and congresswoman.

Photo courtesy of iStock

For the first time, new algorithms may be able to automatically explain why some self-driving cars crash, a question crucial to answer as more autonomous vehicles take to the roads.

According to a study by Tech Explore and King’s College London, the new approach reviews past events to explain why specific instances of failure happened, in the hope that this can be used to make improvements in the future.

Self-driving vehicles are increasingly being rolled out across the globe, in cities like London and San Francisco, but collisions and serious breaches of road safety have put pressure on manufacturers to explain why they make the mistakes they do.

This is often hard to do, and current methods only provide limited explanations for these.

Dr. Khen Elimelech, leader of the Autonomous Robots Lab at King’s and first author of the paper, said traditional methods rely on compiling failure statistics, to tell us how likely another failure is to happen in the future.

“But they cannot definitively tell you why a self-driving car made the specific error it did,” Elimelech said. “For that, you need to leverage what is known as actual causality, where an algorithm analyzes past mistakes retrospectively.”

Elimelech said the approach is particularly useful for self-driving cars where failures may stem from complex and rare causes and often have catastrophic implications.

Actual causality has previously only been trialed in AI used to classify images.

It is the first time this concept has been applied to more complicated case of AI-driven cyber-physical systems, Elimelech explains.

According to Tech Explore, understanding exactly which events explain the crash is a challenge and has acted as a barrier to deployment in the past.

The current approach builds on previous work from the team, which introduced a novel algorithm to efficiently and proactively identify those rare scenarios that would result in a crash, a problem called “falsification.”

The group’s new work takes it further, analyzing the crash scenarios found through falsification, in order to explain them.
It does so by sifting through all the potential causes of a crash to pinpoint the root cause of the failure.

Yet, finding these root causes is not easy. Autonomous vehicles operating in the real-world must continually process observations of other objects, humans, and cars around it to make driving decisions.

It means that when a crash happens, the number of potential causes that could have led to it are huge.

In some cases, an object that the car saw on the road miles before a crash, can be what started a chain of events that ultimately led to the collision.

To address this, the work also includes a practical “responsibility-guided” search algorithm, capable of quickly sifting through all the potential causes.

The algorithm is capable of returning an explanation for an event with orders of magnitude less computational effort than the baseline algorithm.

Elimelech added, “In a world where autonomous vehicles are taking up more space on London’s streets, being able to explain why something happened is vital if we’re going to build trust with this type of technology and integrate cyber physical systems like this into our lives.”

In the future, the team hopes to develop algorithms that can support even more complex applications, such as the potential introduction of autonomous assistive robots in care homes, to help design systems across a broad range of domains that are reliable and explainable, paving their way to future integration into society.

Photo courtesy of stock.adobe.com

MIAMI – Open enrollment for Florida College Prepaid program is underway, giving parents a head start on savings for their children’s college education.

This year, Florida families have more flexibility to plan for the children’s future.

The Florida Prepaid College Board says Prepaid 529 Plans will be available for enrollment year-round for the first time in more than 35 years, ending the long-standing limited enrollment window.

The plans, which are guaranteed by the state, allow families to lock in tuition and dorm rates at today’s prices, protecting them from rising costs.

To mark National 529 Day, babies born in Florida May 29th will receive a $529 scholarship in a Florida Investment 529 Plan.

Prepaid plans start at $29 per month and offer flexible coverage options, including one-year increments to match family budgets.

To apply, visit www.floridaprepairdcollegefoundation.com

Photo courtesy of Miami Edison Senior High School

MIAMI – After leading his team to back-to-back state championships, Miami Edison’s Vincent Hall was named Miami Dolphins Girls Flag Coach of the Year for 2026.

The Red Raiders defeated Wildwood High, 26-20, to win their second consecutive state title, marking the first Miami-Dade team to accomplish the feat.

The victory came in dramatic fashion: A Hail Mary on the final play to win the game as the crowd erupted into a frenzy.

The Red Raiders finished the season 19-1, with a state title, regional title and district championship.

They are currently ranked the No. 2 team in the nation in girls’ flag football.

For his honor, Hall received a $2,000 grant from the NFL team.

By David L. Snelling

MIAMI – Florida residents are set to vote on property tax reform on the November 3, 2026 ballot, local governments are bracing for billions of dollars in loss revenue.

Tax revenue funds critical services like police, fire rescue, library and children services and infrastructure projects, as property taxes constitute about 45 percent of local governments’ operating budgets.

The property tax reform proposed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would give homeowners a $150,000 homestead exemption for 2027 and $250, 000 for 2028 if the ballot can reach the 60 percent voter threshold.

It would wipe out property taxes for about 60 percent of homeowners, but under the measure passed by Florida lawmakers during a special session in Tallahassee, property taxes for schools, police services and supervisors of elections and clerks of court are shielded.

The proposal is part of a broader push by DeSantis to eliminate property taxes altogether.

If local governments’ are struggling to balance their budgets, DeSantis said state funding would be available but he urged officials to make the necessary cuts.

Also in a bold recommendation, DeSantis, who’s term is limited this year, said local governments should start taxing the rich more to cover any revenue losses.

“Property taxes are the worst kind of taxes,” he said during a press conference before the start of the special session. “Taxing people who own their own homes to pay for services is the worst.”

DeSantis’ proposal was tweaked by both parties before the final vote.

The amendment needed 60 percent approval from members in the House and Senate.

The House approved it with a 75-26 vote, where Republican Reps. Nathan Boyles and Patt Maney voted no and Democratic Rep. Dotie Joseph from North Miami voted in favor.

The Senate approved the amendment with a 30-9 vote, where Democratic Sens. Barbara Sharief (Broward County) and Darryl Rouson voted in favor of it alongside Republicans.

Local governments are pushing back on the proposal to eliminate property taxes for homeowners, as it might leave cities and counties without funding to provide adequate services.

Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties would be forced to make critical budget cuts and delay much needed infrastructure projects if voters approve the Constitutional amendment.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said eliminating property taxes would have cost the county roughly $3.27 billion in revenue, which is about 19 percent of all revenue generated.

Broward County is looking at an estimated $1.6 billion revenue loss and $1 billion for Palm Beach County under Florida’s tax cut proposal.

Levine Cava said it would be a catastrophe for the county if voters approve to roll back property taxes.

“To eliminate or phase out this revenue stream, without a viable, guaranteed and locally-controlled replacement, would force choices no resident should have to face: closing fire stations, reducing police patrols, shuttering park facilities and cutting school programs that serve hundreds of thousands of children,” she said in a letter to the Miami Herald. “Here is what proponents of this plan are not telling you: eliminating property taxes does not eliminate the cost of government. It shifts how – and from whom – that cost is collected.

Levine Cava said renters and businesses may suffer the consequences.
“Many renters and business owners could end up paying more despite receiving no direct benefit from a homestead exemption, as higher costs are often passed along through rent increases, fees and higher prices,” she said.

In nearby Parkland, where it is estimated a loss of $27 million annually if ad valorem taxes were eliminated, the city has posted an information “tax talk” webpage.

“Eliminating local property taxes will not eliminate costs, it just shifts them,” Parkland government tells the residents. “It means higher sales taxes, new fees, or cuts to local services. And it re-routes decision-making from local communities to Tallahassee.”

Children and families non-profit organizations might also take a huge hit, forced to cut essential services including after school care, sexual abuse treatment and special needs care.

The organizations rely mostly on property taxes to fund services and the safety net for children and families is in peril.

“The impact on some of these non-profits would not be ‘Oh, my God, we lost some dollars and this program goes away.’ It could actually put a lot of these nonprofit organizations out of business,” said Cindy Arenberg Seltazer, President and CEO of Children’s Services Council of Broward County.

Some homeowners are split over the property taxes reform ballot.

Many Floridians, especially those with homestead properties, have welcomed the proposed increase in the homestead exemption, according to www.propertytaxesexemption.com.

Supporters argue the plan relieves them of a major cost, especially given that local property tax revenue has nearly doubled in the past seven years and is projected to reach $83 billion by 2032

However, other homeowners, particularly renters, first-time buyers, and lower-income families, are worried that the reform will drive up home prices, according to Realtor.com.

Photo courtesy of Propertyexemption.com

By David L. Snelling

MIAMI – As Florida residents are set to vote on property taxes reform on the November 3, 2026, ballot, local governments are bracing for billions of dollars in lost revenue.

That same revenue funds critical services like police, fire rescue, library and children services, and infrastructure projects, as property taxes constitute about 45 percent of local governments’ operating budgets.

The property tax reform proposed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would give homeowners a $150,000 homestead exemption for 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 if the ballot can reach the 60 percent voter threshold.

It would wipe out property taxes for about 60 percent of homeowners, but under the measure passed by Florida lawmakers during a special session in Tallahassee, property taxes for schools, police services and supervisors of elections and clerks of court are shielded.

The proposal is part of a broader push by DeSantis to eliminate property taxes altogether.

If local governments are struggling to balance their budgets, DeSantis said state funding would be available but also urged officials to make the necessary cuts.

Also in a bold recommendation, DeSantis, who’s term is limited this year, said local governments should start taxing the rich more to cover any revenue losses.

“Property taxes are the worst kind of taxes,” he said during a press conference before the start of the special session. “Taxing people who own their own homes to pay for services if the worst.”

DeSantis’ proposal was tweaked by both parties before the final vote.

The amendment needed 60 percent approval from members in the House and Senate.

The House approved it with a 75-26 vote, where Republican Reps. Nathan Boyles and Patt Maney voted no and Democratic Rep. Dotie Joseph from North Miami voted in favor.

The Senate approved the amendment with a 30-9 vote, where Democratic Sens. Barbara Sharief (Broward County) and Darryl Rouson voted in favor of it alongside Republicans.

Local governments are pushing back on the proposal to eliminate property taxes for homeowners, as it might leave cities and counties without funding to provide adequate services.

Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties would be forced to make critical budget cuts and delay much needed infrastructure projects if voters approve the Constitutional amendment.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said eliminating property taxes would cost the county roughly $3.27 billion in revenue, which is about 19 percent of all revenue generated.

Broward County is looking at an estimated $1.6 billion revenue loss and $1 billion for Palm Beach County under Florida’s tax cut proposal.

Levine Cava said it would be a catastrophe for the county if voters approve to roll back property taxes.

“To eliminate or phase out this revenue stream, without a viable, guaranteed and locally-controlled replacement, would force choices no resident should have to face: closing fire stations, reducing police patrols, shuttering park facilities and cutting school programs that serve hundreds of thousands of children,” she said in a letter to the Miami Herald. “Here is what proponents of this plan are not telling you: eliminating property taxes does not eliminate the cost of government. It shifts how – and from whom – that cost is collected.

Levine Cava said renters and businesses may suffer the consequences.

“Many renters and business owners could end up paying more despite receiving no direct benefit from a homestead exemption, as higher costs are often passed along through rent increases, fees and higher prices,” she said.

In nearby Parkland, where it is estimated a loss of $27 million annually if ad valorem taxes were eliminated, the city has posted an information “tax talk” webpage.

“Eliminating local property taxes will not eliminate costs, it just shifts them,” Parkland government tells the residents. “It means higher sales taxes, new fees, or cuts to local services. And it re-routes decision-making from local communities to Tallahassee.”

Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam told the South Florida Times that Florida’s proposed tax cut plan would significantly impact his city as well.

Messam said his city stands to lose roughly $17 million in revenue in 2027 and $30 million the following year.

“It’s unfortunate that cities are being placed in a situation like this,” he said. “But our job is to present the facts to the community and Miramar providing services are at risk.”

Messam said the question is are residents willing to pay to continue to provide the current level of services?

“If so, I think they should vote no,” he said.

Children and families non-profit organizations might also take a huge hit, forced to cut essential services including after school care, sexual abuse treatment and special needs care.

The organizations rely mostly on property taxes to fund services and the safety net for children and families is in peril.

“The impact on some of these non-profits would not be ‘Oh, my God, we lost some dollars and this program goes away.’ It could actually put a lot of these nonprofit organizations out of business,” said Cindy Arenberg Seltazer, President and CEO of Children’s Services Council of Broward County.

Some homeowners are split over the property taxes reform ballot.

Many Floridians, especially those with homestead properties, have welcomed the proposed increase in the homestead exemption, according to www.propertytaxesexemption.com.

Supporters argue the plan relieves them of a major cost, especially given that local property tax revenue has nearly doubled in the past seven years and is projected to reach $83 billion by 2032.

However, other homeowners, particularly renters, first-time buyers, and lower-income families, are worried the reform will drive up home prices, according to Realtor.com.

Photo courtesy of Unslash.com

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Animal Care is waiving adoption fees this month in an effort to get more pet lovers to adopt animals to alleviate the overcrowding at the animal shelter.

The agency recently launched its emergency response campaign dubbed Code Home, as the shelter continues to operate beyond its dog kennel capacity.

Officials said the shelter currently has more dogs in its care than available kennels and is urging the public to help by adopting, fostering, or assisting with reunification of lost pets.

“Code Home remains active because every kennel and every act of support matters,” said Animal Care Director Doug Brightwell.

He said the agency, as an open-admission shelter, continues to provide critical services while managing the overflow, including cruelty and neglect investigations, dangerous dog cases, and public safety responses.

Animal Care officials are encouraging residents to adopt pets to create space, foster animals to provide temporary relief, and check for lost pets to help reunite them with their owners.

More information and a list of available animals can be found at Broward.org/Animal.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s biggest killer, responsible for millions of deaths every year.

Most heart attacks and strokes can be traced back to a slow-moving process that begins decades before symptoms appear.

This process, known as atherosclerosis, causes fatty deposits to build up inside arteries, gradually reducing blood flow and increasing the risk of sudden blockages.

Scientists have spent decades studying how these plaques develop. While cholesterol has received much of the attention, researchers now understand that the immune system is deeply involved in every stage of the disease.

A new study from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich has revealed an unexpected player that may help control plaque growth and reduce damage inside blood vessels.

The research focused on macrophages, specialized immune cells that act like garbage collectors within the body.

Their job is to find and remove harmful substances, dead cells, and other unwanted material. In healthy tissues, this process helps maintain balance and supports healing.

Inside atherosclerotic plaques, however, macrophages face a much more difficult task.

They encounter large amounts of cholesterol and cellular debris. As they consume more fat, many macrophages eventually become overloaded and die. Their remains contribute to plaque growth and instability.

One particularly dangerous consequence is the formation of cholesterol crystals.

These sharp crystals can make plaques more fragile and increase the likelihood that they will rupture. When a plaque ruptures, a blood clot can quickly form and block blood flow, triggering a heart attack or stroke.

To better understand these processes, the LMU researchers used sophisticated imaging techniques that allowed them to track cells inside plaques over time.

Their observations revealed that not all macrophages behave the same way.

The team identified an important group of macrophages that remain relatively free of fat accumulation.

These lipid-free macrophages turned out to have a surprisingly complex role.

First, they perform an important cleanup function. They remove DNA and other cellular debris left behind by dying cells.

This process helps prevent the buildup of material that can contribute to cholesterol crystal formation.

At the same time, these macrophages can also cause harm.

The researchers found that they sometimes attack endothelial cells, which form the protective inner lining of blood vessels. Damage to this lining may worsen vascular disease and promote inflammation.

This dual behavior demonstrates that inflammation is not simply good or bad.

Instead, inflammation involves a delicate balance between protective and damaging processes. Understanding this balance is one of the biggest challenges in cardiovascular research.

The scientists discovered that a small molecule called miR-147 plays a central role in controlling these macrophages. MiR-147 belongs to a family of molecules known as microRNAs, which help regulate gene activity.

Although microRNAs are tiny, they can influence the behavior of entire cell populations. In this study, miR-147 appeared to help macrophages clear away harmful debris while limiting the damage they caused to blood vessels.

When researchers eliminated miR-147, plaque development accelerated significantly.

The arteries contained more cholesterol crystals, more DNA debris, and larger plaques overall. These findings suggest that miR-147 normally acts as a protective factor within diseased arteries.

The researchers also uncovered the biological mechanism behind this effect. MiR-147 suppresses production of a protein called Galectin-3.

When Galectin-3 levels rise, endothelial damage increases and macrophages lose some of their ability to generate energy efficiently.

Without adequate energy, the cells become less effective at cleaning up debris.

As a result, more harmful material accumulates inside plaques, promoting disease progression.

The discovery may have important therapeutic implications.

Current treatments for atherosclerosis mainly focus on reducing cholesterol levels, controlling blood pressure, and preventing blood clots. While these approaches save many lives, they do not directly address all aspects of plaque inflammation.

A future therapy based on miR-147 could potentially target specific immune processes involved in plaque growth. Such a treatment might complement existing therapies and provide additional protection against cardiovascular events.

Researchers caution that much more work is needed before this becomes a reality.

The findings must first be confirmed in human studies, and scientists will need to determine whether manipulating miR-147 can be done safely and effectively.

Study analysis: This study highlights how modern cardiovascular research is moving beyond cholesterol alone and examining the immune system’s role in artery disease.

The identification of miR-147 provides a new biological target that may help researchers develop more precise treatments.

While the results are preliminary and based on animal models, the work offers valuable insights into plaque biology and opens a potentially promising pathway for reducing heart attack and stroke risk in the future.

If you care about health, please read studies about the benefits of low-dose lithium supplements, and what we know about egg intake and heart disease.

For more health information, please see recent studies about potatoes and high blood pressure, and results showing 6 best breads for people with heart disease.

By  ALI SWENSON, MICHELLE L. PRICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday announced new steps in the Trump administration’s initiative to root out fraud in federal health programs, including a $1.3 billion deferral in Medicaid funding to California.

“How long are people going to pay into programs if they know that that money doesn’t go to a low-income kid who needs healthcare, but that money goes into a fraudster getting rich?” Vance said during an event at the White House, adding that taxpayers and program beneficiaries are victimized by such fraud.

The Republican administration also is imposing a six-month freeze on some new Medicare enrollments and warning states to investigate Medicaid fraud or risk losing funding, officials said.

The moves are part of Vance’s anti-fraud task force, which has been taking more aggressive steps to investigate states before the November elections. The panel set up by President Donald Trump seeks to crack down on potential misuse of public money.

Vance, a potential 2028 White House hopeful, has used the high-profile assignment from Trump to remind Americans struggling with high costs that he is trying to claw back taxpayer dollars. Vance has promoted the task force’s work during campaign stops for Republican candidates and is expected to focus on the effort Thursday in Maine, which has closely watched primary races scheduled for June 9. 

8 arrests made in federal crackdown on alleged health care fraud in Southern California

Trump administration widens Medicaid fraud crackdown to Florida, calling it a ‘hotspot’

The steps come as people across the United States have raised concerns about rising health costs and barriers to access, sometimes from the federal government’s own actions. New work requirements in Medicaid, for example, are expected to strain hospitals around the country and result in millions of enrollees losing their health coverage.

The administration contends its vigorous fraud-busting efforts will help prevent wrongdoing in Medicaid and Medicare while preserving funding and resources for those most in need.

Deferring $1.3 billion in California payments

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration was making the “largest deferral we’ve ever made” in Medicaid funds and that it was justified.

He claimed the administration had identified questionable expenditures and anomalies, such as a higher rate of growth in California’s home care program compared with other states. He did not provide concrete examples of documented fraud.

“We’d like the state to at least come to the table and explain to us how these outlier payments have been generated,” he said.

The press office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., disputed Oz’s claims and said the state’s home care program grew because the state is “keeping more people OUT of far more expensive nursing homes.”

“We hate fraud,” the office wrote on X. “But that’s NOT what this is.”

The total cost of California’s Medicaid program, including state and federal funding, is expected to be about $222 billion for the budget year that starts July 1.

Nationwide freeze on some new Medicare provider enrollments

Oz’s agency also announced a nationwide six-month moratorium on all new Medicare enrollments by providers of hospice and home care.

“Today we’re shutting the door on fraud — preventing new bad actors from entering Medicare while we aggressively identify, investigate, and remove those already exploiting them,” he said in a statement.

Existing hospice and home healthcare providers will continue to operate as usual. But CMS said it will “intensify targeted investigations, deploy advanced data analytics, and accelerate the removal” of providers in the category that are suspected of fraudulent activity.

Such a freeze is not unprecedented, said Tricia Neumann, a senior vice president and executive director for the program on Medicare policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. She said President Bill Clinton’s Democratic administration also imposed a temporary moratorium on home health agencies.

“A brief moratorium gives the administration time to crack down on true fraud and prevent new fraudulent entities from popping up,” she said.

Several alleged fraud schemes have been prosecuted in the hospice and home healthcare categories, and states have acknowledged that it is a legitimate concern. But some have pushed back on the administration’s aggressive tactics and raised concerns that the catchall efforts could needlessly punish law-abiding providers that are trying to serve patients.

The country’s largest organization advocating for home healthcare providers, the National Alliance for Care at Home, said in a statement that it supports efforts to root out fraud. But it said it prefers targeted strategies to a sweeping moratorium, which it said raises concerns about access to care as well as reduces competition and slows innovation.

Also Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ internal watchdog sent letters to state attorneys general warning them to vigorously investigate possible fraud or risk losing federal money.

Moves are part of monthslong federal push

In recent months, CMS has suspended payments to hundreds of hospice and home care agencies in Los Angeles over alleged fraud and issued another six-month moratorium on suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and certain other supplies in Medicare.

The administration also has approached at least five states with investigations into potential healthcare fraud and halted some $243 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Last month, Oz announced CMS would add to that oversight by requiring all 50 states to share how they planned to revalidate some of their Medicaid providers.

In at least one case, the administration has erred in its accusations against states. In April, CMS acknowledged to The Associated Press that it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York. The acknowledgment deepened doubts about the administration’s methods and raised a common criticism of the second Trump administration — that it tends to attack first and confirm the facts later.

By David L. Snelling

A surge in collateral cancer/colon cancer diagnosis for people under the age of 50 have ecologists and researchers scrambling to zero in on risk factors that usually affect older generations.

For the past several years, colon cancer was the No. 2 cause of death in people ages 54 and older, as a reported 300,000 succumbed to the deadly disease in the U.S. last year.

But doctors and researchers are sounding the alarm as colon cancer is found in people under the age of 50, the lowest at 32 years-old.

The American Cancer Society reported that eating excessive ultra processed meats such as bacon, sausage, hotdogs and deli meats, drinking, smoking and alcohol and lack of exercise increase cancer risk by 39 percent.

But some medical experts suggest people under the age of 50 diagnosed with colon cancer might be linked to a toxin in the gut known as colibactin.

Colibactin is produced by harmful species of gut bacteria, including the common foodborne illness E. coli, and the toxin can inflict damage on colon cells, leading to colorectal cancer.

Blacks are at a higher risk for developing colon cancer than any other race, according to the American Cancer Society.
African Americans are about 20 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer, and about 40 percent more likely to die than most other groups.

The disparity in risk factors are socioeconomic status, lack of access to healthcare for screening to detect the disease in its early stages and treatment, smoking, excessive alcohol and processed meats consumption and an unsafe environment.

The death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed the superhero Black Panther and baseball great Jackie Robinson in the movie 42, from colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43 sent shockwaves through the Black community and film industry.

Doctors and researchers were scrambling for answers on how a healthy, relatively young man died from colon cancer.

“Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the country,” said Durado Brooks, M.D. vice president of prevention and early detection at the American Cancer Society. “This disease is ravaging the Black community, and it is as important as ever that everyone has access to and is receiving the recommended screenings. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, necessary screening tests remain available to prevent the disease or find it at an early, more treatable stage.”

Brooks said but while colorectal cancer isn’t as common in people under the age of 50 as it is in older individuals, it’s not as uncommon as many people might think.

She said in 2026, about 12 percent of colorectal cancers, about 18,000 cases, will be diagnosed in people under the age of 50 in the US.

What’s more, while rates of colorectal cancer have been falling in older age groups in recent years, they’ve actually been rising among young people.

Researchers in Florida and beyond are studying the possible link between colon cancer and colibactin which they say is increasing the diagnosis in people under the age of 50.

“Not every environmental factor or behavior we study leaves a mark on our genome,” Ludmil Alexandrov, a professor at U.C. San Diego and a member of the school’s Moores Cancer Center, said in a statement. “But we’ve found that colibactin is one of those that can. In this case, its genetic imprint appears to be strongly associated with colorectal cancers in young adults.”

The American Cancer Society is suggesting individuals get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercises a week to improve gut health.

In addition, consuming just one serving of probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut and sourdough bread can help increase levels of good bacteria in the gut and destroy harmful bacteria by producing acid.

These foods also fight the harmful inflammation that causes chronic diseases like cancer.

Adding plenty of anti-inflammatory fiber to the daily diet is beneficial, too. Fibrous foods like bell peppers, bananas, oats and asparagus serve as a prebiotic: food for the good bacteria in your gut.

Fiber might protect against a range of harmful bacteria including E. coli.