Comedian Jon Stewart questioned how Democrats walk the “tightrope” when they agree with the other side on certain issues, saying during his show on Friday that there’s a gag reflex when they agree with RFK Jr. on certain issues.

“How do you walk that tightrope? Because what I find is there is a gag reflex from, and I think both parties have it, a gag reflex on Robert Kennedy says ultra processed foods are killing Americans, and I’m like, ‘yeah, God awful. That’s got to change,’” Stewart said during an interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT.

Stewart spoke to Sanders during “The Weekly Show,” during which the progressive senator said he wanted to work with Republicans when they say “good and appropriate things.”

“But if you were to say that, boy, are you just dog piled. How can you agree with Robert Kennedy Jr on anything? He’s this and that. Elon Musk says we’ve got waste and inefficiency in the government, and we’re like, ‘yeah, we’ve been yelling about that for years,’ and as soon as we do that, ‘how can you? How dare you?’ It’s really interesting.”

RFK JR. CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF FLUORIDE FROM DRINKING WATER, SPARKING DEBATE

Sanders said he was holding a hearing about the labels on food products.

“You know what I’m holding a hearing on tomorrow? To demand to know why the commissioner of the FDA has not, in fact, at least gone forward with strong labels to warn the American people about the nature of the food that they are eating, which is leading to obesity, which is leading to diabetes. We have been absolutely irresponsible,” Sanders said. “Kennedy is right on that issue.”

Sanders said he disagreed with RFK Jr.’s proposal to remove fluoride from drinking water. 

“So you’re saying, how do you walk that line? Well, that is exactly what we are trying to figure out right now,” Sanders said. 

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“Look, the system that we’re currently operating in, senator, you’ve got food companies that have scientists that are working to design foods to get past the chemicals in your brain that tell you to stop eating, to get past those defenses, which creates diabetes and obesity. And then you have the pharmaceutical companies who come in and say, well, here, here’s Ozempic, and here’s Mounjaro. And now we’re caught in this bananas cycle where these corporations are just profiting off of our incredibly poor health outcomes,” Stewart said. 

Sanders told Stewart he’s heard from scientists who have said the food advertised on television is “addictive.”

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“Has the government acted in any way with the urgency that is needed? Of course, it has not. So Kennedy is right on that issue. But your point, how we deal with that – plus, the crazy stuff that he’s saying is exactly what I’m trying to figure out,” Sanders said.

One night in 1980, April Balascio’s father, Edward Wayne Edwards, woke up the household and told everyone to start packing. They were leaving their home in Watertown, Wisconsin, after living there for a year.

It wasn’t new for Balascio, who was 11 years old. She was accustomed to moving every six months to a year without warning. It wouldn’t be until decades later when she discovered why.

“Each time we moved, it was hard,” Balascio told Fox News Digital. “You develop new friends each time, and then you have to leave them. But one thing that came out of it is you learn how to pack quickly and tightly because if you didn’t, your stuff would get left behind.

SERIAL KILLER’S DAUGHTER CONFRONTS HIM BEHIND BARS OVER EXPLOSIVE DIARY ENTRY THAT SUGGESTS SHE TOO WAS VICTIM

“But it was hard having to upend everything,” she shared. “It was hard starting a new school every year or even sometimes twice a year. … He made us believe we were leaving because people were coming after us. So, there was also that fear that we were being hunted, that fear that we could be killed.”

Balascio has written a new book, “Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father.” In it, Balascio details how she discovered her father’s true identity and the horrific crimes he committed.

The patriarch died in 2011 at age 77 from natural causes. At the time, he was behind bars after being sentenced to death by lethal injection.

“I wanted this story to be told, but it took a long time to write it,” Balascio admitted. “It was a very difficult thing to do. I was protecting my memories.”

Balascio described Edwards as charismatic, a “big kid” who enjoyed parties and entertaining. But he also had “a very dark side.”

“It was scary,” she said. “He was abusive. And especially as I got older, I became more scared of hearing his tires on the gravel in the driveway. I would wonder how he was going to walk through the house. Was he going to be in a good mood or a bad mood? For a while, I hated him.

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“I witnessed his violence, and it was a common occurrence, whether he took his anger out on me or he took it out on my mom,” Balascio added. “Especially when I was younger, I witnessed more of him taking his anger out on my mom.

“I witnessed him hitting her, punching her in the face.”

For years, Balascio wondered why, at times, the family had to suddenly leave in the middle of the night. It stayed with her that Edwards also had a fascination with crime announcements in the local newspaper.

In March 2009, when Balascio was about 40, she began digging, revisiting the cases that intrigued her father. After searching for “cold case” and “Watertown” online, Balascio came across reports about the “Sweetheart Murders.”

In 1980, high school sweethearts Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew disappeared after a wedding reception. The remains of the 19-year-olds were found in a field two months later. Edwards, then a handyman, was questioned by police but insisted he had no information.

After the bodies were discovered, Edwards and his family left Wisconsin.

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“I suspected my dad was doing some bad things, but I didn’t verbalize it to anyone,” said Balascio. “There was no proof. … I can’t say I suspected that it was exactly murder, but I did believe he was harming people.”

Balascio learned that investigators had reopened the case. She reached out to detectives, eager to share everything she remembered from her childhood. Balascio told them she suspected her father could have been responsible for the killings but didn’t have any proof, only memories of what she saw and felt.

She described how, when the pair were initially missing, Edwards talked about them “constantly.” One day he quipped to a pal, “I bet you they find them in a field.”

At a lab, Edwards’ DNA and the genetic material at the crime scene matched, Oxygen.com reported. Edwards was arrested in Kentucky, where he had moved with his wife. He confessed to five murders.

“That’s when it truly hit me how evil my dad was,” said Balascio. “He was a bad man.”

As a child, Edwards was raised in an orphanage and spent time in juvenile detention, the outlet reported. In 1962, he was arrested for an armed bank robbery and spent five years behind bars. His life of crime didn’t end there.

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Edwards confessed to killing 21-year-old William “Billy” Lavaco and 19-year-old Judith Straub, another couple, in 1977. The murders took place in Ohio, where Edwards grew up.

Edwards also confessed to murdering his foster son, Dannie Boy Edwards, in 1996. His motive was to collect the payout of the 23-year-old’s life insurance, which was worth $250,000.

Balascio remembers one of the last times she saw her father. He was hospitalized, and she decided to visit him with her children.

“My daughter wrote my dad a get-well card,” Balascio recalled. “I don’t remember the exact words, but it said something to the effect that Jesus forgives everybody and everything. You just need to ask him. There was also something in there about God being forgiving and God being loving. My daughter was only in elementary school, but she had made this card for him. 

“I remember my dad reading it and crying. He said, ‘It’s funny that you should say that because I was just thinking, telling God that he couldn’t forgive me for all the bad things that I had done.’

“We had to leave the room because he had an emergency that needed to be taken care of,” she shared. “I remember thinking, ‘Maybe he was going to change his ways.'”

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Balascio said she was “relieved” when Edwards died.

“He was supposed to be executed, and he ended up dying before the execution,” she said. “I was not looking forward to the execution. I knew it would be a media circus. I knew the reporters would be knocking on the door again and calling because he asked for the death penalty. His dying before the execution was a blessing. It was a relief. It was all over.”

But the story isn’t quite over for Balascio, who now lives a more peaceful life on a farm. She has submitted her DNA, hoping it could lead to answers to any cold cases her father may have been involved in.

“You don’t have to be a product of your environment,” said Balascio. “We all make choices. My dad made the choices that he made, and they were bad choices. But he has children who are all law-abiding citizens who have made the right choices and have loving families.

“I have so much empathy and sympathy for the parents who lost their children. … To this day, I still break down and cry when I think about the devastation that my father has caused in people’s lives… There are still repercussions from the evil things my dad did. That doesn’t go away.

“My dad did confess to five murders, yes, but I also believe … there’s more out there,” she reflected. “There are more victims out there.”

Lead exposure in the 20th century may have led to mental health issues in Americans, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Duke University and Florida State University studied the impact of lead in gasoline, which was first added in 1923 to help keep car engines healthy. (It was later banned from all U.S. vehicles in 1996.)

People born from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s are thought to have had the highest exposure.

GIVING THANKS CAN MAKE YOU HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER, EXPERTS SAY

The findings revealed that childhood exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas resulted in an imbalance of mental health in the U.S., which made “generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive,” according to a Duke press release.

The study, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, attributed an estimated 151 million cases of psychiatric disorders over the past 75 years to leaded gas exposure in American children.

Americans born before 1966 experienced “significantly higher rates of mental health problems as a result of lead, and likely experienced changes to their personalities that would have made them less successful and resilient in life,” the researchers wrote.

‘No safe level’

Lead is “neurotoxic” and can erode brain cells and alter brain function – therefore, there is “no safe level of exposure at any point in life,” according to Duke.

While young children are especially vulnerable to the effects, the researchers noted that “no matter what age, our brains are ill-equipped for keeping lead toxicity at bay.”

“Lead has played a larger role in our mental health than previously thought.”

Lead study author Aaron Reuben, PhD, wrote in a statement that humans are “not adapted to be exposed to lead at the levels we have been exposed to over the past century.” 

He added, “We have very few effective measures for dealing with lead once it is in the body, and many of us have been exposed to levels 1,000 to 10,000 times more than what is natural.”

‘Clinically concerning’

The researchers analyzed historical data on childhood blood-lead levels, leaded gas use and U.S. population statistics, determining that more than 170 million Americans had “clinically concerning levels” of lead in their blood as children as of 2015.

Lead exposure resulted in greater rates of mental disorders like depression and anxiety, but also more “mild distress that would impair quality of life.”

ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS MAKE UP 60% OF AMERICA’S DIET, WHO’S AT BIGGEST RISK

“We saw very significant shifts in mental health across generations of Americans — meaning many more people experienced psychiatric problems than would have if we had never added lead to gasoline,” co-author Matt Hauer said in a statement.  

This likely resulted in lower IQs, mental health problems and other long-term health complications, such as cardiovascular disease, the study suggests.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Reuben reiterated that mental health in America was “likely significantly influenced by Americans’ exposure to lead over the past century.”

He said, “Declining lead exposures were likely met by improving mental health. Lead has played a larger role in our mental health than previously thought.”

LIFE EXPECTANCY IN HUMANS NOT LIKELY TO INCREASE MUCH MORE, STUDY SUGGESTS

While the researcher said he was not surprised to find that lead caused harm, he was surprised by the “magnitude” of its effect.

“We assume that our ‘lead problem’ was solved in the 1970s and 1980s, but that was just the start of solving the problem,” he said.

“There are millions of Americans alive today who had extremely high lead exposure as children. How have those exposures influenced the trajectories of their lives? This is one thing we set out to answer.”

Reuben pointed out some limitations of the study, including that it only included two cohorts and that it did not study exposures from other sources besides gasoline.

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“As time goes on, we hope that more lead-mental health studies become available for us to improve our estimates based on better lead-harm curves,” he said. 

“Future studies should ideally be able to incorporate lead exposure from water and paints.”

The expert urged the public to take lead exposure seriously by removing hazards that still exist in some paint, fuel, batteries and other mediums.

“There are millions of Americans alive today who had extremely high lead exposure as children.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a regulation in Oct. 2024 giving cities 10 years to replace any remaining lead plumbing.

The agency also took action in Jan. 2024 to lower the levels of lead in soil at residential homes across the country.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, child psychologist Dr. Michele Borba noted that the current youth mental health crisis in America has been largely attributed to social media, but that this new study on lead exposure explores a “new realm” of what could be behind deteriorating mental health. 

“It’s an unusual and fascinating reason that most of us have never been prepared for or even thought of – but it isn’t just children’s mental health and well-being at stake,” she said.

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“We may be overlooking other generations and the long-lasting impact of lead exposure.”

Borba said that while more research is required on the topic, she recommends that other mental health experts take lead exposure into consideration when treating patients.

A passenger on a plane sniffed out another traveler’s foul-smelling food in a viral video he recently posted on social media.

Zavier Torrence, 25, told Fox News Digital he was on the second leg of his trip from West Virginia to Tampa, Florida, about a week ago when someone in the seat behind him decided to eat a tuna melt – “and it was stinking up the whole entire plane.”

Torrence didn’t say anything to the passenger who opted for the toasted fish sandwich — but he did share thoughts with his TikTok followers.

CANNED TUNA FISH IS PROTEIN IN A PINCH THAT CAN BE STORED IN YOUR PANTRY

“Because why are we eating a tuna melt on a flight?!?” Torrence wrote in the caption of his 5-second video, which showed him covering his nose to shield the strong scent.

The video had more than 713,000 views as of Friday afternoon.

“I honestly did not expect the video to blow up the way it did,” Torrence said. 

The popularity of his post might have had something to do with the text he wrote on the video, which said, “Strongly believe that people who eat on flights need to be incarcerated for 10 days.”

THESE FISH ARE THE BEST AND WORST FOR YOUR HEALTH, SAY EXPERTS

Several commenters took umbrage with Torrence’s post.

“I have a 10-hour flight coming up … You expect people not to eat during a flight?” one person wrote.

Others said they would eat on a plane, but not a tuna melt.

“It’s office rules,” another person wrote. “Only eat food that is not fragrant, so no fish, no fried items etc. How do we not know this?”

Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio, agreed with that sentiment.

WHY FOOD SAFETY EXPERTS STAND BEHIND THE ‘WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT’ STRATEGY 

“You should always avoid eating foods most people would find offensive, which include tuna and boiled eggs,” she told Fox News Digital.

Torrence said other passengers on the flight didn’t seem bothered by the smell — either that, or they chose to ignore it. 

Gottsman said asking a stranger not to eat a certain food on a plane comes at a risk and could lead to a confrontation.

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Jacqueline Whitmore, a former flight attendant-turned-etiquette expert based in Florida, said that asking someone about strong-smelling food “is generally acceptable,” provided it’s “done politely and respectfully.”

She told Fox News Digital, “The key is the approach: being calm, kind and non-confrontational.”

Although people have the right to eat what they want on a plane, it’s “extremely considerate” for a fish-eating passenger to ask others nearby if they object, Whitmore said.

Gottsman, however, sees the issue a bit differently.

“It would be polite to ask, but many passengers will feel uncomfortable giving the person an honest answer,” she said. “The passenger already knows it’s a terrible smell, and it’s going to affect people all around them.”

Torrence clarified to Fox News Digital that he doesn’t believe people shouldn’t eat on planes. 

“If you’re hungry, eat,” he said.

Rather, said Torrence, they should consider what they’re eating.

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“I mean, it’s tuna,” he said. 

“At least have common decency.”

Lindsay Lohan is just one of many stars who have sparked curiosity when it comes to a new wave of “undetectable” plastic surgery among celebrities. 

The 38-year-old actress — who stars in Netflix’s new holiday movie, “Our Little Secret” — recently turned heads after appearing in her new film and had social media users questioning: what has she done to look so fresh and youthful? 

“I need to know absolutely everything that occurred between 2018 to 2024 to have this crazy of a transformation,” an esthetician said in a viral TikTok in November. “I’m in the industry and I’m at a loss for words.”

MEGHAN TRAINOR’S SMILE MAKEOVER IS LATEST CELEBRITY PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTER

Dr. Kristy Hamilton, MD, FACS, of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told Fox News Digital that this “undetectable” look represents something much bigger than “just a trend.”

“The ‘undetectable’ look is not just a trend — it represents a significant cultural shift in aesthetics as well as progress in and refinement of our surgical techniques as plastic surgeons,” she said. “I would argue that overfilled lips and frozen faces have never been trendy — they’re the unwanted side effects of patients seeking youth that perhaps have been overtreated — or, simple stated, would have benefited from a surgical intervention instead.”

Hamilton says she often tells patients that faces “are not like fashion statements.”

“We can’t easily undo aesthetic surgery like we can easily change a dress silhouette, so we are seeking classic, timeless beauty at all times,” she said. “Patients now prioritize treatments that allow them to look refreshed and youthful without revealing that they have had work done. This evolution is driven by advancements in technology, techniques and a deeper understanding of facial anatomy, which enable results that blend seamlessly with the patient’s natural features.” 

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“In comparison to earlier trends, the ‘undetectable’ look is about longevity and authenticity,” she added. “It’s less about chasing fleeting trends and more about achieving timeless, personalized beauty.”

Despite speculation surrounding Lohan’s new look, her dad, Michael Lohan, vehemently denied that his daughter had any surgical work done. 

“Lindsay never had any plastic surgery done ever,” Lohan recently told Page Six, but admitted that the “Mean Girls” actress has done “peels, fillers and Botox.”

“Her look [is] so natural — just like her talent,” he added. “[It’s] disgusting [for people] to propagate false narratives.”

Lohan is not the only celebrity who has sparked curiosity surrounding their appearance.

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Most recently, fans were quick to point out Gwen Stefani’s look, with one Instagram user asking, “Is every 55-year-old expected to look 30 now?”

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“You might be aging backwards….?!?,” another fan wrote. 

Christina Aguilera — who has been praised over the years for her youthful look — opened up about getting injections. 

“I think it’s great to share and to be honest and open about what you’re doing — in your comfort zone, of course,” she told Allure in 2023. “I’ve always been a pretty open book about embracing my body, my looks, and things like that.”

“But I’m a pretty reserved person when it comes to a lot of things,” Aguilera, 43, added. “I think to each their own, and I think we [should] all do what’s right for us, so I don’t believe in judgment where that’s concerned whatsoever. But for me, I like to make sure what I put in my body is the safest it can be. I live a big life.”

Halle Berry, on the other hand, has been vocal about her disapproval of plastic surgery. 

“When you see everybody around you doing it, you have those moments when you think, ‘To stay alive in this business, do I need to do the same thing?’ I won’t lie and tell you that those things don’t cross my mind because somebody is always suggesting it to me,” the actress told Yahoo!Beauty in 2015. “It’s almost like crack that people are trying to push on you. That’s what I feel like. I just have kept reminding myself that beauty really is as beauty does, and it is not so much about my physical self. Aging is natural, and that’s going to happen to all of us.”

“I just want to always look like myself, even if that’s an older version of myself,” Berry, 58, added. “I think when you do too much of that cosmetic stuff, you become somebody else in a way.”

Dr. David Feldmar MD, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and founder of Feldmar Aesthetics, says these days people are gravitating towards more natural looks. 

MEGHAN TRAINOR ‘CANNOT SMILE ANYMORE’ FROM ‘TOO MUCH BOTOX’

“In my practice, the shift toward more natural results — moving away from the exaggerated, overdone look — has grown significantly, especially in recent years,” Feldmar told Fox News Digital. 

“This trend has truly accelerated since the end of the COVID lockdowns. For over 15 years, my approach has always emphasized natural beauty, and now, more than ever, the zeitgeist aligns with what I’ve been perfecting throughout my career.

“As plastic surgeons, our ultimate goal has always been to enhance beauty without the obvious signs of enhancement. While this has improved over the years, the advent of new techniques, technologies, and biologics has ushered in what I like to call the age of undetectable plastic surgery.”

“Undetectable surgery is, at its core, natural surgery,” he continued. “To achieve truly natural outcomes, I combine both surgical and non-surgical techniques, such as fat grafting, less invasive facelifts, and advanced implants. Each procedure is tailored to the patient’s unique anatomy and aesthetic goals — ensuring the results are harmonious with their natural features. 

“The goal is to enhance, not alter, their proportions, maintaining a sense of balance and avoiding any exaggerated or ‘worked-on’ look. This approach ensures that any scars are minimal, well-hidden and nearly invisible. Techniques like small incisions, advanced suturing and minimally invasive procedures allow me to reduce visible scarring.”

But it “doesn’t stop there,” says Feldmar. 

SOFIA VERGARA WANTS ‘EVERY PLASTIC SURGERY THAT I CAN DO’

“We’re entering an exciting new era, one that feels like science fiction. With the advent of biologics such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), stem cells and exosomes, we are harnessing the body’s own natural healing powers to repair tissues, regenerate skin and promote overall rejuvenation,” he added. “These therapies offer more targeted, less invasive alternatives to traditional treatments, meaning that my patients can achieve even more natural results, better healing and healthier, more youthful skin.

“I am continually amazed by what we can now offer our patients, and I am incredibly excited for what the future holds. As the field of aesthetics evolves and our understanding of beauty deepens, the possibilities are limitless. The innovation we are witnessing today is only the beginning.”

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