California public schools could soon be banned from serving certain artificial dyes in food over concerns about developmental harm in children.

Dubbed a “first-in-the-nation” measure, state lawmakers this week passed Assembly Bill 2316 to prohibit six additives that are permitted by federal regulators to make food more colorful. California’s AB 2316, known as the California School Food Safety Act, is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

The bill says state research suggests such synthetic dyes can result in hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. Similar previous research prompted the European Union to restrict food coloring. Nearly all of the products that the California bill would ban in schools require warning labels in E.U. products.

The bill would ban commercial dyes of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, in public schools in the nation’s largest state.

“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and interfere with their ability to learn,” state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who authored the bill, said in a statement. He said that he struggled with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, and he is now a parent.

On Saturday, a spokesperson said Newsom’s office didn’t comment on pending legislation. The deadline for Newsom to sign or veto legislation is Sept. 30, the spokesperson said.

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group and the California Medical Association, which represents doctors, supported the bill.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for the dyes banned under AB 2316 date back decades, the environmental nonprofit said. Those approvals were based on old studies not designed to detect behavioral effects in children, the medical association had said in its support of AB 2316.

The Consumer Brands Association, a dye industry representative, opposed the bill because it overrode existing food safety rules, and the group disputed findings about adverse health effects. John Hewlitt, the association’s senior vice president of packaging, sustainability and state affairs, said the bill was “advancing a political agenda.”

“The passage of this bill could cost schools and families money, limit choice and access, and create consumer confusion,” he said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “The approach taken by California politicians flies in the face of our science and risk-based process and is not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families.”

A 2021 state Environmental Protection Agency assessment found American youth diagnosed with ADHD increased in the last 20 years, which prompted the state to look at food dyes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has similarly tracked increases in ADHD diagnoses in children in recent years.

Focusing on seven food dyes, including those that would be banned under AB 2316, state researchers reviewed prior studies on the effects of these dyes in humans and laboratory animals. Findings indicated they were linked to adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children, and children varied in sensitivity.

On Friday, an FDA spokesperson told NBC News they had reviewed literature cited in California’s legislation. While saying most children have no “adverse effects” when they eat foods with color additives, the spokesperson reportedly said some evidence suggests certain children may be sensitive.

If signed into law, California’s ban would take effect in schools beginning in 2027.

As panic over Venezuelan gangs in the community continues to spread, Aurora police visited an apartment complex Friday to reassure neighbors that officers are there for them. Meanwhile, the mayor is taking a much tougher approach.

On Friday, the City of Aurora released video of Interim Police Chief Heather Morris and a cadre of officers meeting with residents at an apartment complex that has been at the center of media and online discussions about Venezuelan gang activity.

“We’re out here because we care,” Morris said. “We want to reassure the people who live in this community that we are actively investigating criminal activity and listening to them.”

Earlier in the week, a former resident came forward with security video showing men with large guns and said she doesn’t feel the police are taking the issue seriously.

“There have been so many occasions that I’ve called the police while I’m sitting in my window watching the crime take place, and they will call me and say, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re not coming,’” Cindy Romero said.

Her car was even shot before Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky helped her find a new place to live. Jurinsky, who has been insisting for weeks that apartments in the city are being overrun by dangerous Venezuelan gangs, says the police and city need to act before someone gets hurt or killed.

“I have had city leaders give interviews, essentially trying to make it seem like I’ve made this entire thing up,” Jurinsky said. “I think that politics is being played here with people’s lives.”

On Friday, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman posted online that the Aurora City Attorney’s Office will request an emergency court order to clear the apartment buildings.

Coffman also noted that while he is ready to take action, the apartment complexes that have experienced the most trouble are owned by the same out-of-state owner and have a history of crime that predates the trouble with the Venezuelan gangs.

Aurora police say it never denied that Venezuelan gangs exist in the city and have a task force to handle the situation, but the department believe the problem is being overstated.

“I’m not saying there are no gang members living in this community, but what we’re learning is that gang members have not taken over this complex,” Morris said.

Luke Schuermann often gets “the look” whenever he mentions his last football stop. It can be a quizzical expression or a blank stare based on the level of knowledge of the words just spoken.

Johns Hopkins? Wait, give me a second. Oh, you mean the school known for producing renowned journalists, doctors and scientists?

That’s right. That one. Among its most famous alumni are CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, former President Woodrow Wilson and film director Wes Craven.

Something the Baltimore-based private research institution is not known for is its football program. Its first team, in 1882, had to play as the Clifton Athletic Club because of the school’s contempt for the emerging sport. For its first 13 seasons, students served as coaches.

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