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Earlier this year, New York City Mayor and prominent food nag Michael Bloomberg announced a "voluntary" effort to reduce the salt content in restaurants and processed foods by 25%. Later, a New York State Senator proposed a ban on the use of any salt in restaurant kitchens. Now, the Washington Post reports:

The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans,

U.S. regulators are planning a push to gradually cut the amount of salt Americans consume, saying less sodium would reduce deaths from hypertension and heart disease, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The FDA says its new guidelines would make the food Americans eat safer and help prevent the kinds of food borne disease outbreaks that sicken or kill thousands of consumers each year. The rules could cost manufacturers up to $475 million annually. The bill also authorized more surprise inspections by the FDA and gave the agency additional powers to shut down food facilities. In addition, the law required stricter standards on imported foods.

Various governments in our fair land are trying to reduce our sodium intake. Meanwhile, we learn that this might not be a good idea.

If State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has his way, the only salt added to your meal will come from the chef's tears.

The Brooklyn Democrat has introduced a bill that would ban the use of salt in New York restaurants - and violators would be smacked with a $1,000 fine for every salty dish.

The casual-dining chain, best-known for its spinning chicken rotisseries and its tasty but often-salty side dishes, is announcing plans today to remove salt shakers from guest tables at all 476 locations.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the state after it refused to release the construction plans for a barn used to store road salt, on the basis that doing so would be a security risk.

The most striking thing about North America’s fear of food is how markedly ideas about food’s healthfulness have changed over the years. Chemical preservatives went from being triumphs of modern science to poisons. Whole milk has swung back and forth like a pendulum. Yogurt experienced boom, bust and revival. Margarine went from “heart-healthy” to artery-clogging. And now we are told that salt, historically regarded as absolutely essential to human existence, is swinging the grim reaper’s scythe.

From the article:

"SALT LAKE CITY — Mounted on the side of a pair of sunglasses is what Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank says is the future of police work.

The body cameras work like dash cameras already in police cars — they they'll provide an eye-level view of an officers one on one interaction with the public. Burbank says the body cameras are the "wave of the future" when it comes to police work and transparency."