One man is at the forefront of the media frenzy around the White House’s immigration strategy: Gregory Bovino. While he has served in the U.S. Border Patrol under various capacities for years, Bovino has taken a front-facing role in the second Trump administration. And his direction of Border Patrol officers in Chicago has become particularly notable as courts question his methods.

Joining Border Patrol
Bovino, 55, began his tenure with the Border Patrol in 1996 and was stationed in California’s El Centro Sector. He was promoted to senior patrol agent in 1999 and then to supervisory agent in 2002. And in 2020, Bovino was appointed chief patrol agent of the El Centro Sector, “responsible for operations across Imperial and San Diego counties and in desert areas of California and Arizona,” said Newsweek. He eventually began taking on a larger role on the national stage when President Donald Trump returned to office.

Commander-at-large
While Bovino still officially holds the title of El Centro Sector chief, he has become the “lead on the administration’s crackdown in cities,” said CNN. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has referred to him in an op-ed as the Border Patrol’s commander-at-large, though the meaning of this title is unclear.

Bovino has come under fire for the Border Patrol’s aggressive methods, particularly during his time in Chicago overseeing the agency’s Operation Midway Blitz. In suburbs near Chicago, videos show Bovino “leading a phalanx of camouflage-fatigued agents,” many of whom have “shattered car windows, targeted Home Depots, fired chemical irritants at protesters and members of the media, and shoved people to the ground,” said CNN.

He has defended the Border Patrol’s methods, but federal judges have pushed back. In particular, Bovino “admitted to lying about a rock-throwing incident used to justify deploying tear gas against protesters,” said U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis. He claimed that he had been “hit by a rock on the head before throwing the tear gas, but video evidence disproves this,” Ellis said in court. Homeland Security disputes this, saying that all agents are properly trained.

The portfolio diet has been around for more than 20 years, but only recently have more people taken on this heart-focused regimen. The little-known diet has been found to reduce cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the U.S., responsible for over 683,000 deaths in 2024, according to the CDC. The key is to put your stock in plant fiber and protein while reducing animal-based foods.

What’s the portfolio diet?
The diet was developed in 2003 by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. It was named as such because it’s all about “spreading out your risks and benefits and trying to maximize” nutritional returns, said Jenkins to The New York Times. It “discourages foods from animal sources, particularly red and processed meat, high-fat dairy, and eggs, said Harvard Medical School. Instead, it prioritizes “viscous fiber, plant-based proteins, nuts, seeds, monounsaturated fats and phytosterols, also known as plant sterols.”

A diet rich in plant sterols, soy protein and viscous fibers could reduce levels of LDL cholesterol by approximately 30%, according to Jenkins’ original study. Since then, other research has corroborated the benefits. The portfolio diet is “associated with a lower risk of CVD, including CHD [coronary heart disease] and stroke, and a more favorable blood lipid and inflammatory profile,” said a 2023 study published in the journal Circulation. These results also held when analyzing a “national cohort of racially diverse adults in the U.S.,” said a 2025 study. It’s the “same effect as a first-generation statin,” said Meaghan E. Kavanagh, the lead author of the 2025 study, to Medscape.

How does it compare to other diets?
The Mediterranean diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and the pescatarian diet have also been found to have extensive health benefits. There are “significant overlaps” between the three, said the American Heart Association. All three “emphasize eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, plant protein, nuts and plant oils.” Where they differ is that the portfolio diet specifically focuses on plant-based food, making it vegetarian and vegan-friendly. 

What makes the portfolio diet favorable and sustainable is its “relative flexibility,” said the Times. “You can take your own diet and make a few small changes and see cardiovascular benefits,” said registered dietician Andrea Glenn to the American Heart Association.

A resident in Talisay, Philippines, surveys the debris of his destroyed home in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi. The tropical cyclone killed at least 114 people before moving on to make landfall in Vietnam yesterday. 
Daniel Ceng / Anadolu / Getty Images

The holidays can be a breeding ground for the kind of aching loneliness that causes both mental and physical issues. “Increased risk for cardiovascular disease, a 26% increase in risk of premature mortality, and poor mental health outcomes, especially depression,” can be the result of protracted loneliness, said Dr. Holly A. Swartz at Psychiatry Online. Practical tools can help alleviate these solo pangs.

Get into the world
“Simple outreach to others can be a step toward better overall health,” said Dr. Amit Shah, a Mayo Clinic geriatrician and internist, to the Mayo Clinic News Network. When you notice that you are needing more social bonds, “dedicate time and energy into reaching out to people,” said Jake Van Epps, a psychologist at the University of Utah Health’s Resiliency Center, to the university’s health blog. Make plans with friends or throw an unexpected act of kindness someone’s way. 

Cross generational divides
Meeting peers is (comparatively) easy. But there’s power in connecting with people younger or older than you. Doing so can add “more richness and diversity to your relationships,” said Dr. Linda Fried, the former dean of the Columbia School of Public Health, to MSNBC.

Resolve to volunteer 
“Helping others can lift your spirits and even introduce you to new people in your community,” said the Tufts Health Plan blog. Giving of yourself also helps you see the larger social picture. “Isolation and lack of fulfilling human contact can be gateways to loneliness,” said Fried. “What better way to connect with others than through a shared goal or passion?”