Health officials issue warning as dangerous disease reaches ‘endemic levels’: ‘It’s not if you’re going to get it, it’s when’
Katie Dupere – October 15, 2025
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A region in West Virginia is experiencing “endemic levels” of Lyme disease. It’s a clear example of how warming global temperatures are transforming some regions into breeding grounds for diseases.
What’s happening?
Ohio County — which has a population of about 40,000 — is experiencing an alarming number of Lyme disease cases. As of mid-September, there were almost 300 reported cases. Health officials warn the illness is now so widespread that cases are no longer investigated but simply recorded.
“It’s not if you’re going to get it, it’s when you’re going to get it,” Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department Administrator Howard Gamble told local news affiliate WTOV 9.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. It can cause fever, fatigue, joint pain, and a characteristic “bull’s-eye” rash. If left untreated, Lyme may lead to serious complications affecting the heart, joints, and nervous system.
Ohio County officials attribute the surge to unstable environmental conditions and human proximity to animal habitats that support tick populations. And those factors can be directly tied to rising global temperatures.
Spring and summer are peak tick seasons — but health officials warn cases are not expected to decrease significantly in the fall.
Why is this rise in Lyme cases important?
As Lyme disease cases climb, the rising number offers a warning that our warming planet is reshaping where and how diseases emerge.
The overheating of our planet — driven by the continuous use of dirty energy — creates ideal conditions for vector-borne illnesses like Lyme to thrive. Warmer temperatures throughout the year mean that ticks — particularly black-legged (or deer) ticks — are active for a longer period. This makes it more likely that a person will contract the disease.
With warmer temperatures, ticks can also survive winters farther north and at higher elevations. They can expand into regions that were once too cold for their survival.
Rising temperatures and destructive deforestation impact the habitats of tick-carrying animals, like deer and mice, pushing them closer to humans. Together, these changes create more opportunities for ticks to spread — and for people to come into contact with them.
What’s being done about this rise in Lyme cases?
Ohio County officials told WTOV 9 that early detection and treatment remain critical in the treatment of Lyme. Delays can lead to severe complications affecting the heart and nervous system.
To prevent contracting Lyme, it’s important to avoid tick bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying on cleared trails when hiking and using insect repellent when outdoors. After coming indoors, shower and check for ticks. Treating pets for Lyme is also key to their protection and yours.
In the days following, watch for a bull’s-eye rash and flu-like symptoms. In more severe infections, stiff neck, joint swelling, or facial palsy may occur. If any symptoms develop, contact your doctor immediately.
While short-term prevention is key, scientists are working on tools and technologies for early detection of Lyme and other tick-borne pathogens.
There is also ongoing research globally to develop a Lyme disease vaccine. As that work continues, scientists are tracking climate and ecological changes to better understand and plan for tick-borne disease risk.
“I Left The US 15 Years Ago”: Expats Are Revealing The “We’re Being Scammed” Realizations They Had After Moving Abroad
Dannica Ramirez – September 12, 2025
Last year, we featured a viral TikTok that compared the cost of living in the US and Australia, which brought up the notion that “America is a scam.” Many people (like myself) were shocked by the numbers, but those in the BuzzFeed Community who’ve either moved to or from the US to another country knew about the differences all too well. Here are some of the most insightful and surprising “America is a scam” stories people shared:
1.”Credit scores. An arbitrary number that you have no control over can bar you from living in a decent area, landing a job, getting fair rates for insurance and loans, and even costing you opportunities to improve your life. Full disclosure: I left the US nearly 15 years ago. I now live in Poland and own my own business with full civil rights and privileges.”
2.”I lived in Northern England for a time on a student work abroad visa. I was in need of birth control, so I went to the doctor. I was offered an implant that wasn’t available in the US until years later. When setting up my appointment, I asked about the out-of-pocket cost, and the staff looked at me like I had grown two heads. There was no cost, of course. When my British roommate later became pregnant with her children years later, her doctor did house calls. She also received a year of maternity leave with a guarantee she could return to her job. Living abroad did a ton to break the spell of ‘American exceptionalism’ and showed me how a ‘we’re #1’ philosophy could blind us to subpar conditions. When I was young, I wanted to move from the US for positive reasons, like adventure. It saddens me that my desire for it is now due to a seemingly worsening quality of life and a tenuous political situation here at home.”
—Anonymous
3.”I went to Panama on vacation and accidentally went without my asthma inhaler. I had to do was walk into a pharmacy — with no prescription required — and Albuterol was $11. In the US, with a required prescription, it’s about $150.”
4.”I have multiple chronic pain conditions, including a couple of autoimmune diseases, and I had very little pain and no flare-ups in the two weeks I spent in Europe — even with all the sitting on planes and coaches. As soon as I got back to the US, my pain started flaring up again. So, quite literally, the United States makes me sick.”
5.”I paid $2,800/month to live in Los Angeles. Now, I pay $400/month to live in Taipei. My purchasing power is five times greater after I left the US to live in Asia.”
Frazao Studio Latino / Getty Images
—Anonymous
6.”I live in the UK and work in the public sector, which is unionized — holiday leave, healthcare, and retirement packages are all phenomenal. But even better, if I get really sick with something serious, I would get six months of PAID leave. Plus, I would still get all my holiday leave when I get back to work. I don’t have children, but my colleagues are getting a full year or more of maternity leave. America is a definite scam whenever they try to present unions as a ‘bad’ thing for workers. If you can, unionize!”
7.”I lived in Korea for a few years, and I have to say that I never needed a car since public transport is awesome and cheap, and so many people walk. Also, I got really sick once and had to visit the emergency room. I had to get meds, and it was less than $40. Everything is more expensive in the US”
Gerhard Joren / Getty Images
—Erin, 40
8.”I’ve lived in Germany and loved it. I actually felt more at home there than anywhere in the US, and I’ve lived all over America. The pace of life, values, and culture just really suited me. Living in the US can be an awful challenge, especially now that we are NOT doing great. So many of us are suffering under the boot of corporate America and bad government policy. Don’t get me wrong — there are a lot of things I love about my home country and the people: so much natural beauty, Americans’ confidence and can-do spirit, and how unique the country is. However, I’ve thought a lot about moving back to Europe. If I did move back, it would be for the community, connection, and ease, something that the US, unfortunately, is really lacking. No place is perfect, and there are headaches and problems everywhere, but it’s about choosing which ones you can tolerate.”
9.”When people think Europeans don’t want to work and take time off constantly because they’re ‘lazy,’ but Americans are hardworking individuals who help create a great economy. I worked in London for 15 years at some of the fastest-growing companies in Europe, and guess what? They had fast and sustainable growth, all while people used their statutory minimum required vacation time of 30 days per year or more. By the way, why does one of the richest countries in the world have one of the lowest quality of life for its citizens? It makes no sense.”
Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
—LS, California
10.”One of my buds retired and lives in Mexico. He pays less than $100 for major car repairs, $300 for rent in a big apartment (with an included cleaning service), and very little for medical treatment. He lives a wonderful, full life. His pension is less than half of what I make, yet he seemingly lives the life while I struggle. It’s warm and beautiful where he lives with plenty of ex-pats. I’ve heard other Americans who’ve retired to Mexico say the same thing. It’s something to think about.”
11.”I’m a Scottish guy who lived in America for a few years. I had insurance covered as part of my visa, and I had a bike accident resulting in a bad head injury. I took an ambulance to the hospital, saw a doctor, got stitches, had a follow-up appointment, got medicated, and the lot. The bill was $25,000.”
12.”I wouldn’t say America is a scam, but the price comparison is jarring. I spent several months in France, and the rent was lower and did not rise rapidly as it does here. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was the cheap availability of high-quality food. Fresh and organic food in France costs about the same as bargain preservative-laden food in the States. You could also go to a nice restaurant without feeling like a total splurge. Plus, the price of the menu was the price you’d pay. France has a really well-developed leisure and tourism industry that benefits from its scale in a way that is not really matched to that of the States.”
—Anonymous
13.”I’ve lived in multiple countries but will use London as my reference since I’ve lived there for 10 years. I returned to the US because of the pandemic, and there are so many scams. First, people do not have free health insurance. We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world and have the best healthcare, but only if you can afford it. Meanwhile, in the UK, you can pay for private healthcare, but even if you don’t, there’s the NHS (National Health Service). Regardless, everyone has access to a doctor, period. In America, prescription costs vary depending on the drug and your insurance. In London, you either pay for prescriptions or you don’t. All prescriptions cost the same, and birth control is free. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop my anger from building up more than it is.”
Fatcamera / Getty Images
—Mairin, 41, Wisconsin
14.”Food in places like Egypt, Japan, and even countries in Europe is more wholesome and tastier. Come on, America, why the shit food?”
—Anonymous
15.”I moved from the US and now live in Hong Kong. My tax rate is 12%, and my electricity costs less than $500 USD per year. I spend $400 a year on healthcare, $75 a month for public transit, and $15 a month for my phone. My largest expense is my apartment with a part-ocean view, and I pay $2,800 a month, which is a good price for staying outside the city.”
16.”I haven’t moved (yet), but I am in Germany now, and so far, the food is a lot better, ALL the beer is food, public transportation is SO MUCH BETTER, and, from what I’ve seen, most things cost less. Germany also has monetary government help if you have children or older adults in your family. Yep, monthly stipends with no means testing. This is a far cry from the USA, which has absolutely none of that, and where you can just die on the streets if you can’t make it. Really, in about 95% of ways, living in the USA kind of sucks. It does hurt me to admit this, but it’s true.”
—Suzan, 66, Oregon
17.”I have been living in Thailand and Bali this past year, and in both cases, I am far, far ahead of when I lived in the Seattle area in the US. My expenses are around half, and I lack almost nothing except some peccadillo-like things like major music concerts (some are in Bangkok, but that’s not a place I choose to pass through). Further, the culture is so much better — none of the fear and anger that have reared their heads since Trump entered the scene. The people here are so kind, accepting, and joyful. I haven’t even seen a case of road rage! I have no desire to go back to the USA.”
18.”When my daughter was born in Amsterdam, we didn’t find out until she was a few weeks old that she needed corrective heart surgery. Never mind that we didn’t pay anything out of pocket for the birth, but her heart surgery and appointments for it didn’t cost a thing either. If we still lived in the States, we would have been bankrupt, even if we had good insurance.”
—Mark, 43, Netherlands
19.”We are being scammed. One of the biggest differences I noticed when living abroad was that even wealthy people were outspoken about prices. America’s rising cost of living is vastly outpacing inflation — and we accept it without much protest. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Germany, Czechia, and Argentina, where I have local friends and some family. People would tell the servers that the prices were too high, or they’d complain at the supermarket and leave items at the register saying, ‘This is too expensive.’ In America, we’ve been trained to accept things as they are because we are gaslit into thinking it’s OUR fault that we suddenly can’t afford to eat out or go to the hair salon.”
20.”I lived in Mexico my entire adult life and moved back to America in 2022. My salary in Mexico was lower than in dollars, but I had a much higher standard of living there. Healthcare is free unless you choose to go private, and you can still get free healthcare even without a job. Car insurance costs far less, and even the cars are cheaper because they sell more basic models of the same brand. My rent in Mexico was only about 20% of my salary, and it was easy to find plenty of places in a similar price range. In the US, it’s at least 30% of my salary. I’ve realized that in the US, everything is designed to be bigger, fancier, and more expensive.”
—Anonymous
21.”In the late ’90s, I studied in Paris, France. I could pay my tuition, dorm, groceries, and public transportation for 18 months on a $15K US school loan. In 2015, I lived in Quebec, Canada for five months, and my rent in a very nice three-bedroom apartment was $400 CAD a month, with all utilities included. I’ve compared my US salary with friends in Germany, France, and Norway; though my salary is ‘higher,’ they have much lower utility, cellphone, and other costs. Plus, they never had school loans to pay back, and even after taxes, they still had MORE money at the end of the month than me — not to mention the six weeks of vacation every year, parental leave, etc.”
Julian Elliott Photography / Getty Images
“They have walkable cities and towns with sidewalks everywhere, reliable and efficient public transportation, and affordable fresh food. If most Americans understood the stark reality that we are paying into a system with a broken infrastructure — where most of our tax money goes to pay for ‘defense’ — they’d hopefully take their outrage to the polls and vote for better policies. Those in power, however, turn to fearmongering scam tactics to prevent people from demanding more.”
—Stephanie, 50, US
22.”After I moved to America, I realized that how the US presents itself to the rest of the world is bull. There’s a poor healthcare system, no labor laws to get paid for statutory holidays, the wages are a joke compared to the cost of living, and if you’re wealthy, the law is yours to bend. It shocked me to see how the US votes in judges and how fragile the separation of church and state really is! It’s scary living here.”
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE
Kimberly Kindy and Amanda Seitz – July 17, 2025
Special needs teacher Deja Nebula sets up an art installation displaying names and faces of people who have been detained, deported, or sent to offshore camps during ICE raids in Southern California, at Olvera Street Plaza in Los Angeles, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press.
The information will give ICE officials the ability to find “the location of aliens” across the country, says the agreement signed Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement has not been announced publicly.
The extraordinary disclosure of millions of such personal health data to deportation officials is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has repeatedly tested legal boundaries in its effort to arrest 3,000 people daily.
Lawmakers and some CMS officials have challenged the legality of deportation officials’ access to some states’ Medicaid enrollee data. It’s a move, first reported by the AP last month, that Health and Human Services officials said was aimed at rooting out people enrolled in the program improperly.
But the latest data-sharing agreement makes clear what ICE officials intend to do with the health data.
“ICE will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE,” the agreement says.
Such an action could ripple widely
Such disclosures, even if not acted upon, could cause widespread alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon would not respond to the latest agreement. It is unclear, though, whether Homeland Security has yet accessed the information. The department’s assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said in an emailed statement that the two agencies “are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”
The database will reveal to ICE officials the names, addresses, birth dates, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers for all people enrolled in Medicaid. The state and federally funded program provides health care coverage program for the poorest of people, including millions of children.
The agreement does not allow ICE officials to download the data. Instead, they will be allowed to access it for a limited period from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9.
“They are trying to turn us into immigration agents,” said a CMS official did not have permission to speak to the media and insisted on anonymity.
Immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that provides nearly-free coverage for health services. Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government.
But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Emergency Medicaid is often used by immigrants, including those who are lawfully present and those who are not.
Many people sign up for emergency Medicaid in their most desperate moments, said Hannah Katch, a previous adviser at CMS during the Biden administration.
“It’s unthinkable that CMS would violate the trust of Medicaid enrollees in this way,” Katch said. She said the personally identifiable information of enrollees has not been historically shared outside of the agency unless for law enforcement purposes to investigate waste, fraud or abuse of the program.
Trump officials last month demanded that the federal health agency’s staffers release personally identifiable information on millions of Medicaid enrollees from seven states that permit non-U.S. citizens to enroll in their full Medicaid programs.
The states launched these programs during the Biden administration and said they would not bill the federal government to cover the health care costs of those immigrants. All the states — California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado — have Democratic governors.
That data sharing with DHS officials prompted widespread backlash from lawmakers and governors. Twenty states have since sued over the move, alleging it violated federal health privacy laws.
CMS officials previously fought and failed to stop the data sharing that is now at the center of the lawsuits. On Monday, CMS officials were once again debating whether they should provide DHS access, citing concerns about the ongoing litigation.
In an email chain obtained by the AP called “Hold DHS Access — URGENT,” CMS chief legal officer Rujul H. Desai said they should first ask the Department of Justice to appeal to the White House directly for a “pause” on the information sharing. In a response the next day, HHS lawyer Lena Amanti Yueh said that the Justice Department was “comfortable with CMS proceeding with providing DHS access.”
Dozens of members of Congress, including Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, sent letters last month to DHS and HHS officials demanding that the information-sharing stop.
“The massive transfer of the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients should alarm every American. This massive violation of our privacy laws must be halted immediately,” Schiff said in response to AP’s description of the new, expanded agreement. “It will harm families across the nation and only cause more citizens to forego lifesaving access to health care.”
The new agreement makes clear that DHS will use the data to identify, for deportation purposes, people who in the country illegally. But HHS officials have repeatedly maintained that it would be used primarily as a cost-saving measure, to investigate whether non-U.S. citizens were improperly accessing Medicaid benefits.
“HHS acted entirely within its legal authority – and in full compliance with all applicable laws – to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,” Nixon said in a statement responding to the lawsuits last month.
King Donald? Supreme Court grants Trump power to repeal laws at his whim
Kimberly Wehle, opinion contributor – July 16, 2025
Opinion – King Donald? Supreme Court grants Trump power to repeal laws at his whim
“The executive has seized for itself the power to repeal federal law by way of mass terminations, in direct contravention of the Take Care Clause and our Constitution’s separation of powers.”
Read that again. These are the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a dissenting opinion to the Supreme Court’s one-paragraph July 14 ruling, in which the majority basically held — without any justification or explanation whatsoever — that it’s fine that America has become a land of lawlessness with power consolidated in one person.
President Trump is the law now.
The case is McMahon v. New York, and it involves Trump’s stated plan to abolish the Department of Education by basically firing half of its workforce so that it cannot function. Unlike Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn DOGE experiment, this maneuver is not even thinly disguised by the pretense of government “efficiency.” Trump just wants the Department of Education to go.
The trouble is that, as a matter of the Constitution’s core separation of powers, Congress makes the laws. In 1979, Congress enacted the Department of Education Organization Act for purposes of “ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.”
As Sotomayor explained in her dissent, which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined, “only Congress has the power to abolish the department. The executive’s task, by contrast, is to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.’”
By shutting down the Department of Education “by executive fiat,” Trump is blatantly intruding on the powers of the legislature to make the laws while ignoring the constitutional mandate, and his oath of office, that he duly execute those laws.
Trump’s plan ignores a bunch of other laws that the Department of Education is also responsible for executing, including laws governing federal grants for institutes of higher education; federal funding for kindergarten through high school (more than $100 billion during the 2020-2021 school year, or 11 percent of the total funding for public K-12 schools across the country); and laws banning discrimination in federally-funded schools on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and disability.
Then there’s the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which, according to the department’s current website, “is a law that makes available a free appropriate education to eligible children with disabilities … and ensures special education and related services to those children, supports early services for infants and toddlers and their families, and awards competitive discretionary grants.” Seven million students across the country receive special education services supported by that law.
Another statute the department administers, the Elementary and Student Education Act, provides financial assistance programs to tens of millions of low-income students, too.
All of these laws are now being gutted by the stroke of Trump’s pen, as if he were a king.
There has been no public debate in Congress, no mark-ups of bills amending the law, no ability for voters to call representatives to lobby for or against proposals to amend the Department of Education and the statutes it administers. There has been no budget analyses, no media coverage of congressional horse-trading, no interviews of people from both parties on the steps of the Capitol, no hearing from public school officials or teachers or parents on whether this is a good idea.
Trump simply snatched the power to make and repeal major federal legislation and programs that affect millions of American children for himself.
Worse, the majority on the Supreme Court is letting him do it. Like Trump, it made its ruling on-the-fly and behind closed doors — without full briefing, oral argument or a written decision explaining the justices’ rationale for allowing this end run around Article I of the Constitution (which lodges the lawmaking power in Congress) and Article II (which mandates that the president take care that the laws are faithfully executed).
The majority’s silence left it to the dissenting justices once again to try and back-fill the majority’s reasoning in a dissenting opinion so that the public has some sort of record about what is possibly going on here.
Sotomayor explains that Trump, shortly after taking office, condemned the Department of Education as a “big con job” that he would “like to close immediately.” A week into her tenure, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon eliminated “nearly 50 percent of the Department’s workforce” as “the first step on the road to a total shutdown.” She closed entire offices — including the team responsible for administering bilingual education, every lawyer in the general counsel’s office responsible for K-12 education funding and IDEA grants, numerous regional offices that deal with civil rights laws and most of the office that certifies schools to receive federal student financial aid.
On March 20, Trump signed an executive order with a directive titled “Closing the Department of Education and Returning Authority to the States.” Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing that his actions violated the Take Care Clause and the Constitution’s separation of powers, incapacitating core components of the Department of Education on which the states rely. A similar lawsuit by school districts and unions followed. The cases were combined, and a district court issued an injunction preserving the status quo, keeping the department and the nation’s school system intact while the case was pending. An appeals court upheld that injunction.
Mind you, the district court issued its injunction after considering dozens of affidavits from Department of Education officials and recipients of federal funding describing how McMahon’s mass terminations have already affected the ability to pay teachers, purchase materials and equipment, and enroll students on federal financial aid — and how full implantation of Trump’s plan could be far worse. The government submitted no evidence in response.
Ignoring the record entirely, and on an emergency motion filed by the administration, the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority simply overturned the injunction, effectively handing Trump a win — just weeks before the start of the new school year — without even bothering to actually grapple with the Constitution, the lower court’s findings or the dire impacts on millions of children and young adults that rely on the department’s programs in order to get an education.
This sounds like a dystopian science fiction storyline that a bunch of Hollywood writers and producers dreamed up. But it’s real. This is Trump’s — and the Supreme Court’s — America.
BREAKING: Historically corrupt Attorney General Pam Bondi abuses her Justice Department power to sue Los Angeles for supposedly discriminating against ICE agents. And it gets so much worse…The MAGA-tainted DOJ is alleging that the city’s sanctuary city policies result in unfair treatment of federal immigration officers compared to other law enforcement agents. One struggles to imagine a whinier lawsuit. These fascists have no problem tearing apart families and destroying families but they fall to pieces if they’re treated with even an ounce of the disdain they so richly deserve. “Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles. Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump,” Bondi stated. In truth, the “chaos” in Los Angeles was caused by Trump violently and illegally cracking down on protestors by sending in the National Guard and Marines. He wanted violence because it allowed him to project the “law and order” strongman persona that his gullible followers love. The lawsuit, yet another shameless waste of taxpayer money from this administration, alleges that the “sanctuary city laws and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions.”“The Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally discriminate against the Federal Government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement agents through access restrictions both to property and to individual detainees, by prohibiting contractors and sub-contractors from providing information, and by disfavoring federal criminal laws that the City of Los Angeles has decided not to comply with,” it goes on.“ The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment—as the challenged law and policies do—thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined,” the suit adds. As usual, we see that Republicans only really believe in states’ rights (or in this case cities’ rights) when the polities in question adhere to extreme right-wing policies. Los Angeles should be free to govern itself as it sees fit. If Angelenos correctly see migrants as law-abiding, contributing members of their communities then Trump has no right to enforce his racist worldview on them.
While politicians have traditionally been punished for lying, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was punished for telling truths his party didn’t want to hear. The North Carolina senator was then effectively forced into retirement.
John Hanno – www.tarbabys.com
We’ve known for more than a decade that this is no longer your grandfather’s Republican Party. That touch-stone is dead and buried; trump just provided the final nails in it’s coffin. Every Republican with any governing competence, integrity, empathy and loyalty to our Constitutional Democracy or to their oath of office, has been drummed out, or fled for their very lives. Tom Tillis was just the latest casualty. This MAGANAZI cult of anger, cruelty, grievance, and retribution is not satisfied with the destruction of just one of our 2 main political parties, they’re set on tearing down our entire governmental infrastructure and every Democratic institution. Nothing is safe from their anti-government nuclear bomb dropping crusade. Generations of loyal, competent government employees, scientists and researchers – gone, almost a century of international alliances – gone, many decades of racial and gender equality progress – gone, an entire lifetime of social safety net struggles ripped apart and – gone, 250 years of academic freedom, independence and enlightenment – gone, 250 years of stare decisis case law – gone, America as the moral leader and guiding light of the Democratic free world – gone, America as the economic engine of the world – gone, America as the refuge of the worlds, tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to be free – gone, America as a nation where anyone can succeed, no matter who you are, your gender, the color of your skin, your religion, or even if you’re not politically aligned with the rich and connected who hold power – gone, 250 years of credible history, two centuries of enlightened arts and literature – gone, a century of proven science, studies and research wiped clean or debunked and gone, the very idea that no matter how hard you had to struggle and sacrifice to end up in the greatest nation on earth, you could be certain that your children and grandchildren would have a freer and better life than you did – gone, the principles our Founding Fathers set forth 250 years ago, in order to free us from another diabolical Mad King and tyrannical overlords – gone, the sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation and millions of Veteran patriots since then, to preserve ours and the world’s freedom’s from self-serving fascists and narcissistic megalomaniacs, who care only about themselves and their obsession with wealth and power – gone. No one or nothing is safe from the hoards pounding on the gates of ours and the worlds Constitutional Democracies, not even the corporate leaders who have kneeled at the feet of their demented leader; just ask the hundreds of businesses who had to flee putin’s warmongering oligharchy, handing over all their corporate wealth to putin and his henchmen. These are the times that try men’s souls, and apparently Tom Tillis’s soul had had enough trying. WTFU merica
June 28, 2025 – Bravo Taco! You are collapsing our economy one industry at a time. Racism has blinded most MAGAs to one universal truth: the backbone of our economy is immigrant labor.
Home Builder in Texas says ICE raids has ground construction to a halt, as the vast numbers of laborers are immigrants. Video:
John Hanno: Most Texan’s understand this, but they keep voting for the spineless republi-cons in congress, and for legislators in Texas who “ARE” the problem, and who couldn’t care less about a solution. Their elected leaders keep attacking and terrorizing the women and people of color who ARE part of the solution, and who are an asset to our nation. The question is, are their prejudices too ingrained for them to change their backwards ways? WTFU merica
The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell – June 28, 2025
The state is building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings in the Big Cypress National Preserve, which are ecologically sensitive wetlands.
John Hanno:
This is strictly MAGA political theater, and a gigantic boondoggle. The average cost to incarcerate a prisoner in the U.S. is probably about $75,000 per year. But these grifting morons in the trump nincompoop administration, will probably spend close to $200,000 to catch, detain and attempt to house each immigrant per year. The only ones that will benefit from rounding up hard working brown people, will be the connected trump billionaires who will get even richer, from the for profit, trump-prison-industrial-complex. And the spineless republi-con sycophants in congress, will take healthcare and food assistance away from the working poor and middle class, in order to fund this racist, fascist, ICE- Homeland Security Department nonsense. WTFU merica
While there are more than three months left in the fiscal year, one estimate has found that the agency is already $1 billion over budget, according to Axios. Legislators in both parties have raised concerns about the speed at which the agency is spending its funds, which may prompt President Donald Trump to seek additional funds from other agencies to support his deportation efforts.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has overspent its funds as it works to detain thousands of unauthorized immigrants each day. Estimates are that it is already $1 billion over budget. (AP)
The money crunch comes as the Trump White House is demanding that ICE agents detain 3,000 immigrants a day, levels the agency has yet to reach.
DHS has about 41,000 beds in its detention facilities, which are over capacity, and the department is looking for further detention space both in the U.S. and abroad.
Trump may declare a national emergency to send money to ICE from other parts of the government. In 2020, he used the measure to use $4 billion of the Pentagon’s money to fund his border wall.
A former budget official told Axios: “I have a feeling they’re going to grant themselves an exception apportionment, use the life and safety exception, and just keep burning money.”
University of Houston Law Center professor and former Defense Department attorney Chris Marisola told the outlet that “You could imagine a new emergency declaration that pertains to interior enforcement that would trigger the same kind of emergency personnel mobilization statutes.”
He added that “These statutory authorities authorizing the president to declare emergencies” unlock “a whole host of other authorities for these departments and agencies [that] are often written incredibly broadly and invest a lot of discretion in the president.”
The Trump White House has been trying to increase its power over the federal budget by overspending the budget of DHS, and the Office of Management and Budget has ceased sharing publicly how much money it’s spending across the government. The administration has also stopped agencies from spending funds appropriated by Congress for a number of programs.
DHS recently took the step of moving nearly $500 million from within its own funds to support its immigration clampdown. However, the agency has requested an extra $2 billion to meet its needs by the end of September.
The money crunch comes as the Trump White House is demanding that ICE agents detain 3,000 immigrants a day, (REUTERS)
Lawmakers have noted that DHS could run out of money as soon as July, which would violate the Antideficiency Act, which bans agencies from obligating or spending federal funds that have not been congressionally appropriated. Although no one has been previously charged under the Act, agency officials may face criminal charges or fines.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, told Axios that “President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is critical to ensure we have the funding to secure our homeland for generations and deliver on the American people’s mandate for safety and security.”ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisement
The top Republican on the House DHS appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, told Axios that “we’re watching” the Senate budget negotiations.
“If there’s much of a hiccup in that, those concerns are all capital ‘C’ concerns,” he said.
Murphy added: “They are spending likely in the neighborhood of a billion dollars more at ICE than we authorized, and that’s patently illegal.”
“They cannot invent money. They cannot print money. They don’t have the money to spend that they’re spending,” he said.
Los Angeles Times Opinion
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