Trump Strips Legal Immigrants of Taxpayer Funded Health Coverage

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Trump Strips Legal Immigrants of Taxpayer Funded Health Coverage

(Headline USA) New restrictions have stripped Medicaid coverage from certain legal immigrants as part of broader federal changes to the health insurance program.

The change effective Oct. 1 cut from Medicaid what is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of people who’ve immigrated to the United States, in the latest Trump administration policy to put Americans first.

The move is part of sweeping changes to Medicaid under President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax cut and policy law, with many set to take effect early next year. The Medicaid changes are projected to result in 7.5 million fewer people with taxpayer funded health benefits, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2025 estimate.

“This is about telling every immigrant in the United States that they are not welcome here and that they should leave,” said Ben D’Avanzo, a senior strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, which has pursued litigation against the Republican administration over its immigration agenda.

Refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking and domestic violence are among those who have lost coverage. Green-card holders were not impacted.

Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that “immigrants must be able to support themselves without taking from overburdened benefits programs paid for by hard-working American taxpayers.”

Millions more will be dropped from Medicaid

Medicaid, jointly funded by states and the federal government, has become a political focal point during Trump’s second term. The president has pushed to root out what he describes as fraud in the program. In July, the administration deferred over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, claiming there was suspected fraud.

As more people are cut from Medicaid, the federal government is predicted to reduce program spending by $911 billion, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

In Arizona, officials said 29,000 legal immigrants were cut from Medicaid rolls on Oct. 1. In Florida, estimates are closer to 177,000. Overall, more than 281,000 immigrants from nine states and the District of Columbia are estimated to lose Medicaid coverage, according to KFF.

As more states implement various restrictions to coverage, 7.5 million people are expected to lose coverage by 2034, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. 

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

BREAKING: Feds Raid Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Home

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BREAKING: Feds Raid Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Home

(Headline USA) Federal agents searched Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home on Monday as part of a criminal investigation, according to public reports.

The search was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations agents. More details about the investigation and its focus were not immediately clear, though Vice President JD Vance last May signaled that the Trump administration would investigate Omar for immigration fraud allegations, which she has denied.

An email seeking comment was sent Monday to a representative for Omar.

The Justice Department said in a statement Monday that HSI agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the department in the Washington, D.C., area but provided no other details.

“This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” the department said.

A message left with the Department of Homeland Security, of which Homeland Security Investigations is part, was not immediately returned.

Omar, 44, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She was first elected to the House in 2018 and has been known as a member of what’s called The Squad of female lawmakers known for their progressive views and pointed opposition to the Republican president.

Republicans have raised questions about Omar’s past since before she was even elected, including asserting that she had married her brother and committed immigration fraud. Omar has broadly denied the allegations as “disgusting lies.”

“It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody’s entitled to equal justice under the laws,” Vance told reporters in May. “So we’re going to investigate it. We’re going to take a look at it. If we think there’s a crime, we’re going to prosecute that crime.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Grandpa Identified as the Erie, Pa. Mass Shooter

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Grandpa Identified as the Erie, Pa. Mass Shooter

(Headline USA) A man whose toddler was among eight people killed in a mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, said Sunday that the gunman was a grandfather who never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary.

“I think that was a front for him,” Julius Windham said as he stood at a memorial to victims of Friday’s shooting, including his 1-year-old daughter Amarianna, her pregnant mother and the woman’s 5-year-old son and unborn baby.

“Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think of nothing like that would happen,” Windham said.

The 45-year-old gunman took his own life. Authorities have not released his name, but Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said he was related to seven of the victims. The eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman, he said. Police have not made their names public, either.

Those killed include 2 women outside the home

Mourners on Sunday placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside the home where the man opened fire shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. Windham wore a T-shirt with pictures of the women and children and the words, “Forever In My Heart.”

“Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now,” Windham said. “But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”

Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators included muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside the home just before two “distressed” women arrived and began pounding on the door, Lorah said. The gunman then came out and shot them as they ran toward him, before returning inside.

Responding officers found the two women dead outside. After deploying a drone and robot, they went inside and found the bodies of the 5-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl on the first floor; two more women and two young men in a stairwell; and the shooter on the second floor.

“Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home,” the chief said at a news conference.

“But I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole,” he said.

Police decline to discuss motive as investigation continues

Erie is about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Lorah declined to discuss motive but suggested mental health could be a factor. He said investigators would talk to relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home.

“They knew something was going on at that house,” Lorah said. “We have to figure out what that is.”

Nicole and Debra Eller, whose best friend was among the victims, said they’ve known the family for more than 30 years. Nicole Eller said the shooter “was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything.”

“They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?” Debra Eller said. “Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids, how can you do that?”

The Erie shooting was reminiscent of a 1982 massacre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children.

At a news conference on Saturday, Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed a portion of her remarks directly to the victims’ families.

“I am so deeply sorry,” Devlin said. “What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier. … Our entire community is with you, we’re grieving with you. And we are here to support you.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

US Arrests Fugitive Businessman in Venezuela Bribery Case

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US Arrests Fugitive Businessman in Venezuela Bribery Case

(Headline USA) A businessman wanted for years in the U.S. for allegedly paying bribes to top Venezuelan officials in exchange for lucrative state contracts in Venezuela has been taken into custody.

Alvaro Pulido was indicted in Miami federal court in 2019 and again in 2021 as part of an investigation into his longtime business partner, Alex Saab, a one-time ally of ousted President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department had been offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.

Pulido, 62, was taken into U.S. custody after an investigation led by the DEA, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agencies, American officials said Sunday.

It’s unclear how Pulido ended up in U.S. custody. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday in Miami.

“His alleged actions show a blatant disregard to the Venezuelan people by corrupting government programs intended to provide critical food, medicine, and housing for personal enrichment and exploiting the American financial system to do it,” Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a social media post Sunday.

“No amount of time or distance will stop” the Justice Department “from working with our federal law enforcement and international partners to pursue these criminals and bring them to justice in an American courtroom,” he wrote.

Venezuelan authorities have so far been silent about the arrest, reflecting the challenge acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces in appeasing elements of the ruling coalition that want her to resist attempts by the Trump administration to round up scores of Venezuelan insiders wanted by the U.S., sometimes for years, for serious crimes ranging from corruption to drug trafficking.

The Colombian-born Pulido was arrested in Venezuela in 2023 as part of a sprawling crackdown on corruption inside state-run oil company PDVSA that was led by Rodríguez while she was serving as Maduro’s vice president. She took over as Venezuela’s acting president following the U.S. military’s ouster of Maduro in January.

Prosecutors allege that Pulido, together with Saab, created a network of offshore shell companies to funnel bribes to top Maduro allies in exchange for more than $2 billion in contracts to import food, medicine and low-cost housing at a time of widespread hardship in the South American country.

Prior to these alleged offenses, Pulido had a prolific history of drug trafficking, including a 1997 conviction in Italy under the alias of German Enrique Rubio, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.

Saab, who also hails from Colombia, was deported to the U.S. by Rodríguez in May. Last month, he pleaded guilty in a related bribery case, agreeing to cooperate against Maduro and other individuals and forfeit $195 million in criminal proceeds from the corruption scheme.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Six Senators Call for Trump Administration to ‘Immediately Reverse Course’ on Russian Diesel Plan

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Six Senators Call for Trump Administration to ‘Immediately Reverse Course’ on Russian Diesel Plan

(Headline USA) A bipartisan group of six senators on Sunday called for President Donald Trump’s administration to “immediately reverse course” on a plan to purchase diesel from Russia as part of an effort to lower high fuel prices.

Trump shocked lawmakers when he announced on social media Friday that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call. He said Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and global market, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.

Four Republican senators and two Democratic senators signed onto the statement released Sunday in protesting the deal. They said the administration failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute.

“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course,” they wrote.

The Republican senators who signed onto the statement are Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Curtis of Utah. 

The Democratic senators are Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Tillis, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said there’s a legitimate case for saying the president is not following the law if the administration goes through with its diesel purchase plan.

“We were very clear that Russia is the aggressor. Russia is the one who can end this war by backing out of territory that they occupied,” Tillis said.

Trump’s announcement came just a few weeks after Congress passed legislation that directed Trump to impose substantial tariffs on the top importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.

The congressional effort was aimed at cutting the flow of money Russia receives from oil and gas sales to finance its war against Ukraine.

The lawmakers also noted that Congress explicitly banned Russia energy imports in 2022 to prevent the United States from financing the war.

“Congress was clear: the U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies,” the six lawmakers wrote in their statement. “President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Trump is focused on reducing the cost of energy when asked whether the president’s action would be in violation of U.S. law.

“The president is balancing and has to make tough decisions,” Barrasso said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

He also encouraged Trump to enforce the sanctions law that Congress passed last month.

“This is just another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin in an effort to get a long-term solution in that part of the world,” Barrasso said.

Energy experts say the Russia deal is unlikely to make a dent in high prices at the pump.

Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, noted that the total amount of diesel appears to be less than what the U.S. uses in a day.

Nephew argued that Iran and Russia might benefit more than the U.S.

“The Iranians are probably very excited because it shows that there’s a lot of pressure still on the U.S. And the Russians are excited because it puts a big hole in the sanctions regime,” he said.

Trump has recently sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Poll: Majority of Voters Concerned about Socialists Running for Office

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Poll: Majority of Voters Concerned about Socialists Running for Office

(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square) A majority of American voters are concerned with socialist candidates running and possibly winning political office, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found that 55% of American voters are concerned about Democratic Socialist candidates running for and winning elected office in the U.S., while 37% aren’t concerned.

A slew of candidates running as democratic socialists appears to be raising alarms with a majority of American voters.

Of the 55% who are concerned, 35% are very concerned, while 20% say they are “somewhat concerned.”

Of those not concerned, only 17% say they are not too concerned, while 20% say they are not at all concerned.

The poll comes as several Democratic Socialist candidates have risen in popularity across the country. The Democratic Socialists of America are touting 67 wins across the country, with 93 running. However, the group includes 62 DSA candidates who have lost.

The latest poll comes on the heels of an August poll by The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll, which found 63% of Americans are concerned with the growth of socialism or communism in American politics, while 29% were not concerned.

Of the 63% concerned in August, 36% said they were very concerned, and 27% are somewhat concerned.

The Center Square’s Voters Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,527 registered voters from Oct. 5-7 via an opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 1,136 Republicans, 1,171 Democrats, and 220 True Independents, who did not lean toward either major party when asked.

Heading into the midterm elections in November, Republicans and several Democratic voices have warned against democratic socialists rising to power across the country, with the backing of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

It’s not only Republicans warning against socialism. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., has been outspoken on several self-proclaimed democratic socialists gaining popularity within the Democratic party.

Earlier in the month, Fetterman cited a CBS News poll that found nearly 60% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism.

“The Democratic Party is becoming the party of socialism. 58% view socialism positively. 50% view capitalism negatively. I’m a proud free market capitalist. This is lunacy,” the senator wrote on social media.

Fetterman isn’t the only Democrat calling out the party’s growing socialist arm; veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has called on the Democratic Socialists of America to drop the word “Democratic” from their name to distance the party from leftist policies.

In contrast to the CBS poll, The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll found that 49% of Democratic voters are concerned with the rise in socialism or communism, while 40% aren’t concerned at all.

The poll comes as several democratic socialist candidates across the country, including in New York, Colorado, Michigan, California, and even Florida, have received the nod from Democratic voters to advance to the November elections.

Trump Again Claims That Russia and Ukraine Have Agreed to an Energy Ceasefire

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Trump Again Claims That Russia and Ukraine Have Agreed to an Energy Ceasefire

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, repeating a claim he made nearly a month ago that turned out not to be true.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Following the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios that the energy truce was “news to me,” suggesting that Trump yet again announced an agreement that didn’t exist.

Later in the day, Zelensky said in his nightly address that he was ready to halt attacks on Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow was ready to do the same, though he made similar comments after Trump’s last announcement.

“Ukraine is ready to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure – and we count on the same readiness from Russia, as well as on the agreement reached by the President of the United States on this matter. We welcome such an agreement,” Zelensky said.

So far, Russia has not commented on Trump’s announcement, which came after he repeated criticism of Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. The Financial Times reported that the US is threatening to cut off European-funded US arms shipments to Ukraine if the strikes continue.

While Trump has been critical of the attacks on Russian oil refineries, they are known to be supported by US intelligence and will likely continue unless that support is also cut off. The FT report said the US is also threatening to “cut off intelligence sharing,” but it remains unclear whether the Trump administration is willing to take that step

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

Trump Announces Deal to Import Russian Diesel

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Trump Announces Deal to Import Russian Diesel

(Kyle Anzalone, Libertarian Institute) President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Russia to supply millions of tons of diesel to the US and global markets. 

The announcement came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Washington’s approach to negotiations with Moscow.

“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” the President wrote on Truth Social Friday. “It was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter.” 

He continued, “Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel.”

The agreement marks a shift in US policy toward Russian energy exports. Washington banned imports of Russian petroleum products in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Treasury Department has issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel to enter the global market.

Trump announced the deal as fuel prices have surged in the US since the outbreak of war with Iran. The President is attempting to bring down fuel prices as the November midterm elections approach. 

On Thursday, Zelensky criticized the US stance on the war in Ukraine. “One cannot, on the one hand, negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects, whilst on the other ‌hand say that ⁠we find ourselves in some sort of … diplomatic stalemate,” he said. 

Responding to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assessment that the war was at a stalemate, Zelensky told reporters, “So where’s the truth here, where’s the honesty? Where’s the stalemate? … That’s called unwillingness.”

This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.

ABC News Retracts Trump Family Hit Piece, But Won’t Say Why

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ABC News Retracts Trump Family Hit Piece, But Won’t Say Why

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) ABC News is facing ongoing scrutiny after publishing a controversial story about President Donald Trump’s sons and abruptly taking it down after critics challenged several claims that they slammed as false.

The story centered on the claims that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s “investments have won billions in Pentagon since” Donald Trump returned to office in 2025.

It claimed that companies in which the president’s sons had invested had benefited from more than $6 billion in government contracts.

ABC ran the story Wednesday but removed it an unknown time later that day. The article was no longer available on the outlet’s website by Thursday morning, according to Mediaite.

The page instead displayed an error message reading: “OPPS! PAGE UNAVAILABLE. The page either does not exist or is currently unavailable.”

The story was written by ABC reporter Nathan Lee, who, after the story’s deletion, deactivated his LinkedIn and X page. Headline USA has reached out to Lee but has not received a response.

Before the removal, the ABC story had enjoyed widespread promotion from Democratic politicians and lawmakers, most of whom used it nearly in unison to criticize the Trump family.

It is unclear who brought the story’s claims to ABC News’ attention or whether it was pitched by a Democratic operative.

One of the story’s critics, communications strategist and former Trump official Alexa Henning, speaking on behalf of 1789 Capital, said that ABC News conflated the size of the venture capital firm’s investment in defense contractor Anduril with the amount raised in a funding round.

Trump Jr. is one of six partners of 1789 Capital.

Separately, the story downplayed that some investments began under Biden, undermining its central narrative.

ABC News ultimately republished the story on Oct. 9 with a long editor’s note and corrections. The new version had no author byline and attributed the story to “ABC NEWS.”

The note read: “A version of this story published on Oct. 7 contained errors in the description of certain company investments, government contracts and event chronologies. After subsequent reporting, this version contains corrected information and additional context regarding some of those investments, contracts and events.”

Even members of the legacy media expressed shock at ABC’s handling of the story, with CNN journalist Andrew Kaczynski describing the move as “absolutely wild” on X.

“ABC News completely retracted this story like two days ago just totally nuked it,” Kaczynski wrote. “No note, no explanation, no comment. It had been shared by tons of top lawmakers and democratic officials.”

The revised story now says that 1789 Capital invested $50 million in Anduril “as part of a larger $2.5 billion funding round last year, according to the defense contractor’s founder.”

Trump Lobbies Sen. Fetterman to Join the GOP

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Trump Lobbies Sen. Fetterman to Join the GOP

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump openly encouraged Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to switch parties and become a Republican just weeks before the midterm elections could reshape control of Congress.

“I’d love to see him as a Republican,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday as he returned to Washington from a rally in Tennessee. “He does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat.”

The comments were among the most direct overtures by Trump to woo Fetterman into the GOP, a matter of growing importance as the party could lose its Senate majority in next month’s elections. With his everyman appeal, Fetterman was a Democratic star when he was first elected to the Senate in 2022. But during his time in Washington, he has split with Democrats on issues ranging from immigration to Israel, leading to speculation that he might switch parties.

A representative for Fetterman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fetterman has repeatedly rejected the notion of becoming a Republican, writing in The Washington Post in May that he would be a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.” His relationship with fellow Democrats became more tenuous after he recorded a video for the Republican midterm convention last month praising his fellow Pennsylvania senator, Republican Dave McCormick, suggesting there were extremists in his party.

“I’m always going to stand with America,” Fetterman said in the video. “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

Such flirtations with the GOP could make it extremely difficult for Fetterman to win the Democratic nomination for another term in the Senate, a prospect Trump raised on Saturday as he encouraged the party switch.

Democrats need to pick up four seats to retake the Senate majority, a once remote prospect that remains challenging for the party. But Trump’s unpopularity and the economic fallout from the Iran war have intensified headwinds for the GOP, making Democrats more bullish about a path to Senate control.

If Democrats picked up the four seats for a 51-seat majority, that could potentially put Fetterman in an influential position, reducing the incentive to switch parties.

The last senator whose party switch affected control of the chamber was Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the GOP in 2001 to give Democrats a narrow majority. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s decision to abandon Republicans in 2009 helped Democrats achieve a supermajority.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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