By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a>

WASHINGTON — Congress has just days left to approve the Trump administration’s request to cancel $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for public media and foreign aid, setting up yet another tight deadline for lawmakers.&nbsp;

The Senate must pass the bill before July 18, otherwise the White House budget office will be required to spend the funding and be barred from sending up the same proposal again for what are called rescissions.

But objections from several GOP senators could stop the legislation in its tracks, or change it substantially, requiring another House vote in a very short time frame. Rejecting the plan would represent a loss for the Trump administration after passage of the “big, beautiful” tax and spending cut law earlier this month.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., appears optimistic he can secure the votes needed to begin debate, though he hasn’t said publicly if he thinks the bill can actually pass.&nbsp;

“We’ll have it up on the floor next week. Hopefully, we get on it and then we’ll have an amendment process,” Thune said during a Wednesday press conference. “And kind of like a budget reconciliation bill, it’s an open amendment process, a vote-a-rama type process, which I’m sure you’re very excited about.”

At least 50 Republicans must agree to proceed to the legislation amid unified opposition from Democrats. Thune can only lose three GOP senators and still begin debate with Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote. Rescissions bills are exempt from the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.

After a maximum of 10 hours of debate, the Senate will begin a marathon amendment voting session that could substantially reshape the measure.

There may be enough Republican votes to completely remove the section rescinding $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and hundreds of local public media stations.

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds all brought up misgivings during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-drive-defund-npr-pbs-resisted-republicans-rural-states" target="_blank">a June hearing</a>&nbsp;about how canceling previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would impact rural communities and emergency alerts.

Collins, R-Maine, also raised concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to claw back previously approved funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, and is likely to bring an amendment to the floor on that issue, according to her office. PEPFAR is a global initiative to combat HIV/AIDS that was led by President George W. Bush.

Democrats will get to offer as many amendments as they want during the vote-a-rama and could try to remove each section of the bill one by one, forcing Republicans to weigh in publicly on numerous foreign aid programs.

President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-wants-congress-slash-94b-spending-now-defund-npr-and-pbs" target="_blank">sent Congress the rescissions request</a>&nbsp;in early June, starting a 45-day clock for lawmakers to consider his proposal.

The recommendation asked lawmakers to cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid funding, including $500 million for certain global health programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“This proposal would not reduce treatment but would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like ‘family planning’ and ‘reproductive health,’ LGBTQI+ activities, and ‘equity’ programs,” the request states. “This rescission proposal aligns with the Administration’s efforts to eliminate wasteful USAID foreign assistance programs.”

The House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-votes-yank-billions-npr-pbs-and-foreign-aid-programs" target="_blank">voted mostly along party lines</a>&nbsp;in mid-June to approve the rescissions request, but the legislation sat around the Senate for weeks as Republicans struggled to pass their “big, beautiful” law.

The Senate can vote to approve the proposal as is, change it, or let it expire, forcing the White House budget office to spend the money, which it’s been able to legally freeze since sending Congress the rescissions request.

Senators’ decision will impact how Republicans in that chamber, especially Thune and those on the Appropriations Committee, work with White House budget director Russ Vought in the coming months and years.

Congress and the Trump administration must broker some sort of funding agreement before the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1 to stave off a shutdown.

Vought has also said he plans to send lawmakers additional rescissions requests, though he hasn’t said exactly when or what programs he’ll include.

Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Thursday as the panel debated three of the full-year government funding bills that the rescissions package is not acceptable and could impede the committee’s traditionally bipartisan work.

“We need to make sure decisions about what to fund and, yes, what to rescind are made here in Congress on a bipartisan basis and within our annual funding process,” Murray said. “We cannot allow bipartisan funding bills with partisan rescission packages. It will not work. And that is why I will repeat my commitment to all of my colleagues that on this side of the dais, we stand ready to discuss rescissions as part of these bipartisan spending bills.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746181587274.png" alt="Google image" />
                        <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>WASHINGTON — Congress has just days left to approve the Trump administration’s request to cancel $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for public media and foreign aid, setting up yet another tight deadline for lawmakers.&nbsp;</p><p>The Senate must pass the bill before July 18, otherwise the White House budget office will be required to spend the funding and be barred from sending up the same proposal again for what are called rescissions.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/zMYMcrzbxu">pic.twitter.com/zMYMcrzbxu</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943446385501614262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>But objections from several GOP senators could stop the legislation in its tracks, or change it substantially, requiring another House vote in a very short time frame. Rejecting the plan would represent a loss for the Trump administration after passage of the “big, beautiful” tax and spending cut law earlier this month.</p><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., appears optimistic he can secure the votes needed to begin debate, though he hasn’t said publicly if he thinks the bill can actually pass.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ll have it up on the floor next week. Hopefully, we get on it and then we’ll have an amendment process,” Thune said during a Wednesday press conference. “And kind of like a budget reconciliation bill, it’s an open amendment process, a vote-a-rama type process, which I’m sure you’re very excited about.”</p><h2>JD Vance needed again?</h2><p>At least 50 Republicans must agree to proceed to the legislation amid unified opposition from Democrats. Thune can only lose three GOP senators and still begin debate with Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote. Rescissions bills are exempt from the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.</p><p>After a maximum of 10 hours of debate, the Senate will begin a marathon amendment voting session that could substantially reshape the measure.</p><p>There may be enough Republican votes to completely remove the section rescinding $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and hundreds of local public media stations.</p><p>Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds all brought up misgivings during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-drive-defund-npr-pbs-resisted-republicans-rural-states" target="_blank">a June hearing</a>&nbsp;about how canceling previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would impact rural communities and emergency alerts.</p><p>Collins, R-Maine, also raised concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to claw back previously approved funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, and is likely to bring an amendment to the floor on that issue, according to her office. PEPFAR is a global initiative to combat HIV/AIDS that was led by President George W. Bush.</p><p>Democrats will get to offer as many amendments as they want during the vote-a-rama and could try to remove each section of the bill one by one, forcing Republicans to weigh in publicly on numerous foreign aid programs.</p><h2>45 days for Trump request</h2><p>President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-wants-congress-slash-94b-spending-now-defund-npr-and-pbs" target="_blank">sent Congress the rescissions request</a>&nbsp;in early June, starting a 45-day clock for lawmakers to consider his proposal.</p><p>The recommendation asked lawmakers to cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid funding, including $500 million for certain global health programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development.</p><p>“This proposal would not reduce treatment but would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like ‘family planning’ and ‘reproductive health,’ LGBTQI+ activities, and ‘equity’ programs,” the request states. “This rescission proposal aligns with the Administration’s efforts to eliminate wasteful USAID foreign assistance programs.”</p><p>The House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-votes-yank-billions-npr-pbs-and-foreign-aid-programs" target="_blank">voted mostly along party lines</a>&nbsp;in mid-June to approve the rescissions request, but the legislation sat around the Senate for weeks as Republicans struggled to pass their “big, beautiful” law.</p><p>The Senate can vote to approve the proposal as is, change it, or let it expire, forcing the White House budget office to spend the money, which it’s been able to legally freeze since sending Congress the rescissions request.</p><h2>Relations with White House</h2><p>Senators’ decision will impact how Republicans in that chamber, especially Thune and those on the Appropriations Committee, work with White House budget director Russ Vought in the coming months and years.</p><p>Congress and the Trump administration must broker some sort of funding agreement before the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1 to stave off a shutdown.</p><p>Vought has also said he plans to send lawmakers additional rescissions requests, though he hasn’t said exactly when or what programs he’ll include.</p><p>Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Thursday as the panel debated three of the full-year government funding bills that the rescissions package is not acceptable and could impede the committee’s traditionally bipartisan work.</p><p>“We need to make sure decisions about what to fund and, yes, what to rescind are made here in Congress on a bipartisan basis and within our annual funding process,” Murray said. “We cannot allow bipartisan funding bills with partisan rescission packages. It will not work. And that is why I will repeat my commitment to all of my colleagues that on this side of the dais, we stand ready to discuss rescissions as part of these bipartisan spending bills.”</p>

US Senate GOP under pressure on Trump demand to defund NPR, PBS, foreign aid

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on Patriot missile defenses for Ukraine: &quot;The European Union is paying for it. We&#39;re not paying anything for it. We will send it. It&#39;ll be business for us.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/0kkfvL7UZC">pic.twitter.com/0kkfvL7UZC</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1944546839987958042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I am very disappointed with President Putin. I thought he was somebody that meant what he said — and he&#39;ll talk so beautifully, then he&#39;ll bomb people at night. We don&#39;t like that.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/9HaGgLiKEJ">pic.twitter.com/9HaGgLiKEJ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1944549417266364443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump rips Putin, suggests a shift in policy on war in Ukraine

Tariffs, deportations threaten economic damage in the still-thriving Southeast United States.

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">Tim Henderson</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

Global clashes and trade wars hammered Midwestern states’ agricultural economies early this year, while a continuing boom in Southeastern states’ housing and tech jobs kept their economies humming along.

Some Southeastern states were seeing a strong agricultural economy because of still-rising poultry and egg prices, though small row-crop farmers there were still caught in the crunch of high costs and low profits, and many declared bankruptcy. And the area benefited from gains in real estate and tech.

Overall, 39 states and the District of Columbia saw drops in gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this year — well above the 22 states and the District of Columbia seeing drops during the same time in 2024, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-state" target="_blank">statistics</a>&nbsp;released June 27.

National numbers released late last month show a rare decrease in economic output for the first quarter, the first since 2022, partly because of increased imports as suppliers sought to stock up on imported goods ahead of tariff increases. GDP is calculated by subtracting imported goods from national economic output.

There’s widespread agreement that row-crop farmers are suffering economic pain, especially in the Midwest where the industry dominates the economy. Meanwhile, the booming housing and tech sectors in the South are on a continued winning streak even as storm clouds gather over tariffs and immigrant labor.

Nationwide, more farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from January through March than in any full year since 2021, driven by higher costs for supplies and lower prices paid for row crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat.

“Crop prices and commodity prices are significantly lower, and fertilizer and equipment prices are higher, so we’re seeing a bit of a struggle right now in the farm economy,” said Abygail Streff, an economist and policy analyst at the Nebraska Farm Bureau.

Meat prices are one of the few bright spots in Nebraska’s farm economy, Streff said. “For a lot of producers who have cattle, this has been a really good year for them.”

Still, Nebraska, along with Iowa, suffered the biggest drop in GDP, according to the analysis. Each state fell 6.1% from the same time a year ago.

The squeeze on farmers from high fertilizer prices and low grain prices means they must&nbsp;<a href="https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/crop-production/fertilizer-prices-vs-corn-prices-are-now-some-worst-history" target="_blank">produce more and more corn</a>&nbsp;just to pay their fertilizer costs, said Josh Linville, a fertilizer market analyst at StoneX.

Fertilizer supply has been disrupted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/september/global-fertilizer-market-challenged-by-russia-s-invasion-of-ukraine" target="_blank">by sanctions against Russia</a>, and it’s gotten worse this year with the bombing of Iran and the trade war with China, two countries that are also important fertilizer suppliers to American farmers, Linville said.

“We tend to think of the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz [a shipping channel under threat by conflict] from an oil-slash-energy perspective, but 1 out of every 2 tons of urea fertilizer that gets shipped to the United States comes from the Middle East,” Linville said.

Despite being a drain in the Midwest, agriculture was a positive driver of economies in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, according to Stateline’s analysis.

That’s because Southeastern agriculture includes more poultry and eggs, currently more profitable than the row crops that dominate in the Midwest, said Wendiam Sawadgo, an extension economist at Auburn University. The divergence is expected to last, he said, with row-crop prices continuing to fall and meat and egg prices continuing to rise this year.

But even in the Southeast, row-crop farmers suffered.

Arkansas saw a near-record number of farm bankruptcies this year, for example. And climate change has contributed to lower soybean prices as low water levels in the Mississippi River make barge transportation more difficult and expensive, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/wordpressua.uark.edu/dist/6/907/files/2025/06/MS-River-Fryar-Article-Mitchell-and-Biram-2025.pdf" target="_blank">reports</a>&nbsp;this year by the University of Arkansas’ Agricultural Economics &amp; Agribusiness Department.

Farm bankruptcies nationally came to 259 in the first three months of this year. That was more than any full year since 2021, when there were 276, according to cases compiled by Ryan Loy, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas. Arkansas saw 15 farm bankruptcies in the first quarter, almost as many as in all of 2024, when there were 16.

“We’ve already outpaced all of last year on a national scale,” he said.

Large farms can ride out struggles, but smaller farms are more likely to go bankrupt from increases in costs and lower market prices, a pattern that started in the early 2010s and got sharply worse in the past year, Loy said.

All five of the states with the fastest-growing economies were in the 12-state Southeast region defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Even there, though, the percentages were slight: South Carolina (up 1.7%), Florida (up 1.4%), Alabama (up 1%), North Carolina and Arkansas (each up .8%) had the largest increases in the nation.

The largest drivers in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina were real estate and tech, while increases in Alabama and Arkansas were mostly in agriculture.

The Carolinas have been magnets for new movers, said Matthew Martin, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based regional executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The influx has driven more housing and infrastructure work to supply newcomers, he said.

“Employment in South Carolina is on fire right now and North Carolina is doing well also. They’re places that people want to be,” Martin said. “Employers want to be there, too, and so there’s been population growth. Then you’ve got to have all the retail and health care. That has got to follow it.”

Business owners are uncertain about future federal policy in the Trump administration, Martin said, according to conversations he’s had.

They worry about tariffs, whether they’ll have to raise prices or accept lower profits, and eventually whether those factors could cause job growth to stall. And some businesses that depend on immigrant labor say they’ve lost workers despite using the national E-Verify system to make sure employees have legal status to work, Martin said.

Martin hasn’t heard of many workplace raids in the Carolinas, but there have been some federal audits of employee forms to check for false statements.

“Some of the workers won’t show up from that day forward,” Martin said.

Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:thenderson@stateline.org">thenderson@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1751161934969.png" alt="Post photo" />
                        <figcaption>Post photo</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Tariffs, deportations threaten economic damage in the still-thriving Southeast United States.</h2><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">Tim Henderson</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a></p><p>Global clashes and trade wars hammered Midwestern states’ agricultural economies early this year, while a continuing boom in Southeastern states’ housing and tech jobs kept their economies humming along.</p><p>Some Southeastern states were seeing a strong agricultural economy because of still-rising poultry and egg prices, though small row-crop farmers there were still caught in the crunch of high costs and low profits, and many declared bankruptcy. And the area benefited from gains in real estate and tech.</p><p>Overall, 39 states and the District of Columbia saw drops in gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this year — well above the 22 states and the District of Columbia seeing drops during the same time in 2024, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-state" target="_blank">statistics</a>&nbsp;released June 27.</p><p>National numbers released late last month show a rare decrease in economic output for the first quarter, the first since 2022, partly because of increased imports as suppliers sought to stock up on imported goods ahead of tariff increases. GDP is calculated by subtracting imported goods from national economic output.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752369967885.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>There’s widespread agreement that row-crop farmers are suffering economic pain, especially in the Midwest where the industry dominates the economy. Meanwhile, the booming housing and tech sectors in the South are on a continued winning streak even as storm clouds gather over tariffs and immigrant labor.</p><p>Nationwide, more farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from January through March than in any full year since 2021, driven by higher costs for supplies and lower prices paid for row crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat.</p><p>“Crop prices and commodity prices are significantly lower, and fertilizer and equipment prices are higher, so we’re seeing a bit of a struggle right now in the farm economy,” said Abygail Streff, an economist and policy analyst at the Nebraska Farm Bureau.</p><p>Meat prices are one of the few bright spots in Nebraska’s farm economy, Streff said. “For a lot of producers who have cattle, this has been a really good year for them.”</p><p>Still, Nebraska, along with Iowa, suffered the biggest drop in GDP, according to the analysis. Each state fell 6.1% from the same time a year ago.</p><p>The squeeze on farmers from high fertilizer prices and low grain prices means they must&nbsp;<a href="https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/crop-production/fertilizer-prices-vs-corn-prices-are-now-some-worst-history" target="_blank">produce more and more corn</a>&nbsp;just to pay their fertilizer costs, said Josh Linville, a fertilizer market analyst at StoneX.</p><p>Fertilizer supply has been disrupted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/september/global-fertilizer-market-challenged-by-russia-s-invasion-of-ukraine" target="_blank">by sanctions against Russia</a>, and it’s gotten worse this year with the bombing of Iran and the trade war with China, two countries that are also important fertilizer suppliers to American farmers, Linville said.</p><p>“We tend to think of the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz [a shipping channel under threat by conflict] from an oil-slash-energy perspective, but 1 out of every 2 tons of urea fertilizer that gets shipped to the United States comes from the Middle East,” Linville said.</p><p>Despite being a drain in the Midwest, agriculture was a positive driver of economies in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, according to Stateline’s analysis.</p><p>That’s because Southeastern agriculture includes more poultry and eggs, currently more profitable than the row crops that dominate in the Midwest, said Wendiam Sawadgo, an extension economist at Auburn University. The divergence is expected to last, he said, with row-crop prices continuing to fall and meat and egg prices continuing to rise this year.</p><p>But even in the Southeast, row-crop farmers suffered.</p><p>Arkansas saw a near-record number of farm bankruptcies this year, for example. And climate change has contributed to lower soybean prices as low water levels in the Mississippi River make barge transportation more difficult and expensive, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/wordpressua.uark.edu/dist/6/907/files/2025/06/MS-River-Fryar-Article-Mitchell-and-Biram-2025.pdf" target="_blank">reports</a>&nbsp;this year by the University of Arkansas’ Agricultural Economics &amp; Agribusiness Department.</p><p>Farm bankruptcies nationally came to 259 in the first three months of this year. That was more than any full year since 2021, when there were 276, according to cases compiled by Ryan Loy, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas. Arkansas saw 15 farm bankruptcies in the first quarter, almost as many as in all of 2024, when there were 16.</p><p>“We’ve already outpaced all of last year on a national scale,” he said.</p><p>Large farms can ride out struggles, but smaller farms are more likely to go bankrupt from increases in costs and lower market prices, a pattern that started in the early 2010s and got sharply worse in the past year, Loy said.</p><p>All five of the states with the fastest-growing economies were in the 12-state Southeast region defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Even there, though, the percentages were slight: South Carolina (up 1.7%), Florida (up 1.4%), Alabama (up 1%), North Carolina and Arkansas (each up .8%) had the largest increases in the nation.</p><p>The largest drivers in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina were real estate and tech, while increases in Alabama and Arkansas were mostly in agriculture.</p><p>The Carolinas have been magnets for new movers, said Matthew Martin, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based regional executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The influx has driven more housing and infrastructure work to supply newcomers, he said.</p><p>“Employment in South Carolina is on fire right now and North Carolina is doing well also. They’re places that people want to be,” Martin said. “Employers want to be there, too, and so there’s been population growth. Then you’ve got to have all the retail and health care. That has got to follow it.”</p><p>Business owners are uncertain about future federal policy in the Trump administration, Martin said, according to conversations he’s had.</p><p>They worry about tariffs, whether they’ll have to raise prices or accept lower profits, and eventually whether those factors could cause job growth to stall. And some businesses that depend on immigrant labor say they’ve lost workers despite using the national E-Verify system to make sure employees have legal status to work, Martin said.</p><p>Martin hasn’t heard of many workplace raids in the Carolinas, but there have been some federal audits of employee forms to check for false statements.</p><p>“Some of the workers won’t show up from that day forward,” Martin said.</p><p>Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:thenderson@stateline.org">thenderson@stateline.org</a>.</p>

Midwest farm economies suffered while some Sun Belt states kept rolling in early 2025

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/timhenderson/">Tim Henderson</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

Measles cases have surpassed a recent 2019 record to reach the highest level since 1992, with at least 1,289 cases reported in 39 states.

The milestone comes as health officials are increasingly alarmed by vaccine skepticism gaining a voice in the Trump Administration’s Health and Human Services Administration under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Pediatricians and public health associations filed&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/FiledSuit.pdf?_gl=1*d9u6yb*_ga*MzQ4MDI4MjI0LjE3NTE5MTMxMTI.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*czE3NTE5MTMxMTIkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MTMxMTIkajYwJGwwJGgw" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit this</a>&nbsp;week challenging a May directive by Kennedy, claiming it “creates barriers” to vaccination for pregnant women and young children.

“Because of his name and profile, Mr. Kennedy has been instrumental in increasing the levels of vaccine hesitancy and skepticism in this country,” the lawsuit states. “The Secretary’s dismantling of the vaccine infrastructure must end.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html" target="_blank">reported Wednesday</a>&nbsp;that there were 1,288 cases in 38 states, surpassing the 2019 level of 1,274.&nbsp;<a href="https://dph.sc.gov/news/dph-confirms-measles-upstate-resident-0" target="_blank">South Carolina</a>&nbsp;later reported its own first case of the year, an unvaccinated international traveler in the northwestern Upstate area of the state.

<a href="https://health.wyo.gov/measles-case-confirmed-in-natrona-county/" target="_blank">Wyoming</a>&nbsp;reported its first measles case since 2010 on July 1, an unvaccinated child in Natrona County.

Other states recently joining the list:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/24/first-case-measles-identified-north-carolina" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;reported its first case of the year June 24, in a child visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties from another country. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/erd/pages/oregons-first-measles-case-of-2025-confirmed-in-multnomah-county.aspx" target="_blank">Oregon</a>&nbsp;reported a case the same day for a person identified only as an unvaccinated international traveler sickened in June after returning to the Portland area.

“We’re here to tell you that measles is now in Oregon, and if you’re not vaccinated, you are susceptible,” said Dr. Paul R. Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division, in in a statement.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and can spread rapidly among unvaccinated people.

Utah reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/06/20/utah-measles-case-reported-utah/" target="_blank">its first case</a>&nbsp;June 20, an unvaccinated person with no recent travel out of state. The state&nbsp;<a href="https://epi.utah.gov/measles-response/" target="_blank">now has nine cases</a>, mostly in Utah County, where Provo is located.

Confirmed cases this year were also reported in these other states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

<a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743085628490.png" alt="Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" />
                        <figcaption>Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/timhenderson/">Tim Henderson</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a></p><p>Measles cases have surpassed a recent 2019 record to reach the highest level since 1992, with at least 1,289 cases reported in 39 states.</p><p>The milestone comes as health officials are increasingly alarmed by vaccine skepticism gaining a voice in the Trump Administration’s Health and Human Services Administration under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</p><p>Pediatricians and public health associations filed&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/FiledSuit.pdf?_gl=1*d9u6yb*_ga*MzQ4MDI4MjI0LjE3NTE5MTMxMTI.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*czE3NTE5MTMxMTIkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MTMxMTIkajYwJGwwJGgw" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit this</a>&nbsp;week challenging a May directive by Kennedy, claiming it “creates barriers” to vaccination for pregnant women and young children.</p><p>“Because of his name and profile, Mr. Kennedy has been instrumental in increasing the levels of vaccine hesitancy and skepticism in this country,” the lawsuit states. “The Secretary’s dismantling of the vaccine infrastructure must end.”</p><p>The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html" target="_blank">reported Wednesday</a>&nbsp;that there were 1,288 cases in 38 states, surpassing the 2019 level of 1,274.&nbsp;<a href="https://dph.sc.gov/news/dph-confirms-measles-upstate-resident-0" target="_blank">South Carolina</a>&nbsp;later reported its own first case of the year, an unvaccinated international traveler in the northwestern Upstate area of the state.</p><p><a href="https://health.wyo.gov/measles-case-confirmed-in-natrona-county/" target="_blank">Wyoming</a>&nbsp;reported its first measles case since 2010 on July 1, an unvaccinated child in Natrona County.</p><p>Other states recently joining the list:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/24/first-case-measles-identified-north-carolina" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;reported its first case of the year June 24, in a child visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties from another country. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/erd/pages/oregons-first-measles-case-of-2025-confirmed-in-multnomah-county.aspx" target="_blank">Oregon</a>&nbsp;reported a case the same day for a person identified only as an unvaccinated international traveler sickened in June after returning to the Portland area.</p><p>“We’re here to tell you that measles is now in Oregon, and if you’re not vaccinated, you are susceptible,” said Dr. Paul R. Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division, in in a statement.</p><p>Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and can spread rapidly among unvaccinated people.</p><p>Utah reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/06/20/utah-measles-case-reported-utah/" target="_blank">its first case</a>&nbsp;June 20, an unvaccinated person with no recent travel out of state. The state&nbsp;<a href="https://epi.utah.gov/measles-response/" target="_blank">now has nine cases</a>, mostly in Utah County, where Provo is located.</p><p>Confirmed cases this year were also reported in these other states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.</p><p><a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.</p>

Measles reaches highest level in 33 years, now in 39 states

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/"></a><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

The Senate ag bill is at odds with Trump, who wants to cut spending on USDA and FDA for the next fiscal year

LINCOLN — Nebraska could see $17.5 million in federal funds for construction of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research facility and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., touted the potential funding in a press release this week, describing the budding UNL’s Agricultural Research Service facility as “a hub for world-class agricultural innovation.”

The federal money for Nebraska is part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_agriculture-fda_senate_report.pdf?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=7/11/25%20%20AM:&amp;utm_term=Punchbowl%20AM%20and%20Active%20Subscribers%20from%20Memberful%20Combined" target="_blank">a larger Senate agriculture funding bill</a>, which was advanced unanimously Thursday by the Appropriations Committee, on which Fischer serves. The Senate ag funding bill would increase spending for agricultural programs by 1% over current levels.&nbsp;

The USDA facility at UNL broke ground last year. The purpose of the $160 million facility is to find new ways to produce more food for a growing global population while using fewer natural resources.

Funding for the facility, along with about $86 million in additional money for Nebraska, was removed from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-vote-republican-funding-bill-government-shutdown-rcna196412" target="_blank">a GOP stopgap government funding bill</a>&nbsp;in March.&nbsp;

Fischer said she also secured provisions in the Senate ag-related spending bill prioritizing agricultural research at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. The bill also would require the USDA to “streamline contracting and procurement services for livestock research facilities.”&nbsp;

That center endured&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/university-of-nebraska-and-pork-producers-fear-results-of-usda-layoffs/" target="_blank">the layoffs of 17 people</a>&nbsp;as part of efforts to cut federal spending by the then-Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.&nbsp;

The ag funding bill is one of 12 appropriations bills that Congress must pass yearly to fund the federal government. But the ag funding push could be contested as the Trump administration seeks to reduce spending for the next fiscal year, which starts in October.

President Donald Trump has asked Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-agriculture/2025/06/02/usda-faces-billions-in-cuts-00379893" target="_blank">reduce funding for the USDA by nearly $7 billion</a>. In Trump’s funding request, spending on the Agricultural Research Service would be reduced by $159 million.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf" target="_blank">Trump budget request</a>&nbsp;from May also seeks to reduce spending on other government agencies — except for defense and border enforcement.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384318/trump-budget-cuts" target="_blank">Some of the biggest requested cuts</a>&nbsp;target foreign aid, climate-related funding and spending on programs the administration describes as “wokeism.”

While these White House budget requests are suggestions, Trump has a tight grip on the GOP in Congress and hasn’t ruled out using impoundment, basically his choosing not to spend the funds as a way to overrule Congress.

Last month, the House passed&nbsp;<a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-approves-fy26-agriculture-rural-development-food-and-drug" target="_blank">its own version of the ag bill</a>&nbsp;along party lines. That bill would reduce funding by 4 percent in the next fiscal year. The House bill spends roughly $25 billion, while the Senate version spends $27.1 billion.&nbsp;

The deadline to avoid a government shutdown is Sept. 30.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752325904146.png" alt=" U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Senate webcast)" />
                        <figcaption> U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Senate webcast)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/"></a><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><h2>The Senate ag bill is at odds with Trump, who wants to cut spending on USDA and FDA for the next fiscal year</h2><p>LINCOLN — Nebraska could see $17.5 million in federal funds for construction of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research facility and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.</p><p>U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., touted the potential funding in a press release this week, describing the budding UNL’s Agricultural Research Service facility as “a hub for world-class agricultural innovation.”</p><p>The federal money for Nebraska is part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_agriculture-fda_senate_report.pdf?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=7/11/25%20%20AM:&amp;utm_term=Punchbowl%20AM%20and%20Active%20Subscribers%20from%20Memberful%20Combined" target="_blank">a larger Senate agriculture funding bill</a>, which was advanced unanimously Thursday by the Appropriations Committee, on which Fischer serves. The Senate ag funding bill would increase spending for agricultural programs by 1% over current levels.&nbsp;</p><p>The USDA facility at UNL broke ground last year. The purpose of the $160 million facility is to find new ways to produce more food for a growing global population while using fewer natural resources.</p><p>Funding for the facility, along with about $86 million in additional money for Nebraska, was removed from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-vote-republican-funding-bill-government-shutdown-rcna196412" target="_blank">a GOP stopgap government funding bill</a>&nbsp;in March.&nbsp;</p><p>Fischer said she also secured provisions in the Senate ag-related spending bill prioritizing agricultural research at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. The bill also would require the USDA to “streamline contracting and procurement services for livestock research facilities.”&nbsp;</p><p>That center endured&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/university-of-nebraska-and-pork-producers-fear-results-of-usda-layoffs/" target="_blank">the layoffs of 17 people</a>&nbsp;as part of efforts to cut federal spending by the then-Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.&nbsp;</p><p>The ag funding bill is one of 12 appropriations bills that Congress must pass yearly to fund the federal government. But the ag funding push could be contested as the Trump administration seeks to reduce spending for the next fiscal year, which starts in October.</p><p>President Donald Trump has asked Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-agriculture/2025/06/02/usda-faces-billions-in-cuts-00379893" target="_blank">reduce funding for the USDA by nearly $7 billion</a>. In Trump’s funding request, spending on the Agricultural Research Service would be reduced by $159 million.&nbsp;</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf" target="_blank">Trump budget request</a>&nbsp;from May also seeks to reduce spending on other government agencies — except for defense and border enforcement.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384318/trump-budget-cuts" target="_blank">Some of the biggest requested cuts</a>&nbsp;target foreign aid, climate-related funding and spending on programs the administration describes as “wokeism.”</p><p>While these White House budget requests are suggestions, Trump has a tight grip on the GOP in Congress and hasn’t ruled out using impoundment, basically his choosing not to spend the funds as a way to overrule Congress.</p><p>Last month, the House passed&nbsp;<a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-approves-fy26-agriculture-rural-development-food-and-drug" target="_blank">its own version of the ag bill</a>&nbsp;along party lines. That bill would reduce funding by 4 percent in the next fiscal year. The House bill spends roughly $25 billion, while the Senate version spends $27.1 billion.&nbsp;</p><p>The deadline to avoid a government shutdown is Sept. 30.</p>

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer says she steered $17.5 million to Nebraska in Senate ag funding bill

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752266854590.png" alt="President Trump and the first lady with first responders in Texas-image courtesy White House video" />
                        <figcaption>President Trump and the first lady with first responders in Texas-image courtesy White House video</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a>: &quot;My deepest sympathy to all of the parents who lost beautiful young souls ... We are grieving with you. Our nation is grieving with you.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xYKFsBJ4Hu">pic.twitter.com/xYKFsBJ4Hu</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943764177593807032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump gets a question about possible delays to flood warnings: &quot;I just have admiration for the job that everybody did. Only a bad person would ask a question like that...I don&#39;t know who you are but only a very evil person would ask a question like that.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/55lk5GoFK9">pic.twitter.com/55lk5GoFK9</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1943778362008199397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump&#39;s opening remarks at roundtable on Texas floods: &quot;Our nation, we mourn for every life that was swept away in the flood and we pray for the families that are left behind.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GAGMwsSekw">pic.twitter.com/GAGMwsSekw</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1943769914629591536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/DrPhil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrPhil</a> at roundtable on Texas floods: &quot;We know, psychologically, that the number one stressor that we can experience in life is the loss of a child…The truth is you never get over it. You get through it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/UtFCpJ9tKo">pic.twitter.com/UtFCpJ9tKo</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1943775546623627268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A Texas State Trooper tells President Trump on the recovery from the devastating flood: &quot;I want to thank you, too, sir — because if we didn&#39;t have a secure border, we wouldn&#39;t have this many assets to move. I wanted to say that to you personally.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/kht5XpIkha">pic.twitter.com/kht5XpIkha</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943774212667113594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> gives his thanks to first responders in Kerrville, Texas:<br><br>&quot;This was a terrible situation but we appreciate the job you&#39;ve done very much — very special people.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/A66w51IBn4">pic.twitter.com/A66w51IBn4</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943773106289713474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a>: &quot;What we are doing here, sir, is empowering the state and the local officials to make the best decisions for their people — because they know their people, they know their community... So thank you for being a President who trusts people.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/aF0BLFuiXe">pic.twitter.com/aF0BLFuiXe</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943766247629263326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Governor <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GregAbbott_TX</a>: &quot;We cannot thank you enough for deploying the <a href="https://twitter.com/USCG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCG</a>, deploying the resources... When I made a request for a disaster declaration, you and your Administration granted that. This is the fastest that I&#39;m aware of, of any Administration responding...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/zoeXqV0whf">pic.twitter.com/zoeXqV0whf</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943765422408335465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> honors the memory of the girls of Camp Mystic:<br><br>&quot;They were there because they loved God. And as we grieve this unthinkable tragedy, we take comfort in the knowledge that God has welcomed those little beautiful girls into his comforting arms in heaven.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XPo2H46U51">pic.twitter.com/XPo2H46U51</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943762101903688131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> in Kerrville, Texas: &quot;The people here — first responders, the sheriff&#39;s office, all of police, law enforcement — they&#39;ve done an unbelievable job.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/0s5uVZmKqo">pic.twitter.com/0s5uVZmKqo</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1943760942073819426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥First lady, President share thoughts after seeing Texas flood damage

Walmart Recalls Ozark Trail 64 oz Water Bottles Due to Serious Impact and Laceration Hazards

The lid can forcefully eject, posing serious impact and laceration hazards, when a consumer attempts to open the capped bottles after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled water bottles and contact Walmart for a full refund. Consumers can bring the bottle to their nearest Walmart store for a refund.

Sold Exclusively At:Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com since 2017 for about $15.Importer(s):

Olympia Tools International Inc., of Covina, California and Walmart Inc., of Bentonville, Arkansas

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752254959750.png" alt="Photo Consumer Product Safety Commission" />
                        <figcaption>Photo Consumer Product Safety Commission</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Walmart Recalls Ozark Trail 64 oz Water Bottles Due to Serious Impact and Laceration Hazards</p><p>Hazard:</p><p>The lid can forcefully eject, posing serious impact and laceration hazards, when a consumer attempts to open the capped bottles after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time.</p><p>Remedy:</p><p>Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled water bottles and contact Walmart for a full refund. Consumers can bring the bottle to their nearest Walmart store for a refund.</p><p>Units:</p><p>About&nbsp;850,000</p><p>Sold Exclusively At:Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com since 2017 for about $15.Importer(s):</p><p>Olympia Tools International Inc., of Covina, California and Walmart Inc., of Bentonville, Arkansas</p>

Walmart recalls water bottles after 2 blinded by exploding caps

Record outbreak comes as vaccine skepticism increasingly gains a federal foothold.

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">Tim Henderson</a>

The milestone comes as health officials are increasingly alarmed by vaccine skepticism gaining a voice in the Trump administration under U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Pediatricians and public health associations filed&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/FiledSuit.pdf?_gl=1*d9u6yb*_ga*MzQ4MDI4MjI0LjE3NTE5MTMxMTI.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*czE3NTE5MTMxMTIkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MTMxMTIkajYwJGwwJGgw" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit this</a>&nbsp;week challenging a May directive by Kennedy, claiming it “creates barriers” to vaccination for pregnant women and young children

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743085628490.png" alt="&nbsp;Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Record outbreak comes as vaccine skepticism increasingly gains a federal foothold.</h2><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">Tim Henderson</a></p><p>Measles cases have surpassed a recent 2019 record to reach the highest level since 1992, with at least 1,289 cases reported in 39 states.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752083381391.png" alt="87 cases of Measles in 11 counties in Kansas as of July 9. KDHE image" />
                        <figcaption>87 cases of Measles in 11 counties in Kansas as of July 9. KDHE image</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The milestone comes as health officials are increasingly alarmed by vaccine skepticism gaining a voice in the Trump administration under U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</p><p>Pediatricians and public health associations filed&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/FiledSuit.pdf?_gl=1*d9u6yb*_ga*MzQ4MDI4MjI0LjE3NTE5MTMxMTI.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*czE3NTE5MTMxMTIkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MTMxMTIkajYwJGwwJGgw" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit this</a>&nbsp;week challenging a May directive by Kennedy, claiming it “creates barriers” to vaccination for pregnant women and young children</p><p>“Because of his name and profile, Mr. Kennedy has been instrumental in increasing the levels of vaccine hesitancy and skepticism in this country,” the lawsuit states. “The Secretary’s dismantling of the vaccine infrastructure must end.”</p><p>The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html" target="_blank">reported Wednesday</a>&nbsp;that there were 1,288 cases in 38 states, surpassing the 2019 level of 1,274.&nbsp;<a href="https://dph.sc.gov/news/dph-confirms-measles-upstate-resident-0" target="_blank">South Carolina</a>&nbsp;later reported its own first case of the year, an unvaccinated international traveler in the northwestern Upstate area of the state.</p><p><a href="https://health.wyo.gov/measles-case-confirmed-in-natrona-county/" target="_blank">Wyoming</a>&nbsp;reported its first measles case since 2010 on July 1, an unvaccinated child in Natrona County.</p><p>Other states recently joining the list:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/24/first-case-measles-identified-north-carolina" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;reported its first case of the year June 24, in a child visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties from another country. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/erd/pages/oregons-first-measles-case-of-2025-confirmed-in-multnomah-county.aspx" target="_blank">Oregon</a>&nbsp;reported a case the same day for a person identified only as an unvaccinated international traveler sickened in June after returning to the Portland area.</p><p>“We’re here to tell you that measles is now in Oregon, and if you’re not vaccinated, you are susceptible,” said Dr. Paul R. Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division, in in a statement.</p><p>Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and can spread rapidly among unvaccinated people.</p><p>Utah reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/06/20/utah-measles-case-reported-utah/" target="_blank">its first case</a>&nbsp;June 20, an unvaccinated person with no recent travel out of state. The state&nbsp;<a href="https://epi.utah.gov/measles-response/" target="_blank">now has nine cases</a>, mostly in Utah County, where Provo is located.</p><p>Confirmed cases this year were also reported in these other states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.</p><p>Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:thenderson@stateline.org">thenderson@stateline.org</a>.</p>

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/danielle-j-brown/">Danielle J. Brown</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/sam-gauntt/">Sam Gauntt</a>

The U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday lifted lower court injunctions that had blocked attempts by President Donald Trump and his DOGE Service to restructure the federal government.

Labor unions, advocates and local governments that sued to block the cuts said the president exceeded his authority with the executive order by moving to dismantle the federal government without congressional approval.

A U.S. District Court judge in Northern California agreed and issued a preliminary injunction to stall the executive order while the case was heard. A divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision.

But the White House pressed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14210-implementing-the-presidents-department-government-efficiency" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;did not restructure the government but merely called for reductions in force, which it said is within the president’s power.

The Supreme Court agreed in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1174_h3ci.pdf" target="_blank">a one-page order</a>&nbsp;Tuesday, saying the government was likely to prevail on its claim and the injunction should be stayed while the case proceeded.

In a sharp, 15-page dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the district court judge had determined that the administration plan would not just cut jobs but would “fundamentally restructure” the federal government. He made a “reasoned determination” that the order should be stayed while the case was heard, she wrote.

“But that temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture,” she wrote.

“At bottom, this case is about whether that action amounts to a structural overhaul that usurps Congress’s policymaking prerogatives — and it is hard to imagine deciding that question in any meaningful way after those changes have happened,” she wrote. “Yet, for some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a brief concurrence, said she agreed with Jackson that the president does not have the authority to remake government without congressional approval.&nbsp; But she said the executive order and an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/latest-memos/guidance-on-agency-rif-and-reorganization-plans-requested-by-implementing-the-president-s-department-of-government-efficiency-workforce-optimization-initiative.pdf" target="_blank">implementing memo</a>&nbsp;from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management call for the changes to be “consistent with applicable law,” and it’s for lower courts to determine if they are.

A White House spokesperson called the decision “another definitive victory” for the Trump administration.

“It clearly rebukes the continued assaults on the President’s constitutionally authorized executive powers by leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving government efficiency across the federal government,” the spokesperson, Harrison Fields, said in a written statement.

But labor unions, advocates and political leaders say that the decision undermines the value of federal employees, threatens the operation of federal services, and could even endanger American citizens.

In a statement Tuesday evening, the American Federation of Government Employees, along with the rest of the coalition of unions, nonprofits and municipalities bringing the suit against the administration, decried the Supreme Court’s decision as a “serious blow to our democracy.”

The coalition said the decision put “services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy.”

“This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the statement read. “While we are disappointed in this decision, we will continue to fight on behalf of the communities we represent and argue this case to protect critical public services that we rely on to stay

Gov. Wes Moore (D) said that as a state with a high concentration of federal workers, “any action against our federal employees is a direct strike against Maryland’s people and economy.”

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling on AFGE v. Trump will embolden President Trump in his mission to dismantle the federal government and threatens to upend the lives of countless public servants who wake up every day to deliver essential services and benefits that people rely on,” Moore said in a written statement. He noted that thousands of Maryland residents have already been laid off from federal agencies under the Trump administration.

In a post to X on Tuesday evening, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) wrote that Trump and OMB Director Russell Vought are continuing to “vilify and traumatize the patriots serving our nation, unconstitutionally reorganizing the federal government.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision today demonstrates that federal employees, their families and livelihoods, and the vital services they provide to the American people are of no concern to the Trump Administration,” Hoyer wrote. “I stand with our federal employees against these attacks.”

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th) said in an&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepRaskin/status/1942722560413601828" target="_blank">X post</a>&nbsp;that the ruling “will give Trump’s wrecking crew more awful ideas about sacking critical federal workers,” referencing layoffs at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who help notify state and local agencies about impending dangerous weather.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) added that layoffs could also put Americans at risk by “decimating essential public services” like food inspections and Social Security.

“As Justice Jackson put it in her dissent, ‘this was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground,’” Van Hollen said in a statment. “She is right. The Court’s decision to allow this damage to be done before ruling on the merits shows how detached they are from the reality of the moment.”

Van Hollen said the administration’s plan “isn’t about efficiency, it’s about rigging the government to only benefit the wealthy and powerful special interests.”

“We are not done fighting in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities to defend the dedicated public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people day in and day out,” he said.

The Feb. 11 executive order directed federal agencies to prepeare for “large-scale reductions in force” and to work with members of the Department of Government Efficiency — the DOGE Service that was run at the time by billionaire Elon Musk — to develop a plan to reduce the size of the workforce. Military personnel were exempted, but virtually every other federal agency was affected.

The order was quickly challenged in court by labor unions, taxpayer and good government groups and by a half-dozen local governments: Harris County, Texas, Martin Luther King Jr. County, Washington, and San Francisco City and County, California; and the cities of Chicago, Baltimore, and Santa Rosa, California.

They argued that the goals of the executive order far exceeded the president’s authority to reduce the size of agencies. Under the DOGE plan, they argued to the Supreme Court, “functions across the federal government will be abolished, agencies will be radically downsized from what Congress authorized, critical government services will be lost, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs.”

“There will be no way to unscramble that egg: If the courts ultimately deem the President to have overstepped his authority and intruded upon that of Congress, as a practical matter there will be no way to go back in time to restore those agencies, functions, and services,” their court filing said.

That was echoed by Jackson, who said the district court judge was in the best position to determine if the president’s order consisted of “minor workforce reductions” or whether it was a massive reorganization that overstepped executive authority.

“With scant justification, the majority permits the immediate and potentially devastating aggrandizement of one branch (the Executive) at the expense of another (Congress), and once again leaves the People paying the price for its reckless emergency-docket determinations,” she wrote.

This article was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://marylandmatters.org/" target="_blank">Maryland Matters</a>, a part of States Newsroom.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1672235865420.png" alt="Supreme Court Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States" />
                        <figcaption>Supreme Court Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/danielle-j-brown/">Danielle J. Brown</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/sam-gauntt/">Sam Gauntt</a></p><p>The U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday lifted lower court injunctions that had blocked attempts by President Donald Trump and his DOGE Service to restructure the federal government.</p><p>Labor unions, advocates and local governments that sued to block the cuts said the president exceeded his authority with the executive order by moving to dismantle the federal government without congressional approval.</p><p>A U.S. District Court judge in Northern California agreed and issued a preliminary injunction to stall the executive order while the case was heard. A divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision.</p><p>But the White House pressed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14210-implementing-the-presidents-department-government-efficiency" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;did not restructure the government but merely called for reductions in force, which it said is within the president’s power.</p><p>The Supreme Court agreed in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1174_h3ci.pdf" target="_blank">a one-page order</a>&nbsp;Tuesday, saying the government was likely to prevail on its claim and the injunction should be stayed while the case proceeded.</p><p>In a sharp, 15-page dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the district court judge had determined that the administration plan would not just cut jobs but would “fundamentally restructure” the federal government. He made a “reasoned determination” that the order should be stayed while the case was heard, she wrote.</p><p>“But that temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture,” she wrote.</p><p>“At bottom, this case is about whether that action amounts to a structural overhaul that usurps Congress’s policymaking prerogatives — and it is hard to imagine deciding that question in any meaningful way after those changes have happened,” she wrote. “Yet, for some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation.”</p><p>Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a brief concurrence, said she agreed with Jackson that the president does not have the authority to remake government without congressional approval.&nbsp; But she said the executive order and an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/latest-memos/guidance-on-agency-rif-and-reorganization-plans-requested-by-implementing-the-president-s-department-of-government-efficiency-workforce-optimization-initiative.pdf" target="_blank">implementing memo</a>&nbsp;from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management call for the changes to be “consistent with applicable law,” and it’s for lower courts to determine if they are.</p><p>A White House spokesperson called the decision “another definitive victory” for the Trump administration.</p><p>“It clearly rebukes the continued assaults on the President’s constitutionally authorized executive powers by leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving government efficiency across the federal government,” the spokesperson, Harrison Fields, said in a written statement.</p><p>But labor unions, advocates and political leaders say that the decision undermines the value of federal employees, threatens the operation of federal services, and could even endanger American citizens.</p><p>In a statement Tuesday evening, the American Federation of Government Employees, along with the rest of the coalition of unions, nonprofits and municipalities bringing the suit against the administration, decried the Supreme Court’s decision as a “serious blow to our democracy.”</p><p>The coalition said the decision put “services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy.”</p><p>“This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the statement read. “While we are disappointed in this decision, we will continue to fight on behalf of the communities we represent and argue this case to protect critical public services that we rely on to stay</p><p>Gov. Wes Moore (D) said that as a state with a high concentration of federal workers, “any action against our federal employees is a direct strike against Maryland’s people and economy.”</p><p>“Today’s Supreme Court ruling on AFGE v. Trump will embolden President Trump in his mission to dismantle the federal government and threatens to upend the lives of countless public servants who wake up every day to deliver essential services and benefits that people rely on,” Moore said in a written statement. He noted that thousands of Maryland residents have already been laid off from federal agencies under the Trump administration.</p><p>In a post to X on Tuesday evening, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) wrote that Trump and OMB Director Russell Vought are continuing to “vilify and traumatize the patriots serving our nation, unconstitutionally reorganizing the federal government.”</p><p>“The Supreme Court’s decision today demonstrates that federal employees, their families and livelihoods, and the vital services they provide to the American people are of no concern to the Trump Administration,” Hoyer wrote. “I stand with our federal employees against these attacks.”</p><p>U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th) said in an&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepRaskin/status/1942722560413601828" target="_blank">X post</a>&nbsp;that the ruling “will give Trump’s wrecking crew more awful ideas about sacking critical federal workers,” referencing layoffs at the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who help notify state and local agencies about impending dangerous weather.</p><p>U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) added that layoffs could also put Americans at risk by “decimating essential public services” like food inspections and Social Security.</p><p>“As Justice Jackson put it in her dissent, ‘this was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground,’” Van Hollen said in a statment. “She is right. The Court’s decision to allow this damage to be done before ruling on the merits shows how detached they are from the reality of the moment.”</p><p>Van Hollen said the administration’s plan “isn’t about efficiency, it’s about rigging the government to only benefit the wealthy and powerful special interests.”</p><p>“We are not done fighting in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities to defend the dedicated public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people day in and day out,” he said.</p><p>The Feb. 11 executive order directed federal agencies to prepeare for “large-scale reductions in force” and to work with members of the Department of Government Efficiency — the DOGE Service that was run at the time by billionaire Elon Musk — to develop a plan to reduce the size of the workforce. Military personnel were exempted, but virtually every other federal agency was affected.</p><p>The order was quickly challenged in court by labor unions, taxpayer and good government groups and by a half-dozen local governments: Harris County, Texas, Martin Luther King Jr. County, Washington, and San Francisco City and County, California; and the cities of Chicago, Baltimore, and Santa Rosa, California.</p><p>They argued that the goals of the executive order far exceeded the president’s authority to reduce the size of agencies. Under the DOGE plan, they argued to the Supreme Court, “functions across the federal government will be abolished, agencies will be radically downsized from what Congress authorized, critical government services will be lost, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs.”</p><p>“There will be no way to unscramble that egg: If the courts ultimately deem the President to have overstepped his authority and intruded upon that of Congress, as a practical matter there will be no way to go back in time to restore those agencies, functions, and services,” their court filing said.</p><p>That was echoed by Jackson, who said the district court judge was in the best position to determine if the president’s order consisted of “minor workforce reductions” or whether it was a massive reorganization that overstepped executive authority.</p><p>“With scant justification, the majority permits the immediate and potentially devastating aggrandizement of one branch (the Executive) at the expense of another (Congress), and once again leaves the People paying the price for its reckless emergency-docket determinations,” she wrote.</p><p>This article was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://marylandmatters.org/" target="_blank">Maryland Matters</a>, a part of States Newsroom.</p>

Supreme Court opens door to large-scale federal layoffs

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704330351229.png" alt="Jeffrey Epstein New York Sex Offender Registry" />
                        <figcaption>Jeffrey Epstein New York Sex Offender Registry</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump: &quot;Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?!?...I can&#39;t believe you&#39;re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this where we&#39;re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VlTGeEAfmC">pic.twitter.com/VlTGeEAfmC</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1942623670423158984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥President Trump goes off on reporter for asking about Jeffrey Epstein

For the first time years, travelers no longer are required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports.

<p>For the first time years, travelers no longer are required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a>): &quot;TSA will no longer require travelers to remove their shoes when they go through our security checkpoints.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/BlGmEJRcNY">pic.twitter.com/BlGmEJRcNY</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1942696991298846746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥TSA explains new no shoe removal policy at airport security

Hospitals stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">Anna Claire Vollers</a>

The giant tax and spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law over the weekend includes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/who-would-be-affected-by-health-care-cuts-in-senate-version-of-trumps-budget-bill#:~:text=This%20would%20be%20the%20biggest%20cut%20to%20Medicaid%2C%20in%20fact%2C%20the%20biggest%20cut%20to%20health%20care%20in%20history." target="_blank">the biggest health care spending cuts</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history. In response, states are scrambling to shield their hospitals from the looming loss of hundreds of millions in federal funding.

In Georgia,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/georgia-hurries-to-amp-up-medicaid-hospital-funding-by-2-billion/" target="_blank">a key state panel late last month</a>&nbsp;took steps to send more state Medicaid money to hospitals, hoping to maximize federal matching dollars before the cuts take effect. Other states are considering new grant programs that would funnel additional money to rural hospitals. Some state legislatures likely will reconvene to discuss how to fill holes in their Medicaid budgets.

The tax and spending bill&nbsp;<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5375991-gop-tax-bill-health-cuts/#:~:text=The%20legislation%20would%20also%20cut%20federal%20spending%20on%20Medicaid%2C%20Medicare%20and%20ObamaCare%20by%20%241.1%20trillion%2C%20with%20more%20than%20%241%20trillion%20coming%20from%20Medicaid.%C2%A0" target="_blank">cuts more than $1 trillion</a>&nbsp;from Medicaid, the public health insurance program for people with low incomes that’s jointly funded by states and the federal government. Under the measure, payments to hospitals or nursing facilities would probably&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/reconciliation-language-could-lead-to-cuts-in-medicaid-state-directed-payments-to-hospitals-and-nursing-facilities/#:~:text=If%20Congress%20passes%20the%20reconciliation%20bill%20with%20the%20Finance%20Committee%E2%80%99s%20requirements%20for%20SDPs%2C%20the%20required%20payments%20to%20hospitals%20or%20nursing%20facilities%20would%20likely%20decrease%20in%2029%20states%2C%20and%20possibly%2C%20in%20more%20than%2031." target="_blank">decrease in at least 29 states</a>, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonprofit health policy group.

Facing such budget shortfalls, states may have to stop offering optional Medicaid benefits such as vision and dental, reduce the rates they pay providers — which could shrink access for Medicaid enrollees — and change eligibility requirements so that fewer people qualify for coverage.

State policymakers and health experts worry the loss of funding also will endanger hospitals, particularly those in rural areas, driving up uncompensated care and forcing them to cut services or close entirely.

“Ultimately, when these hospitals close, what happens? People have to now travel longer for care. They might not even make it,” Dr. Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, told reporters last week during a news conference hosted by Defend America Action, a group launched to oppose Trump administration policies.

“This is ultimately not only going to affect the lives of the people that are not going to get the care, but also the majority of the hospitals that provide this care, and the people that are employed by those locations,” she said.

Earlier this month, an analysis by the State Health and Value Strategies program at Princeton University estimated that hospitals would lose 18% of their Medicaid funding,&nbsp;<a href="https://shvs.org/resource/senate-passed-h-r-1-updated-estimates-on-impact-to-state-medicaid-coverage-and-expenditures-hospital-expenditures-including-impacts-by-congressional-district/" target="_blank">nearly $665 billion over the next 10 years</a>.

Republicans have hailed the megabill — officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — as one that will cut waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs, secure the U.S. border and spur economic growth. The measure will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/nx-s1-5454598/the-gops-massive-bill-would-add-trillions-of-dollars-to-the-countrys-debt" target="_blank">add</a>&nbsp;at least $3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and has been scored by some independent economists as likely having little impact on growth. Dollars diverted from Medicaid will go toward the tax cuts prioritized by Trump, along with new spending on immigration control and defense projects.

Health policy experts anticipate at least some states will have to pull their legislatures back into session to address gaping budget holes due to the Medicaid cuts.

States can expect to lose&nbsp;<a href="https://shvs.org/resource/senate-passed-h-r-1-updated-estimates-on-impact-to-state-medicaid-coverage-and-expenditures-hospital-expenditures-including-impacts-by-congressional-district/" target="_blank">3%-18%</a>&nbsp;of their federal Medicaid funding over 10 years under the law, according to the State Health and Value Strategies program report. Arizona, Kentucky and Virginia would see the largest shares of their Medicaid dollars evaporate.

Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/dust-barely-settled-colorados-2025-legislative-session-talk-special-session/#:~:text=Polis%20says%2C%20if%20Congressional%20Republicans%20follow%20through%20on%20proposed%20spending%20cuts%2C%20he%20will%20likely%20reconvene%20the%20legislature%20to%20deal%20with%20impacts%20to%20programs%20such%20as%20Medicaid%2C%20which%20covers%20about%20one%20in%20five%20Coloradans." target="_blank">has said</a>&nbsp;he’s likely to reconvene the legislature.

“Almost certainly if some of these big cuts to Medicaid go through … we would likely need to reconvene, depending on what Congress does,” Polis said at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13k_fuNbbAA" target="_blank">news conference</a>&nbsp;in May.

Policymakers in some states have tried to get ahead of expected shortfalls.

In late June, the Georgia Department of Community Health’s advisory board held&nbsp;<a href="https://dch.georgia.gov/events/2025-06-27/dch-board-meeting-special-call" target="_blank">an emergency meeting</a>. In a unanimous vote, the board approved several measures aimed at increasing the state’s federal Medicaid reimbursement rate.

For example, the state wants to significantly increase Medicaid payments to hospitals that achieve certain goals, such as training Georgia doctors and delivering babies. The move would draw down an additional $2.1 billion per year in federal money.

“We’re doing our best to be responsive to the Medicaid conversations in Washington,” department Commissioner Russel Carlson told the board at the meeting. “Not overreacting in this 24/7 news cycle, but gathering the best information we can, reading the political environment the best we can, and acting responsibly.”

Other states have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/managed-care/guidance/state-directed-payments/approved-state-directed-payment-preprints?q=&amp;filter%5Bfield_review_type%5D%5Bin%5D%5B%5D=8271&amp;filter%5Bfield_approval_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_approval_date%5D%5Blte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_state_rating_period%5D%5Bgte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_state_rating_period_2%5D%5Blte%5D=&amp;limit=10&amp;sort=field_approval_date%3Adesc" target="_blank">filed similar requests</a>&nbsp;with the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, and received approval in recent months.

“Of all the Medicaid discussions happening in Washington,” Carlson said, “one of the policy decisions that could potentially, depending on how it ultimately lands, impact Georgians the most is the discussion surrounding directed payment programs.”

Some of the biggest federal savings in the new law come from limiting states’ use of a financing tool,&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2025/05/27/republicans-target-a-tax-that-keeps-state-medicaid-programs-running/">known as a provider tax</a>, that enables them to draw down more federal dollars. States use the extra money to boost reimbursement rates for hospitals and to expand coverage.

Some congressional Republicans have decried the maneuver as a “<a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-statement-house-passage-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-0#:~:text=Froze%20the%20state%20provider%20taxes%20to%20ensure%20states%20don%E2%80%99t%20grow%20their%20money%20laundering%20schemes." target="_blank">money laundering scheme</a>,” but lowering provider taxes will likely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/upshot/medicaid-cuts-republicans-senate.html#:~:text=Cutting%20provider%20taxes%20would%20probably%20mean%20funding%20shortfalls%20of%20hundreds%20of%20billions%20of%20dollars%20for%20states%20over%20the%20next%20decade%2C%20leaving%20them%20with%20budget%20holes%20to%20fill." target="_blank">punch big holes</a>&nbsp;in state Medicaid budgets.

Meanwhile, some state legislatures are looking at alternate ways to shore up funding for hospitals. A bipartisan bill still under consideration in Pennsylvania would&nbsp;<a href="https://penncapital-star.com/government-politics/general-assembly/grant-program-for-rural-hospitals-advances-in-pa-house/" target="_blank">create a rural health care grant program</a>&nbsp;to help pay off student loans for rural doctors, nurses and dentists.&nbsp;<a href="https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1274/2025" target="_blank">Indiana</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://legiscan.com/OK/bill/HB2754/2025" target="_blank">Oklahoma</a>&nbsp;also considered bills this session to create grant programs for rural hospitals.

In April, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state would release&nbsp;<a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-over-6-million-in-grant-funding-for-rural-hospitals" target="_blank">more than $6 million</a>&nbsp;in grants to support struggling rural hospitals.

Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:avollers@stateline.org">avollers@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751996899942.png" alt="Google image" />
                        <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Hospitals stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.</h2><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">Anna Claire Vollers</a></p><p>The giant tax and spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law over the weekend includes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/who-would-be-affected-by-health-care-cuts-in-senate-version-of-trumps-budget-bill#:~:text=This%20would%20be%20the%20biggest%20cut%20to%20Medicaid%2C%20in%20fact%2C%20the%20biggest%20cut%20to%20health%20care%20in%20history." target="_blank">the biggest health care spending cuts</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history. In response, states are scrambling to shield their hospitals from the looming loss of hundreds of millions in federal funding.</p><p>In Georgia,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/georgia-hurries-to-amp-up-medicaid-hospital-funding-by-2-billion/" target="_blank">a key state panel late last month</a>&nbsp;took steps to send more state Medicaid money to hospitals, hoping to maximize federal matching dollars before the cuts take effect. Other states are considering new grant programs that would funnel additional money to rural hospitals. Some state legislatures likely will reconvene to discuss how to fill holes in their Medicaid budgets.</p><p>The tax and spending bill&nbsp;<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5375991-gop-tax-bill-health-cuts/#:~:text=The%20legislation%20would%20also%20cut%20federal%20spending%20on%20Medicaid%2C%20Medicare%20and%20ObamaCare%20by%20%241.1%20trillion%2C%20with%20more%20than%20%241%20trillion%20coming%20from%20Medicaid.%C2%A0" target="_blank">cuts more than $1 trillion</a>&nbsp;from Medicaid, the public health insurance program for people with low incomes that’s jointly funded by states and the federal government. Under the measure, payments to hospitals or nursing facilities would probably&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/reconciliation-language-could-lead-to-cuts-in-medicaid-state-directed-payments-to-hospitals-and-nursing-facilities/#:~:text=If%20Congress%20passes%20the%20reconciliation%20bill%20with%20the%20Finance%20Committee%E2%80%99s%20requirements%20for%20SDPs%2C%20the%20required%20payments%20to%20hospitals%20or%20nursing%20facilities%20would%20likely%20decrease%20in%2029%20states%2C%20and%20possibly%2C%20in%20more%20than%2031." target="_blank">decrease in at least 29 states</a>, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonprofit health policy group.</p><p>Facing such budget shortfalls, states may have to stop offering optional Medicaid benefits such as vision and dental, reduce the rates they pay providers — which could shrink access for Medicaid enrollees — and change eligibility requirements so that fewer people qualify for coverage.</p><p>State policymakers and health experts worry the loss of funding also will endanger hospitals, particularly those in rural areas, driving up uncompensated care and forcing them to cut services or close entirely.</p><p>“Ultimately, when these hospitals close, what happens? People have to now travel longer for care. They might not even make it,” Dr. Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, told reporters last week during a news conference hosted by Defend America Action, a group launched to oppose Trump administration policies.</p><p>“This is ultimately not only going to affect the lives of the people that are not going to get the care, but also the majority of the hospitals that provide this care, and the people that are employed by those locations,” she said.</p><p>Earlier this month, an analysis by the State Health and Value Strategies program at Princeton University estimated that hospitals would lose 18% of their Medicaid funding,&nbsp;<a href="https://shvs.org/resource/senate-passed-h-r-1-updated-estimates-on-impact-to-state-medicaid-coverage-and-expenditures-hospital-expenditures-including-impacts-by-congressional-district/" target="_blank">nearly $665 billion over the next 10 years</a>.</p><p>Republicans have hailed the megabill — officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — as one that will cut waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs, secure the U.S. border and spur economic growth. The measure will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/nx-s1-5454598/the-gops-massive-bill-would-add-trillions-of-dollars-to-the-countrys-debt" target="_blank">add</a>&nbsp;at least $3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and has been scored by some independent economists as likely having little impact on growth. Dollars diverted from Medicaid will go toward the tax cuts prioritized by Trump, along with new spending on immigration control and defense projects.</p><h2>Reconvening legislatures</h2><p>Health policy experts anticipate at least some states will have to pull their legislatures back into session to address gaping budget holes due to the Medicaid cuts.</p><p>States can expect to lose&nbsp;<a href="https://shvs.org/resource/senate-passed-h-r-1-updated-estimates-on-impact-to-state-medicaid-coverage-and-expenditures-hospital-expenditures-including-impacts-by-congressional-district/" target="_blank">3%-18%</a>&nbsp;of their federal Medicaid funding over 10 years under the law, according to the State Health and Value Strategies program report. Arizona, Kentucky and Virginia would see the largest shares of their Medicaid dollars evaporate.</p><p>Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/dust-barely-settled-colorados-2025-legislative-session-talk-special-session/#:~:text=Polis%20says%2C%20if%20Congressional%20Republicans%20follow%20through%20on%20proposed%20spending%20cuts%2C%20he%20will%20likely%20reconvene%20the%20legislature%20to%20deal%20with%20impacts%20to%20programs%20such%20as%20Medicaid%2C%20which%20covers%20about%20one%20in%20five%20Coloradans." target="_blank">has said</a>&nbsp;he’s likely to reconvene the legislature.</p><p>“Almost certainly if some of these big cuts to Medicaid go through … we would likely need to reconvene, depending on what Congress does,” Polis said at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13k_fuNbbAA" target="_blank">news conference</a>&nbsp;in May.</p><p>Policymakers in some states have tried to get ahead of expected shortfalls.</p><p>In late June, the Georgia Department of Community Health’s advisory board held&nbsp;<a href="https://dch.georgia.gov/events/2025-06-27/dch-board-meeting-special-call" target="_blank">an emergency meeting</a>. In a unanimous vote, the board approved several measures aimed at increasing the state’s federal Medicaid reimbursement rate.</p><p>For example, the state wants to significantly increase Medicaid payments to hospitals that achieve certain goals, such as training Georgia doctors and delivering babies. The move would draw down an additional $2.1 billion per year in federal money.</p><p>“We’re doing our best to be responsive to the Medicaid conversations in Washington,” department Commissioner Russel Carlson told the board at the meeting. “Not overreacting in this 24/7 news cycle, but gathering the best information we can, reading the political environment the best we can, and acting responsibly.”</p><p>Other states have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/managed-care/guidance/state-directed-payments/approved-state-directed-payment-preprints?q=&amp;filter%5Bfield_review_type%5D%5Bin%5D%5B%5D=8271&amp;filter%5Bfield_approval_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_approval_date%5D%5Blte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_state_rating_period%5D%5Bgte%5D=&amp;filter%5Bfield_state_rating_period_2%5D%5Blte%5D=&amp;limit=10&amp;sort=field_approval_date%3Adesc" target="_blank">filed similar requests</a>&nbsp;with the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, and received approval in recent months.</p><p>“Of all the Medicaid discussions happening in Washington,” Carlson said, “one of the policy decisions that could potentially, depending on how it ultimately lands, impact Georgians the most is the discussion surrounding directed payment programs.”</p><h2>Grants for hospitals</h2><p>Some of the biggest federal savings in the new law come from limiting states’ use of a financing tool,&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2025/05/27/republicans-target-a-tax-that-keeps-state-medicaid-programs-running/">known as a provider tax</a>, that enables them to draw down more federal dollars. States use the extra money to boost reimbursement rates for hospitals and to expand coverage.</p><p>Some congressional Republicans have decried the maneuver as a “<a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-statement-house-passage-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-0#:~:text=Froze%20the%20state%20provider%20taxes%20to%20ensure%20states%20don%E2%80%99t%20grow%20their%20money%20laundering%20schemes." target="_blank">money laundering scheme</a>,” but lowering provider taxes will likely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/upshot/medicaid-cuts-republicans-senate.html#:~:text=Cutting%20provider%20taxes%20would%20probably%20mean%20funding%20shortfalls%20of%20hundreds%20of%20billions%20of%20dollars%20for%20states%20over%20the%20next%20decade%2C%20leaving%20them%20with%20budget%20holes%20to%20fill." target="_blank">punch big holes</a>&nbsp;in state Medicaid budgets.</p><p>Meanwhile, some state legislatures are looking at alternate ways to shore up funding for hospitals. A bipartisan bill still under consideration in Pennsylvania would&nbsp;<a href="https://penncapital-star.com/government-politics/general-assembly/grant-program-for-rural-hospitals-advances-in-pa-house/" target="_blank">create a rural health care grant program</a>&nbsp;to help pay off student loans for rural doctors, nurses and dentists.&nbsp;<a href="https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1274/2025" target="_blank">Indiana</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://legiscan.com/OK/bill/HB2754/2025" target="_blank">Oklahoma</a>&nbsp;also considered bills this session to create grant programs for rural hospitals.</p><p>In April, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state would release&nbsp;<a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-over-6-million-in-grant-funding-for-rural-hospitals" target="_blank">more than $6 million</a>&nbsp;in grants to support struggling rural hospitals.</p><p>Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:avollers@stateline.org">avollers@stateline.org</a>.</p>

States scramble to shield hospitals from GOP Medicaid cuts

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump: &quot;I&#39;m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now because he&#39;s killing a lot of people and a lot of them are his soldiers.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/QK7ENcQKvg">pic.twitter.com/QK7ENcQKvg</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1942621038908489905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump: &quot;We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He&#39;s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VMnXSTuCiK">pic.twitter.com/VMnXSTuCiK</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1942621413250121955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 President Trump shows anger about Putin during Cabinet meeting

<b>LINCOLN</b>&nbsp;— Today, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced that the State of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against General Motors LLC and OnStar LLC for unlawfully collecting, processing, and selling sensitive driving data from Nebraskans without their knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court, alleges that GM engaged in deceptive and unconscionable business practices in violation of the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

According to the lawsuit, GM installed telematics systems in its vehicles that tracked a wide array of data points, including speed, seatbelt usage, driving habits, and location. GM then packaged and sold that data to third-party data brokers, who used it to create “Driving Scores” for millions of drivers. These scores were later sold to insurance companies and used to raise rates, deny coverage, or cancel policies, all without Nebraska drivers ever knowing such data was being collected or used against them.

“Nebraskans deserve to work with companies that are truthful and honest about what they are doing,” Attorney General Hilgers said. “That is not what happened here, and we filed this lawsuit because one large company decided that it wouldn’t honestly tell Nebraskans that their data was going to be used to impact their insurance rates. This is wrong. Our office will hold companies that mislead Nebraskans accountable, no matter how large.”

<p><b>LINCOLN</b>&nbsp;— Today, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced that the State of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against General Motors LLC and OnStar LLC for unlawfully collecting, processing, and selling sensitive driving data from Nebraskans without their knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court, alleges that GM engaged in deceptive and unconscionable business practices in violation of the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.</p><p>According to the lawsuit, GM installed telematics systems in its vehicles that tracked a wide array of data points, including speed, seatbelt usage, driving habits, and location. GM then packaged and sold that data to third-party data brokers, who used it to create “Driving Scores” for millions of drivers. These scores were later sold to insurance companies and used to raise rates, deny coverage, or cancel policies, all without Nebraska drivers ever knowing such data was being collected or used against them.</p><p>Among the key allegations:</p><ul>
                        <li>GM deceived consumers at the point of sale by misrepresenting the nature and scope of the OnStar-connected services.</li><li>Consumers were often misled into believing enrollment in OnStar was mandatory to access basic safety features.</li><li>GM failed to adequately disclose that enrollment in its mobile apps or Connected Vehicle Services would allow the company to collect and sell detailed personal data.</li><li>Dealership employees were incentivized to enroll customers without proper disclosure and, in some cases, without any consent at all.</li>
                    </ul><p>“Nebraskans deserve to work with companies that are truthful and honest about what they are doing,” Attorney General Hilgers said. “That is not what happened here, and we filed this lawsuit because one large company decided that it wouldn’t honestly tell Nebraskans that their data was going to be used to impact their insurance rates. This is wrong. Our office will hold companies that mislead Nebraskans accountable, no matter how large.”</p>

Attorney General Mike Hilgers Files Lawsuit Against General Motors for Deceptive Collection and Sale of Nebraskans’ Driving Data

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>&nbsp;

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending cut bill signed on Friday has as its centerpiece $170 billion for the administration’s immigration crackdown, helping fulfill the president’s 2024 campaign promise of mass deportations of people without permanent legal status.

The measure, passed by the House 218-214, would fulfill several of Trump’s key immigration priorities, such as bolstering border security, increasing immigration detention capacity and adding fees to legal pathways for immigration, among other things. Thousands more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are slated to be hired.

While most of the immigration-related provisions in the massive bill would vastly expand immigration enforcement, it also aims to limit benefits currently extended to some immigrants with legal status.

Immigrants with a lawful status, including asylum, under the bill would be ineligible to receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Immigrants without legal status or authorization to be in the country are already ineligible for SNAP benefits, which roughly 42 million people rely on.

The bill could also cut off tax benefits from mixed-status families, in which family members have different immigration statuses.

For example, while Republicans would raise the child tax credit to $2,200 per eligible child, the bill would exclude that benefit to U.S. citizen children who are born to immigrant parents without legal status. The proposal would require that the parent applying for the child tax credit also have a Social Security number.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text" target="_blank">870-page</a>&nbsp;megabill was passed by the Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00372.htm" target="_blank">51-50&nbsp;</a>on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote.

Here’s an overview of what else the bill will do:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the country, at nearly $30 billion through September 2029.

Those funds would go toward hiring 10,000 ICE officers within five years. The money would also pay for retention bonuses, transportation of immigrants, upgrades of ICE facilities, detainment of families, and the hiring of ICE immigration lawyers for enforcement and removal proceedings in immigration court.

An ICE signing bonus would be given to those hired after the bill is signed into law, and as a retention bonus if an ICE agent has five years of service specifically dealing with immigration enforcement. The bill does not specify how much a signing bonus or retention bonus should be.

The Senate’s version provides ICE with added flexibility in which areas to allocate the nearly $30 billion.

Separately from ICE, the bill would include $1 billion for the Department of Defense to deploy military personnel for border-related operations, construction and temporary detention on military installations.

<a href="https://lailluminator.com/2025/04/11/repub/military-border-2/" target="_blank">Trump in April&nbsp;</a>directed several agencies to start militarizing a stretch of the southern border as he continues to intertwine the U.S. military with his administration’s immigration crackdown.

Created was a military buffer zone along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, California and New Mexico. It means that any migrant crossing into the United States would be trespassing on a military base, and therefore allows active-duty troops to hold them until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrive.

<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-reported-consider-expanding-military-role-along-southern-border" target="_blank">National and military experts have raised concerns&nbsp;</a>that militarizing that strip of land could violate the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that generally prohibits the military from being used in domestic law enforcement.

Additionally, the Trump administration last month&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-keeps-control-california-national-guard-la-now-after-appeals-court-order" target="_blank">deployed 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles</a>, amid major protests that arose after immigration agents began targeting day laborers at Home Depots for immigration enforcement.

The bill sets aside $45 billion for building new centers to detain immigrants, from single individuals to families. It’s a more than 300% increase from ICE’s fiscal year 2024 budget for detaining immigrants, which was about $9 billion.&nbsp;

Building new detention centers takes time, so private prison companies such as CoreCivic and GEO Group are likely to enter into more contracts with ICE.

Those companies have begun expanding detention capacity. CoreCivic last month acquired a 736-bed facility in Virginia and GEO this month purchased a 770-bed facility in western California.

The bill would allocate $46.6 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to construct a wall along the U.S. Mexico border, as well as make any repairs. That would be more than three times what the first Trump administration spent on barriers at the southern border, at roughly $15 billion.

Some of the technology that would be added on the border includes cameras, lights, sensors, and other detection improvements. The funds would be used beginning in fiscal year 2025 until Sept. 30, 2029.

<p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>&nbsp;</p><p>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending cut bill signed on Friday has as its centerpiece $170 billion for the administration’s immigration crackdown, helping fulfill the president’s 2024 campaign promise of mass deportations of people without permanent legal status.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you are in this country illegally: LEAVE NOW and self-deport using the CBP Home app. If you don’t, you will face the consequences.<br> <br>The CBP Home app is now available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Simplified Chinese, and Hindi.<br> <a href="https://t.co/zRcQr3ujef">https://t.co/zRcQr3ujef</a> <a href="https://t.co/v265tKUvKN">pic.twitter.com/v265tKUvKN</a></p>&mdash; Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1940793844221858020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The measure, passed by the House 218-214, would fulfill several of Trump’s key immigration priorities, such as bolstering border security, increasing immigration detention capacity and adding fees to legal pathways for immigration, among other things. Thousands more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are slated to be hired.</p><p>While most of the immigration-related provisions in the massive bill would vastly expand immigration enforcement, it also aims to limit benefits currently extended to some immigrants with legal status.</p><p>Immigrants with a lawful status, including asylum, under the bill would be ineligible to receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Immigrants without legal status or authorization to be in the country are already ineligible for SNAP benefits, which roughly 42 million people rely on.</p><p>The bill could also cut off tax benefits from mixed-status families, in which family members have different immigration statuses.</p><p>For example, while Republicans would raise the child tax credit to $2,200 per eligible child, the bill would exclude that benefit to U.S. citizen children who are born to immigrant parents without legal status. The proposal would require that the parent applying for the child tax credit also have a Social Security number.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text" target="_blank">870-page</a>&nbsp;megabill was passed by the Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00372.htm" target="_blank">51-50&nbsp;</a>on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote.</p><p>Here’s an overview of what else the bill will do:</p><h2>Immigration enforcement</h2><p>The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the country, at nearly $30 billion through September 2029.</p><p>Those funds would go toward hiring 10,000 ICE officers within five years. The money would also pay for retention bonuses, transportation of immigrants, upgrades of ICE facilities, detainment of families, and the hiring of ICE immigration lawyers for enforcement and removal proceedings in immigration court.</p><p>An ICE signing bonus would be given to those hired after the bill is signed into law, and as a retention bonus if an ICE agent has five years of service specifically dealing with immigration enforcement. The bill does not specify how much a signing bonus or retention bonus should be.</p><p>The Senate’s version provides ICE with added flexibility in which areas to allocate the nearly $30 billion.</p><h2>DOD funding</h2><p>Separately from ICE, the bill would include $1 billion for the Department of Defense to deploy military personnel for border-related operations, construction and temporary detention on military installations.</p><p><a href="https://lailluminator.com/2025/04/11/repub/military-border-2/" target="_blank">Trump in April&nbsp;</a>directed several agencies to start militarizing a stretch of the southern border as he continues to intertwine the U.S. military with his administration’s immigration crackdown.</p><p>Created was a military buffer zone along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, California and New Mexico. It means that any migrant crossing into the United States would be trespassing on a military base, and therefore allows active-duty troops to hold them until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrive.</p><p><a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-reported-consider-expanding-military-role-along-southern-border" target="_blank">National and military experts have raised concerns&nbsp;</a>that militarizing that strip of land could violate the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that generally prohibits the military from being used in domestic law enforcement.</p><p>Additionally, the Trump administration last month&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-keeps-control-california-national-guard-la-now-after-appeals-court-order" target="_blank">deployed 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles</a>, amid major protests that arose after immigration agents began targeting day laborers at Home Depots for immigration enforcement.</p><h2>Detention</h2><p>The bill sets aside $45 billion for building new centers to detain immigrants, from single individuals to families. It’s a more than 300% increase from ICE’s fiscal year 2024 budget for detaining immigrants, which was about $9 billion.&nbsp;</p><p>Building new detention centers takes time, so private prison companies such as CoreCivic and GEO Group are likely to enter into more contracts with ICE.</p><p>Those companies have begun expanding detention capacity. CoreCivic last month acquired a 736-bed facility in Virginia and GEO this month purchased a 770-bed facility in western California.</p><h2>Border security</h2><p>The bill would allocate $46.6 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to construct a wall along the U.S. Mexico border, as well as make any repairs. That would be more than three times what the first Trump administration spent on barriers at the southern border, at roughly $15 billion.</p><p>Some of the technology that would be added on the border includes cameras, lights, sensors, and other detection improvements. The funds would be used beginning in fiscal year 2025 until Sept. 30, 2029.</p><p>Another $4.1 billion would go toward hiring CBP personnel, until the end of September 2029. Another $2 billion would go toward retention and bonuses for CBP personnel.</p><p>The bill would also set aside $855 million for the repair of vehicles that CBP officers use. Republicans included $5 billion for upgrades and repairs at CBP facilities.</p><p>Additionally, $6.1 billion would go toward buying nonintrusive equipment to detect illicit narcotics at ports of entry along the southwest, northern and maritime borders.</p><p>Also, any immigrant without legal authorization and who is apprehended at a port of entry would be subject to a $5,000 fine.</p><p>There is currently a civil fine ranging from $50 to $250. Asylum-seekers typically surrender themselves at ports of entry.</p><h2>Legal immigration pathways, application fees</h2><p>The bill would give the Department of Justice roughly $3.3 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review to prosecute immigration matters, such as noncitizen voting – something that is extremely rare – and violations of the Alien Registration Act.</p><p><a href="https://lailluminator.com/2025/04/11/repub/immigrant-document/" target="_blank">In April, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced</a>&nbsp;that immigrants in the country without legal authorization were required to register with the agency or face jail time and a fine of up to $5,000.</p><p>The bill would also provide funding for the hiring of immigration judges, but will cap the number of judges at 800. There are roughly 700 now, amid a 3.5 million case backlog in immigration court,&nbsp;<a href="https://tracreports.org/phptools/immigration/backlog/https://tracreports.org/phptools/immigration/backlog/" target="_blank">according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC</a>.</p><p>The bill would also overhaul immigration fees and application fees for immigrants seeking legal pathways, both permanent and temporary.</p><p>For the first time, there would be a fee to apply for asylum, set at $100. There are no fee waivers for nearly every new fee set or increased by the bill, except for applications dealing with unaccompanied minors. All fees would also be subject to adjustment for inflation.&nbsp;</p><p>Asylum-seekers who want to apply for initial work permits would also have to pay another fee of $550, something that is currently free.</p><p>For an asylum applicant wanting to renew work permits, the bill would lower the cost to $275, where it is currently $470 to renew online and $520 to mail in the paperwork.</p><p>For immigrants on Temporary Protected Status, meaning the DHS secretary has deemed the immigrant’s home country too dangerous to return to, the fee to apply would be $500. It’s currently $50.</p><p>The fee to apply for humanitarian relief would increase to $1,000, where it is currently $630.</p><p>The bill would slightly increase the initial work application fee for TPS holders and those with humanitarian status to $550, up from a $470 fee for submitting online and $520 to mail in the paperwork.</p><p>To renew those work permits, the bill would lower the cost to $275, down from $470 for online and $520 for mail.</p><p>The nonimmigrant visa, which is currently free and handled by the State Department, would now cost $250 under the bill. This visa is typically used for international students, agricultural workers and other special skilled immigrant labor.</p><h2>Unaccompanied immigrant children</h2><p>Some of the $2 billion in funding for DHS would go toward removing unaccompanied children under certain circumstances. That includes if the child is found by a port of entry, is not a victim of human trafficking, and does not fear returning to their home country.</p><p>The bill would also provide a $300 million fund for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which handles unaccompanied children, to conduct background checks and home studies on any potential sponsor of an unaccompanied child.</p><p>There would also be funding to check children in ORR custody for their potential criminal and gang history. Those 12 and older would be subject to examinations “for gang-related tattoos and other gang-related markings,” according to the bill.</p><p>The special juvenile immigrant visa, which is for immigrant children who are either abandoned or abused by a parent, and allows them to apply for lawful permanent resident status,&nbsp;would now cost $250 under the bill, but the fee could be waived. It’s currently free.</p><h2>State grants, World Cup and Olympics</h2><p>The bill would also give some states $450 million for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.homelandsecuritygrants.info/Grant-Details/gid/21875" target="_blank">Operation Stonegarden Grant Program,</a>&nbsp;which gives funding to states and local governments that participate in border enforcement.</p><p>The bill would help states that are hosting major sporting events such as the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.</p><p>The bill allocates $625 million for security and other costs related to the FIFA World Cup and $1 billion for security and planning costs for the Olympics,<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/amid-la-protests-senators-raise-questions-about-safety-olympics-world-cup" target="_blank">&nbsp;which Los Angeles is hosting in 2028.&nbsp;</a></p>