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Trump establishes committee to investigate Federal Reserve's Lisa Cook in latest effort to fire her
President Donald Trump opened another chapter in his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Friday by establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate allegations that she made false statements in mortgage applications.
AMA Statement on Federal Vaccine Injury Initiative - Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report
October 8 2026 Statement attributable to: Willie Underwood, III, MD, MSc, MPH President, American Medical Association “The AMA strongly supports legitimate, ongoing vaccine safety monitoring, as well as research grounded […]
Budget 2027: Entertainment duty exemption for local film, theatre tickets in Federal Territories, creative sector gets RM130m
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Tickets for local films and theatre performances in the Federal Territories will be fully ex...
Poll: Democrat Troy Jackson narrowly leads Susan Collins in Maine Senate race
Likely voters prefer Jackson on several key issues, but they favor Collins’s ability to steer federal dollars to the state.
Seminole Tribe sues DraftKings: What it means for sports betting
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has filed a federal lawsuit accusing DraftKings of running an illegal, unlicensed sports gambling operation across the state.
Marble Hill ICE shooting sparks protests, outrage from political leaders, activists
New York City officials and political leaders condemned federal immigration authorities Thursday night after a shooting involving a federal immigration officer in Marble Hill.
Trump bucks and the politics of mailing checks
The checks started going out last week, nearly one million of them, and mostly to battleground states. With a return address for the U.S. Treasury and a letter enclosed signed by President Donald Trump, these one-time checks for $500 were ostensibly government rebates for Obamacare enrollees who overpaid. In the accompanying letter, however, Trump attacks his predecessor and talks about his record in office on an important issue he’s not polling well on, which makes it seem more like the most expensive political mailer in U.S. history. The average piece of direct mail costs between 30 cents and $3, according to Mail Processing Associates, a print, mail, and fulfillment company. At $500 a pop plus roughly 50 cents each to issue the paper check, the cost of Trump’s healthcare mailer sent to more than 950,000 enrollees comes in at more than $475 million. Trump’s midterm healthcare message “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare dot gov,” Trump wrote in the letter. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” In the letter, Trump makes false and misleading claims about his administration’s record on healthcare costs, an issue Democrats have a 20 point advantage on over Republicans, according to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy think tank. Trump touts his administration’s TrumpRX program, which he claims is “delivering massive discounts.” However, new research from KFF found that of a selection of drugs available on the TrumpRX platform, just five were the lowest price, while 13 were the highest price. Trump also falsely claims in the letter that he’s fighting to lower healthcare costs. In reality, average monthly premium payment costs for enrollees rose 58% under Trump while marketplace sign-ups declined 5%, per KFF. Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s estimated 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. You get a check and you get a check and you get a check Trump’s long promised cash outs to his fans, from his days as a casino operator and gameshow host to his presidency. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump administration made the unprecedented move to put Trump’s name on checks that went out under the CARES Act (notably the $500 refund checks this time around don’t feature Trump’s name). Ever since, Trump’s been chasing that high. In his second term, Trump’s promised more stimulus that never arrived, like refund checks from DOGE cuts and tariffs, while he said at his party’s convention last month that he’d give out $5,000 checks to everyone if Republicans win in November. In reality, DOGE overstated its cost cutting and Trump’s government actually now spends more than former President Joe Biden’s, while Trump’s tariffs actually grew the trade deficit. His proposal for $5,000 checks would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt. The problem is there’s no money to give. These $500 checks — plus $90 Medicare rebate checks also going out as well as $250 deposited this week in some Trump Accounts for kids courtesy Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan — represent the closest Trump’s going to get to making good on his promise to deliver cash fast. And the checks seem especially targeted. Though the $500 checks went out to enrollees in one of 30 states that use the federal HealthCare dot gov marketplace, a Reuters review found 71% of the payments, or $339 million, went to enrollees in 13 states that have the most competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Most Americans don’t buy it Could Trump bucks sway the election? An Economist-YouGov poll found 57% of U.S. adults doubt Trump will deliver on his promise for $5,000 checks, compared to 21% who do. “I’m waiting on my DOGE check and I’m still waiting on my tariff check,” one 2024 Trump voter who’s since turned on him told a recent focus group. “It felt like kind of trying to buy people’s votes, which honestly felt like in elementary when the class president was like, hey we’re going to take you to the water park if you vote for me. It’s like, I don’t think it works like that.” But for voters in swing states who got a check, it could still matter. One survey published in 2022 found receiving a physically personalized check in the mail during the pandemic was associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for Trump in 2020, and those gains mainly came from out partisans. The issue for Trump comes if these checks are mostly going to Obamacare enrollees whose premiums have gone up by more than just $500 since he took office and who view the money as something like a bribe before the election rather than an actual long-term solution to lowering household costs. Spending $500.50 per mailer would be absurd as a normal campaign expenditure, but since Trump’s checks and letter are a government rebate, his campaign and super PAC didn’t have to spend a dime and he got out his message regardless. If enough voters in key states are swayed by the one-time payment, it could prove to be the best $0 the Trump campaign spent. Subscribe [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ Why independent candidates are making independence central to their brand ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 6 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) [ These designers and grocery nerds will brand Mamdani’s NYC grocery stores ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Trump wants to turn his first-ever golf course into a government course for presidents
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a petition that would allow certain political groups to make robocalls without first obtaining the recipient’s consent. NBC10 Responds Reporter Valeria Aponte Feliciano has more.
New Madison Facility Strengthens B&A’s Presence In The Region
B&A, a mission-critical technology and solutions provider to the federal government, marking its continued investment in the area with a grand opening of
HHS launches 4 new vaccine injury research, reporting initiatives
The U.S. | The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced a series of actions aimed at strengthening the federal government's response to vaccine-related health concerns.
US Supreme Court won't speed up Democratic challenge to FCC political ad policy, for now
Siding with Republicans, the US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Federal Communications Commission to avoid for now a judicially imposed deadline in a Democratic challenge to the agency's new political advertising policy.
US Supreme Court Won't Speed up Democratic Challenge to FCC Political Ad Policy, for Now
By John Kruzel WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Siding with Republicans, the US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Federal Communications Commission to avoid for now a judicially imposed deadline in a Democratic challenge to the agency's new political advertising policy. With November midterm ...
Fact Sheet: Trump Administration Announces the Most Ambitious Set of
At the Science: A New Golden Age Summit, the Trump Administration launched the most ambitious set of science initiatives in decades, representing over $6 billion in investments across the Federal
Marshfield Clinic receives nearly $580,000 mental health grant
Marshfield Clinic has received a three-year, nearly $580,000 federal grant to expand mental health education and access across 17 counties in central, northern and western Wisconsin.
RFK Jr. unveils sweeping federal initiative to find evidence of vaccine injuries
[T]he Trump-RFK Jr anti-vax agenda keeps getting more corrupt and dangerous."
Tribal Nations Urge Supreme Court to Halt Prediction Market Sports Betting
A broad coalition of Tribal Nations and Tribal organizations is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case involving prediction market company Kalshi and determine whether its sports-event contracts constitute sports betting subject to federal, state and Tribal gaming laws. In an amicus brief filed in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, the Tribal coalition argues […]
Sean Combs release delayed after posh prison lifestyle allegations
Sean Combs' release date from FCI Fort Dix was pushed back following allegations of a pampered prison lifestyle. His new release date is set for March 2, 2028, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database.
SMCM Adds Research Vessel for Undergraduate Marine Science
A boat that St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s marine science faculty say they wanted from the day the program was proposed finally tied up on campus Wednesday, ending a roughly four-year trip from a federal budget line to the college waterfront. The R/V CY46, a 46-foot research vessel, reached St. Mary’s City just before noon […]
Anthropic Commits $150M To AI Science Mission
Anthropic is committing $150 million over three years to the federal government’s Genesis Mission, expanding access to its Claude AI models.
Federal Policy Changes Could Mean a Loss of Health Insurance for as Many as 3.4 Million Young Adults
Two Urban Institute reports find that recent Medicaid and health insurance policy changes could leave up to 3.4 million young adults uninsured by 2028.…
HHS Launches Agency-Wide Actions to Strengthen Vaccine Injury Research, Reporting, and Patient Care
HHS launched a series of actions to strengthen how the federal government identifies, documents, investigates, and responds to health problems.
The New Golden Age of Science: The Trump Administration's Over $6 Billion Investment in Science
The Trump administration has announced a more than $6 billion investment across the Federal Government, industry, academia, and philanthropy as part of “the most ambitious set of science initiatives in decades.” “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are ushering in a New Golden Age of Science powered by super intelligence, a return to merit, and bold […]
AI pricing lawsuit against McDonald's raises new antitrust questions
A federal antitrust lawsuit against McDonald's this week claims the fast-food giant is using AI-powered tools to fix menu prices, marking the latest case to allege companies are relying on new technologies to collude and harm consumers.
CNN guest calls out “The View” to Ana Navarro’s face live on air
The Republican “View” cohost remained silent as Scott Jennings criticized the talk show amid Disney’s recent tussle with the Federal Communications Commission.
Federal Employees Face 10.9% Increase in Health Premiums as Open Season Dates Announced
Federal employees will pay higher prices for health insurance in 2027. On average, federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) will pay 10.9 percent more toward their premiums in 2027, marking the third straight year of double-digit increases in the employe
Tri-county region receives over $2M in mental health service funding
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties will see more mental health funding coming their way after the federal government allotted $17 million to the state.
Consumer Groups Call on Congress to Act on Health Care Price Transparency, Beyond the Trump Administration’s Data Cleanup Announcement Today
Congress should pass legislation to create a federal standard in law that stops hospitals and insurers from skirting price transparency rules.
A $50 Billion Health Fund and Rural America’s Internet Gaps
Awards from a $50 billion federal rural health fund included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from July 2025 are now paying for digital health care records and home monitoring devices. But whether
Open science is compatible with research security, says Canada’s chief science advisor
Open science is “not incompatible” with research security and science leaders and policymakers should “demystify” the false dichotomy between the two, according to Mona Nemer, Canada’s chief science advisor. More than a decade ago, EU policymakers were promoting open science, open innovation and open collaboration across the world. It was a political movement that aimed to make scientific research, data, software, publications and methodologies transparent, accessible and reusable for everyone.But that rhetoric has changed over the past few years. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Donald Trump came back to power in 2025, international partnerships have become more pragmatic. Countries are trying to implement protectionist policies and governments are increasingly worried about technology espionage. According to Nemer, science can remain open if the sector can come up with improved security protocols that would protect research data from undue manipulation by foreign actors. “If anybody can fiddle with the with the data, then [open science] is actually quite dangerous and quite useless,” she told Science|Business. Universities and research institutions are increasingly vulnerable to attempted espionage and other types of foreign interference. In September, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence service MI5 issued a security warning against collaborations with the China General Technology Research Institute. And earlier this year, Germany’s Helmholtz Center for Information Security was criticised by federal research minister Dorothee Bär, who told a parliamentary hearing that “existing rules and systems” at the institute “were not suitable” for preventing leaks to China. According to Nemer, universities and research institutions should perhaps follow the example of the private sector, as companies have been able to safeguard their research while still publishing results. “I think that there is a level of research security hygiene that researchers and institutions need to just adopt,” she said. “You don't have to tell Sanofi or IBM how to safeguard their research, which they end up publishing anyway.”While certain areas of research will not be open for collaboration with certain partners, in other areas cooperation is necessary even with researchers based in adversarial countries. “I stress this because politics change,” she said. “Science and politics don't make for good fellows, and whether we like it or not, politics will influence certain things.”Researchers will play an important role in “protecting the integrity of science,” said Nemer. “I think that it's time that there's a commitment to a certain scientific compact, so that citizens don't think that science is actually an open door for espionage and for anti-nationalism.”New partnershipsNemer spoke with Science|Business on the margins of the Hamburg Science Summit on September 17, the day when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for increased cooperation with the EU, including in science and technology. Canada is looking to strengthen ties with partners in other corners of the world, after the Trump administration threatened to put tariffs on Canadian goods and services and even openly suggested Canada could become the 51st state. In parallel, the US government has indicated it wants to retreat from international science projects, including US collaboration with Europe’s CERN particle accelerator and other big science labs.Related articlesThe stats we need to better understand R&DCanada looks to deepen research and education links with the EUCan researchers trust that AI models won’t leak their ideas?Nemer said the US is still a science “powerhouse,” but Canada and Europe will have to work closely together on global challenges. “It’s important for both [sides], but I think it's also important for the rest of the world, because the cut in funding for development, in health, in regions like Africa and other places, have dramatic effects.” The Trump administration is also planning a review of the Nelson memo, a Biden-era document that mandated that results of federally funded research would be openly available. With that idea being called into question, Nemer said it could be “very disruptive” to scientific collaborations and could jeopardise research on climate change, the Arctic and global health. “When your collaborator suddenly tells you I'm not going to share the data with you as a researcher, if this happens, I think it's very worrisome,” she said. “I'm certainly hoping that a lot of the Canadian institutions, funders, researchers, have started looking at joining forces on databases and using more European research infrastructures,” Nemer added.
Concern after Europeans endorse US science agenda
Germany’s biggest research funder has said it is “concerned” after Berlin, plus several other European countries, endorsed a controversial US-led science policy statement. On October 4, the White House announced that 16 countries, including Germany, the UK, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland, Japan and South Korea had backed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science.The document, agreed on the margins of the annual Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto, which gathers science ministers from across the world, appears uncontroversial at first sight. It’s a one-page statement, without any concrete measures, that touches on reducing administrative burden on scientists, experimenting with new funding models and the use of “super intelligence” in science, the Trump administration’s preferred term for artificial intelligence. However, what’s controversial is that much of the language in the Kyoto Vision reflects Science: A New Golden Age, a major policy document released by the White House in July.That document attracted criticism for deriding universities as “legacy institutions” and suggesting money be diverted to new research labs. In a speech in Kyoto on October 4, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy and the report’s author, said that the US was seeking to “diversify the ways that we support research to meet our best scientists where and when they do their best work.” The worry is that the Trump administration may be using genuine dysfunctions in academia as a pretext to defund and disempower universities, which US vice president JD Vance has labelled “the enemy.” Many in Europe also want more experimentation and reform of how science is organised and funded, and agree with criticisms of academia made by Science: A New Golden Age. But some also fear that if the US pushes for reform partially in bad faith, it could politicise and undermine the whole agenda. Washington is currently trying to change federal funding rules so that political appointees can block and cancel scientific grants. It has cut grants mid-project on topics related to diversity and other politically forbidden areas. And last year, it threatened to cut Harvard University’s federal funding unless it admitted a “critical mass” of new faculty and students to create campus “viewpoint diversity.” “Particularly concerned”Because of this wider US political context, the Kyoto Vision’s otherwise innocuous sounding statement that “we encourage experimentation with new institutional models for science that provide varying levels of autonomy, resources and direction” has caused consternation in Europe, particularly from some of Germany’s biggest science organisations. A spokesperson for the German Research Foundation (DFG), the country’s biggest funder, said that it would “closely monitor whether the current US administration uses the Kyoto Vision to restructure research funding to the detriment of research institutions such as universities and their autonomy.” The DFG was “particularly concerned” with the statement’s references to Science: A New Golden Age, they continued. A spokesperson for the German Rectors’ Conference, which represents the country’s universities, said that the reference to “new institutional models” raises “questions on the underlying understanding of academic freedom and autonomy.” Research funding must “guided first and foremost by scientific not political principles,” they went on. Dampen criticismEuropean endorsement of the Kyoto Vision might dampen domestic criticism of the Trump administration’s science policy, some in the US fear, by suggesting international support. “What we saw from Germany, Japan, the UK and other countries, is an impulse that the administration has exploited with our own science reform movement, a belief they can use dialogue to make things better,” said Cole Donovan, director of science policy at the campaigning group Stand Up for Science. “In practice, the administration has done the opposite.” Not a binding statementThere’s been so much concern in Germany that the country’s federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space put out a statement defending its endorsement of the Kyoto Vision, which it has posted on its website. Related articlesIs metascience being co-opted?European researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationThe US ‘golden age’ science strategy: what Europeans need to know The ministry said that it “should be regarded as a basis for discussion and does not constitute a binding statement.” Backing the statement gives Germany the chance to raise “issues and concerns” with the US during upcoming talks on science and technology scheduled for November. “Although these intentions appear, in principle, to be worthy of support, they will be scrutinised and examined more closely as the process continues,” the statement continues. Super intelligence?A ministry spokesperson confirmed to Science|Business that Germany had broadly endorsed the Kyoto Vision.However, they said Berlin had not agreed to final changes in the statement to refer to AI as super intelligence. In September, facing protests against data centres and polling that suggests US citizens are far more concerned than excited by the technology, Trump issued an executive order that attempts to rebrand AI as super intelligence, following polling on social media.The name change is to “reflect the transformative capabilities of these technologies and the limitless opportunities they create for the American people,” the order says. EU askedThe UK and Italian science ministries did not respond to a request for comment on their endorsement of the Kyoto Vision. Although most EU countries did not endorse the statement, it’s not clear which states the US asked. The White House Office for Science and Technology Policy did not return a request for comment. A European Commission official, speaking under condition of anonymity, said that the US had approached the EU, but too late for the EU to quiz all its member states on whether Brussels should endorse the statement.
AI in Health Care Moves Toward More Autonomous Roles
Federal health agencies are testing AI applications that move into patient care typically handled by physicians. And recent research suggests people may place more trust in conversational AI, while false claims attributed to authoritative sources can increase willingness to share them.
Trump Illegally Withheld Lifesaving Health Research Funds: Federal Watchdog
"Donald Trump is stealing taxpayers’ dollars that Congress set aside to improve Americans’ health," said a group of House Democrats.
A rural Northwest Oklahoma hospital is bringing back maternity care. Can it survive healthcare cuts?
Newman Memorial hopes the model it’s building can sustain access despite looming reductions to federal Medicaid spending signed into law last year alongside the dollars fueling its project.
A deadly crash, missed warnings and a nursing home under repeated federal sanctions
George Marks died after he left a Charlotte nursing home in his wheelchair and was struck by a garbage truck. Records show warnings about his safety weren't acted on.
Editorial: Dave McCormick dreams of strengthening science, but Trump is researchers’ worst nightmare
In a recently published op-ed extolling the lifesaving virtues of federally funded research at institutions such as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Sen. Dave McCormick called for doubling funding for the National Institutes of Health.
Trump hit with second lawsuit over taxpayer-funded political propaganda ads
The lawsuit came the same day the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a separate challenge in Washington, D.C., seeking to stop the administration from using federal funds for the ad campaign.
Sentencing date pushed to December for Newsom's ex-top aide facing federal charges
Dana Williamson, a former top political aide to key Democratic leaders in California, including Gov. Newsom, is still struggling with an unexpected health issue and a hearing to discuss her prison sentencing has been postponed.
At Black business expo, officials urge owners to speak up
State and federal lawmakers called for more Black small business owners, who disproportionately face economic challenges, to meet with elected officials and ask for support.
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices. Current federal law bans most robocalls to cellphones without prior consent.
Kennedy offers federal support to New York over measles outbreak
New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday, and he offered federal support as the state responds to a measles outbreak, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday.
Kennedy offers federal support to New York over measles outbreak
Oct 7 () - New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke with U. on Tuesday, and he offered federal support as the state responds to a measles outbreak, the Department of Health and Human Services said on W...
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
$150M in Federal Funds for Beluga-Healy Electrical Intertie
The US Department of Energy awarded $150 million in defense readiness funds for an electrical intertie between Beluga and Healy.
Community Clinic awarded $3 million federal grant
Springdale-based healthcare provider Community Clinic will receive $3 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand rural substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services in rural areas...
Dayton’s most experienced EHR users see the future of VA healthcare
Dayton VAMC’s move to the Federal EHR marks a major milestone. Long-serving leaders reflect on the shift from paper to CPRS to today’s system and its impact on Veteran care.
Department of Health and Human Services audit states ‘Arkansas failed to comply’ with requirements for reports of child abuse
A federal audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Arkansas failed to comply with legal requirements for screening and investigating reports of child abuse and neglect b…
Bristol’s Federal Pacific names CEO, succeeding Broadfoot
Bristol-based Federal Pacific names Rohan Kelkar CEO as the manufacturer of switchgear and power distribution equipment begins its next phase
Popular sausage sold in Texas stores triggers federal health warning
Federal officials said the products were illegally imported from Jamaica.
Conservative anti-tax group seeks FCC approval for AI robocalls ahead of US midterms
A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth.
US Agency Considers Allowing New AI Political Robocalls Before Election
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth. The group, which is spending millions of dollars ...
GOP gubernatorial candidate pitches plan to lower property taxes
Charles, an attorney and former federal official, said he will also work with the federal government to increase funding for things like substance use disorder treatment.
At Black business expo, officials urge owners to ‘speak up’
Black small business owners are facing economic conditions similar to those they dealt with as a result of COVID-19. And to help, state and federal lawmakers are calling on more Black business owne…
FCC could allow more political robocalls before midterms
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated ...
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
FCC Considers Allowing More Political Robocalls Before Midterms, Including Those Created With AI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November’s midterm elections. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones ...
Senate passes healthcare cybersecurity bill after 190 million impacted by Change Healthcare breach
The Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act of 2026 was passed by unanimous consent last week, potentially expanding federal cyber requirements for healthcare organizations.
Cantwell unveils AI safety framework as Congress stalls ahead of election
As AI races ahead, Sen. Maria Cantwell is pushing federal safety standards as industry leaders call for overnight and experts warn Congress is out of time.
Talarico camp says he opposes trans athletes if unsafe or unfair but accuses politicians of bullying students
James Talarico says he opposes transgender athletes in women's sports when safety is at risk, but his campaign won't say if he'd back a federal ban.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Hope Network awarded $600K grant to expand mental health training
Hope Network has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to expand mental health and suicide prevention training statewide over the next three years.
Trump wants to turn his West Palm Beach golf course into the new Camp David
The plan calls for the federal government to be granted part of the property, with the rest maintained as a private course.
Seneca gaming compact fight spills into New York governor’s race
New York election officials can now choose to use an expanded federal database to verify the citizenship of people on voter rolls.
Seneca gaming compact fight spills into New York governor’s race
New York election officials can now choose to use an expanded federal database to verify the citizenship of people on voter rolls.
ABC and Trump's FCC battle in federal court over free speech and jurisdiction issues
A lawyer for ABC on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from conducting an unusual, early review of its broadcast licenses, likening it to a looming execution by guillotine that was already chilling the network’s editorial decisions just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections.
San Antonio tax preparing business owner sentenced to federal prison, ordered to pay $3.8 million
A San Antonio woman convicted of falsifying tax forms on behalf of her clients was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay more than $3.8 million dollars in restitution, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Kyle Austin touts business experience in bid as Libertarian for U.S. Senate
Kyle Austin is the Libertarian candidate in Montana’s U.S. Senate race. The 43-year-old pharmacy owner and farmer says he’s had a desire to serve in a federal office since he was a teenager.
Kyle Austin touts business experience in bid as Libertarian for U.S. Senate
Kyle Austin is the Libertarian candidate in Montana’s U.S. Senate race. The 43-year-old pharmacy owner and farmer says he’s had a desire to serve in a federal office since he was a teenager.
LG Making Doorbell, Lock, and Cameras for Apple's Home Hub
Apple is working with LG Electronics on smart home accessories that will integrate with the upcoming home hub and other Apple home products, reports Bloomberg. LG is making a wired video doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, temperature sensor, indoor security camera, outdoor security camera, and floodlight camera, according to documents LG submitted to the Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions.
Trump doesn't commit to repaying federal funds already spent on ads
Nearly $12 million worth of ads have already aired, according to AdImpact
McDonald's sued over AI tool that recommends prices to US franchisees
McDonald’s is facing a federal lawsuit that alleges its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws because it shares nonpublic data with competing franchisees. The lawsuit was filed on Friday in
A hearing on Kilmar Ábrego Garcia’s deportation case is abruptly canceled
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia's deportation saga continues as a federal court hearing in Maryland has been abruptly canceled. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to deport him, initially sending him to
Minneapolis shops invite customers for Latino business week as many recover from ICE surge
Minneapolis celebrates its third annual Latino Business Week this week, as many Latino-owned shops around the city continue recovering from losses during the federal immigration enforcement surge.
Cherokee Nation Among Eight Communities to Receive Millions to Expand Mental Health, Substance Use Treatment Services, Housing Support
The Cherokee Nation is among eight sites in the country to receive the federal STREETS grant through the new Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), STREETS will provide $96 million […]
Research suggests women living in states with abortion bans bear higher health insurance costs
New preliminary research from the University of Michigan shows women living in states with post-Dobbs abortion bans may be more likely to shoulder costs for employer-sponsored health insurance premiums, with federal data reflecting a 5.4% increase in annual premium expenditures for those women after 2022, when most abortion bans went into effect.
Science organizations mobilize against politicizing purse strings
The sweeping federal financial assistance rule proposed by the Office of Management and Budget is on hold. The reprieve may be an opportunity for the rule to fizzle.
US appeals court weighs block on Kennedy's vaccine panel appointments
A lawyer for the Trump administration told a federal appeals court on Tuesday that a judge had improperly hamstrung an influential vaccine advisory panel by blocking Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked appointees from serving on it.
After taxpayer-funded ads glorifying Trump sparked backlash, he says his super PAC will pay instead
In a post on his social media site, President Donald Trump defended the ads, which cost at least $1.5 million in federal funds and have drawn intense criticism.
Midterm Election Update: Vaccines
Federal vaccine policy has shifted toward fewer recommended routine childhood vaccinations, more emphasis on individual decision-making, and greater skepticism about the safety and efficacy of some vaccines. The changes coincide with declining childhood vaccination rates, rising exemptions from school vaccine requirements, and a major measles resurgence.
NeuroThera Labs Hires RK Strategies To Lobby on Health Issues
NeuroThera Labs hired RK Strategies to lobby on health issues, marking its first federal lobbying registration. Read the full filing for details today.
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Brazil: Lessons from a Disaster
By Antonio Martins (Outras Palavras) Defeats become deeper and more prolonged when we misunderstand what caused them, avoid correcting course, and embrace “solutions” that only compound our mistakes. Lula’s government and the Brazilian left suffered a disaster in Sunday’s election. Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro—and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent. His vote share declined in 98 percent of Brazil’s municipalities. The PL, the main party of the far right, elected 121 deputies and 28 senators, becoming the largest caucus in both houses of Congress. The parties aligned with the Centrão—Brazil’s bloc of transactional center-right parties—were somewhat diminished, but will still hold roughly 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. That will make it easier to assemble the majorities needed to amend the Constitution or impeach Supreme Federal Court justices. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro could appoint four members of the Court, substantially altering its internal balance of power. What produced these results? How can the far right be prevented from consolidating them into a prolonged political hegemony? And what is the essential change of direction the left now needs? Explaining the Disaster Across the commercial media and the exuberant chaos of digital platforms, interpretations are multiplying. Some focus on specific episodes: Lula’s absence from the Globo debate, his very close relationship with Alexandre de Moraes, or his emphasis on issues supposedly remote from most people’s everyday concerns, such as rare earth minerals. Among the more systemic interpretations, three seem especially questionable. One argues that the principal defeat was not the left’s, since its congressional representation declined only slightly. The decisive movement captured at the ballot box, according to this view, was a shift within the right itself—from the more moderate and transactional forces of the Centrão toward the more ideological and radicalized forces of the PL and Novo. A second interpretation holds that the nature of electoral and political processes has changed. The material interests and aspirations of society, it argues, no longer play the central role they once did; they have given way to forms of subjective self-identification that the left has yet to understand. And a third concludes that, because of these two developments, we should expect a political winter: a prolonged period in which the far right and the broader right dominate Brazilian political life. There are important elements in all three interpretations. The problem lies in what they deny or leave out: Lula’s third government was a small-bore government. It offered the majorities that elected it neither a clearly better life nor reasons to believe again in politics and its power to transform society. These failures flowed from two fatal accommodations, which I will examine below. As a result, the government suffered a slow but steady erosion of support. And, as has happened in so many Western countries, it gave the far right the opportunity to present itself as anti-system and to benefit from popular frustration and distress. The interpretation that emphasizes the migration of votes from the center-right and traditional right toward the far right has been advanced, among others, by the courageous journalist Leonardo Sakamoto. In his UOL column on Monday, October 5, he highlights the miserable behavior of the traditional conservative parties. Over the past four years, they repeatedly joined forces with the “neo”-fascists, helping to “normalize” them—a criticism that could equally be directed at almost the entire corporate media. Believing they could use the far right as a stepping stone, they instead ended up partly devoured by it. This was especially true in the Senate, where the PL’s gain of 13 senators and Novo’s gain of two came at the expense of the PSD, which lost nine; the MDB, which lost two; the PSDB, which lost two; and the PP, which lost one. Sakamoto’s observation is accurate and necessary, but it leaves uncomfortable questions unanswered. Why did the erosion of the Centrão benefit the far right rather than, for example, producing growth for the left—as has happened so many times before, both in Brazil and elsewhere? The answer is not difficult. Throughout its four years in office, Lula’s third government was almost invariably associated with the Centrão. Here lies its first accommodation: accepting the limits imposed by conservative institutions; avoiding, as much as possible, any attempt to strain those limits through popular pressure; and believing only in the modest changes that could be squeezed through openings in Congress. The failure of the campaign to end the six-day workweek is emblematic. Lula could have electrified the presidential race by pairing it with a popular campaign for passage of the measure. Instead, he chose to place his hopes in the hands of Senate president Rodrigo Alcolumbre. He generated no mass mobilization, did not force his opponents onto an uncomfortable defensive, and won no victory. In September 2025, the government squandered the greatest of its many opportunities to shake up conservative power in Congress. Popular opposition to the so-called Shielding Amendment—which, if approved, would have restricted criminal proceedings against members of Congress—brought crowds into the streets, mobilized primarily by artists and social movements. This opened the possibility for a broader political education: a campaign that could begin exposing the limits and dysfunctions of Brazil’s political system while putting Bolsonaro’s movement on the defensive for its predictable support of political privilege. The amendment was defeated. But the executive branch then backed away from the fight. It remained associated with an institutional world widely seen as corrupt, elitist, and indifferent to ordinary people’s struggles. In doing so, it forfeited its credibility as a vehicle for the protest vote. On Sunday, it reaped the bitter fruits. Are We Doomed? Taking a different approach from Sakamoto, the philosopher Moysés Pinto Neto and other writers have drawn attention, in their first analyses of October 4, to the fragmentation of the public sphere produced by Big Tech platforms. Through their algorithms, these platforms present each person with a different view of social reality. As a consequence, it becomes much harder to identify common material problems and demands—for example, the fight for labor rights or for a properly funded public health system. Voters no longer embrace such demands, these authors argue, because they no longer see themselves as part of a collective. Instead, they tend to value the identities assigned to them by neoliberal subjectivity—the role of the entrepreneur, for example. On this interpretation, the left’s possible error lies in clinging to outdated illusions. Moysés’s warning is highly relevant and resonates with arguments such as Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “Apocalyptic Fascism and the Billionaires’ Bet.” Unlike a century ago, the far right no longer promises a radiant future. It concentrates instead on resentment—especially that of young men. “They belong to a generation that fears it may never own a home, but compensates with the pleasure it gets from constantly provoking progressives online. Convinced their future has been stolen, they share memes romanticizing historical authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. But Moysés seems to confuse this danger with inevitability. He fails to see that the left’s answer cannot be adaptation. On the contrary, it must strengthen the possibility of politics as collective action. Nor does he recognize that precisely such a reversal is already becoming possible in some of the most promising mobilizations of the twenty-first century: the election, at the end of 2025, of the young Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, on a platform centered on the intensely material fight for an affordable city; the Left Party’s victory in Berlin two weeks ago, built around the demand to expropriate private real-estate corporations; and the very recent wave of demonstrations in Spain—including an occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol—in which tens of thousands of young people mobilized by the Tenants’ Union have demanded limits on rents. By putting itself in the straitjacket of the “fiscal framework” in the first months of 2022, Lula’s third government adopted the second fatal accommodation of its term. Faced with conservative institutions and a country devastated by four years of Bolsonaro, increased public investment was the government’s remaining weapon for offering a more dignified life to the majority and forging an anti-conservative pact with them. The same state that disburses 1 trillion reais a year to enrich a small class of rentiers could instead spend money to extend the Family Health Strategy to every Brazilian, at a cost of 30 billion reais; provide full-day public schooling and childcare to all adolescents and children—and, especially, relief to their mothers; achieve universal sanitation while cleaning up polluted urban rivers; multiply metro systems; begin transforming the urban peripheries; and undertake many other urgently needed projects. In April 2023, an article in Outras Palavras warned that the fiscal framework could “shrink the Lula government and preserve the forces that condemn the country to inequality and regression.” A year later, another article showed that restraints on public spending were strangling policies vital to ordinary people and undermining the president’s popularity. In November 2024 came a reality check, in the form of the government’s humiliating defeat in the municipal elections. Even then, the fiscal lock was neither removed nor loosened. On the contrary: throughout the government’s four years, fiscal restraint remained central to its political narrative. The administration proudly proclaimed that it had “put the state’s accounts in order,” without grasping either how misleading that phrase was—given the payment of 1 trillion reais in interest—or how badly the message was hurting it politically. Lula finally woke up in September 2026. The increase in Bolsa Família benefits, after four years of being frozen; the announcement that anti-obesity drugs would be offered through Brazil’s public health system; and the ban on online betting showed that the state has the power to act decisively on behalf of the majority when those in government are willing to confront obstacles. The huge marches that closed the campaign in Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo on the eve of October 4 showed how such initiatives can mobilize activists and the broader public. But it was too late—and too little to change the outcome of the first round. History has not ended The possibility of a turnaround in the three weeks leading up to November 25 cannot be ruled out. It will not be simple or easy. Lula must not only make up a deficit of 2.2 million votes; he must also offset the movement of voters who backed other right-wing candidates in the first round, most of whom are likely to move toward Flávio Bolsonaro. Pulling that off will require a broad, grassroots effort to win over voters, potentially reinforced by new initiatives from Lula. The coming hours and days will be decisive. If Bolsonaro’s movement also wins the presidency, the result will create a high-risk situation for Brazilian sovereignty and democracy. The enormous challenges posed by such an outcome would require the left to reexamine, in depth and with a genuine willingness to engage in self-criticism, its political projects—or its lack of them—and its practices. But would that mean we are condemned to the long winter of far-right hegemony that some analyses are beginning to forecast? It is far too early to say, suggests a recent text by Álvaro García Linera, the thinker who served as vice president of Bolivia under Evo Morales. His central hypothesis is that this political current will prove short-lived. At a moment when the entire world is once again talking about sovereignty and protecting national economies, the far right offers a stale, recolonizing neoliberalism. Its submission to the United States is as blatant and pathetic as Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro’s overtures to Donald Trump. Its project amounts to something like every man for himself: greater inequality, capitalism without limits, devastation, and supremacism. Will it work? In the United States, just two years into his second term, Trump himself is reaching record levels of unpopularity and may be on the verge of losing Republican control of both the House and Senate in November. Every new beginning is difficult. Whatever the outcome of the second round, the defeats of October 4 show how profoundly the Brazilian left will have to rethink and rebuild. But just as it would be foolish to underestimate the seriousness of its mistakes, it would be equally foolish to conclude that rebuilding a political project is no longer possible. History has not ended. The times are moving faster than ever. Originally published in Portuguese by Outras Palavras. English translation by Eric Blanc; I’ve added the subtitles. More We can’t stop the far right at home or abroad without a revitalized labor movement, which is yet another reason why you should become a sustaining supporter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) — one of US labor’s pivotal bright spots. Relatedly, Jacobin published a short piece of mine reflecting on a decade of Bernie Sanders inspiring a whole new generation of young worker organizers.
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