I’m going to be honest, I found this cycle particularly nightmarish. Granted, I’m a public health professional, and our health system took a real beating this week–but the other stories aren’t a whole lot better. Caveat emptor, and I’m sorry in advance.
Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a healthcare subsidy!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!
Spills in Aisle 47
‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com
- Subdued Subsidies. The Senate is ostensibly gearing up to vote on healthcare subsidies, but nobody is particularly optimistic that this will save ACA subsidies as we knew them. The White House quietly circulated a plan behind closed doors that would have accomplished this, with some concessions. But after Republicans balked, they backed down from announcing it pretty quickly, preferring instead to let the GOP duke it out. Now, several different Dem bills are in play, but literally none of them are expected to get the numbers they need to pass. Meanwhile, the things that Republicans are floating are less “health plans” and more “medical debt in flimsy trench coats”–some Republican plans involve $7K deductibles, while others are based on Health Savings Accounts and/or limited to catastrophic coverage. Needless to say, this is not great for Americans, and frankly it’s not great for the GOP either, since Dem narratives about the GOP wrecking affordability are gaining increasing traction with voters. That said, “this is good for nobody and yet here we are” has more-or-less become the MAGA calling card, and so, well…here we are.
- Kangaroo Courtside. This was a real banner cycle for court cases. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about whether people born here have U.S. citizenship, despite the fact that, you know, the Constitution literally says that all persons born here have U.S. citizenship. For an encore, they heard oral arguments on a case about whether Trump should be able to fire the head of the FTC on account of it’s Tuesday–and shock of shocks, the six conservative justices appeared persuaded even though we have 90 years of precedent otherwise. But in slightly more positive judicial news, at least a court ordered the release of another cache of Epstein documents.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice
Image unnamed and in the public domain
Not Evidence Based (Again, Still). After the last news cycle, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that we’re already seeing vaccines on the chopping block–but somehow, I still am. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided a few days ago to nix a thirty-year recommendation of giving infants Hep B vaccination at birth, apparently persuaded by RFK’s pet anti-vax lawyer. Needless to say, people who practice actual medicine are not best pleased, with the American Association of Immunologists urging the CDC head to ignore the recommendations and Senate Health Committee chair Bill Cassidy calling the entire committee “totally discredited.” In response, Trump ordered RFK and acting CDC director Jim O’Neill to axe more childhood vaccinations. Meanwhile, a leaked FDA memo used the very small risk of COVID vaccine-induced myocarditis to argue for stricter regulation of vaccine approvals, despite the fact that, you know, myocarditis is way more common as a long COVID symptom. The memo comes as yet another FDA official walks after only three weeks on the job, citing the new FDA head’s mismanagement of policy as his reason. So all of that is… not great.
Chinga La Migra
Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Immigration Rundown. Immigration, ho boy, where do I start… We really saved the worst for last on this one. Here are the lowlights from this cycle:
- Hegseth Horrorshow – News came out this cycle that the order given by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the strike on a Venezuelan vessel was “kill everybody,” and a second strike was fired at two survivors to comply with that order. This is, unsurprisingly, pretty illegal, and officials are giving garbled explanations while Democrats are calling for a hearing. Trump initially agreed to release a video of the strike, and then walked that back within a week, saying “Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”
- Grave National Guard Gestalt – Two National Guard members in West Virginia were shot, one of them fatally, at the top of this news cycle. After the shooter turned out to be an Afghan refugee, the Trump administration announced that it would no longer process asylum, citizenship, or green card applications from nineteen different countries. They also dramatically shortened work permit windows for asylum holders and are reportedly considering a travel ban for 30 different countries. Several ideas floated by various MAGA sociopaths are even more extreme, ranging from mass denaturalization to a permanent end of all asylum applications to ending TPS as a concept.
- Deportation Pipeline Press – There was, unsurprisingly, also a lot of news about various abuses of the deportation process. Democrats are trying to get standards imposed for who can serve as an immigration judge, since Trump keeps firing judges who actually judge. Federal immigration raids–excuse me, “operations”–are also beginning in New Orleans and Minneapolis, the latter being part of a weird hate-on that Trump has for Somali people. This news comes at the same time as reports that nearly 1,000 migrants arrested in DC–making up about 80% of total arrests during the “crackdown”–had no criminal record whatsoever. The ACLU is alleging that detained Cuban migrants were beaten for refusing removal to Mexico. Finally, there was a baffling story this cycle about this administration bringing a woman to the U.S. to face charges after years of extradition efforts, and then starting deportation proceedings against her on the theory that she was present in the U.S. illegally. It’s like the plot of Brazil, except instead we’re trying to deport people there.
Ways to Weather This
Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Chop Wood, Carry Water. I was recently pointed towards Jess Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water by the inimitable Tegan Kehoe, who featured the substack in a recent Links and Things from Tegan (alongside the NNR, which I greatly appreciated!). As Kehoe notes, Craven sends a brief newsletter every weekday with some information about recent national news. That said, I’m featuring Chop Wood, Carry Water here because she also includes tools for taking action about those stories, such as scripts for calling your reps and information about upcoming events. Like me, Craven is a full-time activist and advocate, and so far I have really appreciated her work.
So that’s what I have for you this cycle, a day late but only $0.25 short. For making it through, you deserve this raccoon’s self-care regimen and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me responses to Out: The Community Survey!
National News Roundup 