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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Gavin Newsom Asks for $2.8 Billion Medicaid Bailout After Covering Illegal Immigrants

Fox News: Liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $2.8 billion bailout Monday to close the state’s bloated deficit in California’s Medicaid program, which surpassed projections due to the program’s expansion last year to include illegal immigrants… The additional funds will help keep the program running through June for some 15 million Californians, including noncitizens. But Republicans have been critical of the loan, arguing the current Medicaid program isn’t sustainable with illegal immigrants included in the coverage (Fox News). Libs of TikTok: Gavin Newsom is asking for a $2.8 billion BAILOUT for CA’s Medicaid program after he opened it up to illegals. This is on top of a $3.4 billion loan issued last week. This marks nearly $6.2 billion in just a few weeks. Why should taxpayers fund Medicaid for illegals (X)?

Investigation Continues Into Suspected Arsonist Who Torched Governor Josh Shapiro’s Home

Salem News Channel: Investigators are working to uncover the motive behind an arson fire over the weekend at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion, the latest act of political violence in the U.S. They are digging into Cody Balmer’s background after authorities said he scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion. He was denied bail Monday after a brief court appearance. Balmer has not entered a plea to charges that include attempted homicide, terrorism and arson. Authorities say Balmer had planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him early Sunday (Salem News Channel). Townhall: The suspect also has an ongoing assault charge from 2023. He allegedly struck his ten-year-old stepson and stepped on his leg. He is also accused of punching his wife (Townhall).

Judge Halts Trump’s Effort to Remove Legal Status of 530,000 Immigrants Brought Into Country by Biden

New York Post: A Massachusetts federal judge stopped the Trump administration late Monday from yanking legal status from more than 530,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals who were brought into the US under a controversial Biden administration program. Boston US District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, ruled that the migrants are entitled to a case-by-case review and declined to put her decision on hold while the Trump administration appeals it (New York Post). National Review: Under former President Joe Biden, the mass humanitarian parole program granted U.S. entry to an estimated 532,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The program granted immigration parole to Venezuelans in 2022 and expanded legal protections to Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans in 2023, allowing them to work in the U.S. for two years. Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are each ruled by socialist dictators, while Haiti continues to experience a yearslong political crisis fueled by an escalation in gang violence (National Review).

Department of Transportation Ends High-Speed Rail Initiative to Save Taxpayers Millions

Townhall: The Department of Transportation on Monday announced the termination of a grant that helped fund a high-speed rail project in Texas, which will save taxpayers more than $60 million. An agreement was reached between the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to end the $63.9 million grant under the Corridor Identification and Development Program for the Amtrak Texas High-Speed Rail Corridor. While the program, originally known as the Texas Central Railway project, began as a private venture, it later became dependent on federal money to continue when the cost estimates ballooned (Townhall). Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: Today, U.S. Department of Transportation & Federal Railroad Administration announced we’re saving taxpayers over $60 MILLION. FRA & Amtrak are in agreement that underwriting the Texas Central Railway project is a waste of taxpayer funds & a distraction from Amtrak’s core mission of improving its existing subpar services (X).

Democrat Senator Wants to Travel to El Salvador to Bring Back Suspected MS-13 Gang Member

Why don’t democrats fight this hard for American citizens? Ed Morrissey: Bet heavily on nothing, except a brief publicity tour for Senator Chris Van Hollen. The Maryland Democrat demanded a meeting with Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele during his state visit with Donald Trump, and got snubbed. Not that it would have mattered much; Bukele scoffed at the idea of sending Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the US after his deportation. If Bukele won’t meet with Van Hollen in Washington, then Van Hollen says he will fly to San Salvador and demand a meeting with Bukele there. One way or the other, Van Hollen insists, he will bring back Abrego Garcia (HotAir). Senator Chris Van Hollen: I’ve been clear: if President Bukele doesn’t want to meet here in D.C., then I intend to go to El Salvador this week to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s condition and discuss his release. Kilmar was illegally ABDUCTED and deported by the Trump Admin. He must be brought home NOW (X).

Trump Cuts $2.2 Billion in Funding for Harvard University

Salem News Channel: The federal government says it is freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts to Harvard University. The institution says Monday it won’t comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration as part of its campaign against antisemitism. The list at Harvard was updated Friday, and includes government and leadership reforms, as well as a requirement to institute what it calls a “merit-based” admissions and hiring policy. It also includes an audit of the study body and faculty on their views about diversity, as well as a ban on face masks which appeared to target pro-Palestinian protesters (Salem News Channel).

Fugitive from El Salvador Convicted of Rape, Murder of Maryland Woman

Washington Post: A fugitive from El Salvador was convicted Monday in the 2023 rape and murder of a Maryland woman in a case held up during the 2024 presidential election by Donald Trump as an example of what he called the nation’s failed immigration policies. Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, who authorities say unlawfully entered the U.S. multiple times, faces up to life without the possibility of parole in the Maryland prison system. Authorities said he attacked Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, two years ago on a hiking trail in Harford County, about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore (Washington Post). HotAir: It took a Maryland jury 46 minutes to convict illegal immigrant Victor Martinez-Hernandez of first degree murder, first-degree rape and kidnapping. He could now spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole…This is not Martinez-Hernandez first murder of a woman. After the murder in El Salvador in December 2022, Martinez-Hernandez fled to Mexico and spent the first two months of 2023 trying to enter the US illegally. He was caught and deported twice in January and once in February. But on the fourth try in mid-February he became what the Border Patrol calls a “gotaway.” That’s someone the Border Patrol knows got across but they weren’t able to stop. Just a month after entering the US illegally for the 4th time, Martinez-Hernandez committed a home break-in in Los Angeles that injured a 9-year-old girl and her mother. The exact crime in that case isn’t clear. Then in August 2023 he raped and murdered Rachel Morin, a mother of five, while she was out for a jog (HotAir).

California Proposes Allowing College Students to Live in Cars on Campus

Politico: A progressive Democratic lawmaker is seeking a simple but jarring remedy of last resort for California’s college students navigating the state’s housing crisis: Let them sleep in their cars. While roughly half a dozen state legislative proposals this year seek to fund student or faculty housing or loosen building regulations, the benefits would come far too late for current students struggling to stay afloat. With one in four California community college students experiencing homelessness in the past year, Democrats — who have a supermajority in the statehouse — face increasing pressure to deliver on affordability issues. Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Southern California Democrat who has a doctorate in social work, said lawmakers can build long-term solutions while offering an immediate stopgap for a “worst case scenario.” His proposal, which cleared its first committee last month, would require community colleges and the California State University system to plan for an overnight parking program for students. Without a sanctioned, on-campus parking program, students are left with no other option but to sleep in their cars somewhere off-campus where they might not be welcome, according to Jackson (Politico). Whiplash 347: Fox’s Bill Hemmer asked, “Please make sense of this!” Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt didn’t hold back: “This is nuts. California’s been destroyed by 50 years of anti-growth, far-left housing policies.” He warned that turning campuses into car-camping zones will create chaos: “Each one will become a homeless encampment. You can’t police it. It’s the kind of bad idea that drove people like me out of the state” (X).

New York Attorney General Letitia James Accused of Mortgage Fraud

Townhall: In a bold move, the Trump administration referred New York Attorney General Letitia James for possible prosecution over allegations of mortgage fraud. The referral signals a dramatic turn in the ongoing legal battles between red-state leadership and blue-state officials who have long used their offices to target political opponents. James, a Democrat known for her relentless pursuit of President Donald Trump, now finds herself under scrutiny for the very kind of financial misconduct she has accused others of—a development many see as long overdue accountability… The revelation could result in criminal charges against James, including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and false statements to a financial institution (Townhall). Benny Johnson: New documents accuse NY Attorney General Letitia James of mortgage fraud—claiming she tried to declare a Virginia property as her “principal residence” while serving in New York (X).

10.

Joe Biden Yells About “Colored Kids” During First Speech Post-Presidency

Townhall: After months of staying out of the public eye, former President Joe Biden has returned to the podium, marking his first major public appearance since leaving office. True to form, Biden arrived over an hour late and stumbled through a rocky start. Predictably, he wasted no time launching attacks on President Donald Trump—while attempting to shore up his own legacy. Biden’s remarks seem designed to deflect attention from his own administration’s shortcomings and shift focus back to his favorite talking points, like accusing Trump of threatening key programs. While Biden may try to paint himself as the champion of the people, his words ring hollow given the struggles many Americans faced under his policies, including inflation and rising costs. On Tuesday, Biden addressed the American people in his first major speech since leaving the White House at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference in Chicago. He criticized the Trump administration’s Social Security policies and referred to black children as “colored kids” (Townhall). Post Millennial: President Biden randomly starts screaming in his first speech since leaving office. He tells a story about seeing black kids on buses: “I remember watching a bus go by. It was full of colored kids…I had never seen those” (X). Johnny Maga: The Democrats pulled Biden out of retirement for him to yell about “dignity” and Social Security. I can’t believe we had to live through this for 4 years (X).

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