Canada ‘rage room’ lets visitors smash Trump, Vance, Musk portraits to release tariff angst
Canadians upset with President Donald Trump’s tariffs now have an outlet for their anger – a “rage room” business now offers the ability to “smash” the U.S. leader; kind of. Rage Room: Halifax, in the Nova Scotian capital, announced on its website that “until the tariffs come off, we understand you might have a little extra rage that you want to let out.” The “Smash the Tariffs” promotion offers customers portraits of Trump to “smash,” discounts on other “smashables.” Customers who order any package of smashables at the business, about 600 miles northeast of Boston across the Bay of Fundy, receive a Trump portrait for free, and with a $5 donation to a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, food bank, they can also smash likenesses of Vice President JD Vance and DOGE leader Elon Musk. STEVE MOORE: TARIFFS WILL BRING FREER AND FAIRER TRADE Efforts to reach Rage Room: Halifax were unsuccessful on Tuesday, as it was closed as scheduled. However, owner Terry LeBlanc told Vancouver-based national broadcaster Global News that his view is “we’re entertainment first.” “Normally, I don’t really get political. However, I feel with everything going on in the world and what’s happening these days … this is needed,” he told the network. If customers are able to relieve stress and be entertained, then it is a “win,” he said. A social media post advertising the new promotion invited Canadians “fed up with the chaos” and news cycle to come and enjoy the “perfect way to let it out.” In its report, CTV News described a 14-year-old boy placing a framed picture of Trump on a table, while bedecked in a mask for protection, as he leveled a baseball bat at the mogul’s portrait and “obliterated” it. HOW JACKSON-ERA TARIFFS ALMOST LED TO CAROLINA CONFLICT 30 YEARS BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR The boy was asked by the outlet why he wanted to smash the portrait and responded, “it’s about how he’s treating this country (Canada),” as his sister soon smashed another Trump portrait with a golf club. The girl said Trump is “not a very smart man” and that the rage room allowed her to safely release frustrations. Typical smashable packages have descriptors such as “Anger Management” and “Parental Leave,” according to CTV. Customers are also regularly asked what their top smashable was during their visit. As of late, it has been Trump’s likeness. When asked about the rage room, White House spokesman Kush Desai said, “Fortunately, Canadians won’t have to worry about President Trump’s tariffs anymore when Canada becomes our 51st state.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Secret Service, which often probes issues regarding presidential protection, did not respond to a request for comment for the purposes of this story. Canadian news coverage has shown state stores removing American bourbon and other uniquely U.S. products from their shelves in response to Trump’s tariff actions. Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in recent public remarks “there is a limit given the relative size of our economies to the extent that we should match U.S. tariffs,” adding that the U.S. economy is 10:1 larger than Canada’s – before criticizing Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre for his plans to deal with the tariff matter. On Monday, Poilievre lamented that both U.S. and Canadian workers will be hurt by the tariffs and slammed Carney and predecessor Justin Trudeau for a “lost liberal decade.” “Let’s solve this problem,” Poilievre said while gathered with blue-collar workers in L’Orignal, Ont.
Vanderbilt Med Center ‘hiding’ DEI resources behind password-protected web pages: report
FIRST ON FOX: While some medical schools have taken steps to scrub their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments from their websites, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has been found to be hiding some of theirs behind password-protected web pages. The conservative nonprofit organization Consumers Research unveiled a campaign Tuesday titled, “What Is Vanderbilt University Medical Center Hiding?” after finding that VUMC was not just deleting some of its references to DEI commitments and resources, but also keeping some and hiding them from public view. The campaign includes a website, complete with screenshots and archived web links, showing the various web pages tied to DEI and climate activism that are now password-protected. The Consumers’ Research campaign also includes a mobile billboard that the nonprofit has deployed at the university to raise awareness about VUMC’s actions. UNIVERSITY DOCTOR BOASTS ABOUT FINDING LOOPHOLES TO SKIRT ANTI-DEI LAWS: ‘THAT’S WHAT WE DO’ “Vanderbilt University Medical Center is frantically trying to conceal its radical policies by password-protecting and deleting webpages highlighting its commitment to DEI and climate activism,” Will Hild, Consumers’ Research executive director, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Until recently, VUMC proudly touted its woke ideology, showcasing DEI policies and an activist climate agenda prominently throughout its website. But now, the health system is scrambling to hide the evidence. This seemingly nefarious behavior begs the question, what is Vanderbilt University Medical Center hiding?” While VUMC deleted several web pages related to DEI resources and programs that it offers within specific departments, VUMC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion website allegedly remains active, only to be accessed with a username and password, according to the nonprofit. A VUMC Department of Medicine web page touting its commitment to recruit “a diverse resident and fellow population” and laying out resources for those “underrepresented in medicine” is now hidden as well. UNIVERSITIES FACING ‘IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION’ AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON DEI: REPORT Other web pages about prioritizing “climate care as health care” and other left-wing climate change initiatives have also become password-protected, Consumers’ Research found. In a statement to Fox News Digital, VUMC spokesperson John Howser said that in light of President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions mandating an end to DEI programs, particularly in educational institutions, VUMC “is undertaking a thorough review” of its programs to figure out “where revisions may be required to remain in compliance, including updating information on websites and other public platforms.” “While we undertake that review, we have elected to take down related websites to ensure current, accurate, and factual information,” Howser added. “VUMC remains committed to maintaining an environment in which all our employees, patients and visitors feel equally welcome, respected and valued.” UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON’S EX-DIVERSITY OFFICER SCRUTINIZED OVER SPENDING, JUDGMENT AMID DEI CRACKDOWN Included in the Consumers’ Research campaign is a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling on HHS and the Department of Government Efficiency to investigate VUMC. “VUMC, a top research hospital in the United States, relies heavily on federal dollars,” the letter states. “Taxpayer dollars should be used to prioritize patient care, not political activism. Consumers’ Research stands ready to assist as needed to ensure accountability and protect consumers.” VUMC was investigated by Tennessee’s Attorney General’s Office in 2023 amid allegations that a doctor at VUMC was manipulating medical billing codes to evade insurance coverage-limitations for transgender treatments. The investigation followed a video released in 2022, which allegedly showed a VUMC doctor touting transgender surgeries for minors as “huge money makers” and telling anyone with a religious objection to providing them should quit.
Alleged MS-13 leader on FBI most wanted list being extradited to US, Patel says
An alleged MS-13 senior gang leader on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list is being extradited to the U.S. after his arrest in Mexico, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday. Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales was arrested on Monday in the mountains of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz by Mexican soldiers and federal agents. The FBI was offering a $250,000 reward for information on Bardales prior to his arrest. “I can now confirm that last night, working with the Justice Department and other interagency partners, the FBI has extradited one of our ‘Ten Most Wanted’ from Mexico — one we believe to be a key senior leader of MS-13, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales,” Patel announced in a statement. “He was arrested in Mexico and is being transported within the U.S. as we speak, where he will face American justice. This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America. Thank you to our brave personnel for executing the mission. And thank you to Mexico’s SSPC and FGE teams for their support of the FBI in this investigation and arrest,” he added. TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT DECLARES TREN DE ARAGUA, MS-13, MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS The FBI said Bardales faces charges in the Eastern District of New York relating to “several offenses for his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians and rival gang members, as well as his role in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the United States and El Salvador.” The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was one of eight Latin American criminal organizations declared foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration last month. Bardales’ transfer comes nearly a month after Mexican authorities extradited another drug cartel member to the U.S. in late February. Jesus Ricardo Patron Sanchez, 39, faces charges relating to drug trafficking in New York City for the H-2 cartel, according to federal prosecutors. The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said last year that the U.S. is facing the “most dangerous and deadly drug crisis” in its history with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the “Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are at the heart of this crisis.” POLICE LEAD TREN DE ARAGUA CRACKDOWNS AS EXCLUSIVE FOX NATION RIDE-ALONG EXPOSES VENEZUELA’S DEADLIEST GANG Prosecutors allege that under the direction of Sanchez, H-2 transported cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine into the U.S. on a monthly basis from June 2013 to December 2016. The cartel used multiple distribution cells throughout the country, including New York, Las Vegas, North Carolina, Ohio and Los Angeles, to traffic “large quantities” of drugs, officials said. “As alleged in the indictment and court filings, Sanchez was one of the principal leaders of the H-2 Drug Trafficking Organization, a brutally violent transnational criminal organization that flooded American streets with dangerous drugs and protected its operations through murder and corruption,” U.S. Attorney John Durham said. Sanchez also directed members of the cartel to kill members of other drug trafficking organizations and additional perceived rivals, according to prosecutors. Monday’s arrest and swift handover came just weeks after Mexico handed over 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was allegedly behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. Mexico has also stepped up operations against the Sinaloa Cartel, a main trafficker of fentanyl to the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum has worked to show President Donald Trump that Mexico is a reliable partner on security and immigration. The results have so far kept most of Trump’s tariffs at bay. The Trump administration sent two other top members of MS-13 to El Salvador over the weekend, along with hundreds of Venezuelans. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Vance knocks globalization’s ‘cheap labor’ and lauds ‘America’s great industrial comeback’ at AI summit
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance knocked recent globalization efforts that use “cheap labor as a crutch” while simultaneously hampering innovation on the global scale during a Tuesday tech and artificial intelligence speech. “Our workers, the populists, on the one hand, the tech optimists on the other, have been failed by this government,” he said. “Not just the government of the last administration, but the government in some ways of the last 40 years, because there were two conceits that our leadership class had when it came to globalization.” Vance explained that recent globalization efforts falsely assumed that world leaders could “separate the making of things from the design of things,” citing the belief was that poorer nations would create goods such as cellphones, while wealthier nations would move “further up the value change.” “Now, we assume that other nations will always trail us in the value chain, but it turns out that as they got better at the low end of the value chain, they also started catching up on the higher end. We were squeezed from both ends. Now, that was the first conceit of globalization,” he said. ‘DEREGULATORY FLAVOR’: JD VANCE LAYS OUT VISION IN PARIS FOR THE FUTURE OF AI UNDER TRUMP Vance said the efforts have led to an addiction to cheap labor that has halted innovation. “Cheap labor is fundamentally a crutch, and it’s a crutch that inhibits innovation,” he said. “I might even say that it’s a drug that too many American firms got addicted to. Now, if you can make a product more cheaply, it’s far too easy to do that rather than to innovate. And whether we were offshoring factories to cheap labor economies or importing cheap labor through our immigration system, cheap labor became the drug of Western economies. “And I’d say that if you look in nearly every country, from Canada to the UK that imported large amounts of cheap labor, you’ve seen productivity stagnate,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s that’s not a total happenstance. I think that the connection is very direct.” Vance argued that “innovation is key to winning the worldwide manufacturing competition, to giving our workers a fair deal and to reclaiming our heritage via America’s great industrial comeback.” The American Dynamism Summit is an annual tech summit hosted by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The event, which is in its third year, acts as a bridge between California’s Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. Vance headlined the event at the Waldorf Astoria and was joined by other notable speakers during the summit, such as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, General Bryan P. Fenton, who serves as U.S. Special Operations Command commander, and Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres. AMERICAN AI FREEDOM STILL UNDER THREAT FROM BIDEN’S LEFTOVER DIRECTIVES Vance also spoke out against industry and world leaders who are championing strict regulations on AI due to concerns over the tech, saying their worries are based “on a faulty premise.” “This idea that tech-forward people and the populists are somehow inevitably going to come to a loggerheads is wrong,” he said. “I think the reality is that in any dynamic society, technology is going to advance.” The vice president compared the rise of AI to the proliferation of ATMs in the 1970s, which sparked concern that bank tellers would be obliterated, similarly to how some workers are concerned AI could push them out of their jobs. “I think there’s too much fear that AI will simply replace jobs rather than augmenting so many of the things that we do now,” he said. “In the 1970s, if you go back a little ways, many feared that the automated teller machine, what we call the ATM, would replace bank tellers. In reality, the advent of the ATM made bank tellers more productive, and you have more people today working in customer service in the financial sector than you had when the ATM was created.” ELON MUSK AND TECH LEADER SAM ALTMAN GET INTO WAR OF WORDS OVER AI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT “Now they’re doing slightly different jobs, of course. Yes, they’re doing more interesting tasks also,” he continued. “And importantly, they’re making more money than they were in the 1970s.” Vance attended a separate tech summit in February in Paris, called the AI Action Summit, where he railed against Europe’s “trepidation” of artificial intelligence, and regulation of it as hampering the future of innovation and jobs. “Now, at this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution, one on par with the invention of the steam engine or Bessemer steel,” he said in the Paris speech. “But it will never come to pass if overregulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball, nor will it occur if we allow AI to become dominated by massive players looking to use the tech to censor or control users’ thoughts. “And as AI creates new jobs and industries, our government, businesses and labor organizations have an obligation to work together to empower the workers not just of the United States but … all over the world,” he added. “To that end, for all major AI policy decisions coming from the federal government, the Trump Administration will guarantee American workers a seat at the table, and we’re very proud of that.” VANCE TELLS WORLD LEADERS AI MUST BE ‘FREE FROM IDEOLOGICAL BIAS,’ AMERICAN TECH WON’T BE CENSORSHIP TOOL President Donald Trump announced a massive artificial intelligence infrastructure plan on his second day in office in January, explaining that tech firms Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle joined forces for a project called Stargate, which is working to build U.S.-based data centers to power artificial intelligence. There was an initial $100 billion investment in the project, with plans to expand to $500 billion across the next four years. Trump additionally signed an executive order on his third day in office called, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” The executive order rescinded previous Biden-era AI
Statements of condemnation won’t stop the genocide in Gaza
It was only a matter of time before Israel decided to definitively annihilate its ceasefire agreement with Hamas and resume all-out genocide in the Gaza Strip. Overnight, the Israeli army launched a wave of attacks that have thus far killed at least 404 Palestinians and wounded 562. These numbers will no doubt rise as more bodies are recovered from beneath the rubble, and as Israel continues what Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela has denounced as a “barbarous” assault on the Palestinian enclave. But barbarism, after all, is what Israel does best. And unfortunately, there’s no end in sight to barbarous behaviour – particularly when the most the international community can muster are spineless statements of condemnation. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, for example, declared that the Israeli attacks “will add tragedy onto tragedy”, and that “Israel’s resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions”. Advertisement Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store concurred that the Israeli assault constitutes “a great tragedy” for the population of Gaza, many of whom “live in tents and the ruins of what has been destroyed”. For his part, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp took to the platform X to opine that “humanitarian aid must reach those in need, and all hostilities must end permanently”. Switzerland called for “an immediate return to the ceasefire”. The United States, of course, found no need to condemn the renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza – an unsurprising reaction from the country that has from the get-go been aiding and abetting genocide, first under the Joe Biden administration and now under Donald Trump’s. In an interview with Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US had been consulted by Israel on the latest assault, adding that Trump had “made it clear” that Hamas and “all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay”. Paraphrasing a previous threat issued by Trump to Hamas, Leavitt warned that “all hell will break loose”. And yet, by any objective standards, hell has already decisively broken loose in the Gaza Strip. With solid US backing, the Israeli military officially slaughtered at least 48,577 Palestinians between October 2023 and January 2025, when a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold. In February, Gaza’s Government Media Office updated its death toll to nearly 62,000 to account for thousands of missing Palestinians presumed to be dead under the all-pervasive rubble. Advertisement And while Gaza ostensibly got a break from relentless Israeli bombardment with the implementation of the truce agreement, the Israeli military continued to kill Palestinians and otherwise violate the agreement accordingly. After all, a cessation of hostilities has never been Israel’s modus operandi. When in early March Israel blocked all humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip – a manoeuvre amounting to enforced starvation and an obvious war crime – the US predictably blamed the blocking of aid on Hamas rather than on the party actually doing it. The European Union followed suit by condemning Hamas for its alleged “refusal… to accept the extension of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza”. Given that Israel had straight-up changed the terms of the agreement, this was in reality not a case of “refusal” by Hamas but rather one of Israel unilaterally moving the goalposts – as it has done time and again. As an afterthought, the EU noted that Israel’s “decision to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza could potentially result in humanitarian consequences”. But anyway, it was all Hamas’s fault. Now, as condemnations of Israel’s renewed barbarism trickle in, it is not difficult to see why Israel might take international objections as slightly less than serious. At the end of the day, perfunctory slaps on the wrist and appeals for an end to “tragedy” in Gaza do nothing to impede Israel’s free hand as it starts and stops genocide as it pleases. Many children are among today’s casualties of Israeli terror, and Israel has gone about issuing new forced displacement orders for various sectors of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Health Ministry has issued an urgent appeal for blood donations. All in all, then, it appears a continuation of the ceasefire has been safely averted. Advertisement And there’s an added perk for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on trial in no fewer than three corruption cases involving fraud, bribery, and breach of trust. As the Times of Israel reported today, Netanyahu’s scheduled testimony has now been “canceled for the day amid [the] shock Gaza offensive”. According to the prime minister, prosecutors approved the cancellation to enable the government to conduct an “urgent security consultation” on renewed operations in Gaza. And as barbarous tragedy unfolds once again in the Gaza Strip, the international refusal to put a stop to it is itself a barbarous tragedy. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s Ben-Gvir to rejoin Netanyahu’s government
The Israeli hardliner had resigned in January in protest of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who left the government over disagreements about the ceasefire in Gaza, will rejoin the coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party and Netanyahu’s Likud Party announced the return on Tuesday, hours after Israel launched its deadliest Israeli strikes on Gaza since a January ceasefire. “Likud and Otzma Yehudit have agreed that the Otzma Yehudit faction will return to the Israeli government today, and the ministers of Otzma Yehudit will return to the government,” the parties said in a joint statement. Ben-Gvir’s return will strengthen the coalition government, which was left with only a thin parliamentary majority following his departure in January. The 47-year-old lawyer and politician, who has led the far-right party Otzma Yehudit or Jewish Power since 2019, resigned in January in protest at the truce in Gaza. Ben-Gvir had also said in January that humanitarian aid and fuel, electricity and water must be “completely stopped” from entering the war-torn Palestinian enclave in order to force the release of the captives that remain held by Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza. Advertisement “Only then will Hamas release our hostages without jeopardising Israel’s security,” he had said. Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza overnight on Monday, shattering the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Netanyahu said he ordered the military to take “strong action” against Hamas over its refusal to release captives taken from Israel or agree to offers to extend the ceasefire. The Israeli military said on Telegram that it was conducting “extensive strikes on terror targets” belonging to Hamas, and more than 400 Palestinian people were killed. Many of Gaza’s two million-plus residents are also facing food and water shortages after Israel blocked humanitarian aid and other supplies to Gaza in early March. Adblock test (Why?)
UN humanitarian chief on worsening aid situation in Gaza
NewsFeed UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council that in addition to Tuesday’s airstrikes on Gaza, he was “distressed” by Israeli authorities cutting off aid to 2.1 million people in the enclave. Published On 18 Mar 202518 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Newsom asks for nearly another $3B for state health program overwhelmed by illegal immigrants
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is requesting an additional $2.8 billion loan to address a bloated deficit in the state’s Medicaid program, which has surpassed budget expectations largely due to coverage for illegal immigrants. The new request comes after the Democratic governor asked lawmakers last week for a $3.4 billion loan from the general fund to cover outstanding costs for Medi-Cal, one of the state’s primary healthcare programs that takes both federal and state taxpayer dollars. “With tough fiscal choices ahead, Governor Newsom, jointly with Pro Tem McGuire and Speaker Rivas, will evaluate proposals to rein in long-term spending — including in Medi-Cal — while working to protect the core health and social services Californians rely on,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday. TRUMP SURROGATE CORRIN RANKIN PICKED TO LEAD BLUE STATE’S GOP: ‘MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN’ The additional $2.8 billion would keep the health care program afloat through June. Newsom’s office pushed back on the skyrocketing healthcare costs being solely due to illegal immigrants on the programs. Instead, they attribute the increases to higher overall enrollment for all populations and pharmaceutical costs. The administration also pointed to other states, Pennsylvania and Indiana, which are also facing budget shortfalls in their Medicaid programs. However, Republicans in the legislature, who have been hounding against increased spending in the state for years, blame the state’s policies as the culprit for the under-projection. “That’s a staggering $6.2 billion over budget…and the costs keep climbing with no end in sight,” California Senate Republican Minority Leader, Brian Jones, wrote in a post on X on Monday. “Californians should not be forced to shoulder the burden of radical Democrats’ reckless financial mismanagement.” “Even Jerry Brown refused to expand Medi-Cal to all illegal immigrants because he knew it was fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable,” Jones wrote. “Now under Newsom, legal residents are paying the price both financially and in reduced access to healthcare. The public deserves answers: Why are the costs so much higher than what Newsom promised? What is Newsom’s plan to fix the financial disaster he created?” NEWSOM’S ‘UNFAIR’ REMARK ON GIRLS’ SPORTS BELIES RECORD AS GOVERNOR: ‘ABSOLUTE BULLS—‘ Last year, California expanded Medi-Cal to cover all low-income adults ages 26 through 49, regardless of immigration status, making it the first state to do so. Roughly 1.6 million illegal immigrants are enrolled in the state’s healthcare program, according to state data, and 15 million California residents are enrolled. “Both lawfully present and not lawfully present individuals can apply through Covered California to see if they are eligible for a health plan through Covered California or Medi-Cal,” the state’s healthcare marketplace, Covered California, says on its website. “There is no ‘waiting period’ or ‘five-year bar.’” The state initially estimated the program would cost just under $6 billion in FY 2024 to 2025. However, one year into the program, that budget has ballooned. In response, House Republicans recently advanced a proposal to cut $880 billion from a group of programs, mainly Medicaid, over the next 10 years. ‘NEEDS TO RESIGN’: BLUE STATE BLASTED FOR ASKING FOR LOAN AMID SKYROCKETING IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE COSTS Newsom’s latest budget proposal projects that California will spend $8.4 billion to cover illegal immigrants in Medi-Cal for 2024-2025, followed by $7.4 billion in 2025-2026. During a budget hearing with legislators, Michelle Bass, director of the Department of Health Care Services – which manages Medi-Cal – the state significantly underestimated the number of illegal immigrant enrollees last year. Bass said during the hearing the department had just one month of data on the new “unprecedented” policies before it had to make projections for the budget signed by Newsom, “and all happened at once.”
Bipartisan bill seeks to stop pharmacy middlemen from driving up drug costs for financial gain
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to reform the incentive structure for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), arguing that it drives up patient costs by encouraging them to favor higher-priced drugs while withholding potential savings. Led by physician and GOP Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the group introduced the “Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act” on Tuesday, requiring that PBMs in the commercial market only charge a flat fee for their services related to a specific prescription drug, versus letting them continue to charge a percentage of the drug price. PBMs are third-party intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies that serve to control drug prices and access. The current incentive structure for PBMs, according to the DRUG Act’s sponsors, encourages them to drive up the list price of drugs to increase profits. “Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have excessive influence over the prices patients pay at the pharmacy counter,” said Miller-Meeks. “Local Iowa pharmacies are closing due to greedy PBM practices, impacting proximity and access to medications for Iowans. The DRUG Act will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices and insurance premiums by removing the incentive for PBMs to drive up the list price of medications.” I’M A HEALTHCARE CEO WHO HAS FOUGHT MEDICATION MIDDLEMEN. THEN MY DAUGHTER’S CONDITION MADE IT PERSONAL. According to the Iowa Pharmacy Association, PBMs have been using opaque reimbursement models that often pay back pharmacies less than the list cost of a drug and the services provided to dispense it. As a result of these practices, pharmacies in Iowa and across the country have been forced to close, the association said in a January report. Twenty-nine Iowa pharmacies and 2,300 pharmacies nationwide closed their doors in 2024, according to the association. While PBMs have played important roles in making drugs more widely available, through decades of mergers and acquisitions, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to a 2024 report from the Federal Trade Commission. CALIFORNIA EXPLOITING MEDICAID ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO PAY BILLIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ HEALTHCARE, STUDY SAYS The DRUG Act’s reforms serve to address this anti-competitiveness, which the bill’s sponsors say will also help lower costs. “Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) contribute to high drug costs because they are incentivized to steer patients towards drugs that are more profitable for PBMs, but may be less clinically effective for consumers,” said Rep. Nannette Barragán, D-Calif., one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “This broken system disproportionately harms low-income individuals, seniors, and those with chronic illnesses who rely on life-saving prescriptions to manage their health.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., another co-sponsor of the DRUG Act, said families in his district “are crying out for relief from high prescription drug prices.” “Americans deserve access to quality health care and affordable prescription drugs,” Norcross said. “The DRUG Act reins in prescription drug prices by removing the incentive for pharmacy benefit managers to drive up costs, increasing transparency and prioritizing patients over profits.”
SCOOP: Impeachment articles hit judge who ordered Trump to stop Tren de Aragua deportation flights
FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker has filed impeachment articles against the federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop deportation flights being conducted under the Alien Enemies Act. “For the past several weeks, we’ve seen several rogue activist judges try to impede the president from exercising, not only the mandate voters gave him, but his democratic and constitutional authority to keep the American people safe,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his…authority.” Gill’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accused U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg of abusing his power in levying an emergency pause on the Trump administration’s plans to deport illegal immigrants under a wartime authority first issued in 1798, which President Donald Trump recently invoked to get members of the criminal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua out of the U.S. “Chief Judge Boasberg required President Trump to turn around planes midair that had aliens associated with Tren De Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the resolution said. “This conduct jeopardizes the safety of the nation, represents an abuse of judicial power, and is detrimental to the orderly functioning of the judiciary. Using the powers of his office, Chief Judge Boasberg has attempted to seize power from the Executive Branch and interfere with the will of the American people.” TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP In a brief interview with Fox News Digital shortly before filing his resolution, Gill suggested he wanted the matter to go through the House in traditional form – which would first put the resolution in front of the House Judiciary Committee, where Gill is a member. “I’ll be talking to [Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] about it,” Gill said. “I think the best way to do this…is to go through the judiciary committee, which is where impeachment of judges runs through. I think the more we can stick with that plan, the better.” A legal firestorm is brewing after Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order Saturday night to immediately halt the Trump administration’s Tren De Aragua deportation plan. It comes in response to human rights groups arguing that Venezuelan nationals with legitimate asylum claims are in danger of being swept up in the deportations, despite having no known connection to the notorious gang. The Texas Republican, who is class president for first-term members in the 119th Congress, first threatened to file impeachment articles against Boasberg on Sunday. Trump backed the move on Tuesday morning in a fiery post on his Truth Social account. Trump called him a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator,” adding, “HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY.” “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote. Gill accused Boasberg of knowingly “tying the president’s hands so that Trump and his team, instead of executing on the mandate the voters gave him, are litigating every single action that the president is taking.” He said it was “unconstitutional” and a “usurpation of executive authority.” The Trump administration has pointed out that the judge’s written order was issued after two planes carrying alleged gang members were already in the air, arguing it was too late to turn the planes around at that point. A third plane that took off after the first two was not carrying any Alien Enemies Act deportees, the administration said. “All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge’s written order, took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. She said the administration did not run afoul of any court order. However, Boasberg pushed back in a court hearing later that day, according to The Associated Press, saying at one point to the Trump administration’s lawyer, “I’m just asking how you think my equitable powers do not attach to a plane that has departed the U.S., even if it’s in international airspace.” RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA The standoff could make it all the way to the Supreme Court and could have seismic repercussions on the bounds of lower-level federal judges’ authority. Gill’s move also comes after similar threats by other Trump allies in the House. Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., have all vowed to file impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer for blocking Department of Government Efficiency efforts. The court declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Gill’s resolution.