In The News Today, and other things.

CA lawmakers seek audit of $9.5B illegal immigrant health care

California legislators are demanding an audit of the taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal program for its cost overruns relating to its $9.5 billion spent this year on illegal immigrant health care and the resulting impact on citizens’ Medi-Cal care.

Legislators say the governor’s administration has admitted that half of the state’s near doubling of Medi-Cal spending is from providing health care to illegal immigrants.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has requested a $6.2 billion bailout of the program, which recently experienced significant expansions in eligibility and costs of care.

On the eligibility side, the state now allows those with qualifying incomes to apply regardless of immigration status, or held assets, meaning illegal immigrants and those with possibly millions of dollars in assets but little in income, to secure taxpayer-funded health care.

“Over the past six years, General Fund spending on Medi-Cal has nearly doubled to $42.1 billion, and total spending on Medi-Cal has grown by 84.2 percent totaling to $188.1 billion,” wrote Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, in an audit request letter signed by nine of the Republican members of the Assembly. “The Governor’s Administration admits that nearly one half of the growth in General Fund Medi-Cal spending results from California’s expansion of full-scope Medi-Cal to undocumented immigrants.”

The audit requests include an examination into the program’s cost overruns, cost of illegal immigrant care, impact of illegal immigrant care on citizens’ access to care, and whether the state has illegally requested or been reimbursed for by the federal government for illegal immigrant care.

Republican leaders emphasized that the brunt of the impact from the program expansion is existing beneficiaries, who often struggle to find care….

EU Mulls Tariff Response as Top European Pharma Lobby Warns of “Mass Exodus” of Manufacturing to the U.S.

With the European Union struggling to formulate a coherent response to President Donald Trump’s Liberal Day tariffs, Europe’s top pharma lobby has warned of a “mass exodus” of drug research and manufacturing to the United States.

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the leading lobby representing Europe’s pharma industry, told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that “Trump’s tariffs would accelerate the industry’s shift away from Europe and toward the US,” the Belgian news website Eurativ reported Wednesday.

European news reports suggest panic is setting in among EU bureaucrats as President Trump’s tariffs—a 20 percent tariff on EU goods across the board (in addition to 25 percent on steel and aluminium imports)—come into effect on Wednesday.

Despite tough talk, the EU commissars are yet to formulate a unified response. “As US tariffs on EU exports escalate, Europe scrambles for a unified response,” Germany’s state-run the DW TV reported. “Since Trump’s bold announcement in the White House Rose Garden last Wednesday, the EU has been grappling with how to respond effectively.”

Noting the fallout from President Trump’s decision, the German state TV channel wrote Tuesday that the “new tariffs will impact around 70% of all EU exports to the US, valued at €532 billion ($585 billion) in 2024. Trump has defended the measures, pointing to Europe’s substantial trade surplus with the US, which reached $235.6 billion (€215.5 billion) in 2024, according to US government figures.”…

White House Confirms Thousands of USAID Firings Will Happen by September

Thousands of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees will be terminated by September as the Trump administration restructures the agency to fall in line with the president’s “America First” policy, Fox News Digital learned.

“President Trump and Secretary Rubio are effectively stewarding taxpayer dollars while ensuring that foreign aid programs align with America’s national interests,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox Digital Monday. “That includes eliminating staff positions that do not advance the President’s foreign policy goals to put America First.”

Congress did not establish the USAID. President John F. Kennedy formed the agency by executive order in 1961.

That is the difference between the USAID and other departments. For example, President Donald Trump cannot dissolve the Department of Education because its formation went through Congress.

Last month, the State Department confirmed it ended USAID as an independent organization after DOGE discovered so much waste.

The administration will cut a total of 4,650 personnel from USAID.

Between now and July, the State Department “will assess staffing requirements to proceed with an independent hiring process.”…

SCOTUS blocks order to reinstate thousands of federal workers in major win for DOGE

A judge’s order to reinstate the thousands of federal workers fired by the Trump administration has been blocked by the Supreme Court.

As part of its effort to dramatically downsize the federal government, the Trump administration has been axing agencies at the behest of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, with at least 24,000 probationary employees having been terminated.

The ruling is the third major court win for the White House this week after giving the greenlight deportations under the 1789 Alien Enemies Act and upholding a freeze on teaching grants.

The case came down to the Supreme Court after the White House filed an emergency appeal regarding the termination of probationary workers.

A federal judge in California ordered the administration to reinstate 16,000 probationary employees across six federal agencies amid a lawsuit for the action.

The Supreme Court ordered that the probationary employees impacted by the lawsuit be placed on paid administrative leave indefinitely as the lawsuit proceeds.

Key Trump defense pick Elbridge Colby confirmed despite GOP opposition – as JD Vance rips McConnell for ‘political pettiness’

President Trump’s nominee for a top Pentagon position, Elbridge Colby, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday in a bipartisan vote, despite concerns among some Republicans over his dovish views on Iran and lukewarm support for Ukraine.

Colby, 45, was confirmed in a 54-45 vote to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, with three Democrats crossing the aisle in support and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky the only member of his party to oppose.

Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), along with Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed (D-RI), backed Colby, who cleared the Armed Services panel in a closed-door vote last week.

A close friend of Vice President JD Vance, the new third-ranking Pentagon official will now be tasked with briefing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, implementing Trump’s National Security Strategy and developing Defense Planning Guidance for military programs, budget requests and other policy matters…

Going Rogue with Lara Logan Episode 10 | Fauci, Chemtrails & Tesla Protestors

Lara Logan holds court with Luke Coffee and Producer Keith as they discuss whether Fauci will be held accountable, if chemtrails are real and what RFK Jr. might do about it, and how well Tesla protestors dancing the electric slide fits with the music of the Third Reich.

Hegseth Says US & Panama Will Take Back Panama Canal ‘From China’s Influence’ Amidst Tariff Standoff

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Panama’s public security minister Frank Abrego hold a press briefing in Panama City, Panama.

U.S.-Iran to negotiate directly in Oman; CENTCOM to escalate strikes on Houthis TV7Israel News 08.04

1) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stresses that Jerusalem will not accept any country use Syria as a base for attacks against Israel.

2) U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the United States is set to negotiate with Iran directly about its nuclear program.

3) Greece holds a multi-national air-force exercise that includes fourteen nations – involving the United States, Israel and Qatar, among others.

DOGE Is SAVING Social Security and Medicaid From Illegal Aliens

Trump Slaps 104% Tariff on Communist China After Beijing Defies U.S. Warning

President Donald Trump isn’t playing games with Communist China anymore.

Trump has unleashed a crushing 104% tariff on Communist China, effective immediately.

According to Fox Business, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dropped the bombshell earlier today, confirming that the tariffs kicked in at noon ET. Why? Because China’s commie overlords refused to back down from their own retaliatory duties on American goods.

According to FOX Business Network’s Edward Lawrence, the White House made the move swiftly and decisively.

“White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says 104% additional tariffs went into effect at noon eastern time because China has not removed its retaliation,” Lawrence reported. “The 104% additional tariff will be collected starting tomorrow, April 9th.”…

US withholding water from Mexico to address debt, official says

**(Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)**

Under a 1944 international treaty, Mexico is supposed to send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the United States via the Rio Grande over five-year cycles. The current cycle ends in October and so far Mexico has paid less than 500,000 acre-feet of water — about a quarter of what it owes, according to IBWC data.

The United States, likewise, under the treaty is required to send to Mexico 1.5 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River.

But Giner says requested deliveries to Tijuana, Mexico, south of San Diego, were not recently fulfilled. And she says more holding back of water, and other resources, could come next if Mexico fails to send the U.S. water.

“The State Department is evaluating all of its options that it has to leverage Mexico,” Giner told Border Report.

The stark action by the Trump administration is the first time in recent history that the United States has withheld water. And it comes after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins visited the Rio Grande Valley on March 19 along with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas.

Vietnam to buy US defense to tackle trade gap, asks for pause on tariffs

Vietnam is looking to buy more American defense and security products. The promise comes with a request for a 45-day delay in the implementation of U.S. tariffs.

Vietnam’s prime minister said the move would help address a trade gap. In his announcement on Monday, April 7, he added Hanoi will also aim for quicker deliveries of commercial planes ordered from the United States for Vietnamese airlines.

The U.S. is Vietnam’s largest export market. Hanoi had a more than $123 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2024.

The prime minister asked the United States to pause the 46% tariff rate that the Trump administration announced last week to facilitate talks.

The prime minister said in a statement that he is looking to “negotiate with the U.S. side for balanced and sustainable trade, in line with the interest of the two sides.”…

US sends largest stealth bomber force to Indian Ocean base

The U.S. military has deployed six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, marking what analysts call the largest forward deployment of its kind.

Satellite imagery confirmed the bombers on the airbase tarmac alongside refueling tankers and support aircraft. The Pentagon has not publicly acknowledged the operation.

Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, verified the images and noted the scale is unprecedented for B-2 bombers. The aircraft are within operational range of Iran.

The B-2s are equipped to carry conventional and nuclear weapons, including bunker-busting munitions. Their stealth design enables them to bypass radar defenses and their range allows for missions to Iran and back without refueling.

The visibility of the bombers in satellite imagery is believed to be intentional. Defense experts say the deployment serves as a strategic signal amid rising tensions with Tehran.

In addition to the B-2s, the U.S. has kept two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region. A-10 Warthogs and missile defense systems have been sent to Israel. These moves reflect growing pressure on Iran and its allies….

Tens of thousands more migrants could be headed to El Salvador’s hellhole prison, Kristi Noem says — as she warns all illegal migrants are now criminals

Kristi Noem said that tens of thousands more criminal migrants could be rounded up and sent to El Salvador’s brutal Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) prison following a ruling by the Supreme Court this week.

“You’ll see us continuing to partner with El Salvador. CECOT has the capacity for 40,000 individuals, and [El Salvador President Nayib Bukele] has said they’ll take as many as we want to send,” the Department of Homeland Security secretary said.

“There’s 14,000 there now, and he said he plans to build another prison right next to it.”

The revelation came during a federal raid in Phoenix Tuesday morning led by Noem in which three convicted felon migrants were busted.

Noem told The Post that there’s plenty of room in the notorious hellhole prison, and that the Trump administration won’t shy away from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act after getting the green light from the high court on Monday.

“We’re going to continue using that act in order to return people from these terrorist organizations to face consequences and be removed from our country,” she said.

Noem also highlighted new provisions of the Alien Registration Act of 1940, which are set to go into effect on April 11. The law requires foreign nationals who have been in the US 30 days or longer to register with the federal government or be subject to fines, imprisonment or deportation….

Trump Makes a Huge Move Against Illegal Immigrants

President Trump is done playing games with illegal immigrants who refuse to leave after receiving deportation orders.

The administration announced a bold new plan to impose hefty $998 daily fines on migrants who overstay their deportation orders. It’s not stopping there, either; it will also seize property from those who don’t pay up.

This is exactly the kind of decisive action we need to address our immigration crisis. The fines stem from a 1996 law that Trump first utilized during his first term in 2018. The Biden administration, naturally, had halted this practice when it took office in 2021.

But now it is back, and this time, the administration is taking it several steps further by applying penalties retroactively for up to five years.

Naturally, the left is already crying foul, because that’s what they do whenever Trump does something. Former ICE policy official Scott Shuchart tried to paint this enforcement action as some kind of scare tactic, claiming, “Their point isn’t really to enforce the law, it’s to project fear in communities.”

It’s nice to have a president who understands that allowing 1.4 million people with deportation orders to simply ignore them makes a mockery of our immigration system.

The Department of Homeland Security issued the warning about potential fines in a March 31 social media post, U.S. News reports.

Internal emails show the White House is pushing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to handle not just the fines, but also property seizures and asset sales for those who refuse to pay. The Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture division could get involved as well….