Jennifer Garner steps up for Head Start program
When an early draft of the president's budget threatened to defund the Head Start program, the early education program that serves some of the nation's neediest preschoolers, supporters including actress Jennifer Garner rallied in its defense. Jacob Soboroff reports.
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San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Now that Musk has turned his chainsaw on Trump, what happens to all the government data he accessed?
For anyone who's seen the quintessential slasher classic 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' the destructive power of a man wielding a chainsaw is the indisputable stuff of nightmares. But the same could easily be said about this year's remake featuring Elon Musk, where the dancing chainsaw slasher reenacted, for Conservative Political Action Conference theatergoers, a scene eerily reminiscent of the original. I'm thinking, specifically, of that unforgettable final scene, where Leatherface fades to black swinging his gas-powered murder weapon wildly through the air as he helplessly watches his last potential victim make her last-minute daring escape, dangling from the back of a stranger's pickup truck. Social Security? Gutted. Veterans programs? Gutted. Alzheimer's, cancer and climate research? Gutted. School lunches, Head Start, the entire Department of Education? All gutted. Air safety, food safety, consumer protections? Gutted. Gutted. Gutted. Museums, libraries, hospitals, childcare? You get the drift. And what about all those thousands of federal workers whose jobs were cut? It'll take us years to recover from these self-inflicted wounds. Not to mention the generational damage wrought to our standing in the global community by what is possibly Musk's proudest personal achievement: the decimation of America's foreign assistance programs feeding starving children, combating human trafficking, fighting malaria and reducing the transmission of HIV. All summarized, of course, by the heartless tweet: 'We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.' While the long-term consequences of these actions may be difficult to gauge, conservative estimates are measured in the tens of thousands. But now, apparently, our modern-day Leatherface has turned his power tool on the guy who gave him the chainsaw in the first place. Even implying that his former boss was involved in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking conspiracy, and has since conspired to bury the evidence that would expose Trump's connections to Epstein's decades-long criminal activities — sort of hard to put that toothpaste back into the tube, wouldn't you say? At first glance, this appears to have all the makings of an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, fought in the middle of a monster truck rally. This calls to mind the 1990s Claymation TV show 'Celebrity Deathmatch,' where preposterously paired big-name personalities (Hillary vs. Monica? Prince Charles vs. Prince?) fought to the death. Promises to be one hell of a show! What America may be in danger of losing sight of in the ensuing spectacle is the real threat to our national security posed by the world's richest man, who, until quite recently, enjoyed unfettered access to everything the government knows about you. Never before has the data your federal government collects about every American been consolidated into a single database. It has always, religiously, been 'siloed' into disconnected data systems — some at the Treasury Department, some at the Education Department, some at the Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration, among other agencies — but always carefully stored and guarded by the separate entities collecting the data. The New York Times, for example, recently published a comprehensive story detailing 314 specific personal details your government potentially knows about you. I suggest giving that a read. A week ago, this casual observer would have assumed these two men, Trump and Musk, were acting with a single motive. Assembling the master data that could make possible Trump's ambitions for sweeping dictatorial powers, and for Musk's ambitions. The sheer volume of data, of course, far outstrips anything that social media titans like Mark Zuckerberg or Musk could legally monetize. And, in any event, certainly not the quid pro quo one might expect for a $288 million campaign contribution. Musk seemed, instead, to be carving himself a unique role in a near-future authoritarian oligarchy, as the undisputed Richelieu to Trump's Louis XIII. But, alas, that was not to be. What is to be, is the shocking revelation that a man who just days ago was given the ceremonial key to the White House — and in the weeks prior, the key to just about every federal government data base — has now cut all ties, and who we know talks regularly with Vladimir Putin, with whom he enjoys a reportedly friendly relationship, is now a free agent. Did Musk take the data with him? To me, the answer seems obvious. The way his pot-smoking 'college dropouts' sauntered into agency after rarified government agency, enjoying open access to virtually anything they wanted — and then they were called out by a whistleblower for uploading huge troves of data to an unsecured server. Within minutes, after Russian hackers had apparently been tipped off, they tried to download it using the correct passwords. We are told that in the end, the Russians were unable to access the data. Whether or not that denial is accurate and truthful, however, again, what should be obvious is that Musk's team successfully spirited your personal information from secure government databases to god knows where. That is the reality to which we wake today, and now every day. Let's hope that after those two Claymation figures have beaten the clay out of each other, someone comes up with a plan to clean up the mess they made. Before it's too late. Brett Wagner, now retired, served as professor of national security decision making for the U.S. Naval War College and adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Cuts at what cost? Childhood care and education leaders weigh in on spending bill's impacts
( — As the Senate continues to debate the passage of the 'Big, Beautiful Bill', California leaders in early childhood care and education are anticipating the impacts of looming federal cuts. Bianca Ventura sat down with First 5 California and Child Care Resource Center representatives on Wednesday. The two organizations have been advocating for California children and families on Capitol Hill. Though they've seen bipartisan support in preserving children's resources like Head Start, they say potential cuts to Medi-Cal and nutritional programs like SNAP could impact children's overall health. 'There are huge cuts proposed in the House reconciliation package to the Medicaid program,' said Vice President of the Child Care Resource Center, Donna Sneeringer. 'Many of those recipients are young children. I think one of the things that we have been trying to speak with lawmakers about, as well as with the public, is that this will not just impact those who are receiving those services through Covered California. They are going to impact our overall health care system. Particularly our rural health care system, our hospitals. It will impact our emergency room services. Everyone's care will become harder to come by and more expensive.' If federal investments are rolled back on health services, food support, and child care, the experts we spoke with anticipate that some of the costs will be shifted. Possibly putting the burden on employers to provide access to health care. 'A lot of businesses, because they are also struggling themselves with the affordability crisis and materials. They can't necessarily afford the robust health care that their employees deserve,' said First 5 California Executive Director, Jackie Wong. 'However, a lot of their employees are likely on Medicaid.' Wong adds that many of those employees work entry-level positions that the state relies on to support the economy. As for education, when we last checked in with leaders in early childhood development and care. President Trump's executive order to dismantle the Department of Education was still in effect. Since then, a federal judge blocked the administration's efforts to eliminate the department while ordering the rehiring of employees who were fired in mass layoffs. Yet, Wong tells us cuts within the department have made it difficult to carry out administrative tasks, like completing payments to Head Start providers. She even learned of cuts to certain programs the last time she traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with Congressional leaders. 'While we were there, actually, we had gotten wind that grants to steward mental health got cut,' said Wong. 'They are actually, in real time, pulling back and clawing back their investments that actually have supported young learners, as well as our students and our student community.' As for what's next? Representatives with First 5 California and the CCRC are going to continue their advocacy in Washington D.C. CCRC is currently collecting stories in hopes of sharing them with congressional lawmakers who want to hear the impacts of federal funding cuts firsthand. Families and caregivers are encouraged to share their testimonies of how they are making ends meet while navigating food costs, health and child care, along with living expenses. You can find more details and pass along your story to state representatives by visiting Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Federal budget cuts threaten essential programs in Rockford, mayor says
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara emphasized concerns regarding how federal budget cuts will affect the city at Monday's 'State of the City' address. The annual address was given in City Council chambers, where McNamara said, 'Federal funding pauses, shifts in priorities, and changes in grant programs will not only impact our local government, but it will impact our nonprofits, our businesses, and many, many residents who rely on those funds.' 'So let me be clear. If the federal government does cut programs such as Headstart, LIHEAP and housing programs, the city simply cannot cover. The costs in our community will suffer. our residents, Rockfordians will suffer,' he added. McNamara said the city continues to see growth in several areas, including population, housing, and property values. 'Property values have grown by more than 50%, and they are at our city's highest point in our history. And at the same time, property values are up. Our property tax rate is the lowest it's been since 1984. We are actually we are the only major taxing body in Winnebago County that has actually reduced its property tax levy over the last ten years. Heck, even the is taking note of our work,' said McNamara. Violent crime is , he said. 'Violent crime is down. And, 're making tremendous progress in our juvenile crime. In just the last two years, we've reduced the number of juveniles being arrested by 21%,' McNamara said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
