US to increase oversight on Medicaid use for immigrant healthcare
May 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Tuesday it will increase oversight to stop states from using Medicaid dollars to cover healthcare for illegal immigrants.
More than 71 million people are covered by Medicaid, a federal health insurance program for low-income Americans.
CMS is ramping up financial oversight across the board to identify and stop improper spending, the agency said, opens new tab.
U.S. President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, which was passed earlier this month, excludes non-citizens from Medicaid and penalizes states that use their own funds to provide coverage to illegal immigrants.
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Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Reuters
Shares dither, dollar falls as trade angst persists
SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) - Asia shares edged cautiously higher on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a six-week low as erratic U.S. trade policies clouded over markets and investors turned defensive ahead of key developments later in the week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. The call between the two leaders will be closely watched by markets to see if the tariff-induced blow to global stocks and the dollar this year could get some reprieve or ratchet up, as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies simmer. Data on Monday showed U.S. manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in May and suppliers took the longest time in nearly three years to deliver inputs amid tariffs. "The May ISM showed tariff pressure is beginning to bite for manufacturers who are seeing slowing activity, longer lead times and declining inventories," said economists at Wells Fargo. China's factory activity in May also shrank for the first time in eight months, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday, indicating U.S. tariffs are starting to hurt manufacturers. The gloomy global trade situation left U.S. futures falling early in the Asian session, failing to sustain the slight gains made during the cash session on Wall Street overnight. Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both down 0.2% each. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures advanced 0.28% and FTSE futures added 0.15%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab reversed early losses to last trade 0.6% higher, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab rose 0.66%. "Trump really does have sentiment in the palm of his hands once again," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index. "I suspect we'll hear about 'a really great call' or words to the effect," he said, referring to the expected call between Trump and Xi. "But we'll need to wait for confirmation from China, who tends to take their time on these matters. Until we get concrete confirmation, price action could be shaky and vulnerable to false also have the June 4 deadline for 'best trade deals' from U.S. trading partners to factor in." In China, mainland markets returned from an extended break on a muted note, with the CSI300 blue-chip index (.CSI300), opens new tab up 0.23% while the Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC), opens new tab gained 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HIS), opens new tab jumped more than 1%, rebounding from Monday's one-month low. The dollar fell to a six-week low against a basket of currencies to 98.58 on Tuesday, ahead of Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, which will offer a timely reading on the pulse of activity in the world's largest economy. A rise in unemployment is one of the few developments that could get the Federal Reserve to start thinking of easing policy again, with investors having largely given up on a cut this month or next. The euro scaled a six-week top earlier in the session before paring some of its gains to last trade at $1.1426, while sterling dipped 0.09% to $1.3532. A softer U.S. jobs report would be a relief for the Treasury market, where 30-year yields continue to flirt with the 5% barrier as investors demand a higher premium to offset the ever-expanding supply of debt. The Senate this week will start considering a tax-and-spending bill that will add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt. "The evidence suggests term premium being re-priced considerably higher to account for U.S. fiscal, trade, credit, and geoeconomic risks alongside some hedge against (U.S. dollar) debasement," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho. The dollar was up 0.35% against the yen at 143.20 , reversing some of its 0.9% decline from the previous session. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday it is important to make policy judgements without any preset ideas as uncertainty over global tariff policies remains extremely high. In commodities, oil prices rose on concerns about supply, with Brent crude futures climbing 0.88% to $65.20 a barrel, while U.S. crude surged 1% to $63.13 per barrel. Spot gold rose to a roughly one-month high of $3,392.03 an ounce.
The Guardian
41 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I was let out': New Orleans man who escaped jail pleads case on social media
A man still at large after escaping from a New Orleans jail last month appears to have taken to social media to plead his case to the public. In a video that quickly went viral, the man identifying himself as Antoine Massey – one of 10 prisoners who fled from the Orleans Justice center (OJC) on 16 May – said he was wrongfully accused and held up papers he said corroborate his innocence. 'They say that I broke out,' he said, speaking directly to the camera. 'I didn't break out. I was let out.' Authorities have been searching the New Orleans area for more than two weeks since the men squeezed through a hole behind a toilet in the jail. Graffiti left on the wall included the message 'To Easy LoL' with an arrow pointing to the gap. Eight of the 10 have been apprehended, along with more than a dozen people – many of them friends and family – arrested on allegations of helping the group with food, cash, transportation or shelter, according to court documents. Along with Massey, Derrick Groves has not yet been found. Officials have not yet verified that the person in the footage was Massey. But the man in the video, clad in a sweatsuit and sitting on a stool in a minimally furnished kitchen, has the facial tattoos that match Massey's. He called for an investigation into his conviction and asked for help from public figures, including Donald Trump and Meek Mill. Holding up a wrinkled paper to the camera, he claimed he had a signed affidavit from a woman he is accused of assaulting saying the allegations are false. 'If you was an innocent person,' he said, 'why would you stay in jail?' Massey was being held on the theft of a vehicle and for a domestic abuse charge involving strangulation when he escaped. He has a history of both domestic violence charges and escaping from incarceration. At the age of 15 he broke out of a juvenile detention center with five others using metal shackles to break a window and was on the run for weeks, CNN reported. Massey slipped under a fence in the exercise yard of a detention center at age 27. Court records show there was a third attempt, along with several cases alleging he 'tampered and/or removed the court-ordered GPS monitor'. Now 32, Massey appears to be claiming this attempt to get out is justified. Meanwhile, the FBI, US Marshals Service, state and local police, and the Orleans parish sheriff's office have continued the search. As of Monday, the reward was set for $50,000 if information leads to the arrest of Groves or Massey. In a statement, the Orleans parish sheriff's office said they were aware of the video and encouraged Massey to turn himself in. 'If the individual depicted in the video is indeed Antoine Massey, we strongly urge him to come forward and turn himself in to the proper authorities,' the statement said. 'Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges. It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.' The Associated Press contributed reporting
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Spy suspect ‘did not want to leave fortune cookie as calling card'
A British businessman accused of spying for China told an FBI informant not to leave a fortune cookie as a calling card at the scene of a planned assault on a Chinese-American dissident, according to court documents. John Miller, 63, was arrested in April while on a business trip in Belgrade, Serbia, on the orders of the FBI after a sting operation in which he was allegedly caught spying for China and trying to buy military hardware in the US for the People's Liberation Army. Court documents allege that Miller was caught referring to President Xi as 'the boss' in intercepted phone calls, showing he was acting under the 'direction' of Beijing. Miller, who is from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, as well as being a permanent resident of the US, is also alleged to have organised the surveillance and harassment of a Chinese-American artist who was critical of the Chinese regime, telling a henchman to make him an 'offer he can't refuse … like the Godfather'. In one phone call with an FBI informant in October 2023, Miller allegedly suggested attacking the artist and leaving him unable to walk. The artist had created an 'embarrassing' sculpture showing Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, kneeling on sand, naked from the waist up. 'It's the message they give. You know? We're gonna make sure you're not f***ing walking. We're gonna put you in a wheelchair for three f***ing months or something. That's what I'll say. That's it. It's their signature,' he said, according to court documents. Later in the call, he is said to have told the informant: 'The message has to be you ain't walking for a little while motherf***er. Not giving him brain damage. Just lower body damage.' In response, the informant allegedly suggested they 'leave a fortune cookie so they know it was a China man', to which Miller said: 'Oh no they don't want any connection to a China man.' According to the court documents, the informant responded: 'Oh. Leave leave a pork rind.' Miller allegedly replied: 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, make it look like a mugging … And there'd be another message coming.' When asked what the other message was Miller allegedly said that the artist's family could be targeted next. He is claimed to have agreed with the informant that the planned assault was 'absolutely f***ing overkiller' but that it was all about 'what the big fella wants'. Miller was arrested on April 24 in Serbia, where he is being held after being accused of conspiring with a US-based Chinese citizen called Cui Guanghai, 43. The businessman has been charged in the US with interstate stalking, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, smuggling and violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Miller is accused of conspiring with Cui Guanghai. Both could face up to 40 years in prison if they are convicted If convicted, both Miller and Guanghai, who held a position in the Chinese government, according to documents filed at the Eastern District Court of Wisconsin, face up to 40 years in prison. A 14-page Wisconsin indictment alleges that Miller, a recruitment specialist, was caught in a sting after arms dealers he was negotiating with turned out to be undercover FBI agents. He is accused of attempting to procure equipment including surface-to-air missiles, predator drones and a handheld device for the secure communication of 'classified and sensitive national security information'. A second 67-page indictment, filed in California, accuses Miller and Guanghai, known as 'Jack', of mounting the operation against the artist. Transcripts between Miller and an associate allege they discussed assaulting the artist, either by shooting him or hitting him with a baseball bat. Miller is also alleged to have orchestrated a scheme in which the FBI informant hired actors to stage a pro-China protest against a visit by the president of Taiwan to the US. On Sunday neighbours of Miller's £1.5 million, five-bedroom home described him as a respectable family man who often went to the Far East for business. According to Companies House records, Miller has been a director or a majority shareholder of at least nine firms, including the now-dissolved TEFL Jobs China Ltd. The Foreign Office said: 'We are providing consular assistance to a British national following his arrest in Serbia in April and are in touch with the local authorities and his family.'
