A Maryland senator in El Salvador
A Maryland senator in El Salvador
Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Check out USA TODAY Studio IX, our exciting new hub for women's sports.
Here's the news to know on Thursday:
The Trump admin defended a Maryland man's deportation.
Republican town halls across the country are increasingly vitriolic.
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing changed America forever.
Maryland senator travels to El Salvador
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he wasn't able to access the infamous prison in El Salvador where Maryland father and sheet metal worker Kilmar Abrego Garcia is currently being held.
"I won't stop trying": Van Hollen said he spoke with the vice president of El Salvador, Félix Ulloa, and asked for a meeting but was refused. He also said wasn't able to speak to Abrego Garcia by phone.
"If he ever ends up back inside the United States, he would immediately be deported again": The Trump administration on Wednesday defended the deportation of Abrego Garcia, despite admitting the man was wrongly removed from the country.
The Trump administration on Wednesday defended the deportation of Abrego Garcia, despite admitting the man was wrongly removed from the country. The Trump administration also raised domestic violence allegations against Abrego Garcia. USA TODAY spoke with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, about the alleged incident.
USA TODAY spoke with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, about the alleged incident. Meanwhile, Trump administration officials could face criminal contempt charges for violating a U.S. federal judge's order halting deportations of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang who had no chance to challenge their removals, a judge said on Wednesday.
RFK Jr. wants to find 'cause' of autism. Here's what people in the autism community think.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier this month the government will know the cause of the "autism epidemic' by September, and will be able to "eliminate those exposures" that he says are behind the condition and increasing diagnoses. Kennedy's statement was met with an overwhelming amount of contempt from much of the autism community, who express pride for their neurodivergence. But some parents of autistic children who disagree with Kennedy's wording still want answers.
More news to know now
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Anger erupts at Republican lawmakers' town halls
"Why is MTG supporting Musk and DOGE and the slashing of Medicaid, Social Security offices, libraries and more?"
~ One attendee identified as Sarah at a town hall held by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, on April 15. The contentious meeting involved three people getting arrested and two people being tased by police after threatening officers. It was one of multiple fired-up crowds Republican lawmakers are facing across the nation at public listening sessions.
Tariffs proves confusing — even for foreign countries
Amid a tense trade war with China, a White House statement that some Chinese goods face 245% tariffs generated confusion in Beijing. Was it another escalation? No. Trump's new tariffs on China still stand at 145%. But the White House quickly tried to clear things up, saying the 245% figure that they put into the April 15 document - outlining the context for a new executive order from President Donald Trump - represents all previous and new tariffs on some Chinese goods dating to the Biden and first Trump administrations. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. said in a statement "the U.S. has increasingly weaponized tariffs, to the point of losing rationality."
Today's talkers
The explosion that changed America
Thirty years after the Oklahoma City bombing, experts say its long-lasting impacts are complicated: From lessons learned about the power of a unified community to those less grasped about the grievances of growing right-wing extremism − all amid concerns the horrific event is slipping from memory. The incident on April 19, 1995, also ushered in a new era of homegrown violence that would gradually color American life. USA TODAY spoke with survivors of the bombing, who say after that day, 'kids have to live in fear for their lives."
Photo of the day: We can't wait to watch 'Tony & Ziva'
Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are finally back as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David in "NCIS: Tony & Ziva" ‒ and they're bringing their 12-year-old daughter Tali (Isla Gie) along for the adventure. Check out exclusive first-look photos of the eagerly awaited "NCIS" spinoff.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
29 minutes ago
- Fox News
Hunt for Father Accused of Killing Three Daughters
Hunt for Father Accused of Killing Three Daughters, Sean 'Diddy' Combs is asking for a mistrial, President Trump appeared at a Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New Jersey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Axios
42 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump shrugs off possible reconciliation with Musk
President Trump said he assumes his relationship with Elon Musk has ended and that he has no desire to repair it after the pair publicly fell out last week. "I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken," Trump said of the billionaire in a phone call with NBC News' Kristen Welker. The big picture: Trump's comments also came with a warning to Musk when the president said the Tesla CEO could face "serious consequences" should he fund Democratic candidates in the next election running against Republicans who vote for Trump's "big, beautiful bill." The billionaire, who contributed more than $290 million to Republicans in the 2024 election but has since said he'd cut back on political spending, posted last week that politicians "who betrayed the American people" should be fired in November. Trump declined to elaborate on what the consequences would be for Musk. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a Sunday interview on ABC's "This Week" that it would be a "big mistake" for Musk to go after Republicans who vote for the bill. Driving the news: Trump said he has no plans to speak to the Tesla CEO during the Saturday phone interview with Welker. Asked if he thought his relationship with Musk was over, Trump said he "would assume so." He accused the once-close administration ally of being "disrespectful to the office of the President." Catch up quick: The alliance between Trump and the former chainsaw-wielding face of DOGE exploded last week as Musk continuously campaigned against the massive tax-and-spending package, blasting it as a "disgusting abomination." Speaking to reporters during an Oval Office appearance alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Thursday, Trump said he was "very disappointed" in Musk, who he claimed was very familiar with the inner workings of the legislation. While Trump talked, Musk fired back in real-time on X, claiming in one post that Trump would have lost the election without him. Zoom in: In one post that appears to have been deleted, Musk accused the president of being "in the Epstein files." Trump told NBC that it's "old news."
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Big Beautiful Bill Looks To Reverse Affordable Care Act Coverage Gains
The House budget reconciliation bill, dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' includes large cuts in Medicaid spending that could lead to millions of newly uninsured individuals if the legislation passes in the Senate. The proposed law also contains provisions that alter the Affordable Care Act exchange landscape, potentially leading to millions more uninsured. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that at least five million current marketplace enrollees would lose coverage by 2034. The nonpartisan and policy research firm KFF says the number of people with marketplace plans could shrink even more, by around eight million. Changes in the ACA marketplace would make coverage more expensive, as enhanced tax credits expire, and harder to obtain as open enrollment windows shorten, the paperwork burden for beneficiaries increases and automatic re-enrollment ends. Americans who purchase health coverage through the ACA marketplace exchanges could also soon face higher out-of-pocket maximums in their coverage plans, which means higher cost-sharing. The United States Treasury Department announced in Sept. 2024 that almost 50 million people have obtained healthcare coverage through marketplace exchanges created by the ACA since its enactment more than a decade ago. The Department data show that one in seven Americans have been or are covered by the law. And between President Biden's inauguration in Jan. 2021 and Sept. 2024, 18.2 million Americans got ACA coverage for the first time. Rising enrollment since 2021 has been driven by an expansion under the Biden Administration of premium tax credits to include individuals and families with household incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level, which equates to $58,000 for a single person and $120,000 for a family of four. Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate, in concert with the Trump administration, are now looking to reverse some of those gains. The ACA has gone through a tumultuous history since it was signed in 2010. The law has faced repeated calls for repeal by Republicans. For several years following its passage it wasn't a particularly well-liked piece of legislation, Yet the ACA is now more popular than ever, with over 60% of the public having a favorable view of the law, according to KFF. The ACA is a comprehensive reform bill, passed by Congress in 2010, that increases health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implements a wide range of reforms to the health insurance market as well as an expansion of Medicaid, the public insurance program that provides health coverage to low-income families and individuals. Importantly, under the ACA, individuals who may have been uninsured due to preexisting conditions or limited finances can secure affordable health plans through the health insurance marketplaces established by the law. The demographics of people on Medicaid are fairly similar to those enrolled in ACA plans. The legislation has its critics. They point to certain flaws in design and implementation, Indeed, in the early years under the Obama Administration, insurers exited in droves and premiums rates increased substantially. Under the first Trump administration, ACA enrollment fell overall while numbers of uninsured rose by more than two million. Following unsuccessful efforts to scuttle the ACA, the president issued executive orders to 'improve ACA market dynamics.' ACA exchanges did stabilize in the latter half of Trump's first term as insurers returned and the rate of premium growth decreased. When Biden assumed office, his administration sought to enlarge the ACA program and counter several of the changes implemented by the first Trump administration that had shrunk its size. The Biden administration was largely successful in terms of increasing the number of people who signed up in the ACA exchanges and reducing the percentage of Americans without health insurance. Troubled times for folks enrolled in the ACA exchanges aren't solely because of possible passage of the budget reconciliation bill. CVS Health announced last month it will pull Aetna out of the ACA marketplace in 2026, leaving about one million people across 17 states searching for new healthcare coverage. Aetna's withdrawal from the marketplace will mark the second time the carrier stepped away from the ACA exchanges. The company left the ACA marketplace in 2018 and came back in 2022. Other carriers left the individual health insurance marketplace in 2017 and 2018 amid uncertainty over whether the ACA would be repealed or replaced. While there isn't the same kind of uncertainty now regarding the ACA's survival, disruption is occurring in the space. This could soon lead to more carriers exiting the market.
