Judge blocks renaming of Kennedy Center

The Hill - A federal judge on Friday blocked the rebranding of Kennedy Center to include President Trump’s name and ruled that officials improperly voted to close it starting this summer. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper sided with Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the center’s board who challenged the remaking of the storied performing arts center in the nation’s capital. 

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper said in his ruling. 

“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” wrote the appointee of former President Obama. 

Polls

Presidential approval rating

The Hill- President Trump’s job approval rating fell to a record low of 34 percent in this week’s YouGov/The Economist poll, marking the lowest level recorded in the survey across both of his terms in office. The rating is also lower than any approval rating former President Biden received during his presidency, according to YouGov. The Economist noted Trump “this week became the most unpopular president since our poll started in 2009.”

Generic Ballot: Public Polling Project

Dems 51% (Biggest Lead of Cycle) GOP 38% Trump Approval: Approve 39% Disapprove 57% (-18 net) Iran War Approve 34% Disapprove 58% (-24 Net)

NY Times -  Forty-three percent of voters are dissatisfied with both major political parties, according to a recent New York Times/Siena poll — the latest sign that the frustration that has built over the last decade will continue to roil American politics for the foreseeable future.  The survey’s findings highlight the risks for both parties heading into the midterms and the next presidential election, with Democrats deeply discontented with their own party and an increasingly unpopular Republican president continuing to consolidate support among his loyalists.

Journalists subjected to unconstitutional search warrants

The Guardian -   On Tuesday, a federal judge unsealed records showing that the Department of Justice tried and failed to get search warrants targeting journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, as well as three protesters involved in the Cities church demonstration in St Paul, Minnesota, last winter.

A court rejected the search warrants – twice. In strikingly blunt opinions, magistrate judge John Docherty said officials didn’t meet basic legal standards and chastised them for failing to mention a federal law that may have made some of the warrants illegal. The Department of Justice later withdrew the requests.

The justice department’s blatant disregard for the constitution and attempt to hide the law is disturbing, even if the department’s recent track record means it’s no longer shocking. With government attacks on freedom of speech increasing and the justice department’s independence declining, it’s more important than ever for judges to aggressively scrutinize government requests, for prosecutors to face real consequences when they abuse their power, and for Congress to pass strong laws protecting first amendment rights.

The search warrant records that were recently unsealed in the Cities church protest case show how the justice department is using the prosecution of protesters and journalists to directly threaten freedom of speech.

Health

Health. com  - New research shows just one weekly activity could help you live a longer, healthier life: volunteering.

The study, set to be published in the January issue of Social Science & Medicine, found that volunteering—even for just one hour a week—is linked to slower biological aging, which reflects how old your cells and tissues appear compared to your actual age.

The researchers controlled for other health variables that can slow biological aging—including frequency of physical activity, smoking status, binge drinking, obesity, and more—and still found a connection between volunteering and slower biological aging.

No Kings Movement event

The Hill -  The “No Kings” movement announced a nationwide event set for June 14, which is President Trump’s 80th birthday.  “The next 250 starts with us. As America approaches its anniversary about what story we tell. We can let strongman politics and corruption define the moment,” the movement’s website states. “Or we can make the story of America about people coming together — across race, background, identity, belief, and community — to defend our rights and build a future rooted in people’s power.”

“On June 14, we rise up, we sing out, and we keep organizing.”

....Since Trump returned to office, three sets of No Kings protests — which were different than what is planned on June 14 — have occurred.a

Middle East

1440 - US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal yesterday to extend a ceasefire by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and begin nuclear negotiations. The proposal has been sent to President Donald Trump for review. News of a potential deal comes as the two countries continue to accuse each other of violating the weekslong ceasefire. The US military struck Iranian missile launch sites and mine-laying boats this week, and also shot down several Iranian drones. Kuwait intercepted Iranian missiles late Wednesday that were apparently directed against a US air base on its soil. (Is the US running low on munitions?)

Separately, Israel has continued strikes this week targeting what it called Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The country issued an evacuation notice on Wednesday covering 14% of Lebanon’s territory—the broadest warning since Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire last month. The two countries are set to hold security talks today in Washington, DC.

Housing

Greg Gerritt, Prosperity for RI - What we really need is a long term commitment by the federal government to build housing. From the Homestead Act of 1862 until the real estate scum bought off Congress to end public housing in the 19070s so they could jack up rents, what kept housing affordable in the US was public housing. The housing crisis demands immediate action. No one is saying we shall have housing for everyone in any reasonable amount of time by building more, so rent control is the only tool we have that actually will slow rent increases. If you want a working economy, you have to have places workers can afford to live in. Urban New England is in terrible shape when it comes to housing affordability. The people moving away are our future workers and leaders. Rent control will keep workers , young families and creatives, here. But the real estate industry screams bloody murder every time someone offers real affordability for housing. it is time to stop listening to rich criminals who’s business plan is price gouging.

Alternet America -   Trump promised housing for 6,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles, then budgeted exactly zero dollars to build it. Peter Navarro personally called the Pentagon to fast-track a $620 million loan to a rare-earth firm Don Jr. had just bought into. The Justice Department is subpoenaing Reddit and X to unmask anonymous users who criticized ICE. And Utah audited two million voter registrations for a year and found 13 noncitizens who actually voted.

Judge temporarily bars Trump's dubious $1.8 billion fund

NY Times -   A federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from taking steps to create or operate President Trump’s $1.8 billion fund until a hearing on June 12. The order covers any transfer of money into the fund, decisions on any claims and the disbursement of any payouts. 

Voting

Roll Call - A federal judge on Thursday denied an effort to pause President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict mail voting in federal elections, finding that it was too early to say whether anyone has been harmed by the effort. Read more...

Feds vs states

Center Square -   The Department of Justice filed separate federal lawsuits Wednesday against Washington, Oregon, Maine and Massachusetts, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and Democratic-led states over federal immigration enforcement.

The legal action follows a formal warning issued earlier this month by the Justice Department, which all four states refused to act upon. Federal officials argue the restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution, intentionally obstruct federal power and put undercover agents at risk.

The lawsuits stem from decisions by state motor vehicle departments to suspend or heavily restrict the issuance of confidential, undercover license plates to Department of Homeland Security personnel, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

E. Jean Carroll

Headline USA -   The top federal prosecutor in Chicago denied Thursday evening that his office had opened an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store 30 years ago, hours after multiple news organizations reported that the Justice Department was investigating whether she had lied during the course of civil litigation against Trump.

The Associated Press and other news organizations, citing anonymous sources, reported that the federal prosecutors’ office in Chicago had opened an investigation into Carroll examining possible perjury allegations.

But Andrew Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, issued a statement roughly 24 hours after the first report was published saying that his office “has not opened — and has never opened — a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll.”

Data: AAA; Chart: Ben Geman/Axios

Immigration

Newsworthy News - New evidence suggests federal immigration detention is failing vulnerable men at a pace that should alarm anyone who cares about basic duty of care and government accountability.

The Associated Press reviewed death notifications, autopsies, coroner rulings, and police and emergency medical services records tied to 51 detainee deaths since January 2025.

Homeland Security says suicide remains extremely rare in immigration custody and argues the raw count does not tell the full story.

A peer-reviewed 2020 study found suicide rates in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention rose sharply compared with the prior decade.

A peer-reviewed 2020 study found suicide rates in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention rose sharply compared with the prior decade.

The Guardian -    In late January, the Trump administration was planning a war in Iran, weighing possible airstrikes and staging aircraft carriers and other military ships in the region. Around that time, government officials deported 18 people to Iran, the last of them arriving just days before American and Israeli bombs began falling across the country.   These deportations were the latest in an aggressive campaign to deport Iranians from the United States, the first time in recent history the US government had done so in large numbers. In the 13 months of Donald Trump’s presidency leading up to the war, the United States deported more than 200 people to Iran, even as the state department decried human rights abuses by the Iranian government and warned US citizens not to travel there “for any reason”.

The US government deported more than 21,000 people to countries that the state department deemed too dangerous to visit, according to a Marshall Project analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data obtained by the Deportation Data Project from Trump’s inauguration through mid-March.

Russia

The Guardian -   The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has said the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, a member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine. The incident in Gala?i, which injured two people, prompted swift condemnation and the threat of repercussions.

“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte wrote on social media after a call with the Romanian president, Nicusor Dan. “I affirmed that Nato stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory.”

Jeffrey Epstein

MS NOW -  Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Friday about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files release. Bondi’s closed-door, transcribed interview before the committee has long been anticipated. She was initially scheduled to testify on April 14, but after President Donald Trump fired her as attorney general on April 2, the Justice Department said she would not go before the panel because she was subpoenaed in her official capacity as attorney general and was therefore no longer obligated to testify.

Democrats on the Oversight Committee pushed for Bondi’s testimony. In late April, they introduced a civil contempt resolution against her, citing what they described as Republican’s caginess about rescheduling her deposition. Less than an hour after the resolution was introduced, Republicans on the committee announced they had secured a new date for Bondi’s appearance and dismissed the contempt charges as “all theater and completely unnecessary.”  In a statement Thursday, Democrats on the committee criticized the decision not to videotape Bondi’s voluntary transcribed interview and accused committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, of “working to hide her testimony from the American people.”

Word

Justice Alito's son works for the Trump regime

Occupy Democrats  -  Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's son secretly received a top job inside the Trump administration while Alito was ruling on massive cases involving the White House.  ...Philip Alito, the son of far-right Justice Samuel Alito, was given an appointment as a lawyer at the Treasury Department early on in Trump's second term. His father was aware of the appointment and did nothing to block it, unsurprising since Alito has zero interest in avoiding conflicts of interest or maintaining the legitimacy of the court.

This is the same Samuel Alito who was caught accepting bribes from billionaire Paul Singer in the form of luxury jet travel and an expensive fishing vacation. And that's just what we know about. 

According to NOTUS, four government officials confirmed that Alito's son is working inside the office of the general counsel, which supports Treasury Secretary Bessent. Notus described the arrangement as a "closely guarded secret." Philip Alito, in an apparent effort to maintain a low profile, does not have a public resume, LinkedIn profile, or a presence on the Treasury Department. Most of the images available of him online are older, from when his father was first appointed to the court. He's a ghost in the system, getting paid by our tax dollars, and presumably whispering in his father's ear to tilt rulings in Trump's favor.

Questionable Trump projects

Independent  -   The Trump administration’s no-bid, $13.1 million contract to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool featured “excessive” profit margins” and “inflated overhead,” according to federal documents. The deal, awarded to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, saw the contractor ask for 20 percent profits, roughly doubling the typical 6 to 12 percent margin on such projects, netting it at least $850,000 in extra compensation, per a National Parks Service analysis obtained by The New York Times.

The Reflecting Pool project contained other irregularities, the paper found, including that work reportedly began before a final price was agreed upon, a method more typically used in emergencies.  Ultimately, however, the government decided to move forward with the deal, according to the documents.  “The contracting officer determined that due to the risk of the project, the inflated overhead and profit percentages of 20 percent were reasonable,” the analysis concluded.

Independent -     A Trump-Kennedy Center official warned a federal judge that stripping the president’s name from the renowned arts institution would cause unbearable financial damage, marking the latest twist in a months-long legal battle.

Charles Matthew Floca, the center’s 39-year-old executive director, filed a declaration Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing the institution’s funding is inextricably linked to President Donald Trump.

“President Trump’s fundraising on behalf of the Center is exemplified by the tens of millions of dollars already raised,” Floca wrote. “Further, the President has committed to raise $150 billion on its behalf from private donors over the next two years.”

“Should President Trump’s name be removed from the Center, that vital fundraising connection will be severed, causing irreparable harm and fundamentally destabilizing the Center’s development efforts, severely impairing its trust-fund artistic programming, and rendering the continuation of ongoing trust-funded operations financially nonviable,” he continued.

The Guardian -   The day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.

Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records. Under the contract, awarded by the Bureau of Prisons to LEO Technologies, the company will use artificial intelligence to translate, transcribe and monitor prison phone calls. Broidy lists himself as the founder and CEO of LEO.  In a letter to the Guardian, LEO’s attorneys said Broidy sets the strategy of the company but does not run the day-to-day operations.

Voting

Independent  -  A judge on Thursday declined to block an executive order by Donald Trump that tightens rules on mail-in voting, a setback for the Democratic Party, which argued the measure could disenfranchise millions of voters. The decision comes as Trump’s Republicans face a challenging battle to retain control of both houses of Congress in the upcoming November midterm elections. Trump has consistently promoted the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was due to widespread voter fraud and has been a vocal critic of voting by mail.

The executive order, signed by Trump on March 31, instructed his administration to compile a list of confirmed US citizens eligible to vote in each state. It also mandated the use of federal data to assist state election officials in verifying voter eligibility. Furthermore, it required the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots exclusively to voters on each state's approved mail-in ballot list and obliged states to preserve election-related records for five years.

The Guardian -   Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, signed legislation on Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.  The law, which took effect immediately and came days before next Tuesday’s primary, prohibits any person – including federal agents – from accessing voter rolls or election technology without a court order. Law enforcement officers are restricted from disrupting election workers, except in public safety emergencies.

Polls

Independent  - Republican voters are torn between supporting Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the 2028 GOP presidential nominee, a new poll from Emerson College indicates. In a late-May survey of roughly 1,000 people, 36 percent of likely Republican primary voters said they would support Vance, while 35 percent said they would support Rubio.

Newsweek - President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to new lows across a cluster of major national surveys released in mid-to-late May 2026, with multiple pollsters recording their weakest figures of his presidency within days of each other.

Among the most striking findings, a new Economist/YouGov poll put Trump’s approval at 34 percent—the lowest in that series—while separate surveys from American Research Group, Quinnipiac, Emerson College, and The New York Times/Siena College each showed similarly depressed numbers.

The Hill -   Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is leading in new polling on a hypothetical Democratic presidential primary as the party seeks a new path after 2024 losses. An Emerson College Polling survey released Thursday found Buttigieg at the top of the pack with 18 percent support, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) at 16 percent. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) notched 11 percent support, while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and former Vice President Kamala Harris — the party’s 2024 nominee — earned 10 percent each....The new numbers mark a slight uptick in recent months for Buttigieg, Ocasio-Cortez and Beshear — while support for Newsom and Harris has ticked down slightly. 

Middle East

FlyOver - The U.S. struck Iran Wednesday night, targeting ‌a military site and shooting down four Iranian ‌one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz. "These actions ‌were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire," a U.S. official said.  President Trump said Wednesday that Iran is "negotiating on fumes" and warned the U.S. will "finish the job" if no nuclear deal is reached soon. Trump also drew a line on the Strait of Hormuz. Nobody else can control the chokepoint, he said, adding the U.S. would "blow them up" if they tried.

Donald Trump

NOTUS - Treasonous. Corrupt. That’s how Bruce Springsteen described Donald Trump last night at his sold-out tour finale at Nationals Park in D.C., before belting out the stratospheric hit “War” first made popular as an anti-war protest song by Black singer and songwriter Edwin Starr. Later, he called the war with Iran “incompetent, unwise and illegal.” 

“Let ’em hear you at the fucking White House,” Springsteen, coined “the Boss” by his fans, said as he led an “ICE out now” chant almost four miles away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for America’s boss.

HedlineUSA -  A group of 35 little-known former federal judges gained national attention Wednesday after filing a petition urging a federal court to reopen President Donald Trump’s case against the IRS — seemingly in a bid to cancel a $1.776 billion settlement fund.

The now-settled lawsuit paved the way for the creation of a $1.776 billion restitution fund intended for victims of federal government weaponization. Democrats quickly attacked the arrangement, claiming without evidence that the fund would primarily benefit Trump allies.

The former federal judges echoed those attacks in their filing, purporting that Trump and his administration deceived the court and that the fund would ultimately be administered by a commission “effectively controlled” by Trump.

Washington Post -   Trump administration officials have pressed the office responsible for printing the nation’s money to design a $250 bill featuring the president’s portrait, according to four current and former employees, in what would be the first appearance of a living person on U.S. currency in more than 150 years.

NBC News -   The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in testimony during her lawsuits tied to sexual abuse allegations against President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Carroll, a former magazine writer, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. She was awarded $5 million in damages in 2023 by a jury that found Trump liable for sexually abusing her. The following year, Carroll won an $83 million civil judgment in a defamation case.   Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he didn’t even know Carroll. The president is seeking Supreme Court intervention in both cases. The White House referred questions about the probe to the DOJ...The DOJ probe is the latest move by the Trump administration to target the president’s perceived political foes, including multiple attempts by the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Health

Axi0s - A Trump administration plan to overhaul wage levels for visa holders is jolting hospitals and long-term care facilities that are heavily reliant on foreign-born workers.  It's the latest immigration-related policy change to loom over the health care workforce, coming after President Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee and the suspension of certain immigrants' work authorization renewals.

• The latest move could further drive up costs for providers already struggling with staffing shortages, thin margins and growing patient demand, because many health jobs can't be outsourced or automated.

....Lynn Bruder, the CEO of staffing firm Nucleus Healthcare, said wage rates for visa-holding nurses on the lower end of the pay scale could jump 25% to 35% in certain markets, or from about $40 an hour to more than $50 an hour.  MORE

Just a thought

Sam Smith - Watched a couple of black journalists criticizing the American declaration of independence on the grounds that slavery continued as did limitations on women's rights.  True, but this is the way history works.

Political and government change for the better doesn't occur neatly.  It often comes in bits and pieces and to demand that all evil be eliminated at the same time is not the best way to produce improvements in our society. For example if slavery had continued until women got the right to vote, it would have lasted another 55 years. 

 

Hunger

NPR - More people in the United States are experiencing hunger now than during the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, according to a survey released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed periodically surveys Americans about their food security, inquiring about whether they skip meals, depend on food donations or receive federal assistance for groceries. Replies from the most recent survey, conducted in February, show 10% of families nationwide reported missing meals due to a lack of food, and nearly 16% relied on food donations. For families earning less than $50,000 a year, food insecurity rates were nearly double, with almost 20% having to skip meals or go without food.

Climate change

The Guardian -   If you feel like your electricity bill just keeps climbing, you aren’t imagining it. Since 2020, US residential energy prices have surged by about 30%, making power the largest household energy expense behind gasoline, according to the US Energy Information Administration. But for residents like Alex Curtis, the days of feeling powerless against rising costs are coming to an end. Curtis is waging a war on his electric bill, and his new weapon of choice is a lightweight, thin-film solar panel.

“Oh, it’s super light too,” Curtis said as he unboxed the kit on the balcony of his condo in Sunnyvale, California. It weighs just about 10lbs. Unlike traditional rooftop solar, which requires thousands of dollars in upfront costs, specialized mounting hardware and professional electricians, this system is designed for the everyday consumer. It’s a $400 kit from Bright Saver, a non-profit advocating for “plug-and-play” solar that works for renters and homeowners alike. The setup is deceptively simple: you hang the panel on a balcony or prop it up in a back yard and plug it directly into a standard wall outlet.

The Guardian -   The climate crisis is accelerating a global increase in antibiotic resistance that poses a serious threat to human health, experts have said as figures show a rise in salmonella antibiotic resistant genes. Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest-growing threats to global health. It can affect people of any age in any country and already kills more than 1 million people a year, according to estimates.

Now a study, led by researchers from the UK, France, Australia, Switzerland and China, has revealed how climate change is linked to rising antibiotic resistance in salmonella, one of the world’s most common bacterial diseases.  Climate change is associated with a 10% global increase in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023, according to the first-of-its-kind study, which has been published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal.

The Guardian -   A record-breaking hot year is almost certain by 2030 as the climate crisis intensifies, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned.  With an El Niño event expected later this year, the global temperature record could fall as soon as 2027.

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are continuing to rise, trapping more heat and driving more extreme weather, including the record-breaking heatwave that has hit the UK and Europe this week.

Global heating is already estimated to be taking one life every minute, with the toll likely to rise unless emissions fall rapidly.

The report, produced for the WMO by the UK Met Office, predicts an 86% chance that at least one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the hottest ever recorded. There is a 75% chance that the average temperature for the five-year period from 2026 to 2030 will be more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial average.

Declining birthrates

NY Times -  The collective reluctance to procreate is perhaps most glaring in the Nordic countries. With their stable economies, strong social safety nets, robust family policies and equitable gender relations, they maintained relatively high birthrates through the early 2000s. In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, however, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession, births in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland declined, and then declined some more, even as their economies recovered throughout the 2010s. Little about those nations’ family policies had changed, and as far as anyone could tell, men were still doing their share of the dishes. The same downward trend held in the United States, where births have fallen by about 23 percent since 2007, despite high rates of immigration until last year. Births have also been declining in East Asian countries, even though governments in the region have thrown buckets of money at the problem. And in France, despite its longstanding pronatalist policies.

This is not simply a matter of affordability, the buzzword so often invoked to explain why people are choosing to have smaller families. Government support for parents can help, but overall, people are having fewer children both in countries that offer very little and in those renowned for their generous family benefits; moreover, the trend holds among those who are struggling to make ends meet and among those who, like the Riveras, have advanced degrees and salaried jobs. What unites these disparate cultures, policy environments and demographics, researchers are now realizing, is young people’s inescapable and crushing sense that the future is too uncertain for the lifelong commitment of parenthood. Call it the vibes theory of demographic decline.

Ebola

The Hill -  The rare strain of the virus has caused nearly 1,000 suspected cases and more than 220 suspected deaths in Congo, and seven cases with one death in neighboring Uganda.  The outbreak is already the third largest in history, and the World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. 

The aid group International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned that the outbreak could become the deadliest on record without urgent international action.  “Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives,” said Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies for the IRC, said in a statement.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the risk of Ebola spreading to the American public remains low.  Still, the Trump administration has cracked down on international travelers and is taking steps to ensure Americans infected or exposed to the virus remain overseas. 

An administration official on Wednesday said the White House plans to send Americans exposed to Ebola to a quarantine and treatment facility being constructed in Kenya. 

Polls

Data: UnidosUS/BSP Research/Shaw & Company; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios

Political Polls

Senate poll - Texas Talarico 45% Paxton 38% PPP

Democratic Values -   Support for higher taxes on the wealthy is growing, even among Republican voters. According to recent polling, 70% of GOP voters want to raise taxes on the rich, along with 90% of Democrats.  Those numbers are huge. But Donald Trump and his Republican cronies in Congress are working hard to shift even more of the tax burden onto working Americans and lock in lower taxes for billionaires.

What's more, they're colluding with Wall Street billionaires to cut our earned Social Security benefits. Their latest scheme? The “Six Figure Limit.” This would cap Social Security benefits at $50,000 a person, or $100,000 per couple.

Study Finds - 48% of Americans say their lives are currently lacking in fun, and 12% can’t recall the last time they had a full free day to enjoy themselves. Cost is the single biggest obstacle, with 57% citing budget constraints as the top barrier, followed by packed schedules, work obligations, and general burnout.

Adults who do make time for fun report real payoffs: 72% say it reduces their stress, 57% feel more motivated, and 89% say shared fun strengthens their relationships.

On average, adults who feel fun-deprived say they would need about 17 extra hours per week to change that: a gap that points to how crowded everyday life has become.