BumRushDaShow
BumRushDaShow's JournalMurray vows to fight taxpayer dollars funding Trump's East Wing project
Source: Roll Call
Posted October 28, 2025 at 2:51pm
A key Senate Democrat is vowing that “everything will be on the table” to prevent taxpayer dollars from going toward construction of President Donald Trump’s contentious East Wing ballroom project.
The pledge from Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray comes as some analysts are warning the lightning rod president has turned the White House into another partisan battleground, upending a compromise forged between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that had lasted centuries since the mansion was completed in 1800.
That, however, changed last week when crews spent several days demolishing the executive compound’s East Wing to make way for Trump’s envisioned 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The president and his team contend the facility’s construction will be completely paid for by Trump’s own money, as well as hefty donations from corporations and wealthy individuals.
Murray said taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for the demolition or “to build a massive golden ballroom — especially at a time when this administration has passed the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in history and refuses to lift a finger to keep health care premiums from more than doubling,” Murray said in a statement, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/10/28/trump-ballroom-east-wing-democrats-funding/
Medicare staffing raises alarm with open enrollment underway
Source: The Hill
10/28/25 2:08 PM ET
Health policy experts on Tuesday urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to boost staffing, noting that the government shutdown has only hindered services. This staffing shortage couldn’t have come at a worse time, as open enrollment for Medicare plans began earlier this month.
“We don’t have the infrastructure right now in place to really make sure those benefits get delivered well and get communicated well,” said Jon Blum, a health policy expert at the University of Southern California, at The Hill’s “Bang For Your Buck: Get the Most from your 2026 Medicare Drug Benefits” event, sponsored by the Alliance for Aging Research.
“I think we really have to have a conversation together regarding what is the right staffing needs that we need at CMS, and I would argue strongly that it’s far too low right now, and that’s going to have impact throughout the country,” he added. Last week, CMS called furloughed workers back to work for this year’s open enrollment season.
Forty-seven percent of CMS workers were placed on furlough when the government ran out of funding on Oct.1, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. And earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made sweeping cuts across the Department of Health and Human Services, including at CMS. Blum on Tuesday said that the agency has lost 15 percent of its workers in the last few months.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5577102-medicare-staffing-raises-alarm-with-open-enrollment-underway/
Well they have brainworm and Muskrat's DOGEshit to thank for waving around a chainsaw while Oz ran off in his wizard-mobile to one of his 9 mansions.
'A clear and present danger': Judge threatens Bondi, Noem with sanctions after 'troubling' public slams of Abrego Garcia
Source: Law & Crime
Oct 28th, 2025, 10:26 am
On the same day that the DOJ in one courtroom apparently reversed course on its stated intent to prosecute Kilmar Abrego Garcia before deporting him to Liberia or elsewhere, the federal judge separately handling his criminal human smuggling case threatened U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with sanctions if they continue to pose "a clear and present danger," through their words, to the defendant's right to a fair trial.
The latest developments in the Abrego Garcia saga are whiplash-inducing, as a DOJ attorney told Maryland U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Monday that, unless blocked by a court, the Trump administration would like to send the wrongly deported Salvadoran citizen to Liberia on Halloween.
An incredulous Xinis was reportedly not buying the government's claim that it wasn't sure what the implications would be for the Tennessee criminal case, pointing out that a criminal trial for allegedly "smuggling illegal aliens" wouldn't be doable in Abrego Garcia's absence.
Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/judge-calls-out-pam-bondi-doj-for-talking-about-kilmar-abrego-garcia-case-outside-of-court/
Link to MEMO OF OPINION (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622.182.0.pdf
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622.183.0.pdf
Judge extends order barring the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown
Source: AP
Updated 2:55 PM EDT, October 28, 2025
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday.
Illston, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, has said she believes the evidence will ultimately show the mass firings were illegal and in excess of authority.
The Republican administration has slashed jobs in education, health and other areas it says are favored by Democrats. The administration has also said it will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-layoffs-judge-trump-fdcb16f91c94d7bf73977e8968210b0e
US Fires Health Official Who Opposed Widely Used Covid Shots
Source: Bloomberg
October 28, 2025 at 8:31 AM EDT
Updated on October 28, 2025 at 12:25 PM EDT
A top biosecurity adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services who believed messenger RNA Covid vaccines should be taken off the market was fired over the weekend, an agency official said. Steven Hatfill, a virologist who advocated for unproven Covid-19 treatments like hydroxychloroquine during the pandemic, served for six months as a senior adviser at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
The agency is responsible for preparing the US against potential threats from bioweapons and new infectious diseases, as well as stocking the country’s emergency medical cabinet. HHS said Hatfill incorrectly claimed to be the chief medical officer at ASPR, and wasn’t effective in cooperating between government agencies and with department leadership.
In a written statement, Hatfill disputed the HHS official’s characterization. He said he was given the title of chief medical officer of ASPR by his direct supervisor. Additionally, Hatfill said he acted in compliance with the agency’s policies, had never been disciplined and had even garnered praise from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I acted in 100% compliance with HHS policy,” Hatfill said in a written statement. Hatfill also said he hasn’t yet been formally terminated, though was asked by one of Kennedy’s aides to resign on Saturday because they were taking ASPR in a different direction. Hatfill refused and asked to speak to Kennedy but was later locked out of HHS communication systems and denied access to his office, he said.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-28/us-fires-top-health-official-who-opposed-widely-used-covid-shots
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Catholic statues thrust a Massachusetts city into a national religious liberty debate
Source: USA Today
Updated Oct. 28, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET
A showdown over Catholic statues on a public building in a Massachusetts city represents yet another fight in a national conversation about the separation of church and state. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch commissioned statues of St. Michael and St. Florian, the patron saints of police and firefighters, to adorn its new police headquarters.
But more than a dozen residents are suing Koch, alleging that the city is violating religious neutrality as outlined in the state constitution. A judge granted a preliminary injunction in mid-October, barring the statues from being installed as litigation continues. Koch told The Patriot Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the city would be appealing the ruling.
"We chose the statues of Michael and Florian to honor Quincy’s first responders, not to promote any religion," Koch said. "These figures are recognized symbols of courage and sacrifice in police and fire communities across the world.” The Becket Fund, an organization that says it defends “religious liberty as a universal right,” is representing the city in the case.
The organization won a case representing Hobby Lobby in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, granting private employers the right to deny contraception coverage to employees because of their religious beliefs. The Massachusetts litigation coincides with lawsuits over several states’ efforts to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. All of it comes at a time when the Trump administration is working to put its own stamp on what religious liberty means under the First Amendment.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/28/catholic-statues-quincy-massachusetts-religious-liberty/86934318007/
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica
Source: Washington Post
October 28, 2025 at 1:16 p.m. EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday as a Category 5 storm -- one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.
The storm came ashore in southwestern Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. That's just 5 mph shy of the Atlantic record for that metric.
The storm's central air pressure reached 892 millibars -- a sign of incredible intensity -- making it the third-strongest Atlantic storm on record by this metric. Air pressure measures how much the atmosphere weighs above a given point -- and in hurricanes, lower pressure means the air is rushing inward and upward with more force, driving stronger winds.
Earlier in the day, as the weather began to deteriorate here, the storm's peak intensity surpassed that of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/10/28/hurricane-melissa-jamaica-damage/
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WTNT63 KNHC 281701
TCUAT3
Hurricane Melissa Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025
100 PM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025
...CATEGORY 5 MELISSA MAKES LANDFALL IN JAMAICA...
...ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE LANDFALLS ON RECORD IN THE
ATLANTIC BASIN...
Melissa has made landfall in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with
estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and an
estimated minimum central pressure of 892 mb (26.34 inches).
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION! Do
not leave your shelter as the eye passes over, as winds will
quickly, and rapidly increase on the other side of the eye.
Residents should remain in place through the passage of these
life-threatening conditions. To protect yourself from wind, the
best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you
and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where
you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in
a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a
helmet for added protection.
The next position update will be provided with the intermediate
advisory at 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC).
SUMMARY OF 100 PM EDT...1700 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...18.1N 78.0W
ABOUT 25 MI...40 KM SE OF NEGRIL JAMAICA
ABOUT 145 MI...235 KM S OF GUANTANAMO CUBA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...185 MPH...295 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 25 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...892 MB...26.34 INCHES
$$
Forecaster Kelly
States Sue Over Trump Administration Suspending Food Benefits During Shutdown
Source: USA Today/Reuters
Oct. 28, 2025, at 12:11 p.m.
BOSTON (Reuters) -A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop President Donald Trump's administration from suspending food aid benefits starting on November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Attorneys general and governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia filed the lawsuit in Boston federal court after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would not use $6 billion in contingency funds to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have traded blame for the shutdown and for the risk that SNAP benefits, which provide food assistance to more than 41 million low-income Americans, could lapse in November. The USDA's shutdown plan had included the potential use of contingency funds for SNAP, but on Saturday the department updated its website to say no benefits would be issued on November 1 as scheduled, stating "the well has run dry."
The lawsuit argues that the suspension of benefits is avoidable, arbitrary and is being carried out in violation of the Food and Nutrition Act, which requires that “assistance under this program shall be furnished to all eligible households." The plaintiffs, who are led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, Arizona and Minnesota, say a failure by the federal government to issue monthly food assistance payments as a result of a lapse in appropriations would mark a first in the SNAP program's 60-year history.
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2025-10-28/states-sue-over-trump-administration-suspending-food-benefits-during-shutdown
Link to NY Attorney General PRESS RELEASE - Attorney General James[/b Sues Federal Government for Illegally Suspending SNAP Benefits During Shutdown]
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/commonwealth-of-massachusetts-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture-complaint-2025.pdf
Russia's Lukoil says it plans to sell international assets due to Western sanctions
Source: Reuters
October 28, 2025 1:34 AM EDT Updated 8 hours ago
MOSCOW, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest oil producer, Lukoil (LKOH.MM) said on Monday it would sell its international assets following sanctions over Ukraine announced last week by the United States. The planned sale of the assets is the most consequential action so far by a Russian company in the wake of Western sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
"The sale of the assets is conducted under OFAC wind down license. If necessary the company plans to apply for extension of the license to ensure uninterrupted operations of its international assets," Lukoil said in its statement, adding that the consideration of bids from potential purchasers had started.
On October 22, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft (ROSN.MM). On October 15, Britain also targeted Lukoil and Rosneft, as well as 44 so-called shadow fleet tankers, mainly consisting of aging tankers with opaque ownership, in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenue.
Moscow-headquartered Lukoil accounts for around 2% of global output. Its name derives from three oil towns in Lukoil's traditional exploration region of western Siberia: Langepas, Urai and Kogalym. The company did not identify specific assets to be sold. Its biggest foreign asset is Iraq's West Qurna 2 oil field, one of the world's largest, in which it holds a 75% stake.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-lukoil-says-it-intends-sell-international-assets-due-western-sanctions-2025-10-27/
Trump appeals New York hush money conviction
Source: CNN Politics
PUBLISHED Oct 28, 2025, 9:19 AM ET
President Donald Trump appealed his criminal conviction on state charges related to a hush money scheme, arguing the case should never have been brought and the verdict should be overturned.
Lawyers for Trump repeated many of the arguments that had been rejected throughout the investigation and trial, accusing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of bringing a politically charged case, and alleging the judge erred by not recusing himself from the trial and allowing evidence Trump believes should have been excluded based on the concept of presidential immunity.
“Targeting alleged conduct that has never been found to violate any New York law, the DA concocted a purported felony by stacking time-barred misdemeanors under a convoluted legal theory, which the DA then improperly obscured until the charge conference. This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in a 96-page filing.
In May 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to reimburse his personal attorney Michael Cohen who, days before the 2016 presidential election, advanced $130,000 to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged past sexual tryst with Trump. Trump has denied the affair. Trump was able to shed federal indictments looming over him, but the state case and conviction is the only one that made it to trial and resulted in Trump being a convicted felon turned president.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/28/politics/trump-appeals-ny-hush-money-conviction-stormy-daniels
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