Scam

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, on September 30, requiring large companies operating in California before 1965 to search records back to 1849 for ties to slavery, including insurance policies on enslaved people and their use as loan collateral. The law applies to companies doing business in the state with over $100 million in annual global revenue that existed by the end of 1964, covering parent companies, subsidiaries, and predecessors. First filings are due as early as January 15, 2029, with records kept online indefinitely. The bill's author, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, said disclosures could lead to future action, naming agriculture, banking, and insurance as likely sectors implicated. Newsom simultaneously vetoed a separate bill exempting reparations payments from state income tax.

Roughly 1,400 households still recovering from the January 2025 Los Angeles-area fires are set to lose their disaster case managers by the end of October, as California and FEMA remain at odds over funding. Case managers help survivors navigate insurance claims, apply for financial assistance, avoid scams, and appeal FEMA decisions. California had requested $28 million for the two-year program but FEMA awarded only $13.2 million, and by August had issued just one of four promised installments, forcing the state to front costs. A March request for an additional $6.5 million to meet high demand — 700 households remain on a waitlist — has gone unanswered. FEMA eventually reimbursed outstanding payments but has not addressed the extra funding.

Nonprofits running the program, including CORE, are triaging roughly 450 cases apiece and scrambling to transfer clients to philanthropic-funded organizations, though capacity is limited and over 100 case managers face job losses. Rep. Judy Chu warned the cutoff "risks abandoning survivors." The dispute is part of a larger standoff: Governor Gavin Newsom has requested $15.7 billion in federal disaster aid, which the Trump administration has not yet sent to Congress, while the White House says California has mismanaged recovery efforts and has obligated billions in recovery funds already.

About 1,400 households affected by the January 2025 Los Angeles fires are set to lose their disaster case managers by the end of October, as California and FEMA remain at odds over funding for the program. Case managers help survivors navigate insurance claims, apply for financial assistance, and appeal FEMA decisions during what is widely described as an opaque recovery process.

California had requested $28 million for the program; FEMA awarded $13.2 million over 24 months in four installments but had made only one payment by August, forcing the state to front costs. A March request for an additional $6.5 million to sustain the program went unanswered, prompting California to announce the program's closure. FEMA later reimbursed outstanding payments but did not address the extra funding. Nonprofits managing cases, including CORE, are scrambling to transfer clients to other organizations, though resources are limited and more than 100 case managers face job losses. The dispute is part of a larger standoff over California's request for $15.7 billion in federal disaster aid, which the Trump administration has not yet sent to Congress.

President Donald Trump campaigned for U.S. Sen. Jon Husted at a Youngstown rally Monday, drawing attention for personal remarks about Husted's appearance rather than policy substance. Trump also announced a planned U.S. Navy submarine component repair center for the Cleveland area, describing a roughly 46,000-square-foot facility to manufacture and maintain submarine parts. The project stems from an August presidential memorandum on rebuilding the Navy's shipbuilding base, but no funding, site, or firm details have been confirmed, and the application deadline for the broader program isn't until mid-November.

The rally drew additional scrutiny after a protester wearing a shirt referencing the Epstein files was confronted and struck by audience members before being escorted out by deputies. Rather than condemning the incident, Trump mocked the protester's weight from the stage as the crowd cheered. Youngstown's mayor criticized the episode, saying attendees have a right to be present without being attacked. No charges have been filed, and the protester's identity has not been confirmed.

A new review in The Wall Street Journal examines "American Scoundrel," a biography chronicling Roy Cohn, the lawyer who served as Sen. Joseph McCarthy's fixer during the anti-communist hearings of the 1950s and later became a mentor to a young Donald Trump. The review focuses less on new revelations and more on how Cohn, a self-promoter throughout his life, continues to have his influence overstated by biographers and commentators decades after his death.

The piece situates Cohn within the broader history of McCarthyism, the Army-McCarthy hearings, and Cold War-era anti-communism, while noting parallels drawn by some to contemporary populist politics. The review is critical of tendencies toward hagiography in retelling Cohn's story, arguing that inflating his historical importance keeps a persistent myth alive rather than offering a clearer accounting of his actual role.

Michigan's U.S. Senate race has become one of the country's most closely watched and negative contests, pitting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers with control of the Senate potentially at stake. El-Sayed has cast Rogers as a "sock puppet" for Donald Trump, citing Rogers' defense of Trump's brief delay of the Gordie Howe Bridge opening and his broader alignment with the president. Rogers has countered by branding El-Sayed a "fringe extremist," pointing to his progressive positions and a bruising Democratic primary against Haley Stevens.

Recent polling shows a tight race, with El-Sayed narrowly ahead in most surveys but within the margin of error. Analysts note the outcome may hinge on turnout among Black and Jewish voters, some of whom have expressed hesitation over El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel and ties to livestreamer Hasan Piker, as well as on Trump's low approval ratings weighing on Rogers' candidacy.

California has become the epicenter of a national hospice fraud crackdown, with federal officials estimating $3.5 billion in fraudulent claims from Los Angeles County alone. More than 1,000 California hospices have been dropped from Medicare since early 2025, and the state has revoked nearly 500 licenses since a 2021 moratorium on new hospices, adopting stricter licensing rules in June. Fraudsters have created fake hospice agencies, stolen Medicare identities, and enrolled unwitting patients, cutting off coverage for other medical care since Medicare won't pay for treatment outside hospice once someone is enrolled. Victims like Linda Henry, wrongly listed as having heart failure, have spent months fighting to restore coverage.

Federal prosecutors and California's attorney general have brought dozens of arrests and over 100 criminal cases since 2021. The Trump administration has expanded oversight nationwide, including a six-month moratorium on new hospice and home care Medicare enrollments, and deferred over $2 billion in Medicaid payments to California over suspected fraud. Critics argue enforcement has disproportionately targeted immigrant-run providers and Democratic-led states, while advocates call for stronger state-federal cooperation to protect vulnerable patients and taxpayer funds.