Pope Leo XIV spoke to young people on Saturday in a message delivered via a video broadcast on the jumbotron at the White Sox baseball stadium in Chicago, his hometown.

<p>Pope Leo XIV spoke to young people on Saturday in a message delivered via a video broadcast on the jumbotron at the White Sox baseball stadium in Chicago, his hometown.</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K1dwENW-5hU?si=jkcVHGTRLsVOZkqX" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A joyous day at Rate Field. <a href="https://t.co/WUks17v63g">pic.twitter.com/WUks17v63g</a></p>&mdash; Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) <a href="https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1934004738871242987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 In White Sox stadium broadcast, Pope Leo XIV spoke to young people

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sofia-resnick/">Sofia Resnick</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/"><i>States Newsroom</i></a>

If the budget reconciliation package before the U.S. Senate becomes law in the coming weeks, reproductive health advocates say the provision that would cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood clinics could serve as a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, eliminating access to 1 in 4 abortion providers.

The Republican-led bill, which already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed the House</a>&nbsp;by a slim margin, is more than 1,000 pages and includes sweeping tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy coupled with steep spending cuts to social services, including Medicaid.

On page 339 of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text" target="_blank">the bill</a>, Republicans included a provision prohibiting Medicaid funding from going to any sexual and reproductive health clinics that provide abortions and received more than $1 million in federal and state Medicaid funding in fiscal year 2024. While there may be a few independent clinics with operating budgets that high, it effectively singles out Planned Parenthood clinics.

Planned Parenthood clinics rely heavily on Medicaid funding, not to provide abortions, which is not permitted by federal law (except in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening health emergencies), but to provide standard reproductive health care at little to no cost, including treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings, as well as contraception. Planned Parenthood provides services for about 2 million patients every year, and 64% of its clinics are in rural areas or places with health care provider shortages.

A Planned Parenthood spokesperson said people who use Medicaid make up half of the total patient volume nationwide for essential health care services provided by their clinics. Even though those patients aren’t seeking abortion care, funding cuts would affect the financial sustainability of those clinics, the spokesperson said.

The organization already identified that 200 of its clinics in 24 states are at risk of closure with the cuts but told States Newsroom on Thursday that further analysis revealed nearly all of those clinics — 90% — are in states where abortion is legal, and in 12 states, approximately 75% of abortion-providing Planned Parenthood health centers could close. The entire organization has about 600 clinics in 48 states.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” would result in nearly 11 million people losing access to health insurance by 2034,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-backed-giant-tax-and-spending-bill-bloats-deficit-24t-nonpartisan-cbo-says" target="_blank">according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office</a>, and add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told States Newsroom she and other advocates have been meeting with senators to lobby against the bill’s passage, emphasizing that it will have an outsized negative effect on rural clinics and hospitals.

“We are encouraging everyone to reach out to their representatives about this,” McGill Johnson said. “They know that they’re doing this under a watchful eye, and we want to make sure their constituents know about it.”

The defunding effort would be a win for several prominent anti-abortion organizations that have long lobbied for this change and nearly achieved it in 2017 with a similar budget bill. Americans United for Life sent a fundraising email to its supporters Thursday saying this is a “crossroads” for abortion in America.&nbsp;

“So far in 2025 more than a dozen Planned Parenthood clinics have closed, their taxpayer funding is hanging by a thread, and the highest-ranking federal health officials are undertaking a ‘top-to-bottom review’ on the abortion pill,” the email attributed to CEO John Mize said. “It’s possible that very soon, mail-order abortion could be walked back, and more Planned Parenthood locations could be closing their doors for good.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, another anti-abortion organization that helped draft the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint for the next Republican president, told States Newsroom in an emailed statement that the budget provision should be no surprise, and there are better uses for the funding, like community health centers.

“Republicans have identified budgetary concerns with funding Big Abortion since 2015, and the bill language to do so has remained substantially the same,” said SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Closures would affect already fragile health care system, Midwest doctor says

Planned Parenthood has already closed some clinics around the country, including eight clinics across Iowa and Minnesota at the end of May. Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, which includes Iowa and Minnesota, said the U.S. Health and Human Services’ decision to freeze Title X family planning funding to many reproductive health clinics at the<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-targets-planned-parenthoods-family-planning-grants" target="_blank">&nbsp;beginning of May</a>&nbsp;contributed to the decision to close those clinics. The North Central States affiliates serve more than 93,000 patients each year, about 20,000 of which use telehealth services.

About 30% of those patients use Medicaid to access care, she said.

“When Planned Parenthood isn’t able to provide services to patients as an essential safety net provider, it has ripple effects across the health care system at large,” Traxler said. “We are already sitting in a time in our country, and have for several decades, where we have patients who can’t access care.”

Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, told States Newsroom that 865 Title X clinics in 23 states are impacted by the federal freeze. She said there are no Title X services in eight states: California, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Utah. She said the funding freeze affects one-quarter of all Title X funding grantees, translating to about 842,000 patients who have lost access to care.

“In the two months since HHS withheld federal funding for nearly two dozen Title X family planning grants, affected grantees have been struggling with the unknown of whether they will ever receive the vital funds,” Coleman said in an email. “Some have had to close clinics, lay off staff, and reduce essential contraceptive and sexual health care services. … On top of the Title X funding freeze, proposed Medicaid cuts will be devastating for Title X grantees. Rates of unintended pregnancies and STIs will increase, cancer screenings and diagnoses will be delayed, and decades of public health progress will be reversed.”

After the Iowa Legislature axed Planned Parenthood from its family planning program, Traxler said, the rates of sexually transmitted infections increased considerably across the state — an outcome verified by a&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2797344" target="_blank">2022 medical study</a>. She expects similar effects from these cuts.

People already travel long distances for abortion care, she said, and that will only get worse if more cuts come to pass. But she also expects to see patients start traveling long distances for routine gynecological care.

‘Changes to Medicaid … only adds to the chaos’

Like many independent abortion clinics, the all-trimester Maryland abortion clinic Partners in Abortion Care does not receive Title X funding. But because Maryland is one of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-hyde-amendment-and-coverage-for-abortion-services-under-medicaid-in-the-post-roe-era/#:~:text=Because%20Medicaid%20is%20jointly%20funded,abortion%20services%20for%20Medicaid%20enrollees." target="_blank">17 states</a>&nbsp;whose Medicaid program covers abortions, they do see a lot of patients who are on Medicaid, at a significant cost to the clinic. Certified nurse-midwife and Partners co-founder Morgan Nuzzo said the clinic did not receive more than $1 million in federal or state Medicaid dollars in fiscal year 2024, and in fact loses about $1 million annually for seeing Medicaid patients.

Nuzzo said Maryland’s Medicaid program reimburses first-trimester abortions at a “decent rate,” but at a very low rate for later abortion cases, which are more medically complex.

“After about 15 to 16 weeks [gestation], we’re losing money on these cases,” Nuzzo said. “We’ve been billing now for almost a year through the state. In second and third-trimester abortion care, we’re losing about 85% of what we would charge for a cash pay fee. So that comes out to about $250,000 a quarter that we are losing just by the under-reimbursement from Maryland Medicaid.”

For that reason, Nuzzo is hopeful about Maryland’s new $25 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-creating-abortion-grant-fund-under-and-uninsured-gains-momentum-house-senate" target="_blank">Public Health Abortion Grant Program</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0930" target="_blank">recently approved</a>&nbsp;by Gov. Wes Moore. The program will be open to clinics like Partners and abortion funds like the Baltimore Abortion Fund, but Nuzzo said it could be a while before that funding is available. Right now she is uncertain and concerned about how the federal reconciliation bill could potentially impact Maryland’s Medicaid program.&nbsp;

Because Partners provides abortions for all trimesters, they see patients from all over the country, and even the world, and the vast majority need financial assistance, Nuzzo said.

“People are traveling further for their procedures, just like they were before,” she said. “The landscape is constantly changing, almost week to week, about where you can access abortion, which is confusing and chaotic to patients. Changes to Medicaid and insurance coverage of abortion only adds to the chaos.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665657445227.png" alt="&nbsp;Planned Parenthood has identified 200 of its clinics in 24 states that are at risk of closure through federal cuts under the budget reconciliation package before the U.S. Senate. -Google image" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Planned Parenthood has identified 200 of its clinics in 24 states that are at risk of closure through federal cuts under the budget reconciliation package before the U.S. Senate. -Google image</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sofia-resnick/">Sofia Resnick</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/"><i>States Newsroom</i></a></p><p>If the budget reconciliation package before the U.S. Senate becomes law in the coming weeks, reproductive health advocates say the provision that would cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood clinics could serve as a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, eliminating access to 1 in 4 abortion providers.</p><p>The Republican-led bill, which already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed the House</a>&nbsp;by a slim margin, is more than 1,000 pages and includes sweeping tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy coupled with steep spending cuts to social services, including Medicaid.</p><p>On page 339 of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text" target="_blank">the bill</a>, Republicans included a provision prohibiting Medicaid funding from going to any sexual and reproductive health clinics that provide abortions and received more than $1 million in federal and state Medicaid funding in fiscal year 2024. While there may be a few independent clinics with operating budgets that high, it effectively singles out Planned Parenthood clinics.</p><p>Planned Parenthood clinics rely heavily on Medicaid funding, not to provide abortions, which is not permitted by federal law (except in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening health emergencies), but to provide standard reproductive health care at little to no cost, including treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings, as well as contraception. Planned Parenthood provides services for about 2 million patients every year, and 64% of its clinics are in rural areas or places with health care provider shortages.</p><p>A Planned Parenthood spokesperson said people who use Medicaid make up half of the total patient volume nationwide for essential health care services provided by their clinics. Even though those patients aren’t seeking abortion care, funding cuts would affect the financial sustainability of those clinics, the spokesperson said.</p><p>The organization already identified that 200 of its clinics in 24 states are at risk of closure with the cuts but told States Newsroom on Thursday that further analysis revealed nearly all of those clinics — 90% — are in states where abortion is legal, and in 12 states, approximately 75% of abortion-providing Planned Parenthood health centers could close. The entire organization has about 600 clinics in 48 states.</p><p>The “One Big Beautiful Bill” would result in nearly 11 million people losing access to health insurance by 2034,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-backed-giant-tax-and-spending-bill-bloats-deficit-24t-nonpartisan-cbo-says" target="_blank">according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office</a>, and add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years.</p><p>Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told States Newsroom she and other advocates have been meeting with senators to lobby against the bill’s passage, emphasizing that it will have an outsized negative effect on rural clinics and hospitals.</p><p>“We are encouraging everyone to reach out to their representatives about this,” McGill Johnson said. “They know that they’re doing this under a watchful eye, and we want to make sure their constituents know about it.”</p><p>The defunding effort would be a win for several prominent anti-abortion organizations that have long lobbied for this change and nearly achieved it in 2017 with a similar budget bill. Americans United for Life sent a fundraising email to its supporters Thursday saying this is a “crossroads” for abortion in America.&nbsp;</p><p>“So far in 2025 more than a dozen Planned Parenthood clinics have closed, their taxpayer funding is hanging by a thread, and the highest-ranking federal health officials are undertaking a ‘top-to-bottom review’ on the abortion pill,” the email attributed to CEO John Mize said. “It’s possible that very soon, mail-order abortion could be walked back, and more Planned Parenthood locations could be closing their doors for good.”</p><p>Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, another anti-abortion organization that helped draft the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint for the next Republican president, told States Newsroom in an emailed statement that the budget provision should be no surprise, and there are better uses for the funding, like community health centers.</p><p>“Republicans have identified budgetary concerns with funding Big Abortion since 2015, and the bill language to do so has remained substantially the same,” said SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser.</p><h2>Closures would affect already fragile health care system, Midwest doctor says</h2><p>Planned Parenthood has already closed some clinics around the country, including eight clinics across Iowa and Minnesota at the end of May. Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, which includes Iowa and Minnesota, said the U.S. Health and Human Services’ decision to freeze Title X family planning funding to many reproductive health clinics at the<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-targets-planned-parenthoods-family-planning-grants" target="_blank">&nbsp;beginning of May</a>&nbsp;contributed to the decision to close those clinics. The North Central States affiliates serve more than 93,000 patients each year, about 20,000 of which use telehealth services.</p><p>About 30% of those patients use Medicaid to access care, she said.</p><p>“When Planned Parenthood isn’t able to provide services to patients as an essential safety net provider, it has ripple effects across the health care system at large,” Traxler said. “We are already sitting in a time in our country, and have for several decades, where we have patients who can’t access care.”</p><p>Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, told States Newsroom that 865 Title X clinics in 23 states are impacted by the federal freeze. She said there are no Title X services in eight states: California, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Utah. She said the funding freeze affects one-quarter of all Title X funding grantees, translating to about 842,000 patients who have lost access to care.</p><p>“In the two months since HHS withheld federal funding for nearly two dozen Title X family planning grants, affected grantees have been struggling with the unknown of whether they will ever receive the vital funds,” Coleman said in an email. “Some have had to close clinics, lay off staff, and reduce essential contraceptive and sexual health care services. … On top of the Title X funding freeze, proposed Medicaid cuts will be devastating for Title X grantees. Rates of unintended pregnancies and STIs will increase, cancer screenings and diagnoses will be delayed, and decades of public health progress will be reversed.”</p><p>After the Iowa Legislature axed Planned Parenthood from its family planning program, Traxler said, the rates of sexually transmitted infections increased considerably across the state — an outcome verified by a&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2797344" target="_blank">2022 medical study</a>. She expects similar effects from these cuts.</p><p>People already travel long distances for abortion care, she said, and that will only get worse if more cuts come to pass. But she also expects to see patients start traveling long distances for routine gynecological care.</p><h2>‘Changes to Medicaid … only adds to the chaos’</h2><p>Like many independent abortion clinics, the all-trimester Maryland abortion clinic Partners in Abortion Care does not receive Title X funding. But because Maryland is one of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-hyde-amendment-and-coverage-for-abortion-services-under-medicaid-in-the-post-roe-era/#:~:text=Because%20Medicaid%20is%20jointly%20funded,abortion%20services%20for%20Medicaid%20enrollees." target="_blank">17 states</a>&nbsp;whose Medicaid program covers abortions, they do see a lot of patients who are on Medicaid, at a significant cost to the clinic. Certified nurse-midwife and Partners co-founder Morgan Nuzzo said the clinic did not receive more than $1 million in federal or state Medicaid dollars in fiscal year 2024, and in fact loses about $1 million annually for seeing Medicaid patients.</p><p>Nuzzo said Maryland’s Medicaid program reimburses first-trimester abortions at a “decent rate,” but at a very low rate for later abortion cases, which are more medically complex.</p><p>“After about 15 to 16 weeks [gestation], we’re losing money on these cases,” Nuzzo said. “We’ve been billing now for almost a year through the state. In second and third-trimester abortion care, we’re losing about 85% of what we would charge for a cash pay fee. So that comes out to about $250,000 a quarter that we are losing just by the under-reimbursement from Maryland Medicaid.”</p><p>For that reason, Nuzzo is hopeful about Maryland’s new $25 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-creating-abortion-grant-fund-under-and-uninsured-gains-momentum-house-senate" target="_blank">Public Health Abortion Grant Program</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0930" target="_blank">recently approved</a>&nbsp;by Gov. Wes Moore. The program will be open to clinics like Partners and abortion funds like the Baltimore Abortion Fund, but Nuzzo said it could be a while before that funding is available. Right now she is uncertain and concerned about how the federal reconciliation bill could potentially impact Maryland’s Medicaid program.&nbsp;</p><p>Because Partners provides abortions for all trimesters, they see patients from all over the country, and even the world, and the vast majority need financial assistance, Nuzzo said.</p><p>“People are traveling further for their procedures, just like they were before,” she said. “The landscape is constantly changing, almost week to week, about where you can access abortion, which is confusing and chaotic to patients. Changes to Medicaid and insurance coverage of abortion only adds to the chaos.”</p>

Planned Parenthood at risk of closing hundreds of clinics across the country

WASHINGTON —The U.S. Army will celebrate 250 years with a massive military parade in Washington.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/event/public-affairs-event/us-army-250th-anniversary-parade-celebration/433796">Click here to watch 5p.m. CDT</a>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749938645524.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON —The U.S. Army will celebrate 250 years with a massive military parade in Washington.</p><p><a href="https://www.c-span.org/event/public-affairs-event/us-army-250th-anniversary-parade-celebration/433796">Click here to watch 5p.m. CDT</a></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump Participates in the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade<br><br>📱Text &quot;POTUS&quot; to 45470 for Updates from the Trump White House <a href="https://t.co/kXBxoeTbV5">https://t.co/kXBxoeTbV5</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1934009052872278049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/author/michelle/">Michelle Griffith</a><br><a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/">Minnesota Reformer</a>

House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus leader Melissa Hortman, who was among the most influential Minnesota elected officials of the past decade, died on Saturday morning after a man impersonating a police officer shot her in her Brooklyn Park home, Gov. Tim Walz said.

Hortman’s husband was also shot and killed, the governor said.

&nbsp; (Click below to watch Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz statement.)

Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”

“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said. “(Hortman) was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”

Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times earlier in the evening in their Champlin home. Walz said they were out of surgery, and that he’s “cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.”

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Champlin law enforcement received a call at about 2 a.m. that a person shot Hoffman and his wife.&nbsp;

Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said his officers assisted with the Champlin shooting; a sergeant suggested checking in on Hortman’s home. They live about five to eight miles away from each other. When Brooklyn Park police officers arrived at Hortman’s home, they encountered a person who was dressed like a police officer who “immediately fired at them,” Evans said. Police exchanged gunfire with the person, but they were able to escape.

The shooter is still at large, and Brooklyn Park is under a shelter-in-place order. Hundreds of police officers and SWAT teams are conducting a manhunt for the person, officials said.

Bruley said that when they arrived at Hortman’s home, they saw a police SUV with its lights on and saw the suspect was impersonating a police officer.

In the SUV, police found a “manifesto,” with a list of lawmakers and other officials on it. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list.

Hortman, who has two adult children, was first elected to the Legislature 2004 and served as House Speaker from 2019-2024. She lost two elections before winning, which she said gave her an understanding of what it takes to win swing seats and hold them.

Her speakership will be remembered as among the most consequential in recent Minnesota political history. With Walz and Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, she guided the state through the pandemic before helping Democrats achieve a trifecta in the 2022 election.

During the 2023 legislative session, she helped bridge the wide gulf between moderates and progressives in her caucus to achieve a historic legislative agenda. Democrats codified abortion rights in law; invested in education, including universal schools meals, as well as transportation and housing; created paid family leave; legalized cannabis; and passed gun control laws.

The encomiums poured in Saturday. “There is no greater champion for Minnesota’s working people than Melissa Hortman,” said Joel Smith, President and Business Manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, the laborers union.

Hoffman was elected in 2012 and is known for his work on human services.

The<i>&nbsp;Reformer</i>&nbsp;sat down with Hortman at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss the 2025 session, which ended on Monday.

During his remarks Saturday, Walz denounced political violence and said the people involved in the shooting would be caught and held responsible.

<i></i>“This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, who worked closely with Hortman in the Legislature to negotiate a state budget this year, said she was horrified by Hortman’s murder.

“I am horrified by the evil attack that took place overnight, and heartbroken beyond words by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,” Demuth said in a statement.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749912930519.png" alt="Former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman courtesy photo" />
                        <figcaption>Former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman courtesy photo</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/author/michelle/">Michelle Griffith</a><br><a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/">Minnesota Reformer</a></p><p>House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus leader Melissa Hortman, who was among the most influential Minnesota elected officials of the past decade, died on Saturday morning after a man impersonating a police officer shot her in her Brooklyn Park home, Gov. Tim Walz said.</p><p>Hortman’s husband was also shot and killed, the governor said.</p><p>&nbsp; (Click below to watch Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz statement.)</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VHtHNAbFnow?si=bDqgF_TC1GA4uEsT&amp;start=29" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Statement from President Donald J. Trump<br><br>I have been briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers. Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be…</p>&mdash; Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1933910353718497656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The FBI is fully engaged on the ground in Minnesota and is working in collaboration with our local and state partners.</p>&mdash; Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDDBongino/status/1933903879042728255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2></h2><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749913092402.png" alt="Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman -photo courtesy Minnesota Senate" />
                        <figcaption>Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman -photo courtesy Minnesota Senate</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Walz, appearing emotional at a press conference in the north metro, said they were killed in an apparent “politically motivated assassination.”</p><p>“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said. “(Hortman) was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”</p><p>Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times earlier in the evening in their Champlin home. Walz said they were out of surgery, and that he’s “cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.”</p><p>Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Champlin law enforcement received a call at about 2 a.m. that a person shot Hoffman and his wife.&nbsp;</p><p>Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said his officers assisted with the Champlin shooting; a sergeant suggested checking in on Hortman’s home. They live about five to eight miles away from each other. When Brooklyn Park police officers arrived at Hortman’s home, they encountered a person who was dressed like a police officer who “immediately fired at them,” Evans said. Police exchanged gunfire with the person, but they were able to escape.</p><p>The shooter is still at large, and Brooklyn Park is under a shelter-in-place order. Hundreds of police officers and SWAT teams are conducting a manhunt for the person, officials said.</p><p>Bruley said that when they arrived at Hortman’s home, they saw a police SUV with its lights on and saw the suspect was impersonating a police officer.</p><p>In the SUV, police found a “manifesto,” with a list of lawmakers and other officials on it. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list.</p><p>Hortman, who has two adult children, was first elected to the Legislature 2004 and served as House Speaker from 2019-2024. She lost two elections before winning, which she said gave her an understanding of what it takes to win swing seats and hold them.</p><p>Her speakership will be remembered as among the most consequential in recent Minnesota political history. With Walz and Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, she guided the state through the pandemic before helping Democrats achieve a trifecta in the 2022 election.</p><p>During the 2023 legislative session, she helped bridge the wide gulf between moderates and progressives in her caucus to achieve a historic legislative agenda. Democrats codified abortion rights in law; invested in education, including universal schools meals, as well as transportation and housing; created paid family leave; legalized cannabis; and passed gun control laws.</p><p>The encomiums poured in Saturday. “There is no greater champion for Minnesota’s working people than Melissa Hortman,” said Joel Smith, President and Business Manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, the laborers union.</p><p>Hoffman was elected in 2012 and is known for his work on human services.</p><p>The<i>&nbsp;Reformer</i>&nbsp;sat down with Hortman at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss the 2025 session, which ended on Monday.</p><p>During his remarks Saturday, Walz denounced political violence and said the people involved in the shooting would be caught and held responsible.</p><p><i></i>“This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said.</p><p>House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, who worked closely with Hortman in the Legislature to negotiate a state budget this year, said she was horrified by Hortman’s murder.</p><p>“I am horrified by the evil attack that took place overnight, and heartbroken beyond words by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,” Demuth said in a statement.</p>

🎥Two Minnesota lawmakers shot in their homes in a targeted attack

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual, as well as the recovery of the FBI Special Agent's badge.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's San Francisco Field Office is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the individual responsible for assaulting federal officers and&nbsp;the theft of government property on June 10, 2025, in Concord, California.&nbsp;

 The government property stolen is identified as a Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent's badge.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), your&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field/" target="_blank">local FBI office</a>, the nearest&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat/" target="_blank">American Embassy or Consulate</a>,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/?fugitive_name=ASSAULT+ON+FEDERAL+OFFICERS&amp;fugitive_type=fbi" target="_blank">Click here to submit an anonymous Tip online</a>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749737519541.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual, as well as the recovery of the FBI Special Agent's badge.</p><p>The Federal Bureau of Investigation's San Francisco Field Office is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the individual responsible for assaulting federal officers and&nbsp;the theft of government property on June 10, 2025, in Concord, California.&nbsp;</p><p> The government property stolen is identified as a Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent's badge.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), your&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field/" target="_blank">local FBI office</a>, the nearest&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat/" target="_blank">American Embassy or Consulate</a>,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/?fugitive_name=ASSAULT+ON+FEDERAL+OFFICERS&amp;fugitive_type=fbi" target="_blank">Click here to submit an anonymous Tip online</a></p>

Reward for information in theft of  FBI Special Agent's badge 

The lithium-ion battery in the power bank can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers, according to a statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled power banks and contact Anker Innovations for instructions on receiving a free replacement power bank. Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.anker.com/product-recalls">https://www.anker.com/product-recalls</a>&nbsp;to register for the recall. To receive a replacement, consumers will be required to submit a photo of their recalled power bank showing the model number, serial number, their name, the date of the photograph, and the word “recalled” written on the power bank in permanent marker. A purchase receipt will be requested but will not be required to participate in the recall. Consumers will also be required to confirm disposal of the power bank in accordance with applicable laws and regulations before receiving a replacement.

Website:&nbsp;<a href="https://support.anker.com/s/emailcontactus">https://support.anker.com/s/emailcontactus</a>E-mail:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:support@anker.com">support@anker.com</a>Phone: (800) 988-7973

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749829397297.png" alt="&nbsp;Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank -photo U.S. CPSC&nbsp;" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank -photo U.S. CPSC&nbsp;</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The lithium-ion battery in the power bank can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers, according to a statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.</p><p>Remedy:</p><p>Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled power banks and contact Anker Innovations for instructions on receiving a free replacement power bank. Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.anker.com/product-recalls">https://www.anker.com/product-recalls</a>&nbsp;to register for the recall. To receive a replacement, consumers will be required to submit a photo of their recalled power bank showing the model number, serial number, their name, the date of the photograph, and the word “recalled” written on the power bank in permanent marker. A purchase receipt will be requested but will not be required to participate in the recall. Consumers will also be required to confirm disposal of the power bank in accordance with applicable laws and regulations before receiving a replacement.</p><p>Units: About 1,158,000</p><p>Website:&nbsp;<a href="https://support.anker.com/s/emailcontactus">https://support.anker.com/s/emailcontactus</a>E-mail:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:support@anker.com">support@anker.com</a>Phone: (800) 988-7973</p>

Recall:  More than 1 million power banks after reported fires

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio<br><br>“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its… <a href="https://t.co/5FFesh3dkF">pic.twitter.com/5FFesh3dkF</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1933328486669697508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A statement from IDF Spokesperson BG Effie Defrin on the preemptive Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear targets <a href="https://t.co/IJNT5LXz6o">pic.twitter.com/IJNT5LXz6o</a></p>&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1933328551333216407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐃𝐅 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧&#39;𝐬 𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦.<br><br>Dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including… <a href="https://t.co/vtx98P9564">pic.twitter.com/vtx98P9564</a></p>&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1933324595471454495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At our Embassy in Jerusalem and closely following the situation. We will remain here all night. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” <a href="https://t.co/2nAHxijkdA">https://t.co/2nAHxijkdA</a></p>&mdash; Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/1933302492147687876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Rubio: U.S. not involved as Israel launches strike against Iran's nuclear program

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749757787923.png" alt="Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem during her Los Angeles news conferece-image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem during her Los Angeles news conferece-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749757448306.png" alt="Senator Padilla as shown in the video provided by U.S. Homeland Security" />
                        <figcaption>Senator Padilla as shown in the video provided by U.S. Homeland Security</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">During a news conference with DHS Secretary Noem, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) is removed from the room by force. <a href="https://t.co/vJryoWIVHi">pic.twitter.com/vJryoWIVHi</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1933244184581873693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Padilla pushing and shoving law enforcement officers to get his way back to the podium. Incredibly aggressive behavior from a sitting US Senator.<br><br>No one knew who he was. <a href="https://t.co/yQ1GVVUF8d">https://t.co/yQ1GVVUF8d</a> <a href="https://t.co/80kBU9O8R3">pic.twitter.com/80kBU9O8R3</a></p>&mdash; Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) <a href="https://twitter.com/TriciaOhio/status/1933248954260746399?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Senator Alex Padilla is a good man and principled public servant.<br><br>The brazen and aggressive manhandling of Senator Padilla by the Trump administration is a sickening disgrace.<br><br>Anyone who assaulted the Senator should be held accountable.<br><br>No one is above the law. <a href="https://t.co/s9pHXP5tRD">pic.twitter.com/s9pHXP5tRD</a></p>&mdash; Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJeffries/status/1933236767680840025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With regard to the incident in LA this afternoon, the Senator in question was not wearing a security pin and physically resisted law enforcement when confronted. Our FBI personnel acted completely appropriately while assisting Secret Service and we are grateful for their…</p>&mdash; Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDDBongino/status/1933262131346223586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenAlexPadilla?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenAlexPadilla</a>: &quot;If this is how this administration responds to a Senator with a question. If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a Senator with a question you can only imagine what they&#39;re doing to farmers, to cooks, to day laborers…&quot; <a href="https://t.co/4HQXylr1dh">pic.twitter.com/4HQXylr1dh</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1933251262935388646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reporter: “Would you please address Senator Padilla’s interruption to your press conference… Will you be pressing charges from what we just witnessed here?” <br><br>Secretary Kristi Noem: “I don’t even know the senator. He did not request a meeting or to speak with me. So when I leave… <a href="https://t.co/233FInB8NF">pic.twitter.com/233FInB8NF</a></p>&mdash; RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) <a href="https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/1933229459676536930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerJohnson</a>: &quot;It was wildly inappropriate. You don&#39;t charge a sitting cabinet secretary...A sitting Member of Congress should not act like that...that behavior at a minimum it rises to the level of a censure.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/FzL1z4WmNi">pic.twitter.com/FzL1z4WmNi</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1933262191429292537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After he interrupted our press conference with law enforcement, I met with Senator Padilla for 15 minutes. We probably disagree on 90% of the topics but we agreed to exchanged phone numbers and we will continue to talk—that is the way it should be in this country.<br><br>I wish he… <a href="https://t.co/WdDs26jyCY">pic.twitter.com/WdDs26jyCY</a></p>&mdash; Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/1933267265849278591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥U.S. Senator forcibly removed from Homeland Security news conference

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a><br>

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House narrowly passed legislation Thursday that would revoke $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for public media, including National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, as well as foreign aid, though the bill’s future in the Senate amid a strict timeline is uncertain.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025168?Page=2" target="_blank">214-212 mostly party-line vote</a>&nbsp;marks just the third time in several decades the House has approved a bill to claw back funding that lawmakers formerly agreed to spend. President Donald Trump sent the rescissions request that led to the House bill to the Republican-controlled Congress earlier this month.

Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio voted against approving the bill along with all of the chamber’s Democrats.

Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon and New York Rep. Nick LaLota, both Republicans, switched from opposing to supporting the bill after Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with them on the floor as the vote was held open.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., contended during floor debate that pulling back the funding is the right place to start, but said the GOP will seek to do much more in the months and years ahead.

Scalise said PBS and NPR should have to compete against other media organizations without grant funding from the federal government.

“There is still going to be a plethora of options for the American people,” Scalise said. “But if they’re paying their hard-earned dollars to go get content, why should your tax dollars only go to one thing that the other side wants to promote? Let everybody go compete on a fair basis.”

Maine Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree said every state in the country would feel the impact of eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“I rise today in strong opposition to the reckless attack on public media contained within this rescissions bill and millions of Americans who rely on and treasure their local public television and radio stations,” Pingree said.

Efforts to defund CPB, she said, were the result of Trump’s “agenda against the free press and his authoritarian desire to control the media.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4/text" target="_blank">seven-page bill</a>&nbsp;would rescind all funding that Congress approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, a total of $1.1 billion.

CPB, which provides grants to public radio and television stations throughout the country, is one of the few programs that receives an advanced appropriation. So the funding elimination envisioned in the House bill would take effect starting on Oct. 1.

The legislation revokes more than $8 billion from several foreign aid programs run by the U.S. State Department or the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Florida Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said during an interview Wednesday there were extensive talks between GOP lawmakers and the Office of Management and Budget before the Trump administration officially submitted this rescissions request.

But Díaz-Balart cautioned there would need to be substantial pre-negotiations ahead of any future rescissions requests for programs within his annual funding bill.

“This rescission package — which I’ve had communication with OMB on — if this passes, we can move forward,” he said. “Now, if you’re talking about a potential for future additional rescissions, that could potentially create a problem and tie the president’s hands when it comes to dealing with adversaries or helping allies.”

Díaz-Balart said that OMB officials hoping to make any additional rescissions requests on foreign aid would need to engage in “a level of coordination that is so detailed, so intense to make sure that nothing comes forward that could potentially hurt the president’s ability to really do the America First agenda internationally.”

Florida Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, ranking member on the State-Foreign Operations spending panel, said during floor debate Thursday the bill was an attack on American values and posed a threat to national security.

“It’s not charity, it’s strategy,” Frankel said of foreign aid. “Don’t take my word for it, military leaders from both parties have warned us for years — if we fail to lead with soft power, we’ll end up paying in blood, bombs and more boots on the ground.”

“Cutting foreign assistance will deepen desperation, fuel extremism, push fragile societies toward collapse and when that happens we all pay the price,” she added. “Refugee crises surge, diseases spread, trade routes shut down, our troops and diplomats face greater danger and our homeland security is weakened.”

The House vote took place just one week after the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-wants-congress-slash-94b-spending-now-defund-npr-and-pbs" target="_blank">sent lawmakers the rescissions request</a>, the first of many proposals the White House budget office plans to submit.&nbsp;

The $9.4 billion cancellation proposal represents a small fraction of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61181" target="_blank">the roughly $6.8 trillion</a>&nbsp;the federal government spends each year.

The recommendation said some of the foreign aid should be cancelled because it supported “programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like ‘family planning’ and ‘reproductive health,’ LGBTQI+ activities, and ‘equity’ programs.”

The rescissions request allows the Office of Management and Budget to legally freeze funding on the programs listed for 45 days while lawmakers decide whether to approve the recommendation as is, amend it, or ignore it.

The House and Senate must agree to approve the same rescissions bill before mid-July for the changes to take effect. Failure to reach a bicameral agreement before then would require the Trump administration to spend the funding and block the president from requesting the same cancellation for the rest of his term.

Rescissions requests are rare since Congress typically negotiates spending levels on thousands of federal programs in the dozen annual spending bills that are then signed by the president.

The first Trump administration proposed rescissions in 2018, but the bill never made it through the Senate.

The last time Congress actually approved rescinding funding was in 1992 during the George H.W. Bush administration, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48432/R48432.2.pdf" target="_blank">a report</a>&nbsp;from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The Senate will need to take up the bill before mid-July if it wants to approve any of the spending cuts, though several GOP senators told States Newsroom during brief interviews Wednesday ahead of the House vote they may amend the package, which would require it to go back to the House for final approval before the 45-day clock runs out.

Rescissions bills come with a vote-a-rama in the Senate, giving Republicans and Democrats the chance to call up as many amendments as they want for a floor vote. The GOP holds a 53-member majority, so four or more Republicans opposing any element of the bill would likely lead to its removal.

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she will give the rescissions bill “careful consideration.”

In a statement released earlier this month just after the White House sent the request to lawmakers, Collins wrote the committee would “carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations.”

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said he’s mostly supportive of the rescissions request, though he didn’t rule out offering an amendment to restore full funding for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, often called PEPFAR.

“I think I’ll be okay with most of it. I’m concerned about PEPFAR. I’ll have to look at that,” Graham said.

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the spending panel that oversees the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said she’s planning to evaluate the bill once it arrives.

“We’ve got all these other things I’m thinking about. I haven’t even focused on it,” Capito said, referring to ongoing negotiations over the party’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, said she’s going to “try to” ensure the Corporation for Public Broadcasting keeps its funding.

“I’m a supporter of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s a lifeline for many of my small, rural communities,” Murkowski said

Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said he’s “trying to figure out a strategy of how to deal with” both the foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provisions once the bill comes over from the House.

“I’m looking at both of them to see what the right outcome should be.”

‘The risk of living in a news desert’

Both PBS and NPR released statements following the House vote, pledging to do their best to keep their funding intact.

Katherine Maher, NPR president and CEO, wrote in a statement the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is essential to the organization.

“Americans who rely on local, independent stations serving communities across America, especially in rural and underserved regions, will suffer the immediate consequences of this vote,” Maher wrote. “If rescission passes and local stations go dark, millions of Americans will no longer have access to locally owned, independent, nonprofit media and will bear the risk of living in a news desert, missing their emergency alerts, and hearing silence where classical, jazz and local artists currently play.”

Paula Kerger, president and CEO at PBS, wrote in a separate statement the “fight to protect public media does not end with this vote, and we will continue to make the case for our essential service in the days and weeks to come.

“If these cuts are finalized by the Senate, it will have a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749763219260.png" alt="U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., holds up an Elmo toy while the chamber debates a bill that would eliminate previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public radio and television stations, including the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, which airs “Sesame Street.” (Screen capture from House clerk live video)" />
                        <figcaption>U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., holds up an Elmo toy while the chamber debates a bill that would eliminate previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public radio and television stations, including the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, which airs “Sesame Street.” (Screen capture from House clerk live video)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a><br></p><p>WASHINGTON — The U.S. House narrowly passed legislation Thursday that would revoke $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for public media, including National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, as well as foreign aid, though the bill’s future in the Senate amid a strict timeline is uncertain.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepJeffries?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepJeffries</a>: &quot;We&#39;re on the floor of the House of Representatives not debating legislation that is designed to make this country and our economy more affordable but actually debating legislation that targets Elmo and Big Bird and Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/lWkGvuco1A">pic.twitter.com/lWkGvuco1A</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1933229808139301333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025168?Page=2" target="_blank">214-212 mostly party-line vote</a>&nbsp;marks just the third time in several decades the House has approved a bill to claw back funding that lawmakers formerly agreed to spend. President Donald Trump sent the rescissions request that led to the House bill to the Republican-controlled Congress earlier this month.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749763326958.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio voted against approving the bill along with all of the chamber’s Democrats.</p><p>Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon and New York Rep. Nick LaLota, both Republicans, switched from opposing to supporting the bill after Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with them on the floor as the vote was held open.</p><p>House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., contended during floor debate that pulling back the funding is the right place to start, but said the GOP will seek to do much more in the months and years ahead.</p><p>Scalise said PBS and NPR should have to compete against other media organizations without grant funding from the federal government.</p><p>“There is still going to be a plethora of options for the American people,” Scalise said. “But if they’re paying their hard-earned dollars to go get content, why should your tax dollars only go to one thing that the other side wants to promote? Let everybody go compete on a fair basis.”</p><p>Maine Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree said every state in the country would feel the impact of eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.</p><p>“I rise today in strong opposition to the reckless attack on public media contained within this rescissions bill and millions of Americans who rely on and treasure their local public television and radio stations,” Pingree said.</p><p>Efforts to defund CPB, she said, were the result of Trump’s “agenda against the free press and his authoritarian desire to control the media.”</p><h2>Public media would lose $1.1 billion</h2><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4/text" target="_blank">seven-page bill</a>&nbsp;would rescind all funding that Congress approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, a total of $1.1 billion.</p><p>CPB, which provides grants to public radio and television stations throughout the country, is one of the few programs that receives an advanced appropriation. So the funding elimination envisioned in the House bill would take effect starting on Oct. 1.</p><p>The legislation revokes more than $8 billion from several foreign aid programs run by the U.S. State Department or the U.S. Agency for International Development.</p><p>Florida Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said during an interview Wednesday there were extensive talks between GOP lawmakers and the Office of Management and Budget before the Trump administration officially submitted this rescissions request.</p><p>But Díaz-Balart cautioned there would need to be substantial pre-negotiations ahead of any future rescissions requests for programs within his annual funding bill.</p><p>“This rescission package — which I’ve had communication with OMB on — if this passes, we can move forward,” he said. “Now, if you’re talking about a potential for future additional rescissions, that could potentially create a problem and tie the president’s hands when it comes to dealing with adversaries or helping allies.”</p><p>Díaz-Balart said that OMB officials hoping to make any additional rescissions requests on foreign aid would need to engage in “a level of coordination that is so detailed, so intense to make sure that nothing comes forward that could potentially hurt the president’s ability to really do the America First agenda internationally.”</p><p>Florida Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, ranking member on the State-Foreign Operations spending panel, said during floor debate Thursday the bill was an attack on American values and posed a threat to national security.</p><p>“It’s not charity, it’s strategy,” Frankel said of foreign aid. “Don’t take my word for it, military leaders from both parties have warned us for years — if we fail to lead with soft power, we’ll end up paying in blood, bombs and more boots on the ground.”</p><p>“Cutting foreign assistance will deepen desperation, fuel extremism, push fragile societies toward collapse and when that happens we all pay the price,” she added. “Refugee crises surge, diseases spread, trade routes shut down, our troops and diplomats face greater danger and our homeland security is weakened.”</p><h2>First of many requests</h2><p>The House vote took place just one week after the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-wants-congress-slash-94b-spending-now-defund-npr-and-pbs" target="_blank">sent lawmakers the rescissions request</a>, the first of many proposals the White House budget office plans to submit.&nbsp;</p><p>The $9.4 billion cancellation proposal represents a small fraction of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61181" target="_blank">the roughly $6.8 trillion</a>&nbsp;the federal government spends each year.</p><p>The recommendation said some of the foreign aid should be cancelled because it supported “programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like ‘family planning’ and ‘reproductive health,’ LGBTQI+ activities, and ‘equity’ programs.”</p><p>The rescissions request allows the Office of Management and Budget to legally freeze funding on the programs listed for 45 days while lawmakers decide whether to approve the recommendation as is, amend it, or ignore it.</p><p>The House and Senate must agree to approve the same rescissions bill before mid-July for the changes to take effect. Failure to reach a bicameral agreement before then would require the Trump administration to spend the funding and block the president from requesting the same cancellation for the rest of his term.</p><p>Rescissions requests are rare since Congress typically negotiates spending levels on thousands of federal programs in the dozen annual spending bills that are then signed by the president.</p><p>The first Trump administration proposed rescissions in 2018, but the bill never made it through the Senate.</p><p>The last time Congress actually approved rescinding funding was in 1992 during the George H.W. Bush administration, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48432/R48432.2.pdf" target="_blank">a report</a>&nbsp;from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.</p><h2>More action in the Senate</h2><p>The Senate will need to take up the bill before mid-July if it wants to approve any of the spending cuts, though several GOP senators told States Newsroom during brief interviews Wednesday ahead of the House vote they may amend the package, which would require it to go back to the House for final approval before the 45-day clock runs out.</p><p>Rescissions bills come with a vote-a-rama in the Senate, giving Republicans and Democrats the chance to call up as many amendments as they want for a floor vote. The GOP holds a 53-member majority, so four or more Republicans opposing any element of the bill would likely lead to its removal.</p><p>Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she will give the rescissions bill “careful consideration.”</p><p>In a statement released earlier this month just after the White House sent the request to lawmakers, Collins wrote the committee would “carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations.”</p><p>South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said he’s mostly supportive of the rescissions request, though he didn’t rule out offering an amendment to restore full funding for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, often called PEPFAR.</p><p>“I think I’ll be okay with most of it. I’m concerned about PEPFAR. I’ll have to look at that,” Graham said.</p><p>West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the spending panel that oversees the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said she’s planning to evaluate the bill once it arrives.</p><p>“We’ve got all these other things I’m thinking about. I haven’t even focused on it,” Capito said, referring to ongoing negotiations over the party’s “big, beautiful bill.”</p><p>Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, said she’s going to “try to” ensure the Corporation for Public Broadcasting keeps its funding.</p><p>“I’m a supporter of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s a lifeline for many of my small, rural communities,” Murkowski said</p><p>Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said he’s “trying to figure out a strategy of how to deal with” both the foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provisions once the bill comes over from the House.</p><p>“I’m looking at both of them to see what the right outcome should be.”</p><h2>‘The risk of living in a news desert’</h2><p>Both PBS and NPR released statements following the House vote, pledging to do their best to keep their funding intact.</p><p>Katherine Maher, NPR president and CEO, wrote in a statement the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is essential to the organization.</p><p>“Americans who rely on local, independent stations serving communities across America, especially in rural and underserved regions, will suffer the immediate consequences of this vote,” Maher wrote. “If rescission passes and local stations go dark, millions of Americans will no longer have access to locally owned, independent, nonprofit media and will bear the risk of living in a news desert, missing their emergency alerts, and hearing silence where classical, jazz and local artists currently play.”</p><p>Paula Kerger, president and CEO at PBS, wrote in a separate statement the “fight to protect public media does not end with this vote, and we will continue to make the case for our essential service in the days and weeks to come.</p><p>“If these cuts are finalized by the Senate, it will have a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.”</p>

U.S. House votes to yank billions for NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – On June 10, a 30-year-old man from Randolph, New Jersey, was injured by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, according to a media release from the Park Service.

At approximately 9:45 a.m. in the Upper Geyser Basin at Old Faithful, a man was gored by a bison after a large group of visitors approached it too closely. The individual sustained minor injuries and was treated and transported by emergency medical personnel. The incident is currently under investigation.

&nbsp;This is the second reported incident of a person injured by a bison in 2025. The first occurred on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/25002.htm">May 7</a>. There were two reported incidents in 2024 and one in 2023.&nbsp; Wildlife in Yellowstone are wild and can be dangerous:

Help protect the park today and for future generations by taking the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/yellowstonepledge.htm">Yellowstone Pledge</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749732124056.jpeg" alt="Bison, Blacktail Deer Plateau by National Park Service / Neal Herbert" />
                        <figcaption>Bison, Blacktail Deer Plateau by National Park Service / Neal Herbert</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – On June 10, a 30-year-old man from Randolph, New Jersey, was injured by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, according to a media release from the Park Service.</p><p>At approximately 9:45 a.m. in the Upper Geyser Basin at Old Faithful, a man was gored by a bison after a large group of visitors approached it too closely. The individual sustained minor injuries and was treated and transported by emergency medical personnel. The incident is currently under investigation.</p><p>&nbsp;This is the second reported incident of a person injured by a bison in 2025. The first occurred on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/25002.htm">May 7</a>. There were two reported incidents in 2024 and one in 2023.&nbsp; Wildlife in Yellowstone are wild and can be dangerous:</p><ul>
                        <li>Wild animals can be aggressive if people don’t respect their space. It is your responsibility to stay more than 25 yards (23 meters) away from all large animals – bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes – and at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from bears, wolves, and cougars. If wildlife approach you, move away to always maintain these safe viewing distances.</li><li>Bison will defend their space when threatened and have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal. They are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.</li><li>Learn more about our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/safety.htm">safety tips</a>&nbsp;while visiting Yellowstone, including how to behave around wildlife. The safety of these animals – and humans – depends on everyone using good judgment and following these simple rules.</li>
                    </ul><p>Help protect the park today and for future generations by taking the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/yellowstonepledge.htm">Yellowstone Pledge</a>.</p>

Man gored by bison in Yellowstone National Park

President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is advertising a new tip line to report illegal aliens in the midst of the immigration raids across the country.

<p>President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is advertising a new tip line to report illegal aliens in the midst of the immigration raids across the country.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhomelandsecurity%2Fposts%2Fpfbid037zrZLtSC7CdzCV2bbb54dpKXeDpdXfAGqia5g4NkCUFzHyfGMDbig1NvLJAgPp44l&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="615" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>

U.S. Homeland Security promotes new tip line

<a href="https://www.brianwilson.com/timeline">Click here to visit t</a>he Brian Wilson web site.

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are heartbroken to announced that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away.<br><br>We are at a loss for words right now.<br><br>Please respect our privacy at this time as our family grieving.<br><br>We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.<br><br>Love &amp; Mercy <a href="https://t.co/sIe7TUUdOm">pic.twitter.com/sIe7TUUdOm</a></p>&mdash; Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive/status/1932838576955302326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p><a href="https://www.brianwilson.com/timeline">Click here to visit t</a>he Brian Wilson web site.</p>

Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Co-Founder, Dead at 82

As many as 100 people could have been affected, owner and witnesses say

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/cindygonzalez/">Cindy Gonzalez</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/aaron-sanderford/">Aaron Sanderford</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/fortenberry-seeks-two-month-delay-of-re-trial-to-wait-for-trump-justice-department/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — As many as 100 workers suspected of being in the country illegally were ensnared, witnesses said, in what immigration officials said was its largest Nebraska enforcement operation since President Donald Trump took office.

Outside of Glenn Valley Foods, community advocates, including a pastor, said they had seen people being removed from the plant. Some were placed in three 15-passenger vans. Others were loaded onto a bus with boarded up windows and a law enforcement escort.

Witnesses who were afraid to give their names told a reporter they saw family members of workers arrive and try to bring documentation to their loved ones. One didn’t stop when asked to by local officers.

That resulted in a tense moment when a handful of people approached a law enforcement vehicle and some loudly expressed frustration with the scope and scale of the operation. At least two people tried to block the movement of the vehicle and were moved, video footage confirmed.

Several observers said Glenn Valley was approached by ICE agents Tuesday morning and allowed agents inside the plant.

Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of Glenn Valley Foods, told Omaha’s WOWT that federal investigators told him 97 employees had false IDs. He said the company had used e-Verify.

Immigration authorities confirmed to a local member of Congress that 75 to 80 people had been detained. Others were being interviewed about related law enforcement concerns.

“They’re good, hardworking, honest,” he said. “They’re part of our family.”

Community leaders said workers have told them they were separating people in the plant they could prove were citizens and those that they couldn’t.

The operations had several local elected Latino leaders visiting various work sites, some South Omaha businesses shutting their doors for the time being and area residents checking in with each other in a frenzy.

Latino leaders tracking the situation, posting about it on social media and speaking with workers said they had heard of up to a half-dozen worksites where federal immigration agents may have visited.

A federal official described the raid at Glenn Valley Foods as likely the largest in Nebraska since Trump took office after promising a massive crackdown on illegal immigration.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States,” said a statement from Tanya Roman, ICE spokesperson.

Roman, in a follow-up call with the Examiner, clarified that Glenn Valley was the only Omaha-area operation federal immigration agents carried out Tuesday and that it attempted no others and made no individual arrests at other businesses.

Community leaders began gathering early Tuesday at a South Omaha location, after having heard late Monday of possible enforcement activities ahead.

Roger Garcia, chairman of the Douglas County board, announced during a county board meeting Tuesday morning that he had to leave because his community was “being terrorized.”

“I have to depart,” he said. “As we speak, there’s word of at least two raids happening at this moment, so I have to go. I have to try and help.”

He was among leaders posting in English and Spanish on social media to keep the community informed. Rumors swirled for much of the day about potentially targeted businesses beyond Glenn Valley Foods, including LALA’s and JBS, processing and production plants in the eastern part of the city. A JBS official told the Nebraska Examiner that no raid or immigration agents targeted JBS. LALA officials said they were not targeted and received no visit either.

Later, Garcia, gathering with others on South 24th Street, said he found no redeeming value in the federal action.

“None of this is doing anything to positively help society, but rather is doing the opposite,” he said. “These were individuals that were literally at work, trying to provide for their families, people contributing to our local economy.”

He said a team of community representatives is working to get current information, including what’s next for those detained.&nbsp;

He said at least one trusted source said the source’s mom was taken to Iowa and offered the option to voluntarily deport or to fight the deportation through legal means.&nbsp;He said various community members have stepped up to offer legal services.&nbsp;

Garcia said he’s hearing trepidation that another Nebraska town could be next.&nbsp;

State Sens. Dunixi Guereca and Margo Juarez of South Omaha gathered mid-morning with a half dozen other community representatives on South 24th Street. Guereca pointed at the quiet business corridor, the heart of Nebraska’s largest Latino business district, and said: “This is fear.”

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., issued a statement Tuesday saying he understood the “concerns” for people’s loved ones and personal safety and said he had “full confidence and expectations” that ICE would operate legally and treat people respectfully. He said his office supports “the rule of law.”

The statement said his office had been told the investigation and warrant being served at the plant concerned “stolen identities.”

Local law enforcement agencies said they were not participating in the federal raids, but that they are providing agents and the public with traffic enforcement around targeted locations, as needed.

”The Department of Homeland Security recently notified OPD of the operations and OPD officers responded to the areas for traffic control,” Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci said in a statement.

Guereca said he was disappointed in the way federal agents carried out the operation, which he said created unnecessary fear for families, customers and merchants.

“Businesses closed their doors. Not only are folks not going to work, they’re not consuming,” he said.&nbsp;

Yesenia Peck, who heads the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, also came to the 24th Street district to check on businesses. As she approached one store, a customer was attempting to open the door, but it was locked.

She said she knew of at least one foreign consulate office based in Omaha, the Guatemalan Consulate, that was sending a representative to an affected worksite.

“Everybody is scared right now. Businesses are closing,” she said. “This is not life…”

Peck said one merchant asked her, “How are we going to pay the bills? Pay rent?”

Martha Barrera, who owns a salon on 24th Street, said her workers have continued to accept customers, but she said people are in panic mode about what is happening outside the doors. She said she is happy that community leaders have offered information on rights and how to respond if federal agents were to come to her business or any others.&nbsp;

She and others on the business corridor said their stores rely on Latino families and are worried about future commerce.

Peck said she understands there are laws and people must abide by those.

“But this is not the way it should be done,” she said. “Not cruelly.”

“What is happening right now is unbelievable. I’ve seen this kind of thing in other countries,” she said, including her homeland of Peru. “It’s just not the right way.”

Meanwhile in Lincoln, an impromptu protest with roughly 20 people marched near the State Capitol as a result of federal immigration enforcement.

Peaceful protests were developing elsewhere in Omaha, too, including an “Omaha Stands with Immigrants" rally.

Hundreds protested the federal immigration operation, lining both sides of L Street near 33rd at the dinner hours. Signs and chalked sidewalks offered sentiment: “Undocumented hands feed you.” “F— ICE.” “Keep families together” “Abolish ICE.”

An Omaha Tribal group led chants, crossing back and forth at crosslight. “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state.”

A woman in purple plastic boots held a yellow “immigrants welcome here” sign and banged a gong, saying, “It’s the loudest thing I own.”

Others passed out “know your rights” information packets.&nbsp;There was no shortage of honks from passer by motorists.&nbsp;

Jaqueline Chino walked up to the chanting crowd and stood on a light pole base, with her handmade sign: “Families belong together.”

Asked by a reporter what brought her to the event, she said her dad was deported when she was 5 years old.

Her mom raised her family alone, as her dad is in Guerrero, Mexico.&nbsp;

“I know the pain,” she said. “Growing up without a father figure is very hard for a girl.”

Another gathering on South 24th Street drew about 25 people.

Said Anna Hernandez, an organizer: “Obviously we can’t do anything at the worksites. But we can show that this is our community and this is breaking up our families.”

She said people are reaching out to community members seeking ways to demonstrate support. “There are children who will be forever affected by this.”

Mayor John Ewing Jr., on his second official day in office, released a statement saying that his office had been alerted that some sort of immigration action would take place on Tuesday, though was not “privy to details.”

He noted that he had asked ICE for a heads-up courtesy on enforcement activities, following the ICE-led arrest over the weekend at a west Omaha restaurant that disturbed patrons and others as it circulated widely on social media.

“I am trying to get to the bottom of what happened today,” Ewing said in a statement. “We know that actions like these affect families. My administration is working with community groups to understand the scale of need.”

Ewing said he knows the ICE actions caused fear. “We do not want people to be so afraid they stop reporting crimes. Our Omaha Police Department will respond to 911 calls and not ask about legal status.”

He reiterated that the city was not in the business of immigration enforcement, and said it was the federal government leading that charge.

“Our Omaha police officers do not and will not seek individuals to check their legal status,” Ewing said. “OPD was on scene today to assist in traffic control and public safety in areas near their operations.”

Saul Lopez, of LULAC National, was headed with other community members to pass out information about worker rights at workplaces and said a concern was for parents who might be separated from children.

“We’re very worried right now about what’s going on with the families.”

A leader of an Omaha nonprofit that works with youths said Tuesday that the organization has been working to identify families whose working parent may have been detained and separated from their children.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749657037037.jpeg" alt=" Jaqueline Chino, protesting immigration enforcement actions in Omaha on Tuesday, said she wanted to “stand up for people – even if I have to stand alone on this pole.” (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption> Jaqueline Chino, protesting immigration enforcement actions in Omaha on Tuesday, said she wanted to “stand up for people – even if I have to stand alone on this pole.” (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>As many as 100 people could have been affected, owner and witnesses say</h2><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/cindygonzalez/">Cindy Gonzalez</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/aaron-sanderford/">Aaron Sanderford</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/fortenberry-seeks-two-month-delay-of-re-trial-to-wait-for-trump-justice-department/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><p>OMAHA — As many as 100 workers suspected of being in the country illegally were ensnared, witnesses said, in what immigration officials said was its largest Nebraska enforcement operation since President Donald Trump took office.</p><p>Outside of Glenn Valley Foods, community advocates, including a pastor, said they had seen people being removed from the plant. Some were placed in three 15-passenger vans. Others were loaded onto a bus with boarded up windows and a law enforcement escort.</p><p>Witnesses who were afraid to give their names told a reporter they saw family members of workers arrive and try to bring documentation to their loved ones. One didn’t stop when asked to by local officers.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749657133004.png" alt="Federal immigration agents raided an Omaha food plant, Glenn Valley Foods, on Tuesday. Witnesses saw people placed into three vans and a bus. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption>Federal immigration agents raided an Omaha food plant, Glenn Valley Foods, on Tuesday. Witnesses saw people placed into three vans and a bus. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>That resulted in a tense moment when a handful of people approached a law enforcement vehicle and some loudly expressed frustration with the scope and scale of the operation. At least two people tried to block the movement of the vehicle and were moved, video footage confirmed.</p><h2>Workers targeted</h2><p>Several observers said Glenn Valley was approached by ICE agents Tuesday morning and allowed agents inside the plant.</p><p>Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of Glenn Valley Foods, told Omaha’s WOWT that federal investigators told him 97 employees had false IDs. He said the company had used e-Verify.</p><p>Immigration authorities confirmed to a local member of Congress that 75 to 80 people had been detained. Others were being interviewed about related law enforcement concerns.</p><p>“They’re good, hardworking, honest,” he said. “They’re part of our family.”</p><p>Community leaders said workers have told them they were separating people in the plant they could prove were citizens and those that they couldn’t.</p><p>The operations had several local elected Latino leaders visiting various work sites, some South Omaha businesses shutting their doors for the time being and area residents checking in with each other in a frenzy.</p><h2>Community reacts to raid</h2><p>Latino leaders tracking the situation, posting about it on social media and speaking with workers said they had heard of up to a half-dozen worksites where federal immigration agents may have visited.</p><p>A federal official described the raid at Glenn Valley Foods as likely the largest in Nebraska since Trump took office after promising a massive crackdown on illegal immigration.</p><p>“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States,” said a statement from Tanya Roman, ICE spokesperson.</p><p>She said the investigation is ongoing.</p><p>Roman, in a follow-up call with the Examiner, clarified that Glenn Valley was the only Omaha-area operation federal immigration agents carried out Tuesday and that it attempted no others and made no individual arrests at other businesses.</p><p>Community leaders began gathering early Tuesday at a South Omaha location, after having heard late Monday of possible enforcement activities ahead.</p><p>Roger Garcia, chairman of the Douglas County board, announced during a county board meeting Tuesday morning that he had to leave because his community was “being terrorized.”</p><p>“I have to depart,” he said. “As we speak, there’s word of at least two raids happening at this moment, so I have to go. I have to try and help.”</p><h2>Law enforcement fights rumors</h2><p>He was among leaders posting in English and Spanish on social media to keep the community informed. Rumors swirled for much of the day about potentially targeted businesses beyond Glenn Valley Foods, including LALA’s and JBS, processing and production plants in the eastern part of the city. A JBS official told the Nebraska Examiner that no raid or immigration agents targeted JBS. LALA officials said they were not targeted and received no visit either.</p><p>Later, Garcia, gathering with others on South 24th Street, said he found no redeeming value in the federal action.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749657211817.png" alt="Yesenia Peck, who heads the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber, was checking on South Omaha merchants Tuesday in the wake of reports that immigration raids were unfolding. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption>Yesenia Peck, who heads the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber, was checking on South Omaha merchants Tuesday in the wake of reports that immigration raids were unfolding. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>“None of this is doing anything to positively help society, but rather is doing the opposite,” he said. “These were individuals that were literally at work, trying to provide for their families, people contributing to our local economy.”</p><p>He said a team of community representatives is working to get current information, including what’s next for those detained.&nbsp;</p><p>He said at least one trusted source said the source’s mom was taken to Iowa and offered the option to voluntarily deport or to fight the deportation through legal means.&nbsp;He said various community members have stepped up to offer legal services.&nbsp;</p><p>Garcia said he’s hearing trepidation that another Nebraska town could be next.&nbsp;</p><p>State Sens. Dunixi Guereca and Margo Juarez of South Omaha gathered mid-morning with a half dozen other community representatives on South 24th Street. Guereca pointed at the quiet business corridor, the heart of Nebraska’s largest Latino business district, and said: “This is fear.”</p><p>U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., issued a statement Tuesday saying he understood the “concerns” for people’s loved ones and personal safety and said he had “full confidence and expectations” that ICE would operate legally and treat people respectfully. He said his office supports “the rule of law.”</p><p>The statement said his office had been told the investigation and warrant being served at the plant concerned “stolen identities.”</p><p>Local law enforcement agencies said they were not participating in the federal raids, but that they are providing agents and the public with traffic enforcement around targeted locations, as needed.</p><p>”The Department of Homeland Security recently notified OPD of the operations and OPD officers responded to the areas for traffic control,” Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci said in a statement.</p><h2>Business impacted</h2><p>Guereca said he was disappointed in the way federal agents carried out the operation, which he said created unnecessary fear for families, customers and merchants.</p><p>“Businesses closed their doors. Not only are folks not going to work, they’re not consuming,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Yesenia Peck, who heads the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, also came to the 24th Street district to check on businesses. As she approached one store, a customer was attempting to open the door, but it was locked.</p><p>She said she knew of at least one foreign consulate office based in Omaha, the Guatemalan Consulate, that was sending a representative to an affected worksite.</p><p>“Everybody is scared right now. Businesses are closing,” she said. “This is not life…”</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749657282067.png" alt="State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of South Omaha stands along South 24th Street with business owner Martha Barrera and discuss the federal immigration enforcement operation that had people and businesses talking on Tuesday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption>State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of South Omaha stands along South 24th Street with business owner Martha Barrera and discuss the federal immigration enforcement operation that had people and businesses talking on Tuesday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Peck said one merchant asked her, “How are we going to pay the bills? Pay rent?”</p><p>Martha Barrera, who owns a salon on 24th Street, said her workers have continued to accept customers, but she said people are in panic mode about what is happening outside the doors. She said she is happy that community leaders have offered information on rights and how to respond if federal agents were to come to her business or any others.&nbsp;</p><p>She and others on the business corridor said their stores rely on Latino families and are worried about future commerce.</p><p>Peck said she understands there are laws and people must abide by those.</p><p>“But this is not the way it should be done,” she said. “Not cruelly.”</p><p>“What is happening right now is unbelievable. I’ve seen this kind of thing in other countries,” she said, including her homeland of Peru. “It’s just not the right way.”</p><h2>Protests gather</h2><p>Meanwhile in Lincoln, an impromptu protest with roughly 20 people marched near the State Capitol as a result of federal immigration enforcement.</p><p>Peaceful protests were developing elsewhere in Omaha, too, including an “Omaha Stands with Immigrants" rally.</p><p>Hundreds protested the federal immigration operation, lining both sides of L Street near 33rd at the dinner hours. Signs and chalked sidewalks offered sentiment: “Undocumented hands feed you.” “F— ICE.” “Keep families together” “Abolish ICE.”</p><p>An Omaha Tribal group led chants, crossing back and forth at crosslight. “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state.”</p><p>A woman in purple plastic boots held a yellow “immigrants welcome here” sign and banged a gong, saying, “It’s the loudest thing I own.”</p><p>Others passed out “know your rights” information packets.&nbsp;There was no shortage of honks from passer by motorists.&nbsp;</p><p>Jaqueline Chino walked up to the chanting crowd and stood on a light pole base, with her handmade sign: “Families belong together.”</p><p>Asked by a reporter what brought her to the event, she said her dad was deported when she was 5 years old.</p><p>Her mom raised her family alone, as her dad is in Guerrero, Mexico.&nbsp;</p><p>“I know the pain,” she said. “Growing up without a father figure is very hard for a girl.”</p><p>Another gathering on South 24th Street drew about 25 people.</p><p>Said Anna Hernandez, an organizer: “Obviously we can’t do anything at the worksites. But we can show that this is our community and this is breaking up our families.”</p><p>She said people are reaching out to community members seeking ways to demonstrate support. “There are children who will be forever affected by this.”</p><h2>Mayor, advocates weigh in</h2><p>Mayor John Ewing Jr., on his second official day in office, released a statement saying that his office had been alerted that some sort of immigration action would take place on Tuesday, though was not “privy to details.”</p><p>He noted that he had asked ICE for a heads-up courtesy on enforcement activities, following the ICE-led arrest over the weekend at a west Omaha restaurant that disturbed patrons and others as it circulated widely on social media.</p><p>“I am trying to get to the bottom of what happened today,” Ewing said in a statement. “We know that actions like these affect families. My administration is working with community groups to understand the scale of need.”</p><p>Ewing said he knows the ICE actions caused fear. “We do not want people to be so afraid they stop reporting crimes. Our Omaha Police Department will respond to 911 calls and not ask about legal status.”</p><p>He reiterated that the city was not in the business of immigration enforcement, and said it was the federal government leading that charge.</p><p>“Our Omaha police officers do not and will not seek individuals to check their legal status,” Ewing said. “OPD was on scene today to assist in traffic control and public safety in areas near their operations.”</p><p>Saul Lopez, of LULAC National, was headed with other community members to pass out information about worker rights at workplaces and said a concern was for parents who might be separated from children.</p><p>“We’re very worried right now about what’s going on with the families.”</p><p>A leader of an Omaha nonprofit that works with youths said Tuesday that the organization has been working to identify families whose working parent may have been detained and separated from their children.</p><p>So far, the organization’s leader said at least two kids in their care who are from two different families have a parent caught up in the operations. The organization was busy getting a hold of emergency contacts for the kids.</p><p>Also Tuesday, immigration advocates and community leaders had turned a South Omaha organization into a sort of information headquarters to better understand and coordinate legal, outreach and response activities.</p><p>Also among the elected officials gathered at the South Omaha hub was Yanira Garcia of the Omaha Regional Metropolitan Transit Board and Omaha City Councilman Ron Hug.</p><p>Examiner reporter Juan Salinas II contributed to this report.</p>