As Congress barrels toward Tuesday’s midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown, Republicans are blasting Democrats for prioritizing «free healthcare for illegal aliens» over paying U.S. troops, who would miss paychecks if the government closes.

Both Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., have accused Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of trying to reinstate taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through congressional Democrats’ continuing resolution (CR), a charge Democrats dispute. 

Congressional Democrats’ main demand has been an extension of expiring Obamacare tax credits, but among their wishlist is a push to repeal the healthcare title of President Donald Trump’s signature piece of legislation. 

Republicans aimed to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid, reforms which included limiting eligibility and penalizing states who extended healthcare benefits to illegal immigrants. 

HOUSE DEMOCRATS THREATEN SHUTDOWN FIGHT TO PROTECT OBAMACARE PERKS

«They want to have illegal aliens come into our country and get massive healthcare at the cost to everybody else, and we don’t have it. And that’s, I would say, the number one reason that they want to strike is to get illegal immigrants’ healthcare,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, as he said Republicans are not responsible for the looming government shutdown.

«Democrats are about to shut down the government because they demand we fund healthcare for illegal aliens,» Vice President JD Vance posted on X last week. Johnson added on Sunday that Schumer wants to «reinstate free healthcare for illegal aliens paid by American taxpayers.»

JD VANCE SAYS GOVERNMENT LIKELY ‘HEADED INTO A SHUTDOWN’ AFTER TRUMP MEETS WITH DEMS

Schumer and congressional Democrats, however, have labeled the issue the «Republican healthcare crisis,» and placed the onus of a government shutdown on Trump and the GOP. The top Senate Democrat rejected Republican’s claims that they were trying to allow illegal immigrants onto federal health care rolls ahead of the vote to fund the government. 

«They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits,» Schumer said. «That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell.»

Republicans have seized on Democrats’ efforts to roll back Medicaid reform included in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which narrowly passed through Congress earlier this year. 

President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Virginia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Last week on Truth Social, Trump stated, «Democrats want Illegal Aliens, many of them VIOLENT CRIMINALS, to receive FREE Healthcare.»

While many of the provisions they sought to include in Trump’s colossal bill were nixed by Senate rules, one provision included in the legislation limited Medicaid eligibility to U.S. citizens and other certain lawful permanent residents, according to the American Medical Association. 

That provision simultaneously barred «previously eligible legal immigrants such as refugees, individuals granted asylum, and certain abused spouses and children,» and is set to take effect on Wednesday, Oct. 1. 

Taxpayer-funded Medicaid coverage for illegal immigrants has long been prohibited, except for treatment of emergency medical conditions. 

The OBBBA made certain changes to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), which dictates how much the federal government matches states’ funding for Medicaid.

As lawmakers debate a government funding extension, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., awaits a meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Obamacare, meanwhile, allowed for states to expand their Medicaid populations with the federal government matching 90% of the costs of that expanded population. States that took that expansion and also provide healthcare funding for illegal immigrants are due to receive less federal funding under OBBBA, with that cost-sharing margin going from 90% to 80%. 

And while illegal immigrants do not qualify for Medicaid and Medicare, Emergency Medicaid reimbursements allow hospitals to recoup the cost of emergency care for people who would be eligible for Medicaid if they had legal status. The OBBBA limits those federal dollars, however, to just allow for the state’s regular FMAP share.

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While ACA subsidies aren’t set to expire until the end of this year, Democrats warned that insurers were set to send out new guidance and rates on Wednesday. They charged that on average, premium costs for people enrolled on Obamacare that use the credits would go up by an average of 114%.

Al menos seis personas murieron cuando un terremoto de magnitud 6,9 sacudió el centro de Filipinas la noche del martes, informó la policía local.

El sismo de magnitud 6,9 sacudió la costa central de Filipinas este martes, informó el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS). El epicentro se localizó en el mar, frente al extremo norte de la isla de Cebú, cerca de la ciudad de Bogo, que cuenta con más de 90.000 habitantes. El hipocentro se situó a tan solo 10 kilómetros de profundidad, según el Instituto Filipino de Vulcanología y Sismología (Phivolcs).

Las autoridades locales advirtieron sobre una posible “leve alteración en el nivel del mar” y exhortaron a los residentes de las islas de Leyte, Cebú y Biliran a “mantenerse alejados de la playa y no acercarse a la costa”. Asimismo, se solicitó a la población “estar alerta ante olas de tamaño inusual” y se recomendó trasladarse a zonas de mayor altitud en caso necesario.

El Phivolcs señaló que se trata de un terremoto de intensidad alta, especialmente en las zonas de San Fernando y Cebú, registrado sobre las 22.00 hora local, de origen tectónico, y anticipó que se esperan réplicas durante las próximas horas por lo que pidió a la población “permanecer alerta”, también ante “inconvenientes de menor gravedad”.

En varias localidades, los habitantes narraron momentos de pánico. Joey Leeguid, bombero de Cebú en la localidad de San Fernando, relató a AFP: “Sentimos el temblor en nuestra estación, fue muy fuerte. Vimos cómo nuestro casillero se movía de un lado a otro, nos sentimos un poco mareados por un momento, pero ahora estamos bien”.

En Bantayan, un área turística cercana al epicentro, Martham Pacilan, de 25 años, contó: “Escuché un fuerte estruendo proveniente de la dirección de la iglesia y luego vi caer piedras de la estructura. Por suerte nadie resultó herido. Estaba en shock y en pánico al mismo tiempo, pero mi cuerpo no podía moverse, solo me quedé esperando a que el temblor terminara”.

Numerosos residentes tuvieron que evacuar sus viviendas en la ciudad de Iloílo, en la isla de Panay, ante el temor de posibles derrumbes. Las autoridades también reportaron daños estructurales en varios puntos del país.

Agnes Merza, cuidadora de 65 años, comentó: “Se sentía como si todos fuéramos a caer. Es la primera vez que experimento algo así. Los vecinos salieron corriendo de sus casas. Mis dos ayudantes adolescentes se escondieron debajo de una mesa porque eso les enseñaron en los boy scouts”. Según su testimonio, las baldosas de su cocina quedaron agrietadas tras el sismo.

En un primer momento, el USGS reportó una magnitud de 7,0, antes de corregirla a 6,9. Por su parte, el Centro de Alerta de Tsunamis del Pacífico precisó que “no hay amenaza de tsunami por este terremoto” y que “no se requiere ninguna acción”.

Filipinas se encuentra en el llamado “Anillo de Fuego” del Pacífico, una de las zonas con mayor actividad sísmica del mundo que se extiende desde Japón, pasando por el sudeste asiático, hasta la cuenca del Pacífico. Allí, los temblores son frecuentes y, aunque muchos son demasiado débiles para ser percibidos, los terremotos fuertes y destructivos ocurren de manera aleatoria y sin posibilidad de predicción.

El domingo, al menos 26 personas murieron y 33 resultaron heridas tras el impacto simultáneo de tres fenómenos meteorológicos sobre Filipinas: la tormenta tropical Opong, el supertifón Nando y la depresión tropical Mirasol. Según datos oficiales, las tormentas han afectado a 738.714 familias, es decir, cerca de 2,8 millones de personas. De este total, 163.317 personas pertenecientes a 46.611 familias tuvieron que ser evacuadas y realojadas en 2.680 centros de acogida habilitados en distintas regiones, informó el diario Phil Star.

Las autoridades han declarado el estado de calamidad en 53 zonas, lo que permite acceder a los fondos nacionales para desastres, cubrir gastos de asistencia y comenzar con las tareas de reconstrucción. Además, la medida contempla la congelación de precios de productos básicos para evitar la especulación en medio de la emergencia.

(Con información de AFP/EP)

The chairwoman of the Loudoun County, Virginia board of supervisors criticized murdered political activist Charlie Kirk while expressing compassion for his family during roundtable remarks at September’s meeting.

Loudoun, about 30 miles west of Washington, is a formerly-Republican bastion that has swung hard to the left and become ground-zero in recent election seasons as a prominent site for culture war battles – including transgender school restroom policies that have marked the 2021 and 2025 statewide contests.

Several members of the Democratic-majority board spoke during their monthly public huddle in Leesburg, offering differing remembrances of Kirk, who was murdered during one of his famous collegiate speaking engagements.

Chairwoman Phyllis Randall, an at-large Democrat, said Wednesday that as a therapist by-trade, she understands people can hold more than one emotion at a time and the «wonderful complexity of humanity.»

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«Obviously, no person should be gunned down. No person should be murdered. Not kids in schools, not lawmakers in their homes, not political antagonists,» she said.

«At the same time, I don’t feel the need to sugarcoat or ignore or gloss over some of the behavior that Mr. Kirk, himself, engaged in while he was living … A death, even a horrible death, does not automatically erase the harm a person did in his life. In my opinion, Charlie Kirk engaged in promoting political violence and division.»

EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICS

«While I hold empathy for Mr. Kirk — In fact, I hold empathy and compassion for our entire nation right now. And I pray for our nation as a person of faith … God understands that I’m struggling with these feelings,» she said.

She reiterated that Kirk should not have been murdered but that while in life, Kirk «pressed against my community.»

Randall, who is Black, alleged Kirk also «put many communities in increased danger.»

TA-NEHISI COATES CALLS CHARLIE KIRK A ‘HATEMONGER’ WHO SHOULDN’T BE CELEBRATED

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Phyllis Randall speaks at IAD in 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Supervisor Caleb Kerschner of Hamilton, one of two Republicans on the board, said in his public remarks that the nation hadn’t seen a political figure murdered so publicly since the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Kennedy brothers.

«What makes it even more chilling is it appears to be done in political ideological reasons: Something we would see in other countries, but not America,» Kerschner said.

Kerschner added that the most disturbing development following Kirk’s murder has been «internet trolls and radical individuals» celebrating the killing.

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«It is one thing to oppose and argue the ideology of someone you disagree with. It is quite another to promote violence towards such individuals. America was built on the principles of freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of debate, and individual liberty. No one can deny or disagree that Charlie lived by this and openly encouraged discourse from any who would engage,» he said.

The board’s vice chairman, Michael Turner, a Democrat from Ashburn, echoed Kerschner in recounting growing up in the 1960s when political violence was last at its peak.

«We are in a tit-for-tat across the board at every level of our society for hatred,» said Turner. 

In the wake of Kirk’s murder, he said he wants to be more understanding of opposing views. 

«I have a friend who’s a MAGA — he is a friend, but he’s a MAGA — I don’t quite know how to reconcile that, but I do every day because he’s a friend,» he said.