Trump administration freezes $11 billion in blue state infrastructure projects, blames Democrats for shutdown

By Michael Dorgan

“The Trump administration is freezing $11 billion in federal funds earmarked mostly for Democrat cities’ infrastructure projects as the government shutdown rolls on with no end in sight. 

The Trump administration is freezing $11 billion in federal infrastructure funding for projects primarily in Democratic-led cities during the ongoing government shutdown. OMB Director Russell Vought announced the pause, stating that the shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage these projects. New York will be hit hardest with approximately $7 billion frozen, while other affected states include Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New Hampshire. Notable projects include funding for two aging bridges over the Cape Cod Canal that carry millions of travelers annually.

This latest freeze follows an earlier hold on nearly $18 billion for New York City’s Hudson Tunnel and Second Avenue Subway projects, bringing the total frozen infrastructure and climate-related funding to at least $28 billion. The government shutdown began October 1 after Congress failed to reach a spending agreement. Republicans blame Democrats for refusing to fund the budget over disputes involving taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants and Obamacare tax credits, while Democratic leadership counters that Trump and Republicans are responsible for the impasse.

MTA wants $600M from Trump administration to cover old COVID-19 expenses. Good luck.

By Stephen Nessen

“Financial reports show the MTA seeks $600 million over the next two years from FEMA as reimbursement for contracts issued 2020 and 2021.”

The MTA is seeking $600 million over the next two years from FEMA as reimbursement for contracts issued in 2020 and 2021 to cover supplies, equipment, and workers who cleaned subways during the pandemic’s darkest days, when former Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down the transit system overnight for the first time to disinfect trains. The agency had previously requested up to $717 million but reduced the amount to $600 million over the past year. Many of the contracts being submitted for reimbursement came under scrutiny because several companies hired by the MTA to clean subway trains and stations paid their workers far less than legally required.

This funding request is separate from the $15.1 billion in COVID relief the federal government previously awarded the MTA when it faced financial ruin after fares fell by more than 90 percent during the pandemic. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli highlighted this budget gap in a recent report, and MTA Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel noted the FEMA application remains pending while the agency explores other cost-saving measures. The request comes amid ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and New York over federal funding cuts that could affect major infrastructure projects like the Gateway tunnels beneath the Hudson River.

New study: AI chatbots systematically violate mental health ethics standards

By Brown University

“As more people turn to ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) for mental health advice, a new study details how these chatbots — even when prompted to use evidence-based psychotherapy techniques — systematically violate ethical standards of practice established by organizations like the American Psychological Association.“

The creation of Large Language Models (LLMs) has led to violations of ethical standards in mental health care. A recent study by Brown University computer scientists and mental health practitioners examined how LLMs perform when prompted to use evidence-based psychotherapy techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy. Researchers observed peer counselors conducting chats with various LLMs, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Llama, while licensed clinical psychologists evaluated the interactions. The study revealed that these models use misleading techniques, promote negative beliefs about users, and reinforce harmful processes in humans.

These ethical risks fall into five major categories: lack of contextual adaptation, poor therapeutic collaboration, deceptive empathy, unfair discrimination, and lack of safety and crisis management. A critical issue is the lack of accountability. While human therapists can be held liable for malpractice through professional boards, no regulatory frameworks exist for LLM counselors. The researchers call for ethical, educational, and legal standards that reflect the rigor required for human therapy. While AI has the potential to reduce barriers to mental health care by addressing cost and availability issues, current risks make it less reliable without thoughtful implementation, appropriate regulation, and ongoing oversight.

Some Americans fear high health insurance premiums if ACA enhanced subsidies expire: ‘Very much a worry’

By Mary Kekatos

“As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, some Americans are worried about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.“

As the government enters its third week of shutdown, many Americans are in a state of panic over the future of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsidies, or premium tax credits, help lower or eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of monthly premiums for those who purchase insurance through the health insurance marketplace. However, they are set to expire at the end of 2025. Democrats have been demanding that Republicans pass extensions of the subsidies before the government is reopened, while the GOP says it won’t negotiate until a clean funding bill passes and the government reopens. A recent analysis from KFF found that premium payments could more than double in 2026 if the enhanced premium tax credits expire.

Americans who rely on these credits are deeply concerned about how they will afford coverage. Doug Butchart, 67, from Eglin, Illinois, relies on the credits to help cover his wife Shadene’s premium. She has ALS and is on a gold-tier plan costing $1,273.82 per month, with $670 covered by tax credits. Without the subsidies, the couple cannot afford the full premium and may be forced to downgrade to a lower-tier plan that might not cover her medications. Similarly, Nancy Murphy, 60, a retired nurse and type 1 diabetic from Fort Lauderdale, has her entire $1,019 monthly premium covered by the credits. She worries that losing the subsidies would make insurance unaffordable while she manages other expenses like property taxes and her daughter’s college tuition.

Some Americans fear high health insurance premiums if ACA enhanced subsidies expire: ‘Very much a worry’

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez

“In footage shared widely on social media last week, federal immigration agents were seen breaking into Gloria Magaña’s home Portland, Oregon, even though the person they were looking for does not live there.“

ICE agents in Portland, Oregon mistakenly raided Gloria Magaña’s home on October 15, breaking in without showing a warrant while searching for someone named Israel who didn’t live there. Armed agents forced their way into a room where Magaña’s children were sheltering with a three-month-old baby, but instead of apologizing for the error, they detained Magaña’s 20-year-old son and her partner for being in the U.S. illegally, despite neither having criminal records.

The incident sparked widespread outrage and protests in Portland, where demonstrators gathered outside an ICE facility and were met with tear gas. Marcos Charles, head of ICE’s deportation operations, defended the agency’s tactics in an interview with CBS News, stating that agents use necessary force to make arrests and will detain anyone in the country illegally, regardless of whether they have criminal records or how long they’ve been in the U.S.

With a tiny eye implant and special glasses, some legally blind patients can read again

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez

“People with a leading cause of blindness were able to read again thanks to a tiny wireless chip implanted in the back of the eye and specialized augmented glasses, according to study results published Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine.“

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 38 European patients with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration were able to read again using a tiny wireless chip implanted in the back of the eye combined with specialized augmented reality glasses. The PRIMA device works through glasses with an embedded camera that captures visual information and transmits it as infrared light to the implanted chip, which converts it into electrical signals that stimulate remaining healthy cells in the macula. After one year, 80% of the 32 patients who returned for reassessment had achieved clinically meaningful visual improvements, with one patient describing how she could now do crosswords and read prescriptions after previously experiencing poor vision.

The study reported 26 serious adverse events in 19 patients, including elevated eye pressure and blood accumulation around the retina, though most resolved within two months. Experts noted limitations including that the device only provides black-and-white vision rather than color, requires significant patient training, and demands highly skilled surgery. However, researchers are already developing improved versions with chips containing 10,000 pixels instead of 400, which could theoretically enable patients to achieve 20/20 visual resolution, along with software to perceive grayscale natural images like faces. Experts called for larger trials to better understand how the device improves patients’ day-to-day functioning and quality of life.

Citi Foundation is putting $25M toward tackling young adults’ unemployment and AI labor disruptions

By James Pollard Associated Press

“Young jobseekers, challenged by a rapidly changing labor market, are having a tough time.”

The Citi Foundation is donating $25 million to combat youth unemployment and AI-related labor disruptions, distributing $500,000 each to 50 organizations worldwide that provide digital literacy, technical training, and career guidance for low-income young adults. This initiative addresses a difficult job market where U.S. unemployment for 22-27 year-old college graduates has reached its highest level in 12 years outside the pandemic, with companies reluctant to hire amid economic uncertainty and growing fears that artificial intelligence will eliminate entry-level positions.

The foundation’s approach focuses on both technical and soft skills, teaching young people how to work with AI tools while also developing qualities like teamwork, empathy, and communication that AI cannot replicate. Grant recipients include nonprofits like NPower and Per Scholas, which provide technology training to young adults who often lack college degrees, helping them gain the AI competency and broader capabilities now needed to secure jobs that previously required less experience. Experts warn that the scale of AI’s disruption to the labor market may be too large for philanthropy alone to address, emphasizing the need to create new career pathways to prevent blocking young people from high-growth careers.

NASA has a wild plan to return astronauts to the moon. Here’s why experts are starting to worry

By Jackie Wattles

“Starship is still in the nascent stages of a long and laborious development process. So far, parts of the vehicle have failed in dramatic fashion during six of its 10 test flight.”

NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2027 faces significant challenges as it relies on SpaceX’s Starship, the largest rocket ever built, which remains unproven with six of its ten test flights experiencing failures. The mission requires an extraordinarily complex process involving launching anywhere from 10 to potentially over 40 refueling tanker flights to top off a Starship vehicle in orbit before it can journey to the moon, a feat never attempted before. Meanwhile, China aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, prompting concerns from lawmakers and space advocates that the United States may lose the lunar race.

Critics argue NASA’s choice to use Starship as its lunar lander was made in error, with former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine calling the architecture “extraordinarily complex” and stating no NASA administrator would have selected it given the choice. The complex mission plan involves launching astronauts separately on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket, having them dock with the fueled Starship in lunar orbit, transfer to Starship for the landing at the moon’s south pole, then return to Orion for the trip home. While some industry experts believe Starship will be years late to its 2027 deadline, others remain optimistic about SpaceX’s track record, noting the company has historically succeeded even when conventional wisdom suggested failure.

Abortion providers say Missouri’s attorney general is trying to get patient records

By James Pollard Associated Press

“Missouri’s Republican attorney general is trying to get the medical records of Planned Parenthood patients who’ve had abortions, officials who oversee clinics in Kansas City and St. Louis said in legal filings.”

Since the 2022 court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce abortion bans, abortion has been banned in 12 states at any pregnancy stage.Missouri’s Republican attorney general is attempting to acquire the medical records of Planned Parenthood patients who’ve recently gotten abortions, sparking a fight over subpoenas. Planned Parenthood officials argue that the state’s restrictions violate an amendment to the Missouri Constitution that voters approved in November, which protects abortion rights. Medication abortions remain on hold in Missouri while Planned Parenthood officials wrangle with the state over abortion regulations.Planned Parenthood is currently offering procedural abortions at its clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis. Abortion in Missouri continues to be a battle, with many people seeking remedies elsewhere, and many could already be impacted by this ongoing issue.

Why two Montana asbestos victims may never receive an $8 million judgment

By James Pollard Associated Press

“Local and federal health officials have said that asbestos-related diseases and cancers arising from those industrial operations have killed hundreds of current and former residents and sickened thousands mores.”

Libby, Montana suffered one of America’s worst environmental disasters when decades of vermiculite mining operations released asbestos fibers that killed hundreds and sickened thousands. Joyce Walder and Thomas Wells, who lived near the contaminated BNSF rail yard, both died of mesothelioma in 2020. A 2024 jury awarded their estates $4 million each, but BNSF hasn’t paid and is appealing using “common carrier immunity,” claiming protection as a transporter. Over 200 similar cases await this decision. If BNSF wins, families may receive nothing.

This case exposes critical failures in corporate accountability. BNSF’s use of legal loopholes to avoid compensating victims, despite jury findings of substantial responsibility, prioritizes profits over justice for a community devastated by industrial contamination. The company’s claim of ignorance about asbestos toxicity conflicts with evidence of industry warnings from 1977, raising questions about willful negligence. Most ethically troubling is the power imbalance: a billion-dollar corporation can indefinitely delay justice while victims’ families die waiting. This demonstrates how legal protections can enable moral hazards, allowing companies to profit from operations that cause intergenerational harm while evading responsibility through wealth and legal maneuvering.

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