NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-scientists-charged-toxic-fungus-5ccaba9aff8e5941ebcea71b9b6690b2">charged two Chinese researchers</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday with smuggling a crop-killing fungus into the U.S. last summer — charges that come amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-tariffs-trade-war-xi-34e0fc90f720dfd0dd1e41336dd907d6">heightened political tensions</a>&nbsp;between the two countries and as the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-student-visa-republicans-056bb72cd0f06f6ea0148c3bbcac9be6">moves to revoke visas</a>&nbsp;from visiting Chinese students.

Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud for allegedly bringing the fungus Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. Jian, 33, was booked in a Detroit federal court. Liu, 34, is thought to be in China.

According to the FBI, Liu had small baggies of the fungus stashed in his backpack when he flew to the U.S. last year and, after claiming ignorance about the plant material inside them, said he was planning to use it for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked.

Fusarium graminearum causes a disease called Fusarium head blight that can wipe out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/morocco-grain-harvest-climate-change-agriculture-drought-34dc3fefa4a6ab182e4a5c3c70c90751">cereal crops</a>&nbsp;such as wheat, barley and maize and rice — it inflicts $1 billion in losses annually on U.S. wheat and barley crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It isn’t the only fungus to cause Fusarium head blight, but it’s the most common culprit in the U.S. The fungus infects plants early in the growing season, shriveling wheat grains and blanching crop heads a whitish-tan color. It also causes a toxin to accumulate in wheat kernels that can make them unsafe for people and livestock to eat.

Nicknamed “vomitoxin” because it’s most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people.

Wheat and other grain crops are screened for various toxins, including Fusarium graminearum, before they can be used to feed animals and humans. Farmers have to throw out any infected grains, which can cause devastating losses.

“It’s one of the many problems that farmers have to deal with that risks their livelihood,” said David Geiser, a Fusarium expert at Penn State.

Although Jian and Liu are accused of smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the country, the fungus is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades.

Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. Studying the genes of a foreign fungus strain, for example, can help scientists learn how it tolerates heat, resists pesticides or mutates.

“We look at variations among individuals just like we do humans,” said Nicole Gauthier, a plant pathologist at the University of Kentucky who studies Fusarium.

That said, it’s unclear why the Chinese researchers might have wanted to bring that strain of Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. and why they didn’t fill out the proper paperwork to do so.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749002066377.png" alt="Photo United State's District Court" />
 <figcaption>Photo United State's District Court</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-scientists-charged-toxic-fungus-5ccaba9aff8e5941ebcea71b9b6690b2">charged two Chinese researchers</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday with smuggling a crop-killing fungus into the U.S. last summer — charges that come amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-tariffs-trade-war-xi-34e0fc90f720dfd0dd1e41336dd907d6">heightened political tensions</a>&nbsp;between the two countries and as the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-student-visa-republicans-056bb72cd0f06f6ea0148c3bbcac9be6">moves to revoke visas</a>&nbsp;from visiting Chinese students.Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud for allegedly bringing the fungus Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. Jian, 33, was booked in a Detroit federal court. Liu, 34, is thought to be in China.According to the FBI, Liu had small baggies of the fungus stashed in his backpack when he flew to the U.S. last year and, after claiming ignorance about the plant material inside them, said he was planning to use it for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked.<h2>What is Fusarium head blight?</h2>Fusarium graminearum causes a disease called Fusarium head blight that can wipe out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/morocco-grain-harvest-climate-change-agriculture-drought-34dc3fefa4a6ab182e4a5c3c70c90751">cereal crops</a>&nbsp;such as wheat, barley and maize and rice — it inflicts $1 billion in losses annually on U.S. wheat and barley crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.It isn’t the only fungus to cause Fusarium head blight, but it’s the most common culprit in the U.S. The fungus infects plants early in the growing season, shriveling wheat grains and blanching crop heads a whitish-tan color. It also causes a toxin to accumulate in wheat kernels that can make them unsafe for people and livestock to eat.Nicknamed “vomitoxin” because it’s most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people.Wheat and other grain crops are screened for various toxins, including Fusarium graminearum, before they can be used to feed animals and humans. Farmers have to throw out any infected grains, which can cause devastating losses.“It’s one of the many problems that farmers have to deal with that risks their livelihood,” said David Geiser, a Fusarium expert at Penn State.<h2>What are the accusations?</h2>Although Jian and Liu are accused of smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the country, the fungus is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades.Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. Studying the genes of a foreign fungus strain, for example, can help scientists learn how it tolerates heat, resists pesticides or mutates.“We look at variations among individuals just like we do humans,” said Nicole Gauthier, a plant pathologist at the University of Kentucky who studies Fusarium.That said, it’s unclear why the Chinese researchers might have wanted to bring that strain of Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. and why they didn’t fill out the proper paperwork to do so.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Agroterrorism: What is the fungus US says was smuggled in from China?

ANDERSON COUNTY—A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Saturday in Anderson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Polaris UTV driven by 16-year-old Wyatt L&nbsp;Whitham of Kincaid, Kansas, was southbound on NW Marshall Road two and one half miles west of Garnett.

The driver attempted to turn East onto NW 1750 Road. The UTV struck the South embankment and overturned onto the drivers side.

Whitham was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Frontier Medical - Kansas City. Two other passengers, a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy, both from Garnett, were not seriously injured and not transported.&nbsp;

ANDERSON COUNTY—A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Saturday in Anderson County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Polaris UTV driven by 16-year-old Wyatt L&nbsp;Whitham of Kincaid, Kansas, was southbound on NW Marshall Road two and one half miles west of Garnett.The driver attempted to turn East onto NW 1750 Road. The UTV struck the South embankment and overturned onto the drivers side.Whitham was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Frontier Medical - Kansas City. Two other passengers, a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy, both from Garnett, were not seriously injured and not transported.&nbsp;

Kansas teen killed when UTV overturns

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/robbiesequeira/">Robbie Sequeira</a>

Over the past few months, Celina Damian’s phone has been ringing off the hook with one bewildered, anxious question after another: “What kind of loan is this?” “Am I in default?” “Will the government really take my wages?”

“Sometimes they just don’t know where to start,” said Damian, California’s student loan servicing ombudsperson.

“I’m talking to borrowers from all ages, from new borrowers to — I have 80-, 90-year-old borrowers,” she said.

The federal government last month restarted collections on defaulted loans. State student loan ombudspersons such as Damian have become some of the only sources of contact for worried borrowers lost in a tangle of conflicting information at the federal level about their loan status and repayment options.

The U.S. Department of Education began collecting on defaulted student loans in May for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Federal student loans issued by the U.S. Department of Education come with&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/repaying-101" target="_blank">fixed rates, set repayment plans and borrower protections</a>. Private servicers handle billing, repayment-plan enrollments and defaults.

More than 5 million borrowers are in delinquency, and nearly 10 million — about 25% of the federal student loan portfolio — are at risk of default within months, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.

States can’t cancel that debt, but they do register and oversee servicers operating in their states, run ombuds offices, tweak tax rules and offer outreach or limited grants — actions aimed at reducing defaults and the economic fallout.

When borrowers default, states will likely feel the economic impact. They might lose tax revenue as homebuying stalls. They could end up paying more for Medicaid and social services if borrowers need to rely on them. And students with loan debt may be reluctant to go into lower-paying public-sector work, leading to staffing shortages at state agencies.

A borrower is considered delinquent after missing a payment to the servicing companies that handle billing, repayment plan enrollments, and defaults.

Damian’s office, established under California’s Student Borrower Bill of Rights, began as a narrow statutory role but now serves as a hub for outreach, “Student Loan 101” workshops and escalated complaints to federal agencies.

Roughly&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman/disputes/state-ombudsman" target="_blank">16 states</a>&nbsp;plus the District of Columbia have followed suit, creating ombuds offices to guide borrowers through confusing paperwork and misinformation. Damian believes these ombuds offices should be in every state, as borrowers across the country will likely have similar questions and little help at the federal level.

“If you don’t have an ombudsperson or even just a person at the state level who can educate borrowers, that will make a difference,” Damian told Stateline. “These borrowers are trying to pay, but the system is broken. No other financial product works this way.”

Student loans became a key issue during last year’s election race, with President Joe Biden blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in his effort to offer relief to 40 million Americans. In its waning days, his administration did forgive loans for some 150,000 borrowers under previous programs.

But President Donald Trump opposes most loan forgiveness programs, and&nbsp;in May, the U.S. Education Department issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-05-05/request-institutions-provide-repayment-information-former-students-prevent-defaults" target="_blank">“Dear Colleague” letter to higher education institutions</a>, reminding them of their legal obligations to help former students understand repayment responsibilities and access support.

Some conservative economists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/testimony/state-higher-education#affordability:~:text=There%20is%20considerable%20evidence%20that%20colleges%20raise%20their%20prices%20and%20reduce%20institutional%20aid%20when%20federal%20financial%20aid%20is%20available.%20This%20phenomenon%20is%20referred%20to%20as%20the%20Bennett%20Hypothesis." target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;that federal loan forgiveness and financial aid hurt all students, offering colleges an incentive to raise tuition or lower their own institutional aid.

Winston Berkman-Breen, the legal director at the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit aimed at protecting borrowers and improving the repayment system, said that more than 2 million borrowers are stuck in a backlog of&nbsp;<a href="https://protectborrowers.org/new-court-filing-reveals-backlog-of-2-million-borrower-payment-plan-applications/" target="_blank">unprocessed applications</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.studentloanplanner.com/idr-pslf-application-delays/" target="_blank">income-driven repayment</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://protectborrowers.org/new-court-filing-reveals-backlog-of-2-million-borrower-payment-plan-applications/" target="_blank">IDR) plans</a>&nbsp;— calculated pay structures meant to keep payments affordable based on a borrower’s income.

Other borrowers have called federal agencies for help only to find that U.S. Education Department staff,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force" target="_blank">including servicer-oversight teams</a>, have been laid off as the Trump administration works toward dismantling the department entirely.

“There was an expectation to repay,” Berkman-Breen said. “But there was also an expectation that people would have access to affordable plans. That promise has broken down.”

States now have three primary tools to address student loan debt, Berkman-Breen said: enforcement actions to protect consumers, such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/12/nx-s1-5110124/navient-lawsuit-settlement-student-loans#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20Navient%20reached%20a,Navient%20faced%20two%20serious%20allegations." target="_blank">39-state lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against servicer Navient; legal oversight by suing to uphold or challenge federal policy; and direct outreach to help public servants access Public Service Loan Forgiveness and similar programs.

Nineteen states now require registration for companies that service student loans, he said. And more than a dozen states align with federal policy to exempt forgiven loan balances from state income taxes.

Connecticut state Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, a Democrat, calls student debt “a drag on the economy,” and said states can’t afford to wait for Congress — mired in partisan gridlock over student loan forgiveness — to find common ground.

“[Student debt] is stopping people from buying homes, starting families and fully participating in the economy,” she told Stateline. “That hurts us as a state, as a city, and we can’t wait for Washington to figure it out.”

Last year, Connecticut created a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.housedems.ct.gov/fortier/student-loan-reimbursement-program#:~:text=Starting%20January%201%2C%20Connecticut%20college,jointly%20or%20a%20surviving%20spouse." target="_blank">reimbursement program</a>&nbsp;that provides up to $20,000 for graduates of local colleges who make payments and complete community service. The state has distributed more than $2 million so far.

Kavros DeGraw hopes the program can serve as a model, and has already talked with lawmakers in other states on possibly developing their own versions of it.

“These were people who were already paying,” Kavros DeGraw said. “It just made sense. I think it’s something that other states could explore this session, and it would provide an immense deal of relief.”

Lawmakers in other states also have considered student loan legislation. This year, New Jersey introduced bills to&nbsp;<a href="https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4500/4011_I1.PDF" target="_blank">register education lenders</a>&nbsp;and cap interest rates. Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/25%20Regular/bills/house/HB0224.HTML?utm_" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S3772" target="_blank">New York</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S426" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;have proposed Borrower Bill of Rights legislation. Arizona has a registration bill for private servicers. None of these measures has advanced far.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 20 states have enacted laws expanding loan forgiveness, repayment programs and servicer oversight in recent years.

Several states are also investing directly in workforce-aligned loan forgiveness: Georgia expanded its service-cancelable loan&nbsp;<a href="https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/dentist-loan-repayment-programs" target="_blank">program</a>&nbsp;to cover dental students working in rural areas. Idaho created a loan repayment&nbsp;<a href="https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/providers/rural-health-and-underserved-areas/loan-repayment-and-grants" target="_blank">incentive</a>&nbsp;for rural nurses. Kentucky now offers $5,000&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1688009" target="_blank">stipends</a>&nbsp;to attract new teachers. Maryland authorized Anne Arundel County to launch a local&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0541?ys=2024RS" target="_blank">forgiveness</a>&nbsp;program for public school educators.

Student loan stress is not&nbsp;<a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2025/05/student-loan-delinquencies-are-back-and-credit-scores-take-a-tumble/" target="_blank">evenly distributed</a>. Seven states, all with Republican‐controlled legislatures, report delinquency rates above 30% among borrowers required to make payments.

Mississippi leads the nation with a conditional delinquency rate of nearly 45% — meaning borrowers who should be making payments are late. That’s just ahead of Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, all of which have rates above 31%, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

By contrast, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire maintain delinquency rates below 15%.

Experts say this chasm reflects deeper systemic differences, such as lower median incomes in higher delinquency states, along with weaker consumer protections and a higher share of students attending for-profit institutions or leaving college without a degree.

States also have promoted the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, established in 2007, that offers help to public service professionals. New Mexico has an outreach campaign that includes&nbsp;<a href="https://hed.nm.gov/financial-aid/loan-repayment-programs/teacher" target="_blank">prospective teachers</a>&nbsp;and health care workers. Maine has provided&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maine.gov/pds/sites/maine.gov.pds/files/inline-files/Contractor%20Eligibility%20PSLF%20August%202023.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a>&nbsp;to public defenders on how they can take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and touts a related state tax credit on a marketing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.liveandworkinmaine.com/opportunity-maine" target="_blank">site</a>&nbsp;to lure new residents.

“States can regulate and enforce, but they can’t fix the structural problems in how repayment is administered,” said Michele Zampini, senior director of college affordability at The Institute for College Access &amp; Success, a research organization that advocates for students. “They’re helping around the edges, but the core system is still broken.”

A November&nbsp;<a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_2024-annual-student-loan-ombudsmans-report_2024-11.pdf?utm" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau found at least 3.9 million borrowers received misleading or inaccurate bills from servicing companies.

“The repayment system is not in a good place to provide the services and repayment options borrowers are legally entitled to,” Zampini said.

The Student Loan Borrower Survey, conducted between October 2023 and January 2024, found that 61% of borrowers who received debt relief made a beneficial life change earlier than they otherwise could have. Yet borrower awareness remains dangerously low: Nearly 42% of federal borrowers have only been on the standard repayment plan, and 31% of those didn’t know other options, such as an income-based plan, existed.

In California, a major part of Damian’s job in the past few months has been to help borrowers access existing forgiveness programs.

Meanwhile, new federal policy proposals could reshape repayment entirely. The Trump-backed&nbsp;<a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Section-by-Section.pdf" target="_blank">One Big Beautiful Bill Act</a>&nbsp;would consolidate existing IDR plans into a single tiered structure, with lower-income borrowers paying flat monthly rates and higher earners contributing 8% of their income. The bill also proposes extending standard repayment terms to 30 years — raising concerns it could delay forgiveness and inflate total interest costs.

The bill passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate.

Andrew Gillen, a Cato Institute research fellow who recently testified before Congress, argues that any meaningful fix must address the incentives driving rising tuition — namely, federal aid being tied directly to college sticker prices.

“The link between rising tuition and increasing aid is what drives the Bennett Hypothesis, where federal student aid, in the form of loans, can lead to higher tuition costs at colleges and universities,” Gillen said in an interview. “If we instead use the median cost of attendance to calculate aid eligibility, we remove colleges’ incentive to hike prices just to capture more aid.”

Even without agreement on blanket forgiveness, experts agree on smaller bipartisan steps: streamlined repayment, stronger servicer oversight and targeted help for borrowers with the greatest need.

“We don’t want people defaulting. We don’t want payments that are too high for people just out of school. That should be the bipartisan starting point,” Zampini said.

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:rsequeira@stateline.org">rsequeira@stateline.org</a>.

<a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749295781301.jpeg" alt="Image courtesy Northwestern University graduation video 2024" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy Northwestern University graduation video 2024</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/robbiesequeira/">Robbie Sequeira</a>Over the past few months, Celina Damian’s phone has been ringing off the hook with one bewildered, anxious question after another: “What kind of loan is this?” “Am I in default?” “Will the government really take my wages?”“Sometimes they just don’t know where to start,” said Damian, California’s student loan servicing ombudsperson.“I’m talking to borrowers from all ages, from new borrowers to — I have 80-, 90-year-old borrowers,” she said.The federal government last month restarted collections on defaulted loans. State student loan ombudspersons such as Damian have become some of the only sources of contact for worried borrowers lost in a tangle of conflicting information at the federal level about their loan status and repayment options.The U.S. Department of Education began collecting on defaulted student loans in May for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.Federal student loans issued by the U.S. Department of Education come with&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/repaying-101" target="_blank">fixed rates, set repayment plans and borrower protections</a>. Private servicers handle billing, repayment-plan enrollments and defaults.More than 5 million borrowers are in delinquency, and nearly 10 million — about 25% of the federal student loan portfolio — are at risk of default within months, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.States can’t cancel that debt, but they do register and oversee servicers operating in their states, run ombuds offices, tweak tax rules and offer outreach or limited grants — actions aimed at reducing defaults and the economic fallout.When borrowers default, states will likely feel the economic impact. They might lose tax revenue as homebuying stalls. They could end up paying more for Medicaid and social services if borrowers need to rely on them. And students with loan debt may be reluctant to go into lower-paying public-sector work, leading to staffing shortages at state agencies.A borrower is considered delinquent after missing a payment to the servicing companies that handle billing, repayment plan enrollments, and defaults.Damian’s office, established under California’s Student Borrower Bill of Rights, began as a narrow statutory role but now serves as a hub for outreach, “Student Loan 101” workshops and escalated complaints to federal agencies.Roughly&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman/disputes/state-ombudsman" target="_blank">16 states</a>&nbsp;plus the District of Columbia have followed suit, creating ombuds offices to guide borrowers through confusing paperwork and misinformation. Damian believes these ombuds offices should be in every state, as borrowers across the country will likely have similar questions and little help at the federal level.“If you don’t have an ombudsperson or even just a person at the state level who can educate borrowers, that will make a difference,” Damian told Stateline. “These borrowers are trying to pay, but the system is broken. No other financial product works this way.”Student loans became a key issue during last year’s election race, with President Joe Biden blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in his effort to offer relief to 40 million Americans. In its waning days, his administration did forgive loans for some 150,000 borrowers under previous programs.But President Donald Trump opposes most loan forgiveness programs, and&nbsp;in May, the U.S. Education Department issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-05-05/request-institutions-provide-repayment-information-former-students-prevent-defaults" target="_blank">“Dear Colleague” letter to higher education institutions</a>, reminding them of their legal obligations to help former students understand repayment responsibilities and access support.Some conservative economists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cato.org/testimony/state-higher-education#affordability:~:text=There%20is%20considerable%20evidence%20that%20colleges%20raise%20their%20prices%20and%20reduce%20institutional%20aid%20when%20federal%20financial%20aid%20is%20available.%20This%20phenomenon%20is%20referred%20to%20as%20the%20Bennett%20Hypothesis." target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;that federal loan forgiveness and financial aid hurt all students, offering colleges an incentive to raise tuition or lower their own institutional aid.Winston Berkman-Breen, the legal director at the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit aimed at protecting borrowers and improving the repayment system, said that more than 2 million borrowers are stuck in a backlog of&nbsp;<a href="https://protectborrowers.org/new-court-filing-reveals-backlog-of-2-million-borrower-payment-plan-applications/" target="_blank">unprocessed applications</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.studentloanplanner.com/idr-pslf-application-delays/" target="_blank">income-driven repayment</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://protectborrowers.org/new-court-filing-reveals-backlog-of-2-million-borrower-payment-plan-applications/" target="_blank">IDR) plans</a>&nbsp;— calculated pay structures meant to keep payments affordable based on a borrower’s income.Other borrowers have called federal agencies for help only to find that U.S. Education Department staff,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force" target="_blank">including servicer-oversight teams</a>, have been laid off as the Trump administration works toward dismantling the department entirely.“There was an expectation to repay,” Berkman-Breen said. “But there was also an expectation that people would have access to affordable plans. That promise has broken down.”States now have three primary tools to address student loan debt, Berkman-Breen said: enforcement actions to protect consumers, such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/12/nx-s1-5110124/navient-lawsuit-settlement-student-loans#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20Navient%20reached%20a,Navient%20faced%20two%20serious%20allegations." target="_blank">39-state lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against servicer Navient; legal oversight by suing to uphold or challenge federal policy; and direct outreach to help public servants access Public Service Loan Forgiveness and similar programs.Nineteen states now require registration for companies that service student loans, he said. And more than a dozen states align with federal policy to exempt forgiven loan balances from state income taxes.<h2>‘Can’t wait for Washington’</h2>Connecticut state Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, a Democrat, calls student debt “a drag on the economy,” and said states can’t afford to wait for Congress — mired in partisan gridlock over student loan forgiveness — to find common ground.“[Student debt] is stopping people from buying homes, starting families and fully participating in the economy,” she told Stateline. “That hurts us as a state, as a city, and we can’t wait for Washington to figure it out.”Last year, Connecticut created a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.housedems.ct.gov/fortier/student-loan-reimbursement-program#:~:text=Starting%20January%201%2C%20Connecticut%20college,jointly%20or%20a%20surviving%20spouse." target="_blank">reimbursement program</a>&nbsp;that provides up to $20,000 for graduates of local colleges who make payments and complete community service. The state has distributed more than $2 million so far.Kavros DeGraw hopes the program can serve as a model, and has already talked with lawmakers in other states on possibly developing their own versions of it.“These were people who were already paying,” Kavros DeGraw said. “It just made sense. I think it’s something that other states could explore this session, and it would provide an immense deal of relief.”Lawmakers in other states also have considered student loan legislation. This year, New Jersey introduced bills to&nbsp;<a href="https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4500/4011_I1.PDF" target="_blank">register education lenders</a>&nbsp;and cap interest rates. Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/25%20Regular/bills/house/HB0224.HTML?utm_" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S3772" target="_blank">New York</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S426" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;have proposed Borrower Bill of Rights legislation. Arizona has a registration bill for private servicers. None of these measures has advanced far.According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 20 states have enacted laws expanding loan forgiveness, repayment programs and servicer oversight in recent years.Several states are also investing directly in workforce-aligned loan forgiveness: Georgia expanded its service-cancelable loan&nbsp;<a href="https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/dentist-loan-repayment-programs" target="_blank">program</a>&nbsp;to cover dental students working in rural areas. Idaho created a loan repayment&nbsp;<a href="https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/providers/rural-health-and-underserved-areas/loan-repayment-and-grants" target="_blank">incentive</a>&nbsp;for rural nurses. Kentucky now offers $5,000&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1688009" target="_blank">stipends</a>&nbsp;to attract new teachers. Maryland authorized Anne Arundel County to launch a local&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0541?ys=2024RS" target="_blank">forgiveness</a>&nbsp;program for public school educators.<h2>Repayment</h2>Student loan stress is not&nbsp;<a href="https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2025/05/student-loan-delinquencies-are-back-and-credit-scores-take-a-tumble/" target="_blank">evenly distributed</a>. Seven states, all with Republican‐controlled legislatures, report delinquency rates above 30% among borrowers required to make payments.Mississippi leads the nation with a conditional delinquency rate of nearly 45% — meaning borrowers who should be making payments are late. That’s just ahead of Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, all of which have rates above 31%, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.By contrast, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire maintain delinquency rates below 15%.Experts say this chasm reflects deeper systemic differences, such as lower median incomes in higher delinquency states, along with weaker consumer protections and a higher share of students attending for-profit institutions or leaving college without a degree.States also have promoted the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, established in 2007, that offers help to public service professionals. New Mexico has an outreach campaign that includes&nbsp;<a href="https://hed.nm.gov/financial-aid/loan-repayment-programs/teacher" target="_blank">prospective teachers</a>&nbsp;and health care workers. Maine has provided&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maine.gov/pds/sites/maine.gov.pds/files/inline-files/Contractor%20Eligibility%20PSLF%20August%202023.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a>&nbsp;to public defenders on how they can take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and touts a related state tax credit on a marketing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.liveandworkinmaine.com/opportunity-maine" target="_blank">site</a>&nbsp;to lure new residents.“States can regulate and enforce, but they can’t fix the structural problems in how repayment is administered,” said Michele Zampini, senior director of college affordability at The Institute for College Access &amp; Success, a research organization that advocates for students. “They’re helping around the edges, but the core system is still broken.”A November&nbsp;<a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_2024-annual-student-loan-ombudsmans-report_2024-11.pdf?utm" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau found at least 3.9 million borrowers received misleading or inaccurate bills from servicing companies.“The repayment system is not in a good place to provide the services and repayment options borrowers are legally entitled to,” Zampini said.The Student Loan Borrower Survey, conducted between October 2023 and January 2024, found that 61% of borrowers who received debt relief made a beneficial life change earlier than they otherwise could have. Yet borrower awareness remains dangerously low: Nearly 42% of federal borrowers have only been on the standard repayment plan, and 31% of those didn’t know other options, such as an income-based plan, existed.In California, a major part of Damian’s job in the past few months has been to help borrowers access existing forgiveness programs.Meanwhile, new federal policy proposals could reshape repayment entirely. The Trump-backed&nbsp;<a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Section-by-Section.pdf" target="_blank">One Big Beautiful Bill Act</a>&nbsp;would consolidate existing IDR plans into a single tiered structure, with lower-income borrowers paying flat monthly rates and higher earners contributing 8% of their income. The bill also proposes extending standard repayment terms to 30 years — raising concerns it could delay forgiveness and inflate total interest costs.The bill passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate.<h2>‘Incentive to hike prices’</h2>Andrew Gillen, a Cato Institute research fellow who recently testified before Congress, argues that any meaningful fix must address the incentives driving rising tuition — namely, federal aid being tied directly to college sticker prices.“The link between rising tuition and increasing aid is what drives the Bennett Hypothesis, where federal student aid, in the form of loans, can lead to higher tuition costs at colleges and universities,” Gillen said in an interview. “If we instead use the median cost of attendance to calculate aid eligibility, we remove colleges’ incentive to hike prices just to capture more aid.”Even without agreement on blanket forgiveness, experts agree on smaller bipartisan steps: streamlined repayment, stronger servicer oversight and targeted help for borrowers with the greatest need.“We don’t want people defaulting. We don’t want payments that are too high for people just out of school. That should be the bipartisan starting point,” Zampini said.Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:rsequeira@stateline.org">rsequeira@stateline.org</a>.<a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.

As feds resume student loan collections, states try to catch borrowers before they sink

KANSAS CITY —Two people were hospitalized after a house fire Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.

Just before 8:30a.m. Saturday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported house fire in the 4400 block of Jarboe Street, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

Crews reported fire showing on arrival. Two occupants were assisted out during searches of the structure. Both occupants were transported to local hospitals for further evaluation and treatment for smoke inhalation. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KANSAS CITY —Two people were hospitalized after a house fire Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.Just before 8:30a.m. Saturday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported house fire in the 4400 block of Jarboe Street, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.Crews reported fire showing on arrival. Two occupants were assisted out during searches of the structure. Both occupants were transported to local hospitals for further evaluation and treatment for smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

2 hospitalized after house fire in Kansas City

PARAMOUNT, Calif. (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear.

Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA's fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” It wasn't clear when the troops would arrive.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gavin-newsom">Newsom</a>, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent.

In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military.

“If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X.

Trump's order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back.

Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.

Earlier in Paramount, immigration officers faced off with demonstrators at the entrance to a business park, across from the back of a Home Depot. They set off fireworks and pulled shopping carts into the street, broke up cinder blocks and pelted a procession of Border Patrol vans as they departed and careened down a boulevard.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said federal agents made more arrests of people with deportation orders on Saturday, but none at the Home Depot. The Department of Homeland Security has a building next door and agents were staging there as they prepared to carry out operations, he said on Fox11 Los Angeles. He didn't say how many people were arrested Saturday or where.

Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told multiple news outlets that community members showed up in response because people are fearful about activity by immigration agents.

“When you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it’s not a surprise that chaos would follow,” Lemons said.

Some demonstrators jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones.

“ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman said through a megaphone. “You are not welcome here.”

More than a dozen people were arrested and accused of impeding immigration agents, Essayli posted on X, including the names and mug shots of some of those arrested. He didn't say where they were protesting.

Trump federalized part of California's National Guard under what is known as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/insurrection-act-trump-troops-newsom-military-national-guard-a842f79e1c0e244039be274a6f266a7a">Title 10 authority</a>, which places him, not the governor, atop the chain of command, according to Newsom's office.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.”

The president’s move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network saying that if Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not “do their jobs,” then “the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS &amp; LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”

Trump signed the order shortly before he went to attend a UFC fight in New Jersey, where he sat ringside with boxer Mike Tyson.

Newsom said in his statement that local authorities “are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” and “there is currently no unmet need.”

The California Highway Patrol said Newsom directed it to deploy additional officers to “maintain public safety.”

Speaking on ABC7, Bass said that “we certainly want to make the opportunities available for people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the minute that things turn to violence ... that is not acceptable and people are going to be held accountable.”

She said she had spoken with members of the Trump administration and insisted that she and Newsom were in control and there was no need for the National Guard to be deployed.

In 2020, Trump asked governors of several states to deploy their National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to quell protests after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/george-floyd">George Floyd</a>&nbsp;was killed by Minneapolis police. Many agreed and sent troops.

Trump also threatened at the time to invoke the Insurrection Act for those protests — an intervention rarely seen in modern American history. But then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper pushed back, saying the law should be invoked “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.”

Trump did not invoke the act during his first term, and he did not do so Saturday, according to Leavitt and Newsom.

Protests kicked off a day earlier in Los Angeles after federal authorities arrested 44 people for violating immigration law Friday.

DHS later said recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants, including five people linked to criminal organizations and people with prior criminal histories.

David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union, was also arrested Friday while protesting. The Justice Department confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release, warning of a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”

Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Price from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Eric Tucker in Washington and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.

PARAMOUNT, Calif. (AP) — Tear gas and smoke filled the air on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles on Saturday as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a second day and top Trump administration officials vowed to prosecute anyone who interferes with enforcement.

Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stood guard outside an industrial park in the city of Paramount, deploying tear gas as bystanders and protesters gathered on medians and across the street. Some jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones.

One handheld sign read, “No Human Being is Illegal.”

Smoke rose from burning shrubbery and refuse in the street, and demonstrators kicked at a Border Patrol vehicle. A boulevard was closed to traffic as Border Patrol agents circulated through the area.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a message on social media addressing “LA rioters” and warning that interference with immigration enforcement will not be tolerated.

“You will not stop us or slow us down,” Noem said on the X platform. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “will enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers executed search warrants at multiple locations Friday, including outside a clothing warehouse in the fashion district. The action came after a judge found probable cause that the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A tense scene unfolded outside as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.

Advocates for immigrants' rights said there were also migration detentions outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.

DHS said in a statement that recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.

Following the Friday arrests, protesters gathered in the evening outside a federal detention center, chanting, “Set them free, let them stay!”

Some held signs with anti-ICE slogans, and some some scrawled graffiti on the building.

Among those arrested at the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union. Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance.

It was not clear whether Huerta had legal representation.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release. In a social media post, he cited a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”

The immigration arrests come as President Donald Trump and his administration push to fulfill promises of mass deportations across the country.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the activity was meant to “sow terror” in the nation’s second-largest city.

In a statement Saturday, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons chided Bass for the city's response to the protests.

“Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,” Lyons said. “Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749343886719.png" alt="Photos Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photos Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>PARAMOUNT, Calif. (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/8bHW8PU7WP">pic.twitter.com/8bHW8PU7WP</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1931521601453092911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close…&mdash; Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1931504803487879617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749344139735.png" alt="Photo Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photo Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA's fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” It wasn't clear when the troops would arrive.<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gavin-newsom">Newsom</a>, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent.In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military.“If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X.Trump's order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back.Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.<h2>Standoff in Paramount</h2>Earlier in Paramount, immigration officers faced off with demonstrators at the entrance to a business park, across from the back of a Home Depot. They set off fireworks and pulled shopping carts into the street, broke up cinder blocks and pelted a procession of Border Patrol vans as they departed and careened down a boulevard.U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said federal agents made more arrests of people with deportation orders on Saturday, but none at the Home Depot. The Department of Homeland Security has a building next door and agents were staging there as they prepared to carry out operations, he said on Fox11 Los Angeles. He didn't say how many people were arrested Saturday or where.Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told multiple news outlets that community members showed up in response because people are fearful about activity by immigration agents.“When you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it’s not a surprise that chaos would follow,” Lemons said.Some demonstrators jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones.“ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman said through a megaphone. “You are not welcome here.”More than a dozen people were arrested and accused of impeding immigration agents, Essayli posted on X, including the names and mug shots of some of those arrested. He didn't say where they were protesting.<h2>Trump calls up the Guard</h2>Trump federalized part of California's National Guard under what is known as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/insurrection-act-trump-troops-newsom-military-national-guard-a842f79e1c0e244039be274a6f266a7a">Title 10 authority</a>, which places him, not the governor, atop the chain of command, according to Newsom's office.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.”The president’s move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network saying that if Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not “do their jobs,” then “the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS &amp; LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”Trump signed the order shortly before he went to attend a UFC fight in New Jersey, where he sat ringside with boxer Mike Tyson.Newsom said in his statement that local authorities “are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” and “there is currently no unmet need.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LAW AND ORDER <a href="https://t.co/8Xhx9Tr2tt">pic.twitter.com/8Xhx9Tr2tt</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1931529419132211420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The California Highway Patrol said Newsom directed it to deploy additional officers to “maintain public safety.”Speaking on ABC7, Bass said that “we certainly want to make the opportunities available for people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the minute that things turn to violence ... that is not acceptable and people are going to be held accountable.”She said she had spoken with members of the Trump administration and insisted that she and Newsom were in control and there was no need for the National Guard to be deployed.In 2020, Trump asked governors of several states to deploy their National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to quell protests after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/george-floyd">George Floyd</a>&nbsp;was killed by Minneapolis police. Many agreed and sent troops.Trump also threatened at the time to invoke the Insurrection Act for those protests — an intervention rarely seen in modern American history. But then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper pushed back, saying the law should be invoked “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.”Trump did not invoke the act during his first term, and he did not do so Saturday, according to Leavitt and Newsom.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749343904752.png" alt="Photos Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photos Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Arrests in Los Angeles</h2>Protests kicked off a day earlier in Los Angeles after federal authorities arrested 44 people for violating immigration law Friday.DHS later said recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants, including five people linked to criminal organizations and people with prior criminal histories.David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union, was also arrested Friday while protesting. The Justice Department confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance.Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release, warning of a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749343951236.png" alt="Photos Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photos Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>___Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Price from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Eric Tucker in Washington and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.---------PARAMOUNT, Calif. (AP) — Tear gas and smoke filled the air on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles on Saturday as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a second day and top Trump administration officials vowed to prosecute anyone who interferes with enforcement.Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stood guard outside an industrial park in the city of Paramount, deploying tear gas as bystanders and protesters gathered on medians and across the street. Some jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones.“ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman said through a megaphone. “You are not welcome here.”One handheld sign read, “No Human Being is Illegal.”Smoke rose from burning shrubbery and refuse in the street, and demonstrators kicked at a Border Patrol vehicle. A boulevard was closed to traffic as Border Patrol agents circulated through the area.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a message on social media addressing “LA rioters” and warning that interference with immigration enforcement will not be tolerated.“You will not stop us or slow us down,” Noem said on the X platform. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “will enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749343867703.png" alt="Photo Homeland Security" />
 <figcaption>Photo Homeland Security</figcaption>
 </figure>Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers executed search warrants at multiple locations Friday, including outside a clothing warehouse in the fashion district. The action came after a judge found probable cause that the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.A tense scene unfolded outside as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.Advocates for immigrants' rights said there were also migration detentions outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.DHS said in a statement that recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">To the immigrant community in Los Angeles: You belong here. You are not alone. Los Angeles is your home — and we are fighting for you. <a href="https://t.co/rXWKbsDTAl">pic.twitter.com/rXWKbsDTAl</a>&mdash; Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorOfLA/status/1931178002777317588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Following the Friday arrests, protesters gathered in the evening outside a federal detention center, chanting, “Set them free, let them stay!”Some held signs with anti-ICE slogans, and some some scrawled graffiti on the building.Among those arrested at the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union. Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance.It was not clear whether Huerta had legal representation.Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release. In a social media post, he cited a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”The immigration arrests come as President Donald Trump and his administration push to fulfill promises of mass deportations across the country.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the activity was meant to “sow terror” in the nation’s second-largest city.In a statement Saturday, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons chided Bass for the city's response to the protests.“Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,” Lyons said. “Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens.”___

Trump deploys National Guard to LA amid Ice protest riots

JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas man admitted his role in a drug overdose death.

On June 2, 22-year-old Ahmad Mohammed Karraz pleaded guilty to distribution of drugs causing death and use of a communication facility during a drug felony, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

In November, the Johnson County district attorney's office charged Karraz and 22-year-old Ronaley Arriola in connection with the death of Kylie Liston.&nbsp; Karraz was charged with distribution of drugs causing death and three counts of using a communication facility during a felony. Arriola was charged with one count of&nbsp;using a communication facility during a felony.&nbsp; They were arrested after an investigation by the Overland&nbsp; Park Police Department.

Karraz is scheduled for sentencing August 20.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749153492662.png" alt="Karraz photo Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Karraz photo Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas man admitted his role in a drug overdose death.On June 2, 22-year-old Ahmad Mohammed Karraz pleaded guilty to distribution of drugs causing death and use of a communication facility during a drug felony, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.In November, the Johnson County district attorney's office charged Karraz and 22-year-old Ronaley Arriola in connection with the death of Kylie Liston.&nbsp; Karraz was charged with distribution of drugs causing death and three counts of using a communication facility during a felony. Arriola was charged with one count of&nbsp;using a communication facility during a felony.&nbsp; They were arrested after an investigation by the Overland&nbsp; Park Police Department.Karraz is scheduled for sentencing August 20.

Kansas man admits role in drug overdose death

BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating three suspects on multiple allegations after a drug bust.

Just before 8p.m. June 5, the Brown County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force&nbsp; initiated a search warrant at 714 Iowa Street in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.

Upon conclusion of the warrant,&nbsp; Peter Carter, 45, Hiawatha was arrested on an outstanding $10,000 Brown County Felony Warrant for Contempt of Court, Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.&nbsp;

Patricia McKinney, 35, Hiawatha was arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Felony Obstruction.&nbsp;

 Thomas Doyle, 65, Hiawatha was arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth an Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.&nbsp; Hiawatha Police assisted with the arrests.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749228407077.png" alt="Carter photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Carter photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating three suspects on multiple allegations after a drug bust.Just before 8p.m. June 5, the Brown County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force&nbsp; initiated a search warrant at 714 Iowa Street in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.Upon conclusion of the warrant,&nbsp; Peter Carter, 45, Hiawatha was arrested on an outstanding $10,000 Brown County Felony Warrant for Contempt of Court, Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749228376073.png" alt="McKinney Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>McKinney Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Patricia McKinney, 35, Hiawatha was arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Felony Obstruction.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749228441083.png" alt="Doyle photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Doyle photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure> Thomas Doyle, 65, Hiawatha was arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Meth an Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.&nbsp; Hiawatha Police assisted with the arrests.

Sheriff found meth, marijuana and small children at Kansas home

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;really wants to fly on an upgraded Air Force One — but making that happen could depend on whether he’s willing to cut corners with security.

As government lawyers sort out the legal arrangement for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-qatar-air-force-one-2ef13d87b71185bde547abe6840b098c">accepting a luxury jet</a>&nbsp;from the Qatari royal family, another crucial conversation is unfolding about modifying the plane so it's safe for the American president.

Installing capabilities equivalent to the decades-old 747s now used as Air Force One would almost certainly consign the project to a similar fate as Boeing's replacement initiative, which has been plagued by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-boeing-air-force-one-presidential-plane-61aec3dbc8ee10d840e160911c9f7cc2">delays and cost overruns</a>.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Thursday that those security modifications would cost less than $400 million but provided no details.

Satisfying Trump's desire to use the new plane before the end of his term could require leaving out some of those precautions, however.

A White House official said Trump wants the Qatari jet ready as soon as possible while adhering to security standards. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not provide details on equipment issues or the timeline.

Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-b989e21dae38e7220ccfaccb02abd151">survived two assassination attempts</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-fbi-justice-department-iran-83cff84a7d65901a058ad6f41a564bdb">Iran allegedly also plotted</a>&nbsp;to kill him, so he’s well aware of the danger he faces. However, he seems willing to take some chances with security, particularly when it comes to communications. For example, he likes to keep his personal phone handy despite the threat of hacks.

He boasted this week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-qatar-gift-jet-air-force-one-7f9afb461c6b3ac16fca3bb0973715ff">the government got the jet</a>&nbsp;“for free,” saying, “We need it as Air Force One until the other ones are done.”

Here’s a look at what it would take to make the Qatari plane into a presidential transport:

What makes a plane worthy of being Air Force One?

Air Force One is the call sign for any plane that's carrying the president. The first aircraft to get the designation was a propeller-powered C-54 Skymaster, which ferried Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in 1945. It featured a conference room with a bulletproof window.

Things are a lot more complicated these days. Boeing has spent years stripping down and rebuilding two 747s to replace the versions that have carried presidents for more than three decades. The project is slated to cost more than $5.3 billion and may not be finished before Trump leaves office.

A 2021 report made public through the Freedom of Information Act outlines the unclassified requirements for the replacement 747s under construction. At the top of the list — survivability and communications.

The government decided more than a decade ago that the new planes had to have four engines so they could remain airborne if one or two fail, said Deborah Lee James, who was Air Force secretary at the time. That creates a challenge because 747s are no longer manufactured, which could make spare parts harder to come by.

Air Force One also has to have the highest level of classified communications, anti-jamming capabilities and external protections against foreign surveillance, so the president can securely command military forces and nuclear weapons during a national emergency. It's an extremely sensitive and complex system, including video, voice and data transmissions.

James said there are anti-missile measures and shielding against radiation or an electromagnetic pulse that could be caused by a nuclear blast.

“The point is, it remains in flight no matter what,” she said.

Will Trump want all the security bells and whistles?

If the Qatari plane is retrofitted to presidential standards, it could cost $1.5 billion and take years, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that aren't publicly available.

Testifying before Congress this week, Meink discounted such estimates, arguing that some of the costs associated with retrofitting the Qatari plane would have been spent anyway as the Air Force moves to build the long-delayed new presidential planes, including buying aircraft for training and to have spares available if needed.

In response, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said that based on the contract costs for the planes that the Air Force is building, it would cost about $1 billion to strip down the Qatar plane, install encrypted communications, harden its defenses and make other required upgrades.

James said simply redoing the wiring means “you’d have to break that whole thing wide open and almost start from scratch."

Trump, as commander in chief, could waive some of these requirements. He could decide to skip shielding systems from an electromagnetic pulse, leaving his communications more vulnerable in case of a disaster but shaving time off the project.

After all, Boeing has already scaled back its original plans for the new 747s. Their range was trimmed by 1,200 nautical miles, and the ability to refuel while airborne was scrapped.

Paul Eckloff, a former leader of protection details at the Secret Service, expects the president would get the final say.

“The Secret Service's job is to plan for and mitigate risk," he said. "It can never eliminate it.”

If Trump does waive some requirements, James said that should be kept under wraps because "you don’t want to advertise to your potential adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this new aircraft might be.”

It's unlikely that Trump will want to skimp on the plane's appearance. He keeps a model of a new Air Force One in the Oval Office, complete with a darker color scheme that echoes his personal jet instead of the light blue design that's been used for decades.

Trump toured the Qatari plane in February when it was parked at an airport near Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Allvin was there, too.

The U.S. official said the jet needs maintenance but not more than what would be expected of a four-engine plane of its complexity.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it would be irresponsible to put the president and national security equipment aboard the Qatari plane “without knowing that the aircraft is fully capable of withstanding a nuclear attack.”

“It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said.

Meanwhile, Boeing's project has been hampered by stress corrosion cracks on the planes and excessive noise in the cabins from the decompression system, among other issues that have delayed delivery, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last year.

Boeing referred questions to the Air Force, which said in a statement that it's working with the aircraft manufacturer to find ways to accelerate the delivery of at least one of the 747s.

Even so, the aircraft will have to be tested and flown in real-world conditions to ensure no other issues.

James said it remains to be seen how Trump would handle any of those challenges.

“The normal course of business would say there could be delays in certifications,” she said. “But things seem to get waived these days when the president wants it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746987808468.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;really wants to fly on an upgraded Air Force One — but making that happen could depend on whether he’s willing to cut corners with security.As government lawyers sort out the legal arrangement for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-qatar-air-force-one-2ef13d87b71185bde547abe6840b098c">accepting a luxury jet</a>&nbsp;from the Qatari royal family, another crucial conversation is unfolding about modifying the plane so it's safe for the American president.Installing capabilities equivalent to the decades-old 747s now used as Air Force One would almost certainly consign the project to a similar fate as Boeing's replacement initiative, which has been plagued by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-boeing-air-force-one-presidential-plane-61aec3dbc8ee10d840e160911c9f7cc2">delays and cost overruns</a>.Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Thursday that those security modifications would cost less than $400 million but provided no details.Satisfying Trump's desire to use the new plane before the end of his term could require leaving out some of those precautions, however.A White House official said Trump wants the Qatari jet ready as soon as possible while adhering to security standards. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not provide details on equipment issues or the timeline.Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-b989e21dae38e7220ccfaccb02abd151">survived two assassination attempts</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-fbi-justice-department-iran-83cff84a7d65901a058ad6f41a564bdb">Iran allegedly also plotted</a>&nbsp;to kill him, so he’s well aware of the danger he faces. However, he seems willing to take some chances with security, particularly when it comes to communications. For example, he likes to keep his personal phone handy despite the threat of hacks.He boasted this week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-qatar-gift-jet-air-force-one-7f9afb461c6b3ac16fca3bb0973715ff">the government got the jet</a>&nbsp;“for free,” saying, “We need it as Air Force One until the other ones are done.”Here’s a look at what it would take to make the Qatari plane into a presidential transport:<h2>What makes a plane worthy of being Air Force One?</h2>Air Force One is the call sign for any plane that's carrying the president. The first aircraft to get the designation was a propeller-powered C-54 Skymaster, which ferried Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in 1945. It featured a conference room with a bulletproof window.Things are a lot more complicated these days. Boeing has spent years stripping down and rebuilding two 747s to replace the versions that have carried presidents for more than three decades. The project is slated to cost more than $5.3 billion and may not be finished before Trump leaves office.A 2021 report made public through the Freedom of Information Act outlines the unclassified requirements for the replacement 747s under construction. At the top of the list — survivability and communications.The government decided more than a decade ago that the new planes had to have four engines so they could remain airborne if one or two fail, said Deborah Lee James, who was Air Force secretary at the time. That creates a challenge because 747s are no longer manufactured, which could make spare parts harder to come by.Air Force One also has to have the highest level of classified communications, anti-jamming capabilities and external protections against foreign surveillance, so the president can securely command military forces and nuclear weapons during a national emergency. It's an extremely sensitive and complex system, including video, voice and data transmissions.James said there are anti-missile measures and shielding against radiation or an electromagnetic pulse that could be caused by a nuclear blast.“The point is, it remains in flight no matter what,” she said.<h2>Will Trump want all the security bells and whistles?</h2>If the Qatari plane is retrofitted to presidential standards, it could cost $1.5 billion and take years, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that aren't publicly available.Testifying before Congress this week, Meink discounted such estimates, arguing that some of the costs associated with retrofitting the Qatari plane would have been spent anyway as the Air Force moves to build the long-delayed new presidential planes, including buying aircraft for training and to have spares available if needed.In response, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said that based on the contract costs for the planes that the Air Force is building, it would cost about $1 billion to strip down the Qatar plane, install encrypted communications, harden its defenses and make other required upgrades.James said simply redoing the wiring means “you’d have to break that whole thing wide open and almost start from scratch."Trump, as commander in chief, could waive some of these requirements. He could decide to skip shielding systems from an electromagnetic pulse, leaving his communications more vulnerable in case of a disaster but shaving time off the project.After all, Boeing has already scaled back its original plans for the new 747s. Their range was trimmed by 1,200 nautical miles, and the ability to refuel while airborne was scrapped.Paul Eckloff, a former leader of protection details at the Secret Service, expects the president would get the final say.“The Secret Service's job is to plan for and mitigate risk," he said. "It can never eliminate it.”If Trump does waive some requirements, James said that should be kept under wraps because "you don’t want to advertise to your potential adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this new aircraft might be.”It's unlikely that Trump will want to skimp on the plane's appearance. He keeps a model of a new Air Force One in the Oval Office, complete with a darker color scheme that echoes his personal jet instead of the light blue design that's been used for decades.<h2>What happens next?</h2>Trump toured the Qatari plane in February when it was parked at an airport near Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Allvin was there, too.The U.S. official said the jet needs maintenance but not more than what would be expected of a four-engine plane of its complexity.Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it would be irresponsible to put the president and national security equipment aboard the Qatari plane “without knowing that the aircraft is fully capable of withstanding a nuclear attack.”“It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said.Meanwhile, Boeing's project has been hampered by stress corrosion cracks on the planes and excessive noise in the cabins from the decompression system, among other issues that have delayed delivery, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last year.Boeing referred questions to the Air Force, which said in a statement that it's working with the aircraft manufacturer to find ways to accelerate the delivery of at least one of the 747s.Even so, the aircraft will have to be tested and flown in real-world conditions to ensure no other issues.James said it remains to be seen how Trump would handle any of those challenges.“The normal course of business would say there could be delays in certifications,” she said. “But things seem to get waived these days when the president wants it.”

Air Force reports costs to update Qatari plane for Trump 

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/lindsay-whitehurst">LINDSAY WHITEHURST</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two victories Friday in cases involving the Department of Government Efficiency, including giving it access to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

The justices also separately reined in orders seeking transparency at DOGE,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-donald-trump-962778979dd35ea79d6092df9cb2cb56">the team once led by billionaire Elon Musk</a>.'

he court’s conservative majority sided with the Trump administration in the first Supreme Court appeals involving DOGE. The three liberal justices dissented in both cases.

The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup between the president and the world’s richest man that started shortly after Musk’s departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached. The future of DOGE’s work isn’t clear without Musk at the helm, but both men have previously said that it will continue its efforts.

In one case, the high court halted an order from a judge in Maryland that has restricted the team’s access to the Social Security Administration under federal privacy laws.

“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the court said in an unsigned order. Conservative lower-court judges have said there’s no evidence at this point of DOGE mishandling personal information.

The agency holds sensitive data on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, salary details and medical information.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court’s action creates “grave privacy risks” for millions of Americans by giving “unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson’s opinion and Justice Elena Kagan said she also would have ruled against the administration.

The Trump administration says DOGE needs the access to carry out its mission of targeting waste in the federal government. Musk had been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. The entrepreneur has described it as a “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-donald-trump-doge-b21b74f56f30012a6450a629e7232a1a">Ponzi scheme</a>&nbsp;” and insisted that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.

But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland found that DOGE’s efforts at Social Security amounted to a “fishing expedition” based on “little more than suspicion” of fraud, and allowing unfettered access puts Americans’ private information at risk.

Her ruling did allow access to anonymous data for staffers who have undergone training and background checks, or wider access for those who have detailed a specific need.

The Trump administration has said DOGE can’t work effectively with those restrictions.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer also argued that the ruling is an example of federal judges overstepping their authority and trying to micromanage executive branch agencies.

The plaintiffs say it’s a narrow order that’s urgently needed to protect personal information.

An appeals court previously refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there’s no evidence that the team has done any “targeted snooping” or exposed personal information.

The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward. It’s one of more than two dozen lawsuits filed over DOGE’s work, which has included deep cuts at federal agencies and large-scale layoffs.

The plaintiffs called the high court’s order “a sad day for our democracy and a scary day for millions of people. Elon Musk may have left Washington, D.C., but his impact continues to harm millions of people.”

Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, applauded the order. “The Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to carry out commonsense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse and modernize government information systems is a huge victory for the rule of law.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1738614192317.png" alt="Department of Government Efficiency-image" />
 <figcaption>Department of Government Efficiency-image</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/lindsay-whitehurst">LINDSAY WHITEHURST</a>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two victories Friday in cases involving the Department of Government Efficiency, including giving it access to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.The justices also separately reined in orders seeking transparency at DOGE,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-donald-trump-962778979dd35ea79d6092df9cb2cb56">the team once led by billionaire Elon Musk</a>.'he court’s conservative majority sided with the Trump administration in the first Supreme Court appeals involving DOGE. The three liberal justices dissented in both cases.The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup between the president and the world’s richest man that started shortly after Musk’s departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached. The future of DOGE’s work isn’t clear without Musk at the helm, but both men have previously said that it will continue its efforts.In one case, the high court halted an order from a judge in Maryland that has restricted the team’s access to the Social Security Administration under federal privacy laws.“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the court said in an unsigned order. Conservative lower-court judges have said there’s no evidence at this point of DOGE mishandling personal information.The agency holds sensitive data on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, salary details and medical information.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court’s action creates “grave privacy risks” for millions of Americans by giving “unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson’s opinion and Justice Elena Kagan said she also would have ruled against the administration.The Trump administration says DOGE needs the access to carry out its mission of targeting waste in the federal government. Musk had been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. The entrepreneur has described it as a “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-donald-trump-doge-b21b74f56f30012a6450a629e7232a1a">Ponzi scheme</a>&nbsp;” and insisted that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland found that DOGE’s efforts at Social Security amounted to a “fishing expedition” based on “little more than suspicion” of fraud, and allowing unfettered access puts Americans’ private information at risk.Her ruling did allow access to anonymous data for staffers who have undergone training and background checks, or wider access for those who have detailed a specific need.The Trump administration has said DOGE can’t work effectively with those restrictions.Solicitor General D. John Sauer also argued that the ruling is an example of federal judges overstepping their authority and trying to micromanage executive branch agencies.The plaintiffs say it’s a narrow order that’s urgently needed to protect personal information.An appeals court previously refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there’s no evidence that the team has done any “targeted snooping” or exposed personal information.The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward. It’s one of more than two dozen lawsuits filed over DOGE’s work, which has included deep cuts at federal agencies and large-scale layoffs.The plaintiffs called the high court’s order “a sad day for our democracy and a scary day for millions of people. Elon Musk may have left Washington, D.C., but his impact continues to harm millions of people.”Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, applauded the order. “The Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to carry out commonsense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse and modernize government information systems is a huge victory for the rule of law.”The nation’s court system has been ground zero for pushback to President Donald Trump’s sweeping conservative agenda, with hundreds of lawsuits filed challenging policies on everything from immigration to education to mass layoffs of federal workers.In the other DOGE order handed down Friday, the justices extended a pause on orders that would require the team to publicly disclose information about its operations, as part of a lawsuit filed by a government watchdog group.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues that DOGE, which has been central to Trump’s push to remake the government, is a federal agency and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.But the Trump administration says DOGE is just a presidential advisory body aimed at government cost-cutting, which would make it exempt from requests for documents under FOIA.The justices did not decide that issue Friday, but the conservative majority held that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled too broadly in ordering documents be turned over to CREW.___