President Donald Trump is scheduled to make an unspecified announcement on Tuesday afternoon following days of rumors about his health.

The president will make “an announcement” from the Oval Office at 2 p.m. ET, according to the daily guidance and press schedule issued by the White House on Monday night.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek: “The President will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense.”

Why It Matters

False rumors that Trump had died began circulating on social media on Friday, after some noted he had not been seen in public for several days after attending a Cabinet meeting on August 26. He also had no public events over the Labor Day weekend.

Thousands of posts were shared on X, featuring hashtags including #whereistrump and #TRUMPDIED. Posts speculating about Trump’s possible demise had acquired over 1.3 million user engagements as of Saturday morning, according to Grok, X’s AI-powered chatbot.

Some 158,000 X posts including the phrase ‘TRUMP IS DEAD’ and 42,000 stating ‘TRUMP DIED’ had been made as of 7:48 a.m. ET on Saturday, according to the platform’s analytics. Some continued posting about the rumor, though engagement dropped after Trump was pictured heading to his golf course in Virginia on Saturday. Photos of Trump departing the White House on Labor Day were also circulated by Getty Images.

What To Know

According to the schedule issued by the White House, the presidential press pool will be in attendance during the president’s announcement.

The pool on Tuesday includes television crews from Fox and Gray TV, meaning the announcement will likely be broadcast or streamed live.

But the lack of detail in the schedule prior to Leavitt’s statement had prompted speculation on social media. Despite Trump addressing rumors about his health on Sunday night, some continued to question the nature of the announcement, with some suggesting it could be related to a possible resignation.

“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, in response to a post from a MAGA influencer who claimed the “media freaks out” if he disappears for 24 hours.

Questions about the president’s health were also spurred by new photos showing bruising on his hand. In July, the White House said Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which his physician described as “benign and common.”

Days earlier, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with USA Today that he was “very confident the President of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people.”

“And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” he added.

What People Are Saying

Political commentator Keith Olbermann wrote on X: “BREAKING: Oh nothing. Just a president who talks compulsively but has not spoken publicly in a week scheduling ‘an announcement’ at 2 PM tomorrow, per Trump official WH schedule.”

The Republicans against Trump account wrote on X: “Is he resigning?”

Spectrum News reporter Taylor Popielarz wrote on X that Tuesday’s announcement will be Trump’s “first open press event since last Tuesday’s cabinet meeting — the longest stretch of Trump’s second term without one. The president spoke with @reaganreese_ for nearly an hour last Friday for an off-camera interview with the @DailyCaller, but he otherwise has not interacted with the press in seven days.”

Charlotte Clymer, a writer and activist, wrote on Bluesky: The only important thing about tomorrow’s press conference is whether Trump can dispel the serious concerns over his health. Can he convince the public he’s not experiencing severe medical issues? Get up there, do announcement, take questions, and act normal. It shouldn’t be difficult, and yet…”

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-announcement-health-speculation-2122977

A federal immigration officer was attacked and injured while trying to take a man into custody in Florida, according to local authorities.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the incident unfolded Tuesday morning in Lakeland.

Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had followed Denis Corea Miranda, 21, because he had a warrant for deportation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Authorities said Miranda was in a vehicle with two other people, who were also allegedly in the country illegally. Miranda was in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

An ICE officer walked to the passenger side of the car and informed Miranda that they were going to take him into custody. It was at that point that a fight began, Judd said.

“I’m told that the fight lasted about five minutes,” he said, later emphasizing that five minutes is a “very long tussle.”

Officials said Miranda was on top of the ICE officer when the second officer sprayed Miranda with pepper spray. Miranda then ran into the woods, according to Judd.

The ICE officers chased after Miranda but said they lost him in the woods. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was then called to assist, launching a helicopter, drones and sending out K-9 teams.

“They were just overwhelmed. The issue is ICE needs help,” Judd said, explaining that the officers were also monitoring the two other people in the car.

The ICE officer who got into a fight with Miranda was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for a shoulder injury and is expected to recover.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had an ICE agent injured in the line of duty, and he was significantly injured, he had to go to the hospital,” Judd said.

An employee at a nearby business eventually encountered Miranda hiding among several steel drums, according to officials. Judd said Miranda asked the employee for water, but the employee felt something was off.

The employee went inside and called 911, alerting law enforcement officers to Miranda’s location. Authorities said Miranda was arrested soon after.

An employee at another nearby business told NewsNation affiliate WFLA she saw deputies with their guns drawn.

“You could tell that it was kind of like a manhunt situation,” she said. “So my first response, honestly, was like we need to lock the doors.”

Judd referenced a photo showing deputies taking Miranda, who was smiling, into custody.

“We have him under arrest. He’s smiling,” the sheriff said. “I bet we’ve wiped the smile off his face.”

According to the sheriff’s office, Miranda faces a slew of charges, which all have been upgraded to more serious felonies due to Florida’s recently passed immigration legislation.

The charges include battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence, resisting without violence, false imprisonment, and burglary of an occupied structure.

Judd said the two other people who were in the car with Miranda cooperated with law enforcement and were taken into ICE custody.

The employee said she is glad the situation wasn’t worse, and also glad Miranda didn’t come into her business.

“That’s scary to think about because he chose violence with cops. If I wouldn’t have let him in or if he came in before we lock the doors, what would happen, you know?” she said.

According to officials, Miranda, who is from Nicaragua, is believed to have entered the country in 2021. Judd said he was stopped by Border Patrol and was later released with a court date.

Miranda was arrested in July 2024 in Galveston, Texas, for DUI, but was released and never showed up for court, according to authorities.

“This guy just wanted to get away, and he was going to do whatever he needed to do to get away,” Judd said.

Resist!

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/ice-officer-attacked-florida-arrest

As the Oregon legislature convened for a special session Sunday, two lawmakers were already planning ahead for next year’s short session and announced their intent to introduce a bill to ban “secret police” in the state.

Reps. Tom Anderson, a Democrat, and Cyrus Javadi, a Republican, both co-sponsors of the bill, stated that it would enable Oregon voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks or being unidentifiable.

It would further require them to wear official uniforms detailing names and badge numbers. However, there would be exceptions made in the case of SWAT teams and undercover operations.

In a statement, Anderson said the impetus for the bill came with the increased presence of unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the state brought on by Trump administration policies, which he referred to as “malignant forces.”

“This is no longer just some Donald Trump fever dream. It’s happening right now — unidentified
federal ICE officers are using violence and the threat of violence in our communities to replace
normal law enforcement,” he said. “When I see masked, anonymous quasi-law enforcement ICE employees on our streets, making violent, warrantless arrests, I am aghast and angry. We are becoming a nation of clandestine bounty hunters. Simply put, secret police have no place in a free and democratic society because public trust in government erodes when you don’t know who’s enforcing the law.”

Javadi echoed this sentiment, noting “Oregonians shouldn’t have to wonder who’s knocking on their door in the middle of the night.”

“In a free society, the people who enforce the law should never be faceless or unaccountable,” he added. “This amendment isn’t about partisanship, it’s about protecting the rule of law itself. The Oregon Constitution already safeguards us from unreasonable searches and seizures. This proposal makes sure we also safeguard the principle that law enforcement must be visible, identifiable, and responsible to the people they serve.”

For the bill to pass, it would require a majority vote in both the House and Senate during the 2026 short legislative session beginning in January.

If passed, it will then be placed on the ballot for a public vote in the November 2026 general election.

If approved by Oregon voters, the amendment will be added to the state constitution.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/oregon-lawmakers-secret-police-ban-masks

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused CBS News of selectively editing footage from her Sunday interview, cutting some of her remarks about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national who was mistakenly deported and returned to the U.S. to face separate charges.

In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security said CBS “deceptively” edited the secretary’s answers, cutting about four minutes from the nearly 17-minute interview when it aired on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

“This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Noem said in a statement. “Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.”

CBS News, however, maintains that the interview was edited to fit its allotted time slot in the hourlong broadcast and that the full interview was published online.

“Secretary Noem’s ‘Face The Nation’ interview was edited for time and met all CBS News standards,” a spokesperson for CBS News said in a statement to NewsNation partner The Hill. “The entire interview is publicly available on YouTube, and the full transcript was posted early Sunday morning at CBSNews.com.”

Noem’s accusation is the latest example of the administration’s ongoing feud with CBS and its parent company, Paramount.

Earlier this summer, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over claims the news outlet favorably edited a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent in the 2024 election.

In Noem’s Sunday interview, sections of her responses cut for the live broadcast include allegations against Abrego Garcia that have not been substantiated and which his lawyers deny.

Those include allegations that the Maryland resident “was a known human smuggler, MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater, and someone who was so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors and even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off,” which Noem said in the section of the interview that DHS claims was removed from the live broadcast.

The DHS statement includes other sections of the CBS interview that reportedly did not air live on Sunday morning.

Earlier this week, attorneys for Abrego Garcia asked a federal judge to issue a gag order against Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi to bar them from making “baseless public attacks” against their client, who faces human smuggling charges stemming from a traffic stop in 2022. 

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said in a Thursday motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee that administration officials have targeted their client since he was released from prison, leveling “highly prejudicial, inflammatory and false statements.” 

“To safeguard his right to a fair trial, Mr. Abrego respectfully renews his earlier requests that the Court order that all DOJ and DHS officials involved in this case, and all officials in their supervisory chain, including [Bondi and Noem], refrain from making extrajudicial comments that pose a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing this proceeding,” the attorneys said in a 15-page motion to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw. 

A DHS official pushed back against the gag order request.

“If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of Homeland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes,” a DHS official told The Hill on Friday morning. 

“Once again, the media is falling all over themselves to defend this criminal illegal MS-13 gang member who is an alleged human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator,” the DHS official continued. “The media’s sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal alien has completely fallen apart, yet they continue to peddle his sob story.”

“We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims,” the official added.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys were told their client could be deported to Uganda, but a federal judge said Monday that the administration is “absolutely forbidden” from removing Abrego Garcia until a hearing is held.

Whine, bitch, whine!

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/kristi-noem-cbs-interview-kilmar-abrego-garcia/?ipid=promo-link-block2

While Trump supporters are happy to see criminals deported, they are split over methods for detaining immigrants.

Juan Rivera voted for President Donald Trump, hoping that the president’s efforts to rid the United States of illegal immigration would improve safety in the Southern California city where the 25-year-old content creator lives.

Neighborhoods near Rivera’s home in San Marcos that used to be frequented by migrants with “violent tendencies” do feel much safer now, he said. But he also said he’ll “never forget” seeing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pull over a truck of Latino workers and haul the men into their cars without asking for identification, leaving the empty truck behind.

Some of Rivera’s family members work for U.S. Border Patrol. Other relatives who are in the process of establishing legal residency in the United States “are scared of going to work because they fear that they’re going to get pulled over by immigration,” he said.

Overall, however, Rivera gave the Trump administration very high marks on its handling of immigration because “there’s a lot more public safety.”

Seven months into his second term, Trump’s signature issue – immigration – is still helping buoy his overall sinking approval ratings, making up for a downturn in support for his economic policies. A group of 20 Trump voters Reuters has interviewed monthly since February, including Rivera, illuminated the complex views behind the numbers.

Reuters asked the voters to rate the Trump administration’s handling of immigration on a scale of 1 to 10. Sixteen gave it a rating of 7 or higher, and none rated it below 5.

They universally support Trump’s tightening of U.S. border security to prevent further illegal immigration and his efforts to expel immigration offenders with violent criminal records. But there was less consensus about how Trump is going about the crackdown.

“President Trump was elected based on his promise to close the border and deport criminal illegal aliens,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in an emailed statement. “The Trump Administration will continue carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history.”

The 20 voters were selected from 429 respondents to a February 2025 Ipsos poll who said they voted for Trump in November and were willing to speak to a reporter. They are not a statistically representative portrait of all Trump voters, but their ages, educational backgrounds, races/ethnicities, locations and voting histories roughly correspond to those of Trump’s overall electorate.

Seven of the voters said they worried about the means Trump was using to achieve his goals, with some recoiling at the way authorities are rounding up immigrants for deportation.

“I agree that you have to have an immigration policy and enforce it. I don’t agree with kidnapping people off the street,” said Virginia Beach-based retiree Don Jernigan.

Jernigan, 75, said that footage of ICE raids he has seen on ABC and Fox News “reminds me of Nazi Germany. And you would rarely hear me say that name, Nazi, okay? But it does, the way they snatch people.”

Other voters, such as Will Brown, 20, a student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, urged the administration to pursue even more ambitious deportation goals.

Brown, who said he “couldn’t be more of a fan of Stephen Miller,” the White House aide credited with designing Trump’s immigration policy, noted that the deportation rate of Trump’s second term so far lagged that of the last two Democratic administrations. “Honestly, I don’t think they’re doing enough,” he said.

REALITY DIVIDE

The voters’ attitudes towards traditional news outlets heavily affected their view of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“If you get your information from one source, ICE is devils incarnate, and if you get it from another source, they’re superheroes,” said Gerald Dunn, 66, a martial arts instructor in upstate New York.

Dunn said he rarely reads or watches news from mainstream outlets because “everything is so exaggerated.” Instead, he browses headlines and watches YouTube videos to stay informed.

He has heard reports of ICE agents detaining non-criminal immigrants, but said such incidents are blown out of proportion.

“You’re going to arrest people wrongfully, and it turns out they shouldn’t have been arrested. That doesn’t mean you don’t arrest anybody.”

In the Chicago suburbs, municipal office secretary Kate Mottl, 62, said she is thrilled with Trump’s immigration policy. She does not believe news outlets that report immigrants without a criminal record are being swept up in raids.

Mottl was dismayed to learn that some immigrants without legal status she knows are afraid of being deported under Trump.

“I tell them, ‘you shouldn’t be worried about that because you’re not a bad person. You’re not committing crimes,’” she said, adding that she feared they were being misinformed by the news sources they watch.

CLEARER PATHWAY TO LEGAL STATUS

Fourteen of the 20 voters said they hoped Trump would improve the immigration system and vetting process to help deserving foreigners with the potential to contribute to the U.S. economy legalize their status more easily in the United States.

Like Mottl, Lesa Sandberg of St. George, Utah, said she knows undocumented immigrants “who are raising their families here, who are working, who are contributing to our economy and our society. And my heart goes out to them.”

Sandberg, 57, who runs an accounting business, rents properties and works for a former Republican congressman’s political action committee, said she is glad to see the administration cracking down on immigrants with criminal backgrounds.

But when it comes to the immigrants in the U.S. illegally she considers friends, she said, “I would never call ICE on them … [it’s] that whole concept of when we know people in the situation, feelings are different about it because we know how bad it is for them.”

David Ferguson, 53, a mechanical engineer and account manager in western Georgia, said some of the foreign students in his daughter’s graduate school program want to stay and work in the United States but fear they won’t be able to re-enter if they visit their home countries, despite having valid visas.

Some immigrants really do “want to have long-term residency and be productive members of our society. Let’s give them a path for that,” he said.

Ferguson said he doesn’t think an amnesty program is necessarily the solution. But Juan Rivera, the Trump voter in southern California, thinks it could attract wide support.

“It’s actually a really big sentiment I’ve been hearing from a lot of local Republican elected officials, that the Trump administration [should] offer amnesty the way that Reagan did,” said Rivera, who does Latino outreach advocacy for his county’s Republican Party.

His own father was able to become a U.S. citizen after former Republican President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1986 granting amnesty to about 3 million immigrants without legal status, according to Rivera.

He said he hopes Trump moves the country toward “an immigration system that balances security with humanity.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/these-trump-voters-back-his-immigration-crackdown-some-worry-about-his-methods-2025-09-02

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons claimed that some Boston Police officers have shared information with ICE despite the city’s sanctuary policies. City officials and immigrant-rights advocates have criticized the actions, arguing they undermine community relations. ICE has noted that it plans to increase enforcement in sanctuary jurisdictions. Lyons said, “We have so many men and women of the Boston Police Department and other jurisdictions that are so pro-ICE, that want to work with us, and that are actually helping us behind the scenes.” He stated, “Sanctuary does not mean safer streets. It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood. But 100%, you will see a larger ICE presence.”

Lyons reported an alleged covert cooperation by some officers. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu affirmed the city’s sanctuary status, saying Boston follows the law but will resist federal demands to revoke it.

Wu said, “Silence in the face of oppression is not an option. The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today. So here it is…Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.”

The Boston Trust Act limits city cooperation with federal agencies. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to sanctuary jurisdictions seeking compliance plans and warned of potential federal fund cuts for noncompliance.

Local officials have called the enforcement and funding threats politically motivated. Bondi stated, “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”

Lyons said, “What I think local leaders don’t understand, is they need to talk to the men and women on the ground, because … there are so many of these criminal aliens that keep getting released to go out and commit more crimes that the local law enforcement have to deal with.”

Bondi concluded, “We are going to send in law enforcement just like we did during the LA riots, just like we’re doing here in Washington, DC, and if they’re not going to keep their citizens safe, Donald Trump will keep them safe.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-targets-sanctuary-city-mayor-faces-defiance/ss-AA1LFGeg

AFilipino green card holder who has lived in the United States since childhood was detained and placed in solitary confinement after returning from a family trip to the Philippines, before later being released—a sequence of events that has left his family outraged.

On May 15, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Maximo Londonio, a 42-year-old Olympia, Washington, resident, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while he was returning from a trip to the Philippines with his wife, Crystal Londonio.

The couple had traveled overseas to mark their 20th wedding anniversary, but instead of a routine entry process, Londonio was taken into custody and held in what the family described as harsh conditions.

“A lack of compassion, a lack of care when it comes to, you know, necessities, basic needs, you know, good water, quality water,” Crystal Londonio told KING 5 Seattle at an anti-ICE protest in Seattle on Labor Day.

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email and the family through a GoFundMe page for comment outside office hours.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump‘s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement operations in a bid to conduct widespread deportations.

Immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained under hard-line mass deportation plans. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests, as well as several who have been released from detention.

What To Know

Born in the Philippines, Londonio came to the United States when he was 12 and has lived here since 1997, according to the immigrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Network WA. He and his wife have three daughters, all U.S. citizens.

Londonio works as a lead forklift operator and is a dues-paying member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 695. His supporters cite his long-term residence, steady work and family ties as reasons he should not be deported.

Federal immigration law allows lawful permanent residents to be placed in removal proceedings if they have certain criminal convictions. Londonio’s record includes prior convictions for grand theft and drug possession, according to DHS.

After being detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for two months under conditions his family described as inhumane, Londonio was released from ICE custody. Tanggol Migrante Network WA told Newsweek in July that Londonio had spent “nearly a month in solitary confinement.”

KING 5 Seattle reported that 800 people attended the Labor Day anti-ICE protest.

What People Are Saying

Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in May: “Maximo Londono has a criminal record, including convictions for grand theft and the use of a controlled substance. Under federal immigration law, lawful permanent residents convicted of these types of crimes can lose their legal status and be removed. If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege—not a right. When you break our laws that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”

Maximo Londonio’s family wrote on GoFundMe: “Maximo is not a threat—he is a devoted father, loving husband, community member, and worker. He has rebuilt his life with dignity and purpose, and now his family’s future is being torn apart by a broken immigration system that’s targeting long-settled immigrants like him.”

What Happens Next

Londonio’s long-term immigration status remains in question. It is unknown whether his green card has been revoked or if immigration authorities will begin removal proceedings.

Green card holder put in solitary confinement leaves family wanting answers

“A lack of compassion, a lack of care when it comes to, you know, necessities, basic needs,” Crystal Londonio told KING 5 Seattle.

https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-holder-solitary-confinement-immigration-2122990

‘Answer the question you coward!’: Anti-Trump protests hit cities and town halls

Host Of “The Bulwark Podcast” Tim Miller, MSNBC Senior Political Analyst Matt Dowd, and Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude join Stephanie Ruhle – in for Nicolle Wallace to discuss the growing dissatisfaction with Donald Trump’s agenda and what Democrats can do with the heightened engagement from voters.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/answer-the-question-you-coward-anti-trump-protests-hit-cities-and-town-halls/vi-AA1LFbw0

A nearly century-old trade rule that allowed Americans to import small packages without paying duties has been eliminated by President Donald Trump‘s administration, which could disproportionately affect low-income households.

Why It Matters

The “de minimis” exemption, which applied to packages worth under $800 coming into the U.S., had long allowed goods to bypass customs duties and complex paperwork. On August 29, the Trump administration officially ended the rule, which covered 1.36 billion shipments valued at $64.6 billion in fiscal year 2024.

While the end of de minimis came for China—the largest inbound source of such shipments—and Hong Kong earlier this year, the August 29 change impacts every U.S. trading partner. As a result, more than 30 countries’ postal operators restricted or suspended shipments to the U.S. ahead of the policy change, including major trade partners such as India, Mexico, and Japan.

Supporters of the policy shift argue that it levels the playing field for domestic businesses and addresses concerns over unsafe imports. Trump described the de minimis exemption as “a big scam going on against our country, against really small businesses, and we’ve ended it.” The White House said the rule had also been exploited to evade tariffs and enables the import of illegal substances such as fentanyl.

What To Know

According to a 2024 National Bureau of Economic Research paper, eliminating de minimis could reduce consumer welfare by up to $13 billion each year, with lower-income households feeling the greatest impact.

The research found that the de minimis rule is a “pro-poor trade policy,” but its elimination flips it “from pro-poor to pro-rich.”

Shipments to the lowest-income zip codes face an average tariff of just 0.5 percent, compared with 1.5 percent for the wealthiest areas, the research says. In scrapping the rule, that balance flips, with tariffs for low-income communities projected jump to nearly 12 percent, while wealthier areas would see an increase of about 6.5 percent.

On top of that, every package would be charged an administrative fee, a cost that the research says would fall hardest on low-income households since they make more use of de minimis shipments.

“Lower-income households that rely on inexpensive imported goods such as clothing, household items, and phone accessories will be hardest hit,” Usha Haley, Barton distinguished chair in international business at Wichita State University, told Newsweek.

“For these consumers, even small increases in the prices of everyday items are a larger share of their discretionary spending, making the policy regressive in practice.”

Commercial carriers, which handle the majority of these parcels, must now file customs entries and pay tariffs. For postal services, flat fees of $80 to $200 are allowed temporarily, and will soon switch to the origin country’s applicable tariff rate. In many cases, sellers will pass on the cost of this to the consumer.

Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder at supply chain company Stord, agreed the burden of higher prices will be particularly visible in poorer communities. “A disproportionate amount of shipments entering the U.S. under the de minimis program were going to lower-income zip codes,” he told Newsweek.

“Consumers of a lower-income level have often found these extremely cheap products from platforms like Shein and Temu, and those product categories will feel the impact most acutely.”

Why Is De Minimis Being Axed?

The White House and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have both contended that de minimis rules have been exploited by bad actors.

According to the CBP, smugglers have exploited de minimis shipments to move drugs and weapons into the country. They often undervalue or mislabel goods, disguising dangerous items as harmless.

The White House has made similar assertions, saying that de minimis has encourages the evasion of tariffs and allowed the funneling of “deadly synthetic opioids as well as other unsafe or below-market products that harm American workers and businesses into the United States.”

What Happens Next

The end of de minimis won’t just impact America’s poorest, with all consumers facing price hikes on goods made outside of the U.S.

“In the short term, consumers are likely to see immediate price hikes,” Robert Khachatryan, CEO at Freight Right Global Logistics, told Newsweek. “Low-dollar items such as $10 accessories or fast-fashion staples will face double-digit percentage increases once merchandise processing fees and duties are applied.”

Lower income Americans issued warning over Trump post move

“Lower-income households that rely on inexpensive imported goods such as clothing and household items will be hardest hit,” one expert told Newsweek.

https://www.newsweek.com/lower-income-americans-warning-trump-de-minimis-2122766

‘Take Back Those Words’: House Hearing Comes To A Halt When RFK Jr. Accuses Democratic Rep. Of Receiving Bribes From Pharma

A recent hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee came to a halt when HHS Secretary RFK Jr. accused Democratic Representative Frank Pallone of receiving bribe money from pharmaceutical companies.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/take-back-those-words-house-hearing-comes-to-a-halt-when-rfk-jr-accuses-democratic-rep-of-receiving-bribes-from-pharma/vi-AA1LHsCu