This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:
"Clearly, there is no plan for the Strait," Patrick De Haan, petroleum market analyst for GasBuddy, posted on X.
"What the f--- was that?" Andrew Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent, posted on X.
More than a month into the war in Iran, President Trump gave a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday to make the case for why he believes the conflict is necessary.
In a 19-minute speech from the White House, Mr. Trump said Iran’s missiles and drone systems have been “dramatically curtailed and their weapons factories and rocket launches are being blown to pieces.”
Although the U.S. and Israeli militaries have destroyed many of Iran’s ballistic missiles and launchers in airstrikes, Iran continues to fire missiles in the region.
Still, Mr. Trump described the military action as a major success and called on Americans, who are uneasy about its costs, to keep things in perspective. He estimated that the war should wind down within three weeks.
Mr. Trump oscillated between endorsing negotiations to end the war and promising an escalation of violence.
“We are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,” he said. “We are going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.”
Iran has said there are no direct talks with the United States, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that the Iranians are willing to keep channels of communication open but not to make concessions at this point.
Oil prices surged and stock markets sank on Thursday, hours after President Trump declared in a national television address that the U.S. military campaign against Iran was an overwhelming success but failed to offer a clear exit strategy.
On Wednesday night, in his first prime-time address from the White House since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Mr. Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” and repeated his threats to hit Iranian infrastructure, including electrical plants, unless a deal was struck.
Investors hoping for clearer signals of a de-escalation appeared disappointed. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, jumped more than 7 percent in early trading on Thursday, the steepest daily rise in three weeks. Stock markets around the world fell, with indexes in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas from the Middle East, hit particularly hard.
Mr. Trump said in his speech that Iran’s “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed.” On Thursday morning, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said that American and Israeli strikes had not decimated the country’s missile production centers, long-range drones, air defenses or electronic warfare systems. The United States and Israel “know nothing about our vast and strategic capabilities,” the Guards said in a statement on Thursday.
If that was the best case President Donald Trump could make for why launching a war against Iran was necessary, it’s clearer why he didn’t bother to make it before he started the war a month ago.
In a prime-time address from the White House, a decidedly lethargic president argued both that the war was necessary — lest Iran rain destruction down on America and much of the world — and that the war is going great and will soon be over. If there is anyone not already on board with Trump’s war who would have been convinced by that speech, it’s hard to imagine who and where they are.
The speech featured many of Trump’s familiar rhetorical tics. The military, he said, has delivered “victories like few people had ever seen before,” while Iran was about to obtain “a nuclear weapon like nobody’s ever seen before.” Everyone, apparently, is in awe: “The whole world is watching, and they can’t believe the power, strength, and brilliance, they just can’t believe what they’re seeing.” And before you know it, the war will be just a memory. “We are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.”
And the global energy crisis the war touched off? Not Trump’s fault, certainly. “This short-term increase” in gas prices, he said, “has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks at oil tankers.” It’s hard to consider those attacks “deranged” when they were both utterly predictable and have given Iran the best leverage it has to force an end to the conflict on favorable terms.
Trump also insisted that “We’re now totally independent of the Middle East” and “America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas,” and therefore don’t have to worry about the restriction in oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz. This would be news to anyone who has filled up their gas tank in the past few weeks.
ICE Director intent on building warehouse system like “[Amazon] Prime, but with human beings”
“Cramming tens of thousands of people into warehouses meant for packages, without the ventilation, temperature control, plumbing, or sanitation systems necessary for human habitation, would almost certainly exacerbate…deaths in custody, assaults, and infectious disease outbreaks.”
Letter to CoreCivic (PDF) | Letter to GEO Group (PDF) | Letter to GardaWorld Federal Services (PDF)
Letter to Newmark Group (PDF) | Letter to KVG LLC (PDF) | Letter to PNK Group (PDF)
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led 52 members of Congress in a new investigation into whether government contractors, real estate brokers, and property owners are corruptly profiting from the White House’s fast-tracked expansion of inhumane warehouse-based immigration detention facilities. The lawmakers wrote to six companies, pressing them to explain how much they expect to earn from the new detention warehouses, their lobbying efforts to land these lucrative government contracts, and more.
“These warehouses were built to hold products, not people…Given the public’s grave concerns about this warehouse system, we request prompt answers to questions about your involvement in the system,” wrote the lawmakers.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working at breakneck speed to implement its “Detention Reengineering Initiative,” a warehouse system to hold nearly 100,000 people by November 2026. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has described the vision as “[Amazon] Prime, but with human beings.”
Experts have warned that because of the speed of the operation, it will be nearly impossible for ICE to build the infrastructure necessary for human habitation in warehouses. Immigrants in existing detention centers suffer from inhumane conditions, including lack of access to adequate medical care and poor-quality food.
“Placing thousands of people in warehouses that were never intended to house human beings will only exacerbate these problems,” wrote the lawmakers.
With the Trump administration planning to spend $38.3 billion on the warehouse system, the project promises to be extremely profitable for vendors, property owners, and real estate brokers. And for many of the warehouse contracts, ICE appears to be circumventing the normal competitive bidding processes.
ICE is using a Navy’s contracting program, diverting DoD resources to avoid a competitive bidding process and avoid disclosing contract details that would typically be made public, triggering concerns of unnecessary costs and corruption.
For example, ICE paid $129 million for a facility in Georgia — nearly five times the amount it was assessed for last year. The details of some of these transactions have been kept secret, including through the use of non-disclosure agreements.
Additionally, some senior Trump officials have close ties to immigration contractors that could profit from the warehouse system. For example, David Venturella, who recently joined ICE after leaving the GEO Group — a top ICE detention contractor — is leading the ICE division that oversees detention contracts even though his former employer is competing for lucrative warehouse contracts. Attorney General Pam Bondi is also a former lobbyist for the GEO Group. Tom Homan, the “Border Czar,” and Corey Lewandowski, a former Homeland Security official, have reportedly helped contractors secure contracts to line their own pockets.
The lawmakers asked the contractors and real estate firms to provide clarity on: their roles in the warehouse expansions; their expected profit margins from the project; whether they’ve donated to the Trump campaign or cabinet officials; and whether they will commit to not allowing their work to be used to facilitate inhumane conditions at these detention centers, by April 13, 2026.
Senators Edward Markey (D-MA), Bernard Sanders (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) joined in signing the letters.
Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Jesus García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), April McClain Delaney (D-Md.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Ilhan Omar (D-M.N.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Jan Shakowsky (D-Ill.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill), Donald Beyer (D-V.A.), and James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) joined in signing the letter.
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SAN JOSE, CA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) toured the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center with frontline physicians to highlight the real-world, devastating consequences of health care cuts from Republicans’ billionaire-first reconciliation bill, which was signed into law last summer.
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center — a county-run hospital that serves 2 million residents — is already feeling the strain. Health care spending accounts for roughly one-third of the county’s total budget. Because of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” new federal cuts are deepening a projected $1 billion deficit, threatening patient care, hospital services, and access to critical treatment for working families.
As Republicans continue to slash funding, doctors are warning of longer wait times, reduced access to care, and fewer resources for working families, seniors, and vulnerable patients who rely on the county system to survive. Padilla’s visit alongside Santa Clara County Medical Physicians and the Valley Physicians Group comes as communities across California feel the devastating consequences of Washington Republicans’ decision to cut health care to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy — shifting the burden to local hospitals and the patients they serve.
“Republicans would rather spend trillions on tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, bankroll Trump’s unauthorized war in Iran, and fuel ICE’s cruelty than ensure Americans can access lifesaving health care,” said Senator Padilla. “Thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans’ not so beautiful bill, hospitals in the Bay Area and across the country are now facing massive budget shortfalls, driving up wait times, restricting access to critical treatment, and raising costs for hardworking families, seniors, and at-risk patients. I’ll continue supporting physicians on the front lines working tirelessly to address Trump’s manufactured health care crisis.”
“Medically, I can prescribe medication for the reflux. I can prescribe laxatives for constipation. I can alert social work and direct patients to food banks to help with food access. But I cannot prescribe safety. And until our children feel safe — until the threat of sudden, traumatic separation is removed — their bodies will continue to bear the burden of that fear,” said Rachel Ruiz, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Chair of VPG.
“Public healthcare is our safety net to help maintain quality care for all patients, allowing them to return to their lives and jobs at full capacity. Protecting it is important for all of us to help maintain a functioning society and economy. Critical services such as trauma and stroke are utilized by everyone, and increased wait times for patients at public systems will spill into each and every hospital, regardless of zip code. The effects of HR1 will be felt by everyone, even the wealthy,” said Praveen Anchala, MD, Chair of Radiology, Vice Chair of VPG.
“Access to affordable, life-saving HIV antiretroviral therapy is paramount to ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Antiretroviral therapy helps keep patients living with HIV/AIDS healthy as well as the community. HR-1 directly threatens insurance coverage and enrollment, putting more pressure on federal programs such as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program to fill the gap which is already stretched thin. These events taken together will lead to increased morbidity and mortality for people living with HIV/AIDS, new infections and overall a decline in the health of our population,” said Joseph Cooper III, MD, Infectious Disease Physician, Secretary of VPG.
“A 60-year-old breast cancer survivor, mid-reconstruction, rushed her surgery in December — not because she was ready, but because she was afraid. Afraid that after December 31st, she couldn’t afford to be insured. She had a port in her chest and a tissue expander in her breast — devices that require surgery to remove — and she needed them out while she still had coverage. She has not been able to follow since. She should be on maintenance chemotherapy. We don’t know if she is,” said Jennifer Cheeseborough, MD.
“Santa Clara Valley Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare systems in Santa Clara County and Northern California. Our physicians, hospitals, and clinical systems have helped patients throughout the County, regardless of geography, income, insurance status or ability to pay. We have taken care of elderly patients on commercial Medicare plans admitted for acute illnesses such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure to name a few, because other healthcare systems did not have capacity, were too far away, or did not accept the patient’s insurance. We have helped patients seeking substance use and behavioral health treatment not available in other partner healthcare systems, such as for adult and pediatric opioid use disorder, serving as the safety net for all residents with acute substance and mental health crises. H.R.1 will have devastating impacts on our public healthcare system, with even more detrimental effects on hundreds of thousands of people that rely on public coverage. Our healthcare systems collectively will see more high-cost emergency utilization for preventable illness, higher justice-involvement and incarceration for preventable substance use and mental health crises, and worse, it would exacerbate strain on already inundated systems — thus not being able to effectively ensure all our County residents have timely, equitable access to the highest standards of care that all people deserve. Imaging taking your mother to the nearest emergency room only to learn the wait-time is several hours until she can be seen. Imagine searching for months for a substance treatment program when you fear your child may overdose at any time. These impacts will be felt by every county resident, and most tragically, with disproportionate harm to our most underserved, vulnerable patients and communities. H.R.1 will make applying for and renewing healthcare coverage administratively more complicated and challenging that many will simply not be able to keep up despite eligibility. Furthermore, many community members are weighing risks to seek care because of active, ongoing ICE activity and surveillance. We hope that by working together we can ensure the viability of our public safety net hospital and clinical systems, and ultimately, ensure all people — our families, our neighbors, our communities — have access to healthcare,” said Annie Chang, MD.
“My experience, over twenty plus years as a hospital pediatrician, is that families always want to do the right thing for their child. But now, they’re not sure what the right thing is. Should they bring their sick child to the hospital to get medical treatment? Or should they stay home to avoid the risk of deportation? This is a heartbreaking choice I wish no family had to face,” said Monica Stemmle, MD, Pediatric Hospitalist.
“I recently launched a food referral program at our clinic because hunger isn’t a social problem — it’s a medical one. H.R. 1 doesn’t just cut a budget line; it cuts into the health of real children. I see it in my exam room every day: kids without enough food struggle in school, carry the weight of depression and anxiety, and fall further behind with every missed meal. Feeding children isn’t a political position — it’s a moral baseline,” said Iliana Harrysson, MD, General Pediatrician.
“Trauma patients are uniquely vulnerable to catastrophic health expenditures because traumatic injuries are unpredictable, often require expensive and complex care, and disproportionately affect poor patients of racial and ethnic minorities. I wrote a paper in 2020 detailing catastrophic expenditures in California trauma patients before and after the Affordable Care Act. We found that of over 7,500 trauma patients, more than 20% experienced catastrophic health expenditures (out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures exceeding 40% of post-subsistence income), including 89% of uninsured patients. However, the implementation of the ACA was associated with a 74% lower risk of catastrophic spending by trauma patients, with greater decreases among Black and Hispanic patients. The HR1 bill, which will cause 10-17 million people to lose healthcare coverage, will significantly increase the number of patients experiencing catastrophic health expenditures — not just trauma patients, but also anyone suffering from an unexpected health emergency,” said Tiffany Chao, MD, Trauma Surgeon.
Additional photos and b-roll footage from today’s event are available here.
Padilla has consistently fought against Trump and Republicans’ reckless cuts to health care to hand out tax cuts to billionaires. Last July, Padilla blasted Senate Republicans’ passage of their tax bill that that is gutting critical health care and nutrition assistance programs while devastating families in California and across the country. Last June, Padilla joined the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to reverse course on Republicans’ plan to take health care and food assistance away from millions of Americans — including seniors, children, people with disabilities, and veterans — to pay for tax breaks for ultra-wealthy Americans.
Padilla also consistently slammed President Trump and Senate Republicans for rejecting Democrats’ bill to protect health care coverage for millions of Americans. In December, Padilla called on Republicans to pass Senate Democrats’ proposal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years before they expired. After Senate Republicans voted against Democrats’ plan to prevent millions of Americans’ health care costs from skyrocketing, Padilla also hosted a virtual press conference to sound the alarm on the looming Republican health care crisis. In September, Padilla joined California health care leaders in Los Angeles to call on Congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to protect health care coverage for nearly 2 million California residents and avoid a Republican-caused government shutdown.
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