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Two Blue Dog Democrats rescued the Republican legislative agenda Tuesday, casting the votes needed to advance a slate of GOP-backed bills—to the embarrassment of the rest of the party.

Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington bridged the gap left by five Republicans who voted against the rule. Without Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, it would not have passed. Among the proposed legislation now advancing to debate is a resolution to condemn socialism ahead of the midterm elections, a bill designed to punish universities that speak out against the Israeli government, and alterations to environmental protections for the North Atlantic right whale.

After the vote, congressional Democrats were quick to voice their surprise and frustration. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies told reporters that he “didn’t get a heads up,” and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that, when she sat at the helm of the chamber, “We didn’t even consider that anybody would do that…. We never had that problem, so I’m disappointed that they did that.”

“It’s one of the rules of being on a team, is that we vote against the rule,” Democratic Whip Katherine Clark told The Hill, referring to the precedent that members are generally expected to vote with their party when it comes to rules votes, regardless of how they plan to vote on the final legislation. “I’m sure we’ll have further discussions,” Clark said.

The five conservative Republican holdouts declined to vote to get their party’s rules over the finish line in protest of Republican leaders’ handling of an earlier vote Tuesday on government spending. Without Golden and Glusenkamp Perez’s surprise intervention, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s agenda for the week would have been dead on arrival.

Golden, who is not seeking reelection, is reportedly supportive of one of the Republican bills, which could protect a key Maine constituency—loberstermen—from the economic harm that may come from fishing regulations designed to protect the right whale.

Quick Take

• In June 2026, a class-action lawsuit filed against Sony claimed that the PlayStation Store does not make it clear enough to consumers that they are merely renting a revocable license, not buying the games to own themselves.
• Sony’s response: “In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game.”
• Nerdist’s Take: Sony isn’t being tone deaf with this comment; they simply don’t care. They’ll just keep throwing corporate lawyers at any and all lawsuits. After all, Sony has a responsibility to its shareholders. Won’t someone think of the billionaires!?

In 2026, Sony faced criticism from all sides of the industry, mostly centered around their total abolition of physical media. In June 2026, a class-action lawsuit filed by Andrew Garcia, Edward Heycock, Jason Mendoza, and John Salinas, states that “PlayStation fails to clearly and conspicuously disclose to consumers at the point of sale that these transactions do not convey ownership of the digital games.” This class-action suit comes on the back of an anti-trust lawsuit in Mexico, and another suit in the Netherlands over allegations of artificially high prices in the PlayStation Store.

Sony

Well, Sony is firing back. Sony has released a controversial statement regarding the lawsuit that has those within and without the industry up in arms.

“As Plaintiffs admit, Section 1 of the SPLA likewise explains that ‘The Software is licensed to you, not sold.’ This makes sense. In the digital age, it is not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership’ of a digital game. Were that the case, then Plaintiff Edward Heycock would not have been able to obtain the game Resident Evil Requiem on February 25, 2026 for $69.99 from the PlayStation Store after Plaintiff Jason Mendoza had obtained Resident Evil Requiem on February 14, 2026, because Mr. Mendoza, not Sony, would have owned it then.”

People are rightfully outraged by the company’s response, myself among them. Not to be cliché, but back in my day, you bought your games (finished games, no less!) and then you simply owned them. No one could take them away from you. No ‘licensing’ involved! It’s true that the digital age is here to stay, and of course progress marches on, but Sony’s utter devotion to the ‘live services’ model is alienating and angering gamers—excuse me, consumers—all over the world.

Sony seems unconcerned, if their flippant comments are any indication. I suspect Sony believes the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in November will absolve them of their sins, or at least distract from them. We’ll see if everyone is so quick to forget that Sony thinks ‘reasonable consumers’ should have never expected to own their games in the first place.

Jess Harshbarger writes about books, TV, games, comics, and all things nerdy for Nerdist.

The post Sony’s Response to Class-Action Lawsuit Sparks Controversy appeared first on Nerdist.

The California Assembly opted not to vote Tuesday on legislation meant to help wildfire victims, deciding at the last minute to push back a decision on a bill that some Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, said wouldn’t meaningfully address the financial challenges caused by catastrophic blazes.

The post California Assembly backs off voting on bill that would aid wildfire victims appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

The House of Representatives has returned from its five-week summer vacation, but for more than three dozen members that extended break apparently wasn’t enough.

According to the House clerk, 46 lawmakers failed to make it back to Washington in time for the first roll-call vote on Monday. The 6:56 p.m. event recorded the names of the missing members, which included 22 Republicans, 23 Democrats, and one independent. No lawmakers voted “present” on the bill, which aimed to establish national standards for the Justice Department to assess and respond to reports of sexual abuse by incarcerated people against prison staff.

Some of the missing lawmakers managed to make it to the lower chamber within the next 15 minutes, however, where a second roll-call vote took place at 7:10 p.m. At that point, 42 members (21 Republicans and 21 Democrats) were still missing in action, according to the clerk’s office.

The names of the representatives who still failed to arrive in time for the second vote Monday evening are listed below.

Democrats

• Nanette Barragán (California)
• Steve Cohen (Tennessee)
• Shomari Figures (Alabama)
• John Garamendi (California)
• Robert Garcia (California)
• Sylvia Garcia (Texas)
• Daniel Goldman (New York)
• Marcy Kaptur (Ohio)
• Stephen Lynch (Massachusetts)
• Kweisi Mfume (Maryland)
• Seth Moulton (Massachusetts)
• Richard Neal (Massachusetts)
• Nancy Pelosi (California)
• Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts)
• Delia Ramirez (Illinois)
• Jan Schakowsky (Illinois)
• Adam Smith (Washington)
• Haley Stevens (Michigan)
• Nydia Velázquez (New York)
• Bonnie Watson Coleman (New Jersey)
• Frederica Wilson (Florida)

Republicans

• Andy Barr (Kentucky)
• Vern Buchanan (Florida)
• Scott DesJarlais (Tennessee)
• Byron Donalds (Florida)
• Neal Dunn (Florida)
• Sam Graves (Missouri)
• Wesley Hunt (Texas)
• John James (Michigan)
• Dusty Johnson (South Dakota)
• Nancy Mace (South Carolina)
• Michael McCaul (Texas)
• Lisa McClain (Michigan)
• Daniel Meuser (Pennsylvania)
• Mary Miller (Illinois)
• Cory Mills (Florida)
• Jay Obernolte (California)
• Burgess Owens (Utah)
• Jefferson Shreve (Indiana)
• Victoria Spartz (Indiana)
• Pete Stauber (Minnesota)
• Thomas Tiffany (Wisconsin)

A federal judge lit into the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for using either AI or fake studies to defend the Trump administration’s decision to fund only abstinence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.

“While abstinence-only education may well be appropriate for some age groups or communities, the agency has offered no explanation or evidence to support its across-the-board mandate that only abstinence strategies be pursued,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his opinion. “On the topic of body literacy, the notices (remarkably) reference public health studies that appear either not to exist or not to support the propositions for which they are cited—a hallmark of AI-generated citations.”

Cooper issued a preliminary injunction, pausing an order that has already led to millions of dollars in grant cuts.

“The Court concludes that the Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on their arbitrary and capricious claim, combined with the severity and irremediable harm to their programming and the balance of equities in their favor, justify the issuance of a preliminary injunction in this case,” he wrote.

This isn’t the first time the Trump administration—and HHS—have used AI to generate references or content. Last year, the department’s “Make America Healthy Again” report contained references to articles that didn’t exist and multiple citation errors.

The HHS is likely using fake AI slop to justify and defend bad MAHA policies that have real material impacts on the lives of everyday Americans, and could have alarming effects on public health.

President Trump on Tuesday announced that Pastor Darrell Scott, his personal friend and impassioned defender, will join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an adviser on tobacco-related health issues.

“For far too long, tobacco-related disease has taken an enormous toll on American families, including Communities that have too often been overlooked and underserved. Pastor Scott understands these communities, and the challenges they face, and he knows how to bring people together to get RESULTS,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Delivering on a Campaign promise, his work will help ensure that we take a serious look at how we can better protect Americans from dangerous tobacco products, while supporting solutions to reduce harm and SAVE LIVES.”

In Scott’s own telling, he met Trump in 2011 at Trump Tower, where he expected to find a sleazy real estate tycoon and instead found a devout Christian ready to do the work for Black Americans. He was involved in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, introducing then-candidate Trump at rallies and Christian gatherings, and he co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, alongside the president’s former attorney turned bitter enemy turned podcast pal, Michael Cohen. After the president defeated Hillary Clinton, Scott was given a role on his presidential transition team. In 2018, Scott called Trump “the most pro-Black president in my lifetime.”

“Pastor Darrell Scott has been with us from the very beginning. He is a GREAT LEADER with a tremendous heart for the people of our Country. Thank you Pastor Scott. MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AND SAFE AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president concluded in his announcement.

Although Scott supposedly “understands these communities” impacted by tobacco-related illness, the pastor has zero experience in public health or tobacco policy. His appointment at the CDC is further proof that loyalty, not expertise, is the real qualification for a job in Trump’s administration. That roster includes a former Fox News host running the Department of Defense, a vaccine skeptic in charge of the nation’s health agencies now contributing to the return of measles, and a real estate developer son-in-law tanking negotiations with Iran.

Vice President JD Vance isn’t sure if we’re living in the “end times,” but he’s not afraid to bring them about, either.

In a sit-down interview with 22-year-old evangelist podcaster Bryce Crawford, Vance said that he’s “OK” if his work on earth brings about a biblical doomsday event.

“Do I think we are in the end times? I don’t know,” Vance said in the interview released Monday, noting that it would be bad for him spiritually if he were to spend too much time thinking about that query. “While I’m fascinated by it, I think that focusing on it too much can be very bad.

“I think there are things about the world that make feel like not shocked if the Antichrist was walking among us,” Vance added.

In another portion of the interview, Vance claimed he’s focused on “doing as much of God’s work as possible,” shrugging that “if that leads to the end times, OK.”

Vance: I'm trying to focus on doing as much of God's work as possible. And if that leads to the end times, okay pic.twitter.com/0HlbsZdDfj

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 1, 2026

The Christian end times refer to the religion’s interpretations of the final days of humanity. That’s detailed in the Bible as a period involving widespread turmoil and deception (such as wars, earthquakes, and a false prophet), a seven-year stretch of unprecedented hardship known as the Great Tribulation that will end in Armageddon, the emergence of the Antichrist and a cadre of their followers who reject Christ’s teachings, and a final judgment by God.

Vance did not speculate as to who he believed the Antichrist could be.

Ultimately, Vance gave Crawford more than an hour of his time, while the White House aggravates long-standing Western alliances, embraces Russia, wages war on Iran, undermines voting rights, and further divides the American public—among other sordid realities.

Crawford founded the ministry Jesus in the Street and has attracted more than a million YouTube followers via clickbait videos such as “Preaching the Gospel in the Hood” and “Gay Man Encounters Jesus.” Last week, Crawford joined comedian Howie Mandel’s podcast to argue that “homosexuality isn’t love” and that “truth trumps a feeling” when it comes to transgender identities.

Quick Take

• While promoting her new film, Gal Gadot explains why she’s done playing Wonder Woman, and her true feelings over how James Gunn and Peter Safran handled the dismissal of her DCEU co-star Henry Cavill, and her Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.
• Gadot says that, as a parent of four kids, playing Diana Prince again seems unfeasible.
• Gal Gadot explains how the role was never solely hers, and she was just a temporary vessel for the iconic superhero.
• Nerdist’s take: Gal Gadot took over the role from Lynda Carter and seems to understand the part now belongs to a new generation.

Wonder Woman is part of the DC Trinity, alongside Superman and Batman. So at some point, she’ll become a part of Jame Gunn’s DCU. However, it’s pretty clear at this point that Gal Gadot won’t be playing her. Gadot was first introduced in 2016’s Batman v Superman. She reprised her role in 2017’s Wonder Woman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman 1984. But in an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Deadline), Gadot confirmed her Diana Prince era is over. And part of the reason is her feelings on how DC handled letting go of Henry Cavill and Patty Jenkins. Here’s what she told Josh Horowitz:

I saw the way everybody else was handled. The Henry [Cavill] situation was not handled elegantly to say the least. Patty [Jenkins] was not handled elegantly. We’re all adults and we’re all good.

Warner Bros.

The “Henry Cavill Situation” Gadot mentions refers to how the Superman actor returned to the character in Black Adam. He then announced his return to the role in a new solo film on social media. But a few months later, James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios. They informed Cavill that they were going in an all-new direction with Superman. Cavill then had to make another social media post, explaining how he wouldn’t play Kal-El again after all. The whole thing was clumsy, and indicative of a studio in flux. Warner Bros. had announced Patty Jenkins for a third Wonder Woman movie, which James Gunn then canceled publicly.

Gadot seems to be ok with letting go of the role. She said, “For me to go to do another Wonder Woman, I am not sure I would at this point in my life with four children and different schools and all of that. To check out from all of them for such a long period of time, it doesn’t work for my life anymore at this point.” This does have the vibes of “You can’t fire me, I quit!” But at least Gadot realizes it’s ok to turn over the tiara to the next generation. She added, “I am so grateful I got the opportunity to wear these boots and have the character be so celebrated. I can only wish whoever is next comes pure to this journey. This character means so much to so many of us. It was never mine. I was always just a vessel.”

DC Comics

So who will be the next Wonder Woman? Rumors abound that Andor star Adria Arjona isn’t actually playing Maxima in Man of Tomorrow, and is secretly our DCU Wonder Woman. We know that a script is being written for a Wonder Woman movie, so before too long, we’ll know who our new Princess Diana of Themyscira is. And odds are, we’ll know who the new Wonder Woman is before we have an idea about who the new Batman is in the DCU. They really seem to be dragging their feet on that one.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a Swiss Army knife of fandoms. Eric loves DC, Marvel, horror movies, and even Star Wars and Star Trek equally.

The post Gal Gadot Explains Why She Wouldn’t Play Wonder Woman Again appeared first on Nerdist.

Florida GOP House nominee Mike Beltran wiped multiple mentions of President Trump from his campaign website ahead of November midterm elections—a telltale sign of a toxic president.

According to the Washington Examiner, Beltran’s website used to proclaim that he “stood with President Trump every step of the way.”

“He is one of only seven Republican legislators in the entire state of Florida who never endorsed Ron DeSantis for President, standing firm with Trump from the moment he came down the escalator in 2015. That wasn’t a political calculation. It was conviction,” the removed passage continued.

It certainly seems like Beltran is leaning into political calculation now, as his support for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is missing from his website along with the pro-Trump language.

Beltran’s campaign told the Examiner that the cuts had nothing to do with Trump, or his dismal 33 percent approval rating. There are still some mentions of Trump on the campaign site, mostly related to immigration, as well as a photo of Beltran and his family with Trump.

Beltran isn’t the only GOP nominee to distance himself from Trump after a primary victory. Ralph Alvarado, who was endorsed by Trump in May, has scrubbed the president’s name from his website, touting himself as “independent leadership for Kentucky.”

It seems like Republicans are seeing the writing on the wall and prioritizing their own optics over attaching themselves to Trump’s dirty lapels in the midterm election. Earlier this month, Trump-endorsed Republican candidates Amir Hassan of Michigan, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Mike Lindell of Minnesota all lost their primaries. Even still, Trump seems unphased by his poor midterm performance outlook.

“There’s a theory that I get the vote,” Trump said to Sean Hannity last week. “You know, I see it all the time. ‘When Trump’s on the ballot, they win. When he’s not on the ballot, the people don’t go to vote.’ And I’m asking the people through your brilliant show, number one show, I’m asking the people to get out and vote, pretend I’m on the ballot.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken it upon himself to insult Canadian teenagers and their instructors. Canada is laughing in his face.

On Monday night, Hegseth reposted an image from Vernon Cadet Training Center in British Columbia of an officer in the Cadet Instructors Cadre presenting a young cadet with a medal at the end of a summer cadet training session. The defense secretary captioned the image with a Canadian flag emoji and, in parentheses, “(this is real).”

The Canadian Cadet Program is a federally funded youth development program for Canadians between the ages of 12 and 18 focused on leadership, citizenship, and community service. They are not members of the military.

Hegseth’s post was immediately condemned online, as commenters accused the secretary of body shaming the instructor and young cadet. Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri’s 2nd district, wrote, “You’re mocking kids. This is a junior cadet program. What a pathetic small man you are.” Amy Coplan, a California State University Fullerton philosophy professor, added, “Is bullying Canadian teenagers more important than attending to our ever-deteriorating situation in Iran?”

Some responses to Hegseth’s post used the defense secretary’s own style against him, writing “(this is real)” with the American flag alongside images of President Trump with Jeffery Epstein and Hegseth himself soaked in champagne.

Perhaps the greatest insult came from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney himself, who said Tuesday that the post was “beneath their office.”

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having the discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney told reporters. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

Despite the defense secretary’s blatant body-shaming, the Pentagon stands by his every word. “The X post speaks for itself,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss said.

The whole exchange marks yet another escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing feud with Canada, during which Trump has levied a trade war against our northern neighbors, thrown insults across the border, posted ridiculous memes, and changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Businesses operating in Santa Cruz County must register with the county clerk. Lookout Santa Cruz reviews the public filings from local businesses to report on new businesses starting in the area.

Here is what’s new in local business recently.

New businesses

• NOE’S PAINTING was registered at 163 Manfre Rd., Watsonville, by Noe Ramirez Cruz as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• PACIFIC COAST PROPERTY CARE was registered at 61 Crespi Way, Watsonville, by Fernando M Ruiz as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• THE WILDERWILDS was registered at 313 Cedar St., Unit A, Santa Cruz, by Rosemary Florence Widmann as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• FOG LINE EDITING was registered at 630 Redwood Dr., Felton, by Valerie Adams Haff as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• THIRD ACT YOGA was registered at 3110 Glen Canyon Rd., Scotts Valley, by Genelle McLean Chetcuti as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• PRODUCTIVE MINDS COACHING was registered at 3510 Putter Dr., Soquel, by Renee Gonzalez as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• EXTRA EFFORT SERVICES was registered at 1190 7th Ave., Space 42, Santa Cruz, by Juan Reese as an individual business on Aug. 17.
• WILDLY BECOMING COLLECTIVE was registered at 232 Bayona Dr., Santa Cruz, by Wildly Becoming Collective LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 18.
• COFFEETOPIA was registered at 1443 Capitola Rd., Santa Cruz, by LH Visionary Holdings, LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 18.
• SEPTIC SAVERS was registered at 217 Orchard Rd., Felton, by Nathan McCormick as an individual business on Aug. 18.
• BOBA BAY was registered at 110 Capitola Ave., Suite #3, Capitola, by Quantum Intelligence Holdings LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 19.
• ELMER’S MOBILE AUTO DETAILING was registered at 714 Hill St., Capitola, by Elmer Candido Henriquez as an individual business on Aug. 19.
• COLLEGE CATALYST ADVISING was registered at 3074 McGlenn Drive, Unit 1, Aptos, by Luis Carlos Sanabia as an individual business on Aug. 19.
• VILLANUEVA ORGANIC FARMS, VOF was registered at 612 Buena Vista Dr., Watsonville, by Erik Villanueva Vega as an individual business on Aug. 19.
• MORGEN CREE PIANO STUDIO was registered at 40 Pine Ave., Mount Hermon, by Morgen Elise Cree as an individual business on Aug. 19.
• CONCIERGERE was registered at 2321 17th Ave., Santa Cruz, by Richard James Elliott as an individual business on Aug. 20.
• DYNAMIC PIANOS was registered at 6144 Highway 9, Felton, by Niles Patrick Flynn as an individual business on Aug. 21.
• IN THE TIDEPOOL was registered at 21821 E. Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, by Amenity Inc. as a corporation on Aug. 21.
• A&M TOWING was registered at 2131 Delaware Ave., Unit 5, Santa Cruz, by Cgrc Group Inc as a corporation on Aug. 21.
• CENTRAL COAST DENTAL IMPLANT CENTER was registered at 550 Water St., Suite L, Santa Cruz, by Paraon Nolasco Dequiroz DDS, Inc as a corporation on Aug. 21.
• KMR CONSULTING was registered at 9320 Newell Creek Rd., Ben Lomond, by Kimberly M. Raynal as an individual business on Aug. 21.
• COASTAL RITUALS was registered at 284 Sea Ridge Rd., Apt. B, Aptos, by Natalie Sheila Abreo as an individual business on Aug. 21.
• SILVANSTEAD ROOTS was registered at 1529 Tricia Lane, Santa Cruz, by Mara Adriana Hainor as an individual business on Aug. 21.
• BAY AREA SENIOR SAFETY was registered at 4685 Grace St., Capitola, by Creative Pipers, Inc as a limited liability company on Aug. 21.
• ENGAGE WITH CARE was registered at 127 Anderson Dr., Watsonville, by Central Coast Health Support Foundation as a corporation on Aug. 24.
• ALEGEND, EOSGROVE, LEGEND TEXT was registered at 160 Pine Flat Rd., Santa Cruz, by Eosgrove LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 24.
• HANA BRANDS was registered at 911 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, by Hana Group Ops, LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 24.
• INJECTIONS BY LAILA was registered at 3101 Scotts Valley Dr., Suite 1, Scotts Valley, by Corp. Nursing Injections By Laila as a corporation on Aug. 25.
• BAGNA BUTTER was registered at 115 Ranchitos Del Sol, Aptos, by Smallmoon Management LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 25.
• COMPOUND EYE was registered at 306 Sims Rd., Santa Cruz, by Drucker Landscape Architecture Inc as a corporation on Aug. 25.
• CALIFORNIA MARKET-CELLULAR SALES, CALIFORNIA NORTH MARKET-CELLULAR SALES, CELLULAR SALES, CELLULAR SALES OF CALIFORNIA, CN MARKET-CELLULAR SALES, VERIZON WIRELESS-CELLULAR SALES/AUTHORIZED RETAILER was registered at 1440 41st Ave., Capitola, by Cellular Sales Of California, LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 26.
• OPEN WATERS POOL SERVICE was registered at 338 Laurent St., Santa Cruz, by Open Waters LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 26.
• SKYPARK FAMILY PET CARE was registered at 266 Mount Hermon Rd., Suite P, Scotts Valley, by Veterinary Medical Institutes as a corporation on Aug. 27.
• BEAUTY BY BONNIE was registered at 8032 Soquel Dr., #A, Aptos, by Bonnie Kat Maree Bording as an individual business on Aug. 27.
• COASTAL VISTA LANDSCAPE SERVICES was registered at 108 Atkinson Lane, Watsonville, by Ivan Lomeli as an individual business on Aug. 27.
• Tacos El Novillo was registered at 21 Clifford Ave., Watsonville, by Nolberto Aguilera Garcia as a general partnership on Aug. 27.
• CRUISE COMPUTERS was registered at 1305 Orchard Dr., Santa Cruz, by Jasper Leroy Hillaker as an individual business on Aug. 27.
• PHIL DURAN CONSTRUCTION was registered at 330 8th Ave., Santa Cruz, by Phil Duran Construction LLC as a limited liability company on Aug. 28.
• ESPERANZA’S CLEANING SERVICES was registered at 49 Blanca Lane, #9, Watsonville, by Esperanza Ceja as an individual business on Aug. 28.

Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.

MORE LOCAL COVERAGE

The post Santa Cruz County business filings: Week of Sept. 1 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

ALT

On Monday, the same Supreme Court justices who helped Donald Trump return to the White House, gave him criminal immunity, and greenlit dozens of his illegal actions, gave the president yet another gift: a massive ballroom. Though it seems clear that the destruction of the East Wing and its replacement with a 90,000-square foot ballroom atop a new military bunker is illegal, the court’s Republican appointees have cleared the way for its completion. 

All, that is, but one. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Democratic nominated-judges in dissent. Writing for the dissenters, Roberts called the construction “likely unlawful” and a trampling of Congressional authority. Given the unpopularity of the project, perhaps Roberts thought it best to keep his name off of it. But while Roberts clearly doesn’t want to be blamed for the ballroom, he wrote many of the precedents that undergird the majority’s decision to let it go forward. 

Though Roberts had the sense to dissent, in similar cases he has been on the other side.

Monday’s emergency docket order again giving Trump the go-ahead halts a district court order that could have stopped above-ground work while allowing construction to precede on a secure, below-ground facility. Instead, the Supreme Court order allows all construction to continue until the litigation is complete. Because a final ruling on the merits of the case by the Supreme Court is probably months if not years away, Monday’s decision will likely allow the project to reach completion.

The majority’s argument—and Roberts’ dissent—focus on the issue of standing, the technical question of whether the plaintiffs challenging the ballroom have the right to do so in federal court. Standing generally turns on whether the plaintiff is injured by the policy they are challenging. In this case, the plaintiffs are the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States and one of its members, Alison K. Hoagland, an architectural historian who passes by the White House frequently and claims a personal and professional interest in not seeing the former East Wing replaced with Trump’s new ballroom. Hoagland claimed she had the same basis to sue that the Supreme Court has afforded to people in environmental cases who allege an injury if, for example, the government kills off a species so that they no longer have the pleasure of viewing it.

But in Monday’s unsigned order, five GOP appointees found that isn’t enough to obtain standing. In his dissent, Roberts disagreed, defending the idea that Hoagland and the trust had asserted a viable claim, just as an environmentalist could challenge the pollution of a river that would kill off the fish she liked to watch. As Roberts put it, after Monday, “I want to look at a crocodile” is enough to get standing but “I want to look at the White House” is not. 

The Republican appointees have been manipulating standing doctrine in recent years in order to achieve desired results. But even if they felt strongly that the plaintiffs didn’t have standing, the request for a stay required the justices to determine which side would face greater, even irreparable, harm if the project proceeded at this juncture. Clearly, the preservationists would suffer great harm if the ballroom is completed. Conversely, the president wouldn’t be harmed by a pause. After all, his purported national security concerns are already being met with construction of his underground lair continuing. 

Moreover, the president cannot be harmed if his action is illegal in the first place. This is a point Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson separately made just last week when her Republican-appointed colleagues allowed Trump’s illegal executive order on mail-in ballots to take effect. “The President is only conceivably harmed by an injunction barring executive action if that court order is preventing him from doing something the law permits him to do,” Jackson wrote.

In Monday’s decision in the ballroom case, the majority wouldn’t discuss the legality of the project. That’s probably because the ballroom is pretty clearly illegal. It’s a privately funded demolition and reconstruction of the so-called People’s House when Congress explicitly gave itself control over such new buildings and their funding. As Roberts wrote in his dissent: “Congress has explicitly prohibited the construction of any ‘building or structure. . . on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.’” Moreover, by using private funds, the Trump administration is circumventing Congress’ power of the purse; Congress is supposed to allot taxpayers’ money for White House renovation. “Today’s decision,” Roberts wrote, “is no victory for the separation of powers.”

Though Roberts had the legal and political sense to dissent this time, in similar cases he has generally been on the other side. Time and again, this court has reasoned that the executive is harmed if his obviously lawless actions are put on hold by the courts. When Trump kicked off his second term in January 2025 with a flurry of illegal activity that the lower courts quickly blocked, the Supreme Court repeatedly came to his rescue on the theory that the president is harmed if his actions cannot take effect—even ones that are clearly illegal, such as denying citizenship to people born in the United States, which the GOP appointees said courts could not block in full. In case after case, the majority presumed that the harm to Trump is greater than the harm to the targets of his actions—even when those are far more irreparable and concrete. 

There is an irony in Roberts’ unwillingness to go along with this view of executive prerogative in the ballroom case, because he is largely responsible for it. In decision after decision, Roberts has imbued the presidency with the powers of the so-called unitary executive, a king-like ruler with total control over the executive branch. The apotheosis of this theory is Roberts’ majority opinion in Trump v. United States, which gave presidents criminal immunity. The chief justice explicitly placed a president’s desires above the constraints of the criminal laws passed by Congress. It was better, he wrote in that decision, to have an “energetic, vigorous, decisive” executive than one who was bound by the criminal laws, which he described as “counterproductive burdens” on the “‘vigor'” and “‘energy’ of the Executive.”

The country, he promised, would be better off with a decisive leader, rather than one who must “‘answer for his conduct’ in court.” Just one year later, Trump decisively but illegally razed the East Wing and started building a giant ballroom.

Roberts ended his dissent from Monday with a quote. “Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘[w]e shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,’” Roberts wrote. “All the more reason to ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House.” 

Roberts’ warning, it seems, is that an administration working out of an illegally-constructed building might be shaped by that ethos of lawlessness, and that, within its ill-gotten walls, they might be inspired to flout the law in other pursuits. That may be true, but it’s remarkably unselfaware coming from Roberts. The man who told presidents they could crime with impunity is now fretting that they might, actually, ignore the law.

Churchill’s admonition could be redirected at the chief justice and his colleagues: The Supreme Court writes opinions, and those opinions shape the country. All the more reason to enforce the law, especially when it comes to the inhabitant of the People’s House. But on Monday, the court once again told Trump to go ahead with an illegal scheme. The lesson is clear.

In late 1984, dozens of people in the region of Lake Tahoe, California, would go to the doctor with a variety of symptoms, including debilitating fatigue—the first clearly documented cluster of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would label “chronic fatigue syndrome” towards the end of the ’80s.

Today, that complex condition is known as ME/CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. In its more severe manifestations, it can leave people unable to get out of bed independently, needing to be tube-fed. Even in its minor forms, it can be life-altering.

I would know: I received an ME/CFS diagnosis in 2023. It’s not a rare condition—it’s estimated that around half of the millions of people with long Covid may have ME/CFS— but it is still widely misunderstood. Pushing oneself too hard to get “through” it, for one thing, doesn’t help build tolerance, and can instead lead to crashes known as post-exertional malaise.

Duke University cultural anthropologist Emily Lim Rogers looks at the labor it takes simply to exist while sick in her new book Sick Work: Exhaustion, Labor, and Invisible Illness, through the lens of ME/CFS. We spoke about the history of the condition, the importance of acknowledging differently racialized experiences of chronic illness, and the compounding exhaustion of being ill.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How has debilitating fatigue been downplayed since the Industrial Revolution, and how does that connect to work?

In the US, we have an idea that it’s normal to be burnt out. Fatigue and burnout are systemically denied from workers’ compensation claims; this is actually not the case in all countries.

“Fatigue is this term that’s so banal and non-exceptional. We accept it as completely mundane and something that everyone should be: fatigued.”

The concept of fatigue was initially conceived of as something that could be solved, particularly in the context of an understanding of the body as a machine, in the late 19th century. Fatigue did not enter English-language medical journals until the last decade of the 19th century. The first chapter of the book looks at how fatigue went from a problem that could be solved, and should be worked on—granted, for maximum productivity—to something that just became accepted as part of everyday life.

Stress was a concept that only gained widespread acceptance as a legitimate scientific phenomenon in the 1970s.

When I was looking at people with ME/CFS contemporarily, one might expect to find sort of a paradigm of hysteria [and dismissal on that basis], like women’s chronic illnesses are obviously disproportionately affected by chronic fatigue syndrome. But what I found was that most people were not dismissed as kind of crazy hysterics—though that certainly echoes as well—but from an idea that they were just working too hard.

But then, that’s interesting, because our solution is not, “Maybe we should give these people disability insurance, maybe we should give these people time off work.” Instead, it’s, “You cannot handle the conditions of everyday life under capitalism. You’re just fatigued. You’re just burnt out.”

Now, people with ME/CFS have a qualitatively different type of fatigue than fatigue from work. [But] I think if we were to challenge the idea that some people have debilitating fatigue in addition to other non-specific symptoms, it would fundamentally raise the question of: Should we all be tired all the time in the first place?

You write that “Sick work is not about rehabilitation into the workforce or the reproduction of labor power: It is treading water with a body that has already been rendered unproductive.” That really hit me hard. In what ways do you think the capitalist society we live in degrades the amount of work it takes for chronically ill people, whether they have ME/CFS or another condition, to survive?

Part of my argument is that we call these illnesses “invisible illnesses,” because you can’t necessarily tell that someone’s sick. That’s true, but, for some people, it’s very much not invisible. I would describe these illnesses as invisibleized, more accurately. And part of my argument is that the invisible labor, and the invisibilization of the labor, that it takes to be sick leads to the invisibilization, and minimization politically, of many diseases like ME/CFS.

“In US culture, we have a huge kind of panic over the idea that someone is faking it.”

The work and everyday labor of living with ME/CFS contains this recursive loop of everyday labor of being ill, where you can’t work, but you need to work.

The engine of capitalism, as I describe in the [book], is fatigue: the depletion of bodily capacity to its absolute limit. If all of that is depleted in simply trying to be okay, then you’re already rendered outside the fold of who we think of as a productive worker. Many people, as I show in the book, do have ME/CFS and have to work paid jobs because they have to get health insurance, but they’re barely treading water. And the only reason, for many people, is because work is their only tie to health insurance, which is the cruel irony of this whole system.

You note that some ME/CFS patient activists believe the CDC used the name “chronic fatigue” to downplay its severity.

I read about it in some early reporting on ME/CFS in the ’90s. I think the question of intentionality is maybe less salient than the question of its effect. Fatigue is this term that’s so banal and non-exceptional. We accept it as completely mundane and something that everyone should be: fatigued.

For people with ME/CFS, a very different type, a very, very debilitating type of fatigue that does not come proportionate to any exertion, kind of gets buried in that. It’s important to look at the nitty-gritty of the science, why something’s researched or not researched. But zooming out, I try to understand this as very deeply embedded into how capitalism operates for chronically ill people at large.

How have ME/CFS patients been dismissed owing to the lack of clear, consistent biomarkers for the condition? 

Many people would look at people with ME/CFS, especially those very active in the patient activist movement, and say, “Oh, these are a bunch of bougie white women”—and that’s true in terms of who can get a diagnosis. We would say that the bourgeois white woman is so opposite of the figure of the welfare queen, the person who wants a cop-out from work, right?

I actually think these figures are not completely distinct, because in US culture, we have a huge kind of panic over the idea that someone is faking it, and thus taking taxpayer dollars, and just lazy.

“Many people of color that I talk to didn’t even consider that they might have ME/CFS…People can really internalize: Am I worthy to be ill, or am I not?”

I think that the lack of biomarkers creates that panic, and biomarkers became the idea of objective proof of illness and became more important in disability determinations in the neoliberal era.

We saw it in the gutting of the social safety net under Reagan, continuing obviously under Clinton, and this is obviously very relevant to what we’re seeing now with all of the cuts in Medicaid. What we have or don’t have [reduced to] biomarkers is political, and how that meets and meshes with actual everyday interactions in the disability determinations office, with health insurance companies, is sort of a distillation of all that. All those sources come crashing in [together] to shape the dismissal of ME/CFS.

As you mentioned, ME/CFS has often been portrayed as a rich white women’s disease, which is just not accurate. Could you tell me about your takeaways from your conversation with Robin, a Black woman with ME/CFS?

Not only was there the shocking anecdote that even a Black doctor would tell her, “No, just keep pushing on,” it raised a larger point. It is always about who has the money, resources, and time to go and get an ME/CFS diagnosis—but there’s also something where it cuts deeper, to who sees themselves as someone who can be legitimately ill.

The portrayal of ME/CFS as a bourgeois white woman’s disease does not help. Many people of color that I talk to didn’t even consider that they might have ME/CFS, so I think people can really internalize: Am I worthy to be ill, or am I not? And should I just push on, or should I not?

In his crusade to undermine American democracy, Donald Trump doesn’t have to win to win. He only needs to create a mess.

Look at this week’s news. There were several court actions regarding Trump’s outrageous attempt to restrict mail-in voting for the midterms. The back-and-forth was confusing, as the Supreme Court undid a lower court’s decision that had blocked key components of Trump’s plan. The US Postal Service then announced it would proceed with Trump’s scheme, but a federal judge subsequently issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the USPS from moving ahead. The legal fight is continuing, with mail-in voting due to begin within several weeks in some states.

So…chaos. Which is what Trump desires. Surely, he wants to succeed in severely limiting mail-in balloting—an obsession of his that seems patently unconstitutional, given that the founders handed the authority to run and oversee national elections only to the states and Congress. But he also triumphs if his shenanigans foster uncertainty.

It will be a disaster for democracy should Trump manage to win this legal battle and limit mail-in voting

Many voters do not follow the ins and outs of electoral law. As with most issues, they hear and see snatches of news and miss key developments and important details. It can be tough to be fully informed on this front. But if voters receive the impression that mail-in ballots might not count, might not be permitted, or might expose a voter to extra scrutiny, some voters might not bother to vote or might be intimidated from voting.

It will be a disaster for democracy should Trump manage to win this legal battle and limit mail-in voting. Eight states run elections primarily by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. So does Washington, DC. And several other states rely heavily on mail-in ballots. But even if the courts ultimately reject his assault on postal voting, the confusion he’s sowing could, to a degree, subvert the election.

Trump’s attack on mail-in ballots is only one front in his war on voting. He already has succeeded in pushing Republicans to gerrymander congressional districts ahead of schedule to tilt the playing field this year toward the GOP. The Trump administration also just announced it will deploy 1,000 election monitors to voting sites in November.

Past administrations have sent out monitors without causing disruptions. But given Trump’s adversarial stance toward state election authorities and his ceaseless pushing of bogus election conspiracy theories, there’s reason to worry that mischief and voter intimidation could be prompted by his supposed monitors.

There also has been speculation among Trump detractors that he might resort to stationing troops, National Guard forces, or ICE agents at polling places to scare off voters.

One cause for concern: The Justice Department’s civil rights division has apparently hired for its election monitoring project a lawyer named David Michael Levin, who in 2016 was charged in Florida with three felonies for allegedly hacking into government election sites. According to Democracy Docket, the charges were reduced to two misdemeanors, and he pleaded guilty and served 20 days in jail. Moreover, Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the civil rights division, which is responsible for election monitoring, is a 2020 election denier who pushed Trump’s false claims about that contest. Having her head an election monitoring mission would be like placing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the nation’s vaccine policies. Oh…wait.

There also has been speculation among Trump detractors that he might resort to stationing troops, National Guard forces, or ICE agents at polling places to scare off voters. If anything like this happens, Trump and the GOP will argue that citizens entitled to vote have no reason to fear the presence of ICE agents. But since ICE agents have rounded up American citizens—and often acted violently—their appearance at these sites would likely keep some voters away. Who wants to risk being erroneously apprehended or getting caught up in a violent ICE action—just for exercising their constitutional right to vote?

Such speculation is far from idle. Bobby Charles, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maine, recently said he would ask White House border czar Tom Homan to send ICE agents to the state’s polling stations. (In July, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national, was shot and killed by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine. He was mistakenly targeted by ICE agents who were looking for his roommate.) Trump and his minions don’t have to dispatch ICE on Election Day to frighten away voters; a public discussion of this prospect could be enough to keep some voters at home.

It’s so damn obvious but still deserves saying: Nothing this administration states about voting should be taken at face value.

Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has said that he would not deploy ICE agents to intimidate voters, but there’s no reason to accept his promise. After all, Trump and his entire administration have been promoting the baseless lie that election fraud is rampant and noncitizen voting is a significant problem. In a speech in July, Trump declared that DHS had identified 250,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls of four states. But since then, DHS has not been able to produce proof of this, and it has even acknowledged that the number was inflated.

It’s so damn obvious but still deserves saying: Nothing this administration states about voting should be taken at face value. Pushing his Big Lie about the 2020 election, Trump nearly annihilated the nation’s constitutional order. He mounted a disinformation campaign to discredit legitimate voting results and incited violence to stay in power. After that, screwing around with the midterms is peanuts for him. No one should be surprised that he will use whatever power he now has to rig the coming elections in his favor. All media coverage of his assault on mail-in voting and his other attempts to reduce voting participation should be presented within the context that Trump is a clear and present threat to democracy.

The US electoral system is a crazy quilt of state and local election authorities. It won’t be easy for Trump to meddle in hundreds of contests across the country—especially in Democratic-led states. Mail-in ballots may be his best shot. But with only 19 House seats deemed toss-ups at this point, Trump and his crew will only have to interfere in a handful of races to help his Republican cultists remain in charge of Congress.

These coming elections are not only significant because control of the legislative branch is at stake at a time of crisis. They will demonstrate whether the United States can have free and fair elections or whether Trump and the GOP will prevail in their ongoing endeavor to impose minority rule on America.

Quick Take

• The latest trailer for Street Fighter dives into the feud between Ryu and Ken.
• The film will spin kick its way into theaters on October 16.
• Nerdist’s Take: Street Fighter footage has looked awesome so far, and it seems all the right elements are in place for success.

Street Fighter is coming to the big screen this October for the ultimate tournament. The film has all the elements to be a hit: a dedicated fandom, a stellar cast and behind-the-scenes crew, and, based on what we’ve seen so far, the right amount of action, camp, and homage to the games. The latest trailer for Street Fighter dives into the film’s Ken vs. Ryu dynamic, from their ongoing feud to their inner wounds and future plans. And of course, we get to see our roster of fighters line up for the next World Warrior Tournament. 

It is 1993, and Ryu simply wants to vibe and have peace. He was once the greatest fighter in the world, but he doesn’t feel like that’s his pathway anymore. Then, there’s Ken, who is in danger and still grappling with what it was like to live in Ryu’s massive shadow. The only way that Ryu can save Ken is to use his fists and fight, of course. I particularly love how the new Street Fighter trailer uses a remixed version of Tupac’s “Ambitionz az a Ridah” that makes the song’s lyrics fit this narrative. This version is presumably the brainchild of 50 Cent, who stars in the film as Balrog.

Paramount Pictures/Capcom/Legendary

If you really want to get into the tournament, you can even play the Street Fighter trailer, thanks to this YouTube Playables link on Legendary’s page. Test your skills without having to put up a single quarter, and see how well you do.

RELATED ARTICLE

All the Easter Eggs We Caught in the STREET FIGHTER Trailer What Is the Release Date for the Street Fighter Movie?

Street Fighter is coming to theaters soon on October 16, and we can’t wait to see who claims victory.

Tai Gooden is the Features Editor for Nerdist, a fictional villain apologist, and a horror aficionado who is forever waiting for her trip in the TARDIS.Editor’s note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

The post STREET FIGHTER’s Latest Trailer Teases Ryu and Ken Feud appeared first on Nerdist.

Donald Trump has decided to take another sledgehammer to the White House—this time on the taxpayer’s dime.

The General Services Administration, under the White House’s guidance, has awarded government contracts to renovate the two-lane Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Politico reported Monday. On July 28, the GSA awarded nearly $253,000 to Charles Mann Enterprises to do some lighting work in the exclusive recreational spot. Weeks later, on August 18, the agency awarded the contractor another $8,800 for escort services to shuttle workers in and out of sensitive government areas.

Somehow, the development has not rattled budget-conscious Republicans in the slightest, despite the party’s previous aversion to the site’s renovation.

The last major renovation project proposed for the bowling alley was announced under President Barack Obama in 2014. At the time, the GSA told Time magazine that the lanes needed a rebuild as they were “irreparable.”

Hours after the article’s publication, the proposed renovation turned into a Washington brouhaha. Republican opposition to the remodel forced the GSA to cancel the project, and the Republican-controlled House went so far as to adopt an amendment prohibiting funding from being used to renovate the bowling alley.

Former Representative Pat Meehan called the renovation a “want,” not a “need.” Former Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus made a similar mockery of the proposed rebuild on Twitter, publishing a list of crossed-out governmental funding needs such as the economy and “securing the border.”

“Repair WH Bowling Alley✓,” Priebus wrote at the time.

But Republicans in Trump’s second term are comparatively nonplussed by the MAGA leader’s inordinate and unnecessary spending. Beyond the bowling alley job, Trump has razed the White House East Wing, started construction on a $600 million ballroom (the price of which keeps growing), gutted the Lincoln bathroom, transformed the Palm Room from a lush green foyer into a sterile lobby, and mowed down Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s famous Rose Garden in order to pave “paradise.”

The administration has also spent more than $16 million on an unsuccessful and rushed renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, announced plans for a 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery (estimated at more than $100 million), indiscriminately axed trees in the Washington area, and destroyed the Kennedy Center facade. It is also reportedly planning to destroy some 13 historic buildings on the grounds of former psychiatric hospital St. Elizabeths in order to expand facilities for the Department of Homeland Security.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is set to depart the Pentagon in the next few days, following a months-long feud with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the firings of several top officials and allegedly blocking many of his innovation projects like streamlined technology adoption. 

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news on Monday.

Driscoll’s resignation after serving for 18 months leaves the US Army effectively without a senior leader. Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April and has not nominated a replacement.

Hegseth has cut down the number of top military officials in his Defense Department. According to Military Times, since taking his post last January, he presided over the firings and early departures of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, the Army’s vice chief of staff, and the commander of the US Army in Europe and Africa, among others. 

While it’s unclear which firings Driscoll took issue with, Hegseth also fired the only two women serving as four-star officers and blocked promotions for several female and Black Navy officers, seemingly under his anti-diversity push. In early 2025, Hegseth said the firings were “a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national-security approach we want to take.”

“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. (Noting the emphasis on lethality.) 

Driscoll took his worries about the Army’s future under Hegseth’s leadership directly to President Trump, four people familiar with the discussion told The Atlantic, given the series of firings of top officers. One of the people said that Trump was surprised and expressed concern.

Hegseth is reportedly considering his chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell—who also allegedly abused his estranged wife and children—to succeed Driscoll. As I pointed out on Monday, Parnell criticized the Washington Post’s reporting that cited classified documents in which top military officials stated that the current war in Iran is depleting their ability to defend the US from other threats, baselessly claiming on Sunday that publishing the report was “a crime” and evidence of Trump and Pete Derangement Syndrome. 

This all looks like a move to replace officers who push back on Hegseth’s policies with loyalists.

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant, stepped into traffic in Springfield, Ohio, Monday and was killed. His family believes it was a suicide after he lost his Temporary Protected Status.

Ohio State Highway Patrol officials reported that Bel had pulled his car over on the right shoulder of I-70 Monday morning and then walked directly into oncoming traffic. He was struck by a large tractor-trailer and died from his injuries at the scene.

Bel had reportedly been distraught after he, like dozens of Haitians in Springfield, was called to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to be fitted with an ankle monitor following the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Springfield is home to a Haitian community of about 15,000, and a June Supreme Court decision permitted the Trump administration to cancel their TPS protections, despite the ongoing violence and insecurity in Haiti. Without TPS, Haitian residents have been ordered to wear ankle monitors and travel no further than 75 miles from their homes.

“I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone,” Bel wrote on Instagram on July 30. “Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.”

Bel was a recent honors high school graduate and a proud cadet in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He had just started classes as a freshman at Wright State University, where he wanted to study medicine and play soccer.

After being fitted with the ankle monitor, he was reportedly not given a JROTC uniform and could no longer comfortably play soccer.

“In his last days, I did not recognize him as he was such an energetic kid who loves life, friends and family, and education,” the 20-year-old’s father, Pierre Ronal Bel, told The Haitian Times. “It was his first week of classes, but he didn’t feel like he was learning because he was traumatized, so it’s because of ICE’s ankle monitor.… He would wear long pants or jeans whenever he went out so people wouldn’t make fun of him or look at him differently.”

“He felt like he was treated like an animal,” the grieving father added in a statement to The Washington Post.

Bel’s death has shocked and traumatized the Haitian community in Springfield and beyond. This is the same Haitian enclave that President Trump accused of eating cats and dogs on the campaign trail in 2024, and the community has been living in terror ever since the administration canceled TPS. Bel was scheduled for an asylum hearing in October, and reportedly did not want to return to Haiti due to the violence that caused his parents to flee in 2021.

“I’m supposed to be forgiving,” the Bel family’s pastor in Springfield, Carl Ruby, told the Post. “But right now as I sit with a broken family, I’m crying out to God for righteous judgment in those who made this happen.”

Former Customs and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino—who oversaw some of the Trump administration’s most violent immigration actions—was under internal investigation for allegedly lying about misconduct and antisemitic remarks when he retired back in March.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Bovino’s investigation was triggered by Judge Sarah Ellis, who last year called him out for lying on the stand about being hit in the head with a rock by protesters, which he used to justify his brutal use of tear gas against American citizens.

“I find the defendant’s evidence simply not credible,” Ellis said at the time. “Agents pushed, shoved, tackled protesters, pointed guns at them, threw tear gas and deployed smoke canisters. Everyone that agents detained [was] released by the FBI, and none of them are currently charged with assault.”

An internal federal investigator asked Bovino to answer questions about Ellis’s ruling in March just weeks before he retired. In that same inquiry, Bovino was also asked to respond to allegations that he used antisemitic language on a conference call in January. When Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, an Orthodox Jew, couldn’t make the call due to the Sabbath, a frustrated Bovino allegedly said “Do Orthodox criminals also take off on Saturday?” and used the term “chosen people” in a negative connotation.

Bovino’s tenure as CBP head was absolutely horrific. He tear-gassed men, women, and children. He called Latino immigrants “scum,” “filth,” and “trash,” while identifying as Native American (he is Italian American). Most notably, he claimed that Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, had intended to harm the CBP officers who shot him 10 times while he was pinned to the ground with his gun holstered. Since his exit, Bovino has accused the Trump administration of wanting him killed, and Trump himself of betraying his mass immigration goals.