Trump signs order to fast-track research on psychedelic drugs

(The Center Square) – Faith leaders and conservative groups want the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to change retirement rules they say hurt nonprofit and church workers.

In a letter sent Tuesday to SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins, the coalition requested that the agency allow 403(b) plans to invest in collective investment trusts, or CITs. Private-sector 401(k) plans already use those funds, but most 403(b) plans cannot.

The group says that the gap puts millions at a disadvantage.

“Our faith-based and nonprofit churches, organizations, and allies are among the 14.5 million Americans stuck with the short straw when it comes to retirement saving,” the letter says.

Workers at nonprofits, churches, and public schools rely on 403(b) plans. Those plans mostly limit investments to annuities and mutual funds.

The coalition says the restriction increases costs.

“While mutual funds offer this capability, their management fees are more than double most CITs, skimming precious dollars off the top of our retirement savings and shrinking our return on investment,” the letter says.

Lower fees can make a major difference over time.

“According to one study, just a 0.08% annual fee savings from access to CITs could recoup as much as $28,000 in retirement savings by age 65 for 403(b) plan participants,” the letter says.

The coalition says broader access would boost savings nationwide.

“Put differently, if CITs were allowed in all 403(b) plans, nonprofit workers could see an additional $525 million to $590 million in retirement savings each year,” the letter says.

CITs already play a major role in the private sector. The letter says they account for 38% of all 401(k) assets.

The group says the current rules make little sense.

“Denying access to CITs, for no reason other than the sector in which individuals work in, unfairly sacrifices our returns in the name of a head-scratching technicality,” the letter says.

Congress has already moved in this direction. Lawmakers passed the SECURE 2.0 Act in 2022, which removed tax barriers to CIT use in 403(b) plans. The INVEST Act has passed the House this session and awaits Senate action.

The coalition also pointed to public support.

“A recent national survey found nearly two-thirds of registered voters believe all retirement plans should provide access to the same investment options regardless of employer type,” the letter says.

The survey they cited came from BlackRock.

Signers of the letter include leaders from the American Center for Law and Justice, Faith Wins, and CatholicVote, along with former lawmakers. Notable lawmakers included former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, and former U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Illinois.

They want the SEC to act now.

“We ask that you act decisively to deliver the fairness, flexibility, and financial security American workers deserve,” the letter says.

Dozens of doctors, nurses and patients protested Wednesday outside a hospital in Ecuador's capital, expressing outrage at a health care system so overstretched that people undergoing surgery bring their own syringes and medication. 

One big source of anger is that last week the health ministry announced an unspecified number of dismissals from the state health care system, arguing that it needed to "optimize resources" after detecting cases of suspected overstaffing.

The Ecuadoran Medical Federation, a doctors' association, said as many as 1,200 doctors, nurses and administrative staffers were let go. The association vowed to hold nationwide protests against the health care crisis.

"We do not have what we need to work," said Juan Barriga, head of trauma treatment at Pablo Arturo Suarez Hospital, where the rally took place.

He said there are long waiting lists for people who need emergency operations and "patients buy what they need to undergo surgery."

Indeed, in Ecuador patients are known to bring their own medication, needles, suture thread and other equipment when they go to the hospital.

The dismissals will also affect health care at Ecuador's violent and overcrowded prisons, where a tuberculosis outbreak has been reported.

Outside the Quito hospital, doctors in white lab coats, nurses in uniform, patients and relatives carried signs with slogans such as "there are no supplies. No medicine, the health care system is collapsing."

Barriga said that at his hospital alone, one of the most important of the state health care system in Quito, more than 1,000 people are on a list waiting for surgery.

President Daniel Noba, a conservative in power since 2023 and staunch ally of US President Donald Trump, appointed his sixth health minister on Monday.

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Peru's foreign and defense ministers resigned on Wednesday in protest over the interim president's decision to stall a $3.5 billion deal for the purchase of 24 US F-16 fighter jets.

The ministers said the deal had already been signed and that to cast doubt on it now jeopardized Peru's reputation.

Their resignations deepen instability gripping the South American country, after a recent election to choose the country's ninth president in a decade descended into chaos.

No candidate emerged with an outright majority, meaning a runoff election will be held June 7.

Interim president Jose Maria Balcazar said Tuesday he would leave it up to the winner of the runoff to finalize the agreement.

Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela told RPP radio he stood down "because the political decision made by Mr Balcazar endangers our country and undermines its credibility."

He claimed the contracts for the F-16s had been signed on Monday and that an initial payment was due on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Carlos Diaz gave similar reasons for his resignation.

He said the purchase of jets was not political but "for the security and defense of the nation."

Balcazar, who replaced a previous interim leader who was impeached, said instead on Tuesday that there was "no purchase yet."

His term ends on July 28.

- US warning -

The US ambassador to Peru, businessman Bernardo Navarro, last week issued a warning widely believed to relate to the deal.

"If you deal with the US in bad faith and undermine US interests, rest assured, I, on behalf of @POTUS Trump and his administration, will use every available tool to protect and promote the prosperity and security of the United States and our region," he wrote on X.

In October 2024, Peru announced that it would renew its aging air defense fleet with the purchase of state-of-the-art fighter jets.

A state evaluation committee last year chose the F-16s over rival bids from France's Rafale and Sweden's Gripens, citing technical and geopolitical criteria.

Peru currently has 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft, according to defense publications.

Its combat fleet also includes Russian MiG-29s and Belarusian Sukhoi Su-27s, most of which are inoperative or in reserve.

The deal with the United States has become swept up in a presidential election marred by logistical problems, unsubstantiated fraud allegations and delays to the ballot count.

Ten days after Peruvians voted in the first round, it is still not known who will face off against conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in June's second round.

Ultraconservative former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga is locked a tight race with leftist ex-minister Roberto Sanchez for the second runoff spot.

Lopez Aliaga has alleged election fraud and called for the vote to be annulled.

The final results have been delayed by legal challenges.

The election was dominated by calls for a security crackdown to end an extortion epidemic and related wave of contract killings.

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Oscar De La Hoya and Muhammad Ali's grandson on Wednesday slammed proposed changes to federal boxing laws, warning a US Senate committee that the reforms would prioritize corporate profits and Saudi investors over fighters.

Approved last month by the House of Representatives, changes to the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act would allow the creation of Unified Boxing Organizations, or UBOs, in which a single entity can serve as governing body and promoter.

Supporters say the reforms simplify and streamline a fragmented and confusing sport that has lost ground in recent years to mixed martial arts, which operates under booming centralized leagues like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Witnesses at a Senate hearing accused boxing's multiple sanctioning bodies of corruption or extortion, pointing to fighters who have had title belts stripped over financial disputes, and said a unified code would boost in-ring safety.

But the changes -- which Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation chair Ted Cruz said he expects to introduce to the Senate "soon" -- were fiercely opposed by other witnesses, including former boxing great De La Hoya.

"This is a fundamental shift in power that if changed would put corporate profits first, fighters second," said De La Hoya, who now owns Golden Boy Promotions.

The Olympic boxing gold medalist turned professional world champion said the reforms "align directly" with Zuffa Boxing, a recently launched Saudi-owned boxing promoter that is a joint venture with UFC's parent company TKO Group Holdings.

"Zuffa Boxing is fully funded by Saudi Arabia. We've already seen how that kind of funding reshaped another sport through LIV Golf," said De La Hoya.

"We should be honest about what is happening here. That was sportswashing, a clear effort to use sports to reshape reputations."

He said reports that LIV Golf may soon lose its Saudi funding and could be on the brink of collapse "should serve as a warning." LIV Golf has denied those reports.

Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali and a professional boxer in his own right, also railed against the reforms.

He said the original Ali Act since 2000 has protected fighters from previously rampant anti-competitive and exploitative practices by promoters.

The proposed reforms would "undermine that principle" by replacing "an open market with a controlled structure."

He said UFC fighters "typically receive under 20 percent of the revenue, compared to boxing, where fighters can earn up to 80 percent."

"If this bill is passed in its current form, it should not have my grandfather's name on it," he said.

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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday alleged a vote in which Virginia backed a new electoral map that could favor Democrats was "rigged" -- echoing his false claims over the 2020 election.

"A RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT," Trump said on social media. "All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when, of course, there was a massive 'Mail In Ballot Drop!'"

The state voted in a referendum Tuesday to allow the redrawing of the congressional map, giving Democrats a strong advantage in 10 of the state's 11 House districts, up from their previous 6-5 edge.

The temporary map is the latest instance of "gerrymandering," the long-established but widely criticized US practice of drawing electoral boundaries to benefit one party.

Gerrymandering has become a defining element in November's midterm elections, in which all US House Representatives and one-third of Senators are on the ballot.

Redistricting usually follows the US national census every 10 years, but Trump last year urged Republican-led states to redraw maps mid-decade to protect the party's fragile House of Representatives majority.

Texas moved first, adopting a map that could add up to five Republican seats. California answered with a ballot measure designed to give Democrats five more of their own.

- Election fraud claims -

Democrats argued that the Virginia map was a necessary counterweight to Trump's pressure campaign, while Republicans denounced it as a power grab in a state where Trump took 46 percent of the vote in 2024.

"Six to five goes to ten to one, and yet the Presidential Election in November was very close to a 50-50 split," Trump said on Wednesday.

The 79-year-old Republican also criticized the Virginia election as confusing, writing: "In addition to everything else, the language on the Referendum was purposefully unintelligible and deceptive."

Trump heavily pushed the Texas redistricting effort, which was jammed through by the state legislature without a referendum.

A vocal critic of mail-in voting as a supposed cause of election fraud -- despite using it himself -- Trump for years has propagated the falsehood to justify his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

No evidence has been produced by any credible authority that the 2020 vote or any other was impacted by cheating.

Trump has been pushing Republicans to pass a sweeping overhaul of voting rules before November's midterm elections called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

The bill, which has already passed the House, faces steep obstacles in the Senate, where Republicans lack the votes to overcome Democratic opposition.

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(The Center Square) – Senate Republicans will kick off a vote-a-rama as soon as Wednesday evening on a budget resolution, unlocking a filibuster-proof way to fund ICE and Border Patrol.

The resolution contains instructions for crafting a budget reconciliation bill that can include up to $140 billion in annual appropriations for ICE and CBP over the next 3.5 years.

But the vote-a-rama allows senators to propose an unlimited number of amendments, and Democrats plan on making the most of it.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that lawmakers in his party “will have lots of amendments” related to cost of living policies and predicted “a reconciliation of reckoning” for Republicans.

“Republicans are about to learn the hard way that when they refuse to reduce costs, American families lose, and they lose,” Schumer said. “We are going to make them own this decision, amendment after amendment, vote after vote.”

Reconciliation is a last-ditch effort by Republicans to finish the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process and reopen the Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down now for 68 days.

Senate Democrats had refused to provide the necessary votes for the Homeland Security appropriations bill to pass unless Republicans included a litany of immigration enforcement reforms.

Though Republicans had eventually agreed to many of the reforms requested, such as requiring ICE agents to display I.D. and wear body cameras, they refused to budge on demands for additional warrant requirements and requiring localities’ consent before conducting migrant removal operations.

Negotiations finally crumbled completely and the Senate ended up passing a Homeland Security bill entirely stripped of ICE and CBP funding.

The House needs to approve the hybrid bill before DHS can reopen, but skeptical House Republicans are waiting for the isolated ICE and CBP funding to advance in the Senate via reconciliation before agreeing to the unconventional funding tactic.

Democrats and deficit watchdogs alike have condemned this unconventional use of the budget reconciliation process, with Schumer claiming Republicans are “helping destroy” the regular-order government funding process.

Schumer didn’t comment on whether Democrats intend to use the same tactic against Republicans if the balance of power flips. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., however, said Republicans are “setting a precedent for the future, and it’s going to be extremely difficult in the future for whoever ends up in the minority.”

(The Center Square) – Minnesota lawmakers are questioning U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme as investigations and prosecutions continue.

On Tuesday, the state House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee focused in on Omar’s sponsorship of federal legislation in 2020 that expanded access to child nutrition programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Committee chair Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, said she was frustrated with Omar’s refusal to testify or appear before the committee. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, also a Democrat, also did not appear.

“They are both key players in the child nutrition scandal and fraud – billions of our tax dollars that were stolen – and neither of them came to answer questions about their involvement," Robbins told The Center Square in an exclusive interview.

Omar's office ignored multiple inquires from the committee, while Ellison declined to come citing previous testimony he had given.

At the center of Republican concerns is Omar’s MEALS Act, which Republicans say removed key safeguards from the federal program.

“She took the guardrails off so billions of our tax dollars could be stolen,” Robbins said. “It was her particular bill…that got rid of the guardrails in this program.”

During the hearing, Robbins played a 2020 clip of Omar promoting the program to Somali-speaking constituents and praising a Minneapolis restaurant later tied to the fraud.

“I’m very thankful for Safari for being part of those places where food is being given out,” Omar said in the video. “Each day, Safari gives out 2,300 family and kids’ meals.”

Prosecutors later identified the restaurant as a major participant in the Feeding Our Future scheme, which authorities say siphoned more than $250 million from a taxpayer-funded child nutrition program.

Democrats on the panel defended Omar. State Rep. Dave Pinto, DFL-Saint Paul, said her actions during the pandemic were aimed at addressing food insecurity.

“I had the sense from looking at the video that her intention seemed pretty clear, which was to make sure that kids were fed,” Pinto said.

Robbins explained to The Center Square that the committee is ultimately working to establish a clearer insight into the fraud, even though prosecutions are up to law enforcement agencies like the FBI.

“I think it’s really important for Minnesotans to understand the history of this fraud,” she said, “and understand the role that our elected officials like Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison played.”

The committee is expected to send follow-up letters and continue its investigation, though it only has one hearing remaining this session. 

“We’re certainly going to send follow-up letters, and we’ll continue to do research and draw the threads,” Robbins said. “There’s so many unanswered questions.”

The Feeding Our Future case has been described by federal officials as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the country. Prosecutors allege a network of individuals and organizations exploited the program to claim reimbursements for meals that were never actually served.

Robbins said she is hopeful the committee is helping shine a light on the "web" of fraud in Minnesota, which she has previously told The Center Square is only the “tip of the iceberg.”

“Minnesotans want accountability, and they want the truth,” she said. “What was your involvement? What did you know?”

Robbins said public frustration is understandable, especially as key figures decline to testify.

“The fact that Representative Omar and Attorney General Ellison would not even come and answer questions…is what has Minnesotans so frustrated,” Robbins added. “They won’t even show up and take responsibility—or at least say why they’re not responsible…for the largest fraud scandal not only in our state, but in the country.”

Spending the past five days cooped up in a hotel in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not quite what a group of Latin Americans expected when they sought asylum in the United States.

But their predicament is far from the worst of it: the men and women told AFP on Wednesday that they arrived in Kinshasa after a 27-hour flight which they spent with their hands and feet shackled.

Gabriela, a 30-year-old Colombian sporting tattoos and clad like most of her fellow sufferers in a white T-shirt, summed up their plight.

"I didn't want to go to Congo. I'm scared, I don't know the language," she said.

She only found out where they were headed the day before being expelled from the United States.

The DRC -- one of a number of African nations that have agreed to take in deported migrants -- is one of the world's 15 poorest countries, thousands of kilometres from the Americas.

The first batch of deportees arrived last Friday in the central African country under a controversial US migration scheme to pack off undocumented foreign nationals to third countries.

Others include Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The scheme has often been accompanied by US financial or logistical support.

Yet scant information is provided by the authorities in the host countries about the migrants' fate once they arrive on their soil.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which takes charge of them once they have obtained short-stay visas, told AFP it can offer "assisted voluntary return to migrants who request it".

- Waiting -

Since their arrival in Kinshasa, a megacity of more than 17 million people, the 15 South American migrants have been whiling away their time in a complex near the airport.

Rows of neat, white-walled little houses stand side by side. The migrants sleep there and say they are forbidden to leave the premises.

Police and army vehicles are parked outside and on occasion personnel can be seen from a private military firm which AFP was unable to identify.

Cast adrift by US President Donald Trump's immigration policy, the migrants spend their days on their mobile phones, trying to contact their families.

None speaks French, the DRC's official language.

They claim to have received around $100 in aid from IOM officials but are not allowed any visitors.

"Several of our friends have taken ill -- as have I," said Gabriela.

"We've had fevers, vomiting and stomach problems. But we're told that's normal and that we must adapt."

Some have been given medication, but Gabriela said no healthcare worker has come to examine them.

Four residents of the hotel said they had been issued with a seven-day visa, extendable for three months.

But once the seven days are up, they said they are threatened with no further support, as well as with being left to fend for themselves.

"They've got us cornered because they tell us: if you don’t accept the repatriation programme, you'll be stuck in a mess here in Congo," said Gabriela, visibly upset.

"That is inhumane and unfair."

- Afraid -

The noisy chaos of the overcrowded Congolese capital reverberates behind the walls of the hotel.

A constant stream of minibuses and cars honk their horns on a potholed road that is surrounded by dilapidated buildings.

Most Kinshasa residents have no reliable access either to running water or electricity.

Nearly three-quarters of Congolese people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

The arrival of South American migrants has sparked strong reactions among civil society and on Congolese social media.

"I get three meals a day, the hotel staff cleans the rooms, and we're well protected," said Hugo Palencia Ropero, a 25-year-old Colombian who said he spent five months in US detention before being deported to the DRC.

But he added: "I'm more afraid of being here in Africa than in Colombia.

"If the seven days go by and we don't receive any further assistance, things will get very difficult for us, especially since we don't have work permits."

He said he was willing to accept "any travel document" just to "be able to leave this country".

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Cuban-American quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who led Indiana to the United States college football crown, is expected to be selected first overall by Las Vegas when the NFL Draft begins on Thursday.

The 91st edition of the annual allocation of unclaimed talent will be staged in Pittsburgh, with 257 players selected over seven rounds in the three-day event.

The Las Vegas Raiders have the first pick followed in order by the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.

The Raiders are in need of a top quarterback after going 3-14 last year, missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row and 21st time in 23 seasons. Not since winning the 2003 Super Bowl have the Raiders won a post-season game.

Mendoza, winner of the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player, led the Hoosiers to an unbeaten campaign and their first national crown.

He completed 273 of 379 passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns with only six interceptions while running 90 times for 276 yards and seven touchdowns.

Mendoza has spoken with Raiders part-owner Tom Brady, winner of a record seven Super Bowls as an NFL quarterback.

"He has mentioned that whatever quarterback they select... he is going to pour into them and give them advice," Mendoza said. "So I'm looking forward to that if I get selected to the Raiders."

Mendoza could follow in the footsteps of Mexican-American quarterback Jim Plunkett, the first Hispanic player selected with the first overall pick when he was taken by New England in 1971. Plunkett led the Raiders to Super Bowl victories in 1981 and 1984.

Mendoza will not attend the NFL Draft, choosing to be at home in Miami with his family to watch the draft in part for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis.

"My mom wanted to stay at home. It's easier. We'll be on a flight the next day at 7 a.m., so getting ready for that anyway," Mendoza said.

"I believe the best thing to do is spend it with the people who have made me who I am. I wanted to be there with everyone who has supported me on this football journey and for the start of this new opportunity."

The Raiders, who last had the top pick in 2007, have not said they will select Mendoza but have not shied away from major speculation the move is coming.

"A lot less energy spent on hypotheticals," Raiders general manager John Spytek said.

The Raiders have veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and a backup so Mendoza could learn slowly without being rushed into a starting role.

"Ideally you don't want (a rookie quarterback) to start from day one," Spytek said.

"It does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show."

- 'Best guy will play' -

If Mendoza was ready for the spotlight, however, he would not stay an understudy for long.

"Ultimately this is a meritocracy and the best guy will play," Spytek said. "It's just really hard to play really well at a young age. But we've seen plenty of quarterbacks do it recently."

Mendoza wants to peak after pre-season training camp for the September start of the season.

"My goal is to be the best quarterback come September," Mendoza said. "So day one, I'll be comfortable under center, staying in cadence and calling a play in the huddle.

"I want to try to eliminate some of those learning curves that might take a week or so for other rookie quarterbacks so I can be best fitted to the system I'm in."

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Peru's foreign and defense ministers resigned on Wednesday in protest over the decision by the government to stall a $3.5 billion deal for the purchase of 24 US F-16 fighter jets.

The ministers said Peru's reputation was in jeopardy after interim president Jose Maria Balcazar said Tuesday he had would leave it up to the winner of June's presidential runoff to finalize the agreement.

Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela told RPP radio he stood down "because the political decision made by Mr Balcazar endangers our country and undermines its credibility."

The minister claimed the contracts for the F-16s had already been signed and said putting them on hold now turned Peru into "a country that cannot be trusted in a negotiation process."

Defense Minister Carlos Diaz gave similar reasons for his resignation and said the purchase of jets was not political but "for the security and defense of the nation."

The US ambassador to Peru, Bernardo Navarro, last week issued a warning widely believed to relate to the deal.

"If you deal with the US in bad faith and undermine US interests, rest assured, I, on behalf of @POTUS Trump and his administration, will use every available tool to protect and promote the prosperity and security of the United States and our region," he wrote on X.

In October 2024, Peru announced that it would renew its ageing air defense fleet with the purchase of a fleet of state-of-the-art fighter jets.

Last February, a state evaluation committee chose the F-16s over rival bids from France for Rafale jets and Sweden for Gripens.

The contract has become swept up in a chaotic presidential election marked by logistical problems, unsubstantiated fraud allegations and delays to the ballot count.

Ten days after Peruvians voted in the first round, it is still not known who will face off conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in June's runoff.

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© Agence France-Presse