numbers

In most years, Social Security retirees receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and that’s likely to happen in 2026. COLAs are critical because without them, benefits would remain unchanged while the price of goods and services increase over time. Retirees would be left with far less buying power, and many would struggle to make ends meet since Social Security is an important income source for seniors.

COLAs aren’t the same from one year to the next, though. While the 2026 COLA hasn’t been announced, there are good estimates of what it’s going to be. Based on the existing data, it looks like the amount of the benefits increase is going to be different from the raise retirees got in 2025.

Here’s what next year’s COLA is likely to be, compared with the benefits bump you got in 2025.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

How will next year’s Social Security COLA compare?

The 2026 COLA will officially be announced on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. The Senior Citizens League estimates the cost-of-living adjustment will result in a 2.7% benefits increase.

A 2.7% increase would be a bit larger than the raise retirees got in 2025, when benefits rose 2.5%. However, it will be smaller than COLAs from recent memory, including the 3.2% benefit increase in 2024, the 8.7% raise in 2023, and the 5.9% COLA in 2022.

Unfortunately, while the COLA is on track to be larger in 2026 than in 2025, retirees may not see the full 2.7% increase in their payment because Medicare premiums are going to be rising as well — and by much more than they did in 2025.

In 2025, the standard premium for Medicare Part B rose $10.30, jumping from $174.70 in 2024 to $185.00 in 2025. In 2026, projections from the Medicare Board of Trustees suggest that Part B premiums will go up $21.50, from the current $185.00 all the way up to $206.50. This is one of the biggest year-over-year increases in the history of the program.

Unfortunately, since most people have Medicare premiums taken directly out of their Social Security checks, a good portion of the extra money that seniors get from the COLA will disappear.

For example, if someone had a $2,000 monthly benefit in 2024, this year’s 2.5% COLA would have given them around a $50 monthly raise, and they’d have lost $10.30 of it. Their check would have gone up by around $39.70.

Someone with a $2,000 check in 2025, on the other hand, could see their payments rise by 2.7% in 2026, or $54 per month. A $21.50 Medicare premium increase would leave them with only $32.50 extra each month.

This means the “bigger” benefits bump this year may be nothing but a mirage, and retirees could find themselves struggling to maintain buying power based on current levels of inflation.

Is a larger COLA good news or bad news?

The reality is, even aside from the Medicare issue, it isn’t good news that Social Security retirees are on track for a bigger COLA. That’s because cost-of-living adjustments are directly tied to a formula that measures how much the cost of goods and services is going up. A bigger raise means there are higher levels of inflation, and inflation generally isn’t good for older people on fixed incomes.

Many seniors also have money saved in retirement plans, and since people tend to be conservative with their investments during retirement, their returns may not outpace inflation by much when inflation is high. 

For now, seniors will need to simply wait and see what the official COLA announcement brings on Oct. 24. The news will offer insight into what their finances will look like in the coming year, but retirees should prepare for potential disappointment, even if the COLA amount looks good on paper.

Beyond the Numbers: Inside Nigeria’s Insecurity Tr | RSS.com

On The Crisis Room, we’re following insecurity trends across Nigeria.

Every week at HumAngle, we track the state of insecurity across Nigeria: the attacks, abductions, armed clashes, displacements, and the lives caught in between.

All of it feeds into the HumAngle Insecurity Tracker, a data-driven project documenting trends, patterns, and stories behind the numbers.

Today, we ask: What does an insecurity tracker reveal about the state of a country? What do these numbers say about security policies, responses, and the future of communities at risk? Our guests are two journalists who live at the intersection of data, storytelling, and accountability: Adejumo Kabir and Abdussamad Yusuf.

Hosts: Salma and Salim

Guests: Adejumo Kabir and Abdussamad Yusuf

Audio producer: Anthony Asemota

Executive producer: Ahmad Salkida

I don’t care whom you’re playing.

Seven-hundred fifty-five yards are a lot of yards.

That’s how much USC gained during its 59-20 victory over Georgia Southern on Saturday.

One-hundred thirty-two points are a lot of points.

USC receiver Ja’Kobi Lane evades Georgia Southern defensive back Tracy Hill Jr. during the Trojans’ win Saturday at the Coliseum.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

That’s how much USC has scored in its two games this season, including its blowout victory over Missouri State the week before.

If you want to believe the Trojans are better than they were in their previous two seasons, there are developments that could further convince you that you’re right. If you want to believe Lincoln Riley has elevated his team from mediocrity, there are statistics you could cite to support your observations.

There is also evidence to the contrary, of course.

The two games USC has played this season were more or less Rorschach tests.

The only indisputable truth to emerge was that Trojans receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane would be serious problems for every one of their opponents.

Everything else remained up for debate.

When you watched the Trojans trample over former Clay Helton’s Eagles at the Coliseum, were you encouraged by how quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 412 yards or concerned how badly he misfired on some of the handful of passes he didn’t complete?

Was your breath taken away by how Waymond Jordan changed direction in his 167-yard performance or did you gasp in horror when he fumbled on the opening drive?

Were you heartened by how USC scored every time it was in the red zone or alarmed by its three separate illegal-use-of-hands penalties on defense?

Did you see the 39-point margin of victory as an indication the Trojans are ready to take on the big boys or Georgia Southern’s four consecutive drives into their territory in the first half as a sign they will encounter trouble when the level of competition improves?

Riley was more measured in praising his team than he was a week ago.

“Definitely a lot of positives to take out of it,” Riley said.

However …

“Several things we have to clean up,” he said. “We had a couple of errors, I thought, especially with penalties where we have to be better as a football team, more disciplined as a football team.”

Riley warned his team of the consequences of failing to improve.

“It’s like I told the guys last night, there were plays we made last week that some weeks where if we’re not cleaner when we play more talented teams, the results are going to look like that,” he said. “And, so, we have to look at it through the lens of, ‘Did we do our best?’ We’re still a long ways off our best. That’s the No. 1 thing that showed up.”

Riley has sounded tone deaf at times during his three-plus years at USC, but this wasn’t one of them.

Mistakes could be punished by Michigan State, which will present the Trojans with their first real test on Sept. 20.

Mistakes could be punished by Illinois and Notre Dame and Oregon.

USC coach Lincoln Riley directs his team from the sideline during the Trojans’ win over Georgia Southern Saturday.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

Mistakes probably won’t be punished by UCLA, which has been turned into a complete Dumpster fire by athletic director Martin Jarmond, but that’s another story for another day.

For what it’s worth, Georgia Southern’s coach offered an optimistic view of USC’s ceiling. Helton was the Trojans’ head coach for five-plus seasons and still follows the program.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s a better personnel team than last year, especially, I think, offensively,” Helton said.

He pointed specifically to receivers Lemon and Lane, and running backs Jordan and Eli Sanders.

“And the quarterback [Maiava] is playing really, really within himself. You can see reps and experience matter,” Helton continued. “I’ve always thought that, and the experience he had last year, you see his growth.

“They’ve got a good situation here. You can see the changes that have been made from last year’s personnel group to this year’s personnel group, and talking with Coach Riley, I know he’s happy. He’s getting the opportunity to coach a lot more, he said, and you can see it. You can see it on tape.”

Helton still considers himself a champion of USC, and what he saw the Trojans do against his team on Saturday night gave him hope for what they might be able to accomplish this season.

“I hope,” Helton said, “they go win it all.”

THE NATIONAL Lottery results are in and it’s time to find out who has won a life-changing amount of money tonight (September 3, 2025).

Could tonight’s £5million jackpot see you handing in your notice, jetting off to the Bahamas or driving a new Porsche off a garage forecourt?

3

3

You can find out by checking your ticket against tonight’s numbers below. Good luck!

Tonight’s National Lottery Lotto winning numbers are: 07, 15, 18, 22, 31, 54 and the Bonus Ball is 28.

Tonight’s National Lottery Thunderball winning numbers are: 04, 06, 13, 29, 33 and the Thunderball is 13.

The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778.

The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket holder was £42million, won in 1996.

Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, won £41million in November, 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool.

Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000.

Sandra Devine, 36, accidentally won £300k – she intended to buy her usual £100 National Lottery Scratchcard, but came home with a much bigger prize.

The biggest jackpot ever to be up for grabs was £66million in January last year, which was won by two lucky ticket holders.

Another winner, Karl managed to bag £11million aged just 23 in 1996.

The odds of winning the lottery are estimated to be about one in 14million – BUT you’ve got to be in it to win it.

3

WASHINGTON — For all of President Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators last week told a potentially worrisome story as the effects of his policies are coming into focus.

Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared with last year.

More than six months into his term, Trump’s blitz of tariff hikes and his new tax-and-spending bill have remodeled America’s trading, manufacturing, energy and tax systems to his liking. He’s eager to take credit for any perceived wins and is hunting for someone else to blame if the financial situation starts to totter.

But as of now, this is not the boom the Republican president promised, and his ability to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for any economic challenges has faded as the world economy hangs on his every word and social media post.

When Friday’s monthly jobs report turned out to be decidedly bleak, Trump ignored the warnings in the data and fired the head of the agency that produces the report.

“Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump said on his social media platform, without offering evidence for his claim. “The Economy is BOOMING.”

It’s possible that the disappointing numbers are growing pains from the rapid transformation caused by Trump and that stronger growth will return — or they may be a preview of even more disruption to come.

A political gamble

Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs, executive actions, spending cuts and tax code changes carry significant political risk if he is unable to deliver middle-class prosperity. The effects of his new tariffs are still several months away from rippling through the economy, right as many Trump allies in Congress will be campaigning in the midterm elections.

“Considering how early we are in his term, Trump’s had an unusually big impact on the economy already,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist at Firehouse Strategies. “The full inflationary impact of the tariffs won’t be felt until 2026. Unfortunately for Republicans, that’s also an election year.”

The White House portrayed the blitz of trade frameworks leading up to Trump’s tariff announcement Thursday as proof of his negotiating prowess. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and other nations that the White House declined to name agreed that the U.S. could increase its tariffs on their goods without doing the same to American products. Trump simply set rates on other countries that lacked settlements.

The costs of those tariffs — taxes paid on imports to the U.S. — will be most felt by American consumers in the form of higher prices, but to what extent remains uncertain.

“For the White House and their allies, a key part of managing the expectations and politics of the Trump economy is maintaining vigilance when it comes to public perceptions,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist.

Just 38% of adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a July poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. That’s down from the end of Trump’s first term when half of adults approved of his economic leadership.

The White House paints a rosier image, casting the economy as emerging from a period of uncertainty after Trump’s restructuring and repeating the economic gains seen in his first term before the pandemic struck.

“President Trump is implementing the very same policy mix of deregulation, fairer trade, and pro-growth tax cuts at an even bigger scale — as these policies take effect, the best is yet to come,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.

Hints of trouble

The economic numbers over the last week show the difficulties that Trump might face if the numbers continue on their current path:

— Friday’s jobs report showed that U.S. employers have shed 37,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump’s tariff launch in April, undermining prior White House claims of a factory revival.

— Net hiring has plummeted over the last three months with job gains of just 73,000 in July, 14,000 in June and 19,000 in May — a combined 258,000 jobs lower than previously indicated. On average last year, the economy added 168,000 jobs a month.

— A Thursday inflation report showed that prices have risen 2.6% over the year that ended in June, an increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index from 2.2% in April. Prices of heavily imported items, such as appliances, furniture and toys and games, jumped from May to June.

— On Wednesday, a report on gross domestic product — the broadest measure of the U.S. economy — showed that it grew at an annual rate of less than 1.3% during the first half of the year, down sharply from 2.8% growth last year.

“The economy’s just kind of slogging forward,” said Guy Berger, senior fellow at the Burning Glass Institute, which studies employment trends. “Yes, the unemployment rate’s not going up, but we’re adding very few jobs. The economy’s been growing very slowly. It just looks like a ‘meh’ economy is continuing.”

Attacks on the Fed

Trump has sought to pin the blame for any economic troubles on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the Fed should cut its benchmark interest rates — even though doing so could generate more inflation.

Trump has publicly backed two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, for voting for rate cuts at Wednesday’s meeting. But their logic is not what the president wants to hear: They were worried, in part, about a slowing job market.

But this is a major economic gamble being undertaken by Trump and those pushing for lower rates under the belief that mortgages will also become more affordable as a result and boost homebuying activity.

His tariff policy has changed repeatedly over the last six months, with the latest import tax numbers serving as a substitute for what the president announced in April, which provoked a stock market sell-off. It might not be a simple one-time adjustment as some Fed board members and Trump administration officials argue.

‘Universal tariffs’

Of course, Trump can’t say no one warned him about the possible consequences of his economic policies.

Biden, then the outgoing president, did just that in a speech in December at the Brookings Institution, saying the cost of the tariffs would eventually hit American workers and businesses.

“He seems determined to impose steep, universal tariffs on all imported goods brought into this country on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than the American consumer,” Biden said. “I believe this approach is a major mistake.”

Boak and Rugber write for the Associated Press.

US President Trump alleged that the data had been manipulated to make him look bad.

United States President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

Trump later posted: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

After his initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director.

“I support the President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Friday’s jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump’s tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president’s tariffs.

“What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,” Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech.

Revisions to hiring data

Trump has sought to attack institutions that rely on objective data for assessing the economy, including the Federal Reserve and, now, the BLS. The actions are part of a broader mission to bring the totality of the executive branch – including independent agencies designed to objectively measure the nation’s wellbeing – under the White House’s control.

McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the commissioner of the BLS in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms, but since they are political appointees, they can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 percent lower on Friday.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors – with millions of dollars at stake – have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.

THE draw for tonight’s National Lottery EuroMillions (August 1, 2025) has taken place, with life-changing cash prizes at stake.

Check the results to see if you have just won a fortune and bagged enough to start that jet-set lifestyle you always dreamed of.

2

Every EuroMillions ticket also bags you an automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker, which guarantees at least one player will pocket £1million in every draw.

You can find out if you’re a winner by checking your ticket against tonight’s numbers below.

Tonight’s National Lottery EuroMillions winning numbers are: 04, 16, 25, 29, 30 and the Lucky Stars are: 02, 10. 

The UK Millionaire Maker Selection winner is: TGLL13138.

Tonight’s National Lottery Thunderball winning numbers are: 02, 09, 20, 23, 27 and the Thunderball is 13.

The first EuroMillions draw took place on February 7, 2004, by three organisations: France’s Française des Jeux, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado in Spain and the Camelot in the UK.

One of the UK’s biggest prizes was up for grabs on December, 4, 2020 with a whopping £175million EuroMillions jackpot, which would make a winner richer than Adele.

Another previous UK winner who’s whole life was altered with their jackpot was a player who wanted to remain anonymous on October 8, 2019. They walked off with a cool £170,221,000.

Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Scotland, netted a huge £161,653,000 in the July 12, 2011.

Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Haverhill, Suffolk, picked up £148,656,000 after they played the draw on August, 10, 2012, while Jane Park became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she scooped up £1 million in 2013.

The odds of winning any EuroMillions prize are 1 in 13.

Could tonight’s jackpot of £145 million see you handing in your notice and swapping the daily commute for slurping champagne on a super yacht or lying back on a private beach in the Bahamas?

2

WASHINGTON — Eric Hildenbrand has noticed prices continue to rise this year with President Trump in the White House.

The San Diego resident doesn’t blame Trump, however, his choice for president in 2024, but says Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats who control the state are at fault.

“You can’t compare California with the rest of the country,” said Hildenbrand, 76. “I don’t know what’s going on in the rest of the country. It seems like prices are dropping. Things are getting better, but I don’t necessarily see it here.”

Voters like Hildenbrand, whose support of the Republican president is unwavering, help explain Trump’s polling numbers and how they have differed from other presidents’ polling trajectory in significant ways. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in March found that 42% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s job performance. That is a lower rating than those of other recent presidents at the beginning of their second terms, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush.

The most recent AP-NORC poll, from July, puts Trump at 40% approval. While that is not a meaningful change from March, there is some evidence that Trump’s support may be softening, at least on the margins. The July poll showed a slight decrease in approval of his handling of immigration since earlier in the year. Some other pollsters, such as Gallup, show a downward slide in overall approval since slightly earlier in his term, in January.

But even those shifts are within a relatively narrow range, which is typical for Trump. The new AP-NORC polling tracker shows that Trump’s favorability rating has remained largely steady since the end of his first term, with between 33% and 43% of U.S. adults saying they viewed him favorably across more than five years.

Those long-term trends underscore that Trump has many steadfast opponents. But loyal supporters also help explain why views of the president are hard to change even as he pursues policies that most Americans do not support, using an approach that many find abrasive.

Persistently low approval numbers

Trump has not had a traditional honeymoon period in his second term. He did not in his first, either.

An AP-NORC poll conducted in March 2017, two months into his first term, showed that 42% of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” approved of his performance. That is largely where his approval rating stayed over the course of the next four years.

The recent slippage on immigration is particularly significant because that issue was a major strength for Trump in the 2024 election. Earlier in his second term, it was also one of the few areas where he was outperforming his overall approval. In March, about half of U.S. adults approved of his handling of immigration. But the July AP-NORC poll found his approval on immigration at 43%, in line with his overall approval rating.

Other recent polls show growing discontent with Trump’s approach on immigration. A CNN/SSRS poll found that 55% of U.S. adults say the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally, an increase of 10 percentage points since February.

“I understand wanting to get rid of illegal immigrants, but the way that’s being done is very aggressive,” said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, N.C., who did not vote in the 2024 election. “And that’s why people are protesting, because it comes off as aggression. It’s not right.”

Ratings of Trump’s handling of the economy, which were more positive during his first term, have been persistently negative in his second term. The July poll found that few Americans think Trump’s policies have benefited them so far.

Even if he is not a fan of everything Trump has done so far, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque is giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, likes what he is seeing from the president overall, though he has his concerns both on style and substance, particularly Trump’s social media presence and his on-again, off-again tariffs. Nichols also does not like the push to eliminate federal agencies such as the Education Department.

Despite his occasional disagreements with Trump, though, Nichols said he wants to give the president space to do his job, and he trusts the House and Senate, now run by Republicans, to act as a safeguard.

“We put him into office for a reason, and we should be trusting that he’s doing the job for the best of America,” Nichols said.

Overall views are steady

Trump has spent the last six months pushing far-reaching and often unpopular policies. Earlier this year, Americans were bracing themselves for higher prices as a result of his approach to tariffs. The July poll found that most people think Trump’s tax and spending bill will benefit the wealthy, while few think it will pay dividends for the middle class or people like them.

Discomfort with individual policies may not translate into wholesale changes in views of Trump, though. Those have largely been constant through years of turmoil, with his favorability rating staying within a 10-percentage point range through his widely panned handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a felony conviction and an attempted assassination.

To some of his supporters, the benefits of his presidency far outweigh the costs.

Kim Schultz, 62, of Springhill, Fla., said she is thrilled with just about everything Trump is doing as president, particularly his aggressive moves to deport anyone living in the country illegally.

Even if Trump’s tariffs eventually take effect and push prices up, she said she will not be alarmed.

“I’ve always had the opinion that if the tariffs are going to cost me a little bit more here and there, I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.

Across the country, Hildenbrand dislikes Trump’s personality and his penchant for insults, including those directed at foreign leaders. But he thinks Trump is making things happen.

“More or less, to me, he’s showing that he’s on the right track,” he said. “I’m not in favor of Trump’s personality, but I am in favor of what he’s getting done.”

Thomson-Deveaux and Cooper write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and Phoenix, respectively.

News about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests seems to flow as if emanating from an unending tap.

That makes it difficult, at times, to pick up on important topics and issues.

I’m going to use this space to highlight a few articles from my colleagues focusing on the potential growth of ICE in the coming years, new tools that federal agents can use to expand crackdowns, and what the actual numbers say.

Trump wants to hire 10,000 ICE agents

My colleague Andrea Castillo dove into the numbers and reality of an agent hiring spree.

The massive funding bill signed into law this month by President Trump earmarks about $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement, including tens of billions for new deportation agents and other personnel.

During his first term, when Trump called for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire 15,000 people collectively, a July 2017 report by the Homeland Security inspector general found significant setbacks.

In 2017, ICE hired 371 deportation officers from more than 11,000 applications and took 173 days on average to finalize hires, the news outlet Government Executive reported. According to Cronkite News, Border Patrol shrunk by more than 1,000 agents after Trump left office in 2021.

The Homeland Security inspector general concluded that to meet the goal of 10,000 new immigration officers, ICE would need more than 500,000 applicants. For CBP to hire 5,000 new agents, it would need 750,000 applicants.

Castillo added that past and potentially future corruption, the prospect of lowering hiring standards and competition with other police agencies make Trump’s hiring goal an uphill battle.

For more, check out her entire article here.

ICE is accessing Medicaid records

My colleagues Jenny Jarvie and Hannah Fry noted that the Trump administration is forging ahead with a plan to hand over the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients to Homeland Security personnel seeking to track down people living in the U.S. illegally.

The huge trove of private information includes home addresses, Social Security numbers and ethnicities of 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

The plan, which has not been announced publicly, is the latest step by the Trump administration to deliver on its pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants a day.

California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff warned last month of potential violations of federal privacy laws as Trump officials made plans to share personal health data.

Undocumented immigrants are not permitted to enroll in Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for low-income individuals.

However, federal law requires states to offer emergency Medicaid, coverage that pays for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to everyone, including non-U.S. citizens.

Check out the full article here.

Homeland Security says it arrested 2,800 undocumented people between early June and July

Colleagues Michael Wilner and Rachel Uranga reported on the number of people picked up in the Greater Los Angeles area by Homeland Security.

Federal authorities said earlier that 1,618 undocumented immigrants had been detained between June 6 — the start of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation in Los Angeles — and June 22. That total increased by nearly 1,200 arrests in just over two weeks. Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines in the city days after the operation began amid heated protests.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials have repeatedly criticized federal operations for terrorizing immigrant communities, where business has slowed and many have holed up in their homes.

The president’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles has been a test case for his administration as it presses the bounds of executive authority, deploying federal agents and the military to a major metropolitan city with leadership hostile to its cause.

For more, here’s the complete article.

The week’s biggest stories

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

East Los Angeles Sheriff’s station explosion

Crime, courts and policing

Housing and the environment

More big stories

This week’s must reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)

Going out

Staying in

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

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