What happened today - 22 April 2025
Just as a heads up—because I wasn’t paying close enough attention, I accidentally clicked something on Facebook and ended up getting hacked. (it looked SO legit, ugh) So far, I’ve lost about $900 because of this, and I’m still fighting to get that money back. It’s going to take about 7-10 days before my account is cleared/verified and I can get back to broadly sharing across groups like I have been. In the meantime, I’d really appreciate it if you could help spread the truth by sharing my updates however you can and only if you agree with the message. Thanks for your support! <again, I welcome any corrections as I am pretty meticulous to ensure only facts are shared with these updates>
What happened today – 22 April 2025
Today’s Themes
Update on NC Cleanup (Helene)
Secretary of Homeland Security…how secure is her security detail?!
Make more babies!
American citizens being targeted to leave…
Hegseth is still the Golden Boy
Karoline did NOT have her cross on today, so she was well caffeinated and ready to help spread the propaganda machine.
Mayou Angelo and more….banned at the Naval Academy
What’s going on with the Trade War
The Market
Gutting of Weather and Climate Research
The Pope and what’s next
RFK and Autism Research
Military Morale
Update on NC Cleanup (Helene)
The CDC fired their disaster team for the Hurricane Helene cleanup in North Carolina on April 1, 2025. Talk about bad timing—they got cut the exact day they were supposed to start going door-to-door in Buncombe County to check in on people and help with recovery. This wasn’t just a random decision either; it was part of a bigger wave of federal budget cuts that hit health agencies hard that morning and basically brought the recovery work to a halt.
The CDC’s disaster response unit lost a ton of staff, which meant the local health department in North Carolina lost the backup they really needed. Because of these cuts, the CDC’s planned surveys and other post-hurricane help never happened, and local officials were left scrambling to figure out how to help folks on their own.
Eleven days later Trump denied North Carolina’s request for a six-month extension of FEMA disaster aid on Friday, April 11, 2025. Governor Josh Stein announced that day that FEMA, under Trump’s administration, officially rejected the state’s appeal to extend the 100% reimbursement period for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, saying the extension was “not warranted.” This decision left many local officials and residents frustrated, as they were still struggling with cleanup and rebuilding six months after the hurricane and with no facts from the people actually living there due to the 1 April firings in the CDC.
Secretary of Homeland Security…how secure is her security detail?!
Kristi Noem—who’s now the Secretary of Homeland Security—had her purse stolen right at her table while she was out to dinner with her family at Capital Burger in D.C. The wild part is, this happened with her Secret Service detail sitting nearby, and neither she nor her security team noticed it happening.
She didn’t get the purse back. As of her last update, the investigation was still ongoing.
What was in the purse? Quite a bit: $3,000 in cash (she said it was for family dinners and Easter gifts), her driver’s license, passport, apartment keys, her DHS access badge (which gets her into secure government buildings), credit cards, blank checks, medication, and her makeup bag. The Secret Service is still looking into it, but as of now, none of it has been recovered.
Make more babies!
While the White House is looking at ways to encourage women to have more children—like cash bonuses, tax breaks, and making IVF more accessible—there are some big flaws with these ideas.
First, history shows that these kinds of incentives don’t usually make a big or lasting difference in birth rates. Even in countries that offer generous family support or direct payments, the bump in births is usually small and doesn’t stick around for long. Experts say things like paid leave or IVF funding might help a little, but not enough to really reverse the trend of declining birth rates.
There are also a lot of practical issues with how these policies would actually work, especially for people who rely on government healthcare like the VA or TRICARE. For veterans and active-duty service members, getting fertility treatments like IVF is already tough. The VA and TRICARE only cover IVF in very limited situations—usually only if you have a service-connected injury that caused infertility, and you have to use your own eggs or sperm. That leaves a lot of people out, especially those with more complicated medical histories or who need alternative paths to parenthood.
On top of that, with all the political back-and-forth about what healthcare services should be covered, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what benefits will actually be available in the future. This makes it hard for people to plan or count on getting the help they need.
So, while the administration’s push to boost birth rates sounds simple, it’s actually pretty complicated—and for veterans and others who rely on the VA or TRICARE, the current system can be a real mess to navigate.
American citizens being targeted to leave…
This is why AI and careless decisions are an awful idea - Dr. Lisa Anderson, a doctor from Cromwell, Connecticut, got a pretty shocking email from the Department of Homeland Security basically telling her, “It’s time for you to leave the United States.” At first, she thought it was just spam, but it turned out to be real—sent straight from federal immigration authorities.
The thing is, Dr. Anderson is a U.S. citizen, born in Pennsylvania, and she’s never had any trouble with the law or immigration. Getting that kind of message freaked her out. Now, on her lawyer’s advice, she carries her passport everywhere and is working with an immigration attorney—something she never thought she’d need as someone born and raised here.
She’s not the only one, either. Other U.S. citizens, including a Boston immigration attorney, have gotten similar emails lately. DHS says these messages were meant for people without legal status, but apparently, if someone put down a U.S. citizen’s contact info by mistake, the notice could end up in the wrong inbox. Customs and Border Protection says they’re keeping an eye on it and will fix mistakes case by case.
Local leaders, like Cromwell’s mayor and State Senator Matt Lesser, are calling this a huge screw-up and want it fixed ASAP. They’re saying it’s a pretty big violation of people’s rights. Dr. Anderson’s story has people worried that there might be more citizens out there who got these emails and just deleted them, not realizing it could cause real problems.
Hegseth is still the Golden Boy
Karoline Leavitt and the White House have come out swinging in support of Hegseth, calling this whole thing a “smear campaign” and blaming disgruntled Pentagon employees for leaking the story. But the fact remains: Hegseth shared classified military details—not just with a reporter who was accidentally added to a Signal chat, but in a second group chat that included his own family members.
Let’s be clear on why this is so dangerous. Sharing sensitive operational details, especially about something as serious as U.S. airstrikes, on an unsecured app and with people who have absolutely no clearance is a massive breach of security. This isn’t just a technicality. It puts lives at risk, undermines missions, and signals to our adversaries that our top leaders don’t take security seriously.
Anyone else with a security clearance who did this would be out the door immediately. No questions asked. They’d lose their clearance, be fired, and likely face criminal charges. Just look at what happened to Jack Teixeira—he’s facing 15 years in prison for leaking classified info. The rules are crystal clear for everyone else, but apparently, not if you’re at the very top.
So, while the administration wants to dismiss this as political infighting, the reality is that Hegseth’s actions are a textbook example of what not to do with classified information. If it were anyone else, they’d already be charged with a crime. This double standard is not just unfair—it’s dangerous.
Karoline did NOT have her cross on today, so she was well caffeinated and ready to help spread the propaganda machine.
- When reporters asked her about the freeze on federal grants and how it could hurt programs like Meals on Wheels and heating assistance for low-income families, she basically dodged the question. She accused the press of asking “hypotheticals” and wouldn’t give a straight answer, even when they gave her specific examples. She just kept repeating that “direct assistance” wouldn’t be touched, but wouldn’t say what happens to everything else that people actually depend on.
- On immigration, she went off and said that everyone ICE arrests is a criminal because “they broke our nation’s laws.” She totally ignored the fact that not every immigration violation is a crime—some are civil, not criminal. But she just doubled down and kept pushing that line, which is just flat-out misleading.
- She threw in a weird dig at the last administration, bragging that “the president is the best spokesperson this White House has” and that the previous president couldn’t have handled a long press conference and signed executive orders at the same time like Trump supposedly does. It was just pointless trash talk.
- When asked about stripping lifetime security from people like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo—even though there are real threats from Iran—she brushed it off and said they can just get private security if they’re worried. She made it clear Trump stands by that decision, no matter what Congress or anyone else says about the risks.
- On the economy, she hyped up “Trump speed” trade deals and promised an “energy boom,” but gave zero details or proof. Just a lot of vague talk about “progress” and how things are about to get better, with no real answers.
- She also took a shot at the press, saying she’s all about the truth and expects everyone else to be, too. Then she accused the media of spreading lies about Trump and his family.
- And when someone brought up that fewer international visitors are coming to the U.S., she just dismissed the actual numbers and claimed the U.S. is safer now and a better place to do business than it was four years ago—just another chance to take a swipe at the previous administration instead of actually answering the question.
Today’s briefing was just more of the same—deflecting, blaming, and spinning, with almost zero real answers or accountability.
Mayou Angelo and more….banned at the Naval Academy
The Naval Academy just yanked almost 400 books—381 to be exact—from its library, all because of a Trump executive order that was supposed to target K-12 schools, not colleges. But thanks to Hegseth, the order got pushed onto the Academy, and now anything even remotely related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is getting pulled off the shelves.
We’re not talking about fringe stuff here. They banned *How to Be an Antiracist* by Ibram X. Kendi, *I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* by Maya Angelou, books about the Ku Klux Klan and lynching, LGBTQ+ rights, gender identity, and even the Holocaust. Stacey Abrams’ memoir? Gone. Books about body image? Gone. They used keyword searches to flag anything that might be “problematic,” and then just swept it all up.
This is dangerous for a few big reasons:
- It’s flat-out censorship. Pulling hundreds of books that deal with race, gender, history, and social issues is a direct attack on academic freedom. The whole point of a college—especially a military academy—is to challenge future leaders to think critically and see the world from different perspectives. If you’re banning books, you’re basically telling them what they’re allowed to think.
- It erases voices and real history. By targeting books on racism, gender, and inequality, you’re shutting out the stories and experiences that actually matter in the real world. How are these future officers supposed to lead a diverse military if they’re only allowed to read one side of the story?
- It kills critical thinking. Banning books sends the message that you can’t handle tough topics or uncomfortable ideas. That’s not what leadership is about. Leaders need to be able to think for themselves, question things, and make up their own minds—not just parrot what they’re told.
- It’s insulting to the cadets. If you don’t trust them to read Maya Angelou or learn about the history of racism, how can you trust them with national security? It’s like the Pentagon is saying, “We don’t think you can handle the truth.”
People from both sides of the aisle are calling this out as a blatant attack on the First Amendment and academic freedom. Alumni and even some in Congress are furious, and rightfully so. This isn’t just about a few books—it’s about whether we want our military leaders to be informed, thoughtful, and ready for the real world, or just shielded from anything that doesn’t fit the current political narrative.
Pulling these books is not just dumb, it’s dangerous. It undermines everything the Naval Academy is supposed to stand for. USAFA and West Point have started their library review.
What’s going on with the Trade War
So now the White House is bragging about having 18 trade proposals “on paper” from other countries. Karoline Leavitt is out there saying the administration’s trade team has been in talks with officials from 34 countries just this week, and they’re pushing to get deals done at “Trump speed.” They’re even hinting at a possible deal with China, even though right now we’re basically in a full-blown tariff war—U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are at 145%, and China’s hitting back with 125% tariffs on our stuff.
But let’s be real: these are just proposals, not actual deals. Nothing’s been signed, and even the administration admits that the big negotiations (especially with China) haven’t even started yet. Treasury Secretary Bessent is openly saying this trade war can’t go on, and everyone knows what they’re doing right now just isn’t working. The markets are shaky, the IMF just downgraded the U.S. growth forecast, and regular people are feeling the pain from higher prices and lost jobs.
So while the administration is trying to act grateful and spin this as progress, it’s pretty obvious they’re scrambling because their current approach is failing. They’re finally admitting that the tariffs and tough talk aren’t getting results, and now they’re desperate to show they’re doing something different. The fact that they’re hyping up “proposals” instead of actual signed deals says it all—they know what they’ve been doing isn’t working, and they’re trying to save face before things get worse.
The Market today
The market came roaring back today after getting hammered on Monday. The Dow jumped over 1,000 points at one stage and ended up 2.66%. The S&P 500 closed up 2.51% at 5,287.76, and the Nasdaq was up 2.7%.
What’s driving it? Basically, there’s fresh hope that the U.S.-China trade war might finally be cooling off. Treasury Secretary Bessent came out and said the current situation can’t go on, and that was enough to get investors buying again—especially in tech and blue-chip stocks. It helped claw back a lot of the losses from earlier in the week.
Huge bounce today. People are feeling a little more optimistic, at least for now, that the trade mess might finally get sorted out.
Gutting of Weather and Climate Research
Trump is absolutely gutting weather and climate research, especially at NOAA—the agency that basically keeps us safe from everything from hurricanes to wildfires. The risks here are huge, and honestly, it’s hard to overstate just how reckless this is.
Here’s what’s going on:
- Major budget cuts: The administration is slashing NOAA’s budget by more than a quarter. That means less money for the people and the technology that actually track and predict our weather and climate.
- Firing scientists: Hundreds of top meteorologists and climate experts have already been shown the door, and more cuts are coming. Local weather offices are running on fumes, with way too few people to do the job.
- Killing research and partnerships: They’re shutting down weather and climate labs, cutting off funding to universities, and ending grants for climate research. Even regional climate centers and educational programs are on the chopping block.
- Privatizing forecasts: There’s even talk of making people pay for basic weather forecasts and warnings—stuff that’s now free and literally saves lives.
Why is this so dangerous?
- Less accurate forecasts = more people at risk. If we don’t have the people or the research, our forecasts get worse. That means less warning for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires. People won’t have time to get out of the way, and more lives and property will be lost.
- Big hit to the economy. Farmers, truckers, airlines, insurance companies—you name it—depend on NOAA’s data. If forecasts get less reliable, everyone pays the price, literally.
- We fall behind globally. NOAA is a world leader in weather and climate science. If we pull out, the whole planet is less prepared for disasters, and the U.S. loses its edge.
- Losing talent and progress. We’re talking about some of the best scientists in the world losing their jobs or their research getting scrapped. That sets us back decades.
- National security takes a hit. The military and emergency services rely on this info, too. Gutting NOAA makes us less safe, period.
This isn’t just about saving a few bucks or cutting “red tape.” Gutting weather and climate research is a direct threat to public safety, the economy, and national security. We’ll have less warning before disasters, more economic pain, and we’ll be flying blind as the weather gets crazier and climate threats get worse. It’s reckless and dangerous, plain and simple.
The Pope and what’s next
The world is really feeling the loss of Pope Francis right now. You’ve got church bells ringing everywhere, candlelight vigils, and people packing into churches from Rome to Argentina to the Philippines. His body is lying in state at St. Peter’s, with thousands coming to pay their respects, and his funeral is set to be a huge event with leaders from all over showing up. Countries are even declaring official days of mourning, and you’re seeing tributes from every corner—whether people agreed with him or not, they recognize what he stood for: compassion, humility, and standing up for the poor and marginalized.
Now, everyone’s talking about who’s going to be the next pope. Most of the cardinals voting were picked by Francis, so there’s a good chance they’ll choose someone who shares at least some of his vision. The names getting thrown around the most are:
- Cardinal Parolin (Italy): The Vatican’s top diplomat, knows how to keep the peace and work behind the scenes.
- Cardinal Tagle (Philippines): Big on social justice and inclusion, super popular in Asia, but has faced some recent controversy.
- Cardinal Zuppi (Italy): Known for helping the poor and working with migrants, very much in line with Francis’ style.
- Cardinal Erdő (Hungary): More conservative, respected for his knowledge and balance.
- Cardinal Aveline (France): Focuses on interfaith work and reaching out to migrants.
- Cardinal Prevost (USA/Peru): American-born but with deep roots in Latin America, kind of a bridge between continents.
- Cardinal Ouellet (Canada): Veteran Vatican guy, more traditional, but well-connected.
The Church is at a crossroads. The next pope will either keep pushing Francis’ reforms—more focus on social justice, inclusion, and reaching out to the world—or swing things back to a more conservative, traditional approach. The whole world is watching to see which way things go.
RFK and Autism Research
So RFK Jr. is pushing for this big national autism study where he wants to collect and link up everyone’s private medical records—everything from pharmacy info to insurance claims, even data from your smartwatch. The idea is to build a giant registry of autistic people so researchers can supposedly “find the cause” of autism.
Why is he doing this?
He says the data we have now is too scattered, and that putting it all together will finally help figure out what’s behind autism. He keeps promising there will be “state-of-the-art protections” and that researchers won’t be able to download the data, but let’s be real—he wants as much info on as many people as possible.
Here’s why this is a huge problem:
First off, this is a massive privacy issue, especially for highly performing autistic people. If there’s some government list tracking who’s autistic, that info could easily be used against people—whether it’s for jobs, insurance, or just being treated differently. Even if they swear the data is secure, leaks and misuse happen all the time. Once your info is out there, you can’t take it back. A lot of autistic adults are rightly worried this will just make it easier for employers or others to judge or discriminate against them.
Shouldn’t this be voluntary?
Absolutely! People should get to decide if they want to be part of any registry or research, especially when it comes to something as personal as an autism diagnosis. Forcing people into a national database is invasive and strips away their right to privacy and choice.
Isn’t this a HIPAA violation?
It’s messy. HIPAA is supposed to protect your health info and keep it private unless you say otherwise. But there are loopholes—HIPAA does let health data be shared for research in some cases, as long as there are “privacy safeguards.” But let’s be honest, even with those rules, data gets leaked and misused all the time. If your info is being used without your say, that’s a violation of what HIPAA is supposed to stand for, even if it’s technically allowed.
RFK’s plan to scoop up and centralize private medical records for autism research is risky and invasive. It opens the door to discrimination and privacy violations, especially for autistic people who are thriving and don’t want to be tracked or labeled. This should absolutely be voluntary—nobody should be forced into a registry like this, and those so-called “protections” are nowhere near enough to guarantee people won’t get hurt.
Military Morale
Morale in the military right now is all over the place—and in a lot of spots, it’s actually pretty low. Sure, you’ll hear some people say morale is up at the southern border because troops feel like they’re finally doing something real and concrete at home. But if you look at the bigger picture, there’s a lot of frustration and burnout going around.
Here’s why:
- Constant policy changes and mixed messages: There’s been so much back-and-forth with new social policies, DEI stuff, and talk about banning certain groups from serving. It’s left a lot of service members feeling confused, divided, and honestly, just tired of the politics. People sign up to serve, not to get caught in the middle of culture wars or political games.
- Double standards at the top: The way leadership is handling things—especially with the recent leaks and top brass getting away with stuff regular troops would be punished for—has really ticked people off. There’s a sense that rules only apply to the lower ranks, and that kills trust and motivation.
- Recruitment is in the tank: The military can’t get enough new people in the door, so the folks who are still serving are getting stretched way too thin. That means more work, longer deployments, and a lot more stress and burnout.
- Pay raises are nice, but not a cure-all: Sure, there’s talk of a pay bump for next year, and that helps a little. But let’s be real—money alone isn’t going to fix the bigger issues with leadership, trust, and people feeling like the mission actually matters.
As talked about in right wing news - there are a few places where morale is up, but overall, a lot of folks are frustrated, exhausted, and not feeling great about where things are headed. Until the leadership starts actually listening and fixes the double standards and political nonsense, morale is going to keep taking hits.
Keep standing up for the truth and keep getting it out there—don’t let bullies shut you down. Be fearless, ask the hard questions, and don’t BE a bully yourself. The true character of people is really starting to show through right now. This isn’t about dwelling on the past; it’s about what we do from here on out!
If this has helped, please like and share—cause good trouble.
Go Cause Good Trouble, with Your Elbows Up!
**These are facts that I researched and verified – AI helped put together some sentence structure, but the words and tone are mine. These are my views based upon facts, research and thoughtful consideration using logic. I own the copyright to any images used. I’m comfortable to stand alone to uphold truth. Feel free to check me, but do not attack me. I am only causing good trouble.**