This Seattle Medium podcast episode features information about the upcoming 36th Annual Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum, scheduled for November 14. The forum connects young people and families with judges, attorneys, and law enforcement to teach legal rights and responsibilities in a supportive setting.
Host Christopher B. Bennett interviews retired Seattle Police Captain John Hayes and retired King County Sheriff’s Deputy Fae Brooks, who discuss the forum’s significance for youth, parents, and community relationships, including building trust and addressing misconceptions between law enforcement and the public.
This episode Seattle Medium’s Rhythm & News Podcast features Kae Hart, owner of Moe Vegan, a plant-based comfort food restaurant in Kent. Hart created the business, which offers vegan versions of dishes like fried chicken and mac and cheese, in memory of his late brother Maurice.
Moe Vegan, which includes a restaurant and food truck, is featured this week in Pack the House, a community campaign by the Seattle Medium and partner organizations promoting support for local Black-owned restaurants. The conversation covers Hart’s inspiration, his approach to vegan cuisine, and the importance of community support.
(CNN) — Governments and companies around the world are racing to fix vulnerabilities revealed by artificial intelligence that could affect 70% of the world’s websites.
Some websites and services briefly went dark after the set of vulnerabilities were announced Wednesday.
The flaws in PHP were uncovered and addressed by teams at OpenAI, Google-owned cybersecurity company Wiz, and another cybersecurity company, Calif. The underlying flaws had existed for a decade, but exploiting them involved a complex set of steps “at the edge of what human researchers could practically achieve,” according to Wiz. Researchers then deployed AI to adapt techniques for taking advantage of those vulnerabilities – known as as “exploits” in cybersecurity – and analyze the results.
The bugs, collectively called PHP2Shell, could allow attackers to break into websites and read memory that could contain sensitive information, like passwords.
The PHP Foundation, the organization behind the coding language, has released a patch for the bugs, which have been hidden in their software for years, and is urging website operators to update their systems immediately. The CEO of Cloudflare said on X that his company’s network has observed millions of attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities in the past couple of days.
“With PHP behind such a vast share of the web, the exposure could reach almost everywhere people spend money online,” said Nigel Green, the CEO of deVere Group, a financial advisory firm.
“Booking platforms, marketplaces, subscription services, ticketing sites, delivery apps and utility portals could all be holding card details on systems built with the same kind of code,” he added.
‘AI inflection point’
The vulnerabilities involve an issue with how the PHP language works with a computer’s memory. When a website request unexpectedly ends, PHP could leave data behind in the memory that can be accessed and potentially corrupted or exposed later.
The flaws could allow attackers to remotely execute code, disrupt services and expose customer data, according to web infrastructure provider Cloudflare, which has been working with the PHP Foundation, Calif, OpenAI and Wiz to address the issue.
“Think of a hotel room where you check out, but your key still works,” Patrick Fussell, global head of adversary simulation at IBM, told CNN. “And so you can just go back into that hotel room later, and now somebody else’s stuff is there.”
The bugs were discovered in late August but were disclosed to the public only on Wednesday, after PHP had come up with a fix.
AI played a crucial role in identifying and fixing vulnerabilities “that had remained hidden in the PHP codebase for more than a decade,” according to Wiz. The company called PHP the “backbone of the web” and said the episode marks an AI inflection point.
“What AI changed was the ability to understand the weaknesses,” Wiz researchers wrote in a blog post Wednesday, and then quickly exploit those weaknesses into a way to attack.
“With frontier AI models and the right tools, a single researcher completed in a week what previously would have taken a world-class team months of work,” they added.
Researchers at Wiz used Google’s Gemini 4 Argon, Wiz Atlas and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol during the research process.
World leaders weigh in
Global leaders urged organizations to take action. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said that his cabinet was “closely monitoring the situation surrounding the vulnerabilities in PHP.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said companies should consider suspending services if necessary in order to reduce their exposure. “Please check if your publicly available websites use PHP, and prepare to apply the fix patch that will be released tonight… as soon as possible,” she posted on X Wednesday.
Japanese airline ANA, railway operator JR West and the country’s largest bank, MUFG, were among companies that reported some webpages and services temporarily suspended.
In Europe, government websites in France, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, including the Dutch cyber security agency, were temporarily taken offline while security fixes were implemented.
The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates Wikipedia, told CNN Thursday that it was “in the process of addressing security vulnerabilities in PHP,” and that a number of its systems had been taken down as a “precautionary measure.”
Nearly three dozen UK government services are unavailable and four are “partially unavailable” while security upgrades take place, UK government minister Elizabeth Lloyd told the House of Lords Thursday. The Journal, Ireland’s second most-popular news outlet, was temporarily offline Thursday morning while it bolstered its “defences,” it said in a notice.
A shift in cybersecurity
Wiz researchers say the issue is on par with the Heartbleed bug from 2014, which impacted an encryption technology estimated to be used by some two-thirds of the Web. Heartbleed allowed cybercriminals to access data that should have been protected.
Like Heartbleed, the researchers at Wiz say PHP2Shell could similarly serve as a turning point in cybersecurity. While the vulnerabilities existed for years, AI made it practical to deploy them.
“The speed with which vulnerabilities are being discovered is well beyond what it ever was before,” said Fussell.
Even though a patch has been released, it’s likely that not all companies and organizations will update their systems at the same time, according to Gang Wang, associate professor of computer science at the University of Illinois. That could give bad actors a window to exploit it now that the vulnerability has been made public – and they can now do so faster using AI.
But taking advantage of the vulnerability is no easy task, even with the help of AI, according to Fussell.
“This is being touted as like, ‘Hey, you can push a button and basically take over a server type of thing,’” he said. “…To actually pull this off requires a couple of conditions that are actually fairly complex and not always going to work out in favor of somebody who’s trying to go and exploit this bug.”
– CNN’s John Liu, Anna Cooban, Amy Croffey and James Frater contributed reporting.
Virginia Senate President pro tempore L. Louise Lucas listens to debate on the Senate floor, in Richmond, Virginia, on February 17. (Ryan M. Kelly/AP/File via CNN Newsource)
Virginia Senate President pro tempore L. Louise Lucas listens to debate on the Senate floor, in Richmond, Virginia, on February 17. (Ryan M. Kelly/AP/File via CNN Newsource)
By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand, CNN
(CNN) — A Virginia grand jury has indicted Democratic state Sen. L. Louise Lucas and six others, including members of her family, on charges that she engaged in a racketeering conspiracy to sell marijuana and launder the proceeds.
According to the indictment, Lucas, the 82-year-old president pro tempore of Virginia’s senate who has pushed for the drug to be legalized, ran several businesses that purchased and sold illegal amounts of marijuana in the state to build her family’s wealth.
In a statement on the charges, FBI Director Kash Patel claimed Lucas, through “a close-knit group of family members and associates” worked to build a “criminal marijuana enterprise” and used the state senator’s “position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves.”
She is charged with crimes including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana and conspiracy to launder money. Lucas has self-surrendered to law enforcement, according to a Justice Department spokesperson.
“Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother,” Lucas said in a statement Thursday. “I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now.”
Lucas has long advocated for the legalization of marijuana in Virginia, including through legislation. The indictment, however, alleges Lucas and her co-conspirators for years sold and maintained illegal amounts of the drug allowed through her various businesses and shops.
The state recently passed a law that will allow regulated retail marijuana sales beginning on July 1, 2027. The indictment comes weeks before Election Day, but Lucas is not up for reelection this year. Her daughter Lisa Lucas-Burke, who was also charged in the indictment, is currently running for City Council in Portsmouth, Virginia.
CNN has attempted to reach Lucas for comment.
She declined to speak with reporters as she left a courthouse in Norfolk on Thursday afternoon.
Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement that she had read the charging document and that Lucas and her family “deserve the opportunity to present their defense and speak to the allegations presented.”
“The timing of this indictment undermines the U.S. Department of Justice’s previously longstanding policy of not taking legal actions — to include indictments or significant investigative steps — close to an election and sadly, this timing further erodes the trust the American people deserve to have in the Department of Justice,” Spanberger said.
Earlier this year, FBI agents executed search warrants on two of Lucas’s marijuana shops as part of an investigation that began under President Joe Biden. According to the indictment, agents recovered marijuana and firearms from both stores.
Lucas, who was elected to the state Senate in 1991, is also accused of paying $750,000 for a 100% stake in a shell holding company prosecutors allege was created for a co-conspirator to gain a Virginia license to sell marijuana. Prosecutors allege Lucas later received what the Justice Department called a “bribery payment” from the co-conspirator for her efforts.
The Justice Department alleged that Lucas “failed to report the interest obtained in this entity on her required Statement of Economic Interests forms” as a legislator.
“Lucas allegedly met with the co-conspirator at her office at the capitol complex to receive a partial repayment and spoke with other officials, including legislators, about the co-conspirator’s qualification for a recreational marijuana license depending on her receipt of a bribery payment from the co-conspirator,” the Justice Department alleged in a press release announcing the charges.
Investigators say in the indictment that in February, Lucas called an unidentified co-conspirator and discussed the person getting a recreational marijuana license and sharing the proceeds with her.
“This is our last chance at generational wealth,” investigators quoted Lucas telling the co-conspirator. “I’ve got too old to not be greedy.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
With approximately 50 bookings and discharges occurring daily in King County’s adult jails, the transition from incarceration back into the community can happen quickly, often leaving people with little time to arrange medical care, addiction treatment or other services needed to rebuild their lives.
King County is taking a new approach to that challenge, expanding access to health care, behavioral health treatment and coordinated support services before individuals leave custody. The initiative, announced by County Executive Girmay Zahilay, is designed to reduce repeat incarceration, prevent interruptions in treatment and help people establish greater stability as they return to their families and communities.
The effort is part of Zahilay’s broader “Breaking the Cycle” strategy, which seeks to address the interconnected challenges of homelessness, addiction and repeated incarceration through expanded access to treatment and supportive services.
“Breaking the cycle of homelessness, addiction, and repeated incarceration requires meeting people where they are and providing them with the tools they need to rebuild their lives and reintegrate in community,” said Executive Zahilay. “By expanding access to healthcare and other supportive reentry services, King County is working to replace the revolving door of the criminal legal system with a stable bridge to recovery and rehabilitation – creating safer, healthier communities as a result.”
For people leaving jail, the challenges can extend far beyond incarceration itself. Accessing medications, reconnecting with health care providers and finding support for substance use or mental health conditions can be critical to maintaining stability during the first days and weeks after release.
CaSandra Adams, a peer adviser and peer specialist in community health who has personally experienced addiction and incarceration, understands how difficult that transition can be when people return to the community without reliable support.
“I know firsthand what it means to be trapped in the cycle of addiction and incarceration, released back into the community with nothing but the desire for something different and no solid ground to stand on. As someone who has lived that reality and found recovery, I know that wanting a different life isn’t always enough; people need access to care, connection, and tangible opportunities to change. This initiative has the potential to create those lifelines by bridging the gap between jail and community-based care, connecting people to treatment, medications for opiate use disorder, mental health services, primary care, and housing resources.”
Adams’ experience illustrates the challenges the initiative is intended to address. Rather than waiting until individuals leave jail to begin arranging treatment and other services, the county will work to establish those connections while they remain in custody.
Under the program, eligible adults can receive targeted health care and reentry services beginning as early as 90 days before release. The goal is to ensure that people who need medical treatment, medications or behavioral health services have a plan for continuing that care when they return to the community.
The initiative began operating this summer, with expanded services available in King County jails as of July 1.
The need for early coordination is particularly significant given the short amount of time many individuals spend in custody. According to King County, nearly 70% of adults held in county jails stay 10 days or less, and more than 90% are released within 90 days of booking.
That rapid turnover creates a narrow window for identifying health needs, beginning treatment and connecting people with community providers before discharge.
Through the initiative, eligible individuals can receive assistance determining their Medicaid eligibility and enrolling in coverage before leaving jail. This is intended to prevent gaps in insurance that could interrupt access to doctors, medications and ongoing treatment.
Participants can also receive individualized reentry case management, with plans connecting them to their Medicaid managed care organizations, community health clinics and behavioral health providers.
Additional services include substance use disorder evaluations, treatment and medications; prescribed medications for chronic illnesses and behavioral health conditions at release; and screening and treatment for infectious diseases, including hepatitis C.
These services are intended to address health concerns before they worsen and to help people continue treatment outside correctional facilities.
For individuals living with serious mental illness or substance use disorders, maintaining that continuity of care can be especially important.
Michelle Conley, director of integrated care at REACH, said the transition from incarceration to community-based treatment has historically exposed people to preventable interruptions in essential services.
“As an organization that believes reentry begins on day one of incarceration, we are grateful for King County’s leadership in advancing the Reentry Initiative. For too long, people living with serious mental illness and substance use disorder have faced preventable gaps in care during the transition from jail to the community, resulting in avoidable crises, overdoses, and deaths. From our perspective, this is fundamentally a disability rights issue and a community health imperative. It is in everyone’s best interest that people not lose access to lifesaving treatment, benefits, and support due to incarceration. By strengthening jail in-reach, care coordination, and continuity of services before and after release, this initiative moves us closer to a system that values recovery, dignity, and survival while creating safer, more resilient communities.”
The initiative also reflects a broader approach to public safety that emphasizes addressing health and behavioral health needs as part of efforts to reduce repeated involvement with the criminal legal system.
County officials believe that connecting people to treatment and community support before release could help reduce the circumstances that contribute to violations of release conditions and subsequent incarceration.
Steve Larsen, deputy director of the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, said the program will give correctional and health care staff more opportunities to develop coordinated plans before individuals return to the community.
“Too often, people come to jail and prisons in desperate need of stabilization for opioid use disorders. This program allows DAJD and our Jail Health partners to develop comprehensive plans and coordinated care inside correctional settings prior to someone’s return to the community. If they can be stabilized while incarcerated and handed off to a community partner, we’re likely to see fewer violations of their conditions of release and subsequent incarcerations. It is good for the person as well as the criminal legal system.”
The adult portion of the initiative is being led by Public Health — Seattle & King County’s Jail Health Services Division at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
A related component at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle is being led by the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. That effort will allow youth in secure detention to maintain continuous Apple Health coverage, reducing the possibility of interruptions in health insurance during detention and reentry.
King County’s program is part of Washington’s statewide Reentry Demonstration Initiative, administered by the Washington State Health Care Authority with state and federal funding.
Washington was the second state in the nation to receive federal approval for a Medicaid reentry program and the second to begin implementation. More than 40 correctional facilities across the state are participating.
The funding structure is designed to help participating facilities build the capacity and technology needed to provide expanded services.
Under the initiative, each of King County’s two adult detention facilities is eligible for up to $1.5 million in capacity-building funding and $1 million for information technology infrastructure, representing up to $5 million combined across both facilities.
The adult facilities can also receive reimbursement for eligible Medicaid expenses during the initiative’s initial two-year period.
The county’s juvenile detention facility is eligible for up to $2 million through the youth component of the program.
Those amounts represent available funding, not necessarily money already spent. The investments are intended to support the systems and coordination required to connect individuals with health care services before they leave custody.
While research cited by the county indicates that effective reentry services can improve health outcomes, reduce repeat incarceration and lower costs, the long-term results of King County’s expanded initiative have yet to be established.
The county’s announcement did not include figures showing how many people have received assistance since the July 1 expansion or whether the program has reduced repeat incarceration.
For Adams, who has experienced the challenges of addiction, incarceration and recovery firsthand, the importance of connecting people with treatment and support is personal.
“That continuity of care can be the difference between returning to the cycle and finding a path to recovery; ultimately, it can be the difference between life and death.”
Angela Poe Russell served as emcee for The Breakfast Group’s 50th Anniversary Gala. Staff Photo/Aaron Allen
By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Breakfast Group celebrated 50 years of mentorship, community leadership and service to Seattle’s Black community Saturday, Oct. 17, bringing together civic leaders, business professionals and former program participants to recognize the organization’s history and its impact on generations of young people.
Incorporated in 1976, The Breakfast Group grew from informal gatherings of Black professionals seeking to support one another while navigating barriers in Seattle’s corporate world. Over the past five decades, the organization has expanded its mission to include youth mentorship, career development and community programs designed to help young people prepare for their futures.
The anniversary celebration provided an opportunity for members, supporters and program alumni to reflect on the organization’s contributions to the Pacific Northwest and the relationships that have sustained its work.
Judge Richard Jones, who attended the celebration, spoke about the organization’s importance to the community.
“It’s a fabulous event, and so many wonderful people here, and celebrating a powerful organization that’s so much for so many,” Jones said.
Former NFL player and University of Washington football standout Mario Bailey also reflected on the significance of a Black-led organization reaching its 50th anniversary while continuing to serve the community.
“It’s live as anytime a black organization can last 50 years, it’s always a wonderful thing. Especially if you’re giving back to the community and pouring into the community. I am just grateful to be here and have to witness these 50 years,” Bailey said.
The Breakfast Group’s origins date to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Black professionals entering management and corporate positions often faced isolation and limited opportunities for advancement. Informal breakfast meetings provided a space to exchange information, build professional relationships and support one another in navigating those challenges.
As the gatherings continued, members began looking beyond their individual careers toward the needs of the broader community. Their efforts eventually developed into an organization focused on professional development, community service and creating opportunities for younger generations.
During the anniversary celebration, Angela Poe Russell, who served as emcee for the event, emphasized that the organization’s commitment to young people remains central to its mission, highlighting the role of Project M.I.S.T.E.R. in supporting students academically, socially and emotionally.
“I want to tell you about projects M.I.S.T.E.R which stands for Male Involvement and Service To Encourage Responsibility. The Breakfast Group nurtures the social, emotional wellbeing, and academic success of young man of color. Pairing them with instructors, mentors, and members that provide whole models to power success,” Poe Russell said.
She also pointed to the program’s reported graduation outcomes and its longstanding presence in Seattle schools.
“More than 95% of Project Mister Students graduate from high school and continue on to college or apprenticeships. For decades, your breakfast group has impacted thousands of students in the Seattle public school system,” Poe Russell said.
Project M.I.S.T.E.R. is one of The Breakfast Group’s central initiatives, connecting young men of color with adult mentors who provide encouragement, academic guidance and practical advice about education, careers and personal responsibility.
The program has worked with students at Seattle schools, including Franklin, Rainier Beach, Cleveland, Garfield and South Lake. Through relationships with professional mentors, participants receive support intended to help them remain engaged in school, develop life skills and make informed decisions about their futures.
For former participants, the program’s influence can extend well beyond graduation.
Dewan Parker, who spoke during the anniversary celebration, described the lasting relationship he developed with a mentor who helped him navigate difficult personal circumstances and find a more stable path forward.
“He’s still in my corner to this day, and it’s been 15 years prior from when I first met him,” Parker said.
Peter Fan, another program alumnus, described how mentorship helped change the direction of his life after he experienced significant difficulties in school.
Fan said he had been expelled from multiple middle and high schools before attending South Lake High School in Rainier Beach. Through Project M.I.S.T.E.R., he developed a relationship with a mentor named Kevin, who encouraged him to establish goals and believe in his ability to succeed.
“Every week, our mentor, Kevin, has us write down our goals. No goal was too small. He believed in us when we had a hard time believing in ourselves. I’m the only one in my friend’s group to graduate high school. That’s the difference this program makes,” Fan said.
Fan went on to become an engineer and spent approximately a decade working for major technology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and TikTok. During the anniversary celebration, he announced plans to become a mentor himself, extending the support he received to another generation of young people.
His decision reflects one of the organization’s longstanding goals: encouraging those who have benefited from mentorship to return and help others.
Former Seattle City Council member Mark Solomon, a longtime Breakfast Group member, spoke about the responsibility of established leaders to help prepare those who will follow them.
“One of the reasons I got back involved with the group is because I wanted to help groom our next generation of leaders. We need to step up. We need to be the example for those who are going to come behind us. And rather than trying to hold on, it’s like reach back and pull them up with us,” Solomon said.
Solomon also pointed to the organization’s interest in expanding its mentorship efforts through Project S.I.S.T.E.R., an initiative intended to provide similar opportunities and support for young women.
In addition to Project M.I.S.T.E.R., The Breakfast Group hosts its annual Tie One On Rites of Passage luncheon, which brings high school students together with professional mentors.
During the event, students learn how to tie a necktie while participating in conversations about personal presentation, professional expectations and the transition into adulthood. The ties, sometimes designed by the students themselves, serve as symbols of preparation, confidence and the relationships formed through mentorship.
The organization also supports career exploration through opportunities such as job shadowing and programs focused on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.
Its community involvement extends beyond educational and professional development. The Breakfast Group has helped coordinate the annual ROOTS Family Picnic, an event at Jimi Hendrix Park that celebrates the history and contributions of Seattle’s early Black families and community pioneers.
For local business owner Theo Martin, proprietor of Island Soul, the anniversary celebration was an opportunity to reconnect with an organization whose members have long been part of his professional and personal community.
“I am here at the Breakfast Club for their 50th year anniversary or gala. And this is actually my first time joining. I came, not because I was invited, because my spirit says, why has it been 50 years that I haven’t been here? I share business with these brothers. We break bread together, and now I get to break bread and celebrate with them. So 50 years is here. It is never too late,” Martin said.
Martin’s reflections illustrated the relationships The Breakfast Group has built among Black professionals and business owners throughout the region, including people whose connections to the organization extend beyond formal membership.
The anniversary also highlighted the role of community partnerships and the continued involvement of members who have supported the organization’s mission over several decades.
As The Breakfast Group looks toward its next 50 years, its leadership is developing plans to expand mentorship and career development initiatives. The organization’s strategic planning efforts include strengthening connections between its alumni network and young people interested in technology, skilled trades and corporate leadership.
Those efforts are intended to build on the organization’s existing programs while responding to the changing educational and employment opportunities facing younger generations.
For an organization that began as an informal gathering of Black professionals seeking mutual support, the 50th anniversary represents both a recognition of its history and a commitment to continuing that work.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is seeking to join a federal lawsuit challenging Trump administration policies that threaten Medicaid coverage for nearly 1,000 legally present immigrants in Washington, including refugees, asylum recipients, seniors and people living with serious disabilities.
The state’s intervention would strengthen an ongoing legal effort to preserve health care benefits for some of Washington’s most medically vulnerable residents, many of whom depend on Medicaid for prescription medications, long-term care and other essential services.
Brown’s office filed a motion Oct. 16 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Seattle-based nonprofit Neighborhood House and Washington resident Mariia Matsai against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The legal action follows a Sept. 30 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly ordering the federal government to continue Medicaid funding for affected recipients while the lawsuit proceeds.
“We have a clear interest in protecting our neediest residents, many of whom fled warzones, and ensuring the federal government fulfills its financial responsibility to the state,” said Brown. “Many of these individuals are elderly, with significant medical needs, and would lose their healthcare or even their lives without this support that is now illegally threatened.”
At the center of the dispute is the federal government’s interpretation of H.R. 1, the sweeping 2025 budget legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The legislation restricted federal Medicaid funding for certain categories of legally present immigrants. However, according to the lawsuit, Congress did not eliminate existing federal protections that make qualifying noncitizens who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, eligible for Medicaid.
SSI provides financial assistance to people 65 and older, people who are blind and people with qualifying disabilities who have extremely limited income and resources. Some refugees, people granted asylum and other qualifying noncitizens are eligible for the program under federal law.
For these residents, Medicaid can provide access to medical treatment, prescription medications, personal care and long-term support services that would otherwise be financially out of reach.
The dispute intensified in April 2026 when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance directing states to stop claiming federal Medicaid funding for certain noncitizens beginning Oct. 1. Additional federal guidance followed in July.
The Trump administration’s interpretation would exclude some legally present immigrants from federally funded Medicaid benefits despite their continued eligibility for SSI.
Neighborhood House and Matsai challenged that interpretation in August, arguing that federal officials had exceeded their authority and misapplied existing law.
The federal court granted preliminary relief Sept. 30, temporarily protecting affected recipients across Washington while the underlying legal questions are resolved.
“We are grateful the AGO is joining in this fight to preserve critical, life sustaining services for the most vulnerable Washingtonians,” said Janice Deguchi, Executive Director of Neighborhood House. “HR1 will strip coverage and cause deep, lasting harm to consumers and providers that rely on Medicaid. Neighborhood House is proud to stand with the AGO, co-plaintiff Mariia Matsai, and partners Northwest Health Law Advocates and Barnard, Iglitzin and Lavitt to preserve coverage and care for hundreds of the most vulnerable legally present non-citizen SSI Medicaid recipients in Washington.”
Washington officials argue that the federal guidance threatens not only individual health coverage but also the state’s ability to administer its Medicaid program and meet its financial obligations.
According to the state’s proposed complaint, Washington’s Apple Health program provides health coverage to approximately 1.9 million residents. Federal funding covers an average of 67% of program expenditures for eligible enrollees.
The Washington Health Care Authority estimates that more than 1,000 noncitizens receive SSI benefits and several hundred receive long-term care services funded through Medicaid, according to the state’s court filing.
Without continued federal support, Washington could face the difficult choice of replacing lost federal dollars with state funding or allowing affected residents to lose coverage.
State attorneys say the Legislature has not appropriated enough money to fully replace the federal funding at issue. They also warn that interruptions in coverage could increase emergency medical costs and place additional pressure on hospitals and other safety-net providers.
For some recipients, Medicaid-funded long-term care includes assistance with everyday activities such as bathing, eating, taking medications and managing serious medical conditions. Losing those services could threaten their ability to remain safely housed or receive appropriate care.
In its motion, Washington argues that the existing plaintiffs cannot fully represent the state’s separate financial and legal interests, even though they are seeking substantially the same outcome.
The attorney general’s office wants the court to recognize the state’s right to participate directly in the litigation and challenge the federal government’s interpretation of Medicaid eligibility requirements.
The state is also asking the court to invalidate the federal guidance it contends conflicts with existing law.
Although the preliminary injunction currently protects affected Washington residents, it is not a final decision on the merits of the lawsuit.
The court must still decide whether to allow Washington to formally join the case and ultimately determine whether the federal government’s Medicaid guidance violates federal law.
Washington’s motion to intervene is scheduled for consideration on the court’s Nov. 6 motion calendar.
As of this week, the nation has only its fifth medical school at an historically Black college and university—and notably it’s in the largely Black city of New Orleans.
The milestone clears the way for the college to begin recruiting its inaugural class of 50 students, which will enter in summer 2027. It also advances the vision for the nation’s next historically Black college of medicine—the only one in the Gulf South.
“This is a historic moment for Xavier University of Louisiana, for New Orleans and for the future of medicine in this nation,” said Dr. Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana. “For a century, Xavier has demonstrated what is possible when academic excellence is joined with a profound commitment to human dignity and service. The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine is a bold extension of that legacy.”
Years in the Making
Verret believes the school’s mission extends beyond “simply opening the doors of a new medical school.” The mission, he says, is to expand “who will have the opportunity to become a physician, strengthening the communities those physicians will serve and helping to shape the future of healthcare for generations to come.”
That legacy runs deep. Katharine Drexel — a Catholic nun and educator who created the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, an order that served Black and Indigenous Americans — founded Xavier in 1925. Canonized in 2000, she was the first U.S.-born saint.
Xavier is the only HBCU that is also a Catholic university.
Over the past century, Xavier has built a reputation for excellence in STEM education. Forbes has named it a top HBCU, and it leads in sending Black students to medical school. Its alumni include Dr. Regina Benjamin, who served as the nation’s 18th Surgeon General under President Barack Obama.
Verret says conversations with Ochsner about opening a medical school began almost a decade ago. The college was formally established in 2024, earned candidate status in October 2025 and hosted an LCME survey visit in June 2026. Applications will open through the American Medical College Application Service in the coming weeks.
The new medical school builds on that foundation as well as decades of collaboration between Xavier and Ochsner Health on education, research and health care. Xavier’s health professions track has long included pharmacy and premedical training, along with the Ochsner-Xavier Institute for Health Equity and Research, Xavier’s physician assistant Program, and its genetic counseling program.
Pete November, president and CEO of Ochsner Health, said in a statement that his company’s partnership with Xavier University “is grounded in a shared belief that education, opportunity, and service can transform lives and provide our communities stellar healthcare for generations to come.”
Addressing a national physician shortage
Dr. Leonardo Seoane, Ochsner’s chief academic officer, was named the college’s president and founding dean. He says federal data shows the U.S. could be short 141,000 physicians by 2038, more than double the current gap of about 60,000 vacancies.
“There’s a physician workforce crisis in the United States” that’s been overshadowed by other national crises, Seoane says. “We’re not heading in the right direction and that shortage is not felt evenly,” he says.
Rural areas, some urban communities and the South feel it more, Seoane says. In Louisiana, 60 of the state’s 64 parishes are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas.
“The number of physicians you have per population of a community directly correlates to the health and wellness of that community,” he says.
That gap is compounded by the underrepresentation of physicians of color. Although Black Americans make up 13.6% of the U.S. population, only 5.7% of physicians identify as Black. Experts say HBCUs play an outsized role in closing that gap.
“HBCUs trained 50% of the Black physicians in this country,” Seoane says. ”We also know the data is clear that Black and Hispanic physicians go back and serve in Black and Hispanic communities.”
Training physicians for the community
The college’s approach grows out of the health programs Xavier has built in recent years, such as the school of public health and specialized programs. Seoane says the programs Xavier started focused on “areas where we find there’s a lack of Black and Brown providers like genetic counseling and physician assistants.”
The college plans to enroll 50 students in its first class, then grow to 75 and, eventually, 100 students a year.
Community impact and service will be central to their training, Seoane says.
“One of our strategic pillars is to be community-informed,” he says. “A critical element of our curriculum is for students to understand that you’re not just treating a patient, you’re treating a family, and you’re treating a family within a community, and you need all of that context to provide the best care for your patients.”
Ochsner, for its part, brings more than 80 years of caring for its communities, more than 60 years of training residents and fellows and 17 years of medical student education, creating a model that connects rigorous academic preparation with real-world training.
Pete November, president and CEO of Ochsner Health, said in a statement that his company’s partnership with Xavier University “is grounded in a shared belief that education, opportunity, and service can transform lives and provide our communities stellar healthcare for generations to come.”
Daylight saving time starts in a few weeks, ushering in the longer nights and shorter days associated with winter. But for many people, the extra hours of darkness aren’t necessarily more restful.
Experts say sleep deprivation is on the rise in the U.S. And the combination of stress, shift work and the false bravado of “toughing it out” isn’t helping.
A 2024 Gallup poll found that only 42% of adults said they get as much sleep as they need, while 57% said they would feel better if they got more sleep. Researchers at Yale University have found a greater number of U.S. adults sleeping less than the recommended seven hours per night, with Black adults missing out on sleep even more.
Disparities were greatest among Black women, Black adults with middle or high incomes, and young and middle-aged Black adults. Work schedules and employment conditions, particularly shift work, were likely contributors.
“As an ER physician, I had to learn to value sleep differently,” says Dr. Pamela Buchanan, a board-certified emergency physician, founder of Strong Medicine and a healthcare influencer. “For years, working nights was simply part of the job. We almost wear sleep deprivation like a badge of honor in medicine.”
As she aged, “I began watching what chronic sleep disruption was doing to people around me — and to my own health,” Buchanan says. “I had colleagues and friends develop serious health problems while living on chronically inadequate sleep. Eventually, I had to ask myself: ‘Why am I sacrificing my health to take care of everyone else’s?’”
Sleep is also deeply connected to mental health. A 2024 meta-analysis involving more than 5,700 participants found that sleep loss increased anxiety symptoms and reduced positive emotions. Another analysis found that improving sleep also improved symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
“When I talk to people about protecting their mental health, sleep is not an afterthought. It is part of the treatment plan,” Dr. Buchanan added.
Improve Your Sleep, Starting Tonight
DISCLAIMER: This guide is informational and is not medical advice. If you have persistent trouble falling or staying asleep, talk with a healthcare provider.
1. Keep a consistent sleep–wake schedule
Go to bed wake up within roughly the same 30- to 60-minute window every day, including weekends.
Set a fixed wake-up time first; bedtime tends to follow
Avoid trying to play catch-up on weekends, which only shifts your body clock.
Give your stress a place to land before bedtime.
Don’t lie in bed fighting for sleep.
“Stress isn’t the enemy of sleep. Unprocessed stress is,” Dr. Buchanan said., adding that it can be helpful to write d “Take five minutes before bed to write down what’s on your mind and tomorrow’s to-do list. When it’s on paper, your brain can stop rehearsing it at 2 a.m. Then dim the lights and put the phone away. You’re signaling to your nervous system that the shift is over.”
If sleep doesn’t come, however, and “you’ve been awake for about 20 minutes, get up,” Dr. Buchanan says. “Go to another room, keep the lights low and do something calm until you feel sleepy. Lying there frustrated teaches your brain that the bed is a place for worry. Protect the bed for sleep.”
2. Get bright daylight during the day
Light is the main signal that sets the circadian clock. A study of almost 90,000 adults found that greater daytime light exposure was associated with lower risk of depression, PTSD, psychosis, and self-harm.
Spend time outdoors soon after waking. Even on cloudy days, outdoor light is far brighter than indoor lighting.
Take walks, calls or breaks outside during the day.
Work near a window when possible.
FOR NIGHT-SHIFT WORKERS
Recreate nighttime, even at noon.
Treat daytime sleep as optional.
“Wear sunglasses on the drive home so morning light doesn’t flip your internal ‘wake up’ switch,” Dr. Buchanan advised. “Then make your bedroom a cave: Blackout curtains, an eye mask, a cool room and a fan or white noise to drown out the daytime world. Put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and let your household know that your sleep hours are protected time.”
3. Sleep in a dark bedroom
A controlled laboratory study found sleeping in a room with too much light kept the nervous system more alert and reduced the participants’ deep sleep. The results also found links to increased insulin resistance the next morning compared with sleeping in dim light.
Turn off overhead lights and lamps before sleep; use blackout curtains or an eye mask if outdoor light enters.
Cover or remove glowing electronics and clocks.
If you need a night light, keep it dim, low to the floor and use amber or red light rather than white or blue.
4. Set a caffeine cut-off time
Caffeine has been found to increase the time it takes to fall asleep and, once asleep, to decrease total sleep time by about 45 minutes.
For a 10:30 p.m. bedtime, finish your last 8-oz. coffee by about 1:30 to 2 p.m.
Remember hidden sources of caffeine: Energy drinks, pre-workout powders, some teas, sodas and chocolate.
Caffeinated beverages larger than 8-10-oz. need an even earlier cut-off.
5. Limit alcohol, especially close to bedtime
Avoid the temptation to have a “nightcap” before bed. Just two standard-sized drinks, which vary by type of alcohol, have been found to reduce REM sleep. While a greater amount of alcohol may shorten the time needed to fall asleep, it can interrupt deep sleep.
Treat alcohol as a sleep disruptor, not a sleep aid.
If you drink, keep it to small amounts and finish well before bedtime.
Notice how you feel after alcohol-free nights versus nights with a drink.
Don’t use a glass of wine to wind down.
“Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it fragments your sleep later in the night,” Dr. Buchanan said. “You wake up feeling like you never really rested.”
6. Exercise regularly — and finish vigorous workouts at least two hours before bed
Exercising intensely less than two hours before bedtime has been linked to trouble falling asleep and shorter periods of sleep. Exercising for 30- to 60 minutes, and more than two hours before bedtime, was associated with the best outcomes.
Build regular physical activity into most days; morning, afternoon and early evening all work.
Schedule hard workouts (running, HIIT, heavy lifting) to end at least two hours before bed.
Keep your exercise schedule consistent from day to day.
7. Create a screen-free wind-down before bed
Using electronic media too close to bedtime has been consistently linked to poorer sleep quality.
Stop scrolling, gaming and emailing 30- to 60 minutes before lights out.
Charge your phone outside the bedroom or set it to “Do Not Disturb.”
Replace screens with a calming routine such as reading a paper book, stretching, a warm shower or journaling.
FOR WOMEN IN MENOPAUSE:
Cool the room and your body.
“Hot flashes and night sweats are among the biggest sleep thieves in midlife. Keep the bedroom cool, around 65 degrees. Layer your bedding so you can adjust it during the night and choose moisture-wicking sleepwear. Cut back on alcohol and late-day caffeine, because both can trigger symptoms,” Dr. Buchanan adds.
Don’t suffer in silence.
“Poor sleep [during] menopause is common, but you don’t have to accept it as normal. Talk to your doctor. Hormone therapy, non-hormonal medications and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, called a CBT-I, all help. Ask about sleep apnea, too. A woman’s risk rises after menopause, and it often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms don’t look like the textbook,” Buchanan notes.
From a small Atlanta congregation to an enormous prayer gathering in Texas, Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell's 2819 CHURCH has become a religious phenomenon, attracting thousands of young Christians seeking authenticity, community and a deeper connection to their faith. Credit: Facebook/2819 Church
From a small Atlanta congregation to an enormous prayer gathering in Texas, Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell’s 2819 CHURCH has become a religious phenomenon, attracting thousands of young Christians seeking authenticity, community and a deeper connection to their faith. Credit: Facebook/2819 Church
A stadium best known for NFL football became a gathering place for a massive prayer service last weekend as Atlanta-based 2819 CHURCH brought its worldwide following to AT&T Stadium in suburban Dallas.
An estimated 80,000 people attended “ACCESS — That Powerful Hour of Prayer,” led by Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell, 2819’s charismatic founder, according to Praiseworld Radio. The free gathering marked the ministry’s largest prayer event yet, extending its reach well beyond its hometown congregation.
The turnout followed enormous demand: All 80,000 tickets were claimed well before the event. But Mitchell had emphasized that filling seats would mean little without a deeper spiritual response. He invited Christians everywhere to pray during the same hour, broadening the invitation beyond the confines of the physical stadium in North Texas.
Salvation Invitation
The event announcement outlined three organizing themes: The Cross, The Warning and The Cry. Together, they framed an invitation to embrace salvation through Jesus Christ, repent and unite in prayer.
2819 CHURCH describes its mission as spreading the gospel and developing followers whose faith shapes how they serve others and live within their communities.
“Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!” was featured in the announcement. Its explicitly urgent message asked participants to consider their spiritual readiness alongside their immediate needs.
For 2819, that invitation reflects the church’s stated purpose.
Its name references Matthew 28:19, Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations. The congregation describes its mission as spreading the gospel and developing followers whose faith shapes how they serve others and live within their communities.
“Just learned that a teenage girl was healed of deafness and removed her hearing aids last night at ACCESS in TX,” Mitchell posted on social media the next day. “This to the glory of God.”
Bigger than Atlanta
The Texas gathering came nearly a year after the larger-than-expected response to a 2025 ACCESS event in Atlanta, where an estimated 40,000 people filled State Farm Arena and a nearby overflow location. Thousands more who couldn’t get in remained outside, according to the church.
The explosive growth of Mitchell’s church has come with growing interest in his message. Praiseworld Radio reported that weekly attendance at 2819 CHURCH rose from fewer than 200 people in 2023 to more than 6,000, with an additional audience watching online. The Texas gathering demonstrated the ministry’s ability to bring that broader following together in person in a city far from the church’s home base.
Mitchell’s concern for young Black men offers another dimension to the story of 2819 CHURCH. In a recent interview with The Dallas Weekly, Mitchell connected that concern to his own journey from the streets of Queens, New York, and incarceration at Rikers Island to leading a worldwide congregation in arguably the nation’s fastest-growing church.
“I want my life to be a testimony to them that God could do anything with a surrendered life,” Mitchell said.
Old-School Message, Youth Appeal
Asked about his phenomenal appeal to younger Christians, Mitchell said his congregants are seeking credibility and substance in a world full of corruption and inauthenticity in religious settings. He said his message centers on biblical teaching and openness about his own shortcomings. Those priorities place personal transformation at the center of his ministry’s expanding public profile.
On its website, the church’s published values pair prayer and passionate worship with community, generosity and service. Its understanding of discipleship includes gathering in smaller groups, strengthening relationships and supporting one another through ongoing spiritual growth. Those commitments provide a framework for what can follow a stadium gathering: Sustained participation in a community of faith.
The huge crowd in Texas made ACCESS a striking public expression of religious commitment. Its lasting significance, however, remains an unfolding story — one that will be told through the lives of participants and the communities to which they return.
