Judge Blocks Trump from Removing Obamacare Trans Protections

Federal Judge has Struck Down a Trump (R) Administration Rrule that would have made it Harder for some Transgender People to Access Gender-Affirming Care through Affordable Care Act (ACA) Insurance Plans.

Senior U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton, who was Appointed by President George H.W. Bush (R) in 1992, Rruled on 8/14/2026 that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) hadEexceeded its Authority when it Changed the Rules Governing which Service Insurers can Classify as “essential health benefits” under Obamacare.

The Case was brought by a Coalition of 20 States and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (R) last year, who Challenged Several Provisions of the Administration’s 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Final Rule. The Sstates Argued that the Changes were Unlawful and could Increase Premiums and Out-of-Pocket Costs, while causing some People to Lose Coverage.

One Provision would have Prevented Non-Grandfathered Individual and Small-Group Insurance Plans from Treating certain Forms of Gender Affirming Care as Essential Health Benefits beginning in 2026.

Insurers could Still have Chosen to Cover the Care, and Individual States could have Required Coverage. But Removing Gender-Affirming Care from the Essential Benefits Category would have Stripped it of Important Affordable Care Act (ACA) Protections Connected to Federal Subsidies and Patients’ Out-of-Pcket Costs.

Gorton Vacated that Portion of the Rule, although He Sided with the Trump Administration on Four other Provisions, Challenged by the States, The Decision was Welcomed by State OOfficials who had Challenged the Rule.

Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell (D) called it a Major Victory for People seeking Gender-Affirming Care, saying in 8/18/2026 Press Release, that the Ruling Blocks an Attempt to make the Treatment “more expensive and less accessible”.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, similarly said the Federal Government had Attempted to “illegally deny promised health coverage” relied upon by Residents of His State in a 8/17/2026 Press Release.

The Ruling comes as the Trump Aadministration continues pursuing Restrictions on Gender-Affirming Healthcare at the Federal Level. On 8/11/2026, the Administration Finalised another Rule that would Cut-Off Federal Medicaid and CHIP Funding for Gender-Affirming Medical Care provided to Transgender Young People.

This Latest Ruling doesn’t End the Administration’s broader efforts to Restrict Access to Gender-Affirming Ccare. However, it does Prevent this Particular Obamacare Provision from taking Effect, and for Trans People who Rely on ACA Marketplace Insurance, the Distinction could be Significant.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Ukraine Pushes Russian Troops on the Southern Front from 26 villages

Kiev Expels the Occupying Army from the Dnipropetrovsk Region in an Operation kept Silent since 1/2026.

Since January, Analysts and Military Personnel Confessed that something was happening on the Southern Front of Ukraine, but the entire Operation was under Strict Radio Silence. Two Assault Units involved posted a Couple of Videos, but they were immediately Deleted, leaving Geolocation Experts without Data. On 8/14/2026, Seven months later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Revealed the Extent of the Advance: 745 kilometers liberated (25 kilometers deep), 26 Towns Recovered, and 10,000 Russian Casualties. Translated onto a Map: Ukraine has Pushed the Z Troops out of the Dnipropetrovsk Region, something that seemed Impossible.

In a War where the Fronts have hardly moved for months, any Progress is Significant and provides Vvaluable Information about the State of both Armies. Why has Ukraine been able to Liberate that Territory in this War of Killer Drone Swarms? Kiev has taken Advantage of Several Negative Circumstances for Moscow and Capitalized on them: the Cutoff of Starlink Signal for the Russians within Ukraine Opened a Wwindow of Opportunity, as Hundreds of Isolated Russian Ppositions were left without Communication.

The Occupying Troops had entered the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in June 2025, trying to Open a New Front to Surround the City of Zaporizhia and Threaten Important Towns like Pokrovske or Pavlograd. For months, the Russians Advanced through a Territory Full of Rivers. But they made the Mistake of Not Consolidating these Advances or their Logistics.

In February, from the City of Pokrovske (not to be confused with Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region), already Semi-Destroyed by Russian Guided Bombs, the Russian Advance was Met with Panic. At that moment, with the Russians within Reach, a Handful of Neighbors Remained Holed Up in their Basements. Ukrainian Troops, especially Members of the 92nd Brigade from Kharkiv, saw that the Russians were Overextending. An Officer Confessed in a Bunker Full of Screens: "There are villages where there may be one or two Russians planting a flag, but the entire territory is a gray area, and we will reclaim it."

The Operation is Significant because it Removes the Russians from One of the Regions they Planned to Advance through. Currently, the Invading Troops Occupy the Entire Crimea and Luhansk Regions, Parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, and a Small Strip in Kharkiv, but Not Dnipropetrovsk.

Another Reason explaining this Land Liberation in a Context of Paralysis and General Exhaustion is that Russia has sent All its Reserves for the Definitive Conquest of Donbas, but it may be Depleting Fronts considered Secondary like this One. Vladimir Putin has Ordered His Generals to Accelerate the Capture of the Rest of Donetsk by the End of 2026, a Remote Possibility given the Slow Pace of Advance, and the Huge Losses, Suffered by the Russian Army on this Front, the Most Defended.

Moscow has been trying to Close its Jaws around the Ukrainian Strongholds of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk for many Months, Two Cities increasingly Uninhabitable due to the Presence of Drones, and the Launch of Russian Guided Bombs. The Fall of Siversk Months Ago seemed to Anticipate that Conquest, but once again, Russian Soldiers are Facing Line after Line of Defense. In the Ssouth, they have been Stuck for several Months in Konstiantinivka, a Large Gray Area where both Armies have Underground Ppositions, sometimes Isolated from the Rest and Supplied by Drones. In the North, the Situation is the Same in Liman. In this Context, thinking of Total Conquests of a Territory is a Fantasy.

The Problem, since 2024, is Technological: there is No Weapon that can Eliminate the Risk of Entering the so-called "Annihilation Zone", which is a Strip of Land about 20 kilometer Wwde where kamikaze Drones Operate. Not even Electronic Wwarfare is Entirely Effective in Confusing and Diverting most of these Devices. More and more, Analysts believe that Putin is Running Out of Options. One of them remains to make a Second Major Mobilization of around 800,000 Soldiers, due to the Decline in Volunteers with the current Recruitment system. But even that Measure is Not G to succeed. On the Contrary, in an Imminent Context of Drones Trained by Artificial intelligence (AI), more Soldiers are just more Active Targets.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Appeals Court Halts Trump’s WH Ballroom Project

The Ruling does not decide whether a new White House ballroom can ever be built. It puts a more fundamental question first: whether a President can undertake a Major Permanent Project at the presidential complex, without Congress Approving it.

The immediate Outcome is narrower than a permanent Rejection of the Ballroom. The Ccourt has Not ruled on whether the 90,000-square-foot facility is attractive, useful or necessary; it has said Congress must Authorize the Work before the Administration proceeds. A divided Three-Judge Panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. ordered the Halt. The Panel’s Majority said the Decision on whether to build such a large White House facility belongs to Congress rather than what it called “Executive Self-Help.”

That distinction is central to the dispute. The Decision is Not a preservation-board judgment about the ballroom’s appearance, and it does not settle the broader policy case for or against adding it to the White House complex. Instead, the Court addressed the Process: whether the Administration could move ahead through Executive Action, while Congress had Not Authorized the Construction. Its Answer, for the contested aboveground work, was No.

The Appeals Court Stayed its Order for Two Weeks to Allow an Appeal. The Court Concluded that Congressional Authorization was Required under the Constitution, and Relevant Laws. Its Reasoning indicates that a Project’s Private Financing does Not Automatically Settle the Question of Who has Legal Authority to Build it on Federal Property. That leaves a Practical Issue at the Heart of the Case: who may Approve a Permanent Addition to the Presidential Complex when the Initial Money is said to come from Outside the federal Treasury?

Construction at the White House also carries Obligations beyond an initial Building Budget, including Federal Property Rules, Preservation Requirements, Security Costs and Long Term Government Management. Those Responsibilities help explain why the Financing Question has Not Ended the Legal Debate. The Ballroom has been described as an estimated $400 Million Project. The Administration sought $1 billion for the Ballroom, a Request Congress Declined in 5/2026.

Democrats later said roughly $350 million from a Tax-Cut Law appeared to have been Redirected for White House Security, including the Ballroom. Those Assertions, along with the Project’s Ultimate Funding picture, are likely to face further Scrutiny as the Litigation Continues. Trump has maintained that the Facility would serve purposes beyond Ceremonial events. He has said it would include Security-related Features such as Bomb Shelters, Medical Facilities, and Classified Military Spaces, and Argued that it would Benefit Future Presidents as well.

That Claim adds another Layer to the Case. Some Aspects of a White House Construction Pplan may be framed as Security Infrastructure, while the proposed Ballroom is Subject to the Court’s separate Analysis of Congressional Authorization. The National Trust for Historic Preservation Sued to Stop the Work and Welcomed the Appeals Court’s Decision.

For Preservation Advocates, the concern is Not Only Legal Pprocess. It includes the Project’s Scale, the Loss of the East Wing, and the Consequences of Adding a Major Structure to One of the Country’s most Historically Significant Federal Sites. Still, the Case does Not establish that every White House Alteration is Forbidden. The Building has been Renovated, Expanded, and Adapted throughout its History. The Contested Issue is whether this Project’s Size, Location,and Approval Process Demand a Clearer Role for Congress.

A Lower-Court Order had already Stopped Aboveground Work while Allowing Underground Construction Connected to a Bunker and other Asserted National-Security Facilities. That Split remains Important because it Shows that the Dispute is Not a Simple All-or-Nothing Ban on Work at the Site. Trump’s expected Appeal could turn a Fight Over One Ballroom into a Broader Test of Presidential Control over Federal Property and Congress’s Ability toCcheck Executive Building Initiatives.

Supporters may View the Ruling as Judicial Interference with an Effort to Modernize an Aging Complex and Improve Security. They may also Argue that Congressional Inaction should Not Block a Facility backed by Private Financing. Opponents see a Different Precedent at Risk. If a President can begin a Large, Permanent White House Project without Explicit Congressional Approval, they Argue, Future Presidents could Claim Broader Latitude to alter Federal Sites and Create Long-Term Government Obligations.

For now, the Ballroom has Not been Permanently Rejected. The Appeals Court has drawn a Temporary but Consequential Boundary: the Administration Cannot Continue Contested Aboveground Construction, while the Legal Challenge Proceeds without the Authorization the Court says Congress must Provide.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Trump Selects Heidi Overton to Lead FDA

Trump (R) announced 8/19/2026 will Nominate Heidi Overton (R), a top aide at the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, to serve as the next Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If confirmed, Overton would succeed Marty Makary in a position that is one of the most powerful in U.S. health care, with the agency’s sweeping mandate touching the daily lives of every American. The FDA oversees drugs, vaccines, tobacco products, the bulk of the food supply and more.

“Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country.” The administration struggled to fill the open role, with some outside candidates turning it down amid fears of political interference over FDA decisions. The selection process also has lasted weeks longer than expected, with Trump ultimately opting for a familiar face already in his administration.

A physician who is board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine, Overton previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. She has appeared with Trump to announce a slew of White House policies but has maintained a low public profile compared with some of Trump’s past FDA commissioners, such as Makary and Scott Gottlieb, who have been prolific commentators in the media.

Overton will need to be confirmed by the Senate, which has moved slowly on confirming some nominees to key health posts. Bloomberg News first reported Tuesday on Overton’s expected selection. Makary resigned in May after months of turmoil at the agency incurred the frustration of White House officials. Makary’s allies have characterized his departure as a matter of principle, saying he was unhappy about efforts to allow the sale of fruit-flavored vapes.

Overton is expected to face scrutiny from Democrats and public health experts — who have said that the FDA needs a strong leader to rebuff political pressure — as well as some supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement who have been upset about some White House actions, such as around moves to boost use of the herbicide glyphosate. “The nail in the coffin for MAHA,” Alex Clark, a prominent conservative wellness influencer and podcaster aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement, wrote in a text message. “Might as well have chosen Ronald McDonald” for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Overton has been involved in many health announcements throughout Trump’s term, but some FDA watchers have noted that she doesn’t have experience running a massive organization with thousands of employees, which could concern the drug industry that relies on a predictable agency to understand what it needs to do to win approvals. Overton’s allies say she would bring strengths to the FDA role, such as her knowledge of how to navigate the administration and her personal relationship with Trump, said two people familiar with her planned selection, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

They have touted her work ethic, willingness to read the medical literature and ability to change her mind in light of new evidence, such as shifting her position on the administration’s approach to psychedelic policy. After some initial resistance, Overton joined Trump and Kennedy at an announcement to expand access to psychedelics earlier this year. Her nomination is likely to draw concerns from some major medical groups. She stood next to Trump last week when he announced his most significant attempt to reshape how American children are vaccinated, such as cutting the number of recommended immunizations, spacing out shots and pushing to split the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate injections. Some prominent medical associations have denounced the executive order as leaving children vulnerable to preventing diseases and putting their health at risk. “It is a historic day and a historic action,” she said, referring to the executive order, in the Oval Office last week.

Overton may also face a difficult path in the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow three-vote edge. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who chairs the Senate health panel that would consider Overton’s nomination, has also battled with Trump since the president endorsed a rival candidate in Cassidy’s primary and helped ensure his political defeat.

Since Makary’s departure, Kyle Diamantas — who had overseen the agency’s food program and was elevated earlier this year to be one of Kennedy’s senior counselors — is serving as the acting FDA chief. His tenure has earned praise from career staffers and some of the industries the agency regulates.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Russia Threatens UK Over Ukraine Support

Ukraine launched more than 600 drones at Moscow overnight, the Russian capital's mayor said Tuesday, calling it one of the largest long-range Ukrainian assaults on the Moscow region since the war began more than four-and-a-half years ago.

In an attack beginning Tuesday evening and continuing into Wednesday morning, 637 Ukrainian drones were launched at Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Russian officials said at least 180 were shot down in the Moscow region, while more than 150 were intercepted elsewhere across the country.

A high-rise building and a warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, caught fire in the Moscow region. Ukraine has intensified attacks on Wildberries' warehouses and factories over the last month, knocking out seven of the company's 10 largest logistics facilities, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.

There were no confirmed fatalities from the Ukrainian strikes, but authorities said some people were wounded.

Some 60% of Ukraine's drones are built by one domestic company: Fire Point. It's run by 34-year-old Iryna Terekh, an architect who turned her design skills toward building weapons. Hundreds of workers piece together the drones at Fire Point's factories, usually by hand.

"We feel like we can provide a very asymmetrical answer with having low resources and yet making an impact," Terekh told CBS News.

Fire Point is also developing ballistic missiles for Ukraine, which Terekh says will be used against Russia by the end of the year.

"The only thing that they understand, the only language that they understood, is the language of power," Terekh said of Russia.

Russia, meanwhile, launched an attack overnight on the city of Pechenhy in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, killing 10 people, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We will definitely respond to this Russian strike," Zelenskyy wrote on X. "And it is equally important that our partners also complement our just kinetic responses with their own actions to put pressure on Russia and support Ukraine."

Russian officials also threatened consequences over the use of British drones in Ukraine's deep strikes. Although Ukraine manufactures the vast majority of its own attack drones, Russian officials said Tuesday that debris found in the country showed British-made drones had been shot down recently.

Russian officials also threatened consequences over the use of British drones in Ukraine's deep strikes. Although Ukraine manufactures the vast majority of its own attack drones, Russian officials said Tuesday that debris found in the country showed British-made drones had been shot down recently.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Appeals Court Blocks Trump on Picking US Attorneys

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, has Upheld a Lower Court Ruling that Disqualified Sigal Chattah, as the Purported Top Prosecutor in the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Ruling deals a Blow to the Trump (R) Scheme of Bypassing Senate Confirmation to Iinstall Poorly Qualified Loyalists as Top Federal Prosecutors in Blue States, a Key Element of Trump’s Campaign of Retribution.

The Particular Element of the Broader Scheme at Issue here was whether the Attorney General can Dole Out the “first assistant U.S. attorney” Designation to Just Anyone and Install Acting U.S. Attorneys of its Choosing in already Vacant Positions.

Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney Automatically Assumes the Role of Acting U.S. Attorney when that Post becomes Vacant. The Trump DOJ took that Provision and Ran with it, using the First Assistant Designation on People like Chattah to Circumvent both Senate Confirmation and the Law allowing Federal Judges to Name Interim U.S. Attorneys.

What the the Three-Judge 9th Circuit Panel, Two Trump Appointees and a Clinton Appointee, Unanimously Decided is that the First Assistant must have been Serving in that Role at the time of the Vacancy in the U.S. Attorney Position in Order to Automatically Ascend. Someone like Chattah, Who was Designated First Assistant after the Fact of the Vacancy, is Not Eligible to Serve as Acting U.S. Attorney on the Basis of that Designation.

The “rule of automatic succession applies only to a first assistant who held that position at the time the vacancy arose; it does not apply to a first assistant who never served under a validly appointed official,” the Appeal Court Decided. The Appeals Court also Rejected the Attempts by Trump Attorneys General to “create a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by delegating all of the functions and duties of the U.S. Attorney to someone else.”

Chattah’s Case is Instructive because of how many Elements of Manipulation and Scheming are Involved. Then Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) Properly named Chattah to the Statutorily Mandated 120-day Term as Acting U.S. Attorney on 4/1/2025. Then Things got Weird.

Chattah is a Trump Loyalist with No Prior Prosecutorial Experience who has Reportedly Abused the Office for Personal and Political Gain. The Federal Judges in Nevada did Not Move to Retain Her in the Role, which they have the Power to do under Statute.

Just before Chattah’s 120-day Term Ended, She Resigned and Bond Designated Her as First Assistant U.S. Attorney. Bondi’s Order Declared that by Law Chattah Aautomatically Ascended back into the Acting Role She had just Resigned. In a Belt-and-Suspenders move, Bondi also made Chattah a Special U.S. Attorney and Purported to Delegate All the Powers of the Nevada U.S. Attorney to Her. The Appeals Court Rejected both Moves as Unlawful.

It’s Important to Note that these Challenges to the Unlawful Appointments of U.S. Attorneys, like the Similarly Successful Challenges of Alina Habba’s Appointment in New Jersey, are coming from Criminal Defendants Seeking to have their Indictments Thrown Out. (The lower court in the consolidated cases brought by multiple criminal defendants had declined to dismiss the indictments, and the appeals court yesterday said it lacked jurisdiction at this stage to consider whether dismissal of the indictments was an appropriate remedy).

So not only is the Trump DOJ Engaged in squirrelly workarounds to install loyalists in blue states and bypass the Senate, but it’s risking having legitimate criminal prosecutions thrown out in order to do so. I know this seems even more in the weeds, but the precise mechanism has been finalized for running one portion of the Justice Department directly out of the White House to target what it euphemistically calls “fraud” but really means elected Democrats in blue states.

The move — reported by Bloomberg’s Ben Penn — shifts bureaucratic power from Main Justice’s Criminal Division to the new National Fraud Enforcement Division, which is being closely overseen at the White House by Vice President JD Vance and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. “The regulation also creates leeway for the new operation to take on a vast array of unspecified other cases,” Penn notes.

All indications are that this will be a new tool of retribution even more directly wielded by the White House than Attorney General Todd Blanche is. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, these White House-driven investigations don’t have to yield prosecutions in order to be beneficial to Trump and damaging to his targets. Wide-ranging subpoenas on spurious claims of fraud gives the White House access to documents, communications, personal information, and other potentially useful fodder to use against Democrats and other Trump foes.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Ukraine Has License to Build Weapons on its Own Soil

Ukraine’s Defense Sector has Introduced the WINFLY Spider, a Reusable Interceptor Drone, built on the WINFLY 10 Hunter Chassis and Equipped with a KARAKURT-K2 Net Launcher.

By Deploying a $27 (1,100 UAH) Net to Entangle and Neutralize Incoming Propeller Ddriven Shahed Variants and Reconnaissance UAVs, the System avoids Self-Destruction, Drastically Lowering Air Defense Costs, Compared to Single Use kamikaze interceptors.

Crucially, Capturing Intact Enemy Drones feeds Deep Technical Intelligence into Platforms like TrophyLab, while Allowing Ukraine to Reserve High-Speed Interceptors for Faster, jet-Powered Threats.

Ukraine gets a License to build SCALP Missiles, AASM Bombs, and Aster 30 Interceptors on its Own.

France didn't just Send Ukraine more Weapons, it Handed over the Manufacturing Rights to Build them.

Then Ukraine is Negotiating with France for a License to Build the SCALP Cruise Missile on its own Soil, a Step that would hand Kyiv a Homemade Precision Weapon it could produce in Quantity and fire into Russia without Waiting on an Ally’s Permission. The Talks are Early, and the Obstacles are Real.

But the Timing is pointed, because the Missile would Arrive as Russia’s Air Defenses are showing signs of Strain, under a Rrelentless Ukrainian campaign, giving Moscow One more kind of Threat, to Guard against across a Country it is already Struggling to Cover.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker