The Epoch Times

JUST IN: The government’s attempt to limit who can qualify for an exception to new Medicaid work requirements was illegal, a judge has ruled, while upholding other restrictions the government imposed. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over the summer issued a final rule implementing work requirements for Medicaid coverage outlined in a 2025 law. The rule limited who can qualify for one of the available exceptions beyond what was outlined in the law, including saying that people could only meet the “medically frail” exception if they have “an individual whose physical, mental, or other behavioral health condition significantly impairs the individual’s ability to comply with the community engagement requirement.” The policy also limited how states can verify eligibility for exceptions. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts said in the ruling on Thursday that CMS lacked the authority to exclude any of the individuals defined as medically frail by Congress in the law. He ordered that part of the rule excised. “It is well-recognized that there is an inherent public interest in ensuring that the government follows the law, and because enforcement of an unlawful definition of ‘medically frail’ may lead to the disenrollment of otherwise eligible vulnerable individuals relying on Medicaid coverage for continuity of care, the States (and public) face potential for great hardship in the absence of an injunction,” the judge wrote.

JUST IN: The Labor Department has published a Most Wanted List for the first time, listing 16 fugitives who allegedly stole more than $55 million from U.S. taxpayers. The fugitives are wanted in cases involving money laundering, healthcare fraud, foreign labor visa fraud, identity theft, unemployment insurance fraud, unlawful labor payments, labor trafficking, and other crimes that undermine federal programs, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General said in an Oct. 28 statement. One name is already marked as “captured” on the list—Leslie Kaciban was arrested in Hungary after fleeing there from Costa Rica and is expected to be extradited.

JUST IN: Did U.S. Senate hopeful Mary Peltola’s aides work with national Democrats to recruit spoiler candidates onto the ballot? Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into the claim after a New York Times report described an organized effort to confuse Alaska voters by placing a candidate with nearly the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan on the ballot:Dan J. Sullivan. The report claims that aides to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, DSCC staff, and a Democratic operative spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from the Republican senator. President Donald Trump called it “voter fraud at the highest level” and said both Peltola and the “fake Dan Sullivan” should be removed from the race. Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC have denied any involvement. Dan J. Sullivan has said he is a qualified candidate who simply used his legal name.

JUST IN: A Delaware judge ruled that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, can continue their defamation lawsuit against the companies of American conservative podcaster Candace Owens, but not ‌against Owens herself. The Macrons sued Owens and two businesses associated with her in July 2025 over her podcast series alleging France’s first lady is a male. They allege Owens amplified these claims, which first emerged in France, “to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money.” Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie ruled on Tuesday that his court did not have jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee, but that the case against Candace Owens LLC and Georgetom Inc. may proceed because those businesses were registered in Delaware. The decision means that Owens, who has a following of more than 7.7 million on X and more than 6 million on YouTube, will not be held personally liable if a judge ultimately finds in favor of the Macrons. Statute of Limitations Rennie will ‌consider whether to dismiss the lawsuit entirely after lawyers for both sides brief him on whether France’s statute of limitations required the Macrons to sue within three months or one year of the alleged defamation. A three-month deadline could lead to a complete dismissal because the Macrons waited longer to take action, unless the judge decides the alleged defamation is “aggravated,” in which case the limitation period is extended to one year. “We are pleased that the Court rejected Mrs. Owens’ attempt to remove the case from Delaware, where her companies continue to publish and monetize her defamatory falsehoods,” lawyers for the Macrons said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

JUST IN: Salim Said, operator of a Minneapolis Somali restaurant, was sentenced to 30 years for $44 million in COVID child-nutrition fraud after claiming 6,000 meals were distributed a day while cameras showed roughly 40 people collecting food. Prosecutors said he and his sites “did not serve thousands of children; he served a calculated, lucrative lie.” He used the proceeds to buy a $1.2 million home, commercial real estate, and an $87,000 pickup truck. The scheme was part of the larger Feeding Our Future case, which took in $242 million and produced dozens of indictments, many involving people of Somali descent. Said, a native of Somalia, denied the allegations at trial but expressed remorse at sentencing. His defense had asked for 12 years. At sentencing, the judge told Said: “You took more than taxpayers’ dollars to enrich yourself. You took the reputation of our state down with you.”

JUST IN: FBI and ICE agents won’t be watching polling places on Election Day—but a thousand other federal workers will. The DOJ confirmed it plans to send 1,000 employees to monitor polls in all 50 states. In a court filing on Oct. 28, acting Voting Section chief Eric Neff said none of those monitors will come from the FBI or ICE. Monitors will instead include staff from the DEA, the Bureau of Prisons, and ATF. They will be barred from carrying guns and will not act as law enforcement. Their only job is to watch for potential federal voting-law violations and report them after the election. They have been trained not to interfere with voters or election officials and may only speak to voters after ballots are cast.

JUST IN: El Salvador is deploying more than 2,000 troops to rescue four soldiers taken by a Haitian gang. The four Salvadoran aviation technicians, part of a U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, were attacked on Oct. 18 just outside Port-au-Prince. Their armored vehicle was set on fire. President Nayib Bukele has already deployed hundreds of soldiers and is now scaling up the operation, warning the gang leaders holding the men that he is not bluffing. “We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you, too,” Bukele wrote on X. Haiti’s prime minister said the two governments reaffirmed cooperation on the rescue, while large parts of the country remain under gang control.