“We cannot allow proposed cuts to HUD and Section 8 to devastate our communities. These aren’t abstract budget items—they represent the homes and futures of real people we work with every day.”

NYCHA’s Polo Grounds Houses. (Adi Talwar for City Limits)

As we commemorate Fair Housing Month this April, we stand alongside thousands of public housing residents fighting for their homes and their rights. We’ve walked through aging NYCHA buildings with Community Voices Heard (CVH) Power members like Ms. Barbara, who has lived in the Polo Grounds Towers for over 20 years. She shows us the persistent leaks, the mold growing on the walls, and explains how she organizes her neighbors to demand basic repairs. Despite these challenges, she proudly calls public housing home—it’s where she raised her children.

In February, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alongside the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), terminated 78 grants in 33 states totaling more than $30 million that provided funding for fair housing organizations. Stories like Ms. Barbara’s remind us why we cannot allow proposed cuts to HUD and Section 8 to devastate our communities. These aren’t abstract budget items—they represent the homes and futures of real people we work with every day.

At Community Voices Heard Power, our members know the life-changing power of stable, affordable housing – because they’ve experienced it personally. They also know the constant anxiety of threatened funding cuts. During our monthly meetings in Harlem, Yonkers, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie, we hear from residents like Nola, a retired senior who worked at the Department of Justice and has been a resident of public housing in Newburgh for 24 years. And from Maria, who is the President of her Tenant Association at UPACA 6 in Harlem, and has lived in public housing since 1964.

These CVH Power members aren’t just beneficiaries of housing programs—they’re powerful advocates who travel to Albany and Washington to testify about the critical importance of these investments. This year, CVH Power organized hundreds of tenants who boarded buses at dawn to make their voices heard at the state capitol. They understand that when we talk about HUD funding, we’re talking about their homes, their communities, and their lives.

The numbers behind these human stories are equally compelling. Even before potential cuts, only one in four eligible households receives federal housing assistance due to chronic underfunding. And more than half a million Americans experience homelessness on any given night. Meanwhile, rising rents and stagnant wages have created an affordability crisis – millions of families spend more than half their income on housing.

In my years as Regional Administrator for HUD in New York and New Jersey, I saw how federal programs can create pathways to opportunity, and how insufficient funding leads to nearly impossible challenges. Since my teenage years living in HUD-assisted housing, public housing has steadily declined, and I understand the urgency of prioritizing capital repair needs. I’ve sat with residents facing heating outages in the dead of winter, waiting years for basic repairs.

But I’ve also witnessed the transformation that comes with meaningful investment, where renovations not only improve living conditions but also, through Section 3, open doors to workforce development and job opportunities for residents themselves.

CVH Power members can tell you exactly what happens when funding erodes: maintenance backlogs grow, security concerns increase, and quality of life deteriorates. But they can also tell you about the pride and potential in their communities when properly supported. Public housing isn’t just shelter—it’s a foundation for education, employment, health, and community building.

Moreover, cutting housing investments is fiscally irresponsible. Every dollar invested in affordable housing generates multiple dollars in economic activity. Stable housing reduces costs in healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems. And preventing homelessness is far less expensive than addressing it after the fact.

Some argue that the private market can address housing needs without government intervention. But CVH Power members who’ve navigated the brutal private rental market in New York can tell you otherwise. Market forces alone consistently fail to produce sufficient affordable housing, particularly for those with the lowest incomes. Public investment is essential to fill this gap.

As we reflect on Fair Housing Month, we draw inspiration from CVH Power members like Millie, who has lived in Section 8 housing in Poughkeepsie for 15 years, and joined our organization to fight for her right to stay. The Fair Housing Act was enacted in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, carrying forward his vision of a society where everyone has access to safe, decent, affordable housing. Cutting HUD funding betrays this vision and the values we claim to uphold as a nation.

We call on Congress and the administration to listen to the voices of CVH Power members and public housing residents across the country who are fighting to protect their homes. We need increased investments to address our housing crisis, not cuts. 

The fight for fair and affordable housing is a fight for human dignity, economic opportunity, and racial justice. During Fair Housing Month and beyond, let us recommit to the principle that everyone deserves a decent place to call home—and let us hold our elected officials accountable for policies that make this principle a reality.

Juanita O. Lewis is the executive director of Community Voices Heard Power. Alicka Ampry-Samuel is a former member of the NYC and former regional administrator for New York and New Jersey of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The post Opinion: This Fair Housing Month, Let’s Protect Public Housing From HUD Cuts appeared first on City Limits.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s effort to impose new requirements on Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine — the nation’s only traditional protein-based option for the coronavirus — is sowing uncertainty about updates to other vaccines, too.

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Novavax said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration was asking the company to run a new clinical trial of its vaccine after the agency grants full approval. The company said it had responded and that it believed its shot remains “approvable.”

But a weekend post on social media by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested the prospect of needing a new trial before the shots’ yearly strain update — something unlikely to be possible before fall. That’s raised questions about whether other vaccines will be caught in the turmoil.

“I don’t think because there’s a strain change that this is a new product,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. If that’s the new policy, “you’d always be doing clinical trials and you’d never have a vaccine that was up to date.”

The unusual move at FDA come shortly after the agency’s longtime vaccine chief was forced out over disagreements with Makary’s boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy won Senate confirmation to his job, in part, by promising not to change the nation’s vaccine schedule. Since taking office, he’s promised to “investigate” children’s shots, canceled meetings of expert vaccine advisers and directed officials to look again for connections between vaccines and autism, a link long-ago debunked.

The Novavax vaccine, which originally showed effectiveness in a nearly 30,000-person clinical trial, is still being sold under emergency use authorization in the U.S. The nation’s other two options, mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, have earned full FDA approval for certain age groups.

Because the coronavirus continually mutates, manufacturers follow instructions from FDA to make one change each year to their recipe — which strain to target — just like flu vaccines.

The FDA was on track to grant Novavax full approval by its April 1 target date, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. But Trump appointees directed FDA scientists to pause their decision, according to one of the people. Since that highly unusual move, Novavax and the agency have been discussing additional requirements for approval.

In his weekend tweet, FDA’s Makary referred to the Novavax vaccine as “a new product,” presumably because it had been updated to match last year’s common coronavirus strain.

“New products require new clinical studies,” Makary added.

An administration spokesman didn’t respond to specific questions about Pfizer and Moderna but suggested all COVID-19 vaccines could face stricter requirements.

“It’s now been years since COVID has presented the threat it once did, and the urgency to rush approval of boosters without normal oversight no longer exists,” said Andrew Nixon, a Health and Human Services spokesman, in a statement.

The FDA had been treating the annual COVID-19 strain updates exactly as it’s done for decades with flu vaccines — not as new products, but existing ones that are merely adjusted to protect against the latest strains, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Offit said the companies still must perform tests in small numbers of people that show these updated vaccines produce levels of virus-fighting antibodies known to be protective, and they’re closely monitored for safety.

Nixon, the HHS spokesman, suggested the policy might not apply to the flu shot, “which has been tried and tested for more than 80 years.”

Under federal law, the FDA is required to follow established procedures when issuing requirements to drugmakers for approval. If the agency skips certain steps or imposes additional requirements for political reasons, experts say, it could be sued by drugmakers — or even patients, such as those who prefer the Novavax vaccine over its competitors because of an allergy or some other reason.

In addition to large clinical trials conducted before all three COVID-19 vaccines were cleared for use, there’s data on real-world use, said former Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, who oversaw COVID-19 vaccine policy during the Biden administration.

“At the point where I had left, we had put some 700 million COVID vaccines into the arms of Americans,” he said. “That’s a pretty good size clinical trial.”

AP writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this story.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

If you were to create a prototypical NHL playoff forward from scratch, you would take some size, add some grit and honesty, throw in a willingness to make a “play without gloves on” when necessary, and make said player a bulldog around the opponent’s net.

When you were finished putting all of those elements together, that forward might look a lot like Minnesota Wild veteran Marcus Foligno.

Not only does Foligno lead all NHL players this spring with 35 postseason hits, he already has more than doubled his career postseason goals number, scoring in three of the first four games of the Wild’s first-round series with Vegas. With Foligno still signed for three more years, at $4 million annually, it’s a good sign for a franchise that believes it’s on the cusp of real playoff success

“The attributes he plays with are built for playoff time,” Wild coach John Hynes said following the team’s Monday morning practice at TRIA Rink. Foligno is often a willing fighter in the regular season, but Hynes said a key to playoff success this year has been playing a physical role while staying out of the penalty box.

“He’s under control. When he finds times to get hits, he’s getting hits. When they’re not, he’s not chasing it. He’s not overly emotional,” Hynes said. “He’s mentally engaged in the game. He’s physically engaged in the game. He’s playing the style of game with his puck play that sets him up to be a strong player, and then when he’s getting his goals, he’s in and around the net-front.”

Minnesota Wild center Gustav Nyquist (41) and left wing Marcus Foligno (17) check Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

The Wild trailed early in Game 4, before Marco Rossi forged a tie, and Foligno gave Minnesota its first lead, lurking around Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill and slamming home the rebound of a Ryan Hartman shot after Hill made the initial save. It was a veteran play in a part of the rink where you know there will be contact from the opposing defense, but Foligno has made a living with his size and dogged determination in those “dirty areas” of the ice.

While the playoff numbers are unprecedented in his career, Wild teammates say that this is the Folgino they see throughout the regular season and in practice.

“I love him, all year long,” Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. “So many nights when we’re a little flat or something, he brings so much energy with the way he plays — dropping the gloves, hitting, talking on the ice and on the bench.

“It’s the same way in the playoffs. He’s maybe upped his hit count a little, and that’s been crazy, but he’s fun to watch. Love, love, love to watch his play and to watch him be productive.”

Fleury added that several years of practicing against Foligno, and trying to see incoming pucks around the forward’s 6-foot-3, 227-pound frame is the challenge that Hill faces, again, over the next two or three games.

Foligno is from a hockey family. His father, Mike, played more than 1,000 games, and older brother Nick is skating for the Chicago Blackhawks. Of note, in their sibling rivalry, is the fact that Nick has twice been to the second round of the playoffs, with Columbus in 2018 and 2019, while Marcus has never seen Round 2.

That might be an extra incentive for the younger Foligno brother to continue his playoff prowess, with the Wild filled with confidence headed back to Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT.

The Wild won Game 2 in Vegas, and their 23 regular-season road wins are tied for third among NHL teams.

“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Foligno said. “I mean, we’ve got to understand that we’ve got to play the same way and play like we did in spurts of Game 1 and majority of Game 2. … The road doesn’t faze this team.”

Blue line change?

Hynes did not use rookie defenseman Zeev Buium in overtime of Game 4, sticking with veterans on the back end. At Monday’s practice, Buium was not skating with the top six defenseman, and while not tipping his lineup hand, the coach admitted a change might be coming in Game 5.

“I haven’t made a final decision on the D, but it is in consideration,” Hynes said.

Buium has a point in his four career games while playing on the Wild’s top power play unit, and also took a costly four-minute penalty in the third period of their overtime loss in Game 4. Veteran Jon Merrill would be the most likely candidate to take Buium’s place on the back end.

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Uno de los deportados al CECOT es el venzolano Edicson David Quintero Chacón. El 16 de abril un grupo de abogados del American Immigration Council, del National Immigration Project, y del Center for Constitutional Rights presentó una petición de hábeas corpus, solicitando a un juez federal que ordene la inmediata puesta en libertad.

La Secretaria del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, visita el CECOT de El Salvador el 26 de marzo de 2025. (Foto del DHS por Tia Dufour)

El presidente Donald Trump emitió una orden ejecutiva invocando la Ley de Enemigos Extranjeros (Alien Enemies Act) el 14 de febrero, pero la orden no se hizo pública inmediatamente, así que esta no vio la luz pública sino hasta el 15 de marzo.

Con la orden ejecutiva, el gobierno federal designó a la pandilla Tren de Aragua como una organización terrorista extranjera, y con esta puede detener y, por un tiempo, pudo expulsar a inmigrantes mayores de 14 años sin audiencia judicial.

El mismo día que la administración publicó la orden ejecutiva, la Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU por sus siglas en inglés) presentó una demanda en un tribunal federal en Washington buscando bloquear que el presidente invocara la ley. Y ese mismo día el juez federal de Washington, James E. Boasberg, ordenó al gobierno no deportar a nadie en virtud de la ley y que devolviera los aviones que ya hubieran despegado. 

Mientras tanto, ese mismo dia, tres aviones con inmigrantes deportados desde los Estados Unidos aterrizaron en El Salvador y las personas deportadas fueron encerrados en el Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). La administración Trump ha insistido en que no violó la orden del juez Boasberg.

En una apelación de emergencia, la Corte Suprema emitió una orden declarando que los migrantes sujetos a deportación en virtud de la ley tenían derecho a ser notificados. Pero al mismo tiempo, la orden afirma que la administración Trump podía continuar con las deportaciones si las personas tenían la oportunidad de defender su caso ante los tribunales y disponían de “un plazo razonable” para impugnar sus expulsiones pendientes.

Entre los deportados a El Salvador está Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, quien ha sido acusado por el gobierno de ser parte de la pandilla MS-13. La orden de la corte le pide al gobierno estadounidense “facilitar” la liberación de Abrego García.

El 16 de abril un grupo de abogados del American Immigration Council, del National Immigration Project, y del Center for Constitutional Rights presentó una petición de hábeas corpus —que es un procedimiento judicial interpuesto por personas que alegan estar siendo detenidas ilegalmente por el gobierno— para Edicson David Quintero Chacón, un inmigrante venzolano en el CECOT.

Así que para hablar de Quintero, invitamos a una de las abogados detrás de su caso,  Stephanie M. Alvarez-Jones, abogada regional del Sureste del National Immigration Project.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

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