*By Conor White*
The U.S. government may be on track to meet Thursday's deadline to reunite families separated at the southern borderーbut one Politico reporter reminded Cheddar that doesn't apply to everyone.
In an interview Thursday, Dan Diamond praised the government's efforts over a relatively short period, but said there are nine hundred parents that have been deemed 'ineligible'ーmeaning they have a criminal record, preexisting health problem, or have already been deported. Diamond cautioned that some may never seen their children again.
Another major wrinkle in the plan: Diamond said the costs of getting some 2,500 immigrant children to their parents will be felt for quite a while. The Health Department, he said, has resorted to siphoning from its broader funds.
"\[The Department has spent\] tens of millions of dollars just in the past few months on housing kids that have been separated at the border, caring for them, and now putting the families back together."
Officials may also have to answer for a [new Politico report](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/25/deported-migrants-leaving-children-behind-712088) that says 75 percent of migrant parents were never given a choice between taking their children with them or leaving them behind in the States, contradicting what the Trump administrationーincluding Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsenーhas claimed.
"That's very concerning from a human perspective," Diamond said, "but also creates major logistical challenges, because now the government has to track down parents who have been deported and ask them, 'Do you want your kid brought to you in a foreign country?' How will these parents be put back together with their kids?"
"So \[there's been\] a lot of progressーbut \[also\] very real questions about what happens to the entire population of migrant parents and kids."
For full interview [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjExNTg=).
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has made his case for major U.S. backing of Ukraine and Israel in a time of war.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to try a third vote to become House speaker, even as his Republican colleagues are explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.
Donald Trump is winning over swing state voters including in several states even leaning toward President Joe Biden, according to a recent poll by Bloomberg and Morning Consult.
A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent,” her employer said Thursday.
Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump losing even more GOP colleagues who refused to give him the the gavel.
