This is an excerpt from Incoming, BuzzFeed News’ morning newsletter dedicated to making sense of this chaotic world we live in. Join the club here.
Republican governors are sending thousands of immigrants to liberal cities, but the political stunt is having a ripple effect
It's become a popular tactic among Republican governors to send undocumented immigrants north to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions in other states. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally refuse to hold immigrants suspected of minor crimes for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or have policies ordering law enforcement not to ask about a person’s immigration status.
Most recently, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chartered dozens of immigrants on two planes to Massachusetts island Martha’s Vineyard, arguing it shouldn't "fall on a handful of red states" to deal with immigrants entering through the southern US border. It's been a common refrain for months, with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also busing thousands of immigrants to places like New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
You may be wondering: Is it legal to bus human beings — many of whom are fleeing extreme poverty and violence in their home countries — to these so-called sanctuary states or cities? Well, it’s unclear. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that state and city officials in Illinois were looking into whether Texas had violated laws by busing immigrants to Chicago, including whether the passengers had been coerced into taking the rides.
Biden to meet with Griner and Whelan family today
- President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan's families on Friday. Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, is sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession charges. Whelan has been detained for more than three years over espionage charges that he claims are false, CNN reports.
- The Biden administration has proposed a prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, but there are updates on this potential negotiation at this time.
SNAPSHOTS
Thousands of doctor's appointments in the UK have been canceled for the Queen's funeral. “Putting health on hold and healthcare on hold for a person who has had no real impact on most of the general population is just very absurd,” said one patient.
Human smugglers use scammy ads on Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok to lure immigrants who want to go to the US. And as immigrants view these exploitative and misleading advertisements, Meta profits.
Cardi B pleaded guilty to assault and reckless endangerment. In October 2018, the rapper turned herself in to the police after she was involved in a fight at Angels strip club in Queens. “Part of growing up and maturing is being accountable for your actions,” she said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
Nicki Minaj once again started trending on social media this week after her fanbase launched an attack against her critics. It's a heinous mess that may result in legal action!
People with ADHD are struggling to get Adderall amid a shortage
Adderall, a medication used to treat people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is tightly controlled by the government. Even getting a prescription can be difficult, especially as some doctors raise concerns about the legitimacy of telehealth prescriptions and warn that videos of people talking about their ADHD diagnoses are becoming a TikTok trend.
Now, with an ongoing national shortage, it’s becoming even harder to get.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, there was a nationwide Adderall shortage in September 2019 that lasted until May 2022 due to a “demand increase in the drug,” but there isn’t one now — even though consumers say they’re still struggling to get their medication. Plus, the Drug Enforcement Administration recently decreased how much Adderall can be sold in the US per year because it said the medicine was being abused for cognitive enhancement and recreation, according to a 2022 Los Angeles magazine report.
But for people who require Adderall to function in daily life, these changes have limited medication access and created indefinite delays. Twenty people across the country this week told BuzzFeed News their pharmacies, from chains like CVS to small local ones, don’t have the drug in stock. “I’m a single mom. I have to be on top of life all the time. … not knowing when my brain will work is terrifying,” one Adderall user said.
How Industry became the druggiest show on TV
To watch an average episode of HBO’s Industry is to feel almost nauseous as you follow characters who arrive bleary-eyed at the office after extensive and expensive benders.
One scene might show two characters with coke-dusted noses snorting bumps from each other’s hands in a pub toilet. Another might show a woman rubbing some on her gums in the bathroom at an afternoon networking event. At least one character has done a line or two of coke while staying at home for a (relatively) quiet night.
The fake cocaine is "sort of like milk powder, which the actors tell me is actually horrible to snort after a while,” said Mickey Down, who created Industry along with fellow ex–banking world colleague Konrad Kay. If audiences feel sick, said Down, that’s exactly the point.
“It’s kind of what we were going for,” he said. “[We were] trying to capture that sense of being up all night and going to work and having the worst day of work you ever had in your life happening. I feel like the anxiety that induces was kind of the point.”
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