Marylanders and another 7--8 million folks around the country raised hell quietly and peacefully at No Kings events ranging from hundreds of thousands in Times Square (NYC) and the Capitol in DC to dozens standing up for freedom in a deep-red, pro-Trump hamlet in rural Georgia. Funny costumes and quite serious signs announced that the millions mocked the posturing MAGA mouthpieces who slurred their motives while seriously demanding respect for the rights of free speech and action, and the right to go out in public without being profiled and hustled by ICE. 

The shutdown is having its effect on the lives of everyday Marylanders -- and not only the laid-off federal workers: when they hurt, we all hurt. But, as Megan E reminds us below in the PA weekly notebook, the increases in Affordable Care Act premiums will be in everyone's mailbox by Nov. 1, and the hundreds of thousands effectively thrown off health care programs in deep-Red states will get full evidence of their betrayal by the paid-off, Trump-fearing politicians they elected. It will not be pretty. But, alas, it is News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND

 Amid federal shutdown, Marylanders worry about paying the bills

The federal shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has sent hundreds of thousands of federal employees home. Other employees are required to work, but they all must wait for any backpay that might be coming. Capital News Service spoke with several who requested anonymity for fear of being targeted by their employer.    “The Trump administration has demonized federal workers and talked about how “we’re lazy, we’re useless,” said one Nattionasl Institutes of Health (NIH] program officer, a Silver Spring resident who said she thinks it seems more like officials in Washington are lazy and useless. “If my fellow executive branch workers were that inefficient, we would have been fired long ago.” Capital News Service [UMD J-school]

Summaries from Maryland Reporter

Marylanders Take To The Streets For No Kings Rallies: From the cheering crowds along the Baltimore Running Festival route to the rainbow flags of the Annapolis Pride Parade and the rallies that filled Towson streets, Maryland became a stage for the nationwide “No Kings 2.0” protests on Saturday. Towson University students moved their “No Kings” rally off campus after a school official told them speakers’ names would be run through federal government databases and vetted for security reasons.  Baltimore Banner. >> Several thousand demonstrators lined the streets of downtown Columbia Saturday as part of the “No Kings” rallies across the country protesting President Donald Trump and his actions. Republican politicians had sought to portray the demonstrators in advance as people who “hate America.” But dozens of the hundreds of homemade protest placards pushed back on those attacks with signs like the one that said, “We the People Love America.” Maryland Reporter >> In Queen Anne’s County, where 62% of voters went for President Donald Trump in last year’s election, some of those who showed up for the No Kings rally said they were pleasantly surprised by Saturday’s turnout. Several hundred people turned up, many waving hand-drawn signs by the roadside in Centreville’s small historic downtown, while others gathered in the courtyard, where a musician performed at a piano, and organizers opened the mic for testimonials. Maryland Matters.

Bay Restoration Hampered By Shoreline That Is Privately Owned: Virtually all of the Chesapeake Bay’s shoreline is privately owned, which means many of these taxpayer-funded waterfront improvements go to properties that limit public access. These benefits pose a question fundamental to the Chesapeake’s future: Can Maryland balance what’s best for the bay with the public’s desire to enjoy it? It’s an acute tension in Anne Arundel County, where just one of its 533 miles of shore is open for public swimming. Baltimore Banner.

State Pushes Hard For Electric School Buses: Maryland is one of the states pushing hardest for electric school buses, with millions of state and federal funds distributed in recent years and hundreds of vehicles rolling out across a handful of school districts. Baltimore Sun.

Shrinking Federal Research Funds Squeeze Maryland Universities: Maryland University scientists are being pushed into uncharted territory as historic funding shifts reshape the academic landscape, with federal research dollars shrinking and even being clawed back. “All of us here in Maryland had become extremely dependent on federal funding and extremely good at getting it,” said Patrick O’Shea, of the University System of Maryland. “Our failure was a lack of diversity in funding.” Baltimore Sun.

THE REGION AND THE OTHER 49

21 Democratic House members press PJM for interconnection reforms

The lawmakers called on the PJM Interconnection to bolster rules for energy storage and grid-enhancing technologies while considering options such as “connect and manage.” A group of 21 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the PJM Interconnection to make it easier to bring power supplies online, a move they said could help lower electricity costs. In some parts of PJM (which includes Maryland and other Northeastern coastal states) consumers face electric rate increases of more than 20% at a time when many people are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, according to the lawmakers. “These rate increases are unaffordable and necessitate that PJM respond effectively to pursue reforms to the interconnection process that would address and prevent current and future rate hikes,” the lawmakers said in a letter. Utility Dive

Shutdown leaves gaps in states’ health data, possibly endangering lives

The shutdown has halted dashboards and expert analysis from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors indicators such as wastewater to provide early warnings of the spread of COVID-19, influenza, RSV and other infectious diseases. There are signs of RSV [respiratory virus especially threatening to infants and you children] as well as influenza picking up in several states, and COVID-19 rates were still very high in some states before the shutdown. Stateline Daily

NATIONAL GUARD: The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the immediate deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, calling the decisions by lower court judges blocking the activation “indefensible” and “micromanaging.” The administration argued the judicial branch has no right to “second guess” a president’s judgment on national security matters, according to Capitol News Illinois.

COVID-19 VACCINES: Health insurers in Pennsylvania will be required to cover COVID-19 and other vaccinations through 2026, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports. Pennsylvanians can receive the COVID-19 vaccinations without copays, deductibles or other costs, when administered by an in-network provider and without insurers requiring extra steps that make it harder for people to get vaccinated. 

TN: Traffic citations outnumber federal task force’s arrests in Memphis; sparse data leaves impact murky | Tennessee Lookout

OR: Oregon immigration rights groups sue ICE, alleging it is preventing access to lawyers | Oregon Capital Chronicle

Via Pluribus

LABOR: The National Labor Relations Board has sued California to block a new law Newsom signed last month that will allow the California Public Employee Relations Board to enforce federal labor laws. The law allows the state board to oversee union elections and workplace retaliation cases if the NLRB declines to take up the case. (Los Angeles Times)

REDISTRICTING: President Trump held a half-hour phone call Friday with Indiana Senate Republicans to press for new U.S. House district lines. Senate Majority Caucus chair Travis Holdman (R) said Trump didn’t issue any threats. Gov. Mike Braun (R) says he’s waiting to hear support from House Speaker Todd Huston (R) before calling a special session. (State Affairs)

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) campaigned in favor of California’s Proposition 50, the measure to redistrict state congressional district boundaries, at three Black churches in Los Angeles on Sunday. (Los Angeles Times)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has raised more than $2 million [2.3 million as of this morning in just two days after Taylor Swift fans rushed to purchase a vintage t-shirt promoting otter conservation after Swift wore the shirt to a release party for her new movie celebrating her “Life of a Showgirl” album. The aquarium had set out to raise $1.3 million — a nod to Swift’s favorite number — and blew through that goal in about eight hours. (Associated Press) via Pluribus [This aquarium’s unique history starts with the John Steinbeck novels Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday – check them out]]

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

Costumes at massive No Kings protest mock MAGA claims

Absurd costumes featuring animals both mythical and as down-home as a pond frog were among the menagerie of characters that appeared Saturday among the massive crowds of demonstrators that gathered across the country and the globe as part of No Kings protests against President Donald Trump. There were inflatable costumes of every shape and color — pandas, hot dogs, Santa Clauses and T. rex dinosaurs, to name just a few. The outfits have become an absurd and enduring image of the protests against the Trump administration this year as cities push back on his deportation crackdown and domestic military deployments. The costumes are being donned in part as a rebuke to Republicans portraying the events as “hate America” rallies and the Trump administration’s claims that blue cities like Chicago and Portland are riddled with crime. WaPo

>>>>>>>>>Here is the DC Bulletin from People’s Action, Progressive Maryland’s national affiliate – penned by Megan E, the federal affairs director at PA

Hello People's Action!

Around 7 million people turned out for No Kings Day protests on Saturday with joy, creativity and tons of funny costumes and signs. . 

The government is on its 20th day of a shutdown. Trump found other defense money to pay the troops last week and some Republican Senators feeble-ly grumbled about him not following the proper process. Speaker Johnson says there won’t be enough money to pay them on the 31st if Congress doesn’t pass a funding bill. Senator Majority Leader Thune will offer a bill to pay the troops and the federal workers who are forced to work this week after Democrats blocked a bill to pay only the troops last week. 

The House has been on vacation for 3 weeks even though members of Congress (but not their staff) are getting pay checks. Johnson is starting to get pressure from his members that this is not a good look to be in recess during a shutdown. Even Rep. Margorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) is calling for Congress to get back to work and extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Please continue to put pressure on the House members to get them to speak out against leadership, in favor of ending the shutdown and funding health care. Republicans are unlikely to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits unless Trump tells them to [but if the House is in session to deal with an altered CR, it gives Senate GOPers the off-ramp they need to send one back]. Trump’s had a good media cycle with the ceasefire in Gaza and has been able to ignore the shutdown. However, the Affordable Care Act marketplaces open nationwide on November 1st and people will see the rising costs of their insurance. It’s important for people to understand that rising premiums on employer-provided insurance are also due to Republicans' cuts to healthcare and insurers spreading the costs. 

After November 1st, Democrats may admit defeat on that issue and Republicans will clearly shoulder the blame of rising health care costs. 

People’s Action Institute is joining this National Week of Action (October 29 - November 5, 2025) on the Shutdown

• Look for local events to pressure Congress. Check Mobilize here to find one.

• Spread the word to your network to join a local event. (Find events as they are populated here.)

• Plan a social media campaign with storytellers or #showusthereceipts as folks get their new bills

• Additional event ideas are here. Halloween themed actions with the Grim Reaper

Please lift up health care stories and share with me any events or communications that you put out. 

Speaker Johnson is refusing to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who won a special election to replace her late father Raul Grijalva. Grijalva has filed a lawsuit and people are speculating that Johnson is avoiding swearing her in because she will be the final signature needed on a discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files. 

HEALTH CARE: NEW RESOURCES: 

Thanks to Tracy Hutchings-Goetz at Hoosier Action for sharing their resources for their Protect Medicaid campaign. Hoosier Action Medicaid Campaign Resources 

In solidarity,

Megan