Happy Friday and welcome to today’s edition of Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Today’s breakdown includes the pending DHS shutdown, the bizarre disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the outbreak of Measles across the country (thanks RFK Jr.), and Republicans’ rebuke against Trump tariffs.
Let’s break it down.
DHS Shutdown Looms Amid Immigration Showdown….The Department of Homeland Security is set to shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after Senate Republicans failed to secure the 60 votes needed to pass a funding bill. With Congress leaving town for a weeklong recess, the standoff could last at least 10 days. Democrats are demanding guardrails on ICE and CBP—including requiring visible identification, judicial warrants for home entries, and banning masks—following the killing of two U.S. citizens during a federal immigration surge in Minnesota. The White House says Democrats rejected its latest counterproposal and accuses them of playing politics. While agencies like FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard would continue working without pay, ICE and Border Patrol operations would remain largely unaffected due to $75 billion in previously approved funding. Polling shows public approval of Trump’s immigration handling has dropped sharply, giving Democrats leverage as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Common Sense Takeaway: You don’t get to demand more money for immigration raids after two U.S. citizens are killed and call it “politics” when people ask for basic guardrails. If ICE and Border Patrol want billions more, accountability isn’t optional. Funding without reform is just writing a bigger check for the same bullshit.
And of course right-wing outlets are talking about the DHS shutdown like the Democrats ran out of town:
Left-leaning sources are reporting on it in a factual manner:
The contrast in coverage is exactly why I use Ground News. Ground News pulls together reporting from newsrooms around the world—aggregating thousands of stories and letting you directly compare how the left, center, and right are covering the same events. Check out the coverage details for this story:
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Search Intensifies in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance…The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released new details about a male suspect seen on Nancy Guthrie’s porch the morning she vanished. Authorities describe him as 5’9” to 5’10”, average build, wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. The reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction has been increased to $100,000, as investigators sift through more than 13,000 tips received since Feb. 1. Search teams from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department continue combing the Arizona foothills near the family’s home and have recovered items—including gloves—now undergoing DNA testing. Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie shared emotional family footage online, vowing, “We will never give up on her.”
Common Sense Takeaway: This is every family’s nightmare. Law enforcement is chasing down thousands of tips, testing DNA, and raising the reward, with a derelict at the head of the FBI. But at the center of all of it is a daughter publicly refusing to give up on her mom, and that’s what the focus should be on.
Measles Cases Top 900 Across 24 States…Measles infections in the U.S. have climbed to 910 confirmed cases across 24 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency reported 177 new cases in its latest update, with the vast majority occurring among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. States affected span the country, from Arizona and Georgia to New York and Washington, as public health officials warn of continued spread in under-vaccinated communities.
Common Sense Takeaway: Measles is spreading because vaccination rates are slipping. Nine hundred cases across 24 states is what happens when misinformation outpaces public health. Preventable diseases shouldn’t be coming back in 2026.
House Republicans Break With Trump on Canada Tariffs…In a rare bipartisan rebuke, six House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a bill rescinding President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, the U.S.’s second-largest trading partner. The measure passed 219–211 but is largely symbolic, facing slim odds in the GOP-controlled Senate and a near-certain veto threat from Trump, who warned Republicans they would “suffer the consequences” for opposing his tariff agenda. The vote signals unease within the party as midterms approach—especially given data showing less than 1% of seized fentanyl enters through the northern border, undercutting one of Trump’s justifications for the tariffs. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether Trump’s broad use of emergency powers to impose tariffs is lawful.
Common Sense Takeaway: Placing tariffs on Canada over fentanyl that largely isn’t coming from the northern border was always counterproductive. Now Republicans are stuck between Trump’s threats and economic reality, but I don’t buy the sudden acquisition of logic. I sense fear over their fate in the upcoming midterms.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Check back on Monday for more.
