By Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — The one-time bonuses President Donald Trump said Wednesday will be paid out to over a million US service members will be pulled from funds already approved by Congress to cover housing and other household costs for troops as part of a military stipend program.

President Trump announced the $1,776 bonuses in an address to the nation, dubbing them a “warrior dividend.”

“Nobody deserves it more than our military, and I say congratulations to everybody,” Trump said, crediting his domestic policy bill which was passed earlier this year and tariffs, which he said made the US “a lot more money than anybody thought.”

However, a senior administration official said the $2.6 billion cost of the bonuses was being taken from $2.9 billion in extra funding for basic allowance for housing, or BAH, payments appropriated by Congress in July, CNN reported.

The supplemental funds were marked for “improving the quality of life for military personnel” within what Trump labeled the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

BAH is an additional form of payment to many troops that is intended to cover living expenses for military families. The stipends vary based on rank, geography and whether the service member has dependents, with military family advocates arguing that the payments often do not fully cover expenses for those living in higher-cost areas.

It’s unclear if the supplemental funds approved by Congress had been intended for anything specific, such as offsetting housing costs in those more expensive areas. Congress had previously approved base funding for the stipend, and though it signed off on the extra funding, it had given the Pentagon broad discretion on how to use the money to help troops with the cost of living.

A report last year from the Government Accountability Office found that the Pentagon “does not routinely assess the negative financial and quality-of-life effects that limited supply or unaffordable housing has on affected service members.”

“During GAO visits to selected DoD sites, some service members reported having to take on debt or commute long distances to afford quality housing,” the report said.

The bonuses will go to active-duty members at the rank of O-6 — officers at the rank of colonel in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and Captain in the Navy — and below, as well as reserve component members on active-duty orders for 31 or more days as of November 30, according to a White House social media post. That would mean some troops who don’t currently receive BAH stipends, such as junior troops living in barracks, might still get the bonuses.

“This warrior dividend serves as yet another example of how the War Department is working to improve the quality of life for our military personnel and their families,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video posted to social media on Thursday, referring to the Defense Department’s secondary name of War Department. “I can think of no better Americans to receive this check right before Christmas. Whether it’s for pay, housing, faith support, all elements of what we’re doing are to rebuild our military.”

It’s unclear what impact if any pulling funds from the supplemental BAH funds will have. The Pentagon regularly increases the BAH rate for service members, and earlier this month announced a 4.2% increase to the stipend for next year.

The benefit of pulling th

The post All Booked | Just a Dash of Christmas Cheer appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Two Camarillo residents were arrested after over 600 grams of cocaine and thousands of dollars in cash were discovered during a search warrant.

In late November of this year, detectives served a search warrant at a home in the 200 block of South Glenn Drive in Camarillo connected to a felonious assault that had happened on Nov. 10, 2025, stated a press release Wednesday from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

During the search, detectives found about 623 grams of cocaine, over $7,000 in cash, and a loaded 9mm Ruger pistol that was unregistered detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Based on the evidence collected at the Camarillo home, detectives were able to locate and arrest 25-year-old Leonardo Amador on Dec. 13 in Santa Paula in connection shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Fillmore patrol deputies also arrested Amador's 23-year-old girlfriend who was also in the vehicle for being under the influence of a controlled substance and located cocaine inside of Amador's vehicle noted the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Both Camarillo residents were booked on numerous criminal charges and during the booking process, the 23-year-old Camarillo woman admitted to having cocaine concealed on her person added the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

On Dec. 16, Amador was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance for sale and one count of possession of a controlled substance with a loaded firearm as well as enhancements to those charged counts based on the amount of recovered narcotics explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The post Duo arrested in connection with cocaine sales after late November search of Camarillo home appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Tom Constanten wasn’t a part of the Grateful Dead for very long, but fans still value his time with the iconic group.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Deadheads have rallied around the 81-year-old and are raising money to help pay for the radiation treatments he is undergoing to treat lung cancer.

“Each round knocks me out for days, though so far that’s the one symptom,” he told the newspaper about his treatment. “It’s pretty intense.”

Constanten was the band’s keyboardist in its early days, playing with the Dead for 14 months in 1968 and 1969.

A GoFundMe set up for him has nearly reached its goal of $70,000.

He’s not the only one in the Grateful Dead’s entourage who fans are flocking to help.

A GoFundMe set up for Candace Brightman, who served as the Grateful Dead’s lighting director from 1972 to 1995, has surpassed its goal of $75,000 as she battles financial and medical problems, including failing eyesight. Fans have also chipped in for Betty Cantor-Jackson, a producer and sound recordist for the band, roadie Kidd Candelario and the Dead’s former onstage monitor engineer, Harry Popick.

The Grateful Dead is one of the world’s most famous rock bands. It was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Sometimes traveling the world to see the band, Deadheads have developed their own subculture and community.

“We’re surrounded by a culture that feels like we’ve been living in a house together all these years,” David Gans, a musician who hosts the syndicated radio show “The Grateful Dead Hour” and co-authored the book “Playing in the Band: An Oral and Visual Portrait of the Grateful Dead,” told the publication. “We see it as a family and communal social scene. But the actual structures are different. What is the obligation?”

Medical debt is an increasing concern for many Americans and has been part of a national conversation that has ramped up as some brace for rising costs with the expiration of tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that have helped many afford health insurance.

On Wednesday House Republicans narrowly passed their own version of a health care bill which didn’t include ACA subsidies.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post Fans help former Grateful Dead member pay for cancer treatment appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Tierney Sneed, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that two entities that implement policy and conduct administrative tasks for the judicial branch are not required under a transparency law to turn over their communications to a private legal group aligned with President Donald Trump.

The opinion by Judge Trevor McFadden came in a longshot case brought by America First Legal, which argued the judicial offices were the type of executive branch agencies that are covered under the Freedom of Information Act — the federal public records law.

The entities — which are known as the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office, and are led by judges — had refused to produce correspondences with Democratic lawmakers, prompting the FOIA lawsuit.

America First argued that the Judicial Conference is actually an executive agency that should be “overseen by the president, not the courts,” thus putting it under FOIA, which does not cover the judicial branch. The organization also contended during oral arguments last month that FOIA’s exemptions for the courts applied to judges and the law clerks that work in their chambers, but not the clerks and other officials who manage a courthouse’s administrative functions.

While the FOIA request predated the current Trump administration, the lawsuit itself was filed amid several major legal battles concerning the Trump White House’s control over independent and quasi-independent agencies.

The lawsuit’s lead defendant was US Chief Justice John Roberts, in his role as head of the Judicial Conference.

McFadden in his ruling Thursday concluded that “the Judicial Conference and Administrative Office do not appear to be the type of entities Congress had in mind in creating FOIA — Executive Branch departments and independent agencies.”

“Nothing about either entity’s structure suggests the President must supervise their employees or otherwise keep them ‘accountable,’ as is the case for executive officers,” he wrote.

The Administrative Office declined to comment for this story.

Roberts did not respond to request for comment. America First Legal — which was founded after Trump’s first term by top White House aide Stephen Miller — also did not respond immediately to CNN’s inquiry.

Gabe Roth, who leads Fix the Court, which advocates for judicial transparency, said that it was “obvious” that the offices in question were not subject to FOIA, but that Congress could act to give the public more insight into the judicial branch’s internal operations.

“Since this lawsuit is not the way to do that, I hope today’s ruling encourages Congress to consider legislation to create a real open records process in the judiciary,” Roth said in a statement.

CNN’s John Fritze contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post Judiciary offices don’t have to turn over records to Trump-aligned group, judge rules appeared first on News Channel 3-12.