Here in the U.S. there’s been much debate over how much government should give to its citizens. One of Europe’s proudest achievements has long been generous cradle-to-grave welfare. But today, it’s cracking under the weight of high debt and massive immigration. There’s simply not enough money to fund all the benefits. In France, when the government announced freezes on public pay, pensions, and budgets— it sparked weeks of protests that turned violent. In Spain, net migration has hit records. In Britain, welfare now costs more than income tax. Today: how far can the Welfare State stretch?

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

Nicolle Olaverrueth fled Guatemala and, for about a month, has called this small room home at a refugee center in Guadalajara, Spain.

Nicolle Olavarrueth (as translated): I was looking for someone where to sleep. I got a place to sleep, clothes, help to get jobs, emotional support, help with health issues.

She’s welcome to stay here free for up to 18 months.

At another refugee center in Madrid, new arrivals from Niger and Mali are also getting a lot of help starting their new lives.

Cheickna Baradji (as translated): I get a lot of help. I received health care because I had back pain.

Abdoul Kader Soumaila (as translated): They have provided me a room, helped me. I sleep well, eat well, so I’m very grateful.

Sharyl: Where are a lot of people coming from when they’re coming from outside of Spain?

Stefania Freyre Salcedo/Social worker (as translated): They are different nationalities and people coming from different countries in South America as well as Africa, Morocco, or Mali. So we have people here from different cultures and different backgrounds.

Theirs are sympathetic stories of human aspiration. Yet there are serious and growing financial consequences.

In late July, an estimated 70,000 illegal immigrants surged into a small Spanish territory in Northern Africa. Spanish authorities deployed the military and extra police to send many back and turn others away.

Across Spain, the numbers are staggering. The foreign-born population is now about 19%, or 9.4 million people. Meantime, there’s a housing shortage of more than 700,000 units. Upfront costs for immigrant housing, healthcare, and integration are rising.

Sharyl (on-camera): Net migration in Europe hit a record in 2024 with Spain leading the way. Here immigrants, both legal and illegal, get instant access to health care, and eventually qualify for other generous benefits at taxpayer expense.

Judith Arnal: So basically I think that welfare state is really, really strong.

Judith Arnal is a financial expert who’s worked in the Spanish government and studies the economy.

Sharyl: Can you summarize some of the benefits that Spanish citizens are entitled to when it comes to social welfare assistance in healthcare as well as immigrants?

Arnal: We pay our taxes and the return coming from those taxes is that there’s free health, free education. And we also have a public pension system. We also have unemployment subsidies. If someone is unemployed, depending on for how long that person has worked, it has an entitlement to unemployment subsidy, and once that unemployment subsidy is over, they still have the possibility to have a public subsidies. We also have a minimum vital income for people who are in a very difficult situation, who are unemployed, who are really in a vulnerable situation. So really social spending is really high and our welfare state is strong. The question and the elephant in the room is to what extent that’s sustainable?

Spain isn’t alone. Across Europe, slower growth, high debt, and record immigration— both legal and illegal— are testing society like never before.

The strain may be clearest in Britain, where there also aren’t enough homes, large numbers of immigrants further push the limits, and the UK is up against a fiscal cliff. Asylum costs recently topped $7 billion in a year. Polls show two-thirds of Britons say immigrant numbers are too high. Most name welfare benefits as a top concern.

UK resident: Immigration itself as long as it’s managed properly is not a bad thing. But you have to look at the effects of immigration on the resources and the stuff that we actually have available in the country.

The UK raised $443 billion in income tax last year, but spent $447 billion on welfare. There were more than 8 million Universal Credit claimants. They get a monthly allowance for living costs, and payments for housing, childcare, and more.

Citizen journalist Nick Shirley interviewed a man who says he recently came to Ireland from Jordan along with dozens of other families and is staying temporarily in free housing.

Nick Shirley (Nick Shirley video): Ok so does Ireland give you any money every month?

Man: Yeah.

Shirley: How much money they give you?

Man: Every month. Every week. I take, I am married. I have three daughters. My children. I take 500 dollars in one week.

Shirley: So every week the Ireland government gives you $500?

Man: Yeah.

Academic and author Joanna Williams.

Joanna Williams: This causes tensions with local communities. It puts pressure on housing, for example, and increases house prices at the same time as having a deflationary impact upon wages. So people find that they earn less and have to pay more for their housing costs.

An independent watchdog recently warned that British debt is on an “unsustainable and ever-rising path.”

Supporters of immigration say immigrants fill jobs, fuel growth, and prop up Europe’s declining fertility rates.

Neil Coyle: Look, since the 1980s we’ve had more people coming to the UK to live and work and study than people leaving.

Member of Parliament Neil Coyle is with the Labour Party, similar to Progressive Democrats in the U.S.

Coyle: We have 100,000 engineering vacancies in this country right now. We don’t have 100,000 engineers in the country ready and willing to do those jobs. So some economic migration to this country is really important to our public services, to our economy, to the taxes we need to pay for services, to fund the police, whatever it might be. And I don’t think that that is always fully understood. But does that mean that there aren’t families who want their child to get a better place and then think that the school doesn’t have enough spaces because of migrant children? You know, I hear some of that.

Sharyl: That’s what I mean, like-

Coyle: The waiting time or not having enough times, but that is the fault of successive governments. We haven’t built enough homes in this country.

Here in the U.S., we’re far from immune. America’s generous welfare plus years of open borders have created massive taxpayer burdens.

For a long time, the government has spent more money than it collects in taxes. In all, we owe about $124 for every $100 produced in the country. About 65% of U.S. federal spending goes to welfare and social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps.

Across the pond, back in Spain, Reynaldo Rocha came from Peru. The immigration center recently helped him get authorization to work legally.

Reynaldo Rocha (as translated): Now that I have my papers, I am able to work with a proper contract. I used to work below the table.

Now, he has his sights set on a university education. He came to the right place. Spain has one of the cheapest college systems in Europe because taxpayers cover about 75% of the actual cost.

Sharyl (on-camera): Stress over the welfare state is partly behind conservative-populist party gains across Europe. In September, a right-wing party strongly opposed to immigration surged among German voters. France’s anti-immigration National Rally party leads polls ahead of next year’s presidential vote.

Watch the video here.

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An overwhelming majority of respondents say the US should reduce or completely end its military role in Europe.

That’s according to the latest unscientific poll at SharylAttkisson.com.

Eighty percent (80%) say the US should reduce its military role in Europe.

Ten percent (10%) say the US should end its military involvement in Europe entirely.

Just 11% say the US should not reduce its military role in Europe.

The results show overwhelming support among respondents for scaling back the US military presence in Europe, with a smaller group favoring a complete withdrawal.

Full results are below. Be sure to answer the newest poll at SharylAttkisson.com. Look for the black box on the right sidebar on your computer or scroll way down on your mobile device.

Poll Question: Should the US reduce its military role in Europe?

80% Yes
11% No
9% End it

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Critical minerals power nearly everything in our modern lives. But much of the world has been coming to grips with an ill-advised reliance on China for these materials. Today, we report from Madrid, Spain on how Europe is playing catch up to America’s strategy to dig out of a bad situation.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

“Critical minerals” include about 50 substances designated by the U.S. Geological Survey under the Interior Department. They’re considered essential to the economy and national security, and include lithium, graphite, tungsten, and cobalt.

“Rare earths” are a subgroup of 17 similar elements with unique magnetic and electronic properties vital to high-tech. They include: neodymium, dysprosium, and cerium.

Fighter jets, missiles, and electronics use them.

But as globalization took off in the 80s, the U.S. and Europe starting relying on China to refine critical minerals into usable form. Today China dominates, processing up to 95% of rare earths.

Sharyl: How is it that the U.S. and Europe woke up one day and were super reliant on China? Did China foresee things that we did not plan for?

Santiago Cuesta Lopez: That’s right.

Santiago Cuesta Lopez is a Spanish representative to the European Union on critical raw materials.

Sharyl: What is the danger of Europe, United States, or anybody else having to rely on an adversary for supplies of these critical things?

Lopez: There are different moments that we were realizing and detecting that this was very dangerous and that the different value chains were affected. For instance, the next crisis on rare earths. So we started to see all our lasers or our permanent magnets, we are relying on rare earths. What we are going to do? Without permanent magnets we cannot have electrical vehicles, we cannot have magnetic resonance, cannot have little actuators, we cannot have the hard disc actuators.

Cesar Luaces Frades is a member of the European Commission’s Raw Materials Supply Group.

Cesar Luaces Frades: The problem is that these countries can just open or stop the supply of these raw materials to these economies. And then the economy and the industry of these countries is completely on the hands of these other third countries. So the risk is that is an economic risk. It’s a risk for the industry. It’s a risk for the strategic autonomy and also for the defense.

But both European experts told us America has been far quicker to address the vulnerabilities.

Sharyl: What is the difference you see between where the US is on all of this and where Europe is?

Frades: USA is in a much better position than Europe. Why? For different reasons. European Union can take a policy, let’s say, to decide we should go in that direction, but then it’s to member states to implement the policy. And this is not always that evident while in USA it’s a much more integrated approach. So they are much faster taking the measures. And the economic capacity of USA is the first economy in the world. Is bigger. So they are in a much better position than we are in Europe.

In February, President Trump announced Project Vault to address the critical minerals risk in a way nobody had done before.

President Donald Trump (February 2): For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions. Today we’re launching what will be known as Project Vault to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage. We don’t want to ever go through what we went through a year ago.

A year before, the world got a taste of China weaponizing its dominance. The country limited exports of rare earths and related materials. It triggered sharp disruptions among European automakers and defense contractors.

Now, Project Vault is just beginning to buy and store critical minerals to protect American supplies.

Lopez: United States has a strategic stockpile. They are doing super well because they have a particular Critical Minerals Institute. They have a United States Geological Survey institute. And they created a politics of critical raw materials. That’s what the United States is doing. So the situation is very different because, Trump, in Europe, not all, but some people say ‘Trump is crazy, President Donald Trump has no strategy.’ No, President Donald Trump has a very perfect strategy. A step-by-step.

Sharyl (on-camera): Spain is among the EU countries pushing move quickly on a Critical Raw Materials Act passed in 2024. It seeks to limit imports from a single country and speed permits for mining and refinery projects at home, which take 10-15 years to build.

Watch the video here.

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The following is from Rasmussen Reports.

More than three-quarters of likely US voters say they believe Democrats will attempt to impeach President Donald Trump again if they win control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections. That’s according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) say they believe another impeachment attempt is likely, including 49% who consider it very likely.

Just 14% say they don’t believe a Democrat-controlled Congress would try to impeach Trump again.

The survey also finds that 51% of voters say they support impeaching Trump, including 38% who strongly support it.

Forty-four percent (44%) say they oppose another impeachment, including 34% who strongly oppose it.

Voters across party lines expect another impeachment attempt if Democrats gain control of Congress.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Republicans, 78% of Democrats and 72% of unaffiliated voters say they consider another impeachment attempt at least somewhat likely.

However, support for impeachment differs sharply by party.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Democrats say they support impeaching Trump, while 70% of Republicans say they oppose it.

Among unaffiliated voters, 50% say they support impeachment, 40% oppose it and 10% are unsure.

The survey also finds that 58% of self-identified conservatives strongly oppose impeaching Trump, while 66% of liberals strongly support it.

Among moderate voters, 59% say they support impeachment, compared with 33% who oppose it.

Voters’ views of the country’s direction also differ.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of those who say the country is moving in the right direction oppose impeachment, while 67% of those who believe America is on the wrong track support it.

The survey of 1,086 likely US voters was conducted Oct. 25-27, 2026, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points with a 95% confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research LLC.

To view survey question wording, click here.

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Former Senate Investigator and award winning journalist Paul Thacker speaks with Sharyl about FDA’s coverup of Covid vaccine deaths, as well as unethical reporting on RFK Jrs’ new vaccine injury center at NIH.

Listen below:

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Do your own research. Make up your own mind. Think for yourself.

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The following is from Rasmussen Reports.

Half of likely US voters oppose President Donald Trump resigning and allowing Vice President JD Vance to take over, while more than half say Trump’s second term has not been successful. That’s according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.

Fifty percent (50%) say they oppose Trump resigning and letting Vance serve the final two years of his term.

Thirty-four percent (34%) say they support the idea, while 16% are unsure.

The survey also finds that 57% say Trump’s second term has not been successful so far, including 41% who consider it not at all successful.

Forty percent (40%) say his second term has been successful, including 19% who describe it as very successful.

Among voters who consider Trump’s second term not at all successful, 53% say he should resign and let Vance take over.

Opinions differ along party lines. Forty-eight percent (48%) of Democrats say Trump should resign, compared with 21% of Republicans and 31% of unaffiliated voters.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans say Trump’s second term has been successful, compared with 17% of Democrats and 35% of unaffiliated voters.

The survey also asked whether voters believe Trump is physically and mentally capable of serving as president.

Fifty-two percent (52%) say they are not confident he is up to the job, including 40% who are not at all confident.

Forty-six percent (46%) say they are confident, including 32% who are very confident. That’s down from 49% who expressed confidence last December.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans say they are at least somewhat confident in Trump’s physical and mental ability to serve, compared with 19% of Democrats and 41% of unaffiliated voters.

Among those who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, 51% say Trump should resign and let Vance take over. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Trump voters disagree.

The survey of 1,054 likely US voters was conducted Oct. 20-22, 2026, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points with a 95% confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research LLC.

To view survey question wording, click here.

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More Americans are getting their news on major apps, like Google News, Apple News, Microsoft’s MSN, and Yahoo News. They’re referred to as the Big Four. But a nonprofit media watchdog has documented an extreme left-leaning bias among them. Today, we speak with the head of the Media Research Center, David Bozell. He begins with the analysis of one month of news stories from Apple.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

David Bozell: 620 stories that Apple had promoted on its top feeds: Not a single one of those stories was from a right-wing news source. Not a one. Zero. 440 of them were strictly left-wing.

Beyond the left-leaning tilt, Bozell says some of the promotional patterns among the news apps make no sense— unless there’s a paid arrangement that’s not being offered to right-wing outlets.

Bozell: NPR, linked by Apple 155 times in six months, linked by Google 121 times in six months. How is that NPR, National Public Radio, the number 20th most popular news website in America today. Whereas the New York Post— top 10— Breitbart, top 35 web news website in America, it gets no love from these guys? Zero.

Bozell says his group, the Media Research Center hasn’t been able to get answers as to whether NPR and others are paying money to get promoted on some news apps.

Bozell: And what we’ve discovered is that the liberal media influence system has moved over to these big apps. And we’re investigating whether or not there’s a pay to play system happening, but there’s all sorts of anomalies, Sharyl. Newsweek sold for a dollar 10 years ago. You cannot walk 100 miles in any direction, from any direction, and find anyone clamoring to read their Newsweek. I can’t remember the last story that Newsweek ever broke, and there it sits, is a top 20 news website in America based solely and almost exclusively on the fact that in the last six months that we’ve been doing this, they have been linked to by MSN 524 times. But more, more frustrating than, than the liberal media ecosystem just getting this uplift: there is a total blockade of this emerging conservative media ecosystem. New York Post? Goose Egg. Breitbart? Goose Egg. Gateway Pundit? Goose Egg. The conservative ecosystem is being shut out. The liberal ecosystem is being broadcast to hundreds of millions of people a month using the point of entry. Apple News is, preloaded on your iPhone, on everyone’s iPhone. Google News is preloaded on your Android. MSN is preloaded on every desktop.

According to the research: Out of 487 top stories last February on Google News, only 11 or 2.2% were right-leaning. 314 or 64.5% were left-leaning.

As for Apple News last January: Of 620 top stories, there were zero right-leaning stories and 440 left-leaning. Articles on popular websites like Fox News and the New York Post were never promoted. A broader “Big Four” analysis showed the apps promoted 92% left-leaning outlets and only 17% of right-leaning ones.

Sharyl: Have you been able to reach anybody at Apple, Google, MSN to ask them questions about how they’re distributing the news?

Bozell: I sent a letter to Tim Cook at Apple before he just recently stepped down, but offering to help. It was private correspondence, so I’ll keep it there. But I, I did, I did, we, the research is sound, the research has not been disputed, so, but that’s been the

Sharyl: Did you get any kind of positive response or?

Bozell: No, no, no response, unfortunately.

Sharyl: Do you sense this, what you’re describing, is an organized and propagandized effort or just the way people feel and they’ve been given free reign to express opinions in the news?

Bozell: I think it’s, it’s organized to, in the sense that, it’s universal— maybe not so much organized, it’s universal: “go get Trump.” “He cannot succeed. Conservatism cannot succeed. The shrinking of government cannot succeed. Making America wealthy again cannot succeed. Protecting the American taxpayer cannot succeed. Exposing fraud cannot succeed. How organized is it? I like to think that the conservative movement has more, better, more fun conspiracy meetings than the liberals do, but certainly there’s, there’s gazillions of dollars being funded.

Sharyl: What do you recommend people do during this time period based on what you’ve learned?

Bozell: Yeah.

Sharyl: If they want— maybe they want some liberal news, maybe they want some conservative, maybe they want some that’s in between. What can somebody do when they’re relying on their devices?

Bozell: Demand that Apple News provide it. Demand that Google News provide it. We’re all sort of plugged into these ecosystems, you know, whether we like it or not, right? We all need our phones. We all need email extensions, a Gmail extension, a Yahoo extension. Have higher expectations with these companies, you are the customer, you are their client. Demand that you have more fair representation. I don’t mind reading liberal news in terms of getting both sides and those types of things, but demand that the conservative ecosystem has an opportunity to compete, right? Or threaten to go elsewhere, and go elsewhere and find alternative sources.

Watch the video here.

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