Trump Administration

The Daily Beast reports: Florida’s much-hyped ICE detention center cannot even keep the rain out. Videos from the so-called Alligator Alcatraz, which President Donald Trump visited on Tuesday to mark its opening, show that the center had standing water on its first day of operation. Florida officials claim the facility, situated in the middle of the muggy, naturally flooded Everglades, …

Reuters reports: A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s asylum ban at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying Trump exceeded his authority when he issued a proclamation declaring illegal immigration an emergency and setting aside existing legal processes. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said in a 128-page opinion that Trump’s January 20 proclamation blocking all migrants “engaged in the invasion …

The New York Times reports: The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official rejected broad uses of two Covid vaccines, citing unknown risks or injuries despite assurances of safety from dozens of staff experts, newly released documents show. The decisions by the official, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the agency’s new chief medical and scientific officer, stunned agency veterans. Records show that …

Ars Technica reports: Scientists at several federal agencies are losing access to scientific literature published by Springer Nature, which produces the prestigious journal Nature among many other high-profile titles. That’s according to a report Monday by Nature’s news team, which is also published by Springer Nature, but is editorially independent. According to the news outlet, spokespeople for NASA and the …

Military.com reports: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has ousted his entire slate of civilian advisers in a sweeping move aimed at clearing space for voices from the tech world, as the service doubles down on its push to modernize with a Silicon Valley-style lens. On Friday, Driscoll notified the 115 members of the Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army …

ABC News reports: A former FBI agent accused of egging on rioters to attack police during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol is now serving in the Justice Department as part of the so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” sources familiar with the appointment confirmed to ABC News. Jared Wise was on trial when he was pardoned as part …

The Sacramento Bee reports: California on Tuesday led a coalition of states in filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its alleged sharing of Medicaid recipients’ health data with immigration enforcement agencies, Attorney General Rob Bonta said. Bonta cited news reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted what it described as “unfettered access” to …

The Associated Press reports: The administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more as part of a review to ensure grants align with President Donald Trump’s priorities. The move leaves states and schools in limbo as they budget for programs this summer and in the upcoming …

The Washington Post reports: A federal court on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from cutting short the temporary protected status designation for Haiti, days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced the designation preventing some Haitian immigrants from being deported would end in September. New York Eastern District Judge Brian M. Cogan, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that …

The Huffington Post reports: The White House on Tuesday marked Donald Trump’s visit to his administration’s controversial new migrant detention center in Florida’s Everglades — which has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — with an at least partially AI-generated social media post that was swiftly condemned as “shameful” by critics, but predictably cheered by the president’s MAGA base. “There is only …

From the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter Tuesday to the 50 state governors, urging them to remove distractions from roads, including divisive and distracting political messaging like rainbow crosswalks. “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy said in a statement first provided to The Daily Signal. “Today I am calling on …

Mediaite reports: Donning a gaudy “Make America Great Again” hat with gold-colored lettering, Noem joined the program, where Hannity asked, “Are they not aiding and abetting in their law-breaking? Are they not responsible for obstructing justice?” “Yes, absolutely,” Noem replied. “I believe, in my opinion, that they are, and that’s why I’m so thrilled that Pam is willing to be …

The New York Times reports: In an opinion accompanying the order, Judge Melissa R. DuBose of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to wipe out entire programs and reorient the agency’s priorities and work far exceeded his authority. “The executive branch does not have the authority to …

“The other day I was talking to some marshals that have been partnering with ICE. They said that they had detained a cannibal and put him on a plane to take him home. And while they had him in his seat, he started to eat himself and they had to get him off and get him medical attention. These are …

The military blog Task & Purpose reports: The Defense Department’s renaming spree may be slowing after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a new name for the USNS Harvey Milk last week. A defense official told Task & Purpose that no decision has been made to rename other ships like the Harvey Milk, one of 12 John Lewis-class replenishment oilers …

NPR reports: Ahead of the July Fourth holiday and the country’s 249th birthday, three-quarters of Americans say democracy is under serious threat, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. Nearly three-quarters also see politically motivated violence as a major problem. The findings come at a time of great political volatility. In the midst of Donald Trump’s second term as president, …

NBC News reports: More than 14 million people could die over the next five years because of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to an analysis published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. Researchers calculated the lifesaving benefits of USAID funding over a 21-year period, then used the data to determine how many …

Reuters reports: Iran-linked hackers have threatened to disclose more emails stolen from U.S. President Donald Trump’s circle, after distributing a prior batch to the media ahead of the 2024 U.S. election. In online chats with Reuters on Sunday and Monday, the hackers, who go by the pseudonym Robert, said they had roughly 100 gigabytes of emails from the accounts of …

CBS News reports: A satellite program that has historically been a key source of weather forecasting data will be discontinued by July 31, as the United States enters peak hurricane season, according to the already resource-strapped National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The federal agency, which includes the National Weather Service, initially said last week that it was going to lose …

The Washington Examiner reports: Trump administration border czar Tom Homan is calling on the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into CNN for its recent coverage of “ICEBlock,” a mobile app designed to alert users about nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in real time. “It’s disgusting. It’s only a matter of time before someone sits in hiding and …