TV News LIES

A federal judge on Aug. 7 ordered a temporary halt to further construction at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," while a lawsuit over its environmental impact unfolds in court.

At a hearing in Miami, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued an order halting any new construction at the facility through Aug. 12, according to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Williams' temporary restraining order "means that new construction, including filling, paving, installation of new infrastructure, and installation of new lighting, must stop immediately," according to a statement from a coalition of Florida environmental and conservation groups.

The statement added: "That will last for 14 days while the parties complete their hearing on the conservation groups’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Meanwhile, the lawsuit, originally filed by the groups on June 27, is allowed to proceed."

The lawsuit, among other things, alleges that the center "poses serious threats to the sensitive Everglades ecosystem, endangered species, clean water, and dark night skies."

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Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has joined the Democratic Party after falling out with the GOP, saying the switch has been coming for a while. 

Duncan, in an op-ed published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, said his journey to becoming a Democrat began well before President Trump tried to “steal” the 2020 presidential election, an effort Duncan denounced at the time. 

“There’s no date on a calendar or line in the sand that points to the exact moment in time my political heart changed, but it has,” he said. “My decision was centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.”

Duncan outlined various policy issues that contributed to his decision to make the switch, attackiDuncan outlined various policy issues that contributed to his decision to make the switch, attacking Republicans for their handling of health care, Medicaid, support for poor people, gun control and immigration. 

The former lieutenant governor said his time serving in elected office taught him the best way to “love my neighbor” is through public policy. 

He added that Republicans have argued for decades that the solution to not having health insurance is to get a job, but most uninsured Georgians live in working households but don’t have insurance because of issues with affordability or eligibility.

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Border Patrol agents clad in tactical gear jumped out of a Penske moving truck in the parking lot of a Los Angeles Home Depot before arresting more than a dozen immigrants early on Wednesday morning.

The raid, dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse” by U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, came weeks after a federal judge temporarily blocked agents from using race, spoken language or place of work to target people in indiscriminate immigration arrests. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed the federal judge’s ruling.

The Wednesday raid, as well as others in the Los Angeles area in recent weeks, suggest that the Trump administration is not complying with court orders, immigrant rights advocates told HuffPost.

“We are deeply troubled by reports of raids in Southern California since Saturday, including at a Home Depot in Westlake this morning,” Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney at ACLU Foundation of Southern California and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told HuffPost in a statement. “While we continue to investigate these incidents, the evidence available so far raises serious concerns that the federal government may be in violation of the federal judge’s July temporary restraining order.”

“What we saw today is disturbing. It creates chaos. And it sends waves of terror in the community that is already reeling with the impact of more than 45 days of military siege,” said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, communications director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, one of the plaintiffs in the suit.

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Texas state House Democrats who left their state to prevent Republicans from passing a new congressional district map were forced to evacuate their hotel after a bomb threat, but officials say everyone is safe. 

The St. Charles Police Department in Illinois said officers responded to a report of a bomb threat at about 7:15 a.m. CDT Wednesday at a hotel where the Democrats were staying. The department’s officers, along with those from the fire department and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a “thorough” search and did not find any device, according to a release. 

The release said 400 people were evacuated as bomb squad units conducted their search, and everyone has been able to return to the hotel.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said he’s “aware” of the threats and instructed the Illinois State Police to ensure that public safety is maintained. 

“Threats of violence will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable,” he said in a post on the social platform X. 

A group of Texas state House Democratic leaders — Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, Mexican American Legislative Caucus Chair Ramon Romero and Legislative Black Caucus Chair Barbara Gervin-Hawkins — said in a statement that a threat was made on Wednesday morning against the members, but everyone is safe. 

“We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred,” they said. “We are grateful for Governor Pritzker, local, and state law enforcement for their quick action to ensure our safety.”

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The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa.

The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.

A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal Register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary to ensure that the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.

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A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Tuesday from diverting funds from a multibillion-dollar grant program designed to protect communities against natural disasters.

US district judge Richard Stearns in Boston issued a preliminary injunction preventing the government from spending money allocated to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (Bric) program for other purposes.

Twenty mostly Democratic-led states sued the administration last month, saying the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) lacked power to cancel the Bric program without congressional approval.

Fema is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Neither agency immediately responded to requests for comment.

Created in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term, the Bric program helps state and local governments protect major infrastructure such as roads and bridges before the occurrence of floods, hurricanes and other disasters.

According to the lawsuit, Fema approved about $4.5bn in grants for nearly 2,000 projects, primarily in coastal states, over the last four years.

But the agency announced in April it would end the program, calling it wasteful, ineffective and politicized.

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