Please read. DeathSantis and ICE are doing horrible illegal things while breaking laws all in the name of white supremacy and getting rid of anyone not white in the US at the same time the Florida tax payer is entirely on the hook for all the costs. This story is even more proof of the authoritarian dictatorship the US is under along with the disregarding of any law or lawmaker that gets in the way of cruelty to brown / black people. Also I read that trump sent 200 marines to this place. The link to that store after this one Hugs
In a surprising and possibly unlawful act, five state legislators were denied entry Thursday into a taxpayer-funded migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, raising questions about what will happen behind the razor-wire fences that are being erected surrounding the controversial facility the state has named Alligator Alcatraz.
Armed only with state law and a growing list of humanitarian concerns, state Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, along with Representatives Anna V. Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner, arrived at the gates of the facility to conduct what they saw as a legally authorized inspection. What they encountered instead was silence, locked doors and a bureaucratic wall.
The state’s shifting justification for not letting them in — first a flat denial, then vague “safety concerns” — only fueled suspicions.
Wearing mosquito netting, Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones and state Representatives Michele K. Rayner and Anna Eskamani were denied entry along with fellow representatives into Alligator Alcatraz. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
“This is a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye,” the legislators said in a joint statement. “If the facility is unsafe for elected officials to enter, then how can it possibly be safe for those being detained inside?”
Just hours earlier, Republican officials and even former President Donald Trump had toured the same site without issue. When the lawmakers attempted to speak with Florida Department of Emergency Management officials by phone, the call was abruptly cut off.
Now, with reports of flooding, extreme heat and detainees allegedly being held without due process, legislators say the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis is operating a secretive, $450 million detention network with no oversight— and no regard for the law.
The state legislators Michele Rayner arrived at the site to conduct what they said was a lawful inspection under Florida Statutes 944.23 and 951.225, which grant legislators access to state-operated detention centers without advance notice. Instead of transparency, they were met with locked gates and silence.
Workers install a permanent Alligator Alcatraz sign at the new state immigration detention facilty in the Everglades. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Under Florida law, members of the Legislature have the clear right to access any state-run detention facility, including prisons and jails, without needing prior approval or notification. That legal mandate was ignored, according to Representative Michele Rayner, a civil rights attorney who represents parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
“For two hours, we waited. We cited the law. We cited the press release announcing our visit. Still, we were denied,” said Rayner. “They cited ‘safety concerns,’ even though just hours earlier President Trump and GOP lawmakers had toured the very same facility.”
Rayner said that when she asked whether she could visit a client being detained inside, she was again refused—contradicting statements made to her moments earlier by Florida Department of Emergency Management officials. When legislators tried to clarify the denial with the agency’s general counsel and legislative affairs director, the call was abruptly disconnected.
“This is America right now,” Rayner said. “And everyone should be concerned.”
The delegation’s visit came just one day after migrants were transferred into the detention center despite flooding caused by ongoing summer storms. Lawmakers say they’ve received reports of extreme heat, poor infrastructure, and a lack of mosquito protection, conditions they say that may be endangering the health and safety of detainees.
Florida House of Representatives denied entry, including State Rep. Anna .V. Eskamani, PhD at Alligator Alcatraz. The facility is within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida. , Florida, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
“I was bitten by insects as soon as I got here. My lips started to swell. And I’m outside for just a few minutes,” said Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville. “Imagine what it’s like for the people inside who don’t have bug spray or clean bedding.”
Nixon expressed particular concern over reports in the Miami Herald that pregnant women and children could be housed in the facility. “We’re spending $450 million on this while refusing to expand Medicaid and closing public schools in Duval County,” she said. “This is not about public safety—it’s about cruelty as campaign theater.”
Smith did not mince words, calling the site a “makeshift immigrant detainment camp in the middle of the Everglades swamp,” built through no-bid contracts awarded to major Republican campaign donors.
“This isn’t about detaining dangerous criminals,” Smith said. “It’s about detaining housekeepers, cooks, and immigrants who had legal status five minutes ago—until it was stripped away by policy.”
Smith referenced a Miami Herald story that revealed the state may bring pregnant women and children to the site, despite public claims that the facility was intended for “the worst of the worst.” ICE data shows that fewer than 10% of current immigration detainees in Florida have any violent criminal history, and the majority had no prior offenses.
“We’re detaining vulnerable people for political spectacle,” Smith said. “And it’s not a coincidence this facility was unveiled just days after our legislative session ended—avoiding any real oversight.”
Jones added that the facility, built with $450 million in state funds, does not qualify for federal support. “The federal government has said this facility is ineligible for grants,” he said. “That means it’s 100% on Florida taxpayers—and it was done without a single committee hearing or floor debate.”
Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, Rep. Anna Eskamani and fellow representatives were denied entry Thursday into Alligator Alcatraz. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Jones emphasized that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers should be concerned. “This is not a partisan issue,” he said. “We have a duty to ensure that state-funded operations uphold basic standards of decency and legality.”
Rep. Anna Eskamani from Orlando described the detention center as a “political stunt” orchestrated by DeSantis. “Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to build what is essentially a concentration camp,” she said. “This is government by press conference and no-bid contract.”
Eskamani said reports indicate that the first detainees arrived without due process, and flooding had already compromised parts of the facility. “We’re here because the people of Florida deserve transparency. What is being hidden behind these walls?”
All five lawmakers said they plan to pursue legal remedies and initiate legislative inquiries into the construction, contracting, and operation of Alligator Alcatraz.
A check point at Alligator Alcatraz as Florida State Representatives denied entry. The facility is within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida. , Florida, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
They also demanded that the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the governor’s office provide a full accounting of who is detained at the facility, what conditions exist inside, and which companies received contracts—particularly those with political ties to the DeSantis administration.
“This is not over,” said Smith. “We will be back, and we will not stop until we get the answers Floridians deserve.”
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM.
I knew there would be a cost for the corrective lenses. I figured it would be a few hundred dollars on top of what Medicare paid for the surgery. I was way wrong. I got the pricing in my patient package. Crap. I guess I will be getting the noncorrective Medicare paid for lenses. I know several of you wrote that the normal lens provided by Medicare worked really well and corrected much of your vision problems. I guess I will find out. Hugs
The final version of Ohio’s two-year state operating budget retains anti-LGBTQ provisions, requires Governor’s Merit Scholarship recipients pledge to remain in Ohio after graduation, and ties state funding to compliance with a new higher education law.
The budget now heads to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature, which he must sign by June 30. He can line-item veto provisions in the budget.
Anti-LGBTQ provisions
A handful of anti-LGBTQ+ provisions are sprinkled throughout the budget, including a provision that would only recognize two sexes — male and female.
“Do we really have to make a law that says that men are men and women are women?” state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, asked. “Do we really have to define that? We shouldn’t have to, but apparently we do.”
The budget would require public libraries to put books related to sexual orientation or gender identity in an area of the library that is out of sight for minors.
“If moms and dads want their kids to be indoctrinated within that, that’s up to the moms and dads, but we’re not going to put it in children’s faces in the children’s sections of the libraries,” Click said.
Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, called out the library provision.
“If you are one of the 20% of young people who identify as LGBTQ, you’re not going to be a hero in that story,” he said. “We have to have more books that show you as a leader, as a champion, as a hero.”
The budget would also ban Pride flags from being flown at public buildings and prohibit giving funds to youth homeless shelters that house transgender youth, even if they also serve youth who are not transgender.
“We are not hanging out the welcome mat for people from the LGBTQ community,” said Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. “We should be a place where folks can just be who they are authentically and live and let live.”
Higher education provisions
The Governor’s Merit Scholarship awards the top 5% of each high school graduating class a $5,000 scholarship each year to attend an Ohio college or university.
Under the final version of the budget, scholarship recipients must sign a statement of commitment to live in Ohio for three years immediately after graduation starting in fiscal year 2027.
“If we want our young people to stay in Ohio, to start their careers in Ohio, to start a family in Ohio, we need to put our money where our mouth is, and we are doing that in this budget,” said Ohio House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.
The Senate’s version of the budget would have required scholarship recipients sign a promissory note, but the final version of the budget instead requires students to sign a statement of commitment to live in Ohio for the first three years after graduating college.
“It was deemed (the promissory note) was a little bit heavy-handed and so we tried to roll that back,” Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon said.
The budget allocates $47 million for fiscal year 2026 and $70 million in fiscal year 2027 for the Governor’s Merit Scholarship.
The Governor’s Merit Scholarship was enacted through the last state budget two years ago and 76% of the state’s 6,250 eligible students from the class of 2024 accepted the scholarship. Eighty-seven percent of Ohio students accepted the scholarship in its second year and 11 rural counties had a 100% acceptance rate.
The budget ties a portion of the State Share of Instruction to compliance with Senate Bill 1, a new higher education law banning diversity efforts, creates post-tenure reviews and an American civic literacy course, among other things.
The law affects Ohio’s public universities and community colleges and each university must submit a report showing compliance to the House and Senate higher education committees by March 1, according to the budget.
Housing provisions
The budget kept housing provisions the Senate added to the budget — $90 for the Residential Development Revolving Loan Program and $10 million for the Residential Economic Development District.
The Residential Development Revolving Loan Program supports new, single-family residential homes in rural areas of the state.
“If we want to grow our population, we have to have places for folks to live,” Stewart said. “This is going to be directed to small counties. We can’t be growing housing just in the three C’s, we need to be growing housing all across Ohio.”
I could have written large parts of this myself. It is scary to be in our position and at the mercy of those who have so much money they will never understand our needs or it seems even care. Most of congress are multimillionaires. They see their jobs not to look out for people like me, but to gain ever more wealth and power for themselves. Which leads to the billionaire bailout bill the republicans are pushing to pass right now. Hugs
The author asserts cuts to programs such as Social Security Disability Insurance will make it difficult for her to afford basic necessities The program provides month payments to people who have a disability that stops or limits their ability to work. (Dreamstime/TNS)
Being a care provider in a nursing home is backbreaking work. It includes heavy lifting and spending all day on your feet, helping patients eat, dress and use the bathroom while keeping track of dozens of patients who all have different needs, medicines and preferences. It’s never easy, but during my career I held myself to the standard of providing the care I would want someone to give to one of my family members.
I was a certified nursing assistant and medication aid in nursing homes before retiring due to health problems. I loved my job. It provided me with more than a paycheck; it gave my life meaning. It felt good to be someone people could depend on, especially in times of need. I loved being the first face my patients would see in the morning and the last at night. It was physically and emotionally draining at times, but always worth it. I’ve learned that anything in life worth having is a struggle to obtain. I miss working every day.
Now, my main source of income is Social Security Disability Insurance. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to cover my rent or help take care of my daughters, grandchildren or father. My monthly disability check, which I put toward rent, laundry, bills and other necessities, goes fast. The only way I am able to cover the rest of my expenses each month is through programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Low Income Energy Assistance Program and Medicaid.
I’m prediabetic, so I have to be mindful about what I eat. SNAP is the only way I am able to afford healthy food. Lately, the price of everything in the grocery store has gone up. I shop carefully, but some weeks I have to forego buying meat to save money. My SNAP benefits have gone down significantly in recent months, which has already made it harder for me to afford the food I need. Across Pennsylvania, over 2 million people receive SNAP benefits. That’s thousands of families in our state, just like me, who depend on this program to put food in the mouths of their children.
I’ve received Medicaid on and off for over 20 years. It has helped me pay for important surgeries including a vision surgery, cystoscopy and a hysterectomy. Medicaid helps me cover copays and deductibles and access mental health services. Losing Medicaid would mean sacrificing health care and having to pay my medical costs out of my own pocket, which I cannot afford.
Every winter, LIHEAP benefits help me keep my home warm. It keeps my heating bill manageable so that I don’t have to use the stove to generate heat. Without LIHEAP, I would need to make tough decisions about which bills to pay, whether that’s rent, electricity or gas. It would be a situation of robbing Peter to pay Paul. My monthly budget is extremely fragile and the possibility of losing LIHEAP, which provides me about $200 each winter, is enough to put my whole financial situation at risk. When I hear that politicians in Washington want to make billions of dollars worth of cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, LIHEAP and other programs, it makes me incredibly anxious. Without these programs, I wouldn’t be able to stock my fridge, go to the doctor or heat my home.
I spent decades caring for patients in need and did it with pride. No one ever expects to be disabled and suddenly have to stop working. You never know what could happen and never think it could happen to you until it does. I didn’t think I would ever need back the tax dollars I put into the system. But God had a different plan for me. These programs are so important for me and millions of Americans.
But the programs are also part of what makes America a great and a caring nation. They ensure that any American — our neighbor, our family member, or a co-worker — who gets sick can live with dignity in the richest nation on earth. It seems like Republicans in Congress have no interest in supporting everyday people. They just want to make the rich richer.
By voting in favor of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, my Congressional representative, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, voted to turn his back on constituents like me. With these cuts, people will suffer and end up on the streets. People like me, who are already doing everything we can to make it work, will struggle even more.
I am calling on Sens. Fetterman and McCormick to chart a different path and put an end to these proposed cuts. Lives are on the line. It’s time for our leaders to show that they care and that they are willing to stand up against billionaires. On behalf of the millions of Pennsylvanians who rely on these SNAP, Medicaid and LIHEAP, I urge you to protect these programs and our ability to provide for our families.
This is a contributed opinion column. Pamela Berman is a Bethlehem resident and former certified nursing assistant. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.
Riley Gaines, who has turned a fifth place finish against non-trans swimmers into career with MAGA media.
Now let me see if I have this right. Riley Gaines finished 5th in a race with a trans athlete. And, if that trans athlete had NOT been in the race, Riley Gaines would still have finished in 5th place because the two swimmers were TIED for 5th. So, a trans athlete being in the race did not have any effect on Riley Gaines at all
First of all, I would like proof of this man’s “big balls.”
Second, he is a national security disaster. From his Wikipedia page:
His maternal grandfather Valery Martynov was a KGB Lieutenant Colonel executed by the Soviet Union as a double agent. After his execution his widow moved with her children, including Coristine’s mother, to the United States.
Also from Wikipedia:
Bloomberg News reported that Coristine had been fired from his internship at cybersecurity firm Path Network in 2022 for allegedly leaking internal company information to a competitor. Following his dismissal, a large collection of internal Path documents and conversations was leaked online.
The apple may not fall too far from the tree in this instance.
Reuters published a story alleging that Coristine’s online content delivery network DiamondCDN had facilitated the work of the cybercriminal group EGodly. In 2023 Egodly thanked Coristine saying “We extend our gratitude to our valued partners DiamondCDN for generously providing us with their amazing DDoS protection and caching systems, which allow us to securely host and safeguard our website,” Egodly has claimed involvement in a number of crimes including email hacking, theft of cryptocurrency, and the harassment of a former FBI agent.
This guy would never have passed any sort of normal security clearance. That this story isn’t a massive front page scandal is an indictment of the times we live in.
The Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday digging into the cognitive abilities of former President Joe Biden and claims of whether his aides helped what they say was a cover up of his alleged mental decline — claims the former president and many on his staff have denied.
The probe didn’t uncover any new information on the former president — with Democratic members of the subcommittee boycotting the hearing.
Democratic senators on the committee walked out of the hearing shortly after it began, with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin blasting the panel for even holding the hearing, while he says a number of timely investigations should be going on related to President Donald Trump’s current actions.
“So far this year, the Republican majority on this committee has not held a single oversight hearing, despite numerous critical challenges facing the nation that are under our jurisdiction,” Durbin said.
The GOP panel repeatedly accused Democrats — and the media — of concealing the former president’s alleged real health conditions in order to prevent Trump’s 2024 victory.
“Today’s hearing is about competency, corruption and cover up within the Biden administration. Simply put, the last administration was rudderless from one crisis to another. The Biden Administration failed and folded. The partisan media did their best to cover up those failures,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley claimed.
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer listens to questioning during Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearings on how the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution in the Dirksen Senate office building in Washington, DC, June 18, 2025.
Mattie Neretin/Sipa USA via AP
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who was among the witnesses, compared his time working under Trump in his first term to his observations of Biden, praising Trump’s energy and mental focus. Spicer never worked for the Biden administration.
Spicer also criticized “legacy media” for questions raised about Trump’s fitness for office in his first term, while he claims they were not questioning Biden the same way.
“Many, rightly so, believe the media in this country is culpable in covering up the obvious decline of the 46th president and leaders of the free world — the president of the United States. The scrutiny that was baselessly directed at President Trump during his first term was wholly absent from the media coverage of the Biden White House,” Spicer claimed.
Republicans on the committee also focused on Trump — saying he is in command and makes skillful decisions.
“The public is counting on us to ensure this never happens again, because we won’t always be fortunate enough to have a leader like President Trump, who is so unmistakably in command,” Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said.
Joe Biden speaks during a conference of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) at the Sofitel Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, on April 15, 2025.
Tannen Maury/AFP via Getty Images
In May, Senate Republicans announced their plans to launch the probe into Biden’s mental fitness while in office — including his use of autopen, a mechanical device to automatically add a signature to a document that’s been utilized by several past presidents, including Trump in his first term.
The hearing also comes after Trump earlier this month ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether Biden’s administration sought to conspire to cover up his alleged mental state while in office. The move by the White House represents a significant escalation, as it is a directive to the Justice Department to formally investigate.
Biden responded to the Trump order, saying “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency.”
“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said in a statement.
In May, House Oversight Chairman James Comer requested Biden’s White House physician, Kevin O’Connor, appear for a transcribed interview as part of an investigation into Biden’s mental fitness and use of a presidential autopen while in office. Comer asked O’Connor to sit for an interview on June 25.
Sean Spicer, Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow for Law and Technology Theodore Wold, and University of Virginia Law Professor John Harrison testify during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the alleged cover up of former President Joe Biden’s alleged incapacity to serve on Capitol Hill June 18, 2025.
In response to the book’s release, a Biden spokesman said “there is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover up or conspiracy.”
On Wednesday morning, Trump — who often criticizes Biden — lambasted the former president’s use of autopen and claimed that Biden didn’t have control while leading the country.
“All these people, all the scum that was around the Oval, you know, the Oval Office, or around the beautiful Resolute desk, telling this guy here, ‘Do this,’ ‘Do that,’ and not even tell him. They just go over to the autopen and sign whatever the hell they wanted to sign,” he said.
Trump claimed that it was aides who were making decisions for Biden — employing the autopen to carry out an agenda.
“He wasn’t for open borders, he wasn’t for transgender for everybody. He wasn’t for men playing in women’s sports. But he has no idea what the hell — he has no idea,” Trump claimed.
