NewsFlash

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The Trump administration has officially shut down the LGBTQ Youth Specialized Services program within the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The program allowed callers under 25 to speak with counselors trained to support LGBTQ youth.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/lgbtq-youth-support-line-removed-from-988-suicide-hotline-after-federal-cuts

Lawsuit alleges 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration center doesn't allow detainees access to attorneys - https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2025-07-17/lawsuit-alleges-alligator-alcatraz-immigration-center-doesnt-allow-detainees-access-to-attorneys

Aside:  Everything used at Alligator Alcatraz has to be trucked in, including potable water, and waste trucked back out. 

From "Search Assist" -      The facility was initially expected to cost taxpayers $450 million per year. Current Costs -     Recent leaked documents indicate that the cost has increased to over $600 million within just two weeks of operation. Funding Sources -   The project is partially funded by a $625 million allocation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Shelter and Services Program.   An internal FEMA document reveals that the total grant awarded to Florida for this project is approximately $608.4 million. Additional Context -     The facility is designed to house and process up to 5,000 detainees and includes a functional airstrip.  The funding and operational costs are part of broader immigration policies aimed at increasing detention capacity.

FEMA - You know, that agency that's supposed to be helping clean up after floods and other natural disasters, and provide shelter for people who have lost their homes, etc?  https://www.floods.org/news-views/fema-news/trump-denies-disaster-aid-tells-states-to-do-more/   And that has just pulled back funding for Flood/Weather sirens in places like Norman, Oklahoma, and now is being sued https://www.yahoo.com/news/20-states-sue-dhs-fema-001800517.html


EDIT:  Florida Quietly Removing Alligator Alcatraz Contracts from Public Records Database - https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/is-florida-removing-alligator-alcatraz-contracts-from-database-23636003

If this video isn't done by AI, and is legit, gods help us all. This is the current White House Chief of Staff.  https://bsky.app/profile/bunnibytz.bsky.social/post/3lu64v3iue227

No, no sadly it seems legit. This is from 2017, prior to the tech being available.  https://www.vice.com/en/article/stephen-miller-torture-video-iraq/

ICE grabs US citizen in Sacramento, threatens his wife with mace - https://bsky.app/profile/lorennacleary.bsky.social/post/3luar7ovaek2k

Eleven grabbed in ICE raids in Sacramento -  https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/florin-home-depot-ice-operation/103-92a52a33-09b0-459e-a786-c0bd144c565e 

Are raids legal? - https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/video/cbs-news-legal-analyst-talks-border-patrol-operation-in-sacramento/

ICE Agents Are Harassing the Courthouse Volunteers Who Assist Besieged Immigrants  - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/ice-arrests-federal-courthouses-sacramento-san-francisco-diego-denver-immigration-hearings-arrests-volunteer-observers/

White House Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought said Thursday that it “wasn’t in our interest” to release a full federal budget proposal, explaining a decision that defied decades of bipartisan tradition and that some experts say broke the law. -  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/white-house-aide-on-skipping-budget-plan-it-wasn-t-in-our-interest/ar-AA1INtmV

How true.  https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mqgl57e5sxbuuqryje5zfz5e/bafkreia4lvs7ushpnvpssdnl64fau4ttbv2tzuvvgbifez3wo5lrvsqlcu@jpeg


And why CBS is canceling him - Good for Colbert! -  https://bsky.app/profile/teamcanadaforever.bsky.social/post/3lu7o6kzqic2h

Alternate feed - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMOhWKsxT_G/

[This is the same network that cancelled "The Smothers Brothers Show" back in the 1960s, because Tricky Dick Nixon leaned on them.]

Labor Department moves to end a longstanding, successful incentive program for disabled workers. - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/labor-department-disability-hiring-federal-rule/

Federal immigration officials on Wednesday seized an Afghan immigrant — a father of five and former interpreter for the U.S. military — outside a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) office, following a routine appointment related to his green card application. - https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/35_year_old_afghan_interpreter_and_father_of_five_seized_by_ice

“I’d rather someone just kill me in the U.S. than return to Afghanistan.”

A post by George Takei -  https://bsky.app/profile/georgetakei.bsky.social/post/3luas7lhs7d27

Just ICE released - U.S. Army veteran & US citizen  says he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. He has not been given any reason for his arrest and three-day detention.  https://apnews.com/article/us-army-veteran-immigration-raid-53cb22251a01599a0c4d1a8d5650d050

He plans to sue over his unlawful detention. I hope somebody with the cash to pay for the lawyers and filing fees bankrolls that lawsuit for him.

The Trump administration has shut down the IRS’s Direct File program, a pilot initiative that allowed Americans to file their federal taxes online for free, directly through the IRS? 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2025/07/15/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-didnt-kill-irs-direct-file-but-it-sure-feels-like-it/

https://www.dontmesswithtaxes.com/2025/07/direct-file-dead-alive-or-still-on-life-support-.html

US has wasted hundreds of thousands of vaccines meant for Africa - https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/17/us-has-wasted-hundreds-of-thousands-of-vaccines-meant-for-africa-health-officials-there-say-00460290

Travelers to the U.S. will have to pay a new $250 ‘visa integrity fee’, on top of other visa fees. The “visa integrity fee” applies to all visitors who need non-immigrant visas, which includes tourists, business travelers and international students. - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/18/visa-integrity-fee-what-to-know-about-new-travel-fee-to-enter-the-us-.html

Two students were “lured” out of their home by ICE agents who told them they were investigating a hit-and-run the couple had previously reported, court documents say. - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-iranian-students-lsu-released-ice-arrested-rcna219505

Not sure of the legitimacy of the source:  Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador - https://www.404media.co/flight-manifests-reveal-dozens-of-previously-unknown-people-on-three-deportation-flights-to-el-salvador/

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