The Associated Press
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration has already signed at least $245 million in state contracts to set up and run the new immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. That's according to a public database that tracks state spending. The amount for the site dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" is to be fronted by Florida taxpayers. It's in line with the $450 million a year officials have estimated the facility will cost. The pricetag is a reminder of the investment in public funding that the DeSantis administration is making to help carry out President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.
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Microsoft is issuing an emergency fix to close off a vulnerability in Microsoft’s SharePoint software that hackers have exploited to carry out widespread attacks on businesses and at least some federal agencies. The company said in its blog post that it discovered at least dozens of systems were compromised around the world.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades. That's according to emails obtained by The Associated Press. DeSantis relied on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws and regulations. The emails show that local officials in southwest Florida were still trying to chase down a rumor about the sprawling "Alligator Alcatraz" facility planned for their county while state officials were already on the ground and sending vendors through the gates to coordinate construction. The detention center was designed to house thousands of migrants and went up in a matter of days.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will gain access to personally identifiable information for all of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees. That's according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press. ICE officials plan to track immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States. The agreement was signed Monday between officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. Direct access will be given to the addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates as well as the ethnicity and race of all Medicaid enrollees.
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At least two people have been wrongly charged under a Florida law that outlaws people living in the U.S. illegally from entering the state since a federal judge halted its enforcement. That's according to a report Florida's state attorney is required to file as punishment for defying the judge's injunction. The men were arrested in late May in northeast Florida's St. Johns County. That was more than a month after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued an order freezing the enforcement of the statute. The law makes it a misdemeanor for people who are in the U.S. without legal permission to enter Florida by eluding immigration officials.
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Democratic lawmakers are condemning Florida’s new Everglades immigration detention center after making a state-arranged visit. They are describing crowded, unsanitary and bug-infested conditions that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” But Republican legislators said they saw a clean and well-run facility while on the same tour Saturday. The visit came after some Democrats were blocked earlier from viewing the 3,000-bed detention center. The state rapidly built it on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland.
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People held at the brand new Florida immigration detention center that officials have dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" say worms turn up in the food, toilets don't flush and floors flood with fecal waste. They complain of a lack of access to attorneys and medical care. Government officials dispute the conditions described by detainees, their attorneys and family members. But they have provided few details on the facility and have denied media access. Florida is opening the facility to state lawmakers and members of Congress for a site visit Saturday, July 12.
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A federal judge in New Hampshire said he'll certify a class action lawsuit including all children who'll be affected by President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship and issue a preliminary injunction blocking it. Judge Joseph LaPlante announced his decision Thursday after an hour-long hearing and said a written order will follow. He said the order will include a seven-day stay to allow for appeal. The class is slightly narrower than that sought by the plaintiffs, who originally included parents as plaintiffs.
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Intense rainstorms are becoming more frequent in most of the U.S. — though experts say where they occur and whether they cause catastrophic flooding is largely a matter of chance. More than 100 people died in Texas Hill Country over the weekend after 12 inches of rain fell in just hours. Last year, Hurricane Helene dumped more than 30 inches of rain on western North Carolina, where flooding killed 108. Experts say human-caused climate change is setting the stage because a hotter atmosphere holds more water. But it's impossible to predict where flooding will occur in any given year.
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Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump's staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives. After torrential rains and flash flooding struck Friday in the Texas Hill Country, the weather service came under fire from local officials who criticized what they described as inadequate forecasts. Democrats wasted little time linking staff reductions to the disaster, which is being blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people. Former federal officials and experts have said Trump's indiscriminate job reductions at NWS and other weather-related agencies will result in brain drain that threatens the government's ability to issue timely and accurate forecasts. Trump said job cuts did not hamper weather forecasts.