"Just the men stay standing. The girls get to sit down"
— Jean Smart after making Emmys history with five consecutive wins for Hacks. Deborah Vance knows how to work a crowd — and so do these iconic women.
The Walls Are Closing In
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown: Past, Present, and Future
What’s going on: Symbolism is powerful — look no further than the metal cages used at "Alligator Alcatraz," a now-shuttered immigration detention facility in South Florida. President Donald Trump joked about the center’s dangerous conditions in the past, but a new report from a Department of Homeland Security watchdog shows just how bad conditions were at the facility. It said “Alligator Alcatraz” — which housed over 21,000 migrants — failed to meet national standards for food, medical care, personal hygiene, and recreation. Additionally, nearly 80 detainees were held in “calming areas,” which were small metal enclosures the size of phone booths that exposed them to heat and mosquitoes for hours. Though he didn’t read the report, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) defended the facility’s conditions Monday, saying it was a “crucial part” of Florida’s efforts to “remove criminals.”
It’s not the only thing under review: Yesterday, several major cities and 22 states (plus Washington, DC) sued the Trump administration to block the “public charge rule,” which is set to take effect Friday. The policy would allow federal officials to deny green cards to immigrants who use public assistance (like SNAP or housing aid), or to those they believe could become dependent on those benefits in the future. While noncitizens are rarely eligible for these benefits, advocates worry the rule will keep US citizens with family members who don’t have the same status from seeking assistance. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said as many as 4 million people across the country could unenroll from their health insurance, while DHS says at least 950,000 could forgo social services. DHS defended its policy, saying Democratic-led sanctuary states and cities are only worried about losing federal funding.
