A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has paused construction for two weeks at "Alligator Alcatraz" after a challenge from environmentalist groups.
The immigrant detention center, located in the Florida Everglades, was opened in July and quickly became a polarizing symbol of President Donald Trump's mass deportation push.
Environmental and tribal groups want to shut the facility down, saying it will damage the local wetland ecosystem.
The temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams bars additional construction for two weeks while she considers whether to issue a preliminary injunction, which has a larger scope.
The Trump administration says this ruling is another example of activists weaponizing the court system to override Trump's electoral mandate.
“It is another attempt to prevent the president from fulfilling the American people’s mandate for mass deportations,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “These environmental activists -- and activist judge -- don’t care about the invasion of our country facilitated by the Biden administration, but the American people do."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has championed Trump's deportation push, noted the ruling does not stop immigrants from being detained at the tent facility, which currently houses 3,000.
“Alligator Alcatraz will remain operational, continuing to serve as a force multiplier to enhance deportation efforts,” a spokesperson for the governor said.
State officials argue that "Alligator Alcatraz" will not harm the Everglades, which has been under restoration for decades.
Environmentalists say that federal law requires a review of the environmental impact of the facility, which was built in eight days on an unused airfield.
“We’re pleased that the judge saw the urgent need to put a pause on additional construction, and we look forward to advancing our ultimate goal of protecting the unique and imperiled Everglades ecosystem from further damage caused by this mass detention facility,” said Eve Samples, executive director at Friends of the Everglades.
Florida argues that the National Environmental Policy Act does not apply because the facility is run by the state, but the challengers say federal law does apply because the detention center is being used for federal immigration enforcement.
Green groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity, which is part of the lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz, have spent years trying to block Trump's border wall.
While environmentalists may have sincere concerns about "Alligator Alcatraz," they have apparently never stopped to consider the environmental damage caused by mass immigration, which has become the main driver of U.S. population growth.
Two Chinese immigrants living in California have been charged with smuggling AI technology to China, the Justice Department announced.
Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, Calif., and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, Calif, are accused of violating export controls by sending millions of dollars' worth of Nvidia chips to their native country. Geng is a lawful permanent resident; Yang is an illegal alien who overstayed her visa.
They were charged under the Export Control Reform Act, and each faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
From October 2022 to July 2025, the defendants "knowingly and willfully" sent restricted technology to China, including the "most powerful GPU chip on the market,” which is “designed specifically for AI applications,” such as “to develop self-driving cars, medical diagnosis systems, and other AI-powered applications.”
The first Trump administration started requiring licenses for the computer chips that Geng and Yang were exporting shortly before they started their company, El Monte-based ALX Solutions.
The police raided the company's office and seized the phones of the defendants, which showed that they discussed evading U.S. export controls by sending computer chips through Malaysia.
ALX Solutions was never paid by the companies they claimed to be exporting their goods to, but they were paid by entities based in Hong Kong and China, one of which sent them $1 million.
The defendants made at least 20 shipments to Singapore and Malaysia, "which commonly are used as transshipment points to conceal illegal shipments to China," the DOJ noted.
California-based Nvidia is a key player in the AI sector and currently ranks as the most valuable company in the world.
“This case demonstrates that smuggling is a nonstarter. We primarily sell our products to well-known partners, including OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], who help us ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules,” an Nvidia spokesperson told the New York Post.
“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support, or updates."
This case is one example of how mass immigration undermines U.S. national security. While illegal immigration gets the most attention, those who come to the U.S. the right way are not necessarily good people. Notably, one of the Chinese nationals in this incident has a green card.
President Trump has prioritized winning the AI race with China, and key to that effort is revitalizing the semiconductor industry in the United States.
Trump announced this week that he will levy 100% tariffs on foreign chips, with exemptions for companies that invest in America such as Nvidia.
Republicans in Texas are threatening to have Democrats removed from office after they fled the state in an attempt to block a contentious redistricting plan.
The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton (R), says Democrats' seats could be declared "vacant" if they do not return to Texas to do their jobs.
The Texas Democrats claim they are protesting a partisan power grab, but Republicans say they are engaged in a publicity stunt and avoiding their duties.
“Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired.”
With dozens of legislators missing, Republicans in the Texas House do not have a quorum, meaning they cannot conduct business.
More than 50 Democrats have absconded to blue states like New York and Illinois. The governors of those states have threatened to retaliate against Texas' plan to add up to five House GOP districts, although critics note that many Democratic states are already aggressively gerrymandered.
Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) has called on state police to arrest the absentee Democrats, and he is going to the Supreme Court to expel top Democratic leader Gene Wu as his party pledges to run out the clock on the two-week special legislative session.
“What is at stake here? Nothing less than the future of Texas,” Abbott wrote in his lawsuit. “If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way.”
Paxton, seemingly reluctant to let Abbott steal his thunder, wrote his own letter to the Supreme Court.
The attorney general said he "appreciates the governor's passion" but Abbott lacks the authority to pursue quo warranto proceedings, which challenge a person's right to hold a public office.
In a podcast appearance, Paxton pumped the brakes a bit on the plan to remove Democrats, which he said will start Friday if the House still does not have a quorum.
"We'd have to go through a court process, and we'd have to file that maybe in districts that are not friendly to Republicans," Paxton told Benny Johnson. "So it's a challenge because every district would be different."
Abbott has also suggested that Democrats who accept donations in order to cover fines for skipping work could be on the hook for bribery charges.
Paxton is challenging Senator John Cornyn in a contentious Republican primary. Not letting himself be outflanked, Cornyn has called on the FBI to help bring the absentee Democrats back to Texas.
A battle over redistricting escalated on Monday when Texas Republicans moved to arrest Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block the adoption of a new congressional map.
The Texas House voted 85-6 to arrest and bring back dozens of Democrats who traveled to Illinois and other blue states.
"The sergeant-at-arms and any officers appointed by her are directed to send for all absentees whose attendance is not excused for the purposes of securing and maintaining their attendance under warrant of arrest, if necessary, until further order of the House," said Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
The Democrats' absence means lawmakers do not have a quorum to conduct business. Abbott called a special legislative session, which lasts two weeks.
It is not clear how the arrest warrants will be enforced outside of Texas, but Governor Greg Abbott (R) has threatened to pursue criminal charges when the Democrats eventually return.
The governor called for state police to "locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans."
Every day the Democrats are absent, they incur a $500 fine, which could place them on the hook for bribery, Abbott said.
"It would be bribery if any lawmaker took money to perform or to refuse to perform an act in the legislature," Abbott told Fox News on Monday.
"And the reports are these legislators have both sought money and offered money to skip the vote, to leave the legislature, to take a legislative act. That would be bribery."
The state's Republicans are advancing a map that would potentially add five Republican seats and help the party maintain its hold on the House in the midterm elections.
The Trump-backed push has led Democrats in blue states to declare "war," although many states controlled by Democrats are already skewed heavily in the party's favor.
Illinois, the state most of the Texas Democrats are taking refuge in, is widely considered to have one of the most partisan congressional maps in the country, with 14 out of 17 House seats being won by Democrats in the last election.
While states typically redistrict after the decennial census, some Democratic governors have threatened to jump the gun and devise new maps mid-decade.
"Whatever they are doing [in Texas] will be neutered here in the state of California, and they will pay that price," California Governor Gavin Newsom said.
President Trump's immigration crackdown is providing relief to the American people after years of open borders. No less a Trump foe than CNN conceded that Trump is "remaking the country" as net immigration goes down for the first time in decades.
That means more jobs for Americans, more housing supply, and less chaos in communities everywhere.
During a discussion on CNN's Newsroom, chief data analyst Harry Enten credited Trump with being the "most influential president" since FDR, citing Trump's tariff rates, the highest since the 1930s, and low immigration numbers.
While Trump's protectionist agenda looks to reverse decades of offshoring that hurt the working-class, he is simultaneously closing off America's borders to cheap, foreign labor - and generally making life difficult for illegal immigrants who are already living here.
As Enten noted, net immigration is down for the first time "in at least 50 years."
“It is not the only way that Trump is remaking America,” Enten said, referring to tariffs. “The other big thing that Trump ran on, right, was immigration. How about net migration in the United States? Get this. It’s down. It’s going to be down at least 60%," Enten said.
"We may be dealing with, get this, negative net migration to the United States in 2025. That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years.”
The projected decline in immigration is a stark reversal from Biden-era trends, which saw the foreign-born share of the population reach an all-time high as the border was opened up.
“We’re talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024,” Enten added. “So Donald Trump has always run on tariffs and he’s running a hawkish line on immigration."
"And on both of those issues, we are seeing record high tariff rates for this century going all the way back, well back into the early part of the 20th century. When it comes to immigration, net migration, we are seeing record low levels, way down from where we were during the Biden administration.”
Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy has sent illegal border crossings plummeting. The numbers hit another record low of 4,598 in July.
Under Trump, Americans are getting hired. Trump was slammed over last week's July jobs report, which showed cooling in the labor market, but there was a silver lining: 383,000 new jobs went to Americans, while the number of foreign workers decreased by 400,000.
Trump's policy is also saving lives south of the border: according to reports, crossings through the perilous Darien Gap have all but stopped after soaring under Biden.
If there is one issue that voters associate with Trump, it is immigration. And Trump is giving Americans what they asked for when they elected him: he is stopping - and actually reversing - the invasion of our sovereign borders.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has been one of the most outspoken MAGA advocates for the Republican Party for years now, and she's easily one of the most popular, by both social media follower count and her ability to generate headlines.
However, in a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Greene expressed her growing frustrations with the GOP, saying she feels like the old guard is back on the rise -- the "neocon" side of the party that is the MAGA agenda's only real opponent.
She implied to the outlet that she's considering a departure from the GOP if it continues down the course she believes it's on.
She insisted that her loyalty to President Donald Trump remains strong, but she's now taking notice of the warning signs that the party could be headed down a familiar and dangerous -- election-wise -- path.
In a 45-minute phone call with the outlet, MTG made several shocking statements about her thoughts on the party and where it stands today with Trump in the White House.
"I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans," she said.
The Daily Mail noted:
MTG senses that the GOP is reverting to its 'neocon' past, and its leaders, the 'good ole boys,' are a formidable opponent for the true MAGA agenda.
'I'm not afraid of Mike Johnson at all,' she said candidly.
She then dropped a bomb about her current relationship with the Republican Party, and where she might end up if she continues to sour on it.
"I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to Republican Party as much anymore," she revealed. "I don't know which one it is."
Her frustrations included her questioning of the seeming wind-down of the DOGE movement and stopping or severely cutting back on foreign aid.
"Like what happened all those issues? You know that I don't know what the hell happened with the Republican Party. I really don't," she said.
Greene made it clear that she wants nothing to do with where the party is going at the moment.
"But I'll tell you one thing, the course that it's on, I don't want to have anything to do with it, and I, I just don't care anymore."
Only time will tell if Greene stays on board with the GOP, but it sounds like some major changes will have to happen.
The GOP-controlled Senate is apparently not messing around, as it made massive progress in passing three crucial spending bills ahead of the August recess -- a feat that hasn't been witnessed since 2018.
According to the Washington Examiner, three spending bills for 2026 were passed this week, including one regarding agriculture, another involving military spending, and a third that involved legislative branch spending.
Two amendments to the budget bills were also passed by voice vote, according to official reports.
Senate Republicans had faced bipartisan resistance in their attempt to bundle the three spending bills together. The holdup stalled the bills completely and forced Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) to find a new way to get them passed.
Collins' agreement to tackle the bills a different way set up floor votes on a number of bipartisan amendments. She carved out the legislative branch funding bill at the request of Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA).
The Examiner noted:
Kennedy opposed the legislative funding bill because it included what he said was the largest spending increase among all the appropriations measures, around 6%. While he credited his colleagues for their “conscientious and thoughtful work,” he argued that Congress should lead by example and rein in its own budget.
Kennedy had a problem with the price tag of the bill, and ultimately said that Congress can do better when it comes to reining in their own budget.
"Every bill that has come out of the Appropriations Committee has represented an increase in spending," said. "I think we can do better."
The Examiner provided details of some of the amendments that were passed for the budget bills.
Two amendments to the budget bills passed by voice vote: one from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) requiring the VA Secretary to report on staffing models aimed at improving timely, high-quality delivery of care and services; and another from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) prohibiting any cuts to the Veterans Crisis Line.
The passing of the bills was significant, as Congress never enacted a full budget for 2025 and instead counted on three consecutive continuing resolutions to prevent shutdown.
What also delayed the bills, which were set to be passed after President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" was passed, was the immediate recissions package.
As soon as the $9 billion rescissions package was successfully passed, Democrats scattered, walking away from bipartisan talks.
While the August recess will be in effect, senators will stay at the Capitol and help clear a backlog of Trump nominees still awaiting confirmation.
Only time will tell if they're able to clear it.
Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) suffered a nasty fall at the Capitol on Wednesday, prompting colleagues in both parties to come to her aid. The moment was captured live on C-SPAN.
The lawmaker waved to somebody on the chamber floor, then leaned on a small desk with her arms folded, causing her to lose balance and fall down.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) rushed to help Warren get up as other lawmakers watched in concern.
A video of the incident went viral on social media, with some citing it as a sign that the 76-year-old should retire. But others were more forgiving.
"Guys, come on. She leaned against a desk and the desk weighed three ounces. This could happen to anyone. Let's not be them. THEY'RE the ones who do this," wrote one conservative user.
🚨Elizabeth Warren just FELL on the Senate floor pic.twitter.com/J3GH6y0Red
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 31, 2025
Questions about age have increasingly gripped the Capitol, with three House Democrats dying in office this year. Several prominent lawmakers are in their 80s, and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) is 91.
Warren's fall came as the Senate voted on 83-year-old Bernie Sanders' proposal to block the sale of American weaponry to Israel, which has faced international condemnation over its bombardment of Gaza.
The resolution failed, with every Republican voting no and 27 Democrats, including Warren, voting in favor.
Once seen as a rising star on the progressive left, Warren has seen her influence wane since her 2020 presidential campaign fizzled out.
The millionaire and former professor became known in the 2010s for her wonky brand of tax-the-rich liberalism that appealed to college-educated progressives.
She has faced criticism through the years over her controversial claims to Cherokee heritage, which she infamously attempted to prove with a DNA test, sparking backlash from native tribes. Warren took the test as she prepared to run for president in 2020 and after pressure from President Trump, who labeled her "Pocahontas."
Trump also poked fun at Warren over a notorious campaign video in which she drank beer in her kitchen.
"Best line in the Elizabeth Warren beer catastrophe is, to her husband, 'Thank you for being here. I’m glad you’re here' It’s their house, he’s supposed to be there!" Trump wrote at the time on X, then known as Twitter.
While we do not care for Warren's lefty politics, we are glad to see that she appears to be doing just fine.
President Trump's war on liberal elites has led to millions of dollars in settlements, as powerful institutions in media, higher education, and the legal profession surrender left and right to his demands.
As reported by Axios, Trump has received over $1 billion from big names like Columbia, ABC News, and Paramount, and it may not be long before Harvard gives in.
Trump has leveraged the federal purse strings and the Justice Department's law enforcement powers to secure big concessions, both monetary and political.
His success has shaken the left, which had until recently enjoyed uncontested cultural influence that it used to proselytize to half the nation.
The recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert's stridently partisan, and unprofitable, late-night show on CBS led to speculation that Trump was somehow responsible, although the move reportedly had nothing to do with Trump's $16 million settlement with CBS parent company Paramount.
The Trump administration announced a $50 million settlement with Brown University this week, making it the latest Ivy League school to capitulate to Trump's demands to roll back "DEI "and address campus anti-Semitism.
“Congratulations to Brown University on the settlement made with the United States Government. There will be no more Anti-Semitism, or Anti-Christian, or Anti-Anything Else!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Woke is officially DEAD at Brown. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
The oldest and wealthiest university in America, Harvard, resisted Trump's pressure initially but has moved towards a settlement. Harvard is reportedly prepared to pay $500 million, which would be the largest prize yet for Trump in his cultural shakedown.
The nation's left-wing elite legal profession has not been spared in Trump's war on "woke," either. Some of the biggest law firms have pledged nearly $1 billion in free legal services for conservative causes. It's a particularly notable development, considering the expenses Trump has incurred battling liberal "lawfare" over the years.
Trump has also scored major wins against the legacy media, or what he calls the "Fake News." ABC News and Paramount/CBS separately agreed to pay millions of dollars towards Trump's presidential library to settle a pair of lawsuits over defamation and election interference, respectively.
According to Trump, Paramount will also give him $20 million in free advertising, but Paramount denies this.
President Barack Obama, a Columbia University graduate and lawyer who owns several mansions, recently expressed anger at the capitulation of the nation's top law firms, chastising them for putting money ahead of their liberal values.
"Not because, by the way, that they’re going to be thrown in jail, but because they might lose a few clients and might not be able to finish that kitchen rehab at their Hampton house," the frustrated former president said. "I’m not impressed."
Columbia University has agreed to pay over $200 million to the federal government to settle civil rights probes and unfreeze research funding that Trump paused.
President Trump is in the early stages of recruiting a Supreme Court nominee, just in case a slot opens up during his second term, according to TIME magazine.
Trump appointed three of the current justices during his first term, shifting the balance of the court rightwards.
The conservative majority has handed Trump some major victories in recent weeks, exasperating his critics, including the members of the outnumbered liberal wing on the court.
A White House official told TIME that the administration wants candidates “in the mold of” Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and the late Antonin Scalia.
Thomas and Alito are the staunchest conservatives on the court, and also the oldest members serving: Thomas is 77, and Alito is 75.
By contrast, Trump’s own appointees, particularly Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, have proven to be surprisingly moderate, earning them praise from the left-wing media.
According to Time, conservative lawyers who are advising Trump are “burned by a handful of recent decisions in which Barrett joined liberal members of the court and want to ensure the next nominee is someone who won’t veer from the conservative bloc.”
Supreme Court retirements have become political footballs in a deeply polarized America, as reflected in the bare-knuckled fight over Kavanaugh’s nomination during Trump’s first term and the rapid confirmation of Barrett, who was approved by Senate Republicans just days before the 2020 election.
The oldest liberal on the bench, Sonia Sotomayor, faced retirement pressure last year as leftists feared the possibility of Trump naming her replacement. Democrats have been haunted by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in 2020, which enabled Trump to choose Barrett as a successor for the liberal icon.
Replacing Thomas or Alito with conservatives cut from the same cloth would not shift the ideological balance of the court, but it would help solidify Trump’s influence for years to come.
The shortlist for Trump's next pick includes several Trump appointees on the federal courts, including Andrew Oldham and James Ho, who sit on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Neomi Rao, of the D.C. Circuit, and Amal Thapar, of the Sixth Circuit. Oldham clerked for Alito in the past, and Rao was a clerk for Thomas.
If a vacancy opens before the 2026 midterm elections, Trump could expect the Senate's narrow Republican majority to confirm his choice.
Republicans in the Senate have long prioritized court appointments, even during Trump's first term, when they were often less than cooperative about advancing his agenda. The Senate GOP is more pliable when it comes to meeting Trump’s demands, these days.
The GOP showed deference to Trump again this week by confirming his former defense lawyer, Emil Bove, to be an appellate judge, over the objections of Democrats who said he was not fit for the role.