Florida will soon close Alligator Alcatraz, a highly publicized immigration detention center that opened in the Everglades less than a year ago, according to multiple news reports citing unidentified officials. Companies hired to run the detention center were told May 12 that the facility would be shut down in June, the New York Times and CBS News reported. The cost of operating the center is the reason.
When the US Department of Justice approved Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, a DOJ press release said "a rigorous eight-month investigation led by the [Antitrust] Division's career staff" showed that the $111 billion deal would not harm competition or American consumers.
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The tech industry is about to flood the market with AI glasses with cameras for multimodal AI. But the public is already turning against the idea. Who will win? read more
In its efforts to secure European approval of its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system, Tesla has presented self-published safety statistics to regulators in Sweden and the Netherlands that independent traffic-safety researchers have said amount to misleading marketing. read more
Obama administration denies Iran cash payment was a ransom (2016)
www.reuters.com
... The Obama administration said on Wednesday that $400 million in cash paid to Iran soon after the release of five Americans detained by Tehran was not ransom as some Republicans have charged.
The five, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, were released on Jan. 16 in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United States for sanctions violations. The prisoner deal coincided with the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.
At the time, the United States said it had settled a longstanding Iranian claim at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague, releasing $400 million in funds frozen since 1981, plus $1.3 billion in interest that was owed to Iran.
The funds were part of a trust fund Iran used before its 1979 Islamic Revolution to buy U.S. military equipment that was tied up for decades in litigation at the tribunal. ...
... Trump had pledged to target the "worst of the worst" criminal offenders. ...
Pres Trump [shamefully] lies a lot and oh too frequently.
But the MAGA cult still seems to stand with him.
The rest of the Country, well ...
President Trump Job Approval - Immigration
www.realclearpolling.com
...
RCP Average 5/9 - 6/8
Approve: 44.7
Disapprove: 51.9
Spread: -7.2
...
But one of Pres Trump's main campaign points, beside the economy (and I won't go there for the nonce), was immigration.
And now he seems to be underwater on the immigration issue?
@#7 ... Politico has broken the story that Newsom put his chief of staff on leave due to a criminal investigation A YEAR AGO! Never disclosed it. ...
Here's that Politico article (why didn't your current trolling alias even bother to cite it?)
Newsom put then-chief on leave last year amid criminal probe
www.politico.com
... Gov. Gavin Newsom put his former chief on leave when he learned a year ago that she was under criminal investigation, according to his office.
Dana Williamson, who was indicted on public corruption charges Wednesday, was interviewed by the FBI in November 2024, while still working as Newsom's top aide. She left the governor's office a month later.
At the time, Williamson was hailed by her allies as the governor's "political assassin" in the state Capitol for her bare-knuckled approach. In a send-off statement, Newsom lauded "her insight, tenacity, and big heart."
Newsom had known for a month that Williamson had been questioned by the FBI. When she informed him in November, he immediately placed her on leave, and she officially left the administration in December. ...
Painting the bottom of the pool a dark blue increases the warming effect of the Washington, D.C. sun.
Algae loves warm water.