International
DeSantis plans “Panhandle Pokey” after court orders closure of Alligator Alcatraz
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday plans to build a new migrant detention center in the state’s northwest region, called “Panhandle Pokey,” following a court ruling ordering the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz” by October.
During a press conference, DeSantis justified the proposed facility, referencing the Florida Panhandle and using “pokey,” a colloquial term for jail. He estimated that 70,000 migrants in Florida already have deportation orders.
The new center, for which further details have not yet been released, would complement the “Deportation Depot”, another facility DeSantis announced in August in a former northern Florida prison, with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 detainees.
“So we are in the process of figuring out how to open the Panhandle Pokey, and we’ll have that in the Panhandle, and the mission continues,” said the Republican governor.
The announcement comes two weeks after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams for the Southern District of Florida, which ordered the dismantling of Alligator Alcatraz within 60 days. Environmental groups had filed the lawsuit. The center, opened on July 3 west of Miami, quickly became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, with former President Donald Trump visiting the site two days prior.
International
Texas Senate approves bill allowing citizens to sue over abortion pills
The Republican-controlled Texas Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that would allow anyone to sue individuals who facilitate the delivery of abortion pills in the conservative state, where abortion is heavily restricted.
The measure, which the state House approved in late August, now awaits the signature of Governor Greg Abbott to take effect. According to the Texas Senate website, the law passed with 17 votes in favor and 9 against.
Once enacted, any citizen could file a lawsuit against alleged violators and seek a minimum of $100,000 in damages. While the legislation does not criminalize women seeking abortion pills, it prohibits the prescription, manufacturing, or shipment of such drugs.
The law represents another win for the anti-abortion movement in the United States, fueled by a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that sharply curtailed abortion rights in several states.
Senator Bryan Hughes, a Republican, defended the bill on X (formerly Twitter), saying it aims to “protect the baby growing in the mother’s womb” and prevent pharmaceutical companies from sending “toxic pills” to Texas for profit.
In contrast, Democratic Senator Carol Alvarado, quoted by the New York Times, criticized the law, claiming it effectively turns Texans into bounty hunters.
International
Israel’s Defense Minister threatens Yemen’s houthis with “ten biblical plagues”
Israel’s Defense Minister announced on Thursday that his country would inflict the “ten plagues” described in the Bible on Houthi rebels in Yemen, following an escalation of attacks against Israel.
“The Houthis are once again firing missiles at Israel… We will bring the ten plagues upon them,” wrote Israel Katz on X (formerly Twitter), referencing the biblical plagues that struck Egypt to compel Pharaoh to free the Israelites.
Earlier, the Israeli military reported that a missile launched from Yemen landed outside Israeli territory, a day after intercepting two other projectiles fired by the Houthis.
The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have vowed to intensify attacks on Israel, after their Prime Minister and 11 other senior officials were killed last week in Israeli airstrikes.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, the Houthis have carried out numerous missile and drone attacks on Israel, citing solidarity with the Palestinians. In response, Israel has launched multiple retaliatory strikesagainst Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen, including ports and the capital, Sana’a.
International
House of Representatives releases 33,000 pages of Epstein case documents
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday released more than 33,000 pages of documents related to the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, as provided by the Department of Justice.
The release was made by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and is described as the first installment of a series of public disclosures, following political agreements aimed at increasing transparency in the Epstein case.
“There are more documents on the way,” said Committee Chairman James Comer after announcing the release.
Out of the 333,295 pages made public, only about 3% contain new information, with the remainder already available in the public domain.
“Less than 1% of the files have been released; the Department of Justice is obstructing,” commented Representative Ro Khanna of California shortly after the records were made public.
The Epstein case has remained a high-profile issue in U.S. politics in recent months. Former President Donald Trumphad promised during his last campaign to release a purported list of Epstein’s clients, but once in office, he took a more restrained approach.
This secrecy has frustrated Trump’s political base, particularly after the Department of Justice announced in July that no further Epstein information would be released.
Meanwhile, Epstein’s former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for facilitating underage girls to Epstein, recently met with Justice Department officials and stated that her former partner did not maintain a list of high-profile clients.
In August, the Justice Department also released two interrogations of Maxwell conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July, in which Maxwell expressed doubts about Epstein’s reported suicide in prison.
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Texas Senate approves bill allowing citizens to sue over abortion pills
Israel’s Defense Minister threatens Yemen’s houthis with “ten biblical plagues”
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