ICE Traps Congressional Democrats Trying to Visit Detention Center

ICE facility workers trapped three Democratic representatives between the fence and the entrance as they denied their lawful attempt at entry to a detention center in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday.

Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center is normally controlled by the Bureau of Prisons but is currently being used by Homeland Security to house detainees. Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velazquez, and Dan Goldman have the right to visit Homeland Security facilities as members of Congress, even without prior notice. But their visit was denied by the Bureau of Prisons, who claim to have different rules.

“.@ICEgov locked me, @NydiaVelazquez and @RepDanGoldman between the fence and the building entrance of the Sunset Park Detention Center as we tried to conduct our Congressional oversight this morning,” Espaillat wrote on X. “This blatant lack of respect towards the Legislative Branch is a deterioration of checks and balances, all while they hide their atrocities from the public. The people demand answers, and immigrants deserve humanity.”

“We have been trapped in here by a masked agent with no name, and whom we cannot determine who it is because he refuses to show his face,” Espaillat said in the attached video. “We are duly elected members of Congress, and section 527 allows us the oversight responsibilities to go in there and see what is going on with the detention of immigrants.”

ICE has been particularly confrontational with elected officials who show up unannounced, even unlawfully arresting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and pressing charges against Democratic Representative Monica McIver in May.

In a shocking turn, the sex trafficker who could get a pardon from President Donald Trump has not said anything to implicate President Donald Trump.

During her nine-hour interview with Todd Blanche in July, Ghislaine Maxwell told the deputy attorney general that she never saw Trump do anything that would cause concern, sources familiar with what she said told ABC News Tuesday.

The transcripts of the interview, which took place over two days, could be publicly released as soon as this week. It’s not clear whether the administration also plans to release the audio recording of the conversation.

The public is clamoring for more transparency around the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, especially after the Department of Justice clawed back the release of the convicted sex offender’s so-called “client list,” claiming that contrary to prior statements, such a thing didn’t exist.

In July, the DOJ agreed to meet with Maxwell in an attempt to quell MAGA’s rage over the lack of transparency. Trump has also requested to unseal the transcripts of the grand jury trials for Maxwell and Epstein, a move that Maxwell has opposed, as she’s appealing her case before the Supreme Court.

But Maxwell wouldn’t need the Supreme Court if she could get a pardon—which Trump has said he is “allowed” to give, without weighing in on whether he would. She has even offered to testify publicly in exchange for clemency. But as Trump himself could likely be implicated in the Epstein case as the financier’s longtime friend, his power to pardon Maxwell throws suspicion on any testimony she provides.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has decided on a “who cares” approach to America’s public health policy.

The vaccine conspiracist announced Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services had directed the cancellation of $500 million worth of vaccine projects, including 22 mRNA studies, because “the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said, without specifying which science or experts were consulted. “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

Doctors reacted in horror to the news, arguing that Kennedy’s decision to nix the vaccine studies would effectively leave America completely defenseless against another pandemic.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told the Associated Press.

MRNA technology has saved millions of lives and is a crucial tool in combating emerging diseases, particularly the most lethal and contagious ones, such as Covid-19.

Stanford University infectious diseases specialist Dr. Jake Scott wrote on X that HHS was “undermining pandemic preparedness at a time when we can least afford it.”

“The claim that mRNA vaccine technology poses more risk than benefits is simply false,” Scott said, responding to Kennedy’s video statement. “What poses risk is abandoning the most adaptable, scalable vaccine platform we’ve ever had.”

MRNA vaccines have been around for decades but were relatively new to the United States when the coronavirus began to spread. Their use allowed scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and the medical industry to rapidly respond to the virus, shortening the timeline to reach national herd immunity. The technology was heralded as a medical marvel and went on to win the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine, with abilities that extend far beyond the infectious disease realm: In the years since it debuted on the U.S. market, biomedical researchers have framed mRNA as a potential cancer treatment. But its sudden emergence in the U.S. prompted suspicion from anti-vaxxers, including Kennedy.

Since Kennedy took the reins at HHS, he has removed independent medical experts on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. He warned against the use of the MMR vaccine during Texas’s historic measles outbreak, recommending that suffering patients instead take vitamins. And he founded his new directive for America’s health policy—the “Make America Healthy Again” report—on studies generated by AI that never existed in the real world.

Should it need repeating: Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine. They are so effective they have practically eradicated some of the worst diseases, from rabies to polio and smallpox, a fact that has possibly fooled some into believing that the viruses and their complications aren’t a significant threat for the average, health-conscious individual.

President Donald Trump is planning to make the biggest changes to the White House in over 50  years—and according to him, he’s graciously taking one for the team and helping to fund it himself.

“I am proud to be the only President (with the possible exception of the Late, Great George Washington) to donate my Salary. My first ‘Paycheck’ went to the White House Historical Association, as we make much needed renovations to the beautiful ‘People’s House,’” Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social. 

In the past, the president has routinely donated large amounts of his yearly $400,000 salary to causes such as fighting the opioid crisis, repairing monuments, and funding the Department of Veterans Affairs. Trump is the wealthiest ever U.S. president, with a net worth of around $5.5 billion—bolstered recently by profits from his crypto coins.

“Great improvements and beautification is taking place at the White House, at levels not seen since its original creation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added in his post.

Trump’s “beautification” of the White House so far has involved paving over the Rose Garden, hanging a portrait of himself, and a lot of gold paint.

No matter his generosity, Trump’s plans for a 900,000-square-foot ballroom off the East Wing will cost $200 million—far more than Trump himself could cover with his salary. The White House has said the funds will be supplemented by “other patriot donors,” according to The New York Times. 

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University, told the Times that this could allow people to donate who were seeking “ways to get in good with Trump.”

On Sunday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called on law enforcement to “hunt down” Democrats who left the state in protest against Republicans’ gerrymandering efforts. On Wednesday, those same Democrats were forced to evacuate the Illinois hotel they were staying in due to bomb threats.

Police responded to the threat around 7:15 a.m. on Wednesday, and evacuated 400 people, including the Texas Democrats, after a “thorough” scan of the building confirmed that there was no bomb present.

“I am aware of reports that threats were made against Texas elected officials in our state. Threats of violence will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote on X. “I have instructed @ILStatePolice to ensure we maintain public safety.”

Democrats left Texas over the weekend in an effort to deny quorum in the state House to prevent Republicans from moving forward with their shamelessly skewed redistricting plans, which are likely to add five more seats to the Republican congressional majority in 2026. And while we’re still awaiting more information about the bomb threat, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott called on law enforcement to round up Democratic politicians like dogs.

“A bomb threat this morning forced an evacuation—because of dangerous republican rhetoric. As a former human trafficking prosecutor, I’ve faced threats before, but never from the Governor or President Trump,” state Representative Ann Johnson wrote after the evacuation on Wednesday. “Paxton told his supporters to ‘hunt us down’—but we won’t be silenced.”