Photos of Trump Touring an Immigration Detention Center Dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accompanied Trump on the tour. Originally expected to hold 5,000 people, the center will house around 3,000.
It was rapidly constructed by the DeSantis administration in eight days over 10 miles of swampland and is equipped with extensive security, including barbed wire, cameras and 400 personnel.
Immigrant advocates, environmental activists and Native Americans defending their ancestral homelands have thronged to the airstrip to protest.
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Japan Times
23 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Trump signs 'big, beautiful' bill on U.S. Independence Day
U.S. President Donald Trump signed his flagship tax and spending bill into law Friday, capping a pomp-laden White House Independence Day ceremony featuring a stealth bomber fly-by. "America is winning, winning, winning like never before," Trump said at the event where he signed the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" flanked by Republican lawmakers. The party fell into line and pushed the bill through a reluctant Congress on Thursday, in time for Trump to sign the bill as he had hoped on the Fourth of July holiday marking America's 249th birthday. Two B-2 bombers of the type that recently struck Iranian nuclear sites roared over the White House at the start of the ceremony, accompanied by fighter jets on their wingtips. Pilots who carried out the bombing on Iran were among those invited to the White House event. The passage of the unpopular bill caps two weeks of significant wins for Trump, including an Iran-Israel ceasefire that was sealed after what he called the "flawless" U.S. air strikes on Iran. Ever the showman, Trump melded his various victory laps into one piece of political theater at the ceremony marking 249 years of independence from Britain. The sprawling mega-bill honors many of Trump's campaign promises: extending tax cuts from his first term, boosting military spending and providing massive new funding for Trump's migrant deportation drive. Trump glossed over deep concerns from his own party and voters that it will balloon the national debt, while simultaneously gutting health and welfare support. "The largest spending cut," Trump said with First Lady Melania Trump at his side, "and yet you won't even notice it." Trump forced through the "big beautiful bill" despite deep misgivings in the Republican Party — and the vocal opposition of his billionaire former ally, Elon Musk. It squeezed past a final vote in the House of Representatives 218-214 after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral the final group of dissenters. Trump thanked Johnson at the White House event. The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump that also included a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and a NATO deal to increase spending. But the bill is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the U.S. deficit. At the same time it will shrink the federal food assistance program and force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. Up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the bill, according to some estimates. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close as a result. Democrats hope public opposition to the bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
In July 4 ceremony, Trump signs tax and spending bill into law
U.S. President Donald Trump presents a sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," after he signed it, at the White House in Washington on Friday. By Trevor Hunnicutt U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a massive package of tax and spending cuts at the White House on Friday, staging an outdoor ceremony on the Fourth of July holiday that took on the air of a Trump political rally. With military jets flying overhead and hundreds of supporters in attendance, Trump signed the bill one day after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the signature legislation of the president's second term. The bill, which will fund Trump's immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent, and is expected to knock millions of Americans off health insurance, was passed with a 218-214 vote after an emotional debate on the House floor. "I've never seen people so happy in our country because of that, because so many different groups of people are being taken care of: the military, civilians of all types, jobs of all types," Trump said at the ceremony, thanking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for leading the bill through the two houses of Congress. "So you have the biggest tax cut, the biggest spending cut, the largest border security investment in American history," Trump said. Trump scheduled the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House for the July 4 Independence Day holiday, replete with a flyover by stealth bombers and fighter jets like those that took part in the recent U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. Hundreds of Trump supporters attended, including White House aides, members of Congress, and military families. After a speech that included boastful claims about the ascendance of America on his watch, Trump signed the bill, posed for pictures with Republican congressional leaders and members of his cabinet, and waded through the crowd of happy supporters. The bill's passage amounts to a big win for Trump and his Republican allies, who have argued it will boost economic growth, while largely dismissing a nonpartisan analysis predicting it will add more than $3 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. While some lawmakers in Trump's party expressed concerns over the bill's price tag and its hit to healthcare programs, in the end just two of the House's 220 Republicans voted against it, joining all 212 Democrats in opposition. The tense standoff over the bill included a record-long floor speech by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who spoke for eight hours and 46 minutes, blasting the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy that would strip low-income Americans of federally-backed health insurance and food aid benefits. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin predicted the law would cost Republicans votes in congressional elections in 2026. "Today, Donald Trump sealed the fate of the Republican Party, cementing them as the party for billionaires and special interests - not working families," Martin said in a statement. "This legislation will hang around the necks of the GOP for years to come. This was a full betrayal of the American people. Today, we are putting Republicans on notice: you will lose your majority." © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Hamas says it responds to Gaza ceasefire proposal in 'a positive spirit'
A Palestinian looks on at the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati refugee camp, in Gaza City. © Reuters CAIRO/TEL AVIV (Reuters) -- Hamas said it had responded on Friday in "a positive spirit" to a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal and was prepared to enter into talks on implementing the deal, which envisages a release of hostages and negotiations on ending the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier announced a "final proposal" for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours.
