Latest news with #Alcatraz
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This Priceless Fox News Clip Of The Secretary Of The Interior Dying Inside Is Going Viral
Donald Trump is interested in turning Alcatraz into a fully functioning prison again. Related: He ranted on Truth Social about it back in May: "REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm." The only problem with this grand plan is that the place is literally a museum, it's falling apart, and it would cost a reported $2 billion. Related: Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured Alcatraz to see the place for themselves. "President Trump is/was the master builder in our country of construction," Bondi explained. "He's been talking to construction companies who think they can come in here and fix this and fix it up in the way it should be in its original capacity to save Alcatraz." Related: @DecodingFoxNews posted this clip from that Fox News interview, and Burgum's face clearly says it all: Pam Bondi and Doug Burgum toured the former Alcatraz prison to assess how much work it would take to renovate. The walls are held together with wire mesh. It's basically a ruin. His face speaks for itself. I added a zoom. — Decoding Fox News (@DecodingFoxNews) July 21, 2025 Fox/DecodingFoxNews/Twitter: @DecodingFoxNews @719WDS explains it perfectly: "Burgum almost looks as if he has no idea why he is there." Related: Another person called his face "priceless." We have the obvious, "He's dying inside" comments. And then a bunch of people are like, "Just another episode of political theater. This administration kills me." Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds:
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump reignites proposal that could change prison system forever
President Donald Trump called for an end to cashless bail, a bold move that could overhaul the way the American prison system works. Trump claims the financial-based bail system results in a rise in crime, and he called for it to come to an end. ' Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!,' he wrote on Truth Social on Monday. Crime, in fact, is not on the rise in most American cities right now. The latest national and city-level data for 2025 actually show violent crime, murders and shootings declining during the first six months of the year. Some reports indicate the U.S. is on track for the lowest property and violent crime rates since national record-keeping began in the 1960s. The president has - in recent days - posted other items on social media that are tied to the prison system, including an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested at the White House. Trump also has called for Alcatraz, California's infamous island prison, to be reopened. While Trump signed criminal justice legislation into law during his first term that reduced certain mandatory minimum sentence and expanded eligibility for early release, he did not take on the bail system. Trump has had his own experience with cash bonds in order to stay out of prison. He had to post a $175 million bond to New York in a case involving his business practices. And he was required to post $200,000 bond in his election subversion case in Georgia, which he did so after surrendering at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta in August 2023. But Trump falsely claimed in May 2024 that he had to put up bail in his New York hush money case, saying New York City was violent because other defendants did not have to post bail. He was actually released on his own recognizance, like many charged with a non-violent crime. And in two federal cases - one in Washington, DC, over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and one in Florida over his post-presidency retention of classified documents - Trump was released on his own recognizance. A cashless bail system would see defendants released based on factors like flight risk or a danger to community and not on ability to pay. However, the system may not work like Trump wants it to. A study in California earlier this year found 70 percent of suspects released on zero-dollar bail, reoffended. The state recently ended its current money bail system. The data showed suspects released on zero-dollar bail were twice as likely to be rearrested for felonies and three times as likely to be rearrested for violent crimes compared to those who had to post bail, CBS News reported. Proponents of cashless bail, however, say it could decrease prison populations as a cash bail system sees people being detained in jail, sometimes for lengthy periods of time while awaiting trial, solely because of their inability to pay. Illinois, in 2023, became the first state to eliminate the use of cash bail. But the move didn't decline prison populations as much as expected, a study from the Center for Criminal Justice at Loyola University in Chicago found. 'What's changing is that the means of release are changing,' David Olson, a co-director of the center, told ABC News . 'People don't have to post the money, and rather than being released in a few days when they come up with the money, they're being released in a day or two.'
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump reignites big proposal that could change the American prison system forever as he frets about imagined crime surge
President Donald Trump called for an end to cashless bail, a bold move that could the overhaul the way the American prison system works. Trump claims the financial-based bail system results in a rise in crime and he called for it to come to an end. ' Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!,' he wrote on Truth Social on Monday. Crime, in fact, is not on the rise in most American cities right now. The latest national and city-level data for 2025 actually show violent crime, murders and shootings declining during the first six months of the year. Some reports indicate the U.S. is on track for the lowest property and violent crime rates since national record-keeping began in the 1960s. The president has - in recent days - posted other items on social media that are tied to the prison system, including an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested at the White House. Trump also has called for Alcatraz, California's infamous island prison, to be reopened. While Trump signed criminal justice legislation into law during his first term that reduced certain mandatory minimum sentence and expanded eligibility for early release, he did not take on the bail system. Trump has had his own experience with cash bonds in order to stay out of prison. He had to post a $175 million bond to New York in a case involving his business practices. And he was required to post $200,000 bond in his election subversion case in Georgia, which he did so after surrendering at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta in August 2023. But Trump falsely claimed in May 2024 that he had to put up bail in his New York hush money case, saying New York City was violent because other defendants did not have to post bail. He was actually released on his own recognizance, like many charged with a non-violent crime. And in two federal cases - one in Washington, DC, over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and one in Florida over his post-presidency retention of classified documents - Trump was released on his own recognizance. A cashless bail system would see defendants released based on factors like flight risk or a danger to community and not on ability to pay. However, the system may not work like Trump wants it to. A study in California earlier this year found 70 percent of suspects released on zero-dollar bail, reoffended. The state recently ended its current money bail system. The data showed suspects released on zero-dollar bail were twice as likely to be rearrested for felonies and three times as likely to be rearrested for violent crimes compared to those who had to post bail, CBS News reported. Proponents of cashless bail, however, say it could decrease prison populations as a cash bail system sees people being detained in jail, sometimes for lengthy periods of time while awaiting trial, solely because of their inability to pay. Illinois, in 2023, became the first state to eliminate the use of cash bail. But the move didn't decline prison populations as much as expected, a study from the Center for Criminal Justice at Loyola University in Chicago found. 'What's changing is that the means of release are changing,' David Olson, a co-director of the center, told ABC News. 'People don't have to post the money, and rather than being released in a few days when they come up with the money, they're being released in a day or two.'
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Burgum, Bondi visit Alcatraz in California as Trump calls for it to reopen
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi visited Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in California on Thursday, just two months after President Trump ordered the reopening of the historic prison near San Francisco. Both Trump administration officials shared photos online from their visit to the offshore prison, which closed more than 60 years ago because of soaring costs. 'Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals,' Burgum wrote on social platform X. 'This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following a directive by @POTUS to help lead that mission.' 'A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum,' Bondi added in her own post. 'Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again.' Trump floated the idea of reopening the prison, which became particularly well known for its portrayal in Hollywood films and for holding notable figures including Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, in May. 'For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,' Trump posted to Truth Social at the time. 'When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.' The president continued, 'That's the way it's supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.' 'That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders,' he added. Reopening the prison, however, will not be an easy feat. The island is now part of a national park, under the control of the Interior Department, and transferring control would require legislative action. The Bureau of Prisons notes on its website that soaring costs led the prison to close in 1963. 'An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs — Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison,' according to the bureau. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who represents the San Francisco area, ripped the administration's plan to reopen the prison, calling it Trump's 'stupidest initiative yet.' 'It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,' Pelosi wrote in a statement Wednesday. 'Make no mistake: this stupidity is a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from this Administration's cruelest actions yet in their Big, Ugly Law, which takes away food from children and rips health care from millions to give tax breaks to billionaires,' the California Democrat continued. 'It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law,' she added. The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom says Alcatraz will reopen the ‘same day Trump releases the Epstein files'
Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration's bluff, joking that the notorious Alcatraz prison in northern California will reopen the same day that the so-called 'Epstein files' are released. A spokesperson dismissed the idea previously touted by the president, following a visit to the island by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and embattled U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday. 'Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So, never,' Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, told SFGATE. The visit by the two cabinet officials comes two months after Trump mulled over the idea of reopening the historic prison, announcing on Truth Social in May that he had directed the FBI and Homeland Security to look into the idea. Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration's bluff, joking that the notorious Alcatraz prison in northern California will reopen the same day that the so-called 'Epstein files' are released (AP) Democrats have blasted the idea, including California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who called it Trump's "stupidest initiative yet." Administration sources told Axios that converting Alcatraz into a functioning prison could come with a $2 billion price tag. The visit to San Francisco may have come as a welcome break for Bondi, who has been mired in controversy since the contentious release of the Epstein Files last week, which has caused a schism in the MAGA movement. Hardline supporters of Trump, both in and out of government, reacted with outrage after Bondi's office announced that – contrary to popular conspiracy – there was no so-called 'client list' belonging to the disgraced financier. The ongoing fallout has also been latched onto by the Democrats. As well as his snarky comments on Thursday, Newsom has also referenced the president's attempts to continue as normal. Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday (X/@AGPamBondi) On Wednesday, in response to a post by Trump about the possible use of cane sugar in Coca-Cola products, Newsom wrote: 'Oh thank god! I've totally forgotten about the Epstein files now!' However, despite the president's own personal frustration, he seemingly bowed to pressure on Friday, announcing that he would allow Bondi to release grand jury testimony on the 'Epstein files.' 'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' he wrote. In a follow up post, Trump added: 'If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!'
