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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

A Dedicated FEMA Fund Will Pay for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

A Dedicated FEMA Fund Will Pay for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Q: Are FEMA funds being used to construct an immigrant detention facility in the Everglades?

A: Yes, the immigrant detention facility in Florida, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” is being “funded largely” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The funding does not come from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Unraveling the Big Beautiful Bill Spin

Unraveling the Big Beautiful Bill Spin

As the Republican budget bill, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, nears the July 4 deadline set by the White House, lawmakers have been ramping up the rhetoric. We referee the claims from both sides.

Iranian Nuclear Program Damaged, Not ‘Obliterated’ by U.S. Attack

Iranian Nuclear Program Damaged, Not ‘Obliterated’ by U.S. Attack

The bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21 by American B-2 aircraft damaged the sites and set back Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, but didn’t completely destroy the sites or Iran’s nuclear capabilities, according to experts we spoke with and a classified U.S. intelligence report released on June 24.

Online Posts Make Baseless Claim Linking Protesters to Craigslist Ad

Online Posts Make Baseless Claim Linking Protesters to Craigslist Ad

Q: Is there an ad in Craigslist to hire people to riot in L.A.?

A: No, there has been no such ad on Craigslist. Some social media posts cited a Craigslist ad to falsely claim it showed that people protesting the immigration raids in Los Angeles were being paid for their actions. But a pair of podcasters told the Associated Press they placed the ad as a prank for their show, and it had nothing to do with the protests.

Walz and Johnson Make Misleading Claims About Bill’s Impact on SNAP

Walz and Johnson Make Misleading Claims About Bill’s Impact on SNAP

Republican and Democratic leaders have either downplayed or overstated the estimated impact of the House reconciliation bill on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that due to work requirements in the bill, 3.2 million people would lose all of their SNAP benefits, which provide financial help to low-income people for groceries. 

Checking the Math on White House, GOP Claims About ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Checking the Math on White House, GOP Claims About ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Multiple independent analyses say the recently passed House reconciliation bill  — even with its deep spending cuts in some areas — would add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit over 10 years. Those analyses contradict Republican lawmakers who have downplayed the net cost of the bill and White House claims that it wouldn’t increase the deficit at all.

Trump, Allies Spread Unfounded Claims About Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis

Trump, Allies Spread Unfounded Claims About Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis

Former President Joe Biden’s office announced on May 18 that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer two days earlier, following the discovery of a prostate nodule. President Donald Trump and others have suggested, without evidence, that Biden’s diagnosis had been known much earlier and hidden from the public. 

Unwrapping Qatar’s $400 Million Winged Gift to Trump

Unwrapping Qatar’s $400 Million Winged Gift to Trump

President Donald Trump announced that the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar was giving the United States a Boeing 747-8 jet to replace the aging Air Force One aircrafts used by the president. But the proposed gift has raised a maelstrom of legal questions from Democrats, who say the gift would need the approval of Congress.