Selected Reads
'We’re Broken': As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE
Many of the problems the agency is facing now are not new, but staff and prisoners fear an exodus of officers could make life behind bars even worse.
After years of struggling to find enough workers for some of the nation’s toughest lockups, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is facing a new challenge: Corrections officers are jumping ship for more lucrative jobs at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This is one of the unintended consequences of the Trump administration’s focus on mass deportations. For months, ICE has been on a recruiting blitz, offering $50,000 starting bonuses and tuition reimbursement at an agency that has long offered better pay than the federal prison system. For many corrections officers, it’s been an easy sell.
https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-bop-federal-prisons-corrections-officers
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Thousands of arrests by Trump’s crime-fighting task force in Memphis strain crowded jail and courts
By Adrian Sainz
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A task force ordered by President Donald Trump to combat crime in Memphis, Tennessee, has made thousands of arrests, compounding strains on the busy local court system and an already overcrowded jail in ways that concerned officials say will last months or even years as cases play out.
Since late September, hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel tied to the Memphis Safe Task Force have made traffic stops, served warrants and searched for fugitives in the city of about 610,000 people. More than 2,800 people have been arrested and more than 28,000 traffic citations have been issued, data provided by the task force and Memphis police shows.
The task force, which includes National Guard troops, is supported by Republican Gov. Bill Lee and others who hope the surge reduces crime in a city that has grappled with violent crime, including nearly 300 homicides last year and nearly 400 in 2023.
But AH Datalytics reported those numbers were down 20% during the first nine months of this year, even before the task force got to work.
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The Hard-Left Shooters Leading a Gun Culture Revolution
Earlier this year, I attended a shooting competition for queer, often trans, very online misfits. Then Charlie Kirk was killed.
This isn't the story I set out to write.
I was going to talk about a pretty feel-good firearms competition I went to earlier this year, where trans and queer people made up about a quarter of participants and the unofficial rule was you’re not allowed to be a bigot. I was going to describe the strange and whimsical mix of subcultures people embraced there—like polyamory and Mad Max cosplay—wrapped up in pro-LGBT and Black Lives Matter patches.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-hard-left-shooters-leading-a-gun-culture-revolution/