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DeSantis punches back at Hope Florida controversy, likens ‘lawfare’ to attacks on Trump and nominees

DeSantis punches back at Hope Florida controversy, likens ‘lawfare’ to attacks on Trump and nominees

The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis punched back at allegations linking the governor and his wife, Casey DeSantis, to $10 million given to the Hope Florida Foundation after the state settled with a government-sponsored healthcare provider.  “Governor DeSantis and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis have been subject to politically motivated lawfare in the state of Florida, and now the same lawfare is being perpetrated against President Trump and his nominees,” Communications Director Bryan Griffin told Fox News Digital.  “It’s ridiculous and especially shameful coming from Republicans who hate to see others delivering results.” DESANTIS GOADS CONGRESS TO FOLLOW FL’S DOGE BLUEPRINT AS MUSK’S CUTS STILL WAIT FOR VOTE Centene, a large medical insurance provider that specializes in government-sponsored programs like Medicaid and Medicare, returned $67 million in a settlement with the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration over claims that Centene was overbilling Medicaid payments. Following the settlement in September 2024, $10 million of the funds were sent to the Hope Florida Foundation. The $10 million given to the Hope Florida Foundation was then split into two separate $5 million grants to 501(c)(4) organizations. One went to Save Our Society from Drugs and the other to Secure Florida’s Future, Inc.  Subsequently, $8.5 million of those funds were dispersed to Keep Florida Clean, a political action committee that previously targeted Florida Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment to recreationally legalize marijuana. Casey DeSantis has been outspoken against the legalization of marijuana. A senior official from DeSantis’s office told Fox News Digital that the Hope Florida Foundation is a separate entity from the Hope Florida initiative that has been spearheaded by Casey DeSantis. GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘BLATANTLY FALSE’ DEM CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ A senior official from DeSantis’ office also told Fox News Digital that there is no official investigation being conducted by the Leon County State Attorney’s office, despite reports that a record custodian in the state attorney’s office referred to the matter as “an open, ongoing investigation.” In a May 21 email exchange obtained by Fox News Digital, the New York Times corrected a headline stating that “Casey DeSantis [Is] Under Investigation” after a DeSantis official clarified to the publication that there is no official investigation taking place.  Florida state Republican Rep. Alex Andrade, chairman of the healthcare appropriations subcommittee, originally unearthed the funds. Andrade told Fox he was unaware if there was an actual ongoing investigation, but added that he had a “long conversation with the [Department of Justice]” about documents and communications related to the movement of funds. He noted he does nOt “see how Casey or [Ron] DeSantis are involved.” DR. OZ SAYS TAXPAYERS FOOTING $14 BILLION BILL FOR MEDICAID FRAUD WHILE ELIGIBLE PATIENTS STRUGGLE FOR CARE Andrade went on to explain that he believes DeSantis’s chief of staff at the time was involved in brokering the grants between the Hope Florida Foundation and the two entities which received $5 million each.  He also slammed the Hope Florida initiative itself, saying “they can’t back up any of the claims about what state employees are doing.”  “The concept of Hope Florida is telling existing employees to do a better job of helping people,” Andrede added. “That’s it.” DeSantis previously addressed Andrade’s claims at a May 21 press conference in Westin, Florida.  DESANTIS EXCORIATES FL HOUSE LEADERSHIP AMID REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR, ACCUSING THEM OF ‘REVOLT AGAINST’ VOTERS “You had one state representative with a political agenda, and he has a political agenda to try to smear Hope Florida—to try to smear people associated with the administration,” DeSantis explained. “My wife, who’s done a great job for this state by the way, not just on Hope Florida, saving taxpayers $100 million, getting 30,000 people off means-tested welfare. Show me someone else in this country that has been able to do that?” The Hope Florida Foundation controversy has shaken up political implications for the upcoming governor’s race. Gov. DeSantis is termed out, but his wife, Casey, is widely rumored to enter the field.  Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is the only GOP candidate declared so far, and he received an endorsement from President Donald Trump shortly after his announcement.  Fox News Digital reached out to the Leon County State Attorney’s office but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Russia using drones to hunt Ukrainian civilians: HRW

Russia using drones to hunt Ukrainian civilians: HRW

NGO urges Russian accountability for war crimes in targeting Ukrainians with drones. Russian forces have been using drones to hunt and attack civilians in Ukraine and continue to do so, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a report released on Tuesday, HRW stated that the Russian military has repeatedly deployed unmanned drones to attack civilian targets in its more than three-year war with Ukraine. The NGO said that dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in violation of the laws of war. Referencing video from Russian drones and witnesses and survivors, the rights watchdog alleges that Russia has “deliberately or recklessly” hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using “commercially available quadcopter drones” made domestically and in China. “Russian drone operators are able to track their targets, with high-resolution video feeds, leaving little doubt that the intent is to kill, maim, and terrify civilians,” Belkis Wille, a director on arms and conflict at HRW, said in a statement. “They exemplify why the international community needs to support all avenues of accountability for victims of Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.” Advertisement The findings support reports from residents and officials in Kherson earlier this year that said Russian drone operators were training by targeting civilians in “human safaris”. HRW interviewed 36 survivors and witnesses to attacks and combed through 83 videos uploaded on Russian military-affiliated Telegram channels, as well as visual materials provided by witnesses and researchers. Overall, at least 45 “deliberate drone attacks” by Russian forces from June to December 2024 on civilians and civilian objects, including healthcare facilities, were recorded. Authorities in Kherson reported at least 30 deaths and 500 civilian injuries from drone attacks around the same period. A January 2025 report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said drone attacks accounted for 70 percent of civilian casualties in Kherson. “The attacks have the apparent purpose of instilling terror in the civilian population in Kherson, part of a widespread attack against that population,” the report said. HRW said Russia deployed commercial drones made by the Chinese companies, DJI and Autel, and by one Russian entity, Sudoplatov, which has purportedly described itself as a “volunteer organisation”. Adblock test (Why?)

Israeli fire kills at least 27 aid seekers in Gaza: Health Ministry

Israeli fire kills at least 27 aid seekers in Gaza: Health Ministry

Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured 90 more as they opened fire close to an aid distribution site in Rafah, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The latest killings came early on Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, near an aid hub operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). It was the third such incident around the Rafah hub in as many days. Gaza’s authorities report that more than 100 aid seekers have been killed since the United States- and Israel-backed GHF started operating in the enclave on May 27, with reports of violence, looting and chaos rife. The Israeli military said it had fired shots as “a number of suspects” deviated from the regulated routes, on which a crowd was making its way to the GHF distribution complex. The “suspects” were about 500 metres (approximately 550 yards) from the site, the military said in a statement on Telegram, adding that it was looking into reports of casualties. The death toll was confirmed by Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department. Advertisement A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hisham Mhanna, said 184 wounded people had been taken to its field hospital in Rafah, 19 of whom were found dead on arrival, and eight others died later of their wounds. Video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency showed the arrival of dozens of injured people at the hospital. Lured Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israel of “a horrific, intentionally repeated crime”, saying it has been luring starving Palestinians to the GHF centres – controversially opened following an 11-week total blockade to take over most aid distribution from the United Nations and other aid agencies – and then opening fire. It said Tuesday’s death toll brought the number of aid seekers killed at aid sites in the Rafah governorate and the so-called Netzarim Corridor since GHF launched operations to 102, with 490 others injured. “We heard from witnesses that there was chaos,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. “The Israeli forces just opened fire randomly, shooting Palestinians … using quadcopters and live ammunition.” Health Ministry officials and doctors said most of the wounded have been hit in their chest and head, she added. The bloodshed, she continued, had unfolded in the same way as on the previous two days, amid ongoing chaos around the aid distribution centres. “There’s no process. There’s no system,” she said. “You just need to run first to be able to get the food.” ‘Either way, we will die’ Rasha al-Nahal told The Associated Press news agency that “there was gunfire from all directions”, and that she saw more than a dozen people dead and several wounded on the road. Advertisement When she finally made it to the distribution hub, there was no aid, al-Nahal said, adding that Israeli troops “fired at us as we were returning”. Another witness, Neima al-Aaraj, from Khan Younis, described the shooting as “indiscriminate”. “I won’t return,” she said. “Either way, we will die.” Gaza rescuers said Israeli gunfire killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded more than 100 early on June 1, as thousands of people headed towards a US-backed aid distribution site [AFP] The Israeli military, in its statement on Telegram, said troops had fired warning shots as people deviated from “designated access routes” and “after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops”. However, it denied firing on civilians or blocking them from accessing aid. This account echoes statements around similar incidents on Sunday, when 31 aid seekers were reportedly killed, and on Monday, when three more were killed. Adblock test (Why?)

Still a no: Rand Paul says $5T debt increase in ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ a deal-breaker

Still a no: Rand Paul says T debt increase in ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ a deal-breaker

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the debt limit increase included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is still a deal-breaker for him, saying it goes against conservative values, despite discussions with President Donald Trump about his concerns.  Paul told reporters on Monday that the bill will increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, the largest debt increase in the U.S. “We have never raised the debt ceiling without actually meeting that target,” he said. “So you can say it doesn’t directly add to the debt, but if you increase the ceiling $5 trillion, you’ll meet that. And what it does is it puts it off the back-burner. And then we won’t discuss it for a year or two.” SEN. RON JOHNSON PROPOSES ‘LINE-BY-LINE’ CUTS TO PASS TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “So I think it’s a terrible idea to do this,” he added.  Paul said he spoke with Trump about his concerns over the legislation during a “lengthy discussion,” but that Trump “did most of the talking.”  “I’ve told him I can’t support the bill if they’re together,” Paul said. “If they were to separate out and take the, debt ceiling off that I very much could consider the rest of the bill.” Paul noted that Congress voted to continue spending to avert a government shutdown.  “During the campaign, Republicans said they were against Bidennomics and Bidenflation and Biden spending. When March, we renewed the Biden’s spending levels,” Paul said. “So the spending levels we live under now are Biden-GOP spending levels. They’ve all come into agreement.” “But come the end of September, when our fiscal year ends, the deficit is going to be $2.2 trillion. That’s just not conservative,” he added. “They’re borrowing 5 trillion. That means they’re anticipating the following year being over 2 trillion as well. So it’s just not a conservative thing to do.” SPEAKER JOHNSON CLASHES WITH RAND PAUL OVER ‘WIMPY’ SPENDING CUTS IN TRUMP’S BILL Over the weekend, Trump warned Paul would be “playing right into the hands of the Democrats” if he votes against the bill. “If Senator Rand Paul votes against our Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, he is voting for, along with the Radical Left Democrats, a 68% Tax Increase and, perhaps even more importantly, a first time ever default on U.S. Debt,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.  “Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him! The GROWTH we are experiencing, plus some cost-cutting later on, will solve ALL problems. America will be greater than ever before!” he added.  Next week, Senate Republicans will get their turn to go through the bill and are eying changes that could be a hard sell for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.