Catholic Church cleared to hold Mass at Alligator Alcatraz after months of waiting

MIAMI — After months of requesting permission to hold religious services at Florida’s controversial detention center for migrants in the Everglades, the Archdiocese of Miami finally got an answer.

“I am pleased that our request to provide for the pastoral care of the detainees has been accommodated,” said Archdiocese of Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski in a statement.

The archdiocese said the response came after “months of dialogue” between Florida Bishops, Catholic leadership and “state correctional authorities” over the request to provide ongoing religious services for detainees and staff at the detention center — a practice that’s common in most other correctional facilities in Florida.

The issue over the request for religious services sparked some confusion over which government entity has jurisdiction over the facility at Alligator Alcatraz, the country’s newest, most novel immigration detention center located in an isolated airstrip near the Big Cypress National Preserve.

—Miami Herald

Rep. Nancy Mace is latest Republican to announce bid for South Carolina governor

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Nancy Mace kicked off her campaign for South Carolina governor Monday, reveling in her reputation as a politically mercurial outsider willing to take on the establishment and go to battle for conservative causes.

“South Carolina is tired of politicians who smile for the cameras, lie to your face and then vanish when it’s time to lead,’’ Mace told a gathering of supporters at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, where she made history as the school’s first female graduate. “I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit. It needs a governor who will fight for you and your values.”

Mace pledged to work with federal immigration authorities to expel undocumented immigrants, slash the state income tax and defund colleges that push “gender ideology.”

“I’m here to fight for you and your values,’’ the third-term congresswoman said. “So to the establishment this morning and the cowards hiding behind their … press releases, buckle up. To the radical left, brace yourselves. And to the great people of the great state of South Carolina, help is on the way.”

—CQ-Roll Call

From friend to foe: Behind the tangled relationship between Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump

President Donald Trump once called Rupert Murdoch "my very good friend." But the 94-year-old media baron, whose fortunes have risen in tandem with Trump's political ascent, has turned into an unlikely foe.

Trump has bristled over a Wall Street Journal report that he allegedly sent a suggestive letter to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. Trump denied sending the message, calling it a "fake," and last month he filed a $10-billion defamation suit against Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., Murdoch and others.

The billionaire — who sits at the top of the world's most prominent conservative media empire — has become the focus of the president's fury.

"I hope Rupert and his 'friends' are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, a nod to "Fox & Friends," one of his favorite TV programs. The Journal, he wrote, is a "Disgusting and Filthy Rag," and Murdoch's "'pile of garbage' newspaper."

—Los Angeles Times

Cambodia, Thailand begin talks after biggest clashes in decades

BANGKOK — Senior security officials from Cambodia and Thailand began talks in Malaysia on Monday aimed at de-escalating border tensions, after the worst clash between the two Southeast Asian nation neighbors in decades left more than 40 dead.

The meeting of the so-called General Border Committee — one of several bilateral mechanisms between the two nations to address border matters — was shifted to Kuala Lumpur following Thailand’s request to move it to a neutral venue due to what it described as a sensitive situation.

While a ceasefire on July 29 helped halt five-days of intense border clashes, hundreds of thousand people in border areas on both the sides are still confined to evacuation camps on fears of fresh fighting. On Sunday, Cambodia’s defense ministry accused Thailand of plotting fresh attacks by ordering evacuation along border areas, a charge rebuffed by Bangkok as an attempt to discredit the country.

Both Thailand and Cambodia described the border situation on Monday as calm and pledged to uphold the ceasefire. The truce was brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his capacity as Asean chair, and came amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who used trade tariffs as leverage.

—Bloomberg News