By JOSH FUNK

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska announced plans Tuesday for an immigration detention center in the remote southwest corner of the state as President Donald Trump’s administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.

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The facility will be dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink,” a play on Nebraska’s nickname of the Cornhusker State and an old slang term for jail. The alliterative name follows in the vein of the previously announced “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot” detention centers in Florida and the “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana.

Republican Gov. Jim Pillen said he and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had agreed to use an existing minimum security prison work camp in McCook — a remote city of about 7,000 people in the middle of the wide-open prairies between Denver and Omaha — to house people awaiting deportation and being held for other immigration proceedings. It’s expected to be a Midwest hub for detainees from several states.

“This is about keeping Nebraskans – and Americans across our country – safe,” Pillen said in a statement.

The facility can accommodate 200 people with plans to expand to 300. McCook is about 210 miles west of Lincoln, the state capital.

Southwest Nebraska will host an immigration detention center. (AP Digital Embed)

“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Nebraska’s Cornhusker Clink. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App,” Noem said in a separate statement.

Noem’s agency posted a picture on social media showing ears of corn wearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats, standing in front of a prison fence.

The governor said later at a news conference in McCook that the center will have the advantage of being located at an existing facility and near a regional airport. He told reporters he didn’t know if the center would house women as well as men or if children could be held there. He said he first learned the federal government was interested in the facility on Friday.

Pillen also announced he would order the Nebraska National Guard to provide administrative and logistical support to Nebraska-based immigration agents. About 20 soldiers will be involved. And he said the Nebraska State Patrol would allow six troopers to help federal immigration agents make arrests.

Adding detention facilities to hold growing number of immigrants arrested

The Trump administration is adding new detention facilities across the country to hold the growing number of immigrants it has arrested and accused of being in the country illegally. ICE centers were holding more than 56,000 immigrants in June, the most since 2019.

The new and planned facilities include the remote detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” which opened last month. It’s designed to hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures. When Trump toured it, he suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide.

The Florida facility also been the subject of legal challenges by attorneys who allege violations of due process there, including the rights of detainees to meet with their attorneys, limited access to immigration courts and poor living conditions. Critics have been trying to stop further construction and operations until it comes into compliance with federal environmental laws.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that his administration is preparing to open a second facility, dubbed “Deportation Depot,” at a state prison in north Florida. It’s expected to have 1,300 immigration beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.

Also last week, officials in the rural Tennessee town of Mason voted to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from residents and activists during a contentious public meeting.

And the Trump administration announced plans earlier this month for a 1,000-bed detention center in Indiana that would be dubbed “Speedway Slammer,” prompting a backlash in the Midwestern state that hosts the Indianapolis 500 auto race.

Corrections director Rob Jeffreys said the 186 inmates currently at the McCook work camp will be transferred to other state facilities over the next 45 to 60 days. The repurposed facility will be run by the state but will be paid for by the federal government. He said it’s already set up and accredited to hold prisoners, so detainees won’t be housed in tents or other temporary quarters.

The Nebraska plan has already raised concerns

In a video posted to social media, state Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent, blasted a lack of transparency about plans for a detention center, citing her unfulfilled request to the governor and executive branch for emails and other records.

She urged people to support local immigrant rights groups.

Emily Pietrzak holds a sign that reads “ICE=Gestapo” as other protesters gather outside the Nebraska governor’s office in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. “I believe our government is hurting people who live in our country and I think we should stand up for each other,” she said. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)

“The No. 1 thing we need to do is protect our neighbors, protect the people in our communities who are being targeted by these horrible people, these horrible organizations that are making choices to lock up, detain, disappear our neighbors and families and friends,” Hunt said.

Around a half-dozen protesters sat in the hallway outside the governor’s office Tuesday afternoon making signs that said, “No Nazi Nebraska” and “ICE = Gestapo.”

Maghie Miller-Jenkins of Lincoln said she doesn’t think an ICE detention center is a good idea, adding the state should tackle problems like child hunger and homelessness. “This state has numerous things they could focus on that would benefit the constituents,” she said.

Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jack Dura in Fargo, North Dakota, and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this story.

By ITZEL LUNA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit filed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims alleging Instagram allowed gun manufacturers to promote firearms to minors should be thrown out, lawyers for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, argued Tuesday.

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Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The families sued Meta in Los Angeles in May 2024, saying the social media platform failed to enforce its own rules forbidding firearms advertisements aimed at minors.

In one ad posted on Instagram, the Georgia-based gunmaker Daniel Defense shows Santa Claus holding an assault rifle. In another post by the same company, a rifle leans against a refrigerator, with the caption: “Let’s normalize kitchen Daniels. What Daniels do you use to protect your kitchen and home?”

The lawsuit alleges those posts are marketed toward minors. The Uvalde gunman opened an online account with Daniel Defense before his 18th birthday and purchased the rifle as soon as he could, according to the lawsuit.

Meta attorney Kristin Linsley argued that the families provided no proof that minors, including the Uvalde gunman, even read the Daniel Defense posts on Instagram. She also said the posts didn’t violate Meta’s policies because they weren’t direct advertisements and did not include links to purchase any products.

Linsley said content advertising firearms for sale on Instagram is allowed if posted by “brick-and-motor and online retailers,” but visibility of those posts is restricted for minors, under Meta’s advertising policies from the end of 2021 to October 2022.

“This is not a playbook for how to violate the rules. This is actually what the rules are,” Linsley said.

The families have also sued Daniel Defense and video game company Activision, which produces “Call of Duty.”

She also argued that the Communications Decency Act allows social media platforms to moderate content without being treated as publishers of that content.

“The only response a company can have is to not have these kinds of rules at all,” Linsley said. “It just gets you down a rabbit hole very quickly.”

The lawsuit alleges that firearm companies tweaked their online marketing to comply with Meta’s policies, including by avoiding the words “buy” or “sell” and not providing links to purchase, and that the social media company did not protect users against such strategies.

“With Instagram’s blessing and assistance, sellers of assault weapons can inundate teens with content that promotes crime, exalts the lone gunman, exploits tropes of misogyny and revenge, and directs them where to buy their Call of Duty-tested weapon of choice,” the lawsuit says. “Parents don’t stand a chance.”

“Not Instagram, not Meta, but marketing agencies provide advice on how to be in compliance with Meta’s policies,” Linsley argued.

Last month, lawyers for Activision argued that legal proceedings against them should be thrown out, saying the families allegations are barred by the First Amendment. The families alleged that the war-themed video game Call of Duty trained and conditioned the Uvalde gunman to orchestrate his attack.

The judge has yet to rule on Activision’s motion and is not expected to rule immediately on the Meta case.

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that he believes President Donald Trump is prepared to “crush” Russia’s economy with a new wave of sanctions if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming weeks.

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Graham, who spoke with Trump on Tuesday morning, has pushed the president for months to support his sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill that would impose steep tariffs on countries that are fueling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by buying its oil, gas, uranium, and other exports. The legislation has the backing of 85 senators, but Trump has yet to endorse it. Republican leaders have said they won’t move without him.

“If we don’t have this thing moving in the right direction by the time we get back, then I think that plan B needs to kick in,” Graham said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Senate, now away from Washington for the August recess, is scheduled to return in September.

Graham’s call with Trump came less than 24 hours after high-stakes meetings at the White House with Zelenskyy and several European leaders. Trump and the leaders emerged from those talks sounding optimistic, with the expectation being that a Putin and Zelenskyy sit-down will happen soon.

Still, Trump’s comments to Graham, one of his top congressional allies, mark the latest sign that pressure is building — not just on Putin, but on Trump as well.

“Trump believes that if Putin doesn’t do his part, that he’s going to have to crush his economy. Because you’ve got to mean what you say,” Graham told reporters in South Carolina on Tuesday.

As Congress prepares to return to session in early September, the next few weeks could become a defining test of whether lawmakers and international allies are prepared to act on their own if Trump doesn’t follow through.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the lead Democrat pushing the bill with Graham, says there is a “lot of reason for skepticism and doubt” after the meetings with Trump, especially because Putin has not made any direct promises. He said the Russian leader has an incentive to play “rope-a-dope” with Trump.

“The only way to bring Putin to the table is to show strength,” Blumenthal told the AP this week. “What Putin understands is force and pressure.”

Still, Republicans have shown little willingness to override Trump in his second term. They abruptly halted work on the sanctions bill before the August recess after Trump said the legislation may not be needed.

Asked Tuesday in a phone interview whether the sanctions bill should be brought up even without Trump’s support, Graham said, “the best way to do it is with him.”

“There will come a point where if it’s clear that Putin is not going to entertain peace, that President Trump will have to back up what he said he would do,” Graham said. “And the best way to do it is have congressional blessing.”

The legislation would impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries such as China and India, which together account for roughly 70% of Russia’s energy trade. The framework has the support of many European leaders.

Many of those same European leaders left the White House on Monday with a more hopeful tone. Zelenskyy called the meeting with Trump “an important step toward ending this war.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that his expectations “were not just met, they were exceeded.”

Still, little concrete progress was visible on the main obstacles to peace. That deadlock likely favors Putin, whose forces continue to make steady, if slow, progress on the ground in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after talks at the White House that Trump believes a deal with Putin is possible. But he said sanctions remain on the table if the process fails.

Associated Press reporter Meg Kinnard contributed to this report from Florence, South Carolina.

It’s an unenviable position to have to go up against defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his many chess pieces.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) answers questions during a press conference Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Just ask young quarterback J.J. McCarthy. There have been stretches throughout training camp at TCO Performance Center that the shapeshifting defense has given McCarthy fits as he has gone through his progressions in the pocket.

Though it’s been a net positive for McCarthy and his development, it’s safe to assume he’s ready to start game-planning for somebody other than his teammates on the other end. That will come soon enough as the Vikings will put a bow on training camp this week before turning the page to Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.

Asked for something about McCarthy that has impressed him, Flores pointed to his mobility when the play breaks down.

“It’s hard to prepare for,” Flores said. “We can do everything right, and he gets out of the pocket and makes a throw. That’s something that he certainly possesses and has shown. If he can unlock that, I think that will give people problems.”

Here are more takeaways from Day 17 of training camp:

How is McCarthy?

There wasn’t much to write home about when analyzing McCarthy’s progress as most of the practice was conducted at a walkthrough pace. He went through his progressions mostly at half speed with head coach Kevin O’Connell looking on.

There was a notable throw during 7-on-7 drills as McCarthy found Thayer Thomas with a layered ball in the back of the end zone. That was probably the best rep for McCarthy because he wasn’t asked to do much else.

 Who stood out?

In a situational drill toward the middle of practice, rookie quarterback Max Brosmer got the ball back trailing 24-20, needing to go essentially the length of the field. He proceeded to lead the offense on a methodical drive that ended in a touchdown.

The poise in the pocket stood out as Brosmer made quick decisions that kept the chains moving. After reaching the low red zone, Brosmer finished the job by finding receiver Myles Price with a pinpoint pass at the goal line.

It’s very likely that Brosmer will see a lot of action for the Vikings in the exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans on Friday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. That will be his last chance to show he deserves to make the team.

In other news, the Vikings signed running back Xazavian Valladay and offensive guard Zack Bailey, adding depth at both positions ahead of the exhibition game. To make room on the roster, the Vikings waived linebacker Max Tooley.

Quote of the day

“We’re not going to be able to keep all of them, and we understand that. They’ve just got to put their best foot forward day after day after day after day, and they’ll find a place in this league.”

— Flores, on the players jockeying for a spot on the roster as training camp nears an end

Injury report

It was a rather light workload, so that might help explain why a good amount of players were in street clothes on the sidelines. It’s not worth worrying about most absences until a couple of weeks from now when the Vikings start game prep for the Bears.

The continued absence of receiver Jalen Nailor is worth keeping an eye on, however, as his hand injury is something that could linger. If he has to miss an extended period of time, the Vikings might need to address their depth at the position.

What’s next?

It’s hard to believe that the practice on Wednesday afternoon will more or less signal the end of training camp. The next time the Vikings practice after that will be with an eye toward Week 1 against the Bears.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) gives directions to his receiver in the third quarter of a NFL preseason football game against the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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