The Tribune PUZZLER
FAMILY HOMELESS AFTER ARSON ATTACK
Blaze suspected to have started in garage spread quickly destroying home
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
TEARS streamed down Janet Dorsett’s face as she clutched her loved ones in front of the charred remains of her family’s 25-year-old Coral Heights West home, destroyed in a suspected arson attack yesterday. Mrs Dorsett and her family were asleep when they were awakened by the sound of a car alarm on one of her daughter’s vehicles. The noise prompted her to go downstairs to check, but she was unprepared
20-YEAR
PRISON SENTENCE FOR RAPE OF 23-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 38-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a 23-yearold woman at South Beach Canals in 2023.
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
AN AMERICAN tourist screamed in agony after he was struck by a passing boat while snorkelling in Exuma, leaving the victim with horrifying injuries, according to a bystander. “You had skin and flesh
Jason Ferguson was sentenced by Justice Franklyn Williams after a nine-member jury unanimously found him guilty of the offence on February 18. The attack reportedly occurred after Ferguson attended a late-night party at Envy Sporting Lounge on January 2 2023. Later that night, while driving with the complainant and two mutual friends, the men got out during an Snorkelling
Value’s president yesterday revealed the supermarket group has suffered
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
DR Nicholas Fox, the Free National Movement’s newly ratified candidate for Fox Hill, says his medical office was broken into and vandalised in what he believes may be a politically motivated act — one he says sets a troubling tone for the upcoming election season.
Surveillance footage obtained by The Tribune shows an intruder scaling the roof of the Medi-Centre branch on Collins Avenue early Monday, cutting a hole in the ceiling and dropping into the clinic. Staff discovered the break-in that same
NICHOLAS
BOATING accident victim being taken to Exuma clinic in the back of a truck.
NATIONAL FLAG CEREMON Y AT GOVERNMEN T HOUSE
THE BAHAMIAN flag is hoisted during the National Flag Day Ceremony at Government House on July 1, 2025.
Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
SEAPLANE Safaris Celebrates Bahamian National Flag Day proudly honouring the colours, spirit, and heritage of The Bahamas. ‘As a Bahamian-owned and operated company, we are deeply rooted in the islands we serve. Our uniforms, branding, and company culture proudly reflect the bold black, aquamarine, and gold of the Bahamian flag — symbols of our strength, natural beauty, and bright future.’
S EAPLA NE S A FARI C ELEBRATES NATIO N AL FLAG DAY
Family homeless after arson attack
to find the car engulfed in flames. She quickly alerted her husband, and their two daughters ran downstairs in a panic.
“We were trying to put the fire out, but obviously it was too big for us, and it just spread very quickly,” she said, sitting on a plastic chair amid the ashes of her home.
The family of four escaped through the back door and over a fence before the house was fully engulfed.
Police said they were alerted shortly after 3am yesterday to a vehicle fire at a residence on Roberts Drive, Coral Heights West. Fire Services arrived to find the entire house and four vehicles ablaze.
Despite efforts to extinguish the fire, the home and vehicles were destroyed.
Fortunately, all four occupants escaped unharmed.
Police said they are still searching for the suspect, who was reportedly last seen wearing a white shirt and black trousers and is believed to have set one of the vehicles on fire.
When The Tribune visited the scene hours later, family and friends had gathered in support. Many were stunned that
someone would intentionally set the fire.
Family members are hoping for swift justice, with surveillance footage reportedly showing the arsonist entering the yard. Asked why someone would do this, Mrs Dorsett said she had no idea.
“I hope they read this and know that what the devil meant for evil, God is going to turn it for our good,” she said. “They need to be very careful, because the revenge is not coming from me, it’s coming from him.”
Her husband, Dwayne Dorsett, expressed gratitude that the family escaped unharmed, stressing that material items can be replaced, but life is a gift.
He added that the home was insured, and they hope to rebuild in the future.
Before this, the family said they had never experienced anything like this, only a few break-ins.
Due to the fire’s rapid spread, Mr Dorsett said they were left with only the clothes on their backs.
He noted there was some delay in the Fire Department’s response but acknowledged the fire had spread too quickly for much to be done.
The nearest fire truck reportedly came from the Cable Beach area.
FNM Fox Hill candidate claims office break-in was ‘politically motivated’
morning.
Three iPads containing sensitive patient information and more than $2,000 in cash were stolen. The intruder also attempted to access Dr Fox’s office computer. The clinic’s electronic medical records provider was later contacted to remotely wipe the stolen devices.
In the aftermath, office files were scattered, a gaping hole loomed above a desk, and campaign
paraphernalia belonging to the FNM candidate had been rummaged through.
When contacted by The Tribune yesterday, police offered few details. It remains unclear whether anyone is in custody in connection with the burglary.
Meanwhile, Dr Fox said the incident left his staff shaken and raised suspicions about the motive behind the break-in.
“I’m disappointed — disappointed that this is the temperament of this
election currently, that’s happening.
“I’m not accusing anybody, but I just find it extremely coincidental that I’m ratified on Thursday, that my office is ransacked,” he said.
“Equipment and apparatus containing personal and patient information is stolen. My computer was attempted to be hacked into. My FNM paraphernalia that was thrown all over the place.”
“So one can only deduce that this has something
political, because I’ve been here for ten years, and this has never happened before.”
Pressed on whether he believed the incident was politically motivated, Dr Fox could not definitively say, but noted that that appeared to be the case.
Despite the break-in, the clinic continued operating as usual on Monday, serving roughly 60 patients while police carried out their investigation.
Dr Fox said the ordeal would not deter him from
his political ambitions.
“I want people to know that I have no fear and I’m not intimidated. I am in this, doing this, and I will continue to move forward with everything I have.”
He added that he now plans to step up security at both his campaign headquarters and his home.
“I will need to make sure that I have access to security and the police whenever I need it, because, like I said, this has set the temperament
for the election, and it’s not a good one.”
“If we’re going to be nasty like this, then this election is going to be one to remember in a bad way and not a good way and we don’t need to go there.”
“We have enough violent crime in this country. We have enough stuff going on this country that’s turning people off and I just think we need to run a clean campaign and do what needs to be done to obtain the victory.”
Responsibilities
• Install, maintain, and repair air conditioning systems
• Inspect and diagnose issues in AC units
• Perform routine maintenance to ensure system effciency
• Replace or repair damaged components
Qualifcations
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Completion of an accredited HVAC program
• Minimum of 2 years experience in HVAC or air conditioning systems
• Strong problem-solving and diagnostic
skills
• Good communication and customer
service abilities
• Physical
SCREEN capture of damages to Dr Nicholas Fox’s office after recent break in.
ARSON suspected agfter home destroyed by fire that started in the garage.
BNU head: I am focused on recovering misappropriated $60k not petty conflicts
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter Lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
AMID ongoing tensions within the Bahamas Nurses Union, president Muriel Lightbourn says her focus remains on recovering more than $60,000 allegedly misappropriated by the union’s previous administration — not on personal conflicts with the union’s executives.
During a press conference yesterday, Ms Lightbourn acknowledged ongoing tension within the union, stemming from disagreements over financial accountability, the recovery of misappropriated funds, executive stipends, and efforts to revise the union’s constitution — all of which, she said, have been met with resistance from the union’s secretary general, Shavonne Brennen.
Ms Lightbourn said the union obtained a court judgment against the former administration for the funds’ recovery and is acting on a mandate from members.
“First of all, it all adds up to funds, monies. That’s what it adds up to. I would have mentioned to you that we have judgment against the previous administration for over $60,000 for misappropriation of funds. Those persons do not want to pay that monies back.
“I cannot say that I am going to sit in this office, in an executive meeting and discard what the AGM says. Anything that is placed on the table at AGM, if it is to be removed, it has to go back to the AGM. The AGM is the strength of the union. The AGM is the voice of the members. The members said at the AGM, we want this monies back and so I have to do what I was instructed to do.” She also addressed calls for executive stipends, saying she has no objection to paying stipends if allowed by the constitution, but that
the union must be able to account for the payments. She noted that an auditor raised concerns about more than $10,000 previously paid under “miscellaneous” without clear justification, and advised that stipends should only be paid where work can be documented.
Ms Lightbourn also addressed ongoing internal strife with Ms Brennan, saying she holds no personal animosity despite repeated public accusation but remains focused on fulfilling her duties.
“I want to make this clear: I have no personal animosity toward the Secretary General, none whatsoever. But I ask you, should I be expected to carry no hurt when
I have been publicly misrepresented?”
She noted that the union is in the process of revising and amending its constitution, which she described as flawed because it lacks bylaws. She said this effort has also become a source of contention, as every proposal is met with resistance from Ms Brennan, who she claimed believes she alone runs the union.
“Anything that you say, that you put to the table, there’s always a contention, always a contention with the Secretary General. I think she feels that as the Secretary General, that she makes the decision.
“She said to me, that she’s not coming back here until
I get it in my head that she runs the union, and so that’s where the contention lays. I don’t have anything personal against her. I can’t afford to hate her and I’ve told her that over and over. I don’t hate you as much as I may want to hate her, I cannot hate her, but I do feel sorry for her.”
Her comments follow claims first reported by The Tribune in June, when Ms Brennan and other executives declared Ms Lightbourne was no longer a member of the union.
They accused her of failing to pay union dues for more than two years, breaching the union’s constitution, refusing to return union property including vehicles, vouchers and trophies, and bypassing
governance protocols.
Executives also alleged that Ms Lightbourn’s actions put the union at risk of deregistration due to unfiled financial returns for 2023 and 2024, and that she spent significant funds without board approval.
However, during yesterday’s press conference, BNU treasurer Sharon Rolle defended the union’s financial reporting, rejecting accusations of withholding documents. She said audits for 2021, 2022 and 2023 were completed and approved in September 2023 after being delayed under the former administration. A 2024 audit was also completed and accepted.
Ms Rolle, with the backing of Ms Lightbourn, said all reports were given to Ms Brennan to submit to the relevant authorities, but they remain outstanding.
“For her to go into the press and say that I as the treasurer is withholding financial reports, that is malicious and so I just needed to go on record to say that job is the job of the Secretary General and not the treasurer, to remit those documents to the relevant authority,” said Ms Rolle yesterday.
In concluding her contribution, Ms Lightbourn maintains she remains BNU president and that her actions are in line with the union’s constitution and the directives of its members.
Efforts to draft new industrial agreement expected before year’s end, says union chief
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter Lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Nurses
Union (BNU) president Muriel Lightbourn says the union is pushing to sign a new industrial agreement by the end of October.
Ms Lightbourne made the announcement during a press conference yesterday, where she outlined the union’s priorities.
The current agreement ends October and BNU officials are hoping that talks won’t exceed beyond the deadline.
Ms Lightbourn added that efforts to draft the new agreement are already underway, with consultations ongoing among nurses at various institutions to gather their input.
“I’m hoping to sign that before the end of October,” she said during a press conference yesterday.
She explained that, as
agreed during an executive meeting, letters were sent inviting union executives to participate in the process, however the Secretary General responded only to wish her success, reflecting the tensions that have been ongoing
within the union.
Despite this, Ms Lightbourn said the meetings with nurses have been productive.
“We are now working on an industrial agreement. Hopefully we will be able to have a draft
together that we can send out to our members before we would submit it into our strategic partners,” she said.
Ms Lightbourn stressed that the agreement must address more than salaries.
“The new agreement we are looking really, to improve the quality of nurses,” she said.”Of course, we going to be asking for an increase in salary, that goes without saying—but we also need to improve the quality of our nursing by asking for more training for our nurses.”
“We also want timely promotions for our nurses. We are also looking out for our nurses that are just coming in to be appointed on a timely fashion— not just appointed, but appointed and confirmed in a timely fashion. These are the things that we’re looking at,” she said.
She highlighted the financial struggles of nurses, particularly those posted to Family Islands.
Ms Lightbourn said these nurses often spend hundreds of dollars from their modest salaries to travel to New Providence just to access their pay, and urged the government to address these
long-standing challenges. Ms Lightbourn also pointed to the difficulty nurses face in securing housing loans despite holding associate or bachelor’s degrees, and said the union is focused on creating conditions where nurses no longer feel forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. The last industrial agreement was signed in 2022, following an earlier deal in 2020. That agreement provided salary increases, added insurance benefits, and retention bonuses of more than $3,000 depending on criteria. Entry-level salaries started at $26,000 per annum, with the potential to rise to $30,000.
Ms Lightbourn said that despite internal disagreements, the union must focus on the task at hand, saying: “That is reason why I don’t have no time, no effort, none of that for the back and forth. We have to move and move together.”
Pintard: Something doesn’t add up over Davis administration’s economic figures
FNM leader Michael Pintard has accused the government of leveraging public debt for private profit - highlighting examples such as a recent bond offering and the sale of BPL assets. Mr Pintard pointed to the recent $1.167bn bond offering, saying: “Of that amount, $767m is reportedly earmarked to refinance existing debt. But the government is still adding a staggering $400m in new borrowing to the national debt, an amount that directly contradicts its own projections of a $70m deficit for this fiscal year and a $75m surplus for the new fiscal year beginning July 1st.
“This is simple math, and something doesn’t add up. If the deficit is $70m, why borrow $400m more?” He also criticised $100m in
borrowing from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) for energy reform, saying nothing was said in the budget debate about it.
Mr Pintard added: “Worse still, while the government quietly sells off critical BPL assets to politically connected insiders for pennies on the dollar, it is preparing to spend $100m of public debt on infrastructure that is being privatised. It is unbelievable that Bahamians will foot the bill for a power system that a few wealthy, well-connected individuals will profit from for the next 20 to 30 years.”
Mr Pintard called for transparency and for the government to publish agreements relating to power projects, saying the Bahamian people “deserve a government that works for them, not for a privileged few”.
BAHAMAS Nurses Union (BNU) president Muriel Lightbourn speaks during a press conference at BNU headquarters yesterday.
Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
BAHAMAS NURSES UNION (BNU) PRESIDENT MURIEL LIGHTBOURN
Snorkelling tourist injured after he was struck by boat while in Exuma
from page one
hanging all over the place. Then once we got him on one of the chairs you had blood dripping on the ground,” said Reno Curling, a photographer who was conducting a family photo shoot nearby when the incident occurred.
He said he heard screams and saw people run toward the shoreline.
A few residents jumped into the water and pulled the injured man back to shore, where they helped carry him to a nearby pool deck.
Mr Curling said one of his clients, who is a nurse, rushed to assist but was unable to do much without medical supplies.
“She told him to remain calm and was speaking to him from that end of it but it wasn’t really nothing nobody could do other than wrap him up with towels and stuff like.”
According to reports, the American man was snorkelling near Tar Bay around 7.30pm on Monday when he was struck by a 20-foot white Boston Whaler.
He was initially taken to the Exuma Healthcare Facility before being airlifted to Miami for further treatment.
Police only reported the incident after The Tribune made inquiries.
Mr Curling told The Tribune he was the one who called police — only to be told to contact the local clinic.
He described the response as “counterproductive”, saying he expected emergency personnel to have direct communication with the clinic or ambulance service.
Reaching the clinic, however, proved difficult.
“Once I called the clinic, the clinic they
asked for the information, but nobody ever showed up. So we eventually called the clinic four or five times, and at the last time, they told us it’s probably best to just try find a truck to bring the guy to the clinic.”
After 45 minutes to an hour, the group secured a vehicle with help from the caretaker of the property where the tourist was staying.
Photos shared with The Tribune showed the injured man being transported in the back of the vehicle.
The incident has sparked widespread criticism on social media, with Exuma residents voicing frustration over the lack of adequate emergency care on the island.
One Facebook user, who identified herself as a nurse with trauma experience, claimed that she was part of the tourist group involved in the incident.
She said she would not return to Exuma after witnessing what she described as a complete lack of emergency services.
She expressed frustration over being unable to assist the victim due to the absence of medical supplies and a functioning trauma response unit.
Mr Curling echoed similar concerns, calling the state of medical care on the island “a huge issue”.
“It could be anybody, local or tourists, but I feel today if an accident happened, especially after hours, we don’t have the necessary staffing or equipment needed to handle anything.”
He added: “You would think that after multiple incidents on the island over the years, that you know, we would be able to respond in such a way to at least be able to cater to minor stuff but it’s like we sitting ducks out here.”
PM calls on chaplains to ‘stand in the gap’ to help struggling people
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
AS the country grapples with escalating violence and emotional trauma, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis last night called on chaplains to step into the gap, saying their role is more vital than ever.
He was speaking at the commencement ceremony for the first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) for chaplaincy, where 16 people graduated from the programme.
In his congratulatory remarks, Mr Davis underscored the importance of their role, while reflecting on the many Bahamians
silently struggling under the weight of tragedy and mounting daily pressures.
He said legislative change alone is not enough to heal the nation’s wounds, stressing the need for “people who will speak truth” and walk alongside those navigating grief, hardship, and despair.
“We need you in our hospitals. We need you in our schools. We need you in our prisons and shelters we need you in our communities – not just preaching but being present,” Mr Davis said.
“These are the souls we must reach and these are the moments where the role of the intercessor becomes more urgent than ever.”
PEOPLE assisting the American tourist who was hit by a boat while snorkelling in Exuma.
PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis speaks at the Commencement Ceremony of unit one of Clinical Pastoral Education for Chaplaincy at Fox Hill Community Centre yesterday. Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr
The Tribune Limited
NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI
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LEON E. H. DUPUCH
Publisher/Editor 1903-1914
SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .
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Contributing Editor 1972-1991
RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.
Publisher/Editor 1972-
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How to face rise in suicides
IT was not always this way. Ten or 15 years ago or more, it was a shock to the community when people heard of a suicide or an attempted suicide.
It was such a rare occurrence that it was major news when such an incident happened.
It is not that suicide did not happen here – that is something that sadly affects the world over – but it certainly did not happen with such frequency.
Back then, it was shocking. Today, it is perhaps more shocking how commonplace it has become.
People in this country have been through a lot. As psychologist Dr Gregory Swann notes in today’s Tribune, the northern Bahamas bore the brunt of Hurricane Dorian. There was also COVID-19, and that has led to a rise in such cases. Worryingly, he notes, “the trend has not been stabilised”. Two recent attempts have underscored that situation.
So the question becomes what can we do?
Dr Swann’s advice is sound. He urges family and friends, if they fear someone might harm themselves, to ensure they are not left alone, and to try to get them professional help or in a safe place where they can be supported.
That leads to questions over whether there are adequate resources to meet the needs that our nation has. The answer is almost certainly not.
In 2017, psychologist Dr Mike Neville wrote about the subject, saying: “Suicide doesn’t kill people, sadness kills people.”
It is not the act itself, but the path that led the person to that act.
For a long time, there have been calls to make it easier for people to access mental health treatment.
As we wrote in this column in 2019: “Look around our streets and you’ll see
many people who don’t have that access. The homeless, the desperate we see trying to get by through the day but who are paid attention to by too few. They have fewer options for finding their way out of their situation.”
Depression and mental illness do not respect anyone, they can strike any one of us. But we can try to help those affected. We can reach out to the neighbour we have not seen in a while. We can call the friend we have not spoken to. We can stay in touch, and we can listen when someone wants to talk.
Last year, Tribune columnist Alicia Wallace compiled some advice for those experiencing troubled times. They can be simple things when we are out of sorts, such as asking what we have eaten that day, are we hydrated, have we been outside, have we had enough sleep, have we had social interactions, are there things in our environment that are an issue, have we done exercise. We can do the same checklist with those we fear are experiencing depression to perhaps help find a change, a shift that can lift them out of their situation.
Then there are the professionals, such as the Bahamas Psychological Association. And there are the pastors in our churches, there to support and care.
The Bahamas Crisis Centre reported earlier this year a rise in young boys expressing suicidal thoughts.
Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson at the time said there needs to be a targeted approach to tackle the issue, and a willingness to discuss mental health.
The discussion has certainly begun –even if it is not as prevalent as it needs to be to reach those in need. But that word “willingness” is key. We know there is a problem. It has been a growing problem. So where do we go from here? That is the test – the test of how willing we are to tackle the issue, and the test of our ability to meet the challenge.
Kingsley’s name also unknown
EDITOR, The Tribune.
NAME recognition in Bahamian politics can be an added bonus in one’s attempt to win a seat in the House of Assembly. West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Kingsley Smith understand this.
As one who has been a sitting MP since November 2023, Smith believes that he has a distinct advantage over political newcomer Omar Isaacs, who was ratified by the opposition Free National Movement last week to challenge Smith in West End. This morning while watching ZNS TV 13 News on YouTube, I listened with interest as Smith talked about folks bemoaning the fact that Isaacs is an unknown. Smith would then state, perhaps with a tinge of overconfidence, that he is well known. That claim is up for debate. And even if true, Smith’s criticism of Isaacs could have also been levied at him. It was only after the untimely and unexpected death of Obie Wilchcombe that this writer heard the name Kingsley Smith for the first time. Those who read
this section of the printed press regularly would know that this writer comments mostly on the political situation in this country. Outside of his Progressive Liberal Party and FNM circles, few Bahamians had ever heard of Smith. I would even go further by stating that if Smith were to venture into the constituencies in the inner-city areas of New Providence, perhaps 75 percent of the folks he would encounter wouldn’t recognise him from the man on the moon. In fact, I understand that an individual at one financial institution didn’t even know who Smith was months into his tenure as West End MP. Outside of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, PLP Chair Fred Mitchell and Cabinet Ministers Glenys HannaMartin, Alfred Sears, JoBeth Coleby-Davis and Michael Halkitis, every other PLP Parliamentarian must be considered a political lightweight. The foregoing is what I termed the big six. They are the face of the PLP.
PICTURE OF THE DAY
Needs for f re trucks in islands
EDITOR, The Tribune. GRATEFUL yet again for the opportunity afforded me to be able to raise these several tit bits contained in the caption, in anticipation of it being published for the benefit of the reading Bahamian public.
In making the case, I just would like to proffer remarks based on two criterias, the first as a person familiar with fireman ship, secondly, having feel for what small population will likely need to secure those environments in the family islands:
or fire apparatuses, would be fully outfitted with gear for officers
Now, as I ponder the numbers, I compare it to the feeding of the 5,000 in sacral scriptures, definitely does need a miracle from on-high, to be able to increase the vehicular numbers for the needs that are cute, especially in the family islands and here’s the calculations, the tabulations:
14...San Salvador Island, three fire trucks.
NB: I deliberately did not mention New Providence (35 trucks), because as the headquarters, it is anticipated that the bulk of the fire appliances will be stationed in the capital and so, HQ will be able to move them around as the need arises.
Compared to them, Smith is a lightweight and Johnnycome-lately. The PLP didn’t need him to win West End. It could have fielded the Ayatollah Khamenei and still would have won the 2023 by-election by a comfortable margin. When PLPs went to the polls to vote in Grand Bahama and Bimini, they voted for the party. Smith’s name was an afterthought. PLPs who voted were thinking about Wilchcombe. In fact, a concerted effort was made to campaign on Wilchcombe’s legacy. The party would have been at a disadvantage by selling Smith because he was virtually unknown. No one knew him outside of his political circles. No offense to the West Grand Bahama and Bimini incumbent. While I give Smith props for winning a seat that has been won by the PLP in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2021, the claim that Isaacs is an unknown can go both ways in this case.
KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama July 1, 2025.
But, before I do, I just wished to quote an initial construct that the commissioner suggested: The commissioner of police Santa Knowles cautioned that even if the $12m estimate was approved, the procurement will be slow. One engine takes 17 months to be completed, and shipping. The proposed fleet includes four tankers, three ladder trucks and several fire engines... - just felt the need to furnish some facts about why the differences: usually called pumpers, because of the powerful motor-driven pumps capable of throwing 500-2,000gallons of water per minute. Pumpers draw water from tank trucks, hydrants, or reservoirs and pump it through heavy hoses. Many pumpers carry 200 to 750 gallons of water in booster tanks for the initial attack on a fire. Continuing, the commissioner said that each of the truck
1...Grand Bahama needs about ten fire trucks, and two aerial ladder trucks, if one is down, you’ll have the other..for a total of 12 fire trucks.
2...Exuma Island, three trucks will suffice.
3...Andros Island divided into north (three), and south (three), for a total of six fire trucks.
4...Abaco Island, four fire trucks.
5...Cat Island, six - three for the north, and three for the south.
6...Long Island, four fire trucks.
7...Inagua Island, three fire trucks.
8...Eleuthera Island, four fire trucks.
9...Bimini Island, three fire trucks.
10...Ragged Island, two fire trucks.
11...Crooked island, three fire trucks.
12...Acklins Island, three fire trucks.
13...Rum Cay, two fire trucks.
There is also the necessity to build structures to double as fire-sheds, firehouses, so I do believe that a more workable figure under all of this would be more like $20m, not $12m as previously figured, just saying.
NB: In your deliberations, if I may, a water tanker the water capacity should try for a 20,000 gallon water tank, and not a 2,000, much easier to deplete the water contained therein, whereas, a 20,000 gallon tank, would more likely get much more of the fire accommodated water wise, than the previous! 2...also, ensure that all of the non-ladder trucks were outfitted with two nozzle-monitors atop each fire apparatuses, for example, the recent Bay Street fire, had the department had had say three of such a fire engines, there would not have been the need to close the international airport and dispatched emergency fire fighting equipment from there to downtown.
FRANK GILBERT Nassau, June 30, 2025.
Protect our children
EDITOR, The Tribune.
I WRITE not merely to express outrage, but to confront the conscience of a society that continues to fail its most vulnerable— our children. Time and time again, we witness a familiar cycle: a horrific crime occurs, a child has been sexually abused, the headlines scream, the public reacts with fury and tears—then silence. We move on, bury the pain beneath hashtags, outraged voice notes, and candlelight vigils, and wait for the next tragedy. This pattern is not only disturbing—it is sickening. Where is your heart, people? Where is your soul?
For years, experts and advocates have made countless appeals for adults to rise—not after the fact, but before. To get trained, to get educated, and to stand guard as stewards for the protection of children
in The Bahamas. Yet the response has been lukewarm at best. Many acts concerned when the news cycle demands it, but when it comes time to show up— through action, through training, through advocacy—you vanish. You hide behind convenience and excuses while children suffer in silence.
Let me be clear: Child Sexual Abuse is preventable. However, prevention requires proactive commitment, not reactive compassion. It requires courage, not convenience. The truth is, too many among us would rather perform sympathy than practice responsibility. And that reality is a shameful stain on our society. The Holy Scriptures do not mince words on this matter. In Matthew 18:6, Jesus declares: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
God’s judgment is clear for those who harm children—and I believe His judgment also rests upon those who refuse to protect them. It is not enough to mourn when evil strikes—we must move before it does. Let this letter serve as both a warning and a wake-up call: Our children are watching. And they are waiting—for you to step up. To break the silence. To get trained. To take responsibility for the world we are shaping. No more excuses. No more delay. If you claim to care, prove it. Become a steward of children, not just a spectator to their pain.
SHERVONNE CASH HOLLIS Nassau, June 27, 2025.
Have a cool, fun, interesting, amazing photo? Have it featured here in The Tribune’s picture of the day!
A CEMENT mixer at the stadium roundabout E-W highway, on Jun 23.
Photo: David Watson
Psychologist: Troubling trend of suicides in northern Bahamas
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
TWO recent suicide attempts in Grand Bahama have renewed concerns among mental health professionals, who say suicide-related cases continue to rise in the northern Bahamas.
Psychologist Dr Gregory Swann, a member of the Bahamas Psychological Association, said the recent incidents in Grand Bahama, along with others in Abaco, highlight a troubling trend that has persisted since 2019.
“You may be aware that
since Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, in the northern Bahamas, we had a significant uptick in suicides and suicide attempts. And the recent cases, simply underscores that the trend has not been stabilised,” he said. Two young men were hospitalised following suspected suicide attempts in June.
Grand Bahama police were called to a business off the Grand Bahama Highway on Sunday, June 29, where they found an adult male unresponsive. According to initial reports, shortly before 11.50pm, an employee
discovered the man hanging from a tree with an object around his neck. He was immediately removed and CPR was administered. Emergency Medical Services transported him to the hospital.
On Wednesday, June 25, police responded to reports that a 28-year-old male had used a sharp object on his neck in an alleged suicide attempt. He was also transported to the hospital by emergency medical personnel.
A month earlier, a 21-year-old man was allegedly found hanging from a tree in South Andros. Police have classified that
20-year prison sentence for rape of 23-year-old woman
from page one
argument on Independence Drive, leaving Ferguson alone with the complainant. Ferguson then reportedly told the complainant to be quiet, claimed he had a gun, and locked the car doors. He drove her to the South Beach Canals, where he raped her orally, vaginally, and anally.
Ferguson allegedly threatened to kill the complainant, but she pleaded with him to let her go and promised not to go to the police. After he dropped her at a friend’s house, she reported the assault to officers at the Grove Police Station. Throughout the trial, Ferguson maintained his innocence, claiming he
and the complainant had been in a relationship and had been intimate in the past. He said their bond deepened after she confided in him about problems with her boyfriend. However, his version of events was contradicted by Patrero Sherman, Ferguson’s acknowledged best friend, who denied knowledge of any such relationship. In sentencing, Justice Williams called Ferguson “a vile, deluded fantasist, who projected his vile sexual fantasies upon the complainant”. He cited the brutality of the assault as an aggravating factor, noting that the victim was dragged across the ground.
A medical examination revealed abrasions on the woman’s back, lacerations to the anus, bruising and tenderness to the cheek, and vaginal bleeding. The examining physician testified that the complainant was depressed, crying, and appeared dirty and dishevelled.
Justice Williams also condemned Ferguson’s lack of remorse and his decision to force the complainant to relive her trauma during trial. He said Ferguson was not of good character and imposed a 20-year prison sentence.
Cephia Pinder-Moss and Calnan Kelly prosecuted the case, while Wendawn Miller-Frazier represented Ferguson.
20-YEAR-OLD ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT OF WOMAN
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 20-YEAR-OLD man was remanded to prison yesterday after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in New Providence last week.
Cenopha Augustin was charged with rape before Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt Evans. Prosecutors allege that Augustin had sexual intercourse with a 20-year-old woman without her consent on June 26. He was not required to enter a plea and was informed that the case will be transferred to the Supreme Court by way of a
voluntary bill of indictment. Augustin was also advised of his right to apply for bail in the higher court. He will be held at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) until his VBI is expected to be served on September 30. Sergeant 3738 Johnson prosecuted the matter.
M AN CHARGED W ITH OVER $145,000 IN FRAUD
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 38-YEAR-OLD
man was granted $60,000 bail yesterday after being accused of stealing more than $145,000 through fraudulent means over the past year.
Dwayne Goodman Jr was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Kendra
Kelly-Burrows on 11 counts of stealing by reason of service and one count of stealing. He was charged alongside Michael Simmons, 48, who faces a single count of stealing by reason of employment. Prosecutors allege that on March 19, Goodman stole a black 2013 Nissan Juke valued at $7,500 from Cecile Wilson.
It is further alleged that between May 28, 2024, and May 29, Goodman stole a total of $145,938 from multiple individuals to whom he had access by virtue of his employment. Goodman pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was granted bail at $60,000. His trial is scheduled to begin on October 2.
Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom is prosecuting the case.
WOMAN ACCUSED OF POSSESSING ILLEGAL GUN
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 37-YEAR-OLD woman was granted bail yesterday after she was accused of possessing an illegal firearm, ammunition, and drugs.
R’Hanee Cleare appeared before Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley charged with possession of an unlicenced firearm, possession of ammunition with intent to supply, two counts of possession of a firearm component, and two counts of possession of dangerous drugs. Prosecutors allege that Cleare and others were found with a black and brown FN Herstal Belgium pistol, 41 rounds of 5.7x28mm ammunition, a black firearm magazine, and a black auto sear on June 29 in New Providence. She was also reportedly found with a quantity of marijuana on the same day. Cleare pleaded not guilty to the firearm-related charges but pleaded guilty
to the drug charge. She was placed on six months’ probation and ordered to attend counselling. Failure to comply could result in a $500 fine or one month in prison. Cleare was granted $15,000 bail for the remaining charges and must report to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station every Friday by 6pm.
Her gun trial is scheduled for September 29.
Inspector Deon Barr prosecuted the case, while Ryszard Humes represented the accused.
incident as a suicide.
Dr Swann, who recently returned from Abaco, said there have been several reported suicide attempts there as well.
“I just came out of Abaco dealing with this very matter,” he said. “We’ve been engaging communities with psycho-social support, awareness, and psychological first aid training.”
He noted that suicide is a mental health challenge often linked to untreated or undiagnosed issues such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, or substance abuse.
He said warning signs often include noticeable changes in a person’s
behavior. Dr Swann said the most important step family and friends can take is to initiate open conversations with the individual.
“When you have reason to believe that the person maybe proposing a danger to themselves, we encourage family and friends not to leave the person alone, but try to get professional help or get the person in a safe place or in an institution,” he stated.
In response to growing concern, Dr Swann and fellow psychologist Dr Kirkland Fernander recently met with the Grand Bahama Port Authority to discuss the
need for a transitional mental health support facility in Freeport.
“We’ve committed to drafting guiding documents outlining what such a facility could look like,” Dr Swann said. “We’re in the early stages, but once the framework is set, we aim to involve government and private sector to establish a system-wide support structure,” he explained.
Dr Swann added that the association, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, has been actively engaged in educating communities and providing mental health intervention.
Man shot near Tops Lumber and Plumbing on Wilton Street
A MAN was shot in an incident at Topp’s lumber on Wilton Street yesterday afternoon.
One man was injured in the incident. Few other details were available at the time of going to press.
Emergency medical services rendered assistance and took the man to hospital.
The condition of the man was not available.
Mitchell shares plans for this year’s Fox Hill Day activities
By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
A SERIES of events have been announced to mark this year’s Fox Hill Day, with area MP Fred Mitchell yesterday revealing the festival’s 2025 theme: “From shackles to strength – still we rise.”
The events were announced yesterday by the Fox Hill Festival Committee, who said this year’s theme reflects the journey of Bahamians “from the hardships and limitations of the past to the strength and resilience we hold today.”
The festival runs from August 2 to August 12, culminating on Fox Hill Day. Festivities kick off on
Saturday, August 2, with an opening ceremony at the Fox Hill Parade Grounds.
Emancipation Day, observed on Monday, August 4, will begin with a midnight Junkanoo rush-out, followed by an ecumenical service at 11am and a cultural showcase at Freedom Park from 3pm.
Other events, which will include a fun run/walkathon, health fair and a Youth Fun Day, will be held on Saturday, August 9. Meanwhile, Sunday, August 10, will feature a gospel concert at 7pm, bringing the community together ahead of the main event.
Fox Hill Day, on Tuesday, August 12, will begin with church services at four local Baptist churches from
11am to 1pm, attended by Prime Minister Philip Davis
The festival concludes with the Fox Hill Parade Grand Finale at Freedom Park, running from 3pm to 2am.
Mr Mitchell, speaking at yesterday’s press conference, thanked the Fox Hill Festival Committee for their planning and expressed hope that this year’s event will be “bigger and more exciting than ever”.
“This is something which the government has pledged to support and continue because it’s not only important to Fox Hill itself, but it’s important for the whole country to protect our cultural heritage,” he said.
LEFT to right: Representative of RBPF, Fox Hill Festival chairman Warren Davis, MP for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell and Bishop J Carl Rahming.
Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr
Politics - full of sound and fury
THE next general election is just down the road and around the corner.
The current administration is making promises and already signalling the need for more time to “continue” its work and the opposition is pointing fingers and asking questions. Political parties are starting to reveal their candidate slates as rumours about who will stay, who will go, and who will be newly nominated fly around.
Power struggles within political parties are coming to the fore. The media is in a state of perpetual readiness for stories of all kinds and sizes as it relates to internal political party issues, lambasting of one party by another, candidate announcements, and the possibility of an early election.
Partisan politics in The Bahamas is, by design, an absurd theatre that piques curiosity even in its monotony and predictability. Politicians are current and prospective employees of the Bahamian people. When they seek employment, they sing and dance, sing and dance, sing and dance.
Empty promises flow from their mouths with boring, repetitious, uninspiring rhetoric until they resort to name calling and lobbing accusations at others, punctuated by catchphrases and snippets of music that do nothing more than make people laugh. The employers are seated in the audience, eyes glued to the stage, watching the performance. Casting was done without their input. The stage was already set. All they can do is spend money at the concession stand and mindlessly eat and drink as they watch the show someone else selected.
Some audience members wonder what is going on backstage. Who wrote the script? Who is directing the cast? Why were these people even cast in these roles? Some notice the dark corners of the stage and
By Alicia Wallace
‘There is the potential for the people, the employers, to reclaim power. It is entirely possible for the current and prospective employees to be held to a higher standard.’
try ‘to see what is happening where the lights are dim and the view of some performers is obscured. There is little room, it seems, for participation. Employers watch the show, waiting for the breaks between acts to discuss, make predictions, and argue with one another about the meaning of it all. Only when the show is over do most of the employers take their positions, ready to decide who will win it all with a single review—the vote.
When they are hired, the employees lose interest in pleasing their employers, even at the most basic level which, in our case, is putting on a show of dedication to the work that the employers—the people— want done. They take to the stage when it suits them, regardless of the presence of a waiting audience. The frequently show up unprepared, some never having attended a single rehearsal. It sometimes becomes clear that the employees fail to work together backstage before attempting another one-way engagement with audience. They sloppily deliver unplanned monologues and are thwarted by simple improv activities. They show that the backstage coordination is often nonexistent. They reveal their arrogance in their insistence on being a
part of the performance, regardless of their levels of preparation. The stage, they believe, is theirs.
Once the prospective employees secure their positions, their already inadequate engagement with employers exponentially worsens. The performance required to get the job has depleted them, not only of energy, but the ability to pretend to care about the experience of the audience. If they sit in the theatre, in complete darkness, so be it. It is their own fault for expecting a show. The season is over. They should be grateful for the amateur hours that, from time to time, make use of the theatre space. Politics can certainly take another form. There is the potential for the people, the employers, to reclaim power. It is entirely possible for the current and prospective employees to be held to a higher standard.
The existing system is dysfunctional. The existing practices disadvantage the people. Politicians see themselves as performers in a play, and they have no motivation to change the way they play their parts, much less commit themselves to affecting the reality that sits just beneath the fiction they use as cover. We, the people, know, to varying degrees, that
what they see as a bit of fun amongst themselves is actually our lives. Allowing them to write the script and cast themselves and people like them is acceptance of ill fate.
The people vying for our votes are not leaders, and they are not trying to be leaders. They are satisfied to pretend. The fact is that we need representatives. One of our greatest struggles is that the people who get our votes—almost exclusively because we reject the people or the associated party running against them—do not know, care about, or ask us about the issues we face daily and need to have addressed. They do not live in our
neighbourhoods. They seem to drive on different roads, present at different healthcare facilities, and send their children to receive a different quality of education than that which is available to us. We have to admit the self-governance and majority rule are not what we have when the people in parliament are not, in fact, like us. Worse, they prove, repeatedly, that they have no interest in even knowing what it is like to be us. If they did, they would engage us in the processes that have already begun ahead of the next general election. They are still more than comfortable with making a series of decisions with no input from the people directly affected by them, then turning to us with a singular question: This set of actors, or the other?
Recommendations
1. Read The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings with Feminist Book Club, hosted by Equality Bahamas and Poinciana Paper Press. The publisher described the book as “a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times—a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.” The Women Could Fly is available in print, ebook, and audio formats. Get your copy, read it, and join the conversation at Poinciana Paper Press (12 Parkgate Road) on Wednesday July 16 at 6pm. Register at tiny.cc/fbc2025 to receive Feminist Book Club updates.
2. Take a summer class at Poinciana Paper Press. There are great workshops being offered on Saturdays in July and August. On Saturday, July 12, there is a full day introduction to paper making running from 10am to 4pm. All material is provided for participants. On July 19, from 10am to 4pm, there is a pulp painting workshop. This is an interesting art form that is sure to intrigue, challenge, and delight participants. Choosing a design or subject, getting it on paper, dying the pulp to get the correct colors, then painting with the dyed pulp is quite the process and it has to be experienced to truly be understood. A pulp painting is currently on display in the upstairs ballroom at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas as a part of the tenth National Exhibition. Sonia Farmer’s pulp paining is a depiction of coral that was taken from Bahamian waters in 1923 and put on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and she is sharing her knowledge through the workshop on July 19. For information on these and other summer workshops, visit the registration page at lu.ma/pppsummerclasses25.
We need electoral reform. We need to know how political parties are funded. We need to be involved in the selection of candidates. We need to know when the election will be held, every single time, through a fixed date. We need to be assured that we will not have to endure the incompetence of any Member of Parliament for five years, equipped with a recall system. We need to be able to choose the best candidate in our constituencies without endorsing the leader of their political party to the prime minister. We need the boundaries to be set, not to be tampered with every five years. We need political quotas to reach gender equality in frontline politics. We need a modern system for voter registration and the tallying of votes. We need a national development plan that drives the agenda for every term and beyond.
We need a government that is led by the people. We need politicians who are the people, in every sense, and commit themselves to the highest good of the people, centring those in situations of vulnerability. We need to them to have integrity and be led it, and we need them to be discontented with the systems that do not serve us, such that they work together, with us, to build what we need rather than use the opportunity for personal gain.
At Women’s Wednesdays this evening, Equality Bahamas is facilitating a workshop designed to identify issues and develop recommendations to address them. There will be working groups on two thematic areas—social services and the environment. Members of the public are welcome to participate in one of the working groups at 6pm at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas on West Hill Street. Register at tiny.cc/fbc2025.
HOW C H ATGP T AND OT H ER A I TOOLS ARE CH AN GI N G T H E TEA CHI N G P ROFESS I ON
By JOCELYN GECKER
AP Education Writer
FOR her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun. She figured her students “who live and breathe soccer” would be interested to learn how mathematical concepts apply to the sport. She asked ChatGPT for help.
Within seconds, the chatbot delivered a fivepage lesson plan, even offering a theme: “Geometry is everywhere in soccer — on the field, in the ball, and even in the design of stadiums!” It explained the place of shapes and angles on a soccer field. It suggested classroom conversation starters: Why are those shapes important to the game? It proposed a project for students to design their own soccer field or stadium using rulers and protractors.
“Using AI has been a game changer for me,” said Sepúlveda, who teaches at a dual language school in Dallas and has ChatGPT translate everything into Spanish.
“It’s helping me with lesson planning, communicating with parents and increasing student engagement.”
Across the country, artificial intelligence tools are changing the teaching profession as educators use them to help write quizzes and worksheets, design lessons, assist with grading and reduce paperwork. By freeing up their time, many say the technology has made them better at their jobs.
A poll released Wednesday by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found 6 in 10 U.S. teachers
working in K-12 public schools used AI tools for their work over the past school year, with heavier use among high school educators and early-career teachers. It surveyed more than 2,000 teachers nationwide in April.
Respondents who use AI tools weekly estimate they save them about six hours a week, suggesting the technology could help alleviate teacher burnout, said Gallup research consultant Andrea Malek Ash, who authored the report.
States are issuing guidelines for using AI tools in classrooms
As schools navigate concerns over student abuse of the technology, some are also are introducing guidelines and training for educators so teachers are aware of avoiding shortcuts that shortchange students.
About two dozen states have state-level AI guidance for schools, but the extent to which it is applied by schools and teachers is uneven, says Maya Israel, an associate professor of educational technology and computer science education at the University of Florida.
“We want to make sure that AI isn’t replacing the judgment of a teacher,” Israel said.
If teachers are using chatbots for grading they should be aware the tools are good for “low-level” grading like multiple choice tests but less effective when nuance is required. There should be a way for students to alert teachers if the grading is too harsh or inconsistent, and the final grading decision needs to remain with the educator, she said.
About 8 in 10 teachers who use AI tools say it saves them time on work tasks like making worksheets, assessments, quizzes or on administrative work. And about 6 in 10 teachers who use AI tools said they are improving the quality of their work when it comes to modifying student materials, or giving student feedback.
“AI has transformed how I teach. It’s also transformed my weekends and given me a better worklife balance,” said Mary McCarthy, a high school social studies teacher in the Houston area who has used AI tools for help with lesson plans and other tasks.
McCarthy said training she received from her school district on AI tools has helped her model proper use for her students.
“If I’m on the soapbox of, ‘AI is bad and kids are going to get dumb,’ well yeah if we don’t teach them how to use the tool,” said McCarthy. “It feels like my responsibility as the adult in the room to help them figure out how to navigate this future.”
Teachers say the technology is best used sparingly
Views on the role of artificial intelligence in education have shifted dramatically since ChatGPT launched in late 2022. Schools around the country initially banned it, but since then many have sought ways to incorporate it into classrooms.
Concerns about student overuse and misuse are still prevalent: About half of teachers worry that student use of AI will decrease teens’ ability to think critically and
independently or to have persistence when problem solving, according to the study.
One benefit teachers see in becoming more familiar with artificial intelligence is the ability to spot when students are overusing it.
Clues that assignments are written by AI tools include an absence of grammatical errors and complex phrases in writing, said Colorado high school English teacher Darren Barkett. He said he relies on ChatGPT himself to create lesson plans and grade multiple choice tests and essays.
In suburban Chicago, middle school art teacher Lindsay Johnson said she uses only AI programs vetted by her school and deemed safe to use with minors, for data privacy and other concerns. To ensure students feel confident in their skills, she said she brings the technology in only for later stages of projects.
For her 8th graders’ final assessment, Johnson asked them to make a portrait of an influential person in their lives. After students put final touches on their subject’s face, Johnson introduced generative AI for those who wanted help designing the background. She used an AI tool within Canva, after checking with her district’s IT department that the design software passed its privacy screener.
“As an art teacher my goal is to let them know the different tools that are out there and to teach them how those tools work,” she said. Some students weren’t interested in the help. “Half the class said, ‘I’ve got a vision, and am going to keep going with it.’”
Trumps drop ‘m ade in T he usa’ LABEL FOR NEW PHONE, AND DEBATE ensues: how To define ‘made’?
NEW YORK Associated Press
WHEN the Trump family unveiled a new phone before a giant American flag at its headquarters earlier this month, the pitch was simple and succinct, packed with pure patriotism: “Made in the U.S.A.”
The Trumps are apparently having second thoughts.
How about “proudly American”?
Those are the two words that have replaced the “Made in the USA” pitch that just a few days ago appeared on the website where customers can pre-order the so-called T-1 gold-toned phones with an American flag etched on the back. Elsewhere on the site, other vague terms are now being used, describing the $499 phone as boasting an “American-Proud Design” and “brought to life right here in the U.S.A.”
The Federal Trade Commission requires that items labeled “Made in USA” be “all or virtually all” produced in the U.S. and several firms have been sued over misusing the term.
The Trump Organization has not explained the change and has not responded to a request for comment. Neither did an outside public relations firm handling the Trumps’ mobile phone business, including a request to confirm a statement made to another media outlet.
“T1 phones are proudly being made in America,” said Trump Mobile spokesman Chris Walker, according to USA Today. “Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.”
The language change on the website was first reported by the news site The Verge.
An expert on cell phone technology, IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo, said he’s not surprised the Trump family has dropped the “Made in the USA” label because it’s nearly impossible to build one here given the higher cost and lack of infrastructure to do so.
But, of course, you can claim to do it.
“Whether it is possible or not to build this phone in the US depends on what you consider ‘build,’” Jeronimo said. “If it’s a question of assembling components and targeting small volumes, I suppose it’s somehow possible. You can always get the components from China and assemble them by hand somewhere.”
“You’re going to have phones that are made right here in the United States of America,” said Trump’s son Eric to Fox News recently, adding, “It’s about time we bring products back to our great country.”
The Trump family has flown the American flag before with Trump-branded products of suspicious origin, including its “God Bless the USA” Bibles, which an Associated Press investigation last year showed were printed in China.
The Trump phone is part of a bigger family mobile business plan designed to tap into MAGA enthusiasm for the president. The two sons running the business, Eric and Don Jr., announced earlier this month that they would offer mobile phone plans for $47.45 a month, a reference to their father’s status as the 45th and 47th president. The call center, they said, will be in the U.S., too.
“You’re not calling up call centers in Bangladesh,” Eric Trump said on Fox News. “We’re doing it out of St. Louis, Missouri.”
The new service has been blasted by government ethics experts for a conflict of interest, given that President Donald Trump oversees the Federal Communications Commission that regulates the business and is investigating phone service companies that are now Trump Mobile rivals.
Trump has also threatened to punish cell phone maker Apple, now a direct competitor, threatening to slap 25% tariffs on devices because of its plans to make most of its U.S. iPhones in India.
in
ART teacher Lindsay Johnson discusses how to use generative AI features in Canva during a summer class at Roosevelt Middle School, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in River Forest, Ill.
Photo: Nam Y Huh/AP
PARTICIPANTS
announcement of Trump Mobile.
Photo: Richard Drew/AP
Trump: DOGE ‘might have to go back and eat
Elon’ as Musk proposes new political party
Associated Press
ELON Musk’s feud with President Donald Trump — and seemingly any congressional Republicans who support the president’s massive tax cuts and spending package — has reignited, with the tech billionaire threatening to launch a new political party, and Trump suggesting Musk could be punished for his opposition.
The dispute has laid bare not only the differences between the Republican president and one of his most vociferous one-time advocates, but also has reignited the possibility that the world’s richest man will — along with his billions — reenter the political spending arena.
Here’s a look at the latest in the Musk-Trump dispute: Musk reenters the political fray
Musk — who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign as the main contributor to America PAC — said in May that he would likely spend “a lot less” on politics in the future. But his recent statements seem to indicate Musk might be rethinking that stance.
On Monday, the tech billionaire and former Department Of Government Efficiency chief lashed out multiple times at Republicans for backing Trump’s tax cuts bill, calling the GOP “the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” for including a provision that would raise the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion and calling the bill “political suicide” for Republicans.
After a post pledging to work toward supporting primary challengers for members of Congress who backed the bill, Musk responded “I will” to a post in which former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash asked for Musk’s support of Rep. Thomas Massie. Trump and his aides are already targeting the Kentucky Republican for voting against the measure, launching a new super PAC devoted to defeating him.
Tuesday morning, Musk replied “You’re awesome” to an X post from Massie recirculating news coverage of Musk’s support of him.
Musk’s back and forth with Trump Musk and Trump’s potent political alliance seemed to meet a dramatic end a month ago in an exchange of blistering epithets, with Trump threatening to go after Musk’s business interests, and Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment. Much of it has boiled down to Musk’s criticism of the tax cuts and spending bill, which he has called a “disgusting abomination.”
Both the House and Senate versions propose a dramatic rollback of the Biden-era green energy tax
breaks for electric vehicles and related technologies.
Musk is the chief executive of Tesla, the nation’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, and SpaceX, which has massive defence contracts.
Overnight, Trump posted on social media that Musk has long known of his opposition “against the EV Mandate,” which he called “ridiculous.” Saying that, without subsidies, the Tesla CEO “would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump suggested that “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
Trump went further at the White House on Tuesday, responding, “I don’t know, I
mean, we’ll have to take a look,” when asked by a reporter if he would consider deporting Musk.
“We might have to put DOGE on Elon,” Trump said, of the government-adjacent entity Musk once ran for him, slashing through federal agencies in a broad-based, cost-cutting spree. “You know what DOGE is. DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”
A new political party?
Several times, Musk has suggested that a new political party is needed to encapsulate the viewpoints he argues aren’t represented by the GOP.
Overnight Monday, Musk reposted the results of an unscientific poll conducted through his X feed early last month, asking
if the US needs a political party “that actually represents the 80% in the middle?”
Monday afternoon, Musk suggested that the “America Party” would be formed if “this insane spending bill passes,” saying the US “needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
Starting a new national party — which would be set head-tohead with existing major parties — has been done before, but recent efforts in that vein have struggled to catch on. Even without such an official effort, Musk’s financial backing could be a factor in upcoming races, should he choose to contribute to candidates, either directly or through his PAC.
Trump tours Florida immigration lockup - jokes about escapees having to run from alligators
FLORIDA Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a new immigration detention center surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in the Florida Everglades, suggesting it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.
Trump said he’d like to see similar facilities in “really, many states” and raised the prospect of also deporting US citizens. He even endorsed having Florida National Guard forces possibly serve as immigration judges to ensure migrants are ejected from the country even faster.
“Pretty soon, this facility will handle the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” Trump said of the Florida site known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The president said the moniker is “very appropriate because I looked outside and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon.”
“The only way out, really, is deportation,” Trump added.
Hundreds of protesters converged outside the site — a remote airstrip with tents and trailers. They waved signs calling for the humane treatment of migrants as well as the protection of the expansive preserve that is home to a few Native American tribes and many endangered animal species.
The administration sees the location as a plus
The White House has delighted in the area’s remoteness — about 50 miles (80 kilometres) west of Miami — and the fact that it is teeming with pythons and alligators. It hopes to convey a message to detainees and the rest of the world
that repercussions will be severe if the immigration laws of the United States are not followed. Before arriving, Trump even joked of migrants being held there, “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”
“Don’t run in a straight line. Run like this,” Trump said, as he moved his hand in a zigzag motion. “And you know what? Your chances go up about 1%.” Alligator experts suggest it is better to dash in one direction in the rare situation when the reptile gives chase, according to a website run by the University of Florida.
Trump on his tour walked through medical facilities and other parts of the detention center, then held a lengthy roundtable where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and assorted state and federal officials heaped him with praise.
Authorities originally suggested it could house up to 5,000 detainees upon completion, but DeSantis said it would
actually hold around 3,000, with some starting to arrive Wednesday.
The center was built in eight days over 10 miles (16 kilometres) of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel.
Trump dismissed concerns about the impact on delicate ecosystems, saying that since the airstrip was already there, authorities wouldn’t have to be “dropping dirt.”
“I don’t think you’ve done anything to the Everglades,” Trump said. “I think you’re just enhancing it.”
Other, though, are appalled, including Phyllis Andrews, a retired teacher who drove from Naples, Florida, to protest Trump’s visit and called migrants “fine people.”
“They do not deserve to be incarcerated here,” Andrews said.
Some Trump supporters showed up near the detention center as well, including Enrique Tarrio, a former leader of the Proud Boys whom Trump
pardoned for his conviction related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol. He suggested Trump won last year’s election because voters wanted “mass deportation” and “retribution.”
Part of a larger Trump immigration push
Crackdowns on the USMexico border and harsh immigration policies have long been a centrepiece of Trump’s political brand. During his first term, Trump denied reports that he floated the idea of building a moat filled with alligators at the southern border.
Trump has more recently suggested that his administration could reopen Alcatraz, the notorious island prison off San Francisco. The White House similarly promoted the political shock value of sending some immigrants awaiting deportation to a detention lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and others to a megaprison in El Salvador.
His administration has vowed that mass deportations are coming, even if
some of those notions are impractical. Transforming Alcatraz from a tourist attraction into a prison would be very costly, and Guantánamo Bay is being used less often than administration officials originally envisioned.
Trump also mused Tuesday about deporting dangerous people born in the United States, like ones who “knife you when you’re walking down the street” or who kill people from behind with a baseball bat.
“They’re not new to our country. They’re old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too,” Trump said. “So maybe that’ll be the next job that we’ll work on together.”
Alluding to his criminal indictments during President Joe Biden’s administration, Trump said of the detention facility, “Biden wanted me here,” using an expletive to describe his predecessor. Construction of the Everglades site came together fast
Florida plans to offer up members of the National Guard to be “deputized” and assist immigration judges as a way to loosen another chokepoint in the country’s long-overburdened immigration court system. Guard personnel could provide security along the perimeter and entry control points and help staff the site, officials say.
The detention center has an estimated annual cost of $450 million, but state officials say at least some of that will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — which is best known for responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters.
During his tour, Trump greeted around 20 FEMA employees and construction workers and bonded
with DeSantis, who once bitterly challenged him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“We have blood that seems to match pretty well,” Trump said of Florida’s governor. When DeSantis suggested that members of the Guard could ease immigration judges’ workloads, Trump offered, “He didn’t even have to ask me. He has my approval.”
A spokesperson for the Guard said that its members aren’t currently tasked with detention or enforcement operations and that doing so would require training from federal authorities.
Encouraging selfdeportation?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was also on the tour, said immigrants arriving to the site could still opt to “selfdeport” and board flights to their home countries rather than being held in it. She said she hoped “my phone rings off the hook” with other states looking to follow Florida’s lead and open similar sites.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are generally held for reasons like entering the country illegally or overstaying a visa. They are either waiting for ICE to put them on the next flight or bus ride home, or they’re fighting their removal in immigration court.
As of mid-June, ICE detention facilities held more than 56,000 immigrants, the most since 2019.
During his visit, Trump was informed that the sweeping tax cut and spending bill the White House has championed had cleared the Senate, drawing applause. He suggested his being in Florida, rather than helping promote the bill in Washington, underscored how important immigration was as an issue.
“I’m here, and I probably should be there,” he said, shortly before flying back to the White House.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP right, speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
PRESIDENT Donald Trump listens as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, yesterday in Ochopee, Florida.
Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
NATIONAL
Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr
They made the cut! Nine talented kids accepted for ‘Tellabration: Lights! Culture! Action!’ Bahamian culture & acting workshop
THE stage is set, the cameras are ready, and nine talented kids are about to bring culture to life in a bold, creative way!
“Tellabration: Lights! Culture! Action!” isn’t your average summer intensive workshop — it’s a dynamic, immersive, child-led acting and storytelling experience designed to celebrate and reimagine Bahamian heritage through film and performance arts.
A pool of gifted applicants, the nine rising
stars — Maria Clara Kool Modesto Lopes, Vesper Cepeda, Tatiana Russell, Sabrina Thomas, Scarlet Chipman, Caerwyn Turnquest, Daniel Mensa-Johnson, Marlee Poitier, and Kymani Poitier — are gearing up to debut in an all-new, culturally rich adaptation of the beloved fairytale, “The Three Little Pigs.” Retitled “The Three Lil’ P. Higgs,” this Bahamian version infuses the timeless “rule of three” with what
author-screenwriter B. Jane Turnquest and set designer Chrisnell Gordon call “sun, sand, salt, and storytelling.” This fresh take on the classic tale is tailored to be relevant, redemptive, and resonant for Bahamians and residents alike — an homage to our traditions, humour, resilience, and everyday realities. The production is not only culturally reflective but also child-led, with cast members actively contributing to the development
of their characters and the shaping of archetypes and storylines. What Bahamian stereotypes will show up? What familiar traits will be flipped or celebrated?
Audiences will have to wait and see how these young actors bring authenticity, ingenuity, and heart to the screen.
Beyond entertainment, the benefits of performing arts for youth are transformative: self-esteem
tion skills imagination collaboration intelligence focus
ity and problem-solving for self-expression Chrisnell Gordon, the art director states that, ‘These life skills are invaluable
— shaping not just great performers but thoughtful, expressive, and resilient individuals.”
The short film will premiere on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in celebration of Day, marking a proud and powerful moment in youth development and national storytelling. Audiences can view on ‘Tellabration’ the
Get ready, Bahamas — it’s time for Lights! Culture! Action!
