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Conn. governor signs bill into law limiting ICE actions

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has signed Senate Bill 397 into law, limiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ moves and permitting Connecticut residents access to new legal tools should they believe their rights were violated.

Just days before the legislative session concluded, the legislation passed the House and was sent to the governor’s desk.

Dozens of elected officials and advocates attended Monday’s ceremony in front of the state Supreme Court, across the street from the State Capitol, where the governor signed the bill.

“We are sovereign in this state, this is the sovereign state of Connecticut. That is why we have a Supreme Court. That is why we have state laws. That’s why we have a Capitol,” said Attorney General William Tong, gesturing over his shoulder.

“The bill is rooted in the concept that no one is above the law. Here in the Constitution State, the Constitution applies to everyone,” added Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz.

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Putin Announces Truce for Victory Day on May 8 and 9, Warns Ukraine: If It Disrupts Celebrations, Russian Forces Will Strike Kiev’s Center

Victory Day truce may unleash unprecedented strikes.

We are approaching May 9, the date where Russians traditionally celebrate their defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, or – as they prefer – in the ‘Patriotic War’.

Just like last year, the celebration that gathers the Russian elite and a large number of foreign dignitaries will happen under the shadow of a possible drone-missile combined strike by Ukraine.

Not only that, but after Moscow announced a truce on May 8 and 9, Kiev came today with their own truce to begin on Wednesday (6).

Also today, the Russian Defense Ministry has warned Kiev of massive retaliation if it disrupts the celebrations.

Bloomberg reported:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin designated a ceasefire for May 8-9, the Defense Ministry said in a post on Telegram. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there was no coordination with his government. He declared his own ceasefire regime starting at midnight on the night of May 5, saying Ukraine will act reciprocally starting from that moment.

‘There has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities’, Zelenskiy said on X after Russia’s announcement. ‘It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s Defense Ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill’.”

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Predators are reaching children through apps, social media and now, video games

Children are being sexually exploited by predators lurking on the internet, social media apps, and now gaming platforms. It’s happening in small towns and big cities across the country, including Ohio.

“The monsters that we are chasing are now coming into your home with some device,” said Kirtland Police Chief Jamey Fisher.

Kirtland Police Detective Jake Scott is on a mission to stop it.

“I will pursue these relentlessly,” said Scott.

Two years ago, Kirtland Police signed an agreement with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to investigate these types of crimes in their community. Case referrals began landing on Scott’s desk.

“Anywhere on the internet where there are children, there’s going to be adults who have a proclivity for sexual abuse of children trying to speak with those kids, groom those kids and foster relationships,” Scott said.

His first case involved 45-year-old Todd Oravecz, a Kirtland man who was arrested, indicted, and pleaded guilty to several charges, including receipt, distribution and transportation of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Agents found more than 100 child sexual abuse material images and videos on his electronic devices that included children under 12 years old.

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Ceasefire Apparently Over as Iran Fires Missiles at UAE – Fujairah Oil Zone on Fire

UAE claims to have the ‘full and legitimate right to respond to these attacks’.

The ceasefire in the Middle East seems to have been broken today, as the United Arab Emirates reports that Iran fired four missiles toward its territory.

The UAE says that it is actively engaging with a ‘missile and drone attack’.

Axios reported:

“There were also fires reported at a fuel facility in the UAE and on ships off its coast. Iran has not claimed responsibility for any of the apparent attacks.

This would be the first time Iran attacked a Gulf state since the ceasefire was announced nearly a month ago. The U.S. and Iran may now be on the precipice of a return to war.”

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Taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark announces ‘Muslim only’ day featuring modest dress and Halal-slaughtered meat

A taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark has sparked backlash by organizing a Muslim-only day to celebrate Eid. 

Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, Texas drew outrage this week as it released fliers for the June 1 event, which will demand a ‘modest dress code’ and serve only Halal-slaughtered meat. 

Posters for the event say it will be ‘for Muslims only’ to create a ‘family-friendly environment’, with tickets starting at $55 each. 

The waterpark’s website notes that men and women will not be separated during the event, but attendees are told to ‘uphold Islamic etiquette’ by ‘lowering the gaze’ throughout the day. 

‘Please follow the event’s modest dress code, and practice ḥayāʾ (modesty) through respectful behavior,’ the event says. 

All attendees are ‘expected to dress in accordance with Islamic values’, and the waterpark says all swimwear must meet Muslim guidelines. 

The event was criticized across social media, with many questioning if a taxpayer-funded space is allowed to exclude certain demographics from its events. 

Conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch led the backlash, questioning: ‘How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?’

Loesch added: ‘There would be literal riots if Muslims were similarly excluded and we all know that’s 100% accurate.’ 

Conservative influencer Sara Gonzalez also said she was intent on calling the city of Grand Prairie ‘with my questions’ as she questioned the legality of the event.  

Epic Waters, which is funded by an additional sales tax on Grand Prairie residents, included on the event a list of suggested swimwear for women. 

‘Explore our recommendations and get ready to make a stylish – and modest – splash!’ the website says. 

The suggested swimwear included full head-to-toe coverings with bathing suit material, alongside full body coverings for children. 

The site also includes testimonials from past attendees praising the event, including one from Ahmed S who said: ‘I loved the modesty and the Anasheed.’ 

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Eric Swalwell Sent Women ‘Videos of Him Masturbating’ and Other Perverted Messages After Joining Snapchat to Restore ‘Faith’ in ‘Democracy’: Report

Former Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell was accused by multiple women of sending sexual messages, including “videos of him masturbating,” after becoming one of the first members of Congress to join Snapchat in an effort to restore “faith” in “democracy.”

In a bombshell report on Sunday – less than a month after Swalwell resigned from Congress after being accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women – CNN spoke to “more than a dozen” women who claimed the congressman had made them feel uncomfortable, both in person and online, over the past decade.

Several women told CNN that the congressman had sent them sexually explicit messages on Snapchat after he became “one of the first lawmakers to join Snapchat” and was heralded in the media as “the Snapchat king of Congress,” according to CNN.

“We can restore a lot of faith that people have in their democracy by opening it up a little bit more,” Swalwell told The Hill in 2016 after joining the messaging service. “Snapchat is a great way to do that.”

However, it allegedly wasn’t long before the congressman began to use his Snapchat account for purposes other than politics.

One young woman claimed Swalwell would send her Snapchat messages about her future, before asking inappropriate questions such as, “What are you wearing?”

Two other women told CNN that Swalwell sent them “sexually explicit messages and unsolicited nude photos and videos of himself” in 2021, while a third woman also claimed to have received “sexually tinged messages and videos.”

One former congressional staffer allegedly developed a consensual sexual relationship with Swalwell after he began flirting with her on Snapchat in 2021.

During the relationship, Swalwell reportedly sent “nude photos of himself and videos of him masturbating,” which showed the congressman’s “face and naked body.”

The videos, which were saved by the woman, were shown to CNN.

“His stories would be his, like, congressional content, but then he would be sending me dick pics,” she alleged, adding that Swalwell sent her another “explicit video” late last year, just weeks before he announced his 2026 California gubernatorial campaign.

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DC Judge APOLOGISES To Alleged Trump ASSASSIN

A federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., has come under fire after expressing deep concern – described by multiple outlets as an apology – over the custody conditions of Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 25.

The judge’s remarks, captured in court and widely circulated on X, have ignited accusations of a two-tier justice system that coddles violent attackers while everyday Americans watch their rights erode.

According to reports from the emergency hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui voiced serious worries about Allen’s placement in restrictive custody following the shooting incident.

Fox News reported that “The judge is very concerned about his constitutional rights, saying the defendant has requested meetings with his legal team, and that has not been allowed. He’s been put in a restrictive 24-hour lockup with no windows in a padded room without an opportunity to get out for recreation.”

“He has been put on su*cide watch by the Department of Corrections, and the judge was asking why,” the reporter further noted.

Fox News host Larry Kudlow ripped into the development live on air, echoing the growing frustration.

“The judge apologised to this guy, who would’ve sprayed the whole audience?! And killed God knows how many people? Then would’ve taken a shot at the president? We’re apologizing to this guy?! I don’t GET that!”

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Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks

Utah’s Online Age Verification Amendments, formally Senate Bill 73, take effect on May 6, making the state the first in the U.S. to explicitly target VPN use as part of age verification legislation.

Signed by Governor Spencer Cox on March 19, the controversial law establishes that a user is considered to be accessing a website from Utah if they are physically located there, regardless of whether they use a VPN or proxy to mask their IP address. It also prohibits covered websites from sharing instructions on how to use a VPN to bypass age checks.

NordVPN has called the law an “unresolvable compliance paradox” and a “liability trap,” arguing that it holds websites responsible for identifying users whose tools are specifically designed to be unidentifiable. The EFF warned that the legal risk could push sites to either ban all known VPN IPs or mandate age verification for every visitor globally.

The law is also technically flawed, given that it assumes that a web provider can reliably detect VPN traffic and determine a user’s true physical location — they can’t. IP reputation databases such as MaxMind and IP2Proxy can flag traffic from known datacenter IP ranges, but commercial VPN providers rotate addresses constantly, and residential VPN endpoints are largely indistinguishable from standard home connections. Autonomous System Number analysis can catch traffic originating from datacenter networks, but can’t identify a personal WireGuard tunnel running on a cloud VPS, for example, which routes through the same infrastructure as ordinary web hosting.

The only detection method that reliably identifies VPN protocol signatures is deep packet inspection, which analyzes traffic at the network level, not system- or app-level. China’s Great Firewall and Russia’s TSPU system deploy DPI via ISPs, but a website operator can’t because it requires access to network infrastructure that sits between the user and the server, not on the server itself.

Meanwhile, setting up a personal WireGuard instance on any major cloud provider takes minutes, meaning the law will be more likely to negatively impact non-technical users who rely on commercial VPN services for legitimate privacy: journalists, people living under authoritarian regimes, political dissidents, and abuse survivors, among others.

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Developing: Two US Service Members Missing in Morocco After Multinational Military Exercise

During a multinational war games exercise known as African Lion, two U.S. service members have been reported missing in southwestern Morocco.

The games, which began in April, span four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal.

An official statement from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) states, “Two U.S. service members participating in African Lion 2026 were reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area, near the city of Tan Tan, Morocco, May 2, 2026.”

“U.S., Moroccan and other assets from African Lion immediately initiated coordinated search and rescue operations, including ground, air, and maritime assets.”

“The incident remains under investigation and the search is on-going.”

“Our focus is on the service members involved and their families.”

“Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Per AFRICOM, African Lion includes approximately 5,000 personnel from over 40 countries and more than 30 U.S.-based industry partners validating future warfare capabilities across multiple locations within the country from 27 April to May 8, 2026 and is designed to “strengthen the collective security capabilities of the United States, African nations and global allies.”

“The training stress-tests the U.S. joint force and partner nations’ ability to execute rapid deployments and operate under multi-domain threat conditions.”

Duke Buchan III, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, notes, “African Lion 26 reflects our continued bilateral commitment to regional security and stability.”

“As our nations celebrate 250 years of friendship, this enduring diplomatic and military partnership continues to build capable, interoperable forces and strengthen security across the region.”

The exercise features a comprehensive suite of training events designed to test the full spectrum of military operations.

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LA Democrats Move to Use Illegal Aliens to Erase Citizens from Their Own Elections

A proposal introduced by Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez would ask voters to grant the City Council authority to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, including races for mayor, City Council, and the Los Angeles Board of Education.

Soto-Martínez, who represents a district spanning Echo Park to Hollywood, released the proposal on Wednesday.

If advanced, the measure would be placed before voters in the Nov. 3 election.

The proposal must first receive approval from the City Council to appear on the ballot.

If voters approve the measure, the council would then need to pass an ordinance revising city election laws to implement the change.

The proposal has been signed by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado and is scheduled to move to the council’s rules committee for consideration.

Soto-Martínez said the measure is intended to address concerns within immigrant communities.

He referenced his own family background while explaining the proposal.

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