Good morning everyone. I hope you had a great evening. Today I’m covering several big stories. President Trump is facing backlash from his own party over his decision to “de-escalate” federal immigration operations in Minneapolis after multiple murders by ICE and CBP agents. Republican lawmakers are openly criticizing the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for missteps and poor handling of the situation.
At the same time, Trump has sparked outrage by suggesting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar may have staged being sprayed with an unknown substance at a Minneapolis town hall, a claim that has no verified evidence.
Meanwhile, ICE agents attempting to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis without permission triggered a diplomatic protest from Ecuador’s government, adding an international crisis to the already explosive domestic controversy.
On top of all that, overnight TikTok again cracked down on my content, removing tens of thousands of my followers without explanation. I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but it looks like censorship is alive and well on that platform.
Here’s the news:
During a Minneapolis town hall, a man walked toward Rep. Ilhan Omar, yelled for her to resign, and used a syringe to spray an unknown, foul-smelling liquid at her before being tackled by security; Omar was not injured, refused to leave, continued the event, and the suspect was arrested and booked on suspicion of third-degree assault as forensic teams investigated the substance.
Trump said he had not watched video of the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar and dismissed the incident, telling ABC News he doesn’t think about her, calling her a “fraud,” and suggesting without evidence that she “probably had herself sprayed,” while Omar—who was not injured—has continued to face repeated personal attacks from Trump following the Minneapolis town hall assault.
Authorities identified the suspect accused of attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar as 55-year-old Anthony J. Kazmierczak, who was arrested and is being held at the Hennepin County Jail, according to Minneapolis police and jail records.
Spurred by the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, Democratic legislators nationwide—often with support from libertarian groups—are pushing a wave of state bills to curb federal immigration enforcement, including allowing civil rights lawsuits against federal agents, requiring independent investigations of ICE shootings, restricting federal access to state property and sensitive locations, and using fiscal penalties to limit cooperation with ICE.
According to CNN, U.S. Capitol Police reported that threat assessment cases targeting members of Congress rose 58% in 2025 to 14,938 incidents—the third consecutive annual increase—underscoring growing concerns about escalating political threats and rhetoric, released the same day as the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar.
An initial DHS report says two federal officers fired on and killed Alex Pretti during a Minneapolis enforcement operation, but it does not support claims that he attacked officers or brandished a gun, contradicting early statements by DHS leadership and the White House.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis but were denied access by consular staff, leading Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry to lodge a formal diplomatic protest and emphasize that international law generally prohibits law enforcement from entering consulates or embassies without consent.
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis became the first Republicans to call for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign, citing a lack of confidence in her leadership and criticizing her handling of immigration enforcement and recent fatal shootings in Minnesota, while President Trump defended her, other GOP leaders avoided taking a stance, and Democrats pushed for DHS reforms amid looming government shutdown talks.
Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar is urgently warning Republicans that they are going to lose hispanic support:
The Guardian has confirmed that ICE is increasingly using a smartphone app called Mobile Fortify to scan faces in Minnesota and nationwide, allowing agents to instantly pull biometric data from multiple databases, a practice critics warn risks misidentification, racial bias, and privacy violations, has sparked lawsuits and protests, and prompted Democratic lawmakers to push legislation restricting or banning its use outside ports of entry.
Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey he was “playing with fire” after Frey publicly refused to enforce federal immigration laws and called for an end to Operation Metro Surge following the Alex Pretti murder.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should face a “thorough, independent investigation” into the fatal Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti, emphasized transparency about the facts, expressed confidence that Noem is working hard, suggested improvements should be considered, and also criticized protesters for hindering law enforcement efforts.
A poll cited by The Independent suggests international tourism to the U.S. is taking a hit, with about 80% of respondents saying they would avoid traveling to America due to anger over Trump-era immigration enforcement, ICE killings in Minneapolis, fears about personal safety, surveillance at the border, and broader political concerns.
Wired has confirmed that Meta blocked users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads from sharing links to a database listing names and photos of ICE agents, citing privacy violations, as tensions rose in Minneapolis after aggressive ICE operations, with critics calling the move censorship and the Trump administration arguing the site endangers officers by effectively doxing them.
Maine Governor Janet Mills used her State of the State address to condemn the Trump administration’s sweeping ICE raids as an attack on democracy, vow that Maine “will not be intimidated,” and cast the enforcement surge as discriminatory and politically driven, escalating tensions with Republicans and placing immigration at the center of both her Senate campaign and the national debate after recent fatal shootings tied to federal operations.
Trump warned Iran that time is running out to negotiate a new nuclear deal, threatening a “massive” U.S. naval armada and possible military violence if Tehran does not agree to abandon nuclear weapons.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from moving or deporting a 5-year-old boy detained with his father after being taken by ICE in Minnesota, ordering that they remain in a Texas detention facility while the court reviews claims that the child was improperly detained despite available caregivers.
A UC Berkeley analysis found that in the first nine months of the Trump administration, ICE street arrests and internal deportations surged—driven by an 11-fold increase in street arrests—resulting in a sevenfold rise in arrests of immigrants with no criminal convictions as enforcement shifted away from prioritizing criminal history and detention capacity expanded.
Campaigning in Iowa, President Donald Trump urged MAGA supporters to turn out for the 2026 midterms to protect GOP control of Congress, warning that a Democratic takeover would threaten his agenda and likely lead to renewed impeachment efforts, while he touted economic gains, criticized Democrats, and framed the elections as critical to his presidency’s survival.
A Virginia circuit judge struck down Democrats’ plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, ruling the proposed constitutional amendment was invalid because lawmakers failed to follow required procedural and timing rules, dealing a setback to Democratic efforts to gain House seats ahead of the November midterm elections.
Stephen Colbert announced that the final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will air on May 21, marking the end of the long-running CBS franchise after more than 30 years, amid controversy over the show’s cancellation following Colbert’s criticism of a Trump-related settlement and CBS’s insistence the decision was purely financial.
A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to 20 months in prison for accepting bribes from Unification Church officials in exchange for political favors, while acquitting her of stock manipulation and illegal campaign funding charges, in a case tied to broader corruption scandals surrounding her husband, ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Good news:
A Swiss family-run company, Rigitrac AG, founded by Sepp Knüsel and run with his four daughters, developed Europe’s first all-electric, solar-assisted tractor after years of trial and error, inspired by farms’ widespread use of rooftop solar; the Rigitrac SKE 40—powered by four electric motors and designed for tasks like vegetable farming and snow plowing—is now sold in five European countries and earned Switzerland’s Watt d’Or energy innovation award in 2025.
An elderly Indiana man named Mo Riles became the subject of viral jokes for driving a badly damaged, duct-tape-worthy Chevy Silverado, but after a local business owner launched a GoFundMe out of compassion rather than mockery, more than 500 donors raised over $26,000—enough to replace the meme-famous “Franken-truck” with a nearly new 2019 Silverado, turning online ridicule into a community-driven act of kindness.
A 90-year-old Nebraska woman, Lois Jurgens, was stunned when a 30-gallon Red Wing stoneware crock that had sat on her porch for 40 years—expected to fetch about $100—sold for $32,000 at auction on her 91st birthday, after experts recognized it as an extremely rare, pre-1900, salt-glazed piece with unique double stamps and decorative details prized by collectors.
See you soon.
— Aaron
