A person of interest is in custody after 2 U.S. Bank employees were killed in a Kentucky robbery

BEREA, Ky. (AP) — A person of interest has been taken into custody in connection with the fatal shootings of two bank employees during a robbery, a Kentucky state trooper said Friday.

The person is “believed to be involved” in the bank robbery in Berea on Thursday, Trooper Justin Kearney posted online.

A man wearing a gray-white hoodie, gloves and a mask entered a branch of U.S. Bank in Berea and shot a male and female employee on Thursday, state police said.

Law enforcement officials went door to door in search of information and surveillance video, as well as using helicopters, drones and dogs. The Lexington Police Department, county sheriff’s offices took part in the search, along with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“This was a team effort,” Kearney posted Friday morning.

Advertisement

He did not provide further details.

Area schools went into lockdown for a while Thursday until campuses were deemed safe. Students were not allowed to go home on buses and had to be picked up by their parents, state police said.

U.S. Bank said it was working closely with law enforcement and committed to supporting the victims' families and bank colleagues.

“We’re deeply saddened by the tragic event that took the lives of two of our employees at our Berea, Kentucky branch earlier today,” the company said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, our colleagues and the entire Berea community.”

Berea is about 36 miles (58 kilometers) south of Lexington.

byAdministrator

in

May 03, 2026

A person of interest is in custody after 2 U.S. Bank employees were killed in a Kentucky robbery

BEREA, Ky. (AP) — A person of interest has been taken into custody in connection with the fatal shootings of two bank employees during ...

Read More

The Christian villages on the frontline of Israel’s war on Lebanon

This article first appeared on our partner site,Independent Arabia

One month ago Georges Khreish, Elie Atallah Dahrouj and Shadi Ammar were installing an internet cable on the roof of a building in their village inthe south of Lebanon.

The three young men were targeted by theIsraelDefense Forces (IDF) who launched a drone that killed them instantly.

The fatal strike took place in Ain Ebel, an ancientChristianvillage known for its white soil and olive trees located near the border town of Bint Jbeil.

When approached byIndependent Arabiafor comment, the IDF said it “struck individuals in the Hanine area who posed a threat to IDF troops and were identified as Hezbollah operatives, while they were observed attempting to install surveillance equipment on a rooftop”.

This was not the first such incident in the Christian border towns of southernLebanon, with residents fearing there are more to come as Israel ramps up its attacks on the country, and IDF forces movedeeper into Lebanese territory.

On Easter Sunday, an Israeli attack on a residential building in the predominantly Christian town of Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, resulted in the death of Pierre Mouawad, an official in the Lebanese Forces party and an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, along with his wife, Flavia. The Israeli military says it was targeting Hezbollah militants.

Last month, the Israeli army targeted Father Pierre al-Rai, the parish priest of Saint George’s Church in Qlayaa – a Maronite town neighbouring Marjayoun – firing an artillery shell in his direction.

He was accompanying a number of local residents as they attempted to assist a man from Qlayaa who had been wounded by shrapnel from an Israeli shell, reportedly fired at Hezbollah fighters positioned nearby between the town and the neighbouring municipality of Khiam.

Opposition parties toHezbollah, most notably the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, directly blamed the group for Father al-Rai’s death, arguing that its fighters were present in the area and had been the intended target of the Israeli strike.

But regardless of fault, people living in the area have a clear message - we’re not going anywhere.

Speaking toIndependent Arabia, Hanna Daher, the mayor of Qlayaa, said: “During the 66-daywarin 2024, Israel previously asked us to evacuate our town.

“We refused and said we would remain here. We are, by nature, a peaceful community – we do not carry arms and we are not against anyone.

“For that reason, we will stay on our land, holding fast to the words of Father Pierre al-Rai, who gave his life on the altar of remaining in our land: ‘We are staying, we are staying, we are staying’. We will continue to repeat this.

“Even if we are asked to leave our town, we will not abandon our homes, nor will we allow anyone to force us to do so. We are not fighting anyone and we are not standing against anyone; all we ask is to be left in peace and in our homes.

“Not a single resident has left the town because of the war. We are 850 families in Qlayaa. Those who have left have done so only temporarily – to visit a doctor, attend to a need or travel to the capital, Beirut – and then they return.

“As for our supplies and food provisions, we rely on what we have stored in our commercial and economic institutions. There are still roads that remain open, and we hope they will continue to remain so in order that we might secure our basic needs.”

Daher highlighted the plight of farmers who make up a large proportion of Qlayaa’s residents: “Farmers’ homes have been completely destroyed.

“Those who had already planted, or had begun preparing for cultivation – having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch the summer season and ready their olive groves and other crops – have seen everything destroyed.

Advertisement

“No one from the town dares go to their fields in the nearby plains anymore, particularly the Marjayoun–Khiam plain, because of the war.

“Their crops and trees have been damaged, and the losses are immeasurable. Despite all this, we are trying to remain in our homes. We have no other option available to us, and we will not abandon our land or our livelihoods.”

On Sunday 8 March, an Israeli drone killed Sami Ghafri, a resident of the predominantly Christian border town of Alma al-Shaab, after he refused to leave his village despiteevacuation warnings issued to its inhabitants.

This prompted the remaining families still living in the village to leave, escorted by a unit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) operating in southern Lebanon.

Moral and Papal support

In a recent weekly audience in the Vatican,Pope Leo XIVmourned Father Pierre al-Rai, saying: “Father Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained by his people’s side.

“As soon as he heard that members of his parish had been injured in shelling, he ran to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed may be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.”

The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai, in turn described what happened as a deep wound in the heart of the Church.

“This incident once again reveals the tragedy for which the innocent are paying the price in the cycle of violence and wars we have long warned against,” he added.

In a move seen as part of efforts to support and boost the morale of Qlayaa’s residents, the village neighbouring Marjayoun, the commander of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, attended the funeral of Father Pierre al-Rai.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, also conducted a tour that included several Christian towns in the districts of Marjayoun and Hasbaya, “as a message of moral support to the residents and encouragement for them to remain steadfast in their land”.

In Qlayaa, the papal envoyexpressed his admirationfor the residents’ resilience, noting that “the people here possess great courage”.

Displacement of Christians

Metropolitan Elias Kfouri, head of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Sidon, Tyre and their dependencies, toldIndependent Arabia: “Israel’s continued severing of links between villages is aimed at isolating the area south of the Litani River from the rest of Lebanon.

“This region has become almost devoid of its inhabitants; except for a number of Christian villages whose residents have refused to leave. As a result, we are now witnessing incidents targeting the inhabitants of these towns.

“The killing of Father Pierre al-Rai while he was carrying out a humanitarian mission shows that Israel will not limit itself to displacing the Shia population alone, but is seeking to empty the entire area, including Christian villages whose residents refuse to depart.”

Kfouri criticised “the global silence, including from the United Nations, regarding Israel’s occupation, killings, destruction, displacement and violation of our villages.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the continued presence of Christians in their border villages, so that Israel does not achieve its aims of turning this frontier area into a zone entirely devoid of life and inhabitants.”

For his part, retired Brigadier General Hisham Jaber, head of the Middle East Centre for Studies and Public Relations, toldIndependent Arabia: “Israel will not stop at displacing the Shia population from their areas, towns and villages, but will move on to displace Christians after having emptied most Shia villages of their residents.

“What we are seeing, including the incidents in Alma al-Shaab, Qlayaa and most recently Ain Ebel, is intended to instil fear among Christians in these villages and push them to leave.”

Translated by Dalia Mohamed; Reviewed byTooba KhokharandCeline Assaf

byAdministrator

in

May 03, 2026

The Christian villages on the frontline of Israel’s war on Lebanon

This article first appeared on our partner site,Independent Arabia One month ago Georges Khreish, Elie Atallah Dahrouj and Shadi A...

Read More

Inside the pressure-packed confines of the Kentucky Derby jockeys' room

The biggest horse race of the year involves one of the longest waits of the year.

On Saturday, the 152ndedition of theKentucky Derbyis scheduled to begin at 6:57 p.m. ET, about nine hours after the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville opens and about seven hours after the day’s first race.

For those who will be aboard the horses during the “Run for the Roses,’’ most of that time will be spent in the jockeys’ room.

It features two pool tables, a ping pong table and a lounge. Cards used to be a favorite way to pass the time.

“Nowadays, everyone's on their phone all the time,’’ jockey Mike Smith told USA TODAY Sports.

But the energy is different on the day of the Kentucky Derby, and Smith knows that firsthand. He has ridden in the race a record 28 times and is set to ride again on So Happy.

As usual, he’ll spend ample time in the jockeys’ room.

A horse is bathed after morning workouts during Dawn at the Downs on the backside at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities celebrates as they cross the finish line at the Kentucky Derby Festival's Great Bed Races held at Broadbent Arena Monday evening, April 27, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Flowers in the Winner's Circle at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, a week before the running of the 152nd Kentucky Derby, on April 24, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> John King and his daughter, Ghauni, 4, watch as the first hot air balloons lift at the Kentucky Derby Festival's Great Balloon Glow Thursday night at Waterfront Park on April 23, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Levi Shank, left, and Amanda Regier run in costume following the start of the 2026 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and mini Marathon on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Louisville Kentucky.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The Japanese team of Wonder Dean celebrated their horse's No. 10 post position after the 2026 Kentucky Derby Draw at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 25, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2026 Kentucky Derby horse Fulleffort, trained by Brad Cox, was ridden by Edvin Vargas during a morning workout on April 23, 2026 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Fulleffort has seven career races with three wins, two second-place finishes and one third-place finish.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2026 Kentucky Derby horse Silent Tactic during a morning workout on April 23, 2026 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Silent Tactic is trained by Mark Casse.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The Shady Rays balloon lifts off as hot air balloons take flight at Bowman Field for the KDF Great BalloonFest Rush Hour Race in Louisville on April 24, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> People gathered around to see the Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses arrive at the main gap during morning training at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 28, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A horse is bathed after morning workouts during Dawn at the Downs on the backside at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, 2026, ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The trophy given to the winner of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 25.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2026 Kentucky Derby trainer Todd Pletcher on the backside watching his horses work out at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on April 27, 2028. Pletcher has 2026 Kentucky Derby horse Renegade.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2026 Kentucky Derby horse and favorite Renegade getting bathed after working at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, 2026. The horse is trained by Todd Pletcher.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A crowd gathers on the backside at sunrise during Dawn at the Downs at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Veteran jockey and two-time Kentucky Derby winner Mike Smith, who will pilot 2026 Kentucky Derby hopeful So Happy, on April 24, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A unicylcist waves to the crowd during the 2026 Pegasus Parade on Broadway Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday, April 26, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A crowd gathers to watch as 2026 Kentucky Derby contender Six Speed walks in circles before the special training time for Derby and Oaks horses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 24, 2026. The horse is trained by Bhupat Seamer.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Check out scenes as anticipation builds leading up to the Kentucky Derby

A horse is bathed after morning workouts during Dawn at the Downs on the backside at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 27, ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby contender:So Happy is the Kentucky Derby horse worth cheering for this year

“They're bringing all kinds of different stars up there, athletes, politicians,’’ said Smith, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby. “So you're visiting a whole lot and it's pretty cool.’’

Advertisement

The celebrities who visited last year included former NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

“And all the golfers come in all the time when they come up, they always come in,’’ Smith said. “Everyone comes in to say hi. And politicians, you might meet, who knows. A lot of different coaches and all kinds of stuff.’’

Manny Franco, a 31-year-old jockey from Puerto Rico, will be riding in the Kentucky for the seventh time. He said he watches the TV broadcast of the races on the day of the Derby. Unless he’s riding in those races, of course.

Regardless, there’s still time to fill before the Kentucky Derby starts.

“I get anxious, not nervous,’’ Franco told USA TODAY Sports. “But it's the best, man. It's the best feeling, because it's the biggest day of the year. Everybody's watching.’’

Whether it’s mingling or playing pool, ping pong or cards, the distractions can be helpful, according to Smith.

“Otherwise, you're just sitting there thinking about it too much,’’ he said. “So just get out of your head and start talking

“You learn not to get hyped up. You get so hyped up early and it's such a long wait. You wind up wearing yourself out mentally.’’

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kentucky Derby pressure seeps into jockeys' room on big day

byAdministrator

in

May 03, 2026

Inside the pressure-packed confines of the Kentucky Derby jockeys' room

The biggest horse race of the year involves one of the longest waits of the year. On Saturday, the 152ndedition of theKentucky De...

Read More

After major enforcement operations, the Trump administration recalibrates its immigration crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Homeland Security SecretaryMarkwayne Mullinwas questioned by senators during his confirmation hearing about his vision for implementing President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, he said his goal was to keep his department off the front pages of the news.

Immigration Enforcement What's Next

To some degree, he has. Gone are the social media video clips of now-retiredBorder Patrol commander Greg Bovinoclashing with protesters. Mullin's predecessor,Kristi Noem, made her first trip as secretary to New York City to make arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In contrast,Mullin went to North Carolinato review hurricane recovery efforts.

The Republican administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to a centerpiece policy that helped bring Trump back to the White House, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement. Despite that shift, the administration insists it is not backing down from its lofty deportation goals.

“Clearly they’ve stepped back from the, for want of a better word, the Bovinoist tactics of before," said Mark Krikorian, the president of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for immigration restrictions. "But it’s not clear this means they’re actually stepping back from immigration.”

The Trump administration launched a series of immigration enforcement operations last year inmostly Democratic-led cities, which drove up arrests in large-scale sweeps. The crackdown sparked clashes between protesters and enforcement officers and led tothe shooting deaths in Minneapolisof two U.S. citizens.

Since then, the president’s hard-line anti-immigration agenda haslost popularity with votersand there have been no new high-profile city-based operations launched, raising questions about the administration's strategy.

“We’re still enforcing immigration laws. We’re still deporting illegals that shouldn’t be here. We’re still going after the worst of the worst — but we’re doing it in a more quiet way,” Mullin said in an interview April 16 with CNBC.

Immigration arrests have dropped, but deportation goals remain

ICE arrests have fallenin recent months, and the number of people in immigration detention has dropped froma high of roughly 72,000in January to 58,000 this week, according todata obtained by The Associated Press.

But in a sign of its continued determination, ICE in budget documents says it plans to remove 1 million people this fiscal year and the next compared with roughly 442,000 people last year. The agency also has plenty of money to carry out its mission, with Congress granting the Department of Homeland Security more than $170 billion for Trump's immigration agenda last year.

The administration aims to have enough space to detain roughly 100,000 people this fiscal year, which would more than double the average daily number held in ICE detention last year. The administration has alreadyexpanded its detention capacitywith the purchase of 11 warehouses across the country.

“They are working really on building a juggernaut of a system,” said Doris Meissner, who headed the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor to ICE, during President Bill Clinton's Democratic administration and is now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said there had been no change to Trump's strategy.

"President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” Jackson said.

ICE did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Stripping away legal protections to ramp up deportations

Advocates for immigrants are bracing for the Trump administration to turn its attention more intently to stripping away protections for migrants with temporary legal status to remain in the U.S. while their cases are being adjudicated.

In one example of this, the number of green cards approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dropped by half over the course of a year under the Trump administration, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, which supports immigration into the U.S. Humanitarian visas for refugees or people who qualified for asylum saw the biggest declines.

Advertisement

USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said the drop was due to increased vetting of applicants by the administration.

The Trump administration has also pushed to strip Temporary Protected Status from hundreds of thousands of people, witha key caseweighing whether it's overstepped its power to do so being heard atthe Supreme Courtthis week.

Advocates see it as a way to send a chilling message to immigrant communities and make more people vulnerable to deportation. It also enables the department to operate without the public spectacle of workplace raids or home arrests.

ICE has also focused over the past year oncreating agreements with jurisdictionsaround the country that allow local and state law enforcement to carry out an expanding array of immigration enforcement tasks, ranging from checking the immigration status of people in their jails to incorporating immigration checks during routine traffic stops.

These agreements, known as 287g, havegrown from 135 in 20 statesbefore Trump took office to more than 1,400 in 41 states and territories now.

Some states,most noticeably Floridaand Texas, have mandated various forms of cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE.

Meissner, from MPI, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is likely to prioritize further discussions about how cities and states can cooperate with ICE.

“At the end of the day, some of this may very well succeed in increasing the numbers,” Meissner said.

Calls to enforce work restrictions

Conservatives who want more deportations say the only way to truly crack down on illegal immigration is to make it so difficult for the migrants to work that they’ll leave on their own.

The Trump administration has already taken steps to make life harder for people in the country illegally includinglimiting who can live in public housingby immigration status,sharing Medicaid information with ICEandrequiring people in the country illegallyto register with the federal government.

Krikorian, of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Social Security Administration could send out letters alerting employers when an employee's name doesn't match their Social Security number. Authorities could repeatedly and consistently carry out audits of I-9 forms, which companies are supposed to fill out and submit to the federal government showing that new hires are legally able to work. And they could require banks to collect citizenship information on customers.

Whatever the strategy going forward, the administration is facing heavy pressure not to back away from its goals.

“The numbers are too low," said Mike Howell, part of the Mass Deportation Coalition, which launched a playbook forhow the administrationcan actually get to a million deportations a year by using tactics such as worksite enforcement.

“The deportation numbers are just too low," Howell said, "and they need to be much higher, and they can be much higher.”

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

byAdministrator

in

May 02, 2026

After major enforcement operations, the Trump administration recalibrates its immigration crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Homeland Security SecretaryMarkwayne Mullinwas questioned by senators during his confirmation hearing about his ...

Read More

Bard College's president to retire after scrutiny of relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — The longtime president of Bard College announced his retirement Friday, months after it was revealed that he had amuch deeper relationshipwith Jeffrey Epstein than was previously known.

Leon Botstein, who has been president of the small, liberal arts college inn New York for a half century, will retire at the end of June, he wrote in an email provided to The Associated Press by Bard.

In the note, Botstein, 79, didn't mention the scrutiny of his ties to Epstein, except to say that he had waited to announce his retirement publicly until the completion of an independent review of his relationship with the notorious sex offender.

He said he would remain on Bard's faculty as a teacher and musician.

Botstein was not accused of any involvement in Epstein's exploitation and abuse of girls and women. But he was among a long list of prominent and notable men and women who maintained friendly relationships with him for years, despite his status as a convicted sex offender.

A trove ofdocumentsreleased by the U.S. Justice Department this year showed that Botstein and Epstein had met on multiple occasions, with Epstein sometimes arriving at Bard by helicopter. The president had also asked Epstein to be a guest at the 2013 graduation ceremonies and suggested they meet for an opera performance.

In addition, Botstein reached out to Epstein weeks after the The Miami Herald reported new details on Epstein’s criminal prosecution in 2018, saying “I want you to know that I hope you are holding up as well as can be expected,” and had separately referred to his “friendship” with Epstein in at least two emails.

Advertisement

Epstein steered $150,000 to Botstein in 2016, which the president has previously said he donated to the college. Botstein has previously denied having a personal connection with Epstein, instead saying his contacts with Epstein were centered on fundraising for the college.

Bard's trustees enlisted the outside law firm WilmerHale to conduct anindependent reviewof the communications between Epstein and Botstein. The review found that the president did not do anything illegal but “made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard," according to a summary provided by the college.

“In his public statements and his statements to the Bard community, President Botstein minimized and was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein,” the review said.

At one point, according to the review, Botstein disagreed with a senior faculty member who felt Bard should not engage with Epstein, concluding that the president “relied on his view that a person convicted of crimes involving sex with a minor—‘an ordinary sex offender’, in his words—could be presumed to be rehabilitated in the same way that any other convicted person should, in his view, be given that presumption.”

“President Botstein forcefully argues that Bard’s need for funds was paramount. His view was, ‘I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work,’ ” the review said.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at Bard, in a separate message, wrote that it is grateful for Botstein's decades of service to the college, but added that the “concerns raised in recent months have been serious and deeply felt.”

It said funds associated with Epstein will be directed to organizations that support survivors of sexual harm.

Bard’s media relations office released a statement calling Botstein “a transformative leader with the vision and unwavering commitment that has shaped Bard into the world-class educational institution it is today.”

byAdministrator

in

May 02, 2026

Bard College's president to retire after scrutiny of relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — The longtime president of Bard College announced his retirement Friday, months after it was revealed t...

Read More

Reform candidate ‘attacked’ while campaigning in Glasgow

A Reform politician has allegedly been assaulted while campaigning for the party in Glasgow.

Councillor Thomas Kerr, one of the party’s candidates in the city, is said to have been attacked while delivering leaflets in Shettleston in the east end on Friday.

Reform UK Scotland blamed the rhetoric of other parties for the incident.

Advertisement

A spokesperson for the party said: “What has been witnessed on the streets of Glasgow today against Thomas Kerr was beyond unacceptable – free speech is important, but no politician should be subjected to violence while out campaigning.

“The language of our opponents – describing candidates as ‘racist’, ‘fascist’, or ‘far-right’ – is having real life consequences and is not productive to promoting healthy democracy.”

Police Scotland said it was made aware of an assault on a man at Strowan Road around 2.15pm on Friday, telling the Scottish Sun that another man will be the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal.

byAdministrator

in

May 02, 2026

Reform candidate ‘attacked’ while campaigning in Glasgow

A Reform politician has allegedly been assaulted while campaigning for the party in Glasgow. Councillor Thomas Kerr, one of the p...

Read More

Where is Renee Good’s killer? AOC outraged by ICE agent’s reinstatement

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is furious that the immigration agent who fatallyshot Renee Goodin Minneapolis hasbeen reinstated— and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to know if he's working in their state.

"God forbid, every single American, every single person that that man encounters from his reinstatement on is in just great danger as she was in," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a video clip posted on X by theMeidasTouch Network.

Ocasio-Cortez also called Good's reinstatement "so brazen" and "intentional."

“You have an ICE agent who killed a woman, you know, in cold blood. But the fact that the agency has reinstated him is a direct message from the administration about the impunity they feel.”

In a letter to President Donald Trump's "border czar,"Tom Homan, Hochul said she was "deeply troubled by reports that Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Ms. Good three times, has been quietly reassigned to another state" and said she had "no confidence that Ross can be trusted to safely interact with the public."

"I am formally requesting confirmation that Jonathan Ross has not been reassigned to work in New York State," Hochul wrote in the letter posted online byPolitico.

"If Jonathan Ross has been reassigned to work in New York, I demand that he be immediately removed and not redeployed unless cleared after a full, independent investigation."

Rep. Delia Rodriguez (D-Ill.) also toldPunchUp and Migrant Insiderthat Ross's reinstatement "should concern everyone,” asking, "What state will he go to?

Advertisement

Spokespeople for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the White House didn't immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Ross was placed on three days of administrative leave after shooting Good during an ICE operation on Jan. 7.

Earlier this week,PunchUpreported that Ross had been transferred out of Minnesota and was working in another, unidentified state.

He's been reassigned to administrative duty, according toNewsNation.

Rep. Sarah McBride said it was "absolutely outrageous" that Ross was again working for ICE and invoked the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

"It is clear this administration has learned nothing from the murders of Renee Good or Alex Pretti, and they seem to be asking for it happen again," she said in a video clip posted byMeidasTouch. "There is no, no, no reason to put someone who murdered an American citizen on our streets back on those streets.

"There should be accountability, not unleashing this person back on American citizens in our communities," McBride said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn), who represents the Minneapolis district where Good lived, told told PunchUp and Migrant Insider that it was “really, really heartbreaking that we cannot get accountability” for her slaying.

byAdministrator

in

May 02, 2026

Where is Renee Good’s killer? AOC outraged by ICE agent’s reinstatement

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is furious that the immigration agent who fatallyshot Renee Goodin Minneapolis hasbeen reinstated— and Ne...

Read More