Senator Padilla Forcibly Removed from DHS LA Press Conference
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal agents after interrupting U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday as he attempted to ask questions about immigration enforcement operations.
Video footage shows Padilla being physically escorted out of the room by multiple security personnel. The DHS claimed Padilla did not initially identify himself or wear his Senate pin and that he "lunged" at the Secretary, ignoring repeated commands.
Padilla and Noem met privately for approximately 15 minutes after the incident, with Noem stating they exchanged phone numbers and agreed to continue communication despite their disagreements on immigration policy.
Republican narrative
Padilla created a dangerous security situation by storming into a press conference without proper identification, lunging toward the Secretary, and refusing to comply with repeated commands to back away. Law enforcement acted appropriately to protect Secretary Noem from what appeared to be an aggressive threat. This wasn't an oversight — it was staged political theater designed to create a spectacle.
Democratic narrative
Padilla was exercising legitimate congressional oversight when he was violently dragged out for simply trying to question immigration policies affecting his constituents. If this is how the Trump administration treats a senator, imagine how it treats immigrant families. We must defend the First Amendment, protect the right to peaceful dissent, and expose this administration's cruel anti-immigrant agenda.
Left narrative
Padilla's violent removal isn't an isolated case — it's the latest sign of an administration sliding toward authoritarianism. From arresting peaceful lawmakers to deploying troops against civilians, Trump's team is dismantling democratic safeguards. When even the Defense Secretary won't commit to following court rulings, it's not law and order — it's raw power. This must be stopped.
Right narrative
Democrats like Schumer and Newsom are outraged over law enforcement doing their job, but silent on the violent riots targeting ICE agents across Los Angeles. Padilla stormed a secure briefing and ignored repeated commands — yet they blame the officers, not the chaos he helped fuel. Their priorities are upside down. Defending law and order shouldn't be controversial — it should be common sense.
Nerd narrative
There's an 18% chance that the U.S. will phase out per-country caps on employment-based visas before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Iran Strikes Israel Following Second Round of Israeli Strikes
Iran has reportedly launched a wave of ballistic missile strikes against Israel dubbed "True Promise 3," with smoke observed rising over Tel Aviv. This comes as Israel launched another series of strikes against Iran Friday, with reports that Israel bombed a nuclear facility near Isfahan among other targets. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a public address that "Israel will not remain unscathed."
Israel had launched a comprehensive military operation against Iran in the early hours of Friday, targeting dozens of sites, including nuclear facilities, military installations, and senior leadership residences across multiple Iranian cities.
The strikes killed several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami, armed forces chief Mohammed Bagheri, and nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.
Pro-Israel narrative
Israel seized a critical window of opportunity to neutralize an existential threat. Iran's proxies have been severely weakened, making retaliation less likely, while Israel's proven bunker-busting capabilities and operational reach demonstrated in previous strikes made this mission feasible. The regime's open calls for Israel's destruction, backed by nuclear weapons development, left no choice but decisive action.
Pro-Iran narrative
This unprovoked aggression against residential areas reveals the Zionist regime's criminal nature and will face a bitter and painful punishment. The targeting of scientists and commanders in their homes shows the enemy's desperation, but successors will immediately carry on their duties. Iran's armed forces stand ready to deliver a firm response to this bloodstained crime.
Nerd narrative
There's an 11% chance that there will be at least 1,000 deaths due to direct conflict between Israel and Iran in 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Court of Appeals Allows Trump to Retain Control of National Guard in LA
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an administrative stay on Thursday, blocking a court order that would have otherwise compelled the Trump administration to return control of California’s National Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom by noon Friday.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer had ruled earlier on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s actions were “illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Breyer also dismissed the Trump administration’s claim that the protests “constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States,” writing that the Los Angeles protests “fall far short” of the definition of a "rebellion."
Republican narrative
The administrative stay granted by the Court of Appeals has possibly saved Los Angeles. Breyer’s order was not only an unconstitutional attack on the office of the presidency but would have also left L.A. and its federal personnel to the mercy of violent mobs and rioters. With this decision, the Trump administration can continue its efforts to restore law and order to America’s streets.
Democratic narrative
Despite the temporary setback posed by the Court of Appeal’s decision, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta continue to have complete confidence in the law. The case argued by Judge Breyer makes it clear that Trump blatantly overstepped his presidential authority and violated the U.S. Constitution. The hearing on Tuesday will only expose the illegality of Trump’s actions further.
Nerd narrative
There is a 66% chance there will be major civil unrest or rioting in America before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: Israeli Spyware Used to Target European Journalists
Digital researchers at Citizen Lab reported Thursday that spyware from Israeli company Paragon Solutions targeted at least three prominent European journalists, including two editors at the Italian investigative news site Fanpage.it. The findings establish for the first time that Paragon's Graphite spyware successfully infected Apple devices through sophisticated zero-click attacks via iMessage.
Ciro Pellegrino, head of Fanpage.it's Naples newsroom, and an anonymous prominent European journalist received Apple notifications on April 29, alerting them to advanced spyware targeting. Forensic analysis revealed both devices contained the same iMessage account identifier, indicating they were targeted by the same Paragon operator.
Francesco Cancellato, editor-in-chief of Fanpage.it, which had previously published critical coverage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, including an exposé revealing controversial remarks by members of her Brothers of Italy party's youth wing, was notified in January that he had been targeted with Graphite spyware.
Pro-government narrative
The Italian government acted within the bounds of the law when using surveillance tools against individuals connected to irregular immigration and national security concerns. Parliamentary oversight confirmed no journalists were illegally targeted, and any surveillance was properly authorized through judicial channels. Italy rigorously respected the law throughout these operations.
Government-critical narrative
This is a dangerous escalation of spyware abuse against press freedom in democratic countries. Journalists investigating government corruption are being silenced through invasive surveillance that violates fundamental rights. The targeting of Fanpage.it reporters after their exposé of fascist elements shows authoritarian tactics.
Nerd narrative
There's an 80% chance that an AI system will be reported to have successfully blackmailed someone for >$1000 by EOY 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
French Court Frees New Caledonia Independence Leader
The Paris Court of Appeals ordered the release of Christian Tein, a pro-independence leader from New Caledonia, after he spent nearly a year in custody in eastern France following deadly riots in May 2024 that left more than a dozen people dead.
Tein, who is an Indigenous Kanak and leads the Field Action Coordination Cell, was charged with instigating violence during protests that erupted after French lawmakers approved expanding voting rights to thousands more French citizen residents in New Caledonia.
Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government after questioning him in late May, leading to the initial release order that was upheld by the appeals court.
Establishment-critical narrative
For too long, France has advanced colonial oppression disguised as law enforcement. In New Caledonia, independence activists are being treated like terrorists for exercising their right to self-determination. France continues to suppress legitimate political movements in the Pacific.
Pro-government narrative
France is working in good faith in New Caledonia, balancing social development with the need for law and order. It may be time to shift from focusing on ineffective institutions to ramping up economic development for the overseas territory. Leaders in Paris must navigate avoiding dangerous separatist outcomes with the need for more effective engagement.
Scientists Grow Human Hearts in Pig Embryos for 21 Days
Researchers at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health successfully grew beating human hearts inside pig embryos for 21 days, marking the first time human heart cells have survived in pig embryos for this duration.
The hybrid embryos contained fingertip-sized hearts that began beating after human stem cells were reprogrammed to survive in pigs and introduced into pig embryos with two heart development genes knocked out.
The research team, led by Lai Liangxue, used luminescent biomarkers to tag human cells, making them visible as glowing components within the developing pig hearts during the 21-day survival period. To create heart organs suitable for transplantation, researchers must construct them entirely from human cells — it's unclear to what extent the hearts in this study were composed of human cells.
Techno-optimist narrative
This breakthrough represents a monumental leap toward solving the organ shortage crisis that kills thousands annually. Growing human hearts in pig embryos for three weeks proves the concept works and brings hope to desperate patients on transplant lists. The technology could revolutionize medicine by providing unlimited organ supplies.
Techno-skeptic narrative
These experiments raise serious ethical concerns about creating human-animal hybrids and exploiting animals for human benefit. The research involves genetic manipulation of sentient beings and could lead to unforeseen consequences, including potential viral transmission between species. Playing God with nature's boundaries demands extreme caution.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance that the US will be the first country to embryo select over 10% of its newborns for intelligence, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Nigeria Grants Posthumous Pardon to Activist Saro-Wiwa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria granted full posthumous pardons to Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists during a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday, nearly three decades after their execution by the Abacha military regime on Nov. 10, 1995.
Tinubu conferred the Commander of the Order of the Niger on Saro-Wiwa and the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on Saturday Doobe, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine during the Democracy Day commemoration.
The Ogoni Nine were executed after a military tribunal convicted them of murdering four pro-government Ogoni chiefs during intra-communal riots in 1994. The charges were met with widespread allegations of being politically motivated due to the Ogoni Nine's environmental activism against oil companies.
Pro-government narrative
President Tinubu’s pardon of the Ogoni Nine marks a profound moment of justice and national healing. It recognizes that their execution was a grave wrong and restores dignity to heroes who gave their lives for truth and environmental justice. This bold act is not just a correction of history — it is a celebration of courage, conscience, and overdue redemption.
Government-critical narrative
President Tinubu's pardon of the Ogoni Nine, largely a symbolic act, stops far short of true justice. It wrongly suggests guilt where there was none. Without full exoneration and a formal repudiation of their sham convictions, the stain of injustice remains. Only a clear acknowledgment of innocence and corporate accountability can begin to heal what history so grievously scarred.
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that 95% or more of Nigerians have a bank account before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: Credit Suisse Ignored Early Warnings About Greensill Partnership
Credit Suisse executives reportedly received anonymous warnings as early as 2018 questioning their partnership with Greensill Capital, three years before the 2021 collapse that contributed to the Swiss bank's demise in March 2023. The warnings raised concerns about the bank's strategy of packaging Greensill's loans into $10 billion worth of investable funds for wealthy clients.
Swiss regulator Finma found that Credit Suisse "breached its regulatory obligations" and "naively" relied on Greensill to defend their partnership, causing "immense reputational damage" to the bank. It determined that inquiries about metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta and Greensill were "sometimes" wrongly answered by Credit Suisse executives.
Finma found that Credit Suisse hired private investigations firm Diligence in 2018 to produce a report on Gupta's GFG Alliance due to growing liquidity concerns, which raised red flags, including allegations of undisclosed related-party transactions and suspected "carousel fraud."
Narrative A
Credit Suisse's $440 million lawsuit against SoftBank exposes Greensill's corrupt, opaque loan schemes, hiding risky claims. That said, Credit Suisse is also at fault, as Finma found it clearly breached risk oversight and ignored years of warnings. The senior manager involved should have nipped this in the bud before it turned into a $10 billion fund collapse.
Narrative B
Credit Suisse's lawsuit against SoftBank and Greensill's collapse reveal not just their own corruption, but the rotten banking system as a whole. While Finma exposed Credit Suisse's failure to protect people's money, it also proved complete systemic rot, as shown by the bank's $510 million fine for hiding $4 billion offshore. U.S. Security and Exchange Committee waivers for UBS prove big banks escape justice, protected by their size and influence.
Abrego Garcia Pleads Not Guilty to Human Smuggling Charges
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the 29-year-old Salvadoran national who was recently returned to the United States after being wrongly deported in March to El Salvador, Friday pleaded not guilty to federal human smuggling charges in Nashville federal court.
Federal prosecutors allege Garcia participated in a conspiracy from 2016 to 2025, making over 100 trips transporting undocumented immigrants from Texas to other parts of the country for financial gain, earning $1,000 to $1,500 per trip, according to testimony.
Garcia was deported to El Salvador on March 15 despite a 2019 immigration court order preventing his removal to that country due to fears of gang persecution.
Democratic narrative
This case exposes the Trump administration's lawless approach to immigration enforcement. Abrego Garcia was illegally deported, and only after his case gained national attention did the government scramble to build a criminal case against him. Although the government has been publicly tying him to several heinous crimes, it has only charged Abrego Garcia with trafficking, which does nothing to validate its treatment of him.
Republican narrative
Garcia ran a sophisticated human smuggling operation for nearly a decade, transporting thousands of illegal immigrants including MS-13 gang members across the country for profit. The criminal charges are based on solid evidence from a 2022 traffic stop and extensive investigation, not political motivation. This shows the administration's commitment to securing borders and prosecuting those who exploit America's immigration system.
Nerd narrative
There's a 20% chance that at least twice as many deportations by U.S. ICE will occur in fiscal year 2025 compared with fiscal year 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.