Friday, May 3, 2024

5/3 WAKE-UP CALL: Police Swarm UCLA, Hundreds Arrested


Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at UCLA in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week. In the pre-dawn hours, helmeted police swarmed a tent city set up at the University of California in Los Angeles, using flash bangs and riot gear to push through lines of protesters who linked arms in a futile attempt to halt their advance. Los Angeles police said on social media that 210 people were arrested at UCLA, and hundreds of arrests were made at other universities overnight and on Thursday. "I'm a student here," one UCLA protester told cameras as he was led away, his hands bound. "Please don't fail us. Don't fail us." Hours later, the student, who would only give his first name as Ryan, was back on campus and vowed he would not stop fighting.

➤PROTESTORS REQUESTED VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE FOOD: UCLA protestors requested vegan, gluten-free food . . . Participants in the ongoing “Palestine Solidarity Encampment” at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have reportedly asked supporters to bring “vegan” and “gluten-free” food, whie warning “no nuts” and “no bananas.” The request list was obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, and includes a variety of other supplies, including objects for use in clashes with counter-demonstrators and police, such as “gas masks,” “shields,” and “skater helmets.”

➤TIME TO CLEAN-UP: Work crews began removing tents, wood and other debris after officers forcibly removed a pro-Palestinian encampment in one of the most violent episodes since college demonstrations began last month. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors were arrested, a California Highway Patrol officer told a local ABC affiliate. How many were affiliated with UCLA couldn’t be determined. At Columbia University, officials closed libraries, dining halls and the student center and asked the NYPD to stay on campus through graduation. Clashes at both schools have drawn national attention as students show solidarity with Gazans. Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel sparked the war in the enclave. Universities have struggled to balance free expression with maintaining order and combating inflammatory and antisemitic rhetoric from some demonstrators.

➤OBAMA STAFFER FEELS 'BETRAYED' BY BIDEN:  Philip Martin, a former Obama-Biden administration staffer, says he feels betrayed by President Joe Biden’s “unconditional support” for Israel as it continues its attack in Gaza, almost seven months after the terrorist group Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostages. Martin, a former director in the U.S. Department of Education, told USA TODAY he’d joined the Obama campaign in 2008 because he was furious that the Bush administration had “hijacked" the country's pain to justify killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.But now, he says Biden is having a similar effect with his Israel foreign policy. "Seeing the Biden administration provide unconditional support to the Israeli war machine that is killing, displacing, starving, and otherwise terrorizing Palestinian civilians makes me just as furious and feels like a betrayal,” he said.

➤COHEN 'DESPONDENT' OVER NOT GETTING JOB WITH TRUMP ADMIN: Michael Cohen was “despondent” when he learned he wasn’t getting a job in the Trump administration, a former lawyer for Stormy Daniels said. Keith Davidson, testifying for a second day in Donald Trump’s New York hush-money trial, said he got a call from the one-time personal attorney for the former president in December 2016. “I thought he was going to kill himself,” Davidson said of Cohen. Trump has previously tried to discredit Cohen, calling him a liar and a bad lawyer. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Daniels. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has denied any wrongdoing. The trial resumes tomorrow.


➤LAWYER TESTIFIES AT TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL: A lawyer who previously represented porn star Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal testified Thursday that he believed their hush money deals may have helped Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election. Keith Davidson, the sixth witness to take the stand in Trump's hush money trial, discussed several texts he exchanged with the tabloid National Enquirer's top editor Dylan Howard about McDougal's and Daniels' stories ahead of the election. American Media Inc.'s former CEO David Pecker already testified that he used the publication to help Trump's campaign. What have we done?" Davidson said in an election night text shown to the jury, reflecting his belief that their "activities may have in some way" helped Trump secure the narrow, surprising win against Hillary Clinton.

➤BIDEN ED SECRFETARY DEFENDS POLICY ALLOWING EN IN GIRLS BATHROOMS: Education secretary defends biological males in girl's bathrooms . . . Education Secretary Miguel Cardona defended his new federal rules requiring schools to let students use the bathroom of their choice, saying he’s defending the rights of transgender students who have been “under attack in our country.” Pressed by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Republican, Mr. Cardona brushed aside concerns that biological girls might feel unsafe and lashed out at opponents of the new bathroom rules as “trying to create division.”

➤TRANS SEX OFFENDER ATTEMPTS KIDNAPPINGS: Trans sex offender tries to kidnap children from school . . . Parents in a Colorado community are outraged after a transgender sex offender allegedly tried to kidnap an elementary schooler during recess after entering the property without a problem. Surveillance shows an individual police believe to be 33-year-old Solomon Galligan entering the playfield at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora on the afternoon of April 22 and approaching the children. Galligan then tried to grab a potential victim, a boy, who ran away. The alleged predator then tripped and fell over a towel before lunging at another child, Aurora Police said in an affidavit.

➤RUSSIANS ENTER AIR BASE IN NIGER: Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel U.S. forces.

The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington's fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

➤ANOTHER BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER DEAD:  Josh Dean, a former quality auditor at a Boeing Co. supplier who raised concerns about the safety of the 737 Max jet, has died. “Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., which makes aircraft parts for Boeing, said in a statement. “This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.” Dean, who was 45, was hospitalized after developing breathing problems just over two weeks ago and had struggled with pneumonia and MRSA, a serious bacterial infection, the Seattle Times reported, citing his aunt Carol Parsons. Dean had given a deposition in a Spirit shareholder lawsuit and also filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” at Spirit, according to the Times report.

GEN Z CONSIDERS LATE 50s AS 'OLD': Gen Z thinks you're old when you are in your late 50s . . . Gen Z has revealed what age they consider to be 'old' — and it puts Salma Hayek, Mike Tyson and Gordan Ramsay among the geriatrics. A total of 2,000 adults took part in the study highlighting some of the clear generational differences, particularly between Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) and Boomers (born 1946 to 1964). Young people under the age of 27 believe old age hits you in your late 50s, with retirement primarily involving sitting in an armchair (20 per cent) and 'pottering' around (16 per cent).



⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Orioles 7 Yankees 2
  • Astros 8 Guardians 2
  • Rangers 6 Nationals 0
  • Giants 3 Red Sox 1
  • Mets 7 Cubs 6
  • Marlins 5 Rockies 4
⚾NBA SCORES:
  • Knicks 118 76ers 115
  • Pacers 120 Bucks 98
🏒NHL SCORES:
  • Maples Leafs 2 Bruins 1
➤FRIDAY'S WEATHER:




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