“The wife of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said she is ‘really angry’ about reports that she had previously told her husband’s campaign he had exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women. ‘It makes me really angry, disappointed,’ Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, said in a direct-to-camera video released by Platner’s campaign on Saturday night. ‘And I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.’ Gertner’s remarks came after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner had told Platner’s campaign about the sexually explicit texts last year, near the start of his Senate bid.” (05/31/26)
“The death toll from a chemical tank rupture in the U.S. state of Washington climbed to 11 as crews recovered the bodies of all nine missing people, authorities said on Saturday. Two fatalities had been confirmed after the tank containing ‘white liquor’ — a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in making paper pulp — imploded at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility on Tuesday. … The ruptured tank contained about 3.4 million litres of white liquor, and tests confirmed that contamination entered the nearby Columbia River, officials have said, although no ‘negative health impacts’ had been detected on air quality or the city of Longview’s drinking water.” (05/31/26)
“A new, secretly filmed documentary profiling one of the most prominent names in the UFO disclosure movement has crash-landed at the height of the federal government’s release of unclassified documents pertaining to otherworldly encounters. ‘Sleeping Dog,’ directed by Michael Lazovsky, follows prominent investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell throughout his decades-long efforts regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) transparency. Corbell has served as a key figure in the disclosure movement by platforming UAP whistleblowers and facilitating Congressional hearings to bring attention to the topic, with the documentary focusing primarily on his efforts to implore federal officials to release classified information regarding UFOs to the American public. … The documentary — which was filmed in secret over the span of several years — also reveals previously unreleased footage from Corbell’s investigations and includes interviews from several prominent names in the movement, including astronaut Edgar Mitchell, David Grusch and George Knapp.” (05/31/26)
“A federal judge is demanding answers to allegations that President Donald Trump defrauded her court by filing a lawsuit against the IRS as a pretext to reach a settlement that resulted in a $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund to make payouts to his political allies. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams launched the inquiry Friday, after closing the lawsuit on her docket last week. The Miami-based Obama appointee cited a request by 35 former federal judges who urged her to reopen the case to determine whether Trump’s effort amounted to ‘serious misconduct’ and an abuse of the court system.” (05/30/26)
“The mayor of Newark imposed a curfew early Sunday around an immigration [concentration camp] in New Jersey after a series of intense clashes between protestors and [gang members]. The curfew around Delaney Hall will be in place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. until further notice, Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement. The move came after another night of standoffs between [gang members] and demonstrators at the facility, as protestors could be seen in photographs and videos fighting over barricades as [gang members] used riot shields to push them back. A video posted on social media showed [gang members] on horseback marching into crowds attempting to break up groups of protestors. The demonstrations at Delaney Hall began earlier this month after advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, the latest hotbed of opposition over the federal government’s immigration crackdown.” (05/31/26)
“A meteor exploded over New England Saturday afternoon, creating a daytime fireball and a massive ‘double boom’ that shook local homes. The American Meteor Society reported the space rock puncture the atmosphere around 2:30 p.m. before disintegrating over the ocean near eastern Massachusetts. … Several people filed reports with the US Geological Survey registered the shaking with the National Earthquake Information Center, according to an agency spokesperson. … The phenomenon was observed from Delaware to Montreal.” (05/30/26)
“President Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center, according to an order signed Friday by a D.C. district judge. The ruling is a hit to the president’s effort to renovate the performing arts venue, which was scheduled to close later this year so work could begin. Friday’s order also halted the closure. ‘The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,’ U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a 94-page ruling.” (05/29/26)
“A total of 219 people have been injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League final against Arsenal. Eight were in a serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. Thousands of officers were deployed to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in the capital, Paris. Fifty-seven of them were injured. Nuñez said 780 people had been arrested over the violence — with more than 450 in custody. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block overnight. Some 6,000 police have been mobilised for Sunday’s victory parade at the site of the Eiffel Tower.” (05/31/26)
“For months, Better Call Behnken has investigated criminals using Bitcoin ATMs to trick elderly Floridians out of money. Now, new state legislation aimed at protecting consumers has been passed, and one of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators in North America has filed for bankruptcy. Florida lawmakers recently approved a bill designed to curb fraud involving cryptocurrency kiosks. The law is expected to take effect in January and would limit deposits for new users to $2,000 per day, with higher thresholds of $10,000 per day for existing customers. Lawmakers say the goal is to slow the rapid movement of cash in fraudulent schemes. Now, Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it plans to wind down its network of more than 9,000 machines.” 905/29/26)
“A retired pastor who was convicted and fined for preaching a gospel sermon near a hospital in [the British-occupied part of] Ireland is appealing his conviction. On May 7, a judge found Clive Johnston, 78, breached Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act when he preached a sermon on John 3:16 near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital in July 2024. The buffer zone law prohibits ‘influencing,’ ‘preventing or impeding access,’ or ‘causing harassment, alarm or distress’ to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of facilities where abortions are performed. Johnston announced Wednesday he filed an appeal challenging his conviction. He warned that convicting a person for publicly preaching a well-known Bible passage sets a troubling precedent for religious liberty and free speech.” (05/31/26)
