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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and key figure in the Brexit initiative, blames the Conservative Party for not executing Brexit effectively, as Reform UK aims to convert its polling popularity into actual council seats in today’s elections.
👥 Who’s Involved: Nigel Farage, Reform UK; the Conservative Party, led by Kemi Badenoch; Labour Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer.
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📍 Where & When: United Kingdom, with local elections scheduled for May 1.
⚠️ Impact: The Reform UK party aims to replace the Conservatives as the primary opposition to Labour, influencing local governance. A significant loss could bring about leadership challenges within the Conservative Party and the political landscape across England.
IN FULL:
England goes to the polls today, May 1, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK positioned ahead, potentially positioning itself to secure seats in various councils.
There are 1,641 council seats across 23 local authorities, including 14 county councils, eight unitary authorities, and one metropolitan borough (Doncaster) in play, as well as six mayoral elections, featuring contests in Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, the West of England, Doncaster, and North Tyneside.
Notably, ‘Bad Boy of Brexit’ and long-time Farage ally Arron Banks is up for election as Mayor in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). Early indications showed Banks as an outsider candidate, though more recently, he has been polling in a position to emerge stunningly victorious, perhaps even to his chagrin.
Voters in the parliamentary constituency of Runcorn & Helsby will also go to the polls today, following a special election triggered by the resignation of Labour Member of Parliament Mike Amesbury, who was convicted earlier this year after assaulting a constituent.
Reform UK seeks to expand its appeal to traditional Labour supporters by advocating for policies such as the renationalization of industries perceived to be failing, including Thames Water. The strategic goal is to erode Labour support while positioning the Reform UK party as a replacement to the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, without forming a center-right coalition.
The Conservative Party is now under existential pressure. It faces competition from Reform UK in the North and Midlands and the Liberal Democrats in the Southern regions. Kemi Badenoch’s leadership may face challenges should the party see substantial losses in the council seats it currently defends.
The introduction of five-party dynamics, with the rise of the Greens, could result in closely contested council seats, prompting significant implications for future elections. Reform UK’s performance in the upcoming elections will not only signal shifts in political power but also test whether Farage’s party can deliver on its promises or merely expand on electoral rhetoric.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: During an interview marking his 100th day in office, President Donald J. Trump expressed frustration and criticized ABC News anchor Terry Moran for his questions, particularly regarding an MS-13 tattoo on a deported illegal immigrant, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
👥 Who’s Involved: President Donald Trump and ABC News anchor Terry Moran were the primary figures in the interview.
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📍 Where & When: The interview took place in the Oval Office and was aired on April 29 as an hour-long special by ABC News under the title “President Trump: The First 100 Days: The Interview.”
💬 Key Quote: President Trump stated, “Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and, you know, go on to something else,” during the tattoo debate with Moran.
⚠️ Impact: This interview highlighted ongoing tensions between the media and the Trump administration, underscoring issues of media trust and factual disputes in political reporting.
IN FULL:
President Donald J. Trump slammed ABC News and its senior national correspondent, Terry Moran, arguing the corporate media network was spreading “fake news” regarding tattoos found on the hand of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant alleged to be a member of the violent MS-13 gang who was recently deported to his home country. In a tense exchange, Moran insisted that an image showing the tattoos in question had actually been photoshopped, and photographs of Abrego Garcia in El Salvador did not show “M-S-1-3” tattooed across his knuckles.
An image posted to social media by President Trump had the text added above existing tattoos on the El Salvadoran national’s knuckles to denote what the inked symbols stood for. Abrego Garcia has a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with “x” over the eyes, a cross, and a skull tattooed across his knuckles, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and law enforcement officials contend are code representing M-S-1-3, the gang’s name.
“That was Photoshop? Terry, you can’t do that—he had—hey, they’re giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview. I picked you because—frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s OK,” Trump said, responding to Moran’s assertion that the image of the tattoos had been doctored. The America First leader insisted, “He had MS-13 tattooed,” before Moran cut him off, asking that they move on to another subject.
“Terry. Do you want me to show the picture?” President Trump fired back, with Moran responding: “I saw the picture. We’ll—we’ll—we’ll agree to disagree.” After Trump continued to push back, the ABC News correspondent finally relented, conceding, “Fair enough, he did have tattoos that can be interpreted that way. I’m not an expert on them.”
Unsatisfied, President Trump continued to push Moran to acknowledge that the symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia’s hand stood for MS-13. “Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and, you know, go on to something else,” he told Moran, with the ABC News journalist responding: “It’s contested.”
As the interview progressed, Moran attempted to take several digs at the President, asking him: “I’m gonna ask—if I may, do you think the reputation of the United States has gone down under your presidency?” Exasperated, Trump replied: “I—no, I think it’s gone way up, and I think we’re a respected country again. We were laughed at all over the world. We had a president who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs, couldn’t walk down a flight of stairs, couldn’t walk across a stage without falling. We had a president that was grossly incompetent. You knew it, I knew it, and everybody knew it. But you guys didn’t want to write it because you’re fake news.”
“And, by the way, ABC is one of the worst. I have to be honest with you,” Trump said as the interview concluded.
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A biologically male swimmer identifying as female swept gold in five individual events at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships.
The details: Ana Caldas, who has also competed under the names Hannah and Hugo Caldas, competed in the 45–49 women’s division and won every event he entered.
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- He won by margins as wide as four seconds—which is considered a blowout in elite short-distance swimming.
The rules: The U.S. Masters Swimming competition allows biological men to compete against women as long as they can show proof that they’ve received hormone therapy to reduce their testosterone levels.
Reality check: We know that there is no level of testosterone suppression that can undo the physical biological advantages that a man naturally has in sports — bone density, lung capacity, muscle fiber density, skeletal structure—especially for a man his age.
What Americans think: A poll from earlier this year found that 79 percent of Americans oppose letting biological men compete against women—including 67 percent of Democrats.
The last word goes to comedian Rob Schneider, who wrote on X: “Michael Jordan at 60 years old could suit up today and be the best ‘WOMAN’ in the [WNBA] and maybe THEN the stupid people in the U.S. Masters Swimming National Championship would SEE THEIR OWN INSANITY!”
🚨Breaking🚨
4/25 – A male athlete has taken 1st in the women’s 50 yard breast stroke at the U.S. Masters Spring National Championships.
Earlier today, Ana C. Caldas (formerly Hugo Caldas) took first in the 45-49 masters category of the women’s breast stroke at the U.S. Masters… pic.twitter.com/fO3YwwzUhB
— HeCheated.org (@hecheateddotorg) April 26, 2025
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Image by Oriel Frankie Ashcroft.
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A biologically male swimmer identifying as female swept gold in five individual events at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships. show more
English (US) ·