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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) passed away at the age of 75 after battling esophageal cancer.
👥 Who’s Involved: Rep. Gerry Connolly, his family, and colleagues in Congress.
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📍 Where & When: Connolly died at his home in Virginia on Wednesday morning, May 21, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “His absence will leave a hole in our hearts, but we are proud that his life’s work will endure for future generations,” Connolly’s family said in a statement.
⚠️ Impact: Connolly’s death marks the loss of a long-serving Democrat who represented Virginia’s 11th district since 2009 and served as the Democratic ranking member on the House Oversight Committee until stepping down in April. His death also tilts the math for the passage of legislation in the House slightly more in favor of the slim Republican majority.
IN FULL:
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) passed away at his home on Wednesday morning at the age of 75, his family confirmed in a statement. The Democratic representative had been battling esophageal cancer, a diagnosis he revealed shortly after the 2024 election.
Connolly’s family announced his death with a message shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account, stating, “His absence will leave a hole in our hearts, but we are proud that his life’s work will endure for future generations.”
The Democrat lawmaker had served Virginia’s 11th congressional district since 2009. A staunch ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Connolly defeated the progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for the ranking member position on the influential House Oversight Committee at the start of the current Congress in January. However, in April, he stepped down from the role after revealing that his cancer had returned.
In a letter to constituents earlier this year, Connolly reflected on his decades of public service, writing, “With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we accomplished together over 30 years.” He also confirmed that this term would be his last in Congress.
Rep. Connolly was a noted foe of President Donald J. Trump and one of the more vocally partisan Democrats in the House of Representatives. During former President Joe Biden’s lawfare campaign against Trump, the Virginia Congressman pushed a proposal to rename a federal prison after Trump—a subtle reference to Democratic Party efforts to see the America First leader imprisoned.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Two separate stabbings in Germany left eight people injured, including an 11-year-old girl. Migrants are believed to be the perpetrators.
👥 Who’s Involved: A 35-year-old Syrian asylum seeker is suspected in a Bielefeld attack, while a 46-year-old from Kosovo has been arrested in a Halle incident.
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📍 Where & When: The first attack occurred the morning of May 18 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, and the second on the same day outside an apartment block in Halle, central Germany.
💬 Key Quote: “It’s high time for a clear turnaround: properly protect borders, consistently deport illegal immigrants, and finally make the security of its own population a priority again. Germany is on a knife-edge. Therefore: remigration now!” — Marc Bernhard, Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP.
⚠️ Impact: The incidents highlight ongoing concerns over security and migration policy in the European Union (EU), with countries like Germany facing increasing violence linked to migrants.
IN FULL:
Two separate stabbing attacks in Germany over the weekend left eight people injured, including an 11-year-old girl, with migrants reportedly identified as the suspects in both incidents.
In the first attack, five soccer fans, aged between 22 and 27, were injured outside a bar in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, on the morning of May 18. The assailant, armed with a knife and a cane sword, reportedly attacked the group indiscriminately. Four of the victims sustained serious injuries but managed to fight back, forcing the attacker to flee.
Police later discovered a bag left behind by the suspect containing multiple knives, a liquid smelling of gasoline, and identification documents indicating Syrian nationality. The 35-year-old suspect, who entered Europe via Turkey in 2023 and applied for asylum in Germany, was arrested Monday in Heiligenhaus near Düsseldorf. Authorities are investigating the case as a potential terror attack.
In a separate incident on May 18 in Halle, central Germany, three people, including an 11-year-old girl, were injured in a stabbing outside an apartment block. Witnesses reported that the violence stemmed from a dispute over children making noise. A 46-year-old migrant from Kosovo has been arrested in connection with the attack.
Responding to the incidents, Marc Bernhard, a member of Germany’s Bundestag (federal legislature) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, criticized the government’s handling of mass migration, stating, “Even after 10 years of bloodshed, people are still talking about ‘isolated cases.’”
He added, “It’s high time for a clear turnaround: properly protect borders, consistently deport illegal immigrants, and finally make the security of [Germany’s] own population a priority again. Germany is on a knife-edge. Therefore: remigration now!”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the notionally center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), formerly led by Angela Merkel, had previously pledged to implement stricter immigration controls, including shutting down illegal border crossings. However, he has faced resistance from neighboring countries like Poland and has yet to deliver on promises of increased deportations.
The two attacks are part of a broader pattern of violent incidents involving migrants in Germany, with similar cases reported in cities such as Magdeburg, Munich, and Solingen in recent years.
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