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Muslim civil rights group CAIR sues Texas over Abbott’s ‘terrorist’ designation

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Muslim civil rights group CAIR sues Texas over Abbott’s ‘terrorist’ designation

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A prominent Muslim advocacy organization is taking Texas to court, arguing that Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to brand it a “foreign terrorist organization” tramples both the U.S. Constitution and state law.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to overturn Abbott’s proclamation issued earlier in the week.

“This attempt to punish the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization simply because Governor Abbott disagrees with its views is not only contrary to the United States Constitution, but finds no support in any Texas law,” the group said in its lawsuit.

Founded in 1994, CAIR operates 25 chapters nationwide, including a small Texas staff of eight employees and two contractors, according to the filing.

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TEXAS GOV ABBOTT DECLARES CAIR, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUPS, PREVENTING LAND PURCHASES

The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters asked a federal judge to strike down the declaration from the governor. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“CAIR-Texas and the Texas Muslim community are standing up for our constitutional rights by directly confronting Greg Abbott’s lawless attack on our civil rights,” CAIR-Texas said in a statement. “We are not and will not be intimidated by smear campaigns launched by Israel First politicians like Mr. Abbott. Mr. Abbott is defaming us and other American Muslims because we are effective advocates for justice here and abroad. We plan to continue exercising our constitutional rights, defending civil rights, and speaking truth to power, whether in defense of free speech, religious freedom and racial equality here in Texas or in defense of human rights abroad.”

Abbott’s order extended the “terrorist” label to the Muslim Brotherhood, even though federal authorities have never classified either group that way.

The governor’s decree also bars CAIR from purchasing land in the Lone Star State under a new statute aimed at curbing purchases tied to “foreign adversaries.”

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation states that CAIR is blocked from purchasing land in the Lone Star State. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)

The group’s filing contends Abbott relied on “inflammatory statements with no basis in fact,” selectively citing remarks by affiliates to paint CAIR as sympathetic to terrorism.

“The lawsuit we have filed today is our first step towards defeating Governor Abbott again so that our nation protects free speech and due process for all Americans,” CAIR Litigation Director and General Counsel Lena Masri said in a statement. “No civil rights organizations are safe if a governor can baselessly and unilaterally declare any of them terrorist groups, ban them from buying land, and threaten them with closure. We have beaten Greg Abbott’s attacks on the First Amendment before, and God willing, we will do it again now.”

The Muslim Legal Fund of America also said it is “proud to defend the constitutional rights of CAIR-Texas and the right of all Texans to engage in free speech and uphold civil rights without facing lawless and defamatory attacks by Greg Abbott.”

“Mr. Abbott’s unconstitutional proclamation undermines the very foundational notions of due process that our system depends upon and it must not stand,” said Muslim Legal Fund of America attorney Charlie Swift. “For the sake of our nation’s basic freedoms, Greg Abbott’s latest attack on the American people must be defeated.”

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ANTI-ISLAM PROTESTERS, MUSLIMS CLASH IN DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, AFTER MAN ATTEMPTS TO BURN QURAN

CAIR accused the governor of relying on “inflammatory statements that have no basis in fact.” (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Texas Republicans sought to stop a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas.

Abbott and other Republican state officials opened investigations into the development linked to the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), claiming the group is attempting to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would implement Islamic law.

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EPIC City representatives called the attacks alleging Islamic law misleading, dangerous and without basis.

The U.S. Justice Department closed a federal civil rights investigation into the planned community without bringing any charges or lawsuits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Man found shot to death in car in Boyle Heights: LAPD

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Man found shot to death in car in Boyle Heights: LAPD

Authorities are investigating a shooting that left a man dead in a car in Boyle Heights on Sunday night. 

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a “multiple shots fired” call came out at 9:45 p.m. near 4th and Mott streets. 

“When officers arrived, they found a vehicle stopped in lanes,” an LAPD spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “Upon further investigation, they found a man … suffering from a gunshot wound.” 

A man was found shot to death in a car in Boyle Heights, the LAPD said. May 2026. (KTLA)

The victim, who was only listed as a Hispanic man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene by L.A. Fire Department paramedics, the LAPD spokesperson said. 

There was no information on a suspect right away. Video from the scene showed investigators centering their probe around an SUV, with the area blocked off and a white tent erected.

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Nancy Fontan and KTLA photojournalist Dan Lunsford contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective dies after lengthy illness

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Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective dies after lengthy illness

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Robert Bolanos has died after a “lengthy illness,” the sheriff’s department announced Sunday.

Detective Bolanos joined LASD in 2000, working in the North County Correctional Facility and the Men’s Central Jail. He completed his patrol training at the Century Sheriff’s Station, where he later became a school resource officer. 

LASD Detective Robert Bolanos has died after a lengthy illness. (LASD)

He ended his career as an LASD detective working out of the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones, friends, and partners in tan and green during this difficult time,” the sheriff’s department said.

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Los Angeles, Ca

A strong El Niño is coming to California. You may notice something different at the beach

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A strong El Niño is coming to California. You may notice something different at the beach

El Niño is known for bringing soaking storms to California, especially the state’s southern half. A lesser-known side effect of the climate phenomenon? The Pacific Ocean’s famously frigid waters may be a little more welcoming.

El Niño tends to be associated with warmer-than-average ocean temperatures all along the West Coast, NOAA research scientist Dillon Amaya told KTLA’s parent company, Nexstar.

Just how warm are we talking? There’s a range of outcomes, Amaya explained. If you look at the two strongest El Niño events on record – the one from 1997-1998 and the one from 2015-2016 – the water at Scripps Beach in La Jolla got as warm as 74 or 76 degrees in late summer. That’s compared to around 68 degrees in an average year.

This year’s El Niño could be one for the record books, as well. The latest forecast showed an increased chance of a “super” (or very strong) El Niño.

“Much of the U.S. West Coast is currently experiencing a strong marine heatwave,” Amaya pointed out. “Add in El Niño and long-term warming from climate change, and we could be looking at record-breaking ocean temperatures this year.”

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To get a better sense of what we might be in for, take a look at the chart below of sea surface temperatures from Scripps Beach.

A chart shows sea surface temperatures during an average year (black), two historically strong El Niños (orange and purple), as well as during all El Niño years (range shaded in gray). The red columns highlight the range during El Niño winters. (Courtesy Dillon Amaya / NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory)

The black line shows the average water temperature when you look at every year since 1950. The orange and purple lines show the water temperatures during our strongest El Niño events.

“These ‘Super El Niños’ kept ocean temperatures much warmer than average for almost the entire year,” Amaya said.

Now focus your attention on the columns of the chart shaded in red. Those are the winter months when an El Niño was present. While it’s more likely you’re brave enough to get in the water in the summer months, the effects of El Niño are more pronounced in winter and spring, Amaya said.

You can see the range of all El Niño water temperatures in that band of gray, from as low as 54 degrees to as high as 64 degrees in winter. But there’s a lot more gray above the black line than below it, Amaya pointed out, showing more often than not the water is warmer-than-average during an El Niño winter.

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In addition to bringing the heat, El Niño tends to have other impacts on West Coast beaches, as well. It can create higher tides and stronger swells, pounding California’s beaches and contributing to erosion along the coast.

Not to mention the other problems associated with warming oceans. “The last time we had a very intense and sustained marine heatwave, we saw mass seabird die-offs, whale entanglements, kelp forest degradation, harmful algal blooms which poisoned shellfish (and surfers!), sea lion starvation and northward fish migration,” Amaya said. “These impacts could resurface if El Niño prolongs or even intensifies the ongoing marine heatwave.”

Warmer waters can also make storms more intense, and in rarer cases bring tropical cyclones to the California coast.

It’s too soon to tell how El Niño will play out this year. It’s favored to begin soon, at some point between now and July.

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