“The Cuban government says it is open to reviewing a US offer of $100m (£74m) in aid, hours after rare protests over worsening power cuts erupted on the Communist-run island. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Thursday that Cuba was ‘ready to hear the details of the proposal and how it would be implemented’. The shortages have been exacerbated by a US-imposed blockade of oil which has squeezed the country’s supplies of essentials such as diesel and fuel oil. Hospitals have been unable to function normally, and schools and government offices have been forced to close. Tourism, an economic engine for Cuba, has also been impacted.” (05/14/26)
“Bay Area health officials are warning the public of an unusual surge in mushroom poisonings across the region and state, including the latest cases in Napa County. Over the weekend, three adults were hospitalized after eating wild mushrooms they collected in the rural area of Deer Park, the county’s Health and Human Services Agency said in a Tuesday news release. The three people were not Napa County residents and were foraging mushrooms specifically between Deer Park Road, Fawn Road and Silverado Trail. The agency said the poisonings are part of an ‘unprecedented outbreak’ of mushroom-related illnesses and deaths across California. According to the California Department of Public Health, there have been 47 cases, including four deaths, since Nov. 18, 2025. Of these cases, hospitalizations occurred in six Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma.” (05/14/26)
“Taiwan’s elected officials were not given a seat at this week’s summit in Beijing between the American and Chinese leaders. Yet the Taiwanese people – or, rather, their resolve to run a free country by respecting individual sovereignty – were very much there. So much so that China’s overall stated goal for the summit was to gain the United States’ help in breaking Taiwan’s democratic spirit. The specific requests by Chinese leader Xi Jinping are that U.S. President Donald Trump oppose any attempt by Taiwan to officially declare independence and that he end U.S. military sales to the second-freest nation in Asia. Whether Mr. Trump acts on those requests is almost secondary to the fact that Mr. Xi indirectly admits he is failing to break Taiwan’s civic identity of individual freedom and inherent rights.” (05/13/26)
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris recently dropped several not-too-subtle hints that she wants to run for president in 2028. Polls, at least for now, show the leading likely Democrat candidate is California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Many Democrat pundits and insiders say Harris'[s] failed run against Donald Trump renders her damaged goods and therefore insufficiently attractive to the donor class. The Los Angeles Times recently wrote: ‘As Kamala Harris eyes a possible 2028 presidential bid, there is little outward enthusiasm among her biggest 2024 backers to fund a repeat performance’ …. For Harris, this sounds ominous. But there’s a flaw in this reasoning, and it represents a huge threat to Newsom’s plans, as well as those of any of the other names floated as possible candidates.” (05/14/26)
“The munchies are one of marijuana’s most famous effects, with countless movies playing up the trope that smoking weed leads to uncontrollable hunger. But a new study is showing that cannabis could actually have surprising effects on your waistline. Researchers at UC Riverside gave cannabis to obese mice and found that not only did the rodents lose weight, but when given a concentrated cannabis oil, the mice also saw striking benefits in their metabolic function. Nicholas DiPatrizio, a UC Riverside professor and the lead author of the study, said he thinks the work could lead to cannabis-based diet therapies. ‘We can develop molecules that can be cannabis based, isolate them and maybe even do better than nature. We are just at the beginning,’ DiPatrizio told SFGATE.” (05/14/26)
“Guns or butter. Butter or guns. Can we have both? If not, which should come first? Consider it one of those chicken-and-egg conundrums of modern society. ‘Guns’ is the stand-in for a well-funded military and ‘butter’ for all the human goods, comforts, and needs of a society. Economists, politicians, and generals have long considered the balance of guns and butter. Wage too many wars, produce too many arms, and there won’t be enough money to keep a nation decently fed and comfortable. Produce too many consumer goods, meet everyone’s needs, and a nation might find itself ill-prepared and vulnerable in the face of a possible attack or even invasion. Everyone from Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has had something to say about the balance of guns and butter (or, more likely, the lack of it).” (05/14/26)
“A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029. Named Psyche like the asteroid it’s after, the robotic explorer will slingshot past the red planet at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph) on Friday. It will be an especially close flyby, with Psyche passing within 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) of Mars, equivalent to the distance between the U.S. east and west coasts. Then it will barrel toward the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that is home to its enticing target. All of the spacecraft’s science instruments will be on for the Mars pass. NASA’s two Mars rovers along with a small fleet of U.S. and European orbiters will make surface and atmospheric observations at the same time for comparison..” (05/14/26)
Source: In These Times
by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg & Ethan Corey
“The Trump administration has doled out billions of taxpayer dollars to corporations tasked with carrying out its mass deportation agenda. Many of these same companies have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to sitting members of Congress, according to an investigation by The Appeal. Using Federal Election Commission records, The Appeal has compiled information on every member of Congress who received campaign contributions from the top contractors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) either through the company’s Political Action Committee (PAC) or executives during the 2022, 2024 and 2026 election cycles. Over that period, executives at ICE’s biggest contractors donated more than $1.7 million to 168 members of Congress. Palantir CEO Alexander Karp outspent the other executives, donating a total of about $465,000, including nearly $200,000 to Democrats. The Appeal is publishing its findings in a searchable database found below and on a standalone web page.” (05/13/26)
“Two people have been killed and children are among dozens wounded after Russia launched a massive wave of strikes against Ukraine overnight, officials have said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said it was an ‘especially difficult night for Kyiv,’ where rescuers are searching through the rubble of a residential building after a combined missile and drone attack on the capital. At least 40 people have been injured, including two children, the city’s mayor said. Some 31 of those are being treated in hospital. It marks the third day in a row Ukraine has reported deaths, as Moscow ramps up its assault after a three-day ceasefire expired on Monday.” (05/14/26)
“The Philippine Senate President says that a politician wanted by the International Court (ICC) was no longer in the Senate building where he had been taking refuge, fearing his arrest. Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, the former national police chief and top enforcer of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody ‘war on drugs,’ has been under Senate protection and is wanted for crimes against humanity, the same charges Duterte is accused of. ‘The sergeant-at-arms has confirmed that he is no longer in the building,’ Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters on Thursday. The announcement comes a day after gunfire rang out at the Senate, where dela Rosa had been holed up. Confusion and chaos filled the legislature as people inside scrambled for cover on Wednesday, hours after dela Rosa, had appealed to his supporters on social media to mobilise and said law enforcement agents were planning on arresting him.” (05/14/26)
