“Activists sailing on dozens of boats attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid say Israeli [pirates] intercepted them overnight Wednesday into Thursday, [abducting] the crews while the flotilla was sailing hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Gaza near the southern Greek island of Crete. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail earlier this month from Barcelona. Organizers have said more than 70 boats and 1,000 people from around the world would be participating, with more vessels joining the original boats as the flotilla sailed east across the Mediterranean.” (04/30/26)
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday further weakened the Voting Rights Act, ruling that a congressional map in Louisiana was a racial gerrymander even though it was drawn to comply with the landmark law aimed at protecting minority voters. The justices, split 6-3 with the court’s conservatives in the majority, told states they can almost never consider race when drawing maps to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to protect minority voters who long faced discrimination in elections. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said that while there may be extreme situations where the use of race can be justified to draw a map, it was not in the Louisiana case. As a result, the new map was an ‘unconstitutional racial gerrymander,’ he added.” (04/29/26)
“The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting but signaled it could still cut rates in the coming months, moves that attracted the most dissents since October 1992. The Fed on Wednesday kept its short-term rate at 3.6% and retained language in its statement suggesting the next move would be a rate reduction. Three officials dissented in favor of removing the reference to a future cut, while a fourth, Stephen Miran, dissented in favor of an immediate rate cut.” (04/29/26)
“The United States'[s] war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military’s price tag for the conflict. … Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions. Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict. … it is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the $25 billion amount given that a source had told Reuters last month that President Donald Trump’s administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost the United States at least $11.3 billion.” (04/29/26)
“Former FBI director James Comey made his first court appearance on Wednesday in a criminal case against him that legal experts say presents significant hurdles for the prosecution and will likely be a challenge for the U.S. Justice Department to win. Comey was indicted in North Carolina on Tuesday on charges of making threats against U.S. President Donald Trump related to a photograph he posted on social media last year of seashells arranged in the numbers ’86 47.’ The Justice Department contends those numbers amounted to a threat against Trump, the 47th president.” (04/29/26)
“The House on Wednesday approved the renewal of the nation’s warrantless spy powers in a 235-191 vote that cleared the chamber with support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The bill, which would renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), still has to clear the Senate, another challenging hurdle before the powers expire on April 30. Section 702 of FISA allows the government to spy on foreigners located abroad, but it has long generated calls to include a warrant requirement before reviewing any information collected on Americans who communicate with overseas targets.” (04/29/26)
“Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify next month in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Republicans on the panel announced Wednesday, shortly after Democrats moved to hold her in contempt following her failure to appear for a previously scheduled deposition. Republican lawmakers on the panel said Bondi will give testimony on May 29, calling Democrats’ filing of a civil contempt resolution ‘theater and completely unnecessary.’ … Bondi has faced widespread criticism and controversy over the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files under her leadership. The department was required to release all its files related to the disgraced financier by Dec. 19 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress in November and signed into law by Trump soon afterward. But the DOJ failed to meet that deadline, prompting outcry from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and survivors of Epstein’s abuse.” (04/29/26)
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving to speed drug development and review by launching real-time clinical trials. The move could soon mean more options for patients who need life-saving medications. The agency announced Tuesday that it has completed the first tests of a system that allows FDA scientists to see safety and effectiveness data from patients as it is collected. This shift aims to turn the traditional, stop-and-go process of drug testing and reporting into a continuous stream of live data.” (04/29/26)
“This has scientists quaking in their boots. Researchers have found that one of the US’s most dangerous fault lines is overdue for an earthquake, potentially threatening millions of people across California, per an alarming study in the journal Seismological Research Letters. This terrifying tremor could ’cause extensive damage to such a dense population zone,’ wrote the team from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), in a statement. Part of the massive San Andreas Fault Line, the Hayward Fault Line extends 74 miles through major Bay Area hubs, including Berkeley, Oakland and Fremont, an area that’s collectively home to around 8 million people. This fault is of particular concern as it regularly generates magnitude 7 Earthquakes — more powerful than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake that killed 63 people and injured 3,757 in the Bay Area.” (04/29/26)
“The U.K. on Wednesday expelled a Russian diplomat in retaliation for Moscow’s recent expulsion of a British official and the smear campaign that followed. Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it summoned the Russian ambassador to its offices in London to inform him of the ‘reciprocal action.’ The tit-for tat moves reflect spiraling tensions between Moscow and the West. … Russia and NATO member states have carried out multiple rounds of mutual expulsions of diplomats since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sending diplomatic relations to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.” (04/29/26)
