“The United Arab Emirates carried out military strikes on Iran, making it the only other country to join the United States and Israel in their war against the Islamic Republic, according to a Monday report. The strikes, which the UAE has not publicly acknowledged, included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The attack took place in early April, according to the report, which said it was around the time US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire, but did not specify if it was before or after the declaration. Iran acknowledged at the time that the site had been attacked by an unspecified enemy, then responded by firing missiles and drones at the UAE and Kuwait, the Journal noted.” (05/12/26)
“President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News Monday morning that he aims to suspend the federal gas tax ‘for a period of time.’ … Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA. … suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress, and pausing it would cost [sic] the federal government about a half billion dollars a week. Following the president’s comments, Reublican Sen. Josh Hawley said Monday that he would introduce legislation to suspend the federal gas tax. And GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also said she plans to introduce a bill in the House …” [editor’s note: Not stealing that money doesn’t “cost” the goverment anything, any more than not mugging someone “costs” the mugger the contents of the prospective victim’s wallet – TLK] (05/11/26)
“Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine have named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major graft investigation. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced late Monday that Andriy Yermak is suspected in an alleged 460-million-hryvnia ($10.5 million) money-laundering scheme. Investigators said in an announcement on the Telegram messaging app that the investigation is ongoing. The move is a step short of formally charging Yermak, who resigned in November.” (05/12/26)
“The Supreme Court on Monday maintained full access to the abortion pill mifepristone while it continues to mull how to rule in a case that could limit availability of the drug. The court on May 4, via an order issued by Justice Samuel Alito, had provisionally blocked a lower court decision that would have prevented the pill from being administered by mail. Alito on Monday extended the pause until 5 p.m. on Thursday, giving the court another three days to consider its next steps.” (05/11/26)
“The EU has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the Kremlin-friendly former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could serve as a European mediator in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, the Russian leader put forward Schröder – a longtime ally – as a possible figure to help restart talks with Europe, saying he would ‘personally’ favour the former German leader for the role. Schröder, 82, previously held senior positions in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil company Rosneft. … There is little prospect of Schröder emerging as Europe’s representative with the Kremlin. His record of defending Moscow has repeatedly put him at odds with mainstream European opinion.” (05/11/26)
“The International Criminal Court unsealed Monday an arrest warrant for a prominent Philippine senator linked to the deadly ‘war on drugs’ overseen by ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, which allegedly involved the extrajudicial killings of suspects. The warrant, originally issued confidentially in November, charges Ronald Marapon dela Rosa, a former Philippine national police chief and a Duterte ally, with the crime against humanity of murder of ‘no less than 32 persons’ allegedly committed between July 2016 and the end of April 2018. Duterte, dela Rosa and other police officials have denied authorizing the killings of drug suspects, who, they said, were shot dead after allegedly threatening law enforcers. Duterte openly and repeatedly threatened drug suspects with death while in office.” (05/11/26)
“Online fast-fashion platform Shein accused Temu of copyright infringement ‘on an industrial scale,’ while Temu countered that Shein is using litigation to stifle competition, as a trial opened at London’s High Court on Monday. The case is part of a global legal battle between the fast-growing rivals, with potential implications for platform practices, supplier relationships and the enforcement of intellectual property rights across global e-commerce. Shein alleges Temu used thousands of its photos to advertise copies of Shein’s own-brand clothing on its website, to ‘piggy-back’ on a more established competitor. … Temu – owned by PDD Holdings – has counter-claimed, seeking damages after it had to remove thousands of product listings when Shein obtained an injunction.” (05/11/26)
“Catherine West, the Labour MP who announced a challenge to Keir Starmer’s leadership, has changed course to say she instead wants the prime minister to set a timetable of September for his departure. West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet and a former Foreign Office minister, announced on Saturday that she would seek to gather the 81 Labour MPs’ names needed to formally challenge Starmer, saying this was just a device to tempt others to stand and that she did not wish to take over. In a statement released after Starmer’s speech on Monday morning in which he said he would fight on despite terrible results for Labour in elections last week, West called for an orderly process for Starmer to depart.” (05/11/26)
“The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 16 officials accused of helping Russia to abduct tens of thousands of children from Ukraine and force many to change their identities or be put up for adoption. Sanctions were also slapped on seven centers suspected of indoctrinating the children or training them to serve in the armed forces, either for Russia or pro-Russian militias inside Ukraine. Over 130 people and ‘entities’ are now under EU sanctions over the abductions.” (05/11/26)
“Following its settlement with the FTC earlier this year over its sale of drivers’ data to brokers, General Motors has now also reached a settlement in California. The company agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties to settle the lawsuit led by Attorney General Rob Bonta on behalf of the people of California, and is banned from selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies for five years. The lawsuits came after a 2024 New York Times report revealed that GM collected consumers’ driving data through its OnStar program and sold this information to data brokers Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which in turn could market the data to auto insurers.” [editor’s note: The article doesn’t mention any restitution to the drivers; it’s just a “nice store ya got here, be a shame if it burned down” payment – TLK] (05/11/26)
