“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party. As the final results came in Saturday, Labour had lost 1,000 local council seats across England and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform U.K. won almost 1,300 seats across England, came second in Wales and made significant gains in Scotland. It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.” (05/09/26)
“The Solar Impulse 2, a long-range experimental aircraft, crashed in the Gulf of Mexico when it lost power during an unmanned test flight on May 4, a report from the National Transportation Safety Board said. There were no fatalities or injuries. Developed by entrepreneur André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, a descendant of famous European explorers who pioneered scientific advancements both in the air and under the sea, the sun-powered plane has undertaken several successful test flights since it was developed in 2015. The solar-powered aircraft circumnavigated the world in 2015 and 2016.” (05/08/26)
“The Pentagon on Friday released a first batch of secret files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects – some dating back to the 1940s – fanning speculation over whether extraterrestrial life exists. Reports of flying saucers and discs, and a sighting of an orb that resembled the ‘Eye of Sauron’ are among the incidents in the files, which are from the FBI, State Department and NASA in addition to the Pentagon. Interest in UFOs has been renewed in recent years as the US government investigated numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft, amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies.” (05/08/26)
“U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged strikes on land and at sea Thursday as President Donald Trump pursues a comprehensive deal to end the war. Central Command said U.S. forces were responding with ‘self-defense strikes’ in the country after Iranian forces launched missiles, drones and small boats at three Navy destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz …. Trump confirmed the attacks in a social media post, describing Iranian drones as getting ‘incinerated while in the air’ before being ‘dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave.’ He told ABC News that the U.S. strikes were a ‘love tap’ and that the ceasefire remains in effect. … Iran said the U.S. strikes amounted to a violation of the ceasefire, and said the U.S. targeted an Iranian oil tanker travelling through the strait, according to an Iranian statement carried by state media.” (05/07/26)
“The US trade court on Thursday ruled against Donald Trump’s latest 10% global tariffs, finding across-the-board tariffs were not justified under a 1970s trade law. The US court of international trade ruled in favor of small businesses that challenged the tariffs, which took effect on 24 February. The ruling was 2-1, with one judge saying it was premature to grant victory to the small business plaintiffs. The small businesses had argued the new tariffs were an attempt to sidestep a landmark US supreme court decision that struck down the Republican president’s 2025 tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” (05/07/26)
“Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of violating a unilateral two-day ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin to cover the anniversary celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. … With no victory yet in sight for either side in a gruelling war of attrition, Putin announced a May 8-9 ceasefire to cover the celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany – Russia’s most revered national holiday. Kyiv responded that a ceasefire just for the holiday was inappropriate and called instead for an indefinite truce to begin two days earlier, which Moscow ignored. The Russian Defence Ministry said 264 Ukrainian drones had been downed in the early hours of Friday …. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces continued to strike Ukrainian positions during the night on Friday, which he said showed Russia has not made ‘even a token attempt to cease fire on the front.'” (05/08/26)
“Bitcoin has pulled back from a midweek high above $81,000 amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, but it remains higher on the week alongside mostly resilient global risk assets. … Ether dropped 2% to $2,278, dogecoin slid 3.8% to $0.1063, XRP fell 1.7% to $1.38, and BNB shed 0.7% to $638. Solana and TRON held in green territory at $88.14 and $0.3474 respectively. Dogecoin is the only major coin in the red on the seven-day tape.” (05/08/26)
“Four months after masked federal agents [murdered] Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis, New York leaders announced a plan to implement some of the strictest rules for immigration officials of any state in the country. The package, which was included in the state budget deal announced on Thursday, prohibits state and local officials from entering into formal or informal cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and forbids law enforcement agents from wearing masks. The rules also prohibit ICE from using local jails to house [abductees] and from searching New Yorkers’ homes, hospitals, churches and schools without a warrant signed by a judge. … Days before the measures were finalized, Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, threatened to respond with force if they were approved.” (05/07/26)
“The latest long-range European forecast shows there’s a 100% chance of a super El Niño, potentially suppressing hurricane activity and making for a wetter fall and winter in the southern U.S. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) issued their May long-range forecast model, which ups the chances of the strongest El Niño ever hitting by November. … Typically, a strong El Niño like this one would mean suppressed hurricane activity in the Atlantic, and increased activity in the Eastern Pacific. However, the ECMWF isn’t yet showing a strong decrease in hurricane forecast numbers for the season, making it possible that the strongest El Niño effects may not be felt until later into the season.” (05/07/26)
“Thirty former Ohio State University football players, including more than a dozen who went on to play in the NFL, signed on to the class action lawsuit brought by other ex-OSU students who say they were sexually abused decades ago by campus doctor Richard Strauss. … NBC News has reached out to OSU for comment about the 30 men joining the lawsuit but didn’t immediately receive a response. The university and its former president have previously publicly apologized ‘to each person who endured’ abuse at the hands of Strauss. Ohio State has been battling Strauss-related lawsuits in the Southern District of Ohio since 2018.” (05/07/26)
