“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)
“The first baby boomer on the Supreme Court hit a milestone on Thursday, becoming the second-longest serving justice in history at a time when his influence has never seemed greater. Once an outlier on the nation’s highest court, Justice Clarence Thomas has become a towering figure in the conservative legal movement over the last decade as he helped secure landmark rulings on abortion, voting and Second Amendment rights. The only justice with a longer tenure is liberal William O. Douglas. Thomas would overtake Douglas in 2028 if he remains on the court, and there is no sign he plans to retire anytime soon.” (05/07/26)
“An outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship is not the start of a pandemic, the UN health agency has said. Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), told a news briefing that it was not the same situation as six years ago with Covid-19, because hantavirus spreads through ‘close, intimate contact’. Health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius. On Thursday, the WHO said that overall, five of eight suspected cases of hantavirus had been confirmed. Three people have died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had the virus. Her Dutch husband and a German woman also died, and their cases are being investigated. Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents – but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.” (05/07/26)
“In a recent release of economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims have shown a modest increase, signaling potential shifts in the labor market. The actual number of initial jobless claims filed was 200,000, according to the latest figures. This number is slightly above the forecasted figure of 205,000, indicating a tighter-than-expected labor market scenario. The initial jobless claims measure the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week.” (05/07/26)
“A man accused of a firebomb attack that killed one person and injured a dozen others while they were demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges. Mohamed Sabry Soliman entered the pleas Thursday in Boulder County District Court. He now faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the attack in downtown Boulder last June 1. Soliman’s attorneys revealed he would plead guilty in a Sunday court filing in a related federal case. Soliman has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges. Prosecutors are weighing whether to seek the death penalty in the federal case, according to his attorneys.” (05/07/26)
“Two former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, have been sentenced to death with reprieve on corruption charges, according to Xinhua. A military court found Wei guilty of accepting bribery, while Li was deemed guilty of both accepting and offering bribes, according to a two-paragraph statement released late on Thursday afternoon by Xinhua.” ()5/07/26)
