ICYMI — A CNN montage of the Trump regime saying gas prices are about to drop. Spoiler: 3 months later they still have not. (From @atrupar.com )

New Chinese frigate joins carrier strike group training in western Pacific for first time

Who knew it was still even possible to stand out for vulgarity in America?

Norway will open talks with France on joining its nuclear umbrella, French President Emmanuel Macron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said, reflecting growing European concerns about relying on the United States for security.

South Africa’s automotive trade deficit with China reached $3.5 billion in 2025, twice the size it was four years earlier. www.semafor.com/article/05/2...

The Pentagon is reportedly planning to dramatically downsize the pool of military assets and capabilities the U.S. would make available to NATO in a conflict, part of a larger push for other alliance members to take a bigger role in defending Europe. (from @chadgarland.bsky.social)

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix became the latest industry titan to top $1 trillion in market capitalization. www.semafor.com/article/05/2...

Even if U.S. officials reach a deal with Iran that reopens the Strait of Hormuz, reestablishing normal ship traffic will take time—and energy markets won’t necessarily be quick to respond, @willgottsegen.com argues in The Atlantic Daily.

Canada will buy Saab’s GlobalEye early-warning aircraft instead of Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, marking a shift away from U.S. defense suppliers. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the deal supports Canadian “strategic autonomy,” jobs, and closer defense ties with Europe

The U.K. and Poland signed a defense deal today, adding to a growing list of bilateral European security pacts prompted by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Canada has reached an agreement to export liquefied natural gas to Germany from a planned Pacific coast terminal, an official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

This is Ken Paxton's mugshot. He was indicted on 3 felony counts for investment fraud. He was reported to the FBI by his own staff for bribery. He was impeached by his own party for corruption. Now he’s the Republican nominee for US Senate in Texas. Together we will stop him.

The share of #US consumer spending by income percentile. The nation has never seen higher inequality than today

Donald Trump’s attempts to end the Iran war show that he never possessed the skill he built his brand upon, @dgraham.bsky.social argues.

The missions will deliver payloads to the lunar surface and test equipment from Blue Origin and Astrolab.

Japan set to start trade talks with Mercosur, Nikkei reports reut.rs/4vgMYAq

Breaking News: Canada struck a landmark deal to export liquefied natural gas to Germany, according to two senior officials.

Piper Sandler says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed for months and oil to hit new highs

A new report finds that U.S. employers spend more than $1.5 billion a year to fight labor unions, hiring union-avoidance consultants and lawyers to prevent workers “from organizing and bargaining for better pay and working conditions.”

BREAKING: Netherlands blocks US takeover of vital digital supplier. NL investment screening authority sees the purchase as posing "a possible risk to the public interest." NL govt now adopts the advice, just before EU Commission comes with Tech Sovereignty Package. www.politico.eu/article/neth...

May be of interest to: @covertshores.bsky.social @mtanderson.bsky.social @vesselspotter.eurosky.social @kerstin10785berlin.bsky.social @nexusosint.bsky.social @rfnosblog.bsky.social

Three American companies qualified for Phase II of the Pentagon's biggest drone buying program. The goal: 300,000 drones for U.S. forces by 2027. defence-blog.com/u-s-trio-adv...

Washington told allies it will gradually scale down the number of strategic bombers, fighter jets, drones, submarines and warships dedicated to NATO as it continues pressing Europe to do more for its own defense.

American farmers are taking out more debt—and some are struggling to keep up with repayments—as they contend with higher costs tied to the Iran war.

🚨Russia is preparing to close airspace over central regions to civilian aviation. militarnyi.com/en/news/russ...

Ground beef prices are up 20%, in part due to Trump’s tariffs and war on Iran. But there’s another reason your Memorial Day barbecue keeps getting more expensive: just 4 firms control 85% of the beef market. Minimal competition means maximized price gouging.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom): “Ukraine can no longer be part of any gray zone. Our experience shows that if you agree to become a buffer zone, you should wait for war. It is already moving toward you — first hidden, then openly."

Despite comments from President Donald Trump over the weekend, Iran says an end to the war with the U.S. is not imminent. san.com/cc/iran-us-s...

60 Minutes confirms Iran is bypassing the US blockade and exporting 100,000 more barrels of oil per day than before the war. Most of it is reportedly going to China.

There is little likelihood of China reducing its support for Russia’s war machine. Chinese firms are earning handsome profits while Russia provides cheap oil and gas in return

"How much Iran will get away with, and how much humiliation the United States will endure, has yet to be ironed out by the negotiators, but the war is now almost certain to end with Tehran’s theocrats firmly in power," @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues:

Remember when it mattered if presidents lied? With Trump and his regime, the lie is routine. And this from people who babble about honor, family values and bible morals. CNN fact-checked some of the lies from just the past five days. www.cnn.com/2026/05/23/p...

The massive attack on the night of May 24 caused the most extensive damage to cultural institutions and historical monuments in Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine militarnyi.com/en/news/stri...

US Republican leaders abruptly cancel House vote on Iran war powers, shielding Trump from rebuke Republicans cowardly pulled a scheduled vote on a War Powers Resolution—legislation that would have passed with bipartisan support and required the President to end the conflict in the Middle East

One in four cars sold in 2025 was electric. The International Energy Agency (IEA) just published its latest annual Global EV Outlook. It provides estimates for electric vehicle sales in 2025. One in four (25%) cars sold in 2025 were electric, more than double the share from just four years earlier

Liberal democracies around the world need to think long and hard about a future in which America plays no meaningful leadership or stabilizing role in the Western alliance at all. And that’s one of the *better* scenarios on offer.

Americans wanted to put him in power, Israelis wanted to kill him, each goal contradicts the other, both are illegal, neither is achieved — that’s our "foreign policy." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...

Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence, leaving trump with 3 Cabinet-level vacancies to fill. www.semafor.com/article/05/2...

An explosion during a restart operation at a MOL petrochemical plant left one person dead and several seriously injured, in the second major incident at MOL's Hungairan units in less than a year. Bne IntelliNews #Explosion #MOL #Petrochemical #SafetyFirst #IndustrialAccident

🇵🇱 The first F-35 fighter jets destined for the Polish Air Force have departed from the United States to Poland. militarnyi.com/en/news/f-35...

(Bloomberg) - Iran has destroyed more than two dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones .. since the war began, a significant loss worth nearly $1 billion that represents 20% of the Pentagon’s prewar inventory for the hard-to-replace unmanned system. @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

BESPOKE: US household ownership of corporate stocks and mutual funds now totals $58 trillion, which far exceeds real estate assets totaling $48 trillion. (h/t Schwab)

EV sales have surged worldwide in every region but the U.S., posing risks for legacy and startup automakers.

UAE says new pipeline that will bypass Strait of Hormuz is nearly 50% complete

Numbers are going down for both immigrants and asylum seekers, while repatriation orders are increasing, with Germany, France and Sweden on top. #EuropeInMotion ➡️ https://l.euronews.com/jdMa

EU approves trade deal with the US ➡️ https://l.euronews.com/Mt8w

The eight summit between the EU and Mexico will take place on 22 May in Mexico City. Leaders will discuss: 📈 EU-Mexico trade relations 🤝 further cooperation on joint priorities 🌎 geopolitical challenges More info➡️ link.europa.eu/hnhvkb #EUMexico

The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. Global oil prices have spiked and, as a result, drivers are now paying an average of more than $4.50 per gallon of gas. In all, the higher gas prices have drained an estimated $42 billion out of Americans' wallets. reason.pub/4dyOVkc

Elon Musk's claim that he was mistreated by his OpenAI cofounders failed after nine California jurors decided in a unanimous verdict that his lawsuits had been filed too late.

Like clockwork: the US has issued a new 30-day sanction waiver for Russian oil, “This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide specific licenses as needed,” Scott Bessent says.