Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner in critical condition

Anastasia Tsioulcas

May 02, 2026

The Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Iran, has been hospitalized in critical condition after collapsing and losing consciousness in jail. 

What Democrats Can Do to Restore Voting Rights Post-Callais

The Intelligencer

By Ed Kilgore 

political columnist for Intelligencer since 2015

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Louisiana v. Callais, much attention has been paid to its impact on the midterms and the partisan gerrymandering surge we can expect in the last two years of the Trump administration. The decision clearly green-lights map-rigging by demolishing the legal obstacles posed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Thus it’s a huge gift to the Republicans who control the former Confederate states, where the VRA previously protected minority (and thus Democratic) voting interests to a considerable degree. The decision probably won’t be enough to let the GOP hang on to control of the U.S. House in November, but it could make the post-election landscape in Congress a lot friendlier to Republicans.

Trump jokes that the US Navy will takeover Cuba 'almost immediately' on the way back from Iran

News World Cuba

By Malek Fouda

Published on 02/05/2026

Trump appeared to hint at a potential military operation in Cuba after US forces “finish the job” in Iran. The comments come as Washington announced a set of new sanctions targeting the island nation on Friday, which Havana slammed as a form of collective punishment.

Opinion: Trump’s time-bending claim about the Iran war is truly absurd

There’s no “pause” button on the War Powers Resolution, and 60 days is not the same as 40 years.
May 2, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT
By Hayes Brown

The Trump administration told Congress Thursday that the legislative branch doesn’t need to worry about authorizing the war with Iran that President Donald Trump launched two months ago. The War Powers Resolution says that a president only has 60 days after deploying U.S. military forces to either fully withdraw those forces or get formal approval from legislators for the campaign to continue. Despite hitting that deadline Friday, the White House is now saying that as far as it’s concerned, the hostilities that began two months ago are “terminated,” leaving no reason for Congress to act.

NATO assessing details of US troop withdrawal from Germany

The US says it plans to pull about 5,000 troops out of Germany over the next six to 12 months as the feud with European allies over the Iran war escalates.
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 2 May 2026

NATO says it is assessing the details of the United States’s decision to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany, a key partner in the Western security alliance, amid tensions over the war on Iran.

Top U.S. & World Headlines — May 1, 2026

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Hegseth says clock paused on deadline to seek approval for Iran war

33 minutes ago
James FitzGerald and Brandon Drenon
The defence secretary was responding to senators' questions on Thursday

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the clock has paused on a deadline for the Trump administration to seek approval from Congress for the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Another Disgrace: Investment group comes forward to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps and move team to Las Vegas

The Greek Courier

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — An investment group has emerged with plans to purchase the Vancouver Whitecaps and relocate our Major League Soccer team to Las Vegas. For countless fans who have poured their hearts and souls into supporting the team, this news feels like a gut punch. The thought of losing our Caps, which has been a part of our community and our identity, is heartbreaking. We must rally to protect our team, as we know we’re fighting for more than just soccer; we’re fighting for our community and the spirit that unites us all.

‘Public health time bomb’: How France allowed cadmium to poison its crops and soil

Analysis France
Issued on: 01/05/2026 - 07:18
By: Benjamin DODMAN

French residents are three to four times more likely to register unsafe levels of cadmium in their bodies than their European counterparts, ingesting dangerous amounts of the carcinogenic metal through the food they eat. Experts blame government inaction, farming practices and a historic reliance on North African phosphate-based fertilisers that is rooted in the colonial era.

Nationwide May Day protests expected to pick up mantle of 'No Kings'

National 

May 1, 2026

By Scott Neuman

May Day demonstrations are expected to draw crowds across the country on Friday, with organizers calling for a boycott of work, school and shopping to protest the Trump administration's policies — and what activists describe as a billionaire takeover of government.

‘When did it come out?’ Trump remains disengaged as events unfold around him

Too often, the president sounds like someone who just wandered into the Oval Office, blissfully unaware of current events

Apr. 30, 2026, 1:04 PM EDT
By Steve Benen

For proponents of voting rights and racially diverse democracy, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais was a brutal gut punch. University of California at Los Angeles law professor Richard Hasen wrote in a Slate analysis that the decision, written by Republican-appointed justices, “will go down in history as one of the most pernicious and damaging Supreme Court decisions of the last century.”

Congress votes to reopen key parts of DHS, after House GOP caves on ICE funding

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Lauren Fox
Updated 37 min ago

Congress voted to reopen key parts of the Department of Homeland Security — including the Transportation Security Administration — on Thursday after weeks of GOP infighting that prolonged a record shutdown of the critical agency.

Scared and angry British Jews demand more from government after knife attack

By Marissa Davison and Ben Makori

April 30, 2026, 5:19 AM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Scared, angry at the government, and wondering whether they need to leave the country, British Jews in the north London suburb of Golders Green were reeling a day after an attacker stabbed two men ​in the street.

Convicted Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Lab in Shenzhen

 By Sam Cavanaugh
Published on April 30, 2026
Source: Wikipedia/Kris Snibbe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles M. Lieber, once a marquee name in American nanoscience, has quietly put a brain–computer research operation back together inside Shenzhen’s state backed science network. The new setup puts him at the helm of i‑BRAIN, an institute that pairs nanofabrication tools with a nearby primate research complex. For U.S. observers, the move highlights recurring tensions between academic openness and national security controls over dual use technologies.

Kremlin says Russian forces will stay in Mali as insurgents press attacks

By Reuters

April 30, 2026

3:13 AM PDT, Updated 1 hour ago

Summary

• Al Qaeda affiliate claims capture of Hombori base
• Insurgents threaten Bamako siege
• Russian presence in Mali faces strategic setback
• Funeral held for slain defence minister Sadio Camara

MOSCOW/BAMAKO, April 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on ​Thursday that Russian forces would stay in Mali to help the military-led government battle insurgents as ‌West Africa's al Qaeda affiliate claimed to have seized more territory.

Mirroring Gaza, Israel is destroying towns and villages in southern Lebanon

April 30, 2026, 5:00 AM ET
By Kat Lonsdorf, Jawad Rizkallah

MANSOURI, Lebanon — The center of the village lies in ruins. A row of single-story shops blown out, goods scattered on the ground, glass shattered along the sidewalk. Homes and buildings are crumpled into themselves, unrecognizable. The mosque is blackened and burned, the minaret split in two. A Lebanese civil defense emergency vehicle is crushed next to the rubble, its windshield smashed.

Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla near Crete and detains 175 activists

55 minutes ago
David Gritten

Pro-Palestinian activists say at least 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete.

The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) denounced the action as "piracy", saying those on board had been seized unlawfully more than 965km (600 miles) from Gaza, which is under an Israeli naval blockade.

Timmy the Humpback Whale Is Free After Spending Weeks Stranded in the Shallows of the Baltic Sea

Two private investors funded the latest rescue following multiple unsuccessful attempts
By Moná Thomas
Published on April 29, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

• Timmy the humpback whale was rescued after weeks of being stuck in shallow waters off Germany's Baltic coastline
• A rescue mission funded by two private investors transported Timmy to deeper waters near Denmark
• Local officials say the unique rescue operation was a groundbreaking success