Xi Warned of the ‘Thucydides Trap.’ What Is It?

China’s leader drew on Greek history to warn the United States about what can happen when a rising power meets an incumbent one.

By Leo Sands

May 14, 2026

As the leaders of the United States and China met in Beijing on Thursday, Xi Jinping had a much older rivalry on his mind.

After Trump’s pledge to ‘open up’ China, low expectations for trade deal

AL JAZEERA
Business and Economy
Analysts see only modest breakthrough in ties between world’s two largest economies
By John Power
Published On 15 May 2026

Before arriving for his high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump aimed to set expectations high.

Cuba says oil and diesel supplies have run dry under U.S. sanctions

Politics
Published Thu, May 14 20263:17 AM EDT
Chloe Taylor

Key Points

• Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy told state media the island nation has run out of fuel oil and diesel.
• Protests broke out in Havana on Wednesday as blackouts in the capital continued.
• The Trump administration, which has effectively blocked oil shipments to Cuba since January, has offered assistance in exchange for political reform.

I’m a Doctor Who Treated Hantavirus in the 2012 Outbreak. 5 Things People Keep Getting Wrong

A doctor who saved a patient in the 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak shares what he learned from the experience in light of the cases on the 

Hondius cruise ship.

Updated May 12, 2026 Source: TODAY

Shiv Sudhakar, MD

The recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship brings back vivid memories of a patient I treated during the 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak as an infectious disease doctor.

Europe watches Beijing summit from the sidelines and fears the worst

By Stefan Grobe

Published on 13/05/2026 - 18:06 GMT+2•Updated 21:59

ShareComments

The highly anticipated summit between US President Trump and his Chinese host Xi Jinping has begun - and Europe is watching from a distance. Yet, whatever the outcome is, there is little Brussels can be optimistic about.

China and U.S. agree Hormuz should not be ‘militarized,’ Marco Rubio says

The secretary of state, who traveled to Beijing while under Chinese sanctions, told NBC News in an interview that China had also reiterated its opposition to Iran 

developing nuclear weapons

May 14, 2026, 4:16 AM PDT 

Updated May 14, 2026, 4:47 AM PDT

By Tom Llamas and Jennifer Jett

BEIJING — President Donald Trump discussed the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News in an interview Thursday, adding that the United States was not asking for Beijing’s help with Iran.

5 takeaways from the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing so far

CNBC
Published Thu, May 14 2026
Anniek Bao

Key Points

• China’s Xi and Trump agreed to build a “constructive, strategically stable relationship.”
• “China’s door to opening up will only open wider,” Xi said.
• Xi reserved his sharpest language for Taiwan, calling it “the most important issue in U.S.-China relations.”

A wealthy Beverly Hills widow winds up dead below a staircase in her mansion. Was it murder?

CBS News

By Erin Moriarty, Gayane Keshishyan Mendez

May 9, 2026 

When Beverly Hills Police Detective Mark Schwartz got the call about an unattended death at the home of 67-year-old widow Violet Yacobi, he didn't know what he would find.

Det. Mark Schwartz: Any unattended death like this, we will get called out to … Some are clearly more suspicious … than others. … This one gradually got more and more suspicious.

The Iran War Worsens America’s Democratic Erosion

By

By The Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are 

informed by expertise, research, debate, and certain longstanding values. 

It is separate from the newsroom.

May 13, 2026

President Trump’s war with Iran is the most significant military action in American history that a president has undertaken without any form of congressional authorization.

UK Leads 40-Nation Defensive Mission to Secure Strait of Hormuz

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon departed Portsmouth, UK today to head to the Eastern Mediterranean to bolster British defenses in the region

Mike Schuler May 12, 2026

The United Kingdom is significantly expanding its military commitment to securing the Strait of Hormuz, announcing Tuesday that it will deploy autonomous mine-hunting systems, counter-drone technology, Typhoon fighter jets, and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon as part of a future multinational maritime security mission.

US presidential visits to China from Nixon to Trump – in pictures

Tours of the Forbidden City, state dinners, and theatrical handshakes. We look back at previous visits ahead of Donald Trump’s trip

Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State, William Rogers, touring the Great Wall of China during Nixon’s historic 1972 presidential visit. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Matt Fidler
Wed 13 May 2026 

Something startling is happening in the Gulf of Mexico

Eye on the Storm

Its waters are heating up twice as fast as the global oceans, with huge implications for hurricane risk

by Jeff Masters

May 13, 2026

In 2012, the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico began rising along a shocking upward trajectory.

Why Physical Crude Premiums Collapse Despite the Hormuz Crisis

By Tsvetana Paraskova 

May 12, 2026, 

6:00 PM CDT

• Physical crude premiums have collapsed from more than $30 above Brent to near parity as refiners delay purchases, draw down inventories, cut refinery runs, and rely on strategic reserve releases despite the ongoing Strait of Hormuz disruption.
• China’s sharp drop in crude imports, early refinery maintenance, and record U.S. crude exports have temporarily eased pressure on physical markets
• Analysts warn the relief may be short-lived, with buffers rapidly thinning ahead of peak summer demand, raising the risk of another sharp spike in both physical and paper oil prices if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Elon Musk, Sam Altman and the world's billionaires are terrified of the Google AI genius behind a 25-year-old computer game, because they think he might actually end up controlling god

News

By Rich Stanton 

Published 7 hours ago

"There is a very low probability of a good future if someone doesn't slow Demis down."

(I've been keeping an eye on the various documents released as part of the ongoing Musk vs Altman legal fight, which centres around OpenAI changing to a for-profit structure and Elon Musk's belief that he was deceived by Sam Altman. The documents, which consist mainly of emails and text exchanges between the various figures involved, turn out to have several themes running through them, and an absolutely huge one is the co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis.

Trump says he’s not thinking about Americans’ finances ‘even a little bit’ in Iran talks

NBC NEWS
Trump said the “only thing” that matters is that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
May 12, 2026
By Allan Smith 

President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he is not weighing the economic burden of the Iran war on everyday Americans when negotiating a deal with the country’s leadership.

Greece bets big on MAGA, as other EU countries turn away from Trump

While the U.S. president's relations with other European countries sour, he is hailing Greece as "terrific."

Photo-Illustration by Natália Delgado/POLITICO

May 8, 2026 4:01 am CET

By Nektaria Stamouli and Eliza Gkritsi

Nobody should be surprised that the U.S. ambassador to Athens is urging President Donald Trump to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence in the birthplace of democracy — with a speech on the Acropolis this summer.

Nancy Guthrie Update: Dramatic DNA Development Could Solve Case

Martin Holmes
May 12, 2026, 9:09 am

What To Know

• The FBI is still analyzing DNA that could prove crucial in the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
• Nancy, the mother of Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, has been missing over 100 days.
• Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the press they are close to solving the case.

Three out of four Americans blame Trump for rising prices, new poll finds

News World Americas US politics

Americans generally express negative feelings toward the current state of the US economy, multiple polls have found

Ariana Baio

Tuesday 12 May 2026

With rising gas prices, mortgage rates and consumer prices, most Americans say they blame President Donald Trump for the increased cost of living and worsening economic conditions, according to a new poll.