Trump says US to pause operation to guide vessels through Strait of Hormuz

Summary

• President Donald Trump says the US is pausing its operation to guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz
• Trump says the pause to "Project Freedom", which began on Monday, came because of "Great Progress" toward a deal with Iran
• Under "Project Freedom", the US said it would guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz and help restore the flow of oil from the region
• Iranian state media says Trump has "retreated" after "continued failures" to reopen the vital waterway for global shipping
• Iran will very likely characterise the pause of "Project Freedom" as a victory, our White House correspondent writes
• Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the offensive stage of the war with Iran is "over" as the objectives of Operation Epic Fury have been achieved

Germany news: Leipzig ramming suspect ordered to psych ward

 DEUTSCHE WELLE 

Zac Crellin | Richard Connor with AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters, KNA, epd, SID

Published 10 hours ago, updated 8 minutes ago

A German man faced court on Tuesday after he was accused of a deadly car ramming in Leipzig. Prosecutors said they do not believe the suspect had a religious or political motive.

We’re about to find out whether Trump is kingmaker or lame duck

So far, his chosen candidates in several May primaries are struggling to dominate their fields.

By Liz Crampton, Lisa Kashinsky and Alec Hernandez

05/05/2026 

President Donald Trump’s power as the GOP’s kingmaker faces a major test with this month’s primaries. So far, he’s on rocky footing.

2 U.S. Navy destroyers transit Strait of Hormuz after dodging Iranian onslaught

By James LaPorta

May 4, 2026 / 8:43 PM EDT / CBS News /

Washington — Two U.S. Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian Gulf after navigating an Iranian barrage, according to defense officials who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters.

No, Russia is not on the verge of a coup

Mark Galeotti

Monday, May 4, 2026

However much Western leaders inveigh against Russian disinformation (which, yes, is a real issue), we should never pretend this is not a two-way street. The sudden spate of news stories reporting that a conveniently anonymous “European intelligence agency” claims that the Kremlin fears a coup looks suspiciously more like a psy-op meant to generate paranoia in the Russian elite than a serious assessment.

Jerome Powell Just Threw President Donald Trump Under the Bus One Last Time Before His Term as Fed Chair Ends

Sean Williams, The Motley Fool
Mon, May 4, 2026
4 min read

It's nearly the end of an era at the nation's central bank. In just 11 days, on May 15, Jerome Powell's second term as Fed chair will come to an end and, presumably, President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed him, Kevin Warsh, will begin his tenure. 

In Canada, Alberta's 'Maple MAGA' dream of independence

REPORTERS © FRANCE 24
Issued on: 01/05/2026

In Canada's oil heartland of Alberta, separatism is no longer just a slogan. An unprecedented movement of independence supporters, aided by a reform from the western province's conservative government, has just cleared the way for a referendum to be held on October 19. This is a first in Canada since Quebec's failed independence referendum in 1995.

Trump Is Pulling Troops From Germany. The Missiles Are a Bigger Problem

The United States is pulling troops from Germany, but the troop numbers aren’t the story. Canceled missile deployments and dwindling weapons stockpiles are quietly eroding the foundations of NATO deterrence.

Published May 4, 2026
Liana Fix, CFR Expert, Senior Fellow for Europe

Liana Fix is a senior fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of the forthcoming book Germany Rearmed: The Return of War and the End of Illusions.

Cruise ship waiting for help after 3 people died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak

May 5, 2026

By The Associated Press
The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on Monday, May 4, 2026. Arilson Almeida/AP

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A cruise ship with nearly 150 people aboard was waiting for help off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday after three passengers died and at least three other people were left seriously ill in a suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization and the ship's operator.

Trump threatens to blow Iran ‘off the face of the earth’ if it attacks US vessels

US launched an operation on Monday in the Gulf, dragging the region back to the brink of full-scale war
Maya Yang / Mon 4 May 2026 21.51 BST

Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US vessels trying to reopen a route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran stated it had no plans to target the UAE, while Trump claims the US has downed 7 small Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Greek Courier
Today, 8:19 PM

Iran has stated it had “no plans” to target the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as reported by Iranian state television, following accusations from the UAE regarding new missile attacks. A senior Iranian military official reiterated, “Iran had no plans to target the UAE.”

Two killed and many injured after car driven into crowd in German city of Leipzig

BBC News
54 minutes ago
Two people have died and several were injured after a car drove into a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday afternoon, local authorities said.

Associated Press: US claims progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying 2 merchant ships have transited

BY ADAM SCHRECK AND SAM METZ
Updated 8:41 AM PDT, May 4, 2026
World News

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after it launched a new initiative to restore traffic. The United Arab Emirates meanwhile issued three missile alerts and authorities said an Iranian drone hit an oil facility.

The World’s Most Unbelievable Science Fiction Novel

By Tom Engelhardt

May 03, 2026

If years ago you’d pitched a novel where Donald Trump got elected president of the United States twice and hastened the world’s demise, the publisher would’ve mocked you. Yet here he is in the Oval Office for a second time, mucking everything up. He and his cronies are turning our beautiful planet into a dump truck… How lovely.

Physicists just found a tiny flaw in time itself

Science News from research organizations

Quantum weirdness may be quietly blurring time itself—offering a tantalizing clue to 

the universe’s deepest laws

Date: May 3, 2026

Source: Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi.

Summary: Physicists are rethinking one of quantum mechanics’ biggest puzzles: how fuzzy possibilities become definite reality. New research suggests that spontaneous “collapse” processes—possibly linked to gravity—could subtly blur time itself. This wouldn’t affect clocks we use today, but it reveals a hidden limit to how precise time can ever be. The findings open a new path toward uniting quantum physics with gravity.

Futurism: Meta Had the Worst Possible Response When Its Workers Were Watching Naked Footage of Its Ray-Ban AI Glasses Users

X-Rated Specs

The guiltiest possible look

Futurism

By Frank Landymore

Published May 3, 2026

In February, Meta contractors in Kenya told Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten that the company required them to review disturbing and sensitive footage captured by its Ray-Ban AI glasses.

Trump says the US will 'guide' stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz

Special Series / Middle East conflict

May 3, 2026
By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States will launch an effort on Monday to "guide" stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, as two ships around the strait reported attacks.

Mark Carney’s 26+ trips abroad: A breakdown of the prime minister’s trade deals and travel after 1 year in office

Analysis

11 March 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney is living up to his self-avowed globalist status. Since taking office exactly one year ago, the globetrotting former central banker has been outside of Canada 68 days, or 20 percent of his first year in office.