US, Iran Stall on Hormuz Reopening as Oil Supplies Tighten

Skylar Woodhouse, Jeff Mason, 

and Arsalan Shahla

Sat, May 16, 2026 at 12:10 PM PDT 

5 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Iran said transit through the critical Strait of Hormuz will flow once the conflict with the US and Israel is over, but the sides are no closer to resolving their differences or finding a path to achieve it.

Taking a Good, Long Look Into Elon Musk and “Muskism”

Interview with Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian

JACOBIN

A growing share of world infrastructure is dominated by the eccentric, reactionary, annoying billionaire Elon Musk. He is, regrettably, a key figure to understand — which Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian set out to do in Muskism. 

Elon Musk needs no introduction. He is one of the leading capitalists of our time. Unlike many in tech, he gets down and dirty with the physical world (or rather, his employees do), building cars and rockets, digging tunnels, even implanting chips in people’s brains.

Zohran Mamdani Is Right to Condemn West Bank Land Sales

JACOBIN
By Ben Burgis 

05.12.2026 

After a rowdy protest outside a real estate event at Park East Synagogue, Mayor Zohran Mamdani was widely criticized for egging on the unrest by condemning the sale of West Bank properties. But the criticisms don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial titled “Mamdani and the Antisemites.” The next day, an article published in the conservative National Review called the mayor’s behavior “shameful.” The day after that, Republican city council member Vickie Paladino accused Mayor Mamdani of creating a “very dangerous environment.”

Welcome to the Capitalist Wing of Antifa!

Three stories about corporate greed and the tale 

of a community with a mission

Jonathan V. Last

May 15, 2026

(Photo by Hannah Yoest)

I know we should talk about the amazing summit Our Favorite President just had with the wise and very good-looking—right out of central casting, many people are saying—Chairman Xi.

But sometimes I need to do one for myself. And that’s what today is.

Taiwan insists it is independent after Trump warning

4 hours ago
Robert Greenall
Reuters
President Lai says Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence

Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.

Opinion: Trump doesn't care about Americans. He just admitted it

Whenever a Republican is pressed on the economy, on food prices, on energy prices, they can only reflexively say, 'Well, Biden blah blah blah …' That excuse ain't working anymore.
Rex Huppke
USA TODAY
May 16, 2026, 4:02 a.m. ET

I’m proud of President Donald Trump and his loyal Republican lawmakers. After years of pretending, it seems they’ve finally grown confident enough to flatly admit they don’t give a rip about regular Americans. This is real progress!

Extraordinary discovery in Pompeii: A doctor identified thanks to his instruments

Copyright Parco Archeologico di Pompei
By Fortunato Pinto
Published on 15/05/2026 - 19:20 GMT+2

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Interdisciplinary work made it possible to identify the body of a doctor among the victims of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The plaster cast held a case with the instruments used by doctors at the time

Archaeologists Enter a Hidden Luxor Chamber and Find 22 Painted Coffins of Amun’s Sacred Singers With 8 Sealed Papyri Untouched for Centuries

DAILY GALAXY

© Archaeologists Found Coffins Stacked Like A Sacred Archive. Credit: Canva

Science
Inside a hidden burial chamber, researchers found 22 painted coffins and sealed papyri linked to the mysterious Singers of Amun.
Published on May 15, 2026, at 08:45|
Written by Arezki Amiri | Reading time: 4 minutes

A tightly packed rock-cut chamber beneath the Luxor desert has yielded one of the more striking funerary finds from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period: 22 painted wooden coffins belonging to women who served as Singers of Amun, stacked in ten horizontal rows alongside eight sealed papyri stored inside a ceramic vessel. The discovery was announced in March 2026 by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities following excavations in the Asasif necropolis on Luxor’s West Bank.

Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds

The Trump administration is accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran

Joseph Gedeon and Cate Brown in Washington

Updated on Sat 16 May 2026 14.03 BST

Pete Hesgeth's Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog.

David Letterman and Stephen Colbert toss CBS furniture off the roof: 'Good night and good luck, motherf---ers'

Letterman returned to "The Late Show" to bid farewell to the show he originated in 1993 before handing over the reins to Colbert in 2015

By Raechal Shewfelt and Mekishana Pierre

May 15, 2026 

Key points

• David Letterman joined Stephen Colbert on The Late Show as one of the show's final guests.
• Letterman originated the franchise in 1993 and hosted for 23 seasons before handing over the reins to Colbert in 2015.
• The pair threw 'Late Show' furniture off the Ed Sullivan Theater roof onto a CBS target.

David Letterman ended his last visit to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert with a parting message to CBS that invoked one of the network's revered former journalists: "In the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck, motherf---ers!"

Trump and Xi conclude 'very successful' talks but no deals confirmed

36 minutes ago
Suranjana Tewari

Asia business correspondent
US President Donald Trump left Beijing after a two-day summit, saying he had struck "fantastic trade deals, great for both countries", but few details have emerged on what the two superpowers agreed.

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

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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.”