Friday, May 15, 2026

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

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.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

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

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 Updated 
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

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.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

The Iran War Worsens America’s Democratic Erosion

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

Its waters are heating up twice as fast as the global oceans, with huge implications for hurricane risk
May 13, 2026
In 2012, the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico began rising along a shocking upward trajectory.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

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
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

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.