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May 4, 2026
Trump says the US will 'guide' stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Monday
(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. Trump gave few details about what could be a sweeping attempt to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers. Iran quickly denounced the move as a ceasefire violation.
Go to discussionUS denies media reports that Iran struck American vessel in Strait of Hormuz
(France 24) A US official on Monday denied Iran state media reports that a US warship entering the Strait of Hormuz turned back after Iran fired missiles at it. Iran's military earlier warned that US forces would be attacked if they entered the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump said the US would begin escorting stranded vessels.
Go to discussionPete Hegseth is now bringing his wife to Pentagon meetings after he ousted top officials: report
(The Independent) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is now bringing his wife to meetings with Pentagon staffers as his inner circle grows tighter, according to a report. The move comes as Hegseth has faced increased criticism and ousted more than two dozen Pentagon officials in recent weeks. It also comes as Hegseth leads the nation’s efforts in the Iran war and constantly promotes the success the U.S. has had in its attacks. Hegseth has now grown increasingly isolated within the Pentagon, according to The Guardian.
Go to discussionTrump and GOP push for aggressive voter roll purges up until Election Day, testing precedent
(CNN) For decades, it’s generally been assumed that any mass purges of voter rolls had to be completed at least 90 days out from an election. But Republicans and the Trump administration are now testing the scope of the federal law that imposes that ban on “systematic” removal programs within three months of an election, as President Donald Trump pushes for more aggressive reviews of voter rolls for non-citizens and other ineligible voters. The Justice Department has launched a sprawling effort to obtain nearly every state’s voter registration file and to review those files for suspected non-citizens.
Go to discussion
Republicans see high-risk plans as the future of health insurance
(Politico) Hundreds of thousands of Americans have switched to health insurance that covers a lot less of their care this year. Republicans hope a lot more will follow them. The shift since January was driven by GOP lawmakers’ decision at the end of December to reduce the help the government provides to people who don’t get insurance through work, but instead buy it in the Obamacare marketplace. The reduction in those subsidies sent Obamacare customers searching for plans that cost less. There’s a catch: The cheaper plans don’t cover the first several thousand dollars in sick visits, drugs and surgeries a patient needs. Nearly 4 in 10 Obamacare enrollees are in these “high-deductible” plans now, compared to 3 in 10 a year ago.
Go to discussionDemocrats seize on MAHA's growing frustration with GOP
(The Hill) Democrats see an opening ahead of the midterm elections with increasingly disappointed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) voters. Many activists in the MAHA base are furious with the Trump administration over its backing of not only a controversial weed killer ingredient but also pesticides more broadly. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s defense of those moves has deepened the sense of disillusionment among his followers who helped deliver President Trump to the White House.
Go to discussionSpirit Airlines is not just a canary in a coal mine. It's part of a pile of dead birds.
Spirit didn’t collapse because of one bad quarter or one bad executive decision. It collapsed because a business designed to operate at the edge met a shock it could not absorb. And that shock wasn’t random. Fuel prices don’t double because of mood swings. They double because something in the world breaks. We’ve seen the pattern before. In 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy markets into panic. Prices surged—not because a president controls oil, but because war rewrites supply, risk, and expectation all at once. That’s the baseline reality: presidents don’t set prices. But they shape the conditions under which shocks happen, and how large they are when they arrive.
Go to discussionActing attorney Gen Blanche Says Others Who Post '86 47' Message Won't Be Charged Like Comey
(NY Times) Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, on Sunday sought to contrast the Justice Department’s indictment of the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey over a social media post with other instances in which people have shared the same message, saying that the department had gathered additional evidence during an 11-month investigation. The “86 47” message, Mr. Blanche said, is “posted constantly — that phrase is used constantly.” He added, “Every one of those statements do not result in indictments.” What makes Mr. Comey’s case different, he argued, is other evidence collected, which he said he could not describe.
Go to discussionWisconsin Republican Promised 2026 Would Be The Year Of Cheap Gas
(Crooks & Liars) In January, GOP candidate for governor Tom Tiffany took a selfie in front of a Wisconsin gas station and told Wisconsinites that 2026 would be “the cheapest year for gas” in the past six years. Now, gas prices in Tiffany’s district have seen the highest spike of anywhere in Wisconsin. The surging costs come as Tiffany just voted against legislation to rein in the White House from entering into a costly and cost-raising war without congressional accountability.
