Happy Cinco de Mayo! T.A.C.O.s for all, fresh from the White House!

https://nypost.com/2026/05/05/world-news/iran-hits-uae-with-drones-and-missile-attacks-as-trump-tries-to-reopen-strait-of-hormuz/

The United Arab Emirates has come under Iranian fire again as missiles and drones were detected on Tuesday morning, the country’s ministry of defense said.

“Air defense systems are currently responding to a missile threat,” the ministry said as it warned civilians to take shelter.

Tuesday’s attack marks the second day of Iran’s renewed attacks on the US-Israel ally, with its drones setting fire to tankers and the UAE’s largest oil storage facility on Monday.

Yesterday’s assault saw Iran fire 15 missiles and drones at the UAE’s ships and facilities around the Strait of Hormuz, Abu Dhabi officials said.

It was the first such attack since the cease-fire with Iran went into effect, with Tehran taking aim at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, the largest commercial storage hub for refined crude in the Middle East.

“These attacks constitute a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression,” the UAE foreign ministry said of the initial strikes. “We reserve the right to a full and legitimate response to attacks.”

Iran was also accused of attacking a coastal town in Oman located just past the Strait of Hormuz, where the Islamic republic and the US traded fire.

The recent attacks have threatened to unravel the cease-fire with Iran, where officials claim that Tehran will not lose control of the Strait of Hormuz.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-says-us-help-ships-stranded-strait-hormuz-tanker-hit-by-projectiles-2026-05-04/
Iran's military warned U.S. forces on Monday not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said the United States would start helping to free ships stranded in the Gulf by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews that have been "locked up" in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies more than two months since the conflict began.
"We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.
The unified command of Iran's armed forces responded by warning U.S. forces to stay out of the strait.
Its forces would "respond harshly" to any threat, it added, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination with Iran's military.
"We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces," Ali Abdollahi, the head of the forces' unified command said in the statement.
"We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive U.S. army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz."
U.S. Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, along with warships and drones.
"Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade," Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.
Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organization says.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/03/republicans-embrace-high-deductible-obamacare-plans-00902194
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.

President Donald Trump and GOP senators want to encourage more to go that route by shifting remaining Obamacare subsidies, which are now used to reduce monthly premiums, into tax-advantaged savings accounts that come with the high-deductible plans. That would be very good for some — affluent people in good health who use the savings accounts to accrue wealth — but not so much for others: sicker and poorer people who incur medical bills they can’t afford.

For many Republicans, that’s a worthwhile trade-off, considering the plans also reduce overuse of the health care system and put downward pressure on prices. “The president clearly has said we need to send money to patients rather than insurers in the system, and building out policies that are consistent with that is important,” said Brian Blase, president of the right-leaning Paragon Health Institute and an adviser to Trump in his first term.

But the inequitable outcomes for patients trouble others.

They're calling it the least surprising thing to ever happen.

After months of Donald Trump claiming his golden ballroom would not cost taxpayers a penny, Republican lawmakers this week are proposing legislation for Americans to pick up the full four hundred million dollar tab for the gaudy addition to the White House.

This sudden enthusiasm and laser focus from Republican lawmakers comes as DHS employees continue not being paid as the partial government shutdown that has been in effect since February 14th stretches on, and as American consumers continue to pay an additional 1.20 per gallon for gasoline as Donald Trump's 48 hour war with Iran stretches into it's third month.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/taxpayer-fund-trump-ballroom-correspondents-dinner-shooting-b2966078.html

In the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, top Republicans want to use $400 million in taxpayer funds on President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, arguing the new building is vital for national security. This comes despite past promises from the president the ballroom would be entirely funded by private donations.

“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Monday. “The times in which we live are unusual. I’ve been up here for a while now. I’ve never felt the sense of threat that exists today.”

Graham and his GOP colleagues Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt are pushing a bill to fund the ballroom and offset costs by using customs and national parks user fees. The proposal includes building new military and Secret Service infrastructure within the ballroom complex.

> Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_LN3XEcnw

https://nypost.com/2026/05/04/us-news/secret-service-says-officer-involved-in-shooting-near-white-house-as-trump-holds-business-event-inside/

Secret Service officers engaged an armed man near the White House on Monday in what turned into a shootout that left the suspect and a juvenile bystander injured, according to the agency.

The incident unfolded a few blocks south of the White House, along the National Mall and near the Washington Monument, when plainclothes agents on patrol “identified a suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said during a press briefing.

After spotting the “visual print of a firearm” on the suspect, the plainclothes agents called in support from uniformed Secret Service police.

“Upon making contact, that individual fled briefly on foot, withdrew a firearm and fired in the direction of our agents and officers,” Quinn said.

Secret Service officers returned fire and struck the suspect, who was transported to a local hospital.

“We believe only one bystander was hit by the suspect,” Quinn said, noting the juvenile sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital.

https://www.rt.com/news/639347-german-left-spd-demands-abolition-marriage/

The Berlin youth wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has suggested abolishing marriage in Germany in favor of cohabiting partnerships.

At present, marriage enjoys constitutional protection under Article 6 of the Basic Law.

The motion titled ‘Down with the patriarchy, even if it feels romantic’ was presented late last month ahead of a conference of the SPD’s Berlin branch scheduled for May 8 to May 9. According to the Berlin Young Socialists (Jusos), marriage is a key institution of patriarchy that secures the “oppression of women by cis-men” and “restricts freedom and self-determination through its claim to permanence.”

“Marriage serves the chauvinistic, capitalist nation-state as an instrument for enforcing misogynistic, anti-queer, classist, and racist policies,” the proposal argues.

The United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany.

The Pentagon announced the decision Friday as a rift over the Iran war widens between President Trump and Europe.

A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German rhetoric has been “inappropriate and unhelpful.”

“The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks,” the official said.

Trump had threatened the drawdown after sparring with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Merz publicly stated the Iranians were humiliating the United States in talks to end the two-month-old conflict.

The withdrawal is expected to be completed over the next six to twelve months. It will return U.S. troop levels in Europe to roughly pre-2022 levels, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a major buildup.

A brigade combat team now in Germany will be pulled out. A long-range fires battalion the Biden administration had planned to deploy later this year will no longer deploy.

Germany remains the U.S. military’s largest basing location in Europe, with some 35,000 active-duty personnel, and serves as a key training hub.

Trump has singled out Germany even as he has harshly criticized other NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon official added that the president has been very clear about his frustrations with allies’ rhetoric and failure to provide support for U.S. operations that benefit them.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-withdrawing-5000-troops-germany-us-officials-say-2026-05-01/

https://archive.is/9oHMu

Ryan Cohen, CEO of GameStop, has made an unsolicited offer to acquire eBay for about $56 billion, proposing $125 a share. This offer represents a 20% premium over eBay’s recent closing price. Cohen asserts that eBay could be worth much more, aiming to turn it into a major competitor to Amazon.

He revealed plans to finance part of the acquisition with a commitment from TD Bank for $20 billion. If eBay does not agree, Cohen is prepared to approach shareholders directly. He believes integrating GameStop with eBay could drastically cut costs and enhance earnings.

Despite GameStop's smaller valuation at around $12 billion, Cohen’s aggressive strategy hinges on potential partnerships for funding. Some analysts remain skeptical, cautioning against disrupting eBay’s successful turnaround.

https://time.com/article/2026/05/02/spirit-airlines-shuts-down-iran-war-fuel/
The low-cost Spirit Airlines announced Saturday that it has officially gone out of business after years of financial hardship, citing rising fuel costs resulting from the Iran War as the final straw.

The company said it had undergone “extensive and comprehensive efforts to restructure the business” following two bankruptcy filings in 2024 and 2025, but added that the “sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative.”

The airline informed customers that all flights had been canceled, and that refunds were being processed, but that they should look to rebook flights with other providers.

Spirit Airlines was founded in 1983 as Charter One Airlines, a charter tour operator. It was rebranded as Spirit in 1992, becoming a passenger airline and a pioneer of low-cost air travel, offering pared-down services in exchange for cheap base fares. It flew around 30 million passengers in 2025, reflecting a sharp drop from a peak of over 44 million in 2023 and 2024, according to

President Donald Trump and his Administration floated a potential $500 million federal bailout for the Florida-based airline, but bondholders could not reach an agreement on how to restructure and ultimately save the company with the funds.

Spirit had been in financial difficulty long before the Iran War started, but the sudden global energy crisis caused by Iran’s closure and control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil flowed, accelerated the company’s demise.

Dave Davis, Spirit’s President and Chief Executive Officer, cited “the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks” as the reason for the company’s closure.

“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure,” he said in the company’s statement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/gas-prices-new-high-iran-war-rcna342578
U.S. gas prices have hit a fresh record since the start of the war with Iran, rising to an average nationwide of $4.23 per gallon Wednesday, according to AAA.

The milestone comes as oil prices have surged higher over the past week amid a dual blockade by the United States and Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint in the region for transiting crude and petroleum-based products out of the Persian Gulf.

The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark that influences the price of U.S. gasoline prices, stands at $114.60, up nearly 25% from the recent low seen April 17 and just a few dollars away from the recent high of $118.

A day earlier, AAA recorded the biggest single-day increase in more than a month, with prices rising $0.07. Gasoline prices have climbed $1.25 a gallon, or more than 40%, since prior to the war’s start in late February.

The surge in oil prices has compounded the typical price increases seen this time of year as refineries undergo maintenance and the spring-summer driving season begins to kick off.

Many gas stations have also sought to artificially keep prices below the $4 threshold by reducing their own profit margins, said Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser to Gulf Oil. But they can only stomach lower margins for so long, he said.

“This is the most serious squeeze, in terms of margin suppression, we’ve seen for retailers since 2020,” he said.

In a report whose data was largely compiled before the recent run-up, Bank of America analysts found that so far, only lower-income households were seeing a significant impact on their budgets from higher gas prices. And despite the price surge, households are still spending less of their budgets on gasoline than during peaks seen in 2008, 2011 and 2012.