President Trump confirmed he had "just left a meeting" on the alarming pattern of missing or dead scientists linked to classified nuclear and aerospace programs, vowing answers "within a week and a half." The count has risen to 11, including a retired Air Force major general missing since February and a Caltech astrophysicist who worked on NASA missions. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) is calling for a formal FBI investigation.
The Trump administration announced it has uncovered $340 million in taxpayer fraud in California, the latest salvo in an ongoing federal campaign against waste in the state. This follows earlier discoveries of an estimated $8.6 billion in suspected small business fraud. The crackdown has intensified calls from Republican lawmakers for stricter federal oversight of California's disbursement of federal funds.
Todd Lyons, who has led ICE since March 2025 as a central figure in Trump's mass deportation agenda, submitted his resignation effective May 31, citing a move to the private sector. Lyons testified on Capitol Hill hours before the announcement. His departure comes as the agency faces ongoing legal challenges and political scrutiny over immigration enforcement operations.
Four races this month — two House special elections, the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest, and Virginia's redistricting referendum — are testing the GOP's razor-thin House majority. Both parties are pouring resources into Georgia, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Virginia as bellwethers ahead of November's midterms.
In a dramatic reversal, Iran announced it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again today after the U.S. refused to lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Just yesterday, Iran had said commercial vessels could pass freely during the Lebanon ceasefire, but Trump clarified the U.S. blockade remains in effect. Oil prices, which had plunged 11% on yesterday's reopening news, are now stabilizing at elevated levels — having swung between $83 and $118 per barrel in recent weeks.
President Trump declared a deal to end the seven-week Iran conflict may be imminent and said Iran would surrender its enriched uranium — its "nuclear dust" — potentially to the United States. Iran's Parliament Speaker fired back, calling Trump's claims "seven lies in one hour." A senior Iranian official told reporters that "no agreement has been reached on details of nuclear issues," with significant gaps remaining.
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire as part of the broader diplomatic push connected to U.S.-Iran negotiations. The ceasefire comes as the Trump administration simultaneously manages the naval blockade and back-channel talks aimed at a comprehensive regional settlement. Secretary of State Rubio is urging European allies to quickly reimpose sanctions on Iran.
Researchers have developed a chip smaller than a millimeter packed with an array of tiny semiconductor lasers that can transmit data at over 360 gigabits per second wirelessly — using light instead of radio waves. The system uses half the energy of conventional Wi-Fi and could eventually be embedded in ceiling fixtures or smartphones for ultra-fast, secure indoor connectivity.
NASA's Artemis II crew — astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — are back home in Houston after their April 10 splashdown off San Diego. The crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth at their farthest point, the greatest distance humans have traveled since Apollo 17 in 1972, completing all primary mission objectives including a lunar flyby with views of the Moon's far side.
A massive coronal hole on the Sun is facing Earth directly, streaming fast solar wind our way and pushing Earth's magnetic field into unsettled-to-active conditions. Geomagnetic storming at G1-G2 levels has already been observed, and aurora displays may be visible at unusually low latitudes through the weekend. Keep your eyes on the sky tonight.
