The U.S. and Iran have reportedly reached the framework of a ceasefire extension deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and open a 60-day negotiating window on Tehran's nuclear program, including the fate of its highly enriched uranium stockpile. A U.S. official says Trump wants "a couple of days to think about it" before signing off. Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated Thursday that sanctions relief is off the table unless Iran reopens the strait, surrenders enriched uranium, and abandons its nuclear weapons program.
New Bureau of Economic Analysis data released today shows the economy grew just 1.6 percent in Q1 2026, down from the initial 2 percent estimate, with downward revisions to both investment and consumer spending. Meanwhile, Gallup's Economic Confidence Index for May plunged to -45, its lowest since October 2022, with 76 percent of Americans saying economic conditions are getting worse. Inflation and cost of living remain the top concern, cited by 15 percent of respondents, nearly double the figure from February.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed his department is drawing up plans to halt customs and immigration processing at airports in sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Mullin said he has discussed the proposal with the White House but no final decision has been made. The move has drawn support from Sen. Jim Banks but strong opposition from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who emphasized the need to keep international travel flowing.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing staff have been ordered to draft prototypes of a $250 bill featuring President Trump's portrait, pitched as a commemoration of the nation's 250th birthday. The bill would also carry the signatures of Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent. However, federal law only allows deceased individuals to appear on currency, and a bill by Rep. Joe Wilson to create an exception has been stuck in committee for over 15 months. British royal portrait painter Iain Alexander has met with the president about the design.
Iran has demanded the United Nations stop American military operations against its drones after claiming it targeted a U.S. base in Kuwait responsible for strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC also claimed to have downed an American drone, though the Pentagon has not confirmed the claim. The exchange came after the U.S. carried out what it described as self-defense strikes against Iranian missile launch sites and vessels with mine-laying capabilities in the strait.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is pushing Washington for additional Patriot missile systems to counter escalating Russian strikes, as Moscow signals preparations for a major retaliatory barrage following Ukrainian drone attacks deep into Russian territory. At least eight people were killed in the past 24 hours in cross-border missile and drone attacks, with damage reported to energy infrastructure in Russia's Belgorod region. Ukrainian intelligence has suggested the war could end by September.
An Iraqi national linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump as revenge for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, a senior Kata'ib Hizballah figure, faces six terrorism counts tied to roughly 20 plots across the U.S. and Europe. Turkish authorities arrested him May 15 and transferred him to U.S. agents. DOJ filings suggest an Iran-linked network was operating in Paris during one of Ivanka's visits.
The Department of Defense released its second tranche of declassified UAP records under the PURSUE transparency initiative, including over 60 items ranging from military video to transcribed accounts. Among the highlights: audio from a 1969 Apollo 12 post-mission medical debrief in which astronauts Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean described seeing unexplained "streaks of light" while trying to sleep in deep space. The batch also includes footage of a UAP being shot down over the Great Lakes.
Researchers have developed a new oral medication designed to help patients maintain weight loss after discontinuing GLP-1 injectable drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, addressing one of the biggest challenges in the weight-loss drug landscape: the rebound effect. This comes as the weight-loss field increasingly reframes GLP-1 medications as "multi-system metabolic modulators" rather than simple weight-loss drugs, with documented effects across the liver, heart, kidneys, and vasculature.
Residents of a northwest Atlanta neighborhood say dozens of empty, passengerless Waymo autonomous vehicles have been circling their cul-de-sac for weeks, with one homeowner counting 50 cars passing through in a single hour between 6 and 7 a.m. When a fed-up resident placed a children-at-play sign in the road, eight Waymos got stuck trying to figure out how to turn around. Waymo says it has "already addressed this routing behavior," but parents remain alarmed about the driverless parade through their residential street.
