Good evening, everyone. There is a lot of news to cover this Saturday. Donald Trump is looking increasingly isolated on the world stage, while America’s adversaries appear less and less concerned by his threats. Public health experts are sounding the alarm over the gutting of the CDC and questioning how prepared the agency would be to handle a future pandemic in light of the hantavirus outbreak. The DOJ is facing internal turmoil following the indictment of James Comey. Evangelical leaders are also pushing back on criticism surrounding Trump’s gold statue, insisting it is not a “golden calf” moment. And there is much more to get into tonight.
A quick programming note: tomorrow morning you will get our usual good news only Sunday update. That may be the only post tomorrow, though, because it is Mother’s Day and I will be spending the day with my wife and daughter celebrating her very first Mother’s Day, which I am incredibly excited about.
There is a lot happening right now, and I am here to help you make sense of it all. If you value this work and want to support independent reporting that cuts through the noise and helps explain the chaos, please consider subscribing. Your support allows me to keep digging, keep reporting, and keep showing up every day to sort through all of this with you.
Here’s the news:
Donald Trump is feeling increasingly isolated on the world stage, pointing to closer cooperation between Canada and European allies, skepticism from adversaries toward U.S. threats, and growing doubts about Washington’s global leadership under his administration. The feeling right now stems from Europe pursuing a more independent geopolitical strategy while rivals such as Russia, China, and Iran no longer see Trump’s rhetoric as a credible deterrent. Supporters reject that assessment, arguing Trump’s aggressive posture and transactional diplomacy have forced allies and adversaries alike to take U.S. power more seriously. From Mark Carney today:
According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration’s effort to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey has reportedly triggered major turmoil inside the Justice Department, particularly within the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. According to the report, multiple prosecutors have been demoted, pushed out, or are considering resigning over concerns about political pressure surrounding the case, leaving one of the country’s most important prosecutorial offices weakened and understaffed. The fallout has also reportedly disrupted at least one major investigation, fueling broader fears about politicization of the Justice Department under President Donald Trump.
A 22-foot gold statue of Donald Trump was unveiled at his Florida golf resort during a ceremony led by Pastor Mark Burns, drawing backlash from critics who compared the display to the biblical “golden calf” idol. Burns directly addressed those attacks during the event, insisting, “Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf,” and describing the statue instead as a symbol of “resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the will power to keep fighting for the future of America.” The pastor said the statue represented God’s protection over Trump following multiple assassination attempts, while Trump himself called into the ceremony to thank Burns and supporters. The statue was reportedly funded by crypto investors promoting a memecoin and created by sculptor Alan Cottrill.
Pastor Robert Jeffress said, “It looks like President Donald Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches than the Pope,” in remarks criticizing the Vatican’s positions and defending Trump’s policies.
Public health experts sharply criticized the CDC for its weak and delayed response to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, arguing the agency has been largely absent during a high-profile international health crisis involving American passengers. While the World Health Organization and foreign governments coordinated evacuations, risk assessments, and public communication, critics said the CDC failed to provide timely guidance, visible leadership, or transparent updates. Experts cited the agency’s diminished role as evidence that years of cuts, political interference, and the Trump administration’s withdrawal from global health partnerships have severely undermined America’s public health capacity. Several former officials and researchers warned that the outbreak exposed a hollowed-out CDC that is no longer capable of leading international disease responses the way it once did during crises like COVID-19.
Passengers aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which experienced a deadly hantavirus outbreak, are expected to disembark in Tenerife, Spain, before being evacuated to their home countries under strict health protocols. Officials said none of the 147 people still onboard are currently symptomatic, and the World Health Organization emphasized that the public health risk remains low. The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known strain capable of person-to-person transmission, and has already caused three deaths. After passengers are evacuated, the ship will sail to the Netherlands for disinfection, while exposed passengers will continue to be monitored by health authorities in their home countries.
The CDC confirmed Saturday that it will not require mandatory quarantine for the 17 American passengers returning from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius, despite transporting them to a federal quarantine facility in Nebraska. Officials said asymptomatic passengers will instead monitor themselves for symptoms over a 42-day period and may return home while remaining in contact with local health authorities.
Scientists in Utah are warning that the proposed “Stratos Project,” a massive hyperscale data center complex planned near the Great Salt Lake, could create an enormous artificial heat island with devastating environmental consequences. Researchers estimate the project would consume around 9 gigawatts of electricity, more than double Utah’s current statewide usage, while releasing an additional 7 to 8 gigawatts of waste heat into the surrounding desert ecosystem.
Experts fear the heat could dramatically raise local temperatures, accelerate evaporation around the already-collapsing Great Salt Lake, damage wildlife habitats, worsen dust pollution, and potentially transform the area into conditions resembling the Sahara Desert. Critics also argue the project has advanced with little environmental scrutiny despite support from powerful Utah political leaders and businessman Kevin O’Leary, who is backing the development.
Senator Ron Johnson promoted an extraordinary completely false claim that as many as 3.9 million Americans may have died because of Covid-19 vaccines, a figure far beyond anything supported by mainstream medical evidence or public health research.
Meanwhile, this is what President Trump was posting today:
President Donald Trump said he “might” move U.S. troops from Germany to Poland as the Pentagon plans to withdraw around 5,000 American soldiers from Germany over the next year. Polish President Karol Nawrocki welcomed the idea and said Poland is ready to host more U.S. troops, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk cautioned against “poaching” forces from allies. Trump’s comments follow tensions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war, after which Trump threatened even deeper troop cuts in Germany. Poland’s defense leadership framed the potential redeployment as a way to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank and European security.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Israel secretly established a military base in Iraq’s western desert ahead of its air campaign against Iran, using it to support special operations, logistics, and rescue missions deep inside Iraqi territory without Baghdad’s knowledge. The report says Iraqi soldiers investigating suspicious helicopter activity near the site in March were struck by Israeli airstrikes, killing one soldier and injuring two others, apparently to keep the operation concealed.
Iraq publicly blamed the U.S. for the strike and filed a complaint with the United Nations, while Washington reportedly chose not to reveal Israel’s role despite knowing about the covert base. The episode has fueled accusations that Israel violated Iraqi sovereignty by operating an unauthorized military installation inside the country and using lethal force against Iraqi troops on Iraqi soil.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon on Saturday, including a child, as fighting with Hezbollah intensified despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire reached last month. The strikes hit multiple locations, including towns and vehicles south of Beirut, while Hezbollah responded with drone and rocket attacks that injured Israeli soldiers. The renewed violence has raised fears that the fragile truce is collapsing into another broader Israel-Hezbollah war, with both sides accusing each other of repeated violations. The escalation comes as U.S.-mediated talks aimed at stabilizing the cease-fire are set to continue in Washington next week.
Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar was sworn into office, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule and signaling a potential reset in relations with the European Union. EU leaders, including European Council President António Costa, welcomed the change and expressed readiness to work with the new government. Magyar’s Tisza party won a commanding parliamentary majority and has pledged reforms aimed at unlocking roughly €10 billion in frozen EU funds tied to rule-of-law concerns. Orbán’s departure could also shift EU dynamics on Russia and Ukraine policy, as he had frequently blocked EU measures supporting Kyiv and sanctioning Moscow.
A person who breached security and ran onto a runway at Denver International Airport was struck and killed Friday night by a departing Frontier Airlines plane bound for Los Angeles. The collision caused an engine fire and forced an emergency evacuation of the aircraft, which was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members. Twelve passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, and five were taken to hospitals, while investigators from the NTSB and airport authorities began examining how the individual gained runway access. Audio from air traffic control captured the pilot reporting, “We just hit somebody,” before aborting takeoff and evacuating the smoke-filled plane on the runway.
A storm chaser helping search tornado wreckage in Mississippi rescued a tiny kitten trapped inside the remains of a destroyed trailer park wall after severe storms swept through the area. The emotional rescue, captured on video by the Associated Press, quickly drew attention online as a rare uplifting moment amid widespread devastation caused by the tornadoes.
At least 15 people were hospitalized Saturday after a possible boat explosion near the Haulover Sandbar, a popular party boating area near North Miami Beach. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue deployed 25 emergency units, including ocean rescue teams, and upgraded the response to a Level 2 Mass Casualty incident after discovering multiple injured victims at the scene. Authorities have not yet released details about the victims’ conditions or the cause of the explosion, and the investigation remains ongoing.
See you soon.
— Aaron
