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May 7, 2026 - World

Trump broke his silence on a meeting with Brazil's president that perplexed journalists on Thursday. "Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well."Journalists would have to take Trump's word for it because a scheduled press conference was suddenly nixed, according to reporting by NewsNation. Anchors noted that the two leaders were expected to speak about tariffs and crime, as the Trump administration is considering labeling Brazilian cartels as terrorist groups. "The two didn't quite see eye-to-eye coming into this meeting," NewsNation correspondent Kellie Meyer said. "So maybe it is no surprise that they may not be going in front of the cameras." According to reports from Brazilian media, their meeting lasted three hours. Meyer reported later that despite saying he would meet with the Brazilian press, Lula da Silva called them off and didn't meet with them at all. "Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary," Trump signed off in his post.

May 7, 2026 - World

Man, 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, while expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, receiving care in NetherlandsWhat is hantavirus?Two Britons who were medically evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship are improving, global health officials have said.A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was taken to South Africa on 27 April and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg. Continue reading...

May 7, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's sudden change of policy on reopening the Strait of Hormuz has angered Gulf allies and changed how they view the United States amid the Iran war, an expert said on Thursday. Ravi Agrawal, editor in chief of Foreign Policy Magazine, told MS NOW that Trump's decision followed Saudi Arabia's move to suspend the U.S. military's ability to use its bases and airspaces for the ongoing military operation. The key Gulf ally's decision was a response to "Project Freedom," which Trump announced on his Truth Social platform over the weekend — without discussion among the regional allies. The backlash has had real ramifications, Agrawal argued."It is embarrassing," Agrawal said. "I mean, not only this, but you could go further back and say it's embarrassing that the United States went into this war without the backing of any of these countries in the region. None of the Gulf countries wanted this war to take place, even though they are the ones that have been in literally in the line of fire right from day one, and not only in the line of fire, because they just happen to be there, but specifically because they are home to U.S. bases. And that, in a sense, puts a target on their backs. And so Iran is attacking countries for their allegiance and alliances with the United States. And I think if you step back and look at the broader repercussions that are emerging from this, the countries in the region trust the United States less the fractures within the Gulf countries that Inzamam [Rashid] was referring to are growing." Agrawal suggested more fractures could be brewing as a result."The UAE and Saudi Arabia are increasingly not seeing eye to eye," Agrawal added. "The UAE recently pulled out of OPEC, the oil exporters' cartel. And then when you broaden that out further, Pakistan, of course, in South Asia, India, other countries that are deeply affected by this crisis, Katie, we're now looking at a world in which each of these countries are looking to strike side deals with each other, trying to work around a system and rules that they see as no longer really working with no real broker that they trust, with no broader system umbrella like the United Nations that actually functions. This is the disorder that many of us have been predicting for quite a while, and a lot of it stems from a United States that is increasingly acting like a rogue superpower."

May 7, 2026 - World

Right-wing influencers were spreading conspiracy theories about the rat-borne illness that has left three luxury cruise ship passengers dead, according to reports on Thursday. Experts from the World Health Organization have said that the hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius is being transmitted human-to-human and that MAGA social media accounts are now suggesting the virus was purposefully introduced to the passengers, The Daily Beast reported. The ship has been stranded off Cape Verde throughout the week but is now back to sailing with the plan to disembark passengers in the Canary Islands starting on Monday. Eight confirmed cases have been connected to the cruise, prompting medical evacuations in South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. MAGA followers were sharing their unfounded claims."HOLY S---. Twenty-three hantavirus cruise passengers returned home to ‘all corners’ of the World even America with one person already sick, per NYP. THEY ARE GOING TO TRY AND DO IT AGAIN. BUCKLE UP…” the MAGAVoice wrote on X. The account has 1.3 million followers and later shared this post: "Strange how viruses only occur when President Trump is in office and during Elections…"DC Draino, an account run by MAGA influencer and lawyer Rogan O’Handley with more than 2.3 million followers, expressed doubt about the WHO's updates."People on X giving better pandemic advice than everyone at WHO combined," DC Draino wrote on X.Right-wing commentator 01Hour wrote this on X: "If an outbreak happens on a ship. Leave it on the ship. Bring the doctors on the ship with equipment and make it a floating ICU. Did they learn nothing?"

May 7, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's decision to send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet with Pope Leo shows Trump may be interested in pitting his Cabinet members against each other, according to a report on Thursday. The president's "mission impossible" for Rubio has raised questions about loyalties in the Trump administration — not necessarily healing strained ties with the Vatican, reported David Gardner for The Swamp, The Daily Beast's Substack."As serious as it is to watch Donald Trump destroy the dignity of his office, it is amusing to watch him play with his Cabinet with the same vicious glee he once treated celebrities on The Apprentice," according to The Swamp. The move was questionable, especially after one of his top aides had urged Trump to pay attention to MAGA voters' top domestic concerns. "Why else would he send Marco Rubio to the Vatican one week after Susie Wiles begged Trumpers to stay in the country and focus on persuading MAGA voters that all is well and America really is first?" The Swamp reported.Rubio's visit followed weeks of feuding between the commander-in-chief and global leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Trump has thrown a slew of attacks at Pope Leo, and even said he prefers his older brother, a Florida resident. "I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump's decision to send Rubio reportedly signals another potential ploy — and where the president's ally stands in the administration. "Rubio feels like the grown-up in the administration," according to The Swamp. "He stood in for Karoline Leavitt with aplomb last week and has managed to side-step Trump’s more insane behavior better than suck-ups like Pete Hegseth, Howard Lutnick, and even Scott Bessent. The president has clearly sided with his one-time presidential nomination rival over the more ardently opportunistic JD Vance.""But the Vatican mission may suggest that, with the Iran War back on the shelf, Trump has decided to amuse himself by playing with his would-be successors," The Swamp reported. "Expect a Truth Social post any minute, blowing up any efforts Rubio may be making this morning to persuade the pope that the U.S. embarked on a 'just war.'"