As the rally in AI stocks fades, investors were cautious at the open on Friday, with European markets opening to mixed sentiment following steep falls in Asian markets.
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Indices in London and Frankfurt quickly moved into negative territory, with the FTSE 100 dropping nearly 0.4% and the DAX losing 0.3% right after the opening. The Paris CAC 40 and the IBEX 35 in Madrid were both up 0.3%, while Milan’s main index was flat. So was the EURO STOXX 50, a benchmark index of 50 blue-chip companies from the eurozone.
Investors are awaiting the latest US non-farm payrolls report and keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East.
The US job data is important for forecasting what the Fed’s next move could be. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said in a market note, “There is now a near 40% chance of a rate hike by year-end. We expect financial markets to be extremely sensitive to today’s data,” adding that this will be the first such report with Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
In the UK, the latest data from Halifax showed that house prices unexpectedly declined in May. House prices fell 0.1% month on month, but were still up 0.5% year on year, missing expectations for a 1% jump.
Oil markets are awaiting further direction
Oil prices stabilised after falling on Thursday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was slightly down and traded at $94.73 per barrel at 10:00 CET. It had been trading at about $70 per barrel before the start of the war in late February.
Benchmark US crude was little changed at $92.51 a barrel.
Oil prices remain under pressure as the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway crucial for global oil and natural gas transport, remains effectively closed, and the war-induced energy shock is threatening to slow economic growth and fuel inflation in many countries.
American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalised. Meanwhile, developments in Lebanon have cast doubt on the prospects for a permanent end to the conflict.
On Thursday, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between the Lebanese and Israeli governments.
“While there are few signs of progress in US-Iran talks, the oil market continues to trade on expectations of an imminent deal that would resume flows through the Strait of Hormuz,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a report.
Asian markets lose steam as AI craze cools
Wall Street rallied on Thursday after falling oil prices and bond yields eased pressure on US stocks. Banks, small-cap companies and other stocks that had previously been left behind by the euphoria around artificial intelligence led the gains.
Banks also helped lead the market, including gains of 5% for Goldman Sachs, 4.7% for Fifth Third Bancorp and 4.4% for U.S. Bancorp.
They helped to more than make up for losses among some AI stocks, which took a sudden back seat after dominating the market. Analysts have been saying AI stocks may have run too high, becoming too expensive, and that the broader US stock market may be set for a slowdown following an unrelenting streak of nine straight winning weeks for the S&P 500, its longest since 2023.
On Wall Street on Thursday, computer chipmaker Broadcom’s shares sank 12.6% after it issued guidance that fell short of investors’ expectations, raising concerns about the wider AI and technology sector.
US memory chip maker Micron Technology dropped 7.7%, and cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings fell 3.8%.
Still, the benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.7% to a record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged 0.1% lower.
But in Asia, investors dumped key AI-related shares, with South Korea’s SK Hynix plunging 8.6% and Samsung Electronics shedding 5.4%.
The Kospi dropped 5.1% to 8,199.44. The index has roughly doubled over the past year, lifted by gains in major technology companies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.3% to 66,573.85, with technology shares leading the decline, even as official data showed that Japan’s real wages rose for the fourth consecutive month. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron’s shares fell 7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.2% to 24,948.96, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 4,045.45.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 8,623.50.
Taiwan’s Taiex gave up 1.3%, while India’s Sensex was up 0.1%.
In other trading early on Friday, the US dollar fell to 159.96 Japanese yen from 160.03 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1635, up 0.2%. Gold prices were down 0.3%, trading at around $4,490.70.
All six episodes are available to binge in one go via Channel 4’s catch-up service after the series premiere this week
The brand new comedy series launched on Thursday night (May 28)(Image: Channel 4)
A brand new Channel 4 comedy series premiered last night and audiences are split.
Surreal six-part sitcom Make That Movie aired its first two episodes on Channel 4 on Thursday evening (May 28) with the entire series also made available to binge in one go on the broadcaster’s catch-up service.
The mockumentary follows a director named Sam (portrayed by Australian comedian Sam Campbell) who scours the UK in search of weird and wonderful ideas for feature films from the general public. He and his team then bring the ideas to life in just three days, though the quality of the finished product is always slightly questionable.
The official synopsis reads: “Hotshot director Sam and his elite team of filmmakers race against the clock to turn ordinary people’s extraordinary, chaotic and surreal ideas into hit movies.”
Alongside show creator Sam, who plays an exaggerated version of himself, the cast also includes Michell and Webb Are Not Helping’s Lara Ricote as runner Jess, and Am I Being Unreasonable’s Helen Bauer, cast as sound engineer Pat. Meanwhile, Aaron Chen (Fisk) takes on the part of intimacy coordinator Sebastian, and This Country’s David Hargreaves assumes the role of cinematographer Winnie.
In the wake of its release, reviews have ranged greatly with some declaring it the best thing on TV and others calling it the worst, something Sam had been wary of. He admitted in a chat with Metro: “It’s really hard making a show. It’s better to watch a show,” adding: “There’s a big, serious threat of it being t**d of the year.”
Professional critics appeared to enjoy the series, with The Guardian calling it “the funniest TV show of the entire year” in their five-star review. Meanwhile The Times offered it a more meagre three stars, branding it “just so weird.”
While it is still lacking a Rotten Tomatoes rating, viewers at home that dove straight into it have been vocal with their thoughts. One disgruntled viewer commented: “That make that movie programme with Sam Campbell is absolutely HORRIFICCCCCCCC.”
“A few episodes in on #MakeThatMovie (love Sam Campbell) and while it’s genius to cast Aaron Chen in roles such as intimacy coordinator and stunt coordinator, he just feels very underused,” another remarked.
A third urged “everyone watch Make That Movie by Sam Campbell,” while a fourth was unsure, commenting: “Hmm… Sam Campbell is great at spontaneous weird ideas but I’m not sure it works so well committed to a script… And Sam won’t be winning any Oscars for his acting.”
Make That Movie is available to stream via Channel 4’s catch-up service.
SAVANNAH Guthrie has quietly dropped hundreds of thousands on private investigators in a desperate attempt to find her mother months after she was abducted from her home.
The U.S. Sun can report that the Today anchor, 54, has shelled out around $500,000 to keep the search going for Nancy, 84, after losing faith in the official investigation.
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Savannah Guthrie, here on Today, has spent over $500,000 in private investigator services in the search for her abducted motherCredit: GettySources told The U.S. Sun that Savannah has a team tirelessly working on her beloved mother, Nancy’s disappearanceCredit: Instagram/savannahguthrie
Though many have lost hope that Nancy will ever be found, Savannah “has told everyone involved that the search will continue for as long as necessary,” an insider told The U.S. Sun.
“She is not prepared to stop looking for her mother. She feels that depending only on the official investigation is not enough anymore – that’s why she’s investing so heavily in private investigators and outside specialists.”
The source said that the heartbroken daughter has hired an “entire independent team” who are “working leads every day” to help bring her beloved mother home.
This top-notch team includes former agents, security experts, and investigators, the insider claimed.
According to the insider, the veteran journalist became disillusioned with the official investigation.
“She became increasingly disappointed with how communication from authorities changed over time,” they added.
“What once felt urgent started to feel far more routine.”
Savannah’s mother, Nancy, was taken from her home on February 1stCredit: Instagram/savannahguthrieA chilling video showed an armed and masked man at the door to her Arizona home the night she vanishedCredit: Getty
“When Savannah learned there would no longer be direct contact with the sheriff, she took that very personally,” the insider continued.
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“She felt the family was being pushed further away from the center of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, a second insider explained: “The financial cost has become enormous, but Savannah doesn’t care about the money.”
“Right now, every dollar is worth spending if it helps bring her mother home.
“By now, the costs have climbed well into the mid-six figures.
“And remember, Savannah was once willing to pay a ransom, so spending big on the search is nothing new for her.”
“She keeps telling friends the same thing: The family can’t stop searching.
“But she still believes there’s a chance her mother can be found, and that belief is what keeps the private search going every single day.”
Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack was the first to report on Savannah’s ongoing investigator efforts into Nancy‘s disappearance.
More than 100 days have passed since Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her bed in the early morning hours of February 1.
As the Pima County Sheriff’s Office remains tight-lipped, a feud has erupted behind the scenes between local cops and the highest levels of federal law enforcement.
FBI Director Kash Patel went on national television to blast local authorities, claiming they completely botched the opening hours of the investigation.
Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Patel emphasized that while missing persons cases technically fall under local jurisdiction, the first 48 hours are the absolute most critical window to find someone alive.
According to the FBI chief, federal agents were left twiddling their thumbs for four straight days before locals finally let them in.
Once the Bureau secured access, they immediately bypassed local roadblocks to recover chilling Nest security camera footage from Guthrie’s front porch.
Patel took direct credit for the breakthrough, noting the Bureau had to coordinate directly with Google just to get those haunting images out to the public.
The finger-pointing did not stop there. Patel openly slammed Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for bypassing the FBI’s world-class crime lab in Quantico, Virginia.
Instead, local police shipped crucial DNA evidence found inside Nancy’s home to a private laboratory down in Florida.
Timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home on February 1, 2026.
Timeline:
January 31: Nancy is last seen by her family
5:32pm: Nancy travels to her daughter’s home for dinner, about 11 minutes from her own house.
9:48pm: Family members drop off Nancy Guthrie at her home in Tucson. Her garage door closes two minutes later.
February 1: Nancy is reported missing and a search begins
1:47am: Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnects
2:12am: Camera software detects a person moving in range of the camera. There is no video, and Nancy does not have a storage description.
2:28am: Nancy’s pacemaker app disconnects from her phone, which is later found still at her house.
Around 11am: A parishioner at Nancy’s church calls the mom’s children and says she failed to show up for service.
11:56am: Family members arrive at Nancy’s house to check on her.
12:03pm: The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
8:55pm: The Pima County Sheriff’s Office gives its first press conference and reveals some clues found at Nancy’s home caused “grave concern.” Sheriff Chris Nanos says helicopters, drones, and infrared cameras are all being utilized in the search.
February 2: Search crews pull back. Nancy’s home is considered a crime scene. Savannah releases a statement thanking supporters for their prayers, which her co-hosts read on Today.
February 3: A trail of blood is pictured outside Nancy’s home, where there were reportedly signs of forced entry. Nanos admits they have no suspects, no leads, and no videos that could lead to Nancy’s recovery. He and the FBI beg for more tips and accounts.
February 4, 8pm: Savannah and her siblings release a heartbreaking video directed at their mother’s abductors asking for proof she is alive and saying they’re willing to work with them to get her back.
February 5: FBI offers $50,000 reward for information on the case.
5pm: First ransom demand deadline for millions in Bitcoin passes. Guthrie family releases demand to speak “directly” to the kidnappers, saying, “We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
Blood is confirmed to be Nancy’s.
February 7: Savannah and her siblings share a video stating they received a message from kidnappers and are willing to pay.
February 9, 5pm: Second ransom demand deadline, reportedly with “much more serious” conditions.
Savannah posts a video asking the public to report anything strange to law enforcement.
February 10: The FBI release surveillance footage of the armed masked suspect outside Guthrie’s house on the night she disappeared.
February 11: A man is detained in Rio Rico, about 19 miles south of Tucson. The individual was released after being questioned by authorities.
February 12: Suspect described as 5’9″-5’10” carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack (Walmart exclusive).
February 13: A second man is detained by police after being pulled over by Pima County officers near a Culver’s in Tucson. The man, identified as Luke Daley, was questioned and has since been released.
February 15: DNA is collected from a discarded glove found 2 miles away that matches surveillance.
February 16: Sheriff Nanos clears the Guthrie family and their spouses of any involvement.
February 24: The Guthrie family increased the family’s reward for information to $1million.
March 4: DNA on the glove is traced to a restaurant worker, and the person is cleared of any involvement.
March 16: ABC News reports that more images have been obtained from motion-activated cameras.
March 26: Savannah’s first on-camera interview since her mother’s disappearance airs.
Patel claimed he had hundreds of federal agents and intelligence analysts deployed to Phoenix and Tucson on standby, ready to flood the neighborhood and process the DNA evidence within days.
He expressed frustration that the Bureau was sidelined, arguing their premier lab could have cracked open better leads by now.
Sheriff Nanos is fiercely hitting back against the narrative.
In an official statement, Nanos denied keeping the feds in the dark, insisting that members of the FBI Task Force were actually boots-on-the-ground at the scene alongside local detectives from the very beginning.
Nanos fired back that both his department and Nancy’s own family notified federal authorities immediately.
EastEnders has teased which characters will face life-changing events during their special week on the BBC soap, with new spoilers teasing some big twists for next week
EastEnders has teased which characters will face life-changing events during their special week(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
New spoilers for EastEnders have teased the BBC soap’s big week, where “everything changes” for more than one resident.
Specific scenes are being kept under wraps, but it’s set to be unmissable. Lives will no doubt be changed, and there will be bombshells aplenty.
There’s a huge change to the usual format to for the BBC soap, with things being a little different to mark the occasion. More than one character is involved in the episode, and it’s safe to say that whatever happens, it will impact more than one Walford family.
In a special week of episodes, set across one night, everything changes. Following the drama of Vicki and Ross’ wedding, Walford residents gather but Yolande realises Denise is missing.
Denise soon opens up to Yolande about her cancer diagnosis. She soon receives a call where she’s told she needs immediate treatment, but some worrying family news leaves her rushing to be with Chelsea in her time of need. Prior to this, Mark and Chelsea flirt, but it’s Zack she almost shares a kiss with.
As Chelsea heads back to the wedding reception marquee, her world is turned upside down. Denise tries to be strong for Chelsea, as Yolande helps cover for Denise when her absence is questioned.
Later, Denise tells Jack about her diagnosis. Kathy and Cindy are at loggerheads after one too many wines, but the night is about to take a turn for the worst for Ian.
When there’s a knock at the door, Ian makes a discovery and he realises he could lose everything. Max publicly declares his love for Cindy, before asking her to marry him.
Kat worries that she and Alfie have given the wedding guests food poisoning. Harry makes a confession to Gina about Eddie, leaving her confronting George.
As George realises his dad Eddie will never change, he tries to apologise to his daughter but Gina flees. Soon, George tells Eddie he’s sending him back to prison, which leads to Eddie dropping a bombshell of his own.
As George takes action to protect his family, he may regret it. It’s going to be a massive week for the soap, with plenty of twists and turns ahead, so it isn’t a week to be missed.
What happens to Chelsea? How do Denise’s family react to her cancer news and what happens with Ian? The spoilers are intentionally cryptic with plenty more being kept under wraps until each episode airs that week.
May 25 (UPI) — With the United States and Iran reportedly nearing a peace deal, oil prices fell slightly below $100 per barrel early Monday, suggesting optimism from traders to start the week.
Gas prices also declined slightly in the United States in the last week, but remain above $4.50 per gallon for regular on Memorial Day.
President Donald Trump has indicated that negotiations are “proceeding nicely,” and Iran acknowledged that talks have progressed but that a deal has not been reached, The BBC reported.
In European trading, Brent crude dropped to $95.04 per barrel and WTI futures dropped dropped to $91.02 per barrel — both declines of more than 5% — the Wall Street Journal reported.
Even with gas prices high, The Hill reported that more than 39 million people were projected to travel the roads during Memorial Day weekend, even as gas prices have remained consistently high since the start of the war in Iran.
Regular gas on Monday averaged $4.50 per gallon, which is down $0.01 from one week ago, but still $0.40 higher than one month ago, AAA reported.
Similar, diesel averaged $5.59 per gallon on Monday, which is down $0.03 from one week ago, and $0.40 more than one month ago.
“Memorial Day travel is still reaching record levels, but with the smallest year-over-year increase in more than a decade,” said Tiffany Wright, spokesperson for AAA’s The Auto Club.
“Although travel demand remains strong, higher fuel prices and persistent inflation may cause some travelers to shorten trips, delay plans or stay closer to home.”
The longer that the United States and Iran take to agree on a peace plan and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, gas prices are unlikely to decrease significantly and energy markets will take a while to get back to normal, Axios reported.
“Gas prices are currently falling, but until we see an agreement signed and a significant amount of ships transit the Strait, the national average prices of gasoline will likely remain well above $4.00 per gallon,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for Gas Buddy.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, or “The Old Guard,” place some 250,000 American flags throughout Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., on May 21, 2026. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
United States President Donald Trump has withdrawn his $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stemming from a leak of his tax returns and said his administration will create a $1.77bn anti-weaponisation fund that would compensate some of Trump’s political allies.
The court filing, released on Monday in Florida, did not disclose the terms of the deal, including whether either party settled.
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However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday announced the establishment of a $1.77bn fund called the Anti-Weaponisation Fund that would “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponisation and lawfare”.
The DOJ said in its press release that it was part of the settlement agreement.
ABC News first reported last week that the president was prepared to drop the lawsuit as part of a deal that would create the fund to pay Trump allies who were perceived as wrongly investigated and prosecuted.
Trump, his adult sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization sued the IRS in January, arguing the agency should have done more to prevent a former contractor from disclosing their tax returns to media outlets during the president’s first term.
The case arose from former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn’s leak of Trump’s tax returns to media outlets, including the New York Times and ProPublica, in 2019 and 2020.
Those returns showed that Trump paid little or no income taxes in many years, the Times reported in 2020.
Prosecutors charged Littlejohn in 2023 with leaking tax records of Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans to the media, saying he was motivated by a political agenda. Littlejohn later pleaded guilty to improper disclosures, and a judge sentenced him to five years in prison.
Trump filed the lawsuit personally, not in his official capacity as president.
Political pushback
While the court filing did not mention the terms of any potential deal, news that the president would create a fund to protect his political allies sparked backlash.
Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, called the idea “unconstitutional”.
“This, of course, is a political grievance fund that Donald Trump can use to pay off his friends,” Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in an interview on Sunday with the ABC News programme This Week.
“If these people have a valid cause of action, they should bring it to the court like every other American does, and use the system of due process, and prove things by clear and convincing evidence, or a preponderance of evidence. Go and prove it. But the idea that Donald Trump can just pass it out like a pardon is absurd,” he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also criticised the president amid reports of the deal.
“Donald Trump wants to settle his joke lawsuit against his own IRS department to hand out $1.7 BILLION of OUR TAX DOLLARS to Jan. 6th insurrectionists and his cronies,” Newsom said in a post on X.
“It is an outrage that the American taxpayers are having to pay for this and that we have a president who is exercising such open corruption in front of everyone and expecting us to go along with it,” Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state, told the progressive MeidasTouch network.
Despite the criticisms, it is not clear who would specifically benefit from the funds.
Trump has long claimed that the DOJ under his predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was weaponised against him, pointing to the criminal charges where he faced allegations that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost by more than seven million votes, and that he retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Merrick Garland, the attorney general during the Biden administration, denied allegations of politicisation. The Justice Department also investigated prominent Democrats, including Biden’s son Hunter Biden and former US Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponised against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a release.
However, the Trump administration has actively pursued cases against perceived political enemies, including former FBI director James Comey and former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and California Senator Adam Schiff.
The DOJ said that there is legal precedent for the fund, pointing to a programme called “Keepseagle” under the administration of former US President Barack Obama, a Democrat. That created a fund to address allegations of racism against the federal government.
The White House referred Al Jazeera to the DOJ for a request for comment. The DOJ did not respond.
The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) announced on X that it would be investigating how the funds would be used.
“While Americans are struggling with an affordability crisis, President Trump plans to use nearly $1.8bn in taxpayer money to pay off his friends and allies—including potentially the violent insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on January 6th,” CREW’s president, Donald K Sherman, said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.
“By settling his absurd $10bn lawsuit against his own administration, Trump and the Justice Department just engaged in the most brazen act of self-dealing in the history of the presidency, and did so quickly in order to avoid the scrutiny of the judicial process, while quite likely violating the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause in the process. This is one of the single most corrupt acts in American history.”
A long time coming
Lawyers for the president asked a federal judge in April to pause the case for 90 days while the two sides worked to reach a settlement or resolution.
“This limited pause will neither prejudice the parties nor delay ultimate resolution,” the filing in April said. “Rather, the extension will promote judicial economy and allow the Parties to explore avenues that could narrow or resolve the issues efficiently.”
When asked in February how he would handle any potential damages from the case, Trump said, “I think what we’ll do is do something for charity.”
“We could make it a substantial amount,” he said at the time. “Nobody would care because it’s going to go to numerous very good charities.”
The litigation against the IRS raised novel legal questions, including conflicts of interest, about whether a president can sue his own government. It is not clear if the judge will accept Trump’s withdrawal of the case.
Under the US Constitution, federal courts may only hear genuine disputes between litigants with opposing stakes in the outcome.
US District Court Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami, who oversees Trump’s lawsuit, wrote last month that it was unclear whether the parties to the lawsuit were “truly antagonistic to each other”.
Williams had set a court hearing for May 27 to hear arguments on whether she should dismiss the case on those grounds.
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio — Donald Trump romped to victory Tuesday in Florida, chasing Marco Rubio from the race, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich won his home state, raising hopes for those seeking to stop Trump and settle the presidential contest on the floor of the Republican National Convention.
Trump also won North Carolina and Illinois and was locked in a close fight with Sen. Ted Cruz in Missouri.
“I’m getting ready to rent a covered wagon, we’re going to have a big sail and have the wind blow us to the Rocky Mountains and over the mountains to California,” Kasich said at a jubilant rally outside Cleveland.
That is just the sort of extended nominating fight the GOP establishment sought to avoid by stacking the political calendar with big early contests, capped by Tuesday night’s winner-take-all primaries in Florida and Ohio. California votes on June 7, near the close of the primary season.
Now, many of those same party types see an inconclusive nominating contest as the best and perhaps only chance of thwarting Trump, even if it threatens to shred the GOP in the process.
The setback in Ohio, where Trump campaigned hard, was his most disappointing performance since he finished second to Cruz in February’s Iowa caucuses.
His unhappiness was evident as he addressed reporters at his posh Mar-a-Lago private club in Palm Beach, Fla., and complained about the miseries of running for president.
“Lies, deceit, viciousness. Disgusting reporters. Horrible people,” the Manhattan businessman and reality TV star said. “Some are nice.”
Cruz, speaking with 99% of the Missouri votes counted, once more insisted he was the only candidate who could defeat Trump.
“Starting tomorrow morning, every Republican has a clear choice. Only two campaigns have a plausible path to the nomination — ours and Donald Trump’s,” the Texas senator told supporters in Houston. “Nobody else has any mathematical possibility whatsoever. Only one campaign has beaten Donald Trump over and over again.”
With Trump’s unmatched string of victories, no other candidate is nearly as well positioned to win the nomination ahead of the July convention in Cleveland. He padded his overall delegate lead with Tuesday’s victories, putting him ahead of Cruz and Kasich, who had not won a state before Ohio.
But there were signs Tuesday that not just the establishment but rank-and-file Republicans have yet to rally around the party’s polarizing front-runner.
Nearly 3 in 10 Republican voters across the five states said they would not vote for Trump if he wins the party’s nomination, according to exit poll interviews. Four in 10 said they would consider voting for a third-party candidate if the choice came down to Trump or the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton.
Defections of that magnitude could badly undermine Trump in the general election, and that prospect will probably be stressed by his opponents going forward into next week’s contests in Arizona and Utah.
Rubio spoke to the controversy surrounding the GOP front-runner as he departed the race.
In a Miami concession speech delivered less than half an hour after the polls closed in Florida, the freshman senator congratulated Trump, wagging a finger and shushing members of the audience who booed his kind words.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich votes Tuesday in Westerville, Ohio.
(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Rubio then devoted the bulk of his lengthy remarks to warn against succumbing to the anger and frustration that have fueled Trump’s improbable rise.
“The politics of resentment against other people will not just leave us a fractured party,” Rubio said, as disconsolate family members stood by onstage. “They’re going to leave us a fractured nation” where people hate each other for their political views.
“Do not give in to the fear,” Rubio said. “Do not give in to the frustration.”
The son of Cuban immigrants and, at age 44, the youngest candidate in the field, Rubio was seen as one of the GOP’s rising stars, with a capacity to broaden the party’s support among millennial voters and the nation’s fast-growing Latino population.
But he failed to win more than a few contests and was never seriously competitive in his home state. Trump captured 99 delegates in Florida’s winner take-all-primary, more than a quarter of those at stake in Tuesday’s balloting.
The victory in winner-take-all Ohio gave Kasich 66 delegates, more than doubling his total but still leaving him well behind Trump. His goal is to build momentum with a series of wins positioning him as the strongest candidate heading into the Cleveland convention even if, as seems inevitable, Kasich is shy of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination outright.
Pennsylvania, where Kasich was born, is the next big target on April 26.
The results Tuesday followed one of the oddest, most contentious weeks in a campaign that has been filled with strange and surreal moments.
The precipitating event was a racially charged near-riot at a Trump rally Friday night in Chicago, which was canceled out of security concerns.
Trump’s opponents quickly seized on the moment and the violent imagery that played around the world to once more challenge his temperament and fitness to be president. They accused him of fomenting the unrest through belligerent remarks that seemed to egg on his audiences into physically confronting dissenters.
Trump denied any responsibility, blaming the violence on what he called professional agitators linked to Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders. He said the protesters provoked his supporters and were stifling their rights to free speech and assembly.
“I don’t condone violence,” Trump said repeatedly, though he sympathized with backers who chose to “be effective” with protesters in the audience. (Previously he used more pugilistic language.)
Trump said he might even pay the legal fees for a supporter who sucker-punched a demonstrator at a North Carolina rally, drawing widespread condemnation. He won the state anyway.
Indeed, for weeks increasingly desperate Republican opponents have mounted an effort to stop Trump, to seemingly little effect.
More than $10 million in negative ads blazed across the Florida airwaves in just the last week alone, attacking Trump for his ethics, the failings of his business empire and his all-over-the-map political ideology.
Those meant nothing to Mark Owens, who stepped into the Miami Beach sunshine Tuesday and lighted a cigar after casting a ballot for the political neophyte.
“We’ve trusted politicians for 200 years to run our country,” Owens said. “It’s time to give someone else a shot.”
With polls suggesting Florida was firmly in Trump’s grasp, much of the campaign focused on Ohio, another traditional fall battleground.
Trump laid on extra events, including an election-eve rally outside Youngstown in place of a planned Florida appearance, and he turned his attention to attacking Kasich after long ignoring the Ohio governor.
He assailed him for his support as a congressman for the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact with Canada and Mexico that, Trump said, devastated the state’s economy. He also laid on personal insults in a bid to snatch a victory in Kasich’s home state and clear the governor from the race.
Kasich, whose strategy centered on staying above the salvos flying among other candidates, accused Trump of creating a “toxic” political atmosphere and, wrapping himself in the establishment mantle, spent Monday stumping alongside Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee.
With Kasich suddenly a factor in the GOP contest, the skirmishing here in Ohio seems a likely preview of what is to come.
While he pledged to take the high road at his victory party Tuesday night, Kasich sent a different message speaking to reporters earlier in the day.
He said, “I will be … forced going forward to talk about some of the deep concerns I have about the way this campaign has been run by some others — by one other in particular.”
Abi made her debut on the long-running ITV soap back in 2017 – and it’s fair to say she has quickly become a firm favourite with fans. The character has also played a part in several big storylinesduring her stint on the soap.
From her drug addiction, the tragic death of her son Seb (Harry Visinoni), and, more recently, her affair with Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) behind her husband Kevin’s (Michael Le Vell) back, her time in Weatherfield has not been short of drama.
Away from the cobbles though, on Saturday (May 9) Abi actress Sally celebrated her birthday – and fans couldn’t believe her real age.
On a Coronation StreetFacebook fan page, one person paid a sweet tribute to Sally and said: “Sally Carman is 51 today. Happy Birthday Sally.” And rushing to the comments section, fans were left gobsmacked by her age.
One person wrote: “51?! She looks in her 40s!” Another added: “She doesn’t look a day over 30.” A third chimed in: “I’d have guessed she was in her 40s.” Someone else wrote: “She doesn’t look that age! Gorgeous lady.”
Last year, Sally revealed the secrets behind her remarkably youthful looks. In an interview with The Sun, Sally confessed: “Oh, it’s no secret – I have fillers, I have Botox, facials…. I do all of it.”
Sally continued: “I’m really open about it. I don’t think there’s anything worse than someone promoting a cream saying: ‘Buy this mega-bucks cream and your face will be as smooth as mine.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, whatever.’ So there’s no cream – well, there is, but there are other things on top.”
Meanwhile earlier this year, Sally confirmed that fans will be seeing her playing Abi until at least 2027 as she signed another year-long contract. Speaking exclusively to Radio Times at the TV Choice Awards, she confirmed: “Just signed for another year, which is great. My goodness, I love it. It’s my favourite job I’ve ever done.”
The soap star also shared that she would be honoured to follow in the footsteps and have the same screen longevity as Corrie royalty Sally Dynevor, who recently marked the milestone of playing Sally Metcalfe for 40 years. “If they’ll have me, yeah!” Sally joked.
In addition to her success on Coronation Street, Sally has also found love on the show. She met her co-star Joe Duttine, who plays Tim Metcalfe, on set in 2017, and the couple got engaged in 2020 before tying the knot two years later.
Discussing their unique engagement tale on Kate Thornton’s podcast, White Wine Question Time, Sally shared: “It was while we were in lockdown and we were staying in the Dales with his sister, who has a lot of space, with, his kids” she said.
She added: “We were walking around this big field on this walk and he went: ‘Kids, have a look in between the dry stone walling because you know, they used to put coins and precious things to hide them in the walls.”
Sally continued: “So I’m having a look and there’s this box. And I opened it. I’m like: ‘No way.’ And then there was another box inside. And I turned around and he was on one knee.”
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX
U.S. forces “disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade, CENTCOM stated. “A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran.”
This was the third time that the U.S. has fired on Iranian ships running the blockade. The Navy has used a destroyer’s five-inch gun firing inert rounds to blast the engineering section of one ship to disable it and a Super Hornet’s 20mm Vulcan cannon to disable the rudder on another. So, the use of bombs dropped down a ship’s smokestack to disable but not destroy a ship is new. You can read about these prior instances here.
The weapons used in this latest wave of attacks on blockade runners wasn’t disclosed. 500lb laser-guided bombs are likely what was employed here based on the Super Hornet’s stores options, precision required, and the effects seen. These can utilize high-explosive bomb bodies or inert ones for desired effects, with the latter being most probable in this case.
Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin was the first to report this news.
NEW: US military carried out more airstrikes today hitting several empty tankers trying to break the blockade.
According to a senior US official: “these were Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) …. massive, empty ships trying to make it back to Iran … attempted to run the…
The blockade on Iranian ports was enforced April 13 to strangle Iran’s economy as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. On Friday, CENTCOM reported that U.S. forces have prevented more than 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
“These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus,” the command stated on X.
There are currently more than 70 tankers that U.S. forces are preventing from entering or leaving Iranian ports. These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus. pic.twitter.com/VBKfDwMwqJ
However, “a confidentialCIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with the document.
Washington Post (This got a lot of attention overnight)
A confidential CIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship.
PLUS:…
— Joumanna Nasr Bercetche (@JoumannaTV) May 8, 2026
“The Ministry of Defense announced that on May 8, 2026, the UAE air defense systems engaged 2 ballistic missiles and 3 UAV’s launched from Iran, resulting in 3 moderate injuries,” the UAE Defense Ministry (MoD) announced on X Friday morning EDT. “Since the beginning of the blatant Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, the air defenses have engaged a total of 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,263 UAV’s.”
The UAE, located about 60 miles south of Iran across the Strait, claims these attacks have killed 13 and injured 230.
The MoD “affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country, in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability and safeguards its interests and national capabilities.”
Tehran did not immediately respond to the claim, which TWZ cannot independently verify.
These incidents follow an exchange of fire last night between the U.S. and Iran. As we reported yesterday, U.S. Central Command said it attacked several locations in Iran after “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.”
Iran said it launched the attacks in retaliation for “violation of the ceasefire and the aggression by the terrorist US military against an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask.”
IRGC Navy:
Following the violation of the ceasefire and the aggression by the terrorist US military against an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask, and the approach of warships belonging to the terrorist US military toward the Strait of Hormuz, a very large-scale and… pic.twitter.com/pmg4IiD15M
The extent of the damage to Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and the Bandar Kargan naval checkpoint in Minab, targets struck by the U.S. on Thursday in response to the attacks on U.S. Navy ships, remains unclear. No images have emerged and neither Iran nor the U.S. have commented.
Last night, Trump called the exchange a “love tap” and said the ceasefire still held.
President Trump tells me in a phone call the retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets are just a “love tap.”
Amid the kinetic activity, diplomacy continues as Trump insists that Iran never develop a nuclear weapon. The status of its ballistic missile arsenal, control of the Strait of Hormuz and support for proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis are also major sticking points.
The U.S. is awaiting to hear back from Iran about its peace proposal, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet,” he said.
The secretary added that he remained concerned that Iran is still trying to maintain control over the Strait.
“We’ve seen the reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some agency that’s going to control traffic in the Strait,” Rubio explained. “That would actually be unacceptable.”
“We’ve seen the reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some agency that’s going to control traffic in the Straits… That would actually be unacceptable,” says @SecRubio.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet.” pic.twitter.com/Wo8IEEWDnI
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026
Iran, meanwhile, is accusing the U.S. of moving the goal posts in the negotiating process by using force.
“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on X. “Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire? Whatever the causes, [the] outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure.”
Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire?
Iran claims that its “naval commandos carried out a special operation to detain” an oil tanker, “which was attempting to disrupt Iran’s oil exports and national interests.”
“Implementing the decision of the Supreme National Security Council and with a judicial ruling, the Army Navy seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi, which was carrying Iranian oil and tried to take advantage of the situation in the region to harm and disrupt the oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation,” said Iran’s Army Public Relations Office in a statement on Friday.
“The commandos of the Army Navy “directed the violating oil tanker to the southern coast of Iran and handed it over to the judicial authorities,” according to the statement. “The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran will “vigorously defend the interests and assets of the Iranian nation in the territorial waters of the country and will not tolerate any violator or aggressor.”
Though Iranian officials identified this ship as the Ocean Koi, it is also known as the Jin Li. It is part of Iran’s so-called dark fleet and was sanctioned by the U.S. in February for transporting millions of barrels of Iranian oil. It is unclear why Iran made a show of this event, though it could have been for domestic consumption in the wake of yesterday’s attacks on several targets.
You can see video of the claimed boarding below.
According to IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) News, the Iranian Navy had conducted a special operation to seize an “offending tanker” named “OCEAN KOI” for attempting to export Iranian oil.
Her new name is actually JIN LI (9255933), and has been so since 2025-11-30.… pic.twitter.com/3Wv8jJNEAr
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) May 8, 2026
UPDATE: 12:16 PM EDT –
The CIA recruited sources inside Iran, but flawed covert communications reportedly helped Iranian counterintelligence identify and arrest informants, a new report from Reuters stated.
“In interviews with six Iranian former CIA informants, Reuters found that the agency was careless…amid its intense drive to gather intelligence in Iran, putting in peril those risking their lives to help the United States,” the outlet explained.
“Such aggressive steps by the CIA sometimes put average Iranians in danger with little prospect of gaining critical intelligence,” Reuters added. “When these men were caught, the agency provided no assistance to the informants or their families, even years later, the six Iranians said.”
UPDATE: 12:25 PM EDT –
Iranian officials continue to dismiss the notion that the country will cede control of the Strait.
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Friday Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is an asset “on the scale of an atomic bomb”, adding that Tehran would not give up the capability it gained through war.”
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Friday Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is an asset “on the scale of an atomic bomb”, adding that Tehran would not give up the capability it gained through war. pic.twitter.com/07vbiRwVPR
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 8, 2026
12:43 PM EDT –
Hours after launching another attack on the UAE, an Iranian official says that country will remain a target for supporting the U.S. and Israel.
Iran will not leave the Emirates alone, and they are well aware of that, which is why they are trying to maintain tension between Iran, America, and the Zionist entity,” Ali Khodarian, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, stated on X. “The Americans have realized that their naval blockade parade will henceforth face a military response from the Islamic Republic. No one can now carry out a military operation against our ships without a response.”
عضو لجنة الأمن القومي في البرلمان الإيراني علي خضريان:
⭕إيران لن تترك الإمارات وشأنها وهم يدركون ذلك لذا فهم يحاولون الحفاظ على التوتر بين إيران وأميركا والكيان الصهيوني
⭕ الأميركيون أدركوا أن استعراض حصارهم البحري سيواجه من الآن فصاعدا ردا عسكريا من قبل الجمهورية الإسلامية… pic.twitter.com/qHPE4ZeRsv
The United States will facilitate two days of intensive talks between the governments of Israel and Lebanon on May 14 and 15, State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott announced on Friday.
State Department
UPDATE: 1:48 PM EDT-
CENTCOM released imagery of the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) operating in the Middle East. “The three destroyers are currently sailing in the Arabian Sea supporting the blockade against Iran,” the command stated on X. “As of today, CENTCOM forces have redirected 57 commercial vessels and disabled 4 to prevent the ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.”
Photos of USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) operating in the Middle East. The three destroyers are currently sailing in the Arabian Sea supporting the blockade against Iran. As of today, CENTCOM forces have redirected 57 commercial… pic.twitter.com/iFHp1HHMac
The U.S. is denying the latest Iranian claim that it successfully carried out an attack on U.S. military assets.
On Friday, the Iranian Army claimed “while the US Navy was attempting to remove three of its destroyers from the Strait of Hormuz towards the Sea of Oman with air support, we carried out a combined missile and drone operation, during which we targeted this naval group with 8 cruise missiles and 24 suicide drones. As a result of this operation, and despite the extensive attempts by the US Navy to repel the attack, one cruise missile and three suicide drones successfully hit the American destroyers, causing fires to break out on them.”
Asked if any U.S. ships were struck today, a U.S. official offered a one-word response.
“No,” the official stated.
BREAKING: IRAN SAYS IT DIRECTLY HIT US DESTROYERS IN THE HORMUZ
The Iranian Army Statement:
On Friday morning, while the US Navy was attempting to remove three of its destroyers from the Strait of Hormuz towards the Sea of Oman with air support, we carried out a combined… pic.twitter.com/FusP0ihHxt
The announcement on Friday is expected to clear the path for the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.
Published On 24 Apr 202624 Apr 2026
The United States Department of Justice has ended its probe into US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro said on X on Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinise them instead.
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Pirro, a Trump ally and the top federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, said she had instead asked the Fed’s internal watchdog, the Office of Inspector General, to examine cost overruns in renovations of the central bank’s Washington headquarters.
“The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers,” Pirro said in a social media post. “I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.”
The move could lead to a swift confirmation vote by the Senate for Warsh, a former top Fed official whom US President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated in January to replace Powell. Powell’s term as chair ends May 15.
Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had said he would oppose Warsh until the investigation was resolved, effectively blocking his confirmation.
The leadership transition at the world’s leading central bank could now proceed quickly.
Republicans praised Warsh during a Tuesday hearing even as Democrats questioned his independence from Trump, the lack of transparency around some of his financial holdings, and what they said was his flip-flopping on interest rates. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the committee, questioned if Warsh will be a “sock puppet“.
Still, Trump’s previous appointment to the Fed’s board of governors, Stephen Miran, was approved by the full Senate just 13 days after his nomination.
No evidence
The investigation was among several undertaken by the Department of Justice into Trump’s perceived adversaries. For months, it had failed to gain traction as prosecutors struggled to articulate a basis to suspect criminal conduct.
A prosecutor handling the case conceded at a closed-door court hearing in March that the government had not yet found any evidence of a crime, and a judge subsequently quashed subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve.
The judge, James Boasberg, said prosecutors had produced “essentially zero evidence” to suspect Powell of a crime. Boasberg branded prosecutors’ justification for the subpoenas as “thin and unsubstantiated”.
More recently, prosecutors made an unannounced visit to a construction site at the Fed’s headquarters but were turned away, drawing a rebuke from a defence lawyer in the case who called the manoeuvre “not appropriate”.
Warsh said during the Senate hearing on Tuesday that he never promised the White House that he would cut interest rates, even as the president renewed his calls for the central bank to do so.
“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period,” Warsh said during the hearing. “Nor would I ever agree to do so if he had … I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve.”
Warsh’s comments came just hours after Trump, in an interview on CNBC, was asked if he would be disappointed if Warsh did not immediately cut rates and responded, “I would.”
The decision to abandon the investigation represents a rare pullback for a Department of Justice that over the last year has moved aggressively, albeit unsuccessfully, to prosecute public figures the president does not like.
Robert Hur, an lawyer for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, did not immediately respond on Friday to an email seeking comment.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro said on X that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s Inspector General would scrutinize them instead.
The decision ends an investigation, one of several undertaken by the Justice Department into President Trump’s perceived adversaries, that for months had failed to gain traction as prosecutors struggled to articulate a basis to suspect criminal conduct.
A prosecutor handling the case conceded at a closed-door court hearing in March that the government hadn’t yet found any evidence of a crime, and a judge subsequently quashed subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve. The judge, James Boasberg, said prosecutors had produced “essentially zero evidence” to suspect Powell of a crime. Boasberg prosecutors’ justification for the subpoenas as “thin and unsubstantiated.”
More recently, prosecutors made an unannounced visit to a construction site at the Fed’s headquarters but were turned away, drawing a rebuke from a defense attorney in the case who called the maneuver “not appropriate.”
The move could lead to a swift confirmation vote by the Senate for Warsh, a former top Fed official whom Trump, a Republican, nominated in January to replace Powell, whose term as chair ends May 15. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he would oppose Warsh until the investigation was resolved, effectively blocking his confirmation.
Warsh said Tuesday that he never promised the White House that he would cut interest rates, even as the president renewed his calls for the central bank to do so.
“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period,” Kevin Warsh, a former top Fed official, said under questioning by the Senate Banking Committee. “Nor would I ever agree to do so if he had. … I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve.”
Warsh’s comments came just hours after Trump, in an interview on CNBC, was asked if he would be disappointed if Warsh didn’t immediately cut rates and responded, “I would.”
Former state Controller Betty Yee dropped out of the 2026 governor’s race on Monday, citing low levels of support from voters and donors.
Yee, a Democrat, was part of a sprawling field of politicians vying to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. But despite the bevy of prominent candidates running to lead the nation’s most populous state and the world’s fourth-largest economy, this year’s governor’s race has long lacked a clear front-runner well known by the electorate.
“The whole notion that voters are looking for experience and competence is not a top priority, and that’s been really my wheelhouse in terms of how we grounded this campaign was based on my experience,” she said in a virtual press conference Monday morning. “The donors have felt the chill of the polling … and it really just came down to where I’m not going to have sufficient resources to get us to the finish line.”
The former two-term state controller did not immediately endorse another candidate and said she would take a few days to assess the field before making an announcement.
“California — had enough chaos, fear and horrendous political scandals? Ready for calm, cool, collected change? Some may consider that boring. But that’s the point. We need Boring Betty,” Yee posted on the social media site X. “No crisis. No circus. Just competent, drama-free leadership you can trust. #BoringisBetter”
But she never had the financial resources to aggressively compete in a state with many of the most expensive media markets in the nation.
Yee reported raising nearly $583,000 for her gubernatorial bid in 2025, according to campaign fundraising reports filed with the California secretary of state’s office. Yee’s announcement that she is dropping out of the race came days before the latest financial disclosures will be publicly reported.
Despite being elected to the state Board of Equalization twice and as state controller twice, Yee was not widely known by most Californians. She never cracked double digits in gubernatorial polls.
Her name will still appear on the ballot. She was among the candidates who rebuffed state Democratic Party leaders’ request earlier this year to reconsider their viability amid fears that the party could be shut out of the November general election because of the state’s unique primary system. The top two vote-getters in the June primary will move on to to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Though California’s electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic, the makeup of the gubernatorial field makes it statistically possible for Republicans to win the top two spots if Democratic voters splinter among their party’s candidates. Yee said fear of that scenario playing out “kind of took over” the gubernatorial race.
“Was it possible? Yes. Was it plausible? No, we’re in California. That was not going to happen,” she said, adding that the top-two primary system should be done away with.
Still, Yee was beloved by Democratic Party activists, and previously served as the party’s vice chair.
No Democratic candidate reached the necessary threshold to win the party’s official endorsement at its February convention, but Yee came in second with support from 17% of delegates despite calls for her to drop out of the race.
“Every poll shows that this race is wide open, and I know this party,” she said in an interview at the convention. “Frankly, I’ve been in positions where it’s been a crowded field, and we work hard and candidates emerge.”
The gubernatorial primary will take place June 2, though voters will start receiving mail ballots in about two weeks.
JUSTIN Bieber superfan Billie Eilish dramatically dropped to the floor on at Coachella when he brought her out on stage.
At weekend 2 of the desert festival, Billie could be seen crawling up the stage before sitting on a chair in front of her idol, Justin, who she has long been a fan of.
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Billie Eilish was taken on stage as Justin Bieber performed One Less Lonely GirlCredit: Youtube/CoachellaBillie has long been a superfan of Justin and was visibly overwhelmed on stageCredit: Youtube/CoachellaShe looked so shocked as Justin sang to herCredit: Youtube/CoachellaJustin hugged her at one pointCredit: Youtube/Coachella
Justin then sang the song One Less Lonely Girl to her midway through his Coachella set.
Billie, who has long been a fan of the Baby singer, looked so emotional as she was serenaded by the star.
On X, fans have reacted to the moment.
One person penned: “THE FACT that it wasn’t planned, literally it was Hailey Bieber herself who pushed Billie Eilish to get on stage and be the OLLG.”
A second wrote: “No way that Billie Eilish became one less lonely girl in 2026.”
“This is so cute I love how Billie still stays in her fangirl zone around Justin,” said a third.
“Will go down as one of the most iconic Coachella performances ever,” added a fourth.
“She’s such a fan lmao,” penned a fifth.
While a sixth said: “Justin pulling Billie on stage for ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ and holding her like that?? Coachella 2026 just healed my 2015 heart. This is the collab we NEVER knew we needed.”
Billie has long credited Justin as an inspiration, and even grew up as a Belieber.
“He’s amazing. He’s so sweet and, like, I feel – just, honestly, I feel for him, man. He’s been through a lot, dude,” Billie toldEllen DeGeneres previously.
The pair met at Coachella in 2019 and went on to collaborate on the remix to her song Bad Guy.
When the remix came out, Billie shared a photo of her as a teen in her bedroom which had posters of Justin plastered all of the walls.
Alongside the snap, she penned: “BAD GUY FEAT. JUSTIN BIEBER OUT NOWWW OMGFFFFGGG ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE MAN.”
This weekend’s set from Justin marked his second weekend headlining at Coachella this year.
Following his headline set last weekend, the star hosted a blowout bash with wife Hailey and A-list friends.
“Many people were turned down who had previously been invited,” they claimed.
“Promoters also had a lot of girls on their guest lists and I heard Hailey was turning them away.”
Influencer Zach Clayton echoed this by sharing a video on his TikTok showing a guy complaining, “They cut all my guest list off.”
He explained he invited 20 girls and they were all denied, joking that Hailey is a “boss,” and she was likely the reason they were not given access to the private event.
Justin headlined Coachella this yearCredit: YouTube
The Dropout tells the story of the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of biotech company Theranos, starring Amanda Seyfried.
Angie Quinn Screen Time Reporter
17:32, 15 Apr 2026Updated 17:33, 15 Apr 2026
The Dropout: Official trailer from Disney+
The true crime series starring Amanda Seyfried is now available to stream on ITVX.
The Dropout chronicles the true story behind the collapse of tech firm Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes.
The tale commences in 2002, when Holmes embarked on a chemical engineering degree at the prestigious Stanford University in California, where she quickly began developing concepts for groundbreaking inventions.
Professor of Medicine Dr Phyllis Gardner (Laurie Metcalf) advised Holmes of this, but she appeared to dismiss the academic’s knowledge as an underestimation of her capabilities.
Holmes insisted that she could “change the world” with this pioneering technology and garnered international acclaim, reports the Express.
She left Stanford before completing her second year to concentrate on her new venture, Theranos, which centred around an equally ambitious and potentially transformative piece of technology.
Nevertheless, when The Wall Street Journal launched an investigation into the firm, its reporting triggered a cascade of enquiries and increased scrutiny of Theranos, prompting it to become more transparent about its tightly guarded methods.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation, and 40 per cent of staff were made redundant a year later as the company went through restructuring.
Following the charges, the trial was postponed due to Holmes’ pregnancy and the COVID-19 pandemic, but eventually commenced in September 2021, with a jury convicting her on four counts of defrauding investors four months later.
No verdict was reached on three additional counts of wire fraud against investors, which the government later dropped, while Holmes was also acquitted on four counts of defrauding patients.
On 18th November 2022, Holmes received a sentence of 11 years and three months in prison, and she began serving her sentence in Texas on 30th May 2023.
The Dropout chronicles the dramatic downfall of the woman Forbes once dubbed the “youngest self-made female billionaire” in the world.
“Wow.. this show is insane. I want to start off by saying that I know movies and shows overdramatise true stories, so I’m speaking solely about the show right now. This goes from you rooting for the main character to you hating her.. like a real life Anakin Skywalker story”, one viewer commented about the series in a review on IMDB.
Another remarked, “The story itself is good. It moved at a quick pace, and everything they got is amazing. The one that played Edmund Ko, Stephen Fry as Ian Gibbons, are standouts for me. Sunny was also great.”
A third wrote: “Highly Watchable With Great Performances”, while another stated: “Wonderful! One of the very best shows you can see. Amanda Seyfried deserves every award to which she is eligible. Her performance as Elizabeth Holmes is off the chart.”
