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May 6 (UPI) — Republican voters in Indiana and Ohio largely backed Trump-aligned candidates Tuesday in primaries seen as tests of President Donald Trump‘s influence within the GOP.

Both states held their party primaries on Tuesday to decide candidates for hundreds of races for November’s midterm elections, but most eyes were on contests for the Indiana state Senate, where incumbent Republicans had rejected Trump’s redistricting push.

Indiana

Though too late to influence Indiana’s congressional map before the midterms, Trump endorsed challengers to incumbents who had opposed his effort to redraw the map to add Republican seats.

Trump’s influence within the GOP in the Hoosier State appeared strong: Of his seven endorsed challengers against Indiana Republican state senators who opposed his gerrymandering push, five appeared poised to win outright, one seemed to have lost and another was in a tight race.

“Big night for MAGA in Indiana,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said in a social media statement, referring to the acronym for Trump’s far-right nationalist Make American Great Again movement.

“Proud to have helped elect more conservative Republicans to the Indiana State Senate.”

Nearly 90% of all Indiana precincts were reporting as of early Wednesday, according to the Indiana Election Division, but five of the seven Trump-backed candidates had already declared victory.

Those five are Trevor De Vries, Brian Schmutzler, Blake Fiechter, Tracey Powell and Michelle Davis.

“Thank you to every Hoosier who came out to vote today,” De Vries said in a social media post late Tuesday.

“And special thanks to President @DonaldTrump for his endorsement that helped seal the deal and showed Indianapolis what real Hoosiers wanted.

“We did it, Indiana! Time to get to work.”

De Vries beat incumbent Daniel Dernulc, state senator for District 1, in a landslide. According to the unofficial results, De Vries secured 75.1% of the vote to Dernulc’s 23.3%.

Schmutzler was poised to beat state Sen. Linda Rogers in a 55.8% to 44.2% split, Fiechter over state Sen. Travis Holdman 61.5% to 38.5%, Powell’s 64.7% led state Sen. Jim Buck’s 35.3% and Davis led state Sen. Greg Walker 58.8% to 41.2%.

Trump-endorsed Paula Copenhaver also declared victory in her race against Sen. Spencer Deery despite being in a virtual tie. According to unofficial state results, she was trailing Deery by three ballots.

“After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race,” she said on X.

“I want to thank President Donald Trump for his unwavering support and endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and it showed clearly tonight in his victories across the state.”

The only Trump-endorsed candidate to lose was Brenda Wilson. State Sen. Greg Goode was poised to win with 53.6% of the vote to Wilson’s 36%, according to the unofficial results.

A sixth incumbent who stood against redistricting, Sen. Rich Niemeyer, also appeared poised to lose his seat to challenger Jay Starkey, who was not endorsed by Trump.

Ohio

In Ohio, the race to watch was on the GOP gubernatorial primary.

With incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine barred by term limits from running again, Ohio’s governor’s mansion will have a new occupant.

Amy Acton and her running mate David Pepper ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

Republican voters in the state nominated Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy for governor and Robert McColley for lieutenant governor in a landslide.

According to unofficial results from the Office of Ohio Secretary of State, the Ramaswamy-McColley ticket secured 82.47% of the vote compared to the 17.53% that Casey Putsch and Kimberly Georgeton received.

“I speak for Rob and myself here: We are in this because we believe that together — with the complementary skills that we bring to the table — we are the two people in this state who can work together as a team to lead Ohio back to our true potential,” he said Tuesday night during his victory speech.

“To our greatest heights to put more money in your pocket, to bring down those costs and to give your kids the world-class education that is the birthright of every Ohioan.”

Trump had endorsed Ramaswamy for governor.

“I know Vivek well, competed against him and he is something SPECIAL,” Trump said earlier Tuesday.

“Vivek Ramaswamy will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio.”

Ramaswamy gained national attention during the 2024 GOP presidential primary, running against Trump. Instead of attacking the former New York real estate mogul, Ramaswamy aligned himself with Trump’s America First movement, often praising him.

“Thank you, Mr. President!” Ramaswamy said in response to Trump’s endorsement.

“It’s time to make Ohio greater than ever.”

Iran’s football chief says the country’s preparations for the World Cup remain on track, but its participation will depend on a guarantee of respect for the Iranian armed forces by tournament cohosts the United States.

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) will seek reassurance from FIFA that the US will not insult the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during the World Cup, FFIRI President Mehdi Taj said on Tuesday.

“[The] Americans, if they guarantee not to insult our military institutions and the IRGC, we’ll go,” Taj told state broadcaster IRIB.

“If they give such a guarantee that an incident like Canada doesn’t happen and they definitely assure it, we will go,” he added.

Taj was referring to an incident that took place last week, when an FFIRI delegation turned back at Toronto’s main airport, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and missed a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver.

The delegation members, including Taj, turned back ⁠⁠⁠⁠upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials”.

“They [delegation] returned to Turkiye on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation’s armed forces,” the FFIRI said in a statement following the incident.

In 2024, Canada listed Iran’s IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with the IRGC.

“IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said.

The US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28.

At least 3,468 people have been killed in US-Israeli attacks, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health. More than 26,500 people have been injured, including at least 4,000 women and 1,621 children.

Iranian forces retaliated, launching attacks on Middle East countries where US troops are deployed, as well as Israel.

‘Our host is FIFA, not Mr Trump’

Taj, who was speaking in Tehran, will meet FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom at the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich this month.

During the meeting, Taj said he will seek guarantees that the Iranian team and accompanying officials would not face entry restrictions or “disrespect”, particularly towards Iran’s state institutions.

“We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system – especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said.

“This is something they must pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and the responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what ⁠⁠happened in Canada will not happen again.”

The Iranian team is going full-speed ahead with its preparations for the World Cup, and football officials have outlined the team’s training and preparations for the tournament, which include camps at home and in neighbouring Turkiye before travelling to the US.

The squad will depart for Turkiye on Monday for their final leg of preparations before travelling to the US in June.

Team Melli will kick off their ‌‌‌‌campaign ‌‌‌‌against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before taking on Belgium at the same stadium on June 21 and facing Egypt in their final group match in Seattle on June 26.

Taj insisted Iran had earned the right to play in the World Cup as one of the first teams to have qualified for the tournament.

“We are going to the World Cup because we qualified,” the Iranian official said. “Our host is FIFA, not Mr Trump or America.”

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip – With a weary expression, Saja arranges her few belongings inside the tent her fiance, Mohammed, has prepared for their wedding in just a few days.

There are two thin mattresses instead of a proper bed, a small cooking corner fashioned from wood and tarpaulin, and a makeshift bathroom that Mohammed also built from scraps of wood and plastic sheets.

The couple, Saja al-Masri, 22, and Mohammed Ahliwat, 27, got engaged a year ago while their families were displaced. They are still living in a camp in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, forced into displacement by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Saja agreed to a modest dowry, but even that will only be paid by Mohammed in instalments.

Yet even this “simple beginning” has become unbearably expensive for Mohammed and many young men in Gaza, who are expected to shoulder the majority of the costs in Palestinian culture when they get married.

“I bought the tent for 1,500 shekels [about $509], the wood cost me around 2,500 [about $850], the tarpaulins exceeded 2,000 [about $679], and a simple bathroom cost another 3,000 [about $1,019],” Mohammed tells Al Jazeera. Before the war, apartments had previously been available for rent for between $250 and $300 a month.

“It’s not enough that I’m starting my life in a tent under harsh conditions, even this is unbearably expensive,” adds Mohammed, who works odd jobs like selling bread and canned goods or repairing bicycles.

“Everything I earn barely covers food and water. I tried to save a little for the wedding, but prices are so high, as if I were preparing a luxurious event.”

Before the war, Mohammed lived in a large seven-storey house in Bureij in central Gaza, and owned a fully furnished 170-square-metre apartment.

“When I remember my apartment in our home that was destroyed in the war, I feel deep sorrow … My brothers and I each had fully prepared apartments before marriage.”

“We had stability, and we owned poultry farms that supplied several areas in Gaza,” he says bitterly. “Today, I’m getting married in a tent.”

As for the wedding venue, Mohammed rented a small space that had been used as a cafe, unable to afford a wedding hall.

“A friend helped me rent this small place … for 1,500 shekels [$509],” he says. “It’s not a small amount considering how simple the place is. Wedding halls cost more than 8,000 shekels [$2,717].”

Mohammed’s situation is not exceptional in Gaza. Many weddings are now held in tents, with only the most basic preparations, amid soaring prices and a collapse of basic living conditions brought on by the war and the accompanying economic crisis.

Unemployment in Gaza has reached 80 percent, according to the Gaza Ministry of Labour, and poverty rates have risen to 93 percent.

Incomplete preparations

Saja holds back her tears as she listens to her fiance.

What should have been the happiest moment of her life feels incomplete, and she has nothing to offer to ease Mohammed’s burden.

She understands the situation can’t be helped, and has tried to remain calm. But the difficulty in finding an affordable wedding dress broke her.

Dress shops have quoted her incredibly high prices to rent one – more than 2,000 shekels ($679) for one night.

“Everyone says crossings, goods, and coordination are expensive, so everything is overpriced,” Saja explains.

In an attempt to solve this, Mohammed brought a modest dress from an acquaintance “just to make the wedding happen”, placing her in what she describes as “a painful choice”.

“When I tried the dress yesterday, I felt so sad … I burst into tears. It was worn out, torn at the edges, and outdated,” Saja says, her voice breaking.

“I slept last night with tears on my cheeks … but there’s nothing we can do. This is what’s available.”

She points to the yearlong wait to have the wedding, after postponing it repeatedly because preparations were incomplete.

“The situation doesn’t improve … it only gets worse. Every time we say let’s wait, nothing changes. So we decided to get married next week,” says Saja, who studied graphic design for one year before the war forced her to stop.

Since then, she has been displaced with her family on a long journey that began in Beit Hanoon, in northern Gaza, passed through Gaza City, and ended in Deir el-Balah.

It’s not just the dress that worries her. Beauty salons charge nearly 700 shekels ($238) to prepare a bride.

“They tell us cosmetics are very expensive and unavailable, electricity and generators cost a lot, fuel is expensive … everything is expensive, and people like us are the ones who pay.”

“What did we do to deserve this?” she says.

No taste of joy

Saja’s mother, Samira al-Masri, 49, interrupts gently, trying to console her, saying the conditions are the same for everyone in Gaza, where the majority of Palestinians have been displaced from homes destroyed by Israel, and more than 72,000 have been killed since October 2023.

“I married off four of my daughters: Ilham, Doaa, Ameerah, and now Saja, during the war, without joy,” Samira says, her voice trembling.

“Each wedding felt like a tragedy to me.”

“They all started their married lives the same way … in tents, with almost nothing.”

Samira describes her deep sadness at being unable to celebrate her daughters properly or give them the wedding they dreamed of.

“As you can see, there aren’t enough clothes, no proper items for a bride … no suitable dress, not even a wardrobe or a bed,” she says, while helping Saja arrange her few belongings.

Mohammed adds that bedroom furniture now costs between 12,000 and 20,000 shekels ($4,076 and $6,793) – before the war, the sets had cost around 5,000 shekels.

“Unbelievable prices, and there’s barely any goods in the market. We settled for mattresses on the ground.”

No signs of improvement

In Gaza, weddings are no longer joyful occasions; they are painful experiences repeated over and over.

Despite her natural desire as a mother to celebrate her daughter and give her a dignified start, Samira finds herself powerless, unable even to ask more from the groom.

“The situation is not normal … I can’t pressure him or ask what he did or didn’t bring. Everyone knows the situation … we’re all living it.”

Her worries extend beyond her daughters to her 26-year-old son, who is approaching marriage.

“I put myself and my son in the groom’s place: What does he have? Nothing. The same situation. Every time I see the costs, I step back from arranging his marriage.”

Amid this reality, Samira expresses deep sorrow for young men and women trying to marry today.

“I pray God helps them … our days were much easier … even the simplest costs have become unaffordable.

As her marriage shifts from a moment of joy into a heavy confrontation with reality, Saja tries to hold herself together despite having no real options.

She admits it is not easy, but Mohammed’s presence next to her gives her strength.

“Sometimes, I feel it’s a miserable beginning … but when I see Mohammed with me, I overcome my sadness,” she says with a faint smile as she looks at her future husband.

There are few signs that circumstances will improve anytime soon for the couple. Still, they try to achieve a balance between harsh reality and fragile hope.

“I feel things will stay the same, as is written for us,” Saja says, “moving from one tent to another.”

As Israel faces growing international isolation over its regional wars, President Isaac Herzog is set to visit two countries in Central America – Panama and Costa Rica – to boost ties.

“President Herzog’s visit to Panama and Costa Rica reflects the importance of Israel’s ties with countries across Latin America and the renewed momentum in Israel’s relations with Central and South American nations,” a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry reads.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has prompted an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes, has made it a source of growing opprobrium around the world.

But a handful of countries, most of them led by allies of United States President Donald Trump, have continued to tout their strong ties with Israel, which has sought to maintain those relationships via diplomatic outreach.

What will Herzog’s visit consist of, what will it seek to accomplish, and what can it tell us about Israel’s diplomatic goals in Latin America?

When will the trip take place?

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said that President Herzog will depart Israel on May 6 for a four-day official visit to Panama and Costa Rica.

Where will Herzog visit, and who will he meet?

The Israeli president will visit Panama first, meeting with President Jose Raul Mulino and government officials before continuing to Costa Rica to attend the inauguration of President-elect Laura Fernandez Delgado.

Herzog was invited to attend the ceremony by the outgoing pro-Israel President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and will also attend a dinner for heads of state. He will also meet with members of the Jewish community in both countries.

What is the significance of a visit by an Israeli president to Panama?

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said that the Israeli president’s visit to Panama is the “first in history” and will help bolster ties with a country that it calls a “true friend of Israel and a current member of the UN Security Council”.

The meeting between Herzog and Mulino will follow up on discussions on bilateral ties held by the two leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Is the trip connected to Panama’s status at the UN?

As Israel faces growing isolation on the world stage, it has sought dependable allies at international fora such as the United Nations, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s statement notes Panama’s current two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

While votes in the UN General Assembly have often gone overwhelmingly against Israel in recent years, Panama and Costa Rica have been among those who have joined with Israel and the US or abstained from voting.

Panama and Costa Rica both abstained from a 2024 United Nations resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and Panama was one of just 12 countries to abstain from a September vote in support of a two-state solution.

Herzog’s visit may be an effort to ensure that Panama remains an ally of Israel during its time on the UNSC.

What is Israel’s endgame for this regional tour?

While the United States is, by far, Israel’s most important ally, it has also celebrated partnerships with countries such as the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East and Argentinian President Javier Milei in South America.

Many of Israel’s allies are also close partners of the US, and some countries in Central America — many of them small states that depend on US support and trade — may see a closer partnership with Israel as a means of signalling their alignment with US interests.

Herzog’s visit will seek to strengthen those relationships, with the Foreign Ministry stating that the trip will bolster “strategic partnership between Israel and the countries and peoples of the region” and underscore the status of those countries as important allies.

Israel has celebrated previous steps deepening relations with countries in the region, including a free trade agreement it signed with Costa Rica in December, along with the opening of a trade office in Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its capital but is considered illegally occupied under international law.

The US Department of State expressed support for those agreements, stating that they would “deepen cooperation between Israel and Latin America, grounded in shared interests and real potential for prosperity”.

Is Israel trying to curtail the growing support for the Palestinian cause in Latin America?

Herzog’s trip may also seek to counter outspoken support for Palestine in Latin America, where leaders on the political left, such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have emerged as vocal critics of Israel.

President Lula recently condemned Israel’s seizure and detention of participants in a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza that included Brazilian national Thiago Avila, calling it an “unjustifiable action” that should be roundly condemned.

“The detention of the flotilla activists in international waters had already represented a serious affront to international law,” Lula said.

US president Donald Trump has said that the US military operation “Project Freedom” guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a short period. He cited a request from Pakistan and progress towards a final deal with Iran.

A military operation titled “Project Freedom” has been launched by the US Navy to secure a safe passage of commercial vessels through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, a spokesperson for the United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

The Strait of Hormuz has been at the centre of the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28, triggering disruptions that have pushed up commodity prices around the world.

Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by threatening to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft. The US has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.

The US military spokesperson said that ship owners and insurance companies have responded positively to the operation, which has “just begun” and is aimed at ensuring commercial ships can pass through the strait safely to benefit global and regional economies.

Later on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference in Washington, DC, that 10 civilian sailors have died due to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US Navy has destroyed seven Iranian fast boats in the waterway.

Rubio said the US will continue to clear a passageway through the strait to restore freedom of navigation.

Operation ‘defensive in nature’

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation has the goal of reopening the strait and allowing the passage of thousands of stranded commercial vessels.

“Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, temporary in duration [and] with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” Hegseth said during a briefing on Tuesday at the Pentagon.

He said that as part of Project Freedom, US forces would not need to enter Iranian waters or airspace, adding that Iran can no longer be allowed to prevent international commerce.

“Iran … cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” Hegseth said, and added that two US commercial vessels, along with the country’s warships, have already traversed the strait.

“They said they control the strait – they do not,” the secretary said.

Iran denied any crossings had taken place, though shipping company Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under a US military escort on Monday.

Several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires on Monday, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed to have come under an Iranian attack, with an oil port targeted on Monday. On Tuesday, Iran’s army denied any attack on the UAE in recent days.

Iran did confirm firing warning shots at a US warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn back.

Alexandru Hudisteanu, a military and diplomatic analyst, has told Al Jazeera that the US operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz considerably increased the risk of miscalculation from both sides, especially Iran.

He said that by pushing two ships through the strait yesterday, the US “trapped Iran in an escalation situation”.

After issuing a new map of the Strait of Hormuz with an expanded Iranian area of control, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned vessels on Tuesday to stick to the corridors it had set or face a “decisive response”.

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s military had been reduced to firing “peashooters” and Tehran wanted peace, despite public sabre-rattling.

“They play games, but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal,” the US president told reporters in the Oval Office.

On Tuesday, Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that there are more than 1,500 vessels with about 22,500 crew trapped inside the Gulf, but that Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”.

Asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “They know what not to do.”

United States President Donald Trump has said that the US military operation to move stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz has been paused temporarily.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.

He said the decision was made “based on the request” of Pakistan and other countries and the “fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement” with representatives of Iran.

“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” he wrote.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

Trump’s announcement came as tensions escalated in the Gulf, with the US military saying it destroyed several Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as cruise missiles and drones. The United Arab Emirates said its air defences dealt with missile and drone attacks from Iran for a second day, while another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz reported being hit by an “unknown projectile”.

For its part, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a new map of the strait, with an expanded area of Iranian control, and warned vessels on Tuesday to stick to the corridors it has set or face a “decisive response”.

In Washington, DC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the US has completed its offensive operations against Iran, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”, and “there’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first”.

But Iran must “pay a price” for its efforts to control the strait, he said.

“The Straits of Hormuz do not belong to Iran. They don’t have a right to shut it down and blow up ships and lay mines,” Rubio said.

“Under no circumstances can we live in a world where we accept, ‘OK, this is normal – you have to coordinate with Iran. You have to pay them a toll in order to go through the Straits of Hormuz’. Not only is that unacceptable in the straits, you’re creating a precedent that could be repeated in multiple other places around the world.”

The maritime chokepoint, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies normally pass, has been effectively sealed by Iran since the US and Israel launched their war on the country on February 28.

Following a ceasefire in April, the US imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports in a bid to compel Tehran to agree to Washington’s terms in peace talks mediated by Pakistan, including reopening the key waterway and halting all nuclear enrichment.

The closure of the strait has disrupted global trade, causing oil and fertiliser prices to soar and prompting fears of a global recession and a food emergency.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House that the US’s military and economic action was forcing Tehran to the negotiating table despite its defiant public stance.

“Iran wants to make a deal. What I don’t like about Iran is they’ll talk to me with such great respect, and then they’ll go on television. They’ll say, ‘We did not speak to the president’,” he said. “So they play games. But let me just tell you, they want to make a deal. And who wouldn’t? When your military is totally gone, we could do anything we want to them.”

Trump, who is facing mounting pressure at home as petrol prices rise ahead of crucial midterm elections, went on to say that Iran’s military had ‌been reduced to firing “peashooters”.

When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “They know what not ⁠to do.”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, said that the renewed violence in the Strait of Hormuz does not constitute a breach of the four-week-old truce.

“American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters. It’s not necessary. We’re not looking for a fight. But Iran cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from international waterways,” he said at the Pentagon.

“Right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely,” he added.

May 5 (UPI) — One of 23 people injured in a weekend shooting at a lake party in an Oklahoma City suburb has died, authorities said Tuesday as they continue to search for a suspect.

The shooting occurred at around 9 p.m. CDT Sunday at Lake Arcadia where a group of young people were having an unauthorized party near a campground that had been advertised across social media.

Police initially said 10 people were taken to area hospitals but warned the number would rise as individuals were transported by private vehicles.

The deceased victim was identified by the Edmond Police Department as “an 18-year-old young woman.”

“Our thoughts are with her loved ones, as well as all those affected by this tragic incident,” the Edmond Police Department said in a statement.

“We thank our community and media partners for their patience and understanding as we work to confirm details and release appropriate information. This investigation is being handled with the utmost care and seriousness.”

The announcement came a day after local police announced the casualty toll had increased to 23, with injuries ranging in severity. Some suffered gunshot wounds, authorities said.

Police said they were not releasing suspect information at this time but asked members of the public with information about the shooting to contact authorities.

Edmond Mayor Mark Nash issued a statement Monday explaining that shootings such as the one on Sunday are rare for the city and “will not define us.”

“We are a strong, engaged community. We support one another, we face challenges directly and we move forward together,” he said.

“That is what makes Edmond special, and that is exactly what we will continue to protect.”

Temples in Thailand gathered for the annual ‘Look Noo’ rocket festival, an ancient Mon tradition. Once used in funeral rites for senior monks, the ritual has evolved into a competitive event, keeping the centuries-old practice alive.

May 5 (UPI) — Senate Republicans have released an immigration enforcement package that includes $1 billion in taxpayer money earmarked for President Donald Trump‘s massive ballroom project at the White House — a project the president has widely touted as being fully funded by private donors.

That $1 billion is to be used for security improvements to the 90,000-square-foot space, including “security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing ModernizationProject, including above-ground and below-ground security features,” the bill says.

Since a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in late April, Republicans have said the ballroom is needed for presidential security. Trump administration court filings on the plan from early April say the project will be able to withstand drone attacks and include a bomb shelter and underground medical facilities, NBC News reported.

“Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “Due in part to the recent assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the proposal would provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”

This $1 billion is part of a reconciliation bill that Congress plans to pass with only Republican votes, CNN reported. The full package contains about $70 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol. Democrats have earlier blocked such funding without reforms, including requiring judicial warrants and banning officers from wearing masks.

Trump has long said the ballroom project, which is expected to cost $300 million to $400 million, is a gift to the nation from private donors with “not one penny” of government funds to be used, NBC News reported. The president demolished the White House’s East Wing without congressional approval for the project, a move that’s drawn ongoing legal challenges.

Last week, after the Correspondents’ Dinner incident, the Department of Justice asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that challenged the ballroom plans. DOJ officials said “there is no better example of why this ballroom is necessary.”

Senate Democrats say they’ll try to force a vote to strip the $1 billion in ballroom money from the bill, which is expected to be voted on later in May.

A 15-year-old boy, Mahmoud Sahweil, was killed when Israel struck a Gaza police station.

His aunt says he was out selling bread to support his 15-member family. Israel has killed at least 830 Palestinians in Gaza since the October 2025 “ceasefire”.

Bukayo Saka seals a 1-0 win for Arsenal as they take their Champions League semifinal 2-1 on aggregate against Atletico.

Arsenal has reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as Bukayo Saka sealed a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid.

Mikel Arteta’s side settled the semifinal second leg with Saka’s strike late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

The Gunners, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid last week, held firm after Saka’s goal to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30.

Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semifinals last year, have a 5-4 lead ahead of the second leg in Munich on Wednesday.

It was a cathartic night for Arsenal, who are back in the Champions League final for the first time since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their only previous appearance in the showpiece in 2006.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League, with their two major European trophies coming in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Their last continental final ended in a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League.

It is shaping up to be Arsenal’s greatest ever season as they chase a Premier League and Champions League double.

Even Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”, who won the club’s last English title in an unbeaten top-flight campaign in 2004, might have to bow to the current generation if they finish the job.

Fittingly, it was Saka, the homegrown symbol of the Arteta era, who proved Arsenal’s match-winner.

Now just four games from immortality, Premier League leaders Arsenal were given a huge boost in the title race when second-placed Manchester City drew at Everton on Monday.

The Gunners will be crowned champions if they win their last three games against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

Once the title is decided, Arsenal will head to Hungary with a maiden Champions League crown in their sights.

Arsenal endured jibes about their perceived lack of mental strength after a run of four defeats in six games, in all competitions, sparked painful memories of previous failures to end their six-year wait for silverware.

But the “nearly-men” and “serial choker” labels applied only weeks ago are on the verge of being banished forever.

Thousands of Arsenal supporters massed outside the stadium before kickoff to greet their team with flares and flags, a vociferous display of affection underlining Arsenal’s desperation to make history.

It was the kind of evening in north London when nothing was beyond the realm of possibility as Arsenal moved closer to casting off the shackles of two decades of underachievement.

After some tense performances during the Premier League run-in, Saturday’s 3-0 rout of Fulham showed Arsenal at their flowing best, a riposte to the critics who claim they only win ugly.

This was a more prosaic display, but no one with an affinity for Arsenal was bothered in the slightest.

Arsenal were nearly caught on the counter in a frenetic start when Julian Alvarez shot just wide before Giuliano Simeone’s close-range effort deflected past the post.

But Arsenal recovered from those anxious moments to deliver a dominant spell, which brought their 44th-minute goal.

Viktor Gyokeres’s clever run unhinged the Atletico defence, and his cross reached Leandro Trossard inside the area.

Trossard wriggled into just enough space for a low drive that Jan Oblak weakly pushed out to Saka, who reacted quicker than his flat-footed markers to slot home from 4 yards (3.7 metres).

Arteta jubilantly punched the air as the Emirates erupted into a roiling red sea of celebration.

Atletico tried to ruin the party in the second half, but Gabriel Magalhaes made a last-ditch tackle on Simeone to avert a certain goal before David Raya repelled Antoine Griezmann’s blast.

Arteta recently revealed that he had visualised Arsenal conquering the Champions League, even in the difficult early days of his reign.

The Spaniard is now just one win away from seeing the daydream become a glorious reality.

Iran has attacked a UAE petroleum site in Fujairah, just days after the United Arab Emirates announced it was leaving OPEC. As the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens and oil prices keep rising, could this accelerate the shift to renewables, or are we heading into an era of energy volatility?

In this episode: 

• Jim Krane (@jimkrane), Co-director of the Middle East Energy Roundtable, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders and Sarí el-Khalili with Chloe K. Li, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

US President Donald Trump said Iran should ‘wave the white flag of surrender’ in the war, and accused Iran’s leaders of playing games in negotiations. He also said higher oil prices are a ‘small price to pay’ to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon.

May 5 (UPI) — The Center for AI Standards and Innovation, part of a U.S.government agency, announced Tuesday that it will test artificial intelligence models from some top firms before release to vet them for security risks.

CAISI has deals with Microsoft, xAI and Google DeepMind for this testing and targeted research “to better assess frontier AI capabilities and advance the state of AI security,” it said in a release. The center is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.

This follows similar deals in 2024, under the Biden administration, with prominent AI leaders OpenAI and Anthropic, which have been “renegotiated” to fit Trump administration directives, Politico reported.

The government has increasingly shown interest in matters of AI technology and security. CNBC also reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is considering an executive order to create a process for AI oversight by the White House.

Some of this interest has been heightened by the announcement last month of Anthropic’s new Mythos AI model. The company described the model as excelling “at identifying weaknesses and security flaws within software” and limited its initial use to certain companies. These companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, will use it as part of defensive security work and as part of Project Glasswing, a cybersecurity initiative, Anthropic said.

The announcement Tuesday from CAISI said that the center has completed more than 40 evaluations of AI models so far.

“Independent, vigorous measurement science is essential to understanding frontier AI and its national security implications,” CAISI director Chris Fell said in a statement. “These expanded industry collaborations help us scale our work in the public interest in a critical moment.”

Members of the now-banned Palestine Action group raided Elbit Systems’ facility in Bristol 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Four of six British pro-Palestinian activists have been convicted of criminal damage relating to a 2024 raid on a factory operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit, with one of the defendants found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.

London’s Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday found Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, guilty. Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty.

Prosecutors said that the six defendants were members of the banned group Palestine Action, which organised the assault on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August 2024.

The raid, which prosecutors said caused about one million pounds ($1.36m) of damage, took place about 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023.

Palestine Action was later proscribed under “terrorism” law, a decision which was ruled unlawful by London’s High Court, though the group remains banned pending the government’s appeal, which was heard last week.

Acquitted of aggravated burglary

Corner, who prosecutors said struck a police officer with a sledgehammer, was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Each of the defendants gave evidence in front of the jury, admitting that they damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton, Bristol – in order to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement by their lawyers.

The defence team of the defendants said in a statement: “The defendants already defeated the most serious charges” and “they went into this trial with their heads held high and with the knowledge that no matter the verdict, by destroying Israeli military drones, their action likely saved lives in Palestine”.

Tuesday’s verdicts follow an earlier trial, after which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary, and the previous jury could not reach verdicts on the criminal damage charges.

Prosecutors later dropped charges of violent disorder against all six defendants.

The UK government proscribed Palestine Action in July, days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.

Elbit Systems is a defence technology company with about 20,000 staff and revenues of $2bn, according to the firm’s website.

West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has firmly rejected stepping down after her party’s defeat in assembly elections. PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party swept West Bengal in elections Banerjee claims were directly interfered with.

May 5 (UPI) — Colombian singer Shakira drew an estimated 2 million people to a free concert on Copacabana beach, generating an estimated $160 million economic impact, according to data from the city government and municipal agencies.

The show, held Saturday in front of the Copacabana Palace hotel, was part of the third edition of the “Todo Mundo no Rio” program, an initiative led by the Rio city government to attract tourism and economic activity during May, traditionally a low season.

According to Riotur and the Municipal Secretariat of Economic Development, the event boosted sectors such as hospitality, food services, transportation and retail. The city deployed a comprehensive operation covering security, logistics and public services, with the Operations and Resilience Center running at full capacity.

The concert opened with a show of 1,500 drones — described as one of the largest displays of its kind at a music event — forming a she-wolf in the sky, a symbol associated with the artist. Minutes later, Shakira appeared on stage dressed in the colors of Brazil.

During the show, the artist spoke in Portuguese and recalled her early years in the country.

“Brazil, I love you. It is magical to see millions of souls together, ready to sing, feel and dance,” she told the crowd.

The performance included more than two hours of hits spanning different stages of her career, along with segments dedicated to women.

“Women don’t cry anymore. Alone we may be more vulnerable, but together we are invincible,” she said.

The show also featured appearances by well-known Brazilian artists, such as Anitta, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania and Ivete Sangalo.

The “Todo Mundo no Rio” program aims to position Rio as a global destination for large-scale events. It was launched in 2024 with Madonna, who drew 1.6 million people, and continued in 2025 with Lady Gaga, who attracted 2.5 million.

Copacabana has also hosted some of the largest concerts in the world. Rod Stewart drew 3.5 million people in 1994, The Rolling Stones, about 1.5 million in 2006, and Stevie Wonder, some 2 million in 2012.

According to official data released by Agencia Brasil, medical services handled about 400 cases during the event, with 64 transfers to hospitals due to general discomfort, minor injuries and alcohol consumption. Cleanup crews collected about 362 tons of waste, with nearly 2,000 workers deployed.

After her stop in Brazil, Shakira will head to the North American leg of her tour, with concerts in the United States between June and July. These include dates in Inglewood, Palm Desert and San Jose, Calif., Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, Newark, N.J., and New York, before ending this leg in Atlantic City, N.J. on July 25.

May 5 (UPI) — Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, announced the company is downsizing about 14% of its workforce.

Armstrong posted a memo to employees on X saying he had made “the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase” by approximately 14%, explaining it is the result of “two forces” that “are converging at the same time.”

The first of the “forces” at play is the current downturn in the crypto market, leading to a “need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster and more efficient for our next phase of growth.”

The second reason cited by Armstrong is the rise of AI “changing how we work.”

“All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core,” Armstrong wrote.

Coinbase is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Saturday, with shares up nearly 4% in premarket trading.

The announcement follows other companies including Block, Pinterest, CrowdStrike and Chegg making the decision to cut jobs as a result of AI integration.

May 5 (UPI) — Iran warned Tuesday that it was “just getting started” after its military clashed with U.S. forces attempting to guide commercial vessels marooned in the Persian Gulf out through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, signaling Iran’s intention to exploit the United States’ need for a timely resolution to the conflict, said Iran was digging in for an extended fight that it was prepared to keep going for as long as necessary.

“The new equation in the Strait of Hormuz is being solidified. Shipping security and energy transit have been jeopardized by the U.S. and its allies with the cease-fire violations and blockade. However, their evil acts will fail. We know well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America, while we are just getting started,” said Ghalibaf.

Speaking at a news briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to try to de-escalate the situation, stressing that the mission to free trapped merchant ships was a short-term, defensive operation purely aimed at providing protection for the hundreds of vessels he said “are lining up to transit.”

“Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission, protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression. American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters or airspace. It’s not necessary. We’re not looking for a fight,” he said.

However, echoing threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night, Hegseth said that Iran “will face overwhelming firepower” if it attacks commercial shipping and that he expected other countries to “step up” to protect the strategically important sea lane “at the appropriate time.”

Day one of Trump’s Project Freedom on Monday saw Iran claim it fired on U.S. naval vessels approaching the strait, forcing one to turn around, while Trump said U.S. forces sank seven Iranian navy “fast boats,” prompting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to dub the effort “Project Deadlock,” warning that the conflict could only be resolved through compromise.

The UAE also said it was targeted with Iranian missiles and drones for the first time since a cease-fire came into force April 9, blaming the attacks for a fire in its Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in which three people were injured.

“Events in Hormuz make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis. As talks are making progress with Pakistan’s gracious effort, the U.S. should be wary of being dragged back into a quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE,” said Araghchi.

The comments came hours after Trump threatened to blow Iran “off the face of the Earth’ if it attacked U.S. vessels involved in Project Freedom.

U.S. Central Command said no U.S. Navy ships had taken fire while Iran rejected as “outright lies,” claims by CENTCOM that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels “successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey.”

May 4 (Asia Today) — Seoul accounted for more than 80% of first-priority apartment subscription applications in South Korea in March, according to an analysis by real estate platform Zigbang.

Zigbang said Monday that 109,928 first-priority applications were filed nationwide for apartment complexes announced for sale in March. Of those, 90,322, or 82%, were submitted for apartments in Seoul.

The figures were calculated based on the month of the sales announcement. Zigbang said applications were counted according to the date of the initial resident recruitment notice, even when the actual application period extended into the following month.

The increase was sharp compared with earlier months. Complexes announced in January received 10,549 applications and those in February drew 27,313. The number surged past 100,000 in March.

The number of apartment complexes offered also rose from eight in January and 11 in February to 27 in March. The average competition rate climbed from 4.2-to-1 in January to 7.1-to-1 in February and 12.9-to-1 in March.

Analysts said pent-up demand concentrated in March as major Seoul complexes entered the market after limited supply early in the year.

In Seoul, the average competition rate for complexes announced in March reached 156.3-to-1, sharply higher than in January and February. Every complex posted double-digit competition, driven in part by limited general sale units in redevelopment and reconstruction projects.

Major complexes included Acro de Seocho in Seocho District, which recorded a 1,099-to-1 competition rate, Hauterre Banpo in Seocho District at 710-to-1 and Ichon LE-EL in Yongsan District at 135-to-1.

“The recent subscription market continues to show high competition centered on Seoul, but it is difficult to interpret this simply as a divide between the capital region and provincial areas,” a Zigbang official said. “Consumers are clearly moving selectively based on price competitiveness and location rather than region alone.”

The official added that complexes with a strong balance of location, product quality and sale price can continue to attract real demand regardless of region.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260504010000342

May 4 (Asia Today) — Hyundai Motor and Kia accelerated their shift toward electrified vehicles in the United States in April, even as overall sales fell slightly.

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it sold 159,216 vehicles in the U.S. market in April, down 2.1% from a year earlier. Hyundai Motor sold 86,513 vehicles, down 1.5%, while Kia sold 72,703, down 2.8%. Genesis sales rose 0.8% to 6,356 vehicles.

The decline was attributed to a high base effect from advance purchases last year linked to tariff concerns. Major global automakers also reported weaker sales, while Hyundai Motor Group maintained its No. 2 position in the market.

Eco-friendly vehicle sales showed clear growth despite the overall decline. Hyundai and Kia sold 48,425 eco-friendly vehicles in April, up 47.6% from a year earlier. Their share of total sales exceeded 30% for the first time, reaching 30.4%.

Hybrid sales surged 57.8% to a record 41,239 vehicles. Hyundai sold 21,713 hybrids, up 47.7%, while Kia sold 19,526, up 70%.

Electric vehicle sales also rose 7.7% to 7,186. Hyundai EV sales edged lower to 4,779, but Kia’s EV sales jumped 65% to 2,407, driving growth in the segment.

By model, the Hyundai Tucson led sales with 22,024 vehicles, followed by the Elantra with 14,778 and the Palisade with 11,324. Sonata sales rose 18.2% to 7,105, while Elantra sales climbed 12.6%, showing signs of recovery in sedan demand.

Among hybrid models, Sonata hybrid sales surged 170% to 4,520 and Elantra hybrid sales rose 55.3% to 2,399, reflecting stronger demand for electrified models.

For Kia, the Sportage remained the top seller with 15,803 vehicles, followed by the K4 with 13,214 and the Telluride with 12,577. Seltos sales rose 31.7% to 5,335, absorbing demand in the compact SUV segment.

Among Kia’s eco-friendly vehicles, the Sportage hybrid rose 65.2% to 7,446 and EV9 sales jumped 481.5% to 1,349.

Genesis maintained its position in the premium market, led by GV70 sales of 2,837, up 7.7%, and G70 sales of 991, up 23.4%.

Hyundai and Kia said their balanced portfolio of hybrids, electric vehicles and internal combustion engine models is helping them respond flexibly to changing market conditions.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260504010000367