Physicists find evidence that the universe isn’t perfectly uniform — potentially unraveling a 100-year-old model of cosmology Live Science
Private equity backers slam ‘runaway’ legal costs from top law firms FT
Glasgow Man Crashes Car Into Mural Resembling Tunnel Entrance NDTV
Poppy Watch Parenting In A Climate Crisis
Climate/Environment
Record-breaking glacier mass loss in Central Asia in 2025 IOP Science
Predictions of the mother of all super El Ninos keep getting worse
This monster has the potential to tear global weather patterns apart and bring worldwide mayhem
But are governments making plans to try and cope – uhhm, No pic.twitter.com/PHndmYBBxF
— Bill McGuire (@ProfBillMcGuire) May 14, 2026
Hantavirus
CDC not requiring hantavirus cruise passengers to isolate at home The Hill
French hantavirus patient is critically ill and on an artificial lung as outbreak grows to 11 AP
Inside the Race to Develop a Test for the Rare Andes Hantavirus Wired
A second woman jet-setted around the globe after leaving the hantavirus-plagued vessel, without anyone noticing Disaster Girl
Hantavirus outbreak should reset WHO’s default approach to airborne risk The BMJ
Pandemics
Tissue-specific autoantibody signatures reveal immune alterations undetected by routine serology in long COVID
🚨83% of long COVID patients have rogue autoantibodies attacking their own heart, lungs & blood vessels, and every standard blood test misses it completely. VERY… pic.twitter.com/EVyJIOkbcN
— Harry Spoelstra (@HarrySpoelstra) May 13, 2026
Japan
Bessent brings reassurance but Tokyo is watching Beijing Observing Japan
Japan’s new spy agency receives FBI backing with eyes on China and Russia South China Morning Post
China?
Xi Jinping says China and US should be partners, not rivals, as summit gets underway Channel News Asia
US-China summit: Trump sees ‘better’ ties, Xi warns over Taiwan, as talks conclude Business Times
China Sent a Tough Message to Trump… Did He Understand It? Larry Johnson
The future of China-US relations is bright: Global Times editorial Global Times
This Is Not an Inspiring China Story Pekingnology
Syraqistan
⭕️ The Day After NYT’s Kristof Documented Systematic Israeli Rape of Detained Palestinians, CNN, AP, BBC, and NYT Gave Largely Uncritical Coverage to an Unverifiable Israeli Report
One day after New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof published a meticulously sourced… pic.twitter.com/yJk1mWcTjq
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 13, 2026
Israel in English: Accusing us of r*pe is a blood libel😿
Israel in Hebrew: We MUST r*pe Palestinians & make it official “regulated policy of the state”😼
Translation is Israel’s Achilles’ heel & kryptonite. The worst curse on their Hasbara machine. One click & it crumbles! pic.twitter.com/TMZlmb4S4x
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) May 13, 2026
Report: Coalition Prepares Knesset Dissolution Bill as Haredi Revolt Deepens MediaLine
***
Pakistani war chief says deal to bring Turkiye, Qatar into Saudi defense pact ‘being finalized’ The Cradle
Classified CIA Analysis Finds Trump Can’t Count on Gulf Allies for Wider Iran War Capital & Empire
Saudi Warplanes Struck Militias in Iraq During War, Sources Say Reuters
Another Blow to Pentagon Hype: 90% of Iran’s Missile Sites Remain According to NYT Findings Simplicius
Special operations “mothership” surfaces at Diego Garcia The After-Action Report
European Disunion
In a bind over rare earths, Europe watches US-China tussle from the sidelines South China Morning Post
Hungary ran out of strategic reserves, many fuel stations close: diesel shortage looming? Daily News Hungary
Commission Refutes Hungarian “Russiagate” despite Its Intergral Part in Tisza’s Election Disinformation Campaign Hungary Today. March seems so long ago:
The certainty that Russia has access to confidential EU information thanks to Orban spreads across capitals: “It would be naive to think otherwise” El Mundo. March 24.
Old Blighty
PALESTINE ACTION BARRISTER WINS APPEAL IN CONTEMPT CASE Declassified UK. On procedural grounds. Judge can still refer the contempt allegations to the Attorney General or another High Court judge sitting in the Crown Court.
NOW – King Charles: “My ministers will also proceed with the introduction of Digital ID.” pic.twitter.com/hH328WC9g3
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 13, 2026
New Not-So-Cold War
RUSSIA’S LARGEST DRONE ASSAULT OF THE WARRussia launched what multiple outlets are describing as one of the largest single-day drone attacks since the full-scale invasion began, striking Ukraine across 14 regions on May 13. Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed that at least… pic.twitter.com/5HYLw2zjqo
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) May 14, 2026
Germany, Ukraine to Jointly Produce Long-Range Drones in Expanded Defense Partnership Kyiv Post
How Europe Stopped Fearing Russian Deterrence Kautilya the Contemplator
Yermak consulted fortune-teller on key Ukraine government personnel appointments Intellinews
Duma authorizes use of armed forces to protect Russians arrested abroad TASS
Imperial Collapse Watch
Late Capitalism at War Dmitry Pozhidaev, Savage Minds
The Empire Is Not Being Saved. It Is Being Liquidated. William Murphy
Asia is quietly and quickly buying up America Asia Times
South of the Border
Bolivian Miners Join Protests Against Rodrigo Paz Amid Fuel Shortages TeleSur
The Caucasus
Turkey opens bilateral trade with Armenia after decades of closure OC Media
Spook Country
Did the CIA seize MKUltra files on controversial ‘mind control’ experiment from Tulsi Gabbard’s office? First Post
Trump 2.0
Trump’s ICE Pick Is A Longtime Private Prison Veteran Huff Post.Venturella was also the guy who made a call to ICE in Florida to pick up Amanda Ungaro, the Brazilian model who Epstein brought to the US when she was 16, a former partner of Trump “confidant” Paolo Zampolli, and whose veiled threats likely contributed to Melania’s bizarre WH public statement.
Vance announces suspension of $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California NBC News
Trump officials, billionaires and the quiet reshaping of America’s public lands Floodlight
Democrats Suck
Tonight, after a year of screaming about holding ICE accountable, 144 House Democrats joined 203 Republicans to pass CORCA, a bill that grants DHS and ICE sweeping new power to collect American citizens’ personal information under the guise of combating retail theft.
— Max Burns (@themaxburns) May 13, 2026
Senate Iran War Powers Resolution Falls Short by One Vote—Thanks to John Fetterman Common Dreams
Here’s How Democrats Should Talk About Climate Change The New Republic
Police State Watch
ICE Plans to Deploy 1,570 Additional Iris Scanners Nationwide Under No-Bid Contract Project Salt Box
Violence as Performance, or Performance as Infrastructure? Roman Khimich
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Wall Street Is Pairing Up With the Army to Build Data Centers Truthout
ICE Agents Have List of 20 Million People on Their iPhones Thanks to Palantir 404 Media
The Accelerationists
Andreessen Horowitz Is Spending on Politics Like No Other New York Times
AI
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers Fortune
ChatGPT allegedly shares your chat query topics, user IDs, and email addresses with Google and Meta, according to a new class action lawsuit filed today. pic.twitter.com/w5txL6HBCk
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) May 14, 2026
Our Famously Free Press
Prolific finance journalists facing questions over identities Press Gazette
NEW: The NYT sent an email to freelancers today forbidding contributors from submitting “any material for publication that contains content generated, modified or enhanced” by generative AI.
The “reminder” follows a string of AI incidents at the paper:https://t.co/eQPpUhJrkS
— Maggie Harrison Dupré (@mags_h11) May 12, 2026
Economy
California has 6 weeks of gas supply. After that, it gets expensive Cal Matters
🌾Due to poor crop health and a record-low planted area, the United States will produce the smallest wheat volume since 1972.
2026 winter wheat output (67% of total output) by class is seen at the lowest levels since:All winter: 1965Hard red winter: 1957Soft red winter: 2020 pic.twitter.com/OcIP3DA0VS
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) May 12, 2026
Guillotine Watch
Self-report fraud and walk free, New York prosecutors tell Wall Street FT
Mr. Market
Since beginning of Iran war, traders have ramped up bets on rising food prices Follow the Money. Naturally.
Class Warfare
Will Hersheypark open this summer? Strike threatens to delay season PhillyBurbs
Marxism is childish Kaimataara
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
