The Vigilant Outpost Beacon

• World at Large: US Secret Service shoots gunman near White House
  Maersk says ship passed through Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military protection
  Iraq encouraging oil exports through Strait of Hormuz with big discounts
WORLD — BY COUNTRY
• United States: Disgruntled ex-employee drives car full of explosives into Portland Multnomah Athletic Club
  US President Trump's "Project Vault" Plans To Initially Buy Rare Earths From China
  GameStop Proposes Acquiring eBay for $55 Billion
• China: Taiwan's president says state visits are 'basic right' after trip he says Beijing tried to block
  An explosion at a fireworks plant in China kills at least 26 people and injures dozens of others
  In "Watershed Moment" China Orders Companies To Defy US Sanctions
• Russia: Russian troops use Krasnopol munitions against Ukrainian reinforced concrete strongholds
  Russia will drastically scale back this year's May 9 Victory Day celebrations amid mounting Ukrainian long-range drone and missile strikes"
  Russian air attacks kill five at Ukraine’s Naftogaz gas facilities
• United Kingdom: UK National Threat Level raised to SEVERE - GOV.UK
  UK set to enter talks to join the European Union's $105.9 billion Ukraine loan
  Starmer is a ‘dead man walking’ – and he’s not even on the ballot
• India: Modi's party takes control of India's West Bengal in key state election
  West Bengal waits with bated breath for May 4 Assembly election results"
  
• Germany: Germany's Silent Shift to Socialism and Centrally Planned Economy: From Entrepreneurs To State Dependence
  Driver Plows Car Into a Market Crowd in the German City of Leipzig – At Least Two Dead and Several Injured
  
• Japan: Japan and Australia agree to deepen cooperation on energy, defense and critical minerals
  Oil shock will hit Asia harder than the 1970s
  
• Spain: Two Stabbings by Muslim Migrant in Barcelona Leave a Young Woman Dead and a Man Fighting for His Life
  
  
• Canada: Separatist group tries to trigger referendum on province leaving Canada
  Canadian Federal government approves $4B natural gas pipeline expansion in B.C.
  Canada commits $270M to Ukraine as Carney addresses European summit in Armenia
• South and Central America: Chinese Hackers Spied On Cuban Embassy As Trump Ramped Up Blockade Threats
  Brazil’s Lula to travel to US to meet with Trump later this week
  Cuba gets trickle of intrepid tourists as Trump’s oil blockade continues
• Saudi Arabia UAE says oil facility hit by Iranian drone strike as attacks resume
  
  
• Continental Africa: 2 US troops reported missing amid African Lion exercise
  Floods and landslides kill at least 18 in Kenya
  

• White House:
  Congressional Bill S. 723 Signed into Law to speed up Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) mortgage approvals
  Modified Qatari-donated 747-8i aircraft as interim Air Force One on Track For Summer 2026
  Presidential Message on National Hurricane Preparedness Week
• State Department:
  United States Welcomes Ireland's Signing of the Artemis Accords - United States Department of State
  
  
• Dept of War (DoW):
  US destroys six Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones
  US denies Iranian reports of strike on warship, says ships transit Hormuz
  U.S. Military Clears Safe Path Through Strait Despite Mines
• Treasury:
  US Treasury Advises Shippers to Not Pay Tolls for Hormuz Passage
  
  
• HHS:
  a2 Platinum USA Label Infant Formula Recalled Because of Possible Health Risk (Cereulide bacterium)
  Welfare Enrollment Drops Sharply Following New Federal Work Requirements
  
• Energy:
  Energy Department Receives Bids for SPR Emergency Oil Exchange
  
  
• House:
  The House passed farm bill after a Republican schism over ethanol and pesticides
  
  
• Supreme Court:
  Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with Faith-Based Pregnancy Centers in Litigation Dispute with New Jersey
  DOJ to enforce SCOTUS ruling nationwide, all states with racially gerrymandered districts
  Supreme Court temporarily restores ability to receive abortion drug mifepristone by mail

• World shares mixed and oil prices retreat after the latest flare in Iran tensions
  America is using less oil, and the Iran conflict could further reduce its thirst for hydrocarbons
  Investors Distancing forcing Meta Reach via Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for $13 Billion Texas Data Center

• Canadian election databases use "canary traps"—and they work
  Infrasound waves stop kitchen fires, but can they replace sprinklers?
  

• Pentagon freezes out Anthropic as it signs deals with AI rivals
  Geothermal startup Fervo Energy to raise up to $1.3B in IPO
  Ouster’s new color lidar is coming to replace cameras

• Largest Viking Age Coin Hoard Ever Found In Norway Shocks Archaeologists
  
  

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