Geopolitics
President Trump announced Project Freedom, set to begin today, as a coordination effort with countries, insurers, and shipping firms to guide non-conflict vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials described it as not involving Navy escorts. The initiative supports merchant ships transiting the corridor, which carries a quarter of global oil trade, fuel, and fertilizers, backed by guided-missile destroyers, over 100 aircraft, unmanned platforms, and 15,000 U.S. Central Command service members. Trump called it a humanitarian gesture for ships low on supplies amid positive talks with Iran, warning that interference would be met forcefully. Iran stated that U.S. interference violates the ceasefire and rejected management by Trump’s posts. A senior Iranian official reportedly called the plan a provocation to create an escalation pretext.
Meanwhile, Iran submitted a 14-point plan via Pakistani mediators demanding the U.S. lift its blockade of the Strait, withdraw all forces from the Middle East, and end hostilities, including Israel’s war with Hezbollah, within 30 days. The plan omitted its nuclear program. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed the focus on ending the war and denied joint mine-clearing. Trump expressed dissatisfaction and provided a counter-proposal. The IRGC intelligence unit set a Pentagon deadline to end the port blockade, citing shifts by Europe, China, and Russia against Washington. A cargo ship was hit off Sirik, Iran — the first such attack since April 22 — with all crew safe. Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed receipt of a U.S. counter-proposal through the same mediators.
Energy
Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil in April, the first halt since the 1991 Gulf War, according to Tanker Trackers data, after declaring force majeure on April 17 due to the Strait of Hormuz shutdown. It previously exported 1.85 million barrels per day, mostly to Asia, from 2.7 million bpd production. Now, it’s exporting zero on 1.2 million bpd of production. Oil comprises 50% of GDP and 90% of government revenue. OPEC+ nations, including Kuwait, agreed to raise June output quotas by 188,000 bpd, though analysts described the move as largely symbolic given export constraints.
Meanwhile, Michigan diesel prices reached $5.990 per gallon, a record surpassing 2022’s $5.955 peak.
Economy
Commodity costs for U.S. automakers have risen by about $5 billion this year due to the Iran war, according to first-quarter earnings reports from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. GM forecasts $1.5 billion to $2 billion in added costs from aluminum, plastics, energy, and DRAM chips amid logistics disruptions. Ford projected over $2 billion in headwinds, an increase of $1 billion, due to global aluminum and steel shortages worsened by strikes on smelters in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain that removed 3 million metric tons of capacity. Stellantis estimated 1 billion euros in raw material costs if prices hold. London Metal Exchange aluminum futures reached a four-year high near $3,492 a ton, with U.S. buyers facing record premiums atop 50% Section 232 tariffs. Carmakers have pledged cost-discipline measures to offset the added expenses.
In other news, Jane Street Group distributed $9.4 billion in employee compensation last year, doubling the prior year’s payouts after nearly $40 billion in trading revenue. With 3,500 employees, the average pay was about $2.7 million. Founded in 2000, trading depositary receipts and later expanding into ETFs and bonds, the firm grew its capital base to $45 billion. It invests in tech firms, including Anthropic and CoreWeave, operates without a traditional CEO via partners, and recruits mathematicians and engineers. It faces allegations of Indian market manipulation and a Terraform Labs lawsuit, but plans London expansion.
Lastly, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen disclosed an unsolicited $56 billion bid for eBay at $125 per share in cash and stock, a 20% premium, according to a filing citing GameStop’s 5% stake and $9 billion cash hoard. Cohen reportedly sees synergies from GameStop’s stores and logistics to compete in e-commerce, collectibles, and gaming. He holds a commitment from TD Bank for $20 billion in debt financing and has threatened a proxy fight if rebuffed. Analysts questioned the financing, noting eBay’s market cap is nearly four times GameStop’s, and synergies, though some cited potential cost savings and revenue opportunities. eBay shares rose as much as 13% premarket.
US Politics
A website called GTFO ICE, launched by former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor in partnership with Project Salt Box and Steve Schmidt’s Save America Movement, exposed personal details of 17,662 sign-ups through a public REST API without authentication or rate limiting. Taylor promoted the platform on The Rachel Maddow Show as a rapid response network against proposed ICE facilities. It collected names, emails, phone numbers, and zip codes. Bluesky users reported receiving texts claiming their data had been forwarded to federal authorities, including the FBI, HSI, and ICE. The site paused signups for a security review, then displayed an under construction message. Taylor, whose security clearance was suspended in April 2025, reportedly for treasonous conduct, leads DEFIANCE.org, which received over $625,000 in funding from Arabella Advisors and Sixteen Thirty Fund via coalition principals. Media contact Scott Goodstein previously directed digital efforts for the Obama and Sanders campaigns. The site’s operators described reports of data being forwarded to authorities as unconfirmed and possibly a spoof.
Artificial Intelligence
Former Harvard chemistry chair Charles Lieber, convicted in 2021 of hiding $750,000 annual ties to China’s Thousand Talents program, now directs Shenzhen’s government-funded Institute for Brain Research Advanced Interfaces and Neurotechnologies. The lab is developing brain-computer interfaces to boost mental agility and awareness, as prioritized in China’s five-year plan. Lieber cited superior resources, including primate facilities unavailable at Harvard, and recruited another Harvard scientist, despite supervised release terms allowing 2024 travel to China. Lieber has stated that his work benefits all humanity.
On a related subject, DARPA’s N3 program developed nonsurgical neurotechnology for soldiers to control drones and weapons via brainwaves bidirectionally, reaching Phase III human trials by 2023 at institutions including Carnegie Mellon, which tested SharpFocus for high-resolution stimulation. Funded for six teams, the project went silent post-trials. DARPA states it is complete and does not operationalize the tech, directing queries to teams for 2026 details. DARPA noted that ethical and legal experts provided guidance throughout the program’s development.
In other news, researchers at the University of Gothenburg fabricated “bixonimania,” a fake eye condition from screen exposure, via two 2024 preprints with bogus authors, institutions, and funders like the Professor Sideshow Bob Foundation. Large language models, including Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and later ChatGPT, cited it as real despite red flags such as “this entire paper is made up.” Reportedly, humans also referenced the fake condition. The preprints were later retracted once the ruse became known. Commentators have used this as an example of how AI (and people) can be so easily manipulated into believing completely false information.
Sources
Bluesky Meltdown: Ex-Trump Aide’s Anti-ICE Site Doxxes 18K Activists
Nearly 18,000 left-wing activists on BlueSky are in panic mode this weekend after an anti-ICE activist website launched by a fired Trump official exposed their personal details due to a vulnerable connection (an unprotected API).
Source | Submitted by PhilH
Iran War Fuels $5 Billion Commodity Crunch for U.S. Carmakers
Iran War Drives $5 Billion Commodity Squeeze on US Carmakers
Source | Submitted by PhilH
Jane Street Doubles Employee Payouts to $9.4 Billion After Record $40B Year
The firm paid roughly $9.4 billion in compensation last year, more than twice what it distributed a year earlier, according to Bloomberg.
Wall Street Skeptical of GameStop’s $56 Billion eBay Takeover Bid
Wall Street analysts were broadly “skeptical” of Cohen’s ability to finance the deal
Trump’s “Project Freedom”: Hormuz Ship Coordination, Not Escorts, Sparks Iranian Fury
President Trump did not announce an escort mission just now, US officials say.
Iran’s Maximalist Ultimatum: US Must Quit Middle East in 30 Days, Nukes Off the Table
Iran has slapped the US with a new set of “maximalist” demands and a 30-day deadline for them to be fulfilled.
Kuwait’s Oil Exports Hit Zero: First Blank Slate in 35 Years Amid Hormuz Shutdown
Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil last month, according to data from a shipping monitor, marking the first such halt since the 1991 Gulf War.
Ex-Harvard Scientist Defects to China to Build AI Super-Soldiers via Brain Interfaces
A top scientist from Harvard has defected to China and will lend his world-leading expertise to the nation’s program to create a new army of AI-augmented “super-soldiers.”
DARPA’s Silent Brain-Drone Link: Human Trials End, Secrecy Reigns
The project reached its final phase of human testing in 2023 but has since gone completely silent, with no public results or explanation of what happened.
Bixonimania: The Fake Disease That Fooled AI (and Some Humans)
European scientists created a fake disease called “bixonimania” to see if it could trick AI. They succeeded.
Michigan Diesel Prices Smash All-Time Record at $5.990
#Michigan has set a new all-time record for average diesel price at $5.990
Source | Submitted by Chris Martenson
Pentagon Deploys 15K Troops, Destroyers to Hormuz: “Not an Escort Mission”
They cannot both be true.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: Hagerstown Rapid Response Substack, Financial Times, Drop Site News, The New Region, Al Jazeera, GasBuddy, AAA, Detroit News, New York Post, and DARPA.mil.
by larrythelogger 
