Iran War
Iran launched missiles and drones at US bases in the Gulf region. Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem airbase was struck, and air-raid sirens sounded in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain. The IRGC stated the strikes responded to a US Hellfire missile attack on an Iranian oil tanker and a subsequent strike on IRGC communications on Qeshm Island. Iran also targeted the Panaya vessel and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. President Trump stated that talks continue and predicted an agreement within a week. Secretary Rubio told Congress that Iran has agreed to discuss previously restricted nuclear topics. However, Iranian sources have reportedly contradicted claims of ongoing talks, stating that message exchanges had halted.
On the financial front, the US Treasury sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, along with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. These platforms handled at least 72% of Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Nobitex facilitated transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran’s central bank and IRGC after US military operations began and that the US has seized $1 billion in Iranian crypto. IRGC-linked addresses received over $3 billion in crypto in 2025.
Geopolitics
Russia conducted a large-scale strike on Ukraine, firing over 640 drones and 73 missiles at Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia. At least 18 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. The Kremlin described the attack as retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes, including one on a dormitory in Starobelsk that killed 21 people. The Russian Defense Ministry described the strikes as targeting military infrastructure in response to Ukrainian actions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, causing fires.
In other news, US and Chinese military officers held deconfliction talks in Honolulu following the Trump-Xi summit and agreed that improved communication could reduce miscalculations in the Indo-Pacific. China had boycotted the Shangri-La Dialogue, and PLA drills near Taiwan have increased. The US has continued its policy of not holding direct talks with Taiwan’s president.
UK Politics
The killing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton prompted public reaction. Vickrum Digwa, who used a ceremonial Sikh knife, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 21-year minimum term. However, newly released bodycam footage showed officers responding dismissively to Nowak’s statements that he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe, while attending to the attacker. The IOPC is investigating, and one officer has resigned. Nowak’s father called for knife crime to be treated as a national priority. Clashes occurred outside Southampton Central Police Station. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the disorder. Nowak’s family has urged that his death not be used to create further division or hatred.
Meanwhile, Rupert Lowe used a Westminster Hall debate, triggered by a petition with 260,974 signatures, to present testimony from his independent inquiry into grooming gangs. The testimony described survivors being raped from age 12, held in dog cages, and abused by hundreds of men. One account stated that staff at children’s homes handed girls to abusers. Lowe said the full report will be released in the coming days. Some accounts have challenged the emphasis on ethnicity in such cases, citing police data indicating that the majority of suspects are White.
In South Wales, police officers have been directed to record conversations and comments about Islam that exceed what the force considers “legitimate” discussion, following the government’s March definition of “anti-Muslim hostility.” The Free Speech Union wrote to the force requesting withdrawal of the guidance and stated it may seek judicial review, arguing that enforcement could affect employment records. FSU General Secretary Lord Young said government safeguards for legitimate criticism are being narrowed. The working group that developed the definition included members linked to organizations such as the Muslim Council of Britain and one individual who had publicly supported Hamas.
Artificial Intelligence
A Bain survey of executives at 951 companies found that realized AI cost savings have fallen short of projections. Among firms that measured savings, 40% reported reductions of 10% or less. Bain noted that 44% of large companies funding subsequent AI projects are relying on savings from earlier projects that did not materialize. The firm identified limited access to internal data as the primary reason AI programs underperform. A Gartner report projected that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027 due to rising costs and unclear returns. However, the same Bain survey showed that 37% of firms achieved 10-20% savings, indicating variation in outcomes depending on execution.
Regardless, US data-center construction spending exceeded $50 billion in April for the first time, according to Census Bureau figures, accounting for 2.3% of all US construction outlays. Private-sector data-center spending now exceeds public spending on transportation-related structures, including airports, marine terminals, and mass transit. Capital goods imports tied to data-center expansion, including semiconductors, rose 40% year-over-year in April. Oxford Economics stated that non-residential construction spending outside data centers is expected to remain weak amid geopolitical uncertainty and higher input costs. A Gallup survey found that 71% of Americans oppose data centers near their homes, with some projects facing local resistance and delays due to power and permitting issues.
Meanwhile, China has adopted a different approach to AI infrastructure by submerging sealed server modules on the seabed for passive cooling. Facilities such as the Hailanyun/HiCloud project off Shanghai are operational with hundreds of server racks, often paired with offshore wind power. Reported results indicate 30–90% lower cooling energy use compared with land-based data centers. Critics have noted potential environmental risks from thermal pollution affecting marine life.
Society
University of California, Berkeley mathematics professors Svetlana Jitomirskaya and Zvezdelina Stankova have expressed their opinion that the 2020 decision to abolish SAT and ACT requirements has created challenges in student preparation. At UC San Diego, the number of freshmen failing to meet high school math standards rose nearly 30-fold between 2020 and 2025, with one in twelve entering students placed into remedial math covering elementary and middle school material. More than 25% of students in remedial math had a 4.0 math GPA. At Berkeley, three-quarters of students arrive with a GPA of 4.15 or higher. A coalition of UC STEM faculty issued an open letter to the Board of Regents requesting the return of standardized testing requirements and collected over 1,000 signatures. An informal Berkeley Academic Senate survey found that 83% of 430 respondents support reinstating the tests. The authors note that MIT, Stanford, and Harvard have restored testing requirements. UC Admissions officials have reportedly described the SAT as racist and argued that Californians are smart enough without it.
Sources
UC Faculty Urge Return of SAT to Fix Admissions Crisis
It is time now to return to the SAT and objective measures of merit.
Source (Paywalled) | Submitted by IrishPrince
US Data Center Spending Tops $50B, Outpacing Transport Infrastructure
Spending on data-center construction in the US eclipsed $50 billion in April for the first time, according to Census Bureau figures published Monday.
Source (Paywalled) | Submitted by Patriot83
South Wales Police to Log Anti-Islam Comments Deemed Beyond ‘Legitimate’ Debate
South Wales Police are zealously enforcing their own definition of Islamophobia in a way that threatens free speech.
Lowe Confronts MPs with Harrowing Grooming Gang Testimonies
White girls raped by dogs, whisky bottles, and hundreds of Muslim men: Britain’s migrant grooming gang scandal exposed
US Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange for Evading Restrictions
While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country.
US-China Militaries Hold Candid Hawaii Talks as Trump Stays Quiet on Taiwan
American and Chinese military officers have sat down for rare deconfliction talks in Hawaii, soon on the heels of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing last month.
Bain Warns AI Cost Savings Are Falling Short, Undermining Future Spending
The technology worked. The value didn’t arrive.
Russia Strikes Ukraine in Deadly Mass Assault, Killing 18 and Wounding Over 100
In the wake of these devastating overnight attacks, Ukraine is reporting that at least 18 people were killed and over 100 more wounded.
Iran Strikes Gulf Bases After US Qeshm Raid, Denies Talks
Iran state media says retaliation for night US attack on Qeshm Island.
IRGC Statement Details Retaliatory Strikes on US Bases After Alleged Tanker Hit
Its airbase and its helicopter base stationed in one of the countries in the region (Kuwait), as well as the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, were subjected to an attack by missiles and drones of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
Drones Cloud Putin’s St. Petersburg Economic Forum With Oil Fires
Absolutely embarrassing morning for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Henry Nowak Murder: Killer’s Racist Lie Leads to Police Handcuffing Dying Victim
But it was a “wicked lie”, a court heard on Monday.
China Sinks Data Centers to the Seafloor for AI’s Cooling Needs
China is putting data centers on the ocean floor and letting the sea cool them.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: California Globe; Steve McGuire; David Ganezer; Yiatin Chu; ZeroHedge; Entrepreneur; Bain survey; Gallup survey; Grok; AimPoojaind; Susan Bagheri; SpasskiyD; New Statesman; Russian Defense Ministry; MenchOsint.
by russcr5187 
