U.S. and Iran reach another impasse, body of one of two missing servicemembers recovered, and Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of ceasefire breaches. Oh, and UFOs.
1. Iran and the United States reached an impasse again Monday over how to end their war while their ceasefire grew increasingly shaky, with the two sides exchanging fire in recent days, ships and Gulf states being targeted, and fighting flaring between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The volatility could tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict, with Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and America’s blockade of Iranian ports still in place. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to use a trip this week to China to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to pressure Iran into making concessions and end the current limbo. Beijing is the biggest buyer of the Islamic Republic’s sanctioned crude oil, giving it leverage. But getting to any deal likely remains tough work. Iran insists it wants to see the American blockade end and sanctions lifted before beginning negotiations over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The U.S. — and Israel — want that material removed since it could be used to eventually build a bomb, should Iran choose to do so. Tehran insists its program is peaceful, but it has enriched uranium beyond the levels needed for civilian power generation.
2. The body of one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing during a training exercise in Morocco last week was recovered Saturday, as U.S. and Moroccan forces continued a large-scale search for the second soldier, military officials said Sunday. A Moroccan military search team recovered the body of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, of Richmond, Va., along the shoreline near the Cap Draa Training Area at about 8:55 a.m. local time, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. Key and another soldier disappeared May 2 after reportedly entering the ocean during African Lion 26, a multinational exercise led by U.S. Africa Command involving thousands of troops from more than 40 countries. His body was found within about a mile of where the two soldiers were last seen entering the water, the USAREUR-AF statement said.
3. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was due to expire on Monday with both sides accusing each other of breaching the 72-hour arrangement, as American and European officials considered how they might steer the warring countries into further talks. Ukrainian authorities said Monday that Russian drones, bombs and artillery shelling struck civilian areas of the northeastern Kharkiv and southern Kherson regions, killing at least two people and wounding seven others. Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Kyiv of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, state media reported. Similar ceasefires announced since Russia invaded its neighbor more than four years ago have also failed to stop the fighting, and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts over the past year have come to nothing.
4. The Pentagon on Friday unsealed the first tranche of what it described as “new, never-before-seen” files related to otherworldly encounters, months after President Donald Trump directed the government to begin disclosing intelligence related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, characterized the dissemination of the archives as an effort to achieve “complete and maximum transparency.” “With these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’” the president wrote, adding, “Have Fun and Enjoy!” The Department of Defense — in coordination with the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Energy, NASA and the FBI — disclosed 162 files on its newly launched “UFO” website. Additional batches are expected to be released on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified.
5. More than two dozen lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite its review of mental health therapies like psychedelics as part of multiple pieces of legislation already drafted. Military.com has reported on different legislative efforts in the House and Senate that largely center on the same objective: providing more expansive treatment options to both civilians along with current and former military service members who experience elevated rates of PTSD, depression and suicide. On April 18, President Donald Trump in a rather unprecedented move signed an executive order calling on the FDA to facilitate access to psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, psilocybin, ketamine, LSD and MDMA, for eligible patients suffering from major depressive disorder and substance abuse disorders. Trump said the order “will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life.” On May 1, a letter signed by 32 House Republicans and Democrats was sent to FDA Commissioner Martin Makary urging the agency to advance its evaluation of rapid-acting novel therapeutics. Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA), co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus, initiated the correspondence.
- Security