5月14日，名叫拉扎尔的蝴蝶犬摄于法国东部的维利勒佩卢。 （法新社）

一只名叫拉扎尔（Lazare）、相信为“世界最长寿犬”的蝴蝶犬去世，高龄30岁。

法新社联系了健力士世界纪录，询问拉扎尔在星期四（5月14日）去世前是否保持着这项纪录，得到的回复是：在拉扎尔去世之前，他们“没有收到申请或相关证据”，因此无法确认它是否保持着这项纪录。

据动物慈善机构工作人员安妮-索菲·莫永（Anne-Sophie Moyon）介绍，拉扎尔是一只蝴蝶犬（Continental Toy Spaniel），耳朵竖立时形似蝴蝶，出生于1995年12月4日。它一生的大部分时间都和同一个主人一起生活，直到主人去世后，才到这家慈善机构的收容所生活。

29岁的单身母亲奥菲莉·布多尔（Ophelie Boudol）上个月在收容所里一眼相中了这只比她大一岁的狗狗。她最初是想为母亲找一只宠物，但后来却把它带回了自己家里。几周后，拉扎尔去世了。

30岁零五个月大的拉扎尔已经需要穿尿布，失聪失明，几乎整天都在睡觉。

布多尔本周在位于法国东南部小镇维利勒佩卢的家中抱着拉扎尔时告诉记者：“它真的非常讨人喜欢。”

她说，当莫永和同事们发现拉扎尔的年龄时，他们认为“拉扎尔可能是世界上最老的狗”。他们核实了两个登记处的出生日期，并填写了表格，想让它登记成为世界纪录保持者。

据健力士世界纪录网站记载，一只名叫博比（Bobi）的葡萄牙阿连特茹獒犬（Rafeiro do Alentejo）在2023年去世时，据称高龄31岁，相信是当时世界上最长寿的狗。但2024年的一项复审发现，没有足够的确凿证据证明它的年龄，因此，健力士世界纪录已暂撤其头衔。

DHS says its new deportation planes are almost ready for takeoff. Critics doubt the plan will work

2026-05-16 6:00 AM ET / CNN

By René Marsh, Audrey Ash

PUBLISHED May 16, 2026, 6:00 AM ET

A Department of Homeland Security aircraft, recently acquired for deportation flights, is seen at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on March 6. This plane is part of the agency’s new fleet for deportations.

CNN

A long-abandoned proposal at the Department of Homeland Security – one so ambitious the agency had never gone through with it before – was revived under the leadership of then-Secretary Kristi Noem.

Officials spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to buy the department its own fleet of aircraft and started laying the groundwork for shifting away from relying on charter airline companies for deportation flights, as it had for decades. Ultimately, they planned to start their own mini airline to help execute President Donald Trump’s aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants a year.

Now DHS tells CNN exclusively it plans to start using the planes for deportation flights soon – using contractors to operate the planes – after new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reevaluated the plan. Mullin, who replaced Noem in March, had undertaken an agency-wide review of contracts signed during her tenure.

“We anticipate we will be able to integrate these planes into our deportation efforts in the coming weeks,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

Under Noem, DHS officials argued the move would save taxpayers $280 million, in part by allowing the department to fly more efficient routes, though they didn’t give a timeframe for those savings.

Kristi Noem, then the Homeland Security Secretary, testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3.

Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

But some current and former DHS officials, as well as aviation industry sources, question whether the unprecedented endeavor will be viable over the long-term and deliver the promised savings. Some critics point to industry data that suggests the department may have paid more than market value for at least some of the planes.

“It’s hard to see this as anything but a waste of public money,” an aviation industry executive told CNN.

DHS purchased 10 planes between January and March of this year, records show. The fleet has largely sat idle since then – in some cases, for months – at a maintenance facility in Louisiana, according to a source with knowledge of the matter and publicly available flight tracking data.

While some of the aircraft were used for evacuation flights in the early days of the Iran war, none have been used for deportations.

William Walters, the CEO of Daedalus Aviation, the company that sold the aircraft to DHS, told CNN they were sold at cost plus overhead, including the cost of retrofitting the passenger planes for immigration purposes.

Walters and DHS declined to provide a breakdown of the costs of the planes.

The DHS spokesperson said the planes will provide “vital support” to immigration enforcement but that “any decisions related to the purchase of these planes were made prior to the change in DHS leadership.”

The department added that while Mullin and his team worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “assess the operation plan for utilizing these aircraft,” the planes have been “undergoing maintenance and safety checks as well as any necessary make-ready modifications to meet the need of the deportation mission.”

“Secretary Mullin is 100% focused on ensuring the needs of our Department are met while being the best possible steward of taxpayer dollars,” DHS said in another statement to CNN.

Building the fleet

From the beginning of this endeavor, several aviation sources said they thought the plan was “crazy” and said it would “never work.” Some of the sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, while others offering an industry perspective wanted to avoid potential fallout from the White House.

“There’s an old saying in aviation: The fastest way to become a millionaire is to be a billionaire who tries to start an airline,” one industry veteran told CNN, citing a joke about the risks and high startup costs.

Last December, as DHS was assessing what it would take to carry out its plan, the agency issued a public request seeking a wide range of information, including “perspectives and planning considerations” for operating aircraft from charter airline companies –— essentially, asking what is required to operate a fleet for a mission like deportations.

The request for information had a deadline of early January.

One aviation industry insider familiar with DHS’ request for information wondered whether the agency had fully thought through its plan, noting it was purchasing aircraft around the same time it was still seeking industry input.

“They bought the aircraft before they figured out how to operate them and/or what the cost to operate them would be,” the insider said.

Another source, a former ICE official, described the entire effort as akin to “building the plane while they’re flying it.”

A Department of Homeland Security aircraft, recently acquired for deportation flights, is seen at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on March 6.

CNN

The DHS fleet consists of eight Boeing 737s – a workhorse of US domestic travel and among the most widely used commercial planes in the world – and two Gulfstream jets, according to records reviewed by CNN. All were purchased from Daedalus, a private aircraft company and a relative newcomer to the immigration business.

Former ICE officials said the agency considered the idea of buying planes in the past but never moved forward because of the complications that come with operating a fleet and the costs that would have to be baked into the federal budget.

“What’s very difficult is that once you own the aircraft, you have to maintain them, fueling, staffing them with pilots and flight crews and all of that comes at a cost,” the former ICE official told CNN. “You may be able to buy the planes now, but how are you funding the staffing and all the wraparound support and services that are required long-term?”

While DHS says it plans for contractors to fly its fleet, at least initially, aviation industry veterans say several major charter operators that fly deportation flights would need to get regulatory authorization to fly the 737s purchased by the department, which can take several months. They’d also likely need to hire and train pilots to fly that model, and that comes at a cost.

The source with knowledge of the matter said the current contracting model for chartered deportation flights is a major cost driver – with one company acting as a broker and then subcontracting flights to multiple charter airlines. When the profit and overhead for each layer are factored in, “that gets super expensive,” the source said

According to the most recent data, a charter flight costs an average of almost $7,000 per flight hour to nearly $27,000, according to ICE. That includes the aircraft and fuel as well as the flight crew, security personnel, an onboard medical professional and other fees.

Millions allotted for planes

In January, the Office of Management and Budget increased DHS funding for “transportation and removal” by $50 million to $202 million, adding a footnote that a portion of those funds were “available for obligation solely for the purchase of the five Boeing 737-700 aircraft which ICE has previously briefed to OMB.”

By March, the budget for that line had increased to $464.5 million, with an updated footnote indicating the new funds would be used in part to purchase eight Boeing 737s and two Gulfstream G-650 jets.

The purchases – including a $70 million luxury 737 jet complete with a bed, kitchen and bar – raised eyebrows among industry experts and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse grilled Noem during a hearing earlier this year, asking her to respond to critics who said the luxury jet’s purchase was an abuse of federal funds.

She said the department used it for “command and control” flights and reiterated that the purchase of planes for deportations and official travel would save taxpayers money.

DHS reportedly agreed to pay $140 million to buy the initial tranche of planes. The source with knowledge of the matter said the department bought five 737s at this stage.

Some industry experts suggest the department may have paid above market value, noting that would work out to an average of $28 million each.

One independent market analysis from ch-aviation shows that the seven 737s that DHS purchased, not including the luxury jet, have a combined value of $84 million – or roughly $12 million each on average. Another analysis provided to CNN valuated them at an average of $21 million each.

The assessments are based on industry figures for each plane’s tail number and standard assumptions about condition and maintenance. Ch-aviation also noted its estimate doesn’t reflect a review of maintenance records or a physical inspection of the aircraft.

DHS did not respond to questions about the market analyses.

While the agency’s own fleet hasn’t been used for deportations yet, there has been an increase in those flights with the agency using charter flights – and in the number of destination countries, according to Human Rights First, a nonprofit that tracks that information.

The group found there were 245 removal flights last month – a monthly record since it began tracking them in 2020.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Aaron Cooper contributed to this reporting.

After Indiana purge, Trump sets sights on Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy

2026-05-16T05:00:43-04:00 / Fox News

Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial

By Paul Steinhauser , Luke Trevisan Fox News

Published May 16, 2026 5:00am EDT

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., argues he can work alongside President Donald Trump, and takes aim at Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., over DEI-related initiatives, casting her as out of touch with conservative voters.

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BATON ROUGE, La.— After taking out five Indiana state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting, President Donald Trump’s next target is Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Cassidy, who five and a half years ago voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, is fighting for his political life in a competitive race against two major challengers, including one backed by the president, in Saturday’s GOP Senate primary in the solidly red southern state.

Trump and his allies, including Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, are backing GOP Rep. Julia Letlow in the Senate primary. Also in the race is former Rep. John Fleming, who is the state treasurer. If no candidate cracks 50% of the primary vote, the top two finishers will face off for the nomination in a June 27 runoff election.

The primary is the latest test of Trump’s endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president’s immense grip over the Republican Party.

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Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana fist bumps a supporter during a campaign stop at a gun retailer and firing range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, May 15, 2026, on the eve of the state’s Senate primary.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

But since the start of Trump’s second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president’s agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement are out for revenge.

That’s because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy’s push to reform the nation’s health policies, including Kennedy’s efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations.

And Kennedy allies blamed Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for helping sink the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate, after Cassidy did not bring it to a committee vote.

Meanwhile, Trump has blasted the senator as a “very disloyal person.”

And on the eve of the primary, the president took to social media to praise Letlow as a “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman.”

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Making Cassidy’s climb to renomination even tougher, Louisiana will now run separate party primaries in the Senate race, which replaces a system where all candidates appeared in one single jungle primary. That guarantees a more conservative and pro-Trump electorate for the GOP nomination.

Cassidy is highlighting his record over two terms in the Senate in delivering for Louisiana, which is one of the nation’s poorest states. And he’s showcased his support for Louisiana’s large oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 15% of the state’s workforce.

“When people ask things such as, can you work with President Trump, I point out that he has signed into law four bills that I wrote or negotiated,” the senator said in a primary eve interview with Fox News Digital. “We continue to work together, by the way.”

And Cassidy touted that he’s “a conservative senator who delivers.”

In trying to avert becoming the first elected Republican senator in nearly a decade and a half to be ousted in a primary, Cassidy and an allied super PAC have dished out more than $20 million on ads, according to AdImpact, a national ad tracking firm. That total is more than Letlow and Fleming, combined, have spent.

Some of those ads have knocked Letlow over her past support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during her tenure at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Cassidy argued that Republican voters are “concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI.”

LETLOW EXPLAINS HER PAST SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAMS

President Donald Trump stands with Rep. Julia Letlow during the Congressional Ball at the White House Grand Foyer in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Defending her record, Letlow explained in a Fox News Digital interview on Friday that “back in 2020 whenever DEI was introduced to us, we had no idea what it was back then, and I quickly witnessed it. I was in higher education at the time. I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack it, turn it into this Marxist leftist indoctrination of our children. And so, when I got to Congress for the last five years, I’ve been fighting against it.

And she charged that the criticism of her from Cassidy and Fleming over DEI is “all baseless attacks, desperate attacks.”

Letlow won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds.

She was backed by Trump even before she entered the race.

“Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime,” Letlow said.

Letlow has taken aim at Cassidy for his bipartisan efforts in the Senate, including his vote for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that was a signature domestic achievement for then-President Joe Biden.

Asked about her criticism, Cassidy said the “people want someone who can deliver for Louisiana. The Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act has brought $13.5 billion to Louisiana for roads and bridges and high-speed internet, and along the way creating a lot of good paying jobs. My opponent opposed that bill.”

Fleming, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.

‘They see me clearly MAGA,” Fleming told Fox News Digital, as he referred to Louisiana Republicans. “I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016.”

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Fleming claimed that Letlow is “not the prototype for a Trump endorsement. She’s much more like a Democrat.”

And Fleming, apparently, has become a threat to Letlow, as a super PAC supporting the congresswoman started to run ads attacking him.

But Trump’s endorsement in the nomination race weighs heavily in a state he carried by 22 points in his 2024 election victory.

“It’s the most powerful endorsement in the world,” Letlow said, adding that Louisiana Republicans “are huge fans of the president.”

And the Louisiana primary comes a week and a half after Indiana’s primary, where Trump-backed challengers ousted five state senators who had defied the president over his redistricting push.

The political world was closely watching Indiana’s primary because it was the first of a series of major tests this month of Trump’s endorsement power in GOP nomination showdowns, and the president cleared his first hurdle with ease.

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Voters in Louisiana will also cast ballots in primary contests for State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state school board, along with five proposed state constitutional amendments.

But the primaries for the U.S. House seats were postponed by Landry after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s current congressional district map.

Republican state senators in Louisiana on Thursday advanced a plan to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional seats ahead of the midterms. Louisiana’s state House will likely vote on the map next week. The U.S. House primaries are being postponed until November.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy fights to hold onto seat in Louisiana primary against Trump-backed challenger

May 16, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Louisianans are voting Saturday in the state’s Senate primaries as Sen. Bill Cassidy fights to hold onto his seat.

A handful of Republicans are facing off Saturday in a competitive primary to win the GOP nomination as Cassidy — a Republican who has occasionally broken with his party — seeks a third term in the Senate.

Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. And although he’s emphasized his cooperation with the administration in recent years, the president endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow in January, encouraging her to challenge Cassidy for the seat.

Letlow, 45, became the first Republican woman elected to represent Louisiana in Congress in 2021 after winning a special election for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District following the death of her husband, who died in 2020 from complications related to COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office. She’s hammered Cassidy as disloyal to the GOP, claiming Louisiana “shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on.”

In addition to his vote to impeach Mr. Trump, Cassidy has been at odds with the administration over Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, despite delivering the key vote to advance Kennedy’s nomination last year. Cassidy, a medical doctor, has broken with the HHS secretary on multiple occasions, including slamming a change to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants and calling for the postponement of key vaccine advisory panel meetings.

While Letlow has accused Cassidy of not being sufficiently conservative, Cassidy has claimed the same about his Trump-backed opponent, pointing to comments she made in 2020 supporting DEI programs in education. And the feuding between the two candidates has appeared to create an opportunity for another Republican — state Treasurer John Fleming, who previously represented Louisiana in the House and worked in the first Trump administration.

If no candidate receives a simple majority, the top two vote-getters will go to a runoff on June 27. An Emerson College poll from April indicates that the outcome is likely.

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The contest will likely be viewed as a test of the president’s influence. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump’s gambit to push Republicans out of the state Senate in Indiana who defied his redistricting efforts was largely successful. Whether the same is true in Louisiana remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has supported Cassidy. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday that “Bill Cassidy has been a terrific senator for Louisiana.”

“Tim Scott and I at the NRSC, our job is to do what we can to support incumbents,” Thune said.

“But obviously the voters of Louisiana are going to make that decision.”

On the Democratic side, Nick Albares, a former policy advisor to Gov. John Bel Edwards, Navy veteran Gary Crockett and third-generation farmer Jamie Davis are facing off for their party’s nomination. But Louisiana is a solidly red state, where Mr. Trump won 60% of the vote in 2024. And the state last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008, making the winner of the GOP primary likely to face a glidepath to the Senate in November’s general election.

Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the state’s House primaries in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to strike down the state’s congressional map earlier this month, while other races, including the Senate primaries, were set to go on as planned.

美国加强世界杯安保 部署反无人机力量

2026年5月16日 18:45 / 联合早报

美国加强世界杯安保 部署反无人机力量

本届世界杯由美国、墨西哥和加拿大联合主办；图为将举行世界杯最后一场赛事的纽约新泽西体育场。 （法新社）

（纽约彭博电）美国联邦调查局（FBI）计划在世界杯期间，向各体育场部署约60名受过专门训练的州和地方警察，以侦测敌对无人机并进行电子干扰。

本届世界杯由美国、墨西哥和加拿大联合主办，将于6月11日开打，7月19日结束，预计到时将有数百万游客穿梭于美国11个主办城市。

安全官员警告，过去多见于海外战场的无人机威胁，如今在美国本土出现的可能性正日益增加。

知情者透露，相关人员目前正在积极接受培训，来自纽约州和新泽西州警察局、纽约市和洛杉矶警察局等机构的警员，将在FBI的监督下操作反无人机设备。

这次部署反映了联邦当局日益加深的担忧，即市售无人机可能被用于扰乱或袭击大型公共集会。

熟悉培训计划的消息人士说，FBI将直接监督洛杉矶、迈阿密和纽约的无人机防范工作，国土安全部下属机构则负责其余八个主办城市。

最近在亚拉巴马州进行的训练演习，展示操作员如何在不中断比赛或制造恐慌的情况下击落无人机。

他们利用摄像头、雷达和射频传感器探测到进入禁飞区的无人机，并通过电子方式进行干扰，在不开枪的情况下即可控制无人机。

FBI自2022年开始筹划反无人机训练项目，去年10月总统特朗普签署行政命令后正式启动。

美国国会去年12月通过法案，首次授权地方执法机构参与反无人机行动，并拨款5亿美元（约6亿4000万新元）用于这个项目。

美国联邦紧急事务管理局已向世界杯主办城市发放一半资金，用于采购检测等设备，预计今年较迟时候还将拨付另一笔款项。

本届世界杯由美国、墨西哥和加拿大联合主办；图为将举行世界杯最后一场赛事的纽约新泽西体育场。 （法新社）

（纽约彭博电）美国联邦调查局（FBI）计划在世界杯期间，向各体育场部署约60名受过专门训练的州和地方警察，以侦测敌对无人机并进行电子干扰。

本届世界杯由美国、墨西哥和加拿大联合主办，将于6月11日开打，7月19日结束，预计到时将有数百万游客穿梭于美国11个主办城市。

安全官员警告，过去多见于海外战场的无人机威胁，如今在美国本土出现的可能性正日益增加。

知情者透露，相关人员目前正在积极接受培训，来自纽约州和新泽西州警察局、纽约市和洛杉矶警察局等机构的警员，将在FBI的监督下操作反无人机设备。

这次部署反映了联邦当局日益加深的担忧，即市售无人机可能被用于扰乱或袭击大型公共集会。

熟悉培训计划的消息人士说，FBI将直接监督洛杉矶、迈阿密和纽约的无人机防范工作，国土安全部下属机构则负责其余八个主办城市。

最近在亚拉巴马州进行的训练演习，展示操作员如何在不中断比赛或制造恐慌的情况下击落无人机。

他们利用摄像头、雷达和射频传感器探测到进入禁飞区的无人机，并通过电子方式进行干扰，在不开枪的情况下即可控制无人机。

FBI自2022年开始筹划反无人机训练项目，去年10月总统特朗普签署行政命令后正式启动。

美国国会去年12月通过法案，首次授权地方执法机构参与反无人机行动，并拨款5亿美元（约6亿4000万新元）用于这个项目。

美国联邦紧急事务管理局已向世界杯主办城市发放一半资金，用于采购检测等设备，预计今年较迟时候还将拨付另一笔款项。

Trump returns from China with no Iran breakthrough — and a decision to make

2026-05-16T08:00:51.639Z / CNN

By Alayna Treene, Adam Cancryn

3 hr ago
PUBLISHED May 16, 2026, 4:00 AM ET

President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Friday.

Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images

As Donald Trump grew increasingly frustrated with diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran, administration officials were closely watching whether the president’s trip to China — a nation with close ties to Tehran — would yield a significant breakthrough.

But Trump landed stateside Friday with seemingly no progress to report.

Speaking to reporters on his journey back to Washington, the US president claimed Chinese leader Xi Jinping said he would like the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened and that he agrees Iran should not develop a nuclear weapon. But those were statements China had made previously.

“He would like to see it end. He would like to help. If he wants to help, that’s great. But we don’t need help,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier about his Chinese counterpart in an interview airing Friday.

Several administration officials said they wanted to see how the talks between Trump and Xi played out before determining a path forward on Iran.

But now the president has to decide whether launching more strikes on Iran is his best option for ending a conflict that has dragged on well past the six weeks he initially projected, spiking gas prices and sinking his approval ratings on the economy.

In a Truth Social post made Friday morning China time, Trump said his military campaign against Iran is “to be continued!”

There have been differing views within the administration about how to proceed, sources familiar with the talks said. Some, including officials in the Pentagon, have argued for a more aggressive approach — including targeted strikes — that they hope would further pressure Iran into compromising.

Others, however, have argued for a continued focus on diplomacy. Trump himself has leaned into this approach in recent weeks, in hopes the combination of direct negotiations and economic pressure would convince Iran to strike a deal. But Tehran hasn’t moved much in its terms for a deal since Trump announced a ceasefire in April.

“Well, I looked at it and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday about the latest Iranian proposal.

Vice President JD Vance projected confidence earlier this week, telling reporters he had “spent a good amount of time on the phone with both Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff this morning, and a number of our friends in the Arab world this morning,” referencing the top diplomats Trump has tasked with reaching a deal with Tehran.

“Look, I think that we are making progress. The fundamental question is: Do we make enough progress that we satisfy the president’s red line?” Vance said.

“The president has set us off on the diplomatic pathway for now, and that’s what I’m focused on,” he added.

President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media as he returns to the White House after his trip to China, in Washington, DC, on Friday.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

But with Iran showing no willingness to move off its hardline stance, Trump has grown increasingly impatient. He’s been particularly irked by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz — which has sent oil and gas prices soaring — as well as perceived divisions in Iranian leadership that have further complicated negotiations, the sources said. Iran’s latest response to the US proposal, and its rhetoric in recent days, has led many officials to question Tehran’s commitment to a serious deal.

“He’s tried bluster, that didn’t work. He’s tried negotiations, that’s hasn’t worked,” said Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO. “He’s trying to find a way to unstick his stuckness.”

There’s rising urgency within Trump’s orbit to find a way out of the conflict as time ticks toward the midterm elections. The war has taken a significant toll on the president’s approval rating as voters feel the economic squeeze, and Republicans are anxious that they’ll suffer the consequences come November.

US gas prices have topped $4.50 a gallon on average and are likely to rise higher as Iran maintains its grip on the strait, a major oil thoroughfare. Inflation is picking up at a concerning pace, exceeding Americans’ wage gains in April for the first time in three years.

And while the broader stock market is largely holding onto its gains, corporate leaders have grown more insistent behind the scenes as they press Trump and his advisers to find a resolution.

“They just want the war over,” said one Trump adviser who recently spoke with Wall Street executives, who characterized the overarching message as “just hurry up.”

Trump has frequently downplayed the domestic impact of the war, insisting that he expected conditions to be far worse than they are. He waved off economic concerns earlier this week — and then doubled down.

“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me,” he told reporters earlier this week when asked how much Americans’ economic concerns were behind his push for a peace deal.

Pressed on that remark, Trump told Fox’s Baier: “That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.”

Still, Trump and his team are keenly aware of their precarious situation — juggling the search for a victory in Iran against a vanishingly short political timeline.

“When I’m driving down the street and see $5 gas, that scares the hell out of me,” the Trump adviser acknowledged.

“They’re trying to figure out a way, but this is not going to go on much longer. By hook or by crook, they’re going to get the strait open — they have to get it open.”

美国指伊拉克真主党旅要员策划袭击欧美

2026年5月16日 18:52 / 联合早报

美国指伊拉克真主党旅要员策划袭击欧美

萨阿迪被指是亲伊朗的伊拉克武装组织真主党旅的要员。根据美国司法部公布的照片，几年前萨阿迪（右）与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队指挥官苏莱曼尼见面。苏莱曼尼在2020年1月被美国击杀。 （美国司法部档案照片）

（纽约综合电）美国司法部周五（5月15日）指控亲伊朗的伊拉克武装组织真主党旅（Kataib Hezbollah）一名要员，参与策划针对欧洲、加拿大和美国犹太人的恐怖主义活动，包括要在纽约袭击一座犹太教堂及两家美国银行的欧洲办事处。

联邦检察官称，遭控的伊拉克人萨阿迪（Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi，32岁）参与欧洲至少18起恐怖袭击和加拿大两起恐怖袭击的策划、执行和宣传。

当局说，自美以伊战争爆发以来，萨阿迪指挥并呼吁其他人袭击美国和以色列的人民与目标设施，包括杀害美国人和犹太人作为报复。

萨阿迪被控六项罪名，包括合谋向真主党旅和伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队提供物质支持。美国把它们列为恐怖组织。

萨阿迪在土耳其的伊斯坦布尔被捕，过后移交给美国。他周四（5月14日）到达纽约后已被关押。

联邦调查局局长帕特尔在社交媒体平台X发文指出，萨阿迪涉及大规模的全球恐怖主义活动，是高价值目标。

美国指责真主党旅在2020年12月袭击伊拉克的美军基地，今年3月在巴格达绑架美国女记者吉特森（Shelly Kittleson）。五角大楼、联邦调查局和伊拉克最高司法委员会官员介入后，真主党旅将她释放。

美国指伊拉克真主党旅要员策划袭击欧美

2026年5月16日 18:52 / 联合早报

萨阿迪被指是亲伊朗的伊拉克武装组织真主党旅的要员。根据美国司法部公布的照片，几年前萨阿迪（右）与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队指挥官苏莱曼尼见面。苏莱曼尼在2020年1月被美国击杀。 （美国司法部档案照片）

（纽约综合电）美国司法部周五（5月15日）指控亲伊朗的伊拉克武装组织真主党旅一名要员，参与策划针对欧洲、加拿大和美国犹太人的恐怖主义活动，包括要在纽约袭击一座犹太教堂及两家美国银行的欧洲办事处。

联邦检察官称，遭控的伊拉克人萨阿迪（Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi，32岁）参与欧洲至少18起恐怖袭击和加拿大两起恐怖袭击的策划、执行和宣传。

当局说，自美以伊战争爆发以来，萨阿迪指挥并呼吁其他人袭击美国和以色列的人民与目标设施，包括杀害美国人和犹太人作为报复。

萨阿迪被控六项罪名，包括合谋向真主党旅和伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队提供物质支持。美国把它们列为恐怖组织。

萨阿迪在土耳其的伊斯坦布尔被捕，过后移交给美国。他周四（5月14日）到达纽约后已被关押。

联邦调查局局长帕特尔在社交媒体平台X发文指出，萨阿迪涉及大规模的全球恐怖主义活动，是高价值目标。

美国指责真主党旅在2020年12月袭击伊拉克的美军基地，今年3月在巴格达绑架美国女记者吉特森（Shelly Kittleson）。五角大楼、联邦调查局和伊拉克最高司法委员会官员介入后，真主党旅将她释放。

莫哈末沙布（中）与大马黄梨工业局主席谢奥马（右）一起检查MD2品种黄梨。 （南洋商报）

马来西亚农业及粮食安全部长莫哈末沙布向国民大派定心丸，强调马国白米供应充足，预计将维持稳定至今年杪，民众无需恐慌性抢购。

莫哈末沙布星期五（5月15日）为哥打拉惹国会选区智能试点黄梨收成计划主持推介礼后说，政府将继续采取措施，确保白米供应稳定。

他呼吁公众照常购买生活必需品，避免囤积。

较早前，莫哈末沙布致词时，赞扬马国民众在面对中东局势引发的全球不确定性时，没有出现恐慌性抢购。