US-backed pipeline proposal targets global reliance on Strait of Hormuz amid Iran threats

2026-05-05 14:32 EDT / Fox News

ARAM Express proposal envisions pipelines to the Red Sea, Mediterranean and Arabian Sea with European and Asian investment

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published May 5, 2026 2:32pm EDT

Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer announce the US initiative ‘Project Freedom’ to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump issues a stern warning to Iran against any interference with shipping lanes. Bryan Llenas reports from Tel Aviv on recent drone attacks attributed to Iran by the UAE, and South Korea’s investigation into a vessel attack in the volatile region.

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A new U.S.-backed proposal to build a network of overland energy pipelines bypassing the Strait of Hormuz is gaining attention as tensions in the region expose a critical vulnerability in the global energy system.

A policy memo reviewed by Fox News Digital outlines the concept, known as “ARAM Express,” a proposed consortium between the United States and Gulf partners to develop a multidirectional overland network for oil, gas and petrochemicals, originating with Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The plan envisions pipelines extending westward to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, as well as southern routes toward the Arabian Sea, creating multiple export pathways that would reduce reliance on the strait, through which roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne oil currently flows.

TRUMP OPENS HORMUZ UNDER FIRE WITH ‘PROJECT FREEDOM’ AS IRAN WARNS OF ATTACKS

USS George H.W. Bush transits the Arabian Sea as U.S. forces enforce a naval blockade against Iran and support Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command.(Fox News)

The proposal would rely on broad international participation, with European and Asian buyers investing in infrastructure and securing long-term supply agreements.

“European buyers are desperate for long-term supply resilience, and Asian customers are equally exposed,” Goldberg said. “Even China cannot tolerate the risk of a sustained disruption.”

The push comes as Iran’s threats to commercial shipping and ongoing U.S. efforts to secure the waterway under President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” highlight the risks posed by a single chokepoint to global energy flows.

Roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the narrow waterway, making it a critical artery for global markets. With Iran threatening shipping and U.S. forces now guiding vessels through the strait under President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom,” the White House is framing the crisis in global terms.

“The President will not allow Iran to hold the global economy hostage and undermine the free flow of energy,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers, describing the launch of “Project Freedom” as a humanitarian effort to restore navigation through the strait.

That framing aligns with a growing view among U.S. officials and analysts that the risk is not only immediate but also structural.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz signaled that Washington’s partners are already looking beyond the strait itself.

“I know our Gulf partners and allies are seriously thinking through that,” Waltz told Fox News Digital when asked about long-term alternatives during a conference call with reporters Monday.

“I know they’re looking at additional alternatives to frankly diversify their pathways and diversify their economies,” he added.

MIKE WALTZ PUSHES UN RESOLUTION TO STOP IRAN MINING KEY GLOBAL SHIPPING ROUTE

The surge in regional piracy risk is exacerbated by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf and global energy flows are shifting.(Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

A vulnerability years in the making

The idea that Hormuz represents a structural weakness is not new. But until now, it has largely been tolerated, with global markets relying on stability in the Gulf to keep energy flowing.

That assumption is now under strain.

Even with U.S. naval power deployed to secure the waterway, the current crisis has highlighted how quickly disruption, or even the threat of it, can ripple through global supply chains.

“This isn’t just a long-term idea anymore,” said Rich Goldberg of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. “There is a real threat to the Strait of Hormuz that isn’t going away so long as the regime in Tehran remains.”

AS IRAN WEAKENS, QUESTIONS GROW OVER MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN’S REGIONAL AMBITIONS

The proposal would rely on broad international participation, with European and Asian buyers investing in infrastructure and securing long-term supply agreements.(U.S. Central Command)

Saudi Arabia: Building around the risk

Saudi Arabia stands out as the country among Gulf states that has invested most heavily in reducing reliance on Hormuz.

Its East-West pipeline allows crude oil to travel from eastern fields on the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the strait entirely. From there, shipments can move toward Europe, Africa and Asia without entering the chokepoint.

“Saudi Arabia has treated the Strait of Hormuz risk with planning, not panic,” said Salman Al-Ansari, a Saudi geopolitical analyst.

“The East-West pipeline is strategic insurance,” he told Fox News Digital, “A Hormuz closure would be disruptive, but not paralyzing. Saudi Arabia has spent years reducing that vulnerability, and today it is uniquely positioned to absorb shocks and keep global flows moving.”

Al-Ansari argued that the kingdom’s strategy goes beyond energy exports, positioning the country as a broader logistics hub.

“Ports, pipelines, land bridges, storage and Red Sea access are all part of one Saudi contingency architecture,” he said.

HORMUZ CHOKE POINT PERSISTS AS IRAN HALTS OIL TRAFFIC DESPITE TRUMP CEASEFIRE

The plan envisions pipelines extending westward to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, as well as southern routes toward the Arabian Sea, creating multiple export pathways that would reduce reliance on the strait, through which roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne oil currently flows.(Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE and the fragmentation of the Gulf model

Saudi Arabia is not the only player adapting.

The United Arab Emirates also has developed alternative export capacity through its pipeline to Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz.

At the same time, some analysts argue that recent regional dynamics point to a deeper shift, one that goes beyond infrastructure and into the political structure of the Gulf itself.

Yonatan Adiri, an Israeli entrepreneur and former adviser to former Israeli President Shimon Peres, said the traditional model of a unified Gulf energy system centered on Hormuz is beginning to break down.

“The whole arrangement … it’s starting to expire,” Adiri said, referring to the long-standing reliance on the strait as a central artery for Gulf exports.

He pointed to emerging economic and geopolitical realignments, including new corridors and shifting alliances, that are fragmenting the region’s traditional energy architecture.

“The UAE stepping away from OPEC is not just about production policy,” Adiri said, referring to the country’s decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries effective May 1, 2026. “It reflects a broader shift toward an independent strategy — building its own routes, partnerships and leverage rather than relying on a collective system.”

These changes are driven in part by broader global competition, according to Adiri, particularly efforts by the United States and its partners to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“The entire system is being rethought,” he said, describing a shift toward diversified routes that reduce reliance on single choke points.

WHY GULF STATES AREN’T JOINING THE WAR AGAINST IRAN — DESPITE ATTACKS ON THEIR SOIL

Cargo ships are anchored in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026.(Reuters/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo)

Uneven exposure across the Gulf

Despite these developments, not all Gulf states are equally prepared.

“If you’re Kuwait, you’re in a world of hurt,” Goldberg said, pointing to countries that lack meaningful alternatives to maritime exports.

Qatar, one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, remains heavily dependent on the strait, with limited options to reroute supply if shipping is disrupted.

This uneven exposure could reshape regional dynamics, giving countries with alternative routes greater resilience and leverage in future crises.

Political limits and long-term questions

While the technical case for alternative routes is growing stronger, political constraints remain.

One of the most sensitive issues is whether future corridors could involve Israel, even indirectly.

“As for routes involving Israel, even indirectly, the politics are extremely difficult under current circumstances,” Al-Ansari said. “I genuinely do not see it happening now.”

At the same time, he suggested that such cooperation could become more realistic in the future under different political conditions.

A system in transition

For now, the U.S. and its allies remain focused on stabilizing the immediate situation in the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring that ships can pass safely and global markets continue to function.

But as tensions persist, the current crisis is forcing a broader reassessment.

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While the technical case for alternative routes is growing stronger, political constraints remain.(Altaf Qadri/The Associated Press)

The question is no longer just how to secure the strait, but whether the global energy system can afford to depend on it to the extent it has for decades.

If the current trajectory continues, Hormuz may remain critical, but no longer dominant, experts argue, as countries invest in new routes, new partnerships and a more diversified energy map.

Fox News Digital reached out to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6394563523112

Hegseth shoots down Iran ‘kamikaze dolphins’ — leaves US question open

May 5, 2026 1:40pm EDT / Fox News

The question stems from a report that Iranian officials discussed reviving a Cold War-era trained dolphin program

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Hegseth says Iran doesn’t have ‘kamikaze dolphins’

War Secretary Pete Hegseth says Iran does not have weaponized dolphins as Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine jokes the idea sounds like “sharks with laser beams.”

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War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran does not have so-called “kamikaze dolphins” — dismissing an unusual claim that emerged from recent reporting on Iran’s potential tactics in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t,” Hegseth said during a Pentagon briefing Tuesday.

The question stems from a Wall Street Journal report that said Iranian officials have at least discussed reviving a Cold War-era program involving trained dolphins capable of carrying mines toward enemy ships.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine appeared unfamiliar with the claim, reacting with a laugh when asked about it.

IRAN HOLDS WORLD ENERGY HOSTAGE WITH ‘NIGHTMARE’ STRAIT OF HORMUZ SEA MINES, FORMER CENTCOM OFFICIAL WARNS

“I haven’t heard the kamikaze dolphin thing. It’s like sharks with laser beams, right?” he said, referencing the fictional weapon from the “Austin Powers” films.

In this handout photo from the U.S. Navy, Sgt, Andrew Garrett watches K-Dog, a bottlenose dolphin attached to Commander Task Unit 55.4.3, leap out of the water while training near the USS Gunston Hall March 18, 2003, in the Persian Gulf.(U.S. Navy/Getty Images)

A U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program dolphin places a marking device in the vicinity of an exercise sea mine in Southern California during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise on July 18, 2018.(Lt. Andrew Thompson Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet)

U.S. military dolphins have been used in combat before — but not as weapons. During the Iraq War, Navy-trained dolphins were deployed to the Persian Gulf to help clear mines from the port of Umm Qasr, using their natural sonar to locate and mark underwater explosives so divers could neutralize them.

The U.S. Navy has long trained marine mammals for missions such as detecting underwater mines and tracking divers, and Soviet programs during the Cold War experimented with more offensive uses.

Iran reportedly acquired dolphins from a former Soviet program in 2000, though there is no confirmed evidence such capabilities are active today.

A U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program dolphin searches for an exercise sea mine alongside a trainer.(Lt. Andrew Thompson Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet)

Military dolphins are trained to detect and mark threats, not strike them — and unlike guided weapons, they cannot be directed in real time once deployed.

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The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most heavily trafficked maritime choke points, would make such a tactic especially difficult to execute, given the volume of commercial and military traffic moving through the narrow passage.

The speculation comes amid heightened tensions in the region, where Iran has historically relied on asymmetric tactics such as naval mines, drones and fast-attack boats to threaten shipping.

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US SEC proposes allowing public companies to opt out of quarterly earnings reports

2026-05-05T16:06:30.972Z / Reuters

By Suzanne McGee and Douglas Gillison

May 5, 2026 4:06 PM UTC Updated 25 mins ago

节点运行失败

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, DC, U.S., November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Some index providers may need to revise benchmark construction methods if rule is adopted
• Buy-side firms warn that less-frequent reporting could harm market transparency, increase volatility
• Smaller companies more likely to embrace change, market participants say

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s top regulator on Tuesday proposed ​allowing U.S.-traded companies to switch from quarterly to twice-annual earnings reports, pursuing an idea President Donald Trump has personally pushed, opens new tab during both his ‌presidencies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposal would end a 55-year-old requirement that U.S. public companies share detailed financial results four times a year, within 45 days of the end of their fiscal quarters, in a major shake-up of U.S. corporate governance, which will likely be opposed by some investors.

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“The rigidity of the SEC’s rules has prevented companies and their investors from determining ​for themselves the interim reporting frequency that best serves their business needs and investors,” said Paul Atkins, chair of the SEC, in a statement ​on Tuesday.

The move is supported by exchanges and some major corporations, such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab, which have argued that quarterly ⁠reporting places a costly burden on businesses.

They say it also fosters corporate short-termism at the expense of long-term planning and is one reason for a sharp ​decline in the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. over the last decade.

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Some investors, however, contend that the quarterly earnings requirement makes markets more transparent ​and less volatile, setting the stage for a financial industry tug-of-war as formal comments on the proposal stream into the SEC over the coming 60 days.

Before finalizing the proposed rule, the SEC should balance its objective of reducing corporate red tape “with the needs of investors who rely on timely information to evaluate companies and allocate capital,” said Bryan Corbett, president and ​CEO of the MFA, a financial industry trade group.

Among the questions about which the agency sought comment on Tuesday is whether a company’s choice to report ​semiannually would increase the risk of insider trading in its shares.

It also sought feedback on the impact on voluntary disclosures, such as press releases and earnings conference calls. An SEC ‌official, speaking ⁠on condition of anonymity, said that companies that opt to file semiannual earnings can still issue quarterly earnings press releases or hold earnings conference calls more frequently.

‘INFORMATION ASYMMETRY’

Many companies will not necessarily make the switch immediately, if at all, according to asset managers. To switch to semiannual reporting, companies would only need to check a box on their annual earnings filing with the SEC. For many, the next opportunity to do that will come in early 2027.

The proposal acknowledges there are possible ​downsides to semiannual reporting, such as delaying ​the release of some important information ⁠and worsening “information asymmetry”, given that some investors lack ready access to alternative data in between earnings releases. That could “diminish perceptions of fairness, which can erode trust in markets and reduce capital market participation” and liquidity,” the proposal said.

Other possible disadvantages ​include higher costs of capital and weaker monitoring of management and governance risks.

An SEC official also noted that companies ​will have to consider ⁠investors’ and analysts’ needs, particularly if industry peers are reporting quarterly.

The change would also require some index providers to update their methodologies. While the Nasdaq 100 does not require its constituents to report earnings quarterly, there are quarterly reporting rules governing the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index (.SPX), opens new tab.

Nasdaq said in a white paper published last year that quarterly ⁠reporting is ​especially burdensome for small and medium-sized companies that must allocate a disproportionate amount of time and ​resources to tackle the red tape.

“It would be an interesting case study if this move could be shown to encourage IPO activity” among smaller companies, said Mike Reynolds, vice president, investment strategy, at ​Glenmede.

Reporting by Suzanne McGee in Providence, RI, Douglas Gillison in Washington, DC, additional reporting by Anirban Sen in New York, Editing by Edmund Klamann and Aurora Ellis

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Elizabeth Warren’s Bezos Met Gala jab backfires as critics mercilessly drag ‘un-American’ lawmaker

2026-05-05T12:10:23-04:00 / Fox News

Critics also blame Warren for Spirit Airlines’ demise after she pushed to block JetBlue’s acquisition of the carrier

By Robert Schmad Fox News

Published May 5, 2026 12:10pm EDT

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., drew intense criticism on Monday after she claimed on X that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos should pay more in taxes in response to him sponsoring the Met Gala, with conservatives questioning the senator’s record and accusing her of misrepresenting facts.

“The answer to everything, up to and apparently including bankrupting an airline at the cost of something like 15,000 jobs and the entire concept of budget airfare, is ‘Jeff Bezos has a lot of money though,’” venture capitalist and media founder Mike Solana wrote in response to Warren’s post.

Solana was referring to the recent demise of Spirit Airlines. Conservative commentators claim Spirit could have been saved if Warren hadn’t pushed to block JetBlue’s acquisition of the budget carrier on anti-trust grounds in 2024.

“If Jeff Bezos can drop $10 million to sponsor the Met Gala, he can afford to pay his fair share in taxes,” Warren said on Monday, sparking the glut of pushback from social media users.

WASHINGTON POST ARGUES THERE’S ‘LITTLE TO GAIN BY RAISING TAXES ON THE RICH,’ RATES ALREADY HIGH ENOUGH

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 16, 2023.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Following news that Bezos had cut an eight-figure check to fund the Met Gala, liberals in the entertainment industry such as Mark Ruffalo and Taraji P. Henson joined Warren in criticizing Amazon and Bezos for their allegedly unethical business practices. Protesters appeared outside the gala on Monday holding signs criticizing Bezos. One demonstrator was detained for trying to break into the event.

Warren’s message backfired online, as commenters pointed to the demise of Spirit Airlines and took issue with her tax policies across the years.

“Jeff Bezos employs over 1.5 million people at Amazon,” X user Gina Milan wrote. “You’re responsible for 17,000 workers losing their jobs and for blocking the merger that ultimately killed Spirit Airlines.”

Spirit put downward pressure on prices at other airlines and its folding could lead to an increase in overall travel prices, industry analysts told USA Today. Estimated job losses stemming from Spirit’s shuttering include approximately 15,000 direct employees and an additional 2,000 indirect employees.

“This myth just won’t die,” Reason Magazine reporter Billy Binion posted, responding to Warren’s assertion that Bezos isn’t paying enough in taxes. “In 2024 alone, it’s estimated Jeff Bezos paid almost $3 billion in taxes. Painting rich people as tax avoiders plays great on social media, but it’s not reality. The U.S. has the most progressive tax system in the developed world.”

Forbes estimates that Bezos paid $2.7 billion in taxes in 2024 after he sold $13.6 billion worth of Amazon stock. He reduced his tax burden that year by donating $2.5 billion in Amazon shares to charity over the three prior years. Bezos paid nearly $1 billion in taxes between 2014 and 2018, according to a ProPublica analysis of tax documents.

To minimize tax burdens, billionaires like Bezos often take out loans secured against their massive stock holdings to acquire spending money, according to securities filings reviewed by ProPublica. Since the IRS doesn’t consider loans income, this setup gives the wealthy access to cash without having to pay income taxes.

FROM ‘JUMP ON A BUS’ TO TAX CRACKDOWNS: BLUE STATES CHASE WEALTHY RESIDENTS FLEEING TO RED HAVENS

Billionaire Jeff Bezos attends the DealBook Summit. Critics on social media have accused Bezos of allowing the Washington Post to suffer amid hundreds of staff layoffs.(Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times)

Some on social media pushed Warren for specifics on how she plans to make Bezos pay his “fair share.”

“What’s his fair share?” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Warren. “What tax rate?”

Warren has proposed a wealth tax, charging households with net worths above $1 billion an annual tax worth 6% of their total wealth. Under Warren’s proposal, households with net worths between $50 million and $1 billion would be subject to a similar 2% tax.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to a staff member before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on oversight of credit reporting agencies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2023.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

CALIFORNIA’S HATRED FOR CAPITALISM IS KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAID ITS GOLDEN EGG

Much of the growth in wealth experienced by Bezos and other billionaires comes through the unrealized gains of their assets, which Warren’s tax would target.

Writer Mike Coté pointed out that Bezos is “so rich that he can simply leave the jurisdiction or get citizenship elsewhere” if Warren’s tax plans were signed into law.

“Liz Warren does not want progressive taxation,” he continued. “She wants confiscatory taxation. It’s fundamentally un-American. And it doesn’t work.”

Warren’s office did not respond to a request for comment sent by Fox News Digital Tuesday morning.

Amsterdam bans advertising for meat and fossil fuels in public places to discourage high-carbon lifestyle

May 5, 2026 / 12:58 PM EDT / CBS News

By Frank Andrews

Frank Andrews is a CBS News journalist based in London.

Amsterdam, a city known for its tolerance of some drugs and sex work, has become the first capital city in the world to ban meat and fossil fuels from public advertisements. The effort aims to discourage people from spending money on products linked to high carbon emissions.

Since May 1, ads for products including meat, as well as for airlines and for cars that run on gasoline, are no longer allowed in the city, after a legislative initiative from the GreenLeft and Party for the Animals political parties.

“If you spend lots of tax money and have lots of policies trying to manage climate change in Amsterdam, why would you rent out your public walls to exactly the opposite?” said Anneke Veenhoff, a city councillor from GreenLeft.

“If you’re trying to get rid of an addiction, it’s not very handy to see it everywhere,” she said.

The Amsterdam ban also cover ads for cruises and faraway holiday destinations, as well as for beef, chicken, pork and fish products.

In 2022, the Dutch city of Haarlem became the first in the world to announce a ban on most meat advertisements in public spaces. It became law two years later, along with a ban on fossil fuel ads.

The Hague, also in The Netherlands, became the first city in the world to enshrine a legally-binding fossil fuel ban in 2025.

Opposition to these moves has come from groups including the Dutch Advertisers’ Association, which said last October that such bans “do not align with fundamental principles of commercial communication and freedom of expression.”

The Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators called the Amsterdam ban a disproportionate curb on commercial freedom, while the Dutch Meat Association said it was an undesirable attempt to influence consumer behavior.

Around the world, more than 50 cities have banned or are moving to ban ads on fossil fuel and meat products, in a push to decrease global carbon consumption.

In June 2024, the head of the U.N. Antonio Guterres called for a ban on advertising of oil, gas and coal as climate change continued to ravage the globe.

“In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor,” he said. “We are not only in danger. We are the danger.”

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:42 PM EDT, Tue May 5, 2026

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Indiana primary tests Trump’s grip on the GOP

President Trump’s approval rating is at a near-record low and his power over the Republican Party is being tested in Indiana. The president backed Republican challengers to seven state senators who bucked his redistricting efforts last year.

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https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/politics/video/inside-politics-indiana-primary

How hantavirus may have spread aboard a cruise ship, according to health experts

May 5, 2026 2:26 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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A suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has raised questions about how the rare, often fatal illness could have spread among passengers and crew, and whether it may continue to infect some 150 people now stranded aboard the vessel after three already died.

While typically transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated rodent waste, health officials say it is possible for transmission to take place between people, albeit on a very limited basis. That may partially explain what occurred in this instance, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention.

“We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who’ve shared cabins,” Van Kerkhove told reporters at a news conference Tuesday, referencing a couple who died from suspected hantavirus cases after spending time on the MV Hondius, a Dutch ship that became the focal point of the apparent outbreak while charting a weekslong polar expedition.

An investigation, quarantine protocols and contact tracing efforts were underway in hopes of pinpointing the origins of the suspected outbreak and staving off further spread, but exactly how it may have emerged was not yet clear, WHO said in a statement. At the news conference, Van Kerkhove suggested the husband and wife may have contracted the virus while exploring wildlife in Argentina, before they joined the cruise. She said the U.N. health agency is generally operating under the assumption that the virus came from outside of the ship.

“The cruise did stop at many different islands up the coast of Africa, and, again, seeing a lot of different wildlife on those islands. There are birds. Some islands have a lot of rodents. Others don’t,” said Van Kerkhove. “So, there could be some source of infection on the islands as well for some of the other suspected cases.”

One known hantavirus strain spreads between people

Hantaviruses are a family of diseases that can cause severe respiratory symptoms, and even death, in people worldwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People usually contract the virus after coming in contact with airborne particles from rodent droppings, urine or saliva. But, as WHO said in a statement about the latest outbreak, there have been reported instances of human-to-human transmission of Andes virus, a specific strain of hantavirus that is responsible for most cases of the illness in South America.

“This cruise ship took off from Argentina, which is why we’re wondering, is it the usual kind [of hantavirus], or is it a kind that can be transmitted person-to-person?” said CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder on Tuesday.

The largest outbreak of the Andes strain was in Argentina in 2018, leading to 34 cases and 11 deaths, Gounder said. But, human-to-human transmission requires “prolonged close contact,” she said, adding, “this is not a pandemic kind of virus.”

She also emphasized that hantavirus remains rare, with fewer than 900 cases over 30 years in the U.S.

The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said a 70-year-old Dutch man died on board the ship on April 11. The man’s 69-year-old wife died about two weeks later in South Africa, after disembarking the ship, officials said. According to South Africa’s Health Ministry, the wife’s blood tested positive for hantavirus. A British passenger evacuated from the Hondius to South Africa on April 27 also tested positive, authorities said, and health officials have described him as critically ill.

There are at least four more suspected cases, said Van Kerkhove, including another fatal infection in a German passenger whose body was still on board the ship. At least three others were sick, according to Oceanwide Expeditions and Ann Lindstrand, a WHO representative for African island nation of Cape Verde. On Monday, Cape Verde sent medical teams to assist the Hondius crew but prevented the ship from docking at its ports because of health concerns.

Lindstrand told CBS News that officials strongly believe the three sick people had contracted hantavirus and said all would be evacuated from the Hondius by helicopter on Tuesday.

She agreed the virus was likely contracted off the ship and said no rodents were found aboard the Hondius. Traps on the ship would show signs of them if they had been there, she said.

Lindstrand sought to assuage fears of cruise ships, which are seldom linked to hantavirus despite being frequent sites of other kinds of disease outbreaks, like norovirus. Asked to what extent hantavirus is a pandemic-level threat, she said: “It’s not.”

Aerial photo of the cruise ship MV Hondius off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 4, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

“We hear you”

The ship was expected to make its way toward Spain’s Canary Islands after the sick passengers are evacuated. The Spanish Ministry of Health told CBS News in a statement that its epidemiologists would conduct a review of the ship Tuesday afternoon “to assess the condition of the people on board, determine whether there are more individuals with symptoms, and identify any high-risk or low-risk contacts,” which “will help inform decisions regarding repatriation processes and the ship’s route.”

The passengers and crew could potentially be kept on board for up to eight weeks, said Lindstrand, since the virus’ incubation period can be that long. However, she acknowledged the psychological toll such “distressing” circumstances could take.

One passenger, travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, touched on that in an emotional social media video shared Monday, saying, “There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.”

Officials recognized that the situation is frightening for those on the ship.

“We have heard from quite a few people on the boat,” said Van Kerkhove at Tuesday’s news conference. “We just want you to know we are working with the ship’s operators. We are working with the countries where you are from. We hear you. We know that you are scared.”

Edited by Nicole Brown Chau

Ramy Inocencio contributed to this report.

Walz removes top Minnesota official on eve of ‘gauntlet’ hearing over fraud scandal

May 5, 2026 12:05pm EDT / Fox News

Walz ridiculed for taking credit for Minnesota fraud investigation

Minnesota senate candidate Michele Tafoya discusses Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., skipping a hearing on alleged fraud and criticizes his handling of the issue on ‘The Story.’

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz removed and reportedly demoted the head of the state agency that oversees disbursement of social services program funding like Medicaid and housing assistance, after a months-long firestorm over hundreds of millions lost to fraud.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (MNDHS) was cast into the national spotlight after citizen journalists uncovered a massive, wide-ranging alleged fraud network connected to the Somali community in Minneapolis, where businesses were taking state funds without evidence of actual childcare or other services being provided.

MNDHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi was booted from her leadership role on Monday, one day before she was set to face an official confirmation hearing local reports described as a “gauntlet,” given the towering fraud scandal gripping the agency.

Gandhi had been an acting commissioner since early 2025, until Walz tapped her as the official head of MNDHS in February.

‘SCHEMES STACKED UPON SCHEMES’: $1B HUMAN-SERVICES FRAUD FUELS SCRUTINY OF MINNESOTA’S SOMALI COMMUNITY

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390751805112

After being returned to a deputy commissioner role within MNDHS, Gandhi oversaw an agency that drew immediate federal attention after news of the wide-ranging fraud scandal affecting her and other Walz administration departments broke.

Under Gandhi’s leadership, MNDHS shut down its Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program in October as ballooning year-over-year payouts led to findings of fraud, with providers using names of eligible beneficiaries to obtain funds through inflated or fake reimbursement claims, according to a Minnesota House probe.

Originally estimated to cost under $3 million, HSS disbursements totaled more than $100 million in 2024, which federal officials considered the “vast majority” to be fraudulent.

A state auditor also alleged that MNDHS had fabricated or backdated documents going back to before Gandhi was commissioner that exacerbated the daycare scandals. In an interview with Minneapolis’ NBC affiliate, Gandhi admitted that MNDHS had not acted fast enough to quash the HSS scandal.

Gandhi also appeared to criticize federal Medicaid administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and the administration after MNDHS created a fraud “fact-check” website that the Washington Examiner reported at times tried to dispute the existence of a fraud issue in the state.

Following her demotion, Walz came out swinging against the White House, blaming Oz and President Donald Trump for playing “politics with Minnesotans’ health care.”

“[W]e are focused on stability and results,” Walz told Minneapolis’ FOX affiliate.

“Today, we’re building on our success by putting an even stronger structure in place; adding leadership, improving oversight, and ensuring these programs are managed with the discipline and accountability Minnesotans expect. That’s how we protect care and deliver for families,” Walz told the outlet.

TIM WALZ FIRES BACK AT TRUMP ACCUSATION OF ‘INCOMPETENCE,’ DODGES ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR FRAUD IN MINNESOTA

Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House hearing examining alleged misuse of federal funds for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In a separate release, Gandhi said she remains honored to have led the agency under Walz and to have overseen “aggressive and proactive work to protect Minnesota’s Medicaid program for Minnesota’s most vulnerable people, to detect and prevent fraud, to prevent federal cuts to funding, and to improve internal culture at the agency.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz and MNDHS for additional comment.

When Walz made her commissionership official in February, he called it the “hardest job” in the state and said Gandhi could have decided to retire but did not.

Minnesota Republicans also responded by blasting Walz for shuffling the deck versus providing “steady leadership” in fighting the statewide fraud scandal.

“We could have avoided this entire circus had Gov. Walz seriously considered who was best-equipped to lead DHS in the first place; someone who denies the existence of fraud was never fit to lead the agency experiencing the most fraud our state has ever seen,” state Sen. Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids, said in a statement.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6394301715112

“Keeping [Gandhi] on board as a deputy commissioner does a disservice to every single taxpayer that has lost money to the fraud she has totally failed to address.”

The MNDHS deputy administrator in charge of Medicaid, John Connolly, will fill Gandhi’s old role.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Alito and Jackson’s fiery debate over the Voting Rights Act exposes Supreme Court tensions

2026-05-05T18:45:18.483Z / CNN

By

John Fritze

1 hr 17 min ago

PUBLISHED May 5, 2026, 2:45 PM ET

Supreme Court Voting rights Supreme Court justices Human rights

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Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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The November election is still a long way off, but patience is already running thin at the Supreme Court.

An explosive exchange between three conservative justices and liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson late Monday underscored a tension that has developed in voting cases as the court runs headlong into an election-heavy docket that will have far-reaching implications for the midterms.

Jackson accused the court of rolling over its “principles” in pursuit of influencing the November election.

Justice Samuel Alito fired back, calling that “insulting.” The conservative justice said Jackson’s dissent raised “trivial” and “baseless” arguments.

The heated back-and-forth over what amounted to a technical question about Louisiana’s congressional map comes as the high court is already juggling other appeals that could have consequences for this year’s election – not to mention a flood of short-fuse litigation expected this summer and fall.

“To avoid the appearance of partiality here, we could, as per usual, opt to stay on the sidelines and take no position,” Jackson wrote in a scathing dissent on Monday. “But, today, the court chooses the opposite. Not content to have decided the law, it now takes steps to influence its implementation.”

“What principle has the court violated?” Alito fired back in a concurring opinion joined by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. “The principle that we should never take any action that might unjustifiably be criticized as partisan?”

Within the world of the Supreme Court, those words were unusually harsh, but it’s the latest example of tension behind the curtain slipping into public view.

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s senior liberal, issued a rare public apology last month for suggesting earlier that Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s privileged upbringing influenced his approach to an emergency immigration case last year. A day earlier, Jackson spent more than an hour lambasting the court’s conservative majority for its handling of quick-turn cases.

More election decisions incoming

For decades, the Supreme Court cautioned courts against changing the rules of an election at the last minute. The “Purcell principle,” rooted in a 2006 Supreme Court decision, warns federal courts to avoid making late changes to the status quo.

But in the coming weeks, the court will rule on a Republican push to lift caps on how much money political parties may spend in coordination with candidates – a decision that could benefit Republicans by offsetting the advantage Democrats have typically enjoyed in small-dollar donations.

The court will also decide before June whether states may receive mail ballots that arrive after Election Day – a case inspired by baseless allegations from President Donald Trump about widespread vote-by-mail fraud. In March, the court indicated during oral arguments that it was prepared to side with Republicans in that appeal.

More immediately, the justices are being asked to decide in short order what to do with a request from Alabama to throw out a lower court decision that barred that state from redrawing its congressional maps before 2030.

The Yellowhammer State made that request following a blockbuster 6-3 decision last week that gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, enacted in 1965 to root out discrimination in redistricting and other voting practices.

That decision, too, drew a vigorous dissent from the court’s liberals. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for her colleagues, said that the ruling represented the “latest chapter in the majority’s now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.”

The decision has sparked a chaotic rush by several Southern states to redraw their maps in a way that would benefit the Republican Party while almost certainly limiting the number of minority members of Congress.

It also prompted the snarky exchange between Alito and Jackson.

Avoiding chaos in elections?

Just four months ago, in a case about Texas’ congressional map, a majority of the justices shot down a lower court decision against the state for “causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections.”

Though the court didn’t cite Purcell in the opinion directly, it was clearly a reference to the notion that courts should avoid injecting uncertainty into the process.

“When an election is close at hand, the rules of the road must be clear and settled,” Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative wing, wrote in a 2022 decision allowing Alabama to vote on a map the court would later find likely violated the Voting Rights Act. “Late judicial tinkering with election laws can lead to disruption and to unanticipated and unfair consequences for candidates, political parties, and voters, among others.”

But in the Louisiana case, the court handed down its decision after mail ballots had already been sent out to voters.

Spike Lee laments Supreme Court ruling on voting rights: ‘It’s an attack’

1:15 • Source: CNN

Spike Lee laments Supreme Court ruling on voting rights: ‘It’s an attack’

1:15

And in the wake of the decision, Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, announced the state was suspending the May 16 primary election for House races. Other states – including Florida, Alabama and Tennessee – have already carried out a redrawing of their maps or are considering plans to do so.

“It strikes me as completely irreconcilable and inconsistent,” said Davin Rosborough, deputy director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, who filed a lawsuit Monday attempting to stop Louisiana from suspending the congressional primaries. “I don’t know how the three of them can reconcile what they said with what the court has said over the past six years.”

Those decisions have spurred a glut of new lawsuits, including Rosborough’s, some of which may wind up at the Supreme Court before November.

In her dissent Monday, Jackson zeroed in on the apparent contradiction of a court that has for years urged caution in election matters suddenly upending elections in multiple states.

“There is also the so-called Purcell principle,” she wrote, “which we invoked only five months ago to chide a federal district court for ‘improperly inserting itself into an active primary campaign.’”

The tension evident in the Alito and Jackson opinions Monday was surprising given what was a relatively low-stakes issue. Usually, the Supreme Court issues its “judgment” 32 days after handing down the decision. That procedural step hands the case back to the lower court – in this case, allowing a special district court to dictate the next steps for Louisiana’s redistricting.

A group of White voters who challenged Louisiana’s map made the unusual (but not unheard of) request to expedite the handing down of the judgment. A majority of the court granted that request in a brief and unsigned order, but not until tensions spilled out onto the page.

“The dissent accuses the court of ‘unshackling’ itself from ‘constraints,’” Alito wrote in the final sentence of his opinion. “It is the dissent’s rhetoric that lacks restraint.”

Meanwhile, the fight over finalizing the Supreme Court’s decision continued Tuesday. A group of Black voters who defended Louisiana’s map filed a long-shot motion urging the high court to revoke the judgment to reconsider its decision in the case.