US-Vatican Relations Extremely Strained As Pentagon Denies It Berated Pope's Diplomat

Iran War Pushes Middle Eastern Airlines Towards $4.3BN Loss In 2026 Via Middle East Eye As the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28 2026, Iran struck back near US military installations in the Gulf, including in Qatar and the UAE. Several international airports were hit by Iranian strikes, including Dubai, the world's busiest for international passengers, as well as Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Bahrain.  The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait closed their airspaces due to safety concerns, gradually reopening them a week later as hostilities lessened. The war has had long-lasting consequences for regional aviation: falling passenger and cargo demand, fewer private...

Spencer Pratt Surges As Karen Bass Odds Wobble In Final Days Before LA Mayor Primary As the June 2nd primary approaches in Los Angeles, prediction markets are showing a notable shift in the Los Angeles mayoral race: incumbent Karen Bass's odds have been all over the place - recently dropping sharply - while challenger Spencer Pratt has seen his implied probability climb. According to the latest Polymarket snapshot, Bass sits at 59% to win the election outright, down from higher levels above 70% seen earlier in the week. Pratt has risen to 21%,...

Does Altman Molotov Attack Portend Pitchforks Over AI? Things might be going kinetic in the backlash against data centers and AI.  On Friday, a 20-year-old suspect set on burning down OpenAI headquarters was charged and arrested following a predawn Molotov cocktail attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s house in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home on Russian Hill in San Francisco, whose driveway is shown Friday, was the target of an incendiary device, police said. Lea Suzuki/S.F. Chronicle Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, 20, from Texas, was arrested and booked into County...