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May 7, 2026 - World

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), one of President Joe Biden's fiercest Republican critics over inflation and gas prices, is refusing to account for his stunning reversal now that a Republican president's unpopular war in Iran is putting an even bigger squeeze on American consumers.When pressed by MS NOW's Jack Fitzpatrick, the normally press-friendly Louisiana Republican walked away.During his interview with MS NOW, Kennedy attempted to sidestep questions about his dramatic change of heart while simultaneously insisting his hands are tied.Gas prices have surged by more than $1.50 per gallon since Trump launched attacks against Iran nearly 10 weeks ago. On Friday, prices hit an average of $4.54 per gallon according to AAA — a 47% increase from the $2.98 national average just before the conflict began and limited oil stocks indicate little chance of a swift turnaround," Fitzpatrick is reporting while adding Republicans are urging "patience.""There are trade-offs," Kennedy attempted in his interview. "I think the American people understand it. They've been through conflicts in the Middle East before. They know these prices will come down once the conflict is over."This measured acceptance stands in sharp contrast to Kennedy's relentless criticism of Biden administration gas prices resulting from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Even before that war started, Kennedy was hammering Biden with variations of the same joke: "I don't like to brag about all the expensive places I've been, but earlier today I went to the gas station," Fitzpatrick noted.When asked what Congress could actually do about the soaring prices, Kennedy's answer was blunt: "There's nothing we can do.""The price of gas and natural gas and gasoline and diesel fuel and oil is a product of the conflict in Iran, you know that," he told MS NOW.When pressed about whether limited options should constrain his patience with Trump's Iran war — and how he squares his current stance with his past criticisms of Biden — Kennedy grew hostile."You need to try adulting real hard," he snapped.When asked directly how he reconciles his patience now with his impatience under Biden, Kennedy refused to engage. "I don't have to square anything with you," he said, with the MS NOW reporter adding the lawmaker patted him on the back as he ended the interview and walked away.

May 6, 2026 - World

Serious questions were raised about market manipulation as President Donald Trump and his administration came under scrutiny over the status of the ongoing Iran war amid a chaotic rise and fall of oil prices. Axios released a report early Wednesday that the United States was moving closer to an end of the Iran war — that's when people started to notice suspicious activity in the market. The Kobeissi Letter challenged the timeline of incidents in a post on X."According to our analysis, ~$920 million worth of crude oil shorts were taken 70 minutes before an Axios report claimed the US and Iran were near a '14-point' deal to end the war," according to The Kobeissi Letter. "At 3:40 AM ET today, nearly 10,000 contracts worth of crude oil shorts were taken without any major news. This is equivalent to ~$920 million in notional value, an unusually large trade for 3:40 AM ET. At 4:50 AM ET, just 70 minutes later, Axios reported that the US is 'close' to a 'memorandum of understanding' to end the Iran War. By 7:00 AM ET, oil prices had fallen over -12% with these crude oil shorts gaining approximately +$125 million. Minutes later, Iran launched the 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' and oil prices surged +8%. What just happened?"Experts and lawmakers reacted to the volatile market. "Record levels of fraud," Michael Bento, owner of Valois Capital Management, LLC, wrote on X."The most corrupt war in US history. Maybe in world history," Phillips O'Brien, historian and professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, wrote on X."Shocker," Rick Wilson, former Republican strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, wrote on X."This has to stop. Lives on the line so they can insider trade!" Jessica Tarlov, Fox News co-host and podcast co-host, wrote on X."$900M in oil shorts right before the Axios article. I’ve found at least another $100M in the same kind of trades onchain. Meaning multiple insiders knew about the article forthcoming and traded on it," Adam Cochran, professor, policy consultant and journalist, wrote on X."When is everyone going to start realizing that the manic on again off again war/peace rhetoric is really just insider trading? And sprinkle in some murder. Only a select few in the top tax bracket are benefiting from this, and the majority of you ain’t in it," former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote on X."WTF!" Independent journalist and former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta wrote on X.

May 6, 2026 - World

Americans wanting to dance the night away at a popular nightclub in Mexico City can expect to fork over $300 as a cover charge just to get past the doorman — and they can thank Donald Trump’s attacks on the southern neighbor of the US for the high price of admission, The Guardian reported.The Mexico City hotspot is charging American visitors a steep $300 cover charge to enter — while citizens from other countries pay just $20 and Mexicans and Latin Americans pay $14 — in a pointed protest against Donald Trump's relentless attacks on America's southern neighbor.The tiered pricing policy from Japan, a nightclub in the Roma Norte neighborhood, has struck a chord with Mexico City residents. The Instagram announcement detailing the eye-watering cover charges has been liked over 26,000 times and garnered more than 200 comments, mostly in support of the policy as part of a broader backlash against what many see as American economic and political overreach, the report said.In a pointed Instagram post, the club reframed its pricing strategy. "It's not that 'we charge gringos more' it's that we offer discounts to people that need it," Japan wrote. "The cover charge is $5,000 [pesos]. Citizens of the USA don't get a discount."The post explains that citizens from any other country receive a 93% discount, Mexicans and Latin Americans get 95% off, and students and teachers receive a 97% discount, paying just 150 pesos for entry.Club owner Federico Crespo made clear the pricing reflects deteriorating Mexico-U.S. relations under Trump. "This is a response to a year of insults directed at us – as a country – by the United States. It's very much a response to the many attacks against Mexico from Trump," Crespo said.Rather than pocket the extra revenue, Crespo said the money collected from American cover charges is distributed among Japan's workers — many of whom are struggling with rising rents, soaring cost of living, and longer commutes."By giving the workers the money collected from cover charges, we help them out a little bit," Crespo told the Guardian

May 6, 2026 - World

The internet was stunned by White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett's comments on Wednesday as he bragged about how credit card spending on higher-priced gasoline was "through the roof." Hassett made the remarks in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday morning where he discussed the ongoing Iran war, the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the American economy. Media experts and political voices were shocked by the comments. "Is this supposed to be a brag?" Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) wrote on X."We must consider the possibility that Kevin Hassett is secretly working for the Democrats," Jon Favreau, co-founder of Crooked Media and co-host of Pod Save America, wrote on X."Trump’s chief economic advisor is bragging that people are surviving on credit cards right now," MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote on X."?" New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers wrote on X. "Make this guy the spokesperson for the entire Republican party," House Majority PAC, a Democratic Super PAC, wrote on X."Do they understand that this is not a good thing?" Nobel Prize nominee Andrew Gebo wrote on X.Do they understand that this is not a good thing? https://t.co/2rngKsQsJX— Andrew Gebo (@Gebo___) May 6, 2026

May 6, 2026 - World

The unrelenting flow of statements about the state of the war with Iran, with positions and plans changing from hour to hour depending on who is speaking, has the White House “flailing” to come up with a coherent message for a deeply skeptical US populace, according to analysts.On Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was on Truth Social claiming the end of war is at hand, which Iran immediately disputed, less than 24 hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war is already over.As reports continued to stream in Wednesday morning, MS NOW co-host Jonathan Lemire told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, “What we've seen here, and it's just, it's head-spinning. We shouldn't lose sight of it: it's dizzying. The different messages from this administration right now, including yesterday, where we had the secretary of state go to the White House briefing room, a rare senior official beyond Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, to talk about this war. And he did so and said that we're winding down the conflict. But this operation to keep the strait open is proceeding, and it's going to be a success that we want to have the Strait of Hormuz open.""Hours later, the president says, 'Nope’ we're done with that. Now we have this idea of a deal being, he [Trump] says, within reach and now Iran is saying no,” he reported. “And we know President Trump wants to be out of this war, but he has set deadline after deadline after deadline and every time Iran has called his bluff. Is that going to happen again, or does Trump feel like he actually, this time, is going to need to follow through with the resumption of a bombing campaign?”“And what would that look like? Would most military targets have been hit? Does that mean now the infrastructure, does that mean the bridges, the power plants? Does that mean wading into the territory of war crimes?” he asked. “There's a lot here that shows, to your point, Mika, this administration is flailing for an answer to this war.” - YouTube youtu.be