NOOWW
NOW YOU KNOW!
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2026
*** FLASH ***
OVER 550 DRONES SHOT DOWN — A HOUSE BURNS IN MOSCOW SUBURB
Drones flew more than 500 km from Ukraine to reach Moscow’s outskirts overnight. Three civilians killed in the Khimki and Pogorelki villages. Twelve people wounded near a major Moscow oil refinery. Debris fell on Sheremetyevo, Russia’s biggest airport, but flights kept running. An Indian worker was among the dead — India’s embassy confirmed three other Indian nationals were hospitalized. Zelensky called the strikes “entirely justified,” coming days after Russia broke a brief truce around its May 9 Victory Day parade.
S&P 500: 7,408 • DOW: 49,526 • NASDAQ: 26,225 • OIL (BRENT): $109 • GAS PRICES UP 21% IN A MONTH • INFLATION: 3.3%
The Senate’s neutral rules referee ruled the Secret Service can’t pay for the project through this spending bill. Cost has already doubled from $200 million to $400 million. The new ballroom will be nearly twice the size of the White House itself — capacity raised from 650 to 999 guests. YouTube quietly paid $22 million toward it as part of a 2021 lawsuit settlement with Trump. Trump’s own pitch: “I’m building a monument to myself — because no one else will.”
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Izz al-Din al-Haddad ran Hamas’s armed wing and was one of the last surviving planners of the October 7, 2023 attacks. Israel had been hunting him for years — he had survived several previous attempts. Before the strike, the Israeli air force ran a fake operation in the south to keep Hamas off-guard. His wife, daughter and six others were killed alongside him; his two sons had died earlier in the war. Freed hostage Emily Damari said he personally planned her kidnapping.
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The World Health Organization (WHO, the UN’s health agency) raised its alarm level after 87 deaths in eastern Congo. The first victim was a nurse in the town of Bunia. The strain spreading now — called Bundibugyo — is rare, and the standard Ebola vaccine doesn’t work against it. The virus already jumped borders: a man died in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, after travelling by public bus from Congo while sick. His body was then driven back across the border for burial — a second risk for spread.
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The chipmaker, a Nvidia rival, was valued at $95 billion after its Wall Street debut Thursday — then sold off Friday alongside the whole tech sector. Nvidia dropped 4.4%, Intel 6%, AMD 5.7%. Markets now bet the next Federal Reserve move will be a rate HIKE, not a cut — a sharp reversal from a month ago.
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Trump said China agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets, possibly up to 750. Wall Street had expected a much bigger 500-plane, $77 billion order. Trump himself wasn’t sure it was final: “It was sort of like a statement, but I think it was a commitment.” Boeing shares dropped 2.8%.
Singer Dara took the trophy in Vienna with “Bangaranga,” a high-energy pop track no one saw coming. Bookmakers had her at 150 to 1 the morning of the semi-final — the biggest outsider win in over 20 years. She swept BOTH the jury vote and the public vote, something only one other winner has done in the last nine years. Israel finished second under heavy protest: five countries had refused to take part because of Israel’s participation.
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Since the war with Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow sea passage where a fifth of the world’s oil flows — countries have been draining their emergency oil stockpiles fast. JP Morgan warns most of the world’s reserves can’t actually be tapped quickly: of 8 billion barrels stored globally, only 580 million are truly available. US gasoline prices jumped 21% in a single month.
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For the first time, Uyghur commanders — members of a Muslim minority persecuted in China — have spoken on the record. Thousands of their fighters launched the surprise offensive in November 2024 that ultimately brought down Syria’s Assad regime. The operation started from an olive grove in northern Syria. China had long pressured Damascus to crack down on them.
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Germany freed a stranded humpback whale on April 29 by floating it out to sea inside a cargo ship that was deliberately flooded — one of the most unusual marine rescues ever attempted. Two weeks later, Danish authorities confirmed: the whale found dead off their coast is the same one. The whole rescue effort is now being questioned.
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Hundreds of wooden homes built on stilts above the Lagos lagoon have been demolished. Nigerian authorities are clearing waterfront land for luxury real estate, ignoring court orders that protected residents. Families had lived there for generations.
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Trump is pulling 5,000 of the 39,000 American soldiers stationed in Germany. The mayor of Vilseck, home to a major US base, learned about it from a journalist during his first press conference in office.
Google parent Alphabet had its best month since 2004 in April, up 34%. Meta, however, lost 9% after announcing it would spend up to $145 billion this year on AI infrastructure — investors decided that’s too much. US corporate profit margins just hit their highest level on record, led by tech companies pulling in 29 cents of profit on every dollar of sales.
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Researchers from Dublin announced they’ve identified what they believe is the oldest surviving poem written in English, tucked away inside a manuscript stored at a library in Rome. It predates all previously known examples.
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Two of the biggest names in women’s mixed martial arts (MMA) faced off in a long-awaited comeback fight. Rousey ended it almost instantly with her signature armbar — a joint lock that forces opponents to tap out.
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A lower court ruling that would force women to see a doctor in person to get mifepristone — the pill used in nearly two-thirds of US abortions — was on pause. That pause expires today. The Supreme Court must either extend it or rule for good.
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Eleven cases of hantavirus, a virus carried by mice, have been reported. Three patients died — a 27% death rate. People catch it by breathing in dust from dried mouse droppings in barns, sheds or cabins. It does NOT spread from person to person.
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Health officials are preparing to formally review whether the United States can still claim it has “eliminated” measles — a status granted in 2000. With 27 outbreaks this year and vaccination rates falling below 80% in some counties, that label may be revoked.
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A closely watched survey of factories around New York jumped to its highest level since April 2022 — nearly triple what economists expected. But prices factories pay for materials also surged, a warning sign that inflation isn’t done.
