NEWS - MONDAY, MAY 04, 2026 - NEWS
Now California must figure out how to replace some 200,000 barrels of oil a day that will no longer be arriving from the Persian Gulf. LA Times
Los Angeles police officials said at a budget hearing this week they need 6,500 officers available to properly staff the Olympics in 2028, but meeting that goal would require support from other departments or a hiring spree that seems impossible given budget constraints and recruiting struggles. LA Times
VOA VIEW: Sounds like a Ca problem, ask Trump.
Geophysicist Stefan Burns claimed the activity was in "an unusual place to get an earthquake." New York Post
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“They do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety, and I've said that even directly to the president,” Hizzoner said of the federal immigration agents. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Mamdani is an idiot.
Iran gave President Trump a one-month deadline to permanently end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, where a carrier was attacked on Sunday. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Iran is pushing their luck and fate to anialation.
A nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at Russia’s largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea, the port of Primorsk, according to Russian regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Bad for Russia.
Severe storms are reloading across the central US this week, ushering in an active start to May. New York Post
VOA VIEW: It does not sound good
The acting attorney general said such messages were “posted constantly” and said the Justice Department had gathered other evidence against the former F.B.I. director, but declined to describe it. New York Times
VOA VIEW: It does not sound good for Comey.
Just months into the pandemic, Matthew Haines, like landlords across the country, learned he was barred from evicting tenants who didn't pay their rent under a federal eviction moratorium that lasted almost a year - costing him and his investors over $1 million. Washington Times
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An attorney representing the Trump administration informed a U.S. District Court Friday evening that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun offering new appointments to disaster workers whose contracts the agency did not renew in January, reversing a controversial decision that prompted a coalition of labor unions, scientific groups and local governments to sue the administration. Washington Times
Five members of a pickleball club in Texas died Thursday night when the Cessna 421C plane they were on crashed. Washington Times
Nebraska became the first U.S. state to impose Medicaid work requirements eight months before the deadline set in the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Washington Times
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled a relief plan for Spirit Airlines customers and employees following the airline's shutdown early Saturday. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: So what is next?
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Congress and President Trump have complained about massive fraud by immigrants, street gangs, international organized crime syndicates and everyday Americans. But in many cases the fraud is actually coming from inside the house. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: A major problem.
The service members were participating in African Lion, the largest joint military exercise on the continent. CBS
Gloria Choi and her friends called Lakewood, Washington, 911 four times in 48 hours to report her being stalked by an ex-boyfriend. Two days later, he ran her off the road and riddled her truck with bullets as she was on the line with a 911 dispatcher. CBS
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A vehicle carrying explosives crashed through the front entrance of an athletic club in downtown Portland, Oregon. The driver was killed. CBS
Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train the winner of the opening leg of the Triple Crown. CBS
A maker of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to block an appellate court ruling that cut off mail-order access to the drug just a day earlier. CBS
VOA VIEW: It must be tested first.
Former Sen. Ben Sasse, 54, called daraxonrasib "a miracle drug" that was allowing him to live longer and with less pain. CBS
VOA VIEW: As they should.
Oil exports are booming from the U.S. Gulf Coast thanks to the Middle East supply disruption caused by the Iran war. CNBC
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Concerns around production were amplified further last week with news of the UAE's shock departure. CNBC
VOA VIEW: No loss of gain.
A common side effect of many GLP-1 drugs is hair loss. It's creating a formerly untapped but growing market for hair treatment products. CNBC
VOA VIEW: It sounds like a double loss.
The DOD announced it has entered into agreements with seven other AI companies. CNBC
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A massive fire broke out at the University of South Florida's Marine Science Laboratory in St. Petersburg, with no injuries reported. FOX News
An ongoing blockade at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., is in its second day as an activist claims to protest Iran war and AI. FOX News
VOA VIEW: He is a mixed up fool
Taxpayers and electricity customers face a costly standoff over the Ivanpah solar plant as California regulators block all efforts to shut it down. FOX News
The FBI is investigating at least a dozen missing or dead U.S. scientists tied to nuclear and space research as Trump says no major connection has been found so far. FOX News
VOA VIEW: it is questionable madness.
Sheriff Grady Judd highlighted a Jan. 6 participant, an illegal immigrant and an influencer among 266 arrested in a major Florida undercover sting. FOX News
Four noncitizens in New Jersey were charged with illegally voting in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections and making false citizenship statements. FOX News
VOA VIEW: They should be deported ASAP.
A judge on Friday paused a Texas ban of smokable hemp products, such as flower and joints, after industry groups and companies in the state sued. UPI
The U.S. is warning allies that delivery of weapons systems are likely to be delayed after stockpiles have been drained during the war in Iran. UPI
VOA VIEW: A small delay is no big deal.
Senior U.S. and Chinese diplomatic and trade officials held a series of calls ahead of a planned summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. UPI
VOA VIEW: They will meet.
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Fannie Mae will now accept crypto-backed mortgages via a new product by mortgage company Better Home a Finance and Coinbase. Fannie Mae will now accept crypto-backed mortgages via a new product by mortgage company. A questionable issue.
It’s not the first crypto backed mortgage, but it is the first accepted by Fannie Mae, which is under government conservatorship. The offering allows homebuyers to use their crypto assets as collateral. Fannie Mae will purchase those loans just like any other conforming mortgage.
“We ha ve now finally created the infrastructure rails to enable any tokenized asset in America to be able to be pledged to help someone afford to buy a home,” Vishal Garg, CEO of Better, told CNBC in an interview. “It starts with bitcoin, starts with [USD Coin], but going forward, it can be Apple stock or Amazon stock, or any publicly traded mutual fund, bond fund, something that you might hold in your IRA, you’re going to be able to pledge that to buy a home.”
The idea is to serve Americans who have enough crypto assets to fund a mortgage down payment but do not want to sell those assets, which would both incur taxes and forfeit any future appreciation. The new mortgage product allows them to keep the cryptocurrency and still secure home financing.
“Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional down payment,” said Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, in a release. To use the product, a borrower must have a Coinbase account and would take out a regular mortgage with Better as well as a second loan, backed by either bitcoin or USD Coin. The second loan would fund the down payment on the first loan.
Both loans are held by Better, and the crypto assets, once pledged, cannot be traded. Even if the value of the crypto falls, nothing changes on the loans, as long as the borrower keeps making the monthly payments. As an example, on a $500,000 home, a borrower can pledge $250,000 in bitcoin and get a $100,000 loan to cover the cash down payment. The crypto stays in custody in Better’s Coinbase Prime account for the life of the loan and is returned once the loan is repaid.
