DAILY NEWS Stream – May 8, 2026

American forces escort two US-flagged ships successfully through the waterway while sinking six to seven Iranian fast-attack boats and intercepting cruise missiles and drones aimed at commercial and military vessels. Iran retaliates with strikes on shipping and a UAE [United Arab Emirates] oil terminal (BBC)

The US approves more than US$8.6 billion in arms sales to Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE — including Patriot missile support and laser-guided weapons kits — as the Iran war strains US stockpiles and Washington DC [US] warns European allies to expect long delivery delays (Times of Israel)

World leaders from nearly 50 countries, including all EU [European Union] members and Canada’s prime minister, meet in Yerevan [Armenia] for the 8th European Political Community [EPC] summit, co-chaired by European Council President António Costa and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as discussions focus on geopolitical tensions and Armenia’s deepening shift toward Europe following its peace agreement with Azerbaijan (euronews)

The UK and Nordic [Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden] and Baltic [Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia] members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force will form a new multinational naval force—separate from but complementary to NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization]—to counter increased Russian naval activity, British Navy chief Gwyn Jenkins said, outlining plans for a UK-commanded fleet to train and reach full operational integration by 2029 amid rising tensions and disputes over Russian ships near UK waters (VTV)

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York [US] agrees to a US$800 million settlement with about 1,300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse — one of the largest such payouts in US Catholic Church history — avoiding bankruptcy while committing to release files on accused clergy, maintaining a public list of offenders, and paying the sum in stages (VTV)

As the 2026 FIFA [Fédération Internationale de Football Association] World Cup approaches [beginning June 11], scammers are flooding the web with fake ticket sellers, counterfeit merchandise sites, bogus “World Cup visas,” and crypto tokens falsely claiming official ties to FIFA, exploiting brand confusion and urgency tactics while experts warn fans to verify all purchases through official channels to avoid identity theft, financial loss, and crypto wallet compromise (Security Boulevard)

Amsterdam [Netherlands] has become the first capital city globally to ban public advertising for animal-people meat and fossil-fuel-related products and services as part of a plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and cut animal-people meat consumption in half, a move supporters frame as a cultural shift (Fox News)

A North Korean women’s football club, Naegohyang Women’s FC [Football Club], will travel to South Korea on May 20 to face Suwon FC Women in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation [AFC] Women’s Champions League, marking the first North Korean sports delegation to enter South Korea since 2018, with a 39-member squad arriving amid rare inter-Korean exchanges and North Korea’s continued strength in Asian women’s football (Channel News Asia)

Scientists identify the thymus [small organ behind the breastbone] as a key to longevity. Research shows this organ trains T cells [special white blood cells] to fight infections, slashes cancer risks, and prevents early death. Experts now aim to rejuvenate or regenerate the organ to boost immune health (Washington Post)

Roughly 40% of the world has osteopenia [low bone mineral density], a silent precursor to debilitating fractures. Since most patients remain asymptomatic until a break occurs, experts advise those at risk to seek bone density screenings. Doctors recommend proactive testing, increased calcium intake, and weight-bearing exercises to reinforce bone integrity (SciTech Daily)

Kratom [supplement derived from Southeast Asian tree marketed for pain relief or mood enhancement] use in the US surges as doctors warn of side effects like liver damage, irregular heart rhythms, and seizures. Research shows the unregulated herb mimics opioids, causing addiction and overdoses. Health experts now demand stricter oversight to curb this growing crisis (SciTech Daily)

Over 102,000 people in Bicol, the Philippines are affected by ongoing Mayon Volcano activity, with almost 5,500 in evacuation centers. Authorities have maintained Alert Level 3 [high level of volcanic unrest] as volcanic earthquakes, rockfalls, and pyroclastic density currents [heavier-than-air clouds of hot gas and volcanic rock] have been observed (Inquirer)

France hosts a Paris conference on May 4 to accelerate methane reduction commitments ahead of the COP31 [31st United Nations Climate Change Conference] climate summit. Ministers, industry leaders, and experts discuss strategies to lower emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which remains at high levels globally despite existing reduction pledges (Channel News Asia)

Malaysia issues a heat alert on May 3 as temperatures reach 35° to 37°C across several states. Authorities record 56 heat-related illnesses and two deaths this year, and advise the public to reduce outdoor exertion, drink sufficient water, and monitor vulnerable groups during the warm weather (Focus Malaysia)

Spain’s rapid boom in the sport of padel is causing tens of thousands of bird-individual deaths each year—studies estimate up to 135 collisions per court annually, with 75,000 in Valencia alone— because migrating bird-folks mistake glass walls for open sky, but trials in regions such as Seville and Valencia show that adding inexpensive fine-mesh netting over the panels can almost entirely eliminate collisions, prompting calls for nationwide rules requiring bird-people-safe measures on new and existing courts (EuroWeekly News)

More than 20 million Americans live within 1.6 kilometers of over 1,340 toxic Superfund sites — federally designated hazardous-waste locations so contaminated they require long-term EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] cleanup — amid uneven public awareness, decades-long remediation timelines, and health risks ranging from cancer to birth defects (Daily Mail)

Eugene VeganFest draws over 2,000 attendees in Oregon, United States, featuring around 70 vendors and promoting compassionate living. Growing crowds and strong sales signal a rising national interest in vegan lifestyles (KEZI 9 News)

Double Zero reopens at 65 Second Avenue in New York City [US], driven by high demand. The popular vegan pizzeria resumes operations under its original name after a merger with another restaurant and name change last year (EV Grieve)

Chocolatier She Universe claims the Supreme Winner title at the fifth New Zealand Vegan Chocolate Awards for its Hazel Heaven Baton. Fourteen artisan makers competed with 50 entries across 10 categories, highlighting the growing demand in New Zealand for premium vegan chocolate (Hospitality Business)

Zhang Jian saves an injured person from a burning truck inside the 10-kilometer Baotashan Tunnel [China] while traveling home. He and his ride-hailing passenger place the victim in his car and drive about 10 minutes with the door open, as the injured man could not put his leg fully inside the vehicle, and causing smoke to fill the cabin. Mr. Zhang nearly loses consciousness, and he calls his mother saying he might not survive. He reaches the tunnel exit where rescuers wait, and the victim is taken to the hospital and recovers. Authorities award him US $1,500 for his brave act (Tuổi Trẻ)

Officer Antonio Richardson, a pastor and Jacksonville [Florida, US] policeman, uses prayer and 40 minutes of compassionate pleading to save a suicidal man on the Dames Point Bridge. The emotional rescue ends in a life-saving embrace (Fox News)

Police halt London [UK] traffic on The Mall to escort a family of 15 geese-people safely to St James’s Park. Two officers stop traffic with their police car and guide the adults and goslings, surprising tourists (Daily Mail)

Thoughtful quote of the day: “The more one judges, the less one loves.” – Honoré de Balzac Famed French Novelist and Playwright (BrainyQuote)

In Part 1 of 3 of Bridget Cook-Burch’s near-death experience, New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Bridget shares how she nearly died from sepsis and was brought to the edge of surrender. Bridget grew up Catholic, adopted at six months of age, and raised by loving but high-standards parents.

As a young college student, Bridget was overwhelmed — working three jobs while carrying a full course load at Utah State University in the US, feeling unworthy of love and afraid to ask for help. She traced those feelings back to an unconscious childhood belief that she was never quite enough. She was partying, failing classes, and spiraling. Then she got sick. What she thought was the flu turned out to be something far more serious. She lost over 13 kilograms in three days and, shaking, barely made it down the canyon from campus to her mother’s door in Brigham City. Her mother rushed her to the doctor, where she collapsed.

They didn’t know what was wrong. I went completely unconscious, and they rushed me into emergency surgery, where they found sepsis [life-threatening reaction to infection]. So, in my grief, in my unworthiness, I had ulcers and fissures in my colon. I had all this stuff that was going on in my abdomen. And they had to pump out pints and pints of infection. And what they didn’t know is, they were giving me intravenous antibiotics through what they call a subclavian [subclavian vein] because I was so emaciated that they couldn’t give me a regular IV [intravenous line]. One of the antibiotics they were giving me was killing me. I’d never had it before. Nobody knew I was having this reaction, but instead of getting better, I was growing worse.

Around 2:00 in the morning, Bridget overheard nurses in the corridor say they needed to call her mother back because she wasn’t going to make it until morning. Bridget was not alone in the hospital room. The patient beside her was also preparing for surgery. And it was like, oh, my goodness, I’m dying. And even my roommate behind the curtain, she said, “Hey Bridget, you know you’re dying, don’t you?” And I said, “Yeah.” And it was a real “Mack truck moment” because, earlier that day, before she went into surgery, she and her husband had been reading behind the curtain from the Big Book [foundational text of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) fellowship]. And I’d been through the 12 steps, and I recognized, like, this language of God, this language of surrender. And I had been an addict. I was mostly addicted to taking care of other people who were addicts. But I understood the language, and I yearned for God. I just never felt worthy.

Then she came back from surgery, and she’d had one of the old-fashioned gallbladder surgeries, where it was the long incision, and her body wasn’t accepting medication, and she could feel every cut, every stitch. And I didn’t know at the time that I was empathic, but behind the curtain, I felt her pain inside my body. And it was this wrenching pain. And then her husband and another member of their church’s clergy, they gave her a blessing, and this bishop commanded her body to accept the medication, and I felt the pain leave me. I heard her sigh, and a few minutes later, she fell asleep, and I was like, “Oh, that’s interesting.”

So, here, later, when I was facing my own death, and she’s talking to me, I went into this, what I call, “Mack truck surrender.” Like, there was just no hope except maybe this one little inkling, and I just said, “So, hey, can anyone have one of those blessings?” And she’s like, “Well, yeah.” She calls her husband. In the middle of the night, he came down with another gentleman, and they gave me a blessing.

In Part 2, after the blessing, Bridget wakes to a hospital room filled with Light — and recognizes the figure standing before her. When I woke up, it was the most extraordinary real thing that [I had] ever experienced. There was all this Light in the room, like this blinding white Light. And it wasn’t just Light; it had an emotion attached to it. I felt so much love… Join us tomorrow for Part 2 of 3 of Bridget Cook-Burch’s near-death experience. (Living God’s Light)