RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/May 2025

From RationalWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

May 2025[edit]

upneutraldown
39United StatesElon Musk allegedly took loads of illegal drugs while advising Trump.
upneutraldown
30United StatesIllinois. Illinois bans the police from ticketing students for minor infractions in schools.
upneutraldown
12Algeriathe WorldThe transvestigators get their way as ciswoman athlete Imane Khelif has been ordered to undergo mandatory sex testing by World Boxing.
upneutraldown
10United StatesThe State Department will launch the "Office of Remigration," which has its roots in a concept popularized by European Neo-Nazis.
upneutraldown
8United StatesCalifornia. Gruesome Newsom wants to means test low-income and disabled applicants for the Medi-Cal program.
upneutraldown
14the World AIs have sometimes refused to shut down when instructed. I think I've seen how this ends!
upneutraldown
30United States Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration.
upneutraldown
30United States RFK Jr's "MAHA report" cites non-existent, and one might speculate, robo-hallucinated studies. Update: Some links in the HHS's report had "oaicite" tacked onto them, likely meaning the report was made with ChatGPT (since the "oai" would stand for "OpenAI", the company producing ChatGPT).
upneutraldown
9the World xAI, the owner of 𝕏 (formerly known as Twitter) has done a $300 million cash and share deal with the rival social media company Telegram to distribute the company's AI platform, Grok.
upneutraldown
36United Kingdom Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan face multiple charges in the UK including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain.
upneutraldown
24United StatesPoland The GOP Foreign Affairs committee has said that “Obama, Soros and globalist left” are trying to rig the upcoming Polish presidential elections to install liberal Trzaskowski against nationalist-conservative Nawrocki.
upneutraldown
19United Kingdom The two branch groups of Judaism in the UK, Reform and Liberal, have agreed to merge to form a combined branch called Progressive Judaism. While they are Zionist, they have openly said they are open to criticism and support a pluralistic Jewish state.
upneutraldown
24CanadaUnited States King Charles III gave a patriotic speech at the opening of the Canadian parliament, opening with expressing "pleasure and pride" at being in Canada during a time of renewed "national pride, unity, and hope," and ending with, "As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free!" Later the same day, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that his so-called Golden Dome project would cost Canada $61bn "if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State".
upneutraldown
24United Kingdom Tommy Robinson has been released from prison. His sentence for contempt of court, after repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee who sued him for libel, was reduced. The judge said he'd shown a "change in attitude," but noted his, "absence of contrition or remorse."
upneutraldown
9United States Joe Biden has prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
upneutraldown
28United States The Trump administration is trying to use polygraph tests, which do not work so well, to catch people leaking information.
upneutraldown
29Italy Gay Pride Flag.svg Good news for Italian LGBT families, after the Constitutional Court in Rome ruled that couples can be recognised as parents of a surrogacy or assisted reproduction, provided that it is performed outside the country. Another case in the central region of Manche recognised the adoption of a child by foreign-born surrogacy.
upneutraldown
31United StatesThe wealth of the 10 richest American billionaires has increased by over 360 billion dollars in the last year.
upneutraldown
36United StatesUtah. Trans flag.svg Utah's Republican legislature commissioned a study on trans medicine to support their ban. The study reportedly came back differently than they expected and concluded: "Overall, there were positive mental health and psychosocial functioning outcomes". The lawmakers then dismissed it as "weak evidence" and said they'll be keeping the ban.
upneutraldown
18United States US defense secretary Pete Hegseth uses the military's broadcast system for some evangelical prayer.
upneutraldown
21United States Supreme Court ties on a religious freedom ruling. This upholds a ruling by a lower court, which decided against allowing Oklahoma to fund a religious charter school using public money.
upneutraldown
11United StatesIsraelEuropean Union Two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead in Washington D.C., and Israel blames Europe.
upneutraldown
13United States US government funding for scientific research and education, via the National Science Foundation, has been cut to "its lowest level in decades" for this year.
upneutraldown
27Germany A German Administrative Court has ruled that websites must offer a "Reject all cookies" button, if they offer an "Accept all cookies" button in the cookies box.
upneutraldown
33United States The CDC remains largely muzzled from communicating information about current disease outbreaks, and presumably this has something to do with Captain Brainworm now leading their parent agency.
upneutraldown
21Israel Israeli troops shoot at foreign diplomats in Jenin.
upneutraldown
28United KingdomEngland England is launching the world's first vaccine rollout of a vaccine against the STI gonorrhoea. It will be offered alongside other sex-related vaccines for mpox, hepatitis A & B and genital warts
upneutraldown
9Sweden Sweden has extended its prostitution ban to cover purchasing digital sexual services like OnlyFans and web-camming. Purchasers of such services are liable to up to a year in prison.
upneutraldown
21United States The FDA (under HHS) announced it started using AI to generate "scientific reviews".
upneutraldown
28Norway The election bodies in Norway are investigating a sudden large advertising campaign in Oslo by a new Russian-linked left-wing party Peace and Justice (FOR), which experts say costs NOK 1.4 million (122 000€). In Norway, all parties must declare any donation over NOK 10 000, which the party has only so far declared a NOK 50 000 donation.
upneutraldown
25United Kingdom British neo-Nazis Mark Collett and David Clews have issued a declaration of their intent to infiltrate Reform UK with "tens of thousands" of supporters and "drag Reform to the right".
upneutraldown
28Romania Pro-EU Nicușor Dan wins Romania's presidential election over far right pro-Russian George Simion.
upneutraldown
27United States Trump begs Walmart to stop raising prices.
upneutraldown
32PalestineIsrael The death toll of the Gaza genocide is widely understated according to The Economist. While the Gaza Strip's authorities have reported that around 50 thousand people lost their lives, the actual number is probably between 77,000 and 109,000.
upneutraldown
33United StatesSCOTUS has blocked Trump's attempt to deport people under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
upneutraldown
25SyriaRussiaUnited Arab Emirates The Syrian government has annulled the 49-year Russian lease of the port of Tartus and is instead leasing the port to Emeriti company DP World. The port is important to Russia as it was the country's only access to the Mediterranean and was used a refueling point to its links in Africa.
upneutraldown
27United States Credit ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the rating of the United States from AAA to Aa1, citing a lack of progress in managing the country's large sovereign debt. Now all the big three credit agencies have no longer given the USA top-tier credit worthiness.
upneutraldown
21United StatesFlorida. Florida becomes the second state after Utah to ban water fluoridation.
upneutraldown
41PalestineIsrael Since Israel started an aid blockade in March, 57 children in Gaza died from malnutrition, says WHO
upneutraldown
25United StatesHasan Piker was detained by CBP for over two hours following his return from a trip abroad and questioned over his politics.
upneutraldown
42Vatican CityUnited StatesWho is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?
upneutraldown
21IndiaPakistan India bombs Pakistan, killing at least 26 people; Pakistan likely to retaliate
upneutraldown
19United Statesthe World WTF? Kari Lake has said that America's international broadcaster Voice of America is to be supported by Trumpian cable network OAN.
upneutraldown
28IsraelPalestineIsrael Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Gaza to be ‘totally destroyed,’ population ‘concentrated’ in small area
upneutraldown
27United KingdomEnglandGay Pride Flag.svg Ukraine Nigel Farage's Reform UK has said it will ban the flying of flags other than the Union Jack and St. George's Cross over council buildings it controls. This was obviously aimed at the Pride flag, but will also mean some town halls having to take down the Ukrainian one.
upneutraldown
51Australia Call it the Trump effect, but like Canada, Australia has had its own Portillo moment with the conservative leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton losing his seat of Dickson in Queensland.
upneutraldown
24MaltaIsraelPalestineIsraeli drone strikes a ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza near the coast of Malta
upneutraldown
21United StatesLesbian Pride Flag 2019.svg Musician Jill Sobule, whose 1995 song "I Kissed a Girl" is widely considered the first with openly gay themes to crack the Billboard Top 20, dies.
upneutraldown
45GermanyAlternative fĂźr Deutschland has been designated as right-wing extremist by Germany's federal office for the protection of the constitution. This should make it easier for intelligence agencies to monitor the party and is seen as a possible step towards it being banned.
upneutraldown
23United KingdomEnglandWalesTrans flag.svg The England and Wales Cricket Board bans trans women from playing women's cricket at all levels with immediate effect.
upneutraldown
31Israel Not only having problems with Gaza, the Netanyahu government is now trying to cope with major wildfires in the Jerusalem region. Already, fire departments have said the wildfires are the largest in ten years and are blocking the main highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
upneutraldown
31United KingdomEnglandScotlandTrans flag.svg "We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify," says the English Football Association as it bans trans women from playing women's soccer. The Scottish Football Association is doing the same thing.