May 4, 2026
Mission Statement, Developments, and History
Good morning, everyone!
At the top of the week, I want to level-set and discuss exactly what Everything Briefing seeks to achieve in each publication.
Every day, I seek to equip you with everything that you need to know for the day. In pursuit of this goal, I will provide you with both unfolding developments and historical snapshots that contextualize it all.
In both the researching and writing of each publication, I pore over every minute detail. I do so to ensure that I bring you the most comprehensive snapshot of the world as humanly possible. I take pride in this, as it is my unrelenting commitment to bring you the best quality service.
The words that I write are my own; they are not generated by artificial intelligence tools. As I say often, history is human-made, and therefore should be written by humans.
Today, we will look at the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the week of news ahead.
Let’s get to it.
The Week Ahead
-Indiana and Ohio will hold statewide primary elections on Tuesday.
-Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in Cebu, Philippines, for a summit meeting.
-Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday where he will face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
-Costa Rica President-elect Laura Virginia Fernández Delgado will be inaugurated on Friday.
-Russia will hold a scaled-down Victory Day celebration in Moscow on Saturday, marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.
-Hungarian Prime Minister-designate Péter Magyar will take office in Budapest.
Major Developments
-Iran’s foreign ministry said yesterday that Tehran was reviewing the U.S. response to its latest peace proposal. The plan does not include measures to limit Iran’s nuclear program, according to the ministry.
On Friday, President Donald Trump doubted whether he would accept the new proposal to end the two-month-long regional war, saying that Tehran has not yet paid “a big enough price for what they have done.”
In a social media post yesterday, Trump said that the U.S. military would begin escorting oil vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Although a ceasefire agreement has been in place since April 8, the strategic waterway has remained closed, as Iran has continued strikes on vessels seeking to transit the waterway in retaliation for a U.S. blockade on Iranian oil.
Prior to the start of hostilities on February 28, the Strait served as a conduit for 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Separately, the Trump administration has told lawmakers that it does not need congressional authorization for further military action against Iran, saying the 1973 War Powers Act is unconstitutional.
-The average U.S. gas price stood at $4.44 yesterday amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to AAA.
-Trump announced the immediate withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. service members from Germany amid tensions between Washington and Berlin.
Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the U.S. is being “humiliated” by Iran, to which Trump responded by saying the center-right leader “doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
Today, there are approximately 36,500 active-duty U.S. military personnel stationed in the country—making Germany host to the highest number of U.S. troops in Europe.
-Former President Joe Biden made his first endorsement since leaving office on Friday, backing Keisha Lance Bottoms’ candidacy for governor of Georgia.
-Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on cars from the European Union, accusing the 27-member bloc of “not complying” with a trade agreement struck last year.
-The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviewed Tucker Carlson last week, questioning him about his recent fallout with Trump.
View it here:
-Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalized and remains in “critical condition.”
-On this day in 1776, Rhode Island became the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was buried in Springfield, Illinois.
In 1970, an anti-Vietnam War protest turned deadly at Kent State University when the Ohio National Guard opened fire and killed four students and wounded nine others.
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became prime minister of the United Kingdom, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to a first stage for establishing Palestinian self-rule.
In 2011, President Barack Obama met with Prince Charles in the Oval Office.
Other Links:
Fed Officials Cite Inflation Concerns in Defending Dissents - The New York Times
Trump pulls Casey Means’ stalled surgeon general nomination. New pick is radiologist Nicole Saphier - AP
North Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett reveals future plans after she leaves office at the end of the year - CBS
Mali probes alleged military links to jihadis after major attacks - Africa News
Nigeria summons South African envoy over attacks on its nationals - BBC
China scraps tariffs for all but one African nation - BBC
US-Venezuela nonstop flights resume, and other top photos from Latin America and the Caribbean - AP
North Korea’s Kim casts youth as vanguard of state goals amid Russia war - Reuters
Russian strikes kill 10 as Zelensky says Ukraine hits oil tankers and terminal - BBC
Spain demands release of Gaza flotilla activists ‘held illegally’ by Israel - The Guardian
Security cabinet to discuss renewed Gaza fighting after Hamas responds to Board of Peace - The Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah deploys a potent new weapon designed to evade Israeli detection - CNN
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow.
Notes:
https://scowcroft.substack.com/p/tsg-weekly-calendar-may-4-10
I hope you are succeeding, Jacob. 🤞🏼 Lord knows you are working hard to curate the news for us. ✌🏼Thank you, Sir.🫱🏻🫲🏽