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A veteran State Department negotiator predicted that as the Trump administration struggles to find an off-ramp out of the Iran war, a ground invasion seems more likely."The administration is frustrated," David Miller told CNN on Saturday, saying that Trump will likely try "to go back to Project Freedom with some variation," referring to the short-lived effort to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has a blockade.The difference with a new attempt at Project Freedom would be "the deployment of ground troops on one of those key islands" that are part of Iran, like Larak Island, Miller said. Such an invasion "would surprise me," he added."They're looking for a way to break out of this," Miller said. "But right now, I suspect the situation is going to get worse before it gets worse."Miller made the comment as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with a Qatari mediator in Miami on Saturday to negotiate with Iran."It wouldn't surprise me if Iranians came back with a response that the administration doesn't like, or if they delay further," Miller said. "What's the alternative? Economic blockade and military strikes on both sides have created a situation where neither side is getting what they want."

New information was revealed on Saturday about how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention planned to respond to the American passengers who have been stranded on a luxury cruise ship amid the hantavirus outbreak, according to reports.A CDC control crew was slated to meet with the 17 Americans who have been on board a cruise ship where the deadly rat-borne virus outbreak occurred, MS NOW reported. They were expected to be transported for observation to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska. Michael Wadman, Director of the National Quarantine Unit, described how each person would have their own isolated space, similar to a hotel room, with access to WiFi, exercise equipment and food delivery. Health officials have said that no passengers on the ship currently have symptoms of the virus, MS NOW reported. Symptoms could come in days or weeks, so health officials have planned to monitor the passengers to see if they show signs of the virus. The MV Hondius has been stranded off Cape Verde throughout the week but is now back to sailing with the plan to disembark passengers in the Canary Islands starting on Monday. Three passengers have died aboard the ship, and eight confirmed cases have been connected to the cruise, prompting medical evacuations in South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fueled speculation about whether he's planning to launch a 2028 presidential bid after he was seen DJing at a family wedding and entertaining reporters with rap lyrics, an analyst reported on Saturday. The Atlantic's Matt Viser described how Rubio's disposition and recent activities have raised questions over his future plans while Trump's cabinet manages a series of controversies and challenges, including President Donald Trump's ongoing Iran war, an affordability crisis and concerns over how the GOP will fare in the midterm elections. "It’s a low bar, perhaps, but no one in the Trump administration seems to be having more fun at the moment than Marco Rubio," Viser wrote. "Last weekend, he was acting as a DJ at a family wedding, headphones to his ear with head and hand pumping to the beat. Midweek, the secretary of state was at the podium in the White House briefing room, spitting rap lyrics and cracking jokes. (“Two more questions!” he said, before entertaining seven more.) And toward the end of the week, he was in Vatican City, being escorted through marble hallways by members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, who has been criticized by the president and vice president."Despite the problems ahead for the Trump administration, Rubio "comes across as the happy warrior, not the angry one—the one offering lighthearted jokes more than brash confrontation," Viser explained."But Rubio—the guy who once became a meme because of the way he sat uncomfortably on an Oval Office couch, looking exhausted with his many jobs—suddenly looks joyful and light," Viser wrote. "He seemed to be everywhere all at once this week, followed by a hum and then a buzz of: Hmm, he sure looks like he’s running in 2028."Rubio has not yet confirmed his plans — or what his closed-door conversations with the president or pope were like. "Would there be a phone call between the pope and the president anytime soon? 'Um, I don’t know. Maybe? I don’t know. I mean, it could happen,'" Viser added. "By the end of the week, it was clear: The same could be said about a 2028 presidential run."

As the Trump administration tries to fall in the good graces of the first American Pope, an ex-GOP operative is shaking his head at the fact that he employs what he called one big 'anti-Catholic bigot' in particular. "Donald Trump is surrounded by anti-Catholic bigots," ex-GOP political strategist Steve Schmidt said on his podcast on Saturday. "First and foremost by Pete Hegseth." Schmidt and Canadian radio personality Dean Blundell were mocking Secretary of State Marco Rubio's botched visit with Pope Leo earlier in the week when Schmidt turned his ire to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In particular, he called out how Hegseth had "the audacity, the extremism, the license that the guy feels that, 'I'm going to cancel the Catholic Good Friday service at the Pentagon at the chapel." Schmidt was referring to when Hegseth decided to hold Protestant-only services in early April. "Holy sh—!" Schmidt went on. "Donald Trump has started a fight here with an American who is more powerful than Trump because Trump is unable, through his moral blindness, to see what animates the Pope's power."Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Pope Leo XIV, calling him "WEAK on crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy," and accusing him of "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people." Trump has also falsely claimed that the pope supports Iran having nuclear weapons, a characterization the Vatican has rejected as a misrepresentation of the Church's long-standing opposition to nuclear weapons and commitment to promoting peace.

The United States and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Axios report. A U.S. official confirmed the attack, saying the U.S. had conducted strikes on targets in the strait. It appeared to happen as the U.S. attempted to enforce the blockade.The Iranian navy targeted three U.S. destroyers, according to Iranian state media. The country's military said the U.S. had targeted an oil tanker and another ship entering the vital trade channel. "The U.S. official said the exchange did not constitute a resumption of the war, but the Iranian military described the U.S. strikes as a ceasefire violation and threatened retaliation. The extent of the strikes and resulting damage are unclear at this time," Axios reported.The exchange happened as both countries were negotiating a one-page memo in an effort "to end hostilities and lay the groundwork for more detailed negotiations."

Trump broke his silence on a meeting with Brazil's president that perplexed journalists on Thursday. "Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well."Journalists would have to take Trump's word for it because a scheduled press conference was suddenly nixed, according to reporting by NewsNation. Anchors noted that the two leaders were expected to speak about tariffs and crime, as the Trump administration is considering labeling Brazilian cartels as terrorist groups. "The two didn't quite see eye-to-eye coming into this meeting," NewsNation correspondent Kellie Meyer said. "So maybe it is no surprise that they may not be going in front of the cameras." According to reports from Brazilian media, their meeting lasted three hours. Meyer reported later that despite saying he would meet with the Brazilian press, Lula da Silva called them off and didn't meet with them at all. "Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary," Trump signed off in his post.

President Donald Trump's sudden change of policy on reopening the Strait of Hormuz has angered Gulf allies and changed how they view the United States amid the Iran war, an expert said on Thursday. Ravi Agrawal, editor in chief of Foreign Policy Magazine, told MS NOW that Trump's decision followed Saudi Arabia's move to suspend the U.S. military's ability to use its bases and airspaces for the ongoing military operation. The key Gulf ally's decision was a response to "Project Freedom," which Trump announced on his Truth Social platform over the weekend — without discussion among the regional allies. The backlash has had real ramifications, Agrawal argued."It is embarrassing," Agrawal said. "I mean, not only this, but you could go further back and say it's embarrassing that the United States went into this war without the backing of any of these countries in the region. None of the Gulf countries wanted this war to take place, even though they are the ones that have been in literally in the line of fire right from day one, and not only in the line of fire, because they just happen to be there, but specifically because they are home to U.S. bases. And that, in a sense, puts a target on their backs. And so Iran is attacking countries for their allegiance and alliances with the United States. And I think if you step back and look at the broader repercussions that are emerging from this, the countries in the region trust the United States less the fractures within the Gulf countries that Inzamam [Rashid] was referring to are growing." Agrawal suggested more fractures could be brewing as a result."The UAE and Saudi Arabia are increasingly not seeing eye to eye," Agrawal added. "The UAE recently pulled out of OPEC, the oil exporters' cartel. And then when you broaden that out further, Pakistan, of course, in South Asia, India, other countries that are deeply affected by this crisis, Katie, we're now looking at a world in which each of these countries are looking to strike side deals with each other, trying to work around a system and rules that they see as no longer really working with no real broker that they trust, with no broader system umbrella like the United Nations that actually functions. This is the disorder that many of us have been predicting for quite a while, and a lot of it stems from a United States that is increasingly acting like a rogue superpower."

Right-wing influencers were spreading conspiracy theories about the rat-borne illness that has left three luxury cruise ship passengers dead, according to reports on Thursday. Experts from the World Health Organization have said that the hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius is being transmitted human-to-human and that MAGA social media accounts are now suggesting the virus was purposefully introduced to the passengers, The Daily Beast reported. The ship has been stranded off Cape Verde throughout the week but is now back to sailing with the plan to disembark passengers in the Canary Islands starting on Monday. Eight confirmed cases have been connected to the cruise, prompting medical evacuations in South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. MAGA followers were sharing their unfounded claims."HOLY S---. Twenty-three hantavirus cruise passengers returned home to ‘all corners’ of the World even America with one person already sick, per NYP. THEY ARE GOING TO TRY AND DO IT AGAIN. BUCKLE UP…” the MAGAVoice wrote on X. The account has 1.3 million followers and later shared this post: "Strange how viruses only occur when President Trump is in office and during Elections…"DC Draino, an account run by MAGA influencer and lawyer Rogan O’Handley with more than 2.3 million followers, expressed doubt about the WHO's updates."People on X giving better pandemic advice than everyone at WHO combined," DC Draino wrote on X.Right-wing commentator 01Hour wrote this on X: "If an outbreak happens on a ship. Leave it on the ship. Bring the doctors on the ship with equipment and make it a floating ICU. Did they learn nothing?"