Fresh Attacks Reported in the Hormuz Strait

The Strait of Hormuz sees more attacks: Reuters chronicles the latest flare-up along this vital trade corridor: an Indian livestock carrier traveling from Africa to the United Arab Emirates was sunk on Thursday off the coast of Oman; all 14 crew members were rescued. In a separate incident, the UKMTO warned that unidentified personnel had boarded a vessel anchored near the UAE port of Fujairah and steered it toward Iran. This week, Japanese and Chinese tankers have secured access through negotiations with Iranian authorities, with Chinese shipping companies in particular showing heightened deference toward Iran in an effort to safeguard passages.

During the war’s height, roughly eight vessels per day navigated the strait, a dramatic drop from the pre-tension average of about 130. Since then, traffic has edged upward again—about 30 ships have passed since Wednesday evening. Yet Iran maintains tight control, and passage requires favorable relations with Tehran. President Donald Trump’s attempt to steer ships through the route last week did not succeed and has been paused indefinitely.

Now Trump’s strategy appears to hinge on getting China “to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters aboard Air Force One as they traveled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

But “this is not how President Trump wanted to arrive in China,” notes The New York Times’ David E. Sanger. “When he delayed his long-awaited trip to Beijing by six weeks, Mr. Trump was betting he would arrive in Beijing this week having forced the Iranians to capitulate to his demands. He anticipated that by now the shattered Iranian leadership would have agreed to turn over its nuclear stockpile, forgo its atomic ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The message to President Xi Jinping would have been clear: Chinese declarations of a superpower in decline were premature.”

None of this ended up happening. Instead, Trump’s “Project Freedom” failed; the Iran situation has largely paused, but with few American gains; and the Strait of Hormuz remains largely under Iranian sway, while Chinese vessels manage to pass by aligning more closely with adversaries (for now). It’s a somewhat awkward situation for Xi: he has not come to Iran’s aid in any meaningful way. His broader ambitions appear to be at least partly bluster.

It’s not obvious how Trump intends to pressure Xi. He has brought along his CEO circle (Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon) to the Beijing summit. China hawks largely disappeared from the administration. Tariffs remain a central issue, and the lead negotiator heading into the Beijing talks has been Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, not Marco Rubio, signaling where the real leverage lies. There had been speculation that Trump would use this moment to initiate talks on nuclear-arms control, but China indicated that “there is no reason to begin negotiations with Washington and Moscow until Beijing possesses an arsenal comparable to those of the other two powers,” rendering a new agreement a non-starter. So now Trump must determine the next path for the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz, and there’s little confidence China will be a helpful partner. Best of luck.

Scenes from New York: I’m still in Texas, but I need to interrupt our programming with an urgent note on how the state might spoil New York pizza.

Before Governor Kathy Hochul signs the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act—already cleared by the state legislature—bans would be placed on potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye No. 3 in foods. But bromated flour is a major reason New York pizza and bagels taste so exceptional: it breathes life into dough, making it springy and elastic, resulting in a finish that’s light and airy. Almost every commercial bakery uses it.

“Bromate, when used within the stated limits (15-30ppm), is consumed during baking and leaves no residue in the final product,” explains King Arthur, the baking brand (not the king). “However, if excess is used, or the bread isn’t baked long enough or at a sufficiently high temperature, a trace may remain.” Regulators are particularly concerned about possible cancer links, since 1980s research associated bromate with tumors in rats, and bans similar to those in the European Union and Canada are being pursued. Some bakers have already shifted away, but unbromated flour costs roughly twice as much as its bromated counterpart, leading to a less consistent product.

If I had to choose between dying at 75 after a lifelong pizza habit and living to 80 or 85 having been deprived of one of life’s great pleasures, I know which option I’d take. (It reminds me of a line from Girls, shouted by Jemima Kirke during a brutal fight with her husband-for-three-weeks: “I am going to look 50 when I’m 30! I am going to be so fucking fat, like Nico! And you know why? That’s because I’m going to be full of experiences.”) Whether it’s cancer or obesity, something will eventually take us all. I’m not convinced the state should wreck everything that’s good and sacred in an effort to extend lifespans.

QUICK HITS

• The Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve. How he operates in practice remains to be seen, but he seems inclined to follow the president’s wishes.
• The president “has green-lighted the sale of advanced AI chips to Beijing, even as Congress warned about espionage risks,” according to Politico. He approved a deal allowing Chinese-founded TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., despite intelligence concerns. And his National Defense Strategy moved away from tough rhetoric on China toward a more conciliatory posture as the administration focuses on homeland protection.
• I’m only now realizing that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a children’s book about St. Francis of Assisi. It’s amusing that the falconer—already a fixture in political lore—now plays a prominent role in health policy and treats his patron saint with unusual seriousness.
• Very cool:

In adults, limiting smartphone functionality to texting and calls and blocking all social media and mobile internet for 2 weeks significantly improved attention, self-reported well-being and mental health. 90% of participants experienced a benefit. pic.twitter.com/fkkbx780hz

— Diana S. Fleischman (@sentientist) May 13, 2026

• There’s a lot of parenting discourse buzzing right now, sparked by a new mom who wonders whether she could leave her baby asleep in a hotel room in Japan to go to a nearby restaurant, monitor in tow:

Also, there’s a lot of gray area we’re not prepared to address. Do these people think CPS should be called on a 6-year-old who strolls to the nearby bodega alone? What about an 8-year-old taking the subway or bus by themselves? And the mom who hires a 12-year-old to… https://t.co/1gmAPM8Jmm

— Liz Wolfe (@LizWolfeReason) May 13, 2026

In true Aella fashion, the mother in question has begun polling followers to determine where others draw the lines:

parents: imagine you’re good friends with the neighbors two doors down. would you put your baby to sleep at the neighbor’s house for a drink if you brought the monitor?

— Romy (@Romy_Holland) May 12, 2026