Iran warns US to keep out of Hormuz, Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire in Lebanon, Beijing to ignore US sanctions, 40% of OxyContin claims rejected, Samsung $8B inheritance tax, hantavirus in a ship

President Trump announced "Project Freedom," a U.S. initiative beginning Monday, May 4, 2026, to escort, with US Navy vessels, third-country ships through the Strait of Hormuz, challenging Iran's maritime blockade. Israeli forces and Hezbollah continue to exchange fire in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah targeting Israeli troops and vehicles in the Al-Bayada (Biyad) area using drones. On Saturday, May 2, 2026, Beijing ordered its domestic firms to ignore US sanctions for the first time. The directive tells domestic companies to ignore US sanctions on five Chinese refiners tied to Iranian crude imports. Thousands of victims and families harmed by Purdue Pharma's OxyContin are being denied compensation from a promised $865 million settlement fund due to stringent, last-minute documentation requirements. The family of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee has completed paying a record 12 trillion won (~$8 billion) inheritance tax bill in South Korea. The payments were finalized in installments over five years following his 2020 death. An outbreak of a suspected hantavirus infection aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has left three passengers dead, one in intensive care, and several others ill. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen made an unsolicited, $56 billion cash-and-stock offer to acquire eBay, aiming to challenge Amazon by creating a combined e-commerce giant.