Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Friday, May eighth. The time is five p.m. Central. I'm Keli, joined by Hast.

HAST Good to be with you. We're tracking developments out of Greece on that mystery drone, continuing coverage of a free-speech case involving the defense secretary, and we've got election results from the U.K. that are reshaping political calculations there.

KELI Let's start with Greece. Authorities there are still examining a naval drone that washed up in the Ionian Sea. This is the third time we're covering this story. Greek media are reporting the device had explosives onboard, and the question right now is who it belongs to—whether it's Ukrainian equipment or connected to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in some other way. No confirmation yet on ownership or intent.

HAST One more on this. Keli, the temptation here is to read this story a certain way. What should listeners watch for?

KELI Right. The simple read is going to be: this is either a Ukrainian operation that went wrong or Russian sabotage against NATO members. The structural reality is that both Ukraine and Russia have lost equipment in transit before, and unaccounted-for military hardware in conflict zones regularly washes ashore in neighboring waters. Watch for whether Greek or NATO officials identify specific ownership markers—serial numbers, construction origin, ordnance type. If we don't see those details released within the next few days, you'll know the ambiguity might be intentional, and the story shifts from equipment accountability to geopolitical signaling.

KELI Now to a case in federal appeals court. The D.C. Circuit heard arguments this week on whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can restrict a retired military officer—specifically Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona—from public speech. Hegseth's argument is that Kelly, as a retiree, remains bound by military rules prohibiting statements he deems prejudicial to good order and discipline. The court seemed skeptical of that position, according to coverage from Reason. The panel's questions suggested concerns about weaponizing military retiree status to silence political speech.

HAST Moving to the U.K., where Thursday's regional elections have handed the Labour Party significant losses. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government watched Labour candidates lose races across the country, while Reform UK gained ground. The Christian Science Monitor is reading this as a referendum on Starmer himself, with voters expressing frustration over the direction of his administration.

KELI In Lebanon, Israeli military operations are intensifying across the southern part of the country. Al Jazeera's correspondent Obaida Hitto was in Tyre reporting on recent strikes. That reporting is part of a broader escalation pattern in the region that we've been monitoring.

HAST ProPublica has published an investigation into the use of tear gas and pepper spray on children during recent law enforcement operations. The reporting examines potential long-term health consequences of chemical agent exposure in young people, documented under current administration policies.

KELI The Defense Department released declassified files on Friday spanning decades of reports on unidentifiable aerial phenomena—what the military now calls UAPs. NPR covered the release, which includes Cold War-era accounts of rotating disc-shaped objects and more recent sightings of metallic elliptical shapes. The documents are now publicly available.

HAST And in pharmaceutical news, Capricor Therapeutics is accusing its partner Nippon Shinyaku of dragging its feet on bringing a Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment to market. STAT News reports Capricor says the rollout has been mishandled.

KELI On this day in 1946, Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel detonated explosives at a Soviet memorial in Tallinn that preceded what would become known as the Bronze Soldier.

HAST That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back next hour. From Inkwell.