U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative memorandum to extend the existing ceasefire by 60 days and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but the draft still requires President Donald Trump's approval.

The draft would bar Iranian tolls on commercial transit, require Iran to remove mines in the strait within 30 days and envision a gradual U.S. lifting of its naval blockade while negotiators begin a 30-60 day follow-on on nuclear issues.

Carroll County deputy Logan Utt was fatally shot during a welfare check Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Virginia, and a manhunt is underway for an armed suspect.

A second deputy was struck in his ballistic vest and was evaluated and is reported to be in stable condition. CBS News Law enforcement launched a manhunt and said the suspect is considered armed and extremely dangerous. CBS News Gov. Abigail Spanberger urged residents with information to contact the Virginia State Police.

New Jersey State Police in riot gear clashed with protesters outside the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark on Friday night, May 29, deploying horses, tear gas and noise devices to disperse the crowd.

Troopers said they moved in after protesters refused orders to relocate to a designated First Amendment zone and blocked vehicle access to the facility's sally port. Fox News Witnesses and video showed demonstrators dragging mattresses, wooden pallets and concrete into Doremus Avenue and damaging unmarked ICE transport vehicles. Fox News Federal officials said arrests were made on multiple nights, and prosecutors charged a man they say kicked and bit two ICE officers during a May 28 confrontation. Fox News The FBI also said it arrested a suspect who was recorded threatening to kill an ICE officer's family.

An ICE agent charged in a January nonfatal north Minneapolis shooting was arrested in Hidalgo County, Texas on a Hennepin County warrant, local reporting said.

He faces multiple counts of second-degree assault and a false-report charge tied to alleged discrepancies between his account and video and witness evidence. Minnesota Reformer FOX 9 also reported the arrest in Texas.

Two people were killed Friday night when a motorcycle collided with a Metro Mobility bus around 8:20 p.m. in the 10600 block of Sheridan Avenue South in Bloomington.

Both motorcycle riders died despite life-saving efforts by first responders.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Bunia in Ituri province on Saturday, May 30, 2026, and said the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly and outpacing the response.

WHO officials reported about 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said Uganda has recorded nine cases and one death linked to the outbreak. PBS News Tedros warned there is no licensed vaccine or approved treatment for the Bundibugyo strain and urged donors to close a widening funding gap. New York Times Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups called this one of the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreaks on record and said arson and attacks have forced patients to flee treatment tents. PBS News The United States has pledged roughly $80 million in additional aid and tightened travel rules for people recently in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan. NPR U.S. authorities have also rerouted and concentrated arrival screening for those travelers at select U.S. airports. NPR A planned U.S. quarantine and treatment unit in Kenya was temporarily blocked by a Kenyan court days before it was to open.

On Saturday, May 30, 2026, DFL delegates in Rochester formally endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar for Minnesota governor, while GOP delegates in Duluth backed former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze for the open U.S. Senate seat.

Delegates in Rochester backed Klobuchar on the first ballot, and the convention also endorsed Secretary of State Steve Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison for re-election. FOX 9 At the Duluth GOP convention, delegates also endorsed Ron Schutz for attorney general, Tad Jude for secretary of state and Nate George for state auditor. FOX 9 Reporters said Republicans are expected to endorse a gubernatorial candidate next, while Democrats will move to endorse candidates for U.S. Senate and state auditor.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, May 30, 2026, to ramp up military spending to counter what he called China's "historic military buildup." NPR

In his prepared remarks Hegseth did not mention Taiwan. NPR During a post-speech question-and-answer session he downplayed U.S. munitions shortfalls, said the United States had enough weapons, and said any future arms sales to Taiwan depend solely on President Trump, adding there has been "no change in our status." NPR He told the audience U.S.-China relations were "better than they've been in many years" after President Trump's recent summit with Xi Jinping and warned a Pacific dominated by a single hegemon would undermine regional balance. NPR Hegseth also said the United States would only accept an Iran deal that ensures Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and that the U.S. was ready to resume strikes if no agreement is reached, noting some U.S. strikes in the prior week.

The Treasury launched the Trump Accounts app on Thursday, May 28, 2026, rolling it out on all major platforms as the front end for a new federal child savings program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, that the app would arrive Thursday "on all major platforms." PBS He called Trump Accounts a "great symbol of the 250th anniversary" and said nearly 6 million children had already been signed up ahead of the program's official July 4 launch.

A United Airlines flight from Chicago O'Hare to Minneapolis was diverted to Madison on Friday after a passenger repeatedly attempted to breach the cockpit and was subdued.

Air-traffic-control and scanner audio described multiple attempts to get into the cockpit. Fox News The audio said five off-duty law-enforcement officers on board restrained the passenger in a seat.

The National Transportation Safety Board last week temporarily removed thousands of online investigation dockets after learning artificial intelligence tools could reconstruct cockpit audio from posted spectrogram images.

Spectrogram images from the cockpit voice recorder of UPS Flight 2976, which crashed after takeoff from Louisville in 2025 and killed 15 people, were used to recreate approximate cockpit audio. NPR Federal law bars the agency from releasing cockpit voice recordings, and NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the agency is reviewing materials and procedures to protect sensitive onboard audio and video.

U.S. investigators will comb the Hookers' seized sailboat and send divers into a newly identified zone in the Sea of Abaco as they renew efforts to find missing Michigan woman Lynette Hooker.

Bahamian authorities have approved U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service divers to search areas in the Sea of Abaco identified by investigators. CBS News The U.S.-flagged sailboat Soulmate was seized in U.S. waters in early May and moved from Fort Pierce to Fort Lauderdale so it can be hauled out and combed for computers and other evidence. Fox News Investigators hope to extract data from devices aboard the vessel, including an infrared camera, and other physical evidence is being processed at the FBI laboratory in Quantico. CBS News Family members have provided DNA samples to assist in identifying any remains or biological evidence recovered during the renewed search.

A federal jury in Spokane convicted Jac Archer, Justice Forral and Bajun Mavalwalla II on federal conspiracy charges on Thursday, May 28, 2026, for blocking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement transfer.

The case stems from a June 2025 protest that aimed to block an ICE transfer bus carrying two detained immigrants from Spokane to Tacoma. Fox News Former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart and five others pleaded guilty to related conspiracy charges in exchange for reduced sentences. Fox News A Washington state legislator and relatives of a defendant publicly criticized the case's handling and warned it could chill protest rights.

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday, May 29, 2026, directing federal health agencies to align vaccine guidance with a January HHS study that calls for narrowing the childhood vaccine schedule.

The order tells all federal agencies, not just the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to align actions, regulations and funding with the study's recommendations. MS NOW It instructs the CDC to review the report, "take any appropriate steps" to update recommendations, and to provide "maximum flexibility to parents and doctors" while preserving current vaccine access.

U.S. Southern Command carried out another strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on Friday, May 29, 2026, killing three people and raising the campaign's reported death toll to at least 202.

Southern Command released what appears to be its first color video of the attack, showing the small vessel engulfed in a fireball and debris scattered in the water. CBS News This was the third U.S. strike on alleged drug boats announced this week. CBS News SOUTHCOM said a May 26 strike killed one man and left two survivors. CBS News It said a May 27 strike killed two men.

Brooklyn Park police have arrested a man in connection with a body found in a neighborhood drainage pond, authorities said.

The body was identified as 27-year-old Jontae Lee, who had been missing for nearly three months, and his family is publicly demanding answers.

Emily Rose Kernanen, 22, of Bethel, was charged Friday with two counts of fifth-degree assault after surveillance video showed her slapping two children at Compass Child Care in East Bethel on April 23, 2026.

Prosecutors filed two counts of fifth-degree assault against Kernanen. FOX 9 Authorities said the charges were prompted by a co-worker's report and by surveillance footage that shows Kernanen slapping two children and using the word "bitch" toward one child.

A court filing on Friday, May 29, 2026, requested that Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca be removed as lead prosecutor in the Justice Department's case charging James Comey over a social-media post in North Carolina.

Federal prosecutor Timothy Severo was substituted in as the government's lawyer on the Comey docket. CBS News Court filings show Petracca has been removed from at least three other cases in the past week, and the filings do not state a reason.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Friday, May 29, 2026, temporarily blocked the Justice Department from moving forward with the roughly $1.7 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, halting payouts and implementation while she reviews lawsuits.

Brinkema's two-page order bars transferring money to the fund, considering or disbursing claims and creating or operating the program. MS NOW The judge scheduled a June 12 hearing to consider longer-term relief. MS NOW The fund was created under a January 2026 settlement of President Trump's civil suit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. PBS It would be run by a five-member board that the Justice Department had not yet named.

A charter bus on southbound I-95 in Stafford County, Virginia, struck multiple vehicles at about 2:35 a.m. Central on Friday, May 29, 2026, killing five people and sending dozens to hospitals.

Virginia State Police said 44 people were taken to hospitals, including three in critical condition. PBS News Police identified four family members killed in a burned car as Dmitri and Ecaterina Doncev, 45 and 44, and their children Emily, 13, and Mark, 7, all of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and named the fifth victim as a 25-year-old woman from Worcester. PBS News State police said traffic had slowed for an upcoming work zone when the bus failed to slow and struck six vehicles, and that criminal charges are pending as investigators, including an NTSB go-team, review the scene.

On Friday, May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper permanently blocked an effort to add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and ordered the name removed.

Cooper's 94-page opinion said the Kennedy Center's organic statute permits the center to be named for John F. Kennedy only and that the board exceeded its authority by seeking to add another formal name without an act of Congress. MS NOW His order requires removal of all physical signage and online references to names such as "Trump Kennedy Center" within 14 days. NPR Cooper also sharply criticized the board's March 16, 2026 vote as "ill-informed and seemingly preordained," saying trustees lacked sufficient information before approving the closure and renaming.

Jose Medina, accused in the March 19 shooting death of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman, was charged Friday after jail staff found a 6-inch improvised shank in his pants at Cook County Jail.

Jail staff found the six-inch weapon in Medina's pants pocket during a search about 8 a.m. Thursday. Fox News The Cook County Sheriff's Office said the shank was a sharpened piece of metal with a handle wrapped in medical tape. Fox News The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved a new felony charge of possession of contraband in a penal institution Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday, May 28, 2026, that it is ending race-based admissions criteria for the Coast Guard's College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative and requiring selections be merit-based.

The CSPI had given admission preferences to students at colleges that met quotas for certain racial groups, officials said. Fox News DHS General Counsel James Percival and Justice Department Civil Division chief Brett Shumate said the quotas violated equal-protection principles and that access must be based exclusively on merit.

On May 29, 2026, Donald Trump is no longer expected to speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te before a possible fall visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the U.S.

Trump had said in mid-May he would speak with Lai before deciding on a pending $14 billion defensive arms package for Taiwan. CBSNews The sale has been under consideration since January and awaits Secretary of State Marco Rubio's signature.

Mohamed Rage, 28, is being held on a murder-charge hold after a man was fatally shot outside the Canterbury Park Expo Center during an Eid al-Adha prayer service. FOX 9 Prosecutors said they will file formal charges against him Monday.

Police identified the victim as 26-year-old Khalid Ibrahim Abdi, who was shot multiple times and died at Hennepin County Medical Center. FOX 9 Abdi had recently married, was expecting a child, worked as a field representative for AFSCME Council 5, and a fundraiser has raised more than $34,000 for his family.

On Friday, May 29, 2026, U.S. Southern Command commander Gen. Francis Donovan met Cuban Gen. Roberto Legrá Sotolongo at the edge of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to discuss security matters along the base fence line.

SOUTHCOM described the encounter as a brief exchange on operational security matters along the Guantanamo fence line.

St. Paul police now count the January 30 assault of 66-year-old Thomas Stockstill as the city's sixth homicide after Stockstill died on May 2.

The assault happened around 4:30 p.m. on the 1500 block of Marion Street in St. Paul. FOX 9 Police say 22-year-old James Sprowls, who called 911, admitted punching Stockstill; he was charged with first-degree assault, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Federal Judge Samantha Elliott ordered New Hampshire on Friday, May 29, 2026, to loosen its proof-of-citizenship voter registration rules.

Elliott described her ruling as narrow and said she was not deciding whether proof-of-citizenship requirements are constitutional in general. PBS Her opinion said a 2024 change that eliminated sworn affidavits removed "the only method of proof available to a significant number of New Hampshire voters." PBS During town elections in fall 2025 some voters struggled to obtain passports, birth certificates or other documents after the law took effect, the ruling noted. PBS The New Hampshire attorney general said the state will appeal and called the requirements a "common-sense approach" to election integrity, while plaintiffs called the law one of the most restrictive in the nation.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi acknowledged "redaction errors" in the Justice Department's released Epstein files during a voluntary, closed-door, transcribed House Oversight Committee interview at Capitol Hill on Friday, May 29, 2026.

She defended the department's overall handling of the files while conceding mistakes in how some redactions were applied. CBS News The session was voluntary, not held under oath, and it was transcribed; a transcript could be released later and Bondi remains criminally liable for false statements to Congress.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., declined on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 to issue a preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's March 31 executive order on mail-in voting. New York Times The ruling leaves the order in place for now while federal rulemaking and litigation continue.

Nichols said plaintiffs have not shown the concrete, imminent harm required for injunctive relief because agencies have not finalized or implemented rules under the order. New York Times The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create state-by-state adult U.S.-citizen lists and instructs the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those federal lists. New York Times Nichols said plaintiffs may renew their motions if the Postal Service issues a final rule that affects them or if DHS lists omit eligible voters because of identifiable flaws.

Three climbers from a Latvian expedition were confirmed dead and a fourth was rescued after four fell near Denali Pass on Mount McKinley's West Buttress route on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Denali National Park and Preserve search-and-rescue personnel evacuated the surviving climber off the mountain late Thursday afternoon, May 28, 2026. PBS News The four were part of a seven-person Latvian team; three teammates rendered initial aid then returned to high camp at about 17,000 feet. PBS News Park statistics note more than 130 people have died on the mountain overall, with many fatalities occurring on the traverse between high camp and Denali Pass, mostly during descents.

Early trial results released in late April 2026 show experimental pill daraxonrasib roughly doubled median overall survival for pancreatic cancer patients versus standard chemotherapy in an early-stage clinical trial.

Patients on daraxonrasib had median overall survival of 13.2 months versus 6.7 months for those on standard chemotherapy. PBS Among 26 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients with KRAS G12 mutations, more than one-third had at least 30 percent tumor reduction on CT scans. PBS In that subgroup, median survival was 13.1 months and progression-free survival was 8.5 months.

Former Arcadia mayor Eileen Li Wang pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday, May 29, 2026, to acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

Prosecutors say she worked under the direction and control of Chinese government officials from 2020 to 2022 to spread pro-Beijing messaging inside the United States without registering as a foreign agent. Fox News The offense carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Fox News A judge scheduled her sentencing for Oct. 6, 2026 at 9 a.m. local time and allowed her to remain free on bond pending that hearing.

Minnesota recorded the largest single week of flu hospitalizations in state surveillance history during the 2025-26 season, when 964 people were admitted with influenza, the Minnesota Department of Health reported.

The season saw 5,504 total flu hospitalizations, the third-highest total since 2008-09. FOX 9 Health officials recorded 217 flu deaths, including three pediatric fatalities. FOX 9 Officials also tracked 274 school outbreaks and 119 long-term care outbreaks. FOX 9 Influenza A (H3N2) was the most common strain identified.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily released Jose Yugar-Cruz from an Iowa jail on Friday, May 29, 2026, halting a planned deportation to the Democratic Republic of Congo during a regional Ebola emergency.

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a health emergency on May 17, 2026, with more than 1,000 cases and over 240 deaths reported as of Wednesday. CBS News ICE had rearrested Yugar-Cruz in April 2026 after Congo agreed to accept him, a move tied to a Trump administration policy of sending some migrants to third countries.

The FBI and Texas law enforcement arrested 276 suspected child predators and rescued 89 children during a multiagency sweep in North Texas in March and April 2026.

The operation, called Operation Soteria Shield, involved 91 law enforcement agencies across Texas. Fox News Authorities said the arrests were tied to suspected child exploitation offenses.

Two people were wounded and a suspect was arrested after a shooting around 8:24 a.m. Friday, May 29, 2026, at 9th Street South and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

One victim was a 25-year-old man who was meeting the suspect. FOX 9 The other was a 44-year-old employee of a nearby business described as an innocent bystander, and both suffered non-life-threatening wounds. FOX 9 Police tracked the suspect to an apartment in the 1600 block of 1st Avenue South and arrested him after setting a standoff-style perimeter. FOX 9 Officers recovered a firearm under a search warrant at the scene. FOX 9 MPD spokesperson Sgt. Garrett Parten linked the response to the department's upcoming Operation Safe Summer effort that begins June 5 and said there are more officers on the force than at this time last year.

About 150 Democratic lawmakers filed an amicus brief on Thursday, May 28, 2026, asking a court to block construction of a new White House East Wing ballroom until Congress gives explicit consent and appropriations.

The brief targets a privately funded $400 million demolition and reconstruction the Trump administration is pursuing. CBS News Lawmakers note Congress has appropriated about $2.5 million for routine repairs under an existing maintenance statute. CBS News Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has defended the ballroom and related secure facilities as urgent national security needs after recent shootings at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. CBS News Ethics groups and preservationists filed separate briefs warning about conflicts from private ballroom donations and arguing the president lacks inherent authority to demolish historic federal property within a national park.

The Justice Department sued the University of California, Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, alleging the school allowed an anti-Israel encampment that created "Judenrein" conditions and permitted antisemitic violence against Jewish students.

The complaint says UCLA's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion office "routinely ignored" more than 100 complaints of antisemitic harassment, including claims that students were blocked from buildings, beaten, pepper-sprayed and struck with sticks.

Louisiana's Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map on Friday, May 29, 2026, that is expected to give the GOP one additional U.S. House seat.

The plan dismantles a majority-Black district that had stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport and eliminates the seat held by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields. NPR It preserves a single majority-Black district centered on New Orleans while adding parts of Baton Rouge to Rep. Troy Carter's district. PBS News The Louisiana Senate approved the map 28-10 and sent it to Gov. Jeff Landry, who is expected to sign it into law. PBS News Landry earlier postponed the May 16 U.S. House primary to November to give lawmakers time to redraw districts after the Supreme Court ruling.

A new lawsuit filed Friday alleges GKN Aerospace negligently exposed Garden Grove-area residents to chemical vapors during a Memorial Day weekend evacuation that displaced about 50,000 people in Orange County, California.

The complaint accuses GKN of negligence, trespass and nuisance and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, saying vapors and odors invaded homes and caused emotional distress and property-value stigma. Fox News Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state emergency in Orange County and President Donald Trump approved a federal emergency declaration after the incident; local reporting shows at least 44 lawsuits have been filed so far.

Israeli and Lebanese military delegations opened Pentagon-mediated talks in Washington on Friday morning, May 29, 2026, aimed at enforcing the ceasefire and stabilizing the volatile border.

The U.S.-brokered security coordination track will focus on enforcing the mid-April Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, possible Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon, and expectations for the Lebanese Armed Forces in relation to Hezbollah. Fox News The current ceasefire was extended on May 15 for 45 days, adding urgency for tangible progress before that extension lapses.

Mohamed A. Hared, 26, was sentenced Friday, May 29, 2026, to 128 months in prison for second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony in the Lakeville shooting.

The victim was identified as 22-year-old coworker Ahmed Ibrahim Cariif, who was shot in the chest and died in the Amazon warehouse parking lot on June 29, 2024. FOX 9 Hared pleaded guilty in January and was given credit for 700 days already served.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test Thursday night, May 28, 2026, at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, threatening schedules tied to NASA's Artemis moon program.

The blast shook nearby homes and produced an orange fireball visible from local beaches, and Space Force officials said no one was hurt and there was no threat from fumes or other hazards. NPR Emergency crews remained at the pad for more than an hour, and officials said the New Glenn vehicle was destroyed. CBS The 48 Amazon-owned internet satellites planned for the early-June New Glenn launch were not on the rocket and were reported undamaged, and a separate United Launch Alliance Atlas V was still scheduled to launch Friday night.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Friday that Ukraine is bracing for "big attacks" by Russia on the night of May 29 or May 30, involving drones plus cruise and ballistic missiles.

He also renewed an urgent plea for more U.S. Patriot PAC-3 missiles and other air-defense ammunition to fill what he called Ukraine's anti-ballistic deficit. PBS Zelenskyy urged civilians — especially children — to be "very, very careful" and to use bomb shelters during the expected assaults.

Christian Castro, an ICE agent sought in a Minneapolis shooting, was arrested Friday, May 29, 2026, in Texas on a Hennepin County warrant.

He was taken into custody by agents from the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog arm with assistance from Texas and Minnesota law enforcement. CBS News The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked Castro's whereabouts to Texas, leading to his arrest on a Hennepin County warrant issued earlier in May.

Gov. Tim Walz signed nine bills on Tuesday and 14 on Wednesday as the 2026 legislative session ended in St. Paul.

The package includes SF 3432, which boosts Minnesota State Capitol security, creates a Security Services Task Force, and establishes a database of elected officials' emergency contact information. FOX 9 SF 4401 streamlines medical and adult-use cannabis supply chains and directs the Office of Cannabis Management to study a potential therapeutic psilocybin program. FOX 9 HF 3900 puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot to increase distributions from the Permanent School Fund to all districts without raising income or property taxes, and it would take effect July 1, 2027 if voters approve it. FOX 9 HF 4252 funds the Fostering Independence Grant Program, expands protections and academic accommodations for pregnant and parenting students, and tightens fraud prevention in state financial aid by requiring identity verification at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. FOX 9 HF 2433 funds school safety efforts, including a statewide anonymous threat reporting system, and creates a compensatory revenue hold harmless to protect districts from drops in compensatory aid.

The United Nations added Israeli and Russian armed and security forces to its 2025 blacklist of parties credibly implicated in conflict-related sexual violence.

The report lists 77 parties in all, including Hamas. PBS It says U.N. teams documented patterns of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees and verified incidents affecting 14 men, 7 women, 9 boys and 1 girl from Gaza and the West Bank in 2023-2025. PBS Verified violations attributed to Israeli military, prison service, special forces and police units included rape, gang rape, rape with objects, genital injuries, forced nudity and abusive strip and cavity searches. PBS The report also adds Russian forces for the first time for sexual violence against prisoners of war and detained civilians during the war in Ukraine. PBS Israel's U.N. ambassador Danny Danon and Russia's U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia both denounced the listing and said they would formally challenge the report's findings.

The Department of Justice sued Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington on Thursday, May 28, 2026, over state limits on undercover license plates sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other Department of Homeland Security components.

The DOJ says the state policies discriminate and obstruct federal law enforcement under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause in immigration enforcement. Fox News Massachusetts officials say the state issues undercover plates for criminal probes but refuses requests tied to civil immigration enforcement, and Gov. Maura Healey called ICE tactics "unconstitutional." Fox News Oregon has imposed a general moratorium on issuing undercover plates to federal agents, a stricter rule than the other states named in the suits. Fox News Maine and Washington likewise decline plates for civil immigration investigations while allowing them for criminal work, and Gov. Bob Ferguson said Washington provides "hundreds" of undercover plates every year and will defend the lawsuit.

Authorities expanded an interstate manhunt for 38-year-old Jesse Phillips after he was named to Tennessee's Most Wanted list following a fatal shooting on Parker Road in Pickett County on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Clinton County, Kentucky, deputies found his black pickup truck with a yellow hood parked at a home on Norman Cole Road in Albany. Fox News The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation added Phillips to its Most Wanted list, called him armed and dangerous and is offering a reward for tips that lead to his arrest.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the South Carolina Senate failed to invoke cloture to end debate on a Trump-backed congressional map, falling short of the 26 votes needed after 12 Republicans joined 12 Democrats.

The proposed map was explicitly drawn to dismantle Rep. James Clyburn's majority-Black Democratic district and to push for a 7-0 Republican congressional delegation in the 2026 elections.

Kenneth Law pleaded guilty in Newmarket, Ontario, on Friday, May 29, 2026, to counseling or aiding suicide, and prosecutors agreed to withdraw 14 murder charges as part of a plea deal.

Police say Law sold sodium nitrite online and is suspected of shipping at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries. CBS News The withdrawn murder charges were tied to 14 Ontario victims aged 16 to 36, officials said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday, May 28, that the U.S. will designate Brazil's two largest drug gangs—the First Command of the Capital (PCC) and Red Command (CV)—as foreign terrorist organizations on June 5.

Until June 5 the groups are being treated as specially designated global terrorists. PBS That status immediately restricts their ability to conduct financial transactions and allows the U.S. to treat them as threats to American citizens.

Waukegan alderman Sylvia Sims Bolton turned herself in Wednesday, May 27, 2026, after authorities charged her with allegedly casting a mail ballot for her deceased mother in Lake County, Illinois.

Mary Sims' mail ballot was issued in the first tranche of February 2026 mailings, and her voter registration was canceled days later after the Illinois Department of Public Health reported her death to the state Board of Elections system. Fox News Lake County's automated ballot-processing system flagged the returned ballot because the death record and registration cancellation predated its submission at a drop box, triggering extra review and a sheriff's investigation.

Retired Austin detective John Jones told "48 Hours" on May 29, 2026 that DNA evidence and a matching bullet casing link serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers to the 1991 yogurt shop murders in Austin.

Jones said the gun Brashers used to kill himself in January 1999 is believed to be consistent with a casing recovered from a drain inside the shop. 48 Hours Austin police formally identified Brashers through DNA testing in September 2025, and Jones is one of the original investigators now publicly detailing the connection. 48 Hours The revelation comes after a Feb. 19, 2026 "actual innocence" ruling for four men once accused and a May 2026 $35 million settlement by the City of Austin.

The U.S. Army tested AI-driven kill chains and armed robots during the African Lion 2026 exercise in southern Morocco, sharpening questions about speed and human oversight.

A Joint Operations Center in Agadir used Palantir's Project Maven platform with Anthropic's Claude large-language interface to fuse sensor data and guide targeting decisions. CBS Lt. Col. Ramon Leonguerrero said a kill-chain decision that once took two to three hours was completed in about three minutes during a drill. CBS U.S. troops exercised with an armed ground robot, explosive drones and a quadcopter prototype carrying a 9mm rifle.

A Russian drone crossed into Romanian airspace and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building in Galaţi, Romania, on Friday, May 29, 2026. New York Times The strike injured two people, sparked a fire on the 10th floor and roof, and forced about 70 residents to evacuate.

Romanian radar tracked the drone before it hit, and officials said its explosive payload detonated on impact, scattering debris and igniting the roof fire. Fox News Romanian F-16s and a military helicopter were scrambled and given authorization to engage threatening drones, but they did not shoot this one down before it struck. Fox News Two people—a woman and her child—were hospitalized with minor injuries and others were treated for panic attacks; no fatalities were reported.

An explosion and fire at a two-story apartment complex in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood around 1:20 p.m. Thursday killed at least three people and injured at least four, officials said.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said the mission had shifted from rescue to recovery as crews searched rubble for victims. PBS Officials identified the dead as two women and a child and said one person remained in critical but stable condition. New York Times Atmos Energy said a construction crew unrelated to the company damaged a nearby natural gas pipeline and that gas service was shut off while investigators worked.

An Amtrak work train fire near Penn Station about 12:32 a.m. Central Friday halted NJ Transit service into New York and snarled the morning commute.

Firefighters elevated the blaze to a second alarm at 2:43 a.m., mobilizing 46 units and 141 FDNY and EMS personnel before getting it under control by 4:05 a.m. Fox News Five civilians were injured; two were seriously hurt and taken to Bellevue Hospital, while three refused medical attention. Fox News NJ Transit suspended service between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station after flames damaged overhead wires and track infrastructure, and it is cross-honoring fares on PATH and on buses while Amtrak makes repairs.

Pope Leo XIV issued his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, at the Vatican on Monday, May 25, 2026, combining moral guidance on artificial intelligence with a formal apology for the Holy See's role in legitimizing slavery.

The document forbids entrusting irreversible, lethal decisions to AI and urges binding international rules on autonomous weapons, mass-surveillance limits, and protections for workers and patients. New York Times Leo calls for "disarming" AI and compares its governance to nuclear arms control while warning that a handful of tech firms now concentrate data and power.

Best Buy is planning to add smaller urban and suburban store formats under incoming CEO Jason Bonfig as it reshapes its physical footprint to reach denser and underserved markets.

Bonfig plans small stores of 12,000 to 15,000 square feet and mid-sized stores of 20,000 to 25,000 square feet. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal He called the locations "purpose-built formats" rather than scaled-down big boxes and said they are aimed at denser urban markets and underserved suburban areas.

U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks ruled Thursday, May 28, 2026, that Alabama's nitrogen gas execution method is constitutional, a decision that clears a legal path toward a scheduled June 11 execution.

Marks issued the ruling after the first U.S. bench trial focused on nitrogen hypoxia, a method used in seven Alabama executions and one in Louisiana since 2024. CBS News She wrote that Alabama's protocol likely causes one to three minutes of severe air hunger but does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an ozone alert for the Twin Cities Friday, warning residents about elevated ozone levels as the metro warms.

Forecasters expect a high near 87°F in the Twin Cities, with mid-to-upper 80s across central and southern Minnesota and low 90s in northern Minnesota. FOX 9 Friday will have filtered sunshine under a veil of high clouds and light southeast winds around 5-10 mph, conditions that can allow ozone to build.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the department is drawing up plans to stop processing international flights at sanctuary-city airports, a move that could disrupt summer and World Cup travel.

Mullin told Fox News the Department of Homeland Security is "currently drawing up plans" to stop customs and immigration processing for international travelers at those airports. MS NOW The U.S. Travel Association said Mullin privately told travel executives the move was real and that he was serious about pursuing it. MS NOW Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "We shouldn't shut down air travel in a state that doesn't agree with our politics." CBS News

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said on May 29, 2026 that 313 FAA facilities remain "essentially running off Compaq computers", creating efficiency and reliability risks though the system remains safe.

He said many of the sites still rely on floppy disks and compact discs for software updates and operation. CBS Bedford warned the 1970s- and 1980s-era machines present a "real reliability risk" while insisting air traffic control is safe but inefficient.

Ken Paxton was projected to win the Texas GOP Senate primary runoff over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, making Paxton the Republican nominee who will face Democrat James Talarico in November.

Cornyn conceded at his election-night event, saying he trusts Texas voters, respects their decision and will support the Republican ticket in November. CBS News The bitter, nationally watched contest drew roughly $100 million in spending, making it the most expensive Senate primary in history. NPR Donald Trump endorsed Paxton during early voting the week before the runoff and Paxton campaigned as a MAGA loyalist, moves Republicans said badly weakened Cornyn's campaign. NPR National Republican groups, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, poured millions behind Cornyn as the party's safer general-election choice. CBS News Paxton has faced long-running legal and personal controversies, which Democrats and some Republicans say could make the November race competitive.

Hawaii police arrested Jacob Baker, 36, of Pahoa, on Thursday, May 28, 2026, ending a multi-day manhunt for the suspect in three killings on the Big Island.

Officers arrested him without incident after a tip led searchers to a small cave or grassy roadside area where he was hiding, police said. CBS News Police now say they are confident Baker was involved in all three deaths, but they have not disclosed how he was identified, what evidence links him to the killings, or any possible motive. Fox News Autopsies found 69-year-old Robert Shine died of strangulation, 69-year-old John Carse died of sharp-force trauma, and a 79-year-old man suffered apparent blunt-force injuries and has not been publicly named.

The Democratic National Committee released its full 192-page autopsy of the 2024 campaign on Thursday, May 21, 2026, a document the party's chair publicly disowned.

The draft was written by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera and was completed in December 2025. PBS Every page carries a disclaimer saying the DNC was not given the underlying sourcing and could not independently verify many of the report's assertions. CBS News Chair Ken Martin said he was "not proud" of the product, that it "does not meet my standards," and that he could not "in good faith" put the DNC's stamp of approval on it.

The Bipartisan Policy Center released a report on May 29, 2026 saying replacing U.S. voting equipment with VVSG 2.0-certified machines would cost about $2.71 billion and could take decades.

The report projects that by the next presidential election the average U.S. voting machine will be 9.3 years old, roughly the typical replacement point. NPR It says VVSG 2.0 requires auditable paper records and other security features, guidelines President Trump highlighted in a 2025 executive order on elections. NPR BPC calculates a $2.71 billion pricetag to replace all systems and warns that without a large federal push, widespread adoption may not happen until the 2040s.

U.S. health authorities have ordered quarantines and exposure monitoring after a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius expedition cruise ship that infected 11 people and killed three.

Officials say the quarantines target passengers who recently disembarked in the United States and aim to prevent further spread while contacts are assessed.

On May 14, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized about 391 pounds of cocaine from a 25-foot vessel off Puerto Rico after a Black Hawk helicopter helped stop it.

Agents recovered five bales containing about 391 pounds (178 kg) of cocaine and detained three Dominican Republic nationals. Fox News The San Juan Marine Unit deployed two boats to intercept the suspected smuggling vessel. Fox News CBP said the Black Hawk crew used air disabling fire to stop the vessel before agents boarded and made arrests.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, GCHQ Director Anne Keast-Butler, head of Britain's signals intelligence agency, said nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine, the highest on-the-record government estimate yet.

Keast-Butler said the estimate comes from new British intelligence and represents the highest on-the-record Russian military death toll released by any government. CBS Analyst Michael Clarke said the figure should now be regarded as an official UK estimate. CBS He added it may undercount deaths because many badly treated frontline wounded and non-Russian troops likely died after being wounded.

A 12-year-old boy drowned after a school raft capsized on the Lehigh River near D&L Trail mile marker 99 in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains on Wednesday afternoon, May 27, 2026.

Twelve-year-old Cesar Albarracin Guncay of the Sag Harbor Union Free School District was recovered from the river and pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m., the Carbon County coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning. Fox News The inflatable raft had five students aboard when it capsized. Fox News The outing was an annual school rafting trip that included 74 other students. Fox News The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has opened an investigation into the incident.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee filed suit to defend Missouri's new congressional map. Fox News They asked a court to bar certification of a referendum that would restore the prior map until petition signatures are fully verified.

The complaint says Democrats and allied groups have already spent more than $6 million on unsuccessful legal challenges to Missouri's maps. Fox News Republican lawyers cited the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Louisiana redistricting ruling to argue against race-based map drawing and to defend legislative authority over mapmaking.

A federal grand jury has indicted International Falls resident Joseph Andrew Bragg on charges he kidnapped a 7-year-old Zimmerman girl and produced child sexual abuse material involving another minor.

The indictment accuses Bragg of kidnapping the 7-year-old and of producing child sexual abuse material involving a second minor.

Russia and the Taliban signed a military-technical cooperation pact on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at an international security forum in Russia.

The pact was agreed after a meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob. Fox News The Taliban Defense Ministry confirmed Yaqoob's travel and participation, but neither Moscow nor Kabul disclosed specific provisions of the agreement. Fox News Shoigu also used the forum to call on Western countries to unfreeze Afghan assets as part of the new cooperation.

Eleven workers were killed when a white-liquor storage tank ruptured and imploded at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging pulp and paper mill in Longview, Washington, at about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Crews have recovered six of nine workers who were previously listed as missing, bringing the confirmed death toll to 11. PBS News Three bodies remain unrecovered and are presumed dead, and eight people were injured in the collapse, including one firefighter. PBS News Officials say the failed tank released more than 500,000 gallons of caustic white liquor and that some contamination reached nearby ditches and the Columbia River, though EPA monitoring has found no noticeable effect on the river so far. PBS News Responders described the site as a mass-casualty scene, decontaminated patients and formally shifted from rescue to a daylight recovery mission while crews worked to stabilize the buckled tank.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday, May 28, 2026, the bureau has set up a special operations center at its Washington headquarters to centralize threat data and shore up security for the 2026 World Cup.

Patel identified cyberattacks, lone-wolf violence and hostile drones as the event's top threats. Fox News He said the FBI has technology to disable hostile drones and is sharing that capability with local police through expanded counter-drone training.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, a state court in Wiener Neustadt convicted 21-year-old Beran A. of terrorism charges tied to a plotted attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert and sentenced him to 15 years.

He was tried alongside co-defendant Arda K., but prosecutors said only Beran A. was charged specifically over the Vienna concert plot. PBS The court convicted both men of traveling and training for terrorist purposes, membership in a terrorist organization and contributing to attempted murder, and Arda K. received a 12-year sentence. PBS Beran A.'s lawyer said she will discuss with him whether to appeal, and both defendants listened stoically as the verdicts were read.

Oak Grove filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court seeking permission to use paper voter rosters in the 2026 election, challenging Anoka County's planned electronic roster system.

City officials and the Upper Midwest Law Center argue state law allows paper rosters and say county and state election officials are overstepping by insisting on the electronic system.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Shannon O'Connor was sentenced to 35 years in a California prison by a Santa Clara County judge for abuse tied to teen parties.

A jury had convicted O'Connor on 48 felony counts, including child endangerment, furnishing alcohol to minors and sex-related offenses, along with multiple misdemeanors. Fox News Deputy District Attorney Joanna Lee had sought a 41-year, 10-month term in a sentencing memorandum that cited separate instances of endangerment and sexual abuse. Fox News Victims and parents delivered emotional statements describing grooming, heavy underage drinking and long-term trauma from parties at O'Connor's Los Gatos home during the 2020-21 school year.

MLB owners formally countered the players' union with a proposal that would impose a hard salary cap, set a payroll floor and overhaul local media revenue during CBA talks on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in New York City.

The owners' offer would cap luxury-tax payrolls at $245.3 million and establish a $171.2 million payroll floor, with the cap figure including benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. Fox News The plan includes a phase-in for high-spending clubs such as the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies, while lower-spending teams like the Marlins, Guardians, Rays and White Sox would be required to raise payrolls to meet the floor. Fox News Owners proposed a seven-year deal that would centralize local media rights, split that revenue equally among all 30 clubs, give players a 50-50 share of the pool and eliminate the current revenue-sharing plan. Fox News The proposal would use an escrow mechanism to keep existing contracts fully guaranteed and allow guaranteed deals under the cap framework. Fox News MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said the plan would "level the playing field" and help address local TV blackout concerns, while union negotiator Bruce Meyer said owners seek to cap player pay but not their own profits or franchise values.

Kalshi filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. court seeking to block Minnesota's SF 3432, a law that makes it a felony to operate or advertise prediction markets in the state.

The company says the ban intrudes on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's claimed exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts, violating the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, and unlawfully restricts its speech and advertising under the First Amendment. FOX 9 It says CFTC rules bar Kalshi from discriminating among customers by geography, leaving the company an "impossible choice" between obeying state law or violating federal rules and risking criminal penalties.

The World Meteorological Organization and the UK Met Office said on May 28, 2026 there is a 75% chance the 2026-2030 global temperature average will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The WMO also says there is a 91% chance at least one of the next five years will exceed 1.5°C and an 86% chance at least one year will break the 2024 global heat record. PBS The outlook projects every year through 2030 will be about 1.3-1.9°C warmer than the late 1800s baseline.

U.S. prosecutors in Chicago have opened a criminal investigation into American Future Republic, the nonprofit linked to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, over payments that helped finance E. Jean Carroll's civil suits.

Prosecutors are examining possible money-laundering, conspiracy and obstruction offenses tied to that litigation funding, sources told CBS News. CBS News The inquiry is being handled out of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois under U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros. MS NOW Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself because he previously represented Donald Trump in appeals related to Carroll's lawsuits.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Russia and Kazakhstan signed a $16.5 billion agreement to build a nuclear power plant in Astana, a pact that cements Russian involvement in Kazakhstan's energy sector.

State nuclear firm Rosatom will build the plant near the village of Ulken on Lake Balkhash, with about 85% of the costs covered by a Russian export loan. Fox News The facility will use two VVER-1200 Generation III+ reactors, with construction slated to begin in 2027 and the first unit expected online by early 2034.

Fairfax County police confirmed they received a swatting call targeting Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Virginia home at about 9:02 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Responding officers coordinated with the Supreme Court Police detail at the residence and quickly determined the report was fictitious, and police said no additional resources were deployed. Fox News Barrett appeared on the Supreme Court bench the next morning and made no public mention of the incident.

Researchers presented Phase 3-style data on May 28, 2026 in Barcelona showing the experimental hepatitis B drug bepirovirsen produced an off-treatment functional cure in about 20% of patients, a result now under fast-track FDA review.

The analysis included 1,838 patients and found roughly 20% of those receiving bepirovirsen plus standard antiviral pills had undetectable virus six months after stopping all treatment, versus 0% on placebo. PBS News The findings were presented at a scientific meeting in Barcelona and published May 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine. PBS News The FDA is reviewing bepirovirsen on a fast-track timetable with a regulatory decision expected in October 2026.

David J. Rush, a former senior U.S. government official, was arrested on May 19, 2026, after the FBI seized roughly $40 million in gold bars, cash and luxury watches at his Virginia home.

He is charged with theft of public money and remains in U.S. Marshals custody after a judge denied bond. CBS News Prosecutors and defense jointly asked to postpone his detention hearing until June 5, 2026, while they gather additional information.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn the conviction and death sentence of Mississippi inmate Terry Pitchford, vacating his sentence and allowing the state to retry him.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court's three liberal justices, while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. CBS News The Court said Batson v. Kentucky's required three-step analysis was never completed because the trial judge did not let defense counsel rebut the prosecutor's race-neutral explanations. CBS News The justices criticized an "overly hurried" jury-selection process and said "things broke down" so the step-three inquiry did not occur.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the FBI announced it seized more than 127,000 bitcoin worth over $8 billion in its largest-ever forfeiture while dismantling intercontinental scam compounds.

The operation centers on Chen Zhi, CEO of Cambodia's Prince Holding Group, who faces U.S. federal wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges tied to guarded "scam compounds." Fox News Raids across multiple countries, including Dubai, led to about 275 arrests and six suspects flagged for extradition to the United States, and the FBI said nearly 2,000 trafficked workers were freed. Fox News Investigators say some compounds were linked to the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and Chinese organized crime and focused on defrauding U.S. victims, including a reported $3 million romance-scam loss.

Jacob Wenske, 26, was charged with a third-degree felony after allegedly posting online threats to bomb a Turning Point USA event and to kill the group's CEO, Erika Kirk.

Authorities say Wenske replied to a Facebook post about Turning Point USA's June 5-7 Women's Leadership Summit in San Antonio with the comment, "I know exactly where to bomb." Fox News They say he later emailed, "Death to Erika Kirk and every single speaker there!!" and threatened bombings at all Turning Point events. Fox News Prosecutors charged him with making a terroristic threat that can cause public fear of serious bodily injury or disrupt the public.

The Australian government filed a Federal Court lawsuit against 3M and 3M Australia seeking more than AU$2 billion (about $1.4 billion) over PFAS contamination at 28 defense sites.

Australia's Defense Department says it has already spent about AU$1.3 billion (roughly $920 million) cleaning contaminated sites, including removing about 220,000 U.S. tons of soil and treating 3.4 billion gallons of water. FOX 9 Attorney-General Michelle Rowland alleges 3M withheld crucial information about the environmental risks tied to its firefighting foam.

New York and New Jersey attorneys general opened a probe into FIFA's 2026 World Cup ticket pricing and sales for the MetLife Stadium final on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

The inquiry will examine not only steep prices but also how FIFA allocated tickets, structured sales windows and used sales tactics that may have driven price spikes. NPR FIFA initially listed top tickets for the MetLife final at $6,730, up from about $1,600 for top seats in 2022, and that same category rose to $10,990 by the April sales windows. NPR FIFA also introduced dynamic pricing and a new "Front Category" of front-row seats, including lower-bowl front-row seats for the July 19 final priced at more than $30,000.

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Minnesota's Clemency Review Commission unanimously pardoned Jai Vang, who was facing deportation to Laos after his January arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Governor Tim Walz convened a special clemency session after learning of ICE's removal plans so Vang's petition could be heard before his scheduled deportation. Fox News Walz said deporting Vang would not make Minnesota safer, and Attorney General Keith Ellison joined the hearing by phone and backed the clemency request.

The Office of Personnel Management proposed a government-wide nondisclosure-agreement template for new and existing federal employees on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, saying it aims to curb unauthorized disclosures and protect deliberative decision-making.

The draft would cover internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes and sensitive pre-decisional deliberative material, and OPM is explicitly seeking public comment on penalties for employees who refuse to sign. NPR OPM said the template is expressly limited to nonpublic, confidential or proprietary information obtained through official duties and that it "does not create new substantive restrictions" while preserving legally authorized and whistleblower disclosures.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Commerce Department said U.S. personal consumption expenditures inflation rose 3.8% year-over-year in April, the highest since May 2023 and squeezing household buying power.

Core PCE inflation climbed to 3.3% year-over-year in April. PBS News Headline PCE prices increased 0.4% month-to-month in April, with core prices up 0.2% from March. PBS News After-tax, inflation-adjusted personal income fell 0.1% in April, the third straight monthly decline. PBS News Inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose just 0.1% in April, down from 0.3% the prior month, meaning most of a 0.5% nominal gain reflected higher prices. PBS News The report links the jump in inflation to a more than 50% rise in gasoline prices since U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and to broad-based increases in groceries, clothing and electricity. PBS News Some Federal Reserve officials under chair Kevin Warsh now see a rate hike, rather than a cut, as the central bank's most likely move this year. PBS News Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the higher prices "transitory" on Wednesday, while President Trump dismissed gas price increases as "peanuts." PBS News

The Kaukauna Area School District board voted 6-1 on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, to fire teacher Patrick Meyer over a social-media post that praised an attempted assassination of President Trump.

Meyer's X post, made in April after the April 25 attempted assassination, included the line "MAGAA ( make Americans great assassins again )." Fox News The district said the post produced an actual material disruption to school operations and warranted dismissal under its policies. Fox News One board member voted against firing and cited First Amendment concerns.

The European Commission fined Chinese online retailer Temu 200 million euros under the Digital Services Act on Thursday, May 28, 2026, for unsafe toys and electronics and warned of further penalties.

A Commission "mystery shopping" exercise bought chargers and baby toys from Temu that were found to be non-compliant and to pose safety risks. PBS News Inspectors flagged excessive chemicals in some toys and choking hazards in others. PBS News The penalty equals about $232 million, and affects a platform with roughly 92 million EU users.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Masih Alinejad reacted on CBS to the 10-year sentence handed to Jonathan Loadholt in Manhattan federal court for an Iran-backed plot to assassinate her.

The televised segment framed Alinejad's response around her experience as a targeted Iranian-American journalist and dissident, presenting her on-camera reaction as the intended victim. CBS News It did not add new legal details beyond the conviction and 10-year sentence that CBS reported Wednesday evening.

Vice President JD Vance convened an anti-fraud roundtable on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, where federal officials announced a new Justice Department National Fraud Enforcement division to centralize federal fraud enforcement.

At the meeting Vance met with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and several state attorneys general. PBS News Ferguson said the new DOJ division will coordinate with the White House anti-fraud task force and the Homeland Security Council. PBS News Miller praised the task force as the "fastest in history" to move from creation to concrete actions, and Vance said the effort targets fraud that harms vulnerable recipients of federal benefits. PBS News Almost two dozen state attorneys general skipped the meeting, according to a separate report.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez warned on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, that a U.S. military attack on Cuba would produce "a bloodbath" and a "humanitarian catastrophe" with thousands of deaths.

He told MS NOW that a January 2026 U.S. decision to effectively cut off Cuba's fuel supply has caused blackouts and shortages of food and medical supplies, which he called "collective punishment." MS NOW He condemned a U.S. grand jury indictment of former President Raúl Castro over a 1996 shoot-down as politically motivated and said the downing was "legitimate self-defense" after 25 airspace violations. MS NOW Rodríguez said there is "no progress" in U.S.-Cuba talks, accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of pushing toward confrontation, and denied that Russia or China run military or spy bases on Cuban territory.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declined to immediately reinstate Alabama's 2023 legislature-drawn congressional map and ordered Voting Rights Act plaintiffs to file a response by Monday, June 1, 2026, in the state's emergency bid to use that map for the 2026 elections.

Alabama filed the emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a stay of the three-judge panel's injunction on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. CBS News The panel had ordered the state, at least for now, to keep using the court-drawn map that elected its U.S. House members in 2024. PBS News That court-drawn map includes two districts with a significant proportion of Black residents. PBS News The three-judge panel said it "cannot understand the 2023 Plan as anything other than intentionally discriminatory" and refused to have voters cast ballots in 2026 under a "tainted" plan.

CDC preliminary data show U.S. street-drug overdose deaths fell about 14% in 2025 to 69,973, roughly 11,300 fewer deaths than in 2024.

That 69,973 total is the lowest 12-month overdose death count in the U.S. since at least 2019. NPR The figure comes after a peak of 112,418 deaths in summer 2023.

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve at a White House ceremony on Friday, May 22, 2026, where President Donald Trump urged him to be "totally independent." CBS

Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath in the East Room as Warsh placed a hand on a Bible held by his wife. CBS Jerome Powell said he will remain on the Fed's Board of Governors and continue to vote on policy until he believes the Justice Department probe is "well and truly over." CBS

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, Australia sued 3M and 3M Australia in Federal Court, seeking more than AU$2 billion (about US$1.4 billion) over PFAS contamination at defense bases.

The legal filing says the case covers contamination from PFAS-containing firefighting foams used at 28 Australian defense bases. CBS News Assistant Defense Minister Peter Khalil said Defence has already spent about AU$1.3 billion on cleanup, removed roughly 200,000 metric tons of contaminated soil and treated about 13 billion liters of water.

At a May 22 meeting in Brussels, the Pentagon told NATO allies it will trim roughly one-third to one-half of U.S. combat capabilities assigned to NATO, a move meant to press Europe to shoulder more of its own defense.

The reductions will affect U.S. strategic bombers, fighter jets and certain naval forces committed to NATO during a crisis. Fox News Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell publicly acknowledged changes to U.S. contributions under the NATO Force Model and said they are meant to push allies to take primary responsibility for Europe's conventional defense.

Massachusetts certified the App Drivers Union as the statewide bargaining representative for Uber and Lyft drivers on Friday, May 22, 2026, a move covering nearly 70,000 drivers and reshaping labor talks.

Uber said it would work with the union and regulators while preserving driver flexibility and existing benefits. PBS News Lyft pledged to engage in good faith negotiations.

A rare late-April 2026 freeze struck New Jersey, killing buds and destroying much of the state's apple and peach harvests and causing roughly $300 million in fruit-crop losses.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has requested federal disaster relief. Fox News The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced assistance for affected Pennsylvania farmers. Fox News Officials warn there may be effectively no regional peach supply from New Jersey and Pennsylvania this season. Fox News The losses will pressure farmers' finances and raise prices at local markets.

Samantha J. Watson, 41, of Eastvale, was arrested after a May 22 search of her home on charges alleging sexual abuse of a student at a Moreno Valley charter school.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit is investigating the allegations. Fox News Watson faces counts that include sending harmful material to a juvenile, oral copulation and digital penetration tied to the alleged conduct. Fox News Authorities said they believe there may be additional victims and that the investigation is ongoing.

The Justice Department charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using internal search-trend data to place Polymarket bets that prosecutors say netted him more than $1.2 million.

He was arrested in New York after an indictment was unsealed and then released on a $2.25 million bond. CBS Prosecutors say Spagnuolo used an internal Google tool in late 2025 to view confidential data on the company's top-trending 2025 searches. CBS They say he placed millions of dollars in Polymarket bets about whether specific celebrities would appear in Google's Year in Search rankings. CBS Prosecutors say the trader using the handle "AlphaRaccoon" correctly bet that singer D4vd would be among the most-searched people and ultimately netted more than $1.2 million. CBS Court papers say he moved millions in cryptocurrency from his Polymarket account to an external wallet.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara resigned after an internal investigation concluded he likely interfered with a probe into alleged sexual relationships involving city employees, Mayor Jacob Frey said.

Investigators said O'Hara deleted a contact card from his city-issued phone and alerted another employee about the probe. FOX 9 They said the original sexual-relationship allegations were not substantiated and that investigators never fully examined O'Hara's personal phone. FOX 9 Mayor Frey told O'Hara he would impose discipline up to discharge, at which point O'Hara chose to resign, and Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell was named interim chief. FOX 9 O'Hara's attorney, Doug Kelley, issued a public letter praising O'Hara's crime reductions and saying MPD staffing rose from roughly 560 officers in 2022 to 643 at his departure.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, President Joe Biden sued the Justice Department in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block release of about 70 hours of audio and transcripts from interviews with biographer Mark Zwonitzer.

DOJ attorneys told a federal judge they planned to begin releasing the files, with redactions, to the House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation on June 15 unless a court intervened. New York Times Biden's complaint argues disclosure would "constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden's privacy" and asserts a privacy interest in personal conversations at home. NPR President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social late on May 26, calling Biden a "Crooked Politician." CBS News

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, a Miami judge allowed 16-year-old Timothy Hudson to remain free after a federal detention hearing in the case alleging he killed his stepsister on a Carnival Cruise.

The judge said he will decide later whether Hudson should be detained pending trial and did not immediately order U.S. Marshals to take him into custody.

Michael Tejeda pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder after prosecutors said his toddler fatally shot the family's baby daughter at their Wichita, Kansas, home.

He admitted to second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and two counts of aggravated child endangerment as part of the plea agreement. Fox News Prosecutors agreed to drop a first-degree felony-murder charge and sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2026.

Hamas confirmed that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, killed its new military leader, Mohammed Odeh.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Wednesday that Israeli forces killed Odeh in a strike the previous day. Wall Street Journal The strike hit Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, and witnesses reported large explosions there. Wall Street Journal Hamas said Odeh's wife and two children also died, and Gaza hospitals reported at least five people killed and 12 wounded in the market-area strike. PBS News Thousands attended a joint funeral for Odeh and his family on May 27, where mourners wrapped the bodies in green Hamas flags.

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced Kenneth Iwamasa to 41 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in Matthew Perry's death.

The sentence also includes two years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine. PBS News Judge Garnett said Iwamasa was "privy" to Perry's struggle with addiction and called his conduct "reckless" in the days leading up to the death. PBS News The judge added there was no hard evidence he acted with malicious intent and that he did not abuse a position of trust, a finding that limited the sentence.

Israel ordered residents across southern Lebanon to evacuate on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, as its military prepared expanded operations against Hezbollah and warned it would use "extreme force." PBS

The Israel Defense Forces said its troops have crossed the Litani River and are pushing north toward the city of Nabatieh, and said it had struck 550 Hezbollah targets since the start of the week. PBS Lebanon's Health Ministry says more than 3,200 people have been killed nationwide in the fighting, and officials reported at least 31 people were killed in southern strikes on May 26.

Albert L. "Buddy" Zigler was charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Madison County, Illinois, after investigators linked decades-old crime-scene DNA to him using forensic genealogy.

Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor announced the charge at a news conference on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Fox News Authorities said they used the Texas-based forensic genealogy firm Othram to identify Zigler from DNA recovered at the scene decades ago. Fox News The charge relates to the brutal 1993 killing of a mother who was found slain in a field. Fox News Her son, Wes Sperino, described being emotional upon learning a suspect had finally been charged more than 30 years after the killing.

A 19-year-old man has been charged after a pregnant woman was shot during an alleged road-rage incident in St. Louis on May 17, 2026, police said.

Police say the 11-weeks-pregnant woman was shot in the upper back while driving home from a prenatal visit. Fox News Surveillance footage allegedly shows shots fired from the driver's side of a Volkswagen.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Friday, May 22, 2026 that most foreign nationals physically in the U.S. must leave and apply for green cards from abroad.

The agency said exceptions would be narrow and limited to "extraordinary circumstances," a sharp shift that could force many family members and lawful workers to risk visa denials and long waits overseas.

Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton said the agency is "ready for hurricane season" during a "Silent Echo" hurricane drill at FEMA headquarters on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Fenton said slightly more than 30% of FEMA's disaster workforce is currently available, about 30% is deployed, and roughly 30% is in training, on leave, or otherwise tasked. CBS News He added that more than 100 total days of partial Department of Homeland Security shutdowns this year and an April drop of the Disaster Relief Fund below $3 billion forced FEMA into Immediate Needs Funding and delayed some disaster spending.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig will bypass the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement and go straight to the August primary in her U.S. Senate bid, the Minnesota Reformer reported Wednesday.

FOX 9 reported the move earlier Wednesday. FOX 9 The Reformer said its story confirmed that earlier reporting.

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell unveiled a bipartisan bill in Washington aiming to remake college sports rules and win 60 votes in the Senate.

The Protect College Sports Act would give the NCAA and a new College Sports Commission limited antitrust protections in exchange for athlete protections on health insurance, scholarships and oversight of name-image-and-likeness deals. PBS It would also cap players at one unrestricted transfer over their careers, align a five-year eligibility window and add a "Lane Kiffin Rule" to restrict in-season coaching moves.

Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency over severe coastal erosion on the island's north coast on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

The order aims to speed up protection projects for natural resources and at-risk communities, with immediate focus on hard-hit Loiza where evacuations and a collapsed road have been reported.

Chihuahua Governor Maria Eugenia Campos was questioned on May 27, 2026 at Mexico's General Prosecutor's Office about a raid that left two CIA employees dead in a car crash, and she complained of persecution.

Campos told prosecutors she has been targeted for political reasons and denied any wrongdoing during the questioning. CBS News President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered a formal probe into whether the operation breached national security rules that bar unauthorized foreign operational activity. CBS News Mexico's Security Ministry said the two U.S. agents entered as a visitor and a diplomat but lacked accreditation to participate in operational activities on Mexican soil.

On May 27, 2026, CBS reported that conservative tech critic Adam Candeub is the leading candidate to become assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

Candeub serves as general counsel to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and previously helped lead Trump-era actions against social media firms. CBS Other people interviewed for the post include Mike Murray of Paul Hastings and House GOP lawyer Adam Cella, and no final decision has been announced. CBS Acting antitrust chief Omeed Assefi plans to depart in June.

Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers stopped a Volvo semi-truck in Webb County on May 18, 2026, and discovered 20 migrants crammed into the truck's sleeper cab; the driver fled but was arrested.

DPS identified the driver as 25-year-old Mexican national Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez and said he was charged with evading arrest and smuggling persons. Fox News DPS said four of the 20 migrants were minors from Mexico and Guatemala and that the rest had been squeezed into the sleeper area. Fox News In a separate Maverick County case, troopers used a PIT maneuver to stop a high-speed chase of a vehicle driven by Cuban national Yoisdelvis Nunez Acosta, who fled into brush but was quickly caught. Fox News American national Alexander Rodriguez Acosta was also arrested, and both men were charged with six counts of smuggling persons while six migrants from Mexico and Vietnam were referred to U.S. Border Patrol.

The New York Fed on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, released February survey data showing U.S. food insecurity is at its highest level in six years, surpassing the pandemic peak of 2020.

In the February survey, 10% of families said they missed meals because they lacked food and nearly 16% said they relied on food donations. NPR Nearly 18% of families reported receiving SNAP benefits in 2026, up from 10.6% in 2020, with SNAP use above 38% among lower-income households.

The Justice Department will fast-track whistleblower suits alleging fraud in federal benefits and aim to decide within 60 to 120 days whether to intervene, officials said on May 27, 2026.

The Civil Division will prioritize qui tam complaints tied to benefits programs such as Medicare, the department said. CBS News Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said the reforms are meant to rapidly identify and disrupt emerging schemes and to better target enforcement resources.

An AP investigation found at least 10 ICE detainees have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, a record spike in deaths in U.S. immigration custody.

Since October 2025, seven deaths in ICE custody were ruled suicides, already the highest suicide count for any fiscal year in ICE's history, compared with the usual one or none. PBS Those suicides make up nearly one-fifth of 51 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025, most of which were from natural causes that experts say were often preventable with timely care. PBS DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said suicides in ICE custody remain "extremely rare" and that facilities follow suicide-prevention protocols and provide comprehensive health care, including mental health services.

The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday criticized Massachusetts' sanctuary policies after a man accused in a Worcester baseball-bat attack was freed from a local jail without ICE being notified.

Acting DHS assistant secretary Lauren Bis said state and local officials "refused to cooperate" with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and blasted sanctuary leaders for the release. Fox News ICE arrested the suspect, whom DHS identified as Dhaval Amratbhai Patel, on May 18 after Worcester police had taken him into custody on an assault charge.

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, the tourist charged over a viral video showing a rock thrown at a Hawaiian monk seal, faced online threats and doxxing as his federal hearing began Wednesday in federal court.

Defense attorney Myles Breiner told the Associated Press that Lytvynchuk has been doxxed and received threats after the video circulated. Fox News Breiner said in a KHON interview that his client "never intended to injure the monk seal" and claimed he was trying to protect seals in the area. Fox News CBS News reported his lawyer also said Lytvynchuk was assaulted.

In the early hours of Sunday, May 24, 2026, Russian forces launched a large combined missile-and-drone barrage on Kyiv that included the hypersonic Oreshnik missile and killed at least two people.

The assault wounded at least 83 people, caused fires and damage across multiple Kyiv districts, and sent residents into underground metro stations for shelter. CBS News Ukraine's Air Force said attackers used about 600 strike drones and roughly 90 air, sea and ground-launched missiles, and that defenses destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. NPR Russia's Defense Ministry publicly confirmed using the Oreshnik and said strikes hit "military command and control facilities," air bases and military-industrial enterprises.

A federal grand jury indictment announced May 21, 2026 charges 15 people with allegedly stealing more than $90 million from Minnesota Medicaid programs, federal prosecutors said.

One defendant, Muhammad Omar, fled FBI agents by jumping from a fourth-floor balcony during an attempted arrest and was captured the same day; a federal judge ordered him detained pending trial on May 27. FOX 9 Prosecutors charged Omar with conspiracy and multiple health care fraud counts and say he used about $150,000 of alleged proceeds to buy property in Nairobi, Kenya, which they argued showed a flight risk.

Christian Menefee defeated Rep. Al Green in the Democratic runoff for Texas' redrawn 18th Congressional District on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, a result that all but guarantees Menefee the November general election.

Menefee and Green went to the May 26 runoff after neither cleared 50% in the March primary, when Menefee received 46% and Green 44.2%. Fox News The race drew heavy outside spending, with pro-cryptocurrency super PAC Fairshake spending millions to back Menefee and target Green over his opposition to crypto, and its spokesman called the effort "the difference-maker." PBS

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, the Inver Grove Heights City Council approved a one-year moratorium on data-center applications but immediately delayed implementing it, leaving a dispute over QLevr's pending project unresolved.

The council initially voted 3-2 for the moratorium before agreeing to postpone the ordinance and revisit it at its June meeting, keeping QLevr's application in limbo. FOX 9 QLevr's attorneys warned the city that any decision based on criteria outside objective zoning standards would be legally insufficient and would expose the city to "significant legal risk." FOX 9 QLevr also says state law bars applying the moratorium to its already-filed application and that its closed-loop cooling would use water comparable to one or two single-family homes.

Burnsville police are searching for 53-year-old John Michael Kapaun, last seen near the 2000 block of 121st Street about 2 p.m. Tuesday; he has a medical condition.

Police say Kapaun left his home with no phone or vehicle, and that he is known to walk in Terrace Oaks West Park and Black Dog Park. FOX 9 Anyone with information is asked to call Burnsville police at 952-641-1126 or dial 911.

Stratasys Ltd., the Minnetonka- and Rehovot, Israel-headquartered 3D-printing company, agreed to buy MarkForged Inc. for $42.5 million in cash.

Nano Dimension says the sale will save it roughly $15 million a year. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal MarkForged generated about $70 million in revenue in 2025, and Nano will retain the company's metal binder-jetting line.

Lakeville resident Jacob Henry Ethington, 24, was charged Wednesday, May 27, 2026, with impersonating a peace officer, disorderly conduct and possession of a controlled substance after a disturbance outside a mosque.

Dakota County charging documents say officers found a pocketknife, a razor blade, several lighters and 2.9 grams of methamphetamine on Ethington. FOX 9 The complaint also says he told mosque members he was in the U.S. Navy investigating sex trafficking and later claimed to be the FBI when pressed.

President Donald Trump announced an order to add 10,000 U.S. refugee slots reserved for white South Africans. PBS South Africa's government and major Afrikaner advocacy groups publicly rejected the administration's claim of a humanitarian emergency on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

The Afrikaner-focused refugee program began last year, and roughly 6,000 South Africans have moved to the United States under it so far. PBS The Trump administration has described conditions for some Afrikaners as a humanitarian emergency to justify the expansion.

A manhunt is under way after a suspect allegedly attacked another person with a samurai-style sword Saturday, May 23, 2026, at Creekside Apartments in Mariposa, California.

Sheriff Jeremy Briese identified the suspect as Jonathan Bays, saying Bays allegedly struck the victim multiple times before fleeing on foot. Fox News The victim was airlifted to a hospital, and authorities launched a multi-agency search that includes helicopters and K-9 teams.

A proposed rate settlement involving Xcel Energy would cut a planned Minnesota gas rate increase and return millions of dollars to customers.

The settlement could cut the gas hike nearly in half, according to local reporting. FOX 9 The proposal responds to affordability concerns after an interim 6.8% increase took effect in January.

Colin Allred won the Democratic primary runoff for Texas' 33rd Congressional District on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, defeating Rep. Julie Johnson and securing the party nomination to reclaim the Dallas-based seat.

The Associated Press called the Democratic runoff for Allred on Tuesday. Fox News In the March 3 primary, Allred finished first with nearly 44% to Johnson's more than 33%, leaving him about 11 points ahead but short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.

Ball State University agreed to pay $225,000 to settle with a former staffer over private Facebook posts about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

The payment will go to Suzanne Swierc, who was fired after the Sept. 10, 2025 post, the settlement says. New York Times Swierc's post was set to private and criticized Kirk's politics while condemning his assassination, but a follower screenshotted and shared it publicly. New York Times Ball State defended the firing as needed to protect operations, citing an internal email from President Geoffrey S. Mearns about "disruptive and disturbing" calls, more than 130 emails and donor threats. New York Times The university said it admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara resigned after Mayor Jacob Frey said investigators found he deleted a contact card from his city-issued phone during an internal probe, Frey said Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Minneapolis.

Frey said he told O'Hara he would discipline him "up to and including discharge" for what he called a "breach of trust." Fox News Investigators concluded the underlying sexual-misconduct allegations were unsubstantiated but that deleting the contact card interfered with the probe.

Democrat Johnny Garcia won the primary in Texas' newly redrawn 35th Congressional District on Wednesday after national Democratic leaders intervened to boost his campaign.

Republican Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was projected to win the GOP runoff in the same district on Tuesday.

Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint asking the Missouri attorney general to investigate the ACLU Foundation and Stop the Ban under the state's Foreign Influence in Ballot Measures Act.

The complaint cites financial records showing a $2 million unrestricted grant from the Oak Foundation to the ACLU Foundation beginning in 2025 and a $500,000 ACLU donation to Stop the Ban in early 2026. Fox News An ACLU spokesperson said the organization is aware of and compliant with Missouri's campaign-finance law, while Stop the Ban and the Oak Foundation did not comment.

Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted Wednesday, May 20, 2026, to cap A grades in undergraduate courses at 20 percent plus four students per class, a move aimed at curbing grade inflation.

The limit will take effect in the 2027-28 academic year and will apply to all undergraduate letter-graded courses. Fox News Faculty also approved using average percentile rank instead of GPA for certain awards and rejected a campus request to allow opt-outs to satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading.

Kenneth Law will plead guilty to 14 counts of aiding or counseling suicide and prosecutors will withdraw second-degree murder charges when he appears in person Friday, May 29, 2026, in Newmarket, Ontario.

The counts are tied to 14 Canadian deaths, prosecutors said. CBS News Families of victims in Canada and the United Kingdom have publicly criticized the plea deal.

Local prosecutors warned federal agents not to appear at polling places and threatened to prosecute anyone who intimidates or interferes with voters.

The warning came from a coalition known as the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach, which said it would use state election statutes to charge agents who deter voters at polling sites. MS NOW Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty publicly backed the warning.

A major fire tore through Kosher Kingdom supermarket in London's Golders Green on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, forcing evacuations and sending heavy smoke across the neighborhood.

London Fire Brigade dispatched about 15 fire engines and roughly 100 firefighters and urged residents to avoid the area because of thick smoke. CBS News The Metropolitan Police said there were no injuries and that it was too early to determine the cause. CBS News A newly formed 100-officer London police community protection team is helping to secure the scene and manage evacuations.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, NASA laid out a multi-phase plan at a Washington, D.C. news conference to build a lunar base and said it aims to land astronauts near the moon's south pole as soon as 2028.

NASA said it awarded hundreds of millions in contracts to four U.S. companies, including Blue Origin and Firefly Aerospace. CBS News Blue Origin will provide two landers to carry lunar terrain vehicles from Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, and Firefly will deliver the first lunar drones. CBS News NASA said it now targets an Artemis III test flight in mid-2027 to practice Orion docking with crewed landers. CBS News The agency aims for a two-astronaut landing as soon as 2028 and said landers, buggies and drones are ideally supposed to arrive before astronauts.

On Tuesday night, May 26, 2026, Orange County officials lifted the final evacuation orders around a damaged methyl methacrylate tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, clearing about 50,000 people to return home.

Officials said the tank's internal temperature stabilized at about 92°F and held steady for several hours before crews stopped external cooling. Fox News Authorities said they will continue monitoring air quality, storm drains and sewer lines for months and keep sampling around the site.

Rep. Mayes Middleton was projected the winner of the Republican runoff for Texas attorney general on May 26, 2026, defeating Rep. Chip Roy and securing the GOP nomination to face Democrat Nathan Johnson in November.

Middleton branded himself "MAGA Mayes" and centered his runoff messaging on Roy's past breaks with Donald Trump, including Roy's comment that Trump committed "impeachable conduct" over Jan. 6.

Jon Bonck won the GOP runoff for Texas' 38th Congressional District on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, securing the Republican nomination to replace Wesley Hunt and setting up a November contest against Democrat Melissa McDonough.

Bonck, a Houston-area mortgage industry manager backed by former President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, defeated Shelly deZevallos in the runoff. Fox News The district is rated Solid Republican, making the GOP primary the decisive contest in the heavily conservative seat.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Alex Mealer defeated state Rep. Briscoe Cain in the GOP runoff for a Houston-based U.S. House seat, setting up a likely Republican pickup in November.

Mealer had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and by the Club for Growth, while Cain was backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and several conservative organizations. Fox News Mealer is an Army combat veteran, a profile Republicans cast as a contrast to Cain's record in the state legislature. Fox News He will face Democrat Leticia Gutierrez in November in a district that was redrawn and is rated noncompetitive, making a GOP flip widely expected.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed its prior ruling in Mahmoud Khalil's case so he can seek review at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The stay pauses enforcement of the 3rd Circuit's earlier decision and reduces Khalil's immediate risk of re-arrest and deportation while his appeals proceed. CBS News Khalil is a lawful permanent resident and a former Columbia graduate student who was detained in 2025 after participating in pro-Palestinian protests in spring 2024.

An internal Department of Homeland Security memo dated Tuesday, May 26, 2026 directs ICE attorneys to increase enforcement of asylum-related fraud cases specifically targeting immigration lawyers, CBS News reports.

The memo instructs ICE attorneys nationwide to pursue asylum-related fraud cases and frames the effort as a "ramp-up" of fraud enforcement shaping ICE litigation strategy. CBS News CBS homeland security correspondent Nicole Sganga reported the document as an exclusive and said it calls for targeting immigration lawyers suspected of filing improper asylum claims.

Tom Sell defeated Abraham Enriquez in the Republican primary runoff for Texas' 19th Congressional District on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, positioning himself to replace retiring Rep. Jodey Arrington.

Sell is a longtime GOP strategist and agricultural consultant who drew endorsements from House Republican leaders Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer and Jim Jordan. Fox News Enriquez, a pro-Trump populist and founder of the conservative group Bienvenido, had been backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Turning Point Action and CPAC.

Vikki Goodwin won the Texas Democratic runoff for lieutenant governor on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Fox News She defeated Marcos Vélez to secure the Democratic nomination and will challenge GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in November.

Goodwin campaigned on boosting public school funding, raising teacher pay, expanding Medicaid, investing in water infrastructure and repealing Texas' abortion ban.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was arrested Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Hobart-Lawrence, Wisconsin, on five domestic-abuse related charges, including a felony count of strangulation and suffocation.

Hobart-Lawrence police booked Jacobs on battery—domestic abuse; criminal damage to property—domestic abuse; disorderly conduct—domestic abuse; strangulation and suffocation; and intimidation of a victim. Fox News Brown County Jail records show the strangulation and suffocation count is a felony and the other four charges are misdemeanors. Fox News Officers were dispatched at 8:37 a.m. to a disturbance complaint that led to the investigation and Jacobs' subsequent booking.

A 27-year-old man has been charged after a wrong-way DUI crash on Interstate 40 in Canadian County, Oklahoma, that killed four young people early Friday, May 22.

Authorities arrested and charged Michael Rosario-Cruz with four counts of second-degree murder, two counts of DUI causing great bodily injury, and related offenses, and he is being held in the Canadian County Jail.

Gov. Tim Walz signed a law that bars addictive social-media features for users under 16 and requires verified parental consent before child accounts can be created or kept in Minnesota.

The measure, House File 4138, amends the Stop Harms From Addictive Social Media statute. FOX 9 Platforms must obtain verified parental consent and make reasonable efforts to identify under-16 users. FOX 9 All child accounts must default to the highest privacy settings, and parents get tools to monitor use, set limits, and request deletion. FOX 9 The law bars specific features on child accounts — examples listed include infinite scroll, autoplay video, and push notifications — and it prohibits targeted paid commercial ads aimed at kids. FOX 9 Enforcement will be handled by the Minnesota attorney general, who may pursue legal action against platforms that violate the law.

Two Navy pilots ejected safely after a T-45C Goshawk training jet based at Training Air Wing One in Meridian crashed about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Naval Air Training Command and local authorities responded to the scene, and the cause of the crash is under investigation. CBS News The downed aircraft was assigned to Training Air Wing One at Naval Air Station Meridian.

A federal judge dismissed without prejudice a Title IX lawsuit filed by former U.S. Olympian Margherita Guzzi Vincenti and two competitive fencers against USA Fencing on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. wrote the plaintiffs did not adequately allege exclusion, denial of benefits, or adverse sex-based treatment, or that they faced transgender competitors. OutKick The plaintiffs were former Olympian Margherita Guzzi Vincenti and competitive fencers Emma Griffin and Patricia Hughes, who challenged entries at the January 2025 North American Cup in Kansas City.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a motion asking a federal judge to dismiss an April indictment, saying the Justice Department's prosecution is vindictive and politically motivated.

The filing says DOJ officials told SPLC counsel during a requested pre-indictment meeting that the decision to charge was already made. PBS It says prosecutors did not interview current SPLC employees and did not seek the group's documents until after warning counsel that charges were coming. PBS SPLC lawyers call the case the "culmination of a top-down, retributive campaign" against President Trump's perceived political enemies.

A repeat drunken-driving offender was charged after a wrong-way crash on I-75 in Charlotte County, Florida, early May 17 that killed a 21-year-old University of South Florida student.

Authorities identified the victim as Lauryn Akey, a 21-year-old University of South Florida honors college student who had been returning from a wedding. Fox News The driver of a second vehicle and her 12- and 15-year-old passengers suffered serious injuries, officials said.

FBI Director Kash Patel fired Deputy Assistant Director Emily Morales on Friday, May 22, 2026; she was escorted out of the bureau, officials said.

Morales had worked on the FBI's 2017 assessment of the Alexandria, Virginia, shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice that wounded Rep. Steve Scalise and others. MS NOW The removal is being viewed inside the FBI as part of a pattern of politically driven firings that has included the removal of former Intelligence Directorate head Tonya Ugoretz.

The Supreme Court on May 26, 2026 ruled that immigration judges must use the federal employee complaint system overseen by the Merit Systems Protection Board, reversing a 4th Circuit decision.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, issued a concurrence that rebuked the 4th Circuit for wading into "political controversies of the day." PBS The National Association of Immigration Judges said it was disappointed and called the case "far from over." PBS Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche praised the decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, declined to hear Meta's appeal of a Vermont lawsuit that alleges Facebook and Instagram harmed young users, leaving the state suit in place.

Meta had told the court it could not be sued in Vermont because Facebook and Instagram lack specific ties to the state. PBS Vermont said widespread teen use of the platforms gives the state jurisdiction. PBS Attorney General Charity Clark said the decision affirms that companies doing business in Vermont can be held accountable for harming kids.

The Supreme Court denied the NFL's appeal on Tuesday, allowing Brian Flores' racial discrimination lawsuit to proceed toward discovery and possible trial in federal court in New York.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the court's decision not to hear the appeal. OutKick The move removes a legal roadblock and clears the way for the case to advance in federal court.

As of Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the average Twin Cities gas price fell 13.9 cents in the last week to $4.33 per gallon, leaving prices $1.24 higher than a year ago.

The GasBuddy survey covered 1,106 Twin Cities stations and showed the local price gap widened, with the cheapest reported station at $3.89 and the most expensive at $4.84, a 95-cent spread. FOX 9 Minnesota's statewide average is $4.30, down 11.5 cents week-over-week; Wisconsin averages $4.35, down 15.7 cents; and Sioux Falls averages $4.17, down 7.8 cents. FOX 9 The national average fell 6.6 cents to $4.45 per gallon, while diesel averages $5.57 nationally.

The Supreme Court summarily denied Florida's request to file an original action against California and Washington over their issuance of commercial driver's licenses to certain noncitizen immigrants on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

The Court offered no written explanation beyond its standard one-line order, and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. New York Times The denial effectively ends, for now, Florida's interstate challenge unless Congress or federal regulators change the law.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez on May 26, 2026 publicly urged survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to contact his office to assist a criminal investigation into Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.

The state opened the investigation in February 2026 after new information surfaced in files released by the U.S. Justice Department beginning in December 2025. MS NOW Investigators executed a search of the nearly 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch in March 2026. MS NOW The ranch was bought by Epstein in 1993 and sold to the Huffines family in 2023.

BP's board unanimously voted on May 26, 2026, to remove Albert Manifold as chair and director, effective immediately, citing serious governance oversight and conduct concerns it called unacceptable.

Director Ian Tyler was appointed interim chair while BP begins a search for a permanent replacement. CBS News BP said it would not disclose further details about the conduct or oversight issues.

On May 20, 2026, Hillsborough County deputies charged 34-year-old Marqui Newton with felony first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in the 2016 shooting death of Saadyar "Sy" Johnson in Hillsborough County.

Newton was arrested on May 21, 2026, in Brevard County with help from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Fox News Detectives said the victim, Saadyar "Sy" Johnson, was shot multiple times on May 3, 2016, at the Del Rio Apartments on North 50th Street. Fox News Cold case detectives reopened interviews in 2025 and worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to run new DNA testing that advanced the probe, investigators said.

A Utah father, Dane Stephen Richman, was charged Sunday, May 24, 2026, with abducting his two infant sons after picking them up for visitation in Washington state and may have fled toward Mexico.

Police say a warrant was issued after Richman was charged with two counts of third-degree felony custodial interference. Fox News Authorities say his 2025 Toyota Camry was serviced in Carlsbad, California, on May 18, about 50 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, and they believe he may have taken the children toward Mexico.

House Administration Chair Bryan Steil and Vice Chair Laurel Lee opened a probe on May 26, 2026 into a Maryland mail-in ballot error that affected more than 500,000 voters before the June 23 primary.

Maryland officials said a vendor error caused some voters to receive ballots tied to the wrong party, and the state will mail more than 500,000 replacement ballots before the June 23 gubernatorial primary. Fox News The Republican oversight letter asks State Administrator Jared DeMarinis to answer by June 9 about the error's scope and safeguards to ensure only one ballot per voter is counted.

Opus and Capital Partners unveiled plans to build more than 600 housing units and a business park on the former Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters site in Eagan.

The proposal calls for four business park buildings totaling 450,000 square feet, roughly 500 apartments and up to 126 townhomes. Business Journal The development would occupy the 40-acre property at 3535 and 3545 Blue Cross Road.

Three Chilean nationals wanted by U.S. federal authorities in a probe of a "South American Theft Group" were arrested in Argentina and returned to Chile, Chilean officials said on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

Chilean authorities said the suspects are wanted on U.S. federal charges and face extradition to the United States.

The Justice Department removed dozens of Jan. 6 news releases and detailed defendant case pages from its website the week before May 26, 2026.

The department issued a social-media statement calling the removed materials "partisan propaganda" and saying the purge was part of reversing the "weaponization" of the Justice Department under the Biden administration. NPR NPR confirmed that the previously accessible DOJ pages now return "Page not found" errors after the mass deletion. NPR CBS News reported the Justice Department acknowledged it had scrubbed the releases from its site.

Judge Louise Wood Flanagan reset James Comey's federal trial to October 21, 2026, at a court hearing on May 26 in the case accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors allege Comey's May 2025 Instagram post reading "86 47" amounted to a threat against the former president. Fox News Defense attorneys told the court they will file multiple constitutional motions arguing the post is political speech and cannot be criminalized, and prosecutors did not oppose the continuance.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will launch a new electronic licensing system for fishing and hunting on June 9, 2026, and will pause fishing license sales June 2-8 statewide.

Anglers may fish without a license during the June 2-8 pause but must follow all other regulations and catch limits. FOX 9 The new system replaces a platform that had been in place for more than 25 years and will later onboard recreational vehicle and watercraft titling and registration in a second phase.

Johnny Steven Talbert, 43, was arrested Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Port Angeles, Washington, on charges including two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery tied to a 2008 Concord double slaying.

Talbert is jailed without bond in Washington as he awaits extradition to North Carolina, and Concord police called the arrest a "major cold case breakthrough." CBS News Concord police said renewed evidence testing and the development of previously undeveloped leads in late 2025 produced the break that led to Talbert's identification and arrest.

Mexican authorities captured Isai "N", a U.S.-wanted nephew of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Sonora, an official said.

Security official Omar Garcia Harfuch announced the arrest. CBS News Authorities said they seized 687 kilos of cocaine, 151 firearms and 18 grenades from cartel-linked structures in a separate action.

Roseville police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are searching for 6-year-old Kamryn Simmons after he left his Roseville home on foot Tuesday morning, authorities said.

He is about 4 feet tall, weighs 50 pounds, has black hair, brown eyes, and distinctive moles above his lip and on the left side of his mouth. FOX 9 He was last seen wearing a white shirt, tan shorts, and carrying a blue backpack.

Sonny Rollins, the trailblazing jazz saxophonist, died Monday, May 25, 2026, at his home in Woodstock, New York, at age 95.

He had been largely housebound in recent years because of various physical problems. PBS Pulmonary fibrosis ultimately forced his retirement; his last concert was in 2012 and he stopped playing altogether in 2014.

Kerry Sheron, the 69-year-old owner of Escondido's well-known "Trump House," died after being critically injured in an alleged beating near his home on May 20, and prosecutors are reviewing whether to upgrade the suspect's charges.

Police identified 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler as the suspect, who remains charged with attempted murder. Fox News Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia said Butler allegedly punched Sheron once in the jaw, causing him to fall, and then struck him several more times in the head. Fox News Police say the assault occurred about 2:15 p.m. at East Mission Avenue and Buchanan Street next to the Trump-themed property, and a bystander who intervened was also injured.

Two women were wounded in a non-fatal shooting on Penn Avenue North in north Minneapolis during the Memorial Day weekend.

Fox 9 reported that no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting. FOX 9 Alphanews described the incident as non-fatal and said both victims were wounded.

A south Minneapolis shooting over the Memorial Day weekend left one man dead, part of a string of holiday shootings across Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul.

Alphanews reports multiple other people were shot and injured in separate Minneapolis incidents during the same weekend. Alphanews An earlier Fox9 report described the Minneapolis case as an overnight shooting that left one man dead.

St. Paul police are investigating a suspected homicide discovered near railroad tracks along Case Avenue during the Memorial Day weekend. FOX 9 Local reporting ties the Case Avenue killing to a broader surge of holiday-weekend violence across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

FOX 9 said officers were on scene and had opened a homicide probe but offered few additional details. FOX 9 Alphanews described the St. Paul incident as one of several serious violent crimes under active investigation over the holiday and said multiple Minneapolis shootings left one person dead and several others injured.

A 70-year-old skydiver was killed and another injured after a midair collision near Ritzville, Washington, around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Adams County authorities identified the deceased as 70-year-old Randy Hubbs and the injured jumper as 52-year-old Nicole Klein. CBS News Klein suffered a hip injury and is expected to make a full recovery, and a sheriff's investigation into the crash is ongoing.

On May 2, 2026, more than 30 people forced through a locked side door at the Church of Scientology of New York on West 46th Street, injuring an employee and causing roughly $10,000 in damage.

NYPD charged Jaelen Dinkens and Mohammed Amolegbe with burglary, criminal mischief and assault as hate crimes, and charged Tashaun Simms with obstructing governmental administration and tampering with physical evidence.

A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Brenda Liliana Rivera Estrada Tuesday over a rollover crash that killed her 9-year-old daughter on northbound I-17 near Cactus Road in Phoenix.

The indictment includes one manslaughter count, three child endangerment counts and two drug-related counts against Rivera Estrada. Fox News Prosecutors say toxicology tests found methamphetamine and marijuana in her system and witnesses reported she was speeding. Fox News She was moved from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to the Maricopa County Jail and is being held on a $250,000 cash bond.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Iran hanged Gholamreza Khani Shakarab after convicting him of cooperating and spying for Israel's Mossad, state judicial media reported.

Judicial outlet Mizan Online described him as an overseas Mossad "operational ringleader" and said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence guided him back into Iran and arrested him. CBS News Authorities accused him of scouting a plot to assassinate a Jewish rabbi in a third country to frame Iran.

As of Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Justice Department immigration courts are holding "mega master" mass hearings to speed deportation decisions in cities including Chicago, Boston and Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Advocates say many respondents in those accelerated dockets lack legal representation, and some hearings were moved up from years in the future, raising the risk of in-absentia removal orders.

A retrospective study of 12,112 patients found GLP-1 weight-loss drugs were linked to slower progression to stage 4 in several obesity-related cancers, researchers said at the 2026 ASCO meeting.

Patients who started GLP-1s after diagnosis had about 50% lower progression to stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer and 43% lower progression in breast cancer compared with DPP-4 inhibitor users. Fox News Colorectal and liver cancer patients on GLP-1s showed 31% and 38% lower progression to stage 4 disease respectively, while differences in prostate, pancreatic and kidney cancers were not statistically significant. Fox News Tumors with higher GLP-1 receptor expression were tied to roughly a one-third reduction in death risk during follow-up.

President Trump signed an executive order at the White House on Thursday, May 21, 2026, loosening EPA rules that had required grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from cooling equipment.

At a White House ceremony, Trump said the change would substantially lower consumer costs and protect hundreds of thousands of jobs. MS NOW He also claimed it would save Americans more than $2 billion a year and cited 3.8% annual inflation in April 2026. MS NOW EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin described the administration's broader environmental agenda with a phrase reported as putting a "dagger through the heart of climate change religion." MS NOW

The Colorado Supreme Court ordered Children's Hospital Colorado to resume gender-affirming medical care for minors, finding the immediate harm to patients outweighs speculative federal enforcement risks.

Four plaintiffs — transgender girls ages 10 to 17 suing through their parents — alleged the hospital violated Colorado's antidiscrimination law based on gender identity and the disability of gender dysphoria. PBS News The TRUE Center at the hospital was described in the lawsuit as one of the country's largest gender-affirming programs and the only comprehensive center in the Rocky Mountain region. PBS News Fox News also reported the state high court's order.

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles from Jongju city toward the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, raising military alert in the region.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Seoul has bolstered surveillance and is sharing launch data with the United States and Japan. CBS News Seoul also said these were Pyongyang's first missile launches since April 19, 2026.

The Minnesota Legislature approved a roughly $705 million rescue for Hennepin Healthcare as lawmakers adjourned the 2026 session on Monday, May 18, in St. Paul.

The deal includes a $205 million health-bill grant, a $500 million hospital stabilization reserve and additional hospital aid. FOX 9 Leaders tied the HCMC money to a broader budget agreement that also delivers property-tax refunds, car-tab fee reductions and roughly $1.2 billion for infrastructure projects.

Minnesota lawmakers approved a late-session package rescuing Hennepin County Medical Center and enacting tax rebates plus $1.2 billion in bonding as the Legislature adjourned shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday, May 17, 2026.

The rescue provides $205 million up front for HCMC and creates a $500 million hospital stabilization reserve in the general fund. FOX 9 The broader package also includes $125 million in property-tax rebates, more than $250 million in car registration fee cuts, and $1.2 billion in bonding focused on lead-pipe replacement and PFAS cleanup.

On Saturday, May 23, 2026, Secret Service officers shot and later killed a man who opened fire near a security checkpoint one block from the White House, and a bystander was wounded.

Authorities identified the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best of Dundalk, Maryland; officials said he later died at a hospital. CBS News Journalists on the White House North Lawn reported hearing what they described as dozens of shots and were ordered into the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room while officers secured the grounds. NPR Video from ABC correspondent Selina Wang captured a sustained volley of gunfire and the clip went viral, drawing millions of views. Fox News FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agents were assisting the Secret Service and would update the public as able. MS NOW President Trump praised the "swift and professional" Secret Service response and again urged expanded White House security funding tied to a proposed ballroom.

On Monday, May 25, 2026, a Dominican judge found Wander Franco criminally responsible for sexual and psychological abuse of a minor and granted him a judicial pardon that overturned a June 2025 suspended sentence.

Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term at the new proceeding, but the court instead sentenced the girl's mother to 10 years for money laundering and commercial sexual exploitation tied to payments from Franco. Fox News Investigators previously found more than $100,000 in cash during raids on the mother's home, and prosecutors said she used her daughter as a financial commodity to extract thousands from Franco.

Allina Health and Sutter Health have signed a definitive merger agreement to form a multistate nonprofit health system and pledged more than $2 billion in local investment for Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The companies say the combined organization would include 40 hospitals, more than 400 care sites, about 18,000 aligned physicians, roughly 88,000 employees and over 5 million patients across California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal Warner Thomas will be chief executive of the combined system, while Lisa Shannon will continue to lead Allina and Allina will keep its name and Minneapolis headquarters.

Brazil's National Treasury allocated $617.5 million to the Eco Invest Amazon program on May 25, 2026, to finance sustainable projects across the Amazon.

Eight banks committed roughly $2 billion in the same auction, bringing total Eco Invest commitments to about 140 billion reais (roughly $28 billion). PBS News Under the program, Treasury money is lent to banks at 1% annually and those banks must mobilize at least four times that amount in private capital, with at least 60% from foreign investors.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, May 24, 2026, to press India for a bilateral trade deal and to shore up Quad unity even as U.S.-India tariff tensions linger.

Rubio held bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, followed by a joint press briefing. PBS News He called India "one of the most important strategic partners" of the United States and said he was optimistic about finalizing a bilateral trade deal soon. PBS News Rubio also argued that President Trump's tariffs were applied from a global perspective and not specifically targeted at India. PBS News He conveyed a formal invitation from President Donald Trump for Modi to visit Washington later in 2026.

A 15-year-old Canadian girl was charged with arson and possession of incendiary material after a fire destroyed a U.S. baseball team's charter bus outside Blue Cross Park in Winnipeg on May 21, 2026.

Winnipeg police say the girl faces counts of arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material, and she was released into the custody of an adult as investigators continue probing a motive. Fox News The 56-seat bus and its contents were completely destroyed, and the operator estimated roughly $425,000 in damage.

Mexico will auction on Thursday, May 28, 2026 a seized plot of land inside the Tapalpa country club where CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" was killed.

Bidding on the lot opens at about $750,000, and the parcel is being offered as part of a wider sale of 211 seized properties. CBS News The plot was seized after the February operation that killed El Mencho, authorities say.

Senate Republicans abandoned a roughly $1 billion White House security request tied to the planned East Wing ballroom and delayed marathon budget votes on May 21, 2026, after mounting GOP opposition.

Days later, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche filed in federal court late Sunday asking a judge to let ballroom construction resume and calling the 9,000-square-foot facility a "SAFE HAVEN" necessary for the president to "safely conduct the business of the United States." CBS News

Minnesota State Patrol identified the teen killed in a Dakota County head-on crash as 18-year-old Adin Castle of Faribault, who was a passenger in a Ford Fusion.

The Fusion's driver, 18-year-old Arianna Hess of Farmington, was taken to Regions Hospital and is expected to survive. FOX 9 Troopers said a Chevrolet Suburban driven by a 36-year-old Oakdale man crossed the center line before the head-on collision. FOX 9 The Suburban driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries, was taken to Regions Hospital and is awaiting alcohol testing.

A federal judge has cleared a lawsuit by Los Angeles County lifeguard Captain Jeffrey Little to proceed toward trial after issuing a sealed ruling in the week before May 25, 2026.

The sealed order granted in part and denied in part both sides' motions for summary judgment and left factual disputes for a jury to resolve. Fox News Little is seeking a permanent religious accommodation from Pride-flag duties, removal of the suspension from his personnel record, and monetary damages.

Senate Republicans abruptly canceled a planned floor vote on a $72 billion immigration and border package after a revolt over the Justice Department's newly announced $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and related White House security spending, dooming President Trump's June 1 signing target.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche flew to the Capitol and faced tense, closed-door questioning from dozens of GOP senators but failed to win enough assurances to salvage the bill. Fox News The settlement that created the fund also included a one-page addendum signed by Blanche that bars the IRS from pursuing examinations tied to Trump-related tax returns, a step tax experts and career IRS officials called unprecedented.

On Friday, May 22, 2026, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced she will run for reelection in Florida's new, majority-Black 20th Congressional District in South Florida.

The new district was created under a congressional map Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on May 4, 2026, which also eliminated her current South Florida seat and added four Republican-leaning districts. New York Times The majority-Black 20th had been represented by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned last month and faces a federal indictment alleging she embezzled about $5 million in disaster aid. New York Times Several Black Democrats, including Cherfilus-McCormick, have already declared campaigns in the 20th and have criticized Wasserman Schultz for seeking to represent a majority-Black seat.

On Sunday, May 24, 2026, Chilean police announced the arrest of three Chilean nationals wanted by the FBI for burglaries at U.S. professional athletes' homes.

Two suspects were arrested in Argentina last week after breaking into former tennis player Juan Martin del Potro's home, authorities said. CBS News That led to a third arrest in Chile on Saturday, May 24.

A Manhattan federal jury convicted Daniel Sikkema on Friday, May 22, 2026, of a murder-for-hire conspiracy that led to his husband's death in Rio de Janeiro, and Sikkema now faces a mandatory life sentence.

Prosecutors said Daniel Sikkema funneled more than $10,000 to an alleged hitman and used a burner phone while arranging the killing. CBS News They told jurors he boasted he would make more money from his husband's death than from a divorce. CBS News Brent Sikkema, 75, a New York City art dealer, was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro townhouse in January 2024. CBS News Daniel Sikkema, a dual U.S.-Cuban citizen, was arrested in April 2024 and his lawyer said he will appeal the conviction.

A gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan County, Shanxi province, on the evening of Friday, May 22, 2026, killed at least 82 workers, left more than 120 hospitalized and two missing.

Chinese officials told state media they uncovered "serious violations" by the mine's operator, Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group, and launched an investigation. Fox News Xinhua said company officials connected to the disaster have been "placed under control" while the probe continues.

China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night, May 24, 2026, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, carrying three astronauts, one slated for about a year aboard Tiangong to study long-duration spaceflight.

The crew is commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, holds a doctoral degree in computer forensics and is the territory's first astronaut. PBS Shenzhou 23 will carry out dozens of science and application projects and perform an in-orbit crew rotation with the Shenzhou 21 team, which has been on Tiangong for more than 200 days.

A suicide car bombing near a shuttle train in Quetta on Sunday, May 24, 2026, killed at least 23 people and wounded about 70, officials said.

The explosion happened when an explosives-laden vehicle detonated beside a railway line as a passenger train passed, overturning two cars and setting them ablaze. Fox News Witnesses and images showed thick black smoke, two overturned burning cars, heavy damage to nearby buildings and harm to more than a dozen parked vehicles. Fox News Doctors told reporters that roughly 20 of the about 70 wounded were in critical condition.

Royle Bradford Luker, a 17-year-old sailor killed at Pearl Harbor in 1941, was identified by DNA and will be buried with military honors in Plainview, Arkansas, on May 30, 2026.

Luker served as a Fireman Third Class aboard the battleship USS West Virginia when the attack struck Pearl Harbor. Fox News His remains were interred for decades as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Fox News The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency formally accounted for Luker on May 29, 2024 after modern forensic and DNA testing on exhumed caskets, and his graveside service is set for May 30, 2026 in Plainview.

A late-night crowd stampede near a stage on South Ocean Boulevard in Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, injured 19 people and prompted a mass-casualty incident around 1:05 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Horry County Fire Rescue evaluated 19 people, transported three to hospitals and declared the situation a mass-casualty incident; officials said the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Fox News The Town of Atlantic Beach said the stampede began after one person started running. Fox News Officials reported no confirmed weapons or fights and allowed the long-running Memorial Day bike festival to resume.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said most foreign nationals in the United States must leave and apply for green cards from abroad.

The agency's May 22, 2026 memo says in-country adjustment of status is allowed only in "extraordinary circumstances." CBS USCIS told officers to treat adjustment as an "extraordinary" form of administrative grace and to view choosing adjustment over consular processing as an "adverse factor" in adjudications. CBS USCIS said some exceptions will likely remain for refugees, asylees and holders of certain dual-intent visas such as H-1B, but the memo did not fully define those exemptions. CBS USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler framed the move as returning to a Congressional preference for consular processing and said in-country adjustment should be reserved for rare cases.

Boston firefighter Robert "Bobby" Kilduff Jr., 53, died after falling from the third floor while fighting a three-alarm house fire Saturday night, May 23, 2026, on Treadway Road in Dorchester.

Kilduff, nicknamed "BK," was a 24-year member of the Boston Fire Department and a Marine Corps veteran. Fox News He fell from the third floor during the blaze and later died of his injuries, Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall said. Fox News Mayor Michelle Wu said all residents escaped safely, and Gov. Maura Healey ordered flags at state buildings lowered to half-staff.

The NYPD has ruled the shooting death of Queens bakery owner Albert Itzkowitz a homicide, officials said Thursday after the 75-year-old was found fatally shot along Kissena Lake on Monday, May 18.

He was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds near the lake shoreline just before 5 p.m., police said. Fox News There have been no arrests, and Crime Stoppers is offering up to $3,500 for tips in the case.

A U.S. grand jury indictment unsealed May 20, 2026, in Miami charged former Cuban president Raúl Castro and five others with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, multiple counts of murder and destruction of aircraft.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges at a news conference at Miami's Freedom Tower and then took reporters' questions about next steps. CBS News The court filings list conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, multiple murder counts and counts of destroying aircraft, and a judge granted a motion to unseal a superseding indictment.

Ten California mayors sent a letter opposing a tax-and-planning concept in the High-Speed Rail Authority's 2026 Draft Business Plan. Fox News They warn the idea would divert local property tax growth near future high-speed rail stations to the project and weaken city budgets.

The mayors say the plan would violate state constitutional protections against diverting local tax revenues. Fox News The authority's 2026 draft re-estimates full Phase 1 buildout at about $231.3 billion and an "optimized" initial Phase 1 investment at roughly $126.2 billion. A High-Speed Rail Authority spokesperson said there is no finalized proposal to capture local revenues and that discussions with local governments are ongoing.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, a Los Angeles County judge refused Sierra Canyon School's bid to move a lawsuit over alleged student sexual abuse into private proceedings, keeping the case in open court.

The suit alleges older female students coerced seven-year-old children into a "kissing club" that included kissing, genital touching and oral copulation in school bathrooms. Fox News Plaintiffs say school officials later discovered videos of the incidents on students' phones but did not promptly notify law enforcement or families, raising questions about compliance with California mandatory-reporting laws. Fox News Sierra Canyon denies wrongdoing and says it conducted a review and took corrective steps after concerns surfaced in 2024.

On Friday, May 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched Modern Skies, a website to track a $12.5 billion Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control modernization program and its progress.

The site catalogs more than 10,000 individual projects and offers an interactive map plus monthly progress reports. CBS News It shows copper wire replacement is 51 percent complete and about 18 percent of required radio conversions are finished.

Minneapolis will begin a multi-year rebuild of George Floyd Square on June 8, 2026, reopening nearby streets while preserving the memorial where Floyd died.

Construction is scheduled to start June 8 and continue through 2027, with crews installing wider sidewalks, new gathering spaces and upgraded infrastructure. FOX 9 The adopted plan reopens 38th Street and Chicago Avenue to cars and buses but keeps the immediate memorial area permanently closed to traffic.

On May 23, 2026, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control served administrative subpoenas on commentators Hasan Piker and Medea Benjamin over trips to Cuba tied to the Nuestra América Convoy.

The subpoenas were framed as Requests for Information and seek detailed financial, logistical and communications records connected to March 2026 convoy trips. Fox News The action is part of a broader, multi-agency probe involving as many as 40 U.S. citizens over potential Cuba sanctions violations and foreign influence activities.

On Saturday, May 23, 2026, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado announced in Panama City that she will return from exile by late 2026 and will run again for president.

Machado said a credible presidential vote would require seven to nine months of preparation, including neutral electoral authorities, updated voter registration and unfettered opposition participation. PBS News Her announcement comes after the U.S. military captured Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, an event that reshaped Venezuela's power dynamics. PBS News The Trump administration has since moved to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has opened Venezuela's oil industry to U.S. investment.

U.S. Marines ran a rapid-response drill at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas on Saturday, May 23, 2026, landing two MV-22 Ospreys in the embassy parking lot.

Venezuelan officials had announced the exercise in advance, saying it was to prepare for medical or catastrophic emergencies. PBS News Marine Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, flew aboard one of the Ospreys to observe the drill and to meet Venezuelan officials.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against 15 people in Minnesota accused of roughly $90 million in Medicaid and social-services fraud and tied the indictments to the Feeding Our Future prosecution.

Prosecutors said two autism-clinic defendants were central to the case, accused of submitting about $46.6 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota's Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program. New York Times Authorities named the pair as Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, alleging they paid kickbacks to steer families, billed for services not provided, filed roughly $46.6 million in claims and received about $21.6 million. Fox News Separately, prosecutors say Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar and Ibrahim Bashir Abdi submitted about $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program; Omar briefly fled an FBI raid on May 21 but was arrested within hours.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a congressional hearing on May 19 that the United States has paused a roughly $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to preserve munitions for Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

Cao said the hold is temporary and that resuming foreign military sales would be up to the secretary of war and the secretary of state. Fox News He said he had not briefed Taiwanese officials about the pause. Fox News Congress pre-approved the package in January 2026 but it still required presidential transmittal to move; the administration had already authorized a separate $11 billion Taiwan package in December 2025 that remains undelivered.

An attempted traffic stop about 4:50 a.m. Saturday on Edinbrook Terrace in Brooklyn Park ended in a crash near the 8600 block of Zane Avenue North, police said.

Four people fled on foot into a nearby wooded area and were not located despite assistance from multiple agencies, two K-9 units and a drone. FOX 9 Police said the crashed vehicle had been taken in an armed carjacking in Minneapolis. FOX 9 Officers recovered the gun they said had been used in that carjacking.

Kyle Busch died Thursday, May 21, 2026, after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, his family said following a medical evaluation released Saturday.

Busch became unresponsive while testing a Chevrolet racing simulator at a Concord, North Carolina, facility on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, and was transported to a Charlotte hospital the next day. PBS A 911 call released to news organizations describes him coughing up a little blood, feeling short of breath and lying awake on a bathroom floor at the General Motors training complex. CBS The family had earlier said only that he was hospitalized with a "severe illness" before the medical evaluation identified pneumonia and sepsis.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced at West Point's commencement on Saturday, May 23, 2026, that the U.S. Army met its 2026 recruiting goal four months early.

Hegseth said the Army's 2026 target is 61,500 new soldiers and that the service has already reached that figure, calling it a second consecutive record recruiting year. Fox News He told graduates they will soon train and lead the 61,500 new soldiers and said when the Army grows next year they will lead even more troops in their platoons.

One person died and 36 people were injured, most of them firefighters and other first responders, after a fire and two explosions Friday at a Staten Island shipyard at 3075 Richmond Terrace.

Firefighters found a blaze burning in the basement of a 150-by-150-foot metal building after multiple 911 calls about smoke and trapped workers. PBS News Crews arrived within about six minutes of the calls. NPR A major explosion occurred roughly 50 minutes after crews arrived, about 4:19 p.m. Central. Fox News Officials said a second blast hit while firefighters and rescue paramedics were searching for trapped workers. NPR A fire marshal inside during the second explosion is in critical but stable condition with a fractured skull and a small brain bleed, and a firefighter suffered serious but improving injuries. PBS News FDNY said about 68 units and roughly 212 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene.

Three masked suspects assaulted a man and stole his phone, keys, jacket and vehicle near 14th Ave SE and 7th St SE in Dinkytown at about 4:20 a.m., police said.

Police later stopped the stolen vehicle; occupants fled and officers recovered a firearm. FOX 9 No arrests or detailed suspect descriptions have been announced.

Military families urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to distribute a $777 million forfeiture tied to French cement company Lafarge, pressing their claims in litigation in the Eastern District of New York.

Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, a Navy explosive-ordnance-disposal specialist gravely wounded in November 2017 while clearing a booby-trapped hospital in Raqqa, is among the plaintiffs seeking compensation. Fox News Attorney Todd Toral of Jenner & Block represents about 25 of roughly 1,000 plaintiffs and said Lafarge's funding of ISIS is an "undisputed fact" because the company pleaded guilty in the United States in 2022. Fox News The DOJ has held the $777 million forfeiture since October 2022 while families press for distribution through litigation in the Eastern District of New York. Fox News A French court in April 2026 convicted Lafarge and eight former employees and sentenced the ex-CEO to six years, and Lafarge has appealed calling the conduct a "legacy matter." Fox News

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Hawaii's Big Island shortly before 10 p.m. local time on Friday, May 22, 2026, near Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo on the island's southwest coast, sending strong shaking through the west side.

The U.S. Geological Survey located the epicenter about seven miles south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo. Fox News More than 2,500 residents submitted felt reports, with shaking described as strong to very strong along the island's west side.

Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard seized roughly 500 pounds of cocaine aboard the Motor Tanker Aquatravesia at the Port of Los Angeles on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

A U.S. Coast Guard narcotics detection canine led agents to the stash, which weighed about 226 kilograms and is valued at roughly $6.4 million. Fox News Crew member Ceasar Tubay Gelacio Jr., 43, of the Philippines, was arrested and charged with importation of a controlled substance.

SpaceX's upgraded 'version 3' Super Heavy-Starship completed an hourlong test flight on Friday, May 22, 2026, releasing mock satellites and reaching its planned Indian Ocean splashdown area.

The 407-foot stack lifted from SpaceX's reinforced Starbase pad with 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines that produced roughly 18 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. PBS News After stage separation the booster began a programmed flip toward a Gulf of Mexico splashdown while the upper stage climbed to about 120 miles, deployed roughly 20 Starlink dummies and ejected two camera-equipped units that returned brief video.

On Friday, May 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed Michael Wolff's lawsuit seeking a federal shield from a threatened $1 billion defamation suit by First Lady Melania Trump.

Vyskocil issued a 45-page opinion that called Wolff's effort "contorted," said the federal court had jurisdiction but declined to exercise it, and wrote she "will not be conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat." MS NOW

On Friday, May 22, 2026, Rep. James Comer announced a House Oversight investigation into alleged insider trading and market manipulation on prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket.

Comer's letters say the committee is probing whether users used classified information to trade on military operations and political developments, and whether offshore or anonymous accounts are being used to skirt U.S. rules. MS NOW The letters request details on identity-verification procedures, enforcement of geographic restrictions, and methods for detecting anomalous trading activity. MS NOW Kalshi said it will cooperate with the committee and defended its "comprehensive protections against insider trading," and Polymarket said it maintains a "comprehensive market integrity framework" and called itself a pioneer in transparency. MS NOW In April Kalshi suspended three political candidates for betting on their own races. MS NOW Last month a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was charged with using classified intelligence to place Polymarket bets tied to an operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, allegedly netting more than $400,000.

New Mexico officials said on May 22 that methamphetamine, fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl were found in a Mountainair home where three people died and multiple first responders fell ill.

Officials said 25 people were exposed, about 20 were hospitalized and later released, and two remained hospitalized in serious condition. Fox News Investigators say responders were likely exposed by contact with drug residue on surfaces rather than by an airborne toxin. New York Times University of New Mexico Hospital staff said 23 people exposed were transported there, assessed and decontaminated; most were first responders who were asymptomatic and later discharged.

Tulsi Gabbard submitted her resignation as Director of National Intelligence on Friday, May 22, 2026, and will step down effective June 30 to support her husband.

She posted a resignation letter on X saying her husband, Abraham, has been diagnosed with an "extremely rare form of bone cancer" and she cannot ask him to fight it alone. PBS News President Trump praised her work and the administration said Principal Deputy Director Aaron Lukas will serve as acting DNI after her departure.

President Donald Trump announced on Friday, May 22, 2026, in Rockland County, New York, that Welles Remy Crowther will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

The announcement came at a rally with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had pressed for the honor ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fox News Trump brought Crowther's mother, Alison Crowther, onstage; she described the award as "a huge honor" and said her son's story motivates children to be better people. Fox News The report did not specify when a formal medal ceremony will take place.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Senate Republicans halted a planned budget fast-track vote on a roughly $72 billion DHS immigration enforcement package and left for the Memorial Day recess, missing President Trump's June 1 deadline.

The sudden collapse centered on Republican unease with a newly announced Justice Department "Anti-Weaponization Fund" worth roughly $1.776-$1.8 billion and an earlier $1 billion White House security and ballroom request. PBS Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met privately with roughly 40 Senate Republicans on May 21 to defend the settlement fund. CBS News Senators said Blanche failed to provide operational details and that many were prepared to back amendments to strip or constrain the program. CBS News The Justice Department told senators and the public that "not a single dime" from the reconciliation bill would fund the settlement, but leaders said the fund's surprise rollout made floor votes politically untenable.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. dismissed the indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday, May 22, 2026, finding the prosecution vindictive and granting the defense's motion to dismiss.

Crenshaw wrote that prosecutors' timing and charging decisions would deter a similarly situated defendant from exercising their rights and that, without Abrego Garcia's successful lawsuit challenging his removal, the government would not have brought the case. New York Times The Justice Department said it will appeal, calling the ruling "wrong and dangerous" and accusing the judge of placing politics above public safety. Fox News The Department of Homeland Security condemned the decision as "naked judicial activism" and said Abrego Garcia's final removal order remains in force.

The Food and Drug Administration posted a six-page guidance memo earlier in May 2026 that allows certain e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to enter the U.S. market before they complete full FDA scientific vetting.

Senior staff in the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products say they were not consulted and only saw the memo the night before it was posted. PBS News The agency issued the guidance as a final policy without a federal public-comment period, breaking with prior practice that requires premarket scientific evidence of a product's benefit before market entry.

Sarah Kellen told the House Oversight Committee on May 21, 2026, that Jeffrey Epstein sexually and psychologically abused her and that she was also abused by three other men.

She said the men included former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai and fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier. PBS Kellen made the statements in an opening statement before the House Oversight Committee and described being "trapped inside Jeffrey Epstein's world," saying he had sexually and psychologically abused her for more than a decade.

Economists say nearly 50,000 U.S. job cuts announced in 2026 have been explicitly tied to artificial intelligence, about 17% of roughly 300,000 total cuts.

Major employers have cited AI in recent reductions, including Intuit's 17% staff cut of about 3,000 jobs, Meta's move to lay off 8,000 workers and thousands more at Cisco. CBS Goldman Sachs finds AI reduced monthly U.S. payroll growth by roughly 16,000 jobs over the past year and raised the unemployment rate by about 0.1 percentage point, mainly by curbing hiring. CBS Economists say the biggest labor effect is weaker hiring for junior and entry-level roles rather than one-for-one replacement of existing staff.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick donated $5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund on April 1, 2026, weeks before he gave closed-door House Oversight testimony about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The donation was Lutnick's first reported political contribution since he became commerce secretary in President Trump's second term. MS NOW A Commerce Department spokesperson said he gave in a personal capacity, and Democrats said his transcribed testimony before the House Oversight Committee on May 6 was evasive.

On Friday, May 22, 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office released an audit saying federal immigration agents used misleading tactics at New York City shelters, including posing as social service workers to seek access.

The reviews were mandated by Executive Order 13 and covered six city agencies. Fox News The audit found the NYPD received 3,672 civil immigration detainer requests in 2025, up from 99 in 2024, and said no individuals were transferred to ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security told NPR on May 22, 2026, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has "no relationship" with spyware maker Paragon Solutions or with the company that acquired it. NPR DHS said ICE has not entered a new contract, but officials would not say whether the agency can still access Paragon tools through third parties.

A federal procurement notice shows ICE's Paragon contract was closed out on January 20, 2026, after the agreement was reactivated in August 2025. NPR The contract had previously been paused under the Biden administration while officials assessed compliance with a 2023 executive order restricting federal purchases of high-risk commercial spyware.

Deputy Jon Samuelson was shot three times inside Franciscan Hospital's emergency department in Michigan City, Indiana on Friday, May 22, 2026.

Samuelson was airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital in critical condition after the shooting. Fox News Authorities arrested the suspect, identified as Sharod Grafton Jr., in nearby woods; he is being held and faces charges that are pending. Fox News Franciscan Hospital put its emergency department on ambulance bypass, rerouted walk-in patients, and temporarily closed on-site medical offices.

A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted 21-year-old Diego Emmanuel Reyes on Thursday, May 21, 2026, for allegedly ramming his SUV into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent's pickup truck.

Prosecutors say the incident occurred on October 4, 2025, during Operation Midway Blitz, when Reyes' SUV struck and then pushed the ICE vehicle forward. Fox News The indictment carries a deadly-weapon enhancement for using the SUV and exposes Reyes to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

A bipartisan group of eight women U.S. senators departed Friday, May 22, 2026, for a multi-country Arctic and sub-Arctic tour to reassure regional allies in Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and Iceland.

The eight-member delegation is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans and is led by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Jeanne Shaheen. PBS News They plan to review military operations, climate impacts and undersea cable projects and to meet with Indigenous communities across the stops. PBS News The trip follows a Pentagon announcement that paused U.S. participation on a decades-old joint continental defense board with Canada, making the visit a diplomatic signal of reassurance.

Maine election officials say a citizen initiative to require school sports and facilities be designated by biological sex fell 532 signatures short of qualifying for the statewide ballot.

Reviewers counted 67,150 valid signatures, while 67,682 were required. Katherine McBrien recommended rejecting 12,542 signatures, including nearly 2,000 duplicates, after a judge ordered a second review. Protect Girls Sports in Maine plans to file objections before the May 23 deadline, keeping legal fights alive ahead of a final decision from Secretary of State Shenna Bellows by May 26.

Two teenage attackers livestreamed a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and at least three people watched the livestream as the attack unfolded.

The Islamic Center of San Diego was reported to be filled with young students during the attack. CBS News CBS said recordings and video calls captured the assault and identified the assailants as two teenagers.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' motion and dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking the state's voter-roll data. Fox News A separate federal judge in Wisconsin also rebuffed Justice Department efforts to obtain unredacted state voter rolls.

The DOJ had sought names of all registered voters along with driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth from Maine's rolls. Fox News Walker wrote that granting the DOJ's request would require him to "turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism" in American elections.

On Friday, May 22, 2026, the Pentagon released a second tranche of PURSUE records that included Dec. 31, 1969 Apollo 12 post-mission medical audio in which astronauts described unexplained "streaks of light" in space.

The Apollo 12 crew — Charles "Pete" Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean — told flight doctors they saw horizontal streaks a little above center while trying to sleep in deep space. Fox News They reported flashes about 30 degrees to horizontal that often appeared in the same part of their visual field. Fox News Medical staff at the debrief discussed whether the flashes occurred in one eye or both and whether cosmic rays or heavy particles could be the cause. Fox News The tranche also includes Cold War files on "green fireballs" near military and nuclear sites, Pantex imagery of an unidentified object, and a senior intelligence officer's account of orange orbs seen during a helicopter mission. Fox News CBS News said the release contained additional videos and documents in the second batch.

President Donald Trump pledged on Thursday, May 21, 2026, to send 5,000 additional U.S. troops to Poland, a move NATO foreign ministers debated at their May 22 meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden.

At the Helsingborg meeting, ministers publicly welcomed the Poland pledge but also described U.S. messaging as confusing. CBS News Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, "All's well that ends well," while Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard called the U.S. NATO position "confusing indeed" and questioned "social media negotiation." CBS News Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended to assuage allies, declined to give details on force changes, and said reductions were "not a punitive thing" as he acknowledged administration disappointment with some allies over their refusal to support U.S. operations in the Iran war.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, challenging Education Department rules that cap graduate student loans while excluding many nursing programs.

Plaintiffs say the Education Department relied on decades-old regulatory examples to redefine "professional degree," keeping higher $200,000 caps for 11 fields while excluding graduate nursing, physical therapy and nurse anesthesia programs. New York Times The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 set a $100,000 cap for graduate programs and $200,000 for professional degrees, effective July 2026; earlier rules generally allowed borrowing up to the full cost of attendance.

On Thursday, May 21, Sens. Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Sara Jacobs warned that federal data-broker rules omit the White House, Congress and CIA headquarters, leaving them unprotected.

The rules, in effect since April 2025, bar sales of location data tied to 736 GPS-designated sensitive sites to six countries: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. PBS News Wyden's office and the Congressional Research Service found the White House, Congress and CIA headquarters were not included on the protected list.

Minority Veterans of America sued the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to block the VA's Dec. 31, 2025 abortion rule.

The rule restricts abortions to life-threatening cases only and removes exceptions for rape, incest, serious health risks, and abortion counseling. PBS News The lawsuit alleges the VA violated the Administrative Procedure Act by reinstating a near-ban without medical evidence or sufficient justification and cites an unnamed veteran whose health is at substantial risk from pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood affiliate launched the "Just In Case Abortion Pills" advance-provision program on Thursday, May 21, 2026, offering abortion pills in Washington and Hawaii.

The program will dispense mifepristone and misoprostol by telehealth and at 16 Planned Parenthood health centers. NPR Planned Parenthood leaders said staff will provide ongoing support when patients later decide to use the pills, even months after they are handed out.

A Virginia judge dismissed all eight felony child-neglect counts against former Richneck Elementary assistant principal Ebony Parker on Thursday, May 21, 2026, ruling prosecutors had not met the state's criminal standard.

Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Robinson granted the defense motion and said if Parker's actions are to be criminal, "the legislature will need to codify it." Fox News Prosecutors told the court they do not plan to refile charges, effectively ending the criminal case against Parker. New York Times Each of the eight counts had been linked to a bullet in the child's gun and carried a possible five-year prison term.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on Thursday, May 21, 2026, and they agreed to continue bilateral security and migration cooperation founded on mutual respect.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said the agreed principles include respect for sovereignty and "coordination without subordination," and it highlighted migration cooperation as a central focus. PBS News Sheinbaum said 15 Mexican migrants have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since 2025. PBS News She said Mexico will take those cases to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The House rejected a revised bill to authorize a site for the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum in a 204-216 vote on Thursday, May 21, 2026, leaving the museum's location uncertain.

Republicans rewrote the bill to bar the inclusion of transgender people from museum exhibits by defining the museum's scope around "biological women" and to limit the diversity of views allowed in exhibits. MS NOW The amendment would also have given President Donald Trump final authority to pick a site on or near the National Mall, prompting opposition from Democrats and some conservative Republicans.

Researchers published a 2026 study in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases that found high hantavirus exposure and active infections among rodents in the Palouse of eastern Washington and north-central Idaho.

Researchers sampled 189 rodents in summer 2023 at eight farms and two forest sites across the Palouse. Fox News Nearly 30% showed evidence of prior hantavirus exposure and about 10% carried active Sin Nombre virus infections. Fox News Infections were detected in several rodent species and in both agricultural and natural environments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday publicly rebuked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for taunting detained activists from the Global Sumud flotilla that the Israeli Navy intercepted off Cyprus on Monday, May 18, 2026.

Organizers say the flotilla sailed from Marmaris, Turkey and included roughly 50-54 vessels; trackers reported at least 17 boats were intercepted in the first three hours. PBS News The navy boarded dozens of vessels, and activists including the sister of Ireland's president were arrested as soldiers in tactical gear moved onto boats while those aboard wore life jackets and raised their hands. NPR By Tuesday, Israeli forces said they had intercepted remaining vessels about 167 miles from Gaza. PBS News Flotilla organizers said roughly 428 detainees from more than 40 countries were unaccounted for, while Israel's Foreign Ministry said all 430 activists had been transferred to Israeli vessels.

Brayanne Escobar-Guarnizo, a Colombian national, was sentenced on Monday, May 18, 2026, to 300 months (25 years) in prison for raping and sexually exploiting a 12-year-old girl in Missouri.

Prosecutors said he raped and impregnated the 12-year-old and used electronic messages to solicit nude photos and videos from her. Fox News He was arrested by the Greene County Sheriff's Office in September 2024 and pleaded guilty in August 2025 to sexual exploitation of a minor after an initial child-pornography production charge.

The Army announced it will sharply cut helicopter procurement and redirect billions of dollars toward unmanned systems, Assistant Army Secretary Brent Ingraham said on May 21, 2026.

The service's FY 2027 budget request slashes Apache procurement from about $361.7 million to roughly $1.5 million. Fox News Black Hawk funding falls from about $913 million to roughly $39.3 million, and Chinook buys drop from about $629 million to around $210 million. Fox News The plan also trims roughly 6,500 active-duty aviation positions across fiscal years 2026 and 2027 as the Army shifts resources to unmanned systems.

SpaceX filed an IPO prospectus on May 20, 2026, revealing steep 2025 operating losses, sizable Starlink profits and a Musk compensation plan tied to a Mars-colony milestone.

The filing shows SpaceX lost $4.2 billion between January and March 2026, with the rocket-launch arm losing about $662 million, xAI nearly $2.5 billion and Starlink earning about $1.1 billion in profit.

United Airlines Flight 1551 diverted to Washington Dulles after a passenger tried to open a cabin door and assaulted another traveler, forcing an emergency landing Thursday, May 21.

The pilot reported the unruly passenger tried to open door 2L at about 36,000 feet before assaulting another passenger. CBS News The Boeing 737 Max 8 was carrying 145 passengers and six crew and touched down at Dulles at 8:38 p.m.; no injuries were reported and the FBI responded.

The U.S. revoked Adys Lastres Morera's lawful permanent resident status and she was taken into ICE custody in Miami on Wednesday, May 20, where she will remain during removal proceedings.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the LPR termination was carried out "at my direction" and accused Morera of managing real estate assets in Florida while aiding Havana's communist government. Fox News Rubio described GAESA as allowing a small circle of regime elites to "plunder" resources, saying the conglomerate diverted millions in aid and hid as much as $20 billion in illicit funds overseas.

Prosecutors told a court on Tuesday, May 19, that 17-year-old Cristian Mondragon-Fajardo, arrested in an Austin shooting spree, is an undocumented immigrant and that ICE has issued a detainer.

He is being held without bond and faces six felony counts, including two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, theft of firearms and evading arrest, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement arrested 341 people and rescued 40 children in a multiagency operation against child exploitation in five Southern California counties, officials said.

The LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led the effort with 112 partner agencies. Fox News Arrests included suspects charged with producing and distributing child sexual abuse material, lewd acts with a child, human trafficking and registry violations.

Former U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bess Lowery was charged with felony failure to stop and render aid in connection with a Houston hit-and-run tied to a May 14 crash on Memorial Drive, police said.

A witness led police to a heavily damaged car registered to Lowery parked at a nearby home, and Lowery's husband confirmed she was involved in the crash.

Tennessee halted the execution of death-row inmate Tony Carruthers on Thursday, May 21, 2026, after staff failed to establish required IV access, and Governor Bill Lee ordered no new attempt for at least one year.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said staff placed a primary IV but could not secure the required backup, and later attempts to insert a central line failed under state protocol. Fox News Officials said no lethal drugs were given and Carruthers was returned to his cell after about an hour of vein-access attempts. New York Times His attorney, Maria DeLiberato, said she watched him "wincing and groaning" during the repeated needle attempts and showed visible relief when informed of the reprieve.

Richard Knight, 47, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke on Thursday, May 21, 2026, and was pronounced dead at 5:13 p.m. Central.

He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of Odessia Stephens and her 4-year-old daughter, Hanessia Mullings, in Coral Springs. CBS News Prosecutors said the June 2000 killings followed an argument over Knight living in the home. CBS News The Florida Supreme Court denied his final appeals on May 15, 2026, rejecting a fingerprint-based "new evidence" claim and challenges to execution procedures. CBS News It was Florida's seventh execution of 2026, after the state carried out a record 19 executions in 2025 under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Larry Orduna Torrez, 56, a parolee and registered sex offender, was arrested and charged after an attempted home invasion at Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz's house early Sunday, May 17, 2026.

Surveillance video shows a knife-wielding man in black gloves ring the doorbell and jump a backyard fence before deputies intervened and took Torrez into custody. Fox News Torrez was booked May 17 into Fresno County jail with a parole hold and $30,000 bail on a felony attempted burglary charge, and faces counts of trespassing and threatening a public official.

As of May 17, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says more than 3 million people who were in the U.S. illegally left the country during President Trump's first year back in office.

DHS estimates about 2.2 million of those departures were voluntary self-deportations, aided in part by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home app, which offers travel help and financial support. Fox News The department reports nearly 900,000 deportations and more than 900,000 arrests over the same period. Fox News Customs and Border Protection logged 8,943 southwest border apprehensions in April 2026, which DHS says is a 94% drop from the Biden-era monthly average and 96% below the December 2023 peak. Fox News DHS and Border Patrol say they have gone one year without releasing migrants directly into the U.S. interior after border apprehensions.

Christopher Johnson, a worker for the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless, was arrested on May 5 and federally charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl after LAPD stopped his BMW near MacArthur Park.

Officers reported finding fentanyl, methamphetamine, a scale, empty baggies and a large sum of cash in the vehicle. Fox News Johnson told officers he works for People Assisting the Homeless, a nonprofit that distributes syringes and conducts harm-reduction work in the MacArthur Park area.

A Boyle County grand jury on May 18 indicted Anthony Blaine Manning and his mother, Barbara Ann Manning, in the disappearance of Anna Lee Manning in Junction City, Kentucky.

Anthony Manning was indicted for murder, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Fox News Barbara Manning was indicted on complicity counts for murder, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Fox News Both were booked into the Boyle County Detention Center on May 19 and held on $2 million cash bonds. Fox News Detectives conducted an evidentiary dig on May 20 behind Barbara Manning's Spring Valley Road home, but authorities have not confirmed recovery of human remains.

The ACLU announced a $485,000 settlement on Thursday with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission resolving a suit by former employee Brittney Brown over her firing.

Brown was fired the morning after Libs of TikTok shared a private Instagram story meme about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk alongside her LinkedIn profile. MS NOW The agency issued a weekend statement saying it did not tolerate Brown's "hateful sentiment" and that it was working toward a swift resolution on her employment. MS NOW Brown's lawsuit alleged a First Amendment violation, saying she spoke as a private citizen about Kirk's September 10, 2025, shooting and his prior remarks on school shootings.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted to grant final approval for President Trump's proposed 250-foot arch between Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall.

The approved design will be topped by a Lady Liberty-like statue holding a torch and flanked by two gilded eagles. CBS The structure will stand 250 feet tall from base to the torch. CBS Gold-lettered inscriptions on either side will read "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All." CBS The revised plan removes four lions that had been planned at the base and eliminates an underground pedestrian tunnel, changes recommended by Vice Chair James McCrery.

Sherri Delle Mauldin was sentenced Monday, May 18, 2026, to 12 years in prison in Greene County Superior Court for sexually abusing a 15-year-old student.

Mauldin, 61, also received 25 years of probation and must register as a sex offender after pleading guilty. Fox News Prosecutors said the abuse spanned about a month and involved multiple encounters. Fox News It occurred while Mauldin taught at Nathanael Greene Academy, which later closed amid the scandal.

Former Detroit mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday, May 21, 2026, that he is suspending his independent campaign for Michigan governor, narrowing the competitive race between the major-party nominees.

He made the announcement in a public letter saying the independent path was "filled with challenge" and denying he intended to act as a spoiler while expressing hope his campaign would have a long-term impact. Fox News Democratic nominee Jocelyn Benson publicly thanked Duggan and said she welcomes his ideas and supporters. Fox News Republican nominee John James also issued a statement expressing respect for Duggan's decision.

The Joint Economic Committee sent detailed anti-scam information requests to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile on Wednesday evening, May 20, 2026, pressing carriers for data on costly robocalls and robotexts.

The committee cited an estimated $200 billion in scam-related losses to Americans in 2024 and said the burden of detecting fraud falls too heavily on consumers.

A federal judge in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 21, 2026 sentenced Aimee Bock to 41.5 years in prison for her role in a roughly $250 million pandemic food-aid fraud scheme.

The Justice Department has called Feeding Our Future the "single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country" and prosecutors depicted the nonprofit as a "cash pipeline" that used fake sites and fabricated child lists. Fox News Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald vowed at a post-sentencing news conference, "We will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people." PBS News Immediately after the sentence, federal officials announced charges against 15 additional defendants in Minnesota, alleging about $90 million in fraud across seven state-managed Medicaid and other social-service programs.

At an Oval Office event on Thursday, May 21, 2026, President Donald Trump said he postponed his planned AI executive order signing because parts of the draft could slow U.S. leadership in AI.

He told reporters he did not like "certain aspects" of the draft and worried it could "get in the way" of U.S. leadership over China and others in AI. CBS News Trump called AI a source of "tremendous good" and said it is creating many U.S. jobs. CBS News He also said the canceled afternoon event had been scheduled as a press conference and signing. CBS News PBS News posted video of Trump explaining why he delayed the signing.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Palestinian delegation withdrew Ambassador Riyad Mansour's candidacy for a U.N. General Assembly vice president slot after U.S. pressure. NPR U.N. General Assembly spokesperson La Neice Collins said Lebanon's ambassador will take the slot.

A person familiar with the decision told NPR that the Palestinian U.N. delegation communicated via an Arab country that Mansour would refrain from running for the vice president position for the coming two years. NPR The change followed a State Department cable dated May 19 that instructed the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to abandon Mansour's leadership bid. NPR The cable warned the delegation it risked revocation of U.S. visas if the nomination proceeded. NPR The cable described Mansour's past genocide accusations against Israel as "fueling tension" and said his remarks undermined President Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube reached a settlement with a Kentucky school district on Thursday, May 21, 2026, avoiding a June jury trial in federal court in Oakland.

The deal spares the companies a trial that had been set for June and removes what would have been the first test case in a mass litigation strategy by school districts. Wall Street Journal The suit was one of more than 1,200 consolidated lawsuits filed by U.S. school districts alleging youth mental-health harms and addictive design in social apps.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Alabama's attempt to execute an inmate with a borderline intellectual disability by dismissing Hamm v. Smith as improvidently granted.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined the Court's three Democratic appointees to form the 5-4 majority that dismissed the case. MS NOW Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, filed a concurrence saying the evidentiary record and lower-court rulings were too underdeveloped to offer meaningful guidance on handling multiple IQ scores. MS NOW Sotomayor warned the dissenters' proposed approach to evaluating multiple IQ scores was "incomplete and potentially misleading," and she noted that all parties agreed the Eighth Amendment does not prescribe a single formula for weighing such scores.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave for California TK-12 and community college employees in his May 2026 budget revision.

The benefit would start in the 2026-27 fiscal year and is being advanced through Assembly Bill 65, which covers pregnancy, miscarriage and termination of pregnancy. CBS News State finance officials told CBS the estimated ongoing cost is about $220 million per year, and funding would come from discretionary education dollars tied to cost-of-living increases. CBS News AB 65 currently lacks a clear annual cap on the number of claims per person.

Judge Jennifer Bedford approved a consent judgment in North Carolina on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, requiring records of people excused from jury duty for claiming noncitizenship be sent to the State Board of Elections.

The agreement sets a schedule through 2028 for clerks to send those jury-excusal records to the elections board. Fox News Under the agreement, the State Board must review each batch within 30 days, notify county boards about apparent noncitizen registrants, and refer suspected illegal voting to the State Bureau of Investigation and local district attorneys. Fox News The order also requires the names of people who claimed noncitizenship on jury forms to be posted to the state board's FTP website, a provision civil rights groups say threatens privacy and chills civic participation. Fox News RNC Chair Joe Gruters called the settlement a "major win for election integrity" and said it forces the state to act under a previously unenforced 2019 law.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on May 21, 2026 that the ILO Freedom of Association Convention protects workers' right to strike, a finding with global legal and labor implications.

All 14 judges in the advisory opinion said the convention's guarantees of freedom of association cover strikes even though the treaty does not use the word "strike". PBS News The court stressed that its advisory opinion does not set out the precise scope or legal conditions for striking and said governments may lawfully impose certain restrictions.

NOAA issued its 2026 Atlantic hurricane season outlook on Thursday, May 21, 2026, forecasting a slightly below-average season while warning the risk of destructive storms remains high.

Forecasters expect 8 to 14 named storms, including 3 to 6 hurricanes and 1 to 3 major hurricanes between June 1 and November 30. NPR Officials warned that unusually warm Atlantic and Gulf waters raise the odds that at least one very large, destructive hurricane will affect U.S. regions, including inland areas.

A House Select Committee on May 21 accused JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley of helping Chinese battery maker CATL raise billions after the Pentagon designated it as linked to China's military-industrial complex.

The report says JPMorgan and Bank of America underwrote CATL's Hong Kong initial public offering and that all three banks joined a subsequent offering. Fox News Investigators said the banks did not break U.S. law but relied on CATL's assurances it lacked military ties and accepted what the committee called incomplete due-diligence responses.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rearrested Fresno hit-and-run suspect Aman Kumar on May 13, 2026, and the Department of Homeland Security blamed California's sanctuary policies for his earlier jail release.

Kumar was originally arrested and charged last month in Fresno with felony hit-and-run causing death or injury after investigators say his vehicle struck a 4-year-old boy. Fox News Investigators say Kumar drove around stopped cars using a bike lane before striking the child, who was later listed in critical but stable condition.

The Colorado Democratic Party central committee voted 89.8% to censure Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, and temporarily barred him from speaking or participating in party-sponsored events.

The committee said Polis acted "under pressure from Donald Trump" and that his clemency decision "materially harmed" the party's credibility. Fox News Polis had issued an executive order on May 15 that cut Tina Peters' prison term from eight years and three months to about four years and four-and-a-half months. Fox News The order left her underlying convictions in place and made her eligible for parole on June 1, 2026.

Walmart told investors on Thursday, May 21, 2026 it will likely use newly refunded U.S. tariff payments to cut store prices as high fuel and energy costs squeeze shoppers.

CFO John David Rainey said investing in price is "the single best return" on capital and that customers at Walmart gas stations have recently begun filling up with fewer than 10 gallons, a sign of stress. NPR Walmart reported U.S. sales growth of 4.1% from February through April but warned that persistently high gasoline tied to the Iran war will push up in-store costs through higher transportation and fertilizer expenses.

Authorities arrested 66-year-old Charles Berry in Newington, Connecticut on Monday, May 18, 2026, in connection with a 1986 Virginia Beach murder and say he is being held on a $10 million bond.

Virginia Beach police say they used 2023 grant funding to pursue forensic genealogy, leading to a direct DNA comparison that identified Berry. CBS News Police have not yet specified the exact charges Berry will face in Virginia but said they are "extremely confident" he is the right person and hope the arrest encourages other families of victims in unsolved homicides.

Carmen Lineberger was indicted May 19 and arraigned May 20 in West Palm Beach on charges that she emailed a sealed portion of special counsel Jack Smith's report from a DOJ account to her personal email.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida charged Lineberger with one felony count of obstruction, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property. Fox News Prosecutors say she downloaded Smith's sealed "Volume II" in December 2025, renamed it "Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf" and emailed it from her DOJ account to a personal Hotmail address. CBS News An earlier September 2025 transfer allegedly involved portions of an internal DOJ memorandum saved as "Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf" and sent to her personal account.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Rep. Glenn Grothman introduced the OPT Fair Tax Act in the House to end the payroll-tax exemption for employers of Optional Practical Training workers.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said investigators tied more than 10,000 foreign students to suspect OPT employers, including "phantom employees" who never showed up for claimed jobs. Fox News Lyons called OPT an "uncontrolled guest worker pipeline" and warned fraud appears to be rising as hundreds of thousands of foreign students work in the United States.

The Justice Department swore in 82 new immigration judges — 77 permanent and five temporary — on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C., to speed deportation cases.

The class follows the ouster of more than 100 immigration judges over the past year, which cut the corps to under 600 from more than 700 when President Trump took office. CBS News DOJ officials said the 2026 fiscal year hiring total for permanent immigration judges has now reached 153, and most new appointees previously served as ICE lawyers, criminal prosecutors, or military judge advocates. CBS News Over the past year the Justice Department issued precedent decisions that narrowed when judges can grant asylum or bond, aligning the court overhaul with the administration's mass-deportation campaign.

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Russia said it had moved nuclear munitions into Belarus for joint nuclear-force exercises, and Ukraine tightened security along its northern border in response.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced "enhanced security measures" in northern regions near Belarus, including stricter checks of individuals and properties. CBS News Russia's Defense Ministry said nuclear munitions were delivered to field storage facilities for a Russian missile brigade deployed in Belarus. CBS News A Belarus Defense Ministry video, apparently produced by Russia, showed a truck in a forest unloading an item said to be tied to the nuclear munitions.

Two U.S.-born Filipinos were killed in a clash between Philippine troops and suspected New People's Army fighters on April 19 in Toboso, Negros Occidental, officials said.

The government said the engagement left 19 people dead and included two U.S.-born Filipino Americans, Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, who it described as combatants. Fox News The New People's Army said 10 of its fighters were killed and insisted Prijoles, Sorem and others were civilian activists, disputing the government account. Fox News Philippine officials said the incident highlights growing foreign involvement in the Communist Party-New People's Army insurgency, including links to U.S.-linked activist networks.

KFF released an analysis on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, projecting ACA marketplace enrollment will drop from about 22.3 million in 2025 to roughly 17.5 million in 2026.

KFF found the average annual deductible rose by more than $1,000 and the average monthly premium payment increased by about $65 for 2026 plans, with many people shifting to lower-tier, higher-deductible options. PBS Cynthia Cox of KFF says most of the roughly 5 million people leaving the marketplaces likely became uninsured rather than obtaining other coverage.

In February 2026 New Mexico's attorney general reopened a probe into possible crimes at Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch and the state Legislature created a bipartisan Truth Commission to examine the ranch and official responses.

Investigators searched the ranch property outside Santa Fe using search-and-rescue dogs as part of the renewed probe. NPR The House unanimously created the bipartisan Truth Commission, which is chaired by Rep. Andrea Romero, funded with $2 million from settlements with a bank that did business with Epstein, and authorized to subpoena witnesses and compel testimony.

TSA held an industry day at its Springfield, Virginia, headquarters on Thursday, May 21, 2026, to brief airports and contractors on its new Gold+ program expanding private airport screening.

Under Gold+, participating airports could hire private contractors that own and manage screening machines and deploy technologies such as artificial intelligence, while TSA would continue oversight. NPR The agency and the Trump administration said the plan would let airports tailor security and help offset TSA staffing shortfalls exposed during the recent Homeland Security funding shutdown. NPR The initiative is billed as an evolution of the Screening Partnership Program, which covers 20 U.S. airports including San Francisco and Kansas City. NPR The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, warned Gold+ could mean lower pay, reduced transparency and loss of direct government control over critical security technology.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon was sharply questioned at a House hearing as the administration pushes a plan to dismantle the Education Department and shift student-aid duties to other agencies.

Internal documents show the Office of Federal Student Aid reported 731 full-time equivalent employees, down from 1,440 before the Trump administration, and that it needs to hire 334 FTEs to meet staffing targets. NPR The same documents say the office has hired 52 new workers since September 2025.

Meta confirmed on May 20, 2026 that it had laid off about 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, as the company pivots toward artificial intelligence.

A person familiar with the plans told NPR that roughly 7,000 additional Meta employees are being reassigned to AI-focused teams as part of the reorganization.

Erin Merdy was sentenced Wednesday in Brooklyn to decades in prison for drowning her three children in the ocean near Coney Island.

Merdy pleaded guilty earlier in 2026 to first-degree murder in the case. Fox News Prosecutors said surveillance footage showed her walking toward the water with the children shortly before 1 a.m. Fox News Their bodies were recovered along the shoreline.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, signed a law banning online prediction markets from operating or advertising in the state.

The statute criminalizes hosting or advertising markets that allow wagers on sports, elections, weather, entertainment and even specific word choices, and it targets services that help users evade the ban, including some VPN tools. NPR The law takes effect in August 2026 and would require platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket to stop serving Minnesota users or face potential felony charges.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday questioned UPS, Boeing and other aviation officials at a public hearing about maintenance and safety issues tied to the November 4, 2025 UPS crash near Louisville.

Investigators released new footage at the hearing showing the left engine separating from the MD-11F during takeoff, and they said metal fatigue caused the fitting's failure.

Manvir Singh, an undocumented truck driver from India, was charged in connection with a crash near Lodi, California, that killed two people on May 19, 2026.

A semi-truck driven by Singh collided with three other vehicles in the crash, producing a four-vehicle pileup that left two dead. Fox News San Joaquin County deputies say Singh tried to flee on foot before they arrested him at the scene.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced felony charges Tuesday against seven people accused of running an organized burglary ring that targeted homes across Los Angeles County.

Prosecutors say at least 20 break-ins are linked to crews that operated across the San Fernando Valley and other parts of the county. Fox News One defendant, Byron Gonzalo Sáez Sotomayor, faces 15 counts of first-degree residential burglary, three counts of attempted first-degree residential burglary and one count of grand theft of a firearm.

On May 11, 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Dr. John Wong and Dr. Esa Davis as chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets preventive-care coverage rules.

HHS has postponed the panel's public meetings indefinitely for about a year, blocking final updates on cervical cancer screening and other topics. MS NOW Kennedy told lawmakers he was reforming what he called a "lackadaisical" task force, but former members said the firings mark unprecedented government intrusion into its scientific processes.

A federal grand jury has indicted Gerardo Mendoza-Acoltzi of Avondale on charges that he attempted to set fire at the lobby of an ICE warehouse in Surprise, Arizona.

Prosecutors charged Mendoza-Acoltzi with malicious damage to federal property and willful depredation against U.S. property. Fox News Federal authorities say attempted arson of federal property carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Fox News Mendoza-Acoltzi was arrested on May 7, 2026, according to prosecutors.

A Las Vegas student sued the Clark County School District on May 14, alleging he was suspended and later given a limited expulsion for posting pro-ICE emblems at school.

The complaint, filed under the initials N.C., says he posted six pro-ICE and pro-law-enforcement emblems around East Career and Technical Academy in January 2026. Fox News It says school officials searched his school Chromebook, labeled his actions a "racially motivated incident," and compared the emblems to a "burning cross" because most students at the school are Hispanic. Fox News The complaint also alleges the district allowed an anti-ICE walkout on January 21 without disciplining participants while punishing N.C. for expressing the opposite view.

Los Angeles influencer Gabriela Gonzalez and two others were charged Tuesday, May 19, 2026, with attempted murder, conspiracy and solicitation for allegedly plotting to kill former boy band singer Jack Avery, prosecutors said.

Investigators say Francisco Gonzalez initially wired $10,000 and later gave $4,000 to what he thought was a hired killer, who was an undercover FBI agent. CBS News Prosecutors say Faron Cordrey discussed payment terms, proof of death and confirmed Avery as the target in September 2021 messages with the undercover officer.

Perry County, Tennessee agreed to pay retired officer Larry Bushart roughly $835,000 to settle his federal lawsuit over a 37-day jail stint after a Facebook meme, sources reported Wednesday.

Perry County's insurer will pay the amount in exchange for dismissing his complaint, with no admission of fault by the defendants, MS NOW reported. MS NOW Fox News later reported a different figure, saying the payout was $850,000. Fox News Bushart, 61, spent 37 days jailed under a $2 million bond before the felony charge was dropped in October 2025. PBS His lawsuit says he lost his postretirement job and missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter.

A 25-year-old Florida man was arrested on May 18 after detectives uncovered suspected human remains buried under a rolled carpet at the Dunnellon property where his father lived.

Marion County investigators arrested the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Andres Bahamon, on a tampering-with-evidence charge, authorities said. Fox News Detectives said they found an apparent bullet hole, a shell casing, suspected blood and freshly disturbed dirt while executing a search of the backyard, which led them to the buried carpet. Fox News Authorities said they are still working to positively identify the remains and are searching for Bahamon-Prada's silver 2007 Infiniti M35, which they believe may hold additional evidence.

Kern County deputies on Tuesday, May 19 released video showing a BearCat armored vehicle fatally run over David Morales, 59, after he allegedly shot Tulare County Deputy Randy Hoppert in Porterville on April 9.

The composite release includes bodycam footage and thermal drone video that police said chronicle an hours-long standoff. Fox News Officials say Morales fired on deputies and armored vehicles for hours before he aimed a rifle at the BearCat driver and was struck three times, killing him.

The Cambridge City Council voted to terminate its contract with gunshot-detection firm ShotSpotter on Monday, May 18, 2026, ordering the system removed and discontinued.

The council vote was 5 in favor, 2 opposed and 2 present, and it directs the city manager and police department to end ShotSpotter within 90 days and remove devices around Cambridge. Fox News Police leaders told the council the system had detected 11 gunfire incidents that did not generate 911 calls and urged keeping the technology.

A lawsuit was filed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, accusing the state of segregating Black and Latino students in high-poverty districts.

The plaintiffs include nine students and four community organizations from Springfield, Holyoke, Boston, Lawrence, Brockton, Lynn and Worcester. PBS The suit argues the residence-based assignment system violates state constitutional guarantees of adequate education and equal protection. PBS Plaintiffs seek remedies such as expanded regional magnet programs and greater investment in under-resourced schools.

U.S. District Judge John Bates on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, blocked a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo and ordered most White House staff to follow the Presidential Records Act beginning May 26, 2026.

The injunction covers senior aides and Executive Office units such as the National Security Council and the Council of Economic Advisers, but it does not extend to President Donald Trump or Vice President J.D. Vance. CBSNews Bates also excluded the National Archives, the archivist, the Department of Justice and the attorney general from the order.

Texas officials have moved to shut down TexAM University at Dallas, with the state attorney general suing the school and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board ordering it to stop advertising and enrolling students in degree programs until it secures a Certificate of Authority.

The attorney general's May 18 lawsuit seeks $1 million and alleges TexAM unlawfully held itself out as a university and used branding confusingly similar to Texas A&M. Fox News The board says TexAM publicly offered a master's in artificial intelligence and bachelor's degrees in computer science, information technology, cybersecurity and health informatics without state approval.

Nine migrants deported from the U.S. landed in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, under a third-country agreement.

Sierra Leone's information ministry said the group includes five migrants from Ghana, two from Guinea, one from Senegal and one from Nigeria. PBS News Sierra Leone's foreign minister said the country will temporarily receive only West African nationals under a U.S.-backed program. PBS News The program is supported by a $1.5 million U.S. grant and is capped at 25 deportees per month and 300 annually.

On May 19, 2026, the Justice Department installed multiple Trump allies on the Miami-area criminal probe of former CIA director John Brennan, moves DOJ veterans say raise fresh concerns about political bias.

Last month the department removed the senior career prosecutor overseeing the Brennan case after she raised concerns about the strength of the evidence. CBSNews On May 19, 2026, Joseph DiGenova's wife, Victoria Toensing, was sworn in as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida and is reported to be working on both the false-statement and the grand-conspiracy probes.

Arizona executed Leroy Dean McGill by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, for the 2002 gasoline dousing and fire that killed James Perez.

He was pronounced dead at 12:26 p.m. Central after receiving a single dose of pentobarbital, and witnesses reported no IV-access problems during the execution. Fox News Officials said this execution was the first of three scheduled in the United States during the week of May 18-24, 2026.

Angel Emilio Rodriguez-Marroquin was sentenced to 50 years in U.S. federal prison on Monday, May 18, 2026, for producing child pornography involving his relatives.

Rodriguez-Marroquin pleaded guilty after investigators said he produced sexual abuse material that showed his 8-year-old niece and his nephew, who has special needs. Fox News He is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States illegally in 2024 and was arrested on November 22, 2025 on suspicion of producing and possessing child pornography. Fox News U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are also handling a related child exploitation probe in Guatemala.

Gov. Tim Walz signed a law banning online prediction market sites from operating or advertising in Minnesota on May 19, 2026, a measure that could trigger felony charges for noncompliant platforms.

The ban takes effect in August 2026 and explicitly covers systems that let users bet on future outcomes in sports, elections, weather, entertainment, word choices and world affairs. NPR It also bars services such as virtual private networks that firms use to evade location restrictions and allows prosecutors to pursue felony charges against noncompliant platforms.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, May 18, 2026, sent two Voting Rights Act Section 2 cases from Mississippi and North Dakota back to lower courts for reconsideration in light of its recent Louisiana v. Callais ruling, vacating the lower-court decisions and signaling a nationwide shift in enforcement.

The remands follow the Court's April 29, 2026, 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, in which Justice Samuel Alito struck down Louisiana's SB8 map and announced a narrower Section 2 test that requires evidence giving a strong inference of intentional race-based districting. NPR The ruling prompted immediate state action: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspended congressional primaries and thousands of ballots already cast in U.S. House contests will not be counted while lawmakers redraw districts.

The Pentagon inspector general opened an evaluation on May 11 of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in Latin America.

The review will examine whether commanders followed the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle when selecting and attacking alleged drug-smuggling vessels. PBS The inspector general said the evaluation is self-initiated and will not address the underlying legality of the strikes.

As of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, multiple fast-moving wildfires across Southern California forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and sent several people to hospitals.

The Sandy Fire near Simi Valley has burned roughly 1,700 acres and is about 15 percent contained, with more than 850 firefighters assigned. New York Times Evacuation orders and warnings remained in place for several Simi Valley neighborhoods, with more than 17,000 people under orders and at least one home destroyed. PBS News The Bain Fire near Riverside and Jurupa Valley expanded to nearly 1,400 acres and prompted evacuation orders affecting more than 39,000 people. New York Times Officials said four civilians were transported to hospitals from the Bain Fire area, including one person with a trauma injury. New York Times The Verona Fire in Riverside County burned about 500 acres and was roughly 5 percent contained.

A sinkhole was discovered around 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, near Runway 4/22 at LaGuardia Airport, prompting the immediate shutdown of the runway and causing flight delays.

LaGuardia dispatched emergency construction and engineering crews to assess and repair the damage, and officials closed the affected pavement while work is underway. Fox News By Wednesday afternoon, FlightAware showed average departure delays of about 30 minutes and arrival delays averaging about 38 minutes at LaGuardia.

On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and agreed to extend their 2001 friendship treaty, deepening political and energy ties.

They oversaw the signing of more than 40 cooperation agreements covering trade, technology and media as both leaders described bilateral relations as at an "unprecedentedly high level." PBS Putin publicly called Xi "my dear friend" and said energy collaboration was the "driving force" of economic cooperation, with Russia a "reliable supplier" and China a "responsible consumer." MS NOW Officials noted Russia's oil exports to China rose 35% in the first quarter of 2026 and bilateral trade reached about $228 billion in 2025.

Rep. Barry Moore and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson finished as the top two vote-getters in Alabama's Republican U.S. Senate primary and will face off in a June 16 runoff.

President Donald Trump endorsed Moore and praised him on a May 18 telephone rally. PBS News Hudson cast himself as an outsider after narrowly edging out Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for the second slot. PBS News On the Democratic side, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess advanced to a June 16 runoff for the same open seat.

Ed Gallrein defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, handing President Trump a high-profile victory and making Gallrein the favorite in the general election.

Gallrein won by roughly 55% to 45% in the primary, a margin reported from Associated Press tallies. Fox News The contest drew about $32-33 million in TV and outside spending, making it the most expensive U.S. House primary ever. NPR Major pro-Israel groups and donors underwrote heavy ad buys against Massie after he opposed foreign aid to Israel. New York Times Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and dairy farmer with little prior political experience, gave a brief victory speech pledging to advance Trump's agenda.

Republican Rep. Andy Barr won the Kentucky GOP U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, and will face Democrat Charles Booker in the November general election for Mitch McConnell's open seat.

Barr captured more than 60% of the vote, defeating former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron in a decisive victory. Fox News Barr said his polling lead "skyrocketed" after former President Donald Trump's late endorsement, a boost his campaign credited with shifting the race.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and health-care executive Rick Jackson advanced to a June 16 Republican runoff for Georgia governor after no candidate cleared a majority.

Jones led the field with just over 38 percent of the vote; Jackson had about 32.5 percent and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger finished around 15 percent. Fox News President Trump endorsed Jones but did not actively campaign against Raffensperger, Fox News reported. Fox News Jackson has presented himself as a fellow billionaire aligned with Trump while lacking a formal endorsement.

On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the House passed a revised, Trump-backed housing bill 396-13 that drops the Senate's build-to-rent sell-off mandate and sent the measure to the Senate.

The White House publicly signaled support for the House version and an official said President Trump would sign the bill. Fox News Lawmakers preserved a ban preventing any entity that already owns more than 350 houses from buying additional single-family homes. NPR The House removed the Senate's requirement that large build-to-rent landlords must sell their homes after seven years. NPR A separate provision imposes only a temporary ban on a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency until 2030, which prompted 13 conservatives aligned with the House Freedom Caucus to vote no.

The UK Defense Ministry said two Russian Su-35 and Su-27 jets repeatedly and dangerously intercepted an RAF Rivet Joint spy plane over the Black Sea in April 2026.

A UK official said a Su-27 flew as close as six meters from the Rivet Joint's nose and a Su-35 flew close enough to trigger the British plane's emergency systems and disable its autopilot. CBS News The Defense Ministry called the encounter the most serious involving a Rivet Joint since a Russian jet fired a missile near a British aircraft in 2022 and has lodged formal complaints with the Russian embassy.

On May 20, 2026, Sens. James Lankford and Maggie Hassan said they will reintroduce the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act to automatically avert funding lapses and keep the federal government open.

Under the proposal, any lapse in appropriations would trigger a 14-day automatic continuing resolution to keep agencies funded. Fox News During those 14-day windows, lawmakers would be barred from taking taxpayer-funded travel outside Washington, joining overseas congressional delegations (CODELs), or going on recess.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, avoiding a runoff and securing the Democratic nomination for governor.

Bottoms captured a majority of the vote in a large, crowded field, eliminating the need for a June runoff. Fox News Her primary opponents included former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state senator Jason Esteves, state representative Derrick Jackson and former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond. Fox News More than 1 million ballots were cast in early voting, and Democrats enjoyed a sizable turnout advantage heading into Election Day.

Bangladesh's measles outbreak has killed nearly 400 people and sickened tens of thousands as of mid-May 2026, raising fears it could export cases to the United States.

Officials report more than 56,000 suspected cases. CBS News Suspected infections have more than doubled since early April, and measles has been detected in 58 of 64 districts. CBS News Hospitals are overcrowded, with some patients treated on floors because beds are full. CBS News U.S. health officials warn overseas outbreaks can threaten communities with vaccination coverage below 95 percent.

The Justice Department concluded on Thursday, May 14, 2026, that Yale School of Medicine discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its admissions process.

The conclusion formalizes the department's investigation and increases federal scrutiny of race-conscious admissions at elite medical schools.

In the early hours of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, South Carolina's House passed a congressional map to dismantle Rep. James Clyburn's district, risking Republican control of all seven U.S. House seats in the state.

The measure passed 74-37, with four Republicans among the 37 opposing votes. MS NOW The bill now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate, which has less than a week to act before early voting for the June 9 primary begins. MS NOW Gov. Henry McMaster called the special session after initially declining, following pressure from President Donald Trump.

Former Rep. Barney Frank died late Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at his home in Ogunquit, Maine, while in hospice care for congestive heart failure, his former campaign manager and news outlets confirmed.

Jim Segel, Frank's former campaign manager, confirmed the death and said Frank "was a giant in Congress" who had a huge impact on Boston and the state of Massachusetts. MS NOW Frank was 86 and had entered hospice care in April 2026. PBS He was living with his husband, Jim Ready, at their Ogunquit home at the end of his life. NPR He was a leading architect of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul and helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, work praised by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet and called for a formal leadership contest on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Streeting wrote there was a "vacuum" where vision is needed and said it is "now clear" Starmer will not lead Labour into the next general election. CBS He also highlighted falling National Health Service waiting times under his tenure. CBS The move follows Labour's net loss of nearly 500 council seats in the May 7 local elections, a collapse blamed on Reform UK's surge and seized on by Nigel Farage. Fox News Resignations accelerated the revolt: six junior aides quit on May 11 and four cabinet ministers resigned on May 12 as pressure mounted for Starmer to set a departure timetable.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept a civilian aircraft that entered the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area around 11:15 a.m., and escorted it clear without further incident.

The Continental U.S. NORAD Region said the jets intercepted the plane and escorted it out of restricted airspace with no further incident.

Two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, May 18, 2026, killing three people; the two suspects were later found dead in a nearby vehicle.

Imam Taha Hassane identified the victims as Amin Abdullah, 51; Mansour Kaziha, 78; and Nader Awad, 57. MS NOW Abdullah, the center's security guard, confronted the attackers and officials say his actions helped keep about 140 children safe at the attached school. CBS News Police identified the suspects as Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, teenagers later found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a nearby car. PBS News Authorities say they seized more than 30 guns and a crossbow and recovered anti-Islamic writings and a manifesto from the suspects' vehicle. MS NOW The FBI says the teens "appear to have been radicalized online" and that the recovered writing expressed hatred toward multiple races and religions.

On May 18, 2026, Merck said its drug sacituzumab tirumotecan improved overall survival in a Phase 3 trial of advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, a first in this post-platinum immunotherapy setting.

The 776-patient TroFuse-005 trial showed statistically significant gains in overall survival and progression-free survival versus physician's-choice chemotherapy, Merck said. Fox News Patients received sac-TMT as an IV infusion every two weeks, Merck reported. Fox News Merck said response-rate benchmarks were met and that side effects were similar to earlier trials, but it did not disclose detailed numerical outcomes and said full data will be presented at a medical conference.

On Monday, May 18, 2026, Manhattan Judge Gregory Carro ruled that prosecutors may use a gun and a red notebook taken from Luigi Mangione's backpack as evidence in his New York state murder trial.

Carro suppressed other items seized during an initial warrantless search at an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald's, saying the bag had been moved outside Mangione's "grabbable area" and the search was unlawful. Wall Street Journal He allowed the gun and notebook because they were recovered later during a station-house inventory search that Carro deemed a valid inventory search. CBS News Prosecutors say the weapon is a 3D-printed 9mm pistol with a silencer that matches the firearm used in the December 4, 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. PBS News Prosecutors say the notebook contains notes criticizing the health-care industry and a line allegedly expressing a desire to "wack" a health-insurance executive.

A court filing in the U.S. Southern District of New York ties a high-ranking Bahamian politician to a suspected drug trafficker rescued after a May 13 plane crash off Florida, court papers say.

The filing and a DEA agent's deposition say roughly $30,000 was found in a bag labeled with the politician's name and that 11 people, including the suspected trafficker, were rescued from the crash. CBS News The court papers say the suspect met the politician at the Bahamian Parliament in October 2024 to arrange a 1,000-kilogram cocaine shipment and official protection.

On Friday, May 15, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency request from Virginia Democrats to reinstate a voter-approved mid-decade congressional map, leaving the state to use its 2021 districts for the 2026 elections.

The court issued an unsigned order and no justice publicly noted a dissent from the denial. MS NOW Virginia Democrats and the state attorney general had argued the Virginia ruling "overrode the will of the people," while Republican legislators said the dispute rested on state law; the U.S. Supreme Court treated the issue as state-law.

Vernon Jones and Tim Fleming advanced to a June 16, 2026 runoff in Georgia's Republican primary for secretary of state after no candidate cleared the 50% threshold in Tuesday's primary.

Other Republican contenders included Gabriel Sterling, Kelvin King and Ted Metz. Fox News Four Democrats also ran in a separate Democratic primary for the office. Fox News The winner will oversee Georgia elections, including voter registration, ballot administration and certification.

Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, making him the heavy favorite to represent a deep-blue, Black-majority portion of Philadelphia.

Rabb drew endorsements from progressive lawmakers, the Working Families Party and Justice Democrats, while his chief rival Sharif Street was backed by the state Democratic Party and key Philadelphia officials.

Christine Drazan won the Oregon Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, setting up a rematch with incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in the November general election.

Drazan beat a field that included former NBA player Chris Dudley, state Rep. Ed Diehl and Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell. Fox News Dudley, a 16-year NBA veteran and a past GOP nominee, ran as an outsider and drew support from business figures including Nike co-founder Phil Knight.