“The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday ruled that several elements of the Republicans’ budget reconciliation package to provide $70 billion in immigration enforcement funding failed to comply with the Byrd Rule and would be stricken from the bill if any senator raises a point-of-order objection against the bill. The ruling is a setback for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who wants to bring the legislation to the floor next week, that may push Republicans to redraft or drop some provisions of the package.” (05/15/26)
“The United States is moving to indict former Cuban president Raúl Castro, two sources familiar with the matter told USA TODAY. The possible charges are related to a 30-year-old case that involved the Cuban government shooting down two planes operated by a humanitarian group in 1996, the sources said. Any indictment would have to be issued by a grand jury after being presented with evidence in the case. News that the United States was looking to indict Castro came hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe led a delegation to Havana on May 14 to deliver a message from President Donald Trump to Cuban officials and Raúl ‘Raulito’ Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, who is the elder Castro’s grandson.” (05/15/26)
“The central question is no longer whether the United States can inflict damage on Iran. The real question is whether such pressure is actually capable of producing Washington’s desired political outcome.An increasing number of Western analyses now suggest the answer is no. The United States and its allies are gradually realizing that they are confronting a country capable of enduring pressure, reproducing internal control, managing crises, and exporting the costs of war beyond its borders. This reality has drawn Washington into what may be called ‘the trap of Iranian resilience’ – a situation in which continued pressure no longer changes Tehran’s behavior but instead exponentially raises the costs for America itself.” (05/15/26)
“At least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations. ‘The Russians practically demolished an entire section of the building with their missile,’ president Zelenskyy said after visiting the site in Kyiv. The Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said it was ‘one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.’ … Separately, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly exchanged 205 prisoners of war each, which Zelenskyy said was the first part of a broader swap of 1,000 for 1,000.” (05/15/26)
“Listening to two prominent progressives highlight the cronyism and inefficiencies of government bureaucracy that libertarians have been shouting about for decades was equal parts refreshing and infuriating. But if you were tempted to hope those realizations would bring them around to genuinely libertarian conclusions, you would be disappointed. Ultimately, as the second half of the podcast made clear, [Ezra] Klein and his allies support streamlining government because they hope to make it easier for government to do big, ambitious things: nationwide high-speed rail, federal housing projects, Medicare for All. They are not trying to get government out of the way so people can thrive; they want government itself to thrive. That distinction is the main problem with the hypothesis that Democrats will soon be the party of free markets and limited government.” (05/14/26)
“Abortion pills can remain available through the mail for the immediate future after the Supreme Court on Thursday paused a lower court ruling that would have blocked access while a lawsuit proceeds. The justices halted a May 1 order from the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that reinstated a requirement that women must visit a health care provider in-person to obtain mifepristone. If it had taken effect, the order would have severely curtailed abortion access across the country. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented separately. ‘The Court’s unreasoned order granting stays in this case is remarkable. What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision’ overturning constitutional [sic] abortion rights, Alito wrote.” (05/14/26)
“On May 11, a new law went into effect in Florida, ‘allowing’ businesses to round the amounts charged for cash purchases to the nearest nickel. Really? Nothing more important than this for our masters in Tallahassee to spend their time on? Don’t get me wrong. The practice in question makes sense …. But why on Earth would merchants need a law to ‘allow’ this? … Even when framed as ‘voluntary’ — as this one is — unnecessary laws ‘allowing’ behaviors already unquestionably ‘allowed’ (by common sense and conventional morality) tend to nudge the public toward an ‘everything not required is forbidden’ mindset in which we instinctively seek permission from our rulers for every action, trivial or momentous.” (05/14/26)
“Israeli authorities will take The New York Times to court over a piece it published denouncing alleged widespread sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, May 15. Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered the ‘initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times,’ according to a joint statement issued by their offices. … The investigation, which was published on Monday as an opinion piece by Kristof, a columnist, is based on testimonies gathered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said that they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces. … The New York Times responded that any legal claim over the ‘deeply reported opinion column’ lacked merit.” (05/14/26)
