U.K. spy plane "dangerously intercepted" by Russian military jets over Black Sea, defense ministry says

Updated on: May 20, 2026

1:20 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Two Russian jets "repeatedly and dangerously" intercepted a British surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea last month, the defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This incident is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behaviour by Russian pilots, towards an unarmed aircraft operating in international airspace. These actions create a serious risk of accidents and potential escalation," Defense Minister John Healey said in the communique.

Ebola Screenings Start At O'Hare In Response To Outbreak

The CDC has started health screenings to prevent the disease from spreading in the U.S., and some travelers are being denied entry.

Rachel Barnes, Patch Staff

Posted Wed, May 20, 2026 at 10:54 am CT|Updated Wed, May 20, 2026 at 11:13 am CT

Why Is Mark Zuckerberg Taunting His Employees Before Firing Them?

"In general, the average intelligence of the people who are at this company is significantly higher than the average set of people."

By Joe Wilkins

Published May 20, 2026 

4:02 PM EDT

In ancient Roman times, military generals are thought to have used a tactic known as decimation to punish mutinous groups of mercenary soldiers. Essentially, they’d kill one in every 10 unruly soldiers as a horrifying message to discipline those who remained. Today, the same tactic is evidently in play — not by bloodthirsty generals, but by tech billionaires thinning their ranks to free up money for AI.

Trump Can’t Relate to the Squeeze Americans Feel After His Iran War Because He is a Rich Tax Evader

May 20, 2026

By Yiannis Damellos

Are you pissed off yet with Trump, or are you still waiting for this war to end and prices to return to their pre-war levels? Cause that’s not going to happen. I’ve been researching inflation and supermarket prices since COVID, and my assessment is negative. Oil prices won’t drastically drop, and coffee, cocoa, grains, produce, meat, or clothing won’t get cheaper anytime soon. Same for electronics and all products whose development depends on fertilizers. The war in Iran will go on as long as it is logistically supported, and your President won’t stop lying—unless he doesn’t have to, that is, if a few Republicans he’s pissed off recently decide to cut his war funding soon.

US charges Raúl Castro with murder as Trump escalates pressure on Cuba

By Jana Winter and Jack Queen
May 19, 2026 11:06 PM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago

Summary

• Indictment escalates Washington pressure on Cuba
• Charges relate to the 1996 incident when planes were shot down
• Rubio offers $100 million in aid in parallel
• Cuban President calls indictment a 'political maneuver.'

It’s Not Neofeudalism, It’s Hypercapitalism

By Stephen Maher

The tech giants at the commanding heights of the modern economy did not invent a new mode of production — they are simply classically exploitative capitalists.

One of the most persistent left shibboleths is the notion that productive investment is giving way to unproductive speculation, leading to the “hollowing out” of the industrial economy and the decline of capitalism. After all, it seems obvious that capitalists would rather make a quick buck than undertake the arduous and risky process of actually producing something. Neo-feudalism is having a moment.

Ally of DOJ pardon attorney seeks to join board of Trump's $1.7+ billion fund

By Gabe Kaminsky

May 20, 2026 / 7:12 PM EDT / CBS News

A Republican lawyer and close ally of Ed Martin, the U.S. pardon attorney, has submitted a request to the Justice Department to join a panel that will dispense over $1.7 billion to people who claim they were victims of legal "weaponization," according to a letter obtained by CBS News.

Ebola fears surge on the ground in Congo over rapid spread of a rare type

BY JUSTIN KABUMBA AND MONIKA PRONCZUK
The Associated Press 

May 20, 2026

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Anxious healthcare workers in eastern Congo said Wednesday they are underprotected and undertrained in the face of a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak of a rare type of the virus in one of the world’s most remote and vulnerable places.

Russia and China scold the United States over 'Golden Dome' plans

By Reuters

May 20, 2026

2:31 AM PDT 

Updated 6 hours ago

MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Russia and China said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile-defence shield plans threatened strategic stability and that Washington had been irresponsible not to ​work on a replacement for a landmark nuclear treaty.

Empty rooms and FIFA cancellations - US hotels fear World Cup washout

The World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July
By Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent
Published 6 hours ago

The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is that it may never materialise.

Early War Goal Was to Install Hard Line Former President as Iran’s Leader

An Israeli strike designed to free Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from house arrest in Tehran, U.S. officials said, was part of an effort to bring about regime change and 

put him in power.

Published May 19, 2026

By Mark Mazzetti Julian E. Barnes Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman

The reporters have been covering the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials in the opening salvos of the war, President Trump mused publicly that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country.

Ebola outbreak may be spreading faster than first thought, WHO doctor warns

People in DR Congo have told the BBC they are scared and unsure what to do to protect themselves and their families
2 hours ago
Sofia Ferreira Santos
BBC

People living close to the epicentre of a deadly Ebola outbreak have told the BBC of their fear, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned cases may be spreading faster than originally thought.

What If the Universe Had No Beginning? Part 4: The Reckoning

By Paul Sutter

May 19, 2026 02:15 PM UTC | Physics

Roger Penrose, who pointed out that Hawking's prediction of a smooth, low-entropy early universe was less a prediction than an assumption baked in from the start. (CC BY-SA 2.0, Solarflare100 / Wikimedia Commons)

US pauses joint defense effort with Canada that dates to WWII

By BEN FINLEY

Updated 2:32 PM PDT, May 18, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is pausing its participation on a joint board with Canada for continental defense that dates back to World War II, the Pentagon announced Monday, accusing Canada of failing “to make credible progress on its defense commitments.”

The Devil and Tina Peters

The Triad

What if liberalism *is* a suicide pact?

Jonathan V. Last

May 18, 2026

(Photo illustration by The Bulwark / Photos: Getty)

3 killed in shooting at San Diego’s largest mosque, police say

Two teen suspects also were found dead in a car near the scene. Hate speech was scrawled on one of the weapons, officials told CNN.

Updated 7:39 PM EDT, Mon May 18, 2026

Live Updates: Trump calls off scheduled attack on Iran amid "serious negotiations" toward peace deal

By Alex Sundby, Sarah Lynch Baldwin, Tucker Reals

Updated on: May 18, 2026 / 

5:30 PM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• President Trump announced Monday that he was calling off what he said was a scheduled attack on Iran that was supposed to happen Tuesday. The president said he made the decision because "serious negotiations" were taking place toward a peace deal that Mr. Trump said will be acceptable to the U.S. and countries in the Middle East.
• Before Mr. Trump's announcement, Iran had said it conveyed another amended set of terms for a potential peace deal. Tehran says it is focused entirely on an agreement to end the war and has not yet "discussed any details regarding nuclear matters."
• Mr. Trump had warned Sunday that "the Clock is Ticking" for Iran to accept a peace agreement, and "there won't be anything left of them" if the Islamic Republic's leaders don't "get moving, FAST."

“Anti-Weaponization” or Political Payout? Democrats Call Trump’s $1.7B Scheme a Highway Robbery Slush Fund

Trump’s Latest Legal Deal: Dems See a $1.7B Pot 

Used to Cushion Political Allies

May 18, 2026

Picture: POLITICO

SOURCES: Bloomberg - ABC News

The Justice Department announced on Monday that it is creating a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” after President Donald Trump moved to dismiss a sprawling $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS connected to the leak of his tax returns. DOJ said the settlement also involves dropping other claims tied to the 2022 Mar-a-Lago search and the administration’s prior legal fight around a Russian collusion matter—an exchange DOJ described as establishing a “systematic process” to hear and redress claims by people who say they were harmed by “weaponization” and “lawfare.”