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.” 

Cuba, in Trump’s hands: ‘The worst thing is trusting a messiah from the outside because we are incapable of saving ourselves’

CUBA

The island’s population, pushed to the edge of survival, awaits in anguish and hope for the outcome of negotiations between the United States and a regime with ever-narrowing room to maneuver

DAVID MARCIAL PÉREZ

JUAN CARLOS ESPINOSA

CARLA GLORIA COLOMÉ

Mexico / New York 

MAY 16, 2026 - 23:05 CDT

Moscow’s German front company: How the Russian military bought European technology

Prosecutors say a trading firm routed dual-use components through Turkey and into the Kremlin’s war machine

May 18, 2026 4:00 am CET

By Jan-Henrik Dobers

LÜBECK, Germany — The police and customs officers had been waiting for hours. Parked outside the Radisson Blu Senator Hotel in the northern German city of Lübeck, they sat in silence, engines off, watching the entrance.

While some Supertankers flee under the cover of night, 20,000 seafarers remain trapped in the perilous Strait of Hormuz

The Greek Courier

Tensions rise as sailing through the Strait of Hormuz has become a "risky business" amid the ongoing blockade. Meanwhile, concerns have mounted over the vessels and their crew trapped in the Strait. 

May 17, 2026

Maritime activity in the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted. As of May 18, 2026, just a few significant vessel movements highlight the precarious situation at this vital maritime choke point.

Latest updates Iran war latest: World leaders condemn attack on UAE's Barakah nuclear plant

The National 

Latest updates

• UAE 'has right to respond' after drone strike on Barakah nuclear plant
• Trump to convene Situation Room meeting on Iran, Axios reports
• Saudi air defences destroy three drones from Iraq
• Dr Gargash says 'no one will twist the UAE's arm' after drone attack
• Trump tells Iran the 'clock is ticking.'
• UAE air defences engage three drones on Sunday
• Iran warns US against renewed aggression

In Iraqi Desert, Two Israeli Outposts Were Kept Secret for Months

 

Israel spent over a year preparing a covert site in Iraq for its operations against Iran, regional officials say. Iraqi officials later confirmed the existence of a second base.

By Erika Solomon and Falih Hassan

May 17, 2026

Updated 9:55 p.m. ET

The truck rattling by at 2 p.m. on March 3 was a familiar sight to residents of the Bedouin encampment in Iraq’s rugged western desert — a local shepherd’s pickup, en route to the nearest town of al-Nukhaib.

What the Dickens? Will Ferrell Plays Ghost of Epstein on ‘S.N.L.’ Season Finale

Ferrell, the “Saturday Night Live” alum, appears with James Austin Johnson as President Trump in a send-up of “A Christmas Carol.” Paul McCartney provides the music.

By Dave Itzkoff

May 17, 2026, 9:28 a.m. ET

It’s not even close to the Yuletide, but when Will Ferrell hosts “Saturday Night Live” and Paul McCartney appears as the musical guest, that’s an occasion enough to pay homage to “A Christmas Carol.”

The deficit just grew by $955 billion in 7 months. It’s time for a constitutional fix to control the budget

By Steve H. Hanke and David M. Walker

May 14, 2026, 4:00 AM ET

The U.S. government is technically insolvent, with its liabilities far exceeding its assets, and its financial condition is deteriorating with each passing day.

Washington seems to be addicted to deficit financing and the accumulation of an ever-increasing mountain of debt. Indeed, since 1961, there have only been five years in which the federal government’s budget registered a surplus and the Congressional Budget Office’s latest Monthly Budget Review revealed a $955 billion deficit over just seven months of fiscal 2026. That pace puts the full-year deficit on track to exceed $1.9 trillion — precisely the CBO’s own annual projection.