May 12, 2026
U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | UKRAINE | U.S. INFLATION | U.S. ELECTIONS | U.S. FUEL PRICES | U.S. ABORTION | U.S. PUBLIC LANDS | U.S. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | CALIFORNIA | U.S. AND CHINA | ISRAEL | E.U. SOCIAL MEDIA | CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA | PAKISTAN | MALAYSIA | SOUTH AFRICA
U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 74.
- After rejecting Iran's response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the Middle East war, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that the cease-fire with Iran is on "life support," increasing concerns of a possible resumption of active hostilities in the Persian Gulf region. [more]
- Iranian parliamentary spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei said today that one of Iran's options if it is attacked again would be to further enrich its uranium stockpiles to 90% purity – a level considered weapons-grade. [more]
- Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said today that, amidst ongoing threats to Persian Gulf countries from Iran, Israel has provided the United Arab Emirates with advanced air defense systems and personnel to operate them. [more]
UKRAINE | Today is day 1,536 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:
- A three-day temporary cease-fire having ended, Ukraine says Russian forces fired more than 200 drones at targets in Ukraine overnight, damaging civilian infrastructure and killing at least one person and wounding six others. The Russian Defense Ministry says its air defenses intercepted at least 30 Ukrainian drones overnight in Russian regions along the countries' shared border. [more]
- The European Union announced new sanctions yesterday against 16 officials and seven organizations accused of roles in the abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and their removal to, and forced assimilation in, Russia. [more]
U.S. INFLATION | According to Labor Department data released today, consumer inflation in the U.S., as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 3.8% in April, compared to the year-ago period – up from a 3.3% annual increase in March and the largest year-over-year increase since May 2023. On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.6% from March to April. The increases in both monthly and annual prices were led by sharp rises in fuel costs. [full report] [more]
U.S. ELECTIONS | Amidst ongoing efforts in numerous states to redraw congressional districting maps ahead of November's mid-term elections, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday blocked a lower court ruling that would have required Alabama to use a court-imposed districting map that included two Black-majority districts. [more]
U.S. FUEL PRICES | President Donald Trump said yesterday that he supports a temporary suspension of the federal tax on gasoline to help offset increased prices linked to the war in Iran. Reports note suspending the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline would require approval by Congress. [more]
U.S. ABORTION | The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday temporarily extended nationwide access to the abortion drug mifepristone at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor, while the Court further considers a Louisiana lawsuit challenging such access. [more]
U.S. PUBLIC LANDS | The Interior Department announced its intention yesterday to cancel a rule adopted under the Biden administration that allowed public lands to be leased for conservation or restoration in the same manner in which companies lease lands for logging, mining, and livestock grazing. [more]
U.S. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | President Donald Trump yesterday nominated Cameron Hamilton to be the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reports note that Hamilton was fired from his role as the temporary head of FEMA last year after contradicting the Trump administration's stated policy that the agency should be dismantled. [more]
CALIFORNIA | Automaker General Motors agreed in recent days to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties for violating the California Consumer Privacy Act by selling driving data on hundreds of thousands of California motorists to data brokers without their consent. The data sold to brokers reportedly included names, location information, driving behavior, and contact information. [more]
U.S. AND CHINA | U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin his travel to Beijing today for a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. The visit comes amidst trade-, tariff-, and technology-related tensions between the world's two largest economies and follows indications of China's increased willingness to play a role in ending the war in the Middle East. [more]
ISRAEL | The Israeli parliament approved a bill yesterday establishing a special tribunal to try Palestinians on charges of taking part in the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Reports note that, under the bill, the tribunal would have the authority to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of taking part in the attacks and proceedings of the tribunal would be required to be live-streamed. [more]
E.U. SOCIAL MEDIA | As numerous countries around the world implement measures aimed at protecting minors online, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that a European Union plan to address youth online safety is expected by July and that the plan could include measures to set a minimum age for social media access. [more]
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA | Amazon and Latin American Indigenous organizations sent a letter yesterday to U.N. member states and various U.N. agencies warning that illegal mining, drug trafficking, logging, and other organized crime activities are driving violence and accelerating environmental destruction in rainforest communities and weakening Indigenous governance and territorial control. [more]
PAKISTAN | Authorities in the Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say at least nine people were killed, and more than 20 others were wounded, today when a bomb attached to a rickshaw exploded in a crowded bazaar. The Pakistani Taliban militant group, which has carried out similar acts in the region, has denied responsibility for the attack. [more]
MALAYSIA | Authorities in the central Malaysian state of Perak say as many as 14 people remain missing after a boat believed to have been carrying about 40 Indonesian migrants capsized off the island of Pangkor yesterday. [more]
SOUTH AFRICA | In a televised address yesterday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will not resign from office despite the establishment of a parliamentary impeachment committee to re-investigate allegations of misconduct against him linked to hiding the theft of more than $500,000 in cash that had been stashed in a sofa at his game ranch. [more]
ENTERTAINMENT | The first of two semi-final rounds of competition in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Vienna, Austria, today. The second semi-final is scheduled for Thursday, and the competition's final is scheduled for Saturday. [more]
TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1949, the Soviet Union lifted its 11-month blockade of Berlin, Germany, which Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with the Berlin Airlift. [more history]