May 22, 2026

PROGRAMMING NOTE: There will be no Daily Brief issue published on Monday, May 25, as we honor Memorial Day here in the United States. Regular operations will resume on Tuesday, May 26.

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 84.

• Reports say that, in separate diplomatic actions, Qatari and Pakistani negotiators are meeting with Iranian officials today in efforts to secure a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end their ongoing conflict. [more]
• The U.S. announced new sanctions yesterday against a group of Lebanese parliamentarians and state security officials, accusing them of providing the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group with "illicit support" and intelligence during the ongoing Middle East war. [more]

U.S. POLLUTION AND GROCERY PRICES | Saying the move would "substantially lower costs for consumers," President Donald Trump announced the easing yesterday of federal rules that require grocery stores and air conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cooling equipment. [more]

U.S. 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION | After saying previously that he did not plan to release an autopsy report on the 2024 presidential election, Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin released the analysis of his party's loss to Donald Trump yesterday. Martin distanced himself from the third-party report, saying "it does not meet my standards," and a disclaimer on the report says it "reflects the views of the author, not the DNC." [full report] [more]

U.S. AI INDUSTRY | Just hours before an expected White House ceremony at which he was to sign an executive order establishing a framework for national security review of advanced U.S. artificial intelligence systems before their release, President Donald Trump cancelled the signing, saying he did not want to do anything that might interfere with the United States' global advantage in AI development. [more]

MINNESOTA | Following her conviction on conspiracy, fraud, and bribery charges, a federal judge yesterday sentenced Aimee Bock, the former leader of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future, to nearly 42 years in prison. Justice Department officials say Bock was behind the "single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country" and estimated her nonprofit to have illegally obtained some $250 million in funding. [more]

U.S. VOTER ROLLS | In separate rulings yesterday, federal judges in Maine and Wisconsin dismissed lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice that sought to compel the states to hand over detailed voter registration information to the federal government. Reports note that the Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits against at least 30 states and the District of Columbia, and that numerous cases that have gone to court, including in Arizona, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, and Rhode Island have been dismissed. [more]

U.S. TRUMP COMPENSATION FUND | Prior to recessing until the beginning of June, Senate Republican leaders yesterday cancelled a planned vote on a $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies due to what is reported to be an impasse over whether to remove provisions for a new  $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they have been politically prosecuted. [more]

U.S. AND NATO | Just weeks after saying that the U.S. would remove 5,000 troops from Europe and suggesting further downsizing of U.S. troop levels on the continent would take place, President Donald Trump announced in a social media post yesterday that "the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland." [more]

U.S. AND CUBA | On the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking about possible intervention in Cuba, said "it looks like I’ll be the one that does it," the U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, revived claims filed by the U.S. company Havana Dock over the Cuban government's 1960 seizure of company-operated docks in Cuba. [more on Trump statement] [more on Havana Docks]

EBOLA | As World Health Organization officials suggest the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is likely much larger than reported, Congolese authorities say 160 suspected deaths and 671 suspected cases have been recorded in the country's Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. [more]

CANADA | Danielle Smith, premier of Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta, said yesterday that the province will hold a referendum in October to ask whether it should stay in Canada or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on leaving. Reports note that a "yes" vote in a binding referendum would not automatically trigger independence, as negotiations with the federal government would still have to take place. [more]

HONDURAS | The Honduran Security Ministry says at least 25 people, including six police officers involved in anti-gang operations, were killed in two separate attacks by yet-unidentified gunmen yesterday along the Central American country's coast. [more]

HUNGARY | Emergency response officials in northeastern Hungary say at least one person was killed, and several others were injured, today in an explosion at a petrochemical plant in the city of Tiszaújváros. Authorities say no dangerous concentrations of hazardous materials were detected following the explosion. [more]

R.I.P. | Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch died yesterday after a short illness, according to a joint statement released by his family, Richard Childress Racing, and NASCAR. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 337, Constantine the Great, who had practiced Christianity since his youth and sparked its growth into a world religion, became on his deathbed the first Roman emperor to be baptized in the Christian church. [more history]