May 20, 2026
Election Results, Endorsement, and Peace Proposal
Good morning, everyone!
Today, we will look at election results from across the country, the Texas Senate race, and the situation in the Middle East.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie lost in his Republican primary yesterday to a challenger backed by President Donald Trump.
In a video posted to his social media just ahead of the vote, Trump scorned Massie, calling him “the worst congressman in the history of our country,” while urging voters to back Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
Trump has frequently criticized Massie for his support of releasing the investigatory files related to the now-deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and voting with Democratic lawmakers on a series of issues, including against his signature Big Beautiful Bill law passed last summer.
The race was the most expensive House primary race in U.S. history.
In his concession speech, Massie said he ran a “clean campaign” while hinting at a possible presidential run.
View his remarks here:
Separately, Congressman Andy Barr won the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Senator Mitch McConnell, while Charles Booker won the Democratic nomination.
In Georgia, the Republican primary to challenge Senator Jon Ossoff will advance to a runoff after no candidate secured over 50% of the vote.
In the governor’s election, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic nomination, while the Republican primary will head to a runoff.
View full election results from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania here.
-Trump endorsed Ken Paxton’s bid against incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary runoff yesterday, just a week out from the vote.
-The average U.S. gas price stood at $4.53 yesterday amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to AAA.
-Trump is pushing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to fire Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after she ruled against including funding plans for a grand White House ballroom in a reconciliation bill, according to NOTUS.
-Thune criticized the Justice Department’s announcement that it would establish a fund to compensate allies of Trump that the administration says were victims of “weaponization,” saying, “Not a big fan. And I’m not sure exactly how they intend to use it.”
-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he faced questions over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
View it here:
-Vice President JD Vance held a press conference at the White House yesterday.
View it here:
-Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized the Supreme Court’s move to quickly publish its decision to invalidate a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 last month.
Jackson was the lone justice to dissent in the case.
-Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan to succeed her in a video posted to her social media.
View it here:
-Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, debuted on X yesterday.
Meanwhile, conservative podcaster Candace Owens said she would release an interview with Biden on Thursday.
In a preview, Biden said that the “DC elite of the left, they crushed my dad.”
View the preview here:
-High heat and humidity levels are hitting the Northeast and Midwest this week.
-On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.
In 2015, David Letterman stepped down as host of the Late Show.
Other Links:
New settlement term bars IRS from investigating Trump, his family for past tax issues - CNN
Treasury Lawyer Quits as Government Settles Trump IRS Suit - The Wall Street Journal
Blanche doesn’t rule out considering payments for violent Jan. 6 rioters as he defends $1.8B fund - AP
30-year Treasury yield tops 5.19%, highest since before the financial crisis - CNBC
San Diego mosque shooters met online and left writings expressing hate, FBI says - AP
Africa
-Cabo Verde’s opposition PAICV party unseated the ruling Movement for Democracy (MpD) in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
The victory for PAICV marks a return to power for the left-wing party after a decade in opposition.
The small archipelago nation has a long history of power transitions following its transition to multi-party democracy in 1991.
Democracy tracker Freedom House rates the country high for its respect for “political rights” and “civil liberties,” although it notes that “access to justice is impaired by an overburdened court system, and crime remains a concern.”
-Deaths from the latest outbreak of Ebola have risen to 131 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to health officials.
-Germany has overtaken the United States as South Africa’s second-largest bilateral trading partner.
-On this day in 1972, voters in Cameroon approved a referendum transitioning the country’s government from a federal system to a unitary state.
Prior to the vote, Cameroon was divided into two separate federal states, with one French-speaking and one English-speaking, reflective of its colonial era divide.
The country now celebrates the date as its National Day.
Other Links:
Ebola and hantavirus have Africa talking ‘health sovereignty’ as donor support fades - AP
Rwandan president shrugs off US sanctions over DR Congo - Semafor
Kenya suspends strike after transport paralysis over high fuel prices - BBC
28 killed in a drone strike on a market in Sudan’s West Kordofan, rights group says - AP
Russia offers continued military cooperation to Equatorial Guinea - Africa News
Americas and the Caribbean
-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is leading his right-wing challenger, Flavio Bolsonaro, for the first time following a report was published that links Bolsonaro to a disgraced former banker, according to a new poll.
Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for his attempt to remain in office following his 2022 election defeat to Lula.
The report, published by Intercept Brasil, alleged that the junior Bolsonaro sought financing from Daniel Vorcaro for a biopic about his father.
Vorcaro, the former head of Banco Master, was arrested in March on charges of leading a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.
Flavio has denied wrongdoing and has said it was a private partnership.
For his part, Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term amid concerns over his age.
The 80-year-old leftist leader served his first two terms from 2003 to 2011, before returning to office after defeating Bolsonaro.
-On this day in 1902, the Republic of Cuba was established. The following day, the United States formally ended its military occupation of the island but reserved the right to intervene there.
Other Links:
A Cuban exiles’ group is at the heart of DOJ’s push to indict Raúl Castro over a 1996 shootdown - AP
Bolivia protesters allied with ex-leader Morales clash with police as unrest widens - AP
Luis Caputo predicts ‘Milei will win 2027 election by landslide in first round’ - Buenos Aires Times
Argentines hunting for source of hantavirus outbreak trap rats in southernmost city - NBC
Brazilian court to rule on whether Belo Sun’s Amazon gold mine stays suspended - AP
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-Russian leader Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing yesterday, where he was expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin’s trip to the country comes just on the heels of President Trump’s two-day visit to Beijing last week.
-China secretly trained roughly 200 Russian soldiers last year before they returned to battle in Ukraine, according to three European intelligence agencies.
-At least 21 people have been killed by heavy rains across southern and central China.
-South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in Seoul yesterday, marking their fourth meeting in six months.
-New Zealand’s government announced it would slash 14% of public sector jobs in an effort to cut spending.
-On this day in 2002, East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, becoming the first new country of the 21st century.
Other Links:
Asia markets trade mixed as oil eases after Trump delays planned Iran strike - CNBC
Taiwan insists it is independent after Trump warning - BBC
Taiwan says China’s military actions are greatest source of regional instability - Reuters
China agrees to boost trade for US beef and poultry following Trump-Xi summit - AP
Indonesia signed letter but made no commitment to US on airspace access, defence minister says - Reuters
Europe
-Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar arrived in Poland yesterday, marking his first trip abroad since assuming office earlier this month.
His travel also comes as he seeks to rebuild ties with the European Union following years of tensions between Budapest and the 27-member bloc under his predecessor, Viktor Orbán.
-Russia began three days of major nuclear drills yesterday.
-On this day in 1506, Christopher Columbus died in Spain.
Other Links:
Rubio heads to a NATO meeting as European angst over Trump reliability, US troops, Iran grows - AP
Ukrainian mid-range strikes deal double blow to Russia’s war effort - Reuters
Russian missile, drone strikes kill four in Ukraine’s northern regions, officials say - Reuters
Estonia says Nato jet shot down drone over its territory - BBC
Slovenia’s Janša seeks fourth term after coalition secures majority - Reuters
Middle East
-Iran’s latest peace proposal sent to U.S. officials includes war reparations, the withdrawal of all American troops deployed near Iran, and a halt to fighting in Lebanon.
President Trump previously rejected a similar proposal, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
Trump said on Monday that he had paused a resumption of strikes on Iran at the request of Gulf countries to allow for negotiations to continue.
As the conflict nears its three-month mark, global oil prices remain elevated due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which served as a conduit for roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas consumption prior to the war.
-Gulf nations able to reroute their oil away from the Hormuz Strait and through pipelines have fared better than those that cannot amid the conflict.
-On this day in 1967, then-Syrian Defense Minister Hafez al-Assad issued a threat to Israel in the run-up to the Six-Day War, saying, “Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland.”
Other Links:
U.S. Seized Iran-Linked Oil Tanker in the Indian Ocean - The Wall Street Journal
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill 19, including children and women, officials say - The Washington Post
UAE says mystery drones targeting nuclear plant came from Iraq - Euronews
The UAE’s image as a Middle Eastern haven is tested by the Iran war - AP
Israeli Minister Threatens to Evict Palestinians From West Bank Hamlet - The New York Times
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow.