May 6, 2026
Press Briefing, Ceasefire in Question, and History
Good morning, everyone!
Welcome to Everything Briefing. Here, each day, we seek understanding in a turbulent and uncertain world. In the age of artificial intelligence, we will continue to learn about the world the old-fashioned way: by doing the work of meticulously reading and evaluating the facts.
I am grateful to have you here.
Today, we will look at U.S. politics, the situation in the Middle East, and other news spanning each continent.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-Five out of seven Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed President Donald Trump’s failed effort to get the state legislature to redraw its congressional map last year lost to primary challengers last night.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown will now face off against Republican Senator Jon Husted as he seeks a return to the Senate just two years after his ouster.
In the governor’s race, Vivek Ramaswamy will face off against Democrat Amy Acton in the fall campaign after securing the Republican nomination.
View the full results here.
-The average U.S. gas price stood at $4.48 yesterday amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to AAA.
-Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a press conference at the White House yesterday.
View it here:
-Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will appear before the House Oversight Committee today, where he will face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
-Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched an initiative to rein in the prescription of antidepressants.
-The Trump administration opened an investigation into Smith College, an all-women’s college in Massachusetts, for admitting trans women.
-Senate Republicans are proposing $1 billion for Trump’s White House ballroom.
-Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential bid.
-The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a list of candidates in Republican districts it seeks to back in this year’s election cycle.
The endorsement outraged some Democrats, according to Axios, as some of the candidates are still locked in contested primary battles.
-Texas Senator John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton are locked in a dead heat in the state’s Republican runoff, according to a new poll.
Despite a competitive showing, Paxton has trailed Cornyn in fundraising.
-Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy conceded that his three-way Republican primary is an uphill fight, adding that the race is Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s to lose.
-South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden said Congressman Dusty Johnson had threatened him not to enter the governor’s race.
Johnson is currently challenging Rhoden for the Republican nomination.
-Republicans are seeking to capitalize on recent gains with Black voters, according to a new Axios analysis.
-Only 18% of 18-34 year-olds say the economy is either “good” or “excellent,” according to a new Generation Lab poll.
-There has been a surge of tick bite-related hospital visits this year.
-In an interview with The New York Times, David Letterman said he would be “surprised” if late-night television lasts more than a year.
-James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is reportedly in talks to acquire most of Vox Media.
-On this day in 1882, President Chester Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law.
In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
In 2013, President Barack Obama golfed with Senators Bob Corker, Saxby Chambliss, and Mark Udall at Andrews Air Force Base.
Other Links:
Trump again assails Pope Leo, potentially complicating Rubio’s visit to the Vatican this week - AP
Democrats Urge N.Y. Leaders to Redistrict After Supreme Court Ruling - The New York Times
Vance heads to Iowa for campaign event as U.S. economic concerns build - CBS
House sexual harassment payouts exceeded $300,000 - Politico
The front-runners to lead Bernie Sanders’ grassroots movement in 2028 - NBC
Africa
-Sudan’s army accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of involvement in a drone attack on an airport in the country’s capital, Khartoum.
The attack comes after a period of relative calm in the city as the country’s three-year civil war rages on.
-Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye warned that his ruling Pastef party risks collapse amid speculation of a rupture between him and his primary political ally, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
-Zambia said it would oppose U.S. efforts to tie health funding to the southern African country’s critical minerals.
-On this day in 1991, President George H. W. Bush hosted Cameroonian President Paul Biya in the Oval Office for bilateral talks.
Today, Biya remains in office. At 93 years old, he is the world’s oldest head of state.
In 1998, war broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia along their shared border.
The conflict would last for two years, killing an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people.
Other Links:
Mali junta leader names himself defence minister after predecessor killed - BBC
Thousands march in DR Congo capital in support of US sanctions against Kabila - Africa News
Boko Haram militants kill 23 soldiers in an attack on a military post, Chad says - AP
Tigray party restores pre-war government in threat to northern Ethiopia peace - Reuters
Nigeria opposition alliance falters as two leading figures quit, clouding 2027 unity push - Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean
-U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said the status quo in Cuba was “unacceptable” and that Washington would soon act to address it.
View his full remarks here:
Separately, Rubio visited U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Doral, Florida, where he posed for a photograph in front of a map of Cuba.
-The United States has revoked visas for several executives at La Nación, one of Costa Rica’s leading news publications.
-The U.S. military said yesterday that it had carried out a strike on an alleged drug trafficking ship in the Caribbean Sea.
-Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader halted a mining project in San Juan province after major protests that raised environmental concerns.
The Dominican Republic, which boasts a population of nearly 12 million today, gained independence from neighboring Haiti in 1844.
-Inflation in Venezuela eased last month, according to the country’s central bank.
Separately, Brazil’s central bank is warning of higher inflation due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Other Links:
Guyana and Venezuela return to UN court to settle historic dispute over valuable border region - AP
Alberta separatist group says it has enough signatures to trigger referendum on leaving Canada - AP
US says Mexico will address American airline access concerns in Mexico City - Reuters
Mexico City is sinking faster than ever, new NASA data reveals - Mexico News Daily
Three killed after small plane crashes into building in southeastern Brazil - Reuters
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-The U.S. State Department hailed Taiwan as a “trusted and capable” partner after China scorned the self-governing island’s president, William Lai, for his surprise visit to the African kingdom of Eswatini over the weekend.
Eswatini is one of the 12 countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and the only one in Africa.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has pledged to bring it under its control by force if necessary. Beijing also views Lai and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as separatists and has frequently moved to punish countries that interact with it.
In response to Lai’s visit, China called him a “rat” who had “skulked” his way to the African kingdom.
-Thailand terminated a 25-year-old energy exploration agreement with Cambodia yesterday, a move long expected following the neighboring countries’ border war last year.
-An explosion at a fireworks factory in China killed at least 26 people yesterday, prompting President Xi Jinping to call for an investigation into the incident.
-Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in Cebu, Philippines, today for a summit meeting.
The 11-member bloc was founded in 1967 to seek economic and political cooperation amongst its members.
-On this day in 2009, President Obama hosted trilateral talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the White House.
Other Links:
China Seeks an Advantage With Both Trump and Iran as War Evolves - The New York Times
Japan PM says Iran war oil crisis having ‘enormous impact’ in Asia Pacific - Al Jazeera
Pakistan navy assists Indian vessel stranded in Arabian Sea - Reuters
Asia Manufacturing Sector Feeling Strain From Middle East Conflict - The Wall Street Journal
South Korean stocks hit fresh record, building on historic monthly rally in April - CNBC
Europe
-Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine killed at least 25 people on Tuesday, just ahead of a two-day ceasefire set to begin.
Both countries said on Monday that they would observe a ceasefire on May 8-9 for commemorations of the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ramping up medium-range drone strikes on Russian forces.
-Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lamented the use of deepfakes yesterday, using an AI-generated image of herself as an example of the practice.
-Lawmakers in Romania voted to oust Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan yesterday after his four-party coalition government fractured last month.
-On this day in 2023, Charles III and Camilla were crowned king and queen in London.
Other Links:
Zelenskyy slams Russia’s ‘utter cynicism’ as strikes kill 22 in Ukraine before announced - AP
US approves potential sale of joint direct attack munitions to Ukraine - Reuters
Portugal arrests further 15 police officers in ongoing Lisbon rape and torture probe - Euronews
Spain seizes record amount of cocaine in Atlantic Ocean, authorities say - BBC
France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new Paris museum gallery - AP
Middle East
-President Trump announced yesterday that he would pause a U.S. mission, named Operation Freedom, to escort ships seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, saying he would allow time to see if an agreement with Iran could be reached.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Washington’s ceasefire agreement with Iran “is not over” despite renewed fighting in the strategic waterway on Monday.
View Hegseth’s full remarks here:
-The U.S. and Bahrain are backing a United Nations Security Council resolution that would impose sanctions and authorize force against Iran if it does not cease attacks on vessels in the Strait.
-A group of Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress is calling on Trump to acknowledge Israel’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.
-On this day in 2001, Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to enter and pray in a mosque as part of his landmark visit to Syria.
Other Links:
The Cheap Guided Rockets U.S. Forces Use Against Iranian Drones - The New York Times
Melkite Catholic bishops express concern over Israeli demolitions in southern Lebanon - AP
Israeli court extends detention of two Gaza flotilla activists until May 10 - Reuters
Israeli strikes kill three Palestinians, including a child, in Gaza, medics say - Reuters
Pulitzer Prize awarded to Palestinian photographer who captured ‘starvation in Gaza’ - The Jerusalem Post
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow.
The Chinese Exclusion cartoon shows how little has changed in our government’s attitude.
Just another T.A.C.O. Toosday with a N.A.C.H.O. on the side. 😉 Interesting events in Africa; 🙏🏾grateful to have visibility on them.💡Hooray Prime Minister Meloni for speaking out against deep-fakes.🗽