May hiring “blew past expectations” (The Wall Street Journal) with 172,000 jobs added to the economy and the unemployment chart above [Bureau of Labor Statistics] showing a steady, unchanged 4.3% rate. Hiring was up for leisure and hospitality, local government and health care, while hiring for financial activities (AI bankers?) declined.

ICE Cubed – The Senate early Friday passed a “nearly $70 billion” ($69.5B to be closer to precise, according to The Hill) reconciliation bill that funds immigration enforcement through the rest of President Trump’s term by 52-47 vote after an 18-hour vote-a-rama in which numerous attempts to curb the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” failed.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) joined all Democratic senators – including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – in opposition to the reconciliation bill, according to CQ Roll Call. 

The bill must now pass the House before it’s forwarded to President Trump’s Resolute Desk. While it’s tempting to point to the four Republican House members who Wednesday helped pass a resolution calling on Trump to withdraw from Iran as a potential stopgap, this last portion of the fiscal budget has been a major GOP cause as Democrats sought to rein in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol following the January killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“Most watched” challenge to the president’s $1.776-billion Anti-Weaponization (slush) fund according to Roll Call was Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) amendment that would restrict the fund’s payouts only for law enforcement officers (or next of kin) who died or suffered from the January 6^th attack on the US Capitol in 2021. The failed amendment would have carved out approximately $100 million for the fund, offset by a cut to ICE.

•••

Bolton Deal – Trump 45 national security advisor and “US out of UN” United Nations ambassador under President Bush 43, John Bolton, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of mishandling classified information, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The tentative plea deal is subject to a judge’s approval and would result in a $2 million fine and zero to five years in prison, “much less” than if Bolton’s attorneys had taken the case to trial, according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas. 

Bolton was indicted last October on 18 counts of mishandling sensitive information, much of it highly classified according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas, which the Justice Department said was sent via text and email to two family members.

•••

Another Trump Renovation Project – As employees of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts prepare to remove all references to the current president, including, “The Donald Trump and…” lettering above JFK’s name, according to a memo obtained by Politico, Washington, D.C. has yet another construction/renovation “need.” Trump told reporters Thursday he will build a walkway connecting the back of the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, The New York Times reports.

‘They’ who? … “We’re going to call it ‘the promenade,’” Trump said. “They want to call it the ‘Trump Promende’, but I don’t know if I want to do that. But it’s going to be beautiful. It’s a beautiful project, and it’s going to take the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Potomac.” – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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FRIDAY 6/5/26

Get ready for another rally -- The president, seen here attending the LIV Golf tournament at the Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. (in Sterling, Virginia), will headline the Freedom 250 celebration on the National Mall. [White House photo]

THURSDAY 6/4/26

Trump Names Blanche His AG – While Republican Congress members and Democrats alike are kvetching over President Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte for director of the Office of National Intelligence, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is now set to be nominated to his position permanently. At a White House dinner Wednesday, Trump said director of the personnel office and other aides will nominate Blanche to become Pam Bondi’s permanent replacement, The Hill reports.

•••

House Wants an End to War – Yes, it’s symbolic, the measure the House passed Wednesday directing President Trump to withdraw US forces from Iran or win congressional approval to continue the war (per The New York Times). Even if the measure makes it through the Senate, Trump would then be expected to veto the measure. But the House vote, 215 to 208, is significant, because four Republicans joined all Democrats to pass the measure.

Those four Republicans are Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Tom Barrett (MI) and Warren Davidson (OH). –TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/3/26

Big Primaries Tuesday – Trump-endorsed ex-Fox News commentator Steve Hilton, (R, obv.) leads Democratic ex-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, 27.8% to 25.4% in California’s bipartisan primary, The New York Times reports via The Associated Press. The two leading candidates face off in the November 3 general election regardless of party – so they could both be Republicans or both be Democrats – and most California votes come in by mail and will be counted up to June 9 if they were postmarked by June 2.

That means out of 60 candidates for California governor, to replace term-limited and presumed 2028 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Gavin Newsom (D), Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer is still in the running, with 19.6% of the vote so far. As is Republican Chad Bianco, with 11.3%.

Other key primaries … also according to the NYT via the AP’s tallies, in the Iowa Republican primary for governor, businessman-farmer Zach Lahn defeated last-minute Trump endorsee Rep. Randy Feenstra … for the Iowa Democratic primary race for US Senate, Paralympic gold medalist and state legislator Josh Turek defeated progressive state legislator Zach Wahls … for the Montana Republican primary for a US House seat, Trump-endorsed radio host Aaron Flint took the win over three other Republicans, including Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen … in the New Jersey Democratic primary for retiring progressive Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, US Army veteran and “sharp critic” of Israel’s war on Gaza Adam Hamawy is the nominee … in the New Mexico Democratic primary for governor, former Interior secretary and ex-US Rep. Deb Haaland defeated Sam Bregman, district attorney for the state’s most populous county and father of baseball all-star Alex Bregman.

Fa LA LA … Meanwhile, in the officially non-partisan race for mayor of Los Angeles, incumbent and erstwhile Democrat Karen Bass is in for the November general election, the Los Angeles Times reports, via the AP, with 34.8% of the primary vote, so far. Star of ‘00s reality show The Hills Spencer Pratt, a Republican who blames Bass for the burning down of his house in the January 2025 Palisades Fire is the incumbent’s likely challenger, with 30.4% of the vote so far. LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman still has a chance, with 22.3% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.

•••

From Real Estate to National Intel – Federal Housing Agency chief Bill Pulte does not have the background required to be director of national intelligence. But in classic Trump administration style, Pulte, 38, scion of one of the nation’s largest homebuilder families and often described as “Little Trump” according to The Wall Street Journal will skate by for now as actingdirector of national intelligence.

That will be necessary because lame-duck Republican senators primaried by Trump-backed candidates will not overlook Pulte’s lack of intel credentials. 

“I don’t see any evidence of qualifications for that job, but willing to listen,” 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who lost his primary last week to Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, told reporters Tuesday.

Writing in The Atlantic, never-Trump conservative pundit David Frum notes as a sort of consolation that unlike the national intelligence director he will replace, Tulsi Gabbard, Pulte has never publicly expressed admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin or former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Pulte, who often travels with Trump on Air Force One according to Politico, has enemies within the administration and evidenced by an “explosive spat” out in the open with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

“The president has so many smart people that he could listen to,” an ex-Trump official told Politico. “And he listens to Pulte, who just continuously fucks things up.”

Pulte has sicced the Justice Department into investigating Democratic lawmakers, Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Letitia James, with none of his allegations of mortgage fraud having gone anywhere. 

As, ahem, acting director of national intelligence, a position created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US nearly 25 years ago, Pulte will be responsible for presenting Trump his daily intel briefing entailing 18 federal agencies, notes Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), on NPR’s Morning Edition. Pulte’s appointment could threaten passage of reauthorization next week of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, which collects, analyzes and shares intel about national security threats, Warner says. FISA Section 702 accounts for 70% of the president’s daily intelligence briefing, according to the senator. 

Will President Trump, known for his lack of interest in reading such reports, notice if it’s missing?

•••

CBS Fires Pelley – Paramount’s dismantling of CBS News’ 60 Minutes under Bari Weiss reached a new lowpoint Tuesday when Nick Bilton fired Scott Pelley, after the veteran correspondent apparently applied his incisive reporting skills to take down the new executive producer in a staff meeting.

“Yesterday’s performative display of hostility enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress,” Bilton’s letter to Pelley and obtained by Mediaite, read in part. 

•••

Is There Gas in the Car? – Fuel prices inched down again Wednesday according to the AAA, with the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular costing $4.261, down 2.9 cents from Tuesday. A gallon of diesel is $5.411 Wednesday, down 2.1 cents. Wednesday’s prices are +$1.288 for regular and +$1.614 for diesel, over the February 28 AAA averages. –TL

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Dear Center Column – Before digging into local news, an 11 p.m. newscast asks, “Are hopes for peace in Iran fading?”

Dear 11 p.m. newscast – It appears you haven’t been paying attention. President Trump has ping-ponged between being ready to sign a peace deal with unnamed leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and threatening to bomb the nation of 90 million back to the Stone Age for some 14 weeks now, driving up both the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Averages and the interest rates on US Treasury bonds. Monday’s flip-flop was nothing new, with those Iranian leaders taking the lead again and telling President Trump to stuff the peace deal after Israel extended its war on Lebanon to Beirut.

Latest is that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says the US supports its attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs so long as Hezbollah continues to attack northern Israel, The Guardian reports.

The endless flip-flop has prompted some pundits and analysts to conclude that Iran, and not the US, is winning the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not be pleased.

Nor is President Trump pleased with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump reportedly “lashed out” on Netanyahu over his aggression on Lebanon, telling the PM “You’re fucking crazy,” according to an exclusive report in Axios.

Question of the day … Is Iran winning this war?

•••

Gas Relief – In the face of all this ceasefire turmoil and Iran’s persistent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, gas and diesel prices continue to ease back from their wartime peaks. Average national price for a gallon of unleaded regular is down 13.6 cents from last Thursday to $4.29 Tuesday. That’s $1.309 over February 28. Diesel is 12.2 cents cheaper than last Thursday to $5.432, which is $1.635 above the price per gallon just prior to the war.

•••

‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ on Ice – The Trump administration has “signaled” plans to drop the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund the president’s Justice Department negotiated with the president’s Internal Revenue Service in a deal over the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, CNN reports.

With heavy support from congressional Republicans as well as Democrats, Reps. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have introduced the bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act to make sure the Anti-Weaponization Fund doesn’t pop up in the middle of semi-sesquincentennial celebrations and pay off the 1,500 or so January 6^th rioters who already have been pardoned by President Trump. After all, that $1.776 billion has a nice, semi-sesquincentennail ring to it.

Speaking with Suozzi on CNN’s AC360 with Anderson Cooper, Fitzpatrick warns that Congress must soon address the Federal Judgment Fund Act, a 1956 statue that allows Congress to settle legitimate lawsuits after the fact, which appears to be the basis of the Trump administration’s A-WF.

But first, the bipartisan stopgap to make sure the $1.776 billion fund is not allowed to happen. …

“This is a bipartisan bill to block the president’s $1.7 billion slush fund to pay off the January 6^th criminals and other maladjusted minions!” Fitzpatrick says on his website. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Whose Power is the War Power?

Left and right were mostly on the same page, if not in the same column debating the US-Israeli war on Iran at Wednesday evening’s Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III at the Allen Theatre in Annville, Pennsylvania.  

Each participant adhered to The Hustings’ ethos of echo chamber-free political discussion, agreeing and disagreeing with each other with civility and respect. That means the Allen Theatre and The Hustings are busy planning Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts IV. Watch this space for details.

_______________________________________________

Left and right, moderate and progressive-to-MAGA are invited to our next live Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the Allen Theatre, 36 E. Main St. in Annville, Pennsylvania where we will take up the issue of the 12-week old US-Israeli war on Iran. 

Confirm your attendance at this free, civil debate with an email to info@allentheatre.com or editors@thehustings.news.

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TUESDAY 5/26/26

President Trump visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings is resurfacing after placing a no-bid contract that a National Park Service analysis obtained by The New York Times says is adding a 20% surcharge costing the federal government at least $850,000 more than the typical 6% to 12% [White House photo].

Like Rolling a Rock Up a Hill – This hardly sounds like the “largely negotiated” done deal with Iran that President Trump described four days ago, but we suppose it’s something. 

US officials are reportedly closing in on an agreement that could extend the ceasefire with Iran, lead to reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and set the table for more substantial negotiations, three American officials with knowledge of discussions tell The New York Times. 

So. Another ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz free and open, kinda like 14 weeks ago.

•••

His Own Retribution – The Justice Department has launched an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former Elle advice columnist who won two civil judgments worth $88.3 million against then-former and future President Donald J. Trump over sexual abuse and defamation, CNN reports. The investigation reportedly hinges on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her lawsuits against Trump. 

Speculation is that the investigation revolves around Carroll’s 2022 deposition, in which she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuits, although she later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses.–TL

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THURSDAY 5/28/26

War On, Deal Off? – Iran targeted an unnamed US base in the Gulf Region, it says, in response to US strikes on southern Iran Thursday, The New York Times reports. This follows President Trump’s open cabinet meeting Wednesday in which he threatened to blow up Oman over Iran’s plan to toll the Strait of Hormuz in partnership with Oman. 

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump’s threats “dangerous” and “bullying,” according to The Guardian.

Washington and Tehran in recent days have suggested they were close to an agreement to resume open shipping in the Strait.

But at his cabinet meeting, Trump said this in response to a reporter’s question (per NYT): “The Strait is going to be open to everybody. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. But nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation we have.”

Clearly, Iran has learned since the war began in late February the power it has gained by controlling the Strait.

Meanwhile … The Israeli Defense Force conducted its first attack on Beirut in three weeks, after refraining from attacking Lebanon’s capital at Trump’s request, The Times of Israel reports. The IDF targeted an apartment building in the southern Choueifat area in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-connected military leader, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported. 

While Thursday’s IDF attack on Beirut is its first in three weeks, Israel has been unrelenting in its war on southern Lebanon, where more than 1 million locals have been displaced from their homes, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

•••

Gassiness – Global oil prices were on the rise Thursday after the US and Iran reported missile strikes on each other. But there’s lag at the American pump: Average national price of a gallon of unleaded regular dropped by 6.5 cents from Tuesday to $4.426, Thursday, which is $1.445 higher than February 28. Diesel was down 3 cents from Tuesday to $5.554, or $1.757 higher than the war’s start. –TL

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WEDNESDAY 5/2726

Paxton Wins Texas Primary – Is state Rep. James Talarico the real winner? 

Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton walloped – that’s a Texas word, right? – four-term Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff. The numbers were 64.1% for Paxton to 35.9% for Cornyn, according to The Texas Tribune.

Democrats couldn’t be more delighted, as if Texas, which is just about MAGA central might have second thoughts about forwarding to the November 3 midterms the Trump-endorsed AG who has been impeached and suspended from office by more than 70% of his own party in the Texas House, according to the Trib. Paxton faced a federal investigation into corruption allegations lodged by former top deputies, who have filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging they were illegally fired for reporting Paxton to law enforcement. 

Oh, and there’s the lawsuit by the state bar seeking to penalize Paxton for attorney misconduct. 

Paxton was indicted on three felony counts of securities fraud, “that have loomed over nearly his entire tenure as attorney general,” the Trib reports. 

Oh, and Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton has filed for divorce, citing “biblical grounds” and accusing the US Senate nominee of adultery. 

Any wonder Paxton was endorsed by President Trump? --TL

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TUESDAY 5/2626

Where is That Deal? – A lot happened between Washington and Tehran through the Memorial Day weekend. None of it remotely resembled a peace deal.

Here’s the latest from The New York Times and The Guardian:

Iran Tuesday has threatened to retaliate against US strikes Monday that the US said are defensive, against Iran’s missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay more mines in the Strait of Hormuz (The Guardian).

The Islamic Republic accused the US of violating the ceasefire. Its Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a written statement that US military bases in the Middle East are no longer safe and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to  respond forcefully to any US strikes (NYT).

These bellicose statements replaced negotiations after President Trump Truth Socialed Saturday that a deal with Iran was imminent, but he once again warned Iran had better reach an agreement or face annihilation. The Trump administration’s threats do not seem to scare the country that has chanted “death to America” for 47 years.

Iran did ease up slightly on repression of its own people, as President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered his country’s communications ministry to end its nearly complete internet blackout. 

Trump Truth Socialed, again on Monday afternoon that Iran’s enriched uranium will either be turned over to the US and destroyed or is to be destroyed in coordination of Iran and the Atomic Energy Commission. 

Iran officials traveled to Doha, Qatar, Monday to discuss negotiations ….  Hours before the US Military announced strikes on Iran meant to protect US troops.  

The upshot is … The Trump administration is struggling to reach the same level of compliance by Iran on its nuclear arms program that the Obama administration took two years to reach under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed and President Trump threw out in his first administration … while also working to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

•••

Slight Ease of Gas Pains – National average for a gallon of regular unleaded ticked below $4.50 Tuesday to $4.491, 1.6-cents lower than Monday, but up $1.51 over February 28. Diesel slid, too, by 7.2 cents from last Thursday to $5.584 per gallon, or +$1.787 versus the start of the war on Iran.

•••

Russia Targets ‘Decision Centers’ – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evacuate the US embassy in Kyiv as Russia prepares to begin strikes on Ukraine’s “decision-making centers” (per The Kyiv Independent).

Moscow has framed the planned hit as retaliation for Ukraine’s attack on Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast. The Kremlin claims the attack hit a dormitory in Starobilsk, though Kyiv counters that it was targeting a Russian drone command facility.

Russia staged its heaviest attack Tuesday on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, hitting every district in Kyiv. But that attack is seen as a sort of desperation as the four-year-old war hobbles Russia’s economy as Ukraine shows unexpected levels of resilience with its aggressive military drone program. – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 5/26/26

Scroll down this column for details on Debate & Donuts III, May 27

Is a “guarantee” that Iran will “never” build its own nuclear arms worth the highly inflated cost of filling your car’s fuel tank with gas and the price of food delivered to your grocer by a diesel-chugging semi-truck?

Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay has his own opinion on this in today’s right column. Please read it and weigh in with your own opinion, with an email COMMENT to editors@thehustings.news.

Also, watch for pro-MAGA Contributing Pundit Rich Corbett’s comments on the subject, also in the right column, later this week. 

•••

The Allen Theatre and The Hustings are happy to announce Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III on the US war with Iran, Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. Eastern time. 

Was the US Military attack on Iran at the end of February a good idea? 

Whether you lean left or right, we want to hear from you. Please join us in person at the Allen Theatre in Annville, Pennsylvania May 27.

Pre-register at info@allentheatre.com for this free event and please indicate your stand on the war, for our planning purposes. [Please note: it’s perfectly OK if you lean left and support the war or lean right and don’t. This is about free, open and civil discussion around the political horseshoe.]

Voice your opinion on the war here, at editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leaning in the subject line so we may publish your comments in the proper column. –Editors

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MONDAY 5/18/26

Goldphoner – The long-awaited-by-MAGA Trump T1 smartphone began shipping last week, according to USA Today. Scroll down this column for details in Monday's report.

THURSDAY 5/21/26

Republican Senators Wake Up and Take Notice – After losing his GOP primary to a self-proclaimed Donald J. Trump yes-man Tuesday, Sen. Thomas Massie (R-KY) warned the president he still has seven months remaining in his term. Lame duck Republican senators are now leading a revolt against two of President Trump’s pet programs: His golden grand ballroom with $1 million in security enhancements, where the White House East Wing used to be and his $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” paid by tax dollars from his “settlement” with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Senate is to hold an initial procedural vote Thursday evening and begin a vote-a-rama on a $70 billion-plus Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol reconciliation bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) cannot start a floor vote process until he has locked down 50 votes, Punchbowl News reports. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate.

“Imagine that,” Tillis said, “a fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers. How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth?”

Thune can’t count on Massie, fellow primaried Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-SC), who is not running for re-election this year, plus Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY).

Thune might count on Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), to brings him back to 48 votes.

Earlier this week, Cassidy, Paul, Collins and Murkowski voted to advance Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) war powers resolution out of the Foreign Relations Committee. Trump is expected to veto the resolution.

•••

Bibi Will Follow – In comments that contradict the nature of the relationship many analyst-pundits have understood since late February, President Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “do whatever I want” when it comes to extending the ceasefire with Iran. Trump’s comments came a day after he and Netanyahu reportedly had a tense phone call on the subject, according to The Times of Israel. 

“He’s a very good man, will do whatever I want him to do,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “And he’s a great guy. Don’t forget, he was a wartime prime minister.”

Trump’s call with Netanyahu came the day after Trump cited progress in negotiations with Iran, prompting him to (again) suddenly pull back from plans to restart military attacks on the country.

Sources have told Axios that a proposal Qatar and Pakistan drafted with input from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt would entail a “letter of intent” to end the war to begin 30 days of negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and limitation of Iran’s nuclear program.

•••

Fuel Up – The national average price of a gallon of unleaded regular is $4.564 Thursday, up 0.9 cents from Wednesday and up $1.583 from February 28, the AAA reports. Diesel is up 0.4 cents to $5.656, or $1.859 higher than the day before the war began. 

•••

Castro, Meet Maduro? – It would take a Venezuela-like US invasion, which is not out of the question after the Trump administration’s perceived success in that operation from early last January, to bring former Cuban President Raúl Castro to trial. Cuba has no extradition treaty with the US, making that the only likely option for the Trump administration. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday announced indictment of Castro, 94, and four others in connection with the 1996 killing of four humanitarian workers with Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue by Cuban fighter jets in international waters (Politico). 

A Miami grand jury returned the charges following  unsealing of an investigation led by federal prosecutors in South Florida. The indictment alleges conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder. 

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the charges a “political maneuver” without legal foundation.

This comes amidst US pressure on Cuba via sanctions, a recent visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Trump administration threatening sanctions on other countries that try to deliver oil to Cuba after cutting off oil from Venezuela after that January capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. –TL

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WEDNESDAY 5/20/26

Generalissimo of the GOP – While America’s political animals from center-right to left remain mired in arguments of where to rate Donald J. Trump on the authoritarian measurement scale (“competitive authoritarianism,” Viktor Orbán style is a popular answer), there can be no question about the president’s supreme control of the Republican Party. 

On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) lost the Kentucky GOP primary in his bid for an eighth term in the House of Representatives. Massie, who voted to convict Trump in January 2021 for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, introduced with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) the Epstein Files Transparency Act, voted against Trump’s One Big Beautiful spending and tax-cut bill and opposes the war on Iran, lost the primary with 46% of the vote to Kentucky farmer and ex-Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein who campaigned he will vote in lockstep with the president on everything and thus snagged 54% of the vote.

Massie’s loss came three days after fellow maverick-y Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his primary to Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA). 

Trump endorsed Gallrein, of course, in the costliest House campaign on record, with an estimated $34 million spent by 4:30 p.m. Monday, the eve of the primary, according to The American Prospect. 

A day earlier, the president Truth Socialed that Massie is the “worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country” (per The Guardian).

Turn back the calendar further, to May 11, and there’s this from Trump during a campaign rally-like speech in Kentucky: “We’ve got to get rid of this loser. He’s disloyal to the Republican Party. He’s disloyal to Kentucky. And most importantly, he’s disloyal to the United States of America. He’s got to be voted out of office as soon as possible.”

Not soon enough for Trump.

Massie, who claimed victory among young voters, at least, who he said are fed up with such politics, noted that Tuesday marked six months after he and Khanna introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and Massie has seven months left in his current term.

Massie is not your typical Republican. He will not be your typical lame duck congressman.

•••

RIP Rep. Barney Frank – Capitol Hill staffers many times voted Barney Frank, Democratic congressman for a diverse suburban Boston district from 1981 to 2013, “brainiest,” “funniest,” “most eloquent” in an annual poll by Washingtonian magazine. Frank died Tuesday, age 86, at his home in Ogunquit, Maine, about a month after his friend, James Segel, said the former congressman had entered hospice care with congestive heart failure, according to The New York Times obit. 

Frank publicly declared he was gay in 1987, helping “normalize being openly gay in public life,” according to the obit. 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 he co-sponsored with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) “helped reshape the US financial system” after the 2007-08 financial crisis (worst since the Great Depression), according to The Wall Street Journal.

“This country has never had a congressman like Barney Frank, and the House of Representatives will not be the same without him,” President Barack Obama said upon his retirement 13 years ago.

•••

…And Worser – This supplemental to the Internal Revenue Service’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund settlement with President Trump’s $10 billion suit against his agency was “quietly” added Tuesday and signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to The New York Times: the government is “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing” pending tax claims against Trump, his family and his business. 

Meanwhile … Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges, both veterans of the January 6^th attack on the US Capitol, filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop President Trump’s $1.776-billion Anti-Weaponization Fund.

•••

More Time, More or Less, for Iran – Giving a tour to reporters Tuesday of construction at his Grand Ballroom site where the White House East Wing used to be, President Trump said he was “an hour away” from new strikes on Iran when “serious negotiations” for a permanent ceasefire progressed, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance, standing in for expectant White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters there are two serious pathways for Iran, according to the report: Continue to negotiate or restart the US Military campaign. Vance also repeated, in week 12 of Trump’s four- to six-week war on Iran, that this is not a “forever war.” 

•••

Fuel Up – The national average price of a gallon of unleaded regular is $4.555 Wednesday, up 2.2 cents from Tuesday and up $1.574 from February 28, the AAA reports. Diesel is up 0.2 cents to $5.652, or $1.855 higher than the day before the war began. --TL

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TUESDAY 5/19/26

TACOs for Tuesday? – It didn’t take long after President Trump’s latest threat of annihilation Monday to announce he had postponed another US Military strike on Iran. This happened not in preparation for TACO Tuesday, but because leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates begged him to hold off as negotiations are progressing (again) (per Newsweek).

The circumstances didn’t stop Mohsen Rezaei, top Iranian advisor, from taking a TACO mock. He said Trump had cancelled the military strike on his own and that Iran’s “iron fist” would force the US to retreat, even surrender.

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Fuel Pains – The national average price of a gallon of unleaded regular is $4.533 Tuesday, up 1.8 cents from Monday and up $1.552 from February 28, the AAA reports. Diesel is up 1.9 cents to $5.65, or $1.853 higher than the day before the war.

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It Gets Worse – Treasury Department General Counsel Brian Morrissey resigned Monday, seven months after he was confirmed by the Senate and hours after the department’s Internal Revenue Service announced the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund as settlement for President Trump’s suit against the agency, The New York Times reports. Morrissey worked for Trump 45’s Justice Department and was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The settlement over Trump’s $10 billion suit alleging the IRS leaked his tax returns was signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and IRS Chief Executive Frank Bisignano, according to The Wall Street Journal and will pay people who claimed they were targeted unfairly by past presidential administrations. 

A five-person commission to the Anti-Weaponization Fund to be appointed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche can be fired by the president. Blanche was to testify before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday on the Justice Department’s budget, though the settlement – considered the most blatantly corrupt by watchdog organizations and many Democrats on Capitol Hill – will certainly come up in testimony, Marketplace Morning Report notes. –TL

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MONDAY 5/18/26

$1.776B of Taxpayer Money to Trump Allies – Hours after President Trump announced he would drop his $10 billion lawsuit against his administration’s Internal Revenue Service (which was based on a leak of his returns by a federal contractor, and not a full-time federal government official), his Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to settle to pay cases for his allies over unlawful, politically motivated investigations and prosecutions (scroll this column for earlier story), NPR’s All Things Considered reports. 

Ethics watchdogs and congressional Democrats are trying to intervene. 

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called the “anti-weaponization fund,” apparently set at an amount to celebrate the semisesquincentennial the “single most corrupt, self-serving act of any president in American history.”

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T1 Details --Trump Mobile, headed up by Don Jr. and Eric has taken an estimated 600,000 deposits at $100 each, while disclaiming, “a deposit is not a purchase” and “does not guarantee a Device will be produced or made available for purchase.” The T1 will not be produced in the US as first promised, though final assembly will be here. Chipset is by Qualcomm (per The Verge) whose president and CEO, Christiana Amon, was among the oligarchs who accompanied President Trump in China last week.

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Tick, Tick, Tick or TACO Tuesday? – Time is just about up, again, for Iran as President Trump Truth Socialed the US ceasefire with the country will end if our enemy does not agree to a peace deal, The Guardian reports. As is usually the case, such a deal hinges on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Tehran has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before there could be a broader peace deal.

“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE,” Trump's Truth Social post reads.

At least TIME will BE OF THE ESSENCE Tuesday, when Trump is scheduled to meet with national security advisors to discuss next US Military steps, Axios reports. 

The ceasefire did not keep Iran from hitting the United Arab Emirates with a drone strike that caused a fire at a nuclear power plant, according to The Guardian. UAE officials called the strike a “dangerous escalation” and blamed Iran and its proxies. 

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, reported intercepting three drones.

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Trump Drops IRS Suit – President Trump moved Monday morning in a federal court in Florida to withdraw his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service – his own administration’s IRS – over past leaks of his tax returns, The Associated Press reports. A deal to drop the suit if the IRS paid $1.7 billion to his allies over what they claimed were unlawful, politically motivated investigations and prosecutions was not mentioned in the filing in the Florida federal court, where Trump filed the suit in 2025. 

ABC News first reported the potential $1.7 billion deal, the AP reports, which drew instant Democratic backlash. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) called such a deal “unconstitutional.” 

“This, of course, is a political grievance fund that Donald Trump can use to pay off his friends,” Raskin told ABC News This Week.

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Fuel Pains – The national average price of a gallon of unleaded regular is $4.515, down 1.3 cents from Friday and up $1.533 from February 28, the AAA reports. Diesel was down 3.1 cents to $5.631, or $1.834 higher than the day before the war.

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No Crying in Politics – Two-term Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who voted to convict President Trump in January 2021 for his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election was defeated for his shot at a third term in Saturday’s GOP primary with just 25% of the vote, according to The New York Times. 

Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), with 45% of last weekend’s vote, faces state Treasurer John Fleming in a June 27 primary runoff. Fleming is an ex-Trump administration official who garnered 28% of the vote. 

Trump Truth Socialed after the vote that Cassidy’s “disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now part of a legend, and it’s nice to see his political career is OVER!”

Conversely, Cassidy told supporters in Baton Rouge Saturday, “When you participate in a democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout. You don’t whine. You don’t claim that an election was stolen from you.” –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 5/18/26