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US cancer clinics scramble to get experimental Revolution Medicines pancreatic cancer drug

2026-05-14 10:04 AM UTC / Reuters

By Deena Beasley and Nancy Lapid

May 14, 2026 10:04 AM UTC Updated 56 mins ago

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

• FDA allows expanded access to Revolution Medicines’ experimental pancreatic cancer drug
• Oncologists face logistical hurdles and resource strain to enroll patients in early access program
• Drug targets mutation that occurs in 90% of pancreatic cancers

May 14 (Reuters) – U.S. cancer centers are scrambling to enroll patients in an early access program for a highly promising pancreatic cancer drug from Revolution Medicines while they await what they hope will be a speedy FDA approval.

The Food and Drug Administration allowed the expanded access program on May 1, less than three weeks after Revolution said the once-daily pill, daraxonrasib, doubled survival in a clinical trial of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, among the deadliest of cancers with one of the lowest 5-year survival rates.

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The company had asked the FDA for permission to make it available free-of-charge for patients with previously treated pancreatic cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.

“The public caught wind of the FDA announcement… which has triggered a deluge of patient requests,” said Dr. Daniel King, medical oncologist at the Zuckerberg Cancer Center of Northwell Health. “Cancer centers are all figuring out how to engage with our own institutions, opening up the protocols to provide access.”

Oncologists said getting approval and managing the expanded access program will take time and will require cancer centers to dedicate substantial resources outside of their usual operations.

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The drug was one of the first products accepted by the FDA last year for its new expedited review process, and could potentially get approval a month or two after a complete application is filed.

Revolution Medicines, based in Redwood City, California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CEO Mark Goldsmith, speaking on a conference call last week, declined to estimate how many patients would seek early access to the drug and did not give a time frame for a full FDA submission. “There’s a full-throttle effort to do it,” he said.

Former Nebraska U.S. Senator Ben Sasse recently revealed that he has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and told the CBS news program “60 Minutes” that he is taking the Revolution drug.

A BREAKTHROUGH TO BUILD ON

The drug, which targets a genetic mutation found in about 90% of pancreatic cancers, was shown in a clinical trial to extend median survival to 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for patients on chemotherapy.

“Doubling survival compared to best available chemotherapy is a big deal,” said Dr. Gulam Manji, co-director of the pancreas center at Columbia/New York-Presbyterian. “It is not a cure, but I think that this drug is a new breakthrough we can build on.”

In a 10-year career, Manji could recall seeking compassionate use of an experimental drug for just one other patient. On a recent day in the clinic, the Columbia oncologist said seven patients asked him about starting treatment with daraxonrasib.

Getting them access is not as simple as writing a prescription for an FDA-approved drug, he and other cancer specialists said.

“Patients are already aware of the press release and are already calling,” said Dr. Vincent Chung, pancreas cancer specialist at City of Hope. “The challenge now is how to proceed.”

The program requires physicians to submit requests for each individual patient to Revolution Medicines, Chung said, and if the company decides they are a good candidate, all those details then need to be submitted to the FDA. Hospital monitoring boards will need to follow the patients.

“Given the volume, I am not sure what will happen on the FDA side. I’m sure they don’t want to have 10,000 applications at once,” Chung said, adding that the agency may instead set up a more general enrollment protocol.

Manji said his understanding is that cancer centers will not be required to collect detailed data on patients treated under the expanded access program, but will need to report serious side effects or other issues.

The FDA did not respond to a request for comment. The expedited voucher program was touted as a signature achievement by Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned as FDA Commissioner on Tuesday after weeks of clashes with Trump administration officials.

Around 67,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and 53,000 will die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

“We are doing this as a service to our patients,” Chung said. “I’m hoping of course that the FDA is going to review the data and then there is an approval much sooner than is typical.”

Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles and Nancy Lapid in Tucson; additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; editing by Caroline Humer and

Top 4 explosive moments from CIA whistleblower’s testimony on alleged COVID-19 lab leak cover-up

2026-05-14 06:00:13 EDT / Fox News

Democrats on the influential panel skipped the hearing, drawing sharp criticism from GOP colleagues

By Adam Pack Fox News

Published May 14, 2026 6:00am EDT

CIA whistleblower James Erdman III testified that the Biden administration buried analysis concluding a lab leak was the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic in an explosive hearing on Wednesday.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Erdman, a two-decade CIA veteran, chose to testify on the alleged cover-up at “great personal risk” because “government secrecy cannot become government impunity.”

Paul’s oversight panel had subpoenaed Erdman’s testimony and previously interviewed him in a classified setting. Erdman worked in a joint role with the Director of National Intelligence’s Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG) to investigate COVID origins over the past year.

“According to his testimony, CIA scientific analysts concluded multiple times between 2021 and 2023 that a lab leak was the most likely origin of COVID-19,” Paul said in his opening statement. “Yet those conclusions never shaped the official narrative, never made the intelligence report. Congress was never told.”

CIA whistleblower James Erdman III, a senior operations officer, is sworn in during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., May 13, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WHO IS JAMES ERDMAN III? CIA WHISTLEBLOWER WHO WENT FROM COVID MANDATE FIGHTS TO SENATE SPOTLIGHT

“It was not until after the 2024 election that the outgoing Biden administration directed the CIA to issue an assessment, not because of new intelligence, but so officials could walk out of the door claiming there was nothing left to find,” the Kentucky Republican added. “That is not analysis. That is a cleanup operation.”

Erdman publicly testified before the panel despite fierce opposition from the CIA, which called the COVID origins hearing “political theater.”

Paul’s committee, according to CIA spokeswoman Liz Lyons, “acted in bad faith by subpoenaing an agency officer for testimony today without notifying CIA, despite having already obtained closed-door testimony from the individual previously.

“The witness testifying today is not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the truth, but instead in response to the subpoena issued by Chairman Paul,” Lyons added in a statement.

Carol Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, told reporters Wednesday that her client was concerned about retaliation by the CIA, but declined to comment further.

Erdman alleges Fauci helped suppress COVID origins, prompting calls for criminal prosecution

Following Erdman’s testimony, several GOP lawmakers called for former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci to face criminal prosecution for allegedly seeking to suppress the origins of COVID-19.

“It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci, injecting himself into the IC [intelligence community],” Erdman said when asked by Paul whether the CIA downplayed the likelihood that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak.

“We just heard testimony that he intervened behind the scenes to try and get our own intelligence agency, CIA, FBI to change their assessment of the lab leak,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News. “Why? Because he helped fund the Wuhan lab. He supported and funded gain-of-function research, and then he tried to cover it up, and then he worked to cover it up from the American people.”

“I hope he’s indicted,” Hawley added.

The hearing on Wednesday came after a statute of limitations deadline for Fauci to face criminal charges regarding that testimony passed earlier this week.

“Whether the DOJ decides to charge Fauci or not, I’m not letting up,” Paul wrote on social media Monday.

Sen. Rand Paul talks to reporters before entering the Senate chamber to vote at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2026.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’: SEN. RAND PAUL AGAIN VOWS TO ISSUE A CRIMINAL REFERRAL FOR FAUCI

Paul has long called for Fauci to be indicted for allegedly lying to Congress about gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci has vigorously denied the allegations.

“I’ve sent several criminal referrals on Anthony Fauci to the Justice Department,” Paul said Wednesday. “And I hope they will be pursued at this time.”

Former President Joe Biden notably issued an unprecedented preemptive pardon to Fauci with just hours left in his term. President Donald Trump has declared that pardon null and void because it was signed via autopen, but his administration has yet to make that argument in court.

Dr. David Morens, a former senior advisor to Fauci, was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for allegedly concealing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson demands apology from CIA Director Ratcliffe

A handful of Republicans who have long pushed for answers on the pandemic’s origins excoriated the CIA for characterizing the hearing as politically motivated and aiming to undermine the president.

“This proceeding amounts to nothing more than dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing,” CIA spokeswoman Lyons said in a statement preceding the hearing. “As the CIA has already assessed, COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak, and efforts to undermine that conclusion are disingenuous.”

The agency’s scathing statement was a notable display of Republican infighting between the Trump administration and the GOP-controlled Senate.

“This is not political theater,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a fiery response to CIA spokeswoman Lyons. “I have years and years and years of built-up frustration of agencies like the CIA, Department of Justice, the FBI, HHS snubbing our oversight, giving us the big middle finger.”

Sen. Ron Johnson speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2026.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN’S FBI OF RETALIATING AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED MISCONDUCT

Paul also objected to the CIA’s objections to Erdman testifying in a public hearing, stating, “Closed-door testimony doesn’t provide oversight. Public testimony provides oversight.”

Democrats boycott hearing, sparking GOP backlash

Senate Republicans on the influential committee blasted their Democratic colleagues for not taking the time to listen to Erdman’s testimony.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the panel’s top-ranking Democrat, and the six other Democratic lawmakers on the committee did not attend Wednesday’s hearing.

“Nothing shocks me anymore with our colleagues from the other side of the aisle, but I’m shocked that not one of them showed up here,” Johnson told Erdman.

“This is serious oversight work,” he added. “This is what the American people need to see. And I just wish our Democrat colleagues had any level of curiosity about what’s happening inside the deep state.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, argued that Democrats intentionally chose to skip the hearing so they would not have to reckon with policy mistakes made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This isn’t about politics, but somehow it’s become about politics because the Democrats don’t even want to hear the conversation about what obviously was a grave error that this country made during COVID,” he said during the hearing. “There’s never been a situation, certainly not in my lifetime, where you had decisions made that affected generations of Americans, kids that were absolutely deprived of their childhood, businesses that were destroyed, families that were torn apart, memories that you’ll never get back, trillions of dollars of economic loss.”

Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, gavels in during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17, 2022.(Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

GOP SAYS DEMS ADMIT ‘GUILT’ IN BIDEN HEALTH COVER-UP BY BOYCOTTING SENATE HEARING ON ‘CONSTITUTIONAL SCANDAL’

CIA failed to comply with COVID origins investigation, Erdman alleges

Erdman also alleged the CIA intentionally put up roadblocks to stifle his group’s investigation into COVID origins while spying on and retaliating against whistleblowers.

“The CIA did not comply with lawful oversight during the DIG’s investigation,” Erdman told lawmakers. “The CIA refused to provide information necessary to understand why analytic standards at the CIA were violated.”

Erdman claimed the CIA illegally spied on DIG personnel and their communications with whistleblowers.

“These were Americans being spied upon illegally while executing duties directed by the president and under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence,” Erdman continued.

The alleged retribution led to the agency firing one contractor who cooperated with investigators, Erdman said Wednesday.

Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, said she hoped her client’s testimony would encourage more whistleblowers to come forward and shed light on the CIA allegedly obstructing investigators.

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“There has been obstruction by those intelligence agencies, precluding those individuals from being able to conduct the investigation,” Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, told reporters.

“We have basically a systematic effort to violate the laws of Congress, to lie to the American people, to mislead the American people. And it’s still going on,” Hawley told reporters on Wednesday. “If you’ve got people who will just not follow the laws of Congress and lie openly to the American people, I don’t know how you can hope to preserve our country.”

National Recording Registry adds Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ray Charles and more. See the 2026 list.

2026-05-14T05:00:17-0400 / CBS News

The Taylor Swift album “1989,” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” along with music by Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Paul Anka, and the original cast album of “Chicago” are just some of the latest recordings to be added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

On Thursday, the Library announced 25 recordings are being added to the Registry, its collection of audio to be preserved for future generations. This year’s inductees, which represent our nation’s artistic, cultural and historic heritage, span such genres as jazz, rock, pop, country, R&B and Broadway, as well as radio and video games.

The most recent recording on this year’s list is Taylor Swift’s 2014 album “1989,” the pop icon’s fifth studio album, which won album of the year and best pop vocal album at the Grammys. The only other selection from the 21st century is Beyoncé’s 2008 hit “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”

Left: Taylor Swift performs during her “1989” World Tour in 2015. Right: Beyoncé performs in New York City in 2009. Robyn Beck/AFP, Bryan Bedder via Getty Images

This year’s additions include works by country music legends The Charlie Daniels Band, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and Rosanne Cash; R&B star Chaka Khan; the groundbreaking ’80s band The Go-Go’s; and jazz musician Oliver Nelson. Also among the picks: José Feliciano’s holiday classic “Feliz Navidad;” Weezer’s debut album; and The Byrds’ classic “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”

Broadway is represented by the original cast album of the long-running musical “Chicago,” and video games by the soundtrack of the demonic role-playing game “Doom.”

The recordings added this year bring the number of titles on the Registry to 700 — just a portion of Library of Congress’ recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items.

Read about this year’s 25 additions and listen to audio samples below — and find out how you can nominate titles to be added in the future.

2026 National Recording Registry additions (in alphabetical order)

“1989” – Taylor Swift (2014) (album)

Taylor Swift surprised many with this album as she shifted away from the country genre. While some working with Swift suggested she include a few country songs on her fifth studio album, she was against it. “A big goal of mine was to make this album very sonically cohesive,” Swift told “CBS This Morning” in 2014. “So, if I were to put a fiddle on a version of ‘Shake It Off’ and service it to country radio, that would’ve completely shattered the entire idea I had that this album was going to have its own sound.”

“1989” had three #1 songs (“Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” and “Bad Blood”) as well as the hits “Wildest Dreams,” “Style,” “Out of the Woods” and “Wildest Dreams.” Rolling Stone described the album as “deeply weird, feverishly emotional, and wildly enthusiastic.”

“1989” was one of the albums for which Swift acquired rights to the master recordings from music executive Scooter Braun. It was re-recorded and released in 2023 as “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

PLAY: “Shake It Off” from “1989” by Taylor Swift

“Amen, Brother” – The Winstons (1969)

Hailing from Washington, D.C., the funk/soul group The Winstons had a Top 10 hit with their 45 rpm release of “Color Him Father,” which would win a Grammy for best rhythm and blues song. But the song on the B side, “Amen, Brother,” made the Registry thanks to a seven-second drum solo by Gregory Coleman. It would be a frequently sampled musical riff in recordings by N.W.A. (“Straight Outta Compton”) Salt-N-Pepa, Aphex Twin and Oasis.

PLAY:”Amen, Brother” by The Winstons

“Beauty and the Beat” – The Go-Go’s (1981) (album)

“Beauty and the Beat” was the debut album of The Go-Go’s, one of the most successful all-female bands in rock ‘n’ roll history. The group had formed in 1978. “We came from the punk rock scene in L.A., where anything went and you could learn as you went along,” Belinda Carlisle told “Sunday Morning” in 2018. “And we had no idea how to play our instruments or do anything.”

She joined forces with guitarist Jane Wiedlin, drummer Gina Shock, bassist Kathy Valentine, and guitarist Charlotte Caffey, who was trained in classical piano. Caffey said, “I was in awe, I was a little scared of them. But it was kind of exciting! They were the cool girls that were punky. And I was kind of more, like, you know, reserved and straight. Kind of.”

According to Carlisle, record executives wouldn’t sign them “because we were women, or girls.”

But the “girls” made it happen. Written, arranged and performed by women, “We Got the Beat” became The Go-Go’s first hit in England and then in the U.S. It reached #1 on the Billboard chart and spawned the hits “We Got the Beat” and Our Lips Are Sealed.”

PLAY:”We Got The Beat” by The Go-Go’s

“The Blues and the Abstract Truth” – Oliver Nelson (1961) (album)

Jazz musician Oliver Nelson was inspired by concert composers Aaron Copland and George Gershwin for his landmark 1961 album, which is today considered an essential post-bop recording.

PLAY:”Stolen Moments,” from “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” by Oliver Nelson

“Chicago” Original Cast Album (1975)

Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb had collaborated on several shows, and had won Tony Awards for their 1966 musical “Cabaret,” before they teamed up with director Bob Fosse on the 1975 production “Chicago.” Set in the jazz age, and based on a story about women accused of murder, it starred Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, and featured such songs as “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango,” “Roxie,” “When You’re Good to Mama,” “Razzle Dazzle,” and “We Both Reached For the Gun.”

Critics were dismissive of “Chicago” when it opened in 1975. Nominated for 11 Tonys, it won zero. But a 1996 revival is still running three decades later — the longest-running show currently on Broadway — and led to an Oscar-winning film adaptation.

John Kander talked with “Sunday Morning” in 2015 about the most satisfying part of songwriting: “I think the moment when the musical moment is finished, when something in you says, ‘That’s true,’ that’s the big one for me,” he said. “It doesn’t happen all that often.”

PLAY: “All That Jazz,” from the original cast album of “Chicago”

“Cocktails for Two” – Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1944)

In the 1940s and ’50s Spike Jones recorded a slew of novelty songs, from “My Old Flame,” “Hawaiian War Chant,” “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)” and “Der Fuhrer’s Face” (a slap in the face to fascism), to “Cocktails for Two,” which was originally written in the ’30s following the repeal of Prohibition. Spike Jones and His City Slickers recorded their version with a flurry of wacky sound effects that made the inebriation seem even more soused.

PLAY: “Cocktails for Two” by Spike Jones and His City Slickers

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – The Charlie Daniels Band (1979)

The Charlie Daniels Band’s album “Million Mile Reflections” had many things, but Daniels realized late in the game it did not have a fiddle. So, he quickly penned this devilish ditty about the Devil looking for a soul to steal. Daniels himself played the satanic fiddle solo.

Daniels donated one of the fiddles he used to perform “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to the Country Music Hall of Fame. At least Ol’ Scratch didn’t get his claws on it.

PLAY:”The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band

“Doom” Soundtrack – Bobby Prince, composer (1993)

Three years ago, the theme music from the Nintendo video game Super Mario Bros. was inducted to the National Recording Registry. Last year, composer and sound designer Daniel Rosenfeld’s synthesizer for “Minecraft — Volume Alpha” joined the list. This year comes Bobby Prince’s music for the RPG blockbuster “Doom,” which used MIDI technology to craft a soundtrack inspired by heavy metal bands like Metallica and Alice in Chains.

PLAY: “The Imp’s Song” from “Doom” by Bobby Prince

“Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano (1970)

José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad,” which debuted in 1970, has become part of the pantheon of Christmas ballads:

_Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad

Próspero año y Felicidad_

_I wanna wish you a merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart_

He told “Sunday Morning” in 2020 that he’d set out to make a Christmas song that was bilingual: “We thought there’s gotta be a way of teaching the American people Spanish,” he said, “and I decided, let’s see if we could cross that bridge. And we did.”

But it wasn’t a hit right away. Feliciano said, “First, people had to get used to it. Then the year after, it caught on big.” It has since been inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

PLAY:”Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano

“The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier” (March 8, 1971) (broadcast)

Boxing announcers Van Patrick and Charles King pulled no punches when they broadcast round-by-round coverage of the “Fight of the Century,” the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier title match in 1971. Fight organizers had blocked live radio coverage from Madison Square Garden — it was to be broadcast by satellite to venues for paying customers — but the Mutual Broadcasting System successfully brought Patrick and King, who offered summaries of each round, not from ringside, but from their base camp at a nearby hotel. (Spoiler alert: After 15 rounds, Smokin’ Joe defeated The Greatest in a unanimous decision.)

PLAY:Excerpt from the Frazier-Ali fight radio broadcast

“Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)” – Kaye Ballard (1954)

The Bart Howard standard “Fly Me To The Moon” would become indelibly linked with Frank Sinatra. But its first recording in 1954, with the original title “In Other Words,” was by cabaret singer and comedian Kay Ballard. It would later be covered by Connie Francis, Peggy Lee, and instrumentalist Joe Harnell.

PLAY:”In Other Words” by Kaye Ballard

“Go Rest High On That Mountain” – Vince Gill (1994)

Virtually self-taught, Oklahoman Vince Gill mastered the guitar while he was still in high school. He told “Sunday Morning” in 2003 that, even from a young age, he never worried about making a living: “I played well enough so that I can do a little bit of everything. And I’ll always have the ability to work.”

He started in bluegrass and country, then moved to California to join a rock group called Pure Prairie League. But he quit because he disliked touring, and moved to Nashville. After a few false starts, he hit #1 on the country chart in 1990 with “When I Call Your Name.”

To date, Gill has won 22 Grammy Awards, including two for “Go Rest High On That Mountain.” He told “Sunday Morning” that the song is precious to him because he wrote it for his older brother, Bob, who died of a heart attack. The song has since become common at memorial services.

_I know your life on earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren’t afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain_

_So go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son_

PLAY: “Go Rest High On That Mountain” by Vince Gill

“I Feel For You” – Chaka Khan (1984)

Chaka Khan’s 1984 cover of the Prince song “I Feel For You” opened with rapper Melle Mel chanting the name of the song’s lead singer:

_Chaka Khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Chaka Khan
Let me rock you, that’s all I wanna do_

Khan told “Sunday Morning” in 2023 that the opening embarrassed her: “I didn’t like anybody saying my name over. I said, ‘I gotta live with this.’” She did, and so did the world; “I Feel For You” was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 26 weeks, peaking at #3. It won two Grammys, for best R&B song and best female R&B vocal performance.

PLAY”I Feel For You” by Chaka Khan (feat. Melle Mel)

“Mambo No. 5” – Pérez Prado (1950)

The popularization of the mambo outside Cuba can be attributed to bandleader Pérez Prado, who earned the nickname “King of the Mambo.” His original recording of “Mambo #5” for RCA Victor began a successful career that included his #1 hit “Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White).”

PLAY”Mambo No. 5″ by Pérez Prado

“Midnight Train to Georgia” – Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973)

The R&B/soul act Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded several hits for Motown, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Everybody Needs Love,” and “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)”), before moving to Buddah Records. Their 1973 hit “Midnight Train to Georgia,” from the album “Imagination,” won the group a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus.

PLAY: “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips

“Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” – Ray Charles (1962) (album)

Singer and pianist Ray Charles showed evidence of his musical gifts as a child, before he lost his sight. He learned Chopin and started off in a hillbilly band, and would become an icon of blues in the latter half of the 20th century.

“There’s only two kinds of music as far as I’m concerned: good and bad,” Charles told “Sunday Morning” in 2003. “I just sit there and get into the groove of what the music is dictating. If it’s dictating country sounds, that’s where I go. If it’s dictating jazz, that’s where I go. If it’s dictating the blues, that’s where I go. In other words, I follow where the music leads me.”

That catholic taste in music is what led to his 1962 studio album, “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.” Eschewing the R&B, jazz and blues he’d recorded prior, Charles channeled country hits by the likes of Hank Williams, Don Gibson, Eddy Arnold and the Everly Brothers. It featured such tracks as “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Careless Love” and “Born to Lose.” The album went gold, hitting #1 on the Billboard charts, and gave birth to a sequel, “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two.”

PLAY: “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles

“Put Your Head On My Shoulder” – Paul Anka (1959)

Beginning in show business at the age of 10, singer and songwriter Paul Anka has landed on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart seven straight decades. “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” was one of Anka’s three Top 5 hits in 1959, when he was one of the most popular teen idols on the jukebox.

He made the leap from teeny bopper to crooner, and performed regularly with such stars as Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra, for whom Anka wrote what might his most famous song, “My Way.”

Anka talked about his endurance earlier this year with “Sunday Morning”: “When you started as I did as a kid with a squeaky little voice, not knowing what’s gonna happen when it changes, I couldn’t envision me being around for all these decades, you know?”

PLAY: “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” by Paul Anka

“Rumor Has It” – Reba McEntire (1990)

“Rumor Has It” has been recognized as an artistic triumph for country artist Reba McEntire. Working with producer Tony Brown, the Country Music Hall of Fame singer-songwriter’s 16th album featured the hits “Fallin’ Out of Love, “You Lie,” and “Fancy,” a reworking of Bobbie Gentry’s 1969 classic.

PLAY: “Fancy” by Reba McEntire

“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” – Beyoncé (2008)

She became Billboard magazine’s Female Artist of the Decade. But Beyoncé, formerly a member of Destiny’s Child before becoming a singularly historic solo artist, told “The Early Show” in 2010 that her success — from the concert stage to the Grammy stage to placing #4 on the Forbes list of entertainers — was hard earned. “I didn’t wake up and become famous,” she said. “I started out without a tour bus, having the seat in the back of the awards show, at the Grammys. And every year, gradually we had to work and we became stronger and more people acknowledged us. But it was a lot of tears, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work that went into my career.”

Her 2008 double album “I Am … Sasha Fierce” molded together R&B and pop with electropop. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, selling 10 million copies worldwide, and won five Grammys. The #1 hit “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” won song of the year.

_Don’t treat me to these things of the world
I’m not that kind of girl
Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
Here’s a man that makes me then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny
To infinity and beyond_

_Pull me into your arms
Say I’m the one you want
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost, I’ll be gone_

PLAY”Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” by Beyoncé

“Teardrops From My Eyes” – Ruth Brown (1950)

As a teenager, R&B singer Ruth Brown was a winner of Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater before she was signed by Atlantic Records. Her first hit was this Rudy Toombs song. Brown initially was reluctant to stray from her more familiar ballads, but this up-tempo piece ended up #1 on Billboard’s R&B charts for 11 weeks

PLAY: “Teardrops From My Eyes” by Ruth Brown

“Texas Flood” – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983) (album)

Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan had already made a name for himself in the Texas blues/rock scene when he and his backing band Double Trouble unleashed their first album, “Texas Flood.” In addition to the title track, the songs include “Love Struck Baby,” “Pride and Joy,” “Testify,” “Rude Mood,” “Dirty Pool,” and “Lenny.”

Vaughan, who died in a 1990 helicopter crash at age 35, was ranked among the greatest guitarists of all time, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

PLAY: “Texas Flood” by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

“Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” – The Byrds (1965)

In 1959 folk singer Pete Seeger adapted the Book of Ecclesiastes into a musical cry for peace in “Turn! Turn! Turn! , which was recorded by both Seeger and The Limeliters. But it became a chart-topper when the folk-rock group The Byrds released their version in 1965. It was a song about seasonal changes that fit with the counter-cultural anti-war movement, hitting #1 on the Billboard chart, and it has since become a shorthand musical background for films and TV shows about the 1960s.

PLAY”Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” by The Byrds

“Weezer (The Blue Album)” – Weezer (1994) (album)

The band Weezer (whose named was derived from a “cool” Little Rascals character) purposely did not fit the mold of other rockers in the early 1990s. “Rock bands were getting more and more outrageous with tattoos and piercings,” singer Rivers Cuomo told “CBS Mornings” in 2024. “We came out completely clean-cut, four guys standing in a line, singing songs in major keys, about girls or whatever. It didn’t quite make sense how that was the next step for rock and roll.”

Weezer’s breakout came with the release of the music video for “Buddy Holly.” Directed by Spike Jonze, it helped catapult the band into the mainstream. “Coming out of grunge, which was pretty heavy and a little dark, it maybe was kind of refreshing for people at the time,” Wilson said.

In addition to “Buddy Holly,” Weezer’s debut album (familiarly known as “The Blue Album” because of its blue cover) also featured “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “My Name Is Joans,” and “Only In Dreams.”

PLAY: “Buddy Holly,” from “Weezer (The Blue Album)” by Weezer

“The Wheel” – Rosanne Cash (1993) (album)

Rosanne Cash’s 1993 album “The Wheel” was written in the space between the end of her marriage to singer Rodney Crowell and her relationship with her future husband, music producer John Leventhal. Songs included “Seventh Avenue,” “Change Partners,” “From The Ashes,” “The Truth About You,” “Tears Falling Down,” “If There’s a God On My Side,” and the title track.

Rolling Stone praised the album’s themes of “going through hell to emerge fundamentally changed.”

PLAY:”Seventh Avenue” from “The Wheel” by Rosanne Cash

“Your Love” – Jamie Principle (1986); “Your Love” – Jamie/Frankie Knuckles (1987)

An infectious house song from Chicago artist Jamie Principle and DJ Louise Gomez, “Your Love” was later revised by Frankie Knuckles, with vocals by Adrienne Jett, producing a groundbreaking electronica dance track.

PLAY”Your Love” by Jamie Principle

Visit the Library of Congress website for more information about the National Recording Registry, and find out how you can nominate recordings.

白宫：美中讨论增加中国对美投资

2026-05-14 08:48:20 / 联合早报

美国白宫官员称，美中双方讨论了扩大美国企业进入中国市场，以及增加中国对美投资等问题。

白宫官员称，双方讨论了加强经济合作的方式。

路透社星期四（5月14日）下午报道这项消息。

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阿联酋海域船只遭劫持 驶向伊朗水域

2026年5月14日 16:08 / 联合早报

英国一家海事机构星期四（5月14日）说，一艘在阿联酋海岸霍尔木兹海峡附近航行的船只已被不明人员劫持，目前正驶向伊朗水域。

法新社报道，据英国海上贸易行动办公室（UKMTO）称，这艘船只在富查伊拉（Fujairah）东北方向38海里（约70公里）处锚泊时“被未经授权的人员劫持”，目前正驶往伊朗领海。

随着伊朗和美国持续实施对立的封锁，多艘船只在霍尔木兹海峡或附近遭到袭击。

自2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争以来，伊朗已基本封锁了霍尔木兹海峡的航运。尽管自4月8日起实施停火协议，但美军仍继续封锁伊朗港口。

韩国日前（10日）说，一艘货船在霍尔木兹海峡遭到不明飞行器袭击；卡塔尔则称，一艘从阿布扎比驶入该国水域的货船被无人机击中。

White House has few tools for gas-price relief as Iran war drags on

2026-05-14T10:04:21.673Z / Reuters

By Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose and Jacob Bogage

May 14, 2026 10:04 AM UTC Updated 7 mins ago

A person pumps their gasoline at a gas station in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

• White House weighs gas tax suspension as fuel prices surge, options dwindle
• Polls show most Americans feel financial strain, many doubt war is worth the cost
• Some Republicans back gas tax suspension, but party leaders are so far noncommittal

May 14 (Reuters) – Trump administration officials are scrambling to contain the economic and political fallout of the war with Iran, three people familiar with the White House’s discussions told Reuters, as hopes for ​a quick resolution fade.

U.S. President Donald Trump this week backed suspending the federal gas tax, a step that would knock 18 cents a gallon off motor fuel prices currently averaging more than $4.50 ‌a gallon nationwide. Once viewed by some White House aides as unnecessary, the idea is gaining urgency as officials run low on options to show they are tackling rising costs, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.

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Within the White House, a consensus has emerged that with prices up 50% since the start of the war, Trump needs “a visible consumer relief move now,” one of the people said.

Historically, $4-per-gallon gasoline has been a level that triggers public backlash and economic anxiety. That’s borne out ​since the war started, as consumer sentiment recently dipped to a record low, and U.S. consumer inflation surged to 3.8% in April, highest in nearly three years.

More than six in 10 Americans say their household’s finances ​have taken a hit from higher gas prices, according to a May Reuters/Ipsos poll that put Trump’s economic approval rating at just 30%, down several points since the ⁠beginning of the war.

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Now, Trump faces mounting pressure from fellow Republicans who fear economic pain caused by the war could spark voter backlash and cost the party control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate in ​November’s midterm elections.

Administration officials have been poring over market data to gauge whether the national average price could climb to $5 a gallon, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Seven states have already surpassed that mark, AAA data shows.

“They ​feel like that’s their largest vulnerability right now: that specific cost, gas, not overall economic conditions,” said a political adviser to the White House. “The toughest thing, too, is that we made gas prices the Achilles’ heel for (former President Joe) Biden and now it’s our own.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump and his energy team had anticipated the war’s disruptions to the global energy markets and prepared a plan to mitigate the impact.

“The ability to supply both the United States and our allies with reliable, affordable, and secure ​energy has long been a key strategic objective of President Trump, and his successful efforts to unleash American oil and gas has achieved this objective,” Rogers said.

‘SMALL PRICE TO PAY’

The administration’s concerns have deepened as U.S. oil and ​fuel exports have surged to records, triggered by Asian and European buyers scrambling for needed supply. That has drawn down U.S. inventories at a time they typically rise, raising alarms among Wall Street analysts who warn the U.S. could face a crunch ‌that could send ⁠gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices even higher this summer.

Energy prices have spiked since Iran cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies. Companies ranging from airlines to McDonald’s (MCD.N) are seeing the effects, with the fast-food giant’s CEO saying last week that lower-income consumers were spending less.

U.S. airlines’ fuel expenses in March jumped 56% from February, according to Transportation Department data, squeezing carriers already operating on thin margins, including Spirit Airlines, the troubled budget carrier that shut down early in May.

Trump has called the increases a “small price to pay” for efforts to topple Iran’s regime and prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Asked Tuesday whether Americans’ finances were motivating him ​to strike a deal, Trump replied: “Not even a little bit.”

“The ​only thing that matters when I’m talking about ⁠Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

GAS TAX IDEA GAINS TRACTION

The gas tax proposal was considered a fallback as recently as late April, one of the people familiar with ​White House discussions said, but the idea gained traction in the past week as the Iran ceasefire track faltered and officials concluded they needed a policy pivot ​Americans would feel.

Trump’s proposed suspension would ⁠require congressional approval. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed enthusiasm for the idea, but party leaders have so far been noncommittal.

In April, the administration exempted some Russian oil from sanctions and waived shipping regulations to facilitate additional fuel transport. On Monday, the Energy Department said it would loan another 53.3 million barrels of oil from the national security stockpile to ease market jitters.

Just one in four Americans believe the war on Iran has been worth the cost, with 53% believing it has not been worth it ⁠and the rest ​unsure, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 24-27. One in five Republicans said the war has not been worth it.

Amy Koch, a ​Republican strategist who advises state and federal candidates, said the administration has a short window to end the conflict and ease fuel price pressures ahead of Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer driving season.

“I think people are willing to endure some short-term financial pain if it means ​we deal with Iran,” Koch said, “but the clock is ticking for the White House.”

Shows gasoline prices

Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose and Jacob Bogage. Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk. Editing by Colleen Jenkins and David Gaffen

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

阿联酋海域船只遭劫持 驶向伊朗水域

2026年5月14日 16:08 / 联合早报

英国一家海事机构星期四（5月14日）说，一艘在阿联酋海岸霍尔木兹海峡附近航行的船只已被不明人员劫持，目前正驶向伊朗水域。

法新社报道，据英国海上贸易行动办公室（UKMTO）称，这艘船只在富查伊拉（Fujairah）东北方向38海里（约70公里）处锚泊时“被未经授权的人员劫持”，目前正驶往伊朗领海。

随着伊朗和美国持续实施对立的封锁，多艘船只在霍尔木兹海峡或附近遭到袭击。

自2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争以来，伊朗已基本封锁了霍尔木兹海峡的航运。尽管自4月8日起实施停火协议，但美军仍继续封锁伊朗港口。

韩国日前（10日）说，一艘货船在霍尔木兹海峡遭到不明飞行器袭击；卡塔尔则称，一艘从阿布扎比驶入该国水域的货船被无人机击中。

Blue-green diamond called the “world’s rarest” sells for record $17.3 million at auction

May 14, 2026 / 7:50 AM EDT / CBS/AP

A 5.5-carat triangular-cut diamond billed as the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond known to exist sold for $17.3 million on Wednesday, Christie’s said, calling it a record price for a stone of its kind sold at auction.

The “Ocean Dream,” the standout offer at the auction house’s Geneva sale of jewelry, was found in Central Africa in the 1990s. The price easily topped the presale estimate to fetch 7-10 million francs (around $9-13 million).

Rahul Kadakia, president of Christie’s Asia Pacific, said that an unspecified private client was the buyer, and the stone took about 20 minutes to sell – an indication that interest was high.

The price was more than double that of the roughly $8.5 million that the gem, which was featured among rare colored diamonds at the Smithsonian Splendour of Diamonds Exhibition in 2003, sold for at Christie’s in 2014.

“A stellar result worthy of the world’s rarest blue-green diamond,” Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweler 77 Diamonds, said in a statement.

A Christie’s employee displays “The Ocean Dream,” the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond, weighting 5.50 carats, at Christie’s in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, May 7, 2026. Jean-Christophe Bott / AP

According to Christie’s, the “Ocean Dream” weighs 9.4 grams and has an additional ring mount set with sculpted rock crystal, round diamonds and pink diamonds.

On Tuesday, a 6-carat fancy vivid blue diamond at a Geneva auction at Sotheby’s didn’t sell.

The auction house said that the rare stone unearthed from South Africa’s famed Cullinan mine had come in with a presale estimate of 7.2 million to 9.6 million francs ($9.2 million to $12.3 million).

“Although the diamond didn’t find a buyer during the auction, we are now in conversations with several interested parties and are confident that it will find a new home soon,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

Both houses say collectors are increasingly drawn to rare, colored diamonds, which make up only a fraction of all the diamonds mined around the world.

Christie’s and Soteby’s have auctioned off high-profile diamonds over the years.

In 2023, an exceptionally rare blue diamond weighing 17.61 carats sold for $43.8 million at a Christie’s auction in Geneva. In 2018, the auction house sold the “Pink Legacy” diamond for more than $50 million.

The most expensive diamond ever sold at auction was the Pink Star, a 59.60-carat fancy vivid pink diamond that fetched $71.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in 2017.