博客

US CDC seeks staff for Ebola screening as outbreak response expands

May 26, 2026 7:28 PM UTC / Reuters

Item 1 of 3 U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya testifies at a Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

[1/3]U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya testifies at a Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

May 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked staff to volunteer for urgent deployment to support Ebola screening at ​the country’s entry points, according to an email seen by ‌Reuters on Tuesday.

CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya said in the email that the agency had activated a Level 2 emergency response on May 18 to an ​outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the ​Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and was ⁠expanding recruitment beyond its usual emergency responder pool as screening of ​selected international arrivals ramps up.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

Level 2 is an intermediate level of emergency ​response. It indicates a need for substantial additional staffing to meet response demands, according to the CDC’s website.

The CDC said enhanced screening operations are already under way ​at several port health stations and will require additional personnel. Staff ​across roles, including public health advisers, emergency specialists and licensed medical providers, are being ‌asked ⁠to support the effort, subject to supervisor approval.

Volunteers could be tasked with monitoring incoming travelers for signs of illness, checking temperatures and referring suspected cases for further assessment, according to the email.

The outbreak involves the ​Bundibugyo strain of ​the virus. Ebola ⁠is a severe and often fatal disease transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.

The World Health ​Organization has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo ​strain of ⁠Ebola the third-largest such outbreak on record, and a public health emergency of international concern.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the fast-moving ⁠Ebola ​outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo ​and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the latest number of suspected deaths as 220.

Reporting ​by Kamal Choudhury and Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona

Deaths reported after chemical tank implodes at pulp and paper mill in Washington state

2026-05-26 15:10 EDT / CBS/AP

Deaths and injuries have been confirmed following the implosion of a chemical tank at a pulp and paper mill in Washington state on Tuesday, local authorities and company officials said.

In a joint statement, Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. and local law enforcement said the tank’s rupture caused “multiple critical injuries” as well as fatalities, but specific numbers were not given. There are also some individuals who are unaccounted for, officials said at a news conference.

“The scene remains in the recovery phase as emergency responders continue operations,” Longview Fire Department said in a statement on social media. “No identifying information regarding injured or deceased individuals will be released at this time pending notification of family members.”

A spokesperson for PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center confirmed to CBS News that the hospital received nine patients from the incident, one of whom was deceased.

Authorities said there was no immediate threat to the public.

The exterior of the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. is shown, after a tank containing hazardous liquid imploded, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Longview, Washington. AP Photo/Claire Rush

Mike Gorsuch, battalion chief with the Longview Fire Department, described it as a “mass casualty scene.” He said first responders had decontaminated patients and taken them to hospitals in Longview and Vancouver, Washington.

The fire department said a tank containing white liquor ruptured. White liquor is a chemical commonly used in paper and pulp processing which consists of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide.

The Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility is a pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant that makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods. It employs about 1,000 people, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

About 40 firefighters and paramedics had responded, along with a regional hazmat team, Gorsuch said. The incident was reported at 7:19 a.m. local time.

Nippon Dynawave did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, thousands of Southern California residents remained evacuated on Tuesday due to a damaged chemical tank at an aerospace plant.

Comey learns fate of bid to delay trial over ‘86 47’ seashell post at center of Trump threat case

May 26, 2026 1:11pm EDT / Fox News

His attorneys are preparing constitutional motion they argue could lead to the case being thrown out

By Robert Schmad, Fox News

Former FBI director James Comey told MSNBC Monday that he had no bad intentions with a post on Instagram he has since deleted, and that he is not intimidated by President Donald Trump’s administration.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/89191044-09c2-48ba-8130-9833f973dd99

Listen to this article

3 min

A federal judge delayed former FBI Director James Comey’s trial until October as he fights federal charges accusing him of threatening to harm President Donald Trump through the “86 47” seashell photo he posted to Instagram in 2025.

Comey’s attorneys are preparing “multiple motions on constitutional grounds” that they argue could lead to the case being thrown out, according to their motion filed earlier in May. The trial was initially set to begin in July, and prosecutors did not object to the schedule change to Oct. 21.

The delay gives Comey’s defense team more time to challenge whether the post amounted to a criminal threat or protected political speech, a First Amendment fight likely to shape the case before it reaches a jury.

Comey has been a central figure in Trump-era political fights since the 2016 election, from his handling of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email investigation to his role overseeing the early Russia probe before Trump fired him in 2017.

JAMES COMEY TELLS COLBERT WHAT LED TO HIM POSTING CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ INSTAGRAM POST

Legal questions are emerging over whether charges against former FBI Director James Comey would withstand a First Amendment challenge.

Comey’s indictment stems from a May 2025 Instagram post where he shared an image of seashells arranged on a beach to display the message “86 47.”

“86” is common restaurant slang for “nix” or “get rid of. Prosecutors allege that Comey’s post amounted to a threat, as it was paired with “47,” a reference to Trump’s tenure as the 47th president.

After backlash last year, Comey deleted the post and denied that he intended it as a threat, saying he did not know “86” could be interpreted as a call for violence.

Former FBI Director James Comey is vowing to fight the charges against him, with his attorney saying the former FBI director “vigorously denies” the allegations and plans to contest the case in court.(Cheriss May/NurPhoto)

LEGAL EXPERTS WARN COMEY ‘86 47’ INDICTMENT FACES FIRST AMENDMENT HURDLES

The decision to delay was made by District Judge ⁠Louise Wood Flanagan, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2003.

Critics of the president have alleged that the Comey indictment is an example of the Trump administration weaponizing the government to attack his enemies.

JAMES COMEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED THREATS AGAINST TRUMP: DOJ

[image_5]

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2026. He discussed the department’s anti-fraud efforts and announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics,” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, said of the indictment after it was announced. “Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law, not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores.”

Supporters, meanwhile, maintain that Comey’s behavior crosses the line from protected constitutional speech to an illegal threat.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“It’s not a very difficult line to look at, and it’s not, in my mind, a difficult line for one to cross over, one way or the other,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said of the case in March. “We cannot, you are not allowed to threaten the President of the United States of America. That’s not my decision. That’s Congress’s decision, and a statute that they passed that we charge multiple times a year.”

When Iran thumbs its nose at the ceasefire, the Trump administration shrugs

2026-05-26T16:50:17.996Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/26/politics/us-iran-ceasefire-violation-responses

• Despite the latest exchange of attacks, the Trump administration continues to insist the ceasefire with Iran remains intact.
• That’s become a pattern whenever there are potential violations, with the US appearing anxious to avoid resuming the war and eager to cut a deal.
• The administration’s reluctance to restart hostilities, however, appears to be undermining its negotiating leverage with Tehran.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The responses to the latest attacks between the US and Iran during the supposed ceasefire have been telling.

Tehran called the US strikes on its missile launch sites and boats a flagrant “violation” of the ceasefire and threatened to retaliate.

The United States, meanwhile, assured that the ceasefire was still “ongoing,” despite casting Iran as the aggressor.

A spokesman for US Central Command accused Iranian boats of “attempting to emplace mines” in the Strait of Hormuz. That would be a remarkably provocative act, especially in the context of what appeared to be some of the most serious peace talks to date. But then the spokesman added: “U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

This kind of response has become par for the course.

And the pattern reinforces how apparently anxious the Trump administration is to bring the war to an end — a dynamic that is hurting the United States’ leverage.

The most recent episode involves what the US military called “self-defense strikes” targeting missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Later in the day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that it “shot down a US drone and forced a US drone and fighter jet to flee,” casting it as a “reciprocal response.”

But while Iran’s response was defiant, the US response was less so.

In addition to US Central Command assuring the ceasefire remained “ongoing,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio twice talked around the strikes when asked about them while traveling in India. The first time, he talked broadly about peace negotiations. The second time, he talked about the need for the Strait of Hormuz to be open.

The situation harkens back to a pair of episodes in early May.

In the first one, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at a briefing cited Iran firing nine times at commercial vessels and seizing two container ships, as well as “more than 10” attacks on American forces. But he instantly qualified that all were “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.” He cast it as “low-level kinetics.”

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked whether the ceasefire was over, he assured reporters it was not.

He at one point seemed to cast what was happening in the strait as distinct from the broader war. And he urged Iran to “be prudent” and make sure its military actions didn’t cross the “threshold” for violating the ceasefire.

A few days later, the US struck military facilities it said were responsible for attacking US warships in the strait.

But President Donald Trump again downplayed it.

“The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” he told ABC News in early May. He described the US attacks as “just a love tap.”

As with today, while the Trump administration assured the public that ceasefire was intact, Iran said it had been violated and responded with what it claimed to be “reciprocal” strikes.

And then there’s arguably the biggest potential violation of the ceasefire: Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed.

When Trump announced the ceasefire on April 7, he was unambiguous that it would only last as long as Iran reopened the strait.

He said on social media that, “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”

That “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE” reopening of the strait, of course, never happened. The administration tried to put a good face on it in the days that followed and cited supposed progress in reopening it. But the US is now seven weeks into the ceasefire, and the strait remains a logjam.

By trying to keep the ceasefire going and downplaying Iran’s provocations, the Trump administration is betraying a readily apparent anxiousness to avoid resuming the war and an eagerness to cut a deal

To that point, Trump has repeatedly ignored his own deadlines for Tehran to make a deal and declined to restart large-scale hostilities, despite his frequent threats.

And that posture is undermining his negotiating position. Iran seems to be gambling that Trump is in a bigger hurry to bring the war to a conclusion than it is.

The divergent responses to the latest attacks only back up that belief.

Supreme Court rejects Florida’s attempt to sue California and Washington over immigrant truck drivers

May 26, 2026 / 1:11 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s bid to file a lawsuit against Washington and California for allegedly providing commercial driver’s licenses to truck drivers who are in the U.S. illegally and not proficient in English.

Florida sought to sue the two states following a fatal crash on a state highway in August 2025 that occurred when truck driver Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico, attempted to make an illegal U-turn. State and federal investigations showed that Singh likely could not read the road signs. He faces criminal charges and has pleaded not guilty.

The Department of Homeland Security and Florida officials said Singh had obtained commercial driver’s licenses from California and Washington.

In the long-shot bid for intervention by the Supreme Court, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed California and Washington ignored federal safety standards and immigration law by allowing people in the U.S. illegally to drive commercial motor vehicles “without proper training or the ability to read road signs.”

He asked the high court to block the two states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, and who don’t meet federal safety requirements.

“California’s and Washington’s decision to endanger their own citizens is reprehensible. But commercial drivers routinely cross state lines, endangering citizens of other States,” Uthmeier, a Republican, wrote, adding that those decisions lead to “mayhem” in other states.

But officials from each of the two states rejected Florida’s assertions. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told the Supreme Court in a filing that its Department of Motor Vehicles verifies legal presence using a federal database known as SAVE and tests for English proficiency, as required by state law.

As to Singh, California officials said the state’s DMV issued him a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license only after complying with federal and state regulations. They said he applied for the license in July 2024 and provided an employment authorization document, which was verified through the federal database.

“The allegations in the proposed complaint are notably lacking, as Florida admits that it does not even know how California’s commercial driver’s license program works,” Bonta said. “Its claims are based on assumptions about California law and practice that are wrong: DMV requires verification of legal presence and tests for English language proficiency before issuing commercial driver’s licenses.”

Washington officials, meanwhile, called Florida’s proposed lawsuit a “political stunt,” and noted that Uthmeier announced the lawsuit on Fox News. They claimed that Florida has improperly licensed “thousands” of commercial drivers without evidence they speak English or satisfy residency requirements.

Washington officials wrote that state law requires applicants for a commercial driver’s license to pass written knowledge tests and skills tests that meet federal standards, and requires applicants to reside in Washington or be otherwise federally qualified.

“This dispute is not about boundaries or water; it is about the wisdom of state policies,” they wrote. “Even setting that aside, Florida’s claims are meritless.”

They also said that Singh did not have a valid commercial driver’s license from Washington at the time of the 2025 crash in Florida.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have allowed Florida to sue the two states, reiterating their view that the Supreme Court cannot refuse to hear suits between states.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has taken steps to crack down on states that it says have issued commercial driver’s licenses to immigrant truck drivers and has sought to withhold federal funding to states that refuse to cancel licenses that it says were illegally issued.

President Trump signed an executive order in April 2025 that reinforces a federal law that requires commercial truck drivers to read and speak English proficiently.

WATCH: Embattled GOP senator warns red state ‘at risk’ of historic Dem victory as voters head to polls

May 26, 2026 1:42pm EDT / Fox News

Texans head to the polls today after what has been a particularly bruising GOP primary race for a critical Senate seat

By Peter Pinedo , Paul Steinhauser

Cornyn warns Dems could pull off historic upset as voters head to polls

Longtime Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is warning that Democrats could pull of a historic victory this election cycle as voters head to the polls in the Texas primary runoff.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/053bfc08-d416-4701-85b6-268cdfe36c6d

Listen to this article

4 min

As voters head to the polls today in Texas, GOP Sen. John Cornyn is warning the longtime red state is “at risk” of Democrats pulling off a historic upset for a critical Senate seat.

Cornyn’s primary race against challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton finally comes to a head in today’s runoff election. After what has been a particularly bruising primary, Cornyn expressed his worry that Republicans stand to lose a seat that would be devastating for the party’s hopes of retaining a majority in the upper chamber.

Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of Election Day, Cornyn touted Texas as “the most conservatively governed state in the country,” making it a “land of opportunity and where the American dream is still very much alive.”

“But I think all of that’s at risk, depending on how this primary runoff turns out, because I think Ken Paxton’s flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election are going to be exploited up to the fullest by James Talarico and by Democrats,” he said.

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT OF KEN PAXTON

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is calling Democratic challenger James Talarico to condemn his pastor for making light of third assassination attempt on President Donald Trump’s life.(Photo by Danielle Villasana // by Heather Diehl/)

Whoever emerges Tuesday night will have to face state Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic rising star who many in the party believe has broad enough appeal to finally flip the state for the first time in over two decades.

Cornyn expressed worry about Talarico’s fundraising abilities, citing the $27 million he raised in the first quarter of the year. He asserted that if Paxton wins, “there will be a tsunami of money coming into the state from outside.”

He also asserted that “it’s not only that Senate seat he [Paxton] puts at risk, it’s also all the down-ballot races, state legislative races, local races, like the judges and the like.”

“We haven’t elected a Democrat in statewide office since 1994 in Texas,” he said. “President Trump is not running, so the Senate race will be at the top, and I believe that I will be in a better position to help provide a significant margin, a winning margin, not only in my case, but also to help everybody down ballot.”

“I don’t think the attorney general can do that because of the significant baggage he brings into the race, which jeopardizes success from the top to the bottom,” he said.

Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state Senate.

TRUMP FLEXES MAGA MUSCLE IN TEXAS SENATE RUNOFF CLASH BETWEEN CORNYN AND PAXTON

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has leaned heavily on President Donald Trump’s endorsement in his Senate runoff campaign against Sen. John Cornyn.(Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News/Getty Images)

The attorney general is also dealing with a very messy divorce, with his wife citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” in filing last year to end their marriage.

Despite this and Cornyn’s status as a longtime fixture of the Republican Party, it is Paxton who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Trump said, “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” Pointing to the senator’s past criticism of him, Trump added, “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency.”

Cornyn, in turn, emphasized his support for the president and his agenda, telling Fox News Digital, “President Trump has called me a friend and a good man, and we’ve worked with him closely for both terms of office.”

Paxton, who grabbed significant national attention the past dozen years by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, disagreed.

ON EVE OF REPUBLICAN SENATE RUNOFF ELECTION, GOP SEN JOHN CORNYN TELLS FOX NEWS DIGITAL ‘TEXANS CAN BE PRETTY INDEPENDENT’

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, center, campaigns at a meet and greet in Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 22, 2026, days ahead of the runoff election for the GOP Senate nomination.(Luke Travisan/Fox News)

“John Cornyn fought Trump on the border. And you can go back over about a decade and see that he was not for the border wall,” Paxton charged in an interview on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”

Paxton also argued that the senator “fought the president’s reelection. He fought him in 2024, said his time had passed, and he fought him in 2016. So, this is not a pro-Trump guy. I don’t know if we could be more different on the Republican issues than John Cornyn and me. So, there is a vast difference between the two of us.”

Cornyn pushed back.

“I don’t know how much more with him I could be than 99.3% of the time,” the senator told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“I want him to be successful. I want America to be successful, and I want Republicans to be successful. But you know, in the end, as I said, Texans are the only ones going to be able to make a choice, and I think Texans can be pretty independent,” Cornyn added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Talarico for comment.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

South Carolina Senate rejects Trump’s call to redraw congressional map

May 26, 2026 / 2:27 PM EDT / CBS/AP

As early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina’s primaries, the state Senate rejected a Republican plan to cancel those congressional votes and instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help the GOP oust a longtime Democrat.

Some senators said it was simply too late to make a change.

“South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience or common sense is going to let me stop an election that is already underway,” GOP state Sen. Richard Cash said.

Among the first to cast an early ballot in the small city of Orangeburg was Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Democrat whose district Republicans were trying to reshape in their quest for a clean sweep of South Carolina’s seven congressional seats. A defiant Clyburn insisted he would run for reelection, regardless of what the district looks like.

“I’m OK if it’s Trump plus 20,” Clyburn said while describing the potential Republican advantage in a reshaped district. “I would be running where I live.”

The political drama in South Carolina is part of a Republican strategy — propelled by Mr. Trump — to redraw voting districts to the GOP’s advantage in an attempt to hold on to a slim House majority in the midterm elections. Republicans have been moving quickly to try to leverage a recent Supreme Court ruling that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Campaign signs near a polling location in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Sam Wolfe / Bloomberg via Getty Images

But the GOP also suffered a setback Tuesday in Alabama, where a three-judge federal panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from using a Republican-drawn congressional map that could help the GOP win an additional seat. The court said the Republican plan “intentionally discriminated based on race” by including only one Black-majority district and ordered the continued use of a court-imposed map that includes two districts with a significant proportion of Black residents.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, vowed a quick appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and predicted an eventual victory.

Democrats, who have suffered their own share of setbacks in the national redistricting battle, praised the turn of events in Alabama.

The “fight for justice is far from over in states across the country where politicians are enacting gerrymanders on top of gerrymanders to erase equal representation for communities of color,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Trump’s redistricting push

Voting districts typically are redrawn after a census at the start of a decade. But Mr. Trump has urged Republican-led states to redistrict ahead of the November elections to try to rebuff political headwinds, which typically result in lost congressional seats for the president’s party in midterms.

Since Mr. Trump first urged Texas to redraw its voting districts last summer, Republicans also have enacted new House districts in Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Meanwhile, voters in California adopted new Democratic-drawn districts, and a court imposed a favorable map for Democrats in Utah. Democrats suffered a setback in Virginia, where the state Supreme Court invalidated a voter-approved redistricting plan that could have helped Democrats win additional seats.

Redistricting discussions are ongoing in Louisiana following an April high court ruling that struck down a majority-Black congressional district as an illegal partisan gerrymander. The Louisiana House could vote later this week on a new map that could eliminate a seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields and improve Republicans’ chances of winning six out of the state’s seven seats.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday called on major corporations across the U.S., including those that previously expressed support for voting rights and racial justice, to oppose redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts. That comes after the caucus last week called for Black athletes to boycott public universities in states that are gerrymandering congressional maps to eliminate districts held by Black lawmakers.

More than 26,000 votes were cast in South Carolina by noon Tuesday on the first day of early voting for the June 9 primary after Democrats called for people against a proposed new map to turn out in force. In 2022, about 125,000 early votes were cast over the entire two weeks.

The Republican-led House already had passed a plan that would reconfigure Clyburn’s district, void the results of current congressional primaries and instead hold new U.S. House primaries in August.

Mr. Trump has lobbied for the plan, making at least two phone calls to Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and also phoning in to a private meeting of Republican senators earlier this month. He also has maintained the pressure on social media.

Democrats were staunchly opposed, and some GOP lawmakers in the Senate had concerns that an aggressive redistricting could backfire by making some Republican-held seats susceptible to losses because of the addition of Democratic voters.

Clyburn noted that when state lawmakers last redrew congressional districts, after the 2020 census, they spent months holding meetings across the state to gather public suggestions. Although that map resulted in a 6-1 seat advantage for Republicans over Democrats, the process was orderly and fair, he said.

“When the map was challenged, the U.S. Supreme Court said, yes, this is constitutional,” Clyburn said. But now, “this White House says, to hell with the process, to hell with the Constitution, just do what we want done.”

Trump’s redistricting push suffers setbacks in Alabama, South Carolina

2026-05-26T18:23:05.638Z / Reuters

Court ruling goes against Republicans in Alabama
Judges preserve significantly Black US House district
Republican South Carolina lawmakers balk at new map
Voting already underway in party primaries in the state

May 26 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s push for Republican-led states to draw electoral maps more favorable to his party ahead of November’s midterm elections suffered twin setbacks on ​Tuesday, when efforts in South Carolina and Alabama to reshape U.S. House of Representatives districts were stymied.

In a rare break with Trump from members of his ‌own party, several Republican state senators in South Carolina voted with Democrats to abandon a new map aimed at dismantling the U.S. House district held by congressman James Clyburn, a Black Democrat first elected to the seat more than three decades ago.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Separately, a panel of three federal judges blocked Alabama Republicans from installing a new map that would eliminate one of the state’s two districts with major Black populations, ruling that state lawmakers intentionally ​discriminated against Black voters in reconfiguring the boundaries.

At Trump’s urging, Republicans in several Southern states have rushed to implement new maps following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in April that ​weakened protections for U.S. House districts with significant Black or Latino populations.

Tennessee already has approved a new map that broke up a majority-Black, Democratic-held ⁠district based in Memphis, while Louisiana is advancing a plan to eliminate one of two districts with sizable Black populations in that state.

Black voters typically support Democrats.

Democrats and civil rights advocates ​have called the Republican efforts racially discriminatory. Republican backers have said they are focused on partisan advantage, not race.

Republicans are seeking to retain their narrow U.S. House majority in the midterms at a ​time when Trump is registering low approval ratings in public opinion polls, thanks in part to the unpopular Iran war and the higher gasoline prices it has caused.

SOUTH CAROLINA MAP FAILS

The proposed map in South Carolina would have positioned Republicans to sweep all seven U.S. House districts in the state after taking apart the seat held by Clyburn, 85, a Democratic power broker.

Tuesday’s vote was the second time that the effort stalled in the ​state Senate. Five Republicans joined Democrats earlier in the month to deny the two-thirds majority needed to advance the plan during a regular session of the chamber.

Republican South Carolina Governor Henry ​McMaster, who had previously had rejected White House pressure to call a special session, reversed course and brought lawmakers back to consider the map.

Early voting began in the state on Tuesday in party primaries. Some Republican ‌senators said ⁠they could not support changing the map and postponing the primaries once ballots had already been cast.

“As far as I can tell, there is no historical precedent for a legislature to change the date of an election and redraw the maps once voting has begun,” Senator Richard Cash said during floor debate.

Cash noted that tens of thousands of votes had been recorded by midday.

ALABAMA MAP DEEMED ILLEGAL

In Alabama, a three-judge panel decided that a Republican-backed map intentionally discriminated against Black voters and could not be used for the 2026 elections. Instead, the court said, Alabama must continue to ​use a map that has two districts with ​sizable Black populations, not just one.

Republican officials ⁠in Alabama immediately said they would appeal to the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court.

Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey previously postponed until August the party primaries for four U.S. House districts that were redrawn as part of the disputed map, which was first approved in 2023.

The map breaks up a district ​in which Black people comprise just shy of 50% of the population. White people make up about 40% of the district, with other ​minorities including Asian and Hispanic ⁠people filling out the balance. Black people make up about a quarter of Alabama’s population. The district is currently represented by congressman Shomari Figures, who is Black.

The same panel of judges found the map discriminatory in 2023 and blocked it. Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court granted Alabama’s request to lift that block, and directed the judges to reconsider their findings in light of its April decision that ⁠raised the bar ​for challenging electoral maps on the basis of race.

But the panel reached the same conclusion: that the map purposefully ​and unlawfully targeted Black voters.

“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” wrote the panel, which includes two judges appointed ​by Trump and one appointed by Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

Democrats hold Alabama’s two districts with sizeable Black populations. Republicans control the state’s other five districts.

Reporting by Joseph Ax; editing by Paul Thomasch

Trump administration proposes having all federal workers sign NDAs

2026-05-26 1:58 PM ET / CNN

By Tami Luhby

Updated May 26, 2026, 3:21 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 26, 2026, 1:58 PM ET

A large mirror adorns a wall outside of the Oval Office at the White House on September 28, 2025.

Pete Marovich/Getty Images/File

Summary

• The Trump administration has proposed a government-wide nondisclosure agreement for federal workers to sign.
• The draft NDA would cover a broad range of information including internal operations and pre-decisional material.
• The largest federal workers union says it believes the administration will push agencies to require employees to sign the NDA and then fire those who refuse.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The White House is preparing a government-wide nondisclosure agreement aimed at curtailing federal workers’ sharing of “confidential government information,” as it seeks to stop internal leaks to media organizations.

The draft notice, posted to the Federal Register on Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management, says the NDA is intended to track existing and new federal employees’ agreement to “safeguard non-public, confidential or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties.” The proposal is scheduled to be published on Wednesday.

Agencies have the option of using the NDA, according to the draft notice, which will be subject to a 30-day comment period after it is published.

The controversial move is the latest step in the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on the dissemination of its internal planning and data. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office last year started mandating that Pentagon officials sign NDAs before being read in on projects, initiatives and other work products, CNN has reported.

President Donald Trump is also upending the federal workforce, which he sees as an impediment to implementing his agenda.

The draft cites federal workers’ providing the New York Times and Washington Post with “unauthorized disclosures” in advance of the US raid on Venezuela earlier this year. News organizations delayed publishing the information “to avoid endangering US troops,” the draft said.

The New York Times’ executive editor has said the paper did not have verified details about the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, nor did it withhold publishing a story at the Trump administration’s request. A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment, saying the paper does not discuss its newsgathering practices.

Also, a federal staffer this year disclosed the personal information — including names, addresses, emails, phone numbers and job titles — of about 4,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, putting their safety at risk, according to the draft.

The draft proposal takes a wide view of confidential information, defining it as “internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law.” Such disclosures “disrupt agency operations and erode public trust.”

The measure would not create “new substantive restrictions” on workers and would preserve the rights of whistleblowers, according to the draft proposal.

But the federal workforce’s largest union, the American Federation of Government Employees, decried the draft as an attempt to silence staffers, noting the proposal “sweeps in an extraordinarily broad category of information.”

The union said it believes the administration will push agencies to require their employees to sign the NDA and then fire those who refuse.

“This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who won’t speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse,” Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president, said in a statement. “Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the public has a right to know about this administration’s abuses.

This article has been updated with additional information.

Trump administration proposes NDAs for all federal employees to curb leaks

May 26, 2026 3:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The Trump administration is proposing that all new and current federal employees sign non-disclosure agreements as part of its crackdown on press leaks.

On Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management posted a notice in the Federal Register asking for comment on a draft NDA that federal agencies would use for “both new and existing employees.”

“The form is intended to document Federal employees’ acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly preserving the right to make disclosures authorized by law,” the notice said.

The OPM notice includes a proposed NDA that federal agencies may use if they wish. It also says that the proposed NDA “does not create new substantive restrictions on employee speech or disclosure rights” and “expressly” preserves employees’ “rights to make disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower disclosures.”

The OPM cited examples of internal agency communications related to rulemaking and policy development that were disclosed without authorization. It also raised instances in which FBI and the Department of Homeland Security employees disclosed information without authorization about planned immigration enforcement actions.

For instance, the OPM’s request for comment stated that the New York Times and Washington Post had received unauthorized information on the U.S. raid in Venezuela this past January and delayed “publishing what they knew to avoid endangering U.S. troops.”

But days after the raid, New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn wrote, “Contrary to some claims, however, The Times did not have verified details about the pending operation to capture Maduro or a story prepared, nor did we withhold publication at the request of the Trump administration.”

He also said, “While not relevant in this case, The Times does consult with the military when there are concerns that exposure of specific operational information could risk the lives of American troops. We take those concerns seriously, and have at times delayed publication or withheld details if they might lead to direct threats to members of the military.”

Representatives for the New York Times and Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Locating leaks that the administration deems harmful to its messaging has become a priority in multiple agencies since the beginning of President Trump’s second administration. In January, the FBI seized Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s phone, laptops, portable hard drives and Garmin watch, as part of an investigation into a government contractor who was later indicted for allegedly disseminating classified material.

And last year, dozens of reporters turned in their access badges at the Pentagon, instead of complying with new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by the secretary for release.

The American Federation of Government Employees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.