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New York Times sues Pentagon a second time, calling press access policy “patently unconstitutional”

May 18, 2026 7:39 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The New York Times sued the Defense Department on Monday for the second time in five months, arguing a requirement that journalists be escorted while on Pentagon grounds violates the First Amendment.

The lawsuit casts the escort policy as part of “a series of escalating steps designed to stop unfavorable coverage” and “dramatically curtails longstanding press access to the Pentagon,” in violation of the First and Fifth amendments.

The policy is “an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs,” a Times spokesman, Charlie Stadtlander, said in an email to The Associated Press. “As we have said before: Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars.”

On X, Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell called the Times’ latest lawsuit “nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified information.”

The Times lawsuit is another salvo in the escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public arena and at times in the courts.

The paper filed Monday’s lawsuit after first suing the Pentagon in December over a separate set of rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last fall.

The older policy required reporters to sign onto a host of restrictions in order to maintain daily access to the Pentagon, including one that suggested reporters who “solicit” sensitive information from military personnel could be deemed a security risk and expelled from the building. Many news outlets — including CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, CNN and Fox News — declined to sign the policy and were forced to vacate the Pentagon.

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U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman struck down parts of that policy in March, finding they violated the rights of the newspaper and one of its reporters, Julian Barnes.

The Pentagon responded by imposing a new policy that barred reporters from accessing the building altogether unless they are accompanied by a government escort. The judge ruled that the interim policy violated his March order. But the escort policy remained in place when an appeals court stayed part of Friedman’s ruling while the government appeals. The appeals process is ongoing.

The new lawsuit, filed by the paper and reporter Barnes in District of Columbia district court, aims to get the courts to directly address the escort rule on constitutional grounds.

In the filing, the paper contends the rule, like other Pentagon media restrictions, has a clear aim — “closing the Pentagon to any journalist or news organization unwilling to report only what Department officials approve.”

This, it contends, is “patently unconstitutional.”

The Pentagon has denied that it is trying to force journalists to get approval for their stories, and is instead trying to prevent leaks of highly sensitive information.

Parnell, in his X post Monday, asserted that The Times and its journalists “want to roam the halls of the Pentagon freely and without an escort — a privilege that they do not have in any other federal building.”

He added: “The Department’s policy is completely lawful and narrowly designed to protect national security information from unlawful criminal disclosure.”

美加州回教中心发生枪击 五人包括两名少年嫌疑人死亡

2026年5月19日 07:08 / 联合早报

美国媒体称，发生枪击事件的回教中心是圣迭戈地区最大的回教堂。这家回教中心还设有学校，教授阿拉伯语和宗教课程。 （路透社）

美国加利福尼亚州圣迭戈市一家回教中心发生枪击事件，包括两名青少年嫌疑人在内的五人死亡。

路透社报道，这起枪击事件发生在星期一（5月18日）上午。警方于上午11时40分左右（新加坡时间19日凌晨2时40分）接到报警，迅速调派上百名警力赶往现场封锁。

加州圣迭戈市（San Diego）警方在新闻发布会上说，枪手开火时，三名成年男性在室外遇害，其中一人为这家回教中心的保安。

一名警方官员说，遇害的保安“在减轻袭击严重程度方面发挥了至关重要的作用”。

两名嫌疑人分别为17岁和19岁的青少年，似乎死于开枪自尽，他们的尸体在回教中心附近一辆车内被发现。

警方说，目前将枪击事件视为一起“仇恨犯罪”，正与联邦调查局（FBI）合作展开深入调查。

美国总统特朗普当天在白宫一场活动上对媒体说，他已听取关于这起枪击事件的简报，“情况糟糕”。

据美媒报道，遇袭回教中心是圣迭戈地区最大的回教堂。这家回教中心还设有学校，教授阿拉伯语和宗教课程。

Apologies and cash headed to alleged ‘weaponization’ victims in billion-dollar Trump settlement

2026-05-18T14:57:14-04:00 / Fox News

Acting AG Todd Blanche says the fund will compensate and formally apologize to those alleging government weaponization

By Elaine Mallon, Fox News

Published May 18, 2026 2:57pm EDT

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The Justice Department has created a $1.776 billion fund for people who allege they were victims of federal government “lawfare” as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

The Anti-Weaponization Fund creates a formal process for Americans alleging they were targeted through politically motivated actions by the Justice Department under previous administrations. The program is set to expire a month before the end of Trump’s second term.

The fund was created as part of an agreement for Trump and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to drop the $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS they filed in January.

“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”

NEW YORK DEFENSE ATTORNEY ARGUES LEGAL SYSTEM WAS WEAPONIZED AGAINST TRUMP

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Trump and his sons are ineligible to receive compensation from the fund but will receive a formal apology, according to the Justice Department.

Trump also agreed to withdraw two additional claims for damages, one stemming from the “unlawful” FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago and the other related to the “Russia-collusion hoax,” in which Obama officials are accused of manipulating intelligence reports on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

The Justice Department is investigating former CIA Director John Brennan based on allegations that he lied to Congress about the resources the CIA used to craft its intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The fund will have the authority to issue formal apologies and financial compensation to claimants. Funding will come from a permanent congressional appropriation that allows the Justice Department to settle cases. Participation will be voluntary, and there will be no partisan or political requirement to file a claim.

Critics, however, argue the program could allow the administration to compensate Trump allies and supporters who claim they were unfairly investigated or prosecuted.

Former FBI Director James Comey — who was charged by the Justice Department after posting an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to spell “86-47,” which officials interpreted as a threat against President Donald Trump — slammed the creation of the fund.

Former FBI Director James Comey attends an event in New York City.(Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

“It just can’t be the way we operate,” Comey said in an interview with ABC News. “We can’t set up a multi-million-dollar ATM at Mar-a-Lago for people who’ve committed crimes. It just isn’t the way we are. It’s not consistent with our values. Eventually, the Department of Justice will right itself, but we’re gonna have to ride out a hard two years.”

A five-member commission appointed by the U.S. attorney general will oversee the fund. One commissioner will be selected in consultation with congressional leadership. The president will retain authority to remove commissioners, though replacements must be selected through the same process used for the departing member.

DOJ ACCELERATES SETTLEMENT OFFERS IN CAMP LEJEUNE WATER CONTAMINATION CASES

The fund is expected to end on Dec. 15, 2028, and any money remaining after the fund ceases operations will return to the federal government.

An image shows the Department of Justice building with an overlay of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The Justice Department pointed to the Obama administration’s creation of “Keepseagle,” a $760 million fund created to compensate people alleging they were victims of racism by the federal government, as the legal precedent for this new fund.

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However, the Justice Department stated that $300 million of what remained from the fund was distributed to nonprofits and organizations that never filed claims.

Safeguards will be implemented to protect private information and prevent fraud, including the fund issuing quarterly reports to the attorney general detailing who received relief and what type of relief was granted, according to the Justice Department.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the Justice Department for comment.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Shipment of Kim Kardashian brand underwear used to hide cocaine worth $9.4 million, U.K. police say

May 18, 2026 / 2:36 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A British court sentenced a truck driver to prison for smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of underwear and clothing from Skims, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, authorities said Monday.

The National Crime Agency said Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, was driving a truck carrying 28 pallets of Skims clothing from the Netherlands when he was stopped by border officials at a port in Essex in September.

The agency said Konkel had stopped on the way to collect 90 kilograms (198 pounds) of cocaine, and that the truck had been specially adapted so that he could hide the drugs, wrapped in 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packages, in a compartment of the truck’s back doors.

In a social media post, the NCA released three images of the purported drugs inside the merchandise.

A lorry driver has been jailed for smuggling more than £7m worth of cocaine hidden on a vehicle carrying a consignment of Kim Kardashian’s Skims underwear and clothing.

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Read the full story ➡️ https://t.co/eDNg4AmFla

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— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) May 18, 2026

The agency said the shipment of clothing was legitimate and neither the exporter nor importer were connected to the smuggled load.

Konkel, who initially denied knowing anything about the cocaine, eventually confessed he had agreed to transport the drugs for a payment of 4,500 euros ($5,243), according to the agency.

He was sentenced to 13½ years in prison for drug smuggling at Chelmsford Crown Court.

“Organised crime groups use corrupt drivers like Konkel to move Class A drugs often hidden on entirely legitimate loads such as this,” NCA operations manager Paul Orchard said in a statement. “The detection and investigation have removed a significant amount of cocaine whose profits are lost to the crime group behind the smuggling attempt, and with Konkel they’ve lost an important enabler.”

FAA says it failed to address warning signals before fatal 2025 Washington D.C. collision

2026-05-18 16:07:29 UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

May 18, 2026 4:07 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

Item 1 of 2 A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

[1/2]A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 5, 2025. … Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabRead more

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will tell Congress on Tuesday the ​agency failed to act on warnings prior to the January 2025 fatal collision ‌between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people near Reagan Washington National Airport.

In January, the National Transportation Safety Board said a series of systemic failures by the Federal Aviation Administration ​led to a devastating mid-air collision that was the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in ​more than two decades.

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“Our airspace system was providing warning signals prior to ⁠that tragic evening. The issue was not a lack of data — it was a failure ​to translate that data into action,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford will tell a U.S. Senate Commerce ​subcommittee in written testimony. “That is the gap we are urgently closing.”

Bedford noted the FAA has taken a series of steps to improve safety, including in March suspending use of visual separation between airplanes and helicopters at major airports.

The ​FAA in March cited two recent incidents in issuing the new rules including a near ​miss involving an American Airlines flight and police helicopter near the San Antonio airport.

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He said there is an ‌ongoing ⁠strategic sweeping reorganization of the FAA “that includes streamlining leadership roles (and) eliminating silos which hinder transparency and information sharing.”

The NTSB determined the collision was caused by the FAA’s decision to allow helicopters to travel close to the airport without safeguards to separate them from airplanes, and its failure to ​review data and act ​on recommendations to ⁠move helicopter traffic away from the airport.

Since 2021, there have been 15,200 air separation incidents near Reagan airport between commercial airplanes and helicopters, including 85 close-call ​events.

After the 2025 collision, the FAA restricted helicopter traffic around Reagan ​Airport and imposed ⁠restrictions at other airports including Baltimore, Las Vegas and Washington Dulles. It also reduced the arrival rate for planes at Reagan.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Transportation has urged Congress to approve another $10 ⁠billion to ​continue an air traffic control overhaul after awarding $12.5 billion ​last year.

“With more than 18,000,000 flights managed and over one billion passenger movements traveling across our skies annually, our current ​system has reached its limits,” Bedford said.

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Reporter’s Notebook: Democrats say they can still flip the House despite GOP redistricting gains in the South

May 18, 2026 3:09pm EDT / Fox News

Rep. Bennie Thompson says flatly ‘it’s about race’ as states from Texas to South Carolina redraw maps

By Chad Pergram Fox News

Redistricting and race.

Democrats are beside themselves, watching what Republicans are doing on redistricting — especially in the South.

“What we’re seeing is an attack on legitimate opportunities for Black candidates to have representation here in Congress,” said Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., who is on track to lose his district in Mobile.

Democrats say they know what Republicans are up to.

“They’ve also been trying to eliminate teaching America’s history, right? Whitewashing America’s history,” said former Vice President Kamala Harris.

BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat at MEET Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 7, 2026.(Ian Maule/Getty Images)

States like Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama – and now Georgia and South Carolina are redrawing district maps for House Members. That’s after Missouri revamped its maps. Many of these new districts are squeezing out members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

In essence, Democrats see this as a “Southern Strategy” by the GOP, stamping out Black lawmakers.

“It’s about race,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.

“I feel like I’ve been assaulted,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.

“We’ve seen this before,” said Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We’re looking at losing possibly 19 members of the Congressional Black Caucus because of this frankly racist redistricting efforts targeted towards disenfranchising Black voters across the country,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Republicans say turnabout is fair play. They note that you can’t find a Republican anywhere in the six states which comprise New England.

“It’s out of whack. It’s out of balance. And I think Republicans are finally waking up given the legal landscape changes and going, ‘Well, maybe we need to reconsider the way that we do things in our state,’” said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C.

South Carolina initially balked at drawing new maps. But the Palmetto State reversed course after President Trump demanded the state “get it done.” He instructed South Carolina Republicans to be “bold and courageous.”

Don’t forget that GOP Indiana state senators faced the President’s ire after the Hoosier State rejected his entreaties for redistricting there. The Trump White House waged an internecine campaign. President Trump’s allies toppled five Republican state senators who crossed him.

So South Carolina snapped to attention.

“The people of South Carolina are very supportive of President Donald Trump,” said Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). “They understand perfectly that we’re in a conflict. A nationwide conflict.”

New maps in South Carolina could mean no Democrats in the state delegation. That could eliminate the district of former House Majority Whip and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. Clyburn first came to Capitol Hill in 1993. He’s widely regarded for salvaging the 2020 campaign of former President Biden, helping him ride to victory in the South Carolina primary.

Still, Democrats believe they can seize the House, even as Republicans try to squeeze the map through redistricting.

“There are 45 districts in play that we’ve identified as opportunities to flip in this upcoming midterm election,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Democrats believe they’ll run up the scoreboard in California. Pluck off a couple of Republicans in Arizona and Colorado. Maybe one in Utah. Take a few in Texas after redistricting there. Make a play for a seat in Montana. Win a seat or two in Pennsylvania. Claim two seats in Virginia – despite the Virginia Supreme Court ruling there. Pick up a couple of seats in New Jersey and New York.

Remember that Democrats just need a net gain of three seats to secure the House majority.

However, that “blue wall” might not hold in all of New England this time around.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is retiring. He’s one of the most moderate Democrats in Congress. Vice President JD Vance just traveled to Bangor, Maine, recently to talk about fraud – and boost the campaign prospects of former Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

LePage is running to succeed Golden. Republicans are bullish about their chances in northern Maine.

REPUBLICAN ‘WAKE-UP CALL’: SPECIAL ELECTION SHOCKER HIGHLIGHTS GOP TURNOUT AND MIDTERM RISKS

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a “New York is Not For Sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025.(Stephani Spindel/VIEWpress via Getty Images)

LePage will be 78 if he wins – the oldest freshman in congressional history. However, this is ironic. Maine’s Democrat Gov. Janet Mills was running for Senate – but bowed out. Some Democrats believed she was too old. Mills would have been 79 as a freshman senator had she stayed in the race and prevailed.

But back to what faces the Democrats.

Democrats are trying to find their footing after the double whammy of the Supreme Court Voting Rights Act decision and the Virginia Supreme Court rejecting the statewide redistricting referendum. House Democrats huddled to discuss their battle plan.

“I’m more energized now than ever to make sure that we’re in the field, that we’re doing the work and whatever it has to take to win,” said Meeks.

“We’re going to win,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). That’s the House Democrats’ political arm.

“Democrats are prepared to use whatever levers we can to influence the outcome of the election,” said Thompson.

Some of this sounded a little like political pablum with no real direction.

Yours truly pressed Thompson.

“Respectfully, this all sounds kind of vague. You guys have a five-alarm fire now after those two court decisions, and I’m not hearing any specifics,” I countered Thompson.

“Well, you just stay tuned,” countered Thompson.

“How does that convince the voters, though?” your trusty reporter queried.

“Look,” said Thompson. “We are two weeks away from a crazy Supreme Court decision. You can’t expect anyone to come with a strategy right now.”

Two weeks after the decision which could hamstring Democrats’ chances to win the House? Never mind that the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year and oral arguments were in the fall. Democrats understood the gravity of this case and how it could chew into any plan to flip the House in the midterms.

Democrats are banking on Republicans overplaying their redistricting hands. But how Democrats energize their base wasn’t immediately clear after their conclave on the subject.

“The American public gets to make this decision. That’s a great thing about American democracy. And we’re working,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.

REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

President Donald Trump speaks during a military Mother’s Day event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2026.(Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But “working” doesn’t necessarily garner votes. It would be “news” if the Democrats weren’t working on the issue.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a concrete plan, though, Mr. Morelle?” yours truly interjected.

“I am not going to share my concrete plan with you,” replied Morelle.

A group of northern Democrats – ranging from Ocasio-Cortez to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., headed to Montgomery, Ala., over the weekend to make the case against the GOP’s redistricting ploys.

“We shall overcome,” intoned Booker.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, is now imploring Black student-athletes who attend school in the South to enter the transfer portal and play instead in the North.

Yet another way to pit the Big Ten against the SEC.

Rallying in the South may rile up Black voters. But it won’t help Democrats take back the House if all they’re doing is driving up voter participation in districts Democrats can’t win – thanks to the redrawing of the boundaries.

However, if Democrats do succeed in getting people to the polls – yet the playing field is tilted against them – we could be in for an econometric anomaly this fall.

It was a presidential election year in 2012. Democrats failed to win control of the House after losing it in a 2010 midterm shellacking. With President Obama on the ballot, Democrats secured nearly 1.6 million more votes than Republicans in House races nationwide in 2012. Yet Democrats failed to win the House.

Republicans won control of the House from the Democrats in 1994 for the first time in four decades. But with President Clinton handily riding to a second term in 1996, Democrats still struggled to win back the House. Democrats outpaced Republicans in the popular vote for the House that year by nearly 300,000 votes nationally.

Democrats have redrawn lines in their favor in California. But Republicans appear to have superseded that with their lines in the South. It’s a distinct possibility that Democrats could command more popular votes for House seats nationwide – and not get back the House. This statistical phenomenon is even more glaring that the party with the most popular votes fails to control the House in a midterm – not a presidential election year when a sitting executive is returned to the White House in the cases of Presidents Clinton and Obama.

That’s why some Democrats believe they should have been even more aggressive with redistricting.

Maryland is a case study. The Democratically-controlled state took a pass.

“I believe that we had an opportunity to do that. I supported it, and I still believe that would have been the right course for us to take,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md. “These are extraordinary times And I think we should take extraordinary measures to protect the opportunity to have those votes counted.”

Maryland would have made the entire state blue, drawing out of his seat Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

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Democrats see the GOP tactics as an existential political threat. President Trump commanded about one-fifth of Black male voters in 2024. And that’s why Democrats are framing this fight around civil rights.

It’s a race about redistricting. But Democrats also see this as a race – about race.

Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

Gunman kills 6 people, wounds 8 others in latest shooting rampage in Turkey

May 18, 2026 / 3:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A man armed with a rifle carried out a string of attacks in a city in southern Turkey on Monday, killing at least six people and wounding eight others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Police backed by helicopters and drones were searching for the assailant who remained at large after opening fire in several locations in Tarsus, in Mersin province.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the 37-year-old suspect in the latest attack, identified as Metin O, allegedly shot and killed his wife in a street before firing from his car at a restaurant, killing its owner and an employee.

He is suspected of later killing a teenager, a 50-year-old man and one other person at another Tarsus neighborhood, the agency reported.

The assailant allegedly fled in a car, according to Demirören News Agency (DHA).

Erdogan, speaking following a Cabinet meeting, offered his condolences for the deaths but did not provide information on the gunman or his motives.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye, on May 18, 2026. Utku Ucrak/Anadolu via Getty Images

“He came in without a word… We thought he was getting his telephone out, but he brought out a pistol,” IHA quoted a restaurant employee, Mehmet Han Topal, who was wounded in the leg.

“I got down. He fired at me,” he said.

Turkey has been shaken by a series of recent shootings that have raised concerns over gun violence and school safety. Last month, an attack at a school in southern Kahramanmaras province left 10 people dead, while another school shooting just a day earlier injured 16 in a nearby province.

According to a Turkish NGO, there are tens of millions of firearms held by citizens, most of them without permits.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.

Warsh to be sworn in as Fed chair at White House on Friday

May 18, 2026 4:52 PM UTC / Reuters

Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be next chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies before a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

• Kevin Warsh takes over Fed as war-and-tariff-induced inflation heats up
• Powell to remain on Fed board until criminal probe concludes
• Warsh’s first policy meeting set for mid-June

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as U.S. Federal Reserve chief on Friday by President ​Donald Trump, a White House official said on Monday, capping off the process of installing the 56-year-old lawyer ‌and financier at the helm of the central bank as it grapples with intensifying inflation that may make it hard to push through the interest-rate cuts Trump so deeply desires.

Warsh is succeeding Jerome Powell, whose eight-year run as Fed leader formally expired on Friday, although he plans to remain as a ​Board of Governors member until he is satisfied that a Trump administration criminal probe of him is fully wound down. ​Powell was sworn in as chair pro tempore on Friday to bridge the leadership gap until Warsh ⁠is formally installed.

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The investigation into Powell centering on cost overruns for building renovations at the Fed’s Washington headquarters complex became an ​obstacle for a time to Warsh’s confirmation by the Senate. The probe was settled to the satisfaction of an objecting Republican senator, ​however, and the full Senate confirmed Warsh on an almost-party-line vote on May 13.

Warsh, who served as a Fed governor through the global financial crisis era, returns at a difficult moment for U.S. monetary policymaking. Annualized inflation is running well above the Fed’s 2% target and likely to keep rising, largely ​because of policy choices by the president who gave him the job.

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The tariffs Trump imposed through his first year in office pushed ​up prices for a broad range of imported goods, and then this year Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran has triggered a ‌global energy ⁠price shock that recent data show is driving up prices across a widening array of goods and services.

The tariffs’ impact on its own had been a factor that a number of Fed policymakers, including Powell, had been willing to look past as a one-time price increase, not persistent inflation, and that could have allowed the central bank to resume interest-rate cuts that were put on hold ​early this year.

But the now-cascading effects ​of the Iran-war-induced energy price ⁠shock have deepened the inflation concerns of a growing number of the Fed policymakers Warsh must now lead and with whom he must now try to form a consensus over the direction ​of rate policy.

A run of hotter-than-expected readings of inflation caused upheaval in the bond market as ​last week ended. ⁠Yields on U.S. government bonds shot higher on Friday as investors repositioned for what they now see as sticky inflation and likely Fed rate hikes in response, starting perhaps as early as December.

Warsh’s first rate-setting meeting is just weeks away in mid-June and he is likely to ⁠find himself ​confronted with a growing hawkish bloc of policymakers arguing for the Fed to ​shift its posture explicitly to guard against inflation. Interest-rate futures markets assign effectively zero probability to a change in the Fed’s current policy rate, 3.50% to 3.75%, at ​the June meeting.

Reporting by Dan Burns, Steve Holland, Jasper Ward and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; editing by Michelle Nichols and Rosalba O’Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Tudor Dixon returns to Michigan politics with new PAC aimed at boosting Republicans in key battleground

2026-05-18T12:00:47-04:00 / Fox News

United We Fund aims to close gaps in voter education, outside spending and turnout ahead of 2026 and 2028 cycles

By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News

Published May 18, 2026 12:00pm EDT

Tudor Dixon reveals new venture aimed at boosting GOP in key swing state

Dixon tells Fox News Digital she is joining United We Fund, a new political committee aimed at electing “strong conservative candidates” in Michigan.

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FIRST ON FOX:Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon is stepping back into Michigan politics, this time as the public face of a new multi-million dollar PAC aimed at boosting Republicans in one of the nation’s most critical swing states.

“Michigan is going to be one of the critical battleground states for ‘26 and ‘28,” Dixon told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview announcing her role with United We Fund, a political action committee backed by millions of dollars that will be heavily involved in Michigan’s open races for governor, attorney general, secretary of state and key seats in the House and Senate.

Dixon was the Republican nominee for governor of Michigan in 2022, emerging as a Trump-backed conservative challenger to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in one of the country’s highest-profile gubernatorial races. Since her defeat, Dixon has remained active as a conservative commentator, podcast host, and prominent voice in the GOP’s “America First” wing.

“We want to make sure that we not only keep it purple, but have it trending red,” she continued.

In order to do that, Dixon explained that her experience running for governor in Michigan and her monitoring of other races in the state have shown her gaps where the Republican Party can improve, particularly delayed outside spending, weak voter education efforts and struggles turning out GOP voters in non-presidential elections.

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Tudor Dixon speaks to Fox News Digital about her new political venture, United We Fund.(Fox News Digital)

“When I ran for office, and I think that’s kind of a critical piece of this, is having lived it yourself, I know a lot of candidates go through this and they go, ‘Okay, that didn’t work out. I’m going to walk away,’” Dixon said. “As a business person with a business background, I’ve spent the last several years saying, ‘Okay, what did we do wrong as Republicans on our side? And how do we make sure we keep fighting for our state?’”

Dixon pointed to a recent Republican loss in a Michigan state Senate special election as evidence that the party cannot afford complacency.

“We just lost a special election for the state Senate by 19 and a half points,” Dixon said. “That’s a seat that was won by the Democrats in 2022 by 6.8 points. So to think that we went down to almost a 20-point loss, we can’t afford that in the state of Michigan. We don’t want the state to turn blue. So we’re going to make sure that we not only keep it purple, but have it trending red.”

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United We Fund is positioning itself as an answer to what Dixon described as a Democratic advantage fueled by both traditional party organizations and well-funded outside groups.

“We wanted to be able to give our candidates a leg up on that so that they would have that funding and those advertisements behind them and be able target people directly with the right messages so that they actually know who the Democrats are,” Dixon explained.

Dixon also argued Republicans have failed to effectively communicate with voters in many parts of the state, particularly outside of Detroit.

“Detroit has a massive voting base and obviously, we have some questions about that whole situation there, but the Detroit voting base comes out for Democrats,” Dixon said. “They rely on that specific base, but that base does not reflect what you see in the Upper Peninsula. It certainly doesn’t reflect the values of the people that you see in northern Michigan or on the west side of the state.”

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Then-Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon campaigns with other Republican candidates at a rally in St. Clair, Mich., on Oct. 27, 2022.(Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

She said many conservative voters in rural Michigan feel overlooked and disconnected from Lansing, citing backlash over the proposed Goshen battery plant as an example of tensions between local communities and state leadership.

“The people of Michigan want their voices to be heard,” Dixon said. “We just have to make sure they know what’s on the ballot and what’s out there.”

Turning out eligible voters who have a history of infrequent participation in elections, known as low-propensity voters, has been the name of the game for Republicans in recent cycles. Dixon says that will be a major focus of her group in the future.

“Those voters who I would say a lot of people wish that there would be some of this Republican base that would go away, those are my people,” Dixon said. “I love them. I want to make sure that they continue to have their voice heard.”

“We want to make sure that not only are we reaching out to that Republican that comes out every time, but also to those MAGA Republicans who maybe came out for Donald Trump and they don’t necessarily come out in the midterms,” she added. “I want to make sure they know that they’re loved and their voice is important. And we want to be sure that they get to the polls this time.”

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

Ebola strain in Congo, Uganda has no vaccine, no treatment for often deadly symptoms

2026-05-18T13:11:00-0400 / CBS News

By Nicole Brown Chau
Nicole Brown Chau is a deputy managing editor for CBSNews.com. She writes and edits national news, health stories, explainers and more.

Updated on: May 18, 2026 / 2:56 PM EDT / CBS News

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is of particular concern to global health officials in part because the virus detected is a less common strain.

As of Sunday, when the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency, there were more than 250 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths. These numbers are expected to rise, as there are “significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread,” the WHO said.

One American doctor working with an aid group in Congo has tested positive, and several others are believed to have been exposed.

The virus behind this outbreak is the Bundibugyo virus, health officials have confirmed. This is only the third known outbreak of this virus, and there are no vaccines or treatments.

Ebola vaccine targets Zaire strain

Ebola disease is caused by orthoebolaviruses, of which there are multiple species.

Three of the viruses have been known to cause large Ebola disease outbreaks, according to the WHO. They are Ebola (or Zaire) virus, which has been the most common; Sudan virus; and Bundibugyo virus, the one identified in this outbreak.

The only approved vaccine and treatments are for the Zaire strain. Because each virus species has different genetic material, they need different vaccines.

There are some other vaccines in development, but nothing that targets Bundibugyo virus is close to being ready for use, said Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical correspondent and infectious diseases specialist who deployed in the response to a past Ebola outbreak.

2 previous Bundibugyo outbreaks

Before this outbreak, there were two known outbreaks caused by the Bundibugyo virus, and both were smaller than the current one.

The first discovery of the Bundibugyo strain occurred in the Bundibugyo District in Uganda in 2007. There were 149 cases and 37 deaths in that outbreak, The Associated Press reported.

The second known outbreak was in Congo in 2012, with 57 cases and 29 deaths reported, according to the AP.

Because there have been fewer outbreaks of this virus, there is far less data about how it behaves than for the Zaire virus, which has been around since 1976 and caused dozens of outbreaks, Gounder said.

Symptoms of Ebola disease

Bundibugyo virus disease, the type of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, is severe and often fatal. The virus spreads from person to person through direct contact with bodily fluids of someone who is sick or has died from the disease.

The early symptoms can often be mistaken for other illnesses, the WHO says. They include:

• fever
• fatigue
• muscle pain
• headache
• sore throat

Those can progress to other symptoms, including:

• vomiting
• diarrhea
• abdominal pain
• rash
• organ dysfunction
• internal or external bleeding (less frequent)

The fatality rate of Bundibugyo virus disease, based on the past two outbreaks, is about 30 to 50%, the WHO says. While still highly deadly, this is lower than the fatality rate of the Zaire strain, which can be up to 90%.

“Early intensive supportive care including rehydration and treatment of specific symptoms, can improve survival,” the WHO says. “Seeking early care can be lifesaving.”

Edited by Stephen Smith

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/concerns-about-ebola-strain-with-no-known-vaccine-or-treatment/