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May 27, 2026 - World

Donald Trump has handed Iran a stunning victory while simultaneously raising questions about his stability to American allies with a proposal so "divorced from reality" that it exposes the administration's complete lack of strategic planning.So wrote New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, a Middle East expert, who said on Tuesday that Trump's misguided Iran war strategy has already inadvertently given Tehran a far more potent weapon than any nuclear capability: the realization that it can hold the global economy hostage at will with no end in sight.Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gambled that multibillion-dollar weapons systems could bomb Iran into surrendering its nuclear program. They relied entirely on Netanyahu's promise that the Iranian regime would collapse like "a house of cards after a few weeks of heavy bombing," Friedman wrote.Instead, they enabled Iran to discover what Friedman calls a weapon of "mass disruption" — cheap drones capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical oil chokepoint."Now, and forever, Iranians will know that we know that Tehran can shut off the world's most important oil tap anytime it wants. This new source of leverage for the Iranian regime is priceless," the columnist explained.Trump's latest proposal in a Truth Social Memorial Day post exposed the catastrophic consequences of waging war without scenario planning or expert input with the president writing that he is "mandatorily requesting that all Countries [in the region] immediately sign the Abraham Accords." The columnist pointed out that Trump even claimed allies told him they "would be honored" if Iran itself joined the accords. "If Iran signs 'it will be the most important Deal that any of these Great, but always in Conflict Countries, will ever sign,'" he wrote. "Nothing in the past, or in the future, will surpass it."Friedman posed the question: "On what planet of the Milky Way Galaxy would this regime in Tehran, which is practically founded on hatred of Israel, just up and make peace with it after this war?"The proposal was so unexpected and so divorced from Middle Eastern political reality that Friedman labeled it as "unhinged" and a cause for concern."The whole thing was so ridiculous, juvenile and unvetted by any experts that it had to have left our Israeli and Arab allies deeply worried that their American protector is led by a truly unstable man," Friedman concluded.

May 26, 2026 - World

The Trump administration wants to send U.S. citizens living abroad who are exposed to the deadly Ebola virus to Kenya rather than bring them home, according to new reporting by the New York Times. Three people familiar with the Trump administration's plans spoke with the NYT, which noted that previous administrations brought Americans home for observation and treatment. The outbreak of Ebola is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency. More than 1,000 cases of Ebola and 200 deaths have been reported during the past 11 days, which makes it the third largest outbreak on record, according to the NYT. Trump administration insiders told the NYT that the original plan was to send Ebola-exposed Americans to Kenya for monitoring and then to Europe for treatment if they show symptoms."But the administration now plans to provide treatment in Kenya as well," insiders told the NYT. Trump officials are already setting up a facility in Kenya where Americans can be quarantined and treated for Ebola, the NYT added. "Last week, the Trump administration invoked a public health law known as Title 42 to bar immigrants and legal permanent residents who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the previous 21 days from entering the United States," the NYT reported. "The administration's new plan would also keep U.S. citizens who might have been exposed to Ebola out of the country," two people familiar with the administration's plans told the NYT. "A few dozen Public Health Service officers are now being trained to deploy to Kenya to provide medical care to Americans who are deemed at high risk of developing Ebola."So far, only a few Americans have been infected, including an American doctor in Germany and six other Americans who were transported to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring, according to the NYT. "Government scientists and physicians who develop symptoms will also be treated in Kenya," the NYT added.

May 26, 2026 - World

Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo avoided answering a direct question about President Donald Trump's tariff policies and their impact on the tourism-reliant state during a recent interview.Lombardo spoke to 2 News Nevada in an exclusive interview last week and appeared visibly uncomfortable with denouncing Trump's tariffs, which have led to a tourism crisis in the state that heavily depends on travelers, especially in cities like Las Vegas. The loss of global tourism has hit the state's economy and become a serious concern among Nevada lawmakers ahead of the midterm elections this fall, according to Politico.But Lombardo apparently did not have a strong stance on the topic, 2 News Nevada reported."I don't know all the nuances of foreign policy associated with that and the tariffs and how it directly affects Nevada, but me as the governor of the state of Nevada, I'm concerned about Nevada," Lombardo said.In February, Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine said that Trump's tariffs have cost the state $2.1 billion and Conine has demanded that the administration pay the state for costs incurred as a result of the president's policy, KOLO 8 News Now reported.Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo punts on whether he supports Trump's tariffs: "I don't know all the nuances of foreign policy associated with that and tariffs and how it directly affects, uh, Nevada." pic.twitter.com/FoNDtJUd6D— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 26, 2026

May 26, 2026 - World

South Carolina's Republican-majority Senate voted to stop a measure to push a new congressional map forward — an open rejection of President Donald Trump's demand for redistricting, according to reports.As early voting began on Tuesday for the already scheduled June primary, a measure to accept a redrawn congressional map failed in the state's Senate in a 20-24 vote, NBC News reported.The vote "was a surprise rejection of President Donald Trump, who had urged lawmakers to pass a redrawn map that eliminated the state’s single majority-Black district and gave Republicans a chance to win the seat," according to NBC News.Last week, the South Carolina House had approved the map and aimed to enact it for the midterm elections this fall.That changed on Tuesday, despite pressure from the Trump White House. Lawmakers had considered seeking another primary election for the districts affected by the new map in August, but some GOP lawmakers ended up changing their minds."Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway," said Republican state Sen. Richard Cash, who reportedly changed his vote citing the timing.Earlier this month, South Carolina Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said that a new, last-minute map could be "short-sighted," according to NBC News."I believe that our state is stronger with vibrant parties. I think we, as a whole, are stronger when we have a clash of ideas. I think that’s true at the national level. I think it’s true at the state level. We are stronger when we have a clash of ideas and we can discuss those policy goals," Massey said. "Republicans are stronger when the Democratic Party is vibrant and viable."

May 26, 2026 - World

The number of goals Donald Trump set out on Feb. 28 when he launched the unprovoked attack on Iran was held up to the light by MS NOW’s David Rohde on Tuesday morning, who made clear the president's war so far has been a failure.Well beyond the Strait of Hormuz stalemate that has the Trump administration grasping for an answer, Rohde singled out five claims that the president made when he announced the attack, with only one coming to fruition -- and even that appears doubtful after this weekend's events.Speaking with “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire, Rohde got right to the point as the producers displayed a graphic showing the administration coming up far short of its goals.“Remind us, please, about the goals that this administration first set out for this conflict and what has actually been achieved,” Lemire prompted his guest.“Look, I want to give credit to all the service members that are out there in particularly the day after Memorial Day, but this has been a disaster for this administration to have the Secretary of State [Marco Rubio], as we just saw him on his plane, trying to play down, almost trying to placate the Iranians and the American public about how this conflict has gone was extraordinary,” he began.“I looked up President Trump's speech on February 28th when he announced the war, so achieved: ‘annihilate their navy.‘ Maybe. I mean, I think that's generally true. But this morning, the New York Times has reported that there are hundreds of these speedboats and this — look, I believe the United States Navy, I don't believe the Iranians at all — if they're laying mines with one of these speedboats. That's why it was part of the attack yesterday; that's extraordinary. That shows how emboldened the Iranians are. So that's maybe achieved or partly achieved.”“And then everything else. 'Destroy their missiles,'” he continued. “The latest assessment is that 70% of Iran's missile capacity remains intact. They have knocked out some of the factories. But again, that is not an achievement. Overall, ensure the region's terrorist proxies no longer destabilize the region — That's not happening at all. That's not even part of these negotiations. And the missiles aren't either.”“Ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,” he continued. “That's not even part of the current negotiations that will come in this 60-day second round of talks. And then, most tragically, what he said to, as he said to ‘the great people of Iran, take over your government,’ and the regime remains in place.”“So it's astonishing to me that an American president is in this position,” he concluded. “And they just, you know, this administration … just continues to mismanage this war.” - YouTube youtu.be