“The procedural vote, which passed 50-47, marked the first time Cassidy had supported such a resolution since Trump launched the war against Iran in February. The senator hadn’t supported similar measures in seven previous votes, when he was still in the throes of his re-election campaign.”

Said Vance: “Republicans can apply for it. Democrats can apply for it. As you know, the President of the United States has pardoned a number of Democrats who he felt were actually subject to this lawfare.”

He added: “I mean, if Hunter Biden wants to apply for this particular fund, he is welcome to. It’s gonna go through a normal process where we vet everything, where we try to identify whether people’s claims are actually legitimate.”

“It turns out that the United States and Israel went into the conflict with a particular and very surprising someone in mind: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president known for his hard-line, anti-Israel and anti-American views.”

“But the audacious plan, developed by the Israelis and which Mr. Ahmadinejad had been consulted about, quickly went awry.”

“Cornyn, who’s in the toughest fight of his political life to keep his seat, had not been expecting Trump to issue an endorsement.”

New York Times: “Mr. Barr’s victory over Daniel Cameron, the former Republican attorney general of the state who was long seen as a protégé of Mr. McConnell, amounts to a lackluster ending to Mr. McConnell’s decades-long dominance in Kentucky politics.”

“Other sources said renewed strikes were expected to begin at the start of this week — the same timeline Trump offered up — while two additional sources said they were not anticipated until the end of the week.”

“Whatever the schedule, Trump’s decision to back away was the latest example of the president threatening to use withering force on Iran, only to suddenly switch gears.”

“Senators approved a motion to discharge the resolution from committee in a 50 to 47 vote. Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — joined the bulk of Democrats in favor of advancing the resolution. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to oppose.”

CNN: How Ken Paxton courted Donald Trump and won his endorsement.

“However, one important factor that the model does not take into account for 2026 is the impact of an apparent Republican advantage in redistricting, which may effectively mean that Republicans are going into November with more seats than they currently hold.”

“But even if one starts the Republicans with 10 more seats than they currently hold because of redistricting gains, the model still suggests Democrats are favored to win the House unless their lead in House generic ballot polling, now about half a dozen points in polling averages, evaporates.”

Trump said that Cornyn was “very late in backing me” during his run for the presidency in 2024.

The primary is next week.

“Instead Iran has used offshore ballast tankers to store its oil, allowing it to defer the day when it has to shut off production, a step that would have resulted in permanently lost output and possibly damage to reservoirs. As late as May 14th Iran was still loading crude oil onto a tanker at Kharg island. By one estimate around 20 empty tankers are thought to be nearby.”

“Meanwhile, in America Mr Trump has been forced to consider suspending the federal gas tax to keep a lid on fuel prices.”

Five states hold primaries today, with several races worth watching.

The marquee contest is in Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, where Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is trying to survive a Trump-backed challenge from retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

“That may depend, it turns out, on whether you’re talking about young men—or even younger men. The spring 2026 Yale Youth Poll, released last month, found that a majority of respondents—and roughly 70 percent of the young adults—disapproved of Trump. Even with men under 30, the president lost ground compared with Yale’s fall 2025 poll.”

“But the data also revealed a dividing line: Among 23-to-29-year-old men, support for Democrats increased by 14 percentage points. Among 18-to-22-year-old men, it fell by a percentage point—even while their approval of Trump declined somewhat.”

“A natural reaction to such figures is to despair at how much damage bad policies can cause. Another, though, is to marvel at the awesome power of America’s economic engine. Despite everything Mr Trump has put in its way, GDP may grow at an annual rate of 4% in the current quarter, if you believe the latest real-time forecast by the Federal Reserve’s Atlanta branch. Without the deadweight of the MAGA tax, in other words, America might be rocketing ahead at nearly 5% annualized growth.”

“But none of that has stopped him from shaking up the U.S. Senate race in Texas, where he is battling Senator John Cornyn, the four-term incumbent, in a runoff later this month despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars in the Republican primary. Characteristically, Mr. Paxton may be his own most formidable opponent.”

“Consumers resent energy-price jumps exacerbated by the spread of data centers. Workers fear widespread job losses. Parents worry about AI undermining education and harming children’s mental health. In recent months, the wave of anger has brought protests, swayed election results and spurred isolated acts of violence.”