Early Edition: May 15, 2026

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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

U.S.-CHINA SUMMIT 

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized stability between the two nations on Friday, as they concluded the two-day summit in Beijing. The leaders made no specific announcements on trade, Taiwan, the war in Iran, or other points of contention. “We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle,” Trump told reporters, without elaborating. Luke Broadwater, Ana Swanson, David Pierson, and Anton Troianovski report for the New York Times. 

Trump told Fox News yesterday that China had agreed to order 200 Boeing Jets, which would be its first purchases of U.S.-made commercial jets in nearly a decade. This fell short of the roughly 500 expected by markets. China has not officially said whether it agreed to purchase the aircraft. Sarah Charlton, Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Farouq Suleiman, and Kylie MacLellan report for Reuters; Keith Bradsher, Qasim Nauman, and Niraj Chokshi report for the  New York Times.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said today that he expected China to agree to purchase more than $10 billion in U.S. agricultural products following the U.S.-China summit. Greer also confirmed that the United States and China would establish a “Board of Trade” to oversee a tariff reduction on about $30 billion in goods. Ana Swanson reports for the New York Times. 

IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS 

The U.S. State Department said the Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington yesterday were “productive and positive,” with an official adding that discussions will continue today. With Lebanon’s health ministry reporting 22 people killed in Israeli strikes yesterday, ​including eight children, the senior Lebanese official said the Lebanese delegation would seek “a ceasefire that Israel implements.”  Laila Bassam, Steven Scheer, and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters. 

IRAN WAR – STRAIT OF HORMUZ 

The United Arab Emirates will accelerate construction of a new oil pipeline to double its export capacity through Fujairah by 2027, the government’s media office said today, vastly expanding its ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Yousef Saba reports for Reuters.  

IRAN WAR – U.S. DEVELOPMENTS 

House Republicans narrowly blocked a resolution that would have required Trump to seek congressional approval to continue military operations against Iran, with the vote ending in a 212–212 tie despite support from three Republicans and most Democrats. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (ME), opposed it. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times.  

Republican senators are warning that any request from Trump for tens of billions of dollars to pay for the Iran war is unlikely to pass the Senate, unless Trump comes to Congress with a formal request for authorization or a clear plan to end the war soon. “I think the supplemental is in big trouble. I think that’s one of the reasons we haven’t seen a formal supplemental request. I think that’s going to be a very heavy lift,” a Republican senator said anonymously. Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill.  

IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, told senators yesterday that the destruction of an Iranian school, which Iranian officials said killed 175 people, was the only civilian casualty event he knew of in a campaign of more than 13,600 strikes. Cooper also said the incident remains under investigation, as the U.S. military has still not taken responsibility for it. Meanwhile, the New York Times has verified damage to 22 schools and 17 health care facilities in Iran. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said on April 2 that at least 763 schools and 316 health care facilities had been damaged or destroyed in the war. Greg Jaffe reports for the New York Times.  

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

Israel plans to sue the New York Times and one of its journalists for defamation over an article that said Israeli soldiers, prison guards, and settlers had used widespread violence against Palestinian prisoners,  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. “They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel ​about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and ​Israel’s valiant soldiers,” Netanyahu said in a statement. Steven Scheer reports for Reuters.  

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that a Russian missile attack on a Kyiv apartment building yesterday killed 24 people. Samya Kullab and Barry Hatton report for AP News.  

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe today approved a key agreement in the process of establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Agression against Ukraine, creating the institutional and funding structure for the tribunal. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the decision meant that a “point of no return” had been passed and that the Special Tribunal had become “a legal reality”. EU Today reports.  

[Editors’ note: Readers may be interested in Ward Ferdinandusse, In Absentia Trials and the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, Just Security, May 15, 2026]  

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification yesterday warned that over 40% of Sudan’s population – nearly 19.5 million people – are facing acute food insecurity. The IPC added that at least 135,000 people were in Phase 5, which is characterized by “extreme food gaps, starvation, very high levels of malnutrition, and death due to disease or acute malnutrition.” AP News reports.  

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa fled the Senate building in Manila early on Thursday morning, Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said, adding that Dela Rosa had fled with another senator in a car and that federal agents were now searching for him. The Justice Minister said today that the country will definitely submit to a request from the International Criminal Court to arrest Dela Rosa, though his current whereabouts are unknown. Sui-Lee Wee and Jason Gutierrez report for the New York Times; Reuters reports.  

The U.N. Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals said yesterday that it had denied a request for early release by former Bosnian Serb military leader Radko Mladic, who was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. Mladic filed a motion for early ⁠release on humanitarian grounds, the court said last month, because ​he is in a state of “advanced, irreversible medical decline.” Reuters reports.  

Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Houthis yesterday agreed to free more than 1,600 detainees in the largest swap during Yemen’s 11-year civil war. The deal was signed in Amman, Jordan, after 14 weeks of negotiations observed by U.N. officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Omar Akour and Kareem Chehayed report for AP News.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Over 100 U.S. ambassador posts around the world are vacant in the Trump administration. In Africa, 37 of the United States’ 51 embassies have no ambassador. The Trump administration attributes vacancies to slow nominations and Senate delays, while relying instead on special envoys. Robbie Gramer reports for the Wall Street Journal. 

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

The U.S. is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of planes in 1996, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The incident occurred when two Cessnas operated by Brothers to the Rescue – an exile group that searched for Cubans seeking to flee the island on rafts – were shot down by a Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet, killing four people. Jennifer Jacobs and Sarah N. Lynch report for CBS News. 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe yesterday met with Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, following an earlier U.S. visit last month. Ratcliffe personally delivered Trump’s message that the United States is “prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,” a CIA official said. Jennifer Jacobs and Sarah N. Lynch report for CBS News; POLITICO reports. 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Cuba was willing to consider the U.S. offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid, but said no strings should be attached. “We hope it will be free of political ​maneuvering and attempts to exploit the hardships and suffering of a people under ​siege,” Rodriguez said on social media. Dave Sherwood reports for Reuters. 

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport at least 50 green card holders through a new unit dedicated to revetting thousands of immigrants’ permanent residency, according to internal data obtained by the New York Times.  About 2,890 cases had been reviewed or were still being assessed as of May 7. Eighty percent of those cases were deemed as requiring “no further action.” Madeleine Ngo reports. 

DHS is continuing plans to turn warehouses into immigration detention centers despite lawsuits, local opposition, and a federal watchdog investigation into whether ICE overpaid for the properties and skipped required environmental reviews, according to sources. Douglas MacMillan reports for the Washington Post.  

U.S. Border Patrol chief Mike Banks said yesterday that he is resigning from his position effective immediately to “enjoy the family and life.” Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.  

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled yesterday that four parts of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s portion of the Republicans’ budget reconciliation package do not comply with Senate rules. These parts, dealing with immigration enforcement, will need to be reworked or risk Democrats forcing a floor vote on each provision that would be subject to a 60-vote threshold, according to a statement from Budget Committee Democrats last night. Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes report for POLITICO.  

Citizenship lists that the Trump administration has ordered be compiled and shared with state election officials this year are likely to be incomplete and unreliable for determining voter eligibility, the Justice Department told a federal judge yesterday. Zach Montague and Adam Sella report for the New York Times.  

The Justice Department yesterday accused the Yale School of Medicine of violating anti-discrimination laws. Yale is the second medical school targeted in the past eight days over its admissions policies that the government said illegally favored Black and Hispanic applicants over more qualified White and Asian students. Michael C. Bender reports for the New York Times.  

A Justice Department ethics lawyer reportedly told acting Attorney General Todd Blanche shortly after he took office as deputy attorney general in 2025 that he must recuse himself from matters involving Trump in his personal capacity due to his prior role as Trump’s defense attorney. Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, and Hannah Rabinowitz report for CNN.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last-minute decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland caught Pentagon staff and European allies by surprise, sources said. Three defense officials said it was unclear why Hegseth had even issued the order. “We had no idea this was coming,” said one of the U.S. officials, adding that European and American officials have spent the last 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the decision and figure out if more surprises are coming. Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch report for POLITICO. 

The Trump administration planned to start work at the site of the proposed Triumphal Arch by piggypacking on an unrelated contract for engineering services at the White House grounds more than a mile away, emails obtained by the Washington Post show. The move would allow the administration to bypass a potentially lengthy public bidding process. Sarah Blaskey and Jonathan O’Connell report. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

The Supreme Court yesterday extended its pause on a lower court ruling rolling back the availability of the abortion drug Mifepristone. The move preserves online and mail order access to the drug until the lower court rules on the merits of the case. Alice Miranda Ollstein and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.  

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.

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ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security