News of the Week for May 10th, 2026
- 2026 Election
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
2026 Election
Despite pressure, Gov. Henry McMaster won’t call special session to redraw SC’s congressional map
Gov. Henry McMaster isn’t preparing to call a special Statehouse session to redraw South Carolina’s congressional districts, his office confirmed May 4. The decision came as President Donald Trump and other Republicans have pushed Southern states to create more GOP-leaning House seats ahead of the midterms.
Trump-Backed Primary Challengers Handily Defeat Most Anti-Redistricting Indiana Republicans
President Trump and his allies vowed to oust the Indiana Republicans who opposed the president’s proposed redistricting efforts last year — and on Tuesday evening, they largely made good on that promise.
Iowa Is Ruby Red. A Democrat There Is Worrying Republicans Anyway.
Rob Sand, Iowa’s auditor, is campaigning for governor with a pragmatic message that eschews strict partisanship.
Virginia Supreme Court blocks redistricting referendum and invalidates new congressional map
The Supreme Court of Virginia invalidated a voter-approved redistricting referendum on Friday, ruling that lawmakers failed to follow the constitutional process required to place the measure on the ballot and halting Democrat-led efforts to implement a new congressional map.
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Fifth Circuit Court Decision Blocks Telehealth Abortions
On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling that reverses existing FDA policy and prevents the mailing of chemical abortion drugs. As recently as 2021, women seeking chemical abortions had to have at least one in-person meeting with a medical professional. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the FDA liberalized its policy. An in-person meeting with a health professional was no longer required and women could obtain chemical abortion pills through the mail. Both the Biden administration FDA and the Trump administration FDA have continued this policy after the Covid-19 pandemic’s conclusion.
The Mifepristone Briefs Are In, But One Dog Did Not (Yet) Bark
It appears the Supreme Court will decide the fate of telemedicine prescriptions for mifepristone without the benefit of an FDA filing.
Gun Rights
Connecticut pro-Second Amendment group sounds alarm on Glock-style ban, fear Democrats will go even further
The bill targets semiautomatic pistols with cruciform trigger bars that can be converted to fire automatically
Trump administration suit says Denver assault weapons ban violates Second Amendment
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Denver and threatened to sue the state of Colorado over their laws banning so-called assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, claiming they violate the Second Amendment.
USPS could let people mail guns in Florida, overturning 100-year rule
For the first time in nearly 100 years, the United States Postal Service under the Trump administration could start letting people mail guns in a move critics call a potential “gun trafficking pipeline.”
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Amsterdam’s ban on advertising hamburgers won’t stop climate change
The Dutch city insults its people by thinking regulating speech will change behavior.
No One Can Define ‘Ultra-Processed Food.’ Why Is RFK Jr. Trying To Regulate It?
How to raise food prices without giving consumers any useful information.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
A Good Sign: Alberta Makes Legal Euthanasia Harder to Access
Canada has gone hog wild for euthanasia. But the pro-death tide may — may — be beginning to turn. The province of Alberta just passed a bill that significantly restricts eligibility for euthanasia (medical aid in dying, or MAID), soon to be signed into binding law.
Trump’s Health Bureaucrats Are Undermining Confidence in Vaccines
From spiked CDC reports to blocked FDA studies, officials sidelined evidence showing vaccines are safe and effective.
Trump Is Planning to Fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
The doctor, a MAHA advocate, has had a tumultuous tenure
War & Terror
Iran selected for a vice presidency post at UN’s nuclear non-proliferation confab
Military Tensions Flare in Strait of Hormuz
Ships attacked amid Iranian threats as U.S. moved vessels through waterway under Trump’s new initiative
The U.S. Army’s ‘Big Experiment’ in the Arctic Cold
How would soldiers from places like Florida, Texas and Georgia fight and persevere in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees?
Simultaneous War and Peace in the Persian Gulf
If you’re an Iran hawk, you had reason for some optimism when the U.S. war against Iran — don’t be like Putin and use the euphemism of a “military operation”; when you’re executing 12,000 combat sorties against targets, it’s a war — started back on February 28.
A Fearful Russia Prepares for Its ‘Victory Day’ Parade
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started four years and two months ago, has become background noise in the American news cycle. But just because Americans are (understandably) focused on the war against Iran and gas prices doesn’t mean that the situation in that Eastern European war isn’t changing. The black box of Russian government and society make it tougher to tell what’s really going on behind the scenes — hence the field of “Kremlinology” — but bit by bit, there are signs that something is changing. There are no tanks available for this year’s Victory Day parade in Red Square. The Russians announced a unilateral two-day cease-fire in the war against Ukraine. Moscow airports are experiencing shutdowns, and Muscovites’ cell service is being disrupted. Even once-skeptical analysts think something is changing behind the walls of the Kremlin.
Is There a China Strategy Behind the Iran War?
Trump’s inconsistent China policy undermines efforts to parlay the conflict into a geopolitical win.
Congress Should Authorize Military Force Against Iran
President Trump’s dereliction in failing to prepare the nation for war with Iran, and his inconstancy about the war’s objectives — and even regarding whether it is, in fact, a war and whether it is, in fact, ongoing — have predictably had harmful effects. It’s past time for Congress to assert its constitutional power and authorize force, at least to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. No matter what one thinks of how we got here, Iran cannot be allowed to annex a vital global trade route whose closure is hurting Americans.
Rubio announces new Cuba sanctions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions Thursday on Cuba’s military-industrial enterprise, its leader and a state-owned natural resources company.
U.S. strikes 2 Iranian ports as American warships come under fire
Three U.S. Navy destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz came under attack on Thursday, and the U.S. carried out strikes on two Iranian ports abutting the strait, putting into question an increasingly fragile monthlong ceasefire between the two countries.
The Latest Lethal U.S. Caribbean Strikes Fit a Troubling Pattern
While the Iran War continues — despite the Trump administration’s claims that it is not a war and has terminated even as the antagonists blockade and fire at each other — the Defense Department is trying to distract attention from the stalemate: Our forces have picked up the pace of lethal strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific against boats the administration says it suspects of ferrying illegal narcotics (presumably cocaine).
Ukraine’s Robot Cavalry
Warfare tends to accelerate technological advance, and the war in Ukraine is proving no exception in that respect. In January, I noted a report of one Ukrainian robot armed with a heavy machine gun holding off repeated Russian attacks for 45 days. It had done so alone, with no Ukrainian soldiers on site, an example of how, in response to the peril posed by Russian drones and its own lack of numbers, Ukraine is pioneering the development and deployment of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
National
A Conversation with Justice Gorsuch
Last Wednesday, I sat down at the Supreme Court with Justice Neil Gorsuch to discuss his new children’s book, Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the coming 250th birthday of the nation, his memories of the 1976 Bicentennial, the importance of patriotic education, the continuity of the Supreme Court, our age of political violence, and the continuing relevance of the declaration and the American Revolution.
Senate Advances GUARD Act Targeting AI Chatbots and Minors
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the GUARD Act (S.3062) on April 30, 2026, according to a Senate press release and committee coverage in multiple outlets. The bill, introduced by Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal on October 28, 2025, would require age verification for access to “AI companions” and ban minors from using chatbots defined to simulate friendship or therapeutic interaction, per the bill text on Congress.gov and reporting in Time. At a committee hearing, parents testified that AI chatbots allegedly groomed, manipulated or encouraged their children to self-harm; those testimonies were reported by Fox News and Time. Time reports the bill would make certain designs that solicit or encourage self-harm by minors a criminal offense with fines up to $100,000. The markup passed unanimously amid both advocacy group support and civil-liberties criticism in public commentary.
California’s ACA 7 Is Affirmative Action With a New Name
For Asian American students, it’s the latest chapter in the state’s long history of anti-Asian discrimination.
50-State Comparison: Syllabus Transparency
In an era of the internet, AI, and constant information overload, most public colleges and universities in the United States still don’t consistently make syllabi and course information publicly available.
Ted Turner, Creator of CNN and the 24-Hour News Cycle, Dies at 87
As one of the most important figures in media history, he oversaw a vast cable empire of news, sports and entertainment channels.
Second Circuit Rules that a “Passive Park” Qualifies as a Public Use Authorizing Use of Eminent Domain – Even if this Rationale is a Pretext for a Desire to Block Private Owners’ Plan to Build a Hardware Store
The case raises an important issue about what qualifies as a “pretextual” taking. It’s a rare takings issue on which I don’t have a clear position.
Kristi Noem’s replacement grilled about why she is ‘still living rent-free’ in waterfront Coast Guard home
Representative Robert Garcia wrote that ‘Noem must pack her bags and go,’ in a fiery statement
Kelly’s profile rises as he heads toward another likely victory over Hegseth
The saga has turned the Democratic senator into a high-profile opponent of the administration and elevated his national standing ahead of a possible presidential run.
Oklahoma Enacts First in the Nation Guidance Transparency Legislation
On Friday, Oklahoma took a major step toward regulatory transparency by enacting the Guidance Transparency Act, a new law requiring state agencies to submit state and federal guidance documents to the Secretary of State for proactive publication online. Oklahoma is the first state in the nation to require guidance transparency by law.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
A late-night knock at the door, unregistered silencers, and a prison-drone conspiracy.
Sean Duffy Filmed Reality Show Over Past Seven Months
What’s stopping you from celebrating America’s 250th birthday by loading your whole family in the car and road-tripping across this great nation? Work obligations? A boss who won’t let you come and go as you please? The fact that gas now costs more than $4.50 a gallon?
Economy & Taxes
Oil market 1 month from crunch point as global reserves dwindle
Traders warn of further jump in prices and ‘huge pain’ as economies cut consumption
Will Gas Prices Become a National Obsession?
This is obviously happening in much of the rest of the world. In Asia, there are serious shortages of cooking gas. In Europe the price of petrol, and the price of gas, are at extremes and have inspired mass protests in some countries.
‘Ha! She has been supporting the thing she despises this entire time.’
A union leader gloated about using a worker’s money for activism she opposed.
We’re Seeing Both Failure and Progress on Student Loans
The federal student-loan program looks more than ever like a handout, not a genuine extension of credit that is expected to be repaid. Allysia Finley writes for the Wall Street Journal that most Americans with outstanding student loans aren’t paying them back
Everyone Is Still Spending
In a conventional signal of tough times ahead, American consumer confidence declined markedly in April. Surging fuel prices and the deteriorating global economic outlook associated with the war in Iran only compounded the public’s preexisting economic anxiety.
Consumer sentiment falls to fresh record low in May as surging gas prices hit outlook
Surging gas prices due to the Iran war sent consumer sentiment to a new low in the early part of May, according to a University of Michigan survey Friday. “Taken together, consumers continue to feel buffeted by cost pressures, led by soaring prices at the pump,” the survey’s director, Joanne Hsu, said.
Federal Trade Court Invalidates Trump’s Section 122 Tariffs
The United States Court of International Trade (CIT), in a 2–1 ruling, has invalidated the tariffs President Trump imposed in purported reliance on Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. The president imposed the tariffs — basically, 10 percent across the board, with various exceptions — after excoriating the Supreme Court for invalidating the tariffs he capriciously imposed and amended in purported reliance on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
‘Credit Card Spending Is Through the Roof’ . . . but Is That Good News?
If American consumer spending is still robust, despite widespread economic pessimism, is that a good sign for the economy or a sign that Americans are trying to maintain a quality of life during a really bad and lingering spike in oil prices
Trump’s Trickle-Down Tariff Problem
The supposed benefits of high tariffs are far more distant and less visible to voters than those of tax cuts.
Documents Suggest Washington State Democrats Eyeing Income Tax for All Residents
Conservatives warned that it represented the opening salvo in a broader effort to impose a far more expansive tax regime on residents of the Evergreen State.
Intel Is the Beneficiary of More Trump Capitalism
Conservatives warned last year when the government took a 10 percent stake in Intel that the Trump administration — free of any free-market pretensions — would seek to systematically advantage the chipmaker. Having the state on your side is a great way for companies to get ahead, as it can throw its coercive weight around on your behalf.
The FCC Wants Your ID Before You Get a Phone Number
The FCC just proposed fixing your robocall problem by building the kind of phone-user registry that privacy advocates have spent decades trying to prevent.
International
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Fails: 73% Ignore It
Compliance sits at 27% and the model says it has further to fall.
Astronomers find atmosphere around a solar system object that shouldn’t have one
Astronomers have detected a thin atmosphere around a tiny celestial body in the outer solar system for the first time — an object previously thought to be too small to support the presence of an atmosphere.
Alberta separatist group says it has enough signatures to trigger referendum vote on leaving Canada
Alberta separatists said Monday they have formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures to try to trigger a referendum on the province leaving Canada.
‘A Total Collapse’: Elections May Expose Britain’s Fraying Political System
Polls predict historic losses for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party on Thursday as anti-immigrant Reform U.K. makes gains, and a new era of multiparty politics takes shape.
The Chase to Track Down Those Infected with Hantavirus
The good news is that the odds of any given viral outbreak turning into a global pandemic are exceptionally low.
Army parachutes hantavirus medical team onto Tristan da Cunha to help infected Brit
A specialist British Army team and medical personnel have been parachuted on to the remote British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha with medical aid and equipment following a hantavirus case
Opinion
The Illusion of Control
There is still much debate over whether banning advertisements for tobacco products on television and radio had the intended effect of ensuring that fewer people smoked. Some studies say it did. Others disagree. But what every side of this debate concedes is that tobacco consumption is a luxury habit. That lends some superficial credence to the admittedly patronizing notion that fewer people might use these products if they weren’t regularly reminded of their existence.
Some MAGA Loyalists Have Turned on Trump. Here’s Why the Rest Haven’t.
They value authenticity more than they value good character, honesty, or competence.
The Cost of Forever Trade Wars
Forget about steel and aluminum—watch your home insurance premiums.
Right-Wing Influencers Don’t Understand What Makes America Great
The Dissident Right is furious with Neil Gorsuch for saying America is a creedal nation. That just goes to show how out of touch its obsessions are.
MAGA Religious Leaders Dedicate and Bless 22-Foot Golden Trump Statue at Doral
A 22-foot, gold-leafed Trump effigy at Doral, blessed by Pastor Mark Burns and a circle of evangelical and Jewish clergy. The Catholic Church has a name for what just happened — and a duty to stop it.
