News Briefs

Biden aims to ease gas pump prices. The Biden administration will release 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale is from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine and will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the move intends to lower costs for summer travel. AAA says prices averaged about $3.60 per gallon as of May 21, up 6 cents from a year ago. The Northeast reserve is separate from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Texas and Louisiana.

U.N. suspends food aid to Gaza. The United Nations has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks entered via a pier set up by the United States for sea deliveries for the past two days. The U.N. has not specified how many people remain in Rafah after the Israeli military launched an intensified assault there on May 6, but they appear to number several hundred thousand. Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the U.N’s World Food Program, warned that “humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse.”

The United States recently completed a floating pier to deliver crucial humanitarian aid to Gaza. The effort also brings logistical and security challenges for U.S. forces.

Israel seizes AP broadcasting equipment. Israeli officials have seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel. Officials accused the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera. The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations. The AP denounced the move. Officials from the Communications Ministry arrived at the AP location in the southern town of Sderot on May 21 and seized the equipment.

Funerals begin for Iran’s late president and foreign minister. Mourners gathered on May 21 for days of funerals and processions for Iran’s president and foreign minister, among others killed in a helicopter crash on May 19. For Iran’s Shiite theocracy, mass demonstrations have been crucial since millions thronged the streets of Tehran to welcome Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. Whether processions for President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and others killed draw large crowds remains in question, as Mr. Raisi won his office in the lowest-turnout election in the country’s history and presided over dissent crackdowns. 

In the Iranian leadership’s conduct of internal elections and foreign relations, the primary focus has been the continuity of the Islamic Republic. President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash, embodied that continuity.

Chair of the FDIC to step down. U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chair Martin Gruenberg said on May 20 he planned to step down, finally succumbing to a months-long scandal over sexual harassment and other misconduct at the top bank regulator. Mr. Gruenberg, whose five-year term ends in 2028, said he would step down once a successor is confirmed. The White House will soon put forward a nominee to replace him, deputy press secretary Sam Michel said in a statement. Mr. Gruenberg had clung to his job since November when a Wall Street Journal report exposed widespread misconduct at the FDIC.

In 2023, bank failures in the United States raised questions about whether a wider safety net of deposit insurance is needed – but also about how regulators can incentivize prudent behavior by banks.

Judge blocks Biden gun rule. A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new gun rule in Texas. It would require firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. The decision by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk came before the rule had been set to take effect May 20. The order also prevents the federal government from enforcing the rule against several gun-rights groups. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits in federal court in Arkansas, Florida, and Texas, aiming to block enforcement of the rule earlier this month.

Israel’s foreign minister heads to France in wake of ICC request. Israel is seeking to contain the fallout from a request by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders. The court’s move was supported by three European countries, including key ally France. The United States harshly condemned the effort. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz headed to France on May 21 in response, and his meetings there could set the tone for how countries navigate the warrants – if they are eventually issued – and whether they could pose a threat to Israeli leaders. 

As the world grows increasingly critical of the war in Gaza and pressure builds for a permanent cease-fire, Israel finds itself torn between two inclinations: cooperate with the international community that rallied to its side after Hamas’ attack in October, or go it alone.

Mount Fuji tourists must now pay to climb. Those who want to climb one of the most popular trails of the iconic Japanese Mount Fuji will now have to reserve ahead and pay a fee as the picturesque stratovolcano struggles with overtourism, littering, and those who attempt rushed “bullet climbing,” putting lives at risk. The Yamanashi prefecture, the regional authority that governs the trail, announced on May 20 new rules for the climbing season, starting July 1 to Sep. 10. Only 4,000 climbers will be allowed to enter the Yoshida Trail per day. Advanced online booking will be available for a fee of about $18.

Shifting demographics are challenging Japan’s reputation as a homogeneous society – and creating unprecedented openings for immigrants to participate in local government.

India’s election reaches its final stage. Millions of Indians across 49 constituencies, more than 10% of the world’s population, are casting ballots as the country’s six-week-long election enters its final stages. Voting is also happening in northern Ayodhya city, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a controversial Hindu temple on the site of a razed mosque. Mr. Modi’s party, which has hailed the opening of the temple as the ruling government’s crowning achievement, is hoping it will help catapult the prime minister to a record third successive term. The staggered election will run until June 1 before votes are counted on June 4. 

Why We Wrote This podcast: Covering India’s election in a sprawling nation of 1.4 billion people naturally comes with logistical hurdles. Finding a way to frame it through the lens of a universal value – trust – adds to the challenge.

Cohen admits to stealing money from Trump’s company. Witness Michael Cohen finished testifying and the prosecution in Donald Trump’s trial rested its case. Mr. Cohen admitted to jurors in the Republican’s hush money trial on May 20 that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Mr. Trump’s company. Under questioning, Mr. Cohen admitted that he pocketed cash that was supposed to be reimbursement for a $50,000 payment Mr. Cohen claimed he had shelled out to a technology firm. But Mr. Cohen said he gave the technology firm only $20,000.

The Trump trial reached a critical moment when lawyer Michael Cohen testified that Donald Trump approved hush money payments with the goal of influencing the 2016 election. Mr. Cohen’s veracity is now a key issue.

Baltimore prepares to move disabled cargo ship. Workers in Baltimore were preparing to clear a crashed cargo ship nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower from the channel it is blocking, officials said on May 19, almost two months after the vessel downed the Francis Scott Key bridge, paralyzing a major eastern U.S. port. The unified command organizations overseeing the response said work would begin early on May 20 to move the cargo ship Dali to a local marine terminal. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said workers were on track to clear the channel this month and restore full access to the port.

Sparrows Point was a company town that lost its iconic company but persevered. Now, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has left residents feeling cut off on the north side of the harbor, wondering what the future may hold for their home.

Israel seeks to block establishment of Palestinian state. On May 20, Israel called for the United States to help stop the establishment of a Palestinian state, which it said would be a reward for Hamas and its backer Iran. European Union members including Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and Malta have said they could recognize a Palestinian state this month, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace. Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said if a Palestinian state was established, Iran would use it as a base to “work towards the destruction of Israel.”

Taiwan swears in a new president. In his inauguration speech, President Lai Ching-te said that he seeks peace with China and urged it to stop its military threats against the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its territory. Mr. Lai pledged on May 20 to “neither yield nor provoke” Beijing. But he emphasized that the island democracy is determined to defend itself. Mr. Lai’s party, the Democratic Progressive Party, doesn’t seek independence from China but maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation. Mr. Lai takes over from Tsai Ing-wen, who led Taiwan through eight years of economic and social development.

When Taiwan’s voters picked Lai Ching-te for president they gave his pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party an unprecedented win. But the DPP’s loss of parliament may curb any bold moves – and provide some comfort to Beijing.

International court issues warrants against Israel, Hamas leaders. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Karim Khan said on May 20 that he believes Mr. Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. The prosecutor must request the warrants from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take on average two months to consider the evidence and determine if the proceedings can move forward.

War can create uncomfortable common ground between opponents. In Gaza, political interests of the leaders of Israel and Hamas may be helping to extend the conflict despite negotiators’ urgent efforts.

Paul Pelosi attacker sentenced to 30 years. The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. A federal judge handed down the sentence for David DePape on May 17. Jurors found Mr. DePape guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Mr. DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

Bodies of Israeli hostages found. The Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk. A photo of Ms. Louk in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world, bringing to light the scale of the attack. The military on May 17 identified the other two bodies as 28-year-old Amit Buskila and 56-year-old Itzhak Gelerenter. A military spokesman said all three were killed by Hamas while fleeing the Nova music festival near the Gaza border. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza.

Israeli hostages’ families and Palestinians in Gaza are on opposite sides of the war yet on the same taxing emotional roller coaster. So how to maintain hope? As one interviewee put it, “We are all human beings at the end of the day.”

Dow tops 40,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 40,000 on May 16, an all-time high. The state of the U.S. economy looms as one of the larger factors weighing on the U.S. presidential election but the Dow represents only a narrow slice of the economy. Investors’ 401(k) accounts are much more likely to include an S&P 500 index fund than anything tied to the Dow. The S&P 500 crossed above its milestone on May 15, topping 5,300 points for the first time. 

Severe storms hit Texas and Louisiana. Intense storms hit southeastern Texas on May 16 for the second time this month, and Houston’s mayor reported at least four people died. Windows were blown out of high-rise buildings, trees were downed, and more than 900,000 customers in the Houston area lost power at the height of the storms. The fast-moving storm also hit neighboring Louisiana and left more than 215,000 customers there without power. Flood watches and warnings remained in effect on May 17. Heavy storms slammed the region during the first week of May, leading to numerous high-water rescues.