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May 21, 2026
More gasoline price shocks might hit US drivers this summer travel season
(Reuters) As millions of travelers hit the road for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend, high gasoline prices fueled by ongoing supply disruptions from the war with Iran are set to add financial strain for motorists, kicking off what is set to become a pricier summer travel season. U.S. retail gasoline prices have jumped more than $1.50 per gallon, or about 45%, since late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Prices for crude oil used to make gasoline have also surged, along with prices for many goods.
Go to discussionPro-MAGA Outlet OAN 'Seriously Considering' Filing a Claim for a Payout from Trump's $1.7B 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund
(Mediaite) President Donald Trump’s allies in the media are eyeing potential payouts from the massive weaponization fund created this week in a settlement between the president and his own Justice Department. Trump’s DOJ stirred widespread controversy this week by settling the president’s lawsuit against the IRS and creating a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay out anyone the admin finds had the government weaponized against them.
Go to discussionSen. Dick Durbin warns DOJ against 'doling out compensation to rioters' in new Trump fund
(NBC News) The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee urged the Justice Department Wednesday to reconsider its openness to providing money from the Trump administration’s new $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police defending the Capitol. “The notion of the federal government doling out compensation to rioters who sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and violently assaulted members of the United States Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department on January 6, 2021 is absurd and offensive.”
Go to discussionRepublican Threatens to 'Kill' Trump DOJ's Anti-Weaponization Fund
(Newsweek) Representative Brian Fitzpatrick threatened to "kill" the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund announced by President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) this week. Fitzpatrick, who represents a Pennsylvania swing district, is among the Republicans expressing discomfort with the anti-weaponization fund. The DOJ announced the fund as part of a deal to end the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the IRS. The plan has drawn bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill, as both Democrats and Republicans have denounced it. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
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Fetterman's chief of staff resigns
(Axios) Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff resigned Wednesday, a source familiar with the move told Axios. The Pennsylvania Democrat has had a serious staff retention problem as he's faced scrutiny over his health struggles and changing political brand. Cabelle St. John has served on Fetterman's team since he first came to Washington about three-and-a-half years ago. She became his chief of staff in 2025. Fetterman, who was once a darling of the progressive movement, has seen major turnover as ex-aides have grown frustrated with his steadfast support for Israel and warmer approach toward President Trump ... Former staff have also complained about working with him on an interpersonal level.
Go to discussionColorado Democratic Party has censured Polis
(Kyle Clark, 9News Denver) The Colorado Democratic Party has formally condemned and censured Governor Jared Polis for granting clemency to Tina Peters. Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events. 90% of CDP central committee members voted to reprimand Polis.
Go to discussionBallroom won't be funded after Senate GOP drops $1 billion Trump security request
(Politico) In a blow to the White House, Senate Republicans will remove a $1 billion Secret Service funding request that would help President Donald Trump’s ballroom project from their immigration enforcement funding bill amid internal objections. “We were told that the ballroom money is out,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters after a GOP lunch meeting Wednesday, adding he’d “like to read the text.”
Here Are The 42 Aircraft The Pentagon Has Lost In Iran, According To Congress, Since The Pentagon Won't Say
(Jalopnik) Pulling from a variety of sources, since the Pentagon wouldn't just tell it, the CRS determined that a grand total of 42 U.S. military planes have been either damaged or destroyed during the conflict with Iran. That includes fixed wing, helicopters, and high-end drones. Several dozen aircraft downed in only a few weeks, particularly against a non-peer adversary, is a pretty steep price. Several of these were strike aircraft, including one F-35A Lightning II and four F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, plus one A-10 Thunderbolt II attacker. Others were support aircraft, including a whopping seven KC-135 Stratotankers (the military's flying gas stations), plus one E-3 Sentry AWACS, a vitally important radar plane that doesn't have a clear replacement after its imminent retirement.
Go to discussionIran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
(CNN) Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments. Four sources told CNN that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is reconstituting much faster than initially estimated.
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