US government planning dramatic Colorado River water cuts due to drought, overuse

May 15, 2026 4:35 PM UTC / Reuters

By Andrew Hay

May 15, 2026 4:35 PM UTC Updated 1 min ago

[1/2]Tourists look at the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona, U.S., May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

• Summary

• Federal plan could cut Arizona, California, Nevada water use by up to 40%
• Proposed cuts nearly double previous state offer, aim to stabilize depleted reservoirs

May 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. government has proposed a new water-sharing ​plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River that could cut up to 40% of current ‌supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada, according to a senior Arizona official.

With a 20-year-old plan expiring this year, and talks between seven states that share the river at an impasse, the federal government late last week intervened with a strategy to ​deal with severe water shortages, according to Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water ​Resources.

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The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed a 10-year plan in which Arizona, California and ⁠Nevada would potentially cut water use by up to 3 million acre-feet per year to maintain water ​levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s severely depleted reservoirs, Buschatzke told a meeting of Arizona ​water stakeholders on Wednesday. Three million acre-feet of water is enough to supply 6 million to 9 million households for one year, more than the number of homes in Arizona and Nevada.

NEARLY TWICE THE CUTS AS BEFORE

The maximum possible federal cuts, ​which would be reviewed every two years based on water levels, are nearly twice as large as ​a May 1 offer by those three lower-basin states to reduce their water use by 1.6 million acre-feet per year.

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“Given the ‌risk ⁠and uncertainty facing the Basin, these elements are designed to provide stability while allowing flexibility to incorporate consensus-based recommendations as they develop,” the Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement on its proposal, without providing further details.

Buschatzke said the federal plan would be either implemented under existing Colorado River law or through agreements ​among the states. He said ​federal officials had indicated ⁠that water cuts across the three lower-basin states would be based on the “priority of the law of the river.” That law, the 1922 Colorado River Compact, ​gives California the highest priority for water use.

Buschatzke described the proposed federal cuts ​as “sobering.”

“That’s us, that’s ⁠Arizona, and potentially CAP going to zero,” said Buschatzke, referring to water flows on the Central Arizona Project, a canal that transports Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona.

Water releases from Powell and Mead, which serve ⁠seven ​states, would range from 5 million to 12 million acre-feet per ​year under the federal plan.

“I think we all know that unless Mother Nature starts doing her job, it’s going to be closer ​to the bottom end of this range,” said Buschatzke.

Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on his reelection campaign and the way he ‘differs’ from RFK Jr. on vaccine policy

2026-05-15 1:37 PM EDT / CNN

By Pamela Brown, CNN

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on his reelection campaign and the way he “differs” from RFK Jr. on vaccine policy

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is also a physician, joins CNN’s Pamela Brown to discuss his reelection campaign and his complex relationship with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

9:37 • Source: CNN

WATCH: Soros prosecutor’s hearing devolves into angry chaos over illegal immigrant rape case: ‘Be quiet!’

May 15, 2026 1:20pm EDT / Fox News

Rep Brad Knott recounted how Stephen Descano’s office reduced burglary and abduction charges to lesser offenses

By Charles Creitz Fox News

‘Be Quiet’: Lawmaker’s questioning of Soros-backed prosecutor erupts in heated exchange

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., got into a shouting match with Fairfax County prosecutor Stephen Descano on Thursday.

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A House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing devolved into chaos Thursday as a North Carolina lawmaker demanded Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano “be quiet” while the prosecutor was reamed out over cases including the alleged rape of a 4-year-old girl by an illegal Guatemalan national.

Descano and Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid, a fellow Democrat accused of lax enforcement involving illegal immigrant suspects, sparred with lawmakers during the hearing as many invoked the prosecutor’s written policy and campaign pledge to account for immigration-related “consequences” in prosecutorial discretion decisions.

Descano, however, objected to characterizations of the policy from Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and later Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who both lit into the Soros-backed attorney in charge of prosecuting crimes in Virginia’s largest municipality.

Knott asked Descano if he believes he prosecutes cases in a way that defends the people of Fairfax and erupted at the attorney when he answered in the affirmative.

HOUSE PANEL SUMMONS SOROS-BACKED FAIRFAX PROSECUTOR OVER RELEASES TIED TO VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CASES

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano, left; Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., right.(Tom Williams/Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Sipa via Reuters)

“When we prosecute… we are constrained by the evidence. We’re constrained by the law. And I will tell you, Congressman, you know, I think what is happening here with the number of cases that we’re talking about –,” Descano began before Knott became angry.

Knott recounted the case of Honduran national Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez – who was caught-and-released by an immigration judge in Eloy, Arizona, during the Biden administration – and who was later accused in a graphic case involving the 4-year-old Annandale girl.

Knott noted how the girl’s mother woke up to the child screaming and appearing bruised on her buttocks and torso as the suspect “dropped” the girl and fled in what the lawmaker characterized as a potential attempted abduction.

FAMILY DEMANDS FAR-LEFT PROSECUTOR BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER SISTER KILLED BY REPEAT OFFENDER

Knott said Fairfax County Police obtained a warrant based on evidence of attempted murder, rape, robbery or arson, which he said carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, while intent to defile a youth carried a maximum life sentence.

Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano is facing heavy criticism following a string of violent crime by illegal immigrants, including the killing of Stephanie Minter (left).(Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Fairfax County Police Department)

“Once it was handed over to your office, inexplicably so, you immediately reduced the burglary offense to a misdemeanor, which capped the sentence at 12 months. You then reduced the abduction charge to an offense that was a lower degree and capped the sentence at 10 years.”

“A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children that you dismissed the case — As the father of two young girls. One of them’s five. That is as shameful as anything I have seen,” Knott said as Descano became angry as well:

“Please don’t talk to me like I don’t care about people in my community,” he said, before Knott responded, calling him a “coward.”

Knott, himself a former Raleigh-area prosecutor, lit into Descano over the added fact that a “liberal” judge appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner — now a top Democratic senator — rejected Descano’s plea deal.

“This was not a right-wing judge,” Knott fumed as Descano attempted multiple times to interject while tensions rose.

“Overwhelming evidence,” Knott said — “Can we talk about the evidence — I know it and you don’t,” Descano cut in.

“Quit talking!” Knott hollered. “He yanked a four-year-old girl out of her bed with the intent to harm her. And you wanted to give her a cap of two years?”

“Sir,” Descano attempted.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395613125112

“[Let] me ask Mr. Miyares about this,” Knott said as he turned to the former Virginia Republican attorney general seated to Descano’s right, while Descano continued trying to plead his case to the Carolinian.

“Be quiet!” Knott said as he asked Miyares what happens to a suspect after a case dismissal. “He walks free,” Miyares said.

Things did not improve for the Fairfax Democrat when Chairman Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., gave Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, the floor next – as Gill lit into Descano over a written policy that “prosecutors shall consider the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crimes the defendant is charged with and the detrimental impact the deportation removal has on the families and communities.”

Originally, Descano defended against critiques by saying an earlier reference to the policy was part of a campaign pledge, while Gill pressed him further on the issue.

Gill asked about the case of Guatemalan national Jose Cortez-Mendez, accused of “carnal knowledge” of a teenager, which Descano said essentially meant sexual contact under Virginia terminology.

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“[A]n illegal alien who raped an underage American: Your office reduced those charges to a misdemeanor charge of consensual sex with a child 15 years and older. You offered him a 90-day suspended jail sentence, is that correct?”

“How did you weigh the defendant’s immigration status,” Gill added, with Descano replying that he was not the lead prosecutor in that case – which the lawmaker noted meant his office still was involved.

In the case of Baquedano-Rodriguez, ICE Washington Field Office Removal Operations Director Russell Hott said his agency was eventually able to arrest the suspect after Descano’s failed case resulted in his release.

“Every one of his convictions represents another one of our neighbors that Baquedano-Rodriguez has victimized. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities,” Hott said in a statement.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Skeletal remains of new dinosaur weighing as much as 9 elephants discovered by scientists: “The last titan”

May 15, 2026 / 12:57 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Scientists have identified a massive new dinosaur from remains discovered in Thailand, with the creature estimated to have weighed as much as nine adult elephants.

The long-necked herbivore stretched 88 feet and weighed about 27 tons, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

It probably roamed what is now Thailand between 100 million and 120 million years ago and is the largest ever found in Southeast Asia, researchers said.

They estimated the new dinosaur had the same heft as nine adult Asian elephants.

“Our dinosaur is big by most people’s standards — it likely weighed at least 10 tons more than Dippy the Diplodocus,” said lead researcher Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, referring to the enormous composite cast previously on display at London’s Natural History Museum.

An artist’s reconstruction shows the dinosaur whose fossils were unearthed in Thailand. Patchanop Boonsai/Handout via Reuters

The Thai Ph.D. student called the newly discovered sauropod “the last titan” because it was unearthed in one the youngest rock formations where dinosaurs are found in Thailand, according to University College London.

The region later became a shallow sea, he added, “so this may be the last or most recent large sauropod we will find in Southeast Asia.”

The first remains of the enormous creature were unearthed a decade ago by locals in northeast Thailand, but the excavation was not completed until 2024, according to the study, published Thursday.

The remains partially resembled those of previously discovered sauropods, but had enough unique features to be considered a new species.

It has been dubbed Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis after a “mythological serpent-like creature found in various Asian cultures, especially in northeastern Thailand, often associated with water and Buddhism, and titan, a giant in Greek mythology,” the authors write.

At the time the Nagatitan roamed the region, the ecosystem’s largest predator was a relative of the meat-eating dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus, which measured about 26 feet long and weighed about 3.5 tons.

“At that size, it was dwarfed by Nagatitan. At full size, Nagatitan likely had very little to fear in terms of predation,” Sethapanichsakul told the Reuters news agency.

Researcher Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul poses with a front leg bone of the Nagatitan at the Sirindhorn Museum in Thailand in a photograph released May 14, 2026. Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul/Handout via Reuters

A life-size reconstruction is on display at Bangkok’s Thainosaur Museum, according to University College London.

In 2023, a dinosaur skeleton uncovered by scientists in northeastern Thailand was also deemed to be a newly discovered species. The skeleton of Minimocursor phunoiensis — which lived 150 million years ago on what is now the Khorat Plateau — represented “one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found in Southeast Asia,” scientists said at the time.

Exclusive: US may ask Israel to put Palestinian tax money toward Trump’s Gaza plan, sources say

2026-05-15T16:32:01.022Z / Reuters

By Alexander Cornwell and Rami Ayyub

May 15, 2026 4:32 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

[1/2]Palestinians inspect the site of a Friday Israeli air strike on houses, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo

• Summary

• Israel withholding Palestinian tax money estimated at $5 billion
• US may ask for that money to go toward rebuilding Gaza
• Board of Peace says ‘money in a bank does nothing’ for Gaza plan

JERUSALEM, May 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. is considering asking Israel to give some tax money it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority ​to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to fund the U.S. president’s post-war plan for Gaza, five sources familiar with the matter said.

The Trump administration has ‌not yet decided whether to make a formal request to Israel, said three of the sources, officials with knowledge of U.S. deliberations with Israel.

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The two other sources, Palestinians with knowledge of the deliberations, said that under the proposal a portion of the tax money would go to a U.S.-backed transitional government for Gaza and other funds to the PA if it makes reforms.

The PA puts the ​amount of tax being withheld at $5 billion.

The prospect of the Palestinians’ own tax money being repurposed toward Trump’s Gaza rebuilding plan, over which their ​government has had no input, could further sideline the Western-backed PA even as Israel’s withholding of the funds begets a financial ⁠crisis in the occupied West Bank.

The PA exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank but has not had any sway over Gaza since it was exiled from the ​territory after a brief civil war with militant group Hamas in 2007.

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Trump’s plan for Gaza, shattered after more than two years of war, has been held up by ​a refusal by Hamas to lay down their weapons and by continued Israeli attacks in Gaza that have undermined an October ceasefire.

‘MONEY HELD IN A BANK DOES NOTHING’

The Board of Peace declined to comment on whether a proposal to use Palestinian tax money was under consideration.

A Board official said it had asked all parties to leverage resources to support Trump’s rebuild plan, estimated to cost $70 billion.

“That ​includes the Palestinian Authority and Israel. There is no doubt that money held in a bank does nothing to further the President’s 20-Point Plan,” the official said.

That ​appeared to refer to the PA tax revenue that Israel has withheld from the body in a long-running dispute over payments it makes to Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Israel collects taxes ‌on imported ⁠goods on behalf of the PA and is meant to transfer the revenue under a longstanding arrangement. The PA uses the funds to pay civil servants and fund public services.

The sources did not say how much of the tax money Washington was considering asking Israel to transfer to the Board.

The U.S. State Department, Israeli government and PA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. and Israel have long pressured the PA to abolish payments to Palestinian prisoners and families of those killed by ​Israeli forces, arguing it encourages violence.

Palestinians ​consider them a form of welfare for ⁠inmates they regard as national heroes.

In response to U.S. pressure, the PA in February 2025 said it was reforming the payment system, but the U.S. said those changes did not go far enough. As punishment, Israel has withheld taxes it collects on ​the PA’s behalf, an amount that Palestinian officials say has reached $5 billion – well over half of the PA’s annual budget.

That ​has set off a ⁠financial crisis in the West Bank, with the PA slashing salaries of thousands of civil servants.

Israel accepted a U.S. invitation to join the Board of Peace. The PA was not invited.

Under Trump’s plan, a group of Palestinian technocrats dubbed the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would take control of Gaza from Hamas as the militants lay down ⁠their weapons.

Nickolay Mladenov, ​Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, said during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday ​that reconstruction planning was in advanced stages.

“We’re doing it sector by sector. We’re costing things. We’re coordinating with donors and we’re ready to begin in earnest once the conditions allow it,” Mladenov said, without mentioning ​the tax issue.

Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem with additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump leaves China with breakthroughs — and unfinished business on Xi’s biggest fights

Jimmy Lai’s daughter said she remains ‘extremely confident’ Trump will secure her father’s freedom from China

2026-05-15 2:17pm EDT / Fox News

By Ashley J. DiMella

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395633452112
‘Fox News Live’ panelists Lisa Daftari and Kiron Skinner discuss the historic meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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President Donald Trump returned from his high-stakes summit in China with President Xi Jinping touting trade progress and warmer ties, but several of the biggest pressure points in the U.S.-China relationship — from trade and Taiwan, to AI and human rights — appeared to end without firm public breakthroughs.

“We had a great stay. It was an amazing period of time. President Xi’s an incredible guy. We’ve made a lot of great trade deals,” Trump said Friday aboard Air Force One while returning to the White House.

The trip gave Trump several economic talking points, including potential Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft, U.S. soybeans and American energy, but public readouts and Trump’s recent remarks show some major questions went unresolved.

WHAT XI WANTS FROM TRUMP AS BEIJING SEEKS LEVERAGE IN HIGH-STAKES SUMMIT

Trump said the summit produced “fantastic trade deals.”(Evan Vucci/Pool Reuters via AP)

Taiwan

During the summit, Xi warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the two countries.

Trump said “he heard [Xi] out” on Taiwan, adding, “He does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

There was no pledge from Beijing to reduce military pressure or any visible easing of the core Taiwan dispute.

TRUMP WARNS TAIWAN NOT TO EXPECT BLANK CHECK FROM US MILITARY AFTER INTENSE XI SUMMIT

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping after visiting the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026.(Evan Vucci/Pool Photo via AP)

Lawmakers have pressed Trump over Taiwan’s security and U.S. arms sales to the island, though Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and maintains a longstanding “One China” policy.

“We’ve had it for thousands of years. And then, at a certain period of time, they left that they were going to get it back. They had the Korean War. A lot of things happened and all this. But no, yeah — Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way,” Trump said, referring to Xi’s view of Taiwan and Beijing’s historical claim to the island.

A White House official said Trump is expected to decide soon whether to move forward with a new Taiwan arms package, pointing to his December 2025 approval of $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan and arguing that his record remains consistent with decades of U.S. policy.

The official also noted that Trump approved more Taiwan arms sales during his first term than any previous president, and said his first-year total in the second term exceeded the full amount approved during former President Biden’s four years in office.

TRUMP SPEAKS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI, WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL CONFIRMS

Human Rights

The cases of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and detained house-church pastor Ezra Jin loomed over the summit, with Trump saying Xi is “giving very serious consideration” to releasing Pastor Jin, though Lai’s future may be less certain.

“That’s a tougher one. I did bring it up. It’s a tough one for him. It’s a tough one,” Trump said. “He said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him to do. You know, he went through a lot — right and wrong, he went through a lot. So he told me that would be a tough one. He said he’s going to strongly consider the pastor.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Jin, also known as Ezra Jin Mingri, is a Chinese house church pastor whose family and advocates have urged Washington to press Beijing for his release. Lai is a British citizen, Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist who has been jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law.

The two are often linked in coverage focused on human rights, freedom of the press, and China’s crackdown on dissent.

Neither case appeared to produce a public release commitment before Trump departed Beijing.

Lai’s daughter, Claire, commended Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their “continuous commitment to freeing my father and securing his freedom” during an appearance on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” Friday.

“Of course, the dream was that he would fly back with my father this time, but I am still extremely confident that he is the president and this is the administration that will secure my father’s freedom,” Lai said.

AI and Tech Race

China’s AI advances remain a major concern for U.S. policymakers and technology leaders as Washington weighs how to preserve its edge in advanced chips, computing power and export controls without accelerating Beijing’s push to build domestic alternatives.

DONALD TRUMP DETAILS ‘MOST EXCITING PART’ OF CHINA TRADE AGREEMENT

President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping greet children during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Trump said on Air Force One that discussions about chips did not come up.

U.S. officials said China continues to weigh whether to buy advanced U.S. chips or accelerate domestic alternatives, while Trump said the two sides discussed the possibility of AI guardrails.

TRUMP REVERSES COURSE ON MIDDLE EAST TECH POLICY, BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO COUNTER CHINA?

“As to whether the Chinese are going to buy [U.S. chips] or not, they’re making their own determinations,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday on Bloomberg TV.

“They’re very committed to domestic production. They often see U.S. high tech as a threat to them. If we’re ahead of the game on AI chips, sometimes they feel that can stop their own growth,” he added.

Trump said China may “want to try and develop their own” chips.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES CHINA WILL RESTART RARE EARTH MINERAL SHIPMENTS TO US AFTER PRODUCTIVE CALL

President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Trade and tariffs

At the final meeting between the two leaders, Trump touted what he called “fantastic trade deals” during the summit.

Trump said China agreed to purchase 200 Boeing planes and expressed interest in buying as many as 750 once the first deliveries are completed.

While few details have been released regarding the specific agreements reached, Trump also said agricultural deals were pledged while at the same time stating tariffs were not discussed.

“The farmers are going to be very happy. They’re going to be buying billions of dollars of soybeans,” Trump said.

The president added during a gaggle on Air Force One during his trip home that he and Xi did not discuss tariffs during the meetings, even though such duties have served as one of Trump’s central tools for pressuring Beijing on trade.

TRUMP PUSHES XI ON TRADE AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING DENTS KEY CHINA PRESSURE TOOL

“We didn’t discuss tariffs – I mean they’re paying tariffs. They’re paying substantial tariffs,” he said at one point.

The talks come as Trump’s tariff agenda faced a setback after a Supreme Court ruling limited his use of emergency powers to impose duties, which cut directly into one of his preferred tools for pressuring Beijing.

Trump also suggested an energy deal was close, saying China could begin buying oil from Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.

“They’re going to go to Texas. We’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska. And I think that was another thing that was agreed to. That’s a big thing,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump stands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on May 14, 2026.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Iran was an area where Trump could point to a clearer diplomatic win, saying Xi told him China would not provide military equipment to Tehran and that both leaders agreed Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

But broader concerns remain over Beijing’s economic support for Iran through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks.

China remains a major buyer of Iranian crude despite U.S. sanctions.

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Trump said that Xi and his wife will visit the U.S. in September.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

Trump’s soft touch on China, in stark relief

2026-05-15 2:35 PM ET / CNN

Analysis by

Aaron Blake

President Donald Trump has long tried to portray himself as something of a strongman on China, though his tough talk and trade wars are often undercut by his remarkably accommodating nature toward Xi Jinping.

And that softer approach was on full display during Trump’s Beijing visit this week.

Trump’s trip — and his comments at the tail end of it — include some notable rhetorical and actual concessions to the Chinese government. He also explicitly walked back previous campaign promises to get tough on China.

Taiwan was perhaps the most prominent issue. It’s a tricky topic for any president, given the very nuanced US policies toward its independence (the “one China” policy) and defending it from China (“strategic ambiguity”).

And for much of the trip, Trump avoided saying anything substantive about it. Remarkably, Fox News’ Sean Hannity didn’t even broach the subject in his interview with Trump that aired Thursday night.

Then Trump held a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on the trip back home, where he said he and Xi did discuss a pending $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, and that Trump would “make a determination over the next fairly short period.”

Even that noncommittal response is a pretty significant win for China, as CNN’s Jim Sciutto notes. The Trump administration has already sent $11 billion worth of arms to Taiwan. Trump also echoed Xi’s talking points about how Taiwan had been part of China for thousands of years. And even consulting China about the issue is remarkable; Ronald Reagan in 1982 declared that the United States would not seek China’s input on such arms sales.

“What am I going to do, say I don’t want to talk about it?” Trump said when asked about the 1982 document. “Because we have an agreement signed in 1982? No, we discussed arms sales.”

That wasn’t the only rhetorical concession China landed — despite Trump seemingly getting relatively little in the way of big deals, at least so far.

The US president also said he was considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that have been buying Iranian oil.

And he repeatedly declined to judge China for its espionage efforts. When pressed on Chinese cyberattacks, Trump downplayed it as a both-sides issue.

“You know, what they do, we do too,” Trump said on Air Force One. “We spy like hell on them too. I told him, ‘We do a lot of stuff to you that you don’t know about.’”

Trump had the same line when Hannity pressed him on China’s “nefarious” intent, saying, “Honestly, you know, they do things to us, and we do things to them.”

Finally, there are the major walkbacks on a pair of campaign promises: freeing Jimmy Lai and banning Chinese ownership of American farmland.

Trump in 2024 said that getting Lai, a former Hong Kong media tycoon who criticized the Chinese Community Party, released from prison was “going to be so easy.”

“I’ll get him out,” Trump added back then. “There’s no reason for him being there right now except that Xi doesn’t respect Biden and Kamala.”

But Trump sounded a very different note on Air Force One Friday, saying it would be easier to get a pastor released.

“It’s a tougher one, I’d say,” Trump said of Lai. “I did bring it up.”

And then there is the issue of China buying up American farmland. Both Democrats and Republicans support banning the practice, and the idea is particularly popular on the right. Late in the 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to ban it, saying politicians were “allowing our country to be sold out from under us.”

“Do you think China would let us go in and buy their land and do what they do? I don’t think so, OK?” Trump told Breitbart. “It won’t happen.”

The Trump administration has also said it would “aggressively” revoke Chinese student visas.

But Trump on Air Force One telegraphed a much softer line on both fronts.

On Chinese-owned farmland, the president said: “Look, it’s not that I love it. You want to see farm prices drop? You want to see farmers lose a lot of money? Just take that out of the market.”

And on visas, he called the students “good students.”

“‘I don’t want any students’ is a very insulting thing to say to a country,” Trump said, adding: “But if you want to see our university system die, take a half a million people out of it.”

Trump is not exactly a studied diplomat. He likes to keep his options open. And it’s always important to look at what he does, not just what he says.

It could just be that he doesn’t want to put a damper on the trip by immediately embracing positions that pit US interests against China’s.

But Trump has shown that he’s susceptible to a good charm offensive, particularly from powerful world leaders. And on his priority list with China, cutting deals seems to increasingly rank higher than combatting its influence.

(That was perhaps most evident when his administration effectively ignored the law to save TikTok, even though Trump had once labeled TikTok a grave national security threat.)

It’s worth watching just how much the US relationship with China might actually change after this trip. Even if Trump aspires to a better relationship, that could be a tough sell with members of his party.

But regardless, he pretty much put to rest any lingering illusions that he’s a true China hawk.

President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, on Friday.

Evan Vucci/Pool/Getty Images

FAA cuts target for air traffic control staffing

2026-05-15T18:22:53.113Z / Reuters

By David Shepardson

May 15, 2026 6:22 PM UTC Updated 57 mins ago

The air traffic control tower at New York’s Laguardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it was sharply reducing its target for air traffic control staffing as ​it vowed to modernize scheduling and increase the time employees spend managing ‌traffic.

The FAA said its new target is 12,563 certified controllers, down from 14,633. A National Academies of Sciences report last year said overtime costs for air traffic controllers, have jumped by more than ​300% since 2013 to over $200 million, citing a misallocated workforce and inefficient ​scheduling.

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The report said the time controllers spend on position managing air ⁠traffic has declined despite a 4% increase in traffic. It added it could increase time ​on position from around four hours per shift to more than five hours.

The ​FAA said “deploying modern staffing models and scheduling tools will improve controller staffing efficiency and reduce the need for excessive overtime.”

The FAA said as of April, approximately 11,000 certified controllers are deployed ​across more than 300 FAA air traffic facilities, with an additional 4,000 controllers in ​the training pipeline, including 1,000 who were previously a fully certified controller but are now training ‌at ⁠new air traffic control facilities.

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The FAA said it “will modernize scheduling and workforce management systems to improve efficiency.”

The FAA air traffic control workforce in 2024 logged 2.2 million hours of overtime costing $200 million. Annual overtime is up 308% per air traffic ​controller, or 126 hours ​per year since ⁠2013, to 167 hours on average.

From 2013 to 2023, the FAA hired only two-thirds of the air traffic controllers called ​for by its staffing models as staffing fell by 13%, the ​report said, ⁠adding the agency has also been unable to implement a robust shift scheduling software package it acquired in 2012 that may be making the issue worse, the report said.

⁠Controllers ​in many locations must often work six-day work weeks ​and mandatory overtime. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in December the FAA lost 400-500 trainees that withdrew from ​training during a government shutdown last year.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Hackers have breached tank readers at US gas stations; officials suspect Iran is responsible

2026-05-15T18:40:20.584Z / CNN

By

Sean Lyngaas

Updated 14 min ago

Updated May 15, 2026, 3:15 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 15, 2026, 2:40 PM ET

The Middle East Digital security Oil & gas National security

A person fuels his vehicle at a gas station on April 6 in Miami.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

US officials suspect Iranian hackers are behind a series of breaches of systems that monitor the amount of fuel in storage tanks serving gas stations in multiple states, according to multiple sources briefed on the activity.

The hackers responsible have exploited automatic tank gauge (ATG) systems that were sitting online and unprotected by passwords, allowing them in some cases to tinker with display readings on the tanks but not the actual levels of fuel in them, the sources said.

The cyber intrusions are not known to have caused physical damage or harm, but the breaches have raised safety concerns because gaining access to an ATG could, in theory, allow a hacker to make a gas leak go undetected, according to private experts and US officials.

The sources briefed on the investigation said Iran’s history of targeting the gas tank systems is one reason the country is a top suspect. But, the sources cautioned, the US government may not be able to definitively determine who was responsible because of a lack of forensic evidence left by the hackers.

CNN has requested comment on the ATG hack from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The FBI declined to comment.

If Iran’s involvement is confirmed, it would be the latest case of Tehran threatening critical infrastructure in the US homeland, which remains out of reach of Iranian drones and missiles, amid the US and Israeli war with Iran.

It could also raise a politically sensitive issue for the Trump administration by drawing further attention to higher gas prices caused by the war. Seventy-five percent of US adults surveyed in a recent CNN poll said the Iran war had a negative effect on their finances.

The hacking campaign is also a warning to many US critical infrastructure operators who have struggled to secure their systems despite years of federal exhortations.

Iranian hacking groups have long looked for low-hanging fruit — critical US computer systems sitting online that interact with oil and gas sites and water systems, for example. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, US officials blamed hackers affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for a series of attacks on US water utilities that displayed an anti-Israel message on equipment used to manage water pressure.

Cybersecurity researchers have been warning about internet-facing ATGs for over a decade. In 2015, security firm Trend Micro put mock ATG systems online to see what kind of hackers would target them. A pro-Iran group was quick to surface.

A 2021 report from Sky News cited internal documents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that singled out ATGs as a potential target for a disruptive cyberattack on gas stations.

Iran’s cyber operations are ‘accelerating’

US intelligence agencies have long considered Iran’s cyber capabilities inferior to those of China or Russia. But a string of opportunistic hacks of key US assets during the war suggests Iran is a capable — and unpredictable — adversary.

Since the war began in late February, Tehran-linked hackers have caused disruptions at multiple US oil and gas and water sites, shipping delays at Stryker, a major US medical device maker, and have leaked the private emails of FBI Director Kash Patel.

Israeli organizations and citizens have also been heavily targeted by Tehran’s hackers during the latest war, while the US and Israeli military have used cyber operations to make their kinetic strikes more lethal.

Iran’s cyber activity during the war has shown “a significant increase in the scale, speed, and integration between cyber operations and psychological campaigns,” Yossi Karadi, head of the Israel’s cyber defense agency, the National Cyber Directorate, told CNN.

The Israel Defense Forces in March claimed to have struck a compound housing Iran’s “Cyber Warfare headquarters.” It’s unclear how many Iranian cyber operatives, if any, were killed in that strike.

Karadi would not comment on that matter, citing his agency’s mandate, which is limited to cyber defense.

“That said, from a defensive perspective, in recent month, we are seeing some degradation in parts of the hostile cyber activity,” he said. “The bottom line is that Iranian actors are under pressure and are trying to strike wherever they find an opening in cyberspace.

The last 18 months have shown that Iran’s cyber operations in general “are now accelerating with faster iteration, more layered hacktivist personas, and likely AI-driven scaling for reconnaissance and phishing,” said Allison Wikoff, a director on PwC’s threat intelligence team with over a decade of experience tracking Iran-based threats.

“What’s notably new in their cyber playbook is the swift creation of ‘good-enough’ malware, including the destructive wiping types, complemented by assertive hack-and-leak campaigns against media, dissidents, and key (US)civilian infrastructure,” Wikoff told CNN.

Part of that Iranian playbook is capitalizing on the wartime footing of an American media quick to pounce on claims made by all sides.

Hackers associated with Iran’s intelligence ministry and paramilitary arm maintain a number of “hacktivist” personas through which they use Telegram to exaggerate their exploits, publish stolen material and release promotional videos spliced to catchy music.

One of the groups, calling itself Handala after a Palestinian cartoon character, taunted Patel while claiming it had breached the FBI’s “impenetrable” computer systems. In reality, the hackers got into Patel’s years-old Gmail emails.

“The fact that every Handala claim leads to people freaking out demonstrates that the operational reality of the threat Iran poses is something that both government agencies and vendors don’t seem to be able to articulate,” said Alex Orleans, a cybersecurity researcher who has tracked Iran-linked hackers for years and leads threat intelligence at security firm Sublime Security.

Despite the string of hacks from Iran during the war, Orleans offered two reasons there haven’t been more.

“The first is that Iran appears to have lacked the lines of access to deliver sustained effects, or we likely would’ve seen more incidents like Stryker,” he told CNN. “The second is that the regime has clearly demonstrated its intention to endure, which further disincentivizes wanton cyber effects operations.”

‘Nobody’s paying a price for it’

For some current and former US officials, the aggressive and unpredictable nature of Iranian cyber operations take on added significance ahead of the midterm elections.

In the 2020 election, federal agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), blamed Iran for a scheme that impersonated the far-right Proud Boys to try to intimidate voters. During the 2024 US presidential election, Iranian hackers breached the Trump campaign and sent internal documents from it to news organizations.

Now, for the first election cycle in years, US military and intelligence officials have yet to activate a specialized team dedicated to detecting and thwarting foreign threats to elections — a move that one former Cyber Command official, Jason Kikta, deemed “strategic malpractice.”

“Between what we’ve watched Iran do in this war and what they ran in 2020, I’d be surprised if they sat the midterms out,” said Chris Krebs, who as CISA director in 2020 stood beside then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as they warned the American public about Iranian and Russian influence operations.

“My bet is on information operations, not attacks on election systems,” Krebs told CNN. “That’s where the Russians and Chinese have gone, and for good reason. It’s cheap, it’s easy to scale with AI, and nobody’s paying a price for it.”

Unlikely bipartisan Senate duo seeks to permanently ban ex-lawmakers from lobbying

‘Our founders never intended public service to become a training ground for a lifetime of lobbying,’ Sen. Rick Scott noted

2026-05-15T15:05:00-04:00 / Fox News

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Published May 15, 2026 3:05pm EDT

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A bipartisan Senate duo are pushing a proposal to permanently prohibit former lawmakers and elected officers of Congress from lobbying.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have teamed up on a measure called the “Banning Lobbying And Safeguarding Trust Act,” or “BLAST Act.”

UNIVERSITIES FACE FUNDING THREAT AS LAWMAKERS TARGET SCHOOLS WITH TIES TO ADVERSARIAL NATIONS

Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, in the Senate Subway during a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 14, 2025.(Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“When politicians use their time in public office to cash in after they leave government, the American people lose. Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low, and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street is a big part of that. We need to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and that’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to put government clearly back on the side of the people,” Scott said in a statement.

“Our founders never intended public service to become a training ground for a lifetime of lobbying. Senator Warren and I are working to end this practice once and for all,” he added.

ELIZABETH WARREN’S BEZOS MET GALA JAB BACKFIRES AS CRITICS MERCILESSLY DRAG ‘UN-AMERICAN’ LAWMAKER

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., walks to a closed door briefing with the Senate Armed Services committee at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The proposal for a permanent lobbying ban on lawmakers would go further than current law, according to Warren’s office.

“Under current law, former members of Congress are allowed to lobby their former colleagues in Congress after a ‘cooling off’ period — one year for former members of the House of Representatives and two years for former senators,” her office said.

WARREN PUSHED ‘FREE AND EASY’ IRS FILING SYSTEM, BUT DOCS REVEAL WHAT SHE USED INSTEAD

The U.S. Capitol Building at dusk during a candlelight vigil in honor of National Police Week, on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.(The U.S. Capitol Building at dusk during a candlelight vigil in honor of National Police Week, on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.)

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“It’s simple: Members of Congress should spend their time in Washington serving the American people, not preparing to cash in big time with a cushy lobbying career after they leave office,” Warren said in a statement. “It’s long past time to close the revolving door that’s corrupted our government and destroyed public trust in elected officials. This bipartisan bill is an important push to get that done.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.