Monday, May 14

á      Gaza officials reported a total of 52 Palestinians killed and more than 1,200 wounded by Israeli fire in protests over the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

á      The Associated Press reported that Jared Kushner, President Donald TrumpÕs son-in-law and Middle East Adviser, said Palestinians participating in Gaza protests are Òpart of the problem and not part of the solution,Ó even as he expressed hope for forging Middle East peace.

á      In a 6-3 decision, he U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can legalize sports gambling, striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

á      CNN reported that many Republican donors who are leaders of prominent hedge funds are not contributing to the party this election cycle because of the recently passed tax law, which they say favors corporations but not hedge funds.

Tuesday, May 15

á      Gina Haspel, TrumpÕs nominee for CIA director, said in a new letter to Sen. Mark Warner that the CIA should not have conducted then-President George W. BushÕs interrogation and detention program where waterboarding and other brutal interrogation tactics were used on detainees.

á      Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced he is lifting the State DepartmentÕs hiring freeze.

Wednesday, May 16

á      North Korea threatened to cancel the summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un scheduled for June 12 if the U.S. continues to insist it unilaterally abandon its nuclear weapons program.

á      Speaking to reporters, Trump said he is not backing off his position on North Korea denuclearization.

á      The Senate Intelligence Committee issued a report saying it agreed with the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered with the U.S. election in 2016 with the aim of helping Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton. These findings are contrary to those House Republicans issued last month.

á      The Senate Judiciary Committee released transcripts showing that attorneys for Donald Trump, Jr., sought to coordinate public statements for attendees of a June 2016 meeting between a Kremlin-connected lawyer and top Trump campaign aides including Trump Jr. and Kushner.

á      The Senate voted to repeal changes to net neutrality rules recently passed by the Republican-controlled FCC. The measure is not expected to pass the House.

Thursday, May 17

á      Gina Haspel was confirmed as head of the CIA . She is the first woman to head the agency.

á      During an immigration roundtable at the White House Trump said of people who are being deported: ÒThese arenÕt people. These are animals,Ó provoking widespread reactions on social media.

Friday, May 18

á      Trump announced he would nominate Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to lead the agency.

á      In a 198-213 vote, the House Freedom Caucus defeated a conservative farm bill over an immigration dispute with GOP leadership, delaying a bill that included TrumpÕs push to impose stricter work requirements on food stamp recipients.

á      Bloomberg reported that ChinaÕs second-largest state-owned bank offered clients the opportunity to have dinner with Trump for $150,000 a ticket, spurring a complaint from TrumpÕs re-election campaign to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Saturday, May 21

á      Politico reported that more than half the Democrats running for House seats in Texas are touting their support for single-payer health care.

á      The U.S. and China issued a vague joint statement saying China has promised to buy significantly more U.S. agriculture and energy products to help cut the U.S. trade deficit. The statement did not say how much more China would buy or how soon, and did not indicate whether the U.S. would reverse plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

Sunday, May 20

á      Under pressure from President Trump, the Justice Department asked its inspector general to assess whether political motivation tainted the FBI investigation into ties between Russia and TrumpÕs campaign. TrumpÕs tweet: ÒI hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes — and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!Ó

á      South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump held talked about ways to ensure that the North Korea-U.S. summit remains on track after North Korea threatened to pull out.