News for May 15, 2026

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said prosecutors may seek the death penalty if Alex Murdaugh is retried for the killings of his wife and son.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters’ prison sentence, setting up her early release even as he said her crimes were serious and her conviction stands.

Social Circle, Georgia, is suing the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to stop a planned 10,000-bed detention facility it says would strain the town and break the law.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their fragile ceasefire, even as fresh air strikes and cross-border fighting continue.

Prosecutors say Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi plotted to attack a New York synagogue, but the plan was stopped before any harm was done.

Trump’s trip to China ended with questions about Taiwan, trade, and Iran, as he praised Xi Jinping but left key decisions unresolved.

The Justice Department is pushing to indict Raúl Castro over Cuba’s 1996 downing of two civilian planes that killed four Cuban Americans.

Justice Samuel Alito is pushing back on calls to recuse himself from a Supreme Court climate case, with the court saying he has no conflict that requires him to step aside.

The U.S. Coast Guard stopped three drug boats off Colombia and seized more than 3 tons of cocaine.

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has bought a stake in Microsoft, saying the stock looks cheap and could benefit from strong AI and cloud growth.

Africa’s CDC says a new Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has killed dozens and may spread further because of the region’s border traffic and instability.

Edward Busby Jr. was executed in Texas after the Supreme Court cleared the way despite claims that he was intellectually disabled.