C

CNN

May 2026

Pro-Trump candidate to face Petro ally in Colombia presidential runoff election after surprising performance

In a surprisingly strong performance, right-wing outsider candidate Abelardo de la Espriella will face leftist candidate senator Iván Cepeda in a runoff to decide Colombia’s presidency, setting the stage for a battle over Colombia’s political future and the direction of its relationships with key international partners, including the United States

YouTubers are setting box office records. It could change the future of moviemaking

The biggest two movies in America right now, “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” come from twentysomething filmmakers who honed their craft on YouTube

Zack Stentzscreenwriter
This feels like a genuine cultural moment in moviegoing, watching Zoomers who honed their craft doing YouTube shorts breaking into features the way the MTV directors did in the ’80s and Sundance kids did in the ’90s.”
This is a phenomenon generated, driven and controlled by creators and the biggest company in the world that amplifies them,
We’ve got an example of creators woodshedding things, putting them online, building an audience,

Marta Kostyuk stuns 4-time champion Iga Swiatek on big day for Ukraine at French Open

There will be a first-time women’s champion at the French Open this year, and two Ukrainian players are among the strongest contenders

Marta Kostyukform
I’m still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here,
Sorana Cîrstearomanian veteran
There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,
There’s going to be Ukraine in the semifinals, so it’s already amazing,
The most important thing that I’ve been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy,

Man charged with murder in killings of 3 on Hawaii’s Big Island

Police found the third victim, 69-year-old John Carse, late Tuesday at a property 19 miles from where the other two bodies were located

On GPS: Robert Kagan on the obstacles to a US-Iran deal

Guest anchor Bianna Golodryga speaks with author and foreign policy analyst Robert Kagan about the US-Iran negotiations and Iran’s leverage in the Strait of Hormuz

Claude Lemieux’s brain is being donated to Boston University’s CTE Center, his family says

He played nearly 1,500 NHL games with six teams from 1983-2009 and was known for his hard-hitting style and ability to perform in big games on the way to winning the Stanley Cup four times

Claude dedicated his post-playing career to helping the next generation,

GOP strategist: ‘There are 8 Senators in the Republican Conference… who are pretty put out with the White House’

Interior Secretary Burgum on artists bailing on 250th concerts: ‘Some musicians seem to have segmented their audiences.’

Dana Bash presses Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on artists bailing on the 250th performances, President Trump's plan to replace concerts with a MAGA rally, donor transparency for Freedom 250, and whether the President will remove his name from the Kennedy Center

Doug Burguminterior Secretary
Some musicians seem to have segmented their audiences.

Sen. Andy Kim ‘hugely concerned’ ICE protests in New Jersey could spiral like Minneapolis

Andy Kim 'hugely concerned' ICE protests in New Jersey could spiral like Minneapolis

I am so worried about my state. I have not seen my state with this level of precariousness during my entire time in elected office. So, I'm worried about what comes next,

Spencer Pratt brings Los Angeles’ economic anxieties into primetime

It’s been a very long and frustrating process trying to get back home, trying to get insurance companies to pay what they owe. Every single thing is a struggle,
Mayor Bass and Councilwoman Raman, they think empty beds, they think it’s a housing problem. It’s a drug addiction problem,
It’s not that LA has higher rates of mental illness or addiction than, say, Milwaukee or Detroit, but we have higher rates of homelessness. What’s the difference? It’s housing affordability,
Clearly, issues of addiction and mental illness are significant and important because we know there are higher rates among the homeless population,
There has been a misperception that everyone is wealthy and people don’t need help. That’s not true,
Some of what he’s saying is cruel. My own mother has been homeless on and off for the last 10 years. This is something that affects me very personally,

‘The arteries of modern civilization’: The US and allies take action to protect seabed cables

Around 570 cables carry up to 99% of intercontinental data, with attacks at unprecedented scale over the past 18 months

Liz Lloydtelecoms Minister
Every international payment, every cross-border trade executed in milliseconds, every flow of data between businesses here in the UK and markets overseas — all travel along the seabed,
Vladimir Putinrussian President
We see your activity over our cables and pipelines. And you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
Over the past 18 months, we have witnessed a series of attacks against subsea critical infrastructure at a scale and frequency that is historically unprecedented,

How the Laos cave survivors found the courage to rescue themselves

Hungry and weak, the Laos cave survivors huddled together in damp darkness for 11 days, clinging to hope as a wall of water blocked their way out

We had been there for a long time and the water had dried up. It was too cold inside, so we decided to crawl our way out,
I always believed I would survive. I had to make it back out to see my sisters and my mother,
I was afraid because we were there alone,
From what we know, there is a significant air pocket that is considerably further on, another 100 meters or so, through fairly lethal passage,
Poverty is terrifying. That’s why we fought this hard to survive and keep going,
You would have to send me to death if you want to force me in,

A populist will win the Texas Senate race. The question is, which one?

Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are offering Texas voters competing visions of populism this November

The reason Texas is becoming more Republican year over year is that a lot of Republicans are moving here because it is more affordable,
Chuck Rochaamerican political strategist
I’m from Texas, I still drive a big ass truck,
James Talaricotexas Senate candidate
I think of politics now less as left versus right and much more as top versus bottom,
If the border swings back Democratic, Paxton cannot win statewide with that big a deficit in the Texas Triangle,
Chuck Rochaamerican political strategist
There’s no doubt they are going to run the same culture war … and we’re going to run on the cost of living,
Democratic Party is less popular now than it was in 2018,
Daron R. Shawpolitical scientist
That’s the key question here — are those guys sufficiently appalled, sufficiently depressed (over Paxton’s primary win), that they don’t vote, or they actually vote for Talarico
Cultural issues really got Republicans in the door in south Texas over the past 8-10 years, but affordability is really coming to the forefront,
James Talaricotexas Senate candidate
It’s why we can’t afford anything; it’s why we can’t get ahead no matter how hard we work,
Ted Cruzrepublican Senator
Texas will never elect someone who thinks God is nonbinary,

Exclusive: Power struggles and paralysis: Inside FEMA’s lost year as storm season approaches

A CNN investigation reveals how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and aide Corey Lewandowski strangled FEMA operations for over a year

It’s a huge waste of time and taxpayer money for no reason, just to make the impact of the shutdown more significant,
JD Vancevice President
We needed the new leadership to hasten that delivery of resources to the people of North Carolina,
I went to FEMA to shut it down or transform it and to get it through hurricane season, not to be indoctrinated,
It’s typical of what you hear from recipients of white-collar welfare. There are many of them in FEMA.”
The end of the story is still to be written,
It’s extremely disappointing to see government inefficiency at this scale,
Cameron Hamiltonamerican businessman and government official
If you’d asked me 11 months ago, I would have said it’s more likely we deport him than he gets that job,
It was one of the absolute worst experiences of my career,
It’s going to be hell to pay if this simple grant doesn’t get done,
That was the moment people realized the ruthlessness we were dealing with,

How dangerous is watching the World Cup in Mexico, really?

That’s a complaint that many are being very vocal about, especially with regards to the crisis of disappeared persons,
Let’s not deny that some of the people who come to the host cities to watch football also go there to consume — and it’s disgusting but true — they’re going to consume bodies that they consider disposable,
In a city like Mexico City, you have to ensure there’s a transportation system running all night, which involves a series of decisions beyond just deploying security personnel. You need other things to guarantee, for example, that the transportation system is safe, viable, and accessible to all fans, whether foreign or not,
For example, if you’re talking about travel fraud, fake tickets, bogus tours, obviously the target of that fraud is tourists, especially domestic and international ones,
It seems to me that of the three (host cities), Guadalajara deserves particular attention,
So, stability is in the interest of organized crime groups … because these local businesses have become highly profitable, especially for localized organized crime groups,
It will mostly be things like petty theft, fraud, opportunistic crimes that may occur, but nothing related to this criminal control,
There are very large networks of piracy, human trafficking, prostitution, obviously drug dealing, and some extortion, but it’s also the area of the country with the highest per capita police presence and security cameras, which gives it a different crime profile,
I think they’re also going to use the World Cup as a way to bring some of these issues to light. We can’t rule out protests outside stadiums, at subway entrances or in fan zones. Organizations and groups will indeed use the World Cup to highlight problems that have been ignored or not sufficiently addressed,

Pete Buttigieg is becoming a prolific endorser of Democrats, with some clues to his future

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezamerican politician (born 1989)
I’m very aware of the fact that I’m coming here as a New Yorker and I know understandably that there’s a lot of suspicion around a city girl,
Kamala Harrisformer Vice President
This is going to be the biggest midterms of our lifetimes, and so it’s important to put points on the board,
Luke Broninformer Hartford Mayor
He represents the next generation of Democrats who are ready to bring some new energy to this fight, who are clear communicators, who have the courage to go everywhere to carry that message and are going to be key to rebuilding a party that’s strong enough to do what we have to do,
Kamala Harrisformer Vice President
Because I live in a ruby-red district, I can’t have every nationally known Democrat come here and support me because it doesn’t fit what we’re trying to do,
Sandra Jaureguiamerican politician
There’s never been any headaches with Pete,
Christale Spainamerican politician
(Black voters) should help shape the nomination from the beginning,
I can bring Democrats in front of Pete,... but I can also bring moderate Republicans and nonpartisan too.”

Israel seizes Crusader-era castle as Netanyahu orders forces deeper into Lebanon

The castle is a UNESCO-protected medieval fortress that Israel last held 26 years ago

Israel Katzisraeli Defence Minister
This is a clear message to our enemies: Those who threaten the citizens of Israel will lose their strategic assets one by one,
The operation began several days ago, during which a significant number of IDF ground soldiers commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defense Line,
The operation is focused on establishing operational control of the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area,
From Beaufort Ridge, Hezbollah terrorists managed military and combat activities and carried out numerous attacks,