https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/justice-department-accuses-yale-medical-school-illegally-race-132978707
Justice Department accuses Yale medical school of illegally using race in admissions

The Justice Department is accusing Yale University of illegally considering race in its medical school admissions

The Justice Department on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally considering race in admissions to its medical school — the second institution to face discrimination allegations by the federal agency this month.

In a letter to a lawyer for Yale, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said a DOJ investigation found that Black and Hispanic students have a much higher chance of admission to the medical school than white or Asian students, despite having lower grade-point averages and lower test scores.

“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” Dhillon said in a statement. “This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/19/morrissey-treasury-anti-weaponization-irs-00927843

The Treasury Department’s general counsel resigned as the Trump administration announced a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” as part of a deal to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his tax returns.

Brian Morrissey, who was confirmed by the Senate in October and served as Treasury’s top legal officer, stepped down on Monday. His departure came the same day the Trump administration announced it would create that $1.776 billion fund to resolve Trump’s lawsuit, an unusual arrangement that has provoked bipartisan criticism.

“As General Counsel, Brian Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement. “We wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”

Morrissey did not respond to requests for comment.

The New York Times, which first reported Morrissey’s resignation, said his departure letter expressed gratitude to Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Morrissey, a former partner at the law firm Sidley Austin, previously held senior roles at the Treasury and Justice Departments during Trump’s first term.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators Tuesday he was unaware of the reason for Morrissey’s resignation. “I don’t know if it’s a coincidence,” Blanche said in response to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). “I can’t speak to why he resigned.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/trump-irs-doj-lawsuit-audit.html

The Justice Department on Tuesday expanded the agreement it reached this week with President Trump to resolve his extraordinary lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service to include a provision that would bar the agency from pursuing tax claims against the president, his family or his businesses.

In a one-page document signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and quietly posted on the department’s website, officials vowed not to pursue any matters, including those involving Mr. Trump’s tax returns, that are currently pending.
The new provision was released just one day after Mr. Trump agreed to drop his suit in exchange for the creation of a $1.8 billion compensation fund for people he believes were wronged by federal investigations or prosecutions. The fund drew repeated criticism from Democrats when Mr. Blanche appeared before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee for a hearing on Tuesday morning.

The New York Times reported last week that Mr. Trump’s talks with the Justice Department and the I.R.S. had included a measure calling on the I.R.S. to drop any audits of the president, his relatives or businesses. But that provision did not appear in the nine-page agreement laying out the terms to dismiss the lawsuit, which the department released Monday.

In January, Mr. Trump, along with two of his sons and the Trump family business, sued the Internal Revenue Service for at least $10 billion over the leak of their tax returns during the president’s first term. The Trumps argued that the I.R.S. should have done more to prevent a former contractor from disclosing tax information to The New York Times and ProPublica.

Neither the Justice Department nor the I.R.S. immediately responded to requests seeking comment. The top lawyer at the Treasury, Brian Morrissey, resigned on Monday after the Justice Department announced the settlement with Mr. Trump.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5821265/minnesota-ban-prediction-markets

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed the nation's first law banning prediction market sites from operating in the state, and in response, the Trump administration has sued, teeing up a legal battle over the most far-reaching crackdown on popular services like Kalshi and Polymarket.

It comes as states confront a growing standoff with the Trump administration over how to regulate the industry, which allows people to bet on virtually anything.

The new state law makes it a crime to host or advertise a prediction market, which it defines as a system that lets consumers place a wager on a future outcome, like sports, elections, live entertainment, someone's word choice and world affairs.

The prohibition extends to services supporting prediction markets, like virtual private networks, that could allow consumers to disguise their location and get around the ban.

It would force prediction market sites like Kalshi and Polymarket to leave the state, or face possible felony charges. The law takes effect in August.

I've created an AI-powered game where you spit on Trump. Each person gets only ten spits. Let's have some space too! Maybe we can draw some respectable things for him with our spit.
https://trump-spit-game.lovable.app/

I've left the link to the game directly from the AI website to keep it safe. Share it with your friends!

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/05/19/congress/new-antisemitism-bill-00927709

Sens. James Lankford and Jacky Rosen will introduce a sweeping, bipartisan bill Tuesday aimed at combating antisemitism.

The bill, which was first shared with POLITICO, would target antisemitism in education and online, as well as provide security grant funding.

“Those are three big issues that get talked about the most, so we tried to pull those together into one bill,” Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said in an interview. “We are trying to do this bipartisan, bicameral.”

Rosen, a Nevada Democrat who co-chairs the Senate’s bipartisan task force for combating antisemitism with Lankford, said in an interview the bill was “personal” and has “been over a year in the making.”

“It really is a coordinated federal response to help fight domestic antisemitism,” she added.

The measure would require the Department of Education to designate an antisemitism coordinator and lay out new regulations to combat antisemitism at colleges that receive DOE funding, including requiring those colleges to establish non-discrimination policies and grievance processes.

It would also boost nonprofit security grant funding to $1 billion that can be used by Jewish communities, as well create a new grant that can be used for places of worship. The bill would, in addition, require new disclosures about how online platforms moderate and respond to antisemitic content.

https://fortune.com/2026/05/20/barney-frank-obituary-democratic-party-masssachusets-congressman-dead-86/

Barney Frank, legendary liberal who ripped into left-wing dysfunction on his death bed, dies at 86

Barney Frank, the longtime Democratic congressman and leading liberal who brought new visibility to gay rights and crafted the most significant reforms to the financial system in a generation, has died. He was 86.

Frank died late Tuesday, according to Jim Segel, Frank’s former campaign manager and close friend.

After representing broad swaths of Boston’s suburbs in Congress for 32 years, Frank and his husband moved to Ogunquit, Maine. He entered hospice there in April with congestive heart failure and is survived by his husband, Jim Ready, and sisters, the longtime Democratic strategist Ann Lewis and Doris Breay, along with brother David Frank.

A self-described “left-handed gay Jew,” Frank was known for his acerbic wit, combative style and focus on marginalized communities. He represented the party’s left wing while keeping close with Democratic leaders who sometimes frustrated progressives.

He is best known as a pioneer for LGBT rights. After decades of grappling with his sexuality, he publicly came out as gay in 1987, the first member of Congress to do so voluntarily. With his 2012 marriage to Ready, he became the first incumbent lawmaker on Capitol Hill to marry someone of the same sex.

But in an April interview as he entered hospice, Frank said he hoped he would be remembered for advocating a brand of politics that embraced progressive ideals without forcing them on voters prematurely. It is an approach he feared was being rejected as Democrats prepare for what could be a rollicking primary as they hope to retake the White House in 2028 and move past the Trump era.

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/how-corrupt-is-trump-here-are-the-numbers-trades-chips-nvidia-pardons-settlement-fund

THIS IS THE TRUMP ERA, which means if you blink, you will miss another shattering example of unabashed corruption. I don’t usually write about the same topic twice in a row, but the latest revelations of Trump’s wanton, shameless profiteering from the White House cannot go unremarked. The phrase “drain the swamp” will go down in history as a bitter irony. The latest outrage against the public—and since I started typing this sentence there have surely been more—concerns Trump’s stock trades.

When I was being considered for a job in the Reagan White House, I had to reveal every cent I had ever earned from any job or investment (which was simple since I had no money), and everyone else who worked for the administration had to do the same. It was a pain, but I was happy to do it, knowing that I would be serving in an honest government. High-ranking officials like cabinet secretaries with substantial portfolios put their assets in blind trusts during their public service. “Blind” meaning the principal had no control. And though the ethics rules do not apply to the president, past presidents put their funds (with the exception of U.S. treasuries and mutual funds) into blind trusts anyway for appearances’ sake. The reason is obvious, but since this is a time of foggy ethics, let’s spell it out: Government officials are in a position to steer policy and award government contracts in ways that benefit or harm private interests. By requiring blind trusts, we minimize the chance that a decision-maker is swayed by the opportunity for private gain.1

Trump takes away quality gasoline because MAGA cultists are programmed not to recognize being raped.

https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-vote-to-dilute-gas-as-prices-rise-above-4-50-11949494

House Republicans passed a bill on Wednesday that would allow nationwide year-round sales of E15, a blend of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol, also known as Unleaded 88—a product that refiners and retailers normally cannot sell in around half the country during the summer months due to air pollution concerns.

The Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, H.R. 1346, passed the House by a 218-203 vote, but still faces an uncertain future in the Senate where it would need 60 votes to clear a filibuster and be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Lawmakers hope the measure could offer relief to drivers at the pumps ahead of the busy summer season, when fuel demand regularly increases. National average gas prices have soared above $4.50 per gallon since the start of the Iran war.

As of Thursday, the national average gas price was $4.53 per gallon, up by roughly $1.50 since late February, when gas prices in the country were just below the $3 mark, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Pushing for Ethanol Use

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had issued a temporary waiver to allow the sale of E15 from May 1 to May 20. At the same time, the agency also announced the removal of all federal impediments to sales of E10—a gasoline blend mixed with 10 percent ethanol—across the country.