Headlines May 20, 2026 from Democracy Now!

Israeli forces have intercepted the last remaining boats with a humanitarian aid flotilla attempting to breach the blockade on Gaza. Video from the flotilla’s live stream showed Israeli soldiers opening fire on at least two of the vessels. Live-stream footage also shows the activists putting on life jackets and raising their hands as Israeli soldiers approached to raid the boats. Over 400 activists aboard 50 vessels with the Global Sumud Flotilla have been abducted, among them Margaret Connolly, the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, as well as several U.S. citizens.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said earlier today that nearly 90 of the activists have reportedly started a hunger strike to protest their illegal abduction, and in solidarity with the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The latest raid came just weeks after Israel attacked a previous humanitarian aid flotilla en route to Gaza. This is Saif Abukeshek, who was detained in an Israeli prison for 10 days and released earlier this month. He was among 175 international activists forced off their aid ships on international waters at gunpoint in late April.

Saif Abukeshek: “It’s another crime that Israel continues to commit in the international waters by intercepting those civilian boats that are protected by the international law and that the ICJ order is to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza. They are being intercepted and attacked by Israeli soldiers and the Israeli Navy.”

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Saif Abukeshek and at least three other activists over their involvement with the Gaza humanitarian aid flotillas, in what activists condemned as an escalating crackdown to silence them.

 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry Says at Least 22 People Killed in Israeli Attacks Despite Ceasefire

May 20, 2026

 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 22 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, despite a 45-day ceasefire extension. Since March 2, 3,042 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli attacks, and more than 1 million people — one-fifth of Lebanon’s population — have been displaced.

Iran Threatens War Will Spread Beyond Middle East If Trump Resumes Attacks

May 20, 2026

 

Iran is threatening that the war will spread beyond the Middle East if the U.S. attacks again. This comes after President Trump admitted that he was “an hour away” from resuming strikes on Iran before he was convinced to postpone the attack. It comes as President Trump says Iran has “two or three days” to reach a deal to end the war or face renewed attacks. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to advance a resolution to force Trump to end the war in Iran for the first time. Four Republicans — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — joined most Democrats in favor of advancing the resolution. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to oppose the bill. Three Republicans — Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — did not vote. The bill would still need to pass the GOP-controlled House and would face a veto by President Trump. This comes as The New York Times is reporting that the U.S. and Israel had intended to install Iran’s former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader in the early days of the war. An Israeli strike on Ahmadinejad’s home in Tehran was reportedly designed to free him from house arrest, but injured him. According to the Times, Ahmadinejad has not been seen publicly since the strike, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced today that there are ​600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths from the disease in Congo and Uganda, warning the numbers are expected to rise. He said at least 51 cases have been confirmed in Congo’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, and at least two in Uganda’s capital Kampala.

Biotech CEO Rami Elghandour Speaks at “The People’s Convocation for Palestine” at Rutgers University

May 20, 2026

Image Credit: Sawyer Seminar: "The Afterlives of Liberation"

 

“The People’s Convocation for Palestine,” an alternative graduation ceremony, was held at Rutgers University on Tuesday to honor Arab, Palestinian and other targeted students who spoke up after the university canceled Biotech CEO Rami Elghandour’s commencement speech at the Rutgers School of Engineering’s convocation. Citing “vague” complaints about his social media posts on Israel and Palestine, Rutgers abruptly withdrew its convocation invitation. This is Rami Elghandour.

Rami Elghandour: “The truth in this particular moment is that a university should honor all of its students, all of its faculty, all of its people. What they chose to do here is something of political convenience, right? When it became inconvenient to honor us, like Omar talked about, or me in giving this speech, what did they do? They just discarded us as if we don’t matter.”

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday the International Criminal Court is seeking an arrest warrant against him. In his remarks from Jerusalem Tuesday, Smotrich — without evidence — blamed the Palestinian Authority for the alleged arrest warrant, saying it had “started a war, and it will get a war.” He also ordered the forced evacuation of Palestinian residents in the village of Khan al-Ahmar. Smotrich has spearheaded the violent expansion of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. The ICC has not disclosed any details regarding a potential arrest warrant against him.

In California, authorities confirmed the identities of two other victims killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday. Seventy-eight-year-old Mansour Kaziha was a longtime employee of the mosque who had called the police before he was killed. Fifty-seven-year-old Nader Awad lived across the street from the Islamic Center, and when he heard the gunfire, he ran toward the building. This comes after friends and family identified Amin Abdullah as the security guard who was killed while trying to prevent the attackers from entering the mosque. Meanwhile, the FBI says the two teenage attackers who opened fire at the San Diego mosque had met online and left writings expressing hate. According to writings obtained by the Associated Press, the suspected attackers expressed hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black people and women. The attackers also reportedly expressed beliefs about white people being eliminated. This is Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Imam Taha Hassane: “We have never expected this, even though we tried throughout the years everything we could do, applying for homeland security grants. We have a fence, security armed guards, security cameras covering every single spot inside and outside the Islamic Center. What could we do more than this?”

The Justice Department quietly slipped a provision into an agreement creating a $1.7 billion fund to compensate President Trump’s allies. The addendum, signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, says the IRS is “forever barred” from investigating the tax returns of Trump, his family, company and “related companies.” The announcement came as part of a settlement agreement between President Trump and his own administration, after Trump, his sons and their family business sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of Trump’s tax returns by an IRS employee. This comes as CNN is reporting that Blanche, who previously served as President Trump’s personal lawyer, was told last year to recuse himself from Justice Department matters involving Trump, citing ethics concerns. On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen grilled Blanche about the DOJ’s $1.7 billion fund to make payments to Trump supporters who say they were wrongly investigated or prosecuted by previous administrations.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: “Well, as it makes plain, anybody is” —

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “Will they be — just let me know if they’re eligible for the fund.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: “As was made plain yesterday, anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they were a victim of weaponization.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “Mr. Attorney General, let me ask you this: Are there going to be rules that say that if you’ve assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer or committed a violent crime, you will not be eligible? Why not make that a rule?”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: “I expect that the — well, because I’m not one of the commissioners setting up the rules. I expect that there will be rules set up.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “But you’re appointing four of five of the members, aren’t you, Mr. Attorney General?”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: “Pardon me?”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “You’re appointing four of the five members.”

On Capitol Hill, Democratic senators grilled Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about his reality television road trip project called “The Great American Road Trip,” featuring Duffy, who was previously a reality TV star, and his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy and their nine children driving through 10 states. Democratic senators questioned Duffy about whether transportation companies can expect special treatment from the Trump administration after donating to the nonprofit that funded the trip. This is Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington.

Sen. Patty Murray: “Mr. Secretary, let me just say this: Toyota, United Airlines, Shell, Boeing, Royal Caribbean and Enterprise all sponsored your show. It is literally your job to make sure each of those companies are playing by the rules.”

Nigeria’s military said Tuesday a series of joint strikes with the United States against Islamic State fighters killed at least 175 people in recent days. Back in February, the Trump administration announced it had sent troops to Nigeria in what it claimed would be mostly a training and advisory role. The U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, confirmed the joint military operation, signaling U.S. troops have a more active role as the Trump administration intensifies its so-called war on terror in the region.

The Trump administration is advancing plans to increase the number of white South Africans it admits to the United States as refugees. The proposal would see an additional 10,000 white South Africans resettled into the U.S. even as the Trump administration continues to block the entry of refugees from other countries. Under Trump’s proposal, which was submitted to Congress, the U.S. would lift its record-low refugee admissions figure from 7,500 to 17,500, with the additional openings reserved for Afrikaners. Trump has falsely claimed they face racial persecution — lies South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has decried as “white supremacy and white victimhood.” The U.S. has resettled just over 6,000 refugees between October and April — all except three were from South Africa.

In California, a federal jury on Monday rejected Elon Musk’s $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman. Musk alleged that OpenAI was established as a nonprofit and then improperly turned into a for-profit corporation. The jury ruled that Musk waited too long to sue over the matter. Musk has vowed to appeal the verdict.

Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his primary race to a Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein. Massie has repeatedly defied President Trump during his tenure. He opposed U.S. military actions against Iran, publicly criticizing Trump’s strikes as unconstitutional. He was also the co-author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, along with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, forcing the Justice Department to release its files on the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move that Trump fiercely opposed. On Tuesday, Gallrein won the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District with nearly 55% of the vote. Trump’s biggest donors backed Gallrein, and more than $32 million was spent on campaign ads in the Kentucky district, making it the most expensive House primary on record. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel interest groups spent over $9 million to defeat Massie. This is Congressmember Massie in his concession speech Tuesday night.

Rep. Thomas Massie: “We don’t want — we’re tired of meddling overseas. We can’t afford it. Our empire will collapse if we keep sending our money to other countries. I never picked a fight with the country that’s tried to take me out here, because I’ve never — but I’ve never voted for foreign aid to any country. We got to take care of America first. America first!”

This comes as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger lost the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary. Raffensperger had defied President Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. In a call to Raffensperger in 2021, President Trump had urged him to “find 11,780 votes,” one more vote than Joe Biden’s margin of victory in 2020. On Tuesday, Raffensperger lost the gubernatorial primary to two pro-Trump candidates, Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive.

Meanwhile, DSA-backed candidate and progressive state Representative Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Democratic Congressmember Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District. Rabb defeated Evans’s preferred successor, Ala Stanford, in the primary.