Headlines May 21, 2026 from Democracy Now!

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting hundreds of Global Sumud Flotilla activists who were abducted by Israel in international waters this week. The video shows dozens of men and women kneeling in rows, with their foreheads to the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their back at the port in Ashdod. According to lawyers representing the flotilla, three activists were taken to the hospital as a result of Israeli violence. This is a portion of Ben-Gvir’s video.

Itamar Ben-Gvir: “They came with much pride, as big heroes. Look. Look. See how they look now. Look. Look at how they look now. Not heroes and not anything. Terror supporters. I tell Prime Minister Netanyahu: Give them to me for much more time. Give them to us for the terrorists’ prisons. This is how it should look.”

Ben-Gvir’s video was roundly condemned around the world. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “It is inadmissible that these demonstrators, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates human dignity.” Spain’s foreign minister called Ben-Gvir’s actions “monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane.” It even drew criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who described Ben-Gvir’s behavior as “despicable,” saying the minister had “betrayed the dignity of his nation.” Huckabee’s rare criticism came a day after the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against organizers of the Gaza flotilla.

Colbert Signs Off Tonight on the Final Broadcast of “The Late Show”

May 21, 2026

 

The late-night comedian Stephen Colbert signs off tonight on the final broadcast of “The Late Show,” following his 11-year run on CBS. “The Late Show” had broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan since 1993. Its cancellation came even though Colbert was consistently the top-rated late-night host. Last July, CBS cited “financial reasons” for canceling “The Late Show,” as CBS parent company Paramount sought the Trump administration’s support for a controversial merger with Skydance, and after Trump repeatedly called for Colbert to be fired. The merger was approved just one week after CBS announced Colbert’s ouster. Colbert’s late-night competitor on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, said he will not record his own program today, out of respect for Colbert’s final show. Paramount Skydance is now seeking approval from the Trump administration to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which would give the company control of CNN, HBO and other stations, as well. 

 

Demonstrators in Bolivia Call for President Paz to Step Down

May 21, 2026

 

In Bolivia, there are growing calls for the center-right President Rodrigo Paz Pereira to step down. For two weeks, demonstrations led by the Bolivian Workers’ Central, peasant unions and miners have clashed with police in the capital La Paz. Their blockade has led to empty markets and depleted reserves of medical supplies including oxygen for hospital patients. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau characterized the protests as “an ongoing coup d’état.” Bolivia is suffering its worst economic crisis in four decades amid fuel shortages and rising inflation. Bolivia’s presidential spokesperson is claiming that Evo Morales, Bolivia’s former president, is fueling the protests, which Morales denies. This is a Bolivian miner who joined the protests.

Walter Poma: “We do not want dialogue or anything. We only want the resignation of the president, no matter what. He leaves the good way, or he leaves with social upheaval.”

Iran says it has established a controlled maritime zone in the Strait of Hormuz that ships will not be able to transit without authorization from the newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority. On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had coordinated safe passage for 26 cargo ships and tankers, including the first shipment of Middle East oil to South Korea since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran nearly three months ago. Iran is reportedly charging tolls of up to $2 million for passage through the strait, to be paid in Chinese yuan or the cryptocurrency bitcoin.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry says it’s reviewing the latest U.S. peace proposal, after President Trump said he was willing to delay planned attacks on Iran for “a few days” while he awaits Iran’s response. On Tuesday, Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Axios reports the Israeli leader left the meeting with his “hair on fire” after urging Trump to abandon diplomacy and resume bombing Iran. On Wednesday, Trump downplayed reports of friction between the two leaders and said Netanyahu would “do whatever I want him to do.”

President Donald Trump: “I’m right now at 99% in Israel. I could run for prime minister. So, maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister.”

In Sudan, human rights monitors say an armed drone fired on a crowded market in West Kordofan province on Tuesday, killing 28 people and leaving dozens more wounded. Sudan’s army denied the report, saying it doesn’t target civilians or civilian infrastructure. The area is controlled by the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Last week, the global food insecurity monitor IPC warned nearly 20 million people across Sudan face acute hunger this year, with more than 800,000 children at risk of severe malnutrition due to civil war, mass displacement and collapsing food and health systems. 

The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group arrived in the southern Caribbean on Wednesday, the same day the Justice Department unsealed murder charges against the 94-year-old former Cuban President Raúl Castro. The indictment accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the Cuban American exile group Brothers to the Rescue in 1996. President Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Cuba, imposing a fuel blockade that has triggered severe blackouts, food shortages and economic collapse across the island. This is Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío: “This accusation carries an additional threat, given the well-known, dark practice of the United States using accusations like this to take military action against sovereign states. Their justification is not justice. It is the use of the immense military power that the United States government possesses. And it must be clear that any attempt to use this excuse for action against these comrades within Cuba will be met with fierce resistance from the Cuban people.”

Israel is continuing attacks on Lebanon despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that was recently extended through June. Lebanon’s National News Agency reports Israeli attacks on Wednesday killed at least eight people, including five killed in an airstrike on a village near Nabatieh. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the death toll from an air raid on the town of Deir Qanoun en-Nahr has risen to 14 killed and three wounded. The strike in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district on Tuesday killed a family of 11, including three children along with their parents and grandparents.

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have set up another illegal outpost in the Masafer Yatta district. On Wednesday, settlers backed by Israeli soldiers erected mobile homes surrounded by fortifications near Umm al-Khair village. Such outposts are illegal under international law and violate Israeli zoning laws and court orders. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the city of Halhul say Israeli settlers attacked them with impunity on Wednesday as Israeli soldiers looked on.

Halhul resident: “At 3 a.m., we were shocked when armed settlers assaulted us. They attacked the house. They burned two vehicles and tried to burn a third one. They also wrote racist graffiti on the walls. This happened with Israeli occupation forces in attendance.”

In Gaza, Israel drones and gunfire killed four more Palestinians and wounded several others over the last 24 hours. The Wafa news agency reports two Palestinians were killed in areas under Israeli military control in Rafah in southern Gaza; another person was killed northeast of Khan Younis, while a fourth was killed when an Israeli quadcopter drone dropped a bomb on a group of Palestinians in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. Several others were injured in that attack.

Here in the United States, Elon Musk’s private aerospace and artificial intelligence company SpaceX has confirmed plans to go public, in what’s likely to become the largest initial public offering in history. The plan could see SpaceX’s valuation reach $2 trillion, surpassing the 2020 IPO of the oil giant Saudi Aramco. It could see Elon Musk’s majority stake in SpaceX rise in value to more than $600 billion, making him the first trillionaire in history.

Meanwhile, OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is set to file for an initial public offering in the coming weeks. The artificial intelligence company is valued at more than $850 billion by private investors and is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to prepare the paperwork. Separately, OpenAI rival Anthropic is preparing an IPO that could see its valuation top $1 trillion.

Meta has sent layoff notices to about 8,000 workers, or 10% of the social media giant’s workforce. Another 7,000 Meta workers will be reassigned to new artificial intelligence initiatives. The layoffs come just weeks after CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed in an all-hands meeting that Meta is using an artificial intelligence data tracking program to train an AI model that will replace many of its workers. A recording of Zuckerberg’s comments was obtained by the news organization More Perfect Union.

Mark Zuckerberg: “So, we’re in a phase where basically the AI models learn from having really — from watching really smart people do things. And if you’re trying to get it to be able to — be able to do certain capabilities, having it be able to observe really smart people doing those things is very important.” 

Vermont’s independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Congressmember Summer Lee unveiled new legislation Wednesday to abolish super PACs, which allow corporations and wealthy individuals to spend an unlimited amount of money on U.S. elections. Their bill would cap super PAC donations from individuals at $5,000. This is Democratic Congressmember Lee.

Rep. Summer Lee: “But right now we can take a step to ensure that super PACs, that super billionaires are no longer able to buy our election, and we have to call it what it is. If we will have a democracy, we have to reject an oligarchy.”