Stories Speak Volumes: May 15-22
A Round-Up of National and International News
Compiled by
There are so many stories making up the mosaic of national/international news that we can’t cover them all every week. The biggest stories now seem to be: Israel and Iran, the Trump presidency (lawfare and judges), immigration (migrants and illegals), wars, weaponization of government (the deep state) against Trump and conservatives, our nation’s debt, massive inflation, climate change controversy and related expenses of government, industry attempting to address these issues, the Chinese threat, national security, abortion, taxpayer cuts, Ukraine peace, and hatred and violence against Christians. Here are just a few:
Tina Peters Drops ‘Statements’ After Far-Left Gov. Polis Grants Clemency
May 15: Gateway Pundit by Jim Hoft
Far-left Colorado Governor Jared Polis has commuted the sentence of election integrity hero Tina Peters — the Gold Star mother and former Mesa County Clerk who was railroaded by the Deep State for daring to preserve evidence of potential 2020 election irregularities. Polis is slashing Peters’ outrageous nine-year prison sentence in half, paving the way for her release on parole as early as June 1.
Now, just hours after news of her clemency broke, Peters released a statement: “Thank you Governor Polis. I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry. Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong. I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.
“I strongly condemned it when people not connected to me threatened to storm the prison I am in. I myself have faced threats, so, I also want to be clear that I condemn any and all bullying, threats and acts of violence against voters, county clerks, election workers, and other public officials, and concerned citizens like myself.
“Upon release, I plan to do my best through legal means to support election integrity and based on my own personal experiences to elevate the cause of prison reform to help ensure the detention system is more fair and equitable for people of all ages. My experiences have given me a perspective that plan to share with others to improve Colorado’s corrections system. I am grateful for a second chance and an earlier release, and I look forward to doing good in the world.”
Feds Foil Chilling ISIS Plot On Michigan U.S. Army Base Just Hours Before Mass Shooting—Planned By 19-Year-Old Somali-American Ex-National Guard Soldier
May 15: Gateway Pundit by Patty McMurray
A 19-year-old former member of the Michigan Army National Guard has been charged with planning a horrific mass shooting attack on a major U.S. military facility right here in Michigan, all in the name of ISIS.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said of Melvindale, Michigan was arrested on May 13, 2025 — the very day he planned to carry out the attack — after launching a drone near the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan.Said faces federal charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization (ISIS) and distributing information related to a destructive device. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
Trump: U.S. And Nigerian Forces Take Out Top ISIS Terrorist In Africa
May 16: Breitbart by Lowell Cauffiel
The second in command of ISIS globally, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, was killed by U.S. and Nigerian forces targeting the top terrorist in the northeast region of the African country, President Donald Trump announced. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinabu has confirmed the terrorist’s death.
Trump announced the strike in a Truth Social post late Friday: Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing. He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP.
In a statement posted on X, Tinubu confirmed the “heavy blow against the Islamic State” and expressed his “sincere gratitude to President Trump” for the success of the joint operation. He said several of al-Minuki’s lieutenants were also taken out in the raid.
Google Maps Just ‘Unburned’ The Pacific Palisades — And Infuriated Angelenos Noticed
May 16: Red State by Bob Hoge
Angelenos have been noticing something strange: the Google Maps satellite imagery depicting the Los Angeles areas of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena now shows pristine neighborhoods untouched by the devastating fires of January 2025. Of course, as we all know, those neighborhoods are in ruins.
RedState Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar took note as well: “Hmm, not a destroyed house or burn scar in sight. At the bottom of the map that I viewed, it says in very small letters: “Imagery ©2026 Airbus, Maxar Technologies, Vexcel Imaging US, Inc., Data CSUMB SFML, OA CPC, Map data ©2026 Google.”
Well, the copyrights may be from 2026, but the satellite images certainly don’t appear to show the reality that is the Palisades at any point in the current year.
Dems Can Only Watch And Do Nothing As Senate Republicans Ram Through Dozens Of Trump Nominees
May 18: Red State by Bob Hoge
GOP senators pushed through almost 50 Trump civilian nominees Monday night by a 46-43 vote, meaning that they have now installed 60 percent of the president’s choices.
Democrats, led by the TDS-riddled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), had been hell-bent on blocking the confirmations, so the Republicans pulled out the so-called “nuclear option” in September 2025. This allowed executive‑branch confirmations to pass by a simple majority instead of a 60-vote threshold.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who was a strong proponent of the rule change, said the confirmations will make our streets safer.
Included in the latest batch are 20 different positions, including a dozen U.S. attorneys, several U.S. marshals, ambassadors and members of a variety of agencies, including the departments of War, Transportation, Energy, and others.Also included in the group is Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management and a former member of Congress, Stevan Pearce. Former congressman Steve Pearce will lead the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management following Monday’s 46-43 confirmation vote. Pearce’s background as a Republican Party leader in New Mexico known for supporting public land leasing and industry.
RNC Chair Joe Gruters Announces 130 Lawsuits Filed Across 32 States to Stop Democrat Election Shenanigans
May 18: Gateway Pundit by Jim Hoft
The Republican National Committee is escalating its election integrity war ahead of the 2026 midterms. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters announced that Republicans have already launched 130 lawsuits across 32 states aimed at blocking Democrat efforts to “cheat every single day” in U.S. elections.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump recently vowed to unleash a much larger “Election Integrity Army” than the one Republicans used in 2024, signaling that the GOP is preparing for an all-out legal and ground-game fight over ballot security, vote counting, and election procedures in battleground states.
Gruters laid it all out in no uncertain terms, exposing exactly what the Democrats are up to during an interview on Fox News.
Newly Released Trump Border Numbers Further Expose Full Scale of Biden’s Border Crisis
May 18: Red State by Ben Smith
In April 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 8,943 apprehensions for the entire month. In December 2023, at the peak of Joe Biden’s open-borders disaster, agents were logging 336 illegal crossings every single hour. At that rate, Biden’s Border Patrol was processing the same number in just over a day that Trump’s agents processed in all of April. That’s not a policy difference. That’s a different country.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported Friday that the U.S. Border Patrol has now gone a full year, twelve straight months, without releasing a single illegal immigrant into the country, while illegal crossings have collapsed to levels not seen since the early 1990s.
“Twelve straight months of ZERO releases at the border. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “The days of catch and release are over.”
GOP Senators Sue Raffensperger Demanding Poll Watchers Be Allowed to the Secretive ‘Bunker’ Where Statewide Votes Are Tallied
May 19: Gateway Pundit by Jim Hoft
Georgia State Senator Greg Dolezal and two fellow Republican candidates have filed an emergency lawsuit against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, demanding a court order to let poll watchers and State Election Board observers into the infamous “bunker” where Georgia’s statewide vote totals are received and published.
Senator Dolezal, a Trump-aligned warrior running for Lieutenant Governor, made the announcement himself: “UPDATE: Along with two other candidates, I have filed a lawsuit against Secretary Brad Raffensperger seeking a court order to allow poll watchers and State Election Board observers into ‘the bunker,’ where Georgia’s statewide vote totals are received and published. Transparency should not be controversial.”
Trump Admin Creates $1.776 Billion Reparations Fund for Victims of Biden-Era Weaponization
May 19: Gateway Pundit by Jordan Conradson
The Justice Department has established a more than $1.7 billion fund for victims of weaponization under Joe Biden, which President Trump said will reimburse those who faced Biden-era political persecution.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the $1.776 billion weaponization fund, which was created as he dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, would be “reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated. It’s anti-weaponization.”
On Massie’s Defeat
May 20: The Hill by Ashleigh Fields
Trump endorsed veteran Ed Gallrein over Massie in the Kentucky primary, describing Massie as “disloyal” in a Truth Social post earlier this week. Massie is the latest incumbent lawmaker to feel the wrath of Trump. The president has sought to unseat several Republican lawmakers who have challenged or defied him, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost in Saturday’s Louisiana Senate Republican primary. The defeat followed years of conflict with Trump after Cassidy voted to convict him during impeachment proceedings following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Massive Rate Hike Coming as California Insurance Giant Makes Staggering Revision
May 20: California Post by Katie Jerkovich
California homeowners in fire-prone areas will be slugged with an average insurance premium hike of 30% in October. FAIR Plan is the state’s insurance program, which provides basic fire coverage for those in the California with “high risk properties” that major insurers won’t cover. The program warned last year they were running out of money after paying out thousands of claims to victims of Los Angeles devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires — and it appears policy holders will now pay the price.
The rise is the first for policy holders since 2023, when rates increased by 15%. Most of the 663,000 owners covered by FAIR will see their bills go up – but by how much will depend on where their property is located.“
Average FAIR Plan rates will increase 29% effective October 15, down from the 36% requested,” The California Department of Insurance told The Post in an email. Around half of customers will face increases of between 30% and 50%. About a quarter will actually see their premiums drop, in some cases by as much as 80%, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The remaining quarter will see smaller hikes of under 30% — or much steeper increases ranging from 50% to as high as 200%.
DHS Confirms Illegal Immigrant Trucker in Another Deadly California Crash Entered U.S. Under Biden
May 20: Red State by Ben Smith
The Biden administration caught him at the border, released him into the country, and walked away. Now two people are dead on a California highway, and the man behind the wheel of that semi-truck is an illegal immigrant from India who never should have been there.
Authorities arrested 24-year-old Manvir Singh following a deadly multi-vehicle crash on Tuesday on northbound Highway 99 near Lodi, California. The California Highway Patrol responded around 12:20 p.m. after Singh’s big rig jackknifed, skidded off the road, and slammed into a guardrail, triggering a collision involving three other vehicles. Two people were killed. Singh allegedly fled the scene on foot before being taken into custody.
Texas And Florida Just Lost Their Crown as Americans Rush to This Red State
May 21: Gateway Pundit by Ben Kew
South Carolina has overtaken Texas and Florida as America’s fastest-growing relocation destination on a per-capita basis. Fox News reports that data from the IRS shows Americans continuing to flee high-tax blue states for lower-cost conservative strongholds.
The Palmetto State added more than 59,000 new residents from other states between 2022 and 2023, equal to just over 1 percent of its total population and the highest migration rate in the nation. The figures also show an economic boost accompanying the population influx.
South Carolina gained roughly 29,000 new tax filers and more than $4.1 billion in incoming income as new arrivals brought spending power with them. The state has increasingly become a magnet for retirees, remote workers, and families seeking a cheaper alternative to states like California and New York.
Minnesota ‘Feeding Our Future’ Somali Fraud Mastermind Aimee Bock Sentenced to Over 41 Years in Prison
May 21: Gateway Pundit by Cassandra MacDonald
Aimee Bock, the convicted mastermind behind the $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal, has been sentenced to 41.5 years in federal prison. The sentencing, handed down Thursday, was over her role in a massive scheme that fraudulently billed taxpayers for tens of millions of meals that were never provided to low-income children during the pandemic.
The fraud was centered in Minnesota’s large Somali community and involved dozens of defendants. Bock, who founded Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 on multiple counts, including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud. She had been the central figure coordinating the operation that exploited relaxed federal rules during the COVID-19 emergency.
Ready for the Jab? Globalist Response Group Says Race for Ebola Vaccine Is On
May 22: Breitbart by Simon Kent
A vaccine to tackle the runaway Ebola virus now surging through central Africa can be developed within 100 days, an international disease response group vowed Friday. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) funds the development of new vaccines and is looking at potential candidates for the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no current known vaccine.
Jane Halton, CEPI’s board chair, highlighted an urgent need for a vaccine, saying the number of cases recorded so far may be only the tip of the iceberg and a swift response is essential. The World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern over the weekend, as Breitbart News reported.
The outbreak has resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases, of which 61 have been confirmed, according to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) health ministry data published on Thursday. Two Ebola cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda and now the disease is spreading to rebel-held areas of the DRC, the latest figures show. Its recent re-appearance in Africa follows previous health events involving viruses and calls for vaccines across the continent similar to events in 2024 when the Ebola-like and highly contagious Marburg virus appeared in Rwanda and left havoc in its wake.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in what is now DR Congo, and is thought to have spread from bats. It is a rare, highly contagious and often fatal disease generally transmitted via bodily fluids. Symptoms include a high temperature, extreme tiredness, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and bleeding.
Tulsi Gabbard Resigning as Director of National Intelligence – With Trump Statement on Replacement
May 22: Gateway Pundit by Cristina Laila
Tulsi Gabbard is resigning as the Director of National Intelligence, according to Fox News. Tulsi is stepping down to be with her husband as he battles an extremely rare form of bone cancer. Tulsi, a former Democrat Rep from Hawaii, was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025 to serve as the Director of National Intelligence in Trump’s second administration. Her last day on the job is June 30. “I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote.
“My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.” Gabbard said her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she said. Gabbard added: “Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role. Today, with great humility and sincere appreciation, I shared the below letter with President Trump. It has been a profound honor to serve the American people as DNI,” Tulsi said.
Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for CitizensJournal.net and MountainTopMedia.com. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists with trainings held every other month (on Saturdays at Shasta Bible College and online) and can be contacted at MikeHernandezMedia.com.