Jeffrey Epstein built a network of elites across finance, politics and academia. By analyzing thousands of documents, Bloomberg mapped its reach and how it widened even as allegations against him accumulated https://t.co/EsVhsAhYa9pic.twitter.com/1itP54sOzF
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) May 23, 2026
Happy Saturday! It’s Memorial Day weekend, in remembrance of U.S. service members who died serving America.Smart Brevity™ count: 1,345 words … 5 mins. Thanks to Neal Rothschild for orchestrating. Edited by Katie Lewis.
President Trump promised an economic golden age when he returned to office last year.
Instead, voters are in their crankiest mood in years about their financial outlook — and the pessimism is spreading even to Republicans, Axios’ Mike Zapler writes.
Why it matters: The growing GOP gloom could hardly come at a worse time for Trump and the party — less than six months out from a midterm that’s likely to turn on the economy.
Trump’s approval rating has been dropping for months. But the University of Michigan’s May consumer sentiment survey released yesterday revealed something more striking: Republicans are beginning to lose confidence in the economy, too.
Republican and independent voters’ attitudes about the economy hit a low point in Trump’s second term, per the survey. Overall sentiment hit an all-time low, period.
Expectations that inflation will remain high shot up among everyone surveyed, but especially Republicans. The long-run inflation expectations for Republicans “are currently more than double their February 2025 reading on a monthly basis,” the Michigan survey found.Data: University of Michigan. Chart: Axios Visuals
By the numbers: An AP/NORC poll out this week found that around 6 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. That’s down from about 8 in 10 in February.
Gallup’s gauge of consumer economic confidence released yesterday found that Republicans’ economic outlook has dipped for the past four months, to the lowest level of Trump’s second term.
A CBS News/YouGov poll this month told much the same story: Just 36% of Republicans said Trump’s policies were making them financially better off.Share this story.
Source close to Speaker Ghalibaf: Iran’s “Third Struggle” plan will close Bab el-Mandeb Strait by fire and disable all 7 undersea internet cables in Strait of Hormuz if US strikes resume this weekend. Iran will also fire hundreds of next-generation missiles & drones daily at Gulf energy targets.
🚨 BREAKING: 🇮🇷 Iran prepares extreme response 🔥 Source close to Speaker Ghalibaf: Iran’s “Third Struggle” plan will close Bab el-Mandeb Strait by fire and disable all 7 undersea internet cables in Strait of Hormuz if US strikes resume this weekend. Iran will also fire hundreds… pic.twitter.com/B0twu0uqnN
— Ebrahim Zolfaghari Commentary (@Irantimes02) May 23, 2026
JUST NOW: U.S. President Donald Trump just posted a map on Truth Social labeling Iran as part of a 'United States of the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/K6baEMw6Jj
Islamist terrorism continues to claim numerous victims worldwide. Extremist networks are financed in part by donations from Germany. But investigations often prove to be difficult.
Citing US President Donald Trump’s alliances with tech billionaires and the pressure on US media outlets, investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr tells DW we are accelerating toward “a techno‑fascist future.”
Carole Cadwalladr is working to expose the “broligarchy” and its increasing influence on state power in the US and UK through her new outlet “The Nerve.”
Despite the dystopian picture, Cadwalladr insisted nothing is inevitable. She sat down with DW to discuss how democracies are being reshaped and how citizens can push back.
Tomi Oladipo Tomi Oladipo is a British-born Nigerian journalist based in Berlin.
“The rise of AI is the next industrial revolution,” Gloria Caulfield, a real estate executive, told recent graduates of arts, humanities, and communication at the University of Central Florida. The response? A chorus of boos. Caulfield turned to the organizers: “What happened?” she asked. She looked back at the young people in the audience: “Ok, I’ve struck a chord, may I finish?” And she continued: “Only a few years ago, AI wasn’t a factor in our lives,” she added. And then they applauded, and Caulfield smiled with relief. The video of her bewilderment went viral.
The booing of AI in Florida wasn’t the only such incident at American universities over the weekend. Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, was presiding over the commencement ceremony at the University of Arizona before thousands of students. Schmidt uttered phrases that young people have heard a thousand times before: “The question isn’t whether AI will shape the world. It will. The question is whether you will help shape AI,” he said. He continued: “AI will affect everything, whichever path you choose.” And he was booed.
The reasons for the jeers will be varied: from fear of an uncertain future to weariness with the evangelical rhetoric surrounding AI. Just recently, at the University of Central Florida, there was controversy over a class called “Art of AI” for art students. One student argued that he pays tuition to learn skills, not to use a generative AI that would prevent him from then using those skills.
This trend is reflected in recent polls. Over the past year, according to a Gallup survey published in April in the U.S., Generation Z’s sentiment toward AI has become more negative. The percentage of young people enthusiastic about AI has fallen 14 points to 22%, while those angry about it have risen nine points to 31%. Anxiety about AI remains stable at 42%.
In a Pew Research global survey on AI, the generation most consistently concerned about the technology is those aged over 50. Those least concerned are the youngest, aged between 18 and 34. This pattern holds true, with a significant percentage difference of more than 24 points between younger and older generations in countries like Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, and Japan. The United States, however, is the country where this difference is smallest: young people are almost as concerned as older generations about the emergence of AI in everyday life.
In another commencement address, music industry executive Scott Borchetta also had to defend himself against some heckling during his speech at Middle Tennessee State University: “This industry will change. It’s changed more in the last 10 years than in the 50 years prior. Streaming rewrote the economics. Social media rewrote the discovery model. AI is rewriting production while we sit here,” he said, eliciting some boos. Borchetta then went off-script: “I know, accept it. Like I said, it’s a tool. Either you can hear me now or you can pay me later. Do something. The things you learned here in your first year may already be obsolete.”
In the case of Schmidt, the booing was already anticipated. In 2025, a former lover accused him of rape, and he also appears in the Epstein files. University organizations had distributed leaflets encouraging the booing. To make matters worse, at their historic rival, Arizona State University, the graduation sponsor was actor Harrison Ford, who was being awarded an honorary doctorate for his environmental activism.
A university spokesperson told a local media outlet that Schmidt’s invitation was extended due to “recognition of his extraordinary leadership and global contributions” and because “he continues to drive research and discovery through important philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including collaborations that support key projects at the University of Arizona.”
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Data: 
canisgallicus 