President Donald Trump insists a peace deal is close on this 88th day of the Iran war, but Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. airstrikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations continue. Meanwhile, state media in Lebanon reports that Israel has killed 12 more people in another strike. Iran has demanded that any deal must include an end to hostilities in Lebanon and Gaza.
In Washington, the president has a medical checkup on his schedule, and the redistricting war also continues — the Congressional Black Caucus is urging corporate America to get involved to save voting rights, ending a collective retreat during Trump’s second presidency. in Texas, the Trump-backed, scandal-plagued Ken Paxton is favored over Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday's GOP primary runoff election.
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A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively.
“I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician under Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Kuhlman said a complete physical would include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and a cognitive assessment. The White House has not disclosed what Trump’s checkups will entail.
“President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.
U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly as gas prices remained at or above a national average of $4.50 a gallon in May and inflation remained elevated, a sharp contrast to soaring stock prices that have neared record levels.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index slipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, the first decline after three months of gains.
The index follows a separate gauge of consumer sentiment compiled by the University of Michigan, which fell to a record low this month. Spikes in gas prices as well as higher food costs have worsened inflation, which has outpaced the growth in average paychecks in recent months, reducing most Americans’ purchasing power. Polls show Americans have soured on Trump’s economic policies, which could harm Republicans in this year’s elections.
Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. strikes a day earlier as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations continue toward a possible deal to end the war.
The U.S. military said it acted with restraint in defensively targeting missile launch sites and boats placing mines. Iran’s foreign ministry called the strikes a ceasefire violation and warned that “The Islamic Republic of Iran will leave no act of aggression unanswered.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday said it had shot down and deterred drones and a fighter jet that entered its airspace, according to Iran’s official Mizan news agency, which did not say when this happened.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went to Qatar as part of the talks. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said an explosion was reported Tuesday morning aboard a tanker in the Gulf of Oman. No one was injured and there was no immediate information on the cause.
The new congressional map would give Republicans an advantage in a key House race this November. But the preliminary injunction issued by a three-judge panel requires the state, at least for now, to instead use the same court-ordered districts under which congressional representatives were elected in 2024.
Lawyers representing Black voters argued that Alabama’s map intentionally discriminates against Black voters and that trying to change lines in the middle of an election year creates chaos.
The state could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans want to use a new map that will give the GOP a chance to reclaim the seat now held by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.
The price for a barrel of U.S crude oil fell 3.8% to $92.99 on Tuesday after resuming trading following the Memorial Day holiday, and U.S. stocks were catching up to others around the world that climbed after Trump said Iran talks were “proceeding nicely.”
The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite all rose Tuesday to near their all-time highs even though fighting continued in the Mideast and the U.S. military said it struck Iranian missile launch sites and boats placing mines on Monday. Markets have rallied in the past on hopes for a coming end to the war with Iran, only to see the conflict drag on, causing painful inflation around the world.
The Congressional Black Caucus is calling on major U.S. corporations to oppose Republican-led redistricting efforts that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts.
Their letter sent Tuesday urges more than 250 companies to condemn “coordinated efforts to silence Black voices at the ballot box.” Some had cosigned their own message to Congress five years ago urging lawmakers to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a Democratic proposal to restore and update the Voting Rights Act.
That 2021 coalition, Business for Voting Rights, included Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, Salesforce, Target, PayPal, Intel and Starbucks.
“Corporations that have profited from Black consumers, relied on Black workers, and amassed wealth in part from Black communities cannot look away while Black political power is dismantled in plain sight,” the caucus chair, Rep. Yvette Clarke, said in an interview.
The White House said Trump would participate in a greeting with service members and hospital staff before he spends hours being examined by a team of doctors.
It is the Republican president’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office in January 2025, and it comes as the nearly 80-year-old Trump tries to project strength going into November elections that will test his sway with voters.
The White House says the visit is an annual preventive medical and dental checkup. Trump was last at Walter Reed in October and also had a physical there in April 2025.
Last July, the White House said he’d been diagnosed with a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, causing the swollen ankles seen in some photos of Trump.
The White House also has blamed handshaking for visible bruising on Trump’s hands.
There’s no law requiring these disclosures and the degree of transparency varies.
Presidents for decades have released medical test results to try to reassure the public that they are up to the high-pressure job.
But the president signs off on what is released, which raises questions about what isn’t being shared.
Trump’s past medical reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and including statistics that some medical experts eyed with skepticism.
It will be several hours before the White House releases any information about Tuesday’s exam.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, smiles at a campaign event in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens to State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
President Donald Trump, from left, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attend a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
