Friday’s Mini-Report, 5.15.26

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Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Crisis conditions in Cuba: “After months of a debilitating energy crisis that has caused widespread power outages, Cuba’s oil reserves have run dry, the government said, which is likely to plunge the country into even more frequent, bigger and longer nationwide blackouts.”

* In related news: “More than a dozen neighborhoods in the capital city of Havana erupted in protests Wednesday night, with residents banging pots and burning garbage amid rising anger over dayslong blackouts and deteriorating living conditions.”

* When political gamesmanship meets troop deployments: “The Pentagon is drawing down thousands of troops in Europe by canceling deployments to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking forces already stationed there, U.S. officials say, as President Donald Trump has tussled with allies over the Iran war and called for changes. Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland this week.”

* Alito’s dissent in this case was almost hilarious in its hypocrisy: “The Supreme Court on Thursday kept mifepristone abortion pills available for now, pending further litigation, siding with the drug’s manufacturers over Louisiana in an emergency appeal that called nationwide access to the widely used medication into question. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.”