Alan He

Exclusive at @CBSNews - Amid the Pentagon race to adapt low-cost, expendable drones, an Army explosive safety specialist warned that the military’s rush to innovate may be outpacing basic explosive safeguards—raising the risk of accidents, docs show. cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-…

A group called Progress Action Fund is up w/ an ad backing Jake Levine in #CA32 that pretty explicitly hits 71-yo Rep. Brad Sherman on age. Uses Obama audio: "At some point you age out. You're not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through."

SCOOP via @CBSNews: U.S. is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The potential indictment — which would need to be approved by a grand jury — is expected to focus on Cuba's deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue. @SarahNLynch and me cbsnews.com/news/us-moving…

CIA Director Ratcliffe was in Havana today per Cuban government. H/t CBS's Jose Diaz

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers will launch a new U.S.-Mexico caucus on Thursday, aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries on trade, security and culture at a moment of mounting tension in the bilateral relationship. Per CBS News' @finnygo cbsnews.com/news/us-mexico…

The MAHA movement is working to take down Bill Cassidy in Louisiana’s Senate primary Saturday RFK Jr-aligned MAHA PAC has poured hundreds of thousands of $ into defeating the incumbent after his clashes w/ Kennedy over vaccine skepticism & actions at HHS Asked how much he hears about MAHA issues from Louisiana voters, Cassidy told NBC, “not at all.” w/ @MZanona nbcnews.com/politics/2026-…

#SCOOP: Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are preparing to announce a bipartisan task force, or working group, aimed at addressing how sexual misconduct claims are handled within the House of Representatives, multiple sources confirm to @CBSNews.

Scooplet: Tillis tells me he expects to vote no on Doug Mastriano’s nomination for ambassador to the Slovak Republic, citing his views on Jan. 6: “Well, I guess lucky for him, I'm not on Foreign Relations, so we'll see him on the floor.”

NEWS via @CBSNews: Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates recently, where he met with Mohammed bin Zayed, the country's president, per sources. Netanyahu's office later acknowledged the trip, saying in a statement that it "resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates." Spokespeople for the UAE did not immediately comment.

SCOOP: A young female aide to Rep. Chuck Edwards felt uncomfortable and objectified by the congressman’s behavior, and feared retaliation, according to texts and multiple sources that spoke with @axios The new accounts, which include drinking outings, casino visits and a flattering poem Edwards read aloud to his whole office, build on @axios reporting about Edwards' inappropriate conduct toward young female staffers axios.com/2026/05/13/chu…

My report from New England, where the Democratic "gerontocracy" is on the back heel. Mills being pushed out of #MESen, Markey in a closer than expected race with Moulton, John Larson's challenger beathing him for local Dem endorsment semafor.com/article/05/12/…

Senate Minority Whip Durbin (D-IL), one of 3 Democrats who voted to confirm Dr. Marty Makary as FDA Commissioner, on his resignation today: "I voted for Dr. Makary to head the FDA based upon his commitment to say ‘no’ if President Trump asked him to do something that would harm America. Dr. Makary kept his word. He resisted Trump’s plan to expose millions of children to the dangers of vaping. I hope Dr. Makary will inspire others within the Trump Administration to grow a spine and put the families of America ahead of blind loyalty to this President.”

"I think the Pakistanis have been great," Trump says ahead of leaving for China

SCALISE says he supports HFSC Chair HILL’s efforts to “work out the differences” on the housing bill w/ the Senate Adds the president likes a lot of items in the House’s original bill “What we want to see is a bill that reflects a combination. Obviously, there are differences - key differences - between the House and Senate bill. And there's a reason we passed the version we did.” Does NOT sound like the House has any plan to just pass Senate bill after Trump’s post backing it

Scoop via @CBSNews: A memo between US and Ukraine outlines the terms of a defense deal between the two countries. It would allow Ukraine to export its military tech to the US and manufacture drones in joint ventures with American companies, @aidan_stretch reports.

President Trump is not weighing bailing out airlines dealing with surging fuel costs. "This hasn't really been presented. The airlines are doing not badly" Mr Trump tells our @nancycordes during a phone interview with @cbsnews.

In a phone interview, President Trump told me that he wants to pause the 18 cent federal gas tax “for a period of time.” “I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.”

Read/watch the extended version of @MajorCBS's fascinating and probing interview with Benjamin Netanyahu... cbsnews.com/news/read-the-…

After nearly three decades at CBS, senior correspondent Elizabeth Palmer is retiring. We look back at some of her outstanding reporting.

Scoop Santaliz