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May 15 1200 UTC Brief
In consumer and courts
A California judge has permanently banned the Kars4Kids jingle from state airwaves after a civil trial found the charity’s car-donation ads misled donors about where the money went. The court said donations were used for Israel property and trips, not just help for underprivileged children. One less earworm, for reasons that turned out to be less cute than advertised.
In Asia
A major coast guard recovery operation is underway in the Maldives after five Italians from the University of Genoa died while exploring undersea caves. Bad weather is slowing the effort.
Separately, the scale of Cambodia’s scam industry is drawing fresh scrutiny, with revenue now estimated at nearly half the country’s legitimate GDP. That is not an economy so much as a warning label.
In Europe
Britain’s most wanted fugitive, Simon Dutton, has been arrested in La Nucia, Spain, as British and Spanish authorities launched a new campaign to track down 12 men believed to be hiding there. Dutton, a convicted drug smuggler from Bolton, remains in Spanish custody after officers surrounded a villa and detained him during the operation.
In U.S. politics and business
President Trump says China agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets after talks with Xi Jinping, a figure well below earlier expectations of a 500-plane deal. The talks ended without a trade agreement, despite the ceremony and the usual claim that everything was very successful.
Trump also said the White House ballroom is scheduled to open in September 2028, near the end of his second term, and that construction is ahead of schedule. He called it something the U.S. should have, because apparently the republic was missing just one more room for formal dancing.
A separate ethics filing shows Trump made more than 3,600 stock trades in the first quarter of 2026, valued at between $220 million and $750 million.
In Africa
An Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 65 people so far, with 246 suspected cases reported in Ituri province near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. Health officials are racing to coordinate containment efforts as concerns grow over the spread.
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By IniaesIn consumer and courts
A California judge has permanently banned the Kars4Kids jingle from state airwaves after a civil trial found the charity’s car-donation ads misled donors about where the money went. The court said donations were used for Israel property and trips, not just help for underprivileged children. One less earworm, for reasons that turned out to be less cute than advertised.
In Asia
A major coast guard recovery operation is underway in the Maldives after five Italians from the University of Genoa died while exploring undersea caves. Bad weather is slowing the effort.
Separately, the scale of Cambodia’s scam industry is drawing fresh scrutiny, with revenue now estimated at nearly half the country’s legitimate GDP. That is not an economy so much as a warning label.
In Europe
Britain’s most wanted fugitive, Simon Dutton, has been arrested in La Nucia, Spain, as British and Spanish authorities launched a new campaign to track down 12 men believed to be hiding there. Dutton, a convicted drug smuggler from Bolton, remains in Spanish custody after officers surrounded a villa and detained him during the operation.
In U.S. politics and business
President Trump says China agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets after talks with Xi Jinping, a figure well below earlier expectations of a 500-plane deal. The talks ended without a trade agreement, despite the ceremony and the usual claim that everything was very successful.
Trump also said the White House ballroom is scheduled to open in September 2028, near the end of his second term, and that construction is ahead of schedule. He called it something the U.S. should have, because apparently the republic was missing just one more room for formal dancing.
A separate ethics filing shows Trump made more than 3,600 stock trades in the first quarter of 2026, valued at between $220 million and $750 million.
In Africa
An Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 65 people so far, with 246 suspected cases reported in Ituri province near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. Health officials are racing to coordinate containment efforts as concerns grow over the spread.