United States in May 2026: the most important developments in society
In May 2026 the most widely reported story in the United States was a chemical hazard in Southern California. A crack formed in a tank holding a toxic chemical near Los Angeles, about 40,000 residents were placed under evacuation orders, and Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on 24 May. Officials said the tank was more likely to leak than explode, and by 25 May the fire department said it was no longer an explosion risk. Separately, a chemical explosion at a paper mill in Washington state killed between eight and eleven people.
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo shaped the health news. On 18 May the US banned travellers from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, and an American doctor infected with the virus was admitted to a Berlin hospital on 20 May. Flights with passengers from affected regions must land at Dulles airport for screening. The WHO chief said suspected deaths reached 220 by 25 May. The US planned an Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya; US officials said Kenya approved it on 28 May, and a Kenyan court suspended it the next day. The CDC also classified a hantavirus outbreak as a 'level 3' emergency response.
On 22 May the Trump administration ordered most green card applicants already in the US to leave and apply from their home countries; the Department of Homeland Security later said most immigrants will not need to leave. A study estimated that more than 145,000 US children have been separated from parents since the immigration enforcement surge. Protests, including a hunger strike, took place at an ICE facility in New Jersey.
On 17 May the administration hosted a mass prayer event on the National Mall promoting the Christian origins of the United States, drawing thousands of people and protests. President Donald Trump criticised Pope Leo XIV, who urged that criticism be truthful. The NYPD said Jews were targeted in 60% of hate crimes in New York City in April, and on 14 May the Supreme Court temporarily cleared the way for mail distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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