Top 5 US news stories
May 12 2026
Trump Floats Gas Tax Holiday Amid Iran War Prices
Warsh Faces Inflation Test and Trump Pressure at Fed
EBay Rejects GameStop's $56 Billion Takeover Bid
Chinese Humanoid Robot Maker Unitree Plans Shanghai IPO
China's AI Industry Pivots to Homegrown Chips Over Nvidia
Trump Floats Gas Tax Holiday Amid Iran War Prices
President Donald Trump said Monday he intends to suspend the federal gas tax for an unspecified period to ease pump prices that have climbed during the ongoing war with Iran. The federal levy stands at 18.3 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon on diesel, and any suspension would require congressional approval. Revenue from the tax flows into the Highway Trust Fund, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will be depleted by 2028; the Bipartisan Policy Center estimates a five-month holiday would cost the fund roughly $17 billion. The Congressional Research Service has flagged enforcement difficulties because the tax is collected at terminals and refineries rather than the pump, making it hard to guarantee savings reach consumers. President Joe Biden made a similar request in 2022, but the Democratic-controlled Congress did not act.
Washington Post
Warsh Faces Inflation Test and Trump Pressure at Fed
Kevin Warsh is expected to be confirmed by the Senate as early as Wednesday to succeed Jay Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, taking over a central bank caught between rising inflation and White House demands for lower interest rates. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge has reached 3.5 percent, driven largely by fuel costs tied to the Iran war. President Donald Trump and his top economic officials have repeatedly called for rate cuts, while the Supreme Court is weighing whether the president can remove Fed governor Lisa Cook. Economists cited by the Financial Times described the incoming chair's position as "impossible," noting that Warsh, 56, inherits a divided board at the same time inflation is climbing. The appointment will make him one of the most influential central bankers in the world.
FT
EBay Rejects GameStop's $56 Billion Takeover Bid
EBay's board on Tuesday rejected GameStop's unsolicited $56 billion takeover proposal, telling Chief Executive Ryan Cohen in a letter that the offer was "neither credible nor attractive." GameStop had offered $125 a share in cash and stock for the e-commerce company, whose shares traded near $104 before the bid surfaced and whose market value sits around $45 billion, compared with GameStop's roughly $11 billion. EBay cited financing uncertainty and operational risks of combining the two companies. Cohen, who built his stake in GameStop during the pandemic and developed a large online following, drew skepticism on Wall Street after a CNBC appearance in which he offered few details on how the deal would be financed. Odds of completion on the prediction market Polymarket fell to about 15 percent by Thursday. Cohen responded by opening his own eBay account and announcing on X that he would use the proceeds to pay for eBay; his listings include signed baseball cards and a pair of his socks priced above $14,000.
WSJ
Chinese Humanoid Robot Maker Unitree Plans Shanghai IPO
Unitree, the Hangzhou-based humanoid robot maker, applied in March to list on Shanghai's tech-focused Star market and is expected to make its public debut in the second half of this year. The company shipped 5,500 humanoid robots last year, a figure that would make it the world's largest android producer, and its dancing and boxing displays at televised galas have made founder Wang Xingxing a recognized figure in Chinese tech. In the first nine months of last year, 74 percent of Unitree's android revenue came from research and education customers, 13 percent from consumer buyers and 9 percent from industrial demand. Analysts told the Financial Times that sustaining the company's valuation will depend on demonstrating broader commercial applications for its robots. The listing arrives as investors are weighing a wave of Chinese firms in AI, robotics, biotech and smart manufacturing.
FT
China's AI Industry Pivots to Homegrown Chips Over Nvidia
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek said its latest model has been optimized to run on chips made by Huawei, marking the company's first significant break from reliance on U.S. semiconductors. Most leading AI systems globally still depend on chips from Nvidia, but Chinese firms are increasingly turning to domestic alternatives as Washington tightens export controls. The announcement came shortly before a scheduled summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The shift gives Beijing a signal heading into trade talks that U.S. restrictions on Nvidia chips have not stopped Chinese AI development. DeepSeek's pivot fits within a broader, years-long push by China to build a domestic technology base less exposed to Western suppliers.
NYT
MAY 12, 1903: TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S TRIP TO SAN FRANCISCO IS CAPTURED ON FILM
President Theodore Roosevelt’s parade visit to San Francisco was recorded by cameraman H.J. Miles, making him one of the first presidents to have an official activity preserved on motion picture film. The short movie, titled “The President’s Carriage,” showed Roosevelt riding in a carriage escorted by the all-Black Ninth U.S. Cavalry Regiment and was later shown in nickelodeons-early, low-cost movie theaters- across America.
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