Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
Today is Wednesday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2026. There are 232 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress formally declared war against Mexico, following battles along the disputed U.S.-Mexico border in the preceding weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) – During a tumultuous 2025, the United States and China proved how much they could hurt each other in a trade war. Now Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are meeting in Beijing to repair some of the damage.
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. wholesale inflation came in hot last month. Producer prices rose 6% from a year earlier, the highest point in more than three years, as the Iran war pushes up energy prices and intensifies pressure on companies to pass along their rising costs to consumers.
WASHINGTON (AP) – When the week began, several senior positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were already sitting empty.
LONDON (AP) – Meta Platforms said Wednesday it’s rolling out an “incognito” mode for WhatsApp users to have private conversations with its AI chatbot, a move intended to ease privacy concerns about sensitive information that users share in chats.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The wide-ranging prosecution in the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry is coming to a close. Five people have pleaded guilty for various roles in supplying the actor with ketamine, the drug that killed him at age 54 in 2023. Three of them have been sentenced. The last two will be sentenced in the coming days.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) – The number of people deported to El Salvador from the U.S. nearly doubled in the first months of 2026, according to official figures, coming as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has positioned himself as an ally willing to help the Trump administration accelerate deportations, a central priority.
NEW YORK (AP) – A man accused of running a secret Chinese spy outpost in New York City was convicted Wednesday of acting as an illegal foreign agent and destroying text messages from a Chinese government handler.