WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings has sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to recoup $1.8 million in legal fees. Gordon Sondland alleges in the lawsuit that Pompeo had committed to reimburse his legal expenses after he was subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in an impeachment case that accused then-President Donald Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine while demanding an investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. He says Pompeo reneged on the promise. A Pompeo spokesperson calls the lawsuit “ludicrous.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on and strengthen last week’s Gaza cease-fire, start an immediate flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and lay the groundwork for a resumption in peace talks. President Joe Biden says Blinken departs Monday for Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. It will be the Biden administration’s highest-level in-person meetings on this month’s crisis. Blinken will not meet anyone from the Hamas militant group that runs Gaza and was responsible for most of the recent rocket attacks on Israel.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City voters will be casting their last ballots next month in an election that’s sure to have consequences for former President Donald Trump. Democrats will be voting in party primary for Manhattan’s next district attorney. The winner could end up taking over an ongoing investigation of Trump’s business dealings. Current District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is leaving office at the end of the year. The eight candidates have made clear they’re not afraid of taking on the former president, but most have been cautious to stay away from overtly anti-Trump rhetoric. Trump has called the investigation a political “witch hunt.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a showdown vote looming, Senate Republicans are misrepresenting the timeline of a proposed independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

The House easily approved the bill last week with 35 Republicans signing on. But the measure faces an uncertain fate in the evenly divided Senate. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is opposed and former President Donald Trump is demanding the effort be quashed.

On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggested that a roadblock to gaining GOP support is the commission’s timing, echoing concerns from Republican leaders last week that the panel’s final report could extend into the 2022 midterm election year.

That’s not the case.

COLLINS, citing issues that could lead her to oppose the panel: “I see no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year. The commissioners have to be appointed within 10 days. There’s plenty of time to complete the work. And I’m optimistic that we can get past these issues based on recent conversations I’ve had with” Democrats. — interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

SEN. JOHN CORNYN, R-Texas, suggesting that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will drag the commission’s work well into the middle of 2022: “Well, part of the concern is that’s the plan. That’s Pelosi’s plan … That would be the Democrats’ dream.” — interview with CNN on May 19.

THE FACTS: Those claims of a delayed report are untrue. The bill calls for the report to be complete by the end of this year.

According to the legislation, the “final report” from the bipartisan commission, whose members would be evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans, must be submitted to the president and Congress “not later than December 31, 2021.”

There is a subsequent 60-day period for the commission to finish administrative tasks, such as to distribute the report and provide testimony to congressional committees, which would come in the early part of 2022. But the panel’s investigation, including all findings, conclusions and recommendations, would need to be fully complete this year.

So there has not been a roadblock to Senate Republican support for the panel based on the report’s timing as Collins and others describe it.

Collins said she wants an independent commission and is talking with House leaders about her issues with the bill, including how staffing is handled. She wants assurances that the panel’s staff, along with commission members, will be bipartisan. The legislation calls for the chairperson, who would be appointed by Democrats, to hire staff “in consultation with the vice chairperson,” who would be chosen by Republicans. Collins said Sunday that staff should be either jointly appointed by both parties or staffed in equal numbers by both sides.

If approved, the bipartisan commission is expected to look at Trump’s role in stoking the Jan. 6 riot, including his persistent false claims in the months beforehand that the November election was “stolen.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.

A New Castle woman was taken into custody on Saturday for suspicion of driving under the influence.  Pennsylvania State Police New Castle barracks initiated a traffic stop on a KIA Rondo for a moving violation.  Upon speaking with the driver, troopers determined that she showed signs of impairment, and took her into custody for a blood test.  Charges will be filed pending the results.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is allowing eligible Haitian nationals residing in the U.S. to apply for a new 18-month designation for temporary protected status. The decision announced Saturday reverses a Trump administration effort that had sought to end the special consideration. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cited security concerns, social unrest and other problems in Haiti for the decision. DHS initially designated Haiti for TPS in January 2010 in the aftermath of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country. An estimated 150,000 Haitians in the U.S. may be affected by the government’s decision.

(Harrisburg, PA) – On Tuesday, May 25th at 11AM, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and PA Senate Democrats will hold a virtual press conference to address fracking negligence in Pennsylvania and what lawmakers are doing to take action.

They will discuss a package of Senate bills being proposed to increase transparency, oversight, and the overall safe management of gas drilling operations in the fracking industry.

The proposed package of legislation is a direct response to reforms that were recommended in Pennsylvania’s 43rd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury report on the unconventional oil and gas industry.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. and the international community are planning to engage with the Palestinians to revive peace efforts, after weeks of unrest and a devastating 11-day war in Gaza. But when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits on Tuesday, he will meet with unelected leaders who were sidelined by the protests and outmaneuvered by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers. The Palestinian Authority is deeply unpopular and has no presence in Gaza, or even most of the occupied West Bank. However, it maintains close security ties with Israel and is seen as key to any two-state solution, even though there have been no substantive peace talks in more than a decade.