Wednesday morning news: May 27, 2026

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Chemical explosion » A chemical tank exploded at a paper mill in southwest Washington state Tuesday, killing multiple workers and injuring at least 10.

The 80,000-gallon tank held a corrosive chemical brew used to break down wood for paper. Crews are still in the area—and the cause is still unknown.

Longview Fire Battalion Chief Mike Gorsuch called it a mass casualty scene:

GORSUCH: There were multiple critical injuries, and patients were transported to hospitals in Longview and throughout the Vancouver/Portland area.

Meantime, in Southern California, evacuations are easing near a chemical tank at an aerospace plant that nearly exploded last week. Some 16,000 residents are still waiting for the all-clear to return home—down from 50,000 evacuees. 

A small crack over the weekend let pressure out and averted a catastrophic blast.

Moon base announcement » NASA is building a permanent moon base. And it is investing big into moon buggies and aerospace drones.

The space agency just handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to four U.S. companies. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman:

ISAACMAN: We are working alongside our lunar lander providers, preparing for Artemis III crew announcement and getting ready to begin stacking Artemis III this summer with a target launch in mid 2027.

The Jeff Bezos' founded company, Blue Origin, will build the landers. Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will build the moon buggies, and Firefly Aerospace will fly drones to the surface. All of it has to arrive at the moon's south pole before the first Artemis astronauts land.

Isaacman added that the mission will inspire a new generation of Americans:

ISAACMAN: It means people are looking up again, believing in big things again, and paying attention as America returns to the moon again, and this time to stay.

He said Artemis III astronauts will begin landing on the moon as soon as 2028.

Cornyn-Paxton primary » Another Republican senator opposed by President Trump is out.

Texans voting in a U.S. Senate primary runoff on Tuesday handed incumbent Sen. John Cornyn his walking papers. He will leave Congress in January after four terms in the upper chamber.

Trump had thrown his support behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an expensive, drawn-out race.

Paxton said ahead of the vote:

PAXTON:  With the endorsement, it, it becomes a lot clearer that I'm gonna be the nominee, and we wanted to focus on the positive and then focus on our next job.

And that job will be to defeat Democratic nominee James Talarico.

Before endorsing Paxton, Trump had criticized Sen. Cornyn as—his words, "VERY disloyal to me."

Cornyn’s defeat comes 10 days after another GOP incumbent senator opposed by Trump, Bill Cassidy, lost his primary election in Louisiana.

South Carolina redistricting » Republicans face new setbacks to drawing new congressional maps ahead of midterm elections.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters has more.

HARRISON WATTERS: A district court in Alabama temporarily blocked the state’s 2023 House map on Tuesday. This came after the Supreme Court gave Alabama the greenlight to use that map, instead of one drawn by the lower court.

While the state held its primaries last week, it plans to hold special congressional elections in August. The new court order requires Alabama to use the revised map unless lawmakers draw a new one.

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s state Senate punted on a vote to pass a new election map.

Republican State Senator Richard Cash explained why he changed his vote to block the bill on Tuesday:

CASH: "South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today, and neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway."

WATTERS: A motion to end debate and bring the bill to a vote failed. Then, 14 Republicans joined all Democrats in a vote to continue the bill and go on recess. Lawmakers are set to return one day after the June 9th primary.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

Suicide bombing in Pakistan » In Pakistan, at least 47 people are now confirmed dead after a suicide bomber struck a train this week.

Pakistani security forces raided the suicide bomber's family home and detained several of his relatives. His vehicle bomb went off next to a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families.

Two cars overturned and caught fire. Nearly 100 more people were wounded. A separatist group in the Balochistan province—known as the Balochistan Liberation Army—claimed responsibility. 

The group has been fighting for the province's independence from Pakistan for years.

I'm Kent Covington.

And coming up: Can right-wing presidential candidates send Colombia in a different direction? Plus, a classical school for kids with special needs.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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