Today in history – May 14
1607 – English settlers establish Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English colony in North America.
1796 – English physician Edward Jenner administers the first successful smallpox vaccination, paving the way for modern immunization.
1940 – The Netherlands surrenders to invading German forces during the Second World War.
1948 – David Ben-Gurion proclaims the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv, triggering the first Arab–Israeli war.
1955 – Eight communist-bloc countries, led by the Soviet Union, sign the Warsaw Pact in Warsaw, shaping Cold War security politics for decades.
1973 – The United States launches Skylab, its first space station, opening a new chapter in long-duration human spaceflight.
Canada politics
Biggest story yesterday: Ottawa and Alberta cleared a major hurdle on a proposed new crude oil pipeline to B.C., tied to a deal raising industrial carbon prices.
Biggest story expected today: Federal attention is set to stay on that pipeline-and-carbon deal, as governments and industry react to the climate, economic, and Indigenous implications.
U.S. politics – yesterday
The dominant U.S. political story yesterday was President Donald Trump’s arrival in China for a high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping on trade, Taiwan, and the ongoing Iran war.
Worldwide – what yesterday will be remembered for
Globally, May 13, 2026 will likely be remembered for the opening of the Trump–Xi summit in Beijing, a meeting with long-run implications for trade rules, technology access, Taiwan security, and the wider Iran conflict.
Quotation of the day
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
(Short, reflective, and ties nicely to the “long-term consequences” theme.)
Ottawa, Ontario – sky & fuel
Sunrise: 5:34 am
Sunset: 8:24 pm
Moon: Waning crescent, about 8% illuminated (late in the lunar cycle).
Regular gas (Ottawa average, latest weekly update): about 187.5 cents per litre (1.875 $/L).
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