Election News: Polarized Europe Heads Into EU Vote With Angela Merkel Slapping Populists (Bloomberg)
With a multi-day election to the European Union’s parliament concluding on May 26, centrist leaders like Angela Merkel are campaigning against anti-EU parties from the U.K. to Poland that could win enough seats to disrupt the bloc’s policy making. Her chosen stage was Croatia, an EU member since 2013 that fought a nationalist war of independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.​

India Elections: Narendra Modi Poised to Storm Back to Power in India, Exit Polls Show (Bloomberg)
Exit polls show Modi’s ruling coalition is poised for victory in India’s marathon six-week election. Although India remains the world’s fastest-growing large economy, Modi will face an uphill battle to ease rural distress and create millions of new jobs as unemployment hits a 45-year high. However, exit polls have a checkered history in India. Final results will be released Thursday.

Australia Election Surprise: Lessons for Trump Rivals in Australian Election Upset that Defies Polls (Bloomberg)

Swiss Voters Back Tightening Gun Laws (BBC News)

Hot on the Bloomberg:
U.S. Huawei Ban Ripples Across Tech Industry as Supplies Halted (Bloomberg)
Opinion: The Tech Cold War Has Begun with Huawei Supply Freeze (Bloomberg Opinion – Tim Culpan)

Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts (New York Times)

Impact of Rising Seas: Meet Britain’s First Climate Refugees (The Guardian)
As sea levels rise, Fairbourne, sandwiched between mountains and the beach, is being returned to the waves. Residents never expected to be test cases for the capacity of climate change to tear a community apart, but in 26 years’ time they will witness the end of a village that has existed for more than a century.

Editorial of the Day: Bloomberg’s Work with St. Louis on Warming Can Reverse Rampant Complacency (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
There was welcome news in Michael Bloomberg’s commitment last week to expand his support of St. Louis city climate initiatives and fund a Washington University clean-energy summit next year.

If the sight of a university, a city government and a private citizen taking action embarrasses national political leaders who are currently abdicating their responsibility on this urgent issue, all the better.

If local action across the country highlights the current leadership’s grotesque failure to even recognize the global emergency unfolding all around us, it may be the first step to getting America on the right track. Before it’s too late.

Arts News: Parkland, Florida Public Art Project Set Ablaze in Healing Ceremony (CNN)
Artist David Best built the secular structure in Coral Springs to give people a place to address their pain and grief after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland. Like his past pieces, he created it with the intention of eventually burning it. “It’s about healing and forgiveness,” Best said. The project was a winner of Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge.

Music News: Netherlands Wins Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv as Madonna Sparks Controversy (BBC News)

GOT News: Nine Things We Still Want to Know after ‘Game of Thrones’ Finale (New York Times)
Spoiler alert: Don’t read this if you didn’t watch last night’s finale.

Best of late night.

“Today is national ‘Bike to Work’ day. And it’s also national ‘Get Hit By a Car While Driving to Work’ day.”
— Jimmy Kimmel

“This is something everyone should do. It’s a great way to have fun, get exercise and save the planet, while also being gross at work all day.”
— Jimmy Kimmel

“It was reported that more than 4 million pieces of plastic has washed up on a remote island in the Indian ocean. And for reference, here’s what 4 million pieces of plastic looks like.” (As he shows a photo of the Kardashian family)
— Michael Che, Weekend Update, Saturday Night Live

“A new survey ranks the Boston accent as one of the sexiest accents in America. But, keep in mind, the survey was conducted by ‘Catastrophic Hearing Loss’ magazine.”
— Colin Jost, Weekend Update, Saturday Night Live