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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15d57pv925o
Oil prices have risen after plans for a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran stalled again.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose by around 2% to $109.33 (£80.72) a barrel, while US-traded crude also increased by 2% at $96.78.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington had cancelled plans to send a team to Pakistan for negotiations with their Iranian counterparts.

Global energy supplies have been under intense pressure since the start of the Iran war as the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway has been effectively closed by the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that "important discussions on bilateral matters and regional developments" were ongoing with Oman, its neighbour along the strait.

He posted on social media: "Our focus included ways to ensure safe transit that is to benefit all dear neighbors and the world. Our neighbors are our priority."

Araghchi arrived in St Petersburg on Monday "with the aim of meeting and holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin", Iranian state-run news agency Irna reported.


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Meta and Microsoft are the latest software companies to announce big cuts to their global workforce. Both companies are also making big investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The link seems obvious. Meta’s chief people officer, Janelle Gale, said the job cuts – about 10% of staff or almost 8,000 workers – serve to “offset the other investments we’re making”. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has previously spoken about a “major AI acceleration” with spending in excess of US$115bn planned this year.

Microsoft is also betting big on AI. The company also just announced early retirement packages for about 7% of its US workforce.

The two tech giants join Atlassian, Block, WiseTech Global and Oracle, who have all made similar announcements this year, each evoking AI without outright blaming it.

What is happening here? How we understand these layoffs depends on what we think AI is, and what implications it will have. Broadly speaking, there are three ways of looking at it: that AI is superintelligence, that it’s mostly hype, and that it’s a useful tool.

https://theconversation.com/meta-and-microsoft-have-joined-the-tech-layoff-tsunami-but-is-ai-really-to-blame-281436

Do you still think the country can take 2 more years of this? We NEED to withdraw our troops from Iran NOW. But of course Donald Trump needs that oil, doesn't he?

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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-blame-trump-gas-price-surge-midterm-election-year-reutersipsos-poll-2026-04-24/
A clear majority of Americans blame President Donald Trump for surging gasoline prices, which is weighing on his Republican Party ahead of November's congressional midterm elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Some 77% of registered voters in the poll, which concluded early this week, said Trump bears at least a fair amount of responsibility for the recent rise in gas prices, which was sparked by his decision to launch a war on Iran along with U.S. ally Israel.
The view was widely shared across the political spectrum, with 55% of Republican voters, 82% of independents and 95% of Democrats pinning blame on the president for the higher costs.
Some 58% of voters, including one in five Republicans and two-thirds of independents, said they would be less likely to support candidates in the November 3 midterms who support Trump's approach to the conflict with Iran.
The U.S. and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran in February that killed the country's leader and thousands of Iranians. Tehran responded with attacks on U.S. allies in the region, damaging oil export facilities and shutting down roughly a fifth of the global oil trade. U.S. gasoline prices have risen to about $4 a gallon, a dollar more than before the war started.
The war is grinding on household finances and weighing on Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, when Trump's party faces what many see as an uphill battle to keep their U.S. House of Representatives majority. Risks are also rising that they lose control of the Senate.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/pentagon-email-floats-suspending-spain-nato-other-steps-over-iran-rift-source-2026-04-24/
An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies' perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights - known as ABO - for the Iran war, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email.
The email stated that ABO is "just the absolute baseline for NATO," according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon.
One option in the email envisions suspending "difficult" countries from important or prestigious positions at NATO, the official said.
President Donald Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed to global shipping following the start of the air war on February 28.
He has also declared he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
"Wouldn't you if you were me?" Trump asked Reuters in an April 1 interview, in response to a question about whether the U.S. pulling out of NATO was a possibility.
But the email does not suggest that the United States do so, the official said. It also does not propose closing bases in Europe.
The official declined to say whether the options included a widely expected U.S. drawdown of some forces from Europe, however.

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Migrant encounter data: numbers remain low, though a spring uptick is likely
On March 20, just after WOLA published its most recent Border Update, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released data on migration and enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border through February 2026. It showed U.S. authorities’ encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border remaining near 60-year lows.

The sharp decline is the result of the Trump administration’s suspension of the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, which remains before the federal courts, and a climate of fear that “mass deportation” operations have spread among migrants within the United States.

During the first five months of fiscal year 2026 (which began in October 2025), Border Patrol reported apprehending an average of 6,897 people per month near the U.S.-Mexico border. That is the lowest monthly average since 1966.

Despite this, a March 26 Federal Register notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proclaimed that “an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens is arriving at the southern border of the United States and presents urgent circumstances requiring a continued federal response.” That notice is “a legal trigger that expands federal authority, especially the ability to deputize state and local law enforcement under an ‘immigration emergency,’” immigration attorney Chris Thomas explained to Forbes.

Border Patrol’s apprehensions of migrants did increase in February, for the first time in five months, to 6,603 from 6,074 in January (9%). As has been the pattern since the Trump administration began, most of those apprehended were from Mexico (69%), and 88 percent were from Mexico or the three northernmost Central American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador).

https://www.wola.org/2026/04/u-s-mexico-border-update-migration-data-dhs-shutdown-and-new-management-abuses-in-ice-custody-border-walls/

This is literally what happened in germany in the 1930s.

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More than half (67%) of adults ages 18-29 said if they had the option, they’d choose to live in the past, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey. One-third said they’d pick a time period less than 50 years in the past, while another 14% said they’d choose more than 50 years in the past. One thing they all have in common - Donald Trump was not president in the past.

Meanwhile, 38% of Gen Zers said they’d prefer to live in the present, 10% said they’d go less than 50 years in the future, and 5% chose more than 50 years in the future.

The results were largely consistent across gender lines and partisan divides, though young Black adults were less likely to say they’d prefer to live in the past (33%) than young white adults (52%) or young Hispanic adults (47%).

The broader sentiment underscores the negative outlook many young Americans feel about their future prospects and the state of Trump's country. The poll found that 72% of Gen Z respondents said they expect life will be worse for them compared to previous generations, compared to 25% who said it will be better and 13% who said it would be about the same.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/discomfort-modern-technology-gen-z-desire-live-past-poll-rcna340897

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April 23 (Reuters) - Former Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger is back at Thrive Capital, founder Josh Kushner said on Thursday.

"Bob leads with boldness and conviction because he knows what he is building and why. He is rejoining Thrive at a time when that kind of leadership matters most," Kushner said in a post on X.

Iger has taken an advisory role at Thrive, working with the firm's staff on investment decisions and advising founders of companies in Thrive's portfolio, according to the Wall Street Journal, which had reported the development earlier.

• Iger joined Thrive Capital as a venture partner in September 2022, advising on day-to-day initiatives including mentoring startup founders and identifying new investment opportunities.

• Iger first stepped down as Disney's CEO in 2020 after a 15‑year stint. He returned to run the company in November 2022 and stepped down from the role last month.

• He will remain on Disney's board until the end of the year.

• Thrive Capital, which invests in internet, software, and technology-enabled companies, raised $10 billion for its latest fund.

• Kushner, who is the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, founded Thrive in 2009.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/king-charles-us-visit-start-monday-strained-uk-relations/

Britain's King Charles will visit the U.S. starting on Monday to mark America's 250th anniversary – his first trip since his coronation nearly three years ago.

Buckingham Palace has said the visit "will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States." But it comes at a time when the normally close relationship between the U.S. and Europe is strained.

For decades, the U.S. and the U.K. have enjoyed what Winston Churchill called a "special relationship." President Trump visited the U.K. in September – enjoying a carriage ride with the king, an inspection of troops and a state banquet.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/trump-navy-secretary.html

President Trump wanted one thing, more than anything else, from his secretary of the Navy, John Phelan: a new class of battleships.

“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest and by far — 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Mr. Trump boasted at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate and resort in Florida a few days before Christmas. Mr. Phelan, a billionaire investor who has a home near the club, stood next to the president as he made the announcement.

Mr. Phelan’s job was to deliver the first of Mr. Trump’s battleships by 2028.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump fired Mr. Phelan, who had struggled to come up with a plan to deliver the ships on the nearly impossible timeline that Mr. Trump has demanded, senior defense and administration officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

Mr. Phelan is the first service secretary to be forced from the Defense Department during this administration, though he is far from the only senior Pentagon official to be dismissed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired or sidelined more than two dozen generals and admirals over the past year, including the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, earlier this month. Mr. Hegseth has also butted heads with the secretary of the Army, Daniel P. Driscoll, over promotions and a host of other issues.

The churn of senior Pentagon officials at a time when the U.S. military is engaged in war with Iran has alarmed top Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions regarding the circumstances surrounding Mr. Phelan’s dismissal. Mr. Phelan could not immediately be reached for comment.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/23/doj-soldier-polymarket-bets-venezuela-maduro.html

A U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant was arrested for allegedly using classified information to make extremely profitable bets on the Polymarket prediction market related to the American military mission that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, “was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve,” which apprehended Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in early January, the DOJ said.

Van Dyke, 38, wagered a total of about $33,000 in 13 or so bets in the week leading up to that operation, with the knowledge that the United States was secretly planning military action against Maduro, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The bets won Van Dyke nearly $410,000, the indictment alleges.

His arrest comes as Polymarket and Kalshi have grown in popularity and as concerns have grown about people with inside information making wagers on those prediction market platforms.

Watch out for the guerrilla attacks.

A US Navy sailor, who was set for minesweeping duties in the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked by a monkey while ashore in Thailand and had to be left behind, officials said.

The Navy electronics technician, who was not publicly named, was en route to the Middle East aboard the USS Chief minesweeper vessel when he was scratched by a monkey during a stopover in the Thai city of Phuket, Axios reported.

“Weird stuff happens. This was definitely an unknown unknown,” a military official told the outlet.

Thailand is known for having mischievous macaques who go around the nation’s cities stealing food and items from bystanders, with some of the incidents even turning violent.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/23/world-news/us-sailor-prepped-for-minesweeping-in-strait-of-hormuz-sidelined-by-monkey-attack/

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https://www.reuters.com/world/trumps-doj-has-cut-thousands-law-enforcement-jobs-while-vowing-get-tough-crime-2026-04-23/
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has cut more than 4,000 employees from some of the nation’s top law-enforcement agencies, even as it vowed to crack down on crime, according to records obtained by Reuters.
The records, from the U.S. Justice Department’s management unit, show that the total number of employees at the FBI has dropped more than 7% since the government’s 2024 fiscal year, a loss of about 2,600 people. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s staff has dropped by about 6%, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost about 14% of its workers.
Other parts of the Justice Department shrank even more rapidly. Its National Security Division, which handles intelligence and terrorism matters, lost nearly 38% of its staff, the department’s records show. The division’s most recent budget request to Congress noted “unprecedented personnel constraints” in the unit that handles cases involving espionage and the export of sensitive military technology.
"It’s the difference between being proactive and entrepreneurial or purely reactive to the most obvious imperative of the day," Adam Hickey, a former senior official in the National Security Division, said of the loss of staff.
Those records, which Reuters obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, offer the most detailed accounting to date of the extent to which the Trump administration has downsized some of the nation’s premier law-enforcement agencies.
Those agencies have traditionally handled the government’s highest-profile criminal investigations, including efforts to combat terrorism, deter drug traffickers and keep guns away from criminals.

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https://apnews.com/article/trump-fake-math-drug-price-reductions-1c89714a4b60ead1485d1de31b27da92
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, who helped push the term “ fake news ” into the mainstream, now seems to have a new favorite subject: fake math.

During a Thursday event announcing a deal with drugmaker Regeneron to lower the cost of its pharmaceutical products, Trump defended his past claims that prices on prescription medications had been cut by well over 100% — something that is mathematically impossible without manufacturers dropping prices to zero and then presumably paying consumers to use their product.

Trump acknowledged having boasted that his efforts to lower drug prices had reduced what consumers pay by “500%, 600%.” But he added, “We also sometimes say 50%, 60%” and called it a “different kind of calculation” that could go up to “70, 80 and 90%.”

“People understand that better,” Trump said. “But they’re two ways of calculating” and “either way, it doesn’t make any difference.”

There could indeed be two ways of calculating such things — but the difference is very important. One is correct. The other is nonmathematical.

It was one of several times Trump used his own — but incorrect — math during the drug pricing event. He claimed the 7 1/2-week-and-still-going Iran war actually fell within the four- to six-week timeline he predicted early on. The president also brought up the crowd size for his 2017 inauguration — a subject that led onetime top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway to unwittingly make the phrase “ alternative facts ” famous.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxd1v0028vo
The US justice department is dropping its investigation into the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, over alleged building cost overruns.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said instead there would be an internal investigation led by the central bank's inspector general.

President Donald Trump has said the cost of the Fed's building renovations were too high, as part of a long-standing feud with Powell.

Powell's term is nearing its end and the US Senate is considering Trump's nominee for his replacement, Kevin Warsh. A key Republican, Thom Tillis, has withheld his support for Warsh unless the Trump administration would drop its investigation into Powell.

"American taxpayers deserve answers about the Federal Reserve's fiscal mismanagement, and the Office of the Inspector General's more powerful authorities best position it to get to the bottom of the matter," said White House spokesman Kush Desai in a statement.

"The White House remains as confident as before that the Senate will swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to finally restore competence and confidence in Fed decision-making."

In her post on X, Pirro said she would not "hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so".


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https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/04/23/eu-agrees-fresh-sanctions-on-russia-but-leaves-maritime-services-ban-on-hold

Due to Greece and Malta's concerns, the full ban on maritime services will be left on hold pending an agreement at the G7 level. The US, however, is going in the opposite direction by providing sanctions relief to Russia.

The European Union agreed on Thursday to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia after Hungary and Slovakia lifted their respective vetoes over an unrelated dispute with Ukraine involving the Druzhba oil pipeline, which is now repaired.

However, the centrepiece of the long-stalled package – a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil tankers – was left on hold pending an agreement by the G7, significantly dampening the economic impact of the bloc's latest move.

The ban is meant to prohibit EU companies from providing any type of service, such as insurance, shipping or port access, to vessels carrying Russian crude oil. In practice, it will replace the G7 price cap, which allowed servicing under certain conditions.

Sweden and Finland took the lead in pushing for the blanket prohibition, arguing it would significantly drive up material costs for Russia's oil sector, crack down on the spread of falsified documents and make transactions easier for European firms.

The European Commission took up the proposal and included it in the 20th package of sanctions, presented in early February.

But Greece and Malta soon voiced concerns. The coastal countries worry that introducing the full ban without the backing of the G7 will harm their domestic economies, boost competition from China and India, and empower Russia's "shadow fleet", the dilapidated vessels that Moscow employs to bypass Western restrictions.