For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

These days, the news isn’t just the event that happened. It’s also the reaction to the event that happened.

That’s especially true of the security breach at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

I’ve been to the Correspondents’ Dinner many times. The security is part of the experience: Magnetometers, bag checks, Secret Service, restricted access — the whole black-tie security ballet. So when a 31-year-old man named Cole Tomas Allen allegedly traveled from Los Angeles, checked into the Washington Hilton days before the dinner, used interior stairwells to reach secured levels, and then rushed the cordon outside the ballroom, it is reasonable to ask: How?

He didn’t make it far. But where he did get wasn’t an empty corridor. It was the pre-party area — hallways, bathrooms, the spaces where guests mill around. If it had gone differently, even that access could have put a lot of people in danger.

The reaction was revealing.

Almost immediately, many observers speculated the episode was staged, scripted, or set up. There is no evidence of that. And conspiracies at this scale would require an almost impossible number of people — law enforcement, hotel staff, witnesses, investigators, medical personnel, prosecutors — to coordinate perfectly and then stay silent forever. People talk.

On the other side, Trump supporters used the breach as an argument for President Trump’s long-sought ballroom and expanded security footprint. Trump himself said the incident demonstrates the need for the ballroom, and MAGA influencers quickly amplified that message.

This does not prove a conspiracy. It shows that our political conversation is not as organic as it looks. Talking points move fast. Influencers move them faster.

The result: A serious security breach can become, within minutes, either proof of a hidden plot or a prefab argument for a political priority.

Lost in the middle are the questions we should actually be asking: How did this happen, what security failed, what needs to be explained, and what does it say about us that after a real threat, so many people’s first reaction was not, “Is everyone okay?” but, “What’s the angle?”

In today’s newsletter: The threat is over. The spin is just getting started. Jimmy Kimmel under fire, again. Plus: Iran offered a deal. Trump passed. The Supreme Court takes on a cancer-causing weedkiller and the government’s right to your location data. The science board fired quietly on Friday. And the London Marathon just made history — twice.

Breaking News

• Facing Life: The Department of Justice formally charged Cole Tomas Allen with attempting to assassinate President Trump, plus two gun crimes. He appeared calm in court today and did not enter a plea. He could face life in prison if convicted.

• What Happened: Saturday’s dinner began like every year, with one difference — Trump was attending as president for the first time. Authorities say the would-be shooter had checked into the hotel a day or two before, after taking a cross-country train to DC from LA. Minutes after the dinner began, attendees in the ballroom heard muffled popping sounds from outside. Armed agents rushed in, shouting for everyone to get down. Terrified attendees ducked under tables. Security agents hustled officials away. According to authorities, Allen attempted to storm the main security checkpoint and in a shootout one Secret Service agent was struck; thanks to a bulletproof vest he’s been released from the hospital. Allen was subdued. Authorities say he was armed with a shotgun, pistol, and multiple knives. In the aftermath, the hotel’s wait staff were left to clear tables, many visibly shaken, some crying.

  • Security Concerns: A video shows agents quickly evacuating Vice President JD Vance, while Trump continued to sit at the head table, fully exposed. When asked why he wasn’t removed urgently, Trump said he asked his security detail to wait because he “wanted to see what was happening,” and they complied.

  • Motive: Authorities claim Allen sent a note to those close to him just ten minutes before he stormed security. The New York Post first obtained and published the alleged manifesto which says in part: “What my representatives do reflects on me. I am no longer willing to permit a pedofile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” Then it says he plans to target “administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel).” The note does not reference Trump by name. Patel is the only administration official named. In an especially strange turn, the note includes “a rant” about lax security inside the Hilton allowing the shooter too much room to move.

    • Trump Fumes: When 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell read an excerpt to Trump, he became furious. “I’m not a rapist,” he said. “Oh,” the reporter responded. “Do you think he was referring to you?” He did not answer the question. “I’m not a pedofile,” Trump continued. “I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated.”

    • The Suspect: Allen was a registered “no party preference voter,” which is California’s equivalent to a political independent. He seems to have been deeply religious. He has no prior convictions.

  • The Political Turn: At White House press briefing Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt moved from concern to blame. Leavitt said there was “no difference at all” between Democrats’ rhetoric and the suspect’s manifesto.

  • Dark Comedy: Both Trumps and the White House on Monday demanded ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel over jokes he made days before the dinner. On Thursday, Kimmel, pretending to be the dinner’s MC, made various jabs at Trump’s age and health, and said Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow.” Trump characterized the comment as a “really shocking … call to violence.” In the past, Trump has made various controversial comments about people’s death, including saying he was glad Robert Mueller died. Trump also previously suggested that networks should lose their broadcasting licenses if they allow talent to criticize him. On Monday the Committee for the First Amendment urged ABC not to “capitulate,” arguing that the “right to mock, to challenge, and yes, to offend those in power is foundational to democracy.”

Share

• And Now the Ballroom: The White House is also using the breach as a new argument for Trump’s long-sought White House ballroom. Congressional Republicans now say they will support measures to fund and restart construction after a federal judge ordered Trump to seek congressional approval. In the House, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) says he plans to introduce a “Build the Ballroom Act.” Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News it will be “the most secure compound in the world” and Democratic Senator John Fetterman says he’ll back efforts to get it built. Preservationists say they will continue their lawsuit against the project.

• Security Issue: The White House on Monday confirmed it will consider changing security protocols at events involving the president. Multiple congressional committees requested briefings from the Secret Service, and some Republicans may form a subcommittee to investigate the security concerns. At the dinner guests went through several checks, including one security checkpoint with airport-style metal detectors. But they were reportedly not required to show ID, nor were tickets marked with names. Trump insists the security worked and AG Blanche called it a “massive security success story.”

  • Context: Former President Ronald Reagan was shot while leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel in 1981. The hotel subsequently added custom security modifications to accommodate the president, and the Secret Service historically used the annual dinner to put agents through their paces.

• Conspiratorial: On Sunday, more than 350,000 posts were published on social media containing the word “staged,” over twenty times more than on the previous day. Trump on Sunday dismissed disbelievers as “more sick than they are con people.”

• Lost In the Noise: Trump admitted that he was planning on giving the “most inappropriate speech ever made” at the dinner. He said he may not “be as rough as I was going to be tonight” if the dinner is rescheduled.

Subscribe now

Iran Updates

• New Offer: Iran has reportedly offered the US a deal to permanently end the war (or extend the ceasefire long-term) in return for both parties lifting their blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. Nuclear talks would come later. Iran’s version of “we’ll get to it.”

  • No Give: Trump on Sunday signaled he wants to continue the US blockade. He claimed Iran has “about three days” before their oil “system … explodes from within.” Trump also said Iran had given the US a proposal that “should have been better,” and then a new offer that was “better” but “not enough.”

• Making Moves: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Vladimir Putin in Russia Monday to discuss the war. Putin said he received a message from Iran’s new supreme leader and pledged to “do everything in your interests … so that peace gets achieved as soon as possible.” This could mean Russia intends to increase its support for Iran; it’s already shared intelligence to help Iran target US forces. Now European nations worry it will send drones to Iran as well.

• Actually, No: Trump on Saturday called off planned peace talks with Iran at the last minute. “Too much traveling,” he said. “Takes too long, too expensive. I’m a very cost-conscious person.” He said Iranian officials “can call me. We have all the cards. We’ve won everything.”

• Hidden Costs: Iran’s attacks on US bases in the Gulf region have caused far more damage than publicly acknowledged, according to a new report by NBC. The damage could cost billions to repair, not including the cost of fixing or replacing damaged and destroyed equipment. “No one knows anything” about the costs of the war, one aide told NBC. “We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record-high budget.”

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Royal Flush: King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Washington DC Monday, marking the start of the first British state visit to the US in almost two decades. They started with private tea between the royal couple and the Trumps. On Tuesday King Charles delivers a speech to Congress, only the second time a British Royal has done so in history. The UK government hopes Trump’s apparent fondness for King Charles will help repair the increasingly strained relationship between the two countries. Trump said it “absolutely” could help do that. He’s repeatedly clashed with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including over Starmer’s refusal to get involved in the war with Iran.

• Brain Drain: Trump on Friday fired the entire National Science Board. It’s an independent board of experts who oversee the National Science Foundation, which distributes billions of dollars annually in federal research funding. These funds have helped develop groundbreaking technologies, like those used in cellphones and MRIs. This is the latest in a series of attacks on the National Science Foundation by the Trump administration, which has already canceled hundreds of research grants, purged the agency of a third of its employees, and cut funding to historic lows. One terminated board member said he is “deeply disappointed” but not “entirely surprised. I have watched the systematic dismantling of the scientific advisory infrastructure of this government with growing alarm, and the National Science Board is simply the latest casualty.”

Keep reading for information on…

• The Supreme Court considers whether law enforcement have a right to your digital location

• Should the manufacturer of an herbicide believed to cause cancer be held liable for failing to warn people?

• Why Virginia Justices could determine who ends up in control of the House

• How this weekend’s London Marathon broke records nobody expected

All this and more is available to paid subscribers. Your support helps make our independent reporting possible. Thank you.

Read more

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Sometimes I’m reminded why it’s useful to report from outside Washington.

This week I joined a panel discussion about the war and said something that apparently required courage: The White House hasn’t made a convincing case for it. Polls reflect that. And when the public lacks confidence in the war, a political problem becomes a strategic one — wars need constituencies too.

I have some insight into this because I’m in an ongoing dialogue with my audience here on Substack and on Instagram. When I report on the war and ask you for questions — about the blockade, the Strait, Kharg Island, the ceasefire — the number one response I get is some version of: “Why are we at war with Iran? I still don’t understand.”

Which is telling.

Also telling: the response from one DC reporter on the panel, who explained to me — patiently, as one does — that the President had, in fact, made the case for the war. In an Oval Office address. One speech. Thanks, guy.

I covered the Bush White House and its war in Iraq for three and a half years, during which I heard “we will fight them there so we do not have to face them here at home” roughly ten times a day, every day. That’s not messaging — that’s weather. It gets inside you. One Oval Office address is not that.

In Washington, the feedback loop runs from officials to think tanks to sources to reporters and back again. The same ideas travel in circles. Getting to hear from real people outside that world is a corrective — not just because their questions deserve answers, but because their confusion is often the clearest signal of what hasn’t been explained, addressed, or reported yet.

In today’s newsletter: Iran talks are back — Witkoff, Kushner, but no JD Vance. Iran’s supreme leader is alive, injured, and ruling by handwritten note. A US soldier bet classified intelligence on Polymarket and got nearly half a million. The FDA is fast-tracking psychedelics; some could be available this year. Trump is attending the Correspondents’ Dinner, and he has things to say. And the 988 hotline is working better than anyone expected.

Iran Updates

• Come Again: Peace talks are back on, at least for now. The White House announced that real estate developer and special envoy Steve Witkoff and fund manager and first son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to return to Pakistan on Saturday as US negotiators. They’ll meet Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in Islamabad today and is expected to present a new response to the Trump administration’s proposed deal. Trump on Friday said Iran is “making an offer and we’ll have to see.” Conspicuously absent, VP JD Vance. The White House says he’ll remain in the US “on standby.”

  • Timeline: Trump on Thursday claimed he has “all the time in the World” to end the war with Iran, describing himself as “possibly the least pressured person ever.” “Don’t rush me,” he told reporters. “We were in Vietnam, like, for 18 years.… I’ve been doing this for six weeks.”

  • Who’s In Charge: Trump argued the delays to negotiations were because the US doesn’t know “who the leader is in Iran.” That’s technically Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who hasn’t been seen since US airstrikes killed most of his family, including his predecessor and father, at the start of the war. The New York Times is out with new reporting on Khamenei’s condition. According to six senior Iranian officials, he was “gravely wounded” in the strikes — his face and lips so burned he has difficulty speaking; one leg operated on three times with a prosthetic pending; one hand badly injured and slowly regaining function. Despite this, he is described as “mentally sharp and engaged.” He’s in hiding to avoid appearing weak and evade potential attacks, issuing instructions via handwritten messages. He is also, reportedly, heavily reliant on a group of military generals, whom one senior official said “collectively make all the decisions.”

• Watertight: The Trump administration says the blockade is working. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says it has forced 34 merchant vessels to turn back and calls it absolute. Trump this week claimed Iran was “collapsing financially” as a result. The data tells a different story. Dozens of Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels carrying millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil have evaded the blockade, according to cargo-tracking firm Vortexa. Multiple ship-tracking organizations similarly report what one analyst called a “steady flow of shadow fleet traffic in and out” of the Persian Gulf. The Treasury Department announced sweeping new sanctions on shipping firms, vessels, and a Chinese refinery allegedly connected to Iran’s shadow oil network. The US on Thursday seized a second sanctioned oil tanker transporting oil from Iran, chasing it down in the Indian Ocean.

  • Backlog: Iran also had up to 130 million barrels of oil already out at sea before the blockade began. Overland transport routes are far more limited – but go unaffected and are estimated to generate over $1 billion annually.

Share

• That’s a Relief: Trump on Thursday said he “wouldn’t use” a nuclear weapon against Iran. He said that “a nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.”

• Make It Make Sense: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a press conference on the war, Friday. He claimed victory. He said the US has “all the time in the world” to achieve it. He insisted the war will not be endless. He wants the US military “to bring maximum violence to the enemy.” He believes it should be “the one institution that should win the Nobel Peace Prize.” He also called the war a “gift to the world” and took questions, including from TMZ. The contradictions did not resolve themselves.

• Fragile: Trump on Friday announced a three-week extension to the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Hours after the announcement, Israel conducted airstrikes there, which it claims were in response to Hezbollah attacks. Hezbollah said it “rejects” the ceasefire extension, which it claimed does not have “any meaning” due to ongoing Israeli attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said Israel will strike “any threat” in Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Wednesday killed journalist Amal Khalil and injured another. Local officials claim the two reporters were targeted in a double-tap strike as they sought shelter, and accuse the IDF of also targeting teams trying to provide aid. The IDF denies this and argues it targeted a “military structure used by Hezbollah” and two vehicles that departed the structure.

• Alphas Only: Trump on Thursday said he fired former Navy Secretary John Phelan (in the middle of a war and naval blockade) because of conflicts surrounding “building and buying new ships.” The president reportedly lost patience with Phelan’s inability to manage the production of the “Golden Fleet,” a new class of battleships Trump wants done by 2028 — a timeline many experts consider practically impossible. Phelan, a billionaire who fundraised for Trump’s reelection and did not serve in the military, also reportedly clashed with Hegseth. He now joins the list of over 30 senior military officials purged by Hegseth. His successor, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, is a refugee from Vietnam who served in the military. During a failed Senate run, he warned about the dangers of witchcraft and said the Navy should recruit “alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds.”

Subscribe now

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Don’t Bet On It: The DOJ on Thursday arrested and charged a US soldier with using classified information to place bets on Polymarket, a major online prediction market. Prosecutors claim Gannon Ken Van Dyke placed over a dozen bets totaling about $33,000 on US military operations against Nicolás Maduro, operations he helped plan. He made almost $410,000. It’s the first arrest for insider trading on Polymarket in the US. Trump said that if Van Dyke had “bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team.” That’s one way to think about using classified military intelligence for personal gain. The timing is awkward for an industry trying to avoid regulation. Polymarket and Kalshi, another major prediction market, are lobbying hard to fend off increased regulation of their platforms, with the Trump administration’s backing. Donald Trump Jr is an advisor to both platforms. Polymarket called Van Dyke’s arrest “proof the system works.” Rep. Anna Pauline Luna (R-FL) disagreed, calling it “skewed justice,” arguing it is unfair to target “guys like this” when “crooks in Congress” are “illegally profiting every day.” That’s not all. Someone (or someones) have made millions by placing winning bets on the platforms just hours or even minutes before some of Trump’s most consequential decisions of the past year, including launching strikes on Iran, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and more. The White House recently warned staff against insider trading. Kalshi on Wednesday suspended and fined three congressional candidates for wagering on the outcome of their own races. The candidates say they bet $100 or less.

  • Part of the Culture: Prediction markets have quickly become part of the political conversation. In my own conversations, political strategists and reporters bring up prediction markets consistently – citing them as a gauge of sentiment around candidates and positions. They’re essentially unregulated gambling sites where participants can wager on the outcome of basically any event. Current bets on Polymarket include: US and Iran reach a permanent peace by June 30 (56%) or May 31 (38%). Which company has the best AI model by the end of April – Anthropic (88%) OpenAI (11%). Kalshi is based in New York and is overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Polymarket is based in Panama, out of reach of US regulators; it was temporarily closed to US users as part of a 2022 settlement over charges it was operating in the US illegally.

• Safe Trip: The FDA on Friday announced it is fast-tracking reviews and approval for multiple psychedelic treatments for mental illnesses. It’s part of a new voucher program — an expedited review mechanism previously used for rare and tropical diseases, now applied for the first time to psychedelics — that could cut down the safety review process from several months to just one or two; the FDA’s commissioner claimed some treatments could be publicly available this year. Multiple FDA staffers and some pharma companies have expressed doubts about the new voucher program, in part due to safety concerns. One of the companies that received a voucher is Compass Pathways, for a synthetic form of psilocybin that may help with treatment-resistant depression. The company’s stock shot up this week. It’s backed by Peter Thiel and has been accused of seeking overly broad patents related to psilocybin, which critics argue could suppress research, hinder competition, and result in a monopoly.

  • Chill, Dude: The Trump administration on Thursday relaxed legal restrictions for medical marijuana. It also moved to reclassify recreational marijuana from Schedule I — the most strictly regulated category — to Schedule III, which would mean fewer restrictions.

Share

• Kept In Reserve: The DOJ on Friday dropped its controversial investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Sort of. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) had demanded the DOJ drop it before he’d vote for Powell’s replacement, Kevin Warsh. The probe had centered on allegations Powell lied to Congress about costly renovations at the Federal Reserve’s DC headquarters — though this was seen as play to pressure Powell to resign or cut rates. The catch: US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro handed the matter to the Fed’s Inspector General. The White House said the “case is not necessarily dropped” but instead is being “moved over to the Inspector General,” which it said has “more powerful authorities” that “best position it to get to the bottom of the matter.” That would be the same IG Powell had already asked to investigate the renovations last year. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noted this move changes very little: The DOJ “threatened to restart the bogus criminal investigation … at any time” and has not dropped a separate probe against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. So: Dropped, referred, reserved, and not entirely over.

• Big Money: The Senate on Thursday approved a resolution that would allocate roughly $70 billion to fund immigration enforcement through the rest of Trump’s second term. Republicans beat back Democratic objections and efforts to add provisions to address the cost of living in an overnight “vote-a-rama” marathon. The resolution passed along party lines, with defections from Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY). It now goes to the House.

• Greenlit: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders on Thursday approved the company’s controversial merger with Paramount. They also voted against planned nine-figure payouts for executives, though that vote was non-binding. So: Noted, then (likely) ignored. The deal still needs approval from US and EU regulators. Over 4,000 Hollywood workers, including dozens of Oscar winners and nominees, have signed an open letter opposing the merger, which would place Warner Bros. — and by extension CNN — under the control of Paramount boss and Trump ally David Ellison.

• Hard Pressed: Trump will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday for the first time as president. It’s a celebration of the First Amendment and the nation’s press corps. Trump previously boycotted the event. Usually, a comedian is invited to roast attendees, including the president. This year organizers booked a mentalist instead, and days later Trump announced he will attend. He reportedly plans to deliver a combative roast, then leave before the press awards are given out. (Some awards will go to reporters and outlets he’s vilified, including one for reporting on the birthday letter Trump reportedly sent Epstein.) Hundreds of journalists have signed a letter calling on attendees to speak up in defense of the press, and others are boycotting.

• Hit Snooze: The FDA on Thursday approved the first gene therapy for a type of genetic hearing loss. It’s a similar approach to the treatment we discussed in a recent News That Doesn’t Suck, which you can read here. In a televised White House event unveiling the news — including the fact the therapy will be free in the US — Trump appeared to fall asleep. Trump, who in 2024 said “you’ll never see me sleeping in front of a camera,” has been accused of dozing off during recent policy announcements, cabinet meetings, speeches, roundtables… A White House physician for George W. Bush on Thursday noted that Trump “continues to struggle with daytime somnolence.” Trump has insisted he doesn’t fall asleep but merely closes his eyes, which the White House claims is a “listening mechanism.” During the same health care event, Trump defended his mathematically impossible use of percentages, which his cabinet members have tried to defend using their own incorrect math.

• Open Up: A new study has found that a national suicide prevention hotline helped decrease the suicide rate among young adults and teens. The 988 hotline went live in July 2022. At that time, suicide rates among young people were expected to continue rising to new heights. But the opposite happened: They dropped by 11% compared to the projections. Researchers estimate the hotline helped prevent the deaths of almost 4,400 adolescents and young adults. In states where more people used the hotline, suicide rates decreased more. It’s a positive sign the hotline is working, though researchers noted that its current funding isn’t enough to meet demand.

Subscribe now

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Virginia just gave Republicans one more reason to regret starting a redistricting fight. Voters in Virginia approved a new Congressional map that could give Democrats up to four more seats in Congress. Trump called the results “rigged,” his standard description for any vote that goes against him. In the same Truth Social post he referred to himself as a “very brilliant person.” Not to be outdone, RFK Jr. told a Senate committee that AI could make the FDA “irrelevant,” insisted that his anti-vax positions had “nothing to do” with the current measles outbreak, and maintained that Trump has “a different way of calculating percentages” when assessing drug discounts. In Trump’s Washington, math is apparently negotiable.

But the big news is the lack of news out of Iran. Trump didn’t get new talks; he extended a ceasefire with no deadline and announced there is “no time frame” for ending the war. Washington’s conventional read is that Iranian leadership is too fragmented to agree on a path forward. But some analysts push back: This is strategy. They say Iran is engaged in “strategic silence.” Draw out negotiations. Pressure the West. Confuse the US. It’s working. Iran seized two ships today – a first for them in this war. No consequence followed. Speaking on CNN, former NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis puts the odds of a deal from here at 50-50.

In today’s newsletter: Virginia voters dealt Republicans a redistricting blow. We look at the full gerrymander map of America. Iran stalls; Washington spins it as a win. A sudden Pentagon exit. Lebanon and Israel attempt diplomacy, again. The Supreme Court weighs LGBTQ parenting rights. Kash Patel denies being drunk at work — so that’s where we are. And why your bad vacation photos might actually pay off. Plus News That Doesn’t Suck for your teeth and brain.

Iran Updates

• Breaking News: The Pentagon announced that the Secretary of the Navy is leaving his job, “effective immediately.” Secretary John Phelan had given no indication he had plans to depart. The abrupt exit comes while the US is enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran and trying to contain a conflict that is still not clearly headed toward either peace or a broader war.

• Up In the Air: Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran just hours before it was set to expire. The move bought more time but not more clarity. He said the pause would last until “discussions are concluded, one way or another.” But there’s no sign diplomacy is on track. JD Vance’s trip to Pakistan for scheduled peace talks has been postponed indefinitely after Iran refused to attend. One Iranian official said the extension “means nothing.”

• Ceasefire, Technically: Iran on Wednesday fired at three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them, leaving the third stranded. This is the first time Iran has captured vessels during this war. Both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire by blocking the Strait. The shooting and shipping disruptions have not stopped. Trump and US officials insist they have the military advantage and are threatening to resume strikes. “I expect to be bombing,” Trump said on Tuesday. Iran’s parliament speaker on Tuesday had a threat of his own, warning the regime is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

• Timeline: The Trump administration is trying to force Iran into submission by cutting off its economic lifeline — oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday claimed that Iran’s main oil hub, Kharg Island, “will be full” in “a matter of days,” after which “the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut.” Oil exports are Iran’s single largest source of revenue. Cutting them off would further damage the country’s already struggling economy. But the timeline is far from certain and so are the consequences. Some experts believe this will be the final push necessary to force senior officials to accept a deal. Others think it will just deepen the suffering of regular Iranians.

• More Talks: Lebanon and Israel are set to meet again Thursday for a new round of peace talks. Lebanon will reportedly ask to extend the current ceasefire by another month and for Israel to stop demolitions in occupied Lebanese territory. Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade strikes throughout the ceasefire, which both sides accuse the other of violating.

• There Will Not Be Oil: Oil prices continued to rise Wednesday. The world has lost over 500 millions barrels of oil since the war began, according to a Reuters analysis. That’s worth $50 billion, and is the equivalent to cutting global flights for 10 weeks. The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that the war with Iran is causing the “biggest” energy crisis “in history.” Experts fear it will take years to bring production back to pre-war levels. Despite this, Trump said he was “surprised” and “very happy” prices had only risen this much, and claimed he’d expected them to hit $200 a barrel.

• Another Try: The UK and France on Wednesday launched their latest multilateral conference to address the Strait of Hormuz. Dozens of countries are meeting to discuss a pledge made last week to launch “an independent and strictly defensive multinational mission” to protect shipping through the Strait, “following a sustainable ceasefire agreement.”

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Feelin’ Blue: A Virginia judge on Wednesday blocked the certification of the state’s redistricting referendum, claiming it was unconstitutional. Virginia’s attorney general on Wednesday said he would appeal the ruling. The court tried multiple times to kill the referendum; the state Supreme Court rejected both attempts. In that referendum, Virginia voters narrowly approved a plan to temporarily redraw electoral maps in a way that should hand Democrats up to four additional seats in the US House. Under the state’s constitution, neutral maps had given Democrats six seats and Republicans five. The new maps, which will last until 2030, would position Democrats to win up to 10 of the state’s 11 seats. These potential gains put the Democrats ahead in the nationwide redistricting battle Trump started last year. “Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor,” wrote former President Barack Obama, who appeared in ads backing the new Virginia maps. “But they haven’t done it yet.”

  • No Expense Spared: Nearly $100 million poured into the Virginia map battle — and at least 96% was from undisclosed donors, according to a New York Times analysis. Groups supporting the redistricting outspent those opposed by more than two-to-one.

• Not Over Yet: Virginia’s new maps may give the Democrats an edge nationwide, but the battle is far from over. The US Supreme Court may soon undo a provision of the Voting Rights Act that blocks racial gerrymandering, opening the door for red states to carve out more Republican districts before the midterms. And Florida is next. Republicans there are expected to draw their own gerrymandered maps, which could give the GOP up to five additional seats. On the other hand, some analysts say Trump’s unpopularity could lift Democrats in close districts — even gerrymandered ones — limiting Republican gains.

• Redistricting Battle: Here’s how things stand nationwide:

  • Texas: The new map aims to hand the GOP five extra seats. But three of those targeted seats could go blue if Latino voters keep moving away from Trump.

  • Missouri: The new map will likely hand the GOP one extra seat. A legal challenge is headed to the state Supreme Court.

  • North Carolina: The new map dilutes Black votes to give the GOP an extra seat. It already survived one lawsuit.

  • Ohio: The new map may give Republicans up to two extra seats. Democrats agreed to the map, saying they were in an “impossible” situation, but insisting it gives them a chance to retain their seats.

  • Utah: The new map creates a likely Democrat seat in an otherwise deep-red state. A state judge threw out the GOP’s map for being too partisan.

  • Virginia: The new (temporary) map should give Democrats up to four additional seats, if it survives the multiple lawsuits against it. Over 51% of voters approved the plan.

  • California: The new map should give Democrats up to five additional seats and thin out the competition in others. Voters confirmed the plan, called Proposition 50, by almost two-thirds. The US Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge against the new map.

  • Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session to address redistricting, among other things. Republicans haven’t released a specific plan yet. A new map could theoretically hand the GOP five extra seats. But some lawmakers worry an aggressive map could backfire in the event of a blue wave. A majority of voters say that redrawing the maps before the midterms is a “bad idea.”

Subscribe now

• Disapprove: Another midterm problem for the GOP, polls show Trump’s approval rating has hit the lowest point of his second term. His numbers on the economy have slumped. Just look at how poorly he’s performing among Republicans: Half of GOP voters approve of how he’s addressing the cost of living, and 44% approve of his overall performance. Trump’s numbers are even worse among independents and voters overall. Tucker Carlson this week apologized for “misleading people” about Trump and helping him get elected.

• Please Talk: The DOJ withdrew subpoenas issued in its investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, and is now asking witnesses for voluntary interviews. The investigation into Brennan — who publicly called out Russia, saying Putin “brazenly interfered in the 2016 election process,” and criticized Trump for not standing up to that — is one of several Trump critics under federal scrutiny. A lead prosecutor was removed from the investigation in April after warning supervisors of her concern that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to build a criminal case against Brennan. The DOJ this week appointed a Trump loyalist and 2020 election denier to join the investigation. When asked about that on Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “I expect that he will follow the facts.”

• No Kidding: The Supreme Court this week agreed to decide whether Colorado can exclude religious preschools who refuse admission to kids with gay or transgender parents from a publicly funded program. The program, approved in 2020 by more than two-thirds of voters, pays for 15 hours of preschool per week for all four-year-old children. Participating preschools must sign an anti-discrimination pledge. The state argues that gives all families equal opportunity. Two Catholic preschools claim it infringes on their freedom of religion. An appeals court unanimously sided with the state. Now the Supreme Court will get the last word.

  Share

• New Management: Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, testified before senators Tuesday. He insisted he would be “an independent actor” and said Trump “never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision.” Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to lower rates and said he wants the next Fed chair to consult with him before making rate-change decisions. Warsh said he wants “regime change” at the Fed, including reforming how it measures inflation. He argues that AI and technology will make the US more productive, driving growth without causing inflation. He also objects to past Fed moves to address climate change and inequality, topics he argues belong to Congress. Wall Street has responded positively to the pick. Under questioning from Democrats, Warsh refused to answer if Trump won the 2020 election, declined to comment on Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and wouldn’t provide details on $100 million in assets. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he supports Warsh but will continue blocking Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ drops its “frivolous” investigation of incumbent Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump on Tuesday refused to do that.

• Anti-Anti-Hate: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday announced that the DOJ secured a federal grand jury indictment against civil rights advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center for fraud. The DOJ alleges that SPLC improperly raised millions of dollars, without disclosing to donors it would be given to leaders of extremist hate groups in return for information. The agency claimed the money funded criminal activity. SPLC countered that the funds went to sources who “risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on” violent extremist groups as part of a now-defunct informant program that SPLC says “saved lives.” One criminal defense attorney called it a “massive overreach” because “the prosecution is trying to turn operation discretion into a felony.”

• Never Have I Ever: Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel used the SPLC press conference to rip into reporting about Patel’s alleged drunkenness. Patel, who confirmed he hasn’t read the story, insisted it was all fake news. When asked about the footage of him chugging beers with the US men’s hockey team, he said he’s “like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey.… I’ve never been intoxicated on the job.… This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me.” Democrats this week launched an investigation into Patel’s alleged behavior, and some called on him to take and share the results of an alcohol disorders test. The reporter of the piece, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and the Atlantic say they stand “by every word of this reporting.”

Subscribe now

News Or Noise

• Oh Snap: Taking photos has never been easier. Taking good photos is another matter. If you’re the kind of person who never gets the shot right, you might be exactly who Icelandair wants for a 10-day promotional photography trip in Iceland. No, seriously. The airline is offering a cushy paid trip to Iceland for one “really bad photographer.” You can’t have a professional background or even special interest in photography. All you need to do is be able to travel to Iceland, hike around, take (potentially bad) pictures, and be comfortable with possibly becoming the face of a global marketing campaign. Why? The company wants to prove that “even the worst photographer can take great photos of Iceland.” If that’s you, apply here. (We have no relationship with Icelandair. We just love this story.)

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Smile: In 1945, Grand Rapids became the first city in the world to add fluoride to its drinking water. Scientists tracked the dental health of 30,000 local kids, and found that the rate of cavities among children born after fluoridation was 60% lower than those born before it. Water fluoridation has since been proven to be so effective that the CDC named it one of the 10 great public health interventions of the 20th century. But today it’s increasingly controversial. Enter HHS Secretary RFK Jr, who claims fluoride exposure in childhood lowers IQ. A new study of more than 10,000 Wisconsin residents tested that claim. “What we find,” the author said, “is nothing.” The study concluded that fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ. It’s the latest in a series of studies all reaching the same conclusion; some even found the opposite. One analysis found an association between fewer cavities in childhood and higher earnings in adulthood. Research suggests water fluoridation reduces cavities by 25% in both children and adults. Every dollar spent on it generates $20 for communities and saves each person $32 a year in avoided dental treatment. The new study’s author said he hopes it will inform policy in states and localities considering banning fluoride in drinking water.

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

There’s a through line in a lot of the news I report and I don’t name it enough. Every era of backlash has the same instinct — target women.

The mullahs in Iran. Orbán in Hungary. And it’s certainly evident here at home.

There is a specific, targeted hostility toward women who refuse to comply — who speak, who show up, who don’t make themselves small. You see it in the violent attacks on women by their partners. You see it in administration policy.

I sat down with Jill Filipovic — author, lawyer, writer whose work I’ve admired for years — to talk about what’s happening and why. We start with Renee Good: shot by an ICE agent who walked away calling her a “fucking bitch.” “What all of us heard in that moment was not a man who was scared for his life,” Filipovic told me, “but a man who was angry at a woman for not obeying him.”

We talk about the macho recruitment machine behind ICE, the hyperfeminine aesthetic of women in the Trump orbit, and what authoritarian history tells us about why controlling women is never a side effect — it’s the point.

I asked her the question I keep coming back to: Is this the last gasp of a failing system? Or are we watching something darker take hold?

If you can’t watch this all today, it’s worth bookmarking and returning to. Filipovic’s answers are thought provoking. We taped this conversation before the start of the Iran war. But ensuing events only bear out how accurate these observations are.

You can find Jill Filipovic here on Substack at Throughline. She’s also the author of The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness and OK Boomer, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.

That interview is at the top of this newsletter. Scan your eyes up to watch.

In today’s newsletter: The Trump administration says tariff rebates are coming — but not for households. Trippy news on psychedelics. Trump’s pick to run the Fed goes to the Senate this week. US negotiators are heading to Pakistan for peace talks that may or may not happen. And today we bring you extra News that Doesn’t Suck, including remarkable breakthroughs for constructing a human-made esophagus and battling pancreatic cancer. Because we need it.

Iran Updates

• Unilateral Negotiations: Vice President JD Vance is supposed to head back to Pakistan this week with US negotiators for a new round of peace talks with Iran — talks Iran has not committed to. Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said it has “no plans for the next round of negotiations.” Trump claimed on Sunday that the “concept of a deal is done” and insisted that “we have a very good chance to get it completed.” He also threatened that if Iran did not agree to the deal he would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” But some Iranian officials reportedly believe Trump is using the discussions as a cover to resume fighting. Iran state media on Sunday charged the Trump administration with making “unreasonable and unrealistic demands,” saying its “frequent changes of positions” leave “no clear prospect for fruitful negotiations.” The current ceasefire expires on Wednesday. Trump on Monday said it’s “highly unlikely” that he would extend it.

• That Didn’t Last Long: The US on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after warning it to stop for hours. It’s the first Iranian ship the US has seized in the blockade, and reportedly the first ship to try and evade US troops. This came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again after briefly opening it; Iran’s chief negotiator said Iran will not allow ships through while the US maintains its blockade. Iran has now fired on two India-flagged ships. So, no progress.

• Dollar Down: With so much uncertainty about a deal and the Strait, oil prices rose over 5% Monday. In a sign of just how concerned Gulf nations are about their economic stability, the UAE is reportedly requesting a financial backstop from the US — in the form of a “swap line,” which would give them cheap access to US dollars to ease the financial strain of the conflict. Emirati officials have reportedly warned that without the help the country may be forced to use other currencies, including the Chinese yuan, for transactions like oil sales. That would be very bad news for the US and the dollar; when the dollar dominates global trade, the US benefits with things like lower borrowing costs and cheaper imports.

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Payback: The Trump administration on Monday launched an online portal to coordinate refunds for Trump’s illegal emergency tariffs. According to CBP, over 330,000 importers paid $166 billion, which means this could be the largest tariff refund in history. Don’t expect to see this yourself. CNBC reports that most companies surveyed say they don’t plan to pass along the savings to customers. They aren’t legally obligated to do so. That said, certain companies have pledged to make sure you see the benefits and multiple class-action lawsuits are looking to force them to do so.

• Elephants on Parade: Trump on Saturday signed an executive order to ease restrictions on and encourage research into psychedelic drugs, including MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, and ibogaine. Many of these drugs are classified as Schedule 1, which includes those with “no currently accepted medical use” — despite a growing body of research suggesting they can help with a range of issues, including addiction and mental health. Trump was joined in the Oval Office by officials and advocates, including podcaster Joe Rogan, who apparently helped convince the president to sign this order. After noting a study suggesting ibogaine can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, Trump said, “Can I have some, please?”

• A Family, Gone: A 31-year-old man on Sunday shot 10 people, killing eight, in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since 2024. Shamar Elkins killed his seven young children and a cousin, all aged 3-11, and shot his wife and the mother of the eighth child, both of whom were critically injured. Family members said Elkins had mental health problems and was distraught his wife wanted a divorce. Days earlier, a former Virginia politician shot and killed his wife and himself while their teenage children were at home. More than 70 women in the US are shot and killed by a partner every month, and mass shooters often target their partners and family members; the majority of children who die in mass shootings were killed by their family members.

• Big Chair to Fill: Trump’s nominee for Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, will testify at a Senate hearing Tuesday, where he’ll describe his plan for the central bank for the first time. He’s spent months pushing for lower rates, something Trump has repeatedly demanded. Warsh has ties with Silicon Valley and the New York finance world; he worked in the George W. Bush White House and was previously on the Fed Board of Governors. He would be the wealthiest Fed Chair in history. A growing number of Republicans are pushing the Trump administration to drop its investigation of incumbent Fed Chair Jerome Powell, something Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has demanded as a condition for him advancing Warsh’s nomination.

• Federal Bureau of Inebriation? FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday sued the Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for $250 million. The magazine published a story this weekend in which dozens of sources described Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,” which they allege hampered the agency’s work. Patel, whom the story describes as fearing for his job, denied the allegations. Fitzpatrick and the Atlantic both said they stand by “every word” of her reporting. Patel on Sunday claimed the FBI has evidence to prove Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was rigged, and that arrests will be “coming soon.”

Subscribe now

News That Doesn’t Suck

• When Pigs Swallow: Every year, dozens of babies are born with massive gaps in their esophagus, or food-pipe. They can’t survive without repeated, invasive, and complex surgeries. Sometimes this includes repositioning the stomach to temporarily bridge the gap. But now researchers have developed a better solution and, for the very first time, proven it works in pigs. Here’s what they did. They took the donor pig’s esophagus, placed it on a scaffold they constructed, then stripped away the pig’s cells, leaving behind the underlying support structure. Then they took cells from the recipient pig and injected them into the scaffold. A few weeks later they transplanted the resulting engineered esophagus. This worked not just once, but eight times. The engineered food pipes developed the muscles, nerves, and blood vessels needed to function correctly, and all eight pigs were able to eat normally and grow. The best part? The body recognized the new esophagus as its “own tissue,” one researcher explained. That “means it could grow with them over time, without the risk of rejection and without the need for long-term immunosuppression.” Theoretically, hospitals could store pre-prepared scaffolds, ready to be transformed into personalized food-pipes when needed — in a single operation, instead of the multiple often required today. The parents of one two-year-old born with this condition described “major operation after major operation,” which kept their little boy in hospital for half of his life and left him with damaged vocal cords. “The idea that there could be one operation early in your child’s life,” the boy’s father said, “and then we could move on, would be life-changing.”

• A Shot of Hope: Not all cancers are equal. Pancreatic cancer is one of the nastier ones. Symptoms don’t usually show up until it’s advanced, and standard treatments are often ineffective. After diagnosis, people typically survive for just a few months. Three of every four patients die within a year. Nine of every ten are gone after two. But in a remarkable development, more than half of the participants who participated in a trial of a new treatment are still alive, six years after diagnosis. The secret: a personalized mRNA vaccine. Dr. Vinod Balachandran had long wondered why some lucky few survived pancreatic cancer while so many did not. He realized their immune systems were somehow able to detect and destroy the cancer. Tumors are often invisible to our immune systems — but in these patients, the tumors were releasing a protein that essentially uncloaked them, making them a target. In the trial, researchers extracted tumors from patients and used them to create personalized vaccines to replicate something similar. Eight of the 16 participants responded to the vaccine. Of those eight, seven are still alive six years later, and six of them haven’t had their cancer return. This is one of several recent promising signs that mRNA research is continuing, despite anti-vaccine backlash. That research could bring hope to people suffering from all kinds of cancers. “The implication,” Dr. Balachandran explained, “is that you can make a very strong immune response against the toughest of cancers, and it can last for this long. So if you could do it here, you could potentially do it in many other cancers.”

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Trump says gas prices are “not very high” and the war in Iran is going “swimmingly.” The memes disagree. It’s Friday, it’s 2026, and the gap between what officials say is happening and what is actually happening continues to grow.

Secretary Hegseth says he’s restored respect for our soldiers in uniform. But I keep hearing from families of those deployed in the Middle East that their loved ones are underresourced. The image at the top of the newsletter shows a meal one of your deployed family members was served daily in Qatar. Respect starts with the basics. Food is one of them.

Even MAGA is starting to notice the gap. Wired reports that more Trump supporters now question whether the Butler, PA assassination was real or staged. When your own base stops believing the official story, something has shifted. (See Tucker Carlson’s antichrist comments below.)

Don’t tell Wall Street. CNBC reports the NASDAQ has seen its longest winning streak since 1992. Traders have theories: The AI boom, war winding down, congressional gridlock blocking regulation, anticipated rate cuts. Everyone’s got one. Fewer seem to have theories for what happens next. But that’s a problem for a different quarter.

Here’s what we know: The investment class is betting on an America that looks nothing like the one most people are living in. But the memes are free, the jokes are sharp, and nobody is buying what they’re selling. Not literally. They’re buying groceries on credit. But you know what I mean.

In today’s newsletter: Trump says Iran deal could come in days. The Strait reopens. The $20 billion question. Anthropic, too good to ban. Road rage, federal edition. The Pentagon’s religious theater problem. Oil wins again. Alcohol and sexual assault allegations at the Labor Department. Some good election news for Democrats. And men: Your turn.

Iran Updates

• End in Sight? Trump told Axios Friday that he expects US and Iranian negotiators to meet this weekend and reach a deal “in the next day or two.” Trump claimed the US would get all Iran’s enriched uranium — or, in his words, all “Nuclear ‘Dust’” — and an “unlimited” moratorium on future uranium enrichment. He also said he expects Israel to stop attacks on Lebanon and that this deal will “make Israel safe”. There is plenty that’s still unclear: Will a deal include all of Iran’s enriched uranium or just the highly enriched material; for how long will Iran agree to stop enrichment; and is this deal as close as Trump says it is?

  • Extension? While they’re working on a deal, negotiators are considering extending the current ceasefire by another two weeks. The current deadline is Tuesday.

  • Timeline: Some leaders in the Middle East and Europe worry it will take six months for the US and Iran to reach a peace deal.

• Get That Oil Flowing: Iran on Friday declared the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire beginning Thursday. But traffic remains reduced. Trump said he won’t lift the US blockade of Iran’s ports until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.” Meaning he wants the larger deal finalized. The blockade has prevented 13 ships from docking at Iran’s ports, increasing pressure on Iran’s already squeezed economy.

• Money Talks: What’s suddenly bringing Iran to the table? The Trump administration is reportedly considering granting Iran access to $20 billion in frozen assets in return for its stockpile of enriched uranium. The money would be released over years, and as conditions are met. Trump denied that this is part of the deal and insisted that “no money will change hands.” Recall Trump excoriated the Obama administration for releasing funds to Iran as part of its nuclear deal, which Trump called the “worst deal ever.” How much did that deal release? $1.7 billion.

• Right Direction: Oil prices plummeted after Iran said the Strait was open. But don’t expect falling prices yet. The International Energy Agency on Friday warned that it will take two years to bounce back from the hit on energy output caused by the war’s disruptions. And if you’re planning a European vacation beware. The IEA also said that “several European countries may start to face shortages of jet fuel in the next 6 weeks.” Trump dismissed rising consumer prices as “fake inflation because of the fuel, the energy prices,” which he said will be “short-term.”

• Peace In Lebanon? Trump on Thursday said he plans to invite the leaders of Lebanon and Israel to the White House for negotiations. They already agreed to a 10-day ceasefire that seems to be holding despite tensions. Trump on Friday announced that Israel is “PROHIBITED” from “bombing Lebanon any longer.… Enough is enough!!!” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israeli troops “are not leaving” the new “expanded security zone” in southern Lebanon. The truce allows Israel to “take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” Israel launched a strike Friday morning, killing one, arguing it was in self-defense against Hezbollah. Hezbollah, which condemned the negotiations and previously refused to give up aggression, signaled a “cautious commitment” to the 10-day truce. In the respite from brutal conflict, some of the 1.2 million displaced Lebanese — one-fifth of the entire population — on Friday tried returning home.

• Tick-Tock: Republican Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Friday said they will likely vote against authorizing the war with Iran beyond the 60-day mark. Thus far, both senators have joined the Republican majority in rejecting Democratic attempts to reign in Trump’s war with Iran. With the 60-day deadline less than two weeks away and costs mounting, they’re signaling that support will not last much longer.

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Restart: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Friday met administration officials at the White House. In March the Trump administration named the Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after the AI developer insisted the Pentagon accept some safety guardrails when using its technology. To fight the blacklist, Anthropic launched multiple lawsuits and hired Trump-friendly lobbyists. Trump officials — including at the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget — want access to Anthropic’s dangerously powerful new model, Mythos, badly enough to re-engage. One source told Axios that the US government depriving itself of this new model would be “grossly irresponsible” and “a gift to China.”

• Melting Away: ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, on Thursday announced he will resign, effective at the end of May and move to the private sector. Lyons was reportedly hospitalized multiple times for stress-related issues during his tenure. Unnamed sources told Politico that pressure from the White House — specifically Stephen Miller — was so intense that staff once brought a portable defibrillator to Lyon in case he needed medical intervention. Lyons defended agents using masks, placed a record number of people in detention, and refused to apologize for the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Under his leadership, ICE agents killed and injured dozens of people, and dozens more died in detention; 2025 was the agency’s deadliest year in over two decades. He said on Friday that he’s leaving to spend more time with his family. We’ll see if this leads to a shift in ICE’s tactics.

  • Federal Road Rage: A Minnesota prosecutor on Thursday charged an ICE agent with assault, a charge Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said is the first of its kind. ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr allegedly drew his weapon on two civilians after a conflict over passing on the shoulder of the road. Morgan told investigators he “feared for his safety and the safety of others.”

• Pulp Fiction: The holy war rhetoric keeps heating up. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday called the “Trump-hating press” “Pharisees,” a group that plotted against Jesus. The day before he led a prayer service quoting a passage almost word-for-word that wasn’t a prayer but rather a monologue from the film Pulp Fiction. (Did someone rely on AI for their remarks?) Pope Leo XIV, this week visiting Africa, again criticized leaders who use religion to justify war. “The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” he said. Trump on Thursday insisted he has “nothing against” the Pope and is “not fighting with him.” He then falsely claimed the Pope “says Iran can have a nuclear weapon” and ignored a reporter who pointed out that’s not true. “I’m all about the Gospel,” Trump said. “I’m about it as much as anybody can be.” For years, MAGA supporters like Tucker Carlson insisted Trump was protected by God. Now Carlson is suggesting Trump may actually be the antichrist.

• Who’s Watching: Congress on Friday approved a short-term extension of a controversial warrantless surveillance law that originated with a secret wiretapping program launched after 9/11. Trump, who once called for the program to end, now supports an extension, insisting he is “willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country!” The program has supporters and critics in both parties. Proponents say vital for national security and critics warn it’s an unacceptable breach of privacy. Twenty Republican lawmakers broke ranks to block efforts to renew the program in the longer term.

Subscribe now

• Handy Victory: Progressive activist Analilia Mejia on Thursday defeated her Republican opponent in the special election to replace the House seat left vacant by Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Mejia was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). She will have to run again this year to keep the seat.

• Bigger In Texas: New polling shows MAGA Republican Ken Paxton polling ahead of John Cornyn (R-TX) in their Texas Senate runoff. Whoever wins that race will face Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who this week announced his campaign raised over $27 million during the first quarter of 2026 — more than any senate candidate in US history. Democrats believe Talarico has the best chance of flipping that Texas Senate seat blue if he runs against Paxton, a polarizing figure.

• Laborious: The Labor Department’s inspector general is investigating Secretary Laro Chavez-DeRemer, her aides, and her family members for misconduct – including allegations they texted employees with requests to bring them alcohol at work. Her husband has been banned from the department’s headquarters after multiple employees accused him of sexual assault. Three staff members filed civil rights complaints alleging a hostile work environment. Investigators are also looking into allegations that Chavez-DeRemer had an affair with a security guard and that her aides tried to direct grants to political allies. This is all part of a wider, monthslong fraud and misconduct investigation. Other than that, great place to work.

• Oil Wins: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 8–0 in favor of a group of oil companies that had been sued by Louisiana for harming the environment. The lawsuit, one of dozens affected by this ruling, related to oil production during World War II. Justices unanimously agreed that the issue should be resolved in federal courts, not state courts. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself because he owns stock in the parent company of one of the manufacturers involved.

• Hungary First: Péter Magyar, the newly elected leader of Hungary, this week claimed his predecessor, MAGA favorite Viktor Orbán, used government money to fund CPAC. In other words, the Conservative Political Action Conference, a major gathering of conservative figures from the US and around the world, was allegedly working with and accepting money from a government aligned closely with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. This also explains the hero’s greeting Orban received when he appeared at CPAC. It’s always the money. Magyar said his government will cut off the funding and investigate it as a “criminal offense.” He said CPAC is “very welcome” to continue hosting events in Budapest, but “not from Hungarian taxpayers’ money.”

Share

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Reproductive Burden: The invention of birth control was revolutionary. It gave women control over their own fertility and helped drive sexual, social, and economic liberation. It also handed them the bill. The potential side effects, the mental load of managing it, and the cost of paying for it all lands on women. One in five have stopped using it because of cost. Over 41% of US pregnancies are unintended. That may be about to change. Scientists at Cornell made a breakthrough developing a safe, reversible, nonhormonal male contraceptive. The treatment kills sperm cells during development. In animal tests, mice produced no sperm while on it, and after stopping fertility returned completely. Research into male contraceptives has accelerated in recent years — along with public interest. “We’ve recently seen pretty much the entire field of male contraception take a big step forward,” one research funder said. When one reaches the market it will be “a paradigm-changing technology.”

• Sounds Like Progress: About 200,000 people worldwide were born deaf due to a specific gene mutation. It’s called OTOF-related deafness, and until now there was no cure. Researchers in Sweden and China recently tested a gene therapy that delivers a working version of the abnormal gene to the inner ear via a single injection. Within weeks, most patients regained some hearing. After six months, all of them did. A seven-year-old girl whose hearing was almost fully restored, could hold everyday conversations with her mother. This therapy had already been tested on children; this is the first time it worked in teenagers and adults, too. Researchers believe this may open the door to treating other forms of genetic deafness as well. “This is a huge step forward,” one researcher said, toward treating a condition “that can be life-changing.”

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Today I have some good news from inside the strange business of building trust on the internet: I’m onstage at Adweek’s Social Media Week for a fireside chat about social media and journalism. They’ve honored me with their “Brand Genius Creator” award. I’ll share photos on Friday. It’s a meaningful moment for News Not Noise and for our mission: reaching more people with reporting built on trust, clarity, and facts.

It also means I’m slammed today. So this edition is a speed-read newsletter. Consider it a small mercy in the middle of the endless news churn. And yes, we even managed to fit in some News That Doesn’t Suck.

Here Are Your Headlines

• Iran Updates: Iran on Wednesday threatened to target additional shipping routes if the US continues its blockade of Iran’s ports. Pakistan on Tuesday proposed a new round of peace talks, which Trump said could happen in “the next two days.” The State Department on Tuesday hosted the first direct diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades, which were positive but resulted in no commitments.

• Fed Up: Trump on Wednesday (once again) threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, if Powell doesn’t step down when his term expires May 15. Powell can temporarily remain chair if Trump’s replacement, Kevin Warsh, isn’t confirmed, and Powell’s term on the Fed’s board extends to 2028. Warsh will testify before senators next week. DOJ prosecutors on Tuesday made an unusual visit to Fed’s construction site, which the agency’s outside counsel criticized as “inappropriate.”

• Vance Takes on the Pope: JD Vance, a onetime atheist who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said on Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” when discussing theology. He was speaking at a Turning Point USA event, which seemed to have more seats empty than filled. Vance was heckled by an antiwar protestor, and said he understood that “young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East.”

Share

• Fool Me Twice: Trump on Wednesday posted another religious image, this time of Jesus hugging him. The outcry from religious MAGA supporters over his earlier image continues to reverberate.

• Golden Ticket: A new poll has Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer and Trump-endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton leading California’s gubernatorial primary race. The California Teachers Association, which had endorsed disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell, on Tuesday switched to Steyer. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing increasing pressure to make an endorsement.

• Who Knew: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a (former) close friend and congressional colleague of Swalwell, held a press conference Tuesday in which he denied knowledge of Swalwell’s “predatory behavior” with women. “My friendship with him … clouded my judgment,” Gallego said.

• Forgive and Don’t Forget: Trump’s DOJ on Tuesday moved to undo the seditious conspiracy convictions for leaders of far-right extremist groups who participated in the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol. “These were traitors,” a former police officer injured in the attack said. “They planned, incited, and carried out an insurrection.”

• Zoomer Narcissus: Controversial “looksmaxxing” influencer Clavicular was released from the hospital Wednesday after suffering a suspected overdose. He previously claimed to have used crystal meth to manage his weight. In an indication of how damaging looksmaxxing can be on mental health, Clavicular said the “worst part” of the whole ordeal was his “face descending” — i.e., drooping, sagging — “from the life support mask.”

Subscribe now

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Lost and Found: We’ve covered multiple headline-grabbing museum heists recently, but what about the opposite? A priceless, 2,500-year-old golden helmet, one of Romania’s dearest national treasures, was recently recovered a year after thieves used a homemade bomb to break into a Netherlands museum and steal it.

• Look Up: The Lyrid meteor shower starts Wednesday. It happens every year as Earth passes through a dust cloud left behind by a massive comet. This year it’ll peak before dawn on Wednesday April 22, when a moonless sky should make for good viewing. You can expect to see about a dozen shooting stars per hour, and potentially some fireballs, though the Lyrids are known for dramatic surges of up to 100 per hour.

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Let’s do the bad news first.

A man with — generously speaking — a documented enthusiasm for sending nude photos to subordinates was, until this week, among the leading candidates to govern California, the largest state in America. His party was aware concerns existed. He is now out of the governor’s race and out of Congress, his departure made politically viable only because a Republican with his own spectacular conduct issues exited simultaneously. One from each party. I think they call this balance.

In other foreign policy developments, the United States has announced a blockade of Iran’s blockade. (Foreign policy by infinite blockade loop?) The logic is that maximum pressure will force Iran back to the table. The risk: it doesn’t.

Also, Trump picked a fight with the Pope. The Pope was unimpressed.

Now the good news, and it is genuinely good: Viktor Orbán, the man who turned Hungary into a template for democratic backsliding, and who became patron saint for the global right, lost badly. Voters turned out in record numbers to reject him. His media, his maps, his apparatus were not enough to defeat the people’s wrath. The lesson: These things can be reversed and elections, held freely, still work.

And we end today with some good news for your joints — and possibly for aging itself.

Iran Updates

• Dire Straits: The US enacted a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Monday morning — effectively blockading Iran’s blockade, even as diplomacy remains alive. Trump argues this will force Iran to reopen the Strait. The move appears to be a pressure tactic to get Iran to accept US terms before the current two-week pause on fighting expires on April 22. More than a dozen warships are enforcing the blockade, though US allies including UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia declined to participate. (At least one tanker seems to have slipped through today.)

  • No Deal: The stated sticking point in peace talks in Pakistan was Iran’s refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions. Iran reportedly offered to pause enriching uranium for five years, but the US asked for two decades. Iran accused Washington of moving the goalposts. There is some ambiguity here. Trump previously claimed the goal of denying Iran a nuclear weapon “has been attained.” But on Monday he claimed “they still want” a nuclear weapon. US negotiators reportedly also insisted Iran give up all its highly enriched uranium, which Iran rejected; Axios reports that officials in Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are helping with negotiations.

  • Yes, And: Both sides are still communicating; Trump claimed “the appropriate people” called him Monday seeking a deal and insisted Iran wants “to make a deal, very badly.” He is also reportedly weighing resuming strikes to increase pressure. Iran’s lead negotiator said the regime will not “surrender under threats.” Speaking on CNN, Brett McGurk, former National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said Iran knows the US blockade could be “catastrophic” for the global economy if it lasts for a while. “So they think time is on their side.”

• NATO tension: Turkey escalated its rhetoric against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him the “Hitler of our time.” Israeli officials dismissed Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan as a “paper tiger” who “accommodates” the Iranian regime.

• Back to the Table: Envoys for Israel and Lebanon will meet at the US State Department Tuesday for their first direct peace talks in 43 years. The talks center on disarming Hezbollah. Big unknowns: Can the Lebanese government enforce a deal against Hezbollah, which remains defiant? And will Israel agree to transition from military deterrence to providing security guarantees to its northern neighbor?

• Can’s Down the Road: Judges in Israel on Sunday allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone testifying in his corruption trial. He faces multiple charges, including bribery and fraud.

Subscribe now

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• MAGA’s Favorite Autocrat Loses: Hungary’s longtime leader Viktor Orbán just got voted out — days after Trump urged voters to support him and VP Vance flew there to back him. Voters did not, delivering a two-thirds parliamentary majority to opposition leader Péter Magyar and his party, Tiscza. Turnout was the highest ever recorded, remarkable given Orbán’s control of the media and intimidation of state institutions. Also surprising: Orbán conceded before half the votes had been counted. (As one professor noted, that underscores just how brazen Trump’s election denial is.) European leaders and fans of democracy everywhere celebrated. In Budapest, thousands flooded the streets, drinking, crying, and chanting, “Russians Go Home!” So far the Trump administration has no comment. Here’s why this election has drawn so much attention:

  • Close to Home: Over 16 years as Hungary’s leader, Orbán ran what he called an “illiberal democracy,” railing against the “woke virus,” “gender madness” and “migration insanity. He blamed the country’s economic and social problems on the Ukrainian war and European bureaucrats and turned Hungary into the most corrupt, least free, and poorest nation in the European Union. He captured the press and neutered the courts. Orbán’s party, Fidesz, controlled access to everything from lucrative business contracts to life-saving health care; he redrew electoral maps to lock in his majority. Orbán pulled Hungary toward Russia, recently telling Putin, “In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service.” That meant passing on information from EU negotiations, resisting sanctions on Russians, and blocking a massive loan to Ukraine. Then the bill came due. The EU cut off tens of billions in funding. Inflation soared. Voters seethed over prices and rampant corruption. It all exploded in 2024, when it was revealed that the government that spent years selling “family values” quietly pardoned a man convicted of covering up child sexual abuse. Top figures close to Orbán resigned. Among them: The ex-wife of… eventual opposition leader Péter Magyar. After decades in Orbán’s party he broke off and launched the opposition that has now surged into power.

  • Not So New Guy: Magyar is a conservative populist who spent years relentlessly campaigning across the country. Enemies and allies alike describe him as difficult, controlling, and abrasive. During the campaign he leaned into macho posturing and remained laser-focused on bread and butter issues, refusing to discuss the culture war, including hot-button topics like LGBT+ rights. “We are not voting for Tiscza,” said one politician who gave up his own seat to help the party win. “We are voting against Fidesz. That’s the whole point. Hungarians would vote for a goat at this point if it was running against Orbán.”

  • What’s Next: “Together we liberated Hungary,” Magyar told a cheering crowd of tens of thousands celebrating his victory. “The Hungarian people didn’t vote for a simple change of government,” he said, “but for a complete change of regime.” Magyar vowed to begin reconstructing a “free, European, functioning, and humane Hungary” — to “restore the rule of law, plural democracy, and the system of checks and balances.” Experts warn it will be a long, difficult battle. Magyar called for the resignations of senior officials he called “puppets” of Orbán and vowed to pursue those he said “plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted, and ruined” the country. In the short-term, he said Hungary will end its opposition to the EU’s $105 billion loan to Ukraine.

Subscribe now

• Choose the Bear: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on Monday announced he will resign from Congress. On Sunday he dropped out of the California governor’s race, following reports he sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women. He said he’s “deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past” and vowed to “fight” what he called “serious, false allegations.” More than 50 of his former staffers, plus lawmakers from both parties, called on him to resign — or be expelled. He dropped out only after the House Ethics Committee announced plans to investigate those allegations. Now that investigation is moot. Also today, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announced his resignation. Gonzales admitted to carrying out an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Lawmakers were preparing to expel both Swalwell and Gonzales. The timing is likely intentional: Each party loses a disgraced member. Neither loses ground. In Washington that counts as a compromise.

  • Pattern: The allegations against Swalwell are disturbing and potentially criminal. CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle separately published one woman’s account; she alleges that Swalwell raped her twice, once while she worked for him in 2019 and again in 2024. Both times she says she was heavily intoxicated. The first time she was 21, while Swalwell was 17 years her senior and married with children. The second time, the woman alleges she “pushed him off of me, saying no. He didn’t stop.” (I can assure you that organizations like CNN don’t report allegations of this nature until they have many sources and/or corroborating documents.) In addition, three women, all former staffers, told CNN that Swalwell sent them sexual messages, including nude photos, which they said sometimes escalated to unwanted physical touch. The Manhattan DA’s office announced that it has opened an investigation and called for “survivors and anyone with knowledge” to reach out to them.

  • In the Running: Swalwell’s exit could scramble the California governor’s race. He was one of the leading Democratic candidates in an overcrowded field. Prediction markets now favor billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent more than $121 million of his own money on his campaign. He made that fortune from investments, such as in offshore private equity funds and a private prison firm now operating California’s largest immigration detention center. Other leading Democratic candidates include Rep. Katie Porter, who in a rare twist may benefit from being a woman in the race, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has Silicon Valley’s backing. But there’s a catch that should make Democrats nervous. Swalwell was polling second. First and third place are both Republicans: Steve Hilton, a Trump-backed former Fox News host, and Chad Bianco, a sheriff who recently seized 650,000 ballots to investigate dubious claims of voter fraud. (Catch up on that here.) In California’s primary system, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. If the Democrats can’t consolidate, Republican candidates could take both spots, ensuring California’s next governor will be a Republican.

• Cursed Be the Image Makers: Pope Leo XIV on Monday said he is “not afraid of the Trump administration” and “will continue to speak out strongly against war.” This after Trump on Sunday posted an extraordinary rambling rant against the Pope. The President followed that by posting a seemingly AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure healing a sick person. The backlash was swift: Christians, conservatives, and staunch MAGA allies denounced it. Even Iran’s president called the “desecration” of Jesus “unacceptable.” An Italian historian of the Papacy said that “not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.” Conservative Bishop Robert Barron called Trump’s comments “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful.” He also called out by name “serious Catholics” in the administration, including JD Vance and Marco Rubio. After the backlash, Trump deleted the image. He didn’t apologize and claimed on Monday that he “thought it was me as a doctor … making people feel better.” You can see commentary and images here, here and here.

Share

• To the Letter: A federal judge on Monday dismissed Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal. Trump’s legal team said it will refile an amended suit. The suit stemmed from a WSJ report about a letter, seemingly from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, celebrating Epstein’s birthday. In the letter, “Donald” tells “Jeffrey” that “we have certain things in common,” “a pal is a wonderful thing,” and “may every day be another wonderful secret.” The letter ends with a signature similar to Trump’s and is surrounded by a crude outline of a naked woman. Trump denied any involvement and filed a lawsuit, maintaining that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.” Months later Epstein’s estate provided the House Oversight Committee a copy of the letter.

• Green Light: The FAA has approved the Pentagon’s plan to deploy powerful anti-drone lasers near the southern border. The DOD earlier this year used the laser multiple times — including one brave attack on a party balloon — without telling the FAA, forcing an airspace closure to protect civilian air traffic. After joint tests, the FAA concluded the “high-energy” lasers do “not pose undue risk to passenger aircraft.” It said the Pentagon had agreed to follow safety precautions. Those precautions remain unspecified. Godspeed.

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Joint Effort: We all know joints stiffen with age. For some people, that’s nothing more than an annoyance (and perhaps a trigger for an existential crisis). But for many, it’s far more serious. Osteoarthritis affects 16% of people over 30 and more than 80% of people over 55. For them, cartilage, the shock absorbers that protect our joints and bones, wears away — in some cases completely. Mild discomfort becomes debilitating pain. Stiffness becomes difficulty moving and inability to complete daily tasks. The tens of millions of people in the US and hundreds of millions around the world suffering from osteoarthritis essentially have two options: manage the pain or try for a joint replacement. There’s no cure — at least, for now. Researchers from three Colorado universities have developed two treatments that seem to have reversed the disease in animals. One of these is a single injection. It’s a mix of proteins that recruit the body’s own cells to repair the damage. When researchers gave the shot to arthritic animals, damaged joints returned to a healthy state in weeks. The implications go further than one disease. For decades, scientists thought that cartilage damage was irreversible. This study challenges that belief. If they were wrong, the result could be not just a cure for osteoarthritis, but the ability to reverse natural cartilage loss that comes with age. “Our goal,” one of the researchers said, “is not just to treat pain and halt progression, but to end this disease.”

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

There has been a year of news this week. But the story that has held our attention — and apparently yours — is Artemis II.

Online the comments have been joyful. The social engagement has been off the charts. And we can’t stop reading about it either. There’s something about four astronauts hurtling to the Moon that cuts through the noise in a way that a tariff announcement simply cannot.

Here’s our theory on why: We are starved for evidence that humans can still do big important things together. The Artemis crew speaks with seriousness and dignity — about science, about service, about values that have felt increasingly theoretical lately. They are the best of us. And in a moment when escaping this planet has crossed more than a few minds, watching actual people attempt something close to it hits different.

Splashdown happened at 8:07pm EDT. NASA called it “perfect.”

In today’s newsletter: Trump says Iran has no leverage. Drivers beg to differ. JD Vance heads to Iran talks, warns Tehran not to “play us.” Pope Leo issues his sharpest rejection yet of “Holy War” politics. What — or who — drove Melania Trump’s unexpected Epstein statement? A bombshell sexual assault report upends the California governor’s race. The latest economic snapshot. The CDC hid a report about Covid vaccines. Guess what it found? And Artemis II is home at last.

Breaking News

• Bombshell Allegations: Four women have accused Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) of sexual misconduct and one of them, a former staffer, alleges rape. In an exclusive CNN report the former staffer alleges Swalwell sexually assaulted her while she was drunk, twice. The other women say Swallwell sent them unsolicited sexual images and touched them inappropriately without consent. Rep. Swalwell, who is running for California governor, forcefully denies the charges. He told CNN, “These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor.… I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action.” He has reportedly served some of the women with cease and desist letters. Multiple labor unions and officials who backed his gubernatorial campaign have withdrawn their support. Some, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) have called for him to bow out of the race. You can read more here.

• Poor Fit: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MA) has requested the White House physician “conduct a comprehensive cognitive assessment” of Trump. Raskin cited the fact that Trump’s public statements have become “increasingly incoherent, volatile, profane, deranged, and threatening.” He also noted that senior Republican lawmakers made much of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities, including subpoenaing the White House physician and declaring a president who isn’t cognitively fit “isn’t fit for office.” The White House insisted that Trump’s “sharpness” and “unmatched energy … stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the past four years.”

Iran Updates

• Make or Break: US negotiators, led by Vice President JD Vance, flew to Pakistan, where they will hold direct peace talks with Iranian counterparts Saturday. A former Pentagon official told News Not Noise this marks the start of the “most dangerous period of time” since the war began. Pakistan’s prime minister on Friday called the talks a “make-or-break moment.” Each side maintains seemingly irreconcilable positions. Iran’s speaker of parliament and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, insists that two preconditions “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin: There must be a ceasefire in Lebanon, and the US must release blocked Iranian assets.” That’s not promising because it’s unlikely both those terms will be met. Trump said Iran must no longer enrich uranium. Iran argues it has a right to do so. Trump on Thursday accused Iran of violating the ceasefire by keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and said they “better stop” extracting tolls from tankers passing through. Iran wants to maintain control of the Strait, including charging tolls in crypto. Neither side has shown much, if any, willingness to back down from these mutually exclusive demands.

  • Tough Talk: On Saturday JD Vance will become the highest ranking US official to hold direct talks with Iran in over a decade. On Friday, he warned Iran not to “try and play us,” explaining that Trump gave the US team “some pretty clear guidelines,” but didn’t elaborate. Trump on Friday continued his posturing, insisting Iran has “no cards, other than a short term extortion of the world” by throttling traffic in the Strait. He warned that the US is treating this break as a “reset,” is “loading up the ships with … the best weapons ever made,” and is prepared to resume attacks,

  • Iran’s Cards: US gas prices increased 21.2% in March, the largest monthly increase since 1967. Average gas prices are up more than a dollar per gallon since the war began.

  • Lebanon Talks: The office of Lebanon’s president confirmed to CNN that Lebanon and Israel agreed to begin peace negotiations at the US State Department next week. Leaders of the two nations spoke by phone today. This is despite US and Israeli insistence that Lebanon was never part of the ceasefire deal. (This sure suggests Iran has some leverage.) Hezbollah’s chief says it will keep fighting regardless of any agreement. Israel and Hezbollah on Friday continued to trade strikes. Israel’s massive, surprise strikes on Lebanon this week, launched after the ceasefire with Iran was announced, killed hundreds. The death toll in Lebanon is now close to 2,000 people. Trump on Thursday said Netanyahu agreed to “low-key it.… We have to be sort of a little more low-key.”

    • Timing: Netanyahu on Friday requested he be allowed to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial. The ceasefire with Iran and subsequent lifting of Israel’s state of emergency meant the trial would resume on Sunday.

• Holy War: Pope Leo on Friday issued his latest and most explicit rebuke of war — and the Trump administration’s repeated invocations of God to justify its war with Iran. “God does not bless any conflict,” the Pope wrote.

  • Unprecedented: According to the Free Press, the Pentagon summoned a Vatican envoy — something that does not normally happen — and reportedly threatened him over the Pope’s opposition to the war in Iran and Trump administration policy. The outlet reports that in the January 22 meeting, Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby allegedly told the Pope’s envoy that “the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.” An official at the meeting allegedly invoked the Avignon Papacy, when the French monarchy orchestrated the death of the Pope and brought the Papacy under its control. The Pentagon denied all this, calling the meeting “respectful and reasonable.” And the Vatican reportedly said the meeting was “frank but very cordial.” The Pope later declined an invitation to come to the US for America’s 250th anniversary celebration.

• Cost Lives: Survivors of Iran’s deadliest attack on US forces during the war have publicly disputed the Pentagon’s account. US troops who spoke to CBS News said that they were moved from a major base in Kuwait to a smaller and “older” military outpost that was “closer to Iran” and in “a deeply unsafe area that was a known target.” The base’s protections were “about as weak as one gets” with essentially no anti-drone defense capabilities. Shortly before the attack, an all-clear sounded, and troops returned to work — in “a bunch of little tin buildings,” which were destroyed when Iran’s drone struck. “It’s something like what you see in the movies,” one survivor said. “Head wounds, heavy bleeding … shrapnel all over.” Six US service members died and more than 20 were injured, making this the deadliest attack on US troops in years. “One of the hardest things for me,” one survivor said, “is that I know we didn’t get everybody out … there are still soldiers inside there that still haven’t been identified and evacuated.” “I want people to know,” one injured troop said, “the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself.”

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Strange Timing: Melania Trump on Thursday made an unexpected public statement in which she insisted she is not one of “Epstein’s victims” and denied knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. This is the first time she’s publicly addressed the issue; her choice to do so now sparked widespread confusion and speculation. President Trump on Friday said he was unaware of what his wife planned to say, but he said she “had a right to talk about it.” In the statement, the First Lady insisted she “never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, [Ghislaine] Maxwell.” The photo of the Trumps with Epstein and Maxwell? “Overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach,” Melania explained. What about the email Melania sent Maxwell, in which she praises a “nice story” of Epstein published in New York Magazine and asks Maxwell to “give me a call,” or Maxwell’s later email calling Melania her “Sweet Pea?” Nothing more than “casual correspondence,” Melania claimed. “A trivial note.” (In that NY Mag story, Donald Trump calls Epstein a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”) Melania also called for a “public hearing specifically centered around the survivors” of Epstein’s abuse. Lawmakers from both parties backed Melania’s call for a hearing. But at least 15 survivors slammed Melania’s comments, arguing they are “shifting the burden onto survivors” from those in power, including Pam Bondi and the DOJ, which they claim “has still not fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.” Multiple Democrats called on Melania to testify. “She has relevant information,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said. “If she didn’t … how could she say that Epstein was not acting alone?”

  • Meet Cute: Wondering what prompted that statement? Attention is now on Paolo Zampolli, a longtime business associate of Trump and a former modelling agent who once discussed buying an agency with… Jeffrey Epstein. Zampolli is currently the administration’s special envoy for global partnerships and previously ran the modeling agency that represented a young Melania Knauss. Zampolli has long insisted that he, and not Epstein, introduced Melania to Donald Trump. Following Melania’s statement, Zampolli signaled he’s prepared to testify under oath that he introduced the first couple. Zampolli’s name appears in the Epstein files multiple times; when asked about that, he said, “At least I was included, because if you’re not on the list, you’re a loser, right?” Here’s the more combustible part of the story. Zampolli’s ex wife and the mother of his child, Amanda Ungaro, was arrested in June 2025, allegedly for being involved in an unlicensed cosmetic surgery business. Ungaro was apparently a model who flew on Epstein’s jet as a teenager, and while married to Zampolli frequently socialized with the Trumps. But that marriage reportedly broke down into a fierce custody battle. According to a New York Times report, after Ungaro was arrested, Zampolli reached out to senior DHS officials; Ungaro claims he used his influence to orchestrate her deportation. He denies this and told the Times he reached out to ICE leadership merely to ask “what was going on.” Ungaro was deported to Brazil. In a series of now-deleted tweets, an account with the name Amanda Ungaro warned Melania to be “afraid of what I know” and threatened to reveal damaging details about the President.

Subscribe now

• Doomer Data: A slew of new economic data is out, most of it dismal. Monthly inflation rose threefold in March and annual inflation rose to its highest rate in almost two years. A preliminary estimate of consumer sentiment puts it at 47.6%, which would be the lowest reading on record; it declined across all ages, income brackets, and political affiliations. Americans are less optimistic about finding a job than in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. GDP growth in the final quarter of 2025 was revised downwards. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost food assistance.

• Draft Idea: The government is preparing to begin automatically registering young men — including undocumented immigrants — for the draft in December. Currently, almost all men aged 18-25 must register with the Select Service System, the agency that oversees the database of potential draftees. It’s separate from the Department of Defense. That process is already automatic in dozens of states and US territories, but will now become automatic nationwide thanks to the Defense Authorization Act, which was passed last year with bipartisan support. A government official said the shift has been “in the works for quite a while” and mentioned the Trump administration’s “obsession” with creating federal databases. The government is also worried about declining numbers of eligible men registering. This doesn’t mean the draft is actually coming back. However, when asked in March about the prospect of an active draft, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is keeping his “options on the table.” Trump in 2024 wrote that a vote for Kamala Harris would be a vote for “BRINGING BACK THE DRAFT” while a vote for him would be a vote for “PROSPERITY & PEACE.”

• The Vance Touch: Vice President JD Vance spent the first half of this week attempting to save Hungary’s authoritarian President Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, from what seems like an imminent election defeat. At a pro-Orban rally on Tuesday, Vance accused the EU of interfering in Hungary’s elections and urged Hungarians to vote for Orban. But first, he tried to call President Trump. “Let’s hope he actually answers,” Vance said, “or this is gonna be very embarrassing.” The call went to voicemail. Vance tried again and Trump actually picked up, heaping praise on Orban — whose 16-years in office have left Hungary the most corrupt and least free country in the European Union. Orban is expected to lose Sunday’s election. According to CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, after Vance’s visit the public odds of Orban winning “might have gone down slightly.” Enten also noted that Vance’s own popularity has sunk to record levels, making him “the least popular vice president” among modern VPs “at this point in their vice presidencies.” Vance now heads to Pakistan to try and strike a peace deal with Iran.

Share

• Myth Made Reality: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday called top banking executives into a last-minute, urgent meeting to warn them about the danger of new AI models. The meeting was prompted by Anthropic’s new version of Claude, Mythos. Anthropic has decided not to release the model to anyone outside a select group of companies because it’s apparently too powerful to risk falling into the wrong hands. Bessent and Powell reportedly warned the execs about the cyber risks of such models and urged them to take precautions to defend their systems.

• No Shot: The CDC’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, delayed the publication of a report that found the Covid vaccine is effective. The research found that between September and December 2025, healthy adults who were vaccinated were about half as likely to be hospitalized or visit the emergency room. Bhattacharya reportedly held the report due to concerns about its methodology. But the methodology in question is commonly used, including by a different CDC report that was published in March. A former senior adviser on vaccine policy to the CDC called the move “extremely concerning,” warning it is “an escalation of this administration’s undermining of CDC science.”

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Home At Last: Millions of people watched Artemis II crew return to Earth Friday evening, concluding their historic trip around the Moon. The team overcame technical difficulties and toilet troubles to set several records, see things no human has seen before, and send home some truly stunning pictures. But the hardest — and most dangerous — part came last. The crew spent the day orbiting Earth, making sure everything was working and packing things up to prepare. That included turning off that troublesome toilet. A little before 8pm EDT, the team began what NASA called a “textbook reentry.” The spacecraft made contact with the Earth’s atmosphere at almost 24,000 miles per hour, challenging the record for fastest speed achieved by humans, set in 1969 by the crew of Apollo 10. At that blistering speed, the four astronauts had to brace against almost 4Gs of force. That’s sort of like feeling four times as heavy as normal. The spacecraft was expected to set off a sonic boom that could be heard and felt throughout southern California. (The US Geological Survey is asking people to report if they heard it here.) The crew module’s heat shield was expected to heat up to 5,000ºF. NASA has admitted that the shield isn’t perfect; it’s the same model as that used for the unmanned Artemis I mission, which lost far more material than expected during reentry. But the agency and Artemis II team were confident their shield will hold up — and they were right. At those intense temperatures, plasma formed, forcing a planned communications blackout. After speeds dropped somewhat, drogue parachutes deployed, then main parachutes, each one measuring 11,000 square feet. They slowed the module down for what NASA called a “perfect bullseye splashdown” off the coast of southern California, southwest of San Diego. The module landed upright. A US Navy ship and helicopters, two with cameras and two for rescue, were there to retrieve the crew and bring them home.

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Whether there is a ceasefire in Iran depends on your definition of ceasefire. Right now, the major strikes have slowed — but Kelly Magsamen, former Chief of Staff to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Iran lead at the Bush and Obama NSCs, says there is still “confusion among both sides about what they actually agreed to and did not agree to.” She warns that if this is going to become anything more than a brief pause, it has to turn into real diplomacy — because “this is not a drive-by, one-day meeting … that’s going to resolve many of these core issues.”

In this interview, we talk through where the ceasefire actually stands, the biggest dangers if it breaks down, the stakes around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear material, what has surprised her about Iran’s strategy, and what the US has — and has not — achieved so far. Her bottom line: “This is probably the most dangerous period of time that we’re about to enter.”

Watch our conversation here:

In today’s newsletter: They announced a ceasefire, then kept firing. Vance will lead Iran talks with no deal in sight. On enrichment, both sides say the other is lying. The Strait of Hormuz may now have a cover charge. A very convenient $950 million bet. The 25th Amendment chorus grows louder. ICE’s next target: international airports. Bondi is skipping the questioning. Lawmakers aren’t letting it go. The blue trend line is holding. Big news on telehealth abortion. Trump’s administration wants health data on millions. And Artemis II, around the far side and almost home.

Iran Updates

• Ceasefire, not Says Fire: The US and Iran on Tuesday entered a fragile two-week ceasefire, but it’s not yet holding. The core problem: The parties do not appear to agree on what, exactly, the deal covers. Iran violated the terms within hours, launching one of its most intense waves yet of drones and missiles at Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia Wednesday morning. Iran and Pakistan, which brokered the deal, said the ceasefire includes Lebanon. Israel and the US say it does not, and on Wednesday Israel launched its largest strike there, killing over 250 people. Iran appears to have closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says the US and Israel violated the agreement, in part with the ongoing attacks in Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded the US pressure Israel to stop those strikes or face “continued war,” adding “the ball is in the US court.” White House Press Secretary Leavitt told reporters Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement and said the president has an “expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is re-opened immediately, quickly and safely.” Speaking on CNN, former Middle East and North Africa coordinator Brett McGurk said this is not a true ceasefire: “Ceasefires are kind of like Humpty Dumpty and once they crack it’s very hard to put them back together.” He added that the most important part is the very beginning and warned we are headed “in the wrong direction.” I spoke with Kelly Magnasen (above) who explains that the lack of clear communication between the US and Iran makes this ceasefire especially fragile — and that all sides will need ongoing talks for the war to truly resolve.

  • Talk to Me: Vice President Vance is headed to Islamabad this weekend to join Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and senior Iranian officials — including the Speaker of Parliament and Foreign Minister — for direct talks. Negotiations like these rarely succeed without pre-determined agreements already in place. That’s not the case here.

• Radioactive: Trump claimed the US and Iran will coordinate to “dig up and remove” Iran’s enriched uranium and said there will be “no enrichment” going forward. But a Farsi-language version of Iran’s 10-point-plan includes the phrase “acceptance of enrichment.” Trump claims Iran publicly released a different set of 10 points than the ones actually under negotiation and Press Secretary Leavitt insisted that what Tehran is saying publicly “is very different from what they say privately.” The real: Neither side has a strong track record of transparency.

• Bell Tolls: Iran wants to charge ships $2 million to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, eventually sharing the revenue with Oman, which lies on the other side of the crucial waterway. A toll like this would be unprecedented in modern history. There are reports at least one ship has already paid up. Trump, when asked about Iran’s toll plans on Wednesday, said that “we’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people. It’s a beautiful thing.” Trump also said the US will stay “hangin’ around” the Strait throughout the ceasefire to help “with the traffic buildup” there. “Big money will be made,” he wrote. We’ll see who gets that money.

• Don’t Hold Your Gas: Oil prices fell and stocks rose Wednesday, following the ceasefire. That doesn’t mean consumer prices will come down anytime soon, though. It will take time to restore oil production, repair damaged facilities, and bring global transportation back to pre-war levels. That’s assuming peace holds, which is far from certain. Multiple market experts warned US gas and airline ticket prices will remain high through the summer thanks to continued uncertainty. “Prices go up like a rocket,” one analyst said, “and they fall like a feather.”

  • Inside the Trade: Suspiciously savvy investors placed a massive $950 million bet on oil prices falling hours before the ceasefire was announced. How lucky!

• Serious Threats: Hours before the ceasefire, Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Experts and retired military officers say his threats could be evidence of intent to commit war crimes, or even amount to war crimes in themselves. Lawmakers urged military officials to ignore what they called illegal orders. One retired general on Tuesday claimed CENTCOM had “rejected” various “civilian targets” that were “recommended by the Secretary of Defense.”

  • Growing Chorus: Dozens of Democrats and several prominent MAGA figures have called for Congress to remove Trump via the 25th Amendment. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Trump’s threats “evil and madness.” Tucker Carlson on Monday implied Trump could be the antichrist, arguing his threat against Iran was a “war crime” and a “moral crime.” (Trump responded by calling Carlson “a low-IQ person” who he didn’t “deal with” anymore.) Rep. John Larson (D-CT) on Tuesday filed articles of impeachment against Trump. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) said Monday she is preparing to do the same for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Against Sanctuary: New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin this week accused sanctuary cities of being “not lawful.” He suggested punishing them by removing customs agents from their international airports, which would shut down international travel to cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. (Find the list of sanctuary cities here. There are hundreds.) “Sanctuary” isn’t a legal concept but rather a political term referring to local governments that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They’ve existed for more than four decades, survived legal challenges, and studies show that counties with sanctuary policies have lower crime rates.

  • Car Mad: The facts of this case depend entirely on whom you ask. ICE agents on Tuesday shot and injured a man during a traffic stop in Patterson, California. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons claimed that agents fired “defensive shots” at Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez after he “weaponized his vehicle.” Hernandez’s attorney countered that he’d “tried to flee” the situation “in a moment of fear.” Dashcam footage shows the car pinned in by two vehicles. It backs away from agents, some of whom appear to have their guns drawn, then pulls forward, turns away from the agents and drives off. Hernandez’s attorney said he is a “loving father and partner” who is “fighting for his life” in the hospital. DHS has faced scrutiny for making false claims about agent-involved shootings, including Alex Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, and Julio Sosa-Celis. At least eight people have been shot by ICE agents this year. At least 46 have died in detention facilities since the start of the second Trump administration, more than in decades.

  • Women and Children: ICE on Tuesday released a 22-year-old woman after detaining her days after she married a US soldier. After celebrating their wedding, Annie Ramos and Matthew Blank, a US army sergeant, arrived at Blank’s Louisiana army base to begin their new life. Hours later ICE agents showed up and detained Ramos — something typically not done to spouses of US citizens nor immigrants brought here as kids. Family members say the agents apologized and “said the higher-ups made them do it.” Ramos was brought to the US from Honduras as a child and received a deportation order at 22 months old after her family failed to appear at immigration court. She is a college student with no criminal record; has applied for DACA, but the Trump administration stopped processing new applicants; and she and her new husband hired a lawyer to sort it out. Though Ramos has been released, ICE is still trying to deport her. “All I have ever wanted,” Ramos said, “is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby.”

  • Collaboration: A Reuters investigation published Tuesday reveals that ICE arrested more than 800 people thanks to tips sent from TSA. And that’s just through February, before ICE agents were sent to airports during the shutdown, so the figure may well be higher. According to data reviewed by Reuters, TSA gave ICE records on more than 31,000 travelers — based on a program created to counter terrorism, not track down potential immigrants.

Subscribe now

• Out On Bondi: She’s gone but the subpoena isn’t. The DOJ on Wednesday confirmed that former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear at a scheduled deposition with the House Oversight Committee next week. They say that’s justified because Bondi was “subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general,” and now that she’s gone it’s no longer operative. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aren’t having it. “Pam Bondi cannot escape accountability,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) warned. “Our motion to subpoena Pam Bondi … was for Bondi by name, not by title.” The committee ordered Bondi to testify over “rpossible mismanagement” of the DOJ’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer have reportedly been strategizing to help her wriggle out of the deposition.

  • Writing on the Wall: Bondi’s successor, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said during his first press conference on Tuesday that “nobody has any idea” why Trump fired Bondi — “except for President Trump.”

• Blue Waters Rising: Democrats keep not losing, which is starting to look like winning. Two elections on Tuesday suggest voters are continuing their swing toward the Democratic Party.

  • Peachy Keen: Trump-backed Republican Clay Fuller on Tuesday won a special election to replace retiring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). He’ll serve through January, the end of Greene’s term. Though he outspent his Democratic opponent four-to-one, the race was surprisingly tight. Harris shifted Georgia’s reddest district to the left by 25 points. “Nobody ever thought that we would ever be this close,” Harris said. It was actually the Democrats’ biggest overperformance in a special election since Trump first took office.

  • Sound Judgment: Chris Taylor on Tuesday won a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, resoundingly defeating her conservative opponent. Taylor’s victory expands the liberal majority on the Court to 5–2 and secures it through 2030. She shifted the electorate left by 21 points compared to 2024, when the state narrowly chose Trump, and 10 points left of the last court race, which Democrats also won despite the GOP breaking spending records and Elon Musk’s best efforts.

• Access Protected, For Now: Abortion medication by mail is still legal, for now. A Trump-appointed federal judge on Tuesday refused to block access to abortion medication mifepristone by telehealth and by mail. He signaled that the Louisiana attorney general’s challenge to the policy would “likely succeed on the merits,” but said they must wait for Trump’s FDA to complete a review first. Mifepristone has been used for more than two decades. Researchers have confirmed it is safe and warned that restricting access would harm patients. Louisiana is one of several states with strict abortion bans that are suing to block telehealth access to abortion medication. In 2025, roughly one-quarter of all abortions nationwide were provided via telehealth, and over 90,000 women in states with bans received telehealth abortions. One New Orleans resident who did exactly that said she was grateful she had access to the medication and called her state’s extreme abortion ban “very depressing, like your government hates you.” She is now pregnant and has decided to keep the baby. “I chose this, Louisiana,” she said. “Not you.”

• Record-Seeking: If you are or have been a federal employee, the government would like your medical records. All of them. Trump’s Office of Personnel Management is quietly trying to force dozens of insurance companies to hand over troves of identifiable health data on millions of federal workers, retirees, and their family members. The agency is seeking “anything and everything,” one health law ethicist warned, from medical claims to prescriptions filled to diagnoses and beyond. “They are going to get very, very detailed and granular data about everything that happens,” the ethicist explained. That could be used to improve the health insurance system — or “they could use it to discipline or target people who are not cooperating politically.” At least one insurance company has publicly urged OPM to reconsider, warning that providing the data requested would break the law.

Share

News or Noise

• Barbie’s Dream Jet: Trump got rid of Kristi Noem, but he’s keeping her $70 million luxury jet. It will be used by cabinet secretaries and First Lady Melania Trump for travel.

• Case Closed: Rex Heuermann on Wednesday pleaded guilty to murdering multiple young women and dumping their bodies on Gilgo Beach, effectively ending a decadeslong case that shocked Long Island. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Heuermann “thought that by killing them he could silence them forever and get away with murder. But he was wrong.” In fact, Heuermann did get away with it for decades, thanks to a dysfunctional investigation hampered by corruption. He was finally arrested in 2023, more than a decade after the first bodies were discovered, and initially maintained his innocence. The women’s names are Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Karen Vergata. “This case closes,” Tierney said, “and another opens. There are still bodies on that beach. There are still bodies in Suffolk County. There’s no rest for the weary.”

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Homeward Bound: The Artemis II crew are back in Earth’s gravitational pull after flying around the far side of the Moon. In doing so, they set a new record for farthest distance traveled from Earth. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who became the first non-American to fly on a lunar mission, said the crew “choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.” They also became some of the few people to have witnessed an “Earthset” and “Earthrise,” plus a solar eclipse from space. (This was the first time eclipse glasses were used from the Moon.) Commander Reid Wiseman said they “saw sights that no human has ever seen.” “The darker parts [of the Moon] just aren’t quite in the right place,” mission specialist Christina Koch said. “Something about you senses that is not the moon that I’m used to seeing.” Now we get a look, too, after NASA shared the first images from the trip on Tuesday. Artemis II is all set for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Today the crew will test their radiation protection and the spacecraft’s manual piloting, all part of the mission’s aim of preparing humanity for an eventual return to the Moon’s surface — and beyond.

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Before we get to the news, there’s a question I can’t stop turning over.

I watch the Artemis II coverage — astronauts circling the moon, sending back dispatches about how small the divisions look from up there, how obviously connected we all are. I hear the Pope’s Easter sermon about growing numb to violence. And I flip back to the war, the bombing updates, the daily drumbeat of us versus them, problems solved through force. We are so locked into this cycle. Everyone taking the most chips off the table for themselves.

So many of us who want another way feel there’s nothing we can do about any of it.

What if there is something we can do — just quieter than we’re imagining, more local, more rooted in this exact moment? What if the shift doesn’t begin in Washington or on a battlefield, but in how we treat the stranger walking next to us? What if we can make a difference simply by choosing to notice what someone else is carrying, and deciding to help?

This might sound corny. But extreme times call for unexpected responses. So I put this question to my Instagram audience over the weekend and got powerful responses. This one stopped me.

“I think because of all the cruelty and lack of kindness seemingly growing all around us, I’ve recently been noticing where and to whom I can be a helper. A woman with a cane was crossing the street beside me. There was a puddle. She asked for my hand. I reached out and helped her over. A woman at yoga — I’d only ever said hi to her before — after class I asked how she was doing. It just came out of my mouth. She said, ‘not good.’ I asked if she wanted a hug. She did. While I’m so angry and tired about what’s happening around me, I simultaneously feel like my empathy has grown exponentially. I feel this push to put back into the world what’s being taken out of it. Maybe because I just don’t know what else I can do. But this is something.”

It really is something. So many of you are feeling this — this pull toward empathy that seems to grow in direct proportion to the awful. I wonder if that’s the answer hiding in plain sight: make it local, make it personal, make it now. Let me know what you think.

Onto the news.

In today’s newsletter: Trump threatens Iran with “demolition” if the Strait isn’t reopened — clock ticking. Civilians in Iran face blackouts and food shortages. A downed US pilot is rescued. The Supreme Court gives Steve Bannon a win. America’s public lands are under threat. Savannah Guthrie returns to the Today show. A new profile calls the OpenAI CEO “unconstrained by truth.” And today, the Artemis II crew traveled further from Earth than any humans in history — and named a piece of the moon for someone they loved.

Iran Updates

• Countdown to Deadline: President Trump set a deadline for 8pm EST Tuesday demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the “complete demolition” of its civilian infrastructure. This follows a threat he made Easter Sunday, warning Iran to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastard, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” Today he did not back off, warning they will “not have a country” if they don’t make a deal. So what is really happening? Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal made by outside parties. It countered with a 10-point peace plan to permanently end all fighting in the region, which Trump rejected as “not good enough.” And in a long press conference — in which he threatened to jail a reporter and also said he could be the next president of Venezuela — Trump suggested that ceasefire negotiations are and aren’t progressing and we may and may not be at the cusp of a deal. (We’re not being clever, that’s just what he said.)

• Happy Easter: Trump suggested on Monday that Iranians are “willing to suffer” for freedom and are asking him to keep bombing. In fact the currency has plummeted to record lows and grain imports — which the country relies on — have dropped 92%, driving fears of a hunger crisis. And attacks on nuclear power plants and energy depots have caused rolling 12 hour blackouts. There is no indication the people of Iran, including those who object to the regime, like or want this as they are bearing the brunt of the attacks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday and Tuesday would see “the largest volume of strikes” since the start of the war.

• Home Safe: The US successfully rescued an air force colonel who was stranded in Iran after his F-15E plane was shot down. The operation involved hundreds of personnel and resulted in the destruction of multiple aircraft. Trump on Monday said his administration is searching for the “leaker” behind the initial reports of the crew member’s situation and threatened the reporter who “did the story” with jail time. You can read about the daring rescue and the CIA’s subterfuge operation here.

• Pumped Up: US gas prices continue to rise. 55% of Americans said prices were higher than they expected in March, up from 38% in February. The nationwide average on Monday hit $4.12, up 38% since before the war. But some states are already seeing prices far higher; in California the average price is nearing $6 a gallon. I paid $6.19 a gallon this weekend for the first time ever.

• Violence: Strikes continue throughout the region. Israel on Saturday struck Iran’s largest petrochemical plant. Israel’s military said the facility produced “chemical materials used for weapons.” Iranian officials argued it underpins “civilian industries that had nothing to do with military use.” Israel on Monday killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence chief and the leader of the Quds force’s undercover unit. It also stepped up strikes on Lebanon, killing dozens and ordering more villages to evacuate; medical workers have warned the healthcare system is being targeted. Iran launched multiple missiles at nations throughout the region, killing at least four in a residential building in Haifa, in Northern Israel.

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Loose Bannon: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with clearing Steve Bannon’s criminal conviction. Bannon, a Trump ally and far-right conspiracy theorist, was convicted in 2024 of contempt of Congress after he ignored a subpoena for information related to the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol. He served four months in prison. Bannon insists that he didn’t “willfully” defy the subpoena, but instead followed his lawyer’s advice, which held that Bannon’s testimony was protected by Trump’s executive privilege. The Trump administration said dismissing Bannon’s case “is in the interest of justice.” The Court’s rationale? The fact the Trump administration won’t defend Bannon’s conviction.

• Cut, Cut, Cut: The US Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land and produces the research that guides how we manage America’s forests. The Trump administration is now restructuring it in ways critics say will gut it and lead to the dismantling of our public lands. The Trump administration’s “sweeping restructuring” of the Forest Service would close 57 (or 74%) of the agency’s research facilities, all nine of its regional offices, and will move the national HQ to Salt Lake City. That last part matters: Utah is where the federal government owns nearly 63% of the land, where the state is currently suing to seize control of millions of acres of federal land, and where Senator Mike Lee has spent years pushing to sell off or transfer public lands to states and private developers. The USDA says the move will “boost logging” and bring leadership closer to “ranchers and timber producers.” Critics call it a strategic repositioning — putting the agency’s leadership inside the territory of its most aggressive opponents. They warn of an unprecedented purge. During Trump’s first term, he put the Bureau of Land Management through a similar restructuring, and 87% of the main office’s staff left. (The BLM move was also to a Western state. DC staff resigned rather than relocate. Critics say that wasn’t a bug, it was the point.) The restructuring lands on top of cuts already underway. The Trump administration slashed funding (and has requested to do so again in 2027), pushed for eliminating forest research entirely, and DOGE axed more than 16% of employees. Meanwhile, the administration is doubling down on resource extraction, including mining and logging. The USDA received 14,000 comments about the planned restructuring; 82% were negative. Tribal leaders also voiced concerns. The administration moved forward anyway. Morale in the Forest Service was already low, and this doesn’t seem to have helped. One employee in the Midwest put it simply: “reactions range from crying to anger to silence.”

Subscribe now

• Choose Peace: Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter address Sunday to call for peace and a reconsideration of our own attitudes about violence and death. Unlike his predecessor, he did not name a specific country or conflict, but instead urged “those who have the power to unleash wars” to “choose peace.” “We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it,” he warned. “Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power.” In a similar sermon a week earlier, Leo said that God “rejects” the prayers of leaders with “hands full of blood.” That seemed to be a rebuke of administration officials like Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has repeatedly invoked Christianity while discussing the war with Iran.

• She’s Back: NBC News host Savannah Guthrie returned to the air Monday morning, more than two months after her mother went missing. Guthrie and her morning show co-hosts were back with the banter that’s made them so popular. But tears did flow later on, when Guthrie stepped outside to greet a crowd of cheering fans there to welcome her back and show their support. “I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family,” Guthrie said. “We feel it. We feel your prayers. So thank you so much.”

• Fixer Upper: Trump wants to spend over $377 million on White House renovations this year, plus another $174 million next year, according to a new budget document. For context, he spent about $39 million on White House renovations in 2025. The Trump administration claims that the majority of this money will come from private donations. It has allowed private donors to remain anonymous, which some corporations have done in potential violation of lobbying laws.

• Every Accusation: Trump on Friday announced that Vice President JD Vance “is now in charge of ‘FRAUD’ in the United States” — “we will call him the ‘FRAUD CZAR.’” Trump wrote that Vance will “primarily” focus on blue states and claimed, without evidence, that his anti-fraud efforts could balance the budget. Vance is the chairman of a newly established anti-fraud taskforce. In its first meeting, Vance told officials to take a “whole-government approach” to combat theft of money and “critical services.”

  • Thought Bubble: The new fraud Czar’s team could start by looking at the 70 plus people who’ve been pardoned by Trump after getting convicted on fraud charges. Or the 900-plus cases of fraud in the federal government that Trump’s DOJ has declined to take up. Or the administration officials making suspiciously well-timed bets and trades. Or the officials regulating industries to which they have financial ties. Or Trump himself, who was found liable in a massive civil fraud case. The list goes on. In Trump’s words… “Good Luck, JD!”

• Totally Artificial: The New Yorker on Monday published a deeply researched profile of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that suggests he is about as committed to the truth as the AI he champions. One OpenAI board member told reporter Ronan Farrow that Altman is “unconstrained by truth,” claiming he has both “a strong desire to please people” and “almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.” This isn’t necessarily a revelation; OpenAI’s board infamously fired Altman in 2023, alleging he was “not consistently candid in his communications.” (Altman staged a sort of counter-coup, reclaiming his position and ousting many of his detractors.) Altman’s sister last week amended her civil lawsuit against her brother, in which she accuses him of sexually abusing her while she was a child. Sam Altman denies the claims and has countersued for defamation.

• Few Eggs Short of a Basket: Trump on Monday hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll, but he couldn’t stop talking about Iran. After briefing reporters while the gathered children waited, some more patiently than others, Trump joined the Easter Bunny to mingle with the kids. “You know,” he said to one group, “Biden would use the autopen. He was incapable of signing his name.” One child responded, “What?” The event featured some 40,000 real eggs, plus 150 live chicks. Trump kept referring to the kids as ‘egg people’ and thanked all the egg farmers who were present. Corporate sponsors abounded. Kids could enjoy the “Challenge Coin Creation Station, courtesy of the New York Stock Exchange” or head to the “AI-Creation Station, courtesy of Meta.” Happy Easter!

• Targeting Kids: The Trump administration on Monday revoked all or parts of six civil rights settlements, negotiated by the Biden and Obama administrations, that aimed to ensure transgender students have equal opportunities for education. Education Department officials and civil rights lawyers said this move is unprecedented.

Share

News That Doesn’t Suck

• The Far Side: The Artemis II crew on Monday went further into space than any human in history — round the far side of the Moon, where they saw things no human eye has ever seen before. During the flyby they were in a brief planned communications blackout and reached their maximum distance from Earth. On their way back, they’ll witness and study a solar eclipse. That’s a busy end to a packed day. The team woke up to a voice message from astronaut Jim Lovell, the Apollo pilot who orbited the Moon in 1968, recorded before his death in August. “Welcome to my old neighborhood!” Lovell said. “It’s a history day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view.” The crew took his advice to heart. “It’s magnificent,” commander Reid Wiseman said. “Amaze, amaze, amaze,” a voice from NASA echoed — referencing Project Hail Mary, which the team watched (and loved) while quarantining before the mission. Artemis II has already laid eyes on things no human eye has seen — like the Orientale basin, the Moon’s Grand Canyon. Their naked eyes also see things machines or telescopes miss. “The more I look at the Moon,” one astronaut said, “the browner … it looks.” Up close, small details stand out, like smaller, newer impact craters that reflect light in interesting ways. “What it really looks like,” mission specialist Christina Koch said, “is a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through.” The team are looking out for specific features — you can see the flashcards they used to study here — including past and potential future landing sites. They also gave some features names. At one point, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen told NASA, voice breaking, that the team had seen a “bright spot on the moon” and they “would like to call it Carroll.” That’s after Carroll Wiseman, the late wife of Reid, who died of cancer in 2020 at just 46. Reid has said that when his wife was diagnosed, he was ready to give up on being an astronaut — but she refused to let him. “I honor her every single day,” he said. “Every single minute.”

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

If you’re like most Americans right now, you’re doom-scrolling the economy between doom-scrolling the war, and that is not sustainable. Gas prices. Grocery prices. Health care costs. Everything seems to be rising — and the official line is that everything is fine.

So we wanted to start with some clarity, from a steady voice of calm.

I spoke with Kyla Scanlon, an economics communicator and author of the book, In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work. Kyla coined the term “vibecession” before most economists would acknowledge it was real. She was early then. She’s clear-eyed now. In this conversation, she breaks down:

• The disconnect between the stock market and the real economy

• Why markets can surge on AI spending when so many people are still getting crushed by childcare, healthcare, housing, and elder care.

• AI’s circular financing, and the hype driving this boom. (Spoiler: the same companies bankrolling AI are also its biggest customers. It's a circle — and that's what has some analysts nervous.)

• The bond market — the plumbing of the global economy. Most people don’t think about plumbing until something goes wrong. Kyla explains why we should pay attention now.

• Why Gen Z is turning to prediction markets and sports betting. Given the economy they inherited, Kyla argues that’s rational.

Big picture: She says we are no longer in a vibecession. The new worry is the inverse: a softening economy that’s quietly getting worse, with plenty of official cheerleading telling you everything is fine.

She is calm about it. You can be too.

One note: we recorded this before the Iran conflict began. Some of the warning signs Kyla flagged have since gotten worse. The Strait of Hormuz — which carries a fifth of the world’s oil — is now effectively closed. The bond market is watching. And this conversation should help you understand why that matters.

Also find Kyla’s substack here.

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

We are just days away from Trump’s threatened deadline to escalate the war in Iran. And tonight, one US airman is in danger after his F-15 was shot down over Iran. One crew member was rescued but another remains missing. A second US aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt, was struck later; that pilot managed to get the plane out of Iranian airspace and ejected in Kuwait but the plane was lost.

It raises an uncomfortable question about the White House’s central claim: that Iran’s military has been destroyed. The regime still has the ability to control the Strait of Hormuz. It still has the ability to strike key infrastructure in the Gulf. And it has the ability to take down our jets.

Also today: Iran mobilizes for a ground war. Are US losses higher than we’re being told? A wartime firing raises questions. Trump wants a bigger Pentagon budget. Bondi’s out — the Epstein questions aren’t. Strong jobs report, but read the fine print. Trump’s “library” will take your reservation. And something nice from space.

Iran Updates

• Somewhat Stoppable: An F-15E jet was shot down over Iran Friday. One crew member has been rescued. The other is still missing. Videos and photos show US aircraft and helicopters conducting what experts describe as one of the most intense military search and rescue operations in decades. Iran managed to hit a search and rescue plane and multiple helicopters. The helicopters survived, but the plane crashed in Kuwait; the pilot was rescued. This is the first time since the start of the war that a US jet has been downed by enemy fire. (Three F-15Es were shot down by friendly fire.) It raises questions about the Trump administration’s portrayal of Iran’s remaining military capabilities. Just this week both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the US had control over Iran’s skies. Trump on Wednesday claimed there was “not a thing” Iran could do to stop US strikes. “We are unstoppable as a military force,” he said.

• Burning Bridges: The US on Thursday destroyed a major bridge in Iran. Trump shared a video of the attack and warned there would be “much more to follow.” US officials claimed it was part of a military supply route. Local officials contend there was “no military activity” there and said the strikes killed eight people and wounded 95. A former state department lawyer said he thinks the bridge “was targeted not to provide any military advantage but in the hopes of coercing Tehran and generating content.” Yes, you read that right. A former US government official says White House content strategy now includes airstrikes.

• Digging In: Iran is reportedly preparing for a US ground invasion. The regime has launched a massive recruitment campaign titled “Sacrifice,” seeking volunteers as young as 12 to support defensive operations. Officials are also hardening defenses in key areas, like Kharg Island. “Territorial integrity is a red line for most Iranians,” one women’s rights activist who fled the country warned, “whether they support the regime or oppose it.”

• Head in the Sand: A new report by the Intercept alleges that the Pentagon is underreporting US casualty numbers, lagging behind on updates, and providing less information to reporters than usual. The report estimates that over 520 US troops have been injured since the war began. We’ve heard similar things from members of the News Not Noise community. If you’re willing to reach out, you can reach us on Signal at: Sagecynthia.81

Share

• Comp Your Stay: The Pentagon refused to say how many US bases have been damaged by Iran’s strikes. A New York Times report concluded that many of the 13 bases in the region are “all but uninhabitable” thanks to Iranian attacks. One military analyst argued the “Pentagon did little to protect” bases from the “rapid proliferation of drones and cheap missiles,” leaving troops vulnerable. In response, US officials have sent troops to hotels and offices throughout the region, which experts warn could be a violation of both international humanitarian law and the Pentagon’s own laws of war. (Iran has threatened to strike hotels in the region.)

• Purge Continues: Defense Secretary Hegseth on Thursday fired Army Chief of Staff Randy George and two other generals. One Pentagon official said it was “time for a leadership change.” The highly unusual move — firing an Army chief during a war — caught senior Army leadership by surprise, especially since his work is crucial to the ongoing campaign in Iran. One GOP lawmaker, caught off guard by the abrupt firing, said George had “a brilliant mind.” Critics say it demonstrates the growing hostility between Hegseth and Army leadership. One example: George reportedly refused to accede to Hegseth’s demands he block the promotions of several female and Black officers. One of the other fired generals was the Army chief of chaplains; this is the first time in history the chief of chaplains has been fired.

• Use Our Words: Trump claimed the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “naturally” after the war ended. World leaders don’t seem so sure. France and South Korea on Friday agreed to work together to reopen the Strait. They didn’t say how, but France’s President Emmanual Macron on Thursday said that opening it by force, as Trump has repeatedly demanded the world do, is “unrealistic.” Dozens of countries on Thursday attended a UK-led meeting to discuss joint action to reopen the Strait.

• Veni, Vidi…: Trump gave his first primetime address since the war began on Wednesday, in which he claimed his war is “on track” and will be done “very shortly.” But first, he said the US is “going to hit [Iran] extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”

  • The Goalposts Have Left the Building: Trump insisted that he’s been clear about his objectives in Iran the whole time. But this speech contained dizzying contradictions. “We never said regime change,” he argued, though he previously called for Iranians to “take over your government” and calling “freedom for the people” a major goal. Nevertheless, Trump said, “regime change has occurred.… The new group is less radical and much more reasonable.” Reports by US intelligence and local sources indicate the regime has become more hardline since the war began.

• This is Fine (Gas Edition): Oil prices jumped and stocks wobbled after Trump’s speech. US gas prices are up 37% and diesel prices 47% since the war started.

• Guns Over Butter: The White House on Friday asked Congress to raise the Pentagon’s budget to $1.5 trillion next year. That’s a 40% increase, which relative to GDP amounts to the largest yearly jump in defense spending since the Korean War. It could raise the national debt by up to $6 trillion over the next decade. Trump asked Congress to cut domestic spending by 10%, calling for sweeping cuts to health, housing, and education programs.

Subscribe now

• Southern Lebanon, Again: Israel is planning to occupy roughly 10% of Lebanon to establish a “security zone” in the south. It has deployed thousands of troops and demolished civilian infrastructure, including bridges and villages. The military argues this will damage and weaken Hezbollah, which alongside Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel. According to local leaders in south Lebanon, Israeli military officials have told Christian and Druse communities they can remain — while pushing them to expel Shiite Muslims seeking refuge. That’s left residents in the position of risking retaliation by Israel if they refuse and Hezbollah if they accede. “After the last war, we rebuilt our home,” one displaced resident said. “Now it’s all being destroyed again. In the last war, we had some hope to return home. Now we have none.”

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• You’re Fired: Trump this week fired US Attorney General Pam Bondi. She reportedly asked to keep her job until the summer, but Trump refused. He’d been criticizing her in private for months, frustrated by her inability to contain the fallout over the Epstein files and prosecute his political enemies. Bondi herself reportedly complained that Trump was asking her to deliver the impossible. Trump said she is heading for an unspecified role in the private sector. In the DOJ’s offices, her portrait is already in the trash.

  • Who’s Next: Trump is reportedly considering EPA head Lee Zeldin as a replacement. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, who sources say had “been trying to put the knife in Bondi,” might also be angling for the job. Until then, the acting attorney general will be Bondi’s second-in-command and Trump’s former defense lawyer, Todd Blanche. Blanche was responsible for overseeing the release and redactions of the Epstein files, a process he has fiercely defended. On Thursday Blanche said the Epstein files “should not be a part of anything going forward” at the DOJ. To learn more, watch this.

• It’s Shutdown: House Speaker Mike Johnson caved and agreed to a Senate-approved deal that would end the shutdown — then on Thursday refused to act on it. Dozens of his colleagues object to the compromise because it does not include funding for ICE, despite senior administration officials reassuring they can “fully fund all ICE and Border Patrol operations” regardless. Some hardliners are now demanding Congress pass funding for ICE and CBP through reconciliation before funding the rest of DHS and ending the shutdown.

  • Timeline: With lawmakers on recess through April 14, it could be weeks until the shutdown ends. Johnson reportedly said on the call he has no plans to bring lawmakers back early, and even implied he might delay the vote further.

• Ups and Downs: The Labor Department released a promising jobs report Friday. The US added 178,000 jobs in March, many more than expected. It’s the best month for job growth in over a year. Unemployment shrank slightly to 4.3%. But there are caveats. The decline in unemployment was largely because the labor force itself shrunk to its lowest level in years. Wages rose less than expected. The report doesn’t fully reflect the effect of the war with Iran. The Labor Department also revised already dismal numbers for February; the country lost 133,000 jobs, not 92,000, making February the worst month for job losses since 2020. “It’s been a rocky year,” one economist noted, “with almost no hiring since last April.… It’s likely to be a tough spring for job seekers.”

Share

• Record Breaking: Trump’s DOJ on Thursday claimed the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. The agency said Trump “need not further comply” with the law, which it argued exceeds Congress’ “oversight power because it serves no identifiable and valid legislative purpose.” There’s one problem: The DOJ cannot rewrite or repeal a law — only Congress can. The Act was passed after the Watergate scandal to combat government corruption. It made the National Archives and Records Administration the owner of presidential records. Trump was accused of breaching the law by taking material, including classified documents, to Mar-a-Lago after his first term. The case was dropped after he was reelected in 2024. The law remains on the books.

• The Trump Touch: Eric Trump this week released a video, much of it seemingly AI-generated, presenting what he says will be his father’s presidential library — a massive glass skyscraper planned for the Miami skyline. The proposed site is a million-dollar waterfront property gifted by Miami Dade College via the state of Florida in a deal opposed by three-quarters of Miami voters, including a majority of Republicans. If built it would be the largest and likely costliest presidential library in history. And perhaps the first to not be a library at all. “I don’t believe in building libraries,” President Trump said. “It’s going to be, most likely, a hotel.” Whatever it is, the renderings are decidedly Trumpian. The outside looks suspiciously similar to One World Trade Center. The inside features recreations of Trump’s Oval Office, White House ballroom, and so-called “Presidential Walk of Fame.” Planned lobby highlights include golden elevators and the $400 million “flying palace” Qatar “gave” Trump. Elsewhere, per the renderings, a giant golden statue of Trump, fist raised. The Trumps are soliciting donations for the project, even though $63 million in donations given last year have apparently gone missing.

Subscribe now

News That Doesn’t Suck

• Our Home: NASA’s Artemis II team are more than 100,000 miles from Earth, on day three of their historic mission to circle the Moon. On Thursday the team fully committed, engaging the main engine one final time to break free of Earth’s orbit — the first time humans have done so since 1972. “There’s nothing normal about this,” mission commander Reid Wiseman said. “We call amazing things that people do ‘moonshots’ for a reason,” pilot Victor Glover echoed. “This mission has shown us what we can do when we … bring our differences together to accomplish something great.” The mission hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Crew members have had to grapple with some surprisingly down-to-earth challenges. Before leaving orbit, the crew encountered a problem with their universal waste management system. That is, the $30 million toilet. It’s the first toilet to head to deep space, and seems to have wavered under the pressure. Fortunately, mission specialist and self-described “space plumber” Cristina Koch was able to fix the issue. Then Wiseman called NASA Mission Control with another issue. It was his email. “I have two Microsoft Outlooks,” he reported, “and neither one of those are working.” NASA managed to fix things. Still, such minor SNAFUs haven’t stopped the team from rocketing forward — and looking back at Earth. On Friday they shared some remarkable images of our pale blue dot. “You look amazing,” Glover said. “You look beautiful. No matter where you are from or what you look like, we’re all one people.”

Share

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Today, four astronauts strapped into a rocket and did something no human has done in more than fifty years: left for the moon. They won’t land. But they will fly around the far side — losing contact with NASA for an hour — and return home. It is an extraordinary thing.

The mission is piloted by Victor Glover, a Californian and the first African American on a lunar mission. He said he hopes his presence inspires young kids who look up and think, “he looks like me.” But he was quick to add: “I also hope we are pushing the other direction — that one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts. It’s about human history. Not Black history, not women’s history, but human history.”

That’s the thing about space. It has a way of making our differences down here feel exactly as small as they are.

Sometimes I hear concerns that it costs too much money. The space program also produced MRI machines, memory foam, water filtration, and scratch-resistant lenses — among roughly two thousand other inventions. The case for it tends to make itself.

(If you haven’t watched Project Hail Mary — consider this your assignment.)

In today’s newsletter: Trump toys with Iran expectations. The White House wants to control mail-in voting. The Supreme Court didn’t sound sold on ending birthright citizenship. Johnson caves on DHS. NASA returns to deep space. And Kristi Noem’s anti-queer record just collided with an inconvenient tabloid.

Iran Updates

• Total Confusion: Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s “New Regime President” asked for a “CEASEFIRE.” Iran said that’s “false and baseless.” (Iran’s president has been in office since 2024.) Trump also said the US would consider the supposed request when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear.” “Until then,” Trump wrote, “we are blasting Iran into oblivion, or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages.” On the other hand, Trump also said the US is “going to be out” of Iran “pretty quickly,” with the military returning “to do spot hits” as needed. The US continues strikes across Iran. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains essentially halted. And crucially, a third US aircraft carrier group with over 6,000 troops is headed to the region.

  • Negotiations: Is Trump trying to deescalate, bluffing in the hopes it will bring Iran to the negotiating table? Or is it all a head fake to buy time before a major US ground assault? Trump will be addressing the nation about the war in Iran tonight at 9:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm PT so perhaps we will learn more then. His latest deadline for escalation is Monday.

  • Not Great Friends: This week Trump again attacked US allies for refusing to join the US in the war on Iran and telling European nations that it’s up to them to get their own oil out of the Strait of Hormuz. In his words, “just TAKE IT.”

• Friend in Need: Trump on Wednesday told a British newspaper that the US is determined to leave NATO; or in his words, the decision is “beyond reconsideration.” He again complained that US allies, especially the UK, refused to join the war with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly said on Tuesday the US will “reexamine the value of NATO” for the US after the war, because allies are “denying us basing rights when we need them.” That is not how NATO works; the alliance does not obligate members to offer basing rights for a separate US war.

• Vanished: Award-winning American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped on Tuesday in Baghdad, Iraq. US officials said an Iranian-backed militia was involved. Authorities are investigating and have arrested at least one person.

• Brazen: Israel’s military has suspended an entire reserve battalion after soldiers assaulted and detained a team of CNN journalists, an incident the army’s commander called a “serious ethical and professional failure.” According to CNN, the team was reporting on an attack by Israeli settlers near an outpost in the West Bank when a group of soldiers approached them. One troop pointed a rifle at the journalists, and another put a photojournalist in a “chokehold,” damaging his camera. The journalists were detained and released.

Share

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• End In Sight: House Speaker Mike Johnson blinked. On Wednesday he agreed to advance a Senate deal to end the DHS shutdown, reversing his prior opposition. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced they will push through the bill to fund all of DHS except ICE and parts of CBP, then separately try to approve funding for ICE and CBP through a procedure that requires only a majority vote. Other Republicans, including Lindsey Graham (R-SC), have implied they will try to attach funding for Iran and parts of the Save America Act to the measure funding ICE and CBP. Congress remains on recess, but could approve the shutdown-ending deal during a ceremonial session on Thursday.

• Fragile Mail Ego: Trump, who weeks ago voted by mail, on Tuesday signed an unprecedented executive order to compile a national list of eligible voters. He called it “foolproof.” Legal experts say it’s unconstitutional, practically impossible to implement before the midterms, and almost certain to be struck down in court — just like his previous executive order on voting. At least six states and multiple voting rights groups have pledged to sue. Here’s the breakdown.

  • Listing: The order directs DHS to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a national list of citizens. That list would be sent to states, which would then have to submit their own lists of confirmed mail-in voters to USPS at least 60 days before an election. USPS would then approve that list and only deliver ballots — placed in “secure ballot envelopes” with “Intelligent Mail” barcodes — to those voters on it. Voters would still have to register as normal (because apparently this isn’t complicated enough). The federal government would withhold funding to states and cities that refuse to comply, and the order directs the DOJ to prioritize investigating and prosecuting officials who distribute ballots to those not on the list. The order cites federal voting statutes and a clause in the Constitution that says the government must guarantee each state a “Republican” form of government. But that authority lies with Congress, not the president.

  • Some Problems: Many election offices, and the USPS itself, are underfunded and would struggle to implement such radical changes. There’s evidence officials reviewing voter rolls have already mistakenly flagged eligible voters for removal. Many states allow voters to request ballots far closer to the election than the 60-day deadline outlined in the order. The chief programs officer at the Election Center warned the order could disenfranchise “tens of thousands” of people who don’t act until closer to an election. And that’s before we get to the part about this being unconstitutional.

  • Laughable: The Constitution makes it clear that states, not the president, have the authority to oversee elections. It also gives Congress, not the president, the power to set national election standards. This order attempts an end run around those limits by focusing on the USPS rather than elections themselves. A former DOJ lawyer noted that Trump “has no power to tell [the USPS board] what mail it can and cannot deliver.” And critics say the order is still an unconstitutional attempt to subvert elections. Maine’s secretary of state called it “laughably unconstitutional” and said her state won’t comply. Nevada’s secretary of state said the order “doesn’t benefit anybody in this country except [Trump] himself.” Experts project confidence the order will fail in court. For example, the Brennan Center says Trump “has no lawful authority to write the rules that govern our elections. He tried a year ago; we sued him; we won. A year later, he has tried again. He can expect the same result.”

  • Fact Check: While signing the order, Trump repeated his widely debunked claims about voting fraud. “The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary,” he said. “This will help a lot with elections.” In reality, one 2025 study of elections between 2016 and 2022 found just four cases of fraud for every ten million mail-in votes. One-third of Americans voted by mail in 2024. It’s particularly popular among rural, white, older, and military voters — a key part of Trump’s base.

  • History Lesson: It’s unclear how overriding the states’ constitutional right to oversee elections helps preserve their “Republican form of government.” James Madison wrote that a Republican government was one that “derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people … not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it.”

  • Worth Noting: Trump’s DOJ has already sued more than two dozen states for access to sensitive voter information. Last week the agency admitted it plans to share that data with DHS to check for noncitizens.

Subscribe now

• Birth of a New Nation: The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. Trump attended the hearing, the first sitting president to do so; he abruptly left when the ACLU’s lawyer began her arguments in defense of birthright citizenship. Here’s what we know.

  • The Background: Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment. It was confirmed in a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1898 and a 1952 law, which held that anyone born in the US is a US citizen. As recently as the 1990s, a majority of Americans actually opposed birthright citizenship — but today the idea is widely supported, with Democratic voters almost universally in favor.

  • The Trump Team’s Arguments: The Trump administration argued that the 14th Amendment was intended only for formerly enslaved people and their descendants. It claimed “we’re in a new world” from the one that passed that Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts jumped in, saying, “It’s a new world,” but “it’s the same Constitution.” Trump’s lawyers argued that the landmark 1898 Supreme Court case involved a child of “domiciled” immigrants, therefore does not automatically settle this issue for everyone born here. Their point is that the child in that case was born to immigrant parents who were living in the US as their home, not just passing through. Even conservative justices sounded skeptical about that. The DOJ also claimed birthright citizenship promotes illegal immigration and repeatedly warned about “birth tourism,” which refers to people traveling to the US to have children who become citizens. Federal regulations prohibit this and a 2020 study estimated that “birth tourism” accounted for less than 1% of children born that year.

  • The Response: Lawyers for the ACLU argued that birthright citizenship draws on centuries of American tradition and legal precedent and pointed out that if the people who wrote the 14th Amendment had wanted it applied more narrowly “they would have said so.”

  • What’s Next: The Court generally tries to avoid ruling on the Constitution itself where possible, so Justices may base their decision on the 1952 law. If they conclude Trump’s anti-birthright executive order violated that law, the Trump administration could still push Congress to legislate against birthright citizenship. Legislation against birthright citizenship has been introduced in almost every session of Congress for the last three decades. It has never passed.

  • Impact: Ending birthright citizenship could affect over 250,000 babies every year. It would fall hardest on Hispanic and Asian families. It could take years and billions of dollars to establish the bureaucracy required to determine the citizenship of children born here. One new study warned that ending birthright citizenship would create an underclass of millions of US-born children. Other critics warn it would have disastrous economic effects.

  • Petty: After leaving the hearing, Trump complained the US is the “only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow “Birthright” Citizenship.” That’s not true; dozens of countries around the world do so. Trump also railed against the “STUPID” court system and “Dumb Judges and Justices” who rule against his policies, like tariffs.

Share

• Plans on ICE: ICE has paused its $38.3 billion plan to purchase warehouses around the country for conversion into massive immigrant detention and processing centers. Officials said that pause could be temporary and does not apply to facilities already purchased — 11, at a cost of roughly $1 billion. Some of those facilities face significant local pushback and lawsuits. New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reportedly revoked his predecessor Kristi Noem’s policy of personally reviewing all contracts above $100,000, raising the threshold to $25 million.

• To Infinity, and Back: NASA’s Artemis II mission launched on Wednesday, sending astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The four astronauts won’t actually touch down on the moon, but will instead orbit and return home. They will also transit to the dark side of the moon, where no human has travelled. They’ll be out of contact with earth for one hour. This mission is a step toward NASA’s ambitious goal of landing on the moon by 2028 and, eventually, building a base there — and beyond. It’s also a crucial test for new NASA boss and Elon Musk ally Jared Isaacman. The team includes Victor Glover, who will become the first person of color to enter deep space, and Christina Koch, who will become the first woman to do so. “We talk about the first,” “I am so grateful to those that paved the way for me to be here,” Koch said. “It’s an honor to potentially inspire the explorers of the future.” You can watch a livestream of the mission here.

• Star Power: Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Wednesday filed confidentially to go public this year for what could become the largest public offering — and make Musk the first trillionaire — in history. At least 21 banks are involved. Recall that in February Musk merged profitable SpaceX with not-profitable xAI, which includes social media site X and AI chatbot Grok. Musk reportedly wants to raise up to $80 billion from the public offering, cash necessary to fulfill his lofty goals of launching one million AI data center satellites into space, establishing a colony on the moon, and sending humans to Mars. (Ten years ago Musk said SpaceX “should” achieve that last goal by 2025.) SpaceX is reportedly also considering using the cash to fund xAI and pay off debt from Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Taking SpaceX public would force Musk to disclose more information and actually follow through on his promises.

• Pinky Promise: The FTC on Tuesday reached a settlement with dating site OKCupid and its owner Match Group. According to the FTC, in 2014 OKCupid quietly shared nearly 3 million users’ photos and data with Clarifa an ai company that used those dating profiles to build a facial recognition tool. OKCupid skipped the permissions process seemingly because its founders, including Match Group’s CEO, invested in Clarifai. Users had no idea and no opt-out. The FTC investigated, they say OKcupid obstructed, and the resulting settlement requires the company to pay exactly zero dollars, admit exactly zero wrongdoing, and simply promise to be more honest going forward. Dating IRL has a new appeal.

Share

• Ominous Conversion: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 8–1 to strike down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, finding it violated a counselor’s free speech. The ruling will likely doom similar bans across the country. Justice Ketanji Jackson Brown dissented, arguing that medicine — whether by“speech” or “scalpel” — can be regulated, and warned of a “worst-case scenario” where the ruling unravels healthcare standards as “various licensed healthcare professionals … start broadly wielding their newfound constitutional right to provide substandard medical care.”

• Ball’s Over, For Now: A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a halt to construction of Trump’s massive $400 million White House ballroom until Congress approves it. Trump, who initially justified the project as necessary to host large events, and also claimed he’s only “sprucing up” the White House, now argues the ballroom’s construction is a matter of security. He said it will include a “drone-proof roof,” “biodefense all over,” and cover a “massive” military complex underground.

• Public Speech: A federal judge on Tuesday ruled Trump’s executive order blocking funding for PBS and NPR was an “unlawful and unenforceable” violation of the First amendment. It’s largely symbolic, because Congress in 2025 voted to cancel the funding. But it could make it easier for lawmakers to restore such funding in the future.

• Breast Friends: British tabloid the Daily Mail on Tuesday revealed that Byron Noem, husband to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, engaged in cross dressing and chatted with online fetish models. Noem said she was “blindsided” and “devastated.” Locals and friends in South Dakota say they are shocked — and sympathetic. We’d normally skip the private lives of political spouses. But Kristi Noem served in an administration that has been aggressively hostile to queer and gender non-conforming people — making her husband’s private life a touch more newsworthy than usual. In recent congressional testimony, Kristi Noem struggled to answer whether she is having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, an aide who was reportedly deeply involved in many aspects of DHS, including who had access to Noem and what kind of detention centers were built.

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

Share

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

JPMorgan is out with a new study on what the Iran war could mean for your gas tank — and if you’re in California, brace yourself.

Their warning: The oil shock won’t hit everywhere at once. It’s moving west in stages, and it has already begun.

Asia was hit first. Tankers from the Gulf take 10 to 20 days to arrive, and the region had been living off the last shipments that left before the war began on February 28. That buffer is now gone.

Africa is expected to feel it in early April, with Europe about a week behind. No outright shortages yet, but prices are rising as both regions compete with Asia for what remains.

The US has the longest cushion — about 35 to 45 days — but we won’t be spared. JPMorgan expects higher prices and disruptions in refined products. California appears most exposed: Because it is more isolated from the broader US fuel system and more dependent on imports, the bank warns the state could face an actual physical supply problem by late April into May.

Get your scenic drives in while they’re still relatively inexpensive.

I scheduled today’s interview before the JPMorgan report came out. This is a topic I’ve wanted to discuss for a while. So many of you tell me you have a low-grade sense that you should be more prepared for disruptions — storms, outages, supply hiccups. I feel that too.

So I sat down with a preparedness expert, Allison Michael of This Prepared Life, to walk through the basics: How much water to store and how to store it, what food actually makes sense to keep on hand, and what to do if the power goes out.

This is not about preparing for some extreme fantasy. It’s about being smart about what you can’t control during small disruptions. Calmly, not fearfully.

In today’s newsletter: While talk of peace continues, US forces keep surging in. Seizing Iran’s oil hub sounds strategic but analysts say it could be a disaster. TSA agents are finally getting paid. Trump blocked Cuba’s fuel, then let Russia refill it. A new White House app raises major privacy questions. A brazen three-minute art heist. And No Kings may be getting bigger — and younger.

Iran Updates

• Preparations or Posturing? The Trump administration says negotiations with Iran are going well. The evidence suggests otherwise. Iran launched strikes on Israel, UAE, Kuwait, Turkey, and Iraq today. Israel and the US hit an IRGC military academy, ballistic missile sites, a petrochemical plant, and drone production facilities. There are reports of power outages in Tehran. The war continues as the US pushes both the promise of a ceasefire and the possibility of escalation.

  • On the One Hand: Trump on Monday claimed the US is having “serious discussions” with a “new and more reasonable regime in Tehran.” He claimed Iran “gave us most of the points” in his 15-point peace plan and said “we’re going to be asking for a couple of other things.” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) on Sunday accused Trump of “flat-out lying” about negotiating with Iran. Despite doubts, Pakistan on Sunday claimed it will host direct negotiations between the US and Iran this week.

  • Iran Says: Iran continues to deny negotiations are taking place at all. On Monday Iran dismissed US proposals as “excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable,” and warned that “our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever.” Rubio on Monday implied that was bluster, claiming the statements Iranian officials “put out there for the world doesn’t necessarily reflect what they’re saying in our conversations.” “You never know with Iran,” Trump said. “We negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up.”

  • On the Other Hand: Thousands of US troops have arrived in the region, including paratroopers. Thousands more are on their way. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing for a weekslong ground invasion. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said the US is “committed to finishing the job” in Iran. And Trump warned Iran that if it failed to strike a deal he would respond by “blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!).” He also said that he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and is considering seizing Kharg Island (more on that below). The question is whether this buildup is a bluff or real. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said the Pentagon’s preparations are “to give” Trump “maximum optionality” and “do not mean the president has made a decision.” Some members of this audience have shared with me that their family members are among the troops deployed in the Middle East and they have been told to put their affairs in order.

  • Pandora’s Box: One specific option Trump is considering is sending US troops to seize Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports. It sounds like a strategic prize. Some military analysts say it would be more like a trap. The island sits 21 miles off the Iranian coast — close enough that artillery, drone swarms, and short-range missiles can reach American troops within minutes. It’s a third the size of Manhattan, which means every soldier there would be on the front line. Iran has reportedly mined the shoreline to stop amphibious landings, positioned shoulder-fired missiles to target the helicopters needed for troop movement and medical evacuation, and booby-trapped the oil infrastructure to ambush US forces who attempt to surround it. Trump acknowledged that US troops would have to “be there for a while.” Which means they’d need resupply, in waters where Iran deploys anti-ship missiles and fast-attack boats so every supply run would be a target. Some analysts argue Iran wants the US to commit ground troops there, to inflict maximum casualties on a stationary target.

  • Radioactive: Another option Trump is reportedly considering is a ground operation to seize Iran’s enriched uranium. One professor of the Middle East warned that would be “the most difficult” of all ground scenarios being discussed. The nuclear material is extremely toxic, hard to reach, and buried under mountains of rubble; soldiers would be exposed to enemy fire “for days, weeks maybe,” while digging it out. And the US doesn’t even know where it all is. Other experts warned any such operation would likely take weeks, endanger the lives of thousands of US troops, and have a low chance of succeeding.

Share

• New Player: The Houthis entered the conflict on Saturday with a barrage of missiles aimed at southern Israel. The attack was intercepted. One analyst said that if the Houthis restricted their participation to sporadic shots at Israel, their impact on the war would be minimal. But if they targeted shipping, as they did from 2023-2025, they could “amplify the war’s already strong impact on oil and natural gas prices and on the global economy.”

• No Slowing Down: Oil prices on Monday hit their highest point since the start of the war, up almost 60%.

• Very Crossed: Israel on Monday announced it will grant top Catholic officials “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On Sunday Israeli police blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa — the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land — from entering one of Christianity’s holiest sites, where he and others wished to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass. Pizzaballa’s office claimed this was the “first time in centuries” Palm Sunday Mass could not be celebrated at the site where billions believe Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. The move drew widespread criticism, including from France, Italy, and the US ambassador to Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said police had blocked the religious leaders for their own safety because Iran had repeatedly targeted the holy site with missiles. Since the start of the war with Iran, Israel has imposed restrictions on large gatherings, including bans on worshipping at sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. The al-Aqsa mosque was closed during the end of Ramadan, drawing condemnations from around the world. Small groups have been allowed to worship at the Western Wall.

Subscribe now

Here Are Your Other Headlines

• Bumpy Landing: TSA agents received their first paychecks Monday. Union leadership said officers had received some, but not all, of the pay they missed during the shutdown, with the rest expected next week. The union also claimed that TSA on Sunday removed guidance allowing agents to request a furlough if they couldn’t report to work because of the shutdown. As a result, those who couldn’t afford to work without pay now “have disciplinary actions looming over their head.” Airport wait times, which over recent weeks stretched to historic levels, on Monday seemed back to normal at many affected airports across the country.

  • Short-term Solution: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said Trump is pushing lawmakers to come back to Washington and end the shutdown, which this weekend became the longest in US history. House Republicans last week rejected a funding deal unanimously approved by the Senate; while tens of thousands of government employees in crucial agencies like FEMA remain without pay, lawmakers are now on recess for the next two weeks, and GOP leaders show little sign of heeding Trump’s call.

  • Slow to Melt: White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday said DHS will “continue an ICE presence” at airports until they “feel like they’re in 100%.” He said agents have been helping with things like ID checks and protecting exit lanes. A senior TSA official last week testified that it could take four to six months to train security officers to replace the 500-plus who quit as a result of the shutdown.

• Lose Your App(etite): The White House on Friday released an app, which it claims “delivers unparalleled access to the Trump administration.” It also delivers unparalleled access to you. The app requests extensive permissions, including your location, network connections, biometric data, and the ability to modify or delete the contents of shared storage. One security researcher decompiled the app and discovered it shares the exact location of users every few minutes and contains major security issues. The app also includes a direct link to an ICE tip form, encouraging users to report immigration violations. So to recap: It tracks where you are, and lets your neighbors report you to immigration authorities.

• Blockade Broken: The Trump administration spent months enforcing an energy blockade on Cuba. The president just shrugged and let Russia break it. Russia says one of its oil tankers arrived in Cuba today. The administration did not instruct the Coast Guard to intercept the Russian vessel, which is sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU. The ship contains several thousands barrels of oil, enough to sustain Cuba for weeks — a vital lifeline for a nation buckling under the economic strain of Trump’s blockade, which has resulted in nationwide rationing, blackouts, and protests. Trump on Sunday claimed the shipment is “not going to have an impact. Cuba is finished,” he said. Last week he insisted, “Cuba is next.”

• Total BS: A San Francisco jury just hit Elon Musk with what one lawyer called the “largest securities verdict ever.” Musk’s response was, essentially, that he’s always been a bad tweeter. Musk made a bid for Twitter in April 2022, then spent months trashing the deal, tweeting that bot numbers were “much” higher than claimed and the deal was “on hold” — driving down Twitter’s stock price nearly 40% below his offer price. Twitter sued to force him to close — and won. Musk paid up in October 2022. Investors who sold at a loss during the chaos sued next, claiming Musk tanked the stock to finagle a lower price. The jury found he misled them, but stopped short of finding intentional fraud. On the stand, Musk called Twitter’s bot data “BS.” “If this was a trial on whether I’ve made stupid tweets,” Musk conceded, “I’d say I’m guilty.” A lawyer for the plaintiffs said total damages could reach $2.5 billion. Musk’s team called the verdict a “bump in the road” and said they’ll appeal.

Share

• Steal Life: A well-planned art heist in Italy was over in three minutes. The museum didn’t tell anyone for a week. In the tiny Italian village of Mamiano di Traversetolo, south of Parma, the evening of Monday, March 22, began much like any other. But unbeknownst to almost everyone, a group of hooded thieves was approaching the Magnani-Rocca Foundation, one of Italy’s most important private art collections. The thieves forced open the first-floor door, nabbed works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse, then fled through the garden and hopped a fence, making a clean getaway. In less than three minutes they made off with three paintings worth more than $10 million. They were in the process of stealing a fourth when the museum’s internal security system activated. The next morning, the museum opened as normal. Nobody said a word. News of the theft broke the following Sunday; the museum hoped secrecy might induce the thieves to take another shot and get caught. No such luck. The Foundation said the heist seemed well-planned, perhaps involving a gang, and one of its lawyers said the thieves might’ve been inspired by the ease with which burglars stole priceless jewels from the Louvre just six months before. “Copycat crimes are inevitable,” one former FBI art-crime investigator said. “The bad guys all think they’re too smart to get caught.” Research suggests that up to 100,000 artworks are stolen every year, of which only a fraction are recovered. Paintings are one of the most common targets. They’re usually sold for a small percentage of their actual value, but the global black market for art is still worth several billion per year. Art is particularly vulnerable to crime, because subjective pricing and a lack of transparency in sales makes it an attractive way to launder money. The lack of security at many cultural institutions also helps. The Louvre heist prompted many to refresh their defenses to avoid becoming the next target. In just seven minutes, a group of thieves made off with priceless jewels, which remain missing. Now the stakes are even higher. As the founder of Art Recovery International noted, “Museums need to start thinking about the possibility of the three-minute theft.”

• Wish Upon a Shooting Star: If you’ve seen something strange falling from the sky this month, you’re probably not imagining it. Thirty major fireballs have fallen above North America and Europe this year, with at least eight of them falling in March alone — the highest number of fireball events on record. (A “fireball” is an astronomical term describing a particularly bright meteor or shooting star.) The American Meteorological Society, or AMS, which has been tracking such events for two decades, noted that 2026 has seen more than double the number of fireball events with many witnesses, and has smashed the previous record for events in which fireballs last at least four seconds by 2.5 times. In March alone a fireball streaked across the skies above central Europe for several seconds, and scientists recovered fragments of a rare type of meteorite; a seven-ton asteroid entered the atmosphere above Lake Erie, releasing the equivalent of 250 tons of TNT; a one-ton meteoroid broke up above Houston, with one cannonball-sized fragment smashing through the roof of a home into the bedroom; March 23 and 24 saw four distinct fireballs. What’s the deal? The AMS has ruled out many possibilities, including aliens — recovered fragments have been identified as natural extraterrestrial material and calculations suggest the meteoroids were orbiting the sun when they intersected with Earth. One possibility: The spread of AI has meant more people who see a fireball, or hear a massive sonic boom, find out where and how they can report that. You can do so here.

• No Kings: Millions of people across the US and around the world took to the streets this weekend for the third and potentially largest No Kings protest. Organizers claim 8 million people turned out to protest Trump administration policies at over 3,000 events across all 50 states. And the composition of the crowds may matter as much as the size. Organizers say that half of all events were held in red or battleground states — meaning people protested in places that voted for Trump. And the crowds skewed younger, suggesting a new generation is showing up for the first time. Both trends point to a movement that is widening, not shrinking. These figures haven’t been independently verified, but it’s clear the crowds were massive. In Minneapolis, law enforcement estimated that the weekend’s flagship protest drew 100,000 people. Speakers included Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Gov. Tim Walz, actress Jane Fonda, and musician Bruce Springsteen, who performed his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis.” “This past winter,” Springsteen told the crowd, “ federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis. Well, they picked the wrong city.… Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America. This reactionary nightmare and these invasions of American cities will not stand. You gave us hope. You gave us courage.”

Subscribe now

Want more information?

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and anyone who wants to get the news and turn down the noise. If you’d like to sponsor our newsletter or our Instagram content, please reach out to us at community@newsnotnoise.com.

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

Mideast leaders are racing to avert a humanitarian crisis after President Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure within 48 hours unless the regime reopened the Strait of Hormuz. He used the word “obliterate” to make sure no one missed the point.

Then today, Trump punted. He’s giving Iran five more days.

Critics are calling it a TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out. But others note that the troops Trump just deployed have not even reached the region yet. Five days gets them there. Iranian officials, for their part, deny that any negotiations are happening at all. Either way, this looks less like a pause than a runway for something larger.

In today’s newsletter, we explain how Trump is hedging his bets and what Iran is threatening in retaliation — including steps that could cripple Gulf nations. It’s a reminder that the US is not likely to face the worst consequences of this war.

There is plenty of non-Iran news today, too. The White House is deploying ICE agents to airports who, according to NNN readers on the ground, are “standing around” and “doing a whole lot of nothing.” But they are empowered to detain people and their presence alone is unnerving many travelers. One bright note: Trump ordered ICE agents at airports not to wear masks.

Also today: Trump rejected a plan to end the DHS shutdown. A runway collision at LaGuardia killed two. Plainclothes men grabbed a crying woman at SFO. The Supreme Court appears open to a new limit on mail-in voting. Georgia arrests a woman for a self-medicated abortion. The White House installed a new Christopher Columbus statue on the grounds this week — assembled from fragments of one torn down in Baltimore. And we remember Robert Mueller, whose legacy reflects the country judging it.

Iran Updates

• Telephone: Trump on Monday claimed Iran reached out to make a deal. He said Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are negotiating with a “top” Iranian leader on an arrangement to allow the Strait of Hormuz to be “jointly controlled” by him and “whoever the Ayatollah is” after a “regime change.” He also said that Iran has agreed not to “have nuclear weapons anymore.” Two problems: Iran does not currently have nuclear weapons. And no Iranian official has publicly agreed to give up any ambitions to develop them. Iran flatly denies all this. The regime says it has had no contact with the Trump administration, insists the Strait will remain closed to its enemies, and accused Trump of spreading “fake news” to stabilize oil markets and buy time for US troops to get into position.

  • Full Steam Ahead? In fact, two Marine units of roughly 5,000 troops are en route to the region; elements of the 82nd Airborne are preparing to deploy and the UK is sending air defense systems to the Gulf. None of that signals de-escalation.

  • Diplomacy Attempts: Allied nations appear to be trying to pull both sides back from further confrontation. Iran on Monday did acknowledge “initiatives from regional countries to reduce tensions.” Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman have all reportedly engaged in talks with US and Iranian officials. For now Trump sounds pleased with what he called “very good and productive conversations,” which he said “will continue throughout the week.” But he warned if no deal is reached in the next five days, the US will “just keep bombing our little hearts out.”

  • Bet On That: US stocks are up and oil is down after Trump’s announcement. That is exactly what you’d expect if the goal was to calm markets, not close a deal.

• Troubling Tea Leaves: Trump ally and informal foreign policy advisor Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday urged Trump to “take Kharg Island,” Iran’s key oil export hub, claiming the US “did Iwo Jima, we can do this.” Graham’s comments drew blowback from Republicans, who noted the battle for Iwo Jima cost the lives of almost 7,000 US troops. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) accused Graham of treating US service members “as if they are expendable cattle.”

• Water Wars: US officials directing this war go home to air conditioned capitals with clean water and easy access to power. Residents of Gulf nations don’t have that luxury. Iran warned that if the US attacks its infrastructure, it will retaliate by striking energy infrastructure and desalination plants throughout the region. Many Gulf nations have no permanent rivers and rely on desalination plants for over 90% of their drinking water. These plants underpin everything, from hospitals, power plants, and data centers, to filling the taps in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. Gulf nations are among the world’s most water-stressed, and a CIA report warned that losing desalination there “could have more serious consequences than the loss of any other industry of commodity.” The countries would be cast into what the UN defines as “absolute water scarcity.” Intentionally disabling crucial civilian infrastructure, like desalination plants, could amount to a war crime. One US professor of the Middle East said “the political and psychological scars” of such attacks “would be of a magnitude that I can’t quite imagine.”

Share

Here Are Your (Other) Headlines

• This Won’t Fly: The Trump administration on Monday deployed up to 150 ICE agents to more than a dozen major airports across the country. No one, including administration officials, is exactly clear why. Some agents are armed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday insisted ICE agents have sufficient training to help TSA agents run security lines, saying “they know how to run the X-ray machines.” But White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who just hours before the deployment admitted he was still “working on the plan,” said agents were not trained to use X-ray machines. Instead, Homan said ICE agents would help with “certain parts of security,” such as “covering exits” to “make sure people don’t go through.”

  • Where: ICE agents have reportedly been sent to airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Ft. Myers, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and San Juan.

  • Detentions: Trump said the agents are empowered to arrest “all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country.”

  • Hard At Work: Reports and pictures of ICE agents standing around, seemingly doing nothing, have already begun spreading on social media. “They’re in the way,” one worker at Newark airport said. One passenger said ICE agents are “making it worse.”

  • Critics: The ACLU condemned the move, noting that “never in our history has a president deployed armed agents to the airport to inspire fear among families.” The president of the union representing many TSA agents argues they “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”

  • Protecting Your Privacy: If you’re going to travel and are worried about encountering or interacting with ICE, consider reviewing this guide of your rights, these two guides on protecting your data from government agencies, and this checklist on protecting your data from ICE specifically.

Share

• Art of the No Deal: Republicans handed Trump a deal to end the DHS shutdown. He turned it down. Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) reportedly told Trump Democrats would agree to fund all of DHS except for ICE, with ICE funding to be secured through a process called reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to pass bills by a simple majority. But Trump on Truth Social insisted the GOP refuse to “make any deal” with Democrats unless they agree to pass the Save America Act, which Democrats are largely united against. (That’s the show-your-papers bill; Trump on Monday said Republicans should pass it “for Jesus.”)

• Still Waiting: The DHS shutdown has caused security lines at multiple airports to stretch out of the airport buildings themselves. One passenger who’d been waiting in Atlanta airport for three hours said it was “total chaos.” There are reports of six hour lines in Atlanta. Over 400 TSA agents have quit.

• Tragedy: A plane carrying over 70 passengers collided with a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle on the runway at LaGuardia Airport Sunday evening, killing the pilot and co-pilot and hospitalizing dozens of others, including a flight attendant thrown from the plane. An air traffic controller had cleared the vehicle to cross a runway to respond to a report of an odor on another plane, and can be heard frantically calling for the vehicle to stop as an Air Canada flight barreled toward it at roughly 100mph. The plane struck the truck, severing the cockpit. “We were dealing with an emergency,” the air traffic controller said. “I messed up.” “Everybody just jolted out of their seats,” one passenger recalled. “People were bleeding.” The crash isn’t directly linked to the shutdown; air traffic controllers aren’t affected. The Federal Aviation Administration has been struggling with chronic shortages of air traffic controllers for years, though LGA is not one of the worst-affected airports. “This has been happening for years,” a former Transportation Department inspector general said. “I don’t know how many wakeup calls the [FAA] needs.”

• Disturbing: Two men presumed to be plainclothed ICE agents were filmed on Sunday detaining a woman traveling with her young daughter in San Francisco International Airport. Videos show the agents, who reportedly refused to show their badge numbers, violently grabbing the woman while crowds of people call out in protest. City police arrived and prevented people from interfering with the arrest; state and city law forbid law enforcement from helping immigration agents detain people. An airport spokesperson said the incident was unrelated to ICE’s deployment to airports but said they were unable to confirm “who [the men] were, what they were doing, or why.” San Francisco airport has a private contract for security and doesn’t rely on TSA, so these agents weren’t part of the current deployment.

Subscribe now

• Culture War: The Trump administration this weekend installed a statue of Christopher Colombus on White House grounds. It’s a replica of a statue torn down by protestors in Baltimore in 2020. Trump has repeatedly praised Columbus in part to win Italian-American votes, telling them earlier this year to “remember when you go to the voting booths, I reinstated Columbus Day.” The former chief historian of the White House Historical Association said the statue was part of Trump’s “radical reshaping” of White House grounds, which he said are “turning it into a partisan battleground.”

• Rain, Rain: Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said recent storms, which caused the state’s worst flooding in over two decades, have caused over $1 billion in damages. Hundreds of people were evacuated; no deaths have been reported.

• Attacking Those Who Aid: British counter-terror police are investigating an antisemitic arson attack that destroyed multiple ambulances owned and operated by a Jewish charity in London. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said it was “particularly sickening” to target ambulances whose “sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.” Security footage shows three hooded figures setting the ambulances ablaze; subsequent explosions damaged nearby windows and sent residents fleeing. Nobody was hurt. An Iran-linked group claimed responsibility. The mayor of London condemned the “antisemitic hate crime” and said it is “really important for all of us to show allyship to the Jewish community.” The British government will replace the destroyed ambulances, police have announced additional patrols in the area — where roughly half of residents identify as Jewish — and fundraisers have collected over $1.3 million.

• Which Amendment? The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging a Texas law that makes asking public officials for undisclosed information a felony. A journalist was arrested in 2017 for fact-checking a story with information a police officer voluntarily provided her. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who dissented from the Court’s decision, wrote the arrest was “a blatant First Amendment violation.”

Share

Keep reading for information on…

• The 1845 law that might convince the Supreme Court to reshape how Americans vote

• How RFK is quietly working on “one of the biggest medical experiments” in US history — with “Americans as the test subjects”

• Why Georgia police charged a woman who took abortion medication with murder

• The storied life of Robert Mueller, “America’s straightest arrow,” who died this weekend at 81

All this and more is available for paid subscribers. Your support makes our work possible. Thank you for supporting independent journalism.

Read more

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here.

We are living through a moment when community matters. Not in a bumper-sticker way — in a real who-do-I-call, how-do-I-process-this way.

So we’ve partnered with Red Wine & Blue, an organization that helps people across the country form local groups through a platform that makes the whole thing surprisingly un-annoying. Join one, start one, make something happen.

I originally made this available to subscribers only. I’m opening it up now because this moment calls for it, and also because subscribers told me the more the merrier.

Here’s what we’re offering: free access to Red Wine & Blue’s tools and support to start your own News Not Noise community group. No fee. The cost is your time, which I recognize is not nothing.

You can gather with people in your area who are already part of the NNN community — or bring new people in. The point is to talk about what’s happening, think through what it means, process your feelings, and decide if there’s something more you want to do. (Or you could just talk about the bachelorette and the local bike trail. It’s all up to you.) The idea is to help you get together. In person. With other humans.

Want in? Raise your hand to start a group. We’ll help spread the word.

You can read about how this works here.

And sign up to start a group here.

Now, the war.

Trump declared victory. On Truth Social — where else — he suggested the US has nearly achieved all its objectives in Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz is now somebody else’s problem. We broke it, you fix it.

Here’s what’s actually happening: There are reports the US may send troops to Kharg Island — Iran’s oil hub, responsible for roughly 90% of its crude exports — as leverage to pressure Tehran into releasing its grip on the Strait. That is not the posture of a country that has won.

Yes, the US has the firepower to knock out Iranian facilities and own the sky. Iran’s strategy is different: strangle oil infrastructure, threaten the global economy, spread the pain.

And as Iran holds the world economy hostage, the US is walking back its own red lines. There’s talk of lifting sanctions, shifting objectives — Trump’s messaging changing again. The gap between his Truth Social posts and the ground truth keeps widening.

Also today: Oil “doomsday” scenarios; rising costs for food, raw materials, and flights; the Pentagon asked for $200B and Republicans balked; CBS is slashing staff and killing its century-old radio division; Democrats walked out of Bondi’s Epstein hearing; a federal court slapped down RFK Jr. on gender-affirming care.

And in News That Doesn’t Suck: A “damn good baseball game” and a big win for Venezuela.

Iran Updates

• Breaking: A federal judge on Friday revoked several parts of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s restrictions on Pentagon reporting, including a requirement that reporters pledge not to use unauthorized material. This voids the Pentagon’s ability to revoke press credentials for those who refused. The judge wrote that “those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’s security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech.” He noted the ongoing war makes it “more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing.” So far, no word on the Pentagon’s response.

• Human Cost: New estimates suggest the war in Iran has killed almost 1,500 civilians, including hundreds of children. The overall death toll tops 4,000, including over 3,000 in Iran, 1,000 in Lebanon, 15 in Israel, 4 in the West Bank, and dozens across the region, including 13 US troops.

• Warning Signs: The Trump administration is sending thousands of additional Marines and sailors along with amphibious assault ships to the Middle East. These ships are used to get troops and their equipment on land for land-based missions. Trump is reportedly weighing several options for putting boots on the ground. They could be used to capture Iranian oil facilities in an effort to drive up pressure on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. They could also be deployed to collect highly enriched uranium. NBC News reports Trump is interested in “escalating the war in an attempt to end it,” a strategy you might recall from the Iraq war surge. Trump continues to insist he’s “not putting troops anywhere.” But he added that “if I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday argued “there has to be a ground component” to achieve regime change in Iran. A new poll finds 65% of Americans believe Trump will eventually order a ground invasion, which only 7% support.

Share

• All Talk: While the Marines head to the Middle East, Trump is busy suggesting to the public he’s winding things down. Trump on Friday insisted the war in Iran has been “Militarily WON” and claimed he could end it “right now” — but said he won’t because he wants to ensure Iran can “never rebuild” its military capacity. (It would be hard for the US to get out while Iran is holding the world’s oil supply hostage in the Strait of Hormuz.) Trump on Friday seemed to hint at an off-ramp, writing that the US is “getting very close to meeting our objectives” and arguing the Strait could be defended by “by other Nations who use it.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday claimed, without evidence, that Iran can no longer enrich Uranium nor manufacture ballistic missiles. Iran on Friday insisted it is still constructing missiles, and launched drone and missile attacks across the region. So far, the US and Israel have degraded Iran’s capabilities but have failed to achieve “escalation dominance” — the ability to stop an adversary from escalating.

• War Hits Home: The war is driving a worldwide energy crisis — one that is impacting global trade, consumer prices, and food security. US airline ticket prices are up as much as 124% for domestic travel. US gasoline is nearly $4 per gallon, the highest since 2022 and almost a dollar higher than before the war. Abroad, it’s worse. Over 40% of gas stations in Thailand and 30% in Cambodia have shut. Japan’s gas prices reached a record high this week and European gas prices have doubled since the start of the war. In Dubai, oil hit a record $166 per barrel. On Friday global oil prices hit $110 per barrel, and Goldman Sachs warned prices could stay above $100 for years. One Gulf scholar called this the “worst-case scenario” for the region. One analyst warned “we are now well on the road to the doomsday gas crisis scenario,” explaining price disruptions could last for years.

  • Major Attack: Just one example. Iran struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, which produces one-fifth of the world’s liquified natural gas. The attack destroyed 17% of its facility’s export capacity, with repairs expected to take 3–5 years. QatarEnergy’s CEO called these “attacks on global energy security” and Qatar’s prime minister said the “war must be stopped immediately.”

  • Knock-On: The ripple effects keep widening. The World Trade Organization this week warned the conflict has slowed global trade more than expected; the Strait of Hormuz is functionally closed, over 40,000 flights have been canceled, and damaged facilities are threatening shortages of raw materials like helium and sulfur. Oil-based goods, like plastic pellets, are also getting pricier and harder to find. This is important: Roughly one-third of the world’s supply of fertilizer moves through the Strait of Hormuz, so the blockade is driving up food prices and threatening shortages worldwide. Oh, and mortgage prices rose again this week for the third consecutive time, and are now the highest they’ve been in three months.

  • Stop Hitting Yourself: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said the US is considering removing sanctions on Iranian oil in tankers at sea. Yes, the same Iran sanctions Trump reimposed after scrapping the nuclear deal — in part because he didn’t want Iran profiting from oil sales. Bessent claimed the administration “will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down” for the next two weeks. Energy Secretary Chris Wright also argued that the oil is already on ships, so why use sanctions. On Friday he clarified that “most of that oil will be absorbed in the next 30 to 45 days.” We should have put a trigger warning on this item.

  • Let the Spice Oil Flow: Bessent also suggested the US may release more of its Strategic Reserve. But after last week’s record-breaking international release, the Reserve’s levels are below a legal threshold barring further releases (unless an emergency is declared) and nearing a structural threshold that, if breached, could undermine the stability of the Reserve itself. The Trump administration failed to fully refill the Reserve before the war. This, after the Biden administration ordered a massive release to tamp down prices when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

• Blank Check: The Pentagon has requested $200 billion for the war in Iran. That’s more than Congress appropriated for the first year in Iraq, more than the US has sent to Ukraine in the last four years, and more than the annual defense budget of any country on Earth bar the US and China. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s response? “It takes money to kill bad guys.” Even Republicans in Congress are unhappy. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) called the request a “little tall.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said, “You can’t just come up here with an invoice and say, ‘Pay this,’ and expect to have great cooperation.”

  • Fire Sale: The Trump administration on Thursday moved forward with $23 billion in arms sales to Gulf nations. It invoked an emergency clause to bypass normal Congressional review.

Subscribe now

• Who’s the Boss: Netanyahu on Thursday appeared to address rumors Israel pushed the US into the war. He lavished praise on Trump, calling him “the leader. I’m his ally. America is the leader.” This was during his first press conference in days, dispelling online conspiracy theories he had been killed.

• New Year, Same War: Friday marks Nowruz, the Persian new year, a 3000-year-old celebration of spring. It includes the display of Haft-Sin, seven symbolic items representing rebirth and health. This year Iranians are braving air strikes and retaliation by local security forces just to set the table — if they can afford it and if their stores are open. “At this rate,” one person told the BBC, “there might not even be much left of Iran. I don’t want this to be our last Nowruz.”

Here Are Your (Other) Headlines

• Conglomeration Killed the Radio Star: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss on Friday announced the end of the network’s century-old radio division, which serves 700 affiliate stations. Weiss also announced layoffs for roughly 6% of the news division. She told employees this has “nothing to do with the quality of your work,” but “simply has everything to do with the times we’re living in.” The Writers Guild of America condemned the layoffs as another example of “recklessness and greed.” CBS News’ ratings are falling under Weiss’ leadership; its flagship evening newscast is down to fewer than 4 million viewers since Weiss took over.

• And the TV Star, Too: The FCC on Thursday approved a merger between Nexstar and Tegna, creating the country’s largest operator of local TV stations, which will reach a remarkable 60% of US households. The FCC waived a rule barring a single company from reaching more than 39% of US households to allow the merger. FCC Chair Brendan Carr claimed the waiver will promote “competition, localism, and diversity.” FCC Commissioner Anna M Gomez condemned the “unlawful” merger, saying it “was approved behind closed doors with no open process, no full Commission vote, and no transparency.” She warned it will lead to “fewer voices, less competition, and higher costs for consumers.” The merger was approved less than a day after a coalition of eight states sued to block it for violating antitrust laws.

• Concerning Framing: The Trump administration on Friday released a framework for national AI legislation that would essentially strip states of the ability to regulate AI, while locking in few guardrails nationwide. It includes some protections for children and electricity costs. The Electronic Privacy Information Center criticized the framework’s “vague” policy recommendations and argued it “fails to address the full scope of ways AI harms people.” House Republican leaders immediately endorsed it, but Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) acknowledged “concerns that a lot of our members have about not trampling state’s rights.”

• Protect Kids: A federal judge on Thursday blocked HHS Secretary RFK Jr’s attempt to prevent hospitals from providing gender-affirming care to minors. In December, RFK declared such treatment neither “safe nor effective,” and threatened to revoke federal funding for hospitals that provide it. The Trump administration argued RFK’s declaration was just his opinion — but the lawsuit noted that HHS used the declaration to refer 13 academic medical institutions to the Office of the Inspector General. The judge ruled RFK overstepped his authority and violated federal law by issuing the declaration. New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 19 states that sued over the declaration, said the ruling “gives some needed clarity to patients, families, and providers.” She noted the real world impact: “Young people are losing access to life-saving treatment, families are being left in the dark, and medical providers are being threatened just for doing their jobs.”

Share

• Lost Forever: ICE on Friday announced the death of a 19-year-old who was in Glades County Detention Center, Florida. The agency claimed Royer Perez-Jimenez, originally from Mexico, died of a “presumed suicide.” In 2022, ICE moved to limit its use of the Glades County facility, “in part due to persistent and ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care.” ICE reinstated its contract in April to “allow greater capacity.” Perez-Jimenez is at least the 13th person — and the youngest — to have died in ICE custody this year.

  • Most Vulnerable: A New York Times review of 10 cases of pregnant women detained by ICE has found the agency regularly violated its own guidelines by “subjecting them to conditions that medical experts say can jeopardize the health of mothers and their babies.” Women described being served food crawling with cockroaches, shackled by hands and feet, and having their requests for medical care ignored. An earlier ACLU report found similar claims: pregnant and postpartum women shackled, put in solitary confinement, refused adequate medical care or given medical care “without informed consent.”

Keep reading for information on…

• What Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer said about his longtime boss’s crimes

• The newly revealed Epstein file that “completely” disputes Trump’s claims

• How officials are responding to the allegations against Cesar Chavez

• Why New Mexico is being hailed as the model to follow for healthcare

• How an underdog Venezuelan team captured hearts on their way to an historic baseball victory

All that and more is available for paid subscribers. Your support makes our independent reporting possible. Thank you.

Read more