Listen to this issue.

0:00

/7:03

1×

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 46.

• U.S. President Donald Trump announced yesterday that an American military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had begun as part of efforts to pressure Iran to accept a deal to end the Middle East war. The U.S. military’s Central Command said the blockade would be enforced “against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas” on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. [more]
• Israeli and Lebanese negotiators are scheduled to meet today in Washington, DC, for what reports say are the first direct diplomatic talks between the two Middle East neighbors in decades. Of note, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group says it will not abide by any agreements that may come out of the direct Israel-Lebanon talks, which the group opposes. [more]
• Following talks in Pakistan over the weekend that failed to result in an agreement, Pakistani mediators have reportedly proposed a second round of U.S-Iran talks to be held in Islamabad. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,508 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, yesterday, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb suggested that Ukraine is currently "in a much better place than it has been at any stage" of the Russian invasion and noted that, according to reports, Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia last month than Russia launched at Ukraine. [more]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Berlin today for meetings with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with Ukraine's continuing need for European support and a pending 90-billion-euro E.U. loan expected to be among the main topics of discussion. [more]

U.S. CONGRESS | Amidst allegations of sexual assault and/or sexual misconduct against them and calls in the House of Representatives for them to be expelled from the chamber, both Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas and Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California have announced plans to resign or retire from Congress. Gonzales specified that he would not seek re-election, while Swalwell did not provide a date for his departure after announcing yesterday that he plans to resign. [more on Gonzalez] [more on Swalwell]

U.S. DRUG WAR | Following two similar strikes over the weekend that killed at least five people, the U.S. military's Southern Command said it carried out another strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean yesterday, killing two people. [more]

U.S. PRIDE MONUMENT | According to a court filing yesterday, the Interior Department and National Park Service have, in settling a lawsuit, confirmed their intention to resume flying a Pride flag on a federal flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument, which commemorates a 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn gay bar in New York City and is the first national monument commemorating LGBTQ+ history. [more]

TRUMP DEFAMATION LAWSUIT | Miami-based U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles yesterday dismissed President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal in which he claimed to have been defamed in an article in the paper about a birthday letter bearing Trump's name that was sent to late sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Gayles said in his ruling that Trump's complaint came "nowhere close" to meeting the standard of showing defamation. [more]

U.S. PACIFIC TERRITORIES | Super Typhoon Sinlaku is the strongest tropical storm on Earth so far this year, with sustained winds of 173 mph measured yesterday. Among the Pacific Ocean locations expected to be impacted by the storm today and tomorrow are the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | International Monetary Fund economists have presented three global economic growth scenarios for 2026 depending on how the Middle East war unfolds. Under a reference scenario in which the war is short-lived, the IMF projects 3.1% global GDP growth for the year – down 0.2% from its January forecast. In a longer-war adverse scenario in which oil prices stay around $100 per barrel, global growth of 2.5% is predicted, while a worst-case severe scenario with an extended Middle East war, deepening conflict, and even higher oil prices is projected to slow 2026 growth to 2%. [more]

TURKEY | Regional officials say a former student armed with a shotgun opened fire at a high school in the city of Siverek in southeastern Turkey today, wounding at least 16 people before killing himself. Authorities say the motive behind the attack remains unclear. [more]

CANADA | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party secured a majority government yesterday following special elections to fill three vacant parliamentary seats. [more]

CHINA | Customs data released today indicates that exports from China grew 2.5% in March from the year-ago period – a significant decline from the 21.8% export growth recorded for January and February, while imports into China grew 27.8% year-over-year in March – up from 19.8% growth in the first two months of 2026. [more]

NORTH KOREA | According to state media reports, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the launches of two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from his country's new destroyer-class warship on Sunday. The test launches come amidst Kim's pledge to boost North Korea's naval capabilities and nuclear arsenal. [more]

SPAIN | In what he characterized as an "act of justice" for "nearly half a million people who already form part of our everyday lives," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced government plans to grant legal status to some 500,000 undocumented immigrants in Spain who have already been in the country at least five months and have clean criminal records. [more]

RUSSIA | Amidst price spikes linked to the war in Iran, Russian oil exports nearly doubled to $19 billion in March – up from $9.8 billion in February – according to the International Energy Association. [more]

BASKETBALL | UConn's Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings in last night's WNBA draft, followed by TCU's Olivia Miles by the Minnesota Lynx and Spain's Awa Fam Thiam by the Seattle Storm. [full draft board] [more]

ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME | Performer category selections for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year include: Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Oasis, Sade, Joy Division/New Order, Wu-Tang Clan, and Luther Vandross. [press release] [full induction class] [more]

R.I.P. | According to announcements made yesterday, Sid Krofft, who along with his brother Marty, created influential children's television shows including "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Land of the Lost," "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters," and "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" in the 1960s and 70s, died last Friday at the age of 96. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1865, just after the effective end of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth while attending a production of the play “Our American Cousin” at Ford's Theatre.  [more history]