April 30, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 62.

• Speaking to journalists yesterday, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call earlier in the day that any U.S. military ground operation in Iran would be completely "unacceptable and dangerous," and warned of "dire consequences" if hostilities against Iran are resumed. [more]
• Responding to reports of U.S. plans for a potential new wave of military strikes on Iran, Iranian officials said today that any resumption of hostilities would be met with "long and ​painful strikes" on U.S. positions. [more]
• Amidst ongoing supply concerns linked to the ongoing Middle East war and projections of a longer standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil rose to as high as $126 per barrel this morning before settling at about $122 per barrel. [more]
• U.S. Department of Defense budget and spending official Jules Hurst told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday that the war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far. [more]

U.S. VOTING RIGHTS ACT | In a 6-3 ruling announced yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively struck down long-standing interpretations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that allowed, and sometimes required, congressional districting maps to be drawn using race-conscious data to protect the voting power of minorities. [full ruling] [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Commerce Department data released today shows that the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index – the Federal Reserve's preferred benchmark for measuring inflation – rose 0.7% from February to March and 3.5% from the year-ago period, with the sharpest increase in almost three years driven largely by higher food and energy prices. At the same time, the Department reports that the U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 2.0% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2026 – up from a 0.5% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2025 – on a rebound in government spending. [more]

FLORIDA | Amidst similar moves by Republicans and Democrats in multiple states ahead of this November's mid-term elections, the Florida legislature voted yesterday to approve a new congressional districting map that analysts say could net Republicans four additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE | Fed policy makers, as expected, left their benchmark interest rate unchanged at about 3.6% yesterday. Following the board's meeting, Fed chair Jerome Powell, said he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month – potentially through January 2028 when his board term expires. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | In a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the $1.5 trillion military budget proposal for 2027 and, in response to questions about the Iran war, suggested that "the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans." [more]

MORE U.S. MILITARY | The Defense Department said yesterday that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, will leave the Middle East in the coming days and return to its home port in Virginia after a record-setting deployment of more than 300 days that included active operations in both Venezuela and Iran. [more]

U.S. AND GERMANY | Following what he has characterized as Germany's failure to support the U.S. in its war with Iran, President Donald Trump said yesterday that the U.S. is studying and reviewing a possible reduction of the U.S. military's presence in Germany and that a decision on the matter could be made in the near future. [more]

U.S. AND MEXICO | The U.S. Justice Department announced drug trafficking and weapons charges yesterday against 10 current and former government and law enforcement officials in Mexico's Sinaloa state, including against the state's governor, Rubén Rocha Moya. Reports note that it remains unclear how Mexico's government will respond to the charges and to extradition requests for those indicted. [more]

GLOBAL NUCLEAR TESTING | In the follow-up to both the U.S. and Russia suggesting last year that they could resume the testing of nuclear weapons, Robert Floyd, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, warned yesterday that if major nuclear powers do resume testing others are likely to do so, as well. [more]

ISRAEL AND GAZA | Israeli forces are reported to have intercepted dozens of boats attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza overnight near the southern Greek island of Crete. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said about 175 aid activists and more than 20 boats participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla were being taken to Israel. [more]

AUSTRALIA | A special commission investigating antisemitism after last December's mass shooting in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach, recommended today that Australia implement several gun reform measures, including: limiting the number of firearms that can be owned by an individual, passing nationally consistent gun laws, buying back guns from citizens, and implementing periodic reviews of existing gun licenses. [more]

EUROPEAN INFLATION | European Union statistical agency Eurostat reports that annual inflation in the 21 countries that use the euro currency rose to 3.0% in April – up from 2.6% in March – on a 10.9% increase in energy prices linked to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. [more]

BRAZIL | In a move seen as a political blow to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's Senate yesterday rejected Lula's nomination of Jorge Messias to serve on the Supreme Court – the first such rejection in the country in more than 130 years. [more]

R.I.P. | Country singer-songwriter David Allan Coe, best known for writing the working-class anthem "Take This Job and Shove It," "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)," and other country hits, died yesterday at the age of 86. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1803, the United States completed its purchase of the 828,000-square-mile Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million. The acquisition roughly doubled the size of the United States. [more history]