27 stories credited to WDIV
3 stories on clickondetroit.com credited to other publishers
Latest story Apr 21, 2026 · on ChamberLight since Apr 2026
A story can appear as several articles (copies of the same piece), so counts of stories and of articles differ.
Scores for WDIV
Political lean
24 stories · 95% range 48–51 · updated Sep 24, 2026
Originality
24 of those 26 carry an unconfirmed copying flag, which is not evidence either way.
30 stories · updated Sep 24, 2026
Writing quality 93 of 100: the average rating of 24 stories, each rated on its own (separate from credibility). How it is measured
Scores last checked Sep 25, 2026.
Articles this site reproduces
How provenance is decidedOriginal publishers of articles on clickondetroit.com
Counted from articles on clickondetroit.com whose original publisher is verified from the page itself or confirmed by an independent signal.
Stories ChamberLight collected, by month
Stories credited to WDIV, by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.
- Stories from WDIV
- Shaded: ChamberLight collected no stories, or almost none, from any outlet (a gap in its collection, not in the outlet’s publishing)
Show as a table
| Month | Stories | All outlets |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | 3 | 653 |
| April 2026 | 24 | 4,537 |
| May 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| June 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| July 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 (collection gap) |
| September 2026 | 0 | 598 |
Top topics
Share of this source’s stories tagged with each topic. A story can carry several topics, so the shares do not add up to 100%.
- Budget/Spending15
56% of 27 stories · 30% across all outlets
- Ethics/Corruption13
48% of 27 stories · 56% across all outlets
- Defense/Military11
41% of 27 stories · 24% across all outlets
- Economy9
33% of 27 stories · 24% across all outlets
- Foreign Policy9
33% of 27 stories · 28% across all outlets
- Criminal Justice5
19% of 27 stories · 18% across all outlets
- Infrastructure5
19% of 27 stories · 7% across all outlets
- Voting Rights5
19% of 27 stories · 18% across all outlets
The thin mark on each bar is the topic’s share across all outlets.
Who they cover
Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 52 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 67 story–official pairs, from 27 stories.
- Republican54% · 36 pairs
- Democrat36% · 24 pairs
- Party not recorded9% · 6 pairs
- Independent1% · 1 pair
Most covered
Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 27 stories.
- 1Donald TrumpR10 stories · 37%
- 2John ThuneR3 stories · 11%
- 3Charles SchumerD2 stories · 7%
- 4Eric SwalwellD2 stories · 7%
- 5J. VanceR2 stories · 7%
- 6Mike JohnsonR2 stories · 7%
- 7Analilia Mejia–1 story · 4%
- 8Bernard SandersI1 story · 4%
- 9Brendan BoyleD1 story · 4%
- 10Brian MastR1 story · 4%
+ 42 other officials (42 story–official pairs)
Article tone
ChamberLight’s article analysis assigns each story a tone toward the official it covers. It describes the coverage of that official, not WDIV’s stance, and reader votes do not change it. 27 stories.
- Good Look
- 5 (19%)
- Mixed
- 20 (74%)
- Informational
- 0 (0%)
- Bad Look
- 2 (7%)
Related sources
Lean 95% range 48–51 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 46–53 · updated Sep 24, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 46–52 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 1 shared topic
Lean 95% range 48–51 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
Lean 95% range 48–51 · updated Sep 25, 2026
Similar lean · 2 shared topics
Lean 95% range 48.9–49.3 · updated Sep 24, 2026
Similar lean · 3 shared topics
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Articles served from clickondetroit.com
71
Republicans launch a new effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security
The Senate voted on Tuesday to launch a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in history. The 52-46 vote was the first step in a budget process that Republicans hope will unlock the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Senate Democrats have blocked money for those agencies since mid-February, demanding policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two agencies through a complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won't take that bill up until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well. The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and an open-ended series of amendment votes that could potentially alter the bill. “It’s not my preference, but it is reality,” Thune said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the budget workaround a “partisan sideshow” and said the resolution will pour money into immigration enforcement “without putting any restraints on these rogue agencies’ rampant violence in our streets.” Senate leaders try to keep bill focused on ICE, border patrol The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday released the estimated $70 billion resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years, through the rest of Trump’s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused and pass it by the end of the month. But that could prove difficult as many in the party see it as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act. Republican leaders say they would try to do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many of their colleagues are skeptical, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers of Congress and an election approaching. Senators who have been pushing for more to be included in the original resolution say they are preparing amendments to try and add them on the Senate floor. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’ll try to add parts of the SAVE America Act and proposals related to the economy. “A lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it,” Kennedy said Monday. But at a lunch meeting on Tuesday, Republican senators were mostly united around Thune's plan. “I think people recognize that we have to act quickly,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “The more you add the more that slows the process down.” Democrats say reforms still needed at ICE Democrats say any funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks. “After the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, people across the country demanded ICE be reined in," said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “But instead of working with Democrats to enact real reform, Republicans rejected the most basic accountability measures, and now they’re rushing to give ICE billions of dollars more.” After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Border Patrol and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement. Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain. During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department’s funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding. Weeks later, though, Johnson has still not said when the House will take up the Senate's legislation funding the rest of the department. And it is unclear if members of his GOP conference will unite behind the narrowed budget bill. “We’ll figure this out,” Johnson said ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday. “We’ve got lots of discussion today and in the coming days to make sure we can get that through and I think we will.” ___ Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Republicans launch a new effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security
The Senate voted on Tuesday to launch a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in history. The 52-46 vote was the first step in a budget process that Republicans hope will unlock the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Senate Democrats have blocked money for those agencies since mid-February, demanding policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two agencies through a complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won't take that bill up until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well. The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and an open-ended series of amendment votes that could potentially alter the bill. “It’s not my preference, but it is reality,” Thune said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the budget workaround a “partisan sideshow” and said the resolution will pour money into immigration enforcement “without putting any restraints on these rogue agencies’ rampant violence in our streets.” Senate leaders try to keep bill focused on ICE, border patrol The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday released the estimated $70 billion resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years, through the rest of Trump’s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused and pass it by the end of the month. But that could prove difficult as many in the party see it as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act. Republican leaders say they would try to do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many of their colleagues are skeptical, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers of Congress and an election approaching. Senators who have been pushing for more to be included in the original resolution say they are preparing amendments to try and add them on the Senate floor. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’ll try to add parts of the SAVE America Act and proposals related to the economy. “A lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it,” Kennedy said Monday. But at a lunch meeting on Tuesday, Republican senators were mostly united around Thune's plan. “I think people recognize that we have to act quickly,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “The more you add the more that slows the process down.” Democrats say reforms still needed at ICE Democrats say any funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks. “After the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, people across the country demanded ICE be reined in," said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “But instead of working with Democrats to enact real reform, Republicans rejected the most basic accountability measures, and now they’re rushing to give ICE billions of dollars more.” After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Border Patrol and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement. Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain. During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department’s funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding. Weeks later, though, Johnson has still not said when the House will take up the Senate's legislation funding the rest of the department. And it is unclear if members of his GOP conference will unite behind the narrowed budget bill. “We’ll figure this out,” Johnson said ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday. “We’ve got lots of discussion today and in the coming days to make sure we can get that through and I think we will.” ___ Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Republicans launch a new effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security
The Senate voted on Tuesday to launch a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in history. The 52-46 vote was the first step in a budget process that Republicans hope will unlock the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Senate Democrats have blocked money for those agencies since mid-February, demanding policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two agencies through a complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won't take that bill up until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well. The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and an open-ended series of amendment votes that could potentially alter the bill. “It’s not my preference, but it is reality,” Thune said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the budget workaround a “partisan sideshow” and said the resolution will pour money into immigration enforcement “without putting any restraints on these rogue agencies’ rampant violence in our streets.” Senate leaders try to keep bill focused on ICE, border patrol The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday released the estimated $70 billion resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years, through the rest of Trump’s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused and pass it by the end of the month. But that could prove difficult as many in the party see it as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump’s proof of citizenship voting bill, called the SAVE America Act. Republican leaders say they would try to do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many of their colleagues are skeptical, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers of Congress and an election approaching. Senators who have been pushing for more to be included in the original resolution say they are preparing amendments to try and add them on the Senate floor. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’ll try to add parts of the SAVE America Act and proposals related to the economy. “A lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it,” Kennedy said Monday. But at a lunch meeting on Tuesday, Republican senators were mostly united around Thune's plan. “I think people recognize that we have to act quickly,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “The more you add the more that slows the process down.” Democrats say reforms still needed at ICE Democrats say any funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks. “After the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, people across the country demanded ICE be reined in," said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “But instead of working with Democrats to enact real reform, Republicans rejected the most basic accountability measures, and now they’re rushing to give ICE billions of dollars more.” After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Border Patrol and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement. Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain. During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department’s funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding. Weeks later, though, Johnson has still not said when the House will take up the Senate's legislation funding the rest of the department. And it is unclear if members of his GOP conference will unite behind the narrowed budget bill. “We’ll figure this out,” Johnson said ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday. “We’ve got lots of discussion today and in the coming days to make sure we can get that through and I think we will.” ___ Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
Trump draws Marie Antoinette comparisons as he leans into the gilded trappings of the presidency
President Donald Trump had something urgent to address while flying back to Washington from his luxury Mar-a-Lago estate on a recent Sunday. It wasn’t the Iran war, nor the still-going partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. He wanted to talk about a monumental issue of a different kind, hoisting up large artist renderings of the $400 million White House ballroom he’s building, complete with hand-carved “top-of-the-line” Corinthian columns. “I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump said before extensively detailing plans for “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.” His divided attention has become a Democratic point of attack and a concern for some Republicans who worry he’s not spending enough time on issues that voters care most about ahead of November’s midterm races. The contrast was on full display Thursday, when, as Trump flew to Las Vegas to discuss tax cuts for Americans earning tips, his administration was pushing ahead with plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial replete with a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of golden eagles. The president’s ability to speak to the concerns of working people has always seemed incongruous with his biography as a billionaire real estate developer. Yet his populist policies and emphasis on the economy during his 2024 campaign helped catapult him back to the White House. Republican strategist Rick Tyler noted that, when Trump first ran for president in 2016, his wealth was a selling point. “While other people, like Mitt Romney, played down how rich he was, Trump was giving free helicopter rides at the Iowa State Fair,” Tyler said. “People loved it.” Still, Trump’s preoccupation with some of the gilded trappings of the presidency, as more Americans worry about bills, has drawn accusations that he’s a modern-day Marie Antoinette. “‘Fighting wars’ and surging gas prices, yet Trump has time to brag about his billionaire backed ballroom,” Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, responded on X to Trump’s Air Force One presentation. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, has been more direct in comparing Trump to the last queen before the French Revolution, who has come to embody extravagant opulence — even posting an AI-generated image of Trump's face on her body on social media. "TRUMP ‘MARIE ANTOINETTE’ SAYS, ‘NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!’ Newsom wrote in October 2025, at the start of a 43-day government shutdown. White House says Trump's success benefits all Americans Asked about opponents invoking Marie Antoinette, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump “is going to go down in history as the most successful and consequential president in our lifetime.” “His successes on behalf of the American people will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and will be felt by every other White House that comes after him," Ingle said in a statement. The president faced similar critiques during his first term. But lately he's been unabashed about accusations he’s disconnected from Americans' worries about high costs, which could leave Republicans with an uphill battle to retain control of Congress. About two-thirds of Americans said Trump is “out of touch” with the concerns of most people in the United States today, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll from February, though the same percentage said the same about the Democratic Party. Presidents are usually removed from voters, separated by layers of security and surrounded by adoring subordinates. In her book “Why Presidents Fail And How They Can Succeed Again,” Elaine Kamarck argues that presidents get too focused on their own political narratives rather than the public's concerns. Yet, when it comes to Trump, “All of this stuff is frankly unique to him.” She pointed to the ballroom as well as Trump's other White House renovations, soon adding his signature to paper currency, and renaming the Kennedy Center after himself. “It's a reflection, I think, of his own background as a businessman and somebody who made his fortune selling his name," said Kamarck, who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House. While Trump focuses on the ballroom and other Washington projects, some public work projects in other parts of the country have languished. Joe Meyer, the former mayor of Covington, Kentucky, spent years pushing for critical improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge connecting his town with Cincinnati, a project listed as a top federal priority dating back to Trump's first administration. Federal funds for improvements were approved under President Joe Biden but held up by a Trump-ordered review. Work is now finally set to begin later this year, though delays will likely limit design options and slow the project, Meyer said. “The ballroom is Washington inside-baseball,” Meyer said. “The bridge is just a wreck. It’s frustration that we’ve been dealing with forever.” A $100 tip and a golden tractor Trumpeting new tax deductions for tips, Trump staged ordering McDonald's to the Oval Office — which he has crammed with gold flourishes — and tipped the grandmother making the delivery $100. When she described large medical bills from her husband’s cancer treatments, Trump said she should bring him to an upcoming UFC fight on the White House lawn. When hundreds of farmers were invited to the White House for an agricultural policy speech, they stood on the South Lawn beside a tractor that had been painted gold. It drizzled, but Trump stayed dry, addressing them from a covered second-floor balcony. “You don’t mind rain,” the president told the farmers below. He then flew to Miami for a conference of Saudi investors who, the president noted, were too rich to be impressed by U.S. families scrounging to save up $5,000. “I know they’re looking like, ‘What the hell is $5,000?’" Trump joked. "Their shoes cost them more than $5,000." When asked in February, meanwhile, for his message to young people wanting to buy a home, Trump replied: “Save a little longer. Wait a little longer." Members of the Cabinet have also fed the perception that Trump's promised “ Golden Age ” may not be arriving for everyone. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. advised Americans to buy liver instead of beef. “If you go and buy a steak, it’s still pretty expensive. But if you buy the cheaper cuts, it’s great meat. And it is very, very affordable. Or liver, or, you know, all these alternatives,” he told podcast host Joe Rogan. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said people could still afford meals consisting of “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla and one other thing.” The White House has sought to show that Trump is attuned to voter concerns by sending the president to politically competitive parts of the country to trumpet his efforts to lower costs. But Trump has stepped on the message by insisting that affordability concerns are a Democratic “hoax.” Texas-based Republican consultant Brendan Steinhauser said he thinks that Trump “can kind of get away with" building a ballroom because voters have come to expect that from him as a brash dealmaker and businessman. But Steinhauser said he worries that dramatic increases in gas prices and a potentially weakening economy could resonate with voters. Ahead of the midterms, Steinhauser said, Democrats could score points “trying to make it more about Trump and his oligarch friends.” ___ Associated Press writers Linley Sanders in Washington and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
House rushes to overnight vote to renew key surveillance tool used by US spy agencies
The House rushed early Friday to renew a controversial surveillance program used by U.S. spy agencies that is set to expire in a matter of days, unveiling several changes and calling lawmakers back to session for a middle-of-the-night vote. Republican leaders rolled out a new proposal that would extend the program for five years with changes — far from the clean renewal President Donald Trump has demanded and Speaker Mike Johnson had previously backed. Democrats late Thursday blasted the process ahead of votes expected early Friday. “Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing?” Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said after the proposal was unveiled. At the center of the standoff that has stretched throughout the week is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets. Its path to passage has teetered all week in a familiar fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials’ warnings about national security risks. The program is set to expire April 20 and still must pass the Senate. “There are a lot of opinions,” Johnson said earlier Thursday. “We want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.”
House rushes to overnight vote to renew key surveillance tool used by US spy agencies
The House rushed early Friday to renew a controversial surveillance program used by U.S. spy agencies that is set to expire in a matter of days, unveiling several changes and calling lawmakers back to session for a middle-of-the-night vote. Republican leaders rolled out a new proposal that would extend the program for five years with changes — far from the clean renewal President Donald Trump has demanded and Speaker Mike Johnson had previously backed. Democrats late Thursday blasted the process ahead of votes expected early Friday. “Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing?” Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said after the proposal was unveiled. At the center of the standoff that has stretched throughout the week is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets. Its path to passage has teetered all week in a familiar fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials’ warnings about national security risks. The program is set to expire April 20 and still must pass the Senate. “There are a lot of opinions,” Johnson said earlier Thursday. “We want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.”
House rushes to overnight vote to renew key surveillance tool used by US spy agencies
The House rushed early Friday to renew a controversial surveillance program used by U.S. spy agencies that is set to expire in a matter of days, unveiling several changes and calling lawmakers back to session for a middle-of-the-night vote. Republican leaders rolled out a new proposal that would extend the program for five years with changes — far from the clean renewal President Donald Trump has demanded and Speaker Mike Johnson had previously backed. Democrats late Thursday blasted the process ahead of votes expected early Friday. “Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing?” Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said after the proposal was unveiled. At the center of the standoff that has stretched throughout the week is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets. Its path to passage has teetered all week in a familiar fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials’ warnings about national security risks. The program is set to expire April 20 and still must pass the Senate. “There are a lot of opinions,” Johnson said earlier Thursday. “We want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.”
Lawmakers gathered quietly to talk about AI. Angst and fears of 'destruction' followed
A congressional subcommittee on Thursday held a roundtable discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence, which took a turn toward the existential as each lawmaker aired their anxieties about the rapidly evolving technology. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., expressed alarm that federal workers may be using AI chatbots to handle sensitive government data. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., asked whether it should be illegal for AI systems to use someone’s likeness to create pornographic images. Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., expressed concerns that AI systems could deny U.S. military forces from taking lethal actions due to a model's conclusion for “moral” behavior. And Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., raised concerns about the Trump administration’s use of AI in the war with Iran, the technology’s intensive energy usage and its potential effects on the climate. While members of Congress elsewhere debated other major topics — the scope of the federal government’s surveillance powers, the war with Iran and funding the Department of Homeland Security — the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee roundtable on “Artificial Intelligence and American Power” brought executives of AI firms, academics and those implementing AI at major companies together with lawmakers. Thursday’s discussion comes as leaders on Capitol Hill grapple with the dizzying pace of global developments in which technology plays a central role. But the conversation quickly considered the potential for artificial intelligence to dwarf every other challenge facing the country. “People in our districts across this country are going to start feeling impacts very soon, and if we don’t start thinking properly and aggressively and proactively about the challenges that AI creates, I fear that we’re going to have a revolution on our hands,” said Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif. The subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, also expressed optimism about AI’s ability to cure diseases and boost the economy. But Frost, currently the youngest member of Congress, worried that the technology would outpace lawmakers and pose potentially disastrous consequences if not addressed early on. “I don’t have faith in this institution to actually put the common sense guardrails in place. And then we fast forward ten years, and the house is on fire,” said Frost. “That won’t be good for anybody, whether it’s the industry or working families and people, or this institution itself.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., kicked off the meeting with praise for the industry and marveled at how one panelist’s company used AI to automate and fast-track manufacturing in the firm’s factories. “It’s truly like the closest thing to Star Trek I’ve ever seen,” Burlison said. He later inquired about what congressional districts should do to attract AI firms for business. Many also openly fretted about disclosures from technology firms like Anthropic, which recently announced that its Mythos AI model, which the company claims has capabilities so powerful that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to bypass traditional cybersecurity and hack major institutions like banks, government agencies and major corporations. “I recognize AI is not going anywhere,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL who served in combat. “That being said, does anyone on this panel feel or believe, in any way, that as we are going down the road in this AI race, we might be simultaneously engineering our own destruction?” The assembled experts and industry leaders all highlighted AI’s vast and growing capabilities. They urged lawmakers, alongside their policy recommendations, to be thoughtful and well-informed when making policy. Mark Beall, president of government affairs at the AI Policy Network Inc. and a former Pentagon official, warned that Congress risked the country losing its competitive edge on AI if it did not act on key national security concerns. “I don’t think it’s going to kill us,” Robert Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, told lawmakers. “At the same time, I do think it’s important for the federal government to seriously fund AI safety research,” Atkinson continued. “We need to know a lot more about how the models work.” Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor, said the incentives for AI companies “are really what they should be” when asked by lawmakers whether the firms were good actors. “Constituents are looking for you, not for companies, to step up and protect them," Overton said. "They’re trusting you, the person that they voted for, to do that, as opposed to companies. That’s the way the system works, right?”
Lawmakers gathered quietly to talk about AI. Angst and fears of 'destruction' followed
A congressional subcommittee on Thursday held a roundtable discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence, which took a turn toward the existential as each lawmaker aired their anxieties about the rapidly evolving technology. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., expressed alarm that federal workers may be using AI chatbots to handle sensitive government data. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., asked whether it should be illegal for AI systems to use someone’s likeness to create pornographic images. Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., expressed concerns that AI systems could deny U.S. military forces from taking lethal actions due to a model's conclusion for “moral” behavior. And Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., raised concerns about the Trump administration’s use of AI in the war with Iran, the technology’s intensive energy usage and its potential effects on the climate. While members of Congress elsewhere debated other major topics — the scope of the federal government’s surveillance powers, the war with Iran and funding the Department of Homeland Security — the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee roundtable on “Artificial Intelligence and American Power” brought executives of AI firms, academics and those implementing AI at major companies together with lawmakers. Thursday’s discussion comes as leaders on Capitol Hill grapple with the dizzying pace of global developments in which technology plays a central role. But the conversation quickly considered the potential for artificial intelligence to dwarf every other challenge facing the country. “People in our districts across this country are going to start feeling impacts very soon, and if we don’t start thinking properly and aggressively and proactively about the challenges that AI creates, I fear that we’re going to have a revolution on our hands,” said Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif. The subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, also expressed optimism about AI’s ability to cure diseases and boost the economy. But Frost, currently the youngest member of Congress, worried that the technology would outpace lawmakers and pose potentially disastrous consequences if not addressed early on. “I don’t have faith in this institution to actually put the common sense guardrails in place. And then we fast forward ten years, and the house is on fire,” said Frost. “That won’t be good for anybody, whether it’s the industry or working families and people, or this institution itself.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., kicked off the meeting with praise for the industry and marveled at how one panelist’s company used AI to automate and fast-track manufacturing in the firm’s factories. “It’s truly like the closest thing to Star Trek I’ve ever seen,” Burlison said. He later inquired about what congressional districts should do to attract AI firms for business. Many also openly fretted about disclosures from technology firms like Anthropic, which recently announced that its Mythos AI model, which the company claims has capabilities so powerful that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to bypass traditional cybersecurity and hack major institutions like banks, government agencies and major corporations. “I recognize AI is not going anywhere,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL who served in combat. “That being said, does anyone on this panel feel or believe, in any way, that as we are going down the road in this AI race, we might be simultaneously engineering our own destruction?” The assembled experts and industry leaders all highlighted AI’s vast and growing capabilities. They urged lawmakers, alongside their policy recommendations, to be thoughtful and well-informed when making policy. Mark Beall, president of government affairs at the AI Policy Network Inc. and a former Pentagon official, warned that Congress risked the country losing its competitive edge on AI if it did not act on key national security concerns. “I don’t think it’s going to kill us,” Robert Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, told lawmakers. “At the same time, I do think it’s important for the federal government to seriously fund AI safety research,” Atkinson continued. “We need to know a lot more about how the models work.” Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor, said the incentives for AI companies “are really what they should be” when asked by lawmakers whether the firms were good actors. “Constituents are looking for you, not for companies, to step up and protect them," Overton said. "They’re trusting you, the person that they voted for, to do that, as opposed to companies. That’s the way the system works, right?”
Lawmakers gathered quietly to talk about AI. Angst and fears of 'destruction' followed
A congressional subcommittee on Thursday held a roundtable discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence, which took a turn toward the existential as each lawmaker aired their anxieties about the rapidly evolving technology. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., expressed alarm that federal workers may be using AI chatbots to handle sensitive government data. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., asked whether it should be illegal for AI systems to use someone’s likeness to create pornographic images. Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., expressed concerns that AI systems could deny U.S. military forces from taking lethal actions due to a model's conclusion for “moral” behavior. And Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., raised concerns about the Trump administration’s use of AI in the war with Iran, the technology’s intensive energy usage and its potential effects on the climate. While members of Congress elsewhere debated other major topics — the scope of the federal government’s surveillance powers, the war with Iran and funding the Department of Homeland Security — the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee roundtable on “Artificial Intelligence and American Power” brought executives of AI firms, academics and those implementing AI at major companies together with lawmakers. Thursday’s discussion comes as leaders on Capitol Hill grapple with the dizzying pace of global developments in which technology plays a central role. But the conversation quickly considered the potential for artificial intelligence to dwarf every other challenge facing the country. “People in our districts across this country are going to start feeling impacts very soon, and if we don’t start thinking properly and aggressively and proactively about the challenges that AI creates, I fear that we’re going to have a revolution on our hands,” said Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif. The subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, also expressed optimism about AI’s ability to cure diseases and boost the economy. But Frost, currently the youngest member of Congress, worried that the technology would outpace lawmakers and pose potentially disastrous consequences if not addressed early on. “I don’t have faith in this institution to actually put the common sense guardrails in place. And then we fast forward ten years, and the house is on fire,” said Frost. “That won’t be good for anybody, whether it’s the industry or working families and people, or this institution itself.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., kicked off the meeting with praise for the industry and marveled at how one panelist’s company used AI to automate and fast-track manufacturing in the firm’s factories. “It’s truly like the closest thing to Star Trek I’ve ever seen,” Burlison said. He later inquired about what congressional districts should do to attract AI firms for business. Many also openly fretted about disclosures from technology firms like Anthropic, which recently announced that its Mythos AI model, which the company claims has capabilities so powerful that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to bypass traditional cybersecurity and hack major institutions like banks, government agencies and major corporations. “I recognize AI is not going anywhere,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL who served in combat. “That being said, does anyone on this panel feel or believe, in any way, that as we are going down the road in this AI race, we might be simultaneously engineering our own destruction?” The assembled experts and industry leaders all highlighted AI’s vast and growing capabilities. They urged lawmakers, alongside their policy recommendations, to be thoughtful and well-informed when making policy. Mark Beall, president of government affairs at the AI Policy Network Inc. and a former Pentagon official, warned that Congress risked the country losing its competitive edge on AI if it did not act on key national security concerns. “I don’t think it’s going to kill us,” Robert Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, told lawmakers. “At the same time, I do think it’s important for the federal government to seriously fund AI safety research,” Atkinson continued. “We need to know a lot more about how the models work.” Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor, said the incentives for AI companies “are really what they should be” when asked by lawmakers whether the firms were good actors. “Constituents are looking for you, not for companies, to step up and protect them," Overton said. "They’re trusting you, the person that they voted for, to do that, as opposed to companies. That’s the way the system works, right?”
Lawmakers gathered quietly to talk about AI. Angst and fears of 'destruction' followed
A congressional subcommittee on Thursday held a roundtable discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence, which took a turn toward the existential as each lawmaker aired their anxieties about the rapidly evolving technology. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., expressed alarm that federal workers may be using AI chatbots to handle sensitive government data. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., asked whether it should be illegal for AI systems to use someone’s likeness to create pornographic images. Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., expressed concerns that AI systems could deny U.S. military forces from taking lethal actions due to a model's conclusion for “moral” behavior. And Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., raised concerns about the Trump administration’s use of AI in the war with Iran, the technology’s intensive energy usage and its potential effects on the climate. While members of Congress elsewhere debated other major topics — the scope of the federal government’s surveillance powers, the war with Iran and funding the Department of Homeland Security — the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee roundtable on “Artificial Intelligence and American Power” brought executives of AI firms, academics and those implementing AI at major companies together with lawmakers. Thursday’s discussion comes as leaders on Capitol Hill grapple with the dizzying pace of global developments in which technology plays a central role. But the conversation quickly considered the potential for artificial intelligence to dwarf every other challenge facing the country. “People in our districts across this country are going to start feeling impacts very soon, and if we don’t start thinking properly and aggressively and proactively about the challenges that AI creates, I fear that we’re going to have a revolution on our hands,” said Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif. The subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, also expressed optimism about AI’s ability to cure diseases and boost the economy. But Frost, currently the youngest member of Congress, worried that the technology would outpace lawmakers and pose potentially disastrous consequences if not addressed early on. “I don’t have faith in this institution to actually put the common sense guardrails in place. And then we fast forward ten years, and the house is on fire,” said Frost. “That won’t be good for anybody, whether it’s the industry or working families and people, or this institution itself.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., kicked off the meeting with praise for the industry and marveled at how one panelist’s company used AI to automate and fast-track manufacturing in the firm’s factories. “It’s truly like the closest thing to Star Trek I’ve ever seen,” Burlison said. He later inquired about what congressional districts should do to attract AI firms for business. Many also openly fretted about disclosures from technology firms like Anthropic, which recently announced that its Mythos AI model, which the company claims has capabilities so powerful that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to bypass traditional cybersecurity and hack major institutions like banks, government agencies and major corporations. “I recognize AI is not going anywhere,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL who served in combat. “That being said, does anyone on this panel feel or believe, in any way, that as we are going down the road in this AI race, we might be simultaneously engineering our own destruction?” The assembled experts and industry leaders all highlighted AI’s vast and growing capabilities. They urged lawmakers, alongside their policy recommendations, to be thoughtful and well-informed when making policy. Mark Beall, president of government affairs at the AI Policy Network Inc. and a former Pentagon official, warned that Congress risked the country losing its competitive edge on AI if it did not act on key national security concerns. “I don’t think it’s going to kill us,” Robert Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, told lawmakers. “At the same time, I do think it’s important for the federal government to seriously fund AI safety research,” Atkinson continued. “We need to know a lot more about how the models work.” Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor, said the incentives for AI companies “are really what they should be” when asked by lawmakers whether the firms were good actors. “Constituents are looking for you, not for companies, to step up and protect them," Overton said. "They’re trusting you, the person that they voted for, to do that, as opposed to companies. That’s the way the system works, right?”
Sen. Warren calls for greater transparency into Federal Reserve nominee's financial holdings
President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is likely to face tough questions about his vast financial holdings at a hearing next week by the Senate Banking Committee. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters she had met with Warsh Thursday and urged him to disclose more information about his assets than was included in financial disclosure forms released earlier this week. Warsh, a former top official at the Fed and a wealthy investor, listed financial assets worth well more than $100 million. The figures are given in ranges so a precise value wasn't disclosed. Warsh has large stakes in several investment funds and owns a solo financial advisory firm, Vicarage LLC. He has pledged in ethics filings to sell those holdings and stop working as an adviser if he is confirmed as Fed chair. Yet he has not disclosed the values of all his investments through the funds, or the names of some of his clients. “This is a real problem,” Warren said. “No one has gone forward in the Trump administration without disclosing fully their financial holdings." It's the latest hurdle for Warsh, 56, who is already facing an unusually turbulent path toward the Fed chair position, which he has sought for at least a decade. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Banking panel, said this week he won’t vote for Warsh until a Department of Justice investigation into current Fed chair Jerome Powell is resolved. The stand-off threatens to delay Warsh’s confirmation until after Powell’s term as chair ends May 15. But even if Warsh is confirmed, he will likely face ongoing pressure from Trump to cut the Fed's key interest rate despite the Iran war pushing inflation higher and many other policymakers expressing skepticism about cuts. And he could end up serving while Powell remains on the Fed's governing board, an uncomfortable arrangement that hasn’t occurred since the late 1940s. Warsh was a member of the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2011, and is married to Jane Lauder, the daughter of billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, a major Republican donor. He has also worked in finance and has made roughly $10 million as an advisor to billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller's family office, according to his disclosure form. Warren said Warsh declined in their meeting to disclose more information about his holdings, “which, frankly, raises more concerns.” She added that his extensive investments are “a red flag surrounded by fireworks and sparklers.” Warsh said in his disclosures that “pre-existing confidentiality” agreements prevent him from specifying the size of individual holdings or in some cases what they are. For example, he owns a stake in Polymarket, the prediction betting market, but did not say how large it is. He said he would comply with all ethics requirements by selling those investments if confirmed. Also Thursday, all 11 Democrats on the Banking Committee called for next week's hearing to be postponed until the DOJ drops the investigation into cost overruns for a $2.5 billion Fed building renovation project and Powell's role in it, as well as an effort by Trump to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook. Both moves “appear to be part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to take control of the Fed,” the letter said. Powell said last month that he would continue to serve as Fed chair if no replacement is confirmed by the end of his term. He added that previous chairs have done the same. Yet on Wednesday, Trump threatened to try to fire Powell if he did so. Powell has also said he would remain on the Fed's governing board even after his term as chair ends if the investigation isn't dropped. By doing so, he could prevent the Trump administration from filling another seat on the board, a step he might take if he saw it as a way to preserve the Fed's political independence. Powell serves a separate term as governor that lasts until January 2028. A Fed chair hasn’t remained on the board as a governor even after a new chair is appointed since 1948. The battles over Powell, as well as the uptick in inflation from the Iran war, could create extensive headaches for Warsh. “The ground has shifted materially beneath Warsh’s feet since he was nominated,” Marco Casiraghi, an analyst at Evercore ISI, an investment bank, wrote earlier this week. “Both with the oil shock and the failure to swiftly resolve the DOJ investigation, which we think means Powell will now likely stay on as a regular governor for several months.” Trump is likely to keep pushing for Fed rate cuts regardless of who is chair. The Fed’s short-term rate influences other borrowing costs in the economy, including for mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week appeared to reduce the pressure on the Fed somewhat, when he told reporters Tuesday that rates should be cut, “but if they want to wait for some clarity, I understand that.” Many Fed officials have said they want to see if the jump in energy prices starts to push up inflation more broadly. If it doesn't, the Fed could potentially look past the gas price spike and cut rates, particularly if the economy weakens. Yet when Trump was asked Wednesday on Fox Business whether he still expects interest rates to decline, he said, “when Kevin gets in, I do. ... interest rates should be much lower.” ___ Associated Press Writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
Sen. Warren calls for greater transparency into Federal Reserve nominee's financial holdings
President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is likely to face tough questions about his vast financial holdings at a hearing next week by the Senate Banking Committee. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters she had met with Warsh Thursday and urged him to disclose more information about his assets than was included in financial disclosure forms released earlier this week. Warsh, a former top official at the Fed and a wealthy investor, listed financial assets worth well more than $100 million. The figures are given in ranges so a precise value wasn't disclosed. Warsh has large stakes in several investment funds and owns a solo financial advisory firm, Vicarage LLC. He has pledged in ethics filings to sell those holdings and stop working as an adviser if he is confirmed as Fed chair. Yet he has not disclosed the values of all his investments through the funds, or the names of some of his clients. “This is a real problem,” Warren said. “No one has gone forward in the Trump administration without disclosing fully their financial holdings." It's the latest hurdle for Warsh, 56, who is already facing an unusually turbulent path toward the Fed chair position, which he has sought for at least a decade. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Banking panel, said this week he won’t vote for Warsh until a Department of Justice investigation into current Fed chair Jerome Powell is resolved. The stand-off threatens to delay Warsh’s confirmation until after Powell’s term as chair ends May 15. But even if Warsh is confirmed, he will likely face ongoing pressure from Trump to cut the Fed's key interest rate despite the Iran war pushing inflation higher and many other policymakers expressing skepticism about cuts. And he could end up serving while Powell remains on the Fed's governing board, an uncomfortable arrangement that hasn’t occurred since the late 1940s. Warsh was a member of the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2011, and is married to Jane Lauder, the daughter of billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, a major Republican donor. He has also worked in finance and has made roughly $10 million as an advisor to billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller's family office, according to his disclosure form. Warren said Warsh declined in their meeting to disclose more information about his holdings, “which, frankly, raises more concerns.” She added that his extensive investments are “a red flag surrounded by fireworks and sparklers.” Warsh said in his disclosures that “pre-existing confidentiality” agreements prevent him from specifying the size of individual holdings or in some cases what they are. For example, he owns a stake in Polymarket, the prediction betting market, but did not say how large it is. He said he would comply with all ethics requirements by selling those investments if confirmed. Also Thursday, all 11 Democrats on the Banking Committee called for next week's hearing to be postponed until the DOJ drops the investigation into cost overruns for a $2.5 billion Fed building renovation project and Powell's role in it, as well as an effort by Trump to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook. Both moves “appear to be part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to take control of the Fed,” the letter said. Powell said last month that he would continue to serve as Fed chair if no replacement is confirmed by the end of his term. He added that previous chairs have done the same. Yet on Wednesday, Trump threatened to try to fire Powell if he did so. Powell has also said he would remain on the Fed's governing board even after his term as chair ends if the investigation isn't dropped. By doing so, he could prevent the Trump administration from filling another seat on the board, a step he might take if he saw it as a way to preserve the Fed's political independence. Powell serves a separate term as governor that lasts until January 2028. A Fed chair hasn’t remained on the board as a governor even after a new chair is appointed since 1948. The battles over Powell, as well as the uptick in inflation from the Iran war, could create extensive headaches for Warsh. “The ground has shifted materially beneath Warsh’s feet since he was nominated,” Marco Casiraghi, an analyst at Evercore ISI, an investment bank, wrote earlier this week. “Both with the oil shock and the failure to swiftly resolve the DOJ investigation, which we think means Powell will now likely stay on as a regular governor for several months.” Trump is likely to keep pushing for Fed rate cuts regardless of who is chair. The Fed’s short-term rate influences other borrowing costs in the economy, including for mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week appeared to reduce the pressure on the Fed somewhat, when he told reporters Tuesday that rates should be cut, “but if they want to wait for some clarity, I understand that.” Many Fed officials have said they want to see if the jump in energy prices starts to push up inflation more broadly. If it doesn't, the Fed could potentially look past the gas price spike and cut rates, particularly if the economy weakens. Yet when Trump was asked Wednesday on Fox Business whether he still expects interest rates to decline, he said, “when Kevin gets in, I do. ... interest rates should be much lower.” ___ Associated Press Writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
House rejects effort to withdraw US forces from the Iran war as Republicans stick with Trump
The House rejected a resolution Thursday requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. It was the latest such vote that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump's operation. Democrats voiced concern that the United States is becoming further entrenched in another lengthy conflict in the Middle East. They promised to keep raising the issue through more war powers votes in the coming weeks. The 213-214 vote came one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate. The U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, and a fragile ceasefire is now in its second week. Democrats overwhelmingly supported the attempt to rein in Trump's use of military force. “We're standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off,” said New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.” Republicans tried to cast the effort as hypocritical. Florida Rep. Brian Mast, the committee chairman, said Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the U.S. attacked Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in 2024 while Democrat Joe Biden was president. “When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year,” Mast said. “President Trump responds — war power, war power, war power. ... That's the hypocrisy.” Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline in the Iran war that will arrive at the end of April. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the Republican administration to soon lay out a plan for the war's end. While the House vote failed, it gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight some of the most negative effects of the war: the billions of dollars spent, the death of at least 13 service members, the soaring gas prices and fissures with long-standing allies who do not support Trump's actions. “Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home state, and families are hurting," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East with absolutely no strategy, no plan and no exit.” Republicans defended Trump as taking decisive action against an Iranian government that has long terrorized the Middle East and its own people. “President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately held accountable," said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. In Thursday's vote, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote for removing U.S. forces from the war. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the measure. The first House vote to curb Trump's miliary action with Iran failed in early March, 212-219.
House rejects effort to withdraw US forces from the Iran war as Republicans stick with Trump
The House rejected a resolution Thursday requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. It was the latest such vote that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump's operation. Democrats voiced concern that the United States is becoming further entrenched in another lengthy conflict in the Middle East. They promised to keep raising the issue through more war powers votes in the coming weeks. The 213-214 vote came one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate. The U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, and a fragile ceasefire is now in its second week. Democrats overwhelmingly supported the attempt to rein in Trump's use of military force. “We're standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off,” said New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.” Republicans tried to cast the effort as hypocritical. Florida Rep. Brian Mast, the committee chairman, said Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the U.S. attacked Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in 2024 while Democrat Joe Biden was president. “When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year,” Mast said. “President Trump responds — war power, war power, war power. ... That's the hypocrisy.” Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline in the Iran war that will arrive at the end of April. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the Republican administration to soon lay out a plan for the war's end. While the House vote failed, it gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight some of the most negative effects of the war: the billions of dollars spent, the death of at least 13 service members, the soaring gas prices and fissures with long-standing allies who do not support Trump's actions. “Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home state, and families are hurting," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East with absolutely no strategy, no plan and no exit.” Republicans defended Trump as taking decisive action against an Iranian government that has long terrorized the Middle East and its own people. “President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately held accountable," said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. In Thursday's vote, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote for removing U.S. forces from the war. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the measure. The first House vote to curb Trump's miliary action with Iran failed in early March, 212-219.
House rejects effort to withdraw US forces from the Iran war as Republicans stick with Trump
The House rejected a resolution Thursday requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. It was the latest such vote that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump's operation. Democrats voiced concern that the United States is becoming further entrenched in another lengthy conflict in the Middle East. They promised to keep raising the issue through more war powers votes in the coming weeks. The 213-214 vote came one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate. The U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, and a fragile ceasefire is now in its second week. Democrats overwhelmingly supported the attempt to rein in Trump's use of military force. “We're standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off,” said New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.” Republicans tried to cast the effort as hypocritical. Florida Rep. Brian Mast, the committee chairman, said Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the U.S. attacked Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in 2024 while Democrat Joe Biden was president. “When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year,” Mast said. “President Trump responds — war power, war power, war power. ... That's the hypocrisy.” Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline in the Iran war that will arrive at the end of April. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the Republican administration to soon lay out a plan for the war's end. While the House vote failed, it gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight some of the most negative effects of the war: the billions of dollars spent, the death of at least 13 service members, the soaring gas prices and fissures with long-standing allies who do not support Trump's actions. “Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home state, and families are hurting," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East with absolutely no strategy, no plan and no exit.” Republicans defended Trump as taking decisive action against an Iranian government that has long terrorized the Middle East and its own people. “President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately held accountable," said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. In Thursday's vote, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote for removing U.S. forces from the war. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the measure. The first House vote to curb Trump's miliary action with Iran failed in early March, 212-219.
The Latest: Pakistan’s army chief to meet Iranian officials in Tehran to push new US-Iran talks
Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war. In a related development, China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that reopening of the Strait Hormuz was an international demand. Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign. The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad. In a development in the war's other front, Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to the comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Here is the latest: Israeli minister says Netanyahu and Aoun to speak Thursday Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, the first time the leaders of the two countries have spoken directly in more than 30 years. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Lebanese government did not immediately comment. “Today the Prime Minister will speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of a complete disconnection in the dialogue between the two countries,” Gamliel, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, told Army Radio Thursday morning. Gamliel, who was at a cabinet meeting late Wednesday about negotiations with Lebanon, said the move “will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing” between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Pakistan says trips by prime minister and field marshal part of peace efforts Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to countries including Saudi Arabia and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s trip to Iran are part of “collective efforts” aimed at promoting regional peace and de-escalation, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “Pakistan is being recognized for its constructive diplomatic engagement in supporting de-escalation, ceasefire efforts and a broader pursuit of stability between the United States and Iran,” ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said. Pakistan has encouraged dialogue, facilitated message exchanges and helped create a peaceful space for meaningful negotiations such as the recent talks between the U.S. and Iran, Andrabi said. Australia underwrites diesel shipments from Asia Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has underwritten the first of two shipments of diesel fuel at prices inflated by the Iran war. Viva Energy is shipping more than 570,000 barrels of diesel from Brunei and South Korea, Albanese said Thursday at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He said it was “the first of many expected shipments” under his government’s new strategic reserve powers. Under terms announced last week with Australia’s only refinery operators, Viva Energy and Ampol, the government will underwrite diesel and gasoline import contracts with prices that could prove commercially unviable. Smaller fuel companies Park Fuels and IOR have since struck similar deals. Australia has sufficient fuel contracted to last into May, but there are concerns about later shortages. Trump says leaders of Lebanon and Israel to speak Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond for comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Chinese foreign minister says reopening of Hormuz an international demand Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a unanimous demand from the international community. Wang Yi told Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. Wang noted that the current situation had reached a critical juncture between war and peace and also said that the window of peace was opening. Consecutive Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military Wednesday that also wounded six others. The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence. ▶ Read more Fire damages Australian oil refinery, further reducing nation’s fuel supply threatened by the Iran war Officials say there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at the Viva Energy Geelong refinery southwest of Melbourne, and no one was injured. The facility is one of two refineries in Australia and provides 10% of the nation’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Australia has agreed to underwrite two companies buying fuel at prices inflated by the war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned last week that supply disruptions would “have a long tail” even if the Iran ceasefire holds. The government had agreed to terms with Australia’s largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday it was too early to tell the extent of the fire’s impact on gasoline production. “The refinery is still producing diesel and jet fuel at reduced levels as a safety precaution,” Bowen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. On gasoline, Bowen said, “It’s not a positive development. It will have an impact.” Firefighters said the blaze had been contained to the gasoline plant. Sharif praises Saudi restraint According to the statement, Sharif assured the Kingdom of Pakistan’s “full solidarity and support” and praised what he described as Saudi Arabia’s restraint under the crown prince’s leadership. Pakistan has a defense agreement with the Kingdom, which has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran in recent weeks, causing damage. Pakistan’s prime minister briefs Saudi crown prince on efforts to ease US-Iran tensions Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the Kingdom, briefing him on Pakistan’s efforts to ease U.S.-Iran tensions and assuring him of Islamabad’s “full support,” his office said before dawn Thursday. Wednesday’s meeting lasted more than two hours, and Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The statement said the crown prince praised what it described as the constructive role played by Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the peace process. Sharif dispatched Munir to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders. Pakistan has long maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia while also keeping relations with Iran. Military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says he does not support extending ceasefire, according to state media “We are subject to the decisions of the relevant officials, but personally I do not agree to extend the ceasefire,” said Mohsen Rezaei, formerly a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who now advises Mojtaba Khamenei on military affairs, Iranian state media reported. Rezaei also urged officials to be more cautious than they had been before in negotiations over economic matters with the U.S. He said Iran was setting the preconditions in the next round of talks, not the U.S. “Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war,” he said, according to the report. Blockade ‘has been fully implemented,’ US admiral says That’s according to Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, who says: “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.” The command said Wednesday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the blockade’s first 48 hours. The blockade began Monday. Central Command noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” the Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected. The action could put serious pressure on the Iranian economy, while Tehran’s earlier cutoff of the waterway crucial to oil and gas supplies has sent energy prices higher. ▶ Read more Wall Street hits a record on hopes for an end to the Iran war The U.S. stock market hit a record Wednesday after adding to its two-week rally built on hopes the war won’t create a worst-case scenario for the global economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and eclipsed its prior all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has since roared more than 10% higher. Much of the rally was due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Hopes remained high as regional officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy. ▶ Read more US aircraft carrier sets deployment record The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span that saw it take part in both the military raid that captured Venezuela’s leader and the Iran war. The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest modern deployment by an aircraft carrier, when the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute. Sen. Tim Kaine said the record-breaking deployment has taken “a serious toll” on the mental health and well-being of the crew. “They should be home with their loved ones, not sent around the world by a President who acts like the U.S. military is his palace guard,” the Virginia Democrat said. Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate in ‘critical’ condition after heart attack Narges Mohammadi ’s family and lawyers visited her in Zanjan prison twice in the last month, a statement by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on X Wednesday, finding that her health condition was dire. She is weak, pale and has lost weight, said the statement. The report comes after Mohammadi had a heart attack in the prison on March 24, according to a cardiologist she saw soon after, according to the statement. The statement said that following the heart attack Mohammadi was unconscious without anyone resuscitating her for over an hour. Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said in the Wednesday statement that the cardiologist who saw her after the collapse told the family it was partially due to the medicines she’d been prescribed by prison doctors. He added that she was being kept in a cell with people convicted of murder and that she’d faced threats from them on numerous occasions. Mohammadi is a rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison. She was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison. Iranian state media says Iran-Pakistan talks have started Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a preliminary meeting with the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff, Asim Munir, in Tehran Wednesday, according to a report on IRIB, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. The report said more extensive talks would continue Thursday to discuss latest communications with the US. Pakistan is mediating talks between Washington and Tehran. US official says Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position during closed-door talks between Israel and Lebanon, said an Israel-Hezbollah truce is not part of peace negotiations the U.S. is having with Iran. Iran has demanded a truce between Israel and its proxy Hezbollah as a condition to return to talks with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday hosted the first talks in decades between high-level Israeli and Lebanese officials. Israeli prime minister says forces will continue push in south Lebanon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current fighting is concentrated in the strategic south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli troops are about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah.” Netanyahu, in a video address Wednesday evening, said he has given instructions for the military to continue to widen the security zone in south Lebanon — a reference to areas close to the border that the Israeli army now occupies — and to spread it eastward. He said Israel is concurrently negotiating with Lebanon, with two central goals: disarming Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. “Peace through strength,” he added. He also said the U.S. was updating Israel on the talks with Iran and that Israel was prepared for any scenario, should the fighting with Iran resume. Senate Republicans again reject effort to halt Trump’s Iran war The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely. Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on. ▶ Read more Treasury sanctions Ali Shamkhani-linked network, warns of secondary sanctions The U.S. is imposing sanctions targeting an Iranian oil smuggling network tied to the deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani. Sanctions include dozens of individuals and companies accused of transporting and selling Iranian and Russian oil through front companies, many of which are in the UAE. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, that banks “should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.” US ready to hit Iran with economic pain equivalent to bombings, top Trump official says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran, saying the Republican administration is preparing action that will be the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign. Bessent said the administration has “told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities.” The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran. White House says talks with Iran are ongoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran. The ceasefire announced on April 7 is currently slated to expire next Tuesday. “At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that there are “discussions” about more talks being held unperson “but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House.” She said that the possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad as they were previously. Bessent says Americans can choose if they want to use their tax refunds to buy increasingly pricey gasoline Asked if the tax refunds would go toward gasoline averaging more than $4 a gallon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the public is free to spend its money however it wants. “Americans have more money. They can decide how they want to spend it,” Bessent said. Higher prices at the pump because of the Iran war has created the risk that President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will offset the cost of fueling up autos to go to work and run errands, instead of boosting spending in ways that could help overall economic growth. Bessent ‘optimistic’ that gasoline prices going back to $3 a gallon this summer Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that he believes gasoline prices will be closer to $3 gallon this summer, saying pumping oil can resume within a week of the Strait of Hormuz opening. “I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” said Bessent. Gas prices are averaging $4.11 a gallon, up from $3.17 a year ago, according to AAA. U.S. Navy says it will use force to compel compliance with Iran blockade U.S. Navy warships are telling merchant ships in and around Iran that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance with the blockade on ships trading with Iran. “Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” a Navy radio message, posted to social media by U.S. Central Command, said. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, confirmed the message is currently being broadcast to all ships in the region. “If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the radio message added. —- Konstantin Toropin Iranian and Emirati officials discuss de-escalation efforts UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details. U.N. allocates $12M for Iran aid U.N. Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said $12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran. “Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X. Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. —- Melanie Lidman No ships have made it past U.S. naval blockade, military says U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past U.S. naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. First crude tanker passes Strait of Hormuz since US blockade A Malta-flagged vessel is the first crude oil carrier to head west through Strait of Hormuz since the United States blocked Iranian ports, according to a global shipping tracking monitor. The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive on Thursday in Basra, Iraq, where ports are not under U.S. blockade. Marine Traffic said the vessel attempted again a transit after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days. US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter. The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan laid out during last weekend’s talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations. The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran’s negotiators earlier this week. The White House and the vice president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals. The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times. Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump administration on Iran Attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level U.S. official to testify before Congress since U.S. and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran. Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration’s decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran. “Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz. Asked several times about Trump’s threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results. “They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.
The Latest: Pakistan’s army chief to meet Iranian officials in Tehran to push new US-Iran talks
Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war. In a related development, China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that reopening of the Strait Hormuz was an international demand. Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign. The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad. In a development in the war's other front, Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to the comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Here is the latest: Israeli minister says Netanyahu and Aoun to speak Thursday Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, the first time the leaders of the two countries have spoken directly in more than 30 years. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Lebanese government did not immediately comment. “Today the Prime Minister will speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of a complete disconnection in the dialogue between the two countries,” Gamliel, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, told Army Radio Thursday morning. Gamliel, who was at a cabinet meeting late Wednesday about negotiations with Lebanon, said the move “will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing” between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Pakistan says trips by prime minister and field marshal part of peace efforts Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to countries including Saudi Arabia and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s trip to Iran are part of “collective efforts” aimed at promoting regional peace and de-escalation, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “Pakistan is being recognized for its constructive diplomatic engagement in supporting de-escalation, ceasefire efforts and a broader pursuit of stability between the United States and Iran,” ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said. Pakistan has encouraged dialogue, facilitated message exchanges and helped create a peaceful space for meaningful negotiations such as the recent talks between the U.S. and Iran, Andrabi said. Australia underwrites diesel shipments from Asia Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has underwritten the first of two shipments of diesel fuel at prices inflated by the Iran war. Viva Energy is shipping more than 570,000 barrels of diesel from Brunei and South Korea, Albanese said Thursday at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He said it was “the first of many expected shipments” under his government’s new strategic reserve powers. Under terms announced last week with Australia’s only refinery operators, Viva Energy and Ampol, the government will underwrite diesel and gasoline import contracts with prices that could prove commercially unviable. Smaller fuel companies Park Fuels and IOR have since struck similar deals. Australia has sufficient fuel contracted to last into May, but there are concerns about later shortages. Trump says leaders of Lebanon and Israel to speak Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond for comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Chinese foreign minister says reopening of Hormuz an international demand Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a unanimous demand from the international community. Wang Yi told Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. Wang noted that the current situation had reached a critical juncture between war and peace and also said that the window of peace was opening. Consecutive Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military Wednesday that also wounded six others. The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence. ▶ Read more Fire damages Australian oil refinery, further reducing nation’s fuel supply threatened by the Iran war Officials say there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at the Viva Energy Geelong refinery southwest of Melbourne, and no one was injured. The facility is one of two refineries in Australia and provides 10% of the nation’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Australia has agreed to underwrite two companies buying fuel at prices inflated by the war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned last week that supply disruptions would “have a long tail” even if the Iran ceasefire holds. The government had agreed to terms with Australia’s largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday it was too early to tell the extent of the fire’s impact on gasoline production. “The refinery is still producing diesel and jet fuel at reduced levels as a safety precaution,” Bowen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. On gasoline, Bowen said, “It’s not a positive development. It will have an impact.” Firefighters said the blaze had been contained to the gasoline plant. Sharif praises Saudi restraint According to the statement, Sharif assured the Kingdom of Pakistan’s “full solidarity and support” and praised what he described as Saudi Arabia’s restraint under the crown prince’s leadership. Pakistan has a defense agreement with the Kingdom, which has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran in recent weeks, causing damage. Pakistan’s prime minister briefs Saudi crown prince on efforts to ease US-Iran tensions Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the Kingdom, briefing him on Pakistan’s efforts to ease U.S.-Iran tensions and assuring him of Islamabad’s “full support,” his office said before dawn Thursday. Wednesday’s meeting lasted more than two hours, and Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The statement said the crown prince praised what it described as the constructive role played by Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the peace process. Sharif dispatched Munir to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders. Pakistan has long maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia while also keeping relations with Iran. Military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says he does not support extending ceasefire, according to state media “We are subject to the decisions of the relevant officials, but personally I do not agree to extend the ceasefire,” said Mohsen Rezaei, formerly a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who now advises Mojtaba Khamenei on military affairs, Iranian state media reported. Rezaei also urged officials to be more cautious than they had been before in negotiations over economic matters with the U.S. He said Iran was setting the preconditions in the next round of talks, not the U.S. “Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war,” he said, according to the report. Blockade ‘has been fully implemented,’ US admiral says That’s according to Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, who says: “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.” The command said Wednesday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the blockade’s first 48 hours. The blockade began Monday. Central Command noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” the Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected. The action could put serious pressure on the Iranian economy, while Tehran’s earlier cutoff of the waterway crucial to oil and gas supplies has sent energy prices higher. ▶ Read more Wall Street hits a record on hopes for an end to the Iran war The U.S. stock market hit a record Wednesday after adding to its two-week rally built on hopes the war won’t create a worst-case scenario for the global economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and eclipsed its prior all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has since roared more than 10% higher. Much of the rally was due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Hopes remained high as regional officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy. ▶ Read more US aircraft carrier sets deployment record The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span that saw it take part in both the military raid that captured Venezuela’s leader and the Iran war. The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest modern deployment by an aircraft carrier, when the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute. Sen. Tim Kaine said the record-breaking deployment has taken “a serious toll” on the mental health and well-being of the crew. “They should be home with their loved ones, not sent around the world by a President who acts like the U.S. military is his palace guard,” the Virginia Democrat said. Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate in ‘critical’ condition after heart attack Narges Mohammadi ’s family and lawyers visited her in Zanjan prison twice in the last month, a statement by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on X Wednesday, finding that her health condition was dire. She is weak, pale and has lost weight, said the statement. The report comes after Mohammadi had a heart attack in the prison on March 24, according to a cardiologist she saw soon after, according to the statement. The statement said that following the heart attack Mohammadi was unconscious without anyone resuscitating her for over an hour. Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said in the Wednesday statement that the cardiologist who saw her after the collapse told the family it was partially due to the medicines she’d been prescribed by prison doctors. He added that she was being kept in a cell with people convicted of murder and that she’d faced threats from them on numerous occasions. Mohammadi is a rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison. She was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison. Iranian state media says Iran-Pakistan talks have started Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a preliminary meeting with the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff, Asim Munir, in Tehran Wednesday, according to a report on IRIB, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. The report said more extensive talks would continue Thursday to discuss latest communications with the US. Pakistan is mediating talks between Washington and Tehran. US official says Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position during closed-door talks between Israel and Lebanon, said an Israel-Hezbollah truce is not part of peace negotiations the U.S. is having with Iran. Iran has demanded a truce between Israel and its proxy Hezbollah as a condition to return to talks with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday hosted the first talks in decades between high-level Israeli and Lebanese officials. Israeli prime minister says forces will continue push in south Lebanon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current fighting is concentrated in the strategic south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli troops are about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah.” Netanyahu, in a video address Wednesday evening, said he has given instructions for the military to continue to widen the security zone in south Lebanon — a reference to areas close to the border that the Israeli army now occupies — and to spread it eastward. He said Israel is concurrently negotiating with Lebanon, with two central goals: disarming Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. “Peace through strength,” he added. He also said the U.S. was updating Israel on the talks with Iran and that Israel was prepared for any scenario, should the fighting with Iran resume. Senate Republicans again reject effort to halt Trump’s Iran war The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely. Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on. ▶ Read more Treasury sanctions Ali Shamkhani-linked network, warns of secondary sanctions The U.S. is imposing sanctions targeting an Iranian oil smuggling network tied to the deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani. Sanctions include dozens of individuals and companies accused of transporting and selling Iranian and Russian oil through front companies, many of which are in the UAE. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, that banks “should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.” US ready to hit Iran with economic pain equivalent to bombings, top Trump official says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran, saying the Republican administration is preparing action that will be the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign. Bessent said the administration has “told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities.” The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran. White House says talks with Iran are ongoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran. The ceasefire announced on April 7 is currently slated to expire next Tuesday. “At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that there are “discussions” about more talks being held unperson “but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House.” She said that the possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad as they were previously. Bessent says Americans can choose if they want to use their tax refunds to buy increasingly pricey gasoline Asked if the tax refunds would go toward gasoline averaging more than $4 a gallon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the public is free to spend its money however it wants. “Americans have more money. They can decide how they want to spend it,” Bessent said. Higher prices at the pump because of the Iran war has created the risk that President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will offset the cost of fueling up autos to go to work and run errands, instead of boosting spending in ways that could help overall economic growth. Bessent ‘optimistic’ that gasoline prices going back to $3 a gallon this summer Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that he believes gasoline prices will be closer to $3 gallon this summer, saying pumping oil can resume within a week of the Strait of Hormuz opening. “I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” said Bessent. Gas prices are averaging $4.11 a gallon, up from $3.17 a year ago, according to AAA. U.S. Navy says it will use force to compel compliance with Iran blockade U.S. Navy warships are telling merchant ships in and around Iran that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance with the blockade on ships trading with Iran. “Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” a Navy radio message, posted to social media by U.S. Central Command, said. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, confirmed the message is currently being broadcast to all ships in the region. “If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the radio message added. —- Konstantin Toropin Iranian and Emirati officials discuss de-escalation efforts UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details. U.N. allocates $12M for Iran aid U.N. Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said $12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran. “Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X. Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. —- Melanie Lidman No ships have made it past U.S. naval blockade, military says U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past U.S. naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. First crude tanker passes Strait of Hormuz since US blockade A Malta-flagged vessel is the first crude oil carrier to head west through Strait of Hormuz since the United States blocked Iranian ports, according to a global shipping tracking monitor. The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive on Thursday in Basra, Iraq, where ports are not under U.S. blockade. Marine Traffic said the vessel attempted again a transit after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days. US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter. The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan laid out during last weekend’s talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations. The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran’s negotiators earlier this week. The White House and the vice president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals. The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times. Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump administration on Iran Attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level U.S. official to testify before Congress since U.S. and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran. Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration’s decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran. “Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz. Asked several times about Trump’s threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results. “They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.
The Latest: Pakistan’s army chief to meet Iranian officials in Tehran to push new US-Iran talks
Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war. In a related development, China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that reopening of the Strait Hormuz was an international demand. Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign. The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad. In a development in the war's other front, Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to the comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Here is the latest: Israeli minister says Netanyahu and Aoun to speak Thursday Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, the first time the leaders of the two countries have spoken directly in more than 30 years. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Lebanese government did not immediately comment. “Today the Prime Minister will speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of a complete disconnection in the dialogue between the two countries,” Gamliel, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, told Army Radio Thursday morning. Gamliel, who was at a cabinet meeting late Wednesday about negotiations with Lebanon, said the move “will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing” between the two countries. Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Pakistan says trips by prime minister and field marshal part of peace efforts Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to countries including Saudi Arabia and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s trip to Iran are part of “collective efforts” aimed at promoting regional peace and de-escalation, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. “Pakistan is being recognized for its constructive diplomatic engagement in supporting de-escalation, ceasefire efforts and a broader pursuit of stability between the United States and Iran,” ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said. Pakistan has encouraged dialogue, facilitated message exchanges and helped create a peaceful space for meaningful negotiations such as the recent talks between the U.S. and Iran, Andrabi said. Australia underwrites diesel shipments from Asia Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has underwritten the first of two shipments of diesel fuel at prices inflated by the Iran war. Viva Energy is shipping more than 570,000 barrels of diesel from Brunei and South Korea, Albanese said Thursday at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He said it was “the first of many expected shipments” under his government’s new strategic reserve powers. Under terms announced last week with Australia’s only refinery operators, Viva Energy and Ampol, the government will underwrite diesel and gasoline import contracts with prices that could prove commercially unviable. Smaller fuel companies Park Fuels and IOR have since struck similar deals. Australia has sufficient fuel contracted to last into May, but there are concerns about later shortages. Trump says leaders of Lebanon and Israel to speak Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond for comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon. Chinese foreign minister says reopening of Hormuz an international demand Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a unanimous demand from the international community. Wang Yi told Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured. “Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday. Wang noted that the current situation had reached a critical juncture between war and peace and also said that the window of peace was opening. Consecutive Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military Wednesday that also wounded six others. The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence. ▶ Read more Fire damages Australian oil refinery, further reducing nation’s fuel supply threatened by the Iran war Officials say there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at the Viva Energy Geelong refinery southwest of Melbourne, and no one was injured. The facility is one of two refineries in Australia and provides 10% of the nation’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Australia has agreed to underwrite two companies buying fuel at prices inflated by the war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned last week that supply disruptions would “have a long tail” even if the Iran ceasefire holds. The government had agreed to terms with Australia’s largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday it was too early to tell the extent of the fire’s impact on gasoline production. “The refinery is still producing diesel and jet fuel at reduced levels as a safety precaution,” Bowen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. On gasoline, Bowen said, “It’s not a positive development. It will have an impact.” Firefighters said the blaze had been contained to the gasoline plant. Sharif praises Saudi restraint According to the statement, Sharif assured the Kingdom of Pakistan’s “full solidarity and support” and praised what he described as Saudi Arabia’s restraint under the crown prince’s leadership. Pakistan has a defense agreement with the Kingdom, which has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran in recent weeks, causing damage. Pakistan’s prime minister briefs Saudi crown prince on efforts to ease US-Iran tensions Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the Kingdom, briefing him on Pakistan’s efforts to ease U.S.-Iran tensions and assuring him of Islamabad’s “full support,” his office said before dawn Thursday. Wednesday’s meeting lasted more than two hours, and Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The statement said the crown prince praised what it described as the constructive role played by Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the peace process. Sharif dispatched Munir to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders. Pakistan has long maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia while also keeping relations with Iran. Military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says he does not support extending ceasefire, according to state media “We are subject to the decisions of the relevant officials, but personally I do not agree to extend the ceasefire,” said Mohsen Rezaei, formerly a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who now advises Mojtaba Khamenei on military affairs, Iranian state media reported. Rezaei also urged officials to be more cautious than they had been before in negotiations over economic matters with the U.S. He said Iran was setting the preconditions in the next round of talks, not the U.S. “Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war,” he said, according to the report. Blockade ‘has been fully implemented,’ US admiral says That’s according to Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, who says: “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.” The command said Wednesday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the blockade’s first 48 hours. The blockade began Monday. Central Command noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” the Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected. The action could put serious pressure on the Iranian economy, while Tehran’s earlier cutoff of the waterway crucial to oil and gas supplies has sent energy prices higher. ▶ Read more Wall Street hits a record on hopes for an end to the Iran war The U.S. stock market hit a record Wednesday after adding to its two-week rally built on hopes the war won’t create a worst-case scenario for the global economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and eclipsed its prior all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has since roared more than 10% higher. Much of the rally was due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Hopes remained high as regional officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy. ▶ Read more US aircraft carrier sets deployment record The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span that saw it take part in both the military raid that captured Venezuela’s leader and the Iran war. The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest modern deployment by an aircraft carrier, when the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute. Sen. Tim Kaine said the record-breaking deployment has taken “a serious toll” on the mental health and well-being of the crew. “They should be home with their loved ones, not sent around the world by a President who acts like the U.S. military is his palace guard,” the Virginia Democrat said. Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate in ‘critical’ condition after heart attack Narges Mohammadi ’s family and lawyers visited her in Zanjan prison twice in the last month, a statement by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on X Wednesday, finding that her health condition was dire. She is weak, pale and has lost weight, said the statement. The report comes after Mohammadi had a heart attack in the prison on March 24, according to a cardiologist she saw soon after, according to the statement. The statement said that following the heart attack Mohammadi was unconscious without anyone resuscitating her for over an hour. Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said in the Wednesday statement that the cardiologist who saw her after the collapse told the family it was partially due to the medicines she’d been prescribed by prison doctors. He added that she was being kept in a cell with people convicted of murder and that she’d faced threats from them on numerous occasions. Mohammadi is a rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison. She was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison. Iranian state media says Iran-Pakistan talks have started Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a preliminary meeting with the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff, Asim Munir, in Tehran Wednesday, according to a report on IRIB, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. The report said more extensive talks would continue Thursday to discuss latest communications with the US. Pakistan is mediating talks between Washington and Tehran. US official says Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position during closed-door talks between Israel and Lebanon, said an Israel-Hezbollah truce is not part of peace negotiations the U.S. is having with Iran. Iran has demanded a truce between Israel and its proxy Hezbollah as a condition to return to talks with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday hosted the first talks in decades between high-level Israeli and Lebanese officials. Israeli prime minister says forces will continue push in south Lebanon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current fighting is concentrated in the strategic south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli troops are about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah.” Netanyahu, in a video address Wednesday evening, said he has given instructions for the military to continue to widen the security zone in south Lebanon — a reference to areas close to the border that the Israeli army now occupies — and to spread it eastward. He said Israel is concurrently negotiating with Lebanon, with two central goals: disarming Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. “Peace through strength,” he added. He also said the U.S. was updating Israel on the talks with Iran and that Israel was prepared for any scenario, should the fighting with Iran resume. Senate Republicans again reject effort to halt Trump’s Iran war The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely. Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on. ▶ Read more Treasury sanctions Ali Shamkhani-linked network, warns of secondary sanctions The U.S. is imposing sanctions targeting an Iranian oil smuggling network tied to the deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani. Sanctions include dozens of individuals and companies accused of transporting and selling Iranian and Russian oil through front companies, many of which are in the UAE. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, that banks “should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.” US ready to hit Iran with economic pain equivalent to bombings, top Trump official says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran, saying the Republican administration is preparing action that will be the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign. Bessent said the administration has “told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities.” The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran. White House says talks with Iran are ongoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran. The ceasefire announced on April 7 is currently slated to expire next Tuesday. “At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that there are “discussions” about more talks being held unperson “but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House.” She said that the possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad as they were previously. Bessent says Americans can choose if they want to use their tax refunds to buy increasingly pricey gasoline Asked if the tax refunds would go toward gasoline averaging more than $4 a gallon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the public is free to spend its money however it wants. “Americans have more money. They can decide how they want to spend it,” Bessent said. Higher prices at the pump because of the Iran war has created the risk that President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will offset the cost of fueling up autos to go to work and run errands, instead of boosting spending in ways that could help overall economic growth. Bessent ‘optimistic’ that gasoline prices going back to $3 a gallon this summer Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that he believes gasoline prices will be closer to $3 gallon this summer, saying pumping oil can resume within a week of the Strait of Hormuz opening. “I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” said Bessent. Gas prices are averaging $4.11 a gallon, up from $3.17 a year ago, according to AAA. U.S. Navy says it will use force to compel compliance with Iran blockade U.S. Navy warships are telling merchant ships in and around Iran that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance with the blockade on ships trading with Iran. “Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” a Navy radio message, posted to social media by U.S. Central Command, said. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, confirmed the message is currently being broadcast to all ships in the region. “If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the radio message added. —- Konstantin Toropin Iranian and Emirati officials discuss de-escalation efforts UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details. U.N. allocates $12M for Iran aid U.N. Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said $12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran. “Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X. Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. —- Melanie Lidman No ships have made it past U.S. naval blockade, military says U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past U.S. naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. First crude tanker passes Strait of Hormuz since US blockade A Malta-flagged vessel is the first crude oil carrier to head west through Strait of Hormuz since the United States blocked Iranian ports, according to a global shipping tracking monitor. The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive on Thursday in Basra, Iraq, where ports are not under U.S. blockade. Marine Traffic said the vessel attempted again a transit after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days. US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter. The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan laid out during last weekend’s talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations. The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran’s negotiators earlier this week. The White House and the vice president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals. The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times. Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump administration on Iran Attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level U.S. official to testify before Congress since U.S. and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran. Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration’s decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran. “Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz. Asked several times about Trump’s threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results. “They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.
Democrats crow about fundraising in competitive Senate races
Democrats are boasting of eye-popping fundraising hauls in some of this year's top Senate contests, a potential sign of voter enthusiasm in what remains an uphill quest to win the Senate majority. In the first three months of the year, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign said he brought in $27 million, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign said he’ll report $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown will report $12.5 million in his comeback bid in Ohio. The money will help Democrats make their case to voters and counter Republican attacks, but it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that control of the Senate will be decided in territory that favors Republicans. Except for Maine, where Democrats Graham Platner and Janet Mills are still battling for the party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, all of the top battleground races are in states President Donald Trump won in 2024. While Democrats touted their totals, they offer only a snapshot of overall fundraising, as campaigns had until the end of the day Wednesday to file with the Federal Election Commission. Republicans lagged In races where Republicans had reported their fundraising by Tuesday evening, Democrats were far outpacing them. In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton — who are locked in a bitter runoff for the GOP nomination — raised $2.5 million combined, less than 10% of Talarico's revenue for the quarter. Two of the three main Republicans in Georgia — Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter — combined for about $1.1 million. The third, Mike Collins, had not yet reported his fundraising as of Wednesday evening. Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $2.1 million in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio. Collins, a top target for Democrats, raised $3.1 million in Maine. Mills, the governor who is preferred by much of the Democratic establishment, said she’ll report raising $2.6 million, while Platner, an oyster farmer backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he raised $4 million. In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola said she'll report raising $8.9 million, compared with $1.7 million for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Money isn't everything Republicans said flush coffers don't guarantee victory. Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina pointed out that his opponent in 2020 also celebrated successful fundraising quarters but didn't win. Democrats Beto O'Rourke in 2018 in Texas and Jaime Harrison in 2020 in South Carolina shattered fundraising records and still lost to their Republican rivals. "We don’t have to outraise them," Tillis said. "We just got to out run them.” There's an imbalance in Republicans' favor at the national committee level. The Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for their Democratic counterpart, plus Democrats are carrying about $17 million in debt. Waiting in the wings for Republicans is a super political action committee tied to Trump — MAGA Inc. — which has more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC. The rosy first-quarter contributions carry some advantages for Democrats, namely the ability to buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters. Candidates also get favorable rates for television ads so their money goes further than independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending increasingly shifts toward digital streaming. “Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said in a statement. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.” Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton. ___ Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.