Top Items:
Jonathan Saul / Reuters:
US Navy tells shipping industry Hormuz escorts not possible for now — The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters, Human Events, Daily Kos, DNYUZ, Associated Press, Washington Times, Mediaite, The Maritime Executive, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, IJR, Asia Times, The Spectator, Al Jazeera, The Preamble, CNBC and New York Times
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New York Times:
How Trump and His Advisers Miscalculated Iran's Response to War — In the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, President Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern that should not overshadow the mission to decapitate the Iranian regime.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, Vox, NewsMax.com, The Hill, Modern Diplomacy, Al Jazeera and Wall Street Journal
Natasha Bertrand / CNN:
Iran begins laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, sources say — The Middle East Oil & gas Investing National security — Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, Politico, USNI News, CNBC, CBS News, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Guardian, The Hill, The Week, NewsMax.com, France 24, The Verge, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, DNYUZ, Blaze Media, The US Sun, Forbes, Raw Story, Mediaite, New Republic, Semafor, The Daily Wire and Associated Press
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
Gas Tax Holiday Floated as Band-Aid for Skyrocketing Prices at the Pump — Democratic senators have pitched the Gas Prices Relief Act. — The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. hit $3.53 on Tuesday, up from $2.90 a month ago, according to AAA. Needless to say, Americans are not happy about it.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CT Mirror, CNBC, MS NOW, WXIA-TV, The Hill, Governor of California, KXTV and The American Spectator
Wall Street Journal:
Deleted Tweet From Energy Secretary Sends Oil Markets on Another Wild Ride — A now-erased post from Chris Wright whipsawed crude for the second-straight session — For days, the global oil market has swung wildly while traders from New York to London to Singapore have watched footage …
Discussion:
NOTUS, Raw Story, The Independent, Politico, Daily Mail, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Washington Post and CNBC
Politico:
The White House isn't panicking about oil prices. That may change in a few weeks. … “Assuming the economy continues to turn around once the active part of the war is concluded, you'll have the whole summer from May through August to ride the turnaround,” the person said.
Discussion:
MS NOW, NewsMax.com and Quinnipiac University Poll
Wall Street Journal:
IEA Proposes Largest Ever Oil Release From Strategic Reserves — Countries would decide Wednesday whether to release oil stocks in an attempt to tame crude prices — PARIS—The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to bring down crude prices …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, DNYUZ, France 24, NewsMax.com, UPI, CoinDesk, Modern Diplomacy, The Maritime Executive, CNBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters
Barak Ravid / Axios:
U.S. destroys 16 Iranian vessels amid worries of mines in Strait of Hormuz
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, The Gateway Pundit, France 24, NPR, The Week, MercoPress, Newsweek, The US Sun, DNYUZ, Forbes, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, New York Sun, The Maritime Executive, The Independent, Scripps News, 19FortyFive, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, Middle East Monitor and KVUE-TV
Hannah Allam / ProPublica:
The U.S. Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties. Trump Officials Scrapped It. — Images from the missile strike in southern Iran were more horrifying than any of the case studies Air Force combat veteran Wes J. Bryant had pored over in his mission to overhaul how the U.S. military safeguards civilian life.
Discussion:
DNYUZ, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour and New York Times
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Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: U.S. asks Israel to halt strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure
Discussion:
Mediaite, Human Events, BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Metro.co.uk, The War Zone, NewsMax.com, The Hill, Reuters and The Gateway Pundit
Politico:
Hegseth gutted offices that would have probed Iran school strike
Hegseth gutted offices that would have probed Iran school strike
Discussion:
New York Times
Herb Scribner / Axios:
5 scenarios for how the Iran war could end
5 scenarios for how the Iran war could end
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Independent, The Hill, Reuters, Scripps News, Fox News, Algemeiner.com, Melanie Phillips, Foreign Affairs and France 24
New York Times:
U.S. Showers Iran With Bombs in Most Intense Strikes of the War, Pentagon Says
U.S. Showers Iran With Bombs in Most Intense Strikes of the War, Pentagon Says
Discussion:
The Intercept, Associated Press, CBS News, Bangor Daily News, Bloomberg, HuffPost and Los Angeles Times
Aaron Blake / CNN:
Does Trump even know what's happening in Iran?
Does Trump even know what's happening in Iran?
Discussion:
Asia Times, HuffPost and DNYUZ
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Thune eyes action on SAVE America Act next week — without a ‘talking filibuster’ — Senate Majority Leader John Thune is aiming to take action on a GOP-only election bill next week — without pursuing a longshot procedural gambit advocated by some Republican hard-liners.
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Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Bondi Is Said to Move to Military Housing Because of Threats — The attorney general relocated from a Washington apartment to a base in the area within the past month, according to people familiar with the situation. — Attorney General Pam Bondi has quietly relocated to one of several military bases …
Discussion:
RedState, Raw Story and The Independent
CNN:
Democrat Shawn Harris to face Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller in runoff to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, CNN projects — Republican Clay Fuller will face Democrat Shawn Harris in a runoff to replace former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, CNN projects.
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, Advocate, Politico, CBS News, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Axios, WXIA-TV, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, RedState, Courthouse News Service, Newsweek, One America News Network, Fox News, The Independent, Townhall, NBC News, The Hill, ABC News, MS NOW, Daily Mail, KVUE-TV, NPR and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Jeff Zeleny / CNN:
How the special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene is testing the power of Trump's endorsement
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times, NOTUS, WDEF-TV, IJR, DNYUZ, RedState, NewsMax.com, MS NOW, The Guardian, NBC News, UPI, Newsweek, WXIA-TV, The Hill and Jewish Insider
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
LIVE RESULTS: Special Election for MTG Seat in Georgia
LIVE RESULTS: Special Election for MTG Seat in Georgia
Discussion:
CBS News, WTTG-TV, Washington Examiner, The Hill, NBC News, Fox News, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, New Yorker, MS NOW and Associated Press
NBC News:
Georgia House Special Results 2026
Georgia House Special Results 2026
Discussion:
The Free Press, Newsweek, WXIA-TV, CBS News, The Hill, Political Wire, MS NOW and WAGA-TV, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job — The Social Security inspector general's office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familiar with the process.
Discussion:
New Republic, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, The Independent, Engadget, NOTUS, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Blue Virginia and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
DOJ nopes out of Ticketmaster antitrust suit — Public Notice is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🎟️ Subscribe to PN 🎟️ — In 2024, it was just possible to pretend that Trump's populist bombast might translate into a real antitrust policy.
Ankush Khardori / Politico:
Why DOJ Hasn't Charged Anyone Else From the Epstein Files … But more than a month after the release, something like the opposite has happened. — A variety of public figures in the U.S. have incurred professional and reputational consequences as a result of socializing with Epstein …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
CBS News:
There's one building in LA with 89 registered hospices: “Ground zero” for fraud? — 3H AGO — Alexander brothers found guilty on all charges in sex trafficking trial — 13H AGO
Discussion:
RedState, New York Post, The Post Millennial and NewsMax.com
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Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
The war makes it more urgent for journalists to call out Trump's derangement — Let's say the president is mentally unfit for duty. — Let's say that has been pretty clear for a while now, what with his delusion that he won an election he lost, his chaotic imposition of illegal and irrational tariffs …
RELATED:
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Sen. John Kennedy apologizes for Iran school strike after Trump suggests enemy misfire
Sen. John Kennedy apologizes for Iran school strike after Trump suggests enemy misfire
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, PBS NewsHour, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, PolitiFact, BizPac Review, MeidasTouch News, The Hill, ABC News, New York Times, TMZ.com, New Republic, Washington Examiner, Newsweek and Politico
Axios:
Scoop: White House tells House Republicans to stop talking about mass deportations … - Nearly half — 49% — of Americans say Trump's mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024, a Politico poll from January found.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Fox News, Washington Post, The National Pulse, Balloon Juice, The Independent, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Semafor and Blaze Media
Politico:
Affordability trumps all — Presented by With help from Gelila Negesse — Albany's state budget battle is now in full swing — and competing visions over how to address voters' pocketbook concerns is at the heart of the fight. — Gov. Kathy Hochul's $263 billion spending plan …
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics and Gothamist
Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Trump pick for State Department drops out after drawing heat for comments about ‘white culture’ … In announcing his withdrawal in a social media post, Carl thanked the administration for nominating him and praised the White House for being willing not “to simply pick nominees from the same stable …
Discussion:
Fox News, NBC News, The Guardian, Reuters, Advocate, NOTUS, NewsMax.com, IJR, Raw Story, Jewish Insider, Deseret News and Mediaite
David Nir / The Downballot:
Democrats win GOP seat in New Hampshire, notching 10th straight special election flip — The third time was the charm for New Hampshire Democrat Bobbi Boudman, who flipped a Republican-held seat in the state House in a special election on Tuesday night. — Boudman, a financial analyst …
Washington Post:
Drone hits U.S. diplomatic facility in Iraq as Mideast violence deepens — The attack on a major U.S. diplomatic compound in Baghdad was suspected to be a retaliatory move by pro-Tehran militias against the U.S.- and Israeli-led war on Iran. — A drone assault hit a major U.S. diplomatic facility …
Discussion:
Reuters and Middle East Monitor
Raphael Satter / Reuters:
Exclusive: Foreign hacker in 2023 compromised Epstein files held by FBI, source and documents show — A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI's investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau's New York Field Office three years ago …
Discussion:
Modern Diplomacy, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
As another shutdown impacts travelers, some see eliminating TSA agents as a solution — Long security lines snaked into baggage claim areas and parking garages at some U.S. airports this weekend, a possible indicator of more widespread travel problems as the latest government shutdown drags on.
Discussion:
CBS News and BizPac Review
Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post:
Senators seek review of Justice Department's handling of Epstein files — A bipartisan group of senators raised concerns in a letter to the Government Accountability Office that the department failed to redact names and photos of victims. — A bipartisan group of senators is asking …
Discussion:
CNBC
Brittany Gibson / Axios:
The contracting mess Noem's leaving behind at DHS — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is on track to leave dozens of pending contracts on her desk when she leaves office in three weeks, the legacy of a system she imposed to cut “waste, fraud and abuse,” but that has stalled DHS programs.

