NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

US employers defy economic shock from Iran war and add a surprisingly strong 115,000 jobs in April: America’s employers delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring beat the 65,000 jobs forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%. AP

US trade court rules Trump tariffs illegal, but issues narrow block: A U.S. trade court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's tariff strategy, ruling that his latest 10% temporary global duties are unjustified under a 1970s trade law, but blocked the levies only for two private importers and the State of Washington. The U.S. Court of International Trade's 2-1 decision ​leaves the temporary tariffs in place for all other importers while any appeal by the Trump administration plays out. They are expected to expire in July. REUTERS

US military says it intercepted Iranian attacks on 3 Navy ships in Strait of Hormuz: The U.S. military said it intercepted Iranian attacks Thursday on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces,” highlighting the fragility of the month-old ceasefire between the two countries. AP

Americans have spent an extra $24 billion on gas in just two months thanks to rising prices from Trump’s Iran war: Americans have spent $23.9 billion more on gas, year-on-year, since March 1 because of the Iran war’s impact on U.S. fuel prices, Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at tracking site GasBuddy, posted Tuesday on X. It’s the equivalent of paying for 1.2 billion hours of daycare; the combined budget for the National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, and the Department of State. THE INDEPENDENT

Republicans dominating redistricting fight across several states before midterms: President and his party celebrate as Democrats vow to fight Virginia court ruling barring state from enacting new voter-approved congressional maps. THE GUARDIAN

WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER?

The Trump administration is deleting government data. From infant deaths to hunger, here are five ways it’s hurting Americans: over the past year, the Trump administration has been altering and removing decades’ worth of datasets as part of a sweeping campaign targeting so-called “woke programs”, “racial equity”, “gender ideology” and “climate extremism”. This censorship has affected not just datasets, but also a wide swath of federal resources: tools that helped the public access data, ongoing surveys and, perhaps most concerning, the agency staff that made it all possible. Experts warn that Trump’s destruction of the country’s data infrastructure will have lasting impacts on all aspects of life – whether it’s the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to extreme weather, public health departments’ monitoring of harmful new drugs in their communities or how food banks get meals to hungry families. THE GUARDIAN

US intel community agreed before war 'Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon': ex-counterterrorism chief: Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted in a post on X that prior to the start of the Iran war, the U.S. intelligence community agreed that the Islamic Republic was not developing a nuclear weapon. "One of the many tragedies of this war is that before the war began the U.S. Intel Community, including CIA, was in agreement that Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon. FOX NEWS

‘Hondurasgate,’ the alleged US and Israeli interference plot to destabilize Mexico and other progressive governments: A leaked audio recording points to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Javier Milei, and Donald Trump as attempting to create a platform to spread fake news about the administrations of Claudia Sheinbaum, Lula, and Gustavo Petro. EL PAIS

Storm Season Is Here and the National Weather Service Is Short Handed: The National Weather Service is struggling to recover from last year’s deep staff cuts, raising doubts among some meteorologists about whether the agency is ready for severe storms or hurricane season, which starts next month. One key facility in Oklahoma that leads tornado forecasting and warnings has an unusual five open positions, its website shows. Others around the country will lose meteorologists temporarily as officials shuffle them to cities that will host World Cup soccer games in June and July, according to an internal email reviewed by The New York Times.

The real cost of the Iran War: over $50 billion for the first 60 days: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Comptroller Jules Hurst told Congress last week that the Iran War had cost $25 billion through the first 60 days. The next day, CBS reported that officials familiar with the Pentagon’s internal assessments estimated the cost was actually closer to $50 billion — double the amount department leadership had just stated publicly. POPULAR INFO

Trump vowed to fight crime in Minneapolis. Prosecutions plunged: A Reuters review found the number of U.S. drug, gun and other prosecutions fell sharply as investigators focused on immigration and about half the federal prosecutors in Minnesota left.

DESI NEWS

New York officials return more than 650 antiquities valued at $14m to India: Hundreds of antiquities valued at $14m have been returned to India by New York authorities, including some connected to the alleged art smuggler Subhash Kapoor, in a move that is likely to raise the pressure on others to make similar gestures. The return of 657 antiquities was announced by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg Jr, on Tuesday, and came as New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, waded into the historically contentious ownership of the 105.6 carat Koh-i-noor diamond. THE GUARDIAN

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY

Instagram privacy tech is turned off today - what does this mean for your DMs?: Instagram users will no longer be able to send ultra‑private direct messages, as the feature is switched off globally. The removal of end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE) on messages amounts to a major U‑turn by parent company Meta, which previously championed the tech as the gold standard for user privacy. BBC

Trump Exempted Some of the Nation’s Biggest Polluters From Air Quality Rules. All It Took Was an Email: In March 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration made a tantalizing offer to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturing facilities and other factories: Their operations could be exempted from key provisions under the Clean Air Act, the bedrock environmental law estimated to have prevented thousands of premature deaths. All they had to do was ask. PRO PUBLICA

Trump Promised Cheaper Drugs. Some Prices Dropped. Many Others Shot Up.: 46brooklyn, a consulting firm and data project that tracks brand-name drug prices, found that close to 1,000 brand drugs went up in price in January 2026. What’s more, 2025 had the highest number of list price increases ever. “This is not a material change, it’s business as usual,” said Antonio Ciaccia, the company’s co-founder. KFF

F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe: Both before and since taking office, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has widely sown doubt in the safety and efficacy of several vaccines. NYT

Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail and pharmacies: The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a lower-court ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortions are provided across the nation. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. AP

CORRUPTION ALERT

US Awards Peter Thiel–Backed Nuclear Startup $900 Million: TThe U.S. government is shelling out a whopping $2.7 billion to three companies in an effort to strengthen domestic uranium enrichment, amid surging electricity demand from AI data centers. The Department of Energy announced on Monday that it will award $900 million each to American Centrifuge Operating and Orano Federal Services, as well as General Matter, a nuclear startup backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel. Peter Thiel was a crucial, early Silicon Valley ally to Donald Trump in 2016. GIZMODO

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