US officials claim Iran unable to find mines it laid in strait of Hormuz, report says

Strait of Hormuz

Iran dropped explosives in the waterway erratically and may not have marked where it put all of them, US suggests

William Christou

 Sat 11 Apr 2026 

Middle East crisis – live updates
Iran is unable to find the mines it laid in the strait of Hormuz and does not have the capacity to remove the explosives, preventing Iran from allowing more traffic through the waterway, the New York Times reported, citing US officials.

Americans Blame Trump for Rising Gas Prices

National Surveys

April 8, 2026

Maryann Cousens

This Navigator Research report includes new data on gas prices, including to what extent Americans believe gas prices have increased and perceptions of who’s to blame.

Big Takeaways:

• An overwhelming majority are feeling gas prices increase, and blame President Trump and the war in Iran.
• President Trump’s approval on handling the cost of gas is underwater by 37 points, with clear fractures within the GOP.
• While Americans blame Trump, Republicans in Congress, and the war in Iran for high gas prices, they don’t overwhelmingly trust Democrats more; many do not trust either party or are unsure.
• Nearly Nine in Ten Say Gas Prices Are Increasing
• 87% of Americans say the cost of gas is going up, including 60% who say it’s going up “a lot.” By comparison, 82% of Americans say the cost of groceries is going up, with 47% saying it’s going up “a lot.” Though views of the economy are often partisan, gas price increases are being felt across parties, with 91% of Democrats, 90% of independents, and 81% of Republicans saying costs are increasing.

NASA Welcomes Record-Setting Artemis II Moonfarers Back to Earth

Jennifer M. Dooren

Apr 10, 2026

NASA Headquarters

The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight.

Iran war live: US negotiators arrive in Pakistan for ceasefire talks

AL JAZEERA  Live 
By Lyndal Rowlands, Adam Hancock, and Heba Habib
Published On 11 Apr 2026

• High-profile Iranian officials arrive in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad for ceasefire talks with the US, including Tehran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. 
• Lead US negotiator Vice President JD Vance says before departure for Pakistan talks: “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to extend an open hand.”
• Lebanon’s Health Ministry increased the number of people killed from Israeli attacks across the country on Wednesday to 357, warning that the death toll is not yet final as more victims are being found and identified.
• The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in the United States held a phone call in first reported direct contact between the two countries, before ceasefire talks are expected to be held in the US next week.

And don't forget! Epstein reportedly hoped to develop super-race of humans with his DNA

This article is more than 6 years old, yet it remains strikingly relevant and thought-provoking
Registered sex offender hoped to seed human race with his DNA by impregnating 20 women at a time, New York Times reports

Edward Helmore in New York
Thu 1 Aug 2019 

Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking, planned to develop an improved super-race of humans using genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, according to the New York Times.

Navy MQ-4C Triton’s Fate Unknown After Disappearing From Flight Tracking Over Persian Gulf

Tracking data shows the MQ-4C rapidly losing altitude after declaring an unspecified 

in-flight emergency

Joseph Trevithick

Published Apr 9, 2026

AU.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone disappeared abruptly and unexpectedly from online flight tracking sites after declaring an in-flight emergency while flying over the Persian Gulf today. The uncrewed aircraft was also tracked rapidly losing altitude right beforehand, prompting widespread questions about its fate. This comes just two days after the United States and Iran agreed to a still very fragile ceasefire, which is heavily contingent on the reopening of the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz.

With a switch of a letter in DNA ‘dark matter,’ Israeli scientists change sex of mouse

World-first process uses junk DNA to shift sex determination
Bar-Ilan University researchers use CRISPR tool to alter Enh13 switch controlling Sox9 gene, causing XX mice to develop as males; study may help explain other genetic mutations
By Diana Bletter
9 April 2026

In a world first, scientists at Bar-Ilan University say they have discovered that a single-letter switch in a region of the genome once dismissed as “junk DNA” can reverse the biological sex of a mouse.

It’s Not a TACO. It’s a Surrender.

IRAN 1, TRUMP 0

William Kristol, Andrew Egger, and Jim Swift

Apr 08, 2026

Well, that was all pretty dumb, wasn’t it? 

Happy Wednesday.

by William Kristol

I’m old enough to remember when President Trump assured us, “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

That was a month ago.

While Iran's proxy network is severely damaged, Tehran maintains several critical reasons to negotiate

The Greek Courier
April 10, 2026

Why would Iran choose to negotiate a ceasefire or open the Strait of Hormuz while Israel CONTINUES to undermine its strategic military advantage and asymmetric warfare capabilities across Lebanon, Iraq, and the broader Middle East? 

Iran’s recent decision to engage in negotiations—culminating in the two-week ceasefire announced on April 7—appears to be a calculated response to severe military and economic pressures following 38 days of intensified conflict with Israel and the United States. Despite the substantial damage inflicted on Tehran's "Axis of Resistance" network of proxies, Iran has several compelling reasons to pursue negotiations.

Melania says her piece about Epstein – doth the lady protest too much?

The US politics sketch
Melania Trump
The first lady unleashed a barrage of denials – and put one of her husband’s biggest political liabilities back on the agenda

David Smith in Washington
Thu 9 Apr 2026 23.17 BST

When Donald Trump launched a seemingly random war against Iran, there was a whiff of suspicion of a Wag the Dog ploy to divert attention from how badly the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was going.

So when Trump’s wife, Melania, made a mysterious appearance at the White House on Thursday to put Epstein front and centre again, was it an elaborate ruse to divert attention from how badly the Iran war is going?

Iran war: US to host Israel, Lebanon peace talks

POLITICSIRAN DEUTSCHEWELLE

2 hours ago

Even as Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah has launched rockets into Israel, the US State Department reportedly said it will hold peace talks with officials from Israel and Lebanon. DW has more.

Ships remain cautious approaching Strait of Hormuz amid fragile ceasefire

2 hours ago
Tom Edgington, Joshua Cheetham, and Kayleen Devlin, 

BBC Verify
The Strait of Hormuz has become a focal point of the US-Israel war with Iran after Tehran effectively choked off one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

A two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreed on Tuesday included a condition that "safe passage" through the narrow waterway would be guaranteed. However, vessels in the area have received messages that they would be "targeted and destroyed" if they attempted to cross the strait without permission, and only a few ships have made the journey over the past two days.

The War Is Bad. The Cease-Fire Doesn’t Exist. The Future Is Awful.

IDEAS, POLITICS AND POWER

America and the World

Iran taking operational control of the Strait of Hormuz has enormous ripple effects.

by David Dayen

April 9, 2026

It took not even 24 hours for the tollbooth on the Strait of Hormuz to snap shut. Israel, whose desires to act as a saboteur and trap the United States into the war it desperately wanted us to conduct couldn’t be more obvious, spent Wednesday pounding central Beirut with airstrikes, hitting 100 targets in ten minutes, with at least 112 dead. Iran and the U.S. have very different conceptions of whether Lebanon counts as part of the nascent cease-fire. After Donald Trump confirmed that in his view Israel and Lebanon are in a “separate skirmish,” which conflicts with the view of Pakistan, the country that mediated the dispute, Iran showed its displeasure by closing the strait to oil tankers, and now the Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened military action against “aggressors in the region” (Israel) if the Lebanon attacks continue.

What Would a Fiscal Crisis Look Like?

Jan 22, 2026

The U.S. national debt is approaching record levels as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and currently stands at 100% of GDP, while interest costs are surging to new records and budget deficits remain elevated at around 6% of GDP.

Live updates: Iran media says Strait of Hormuz closed

(NewsNation) — Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, a move that comes less than 24 hours after an temporary ceasefire agreement that included reopening the critical passage.

At a press briefing following the news, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the closure was “completely unacceptable” but still called the ceasefire a victory.

 Stocks surge as oil plunges amid Iran ceasefire deal > 

Live Updates: White House says reports of Strait of Hormuz closure are false as Iran claims Israel violating ceasefire

By Tucker Reals, Sarah Lynch Baldwin

April 8, 2026 / 2:12 PM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• Iran is accusing Israel of violating the conditional ceasefire announced by President Trump by continuing its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iranian media outlets say Tehran is suspending tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and considering pulling out of the deal with Washington over Israel's actions.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump is aware of reports saying the strait has been closed, but said the reports "are false."
• There were new attacks on America's Persian Gulf allies early Wednesday after the ceasefire announcement, and then reports of explosions on two Iranian islands in the Gulf.
• Energy and stock markets embraced the ceasefire news, with oil still trading well above pre-war levels but dropping below $100 a barrel. Stock markets in Asia and Europe soared and U.S. futures were up significantly.

For people like Laura Loomer, Peace with Iran is not an Option

The Greek Courier

March 8, 2026

The US is going to learn the hard way that Trump's victory ceasefire is nothing to write home about, his White House influencer believes

Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer in the White House, echoed a common sentiment among critics of the negotiations, namely, that appeasement could embolden adversaries, and expressed significant disappointment over the recent temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which was announced by Donald Trump. Loomer heavily criticized the diplomatic negotiations, arguing that they undermined American interests. She also deepened the divide within the GOP between those who oppose the war and those who support it.

Relive Artemis 2's epic moon flyby with these amazing photos

Earthset, captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis 2 crew’s flyby of the moon. (Image credit: NASA)

News
By Mike Wall 

Published 14 hours ago
We haven't seen imagery like this in more than half a century

The Artemis 2 astronauts' photography skills were up to the epic task. The spaceflyers — NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — flew around the far side of the moon on Monday (April 6), something no humans had done since NASA's Apollo 17 mission back in 1972.