Here are your top stories for today.
Headlines
Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire is on ‘Life Support’
President Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire to be on “massive life support” after rejecting Tehran’s counterproposal to end hostilities, calling the Iranian response a “piece of garbage” he didn’t even finish reading. Trump departs Tuesday for Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a summit that now centers almost entirely on the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Read More
Gas prices have surged more than 50% since the Iran war began on February 28, hitting a high of $4.52 a gallon on Sunday. President Trump said in a CBS News interview that he wants to suspend the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel — for an unspecified period, though doing so would require an act of Congress and would cost the government roughly $500 million per week. Find out More
Cole Allen, accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 25, pleaded not guilty to four charges in federal court, as the judge pushed back on maneuvers by the defense team. Find out More
Politics
The Senate voted 49-44 on Monday to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, putting him on track for a full confirmation vote this week before Jerome Powell’s term as chair expires on Friday, May 15. Only two Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Chris Coons of Delaware — crossed party lines to support the nominee. Find out More
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) of revealing classified information during his Sunday appearance on “Face the Nation,” escalating a political fight over congressional oversight of the Iran war. Kelly had publicly questioned what Americans are getting out of the conflict. Source
Following Trump’s call to suspend the federal gas tax, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said Monday he would introduce legislation to halt the tax, while GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida announced a companion House bill. Several Democratic lawmakers had already introduced similar legislation ahead of the president’s comments. Source
U.S. News
American consumers are facing a collective $37 billion hit from the spike in gasoline and diesel prices since the Iran war began, according to research from Brown University, amounting to more than $284 in extra costs per household. Gas has risen from $2.98 per gallon when the war started to $4.52 as of Monday, while diesel is just 18 cents from its all-time high set in 2022. Read More
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on 12 individuals and entities on Monday for allegedly helping to facilitate Iran’s sale and shipment of oil to China, just days before Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi Jinping. China called the sanctions “illegal unilateral pressure” and invoked a blocking statute that prohibits Chinese entities from recognizing or complying with them. See Details
Business
U.S. stock futures edged lower overnight as Wall Street awaited the release of April’s Consumer Price Index, with economists forecasting headline inflation to hit 3.7% year-over-year — up from 3.3% in March — driven largely by the energy price shock from the Iran war. The report is expected to confirm that rate cuts in 2026 are off the table, with futures traders now pricing in zero cuts this year. See Details
Bank of America economists formally abandoned their forecast for any Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, pushing their first-cut expectation to the second half of 2027. JPMorgan laid out three inflation scenarios — all of which keep CPI above the Fed’s 2% target before early 2027 — as futures traders already price in zero cuts this year. Source
GameStop shares spiked as much as 13% in after-hours trading on Monday after cryptic social media posts appeared on the account of Keith Gill — “Roaring Kitty” — before being deleted less than an hour later. Shares of Chewy, whose CEO Ryan Cohen co-founded GameStop, also briefly popped before erasing gains. Source
World News
Russian institutions and officials were formally accused of the systematic deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children during the war in Ukraine, with international rights organizations releasing new documentation of the practices even as the Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire formally expired. Find out More
A regional source close to the Iran negotiations told CNN that diplomatic progress is unlikely until the results of Trump’s Beijing meeting are clear, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expected to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Delhi at the same time, where Saudi and Egyptian mediators will also be present to facilitate back-channel talks. See Details
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado spoke publicly after strongman Nicolás Maduro was ousted from power following his capture by U.S. forces earlier this year, but noted significant uncertainty about her path to leading the country despite widespread popular expectations that she would take power. See Details
Entertainment
Hannah Harper, a 25-year-old wife and mother of three from Missouri, was crowned the winner of “American Idol” Season 24 during Monday night’s three-hour live finale on ABC. Harper is the first female country singer to win the competition since Carrie Underwood in Season 4, bursting into tears as she performed her coronation song with confetti falling around her. Source
Emily Blunt received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, calling the ceremony “very moving,” timed to promote the upcoming Amazon Prime Video thriller “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War,” which streams May 20. Find out More
The Netflix “Roast of Kevin Hart” generated significant backlash after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a joke about George Floyd during the special, with Floyd’s family and representatives expressing outrage and accusing Hart of giving Hinchcliffe the green light to make the remark. Find out More
Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, and Chet Holmgren threw down a tiebreaking dunk with 32.8 seconds left as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 in Game 4, improving to a perfect 8-0 in the 2026 playoffs. LeBron James — who had 24 points and 14 rebounds — missed a driving bank shot with 20 seconds left that would have put L.A. ahead, in what may have been the final game of his record 23-season NBA career. Source
Donovan Mitchell erupted for 39 of his 43 points in the second half, anchoring a furious Cleveland Cavaliers comeback that included a 22-0 run to open the third quarter and tie their series with the Detroit Pistons at 2-2. Game 5 heads to Detroit on Wednesday. See Details
Several games from the 2026 NFL schedule leaked, including the Philadelphia Eagles traveling to Dallas to take on the Cowboys for the annual Thanksgiving Day game. See Details
Off the Wall
J. Schuberth, a write-in candidate for Oregon governor who legally goes by “Pencil,” has been campaigning on Portland street corners to draw attention to the state’s last-place national ranking in fourth-grade reading. His campaign slogan leans into the name, arguing that a pencil is exactly what Oregon’s schools need. See Details
