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With the Iran war scrambling energy markets, the administration is moving closer to a 90-day ban on diesel exports after the national average topped six dollars a gallon for the first time ever. The legal mechanics are still being hammered out, and the idea has split the White House, congressional Republicans, and oil industry executives. Refiners warn a ban could backfire on domestic supply.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level in 19 years, a week after the Federal Reserve raised rates a quarter point to a 3.75 to 4 percent target range — its first hike in three years. Fed projections revised 2026 core PCE inflation up to 3.4 percent, and officials are signaling inflation now outranks growth as the bigger risk. Cheap money in Washington is officially over.
Newly surfaced documents suggest the Biden Justice Department approved subpoenas for the phone records of Republican lawmakers and staff. The records are expected to fuel a fresh round of oversight demands on Capitol Hill. Expect subpoenas about the subpoenas.
A new poll shows Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, trailing Governor Kathy Hochul by nine points — a notably tight margin in a state where Democrats hold a massive registration advantage. It's a warning flare for Democrats heading into the fall.
Hours after telling the U.N. General Assembly that Iran faces possible annihilation without a deal, President Trump confirmed U.S. and Iranian officials met on the sidelines. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner logged roughly three hours of shuttle talks described as productive, in the seventh month of the war. The Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program remain the sticking points.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington for talks with President Trump running through Friday. On the table: trade terms, U.S. military support for Taiwan, and Beijing's posture on the Iran conflict — where Foreign Minister Wang Yi has offered to play a "constructive role."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that the war won't be settled on the battlefield and is already spreading through hybrid attacks across the continent. Recent incidents include an explosive-laden drone found at a German airport. Zelensky, also at the U.N., warned separately about autonomous weapons entering the fight.
Scientists have identified a skyscraper-scale asteroid racing through the inner solar system on one of the fastest orbits ever catalogued, whipping around the sun far quicker than typical near-Earth objects. It's no threat to us, but it's a useful stress test for how quickly sky surveys can catch fast movers. Separately, astronomers flagged a car-sized rock only hours before it hit the atmosphere.
NASA is pushing toward its first three uncrewed lunar base missions before the end of the year, including what's billed as the first privately funded lunar lander mission in history. The groundwork follows April's Artemis Two flyby, with Artemis Three targeted for 2027 and a landing on Artemis Four in 2028.
Two University of Mississippi students died Monday at separate campus locations, and investigators recovered packaged kratom — purchased at a retail store — at both scenes. Authorities have not confirmed the substance's role, but experts are warning about the risks of the widely sold, loosely regulated herbal supplement.
