Important Takeaways:
- How could Iran’s attack on Israel affect gas prices? What you should know
- Iran, one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, has long been engaged in a shadow war with Israel, but there have been concerns the Israel-Hamas war could become a broader regional conflict.
- Any ripple effects on gas prices depend on the countries’ next moves and whether they seek further retaliation against the backdrop of an already raging war, said Michael Walden, Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University.
- “We’re uncertain about what’s going to happen,” he said. “And so the impacts are going to be very dependent upon what does evolve.”
- The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $3.63 as of Monday, according to AAA, up almost 4 cents from a week earlier and 22 cents from a month ago. The price was down 3 cents from a year ago, however.
- Oil benchmarks had risen on Friday in anticipation of Iran’s retaliatory assault, with prices soaring to their highest since October.
- If you are planning a last-minute road trip, though, it may be worth going somewhere closer or putting off travel until a later date. Drivers who can take other modes of transportation, such as walking or biking, could consider that as well.
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Important Takeaways:
- Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemics
- President Joe Biden’s administration will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak that suddenly halted normal life around the globe in 2020.
- S. government officials will work with the countries to develop better testing, surveillance, communication and preparedness for such outbreaks in those countries, according to a senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters Monday about the program on the condition of anonymity. The official did not share a list of countries that will participate in the program.
- The U.S. program will rely on several government agencies — including the U.S. State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID — to help countries refine their infectious disease response.
- Last year, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global emergency, with more than 91,000 cases spanning across 100 countries to date.
- The U.S. has devoting billions of dollars to the effort. Biden, a Democrat, is asking for $1.2 billion for global health safety efforts in his yearly budget proposal to Congress.
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Important Takeaways:
- Bank of America accused of religious and political ‘discrimination’ by ‘de-banking’ or refusing to service Trump supporters, Christian churches and Republican-led states want answers
- A dozen Republican-led states plan to send a letter to Bank of America demanding an explanation for why it allegedly de-banked Christian and other conservative groups.
- The letter obtained first by DailyMail.com, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, demands that the financial institution turn over documents related to its account cancellation policies and requested that the bank update its terms of services to not discriminate against clients with certain political or religious beliefs.
- The notice comes after it was revealed that Bank of America sent the FBI and U.S. Treasury private consumer financial data to help the agencies investigate crimes related to the January 6 Capitol protest.
- ‘Unfortunately, Bank of America appears to be conditioning access to its services on customers having the bank’s preferred religious or political views,’ Kobach writes in the letter to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan obtained by DailyMail.com.
- ‘Your discriminatory behavior is a serious threat to free speech and religious freedom, is potentially illegal, and is causing political and regulatory backlash.’
- The committee’s probes remain ongoing.
- Currently, the Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the U.S., handling over $3 trillion.
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Important Takeaways:
- In an unsourced report, Channel 12 claims the war cabinet has made the decision to hit back “clearly and forcefully” against Iran for its missile and drone attack on Saturday night.
- The response will be designed to send the message that Israel “will not allow an attack of that magnitude against it to pass without a reaction,” the report says. The response will also be designed to make plain that Israel will not allow the Iranians to “establish the equation” they have sought to assert in recent days. This appears to be a reference to Iran’s warning that future Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, including its international diplomatic premises, will henceforth again be met by Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel.
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Important Takeaways:
- At least 51 aftershocks have rattled New Jersey since an earthquake hit our region more than a week ago.
- The most recent pair of aftershocks were recorded on Friday morning in Somerset County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- On April 5, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Hunterdon County, with its tremors felt across the Northeast, including in Philadelphia.
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Important Takeaways:
- Iran’s foreign ministry on Sunday summoned the ambassadors of Britain, France, and Germany to question what it referred to as their “irresponsible stance” regarding Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel, Reuters reported, citing Iranian media.
- The three European countries condemned Iran’s drone and missile attack against Israel, which went through Saturday night into Sunday and were in retaliation for a bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1, which has been blamed on Israel.
- Later, the director for Western Europe at Iran’s foreign ministry accused the three countries of “double standards”, noting they opposed earlier this month a Russian-drafted UN Security Council statement that would have condemned the alleged Israeli attack in Syria.
- Tehran Warns Against Israeli Counterstrike, Threatens US Bases If Washington Assists
- Just hours after the unprecedented Iranian missile and drone attack against Israel, top Iranian military leaders threatened to launch even larger attacks if the Jewish state decides to launch a counterstrike.
- Bagheri further warned the U.S. that Iran would attack U.S. military bases in the Middle East if Washington took part in facilitating an Israeli counterstrike on Iranian soil.
- IRGC Commander Hossein Salami indicated a shift in strategy when he stated that Saturday’s attack has created a “new equation.” He warned that Iran would launch similar attacks from its territory in response to any future Israeli military actions that threaten Iranian interests in the Middle East and beyond.
- Israeli President Calls Iran’s Attack A ‘Declaration Of War’ Says Israel Is ‘Considering All Options’
- While emphasizing that Israel is not seeking war, Herzog characterized the attack as a “declaration of war” and underscored the need for a firm response to Iranian aggression.
- While expressing Israel’s restraint and ongoing dialogue with international partners, Herzog stressed that all options are being considered to address the threat posed by Iran. He reiterated that Israel’s primary objective is the protection and defense of its people and reiterated that the country is not seeking to escalate the conflict into full-scale war.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russia has called for restraint from both Iran and Israel as a wider war in the Middle East becomes a real possibility.
- Russia has sent a navy frigate, Marshal Shaposhnikov, armed with Kinzhal supersonic missiles into the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal just hours after Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones.
- The Kremlin confirmed the ship’s presence in the area, adding that it will continue performing the tasks assigned to it under the expedition plan.
- Dmitry Peskov said: “Right now it is very important for everyone to maintain restraint in order not to lead to a complete destabilization of the situation in the region, which does not exactly shine with stability and predictability.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Iran attacks Israel: No drones, cruise missiles breached Israeli airspace
- Sirens blared across Israel on Saturday night as hundreds of drones and missiles launched from Iran reached Israel. Drones and missiles were also reportedly launched from Yemen and other countries around the region.
- The IDF has updated that the full Iranian attack consisted of over 300 threats, of which 100 were ballistic missiles launched from Iran. Another 30 cruise missiles were launched from the Islamic Republic, along with drones. There were also two rounds of rockets, around 40 total, fired on Israel from Lebanon, with Israel responding with counterattacks in close to real-time.
- None of the drones or cruise missiles entered Israeli airspace. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari noted that only a small number of ballistic missiles penetrated the Jewish state’s airspace.
- Almost all interceptions have been by aircraft, David’s Sling, or the Arrow missile systems. The Iron Dome, which defends well against Hamas and Hezbollah’s simple rockets, is less relevant for drones and fancier long-range missiles.
- Iran confirmed that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had launched a missile and drone attack against Israel.
- Israel, the US, the UK, and Jordan worked to intercept the drones and missiles over Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel, according to foreign reports. France also assisted in shooting down the aerial threats.
- The Islamic Republic’s attack comes after it accused Israel of killing top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi on April 1, who had directed its proxy attacks on Israel in Lebanon and Syria, including being a top coordinator with Hezbollah.
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel has been told not to retaliate after Iran’s drone and missile attack, with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron cautioning Monday it should “think with head as well as heart” because Tehran’s strike had been a near total failure.
- His words of warning came 48-hours after President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will not back Israel in a counterattack on Iran.
- “I think they’re perfectly justified to think they should respond because they have been attacked, but we are urging them as friends to think with head as well as heart, to be smart as well as tough,” Cameron told BBC TV.
- “In many ways this has been a double defeat for Iran. The attack was an almost total failure, and they revealed to the world that they are the malign influence in the region prepared to do this. So our hope is that there won’t be a retaliatory response,” he told Sky News.
- Reuters reports Cameron said Britain would also work with allies to look at imposing more sanctions on Iran, and it urged Israel to return its focus on agreeing a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza war.
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Important Takeaways:
- As the war enters its 778th day, these are the main developments.
- Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine.
- In Ukraine, parliament passed a controversial new law on mobilization as it seeks to replenish the military’s ranks.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that drone attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine must stop because of the risk of opening “a new and gravely dangerous” stage in the war.
- Ukraine needs military aid and air defense systems in the face of Russia’s intensifying attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as he criticized his country’s allies for engaging in “lengthy discussions” and “turning a blind eye”.
- The president travelled to Lithuania to participate in a regional security summit, saying that “Russian evil is a threat not only to Ukraine but to every nation bordering Russia and to everyone who values international law”.
- Ukraine risks collapsing under Russia’s onslaught without US support, a disaster that could embolden China and prompt a new crisis in East Asia, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US lawmakers during a state visit to Washington, DC, urging them to overcome “self-doubt” about the country’s role on the world stage.
- Ukraine and Latvia signed a 10-year security agreement envisaging annual Latvian military support for Ukraine at 0.25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Zelenskyy said. “Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defense, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession,” he wrote on X.
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