Good afternoon. It's Monday, April. 15, and we're covering Iran's attack on Israel, $96 billion Israel-Taiwan-Ukraine funding package, another NFL comeback, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here. | | American Fact of the Day! | Delaware: The largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world resides in the Delaware Bay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The creatures predate dinosaurs by more than 200 million years. |
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| | Breaking Updates | | Oil Prices Expected to Rise Following Iran's Attack on Israel | Oil prices are expected to rise on Monday after Iran's attack on Israel over the weekend, analysts said on Sunday, but further gains may depend on how Israel and the West choose to retaliate. Iran launched explosive drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1, a first direct attack on Israeli territory that has stoked fears of a wider regional conflict.
Concern of a response from Iran to the strike on its embassy compound in Damascus supported oil last week and helped send global benchmark Brent crude on Friday to $92.18 a barrel, the highest since October.
Aside from conflicts between the various factions in the Middle East, oil prices are also affected by domestic government actions, and here in the United States, the Biden administration has been decidedly unfriendly to the energy sector. At least one analyst, pointing out that (so far) production in the region has not been affected, is projecting that any increase will be temporary.
An increase in oil prices has a domino effect that eventually affects the entire global economy. Every product, every commodity, and every service depends in one way or another on oil to develop, transport, and, in many cases, manufacture. Petroleum is refined not only into gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil, but also provides raw materials for everything from tires to life jackets to pharmaceutical resources. Any rise in petroleum prices has a global impact.
The Biden administration has argued it is not encouraging Iran to raise exports and is enforcing sanctions. Lower Iranian exports would lead to a further rise in oil prices and the cost of gasoline in the U.S., a politically sensitive subject ahead of the elections. | Read more updates here |
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| | Speaker Johnson to Send $96 Billion Israel-Taiwan-Ukraine Funding Package to House Floor on Friday | At a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference Monday, Speaker Mike Johnson committed to putting the stalled $96 billion foreign aid bill for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine on the floor for a vote on Friday evening.
This bill has been the source of much controversy since it passed the Senate in February. While a small number of Republicans have balked at helping Ukraine defend itself, The Squad and its allies don't want to send aid to Israel once again, demonstrating the Horseshoe Theory at work.
The plan is to introduce the three aid packages as separate bills, but the same rules will cover them. To make this happen, the Rules Committee will have to approve it, and Democrats will need to consent. At present, Johnson says he intends to allow some number of amendments to be offered to each bill. A fourth bill that is not an aid bill will be included in the package.
The Ukraine aid package is anticipated to require the White House to present a strategy for Ukrainian victory, require the US to release longer-range weapons to Ukraine, reinstate the lapsed lend-lease program, and create a class of loans that can be converted to grants.
The vote is contingent upon the bill's text being made available to members by Tuesday evening. | Read more updates here |
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| | American Sports & Culture
|  | Tom Brady teases another NFL comeback: 10 teams to watch ahead of 2024 season | A look at logical (and more far-fetched) suitors |
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|  | MLB power rankings: Sluggers power New York Yankees to top spot | With two full weeks of the 2024 MLB season in the rear-view mirror, we start to take stock of which teams are for real. |
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|  | NBA playoff picture: Thunder clinch No. 1 seed in West; Suns, Pacers secure final bid in each conference | The Thunder prevailed in a three-way race in the West with an emphatic season-finale win over the Mavericks. |
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| | American Business & Markets
|  | Digital hub launched to help small businesses - Central Penn Business Journal | A new Investing in America Small Business Hub has been launched. |
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|  | How Resilience Led to the Mathis Twins' Success in Real Estate | Entrepreneur | How Jeremy and Joshua Mathis overcame adversity and turned their challenging upbringing into a foundation for real estate success. |
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|  | Council Post: Risk Management Theater: Unmasking The Illusion For True Business Success | "Risk management theater" often looks like formal, established processes, yet can lack the substance needed for real risk mitigation. |
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| | American Politics | |  | 'There is nothing I hate more': Elon Musk reportedly indicates Tesla is slashing its workforce 'by more than 10% globally' | Blaze Media | Elon Musk has reportedly indicated that Tesla will slash more than 10% of its workers."Over the years, we have grown rapidly with multiple factories scaling around the globe. |
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|  | 'Rust' Armorer Given Maximum Sentence After Calling Jurors 'Idiots' | "You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon" the armorer from the movie "Rust" was told as she was sentenced. |
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|  | Battle of the Mikes: Sen. Lee Calls Out Speaker Johnson | Sen. Mike Lee called out Speaker Mike Johnson for planning to pass four bills, including one to send aid to Ukraine, under the guise of one. |
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