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S&P 500 hits first intraday record high since US-Iran war

The S&P 500 touched an intraday record high on Wednesday, its first since the U.S.-Iran conflict began, as hopes of a de-escalation in the war and robust earnings expectations drew investors back into risk assets.Reaching a fresh record during an active geopolitical crisis marked a shift in market positioning, with traders appearing more willing to price in less severe escalation risks, at least in the near term.U.S. President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran to end the war could soon resume and result in a deal, after weekend talks in Islamabad collapsed.Equity markets had fallen sh

Thailand yet to decide on whether it will lift internal debt ceiling - Finance Minister

IMF chief says 12 or more countries seeking loans to cope with Middle East war energy shock

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El Salvador to apply life sentences to minors for serious crimes

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has enacted legal reforms allowing life imprisonment for minors as young as 12 convicted of homicide, terrorism, or rape, according to the country's official gazette.The measures, published on Tuesday and scheduled to take effect April 26, follow a constitutional amendment approved in March by the government-controlled Congress. The changes eliminate special legal procedures previously available to offenders aged 12 to 18, though they include provisions for periodic sentence reviews and potential supervised release.The constitutional amendment came days afte

Morgan Stanley eyes capital relief as lobbying push pays off

US and Hamas hold first direct talks since Gaza truce as ceasefire process stalls

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Popular NYC SantaCon charity fundraiser was more con than Kris Kringle, authorities say

A popular SantaCon charity fundraiser that floods New York City with thousands of inebriated young people in red and white Santa costumes every holiday season was true to its name: a con, federal authorities said as they arrested its organizer. Stefan Pildes, 50, of Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested on Wednesday and awaited an appearance in Manhattan federal court, where an indictment charging him with wire fraud was unsealed. Federal authorities said he donated only a small fraction of the $2.7 million he raised through SantaCon charity events from 2019 to 2024. Th

SantaCon organizer is a grinch who stole $1 million, Justice Department alleges

BofA's trading desk avoided a single daily loss in Q1 amid market turmoil

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James Talarico says he’s raised $27 million in first three months of 2026, part of Democratic fundraising surge

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico announced a first-quarter fundraising haul of more than $27 million on Wednesday, among the largest totals reported by a US Senate candidate.Talarico, a state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, won the Democratic nomination in March over US Rep. Jasmine Crockett. His campaign said he has raised $10 million since the March 3 primary.Democrats are hoping Talarico will be able to put reliably red Texas in play at the statewide level as they face a tough national map for Senate control that would require them to net four seats. The Democrat

Trump says he’ll fire Powell next month if he stays in his role at the Fed

President Donald Trump said he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step aside when his term at the helm of the central bank expires next month.“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Wednesday in response to a question about Powell staying on at the Fed.The timing of Powell’s departure from the Fed has been complicated by the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the Fed chair that accuses Powell of lying to Congress in testimony last year about the Fed’s $2.5 billion-dollar renovation of its Washington, DC, he

Trump recalls how Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death affected the Supreme Court as he discusses Samuel Alito’s future

New accuser says Eric Swalwell sexually assaulted her

Health|Political|US

Why Justice Alito was taken to a hospital last month

President Donald Trump has considered the possibility that conservative Justice Samuel Alito might step down later this year, giving him the ability to nominate a fourth justice to the Supreme Court.Trump said he has a list of potential candidates in mind if a seat opens on the nine-justice bench this year. And when asked about the importance of the possibility of Alito stepping down while Republicans are in control of the Senate, Trump pointed to how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in 2020 shifted the court.“Ginsburg could not do it, and she really hurt herself within the Democrat Par

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Pileup of about 70 vehicles on Interstate 70 in Colorado sends 8 to the hospital

Crashes involving about 70 vehicles snarled a section of a snowy Colorado highway and sent eight people to the hospital. The pileup Tuesday prompted officials to close the eastbound side of Interstate 70 in Clear Creek County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Denver, the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement. Officials evaluated 19 people for injuries and took eight of them to the hospital, including one person who had “sustained serious bodily injuries,” according to the state patrol. Images online show multiple semitrucks involved in t

Gavin Newsom faces growing pressure to intervene in a scrambled California governor’s race

US appeals court shields Trump officials from probe over deportation flights

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Snapchat owner cuts 16% of global staff in latest round of job cuts

The owner of social media platform Snapchat said Wednesday it's eliminating about 16% of its global workforce, or about 1,000 jobs that will be culled in its latest round of layoffs. Snap Inc. said in a regulatory filing that the job cuts will cost about $95 million to $130 million in severance payments and related costs. “The headcount reduction is designed to further streamline our operations and reallocate resources toward our highest-priority initiatives, leveraging increased operational efficiencies to accelerate our path toward net-income pr

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Seoul court sentences US YouTuber to 6 months in jail over offensive stunts

An American YouTuber who sparked national outrage in South Korea for provocative stunts, including dancing on a statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to six months in prison by a Seoul court on Wednesday. The Seoul Western District Court found Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known online as Johnny Somali, guilty of multiple charges, including obstruction of business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content. Prosecutors had sought a three-year term for Ismael, who also faced accusations of harassin

Why are some ships going through the Strait of Hormuz during a blockade?

Ye postpones Marseille concert after French authorities say they will seek a ban

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How do shipowners navigate Trump's blockade?

The United States’ blockade of Iranian ports has been “fully implemented” and put a halt to most of Tehran’s economic activity in just a day and a half, the head of US Central Command said Wednesday.“An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea. In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted all economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement on social media.US Central Command (CENTCOM) said earlier no vessels have breached the blockade since its implementation.At the

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‘Remigration’ and Russian lessons: German far-right party promises radical measures if elected

As one European nationalist party saw its grip on power end abruptly in Hungary over the weekend, another was riding a wave of popularity that is strengthening its hold on German politics.The Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) chapter in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt held its party congress over the weekend, ahead of state elections in September that could deliver the party – once a political outcast – its first absolute majority in its 13-year history.In a passionate speech to around 250 delegates, the far-right party’s telegenic lead candidate in the region, Ulrich Siegm