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US and Iran closing in on one-page memo to end war, Axios reports

The White House believes it is getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue. The U.S. expects Iranian responses on several key points in the next 48 hours, according to the report which cautioned that nothing has been agreed yet but said this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.Among other provisions, the deal would involve Iran committing to a morat

For many Americans, Trump's immigration crackdown is personal, new AP-NORC poll shows

Affordability beats other top issues for MAHA voters, poll finds

Business|Economy|Europe|World

France's services sector contracts further in April, final PMI shows

France's services sector contracted in April, as demand weakened amid economic and political uncertainty linked to the Iran war, a monthly survey by S&P Global showed on Wednesday.The S&P Global France Services final PMI fell to 46.5 in April from 48.8 in March, exactly in line with an earlier, flash survey. That figure of 46.5 was its lowest level since February 2025.Any figure below 50 shows a contraction in activity, while above 50 shows expansion.The France Composite final PMI for April, which includes both the services and manufacturing sectors, also fell to 47.6 from 48.8 in Mar

Euro zone services activity slumps in April on weak demand, PMI shows

UK services firms report sharpest rise in costs since late 2022

Business|Economy|Technology|World

US stock index futures rise on Middle East peace hopes, AI optimism

Wall Street futures climbed on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace agreement and unrelenting optimism around artificial intelligence. The rally, which took the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes to record highs on Tuesday, showed few signs of easing after Advanced Micro Devices forecast second-quarter revenue above expectations, helped by robust demand for its data-center chips."Wall Street continues to double down on its bet that the war in the Middle East will not re-escalate and disrupt the market's earnings-driven surge to all-time highs," said Kyle Rodda, senior fin

India's offshore tech hubs hit $98.4 billion revenue in FY26, nearing 2030 forecast, report says

Ugandan lawmakers pass scaled-back sovereignty law after central bank warning

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Election|US

Trump gets revenge, and other takeaways from Tuesday’s Indiana and Ohio primaries

President Donald Trump vowed revenge when the Republican supermajority in the Indiana state Senate embarrassed him in December, voting down Trump’s demands to redraw the state’s congressional maps to help the party win two more seats.In Tuesday’s primary, he got it.At least five of the seven Trump-endorsed challengers defeated GOP incumbent state senators who broke with the president and voted against redistricting.Those senators said at the time they were following the will of their constituents. But after millions of dollars in advertising and outsized attention on ordinarily low-key s

MidEast|Political|US|World

Trump says operation to reopen Strait of Hormuz will be 'paused'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, dubbed "Project Freedom" by the U.S., will be paused for a short period to see whether an agreement can be finalized and signed, although the blockade will remain in force.(Reporting by Jasper Ward, Writing by Christian Martinez)

Michigan Democrats keep control of state Senate in election win that offers clues about midterms

Takeaways from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan: Trump's flex pays off and Democrats win special election

Economy|Election|Finance|Political|US

Vice President Vance woos Iowa Republican voters ahead of 2028

Vice President JD Vance, making his first trip to Iowa since taking office, promoted the administration's tax and tariff policies while framing the GOP as being on the side of working-class voters as he campaigned in the state where Republicans in less than two years will cast the initial votes to pick their party’s next presidential nominee. Standing before hundreds of supporters at a steel manufacturing facility, Vance repeatedly drew a contrast between Iowa Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and his Democratic challenger, telling the crowd that Nunn and the Trump administration were

Defiant border czar brushes away MAGA critics, says ‘mass deportations are coming’

White House border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday brushed off critics within President Donald Trump’s base who say the administration is not deporting enough people, while vowing to “flood the zone” with immigration officers in jurisdictions which pass legislation limiting cooperation with federal enforcement.Speaking at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, a room filled with Department of Homeland Security officials and industry personnel, a defiant Homan vowed that the “mass deportation promise will happen.”“For the people out there saying ‘President Trump’s getting weak on mass d

Spring plans meet snow in Denver as a late storm could be the season's biggest

Tennessee Republicans target Memphis as South Carolina considers joining House redistricting battle

World News

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Health|Science|Travel|World

Masks, movies and solo deck walks: life aboard a hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Barely a month ago, they were embarking on a voyage of adventure to some of the world’s most remote islands. Encounters with whales, dolphins and penguins awaited; landscapes of icy expanses, towering cliffs and rolling green hills beckoned.Now they are isolating in their cabins, trapped aboard a ship anchored in the Atlantic, taking what measures they can to shield themselves from an outbreak of a deadly virus.For the nearly 150 passengers aboard the MV Hondius, the coming days are full of uncertainty.Following an outbreak of the hantavirus – which causes fatigue, fever, and can even lead

Business|Economy|MidEast|Political|World

Trump advisers step up their calls on China to help open Strait of Hormuz ahead of Beijing summit

White House officials are pressing China to use its influence with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz just days before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping'shighly anticipated summit in Beijing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to China to urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Araghchi on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. “I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Ru

UnitedHealthcare removes prior approval requirements for 30% of healthcare services

Crypto exchange Coinbase to cut about 14% of workforce in AI-driven restructuring

Environment|Science|Technology|World

One of the planet’s biggest cities is sinking so rapidly it’s visible from space

Mexico City is sinking at such an alarming rate that it’s visible from the space. Imagery from a powerful NASA radar system is revealing subsidence rates of more than 0.5 inches a month — making the city one of the planet’s fasting-sinking capitals.The sprawling metropolis, also one of the world’s biggest cities, stretches out across a high-altitude lake and sits atop an ancient aquifer, which provides around 60% of drinking water for the city’s 22 million residents.Over the years, this aquifer has been so over-pumped that it’s caused the land above it to subside. Over-extraction h

Arts|Crime|Entertainment|US|World

Former FedEx driver sentenced to death for killing 7-year-old girl after delivery at her Texas home

A former FedEx driver was sentenced to death on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl he took from her Texas home while delivering a Christmas gift. Jurors in a Fort Worth courtroom decided on Tanner Horner's punishment after hearing about a month of testimony and evidence that included audio of Athena Strand's last moments from inside his delivery van. Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder last month in the 2022 killing just as his trial began. Athena's body was found two days after she was reported missing from her home in the rural town of Parad