https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-urges-iran-sign-deal-after-report-suggests-us-may-extend-blockade-2026-04-29/
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to 'get smart soon' and sign a deal.
The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
Trump, who has said Iran can call if it wants to talk, said the country "couldn't get its act together" in a post on Wednesday before details of Tuesday's meeting emerged.
"They discussed the steps President Trump has taken to alleviate global oil markets and steps we could take to continue the current blockade for months if needed and minimize impact on American consumers," the White House official said.
Oil prices rose almost 4% on Wednesday, with the Brent contract hitting a one-month high, after an initial report in the WSJ said the U.S. may extend its blockade.
Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the strait as long as it is threatened, which may mean more Middle East oil supply disruptions from the conflict, which has killed thousands and caused global economic upheaval.
Tehran warned on Wednesday of "unprecedented military action" against continued U.S. blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
"They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They'd better get smart soon!" Trump said in the post, without explaining what such a deal would entail.
It featured a mock-up image of him in dark glasses and wielding a machine gun with the caption "No more Mr. Nice Guy."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/26/white-house-correspondents-dinner-security-status/
The White House correspondents’ dinner, attended by the president and several Cabinet members, was not given top security status that would have unlocked the full weight of federal security resources.

The Trump administration provided a lower level of security for the White House correspondents’ dinner than it has for other gatherings of high-ranking officials, even though the president and many Cabinet members were in attendance, according to officials familiar with the plan.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were quickly evacuated to safety Saturday when a gunman charged the security perimeter and attempted to storm the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Others in attendance included Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The concentration of high-ranking leaders in one ballroom left the nation unusually vulnerable as the would-be assassin raced past Secret Service before he was apprehended. A worst-case scenario might have resulted in passing the power of the presidency to the senior-most senator of the majority party, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who was not at the event and is third in line to the presidency behind Vance and Johnson.
When so many officials gather in one place for official functions such as an inauguration or State of the Union address, the secretary of homeland security typically puts the Secret Service in charge of coordinating all security through a formal designation known as a “National Special Security Event.”
There was no such designation on Saturday night at an event also attended by thousands of journalists and other government officials, according to local and federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss security details.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4pxr0gr02o
Oil prices have soared following reports that the US is preparing for an "extended" blockade of Iran.

The global benchmark oil price, Brent crude, briefly hit $120 (£89) a barrel on Wednesday evening, its highest price since 2022.

The BBC understands that energy executives including Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss how to limit the fallout from the conflict on American consumers.

Oil traders appear to have taken the meeting as a sign the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz will continue for a long time.

The executives discussed topics including domestic energy production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas, and shipping, according to a White House official.

They described the meeting as being part of the President's regular meetings with energy executives to discuss their industry.

The meeting follows separate reports from the Wall Street Journal that US President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare to extend the ongoing blockade of Iran's ports, in an effort to squeeze the country's economy.

Iran has said it will continue to disrupt traffic travelling through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockade.

The price of oil has seen sharp swings since the start of the war, as the key Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for weeks due to the conflict.

Iran has severely restricted shipping through the strait — which usually carries about a fifth of the world's supply of oil and liquid natural gas — in response to US and Israeli strikes that began on 28 February.

President Donald Trump was seemingly the target of an assassination attempt on Saturday — yet millions of Americans believe the event was “staged.”

“Trump’s focus on his planned redecoration in the face of an apparent attempt on his life – the third in less than two years — has provoked a barrage of conspiracy theories,” wrote The Telegraph's Ed Cumming on Monday. Mere hours after Cole Thomas Allen allegedly tried to storm the White House Correspondents Dinner to shoot Trump, Trump called a press conference to demand completed construction of his proposed $400 million White House ballroom, Cumming pointed out, fueling the conspiracies.

“The most prominent is that Trump and his administration staged the attack to help shore up the ballroom project, which he hopes to have completed before he leaves office in early 2029,” Cumming reported. “Authorities have stated they believe Allen acted alone and left a ‘manifesto’ in which he clearly stated he wanted to target officials in the Trump administration. But according to a report by The New York Times, the term ‘staged’ appeared in more than 300,000 posts on Twitter by noon on Sunday.”

He added, “On Bluesky, the social media network with a more Left-wing user base, many posts simply stated ‘staged’. Several prominent accounts reshared theories — without evidence — that were skeptical of the official version of events.”

The skepticism is not limited to liberals. As Cumming pointed out, the flurry of supposed assassination attempts on Trump — as well as his habit of politically exploiting them to vilify his critics and push his agenda — has raised suspicions everywhere.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/27/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theory/

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/04/29/moscows-victory-day-parade-to-be-held-without-military-vehicles-for-first-time-in-nearly-20-years-a92631
Russia will not display military hardware in this year's parade commemorating 81 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in WWII, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The event, typically marked with a bombastic show of military strength each year, is scheduled for May 9 in Moscow's Red Square.

Several military schools, cadet corps, "as well as the military hardware column, will not be participating in this year's military parade due to the current operational situation," the ministry said.

However, the parade is expected to include representatives of all branches of the Armed Forces, as well as videos showing servicemen "carrying out tasks in the special military operation zone," a reference to the war in Ukraine, it said.

An aerial display is also planned.

"During the aviation segment of the parade, aircraft of Russian aerobatic display teams will fly over Red Square, and at the conclusion of the parade, pilots of Su-25 ground attack aircraft will color the skies of Moscow in the colors of the flag of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.

Last year, more than two dozen world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, were in Moscow to watch a procession of thousands of troops and an array of weapons, including new tanks and drones.

World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, is the central historical narrative of President Vladimir Putin's quarter-century rule.

Putin has repeatedly invoked victory over Nazi Germany to justify the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, branding the "Kyiv regime" as "neo-Nazis" that need to be removed from power.

Ukraine and the West reject that narrative as propaganda and call Russia's war an illegal land grab that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and seen Moscow seize territory of southern and eastern Ukraine.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15d57pv925o
Oil prices have risen after plans for a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran stalled again.

Brent, the global benchmark, rose by around 2% to $109.33 (£80.72) a barrel, while US-traded crude also increased by 2% at $96.78.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington had cancelled plans to send a team to Pakistan for negotiations with their Iranian counterparts.

Global energy supplies have been under intense pressure since the start of the Iran war as the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway has been effectively closed by the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that "important discussions on bilateral matters and regional developments" were ongoing with Oman, its neighbour along the strait.

He posted on social media: "Our focus included ways to ensure safe transit that is to benefit all dear neighbors and the world. Our neighbors are our priority."

Araghchi arrived in St Petersburg on Monday "with the aim of meeting and holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin", Iranian state-run news agency Irna reported.

Around a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude has risen by more than 10% since Trump announced last week that he would extend a ceasefire with Tehran to give its leadership a chance to present a "unified proposal".

Sophie Huynh, a portfolio manager and strategist at BNP Paribas, said the ongoing closure of the strait could affect the price of everything from "bin bags to medicine".

"I think we're underestimating the extent of which products could be affected by the oil shortage," she told the BBC's Today programme. "We're not consuming crude, we're consuming products."

If the strait remains closed for more than a few weeks, the effects will be "really far reaching in terms of supply chain", she said.

Federal funding for scientific research was already in turmoil.
https://www.theverge.com/science/918769/trump-fires-the-entire-national-science-board

Multiple sources are reporting that the Trump administration has dismissed the entire National Science Board (NSB). The NSB advises the president and Congress on the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has already been funding research at historically low levels and has seen significant delays in doling out that funding. The NSF has been fundamental in helping develop technology used in MRIs, cellphones, and it even helped get Duolingo get off the ground.

In a statement, Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said:
>“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation. The NSB is apolitical. It advises the president on the future of NSF. It unfortunately is no surprise a president who has attacked NSF from day one would seek to destroy the board that helps guide the Foundation. Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won’t stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries? A real bozo the clown move.”

>Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEvzFcqKbXw

https://www.fox43.com/article/news/nation-world/president-trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner/507-915ff171-8a5a-4355-ba7d-2a2474559ca9

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat.

There did not immediately appear to be any injuries. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance were uninjured, an Associated Press source said.

The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. “Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.

People on scene reported there were "loud sounds" in the area, which prompted the response.

Attendees are still in the ballroom where the dinner was being held.

https://apnews.com/article/todd-blanche-white-house-ballroom-trump-1d063b208677631cb964c6c8ff64bd96
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned $400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House.

“It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly Sunday on X, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has sued to block construction, until 9 a.m. Monday to dismiss its lawsuit.

If it doesn’t do so, Shumate wrote, the government would ask a court to do so “in light of last night’s extraordinary events,” calling the Washington Hilton — the site of Saturday’s gala — “demonstrably unsafe” for events with the president “because its size presents extraordinary security challenges for the Secret Service.”

The White House ballroom, Shumate wrote, “will ensure the safety and security of the President for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the President at the Washington Hilton.”

Asked about the letter, Elliot Carter, spokesperson for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said Sunday the group would review it with legal counsel.

The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the bunker construction and security upgrades.