Iranian strikes push oil and natural gas prices up
Oil and natural gas prices spiked Thursday, as Iran ramped up strikes on energy infrastructure across the Middle East and attacked one of the world’s most important liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, extended the previous day’s gains, rising more than 6% to above $114 a barrel, having traded even higher earlier in the day. In Europe, benchmark natural gas prices surged 16.7% on the day, having soared 25% at one point, and have now doubled since the war began on February 28. QatarEnergy said Wednesday that its Ras Laffan LNG hub had sustained “extensive damage,” after being attacked by Iranian missiles twice in 12 hours. Ras Laffan is the largest LNG facility in the world, according to the International Energy Agency.
Trump threatens escalation of Iran war
Donald Trump has threatened to escalate the war against Iran by “blowing up” the world’s largest gas field , the South Pars gas field, which contains enough natural gas to meet the entire world’s needs for 13 years. Trump’s threat came after he denied having been told in advance that Israel was going to attack the natural gas field. Israel said that its attack was made in coordination with the U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth today said he is asking Congress to appropriate another $200 billion to fund the war Trump started against Iran. At the current rate of the war costing $890 million a day that would be enough to keep the war going for about 225 more days.
Democrats walk out of Epstein briefing
Democrats walked out a Capitol Hill briefing by Attorney General Pam Bondi on the Epstein files claiming Bondi needs to comply with a subpoena and testify under oath. They say Bondi was avoiding giving answers during the briefing. Roughly 2.5 million documents relating to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and people who associated with him remain unreleased, while many of the 3.5 million pages made public are heavily redacted, fueling questions about what’s being kept from the public. Lawmakers are considering new legislation to try to force Trump’s justice Department to make everything public. It’s been reported that Trump’s name shows up about one million times in the documents that have been released.
Fed holds interest rates steady
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged as investors and policymakers brace for the economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Fed officials held the benchmark rate at 3.5%–3.75%, after cutting it three times last year amid a softening labor market. But the escalating conflict in the Middle East has added new uncertainty, with officials signaling caution as they assess its potential impact on prices. The Fed is clopsely monitoring the twin economic threats of higher inflation and a job market still on shaky footing.
‘Self deportation’ program numbers don’t add up
The Trump administration has been grossly exaggerating the results of its self-deportation program run by Department of Homeland Security according to the numbers contained in an internal document. While the Trump administration has claimed that its Project Homecoming program has led 2.2 million people to self-deport, an internal document examined by CNN shows that the actual number is only about 72,000. Project Homecoming offers people free flights to their native countries and payments of up to $2,600 in the form of prepaid debit cards. The Trump administration has allocated $915 million to pay for Project Homecoming.
No significant progress in Nancy Guthrie case
More than six weeks after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, the intense media and law enforcement presence that descended on her affluent Arizona neighborhood has mostly dissipated. But many in the community are still searching for answers. Local officials have not held a news conference in over a month, and law enforcement still has not determined a motive in her abduction. The investigation remains active, with authorities focusing on analyzing DNA evidence and video footage. Guthrie’s daughter, “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, has since returned to New York from Tucson but remains in close contact with law enforcement, a family friend said Wednesday.
