EdWords&Pictures

NEW: US President Donald Trump appears to have extended the deadline for Iran to stop attacking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to 8:00 PM ET on April 7 amid discussions with Iranian officials. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on April 5 that Iran would continue attacking shipping through the Strait, however. More Key Takeaways: US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that US forces on April 4 completed the rescue of both F-15E crewmembers after Iran shot down their aircraft on April 2 during a combat mission. US forces successfully established a makeshift airstrip very close to a major Iranian city, successfully extracted all of its personnel during the rescue operation, and the combined force has continued to strike targets in Iran. The combined force has continued to strike operational components of the program even as it targets production facilities for engines, guidance systems, and other components and research and development facilities, including a missile launcher reportedly for a Haj Qassem missile, which has a maximum range of 1,400 km. The IDF is continuing to target Iranian tunnel entrances to prevent Iranian forces from using tunnels to conceal missile sites. Iran has slightly altered its strike packages targeting Gulf states to include more cruise missiles, but it is unclear whether this represents experimentation with new tactics, an effort to manage the remaining missile reserves, or something else. Hezbollah published footage on April 4 and 5 that Hezbollah claimed shows first-person view (FPV) drone attacks conducted on March 25 against an Israeli vehicle and two Israeli Merkava tanks in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed to have launched anti-ship cruise missiles at an Israeli warship located 68 nautical miles off the coast of Lebanon on April 5 for the first time since the start of the war. The IDF estimated that Hezbollah can maintain a fire rate of 200 rockets and drone launches per day at Israel for an additional five months. Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks do not appear to be achieving the desired effect of altering Israel’s decision-making in conducting airstrikes against Iran, however. Iranian-backed Iraqi militias are attempting to blame Kuwait for attacks on Iraqi oil infrastructure, likely to obfuscate responsibility for these attacks to a domestic Iraqi audience. (1/2)

The AAA average fuel price is officially over $4 a gallon for the first time since mid-August 2022. Prices are up over $1 since the war in Iran began. Americans are paying $50 a month more in fuel costs. This is a significant psychological milestone that could start to cause Americans to pullback on spending, especially with borrowing costs also rising.

Buried deep within the BOMBSHELL NPR article is the actual content of these Epstein records: - A woman who called the FBI with a "cropped photo" of a "widely distributed photograph" of Epstein and Trump. - A woman who sued the Epstein estate and dismissed her claims in 2021. - A woman who claimed she was abused by Trump but refused to cooperate. In other words, more nothing from a rag outlet, bitter over losing their federal funding, trying to smear the President on the day of SOTU.