WATCH IRAN

“If Iran does not fully open without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first. So he wrote that on Saturday night, which means that 48 hour clock expires tonight.”

“Oil prices at the $100 mark now for a while. There's concern that could go up to $150, $170 a barrel. Over the weekend, United Airlines CEO says they're preparing for that scenario and you see a lot of companies adapting to a scenario where we could have high oil prices for a while.”

“Now to those massive, sometimes 6-hour TSA lines at some US airports over the weekend. As this partial DHS shutdown nears its 40-day mark, ICE agents are set to arrive to help speed things up at some airports today.”

“To the AI economy, where real estate developers are now spending more on data centers than office space. And is it time to call a boomer? Public phones in Boston and Nevada are connecting generations. We'll explain.”

“Helium plays a very important role in a number of industrial processes. Also, fertilizer, that's raising prices for farmers around the world, including here in the US. The fertilizer price goes up because there's a lack of fertilizer. Well, the prices for farmers go up and then food prices go up for consumers.”

“The officials are leading the crowd in a chant of, Death to America, Death to Israel, and the responding chant is, Death to Palestine. This is happening in Iran right now, which is just crazy. I think the Iranian people are finally waking up to the fact that their leaders and their governments focusing so specifically for so many years on destruction of Israel and America has now led to the Iranian people's demise.”

“We have Russia now evacuating their embassy, reportedly evacuating their embassy from Israel, including all their families. There's reports that the Russian army is evacuating the staff of the Russian embassy along with their families in Israel and returning them to Russia. They've taken multiple flights out of Israel to Russia in the past couple of days here.”

“Bibi and Trump came out from that on a very united front, telling the media we're aligned 100%. And then within what, two days, the operation in Venezuela happened and the US goes in and take them out. So there could be very good speculation that Israel and the United States did this in coordination with each other, for sure.”

“The number one funder of American universities from outside the country is Qatar. That, by definition, is a long game. They've been funding universities, they've been buying off influencers, they've been bribing politicians, because they realize that it's a war of ideas. They realize it's a spiritual battle. It's like, no, I have to influence the culture, I have to influence the ideology, I have to really get into the hearts and minds of people.”

“Iran is literally falling apart. Its military has been devastated by Israel. Its nuclear sites are destroyed. The scientists have all been assassinated... and now Venezuela has been captured. So Iran's stronghold over like everything, their entire axis is falling apart, and people are saying, what is this about? This was all to destroy Israel, and Israel is emerging like a lion.”

“If Iran does not fully open without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first. So he wrote that on Saturday night, which means that 48 hour clock expires tonight.”

“Oil prices at the $100 mark now for a while. There's concern that could go up to $150, $170 a barrel. Over the weekend, United Airlines CEO says they're preparing for that scenario and you see a lot of companies adapting to a scenario where we could have high oil prices for a while.”

“Now to those massive, sometimes 6-hour TSA lines at some US airports over the weekend. As this partial DHS shutdown nears its 40-day mark, ICE agents are set to arrive to help speed things up at some airports today.”

“To the AI economy, where real estate developers are now spending more on data centers than office space. And is it time to call a boomer? Public phones in Boston and Nevada are connecting generations. We'll explain.”

“Helium plays a very important role in a number of industrial processes. Also, fertilizer, that's raising prices for farmers around the world, including here in the US. The fertilizer price goes up because there's a lack of fertilizer. Well, the prices for farmers go up and then food prices go up for consumers.”

“President Trump said on Truth Social that dozens of planes took part in the operation to save the airmen after his F-15 fighter jet was hit over western Iran on Friday. The plane's pilot was quickly rescued, but the weapons officer, an Air Force colonel, had to go into hiding. Trump wrote, quote, This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran.”

“President Trump warned Iran today in a profane written post on social media that the US will attack key Iranian economic and infrastructure installations Tuesday. This, if no deal, is agreed to before then to keep open the key strait of Hormuz.”

“The president and Secretary Hegseth's rhetoric about no mercy, no quarter, death from above, the bombing of the Stone Ages, this kind of rhetoric is really dangerous because the likelihood of having downed pilots or others who are captured in a war like this is very high. And if you send the message that there's no quarter for the folks on the other side, that really encourages them to mistreat our folks.”

“The governor of Russia's northwestern Leningrad region said Ukrainian drones caused a fuel leak at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, the latest in a series of attacks that have slowed shipments of oil out of one of Russia's largest export hubs. Separately, authorities in the Nizhny Novgorod region to the east of Moscow reported Ukrainian drone strikes caused a massive fire at one of Russia's largest oil refineries.”

“The uptick in attacks comes as part of a wider Ukrainian effort to limit Russia's financial windfall from the US and Israel's decision to attack Iran. That war has brought soaring global energy prices and new customers for Russian oil and gas at a moment when Russia's economy had been struggling due to Western sanctions.”

“President Trump is again threatening Iran, saying on social media today, it has 48 hours left to open the Strait of Hormuz, or quote, all hell will rain down and glory be to God. He's already delayed that threat twice. This is the US and Israel continue to pound Iran.”

“An F-15, which is a very good fighter jet, was struck by Iranian fire in western Iran, and this set off an urgent rescue operation by US forces for the two crew members, a pilot and a weapons officer. One was rescued. We still don't know the fate of the other.”

“Holy Week services are mixed with funerals and the sound of explosions. Israel's military says it's striking Hezbollah's infrastructure after killing a thousand of its members. Three United Nations peacekeepers have been wounded at their base in the south.”

“The US Embassy in Beirut says Iran may now target US universities in Lebanon. The American University of Beirut has shifted some classes online. The embassy has also upped its overall warning telling US citizens to leave Lebanon now.”

“The story exposed a federal directive to send pregnant migrant children to a single group home in South Texas beginning last July. Child welfare advocates say the move was intended to detain the pregnant girls in a state where abortion is illegal.”

“The pilot was quickly recovered, but his weapons officer or colonel spent again two days evading Iranian militia and Revolutionary Guard forces. He was eventually plucked from a crevasse in a mountain some 7,000 feet high. I'm told by a US official, he's in stable condition, though no detail on his wounds.”

“Meanwhile, in a profanity-filled post on social media, President Trump threatened Iran again today over opening the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli attacks have killed at least 39 people across Lebanon today. And Piers-Lauren Freire reports, one of the biggest attacks targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, where Iran-backed Hezbollah has offices.”

“Residents posted this video to social media showing people covered in gray dust, ferrying the wounded out of a collapsed building on slings made of blankets. Israel often issues evacuation orders, but this attack in Beirut's coastal area of Jenach came without warning. Hitting a dense residential area near a public hospital, health officials say a four-year-old girl was among those killed.”

“Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with hundreds of Shaheds a day, and Ukraine's military has learned how to intercept them. Zelensky is offering to trade this anti-drone expertise for systems that shoot down Russian ballistic missiles. Joanna Kekesis, NPR News, CAVE.”

“The Screenwriters Union and Hollywood Studios have reached a tentative four-year agreement after weeks of negotiation. Details of the agreement between the Writers Guild of America West and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers hasn't been released. But the Union was asking for better health care plans and protections against artificial intelligence.”

“President Trump said on Truth Social that dozens of planes took part in the operation to save the airmen after his F-15 fighter jet was hit over western Iran on Friday. The plane's pilot was quickly rescued, but the weapons officer, an Air Force colonel, had to go into hiding. Trump wrote, quote, This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran. US rescue aircraft came under fire, but managed to reach the airmen and fly them out of the country.”

“On this Easter Sunday, President Trump went on Truth Social this morning to threaten Iran. In a profanity-laden post, he said Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, repeating his threat to strike Iran's critical infrastructure if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Monday deadline. Trump ended the post with, praise be to Allah.”

“Easter services are mixed with funerals as Israel bombs Lebanon's south and demolishes homes there. In the Christian village of Dibil, resident Maroun Yassif tells NPR, They're under siege and being shelled. United Nations peacekeepers say they've lodged a formal protest after Israeli soldiers destroyed security cameras outside a UN base in southern Lebanon. Three UN peacekeepers were killed last month and several have been wounded.”

“Egypt said today that its foreign minister, Badr Abdel-Ati, had had phone conversations with his regional counterparts, as well as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Arakchi to discuss proposals to de-escalate the Iran war. The phone conversations follow Egypt's participation last weekend in talks with Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia on the Iran conflict, which has also triggered a rise in global fuel costs.”

“Hollywood studios and screenwriters reached an agreement yesterday on a new contract. It's for four years, a year longer than usual. The precise terms have not been disclosed. The Writers Guild issued a statement that the contract protects health care gains that were reached in 2023. The current contract expires June 30th. The swift resolution of negotiations comes in stark contrast to the last round, when Hollywood writers went on strike for months.”

“A US. Air Force officer who, along with another crew member ejected from a jet shot down in Iran on Friday, was rescued by US forces Sunday morning. Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, says at least five people were killed by US and Israeli forces involved in the operation. President Trump announced the rescue on social media, calling it, quote, one of the most daring search and rescue operations in US history.”

“On this Easter Sunday, President Trump went on Truth Social to threaten Iran. In a profanity-laden post, he said Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day. Repeating his threat to strike critical infrastructure, if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by tomorrow, Trump ended the post with, praise be to Allah. The Strait of Hormuz carries about one-fifth of the world's oil supply, and gasoline prices have spiked since the war began.”

“Assuming there's actually a ceasefire and that Iran is interested in respecting it, it's going to be at least a couple of months. Reopening of the Straits will be slow because it may have been mined. Also, the logistics of getting all the ships that are trapped in out and the ones that are out in will be slow. Repair, there's been a lot of damage to infrastructure. We don't know how bad. It takes time to get the crew in. There's also restart. A lot of the oil fields have been damaged.”

“President Trump's executive order calls for his administration to create lists of adult US citizens in each state. It also calls for banning the US Postal Service from delivering mail-in-balance to anyone not on those lists. In their lawsuits, Democrats, voting rights groups, and almost two dozen states argue that Constitution gives state legislatures and Congress, not the president, the power to set rules for federal elections.”

“Dymast and the National Rural Letter Cares Association says the order would weaponize the Postal Service to determine a voter's eligibility. It's going to cause confusion and could cause further delays in the daily handling of the mail and the daily routine and work of a postal worker. Trump says his order is trying to stop illegal voting by non-citizens in federal elections, a problem that numerous studies have shown is incredibly rare.”

“We have a tendency in America to view things in very short periods. Our year in Iraq, or in my case, five years in Iraq. Yeah. But we tend to come in and say, we are going to fight the war to end all wars, at least in our minds. But it really starts in 1953, when the US and British intelligence services overthrew the constitutionally-elected prime minister and put back into power the peacock regime of the Shah.”

“They oppressed the people tremendously, particularly through SAVAK, the secret police. So when the Iranian Revolution erupts in 1978, we may be surprised. The Iranian people are not surprised. And when they suddenly say, death to America, most Americans will say, what's your problem? Why are you angry at us?”

“So then after 2002, when George W. Bush names Iran to the Axis of Evil, reportedly to their surprise, you start to continue this set of grievances. So I try to remind people, whenever we think of what's happening now, if we don't understand that journey to this point, we don't understand the attitudes that are going to drive decisions people make.”

“And so Iran survives this eight-year, extraordinary experience, twice as long as the First World War. And it sets a mark upon the Iranian population that we shouldn't forget to this day, because the baby boomers are veterans of that experience. And the clerics get a lot of support from them.”

“I don't know, because the Iranian opposition is not really evident. We saw in 2009, they came in the streets and they were sort of beaten back into submission, and then reportedly thousands of Iranians protesting were killed by the regime in recent months. But I couldn't name the opposition leader. I couldn't tell you the liberation front.”

“President Trump is again threatening Iran, saying on social media today, it has 48 hours left to open the Strait of Hormuz, or quote, all hell will rain down and glory be to God. He's already delayed that threat twice. This is the US and Israel continue to pound Iran.”

“An F-15, which is a very good fighter jet, was struck by Iranian fire in western Iran, and this set off an urgent rescue operation by US forces for the two crew members, a pilot and a weapons officer. One was rescued. We still don't know the fate of the other.”

“Holy Week services are mixed with funerals and the sound of explosions. Israel's military says it's striking Hezbollah's infrastructure after killing a thousand of its members. Three United Nations peacekeepers have been wounded at their base in the south.”

“The US Embassy in Beirut says Iran may now target US universities in Lebanon. The American University of Beirut has shifted some classes online. The embassy has also upped its overall warning telling US citizens to leave Lebanon now.”

“The story exposed a federal directive to send pregnant migrant children to a single group home in South Texas beginning last July. Child welfare advocates say the move was intended to detain the pregnant girls in a state where abortion is illegal.”