“American Airlines on Thursday cut its 2026 earnings forecast, becoming the latest airline to lower its outlook after a surge in fuel costs added billions to expenses this year. American said it could post an adjusted per-share loss of 40 cents up to earnings of $1.10 a share, lower than the per-share earnings of $1.70 to $2.70 it forecast in January, though Wall Street analysts have been trimming their forecasts for the industry since the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran this year. Airlines have been either cutting their full-year forecasts or holding off on further guidance because of volatile prices for jet fuel since the war started. Fuel is generally their biggest expense after labor.” (04/23/26)
“In 2022, the Maine Legislature took a rare step and required municipalities to adjust local zoning rules in an effort to spur housing construction, a move that generated a fierce debate over state growth targets versus local control. Four years later, the State House may have finally worked out the kinks from that experiment. Municipal legal experts and town managers are hoping a new bill, L.D. 2173, signed by Gov. Janet Mills a week ago, is the last word on land use restrictions, a technical but critical piece of the housing puzzle, for a while. The bill marks the second big adjustment lawmakers have made to zoning laws since L.D. 2003, the landmark 2022 legislation that required towns to remove some regulatory barriers in order to encourage housing production. L.D. 2003 aimed to do this by eliminating single-family zoning restrictions and making it easier to build accessory dwelling units while creating support for communities to develop affordable housing.” (04/23/26)
“Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after judges on Thursday confirmed charges of crimes against humanity over his so-called ‘war on drugs.’ Pre-trial judges ‘unanimously confirmed all the charges … against Rodrigo Roa Duterte and committed him to trial,’ the ICC said in a statement. Duterte will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world’s worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.” (04/23/26)
“Cocaine, cannabis, laughing gas and prescription pills are being offered for sale in mini-marts on UK High Streets, a BBC investigation can reveal. They were readily offered to our undercover researchers who secretly filmed in shops across four neighbouring West Midlands towns. One street we visited was described as ‘lawless’ by an anonymous law enforcement source. Just a few miles away, in a town where we found illegal drugs being sold in shops, legitimate businesses told us they had been intimidated by gangs – and witnessed knife and gun violence. Across the country, shopfronts are being exploited by organised criminal gangs that have gained a foothold pushing illegal drugs, say both the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).” (04/23/26)
“Senate Republicans green-lit their party-line plan early Thursday morning to send tens of billions of dollars to immigration enforcement agencies in the coming years. Senators voted 50-48 to adopt a budget blueprint for legislation that could fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and other agencies for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. The vote was almost entirely on party lines, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only lawmakers to break ranks. The vote just after 3:30 a.m. completed the first step in the GOP’s plan to approve roughly $70 billion in additional funding without help from Democrats, who have refused to fund the immigration agencies without a slate of new restrictions on how they operate.” (04/23/26)
“After the Dragon Bravo wildfire incinerated the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park last summer, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, the visitor center and more than 100 other buildings, a looming question remained: Could the disaster have been prevented? At the center of that query was the initial fire management strategy employed by national park officials. And, confusingly, what park leaders communicated about that strategy conflicted with the park’s own social media posts. Leaders said the park used a ‘full suppression’ strategy from the beginning. But social media posts reported an initial ‘confine and contain strategy,’ which allows a fire to continue burning a defined area. In a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum weighed in on the discrepancy for the first time, affirming the information shared on the park’s social media accounts and undermining the credibility of Grand Canyon’s superintendent and park spokesperson.” (04/23/26)
“Pope Leo returns to Rome on Thursday after wrapping up an ambitious four-nation Africa tour in which he forcefully decried the direction of global leadership, denouncing despotism and war, and drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump. The first U.S. pope closed the nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) tour with a final Mass in a stadium in Equatorial Guinea, where tens of thousands began gathering in pouring rain before dawn for a last chance to see him. Leo told worshippers in a homily, his 25th speech over the 10-day tour, that the Christian message means ‘every people is set free from the slavery of evil.’ He urged them to live their faith with joy. The pope has taken on a new forceful speaking style during his time in Africa, in which he also visited Algeria, Cameroon and Angola.” (04/23/26)
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two vessels in the strait of Hormuz for what it called maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian shores, according to the shipping companies and Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. Wednesday’s move was the first time Iran has seized ships since the war began in late February. … Iranian officials said they had not agreed to any extension of the truce, and criticised Trump’s decision to maintain the US naval blockade. Lead Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said a full ceasefire only made sense if the blockade was lifted. … The Pentagon said the US secretary of the navy, John Phelan, would depart the office ‘effective immediately,’ without providing an explanation for his sudden exit amid the naval blockade.” (04/23/26)
“The price of bitcoin continued its April surge, rebounding to prices not seen since early February. … Bitcoin Wednesday afternoon traded around $78,600, surging 3.9% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin peaked at $79,468 intraday Wednesday, marking its highest price since Feb. 2. Although bitcoin has trended higher in April, it still remains well below its October peak of $126,200. … Meanwhile, Strategy on Monday announced it acquired 34,164 bitcoin for roughly $2.54 billion, representing a price of about $74,395 per bitcoin. … With the acquisition, Strategy became the largest publicly-traded holder of bitcoin, surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which holds 806,699 bitcoin.” (04/22/26)
“European Union officials on Wednesday took a key step toward approving a loan of roughly $105 billion for Ukraine, after Hungary dropped its long-standing opposition. The loan is moving forward after its main opponent, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, lost his campaign for reelection this month. The money will provide a crucial lifeline to Kyiv, helping to finance its government and fight Russia’s ongoing invasion. The package is expected to get formal approval Thursday, according to officials from Cyprus, which holds the E.U.’s rotating presidency.” (04/22/26)
