• Actress Sayani Gupta is receiving positive response for her latest series 'Glory', which recently premiered on Netflix, where she plays the role of Joyna.
• Gupta celebrated a significant week in her career with the world premieres of her short film 'Aasmani', which won two awards at the event.
• The actress shared an emotional note about balancing her work on the Netflix series with her independent short film project.
At a rally in Florida, the US president tells a cheering crowd ‘we took over the ship’Middle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has said the US navy acted “like pirates” as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports.“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” said Trump at a rally in Florida on Friday. Continue reading...
• The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates unchanged at its latest meeting but signaled a more hawkish stance, shifting investor sentiment regarding future policy direction.
• Tech sector earnings continued to show strong numbers, though stock market reactions remained mixed, with the S&P 500 rising 1% for the week as equities powered through higher oil prices and a backup in yields.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced he will not retire after his term ends next month, committing to serve as a constructive governor rather than a shadow Fed chair.
Senator Jack Reed says at hearing that defense secretary failed to give Trump accurate picture of war in IranUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailPete Hegseth has failed to give Donald Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph, a senior Democrat told a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, told Hegseth, the defense secretary, that far from victory, US citizens were having to bear the cost of a war they did not support in the form of increased fuel prices. Continue reading...
• House Democrats skeptically questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time since the Iran war began, pressing on strategy and costs during an April 29 hearing.
• One Democrat accused Hegseth of partisanship, quoting his prior statements back at him in a heated exchange.
• The confrontation highlights partisan divides over the war's economic toll and Trump's foreign policy amid plunging approval ratings.
• Oil prices surged amid Iran-U.S. conflict threatening global supplies, but U.S. stocks remained resilient near record highs driven by strong earnings from Visa and Starbucks on April 29, 2026.
• S&P 500 edged down 0.1%, Dow fell 286 points or 0.6%, Nasdaq up 0.1%; Visa shares jumped 8.3% on resilient consumer spending per CEO Ryan McInerney, Starbucks climbed 8.6% with higher per-visit spending in North America.
• Federal Reserve officials hinted at no 2026 rate cuts, nearly eliminating investor bets and nearly favoring hikes due to inflation from energy prices; bond market trembled.
Decision not to change rate comes despite signs inflation is rising amid the Iran war’s effects on fuel pricesThe Bank of England has left UK interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, despite signs that inflation is beginning to accelerate due to the impact of the Iran war.The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to leave borrowing costs on hold at noon on Thursday, after its latest rate-setting meeting. Continue reading...
Defense secretary to be quizzed by lawmakers on Senate armed services committee after bad-tempered session in House yesterdaySign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to our US politics coverage as Pete Hegseth faces a second day of grilling from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with senators getting their first opportunity to confront or praise the Pentagon chief over his handling of the Iran war.The defense secretary battled with Democrats - and some Republicans - yesterday during a nearly six-hour House armed services committee hearing, where he faced questioning over the war’s costs in dollars, lives and the diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.US economic growth likely accelerated in the first quarter on a rebound in government spending after a crippling government shutdown. The anticipated increase in gross domestic product last quarter also would reflect robust growth in business investment in equipment, fueled by an artificial intelligence spending boom and the building of data centers underpinning the technology. Figures will be out at 8.30am ETKing Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to make stops in Virginia before wrapping up their US visit back at the White House on Thursday with a formal farewell from Trump. Charles will then travel solo to Bermuda on his first visit as king to a British overseas territory.Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats will once again force a vote on a war powers resolution on Iran, the sixth time in recent weeks. “This week, Democrats will force a vote on our war powers resolution for the sixth time. We’ll continue to force votes every week as this war rages on,” Schumer said from the Senate floor.The House approved a three-year reauthorization of a divisive US surveillance program ahead of its expiration on Friday, adding new oversight measures but stopping short of the warrant requirement that critics have demanded. A large group of Democrats joined most Republicans in passing the bill by a 235-191 vote.Trump once again reinforced his feelings towards James Comey in a social media post. Commenting on the accusation that the former FBI director called for him to be killed after posting a picture of some seashells in a pattern showing 86 47, Trump wrote: ““86” is a mob term for “kill him.” They say 86 him! 86 47 means “kill President Trump.”James Comey, who is a Dirty Cop, one of the worst, knows this full well! EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN! Didn’t he also lie to the FBI about this??? I think so!”. Trump is the 47th president of the US.The US supreme court’s conservative majority struck down a major element of the Voting Rights Act which protects against racial discrimination in redistricting, in a ruling that paves the way for aggressive gerrymandering in states across the nation that could affect elections for years to come.The Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map intended to maximize Republicans’ advantage in the state as part of the national redistricting battle that Republicans launched ahead of this year’s midterms.Outgoing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he will stay on as a central bank governor when his leadership term ends in just over two weeks.The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that three anti-ICE protesters have been charged with allegedly assaulting Savannah Hernandez, a rightwing video journalist who was shoved to the ground during a skirmish with three members of a family outside an immigration detention facility in St Paul Minnesota this month. Continue reading...
Musician and his wife, a creative consultant, hope the Hodge Podge can expand ideas of creativity and communityA new exhibition curated by Jarvis Cocker and his wife, the creative consultant Kim Sion, will open at Hepworth Wakefield next year, aiming to encourage people to discover their own creativity.Opening in May 2027, the Hodge Podge will bring together a personal selection of works challenging conventional ideas of what art can be. Continue reading...
• The Federal Reserve voted to leave the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, citing concerns about inflation rising amid the war in Iran.
• This marks the continuation of the Fed's pause in rate adjustments following three successive 25-basis-point cuts in September, October, and December 2025.
• Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the decision, marking what could be his final interest-rate announcement as Federal Reserve chair.
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