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Senator Jack Reed 在听证会上表示，国防部长未能向 Trump 提供 Iran 战争的准确情况 US politics live – 最新更新 订阅 Breaking News US 电子邮件简报 Pete Hegseth 未能向 Donald Trump 提供关于 Iran 战争的真实情况，同时诉诸“危险地夸大”的言论来营造 US 军事胜利的虚假景象，一位资深 Democrat 在周四的 Capitol Hill 听证会上如是说。 Senate armed services committee 的首席 Democrat 成员 Jack Reed 告诉国防部长 Hegseth，这远非胜利，US 公民正不得不以燃油价格上涨的形式，为一场他们并不支持的战争承担代价。 Continue reading...

• 众议院民主党人在 4 月 29 日的听证会上，自伊朗战争爆发以来首次带着质疑质询了国防部长 Pete Hegseth，重点追问了战略和成本问题。 • 在一场激烈的交锋中，一位民主党议员引用了 Hegseth 之前的言论来反驳他，指责其具有党派立场。 • 此次对抗凸显了在支持率暴跌的背景下，各方在战争经济代价和 Trump 外交政策上的党派分歧。

• 在 Iran-U.S. 冲突威胁全球供应之际，油价飙升，但受 Visa 和 Starbucks 于 2026 年 4 月 29 日发布的强劲财报推动，U.S. stocks 表现出韧性，维持在纪录高位附近。 • S&P 500 指数微跌 0.1%，Dow 下跌 286 点（0.6%），Nasdaq 上涨 0.1%；Visa 首席执行官 Ryan McInerney 称消费支出具有韧性，其股价跳涨 8.3%；Starbucks 因 North America 地区单次消费额增加而上涨 8.6%。 • Federal Reserve 官员暗示 2026 年不会降息，由于能源价格带来的通胀压力，这几乎消除了投资者的降息押注，甚至倾向于加息；债券市场出现震荡。

尽管有迹象显示受伊朗战争对燃料价格的影响通胀正在上升，但官方仍做出了不改变利率的决定。英格兰银行将英国利率维持在3.75%不变，尽管有迹象表明受伊朗战争的影响，通胀已开始加速。在周四中午结束的最新利率设定会议后，该行货币政策委员会 (MPC) 投票决定维持借贷成本不变。继续阅读...

• Defense secretary 在昨日 House 经历了一场情绪激烈的会议后，将接受 Senate armed services committee 议员的质询。欢迎阅读我们的 US 政治报道，Pete Hegseth 正面临在 Capitol Hill 接受 Democrats 质询的第二天，senators 获得了首次就其处理 Iran 战争的方式与这位 Pentagon 负责人对峙或对其表示赞赏的机会。 • 这位 Defense secretary 昨天在 House armed services committee 进行了近六个小时的听证会，期间与 Democrats 以及一些 Republicans 展开了交锋，他面临着关于战争的金钱成本、生命代价以及关键 weapons 库存减少的质疑。 • 在政府停摆（government shutdown）导致政府支出反弹后，US 第一季度的经济增长可能有所加速。上一季度 gross domestic product 的预期增长也将反映出在 artificial intelligence 支出热潮和支撑该技术的 data centers 建设推动下，企业在 equipment 投资方面的强劲增长。数据将于 8.30am ET 公布。

• 这位音乐家及其身为创意顾问的妻子希望 Hodge Podge 能够拓展关于创造力和社区的理念 • 由 Jarvis Cocker 及其妻子、创意顾问 Kim Sion 策划的一场新展览将于明年在 Hepworth Wakefield 开幕，旨在鼓励人们发掘自身的创造力 • Hodge Podge 将于 2027 年 5 月开幕，届时将汇集一系列个人甄选作品，挑战关于艺术定义的传统观念

• 美联储周三投票决定将基准联邦基金利率维持在 3.5% 至 3.75% 不变，理由是对伊朗战争期间通货膨胀上升的担忧。 • 这标志着在 2025 年 9 月、10 月和 12 月连续三次下调 25 个基点后，美联储继续暂停利率调整。 • 美联储主席 Jerome Powell 计划于东部时间下午 2:30 举行新闻发布会讨论该决定，这可能是他作为美联储主席最后一次利率公告。

• 美联储官员将维持利率不变的原因归结为高企的通胀、就业增长缓慢以及中东局势的不确定性。 • 在最近一次董事会会议后，美国联邦储备委员会（Fed）维持利率不变，再次无视了 Donald Trump 的降息要求，同时该央行正准备在下个月进行领导层调整。 • 周三，美联储官员继续将高通胀、就业增长缓慢和中东不确定性列为未调整利率的原因。阅读更多...

• Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe 在承认与近期枪击事件无关的移民和枪支相关罪名后，被处以罚款并被驱逐出境。 • 在约翰内斯堡一个富裕郊区的 Mugabe 家庭住宅内，一名员工背部中弹三个月后，Robert Mugabe 的最小儿子在承认两项无关指控后被罚款并被命令离开南 Africa。 • 28 岁的 Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe 及其 33 岁的表亲 Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze 在 2 月 19 日该事件发生后，最初均被指控企图谋杀。阅读更多...

• Harris County Public Health 的一份新报告显示，休斯顿的结核病发病率在德克萨斯州最高，凸显了城市传播风险。 • 数据显示，休斯顿地区病例数增加与人口密集及社会经济因素相关。 • 结核病发病率上升要求扩大针对性的筛查和治疗，以遏制高风险社区的传播。

The Arab oil producer has long expressed frustration with the quotas it has to follow as part of OPEC, the cartel of major state-owned oil producers.(Image credit: Joe Klamar)

Resolution Foundation report says ‘crisis’ stems from rising ill-health and a failing system of benefits and job supportBritain has the third-highest rate of young people not in work or education among Europe’s richest countries because of rising ill-health and a failing system of benefits and job support, a report has warned.The Resolution Foundation thinktank said the UK was facing a “crisis” in youth jobs amid a dramatic rise in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neets) to almost 1 million – the highest level in more than a decade. Continue reading...

• Environmental Working Group study finds 20% of Americans used systems with elevated nitrate levels from 2021-2023 data. • Nitrate poses health risks including cancer and developmental issues in contaminated supplies. • Affects millions nationwide, urging stricter regulations and testing.

• Florida's KidCare expansion remains stalled in legal limbo since February 2024, preventing coverage for more children. • Uninsured children in the state have risen to 400,000, one of the highest tallies nationwide. • Delay exacerbates access issues as federal funds await resolution, impacting low-income families significantly.

• Broadcom provided second-quarter guidance of $9.2 billion in revenues, exceeding analyst estimates by 6%, driven by surging demand for data center semiconductors and artificial intelligence accelerators from cloud computing providers. • CEO Hock Tan stated that AI-related semiconductor orders are tracking 40% above historical averages, with major customers committing to long-term capacity agreements through 2028, signaling sustained strong demand. • The robust guidance helped lift semiconductor index ETFs 2.1% during extended trading and sparked upgrades from multiple analysts who raised price targets on Broadcom by 8–12% based on improved visibility into AI infrastructure spending cycles.

• The Federal Reserve released minutes from its April 16 policy meeting, revealing internal division over the appropriate timeline for interest rate cuts, with several governors questioning whether inflation has declined sufficiently to warrant near-term reductions. • Hawks on the committee expressed concern that premature rate cuts could reignite price pressures, while doves argued that pausing at 5.5% risks unnecessarily constraining growth and employment, setting the stage for a contentious May 2 vote. • Market reactions to the minutes were mixed, with bond futures pricing in only a 28% probability of a rate cut by July 2026, down from 35% before the release, while equity index futures declined 0.6% on expectation of extended higher rates.

Exclusive: Report shows cost of first appointment rose $20 in one year, with steeper rises in Western Australia, South Australia and TasmaniaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPatients are increasingly going without medically necessary dermatological care, the head of the Consumers Health Forum said, as new report reveals the rising cost of the specialty in Australia.Dermatology is expensive and getting pricier, with an average first visit now costing an adult patient without concessions $230 out-of-pocket, while follow-up appointments cost almost $190, the report from health directory Cleanbill found. Continue reading...

Uncle Jack Pearson, an army captain, says heckling ‘not in the Anzac spirit’ after welcome to country booed in Sydney, Melbourne and PerthIndigenous speakers booed while Ben Roberts-Smith attends separate Gold Coast eventMarcia Langton: The AFL bans disruptive racists. Surely police can do the same for morons who boo welcome to countryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIndigenous leaders have condemned people who booed welcome to country speeches at Anzac Day dawn services across the country, with an army captain stating “racism is a cancer”.Elders who spoke at services in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth on Saturday morning were booed following a campaign by Fight for Australia, the group formerly known as March for Australia, which has previously staged major anti-immigration rallies. Continue reading...

Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoodsIn the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.Previously, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of tourist season leaves the city at risk of “over-saturation.” Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development. Continue reading...

Four men face murder charges in case of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp, whose body was found in a wooded areaFour people have been arrested in connection to the 1982 killing of a Louisiana teenager, investigators announced on Friday.State police troopers said tips generated by a true-crime podcast they were involved in making – along with improvements in investigative technologies – helped them make arrests in the killing of Roxanne Sharp, 16, about 44 years earlier. Continue reading...

• President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to expedite access to treatments for patients with serious mental illness. • The FDA is accelerating its review process for mental health therapies in response to the directive. • This policy shift aims to reduce barriers to treatment approval and expand therapeutic options for affected patients.

Lack of a sustained plan to end the war has convinced US allies that the White House is running out of ideasNearly eight weeks after Donald Trump launched his assault on Iran, the White House has shifted from a strategy of shock-and-awe bombardments and leadership decapitation to a plan of sustained economic pressure as it tests the wills of a regime practiced over decades at wars of attrition.Since the negotiations stalled, the White House has begun to shift its messaging to say it is willing to wait to strike a more durable deal with Iran – despite the growing economic toll inflicted on the world economy by the closure of the strait of Hormuz. The reason, senior officials have said, is because of the joint US-Israeli strikes were so successful that they have fractured Iran’s leadership and prevented a new consolidation of power. Continue reading...

Rival to government plans would scrap net zero policies, as party aims to woo sector after decades of job lossesReform UK has asked steel bosses to draw up an “alternative steel strategy” to rival recent government plans, stoking industry fears over a charm offensive by Nigel Farage’s party as it eyes gains in former Labour heartlands.Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, met a group of bosses shortly before Labour announced new steel tariffs in March and commissioned them to draft a competing plan that will include scrapping net zero policies. Continue reading...

Tensions around US negotiations may reflect mistake of assassinating more pragmatic and experienced figuresMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has claimed that the infighting between moderates and hardliners in Iran’s leadership is so intense that the country has “no idea who their leader is”, but many Iranian experts questioned his analysis, saying that – given the mass assassinations of senior commanders – the country has shown remarkable institutional cohesion.Trump’s allegations of “CRAZY” splits in the Iranian leadership – the second outing for this argument in three days – is remarkable since he has previously said either he has little knowledge of the new Iranian leadership or that there has already been regime change. Continue reading...

Adam Hall, of Tyne and Wear, will serve at least 23 years in prison, with victims describing lasting traumaA “callous, calculating sexual predator” who raped and deliberately infected young, vulnerable men with HIV has been jailed for life and told he must serve at least 23 years.Adam Hall, 43, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, is the second man in the UK ever to be found guilty of intentionally setting out to spread the virus. Continue reading...

Radio company ARN’s defence alleges the shock jock denigrated executives, censors, critics and the audience of the Kyle and Jackie O ShowFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter hereKyle Sandilands repeatedly berated Kiis FM executives, the radio station’s censors, critics of the Kyle and Jackie O Show and the Melbourne audience in expletive-laden rants, according to federal court documents.The details of the alleged tirades, which aired months before the shock jock was sacked and accused of “serious misconduct” by ARN, are contained in the company’s defence of an $85m claim filed by Sandilands. Continue reading...

• The average 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage rate in the US reached 6.218%, up 3 basis points from the prior day amid fluctuating bond yields. • 15-year fixed-rate averaged 5.450%, down 4 basis points, while jumbo 30-year hit 6.538%; week-over-week, 30-year conventional fell 6 basis points to 6.218% from 6.279%. • Rates reflect Optimal Blue data for loans locked as of April 20, signaling modest stabilization despite economic pressures from high energy prices.