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Arit John

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Apr 16, 2026, 5:00 AM ET

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Analilia Mejia, left, and Joe Hathaway.

Analilia Mejia Campaign for Congress/Joe Hathaway for Congress

Two months after progressive Analilia Mejia won a special election in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 11th District, voters will decide Thursday whether they want to send her to Congress.

Mejia will face Republican Joe Hathaway, a member of the Randolph Township council.

In a district where there are about 65,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to the state’s Department of Elections, Mejia is favored to win the special election for the seat Mikie Sherrill vacated after being elected governor in November. Mejia has united most of the Democratic Party behind her, including former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who ran in the special primary and lost after facing a barrage of spending from a group linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

A Mejia victory on Thursday would be a boon for progressives, notably Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who endorsed her after she was national political director for his 2020 presidential campaign. Hathaway, meanwhile, is hoping to win over Democrats who feel Mejia would be too far left for the district.

“I think on Thursday voters know they have a decision – an easy decision – to make,” Mejia told CNN. “Their pocketbook, the prices at the gas pump, the prices at the grocery store, are informing people about just how dangerous it is to send someone else to do Donald Trump’s bidding in Congress.”

Hathaway has run as a moderate, a self-described “commonsense, independent” former mayor willing to buck the Republican Party.

“For a lot of those Democrats out there, I say it kind of tongue in cheek, but I mean it too: They have an opportunity here,” he said. “If they’re really concerned about Analilia, there’s an opportunity to test drive a Republican for six months.”

The winner of Thursday’s election will have an immediate impact on the razor-thin US House majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson is now able to lose two GOP defections on party-line votes and still pass legislation. A Mejia victory would shrink that margin yet again.

Hathaway and Mejia are both also running in their party’s June primaries for a full two-year term that would start in January.

AIPAC’s attacks on Malinowski boosted a more strident Israel critic

A Mejia win would be a reminder of how AIPAC’s efforts to punish a former ally backfired.

Prior to February’s primary, Malinowski had raised the most money and was well known thanks to his two terms in Congress representing a nearby district. He campaigned as the candidate most ready to jump into the role.

Then the United Democracy Project, a super PAC aligned with AIPAC, spent $2 million on ads attacking Malinowski and portraying him as supportive of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pointing to his 2019 vote for a bipartisan spending bill that funded the agency.

“If AIPAC had never gotten involved, Tom Malinowski would be going to Congress right now,” said Julie Roginsky, a Democratic strategist who ran a super PAC supporting the former congressman.

The campaign came as a surprise given that Malinowski – a self-described Zionist – had a strong pro-Israel voting record. AIPAC, however, took issue with the former congressman’s willingness to place conditions on aid to Israel. “I wouldn’t promise a blank check in advance for anything a prime minister would ask for,” Malinowski told The New York Times in January.

After his loss, Malinowski blasted AIPAC in an op-ed published by The Bulwark, arguing that the group’s attacks on him were meant to intimidate other Democrats. He warned that if AIPAC’s vision of being pro-Israel “requires smearing even the most moderate elected officials who ask questions” then “the number of Americans (and the number of members of Congress) who pass its test will be too small to sustain any kind of relationship with the Jewish state.”

The attacks on Malinowski likely aided Mejia, who was the only candidate during a forum to raise her hand when asked if they agreed with human rights groups that have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. (Israel has denied genocide allegations.)

After the February race, a spokesperson for the United Democracy Project said the group would be monitoring the June primary for a full term, but a strong challenger to Mejia has not emerged. Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who finished third after being endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, another pro-Israel group, said in March she would not run again. And Malinowski endorsed and campaigned with Mejia ahead of Thursday’s election.

‘You meet people where they’re at’

Mejia says she advanced by running a grassroots campaign and focusing on voters’ economic concerns.

“I was able to connect with voters through that primary,” she said. “The closer we got to the election, I was trending. Why? Because, as an organizer, I know you meet people where they’re at.”

Though she’s never held political office, she spent several years working behind the scenes. She worked to help Democrats – including Malinowski and Sherrill – win Republican-held House seats in 2018 and pushed for a $15 minimum wage in the state as leader of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance.

Mejia has sought to broaden her appeal in the final weeks of the campaign.

“She’s done a very good job consolidating support since she won,” Roginsky said. “And if she continues to do that, when she’s in Congress, continues to listen to people in her district, which I’m sure she is, she’ll be fine.”

Asked if she sees herself as part of “The Squad,” the progressive group in the House that includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, Mejia said the squad she’s most focused on is the voters in her district.

“If you were going to define me as anything, it’s a scrappy New Jersey soccer mom that is willing to stand up for you,” she said.

4月13日，韩国总统李在明在首尔青瓦台与波兰总理图斯克举行联合新闻发布会。 （法新社）

韩国总统李在明将在未来几天访问印度和越南。首尔此举旨在确保燃料供应稳定，以缓解中东战争的影响。

韩国国家安全顾问魏圣洛星期四（4月16日）告诉记者，李在明将于星期天启程前往印度进行为期三天的访问，并在新德里会见印度总理莫迪。

法新社引述魏圣洛说，两位领导人“预计将重申在当前动荡的国际形势下，双方致力于在能源供应链方面保持密切协调”。

他还补充说，会谈将寻求加强在造船、人工智能和国防等战略领域的合作，并为到2030年将双边贸易额翻一番，达到500亿美元（635.60亿新元）“奠定基础”。

李在明和莫迪还将讨论“为朝鲜半岛和地区和平继续开展建设性合作”。

延伸阅读

韩国政府：原油储备足以支撑至5月 绕开霍尔木兹封锁 韩国派五船赴红海开辟原油新航路

魏圣洛透露，李在明将于星期二抵达河内，并于次日与越南领导人苏林会面。双方将讨论“在全球不确定性加剧的情况下，如何采取具体措施加强战略和互利合作”。

会谈将聚焦能源安全、供应链稳定、关键矿产合作及其他领域。

越南是韩国第三大贸易伙伴，两国目标是在本十年内实现每年1500亿美元的货物和服务贸易额。

与许多亚洲经济体一样，自2月底美国和以色列袭击伊朗，导致德黑兰实际上关闭了至关重要的霍尔木兹海峡以来，韩国的能源供应面临着日益严峻的风险。

首尔方面星期三说，将通过不受海峡封锁影响的航线采购2亿7000多桶原油，称此举将有助于稳定国内供需。

韩国联合通讯社星期四引述韩国外交部的消息报道，韩国和中国的高级官员下周还将举行经济会谈，旨在确保尽管受到战争冲击，贸易环境仍保持稳定。

4月13日，韩国总统李在明在首尔青瓦台与波兰总理图斯克举行联合新闻发布会。 （法新社）

韩国总统李在明将在未来几天访问印度和越南。首尔此举旨在确保燃料供应稳定，以缓解中东战争的影响。

韩国国家安全顾问魏圣洛星期四（4月16日）告诉记者，李在明将于星期天启程前往印度进行为期三天的访问，并在新德里会见印度总理莫迪。

法新社引述魏圣洛说，两位领导人“预计将重申在当前动荡的国际形势下，双方致力于在能源供应链方面保持密切协调”。

他还补充说，会谈将寻求加强在造船、人工智能和国防等战略领域的合作，并为到2030年将双边贸易额翻一番，达到500亿美元（635.60亿新元）“奠定基础”。

李在明和莫迪还将讨论“为朝鲜半岛和地区和平继续开展建设性合作”。

魏圣洛透露，李在明将于星期二抵达河内，并于次日与越南领导人苏林会面。双方将讨论“在全球不确定性加剧的情况下，如何采取具体措施加强战略和互利合作”。

会谈将聚焦能源安全、供应链稳定、关键矿产合作及其他领域。

越南是韩国第三大贸易伙伴，两国目标是在本十年内实现每年1500亿美元的货物和服务贸易额。

与许多亚洲经济体一样，自2月底美国和以色列袭击伊朗，导致德黑兰实际上关闭了至关重要的霍尔木兹海峡以来，韩国的能源供应面临着日益严峻的风险。

首尔方面星期三说，将通过不受海峡封锁影响的航线采购2亿7000多桶原油，称此举将有助于稳定国内供需。

韩国联合通讯社星期四引述韩国外交部的消息报道，韩国和中国的高级官员下周还将举行经济会谈，旨在确保尽管受到战争冲击，贸易环境仍保持稳定。

Kamala Harris blames president for high gas prices: ‘This is a direct result of Donald Trump’s war of choice’

April 16, 2026 6:18am EDT / Fox News

The AAA national average for regular gas is over $4, but still below the over $5 record set during the Biden-Harris administration

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Asked by Al Sharpton if she’ll run again for the White House in 2028, former Vice President Kamala Harris says ‘I might. I might.’

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is blaming President Donald Trump as Americans feel pain at the pump amid high fuel prices.

“Here in North Carolina and around the country, gas prices are too high,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “This is a direct result of Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran, and the American people are paying the price.”

The post features a video of Harris delivering remarks while standing outside in front of a sign displaying fuel prices.

DEMOCRATS POUNCE ON $4 A GALLON GAS, BLAME TRUMP’S IRAN WAR FOR ‘BROKEN PROMISE’

Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during her “107 Days” book tour at the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in downtown Miami.(Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“We’ve got a president who is paying more attention to what he thinks is in his best political interests and personal interests, as opposed to what is in the best interest of working people in America,” Harris declared at the end of the brief video.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Thursday.

BESSENT WARNS GAS STATIONS THAT TREASURY DEPT WILL KEEP THEM ‘HONEST’ AFTER SPIKE IN PRICES

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 13, 2026.(Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah shared Harris’ post on Wednesday and wrote, “The Biden-Harris administration did everything it could to chill the production and use of gasoline and diesel Don’t tell us you’re on the side of the consumer here.”

The AAA national average for regular gas is $4.093 as of April 16, 2026.

The highest recorded average price for regular was $5.016 back on June 14, 2022, during President Joe Biden’s White House tenure, when Harris was still serving as vice president.

KAMALA HARRIS DROPS BIGGEST HINT YET ON 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN

Fuel prices are displayed on a sign at a gas station on April 13, 2026, in Miami, Fla.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump defeated Harris in the 2024 presidential election. When asked last week by Al Sharpton if she will run again in 2028, Harris said, “I might,” noting, “I am thinkin’ about it.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392877029112

精准踩在政策转向前 美监管机构调查可疑石油期货交易

2026年4月16日 16:59 / 联合早报

精准踩在政策转向前 美监管机构调查可疑石油期货交易

美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）调查疑似石油期货内幕交易，要求两家交易所提供交易账号身份等信息。 （路透社）

多家美国媒体报道，美国商品期货交易委员会正在调查一系列“精准踩点”的疑似石油期货内幕交易。这些交易发生在美国总统特朗普发布与伊朗战事相关的重大政策转向之前。

彭博社星期三（4月15日）引述知情人士说，美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）正牵头调查在芝商所和洲际交易所平台上的石油期货交易。目前，调查人员正在审查至少两笔分别发生于3月23日和4月7日的石油期货交易，要求两家交易所提供交易账号身份等信息。由于相关信息尚未公开，知情人士要求匿名。

知情人士称，CFTC正在调查约两周内至少两次交易量在重大政策宣布前突然激增的情况。监管机构要求交易所提供的数据包括“Tag 50”操作员识别码，即交易背后实体的身份信息。

CFTC、ICE和CME均拒绝就调查置评。白宫发言人将置评请求转交给CFTC。

新华社引述报道说，特朗普在3月23日宣布推迟袭击伊朗能源基础设施，以及4月7日宣布停火两周之前，石油期货交易均突然放大，导致油价大幅波动。

过去几周异常大的交易量，令外界担忧可能存在对重大非公开信息的滥用。冲突爆发之初，中东石油运输的历史性扰动导致油价飙升。随后几周，随着市场猜测霍尔木兹海峡的油轮通行何时才能恢复，油价剧烈波动。

两名民主党参议员已敦促CFTC调查潜在的违规行为，对这些时机异常精准交易的审查力度加大。白宫上个月发放了一份内部备忘录，警告工作人员不得利用敏感信息在金融市场和押注事件的博彩平台上进行交易。

美国国会参议院银行委员会民主党籍议员沃伦发布声明说，这些可疑的石油期货交易看起来是内部人士操纵市场的案例，监管机构应在调查特朗普政府官员内幕交易方面做得更多。

路透社报道，商品期货交易委员会主席塞利格说，任何在市场上从事欺诈、操纵或内幕交易的人，都将面临法律的惩罚。

美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）调查疑似石油期货内幕交易，要求两家交易所提供交易账号身份等信息。 （路透社）

多家美国媒体报道，美国商品期货交易委员会正在调查一系列“精准踩点”的疑似石油期货内幕交易。这些交易发生在美国总统特朗普发布与伊朗战事相关的重大政策转向之前。

彭博社星期三（4月15日）引述知情人士说，美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）正牵头调查在芝商所和洲际交易所平台上的石油期货交易。目前，调查人员正在审查至少两笔分别发生于3月23日和4月7日的石油期货交易，要求两家交易所提供交易账号身份等信息。由于相关信息尚未公开，知情人士要求匿名。

知情人士称，CFTC正在调查约两周内至少两次交易量在重大政策宣布前突然激增的情况。监管机构要求交易所提供的数据包括“Tag 50”操作员识别码，即交易背后实体的身份信息。

CFTC、ICE和CME均拒绝就调查置评。白宫发言人将置评请求转交给CFTC。

新华社引述报道说，特朗普在3月23日宣布推迟袭击伊朗能源基础设施，以及4月7日宣布停火两周之前，石油期货交易均突然放大，导致油价大幅波动。

过去几周异常大的交易量，令外界担忧可能存在对重大非公开信息的滥用。冲突爆发之初，中东石油运输的历史性扰动导致油价飙升。随后几周，随着市场猜测霍尔木兹海峡的油轮通行何时才能恢复，油价剧烈波动。

两名民主党参议员已敦促CFTC调查潜在的违规行为，对这些时机异常精准交易的审查力度加大。白宫上个月发放了一份内部备忘录，警告工作人员不得利用敏感信息在金融市场和押注事件的博彩平台上进行交易。

美国国会参议院银行委员会民主党籍议员沃伦发布声明说，这些可疑的石油期货交易看起来是内部人士操纵市场的案例，监管机构应在调查特朗普政府官员内幕交易方面做得更多。

路透社报道，商品期货交易委员会主席塞利格说，任何在市场上从事欺诈、操纵或内幕交易的人，都将面临法律的惩罚。

As U.S. birth rate falls, Trump officials downplay contraception in family planning program

April 16, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / KFF Health News

The number of babies born in the United States fell again last year.

According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 3.6 million births in 2025, a 1% decline from 2024. The fertility rate dropped to 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, down 23% since 2007.

The Trump administration has said it wants to reverse this trend. President Trump has called for “a new baby boom,” and aides have solicited proposals from outside advocates and policy groups ranging from baby bonuses to expanded fertility planning. The administration is also proposing to reshape the federal government’s only dedicated family planning program: Title X.

For more than five decades, Title X has been geared — with bipartisan support — toward giving low-income women access to contraception, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive health care regardless of ability to pay. At its peak, the safety net program served more than 5 million patients a year. Six in 10 Title X clients have reported the program as their sole source of health care in a given year.

In early April, the Department of Health and Human Services invited nonprofit organizations to apply for Title X grants for fiscal year 2027, which begins in October. The 67-page Notice of Funding Opportunity included only one mention of contraception — describing it as overprescribed, associated with negative side effects, and part of a broader “overreliance on pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.”

The grant notification reshapes the program from its traditional public health intervention efforts to focus on fertility, family formation, and reproductive health conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, low testosterone, and erectile dysfunction.

While Title X will continue to help women “achieve healthy pregnancies,” the grant document does not explicitly reference preventing unintended pregnancies — a long-standing goal of the program.

Jessica Marcella, who oversaw the Title X program as a senior official in the Biden administration, said the new funding notice amounts to a wholesale redefinition of family planning.

“What we’re seeing is trying to use our nation’s family planning as a Trojan horse for an entirely different agenda,” Marcella said, noting that President Trump has proposed eliminating Title X altogether.

Birth rates and fertility trends

The administration is overhauling Title X in the context of declining birth rates. But researchers who study fertility trends say the decline is driven by forces that have little to do with contraception access and that restricting it is unlikely to produce more births.

The most important factors, according to demographer Alison Gemmill of UCLA, are timing-related. “Childbearing is increasingly delayed as part of a broader shift toward later adult milestones, including stable employment, leaving the parental home, and marriage,” she said.

Most American women, she said, still complete their childbearing years with an average of two children, suggesting a shift toward smaller families rather than an increase in childlessness.

“Having children has become more contingent and more planned,” she said.

Much of the decline since 2007 reflects women postponing births rather than forgoing them.

“The average number of babies women are having in their whole lives has not fallen. It’s still more than 2.0 for women aged 45,” said Philip Cohen, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland.

Phillip Levine, an economist at Wellesley College, said the birth rate has declined due to shifts in how women approach work, leisure, and parenting. “Efforts to reverse those patterns would be more successful if they can make childbearing more desirable, not make it harder to prevent a pregnancy,” he said.

Asked about the role of contraception in reducing maternal mortality and how the new funding notice advances that goal, HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard said in a statement: “Applicants for the 2027 Title X funding cycle will be expected to align with the administration’s stated priorities in the released Notice of Funding Opportunity. HHS, under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy and President Trump, will continue to support policies that support life, family well-being, maternal health, and address the chronic disease epidemic. HHS remains focused on improving maternal outcomes and ensuring programs are administered consistent with applicable law.”

Marcella said the new funding notice is the product of two converging forces: the Make America Healthy Again movement, with its skepticism of conventional medicine and emphasis on lifestyle and behavioral interventions, and a pronatalist agenda that seeks to boost birth rates by steering policy toward family formation.

The document’s language reflects both: It repeatedly invokes “optimal health” and “chronic disease” while sidelining the contraceptive services that have defined Title X for half a century.

Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, which represents health professionals focused on family planning, said tying Title X to birth-rate goals replaces individual decision-making with a government objective. The program “is designed to facilitate access to family planning services, including services to achieve and prevent pregnancy,” she said.

Title X’s new focus

The administration’s changes have been welcomed on the right.

Emma Waters, a senior policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, who has advocated for what she calls “restorative reproductive medicine,” said the new funding notice reflects overdue attention to neglected aspects of women’s health.

“I was particularly encouraged to see language that spoke to the delays in diagnosis for conditions like endometriosis, the need for women to practically understand how their cycle and fertility works, and to ensure that real root-cause was promoted through Title X,” Waters said.

She described the notice as an expansion, not a narrowing, of the program’s mission: “I see this iteration of Title X as the fulfillment of its purpose. The goal was never just ‘more contraception’ but a wholesale empowerment of women to govern their own fertility.”

Waters also argued that untreated reproductive health problems may contribute to lower birth rates.

“One of the interesting aspects of this debate, and one that is often overlooked, is the degree to which painful and unaddressed reproductive health problems may suppress or create ambivalence around a woman’s desire to have kids,” she said, pointing to endometriosis.

An estimated 5% to 10% of women of reproductive age have endometriosis, and of those, 30%-50% experience infertility. Scientifically speaking, the relationship is an association, not a proven cause. Women aren’t screened for endometriosis if they don’t have symptoms, and the condition may be more prevalent than is recognized. Researchers still do not fully understand why some women with endometriosis struggle to conceive while others do not, and treating the disease does not reliably restore fertility.

Infertility rates in the U.S., meanwhile, have not risen. An analysis of federal survey data found them essentially flat between 1995 and 2019, even as the national birth rate fell sharply — a divergence that points away from untreated reproductive disease as an explanation.

Meanwhile, in February, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued new clinical guidelines enabling earlier diagnosis of endometriosis without surgery, a step toward addressing the delays Waters described. But the first-line treatment ACOG recommends is hormonal therapy, part of the same category of care the funding notice dismisses as part of an “overreliance on pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.” The effect, reproductive health experts say, is a contradiction: Title X is now prioritizing diagnosis of endometriosis while deemphasizing the drugs clinicians use to treat it.

Treatments that have been shown to improve fertility in women with endometriosis, such as laparoscopic surgery and in vitro fertilization, are not covered by Title X. When President Richard Nixon signed Title X into law in 1970, he described it as a way to expand access to family planning services — helping women determine the number and spacing of their children by making contraception and related preventive care more widely available, particularly for those who could not afford it. Medicaid, not Title X, is the primary government health insurance program covering health care for low-income women, but, like many commercial insurance plans, it does not cover IVF.

Many of the conditions prioritized in the funding notice deserve attention, said Liz Romer, a former chief clinical adviser for the HHS Office of Population Affairs who helped write updated guidelines for the family planning program. But they fall outside the scope of what Title X can realistically provide.

“There’s not even enough funding to support the core premise of contraception,” Romer said. “And so, if you want to expand Title X funding, you can expand the scope, but you can’t move away from the foundation.”

The emergence of an anticontraception ideology within federal health policy is striking, she said, given how broadly the public supports access to birth control. Eight in 10 women of childbearing age surveyed by KFF in 2024 reported having used some form of contraception in the previous 12 months.

Laura Lindberg, director of the Concentration in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice at Rutgers School of Public Health, said, “If contraception is sidelined in Title X, it won’t just change language on paper but will show up as fewer options and more barriers for patients.” Funding could move away from providers who offer a full range of contraceptive care, she added, “toward organizations that are ideologically opposed to contraception and don’t deliver the same standard of health care services.”

The stakes are high

The United States already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations — 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2024. According to the CDC, 4 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. may be preventable. Medical research shows that pregnancy carries substantially higher risks of blood clots, stroke, and cardiovascular complications than hormonal contraception.

And since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade, access to abortion has been significantly curtailed across much of the country. While national abortion numbers have risen, driven largely by telehealth and interstate access, research shows births have increased in states with bans, with an estimated 32,000 additional births annually, disproportionately among young women and women of color.

Dr. Christine Dehlendorf, who directs the Person-Centered Reproductive Health Program at the University of California-San Francisco, said “there is absolutely no evidence for any positive outcome of restricting access to contraception.” Restrictions would instead increase demand for abortion care and make it harder for women to prevent high-risk pregnancies.

Since Mr. Trump returned to office, more than a dozen Title X grantees have had their grants frozen, forcing some health centers to stop delivering services, lay off staff, or close. During the first Trump administration, regulatory changes led to a decline in Title X participation from more than 4 million patients to 1.5 million. The program grew slowly under the Biden administration, reaching about 3 million clients, before the current round of disruptions began.

The second Trump administration’s overhaul of the program, Marcella said, “directly undermines the public health intent of our nation’s family planning program and will potentially exclude millions of individuals from getting the care they have relied on for decades. It’s bad policy.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Iran war has some Republicans worried their chances of keeping the House are slipping away

2026-04-16T08:00:55.187Z / CNN

Iran war has some Republicans worried their chances of keeping the House are slipping away

By Adam Cancryn

PUBLISHED Apr 16, 2026, 4:00 AM ET

Smoke rises following a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on April 1.

Majid Asgaripour/Wana News Agency/Reuters

The White House had long circled Tax Day as the unofficial start to a critical midterm campaign meant to highlight how much money the administration was putting back in voters’ pockets.

Then President Donald Trump launched a costly war in Iran, sent gas prices soaring and singlehandedly upended months of careful political planning — raising the odds of an electoral wipeout that could cost Republicans control of Congress.

Now, Trump officials are scrambling to salvage their strategy on the fly, hoping they can still convince skeptical Americans that they’re doing better under Trump than before.The White House has also sought new ideas for taking on rising prices, such as accusing gas station operators of seizing on the war to gouge consumers at the pump.

But seven months out from midterm elections, many Republicans privately concede their standing is deteriorating and chances of holding the House are slipping away. Any possibility of averting sweeping losses in the House — and possibly even the Senate — in November rests first on Trump quickly extracting himself from Iran, a task he’s clearly struggling mightily to accomplish.

“We need to get on offense. We need a message,” said one Trump adviser. “But right now, everything’s on hold until the war’s over.”

The darkening outlook for the Republican Party is far from what Trump and his top advisers envisioned only a few months ago, when they’d coalesced around a plan to pivot sharply toward affordability as the midterms drew closer. And it underscores the significant damage that Trump has done to his party’s chances by abruptly plunging the US into a war with Iran with no clear way out.

The conflict’s ripple effects over the last seven weeks may have negated nearly all the economic progress that the GOP planned to run on, more than a half-dozen Republicans told CNN — including strides made toward lowering gas prices, easing inflation and bolstering Americans’ sense of financial security.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks alongside House Republican leadership during a news conference on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 15. Johnson held the press conference to discuss Working Families Tax Cuts on Tax Day.

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Trump, who senior aides once vowed would hit the road nearly every week to tout accomplishments and boost down-ballot candidates, has instead remained largely tethered to Washington and focused on foreign affairs. When he travels to Nevada on Thursday, it will mark his first swing-state rally in more than a month. (GOP operatives still believe he will significantly ramp up his travel for House and Senate candidates this fall.)

The president will also arrive in Las Vegas at the weakest point in his political career, with recent polls putting his approval rating near historic lows amid voter anger over the economy and the war.

“There’s direct correlation between presidential job approval and the party’s midterm performance. It’s not much more complicated than that,” said GOP pollster Whit Ayres. “They’re frustrated and unhappy, and that’s been the case for some time, but it’s especially the case now.”

In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai argued that Trump’s economic policies would benefit Americans over the long term, arguing that his accomplishments “go beyond a one-time tax refund check.”

“Tens of millions of working-class Americans have more money in their pockets thanks to President Trump’s signature provisions,” he said, adding that the agenda is “laying the groundwork for more historic success.”

Congressional GOP leaders insist they’re not panicking either, arguing that doomsday scenarios where they could lose both the House and Senate aren’t yet materializing — and that Republicans still hold a fundraising advantage that could grow even larger if Trump deploys the massive war chest he controls through his MAGA Inc. super PAC.

The situation has nevertheless fanned fears across other parts of the GOP that a wider swath of seats in both the House, and possibly the Senate, could now be in play — already an acute anxiety given a series of brutal recent special election performances.

The US Capitol building is seen from the base of the Washington Monument during sunset on March 9, in Washington, DC.

Samuel Corum/Sipa USA/AP/File

In recent weeks, some frustrated Republican lawmakers have privately vented concerns that the White House is underestimating the sheer scale of the challenge created by the war, two people familiar with the discussions said. It’s unclear whether those complaints have reached Trump directly.

“At a certain point, there’s going to have to be a message shift from the administration if (the war) doesn’t look like it’s something we can just get out of,” one GOP campaign operative said.

Still, that worry hasn’t yet translated into any major shift in approach — in large part because Trump’s repeated assertions that the fight is nearly over have kept his party in a holding pattern. The war has already dragged past the president’s original estimate of four to six weeks, and Trump’s embrace of a two-week ceasefire has done nothing to relieve the economic pain.

In a meeting of Senate Republicans earlier this week, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina urged his colleagues to amplify the average $250-per-month in extra take-home pay that Americans are estimated to see in their tax refund from Trump’s policies, presenting internal polling that showed key voting blocs were “overwhelmingly motivated by cost-of-living concerns,” according to a copy obtained by CNN.

“Everything gets more complicated the longer this goes on because there’s more uncertainty,” said a GOP campaign operative. “But we can’t deviate from the plan because then everything will fall apart.”

There’s at least one source of comfort for Trump’s orbit: political advisers closely tracking the war’s impact on public opinion are seeing little improvement in voters’ views of the Democratic Party, even as they’ve soured on the GOP. That’s given them some hope that voters unhappy with the current conditions might still be persuaded to turn out for Republicans if they see improvements in November, two people familiar with the internal discussions said.

Trump advisers have urged Republicans to play up the contrast between the two parties’ platforms as a result, arguing that lawmakers should promote their own policies while also casting themselves as bulwarks against Democrats’ ability to advance a far more progressive agenda.

“That’s the question: Who’s gonna be in charge?” the Trump adviser said. “The best thing we have going for us is that the Democrats are worse.”

There’s another major argument the GOP will soon debut, too. If Republicans fail to protect their majorities in Congress, they’ll argue, Trump will face the threat of yet another impeachment battle — a message they believe will be crucial to turning out the MAGA most faithful, according to multiple Republicans involved in congressional campaigns.

Still, with the war ongoing and key costs rising, though, there’s broad acknowledgment that attacking Democrats only amounts to a partial argument from the party that controls the White House and Congress.

In the meantime, Trump officials have sought fresh ways for blunting the blowback over gas prices, including publicly taking gas station operators to task for failing to quickly lower their prices whenever the broader price of oil declines, the Trump adviser said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at that jawboning tactic on Wednesday, warning that the administration would be “watching the gas stations.” Yet during that same appearance, he conceded that prior assurances that prices would return to pre-war levels by summer were too rosy, and that the timing was now “going to be up to how the negotiations go” with Iran.

“They were counting on the tax refunds to power the economy and to have inflation under control, and on both fronts, they have some concerns,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum and a longtime GOP economic adviser.

As for Trump, simply getting him back on the road and holding rallies this week amount to a solid first step, Republicans said. After Nevada, he’s slated to make another stop in Arizona Friday.

But there’s little guarantee he’ll end up on message once he gets there. On Monday, the White House staged an encounter between Trump and a DoorDash delivery driver meant to promote his largely popular “no tax on tips” policy.

But any attention the tax provision may have gotten was soon swamped by Trump’s off-the-cuff decision to expound on the blockade he’d just imposed on Iran and try to explain away a controversial late night social media post depicting him as a Jesus-like figure.

“Naval blockades and the president’s divinity,” Holtz-Eakin said afterward. “Not exactly what they had planned.”

Sarah Ferris and Alayna Treene contributed to this report.

Trump hits key battlegrounds to sell tax cuts, boost GOP ahead of midterms

April 16, 2026 5:00am EDT / Fox News

President will visit Nevada, Arizona to tout One Big Beautiful Bill tax cuts

By Paul Steinhauser Fox News

President Donald Trump is heading this week to two crucial swing states in this year’s midterm elections to highlight the tax cuts that Republicans in Congress passed, and which he signed into law, last year.

He will visit Nevada on Thursday and Arizona on Friday. The stops follow Wednesday’s deadline for Americans to file their taxes with the IRS.

Trump’s western swing comes as the GOP works to protect its razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterms, when the party in power typically faces political headwinds and loses congressional seats. The GOP also faces a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, and the president’s low approval ratings.

But Republicans have for weeks spotlighted the tax cuts, which they insist will give them a political boost with voters in the midterms.

TRUMP HITS THE ROAD TO SELL ECONOMIC WINS, AS REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM SHOWDOWN

President Donald Trump signs sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, during a picnic with military families to mark Independence Day at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2025.(Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

In an interview Wednesday on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” Trump touted the tax cuts, telling host Maria Bartiromo that “the refunds are really significant, and it makes it less complicated to do your tax return. Much less complicated.”

“People are getting refunds of $5,000, $8,000, $11,000 that they had no idea they were getting. It’s turned out to be better, as good or better than I said it would,” the president emphasized.

The tax cuts were a key component of Republicans’ massive domestic policy measure, which passed almost entirely along party lines in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

FIRST ON FOX: GOP TAKES AIM AT DEMOCRATS FOR OPPOSING TRUMP TAX CUTS

The law, originally titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act but rebranded as the Working Families Tax Cuts, is stuffed full of Trump’s 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities, including extending the president’s signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.

President Donald Trump smiled as he arrived at the lectern during a “No Tax on Tips” initiative visit at Il Toro E La Capra on Aug. 23, 2024, in Las Vegas during his presidential campaign.(Daniel Jacobi II/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Trump will spotlight the tax cuts on Thursday at a roundtable discussion at the AC Hotel in Las Vegas. The city, a popular entertainment and gaming mecca, has an outsized population of service industry workers who rely on tips and overtime pay.

EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET ‘VULNERABLE’ DEMOCRATS FOR VOTING AGAINST TAX CUTS

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president on Friday will deliver remarks at a Turning Point USA event at Dream City Church in Phoenix.

“You’ll hear a lot from the president about how his policies have benefited the American people,” Leavitt said.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393151809112

Democrats have criticized the tax cuts, arguing they disproportionately benefit the wealthy and corporations.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Donald Trump promised Americans lower prices, lower taxes, and bigger refunds, and what have they gotten instead? Massive tax breaks for Trump and his wealthy friends, a reckless trade war that has hiked prices, and a deadly and costly taxpayer-funded war with Iran,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin argued in a statement.

Martin charged that “Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ stole from nursing homes, rural hospitals, and hungry families to give a windfall to the ultra-rich.” And he claimed “Americans are seeing lower-than-promised refunds hit their bank accounts that won’t even cover the higher costs Trump has forced them to shoulder.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

伊朗暂停石化产品出口 直至另行通知

2026年4月16日 17:54 / 联合早报

4月4日，社交媒体视频的截图显示，位于伊朗胡齐斯坦省马赫沙赫尔县的马赫沙赫尔石化区遭到袭击后，浓烟滚滚升起。 （路透社）

据伊朗媒体报道，由于以色列袭击多个石化中心导致生产中断，伊朗已暂停所有石化产品出口，以优先保障国内供应并防止原材料短缺。

伊朗报纸《经济世界》星期四（4月16日）报道，这项指令由伊朗国家石化公司负责下游行业的高级官员于星期四发布，要求石化企业暂停出口，直至另行通知。

路透社报道，此次出口禁令的主要目的是稳定国内市场，确保在近期袭击造成损失后，各行业的原材料供应充足。

尽管全球价格上涨，但伊朗国内石化产品及相关产品的价格仍维持在冲突前的水平。官员说，这些措施将继续实施，以支持当地产业和消费者。

近几周，以色列袭击了阿萨卢耶（Asaluyeh）和马赫沙赫尔（Mahshahr）的主要石化生产中心，袭击目标包括为石化厂提供原料的公用事业公司，导致生产中断。

延伸阅读

以军空袭伊朗能源重镇 斩断逾八成石化出口
伊朗西南部石化中心遇袭 以色列多地因伊朗打击受损

本周，美国军方开始封锁伊朗港口的进出船只交通，此举旨在削减伊朗的出口收入，并在伊朗和美国外交官考虑举行第二轮和平谈判之际，向德黑兰施压。

据法尔斯通讯社报道，伊朗每年出口约2900万吨石化产品，价值130亿美元（165亿2600万新元）。