世界银行、国际货币基金组织和联合国世界粮食计划署周三警告称，中东战争引发了现代史上全球能源市场最严重的动荡之一。 （彭博社档案照片）

世界银行、国际货币基金组织和联合国世界粮食计划署周三警告，中东战争引发的石油、天然气和化肥价格飙升，将不可避免地导致食品价格上涨和粮食安全问题加剧。

世行、国际货币基金组织（IMF）和联合国世界粮食计划署（WFP）在星期三（4月8日）发表的联合声明中指出，最脆弱的群体，特别是低收入、依赖进口的经济体，将承受最沉重的负担。它们将继续密切关注事态发展，并“协调运用一切可用工具，为受危机影响的人们提供支持”。

联合声明指出：“中东战争正在颠覆该地区乃至更广泛地区人民的生活和生计。它已经引发了现代史上全球能源市场最严重的动荡之一。”

“石油、天然气和化肥价格的飙升，加上运输瓶颈，将不可避免地导致食品价格上涨和粮食安全问题加剧。”

声明并指，燃料价格飙升和食品价格可能大幅上涨，对已经面临财政限制和高额债务负担的国家来说尤其令人担忧，这将限制它们保护弱势家庭的能力。

延伸阅读

国际能源署：美伊战争将加速可再生能源发展 中东战争令全球贸易前景承压 粮食保障受威胁

三机构领导人承诺，将根据各自的职责提供支持，并为实现强劲复苏奠定基础。

Trump administration cannot nix legal status of 5,000 Ethiopians, US judge rules

2026-04-08T21:14:11.256Z / Reuters

By Nate Raymond

April 8, 2026 9:14 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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New U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy speaks during his Investiture Ceremony at the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Judge rules DHS disregarded law, ending Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians was pretextual
• Plaintiffs allege administration’s rationale was motivated by animus against non-white immigrants
• Supreme Court to hear broader TPS case for Haitians and Syrians on April 29

BOSTON, April 8 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday halted a move by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to end legal protections ‌granted to over 5,000 Ethiopians that have allowed them to live and work in the United States.

The ruling, opens new tab by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston marked the latest legal setback for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to terminate the Temporary Protected Status designation for 13 countries in furtherance of ​Trump’s hardline immigration agenda.

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TPS under federal law is available to people whose home countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts ​or other extraordinary events. It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation.

TRUMP ⁠ORDER SIGNALS PREORDAINED DECISIONS: JUDGE

Murphy, who was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden, called the termination of TPS for Ethiopia unsurprising ​in light of an executive order Trump signed upon returning to office in January 2025 that directed DHS to ensure such designations ​were “appropriately limited in scope.”

The judge said that directive from Trump “signals that the outcome of designation, extension, and termination decisions will be preordained, rather than based on a meaningful review of in-country conditions.”

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He concluded that DHS disregarded the statutory procedures Congress enacted that govern TPS and provided a “pretextual” rationale for ending protections ​granted to people from Ethiopia, where “armed conflict and natural disasters continue to create dangerous conditions.”

“Fundamental to this case—and indeed to our ​constitutional system—is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress,” Murphy wrote. “Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ ‌statutory ⁠obligations.”

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Murphy ruled as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on April 29 over whether the administration can revoke such temporary legal protections for more than 350,000 Haitians and about 6,100 Syrians living in the U.S.

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Murphy issued a temporary order on January 30, preventing the protections granted to Ethiopians from ending on February 13 as scheduled, to allow ​the parties time for him to ​hear the case.

The Biden administration ⁠first granted Ethiopians already in the United States that status beginning in 2022, citing the need to protect the African nation’s citizens from armed conflict and humanitarian suffering. The status was extended again ​in April 2024.

DHS under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in December it would end ​TPS for Ethiopia ⁠on the grounds that conditions in the African nation no longer posed a serious threat to people returning safely.

The department has repeatedly under Trump said TPS was “never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency.”

Three Ethiopian nationals and the group African Communities Together sued, arguing the ⁠administration ignored ​how dangerous conditions persist in Ethiopia, where armed conflict continues in multiple regions.

The ​plaintiffs argued the administration’s stated rationale for its action was a pretext and not its true motivation for ending TPS, which they said was based on an unconstitutional ​animus against non-white immigrants. Ethiopia’s population is predominantly Black.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Nia Williams, Rod Nickel

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Schumer blasts Trump’s Iran war as failure, moves to rein in his war powers amid ceasefire

April 8, 2026 5:13pm EDT / Fox News

Iran has already presented a 10-point peace plan that Trump swiftly rejected as the ceasefire enters its first day

By Alex Miller

Fox News correspondents break down the latest in the double-side ceasefire as the White House rejects public reports that Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz after the ceasefire agreement and U.S.-NATO relations appear frayed on ‘America Reports.’

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The top Senate Democrat argued that President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has left the U.S. worse off, and plans to force another vote to handcuff the president’s war powers as a fragile ceasefire begins.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that Senate Democrats will again force a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s use of the military in Iran when the upper chamber returns. The Senate is slated to return Monday, but the exact day when Democrats will pull the trigger next week is still in the air.

Schumer argued the war was “one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken,” at a Wednesday press conference in New York City, and contended that the conflict has left the U.S. worse off in global credibility, left Iran’s nuclear ambitions unchecked, increased gas prices and hampered control of the Strait of Hormuz.

TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that Senate Democrats will again force a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s use of the military in Iran.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu)

His decision to again try to curtail Trump’s war authorities comes as the U.S. and Iran have entered a two-week ceasefire — a deal brokered just before Trump’s apocalyptic deadline Tuesday night.

“Trump must end the war now,” Schumer said. “The only viable solution is a lasting diplomatic one. A two-week ceasefire, especially one as fragile as this, is not a strategy. It’s not a diplomatic solution. It’s not a plan.”

Republicans lauded the ceasefire, however. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., contended on X that it would be “Iran’s chance to do the right thing.”

“Excellent news,” Scott said Tuesday night. “This is a strong first step toward holding Iran accountable and what happens when you have a leader who puts peace through strength over chaos and weak appeasement policies.”

As the newly minted ceasefire enters its first day, Iran has already presented a 10-point plan for a broader peace agreement. The proposal includes demands to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz and continue a uranium enrichment program — conditions Trump swiftly rejected.

TRUMP IRAN THREAT SPARKS CALLS FOR HIS OUSTER, BUT ONE DEM SAYS EFFORT ‘NOT REALISTIC’

Many critics of President Donald Trump have suggested he chickened out for not committing what they initially insisted was a “genocide” of the Iranian people.(Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

“There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations,” Trump said on Truth Social. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.”

Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner are slated to negotiate a broader peace deal in person in Islamabad over the weekend.

But Schumer and Senate Democrats are calling for an immediate end to the conflict.

IRAN REVEALS 10-POINT PLAN FOR PEACE WITH THE US – HERE’S WHAT’S IN IT

A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026, west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.(Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” Schumer said. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone — not now, not ever. Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice.”

His plan to again force a vote on a war powers resolution would mark the fourth such attempt in the upper chamber since the conflict began in late February.

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Senate Democrats had initially teed up five war powers resolutions to force Trump to withdraw forces from the region in a bid to grind the Senate to a halt and compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to testify on Operation Epic Fury.

The previous attempts have all been blocked by Republicans, despite growing unease within the GOP over Trump’s recent threats to bomb power plants and bridges, as well as his warning that a “whole civilization will die tonight.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

US court declines to block Pentagon’s Anthropic blacklisting for now

2026-04-08T21:54:35.488Z / Reuters

By Jack Queen

April 8, 2026 9:54 PM UTC Updated 15 mins ago

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Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• DC appeals court denies Anthropic’s request to pause Pentagon supply-chain risk label
• Anthropic claims blacklisting is retaliation for its views on AI safety
• Justice Department says decision based on contract terms, Claude Ai usage restrictions

NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) – A Washington, D.C., federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to block the Pentagon’s national security blacklisting of AI ‌company Anthropic for now, a win for the Trump administration that comes after another appeals court came to the opposite conclusion in a separate legal challenge by Anthropic.

Anthropic, developer of the popular Claude AI assistant, alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated the company a national security ​supply-chain risk over its refusal to remove certain usage guardrails on its products, a label that blocks Anthropic from Pentagon contracts ​and could trigger a government-wide blacklisting.

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Anthropic executives have said the designation could cost the company billions of ⁠dollars in lost business and reputational harm.

A panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ​denied Anthropic’s bid to pause the designation while the case plays out. The decision is not a final ruling.

An Anthropic spokeswoman said in ​a statement following Wednesday’s ruling that the company is confident the court will ultimately agree the supply-chain risk designation is unlawful.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hailed the ruling as a victory for military readiness in a social media post Wednesday.

“Military authority and operational control belong to the Commander-in-Chief and Department of War, ​not a tech company,” Blanche said, using Trump’s new name for the Defense Department.

The lawsuit is one of two Anthropic filed over Hegseth’s unprecedented ​move, which came after Anthropic refused to allow the military to use AI chatbot Claude for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons due to safety and ‌ethics ⁠concerns.

Hegseth issued orders designating Anthropic under two different laws, and Anthropic is challenging each of them separately.

A California federal judge blocked one of the orders on March 26, saying the Pentagon appeared to have unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic for its views on AI safety.

Anthropic’s designation was the first time a U.S. company has been publicly designated a supply-chain risk under obscure government-procurement statutes aimed at protecting military systems from enemy ​sabotage or infiltration.

In its lawsuits, ​Anthropic says the government violated ⁠its right to free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution by retaliating against its views on AI safety. The company said it was not given a chance to dispute its designation, in ​violation of its Fifth Amendment right to due process.

The lawsuits say the designations were unlawful, unsupported ​by facts and ⁠inconsistent with the military’s past praise of Claude.

The Justice Department says that Anthropic’s refusal to lift the restrictions could cause uncertainty in the Pentagon over how it could use Claude and risk disabling military systems during operations, according to a court filing.

The government said its decision stemmed from Anthropic’s ⁠refusal to ​accept contractual terms, not its views on AI safety.

The D.C. case concerns a ​law that could lead to the blacklist widening to the broader civilian government following an interagency review process.

The California case deals with a narrower statute that excludes Anthropic ​from Pentagon contracts related to military information systems.

Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast.

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Fox News Poll: Record number say taxes are too high; government spending seen as wasteful

April 8, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Voters reveal that the rich not paying enough taxes and wasteful government spending are their top tax frustrations

By Victoria Balara, Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392209466112

Kat Timpf: As a taxpayer, I don’t want to see my government spending time on this

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With the deadline to file taxes a week away, a record number of voters say their taxes are too high, according to the latest Fox News Poll. They are also bothered by the rich not paying their fair share and how the government uses their money. In addition, three-quarters feel government spending is wasteful — up almost 20 points since last year.

Last year, 57% said a great deal (44%) or almost all (13%) of government spending was inefficient; now that’s up 18 points, with 75% feeling that way (53% a great deal, 22% almost all).

FOX NEWS POLL: BROAD ANXIETY ABOUT AI DOESN’T EXTEND TO JOBS

The increase in those thinking spending is wasteful is seen among most demographics, with the biggest bumps among Democrats and independents. Three-quarters of Republicans think government spending is wasteful, down from more than 8 in 10 in March 2025.

Voters are also down on how the Trump administration has handled identifying and cutting wasteful government spending, with nearly two-thirds, 64%, calling their efforts only fair (20%) or poor (44%), up from 56% last March (13% only fair, 43% poor).

While there is broad bipartisan agreement that a significant share of government spending is wasteful and inefficient — with roughly three-quarters of Democrats, Republicans, and independents saying so — a sharp partisan divide emerges on the Trump administration’s handling of identifying and cutting that waste: nearly all Democrats (90%) and a large majority of independents (80%) say it is not doing a good job, while 7-in-10 Republicans (69%) give it a positive rating.

A record 70% of voters think the taxes they pay are too high — up 11 points from last March and surpassing the previous high of 64% in March 2024. It also marks the largest year-over-year increase since the question was first asked in 2004, when 51% felt taxes were too high. A majority of voters have consistently said their tax burden is too much.

FOX NEWS POLL: SOUR VOTERS SAY WASHINGTON IS OUT OF TOUCH

Compared to last year, groups showing the highest increase in concern over how much they are paying include voters with graduate degrees (+24 points since 2025), very liberal voters (+20), Democratic men (+19), moderates (+19), rural voters (+17), White voters without a college degree (+16), and women ages 45+ (+16).

What bothers people most about federal income taxes is the wealthy are not paying enough (38%), although that figure has dipped slightly from last year’s record high of 45%. Close behind is concern about how the government spends their tax dollars, up 3 points from a year ago to 29%.

Other irritations are the amount of taxes paid (14%), feeling too many people don’t pay enough (10%), and the complexity of the system (9%).

Democrats (57%) and independents (40%) are the most concerned about the rich not paying enough, while Republicans’ biggest issue is the amount the government uses (39%).

“The data show why Democrats persistently frame budget, spending, and tax policy questions as a matter of the rich paying their fair share,” says Republican Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “It’s one of the only ways the party is competitive on these issues given public skepticism about government performance.”

Disapproval of how President Trump is handling taxes has reached a record high of 64%, up 11 points from a year ago.

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Dissatisfaction is up across the board, including among Democrats (+9 points disapproving since April 2025), independents (+14) and Republicans (+9).

One more thing…

AI use is on the rise, but not for tax prep.

Nearly 9 in 10 voters (87%) say they are not using AI to help with their taxes this year, while roughly 1 in 10 (13%) say they will or already have. Those most likely to say they will use AI are Republicans under age 45 (29%), voters under 30 (23%), Hispanic voters (21%), Black voters (20%), and employed voters (19%).

Conducted March 20-23, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,001 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (641) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (256). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

Will the Iran ceasefire quickly ease U.S. gas prices? Here’s what experts think.

April 8, 2026 4:48 PM EDT / CBS News

Although an eleventh-hour truce between the U.S. and Iran immediately eased tensions between the warring countries, it could take some time for Americans to see relief from the soaring fuel costs that have pushed gasoline prices to their highest level in years, energy experts and economists said.

Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, said prices at the pump could start dropping as soon as this weekend, although the decline could initially amount to only a few cents per gallon.

“If the situation holds and it doesn’t worsen, the national average probably has enough room to make a run at falling back below the $4 gallon mark,” he said. “But it would probably take a couple of weeks for us to get there.”

For now, fuel costs remain painfully high. The national average for a gallon of regular gas rose on Wednesday to $4.16, up from $2.98 just before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February and up 91 cents from a year ago, according to data from AAA. In some states, prices soared above $5 a gallon, while diesel averaged $5.67.

De Haan also warned that any drop in gas prices could quickly reverse if the ceasefire deal unravels. “If there’s an abrupt halt or re-escalation, the decreases will stop, and prices could start to trend back up again.”

Global oil prices fell below $95 a barrel on Wednesday, down from their levels before the two-week ceasefire but still sharply elevated from the $65 to $75 range for crude in the days leading up to the conflict in late February.

“The cease fire, if it sticks, I would anticipate that gas prices at least stabilize, if not go lower,” said Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at investment research firm Oxford Economics. “But again, it’s going to really depend on the global energy market’s perception of the safety of going through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The situation in the vital Persian Gulf waterway, which normally facilitates one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas shipments, remains tenuous.

Iranian media outlets say Tehran is suspending tanker traffic through the strait and considering withdrawing from the deal with Washington over Israeli attacks in Lebanon. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump is aware of reports saying the conduit has been closed, but said the reports “are false.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist at financial research firm Moody’s Analytics, predicts that if oil prices stabilize at around $90 per barrel over the next few weeks, gas will continue to retreat and settle around $3.75 a gallon. By the end of the year, he expects oil to drop to around $80 a barrel and for U.S. gas prices to hover around $3.50 a gallon.

“I don’t think there is any going back to sub-$3 gallon for a while,” he told CBS News. “Prices go up like a rocket, and they come down like a feather,”

Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins

April 8, 2026 4:10pm EDT / Fox News

One of the Iran war’s strongest backers in the Senate said there were “troubling aspects” to the ceasefire deal announced hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has long supported going after the Iranian regime and gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump’s military action in the region when it began. For now, the conflict has paused after both sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

Graham said a “diplomatic solution” is the preferred outcome, but he is not sold on the ceasefire deal brokered Tuesday night.

TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has long supported going after the Iranian regime and gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump’s military action in the region when it began.(Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)

“The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell,” Graham said on X Wednesday.

Graham also is calling on Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials to explain the deal to Congress. The request echoes demands by congressional Democrats for Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, to testify about the war before Congress.

“I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the vice president and others, coming before Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Graham said.

VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART

Graham also is calling on Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials to explain the deal to Congress.(Jonathan Ernst/AP)

Whether administration officials will come to Capitol Hill to break down the deal remains unclear. A spokesperson for Vance referred Fox News Digital to the White House for comment.

White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that Trump has “been transparent with the Hill since before Operation Epic Fury began, and administration officials provided more than 20 bipartisan briefings for members of Congress to keep them apprised of military updates.”

“As the president said, many points have already been agreed to during the diplomatic process, and we are far along on a definitive agreement to deliver long-term peace in Iran and across the region,” Kelly said in a statement.

Vance, along with Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are set to negotiate in-person in Islamabad for a broader peace agreement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS

For now, President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran is on hold while the broader peace agreement is negotiated.(Alex Brandon/Pool/AP)

“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” Leavitt said.

For now, Trump’s threat to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran is on hold while the broader peace agreement is negotiated.

Iran publicly presented a 10-point plan to end hostilities that includes repayment for war damage, the ability to continue enriching uranium, full control of the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to all sanctions against the country, among other demands, in exchange for an agreement not to develop a nuclear weapon.

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Graham argued Iran should not be allowed to “save face” by maintaining even a small nuclear enrichment program. He said the only outcome he supports is “a deal that will stop their maniacal drive to a nuclear weapon, among other things.”

Trump has already criticized that proposal on Truth Social.

“There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations,” Trump said. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Kennedy to launch public health podcast ahead of US midterm elections

2026-04-08 20:12:22 UTC / Reuters

By Mariam E Sunny

April 8, 2026 8:12 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., looks on during an announcement on microplastics at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno Purchase Licensing Rights

April 8 (Reuters) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Wednesday he will launch a podcast to discuss public health ​issues and hold conversations with doctors and scientists, calling it a ‌step toward greater transparency at the nation’s top health agency.

The podcast will “ask questions and lift the taboos and expose the hypocrisy and the conflicts ​and the corruption,” and “confront the lies that have made ​us spiritually, morally and physically sick,” Kennedy said in a ⁠video of more than a minute posted on X.

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“The Secretary ​Kennedy Podcast” is expected to launch next week, a spokesperson for the ​Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters.

The move follows setbacks to Kennedy’s efforts to overhaul U.S. vaccination policy, including low public support and a federal ​court ruling last month that halted key plans to reduce routine ​childhood vaccinations and revamp a federal vaccine advisory committee.

The Trump administration is still ‌weighing ⁠whether to appeal the court ruling, Reuters reported last week citing senior administration officials, as it works through which health issues are most voter-friendly ahead of November’s midterm elections.

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Kennedy co-founded the anti-vaccine ​group Children’s Health ​Defense, and has ⁠linked vaccines to autism, a theory long debunked by scientific research.

“The Secretary Kennedy Podcast will provide ​a direct platform to engage with the public ​on the ⁠health issues that matter most to American families, from chronic disease and nutrition to food quality and health care costs, while bringing ⁠radical ​transparency to the conversations shaping those ​issues,” the HHS spokesperson said.

When asked for a comment on the podcast, a White House spokesperson ​said: “Tune in!”

Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NASA drops Artemis II moon mission playlist. These are the astronauts’ wake-up songs.

April 8, 2026 / 5:31 PM EDT / CBS News

As the Artemis II mission crew heads back toward Earth following a history-making trip around the moon this week, NASA dropped the astronauts’ highly anticipated morning playlist.

“You asked for it. Here it is,” NASA wrote Wednesday on social media, sharing the list via Spotify. “Each track was selected by the Moon crew, continuing a tradition that started more than 50 years ago. Stay tuned to find out which songs they’ll choose next.”

The current eight-song list includes:

• “Sleepyhead” by Young & Sick
• “Green Light (feat. André 3000)” by John Legend and André 3000
• “In a Daydream” by Freddy Jones Band
• “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan
• “Working Class Heroes (Work)” by CeeLo Green
• “Good Morning” by Mandisa and TobyMac
• “Tokyo Drifting” by Glass Animals and Denzel Curry
• “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen were launched into space on April 1 for their 10-day moon mission. Earlier this week, they completed a lunar flyby, becoming the first astronauts to loop around the moon in more than half a century. The crew captured stunning photos of Earth, the far side of the moon and an eclipse in space.

Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. NASA

The astronauts are the first humans to have seen with their own eyes large swaths of the far side of the moon in daylight, and they traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history, reaching a maximum distance from Earth of 252,756 miles.

The crew has woken up to music each day — “Under Pressure” played Wednesday — which is a tradition held over from previous Apollo missions.

Why does NASA use music for wake-up calls?

In 2015, Colin Fries of the NASA History Division compiled a chronology of wake-up calls.

“There have always been inquiries about flown items and mission events as we all know, and those about wakeup calls and music played in space encompassed a steady stream (no pun intended)!” he wrote.

In his chronology, Fries referenced a letter from Lynn W. Heninger, then NASA’s acting assistant administrator for congressional relations, to a lawmaker in 1990 in which Heninger wrote: “Use of music to awaken astronauts on space missions dates back at least to the Apollo Program, when astronauts returning from the Moon were serenaded by their colleagues in mission control with lyrics from popular songs that seemed appropriate to the occasion.”

“The common element of all these selections is that they promote a sense of camaraderie and esprit de corps among the astronauts and ground support personnel. That, in fact, is the sole reason for having wake-up music; and it is the reason that NASA management has neither attempted to dictate its content nor allowed outside interests to influence the process,” Heninger wrote to Illinois Rep. Robert H. Michel.

What are past crews’ wake-up songs?

The Apollo 10 mission crew’s wake-up songs in 1969 included “The Best Is Yet To Come” by Tony Bennett and “It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling” by Frank Sinatra, and “Come Fly With Me” when Apollo 10 woke up Mission Control.

The Apollo 15 mission in 1971 had a sense of humor, selecting the theme song from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

What song will the Artemis II crew wake up to on their final day in space?

NASA hasn’t said just yet, but in the past, several crews have woken up on their final day in space to Dean Martin’s popular song “Going Back to Houston.”

The Artemis II crew’s final day in space is Friday, when the Orion capsule is expected to splash down off the California coast near San Diego.

沈泽玮：美国“送”中国几张牌

2026年4月9日 05:00 / 联合早报

沈泽玮：美国“送”中国几张牌

伊朗战局拖得越久，越暴露美国的中东战略混乱，不仅自陷泥沼，也把全球拖入能源和肥料危机。这个乱局，让中国至少手握化肥外交、燃料外交两张牌。 （路透社档案照片）

伊朗战局导致能源供应短缺冲击化肥供应链，造成潜在全球粮食危机。冠病疫情结束不到三年，类似全球口罩短缺的慌张局面再次上演，只不过，换成不同产品的供应链拉响警报。

这个乱局，让中国这个全球第二大肥料出口国，以及亚洲其中一个重要的燃料出口国，至少手握化肥外交、燃料外交两张牌。

战局拖得越久，越暴露美国的中东战略混乱，不仅自陷泥沼，也把全球拖入能源和肥料危机。中国提前做好能源和粮食生产布局，自己不慌，可加大与他国合作，补上化肥和燃料缺口，为世界提供更多稳定性。

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