Greetings! Happy World Health Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

🇮🇷 Washington and Tehran borrowed two weeks. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday night. President Donald Trump backed away from threats to destroy bridges and power plants. The deal also includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan helped mediate, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pressing for extra time. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said talks with Washington would begin in Pakistan on Friday. Yet neither side said exactly when the ceasefire would start. Early Wednesday, attacks still hit Israel, Iran, and Gulf areas. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel supported the Iran pause but not any halt with Hezbollah. This is less a peace than a timeout negotiated at the edge of another deadline.

🇮🇶 Shelly Kittleson is free, but the story stayed ugly. American journalist Shelly Kittleson was released in Baghdad after a week in captivity. She had been kidnapped on March 31st from a street corner on Saadoun Street. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release early Wednesday. He said American officials were working to secure her safe departure from Iraq. Iraqi officials also confirmed she had been held in Baghdad before being freed. Kataib Hezbollah said it decided to release her and demanded that she leave the country immediately. Two militia officials told reporters that some detained members would be released in exchange. Rubio thanked Iraqi authorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Defense Department, and other agencies. A one-week kidnapping can still expose years of militia power in a single city.

📰 The old wire is cutting for a newer business. The Associated Press (AP) announced it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of American journalists. The News Media Guild said more than 120 represented staffers got offers Monday. The shift is part of a faster retreat from the newspaper model that sustained the company for generations. Big newspaper clients now account for just 10% of its income. Executive editor Julie Pace said the organization is not a newspaper company and has not been for quite some time. Leadership says the future is visual journalism and new revenue streams. Artificial intelligence partnerships are part of that hunt. The economics of print did not collapse in one day, but the job losses still arrive that way. Even institutions built to document disruption are now reorganizing under it.

🧳 Flying with luggage just got more expensive again. Delta Air Lines ($DAL) announced higher checked bag fees. Starting tomorrow, the first checked bag will cost $45; the second will cost $55, while the third will cost $200. That is $10 more for each of the first two bags and $50 more for the third. Delta linked the move to evolving global conditions and industry dynamics, while critics alleged profit-seeking. The real backdrop is pricier jet fuel tied to the Middle East war. United Airlines and JetBlue raised baggage fees last week. This is Delta’s first domestic checked-bag increase in two years. The airfare was never the whole ticket, and luggage is now another reminder.

🗳️ Clay Fuller kept a red seat red, but not quietly enough to calm anyone. Republican Clay Fuller won Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former House seat in Georgia on Tuesday. He beat Democrat Shawn Harris in the 14th District. Trump endorsed Fuller and Fuller made sure voters heard it. The victory helps shore up a slim Republican majority in Congress. Even so, the margin mattered. Fuller was on track to win by about 12 points with nearly all votes counted. Greene had won the district by 29 points, and Trump carried it by almost 37 two years ago. Democrats will read that drop as evidence of movement, not triumph. Fuller called the result proof of Trump’s staying power. In a deep-red district, the seat stayed red while the margin still whispered caution.

📉 Markets finally heard a sentence they like. Oil prices sank and stock futures jumped after the ceasefire announcement between the United States and Iran. American crude futures fell 14.3% to $96.83 a barrel. Brent crude dropped 13.3% to $94.74. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.8%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 5.6%. Futures for the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) advanced 2.3%, while Dow futures rose 2%. The move reflects relief that the Strait of Hormuz may reopen after weeks of energy panic. Neither Washington nor Tehran mentioned when the ceasefire would actually begin. On Wall Street, hope still trades first and asks operational questions later.

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That’s all for today!

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