Top 5 US news stories
April 24 2026
Iran War Depletes US Munitions, Strains Taiwan Plans
AI Data Center Boom Tests Wall Street's Lending Capacity
Trump Disapproval Climbs to Second-Term High
Meta to Cut 8,000 Jobs to Fund AI Push
US Pushes Allies to Pay Premium for Non-China Minerals
Iran War Depletes US Munitions, Strains Taiwan Plans
The U.S. has fired more than 1,000 long-range Tomahawk missiles and between 1,500 and 2,000 critical air-defense interceptors, including Thaad, Patriot and Standard Missile systems, since the war with Iran began Feb. 28, according to U.S. officials. Some administration officials now assess that depleted stockpiles could limit America's ability to fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion if one occurred in the near term. Wholly replacing the expended munitions could take up to six years, the officials said, prompting internal discussions about adjusting operational plans. The Pentagon plans for multiple scenarios regardless of political conditions, and U.S. officials say no conflict with China appears imminent. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing for a summit with President Trump next month in Beijing, and China's military is recovering from a wave of general purges.
WSJ
AI Data Center Boom Tests Wall Street's Lending Capacity
Oracle's $300 billion computing agreement with OpenAI is straining Wall Street's capacity to finance the artificial intelligence buildout, highlighting a funding squeeze across the data center sector. Banks including JPMorgan Chase have struggled for months to offload billions of dollars in loans tied to data centers leased to Oracle in Texas and Wisconsin, as many financial institutions face internal caps on how much they can lend to a single counterparty. The bottleneck has forced some developers to seek alternative tenants; Crusoe, for example, leased part of an Abilene, Texas, complex to Microsoft after lenders balked at backing an Oracle deal. The difficulty adds to other pressures on the multitrillion-dollar buildout, including a strained electric grid and mounting public opposition to new facilities. Any slowdown in construction would constrain AI companies that are already bumping up against computing capacity limits as demand outpaces supply.
WSJ
Trump Disapproval Climbs to Second-Term High
Disapproval of President Trump has risen to 58 percent, the highest level of his second term, according to a New York Times polling average, while 39 percent of Americans approve of his job performance. The figures mark his lowest standing since the end of his first term, following his 2020 reelection loss and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The shift in public opinion coincides with sharp increases in gas prices tied to the war in Iran and broader concerns about the economy. Democrats are working to frame the upcoming midterm elections as a referendum on Trump's presidency. Some former conservative media allies, including Tucker Carlson, have publicly broken with the president in recent days.
NYT
Meta to Cut 8,000 Jobs to Fund AI Push
Meta Platforms will lay off roughly 8,000 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, in May as it seeks to reduce costs and fund large-scale investments in artificial intelligence, the company said Thursday in an internal memo. Chief People Officer Janelle Gale wrote that the cuts are intended to allow the company to operate more efficiently and offset the cost of its AI spending. Meta will also cancel plans to fill about 6,000 open roles, and affected employees will be notified May 20. The company plans to spend up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure this year as it pursues what it calls personal superintelligence for its 3.5 billion daily users. Meta released a new AI model called Muse Spark earlier this month and has said additional releases are planned.
WSJ
US Pushes Allies to Pay Premium for Non-China Minerals
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has told American allies they must pay a "national security premium" for critical minerals sourced outside China, part of a Trump administration effort to weaken Beijing's dominance of the sector. Greer is drafting proposals for a trading bloc, which would include Europe, to transact in key minerals at set minimum prices, with steep tariffs or other barriers on producers outside the group. Some allies have raised concerns in private talks with Washington that the arrangement would raise costs for businesses and invite Chinese retaliation, according to people familiar with the discussions. The debate highlights the difficulty of countering decades of Chinese investment in mining and processing capacity. Wealthy economies are weighing the proposal as they grapple with rising energy costs and inflation linked to the war in Iran.
FT
APRIL 24 1980: IRAN HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION ENDS IN DISASTER
An attempted U.S. special-operations raid to free 52 American hostages in Tehran collapsed when multiple helicopters failed and one collided with a transport plane at a desert staging site. Eight U.S. servicemen were killed, no hostages were rescued, and President Jimmy Carter publicly took responsibility for the failed mission, which further damaged his presidency.
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