Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The diplomatic process isn’t exactly going smoothly: “Iran ‘has not yet decided whether it will participate in the new round of peace negotiations with the United States scheduled for later this week,’ Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on state television today.”
* On a related note: “Crude oil futures for June delivery surged past the $100-per-barrel threshold after Vice President JD Vance’s expected travel to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks was canceled yesterday, thrusting the future of the fragile negotiations into uncertainty.”
* When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hides facts because they’re deemed politically inconvenient, that deserves to be seen as a scandal: “A report showing the efficacy of the covid-19 vaccine that was previously delayed by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been blocked from being published in the agency’s flagship scientific journal, according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The report showed that the vaccine reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half this past winter.”
* The right call: “A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a series of decisions that wind and solar developers say have throttled hundreds of renewable energy projects across the country.”








