News briefs
Trump's Iran pivots spotlight Washington's insider trade threat
NEW YORK - In the oil market, volatility recently spiked to levels not seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commodities and stocks globally have whipsawed in response to every twist and turn in the Iran war: A strike, a pause, a threat to wipe out a civilization, a ceasefire; then a deal, no deal, and the prospect of one again.
One consistent theme of the recent gyrations has been well-timed transactions that have minted money for traders. Some of them, particularly in the oil market, have appeared to follow a pattern: impeccably timed, just before President Donald Trump's proclamations or social media posts.
Trades on April 7 were among those flagged in a letter Senator Elizabeth Warren sent the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asking for an investigation. Around 3:45 p.m. that afternoon in New York, traders moved more than 15 million barrels of Brent and West Texas Intermediate contracts in two minutes, worth about $1.7 billion. U.S. and European stock-index futures saw a similar surge in the same window.
Roughly three hours later, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was announcing a two-week ceasefire. When markets reopened, WTI oil fell more than 15% and equities rose more than 2.5% in early trading. In theory, an investor who shorted $1 million worth of oil futures during the spike in trading that afternoon could have made nearly $170,000 by taking profit after Trump announced a ceasefire that evening.
-Bloomberg News
Trump administration investigating NYC schools over antisemitism claims in pro-Palestine teachings
NEW YORK - The Trump administration on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into New York City's public schools over claims that pro-Palestinian teachers discriminated against Jewish students.
In a news release, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, said it received reports about a coalition of teachers known as "NYC Educators for Palestine" organizing seminars focused on "Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance."
"No child should be taught by his or her teachers to hate their peers," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. "Neither should Jewish children be taught that being Jewish somehow makes them inherently guilty or proponents of hate and violence."
"The Trump administration will not turn a blind eye to antisemitic harassment. OCR will investigate these appalling allegations to ensure the equal treatment of all students."
-New York Daily News
Nitrate contaminates the drinking water of millions of Americans, study finds
Nearly one-fifth of Americans relied on drinking water systems with elevated and potentially dangerous levels of nitrate in recent years, according to a new study released Thursday.
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group examined test data collected by water systems across the country between 2021 and 2023, the most recent data available.
Water systems serving more than 3 million people exceeded the federal safety limit of 10 milligrams per liter over the three years, the research and advocacy organization found.
The analysis also found that thousands of water systems serving more than 62 million people reported nitrate levels above 3 milligrams per liter at least once during those years, which indicates human-caused drinking-water contamination.
-Stateline.org
Pope Leo: Migrants must not be treated 'worse than house pets'
ROME - Migrants must not be treated "worse than house pets," Pope Leo XIV said on Thursday as he ended his lengthy visit to Africa.
On the return flight to Rome, Leo advocated for "greater justice and equality" at the global level to tackle the conditions leading Africans to emigrate toward Europe.
He called on countries and "large, rich, multinational companies" to help "change the situation in countries like those we visited on this trip."
The head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics visited Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea over the past week and a half during what has been his longest trip abroad since he succeeded Francis as pope last year.
-dpa
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