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1 US And Iran Agree To Ceasefire For Two Weeks
The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire last night, just before President Trump's 7 p.m. deadline that would have triggered what he described as devastating strikes on Iran's power plants and bridges. The deal came together after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked Trump to extend the deadline and invited both sides to peace talks in Islamabad on Friday. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran's acceptance, saying the country's armed forces would cease operations and that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be possible for two weeks, coordinated through the Iranian military. Iran's Supreme National Security Council issued its own statement claiming victory, saying the U.S. had accepted Iran's 10-point plan including nuclear enrichment rights and continued Iranian control over the strait. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not confirm those specific claims, saying only that "negotiations will continue."
2 Oil Prices Plummet Back Below $100 Per Barrel After Ceasefire
Oil prices had surged throughout the day yesterday as Trump's Iran deadline loomed, with U.S. crude topping $109 a barrel amid fears of massive new strikes on Iranian infrastructure, but when Trump announced the ceasefire agreement just before 8 p.m. prices reversed sharply, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling more than 9 percent in under half an hour, dropping to around $96 a barrel. National gas prices hit a new high of $4.14 a gallon yesterday, up nearly 39 percent since the war began at the end of February, according to AAA.
3 Republican Clay Fuller Projected To Win Georgia Runoff For Marjorie Taylor Greene's House Seat
Republican Clay Fuller is projected to have won yesterday’s runoff election in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, taking the seat that Marjorie Taylor Greene vacated when she resigned in January after a falling-out with President Trump. Fuller, a district attorney who had Trump's backing, beat Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army general, in the heavily conservative northwest Georgia district. The win gives House Republicans a two-vote margin, up from one, giving the slim majority a bit more room to maneuver on its legislative agenda. Fuller will serve out the remainder of Greene's term through January.