Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Iran Conflict: US And Iran Could Hold New Peace Talks This Week As US Blockade Of Strait Of Hormuz Continues
The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports showed its first concrete results yesterday while diplomatic signals suggested both sides may be inching back toward the negotiating table. In the first 24 hours after the blockade took effect Monday morning, American warships issued warnings to six vessels that had departed Iranian ports and were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting all six to turn back. No shots were fired, and U.S. personnel did not board any of the vessels. On the diplomatic front, sources told NBC News that a new round of in-person U.S.-Iran talks could take place as early as this week, fueled in part by what both sides described as progress in the failed Islamabad sessions. Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, said Iran had shown "some flexibility" but not enough on the two main sticking points: enriched uranium removal and a long-term nuclear commitment. The IAEA estimates Iran holds nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough material for approximately 11 nuclear weapons.
2 Authorities Open Criminal Investigation Into Now-Former Rep. Eric Swalwell
Former California Rep. Eric Swalwell is now facing a second sexual assault allegation, this one from a woman who held a public news conference yesterday to describe what she says was a drugging and rape in a California hotel room in 2018. Lonna Drewes, speaking alongside her attorney Lisa Bloom, said Swalwell was someone she knew professionally and that their first two encounters were friendly, with him offering to help with her software company. On the third occasion, she said, she believes he drugged her drink at a political event, and by the time he directed her to his hotel room on the pretext of grabbing paperwork, she said she was unable to move. Bloom confirmed a formal police report was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, and the L.A. County District Attorney's office said its sex crimes division has been assigned to the case. Swalwell's attorney called the allegations false and fabricated, describing them as a politically motivated attack.
3 House Passes Aviation Safety Bill
The House passed a bipartisan aviation safety bill yesterday in response to the January 2025 midair collision near Reagan National Airport that killed all 67 people aboard an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. The ALERT Act passed 396 to 10, requiring all aircraft, including military planes, to install collision-avoidance technology that can receive location data from nearby aircraft. Most planes already broadcast their positions but lack the equipment to receive the same data from others. The bill sets a 2031 compliance deadline for military aircraft, with exceptions for fighters, bombers, and drones. Critics, including Senate Commerce Committee leaders, say the bill still falls short of fully addressing the conditions that caused the crash.