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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Axios that AI superintelligence “is so close, so mind-bending, so disruptive that America needs a new social contract — on the scale of the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, and the New Deal during the Great Depression.”
“The threats of inaction or slow action are grave, Altman warns — widespread job loss, cyberattacks, social upheaval, machines man can’t control. The two most immediate threats, he said, are cyberattacks and biological attacks.”
CNN: “The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to drop the government’s criminal case against Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser convicted in 2022 of defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision follows a move by federal prosecutors in February to drop the indictment brought during President Joe Biden’s administration. Both the Justice Department and Bannon had asked the high court to toss out an appeals court ruling upholding the conviction and send the case back to a trial court so that the original charges against him could be dismissed.”
President Trump and other U.S. officials cast the rescue of a U.S. airman in Iran as an “Easter miracle” on Sunday, framing the operation in religious terms that portrayed the war as a just cause and divinely blessed, Reuters reports.
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Bloomberg: “Of all the things Donald Trump has done to disrupt global commerce, from levying punitive tariffs to tearing up trade deals, few would be as consequential as withdrawing and leaving the rest of the world to secure the Persian Gulf.”
“The move, which the US president has repeatedly threatened as his war with Iran drags on, would represent a break with decades of US policy keeping open the sea lanes that carry four-fifths of the $35 trillion global goods trade. Even the threat of reducing security for the Strait of Hormuz risks shaking confidence in a pillar of the world economy, as well as American wealth and power.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is teasing a presidential run, NBC News reports.
Said Gallego: “Obviously, like any other elected official, especially ones that won red states in 2024, we have to look at it.”
He added: “No matter who runs, even if it’s not me, the candidate that wins in 2028 is going to have to get the Latino vote back to at least 62%. That is the ‘Pass Go’ line, collect $200 on the Monopoly board. We didn’t hit that in 2024 and that’s why we find ourselves in this situation.”
“Iran warned that it would retaliate against any attack on its critical energy infrastructure, in an apparent response to President Trump’s threat to target power plants and bridges unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz,” the New York Times reports.
Associated Press: Israel warns public against new Iranian missile barrage.
New York Times: “One minute, President Trump says the war in Iran is nearly over. The next he says it will continue for weeks. He brags that Iran has been ‘eviscerated,’ but then vows that the fighting will go on. A huge bombardment, he says, might begin in five days, or 10 days, or on Tuesday at precisely 8 p.m. Eastern.”
“If the president means what he says, the world could be about 24 hours from a devastating escalation in the war. But like the producer of a television cliffhanger, Mr. Trump seems determined to keep everyone off balance.”
“On that, at least, he is succeeding.”
“The U.S. and Israel have a set of targets lined up in Iran designed to cripple the country’s economy and ensure the regime’s recovery from this war is long and painful,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Israel is awaiting authorization from Washington this week to begin striking Iran’s energy facilities, an Israeli official said, potentially undermining output in one of the world’s major oil-and-gas producers…”
“Striking the underpinnings of Iran’s economy would mark an escalation in the five-week-long war that is aimed at forcing Tehran to give up the economic leverage it has gained by slowing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows. Trump has set a deadline of Tuesday evening for the strait to be opened.”
Paul Krugman: “Terrorism, according to ICE — yes, that ICE — ‘involves violence or the threat of violence against people or property to further a particular ideology.’ The official website goes on to declare that ‘Terrorists do not care who they hurt or kill to achieve their goals.’”
“If you haven’t read Donald Trump’s Truth Social post from Sunday, above, take a minute to do so. Don’t rely on sanewashed descriptions in the media. And then tell me that Trump doesn’t perfectly fit his own officials’ definition of a terrorist.”
“Don’t tell me that his cause is just, that the Iranian regime is evil. That’s what terrorists always say, and even if it’s sometimes true, terrorism is defined by its means rather than its ends — by its attempt to achieve political goals by violently attacking the innocent.”
“The oil shock set off by the war in Iran is already rippling through Asia, where factories are curbing production to save energy and some gas stations are telling drivers they can fill up only partway,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Economists say it is a sign of things to come for countries in Europe and Africa that also rely on imports from the Middle East.”
The Baltimore Sun is pouring resources into investigating Gov. Wes Moore (D) as he seeks reelection and eyes a potential presidential run in 2028, Semafor reports.
Playbook: “That’s in line with the paper’s new mandate, which current and former staff told Semafor is to expose fraud and misdeeds among Democratic politicians in the state. And behind the scenes, owner David Smith, the Trump ally and longtime Sinclair steward, has been deeply involved in the team’s coverage.”
“President Donald Trump is promising the economy will snap back as soon as the Iran war ends. But the economic wounds may prove slow to heal,” Politico reports.
“Beyond spiking oil prices, many of the war’s domestic knock-on effects — farmers’ scrambled planting decisions, upended plastic supply chains and a depressed spring housing market — will take months, possibly years, to unwind, industry analysts say. That leaves the administration with a limping economy heading into a midterm election season it had planned to spend selling its successes.”
Axios: The massive economic impact of the global energy crisis.
“I don’t think we’re going back to the pre-war prices for the foreseeable future. Certainly won’t be this year, won’t even be next year. Might not be ever.”
— Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, quoted by Politico.
“Donald Trump endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race early Monday morning, dealing a potentially fatal blow to GOP rival Chad Bianco’s campaign — and to Republicans’ hopes of locking Democrats out of the runoff,” Politico reports.
“Trump’s intervention comes despite some California Republicans arguing that the party’s best, if narrow, shot at the governor’s mansion depended on him staying out of the contest in this heavily Democratic state.”
“The U.S. and regional mediators are pushing for a 45-day cease-fire that could lead to a permanent end to the war with Iran, but the chances for a breakthrough remain slim,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Axios: “The sources said the chances for reaching a partial deal over the next 48 hours are slim. But this last-ditch effort is the only chance to prevent a dramatic escalation in the war that will include massive strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure and a retaliation against energy and water facilities in the Gulf states.”
Punchbowl News: “Tracking and understanding Trump right now is very difficult, especially on the Iran war. It’s like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. He’s all over the place on every issue — domestic policy, international affairs and Iran specifically — presenting Republicans with a political mess.”
“Had Congress been in town, every Republican would’ve been forced to respond to Trump’s threat to bomb Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages where they belong’ during his White House speech last week. Or his shockingly angry Easter morning Truth Social post.”
“Yes, Trump isn’t judged by the same standards as his predecessors. But even for him, Trump’s statements during the last few days have veered wildly from presidential norms, especially on an issue as serious as a U.S. military conflict.”
“Jim Jordan has spent much of the past year out of the House GOP spotlight. Don’t expect that to last,” Politico reports.
“The Ohio Republican rose to prominence as a headline-grabbing conservative firebrand, then saw that reputation work against him when he made a failed bid for the speakership in 2023. Since then he has been supporting President Donald Trump as chair of the House Judiciary Committee and otherwise staying out of Speaker Mike Johnson’s way.”
“But now as frustrations with Johnson’s leadership rise inside the House GOP, and expectations grow that the Republican majority’s days might be numbered, speculation is brewing that the 62-year-old former wrestling star is preparing another push for the top leadership ranks.”
“Some Democrats eyeing runs for the White House have rolled out a provocative new economic policy: massive tax cuts for the working and middle classes — and big hikes for the wealthy,” Axios reports.
“Republicans may lose the midterm elections because of voters’ anger over high prices, but Democrats are still struggling to figure out how to address voters’ concerns about inflation.”
“The proposals by Democratic presidential hopefuls include eliminating federal income taxes for half of all U.S. workers, making the first $75,000 of income earned by married couples tax-free, and enacting a variety of state-based tax cuts and credits.”
NBC News: Tax cuts are the hot new idea for Democrats.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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