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US and Iranian officials held bilateral talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Oman Saturday, the first such meeting between the two nations since 2018. The officially indirect discussions ended with a direct exchange between US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a move observers described as a compromise since the US had requested direct talks.
The meeting comes seven years after President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (see timeline). The Obama-brokered agreement traded sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for 15 years of uranium enrichment limits and regular inspections of its nuclear sites. Since the deal collapsed, Iran has accelerated enrichment of its uranium stockpile to nearly 60% purity (read breakdown). Weapons-grade uranium requires purity of 90% or higher, while civilian programs (for power, medicine, or research) need 3.67%.
The US wants Iran to end its weapons-grade program and its support for regional proxies like Hamas, while Iran seeks relief from broad sanctions. Hard-liners in both countries—as well as Israel, a regional foe—are likely to oppose a new deal. Talks will continue later this week. |
Opening arguments begin today in a landmark antitrust trial against Meta, with federal regulators arguing the company monopolized personal social networking services by acquiring smaller rivals with the goal of squashing competition. The case may potentially result in Meta being forced to divest from a number of key apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp.
The realization of a suit originally brought in December 2020, prosecutors are expected to focus on alleged emails from CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating it's better to "buy than compete" with potential competitors. The company purchased Instagram in 2012 for $1B and WhatsApp in 2014 for $21B (see company history)—the former now accounts for roughly half of the company's US revenue, while the latter has an estimated 2.7 billion global users. Zuckerberg has reportedly petitioned President Donald Trump to intervene.
The case is the first of two against tech giants unfolding back-to-back—Google will begin an evidentiary hearing next Monday over charges it monopolized the online search market. |
Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters yesterday, hanging on to outlast Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden-death round while shooting 11 under par for the tournament. Capturing his first green jacket, the 35-year-old Irishman becomes just the sixth men's golfer to capture a career Grand Slam—the Masters, the Open Championship, the US Open, and the PGA Championship. He joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods in accomplishing the feat.
Considered one of the most successful golfers of his generation, McIlroy—currently ranked as the world's No. 2 men's golfer behind American Scottie Scheffler—has chased the career Grand Slam for more than a decade. McIlroy won his third of the four in 2014 (PGA Championship), and has since fallen just short in the Masters, including a second-place finish in 2022.
Learn about the history of the PGA here, and why Masters champs don a green jacket. |
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7 Financial Advisor Mistakes to Avoid |
Working with a financial advisor can be a crucial part of any healthy retirement plan.
Research suggests that people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.* But choosing the wrong one could wreak havoc. Avoiding these 7 mistakes people make when hiring an advisor could potentially save you years of stress.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> "A Minecraft Movie" pulls in $80M at the box office in its second weekend to become 2025's biggest seller at the US domestic box office (More) |
> WNBA Draft is tonight (7:30 pm ET, ESPN); see latest first-round mock draft (More) | Western Michigan tops Boston to win its first NCAA men's hockey national title (More) |
> Don Mischer, 15-time Emmy-winning live events director, dies at age 85 (More) | Nicky Katt, actor best known for "Dazed and Confused" and "Boston Public," dies at age 54 (More) |
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> Blue Origin to launch first all-female group spaceflight, with crew including pop star Katy Perry, TV host Gayle King, and others; launch window opens at 9:30 am ET, stream live here (More) |
> Astrophysicists find half of the universe's hydrogen; the previously undetected, diffuse ionized gas partially accounts for the universe's "missing" normal matter (More) |
> Scientists engineer bacteria capable of emitting signals that can be spotted almost a football field away; technique may aid in monitoring pollution, soil health, and more (More) |
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In partnership with hear.com |
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> US stock markets close up Friday (S&P 500 +1.8%, Dow +1.6%, Nasdaq +2.1%), closing tumultuous week following tariff uncertainty (More) | Ten-year US Treasury yield nears 4.5%, notches the biggest weekly jump since 2001 as investors grow anxious over US assets (More) |
> President Donald Trump to exempt some major electronics, including smartphones and computers, from 10% global tariffs and additional 125% Chinese tariff (More) | How tariffs work (1440 Topics) |
> India's JioHotstar passes 200 million paid subscribers, becomes the world's third-largest streaming service behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (More) |
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> Trump administration confirms Maryland man mistakenly deported to Salvadoran prison is alive in the facility, declines to say whether it is complying with order to facilitate his return (More) | See case overview (More) |
> At least 34 people killed, 80 others wounded following Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday services (More) | Attack comes two days after US officials push Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance ceasefire process (More) |
> Harvard faculty sue Trump administration over its effort to freeze and review nearly $9B in federal funding; federal officials previously ordered the school to end all DEI-related programs, among other demands (More) | Police investigating potential arson at Pennsylvania governor's mansion; no injuries reported (More) |
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How to Set Up a Family Trust |
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📖 This week's 1440 Topics newsletters:
1440 Business & Finance (Thursday)
Nvidia: How the company went from video games to a global AI leader (join here).
1440 Society & Culture (Saturday)
Professional Wrestling: From medieval grappling to Hulk Hogan and The Rock (join here). |
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*Disclosure: "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study. |
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