What the morning news shows covered today: one entry per story, every show's take.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark short-term interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.75% to 4%, marking its first hike in three years. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh stated that inflation remains too high and has persisted for too long, necessitating a change in policy direction. The unanimous decision aims to slow consumer and business spending, though President Trump publicly argued rates should be lowered instead. Higher borrowing costs will immediately impact credit cards, mortgages, and car loans, while the long-term effect on prices remains uncertain. Fed officials project at least one more rate hike before the end of the year.

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A U.S. and Israeli military assault on Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz in 2026 caused oil prices to spike, driving up costs across the economy. Brent crude is trading around $105 a barrel, up 50% from before the war, and diesel has hit a record high in the U.S. Rising fuel prices linked to the war are driving protests in Syria, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries, while Bangladesh rations electricity. The war has pushed up gasoline and diesel costs at historic highs, which an interest rate hike cannot fix. Saudi Arabia's oil output fell to 6.2 million barrels a day from 11 million before the war due to Houthi attacks and shipping blockades. A 750-mile pipeline carrying oil from eastern refineries to the Red Sea was hit by drones from Iraq, forcing a shutdown. The kingdom is now taking a longer, more expensive route around Africa to reach Asian buyers.

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A UN investigative body reports there are reasonable grounds to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in airstrikes on Iran at the start of the war, citing reckless targeting based on outdated data. The report states those airstrikes killed at least 178 civilians, including 120 schoolchildren at a school in Menab, and also accuses Tehran of crimes against humanity for violently repressing anti-government protests, with a death toll likely exceeding the official figure of 3,000. The Pentagon is still investigating that attack and has declined to publish findings from an initial probe that likely found a U.S. Tomahawk missile caused the Minab school strike. The U.S. State Department does not give credibility to the UN report's findings, alleging the Human Rights Council pushes anti-American rhetoric and appeases repressive regimes.

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European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada the first associate member of the EU during her annual speech to the European Parliament. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was present and embraced von der der Leyen after the proposal received a standing ovation. Von der Leyen emphasized shared values and common interests, stating the move is not against anyone but clearly had the Trump administration in mind. Carney addressed the European Parliament to welcome the proposal, framing a Canada-EU alliance as a beacon for democracies and a counter to superpower pressure. The move is widely seen as a strategic pivot away from reliance on the United States under Donald Trump, with both sides seeking diversification and resilience. President Trump called Canada joining the EU laughable but said it could be interpreted as a hostile act, threatening to put very heavy additional tariffs on Europe if he decides the alliance is hostile.

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The AI safety movement traces its roots to the 1990s Extropian mailing list and the rationalist community built around Eliezer Yudkowsky's Less Wrong blog, which believes its adherents must build and control AI to prevent existential risks. Tech executives and lawmakers are pushing back against AI safety advocates, claiming the warnings are exaggerated and driven by a desire for regulatory capture to cement the market dominance of leading AI companies. Critics argue that calls for guardrails are a strategy to put competitors at a disadvantage, while accelerationists like Marc Andreessen and Jensen Huang view AI as a standard technological revolution to be accelerated and open-sourced. AI leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei call for slowdowns while simultaneously racing toward massive IPOs and competing globally, balancing genuine safety concerns with financial and geopolitical pressures.

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