American Courant https://americancourant.com/ News that matters. en-us Sat, 25 Apr 2026 02:12:48 GMT A U.S. soldier won $400,000 on a Maduro-raid bet. Investigators say it wasn't a guess. https://americancourant.com/politics/soldier-polymarket-maduro-bet/ https://americancourant.com/politics/soldier-polymarket-maduro-bet/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:00:00 GMT Federal prosecutors say a soldier with access to classified planning placed contracts on Polymarket the same week U.S. forces moved against the Venezuelan president. The size of the win is what triggered the audit. Politics Mortgage rates were finally easing. Then the Strait of Hormuz happened. https://americancourant.com/opinion/mortgage-rates-iran-shock/ https://americancourant.com/opinion/mortgage-rates-iran-shock/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:30:00 GMT The 30-year mortgage was at 5.81% on the first of the month. It's 6.22% today. That 40-basis-point move is geopolitics, not the Fed — and it's costing the typical buyer about $215 a month. Opinion Three ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz. Then the talks in Pakistan never happened. https://americancourant.com/world/strait-of-hormuz-attacks/ https://americancourant.com/world/strait-of-hormuz-attacks/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT Iran struck at least three vessels in the strait hours after a Pakistan-mediated meeting between Tehran and Washington fell through. The Trump administration's blockade is still in place. World Two games in, the Lakers and Thunder have already broken Round 1 in half https://americancourant.com/culture/nba-playoffs-round-one/ https://americancourant.com/culture/nba-playoffs-round-one/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:00:00 GMT Through the first weekend of the 2026 NBA playoffs, four series are tied 1–1 and four are not. The four that aren't are the four anyone is willing to talk about. Culture A tabloid 'secret sister' story about Tucker Carlson is really an inheritance question in disguise https://americancourant.com/culture/tucker-carlson-secret-sister/ https://americancourant.com/culture/tucker-carlson-secret-sister/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT The supermarket-tabloid framing was 'long-lost heiress.' The actual filings are about a 1990s trust, a frozen-food fortune, and a woman who insists none of this is news to her family. Culture Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs. The roles being eliminated say more than the headcount does. https://americancourant.com/business/meta-layoffs-eight-thousand/ https://americancourant.com/business/meta-layoffs-eight-thousand/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:00:00 GMT Meta announced its third major workforce reduction in three years, eliminating 10% of staff. The cut falls heavily on ad-sales and middle management — the part of the company AI tools are now expected to replace. Business TSMC's profit jumped 58% on AI chips. The constraint nobody wants to talk about is electricity. https://americancourant.com/business/tsmc-ai-power-wall/ https://americancourant.com/business/tsmc-ai-power-wall/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMT TSMC posted a record quarter on AI demand. DRAM is up nearly 50%. And the 92 gigawatts of new data-center power every 2028 projection assumes doesn't yet exist on the grid. Business The first American pope used his first Easter to plead for peace — and to pointedly skip the names. https://americancourant.com/culture/pope-leo-first-easter-peace/ https://americancourant.com/culture/pope-leo-first-easter-peace/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT Pope Leo XIV's first Urbi et Orbi address was, by tradition, a tour of the world's wars. He delivered the call for peace. He did not deliver the catalog. The omission is the most-discussed line of the early papacy. Culture For one in ten patients, Ozempic and Wegovy don't work. A new study says the reason is in their genes. https://americancourant.com/business/ozempic-wegovy-genetics-resistance/ https://americancourant.com/business/ozempic-wegovy-genetics-resistance/ Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT Researchers identified two specific variants on the GLP-1 receptor gene that appear to predict little or no response to semaglutide. The clinical implications are significant. The insurance implications are bigger. Business