Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) The US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in about a month as American forces hit Iranian rocket launchers and the Islamic Republic responded by firing missiles toward Jordan.

(2) President Donald Trump’s plan to seize direct control of Venezuela’s oil reserves is prompting warnings that the Latin American nation will become a modern-day resource colony akin to the so-called banana republics of a century ago — something that could create long-term risks for oil companies operating there.

(3) Bond investors at firms including ABN AMRO Investment Solutions and Brandywine Global Investment Management are voicing skepticism about mounting speculation that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is poised to raise interest rates.

(4) Icelanders narrowly turned down reopening membership talks with the European Union in a divisive referendum, as concerns over retaining control of the island nation’s natural resources eclipsed the case for closer alignment with Europe.

(5) Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that Germany’s eastern Saxony-Anhalt region will suffer economic damage if the far-right AfD party wins control of the state’s government next Sunday.

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