Daily Brew // Morning Brew // Update

April 13, 2026

Howdy. The Artemis II astronauts are getting back to work, now with gravity and better restrooms. On Saturday, the crew took the stage at an event at Johnson Space Center in Houston, their first public appearance since returning. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was there, and he called their lunar fly-by “the greatest adventure in human history.”

They better put that quote in their annual performance reviews. Imagine literally going farther into the cosmos than anyone ever, and still having to “describe a significant contribution you made to your team this year.”

—Sam Klebanov, Holly Van Leuven, Matty Merritt, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
The election defeat of Hungary’s Orbán
Why Mississippi is running out of liquor

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

Nasdaq

22,902.89

-1.46%

S&P

6,816.89

-0.42%

Dow

47,916.57

-0.31%

10-Year

4.317%

+15.4 bps

Bitcoin

$71,059.97

-18.80%

Crude Oil

$104.97

+82.81%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Last week, the three major indexes posted their best weeks since November amid the “relief rally” around the US–Iran ceasefire. However, after peace talks this weekend faltered, stocks probably aren’t headed for a repeat performance. Yesterday, Brent crude and WTI surged when the oil markets opened, in anticipation of President Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. (More on all this below.)

GEOPOLITICS

US to blockade Hormuz as Iran peace talks fail

US Vice President JD Vance arrives at a press conference following peace talks in Pakistan. Jacquelyn Martin/Getty Images

Sunday scaries were particularly rough for commodity traders. President Trump said yesterday that the US will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz after the collapse of US–Iran peace talks in Pakistan this weekend, creating more uncertainty around the brittle two-week ceasefire that began last Tuesday.

Iran reportedly refused to yield to US demands, including nixing its nuclear program and fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz without charging ships to cross it.

So, Trump decided to flip the leverage that Iran has had:

The president announced on Truth Social yesterday morning that the US Navy will blockade the vital waterway to ensure that Iran can’t ship its oil, a growing source of revenue for the nation in recent weeks.
He also warned that the US will “interdict” any foreign ships that paid Iran for passage, referring to an illegal tolling system Iran set up after the war began, under which some vessels reportedly shelled out $2 million to get through.
US Central Command later confirmed that the blockade would involve all Iranian ports and begin at 10am ET today, or 5:30pm in Iran.

In addition, Trump said the US would begin clearing Iranian sea mines from the strait using underwater minesweeping drones.

Ceasefire at risk

Last week, traffic through the strait amounted to a trickle as most ship operators deemed it unsafe to pass. Now, a US blockade creates more opportunity for escalation between the US Navy and the hundreds of small naval ships Iran uses to control the waterway. Trump said yesterday that any Iranian who fires on US ships will be “BLOWN TO HELL,” while Iran warned that it will treat any military vessels approaching the strait as a ceasefire violation.

Looking ahead: А protracted shipping cataclysm means a tighter global supply of oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and materials used in manufacturing—with analysts noting that the blockade choking off Iran’s oil could further exacerbate oil shortages. And despite the peace talks failing, US officials said negotiations were cordial, and an Iranian official said future talks were possible.—SK

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

Peter Magyar claims victory. Anadolu/Getty Images

Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán lost the election, conceded to Péter Magyar. After 16 years in power, Orbán conceded defeat in Hungary’s general election yesterday, calling his loss to Péter Magyar, the opposition leader, “painful.” Despite Hungary’s relatively small size—its population is fewer than 10 million—Orbán cultivated a large following among global populists, and his fans include President Trump and many in the MAGA movement. But a series of corruption scandals eroded voter sentiment. The rise of Magyar, who is described as center-right, may not lead to sweeping changes on many issues, but he has pledged to make significant anti-corruption reforms.—HVL

Rep. Eric Swalwell abandons campaign for CA governor. The news that Swalwell would end his campaign came shortly after he lost the support of the 21st and last congressional Democrat who had endorsed him. On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published allegations that the representative had sexually assaulted a woman twice, including while she was working for him. Swalwell continues to deny the allegations. Yesterday, in a social media post, he said, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made—but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.” The House of Representatives returns to session tomorrow, and the body is likely to address the issue of whether to expel Swalwell from Congress shortly thereafter.—HVL

Tonight’s WNBA draft may make history. The event kicks off at 7pm ET, with the Dallas Wings getting the first pick. There have never been more spots to fill: The league has two new franchises, and a new rule requires teams to have 12 players (up from 11). That’s extra good news for the six seniors graduating from UCLA’s NCAA championship-winning team this year, who are entering the draft. They are all projected to be drafted in the first and second rounds. If that comes true, it will be the first collegiate program in WNBA history to have six players taken in a single draft, according to ESPN.—MM

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Warehouse failures endanger Mississippi liquor stores

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images

You know something is radically wrong with liquor stores if their most profitable month of the year is Dry January.

According to the Washington Post, that’s how 2026 has played out for many liquor stores in Mississippi that are now either out of business or on the brink of closing after the state’s only wholesale alcohol warehouse nuked its own computer system.

Inventory system of a down

Mississippi is one of 17 Alcoholic Beverage Control states. That means the state handles alcohol distribution rather than relying on the private sector:

It has a single wholesale liquor warehouse, which the legislature required a third party to run as of a few years ago. That job went to the Ruan Transport Corporation.
This past fall, Ruan told retailers it planned to close for two weeks in January to do inventory.
In addition to counting boxes, however, the company reportedly also decided to tear out old conveyor belts in favor of a new packing system that relied on humans. But then…Ruan allegedly didn’t hire humans.

By the time Ruan got temporary workers on the job, there were 200,000 backorders that needed to be filled.

Zoom out: The state is now planning to build a new warehouse, but that won’t open until 2027.—HVL

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CALENDAR

The week ahead

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Babe wake up, it’s earnings season: Fresh on the heels of iced coffee season starting, it’s time for Q1 2026 earnings. As per tradition, the Big Banks will all release first-quarter reports early this week, starting with Goldman Sachs today. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon gave everyone a preview of the big flavor of the season—in his annual shareholder letter last week, he spoke at length about AI disruption, war-related inflation, and private credit instability.

Finance bigwigs will stop and smell the cherry blossoms: International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank officials will meet in Washington, DC, this week for their annual spring meeting to discuss global financial stability…or instability. The groups warned they would downgrade their global growth forecasts due to the Iran war.

Play them off, Keyboard Cat: The NHL regular season concludes on Thursday, and then the Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Saturday. The favorites to take the whole darn thing are the Colorado Avalanche, but last year’s runner-up Edmonton Oilers may have a revenge run. Over in basketball land, the NBA Play-In Tournament starts tomorrow, and the first round of the league’s playoffs starts on Saturday.

But wait, there’s more:

Existing home sales data for March will be released this morning.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release March’s producer price index (PPI) report tomorrow.
Tax Day is Wednesday. Don’t freak out if you haven’t started…but maybe start cooking with gas.
The season 2 finale for The Pitt is on Thursday. Please, no more water slide disasters.
Maria Semple’s new novel, Go Gentle, comes out tomorrow.

STAT

Prime number: the artist with 12,000 recordings

Asha Bhosle performs at the ‘75 Years of Asha’ concert at Carnegie Hall in 2008. Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images/Getty Images

Asha Bhosle, a Bollywood singer whose career spanned eight decades and who held the Guinness World Record as the most recorded artist in music history, died yesterday at the age of 92, prompting an international outpouring of condolences.

By Bhosle’s count, she had made 12,000 recordings in 20 languages. How so many? In addition to releasing hundreds of albums and performing worldwide, she served as a “playback singer”—recording songs for actresses to lip-sync to on screen in Bollywood movies. But she was far from an anonymous cipher. Bhosle created a style all her own from traditional, cabaret, and other Western influences, though her ultimate gift was possessing a “timeless brilliance,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a condolence post on social media.

NPR described her voice as “flexible and powerful,” noting she kept most of her vocal range, even into her advanced years. During her career, Bhosle received India’s highest arts honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and was nominated for two Grammys.—HVL

READER POLL

Were you familiar with Asha Bhosle before reading the above?

Yes
No
No, but now I wish I was

Initial reactions trivia

Do you know what the initials in the following names stand for?

John F. Kennedy
George H.W. Bush
Mary J. Blige
J.D. Salinger
Michael J. Fox

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ANSWER

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
George Herbert Walker Bush
Mary Jane Blige
Jerome David Salinger
The J doesn’t stand for anything. Fox’s middle name is actually Andrew. There was already a “Michael Fox” registered with the Screen Actors Guild, and Fox disliked “Michael A. Fox,” so he invented an initial.

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: cipher, meaning “nonentity.” Thanks to VIP Mike Tucker from Junction City, OR, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

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