Unless peace talks pan out fast, traders say high prices for specific Mideast crude cargoes will soon cascade to the U.S. and elsewhere.
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The Oil Supply Crunch Is Spreading From the Gulf to the Rest of the World
NFL to consider rule proposals in case of ref work stoppage
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Kevin Seifert
Multiple Authors
The NFL competition committee has finalized a series of wide-ranging rule change proposals to account for the growing possibility of a work stoppage amid tense collective bargaining negotiations with the NFL Referees Association, according to a list released by the league Tuesday.
The changes would only apply if the NFL hires replacement officials, a process it began preparing for earlier this month by reaching out to mostly small-college officiating supervisors in an effort to develop a list of 150 replacement candidates. The NFLRA’s current CBA is set to expire May 31.
If a work stoppage were to continue into the regular season, the new rules would create a type of centralized officiating that the league hopes would help avert the chaos encountered in 2012, when replacement officials worked the first three weeks of the season. While each game would still be officiated from the field, staff members in the league’s Art McNally GameDay Central command center in New York would be permitted to weigh in on a wide variety of called and uncalled penalties and would take on additional roles following the two-minute warning and in overtime.
NFL owners will discuss and possibly vote on the changes next week at their annual meeting in Phoenix. All rule changes require approval from at least 24 of the league’s 32 teams.
According to verbiage the NFL released Tuesday, league staff members could alert a replacement referee if they see clear and obvious evidence of an uncalled foul for roughing the passer, intentional grounding or an act that would normally lead to disqualification.
Those staff members would also be permitted to alert replacement referees that a flag shouldn’t have been thrown if there is clear and obvious video evidence that “at least one element of the foul called is not present,” according to the verbiage. Fouls eligible for this alert include: twisting, pulling, or turning the face mask; roughing the passer; intentional grounding; horse-collar tackles; illegal contact; pass interference; and disqualification.
In 2019, the NFL conducted a one-year experiment that subjected pass interference to replay review. The effort bogged down amid a muddled standard for overturning an on-field decision. In Tuesday’s proposal, the competition committee limited league staff member’s involvement only to circumstances where “there was inadvertent tangling of feet when both players were playing the ball or neither player was playing the ball.”
In addition, after the two-minute warning or in overtime, the list of called or uncalled penalties that league staff members could provide referees with would expand to include unsportsmanlike conduct based on punching or kicking at an opponent. During kicks, league staff members could also consult on the leverage and leaping rules.
Finally, throughout a game, league staff members could assist on discerning whether a foul should be classified as roughing or running into the kicker.
Speaking last week to ESPN, NFLRA executive director Scott Green said he was surprised the NFL would consider using replacement officials given the potential threat to player safety as well as what he said was an increased vulnerability to gambling. In a statement to ESPN, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said in part that the league had been “compelled” to begin considering alternatives because “in almost two years of negotiations, the union has made no effort to work with us on a goal we should all share — ensuring an officiating culture that’s centered around performance and accountability.”
The competition committee also proposed:
• A rule that, regardless of whether there are replacement officials, allows the referee to consult with league staff members on whether a penalized act was “flagrant” and should result in a disqualification. It also would allow league staff members to disqualify a player for a flagrant act even if it wasn’t flagged on the field. A penalty would then be assessed as well.
• Allowing teams to declare an onside kick at any time in a game, regardless of score. Currently, teams can only use the onside kick if they are trailing.
• Closing a loophole that incentivized teams to intentionally put kickoffs out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line, because of a penalty on the opponent.
• A modification of kickoff alignment requirements for the receiving team.
• Adjusting roster cut-down dates and procedures to account for international games in the first week of the season.
• Previously, the Cleveland Browns had proposed allowing teams to trade draft picks up to five years in the future, up from the current level of three.
The life of a North Korean worker in Russia
The researchers spoke with 21 North Korean men who have worked or are working at construction sites in three Russian cities. Under what they described as constant surveillance, they are forced to work as long as 16 hours a day with virtually no days off, earning as little as $10 a month in wages after deductions are made and often ending up in debt.
“We’re living lives worse than cattle,” the report quotes a 50-year-old worker as saying.
According to the report, North Korean workers often don’t even know whom they’re working for after they are hired by Russian companies in violation of U.N. sanctions. Their passports are immediately confiscated and held by North Korean security officials in Russia, the report said.
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War in Ukraine hits grim milestone with fourth anniversary
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“The relative ease with which DPRK workers continue to be transferred into exploitative overseas labor arrangements should be deeply alarming,” said Lara Strangways, the head of business and human rights at Global Rights Compliance, using the initialism for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“It reveals not only the durability of the DPRK’s overseas labor model,” she said, “but also the weakness of current enforcement and accountability measures.”
Living conditions are described as dire, with workers living in unheated, overcrowded containers infested with cockroaches and bedbugs and limited to one or two showers a year.
Those working in Russia must meet an “actively rising” mandatory monthly quota — typically around $700 — which is paid directly to the North Korean state. Any shortfall is carried forward, trapping workers in a cycle of debt bondage, the report said.
Injuries and illnesses are frequently ignored or treated as obstacles to productivity.
“Abolition of state-sponsored forced labor remains the ultimate goal, but it cannot be the only answer when workers need protection today,” Kim said. “The priority is immediate, tangible relief: enforcing basic labor standards, enabling independent monitoring and building safe exit pathways that do not punish those who flee.”
States’ coalition files lawsuit over conditions on USDA funding
A WELCOME BACK. BEFORE YOU WALK OUT THE DOOR, SEVEN BIG THINGS WE’RE FOLLOWING FOR YOU TODAY. THE FIRST IS WHETHER CHANCE OF RAIN. ERIC. YEAH, WE ARE JUST PROBABLY A FEW HOURS AWAY FROM THE SNOW AND THEN RAIN MOVING OUR WAY. STEP COLDER OUT THE DOOR THIS MORNING. WE’VE GOT TOES ON THE THERMOMETER. SANTA FE, RIO RANCHO. WE’RE ONE ABOVE FREEZING RIGHT NOW AT THE ALBUQUERQUE SUNPORT. HERE’S A LOOK AT OUR PLANNER BY NINE, 10:00 HERE. THAT’S WHEN THE LEADING EDGE THESE SNOW SHOWERS DO MOVE IN. IT’LL BE A SNOW AND MAKES AND THEN A CHANCE AT RAIN INTO THE MIDDAY HOUR AS WE EVENTUALLY WARM TO ABOUT 50 DEGREES. AND THE CHANCE OF RAIN THIS AFTERNOON SHUTS DOWN AT ABOUT, OH, THREE OR 4:00. AND THEN THIS EVENING IT’LL BE DRY, BUT ALSO QUITE WINDY. WE HAVE THOSE LATER DAY WINDS. HERE THEY ARE UP AROUND 25, SUSTAINED, GUSTY 30 TO 35 AS WE DRY OUT LATE IN THE DAY IN THIS MORNING’S TOP STORIES, NINE WITNESSES ARE EXPECTING HELP TO HELP PROSECUTORS IN THE RUSSELL SHOOTING CASE. THEY RANGE FROM FORENSIC EXPERTS TO EXPLOSIVE EXPERTS AND INCLUDES BRIAN CARPENTER, WHO’S BEEN ALL OVER NATIONAL MEDIA TALKING ABOUT THE CASE. OUR LEGAL EXPERT SAYS WHILE IT’S OKAY TO BRING IN CARPENTER, IT COULD CAUSE ISSUES IF THE CASE DOES GO TO TRIAL. ALBUQUERQUE POLICE LOOKING TO MAKE CHANGES TO BRING DOWN THE NUMBER OF SHOOTINGS INVOLVING OFFICERS. THIS COMES AFTER THE DEPARTMENT REPORTED A RECORD 18 SHOOTINGS LAST YEAR. SOME OF THE CHANGES INCLUDE HANDS ON TRAINING, INCREASED SUPERVISION AND POLICIES FOR CLEARING SCENES. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE DEPARTMENT HAS GIVEN A YEARLY OVERVIEW ON THE INCIDENTS. THEY NOW PLAN TO DO THIS. REVIEWS EVERY SIX MONTHS. WE’RE WORKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A SHOOTING AT A MALL IN FARMINGTON. IT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE NOON YESTERDAY. POLICE SAY IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, RESULTED IN TWO PEOPLE BEING SHOT. ONE VICTIM DIED. ANOTHER WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE THEY’RE IN STABLE CONDITION AT LAST CHECK. AT THIS TIME, POLICE DO NOT HAVE A SUSPECT IN CUSTODY. PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THE HERMIT’S PIQUE CATH CANYON FIRE ARE STILL WAITING FOR DAMAGE RELIEF LATER THIS MONTH. FEMA IS GOING TO BE OPENING THREE NEW CLAIMS OFFICES AND THEY’LL BE REACHING OUT TO ANYONE WHO SUBMITTED A CLAIM OF A CALF CANYON HERMITS PEAK FIRE WAS THE LARGEST WILDFIRE IN STATE HISTORY, DESTROYING
States’ coalition files lawsuit over conditions on USDA funding
Programs at risk include school lunches; Women, Infants and Children (WIC); and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The legally contentious coalition of 22 states’ attorneys general has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration. This new one says the administration’s attempt to place conditions on the delivery of some U.S. Department of Agriculture funding is unconstitutional and illegal, said a New Mexico Department of Justice news release.The conditions being challenged involve immigration, gender identity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The lawsuit asks the court to prevent the USDA from putting these conditions on important programs such as school lunches; the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women; Women, Infants and Children (WIC); and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).The lawsuit argues that the administration has violated the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution by placing conditions without clear notice; and that the conditions also violated the Administrative Procedure Act, because they are arbitrary and beyond the USDA’s statuatory authority.”These programs are essential toi feeding New Mexico children, families, senior citizens, and rural communities,” said Raul Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General. “Almost half a million New Mexicans rely on SNAP funding alone for family meals, and I will not stand by while this admoinistration continues to attempt to take food from the tables of our working families.”Besides New Mexico, the coalition filing the lawsuit includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The legally contentious coalition of 22 states’ attorneys general has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration.
This new one says the administration’s attempt to place conditions on the delivery of some U.S. Department of Agriculture funding is unconstitutional and illegal, said a New Mexico Department of Justice news release.
The conditions being challenged involve immigration, gender identity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The lawsuit asks the court to prevent the USDA from putting these conditions on important programs such as school lunches; the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women; Women, Infants and Children (WIC); and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The lawsuit argues that the administration has violated the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution by placing conditions without clear notice; and that the conditions also violated the Administrative Procedure Act, because they are arbitrary and beyond the USDA’s statuatory authority.
“These programs are essential toi feeding New Mexico children, families, senior citizens, and rural communities,” said Raul Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General. “Almost half a million New Mexicans rely on SNAP funding alone for family meals, and I will not stand by while this admoinistration continues to attempt to take food from the tables of our working families.”
Besides New Mexico, the coalition filing the lawsuit includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Luke Combs Throws a Big Middle Finger at Record Industry Politics
Luke Combs has spoken out against record industry politics, and he might be onto something.
Let me explain.
Combs is known to be one of the best dads and husbands out there, in that he only tours now on the weekends and does everything in his power to stay at home with his wife and three sons as much as possible.
In a recent GQ interview, Combs lashed out against insider recording industry events where artists go and schmooze with radio and TV people, as well as influencers, in an effort to grease the wheels.
The “Beautiful Crazy” singer said, “If that means I piss off people by not hanging out with people I don’t even know, so other people think I’m cool, then who the f–k cares? If that’s the reason I don’t win a Grammy or CMA Award, then f–k it, do I even want one?”
In the same interview, he said, “My wife has supreme belief in me. I could put both kids in the car right now and say, ‘Hey, we’re driving to Florida and I’m going to spend a week with the kids by myself,’ and she wouldn’t worry if I could take care of them.”
READ MORE: Every Song on Luke Combs’ The Way I Am Album, Ranked
It is known widely in the recording industry that you need to be out there meeting media folks in order to make a good impression on them, so that when the time comes for voting on the Grammys, ACMs and CMAs, your name is top-of-mind.
Does Skipping Industry Events Hurt Luke Combs?
You be the judge — Combs is batting about .800 when it comes to singles released.
He has had around 20 singles, and 16 of them have gone to No. 1 on the country charts, yet, he has never won a Grammy Award, and his last CMA win was in 2023, while his last ACM win was in 2020.
When Did Luke Combs Release His Last Album?
Luke Combs released his most recent record, The Way I Am, on March 20, 2026.
Top 20 Luke Combs Songs That Prove ‘Em All Wrong
Check out Luke Combs’ best songs, and the songs that changed his life when so many thought he wasn’t good enough to be a country star.
See Pictures of Luke Combs’ New Nashville Bar, Category 10
Luke Combs is ready to join the ranks of country artists who have opened their own bars in Nashville’s Broadway district. The honky-tonk will be called Category 10, playing off of his debut single “Hurricane.” Although true hurricanes are categorized no higher than a Category 5, Combs opted to double the intensity with a 10 ranking. It’s a nod to his career, really.
Category 10 will be anything but small: The bar will be the largest entertainment venue on the strip, featuring the area’s biggest dance floor and rooftop. Combs is also including more intimate spaces to accommodate young talented singers and songwriters.
Big Returns From AI Investments Are Here, CFOs Say
Executives at WSJ’s CFO Council Summit say they are seeing efficiency and productivity gains.
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Joe Flacco returns to Bengals on one-year deal after Pro Bowl 2025 season
Joe Flacco has parlayed his first Pro Bowl campaign into a return to the Cincinnati Bengals on a one-year deal, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The deal is worth $6 million, with an additional $3 million available in incentives, per NFL Media.
Flacco, 41, will return to a Bengals team that also recently signed fellow quarterback Josh Johnson, another member of the 2008 NFL Draft class who turns 40 on May 15.
Flacco rejoining Cincinnati isn’t surprising given his strong 2025 play and what Bengals coach Zac Taylor said late last season when asked about Flacco coming back in 2026.
“I think it’d be valuable,” Taylor said. “I think he’s a starting quarterback in the NFL. And so I think anytime you’ve experienced that and you’re able to get him back, that’d be great.”
The 2026 season will be his 19th in the NFL. The 18th overall pick in 2008, Flacco spent his first 11 seasons with the Ravens, which included a memorable playoff run in 2012 that ended with Flacco winning Super Bowl MVP honors. During Baltimore’s four playoff games, Flacco threw for a whopping 1,140 yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw three touchdowns during Baltimore’s Super Bowl win over the 49ers.
After Lamar Jackson replaced him in 2018, Flacco played for four other teams before being traded to Cincinnati last season ahead of the deadline. After starting the season with division rival Cleveland, Flacco made six starts for the Bengals. Cincinnati traded for him after Jake Browning struggled in relief of Joe Burrow, who missed significant time with a toe injury in Week 2. Ironically, Burrow and Flacco both represented the AFC in this year’s Pro Bowl.
While he won just one of his six starts, Flacco put up impressive numbers while leading the Bengals’ offense to an average of 27.2 points per game. The problem was Cincinnati’s defense, which allowed an average of 34 points per game over that span.
He may not be bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but Flacco has nonetheless put together an impressive career. He’s 14th in NFL history with 48,176 passing yards and 21st with 272 touchdown passes. Only Tom Brady has more road playoff wins than Flacco, whose eight are tied with Hall of Famer Roger Staubach for second-most all time.
Senate rejects latest push to rein in Trump’s powers in Iran as war’s off-ramp unclear
Washington — The Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Trump on Iran as the U.S. and Tehran send conflicting messages about how the war might end.
The near party-line vote was 47 to 53, falling short of the simple majority it needed to advance. Every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against it, while every Democrat except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania backed it.
Earlier this month, Democrats filed a handful of war powers resolutions to block Mr. Trump from continuing the military offensive against Iran without congressional approval. They vowed to continue forcing votes on the issue as a means of securing public testimony from Trump administration officials about the conflict.
Tuesday’s vote on a resolution introduced by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is the third time since the conflict began on Feb. 28 that Senate Republicans have blocked efforts to challenge Mr. Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran. Another vote last year in the wake of strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities was also unsuccessful.
“This is an extraordinary moment,” Murphy said during floor debate ahead of the vote. “I don’t think we have had a moment like this, where the United States has been unquestionably at war with a foreign power, where American soldiers are dying as we speak and it is being hidden actively from the public by the Congress.”
Murphy argued there haven’t been public hearings on the matter because the administration “cannot defend and explain this war.” He called the war’s consequences “stunning in their scope.”
“If they are not willing to come to Congress and defend this war, it speaks to the indictment of the preparation and strategy,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has led the war powers push, said “any proposal of this magnitude that’s going to risk the lives of our troops should be subjected to the most searing examination that we would do of anything in this body.”
The Trump administration and Republicans have argued that the president does not need congressional authorization because the Constitution and the 1973 War Powers Act grant him authority to order military action in self-defense. Mr. Trump has claimed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the U.S., though critics have pushed back on the assertion.
Mr. Trump has said for weeks that the war would wrap up soon, but the off-ramp remains unclear. Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran as the president weighs next moves.
On Monday, Mr. Trump announced that military strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, which he previously threatened over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, would be postponed for five days. Mr. Trump has also said that talks with Iran are underway, though Iran has denied any direct discussions. A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. sent Iran a message through mediators.
Democrats in the lower chamber could also move on another war powers resolution soon, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was noncommittal on a timeline Tuesday.
Jeffries said there are “ongoing conversations” about moving forward “sooner rather than later” but they want to put something on the floor that is successful.
“When we present something on the floor, it’s our determination to win,” he said.
More record breaking heat moves into New Mexico Wednesday
Record high temperatures are being shattered today across New Mexico, with more record-breaking temperatures through Thursday. Relief finally arrives Friday with a strong cold front. High temperatures are soaring into the 80s and 90s statewide Tuesday, breaking records in many locations. The warmth won’t ease much overnight as high pressure settles over the region. Even […]
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SEVENDUST Was Planning To Break Up After Their New Record
Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose has revealed that the long-running alt-metal crew came dangerously close to calling time on their career – before a sudden change of heart reignited the band.
Speaking in a new interview with Stan Bicknell, Rose admitted that less than two years ago, the band were actively planning their final chapter.
“We went through this period of time where we just weren’t touring as much. We were kind of thinking that we were gonna land the plane a little bit, like, ‘Let’s slow it down to a farewell thing,’ which we had discussed, for sure.
“And then some other things happened, and we decided, ‘You know what? Instead of parking the car here, why don’t we just put it all the way into drive, like all the way in, and let’s tour like harder than we’ve ever toured and just burn the car out. Like, ‘Let’s tackle things that we haven’t done.’ So that happened. Just overnight, it was a decision that went from ‘We’re gonna retire’ to ‘No, no, no. We’re gonna actually put the afterburner on now instead.'”
According to Rose, the idea of wrapping things up wasn’t just casual talk – it was deeply thought through, and emotionally heavy: “It was recently. It was, like, a year and a half ago.
“This was gonna be our last record. We had a blueprint for it and everything. We actually had like a whole layout. It was that thick, of going through everything that we were gonna do and how we were gonna do it. And, I mean, I cried a few times thinking about it.”
Rose described the Sevendust community as deeply personal, shaped by countless shows, repeat encounters, and real-life relationships formed on the road. The thought of ending that cycle hit him hard: “We’ve had so many people that we’ve met. The Sevendust community is a very close thing. We did not have the luxury of a major label or the major label money, so we grinded it from the beginning and then got really mistreated in the middle of our career, like horribly mistreated.
“And the people stood there long enough for us to get our legs back, and then when we finally found somebody that really knew that we could trust that knew the game and knew how to make it work, we were so beat up. And the people started coming back a little more and more and more, and it just became this thing where it’s, like, ‘Oh, man. I’ve known these people from being out there so much.’ And when you overtour yourself, you see these people a lot.
“And they become people you’re going to dinner with or going to lunch with, or having coffee with, or whatever it might be. And you’re doing it consistently. And then one day you’re just, like, ‘We’re gonna wrap it all up.’ And I’m, like, ‘That means they died.’ Because I never see them outside of this. So that means it’ll be like every gig will be another death in the family. It’ll be another group of people that I know from that, and I also know from being around them, and it’s, like, there’s thousands of them.
“So that’s like a thousand people that you care about dying in a year and a half. So I got really emotional about it, and then when it was decided we’re not gonna do that, I got just rejuvenated. [I didn’t have to] face that now. It got really exciting. I hadn’t felt that kind of, like, ‘I’m ready to break some shit now. I wanna tear something up.’ And we just got back from a two-month run in Europe, and I felt like it was ’97 again.”
Sevendust are gearing up for a massive U.S. tour in support of their highly anticipated 15th studio album, One, set for release on May 1 via Napalm Records. The tour kicks off April 16 in Carterville, Illinois and runs through May 20, concluding in Knoxville, Tennessee, with support from Atreyu, Fire From The Gods, and American Adrenaline. Get your tickets here.
4/16 Carterville, IL Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort
4/17 Riverside, IA Riverside Casino & Golf Resort
4/18 Larchwood, IA Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort
4/20 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
4/21 Lexington, KY Manchester Music Hall
4/22 Birmingham, AL Iron City
4/24 Mobile, AL Soul Kitchen Music Hall
4/25 Destin, FL Club LA
4/26 Atlanta, GA Coca-Cola Roxy
4/28 Dallas, TX House of Blues
4/29 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
5/1 Denver, CO Summit
5/2 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
5/4 Wichita, KS The Cotillion
5/5 Springfield, MO The Regency Live
5/6 Fayetteville, AR Ozark Music Hall
5/8 Daytona Beach, FL Welcome To Rockville
5/9 North Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
5/11 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
5/12 Harrisburg, PA XL Live
5/14 McKees Rocks, PA Roxian Theatre
5/15 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple
5/16 Baltimore, MD Nevermore Hall
5/17 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
5/19 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
5/20 Knoxville, TN The Mill & Mine
5/21 Nashville, TN The Pinnacle