Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter.
Today’s top stories
President Trump ordered the Navy to ‘shoot and kill any boat’ attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as commercial traffic has all but stopped amid fears of mines, Iranian attacks and ship seizures. There are no reliable counts of mines in the waterway; clearing them is slow and dangerous, and recent gunfire incidents and seizures have further deterred the few vessels that still try to pass.
After high-level talks at the White House, Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire for three weeks. The extension is intended to preserve a fragile truce between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.
The administration is easing restrictions on medical marijuana by moving it from Schedule I to Schedule III. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the reclassification will allow more research into safety and effectiveness and should give doctors and patients better information. The change is expected to further normalize parts of the cannabis industry—potentially expanding banking access and allowing common tax deductions that are currently disallowed—though it alters federal regulation rather than legalizing cannabis outright. Medical-only states such as Florida and Oklahoma could see immediate benefits; a broader rescheduling process continues, with an administrative hearing scheduled for June.
Wildfires continue to burn in South Georgia and northern Florida. One blaze in Georgia has destroyed nearly 90 homes and forced large-scale evacuations. Months of worsening drought have made fires easier to spread and harder to control; residents in Brantley County say they are shaken, and evacuation orders can arrive suddenly, leaving people uncertain whether their homes will survive.
In a first for U.S. enforcement, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging an Army Special Forces soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for using insider knowledge of a U.S. military operation to profit more than $400,000 on Polymarket, linked to the raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. He faces counts including wire fraud, commodities fraud and misuse of non-public government information; the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought the actions.
Picture show
‘Framerate: Desert Pulse’ at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is an immersive installation by ScanLAB Projects. The exhibit projects detailed 3-D scans of saguaros and other Sonoran Desert plants across large indoor and outdoor screens, pairing striking visuals with a cautionary note about human impact. The scans also produce data that can help scientists with conservation work.
Weekend picks
– Movies: Michael, a new biopic about Michael Jackson’s rise.
– TV: Margo’s Got Money Troubles, starring Elle Fanning as a community college student whose life quickly spirals.
– Books: Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online by Fortesa Latifi.
– Music: Noah Kahan’s fourth album, The Great Divide.
3 things to know before you go
1. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved a $110 billion merger with Paramount–Skydance; the deal still needs regulatory clearance.
2. Meta plans to lay off about 8,000 employees—roughly 10% of its workforce—in May.
3. Conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas, who led the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, has died at 81.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.