• GDP does not impress: The final estimate of GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2025 is out, and at 0.5%, it’s not only unimpressive but below previous estimates of 0.7%. That’s after a very healthy growth rate of 3.8% and 4.4% in the second and third quarters, respectively. All told, the growth for 2025 came in at 2.1%, below that of both 2024 and 2023. This anemic growth is strongly tied to the Democrats’ record-setting shutdown last year. The first estimate for the first quarter of 2026 is expected on April 30.

• Inflation spikes: As anticipated, the conflict in Iran has raised prices, pushing the inflation rate higher. Overall consumer prices rose at an annualized rate of 3.3% in March, matching economists’ predictions. Much of this was due to oil prices spiking by 10.9%. Food and energy prices, meanwhile, rose 2.6%. The concern is that prices are not expected to drop anytime soon, as sudden price increases are rarely followed by sudden decreases. The question the Federal Reserve will weigh is whether to cut interest rates to counter inflation or hold them steady.

• Strait of Hormuz is not yet open: Oil tankers and other ships waiting in the Persian Gulf “will be interested in leaving as soon as it is safe to do so,” says Jakob Larsen, an officer at a leading organization for shipowners. When it will be safe to do so is the issue at hand. President Donald Trump demanded a complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as part of the ceasefire with Iran, which the regime has technically agreed to. The problem is that ships aren’t making the crossing in anything like the numbers a “complete reopening” implies. On Thursday, eight ships made the crossing. Before the war, there were about 135 crossings a day. “The Strait of Hormuz is not open,” says Sultan Al Jaber. “It is being restricted, conditioned, and controlled.” Iran is in control of the Strait and is extracting tolls from any ship that wants to make the crossing.

• NFL antitrust probe: The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into the NFL over the league’s TV viewership deals. Last month, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr observed, “We actually got thousands and thousands of comments. … The vast majority so far … support keeping a significant portion of these sports games on free, over-the-air broadcast TV.” The concern is the growing number of NFL games that are paywalled on streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Peacock, ESPN+, and Netflix. A recent Fox News poll found that 72% of fans supported keeping major sports games, including NFL games, on broadcast channels where they are free to access. The NFL responded, “With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content.”

• Melania Trump’s response to her connection with Epstein: First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement yesterday in response to the rumors circulating that Jeffrey Epstein had introduced her to Donald Trump. “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” She explained that she had never been friends with Epstein, that their social circles had occasionally overlapped, and that she met her husband by chance at a party in 1998, two years before she met Epstein. She called on Congress to allow victims, if they wish, to give their testimony under oath at public hearings so it could be entered into the congressional record. “Be cautious about what you believe,” she warned.

• Mahmoud Khalil loses deportation case: Anti-American, Hamas-friendly Palestinian activist and “student” Mahmoud Khalil has lost yet another case as the Trump administration tries to deport him. The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled Thursday that the administration has grounds to deport Khalil over the fraud he committed in his application for lawful permanent residency. Americans who are eager to see those who hate our country deported shouldn’t start celebrating just yet, however. Khalil has vowed to appeal this decision in addition to another case currently pending in the regular circuit court of appeals. It seems that the purpose of our courts right now is to keep America-haters in the country for as long as possible.

• ICE shoots illegal who denies gang ties: An illegal alien who was shot attempting to flee an ICE arrest is alleging that the immigration authorities have falsely identified him as a member of a criminal gang. Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who was described by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons as “an 18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder,” says he has “no idea what the ICE director is talking about.” Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted of a murder charge in his home country of El Salvador back in 2019. He claims that he fled only after being shot, not before. The DOJ is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Mendoza Hernandez, who was shot six times, is in the hospital recovering.

• Oklahoma principal takes a bullet, stops mass shooting: On Thursday, a 20-year-old walked into Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma with the goal of carrying out a Columbine-style school attack. After the attacker tried and failed to shoot several students, Principal Kirk Moore responded heroically to the sound of gunfire. Moore confronted the attacker and wrestled the gun out of his hand, but not before taking a shot to the leg. Moore and the assistant principal then lay on top of the subdued attacker until police arrived. Without a doubt, Principal Moore saved the lives of those around him. After so many stories of the slaughter of children, it is a relief to hear about the heroism of good leadership. Pray for Moore’s quick recovery.

• Appeals court rules against Anthropic: Anthropic’s request to block the Pentagon from blacklisting the use of its AI technology was rejected by the DC Circuit Court on Wednesday. Anthropic had sued the Department of War after Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a “supply-chain risk,” a designation usually reserved for foreign companies. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei filed the lawsuit, alleging that Hegseth’s action against the company was punitive because of the company’s refusal to grant the Pentagon a broad license for the AI tech. “In our view,” the court wrote, “the equitable balance here cuts in favor of the government. On one side is a relatively contained risk of financial harm to a single private company. On the other side is judicial management of how, and through whom, the Department of War secures vital AI technology during an active military conflict.”

Headlines

• ICE welcomes Angel Families to DC to mark one-year reopening of VOICE Office (DHS.gov)

• Federal judge blocks Trump admin effort to end temporary protected status for Ethiopia (Fox News)

• Judge tosses another Trump lawsuit seeking voter information from states (Washington Times)

• Judge orders Pentagon to let New York Times reporters back in (Washington Times)

• Up to 1,000 jobs are set to be axed at Disney (NY Post)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.