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 The US is preparing to deploy more troops to the Middle East as the war with Iran drags on. The Pentagon plans to send around 3,000 soldiers from the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to support operations against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The decision to put boots on the ground in Iran hasn't been made final yet, the officials said. Either way, the move would be a significant shift in the conflict, which has largely been an air campaign. As more US troops head to the Middle East, President Donald Trump has increasingly looked for an off ramp for the war. Trump signaled that Iran had offered a "present" as a show of good faith in negotiations, and while he wouldn't detail the gift, he confirmed it was related to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Overall, there remained broad uncertainty about who the US is negotiating with, the structure of talks, and the outlines of any potential agreement, and Iran and Israel showed no signs of letting up in the conflict. Despite overtures for negotiations, there are some warning signs the conflict could explode into a much larger regional war. The New York Times reported that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince is pushing Trump to stay in the war. Sources told Bloomberg the region's most powerful states — Iran-rival Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in particular — are losing patience with Iranian strikes that have already hit ports, energy facilities and airports. But those states would only join the war if Tehran makes good on its threats to attack vital power and water infrastructure — a high threshold. Meanwhile, if there's one clear winner from the war it is Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin is earning the most from its oil exports since just after its troops marched into Ukraine in 2022, boosting crude flows amid soaring prices and eased sanctions. Russia's oil income had been heading down and while Putin has warned that the windfall will be temporary, for now Moscow's own war chest is getting a big boost — about $270 million a day, up from $135 million. — Margaret Sutherlin What You Need to Know TodayInvestigators have arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York to examine why an Air Canada jet collided with a Port Authority firetruck on the runway Sunday night, killing the pilot and co-pilot and seriously injuring others. Early indications show a system designed to help air-traffic controllers monitor vehicles and airplanes on the ground failed to alert personnel. The emergency response vehicle also wasn't equipped with a transponder that would have helped pinpoint its location. Meanwhile, across the country, travelers have continued to face major delays at airports as over 450 TSA personnel have quit and many more have called out of work due to the ongoing partial government shutdown. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston warned passengers that wait times could top four hours, and the line for security at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico snaked through two separate terminals, out the door and under temporary tents outside. Republicans and Democrats have used the shutdown as a political football. Democrats have repeatedly sought to fund TSA alone while pushing immigration reforms separately, but those efforts have been blocked by Republicans.  Travelers wait in line to go through security at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on March 23. Photographer: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images Markets had another difficult day Tuesday, deciphering mixed messages on the war in Iran while also digesting new developments in AI and volatility in private credit. Software stocks dropped after a report that Amazon's cloud-computing arm is developing an AI agent to automate some functions for sales, business development and other groups that have been targeted in the tech giant's sweeping job cuts. Software stocks have been pummeled this year as new releases of AI tools from startups, including Anthropic, have raised concerns about the outlook for growth of software incumbents. Adding to the anxiety, Ares and Apollo are limiting withdrawals from private credit funds as concerns about loans to software makers and other companies seen as vulnerable to AI have driven a wave of redemption requests. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and Brent oil climbed above $104 a barrel. Here's today's markets wrap. OpenAI is nearing a deal to raise about $10 billion from venture investors, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing the total haul from its latest funding round to roughly $120 billion. Abu Dhabi's MGX, Coatue Management and Thrive Capital are set to participate in the round at a $730 billion valuation, not including the money raised, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private information. In other AI news, Arm, which made its name licensing technology to semiconductor makers, will begin selling its own chips for the first time, aiming to claim a bigger piece of the massive spending on AI gear. Meta will be the first major customer for the UK-based company's chip. Shares jumped on the news. Under Chief Executive Rene Haas, Arm has shifted from its roots as a provider of smartphone technology and taken a greater role in the data center market. Latino voters, who helped seal Trump's return to power in 2024, could be the reason why he loses control of the House and, possibly, the Senate. More than a year into Trump's second presidency, the same issues that helped send him back to the White House — the economy, inflation and immigration — rank as the most important for Latinos in the US ahead of November's midterm elections, according to an exclusive national poll by Florida Atlantic University for Bloomberg News. In the survey conducted late last month, 55.6% of Hispanics cited the economy or inflation specifically as their biggest concerns ahead of the midterms. Another 17.7% listed immigration. The figures suggest Hispanics have seen little relief under Republican control of the White House and Congress since Trump took office in January last year. What You'll Need to Know TomorrowFor Your CommuteMore from BloombergEnjoying Evening Briefing Americas? Get more news and analysis with our regional editions for Asia and Europe. 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