Hard sell

Good morning. Donald Trump tries to sell Americans on the Iran war. NASA astronauts reach a safe orbit on their voyage around the moon. And meet Junior, the snitching AI "colleague." Listen to the day's top stories.

— Angela Cullen

Donald Trump finally tried to sell the American public on his Iran war, but his primetime address, five weeks into the messy conflict, showed he's grasping for an off-ramp. The president offered no clear timeline for ending the hostilities, while pledging more aggressive action over the next two to three weeks. Meanwhile, Iran and Israel continued to trade strikes and Trump renewed threats against Iranian electric plants. Goldman's main office in Paris received bomb threats believed to be from an Iranian group. Follow the latest in our live blog.

Oil surged as Trump's speech damped hopes for a swift resolution and instead pointed to prolonged disruptions to energy flows. European diesel futures hit $200 a barrel. Stocks and bonds slid. The month-long turmoil has forced traders to unwind positions, and some of the world's largest hedge funds got walloped in March. But it's thrown up a predictable pattern for the stock market, which now tends to start the week on a strong note before drifting sideways mid-week and collapsing—like clockwork—every Thursday.

Remember tariffs? The Trump administration is preparing to outline a tiered regime for steel and aluminum, maintaining 50% duties on many products but applying lower rates to others, in an attempt to simplify a process that's dogged US companies for months. Levies of 100% on certain medicines are being considered for companies that haven't yet struck deals guaranteeing low prices in the US. Lost track? No need, with our tariff tracker.

Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Consolidated News Photos

And the Sharpie is back. Trump applied his signature scrawl in notes he pulled out to a gathering of reporters around the Resolute Desk this week to voice his anger at the judge who halted construction on the lavish new White House ballroom until Congress gives the green light. It shows that even as he navigates a roller-coaster presidency, waging war and the bureaucracy at home, Trump remains preoccupied with the structural integrity of his projects—and more broadly, his own legacy.

Deep Dive: Space Race

Photographer: Gregg Newton/Getty Images

Four NASA astronauts launched into space and reached a stable orbit, kicking off a landmark journey that will take them closer to the moon than anyone has been in more than 50 years. Watch it lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, hurtling to speeds as high as 17,500 miles an hour.

• A successful voyage will advance the Artemis space program that's attempting to repeat and leapfrog feats achieved during the historic Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, and help clear the way for astronauts to once again walk on the moon.
• The US is racing to return to the lunar surface before China sends a crew there for the first time. But a lot has to go right—and a lot of money needs to be spent—before that can happen. Here's why everyone's heading back.
• Space travel has become a very different—and more lucrative—business since the days of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Private enterprise now plays a significant role, like Elon Musk's SpaceX which is aiming to go public this year.
• After years of small steps, it's filed confidentially for a listing that could value the company at more than $1.75 trillion and mark a giant leap for the world's richest man.

The Big Take

Illustrator: Harriet Lenneman

Microsoft's AI dilemma. After making a controversial call to pause some data center development last year, finance chief Amy Hood is navigating one of the toughest jobs in tech: to assess how much to invest in AI without starving the rest of the business or spooking investors with bottomless spending.

Opinion

Photo: Bloomberg

Western carmakers have scaled back their electric-vehicle ambitions, but the surge in gas prices triggered by the Iran war may change this, Chris Bryant writes. Even second-hand electric Porsches offer value for money.

More Opinions

Hal Brands

Missile Warfare Is Faster, Deadlier and Harder to Control

Marcus Ashworth

The Iran War Is Bad for Inflation — But Worse for Growth

Andreas Kluth

Defeat Has Never Sounded as Victorious as in Trump's Address

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Before You Go

Source: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images via Archive Photos

Meet Junior, the new AI hire who won't hesitate to snitch to your boss. For $2,000 a month, this "colleague" proactively drafts marketing campaigns, monitors inboxes, tracks deadlines and generates reports. Think the most driven new colleague you've worked with, but more unsettling.]

A Few More

Spring Break Bills Skyrocket for Wealthy Americans Vacationing at the Beach

Onetime Elon Musk Whisperer Shares the 'Algorithm'

Nick Candy Sells His London Home for More Than £270 Million

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