Dan Schwartzman

A search and rescue mission is ongoing for the second crew member whose fate is currently unknown.

The first known combat loss of a fighter jet would mark a significant escalation in the now five-week war in Iran.

Meanwhile, a second U.S.

Air Force plane, an A-10 Warthog, crashed near the Strait of Hormuz around the same time the F-15 was shot down with a lone pilot safely rescued.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted the Army's top uniformed officer, Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, and two other generals in the midst of this war.

No reasons have been given for the departures.

A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have exited the Strait of Hormuz in what appears to be the first known transit through the waterway by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war in Iran started.

The Islamic Republic has tightened its grip over Hormuz, allowing some ships from friendly nations to move along a pre-approved route

but has threatened to strike vessels allied to the U.S.

or Israel.

U.S.

job growth rebounded in March and the unemployment rate fell, suggesting the labor market was stabilizing as the Iran war began.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 last month, the most since the end of 2024, led by health care employment.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.

President Trump asked Congress to enact a $2.2 trillion budget for discretionary programs, requesting $1.5 trillion for defense, a significant increase over the $1 trillion sought for fiscal year 2026, and includes cuts to domestic agencies, including a 10% cut to discretionary non-defense spending.

The Office of Management and Budget is also still in the process of reviewing a potential $200 billion Pentagon supplemental package for the current fiscal year.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that, quote, Donald Trump's budget is rotten to the core and Democrats will make sure it never passes.

SpaceX boosted its target IPO valuation above $2 trillion as it gears up to pitch its initial public offering.

That would increase the company's valuation by about two-thirds in just a matter of months and would make SpaceX more valuable than all but five of the companies in the S&P 500.

A listing for SpaceX would raise as much as $75 billion.