the friday brief
3 things that matter
the doj indicts the splc
on april 21, a federal grand jury in montgomery, alabama returned an 11-count indictment against the southern poverty law center, charging the civil rights organization with wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. the justice department alleges the splc secretly paid more than $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to individuals affiliated with white supremacist groups — including the ku klux klan, the aryan nations, and the national socialist party of america — using donor funds raised without disclosure of the payments. acting attorney general todd blanche announced the charges alongside fbi director kash patel. the splc denied the allegations, stating its informant program saved lives and was shared with law enforcement, and said it will vigorously defend itself.
the eu approves a $105 billion ukraine loan
on april 23, the european union approved a 90-billion-euro ($105 billion) loan package to fund ukraine's economic and military needs for the next two years, ending months of political deadlock. the breakthrough came after hungary's viktor orbán — who lost his april 12 reelection bid in a landslide — lifted his veto. alongside the loan, the eu approved a new package of sanctions against russia targeting more than 40 ships believed to be operating as part of russia's shadow oil fleet, illicitly transporting crude to circumvent existing sanctions. the measures had originally been prepared in february to mark the fourth anniversary of the russia-ukraine war but were repeatedly blocked by hungary and slovakia.
iran: ceasefire extended, blockade holds
on april 21, president trump posted on truth social that he would extend the u.s.-iran ceasefire — set to expire april 22 — until iran's leadership "can come up with a unified proposal," while keeping the u.s. naval blockade of iranian ports in place. the announcement came hours after trump told cnbc he did not plan to extend it. iran attacked three commercial ships in the strait of hormuz on april 22, hours after the extension was announced. on april 24, asked how long he was willing to wait for an iranian response, trump told reporters at the white house "don't rush me," adding that iran's military had been severely weakened. on april 23, trump also ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against iran, calling the question "stupid" and stating the u.s. had "totally and in a very conventional way decimated" iran without them.
1 thing to know
rfk and the hhs budget: what a 12.5 percent cut actually means
health and human services secretary robert f. kennedy jr. appeared before senate committees on april 21 and 22 to defend the trump administration's proposed reduction of the hhs budget from $127 billion to $111.1 billion for fiscal year 2027 — a 12.5 percent decrease. kennedy described the cuts as "painful" at an earlier house hearing, citing a national debt he placed at $35 trillion as justification. the hearings also surfaced the ongoing measles surge: infections in 2026 are on pace to exceed 2025, which had already recorded the most annual cases in more than three decades. republican senator bill cassidy, who chairs the senate help committee, stated that public trust in vaccines had deteriorated over the past year. kennedy deflected questions about declining vaccination rates and the administration's role in that decline.
1 thing to try
cultivating conversations card deck
some of the best evenings start with a good question. wilde house paper's cultivating conversations deck offers 160 prompts across eight categories, each tiered from a light opener to something worth sitting with longer — the kind of conversation that doesn't need a reason or an occasion, just the right people and a little intention. dinner party, date night, or a quiet evening in.
