Iran’s oil sector is facing mounting pressure as the United States’ blockade chokes off its energy exports, forcing the regime into a series of risky decisions that could have lasting consequences on a critical lifeline of its economy. The United States has continued to pressure Iran to negotiate, but the regime has rejected President Donald Trump’s conditions on its nuclear program and is now demanding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for broader talks, while signaling it plans to assert control over the waterway. “Those foreigners from thousands of kilometers away, who are greedily carrying out transgressions in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, have no place here except at the bottom of its waters,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a Thursday statement. “Iran’s new management of the Strait of Hormuz and the corresponding legal framework will secure comfort and progress for the benefit of all the nations of the region.” Experts say Tehran’s options are narrowing: use the oil domestically, store it, or shut down production. None are particularly attractive, and each carries its own costs — especially shutdowns, which can permanently reduce how much oil wells can produce when brought back online. “Their storage is getting full, so it is not a question of if they’re going to have to start to curtail production, it’s a question of when,” Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, told The Daily Wire. Since the outbreak of the conflict in late February, 58 Iranian oil loadings — 35 from Kharg Island — have reportedly been tracked, representing roughly 72 million barrels and more than $5 billion in revenue for the regime. During active fighting with the United States, but before the blockade, Iran continued exporting oil through its illicit ghost fleet. Shipments averaged about 2.1 million barrels per day between April 1 and April 13, in line with pre-war levels, but fell to roughly 567,000 barrels per day after the blockade took hold, according to The Wall Street Journal. As of Thursday, U.S. Central Command said 44 commercial vessels had been directed to turn around or return to port as part of the blockade. According to Meyer, the risks tied to shutting down production are not just economic, but technical. Curtailing output can cause long-term damage to oil wells, depending on several factors, including the well’s age, pressure of the reservoir, and pace of the shutdown. “As a general matter, the older the well, the lower the pressure, and the quicker the shutdown, the higher the risk of damage to the well in the near term as well as the ability to bring that well back to the production levels that it was before the shutdown,” he said.  Meyer explained that oil wells rely on a delicate internal balance of oil, gas, and water, as well as stable pressure. If production is cut too aggressively, that balance can be disrupted, making the effects long-lasting. “If it’s an old well with low pressure and it was shut down very quickly, then the timeline for bringing it back online is much longer and the risk of permanent damage is very real,” Meyer said, noting that wells often return but with reduced output levels. As storage capacity tightens, Iran has begun turning to improvised solutions to manage excess crude. The regime has explored alternative export routes, including limited overland shipments by rail to China, while increasingly relying on floating storage. The regime’s desperation was evident when it reactivated a derelict 30-year-old tanker, the Nasha, which had been sitting idle for years before being repurposed to store oil offshore. According to UANI, satellite imagery showed the vessel loading crude from a jetty on the western side of Kharg Island on April 26 before departing days later. The tanker is estimated to provide only a day or two of additional storage. According to Kpler, Iran may have roughly 20 days of usable storage remaining before it is forced to cut production. According to Charlie Brown, a senior advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran, the Trump Administration’s pressure campaign is effectively targeting the regime. “The regime’s economic vulnerability is far greater than its public messaging suggests,” Brown told The Daily Wire.” Iran’s economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil export revenue and sustained maritime pressure is now constraining both exports and storage capacity at the same time.” Brown warned the regime will face increasing difficulty sustaining its economic model. “Iran can endure economic pain for a considerable period, but it cannot indefinitely sustain a wartime economy if oil revenues remain severely disrupted and Chinese buyers become more cautious about exposure to sanctions or interdiction risk,” he said.  Despite the mounting strain, Iran has experience navigating similar situations. When the Trump administration intensified its sanctions campaign in 2018, Iranian oil exports effectively dropped to zero for months. The country managed the disruption without significant long-term damage to its production capacity and was able to ramp output back up to pre-sanctions levels once restrictions were lifted, according to an industry expert. “I do think there is an unfortunate reality here that the Iranians do have experience managing their portfolio of wells during periods of fluctuating exports, and that might be an argument that they have the ability to manage this for longer than some people would expect,” the expert said. While ordinary Iranians have long endured economic hardship, Brown said the current pressure campaign strikes more directly at the regime itself by threatening its ability to fund “regional military activities, internal repression apparatus, and patronage networks under prolonged export disruption.”  And if the regime continues to put pressure on its own population, Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said it risks a reaction from its own people.  “The Iranian people have endured an enormous amount of financial hardship over the last four-plus decades,” he said. “The regime risks triggering another uprising. The signs for such a renewed protest movement are already blinking red after the 40-day war, and the protests that preceded it. There is no way to know when any of this bubbles over.”

Canceled. The worst-case scenario for any airline passenger just hit thousands of travelers at once. Spirit Airlines customers woke up to a blunt message inside the airline’s app: every flight is canceled, effective immediately. The message read in part that passengers should not go to the airport under any circumstances. It also made clear the airline cannot help rebook travelers on other carriers, leaving many scrambling for alternatives on their own. Instead, customers were told refunds would be automatically issued back to the original form of payment for flights purchased with a credit or debit card. The message made one thing clear. There is no backup plan. The collapse comes just days after a last-ditch effort to save the airline fell apart. A roughly $500 million bailout push failed after disagreements between the Trump administration and key bondholders stalled any deal. President Donald Trump had signaled the administration was at least open to stepping in. “We’re looking at it,” Trump said Friday. “If we can do it, we’d do it.” That window has now closed. Industry groups had also been pushing for a much larger safety net, requesting as much as $2.5 billion in temporary federal support for struggling low-cost carriers. The pitch was simple. Without help, airlines like Spirit could collapse, cutting competition and driving up prices. That warning is no longer hypothetical. The budget carrier had been flashing warning signs for months. By the end of the week, it was clear the company’s last lifeline was barely hanging on. Overnight, that uncertainty turned into reality. For travelers, the fallout is immediate. Flights are gone. Plans are blown up. And for many, the scramble to find a replacement just got a lot more expensive. Other major carriers are already stepping in to pick up the pieces. American Airlines said early Saturday it is rolling out “rescue fares” for stranded Spirit Airlines customers on overlapping routes, while also looking to add larger aircraft and extra flights where possible. The airline said it serves the vast majority of Spirit’s network and is working with the Department of Transportation to help ease the disruption. Travelers are being urged to rebook directly through American’s app or website, while displaced Spirit crew members are also being offered travel support and potential job opportunities as the airline ramps up recruiting efforts. The shutdown marks a stunning collapse for the 34-year-old company that once built its brand on rock-bottom fares and no-frills travel. For years, Spirit Airlines positioned itself as the go-to option for cheap domestic flights, even as complaints about fees, delays, and customer experience piled up. The ripple effects could hit quickly. With one of the country’s most aggressive low-cost carriers suddenly gone, competition shrinks, and prices could climb, especially on routes where Spirit helped keep fares low. Spirit Airlines said refunds will be processed automatically, but offered little else in terms of support. Travelers hoping to salvage their trips will now have to navigate other airlines, often at significantly higher prices. For thousands of passengers, the message could not have been clearer. Do not go to the airport.

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you. *** Forget the news cycle and the savagery of social media and book an extended vacation for your mind with Dana Perino’s debut rom-com “Purple State.” It serves all the thrilling crushes, heartwarming moments, and homespun comfort you could ask for, and I’m calling every politico, uptown baddie, horse girl, PSL babe, and farmers market sis out there: This one’s for you.  This romantic romp skirts the “Fifty Shades” stuff and keeps things suitable for work — apart from the intoxicating smell of a new boyfriend’s T-shirt. By the last line, I was tearing up and wishing for a hundred more pages. Here’s the setup. Three New York City besties known as The Crew (Dorothy “Dot” Clark, Mary Russo, and Harper Lee Adler) say goodbye to the Big Apple for a year to pitch in on a Democratic election in normie Cedar Falls, Wisconsin. While they’re convinced they’ll miss the hustle and bustle of the city, they’re equally maxed out on the usual: accidentally flirting with guys who play for the other team, struggling to afford life, and feeling stuck in their careers. So, over cocktails, they agree to one last wild adventure together. A temporary respite from their “what am I doing with my life” era. Everything sounds like a good idea after a glass of sangria. Once they settle into their new digs just outside of Milwaukee, things get real — and covered in manure. Maybe you can take a girl out of the big city, but can you take the big city out of the girl? The Crew grow to appreciate the Midwest charms of indie bookshops, restaurants with quaint names like “Cocoa and Cabernet,” and locals-only wisdom, but as they count down the months until their return to normal life, unexpected connections with three of Cedar Falls’ most eligible bachelors make things a little complicated. The hot, handy guy-on-a-farm aesthetic only cranks up the heat. “Purple State” is the fifth release from Dana Perino and her first fictional work. According to my coworkers who saw me flipping through pages, eating up every word like an AMC MegaBag of movie popcorn, there’s no shortage of love around here for the Fox News commentator and New York Times bestselling author. After the third time I heard “love Dana Perino,” I looked up to see if Dana was standing behind me.  I’m also a fan, but I’m not making commission on every sale of “Purple State.” I’m just a girl, standing in front of a book, asking you to love it. So here’s my honest take: Don’t overthink it. Sink into this breezy beach read like a pumpkin spice hot tub topped with apple pie cold foam and, if you’re a city gal, indulge in the quaint comfort of rural life. Hallmark movie energy abounds. I admit to openly rejecting saccharine hot-cocoa-and-mittens meet-cutes — and then wrapping myself like a burrito in my duvet while wishing my boyfriend were stringing Christmas lights around the town square he secretly flooded with water so it could be an ice skating rink. As Mary Russo notes, “Cedar Falls? Are you serious — that’s a real place, not a Hallmark movie town?” Descriptions of a dairy barn as “pungent” reminded me of childhood sleepovers at my friend’s family farm when we fed young calves from giant milk bottles and rode the moving feed trough, pretending to “interview” them, until I could no longer stomach the stench. (I was a ‘burbs girlie.) Never mind the one time I witnessed the birth of a calf. Let’s just say I never wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian.  But please show me the ice-cold soul who can resist the Cedar Falls harvest festival on a perfectly crisp autumn morning. With everyone holding “steaming mugs of apple cider,” a pie-eating contest, and a live band with a banjo, it’s so dang cozy, you could fall in love with the nearest stop sign.  Still, Dana doesn’t leave the brunch-and-bodega crowd behind. Her depictions of New York City outline a delicate tattoo on the hearts of anyone who ever dreamed of living it up in a hand-me-down loft and zipping all over town with her dream guy, toasting cocktails with girlfriends at Joanne Trattoria in real life.  “On the one hand, she pictured herself in a corner office at the firm, having made partner by the age of thirty,” Dana writes of Dot. Describing her high-rise apartment fantasy, with a wardrobe of gorgeous clothes and no money problems, Dana continues, “She’d throw dinner parties, donate to the Met, and still make it to Sunday supper at her parents’ house.” Like some kind of Carrie Bradshaw utopia, it’s that impossible dream that makes it hard to let go.  For those of us living in our own purple states of varying kinds, Dana also offers a soft landing where no one side feels too extreme, or “right.” With everyone able to maintain civil conversations and keep their priorities in order, the push and pull between political ideals provides the background music to relationships and daily routines. Like most of us do in real life, we leave the crazy stuff for the internet. I mention how much everyone loves Dana Perino because that’s what inspired me to dive a little deeper on the author. I soon recognized her long, happy marriage to her English husband, Peter McMahon, mirrored in the characters who own the Cedar Falls bookstore (but she’s British; he’s American). Having no kids of their own, the fictional couple dishes out sage advice at just the right moment. Like I imagine Dana and Peter do. The dog on the jacket cover also looks exactly like Dana’s copper-colored vizsla, Percy. That kind of thing, and the subtle shoutout to Dana’s Fox show “The Five” and Greg Gutfeld, personalizes the story.  Not gonna lie, I found some scenes to be a touch unbelievable, and a few of the jokes land like soft-serve vanilla that falls off the cone and onto the floor. (These are New Yorkers; they need quick-witted dialogue with bite.) And a surprise HGTV-style makeover doesn’t quite pay off with the emotional reveal. I guess not everything can be “Fixer Upper.” But I don’t care. It’s almost summer reading season. Treat yourself to “Purple State” and yet another reason to love Dana Perino.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is defending the company’s high-priced drinks, arguing that customers are willing to pay for what he calls a “luxury experience.”  Speaking The Wall Street Journal’s What’s News AM podcast, Niccol said Starbucks is performing well across income levels, even as some drinks approach $9. “We’re doing really well with Gen Z and millennials, and then really had strong performance across all income cohorts,” Niccol said. “It can start with as little as $3 for a traditional cup of coffee. And then obviously you can build your way into all sorts of customized drinks that people love that move that ticket up.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Wall Street Journal (@wsj) When asked whether concerns about a so-called K-shaped economy could impact sales, Niccol said Starbucks isn’t seeing signs of strain. “What we’re seeing is people, they want to have a special experience, and regardless of what your income level is,” he said. “In some cases, you know, a $9 experience does feel like you’re splurging. And then, what that means  is we have to make it worthwhile, right?” In other cases, he added, customers view Starbucks as an affordable premium option. “They’re saying, ‘Well it’s less than $10 and I get a really premium experience,’” Niccol went on. “So, regardless of where you’re stationed in those income cohorts, we want to make that experience worth your while.” Niccol also described a visit to Starbucks as “a moment of escapism,” adding that customers value consistency across price points. “I think people actually really do appreciate knowing, “Hey, if this is a $3 cup of coffee or a $5 latte, I know I’m going to get a great experience for that $5 experience, I’m in,” he added. Many commenters called the exec out of touch. “This video just confirms how detached from reality those people are. [Starbucks] IS NOT a premium experience, nor is the coffee worth $9,” one person wrote.  “I’ll pass on this premium experience,” another agreed. A third commenter quipped, “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.”

Millennials are rejoicing as a staple of their childhood will make a triumphant return this summer. Pizza Hut just announced that their “Book It!” summer reading program, which encourages kids to read more books in exchange for free pizza, will be making a comeback. The restaurant announced the news on social media last week. “SUMMER OF STORIES IS BACK!” the post caption said, adding that enrollment begins today, May 1. “Get ready to turn reading time into pizza time! This summer, keep your kids’ reading, learning, and loving books… all while earning FREE pizza.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program (@bookitprogram) The free program will reward young readers who hit their milestones by providing them with digital Reading Award Certificates, which are redeemable for a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut. Students can earn up to one free pizza per month. The promo is available for students in grades preschool through 6th, but commenters insist it should be extended to adults, too. “Millennials need an adult version! Some of us are still readers because of this program!” one reaction said. “Can us Gen X and millennials get this back for us!!! Us big kid need pizza too,” a second person echoed. “Thank you so much for bringing this program back! I have a 1st grader who we’ve been expressing the importance of reading so having this program as an incentive is helpful,” another person said. “We are so excited! The nostalgia that our kiddo gets to participate!” another person wrote. The Book It! program began following a 1984 initiative from President Ronald Reagan calling for more businesses to promote education. It was created by Arthur Gunther, the president of Pizza Hut at the time, and marketing executive Bud Gates, per The New York Times. More than 70 million children have participated in the program, resulting in 1.5 billion free pizzas being given out as rewards. The summer reading Book It! Promotion will run from June 1 until August 31. Parents can sign kids up through the BOOK IT! App.