Axios PM

April 30, 2026
🍻 Happy Friday Jr.! Today's newsletter, edited by Alex Fitzpatrick, is 581 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
🏛️ Breaking: After weeks of delay, House lawmakers caved to the Senate and voted to end the 75-day Homeland Security shutdown. Immigration enforcement operations weren't funded. The package heads to President Trump, ending the longest agency shutdown in history. Go deeper.
- Hill scoop: The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) over unspecified allegations, Axios' Kate Santaliz reports.
1 big thing: 🍿 Summer movie madness

Tomorrow's release of "The Devil Wears Prada 2" kicks off a summer movie season packed with big-budget blockbusters.
- The hottest film coming this summer: Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," out July 17.

⚔️ Based on the Homeric epic poem, "The Odyssey" promises battles, gods, creatures and an army of movie stars: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland and more.
- Nolan tells AP: "Anyone taking on 'The Odyssey' is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere, and that comes with a huge responsibility." Go deeper.

🕷️ Also on marquees this summer: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Supergirl" and "Minions & Monsters."
- 👽 Steven Spielberg is headed back to theaters with "Disclosure Day," the iconic filmmaker's first movie since 2022. It's thought to be a spiritual sequel to his 1977 sci-fi classic, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
🎬 By the numbers: The domestic box office is already up nearly 12% compared to this time last year, per Box Office Mojo.
- 🥤Snack spending is also up.
Release calendar (tomorrow through Aug. 28).
2. 🛢️ Oil prices hit wartime high


Oil prices reached their highest levels since the Iran war began, with Brent crude topping $126 per barrel this morning before pulling back, Axios' Ben Geman reports.
- The jump will keep pushing U.S. gasoline prices higher amid the possibility of a long stalemate that keeps the Strait of Hormuz throttled.
⛽️ The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular gas is $4.30 as of this morning.
- That's up 7¢ from yesterday, and up nearly 30¢ in a week and over a dollar more than a year ago, per AAA.
3. ⚡️ Catch me up

- 🚗 New Charlie Kirk Way street signs in Westminster, Calif., are drawing mixed reactions from Orange County residents. Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen said: "By doing this, we promote the freedom, the freedom of speech, freedom for everyone to engage in open communication here in the city of Westminster." Go deeper.
- 🦞 Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) suspended her Senate campaign, clearing the way for progressive insurgent Graham Platner to take on longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Go deeper.
- 🤑 The national debt now exceeds 100% of GDP, The Wall Street Journal notes: "By itself, the milestone doesn't mean much. ... Still, the triple-digit mark is a potent symbol of the fiscal stresses on the U.S. that have been building for decades." Gift link.
- ⛳️ The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is withdrawing support for LIV Golf, jeopardizing the tour's future just four years after it was launched as a splashy PGA competitor. Go deeper.
4. 💄 1 mall thing: Claire's gets Gen Alpha makeover

Claire's, the ear-piercing mall chain, is launching a sweeping rebrand aimed at Gen Alpha, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.
- The new campaign, "A Girl SMR at Claire's" (sensory meridian response), is rooted in hot sensory products — slime, squishies, fidgets and viral toys like NeeDoh.
🤳 The jewelry and accessories retailer is introducing in-store recording setups, where young shoppers can create social media content.
- It's newly focusing on tweens, expanding beyond its traditional younger customers.
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