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"China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also -- And the World," Trump claimed.

The woman famously known as "Baby Jessica" over her miraculous 1987 rescue has shared a cryptic Facebook post about "letting go" days after being arrested.

The travel platform said it had changed Pins to protect customers but would not say how many were affected.

Tether Launches Self-Custodial Wallet Supporting USDT, Bitcoin, & Tokenized Gold

Authored by Naga Avan-Nomayo via TheBlock.co,

Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, is stepping further out from behind the rails with the launch of its self-custodial wallet, which it says is designed to put its payments infrastructure directly in the hands of users, rather than operating solely as a backend layer for crypto markets.

The application, dubbed tether.wallet, targets "billions of users left behind by the traditional financial system," the firm said in a Tuesday announcement.

Tether stated that it also builds on a network that already reaches more than 570 million people globally.

Until now, that infrastructure has largely powered liquidity, settlement, and payments across crypto rather than serving as a direct consumer product.

The wallet focuses on a narrow set of assets. It supports digital dollars via USDT and USAT, tokenized gold through XAUT, and bitcoin -  a mix Tether says reflects "the only assets that truly matter for most of the people."

Moreover, the product also strips out several long-standing friction points in crypto.

Users can send funds using human-readable identifiers, instead of wallet addresses. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the aim is to make digital asset transfers "as easily as sending a message," without intermediaries or loss of custody.

Transaction fees can be paid directly in the asset being transferred, removing the need for separate gas tokens.

Private keys remain fully user-controlled, with all transactions signed locally on-device, per the company’s statement.

Tether’s expansion

The launch extends a broader push by Tether to move up the stack from issuer and infrastructure provider toward consumer-facing products.

In recent months, the company has open-sourced its Wallet Development Kit to enable self-custodial wallets for both humans and AI agents, backed crypto wallet integrations in platforms like Rumble, and supported stablecoin payout systems through investments such as Whop.

That direction ties into Ardoino’s longer-term view that future financial activity will not be limited to humans.

He has previously argued that AI agents will require native, self-custodial wallets and will rely on bitcoin and stablecoins for machine-to-machine payments.

It appears tether.wallet is built on that same foundation.

The app runs on Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit, supporting transactions across humans, machines and AI systems, with support for networks including Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 08:05

The Ukrainian military captured a Russian position using only ground robots and aerial drones — completely unassisted by any infantry, for the first time in the war.

Choose wisely, Television Academy.

Austin Reaves shot free throws with his teammates after Lakers practice on Tuesday. Luka Doncic was going to rejoin the team Friday after going to Madrid for injections on his strained hamstring. 

Should the Warriors lose their play-in game vs. the Clippers? Breaking down the strategy, draft implications, and what it means for Steph Curry and Golden State’s future regardless of outcome.

Anthony Volpe was back at Double-A Somerset, the next step in reclaiming a Yankees career that began with great promise, but is now filled with questions.

Need a tax break?

Kering And Hermès Sink As War Batters Earnings; Goldman Warns Luxury Dip-Buying Is "Premature"

Goldman's Natasha de la Grense summed it up well this morning: "Money was waiting on the sidelines to buy luxury for a de-escalation play – that feels premature with three misses in three days." 

Disappointments from Kering and Hermès, both of which fell short of analyst estimates, reinforced the view that the industry of fine wine, overpriced shirts, shoes, belts, and designer bags, is not yet out of the woods and sent the Goldman Sachs EU Luxury Goods Index (GSXELUXG) down more than 4%. 

Gucci's turnaround appears to be faltering, with first-quarter revenue plunging 8% - nearly double the expected decline as the US-Iran conflict hit Middle East demand and tourism. 

The conflict started late in the first quarter, resulting in an 11% sales drop in the Middle East (about 5% of revenue) and shaving roughly 1 percentage point off Kering's overall sales. 

Shares of Kering in Paris trade down as much as 10%, leaving them down about 16.5% on the year. 

Also in the luxury space, Hermès missed expectations in the first quarter, with sales up 5.6% at constant exchange rates versus the Bloomberg Consensus estimates of 7.44%. This miss sent shares in Paris spiraling down by 10%, leaving them down 23% on the year.

Hermès' weakness was similar to Kering's, largely due to the Middle East Conflict. Sales in the region fell 5.9%, while France declined 2.8%, as lower tourism spending weighed on results, particularly due to fewer Middle Eastern shoppers visiting stores across France, Switzerland, and the UK. Italy was also affected, but not as much.

Both earnings results add to mounting evidence that the war is hitting luxury demand more broadly.

Natasha at Goldman outlined six points of what her team learned today about luxury stock earnings: 

1. Taking a step back from this morning's large share price moves in Luxury, what have we actually learnt from Q1 prints? Most companies are talking to a -100-150bps headwind in the quarter from events in the Middle East which is not too surprising but implies that underlying growth is still unexciting, particularly when you consider easier comps vs Q4. Areas of prior strength are still very solid (US, jewellery) and, on the positive side, the consumer is responding to leather newness in certain pockets. However, there is no real step change in the overall demand backdrop (aspirational remains weak) and so no reason to own this sector at large. Money was waiting on the sidelines to buy luxury for a de-escalation play – that feels premature with three misses in three days.

2. Hermes was the biggest surprise for me today. It seems this group's exposure to tourism is higher than many of us had realised (>50% of sales in France), while wholesale was impacted by not just Travel Retail but also lower deliveries to concessions in the Middle East. On the positive side, space contribution will pick up through the year - Hermes didn't say inventory had been held back ahead of store openings but did remind us Leather production can be lumpy, guiding for improved performance sequentially and reiterating FY guidance.

3. I still think the structural bear case on Hermes is overstated while waiting lists still exist and second hand bags are priced at a premium. And, with no change to outlook, consensus likely stays at 9% for FY26 - bang in line with the pre-covid average meaning this company is still "doing what it says on the tin". That said, I appreciate there was nothing in the print to disprove the bears today. China is where we have heard most concern on the brand – largely due to second hand market headwinds (where there is more authentication, high supply and price premia have come down). To be fair, Hermes' slight growth in China isn't bad vs peers (Kering cluster down mid-teens, LVMH cluster flat) particularly considering the tougher comp. Bears also point to the non-Leather slowdown today as a sign of softer global brand momo – again this is hard to disprove, although they did flag on the call that RTW and shoes are quite geared to ME and tourism.

4. Meanwhile, I am less surprised by the move at Kering today. Unlike at Hermes, positioning was not short, and arguably the print raises more questions on FY delivery. Speaking with investors this morning, the main questions being raised are: 1) is the US improvement really a sign that the Gucci turnaround is working, or simply a function of macro (local wealth effects). Kering said that all brands improved in the US, with strength driven by higher end cohorts rather than this being broad based. In addition Gucci brand was down double digits in all other regions, suggesting global brand momo is still poor; 2) is FY26 guidance of top line growth across all brands achievable considering Gucci retail -9% in Q1, current trading for the group flat (consensus Q2 group +2%), ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a large store closure program; 3) was there a soft warning on margins in here? On the call, the CFO reiterated an "ambition" to grow margins but introduced the idea of stable margins even without growth.

5. Previously, investors told us they didn't want to be short Kering ahead of the CMD but there is a growing view today that management will have to concede the top line recovery will be back-end loaded and, without top line, any margin story is hard to back. I'd still prefer to wait post CMD before putting on the short as I expect Mr de Meo will come across well once again and the headline on MT margins could sound good. Middle East would have been a credible reason to step away from top line guidance last night – the fact they didn't arguably speaks to confidence in brand strategy presentations to come.

6. Bottom line: More earnings cuts for Luxury. It is still too early to go back to this sector with both limited visibility on how long conflict lasts and also likely knock-on impacts even after a ceasefire (rising inflation impacting aspirational demand recovery). Our flow has been better to sell in Luxury all year, driven by LOs. We think that investor base needs line of sight on a return to mid-single-digit growth before considering stepping back into this space.

GSXELUXG is down 4% this morning on dismal earnings from Kering and Hermès, and the index has been in an overall bear market since its 2025 peak. The index has traded sideways over the last five years.

Luxury was already under pressure before the conflict because of a tough economic backdrop, but the conflict in the Middle East made things a whole lot worse. The good news is that the US and Iran are agreeing to extend a truce, according to AP News, as talks of a peace deal appear promising.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 07:45

For 99-year-old Shirley Goldman from Long Island, movement has been a part of her entire life and hitting the gym on a near daily basis is a non-negotiable to feel her best.

President Trump told Maria Bartiromo he believed the war in Iran was "very close to being over."

In a rarity outside of spring training, the Yankees held a round of batting practice in the hours before the more formal on-field batting practice.

The actress made her bombshell claim via Threads over the weekend, describing an alleged sexual assault in Melbourne nearly 20 years ago.

The actress made her bombshell claim via Threads over the weekend, describing an alleged sexual assault in Melbourne nearly 20 years ago.

“I fell for it,” the Democrat said outside of his office in Washington DC, adding that Swalwell “became very good at being a predator” and “extremely proficient at lying to us, lying to his family, lying to his community.”

The last man to walk on the moon says he can’t explain what it was like up there but that more and more people may learn soon enough — thanks to a trillion-dollar industry hidden in the lunar dust.

Every week, The Post will bring you our picks of the best one-liners and stories from satirical site the Babylon Bee to take the edge off Hump Day.

Meta's rollback of content moderation policies has allowed antisemitism, white supremacy and terrorist propaganda to flourish on its Instagram service, a new report claims.