A mother was banned from her daughter's primary school after complaining that the school was teaching children about transgender identity. Karina Conway, 42, was ordered to stay away from the playground before being told—eight months later—that she could return if she agreed not to post anything negative about the school, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Russia may lose more than 1 trillion rubles in government revenue this year due to plummeting oil prices, according to the FT. That number, roughly 2.5% of the Russian state budget, comes as Russian oil trades over $20 a barrel less than Russian budget planners forecasted.

According to the Wall Street Journal, while today’s nuclear talks in Muscat were carried out from two separate rooms while the Foreign Minister of Oman, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, acted as an intermediary between the delegations; a brief face-to-face discussion did occur at the end between White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, which is said to have lasted a few minutes and was conducted once again in the presence of Oman’s Foreign Minister. This would be the highest-level meeting between a U.S. and Iranian official since September 2017. During the talks, Iran presented Omani officials with their “red lines” stating that denuclearization was not on the table, but claiming that they were open to discussing a return to levels of uranium enrichment agreed upon under the 2015 nuclear deal, in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States.

While appearing to be brief, lasting only 2-3 hours, and indirect despite claims by the Trump Administration that the talks would be direct between the delegations; today’s nuclear talks in Oman between the United States and Iran are being described by both countries as “positive” in scope. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described today’s negotiations with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff as a “constructive and promising round of indirect talks,” while the White House described them as “very positive and constructive” adding that they have agreed to additional discussions next Saturday.

French and UK forces conducted a major operation over the western Black Sea yesterday. Rafales and an E-2 from the French carrier Charles de Gaulle, French and British tankers, an RAF RC-135, and RAF Typhoons all operated together to conduct reconnaissance on Russian forces.

Trump backtracked on some tariffs, announcing today an exemption for tariffs previously applied to Big Tech. This exemption also applies to China, despite Trump having said he wouldn’t ease tariff pressure on Beijing. The decision was likely driven by strong domestic pressure from the tech sector, with over 70% of smartphones and computers sold in the U.S. being manufactured in China.

An Airbus A321-231 going by (IRAN05), a callsign primarily used by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has just departed from Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, likely destined for the Omani capital of Muscat for tomorrow’s nuclear talks with the United States.

As we approach tomorrow’s negotiations in Oman between the United States and Iran, we are continuing to hear similar language from both countries about what primary objective for the talks, though there appears to be two major splits. According to who is set to lead the U.S. delegation during the talks, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the goal will be the “total denuclearization of Iran” and that the talks will be direct between the two delegation; while Iranian officials are continuing to claim that talks will be “indirect” through Omani mediators, and that any negotiations which start with denuclearization will be a “nonstarter” for Iran.

According to a release from U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Stockdale (DDG-106), will join two other ships of the class, USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Gravely (DDG-107), to aid southern border operations. The Stockdale left Naval Base San Diego earlier today. She will work with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDET) on drug interdiction, homeland security, and humanitarian efforts in the NORTHCOM AOR. Stockdale was deployed to the Central Command AOR last year and shot down Houthi one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (OWA-UAV) and anti-ship cruise missiles (AShCM) in a number of engagements.

China officially announced today that the world’s two largest economies are now decoupled. In a statement this morning, the Chinese government declared it is raising import tariffs on American goods to 125%, adding that at this level of taxation, trade between the U.S. and China is no longer viable—so Beijing will not raise tariffs further, even if Trump does.