Your morning briefing. All the news you need to start your day.

On today's podcast:

(1) The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures and issued fresh conditions of its own to end the conflict that’s wreaked havoc across the Middle East and global markets.

(2) Even as Donald Trump pushes for talks to end the war against Iran, the US has ordered thousands of troops to the region, fueling fears that the president is gearing up for exactly the sort of risky ground invasion that he once campaigned against.

(3) Bloomberg's strategic energy team, BNEF, says the price of Brent crude could top $154 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until mid-June.

(4) The Italian government is set to cut its economic growth forecast, reflecting a hit from the war in the Persian Gulf.

(5) The threat of surging inflation has knocked UK consumer confidence to the lowest level recorded under Keir Starmer’s Labour government.

(6) A landmark jury verdict holding Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google liable for harming a young user with products designed to be addictive threatens to put the social networking companies in the same category as Big Tobacco and opioid makers — a potential crack in their shield from legal responsibility for what happens on their platforms.

(7) Slovakia became the world’s biggest per capita car producer along with the Czech Republic because of demand from auto companies for cheaper, skilled labor. Now war is turning the tiny nation into a critical ammunition powerhouse.

Podcast Conversation: The ‘Don Tzu’ Solution to Ending the Iran War