In today’s update … Lawmakers express skepticism toward prediction markets … A tribute to Robert Mueller … but first …
President Donald Trump announced this morning that the United States is engaged in talks with Iran to bring an end to the conflict, stating that the two nations have held two days of “highly productive conversations” which are slated to continue for the remainder of the week. This declaration puts a halt to a threat Trump made on Saturday to “decimate” Iran’s principal power plants if the country maintained its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had previously given Tehran until Monday evening Eastern time to restore open passage through the waterway, a channel vital for 20 percent of the world’s oil transport.