Lizzie McGuire would be closing out her class trip at the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati in this economy. Americans are sitting in limbo for summer travel plans as potential jet fuel shortages stemming from the Iran war put pressure on airlines to cut flights and raise airfares.

As the most famous strait (aside from George) remains closed to much of the world’s oil, the global travel industry is bracing for a potentially chaotic summer. Delta said that jet fuel costs ballooned by $400 million in March alone. Alaska Air, American, and United have repeated similar warnings:

• Average global airfares jumped 24% to $465 on the week beginning March 9, compared with the same time last year, according to airfare tracker OAG.
• Transatlantic flight tickets 20 days out already cost $200 more on average than they did a month ago, a Deutsche Bank AG analysis found.
• United said it’s cutting ~5% of its flights in “off-peak periods” during the next two quarters to offset rising expenses.

As a result, the share of Americans planning international trips over the next six months fell to 17%—the lowest it’s been since 2022, per the Conference Board.

Not even Spirit can save you. Budget airlines with thinner margins are the highest risk when industry costs surge, so budget trips could also face steep fare hikes. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary refused to rule out price increases, saying the UK is more vulnerable to jet fuel shortages than other European countries because it relies on Kuwait for nearly 25% of its supply.

What about a road tip? A cruise? Unless you were planning on biking, no form of summer travel is immune to rising oil prices. Gas topped $4 a gallon this week for the first time in two years, and cruises face similar fuel crunches. Analysts worry that Carnival, the only US cruise line that does not hedge fuel, could take a huge hit to its profits this year.—MM

Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump announced yesterday that Bondi “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector.” The news came just hours after reports that Trump was considering ousting her. According to reports, he was frustrated with her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was also upset that she had not prosecuted more of his political opponents. Trump said that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who served as the president’s personal lawyer for several of his criminal trials, will become the acting attorney general. Bondi is the second Cabinet member to be fired in recent weeks, following the dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month.—AE

Iran said it’s working with Oman to “monitor” Hormuz transit. Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported yesterday that the country is drafting a protocol alongside Oman to supervise oil tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed due to the war. Stocks, which had been plunging, reversed course to pare much of their losses following the report, on the hope that it meant more fuel could exit the strait and supply global markets. The closure of Hormuz has led to a historic spike in oil and gas prices.—AE

IRGC claims it downed a US F-35 plane over central Iran. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said early Friday that the elite fighter jet was shot down by Revolutionary Guard air defenses, according to Reuters, and the chances of pilot survival were low. The media outlet posted photos of the alleged wreckage on the messaging app Telegram. Some commentators said the debris appeared consistent with an F-15E Strike Eagle rather than an F-35. As of 4am ET, US Central Command had not commented on the claim.—HVL

Teslas are selling like lukewarm cakes. The carmaker said yesterday that it shipped 6% more EVs last quarter than a year ago, which is considered a letdown, because Q1 2025 was when it partially paused production and faced backlash for Elon Musk’s politics.

Wall Street was hoping for more. Last quarter was Tesla’s second-worst quarter since 2022:

• The 358k cars it delivered significantly undershot analysts’ projections, as well as the 408k vehicles it produced, leaving thousands of cars looking for homes.
• Its budget 3 and Y models accounted for 95% of deliveries, while the Cybertruck remained an offbeat purchase.

Analysts blamed the disappointing sales on Tesla’s aging lineup, rising competition, and a broader industry downturn following the Trump administration’s nixing of a $7,500 EV tax credit last year.

No longer a consumer car company?

Though EVs are still its bread and butter, Tesla ties its future to launching the Optimus humanoid robot this year and mass-producing its autonomous taxi EV, CyberCab.

But investors may feel differently. They responded to yesterday’s performance update just like your parents reacted to your assurances that a C- in math wouldn’t hinder your rap career. Tesla’s stock fell by nearly 6% yesterday, and is down by almost 20% since the year began.

In a silver lining…soaring gas prices amid the war in Iran might be spurring some Americans to go electric. US sales of Hyundai’s EV Ioniq 5 rose by 13% last month, while Cadillac EV sales were up by 20% in Q1.—SK

Whatever mistake still haunts you from your high school sports days, it can’t be worse than this: Two senior Italian soccer officials resigned yesterday after the men’s national team, ranked 12th in the world, fell to No. 65 Bosnia and Herzegovina in a devastating loss that shut the country out of the World Cup for the third straight time and ignited a political firestorm.

“Apocalypse,” “nightmare,” and “disaster” are how some sports journalists are describing the current state of Italian soccer. The country hasn’t qualified for the World Cup—which happens once every four years—since 2014. The government is demanding answers:

• The first item on the Italian Parliament’s Wednesday agenda was a briefing on the team’s defeat the day before.
• Facing political pressure, Italy’s soccer federation president and national team delegation chief both stepped down, with new head coach Gennaro Gattuso expected to follow soon.

Rotting: Italy is the first World Cup winner to fail to qualify for three consecutive World Cups, a trend some attribute to underinvestment in youth soccer programs and to Italian club teams’ overreliance on foreign players.

Meanwhile…Italy is embracing tennis. Six Italian men now rank among the top 75 players in the world, and the total number of players registered in clubs has grown more than sevenfold since 2001, per The Guardian.—ML

This really puts the “bucks” in Starbucks, folks. In a letter to staff, Starbucks announced that hourly workers are now eligible for up to $300 in bonuses per quarter (or $1,200 a year) if their coffeehouses meet certain sales and customer service goals:

• Sbux is also expanding tipping options and paying staff weekly, instead of every other week.
• The changes will amount to a pay raise for baristas of 5% to 8% on average, Starbucks said.

The movie is part of a strategic overhaul under CEO Brian Niccol to incentivize staff to improve customer satisfaction, with the ultimate goal of reviving stagnant sales and showing investors that its best days aren’t behind it.

It’s unclear how workers can procure the customer service bonus, but we assume it starts with ensuring all Ericas with a “c” get the correct consonant written on their cups.—AE

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to cutting a sandwich perfectly in half.

It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz.