General News Briefing — April 23, 2026 8 AM Eastern

Clockwise General News — Good morning, I'm [Your Name] with Clockwise News, and tensions are escalating in the Middle East as Iran fires on and seizes ships in the Strait of Hormuz amidst stalled peace talks. This is the Clockwise General Briefing, 8 AM Eastern. Moving on to national news, Navy Secretary John Phelan has been abruptly fired, becoming the latest high-profile departure from the Pentagon during the Trump administration's second term. No specific reason was immediately given for his unexpected exit, though reports suggest infighting over shipbuilding initiatives. In other significant developments, nuclear energy is experiencing a global revival, 40 years after the Chernobyl disaster.