The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict

The new battleground in the Gulf isn’t just on the water — it’s in the insurance market, where war-risk coverage can determine which oil tankers sail and which stay put.

With the conflict driving gasoline prices higher, the White House is weighing steps to keep oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and to keep prices from climbing further.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman, carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of global supply of liquefied natural gas. When conflict flares in the region, even the threat of disruption can rattle markets because so much of the world’s energy moves through that single corridor.

WATCH SHIPPING THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ GRIND TO A HALT AMID IRAN CONFLICT

And with so much at stake, the White House is turning to an unlikely tool: insurance.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. could use a government-backed insurance program to lower war-risk premiums for vessels in the region. Under a backstop, the government would absorb part of any major losses, easing pressure on private insurers and shipowners.

Because when danger rises, the bill rises.

Insurers charge more to cover ships and cargo, shippers add "war-risk" surcharges and some vessels slow down, detour or pause altogether. Those delays can tighten supply and push crude prices higher even if oil production hasn’t changed.

Against that backdrop, the latest disruption, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes starting on Feb. 27 and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks across the region, is forcing shippers and insurers to rethink whether it’s safe to transit the waterway. 

NEW SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW FIRES, NAVAL BASE DAMAGE ACROSS IRAN AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES

Some global insurers are already tightening terms. Maritime insurance titans Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club and the American Club, have already canceled war-risk coverage, leaving voyages through Iranian and nearby waters without insurance.

Not all coverage is disappearing though. Lloyd’s of London, an insurance marketplace that brings together multiple insurers to cover large, high-risk voyages, said its vessels operating in the Gulf region have a combined hull value exceeding $25 billion. It added that coverage is still in place.

A Lloyd’s spokesperson told Reuters the market is in talks with U.S. officials about possible options. Separately, global insurance broker Marsh said it met with Trump administration representatives to discuss the idea.

Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, said coverage is a baseline requirement for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk. 

"It’s essential for all of these tankers to have insurance. You simply cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz if you don’t have the insurance, given the high possibility of getting struck by a missile," Smith told Fox News Digital.

"But even with that insurance in place, it’s little comfort for those on the ship if there’s a chance the vessel is going to be attacked," he added.

With that calculus in mind, Maersk, widely regarded as a bellwether for global ocean freight, said it will suspend all vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz until further notice and warned service to Arabian Gulf ports could be delayed.

When big shippers hit the brakes, the ripple effects can be felt fast. If oil becomes more expensive or slower to reach buyers, those increases can move through the supply chain and show up for Americans at the pump.

How much Americans feel at the pump will depend on how long the disruption lasts and whether shipping and insurance markets stabilize. Until then, the world’s most important energy chokepoint is likely to keep traders and drivers on edge.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/X4RY8d7

Trump says 'hatred' between Putin, Zelenskyy blocking Ukraine peace deal

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the "hatred" between Russia and Ukraine is getting in the way of reaching a peace deal in that conflict, where the death toll is getting worse. 

Trump, speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Fla., told world leaders assembled there that, "The hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great." 

"It's so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you'd think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It's very hard for them to get there. It's very, very hard to get there. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "But we've been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out." 

"But we're losing, you know, they're losing, you know, doesn't really affect us very much because we've got an ocean separating. I'm doing it as a favor to Europe, and I'm doing it as a favor to life because they're losing 25,000 souls," Trump added. "Think of that every month. 25,000. Last month, 31,000.  Both sides, 31,000 people died, mostly soldiers." 

UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY: RUSSIA TRYING ‘TO PLAY’ GAME WITH TRUMP, STALL PEACE TALKS 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News in late February that Russia is trying "to play with the president of the United States" and stalling U.S.-brokered efforts to end the war. 

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to freeze the conflict along its current lines, proposing a ceasefire followed by negotiations. But he said he would not accept a Russian demand for Ukraine to surrender territory the Russian army has not been able to capture in four years of fighting. 

RUSSIA LOSING ‘MASSIVE’ 25,000 TROOPS MONTHLY IN UKRAINE AS WAR GRINDS ON, NATO CHIEF SAYS 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia is losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine as fighting drags on into a fourth year. 

Rutte told the Renew Europe Global Europe Forum in Brussels at the time that the staggering number of casualties reflects the intensity of Ukraine’s defense but warned that Russia remains NATO’s most significant long-term threat. 

Fox News’ Simon Owen, Greg Palkot and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/n7tqpxK

Smith fires Wrexham in front against Chelsea

Wrexham's Sam Smith races past the Chelsea defence to put his side ahead in their FA Cup fifth-round tie.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/AXQnroR

WWE NXT star Kelani Jordan taking advice of MMA vet ahead of underground match vs Lola Vice

Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice’s feud will come to a head on Saturday when the two meet in an underground match at NXT Vengeance Day.

In an underground match, WWE officials remove the ropes around the squared circle and the ring turns into an impromptu mixed martial arts-style match. The only way to win is to knock out your opponent or make them submit.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

For Jordan, she may be considered the underdog as Vice has a legitimate MMA background that could provide the edge in the matchup. However, Jordan told Fox News Digital that she’s ever confident in what she’ll be able to bring to the ring.

"I feel like I’ve been ready because I stay ready, but I reached out to Shayna Baszler to help me just learn the techniques of a martial artist," Jordan said. "But also, she’s a former UFC fighter, so I’ve been training with her and I feel more than prepared for the match on Saturday."

Baszler had a brief stint in UFC before she tried her hand in pro wrestling. She was a two-time NXT women’s champion and WWE women’s tag team champion before she departed the company last year.

But Baszler returned to NXT TV this week to give Jordan a helping hand.

WWE SHARES HALL OF FAME DETAILS AS WRESTLEMANIA 42 NEARS

"One, she’s taught me all the techniques and just being able to, like, how to get out of things that Lola goes for, submissions, Lola throws a lot of kicks because she’s based in taekwondo background," Jordan said of the help Baszler gave her. "So, I was able to learn ways to counter that but also up my offense because I’m not a specialist in submissions and Shayna is known for being the ‘submission magician.’ She helped me learn actual submissions, things that I could go for or counter for Lola. But also, she made me realize and humbled me to make sure like, OK, she’s the real deal. She definitely taught me a lot in that aspect."

Jordan has already made Vice submit in recent weeks and suggested she could hone in on some of the frustration she’s felt with her colleague.

"Two weeks ago, Lola was able to see a different side of Kelani Jordan. Me and Lola go way back. We were in the finals of the (NXT) Breakout Tournament together," she said. "We also had many big (premium live event) moments together. But also she was my best friend in the locker room and she kicked me out.

"I feel like when things like that happen, a different side of you comes out. I think Lola’s gonna be in for a rude awakening when she realizes, one, I’ve been training from one of the best, someone who paved the way in NXT. Also, I have a lot of vengeance to get out on her."

Vengeance Day is set to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The event will start at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on Peacock.

The rest of the card looks like this:

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/KIp29lC

Iran proxies wage war on Israel, threaten US interests as Iraq slammed for not disarming them

FIRST ON FOX: The Israeli military spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital this week that multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory since the start of the conflict with Iran to eradicate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons facilities, missile systems and terrorism infrastructure. 

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesman, said that the army has had a "near complete success" rate in stopping Iranian drones from hitting Israeli targets. 

The drones fired from Iraq are presumed to come from the Iranian regime-controlled Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. An umbrella organization of Shiite terrorists, that attacked Israel with drones in 2024 during Israel’s war against the Tehran-backed Hamas movement. 

TRUMP THREATENS TO END IRAQ SUPPORT OVER AL-MALIKI COMEBACK BID TIED TO IRAN INFLUENCE

An Iraqi Kurdish official told Fox News Digital, "Iraq has become a vessel for the Iranians. Is it so hard to see? I don’t see a distinction between the PMF and the state. They’re paid by the state, hold sovereign portfolios in this cabinet, go on foreign travel and now they’ve entered the federal legislature."

The official continued: "In the last two decades, Iran has systemically taken over the state, weaponizing what were supposed to be institutions into tools to protect the Shia regime in Baghdad and punish any threat to it, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through Baghdad and state institutions, it has economically strangled the Kurdistan Region, torn strips from our autonomy and exposed us to more attacks."

An attack was reported on the country’s shrinking Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, from the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote on X on Thursday: "A miracle no one was injured when 2 drones struck our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center that serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university & schools are also closed so the young can be with their parents. Please pray for us & for all who suffer in this war." 

Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and ​said it was carried out by two ​drones.

ISRAEL POUNDS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS, DARING LEBANON TO RECLAIM SOVEREIGNTY FROM IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXY

Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Fox News Digital about the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school that "Kata'ib Hezbollah was first to talk about it and it was likely Kata'ib Hezbollah, but it is possible it was another two pro-Iran militias because they all work together on drone launches."

A drone attack struck an oil field operated by U.S. firm HKN Energy in Iraq’s ​Kurdistan region on Thursday, causing a fire ‌and halting production, according to a Reuters report citing security sources and an oilfield engineer.

No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.

If so, the attack would mean Iran‑aligned ​Iraqi militias, who have vowed to retaliate for the killing ‌of ⁠Iran’s supreme leader, have expanded targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.

Production at the field was halted as a precaution ​after an ​explosion at ⁠its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.

Some ⁠energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan shut oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution ⁠after ​the U.S. and Israel ​launched strikes on neighboring Iran.

Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, echoed the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish official in his statement to Fox News Digital: "The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally included as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, more than $3 billion is allocated annually just for salaries, but when logistics, weapons, food, and other operational costs are included, the PMF’s budget likely exceeds $10 billion. That is the size of the budget of a small country in the Middle East," he claimed.

IRAQI STATE BANK ACCUSED OF PROCESSING PAYMENTS FOR HOUTHI TERRORISTS WHO DISRUPT RED SEA COMMERCE

Qanbar said there is a way to change Iraq’s behavior: "If the United States wants to stop this situation, there are clear tools available. Sanctions must be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another powerful mechanism involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The United States could suspend transfers of those funds unless Baghdad halts the financing of the PMF. Make no mistake: every terrorist who launches drones or rockets against Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states or military bases is effectively being paid by the Iraqi government," he claimed.

When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Shiite militias from the PMF to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, "The Mission declined to comment."

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is "not tolerating any attempt aimed at dragging Iraq into war or threatening the country’s stability," according to Kurdistan24. 

Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, referred Fox News Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry page for official statements by his minister and the government. He did not respond to follow-up messages and calls on whether Iraq’s government was failing to crack down on the PMF.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to the Long War Journal.

However, Iraq’s government has issued mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025 al-Sudani was quoted as saying, "Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces constitute a basic force in defending Iraq."

Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp and telephone queries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he was unable to provide Fox News Digital a comment.

The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, after military strikes eliminated a senior officer from Kataeb Hezbollah — Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia — south of Baghdad that PMF militias pledged to strike the Middle East interests of European nations that joined in the "Zionist-American" strikes on the Islamic Republic and its proxies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/ZctBnr2

Daryl Hannah slams JFK Jr drama 'Love Story' for 'false' portrayal of tumultuous relationship

Daryl Hannah forcefully rejected the portrayal of her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. in Ryan Murphy's "Love Story," claiming the show is "not even a remotely accurate representation."

While "Love Story" focused on the relationship between Kennedy and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, before their deaths in 1999, Hannah's own relationship with the lawyer was briefly shown. The pair dated on and off for roughly five years before Kennedy moved on with Bessette.

Hannah insisted the version of her depicted in the series is "not even a remotely accurate representation" of her life or her relationship with Kennedy, calling the conduct portrayed "untrue."

DARYL HANNAH GETS ‘DIRTY’ TREATMENT IN NEW JFK JR SERIES AS FANS CRY FOUL OVER PORTRAYAL

"I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties," she wrote for The New York Times. "I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s. It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct – and they are false."

The "Wall Street" star warned that dramatizations using real names can carry "real-life consequences."

"In the weeks since the series aired, I have received many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual," Hannah wrote. "When entertainment borrows a real person’s name, it can permanently impact her reputation."

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Hannah and Kennedy had a long relationship before he went on to marry Bessette. The pair first met in the early 1980s before making their relationship official at the end of the decade.

They had a tumultuous, tabloid-centered relationship until eventually calling it quits in 1994, the same year he began his relationship with Bessette.

Since the release of the first few episodes of the series on Feb. 12, fans quickly noticed how Murphy decided to portray Kennedy's ex. According to some social media users and Vogue, "Love Story" seems to be painting the "Splash" star in a negative light.

"'Love Story’s' portrayal of Hannah as a whiny, coke-obsessed prima donna doesn’t quite ring true," an opinion piece published by Vogue read. "Indeed, if I were Hannah, I’d consider suing."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Reddit users quickly weighed in on their opinions of Hannah from the "Love Story" producer's perspective.

"Watching the show all I kept thinking was damn these writers hate Darryl Hannah," one user wrote.

"I think the Darryl Hannah actress is horrible. They were together a long time. He really cared for her. the show makes it seem like she was irritating," another added.

Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/qwunh0N

Former MLB player suffers gruesome leg injury in freak chainsaw accident, skips trip to hospital

Former MLB player and Philadelphia Phillies announcer Ben Davis had a harrowing experience with a chainsaw, but didn’t go to the hospital.

Davis, 48, said that he cut himself to the bone when cutting through trees that had fallen during a snowfall.  

"It was only about three inches long, but it went to the bone," Davis said during an appearance on SportsRadio 94WIP.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

To the astonishment of the hosts, Davis also revealed he had, at the time, not gone to the hospital to be treated.

"I got Steri-Strips holding it together and a big bandage on top with some Neosporin," Davis said. "It needs stitches, but I’m OK. I’m fine. I got a bandage on it. I do have to keep it straight because every time I bend it, it opens up even more."

Davis, who lives in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, said that the area he lives in has a lot of white pine trees and two of them fell in a blizzard. He said he cut the first of the two fallen trees, with no issues, and it was the second tree when the incident occurred.

TRUMP CRITICIZES MODERN MLB DURING WHITE HOUSE EVENT: 'THEY DO THINGS WRONG'

"I was just about done with the second one and there was a branch that went into the ground and I snipped it, and it came back, and the saw cut my kneecap," Davis said.

Davis was happy that his injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

"I am very, very fortunate. Last night, I was lying in bed with my wife, and she said, ‘I’m so sorry this happened to you.’ And I said, ‘I’m actually thrilled this it is only as bad as it was.'"

Davis played seven seasons in the big leagues. He spent four seasons with the San Diego Padres, more than two seasons with the Seattle Mariners and part of a season with the Chicago White Sox.

In 486 games, Davis had a .237 batting average with 38 home runs and 204 RBI.

Last season was his 11th as a member of the Phillies broadcast team, and he has been a studio analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia’s pre- and postgame shows.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/xBQPu8K