Tom Howell Jr.

Fed keeps interest rates steady, says impact of Middle East war is ‘uncertain’

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, maintaining its wait-and-see approach after a series of cuts in late 2025.

March 18, 2026

Trump issues 60-day waiver to shipping law to ease oil traffic during Iran war

President Trump on Wednesday issued a 60-day waiver to the Jones Act, a longstanding shipping law, to ease economic concerns around his war on Iran.

March 18, 2026

Trump says he might destroy Iran’s leadership and let other countries deal with Strait of Hormuz

President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. might finish off the Iranian regime and let countries that rely on the Strait of Hormuz as an oil-shipping channel deal with its security.

March 18, 2026

Trump, Rubio say Cuba needs to see major changes ‘soon’

President Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will be "doing something with Cuba very soon" as the administration tightens its economic squeeze on the island's communist leaders.

March 17, 2026

House oversight panel subpoenas Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify April 14 on Epstein

Top House investigators issued a subpoena on Tuesday ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear before the panel for a deposition about Jeffrey Epstein.

March 17, 2026

Trump says he’s disappointed by NATO allies but doesn’t need their help in Strait of Hormuz

President Trump said Tuesday he doesn't need NATO allies' help in breaking Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, though he complained about their lack of initial enthusiasm for assisting America.

March 17, 2026

Senators tell ByteDance to close Seedance AI tool, citing ‘glaring’ copyright concerns

A bipartisan Senate duo wants ByteDance to shut down its Seedance artificial intelligence tool, calling it a "glaring example" of copyright infringement that was launched without regard for U.S. law.

March 17, 2026

Trump says lawmakers who reject his SAVE America Act will suffer consequences at polls

President Trump on Tuesday threatened lawmakers with consequences in future campaigns if they vote against his top legislative priority, the SAVE America Act.

March 17, 2026

Trump vents frustration as allies balk at securing strait

President Trump said Monday he is keeping a close watch on which countries help the U.S. break Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and reopen the critical passage to oil traffic.

March 16, 2026

‘They said, I wish I did it’: Trump says a former president privately supported the Iran war

President Trump said Monday there is a former U.S. president who privately expressed support for military action against Iran and said he wished he'd done it.

March 16, 2026

Trump says he’s keeping tabs on who helps U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz — and who does not

President Trump said Monday he is keeping a close watch on which countries help the U.S. break Iran's logjam and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic.

March 16, 2026

Trump blasts judges who ‘disrespect the presidents who nominate them’

President Trump is airing his dissatisfaction with federal courts and certain justices he appointed to the Supreme Court.

March 16, 2026

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Trump may delay China trip to guide Iran war

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump might postpone his trip to China in late March if he needs to monitor the Iran war from Washington.

March 16, 2026

Judge blocks criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell

A federal judge blocked the criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell on Friday, ruling the federal investigation into a renovation project seemed to be a pretext for harassing the central banker into doing President Trump's bidding.

March 13, 2026

‘Can’t find a dime’ for health care: Democrats link cost of Iran war to domestic priorities

Democrats spent much of last year attacking the GOP over spending cuts to health programs such as Obamacare and Medicaid. Now they're tying that fight to the debate over the war in Iran, saying the conflict is burning through public money that could have been spent on domestic priorities.

March 13, 2026

Trump says U.S. firepower is decimating ‘deranged scumbags’ in Iran

President Trump said Friday the U.S. is winning the war against Iran with "unlimited firepower."

March 13, 2026

Trump touts American oil profits as energy crisis rattles markets

President Trump on Thursday said the U.S. could profit from high oil prices but that stopping the "evil" Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon was far more important to him.

March 12, 2026

Trump says U.S. will ‘make a lot of money’ from higher oil prices

President Trump said Thursday there is an upside to rising oil prices as a result of the war against Iran -- the U.S. will make money as a major producer.

March 12, 2026

Middle East conflict is the largest oil disruption ever, IEA says

The International Energy Agency on Thursday said the war in the Middle East is "creating the largest supply disruption in the history of oil markets" as crude prices spiked again and tankers came under fire in the Gulf region.

March 12, 2026

Trump says ‘We’ve won’ Iran war, predicts oil prices will drop despite economic turmoil

President Trump said Wednesday the war against Iran is turning out to be "easier than we thought" and predicted that soaring oil prices will plummet again, as the conflict threatens to upend his focus on the economy in a midterm election.

March 11, 2026