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On reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump tries to shift responsibility away from US

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As oil and gas prices soar amid Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump and his top officials now appear to be suggesting it’s not the U.S.’s problem to solve.

Trump on Tuesday again lashed out at allies for not getting involved in the conflict, and told them: “Go get your own oil!”

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” the president wrote in a post on his social media platform.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump added.

Trump reiterated that sentiment in a phone call with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl later Tuesday.

“I’m going to let the countries that want to buy oil, they can — they can police it themselves. Why should I do it for them? They weren’t there for me,” Trump told ABC’s Karl of the Strait of Hormuz.

The statements appear to be a far cry from Trump’s threat to Iran from just days ago. On March 21, he wrote on social media that if Iran didn’t “FULLY OPEN” the strait in 48 hours, the U.S. would hit the country’s power plants. That deadline was extended twice after Trump said that negotiations were ongoing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday echoed Trump in calling on countries around the world to “be prepared to step up.”

“It’s not just the United States Navy. Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well,” Hegseth said, referring to the United Kingdom’s naval forces.

“President Trump’s been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran,” Hegseth said. “It’s not just our problem set going forward, even though we have done the lion’s share of preparation to ensure that that strait will be open, which is an outcome the president has been very clear on.”

Prior to the war, more than 100 ships were passing through the Strait of Hormuz each day, according to data from U.N. Trade and Development. Now, just a handful of ships are estimated to be passing through on a daily basis amid Tehran’s chokehold.

The result has been a record monthly spike in oil and gas prices. In the U.S., the average cost of a gallon of gas topped $4 on Tuesday for the first time since August 2022.

Yet, Trump administration officials have notably declined to list reopening the strait as a key objective of Operation Epic Fury.

“The objectives of Operation Epic Fury are as follows: destroying the Iranian navy; destroying their ballistic missiles; dismantling their defense industrial infrastructure that produces those weapons that have long threatened the United States and our allies; and then, of course, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Monday’s press briefing.

Leavitt was pressed by a reporter whether Trump can declare victory over Iran if passage through the strait remains as hampered as it is now.

“The full reopening of the strait is something the administration is working towards, but the core objectives of the operation have been clearly defined for the American people by the commander in chief,” Leavitt replied.

Trump has said he long predicted Iran would use the strait as a weapon, and that he knew oil prices would go up if the U.S. attacked Iran. He has faced criticism for not vocalizing a clear strategy for reopening the waterway, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply is caught in the crosshairs of the conflict.

Trump earlier this month issued a public request to U.S partners in Europe and Asia to help the U.S. secure the strait. Those countries largely rebuffed his call to send warships and other kinds of assistance. Some made clear this is not their war, while others have said they would get involved in the strait — but only once hostilities end.

The cold shoulder prompted Trump to change his tune and declare, “We don’t need any help, actually.”

Trump then ramped up threats to attack Tehran’s power and desalination plants if Iran doesn’t reopen the strait.

“If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!),” Trump posted Monday.

Trump has paused attacks on Iran until April 6 citing ongoing negotiations with new Iranian leadership, though Tehran has publicly denied any direct talks and has pushed back on a 15-point peace plan presented by the U.S. through intermediaries.

Amid his renewed call on Tuesday for other nations to step up, Trump told CBS News he is not “yet” pulling U.S. assets from the Strait of Hormuz, but “at some point I will.”

Later, in an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he believed the strait would “automatically open” when the U.S. exits the conflict.

“I don’t think about it, to be honest,” Trump told the New York Post. “My sole function was to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave, the strait will automatically open.”

ABC News’ Emily Chang contributed to this report.

Dow soars over 950 points after Trump suggests US may end Iran war without reopening Strait of Hormuz

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 950 points on Tuesday after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. may end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on social media, Trump indicated that the task of reopening the strait may fall to other countries, urging them to “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”

The Dow jumped 970 points, or 2.1%, by early afternoon, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.4%.

Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Trump has voiced mixed messages about the expected duration of the war. On several occasions, markets have climbed after traders interpreted comments from Trump as a potential off-ramp from the Middle East conflict.

The war prompted Iranian closure of the strait, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply. A potential U.S. exit from the war without ensuring that the strait is open could leave uncertain the path to a resumption of normal tanker traffic and a resulting remedy for the current global oil shortage.

Global oil prices surged more than 5% on Tuesday, exceeding $118 a barrel, just shy of its highest price since 2022.

Gas prices in the United States topped $4 per gallon on average Tuesday, underscoring the link between rising oil prices and strained consumers.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

DOJ told judge emails suggested Maxwell was arranging young women to have sex with Prince Andrew

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As federal investigators built a case against Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, they discovered emails they believed suggested that she was arranging young women to have sex with then Prince Andrew, according to a new review of documents released earlier this year by the Department of Justice.

A search warrant application signed just days before Maxwell’s 2020 arrest identified at least three instances when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Maxwell appeared to discuss arrangements for young women, including ahead of his official state visit to Peru in 2002.

“As for girls well I leave that entirely to you,” said an email believed to have been sent by Mountbatten-Windsor to Maxwell in Feb. 2002, signed “Masses of love A”

In another email identified by the FBI, Mountbatten-Windsor asked Maxwell about helping him find “some new inappropriate friends,” according to the search warrant affidavit.

“I am up here at Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family,” Mountbatten-Windsor wrote in August 2001. “Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”

Months later ahead of his official visit to Peru, Maxwell shared with Mountbatten-Windsor an email in which she asked an acquaintance in Peru to help find him people who are “intelligent pretty fun” and can be “to be friendly and discreet.”

“Some sight seeing some 2 legged sight seeing (read intelligent pretty fun and from good families) and he will be very happy. I know I can rely on you to show him a wonderful time and that you will only introduce him to friends that you can trust and rely on to be friendly and discreet and fun,” Maxwell wrote in March 2002.

“Got it I will ring him today if I can. Love you A,” an email associated with Mountbatten-Windsor responded.

According to a search application released earlier this year by the Department of Justice, the FBI believed those emails showed Andrew and Maxwell “discussing her attempts to arrange for young females to engage in sex acts” with him. The messages were cited as part of an application to get a judge’s permission to search dozens of electronic devices seized from Epstein’s residences.

Neither the palace nor a representative for the former Prince Andrew responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

Mountbatten-Windsor has long denied any wrongdoing, and Maxwell — who was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021 — was never charged with arranging women for Mountbatten-Windsor. As part of that prosecution, investigators unsuccessfully sought to interview Mountbatten-Windsor in 2020.

“To date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation,” former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in January 2020.

The disclosure of the new documents come as police in the United Kingdom are renewing their scrutiny of Mountbatten-Windsor. In an interview with ABC News earlier this month, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his office was seeking unredacted materials related to Epstein from the Department of Justice.

“There’s a whole range of suggested sexual allegations and those are being assessed at the moment to see whether any of them do actually merit a criminal investigation,” Rowley said.

ABC News’ Zoe Magee contributed to this report.

15-year-old who allegedly shot teacher was ‘failing several classes,’ motive still under investigation: Sheriff

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(COMAL COUNTY, Texas) — A 15-year-old boy allegedly shot a teacher at his Texas high school before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

The teen used a .357 revolver he brought from home in Monday morning’s shooting at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Comal County, about 30 miles north of San Antonio, the Comal County Sheriff’s Office said.

A injured teacher, a female, was taken to a San Antonio hospital in an unknown condition, the sheriff’s office said. She remains in the hospital on Tuesday, authorities said.

“The situation was contained very, very quickly,” and there’s no ongoing threat, the sheriff’s department said. The school was placed on lockdown and the approximately 250 students were evacuated to be reunited with their parents, authorities said.

While the motive remains under investigation, it appears the suspect “may have been experiencing academic challenges, including failing several classes,” the sheriff’s office said.

Electronic devices were taken from the teen’s home to try “to learn more about the student’s actions and possible motive,” the sheriff’s office said.

Hill Country College Preparatory High School is closed on Tuesday and counselors will be available to students, Principal Julie Wiley said.

“Our hearts are with everyone impacted, especially that teacher, their family, and our school community,” Wiley said in a statement. “We know this has been a difficult day. I want to personally thank our local law enforcement officers, amazing staff, and district administrators for their swift response, professionalism and care of our students.”

Supreme Court rules against Colorado law banning ‘conversion therapy’ for minors

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy” for minors as a likely violation of counselors’ free speech rights under the First Amendment.

LGBTQ groups, who have hailed conversion therapy bans as critical to the mental health of minors figuring out their identities during adolescence, say the decision will mean more kids are “traumatized” going forward.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, in the court’s opinion, said the law — enacted in 2019 to protect minors from efforts by mental health providers to change their sexual orientation or gender identity — “censors speech based on viewpoint” and must be subjected to the highest form of legal scrutiny, which a lower court had not applied.

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same,” Gorsuch wrote.

“But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” he continued. “It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth. However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter.

“Our precedents do not compel this conclusion,” Jackson wrote. “Speech uttered for purposes of providing medical treatment may be restricted incidentally when the state reasonably regulates the speaker’s provision of medical treatments to patients.”

A Christian licensed therapist from Colorado Springs, Kaley Chiles, brought the legal challenge, alleging the law violates her free speech rights and prevents her from openly talking with clients about their desire to rid themselves of same-sex attractions or better align with their biological sex.

“Colorado law does not just regulate the content of Ms. Chiles’ speech. It goes a step further,” Gorsuch wrote, “prescribing what views she may and may not express.”

The decision sends the case back to a lower court for further review of the law.

Colorado will likely no longer be able to forbid state licensed providers from attempting to change a patient’s orientation through talk therapy.

“States cannot silence voluntary conversations that help young people seeking to grow comfortable with their bodies,” said Jim Campell, the attorney for Chiles who argued the case before the court. “The decision today is a significant win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children.”

Conversion therapy has been widely discredited by major American mental health and medical organizations for decades. Half the states in the U.S. have outlawed the practice as ineffective and harmful to minors, often on a bipartisan basis. Those laws are now in question.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said that more kids will “suffer” as a result of this decision.

“Today’s reckless decision means more American kids will suffer. The Court has weaponized free-speech in order to prioritize anti-LGBTQ+ bias over the safety, health and wellbeing of children,” Robinson said in a statement.

King Charles, Queen Camilla will make state visit to US in April

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — King Charles and Queen Camilla will make an official state visit to the U.S. this spring, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday.

The British royals are embarking on the trip to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence and were invited by President Donald Trump, according to the palace.

In a social media post, Trump said the royal visit will take place April 27-30. It will include a banquet dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, he noted.

After visiting the U.S., Charles will also visit Bermuda, a British overseas territory, making his first visit to the island as monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II made the last state visit to the U.S. in May 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia.

Charles and Camilla‘s visit comes during a tense period amid the ongoing U.K. police inquiry into the Jeffrey Epstein files and the Iran war.

It is unclear if Charles will visit with his second son, Prince Harry, who lives in California with his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and their two children.

Tiger Woods had ‘bloodshot and glassy’ eyes, ‘extremely dilated’ pupils after car crash: Court documents

March 31, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(JUPITER ISLAND, Fla.) — Tiger Woods told authorities that he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station and didn’t realize the truck in front of him had slowed down before his rollover crash in Jupiter Island, Florida, according to the probable cause affidavit.

No one was injured in the Friday afternoon crash, authorities said. The golfer was arrested and charged with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

Two hydrocodone pills were found in Woods’ pants pocket, the probable cause affidavit said.

Hydrocodone is a prescription medication intended to treat severe, chronic pain and common side effects include dizziness and drowsiness.

A deputy noticed that Woods was “sweating profusely” and his movement was “lethargic and slow,” the document said.

Woods was also “extremely alert and talkative” and had “hiccups during the entire investigation,” the document said.

When a deputy asked Woods to remove his sunglasses, it revealed the golfer’s “bloodshot and glassy” eyes and “extremely dilated” pupils, the probable cause affidavit said.

Woods told authorities he’d had no alcohol that day, the document said. Asked if he’d had any prescription medication, the golfer replied, “I take a few,” and he noted he took that medicine earlier in the morning, the document said.

Woods said he hadn’t consumed any illegal substances, the document said.

A deputy walked Woods through a series of field sobriety tests, and the deputy said, “I believed that Woods normal faculties were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” according to the document.

Woods did tell the deputy he has “a limp and his ankle seizes while walking,” and the golfer noted that “he’s had seven back surgeries and over twenty operations on his leg,” the document said.

The accident unfolded when a truck pulling a small pressure-cleaning trailer was slowing to turn into a driveway, and Woods approached from behind at a high rate of speed, authorities said.

Woods tried to pass the truck but he clipped the back of the trailer, and the impact caused the golfer’s SUV to tip onto the driver’s side and slide along the road before coming to a stop, authorities said. Woods was able to get out of the car through the passenger side, authorities said.

The narrow, two-lane road has a 30 mph speed limit and little room for drivers to move aside, authorities said, noting that the accident could have been far more serious if there was oncoming traffic.

The breathalyzer showed no alcohol in his system, but Woods refused to take a urine test, which is used to detect drugs or medication, authorities said.

In 2021, Woods suffered serious injuries to his leg in a rollover crash in Los Angeles County, California. Authorities said the golfer was speeding when his car hit the center median, crossed into the opposite lane, hit a curb and a tree, and then rolled over several times. He showed no signs of impairment, authorities said.

ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to this report.