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The price of oil plunged sharply and U.S. stock indexes opened at new all-time highs after the Iranian foreign minister said that the Strait of Hormuz was open for commercial vessels. U.S. crude oil plunged 10% to nearly $85 per barrel, while international Brent crude also slid more than 8% to around $90 per barrel. Heating oil futures, which are a proxy for jet fuel, plummeted 13%. Wholesale RBOB gas futures also fell 7%. At the opening bell, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1%. Both set new all-time highs in early trading as a result....

Iranian Shiite Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, 98, issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to assassinate President Donald Trump, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The semi-official Iranian news outlet Mehr News Agency reported on its English language site on Sunday (excerpt): Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has issued a fatwa in which he declares anyone who threatens Leader, and Shia Marja to be the Enemy of God, who has to be fought against according to Islamic teachings. After threats were made by the criminal American president and the leaders of the child-killing Zionist regime against the Leader of...

Ukraine Index: Tracking developments in the Ukraine war By: Michael E. O’Hanlon, Constanze Stelzenmüller, and David Wessel Research Support: Alejandra Rocha, Sophie Roehse, and Mallika Yadwad January 22, 2025 "On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war follows on Russian territorial aggression against its neighbor that began in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea and a proxy war in the eastern Donbas region. Tracking developments in the Ukraine war, the Brookings Institution — in partnership with The Washington Post — presents the Ukraine Index, which compiles security, economic, and political data presented in graphic...