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Oil futures retreat as countries step in to try and call markets.
Plus Dubai pairs an advertising blitz with a social media crackdown to protect its image.
So part of Dubai's appeal is its safety and it only took a few days to puncture a reputation
that took them decades to build.
And we'll get the latest from DC as Congress ends another week no closer to resolving a
partial government shutdown.
It's Friday, March 20th.
I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal.
And here is the AM edition of What's News,
the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
The US military is scaling up efforts to try and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
We report that the operation involves attacking Iranian naval vessels with low-flying jets
and hunting drones with Apache helicopters.
An effort meant to clear away a web of Iranian assets that have harassed traffic
through the maritime choke point.
Well, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US has now damaged or destroyed more than 120
Iranian naval vessels. Experts say the mission could take weeks to show results,
with Iran still believed to have a vast stockpile of mines and hundreds of undamaged boats stored
in tunnels along its coast and on islands.
Well, adding urgency to that mission is a new projection from Saudi officials that oil prices
could top $180 a barrel if disruption to the region's energy supplies continues late into next
month. We report it's not an outcome that Kingdom wants, with prices that high,
potentially leading consumers to slash oil use, triggering a recession, or casting Saudi Arabia
as profiteering off of the war. Saudi Aramco, the country's national oil company, declined to
comment. Meanwhile, oil is steadying today, as countries announced steps to keep prices in check
in a bid to stop tit-for-tat attacks on energy infrastructure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu says that President Trump asked him to hold off on more strikes against Iran's oil fields.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says the US could remove sanctions on Iranian oil that's
already at sea. And EU leaders are floating a range of consumer supports, including state-funded aid
to offset cost increases and electricity price cuts. Here was European Commission President
Ursula Von der Lein. In some cases, electricity is taxed much more than gas, partially up to 15 times
more. And this cannot be. So we will propose to lower tax rates on electricity and to make
sure that electricity is taxed less than fossil fuels. Elsewhere, golf leaders are fighting to uphold
their country's reputations. A head of the war, the United Arab Emirates had built a reputation as
being a safe place to live in holiday. An image that journal Middle East correspondent Omar
Abdel-Baki said is being bolstered on social media. Influencers are showing videos of malls and
cafes that have a lot of people, so that it just looks like everything is normal and that it's
a normal day in Dubai. And for its part, Dubai has also created its own marketing campaign.
But with the UAE on the receiving end of more than 1600 Iranian drones and more than 300 missiles,
Omar says that officials are now supplementing those glossy marketing efforts with a crackdown
on contradictory posts. Dubai police have issued stern warnings against any content that may cause
public panic. They say that sharing rumors, false information, or any content that contradicts
official announcements is prohibited, violators could risk prison time of at least two years
and fines of more than $50,000. And they started an arrest campaign and they arrested at least
two dozen people, including people who just filmed and posted video clips documenting missile
attacks and interceptions. The UAE official told me that the government is urging people to rely on
official announcements and they say that inaccurate information can incite panic.
Well, back in Washington, we are approaching the end of another week with no end inside for
a partial government shutdown that's causing mounting disruption at airports nationwide.
Damian Paleta is the journal's DC coverage chief. Damian, here we are Friday morning. Is there
any plan taking shape to fund DHS at this point or at the very least maybe to pay TSA agents,
more of whom seem to be quitting by the day? Well, there's no plan yet, but I mean, we're heading
into peak spring break season with a lot of travelers and people are going to be missing flights.
There's a lot of unpaid TSA employees who are quitting and it just seems like a matter of time
before Democrats and Republicans realize this is unsustainable. So I expect either part of your
both parties to look for some sort of excuse to cut a deal, whether it's a short term deal
or a permanent deal because this is going to become a catastrophe soon when people keep missing
their flights and they're going to get really furious at Washington for their inaction. Though the
question seems for Democrats is going to be, yeah, maybe we want to play a role in getting things
back up and running at airports, but doesn't require us to compromise on some of the things we want to
change about immigration operations. Right. So the origins of the shutdown go back to Minneapolis
and the two protesters who were killed and that's when Democrats felt like they had a lot of
leverage over the White House. Now we have Mark Wayne Mullen, the new DHS nominee, Christy Nomes out,
and so Democrats, I think, feel like they're making some progress there in terms of getting
the White House to change their approach to immigration. So the question is, did Democrats
need to keep pressuring the White House here, or do they feel like they've already made enough
strides to pass this spending bill because the White House is clearly not going to use the same
approach to deportations that they were using a few months ago? Yet to that point, our reporters,
Michelle Hackman and Josh Dossi overnight reporting that President Trump has told members of his
inner circle that some of these mass deportation policies did go too far. His advisors also
think that getting Mark Wayne Mullen in a DHS could serve as kind of a reset on immigration.
And yet we all saw that testy confirmation hearing he had this week. I mean, what is the real
prospect here that the temperature could lower around immigration? Yes, there's a good prospect of
it in part because the White House is heading into the midterm elections in November. They're
in really not in that position where they can keep quite frankly antagonizing some of these
communities because it wasn't playing well. And so they obviously are very still committed to
deporting people who are here illegally. But in such a public spectacle, I think that's what they
want to avoid now. Obviously, this is a huge agency. And Mark Wayne Mullen doesn't have a lot of
experience running at agency this big, but he definitely does not seem like he wants to have the
same adversarial approach that Kristi Nome used there. And so maybe that'll help a little bit with
the White House's messaging, or maybe it won't. Damian Paletta is the journal's Washington
coverage chief Damian. Appreciate you. Thanks. My pleasure. Thank you. And for much more on the
state of disruption to US and global air travel, check out our upcoming episode of What's New
Sunday, where we'll talk about the effect of the war, the shutdown, higher fuel prices, and more.
You'll find that Sunday morning right here in this feed. And we'll be back with the rest of the
day's news in just a moment. America leads the world in medicine development. It matters.
We get new medicines first nearly three years faster. Five million Americans go to work because
we make medicines here at home. And not relying on other countries keeps us safe. But China is racing
to overtake us. Will we let them? Or will we choose to stay ahead? When America leads,
America cures. Let's go Washington to keep us in the lead.
Learn how at AmericaCures.com. Pay for it by Farma.
Lou Origin has formally entered the race to develop AI data centers in space,
following Elon Musk's SpaceX and startup Star Cloud. In a filing with the Federal Communications
Commission, Jeff Bezos' company said it's seeking permission to deploy more than 50,000 solar-powered
satellites in order to meet the growing demand for AI computing. The company says the effort
known as Project Sunrise would allow it to operate in an environment free from the red tape
that's complicated the development of terrestrial facilities.
TV station owner Nexstar Media Group says it's closed it's more than $6 billion merger
with rival Tegna after winning approval from the FCC. A deal that'll create a broadcast
television giant and result in the consolidation of hundreds of local stations.
The Trump administration just approved the sale of this station nine news and its parent company
Tegna to Nexstar. This afternoon the FCC signed off on the deal allowing broadcast station owner
Nexstar to buy Tegna, the company that owns King Five. News of the deal's completion comes just
today after eight states filed a suit to block it on antitrust grounds. It was California Attorney General
Rob Bonta and New York's Latisha James. This merger would give one broadcast in behemoth
the power to raise prices for consumers and to control and degrade local news coverage sports
programming and other TV content and it would undoubtedly lead to job cuts. Nexstar and Tegna
currently compete directly with one another. This competition ensures communities get diverse,
affordable and high quality TV coverage. President Trump publicly endorsed the merger,
writing last month that a bigger Nexstar would balance out quote the fake news national TV networks.
In a statement, Nexstar CEO said the deal would make the broadcaster better positioned to
deliver exceptional journalism and local programming. And consumer goods company Unilever is in
talks to separate its food business and merge it with Maryland-based spice maker McCormick.
We report that an all-stock deal could come within weeks, assuming the talks don't fall apart.
Unilever, whose portfolio includes Dove, Vaseline, and Helmonds Manais spun off its
magnum ice cream brand last year. And heads up, we've got a special bonus episode coming later today.
In the latest, what's news and earnings? We'll look at how retailers are dealing with inflation
and price-conscious shoppers. That'll be in your what's news feed at midday.
And that's it for what's news for this Friday morning. Today's show was produced by
Hadi Moyer, our supervising producer, was Daniel Bach. And I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street
Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. Otherwise, have a great weekend. And thanks for listening.
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WSJ What’s News

