12:30 Report

Strait of Hormuz reopens, but Trump has a catch

by Cate Martel - 04/17/26 12:52 PM ET

Link copied

by Cate Martel - 04/17/26 12:52 PM ET

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

- - - 📉 Plus: Oil prices dramatically fall, stock market jumps

{beacon}

Happy Friday! The National Zoo’s new baby elephant made her big debut. She made a friend and I cannot handle how cute it is. Oh, and both the NHL playoffs and the NBA playoffs begin this weekend!

In today’s issue:

- Iran says Strait of Hormuz is back open

- Oil prices dramatically fall, stock market jumps

- Trump celebrates but keeps U.S. blockade in place

RFK Jr. grilled on Capitol Hill for second straight day

- Nutella’s first new flavor in 60 years hits shelves

🚦 THE IRAN OPERATION

The Strait of Hormuz is back open for business:

Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely” open after Israel and Lebanon reached a temporary ceasefire.

The news sent oil prices plummeting. The stock market also quickly jumped.

But before you get excited: President Trump celebrated the announcement. Shortly after, he followed up to say the U.S.’s naval blockade “will remain in full force and effect” until Iran agrees to a peace agreement— and it is “100% complete.”

💬 Follow today’s live blog

➤ WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ISRAEL-LEBANON CEASEFIRE:

The two countries agreed to a 10-day pause in fighting. Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon during the U.S.-Iran ceasefire had been an obstacle for peace talks, making this a major development.

Related read from The New York Times: ‘Lebanon’s Cease-Fire Buys Time, Not a Way Out’: “The country’s leaders secured a truce through risky talks with Israel, but the government now finds itself caught between competing pressures.”

➤ TIDBIT WITH THE FLUCTUATING GAS PRICES:

The New York Times reports on a new tactic for thieves to steal gasoline: drilling a hole into a vehicle’s tank.

💉 ON CAPITOL HILL

Hakuna ma-MAHA:

🎵It means no artificial dyes for the rest of your days. 🎵

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is back for his second day of grilling on Capitol Hill. 💻 Watch today’s hearing

A lot has changed in the past few months: His “Make America Healthy Again” movement had much more power last year. Now, the White House has its eye on the midterms and is trying to back off the more controversial, unpopular MAHA components, like his changes to vaccine policy.

^ That dynamic was on display on Thursday: Kennedy avoided talking about vaccines in his opening statement. But Democrats weren’t going to let him off the hook. Several Democrats confronted him over his vaccine policies. More takeaways from RFK Jr.’s Thursday hearing

Why do something simply when you can do it dramatically and with ✨flair✨?:

The Senate just passed a 10-day extension to the U.S.’s spy powers, sending it to President Trump’s desk before the Monday expiration.

What went down overnight: After two days of meetings and delays, the House voted on a deal to extend spy powers for five years. But when it went to a vote, 12 House Republicans voted with Democrats to sink the deal. Once Republican rebels dramatically tanked the five-year extension, the House moved to vote on a 10-day extension before Monday’s deadline.

Why did those House Republicans oppose the deal?: There were several reasons. “Republican opposition to the amendment came not only from right-wing members who pushed for more substantial reforms and who had spent hours negotiating the package with leadership, but also from some House Intelligence Committee members who had pushed for a straight reauthorization of the program.”

💡 Why this matters: This is one of the most notable times that Republicans bucked President Trump’s wishes on a major vote. Read more

➤ SOME TENSION BETWEEN SPEAKER JOHNSON AND SENATE REPUBLICANS:

“Senate Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) decision not to put a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the House floor for a vote as they fear the White House could soon run out of money to pay federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown,” reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.

What does this tension look like?: “GOP senators have been careful not to publicly criticize Johnson and House conservatives who are holding up the Senate-passed Homeland Security funding bill so as not to further inflame the situation. But they are warning that the White House will soon be running out of flexibility to keep paying Homeland Security workers — including employees of