U.S. Gas Prices Top $4 a Gallon

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Enterprises are operationalizing AI at scale, moving from experimentation to accountability. How can leaders embed AI into core operations, address unfinished digital foundations, and measure success by outcomes instead of pilots? Learn more on a new episode of Tech Fluential, a podcast from Deloitte and custom content from WSJ.

Luke Vargas (0:21)

President Trump weighs ending the Iran War without forcing a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Plus, Washington State moves to tax millionaires as the blue state, red state tax divide widens.

Bob Ferguson (0:34)

While Washington, DC is taking us backwards, the good news is here in Washington State, we're moving forward, everybody.

Caroline Levitt (0:39)

Yes, yes.

Luke Vargas (0:41)

And new diet advice from the American Heart Association contradicts the government's recommendations on red meat and dairy. It's Tuesday, March 31st. 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.

US gasoline prices have crossed the $4 a gallon mark, according to AAA, and are now up more than $1 compared to a month ago. That's after a Kuwaiti oil tanker was struck by a drone near Dubai overnight, an attack that market analysts say highlights the growing threats to key shipping routes. It also comes as we report that President Trump has told aides that he's willing to end the war against Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that he and his aides have assessed would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks. Such an outcome could extend Tehran's grip on the waterway and leave the complex task of reopening it for a later date. Our Lindsay Ellis asked White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt how the Strait fits into President Trump's plans.

Caroline Levitt (1:49)

I'm trying to square the four objectives laid out by the administration with the goal of reopening fully the Strait of Hormuz. Would President Trump declare victory and wind down military operations if the four objectives are met but still passage remains quite slow through the Strait? Look, as I've said repeatedly and as the president has laid out, 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 ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. 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.

Luke Vargas (2:34)

Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Kaine are set to brief reporters at 8 a.m. Eastern this morning, their first news conference on the war in almost two weeks.

High earners in Washington state will face a new tax on income over one million dollars starting in 2028 The 9.9 percent tax was signed into law yesterday and comes as a number of Democratic states debate similar measures, which proponents cite as necessary to combat inequality and to plug budget holes caused by President Trump's cuts to federal health and nutrition assistance programs. Here was Washington's Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson courtesy of FOX 13 Seattle.

Bob Ferguson (3:18)

This is truly a historic step forward on rebalancing our tax code. It's the right thing to do for Washington's working families. It's the right time to do it, and it's the right policy.

Luke Vargas (3:29)

Republicans in Washington and beyond have warned that the tax could drive residents to move to lower tax states, of which there's an increasing number. Mississippi and Oklahoma are among those aiming to eliminate personal income taxes altogether, while South Carolina is on course to lower its top income tax rate to under 2 percent this year. Who's diet advice to trust? Americans could be asking that question today after the American Heart Association recommended getting protein from plants instead of meat, choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy, and skipping butter and beef tallow in favor of olive, soybean and canola oil. That stands in sharp contrast with elements of new guidelines introduced by the Trump administration this year which endorsed full-fat dairy and specifically suggested that Americans eat red meat as a protein source. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been pushing those guidelines on social media, including in this remix he shared of a South Park episode about the food pyramid.

SPEAKER_1 (4:31)

What?

Luke Vargas (4:31)

Sir, the pyramid is upside down.

SPEAKER_1 (4:34)

Turn the pyramid upside down. It can't be serious. That would put butter and fat at the top of the— the damn food pyramid.