Worries about the war with Iran sent oil prices back to $100 per barrel and stocks sinking worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Thursday and returned to big swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.8%. The center of action was again the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude got as high as $101.59. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market on worries about higher inflation and fewer cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Seed oils have been the focus of fiery critics from internet influencers to high-profile politicians like HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They claim that these oils pressed from the seeds of certain plants are toxic to human health and fueling high rates of chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Kennedy has called for a return to the use of fats such as beef tallow for frying. Such claims have exasperated nutrition scientists, who say decades of research have confirmed the health benefits of consuming such oils, especially when compared to sources such as butter or lard.
By SETH BORENSTEIN and CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press
Updated
A new study says Exxon Mobil's scientists were remarkably accurate in their predictions about global warming. But at the same time, the company made public statements that contradicted its scientists' conclusions. The study in the journal Science looked at research that Exxon funded. The research forecast the coming warming with precision equal to or better than government and academic scientists. This was during the same time that the oil giant publicly doubted that warming was real and dismissed climate models' accuracy. Exxon says its understanding of climate change evolved over the years and that critics are misunderstanding its earlier research.
