Category: Insurance

Brian Hooker sent images of maps to his friends and other boaters, telling them the drawings purportedly showed where his wife, Lynette, went missing in the Bahamas last week. He allegedly also sent them to law enforcement.

Brian Hooker shared the images with friends, who gave them to CBS News, in the days following his wife’s disappearance and during the initial search and rescue. He told his friends that he drew on the maps to help the search and rescue team.

The images may provide the most detailed account of Brian Hooker’s version of events that night.

Lynette Hooker, who is from Michigan, was reported missing Sunday, April 5.

This screenshot, taken by Brian Hooker of Navionics, a GPS app that boaters use to navigate, and obtained by CBS News, purportedly shows the route his dinghy took the night his wife Lynette disappeared in the Bahamas.
The images appear to be screenshots from Navionics, a GPS app that boaters use to navigate, drawn over to mark areas such as the alleged dinghy route the night Lynette Hooker disappeared and where Brian Hooker claims she went overboard.

Reports that Iran is planning to charge ships a toll to traverse the Strait of Hormuz are raising concerns about the potential economic impact on oil and fuel prices.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “has imposed a de facto ‘toll booth’ regime in the Strait of Hormuz, requiring vessels to submit full documentation, obtain clearance codes and accept IRGC-escorted passage through a single controlled corridor,” analysts from Lloyd’s List Intelligence said in a recent report. At least two vessels have paid fees in Chinese yuan, according to the provider of maritime research.

For now, Iran has not officially implemented a toll for the strait, which would be unprecedented. But Tehran indicated this week that, under a long-term peace deal to reopen the strait, it would charge vessels a fee to guarantee safe passage, Reuters reported.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, President Trump warned Iran not to impose a toll on the vital conduit, which links the Persian Gulf to multiple trade routes. “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” he wrote.

Analysts with investment adviser Capital Economics said in a report that an Iranian toll on ship traffic would give the country “de facto control over a critical artery for energy trade and introduce a new source of geopolitical risk to the world economy.”

The Strait of Hormuz, which normally accommodates roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, remains virtually sealed, with tankers unwilling to risk passing through the narrow waterway. While more than 100 ships per day ordinarily cross the strait, in March an average of only six vessels made the trip, while this month crossings have averaged about 10 per day, according to data from Marine Traffic.

Global oil prices, which traded at between $65 and $73 per barrel just before the war began on Feb. 28, hovered just above $95 on Friday.

Vice President JD Vance suggested that the European Union was interfering with the upcoming Hungarian election, while Vance himself is on a visit to Budapest aimed at boosting strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chances of winning a tough battle for another term.

Vance said Wednesday that there’d been a “lot of conversation about foreign influence” in U.S. elections, adding that he had been accused of such by coming to Hungary to support Orbán, a nationalist and self-proclaimed proponent of “illiberal democracy.”

“That’s foreign influence. But what’s not foreign influence is when the European Union threatens billions of dollars withheld from Hungary because you guys protect your borders. That’s apparently not foreign influence,” Vance said.

“I find it darkly ironic that people are accusing me of engaging in some kind of foreign influence. All that we’re saying is that Viktor Orbán, he does a good job,” the vice president added.

Orbán is seeking his fifth consecutive term in office. Elections are set for Sunday, April 12.

The Associated Press reports most independent polls show Orbán and his party, Fidesz, running a double-digit deficit behind his main opponent, Péter Magyar, among decided voters.

Freedom House, a democracy-oriented U.S.-based nonprofit, designates Hungary as only “partly free,” citing issues with less-than-free-and-fair elections and a stifling of independent institutions.

Under Orbán, the country has also strengthened its alliance with Russia. Still, the Hungarian leader has received support from the Republican Party and President Trump has long launded Orbán. When Vance called Mr. Trump in front of a crowd of thousands in Budapest on Tuesday, the president praised the prime minister.

“I love Hungary and I love that Viktor,” Mr. Trump said through the speakerphone.

Tesla owners in the Netherlands can now use their cars’ self-driving feature — with some conditions — making it the first European country to approve the feature.

The country’s RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said Friday that Tesla’s driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands “with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union.” The agency said drivers would need to be in the vehicle and keep a watchful eye on it.

The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) function in the cars.

“This driver controlled assistance system has been extensively examined and tested for more than one and a half years on our test track and on public roads,” the agency said in a statement. “Safety is RDW’s top priority. Using this driver assistance system correctly makes a positive contribution to road safety.”

The function hands over driving to the Tesla’s computer system, including steering, braking, route navigation and parking, all under the active supervision of the driver, who remains at the controls ready to take over if needed.

The European subsidiary of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company run by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, hailed the Netherlands’ move.

“FSD Supervised has been approved in the Netherlands & will begin rolling out in the country shortly!” it said on X. “No other vehicle can do this. We’re excited to bring FSD Supervised to more European countries soon.”

Musk himself hailed the news, saying on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team and thank you to the regulatory authorities in the Netherlands for all the hard work required to make this happen.”

The Dutch RDW agency stressed the difference between FSD Supervised, with a human remaining at the controls, and full autonomous driving.

“A vehicle with FSD Supervised is not self-driving. It is a driver assistance system, and the driver remains responsible and must always maintain control,” it said.

RDW’s decision has to go to the European Commission for authorization, so that its national certification has EU weight.

President Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. Navy will begin blockading ships from entering or exiting the Strait of Hormuz and intercept vessels that have paid tolls to Iran, after marathon talks in Pakistan failed to yield an agreement to end the war.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” the president said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning.

Mr. Trump also said he has instructed the Navy to “seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” and that the U.S. would begin “destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits.”

“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he added.

At least two vessels that have traversed the strait have paid Iran fees in Chinese yuan to guarantee safe passage, analysts from Lloyd’s List Intelligence said in a recent report. Analysts wrote that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “has imposed a de facto ‘toll booth’ regime in the Strait of Hormuz, requiring vessels to submit full documentation, obtain clearance codes and accept IRGC-escorted passage through a single controlled corridor.” Iran has indicated that it might seek to impose a toll on all ships passing through the strait under a long-term peace deal.

The president has previously urged Iran not to impose tolls on ships traveling through the key waterway. His announcement of a blockade came after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal after face-to-face talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad on Saturday. Vance told reporters that the Iranians “have chosen not to accept our terms” and that the direct talks were over. The two sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire five days ago.

In his post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the talks “went well.” He claimed that “most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.”