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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Cristiano Ronaldo’s hamstring injury, which sidelined the 41-year-old Al-Nassr captain since late February, shows encouraging progress, with reports indicating he could return to action in April and remain available for Portugal’s campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner suffered the setback during Al-Nassr’s 3-1 Saudi Pro League victory over Al-Fayha on Feb. 28, 2026, when he was substituted in the 81st minute after limping noticeably. Al-Nassr confirmed the diagnosis as a hamstring injury the following day, March 3, stating Ronaldo had begun rehabilitation and would be evaluated “day by day.” Initial fears of a lengthy absence grew when coach Jorge Jesus described the issue as “more serious than expected” on March 6, prompting the club to send Ronaldo to Madrid for specialized treatment with his longtime personal physiotherapist.

Ronaldo underwent advanced recovery methods, including pressotherapy — a compression therapy technique to improve circulation and reduce swelling — as he raced against time ahead of the World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada starting June 11. The injury raised concerns about his participation in Portugal’s pre-tournament friendlies and final camp, with some outlets warning he risked missing key buildup matches against teams like the United States and Mexico.

Recent updates paint a more optimistic picture. As of mid-March 2026, Ronaldo’s recovery has advanced significantly. Saudi media outlet Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported he is expected to return to Riyadh by the end of March, positioning him for a potential comeback in early April. Sources close to the situation indicate the timeline aligns with the original 2-to-4-week estimate for a hamstring strain, avoiding complications that could have extended his absence.

Portugal’s national team setup remains confident. Reports from reliable sources suggest Ronaldo is on track to feature in upcoming international fixtures, including high-profile friendlies that serve as final preparations for the World Cup. One update highlighted his likely inclusion against Mexico and the United States, marking his first appearance on Mexican soil. The encouraging news serves as a subtle warning to opponents like the U.S. Men’s National Team and Christian Pulisic, underscoring Ronaldo’s enduring threat even at 41.

Al-Nassr, where Ronaldo has been a dominant force since joining in 2023, has felt his absence keenly. The Riyadh-based club sits atop the Saudi Pro League standings, chasing its first title in years, but has navigated recent matches without its star forward. Ronaldo’s goal tally and leadership have been pivotal in their strong campaign, and his return could provide a timely boost as the season enters its decisive phase.

The injury marks a rare fitness setback for Ronaldo, who has maintained remarkable durability throughout a career spanning more than two decades. He has avoided major long-term issues in recent seasons, crediting rigorous training, diet and recovery protocols. This hamstring problem, while concerning given his age and the World Cup proximity, appears manageable with his proactive approach — traveling to Spain for elite care rather than relying solely on club facilities.

Fans and analysts have closely monitored developments on social media and through club statements. Al-Nassr’s official channels provided initial updates, while Ronaldo’s personal posts and training glimpses (including indoor gym work shortly after the injury) signaled the issue was not catastrophic. By March 12, reports indicated substantial improvement, with expectations he would participate in Portugal’s upcoming matches.

The broader context adds stakes. Ronaldo aims to feature in his sixth World Cup, potentially capping his international career with another deep run for Portugal. The Seleção qualified convincingly, and his presence remains central to their ambitions. Missing the final pre-tournament camp would have been a blow, but current trajectories suggest he will be fit and available when the tournament begins.

For Al-Nassr, the injury timeline allows Ronaldo to miss a limited number of games before resuming club duties. With the league title in sight, his return in April could prove decisive in the closing fixtures. The club has managed without him, but his scoring prowess and experience are irreplaceable.

As recovery continues, Ronaldo’s discipline stands out. Pressotherapy and targeted rehab reflect his commitment to defying age-related decline. At a stage where many legends retire, he pursues excellence on multiple fronts — club success in Saudi Arabia and international glory with Portugal.

The football world watches closely. If progress holds, Ronaldo could soon resume training with Al-Nassr and join Portugal’s squad, ready to chase records and silverware. The hamstring setback tested resilience, but early March indications point to a swift, successful return — ensuring the iconic forward remains a focal point ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Cruise lines are facing headwinds as rising oil prices push their fuel costs higher amid the Iran war, as analysts are warning that Carnival could see the biggest hit to its 2026 profit.

Oil prices have risen over 35% since the war with Iran began amid attacks on oil and transportation facilities as well as threats to oil tankers and other vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

The prices for West Texas Intermediate crude have risen above $90 a barrel in recent days, while Brent crude has been just above $100 a barrel in that timeframe. Those prices were between $60 and $70 a barrel a month ago before the conflict began.

Cruise lines rely on heavy fuel oil and marine gas and typically try to hedge against volatility in oil prices through financial contracts, though Carnival Corp. is an exception to that practice.

TRAVEL EXPERT WARNS AMERICANS TO ‘BOOK NOW’ AS OIL PRICES THREATEN HIGHER AIRFARES

Cruise lines are facing higher fuel costs due to the Iran war causing a surge in oil prices. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A 10% change in fuel cost per metric ton would reduce Carnival’s 2026 net income by $156 million, compared with $57 million for its rival Royal Caribbean, according to the latest corporate filings.

Norwegian Cruise Line said it hasn’t updated its fuel hedges from its earnings report in early March, when it indicated the 10% change would cut full-year profit per share by 7 cents. That would be equivalent to a roughly $90 million decrease in net income, according to calculations by Morningstar Research.

The world economy experienced an energy price shock in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. That year, Carnival’s fuel costs were 17.7% of its total revenue, compared with 12.1% for Royal Caribbean and 14.2% for Norwegian.

TRUMP SAYS US ‘LARGEST OIL PRODUCER IN THE WORLD,’ BUT PRIORITY REMAINS STOPPING IRAN NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES

CFRA analyst Alex Fasciano noted that Carnival “owns a larger fleet, meaning the level of consumption is also higher than their counterparts.”

Carnival told Reuters in a statement that the cruise line’s “best hedge against fuel costs is to use less, so we focus on using less fuel in the first place.”

“We’ve cut our fuel use by 18% since 2011 despite increasing capacity by nearly 38% during that time,” Carnival added, noting that it doesn’t see a long-term net benefit in hedging.

AMERICAN FARMERS PINCHED BY HIGH DIESEL PRICES AHEAD OF SPRING PLANTING SEASON

Carnival doesn’t hedge its fuel prices and instead focusing on limiting consumption. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Cruise lines are facing the volatility in oil prices during the industry’s busiest booking period, known as the “wave season,” which runs between January and March and typically sees operators offer special deals and discounts for trips this year.

These cruises tend to run during the third quarter and have a disproportionately large contribution to cruise operators’ incomes, according to Lizzie Dove, analyst at Goldman Sachs.

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Dove noted that the oil shock could impact Americans’ bookings to Europe, particularly for higher-priced transatlantic trips.

Reuters contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES — Ronda Rousey, the trailblazing former UFC women’s bantamweight champion whose dominance reshaped mixed martial arts and propelled women’s fighting into the mainstream, made a stunning return to professional wrestling on March 15, 2026, interrupting All Elite Wrestling’s Revolution pay-per-view event.

The appearance at the event, held in a high-profile venue, saw Rousey storm the ring following “Timeless” Toni Storm’s victory over Marina Shafir. Videos circulating online captured Rousey calling out Storm directly, igniting speculation about a potential new chapter in her wrestling career. The moment, broadcast live, drew immediate reactions across social media and combat sports outlets, with fans and analysts debating whether this signals a full-time shift back to pro wrestling or a one-off crossover tied to her broader comeback narrative.

Just weeks earlier, Rousey had confirmed her long-rumored return to MMA after nearly a decade away from the cage. On May 16, 2026, she will face fellow pioneer Gina Carano in a featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The fight, promoted by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and streamed exclusively on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers, has been billed as one of the biggest super fights in women’s combat sports history.

Rousey, 39, last competed in MMA at UFC 207 in December 2016, suffering a first-round knockout loss to Amanda Nunes that effectively ended her run as the promotion’s inaugural women’s champion. Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018, she transitioned to WWE, where she captured championships and headlined major events before stepping away amid reported frustrations with the company.

In recent interviews, Rousey has been vocal about her decision to bypass the UFC for her comeback. Speaking on The Jim Rome Show, she revealed that the promotion had offered what she called the “best PPV deal ever” for a New Year’s Eve fight, but the agreement fell apart due to shifts involving Paramount. She has since criticized UFC fighter pay structures, describing a recent “White House card” as underwhelming and suggesting the organization has changed fundamentally since her heyday.

“This fight is about challenging the monolith,” Rousey said in a recent ESPN interview, referring to the UFC’s dominance in the sport. She expressed excitement about partnering with MVP, founded by Al Haymon and backed by figures like Jake Paul, emphasizing better compensation and a platform for legends like herself and Carano.

Carano, 44, a former Strikeforce standout and star of films like “Haywire” and “The Mandalorian,” has not fought since 2009. Her 7-1 record includes notable wins over elite competition, but she has been out of the cage for over 15 years due to acting commitments and other pursuits. The matchup pits two of women’s MMA’s earliest superstars against each other in a highly anticipated grudge match that blends nostalgia with modern streaming power.

The event also features Francis Ngannou making his MMA return on the undercard, adding further star power. Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion who left the promotion in a high-profile dispute, is scheduled to face an opponent yet to be fully detailed in announcements. Promoters have ramped up hype with promotional reels showing countdowns—recently hitting the nine-week mark—and urging fans to buy tickets and predict outcomes.

Rousey’s AEW cameo adds another layer to her multifaceted comeback. While she has previously stated she is done with professional wrestling—citing personal reasons and industry frustrations in 2025 interviews—the surprise interference suggests lingering ties or new opportunities in the space. AEW has positioned itself as a rival to WWE, and Rousey’s history with the latter could fuel storylines if she pursues more appearances.

Beyond the ring and cage, Rousey has maintained a lower public profile in recent years, focusing on family life with husband Travis Browne and their children. Earlier reports had mentioned a pregnancy announcement, though current coverage centers squarely on her athletic pursuits.

As the May 16 date approaches, both fighters are undergoing extensive medical and neurological testing to ensure clearance for the bout, per standard protocols for high-profile returns. Tickets remain available through official channels, and the Netflix broadcast is expected to draw massive global viewership, potentially rivaling major UFC pay-per-view numbers.

Rousey’s journey—from Olympic judoka to UFC pioneer, WWE superstar, and now a crossover icon—continues to captivate. Whether her AEW moment leads to a sustained wrestling run or serves as promotion for the Carano fight, it underscores her enduring draw in combat sports.

For now, all eyes are on Los Angeles in May, where two legends aim to prove they still belong among the elite. Rousey has framed the clash as a celebration for fans “past, present and future,” a nod to the legacy she helped build and hopes to extend.

Messaging is so important in policy and politics. You could have several million parents and children going south on spring break, but then the entire trip can be ruined by waiting three to four hours in TSA lines, all because Democrats won’t finance the Department of Homeland Security bill. After four votes in the Senate, Democrats are willing to ruin your vacation. How many more votes? How many more ruined vacations? Well there’s a couple of messages that Senate Republicans, indeed the entire Republican Party may want to be asking repeatedly.

The former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, is wondering why Democratic senators in Georgia aren’t helping America’s biggest airport and the most profitable airlines based in their home state. I bet a lot of people are wondering whether the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gets to go to the front of the line instead of waiting three to four hours. Kind of seems unfair, don’t you think? I’d want to message that, too, if I were a Republican leader.

Then there’s Democratic blockade of the voting rights bill called the SAVE America Act. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity has a list of at least 65 things that you need a photo ID for. These include, say, getting on an airplane, joining a gym, adopting a pet, buying tobacco, adopting a child, buying a cellphone, donating blood, applying for a job, picking up mail, and the list goes on and on and on. There’s only one thing that doesn’t require a photo ID: voting. 

Does that strike you as odd? Sounds to me like Republicans should be messaging it on a daily basis. President Trump is doing it. And there’s gonna be a hell of a fight in the Senate. Yet the polling is about 80 percent to 20 percent in favor of the GOP position. And here’s another messaging thought. A number of presidential spokesmen have talked about how oil and gasoline prices are going to come down after the American military mission in Iran has been successfully completed. And I agree with that. Prices will come down. Yet rather than forecast energy prices, I think a better message would remind Americans what the mission is.

For example, new polls by McLaughlin and Company show tremendous support among likely voters for eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat. And nearly as much support for eliminating Iran’s terrorism threat.

A clear majority wants to end Iran’s nuclear weapons, and their terrorism, and their decades-long hostility to the United States. That majority agrees with Mr. Trump’s mission in Iran. And incidentally, the majority spans independents and even more than a fifth of Democratic voters. Yet a temporary energy price increase is a small price to pay in order to abolish the current Iranian regime, and the 47-year war it has waged against America.

Republicans would be advised to emphasize the mission in Iran, rather than trying to figure out the timing or the ultimate decline in energy prices. Americans are smarter and even more patriotic than politicians and the legacy press seem to think. Whooping Iran is going to be a sleeper issue in the midterms.

School districts in several states are facing mandates to incorporate electric buses into their school bus fleets, with the EVs bringing with them different operating costs and posing new challenges.

Several states, including New York and California, have implemented requirements that school districts buy zero-emission school buses with their new purchases. New York’s rule takes effect in 2027 for all new school bus purchases and has a fleet-wide goal of 2035 for the transition, while California’s new purchase mandate will take effect in 2035 with five-year extensions available for rural school districts.

Some school districts are getting ahead of the mandates and are experimenting with electric school buses and a new report on the operating costs shows that electric school buses pose different challenges for school districts than diesel school buses.

NEW YORK PARENTS SAY KIDS ‘FREEZE’ ON MANDATED ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES DURING BRUTAL WINTER WEATHER

Electric school buses pose new operational challenges for school districts transitioning their diesel school bus fleets. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A report by News10NBC of Rochester, New York, examined the financial impact of the Naples Central School District’s experience with electric buses, as the district used federal grants to buy two electric buses and related infrastructure that have now been in use for almost two full school years.

Transportation director and head mechanic Pat Elwell told News10NBC that the EVs that consumers drive as personal vehicles are “ahead of the curve” while electric buses “are not” because the “technology is not there, the batteries are not there.”

ARCTIC BLAST FUELS SCRUTINY OF BIDEN’S $8B ELECTRIC BUS PUSH AS WATCHDOGS CITE OVERSIGHT FAILURES

Electric buses offered a smoother ride and performed better going up hills, according to the report. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

He said that the district’s drivers report that the electric buses perform better in some respects, such as getting up hills and offering a smoother ride. However, he cautioned that performance is dependent on the temperature as they work best between 20 and 80 degrees, but temperatures outside that range can impact battery life.

Elwell told the outlet that about half of the time this winter, the district opted against using the electric buses since about 20% of their battery charge was going to heating the vehicles and that required a midday recharge to ensure they had sufficient battery for their afternoon routes.

ELECTRIC BUSES ARE SITTING UNUSED IN CITIES ACROSS THE US; HERE’S WHY

The report noted that electric buses struggle to maintain their batteries in cold and hot temperatures outside the 20 to 80 degree range. (iStock)

The outlet asked about how electric buses compare to diesel school buses in terms of operating costs, and Elwell said the district pays about 36 cents per mile to operate its diesel buses – which he noted is relatively stable because the district can buy fuel through state contracts.

“The electric on the other hand is all over the place because you never know from month to month what it’s going to be, so by the time you start factoring in your kilowatt-hour for the supply and the delivery and all the other charges just the same as you would for your diesel bill, we’re paying $3.18 per mile for an electric bus,” he told News10NBC.

Superintendent Kevin Swartz told the outlet that the difference in costs between an electric bus and a diesel bus is about $300,000 and that because of that differential, the district doesn’t have plans to buy additional electric buses at this time.

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Swartz said in the report that Naples is a “relatively small district who replaces two buses a year. Typically, that’s $600,000 in additional monies that the taxpayers would have to come up with and that’s exclusive of any charging or infrastructure upgrades we’d have to bring in if we went any further.”