LOS ANGELES — Motivational speaker and evangelist Nick Vujicic has directly addressed and debunked widespread online rumors claiming he is battling terminal cancer or has died, issuing a clear and uplifting message that he remains in excellent health and continues his global ministry work.

In a heartfelt video update posted to his official social media channels and YouTube in late April 2026, the 43-year-old Australian-born speaker, born without arms and legs due to tetra-amelia syndrome, looked directly into the camera with his characteristic warmth and humor. “I am healthy. I’m strong,” Vujicic said. “Just had a wonderful time of ministry and family. The news about me being dead is slightly exaggerated.”

The statement came after a surge of false posts, AI-generated images and chain messages flooded platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok claiming Vujicic was in critical condition with stage IV cancer or had already passed away. Several of the hoax posts used emotional language asking for prayers and linked to suspicious websites, a tactic commonly seen in celebrity death hoaxes designed to drive clicks and engagement.

Vujicic’s team and multiple Christian news outlets quickly pushed back against the misinformation. Sources close to his ministry confirmed he has been actively traveling, speaking at events and spending time with his wife Kanae and their four children. He is scheduled to appear at major gatherings including REACH 2026 and continues recording episodes for his “No Limbs, No Limits” podcast.

The rumors appear to be part of a recurring pattern. Vujicic has faced similar false death reports in previous years, a phenomenon that has become increasingly common for high-profile figures in the digital age. This latest wave gained traction in early April when fabricated stories began circulating alongside AI-manipulated images showing him in hospital settings.

In his video response, Vujicic used the moment to turn the negative attention into a positive message of faith and resilience. He encouraged his millions of followers worldwide not to believe everything they read online and to focus instead on truth, gratitude and living with purpose. “We all face challenges,” he said, “but God is faithful. I’m here, I’m grateful, and I’m excited about what’s ahead.”

Vujicic’s story has inspired tens of millions since he first began sharing his journey as a teenager. Born in Melbourne in 1982, he overcame severe bullying, depression and suicidal thoughts to become one of the world’s most sought-after motivational speakers. His books, including “Life Without Limits” and “Unstoppable,” have sold millions of copies, and his TED Talk-style presentations have been viewed hundreds of millions of times.

Despite having no limbs, Vujicic swims, surfs, plays golf and travels extensively to deliver messages of hope, faith and overcoming adversity. His nonprofit organization, Life Without Limbs, and Nick V Ministries focus on evangelism, disability advocacy and helping people discover their God-given potential.

The latest rumors surfaced amid a broader wave of celebrity health misinformation. Similar false reports have targeted other public figures, highlighting the speed and reach of social media hoaxes. Fact-checking organizations and Vujicic’s team urged people to verify information through official channels before sharing.

Vujicic’s wife, Kanae, also addressed the rumors briefly on social media, posting a recent family photo with the caption “We are all doing great, thank you for your prayers and love.” The couple, married since 2012, frequently share glimpses of their family life, which includes sons Kiyoshi and Dejan and twin daughters Ellie and Olivia.

Christian leaders and fellow speakers have rallied around Vujicic. Many used the moment to warn about the dangers of spreading unverified information, especially regarding someone whose ministry centers on hope and encouragement. “Nick has turned his limitations into a powerful platform for good,” one prominent pastor wrote. “Let’s honor that by speaking truth and praying for him rather than amplifying falsehoods.”

Vujicic has long been open about his physical challenges and the daily realities of living without limbs. In recent interviews, he has discussed the emotional and practical aspects of his condition while emphasizing gratitude and faith. His transparency has endeared him to audiences across cultures and faiths.

The motivational icon continues to maintain a busy schedule. Upcoming appearances include large youth events, corporate leadership conferences and international ministry trips. His team confirmed that no health issues are impacting his commitments and that he remains as active as ever.

For his global community of supporters, the false rumors provided an opportunity to reaffirm their connection with Vujicic. Thousands of encouraging messages poured in after his video response, with many sharing personal stories of how his testimony impacted their lives during difficult times.

As misinformation continues to challenge public figures, Vujicic’s calm and faith-filled response serves as a model. Rather than expressing frustration, he redirected the conversation toward hope, gratitude and the importance of discernment in the digital age.

Vujicic’s message remains consistent: limitations do not define a person. His life stands as living proof that purpose, joy and impact are possible regardless of circumstances. The latest episode of debunked rumors only reinforces the power of his story and the enduring strength of his platform.

While the internet may continue to circulate falsehoods, Nick Vujicic is alive, healthy and more committed than ever to inspiring others. His words offer comfort not just to his supporters but to anyone facing their own battles: the news of hardship or death is often greatly exaggerated, but hope and faith are very much alive.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Tuesday it would quit membership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+. It comes after 59 years at the club. But it could be good news for the world in the long run, experts say.

To understand what happened, it’s important to know that OPEC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia, is all about restricting crude oil output via quotas to raise energy prices, Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Capital Markets and an expert on geopolitics, told FOX Business, “The cartel producers discipline the member countries to produce only what the quotas allow and try to get a higher oil price for all.”

Soon after the news from the UAE, some media outlets were calling the change a win for President Donald Trump, who has long opposed OPEC’s efforts to keep energy prices high. Quitting OPEC could also be beneficial for the UAE, also known as the Emirates. 

UAE EXITS OPEC AND OPEC+, SEEKING OUTPUT FLEXIBILITY AS GLOBAL ENERGY MARKETS TIGHTEN

The Emirati flag flutters in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23, 2026. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)

“Outside of the cartel, the Emirates will be able to produce more oil,” Max Pyziur, research director at Energy Policy Research Foundation, told FOX Business. “It makes sense that they would want to break away.”

Specifically, the UAE can now increase its daily oil output. Before the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran, the Emirates produced 3.6 million barrels of oil a day, according to recent data from the International Energy Agency. But it now plans to increase output to as much as 5 million barrels a day in 2027.

Another part of the UAE leaving the cartel is that the country has been using its own 249-mile-long pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been difficult to pass since the war began. The pipeline gets the oil to the Gulf of Oman, Chandler says. “If the strait is reopened and the UAE has a lot to rebuild, it will sell more oil and not linger under the thumb of OPEC.”

Another reason for the Emirates leaving OPEC is the tension between Saudi Arabia, which dominates the oil quota system, and the UAE. “The two have been at loggerheads for a while,” Chandler says. Notably, the two countries have widely differing views about Yemen. On the Saudi view, Yemen is a possible threat as well as a potential buffer, while the UAE seeks to influence Yemen using proxies.

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President Donald Trump attends a business forum at Qasr Al Watan during the final stop of his Gulf visit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on May 16, 2025. (Amr Alfiky/Reuters)

On Tuesday, Brent Crude Oil was trading at $111 per barrel. That means the extra 1.4 million barrels the UAE is planning could provide much-needed cash to help repair the damage from the recent Iranian attacks. “The repair bill could be large for the UAE,” Clayton Seigle, senior fellow in the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program, told FOX Business.

Iran has had a big impact on the oil-rich countries in the Middle East. “We can assume that until the war began in late February, many countries thought that the U.S. bases were protective, as you had a U.S. presence,” Chandler says. The evidence is that while Iran did bomb countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, it also hit U.S. bases across the region. “Now Iran has shown the U.S. bases are a sign of vulnerability,” he said.

The UAE wasn’t the first to quit OPEC. Qatar did the same in 2019. But this change could lead more oil-rich OPEC members to leave the organization. So, who’s next?

OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algiers, Algeria, Sept. 28, 2016. (Ramzi Boudina/Reuters)

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“Iraq will probably be thinking that if rich UAE is quitting, then why should we be left holding the bag,” Seigle says. “The big risk is the domino effect with more countries following the UAE out the door, and that would weigh on medium-term oil prices.

Ultimately, analysts say a collapse of OPEC could lead to far lower oil prices worldwide.

California lawmakers are calling for the state’s high-speed rail project to be scrapped after projected costs have ballooned by more than 700%.

“This is a project that will never be built, and everybody in this building knows this project will never be built for the people of California and we keep wasting billions of dollars at a time where we have budget deficits,” state Sen. Tony Strickland, vice chair of the state’s Senate Transportation Committee, told Fox News Digital.

Strickland is calling for the project to be abandoned completely.

“I’ve been saying this for years now, but this is the most wasteful government project in probably world history,” he told the New York Post.

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State Sen. Tony Strickland speaks at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on March 2, 2026, at a press conference. (Anjali Sharif-Paul/MediaNews Group/The Sun via Getty Images)

The project received its first bond funding in 2008 and was originally slated for completion in 2020. Initial estimates also pegged its cost at between $33 billion and $45 billion.

But the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), the body in charge of the project, recently estimated that the first phase won’t be finished until 2032 in its 2026 business plan. And costs are now predicted to be in excess of $230 billion.

“It goes from a $33 billion projected estimate to the voters to go from LA to San Francisco. Now it’s $231 billion and climbing,” Strickland told the Post.

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Work continues on the California High Speed Rail, Hanford Viaduct. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The program was originally slated to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, but in 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom scrapped those plans, citing a lack of transparency.

“Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. I wish there were,” Newsom said in his 2019 state of the state speech.

Now, the efforts focus on a Central Valley transport corridor between Merced and Bakersfield.

Strickland, for his part, doesn’t believe the next Governor will continue the plan.

“Whoever the next governor is, Republican or Democrat, is going to face a multi-year budget deficit and to continue to dedicate this kind of money… when you’re talking about $231 billion that’s almost the cost of our entire state budget. Is one project worth that?” he asked Fox News Digital.

“Whoever the next governor is is going to face a multi, you know, multi-billion dollar deficit in the years to come, and uh, to be physically responsible, would be to scrap this and pull a plug on this. I firmly believe whoever the next governor is, no matter Republican or Democrat, will scrap this plan,” Strickland concluded.

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Lou Thompson, who chaired a state legislative peer review group responsible for reporting issues to CHSRA, called the project a “dead end” in a March letter to state leaders.

“The project began as a promise of service from San Francisco to Los Angeles… Now, in the Draft 2026 Business Plan, even the 171-mile Merced to Bakersfield cannot be completed by the end of 2032 without access to more funding,” Thompson wrote.

He also said CHSRA and the California legislature’s “state of denial should end.”

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Google Maps’ view of the distance between Bakersfield and Merced, California.  (Google Maps)

In July, President Donald Trump’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) pulled $4 billion in federal funding from CHSRA, citing the Golden State’s lack of cooperation on a previous agreement with FRA.

“To be clear, the mere promise of delivering the EOS someday and at some cost was not the bargain struck between FRA and CHSRA,” acting FRA Administrator Drew Feeley wrote in a letter to CHSRA at the time.

California initially sued the Trump administration for the move, but Attorney General Rob Bonta dropped the suit in December.

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California is now seeking private investment for the project, though skepticism still abounds.

“They’re talking about raising money from private capital, and I’ll tell you right now. I said it in the committee hearing. I wouldn’t invest. Would anybody invest in a project that started out as $33 billion, and now it’s $231 billion, and it was supposed to be done in 2020 and hasn’t even started and we’re in 2026?” Strickland asked.

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“Our country has never seen a fiscal disaster of this magnitude,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., also said in an X post. Additionally, Kiley told the Post the project was the “worst public infrastructure failure in U.S. history.”

Fox News Digital contacted Newsom’s office and Kiley for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Maine has officially joined the ranks of high-tax blue states as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a controversial new millionaire tax into law, sparking immediate warnings that the move will punish local business owners and stifle investment.

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the new law bypasses traditional Republican opposition to implementing a permanent income tax surcharge as it was included in a supplemental budget bill. The legislation, titled LD 2212, allows for a 2% tax on individual incomes exceeding $1 million and $1.5 million for joint filers.

It pushes Maine’s top marginal rate from 7.15% to 9.15% and impacts an estimated 2,600 filers, as the new tax is expected to bring in $160 million over the next two years.

Progressive lawmakers and Gov. Mills, who previously resisted such hikes, argue the tax is a necessary response to federal policies and a way to fund “Free Community College.”

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“This budget will deliver significant relief to Maine people facing rising prices because of the shortsighted actions of the Trump Administration,” Mills said in a press release. “The supplemental budget gives money directly back to the people of Maine, it builds on my Administration’s historic investments in housing, it makes Free Community College permanent, it delivers more property tax relief and funding for childcare and importantly, preserves critical funding for schools and health care for the coming years.”

A view of the harbor in Bernard, Maine. (Getty Images)

“Those who benefit the most from our economy do so because of the people, infrastructure and communities that support that success,” State Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell, told the Michigan Advance. “Asking for a small additional contribution from the wealthiest in our state is a reasonable and widely supported step toward a fairer system.” 

However, in the weeks following the law’s passage, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce has warned that it functions as a tax on local entrepreneurship and retirement.

“This new surcharge isn’t hitting Wall Street — it’s hitting the sale of local businesses that have kept people working for decades. When a Maine business owner finally sells after 30 years of hard work, we shouldn’t punish that moment of success,” former Maine senator and business owner Brian Langley said in a news conference.

“Many Maine businesses, particularly small and family-owned companies, would feel the direct impact of higher income taxes, reducing their ability to reinvest, grow and hire,” Maine State Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Patrick Woodcock added. “At a time when our economic outlook is uncertain, those resources should be focused on strengthening Maine’s long-term growth potential.”

Additionally, conservative fiscal watchdogs argue that Maine is moving in the opposite direction of the rest of the country, where many states are currently slashing rates to attract residents.

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“Twenty-three states have reduced their top marginal income tax rates since 2021, while six states have gone in the opposite direction, yielding a widening gulf between high- and low-income-tax states. The modest amount Maine could collect from a high-rate income tax isn’t worth the damage to the state’s economic competitiveness,” Tax Foundation’s Jared Walczak recently wrote.

Maine joins blue states Washington, Massachusetts and New Jersey in passing millionaire-related taxes. States like New York, Illinois and Michigan are examining proposals or facing stalled efforts.

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This story about the Federal Reserve’s April interest rate decision is developing and will be updated with further details.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced it will leave interest rates unchanged amid concerns about inflation rising further amid the war in Iran.

Fed policymakers voted to leave the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The move follows the central bank’s decision to hold rates steady in January and March after three successive 25-basis-point rate cuts in September, October and December to close out last year.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank’s panel responsible for monetary policy moves, voted 11-1 to leave interest rates unchanged. Fed Governor Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a 25-basis-point cut. 

Three other FOMC members – Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan – dissented as they opposed the inclusion of language showing a bias toward easing interest rates. The four total dissents were the highest total for a FOMC meeting since 1992.

The FOMC meeting is expected to be the last under the leadership of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as his term as Fed chairman is due to expire on May 15. Powell said at his press conference that he intends to continue serve his term as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors for a period of time that’s to be determined due to his concerns regarding the Trump administration’s investigations of the Fed.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors runs until January 31, 2028, though his chairmanship officially ends next month. (Li Yuanqing/Xinhua via Getty Images)

The FOMC’s statement noted that the war in the Middle East is “contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook,” and that the economy is expanding with low levels of job gains and inflation elevated due to the recent rise in global energy prices.

Powell opened his press conference by saying that policymakers are “squarely focused on achieving our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people.”

He noted that the slowdown in job growth stems from a “decline in the growth of the labor force due to lower immigration and labor force participation,” and said that inflation has risen recently due in part to the “significant rise in global oil prices that has resulted from the conflict in the Middle East.”

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Powell was asked about the impact of the ongoing oil price shock and said that “in the textbook, you would look through an oil shock because they tend to be short-lived and they tend to revert, and monetary policy works with long and variable lags, so you know, you wouldn’t necessarily react right away.”

“That’s all the more true given that we’re several years above 2% inflation and we’re already looking through the tariff shock, so I think we’re going to be very cautious about that. But the question about looking through energy really is not in front of us right now, it hasn’t even peaked yet, and I think we’d want to see the back side of that and progress on tariffs before we even thought about reducing rates,” he explained.

President Donald Trump appointed Powell as Fed chair in 2017, but has repeatedly criticized him and threatened to fire him in the years since. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP / Getty Images)

FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence noted the four dissents in the FOMC statement and asked Powell if he’s handing a divided Fed to his successor.

“The thing to remember is, we have always had vigorous debates and they’re excellent debates, I have to say, they’ve been really good. And we’re in an unusually difficult situation, we’ve really had four supply shocks – you could actually say more than four, but at minimum, we had the pandemic, we had the invasion of Ukraine, we had the tariffs, and now we have Iran and the oil spike,” Powell said. 

“Every supply shock has the capability of driving inflation up and unemployment up, and the central bank has a really hard time knowing what to do. So the right thing to do is to try to balance the achievement of those two goals, and that’s what our framework calls for us to do,” he said. “It’s only natural that you have a range of views on the committee… if everybody agreed, that would be surprising, and I think it’s partly a function of extraordinarily challenging set of supply shocks that we’ve been dealing with now for five or six years.”

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What’s next for Jerome Powell?

Powell said that this would be his last press conference as chair and congratulated his expected successor, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, on his nomination advancing from the Senate Banking Committee earlier on Wednesday. 

He said that he plans to continue serving as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors following the conclusion of his term as chairman due to lingering concerns over the Trump administration’s legal actions against the Fed.

“I welcomed the announcement last Friday by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia that she had closed the criminal investigation. She also noted, however, that she would not hesitate to restart the investigation. Over the weekend, the Department of Justice provided assurances that they will not reopen the investigation unless there’s a criminal referral from the Fed’s inspector general. And if they do appeal the recent court decision, they would not seek, as part of that appeal, to restart the investigation, or send new subpoenas,” Powell said.

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He said that he’s encouraged by recent developments and his decisions on these matters “will continue to be guided entirely by what I believe is in the best interest of the institution and the people we serve.”

“My concern is really about the series of illegal attacks on the Fed which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors. And I want to note here, this has nothing whatever to do with verbal criticism by elected officials. I’ve never suggested that such verbal criticism is a problem, and neither has anyone else here,” Powell explained.

“But these legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113-year history and there are ongoing threats of additional such actions. So I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public – which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors,” he added. 

“It is so important for economy, for the people that we serve, that they can depend, over time, on a central bank that operates that way free of political influence. It’s part of the absolute foundation of this amazing economy that we have, it’s just one of the many reasons why the U.S. economy is the envy of the world,” Powell said.

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The outgoing Fed chair added that he previously planned to retire at the end of his chairmanship, but that he’s waiting for the “investigation to be well and truly over with finality and transparency, and I’m waiting for that, and I will leave when I think it’s appropriate to do so.”

Powell said that he plans to “keep a low profile as a governor. There’s only ever one chair of the Federal Reserve Board, when Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that chair once sworn in… his new colleagues will elect him to chair the FOMC as well.”

What experts are saying about interest rates