It’s a familiar situation for Oregonians: A global event causes the price of oil — the main component of gasoline — to surge.

Then, the price at the pump goes up across the nation. But in Oregon? The price is already higher for a gallon of regular gasoline.

The U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran is the latest international event to spark the cycle.

Over the last month, gas prices have spiked. A month ago, the U.S. average was just under $3.00 per gallon, while the average in Oregon hovered around $3.65, according to AAA.

The national average for gasoline Monday is $3.71 per gallon, but Oregonians are paying an average of $4.48 for a gallon of regular gas, according to the nonprofit member club American Automobile Association (AAA). That’s the fifth highest in the nation after California, Hawaii, Washington and Nevada.

At least in the short term, the high price of crude oil is increasing gasoline prices. That’s happening at the same time that many gas stations in the U.S. are switching over to the more expensive summer blend gasoline. Over the long term, Oregon frequently has higher gas prices than other states due to high taxes, lack of refineries that turn oil into gasoline and environmental policies that deter increased gasoline production in the region.

It’s impossible to divorce the price of gasoline from the price of crude oil, gasoline’s main component. Even though the U.S. is the world’s top oil producer, much of that oil is exported and becomes a part of the global energy market. Oil is a highly sought-after international commodity, with the price and distribution largely dictated by the global market.

When Iran retaliated against U.S. and Israeli bombings by closing a major oil trade route, the Strait of Hormuz, it shrunk the available global supply of oil. Buyers that normally purchase oil that travels through the strait are looking for other sources. Those shifts in supply and demand are helping drive up the price of crude oil around the globe.

“We’re not seeing a [crude oil] shortage, but we are seeing our friends in Asia and Europe knock on the door for additional supplies from us,” Robert McCullough, Portland energy expert and consultant, said. “And as they do that, of course, the big players on the West Coast are raising their prices domestically to match their opportunities internationally.”

Something similar happened after Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, McCullough said, pushing prices up to multi-year highs for everything from food to fuel to construction equipment.

“Oil is used throughout the economy,” McCullough said. “We make everything out of it. The things that will be most immediately apparent are fertilizer, heavy transport, jet fuel, retail gasoline — but each one of those then reverberates. It’s like you rang a bell and it goes ‘bing bing bing bing bing’ afterwards.”

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 16, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 16 drawing

07-10-20-47-52, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 16 drawing

1PM: 1-4-2-0

4PM: 7-8-5-1

7PM: 7-2-9-7

10PM: 8-2-0-8

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Win for Life numbers from March 16 drawing

05-44-46-66

Check Win for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Megabucks numbers from March 16 drawing

05-12-15-23-28-31

Check Megabucks payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
• Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
• Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.

PORTLAND, Ore. — There’s renewed debate in Salem over whether the state should cooperate with immigration authorities in cases where federal forces are trying to deport people who have finished sentences in state prisons, after Democrats voted down a Republican effort requiring the state to do so.

Republicans shared 2022 DOC data showing nearly 600 of the roughly 12,000 individuals in Oregon Dept. of Corrections (DOC) custody at the time had an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer—a request from ICE to turn over an individual before releasing them.

The state currently does not track citizenship status; KATU requested the current number of active ICE detainers on individuals in DOC custody and awaiting the updated number.

The specific question is whether ICE agents should be allowed to arrest an undocumented migrant inside the prison, once their sentence is over, or in the community after they’ve been released.

States like Minnesota and California allow it. In California’s case, the state contacts ICE 10 to 15 days before an individual is released. If ICE agents decide to take custody of the individual, the transfer happens inside a state facility.

California’s data shows that scenario is played out hundreds of time per year.

SEE ALSO | Federal judge hands DHS another court loss, extends tear gas restrictions at ICE facility

Currently, Oregon law does not allow ICE agents inside prisons or permit the state to coordinate pick-ups with ICE inside the facility.

KATU spoke to an Oregon Republican and an Oregon Democrat about the topic.

“It’s not fair to the average Oregon citizen that works here and pays taxes and then doesn’t feel safe in their own state due to our immigration policies,” Republican Rep. Alek Skarlatos said.

“I think before we get to that, we have to build a trust with the federal government and our federal law enforcement,” Democratic Rep. Ricki Ruiz said.

Republican Skarlatos said that while he wants greater cooperation, he’d vote for a bill limiting that cooperation to people convicted of murder and rape.

“You have to make a choice who you’re siding with here: the population of Oregon or illegal heinous criminals, just that group, we’re not even lumping all the illegal immigrants into the same category here,” Skarlatos said.

Ruiz, like many Democrats, is not supportive at the moment of expanded cooperation. He argued for longer detention of people convicted of crimes like rape and murder.

“I’m going to believe if someone breaks the law in the United States, they ought to be held to the extent of the law of the United States, and if there’s a murderer coming out who’s already been convicted of murder or rape and coming out on parole, then we have a problem, and we have to fix it as soon as possible,” Ruiz said.

Recent Pew polling shows the vast majority of Americans support deporting individuals convicted of violent crimes. Republicans argue that shows support for expanded cooperation with ICE.

Ruiz argued the high-profile arrests of American citizens and children and families seeking asylum undercut the argument for cooperating with ICE.

“Say someone is convicted of a crime and they get a 15-year sentence. When that sentence is up and they have a civil deportation process requested against them, should they be handed over to ICE or should they be released and then arrested at some point in the future by ICE?” KATU asked Ruiz.

“I think that requires a very lengthy conversation. My hesitation, I think if you were asking me this question a couple years ago, I’d give you a different answer. But I think now with the tactics that I’ve seen, that’s our government using, I definitely have a lot of red flags,” Ruiz said.

He continued, “But at this moment in time, I’m just, there’s a lot of red flags with how they were operating, and I hope there’s a time and place in where we can have a conversation on accountability and how we can continue to build that trust moving forward.”

“One concern we’ve heard from Democrats is that we’ve seen ICE arrest the wrong people in certain cases. There have been a handful of cases where they’ve arrested American citizens, and there have been very public uses of force that make people uncomfortable. If people see that and are concerned about cooperating with an agency like that, what is your argument to support cooperation there?” KATU asked Skarlatos.

“Again, that’s exactly why we should be allowing ICE into our jail and prisons to arrest people there, so there’s not these violent confrontations. I mean, to me it’s an easy answer there. The more you cooperate, the less likely there is to be an incident like that,” Skarlatos said.

He continued, saying, “I understand we don’t like ICE in the state of Oregon for whatever reason, but I don’t think that’s a reason to allow murders and rapists on the streets with regular Oregon citizens.”