It’s Friday. Congrats on making it through another week. This is Brett and I’m going to guide you through all of today’s news (and there’s a whole lot of it), so remember to like and restack to spread the word.
I also hope you have a chance to listen to today’s episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast featuring me and my brothers. You can listen right here:
Here are the top stories we’re tracking:
Iran fires 4 anti-ship cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, IRGC Navy strikes UAQ tanker called the Trend
Houthis hit Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port and damaged an Italian Eurofighter at King Fahd Air Base
Tehran’s “Sacrifice for Iran” parade drew hundreds of thousands, plus a women’s 10K and mock coffins of Trump and Netanyahu
Poland’s Donald Tusk warns Russia is planning hybrid strikes on NATO territory
The Trump regime is reportedly weighing business deals with Russia before the war ends, while the Pentagon considers pulling 25K troops from Europe
JP Morgan now admits it can’t even model how the oil crisis caused by Trump will end
Diesel hits new record highs, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is depleted even more, and ExxonMobil’s Joliet refinery is down
Major airlines are cutting flights over fuel costs
RFK Jr. downplays measles deaths, while Rick Scott says AI companies should self-regulate
Massie and Khanna say they have 218 signatures for a new Epstein Files vote
Todd Blanche appeals the order to hand Katie Phang unredacted FBI files
And much more…
Now let’s get into it.
Iran Sends Trump a Message
Earlier, explosions were heard once again in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran fired 4 anti-ship cruise missiles at vessels it claims are violating its regulations there. That came right as the U.S. was attempting to escort ships through the southern Oman route. Some of those ships had to turn around.
The IRGC Navy also struck a UAE-owned tanker called the Trend, which had its AIS switched off for 38 hours. UKMTO also issued a new warning about a security incident near Khasab, Oman, saying the crew is safe but authorities are investigating. As of now, it seems only 2 or 3 tankers a day are managing to make it through the Strait at all.
Over in Tehran, somewhere between 300K and a half a million people marched in a “Sacrificers for Iran” parade, with Iranian drones on display and mock coffins of Trump and Netanyahu making yet another appearance. There was also a women’s-only 10K event at Velayet Park, and the Chief Rabbi of Iran’s Jewish community showed up to the military ceremony. The Iranian regime is certainly trying to project to the world a far different image of their country than the Trump regime wants people to have.
Netanyahu told a Likud event that bringing down the Iranian regime remains his top mission, and bragged about how he works to influence the American media and public opinion to make sure the United States remains locked in.
So naturally, Trump spent the day attacking CNN on social media as “unwatchable and failing,” sharing a Newsmax op-ed about how he’s “lifting all boats,” and reposting that Wendy’s brought back its old yellow packaging, with the official White House account thanking Trump for it.
Trump’s Gas Problem
The United States’s gas crisis is growing. American, United, and Southwest Airlines have all started to cut flights because jet fuel is up 108% since Trump started the war. American says the latest fuel spike alone is adding about a billion dollars to its fourth quarter expenses. Diesel hit a new record today, $6.45 a gallon, up 40 cents in one week. Where I live in California, diesel is averaging $8.40 a gallon. Here’s a photo I took last weekend, which shocked me when I saw it. The prices are even higher today.
In fact, every single state is now above $6 a gallon for diesel, with only Texas and Oklahoma barely holding under it. I wouldn’t be surprised if those, too, passed $6 a gallon even as I write this.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve just posted its 25th straight weekly decline and is now down to 285M barrels. That’s the lowest since 1982. Engineers are also warning that draining the underground salt caverns storing the oil much further could cause real structural damage. And if that wasn’t enough, ExxonMobil’s Joliet refinery, which is one of the largest diesel plants in the Midwest, is down after a power outage, and Saudi Arabia just informed European refiners they will be allocating zero crude next month because their East-West pipeline got hit by the Houthis. JPMorgan put out a report essentially admitting they have zero model at all anymore for how this all ends. And Pakistan has imposed lockdown-like measures of its own, banning new government vehicle purchases and forcing markets to close by 9pm.
Trump Wants Deals with Putin while Congress Votes on Sanctions
Congress just passed a Russian sanctions bill with secondary sanctions attached, and immediately, every BRICS country said they’re ignoring it. Meanwhile, the NYT reports that Trump’s team is considering business deals with Russia before the war in Ukraine ends. Plus, the Pentagon is reportedly looking at pulling 25K troops out of Europe (about 1/3 of our presence there), as Poland’s Donald Tusk warns that Russia may stage hybrid drone or rocket strikes on NATO territory and pretend the attacks are accidents. Italy, meanwhile, says it will send warships to protect its vessels through the Bab el-Mandeb strait rather than wait on an EU decision.
How AI Almost Sparked a World War
CNN is out with some stunning reporting today. They say the U.S. military nearly launched an operation against a Chinese ship after an AI-assisted intel report claimed it was carrying nuclear weapons components. It wasn’t. The info was made up. Totally fake. U.S. officials discovered shortly before the planned military action that the AI-generated report was inaccurate.
The Propaganda Machine Keeps Running
Trump posted a Fox chart claiming prices are lower under him than they were under Biden. Right as diesel and gas hit records. Great timing, Donald! Trump’s Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka says he doesn’t care at all about gas prices because we’re about to “win,” and if you think gas prices matter more than that, you’re a traitor. I keep seeing variations of this line from Republicans. It basically boils down to either you’re ok with high gas prices, or you hate America and want our enemies to win. As someone who grew up during the post 9/11 years, this sort of rhetoric is giving me flashbacks to what brought us into Iraq and Afghanistan.
HUD’s Bill Pulte says homes are now 20% to 30% cheaper under Trump. Umm…
RFK Jr. says that all reporters want to focus on are kids dying from measles, but they won’t highlight all the kids dying or injured by vaccines. This is the man running our nation’s health system! This sort of rhetoric is so false and so dangerous.
Rick Scott, the man whose company committed the largest Medicare fraud in American history at the time, says AI companies should just regulate themselves.
Karoline Leavitt encouraged Republicans to vote in the midterms, telling them “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” What good?!?!?
Trump also spent time this week pushing a Senate bill to cap what college athletes can earn from name, image, and likeness deals, framing it as one of the biggest issues facing the country.
Priorities!
Epstein and Other Legal News
Reps. Thomas Massie and Khanna say they’ve locked in all 218 signatures to force a vote on the NEW Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would allow survivors and state attorneys general to sue the DOJ directly.
Christopher Steele’s firm (he’s the guy back in the day who put together the infamous Trump dossier) is dragging Trump into Scottish court, seeking nearly 790,000 pounds tied to Turnberry, while Todd Blanche filed a notice of appeal to try to avoid coughing up the Epstein Files documents demanded by the judge in Katie Phang’s case. The appeal targets an order that requires Blanche to provide Sullivan with the unredacted handwritten FBI notes from interviews with a victim who alleged Donald Trump sexually abused her when she was 13–15 years old.
Ok, that was a lot. Breathe. We’re going to get through this. But there is a reason we called our book WTF America… Because, well WTF?!! Preorder the book today if you haven’t yet and let’s get out of this hell together. Let us know if you did in the comments.
Thanks as always, and shoutout to the Meidas Mighty.
Rick Scott should self regulate his mouth.
The Mall in Scottsboro Alabama is very popular with the MAGA crowd. During a recent thunderstorm, it lost power. Many people were trapped on the escalator for more than four hours. 😂