US Halting Some Weapons Shipments To Ukraine As Own Military Stockpiles Plummet

Iran and the US have exchanged strikes for nearly two weeks since a fragile ceasefire reached in spring collapsed. Both sides are also accusing each other of violating a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU), the interim peace deal signed on June 17th.

Donald Trump allegedly made the call, according to US officials cited in a New York Times report. At the same time, Trump also warned that full-scale war could resume at any time.

On Thursday, Trump threatened Iran and the Houthis with “major military punishment” after the Yemen-based group struck two Saudi oil tankers, telling Axios he was considering a “massive attack” against Iran that would be “bigger than ever before.”

According to the article published on Saturday, the decision followed a meeting with senior advisers and cabinet officials a day earlier that reportedly focused on the Pentagon’s shrinking inventory of Patriot interceptors and other air defenses. Two people briefed on the discussion told the outlet that officials also feared a wider regional war, alienating Gulf allies vulnerable to Iranian retaliation, a global economic downturn, and growing energy and refugee crises. –RT

The New York Times further reported that “few if any in Mr. Trump’s inner circle believed the plan to escalate was wise.” The article cited two people who were briefed on the discussion with the US ruler. One senior US official argued that further strikes were keeping Iran cohesive and focused on an external threat rather than forcing the Islamic Republic to come to the table and engage in negotiations.

An analysis in April by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that the initial campaign consumed at least 45% of America’s Precision Strike Missiles, nearly half of its Patriot interceptors, more than half of its THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles, and around 30% of its Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The CSIS reported in May that rebuilding US stockpiles of weapons would be a “multiyear project.”

Brent crude surged 27% over two weeks to settle at $96.78 a barrel on Friday, briefly breaching $100 this past week as traders priced in a higher war-risk premium into energy markets amid simultaneous chokepoint threats to the Strait of Hormuz and the southern Red Sea.

Meanwhile, the US appeared to pause its 13-day campaign of daily overnight strikes against Iran. While there was no indication that the operational halt would extend into next week, the pause certainly reinforces the diplomatic signals highlighted in our US-Iran wrap on Friday.

However, there was an escalation overnight with Saudi-led strikes on Iran-backed Houthi targets in Hodeida. This comes after the terror group attacked multiple Saudi-linked tankers in the southern Red Sea area.

Houthis escalate with attacks against Saudi Arabia: 

Saudi Arabian oil refinery reportedly hit by Houthi missile: 

The confrontation threatens to open a second major front in the Gulf conflict. With traffic through Hormuz largely paralyzed, sustained Houthi attacks on Yanbu or ships entering Bab al-Mandab Strait could disrupt millions of barrels of Saudi exports, raise shipping costs, and further tighten physical markets.

Hormuz Traffic

Bab al-Mandab Strait Traffic

Commodity desks from JPMorgan, RBC, Goldman Sachs and others warned this past week that spreading “strait chaos” across the Gulf and widening disruptions to regional energy flows could drive further upside in crude if the conflict persists. Brent has returned to the $90s after briefly trading above $100 a barrel.

Here’s what top commodity desks are saying:

•Goldman Warns Brent Could Top $120 If Gulf Chokepoint Crisis Deepens

•RBC Commodities Chief Warns “War Entering Dangerous Phase” As Chokepoint Chaos Risks Oil Above 2008 Peak

•Gas Prices Nearing Levels That Could Push Trump Towards Iran Talks, Says JPM Commodities Expert

And then there’s this:

•Nine Potential Commodity Wildcards As “Once-A-Decade” Shocks Become New Normal

Red Sea disruption already materialized on Friday when a Hong Kong-flagged supertanker decided to turn away before reaching Bab el-Mandeb and to instead transit around the Cape of Good Hope, reinforcing longer freight times, higher rates, and more disruptions:

•Oil Tanker Makes Red Sea U-Turn After Houthi Threats, Reroutes Around Africa In Costly Transit

There is good news because US-allied Gulf countries are either planning or already developing new pipeline and port projects to bypass the Hormuz chokepoint entirely, which in the long run will erode Tehran’s leverage on the critical waterway:

•Seven Pipeline Projects That Could Break Iran’s Grip On Hormuz Chokepoint

Here are the latest overnight developments, courtesy of Bloomberg:

US Strikes & Pause

• Iran reported no US strikes overnight on Saturday, marking an apparent break after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly US attacks.

• US strikes had progressively expanded in scope over two weeks, targeting bridges and infrastructure deeper inside Iran, following a collapsed ceasefire and renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz.

• Trump said on Friday he has not yet made a decision on whether to conduct major strikes against Iran, while noting US-Iran talks are continuing through VP Vance, Secretary Rubio, and others.

• Trump had previously told Axios he was considering a “massive attack” on Iran, saying the country “hasn’t received enough pain yet” and is not ready to make a deal.

Strait of Hormuz

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday they stopped four ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after firing warning shots.

• The US and UK are planning a high-level international conference in London next week focused on forming a coalition to protect maritime shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to two European diplomats and other sources.

• An LPG tanker with 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters on Friday; India’s embassy confirmed the crew is safe.

Regional Escalation

• Houthis claimed to have struck Saudi Arabia with missiles on Saturday morning, targeting southern Saudi provinces; Saudi authorities issued emergency warnings before lifting them for Jazan.

• Bahrain and Kuwait secretly sent warplanes to strike drone- and missile-storage depots inside Iran earlier this month, according to people familiar with the matter, their first such direct retaliation against Tehran.

Diplomacy & Sanctions

• China urged Iran and the US to return to implementing their ceasefire memorandum, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressing deep concern over renewed escalation at an SCO meeting in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

• Pakistan is exploring a path toward resuming stalled US-Iran talks following a push initiated by China, according to three Pakistani sources cited by Reuters; obstacles to talks remain high.

• The US Treasury imposed new sanctions on Friday on the network of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, targeting four individuals and nine entities linked to sanctions evasion and digital asset exchanges.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States climbed back above $4 on July 20, 2026, according to American Automobile Association data. The average stood at $4.0030, marking a return to a level that analysts describe as a politically sensitive threshold for American consumers. [6]

The increase followed a week of renewed hostilities in the Middle East, including Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and nine consecutive nights of U.S. military strikes against Iran. [8] Brent crude futures rose more than 3% on the day, pushing above $90 a barrel, as the conflict disrupted tanker traffic through the strategic waterway. [8]

Reasons for the Price Increase

Crude oil prices surged 16% in the past week, the largest weekly jump since April, according to market data. [8] The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil supplies transited before the war, was effectively closed again after a brief reopening in late June, cutting off shipments from the Persian Gulf. [3]

The closure has been described as the largest supply disruption in recorded history, with the International Energy Agency releasing a record 400 million barrels from emergency reserves in March to stabilize markets. [2] The renewed escalation includes Iranian missiles targeting U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as a container ship attack in the strait. [12]

The U.S. military has carried out a tenth consecutive night of strikes aimed at degrading Iranian capabilities and reopening the waterway. [9] Historical context from Robert Bryce in “Gusher of Lies” notes that U.S. policy has long been to protect Persian Gulf oil flows, with the Reagan administration formalizing that commitment through National Security Decision Directive 114 in 1983. [4]

Impact on U.S. Fuel Prices

Diesel prices have also risen, again exceeding $5 per gallon nationally, according to GasBuddy data. [6] In San Francisco, diesel had already surpassed $8 per gallon in April, reflecting the severe supply disruptions affecting the West Coast. [1]

The price hike ends an eight-week decline that had brought the national average down from a war-era peak of $4.57 per gallon in May. [6] The broader economic impact is significant. U.S. inflation surged to 4.2% in May, the highest in three years, driven primarily by rising energy costs. [11]

Credit card debt reached a record $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, with delinquency rates at a 15-year high, as households struggled to absorb higher fuel and food prices. [14] Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith argue in “Black Gold Stranglehold” that oil companies must take the lead in explaining how to end dependence on foreign oil, noting that conservation alone will not solve the structural vulnerabilities exposed by such crises. [5]

Analyst Perspectives

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, predicted on July 13 that the national average would reach $4 per gallon within 7 to 10 days. [6] By July 19, De Haan stated that the eight-week decline in gasoline prices had ended and that the second straight week of increase was beginning. He added that diesel had again risen above $5 per gallon. [6]

Analysts caution that physical oil flows, shipping networks, and refinery supply chains take much longer to normalize than futures markets suggest. Low global inventories and the need to replenish strategic stockpiles could create sustained demand for crude even after supply disruptions ease. [7] The energy shock, according to some observers, involves actual destruction of supply chains and production facilities, unlike the embargoes of the 1970s or the 2022 Russia-Ukraine disruption. [16]

Conclusion

The conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global oil flows, with no immediate resolution in sight. Iran has effectively sealed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage that Iran can threaten with relative impunity due to geography, resulting in a near-total embargo on Persian Gulf energy exports. [15] The global economy faces an extended energy crisis, as oil production in the Persian Gulf has fallen 57% from pre-war levels, and rationing and shortages have already appeared in some countries. [13]

Gasoline prices are expected to remain elevated as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. Even if the waterway reopens, structural damage to infrastructure and depleted inventories mean that pre-war price levels are unlikely to return quickly. The economic cost has already been substantial: Moody’s Analytics estimates that the war has cost the average American household about $1,000, with $300 spent on higher gasoline costs alone. [10]

References

1. 1. Sterling Ashworth. “Diesel Prices Exceed $8 Per Gallon in San Francisco as Supply Disruptions Affect California.” NaturalNews.com. April 7, 2026.
   2. Cassie B.. “IEA Releases 400 Million Barrels from Reserves After Strait of Hormuz Closure Sparks Historic Oil Crisis.” NaturalNews.com. March 12, 2026.
   3. Lance D Johnson. “A Global Supply Shock: As Trump’s Iran War Shuts the Strait of Hormuz, Economic Recession Becomes the Unavoidable Cost.” NaturalNews.com. April 1, 2026.
   4. Robert Bryce. “Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence.”
   5. Jerome R Corsi and Craig R Smith. “Black Gold Stranglehold.”
   6. ZeroHedge. “US Gas Prices Cross Politically Sensitive $4 Level Closely Watched By Trump.” July 20, 2026.
   7. Robert Rapier via OilPrice.com. “When Will Gasoline Prices Return To Pre-War Levels?” ZeroHedge. June 22, 2026.
   8. Epoch Times. “Oil Jumps Above $90, Gas Prices Top $4 Per Gallon as US-Iran Fighting Intensifies.” July 20, 2026.
   9. NTD. “US Launches New Strikes on Iran as Trump Vows Retaliation for Americans Killed.” July 20, 2026.
   10. Middle East Eye. “Moody’s economist: Iran war has cost average American household $1,000.” June 30, 2026.
   11. NTD. “US Inflation Surges to Highest Level Since April 2023.” June 10, 2026.
   12. FreightWaves. “Container ship attacked in Strait of Hormuz as Iran widens war.” July 13, 2026.
   13. Activist Post. “Oil Production In The Persian Gulf Has Fallen 57 Percent From Pre-War Levels – Rationing And Shortages Are Coming.” May 12, 2026.
   14. Willow Tohi. “Credit card debt hits record $1.25 trillion with delinquencies at an alarming 15-year high.” NaturalNews.com. June 2, 2026.
   15. Mike Adams. “Bright Videos News – Interview with Seth Holehouse.” BrightVideos.com. March 30, 2026.
   16. Chris Martenson. “Energy Shock, Inflation, and Market Complacency: What Wins.” PeakProsperity.com. April 3, 2026.

The US has, historically, been unconcerned with the precedents it sets. It tends to carry a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude with regard to war, especially. A great example of this was the war crimes committed against Venezuela in the name of preventing “narco terrorism.”

War Crimes Stacking Up: Three More Killed In US Attack On A Venezuelan Boat

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump warned that “from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls.” He said that “these damages may be very substantial,” describing it as “the fair and equitable thing to do.”

Trump did not clarify exactly which assets he was referring to.

The remarks came hours after Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a group with strong ties to Iran, claimed strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The US has also accused Iran of targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran has insisted that any passing ships should abide by the regulations it imposed. –RT

In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump warned Tehran that it would face “major military punishment” over the Houthi strikes. He called the Yemeni group a “surrogate and/or proxy of Iran.” He said America dealt “very powerfully” with the Houthis a year earlier and expressed disappointment that the group is “starting up again” after acting “professionally” during the conflict with Iran.

Attacks On Shipping Vessels In The Red Sea Have Returned

Araghci said that “once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe,” and the “ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”

Contrary to the popular assumption that centralized political power was necessary to destroy slavery, federal power spent much of its history protecting and enforcing the institution. This privatized costs for a privileged few and socialized and diffused the costs onto others in society. This is a common reality with any state intervention; indeed, it is the point of state intervention.

It should be noted that slavery was historically normal (not just) and free labor was the true “peculiar institution.” As this author has argued on numerous occasions, slavery can exist wherever one person can overpower another and forcibly expropriate production from him, but—being economically costly to maintain—slavery usually required the legal protection of state power to privatize gains to a slave oligarchy and socialize costs onto others.

The Constitution accommodated slavery, Congress protected it, federal courts upheld it, and federal officers enforced fugitive slave laws. Only after certain slaveholding states attempted to leave the Union—explicitly citing slavery as a principal cause of secession—did the federal government cease acting as slavery’s protector and begin acting as its destroyer. The American nation-state was willing to abandon its decades-long legal protections of chattel slavery in exchange for keeping the Union together by force. In the sharp assessment of Lysander Spooner, the Civil War was,

. . .a war carried on, upon one side, for chattel slavery, and on the other for political slavery; upon neither for liberty, justice, or truth. And these crimes have been committed, and this war waged, by men, and the descendants of men, who, less than a hundred years ago, said that all men were equal, and could owe neither service to individuals, nor allegiance to governments, except with their own consent.

Regarding the American story, progressive and mainstream conservatives share some common presuppositions and common strategies for different goals. Progressives attempt to disavow and delegitimize American history and the American political tradition as irrelevant or morally problematic in favor of a modern, powerful nation-state equipped with extraordinary power to achieve “equality.”

Similarly, mainstream conservatives—wanting to rescue the American tradition for their political ends—will draw a direct line from the American Revolution to the Constitution, then to the Civil War’s ending of slavery, then to the modern Civil Rights regime. According to the conservatives, like the progressives, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed an unmet ideal—egalitarian equality—which could only be achieved by a centralized American state, complete with a bloody war of unification and modern civil rights legislation.

In short, the progressives want you to feel bad and embarrassed about problematic aspects of American history and thankful that the modern state and more enlightened elites were given enough power to begin to achieve egalitarian equity. On the other hand, the mainstream conservatives want you to feel proud of America and overlook its historical flaws because the state and more enlightened elites were given enough power to begin to achieve egalitarian “equality of opportunity.” Both prioritize egalitarianism and the big government necessary to achieve it over liberty.

Underlying both views is the presupposition that big government and centralization entail enlightened, just regimes willing and able to end slavery and discrimination. Conversely, decentralization, state independence, and individual liberty are portrayed as allowing for unacceptable outcomes that benefit systems like chattel slavery.

Always in search of oversimplified and symmetrical historical narratives, people often come unwittingly to conclusions about history that are both imprecise and inaccurate. For example, if the Federal-Union side of the Civil War fought to prevent secession and this eventually played into ending slavery, then: 1) ending slavery must have been the goal all along; 2) ending slavery provides post-hoc moral justification for the war of unification; 3) all or most on the Federal-Union side must have supported the ending of slavery via war; 4) all in the seceding slave states must have equally supported slavery; and, 5) all proponents of decentralization and secession must have also been pro-slavery.

The above short list are superficial, imprecise, and inaccurate conclusions many draw about the Civil War because of ignorance and/or for failure to make careful and logical distinctions. It has been assumed that all pro-secessionists in America prior to the Civil War were also pro-slavery, however, not only were many pro-secessionists not pro-slavery, but many were actually staunch abolitionists. This article provides a sample of just a few of them besides Lysander Spooner (quoted above).

William Rawle (1759–1836)

William Rawle was the founder and president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, so an ardent opponent of slavery to say the least. Rawle was an accomplished lawyer and, in 1791, George Washington appointed him to the attorney general of Pennsylvania. His View of the Constitution was widely read.

What did this widely-read Northern abolitionist—possibly even read by the military leadership of the Civil War—argue concerning state secession?

Among the several quotes from Rawle on the subject, Rawle wrote,

The secession of a state from the Union depends on the will of the people of such state. . . . To withdraw from the Union [secede] comes not within the general scope of their delegated authority. (emphasis added)

The states, then, may wholly withdraw from the Union, but while they continue, they must retain the character of representative republics. (emphasis added)

William Leggett (1801–1839)

William Leggett was an American poet, fiction writer, and journalist. He was a laissez-faire populist Jacksonian Democrat. He also became an outspoken opponent of slavery. Leggett argued that the Union was not worth preserving at the expense of liberty and justice. If maintaining the Union required continual concessions to slaveholding interests, Leggett contended that dissolution would be preferable.

He wrote,

If, however, the political union of these states is only to be preserved by yielding to the claims set up by the south; if the tie of confederation is of such a kind that the breath of free discussion will inevitably dissolve it; if we can hope to maintain our fraternal connexion with our brothers of the south only by dismissing all hope of ultimate freedom to the slave; let the compact be dissolved, rather than submit to such dishonourable, such inhuman terms for its preservation. Dear as the Union is to us, and fervently as we desire that time, while it crumbles the false foundations of other governments, may add stability to that of our happy confederation, yet rather, far rather would we see it resolve into its original elements tomorrow, than that its duration should be effected by any measures so fatal to the principles of freedom as those insisted upon by the south.

William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879)

By the 1840s, William Lloyd Garrison and the Garrisonian wing of the abolitionist movement had made disunion a central part of their program. Convinced that the Constitution and Union protected slavery, they adopted “No Union with Slaveholders” as a rallying cry and urged Northern separation from the slaveholding South.

The relevant statement read,

Resolved, That the Abolitionists of this country should make it one of the primary objects of this agitation to dissolve the American Union.

Garrison also said (December 2, 1859),

I tell you our work is the dissolution [separation] of this slavery-cursed Union, if we would have a fragment of our liberties left to us!. . .

By the dissolution of the Union we shall give the finishing blow to the slave system; . . .

Horace Greeley (1811–1872)

Horace Greeley—another Northern abolitionist—believed that the Southern States had a right to secede in peace based on the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

He wrote in the New York Tribune (February 23, 1861),

We have repeatedly said, and we once more insist, that the great principle embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of American Independence, that governments derive their just power from the consent of the governed, is sound and just and that, if the Slave States, the Cotton States, or the Gulf States only, choose to form an independent nation, they have a clear moral right to do so. . . . Whenever it shall be clear that the great body of the Southern People have become conclusively alienated from the Union and anxious to escape from it, we will do our best to forward their views. (emphasis added)

Wendell Phillips (1811–1884)

Wendell Phillips—another American abolitionist—explained the abolitionist strategy in advocating for secession even if he did not entirely agree that that method should be pursued,

Disunion is a course, by which a man or a state may immediately disconnect themselves from the sin of sustaining slavery. The distant hope of Constitutional amendment not only allows, but makes it necessary, that we should remain in the Union, performing its sinful requirements while they continue the law of the land, in order to effect our object.

In a pamphlet entitled, “Can Abolitionists Vote or Take Office Under the United States Constitution?” (January 15, 1845), Phillips wrote a section with the heading “No Union with Slaveholders.” In it, he wrote,

The history of our Union is lesson enough, for every candid mind, of the fatal effects of every. . .compromise with evil. The experience of the fifty years. . .shows us the slaves trebling in numbers slaveholders monopolizing the offices and dictating the policy of the Government—prostituting the strength and influence of the Nation to the support of slavery here and elsewhere—trampling on the rights of the free States, and making the courts of the country their tools. To continue this disastrous alliance longer is madness. The trial of fifty years only proves that it is impossible for free and slave States to unite on any terms, without all becoming partners in the guilt and responsible for the sin of slavery. Why prolong the experiment? Let every honest man join in the outcry of the American Anti-Slavery Society. NO UNION WITH SLAVEHOLDERS. (emphasis added)

Conclusion

While it is impossible to know exactly how a counterfactual history might have turned out, and it would be irresponsible to give too much weight to speculations, it would also be irresponsible not to seriously examine alternative courses, especially ones entertained at the time. The anti-slavery disunionists and the abolitionists were some of the most critical of slavery and the most serious about ending it. For them, decentralization and secession were potential solutions, not problems, in ending slavery. Right or wrong, their strategy was to weaken slavery by removing some of its key legal protections.

Instead of being offered this aspect of American history to carefully consider, all too often we are offered a narrative in which the basis of human freedom and justice is the powerful, modern Hobbesian nation-state, able to maintain union by force. As long as slavery was not a threat to national power, it could be tolerated and even legally supported, but when it threatened national power (as a stated reason for secession), the US state was willing to eliminate chattel slavery in order to maintain power by force. On this basis and in terms of liberty, the god-like state giveth, and the state taketh away.

Somehow we have convinced ourselves that AI companies that are bleeding billions upon billions of dollars are great investments because there is a possibility that someday they will eventually become profitable. But the losses just keep getting even bigger every year. Meanwhile, we are spending trillions of dollars to build even more AI infrastructure. There is no way that the AI industry is ever going to generate the sort of revenue that will justify that level of investment. What we are witnessing is a capital misallocation of absolutely epic proportions, and it is inevitable that this entire bubble is going to come crashing down. When that finally happens, it will be unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Stanford University says that “total global corporate investment in AI reached $1.6 trillion” from 2013 to 2024…

According to the 2025 AI Index Report by Stanford University, between 2013 and 2024, total global corporate investment in AI reached $1.6 trillion. This substantial expenditure dwarfs even the largest scientific and infrastructure projects of the 20th and 21st centuries.

That number is so high that it is difficult to believe.

But last year we took things to an entirely new level.

We are being told that total worldwide spending on AI in 2025 was 2.5 trillion dollars…

According to Gartner, a United States-based business and technology insights company, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to total $2.5 trillion in 2026, a 44 percent increase over 2025.

We are building a tremendous amount of AI infrastructure, but is it worth it?

For a long time, investors have been completely sold on the idea.

In fact, over the last three years, the “value of AI-linked firms has climbed $27 trillion”…

The American stock market is booming, thanks to artificial intelligence. Tech giants are borrowing billions to acquire AI talent, purchase chips and hardware, and construct data centers. And market watchers are starting to get worried. They see financiers bulldozing giant piles of money to private AI start-ups with no realistic path to profitability, tech companies reliant on other tech companies for revenue growth, and non-tech businesses without a lot to show for their AI investments. The value of AI-linked firms has climbed $27 trillion in the past three years—an astonishing amount, equivalent to 36 percent of the value of the entire U.S. stock market today.

AI mania has reached a fever pitch.

But are these firms really worth that much money?

Of course not.

In fact, most of them are bleeding colossal amounts of cash.

A perfect example is OpenAI. Ed Zitron is warning that when OpenAI inevitably fails, it could take the entire stock market down with it…

The AI bubble is simple, Ed Zitron says, because it’s really a bubble in a single company: OpenAI.

As the ChatGPT maker heads toward a momentous IPO, the vocal AI critic says that OpenAI is the only reason anyone cares about AI at all—and it’s failure would spark a collapse similar to the one set off by Lehman Brothers when the bank fell apart in 2008.

OpenAI is supposedly worth more than 800 billion dollars.

But the financial numbers that it reported for 2025 were absolutely nightmarish…

• Revenue: $13.07 billion
• Cost of Revenue: $7.5 billion
• Research and Development: $19.18 billion
• Sales and Marketing: $5.73 billion
• General and Administrative: $1.57 billion
• Total Costs and Expenses: $34 billion
• Loss from Operations: $20.92 billion

For the entire year, OpenAI reported a total net loss of 38.5 billion dollars…

Please note that 2025 was the year that OpenAI converted from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, leading to a $41.55 billion loss due to changes in fair value of convertible interests and warrant liability.

Taking into account other minor factors like interest income and interest expense, OpenAI is left with a net loss of $60.35 billion, which it lowered to $38.53 billion by removing $17.87 billion in costs via that “net loss attributable to noncontrolling members capital” and another $3.95 billion via a “net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests.”

Ultimately, the net loss attributable to OpenAI in 2025 was $38.5 billion.

If I hired thousands of people and we all started flushing dollar bills down the toilet as fast as we possibly could, there is no way that we could ever lose that much money in an entire year.

OpenAI is a financial black hole.

Sam Altman promised us that OpenAI would soon be making $100 billion a year in ad revenue alone, but that isn’t the way that things have worked out.

Sadly, OpenAI is currently on pace “to undershoot its own five-year ad revenue projections by a whopping 90 percent”…

Even as the AI bubble becomes a mainstream talking point on Wall Street, tech companies continue to peddle the fantasy that AI is poised to become an almost magical money-maker. Case in point, OpenAI wants you to believe that by 2030, it’ll be raking in $100 billion a year just from ads alone — even though it’s currently struggling to reach just $1 billion.

That massive gulf was observed in a new analysis from marketing consulting firm Emarketer, first flagged by AdWeek, which found OpenAI is on pace to undershoot its own five-year ad revenue projections by a whopping 90 percent. In fact, Emarketer’s take is even more devastating than that: it estimates the entire addressable market for chatbot advertising — the maximum amount of money up for grabs overall — at $5.4 billion.

This is an unmitigated disaster.

Other AI companies are producing similar results.

Meanwhile, a lot of companies are now ditching expensive AI models that were created in the United States for much cheaper AI models that were created in China…

As corporate AI bills spiral out of control, many companies are beginning to ask themselves a simple question: why pay a pretty penny for the US’s leading AI models when Chinese ones are far cheaper?

Major companies like DoorDash, Airbnb, and Siemens are adopting Chinese AI tools, the Financial Times reports, attracted not only by their lower costs but their “open-weight” approach that allows them to be molded to each company’s particular needs.

According to data from OpenRouter, a platform that provides all-in-one access to major AI models and tracks their usage, leading Chinese models from DeepSeek and Z.ai have overtaken US equivalents like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Cost-cutting, it seems, trumps all geopolitical rivalries.

Chinese models are “the elephant in the room,” Eugene Cheah, CEO of the AI platform Featherless AI, told the FT. “Enterprises are starting to realize, ‘Hey, we don’t need the best model, we can use the faster, cheaper models.’”

It has become very clear that AI companies will never be the money trees that they were touted to be by their most fervent proponents.

In fact, the biggest money losers will end up being some of the most dramatic financial flops of all time.

So what does that mean for the stock market?

From a long-term point of view, stock prices are insanely high…

The S&P 500 Shiller CAPE ratio’s long-term average is around 17, and it’s been steadily creeping higher over the last decade or so.

Right now, the ratio is nearing 42 — the highest it’s been since the dot-com bubble, when it peaked at around 44.

The Shiller CAPE Ratio has stayed above 40 since May, which is only the second time in history that it’s remained this high. The first time was in January 1999, when it stayed above 40 until September 2000.

What goes up must eventually come down.

When the public hears that the AI bubble has burst, there will be a frenzied race for the exits, and the financial devastation that we will witness will be off the charts.

It is just a matter of time.

But for the moment, the race to create new AI models continues, and there is a very real possibility that this technology could escape our control.

For example, OpenAI has revealed that it created a model that “went rogue”, escaped into the Internet and hacked into the computer system of another company…

ChatGPT creator OpenAI has revealed one of its advanced Artificial Intelligence models went rogue during a security test and hacked into a start-up company.

Bosses said the autonomous agent, which is an AI system that operates alone following human instruction, was being tested in a controlled environment.

But it found vulnerabilities and managed to escape containment before reaching the internet and breaking into Hugging Face, a major hub for sharing AI models.

That is scary.

As AI technology continues to develop at an exponential rate, what else will it eventually be able to do?

Our world has become such a strange place.

Ray Kurzweil believes that a decade from now we will be so integrated with AI that we won’t even know if our thoughts are truly our own or if they are being fed to us from highly advanced AI models.

Personally, I would never allow anyone to put a chip into my head or connect my brain directly to the Internet.

But a lot of people out there would eagerly welcome such technology.

Science fiction is rapidly becoming science reality, and things are only going to get weirder from here.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com, including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books, you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Beltline Energy, a data center developer, is planning a $15 billion artificial intelligence data center campus near Yukon, Oklahoma. Residents like Pencia Truhan have expressed concerns over a lack of transparency, particularly regarding water consumption, according to reporting from NaturalNews.com. The developer barred media from meetings and asked local officials to sign nondisclosure agreements, fueling opposition.

Local officials across the United States have raised similar concerns as rapid data center construction accelerates, according to an article by Petra Stone. The article stated that mayors are sounding alarms about data centers pushing the U.S. toward blackouts and water shortages [1]. In Oklahoma, the project has generated skepticism among community members who say they have been kept in the dark about basic details.

Water Consumption and Regulatory Gaps

Data centers consume large volumes of water for cooling. Google’s facility in Pryor, Oklahoma, uses approximately 1.1 billion gallons annually, according to industry reports. A report by Chase Codewell on NaturalNews.com noted that the artificial intelligence boom has an invisible cost in water, and that tech companies are draining the nation’s most essential resource [2]. Similar concerns have been raised in Texas, where data centers consumed 463 million gallons in 2023 and 2024 alone, according to a report from NaturalNews.com [3].

Oklahoma’s state law, SB259, restricts groundwater permits for data centers but allows them to purchase water from municipal utilities without obtaining a permit. Julie Cunningham, director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, stated that no data center has applied for a water permit. This regulatory gap means water use could go largely unmonitored. A report on water resource challenges noted that agricultural drought and water resources shortage are growing problems, underscoring the strain on supplies [4].

Community Pushback and Regulatory Lag

Beltline Energy’s secrecy surrounding the project led to backlash. The Yukon vice mayor resigned in protest, and the city of Luther adopted a moratorium on data center development. State Rep. Carl Newton said a new bill would close the loophole that allows data centers to purchase water from municipal utilities without a permit. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has fewer than 20 staff members, and its 2025 water forecast does not mention data centers, according to officials.

Across the country, communities are increasingly opposing data center projects. A Rasmussen Reports poll found that 52% of likely U.S. voters would oppose a proposal to build a data center in their community [5]. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, citing grid strain and rising utility bills [6][7]. The water crisis created by data centers is not about annual consumption but about peak demand stressing local systems, according to a report on NaturalNews.com [8].

Project Details and Resource Strain

The proposed 480-acre campus would require 1,000 megawatts of electricity, equal to the average power use of Oklahoma City. Economic impact studies project 450 permanent jobs and $543 million in tax revenue over 25 years. The city of Yukon is considering selling up to 2.5 million gallons of treated wastewater per day to the data center, according to local officials. Water supply in the region is already strained by population growth and declining aquifer levels.

The resource demand of data centers extends beyond water. An interview with Doug Casey noted that tech companies are now licensing or trying to revitalize nuclear power plants to power AI data centers [9]. In Texas, the competition for water between farms and data centers has escalated into what some describe as water wars [10]. Meanwhile, the U.S. data center water consumption has risen to nearly one trillion liters per year, driven by cooling systems, according to reports [11].

Conclusion: Uncertainty Remains

Beltline Energy has not disclosed the type of cooling system it intends to use. If the project does not require a groundwater permit, water consumption will be self-reported, leaving oversight to local municipalities. Local communities across the country are increasingly blocking or slowing data center developments amid the AI infrastructure boom. In Oklahoma, regulators appear to be playing catch-up as data center proposals outpace oversight.

The broader trend has prompted calls for greater transparency. Reports indicate that the water crisis created by data centers is a hidden cost that most Americans have not been warned about [2]. As one analysis noted, the conversation about data centers almost always focuses on electricity, but there is a quieter crisis unfolding over water [8].

References

1. 1. Petra Stone. “Mayors Sound Alarm: AI Data Centers Push U.S. Toward Blackouts and Water Shortages”. NaturalNews.com. March 18, 2026.
   2. Chase Codewell. “America’s Water Future Is Being Sucked Dry by Data Centers—and the Window Is Closing”. NaturalNews.com. May 19, 2026.
   3. “Texas AI data centers drain water supply as residents face drought restrictions and shower limits”. NaturalNews.com. August 2, 2025.
   4. Kees Stigter. “Applied Agrometeorology”.
   5. “Rasmussen Poll Finds Most Voters Oppose Data Centers In Their Communities”. YourNews. July 3, 2026.
   6. “New York Governor Imposes First Statewide Moratorium on Large-Scale Data Centers”. NaturalNews.com. July 15, 2026.
   7. “New York Becomes First State To Enact One Year Ban On New Data Centers”. ZeroHedge. July 14, 2026.
   8. “Data Centers Are Quietly Draining Your Town’s Water And Making You Pay for It”. NaturalNews.com. May 18, 2026.
   9. Mike Adams. “Mike Adams interview with Doug Casey”. November 1, 2024.
   10. Texas Farmland vs. Thirst of AI Data Centers: Water Wars Heating Up in the Lone Star State”. NaturalNews.com. February 19, 2026.
   11. “Rising AI Demand Drives Surge in Data Center Water Consumption, Reports Indicate”. NaturalNews.com. July 6, 2026.

Explainer Infographic

Summary

• Shipping disruption: Houthi threats forced two Saudi oil tankers to turn around in the Red Sea as Hormuz traffic slowed sharply after more tanker attacks.
• Escalation in Gulf: Iran claimed strikes on infrastructure in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, while Kuwait reported a second day of attacks on power and desalination plants.
• Trump vows more to come: The US launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets, Trump vowed retaliation, and Reuters reported a proposed 10-day ceasefire. “We’ve been nice,” Trump says, warning of more attacks to come.
• Oil surges: Crude prices hit multi-week highs amid shipping disruptions, with warnings oil could reach $120 if fighting continues.
• Pentagon scrutiny: The New York Times reported the Pentagon withheld information about dozens of US troops injured in Iranian attacks before the deadly Jordan missile strike.

*  *  *

Trump Gives Wide-Ranging Comments on Iran: Doesn’t Want to Talk, “We’ve Been Nice”

President Trump issued a series of big claims to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. For starters, he asserted that Iran wants to “desperately” meet but said “we” have no interest, and that the US military is not finished at all with Iran, and so there’s no interest in talking at the moment.

And amid polls that show the war is increasingly unpopular among American voters, he stated that Iran is “probably” trying to hurt his and his Republican Party’s chances in the upcoming congressional elections in November by seeking to control the Strait of Hormuz, and with the latest attacks on international shipping. “I’m just going to do the right thing,” Trump claimed, before saying that “The election, I can’t think about that having to do with this. I think people are very impressed.”

He also revisited the Obama-era JCPOA, saying if the US hadn’t “terminated the nuclear deal” then “you wouldn’t have Israel right now because they would have had a nuclear weapon years ago.“ He added that “if we didn’t do the B2 bombers knocking out the nuclear sites a year ago, one of the first things we did early in the administration, they [Iran] would have a nuclear weapon, and you wouldn’t have Israel.” Trump continued, “And in my opinion, you wouldn’t have various other countries in the Middle East [as] they would have been terminated, extinguished.”

He continued to be pressed on what the ‘plan’ and end goal is, and what the stopping and exit point might be. The president’s response:

Another big threat and warning came when Trump declared that “Iran hasn’t seen anything yet” as “we’ve been nice” so far. Below is a quick rundown of some key statements from the fresh press interaction:

• No interest in meeting Iran until they are ready.
• Iran has very evil people leading the country.
• Our deal will not let Iran have a nuclear weapon.
• We’ll hit any site Iran is thinking about for nuclear.
• Iran is probably trying to impact elections with Hormuz.
• Iran hasn’t seen anything yet; have been nice.
• On Pickaxe Mountain, will hit that area soon and very heavily.

Israel has meanwhile been alleging that Iran is concentrating its nuclear program at highly fortified Pickaxe Mountain. Trump in the comments suggested the US military will take direct aim at the underground complex:

Trump says the U.S. will be hitting Pickaxe mountain in Iran “pretty soon very heavily and there is nothing they can do about it”

‘Slip through Jordan’… where American troops were killed:

A quick review of just how fast the situation is ratcheting over the past days alone…

Two tankers carrying Saudi crude make U-turns in Red Sea after Houthi warning

The just-declared (as of Monday) Houthi blockade on Saudi maritime shipping has already begun to witness ill-effects, as reports emerge of two oil tankers having made U-turns while initially en route toward the Suez Canal. The reports say their crews received threats from Houthi militants in Yemen. The emerging details:

Two ⁠oil ⁠tankers which loaded Saudi crude for China ⁠and India made ⁠U-turns in the Red Sea and headed toward ‌the Suez following a warning from Yemen’s Houthi militia.

…The group, in an email sent to shipping companies, warned them not to load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports and said such activity may result in being targeted “in any location”.

Dollar and yields spiking as oil rises…. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has reached six-week highs on Tuesday.

Iran state media taking note of inflicting pain…

IRGC Says it Attacked Amazon’s Main Data Hub in Bahrain

Amid a spate of fresh attacks on Gulf states, the IRGC claimed its cruise missiles destroyed Amazon’s central data infrastructure in Bahrain and also hit US air defense systems. Bahraini, US and Amazon officials issued no response in the immediate aftermath.

The IRGC said its Aerospace Force targeted and “destroyed” the central data infrastructure hub in Bahrain using several cruise missiles. It further stated that “US air defense systems and radar installations in the Bahraini areas of Muharraq and Riffa were also targeted” in the attack.

If accurate, this highlights yet again that billions of dollars worth of infrastructure is going up in flames in the Gulf, and that defense against missiles and drones has been waning

Kuwait Water Desalination & Power Plants Attacked for 2nd Consecutive Day

For a second consecutive day, Kuwait is reporting attacks on power-generation and water-desalination plants. The fresh assault caused fires and disrupted electricity generation, amid an emergency response and efforts to begin restoring affected units.

Further attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan are also being reported, as well as new IRGC strikes on foreign tankers seeking ‘unauthorized’ transit of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the latest via Al Jazeera:

• A desalination facility and power plants caught on fire and suffered serious damage in Kuwait after new Iranian strikes targeted the crucial facilities, along with areas of Bahrain and Jordan, following a 10th-consecutive night of US bombing.
• “Massive fires” broke out on two tankers that “took an unsafe route” in the Strait of Hormuz, says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

On Tuesday, Kuwait has confirmed it is dealing with inbound Iranian drone and missile attacks yet again, also with sirens continuing to sound in Bahrain.

Iran Seeks To Hold Hormuz Leverage ‘At All Costs’

Despite daily US saturation strikes on Iran, and in turn Iran’s daily attacks on Gulf states, nothing has really changed in what seems a stalemated situation and quagmire.

Amin Saikal, emeritus professor at Australian National University, has described that “Both sides have really been trying to inflict heavy damage on each other, and they’ve come really to a point of saturation in many ways.” He continued, “Logically, that should really lead them to negotiation. But of course, that is not really happening at the moment simply because the United States wants to gain control over the Strait of Hormuz, and that’s something the Iranians will never give up.”

Saikal called Hormuz “a reward” for Tehran, while pointing out that “Because of this unprovoked war, the Iranians have gained this leverage, and they want to retain it at all costs.”

Still, President Trump is warning that Iran will pay “many times over” for the deaths of American soldiers, and has said he gave his Pentagon leaders directives for carrying this out.

10th Strait Day of Escalation

The tit-for-tat escalation between the US and Iran entered its tenth day as another tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis threatened shipping at a second strategic chokepoint in the southern Red Sea.

US Central Command launched strikes targeting Iranian command and control centers, missile and drone launch sites, and air defenses to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, was killed by an Iranian attack on Jordan on July 17, 2026

President Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over!”

Still, Pakistan and Qatar are urging both sides to return to their positions before the latest escalation began on July 9. Iran says it remains open to diplomacy but will not negotiate under attack, while the Trump team has signaled that strikes will continue until Tehran stops attacking tankers and bulk carriers in the critical waterway. Reuters reported that mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire.

Hormuz Traffic at Near Standstill as Another Tanker Struck

Shipping flows in the Hormuz have all but slowed, according to new Bloomberg data. As of Tuesday morning, just six vessels have transited the critical waterway. The data doesn’t account for ships turning off transponders.

Bloomberg reports that Iran struck another tanker in the strait:

Visible traffic through Hormuz came to a near standstill on Monday following Iranian attacks on vessels over the weekend.

An oil supertanker called the Acheloos and a smaller fuel tanker were both struck in the waterway, according to Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., the ships’ manager.

Early Tuesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said that a tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile in the strait northeast of Oman’s Limah, citing multiple reports, without identifying the vessel. The notice indicates a separate attack to those on the Dynacom tankers.

The flare-up in violence sent Brent crude oil futures surging in recent weeks to over $90 a barrel, with Goldman commodity expert Daan Struyven warning on Monday that oil prices could rally to $120 if there is no de-escalation.

“Escalation in the Middle East and the decline in estimated Persian Gulf flows to below 45% of pre-war levels have pushed oil prices back up,” Struyven said in a note to clients.

Related:

• “We’ve Burned Through All Buffers”: Oil Traders Warn Market Running On Fumes

US Consumers Feeling the Pinch

Meanwhile, US consumers are feeling the pinch again at the pump, with the national average for regular 87-octane gasoline topping $4 a gallon once more. This is the politically sensitive line in the sand at which the Trump administration takes notice and consumer behavior begins to shift down at convenience stores, gas stations, and QSRs (quick-service restaurants).

Pattern of Pentagon Concealing US Casualties: NYT

The New York Times reported Monday that the Pentagon withheld information that US troops had been injured in Iranian attacks on Jordan in the week before the missile strikes that killed at least two US soldiers and left one missing.

“Those attacks injured dozens of U.S. service members and damaged several helicopters, according to several U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters,” the report says. “But the Pentagon did not disclose the earlier strikes, nor the casualties and damage they inflicted.”

The slain soldiers in Jordan were reportedly staying in flimsy prefabricated housing at the time of the deadly ballistic missile attack. US officials described a situation that suggests American forces were essentially sitting ducks, and that not enough has been done to protect the Pentagon’s Mideast bases.

NYT painted a picture of a US admin pattern of concealing the true extent of American casualties. “In statements after airstrikes against Iranian military sites last week, U.S. Central Command said it was retaliating for Iran’s attacks against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, never mentioning Iran’s strikes on bases in the region, including in Jordan,” it noted.

Overnight Headlines

courtesy of Bloomberg…

US-Iran Tit-For-Tat

• The US and Iran have exchanged strikes for a 10th consecutive day, with US Central Command targeting Iranian military command centers, launch sites, maritime capabilities, and air defenses.
• Iran has retaliated by attacking US military sites in Kuwait and Jordan.
• Trump vowed Tehran “will pay” after Iran killed three US soldiers.
• According to the Washington Post, US intelligence reports suggest US strikes are unlikely to move Iran.
• Iran’s Khorramabad area in Lorestan Province was attacked earlier today.

Diplomacy & Ceasefire Efforts

• Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni began meetings Tuesday with mediators in Pakistan as diplomats sought to salvage a collapsed interim deal.
• Mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between Iran and the US to revive the interim deal, according to an unidentified senior Iranian official cited by Reuters.
• Iran’s president said communication with Supreme Leader Khamenei has increased, per Tasnim reports.

Regional Risks

• The Kaifan, an oil-products tanker owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co., was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz northeast of Oman’s Limah.
• The Houthi militant group in Yemen is threatening to blockade Saudi Arabia and target shipping in the Red Sea, adding to regional maritime risks.
• Southeast Asian nations expressed “serious concern” over the conflict, warning of spillover effects on regional trade, food security, and energy markets.

Energy & Market Impact

• Goldman Sachs says Brent crude could top $120 per barrel by the fourth quarter if Strait of Hormuz disruptions persist, though its base case remains $80 per barrel assuming de-escalation.
• European natural gas futures extended gains, surging more than 20% over the previous seven sessions, as the conflict tightens supply ahead of winter.
• Pakistan and Bangladesh were forced to buy some of their most expensive LNG shipments in years due to supply disruptions from the conflict. Pakistan LNG paid about $21.88 per MMBtu, its highest since 2022, according to traders with knowledge of the matter.

The most recent confirmed case of screwworm came on Saturday in Schleicher County, Texas.  This is Schleicher County’s first confirmed case of this parasite ever.

New World screwworm (NWS) is a fly that lays its eggs in open wounds and body openings such as the eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the eggs hatch into parasitic maggots (larvae) that burrow into and feed on living tissue or flesh.

The first American case of the flesh-eating livestock pest since the 1960s was discovered on June 3 in Zavala County. Since then, two more cases were reported in the county, while 38 other cases were discovered across the state and in New Mexico along its border with Texas.

Federal and local authorities hit the ground running as they worked to expedite methods of warding off the pest and protecting the state’s livestock and wildlife, although clashing at times over the appropriate means of prevention and treatment. –The Texan.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to produce sterile flies, which are released to breed with the natural flies. This stops their reproduction and is a rather effective method that worked to eradicate the parasite in the U.S. in 1966. A $750 million facility in Edinburg is underway, projected to produce 300 million sterile flies each week once it’s fully operational.

The USDA also commented on Monday that they have employed the use of screwworm “traps.” These traps are coated with an insect adhesive and equipped with a chemical attractant. Nearly 600 of these are “currently deployed across Mexico, with expanded coverage along the U.S.–Mexico border and new traps in southern Chihuahua and Sonora,” per a Monday X post.

Is The Screwworm A Problem For The Meat Supply?

The First Secretary of War Loses A War

The US and Iran have both been exchanging strikes as the war reignited after a brief peace deal fell apart. Both sides are blaming the other for breaking the agreement.

Now Hegseth is verbally sparring with Senate democrats over his desire for additional funding for more military operations in Iran and the broader Middle East.

Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the campaign against Iran launched by President Donald Trump together with Israel on February 28 has so far cost an estimated $37.5 billion. –RT

The war chief is seeking $87 billion in congressional funding for the Pentagon, including $67 billion for operations in the Middle East.

“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption,” he said. Democrats argued that Trump had already failed to achieve his stated war goals and accused Hegseth of misleading the public.

Most of the mainstream media also feels this way, as they chalk up the failed interim peace agreement, the Memorandum of Understanding, to a US surrender to Iran.

None Of The Most Important Issues Have Been Resolved By The Memorandum Of Understanding

“That consternation is why so many New Yorkers are perplexed, stressed out, and find this war to be incredibly unpopular,” Kristen Gillibrand, a New York Senator, said. She added that in spite of Hegseth’s claim that Iran’s stockpiles of munitions are “depleted,” US troops are losing their lives.

“The Iranian defense-industrial base is effectively gone, but they do have underground facilities,” Hegseth replied, adding that Iran has “spent 47 years trying to hide their missiles under mountains.”

If that’s the case, Iran must certainly have been successful.

Christian Nationalist Pete Hegseth Pushes Religion In The Military