Energy
Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted that the seven-day average for oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz reached nearly 9 million barrels per day, with pipelines adding 5-7 million barrels and Sunday exceeding 20 million barrels. However, Kpler analyst Matt Smith told CNN that only six commodity vessels transited the strait on Monday, below the 10-day average of eleven. Oil transiting Hormuz averaged 4.9 million barrels per day in Q2, compared with 21.6 million in Q4 2025.
Meanwhile, the EIA stated in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook that Hormuz transits remain severely constrained and raised its estimate of shut-in Middle East production through August. Middle East shut-ins eased to 5.5 million barrels per day in July but are expected to reach 6.6 million this quarter. The agency expects war-driven disruptions to average about 600,000 barrels per day through the end of 2027. Middle East loadings reached 20 million barrels per day in early July before dropping to 12 million, with regional production 8.3 million barrels per day below pre-war levels.
Reflecting these constraints, the EIA cut its 2026 global oil supply forecast and now projects output to fall 4.3 million barrels per day this year, leaving supply 1.27 million barrels per day short of demand. This quarter’s deficit is now projected at 1.8 million barrels per day. Global stocks have fallen 410 million barrels since the war began, Russian refinery runs are near a 20-year low, and consumption is projected to contract 1.6 million barrels per day this year. Some analysts have questioned the scale of the projected deficit as negligible on a per capita basis. The agency raised its 2026 gasoline and diesel price forecasts by 3.7% and 5.4% and its 2027 retail gasoline forecast by 6.5%.
Geopolitics
Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck four Russian warships at Novorossiysk last night. The vessels hit included the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen, the Buyan-M small missile ship, and the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov. Damage assessments are currently limited.
US Politics
Families and lawmakers have reported a mental-health crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, including multiple thwarted suicide attempts. The crew has had two days on land since departing San Diego on November 21 2025. At a San Diego town hall, spouses told acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao that trust with leadership was broken. Rep. Mike Levin described moldy showers, broken toilets, weeks-long laundry outages, and reduced meals. The Navy stated it has not identified an increase in suicidal ideation and cited onboard counselors and chaplains.
In election news, Mike Lindell refused to concede Minnesota’s GOP gubernatorial primary after trailing House Speaker Lisa Demuth 32.5% to 43.4% with 98.9% of votes counted. Lindell cited anomalies in mail-in and early voting and said his team would investigate. Lisa Demuth has been projected as the winner and has thanked voters while focusing on the general election.
In news on replacement theory, Michael Snyder recently listed eight developments he described as evidence of Islam’s expansion in America, including Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s statements on Islamic law, the swearing-in of a hijab-wearing judge in Mississippi, a Massachusetts bill on Muslim appointments, planned foot-washing stations at DFW Airport, Hamtramck’s legalization of residential animal sacrifice, a planned Islamic mini-city in Orange County, McKinney’s approval of a new Islamic center, and Islamic marches in several cities. The piece noted there are now more than 2,700 U.S. mosques.
Artificial Intelligence
New Orleans has become the first major U.S. city to allow an AI system to directly handle certain 911 calls. The system is intended to filter routine or redundant calls. A former dispatcher called the approach the worst idea imaginable. Researchers have shown that conversational AI can hallucinate and be manipulated by crafted audio. Officials have noted the AI is used only for routine duplicate calls with human oversight. Separately, Atlanta and Seattle currently use AI to assist operators, not to directly interact with callers.
Iran War
President Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. has total control of the Strait of Hormuz and intends to keep it. The Wall Street Journal described Iran as having entered a survival economy with rationing and currency restrictions. Senior IRGC adviser Mohammad Reza Naqdi told PBS that victory is on their side. Their new Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaee told China’s ambassador that Hormuz will remain closed until Washington accepts Iran’s conditions. Pakistan reported no progress on reviving the collapsed 60-day MoU.
Health
The USDA said its Texas sterile-fly breeding facility will open in spring 2027, about seven months ahead of schedule, after the first U.S. New World screwworm infestation in three decades. The plant will produce 100 million sterile flies weekly by the end of 2027 and 300 million by the end of 2028. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed a memorandum with DHS to deploy drones and AI at ports of entry. JBS USA executive Wesley Batista Filho said Mexican cattle imports, halted since May 2025, are scheduled to resume August 24.
In other news, a report from Enas TV stated that Genus PLC’s Pig Improvement Company (PIC) division received FDA approval in April 2025 for a gene edit removing Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome susceptibility in pigs, with Canada approving it in January. The report described PIC’s royalty structure as including an upfront carcass value payment and a perpetual interest in the animal’s genetic potential. It noted that over 80% of PIC’s program reportedly operates under this model and referenced prior litigation in North Carolina.
Environment
Historic drought has lowered the Danube, Rhine, and Main rivers, disrupting cruise traffic, agriculture, and energy infrastructure. Romania’s nuclear plant shut down one reactor in late July and declared a state of emergency. A Hungarian plant also powered down. Receding waters have also exposed German WWII shipwrecks at Prahovo, ruins of Budapest’s Franz Joseph bridge, Wehrmacht remains, a naval mine in Slovakia, Roman bridge foundations in Bulgaria, a Jupiter altar fragment in Hungary, a medieval catapult projectile, and Ice Age mammoth bones near Ruse.
Sources
Tanker Data Undermines U.S. Claim of Normalized Middle East Oil Flows
Oil flows from the Middle East have normalized, with Sunday traffic alone above pre-conflict averages, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said on Tuesday in a claim that appears not to be backed by ship-tracking data.
Source | Submitted by PhilH
USDA Flies Ahead: Texas Screwworm Plant Opens Early
the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a post on X on Monday that a Texas facility to breed sterile flies to combat screwworm will open ahead of schedule in spring 2027.
Source | Submitted by daniellemarie
Gene-Edited Pigs: Who Owns the Future of the American Herd?
Who exactly owns the piglets and who owns the future of the American herd?
Source | Submitted by DonI
Danube Drought Unearths WWII Wrecks, Roman Ruins, and Nuclear Risks
The sinking water levels that have set new all-time records in some locations have revealed historic finds from World War II to Roman times and even the Ice Age.
USS Lincoln Crew Pushed to Brink by Endless Iran Deployment
Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
Source | Submitted by Mike from Jersey
New Orleans Lets AI Field 911 Calls, Hoping Machines Outperform Humans
It’s an ambitious experiment, although perhaps an uncomfortable one: the next time somebody calls 911 in New Orleans, the first voice answering may not belong to a person at all.
IEA Sees 1.8M Bpd Oil Deficit This Quarter, Undercutting US Claims
The latest IEA assessment adds to evidence challenging U.S. claims that Middle East oil flows have returned to normal.
US Forecasts Iran War Oil Disruptions Through 2027 as Hormuz Flows Crater
The US now expects oil supply disruptions stemming from the US-Iran war to reach about 600,000 barrels per day through the end of next year as the conflict continues to crimp shipments via the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s Hormuz ‘Total Control’ Vow Meets Iran’s Survival Economy Standoff
Certainly, victory is on our side.
8 Signs of Islam’s Quiet Advance Across America
They aren’t here to assimilate. They are here to take over.
Lindell Won’t Concede Minnesota GOP Primary Over Mail-In Ballot Anomalies
Lindell will not concede. Claims there are anomalies in the numbers that his teams will be looking into overnight.
Ukraine’s Drones Sink Russia’s Last Black Sea Illusion
This means that Russia holds no waters it can use and now no harbor where its ships are safe.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: @AlexiaNoel94927, @aeberman12, @ColinGr92040349, @RyanFaircloth, @LisaDemuthMN, ZeroHedge, and @CDM_PRESS.
by mike-from-jersey 
