But first, from Time magazine: $100 The price of oil hit $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May. It comes after the Houthis of Yemen struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, enforcing a long-threatened blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another shipping route crucial to the world’s energy supplies. From the New York Times (Sam Sifton) this morning: The Trump administration has imposed new tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries . The tariffs, along with the war in Iran, are threatening the U.S. economy . For my readership, here are some upcoming journeys. August-September 2026:   Total Eclipse of the Sun . Ever see a total eclipse of the Sun?   This is the one where you will feel that extra chill, gets almost dark and some animals think it is the end of the day.   My one experience was on 11July1991 over the Big Island of Hawaii on by wife's birthday .  To quote that posting, it is pretty amazing that the coverage is...

First, some latest news: The war in Iran got a bit muddied yesterday, for there was a minor skirmish at Bandar Abbas, but the ceasefire is supposedly still holding.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the peace deal is only a few words away from settlement, and President Donald Trump continues to send mixed signals about a deal, so the world awaits. Apparently, there are 1,500 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, now for three months, and before this war, only 130 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz/day.  Plus, there will be the matter of cleaning up the strait of mines, so you can expect high gasoline prices to the end of the summer. In the meantime, considering the drop in support from voters, rebuff from the Congress, worsening economy and gasoline prices, continuation of those two wars, and looming Epstein consequences, the troubled mind of Trump is worsening.  However, a "perfect" physical exam at Walter Reed yesterday is his personal diagnosis. Trump's e...