First a, few news items: Today is Labor Day, a national holiday in the USA and Canada on the first Monday of September.  Banks, Post Offices, stock markets and schools are closed.  You can still go out to eat and shop. The U.S. war with Iran has escalated. Exchanges of fire. Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed. No peace talks have been scheduled. Oil prices remain high, as Brent Crude oil hit a recent peak of $98 earlier today. U.S. gasoline prices reached a record-high national average of $4.15/gallon for the Labor Day weekend.  The previous high was $3.82/gallong in 2012. The Russo-Ukraine War continues with battles and drone exchanges.   It has been 1,656 days since Russian invaded Ukrain on 24February2022.  4,482 days since Russia began occupying Crimeaw on February 20, 2014. While the Trump administration has made efforts to bring those countries together, they have failed. This war will continue if Russia and Ukraine can't agree of land concession...

Ah, the War with Iran: For the ninth night in a row, the USA bombed Iran. Iran continues to essentially close the Strait of Hormuz, plus, Houthi allies again have indicated that they might block Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the other main oil route .  Combine, 27% of world petroleum passes through these straits. I asked Google AI:  Will the U.S. invade Kharg Island? As of July 2026, there is no official date or definitive plan announced for a U.S. invasion of Kharg Island . President Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of seizing the island—which handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports—but military planners and officials are still weighing the logistical risks and strategic fallout of such an operation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] Current Status: Trump has hosted Situation Room meetings to discuss potential ground troop deployments and the possible seizure of energy infrastructure. While no timeline has been set, Trump stated in mid-June that the U.S. will be taking the isl...