Free Republic

"Americans could pay far more to heat their homes with oil this winter than last, a new analysis reviewed by Axios shows, as volatile energy markets and the Iran War deepen the affordability crisis. Why it matters: Heating bills are eating into household budgets before winter sets in, with stark divides between fuel types. By the numbers: Families that heat with oil could pay about 50% more this winter than last, according to estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), up from its 31.3% projection in mid-September. The average cost of heating a home with oil is expected...

France is on the precipice of a dangerous financial spiral. The global surge in interest rates has exposed the country, once considered an oasis of relative stability in Europe’s financial markets, as one of the continent’s weakest links. France now pays more to borrow than former crisis hot spots like Greece and Italy. Its government is running a budget deficit surpassed only by the United States among its peers. Last week, a slow-burning selloff in France’s government bond market took an alarming turn as it spread across the continent, reviving memories of the eurozone debt crisis last decade. France’s 10-year...

President Trump on Thursday said “it’s possible” the Iran war could cost him the November midterm elections by risking Republican control of the House, Senate or both. “Well, it’s possible. It should help,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before heading to a campaign rally in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. “Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide. So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say...

Democrats are obsessing over high fuel costs, but the historical record and their policy platform strongly suggests that things would be even worse if they were in charge. As November’s midterm elections approach, Democrat candidates have obsessed over rising fuel costs, making the price at the pump the central issue in their closing message to voters as they lambast the so-called “war of choice” in Iran. With the national average approaching $4.50 per gallon, the cost of gas is indeed a real problem for American families – and the war with Iran is indeed the primary reason for it. The...

The U.S. average retail price of diesel was $5.97 per gallon the week of September 7, 2026, up $2.25 from its February average of $3.72, before the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz began. Crude oil accounts for 68 cents of that increase. The refining margin — the gap between the wholesale price of diesel and the cost of the crude it is made from — accounts for $1.71. The world is short of refined diesel rather than crude oil. Russia, once Europe’s largest diesel supplier, has nearly stopped exporting refined products after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries and a...

Take heart, we only need to wait approximately 60-days until we see a major price decline in diesel and gasoline prices in the USA. Once the midterm election is over, prices will begin their retreat with the finished collapse mid-January. The non-pretending reality exists within a generally non-western perspective that current “market prices” are not driven by oil supplies, refining capacity or the other various justifications used by the speculators, traders and various regional spot-market control systems. The prices are being controlled in order to influence political outcomes. Once those political influence operations are concluded, the stakeholders in the market...

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington and Tehran were moving toward a settlement, while a senior Iranian official said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if the US eased military pressure and lifted its blockade on Iranian ports.Trump's remarks came just hours after ‌he repeated a threat at the UN General Assembly to annihilate Iran if it failed to strike a deal.Speaking after a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the United Nations ‌in New York, Trump said: "They want to talk to us. They have been...

President Donald Trump revealed a major decision he is considering regarding the conflict with Iran during his Sept. 22 address to the U.N. General Assembly. In his speech, Trump reiterated his administration’s position that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and outlined how the U.S. military has targeted Iran’s navy, missile capabilities, and nuclear development. “But now I have a big decision to make: Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even...

Saudi Arabia ‌has restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline and could resume exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu later on Tuesday, three sources briefed on the matter said, as signs mounted of an increase in Middle Eastern oil flows. The resumption of supplies on Tuesday helped ​to drive selling on global oil markets. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell by more than $2 a ​barrel towards $97, its lowest since September 8.

The Iran and Ukraine wars have exposed the world’s reliance on the Middle East and Russia for diesel Persian Gulf states and Russia have invested tens of billions of dollars in refineries over the past decade to grab a bigger share of the global diesel market. Now, war in both regions has sent exports plunging, squeezing supplies of a fuel that powers much of the global economy. Diesel prices are soaring—they eclipsed $6 a gallon in the U.S. for the first time last week and have kept climbing, hitting $6.45 on Friday. The surge has rattled governments and markets around...

Long lines in IRAN!! (September 18th 2026) Very short video where Iranian man explains why there are long lines and how much food costs in Iran.

WASHINGTON — A new report by the Pentagon’s Inspector General has outlined the costs of Operation Epic Fury. Among them: “hundreds” of buildings and “dozens” of aircraft left damaged or destroyed, over 400 servicemembers wounded and the expenditure of $22 billion in munitions that has left “strategic inventory shortfalls” for the US military. The report, released today, provides the clearest accounting of the materiel damage that has occurred to US military assets since the start of the conflict with Iran. The report only covers from the launch of military activities on Feb. 28 to June 30, meaning that damage totals...

The number of U.S. troops killed or wounded in the war with Iran has risen to 774 after the Pentagon added dozens of injured service members to its casualty count in recent days. The number listed as wounded climbed from 697 on Wednesday to 756 on Thursday, an increase of 59, according to the War Department's Defense Casualty Analysis System on Friday. The number of American military deaths remained at 18. The Pentagon did not immediately explain the sharp increase, including when or where the newly recorded injuries occurred. The War Department has divided the casualties into two categories following...

These days one reads fewer stories proclaiming the turning of the tide in the Russia-Ukraine war. There are also fewer tweets from Donald Trump threatening Iran with imminent destruction. Now that the noise has receded, it is a good time to listen. I am not hearing of a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive. What I am hearing instead is the thud of Russian jackboots marching deeper into the parts of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that Vladimir Putin does not yet control. Meanwhile, in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, the Houthis have taken control of the strategic port city of...

The war with Iran is driving up inflation, and borrowing costs may increase for Americans, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office. The report found the war was responsible for more than one-third of the increase in inflation this year, and inflation will likely continue to grow in the first quarter of next year. The CBO specifically blames the war for more than 40% of inflation during the second quarter of 2026 and an estimated half a percentage point of higher inflation during the first quarter of 2027. Interest rates are likely to rise as...

New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The Defense Department's inspector general this week released a fresh report on the war in Iran that revealed "equipment losses" worth up to $3.7 billion — including nearly 60 aircraft. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector general added that U.S. Central Command reported Iranian strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.