Iran begins laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, sources say  —  The Middle East Oil & gas Investing National security  —  Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar …

Gas Tax Holiday Floated as Band-Aid for Skyrocketing Prices at the Pump  —  Democratic senators have pitched the Gas Prices Relief Act.  —  The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. hit $3.53 on Tuesday, up from $2.90 a month ago, according to AAA.  Needless to say, Americans are not happy about it.

The U.S. Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties.  Trump Officials Scrapped It.  —  Images from the missile strike in southern Iran were more horrifying than any of the case studies Air Force combat veteran Wes J. Bryant had pored over in his mission to overhaul how the U.S. military safeguards civilian life.

Taco on Iran will come too late for Trump  —  The US president has already done lasting damage to international trust in America  —  Sometime soon Donald Trump will ring the closing bell on his Iran war.  That moment will have less to do with whether his mission is accomplished (whatever that is) than how much pain he can endure.

IEA Proposes Largest Ever Oil Release From Strategic Reserves  —  Countries would decide Wednesday whether to release oil stocks in an attempt to tame crude prices  —  PARIS—The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to bring down crude prices …

The war makes it more urgent for journalists to call out Trump's derangement  —  Let's say the president is mentally unfit for duty.  —  Let's say that has been pretty clear for a while now, what with his delusion that he won an election he lost, his chaotic imposition of illegal and irrational tariffs …