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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Trump said on social media on Friday that he struck the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, Trump announced that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.

Trump’s shocking announcement comes after he signed a sweeping Russia sanctions law last month that aimed at clamping down on Russia’s energy revenues, among other areas, that fuel its war against Ukraine....

I was wondering what the October Surprise would be, and I hope this is it.

...“The system can silence, but it’s not competent enough to coordinate, so it produces contradiction instead of a unified false account,” Judy Twigg, professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, said in written comments this week.

Look, scrolling through feeds the last few days has been properly wild. Between warnings over enriched fuel and naval ships monitoring narrow transit routes, tensions across the Gulf are genuinely running high. But half the stuff doing the rounds online feels completely detached from what is actually happening on the ground.

​A few key points worth looking at based on verified reporting rather than digital panic:

​First off, that viral graphic claiming 81 US aircraft were destroyed, including F-15s, F-35s, and tankers, has zero backing. Reporting from Reuters and the Associated Press confirms no crewed American jets or fuel tankers have been downed. Regional groups in Yemen have only hit unmanned gear like the MQ-9 Reaper.

​On the Strait of Hormuz itself, crude tankers are still moving through monitored lanes round the clock. Commercial insurance costs and radio spoofing have gone up, but international naval patrols are keeping the transit corridors open.

​Over in Europe, France releasing around 10 million barrels of diesel from reserves is just standard International Energy Agency protocol to handle price jumps, not a sign of economic collapse.

​Meanwhile, nuclear enrichment talks remain jammed with JD Vance pushing for enrichment limits and Tehran defending its facilities, but it is an ongoing diplomatic stalemate rather than an overnight attack warning.

​Straight up, sticking to verified reporting from Reuters, AP, and Al Jazeera cuts straight through the noise.

​Curious how everyone sees shipping risks holding up if escort costs keep climbing over the next few weeks?