We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
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Adding on from a conversation with the Monument PD officer who referenced a bulletin the agency received as well as conversation with El Paso County deputies;
Callahan and El Paso County Sheriff's both doing shift change at 1600, going from a whopping 4 law enforcement officers in Northeast El Paso County to 0 for about a half an hour. Based on my observation Elbert County to shift change around then also.
Northeast Colorado Springs and Monument getting robberies and burglaries daily from both tweakers and Latin gangs impersonating food delivery, FedEx, and Amazon drivers. This particular officer lives in Elizabeth off County Road 13 and he's had Latino suspected gang members knocking on his door and then going around and checking the other doors and looking through the windows according to his security cameras.
All of El Paso County having vehicles broken into daily and the deputy recommended if we have a CCW and we leave our vehicle carry our gun don't leave it in the vehicle.
A cute little crime spree in southern Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security Widefield areas, where some group specifically went after law enforcement and military identified vehicles and estimates are at least 50 sets of plate carriers and helmets were stolen in a one week period.
Southeast El Paso County had incidents where Latino men were on dirt roads blocking them as if there's road hazard, sometimes putting out a cone or two, and then when people stopped they were ambushed from the right and left side and robbed. Advice given was if it does not look like official road crew with large barriers and large reflective signs to either push through people saying "stop there's a hazard" or if you could identify it early to stop turn around and go the other way, don't even take the risk of an ambush.
Overall theory from officer was that the cities have so much competition for crime territory that these people are coming out to the country to explore uncontested targets of opportunity.
🪖 🇺🇸 👨💻 Selective Service System wants to wargame the draft
Fearing that its new plans for the U.S. military draft pool won’t work, the Selective Service System wants to create a computer simulation to test scenarios for its national mobilization.
Since 1940, men within a designated age range have been required to register with the Selective Service. But under a proposed rule, men aged 18 to 26 will be automatically registered starting Dec. 19, 2026. The Selective Service System will work off data contained in other federal databases.
The computer simulation will explore multiple areas. These include evaluating staffing and resource requirements, comparing mobilization and police scenarios and assessing the operational impact of surge conditions. In addition, the system will “identify throughput risks, delays, and bottlenecks” and support executive planning and reporting obligations.
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🛢 This oil crisis is now considerably more dangerous than it was back in March while market sentiment remains complacent.
• Strait of Hormuz closed again, with less dark fleet shuttling than ten days ago;
• Iranian crude exports effectively blockaded;
• Bab el Mandeb has become a new front in the Iran-US conflict, removing additional Saudi barrels;
• Less diplomatic room for manoeuvre than before the MoU;
• Kazakh crude exports via CPC terminal halted following Ukraine’s vessel strike campaign in the Black Sea;
• 1.5mbpd of Russian product exports missing, with significant duration due to recurring Ukraine drone strikes;
• Global crude inventories 1.5bn barrels lower than on 28 Feb;
• US product inventories remain lowish while its refinery system is maxed out;
• Brent back to a US$6 front-month backwardation.
We are rapidly moving from a products crisis - which is here to stay - back into a crude and product crisis.
Expect fresh announcements of SPR releases.
🔗 Alexander Stahel
🌆 Market News Digest
[Jul 24, 2026, 07:00–16:00 EST]
🔥 Top Stories
• Middle East escalation risks spike — reports of strikes/explosions across Iran, Saudi, Kuwait, Yemen; tanker attacks and Hormuz-Bab el-Mandeb tensions lifted oil volatility and safe-haven flows.
• Trump weighs Iran options, pushes trade pressure — said he’s speaking with Iran, hasn’t decided on strikes, while also threatening major EU tariffs/301 probe and fresh Canada/Mexico tariffs.
• US growth data stays firm — flash PMIs beat estimates and June new-home sales topped forecasts, keeping recession fears in check.
• US stocks mixed at the close — Dow outperformed, Nasdaq lagged as AI/mega-cap weakness and geopolitics pressured tech.
⛽ Oil & Energy
• Crude swung lower despite conflict headlines — WTI settled at $89.31, Brent at $96.78 after missile/tanker reports, with renewed Red Sea/Hormuz risk.
• Tanker reroutes and strikes — TORM re-routed via Suez/southern Africa; reports also pointed to damage on a Saudi ...
