Iran Escalates, Oil Shock Looms, Platner Questions Grow

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:13]Hello America. I'm Eric Urgson. It is June 1st. These are the four things you need to know this afternoon. Up first, it's my birthday week officially on Wednesday. And every week at this time, I highlight nonprofits that are worth considering. And today, consider helping Help the Persecuted. It's a nonprofit that helps Muslims who convert to Christianity in the Middle East and other Christians who are persecuted around the world. It provides safe houses for them escape from countries if they're being hunted for death. Provides them job skills and meaningful relationships to share the gospel. You can text the word donate to 33777 and help the persecuted. Help those people who are being persecuted in the Middle East. Up first, Iran has fired on multiple US positions in Kuwait and the United States has now fired on Iranian positions in the Straight of Hormuz as Iran's president says he's ready to resign. He says the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is controlling everything and he has no input into the country, so there's no reason to be president. Iran is also now walking away from all negotiations with the United States as the situation there escalates dramatically. We're still technically in a ceasefire and both sides are now firing at each other. The US has allowed multiple ships through the straight of Hormuz. These ships have turned off their transponders and they're sailing very close to Oman. Uh not where Iran wants them to be. And now Iran is suggesting it is going to shut down all of the straight of Hormuz and begin mining the Straight of Hormuz in ways it hasn't before. We'll see what actually happens, but this is dramatic escalation in the situation. Want these four things every single day without hunting for them? Subscribe now. Up next, Exxon is warning that oil will get to $160 a barrel. Now, this is no idle threat here. We were told 7 weeks ago that the world had major oil reserves to last between six and seven weeks. We're now about to head into the eighth week and oil reserves are collapsing globally.

[00:02:06]Europe, which was told by summer it could be out of oil for jet travel, is actually running out of oil for jet travel now. And European airlines are beginning to cut flights. Oil prices got below $100 a barrel and they're starting to rise today with tensions in the Middle East. And Exxon is saying that we've never seen this situation since World War II with oil reserves wiped out globally. And in fact, they are. The United States has expanded output to maximum capacity. And we're able to fill those holes to a degree, but only to a degree. What would happen if oil rose to $160? Well, in theory, businesses would start cutting back so that demand would go down, so that supply could recover, and that would push us into a global recession.

[00:02:51]Graham Platner's stories, well, they continued to drip out in the runup to the June 9th primary there. It turns out he lied, surprise, about being the harbor master for his town. He filled out paperwork, but never actually took the job. He claimed to be the harbor master, and there's no record of him actually taking the job. Now, this is a drip drip drip. So you understand from the Democrats, not the Republicans. The Democrats are doing everything they can to drive him down because they realize worse attacks are about to come. They want to get ahead of those and plan for a July 13th deadline. If Platner were to drop out by then, the Democrats could handpick a successor. Much like they did Kla Harris to Joe Biden. It's democracy in action, folks, where they deny the people the person they voted for so that they can get someone they think is safe.

[00:03:35]It's the Democratic playbook in a time they say the Republicans are the authoritarians.

[00:03:42]Lastly, Senate Republicans are vowing to do absolutely nothing on ICE funding and border patrol until the president kills his anti-weaponization fund. The 1.6 to 1.8 billion fund. Democrats in the Senate and House want to fight it and Senate Republicans do too. And the president has alienated so many members of the Senate. Mitch McConnell isn't coming back. Tom Tillis isn't coming back. Susan Collins standing up to Trump only helps her in Maine. Lisa Marowsky in Alaska is alienated from him. And now you've got Bill Cassidy and John Cornin and others who are really frustrated with the president. They're calling it the Wounded Bear Caucus. And they're making it very clear if the president moves forward with his anti-weaponization fund. ICE funding is dead. The president's team has advised the president he probably is going to need to cancel the anti-weaponization fund. And we should expect a move this week from the White House to announce the anti-weaponization fund is no more.

[00:04:34]That's right, you heard it here first.

[00:04:36]The White House is planning on gutting the anti-weaponization fund because they've angered so many Republicans on Capitol Hill. I'm Eric Ericson. These are the four things you need to know. I hope you have a great afternoon. I'll see you tomorrow.