So much has changed within the past 24 hours.

The Houthis have successfully captured the most important Yemeni port city on the coast of the Red Sea…

Iran-aligned Houthi forces took control of the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Mocha, less than 50 miles from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after government forces retreated from the area overnight, despite making advances in Yemen’s desert interior. This comes despite Saudi-backed Yemeni forces announcing Wednesday that they had made significant gains in the north and central desert areas and appeared to have broken through Houthi lines.

In reality, the Houthis had simply repositioned, giving up open desert territory in order to seize the more strategically valuable western coastline. By Thursday morning, the group had taken Mocha after government forces retreated en masse, effectively swapping territory with Saudi-backed forces in a trade that leaves the Houthis with a more direct ability to threaten shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and increase pressure on Saudi Arabia.

This was a brilliant strategic move by the Houthis.

One former Yemeni official is claiming that outside intervention would be required to turn things around at this point…

A former Yemeni military official told i24NEWS that the government’s boasting about desert gains was “actually a cover for their losses on the coastline.” “It’s really bad,” he said, adding that the only way to turn the tide is for Saudi Arabia to get more involved and activate the Mecca Accord, bringing Turkey and Pakistan into the fight.

In addition to conquering Mocha, the Houthis also took control of a number of strategically important islands located in the southern portion of the Red Sea…

Two military sources in the Yemeni government told Reuters that the Houthis have reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, and AFP reported they seized Zuqar Island. Additionally, local sources confirmed to the Qatari Al-Araby channel that the Houthis took control of the strategic island of Mayun in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Up to now, the Houthis have been lobbing missiles at Saudi tankers from a long distance.

That has been effective, but controlling these islands will allow them to fire at Saudi tankers from very close range.

That is why this is being called a “strategic disaster” for the United States and Saudi Arabia…

Seizure of the coast and some of the islands in the sea would be a strategic disaster for Saudi Arabia and the US, taking Iran and its proxies closer to full control of two choke points for western shipping on opposite sides of the Arabian peninsula: the Bab al-Mandab at the southern end of the Red Sea and the strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Observers have said a reduction in hostilities – the most intense since the UN-sponsored ceasefire of April 2022 put an end to major military exchanges – now seems unlikely in what is seen as an attempt by the Houthis to open a second front in the Iran-US war, alongside the battle for control of Hormuz.

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been almost completely choked off.

Now the Houthis are in position to strangle commercial traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as well…

It is one of the world’s most important routes for crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, or the Suez-Mediterranean pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.

Blocking the narrow passage would isolate Gulf oil-producing countries, such as energy superpower Saudi Arabia, from their main shipping routes, after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — the primary maritime energy artery between Asia and Europe.

The war in the Middle East just got a lot more serious, and on Thursday the price of oil really spiked…

U.S. crude oil prices surged past $100 per barrel on Thursday, the highest level in more than three months as fighting has sharply escalated between Washington and Tehran this week.

West Texas Intermediate futures gained 6.7% to close at $102.48 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, last traded about 6% higher to $107.21 per barrel.

Oil prices have advanced more than 18% in September as the market braces for a prolonged war in the Middle East.

If we don’t witness some sort of a diplomatic miracle, things could get a lot worse.

Goldman Sachs is warning that the price of oil could potentially hit $120 a barrel, and Bank of America is claiming that it could actually reach $150 a barrel in a worst case scenario…

Then there’s Goldman Sachs, which raised its 2027 forecast to $80, while also flagging a worst-case scenario of $120 oil where Gulf output remains suppressed.

Not to be outdone, Bank of America said continued Middle East conflict could put oil in a $95-to-$120 range, with $150 a possibility if energy infrastructure is damaged further.

We are in far more trouble than most people realize.

The Iranians truly believe that they now have the upper hand, and they are openly mocking us…

Over the past couple of months, the Iranians have been responding to our attacks.

But now the IRGC is warning that Iran is “on the threshold of offensive operations”…

The top Revolutionary Guards commander in Tehran said Iran had moved beyond defensive operations and was now “on the threshold of offensive operations.”

“This is a turning point whose effects the enemies will soon understand,” Hassan Hassanzadeh said.

What kind of “offensive operations” do they have in mind?

We are also being told that Iran has been steadily producing new weapons and that we will soon “see a glimpse of the tip of this iceberg”…

Iran’s defense industry remains operational and has become “stronger, smarter and more advanced than before,” the Defense Ministry said on Thursday, rejecting suggestions that the sector could be destroyed.

“You will soon see a glimpse of the tip of this iceberg,” the ministry added, without providing details.

I do believe that the Iranians have some surprises up their sleeves.

But so does Israel.

I am expecting to see some major escalations.

Of course that would be really bad news for the global economy.

The price of oil has smashed through the psychologically important $100 barrier, and if it keeps going higher it is inevitable that we will witness an enormous wave of panic in the financial markets.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post A Major Ground Offensive In The Middle East Just Caused A Dramatic Surge In The Price Of Oil appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

As I discussed yesterday, great efforts have been made to keep the price of oil under $100 during this war.

Unfortunately, those efforts have failed…

Oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel Wednesday for the first time in nearly six weeks as escalating attacks on tankers and energy facilities in the Middle East raised fears of further disruptions to global supplies.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose above $100 a barrel in early trading, while the U.S. benchmark climbed above $95.

When the price of oil rises above $100 a barrel, it acts as a psychological trigger and global investors start to become very nervous.

The reason why the price of oil is spiking is because more fighting suddenly flared up last night.

The U.S. attacked and destroyed five oil tankers that belonged to Iran…

U.S. military forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers Sept. 8, officials said, the latest in an escalating round of exchanges between the United States and Iran.

The strikes targeted five tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. Central Command, the arm of the military overseeing operations in the Middle East. Central Command shared footage of the strikes showing the aft, or rear, part of the massive non-military vessels.

Central Command footage of the strikes shows missiles hitting the ships and leaving them in flames. Four of the tankers were located in the Gulf of Oman. The other tanker was in the Persian Gulf near Kharg Island, a well-known Iranian oil depot President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack.

U.S. Central Command has specifically identified all five of the oil tankers for us, and we are being told that they were targeted “because of their role in helping move Iranian oil out of the region”…

The tankers U.S. forces targeted were M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco, located in the Gulf of Oman, and M/T Derya, located near Kharg Island, military officials said.

According to Central Command, the vessels were targeted because of their role in helping move Iranian oil out of the region.

It was inevitable that the Iranians would respond.

Shortly after the U.S. attacks, Iran launched missiles at 10 ships…

Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.

Two of the ships that Iran targeted were U.S. warships, and eight of them were commercial vessels.

In addition, Iran also fired a number of missiles at U.S. facilities in Jordan.

The Iranians claim that they successfully hit two U.S. Navy destroyers, but U.S. Central Command is strongly denying this…

It does appear that there were direct hits in Jordan, but the Pentagon is telling us that all U.S. personnel “are accounted for”…

After a huge Iranian ballistic missile launch on US bases in Jordan overnight, CENTCOM has yet to respond in any major way. The Pentagon has also said all US troops “are accounted for” – but this doesn’t necessarily mean there were no casualties.

Hopefully we will get more clarity about potential casualties in the hours ahead.

It is being reported that the Iranians are starting to use “electro-optical missiles” in some instances.

Electro-optical missiles achieve high precision by tracking and striking targets using built-in cameras and light sensors.

So where did Iran get such technology?

Well, there is speculation that the Iranians may be getting help from Russia or China…

The new missiles suggest Tehran may still be receiving assistance from Russia or China to track the location of US warships, experts have warned.

In April, intelligence reports found that Chinese and Russian satellites were secretly providing the Islamic Republic with critical imagery to target US military bases.

Russia has long exchanged weapons with Iran and provided drone expertise during the war.

In May, the US sanctioned China-based entities for providing satellite imagery to Iran during the war. Two months later, it was revealed that China was sending 400 rocket launchers to Iran in a new deal, underscoring their increased military ties.

If it is confirmed that either Russia or China is assisting the Iranians with their missile program, that would be a deeply troubling development.

I think that the Trump administration was hoping that striking Iranian tankers would cause the Iranians to stop attacking commercial vessels, but that isn’t going to happen.

In fact, the IRGC is warning that “if the enemy hits two or three of our targets, we will respond firmly with 20 targets”…

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that it will hit 20 targets for every two or three U.S. strikes, while outlining the country’s conditions for ending the war.

“If the enemy wants an end to this situation, it must, while completely stopping the war, refrain from making threats again, the army of the Zionist regime must withdraw from Lebanon, the blockade of Yemen must end, $24 billion of Iran’s frozen assets must be released, and it must refrain from any interference in the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities,” said IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebi, according to pro-regime Iranian outlet Akharin Khabar.

“We even have the capability to hit targets at this distance of 400 kilometers (250 miles), and some time ago, we targeted an American aircraft carrier at a distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles),” Mohebi claimed, adding that Iran has “reached a point where if the enemy hits two or three of our targets, we will respond firmly with 20 targets.”

The Iranians want to make the response to any military action so painful that President Trump will be forced to back off.

But that isn’t going to happen either.

If both sides just continue to escalate matters, the entire region could erupt in flames.

Perhaps that is inevitable.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again boldly proclaimed that the end of the regime in Iran is very near…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said victory over Iran is “very close,” declaring on the eve of Rosh Hashanah that bringing down Tehran’s regime remains the country’s “main task.”

“The main task is to defeat the terrorist regime in Iran. We are very close to it,” Netanyahu said in a video message posted to X during a visit to Mount Hermon in Syria. “We know that the entire axis will ultimately fall. We are committed to doing this, and we will do it.”

Netanyahu visited the area alongside Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, receiving a briefing on Israeli military operations in the region.

Netanyahu has said this several times now.

To me, it does not appear that the fall of the Iranian regime is close.

So I would love to learn what he knows that I do not.

Needless to say, the regime in Tehran will not go peacefully.

If what Netanyahu is claiming is accurate, that would seem to indicate that the war in the Middle East is not even close to over.

That means that the global energy crunch is going to get a whole lot worse.

Right now, the Chinese are driving up prices for physical oil as they seek to replace the oil that they normally import from Iran…

China, the world’s largest oil importer, is bidding up crude prices across Africa, Canada, and Latin American markets as disruptions in the Hormuz chokepoint and limited Iranian supplies intensify competition for alternatives. The scramble is squeezing smaller Chinese refineries that once relied on heavily discounted Iranian barrels, according to a new Bloomberg report.

The renewed Chinese buying marks a major shift from a period when subdued Chinese buying helped restrain crude oil prices. With Iranian exports almost entirely shut off by the US blockade and fighting flaring again, as seen Monday when Saudi Aramco’s Jizan oil facilities were reportedly hit, the race to find replacement supplies around the world is becoming an increasingly expensive task for the Chinese.

Pretty soon, there will be a mad scramble as nations all over the globe attempt to secure sufficient energy supplies.

Inventories are getting extremely tight, and we are feeling the pain here in the United States too.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. has never been this high so late in the calendar year, and the average price of a gallon of diesel just reached yet another new record high…

While gas prices often lag oil prices, they also ticked higher this week after reaching a record Labor Day weekend high. As of Sept. 9, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.22, up from $4.01 last month and from $3.19 this time last year, according to AAA.

The jumps come days after average U.S. diesel prices reached record highs. On Sept. 9, diesel continued to set records, jumping to an all-time high of $5.92 per gallon, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

Gas prices have surged 42% since the start of the war on Feb. 28, prompting pain at the pump for some American consumers. The University of Michigan’s measure of consumer sentiment and The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence fell in August, as survey respondents cited high gas prices.

If prices continue to rise, it will have a dramatic impact on economic activity.

Meanwhile, global investors will get really spooked if the price of oil stays above $100 a barrel for an extended period of time.

But there is no easy way out now.

Even if the U.S. were to completely pull out of the Middle East, it would be just a matter of time before Iran and Israel started going at it again.

Decades of tension in the Middle East have been building up to this moment.

Now a terrifying war is playing out right in front of our eyes, and there is no end in sight.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Strait Of Hormuz Gridlock: Oil Surges Past $100 As U.S. Tanker Strikes And Iran Missile Retaliation Trigger Global Panic appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

At this stage, nobody can deny that a global energy crisis is here.

In fact, Goldman Sachs just warned that the price of oil could soon jump above $120 a barrel…

Goldman Sachs is warning that heightened attacks in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could push global oil prices above $120 a barrel, which would add to the surging fuel costs Americans have faced during the Iran war.

The investment bank’s forecast implies a roughly 20% increase in the cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, which is trading at nearly $100 a barrel.

For months, there have been extraordinary efforts to keep the price of oil below the psychologically important $100 a barrel mark.

But authorities will not be able to hold that line for much longer.

Already, U.S. consumers have spent an extra $100 billion on fuel since fighting with Iran erupted in February…

American consumers spent an additional $100 billion on fuel between the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 and Sept. 8, according to a tracker from Brown University. Higher gasoline prices accounted for about $55 billion of that amount, while diesel accounted for the remaining $45 billion.

Unfortunately, fuel prices just continue to rise.

On Labor Day, the average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States reached another brand new record high…

Diesel, which is widely used in the trucking, construction, agriculture and rail sectors, reached a record $5.90 a gallon on Labor Day, AAA data shows.

It is over six dollars a gallon where I live.

In some parts of California, it is now over eight dollars a gallon.

And industry executives are telling us that global supplies of diesel will continue to be very tight for the foreseeable future…

Global diesel supply will remain tight due to a lack of spare refining capacity, Russia’s ban ​on exports and the approach of peak winter demand, senior industry ‌executives said on Tuesday.

The wars in Ukraine and Iran have impacted refineries in Russia and the Middle East, pushing diesel margins to record levels in Europe and the U.S., while reducing crude ​supplies to Asia.

“There’s really a shortage of products because we’re missing 2 ​million barrels a day from Russia, and we’re missing nearly 2 million ⁠barrels a day from the Middle East,” Vitol CEO Russell Hardy told the ​APPEC conference on Tuesday.

If things are this bad now, what will they look like a few months from now if World War 3 continues to intensify?

On Tuesday, oil spiked after the Houthis launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia…

Oil prices rose Tuesday after Iran-allied militants in Yemen attacked several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, forcing a temporary halt to some operations.

Brent crude futures rose 1% to $97.99 a barrel by 11:28 a.m. E.T. The international benchmark hit a session high of $99.46 earlier. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced 1.55% to $92.90 per barrel.

Oil prices are up more than 8% in September as the U.S. and Iran have traded military strikes for the first time since July.

We are only a little over a week into this month, and the price of oil is already up about 8 percent.

That is not a good sign at all.

The Houthis know how to hit Saudi Arabia where it hurts.

Multiple Aramco facilities were targeted, and it is being reported that fires caused “temporary shutdowns” at several of them…

Houthi militants targeted civilian and economic assets in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. More than 70 civilians were injured in the attacks, it said.

The attacks caused fires at several energy facilities resulting in temporary shutdowns, the kingdom’s Energy Ministry said in a statement. Emergency services are working to contain fires at the sites and assess the extent of damage, the world’s largest oil exporter added.

Riyadh did not disclose what type of energy facilities were struck. Houthi state media said the group attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in southern areas with drones and ballistic missiles.

In addition to launching missiles and drones at the Saudis, the Houthis have also begun a major ground offensive in the direction of the Bab al-Mandab Strait…

The Houthis launched a broad offensive along frontlines on the western Red Sea coast in a bid to advance towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, experts say.

The waterway forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a shipping artery that has become vital for Saudi oil exports during Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the U.S.-Iran war.

Meanwhile, the recent fighting between the U.S. and Iran threatens to greatly escalate.

Over the weekend, the U.S. severely damaged three Iranian oil tankers…

The United States struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed, which it said were involved in covert oil shipment near the critical Kharg Island terminal.

Only one of the vessels was near Kharg Island. In addition to one vessel “permanently disabled” off the coast of Kharg, Centcom said it had “completely destroyed” another oil carrier near the port city of Jask, while rendering another “inoperable” in the Gulf of Oman “after the crew was directed to abandon ship.”

Exports of Iranian oil have essentially dropped to zero, and the Iranian economy is being strangled to death by the U.S. naval blockade.

Authorities in Iran are deeply frustrated, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is pledging that the U.S. will soon be “brought to complete regret”…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed continued resistance against the U.S. on Tuesday, writing on X that the U.S. will “regret” the war.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always opposed war and has considered the preservation of the people’s interests and regional security to lie in refraining from igniting conflict,” Pezeshkian wrote.

“However, just as it has boldly risen to defend against aggression up to this day, it will continue this resistance with full strength until the aggressors are brought to complete regret and will remain the guardian of the rights of the great Iranian nation,” he added.

Many consider such threats to be quite empty.

But the Iranians do appear to have freshly upgraded ballistic missiles, and they are threatening to use them to conduct preemptive strikes…

Iran has issued a fresh threat to the US over its newly upgraded ballistic missile, with officials warning that the nation “will take action against any threat, even before it is carried out.”

The report by Iran’s state news agency on Monday highlighted comments broadcast on state television the previous day by the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei.

He praised the country’s expanded arsenal and claimed a new missile had been “tested” against a US warship. However, it was unconfirmed whether the test involved the solid-fueled Qassem Basir featured in the new report.

There is speculation that Iran’s freshly upgraded ballistic missiles could potentially be a serious threat to our warships.

Needless to say, the sinking of even a single U.S. warship would change everything.

But President Trump continues to be optimistic.

On Monday, he assured us that the price of oil will quickly fall below two dollars a gallon “when we WIN the war with Iran”…

President Trump on Monday said oil prices “will drop precipitously” after the Iran war is won, as Iran seeks to maintain its control of the Strait of Hormuz with a “restricted zone.”

“Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon. It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon.”

In Ukraine, the Russians have resumed hitting Ukrainian cities with a vengeance…

At least five people were killed in Kyiv after Russia launched what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “complex” attack on the city, with Moscow resuming long-range strikes on the Ukrainian capital following a three-day pause to allow the visit of a U.S. peace talks delegation.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 166 drones, 32 cruise missiles and an unspecified number of anti-ship and ballistic missiles into the country overnight. The air force said its forces downed 142 drones, 31 cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles.

The Russians are hoping that greatly escalating the intensity of strikes will convince the Ukrainians to stop hitting their refineries.

It isn’t going to work.

But sides are just going to continue to pummel one another, and that isn’t going to be good news for any of us.

In addition to repeatedly targeting Kyiv, the Russians also hit the city of Odessa really hard…

Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa were the main targets, the air force reported. Missiles and drones impacted across 29 locations, it added in a post to Telegram.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that the “massive strike” targeted defense industrial facilities and military transport and logistical hubs, plus port facilities in Odesa. The ministry also posted a graphic showing what appeared to be cruise missiles, with the caption, “Targeting day and night.”

Unless the war between Russia and Ukraine ends, the diesel supply crunch will continue to escalate.

And as long as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is only a fraction of what it was before the war with Iran, there will be upward pressure on the price of oil.

The higher energy prices go, the worse things will get for the entire global economy.

The clouds on the horizon are getting really dark, and at this point everyone can see that a major storm is rapidly approaching.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Goldman Sachs Warns Oil Could Soon Rise Above $120 A Barrel And The Price Of Diesel Just Set Another Record As World War 3 Continues To Escalate appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

On Monday morning, Accuweather was telling us that Hurricane Lowell would “come within 100 miles of the western islands of Hawaii”…

Following a path similar to Hurricane Iniki from September 1992, Lowell is forecast by AccuWeather meteorologists to make a right turn and come within 100 miles of the western islands of Hawaii.

As of Monday morning HST, Hurricane Lowell was a Category 3 hurricane moving northeast at 14 mph and was located about 405 miles southwest of Honolulu.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency last Thursday due to the impending impacts for the islands.

That would have been bad enough.

But now CNN is reporting that the forecast has changed and now Hurricane Lowell is expected to “pass about 75 miles west of the more populous Kauai as a Category 2 storm Monday night through Tuesday morning”…

Lowell is a Category 3 hurricane as of early Monday morning, local time, with winds of 115 mph, traveling north-northeast at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Its outer rainbands were hitting as far east as Oahu — where a tropical storm watch is in effect — but all of the islands will be soaked as the storm approaches throughout the day.

And it’s expected to get closer than previously thought. The hurricane’s forecast track has shifted about 75 miles east and closer to Kauai and Niihau since Sunday morning. Lowell’s center is now forecast to make its closest pass about 75 miles west of the more populous Kauai as a Category 2 storm Monday night through Tuesday morning.

Residents of Hawaii certainly don’t want to hear that Lowell will “get closer than previously thought”.

So what if Lowell keeps drifting in that direction and ends up making a direct hit on the Hawaiian islands?

That could be catastrophic.

At this moment, panic buying has erupted on Kauai as Hurricane Lowell approaches.

At Home Depot, supplies of plywood and propane are rapidly disappearing…

Shoppers on Kauai have rushed to stock up, leaving empty shelves, dwindling supplies of plywood and no propane at one Home Depot, while long lines formed at Costco and gas pumps.

Greg, an Oahu resident who is visiting his family on Kauai, told local KITV: ‘I think it looks like everybody gathered those items already. Everybody is out. Just making sure that all those items are gathered and whatnot.’

This sort of thing always seems to happen whenever a major disaster is looming.

One local resident said that Costco “was just flooded with people”…

Kiare Reis-Torres, a Kauai resident, told KITV: ‘I’ve never experienced this, but I know that when I went to Big Save yesterday, most of the shelves were empty.

‘And then I saw that Costco was just flooded with people. Everybody’s just trying to grab their supplies.’

Meanwhile, another extremely large hurricane has been sending monster waves into the Southern California coastline…

Hurricane Marie is impacting the Southern California coastline with powerful swells and dangerous rip currents triggering flooding, water rescues, and a frantic effort to keep ocean water away from homes.

The storm, churning in the eastern Pacific off the coast of Baja California, is not expected to make landfall in the Golden State — but it is already hitting beaches spanning Los Angeles County to Orange County.

At Seal Beach on Saturday, ocean water surged into parking lots near the pier, flooding low-lying areas and trapping vehicles.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But it is.

In Long Beach, gigantic waves caused by Hurricane Marie have transformed “scenic waterfront streets into treacherous, waterlogged disaster zones”…

Among the hardest-hit areas is the low-lying city of Long Beach, where massive ocean surges have turned scenic waterfront streets into treacherous, waterlogged disaster zones.

Dramatic videos circulating online show towering waves crashing directly over concrete barricades and swamping public beach paths. Waters breached low-lying properties on the Peninsula, inundating coastal homes and parking lots.

The footage of these waves that is being shared on social media is absolutely shocking.

Authorities rushed to build an emergency sand berm, but it was no match for the colossal waves that kept relentlessly rushing in…

In anticipation of the high surf, municipal crews worked tirelessly with heavy machinery to construct a massive emergency sand berm along the shoreline. However, the relentless force of the tide quickly overtopped and breached the barrier, allowing saltwater to pour into residential neighborhoods.

Describing the frightening scene, local Peninsula residents expressed helplessness as ocean water rushed toward their doorsteps.

“The water just kept coming over the top of the berm,” noted one long-time resident watching municipal pumps work furiously to clear the street. “No matter how high they built it, the ocean was just too big.”

Hurricane Marie is not anywhere close to shore, but it is still inflicting quite a bit of pain.

In fact, the Metrolink Pacific Surfliner railroad in San Clemente had to be shut down for repairs because swells from Hurricane Marie had caused so much damage.

Monster swells from Hurricane Marie forced emergency repairs on Southern California’s scenic railroad route on Sunday.

A portion of the Metrolink Pacific Surfliner railroad in San Clemente is undergoing repairs, forcing service suspensions across parts of Orange County through Labor Day Monday.

A third major storm, Hurricane Karina, is not currently expected to be a serious threat but meteorologists continue to monitor it.

On the other side of the world, a massive eruption of Anak Krakatau that lasted for 25 hours forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at Jakarta’s main international airport…

Ash from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau wreaked havoc for aviation around the region over the weekend.

The volcanic eruption disrupted hundreds of flights at Jakarta’s main international airport, the second-busiest in Southeast Asia, with cancellations extending into Monday.

The volcano began a period of continuous eruption at 11:07 p.m. local time on Friday, according to a CNBC translation of a press release from Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The continuous eruption lasted about 25 hours before ending at 12:04 a.m. on Sunday.

This was a very large eruption of a very dangerous volcano.

As of a few hours ago, a total of seven airports in Indonesia were still closed…

Seven Indonesian airports – including two serving Jakarta – remained closed on Monday ⁠morning because of volcanic ash from eruptions at Mount ⁠Anak Krakatau, the transport minister ⁠said.

Ash from ​Anak Krakatau, which sits halfway between Java and Sumatra islands, has blanketed Jakarta and several surrounding areas since it erupted ⁠late on Friday, leading to the closure of the airports for safety reasons.

The transport ministry said 170,000 people have been affected by flight ⁠cancellations.

Unfortunately, Anak Krakatau is not the only volcano in Indonesia that is rumbling right now.

At this stage, there are six different volcanoes in the country that are “at the second-highest alert status”…

Six active volcanoes in Indonesia are currently at the second-highest alert status, including Mount Anak Krakatau, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in East Nusa Tenggara, Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, Mount Semeru in East Java, Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra and Lewotolok Volcano in East Nusa Tenggara.

Over the past several months, we have witnessed so much unusual seismic activity all over the globe.

Personally, I am convinced that this is just the beginning.

On top of everything else, an asteroid that was only discovered about 7 hours in advance just hit our planet…

Asteroid 2026 RW1 struck Earth over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on September 6, just over 7 hours after it was discovered, becoming the 13th known asteroid detected before hitting Earth. This event added another real-world test of planetary defense systems designed to identify small incoming objects, rapidly refine their trajectories, and determine where and when they will enter the atmosphere.

ESA tracked the asteroid under the temporary identifier CERNQ52 using its Meerkat system and estimated its diameter at only 0.6–1.3 m (2–4.3 feet). Objects of this size are difficult to detect far in advance because they are intrinsically faint, often becoming observable only when they are already relatively close to Earth.

In many other instances, astronomers only spotted a large space rock once it had already flown past us.

We are far more vulnerable than most people realize.

Despite all of our advanced technology, we are very much at the mercy of the natural world.

Unfortunately for all of us, the natural world continues to become even more unstable all around us.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Nature Gone Wild: Hurricane Lowell Causes Panic Buying In Hawaii, Monster Waves From Hurricane Marie Slam California, And Anak Krakatau Explodes appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Normally, gasoline prices are trending downward as the summer comes to an end.

But that hasn’t happened this year.

In fact, the average price of a gallon of gasoline is above four dollars on Labor Day weekend for the very first time in U.S. history…

American motorists are buying $4 gas on Labor Day weekend for the first time in history, a fuel analyst reports.

A gallon of regular unleaded gas cost an average of $4.15 nationwide on Sept. 6, AAA reports.

There have been moments when the price of gasoline has been higher than this, but it has never been this high so late in the calendar year…

“Gasoline, while not at all-time records, is at its highest level ever recorded this late in the calendar year,” said GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, writing in a recent post on X.

We are experiencing the consequences of the historic events that are taking place on the other side of the planet.

The war in the Middle East has greatly reduced the flow of oil out of the Middle East, and Ukraine’s relentless attacks on Russian refineries are having an enormous impact on global energy markets.

As a result, we are forced to pay much more for gasoline…

In a normal year, gas prices follow a seasonal cycle, bottoming out in the depth of winter, when people drive less, and rising steadily through spring and summer, when temperatures are warmer, days are longer and Americans drive more.

But this is not a normal year. The Iran war has driven up global oil prices for months. On top of that, Russia has lost capacity in its refineries, De Haan said, amid ongoing attacks in its war with Ukraine. Together, those forces have pushed U.S. gas prices to their highest levels on record for this time of year.

What is happening to diesel prices is an even bigger story.

On Friday, the average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States set a brand new record high…

The national average price for a gallon of diesel now sits at $5.85, according to the AAA motor club. That figure represents a 55 percent jump since the start of the war with Iran, and the price for a gallon of diesel has now overtaken the previous peak, which occurred four years ago following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Then on Saturday, the average price of a gallon of diesel went even higher…

Diesel fuel prices set a new record high Saturday for a second day in a row.

The national retail average for a gallon of diesel reached $5.8819 Saturday, according to AAA’s daily fuel prices report. That’s up from $5.85 on Friday.

This is not good at all, and the situation is particularly dire on the west coast.

In California, the average price of a gallon of diesel has nearly reached eight dollars…

The most expensive state to buy diesel fuel is California, where a gallon on Saturday averages $7.7770. Prices have not exceeded $7 per gallon in any other state, but six other states have per-gallon averages above $6: Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Alaska.

Russia is normally the second largest exporter of diesel fuel in the entire world.

But thanks to months of Ukrainian drone strikes, that is no longer true.

So now global inventories of diesel fuel are starting to get “very, very, very tight”…

“Normally we’d be building up a lot of diesel inventory this time of year, and then we’d draw that back down in October and November. We’re not seeing that inventory build, so folks are looking out and saying ‘wow, inventories are going to be very, very, very tight,’” Miller said.

Miller said the capacity taken offline in Russia could make it a long road to return the average cost of diesel to under $4 a gallon.

“Diesel’s not going below $4 a gallon, oh for a very long time, if possibly ever again,” Miller said.

It would be extremely difficult for me to overstate the seriousness of this crisis.

The crack spread for diesel has skyrocketed to levels that were once believed to be unthinkable…

Diesel is used to produce the food that you eat every single day.

This year, much higher diesel prices are hitting our farmers like a sledgehammer…

Dale Hemminger runs a dairy and cabbage farm in Seneca Castle, N.Y. “Diesel is our fuel,” he says. “We have to run tractors and harvesters and trucks, and they almost exclusively run on diesel. So, diesel and the price of diesel is a major factor.”

So far this year, Hemminger says, fuel has cost him close to $45,000 for a tank of 10,000 gallons. Last year, it was around $25,000 for a tank.

This is one of the reasons why many are forecasting that you will be paying significantly more for food in 2027.

Of course the cost of diesel is going to affect prices in nearly every other sector of our economy as well…

Soaring diesel costs are raising expenses for trucking, construction, agriculture and other industries that rely on heavy-duty vehicles and machinery.

High diesel prices can stoke inflation by raising the cost of transporting goods across the U.S., thereby pushing up consumer prices.

“The everyday consumer will see higher diesel prices in the consumer goods they purchase,” said Susan Bell, senior vice president of downstream research at Rystad Energy. “Think of the groceries that get shipped around the nation, and fruits and vegetables that come from California and move by truck or rail. It’s inflationary.”

Many pundits are hoping that the war in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine will both end within the next 12 months.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

But do you think that will actually happen?

I certainly don’t.

In fact, I believe that the military conflicts that we are witnessing will only intensify as we roll into 2027.

So don’t get too accustomed to the painfully high energy prices that we are experiencing now, because I believe that they will soon go even higher.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Gasoline Prices Have Never Been Higher On Labor Day Weekend, And The Cost Of Diesel Has Soared To Absurd Heights appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

The legal system is one of the primary tools that is being used to persecute the Christian faith in the United States.

On Monday, the Maine Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a mother can be banned from taking her daughter to church and reading the Bible to her…

The Maine Supreme Court unanimously upheld a custody order on Monday giving a father veto power over a mother’s decisions to take their daughter to church or read her the Bible, largely barring the child’s religious upbringing.

As covered last year by LifeSiteNews, the dispute is between Emily Bickford and Matthew Bradeen, the unmarried, separated parents of a 13-year-old girl. The father maintains that their daughter has displayed panic attacks since the mother started taking her to Calvary Chapel of Portland, stemming from fears that the rapture is drawing near and her father and sister will not make it to Heaven.

He produced a witness whose assessment of Calvary Chapel’s sermons claimed that they were potentially psychologically harmful, prompting the court to transfer full control of the child’s religious upbringing from Bickford to Bradeen.

This is absolutely insane.

The couple was never married, and the mother has custody of the daughter.

But now she has been permanently banned from taking her daughter to church because that is what the father wants.

Are we still living in America?

The attorney that represented the mother says that he plans to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court…

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver, who argued Bickford’s case before the Maine SJC, said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith,” said Staver in a statement, calling the opinion “disappointing” and “a serious threat to religious freedom.”

“This opinion goes against other state court decisions involving custody in the context of religious free exercise rights and ignores precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court. We will ask the High Court to take this case and overrule the decision.”

Hopefully the U.S. Supreme Court will be receptive.

But there is no guarantee that they will even be willing to hear this case.

I really detest what has happened to our legal system.

All over the nation, we are seeing outrageous ruling after outrageous ruling.

The far left completely and utterly dominates our courts, and that is not going to change any time soon because our law schools are absolutely packed with radical leftists.

I want to switch gears and talk about all of the church burnings that are occurring in 2026.

Churches are burning to the ground over and over again, and yet the big national news networks barely pay any attention to this phenomenon.

Sometimes, authorities catch those who are responsible. For example, a 19-year-old man was just arrested for his role in the burning of a historic church in Ohio…

A man was arrested after a historic church in Ohio went up in flames.

A 19-year-old man is facing a felony arson charge in connection with a fire that destroyed a historic vacant church on Cleveland’s east side.

Court documents show John McManamon was arraigned Wednesday morning. He is being held on a $10,000 bond.

But most of the time the arsonists are never caught.

Last Friday night, a “massive fire” suddenly consumed a Presbyterian church in Florida…

Crews battled a massive fire at Buckingham Presbyterian church on Buckingham Road in Buckingham on Friday night.

According to the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District, the fire went through the roof of the church, and crews are still at the scene working to extinguish the fire.

The fire district said the cause of the fire will likely be handled by the Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosion Investigations because it is at a church.

A large law enforcement presence was in the area and Buckingham Road was shut down for hours before re-opening on Saturday morning.

Hopefully they will catch whoever did that.

The way churches are erupting in flames this year, you would think that they must be the most flammable buildings in our entire society.

In Mississippi, a fire that suddenly spread like wildfire absolutely gutted the activity building of a local Baptist church…

Rocky Creek Baptist Church will hold its first service Wednesday night after a fire heavily damaged part of its campus a day earlier.

Firefighters responded to the Lucedale church around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, after a fire broke out on the property on Rocky Creek Road.

The blaze gutted the church’s activity building, which houses the gym, kitchen and classrooms.

We have been witnessing incidents such as this from coast to coast, but things have been particularly bad in Michigan.

In Grand Rapids, four firefighters recently got hurt trying to fight a gigantic fire that suddenly roared to life at LaGrand Avenue Christian Reformed Church…

Four firefighters were injured while responding to a fire overnight at LaGrand Avenue Christian Reformed Church in downtown Grand Rapids.

A spokesperson for the Grand Rapids Fire Department told News 8 that the fire started around 11 p.m. Wednesday night on Oakes Street and Sheldon Boulevard. On social media, LaGrave Avenue CRC confirmed the fire happened at the former Seventh Day Adventist building on their campus and there was no risk to the church’s main building.

This sort of thing has been occurring so frequently all over the state of Michigan.

Here is another recent example…

A west Michigan church suffered major damage early Monday morning after fire broke out just before 4 a.m., destroying the gymnasium and causing extensive smoke and water damage throughout the building.

A passerby spotted the flames and called 911 at 3:41 a.m. Byron Township Fire, along with multiple mutual aid departments including Wyoming Fire, responded to the scene.

Pastor Chad DeJong of Byron Center Bible Church arrived around 6 a.m. and immediately knew the damage would be severe.

It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out why there are so many church fires in the state of Michigan.

Of course the same thing could be said about the dramatic increase in church fires in western Europe.

The big media outlets don’t seem to care, but if a mosque suddenly caught fire it would be front page news everywhere.

In this day and age, it is open season on Christians.

In Idaho, when the owner of a coffee shop discovered that a group of customers had gathered to discuss pro-life issues, he kicked them out…

The founder of a well-known pro-life organization has gone viral in recent days after reportedly being kicked out of an Idaho coffee shop after the owner learned she was holding a meeting there.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, shared a video of what purportedly took place at Wydaho Roasters last month — and that video went viral.

Hawkins told CBN News that coffee shop owner Jim Sheehan made his displeasure known after she, her son, and others met to discuss pro-life issues inside Wydaho Roasters. Her son’s goal has been to rally people against Proposition 1, an abortion measure that will be on the ballot in November.

This happened in supposedly “deep red” Idaho.

In blue states, the level of hostility toward Christian beliefs can be far worse.

Even if you don’t say anything, you can still get persecuted if you just try to live out your faith.

In Missouri, a Christian grandmother decided that she was going to serve her community by feeding people breakfast for free…

Kathy Kite, a resident of Harrisburg, Missouri, began welcoming locals into her home for breakfast back in May after the community’s convenience store stopped serving breakfast following COVID.

Kite works at H-Town, the local convenience store and gas station, and said residents had repeatedly expressed interest in finding a new place to have breakfast. She lives nearby, so she decided to offer an alternative by cooking for her friends and offering up the food for free.

“I told the old guys that come in there in the mornings that like to play cards, and drink coffee, and eat breakfast, and say they didn’t have any more — I’m like, ‘You guys can come to my house and I’ll do it,’” Kite told CBN News.

People that are willing to make hard sacrifices like that to serve others are the backbone of our nation.

Eventually, approximately 20 to 25 people (including young kids) started to come to her house for breakfast…

At first, it was just a few people. But others soon began to come after her loving act was advertised on social media, with 20-25 people regularly coming to her home in the morning; some parents even brought their kids to her house for food before school. Kite gets up at 3:30 a.m. to prepare for the day.

“And it just kind of exploded from there,” Kite said.

In the old days, going to grandma’s house for breakfast was a cherished tradition.

But now it is a crime.

The control freaks that run things in the area soon sent her a letter insisting that she needed to obtain a commercial kitchen license to continue feeding people breakfast…

But Kite’s breakfast gatherings eventually caught the attention of government officials, with Columbia city officials from the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department reportedly sending a letter telling her she needed a commercial kitchen license to continue operating.

This is a perfect example of what is wrong with this country.

In other parts of the U.S., authorities have literally made it illegal to feed the homeless.

Those that have made such laws should be ashamed of themselves.

Nobody is going to stop me from having compassion on a fellow human being.

And nobody is going to stop me from worshipping God the way that I choose.

I am sure that the legal system will continue to be extremely hostile to us, I am sure that more churches will go up in flames, and I am sure that the entertainment industry will continue to mock us in thousands of different ways.

But they will not win, because the God that created all things can never be defeated.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post The Persecution Of Christians In America Has Reached A Whole New Level appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Once again last night, long-range Ukrainian drones struck an important energy facility deep inside Russian territory…

Vladimir Putin has vowed revenge after Ukraine humiliated the Russian dictator with yet another drone attack on a major oil hub.

A barrage of long-range drones on Tuesday left the vast Ust-Luga fuel terminal in flames. The terminal, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, can process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

The Russians have lost all patience and they have decided that there is no way that they are going to put up with this any longer.

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin openly acknowledged that massive strikes on Ukraine’s power grid are coming…

Putin told reporters on Tuesday he had ordered his military to prepare and launch large-scale strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities.

“They battered our people, and they will get a response,” Putin warned, in what amounted to a public admission that Ukraine’s attacks are inflicting real damage on his country.

If that doesn’t work, Putin is prepared to escalate matters even more.

In addition, Russian officials have been suggesting that there could be military strikes on British military facilities in the UK since the UK has been providing Ukraine with long-range missiles and long-range drones.

When asked about the potential for direct strikes in the UK by the press, Putin did not deny that this is on the table…

“Are there British military facilities in Ukraine?” the Kremlin leader asked.

When a journalist clarified that the question was hypothetical, Putin replied: “If there are, then definitely [they will become targets – ed.].”

Asked whether UK defence industry facilities located on British territory could become military targets, Putin replied: “That’s a secret, a military secret.”

There is video footage of this exchange, and it is quite alarming.

Because if Russia conducts strikes on British territory, we will be at war with Russia.

Tensions are also rising between Russia and Germany.

On Tuesday, the German government officially blamed the Russians for an attempted drone attack at the main airport in Leipzig last month…

The German government on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month using a drone laden with explosives, and announced that it would shut down a Russian consulate among other measures.

The drone was found near a Ukrainian plane on Aug. 4 and the device was defused. German officials said at the time that the incident posed a new level of danger.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

The Russians are furiously denying that they had anything to do with this.

And they are also very angry about the level of military support that Germany has been providing for Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and current security official, just posted a very ominous message about Germany on Telegram…

In it he said: “Berlin has accused Russia of an unproven attack on Leipzig Airport. Given the neo-Nazi, rabidly Russophobic policies of the current German leadership, a fabricated act of sabotage is the weakest form of punishment for their sins. They deserve a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities for the Bandera clique. And quite possibly on several other locations in Berlin as well.

“And about the mad clown’s threats against civil aviation in Russian skies. The head of state has already described them as an attempt by the Bandera regime to engage in state terrorism. They don’t negotiate with terrorists and respond to their actions with retaliation.

“And every terror has sponsors. At the moment, these are the heads of Western countries, primarily European ones. And they often travel to Kyiv by train…”

There is a very real possibility that Medvedev could follow Putin as the next leader of Russia.

Just think about that.

He is one of the most prominent politicians in Russia, and he just suggested that European leaders could be vulnerable targets when they “travel to Kyiv by train”.

This is how far relations have deteriorated.

Meanwhile, the Russians just continue to develop even deeper ties with the Iranians…

In a joint appearance at a regional security meeting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support in wartime and urged that their nations work together to oppose U.S. sanctions.

The United States and its allies, especially in Europe, have imposed extensive economic penalties on Iran over its nuclear program and more recently its refusal to bow to President Donald Trump’s demands in the Strait of Hormuz; and against Russia for its continuing war in Ukraine.

Needless to say, the Trump administration is not pleased about this at all.

The Russians are openly providing assistance to Iran, and Putin is pledging to continue to do so…

Putin, in turn, said that his country was trying to help Tehran in its war with the United States.

“During this difficult period, we are striving to provide you with the necessary assistance — as we have discussed — and are supplying you with essential goods,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin account.

Humanitarian assistance would be one thing.

But this week it was being reported that Russia has been “secretly supporting Iranian missile development since 2023″…

Russia has been secretly supporting Iranian missile development since 2023, according to a report in the Financial Times on Tuesday.

The goal of the program, codenamed C430L, was to help Iran develop missiles capable of taking out US Navy aircraft carriers in the Middle East.

In particular, they aimed to develop a ramjet propulsion system that would allow Iranian missiles to fly at several times the speed of sound.

Fast, low-flying missiles would give Western air defences less time to react increasing the impact of such an attack.

That is a major bombshell.

Has Russian technical assistance enabled the Iranians to develop their new “Castle Breaker” ballistic missiles?…

Iran has fielded a new generation of ballistic missiles that can evade American air defenses and strike with far greater precision – a technological leap that military experts say has damaged the ring of U.S. bases across the Persian Gulf and left them more vulnerable than they’ve been in decades.

The centerpiece of that shift is a highly mobile ballistic missile Iran calls the Kheibar Shekan, or “Castle Breaker,” which has a range of 900 miles and a satellite-guided, maneuverable warhead.

Iran’s military has used the missile extensively in strikes on the U.S. naval hub in Bahrain and other American bases during the six-month war with the U.S. and Israel, according to the Iranian government and confirmed in USA TODAY interviews with former U.S. military and intelligence officials and weapons analysts.

The Russians are deeply frustrated with us, and we are deeply frustrated with the Russians.

For the good of humanity, we should find a peaceful way out of this mess before nuclear war erupts.

But will that actually happen?

Before I end this article, I wanted to update all of you on something that I discussed yesterday.

We are being told that Tropical Storm Marie is expected to develop into a Category 1 hurricane very shortly…

Tropical Storm Marie is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, with sustained winds of more than 75 mph.

It is currently moving along the coast of Mexico and will soon reach the Baja California Peninsula, the thin, 775-mile-long strip of land right below California and the US-Mexico border.

If it moves away from land, this storm won’t be a threat.

But according to the Daily Mail, some models now indicate that it has “a strong likelihood of turning directly towards Southern California”…

However, new spaghetti models, which track all possible paths of tropical storms and hurricanes, warn that Marie has a strong likelihood of turning directly towards Southern California, potentially making landfall in Los Angeles or San Diego.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has already warned beachgoers in Los Angeles that there is a high risk for large waves and dangerous rip currents throughout the Labor Day holiday weekend.

No hurricane has ever made landfall in the entire history of the state of California.

If this storm actually does make landfall in Southern California as a hurricane it would be a truly historic occurrence, and it would have monumental implications.

So I will be watching Marie very closely.

We are living in such perilous times, and it is far later than most people think that it is.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Closer To Nuclear War: Russia Pledges Support For Iran While It Threatens The UK, Germany And The Entire Ukrainian Power Grid appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Last week, we were closely watching another storm named Karina.

Karina has now developed into a very powerful category 4 hurricane over the eastern Pacific, but the path of the storm is taking it in a westward direction far away from land.

But now Tropical Storm Marie threatens to become the third in a historic trio of hurricanes in the eastern Pacific…

The eastern Pacific is doing something remarkable. By the end of this week, three hurricanes could be active at the same time, an extraordinary burst of tropical activity being driven by a historically strong El Niño and very warm ocean temperatures.

Hurricane Karina rapidly intensified into a Category 4 major hurricane over the weekend, over 1000 miles west of Baja, California. Tropical Storm Lowell is expected to reach hurricane strength as early as Monday night and could move toward Hawaii.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Marie is expected to turn into Hurricane Marie soon.

And the San Francisco Chronicle is admitting that “some forecast models” are projecting that the storm could end up “slowly moving northward into southern California next Monday”…

At least some forecast models showed that storm intensifying into a hurricane over the weekend and then slowly moving northward into southern California next Monday.

Wow.

I want to emphasize that this is far from certain.

But it could happen.

Thanks to the Super El Niño of 2026, water temperatures off the coast of Southern California are much warmer than normal right now…

The storm potential is fueled by a “super” El Niño brewing in the Pacific Ocean. The climate pattern creates warmer ocean temperatures in the Eastern Pacific. The El Niño is currently causing a marine heat wave. Southern California is currently seeing sea surface temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, NWS data shows. According to the latest reports, ocean temperatures are at 74 to 76 degrees across Los Angeles County beaches.

Water temperatures near Los Angeles aren’t supposed to be that high.

But skeptics are pointing out that they still aren’t high enough to sustain a tropical storm or a hurricane…

Tropical storms and hurricanes need ocean water temperatures to be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.5 degrees Celsius) to maintain tropical storm strength and 82 F (28 C) to intensify.

Ocean temperatures are not at those levels off the coast of California.

So we shall see what happens.

As I covered on Friday, if a hurricane actually makes landfall in California it will have enormous implications.

But we are being assured that it probably won’t happen.

Only one tropical storm has made landfall in California.

That was in 1939.

And no hurricane has ever made landfall in the entire history of the state.

In 2023, Hurricane Hilary approached California, but it was no longer a named storm once it reached land.

However, it did cause an immense amount of damage…

Although L.A. was spared a direct hit from Hilary, it did cause around $900 million in damage in the U.S. and at least $14 million in damage in Baja California Sur (there were no estimates for Baja California). There were two deaths in Baja California — two people who drowned after their vehicles were swept away by floodwaters — and a woman in California presumed dead after her mobile home was washed away in flooding along the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino County.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Edouard is rapidly strengthening and is poised to make landfall near the Louisiana-Texas border…

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Edouard is ‘poised to significantly strengthen’ before striking near the Texas-Louisiana border.

Landfall will likely occur near the Louisiana-Texas border around 1pm CT (2pm ET).

Meteorologists warned that communities in its path face a life-threatening storm surge, torrential rain, flash flooding and the threat of tornadoes.

Yes, this is definitely a life-threatening storm.

If you live in that area, please take it very seriously.

It is expected to dump an enormous amount of rain in the Gulf region, and the flash flooding that it creates could catch a lot of people by surprise.

Sadly, the sudden flooding that just occurred in the Grand Canyon area caused at least two deaths…

It’s a breathtaking refuge unlike any other: a remote enclave tucked at the bottom of Arizona’s Grand Canyon, nestled between towering cliffs. Suddenly, those majestic slopes turned into raging waterfalls.

With little to no warning, hikers and campers near Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch lodging area started running for their lives Saturday as torrential rainfall funneled down the canyon and idyllic creeks morphed into violent torrents.

At least two people were killed and one person remains unaccounted for after flash flooding washed out footbridges and campgrounds on the canyon floor. Many more were imperiled by muddy water racing through the narrow ravines, sparking frantic rescue missions for dozens.

We have been experiencing so many extremely violent storms in 2026.

What we are witnessing is not normal.

Speaking of not normal, Mount Sinabung in Indonesia just sent a column of volcanic ash 11,500 feet into the air…

The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia has issued a natural disaster alert after renewed volcanic activity at Mount Sinabung, as Indonesian authorities warn that further eruptions are possible in a region that includes popular tourist destinations.

The embassy issued its Natural Disaster Alert on September 1, a day after Mount Sinabung erupted in Karo Regency, North Sumatra, sending a thick column of ash about 3,500 meters, roughly 11,500 feet, above its summit. There have been no immediate reports of casualties, evacuations or disruptions to flights in the region.

Indonesia’s Geological Agency said visual and instrumental monitoring showed increased volcanic activity and warned that the August 31 event was an “initial eruption,” meaning a larger eruption could follow. It raised Mount Sinabung’s alert level from II to Level III, or Siaga, the second-highest level in the country’s four-tier system, effective as of Monday afternoon.

Volcanoes are roaring to life all over the planet, and there have been so many major earthquakes this summer.

But most of the experts continue to insist that this is just temporary and that conditions will soon return to normal.

Of course my perspective is that much more chaos is ahead of us.

So many of the things that I warned about years ahead of time are now playing out right in front of our eyes.

Now we will watch Tropical Storm Marie.

If it becomes a hurricane and it actually slams into Southern California, that will be a truly historic event.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Is There A Possibility That A Hurricane Could Make Landfall In Southern California Next Week? appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Last night, fighting in the Middle East erupted once again.

The U.S. conducted airstrikes on Iranian military targets on Larak Island, and in response the Iranians fired off at least 8 ballistic missiles…

On Sunday, the United States struck Iran’s Larak Island after the U.S. observed military personnel preparing to deploy rockets loaded with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media said the attack killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers and civilians, and the country vowed to answer.

In response, Iran fired at least eight ballistic missiles toward U.S. forces in Jordan, according to Jordan’s armed forces. Trump told Fox News that U.S. forces intercepted all missiles but one, as it wasn’t going to hit anything.

It appears that the Iranian response really angered President Trump.

On Truth Social, he posted a message in which is declared Iran to be “DEAD” and “a Failed Nation”…

Later on Monday, we learned that Trump had told Trey Yingst of Fox News that the U.S. will “hit them hard” in response to the Iranian ballistic missile attack…

US President Donald Trump said the United States would respond to an Iranian missile attack on US forces overnight, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.

“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump told Fox News. “There will be a response.”

That would seem to indicate that a large wave of airstrikes is coming tonight.

We shall wait and see what happens.

On the other side, the Iranians are warning that their response to any new U.S. airstrikes will be “dozens of times greater”…

Iran fired back with bold rhetoric Monday, vowing to respond to every U.S. attack with force “dozens of times greater,” according to a senior Iranian source who spoke with Reuters.

The source pointed to Iran’s retaliation following U.S. strikes on launchers on Larak Island, claiming it demonstrated that “no target in the region is beyond Tehran’s reach.”

Tehran also warned that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz would worsen for vessels that violate what it called Iranian rules, raising new concern for shipping through the vital energy chokepoint.

As long as Iran doesn’t hit Israel, the situation can probably be contained.

But if Iran launches ballistic missiles at the Israelis, things will escalate very quickly.

In any event, it appears that there is no end in sight for this conflict.

In fact, Fox News is reporting that the deployment of troops from the 82nd airborne division has been extended to a full year…

The deployment of the 82nd airborne in the Middle East has been extended to a full year, two U.S. Army officials tell Fox News.

About 2,000 soldiers from the 82nd airborne first deployed to the region in March. The extended deployment was announced Sunday by division Commander Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier.

The extension is due to “operational requirements,” according to a letter to military families obtained by Fox.

At the same time, the war in Europe is poised to escalate to a new level that we haven’t seen before.

Just hours ago, the Russians ominously warned that they are preparing for “massive strikes against facilities in Ukraine’s energy sector”…

Russia’s defence ministry says it is gearing up for large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in a tit-for-tat response to strikes by Kyiv. “Russian forces have begun preparations for massive strikes against facilities in Ukraine’s energy sector in response to the ongoing attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure and on Russia’s oil and energy complex,” it said on Telegram on Sunday. Last winter, Moscow repeatedly hit Ukrainian power plants, devastating the country’s energy sector and plunging millions of people into cold and darkness in sub-zero temperatures.

The Russians have totally lost patience with Ukraine.

They are sick and tired of being hit by long-range drones and long-range missiles night after night.

Last night, the Ukrainians did it again.

So the Russians have decided to continuously bombard Kyiv until it stops. The following is an account from someone that actually lives in Kyiv…

The Russians are using tactics of continuous bombardment to paralyse life in Kyiv. The metro stops, traffic across the bridges is blocked, and administrative buildings and shopping complexes close.

I walk through the streets while drones are being shot down directly overhead. When I look up at the sky, I see only a threat. Yet it is impossible to put your daily affairs, and your very life, on hold. Paralysis is a forerunner of death. And we have chosen to live.

I know that many people abroad have grown accustomed to Russia’s constant strikes against the people of Ukraine. Yet the ability to “not think about it” is a privilege that reflects your position within the structure of reality.

Can you imagine trying to live your life normally in the midst of constant air raid alerts and constant explosions in the distance?

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the number of munitions used by the Russians over the past week is absolutely staggering…

“In total, this week alone, the Russians have launched nearly 2,000 strike drones, more than 1,600 aerial bombs, and 31 missiles of various types,” Zelenskyy added.

There is no way that the Russians will ever back down.

As I explained late last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin feels compelled to escalate matters.

He is absolutely determined to be victorious, because he is reportedly concerned that he could be hanged if he does not win this war…

According to The Economist, discontent is even greater among Russia’s elites, with one insider claiming they are increasingly frustrated by the length of the conflict.

Mr Putin reportedly believes he could be at risk if he ends the war without achieving at least his minimum goal of capturing the entire Donbas region.

‘They will hang me,’ he reportedly said at one point during the war, according to an insider cited by The Economist.

While the U.S. is tied up in the Middle East and NATO is focused on the conflict in Ukraine, this could be a perfect time for China to make a move on Taiwan.

And the Chinese are starting to put on the squeeze a little bit.

Last month, the number of Chinese ships detected around Taiwan surged to an all-time record high…

China deployed a record number of coast guard, scientific research and other ships near Taiwan’s waters last month, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said, as Beijing dials up pressure on Taipei.

The coast guard warned of an increasingly severe situation, as analysts say the increased activity is part of China’s bid to map the region for submarine warfare.

The number of Chinese ships detected around Taiwan proper soared to a record 244 last month — an average of nearly eight every day, official data showed.

Approximately 60 percent of those ships belong to the Chinese coast guard.

That means that they are armed.

In addition, the Chinese warships that are constantly hovering near Taiwan are not even included in the figure given above…

About 60 percent were coast guard ships, with research vessels and other government boats making up the rest.

The figures do not include Chinese warships, which China’s military deploys around Taiwan on a near-daily basis.

When China ultimately decides to take Taiwan, a naval blockade will probably be the first step.

And once a naval blockade of Taiwan is established, we will be at a state of war with China.

Of course we may not be able to do much to intervene because a lot of our naval assets have been deployed to the Middle East and we have run through large portions of our munitions stockpiles.

So we are in a very tenuous position at the moment, and our relations with China just continue to deteriorate.

For so long, I have been writing about Russia, China and the Middle East.

Now all three theaters threaten to erupt all at once.

If you wanted to live at one of the most “interesting” periods in all of human history, you have certainly gotten your wish.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post The Stage Is Set, The Fuse Is Lit, And 3 Global Conflicts Are On The Brink Of Detonation appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

We are a nation of contrasts.

We are the wealthiest nation on the entire planet, and yet we have also piled up the most debt in the history of the world.

We have more billionaires than anyone else, and yet poverty is rampant.

We have luxuries and electronic gadgets that previous generations could not have even imagined, and yet much of the population is living in almost unbelievable squalor and filth.

Let me give you an example.

Not too long ago, authorities in Ohio discovered sixteen children that were “found living in conditions that even livestock don’t live in”…

Sixteen kids, ranging from 1 year old to 18, were found living in conditions that even livestock don’t live in, described Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain.

The sheriff, along with Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the arrests of four family members: Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders.

We should be so thankful that those children were rescued.

Apparently most of them had been isolated in a 12 foot by 12 foot area for the last four years…

Most of the kids were kept in a 12×12 area of the home for the past four years, Sheriff Cain said.

He called the area “disgusting,” adding that “our livestock were kept in better conditions than these children.”

AG Wilson said it looked like a “third-world” country inside the home. “It’s not the type of thing we’re used to seeing in America,” he said.

This isn’t how Americans are supposed to be living.

Once upon a time, even impoverished people in this country tried to keep their homes clean and dressed nicely when they went out.

But those days are long gone.

Just take a stroll through your local Walmart and observe how people are dressed.

And as far as keeping our homes clean, the truth is that in 2026 millions upon millions of Americans live in communities that are drowning in squalor and filth…

Thanks to mass migration, conditions in our inner cities are particularly bad.

Earlier today, I came across an article about street food vendors in Los Angeles that made my stomach turn…

The proliferation of rogue street food vendors — largely run by illegal migrants — is not only hitting Los Angeles with third-world-like blight, Democratic leaders have decided to do nothing despite being aware of horrifying health hazards, their own previously unreleased records reveal.

“A dog eating meat out of a street vendor’s bag before it was served to customers. Cockroaches crawling out of a food truck. Mice scurrying beside open salsa. Raw meat baking unrefrigerated in the heat. People urinating around cooking equipment.”

Those are just some of shocking allegations listed in a staggering 662-page dossier of 9,746 public health complaints about street food vendors filed across Los Angeles County from 2023 until early 2026, according to the California Post, which obtained the list only after it made a public records request.

Los Angeles was once such a beautiful city.

But now there are rats wherever you go.

According to Orkin, Los Angeles is now the “rattiest city in America”…

Historically, Chicago has occupied the No.1 spot every year that Orkin has released its annual rankings, which it has been reporting for over a decade. But this year, there is a new city being crowned the “rattiest” — Los Angeles.

Orkin cites that growing warm climates can help a rat’s survivability rate, so hotter cities are seeing themselves fly up the rankings, giving Los Angeles the slight edge over Chicago this year.

Chicago falls to No. 2 in the rankings, followed by New York and San Francisco.

I really detest rats.

I also really detest dirty food.

Unfortunately, we have reached a stage where it is really difficult to know what is safe to eat and what is not safe to eat.

I want to share a story with you that I shared with my core supporters on Friday. All over the country, millions of Americans won’t eat lettuce right now because of the nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak…

The massive cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce and thousands of illnesses has expanded to three new states, federal health regulators announced Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the outbreak, which has been linked to hundreds of hospitalizations and two deaths since illnesses were first reported in July, has now been detected in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

There have now been 11,458 illnesses reported across 20 states, according to the FDA.

I wish that I could tell you that this is an isolated incident.

But I can’t.

Almost every day, a new food recall is in the news.

And there is a reason for that.

If you actually went inside many of the facilities where our food is made, it would make you sick.

We shouldn’t have to live like this.

Our schools are in deplorable condition as well.

In Richmond, Virginia an elementary school that was named after Barack Obama has been forced to shut down because mold is out of control and rodents are running all over the place…

Like its namesake, Barack Obama Elementary has something rotten under the surface.

The school of 285 students is now shut down for an undisclosed period after it was discovered that the buildings were testing positive for mold. The facility also had reports of rodents (mice or rats) in several rooms, alongside the more prominent mold health issue. The mold and rodent problems were noticed by staff as they prepared for the start of the new school year.

Officials say they hope to reopen the building in a week, though this has proven to be an overly optimistic goal after earlier “clear” air-quality tests were quickly contradicted by new visible mold discoveries (behind bulletin boards, on computers, in the art room, etc.), forcing repeated delays. A more realistic time frame is one month or more.

How did this happen?

We are supposed to be the wealthiest nation on Earth, but we can’t even keep our military installations in livable shape…

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds that the maintenance backlog for military installations has ballooned to more than $285 billion — leaving many facilities in disrepair, while risking readiness and service members’ quality of life.

This figure is a jump up from 2022, when the maintenance backlog was about $137 billion. But the backlog continues to grow, because the services only request about 80% of the funds they need for installation repairs and maintenance.

We spend about a trillion dollars a year on our military, and so this is inexcusable.

In many cases, mold issues and water damage go unaddressed for years…

Indeed, service members face a range of issues at the facilities where they work and live. Barracks at Naval Station Norfolk, for example, have had suspected mold since 2023. But the installation office declined requests to test the growth observed there “due to the cost of testing and potential remediation.”

Another highly used facility at that Naval station had evidence of asbestos and significant water damage, GAO found. While all the station’s piers require renovation, the Navy was “actively improving” only one — leaving the rest to operate in a “degraded condition.”

If conditions are this bad now, what will they be like once the economy really starts tanking?

Thanks to our seemingly endless cost of living crisis, our standard of living has been steadily declining throughout this entire decade.

Millions of Americans now live in their vehicles because they simply cannot afford homes any longer.

According to the Federal Reserve, approximately one out of every ten Americans is now missing meals because they can’t afford to buy enough food.

When I was growing up, many would mock the “third world conditions” in other countries, but the truth is that “third world conditions” can now be found all over the United States.

This is what societal collapse looks like, and if we do not take dramatic action our society will just continue to deteriorate.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post Why Are There So Many People Living In Third World Conditions In The United States? appeared first on The Economic Collapse.