Oil prices surge after Middle East attacks; Trump downplays need for AI guardrails

Oil prices push higher again after an attack shuts down a key Saudi pipeline, tightening another route for crude as most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains halted.

Plus, President Donald Trump resists calls to slow AI development as some of the industry’s biggest names urge more time for safety measures.

And Trump says his promised $5,000 checks are “going to happen 100%,” but Speaker Mike Johnson says there’s a step the president can’t skip: getting Congress to approve them.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.

Middle East fighting sends oil higher with Brent crude climbing above $108 a barrel

Oil prices have surged again Monday morning as renewed fighting in the Middle East puts even more pressure on global energy supplies.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, is trading above $108 a barrel, while the U.S. benchmark is around $103.

The latest jump follows attacks that forced Saudi Arabia to shut down its key east-west oil pipeline, an important alternative, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz already severely disrupted.

The fighting is spreading. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia and seized territory along another critical Red Sea shipping route.

Gas prices also remain high, with diesel at a record $6.23 a gallon today, according to AAA.

But Trump said the Middle East isn’t responsible for the diesel shortage.

“Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing,” Trump said. “He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel. This isn’t done by the Middle East; this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, a diplomatic effort to ease pressure on another key shipping route has been put on hold. A planned meeting between Iran and Gulf states over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed, with Iran saying Saudi Arabia requested the delay.

No new date has been announced.

Downed airman recounts Iran survival, how he evaded capture for two days

For the first time, we’re hearing from one of two U.S. Air Force officers shot down over Iran in April.

The weapons systems officer, identified only by his call sign, Bravo, told CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the moment enemy fire hit his F-15E, forcing him and his pilot to eject over the mountains of Iran.

“That day was just another day in the war for us, until the moment where we got hit by an Iranian weapon,” the officer said. “I think the best way I’ve been able to describe that moment was getting hit by a freight train. We do all we can to try to save the aircraft. It was evident that that wasn’t possible. And soon thereafter, we ejected and found ourselves floating over the heart of Iran.”

CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell asked how quickly they made the decision to eject, asking whether they did so within seconds. 

“I will be thankful, to my dying day, for my pilot and crewmate, Alpha, for saving our lives and ejecting us,” the officer said.

Bravo’s parachute had damage, and he hit the ground with a broken back, arm and shoulder. He landed about five miles from his pilot, Alpha, who American forces rescued about six hours after the crash.

Military experts estimate Bravo plummeted to the ground at between 70 and 100 miles an hour, and called his survival a “modern-day miracle.”

But even with broken bones in three places, Bravo kept moving, hiking and climbing a 7,000-foot ridgeline. He was alone behind enemy lines, evading capture without food or water for two days.

Two elite Air Force pararescue operators finally reached him, ending one of the most complex and risky search-and-rescue operations in U.S. military history.

Trump rejects calls to slow AI as top tech leaders urge more time for safety

Some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence have called for a slowdown. But Trump disagrees.

Asked about it Sunday in Ireland, Trump said the U.S. is leading China in AI, and he doesn’t want to give up that advantage:

“Well, I say this: we’re leading China in AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world. And frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins. And we can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they are bringing up things that won’t happen.”

President Donald Trump

Those comments came a day after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for new limits on how quickly AI models become more powerful. On Saturday, he wrote: “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

And two of his biggest rivals quickly agreed.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said his company also plans to use independent safety evaluators.

Elon Musk’s response was much shorter: “Dario is right.”

The debate is also moving directly into midterm politics.

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that AI development is outpacing safety and called for public oversight.

“There are things that we should not be using AI to do,” El-Sayed said. “And we collectively have to decide that we need public oversight so that all of this technology is not being created for the interest of a few against the well-being of the many.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also weighed in Sunday, calling the warnings from AI leaders a “bright flashing red light,” writing, “It’s long past time for our federal government to step up, take this seriously, and put up some guardrails — both here at home and on the global stage.”

Yesterday’s commentary by AI industry leaders should be heeded as a bright flashing red light telling the President and Congress they need to act now to regulate and rein in AI development.

This technology is powerful, with great potential to do good, and yet it comes with…

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) September 13, 2026

That follows a push from former President Barack Obama, who urged Democratic leaders last week to develop a clear AI agenda focused on safety and economic impact.

Trump doubles down on $5,000 checks as Johnson says plan needs congressional approval

Trump has doubled down on his promise to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans keep control of Congress in November.

He first made the promise at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last week.

On Sunday, before leaving Ireland, Trump insisted the checks will happen.

“Now they say, ‘Oh, the $5,000,’ $5,000 is going to happen 100%. And the reason is because our country is taking in trillions and trillions of dollars. And it’s going to happen because the people deserve it because they were treated so badly by the Democrats and by Biden.”

President Donald Trump

But there’s a big step between that promise and actually sending the money.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the plan would need congressional approval, something Trump has said he doesn’t think is necessary.

Johnson was asked Sunday whether he would commit to delivering the checks.

“Like every idea that the president comes up with, he’s a great idea generator. We’re gonna process that in Congress and figure it all out,” Johnson said. “I commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that, like they have to do everything else.”

And there’s already some Republican pushback.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that if the government has surplus revenue, it should cut taxes and return that money to people.

“What I don’t think you want to do is borrow another trillion-and-a-half dollars and then just try to flood that into the economy, because that will lead to more inflation. That will lead to more debt and more inflation,” DeSantis said.

All of this comes as Trump’s approval rating has fallen since earlier this year. An AP-NORC poll in July found that only 33% of U.S. adults approve of his job, down from 42% when he took office.

Second federal judge blocks mail ballot order, warns valid votes could go uncounted

A second federal judge has now blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting.

The ruling comes as the Trump administration has already asked the Supreme Court to allow the new rules to take effect.

Late Sunday night, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — a Trump appointee — said, without an injunction blocking the order: “There is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections.”

Trump’s order requires USPS to pre-approve all ballot envelope designs. States would also have to upload the names of people receiving mail ballots to an online portal — which still isn’t up and running.

Election officials said implementing the changes before November’s midterms is impossible.

And the clock is already running. Mail ballots are being sent in at least three states — Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin — with more states set to begin sending theirs this week.

Zverev wins US Open, extending American men’s 23-year title drought

The wait for an American men’s U.S. Open champion continues.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev beat American Ben Shelton in four sets Sunday to win the men’s title in New York. It’s Zverev’s second Grand Slam title, following his French Open win earlier this year.

Shelton was playing in his first Grand Slam final, aiming to become the first American man to win the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick in 2003. He also became the first Black American man to reach the U.S. Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

The 23-year-old dropped the first two sets, then fought back to take the third. But Zverev took control again in the fourth, closing out the match and extending the American men’s title drought for at least another year.

More from Straight Arrow:

See who donates to lawmakers after they call Islam dangerous and unAmerican

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, touched off a pair of wars and birthed a surveillance industry.

The attacks also exposed America’s tolerance for religious discrimination. 

Just a week after 9/11, President George W. Bush visited an Islamic Center in Washington, where he explicitly pleaded with Americans not to target people solely because they shared the same religion as the attackers.

“Islam is peace,” said Bush, a Republican from Texas. ”Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect.”

But by the second year of the second term of Donald Trump’s presidency, Islamophobia is far from taboo, and not just on the right. Corporations and political committees that claim zero tolerance toward discrimination and demand that customers “treat everyone … with respect” have also donated to politicians who have publicly and repeatedly called for excising Muslims from American life.

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