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This isn’t spin. It’s seasoned analysis.

Trouble in the Strait: Oil Markets Just Got Played
Trouble in the Strait: Oil Markets Just Got Played

Ceasefire headlines sent oil plunging. Reality sent it roaring back. Welcome to the new war—fought in shipping lanes, not just battlefields. There’s trouble in River City. Not the kind with pool halls and marching bands—this one runs through the Strait of Hormuz,...

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Oil Hit $90—and the Pump Hasn’t Caught Up Yet
Oil Hit $90—and the Pump Hasn’t Caught Up Yet

If you’re paying around $3.75 a gallon in Florida right now, it feels like the spike already happened. It didn’t. What you’re seeing at the pump reflects oil prices from about a week or two ago—when crude was trading closer to $80 a barrel. But for the past several...

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Everyone Loves the Cloud—Until the Server Shows Up Next Door
Everyone Loves the Cloud—Until the Server Shows Up Next Door

Cities and counties across America are debating proposed data centers, and judging by Facebook, the end of civilization appears imminent. People are worried it will take all the fresh water. This concern is being expressed… on Facebook. Which, of course, runs entirely...

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The Day After the Oil Shock
The Day After the Oil Shock

The oil market had one of those days yesterday. The kind traders talk about for years. Crude prices surged so fast that by the closing bell the market had posted the largest weekly gain since modern oil futures trading began in 1983. When the dust settled, West Texas...

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The Last Marine Out of Saigon
The Last Marine Out of Saigon

Some stories stay with a reporter for life. In the 1990s, when I was working at La Prensa San Diego, I interviewed a Marine named Master Gunnery Sergeant Juan Valdez. The conversation was part of a series I was writing called Bronze Warriors, which focused on Latinos...

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How $166 Billion Got Stuck in Washington’s Filing Cabinet
How $166 Billion Got Stuck in Washington’s Filing Cabinet

The folks over at U.S. Customs and Border Protection walked into court on Friday with a number that would make a Texas oilman whistle. One hundred and sixty-six billion dollars. That’s how much money the federal government collected in tariffs under President Donald...

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A Drone Strike in Qatar and the Long Road to Your Gas Bill
A Drone Strike in Qatar and the Long Road to Your Gas Bill

War has a way of sneaking into your wallet. It starts somewhere far away—say, a few drones buzzing over the Persian Gulf—and before long, it shows up somewhere close to home, like the number blinking at the gas pump or the total on your electric bill. That road may...

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Brent at $82: The Gulf War Tax Is Back
Brent at $82: The Gulf War Tax Is Back

Oil Jumps 13% After Iran Strikes — Here Comes the Pain at the Pump Well, that didn’t take long. Brent crude just leapt as much as 13% to $82 a barrel after Iran’s latest round of strikes rattled nerves in the Persian Gulf. Tankers are hesitating. Insurance rates are...

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When Missiles Fly in the Gulf, Your Gas Bill Goes Up
When Missiles Fly in the Gulf, Your Gas Bill Goes Up

The United States and Israel struck Iran.Iran struck back. Within hours, oil tankers in the Persian Gulf did what oil tankers rarely do: they stopped. Some slowed to a crawl. Others ducked into nearby ports. Nobody wants to be the floating headline that explodes on...

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Under Full Sail
Under Full Sail

I spent this past week cleaning a sailboat. Not one that will ever touch water, but one that carries itself like it could. Four feet long. Five feet tall. A tall mast reaching toward the ceiling. White paneled sails. Long overhangs. A hull that looks fast even sitting...

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Isaac Cubillos

This isn’t journalism for the polite table.
This is truth with grit under its nails and dirt on its boots.