Episode Details

//The Wire//2000Z September 17, 2026//
 //ROUTINE//
 //BLUF: SAUDIS CLAIM THAT THE EAST-WEST PIPELINE WILL BE REPAIRED SOON, DESPITE THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF SEVERAL PUMPING STATIONS. UNITED STATES WEIGHS MITIGATION ACTIONS TO PREVENT DIESEL CRISIS FROM EXPANDING. PRESIDENT XI AND PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA REPORTEDLY FELL ILL DURING BRICS SUMMIT.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

 
 -International Events-

India: Multiple world leaders have reportedly fallen ill after attending the BRICS summit in New Delhi. Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the gala dinner and returned to China early, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also had to depart India early due to an unspecified illness. His Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, also fell ill at the same time, as has been confirmed by the South African government.

Analyst Comment: Right now, it's not clear as to if the illnesses are the result of malign action, or just the natural reaction to being in India. Multiple leaders from separate countries falling ill at around the same time is a big clue, but Chinese sources are speculating that President Xi might have had a stroke. At the moment, there is nothing confirming this as Xi's personal life tends to be extremely private, and there has been no official confirmation regarding why he departed the BRICS summit early.

Saudi Arabia: Repair work up and down the East-West Pipeline continues, along with repairs at Yanbu. Saudi forces have also requested air defenses from various European nations, as the United States has declined to become involved in defending their refineries.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. - Concerns continue to mount regarding the status of Senator Mitch McConnell. Yesterday, he was transported to the Capitol to vote on an agricultural spending bill, and footage of him continues to indicate that he is very visibly not well or coherent. Sen. McConnell has generally been conscious, but unresponsive to verbal comments made by journalists attempting to ask him questions.

USA: Around the nation, reports of gasoline and diesel shortages are beginning to manifest, as several gas stations have announced that they are out of gas. Gas stations in North Texas, Florida, and California have all reported being out of gas as of last night.

Analyst Comment: Right now it's hard to pinpoint exactly what is causing these specific shortages. To be sure, a handful of gas stations running out of gas is not indicative of a dire and imminent nationwide shortage; based on the EIA's Weekly Status Report, last week gasoline stocks in the US were only down 4.6% from what they were last year. However the empty pumps don't lie, and right now the most likely explanation for localized gasoline shortages is a combination of logistical issues delaying shipments to individual gas stations...and panic buying which will drain a gas station much faster than normal. Due to oil execs saying gas prices are going to increase over the next few days, people are probably trying to get ahead of the curve. Since most gas stations only have a day's worth of gas (and rely on nearly daily deliveries to refill their underground tanks), it doesn't take much of an increase in demand to generate a localized shortage.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: Saudi oil contracts continued to be canceled as the scale of Houthi attacks continues to expand. All oil onloading at Yanbu has been halted for at least six days, and the only other source for Saudi exports is now through smaller ports, or through Ras Tanura via the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the devastation, some Saudi officials claim that the East-West Pipeline will return to at least 50% of it's capacity within a few days, though this appears to be wishful thinking at best. At the moment, formalized force majeure declarations have not taken place, but Aramco has "deferred" deliveries of crude for the rest of the month of September, and various