The Wire - May 1, 2026

//The Wire//2300Z May 01, 2026//
 //ROUTINE//
 //BLUF: MASS STABBING REPORTED AT SCHOOL IN TACOMA. FUEL CRISIS DEEPENS AS WAR IN PERSIAN GULF CONTINUES. PIRACY ACTIVITY CONTINUES IN MIDDLE EAST. MAY DAY PROTESTS CAUSE DISRUPTIONS THROUGHOUT UNITED STATES.//

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 -International Events-

Red Sea/HOA: This morning piracy activity continued, with one containership reporting a suspicious approach in the Gulf of Aden. No successful boarding was reported, however this is the first reported piracy attempt to take place in the Gulf of Aden since the war in the Persian Gulf started.

-HomeFront-

Washington: Yesterday afternoon a mass stabbing was reported at Foss High School in Tacoma. 6x individuals were wounded after one student conducted a stabbing attack at the school.

Analyst Comment: Local authorities have been extremely tight-lipped regarding the cause of this attack. It's not clear as to if this is a standard gang-fight-turned-stabbing, or if this was a more deliberate terror attack.

Washington D.C. - This afternoon the White House sent a letter to Congress stating that hostilities against Iran have "terminated" and therefore the obligations of the War Powers Resolution are not relevant to the current conflict.

Analyst Comment: Regarding this Resolution, under most common interpretations of the law, a President has 60 days to either ask Congress to declare war, or request an extension of an overseas conflict. This 60-day deadline came into effect yesterday, and this afternoon the White House has taken the official position that due to the ceasefire, no Congressional action is required, even if the Strait of Hormuz is closed and no peace agreement is signed. This doesn't mean much, as hostilities can recommence at any moment, and this is mostly a way of the White House skirting Congress by arguing that if the war is paused for a period of time, the clock restarts.

USA: Around the nation, various May Day protests were carried out in most major cities with varying levels of attendance. Most of the demonstrations were fairly low intensity, with the most kinetic events taking place at the New York Stock Exchange as activists attempted to rush the entrance and chain themselves to something. They did not succeed and most of the more active riots/demonstrations throughout the country resolved after a few sporadic scuffles.

Analyst Comment: As of this report demonstrations are still ongoing, so more active incidents could develop as night falls. This afternoon, at least one activist has climbed the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington D.C. and set up a tent, so other similar encampment operations may be planned for the weekend in various high-profile locations around the country.

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Analyst Comments: Around the world, the fuel crisis continues to compound, with costs rising substantially for some industries. Due to the rising costs of aviation fuel, Japan Airlines and Japan Transocean Air have instituted a flat-rate $350 surcharge on ALL tickets for flights from Japan to most of the the world. This measure was intended only for the month of June, but has been extended to go into effect today, for the month of May. So far, Europe has been hit the hardest by the fuel crisis, with prices and sheer availability itself being a challenge throughout the continent, which has also manifested itself even more unusually due to the lack of a centralized way to determine how much time is left before fuel runs out. Two days ago, one energy official was quoted in a Politico article, stating that by and large, Europe doesn't actually know how much time they have left, because there's no real way to know how much fuel is being stockpiled by the dozens of nations throughout the continent. Some places may run out within days, other nations and regions might never run out, it's impossible to know