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Gas Prices Are Spiking Again — Here's How to Protect Your Wallet as the Iran Conflict Escalates

  Published July 20, 2026 If it feels like you're filling up more often for the same money lately, you're not imagining it. Oil markets jolted higher to start the week, and Canadian drivers are almost certain to see it at the pump in the next few days. What just happened Brent crude — the global benchmark that drives Canadian gas pricing — jumped nearly 4% on Monday to trade above US$90 a barrel, its highest level since mid-June, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded near US$84. The move came after the United States and Iran escalated hostilities over the weekend, including strikes on vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz and an attack on an oil facility in Kuwait. That strait matters enormously to your gas bill: roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply normally passes through it. When shipping through it slows or stalls, traders price in a "risk premium" almost immediately — and that shows up at Canadian pumps within days, not weeks. What it mea...

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Thomas Matthew Crooks: What we know about the Trump attacker

 

Thomas Matthew Crooks is the man who shot at former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally. Here’s what we know about him:

  1. Identity and Background:

    • Crooks, a 20-year-old nursing-home employee from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was identified as the attacker.
    • He allegedly opened fire while Trump was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one audience member dead and two others critically wounded.
    • Crooks was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.
    • Neighbors in his quiet hometown of Bethel Park are in shock, struggling to understand how a seemingly quiet young man could be involved in the shooting.
  2. Education and Political Affiliation:

    • Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, where he received a $500 prize for math and science.
    • State voter records show that he was a registered Republican.
    • He also donated $15 to the liberal campaign group ActBlue in 2021.
    • Crooks had not been carrying ID, so investigators used DNA to identify him.
  3. Weapon and Motive:

    • The weapon used to shoot at Trump was believed to have been purchased by Crooks’ father.
    • Suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle after the shooting.
    • Investigators are still probing his motive.

The incident shattered the nation’s illusion of security, and authorities continue to investigate the details surrounding the attack.

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