Pulse Briefing: Strait Hormuz commerce collapse, Ukraine food infrastructure destruction, U.S. food inflation pressures - Monday, August 31, 2026

U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island for the first time in a month after detecting preparations to lay sea mines, prompting Iranian missile strikes on U.S. bases in Jordan and the UAE with oil prices surging 3.4 percent. Visible commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just five ships per day over the weekend despite recent mine-clearing operations. Ukraine admits ninety percent of retail food logistics infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian strikes as supermarket shelves in Kiev remain bare. The Pulse Briefing is a daily preparedness-intelligence briefing on the national and geopolitical developments that matter for prepared families: energy, supply chains, security, health, and the economy.