Evening Wire: China Attacks U.S. Ally’s Fishing Vessel & Diesel Prices Hit All-Time High | 9.18.26

Georgia Howe (0:00)

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Georgia Howe (1:16)

China attacks a fishing boat in a confrontation with a US ally, diesel prices hit an all-time high, and Interpol uses AI to identify over 100 terror suspects. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Friday, September 18th, and this is Evening Wire.

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel intentionally struck a Philippine fishing vessel today, raising tensions in the South China Sea. Contributor Tim Pearce has more.

John Bickley (1:45)

A spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard accused Beijing on Friday of deliberately targeting a civilian government vessel. According to the spokesman, about 50 nautical miles off the coast of the Philippine island of Palawan, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel caught close to the Philippine boat's rear before it made contact on a second pass. The collision caused damage to the Philippine boat's starboard side and sent debris scattered across the deck. The spokesman posted videos of the Chinese vessel following closely behind the Philippine boat, though they didn't show the actual collision. Chinese officials have claimed that it was the Philippine boat at fault. The incident has roiled relations that were already strained over Chinese encroachment on key waterways around the Philippines. The feud has the potential to draw on the US as well, because of treaties it has with the Philippines.

Diesel prices have hit an all-time high, and Saudi Arabia says it won't be sending any crude oil next month to some European refineries. Associate producer Garrett Van Teem has the latest.

Garrett Van Teem (2:39)

The national average price for diesel hit a record $6.40 per gallon on Thursday. That's up nearly 73% from last year. It's the highest national average AAA has recorded. At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, President Trump described the higher fuel prices as a relatively small quote price to pay compared to the prospect of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. But the prices, he said quote, are going to come tumbling down like rocket ships in reverse. Diesel prices began climbing after the war began earlier this year. At the beginning of February, prices hovered around 368, but by mid March, diesel prices jumped to 480 The increase has accelerated again in recent weeks more flare-ups in the Hormuz Strait, disruptions to Russian fuel supplies, and damage to a major Saudi pipeline.

John Bickley (3:30)

Meanwhile, South Korea's president said Friday that his country will not be sending military assets to the Middle East, at least not in a way that quote, would involve or enter war. President Lee Jae Myung said that while they quote, won't deploy military assets in any form to that end, he added that it's also clear that we quote, must do the minimum as other countries do to protect our commercial shipping and crude shipments and also the safety of our people. This comes after President Trump said last month that he reached out to Lee to request support for US efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Georgia Howe (4:04)

The University of Texas at Austin is backing off of Woke and cutting several majors that focus on gender and race. Here's Daily Wire reporter Drew Burkmeyer with more.

Drew Burkmeyer (4:14)

Some of the majors that UT Austin plans to cut include African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latino studies, and women's sexualities and gender studies. Students who are currently pursuing those majors will be able to complete them, but future students will have to pick different degrees. The changes come after the university restructured earlier this year. Several departments that focused on race, ethnicity, and gender were consolidated under broader units. And some faculty have complained about the new structure. One Mexican American and Latino studies professor, Julie Minick, said the changes amount to censorship and viewpoint discrimination. The administration has said that the old structure was fragmented and that the changes will help the university become more coherent.