Fed's Bostic sees one more quarter-point hike, then a lengthy hold - Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Tuesday he envisions the central bank approving one more interest rate increase before pausing to see how policy tightening is impacting the economy. "One more move should be enough for us to then take a step back and see how our policy is flowing through the economy, to understand the extent to which inflation is returning back to our target," Bostic said during a live interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." If a majority of the committee has the same view as Bostic, who is a nonvoting member this year, that would take the federal funds rate to a target range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since August 2007. From there, Bostic said he thinks the FOMC can watch as the lags that come with monetary policy work their way through inflation, employment and the broader U.S. economic picture. "If the data come in as I expect, we will be able to hold there for quite some time," he said. "Once we get to that point, I don't have us really doing anything but monitoring the economy for the rest of this year and into 2024." Markets, however, disagree that the Fed will be in a hold posture. Current pricing indicates an 87% chance of a quarter-point hike next month, a pause for a few months, then a half percentage point cut by the end of 2023 as the economy slows, according to CME Group estimates. Bostic said inflation is still running too strong to consider cuts. "Part of this is really about ... inflation's returning back to our 2% target. I don't think that's going to happen as quickly as some of the markets do. And it seems that the question is who's right on this?" he said. "I don't see it coming down below maybe 3½. And 3½ is still well above our 2% target." He also noted that he does not foresee the economy tilting into recession, even though Fed economists warned at the March FOMC meeting that a mild contraction is likely later in the year. Bostic added that tight monetary policy is likely to persist despite the recent troubles in the banking industry that are forecast to trigger the recession. He described the state of banking in his district as "stable," though he noted that "you never know when the next shoe might drop," adding that the Fed will remain vigilant "to make sure that we're ready."
Fed’s Bullard discounts recession talk, favors more rate hikes - The U.S. central bank should continue raising interest rates on the back of recent data showing inflation remains persistent while the broader economy seems poised to continue growing, even if slowly, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said. In comments countering views that the U.S. is heading towards a banking crisis, a recession, or both in the near future, Bullard told Reuters in an interview: “Wall Street’s very engaged in the idea there’s going to be a recession in six months or something, but that isn’t really the way you would read an expansion like this.” Investors may see rate cuts in the Fed’s near future, part of a recession-breeds-accommodation view of the world, but “the labor market just seems very, very strong. And the conventional wisdom is that if you have a strong labor market that feeds into strong consumption … and that’s a big chunk of the economy … it doesn’t seem like the moment to be predicting that you have a recession in the second half of 2023,” he said. Despite the current 3.5% unemployment rate, Fed staff at the central bank’s March 21-22 policy meeting said they also anticipate a “mild recession” this year, while Bullard’s colleagues have penciled in an economic outlook that indicates zero growth or a contraction for much of the rest of the year after a relatively strong first quarter. In the case of the staff forecast, the fallout from recent stress in the banking sector seemed to tip the scales. But if two U.S. bank failures last month were going to spark a crisis, Bullard said, it’d likely be showing up in things like the St. Louis Fed’s financial stress index. The index did spike after the March 10 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, but it quickly reverted to a normal reading. “If you were really going to get a major financial crisis out of this, that index would spike up to a four or five. It’s zero now. So it doesn’t look, as of this moment, like too much is happening,” Bullard said. Bullard’s remarks stake out the aggressive side of a debate underway at the Fed about how to calibrate the final steps of an historically fast rate hiking cycle against both evidence that underlying inflation is not falling very fast towards the central bank’s 2% target, and signs the economy is slowing under the “bite” of the rate increases approved so far. Measures like the Dallas Fed trimmed mean inflation rate have been flat over several months, an indication - depending on the point of view - of underlying inflation still more than double the Fed’s target that needs to be squelched, or of the delayed impact of monetary policy still to be felt. The bulk of Fed policymakers as of March felt one more rate increase, which would raise the benchmark overnight interest rate to a range between 5.00% and 5.25%, was all that would be needed. That could come at the Fed’s May 2-3 meeting. While agreeing that the tightening cycle may be close to the finish line, Bullard feels the policy rate will need to rise another half of a percentage point beyond that level, to between 5.50% and 5.75%. Some policymakers and analysts worry it is those final steps that could push the economy into a recession. And beyond the rate hike decision next month, the Fed will have to send some signal about what happens next - whether to keep the language in the current policy statement that “some additional policy firming may be appropriate,” or point to a pause. Given how inflation and the economy are behaving, Bullard said, the fewer promises made the better. “You want to be responsive to incoming data through the summer into the fall,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to be caught giving forward guidance that said we’re definitely not doing anything and then have inflation coming in too hot or too sticky.” Once interest rates are at a level considered “sufficiently restrictive” to slow inflation, Bullard said he felt “the bias would be higher for longer” to be sure it is fully under control. It won’t, he argues, require a large increase in the unemployment rate to do the job, a view that melds hawkishness on inflation with relative bullishness on where the economy is heading. But it will take more time for people, businesses and local governments to spend through their pandemic-era savings, and, as that spending slows, for price competition among firms to curb inflation over time. Recession forecasts “are coming from models that put too much weight on the idea that interest rates went up quickly,” Bullard said. “What about the strong labor market? What about that feeding consumption? … What about the pandemic money still to be spent off, both at the state and local level and at the individual household level? “Inflation is coming down, but not as fast as Wall Street expects.”
Fed's Barkin wants more evidence inflation is easing to 2% goal - Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin said he wants to see more evidence that U.S. inflation is easing back to the central bank's goal of 2%. "I want to see more evidence that inflation is settling back to our target," Barkin said in an audience discussion at the Richmond Association for Business Economics Monday. "The labor market has moved from red-hot to merely hot," Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin said. Policymakers have penciled in one additional quarter-point hike this year, and markets are pricing in the likelihood of a final rate increase May 3. While inflation reports last week showed some signs of easing price pressures, most Fed officials who have spoken since have highlighted the need to do more to return price gains to their 2% target. Officials forecast rates reaching 5.1% this year, implying another 25 basis-point increase from the Fed's current benchmark target range of 4.75% to 5%. Asked if the current level of rates around 5% risked hurting part of the economy, Barkin said that this level of borrowing costs was not unusual in a historical sense. That's with the exception of much of the past decade, when they were near zero until the Fed started its tightening campaign about a year ago. "Our economy works just fine with rates at this level," said Barkin, who isn't a voter on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year. While policymakers stress patience in assessing what the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank means for the U.S. economy, there's not been much change in their rhetoric on the need to cool price pressures. "I'm pretty reassured by what I'm seeing but you never want to declare victory," Barkin said about the regulatory response to the bank collapses. The persistent strength of U.S. employment has surprised economists and policymakers and put pressure on the Fed to keep raising rates. Fed officials who spoke last week underscored the complicated task of cooling inflation without damaging the broader economy. "The labor market has moved from red-hot to merely hot," Barkin said. Separately, the Richmond Fed chief said a lot of other countries are not happy about the dollar being the global reserve currency because the U.S. has "weaponized" the greenback through sanctions on some businesses. "I think the rest of the world would love to have a different reserve currency," he said.
Yellen Says Sanctions Risk US Dollar Hegemony - Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday acknowledged that US economic sanctions risk the hegemony of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency as they push targeted countries to seek alternatives.“There is a risk when we use financial sanctions that are linked to the role of the dollar that over time it could undermine the hegemony of the dollar,” Yellen told CNN.Countries targeted by US and other Western sanctions have naturally increased trade and cooperation, sometimes using alternatives to the dollar. For example, Iran and Venezuela began trading gas for gold under the Trump administration.“Of course, it does create a desire on the part of China, of Russia, of Iran to find an alternative,” Yellen said. “But the dollar is used as a global currency for reasons that are not easy for other countries to find an alternative with the same properties.”While recognizing how sanctions can hurt the US dollar, Yellen said she still supported them using them against other countries, calling sanctions an “extremely important tool.”History has shown that sanctions harm the civilian population of the targeted country while doing nothing to change the targeted government. Last month, Yellen recognized that US sanctions on Iran have caused a “real economic crisis” in the country but haven’t changed the government’s behavior. Despite this, she said the Biden administration plans to impose more sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The Fed on "Possible Macroeconomic Effects of a Temporary Federal Debt Default" - This is relevant today. From Federal Reserve Staff in 2013 on the debt ceiling debate: Possible Macroeconomic Effects of a Temporary Federal Debt Default. Excerpts: Key considerations in evaluating the consequences of a debt default:• Such an event would be unprecedented. Although other countries have defaulted on their sovereign debt, these defaults occurred in situations where the government could not feasibly continue to service its debt. Failure to raise the U.S. federal debt ceiling, in contrast, would be a voluntary decision to stop meeting the government’s obligations even though it has no problems doing so. In addition, no other nation that defaulted on its sovereign debt ever enjoyed two key features of the U.S. economy—Treasury securities are the world’s “safe” asset and the dollar is the world’s main reserve currency. For these reasons, we have essentially no historical experience to help us predict the likely consequences of a failure by the Congress and the Administration to raise the debt ceiling.
• The financial market effects of a debt default would be highly uncertain, both because of its unprecedented nature, and because (as events in recent years have illustrated) we have only a limited understanding of the dynamics of the financial system when hit with a major shock.
o Yields on Treasury securities could rise noticeably, even if the default lasted only a day or two. And if the debt limit impasse dragged on for weeks, it could conceivably lead investors to demand a premium similar to that paid on AAA corporate bonds.
o Given that Treasury yields serve as a benchmark rate for the pricing of other securities, and given that a prolonged stand-off would probably make the general economic outlook much more uncertain, private interest rates could rise sharply. Rising interest rates and risk premiums would in turn push stock prices down appreciably.
o In some extreme scenarios with a prolonged default, financial markets could be severely impaired. For example, the functioning of the repo market could be compromised and some money market mutual funds could experience liquidity pressures.
o A debt default could also have some international repercussions. For example, a prolonged default might increase the reluctance of investors to hold Treasury securities and perhaps dollar-denominated assets more generally. Although the resulting rebalancing in portfolios might be relatively gradual, it could lead to a decline in the dollar over time (although a sudden drop could not be ruled out) and a higher “country-risk” premium on all U.S. assets.
• A debt default would also adversely affect the economy through its direct effects on aggregate income flows and government operations if the impasse in raising the debt limit lasted for several weeks.
o Currently, an extremely large portion of federal government spending is funded through borrowing (in part because tax payments are concentrated in other months). From mid-October through mid-November, for example, only 65 percent of projected spending would be covered by revenues. Thus, 35 percent of government cash outlays would need to be cut if a debt limit accord was not reached until the middle of November.
o Assuming that the Treasury prioritizes its payments to cover all scheduled net interest payments, other federal spending would be temporarily reduced by the following amounts (expressed in nominal terms at an annual rate): $340 billion in nominal federal purchases; $630 billion in Social Security, Medicare, and other transfer payments; and $150 billion in grants to state and local governments.
Short End of the Treasury Market Goes Totally Nuts. Doubts Creep in Over Debt Ceiling? by Wolf Richter - Today was another weird mess – and by far the biggest weird mess – in a series of daily weird messes in the very short end of the Treasury market, with Treasury securities that have remaining maturities of around one month. The one-month yield plunged 55 basis points today to 3.40% at the close – meaning prices of these securities jumped amid huge demand. Intraday was down as much as 75 basis points. Panic-buying frenzy! Since March 31, the one-month yield has plunged 134 basis points (red line below). But, but, but… the two-month yield – so tracking Treasuries maturing in about two months – was very well behaved, smiled all day long, ticked up 1 basis point to 5.04%, and was up 25 basis points since March 31 (green line). There is now an unspeakably crazy spread of 164 basis points between the one-month yield and the two-month yield – a sign that some people are panicking and piling into whatever they will be out of at face value in about one month. The rest of the Treasury market was reasonably well behaved. The two-month to six-month yields all ended above 5%, with the four-month at 5.17%. The two-month yield rose. All other yields fell. For example the two-year yield fell by 10 basis points to 4.14%, after having hit yesterday the highest yield since March 13. The 10-year yield fell 6 basis points. And the 30-year yield fell 4 basis points. It was just the very short end that went nuts. The cost of insuring US government debt against default has been rising for weeks. Today, the spread on 5-year US credit default swaps jumped further, to a decade high, nearly doubling from the beginning of the year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. There is now a lot of speculation why some people are panickily piling into something that they will get paid back in about one month, and why they’re so eager to pile into it that they’re paying extra to do so, while the rest of the bond market is just sort of fine, within the massive inversion of the yield curve. The stock market doesn’t really care about anything anyway. So for most people, today was a non-event. But some people are getting antsy about a US default. The debt-ceiling farce being performed currently in Congress could turn from a mildly entertaining political show that has been played 79 times since 1960, and whose ending everyone knows, into a truly hilarious financial show with a new ending where the debt ceiling isn’t lifted, and where the US will then default on some of its obligations, and where everyone in Congress – these folks are rich – will lose 60% or whatever of the value of their financial assets in no time. I’m curious to see how they would spin that one. Surely, everyone would blame everyone else. I’m also curious if anyone in Congress is actually hedging their financial assets against that kind of event.
Democratic senators favor forcing House vote on debt limit increase - Democratic senators are getting antsy over the lack of progress on legislation to avoid a national default and want House Democrats to begin working on a plan to force Republicans to vote on a bill to raise the debt limit. Democratic senators want to avoid a summer standoff on extending the nation’s borrowing authority, which would rattle financial markets and the broader economy that may be heading toward a mild recession in the second half of the year. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has shelved the idea of circulating a discharge petition to force a vote on a clean debt limit increase, opting instead to put pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to schedule such a vote himself. But McCarthy is showing no signs of backing down from his demand that President Biden agree to big spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, even as Biden refuses to negotiate and House Republicans have been unable to unite on specific demands. That’s led some Senate Democrats to say their House counterparts should start working on a procedural maneuver known as a discharge petition as an emergency backup plan in case McCarthy continues to dig in his heels. “I think that they should definitely file a discharge petition in the House. I think they should file a couple of bills that provide a menu of options. They should file a number of options and then be prepared to move forward on discharge petition,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who served in the House leadership before winning election to the Senate. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he’s “deeply concerned” about the danger of a national default later this year. “Every passing day leaves me more deeply concerned because they don’t seem to be constructively interested in a path forward,” he added of House Republicans. Blumenthal expressed pessimism about negotiating a deal with McCarthy, who has yet to offer a detailed plan for reducing spending. Democrats say such a plan would need to be the starting point of any talks. “At some point they will have to move forward with a discharge petition,” he predicted of House Democrats. “As we come closer to cataclysmic financial meltdown, I think the pressure will build on Republicans to be realistic.” Blumenthal said “there should be consideration” of moving a discharge petition soon, adding: “It ought to be begin as soon as necessary.” Members of the House minority can use the House discharge rule to bring a bill to the floor without the support of the majority’s leadership by collecting signatures from a majority of the chamber’s members. Democrats control 213 House seats, which means they would need at least five Republicans to get the 218 signatures they need. Democrats in both chambers think they could get a handful of moderate Republicans to sign a petition to circumvent McCarthy to avoid a default if there doesn’t appear to be another viable option, though none have publicly said they would do so.
Democrats seek negotiating advantage in GOP budget turmoil -- House Democrats are hoping Republicans’ internal clashes over the size and substance of their budget-cutting plans will lend President Biden a tactical boost in the looming fights over the debt ceiling and government spending. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has, for months, demanded that Biden negotiate steep spending cuts and other policy concessions as a condition of winning GOP support for raising the debt limit and preventing a government default. But as Congress is set to return to Washington this week, Republicans have been roiled by internal sniping, and GOP leaders are scrambling to unite the restive conference behind a list of specific deficit-reduction demands to take into the debt ceiling talks. The absence of those specifics has only fueled Biden’s insistence that Congress pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase without any extraneous provisions. And from the sidelines, the president’s House allies say the GOP divisions also give him a tactical advantage to hold his ground — a posture they’re vowing to back. “President Biden’s position is unequivocal, and I think it’s right,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Budget Committee. “He’s not going to debate against himself; he’s not going to deal with hypotheticals; he’s not going to take the bait until they do their job. They claim certain objectives with the budget, and they ought to produce a budget that shows them.” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) delivered a similar message, noting that Biden has introduced his 10-year budget plan with nothing yet to counter it. “I really can’t blame the president for saying, ‘I’ll talk, but I put out a budget. And if you want to have a conversation, what is in your budget? What are we going to talk about?’” she said. “I can’t picture how they actually get this done.” McCarthy is walking a fine line. If he accepts a compromise with Biden to prevent a default, he risks the ire of conservatives who could seek to oust him from the Speakership. If he holds the conservative line in demanding steep spending cuts — a non-starter with Democrats in the Senate and White House — it could lead to the first Treasury default in the nation’s history, triggering economic damage that could haunt Republicans in the 2024 elections. Across the aisle, Democrats are hardly sympathetic, saying McCarthy put himself in an impossible position in granting a long string of promises to his far-right flank in return for their support for his Speakership. “Kevin McCarthy made contradictory promises he knew would be impossible to keep in his quest to do whatever it took to become Speaker after 15 rounds of voting,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pa.), senior Democrat on the Budget panel, said in an email. “GOP dysfunction is uniquely dangerous to our economy and Americans’ livelihoods as we creep closer and closer to breaching the debt ceiling.” Heading into the debate, the sides remain miles apart. Biden and the Democrats are quick to note that raising the debt limit does not allocate new federal spending, but only empowers the government to borrow the funds necessary to pay obligations already approved by Congress. With that in mind, they’re demanding a stand-alone debt-ceiling hike divorced from the fight over future government outlays. “That conversation must be separate from prompt action on the Congress’ basic obligation to pay the Nation’s bills and avoid economic catastrophe,” Biden wrote to McCarthy late last month. Republicans counter that the national debt, at more than $31 trillion, is a threat to the country’s future prosperity, and Congress must act immediately to rein in deficit spending. They’re insisting that Biden commit to such a plan as part of the debt ceiling talks.
McCarthy slams Biden, makes case for GOP moving on debt ceiling ‘in the coming weeks’ - Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday took his case for spending cuts to Wall Street, going after President Biden and detailing the House Republican Conference’s plan to move forward with its own measure “in the coming weeks” to stave off a national default. “In the coming weeks, the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year,” McCarthy said in remarks at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, the same day Congress is set to return after a two-week recess. The Speaker said the forthcoming plan will seek to limit federal spending, with proposals to return discretionary funding levels to 2022 levels “and then limit the growth of spending over the next 10 years to 1 percent of annual growth,” without “touching Social Security and Medicare.” McCarthy reiterated calls for tougher work requirements, as more Republicans set their sights on potential changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the food stamps program. “Assistance programs are supposed to be temporary, not permanent,” McCarthy sounded off. “A hand up, not a handout.” Negotiations between the White House and House Republicans over how to act on the debt limit, which caps how much money the Treasury can owe to cover the country’s bills, remain at a standstill. Democrats have pushed for a clean bill to raise the debt ceiling, insisting negotiations over government spending be carried out separately from debt limit talks. But Republicans see the debt ceiling as a leverage point to secure concessions from Democrats that could help curb spending. The party has vowed to increase fiscal discipline and carry out significant spending reforms upon reclaiming control of the House earlier this year. House GOP leaders say the conference is largely unified behind calls to pair action on the debt limit with fiscal reform. But the party faces a tall challenge in winning the 218 Republican votes necessary for passage in the lower chamber, if Democrats withhold support. During an appearance on CNBC later on Monday, McCarthy was asked if he had the support of his party for his proposals. “I think I have the support of America,” McCarthy said in response, “because I’ll get the party behind it.” A GOP-backed debt ceiling plan that passes along partisan lines in the House would likely face tough odds in the Democratic-led Senate. But the plan comes Republicans are looking to dial up pressure on Biden for refusing to come to the table in talks to raise the debt limit. “For 75 days, the president has ignored the debt ceiling,” McCarthy said. “As Speaker of the House, I have a responsibility to tell the nation that has got to stop.” In his pitch to Wall Street to cut spending, McCarthy said he had “full confidence” that reducing federal spending would help “grow our economy” and “end the dependence on China.” “We will curb inflation and we will protect Social Security and Medicare for the next generation, and America will be stronger for it,” he said. “If you agree, don’t sit back, join us.”
Schumer pans McCarthy’s one-year debt-ceiling extension as ‘terrible idea’- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday panned Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) proposal to extend the nation’s debt ceiling until May of 2024 as a “terrible idea,” making it clear to everyone in Washington that Democrats don’t want to debate the issue again before the next election. McCarthy formally unveiled his proposal to lift the debt ceiling for one year in exchange for a cap on non-defense discretionary spending and other reforms in a speech Monday to the New York Stock Exchange. Schumer immediately dismissed McCarthy’s plan as a non-starter and warned “if Speaker McCarthy continues in this direction, we are headed to default.” “Amazingly, one of the few specifics [Speaker] McCarthy has presented is his terrible idea to kick the can down the road for just one year and undergo the same crisis again,” Schumer said. “Why would anyone want to undergo this crisis again, again and again?” Schumer reiterated that he and President Biden will sit down to negotiate with McCarthy when he has a detailed plan for cutting spending that can muster 218 votes to pass the House, though he said fiscal reform should be discussed as part of the budget and not legislation to raise the debt ceiling. “President Biden and I are happy to meet with the Speaker when he has something to talk about — a plan. I’m sure most Democratic leaders are willing to meet with him. But we first need to see his plan so we can start there and work to avoid catastrophic default,” he said. He dismissed McCarthy’s latest proposals to cut the deficit as “a recycled pile of the same things he’s been saying for months, none of which has moved the ball forward an inch.” He said any proposed spending cuts, which Democrats would counter with proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy, should be part of a separate budget discussion on spending levels in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. “There’s a time to discuss what kind of cuts folks are looking for, what taxes they want to raise. It’s called a budget. It shouldn’t be part of this conversation. That kind of discussion, the cuts, belongs in a discussion about the budget, not as a precondition for avoiding default,” he said. McCarthy’s plan would set discretionary funding at 2022 levels and limit the growth of spending over the next decade to 1 percent of annual growth and not affect Social Security or Medicare.
House Speaker McCarthy proposes debt ceiling plan on Wall Street -House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a speech delivered from the New York Stock Exchange proposed a one-year debt ceiling increase tied to spending cuts, a significant move forward in debt ceiling negotiations between House Republicans and the White House. McCarthy said that House Republicans would, "in the coming weeks," vote on a measure that would extend the debt ceiling fight into next year. In exchange, he asked for a freeze on spending at last year's levels and stricter work requirements on social programs along with a series of regulatory rollbacks. The proposal would also rescind tens of billions of dollars in unspent pandemic funding, and would expand domestic mining and fossil fuel production. The country is expected to exceed the debt limit in July unless Congress raises it. "Without exaggeration American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action," McCarthy said. While McCarthy's proposal — which was telegraphed last week — is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, it's still a concession compared to Republicans' previous demand, which was to effectively balance the budget in 10 years. McCarthy's delivery of the speech on Wall Street is a direct line to traders who are increasingly jittery about the possibility of a disastrous default this summer. Still, he gave a nonchalant answer to a question following his speech on Monday on whether he is monitoring the markets' response to debt ceiling negotiations. "Markets are reacting to work we've done," he said. "So I shouldn't monitor you. I should monitor what we're doing." For weeks, the White House has insisted that House Republicans come up with a proposal before President Joe Biden agrees to another meeting with McCarthy. "This is not how the leader of the free world should act," McCarthy said on Monday. "Your partisan political games are provoking the very crisis you claim you want to avoid: greater dependency on China, increasing inflation, and threatening Medicare and Social Security." In a statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said that McCarthy "failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on, even as he referenced a vague, extreme MAGA wish list that will increase costs for hard-working families, take food assistance and health care away from millions of Americans, and yet would enlarge the deficit."
Speaker McCarthy appeals to Wall Street to back massive social spending cuts -- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in Congress, traveled to Manhattan to speak at the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, urging the assembled stock traders and agents of billionaire investors to support his party’s position in demanding massive cuts in domestic social spending as the price of approving an increase in the federal debt ceiling. His was a highly interested audience, since a default on federal debt payments would have huge repercussions on financial markets, and threaten a chain reaction of defaults on debts which are linked in any way to US Treasury securities. Given the fragility of the financial markets, demonstrated in the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, there have been extensive complaints in the financial press that the Republican tactics over raising the debt ceiling are unduly risky. McCarthy sought to assuage these concerns, pledging Republican support for a rise in the debt ceiling. “The House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year,” he said, without specifying whether this would be a temporary waiver of the ceiling or an actual rise in the amount of debt that the Treasury is authorized to issue. In either case, the measure would put off the crisis by only a year, setting up a new debt ceiling crisis in the midst of the 2024 elections. The bulk of his remarks, however, were devoted to castigating the deficit spending of the Biden administration and appealing for Wall Street support for massive cuts in discretionary federal spending. McCarthy called for freezing the current year’s spending at levels that prevailed at the end of the last fiscal year, on September 30, 2022. This would effectively mean the rescission of $130 billion in spending authorized in the omnibus budget bill passed last December. For the next ten years, discretionary spending would be limited to increases of one percent per year, far below the inflation rate, and thus subjecting programs for health, education, housing and the environment to major cuts. Moreover, since Pentagon funding is included in discretionary spending, the Republican plan would set the stage for even greater cuts in domestic social programs as spending on the military surges in the context of the US proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and the military build-up toward war in the Far East against China. Both the Democrats and Republicans are unalterably committed to these wars, so enactment of the Republican policy would mean the virtual termination of federal spending on domestic social programs.
Analysis: Republican states could be hit hardest by McCarthy's proposed spending cuts (Reuters) - The spending-cut proposals unveiled by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday could fall hardest on people in Republican-leaning states, a Reuters analysis of federal spending data found. McCarthy's plan, which he presented as a condition for raising the United States's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, calls for cutting some agency budgets by 7% this year and capping their growth by 1% annually after that. It also would impose stiffer work requirements on some benefit programs, which could reduce the number of people who receive them. McCarthy only laid out broad contours on Monday, rather than unveiling finished legislation, which makes it difficult to determine the proposed cuts' precise toll. But a Reuters analysis of federal spending data indicates that his proposed domestic-spending caps could be felt most acutely in the states that backed Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Those 25 states received roughly $172 billion in the last fiscal year for highway construction, housing, public health and other purposes, amounting to $1,196 per person. The 25 states plus the District of Columbia that backed Democrat Joe Biden received $205 billion, or $1,079 per person. The amounts involved were smaller in 2019, before the federal government approved trillions of dollars in COVID-19 aid, but the pattern was the same: $411 per person in Trump states, compared to $360 per person in Biden states.
Republicans ready debt ceiling bill amid new fears of June deadline - -House Republicans are preparing to begin debate as soon as next week on a bill to raise the debt ceiling temporarily and slash federal spending, even though simmering internal tensions — and a fast-approaching, uncertain deadline — threaten to upend their plans. The new timeline appears to put the party on an accelerated collision course with the White House, and it further raises the odds of a fiscal crisis, after a report from Goldman Sachs warned that Washington may have only until early June to take action and avert a catastrophic government default. In a bid to rally GOP lawmakers, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unfurled his latest thinking at a private conference meeting Tuesday morning. A day after selling his plan to Wall Street, he presented options for raising the debt ceiling — the legal maximum that the U.S. government can borrow to pay its bills — potentially until sometime in 2024. In exchange, McCarthy said, the forthcoming GOP proposal would couple any increase with a slew of other Republican priorities. That includes federal spending reductions that could total $130 billion; a termination of President Biden’s top policies, such as student debt cancellation; and a set of new rules requiring the recipients of federal aid, including Medicaid, to work in exchange for benefits. Republicans generally have supported McCarthy’s strategy, believing it could put new political pressure on Biden, who has called on lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling without conditions. But early, internal schisms still emerged around the unresolved, finer details of McCarthy’s plan, complicating its path to swift passage in a chamber where his fractious party has only four votes to spare. “I don’t know when this legislative package the speaker talked about today is coming to the floor, because I don’t know when it’s going to have 218 votes,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, referring to the number of votes required for legislation to pass. Asked if the bill currently had sufficient support, he continued: “No, because it doesn’t exist in writing yet. We still have to resolve major questions, like the dollar amount and the duration and the policy concessions we seek from the Senate.”
McCarthy’s pitch to shrink food aid drawing skepticism from fellow Republicans - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s new debt limit negotiating proposal set to be unveiled Monday morning will include broad moves to restrict food assistance for millions of low-income Americans. His GOP colleagues in the Senate aren’t optimistic any of those measures will survive. McCarthy’s initial list calls for expanding the age bracket for people who must meet work requirements in order to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance Program or SNAP, while closing what Republicans say are “loopholes” in existing restrictions, according to two people who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. Cutting spending on federal food assistance programs is a perennial Republican target, and House conservatives are eager to make it part of any agreement to raise the debt ceiling, which the country must do later this year to avoid a default crisis. But Senate Democrats have said such measures are dead on arrival in the upper chamber, and with the help of key Senate Republicans, they have killed off a series of similar House GOP efforts over the years — including a 2018 push involving McCarthy and his current top debt limit lieutenant Rep. Garret Graves (La.). The early response from Senate Republicans this time around does not bode well for a different outcome in 2023. While praising the intent behind the House GOP efforts to expand work requirements for SNAP, which used to be known as food stamps, top Republican senators have sought to temper expectations about the proposal’s prospects in the upper chamber. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy walk down the House steps. Kevin McCarthy’s initial list calls for expanding the age bracket for people who must meet work requirements in order to participate in SNAP. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo “I’m sure it won’t be easy,” said John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, noting his party will get a second bite at the apple later this year during the farm bill reauthorization process. A GOP Senate aide, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, was less diplomatic: “I mean, Godspeed. Get what you can. We’re going to live in reality over here.” Senate Republicans have been voicing similar skepticism since House Republicans began privately pitching new proposals to rein in SNAP last year, after they won back the chamber in November. Asked about the prospects for such measures in the next Congress, Sen. John Boozman (Ark.) the top Republican on the Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP, said in an interview a week after the 2022 midterms that the effort “would be difficult to pass in the Senate with 60 votes,” a nod to the threshold needed to overcome a Senate filibuster. And, given the GOP’s unexpectedly slim majority in the House, there’s no guarantee such controversial proposals could even get out of the lower chamber, Boozman pointed out. “You look at the margin in the House,” he said, “It might be difficult to pass it in the House.”
McCarthy proposes lifting the debt limit for one year - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has released a legislative framework to raise the nation's debt limit for one year, while scaling back federal spending.The proposal, entitled the "Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023," would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 31 of 2024 — whichever comes first —return discretionary spending to 2022 levels, and limit the growth of spending to 1% annually."Limited government spending will reduce inflation and restore fiscal discipline in Washington," McCarthy said on the House floor Wednesday afternoon. "If Washington wants to spend more, it will have to come together and find savings elsewhere — just like every single household in America."Lifting the debt limit for a year would put its next expiration in the heart of the presidential campaign season.McCarthy, whose remarks echoed a speech he gave at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, said the plan would also repeal key parts of Democrats' signature legislative package — the Inflation Reduction Act — as well as President Biden's program to cancel college student debt, which is currently tied up in courts.The GOP bill would target the $80 billion aimed at improving the Internal Revenue Service — which Democrats approved last year as part of the IRA aimed at easing up on the agency's backlog. House Republicans voted to undo the legislation, even though it would not have passed in the Senate. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the allocated$80 billion over 10 years for the IRS would increase revenues, and that repealing the measure would actually contribute to the deficit.McCarthy plans to bring the legislation to the floor next week and said he's confident he has the support of the GOP conference to pass it. With narrow control of the chamber, McCarthy can only afford to lose a handful of members of his conference in order to pass the legislation without Democratic support.He noted Medicare and Social Security — two programs that have broad public support but are also major drivers of spending — would not be impacted by the cuts.McCarthy's framework also includes work requirements for adults without dependents who are enrolled in federal assistance programs."Our plan ensures adults without dependents earn a paycheck and learn new skills," he said. "By restoring these commonsense measures, we can help more Americans earn a paycheck, learn new skills, reduce childhood poverty and rebuild the workforce."
House Republicans unveil debt limit plan - House Republicans are barreling ahead with a proposal to raise the debt ceiling that would eliminate clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and enact their own partisan proposal to expand domestic energy production. The “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” which Republicans intend to put on the House floor next week, is just the party’s opening bid in negotiations with Democrats and the Biden administration to extend the nation’s borrowing authority by mid-June. It’s unclear, however, how much ground Republicans will ultimately be willing to cede as the deadline nears. According to bill text unveiled Wednesday afternoon, the GOP plan would “repeal market distorting green tax credits” — or the myriad incentives for clean energy projects included in the Democrats’ signature climate legislation from the previous Congress. The tax credits to be scrapped would include those to incentivize zero-emission technologies, including extensions of wind and solar credits, incentives for nuclear and hydrogen production, and installation of solar and wind facilities in low-income communities. Republicans would also look to roll back changes established by the IRA for credits to entities that sequester carbon as well as a return for electric vehicle credits that many companies have already hit the cap of using. In a floor speech announcing the plan in broad strokes, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) crowed that the bill would “end the green giveaways for companies that distort the market and waste taxpayer money,” citing a Goldman Sachs analysis from last month claiming that “ending green giveaways saves as much as $1.2 trillion.” McCarthy and other GOP leaders had reportedly been reluctant to deal with the Inflation Reduction Act in their debt limit proposal, but were pressured Tuesday by conservative hard-liners to repeal the tax credits. The bill also would, as expected, include H.R. 1, the “Lower Energy Costs Act,” in its entirety, which Republicans passed along party lines at the end of March. It is designed, McCarthy said in his speech, to “restore American energy leadership, make it easier to build things that make us less dependent on China and bring jobs back to America. It also will help lift millions of Americans out of poverty.” The party hopes including this bill in their debt limit proposal will bring Democrats to the table to negotiate permitting overhaul legislation. However, there is sharp disagreement about whether the best path to speeding up energy projects is through empowering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — as Democrats largely prefer — or making substantial changes to the National Environmental Policy Act — as favored by Republicans and reflected in H.R. 1.The GOP is, as well, offering up H.R. 277, the “Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act,” which would require that major agency rules be approved by Congress rather than through executive orders. Progressives have been urging President Joe Biden to use his authority to enact sweeping climate policy in a divided Congress to build on the historic investments of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Debt limit bill in hand, McCarthy eyes vote next week - House Republicans unveiled legislation Wednesday to pair their favored spending cuts and energy and regulatory policies with a debt limit increase lasting through early next year. In a floor speech shortly before the bill text was released, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the measure would “responsibly raise the debt limit into next year and provide more than $4.5 trillion in savings to the American taxpayer.” The California Republican told reporters before his speech he is planning to bring the bill to the floor next week and is confident it will pass. The measure would provide two options for lifting the debt limit — increasing the current $31.4 trillion statutory borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion or suspending it through March 31, 2024 — and specify the limit should be reinstated at whichever threshold is reached first. The bill would cap topline fiscal 2024 discretionary spending at $1.47 trillion, which is the fiscal 2022 level, or $131 billion below the comparable level appropriated for the current fiscal year. There aren't separate caps for defense and nondefense programs, but it's commonly understood among Republicans that the cuts will be concentrated among domestic and foreign aid accounts and that defense and veterans programs could see increases. The measure would also cap spending for the remainder of the decade, allowing for 1 percent annual growth; appropriations wouldn't return to the $1.6 trillion fiscal 2023 enacted level for a decade under the plan. After a push from conservatives, the bill would repeal unobligated IRS enforcement funding and a raft of clean energy tax credits from Democrats’ 2022 climate, tax and health law that leadership initially wanted to leave out. Repealing the climate credits is estimated to save several hundred billion dollars. McCarthy cited an analysis from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that said the cost of the credits could be as much as $1.2 trillion. McCarthy said clawing back the enforcement funding would save taxpayers $70 billion, but the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that on net it would cost $114 billion over 10 years because anticipated tax receipts lost would be higher than the cost of the enforcement funding. On Tuesday, McCarthy told his conference he was concerned about sending the Senate a revenue measure that they could strip and load up with Democratic priorities. But after negotiations with his members he admitted he would likely have to add the tax credits repeal. Other spending cuts in the bill would come from rescinding roughly $70 billion in unobligated pandemic aid and canceling President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which is expected to save roughly $400 billion over 10 years. Work requirements Republicans would expand existing work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and institute new rules for Medicaid beneficiaries. "Our plan ensures adults without dependents earn a paycheck and learn new skills,” McCarthy said. Supporters say the new benefit requirements would help shore up the solvency of Social Security and Medicare by pushing more people into the labor force whose income will be taxed. “We will also protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security because more people will be paying into it,” McCarthy said. Drafting the work requirement provisions in a way that could unify centrists and conservatives in the conference posed a challenge for GOP leaders. The bill would tighten existing exemptions in the TANF and SNAP programs, but the new rules wouldn’t take effect until 2025. Under SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, currently beneficiaries ages 18 to 49 are subject to a requirement that they spend at least 20 hours a week working, looking for a job, in training or similar work-related activities. A Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.-led bill would subject those up to age 64 to the rule; ultimately, GOP leaders settled on a cap at age 55.
McCarthy ties energy, regulatory demands to debt talks - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy directly linked Republican demands on energy, permitting and regulatory oversight to the broader debt ceiling negotiations during a speech Monday morning at the New York Stock Exchange. The California Republican outlining a framework of demands confirms weeks of murmurs of what House Republicans are seeking to extract as part of the debt ceiling negotiations with the White House, even as exact language and what hard-line conservatives are willing to accept remain elusive. More details could emerge as soon as Tuesday. Limitations on federal spending to fiscal 2022 levels and inclusion of major provisions from the recently passed “Lower Energy Costs Act,” H.R. 1, led the demands pitched by McCarthy. “I think if we attach that to a debt ceiling, growing our economy, that’s going to save us money in the long run,” McCarthy said, noting that changes to permitting could benefit renewable energy deployment in addition to fossil fuels. “So not only could we lower energy costs, which will lower inflation, lower the cost of goods, let families keep more money in their pocket, but geopolitically we can make the world safer and, environmentally, we can lower global emissions,” said the speaker. In addition to those asks, McCarthy hinted at more congressional oversight of regulations. Reports have indicated that pushing for H.R. 277, the “Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act” from Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack, has generated consensus among the GOP. It would require that major rules be approved by Congress. Additional demands include more stringent work requirements for social welfare programs, clawing back unused Covid-19 funds and a limit on federal spending increases of no more than 1 percent annually. “In the coming weeks, the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent on China and curb high inflation — all without touching Social Security or Medicare,” McCarthy said. Debt ceiling negotiations have essentially stalled for two months, without a meeting between McCarthy and President Joe Biden since they huddled in early February. The White House insists it will not negotiate until Republicans release their plan. The impasse is raising the prospect the U.S. crashes into a default later this summer. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the nation would reach the debt ceiling between July and September. McCarthy’s speech represents the first official marker for the broader debt ceiling framework put forward by Republican leadership since the party took the House majority in January. “There’s two things I will not do: I will not raise taxes and I will not pass a clean debt ceiling,” McCarthy said. “It just won’t pass, so why don’t we sit together and find ways to put us on a better path?” Democrats have echoed the demands from the White House for Republicans to put out their plan before they are willing to negotiate. “A speech is not a plan. Extreme MAGA Republicans continue to treat the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage situation while their so-called budget proposal remains in the witness protection program,” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) spokesperson Christie Stephenson said in a statement. “As always, we will evaluate any legislative text when and if House Republicans can ever agree with themselves about how much they want to devastate American families in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, well-off and well-connected,” she added.
House Republicans target climate law in debt limit bid - House Republicans are considering repealing parts of Democrats’ signature climate law — and replacing it with parts of their own — in their opening bid in talks to raise the debt ceiling. Substituting elements of the Inflation Reduction Act with the House GOP’s energy package, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called “dead on arrival” in his chamber, captures the party’s current negotiating strategy: throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. “We need as much leverage as possible because we know it will get watered down in the Senate,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). “If you have more leverage on the front end, that will hopefully get us a better outcome on the back end.” This gambit, however, carries some serious risks as President Joe Biden likely has a mid-June deadline to sign legislation to extend the nation’s borrowing authority or trigger economic catastrophe. Biden and fellow Democrats have also not backed away from their position that a debt ceiling increase should be “clean,” that is, without concessions. Regardless, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his lieutenants are crafting a bill full of policy “poison pill” provisions for Democrats, designed to win over 218 Republicans. He can only afford to lose four. Doing so has already required him to cave to members of his own party. On Tuesday morning, during McCarthy’s presentation to members of the various policy changes Republicans could demand of Democrats in exchange for a debt ceiling extension, there was discussion about — but not a commitment to — repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits. McCarthy and other leaders expressed concern about sending the Senate a debt limit bill that would raise revenue, potentially allowing Democrats to use the legislative vehicle to propose their own tax priorities. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters, “We’ve talked about a lot of those items, so the final details are still being worked out.”
GOP’s debt-limit plan would gut Biden’s climate law. White House's response: 'Jobs' - House Republicans’ proposal for averting a breach of the federal debt limitseeks to relitigate one of the most consequential congressional debates of last year — by taking an ax to President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.The White House’s counterargument: Gutting the law would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs that the law is creating in Republican-held states. The proposal that Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled Wednesday would raise the federal debt limit while repealing the host of green energy tax incentives established under Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. Those include the law’s new solar and wind manufacturing production tax credits, which Republicans have portrayed as a giveaway to China.McCarthy is eyeing to pass his plan in the House next week, setting up a showdown with Democrats amid worries that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June. The cuts, McCarthy said Wednesday, “will end the green giveaways for companies that distort the market and waste taxpayers’ money.” The Republicans’ 300-page-plus bill amounts to a legislative wish list of measures that have no future in the Senate, whose Democratic leaders have joined Biden in refusing to negotiate policy changes as part of the debt ceiling. They argue that lawmakers should raise the borrowing cap — and avert global economic havoc — without conditions, as Congress repeatedly did under former President Donald Trump. Biden derided McCarthy’s plan during an appearance Wednesday in Maryland, and vowed to reject GOP demands that he roll back his administration’s accomplishments. “They’re in Congress threatening to undo all the stuff that you helped me get done,” Biden said during an appearance at a Maryland union hall. “You and the American people should know about the competing economic visions of the country that are at stake right now.”
GOP targets clean energy laws despite boons back home - Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene heralded the expansion of a South Korean solar panel production company in her district — a $2.5 billion cash infusion.“QCells, the solar company … I think they’re fantastic,” she said. “I support all kinds of energy.”It was made possible by the tax incentives included in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which the Georgia Republican, along with all of her GOP colleagues, opposed.Greene is far from alone among Republicans cheering clean energy investments created by Democratic policies they all snubbed. And that’s creating some awkward dynamics for GOP lawmakers who are seeking to wipe out Biden’s clean-energy spending plans as part of any deal to avert a U.S. debt default.The White House, and supporters of Biden’s clean energy programs, are eagerly seizing on the contradiction.“The Biden Clean Energy Plan has helped create more than 140,000 clean energy jobs across the U.S. — the majority of which are in Republican-held districts,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of the group Climate Power, citing its own estimates of the law’s economic impact.“Now MAGA extremists are threatening to implode our country’s economy — and the clean energy manufacturing boom that’s happening in their communities — to protect their own corporate, anti-climate interests,” she said.According to data provided by Climate Power, which was then reviewed, vetted and confirmed by POLITICO’s E&E News, at least 37 congressional districts now represented by Republicans have welcomed expansions of new clean energy operations fostered by three major Biden-era laws — last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law or the CHIPS and Science Act. A POLITICO analysis early this year similarly found that Republican districts were home to about two-thirds of the major renewable energy, battery and electric vehicle projects that companies had announced since Biden signed the IRA in August.
US House Republicans squirm over Speaker McCarthy's debt ceiling proposal- (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has begun working in earnest to persuade his fellow Republicans to support a $1.5 trillion increase in the nation's debt ceiling, amid early indications of a possible revolt in his thin majority. McCarthy faces the toughest test of his young speakership with a bill he hopes to pass in the House of Representatives next week -- a measure that rankles some in his rank-and-file by authorizing more government debt. He is trying to couple it with tough new spending controls. It is his opening shot in a negotiation with Democratic President Joe Biden, whose party also controls the U.S. Senate. If the divided Congress fails to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, the government could face a default that would shake the U.S. and world economies. "We're in very good shape. We just rolled it out yesterday. We're working, talking through all the members," McCarthy told reporters on Thursday. Financial markets are already showing signs of worry about the standoff, with the cost of insuring exposure to U.S. debt at its highest level in a decade and financial analysts raising concerns about rising risk of default. Several House Republicans on Thursday either raised concerns about the proposal or acknowledged a tough battle ahead on a bill that is unlikely to win Democratic support. U.S. Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, told reporters he supports the legislation but said if the vote were held on Thursday it might not pass, as some in the caucus are "struggling" with it. It is not unusual for members of Congress to sometimes withhold their support for legislation as a way of winning concessions. That does not mean that in the end they will defy their leadership. McCarthy faces a tough path as he can lose only five votes from his razor thin 222-member majority to pass legislation if Democrats remain united in opposition. It took him 15 rounds of voting in January to win the speakership, a sign of the dissension within the caucus about his leadership. His bill would have to win over at least three camps of doubters: Those who think it does not go far enough in taming federal deficits; those who think it will hurt their constituents, and those who have not voted for a debt limit increase before and might never in the future."There are just some concerns there's no plan to balance the budget ... in any time frame and this is an opportunity to do that," said Representative Nancy Mace, who added that she is worried that proposals to roll back some sweeping tax credits related to solar energy could hurt her South Carolina constituents. Hardline conservative Representative Chip Roy, who is on the powerful House Rules Committee that is the gatekeeper of all legislation, told reporters he was weighing whether the spending cuts were "robust enough." Representative Tim Burchett, who represents a Tennessee district that includes the city of Knoxville, which has a poverty rate of about 21%, expressed worries about a provision to tighten eligibility for the SNAP food stamp program. Nonetheless, Burchett added, "The most important thing to me is reducing debt. That's going to sink us."
U.S. food banks warn of strain as Republicans seek food aid cuts - (Reuters) - Food banks across the United States are straining to meet spiking demand as high food costs and shrinking federal benefits drive scores of Americans to depend on free groceries, just as Republicans seek to narrow access to food assistance. President Joe Biden, who this week criticized Republicans' proposals to further cut benefits in order to shrink the country's deficit, pledged last year to end hunger in the U.S. by 2030. Food banks in Atlanta, New Jersey, Ohio, California, and Washington State and national anti-hunger groups told Reuters that demand is rising because of inflation and the end of a temporary expansion of federal food assistance benefits that kept millions out of poverty during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four food banks told Reuters that demand is up between 46 and 125% since last spring, and that visits to their pantries are as high or higher than they were at the height of the pandemic. More than 11.4 million households collected free groceries in early April, up 15% from a year ago, according to data from the Census Bureau. "It feels like we've moved on from the pandemic," said Leslie Bacho, CEO of Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, which served 480,000 people in March – up 92% over last year. "But for food banks, we're still deep in a crisis." Republicans in Congress are considering cuts to food assistance as one way to shrink federal spending as lawmakers debate whether to raise the country's borrowing limit. A proposal on the debt issue released Wednesday by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy included an expansion of work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest federal food aid program. Currently, adults aged 18 to 50 without dependents must work or participate in a job training program at least 20 hours per week to receive SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, for more than three months.
US Announces $325 Million Arms Package for Ukraine - The Pentagon on Wednesday announced a new $325 million arms package for Ukraine that includes ammunition for the HIMARS rocket systems and anti-tank weapons.The weapons are being provided to Ukraine through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows President Biden to send arms to Kyiv directly from Pentagon stockpiles.The funds are being drawn from the $45 billion aid bill Congress passed in December, which is expected to be exhausted by the summer. To date, the US has authorized about $113 billion in spending on the war. According to the Pentagon, the new package includes the following:
- Additional ammunition for HIMARS
- 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds
- Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
- AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems
- Anti-tank mines
- Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing
- Over 9 million rounds of small arms ammunition
- Four logistics support vehicles
- Precision aerial munitions
- Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair
- Port and harbor security equipment
- Spare parts and other field equipment
The Pentagon also released a fact sheet on Wednesday that details the enormous amount of military aid the US has provided Ukraine. It says the Biden administration has committed more than $36.1 billion in military equipment for Kyiv, including $35.4 billion that has been pledged since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022.
GOP lawmakers urge Biden to stop sending ‘unrestrained’ aid, weapons to Ukraine - A coalition of GOP lawmakers has urged the Biden administration to stop sending “unrestrained” aid and weapons to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with neighboring Russia. “We write to express concern regarding the U.S. response to Ukraine. Over a year ago, Russia launched an invasion that has upended decades of peace in Europe,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Biden on Thursday. “We are deeply concerned that the trajectory of U.S. aid to the Ukrainian war effort threatens further escalation and lacks much-needed strategic clarity.” The lawmakers noted in their letter the risks associated with supplying Ukraine with necessary aid and weapons, saying how the country’s continued contribution could escalate the conflict between the two countries and create a proxy war with Russia. “The current strategy of sanctions and drawn-out aid will only prolong the conflict, leading to escalation and more violence,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter, adding how the country needs to focus on its own military and economic resources “rather than allocating substantial resources to a foreign conflict.” “Our national and economic security demand an alternative. Unrestrained U.S. aid for Ukraine must come to an end, and we will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion.” The lawmakers also said that Biden should prioritize more diplomatic efforts to advocate for a peace agreement between the two countries. The letter was signed by 19 Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah.), Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-K.Y.), and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). “There are appropriate ways in which the U.S. can support the Ukrainian people, but unlimited arms supplies in support of an endless war is not one of them. Our national interests, and those of the Ukrainian people, are best served by incentivizing the negotiations that are urgently needed to bring this conflict to a resolution,” the letter concludes. “We strongly urge you to advocate for a negotiated peace between the two sides, bringing this awful conflict to a close.” The letter comes as prominent GOP figures such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have shared their criticism of recent aid being sent to Ukraine.
US Approves F-16 Equipment Sale to Turkey After Finland NATO Approval - The State Department on Monday approved a $259 million arms sale to Turkey that would upgrade the country’s F-16 fighter jets, a step that comes about two weeks after Ankara approved Finland’s NATO membership.According to the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the purpose of the arms sale is to “improve Turkey’s capability to meet current and future threats and assist in defending its homeland and U.S. personnel stationed there.” The principal contractor for the deal is Lockheed Martin.Ankara is also looking to purchase 40 new F-16s, but some members of Congress don’t want to approve the deal until Turkey also approves Sweden’s NATO bid, and it’s not clear when that will happen.The kits to upgrade Turkey’s current F-16s were initially supposed to be included in the deal for the 40 new fighter jets, which is estimated to cost about $20 billion.The Biden administration has previously expressed support for selling the new F-16s to Turkey, but leading members of Congress have come out against it, including Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Sweden is hoping Turkey will approve its NATO membership after the upcoming Turkish elections scheduled for May 14. Hungary has also held off approving Sweden’s NATO bid over Stockholm’s criticism of the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
US to Sell Taiwan 400 Boeing-Made Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles - Taiwan will purchase 400 Boeing-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles under a contract worth $1.7 billion, Bloomberg reported on Monday.Taipei has previously purchased ship-launched Harpoons, which are also made by Boeing, but the new deal is for a ground-launched mobile version of the anti-ship missiles. According to Bloomberg, the sale will complete a deal approved by Congress in 2020.The Pentagon announced a $1.7 billion contract with Boeing on April 7 but wouldn’t say if the deal was for Taiwan. The Harpoon deal has been cited by Congress as part of what they call a $19 billion “backlog” in arms sales to Taiwan, although weapons purchases typically take years to fulfill.The US has always sold weapons to Taiwan since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979. But in recent years, arms sales have ramped up, and the US is now prepared to provide Taiwan with unprecedented military aid.News of the Harpoon sale comes as tensions between the US and China are soaring over Taiwan. Beijing just recently concluded major live-fire drills around the island that were a direct response to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.Also on Monday, Taiwanese media reported that over 200 US troops are now in Taiwan to help train the island’s armed forces. The deployment marks a significant expansion of the US military presence in Taiwan, as only a few dozen American troops were stationed there before.
U.S. convoy fired on in Sudan, Blinken says - A U.S. diplomatic convoy in Sudan was fired on in a “reckless” and “irresponsible” attack amid the African nation’s ongoing violence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. None of the Americans were injured, he told reporters while speaking in Japan, emphasizing that the convoy was fired upon despite bearing diplomatic plates and a U.S. flag. “We have deep concerns, of course, about the overall security environment as it affects civilians, as it affects diplomats, as it affects aid workers,” he said. During a call Tuesday morning, Blinken told Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads Sudan’s military, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, that the attack was “totally unacceptable.” He also underscored the need for a ceasefire, and, following the call, the RSF issued a temporary ceasefire “to open safe paths for the passage of civilians,” the group wrote in a tweet. While the incident is under investigation, initial reports show that the RSF was responsible for the attack, the secretary of state said. When asked whether Americans in Sudan were safe, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday that all U.S. government personnel are accounted for and sheltering in place, refusing to provide further details. “We are staying in close touch with them right now, and we expect those communications to continue,”
US military prepares for possible Sudan embassy evacuation (AP) — The Pentagon is moving additional troops and equipment to a Naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan. Two Biden administration officials say the deployments to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti are necessary because of the current uncertain situation in Sudan, where fighting is raging between two warring factions. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the administration’s planning for a potential evacuation. That planning got underway in earnest on Monday after a U.S. Embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. In a statement Thursday, the Pentagon said it will deploy “additional capabilities” to the region to potentially help facilitate an evacuation of embassy personnel from Sudan if required, but provided no details, and did not state the location. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the decision to prepare for a possible evacuation was made by President Joe Biden in the “last couple of days.” The president “authorized the military to move forward with pre-positioning forces and to develop options,” Kirby told reporters at the White House. “There’s no indication that either side is deliberately going after or trying to hurt or target Americans,” Kirby said. “But it’s obviously a dangerous situation.”
US Indo-Pacific Commander Says US Must Be Prepared to 'Fight and Win' a War With China Over Taiwan - Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress Tuesday that the US must be ready to “fight and win” a war against China over Taiwan.“I’m responsible [for finding a way] to prevent this conflict today and — if deterrence were to fail — to be able to fight and win,” Aquilino told a House Armed Services Committee hearing.The comments are the latest example of US military officials speaking openly about the fact that they’re preparing for a war with China. US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth also said recently that the US must be ready to beat China in a war in the Asia Pacific by beefing up its military presence in the region.Aquilino pushed back against other US military leaders who have tried to predict when China might attack Taiwan, saying they were just “guessing.” His predecessor, Adm. Philip Davidson, said in 2021 that China could invade in six to 10 years.More recently, Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, the commander of Air Mobility Command, said in a memo to his officers that the US and China could be at war in 2025. “For me, it doesn’t matter what the timeline is,” Aquilino said.Aquilino and other US officials maintain the US must increase support for Taiwan, both militarily and diplomatically, to prevent a Chinese attack on the island. But China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in response to the growing ties between Washington and Taipei.
House China Committee to War-Game a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan - The House’s new panel on China will be war gaming a Chinese invasion of Taiwan to explore ways the US can respond in the latest example of the US government preparing for a future conflict with Beijing. Axios reported that on Wednesday evening, members of the China committee, which is led by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), will take the role of US officials in the war game that will be conducted by a Center for a New American Security (CNAS). CNAS is a hawkish think-tank that receives funding from US arms makers and the Taiwanese government through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy. Several members of the Biden administration came from CNAS, including Kurt Campbell, a co-founder of the think tank who now serves as President Biden’s top Asia official on the National Security Council. China hawks in Congress argue that the US must continue ramping up support for Taiwan to deter a Chinese invasion. “We need to be moving heaven and earth to enhance our deterrence and denial posture so that Xi Jinping concludes that he just can’t do it,” Gallagher told AP. But China’s recent rhetoric and actions have demonstrated that more US support for Taiwan puts the island under greater Chinese military pressure. Beijing just concluded massive live-fire drills around Taiwan that were launched in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in California.
US Sails Warship Through Taiwan Strait After China's Live-Fire Drills - The US sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, a few days after China concluded live-fire exercises in the area in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Miliusmade the passage. The Seventh Fleet framed the transit as “routine,” but US military activity in the Taiwan Strait angers Beijing.China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it closely monitored and tracked the Milius as it sailed through the strait. A spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, which oversees Chinese military operations in the region, said its forces were on “high alert at all times” and would “resolutely” defend Chinese sovereignty.Last week, the USS Milius stoked tensions with Beijing by sailing within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese-controlled reef in the South China Sea. Since the Obama administration, the US has conducted such passages to challenge China’s claims to the waters.Tensions remain high in the region as the US and the Philippines are currently conducting their largest-ever joint military exercises, which include firing missiles into the South China Sea. The drills come after Washington and Manila inked a deal that expands the US military presence in the Philippines.
Navy sends warship through Taiwan Strait after Chinese exercise around Taiwan -- The U.S. Navy sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday with a destroyer ship, leading China to denounce the move as a threat to its national security. The USS Milius transited a part of the Taiwan Strait “beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” according to the U.S. 7th Fleet. “Milius’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the fleet said in a statement. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the U.S. sent the ship through the Taiwan Strait “to flex muscles,” which he said “poses a threat to China’s sovereignty and security and undermines regional peace and stability.” “China urges the US to immediately end such moves of violation and provocation and stop causing troubles for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said at a Monday press briefing. The naval action comes about a week after the USS Milius, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer vessel, also sailed near Chinese artificial naval bases near the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Tensions in the Indo-Pacific are high following three days of Chinese naval and air drills over Taiwan earlier this month, which Beijing ordered after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in California. China sees Taiwan as historically part of the mainland after those fleeing a 1949 communist takeover in Beijing established the Republic of China opposition government on the island.
The fusion of the state and media - The response of the US media to a series of leaked Pentagon documents revealing US involvement in the Ukraine war raises far-reaching issues of democratic rights. On Thursday, the New York Times publicly identified the individual who allegedly leaked Pentagon documents exposing US government lies about the Ukraine war, leading to his arrest. The Times, working with the state-funded propaganda clearinghouse Bellingcat, publicly revealed the identity of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guard member. Teixeira was arrested just hours later. There are indications that Teixeira holds repulsive fascist and antisemitic views. But Teixeira’s motivations do not change the fact that the documents he released caught the US government red-handed in systematically lying to the public in waging an undeclared war against Russia in Ukraine. The documents showed that, contrary to false claims by the Biden administration, NATO troops are on the ground in Ukraine, NATO is directly involved in the war, and the Ukrainian military is in a far worse position than presented by news reports. These documents have exposed not only the US government, but the New York Times and Washington Post, as liars. In turn, the major US media outlets have responded by upholding, in principle, the right of the US government to lie to the public. On Thursday, the Washington Post published an editorial headlined, “The Discord leaks show our nation’s secrets at risk.” Nowhere in the editorial is there any criticism of the Biden administration for having lied to the American public. Instead, the editorial upholds government secrecy, and vows to assist the government to keep the public from knowing what the government wishes to keep secret. The editorial declares, “Keeping secrets is essential to a functioning government.” In making this statement, the Post, owned by the oligarch Jeff Bezos, has declared war on a fundamental precept of democratic rule.
WaPo Belatedly Admits 'Proxy War' Nature Of Ukraine Conflict In Wake Of Leaks -- Below is how Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded when asked by The Washington Post whether the Ukraine conflict is a proxy war... "This is a war of choice by Putin," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an interview. "We are not in a war with Russia, and we won’t be in a war with Russia. … It was Russia’s choice to begin with." But then WaPo points out the obvious: "That may be true, but the administration has given Ukraine more than $40 billion in military and economic aid, along with real-time targeting assistance and sophisticated weapons systems on which it has trained Kyiv’s forces." The report also highlights the trove of Pentagon leaks which give an inside view of the war well over a year in, showing also that despite long-running White House denials, there are actually US special forces on the ground in Ukraine, and they've likely been for a long time (also after a longer-running CIA covert program).The Kremlin, and even some US domestic opponents of the Biden administration (foremost among them Donald Trump, who has been referencing a "proxy battle"), have long considered what's happening to be a proxy war aimed at 'defeating Russia'. As early as a year ago Lloyd Austin was explicitly saying it's US policy to "weaken Russia" in supporting the Ukrainian cause.But all along WaPo and other major US news sources have actively fought against the proxy war label. Yet now, in the wake of the Pentagon leaks, the Post is belatedly reevaluating, based on the newspaper's following definition offered: Whether Ukraine has become a “proxy” war between great powers has itself become an intellectual and political battlefield. The word has a dictionary definition — a person or entity authorized to act for another. More popularly, it has come to mean sending someone else to do your own dirty work. In this vein, The American Conservative last year declared that it's Washington's plan to "fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian." Interestingly, the new Washington Post analysis recalls President Biden's own statements leaning in the direction of a proxy conflict: The administration itself has provided rhetorical grist for Putin’s proxy portrayal. “We want to see Russia weakened” so that it can never invade another country again, Austin said early in the conflict.At a NATO summit in Madrid last June, Biden said Americans should be prepared to pay higher energy and gasoline prices "for as long as it takes" to defeat Russia, a phrase he has subsequently used in nearly every statement since then about Western aid for Ukraine. While insisting there will be no U.S. or NATO troops in Ukraine, he has said the war must end in a “strategic failure” for Russia."Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never," Biden said as he marked the anniversary of the war’s beginning during a visit in February to Kyiv.Very tellingly, WaPo then points out classic end of Cold War era proxy wars, which appear parallel to the type of support the US is now giving the Ukrainians:
Defense Official Confirms Leak: American Smart Bombs Are Failing in Ukraine - Ukrainian forces' failure to correctly equip smart bombs and Russian jamming GPS signals are causing American-made weapons to miss their targets.by Kyle Anzalone Posted onApril 16, 2023CategoriesNewsA high number of American smart bombs are failing to achieve their objective in Ukraine, a Pentagon official told Politico confirming information in documents leaked by Jack Teixeira.The White House ordered The Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) be sent to Ukraine late last year. In March, the Pentagon confirmed the weapon was operational. While the document leaked by Teixeira is undated, it shows that Ukraine fired JDAMS on February 15 and 21.The JDAM-ER is a kit that attaches to unguided "dumb bombs," upgrading the weapons into GPs guided "smart bombs" with a range of over 50 miles.Last week, a highly-classified Pentagon document showed that four out of nine JDAMS fired by Ukrainian pilots missed their targets due to Russian GPs jamming capabilities. The document says that other artillery systems such as the M270 and HIMARs are also being impacted by Moscow’s forces using GPs jamming.In response to the Russian tactics, the document recommends that Ukrainian forces destroy or disrupt the jammers to the "maximum extent possible before JDAM-ER employments."A second issue causing JDAM failures in Ukraine is inappropriately arming the munition. Politico reported an unnamed defense official confirmed "In some cases, the bomb fuzes were not armed when they were released, causing the weapon to fail to detonate." The official claimed the Ukrainian military put in place safeguards to prevent the mistake from repeating.It is unclear how many JDAM-ERs the US has sent to Ukraine, the document notes that "1,000 arming lanyards" were provided to Kiev, and Washington planned to send more soon. This suggests that the White House was planning to send more than one thousand of the "smart bomb" kits to Ukraine.Teixeira was arrested last week and charged under the Espionage Act. The 21-year-old is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Teixeira posted the documents in a discord channel.Many of the documents that Teixeira posted have painted a grim picture of Ukraine’s military abilities, contradicting positive assessments the White House has presented to the American public. While about 50 documents he posted are now publicly available, the Washington Post claims to have viewed hundreds more.
Leaks Reveal Reality Behind US Propaganda in Ukraine - -The US corporate media’s first response to the leaking of secret documents about the war in Ukraine was to throw some mud in the water, declare "nothing to see here," and cover it as a depoliticized crime story about a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman who published secret documents to impress his friends. President Biden dismissed the leaks as revealing nothing of "great consequence."What these documents reveal, however, is that the war is going worse for Ukraine than our political leaders have admitted to us, while going badly for Russia too, so that neither side is likely to break the stalemate this year, and this will lead to "a protracted war beyond 2023," as one of the documents says.The publication of these assessments should lead to renewed calls for our government to level with the public about what it realistically hopes to achieve by prolonging the bloodshed, and why it continues to reject the resumption of the promising peace negotiations it blocked in April 2022. We believe that blocking those talks was a dreadful mistake, in which the Biden administrationcapitulated to the warmongering, since-disgraced U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and that current US policy is compounding that mistake at the cost of tens of thousands more Ukrainian lives and the destruction of even more of their country. In most wars, while the warring parties strenuously suppress the reporting of civilian casualties for which they are responsible, professional militaries generally treat accurate reporting of their own military casualties as a basic responsibility. But in the virulent propaganda surrounding the war in Ukraine, all sides have treated military casualty figures as fair game, systematically exaggerating enemy casualties and understating their own. Publicly available US estimates have supported the idea that many more Russians are being killed than Ukrainians, deliberately skewing public perceptions to support the notion that Ukraine can somehow win the war, as long as we just keep sending more weapons. The leaked documents provide internal US military intelligence assessments of casualties on both sides. But different documents, and different copies of the documents circulating online, show conflicting numbers, so the propaganda war rages on despite the leak. The most detailed assessment of attrition rates of troops says explicitly that US military intelligence has "low confidence" in the attrition rates it cites. It attributes that partly to "potential bias" in Ukraine’s information sharing, and notes that casualty assessments "fluctuate according to the source." So, despite denials by the Pentagon, a document that shows a higher death toll on the Ukrainian side may be correct, since it has been widely reported that Russia has been firing several times the number of artillery shells as Ukraine, in a bloody war of attrition in which artillery appears to be the main instrument of death. Altogether, some of the documents estimate a total death toll on both sides approaching 100,000 and total casualties, killed and wounded, of up to 350,000. Another document reveals that, after using up the stocks sent by NATO countries, Ukraine is running out of missiles for the S-300 and BUK systems that make up 89% of its air defenses. By May or June, Ukraine will therefore be vulnerable, for the first time, to the full strength of the Russian air force, which has until now been limited mainly to long-range missile strikes and drone attacks.Recent Western arms shipments have been justified to the public by predictions that Ukraine will soon be able to launch new counter-offensives to take back territory from Russia. Twelve brigades, or up to 60,000 troops, were assembled to train on newly delivered Western tanks for this "spring offensive," with three brigades in Ukraine and nine more in Poland, Romania and Slovenia.But a leaked document from the end of February reveals that the nine brigades being equipped and trained abroad had less than half their equipment and, on average, were only 15% trained. Meanwhile, Ukraine faced a stark choice to either send reinforcements to Bakhmut or withdraw from the town entirely, and it chose to sacrifice some of its "spring offensive" forces to prevent the imminent fall of Bakhmut.Ever since the US and NATO started training Ukrainian forces to fight in Donbas in 2015, and while it has been training them in other countries since the Russian invasion, NATO has provided six-month training courses to bring Ukraine’s forces up to basic NATO standards. On this basis, it appears that many of the forces being assembled for the "spring offensive" would not be fully trained and equipped before July or August.But another document says the offensive will begin around April 30th, meaning that many troops may be thrown into combat less than fully trained, by NATO standards, even as they have to contend with more severe shortages of ammunition and a whole new scale of Russian airstrikes. The incredibly bloody fighting that has already decimated Ukrainian forces will surely be even more brutal than before.The leaked documents conclude that "enduring Ukrainian deficiencies in training and munitions supplies probably will strain progress and exacerbate casualties during the offensive," and that the most likely outcome remains only modest territorial gains.The documents also reveal serious deficiencies on the Russian side, deficiencies revealed by the failure of their winter offensive to take much ground. The fighting in Bakhmut has raged on for months, leaving thousands of fallen soldiers on both sides and a burned out city still not 100% controlled by Russia.The inability of either side to decisively defeat the other in the ruins of Bakhmut and other front-line towns in Donbas is why one of the most important documents predicted that the war was locked in a "grinding campaign of attrition" and was "likely heading toward a stalemate."Adding to the concerns about where this conflict is headed is the revelationin the leaked documents about the presence of 97 special forces from NATO countries, including from the UK and the US This is in addition to previous reports about the presence of CIA personnel, trainers and Pentagon contractors, and the unexplained deployment of 20,000 troops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Brigades near the border between Poland and Ukraine.Worried about the ever-increasing direct US military involvement, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz has introduced a Privileged Resolution of Inquiry to force President Biden to notify the House of the exact number of US military personnel inside Ukraine and precise US plans to assist Ukraine militarily.We can’t help wondering what President Biden’s plan could be, or if he even has one. But it turns out that we’re not alone. In what amounts to a second leak that the corporate media have studiously ignored, US intelligence sources have told veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh that they are asking the same questions, and they describe a "total breakdown" between the White House and the US intelligence community.Hersh’s sources describe a pattern that echoes the use of fabricated and unvetted intelligence to justify US aggression against Iraq in 2003, in which Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Sullivan are by-passing regular intelligence analysis and procedures and running the Ukraine War as their own private fiefdom. They reportedly smear all criticism of President Zelensky as "pro-Putin," and leave U.S. intelligence agencies out in the cold trying to understand a policy that makes no sense to them.What US intelligence officials know, but the White House is doggedly ignoring, is that, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, top Ukrainian officials running this endemically corrupt country are making fortunes skimming money from the over $100 billion in aid and weapons that America has sent them.
Brazil's Lula Says US Should Stop 'Encouraging' Ukraine War - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in China on Saturday that the US should stop “encouraging” the war in Ukraine and seek peace instead.“The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace. The European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and Zelensky that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them,” Lula told reporters.While in China, the Brazilian leader said he discussed an idea with Chinese President Xi Jinping to form a group of countries that seek peace in Ukraine to push for negotiations.“I have a theory that I have already defended with Macron, with Olaf Scholz of Germany, and with Biden, and yesterday, we discussed at length with Xi Jinping. It is necessary to constitute a group of countries willing to find a way to make peace,” Lula said.The US has discouraged peace talks throughout the war while flooding Ukraine with weapons. The Biden administration has also come out strongly against Beijing’s efforts to push for peace in Ukraine. The White House said it opposed any calls for a ceasefire ahead of Xi’s recent trip to Moscow.During his visit to China, Lula also spoke out against the US dollar’s hegemony as the world’s reserve currency. “Why should every country have to be tied to the dollar for trade?… Who decided the dollar would be the (world’s) currency?” he said. Ahead of Lula’s trip, China and Brazil signed a deal to trade in their own currencies.
US, South Korea To Begin Large-Scale War Games This Week - Over 100 American and South Korean warplanes will take part in large-scale, joint aerial war games. The military exercises come as North Korea warns of a realistic chance of nuclear war.On Monday, 1,400 soldiers will begin participating in the 12-day war games. The military aircraft will involve advanced fighter jets, such as the F-35 and F-16. Chief of staff of the ROK Air Force Operations Command, Lee Beom-ki, said, “Through this exercise, (we) will be able to reaffirm the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance and further develop the combined operational capability to another level.”Washington and Seoul have conducted a series of war games in recent weeks. In mid-March, the US flew a B-1B bomber over the Korean Peninsula. The show of force was quickly followed by the "Foal Eagle" war games. Foal Eagle was the largest live-fire military drill in South Korea in five years. In April, Washington conducted anti-submarine operations with Tokyo and Seoul. Shortly thereafter, the White House ordered a B-52 bomber to fly over the peninsula. Pyongyang has reciprocated with weapons testing. North Korea claimed that they successfully launched an underwater drone capable of creating a "nuclear tsunami" and an intercontinental ballistic missile.The US and South Korea typically assert that the exercises are defensive. However, North Korea views the war games as preparation for regime change in Pyongyang. A recent article in North Korean state media said, "The US and its followers should never forget the fact that their rival state has possessed the nuclear attack capability.""The US has parroted that the military drills with South Korea are defensive," the KCNA editorial said. "But, they can never conceal with such veils as ‘defensive’ and ‘routine’ their aggressive colors as provocateurs and the fact that the current exercises are a deliberate military action prompted by their sinister scheme … to wreck peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula."
Report: Biden Preparing Executive Order to Limit US Investments in China - The White House is preparing to take unprecedented action to limit US investments in China’s tech sector, POLITICO reported on Tuesday.The action would come in the form of an executive order signed by President Biden that would require American companies to notify the government of new investments in Chinese tech. It would also prohibit some investments altogether, such as deals involving Beijing’s microchip sector.The report said that the order has been years in the making as some officials in the Biden administration have been at odds over how hard to go after new US investments in China.Biden administration officials insist they are not seeking an economic decoupling with China and say the restrictions are about preventing US investment in technology that can be used by China’s military. But the order would mark a significant scaling down of the US-China trade relationship that has grown since the two countries formally established relations in 1979.Last year, the administration enacted export restrictions on semiconductors and chip-making equipment aimed at decimating China’s semiconductor industry. The US has also pressured the Netherlands and Japan, two countries that export the technology needed for advanced chip-making, to follow suit.The POLITICO report said the executive order is expected to be signed at the end of April. Administration officials have already briefed industry groups on the contents of the order, although the details could still change.Besides limiting US investment in China, the administration is considering hiking Trump-era tariffs on China and banning TikTok, the video-sharing app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. A bill supposedly designed to ban TikTok that was introduced in the Senate would give the Commerce Secretary sweeping powers to crack down on tech.
Leaked Document Reveals the US Spying on the UN Secretary-General - Classified documents allegedly leaked by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira have revealed that the US is closely spying on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and is not happy with his engagement with Moscow.Several documents detail Guterres’ communications, including one that accuses him of “undermining” efforts to take action against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The document addresses his communications with Moscow regarding the grain deal that unlocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.To broker the deal between Moscow and Kyiv, the UN agreed to help facilitate the export of Russian fertilizer and grain, which has been hindered by Western sanctions despite exemptions for agricultural goods.The document reads: “UN Secretary-General Guterres is taking steps to accommodate Russia in an effort to protect the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), which he considers a pivotal UN success and key to addressing global food insecurity, and his actions are undermining broader efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its actions in Ukraine.”The document was likely written either in late February or early March before Russia and Ukraine agreed to extend the grain deal on March 18. It says in early February, Guterres “urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a letter to renew the BSGI before its term expires on March 18 and Guterres emphasized his efforts to improve Russia’s ability to export, even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals, according to FISA-derived signal intelligence.” Signal intelligence refers to information obtained by intercepting communications. In response to the revelation that the US was spying on Guterres, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told Al Jazeera that he is “not surprised by the fact that people are spying on him and listening in on his private conversations.”“What is surprising is the malfeasance or incompetence that allows for such private conversations to be distorted and become public,” Dujarric said. Other documents detailed private communications between Guterres and his deputy.
Biden's DOJ Indicts Four Americans for Their Political Views on Russia - The Justice Department has indicted four Americans, including three members of the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement (APSP), over their political views on Russia, a step that has grave implications for First Amendment rights.The allegation against the Americans is that they were involved in a “foreign malign influence campaign” directed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The DOJ also indicted three Russians related to the case, including Aleksandr Ionov, who was initially charged last year.Ionov is a Moscow resident who founded the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), a non-governmental organization. The DOJ claims that Ionov used the AGMR to conduct Russia’s “malign influence campaign” and recruited Americans to spread “Russian propaganda.” The indictment alleges the Russians were involved in a 2019 local election in St. Petersburg, Florida, one city where the APSP is based.“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights – freedoms Russia denies its own citizens – to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.Offices and homes affiliated with the APSP were raided by the FBI in 2022 over the group’s connections to the AGMR. Omali Yeshitela, the leader of the APSP who was indicted by the DOJ, pointed out after the raid that his group has worked with organizations around the world for decades.“At our First Party Congress held in Oakland, California in 1981, we received solidarity statements from organizations and governments from around the world,” Yeshitela wrote in an article published by Antiwar.com in March 2023.“This helps to give lie to the notion that our connection to a Russian NGO is evidence of an illicit relationship that we would have with a ‘foreign power,'” he said.Yeshitela strongly denied that his group was working for Russia, and they appear to have been targeted for their political beliefs. The APSP has expressed support for Russia and denounced US involvement in Ukraine, but the group has been speaking out against US foreign policy since it was formed in 1972.
Guantanamo inmates showing signs of 'accelerated ageing,' ICRC says - (Reuters) - Inmates who have been held for years in the Guantanamo Bay U.S. detention facility in Cuba are showing signs of "accelerated ageing", a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday. "We're calling on the U.S. administration and Congress to work together to find adequate and sustainable solutions to address these issues," said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC's head of delegation for the United States and Canada. "Action should be taken as a matter of priority." Hamilton's comments came after a visit to the facility in March following a 20-year hiatus. He said he was "struck by how those who are still detained today are experiencing the symptoms of accelerated ageing, worsened by the cumulative effects of their experiences and years spent in detention". He called for detainees to receive adequate mental and physical health care and more frequent family contact. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden’s order against commercial spyware is ‘upsetting the market’ - President Biden’s recent executive order targeting the use of commercial spyware poses a serious threat to the digital surveillance industry, experts say, as some companies weigh the impact that the decision will have on their businesses. The order, which was released last month, prohibits all U.S. federal agencies from using or buying commercial spyware that could pose a national security risk or target U.S. personnel. It specifically bans the use of commercial spyware that a foreign government or foreign person used to try to access government electronic devices. It also bans spyware that uses data obtained without authorization from the government, intends to disclose non-public information about the government and activities, or is under effective control by a foreign government. James Lewis, a senior vice president and director with the strategic technologies program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the order is “upsetting the market” as some spyware makers have voiced their concerns about the impact of Biden’s action on the industry. “Some of them have told me that they’re not sure they’re going to be able to stay in business,” Lewis said.
RFK Jr. Launches Presidential Bid, Vows to Unwind the US Empire - On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his presidential bid to challenge President Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary and vowed to begin “unwinding” the American Empire.In a speech announcing his run, Kennedy questioned President Biden’s motives in Ukraine and said it appeared the administration wanted to prolong the war. He said Ukraine was being treated as a “pawn” between two great powers.Kennedy called for a scaling down of the US military presence around the globe. “I’m gonna bring the troops home, I’m gonna close the bases, and I’m gonna start investing in the US middle class,” he said.Kennedy’s campaign website details his foreign policy vision. “As President, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will start the process of unwinding empire. We will bring the troops home. We will stop racking up unpayable debt to fight one war after another,” the website says.“The military will return to its proper role of defending the homeland. We will end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don’t know it’s happening. But it is happening, a constant drain on our strength,” it says.Concerning Ukraine, the website says the “most important priority is to end the suffering of the Ukrainian people, victims of a brutal Russian invasion, and also victims of American geopolitical machinations going back at least to 2014.” It says Kennedy would try diplomacy and offer concessions to Russia, including an offer to “withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia’s borders.”Kennedy is starting the race with the support of 14% of voters who backed President Biden in 2020, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll. The poll says only 67% of the people who voted for Biden in 2020 plan to support him against his current Democratic challengers.
Manchin slams EPA for 'lying' to public on tailpipe rule - Sen. Joe Manchin is promising to work to undermine the Biden administration’s historic proposal to limit tailpipe emissions in a presidential election year. The West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday threw his support behind efforts to repeal EPA’s proposed rule to limit smog, soot and carbon from cars and trucks starting with model year 2027 — a move designed to hasten the transition to all-electric vehicles. “I fully support Congress overturning these dangerous EPA regulations,” Manchin said in a statement, in which he also accused the administration of “lying to Americans with false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security.” Manchin will join with Senate Republican leaders in this endeavor. They announced their intentions, at their weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, to deploy the Congressional Review Act to overturn the rulemaking. Resolutions under the CRA have become popular vehicles in a Republican-controlled House and a closely divided Senate — where they only require a simple majority for adoption — to disapprove of Biden administration policies and force Biden to use his veto pen. Manchin has sided with the GOP on several so far. The vote to overturn the proposed tailpipe rule under the CRA can’t happen until after the rule is finalized; that isn’t expected to taken place until later this year, at least, which would punt a resolution into early 2024. But that doesn’t mean Manchin can’t continue, in the intervening months, to make life difficult for the Biden administration, which has already crossed the senator once in recent weeks over its implementation of the EV tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act. Manchin berated EPA on Tuesday for setting up its proposed emissions standards as a “Trojan horse,” where the United States would be forced to rely on “minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese” in order to meet new deadlines to produce more EVs. “Taken in concert with the clear violation of the IRA to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China,” Manchin continued. “I don’t believe that making progress on climate change should come at the expense of our national and energy security.”
Republicans eye Democrats’ votes on energy package ahead of 2024 election: memo - Republicans are looking to use vulnerable Democrats’ votes on a GOP energy bill against them in the next election cycle. A memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the party’s campaign arm, that was obtained by The Hill states that “vulnerable House Democrats representing districts with jobs tied to domestic energy production made a critical mistake opposing H.R. 1.” The memo specifically singles out Democratic Reps. Mary Peltola (Alaska), Yadira Caraveo (Colo.) and Gabe Vasquez (Texas), saying “this vote is likely the beginning of the end of their reelection campaign.” “When Members put an extreme anti-energy ideology over the practical concerns of their districts the ad scripts write themselves,” it says. A spokesperson for the NRCC told The Hill that the memo is a preview of a possible 2024 playbook. It also highlights similar efforts in past races, particularly pointing to Republican efforts to unseat former Reps. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-Texas). In a written statement shared with The Hill, Peltola said that she wasn’t afraid of attack ads. “I’m not surprised that the national GOP is trying to target me again. It seems like so many of the votes we’re made to take in DC are designed just to be used in attack ads, rather than to actually solve problems,” she said. “I’m going to continue working in a bipartisan manner to make real progress on these issues, and I invite all of my colleagues to join me,” she added. Valeria Ojeda-Avitia, a spokesperson for Vasquez, pointed to findings that in 2022, oil- and gas-backed candidates lost in New Mexico. The bill in question broadly aims to bolster oil and gas, speed up approvals for energy and infrastructure projects, bolster mining and repeal portions of the Democrats’ climate, tax and healthcare bill. Republicans have touted it as their answer to the Biden administration’s energy policies and named it the Lower Energy Costs Act. Peltola, in her statement, expressed her support for speeding up energy projects, but was critical of the overall bill. “I support permitting reform — we need to be able to build important projects faster, including renewable energy projects, to meet our economic and climate goals. But HR1 was not a good faith effort at reform. It was written without Democratic input, would have repealed key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, and increased the national debt,” she said.
House Republicans slam Haaland in tense hearing - - Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s appearance before the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday morning was her toughest hearing yet this year, with Republicans eager to question her about the Biden administration’s energy agenda. Questioning got so heated at one point that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who was siting in for Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) during a portion of the hearing, called a recess so tempers could cool. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, rebuked Haaland about the administration’s decision to ban new mining near the the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Stauber said Haaland had “no idea” what she was doing when her department issued the “ill-informed decision,” which he said “has left the U.S. more dependent on China.” Ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) objected to any member “berating” the secretary. Haaland, during her time in Congress, served on Natural Resources with Grijalva as chair. The Minnesota Republican argued that his comments were simply passionate and demanded that Grijalva’s remark be struck from the record. Haaland has testified before House and Senate appropriators in recent weeks. Her appearance before the increasingly partisan Natural Resources Committee was expected to generate fireworks. “From day one, DOI has shut down pipelines, delayed federally mandated onshore and offshore leases, repealed commonsense [Endangered Species Act] and [National Environmental Policy Act] streamlining regulations, shuttered mining projects and much more,” Westerman said. He added: “No federal agency should be cloaked in mystery, particularly when it comes to spending Americans’ hard-earned dollars.” Republicans promised to ramp up scrutiny of national park maintenance funding, the permitting process and the Biden administration’s “war on the American economy.” Westerman claimed Interior has failed to respond to 80 percent of oversight requests. Haaland promised multiple lawmakers she would visit their districts or dispatch her staff to bring their local concerns to the highest level. She assured Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) that her staff would call him back about a metallurgical coal project he claimed was 98 percent completed. Haaland told Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) she would look into Inflation Reduction Act funding the department allocated to fix up the Presidio of San Francisco, a national park in the district of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And she told Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) she would look into littering and looting at the Bears Ears National Monument, whose original boundaries President Joe Biden restored.
Washington's Biggest Clean Energy Lobbying Group Pushes Natural Gas-Friendly Policy - On two of the most consequential decisions facing Congress and the Biden administration on energy and climate change, the nation’s newest and largest clean power industry group has decisively aligned itself with companies that want to preserve markets for natural gas.To the dismay of some in the clean energy community, the American Clean Power Association, or ACP, has praised House Republicans’ fossil-fuel friendly treatment of permitting reform, or the fast-tracking of big energy infrastructure projects crucial to both oil and gas, and wind and solar, companies. The benefits for clean energy will depend on the details of that policy, now being hammered out in the Democratic-led Senate after House Republicans passed their sprawling energy package as their first piece of legislation in this Congress. The ACP’s new CEO—longtime bipartisanship advocate Jason Grumet—has blasted progressives for their opposition, which he has termed “solution denial.” He portrays them as naive idealists, who fail to recognize that clean energy projects won’t move forward without a compromise that allows fossil fuel infrastructure to advance as well, which he calls the only energy policy that is politically viable in a closely divided Congress. “We’re bringing a lot of carrots to the table, and the carrots are going to rot on the table,” Grumet said recently on the public radio program Living on Earth. “Do we actually care about doing something about climate change? Or do we just want to talk about caring about doing something about climate change?” On another issue that has received less attention but could decide the fate of one of the most lucrative incentive packages from last year’s Inflation Reduction Act—the so-called “clean hydrogen” program—ACP has staked out a position directly at odds with its own wind energy members. ACP is urging the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to adopt lenient accounting rules on clean hydrogen that are supported by its big utility and gas industry members like utility giant NextEra Energy, and the oil and gas behemoth BP. Like these big energy players, ACP argues that “overly burdensome” regulations will make hydrogen production too costly, will discourage investment and slow the pace of hydrogen production. The accounting method ACP favors would allow a large portion of more than $100 billion in tax credits in the program to flow to natural gas interests. Moreover, three separate peer-reviewed academic studies in the past year have concluded that the kind of hydrogen program being championed by ACP could have the perverse effect of generating higher carbon emissions than if there were no federal incentives for hydrogen at all.The most recent of these studies, published in January and led by researchers at Princeton University, showed that federally subsidized hydrogen production from the fossil fuel-heavy locations on the electric grid like Wyoming and Colorado could result in greenhouse gas emissions four times higher than unsubsidized hydrogen production directly from natural gas. Renewable energy industry companies—including some of ACP’s own members, turbine manufacturer Vestas and solar and storage project developer Intersect—have sided with most environmental groups in urging Treasury and the IRS to adopt rules keeping close track of whether hydrogen is produced with carbon-free energy. A tough regulation “is critical to the clean energy industry’s credibility and is essential to secure the emission-reducing intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” the renewable energy companies said in comments filed with the IRS.
Biden signs executive order on 'environmental justice' (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order directing every single federal agency to work toward "environmental justice for all" and improve the lives of communities hit hardest by toxic pollution and climate change. The order will establish a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House to coordinate efforts across the government, and requires federal agencies to notify communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility. Disasters like the February derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, that caused a hazardous chemical spill brought attention to environmental damage that some communities experience at higher rates. "This is about people's health. It's about the health of our communities. It's only about the future of our planet," Biden told activists, lawmakers and others before signing the order in the Rose Garden at the White House. The Democratic president, who could formally announce his re-election bid as early as Tuesday, said the order would deepen work to reverse years of policies - including discriminatory residential 'redlining' - that hurt Black and other minority communities. He railed against Republican efforts to repeal climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, a move he said would undermine work to reduce pollution and advance clean energy, instead of ending $30 billion in subsidies to the oil industry. r
GOP blocks Democrats from temporarily replacing Feinstein on Judiciary committee - Senate Republicans blocked Democrats on Tuesday from temporarily replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, stymieing the party in their push to confirm President Biden’s judicial nominees during Feinstein’s extended absence. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer asked for unanimous consent for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to act as the temporary replacement. “She’s a legend in California,” Schumer said of Feinstein on the floor of the chamber. “The first woman senator from the state. She’s a legend here in the Senate, the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history. … She shattered innumerable glass ceilings. … Our colleague and friend has made her wish clearer that another senator temporarily serve on the Judiciary Committee until she returns. I thank Senator Cardin for agreeing to step in. So today I am acting not just as leader but as Dianne’s friend in honoring her wishes, until she returns to the Senate.” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham objected, saying that Schumer’s move was “about a handful of judges that you can’t get the votes for.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier Tuesday voiced his strong opposition to allowing Democrats to temporarily replace Feinstein on the committee. During remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell argued that nominees by President Biden that enjoy some Republican support are still able to move forward through the committee as Feinstein recovers from shingles in California. Adding another Democratic vote in the meantime would only serve to allow Democrats to “force through their very worst nominees,” McConnell said.
Senate Dems wrestle with Feinstein resignation chatter - Democrats aren’t mounting a pressure campaign to get Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign. Don’t expect them to stay totally quiet either, especially if her absence drags on for months. At the moment, Democrats are deferring to the legendary California senator to make her own decisions about her future, hoping she’ll return to Washington soon — and help clear out a growing backlog of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. But as Feinstein’s battle with shingles continues to hamper their thin Senate majority, Democrats are also signaling they can’t wait indefinitely. They expect Feinstein to act of her own volition if she sees the party’s agenda keep languishing during her extended absence. “The question is, how long until she goes back? So if it’s three months, I don’t know, that becomes a really difficult question. If it’s a couple of weeks? I’m fine with it,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). “I’m not going to pressure her one way or the other. But I think, you know, if it’s going to be months and months? My guess is that … she will be her own harshest critic.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Tuesday afternoon request for unanimous consent to add Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) temporarily to the Judiciary Committee. In theory, that could tee up a floor vote on the matter, but Democrats don’t have the 10 GOP votes they’d need to move forward. “This is about a handful of judges that you can’t get the votes for,” Graham said.
More than 60 California liberal groups call on Feinstein to resign - A coalition of more than 60 progressive grassroots groups claiming to represent more than 100,000 Californians sent a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asking her to resign. The coalition, which includes progressive groups from around the state, argue Feinstein’s extended absence from the Senate has held up President Biden’s agenda in the chamber. “Complications from your illness threaten [your] storied legacy. Your absences hobble the elected Democratic Senate majority from doing the work of the people of California and our nation,” the groups wrote. “We ask that you resign from the Senate to focus on your health. Please allow Gov. [Gavin] Newsom to appoint an interim senator who can provide robust and constant representation for California though the election of 2024,” they wrote. The signatories include Activate America, Berkeley Now, Change begins with ME, Democracy Action Marin, Feminists in Action Los Angeles, Generation Blue, and chapters of Indivisible from around the state. Feinstein has missed Senate votes since being diagnosed with shingles during the Presidents Day recess in February. Her absence is felt most acutely on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which remains deadlocked 10-10 on divisive issues that split Democrats and Republicans. With full attendance, Democrats would control an 11-10 majority on the Judiciary Committee. Senate Republicans this week blocked a motion by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to allow Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to fill in temporarily for Feinstein on the committee. The lack of an effective majority also prevents Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) from subpoenaing witnesses to discuss the Supreme Court’s ethics rules and reports that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas accepted travel and other favors from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow without disclosing them on publicly available forms.
Judiciary Democrats advance first judicial nominees during Feinstein absence - The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced its first batch of judicial nominees in the more than two months Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been absent. Committee members passed seven nominees with bipartisan support, while declining to do so for several others who will need the support of Feinstein to proceed. Democrats hold an 11-10 advantage on the panel, but it has been deadlocked at 10-10 while Feinstein has been away from the chamber. “We wish our colleague, Sen. Feinstein, a speedy recovery and return,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. “We hope she’ll be back in the Senate very soon. Today’s agenda includes a number of judicial nominees who have been sitting on the agenda for some time. Some have bipartisan support. There’s nothing to prevent us from calling and voting on these nominees today.” The panel voted on the district court nominations of Mónica RamÃrez Almadani (California), Wesley Hsu (California), Jeffrey Irvine Cummings (Illinois), LaShonda Hunt (Illinois), Michael Farbiarz (New Jersey), Robert Kirsch (New Jersey) and Orelia Eleta Merchant (New York). The key Republican backing all those nominees was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the committee’s ranking member. He argued that the panel can still continue to work effectively with an evenly-divided number of senators. “Sometimes we just can’t agree, and that’s just part of life,” Graham said.
House GOP leaders distance from national abortion ban -- House Republican leaders are keeping their distance from any kind of national abortion ban, reverting from historical pushes and instead throwing the issue down to House committees and the states. “It works through committee. The Supreme Court has made that decision. It goes to the states, the states will take up that issue,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a press conference on Thursday when asked if Republicans will put forward a national ban on abortion in any form. Republicans passed a 20-week abortion ban when they controlled the House in 2013, 2015 and 2017. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, sparking electoral challenges for Republicans in the midterms, they said that any decision on a national ban would depend on what the House majority looks like. With a slim four-seat majority and many members in swing districts where the abortion issue has proven to be politically tricky, leaders for now appear content to leave the decision to the states. “This is a federal system. We live in a Constitutional republic. Under that system, the states are supposed to know best,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told The Hill in an interview when asked about federal action on abortion and the politics of the issue. “I’ll trust the states and their leadership to make those decisions,” Emmer said. That stance is in line with former President Trump, whose campaign recently told The Washington Post that the former president “believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three Justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the State level.” Trump supported the 20-week abortion ban that the House passed in 2017. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is anti-abortion but has been vocally critical of the strict state-level abortion bans being signed into law that lack exceptions, said voters in her swing district went from being “mildly pro-choice” before Roe v. Wade was overturned to “absolutely pro-choice.” “Even some of the pro-lifers don’t want the heavy hand of government intervening on the issue,” Mace said.
Supreme Court urged to reinstate restrictions on mifepristone - A group of antiabortion doctors Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to impose increased restrictions on a medication used in more than half of the abortions in the United States, saying the Food and Drug Administration “stripped away every meaningful and necessary safeguard” to protect those who take mifepristone to end their pregnancies. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine told the justices they should leave in place a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that rolled back the agency’s more recent actions making the drug more accessible through the mail, allowing it to be prescribed by health professionals other than doctors and approving its use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, rather than seven. Last week, the Supreme Court put the 5th Circuit opinion on hold temporarily, and said it would decide by midnight Wednesday whether to maintain full access to mifepristone while the case is appealed or reimpose the lower court’s restrictions during that period. It is the court’s most notable consideration of reproductive rights since its landmark decision last June to overturn the guarantee of abortion access provided in Roe v. Wade. “For nearly a quarter-century,” the antiabortion doctors said in their filing Tuesday, the FDA and the manufacturer of mifepristone “have brazenly flouted the law and applicable regulations, disregarded holes and red flags in their own safety data, intentionally evaded judicial review, and continually placed politics above women’s health.” “Both the Fifth Circuit and district court orders paint an alarming picture of this lawlessness — all to the detriment of the women and girls FDA is supposed to protect,” the filing said. The 5th Circuit opinion came in response to a ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, who had moved to undo the FDA’s approval of mifepristone more than two decades ago. The appeals court did not allow part of the judge’s order to take effect while the case is appealed, but it did seek to reimpose restrictions on the drug’s use that the FDA had lifted in recent years.
‘The justices were kidding themselves’: Supreme Court takes up abortion after saying lawmakers should decide - Abortion is back before the Supreme Court just 10 months after conservative justices said they were washing their hands of the issue. The court is expected to rule by Wednesday on whether to allow an earlier decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to take effect, sharply limiting access to a commonly used abortion pill nationwide. The lower court ruling, which the Biden administration wants paused while the legal battle plays out, would prohibit telemedicine prescriptions, mail delivery and retail pharmacy dispensing of the drug. It would also narrow the window of time patients are authorized to take mifepristone from 10 to seven weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they are pregnant, and cut off access to the generic version of the pills — which are used in roughly two-thirds of medication abortions. The case now before the court undercuts one of the core arguments justices made when they overturned Roe v. Wade in June: that it’s not appropriate for “unelected members of this Court” to “override the democratic process” and set national abortion policy. “This Court will no longer decide the fundamental question of whether abortion must be allowed throughout the United States through 6 weeks, or 12 weeks, or 15 weeks, or 24 weeks, or some other line,” declared Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. “Instead, those difficult moral and policy questions will be decided, as the Constitution dictates, by the people and their elected representatives through the constitutional processes of democratic self-government.” While the issue currently before the court is a technical one that hinges on judicial and administrative processes and not the merits of the parties’ abortion-rights arguments, it will still have the kind of substantive national impact justices vowed in the Dobbs ruling to avoid. “The justices were kidding themselves if they thought the decision in Dobbs would somehow get them out of the business of dealing with abortion cases,” said Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas School of Law. “One would have to have remarkable blinders on not to have seen that.”
Supreme Court temporarily extends access to abortion pill – The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily extended women’s access to an abortion pill until Friday while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone to take effect as a legal challenge to the medication’s Food and Drug Administration approval continues. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday, the court indicated it will act by Friday night. Alito provided no explanation for why the court put off a more lasting decision. The justices had given themselves a deadline of Wednesday in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back FDA approval mifepristone, used in the most common method of abortion in the United States The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access. The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, want the nation’s highest court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary. Alliance Defending Freedom, representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups in a challenge to the drug, is defending the rulings in calling on the Supreme Court to let the restrictions take effect now.
Judge who blocked abortion pills eyes Biden climate agenda - -The federal judge in Texas who earlier this month suspended use of a common abortion pill could eventually play a big role in stopping the Biden administration’s more unconventional efforts to tackle climate change. Due to a quirk in federal procedure, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk hears 95 percent of civil cases filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Amarillo, giving conservative challengers a nearly direct pathway to a Trump-appointed jurist who may sympathize with claims against President Joe Biden’s efforts to promote vaccines, bolster LGBTQ rights and curb planet-warming emissions. “There’s no doubt that a lawless judge like Kacsmaryk can cause a lot of chaos,” said Dan Farber, co-director of the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. Kacsmaryk’s April 7 injunction on the abortion pill, mifepristone, was temporarily lifted by the Supreme Court on Friday while the justices take a closer look at the matter. But Kacsmaryk’s ruling, Farber said, relied in part on arguments from anti-abortion groups and suggested an “unwillingness to follow the law in deferring to agencies on scientific matters” — a crucial element of climate litigation. Most federal climate policies are grounded in the Clean Air Act, a statute that requires litigation to land in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. But Texas and other conservative challengers are eyeing Kacsmaryk’s bench as their on-ramp for legal action against the Biden administration’s more unusual emissions policies, such as a Labor Department rule that makes it easier for retirement plan sponsors to account for climate risks. Kacsmaryk, like other federal district judges, has the power to issue broad injunctions against climate rules that extend well beyond the jurisdiction of his court. An adverse ruling would then be reviewed by the conservative-dominated 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court (Greenwire, Feb. 15). “They’re absolutely more likely to get an initial order, and more importantly a temporary restraining order, than they would from any other district judge in Texas,” said Victor Flatt, faculty director of the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center at the University of Houston Law Center, of conservative challengers seeking relief in Kacsmaryk’s court.
Complaints about Justice Thomas’s disclosures sent to judicial committee - Allegations from congressional Democrats that Justice Clarence Thomas likely violated federal ethics laws in his dealings with a Republican donor have been sent to a committee of federal judges responsible for “addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,” a top judicial official said Tuesday. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) had requested that the Judicial Conference of the United States investigate Thomas’s failure to disclose travel and real estate deals with Republican donor and Dallas business executive Harlan Crow. Whitehouse and Johnson also said the matter should be referred to Attorney General Merrick Garland. “There is reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas willfully failed to file information required to be reported under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978,” the Democrats wrote. U.S. District Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, responded Tuesday to say the lawmakers’ complaint had been referred to the authorized committee. “I have forwarded your letter to the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure, which is responsible for implementing the disclosure provisions of the Ethics in Government Act and addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,” Mauskopf wrote in a letter obtained by The Washington Post. Her short reply did not indicate how or whether the committee would proceed.
Chief Justice John Roberts summoned to Capitol Hill - Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is facing rising calls from Democratic lawmakers to get more involved in scrutinizing details surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas‘s undisclosed luxury trips. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Roberts on Thursday asking that he or another justice of his choosing appear before the Senate panel for testimony on May 2. Durbin has limited the request to questions surrounding Supreme Court ethics issues amid mounting scrutiny over trips Thomas made that were paid for by Texas billionaire businessman Harlan Crow. “Under federal law, Supreme Court justices are required to file annual financial disclosures, but Thomas has publicly said he was advised that the trips fell into a personal hospitality exception,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld writes. “The federal judiciary’s policy-making arm last month clarified the exception, and Thomas said he will follow that guidance in the future,” Schonfeld added. Still, Democrats have called on Roberts to investigate the matter. Democrats on the Judiciary panel support a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, something the chief justice resisted in 2011. Durbin told reporters “there’s been no discussion of subpoenas for anyone at this point” should Roberts decline to testify voluntarily. Democrats would need a majority to vote for a subpoena but the panel is currently deadlocked, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) still out recovering from shingles — an absence that has frustrated some Democrats. “I would be surprised if he agreed to come. And I would support his decision not to come if that’s what he wanted to do,” Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters of Roberts.
The Bidens made $579K last year, and paid a 23.8 percent tax rate, their returns show - President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid $137,658 in federal income taxes on $579,514 in earnings, according to their 2022 tax return provided Tuesday by the White House. The Bidens’ effective tax rate was 23.8 percent. They reported donating $20,180 to 20 different charities — the largest gift was $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, an organization that protects children from abuse and named for their late son. They gave the same amount to the charity last year. The couple owed $4,632 to the IRS. The numbers closely mirrored those from last year, when the Bidens reported paying $150,439 in federal income taxes on $610,702 for an effective tax rate of 24.6 percent. White House officials again released copies of the first family’s tax returns on Tax Day as a demonstration of transparency. Former President Donald Trump had refused to do so while in office and during the 2016 presidential campaign, claiming repeatedly that he was under government audit. With the release of their 2022 taxes, Biden has shared 25 years worth of tax returns that include his years as vice president and an earlier presidential run, according to the White House. Much of the couple’s income was via the president’s $400,000 salary. Jill Biden was paid $82,335 for her teaching position at Northern Virginia Community College. The Bidens, who filed their returns jointly, also reported paying $29,023 in state income tax in Delaware, where they have two homes. The first lady reported paying $3,139 in Virginia income tax. The Bidens hit the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, called SALT, a product of Trump’s tax law and derided by Democrats in high-cost states. They also paid more than $2,000 in additional federal taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act. Other charitable donations include $4,000 to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors; $2,000 to the Fraternal Order of Police Foundation; $1,680 to St. Joseph on the Brandywine (the Bidens’ home parish); $1,125 to Westminster Presbyterian Church; $1,000 each to Cranston Heights Fire Company and Ministry of Caring.
SIX MORE Biden family members benefitted from Hunter's shady deals, Republicans say: Now claims nine relatives including Hallie and Joe's brother Jim were part of 'enterprise' that generated an 'exorbitant amount' of cash - House Oversight Committee Republicans reviewed documents Monday suggesting that six more members of Joe Biden's family may have benefitted from business deals related to the president's influence peddling.It comes as the panel now under GOP leadership continues to comb through the financial records of the Biden family and interview those involved in alleged foreign business deals. Rep. Nancy Mace, who sits on the committee, said that the amount of money that is allegedly trading hands in suspicious activity reports is 'astronomical' and that the number of Biden family members involved is 'wild.' 'We've now identified 6 additional members of Joe Biden's family who may have benefited from shady deals. This brings our total to 9,' Oversight Chairman James Comer revealed on Monday. Democrats on the committee are again denouncing the moves by the opposing party, claiming that they are only conducting these investigations to gain 'political dirt' on the Bidens.'After years of pursuing political dirt against the Biden family, today's statement by Chairman Comer once again proves that he has failed to uncover evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden,' a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats told DailyMail.com in a statement on the latest.Oversight members went to the Treasury Department to review more suspicious activity reports (SARs)involving Biden and his family amid allegations that Hunter Biden used his father's influence to engage in foreign business deals.The family members that Comer has already claimed benefitted are Biden's brother Jim and Beau Biden's widow Hallie, who dated her late husband's brother Hunter in the years following his death. Mace said in a selfie video posted to her Instagram on Monday that the transactions she reviewed involved claims of money going to 'prostitution rings,' likely in reference to Hunter Biden paying money to an escort service to transport prostitutes across state lines. 'Just left the Treasury to review over 100 suspicious activity reports on the Biden family and I have to tell you, there are more Bidens involved than we knew previously,' Mace said in the video while walking out of the Treasury Department onto the streets of Washington, D.C. 'And every time you unturn, overturn or look under a stone, there's so much more you have to investigate.' “It's wild the number of family members involved, and it's even – the amount of money that we're talking about in these suspicious activity reports is astronomical,' the South Carolina lawmaker added. “And the accusations there, and the source of the funding or where the money's going – the shell companies, prostitution rings, etc. – it's insanity even to me that it's not been investigated in the way that it should be.' Comer revealed Monday that after the Oversight panel reviewed more records on Monday, it was made clear that the reach of foreign influence peddling benefitted more than just a few members of the president's family.We will provide more details soon,' Comer said.A spokesperson for the Kentucky lawmaker told DailyMail.com that the panel is not yet providing the names of additional family members who may have benefitted from the deals outside of Jim and Hallie Biden.
Hunter Biden's IRS whistleblower news draws intense Twitter backlash: 'Coverup of Biden family corruption' | Fox News -- Twitter users and Republican figures had intense reactions to an alleged whistleblower claiming that the Biden administration is intentionally mishandling the Hunter Biden investigation. Fox News confirmed that attorney Mark D. Lytle penned a letter calling for whistleblower privileges regarding his client, an IRS criminal supervisory agent. The letter read that the agent previously made legally protected disclosures at the IRS and stated that these disclosures "contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee." "My goal is to ensure that my client can properly share his lawfully protected disclosures with congressional committees," Lytle wrote. "Thus, I respectfully request that your committees work with me to facilitate sharing this information with congress legally and with the fully informed advice of counsel." Social media users quickly shared the "major breaking news," with many wondering whether there could be any political fallout regarding Hunter's connection to his father and whether mainstream media will report it. Radio host Mark Simone remarked, "Major breaking news - a whistleblower exposes a deep cover up in the Hunter Biden investigation and involvement of Merrick Garland in it and, of course, corrupt Lester Holt doesn't even mention it on the evening news." Former Homeland Security Under Director Michael D. Brown wrote, "Read this. Every civil servant who has this kind of information, is willing to come forth should be afforded every protection available under the law. Congress has a duty to hear the information and consider it in whatever or any investigation they are or may pursue." "They cover up Hunter Biden’s many real crimes. And they indict President Trump over fake crimes. Are you watching? The left is so hell-bent on winning that they’re eroding the rule of law and trying to turn us into a banana republic," former Missouri attorney general candidate Will Scharf tweeted. "If a whistleblower has information on a Democrat, does it even count?" conservative account Fusilli Spock joked. Podcast host Monica Crowley exclaimed, "The entire System is protecting Joe, Hunter and the rest of these Biden slimeballs. It’s corrupt to Hell and back."
Nadler says Jordan ‘is doing the bidding’ of Trump with hearing on Manhattan crime - Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) accused Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) of “doing the bidding” of former President Trump during the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on violent crime in Manhattan on Monday. The GOP-led committee announced the field hearing in New York City shortly after a grand jury empaneled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) voted to indict former President Trump. “We are here today in lower Manhattan for one reason and one reason only: the chairman is doing the bidding of Donald Trump,” Nadler said in his opening remarks. “Committee Republicans designed this hearing to intimidate and deter the duly-elected district attorney of Manhattan from doing the work his constituents elected him to do.” The hearing — titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan” — came nearly two weeks after Trump traveled to New York City and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Congressional Republicans have turned their attention to Bragg, arguing he is prosecuting Trump for partisan reasons while failing to crack down on crime. Three GOP committee chairmen launched an investigation into Bragg even before Trump was indicted, and Jordan has since expanded the probe. He escalated those efforts on Monday, holding the hearing in Bragg’s backyard. Nadler argued that the GOP’s moves against Bragg are meant to protect Trump. “They are using their public offices and the resources of this committee to protect their political patron, Donald Trump,” Nadler said. “It is an outrageous abuse of power.” “It is, to use the chairman’s favorite term, a weaponization of the House Judiciary Committee,” Nadler added, making reference to the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which Jordan also chairs. He accused Republicans of using the committee to “undermine” the legal process Trump faces, calling it “cynical, unethical, and given the violence unleashed on the Capitol by the former president, just plain dangerous.” Throughout the hearing Monday, Republican lawmakers discussed crime in New York City, arguing that Bragg is responsible for the violence. Witnesses included a father whose son was the victim of an antisemitic attack and the mother of a homicide victim. “Our witnesses today have felt the effects of crime up close and personal. They’ve been victimized by a justice system that cares more about political correctness than punishing the criminals who’ve harmed victims and harmed their family,” Jordan said in his opening remarks. “In this country, justice is supposed to be blind, regardless of race, religion or creed. However, here in Manhattan the scales of justice are weighed down by politics. For the district attorney justice isn’t blind; it’s about looking for opportunities to advance a political agenda, a radical political agenda,” he later added.
Gabby Giffords denounces shooting of Black Kansas City teen ‘for simply ringing a doorbell’ --Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Monday denounced last week’s shooting of a Black Kansas City, Mo., teenager who had arrived at a wrong address. “As someone who is still recovering from a gunshot to the head, I am heartbroken and infuriated that Ralph Yarl now faces a lifetime of recovery. At 16 years old. For simply ringing a doorbell,” Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt more than a decade ago, said on Twitter. Yarl was reportedly shot in the head and arm by an unidentified white male homeowner in Kansas City. According to his family, Ralph showed up to the wrong address on his way to pick up his younger brothers from a friend’s house. /p>
Marjorie Taylor Greene fires back at Lindsey Graham by posting edited photo of senator hoisting a Bud Light with trans influencer’s image Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared to fire back at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for criticizing her defense of the alleged Pentagon document leaker on Sunday by posting an edited image of Graham holding a Bud Light can sporting the image of a trans social media influencer. Graham earlier on Sunday slammed Greene’s Thursday tweet about Jack Teixeira, who has been arrested for his connection to the leak. “Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar,” Greene wrote in the tweet. “That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more.” Graham in turn dubbed her response “one of the most irresponsible statements she could make” while appearing on ABC’s “This Week.” “If you’re a member of the military intelligence community, and you disagree with American policy, and you think you’re going to be OK when it comes to leaking classified information, you’re going to go to jail,” he added of Teixeira. Graham calls Marjorie Taylor Greene’s praise of US intelligence leaker ‘irresponsible’ Following Graham’s statement, Greene tweeted a doctored image of Graham and CNN anchor Dana Bash, making it appear as though he’s holding a can of Bud Light from Anheuser-Busch’s collaboration with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who has become popular on TikTok for documenting her transition. The original image, taken by Jason Bahr for Getty Images in 2016, according to Mediaite, showed Graham holding a glass of beer. Several conservatives have objected to Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with Mulvaney, part of a March Madness giveaway.
MTG Bares Fang-Fangs, Throws House Meeting Into Chaos Over Swalwell 'Sexual Relationship With A Chinese Spy' -- All hell broke loose during a Homeland Security Committee meeting on Wednesday, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) of 'having a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.' "That was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy. And everyone knows it!" Greene said, kicking off her five minutes of allotted time. New York Democrat Daniel Goldman immediately offered a motion to have her words “taken down,” which would strike them from the official hearing record and bar her from speaking further. The committee’s GOP majority voted to table the motion, and Ms Greene was permitted to resume speaking. –Independent Swalwell allegedly banged an alleged Chinese spy who helped him fundraise in 2014. After an FBI briefing on the woman, the top Democrat said he cut all ties with the woman - Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang. The relationship caused then-House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to call for Swalwell's removal from Congress - asking Fox News host Laura Ingraham; "Why is he still on the Intel Committee and why is he still a member of Congress?” Mccarthy noted that the intel committee has access to information that no one else does. “Remember what the intel committee gets. Information that no other members are able to see,” McCarthy said. “And remember what this member did. He was so preoccupied going after this president he was not protecting our country from bad actors.”
White House threatens to veto GOP bills reversing D.C. police reforms, restricting transgender athletes - President Joe Biden opposes two GOP-led measures that would roll back D.C. policing reforms and ban transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams — and he would veto both measures if they reach his desk, the White House said on Monday.The policing reform rollback would violate D.C.’s right to improve public safety and deprive its police force of resources needed for “effective, accountable community policing,” according to a new statement of administration policy.A second statement blasted Republican efforts to limit transgender students’ participation in sports that match their gender identity, warning it would further stigmatize and discriminate against transgender children.The bill “targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,” the White House’s Office of Management and Budget wrote. “Politicians should not dictate a one-size-fits-all requirement that forces coaches to remove kids from their teams.”The statement notes that local schools, coaches and athletic associations are already working on participation rules for transgender children. A national ban would disrupt that more nuanced process, it said.The threats come ahead of House Republicans’ plan to bring the two proposals to the floor as early as this week in their latest bid to advance agenda items that force congressional Democrats into politically tough votes.House Democrats had sought strongly worded veto threats from the administration, particularly when it came to the transgender sports bill, several Hill aides said.Democrats are also trying to avoid a repeat of the confusion over Biden’s position on GOP-led bills that prompted many lawmakers to vote against an earlier policing reform rollback in February — only to see Biden decide to support the measure weeks later.
U.S. Supreme Court turns away suit by Texas inmate held 27 years in solitary confinement - (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a Texas inmate convicted of robbery who argues that the 27 years he was forced by prison officials to spend in solitary confinement violated the constitutional bar against "cruel and unusual" punishment. The justices turned away Dennis Hope's appeal of a lower court's ruling that he had failed to show that his prolonged solitary confinement violated the U.S. Constitution Eighth Amendment prohibition on excessive punishment. Easha Anand, an attorney for Hope, expressed disappointment with the court's decision, noting that hundreds of inmates in Texas alone have spent 10 or more years in solitary confinement. "The idea of putting prisoners in solitary confinement for decades on end would have been anathema to the Founders, and we believe that the Supreme Court must someday take up a case to make that clear," said Anand, a lawyer with the civil rights law firm MacArthur Justice Center, referring to the 18th century founders of the United States. Hope, who is still in prison but as of last year no longer in solitary confinement, filed a civil rights lawsuit against prison officials in 2018. He was convicted in 1990 of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Following a 1994 prison escape, Hope was placed by prison officials in solitary confinement. In court papers, Hope described spending between 22 and 24 hours a day in a cell 9 feet long and 6 feet wide (2.7 meters by 1.8 meters) - "no larger than a parking space." Hope said he continued to be held in solitary confinement despite being deemed by Texas security officials in 2005 to no longer pose an escape risk.
Supreme Court considers Christian mail carrier's refusal to work Sundays (Reuters) - An evangelical Christian former mail carrier's fight with the U.S. Postal Service over his refusal to work on Sundays gives the Supreme Court another chance to widen religious rights but also has led to a debate over whether religious people are more legally deserving than others to weekend days off from work. The justices are set to hear arguments on Tuesday in an appeal by Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Pennsylvania, of a lower court's ruling rejecting his claim of religious discrimination against the Postal Service for refusing to exempt him from working on Sundays, when he observes the Christian Sabbath. Groff sued after being disciplined for repeatedly failing to show up when assigned a Sunday work shift. The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has a track record of expanding religious rights in recent years, often siding with Christian plaintiffs. A ruling favoring Groff could make it harder for businesses to deny a variety of religious accommodations to employees.
‘Cheese-eating rat’: Defense lawyers seethe after DOJ pushes witness to identify more Jan. 6 perpetrators - A Jan. 6 trial briefly ground to a halt Tuesday after prosecutors pressed a defense witness to identify people who went inside the Capitol but had not been charged with any crimes.“I don’t think it’s my job to doxx people,” said the witness, David Sumrall, who runs a website advocating and fundraising for Jan. 6 defendants.Sumrall was called Tuesday as a witness by lawyers for Jan. 6 defendant Christopher Alberts — who carried a gun on Capitol grounds and is facing several felony charges for his conduct that day. Sumrall is a prolific podcaster, who has embraced and advocated for Jan. 6 defendants and echoed false claims that the attack on the Capitol was a setup.Recognizing Sumrall’s prominence within the Jan. 6 community, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Konig pressed the witness to identify others who went into the Capitol but had not yet been charged — raising the prospect that a truthful answer might incriminate his acquaintances or associates. After initially beginning to answer the question, Sumrall appeared to grow agitated.Alberts’ attorney Roger Roots quickly objected, prompting U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper to recess the trial and debate the issue. After jurors left the room, Cooper professed to being blindsided by the line of questioning, calling it “unorthodox” and a “fairly unique situation.” He asked prosecutors to give him a heads-up next time if they planned to go that route. Roots fumed that the line of questioning was a bid by prosecutors to turn Sumrall into a “cheese-eating rat” and “a snitch on the stand.” He accused prosecutors of “pretending they’re the FBI” and attempting to humiliate Sumrall in front of the jury.
Trump urges Murdoch to embrace false 2020 election claims in Dominion trial -- Former President Trump is urging Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corp., to embrace his false allegations of voter fraud if the media mogul is to give testimony during a jury trial in the defamation lawsuit facing Fox News this week. “Fox News is in big trouble if they do not expose the truth on cheating in the 2020 election,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Socialearly Monday morning. “They should do what’s right for America. When Rupert Murdoch says that there was no cheating in light of the massive proof that was there, it is ridiculous and very harmful to the fox case. Perhaps he should say that ‘he just didn’t know,’ but that is hard to believe. Rupert, just tell the truth and good things will happen. The election of 2020 was rigged and stollen…you know it, & so does everyone else!” Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for what it says was knowingly airing false claims about its software being promoted by Trump and his allies in the days and weeks following the 2020 election. Fox has defended itself on First Amendment grounds and has unsuccessfully sought to have the case dismissed. Depositions given to Dominion’s lawyers and private communications from around the time of the election unearthed by Dominion’s process of legal discovery show Murdoch and other top leaders at Fox throwing cold water on Trump’s claims about the election and musing about distancing the network from the former president and his rhetoric. A judge in Delaware overseeing this week’s trial indicated earlier this month he would stop Dominion’s lawyers from calling Murdoch, 92, as a live-in person witness during the trial. Opening arguments were slated to begin Monday, but Judge Eric Davis announced late Sunday the trial would be delayed by 24 hours, amid widely reported settlement talks between Fox and Dominion. Trump has grown increasingly critical of Fox in recent months, mainly over its coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is expected to challenge him for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
Fox defamation trial delayed, network pursues settlement talks | (Reuters) - The start of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation trial against Fox has been pushed back by a day, the judge said on Sunday, with a source familiar with the matter saying the media giant was pursuing settlement talks. The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters that Fox was seeking a possible settlement. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also reported that Fox was pursuing settlement talks, citing sources. Dominion is suing Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News in a defamation lawsuit over the network's coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. "The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT)," Judge Eric Davis said in a statement, without providing a reason for the delay. "I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E," he added. Davis had said on Thursday he expected to conclude jury selection on Monday and to proceed to opening statements. Dominion and Fox declined to comment on the delay. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. The evidence includes recordings of Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyer, saying in pre-taped Fox appearances that he did not have any evidence to back up the false allegations of election rigging by Dominion in the 2020 race that are at the heart of the lawsuit.
The key question at the Fox News defamation trial: Literally, what were they thinking? - — The defamation trial pitting Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News arguably centers on the greatest – and most damaging — lie in modern American history.But the outcome will not depend on a debate over truth or falsity. The $1.6 billion trial, which kicks off here on Tuesday after a one-day delay, will hinge on how a jury answers a question reminiscent of Watergate.“Who knew what and when did they know it?” said Frederick Schauer, a law professor at the University of Virginia, echoing Howard Baker’s famous question about Richard Nixon.Dominion, which makes voting machines, is accusing the conservative network of knowingly spreading disinformation about its products in the days after the 2020 election to appease an audience hungry for conspiracy theories. It was a craven bid for profit, Dominion says, and the myth it fueled ultimately led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.That Fox’s allegations about Dominion were dead false has already been decided — they were, according to Judge Eric Davis, who is presiding over the case in Delaware Superior Court. What Dominion must prove now is a tougher legal challenge. The company will put Fox’s key decision-makers on the stand and ask 12 jurors to assess their state of mind in November and December 2020.“It isn’t enough to show that Fox made a conscious decision to amplify election denialism generally in its coverage,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a former newspaper reporter who is now a First Amendment expert at the University of Utah. “Dominion has to show that the people who were responsible for creating (or platforming) the false statements about Dominion had knowledge that those statements were false. It’s about connecting the dots.”
Fox News reaches $787.5 million settlement in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit - — Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false elections claims, Dominion’s lawyers said Tuesday. The voting machine company accused the conservative network of deliberately spreading bogus conspiracy theories about its products after the 2020 election in a bid to win back viewers. Dominion’s lawsuit had asked for $1.6 billion in damages before the two sides reached the last-minute settlement after a jury had been selected and as the trial was about to begin. “The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said outside the courthouse. “Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.” Opening arguments in the high-profile case in Delaware Superior Court were scheduled to start around 1:30 p.m. But after over two hours of unexplained delay, Judge Eric Davis returned to stun a packed courtroom: “The parties have resolved their case,” he said.
Trump surges to 13-point lead over DeSantis: poll -Former President Trump has flipped the field against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a possible 2024 GOP primary matchup, surging to a 13-point lead, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll. Trump trailed DeSantis by 14 points as recently as December, but Trump’s solid lead now points to signs that DeSantis’s not-yet-announced campaign may be losing momentum.In a head-to-head matchup, GOP voters surveyed said they would back Trump 51 percent to 38 percent for DeSantis, the poll found. Even in a more crowded field, with a poll that includes other announced candidates like former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump still takes 48 percent of the vote to DeSantis’s 24 percent support. There, Haley took 5 percent support, and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) took 3 percent. All other candidates received 2 percent support or less, and 13 percent were undecided.
‘After SVB and Credit Suisse: Whither the financial system? - The demise of SVB, the 16th largest American bank, was the second largest in monetary terms in US history. It was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) after $42 billion was withdrawn in a single day with $100 billion to be withdrawn the day after. The Biden administration, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC appear to have quelled the storm with their emergency intervention to extend FDIC insurance to cover deposits over $250,000, questions are being raised about whether this was just a passing phenomenon or the sign of much worse to come. Fed chair Powell has offered the assurance that it was the former, because SVB was an outlier which had failed to secure adequate risk protection for its holdings of US Treasury bonds, the market value of which declined as the Fed lifted interest rates. Others are not so sure because the SVB problems were set off by interest rate hikes, carried out at the fastest pace in four decades, that are impacting the entire US banking and financial system. In other words, SVB was the expression of general problems now emerging. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) last week, International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre Olivier Gourinchas recalled the events leading up to the global financial crisis of 2008. “We can all remember the long time between the failure of an individual institutions, whether it was Bear Stearns or Countrywide. Every time, this was treated like an isolated incident, until it wasn’t.” In a comment piece for the FT last Friday, entitled “After the easy money: a giant stress test for the financial system,” long-time columnist John Plender wrote that after the collapse of SVB there is “no consensus on whether the ensuing stress in North America and Europe has run its course or is a foretaste of things to come.” He pointed out that while the problems of SVB and Credit Suisse were not the same, yet, “in their different ways, they demonstrate how the long period of super-low interest rates since the great financial crisis of 2007–09 introduced fragilities into the financial system while creating asset bubbles.” And the longer monetary policy stayed lax, the more systemic risk increased, together with growing dependence on money creation and low rates. Plender also cited research by Raghuram Rajan and Viral Acharya, respectively the former governor and deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, which showed that banking regulations introduced after the 2008 crisis had caused problems because the stress tests applied to large institutions were not uniform. “So these differential standards may have caused a migration of risky commercial real estate loans from larger, better-capitalised banks to weakly capitalised small and midsized banks.” And, in a rather caustic comment, he added that, while the upsets of the past weeks had raised serious questions about the effectiveness of bank regulation and supervision, there was one area in response to the crisis that was highly effective. “It has caused much traditional banking to migrate to the non-bank financial sector, including hedge funds, money market funds, pension funds and other institutions that are much less transparent than the regulated banking sector and thus capable of springing nasty systemic surprises.” The IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report issued last week drew out that there were entire areas of the system, dominated by non-bank financial institutions of which regulators had virtually no knowledge, including their level of debt and interconnectedness with the rest of the financial system. Plender noted that the crisis in the British pension system last September, which “destabilised a market at the core of the British financial system,” and posed “devastating risk to financial stability,” had not been entirely unforeseen. But the stress tests conducted by regulators on pensions did not allow for the extreme swings in the yields on long-term bonds, known as gilts, which took place. An article by Rajan and Acharya, on which much of Plender’s analysis was based, published on Project Syndicate at the end of March, noted that while the collapse of SVB and Signature was caused by uninsured deposits “the problem may be more systemic.”
A fractional reserve crisis by Frances Coppola - The crisis that has engulfed crypto in the last year is a crisis of fractional reserve banking. Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank NY were fractional reserve banks. So too were Celsius Network, Voyager, BlockFi, Babel Finance and FTX. And still standing are the crypto fractional reserve banks Coinbase, Gemini, Binance, Nexo, MakerDAO, Tether, Circle, and, I would argue, every one of the DeFi staking pools. All of these are doing some variety of fractional reserve banking. Custodia Bank and Kraken Finance claim to be full-reserve banks – but 100% reserve backing for deposits is both hard to prove and not a guarantee of safety. What do I mean by “fractional reserve banking”? My definition might surprise you. For me, fractional reserve banking simply means that the composition of a bank’s assets is less liquid than that of its liabilities. Fractional reserve banking is not dead The well-known fractional reserve banking model taught to economics students proposes that: banks keep 10% of deposits in reserve and lend out the rest (no they don’t) for every $10 a bank receives in deposits it can create $90 of new loans (no, this is not how bank lending works) every $1 of bank reserves becomes $10 of bank money (no it doesn’t). This was never more than a toy model, a wildly over-simplified description of banking that bears little resemblance to what banks actually do. It conflates lending with payments and thus creates a wholly fictional relationship between lending and reserves. And after a decade of QE, the relevance of this model of fractional reserve banking, based as it is on the mistaken notion that banks “multiply up” their reserves by some percentage set by the central bank, is extremely doubtful. But though the model may be past its sell-by date, this does not mean the concept of “fractional reserve” is dead. Far from it. The current crisis has once again brought to the fore the fundamental risk of fractional reserve banking – namely that banks, and other financial institutions doing bank-like things, can literally run out of money. Classically, a fractionally reserved bank has demand deposits funding a portfolio of long-dated commercial and household loans, much of it secured on real estate. In the Diamond-Dybvig model of bank runs, when depositors all pull their deposits at the same time, the bank is assumed to foreclose loans to obtain sufficient money to pay them. But loans are legal contracts: unless there is a clause in the contract permitting instantaneous no-fault termination, they can’t simply be foreclosed without warning. So a bank whose assets consist entirely of illiquid loans is at serious risk of defaulting on its obligations to its depositors. In practice, banks keep a certain amount of liquid assets to ensure they can meet a reasonable level of payment requests. The rest is – frankly - a Hail Mary, though for regulated banks, deposit insurance and central bank lender-of-last-resort support mitigate the risk of payment requests exceeding available liquidity. The quantity of liquid assets banks maintain to meet normal payment requests used to be determined by the reserve requirement. But in these days of excess reserves, Basel liquidity regulations, and "living wills", few central banks now have reserve requirements. More importantly, central banks now recognise that the primary purpose of reserve requirements and other liquidity regulations is not to control lending, but to ensure that banks have enough liquidity to make payments.
Fed’s Beige Book: The Credit Crunch Has Arrived in New York, California and Texas - By Pam and Russ Martens - On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a compilation of current economic conditions in each of its 12 Federal Reserve districts. The information that was collected in each of the regional reports was gathered on or before April 10 – so it is relatively current. It is not a good sign that three of the Fed districts that pump out a significant chunk of U.S. GDP reported that bank credit had tightened noticeably, ostensibly as fallout from the banking collapses in March and depositor runs. The New York Fed reported that credit conditions in the Second Fed District, which includes New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey, Connecticut’s Fairfield County, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, “deteriorated sharply.” “Conditions in the broad finance sector deteriorated sharply coinciding with recent stress in the banking sector. Small to medium-sized banks in the District reported widespread declines in loan demand across all loan segments. Credit standards tightened noticeably for all loan types, and loan spreads continued to narrow. Deposit [interest] rates moved higher. Finally, delinquency rates edged up on residential and commercial mortgages.” One of the banks that failed in March and was put into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was Signature Bank, which was headquartered in Manhattan. Signature Bank was the third largest bank failure in U.S. history. The San Francisco Fed, whose District has been the epicenter of collapsing banks and/or their share prices, reported the following regarding credit conditions: “Lending activity fell significantly in recent weeks amid higher interest rates and elevated uncertainty in the banking sector. Lending standards tightened notably, and several depository institutions opted to reduce loan volumes, especially for new clients, despite reporting ample liquidity. Reports indicated that existing and planned projects across sectors were delayed or cancelled due to higher funding costs, heightened uncertainty, and more limited access to credit. Following recent volatility in deposit levels at regional and community banks, outflows have reportedly stabilized since late March.” The second largest bank failure in U.S. history, Silicon Valley Bank, occurred in March in this District. See our report: Silicon Valley Bank Was a Wall Street IPO Pipeline in Drag as a Federally-Insured Bank; FHLB of San Francisco Was Quietly Bailing It Out. (The largest bank failure in U.S. history was Washington Mutual, which occurred during the financial crisis of 2008.) A federally-insured bank that had immersed itself in crypto-related deposits, Silvergate Bank, headquartered in California, also failed in March but was allowed to wind itself down. There continue to be growing concerns about the survivability of San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, whose stock price has lost 90 percent of its value year-to-date. See our report from yesterday: Liquor Sales Will Be Brisk on Wall Street Ahead of First Republic Bank’s Earnings Report on Monday. Although it was not clear why, the Dallas Fed also reported a particularly dour outlook in its district, writing as follows: “Loan demand continued to decline in March as bankers reported worsening business activity. Loan volumes fell, driven largely by a sharp contraction in consumer loans. Loan performance worsened slightly overall. Credit standards and terms tightened sharply, and marked increases in loan pricing were noted. Banking outlooks continued to deteriorate, with contacts expecting a contraction in loan demand and business activity and an increase in nonperforming loans over the next six months. Increased uncertainty and lack of confidence resulting from the recent banking issues were cited as concerns.”
SEC's Gensler directly links crypto and bank failures — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler tied together cryptocurrencies and the recent banking crisis as he asked Congress for more resources to police the crypto market. "Silvergate and Signature [banks] were engaged in the crypto business — I mean some would say that they were crypto-backed," Gensler testified at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday. The loss of deposits linked to cryptocurrency clients are widely believed to have contributed to Silvergate's decision to close and the failure of Signature. Federal regulators took unusual steps to try to prevent a loss of public confidence in the banking system after the collapse of those two banks and Silicon Valley Bank last month. Gensler emphasized that the crisis showed that the regulated banking sector and the less-regulated crypto market have mutual exposures that have to be addressed. "Silicon Valley Bank, actually when it failed, you saw the country's — the world's — second-leading stablecoin had $3 billion dollars involved there, depegged, so it's interesting just how this was all part of this crypto narrative as well." The stablecoin company Circle has confirmed that it held $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USD Coin reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, which failed on March 10. While the SEC has the authority it needs to police crypto market, Gensler says, the agency "could use more resources." "The dedicated staff of this agency has done remarkable work with limited resources," Gensler said in his prepared remarks. "In the face of significant growth in registrants, more individual investor involvement in our markets, and increased complexity, the SEC's headcount actually shrunk from 2016 through last year. With Congress's help, our headcount this year now is approximately 3% larger than in 2016. I support the President's FY 2024 request of $2.436 billion, to put us on a better track for the future." In its budget request, the SEC asked for funding for 5,475 new positions, some of which would increase the agency's oversight of crypto assets, including policing the market for noncompliant and fraudulent activity. "I think this is a field that, in the main, is built up around noncompliance, and that's their business model," Gensler said at the hearing. "They have chosen to be noncompliant and not provide investors with confidence and protections, and it undermines the $100 trillion capital markets."
U.S. Chamber says new rules not needed after bank failures - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Thursday expressing gratitude at regulators' rescue of business accounts but also blaming regulators for failing to identify risk in the failed banks. "The Chamber appreciates that financial regulators acted quickly to ensure that small businesses retained access to deposits so they could make payroll," the letter reads. The Chamber said it was troubled by what it characterized as many government officials' — including President Biden's — swift calls for new rules to prevent future failures. The letter warned against "reverting to Dodd-Frank Act standards" and praised the 2018 law that eased regulatory standards for midsize banks like SVB and Signature. It wasn't clear, the Chamber said, that any new regulation is needed, especially when weighed against the potential dampening effects rules could have on business activity. "We are therefore confused, if not troubled, by calls for regulation that would purportedly improve stability in the banking system when policymakers have not completed their evidence-based review or recommended what new regulations, if any, could have prevented the failure of these banks," the letter said. They also asked that regulators not allow the failures — which were the second- and third-largest failures in history — to sway implementation of forthcoming rules.
U.S. banks ramped up lobbying by nearly 20% as SVB, Signature failed - --Three dozen of the largest U.S. banks and the groups who represent them increased spending on lobbying Congress by 19.3% last quarter as fears of a banking contagion spread. Thirty-two of the largest banks and four trade groups collectively spent $22 million on influencing lawmakers in the first quarter of 2023, according to federal lobbying disclosures, up from $18.4 million in the same period last year. Regional banks, including PNC Financial Services Group, KeyCorp, and Citizens Financial Group, were among those boosting lobbying expenses at the highest rates. Bank Policy Institute, which counts large- and mid-size banks among its membership, nearly quadrupled its expenditures from $550,000 in the first quarter of last year to $1.9 million in the initial three months this year. None immediately responded to requests for comment. The surge of bank lobbying coincided with the collapse of crypto-friendly lender Silvergate and failures of regional institutions Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank undermined confidence in the banking system and sparked calls for more scrutiny. While lobbying expenses can fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including how much companies want to invest in influencing policies that may take years to come to fruition, the near-universal increase suggests banks reacted to the prospect of more regulation. Only SVB, State Street, Truist and Ally cut expenditures compared to the first quarter last year. SVB, which in March became the biggest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, spent $30,000, down from $50,000 it spent in the first quarter of last year. Companies are supposed to list the specific issues they are lobbying Congress about, but many are vague. SVB was no exception, naming only one priority for the first quarter: "Banking issues related to innovation and technology." The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. stepped in with a last-minute deal to protect startup-focused SVB's depositors, fearing that not protecting those funds could lead to a system-wide bank run. The FDIC is in the process of selling the lender's assets. Signature Bank, which has ties to the crypto industry and was shut down by regulators in March, hasn't reported spending anything on lobbying since 2020.
FSOC proposes overhaul of nonbank designation process - The Financial Stability Oversight Council Friday unanimously approved a pair of proposals that would make the process by which it designates nonbanks as systemically risky more transparent on the one hand and easier to achieve on the other. The proposals — which the council has been reconsidering for some time — would roll back a guidance approved in 2019 under the Trump administration that made nonbank designation significantly more difficult than it had been in the early years of the council, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. Activities and firms designated as systemically important financial institutions, or SIFIs, would be subject to enhanced prudential regulation overseen by the Federal Reserve. Treasury Secretary and FSOC chair Janet Yellen said in her prepared remarks that the existing guidance creates a "unrealistic timeline" for the council to establish systemic risk in nonbank firms — which she said could take as long as six years — that requires the council to be overly concerned with the costs that systemic designation would impose on firms and handcuffs the council from making preventative measures to quell risk in the financial system. "The existing guidance … created inappropriate hurdles as part of the designation process," Yellen said. "These additional steps are not legally required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Nor are they useful or feasible. Some are based on a flawed view of how financial crises begin and the costs that they impose." Under the existing guidance, FSOC would notify a firm when it is first being considered for systemic designation and would be required to undergo a cost-benefit analysis for nonbank designation and would allow the council to designate a firm "only if the expected benefits justify the expected costs of the designation" — effectively rendering systemic designation as a last resort. The guidance proposed Friday, by contrast, includes an initial and secondary exploration phase which would include bilateral conversations and hearings between FSOC and a potential designee firm, and would not require the council to undertake a cost-benefit analysis prior to designation. According to a fact sheet distributed by FSOC, the proposed guidance would allow FSOC to examine various asset classes, institutions, and activities for potential risk to the financial system. Those include, but are not limited to, debt and loan markets, short-term funds, equity securities, commodities, digital assets, central clearing and payment activities, nonbank financial firms like broker-dealers, asset managers, investment companies, insurance companies, mortgage originators and servicers, and sources of other financial stability risk like cybersecurity and climate-related financial risks.
Try as they might, Republicans can't stop FSOC's resurrection -- The Biden administration set the wheels in motion on Friday to deploy one of their strongest tools — designation authority — a move financial regulators can make almost unilaterally, despite political opposition. The Financial Oversight Stability Council, a body of financial regulators created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to spot and address emerging financial risks, unanimously approved a pair of proposals designed to streamline its ability to designate nonbank firms as systemically risky. That power was weakened during the Trump administration, and Republicans are expected to continue opposing FSOC's authority moving forward, particularly a provision that would lessen the need for FSOC to do a cost-benefit analysis of designating a nonbank firm. "The Financial Stability Oversight Council's proposed interpretive guidance on nonbank financial company designations raises serious questions about whether FSOC is taking the best approach to address systemic risk," said Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., the chair of the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Digital Assets and one of the lead Republican voices on financial services. "FSOC should reconsider its decision to eliminate the cost-benefit analysis prior to making entity designations, among the other proposed changes in the guidance."But for their part, Republicans have little ability to limit FSOC's power while they hold only the House, said Ian Katz, managing director at Capital Alpha Partners. Katz said he expects House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and other lead Republicans to hold hearings and send letters as to how FSOC came up with the decision to revive its ability to designate nonbank firms, and to ask whether it has studied the economic costs of designation.
FDIC sees deposit insurance fund replenishing ahead of schedule — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said on Tuesday it believes despite rising interest rates, recent bank failures and economic uncertainty, that under optimal conditions it will replenish the Deposit Insurance Fund to at least 1.35% of total FDIC insured deposits as soon as next year."It is possible the reserve ratio could reach 1.35% as early as 2024 under favorable conditions, including stable interest rates, low losses from bank failures, including the recent bank failures, and a continued moderation in insured deposit growth," said Ashley Mihalik, policy chief at the FDIC.Staff said that in the second half of 2022, the reserve ratio increased by one basis point to 1.27%. Despite increased uncertainty in the banking industry, and the recent failure of two large banks, agency analysts project that the reserve ratio will hit — or surpass — the statutory minimum of 1.35% ahead of the legally mandated deadline on September 30, 2028, though they say the precise timing is still uncertain and could be complicated by a number of factors. Chairman Martin Gruenberg made clear recent turmoil in the banking industry would not shake FDIC's concentration on maintaining the Deposit Insurance Fund, perhaps the agency's most crucial duty."The bottom line to today's update is that, even with increased uncertainty in the banking industry and the recent failure of two large banks, staff project that the losses from the two failures are not expected to have a material effect on the projected timeline for reaching the statutory minimum reserve ratio," said Gruenberg.Even before this year, FDIC was already working to increase its reserves. After growth in insured deposits during the first half of 2020 drove the reserve ratio below the statutory minimum, the board developed a restoration plan to restore the reserve ratio to the legal floor of 1.35% within the statutory eight year period, ending on September 30, 2028. Today's board meeting indicates the agency's decision to dip into the DIF in order to backstop SVB and Signature's deposits will not hinder their ability to meet the deadline. FDIC has already announced that it will, according to law, impose a special assessment to recoup the impact of backing the failed banks' deposits, and today's Board meeting also shed light on a growing conversation about whether systemically important banks should foot the bill for the implicit deposit insurance benefits their size affords them.
JPMorgan Chase’s Deposits Declined by 57 Times that of Citigroup Over Past 12 Months - By Pam Martens and Russ Martens - On April 11, Wall Street On Parade ran this headline: Fed Report: Largest 25 U.S. Banks Have Shed $700 Billion in Deposits Over Past Year. Using deposit data directly from the Federal Reserve’s weekly H.8 report, we documented that contrary to the misleading reporting in the mainstream business press, it wasn’t the regional banks that were losing the bulk of deposits in the U.S., with the biggest banks the beneficiaries, it was actually the biggest banks that were dramatically shedding deposits. We explained as follows:“The reality is that the 25 largest domestically-chartered commercial banks in the U.S. have been bleeding deposits for most of the past 12 months, shedding more than $700 billion in deposits between April 13, 2022 and March 29, 2023. To put that in even sharper focus, all U.S. domestically-chartered commercial banks have lost a total of $970 billion during the same time period. That means that the largest 25 banks account for a whopping 72 percent of the plunge in deposits over the past year.”On Friday, we learned more granular details about this deposit exodus when JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup announced first quarter earnings and released data on their deposits. According to its own figures, JPMorgan Chase experienced an outflow of $183.95 billion in deposits between March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023. In dollar terms over that time span, its deposits went from $2.561 trillion to $2.377 trillion. (See chart below.)Making that news even more astonishing (given all the media reports that suggested JPMorgan Chase would be a beneficiary of the exodus of deposits from troubled regional banks), was that a peer bank holding company, Citigroup – parent of the commercial bank, Citibank – reported a decline in deposits over the same period of just $3.2 billion. How is it possible that Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, was able to hold onto her deposit base while Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase (who incessantly brags about his “fortress balance sheet”) experienced a depositor revolt that was 57 times that of Citigroup?In the earnings call with analysts on Friday, Fraser had this to say:“Indeed, the cornerstone is our institutional deposit base, which comprises about 60 percent of our deposits. Most of these deposits are particularly sticky because they sit in operating accounts that are fully integrated into how our multinational clients run their businesses around the world from their payrolls, their supply chains, their cash and liquidity management.“Eighty percent of these deposits are with clients who use all three of our integrated services: payments and collections, liquidity management and working capital solutions. The data that we aggregate from these deposits and their related flows is fundamental to how our clients manage their efficiency, risk and compliance. And this greatly increases our deposit stickiness. It’s also why nearly 80 percent of these deposits are from client relationships that are 15 years old or more.” The fact that 80 percent of Citi’s deposit relationships are at least 15 years old means that these clients remember what happened in 2008 when Citigroup was teetering on the brink of failure. In fact, Citigroup’s share price of 99 cents in early 2009 makes some troubled regional banks today look positively healthy.Citigroup’s long-term clients remember that federal agencies in the U.S. did handstands and back flips and somersaults with banking law in order to save Citigroup’s sinking carcass during and after the 2008 financial crisis. Citigroup/Citibank secretly received over $2.5 trillion in cumulative loans from the Fed’s emergency loan facilities according to a 2011 audit released by the Government Accountability Office. In addition, Citigroup/Citibank received the following in other bailouts: $45 billion in capital infusions from the U.S. Treasury; the Federal government guaranteed over $300 billion of Citigroup’s dubious assets; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guaranteed $5.75 billion of its senior unsecured debt and $26 billion of its commercial paper and interbank deposits.Those long-term loyal clients of Citigroup may be incorrectly relying on a replay of those bailouts should problems arrive in the future. The Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation that was passed in 2010 bars the Federal Reserve from saving a single insolvent institution and requires that the Fed’s emergency lending facilities be limited to serving a broad swath of the financial system.That aspect of Dodd-Frank is clearly why U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had to lean on Jamie Dimon to convince 11 large commercial banks (including his own) to sluice $30 billion in uninsured deposits into the teetering First Republic Bank on March 16 – because the Fed was statutorily prevented from bailing out one specific bank.
Morgan Stanley Slides As Credit Loss Provisions Surge Due To Commercial Real Estate Exposure - On the surface, Morgan Stanley's earnings should have been strong enough to prompt a boost in the stock price: unlike its biggest competitor Goldman, which yesterday tumbled after reporting lousy Q1 numbers including a rare miss in FICC, MS not only beat across the board but also saw its investment bank generate stronger than expected results; even so, both revenue and profits dropped Y/Y, with net income down to $3.0 billion, or $1.70 per diluted share, vs net income of $3.7 billion, or $2.02 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Here is a summary of what the bank reported:
- EPS $1.70, beating estimates of $1.65
- Net revenue $14.52 billion, beating estimates of $14.07 billion, down from $14.8 billion Y/Y
- Wealth management net revenue $6.56 billion, +11% y/y, beating estimates of $6.48 billion
- Wealth Management pretax profit $1.7 billion, estimate $1.81 billion; wealth management pretax margin +26.1%, estimate +28%
- FICC sales & trading revenue $2.58 billion, beating estimates of $2.42 billion
- Equities sales & trading revenue $2.73 billion, -14% y/y, missing estimates of $2.86 billion
- Institutional Investment Banking revenue $1.25 billion, beating estimates of $1.12 billion
- Advisory revenue $638 million, -32% y/y, beating estimates of $544.6 million
- Equity underwriting rev. $202 million, -22% y/y, missing estimates of $219.9 million
- Fixed Income Underwriting revenue $407 million, -5.8% y/y, beating estimates of $356.6 million
- Wealth management net revenue $6.56 billion, +11% y/y, beating estimates of $6.48 billion
Banks knock CBDC as a potential drain on deposits -Banks worry a digital dollar would threaten their ability to attract and retain deposits and undermine their ability to fund loans, according to a Federal Reserve report released this week.In January of 2022, the Fed published a white paper on what a U.S. central bank digital currency, or CBDC, might look like and sought public comment on nearly two dozen questions about potential risks, benefits and structural considerations. On Thursday, itreleased a summary of the more than 2,000 responses it received from financial institutions, their trade associations, academics, members of the general public and others.Views about the prospects for a CBDC ranged from enthusiastic to skeptical to vehemently opposed. Banking associations at both the state and national level supported the Fed's efforts to gather information about a digital dollar before moving forward but complained that a CBDC would not be in the best interest of the industry or the country."As we have evaluated the likely impacts of issuing a CBDC it has become clear that the purported benefits of a CBDC are uncertain and unlikely to be realized, while the costs are real and acute," the American Bankers Association wrote in its comment letter. "Based on this analysis, we do not see a compelling case for a CBDC in the United States today."The Fed report comes as politicians and conspiracy theorists stoke fears and misconceptionsabout the central bank's interest in a digital dollar.The Fed is not actively considering creating a digital dollar, and it has noted that it would like some form of authorization from Congress and the White House before rolling one out. The responses gathered will inform the Fed's ongoing research into CBDCs, which includes initiatives at the Federal Reserve banks of Boston and New York.The comments were based on the assumption that a U.S. digital dollar would be intermediated, meaning customers would keep their holdings at commercial banks rather than maintain accounts directly at the Fed. Some have worried about the implications of a direct-to-consumer CBDC for privacy and implementation of monetary policy, but Fed leaders have repeatedly said they do not want to be in the retail banking business.
Toomey asks court to disregard Fed's take on master account law - Former Sen. Pat Toomey wants a federal judge to disregard one of the Federal Reserve's claims in a lawsuit over access to its payments system. In a brief submitted to the U.S. District Court in Wyoming this week, Toomey said the central bank's interpretation of a piece of legislation he wrote is "plainly at odds with the language and purpose of the statute." "This Court should reject any arguments attempting to misread the Amendment as opining, in any way, on the substantive discretion of either the Board, or the Reserve Banks, over the requirements for, or the granting of, master accounts," Toomey's filing said. He added that the Fed was well aware of the legislation's intent, noting that officials with the central bank urged him to drop the matter last year. "[The Federal Reserve] Board opposed the Amendment, maintaining that it could provide transparency voluntarily and without further legislation," Toomey's lawyers wrote in his filing. "[Fed] Chair [Jerome] Powell and other senior officials at the Board contacted Senator Toomey and legislative staff to express their concerns about the Amendment." The Fed declined to comment on Toomey's filing. The legislation in question is last year's National Defense Authorization Act, into which Toomey inserted a provision requiring the Fed to create and maintain an online database of entities with so-called master accounts as well as those seeking such accounts, those who have applied for them in the past and the status of those applications. The Fed is set to roll out such a database by June 21. Toomey said the intent of the provision was clear: to force transparency requirements on the central bank's handling of master accounts, which provide a single point of access to all of the Fed's financial services, including payment clearing between institutions. The impetus for the legislation was the Fed's unwillingness to share details about Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's decisions to deny, then grant, then revoke, an account to the Colorado-based financial firm Reserve Trust. The issue arose during the Senate Banking Committee's confirmation hearing for the Biden administration's original nominee for Fed vice chair for supervision, Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed board member who served on Reserve Trust's board of directors.
Fed's Waller: 'Nothing nefarious about FedNow' Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller set the record straight about the central bank's instant payment system, which is set to debut this summer. During a Thursday afternoon appearance at the University of Southern Florida's Sarasota campus, Waller addressed some of the misconceptions about FedNow, which has been conflated with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by politicians and conspiracy theorists in recent weeks. "It's just like ACH, Fedwire — these payment systems that we already have in place, both in the private sector and at the Fed," Waller said. "So, there's nothing nefarious about FedNow, it's just a payment rail that will clear things much faster." The system will allow for money to move 24 hours a day, seven days a week and much quicker than the current most popular settlement system, the automated clearing house. Waller said transactions will be processed in as little as two seconds, instead of between one and three days for ACH. Yet, while this marks a significant step up in the Fed's capabilities, Waller said, it does not require the development or issuance of a digital dollar, as some have asserted. He noted that The Clearing House's privately operated Real-Time Payments, or RTP, system, provides the same speed of service without a CBDC. "These are just payment systems," he said. "They're just affecting the speed at which payment requests get made and settled and cleared."
BankThink: This is crypto's moment of truth. We must choose utility over speculation. | PaymentsSource | American Banker -The Economic Report of the President released by the White House last month devoted an entire chapter to digital assets. Many of them, it concluded, "have no fundamental value."Along with sweeping regulatory action this year, including what some are calling a systematic de-banking of the sector, observers fear the crypto winter will become an ice age.Every new technology, from the rise of electricity to the introduction of cars and planes, has paired the promise of a better life for billions with potential dangers. It's in our national DNA to innovate responsibly. We identify key risks and create sensible regulations to protect the public. We link private-sector innovation with public-sector guardrails. We don't kill emerging tech; we elevate it, bending the arc of progress toward public purpose and utility.Rejecting this proven approach risks letting an entire strategic technology arena slip from U.S. leadership — the very call to action in President Biden's "Crypto Executive Order."Because of policy inaction in the U.S., market actors are shifting into platforms with no oversight, opaque bank and risk exposures and histories of lax financial risk and financial crime controls. This doesn't end well.What the public needs now from Washington is not smothering but sifting. The good news is that Congress can uplevel the crypto industry and shore up U.S. strategic interests by advancing legislation on payment stablecoins, the U.S. answer to competitive electronic money and digital-asset frameworks emerging around the world. Over the weekend, the House Financial Services Committee did just that, publishing a draft stablecoin bill and scheduling hearings this Wednesday at which I'm honored to appear as a witness.This legislation would support responsible efforts to modernize America's legacy financial plumbing, including ensuring that the dollar becomes the native currency on the internet. On top of cumbersome payment rails that haven't kept pace with the 21st-century economy, the ongoing banking crisis underscores the need to separate payment activity from banking. Had the federal government not intervened to stave off bank risk contagion, America's small to midsize banks could have faced an extinction-level event. At its core, cryptography is a way to automate a "trust but verify" approach to transactions. What it enables is moving money with the same speed, security and scale as text messages, all at near-zero cost. It also unlocks a whole new ecosystem. Just as an iPhone's OS fostered a flourishing ecosystem of apps, the rise of programmable money, smart contracts and blockchain-based finance can enable a vast range of applications that can level up capital markets and commerce with greater transparency, auditability and global reach.
CFPB data breach sends shock waves through the financial industry - A data breach by an employee at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is sending shock waves through the financial services industry, raising far more questions than answers about how an employee was able to obtain information on more than 250,000 consumers and dozens of companies. The agency, whose mission is to go after bad behavior at financial institutions, said the employee is "no longer employed by the CFPB." Lawmakers were told of the data breach on March 21, according to the Wall Street Journal. The CFPB said it had identified "a confidential-information and privacy incident" in which a now-former CFPB employee was found to have sent confidential CFPB records on 256,000 consumers at a single institution to their personal email account. The CFPB said that after the incident was detected, the employee's network access was revoked. "This is a major black eye for the CFPB," said Ed Groshans, a senior research and policy analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading. He said the breach will create a significant problem for the agency in terms of its internal compliance issues and public image. "These types of breaches are unacceptable, regardless of entity," Groshans said. "There needs to be across-the-board stronger protections because identity theft is real." The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the data breach, said CFPB officials first became aware of inappropriate use of a personal email account on Feb. 14. A subsequent review by the bureau identified 14 email messages, some with attachments, sent by the employee to that employee's email account that also contained confidential supervisory information, the CFPB said. The documents, which the employee had authorized access to in the course of his or her work, included two spreadsheets containing names and transaction-specific account numbers. The CFPB said the account numbers are used internally by the financial institution rather than the actual account numbers that could be used to gain access to a consumer's account. The former employee had two spreadsheets that contained the vast majority of the impacted Personal Identifying Information, or PII. In total, the employee had information that included personal identifiable information from customers of seven financial institutions, the bureau said.
From Bud Light To Disney, How Left-Wing Causes Are Infiltrating Corporate Advertising - Anheuser-Busch’s controversial sponsorship of trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney in an advertising campaign for its beer brand Bud Light is just the most recent example of corporations championing progressive causes—and then having to backpedal when they discover that the message proves divisive. In an attempt to quell a backlash among Bud Light drinkers, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth stated on Friday: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” Anonymous sources within the company claimed that “no one at a senior level” was aware of the promotional campaign.Whitworth’s statement echoes the words of Disney CEO Bob Iger in November 2022, following Disney’s vow to fight a parents’ rights law in Florida that barred the teaching of sexual topics in school for children in third grade or younger. While speaking to employees shortly after taking the helm from fired CEO Bob Chapek, who made the decision to fight the Florida law, Iger said, “I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle, and I have no idea exactly what its ramifications are.”Other corporations who have gone down this path include fashion brands company Balenciaga, which published ads showing pre-school-age girls posed alongside sexual tools and messages in November 2022. In response to a public backlash, Balenciaga issued this statement: “We would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent ad campaigns. We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in the narrative.”These companies followed in the political footsteps of Major League Baseball, Delta Airlines, and Coca-Cola, who in 2021 fought a voter-ID law in Georgia, alleging that it amounted to racist voter suppression. In the wake of the controversy, a Rasmussen poll found that 37 percent of responders said they were less likely to buy Coca-Cola products, while 25 percent said they were more likely, because of the company’s political stance, which caused the nickname “Woke-a-Cola” to go viral. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 79 percent of voters, including a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, support voter ID laws.“At this point, it’s clear that corporations are going to be risking customers, employee engagement, and relationships with shareholders if they decide to drive a particular political agenda with their brand and resources,” Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), told The Epoch Times. “There are definitely negative consequences to businesses continuing to go down this path of choosing one side or another in these political debates.”
Google CEO says AI will impact ‘every product of every company,’ calls for regs * - Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Sunday called for AI regulations and guidelines to ensure the breakthrough technology is “aligned to human values.” AI will soon impact “every product of every company” and disrupt jobs, Pichai said during an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” He said that writers, accountants, architects, software engineers and other “knowledge workers” will feel the biggest impacts. Pichai added that without guidelines, AI could be abused by bad actors. The technology could be used to quickly create deepfake videos to spread disinformation and could “cause a lot of harm” at a societal scale, he told CBS’s Scott Pelley. “How do you develop AI systems that are aligned to human values, including morality?” Pichai asked. “This is why I think the development of this needs to include not just engineers, but social scientists, ethicists, philosophers, and so on, and I think we have to be very thoughtful.” Pichai said that society must collectively decide how AI should be integrated, adding that it’s “not for a company to decide.” The Google executive said he’s concerned that society might not be ready for the lightning-fast pace of AI advancements. But he’s optimistic about the large number of people “who have started worrying about the implications” of AI at a relatively early point in its development. Google is currently developing a swath of AI products and is publicly testing its chat AI, Bard. Pichai said that the company is holding back more advanced AIs to ensure that society can get used to the technology.
Confusion as Musk's Twitter yanks blue checks from agencies - (AP) — Twitter has long been a way for people to keep track of tornado watches, train delays, news alerts or the latest crime warnings from their local police department. But when the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification check marks this week from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee, it left public agencies and other organizations around the world scrambling to figure out a way to show they’re trustworthy and avoid impersonators. High-profile users who lost their blue checks Thursday included Beyoncé, Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey and former President Donald Trump. But checks were also removed from accounts for major transit systems from San Francisco to Paris, national parks like Yosemite, official weather trackers and some elected officials. Twitter had roughly 400,000 verified users under the original blue-check system. In the past, the checks meant that Twitter had verified that users were who they said they were. While Twitter is now offering gold checks for “verified organizations” and gray checks for government organizations and their affiliates, it was not always clear why some accounts had them Friday and others did not. Fake accounts claiming to represent Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city’s Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Transportation all began sharing messages early Friday falsely claiming that Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive — a major thoroughfare — would close to private traffic starting next month.
Brown asks for review of FHLB advances to failed banks -Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, pressed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Director Sandra Thompson on the alleged use of the Federal Home Loan Bank System as a lender of last resort for banks in trouble. Brown's letter comes after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as well as the collapse of Silvergate. All three institutions took advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system prior to their collapse as they struggled for liquidity. "The FHLBank System was created to provide liquidity to sound institutions to facilitate lending. It was not structured to be a lender of last resort – or of next-to-last resort – for struggling institutions," Brown said in the letter. "If FHLBank members attempt to use the system as a financial backstop, it could have unintended consequences for the FHLBank System and for our broader financial system." Brown asked that Thompson, as part of a broader review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, include a "detailed review" of the system's role in providing liquidity to banks in the days leading up to the recent bank failures, and whether those actions were consistent with the Federal Home Loan Bank's mission. The ability of the system to extend liquidity to banks at all times "raises concerns that members may attempt to draw on the system when they are experiencing financial instability or insolvency," according to the letter. Because of the advances to failed banks, among other instances of the Federal Home Loan Banks extending liquidity to troubled institutions, critics have called for more oversight of the banks, even calling the system "irrelevant" in housing finance. Some executives of the Federal Home Loan Banks, meanwhile, argue that the banks are working exactly as Congress intended.
Are Federal Home Loan Bank advances a sign of distress? - The Federal Home Loan Bank System has played an outsized role in shoring up the balance sheets of hundreds of banks this year, including banks that have failed and banks that are still under stress. Home Loan bank executives say the system is working precisely as Congress intended it to. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank were among the largest borrowers last year of the Home Loan Bank System. The three failed banks, one of which self-liquidated, received a combined $30.6 billion from the Home Loan banks last year, just months before their collapse. Other banks with interest rate-related strains also were among the largest borrowers of the Federal Home Loan Bank System last year, including First Republic Bank in San Francisco and Charles Schwab Bank, in Westlake, Tex. New York Community Bank and its Flagstar Bank subsidiary, which purchased Signature Bank's deposits and certain loan portfolios, are big borrowers, as are most of the largest banks. The $1.2 trillion-asset Home Loan Bank System has pumped nearly a half-trillion dollars into the banking industry so far this year in the form of secured loans, known as advances, to meet the needs of its members. The system's Office of Finance — its capital markets hub — issues bonds that come with an implied government guarantee, supporting financial institutions that need quick funding. Critics want its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to examine the system's many benefits, including whether the super-lien priority given the the system ahead of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., provides a perverse incentive to lend to institutions right up until they fail. "A lot of times when banks fail, they often look like the Wile E. Coyote, who managed to run off the cliff for quite a while before looking down," said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department. "The Home Loan banks are the support that allowed the coyote to keep going into thin air."
Biden To Punish Good-Credit Homebuyers To Subsidize High-Risk Mortgages - A new rule from the Biden administration will force homebuyers with good credit scores to pay higher mortgage rates in order to subsidize loans to those with riskier borrowing profiles, the Washington Times reports. The fee, which will apply to those buying or refinancing houses after May 1, will affect homebuyers with credit scores of 680 or higher, will amount to roughly $40 per month on a home loan of $400,000, or nearly $500 per year. Homebuyers who make down payments of 15% - 20% will be hit with the largest fees. According to those in the industry, the changes will frustrate homebuyers with high credit scores, as well as those looking to refinance, as they're being punished for having strong financial positions. "The changes do not make sense. Penalizing borrowers with larger down payments and credit scores will not go over well," said Ian Wright, a senior loan officer at Bay Equity Home Loans in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a statement to the Washington Times via email. "It overcomplicates things for consumers during a process that can already feel overwhelming with the amount of paperwork, jargon, etc. Confusing the borrower is never a good thing."Wright also says that the rule will "cause customer-service issues for lenders and individual loan officers when a consumer won’t understand why their interest rate and fees suddenly changed.""I am all for the first-time buyer having a chance to get into the market, but it’s clear these decisions aren’t being made by folks that understand the entire mortgage process," he continued.The new fees “will create extreme confusion as we enter the traditional spring home purchase season,” said David Stevens, a former head of the Mortgage Bankers Association who served as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration during the Obama administration.“This confusing approach won’t work and more importantly couldn’t come at a worse time for an industry struggling to get back on its feet after these past 12 months,” Mr. Stevens wrote in a recent social media post. “To do this at the onset of the spring market is almost offensive to the market, consumers, and lenders.”The housing market has been hit hard by a series of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes that have driven mortgage rates above 6%, roughly double the level from early 2022. The Fed has raised rates rapidly to bring down inflation, which hit a four-decade high of 9.1% last summer. -Washington TimesUnder the new Biden rules, those with lower credit scores and smaller down payments will qualify for better mortgage rates and discounted fees thanks to the surcharge on those with good scores."In the wake of a 3-percentage-point increase in mortgage rates, now is not the time to raise fees on homebuyers," said NAR president, Kenny Parcell, during testimony to the Federal Housing Finance Agency earlier this year.Biden appointed FHA Director Santra Thompson, meanwhile, said that the fee changes will "increase pricing support for purchase borrowers limited by income or by wealth," and the agency considers the fee changes "minimal." In short, the fee changes will subsidize higher-risk borrowers by imposing "an intentional disruption to traditional risk-based pricing," according to Stevens.
MBA Survey: "Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 0.55% in March" - From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 0.55% in March The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points from 0.60% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.55% as of March 31, 2023. According to MBA’s estimate,275,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 7.8 million borrowers since March 2020.In March 2023, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 2 basis points to 0.26%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 10 basis points to 1.18%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 10 basis points to 0.68%.“As the COVID-19 national emergency draws to a close, the number of loans in forbearance continues to drop,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “Mortgage performance remains strong with the percentage of borrowers who were current on their mortgage payments and post-forbearance workouts increasing in March.”Adds Walsh, “MBA’s forecast still calls for a recession in 2023, which may change the current performance levels, but credit quality is generally good and many borrowers facing financial hardship can now access enhanced loss mitigation options that resulted from successes of pandemic-related policies.” This graph shows the percent of portfolio in forbearance by investor type over time.The share of forbearance plans has been decreasing, declined to 0.55% in March from 0.60% in February.At the end of March, there were about 275,000 homeowners in forbearance plans.
Monthly housing payments hit all-time high: report - Monthly housing payments hit a record high this week after mortgage rates rose for the first time in more than a month, according to data from real estate brokerage Redfin. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.39 percent this week, pushing the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment to $2,538. At the same time a year ago, the average mortgage rate stood at 5.11 percent. This week’s rise in mortgage rates followed a dip in the number of new homes under construction, which could put even more pressure on would-be buyers. “There’s not much on the shelves to choose from, and high mortgage rates and still-high prices are making homes too expensive for many buyers,” said Taylor Marr, Redfin’s deputy chief economist, in a news release. “Some buyers are discouraged by mortgage rates rising this week, which is partly due to stronger-than-expected bank earnings making it more likely the Fed will hike interest rates next month,” he added. Growing inflation led the Federal Reserve to implement a series of jumbo interest rate hikes that trickled down into the housing market and sent mortgage rates soaring. The 30-year fixed rate peaked at more than 7 percent late last year. Since then, average mortgage rates have settled and declined for five straight weeks before creeping up again this week.
NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 4.44 million SAAR in March; Median Prices Declined 0.9% YoY - From the NAR: Existing-Home Sales Slid 2.4% in March: Existing-home sales edged lower in March, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Month-over-month sales declined in three out of four major U.S. regions, while sales in the Northeast remained steady. All regions posted year-over-year decreases. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 2.4% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million in March. Year-over-year, sales waned 22.0% (down from 5.69 million in March 2022). ... Total housing inventory registered at the end of March was 980,000 units, up 1.0% from February and 5.4% from one year ago (930,000). Unsold inventory sits at a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from February but up from 2.0 months in March 2022. The sales rate was below the consensus forecast. This graph shows existing home sales, on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis since 1993. Sales in March (4.44 million SAAR) were down 2.4% from the previous month and were 22.0% below the March 2022 sales rate. The second graph shows existing home sales by month for 2022 and 2023. Sales declined 22.0% year-over-year compared to February 2022. This was the nineteenth consecutive month with sales down year-over-year. The third graph shows existing home sales for each month, Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA), for a few selected periods. Black and light Purple are the maximum sales per month during the bubble (2005) and the minimum sales during the bust (2008 - 2011). The most recent five years are shown (2019 through 2023). Sales NSA in March (360,000) were 21.1% below sales in March 2022 (456,000). On an NSA basis, sales were the lowest for March since 2014, and sales were only 18.4% above the record low for March in 2009. This decrease in sales, NSA, was similar to change in the markets I track each month. The fourth graph shows nationwide inventory for existing homes. According to the NAR, inventory increased to 0.98 million in March from 0.97 million in February.
Housing Market Takes Another Step Back: Home Prices Drop Year-over-Year for Second Month. Already Dismal Sales Fell - By Wolf Richter -- The median price of all types of previously owned homes – houses, condo, co-ops – whose sales closed in March, fell year-over-year by 0.9% to $375,700, according to the National Association of Realtors. This was the second year-over-year decline in a row since February 2012, when the market emerged from Housing Bust 1 (historic data via YCharts): For single-family houses, the median price fell 1.4% year-over-year, the second year-over-year decline in a row. But for condos, the median price still increased 2.1% year-over-year. The year-over-year decline of the overall median price came despite the 3.3% month-to-month increase in March from February. But it’s spring selling season when prices typically rise, and that increase was smaller than last year’s February-to-March increase; hence the bigger year-over-year decline. The median price has fallen by 9.2% from the seasonal peak in June 2022 (historic data via YCharts): Sales of previously owned homes fell by 2.4% in March from February, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales of a dismal 4.44 million homes, undoing part of the jump in February from deep-dismal January, which had been the worst month since 2010. So there had been 12 months in a row of month-to-month declines through January, an increase in February, and now another decline in March. Compared to March 2022, sales were down 22%. Compared to March 2021, sales were down 26.5%. Compared to March 2019, sales were down 15%. Compared to March 2018, sales were down 19%. Priced right, just about any property will sell. And lower prices would bring out the buyers which would help unfreeze the market, given these mortgage rates. But sellers – including those that bought a home and moved into it but haven’t put the home they moved out of on the market, which was the thing to do to ride up the price spike all the way – well, they’re are still thinking that this too shall pass. “This too” being the 6%-plus mortgage rates, or rather the 4%-plus mortgage rates, which we had exactly a year ago, because that’s when the market started to derail. Actual sales in March – not seasonally adjusted, not annual rate – fell 21% year-over-year to 360,000 properties. This was up from February, as it is nearly every year due to the seasonality of home sales, but it was up less than in March last year. Sales of single-family houses, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million in March, were down 2.7% from February and down 21% from March last year. Sales of condos and co-ops, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 450,000 in March, were flat with February and down 29% year-over-year. By region, year-over-year sales plunged in all regions (percent change from year ago, map via NAR):
Realtor.com Reports Weekly Active Inventory Up 49% YoY; New Listings Down 5% YoY -- Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market. Here is their weekly report released today from chief economist Danielle Hale: Weekly Housing Trends View — Data Week Ending Apr 15, 2023
• Active inventory growth continued to climb, with for-sale homes up 49% above one year ago. The number of homeowners shifting home listing timelines around spring holidays helped push active inventory growth up this week. Despite the big surge, the number of homes for-sale continues to trail pre-pandemic levels, keeping many cards in the hands of sellers sitting on very high levels of home equity.
• New listings–a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale–were down again this week, but only by 5% from one year ago. The number of newly listed homes has been lower than the same time the previous year for the past 41 weeks and while this week continued that trend, the magnitude shifted in a big way. Shifts in religious holidays that fell earlier in 2023 are likely responsible for last week’s big drop and this week’s significantly smaller decline. On average across the two weeks, the decline in new listings is roughly on track with what we’ve seen so far this year.
Here is a graph of the year-over-year change in inventory according to realtor.com.
Inventory is still up year-over-year - from record lows - however, the YoY increase has slowed recently, although this was a pickup from up 44% YoY last week.
Housing Starts Decreased to 1.420 million Annual Rate in March - From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions: Privately‐owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,420,000. This is 0.8 percent below the revised February estimate of 1,432,000 and is 17.2 percent below the March 2022 rate of 1,716,000. Single‐family housing starts in March were at a rate of 861,000; this is 2.7 percent above the revised February figure of 838,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 542,000. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,413,000. This is 8.8 percent below the revised February rate of 1,550,000 and is 24.8 percent below the March 2022 rate of 1,879,000. Single‐family authorizations in March were at a rate of 818,000; this is 4.1 percent above the revised February figure of 786,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 543,000 in March. The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years. Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) decreased in March compared to February. Multi-family starts were up 6.5% year-over-year in March. Single-family starts (red) increased in March and were down 27.7% year-over-year. The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968. This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery - and the recent collapse in single-family starts. Total housing starts in March were slightly above expectations, however, starts in January and February were revised down slightly, combined.
March Housing Starts: Most Multi-family Under Construction Since 1973 - Total starts were down 17.2% in March compared to March 2022. Starts have been down year-over-year for eleven consecutive months, and I expect starts to be down significantly this year - although the year-over-year comparisons will be easier later in the year. The fourth graph shows housing starts under construction, Seasonally Adjusted (SA). Red is single family units. Currently there are 716 thousand single family units (red) under construction (SA). This was down in March compared to February, and 112 thousand below the recent peak in April and May 2022. Single family units under construction have peaked since single family starts are now declining. The reason there are still so many homes under construction is probably due to supply constraints. Blue is for 2+ units. Currently there are 958 thousand multi-family units under construction. This is the highest level since November 1973! For multi-family, construction delays are probably also a factor. The completion of these units should help with rent pressure. Combined, there are 1.674 million units under construction, just 37 thousand below the all-time record of 1.711 million set in October 2022. Below is a graph comparing multi-family starts and completions. Since it usually takes over a year on average to complete a multi-family project, there is a lag between multi-family starts and completions. Completions are important because that is new supply added to the market and starts are important because that is future new supply (units under construction is also important for employment). These graphs use a 12-month rolling total for NSA starts and completions. The blue line is for multifamily starts and the red line is for multifamily completions. Builders are still starting more multifamily units than they are completing. Multifamily starts (blue) have slowed, and completions (red) are picking up - although the gap is still huge. The last graph shows single family starts and completions. It usually only takes about 6 months between starting a single-family home and completion - so the lines are much closer than for multi-family. The blue line is for single family starts and the red line is for single family completions. The recent gap between starts and completions has disappeared, and builders are now completing more single-family homes than they are starting. Completions will follow starts down soon. Conclusions: Total housing starts in March were slightly above expectations, however, starts in January and February were revised down slightly, combined. The weakness in 2022 was mostly for single family starts. I expect multi-family starts to turn down in 2023. A near record number of total housing units are under construction due to construction delays, but the number of single-family housing units under construction is now declining. This means a large number of multi-family housing units will likely be delivered in 2023.
NAHB: Builder Confidence Increased Slightly in April - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the housing market index (HMI) was at 45, up from 44 last month. Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good. From the NAHB: Lack of Existing Inventory Continues to Support Builder Sentiment: Builders remained cautiously optimistic in April as limited resale inventory helped to increase demand in the new home market even as the industry continues to grapple with building material issues.Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in April rose one point to 45, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).Currently, one-third of housing inventory is new construction, compared to historical norms of a little more than 10%. More buyers looking at new homes, along with the use of sales incentives, have supported new home sales since the start of 2023....The HMI index gauging current sales conditions in April rose two points to 51 and the component charting sales expectations in the next six months increased three points to 50. This marks the first time these components both returned to the 50+ range since June 2022. The gauge measuring traffic of prospective buyers remained unchanged at 31. This is the first time the traffic component failed to improve in 2023.Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast rose four points to 46, the Midwest edged up two points to 37, the South increased four points to 49 and the West moved four points higher to 38.This graph shows the NAHB index since Jan 1985.This was at the consensus forecast. The "traffic of prospective buyers" is still well below breakeven at 31 (below 50).
The Surge in New Businesses Is One of the Big and Surprisingly Sticky Changes Coming out of the Pandemic Economy by Wolf Richter - New business formations in March, based on applications for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS, jumped by 4.5% from February, by 10% from the already high levels a year ago, and by 50% from March 2019, according to the Census Bureau today. The three-month moving average, which irons out some of the month-to-month ups and downs, rose by 3.7% from a year ago, and by 50% from the same period in 2019. The astounding thing: This is still going on! During the pandemic, the extra money the government was handing out served as startup capital, and with lots of people having lost their jobs, the creation of new businesses exploded. But now all this is gone, and business formations are still 50% higher than they were before the pandemic, and they’re surging again. EIN applications for trusts, estates, tax liens, etc. are removed from this data. This data here covers only EIN applications for typical businesses. The big wave since 2020. Between January 2020 and March 2023, a gigantic 16.1 million businesses were started – testimony of the large-scale changes in the economy that have occurred during the pandemic. Not all of these businesses are still here today. Some were bought out, others folded because the owner found something better to do. That’s always the case. But the surge in new business creation is still an amazing sight. Businesses with “High-Propensity of Planned Wages”: one-third of total. The Census Bureau categorizes businesses with a high likelihood of creating a significant payroll as “High-Propensity of Planned Wages” business applications (HBA), based on the information in the EIN application. About one-third of all EIN applications have been HBAs. In March, the HBA applications rose to 150,169. The three-month moving average rose to 144,911, up by 7.6% year-over-year and up by 33% from the same period in 2019: Businesses with “Planned Wages”: 10% of total. “Business Applications with Planned Wages” (WBA) are a subgroup within the HBAs. They’re businesses that indicated on their EIN applications a date for their first payroll. They have funding to meet that payroll, and they’re ready to hire and pay wages. These businesses are most likely to grow their payroll and become significant employers. Only about 10% of EIN applications fall into this category. In March, the WBA applications rose to 49,424 (three-month moving average), up by 2.2% year-over-year and up by 24% from the same period in 2019. But this is far lower than in the years before 2008:
"Freight Recession" Highlighted By Largest Cargo Drop Since Pandemic - J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., the fourth largest trucking company in the US, reported Monday first-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, as it explained volumes and revenue per truckload fell amid fears of a "freight recession." "To start, we're in a challenging freight environment where there is deflationary price pressure for an industry that continues to face inflationary cost pressures," President Shelley Simpson told investors in a post-earnings conference call.Cargo demand has been softening as consumers spend more money on services than goods. Inflation and soaring credit card rates also hurt consumer demand. We recently asked: Is a second trucking bloodbath on the horizon? According to Bloomberg, the latest data from American Trucking Association shows the truck tonnage index dropped 5.4% in March versus February, the largest decline since Aug. 2012. "Falling home construction, decreasing factory output and soft retail sales all hurt contract freight tonnage," said Bob Costello, chief economist for the ATA."The freight market is one of the most volatile markets on the planet. Hot markets can turn ice cold in a flash, particularly after the federal government and central bankers flooded our economy with so much liquidity and then proceeded to institute the fastest monetary tightening cycle in history," supply chain data firm FreightWaves said. FreightWaves pointed out, "The freight market downturn is a thing of the past. The freight recession has come, and carriers, regardless of whether they operate in the contract or spot markets, are having to contend with it." FreightWaves' data also shows spot rates of truck hauls have plunged over the last 12 months, tender volumes are sliding, and there's a trucking overcapacity issue. Despite all the gloom, Ravi Shanker, Morgan Stanley transportation equity analyst, recently told clients besides "all the bad headlines and mixed data points on macro, our latest quarterly Shipper Survey keeps showing signs of improvement under the surface." Well, that depends if the consumer can survive even more tightening of monetary conditions as the Fed is expected to increase interest rates by 25bps next month to around 500bps.
The $25,000 EV is coming, with big implications for car makers and buyers - From the headlines, car buyers might think the most important force driving down the cost of electric vehicles is the $7,500 tax credit that was expanded last summer, followed by Tesla's recent aggressive cost-cutting to gain more market share.Look closer, and the work auto companies are doing themselves to refine EV technology — and, crucially, new manufacturing processes — loom as an even bigger deal. And that's resulting in a series of newly-announced and coming-soon models that will make EVs much cheaper, and more mainstream, highlighted by Tesla's first detailed public explanation of how its next-generation car due next year will come at a lower price tag, expected to start between $25,000 and $30,000.The rise of the mass-market EV will be a milestone — environmentally, economically, financially and even politically. And as the Biden administration pushes changes that seek to aggressively remake the car market in favor of EVs more quickly than previously anticipated. Hitting price points well below the $48,763 U.S. average new-vehicle price, which Kelley Blue Book says has risen 30% in the last three years, will make obsolete the shibboleth that EVs are an elite affectation of rich people. If the new models catch on, they will cement electric transportation as a mainstream consumer good, while also making Tesla, a refocused Fordand General Motors — and a still-to-be-winnowed out collection of EV startups — fully mainstream carmakers."For Tesla to go mass-market, they have to have a cheaper car," said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who thinks Tesla's version will be a compact luxury vehicle akin to an Audi A3 gas-powered car, whose base model starts at $35,400. "And mass market is the holy grail." Tesla's lowest-priced model today is the Model 3 base MSRP of $41,990. There are currently three EV models with base MSRPs under $30,000, the Chevy Bolt, Bolt EUV, and Nissan Leaf, but average sales prices in March for both were still above $30,000, according to Edmunds, and above $34,000 in the case of the Leaf.
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims increase to 245,000 -- The DOL reported:In the week ending April 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 245,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 239,000 to 240,000. The 4-week moving average was 239,750, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 240,000 to 240,250. The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.
Post-Pandemic Burnout: 20% Of Nurses May Quit In Next Four Years, Says Survey - The total American nursing workforce has fallen 3.3% over the past two years, but experts expect the trend is about to rapidly accelerate -- to the point that one in five nurses could call it quits by 2027. "High workloads and unprecedented levels of burnout during the COVID‑19 pandemic have stressed the U.S. nursing workforce, particularly younger, less experienced RNs," write the authors of a survey-study published on Thursday in the Journal of Nursing Regulation. More than 100,000 left nursing during the pandemic, and researchers say another 800,000 could bail in the next few years. The paper was the focus of a panel discussion at the National Press Club hosted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), reports MedPage Today. Such an exodus would have powerful ripple effects throughout healthcare, said Brendan Martin, NCSBN's director of nursing regulation. The survey included more than 54,000 respondents, with 92.5% of them being women. Key findings:
- 50.8% feel emotionally drained
- 56.4% feel used up
- 49.7% feel fatigued
- 45.1% feel burned out or "at the end of their rope"
In an ominous sign for what's to come, quitting nurses skew young: 41% of the post-pandemic flameouts had an average age of 36 and fewer than 10 years on the job. Age and workload are key factors, say the study's authors: "The most pronounced differences emerged when comparing early career nurses with higher workloads to their more experienced peers with normal workloads. In this comparison, early career respondents with high workloads were more than three to four times more likely to report higher frequencies of feeling emotionally drained, used up, fatigued, burned out, or at the end of their rope."
Thousands of Iowans to lose Medicaid and SNAP benefits as lawmakers pass bill restricting access to public assistance - A mere month after the Biden administration slashed food stamps for workers nationwide, the Iowa House approved a bill last Thursday that imposes more stringent eligibility criteria for those receiving food assistance benefits and mandates regular checks on all public assistance recipients. Senate File 494, passed by a vote of 58-41, ensures that hundreds to thousands of the poor will be denied access to vital programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), Medicaid, the Family Investment Program (FIP) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The state Senate passed the Republican-backed bill in March and it now heads to Governor Kim Reynolds’ desk for her signature. The legislation stipulates that by July 1, 2025, the state administration must revamp its existing system and establish a new computerized eligibility program to check income, assets and identity. Agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and Iowa Workforce Development must gather new information on registrants to ascertain their eligibility. Agencies will also conduct an asset test on all members of the applicant’s household to determine eligibility for SNAP benefits. Households with over $15,000 in liquid assets or cash on hand are not eligible for SNAP. This means households with savings, cash or other easily accessible funds above this threshold would be ineligible to receive SNAP benefits. Thus, workers will be forced to decide to save for their child’s education or food. In fact, a 2016 report by the Urban Institute discovered that states implementing asset tests deterred recipients from maintaining bank accounts or saving for emergencies. Moreover, the bill requires agencies to draw on information from federal, state and other sources before deciding on initial or continued eligibility for public assistance applicants or recipients. The legislation also mandates applicants to undergo a computerized identity authentication process involving a knowledge-based questionnaire composed of financial and personal questions. The Iowa Hunger Coalition, an anti-hunger association, commented on the computerized identity process, “While this may have the potential to increase access for some people (those with transportation or medical barriers, or without access to the required forms of identification), it also presents a significant access barrier to many people, especially those without internet access, limited credit history or limited English proficiency. This requirement would go against USDA regulations for SNAP. Were this new computerized identity authentication process an option, not a requirement, it would have the potential to increase access for SNAP applicants and would be in-line with USDA regulations.”
Oklahoma Official Caught Fantasizing About Lynching Resigns – OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR KEVIN Stitt’s office confirmed on Wednesday that McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings hasresigned after he and three other county officials were recorded fantasizing about lynching Black people and hiring hitmen to murder local reporters.The four officials — Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Sheriff’s Captain Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix — were recorded discussing a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, Manning and the Board of County Commissioners brought by McCurtain Gazette-News Reporter Chris Willingham. The Gazzete News first reported on the recording on Friday. “Yeah, I ain’t worried about what he’s gonna do to me,” Manning can reportedly be heard saying on the tape. “I’m worried about what I might do to him. My papaw would have whipped his ass, would have wiped him and used him for toilet paper […] if my daddy hadn’t been run over by a vehicle, he would have been down there.”“I know where two big, deep holes are here if you ever need them,” Jennings allegedly responded. Sheriff Clardy then reportedly volunteered his excavator to assist in the digging of holes.Jennings also complained about how lynchings are no longer legal. “Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with damned rope,” he allegedly said. “But you can’t do that anymore. They’ve got more rights than we’ve got.”
‘Teen Takeover’ terrorizes Chicago as hundreds of teenagers destroy property, attack tourists -Hundreds of teenagers stormed the streets of downtown Chicago, smashing car windows, attacking bystanders and sending panicked tourists running from the sound of gunfire."Where are their parents at? That's my question," a woman who identified as a Chicago native told Fox 32 as the unruly scene played out in downtown Chicago on Saturday night.Fox 32 cameras captured video of teenagers crowding the streets and police seeking to restore order to the area.Large groups of teens were seen blasting music from Bluetooth speakers and roaming in front of traffic, with some attempting to gain access to the city's Millennium Park, which is off-limits to those under 21 after certain hours, and the downtown Art Institute. Some teens in the group began jumping up and down on cars, smashing windows and attacking people inside. One woman told Fox 32 her husband was attacked from the driver side of his vehicle and beaten after a group of teens jumped up and down on the couple's windshield. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Hundreds of police officers assisted by SWAT teams descended on downtown in an attempt to restore order as gunfire was reported multiple times amid the unfolding scene. Police were seen escorting frightened tourists back to their cars or hotels to escape the chaos, and traffic on Chicago's Michigan Avenue ground to a halt as police attempted to restore order.Police say a 6-year-old boy was shot in the arm near the Chicago Loop and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the leg. Both were taken to Northwestern Hospital and listed in fair condition, according to a report from WLS.Fox 32 reported that the chaos appeared to be another "Teen Takeover" of the city that was planned on social media, noting that a similar scene played out in Chicago last year. "I understand kids having a good time, but this is simply bad parenting," the Chicago native witness told Fox 32. "We have to do better as parents. Our kids should not be out here."
Downtown Chicago shooting: What went wrong? How chaos unfolded in Chicago's Loop - -- A former top Chicago police official gave the I-Team a blunt assessment of what went wrong as crowds swept into the South Loop, Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park this past weekend. Chicago police had to scramble officers to the scenes, even though veteran cops said this was not unexpected on a warm Saturday night given the recent history on similar occasions. Gene Roy was chief of detectives at CPD when he retired in late 2016. "First of all, was there a plan?" Roy said. "I mean, as a district commander, again, you're responsible for that district 24/7. Did you have a plan? Did you sit down with your leadership team? What are the issues on the afternoon watch, what are the issues on the midnight watch? How are things going?" Roy talked about the melee on Michigan Avenue, the scrapes on State Street and police who appeared to have little command direction, no helmets and shields and helter-skelter communication. He is concerned about patrol officers possibly being put on scene without adequate plans or direction. "We have partners out there with the state police, the Cook County Sheriff's police, maybe they can help us if we need to do this, that's how you do it," Roy said. "You have a plan. You have the pieces all assembled. You have your toolkit. It's like a mechanic. You go to work with a toolkit every day." And with Chicago just securing the 2024 Democratic National Convention, ex-chief Roy said the city needs to do better. "You know, you have to wonder if somebody in Washington at the DNC is going to wonder if we made a bad choice here. You know, you have to wonder what the response is going to be. This is a critical time for the city. We have an interim police superintendent, we have this management team doesn't know if they're coming or going literally," Roy said. So what's next? Ex-chief Roy said the plans have been used before, starting with CTA stations. "You put officers at the key 'L' stops and you prevent people from jumping the turnstile and going downtown," Roy said. "You prevent them from starting the evening off, breaking a law. Turn around, have them turn around go home if they don't have money. Make sure there's a plan in place. Make sure that the people are there. Make sure that you're coordinated with other agencies." Roy recommends pre-positioned police units in suspected hotspots and conservative tactics, but he wouldn't rule out cutting off CTA lines or raising bridges if necessary - tactics used in previous disturbances. The elephant in the room is a severe shortage of officers altogether and retirements coming at a fast pace. A full response from CPD officials is posted here.
Compulsory Indigenous class to replace English in Toronto high schools --In February, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted by 18 to 3 to replace its current Grade 11 English course with a mandatory one devoted to “Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Metis and Inuit Voices.” The previous course introduced students to Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, J.D. Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald, among others. The proponents of the new course, including Indigenous student trustee Isaiah Shafqat, proclaimed it a “historic change” and a “win for the Indigenous community.” Other supporters described it as “transformative.” These are bold claims. But are they sustained by the facts? Wide layers of the Canadian population, familiar with the history of the brutal treatment of the Indigenous peoples, will no doubt feel an instinctive sympathy. And, indeed, the study of Indigenous culture and history is both entirely legitimate and necessary. However, anyone who pays attention to the ways of governments and ruling elites, as well as to the operations of the middle-class identity politics practitioners, ought to proceed cautiously and subject the situation to serious analysis. Who will truly benefit from these changes? Will the Indigenous population? Will the Grade 11 students? What are the real motives of the Canadian political establishment at all levels behind its publicly stated motives? No substantive explanation was given for the decision to replace a required course in English literature that included texts such as Macbeth and Catcher in the Rye with a course on Indigenous culture. Somewhat defensively, TDSB chair Rachel Chernos Lin could not ignore the obvious implications of the substitution, asserting that “It’s not meant to replace, it's meant to enrich.” One is obliged to ask: why then replace? The next step is for the TDSB to prepare a report to be delivered in June outlining details and timeline for implementation. Other local school boards have introduced Indigenous courses in recent years with little fanfare—neighboring York and Durham school boards have made a similar course a compulsory high school credit, as have the Greater Essex County, Lakehead, Simcoe County and Upper Canada school boards. The course is already taught as an elective in 29 of 110 schools within the TDSB, but the move to make it compulsory while replacing standard English is unprecedented.
Baltimore schools accused of covering up low test scores: 'Treating us like we're stupid' - The Baltimore school system is being accused of a "cover-up" after officials removed test scores from an online database, previously indicating no students across 23 schools were proficient in math. Baltimore pastor P.M. Smith slammed city officials during "Fox & Friends First," accusing the African Americans who lead the city of "stealing" from their own community as they funnel $1.6 billion into the public school system. "They're stealing. What's happening in Baltimore City is Black-on-Black crime," Smith told Ashley Strohmier Wednesday. "The CEO is African American. The mayor is African American. The president of the city council is African American. Police commissioner is African American. What's happening in this city is Black-on-Black crime, especially if we talk about our education system. We're in trouble. They think we're stupid." "They're treating us like we're stupid, and that will continue as long as we keep putting the same type of person back in the office year after year after year," he continued. "That won't change until we change. We got to change our voting pattern." Parents were outraged earlier this year when Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) data for 2022 indicated no students were proficient in math in 23 public schools. Additionally, 93% of third through eighth graders tested below grade level in math. Those numbers, however, were replaced by asterisks in the online database. "It's dangerous to the future of America," Smith said. "It's dangerous to the future of families. Education is the great equalizer. It's the great elevator. I'm a product of a great education in a segregated school system. $21,000 per student and we get zero. What are we talking about? Zero from the fifth grade to the 12th grade, and of the 23 schools, 12 of them were high schools."
Ban on gender-affirming care for youth signed into law in North Dakota - North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) has signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in the state and establishing a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for providers who perform reassignment surgery on youth. Burgum’s signature on the bill makes North Dakota one of more than a dozen states to enact a law restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, according to the nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project (MAP). He signed the bill after it passed with veto-proof majorities in the state House in February and state Senate earlier this month. Burgum said in a statement that the law is designed to protect children from the “life-altering ramifications of gender reassignment surgeries.” He noted that the law allows exceptions for instances where a parent or guardian consents for a minor to receive medical treatment for what the law calls a “medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development,” which includes if “biological sex characteristics” are “irresolvably ambiguous.” The law also includes an exception for gender-affirming care that a minor began receiving before the law was enacted. Burgum also acknowledged in his statement that medical professionals have testified that the surgeries have not been and are not being performed in the state. “Going forward, thoughtful debate around these complex medical policies should demonstrate compassion and understanding for all North Dakota youth and their families,” Burgum said. The law will allow prosecutors to charge a health care provider with a felony for performing reassignment surgery on a minor, in which they could face a decade in prison and a fine up to $20,000. Providers can also be charged with a misdemeanor, for which they could face up to 360 days in prison and $3,000 in fines, for giving patients gender-affirming medication like puberty blockers. Burgum also signed a bill earlier this month that banned transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports in K-12 schools and colleges in the state.
Athletes, advocates testify against Ohio trans sports ban — Trans athletes in Ohio and LGBTQ+ advocates spoke against a bill banning transgender athletes from taking part in school sports aligned with their gender identity at the Statehouse on Wednesday. House Bill 6 — the “Save Women’s Sports Act” — would bar trans girls from taking part in female athletics and override the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s trans student athlete policy adopted during the 2015-16 school year.Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) and 30 Republican co-sponsors reintroduced the bill in Februaryafter the legislation failed to pass Ohio’s General Assembly last year. Powell said 18 other states have passed a similar bill and argues the legislation will facilitate fair competition.“We cannot allow girls’ dreams of being a gold medal athlete to be crushed by biological males stealing their opportunities,” Powell said in a statement.The legislation allows an athlete to sue for relief or damages if they are “deprived” of an athletic opportunity by a trans girl. In addition, the bill prohibits a government or athletic association from taking action against schools that enforce the ban.A previous version of the bill required students to undergo “internal and external” exams to verify their sex for “athletes in question.” The provision was removed and replaced last year with an amendment requiring proof of sex by birth certificate. Now, neither of those provisions are in the text of the bill.
Ohio higher education bill scrutinized by professors, students (WCMH) – The Ohio Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee had a long Wednesday evening, confronted by hundreds of professors, students and education professionals given five minutes apiece to denounce a bill they view as an existential threat to higher education in Ohio. The South Hearing room overflowed with university professors, teaching assistants and students, some clad in red, many wearing stickers with “SB 83” crossed out. Protesters lined the halls and filled the rotunda, the designated overflow room, listening to hours of testimony – from professors and students, and also members of the NAACP, the ACLU of Ohio and the Columbus YWCA – and questioning about Senate Bill 83. The bill, dubbed the “Higher Education Enhancement Act,” would overhaul higher education through, among other things, banning faculty strikes, outlawing mandatory diversity training and preventing Ohio universities from partnering with Confucius Institutes and other Chinese research institutions. Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), chair of the Workforce and Higher Education Committee and SB83’s sponsor, did not testify for his bill Wednesday. But he’s argued before the committee and the press that his bill is a much-needed course-correction that restores universities to their intended goal of fostering an environment of critical thinking, debate and ideological diversity. In sharp and emphatic dissent, opponents testified the bill threatens the academic freedom it intends to protect, and it amounts to significant government interference in academia. The bill tackles several areas Cirino views as needing improvement. As institutions, colleges and universities would be barred from taking any stance on “the public policy controversies of the day, or any other ideology, principle, concept, or formulation that requires commitment to any controversial belief or policy” – unless it’s in support of a U.S. declaration of war. Institutions would be prevented from using “political and ideological litmus tests” in hiring and admissions decisions, including the use of diversity statements on applications. Faculty would be further barred from teaching a multitude of concepts, including the view that individuals can be “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.” All course curricula would have to be approved using an “intellectual diversity rubric,” and course syllabi detailing instructors’ “biographical information” must be publicly available online. Although the bill makes no explicit mention of critical race theory, its critics, like Emily Houh, a law professor at the University of Cincinnati, argued its prohibition is heavily implied, and the vagueness of the bill will create a chilling effect among academics researching ethnic studies, gender studies and related fields. “Our continuously evolving democracy cannot exist or flourish if its citizens cannot be educated about the complex facets of American history and society, even if and perhaps especially because those facets are ‘controversial,’” Houh said. Rep. Josh Williams, one of four proponents who submitted testimony and sponsor of House Bill 151, the companion to Cirino’s bill, said that he, and many other academics, have fallen victim to the “de-facto censorship regime on college campuses” that stifles controversial opinions. He said that as a law student, professors were instructed not to cold-call on him because his beliefs amounted to discrimination, and students attempted to sabotage his grades. “I was surrounded by individuals that believed the color of my skin determined what kind of opinions I should have,” Williams said. “And as soon as I didn’t align with what they believed was appropriate for a Black in America to believe, I was ostracized, not only by faculty, but by students,” Williams said. Cirino has argued his bill empowers those whose opinions and beliefs have been dismissed by the education establishment by enabling them to report, in required teaching evaluations, whether the professor created a classroom environment “free of political, racial, gender, and religious bias.” Those evaluations would be consolidated into an average score, which must be published on each professor’s webpage.
Can You Guess? Prof Asks Students What Group Is Known For "Violence, Deceit, Irresponsibility, And A Lack Of Remorse" - We recently discussed how Wake Forest Psychology Professor S. Mason Garrison described conservatives as “guilty, anxious, and unable to handle stress well as children.” It was indicative of the overt hostility often encountered by Republicans and conservatives on our campuses today.Now, another psychology professor is under fire for a quiz that matter-of-factly explained that white men are characterized as a group for their abuse of others and lack of remorse for their violence and deceit.Like Professor Garrison, the resulting outcry reportedly led Professor Kirsten Bradbury to rescind the quiz. However, the incident reflects both the orthodoxy and hostility that now characterizes higher education. It also follows a familiar pattern when academics are called to account for such biased attacks.Professor Bradbury gave a quiz as part of her “Personality Psychology” class and included a question that stated “[n]either race nor gender is determinative in Antisocial Personality Disorder.” It then asked:“However, if we must go there, which sociodemographic group is most likely to repeatedly violate the rights of others in a pattern of behavior that includes violence, deceit, irresponsibility, and a lack of remorse?”Bradbury then added an addendum stating:“Hint: They also happen to hold the most social power and because of that they can get away with the most wrongdoing.”She gave four choices with three obviously absurd choices of middle class Latino families, female dentists and Asian men of all economic groups.The correct answer was, of course, wealthy white men.Like many, Bradbury felt that she had license to engage in such racial stereotyping and disparagement. It reflects a culture today at universities that not only tolerates but fosters such proselytizing and intolerance.We have seen attacks based both on race and ideology from professors over the years without any repercussions or even criticism from universities in many cases. We have previously discussed faculty who called for “detonating white people,” abolishing white people, denouncing police, calling for Republicans to suffer, strangling police officers, celebrating the death of conservatives, calling for the killing of Trump supporters, supporting the murder of conservative protesters and other outrageous statements. I also defended the free speech rights of University of Rhode Island professor Erik Loomis, who defended the murder of a conservative protester and said that he saw “nothing wrong” with such acts of violence. (Loomis was later made Director of Graduate Studies of History at Rhode Island).
Unions betray 9,000 Rutgers academic workers by suspending strike without a tentative agreement - Before dawn on Saturday, New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy announced that Rutgers University officials and union leaders had agreed to an unspecified framework for new contracts for 9,000 part-time and full-time faculty, graduate students, researchers and clinicians who had been on strike for five days. In a monumental betrayal, the leaders of the three unions involved in the strike voted to accept this framework, “suspend our strike and return to work immediately.” Classes at all three Rutgers campuses will resume on Monday, even though tentative agreements have not even been finalized and negotiations are ongoing. Union officials admitted that the most critical issues, including compensation and benefits, bargaining agreements for instructors on fellowships, housing costs, a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers, and more, all remain unresolved. The Rutgers strike has affected more than 67,000 students at campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, making it one of the largest higher education strikes in US history. It began near the end of the spring semester as students were preparing for final exams and commencement. By attempting to end the strike now, union leaders are squandering workers’ leverage without any democratic input from their members. The timing of Murphy’s announcement, which was made just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, underscores the fact that he, university administrators and the union bureaucrats have been working night and day to shut down the strike as quickly as possible. Doing so is an urgent matter for the state government and the Democratic Party, which cannot tolerate workers’ unrest as they wage war against Russia in Ukraine and prepare for war with China over Taiwan. Murphy, who has traveled to Ukraine and is involved in the war against Russia, took it upon himself to suppress this powerful strike before it could spread. In a lying statement to their members, the union bureaucrats defensively said that the strike has not been canceled, stating, “If we do not secure the gains we need on the open issues through bargaining in the coming days, we can and will resume our work stoppage.” This empty promise is meant to mitigate workers’ anger over the premature ending of the strike. “We also will continue putting significant pressure on the Rutgers administration to meet our needs, starting with informational pickets next week,” said the union leaders. But informational pickets are no more than an impotent gesture.
After shutdown of grad students strike, UC Berkeley prepares to shutter three libraries -- A few months after the end of the six-week strike at the end of 2022 by 48,000 academic workers at University of California, the flagship Berkeley campus is moving forward with several library closures. Initially announced in Spring 2022, the university has already taken significant steps toward the closure of the Anthropology, Physics-Astronomy and Mathematics-Statistics libraries, rationalizing these cuts in part on academic workers’ meager salary increases in the latest contract. This closure plan will “save” only $1 million, a miniscule fraction of the UC system’s $38 billion budget but will have a significant educational impact on the students and faculty who rely on these spaces and services. The Anthropology and the Physics-Astronomy libraries, which will be closed by August 2024, have already been emptied. They have been converted into study halls, which are only open from 1:00-5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. respectively. In order to use either of these collections, students must request access through another library on campus, since the books have been moved. However, many of these books have been moved to a storage facility in Richmond, and it can take a few weeks between requesting and retrieving a book. The Mathematics-Statistics library, which will be closed by August 2025, retains its collection for now but is only open from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The building, which currently holds the Mathematics Statistics library Evans Hall, is scheduled to be demolished; it is unclear how the other two spaces will be used. The removal of library book collections is already affecting students. In the Physics and Astronomy departments, Alexey, a sophomore, explained: Since last spring, it’s been much harder to get access to the books that I want. If you want to pick up a more popular textbook, it can take a few days for it to arrive, and sometimes they have to ship it from other schools, like UCLA. And for more obscure books, I’ve had to wait weeks while they dig it out of storage in Richmond. And they don’t even have any staff. They just have someone who shows up at 5pm to lock the door. I don’t understand why they need to close the space. … If we lose this, we lose the last quiet, accessible study space for physics and astronomy students. The rest are protected by key card.
While some students skip college, trade programs are booming (AP) — It’s almost 4 p.m. at the Nashville branch of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, and the students in the auto collision repair night class are just starting their school day. One is sanding the seal off the bed of his 1989 Ford F-350. Another is patiently hammering out a banged-up fender. A third, Cheven Jones, is taking a break from working on his 2003 Lexus IS 300 to chat with some classmates. While almost every sector of higher education has fewer students registering for classes, many trade programs are thriving. Jones and his classmates, seeking certificates and other short-term credentials — not associate degrees — are part of that upswing. Trade programs are often more affordable than a traditional four-year degree, students note, and, for many, skilled trades offer a more obvious path to a job. __ Mechanic and repair trade programs saw an enrollment increase of 11.5% from spring 2021 to 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. In construction trades, enrollment grew 19.3%, and in culinary programs, it increased 12.7%. Meanwhile, overall enrollment declined 7.8% at public two-year colleges, and 3.4% at public four-year institutions. In Tennessee, the state’s overall community college enrollment took a hit during the pandemic, despite a 2015 state program that made community college tuition free. But at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, a network of 24 colleges that offers training for 70 occupations, many trade programs have continued to grow. At TCAT Nashville, several programs have waiting lists, and the college has added night classes to meet demand, said Nathan Garrett, president of the college. TCAT focuses on training students for jobs that are in demand in the region, which appeals to many students in normal times, but Garrett said the pandemic may have underscored the need for workforce relevance.
What readers have lost with the closing of Bookforum - The American magazine is in a state of decay. Now known mostly as brands, once sumptuous print publications exist primarily as websites or YouTube channels, hosts for generic scribblings, the ever-ubiquitous “take.” Meanwhile, a thousand Substacks bloom, some of them very good, with writers in the emancipated state of being paid directly by their readers. Yet even in this atomized, editorless landscape, perverse incentives apply. Are you thirsty for another post about cancel culture or wokeness? Me neither. Yet culture war still largely rules the day. One haven from culture war and dwindling standards of intellectual discourse in recent years has been Bookforum, a scrappy quarterly with an outsize impact in the world of letters. When the news dropped inDecember that the magazine had been shuttered, it struck many of us who’ve written for it as if the house we’d grown up in had burned down. Launched in 1994 as a modest literary supplement to Artforum, the premier magazine of the American art world, Bookforum took on a life of its own. But when publisher and shareholder Anthony Korner sold Artforum to Penske Media Corp., Bookforum was not part of the deal. Although it remains possible that an interested buyer could swoop in to revive it, for now, the house is in ashes, the magazine’s staffers out of their jobs. What made Bookforum so special? Its editors were wise talent spotters who gave many young writers their first shot at ambitious long-form criticism. Bookforum took in the whole world: not only literature but also art, cinema, music, philosophy, politics, technology, history, food, sports and fashion. Part of its edge was that its parent publication belonged to the art world; another was the cohort of editors and contributors it inherited from the old Village Voice, especially its VLS literary supplement, long a proving ground of journalistic talent. Bookforum was an international magazine with a downtown sensibility. It trafficked in ideas and contributors from the academy, but you’d never call it academic. It even had a column dedicated to bestsellers, a category studiously ignored by most book critics. Bookforum was one of those publications that made reading about reading and writing at once a light and a deep sort of pleasure. There’s the zing of Max Read describing a novel by disgraced memoirist James Frey as an author writing "fanfic about himself”; the boldness of Lake Micah on Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Water Dancer”: “We recognize the petrified flexors of a historical muscle”; the righteousness of Sarah Nicole Prickett on Elizabeth Hardwick’s style: “Hardwick could do more in six words than any Hemingway type, including Hemingway.” Critics are of course obliged to be fair, but there is no duty to be polite. Bookforum resisted some of the more baleful literary trends of the past decade. The first of these is the frenzied literary consumerism that eschews reviews in favor of book recommendations, author Q&As, puff-piece profiles and other forms of higher publicity. It requires little intellectual engagement — you don’t have to read any books to make a list of them — and costs less than hiring critics. It imagines readers as mere shoppers.
Youth self-poisonings, accidental illicit-drug ingestions soared after COVID-19 onset =Two studies published today shed light on youth suicide and ingestion of illicit substances among US youth in 2021, with one finding an increase of 30% in suspected self-poisonings among children 10 to 19 years old, and one showing an immediate 26% rise in likely unintentional ingestion of cannabis, opioids, and ethyl alcohol among children younger than 6. In the first study, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine analyzed National Poison Data System data on the rate of suspected suicide attempts by poisoning among youth aged 10 to 19 years in 2021, the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic.The rate of suicide attempts through poisoning rose 30.0% in 2021 over prepandemic (2019) rates, with increases of 73.0% among children aged 10 to 12 years, 48.8% among those aged 13 to 15, and 36.8% among girls. Girls made up 81.2% of the suspected suicide attempts among youth aged 10 to 19 years in 2021, up from 77% in 2019. These increases came at the same time as a 3.1% decrease in overall calls to US poison centers from 2019 to 2021. The two substances most often involved in the suicide attempts were the over-the-counter pain relievers acetaminophen and ibuprofen, followed by the antidepressants sertraline and fluoxetine and the antihistamine diphenhydramine (eg, Benadryl)."These findings suggest that the mental health of children and adolescents might still be affected by the pandemic, raising concerns about long-term consequences, especially given that previous attempted suicide has been found to be the strongest predictor of subsequent death by suicide," the researchers wrote. The authors noted that in 2020 suicide was the second-leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 years and the third-leading cause among those 15 to 24 years old. "A comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention measures focusing on children and adolescents and involving partnerships among families, school teachers, mental health professionals, and public health leadership is needed," they wrote.
New data show safety of Pfizer COVID vaccine for teens ages 12 to 17 -Today in Pediatrics researchers published the safety data of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT-162b2) COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents ages 12 to 17 years. After 1 year, very few serious adverse events were reported, and instances of myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle) were lower than initially reported.The study was conducted using data from two US vaccine safety monitoring systems: v-safe, a voluntary smartphone-based system that monitors reactions and health impacts, and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the national spontaneous reporting system, the authors said.The Pfizer two-dose regimen was approved for use in teens in May 2021. From May 2021 to May 2022, 15,493,807 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years received at least one primary dose of BNT-162b2, and 172,032 (1.1%) enrolled in v-safe. The median age of participants in v-safe was 16 years, 54.6% were girls, 62.7% were White, and 73.4% were non-Hispanic or non-Latino.Most adverse events were mild; among events reported to VAERS, 91.5% were nonserious. Among adverse events of interest, the authors verified 40 cases of multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (1.2 cases per million vaccinations), of which 34 (85%) had evidence of prior COVID-19 infection. They also confirmed 570 cases of myocarditis (17.7 cases per million vaccinations), 77% of which involved symptom resolution at the time of report."The myocarditis reporting rate was lower for boys ages 12 to 15 years (48.3 cases per million second doses administered) than boys ages 16 to 17 years (84.0 cases per million second doses). These observations are consistent with previous findings that the peak risk group is [in] boys ages 16 to 17 years, although our myocarditis reporting rates are lower than those in early reports," the authors said.The authors conclude that the vaccine is safe for this age-group, noting that the risk of cardiac disease after COVID-19 infection may be two- to sixfold higher than after vaccination.
Study: Severely ill COVID patients at 16 times higher risk for abnormally rapid heartbeat COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation are 16 times more likely than non-severely ill peers to experience ventricular tachycardia, an abnormal heart rhythm, within 6 months, according to a studypresented at this week's annual meeting of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) in Barcelona, Spain. Ventricular tachycardia is a potentially fatal arrhythmia that occurs when the heart's ventricle beats too fast to pump enough oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. Karolinska Institute researchers in Sweden assessed the long-term risk of abnormal heart rhythms among 3,023 patients with severe COVID-19 released from an intensive care unit (ICU) and 28,463 non-severely ill controls from March 2020 to June 2021. The average participant age was 62 years, 70% were men, and the average follow-up was 9 months. Among COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation, the rates of ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, other abnormally rapid heart rhythms, and bradycardia/pacemaker implantation were 15.4, 78.4, 99.3, and 8.5 per 1,000 person-years, respectively, compared with 0.9, 6.0, 6.7 and 0.9, respectively, among controls. Atrial fibrillation is a rapid, irregular heart rate that can lead to shortness of breath and increase the risk of stroke, while bradycardia is an abnormally slow heart rate. Relative to controls, severely ill COVID-19 patients were at a 16-fold higher risk of ventricular tachycardia, a 13-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation, a 14-fold higher risk of other abnormally fast heart rhythms, and a 9-fold higher risk of bradycardia/pacemaker implantation. Study author Marcus Stahlberg, MD, PhD, said COVID-19 patients who require mechanical ventilation often have other underlying medical conditions. "These patients should seek medical attention if they develop palpitations or irregular heartbeats after hospital discharge so they can be evaluated for possible arrhythmias," he said. Stahlberg said that abnormal heart rhythms after severe COVID-19 infection have been previously reported in most infected ICU patients. "Hospital systems should prepare for an increase in patients requiring management for new onset arrhythmias," he said.
New Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 spreading in U.S. (Xinhua) -- A new Omicron subvariant is spreading in the United States, and has accounted for nearly 10 percent of new weekly COVID-19 cases reported across the country, according to data updated Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The subvariant XBB.1.16, referred to as "arcturus", has been added by the CDC to its variant tracker. The percentage is expected to increase in the coming weeks, and it may become the next dominant coronavirus strain in the country, experts warned.The highly transmissible Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain in the United States and accounted for about 73.6 percent of new COVID-19 cases this week, CDC data showed. The World Health Organization is monitoring XBB.1.16, which is contributing to a recent surge of COVID-19 cases in India.
The XBB.1.16 COVID Symptoms Doctors Are Seeing The Most Right Now -COVID cases are rising quickly at alarming rates in countries like India and Nepal because of the contagious XBB.1.16 COVID variant — and now it's infecting people in the U.S., too. XBB.1.16, also referred to as “arcturus,” is a new COVID-19 variant that’s infecting people across the globe. Like BA.5 and BQ.1 from 2022, it’s also an omicron subvariant. It’s labeled by the World Health Organization as a “variant under monitoring,” It’s currently being tracked in 29 countries, including the United States. “It started in India, and we’re seeing a 500% increase in the past month in the Southeast Asia region that includes India, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka [and] The Maldives,” Guest said. “We’re seeing cases beginning a fairly steep uptick in the Eastern Mediterranean region as well.” In the U.S., XBB.1.16 is also contributing to a sizable jump in cases. “In the United States, we’ve started to notice it increasing over the last month,” s “The CDC also looks by region in the country and it looks like the most prevalent of this variant is in the Southern part of the country in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, where it represents about 20% of the cases that are sequenced in that region,” Binnicker added. And, unfortunately, new variants are often more transmissible, and that is the case for XBB.1.16. “Our expectation is that this new variant — based on its doubling rate — we are anticipating that it is very transmissible,” Guest said. The symptoms of this new variant are also a little different from what we’ve seen in the past. How can you spot them and how can you protect yourself? Here’s what to know: Unlike other variants, red, itchy eyes are a symptom for some people. Particularly in children, conjunctivitis — red, itchy eyes — has been a reported symptom, according to Binnicker. Conjunctivitis is “somewhat common with viral illnesses, but it seems to be a new symptom associated with this particular COVID-19 variant that we haven’t observed in past waves caused by previous variants of the virus,” Binnicker said. You might call this symptom pink eye or red eye, Guest added. And while this tends to be more common in pediatric COVID-19 cases, it can still happen in both adults and elderly people. Fevers are higher than in previous COVID variants. While fevers have long been a sign of a COVID-19 infection, the fever associated with an XBB.1.16 infection is a little different. “We’re also seeing higher-grade fever,” Binnicker said. A high-grade fever is typically defined as anything above 103 degrees Fahrenheit in adults, though the exact threshold can vary, according to Dr. Ali Khan, the chief medical officer at Oak Street Health. “Patients should consult a doctor if it remains this high for greater than 24 hours,” Khan said. If you have this high of a fever you may notice chills, sweating and muscle aches, Khan said. “And it’s easy to become dehydrated — so staying hydrated with water and other fluid replacement drinks is critical,” Khan noted.
EXPLAINER: What to Know About XBB.1.16, the New COVID-19 Strain Called ‘Arcturus’ --A new omicron subvariant is spreading in the U.S., but experts are not yet sounding the alarm over the strain. Related: Survey: Majority of U.S. Households Used Government’s Free At-Home COVID-19 Test Program The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added XBB.1.16 – referred to as “arcturus” – to its variant tracker last week, estimating that it was responsible for more than 7% of new infections. The percentage is expected to increase in the coming weeks, possibly setting it up to become the next dominant coronavirus strain in the U.S. But in the U.S, the majority of Americans have some level of protection against COVID-19 through previous infection, vaccination or both. Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths are down, and the country for the first time avoided a winter surge. With such high levels of protection, the new strain is not expected to lead to a major increase in coronavirus infection in the U.S. “I think it's very possible that this will become the next dominant variant, but it's also important to realize that just because you have a new variant doesn't mean that you're going to have a new, big wave of infection,” says David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “XBB.1.5 became the dominant variant in the U.S. in February, just as cases were continuing to go down and have continued to go down ever since. So just because we have a new variant doesn't mean that we need to be sounding alarm bells.” Still, the strain is “worth keeping an eye on,” he says. The subvariant is a close relative to XBB.1.5, which is the current dominant strain in the U.S. But the new strain is likely more transmissible than XBB.1.5 given its additional mutations. The World Health Organization this week upgraded arcturus from its “variants under monitoring” list to a “variant of interest.” It has been reported in 31 countries and could lead to an increase in infections, according to the group. “Due to its estimated growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, XBB.1.16 may spread globally and contribute to an increase in case incidence,” WHO stated in a report published Thursday. “However, at present, there is no early signal of an increase in severity.” The organization said it plans to publish a risk assessment of arcturus in the coming days. The strain was first reported in January. It has mostly been documented in India, which is seeing a significant increase in coronavirus infections. There are increasing reports that XBB.1.16 appears to be linked to conjunctivitis, or pink eye, in kids and adolescents. While it’s possible the strain is linked to more cases of pink eye, it should be noted that conjunctivitis has long been associated with COVID-19. A 2020 study found that of more than 200 children hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, over 22% reported eye issues, including conjunctivitis. When asked about the reports of increased pink eye, WHO’s Mike Ryan this week said that he was not aware of “any major shift” in COVID-19 symptoms for the arcturus variant. Another WHO official, Abdirahman Mahamud, added that “these are known symptoms that already are part of COVID.”
CDC covers up spread of Omicron XBB.1.16, the latest COVID variant -- Once again, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has delayed announcing the presence of the latest Omicron variant of interest that is circulating the globe, Omicron XBB.1.16, given the name “Arcturus” by virologists. With XBB.1.5 in retreat, XBB.1.16 has rapidly gained momentum, accounting for 7.2 percent of all sequenced variants last week. However, two other new Omicron sub-lineages, XBB.1.9.1 (6.5 percent) and XBB.1.9.2 (2.5 percent), are also of concern. The Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant first drew international attention in India last month. It was quickly placed on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of variants “to watch” on March 22, 2023. So far, it has been detected in at least 33 countries. However, as surveillance and sequencing are being ended, the ability of public health agencies to detect the emergence of a new variant of concern will be severely affected. As Rajendram Rajnarayanan, PhD, an assistant dean of research and associate professor at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, recently noted, “closing up shop too early could mean we are blindsided.” He added, “You have to maintain a base level of sequencing for new variants. Right now, the variant that is ‘top dog’ in the world is XBB.1.16.” According to the CDC’s latest “weighted estimates” of variant proportion, it appears this variant of interest had attained the 1 percent threshold for reporting as early as the week ending March 18, 2023. The CDC is required to report new variants of interest when they reach the 1 percent threshold. By the week ending on April 1, 2023, the proportion of XBB.1.16 variants had climbed to 2.1 percent. Yet, a review of the list of variants of interest at the time in a WSWS report published on April 3, 2023, which included an examination of the CDC’s tracker, found no mention of it by the national health agency. At the time, we wrote, “In the US, XBB.1.5 remains the dominant version, accounting for 88 percent of all sequenced variants as of the first week of April. They [the CDC] have not listed XBB.1.16…” We then noted that Arcturus had been detected in 18 states and its descendant, XBB.1.16.1, was present in 14 states. The omission of XBB.1.16 in the CDC’s variant surveillance report is thethird time this is has happened since last October, with only the WSWS exposing these blatant cover-ups. It coincides with the push by the Biden administration to shut down all official response to the pandemic and prematurely declare it over. Alongside every political maneuver by the White House and Congress regarding the pandemic, carried out to suit the needs of finance capital to shut down both mitigation measures and even elementary tracking of critical data in real time, the CDC has responded in lockstep. As a prelude to the May 11 ending of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, President Joe Biden has signed the bipartisan-backed bill that ended the COVID National Emergency (a separate legal measure).
CDC didn’t say it gave out deadly COVID-19 shots in red states - AP Fact Check - Social media users are falsely claiming some batches of COVID-19 vaccines are lethal and that federal authorities are knowingly handing them out in Republican-leaning areas. A number are sharing a screenshot of a website article with the headline, “CDC Admits Red States Got ‘Rapid Kill’ COVID Vaccine Batches,” along with an image of CDC director Rochelle Walensky. The article is from The People’s Voice, a website owned and operated by NewsPunch, which routinely publishes false news. “The CDC intentionally targeted people in conservative red states with fast-acting deadly batches of Covid-19 vaccines, according to CDC data which confirms many people’s worst suspicions about the depopulation agenda at the heart of the US government,” the text below the image reads. But the article offers no proof that the CDC made such a statement, nor that there are any “bad batches” of COVID-19 vaccine.Ann Hardie, a spokesperson for the CDC, said in an email that the assertions are not only false but “dangerous and irresponsible.” As of last month, she noted, the agency has confirmed just nine deaths from the vaccine, out of more than 672 million doses so far administered in the country. Those deaths, Hardie added, were all linked to Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which federal regulators have strictly limited, due to the ongoing risk of rare but serious blood clots. “COVID-19 vaccines continue to undergo the most intense safety monitoring program in U.S. history,” she wrote in an email. The article being widely shared focuses on an analysis published by The Exposé, another website known for publishing false news, which claims the states with the highest death rate from COVID vaccines are all Republican-controlled.
WHO elevates XBB.1.16 to variant of interest as levels rise in US and other countries -- The World Health Organization (WHO) this week boosted the XBB.1.16 Omicron subvariant to a variant of interest (VOI) from a variant under monitoring (VUM), based on the latest assessments from its technical advisory group on virus evolution.The subvariant is fueling India's biggest surge in about 7 months, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)reported another jump in the proportion of XBB.1.16 viruses.In its weekly COVID update, the WHO said XBB.1.16 is now the second VOI, alongside XBB.1.5. First reported in January, XBB.1.16 has now been detected in 31 countries and accounts for 4.2% of sequenced samples. Its growth advantage and immune escape properties suggest that XBB.1.16 may spread globally and trigger increases and cases, but so far, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease. The WHO said an initial risk assessment is under way and will be published in the coming days.Meanwhile, of the six VUMs that WHO is monitoring, only XBB and its descendant lineages (apart from those that have been singled out) and XBB.1.9.1 are showing increasing trends.In related developments, the CDC today said the proportion of XBB.1.16 jumped from 5.7% to 9.6% over the past week, with the highest levels in the south central and northwestern regions. Also, its estimates show that the XBB.1.9.1 proportion increased from 6.4% to 7.9% over the past week, with the highest level in the CDC region that includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.Regarding COVID trends, the WHO in its weekly report said overall cases and deaths continued to decline over the past 28 days, but with rises in two regions and in other countries elsewhere.In the WHO South East Asia region, India and Nepal reported more sharp rises, with Indonesia also reporting an increase in cases over the past 4 weeks.In the Eastern Mediterranean region, Iran reported another rise in cases, with modest increases also reported from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) in its latest weekly update today said cases overall were declining or stable for the week ending April 16, with increasing trends reported from a limited number of countries. XBB.1.5 makes up an estimated 56.7% of cases in the region. In the United States, COVID trends continue to decline slowly, according to CDC data. For example, weekly cases declined to 94,142 last week, compared to 101,598 the week before. Deaths and hospitalizations also showed similar declines.
XBB.1.16 is now a Covid 'variant of interest': WHO - - The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 to a Covid-19 "variant of interest" (VOI) due to its "sustained increase" and "growth advantage" reported from several countries. XBB.1.16 is a descendent lineage of XBB, a recombinant of two BA.2 descendent lineages. XBB.1.16 was first reported on January 9, this year and designated a variant under monitoring (VUM) on March 22. So far, 3,648 sequences of the Omicron XBB.1.16 variant have been reported from 33 countries, including India, on open research platform GISAID, the global health body, said. "Following a sustained increase in the prevalence of XBB.1.16 and growth advantage reported from several countries, WHO classifies XBB.1.16 as a VOI," said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for Covid-19 response at WHO on Friday. Van Kerkhove noted that XBB.1.16 has shown "growth advantage and immune escape". While "no changes in severity have been reported, it can cause full range of disease", she said, adding for the need to "be vigilant". Driven by XBB.1.16, India on Saturday recorded 12,193 fresh COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, with the number of active cases of the infection going up to 67,556, according to the Union health ministry. The WHO noted that although there has been a "slight increase" in XBB.1.16-related hospitalisation in India and Indonesia, the levels are "much lower than seen in previous variant waves". Further, "available information does not suggest that XBB.1.16 has additional public health risk relative to XBB.1.5 and the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages,a the WHO said. "However, XBB.1.16 may become dominant in some countries and cause a rise in case incidence due to its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics," it added.
Thailand Reports World's First Death From New Covid Variant Arcturus - The COVID-19's new variant, Arcturus, has triggered alarm around the world as it claimed its first victim, Thailand's health officials have announced.According to The Independent, the first death from the Arcturus strain, thought to be around 1.2 times more infectious than the last major sub-variant, was recorded in Thailand yesterday, amid a surge in cases across the globe."A total of 27 cases of XBB.1.16 had been detected in Thailand as of April 17, and one of these had died," Thai PBS World quoted Dr. Sirilak as saying."The dead person was an elderly foreigner with underlying health conditions. His death, therefore, may not directly reflect the severity of this subvariant but rather its impact on other risk factors," Supakit said.Health officials have issued a warning regarding XBB.1.16 and urged the general public to exercise caution.Arcturus was first detected in January. It is an Omicron sub-variant that can spread easily. The World Health Organisation has stated that the XB.1.16 variant is similar to the XBB.1.5 variant but has an additional mutation. Therefore, it can spread quickly but may not lead to anything severe.In India, Arcturus has replaced other variants, as per a WHO report. It is spreading quickly in the country, but the rate of hospitalisation remains low. The variant leads to mild symptoms, and no severe complications have been noticed so far.
Researchers detect 2 new SARS-CoV-2 strains on Polish mink farms Researchers identify two novel SARS-CoV-2 strains most closely related to variants circulating in humans more than 2 years earlier on two mink farms in Poland, the possible result of long-term, undetected circulation in the animals.For the study, published yesterday in Eurosurveillance, a team led by researchers at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Poland, conducted follow-up SARS-CoV-2 testing from November 2022 to January 2023.SARS-CoV-2 monitoring on Polish mink farms began in May 2020. Starting in December 2021, all Polish mink farms were monitored when mink showed signs of disease or died in higher-than-expected numbers.In January 2021, the first farm tested positive, with another 13 farms following suit by July 2022. Four different SARS-CoV-2 variants belonging to eight lineages were identified: B.1.1, B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), and BA.2 (Omicron). Three more mink farms tested positive from September 2022 to January 2023 in the same area.On two farms, the researchers uncovered two novel SARS-CoV-2 variants most closely related to the B.1.1.307 strain that circulated in humans in late 2020 and early 2021. The new variants, however, had at least 40 polymorphisms, which the authors said suggests that they originated in an unknown or undetected animal reservoir. The mink did not show symptoms. All farm workers and the owners' family members tested negative for COVID-19, meaning that it is unlikely that a chronic viral shedder spread the virus to the mink, but antibody testing wasn't performed, so they may have been previously infected. All farms were surrounded by a concrete barrier, but the introduction of wildlife via tall trees surrounding the barrier or by wild martens or birds could not be ruled out. Feral cat droppings tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.
Global flu declines, but some hot spots remain After a rise in flu activity in late January, led mainly by the 2009 H1N1 strain and influenza B, levels are declining again, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update, which covers roughly the last 2 weeks of March.Of 40 countries reporting in Europe, half continued to report widespread activity, mainly due to influenza B. In East Asia, China's flu activity appears to have peaked, with most detections involving H1N1. Hong Kong and South Korea reported rising activity levels. In Southeast Asia, activity was elevated in Malaysia and Singapore.In tropical regions of South America, Brazil and Peru reported increasing flu trends. In temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere, Chile and Australia reported slight activity rises.Of viruses tested at national flu labs over the reporting period, 75% were influenza A, and, of subtyped influenza A viruses, 70% were H1N1. The earlier months of the Northern Hemisphere's flu season were dominated by H3N2. Of characterized influenza B viruses, all belonged to the Victoria lineage.
Marburg virus confirmed in another Equatorial Guinea health worker --One more Marburg virus case has been confirmed in Equatorial Guinea's outbreak, involving a healthcare worker from Bata who was under monitoring after exposure to a previous patient, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.At a media briefing, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, the WHO's director-general, said the new case was detected on the day of illness onset and that the patient was given antiviral treatment according to government protocols, with support from the WHO.The new case raises the outbreak total to 16 confirmed cases, of which 11 were fatal. Also, 23 probable cases have been reported, all fatal. Also, the new case puts the number of infections in healthcare workers at five.Equatorial Guinea is battling its first Marburg virus outbreak, with cases reported across four provinces, with multiple cases reported from Bata, the country's largest city and home to a port and an international airport. A close cousin of Ebola, Marburg virus spreads among people through the body fluids of infected patients.
Mozambique reports more vaccine-derived polio cases - One country—Mozambique—reported more polio cases this week, according to the latest weekly updatefrom the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).Mozambique reported three circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) cases this week, all in Zambezia province. The cases were added to its 2022 total, which is now 22.In other developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) this week posted updates on circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) situations in Burundi and Indonesia.The case in Burundi was first reported in the middle of March, and it marked the first instances of cVDPV2 linked to the novel oral poliovirus type 2 since the vaccine was introduced in March 2021. The WHO said the unvaccinated 4-year-old boy's paralysis symptoms began on Nov 24.Genetic analysis suggests the virus is linked to a new cVDPV2 emergence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). An investigation found that polio vaccine coverage was lower in the region where the boy lived compared to the rest of Burundi. Supplemental vaccination campaigns are planned for both Burundi and the DRC in May.In Indonesia, an outbreak has been under way since 2022. Another paralysis case was detected in March in an unvaccinated 2-year-old girl from West Java province, bringing the country's cVDPV2 total to four, with the earlier three from Aceh province.The WHO said genetic analysis from the West Java case shows the virus is related to the Aceh virus, but has enough changes to suggest the possibility of missed transmission.
- In an addendum to a H5N1 avian flu technical report, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday posted details about Chile's recent human case and findings from a genomic analysis of a sample from the patient. The man, who got sick on March 13, is still isolated in the hospital and is on a ventilator for pneumonia. The virus is nearly identical to H5N1 in wild birds in Chile and is of the same clade affecting birds and poultry elsewhere. The hemagglutinin gene shows no changes that would make it more recognizable to mammalian receptors, and the specimen is closely related to an existing prepandemic candidate vaccine virus.
- Eight more H5N1 detections in US mammals have been reported, raising the total to 162, according to thelatest updates from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). States include Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. The affected animals include six red foxes, a skunk, and a mountain lion.
- The National Park Service has reported more deaths in endangered condors in the Arizona-Utah flock, raising the total to 20. So far, H5N1 has been confirmed in 10 of the birds. Eight sick birds were collected for supportive care, and 4 of them died shortly after.
Light Pollution Could Extend Biting Season for Mosquitoes, Increasing West Nile Risk - The increasing problem of light pollution can have negative effects on both humans and wildlife. In people, it can cause sleep deprivation, increased stress, headaches and even anxiety.Artificial light can attract animals like sea turtles, moths and frogs, leading them astray and making them more vulnerable to predators and exhaustion.A new study has found that the winter dormancy period of mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus may be disrupted by urban light pollution.This can cause mosquitoes to not survive the winter if they aren’t able to gain enough weight. It can also cause their dormancy period — called diapause — to be delayed, leading to a longer season of mosquito bitesextending into the fall, Ohio State News reported.“We see the highest levels of West Nile virus transmission in the late summer and early fall in Ohio. If you have mosquitoes postponing or delaying diapause and continuing to be active longer in the year, that’s at a time when the mosquitoes are most likely to be infected with West Nile virus and people could be at greatest risk of contracting it,” said Megan Meuti, senior author of the study and an assistant professor of entomology at The Ohio State University, as reported by Ohio State News.This and other earlier studies by the researcher team — which consisted of first author Matthew Wolkoff and Lydia Fyie, both doctoral candidates in entomology at Ohio State — were some of the first to demonstrate the effects of artificial light on the behavior of mosquitoes.“We’re finding that the same urban light at night can have very different effects under different seasonal contexts,” Meuti said. The study, “Light Pollution Disrupts Seasonal Differences in the Daily Activity and Metabolic Profiles of the Northern House Mosquito, Culex pipiens,” was published in the journal Insects.
Subgroup of 'Safer' PFAS in Packaging Contaminates Food and Drinks, Study Says - A newly published study has found that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to packaging can migrate into food and drinks. The study noted this phenomenon occurring with subgroups of PFAS considered safer than previous PFAS additives.PFAS are a group of chemicals added to many products, from outdoor gear to carpeting, for their waterproof, non-stick, and/or stain-resistant qualities. In food packaging, PFAS help prevent grease or liquids from soaking into the packaging, especially as more businesses switch to compostable packaging options.But the study noted that the use of substances to achieve grease- and liquid-repelling food packaging can still migrate into food, even after switching from PFOS precursors to subgroups of PFAS that have been regarded as safer alternatives. According to the study, these PFAS polymers may be less mobile and bioaccessible than nonpolymeric PFAS, but they still contain the same impurities and can break down into more harmful substances, like 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH), that can then make their way into the food.In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a voluntary phasing out of food packaging containing 6:2 FTOH following a scientific review and concerns about the potential impact on human health.Further, a 2021 report from The Guardian showed that chemical companies were calling 6:2 FTOH a safer PFAS compound, while withholding company studies that found toxicity in the livers and kidneys of rats related to 6:2 FTOH exposure as well as data showing this compound remains in animals’ bodies for longer than they had first thought.According to the Center for Environmental Health, there are several potential health concerns of 6:2 FTOH, although more research is needed on the compound and its impacts on humans. Human livers may not be as efficient as rat livers at removing this chemical from the body, and the compound has been found to impact reproductive hormone functioning in fish. The compound can cause growth in breast cancer cells, and it can damage the liver, pancreas and teeth. It may be especially harmful to pregnant people and children.
EPA proposes to ban most uses of toxic paint remover - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on Thursday to ban most uses of a toxic chemical used in paint removal. The proposal would ban most industrial and commercial uses of methylene chloride, which, in addition to paint removal, is used as a solvent in making pharmaceuticals and in electronics. One study found that methylene-chloride exposure killed 85 people between 1980 and 2018. The substance has also been linked to certain cancers. The new proposal, from the Biden administration, goes further than a Trump administration rule that banned the sale to consumers of paint strippers using methylene chloride but did not address its industrial uses. An EPA press release states that after the 2019 rule, the use of the solvent remained “widespread.” “The science on methylene chloride is clear, exposure can lead to severe health impacts and even death, a reality for far too many families who have lost loved ones due to acute poisoning,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan in a written statement. “That’s why EPA is taking action, proposing to ban most uses of this chemical and reduce exposures in all other scenarios by implementing more stringent workplace controls to protect worker health,” he said. The agency is not proposing a complete ban on the substance. Instead, it is proposing to set new workplace standards aimed at limiting exposure to the substance’s use at government agencies like the Defense Department, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nearly 120 million people in US exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog – report -The climate crisis has upended progress on improving air quality, with one in three Americans currently living in areas with harmful levels of pollutants known to increase the risk of medical emergencies, pregnancy complications and premature death, new research reveals. Almost 120 million people in the US are still exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog, according to the annual report by the American Lung Association (ALA), which found that people of color are almost four times more likely to live in the most polluted places than white Americans.The extent to which access to clean air is racialized is stark; people of color account for 54% of those living in counties with failing air quality, despite accounting for just over 40% of the general population. The zip code lottery spotlights decades of racist housing and environmental policies, which have incentivized and enabled polluting infrastructure like highways and railroads, fossil fuel projects and manufacturing plants to be located close to Black, Latin and Indigenous communities.And despite overall improvements in air quality and pollution-related deaths over the past 50 years, the report also highlights a widening disparity between air quality in eastern and western states, especially for soot particles – scientifically known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5. Ten of the 11 most polluted counties are in California where the climate breakdown is fueling wildfires and rising temperatures that are undermining efforts to improve air quality in places like Fresno, San Bernardino, Tulare and Los Angeles. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was mandated by the 1970 Clean Air Act to set health-based limits for six toxins: fine particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead. Since then, overall emissions have fallen by 78%, according to the EPA, yet progress has stalled and poor air quality continues to cut tens of thousands of lives short in the US every year. Globally, air pollution is responsible for almost 7m premature deaths annually,according to the World Health Organization.
Chemical fire in Brunswick, Georgia forces residents to evacuate - A fire broke out early Saturday morning in a Brunswick, Georgia facility that manufactures rosin and polyterpene resins. It was later put out, only to reignite later in the day, forcing evacuations of residents in the area. This is the second industrial fire in one week in the United States that forced the evacuation of local homes. On Tuesday, a recycling facility in Richmond, Indiana burned, forcing residents to evacuate as burning plastic released plumes of toxins into the air.A series of dangerous chemical fires, explosions and other deadly industrial accidents have taken place in the United States in the aftermath of February’s derailment and toxic chemical spill of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio. On March 28, a chemical spill in Bristol, Pennsylvania leaked about 8,100 gallons of a latex emulsion product into the Delaware River, threatening the water supply of Philadelphia and surrounding areas. On the same day, a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania exploded due to a gas leak, killing seven workers. The initial fire at the Brunswick plant, which is operated by chemical manufacturer Pinova, was reported at 7 a.m. By 9:55 a.m., the Glynn County Board of Commissioners reported that the fire was contained and was being monitored. “Brunswick City Fire and Glynn County Fire continue to monitor [sic] scene,” a Facebook post from the County read. “The fire is now contained. There were no injuries. There is NO immediate concern for public safety. The State Fire Marshall is on scene for inspection as well as [sic] Environmental Protection Agency and EMA.”But at 3:10 p.m. the County Board posted on Facebook that the fire had reignited and that a shelter-in-place order was in effect for a half-mile radius of the plant. By 4:30 p.m. the Board had extended the shelter-in-place order out to a one-mile radius. An hour later, residents within a half-mile radius of the plant were told to leave their homes due to the high levels of smoke produced by the fire. The County Board declared the fire was finally out at 10:08 p.m. and residents were allowed to return to their homes. An evacuation order was issued in Brunswick, Georgia on Saturday due to a massive fire at the nearby plastic resin plant.[Photo: Effingham Fire Rescue] Details are not available about what caused the fire or what chemicals were involved in it; however, several buildings were involved in the conflagration, reports say. No injuries have been reported. This is the second fire at a chemical plant in Brunswick, Georgia in five months. Last November, residents were forced to evacuate the area around Symrise chemical plant when a fire broke out during a shift change at 4 a.m. After two explosions during the fire, residents within a one-mile radius were ordered to evacuate and those in a three-mile radius of the fire were told to shelter in place. An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online) report shows multiple, serious citations of Pinova in recent months, as is commonly the case for companies implicated in these types of catastrophic accidents. In January, the plant was cited for a “high-priority violation” of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Pinova has had five quarters with significant violations and has accrued $229,007 in penalties for violations of the CAA in the last five years. In March, the company was cited for a Clean Water Act violation. And last October, the company was cited for Significant Noncompliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, its 12th in 12 quarters.
Evacuation order lifted in area around Indiana plastic fire - Evacuation and shelter-in-place orders have been lifted in the area surrounding a plastics fire that broke out last week in Richmond, Indiana, local authorities announced Sunday. The orders were lifted at 4 p.m. local time, the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency said in a statement."This decision was made in collaboration with multiple federal, state, and local officials and based upon guidance from the Wayne County Health Department using test results and air monitoring data provided to us by the US EPA for analysis," the agency added.The city said on its website that "businesses and schools in the evacuation zone are able to resume operation." Testing of air debris would continue, WCEMA director Matthew Cain and Mayor Dave Snow said at a press conference Sunday. At least 1,500 people live in the evacuation zone, though it is not known how many residents actually obeyed the call to evacuate after the fire began Tuesday afternoon.Jetmore said officials had been "repeatedly testing the air around the site," and that most of the chemicals being tested for had been "non-detectable." Three chemicals — benzene, naphthalene and butadiene — were detected in "small levels," Jetmore said. "That, coupled with the fact that it's raining today, which of course is cleansing the air of particulate matter, and the fact that the wind's blowing, makes me feel very safe about lifting this evacuation order," he added.
EPA, states reach major settlement over Chesapeake Bay - Advocates and officials working to protect the nation’s largest estuary have secured a major settlement proposal in their battle with EPA over pollution into the treasured water body.Attorneys general for Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia announced the tentative dealThursday afternoon, possibly bringing an end to a heated fight over efforts to help the Chesapeake Bay. If finalized, the settlement would require EPA to increase compliance and enforcement efforts, including a priority focus on Pennsylvania, long singled out as a top culprit jeopardizing the bay’s precarious health.During a press conference announcing the proposal, officials lauded the deal as a major win for local waterways, as did members of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its partners. The settlement stems from two different lawsuits filed over EPA’s failure to require Pennsylvania to develop and implement a plan addressing pollution into the beloved bay. Agricultural runoff and climate impacts have taken their toll on the estuary, which serves as a major economic engine for the region in addition to being a crucial and vibrant ecosystem. Six states and the District of Columbia are all part of a 2010 Obama-era agreement seeking to protect the 64,000 square miles of waterways, with EPA responsible for enforcing a “pollution diet,” or total maximum daily load (TMDL).But tensions have boiled over in recent years. At the heart of that acrimony is Pennsylvania, home to significant agricultural activity. While the Trump administration signed off on plans from that state and New York to address runoff issues, other parties to the cleanup agreement expressed outrage. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia all sued over the issue, as did the CBF, which was joined by Anne Arundel County, Md.; the Maryland Watermen’s Association; and two Virginia farmers (Greenwire, Sept. 10, 2020). Those lawsuits were ultimately combined in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, yielding the settlement proposal announced Thursday. Under the terms of the settlement, EPA would scrutinize farms not currently required to have federal permits despite operating near rivers and streams. Those facilities could be designated as point sources subject to permitting if EPA and Pennsylvania agree to take action. The agency would also evaluate stormwater sources of pollution in urban and suburban areas, which could also wind up subject to permitting requirements.
Biden signs executive order on 'environmental justice' (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order directing every single federal agency to work toward "environmental justice for all" and improve the lives of communities hit hardest by toxic pollution and climate change. The order will establish a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House to coordinate efforts across the government, and requires federal agencies to notify communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility. Disasters like the February derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, that caused a hazardous chemical spill brought attention to environmental damage that some communities experience at higher rates. "This is about people's health. It's about the health of our communities. It's only about the future of our planet," Biden told activists, lawmakers and others before signing the order in the Rose Garden at the White House. The Democratic president, who could formally announce his re-election bid as early as Tuesday, said the order would deepen work to reverse years of policies - including discriminatory residential 'redlining' - that hurt Black and other minority communities. He railed against Republican efforts to repeal climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, a move he said would undermine work to reduce pollution and advance clean energy, instead of ending $30 billion in subsidies to the oil industry. r
Biden administration takes first step to protect more than 100 million acres of forest --The Biden administration on Thursday announced it has identified more than 100 million acres of old-growth and mature forests that could qualify for federal protections. The acreage identified includes 80 million acres of mature forest and 32 million acres of old-growth forest, according to the Interior and Agriculture departments. Within those, about 24.4 million acres of old growth forest and 67.4 million acres of mature forest are under the jurisdiction of the National Forest Service. “Healthy, resilient forests are critical to helping us respond to the climate impacts being felt by communities across the country, because they store carbon, provide clean air and water, and sustain biodiversity,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Bureau of Land Management. “The reports released today will help enhance our work to protect and grow forests by creating a scientific framework for further study and public engagement for effective forest management and protection.” While the announcement does not outline specific steps by the administration, the administration said it will seek public comments on how to preserve the forests identified as a bulwark against climate change. The public comment period will be open for 60 days. “This is hopeful news for our country’s magnificent old trees, our climate and the wildlife that depends on these critical ecosystems. The new rule can’t come soon enough,” Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement Thursday. Spivak called on the administration to take further action to establish firmer protections for the identified forests. “The Forest Service routinely targets mature and old-growth trees for logging. I hope this announcement signals desperately needed change at the agency, including meaningful protections while these rules are written,” she said.
Biden plans protections for old-growth forests - More than 110 million acres of federally owned forests are old enough to potentially warrant protection as safeguards against climate change, the Biden administration said Thursday in the federal government’s first effort to identify such lands across the country. In an inventory of mature and old-growth forests and related documents, the administration didn’t propose any specific protections it might consider. But the administration said it will seek public comment on how best to manage national forests and grasslands for climate resilience, as the forests mitigate the warming climate and are also at risk from it. And officials detailed separate plans for reforestation between now and 2030, identifying 2.3 million acres of public lands in need of planting after wildfires and other disturbances. “Our forest ecosystems and communities are struggling to keep up with the stresses of climate change, whether it’s fire, drought, or insect infestations, it is clear that we must adapt quickly,” said Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Homer Wilkes in a news release. The inventory, which documented 32.7 million acres of old growth on lands managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and 80.1 million acres of mature forest, will add to the ongoing debate about what constitutes such forests and how hands-on the agencies should be in controlling what those lands should look like — including how much timber the Forest Service should continue to pull from them. It meets a directive from an executive order President Joe Biden signed a year ago and follows months of public comment (Greenwire, July 14, 2022). The inventory said Forest Service lands alone account for 24.4 million acres of old growth and 67.4 million acres of mature forest in the national forest system, which totals 193 million acres. In the report, the Forest Service emphasized that forest types, and definitions of old and mature growth, vary from region to region. The public often perceives old growth as a moist forest with huge trees, as in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest or the giant sequoias in California. But federal lands have more old growth in less-productive pinyon and juniper forests than in any other single type, a little more than 9 million acres, the agency said. Forest Service and BLM officials will conduct public workshops this summer on protecting pinyon-juniper landscapes, the Agriculture Department said.
Biden releases $1B for urban trees - The Biden administration said Wednesday it’s making $1 billion available to help plant and care for trees in cities and towns, a potent means to soften the impacts of a warming climate. “Investing in our urban forests is investing in the health and wellness of our communities,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in a news release. The grants — which require a 1-to-1 match from recipients in most cases — will come through the agency’s urban and community forestry program, funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The program typically receives a fraction of that amount, such as the $36 million in annual appropriations Congress provided in fiscal 2022. In addition to their environmental value — trees reduce the urban “heat island” effect and clean the air — urban forests and street trees can boost property values and attract investment in disadvantaged neighborhoods, officials said. More than 141 million acres of forest in the U.S. is in towns and cities, and the Forest Service’s urban forestry program protects around 12 billion trees, according to the Biden administration. Wednesday’s announcement also includes up to $250 million specifically to states and territories to promote more equitable access to trees and their benefits, with the largest allocation, $43 million, going to California. The $1 billion would be available to local governments and tribes, as well as nonprofit organizations and universities. Projects could be for as little as $100,000 or as much as $50 million in five-year agreements, the Department of Agriculture said. The $250 million for states won praise from the National Association of State Foresters. “Put simply, community forests are a fundamental asset to sustainable society,” the NASF said. “While state forestry agencies have long helped to manage roughly two-thirds of the nation’s forests, today’s announcement marks a significant increase in funding allotted to states for such purposes.”
'Cop City' activist's official autopsy reveals more than 50 bullet wounds - Official autopsy results for Manuel Paez Terán, an environmental activist police shot and killed three months ago during a raid in a Georgia public park near the planned site of a police and fire department training center, do little to advance the state’s version of events, including the notion that the activist shot first, wounding an officer.Paez Terán, or “Tortuguita”, was one of the “forest defenders” camped throughout the public park less than a mile away from the planned center, known as “Cop City”, when dozens of officers entered the South River Forest south-east of Atlanta, Georgia, on 18 January. The incident was the first time in US history that police have shot and killed an environmental activist while protesting, galvanizing a surging movement to protect the forest and oppose the training center and transforming Paez Terán into an international figure. The state’s narrative since then has been that Paez Terán fired first. The Georgia bureau of investigation (GBI), charged with investigating the killing, has only publicly released evidence to date supporting the idea, including a photo of the firearm allegedly used by the activist, and a purchase record of the gun. The officers who shot Paez Terán were from the Georgia state patrol, who generally do not wear body cameras; the state has said there is no footage of the shooting.DeKalb county’s autopsy, released to the media through open records requests on Wednesday, offers no support for the notion that Paez Terán fired a weapon, stating that “gunpowder residue is not seen on the hands” or clothes of Paez Terán. Residue on the hands might indicate that a person fired a gun, but neither this analysis nor a test known as the GSR kit is foolproof, according to experts.Patrick Bailey, director of the DeKalb county medical examiner’s office, told the Guardian that the county forwarded evidence to the GBI for them to perform the GSR kit, or gunshot residue test.Nonetheless, the autopsy report does little to clarify what actually happened that day, except for noting in 19 pages of clinical detail the 57 gunshot wounds that Paez Terán received, employing every letter of the alphabet more than once to label the injuries.“I tried to read the whole thing – in the end it was a little too much,” said Daniel Paez, Manuel’s older brother, reached at his home in Texas. “The very fact that they’re talking about Manny, and how they died – I didn’t even want to share it with our mother, since the pain of losing Manny continues to haunt us; it doesn’t seem to get better.”
Bureau of Reclamation floats federal cuts to Colorado River water use as extreme drought continues - Following months of bitter debates and failed negotiations between states on the Colorado River over how to reduce water consumption, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) has released its draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Survey (SEIS). The SEIS is the basis upon which the BOR will make any federal determinations on how to impose cuts to water use should the states in the Colorado River basin fail to reach an agreement among themselves. So far such a mutual agreement does not appear likely. The BOR issued an ultimatum last summer, saying that basin states had to reach an agreement by the end of summer or the federal agency would force one on them. That deadline came and went and further months passed with no action taken to solve the crisis on the Colorado River. The most severe drought in 1,200 years, worsened by the impacts of human-caused climate change, has been hitting the Southwest for the past 20 years, leaving Lake Mead, the water source for tens of millions of people and millions of acres of farmland, one-quarter full. Projections from the BOR indicate that if no action is taken to stop the decline in Lake Mead, and the overall water supply in the Colorado River, then there may not be enough water to meet demand in the next few years. Testifying before Congress last year, the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the Department of the Interior, Tanya Trujillo, said that between two and four million acre-feet of water needed to be saved to prevent the Colorado River and Lake Mead from falling into acute shortage, roughly one-quarter to one-third of current use (an acre-foot is enough water to supply two households for one year). Water consumption has outstripped annual supply for years and without drastic cuts to demand Lake Mead may reach “dead pool,” the condition where the water level is so low that it can no longer move through the dam to supply downstream users. A deal to avoid such a catastrophe was almost reached earlier this year, with six of the seven river-using states agreeing to an outlined plan to reduce collective use by around two million acre-feet. But California officials rejected the deal, arguing that the state’s priority in the water rights seniority system granted it rights to its full allocation of water and that it would not take cuts to its use to conserve water for junior users. An important element of this is that not only are local users in California higher in the priority system, which allows senior water users to keep using water when there is a shortage at the expense of junior water rights holders, but the entire state of California has seniority over all of Arizona.
Good news for Lake Mead and Las Vegas as the lake's water level is set to rise thanks to a healthy snowpack — Lake Mead will rise 33 feet higher than expected this year because of snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Snow that will melt and feed the Colorado River is causing major adjustments in government plans to store water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Nexstar’s 8NewsNow.com reported on April 12 that water flows have already increased from Lake Powell, a fact confirmed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s latest 24-month study.Now the government is revealing plans that include increasing the amount of water released from Lake Powell by 35% this year. The plan to release 7 million acre-feet has been adjusted to 9.5 million acre-feet – a difference of more than 800 billion gallons of water – by the end of the year.It’s the good news Las Vegas has been waiting for after two decades of watching the bathtub ring at Lake Mead. But to put one good year in perspective, the Bureau of Reclamation said Lake Powell and Lake Mead – the two biggest reservoirs in the country would go from 23% full to 26% full.Snowpack levels at the beginning of April were around 160% of normal. Water managers regard the start of April as the peak of the snowpack, when spring temperatures begin to melt snow faster than new snow accumulates. The high snowpack levels are translating to an expected flow in the Colorado River that’s 177% of normal levels.
California’s water supply boosted to 100% for the first time since 2006 -The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced the first full water supply allocation since 2006, benefiting 27 million residents across California after a record winter. With reservoirs nearing capacity and snowmelt runoff starting to occur, DWR now expects to deliver 100 percent of requested water supplies, up from just 5 percent announced before the record-breaking winter. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced this week that it would deliver 100% of the requested water supplies to cities and agricultural operations across California. This marks the first time since 2006 that the state’s canals, pumps, and reservoirs have been able to provide full water allocations, benefiting 27 million residents. DWR director Karla Nemeth stated in a press release that careful management of reservoir operations during the extreme winter enabled the agency to maximize water deliveries while also enhancing environmental protections. The State Water Project, a system of reservoirs, canals, and pumps, moves water from the water-rich regions of northern California to Southern California. The project’s operations and water availability can vary greatly between dry and wet years. As a result of the record winter snowfall, the DWR increased allocations from 75% in March to 100% in April. At full capacity, the project will deliver 4.2 million acre-feet (1 030 703 ha) of water to its 29 contractors, enough to supply the city of Sacramento for 28 years. Prior to this winter’s atmospheric rivers and record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, the DWR warned that it could only provide 5% of requested supplies in 2023, following three of the driest years on record. While this winter has significantly improved drought conditions, it will take years for the Central Valley’s overdrafted groundwater basins to recover from agricultural overpumping, and the Colorado River Basin continues to face long-term drought. The San Luis Reservoir in Merced County is now full, and Oroville, the state’s largest reservoir, along with reservoirs in Southern California, is expected to be full by the end of May. Currently, statewide reservoir storage is at 105% of average. Water officials have warned that flood danger may persist throughout the year in the San Joaquin Valley as reservoirs attempt to catch and store melting snow. Heavy rainfall in February and March has already impacted several communities and led to the resurgence of historic Tulare Lake.
Despite storms, many Californians are still coping with dry wells and awaiting fixes - In a neighborhood surrounded by almond orchards and citrus groves southeast of Fresno, large plastic cisterns occupy the yards of many homes, and residents have learned to ration water until the next tanker truck arrives.Even after major storms have boosted California rivers and reservoirs, many in the unincorporated community of Tombstone Territory continue to rely on state-funded water deliveries. Throughout the San Joaquin Valley, about 1,800 households are receiving water deliveries by truck, according to the organization Self-Help Enterprises, which runs the state-funded program. Some of their wells went dry last year, while others have been coping with dry wells for as long as three years.“It is really a struggle,” said Anita Torres, 61. “Sometimes I just cry because I’m so frustrated.”Since her well failed, she and her family have been taking short showers and lugging 5-gallon jugs into their home to cook and drink.Tombstone is one of many communities in the San Joaquin Valley where chronic overpumping of groundwater by agriculture has left homeowners with dry wells.Following three years of severe drought, the list of families who rely on state-funded water deliveries has grown dramatically. At the same time, the state has struggled to address a growing backlog of requests for new and deeper wells or for connections to water systems in neighboring cities. The plight of residents in Tombstone and other communities has sparked heated criticism of the state government for not doing more to limit excessive pumping by large farms.“We need to rein in the water abuse that’s happening right now and build the infrastructure that we need,” said Chirag Bhakta, California director of the advocacy group Food & Water Watch. “California likes to put itself out there, as a climate leader, as progressives on the climate issues and on global warming, but right in our backyard, right here in California, that’s not what our water situation actually shows.” The group said in a recent report that the many dry wells in Tombstone Territory show the inequities in the state’s policies and point to a need for Gov. Gavin Newsom to curb agricultural pumping and prioritize water for residents. Bhakta and other activists have called for the Newsom administration to limit water use for such crops as almonds and pistachios, which corporate growers have planted across vast portions of the Central Valley over the past decade. Groundwater depletion has progressively worsened through both wet and dry periods in the Central Valley, and accelerated over the last three years as heavy pumping sent aquifer levels plunging to new lows. Scientists have estimated that groundwater losses since 1961 have totaled 93 million acre-feet — more than three times the capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir. “The gains made during wet years simply can’t offset the overpumping during the dry years in between,” Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and professor at Arizona State University, wrote recently. “In fact, the state’s groundwater deficit is now so large that it will never be fully replenished.”
Rapidly melting snow causes widespread flooding in Minnesota, U.S. - (video) Stearns County in Minnesota is experiencing significant flooding as the Mississippi River and its tributaries overflow due to rapidly melting snow, inundating roads, businesses, and residential areas. The Mississippi River and its tributaries are overfilling their banks, causing widespread flooding across Stearns County, Minnesota. Roads, businesses, and backyards have been affected in various locations, including Sartell, Waite Park, and Richmond, where the Sauk and Watab Rivers feed into the Mississippi River. The resulting major flooding event is expected to move downstream in the coming days, potentially causing further damage and disruption. This footage, captured from drones and ground cameras and published by Storm Chasing Videos, showcases the severity of the flooding in the affected areas.
Large tornado devastates Cole, Oklahoma, claims at least two lives - (8 videos) At least two people have been killed after a large tornado hit Cole, Oklahoma, on April 19, 2023, amid severe weather spawning 15 tornadoes across three states. A deadly tornado struck the town of Cole, Oklahoma, on April 19, 2023, claiming at least two lives and causing extensive damage to property. This was part of a larger outbreak of severe weather that produced at least 15 tornadoes across Oklahoma, Iowa, and Kansas, with the threat of tornadoes expected to persist into the weekend. Oklahoma experienced the brunt of the impact on April 19, with eight tornadoes recorded. The most significant of these hit Cole, located 48 km (30 miles) south of Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman, Oklahoma, reported a “significant tornado” at 19:58 CDT northeast of Cole, describing its motion as “erratic.” Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer was one of the storm-chasers who captured footage of the tornado tearing through the town.
Tornado alley is expanding — and scientists don’t know why - Tornadoes are becoming more frequent in populated parts of the United States and are often occurring as damaging clusters — a development seen in recent deadly outbreaks from Alabama to Michigan. The number, damage and deadliness of individual tornadoes has held roughly steady over the past 50 years, federal experts with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration told The Hill. But broad shifts in the patterns of how tornadoes occur will pose serious challenges to policymakers and emergency managers across the South and Midwest — even as risks remain in the traditional heart of Tornado Alley. The role to which climate change is a factor in these shifts is unknown, and the changes in tornado behavior overall represent a major meteorological mystery. The first quarter of 2023 represented a powerful start to the year’s tornado season, with each month offering a number of tornadoes substantially above the historical average, according to federal data. “This past winter and our early spring has been as active as I can remember in years,” said William Bunting of the national Storm Prediction Center. “The number of events, many of the same areas being affected has been remarkable.” This January had more than three times as many tornadoes as the historical average; February had half again as many, and March had twice as many. Many of these storms have been both dramatically large and deadly. Tornadoes also have strayed far outside their usual domain — including touchdowns in Delaware and the suburbs of Los Angeles. In March alone, for example, a four-day outbreak of 31 tornadoes killed 22 people in a belt across the Southeast. That was followed a few days later by a line of storms that drove 66 tornado touchdowns from Alabama to Indiana, killing 27. The increased winter tornado activity — a recurring pattern over the last several years — is unusual, Bunting added. On the most basic level tornadoes require two factors to form. There has to be hot, moist air rising to create movement of energy through the atmosphere, and there has to be powerful circular wind shear — or vertical changes in wind speed and direction — to bring a funnel cloud to earth. Southeastern tornadoes usually require warm, moist and unstable air moving up from the Gulf of Mexico — weather that is usually blocked by cold air moving down from the northern latitudes. But several years of warm winters have changed that pattern, Bunting said — allowing tornado conditions to penetrate as far north as Michigan — far in advance of the usual start of tornado season.
Growing insurance crisis spreads to Texas - Florida came first. Then Louisiana. Now an insurance crisis that has swept across the Gulf Coast is spilling into Texas, where increasingly scarce property coverage has forced tens of thousands of coastal homeowners to buy policies from a state-chartered insurance program.The rapid growth has alarmed officials and insurers. And it’s raised concerns that if a major storm hits Texas, so many claims will be filed that the state-chartered insurer will force insurance companies and residents statewide to help pay them. The mushrooming problems have made Texas the latest state to feel the effects of the insurance industry’s ongoing contraction in the Gulf area following huge losses from recent storms and litigation. Many smaller insurers in the region have become insolvent in the past year or stopped covering property in hurricane-prone areas such as the Texas coast. That’s triggered unprecedented growth in the region’s state-chartered insurance programs at a time of devastating storms. In Texas, the program’s growth poses a threat to insurance companies and policyholders throughout the state because the program has insufficient reserves to pay a deluge of claims that would be filed after a major storm.Instead, the insurer relies on its authority to assess insurance companies in the state up to $1 billion a year to pay claims — an authority it has exercised four times since 2005.As the number of properties covered by the Texas state-chartered insurer grows, so do the chances that it will drain its reserves and impose an assessment that insurers will pass on to policyholders. Other Gulf Coast states foreshadow potential problems in Texas.Florida’s state-chartered insurer — which has seen astronomical growth — warned recently that the depletion of its reserves after Hurricane Ian could force it to impose a surcharge on millions of insurance policies in the state (Climatewire, March 21).The Louisiana Legislature in February approved spending $45 million in taxpayer money to lure property insurers to the state after major storms left 11 insurers insolvent and prompted 12 others to submit withdrawal notices. Louisiana’s state-chartered insurer also has seen huge growth — its policy count tripled in 2022 (Climatewire, Feb. 7).Yet the increasing demands on the populace threaten to trigger a backlash.A Texas lawmaker introduced legislation in March that would effectively abolish the state’s quasi-public insurer — a move the insurance industry says would be catastrophic. The bill is pending in a committee and has not faced a vote.“We can’t understand how that’s possible,” said Beamon Floyd, executive director of the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions, an advocacy group funded by major national property insurers. “If you did that, the immediate impact of the bill would be a real availability crisis.” The Texas program is run by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, a nonprofit created by the state Legislature in 1971 to insure coastal property when owners cannot get coverage elsewhere. The association insures only wind and hail damage.
Historic hailstorm hits Havana — one of the most important hailstorm events in known history, Cuba - (video) A historic hailstorm hit Havana, Cuba on April 20, 2023, with hail the size never before seen in Cuba. This event will enter history books as one of the most important hailstorm events in known history. On April 20, 2023, an unusually extreme weather event affected areas of Havana, the capital of Cuba. From approximately 05:15 (local time), the fall of large hail was reported in several municipalities of the city, which at the same time holds the category of the province. When I received the first call from a colleague, at just 05:29 am, I was already awake from intense thunderstorm activity and concerned about rain falling on crumbling early 20th century buildings that for the past 64 years have not received any maintenance. Just the day before (April 18) there was a hailstorm, also historic, for the town of MayarÃ, in the HolguÃn province, with an approximate size of up to one inch, never seen there even by older residents. But the synoptic environment was completely consistent with what happened in Mayarà and even though this type of severity is not forecast in Cuba in an operational way if I had to choose an area to forecast hail and severity in general, that would be eastern Cuba. But the atmosphere had plans for Havana and while in general, everything was quite stable and dry over western Cuba, in the Straits of Florida the troposphere became highly unstable. Hail fell in the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución (at the eastern end of the municipality), Centro Habana, La Habana Vieja, Regla (including here the Casablanca weather station), Guanabacoa and San Miguel del Padrón. Never before, according to available records, has a single storm, completely isolated from other areas of deep convection, produced hail in so many areas of Havana at the same time (and of Cuba in general). Furthermore, while the first photo I received was already quite impressive for Cuba and especially for Havana, with 2.5 cm (1 inch) hailstones (thanks to Rodolfo Venegas for that report), within a few minutes, dozens of images began to arrive, of hailstones increasingly larger, with the volume of ping pong balls and some up to almost 2/3 the volume of a baseball. There were strong winds and intense thunderstorm activity, but the main element of the severity of this storm was the hail never before seen in Cuba and less so in Havana. This would be the second time that a storm of this type has affected Havana, after the one that produced the EF4 tornado in January 2019, although it is possible that in previous decades some of these storms went “unnoticed”, given the most backward technology and the most outdated meteorological concepts. But those of 2019 and 2023 were unique, due to their effects and their characteristics, and they remind us that Cuba can sometimes experience severe weather conditions typical of mid-latitudes, which are not limited by the imaginary line of the Tropic of Cancer.
Heavy rain and giant hail hit Rio Grande do Sul, leaving hundreds of homes damaged, Brazil - (3 videos) Severe weather, including heavy rainfall, strong wind, and severe hailstorms, wreaked havoc in southern Brazil from April 16 to 17, 2023, causing floods and damage to hundreds of homes. Rio Grande do Sul was hit particularly hard by heavy rainfall, strong wind, hailstorms, and thunderstorms, leading to floods and severe weather-related incidents. Data from the meteorological station of the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) reveal that wind gusts of up to 108 km/h (67 mph) were recorded in the city of Porto Alegre. Hail up to 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter was recorded in GuaÃba Town where nearly 100 homes were damaged. Another 200 homes were damaged in Barra do Ribeiro where city officials declared a state of emergency. At least 100 more houses were damaged in Serrinha Town. Around 50 houses were damaged, several roads were flooded, and power outages occurred in the capital city of Porto Alegre, located in eastern Rio Grande do Sul. Other cities affected by bad weather were Bento Gonçalves, Barão do Triunfo, and São Jerônimo in Rio Grande do Sul, and Campo Mourão in Paraná. Fortunately, no further rainfall is forecasted for Rio Grande do Sul State in the next 24 hours.
Cyclone Yaku - Peru’s first cyclone in 40 years and El Niño Costero leave 54% of the country under a state of emergency - In early March 2023, Peru was hit by Cyclone Yaku — the country’s first cyclone in 40 years. Its impact coincided with the beginning of the El Niño Costero phenomenon, extending the rainy season and leading to large-scale floods and landslides which forced the Government of Peru to declare a state of emergency in over half of the country. Heavy rains and flooding are expected to continue until June. The cyclone was described by the director of civil defense, César Sierra, as an unusual phenomenon causing intensifying rains in the north. According to the National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI), as of March 10, 2023, the flooding caused by the cyclone has left at least 6 people dead and 5 missing. Yaku severely damaged 2 077 homes, 13 educational centers, 35 health establishments, 2 700 means of transportation, and 4 730 irrigation canals. Unfortunately, the cyclone’s impact coincided with the beginning of “El Niño Costero” — or Coastal El Niño, which led to a prolonged rainy season, large-scale floods and landslides, and the declaration of a State of Emergency in 1 030 districts, 54% of the total districts across the country, due to the heavy rains, floods and landslides. El Niño Costero, also known as the Coastal El Niño, is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, particularly along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. It is characterized by the localized warming of ocean surface waters, which in turn influences the atmosphere and leads to changes in weather patterns, including increased rainfall and storms in the affected regions. El Niño Costero is different from the more widely known El Niño phenomenon, which is a broader, larger-scale event that affects global climate patterns. El Niño Costero is the result of interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, specifically the weakening or reversal of the normal trade winds that blow from east to west along the equator. This can lead to a buildup of warm surface waters along the coast, which then affects atmospheric circulation and local weather patterns. The impacts of this phenomenon can be quite significant in the regions it affects. Increased rainfall, flooding, and landslides are common, leading to extensive damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and the environment. These events can also have serious consequences for the people living in these areas, causing displacement, loss of livelihoods, and food scarcity.
Heavy rainfall in Ireland leads to wettest March on record, impacting agriculture - Ireland experienced its wettest March on record last month, with 173.3 mm (6.8 inches) or 169% of the average for the month. The wettest March followed on from what was confirmed provisionally as the fourth driest February on record. Before last month, the previous wettest March was in 2019. Heavy rain caused production gaps for Irish growers, with Stephen McCormack from McCormack Family Farms saying, “All of our crops will be late. We have not been able to sow anything since February 28, so we will not hit full production until the end of May, a month later than normal.” “All Irish growers are in the same situation, there will be shortages when the Spanish season stops, we will all be looking elsewhere for supply. “It seems to all about extremes nowadays, last year we were in drought, now too much rain and in a few months, I’ll be complaining it’s too dry again,” McCormack said. The majority of monthly rainfall totals were above their 1981-2010 Long-Term Average (LTA), according to data provided by MET Eireann. The percentage of monthly rainfall values ranged from 90% (the month’s lowest monthly rainfall total of 93.2 mm (3.67 inches)) at Finner, Co Donegal to 227% (monthly rainfall total of 119.3 mm (4.70 inches)) at Dublin Airport, Co Dublin (its wettest March since 1947). Monthly rainfall totals were as much as 239.2 mm (9.42 inches) (193% of its LTA) at Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry (its wettest March since 1963). The highest daily rainfall total was 34.7 mm (1.37 inches) at Cork Airport, Co Cork on Thursday 9th (its highest daily fall for March since 2013). Four stations had their wettest March on record. These were Athenry, Co Galway with 185.9 mm (7.32 inches) (record length 32 years), Mace Head, Co Galway with 151.2 mm (5.95 inches) (length 18 years), Mount Dillon, Co Roscommon with 169.8 mm (6.69 inches) (length 18 years) and Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin with 109.3 mm (4.30 inches) (length 59 years). Along with Dublin Airport, Phoenix Park, Co Dublin also had its wettest March since 1947 with 121.3 mm (4.78 inches). Claremorris, Co Mayo had its wettest March since 1978 with 164.5 mm (6.48 inches) and Cork Airport, Co Cork had its wettest March since 1981 with 211.3 mm (8.32 inches). Sherkin Island, Co Cork had its wettest March since 1989 with 179.6 mm (7.07 inches) and Moore Park, Co Cork had its wettest March since 1996 with 144.4 mm (5.69 inches). The wettest March followed on from what was confirmed provisionally as the fourth driest February on record. Before last month, the previous wettest March was in 2019.
Massive landslide caused by lightning hits Pakistan, burying about two dozen trucks - A massive landslide hit a key highway in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, April 18, 2023, burying about two dozen trucks. As of early Thursday, rescuers have discovered the lifeless bodies of two individuals, while the fate of an undetermined number of missing persons remains uncertain. Local officials said it looks like the entire mountain has collapsed. The landslide was reportedly caused by lightning that struck the mountain above the highway at about 02:30 LT. The event took place close to the town of Torkham in Khyber Pass — a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, located on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for a state-run rescue service — Rescue 1122, said two bodies were pulled out and eight people were injured. Several vehicles caught fire after the landslide, Faizi said. “Authorities have launched a search operation to look for people trapped under the landslide. There could be more than 20 vehicles, including large trucks, under the rubble. “This is not a small landslide that can be cleaned up quickly. We have more than 60 people working here to remove the rubble. It’s like an entire mountain has collapsed,” he said. “Judging from the magnitude of the incident, ambulances and firefighters from other parts of the province have also been called in. “Rescuers are very careful because there is a possibility of another landslide but they are risking their lives to pull out those feared trapped,” Faizi said.
7 fatalities, 6 missing after widespread floods hit Tanzania - Heavy rainfall has been affecting western Tanzania, particularly the Rukwa Region, since April 12, 2023, causing river overflows and floods that have resulted in casualties and damage. As of April 17, media reports have confirmed seven fatalities, with six people still missing, and several more injured. Dozens of people were left homeless after houses and infrastructure were destroyed in the eastern Rukwa Region’s Sumbawanga District. The Talanda River, in particular, has overflowed due to heavy rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding in the area. The floods have caused severe damage to roads, bridges, and buildings, with many homes being completely destroyed. The local authorities have reported that search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate the missing persons. The situation in the Rukwa Region is expected to worsen, as heavy rainfall is forecasted for the next 24 hours. This has caused concern among the authorities, who have urged residents to take necessary precautions and evacuate to safer locations if necessary.
World Could Face Record Temperatures in 2023 as El Niño Returns - After a few years of the La Niña weather pattern, which cools ocean surface temperatures and can make global temperatures feel cooler, climate models are predicting the return of El Niño. With a returning El Niño weather pattern, we can expect to feel higher temperatures — so high, in fact, that experts believe Earth could hit a record average temperature in 2023 or 2024.During El Niño, winds across the Pacific Ocean, near the equator, weaken and ocean temperatures increase. Current climate models show that El Niño conditions could begin in late boreal summer, and the phenomenon could develop later in the year. “El Niño is normally associated with record breaking temperatures at the global level. Whether this will happen in 2023 or 2024 is yet known, but it is, I think, more likely than not,” Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, told Reuters.In 2016, the planet had its warmest year on record. The same year, a strong El Niño event was taking place. Even if an upcoming El Niño is relatively weak, Earth could see record high temperatures over the next year. Already this year, after the end of La Niña, ocean surface temperatures hit a record high, beating the previous record met in 2016 during El Niño.“The current trajectory looks like it’s headed off the charts, smashing previous records,” Matthew England, a climate scientist at the University of New South Wales, told The Guardian of the record-high ocean surface temperatures.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates a 62% chance of an El Niño pattern happening between May and July 2023. The chances of El Niño happening before the end of 2023 increase to 85%, Axios reported.A recent analysis marked 2022 as tied for the fifth-warmest year on record, despite the La Niña event. With a probable El Niño on the horizon and the worsening impacts of climate change, climate scientists expect record-breaking temperatures this year with extreme weather events, including heat waves, flooding and droughts.
Record-breaking rice shortage in 2023 threatens global food security - Rice production for 2023 is set to log its largest shortfall in two decades, according to Fitch Solutions. This severe global deficit is primarily driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine, and weather-related challenges in major rice-producing countries like China and Pakistan. Over 3.5 billion people worldwide, particularly in Asia-Pacific, are feeling the impact of rising rice prices, as the region consumes 90% of the world’s rice. Fitch Solutions warns that rice prices will likely remain high until 2024, posing serious implications for food price inflation and food security for the poorest households. The global shortfall for 2022/2023 is expected to reach 8.7 million tonnes, the largest deficit since 2003/2004, when the global rice market saw a deficit of 18.6 million tonnes. This significant deficit is primarily attributed to strained rice supplies, resulting from a combination of the ongoing war in Ukraine, heavy summer monsoon rains and floods in China, and severe flooding in Pakistan. Rice is a vulnerable crop, with the highest probability of simultaneous crop loss during an El Nino event. Rice prices averaged $17.30 per cwt through 2023 year-to-date and are projected to ease to $14.50 per cwt in 2024. The global rice production deficit will increase import costs for major rice importers such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and African countries. Many countries will be forced to draw down their domestic stockpiles, with countries already experiencing high domestic food price inflation, like Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, and some African countries, being the most affected. India’s export restriction on broken rice has also been a major price driver for rice. However, Fitch Solutions estimates that the global rice market will return to an almost balanced position in 2023/24, with rice futures potentially falling in year-on-year terms to below their 2022 level. Fitch further projects that the prices of rice could drop almost 10% to $15.50 per hundredweight in 2024. Despite these projections, rice production remains at the mercy of weather conditions. While India’s Meteorological Department expects the country to receive “normal” monsoon rainfall, forecasts for intense heat and heat waves through the second and third quarters of 2023 continue to pose a threat to India’s wheat harvest. China, the world’s largest rice and wheat producer, is currently experiencing the highest level of drought in its rice-growing regions in over two decades. Major European rice-growing countries like France, Germany, and the UK have also been afflicted with the highest level of drought in 20 years.
Asia experiences unprecedented April heatwave - Asia is experiencing a record-breaking April heatwave this year, causing numerous fatalities and shattering all-time temperature records across several countries. In most of Asia, the heat in March and April has been unprecedented. It is worth noting, however, that April and May are typically the hottest months in South and Southeast Asia before the monsoon rains arrive and provide relief. Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described this heatwave as the worst in Asian history given its footprint, severity, and timing, encompassing at least a dozen countries. A drastic weather shift is coming to northern China this week, with temperatures expected to plummet to about 0 °C (32 °F). A brutal heatwave in April 2023 continues to impact large portions of Asia, setting new temperature records in several countries and causing over a dozen deaths. Countries across Southeast Asia experienced their highest recorded temperatures this week, while the Indian subcontinent has also been severely affected by the searing heat. In Laos, the city of Luang Prabang reached an all-time high of 42.7 °C (109 °F) on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, as reported by Herrera. The previous all-time record was 42.3 °C (108 °F) recorded at Seno in April 2016. Over the weekend, Thailand saw its first-ever temperature exceeding 45 °C (113 °F) when the city of Tak reached 45.4 °C (113.7 °F). According to Herrera, using data from the Thai Meteorological Department, large portions of the country have experienced temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s (°C) since late March.
Large dust storm sweeps across China - (satellite video) A large and impressive dust storm swept across China on April 19, 2023, ushering much colder temperatures to the country experiencing unusually high April temperatures. The storm had a very clear boundary, making it clearly visible through geostationary satellites. Following this dust storm, parts of northwestern China are expected to experience a dramatic shift in weather, with blizzards and temperatures dropping from 30 – 35 °C (86 – 95 °F) to about 0 °C (32 °F) in a day.
Formerly Stable Greenland Glacier Shows Signs of Rapid Retreat - Once the Steenstrup Glacier, located in northwestern Greenland, was one of the most stable glaciers in the country. But new research shows this ice formation is now in the top 10% of glaciers contributing to all ice melt in the entire region. From 2018 to 2021, the glacier retreated a whopping 5 miles, a rare and considerable amount of change. The formation thinned by about 20% and contributed double its usual ice discharge into the ocean, according to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University. The study was published in Nature Communications. Steenstrup Glacier is located in shallower waters and is more isolated than other glaciers in the area, which is why experts believed it was largely unaffected by rising temperatures, even as other Greenland glaciers were seeing huge declines. “Our current working hypothesis is that ocean temperatures have forced this retreat,” Thomas Chudley, lead author of the study, said in a statement. “The fact that the glacier’s velocity has quadrupled in just a few years opens up new questions about how fast large ice masses can really respond to climate change.” Ocean temperatures are on the rise. The former highest recorded ocean surface temperature was 20.0°C in 2016 and was recently topped by a 21.1°C average recorded in early April of this year. As temperatures increase, scientists are concerned for these glaciers, especially as a glacier like Steenstrup that was previously stable is now retreating and discharging ice at unprecedented rates. “A quadrupling in speed within 5 years is, to our knowledge, unprecedented among the relative accelerations of large Greenland glaciers, including the doubling of velocity over 5 years of Sermeq Kujalleq in the early 2000s,” the authors wrote in the study. “The short-term doubling of ice discharge is likewise unprecedented and only exceeded by Harald Moltke Bræ, which ~tripled its annual ice discharge within the span of a decade.” Greenland is especially sensitive to warming. According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the average temperature increase globally was 1°F over the past century, while in Greenland, average air temperatures have increased by around 7°F since the 1990s. Greenland loses around 234 billion tons of ice per year, meaning more ice is melting in Greenland than forming each year.
Earth change: The next big thing -- Climate change continues to grab headlines as we attempt to fully understand and adjust to its environmental impacts within our country and the world. While there still continues to be a discussion on climate change causation — human activities vs. natural shifts in temperature, precipitation and weather patterns, there is yet another major environmental phenomena that is lurking around the corner that will severely impact all of us — earth change. Earth change is defined as any natural movement of the earth, for example, earthquakes, volcanoes, mudslides and sinkholes.The world is currently witnessing the results of a dramatic increase in earthquake activity as witnessed by the recent earth change event with the Syria/Turkey earthquake, that according to the United Nations has killed over 50,000 people and has left many survivors living out of tents.In the United States, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted in 2018 at an economic cost of nearly $800 million in damage. Although no lives were lost over 700 buildings were destroyed, 3,000 residents were evacuated, as well as two major highways and several public roads were cut off due to lava flows. The United States has not witnessed such earth change devastation at that scale since the 1980 Mount St. Helen’s volcano eruption and earthquake. That earth change event killed 57 people and blasted away animals and vegetation in area of about 200 square miles at an economic damage cost estimate of $1 billion. Currently, in the United States there are 18 volcanos that are rated at very high risk to include the underground Yellowstone National Park volcanic system which experiences steam explosions and seismic activity threatening almost 4 million annual visitors.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the federal government has a natural hazards mission to develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of our county. The USGS has already predicted that California within the next 30 years has a 99.7 percent chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake, and the Pacific Northwest has a 10 percent chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 megathrust earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone.Although this sounds alarming, there are many other high risk earthquake zones within the continental United States. Most Americans associate earthquakes with the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. However, according to the USGS 39 out of the 50 states — including New York and Tennessee — have moderate to high seismic hazard risk.One area of the country that shows alarming earthquake potential is near the “New Madrid” fault line located in the Southern and Midwestern United States. An earthquake along this fault line could impact 15 million people in eight states. USGS reports that 1 million people living in and around Memphis are at the greatest risk of a major earthquake of a magnitude 7 or 8. The USGS has reported a myriad of small short-lived earthquakes called “earthquake swarms” across the country to include most recently in the San Francisco and San Diego area and is analyzing them as potential pre-cursors to a major earthquake.
Earth-facing filament eruption produces M1.7 solar flare and strong CME - (video) An Earth-facing filament near Active Region 3283 erupted at 18:12 UTC on April 21, 2023, producing an M1.7 solar flare and a strong coronal mass ejection (CME). A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 580 km/s was registered at 17:56 UTC, suggesting a CME is associated with a flare event. In addition, a Type IV Radio Emission was detected at 17:59 UTC. Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong CMEs and solar radiation storms. The impact is expected within 48 to 72 hours. Other than this, solar activity was at low levels over the past 24 hours and is expected to remain low through April 23, with a 35% chance for M-class and 1% for X-class flares. There was little indication in solar wind data from the DSCOVR and ACE satellites that the partial halo CME produced on April 16 had arrived. This CME, which is traveling much slower than the background solar wind, is now forecast to arrive sometime today or early tomorrow.
NASA satellite to fall to Earth today - should we worry about it hitting someone? - An old NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth this week, but experts say chances that it will pose any danger are low. The defunct spacecraft, known as Rhessi, will plummet through the atmosphere on Wednesday night, according to NASA and the US defense department. NASA said on Tuesday that the re-entry location is not being disclosed, given lingering uncertainty over when and where it might go down. Most of the 300kg satellite should burn up as it hurtles through the upper atmosphere, but some parts are expected to fall to Earth. The space agency said in a statement the risk of anyone on the surface being harmed by plunging satellite pieces is "low" - about one in 2,467. Rhessi - short for the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager - rocketed into orbit in 2002 to study the sun. Before being shut down in 2018 because of communication problems, the satellite observed solar flares as well as coronal mass ejections from the sun. It captured images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.
Very bright fireball explodes over Kyiv, Ukraine - - A very bright fireball exploded over Kyiv, Ukraine at about 19:00 UTC (22:00 LT) on April 19, 2023, sparking confusion among residents and prompting authorities to declare an air raid alert. While local authorities said the phenomenon was probably caused by NASA’s RHESSI satellite re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, videos of the event reveal it was a very bright meteor — a bolide or fireball — exploding over Kyiv. Ukraine’s national space agency reported a ‘high-energy acoustic event’ was registered on the territory of Ukraine at 18:57 UTC. “The estimated place of the epicenter of the explosion is in the Kyiv region,” the agency said in a statement. “The event is probably related to the entry of a cosmic body into the dense layers of the atmosphere… the information is being clarified.” Very bright fireball explodes over Kyiv, Ukraine - infrasound event Ukraine’s Air Force Command said that preliminary information shows the flashes over Kyiv are related to the falling of a satellite or meteorite, urging residents not to use the official symbol of the Air Force to create memes for the joy of the enemy. Officials at NASA said the event over Kyiv was not caused by their decommissioned Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft (NORAD ID 27370). On April 19, the agency said RHESSI is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around 00:50 UTC on April 20 (+/- 1 hour). Some components of this 300 kg (660 pounds) spacecraft were expected to survive reentry, making the risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth approximately 1 in 2 467.
EU Readies Levies On High-Carbon Imports... To Pressure Rest Of World On Climate Change - The European Parliament has now approved legislation to phase in a levy on high-carbon imports based on the CO2 emitted in producing them. As Statista's Martin Armstrong notes, the law is a world-first and awaits final approval from EU countries - expected within a few weeks. The tax aims to put pressure on countries outside of EU borders to put a price on CO2 emissions - while also countering the benefits to EU industries relocating to regions with weaker environmental laws. As reported by the Wall Street Journal:"The tax gives credit to countries that put a price on carbon, allowing importers of goods from those countries to deduct payments made for overseas emissions from the amount owed at the EU’s borders."If we take into account the size of the population, China emits 2 times more carbon dioxide per capita than the world average, the EU 1.5 times more and the United States 3 times more.But these figures do not account for emissions associated with imported goods and services, for which much of the production (and carbon footprint) is located in manufacturing countries that still rely heavily on fossil fuels.When including the impact of products that are used locally but manufactured abroad, the carbon footprint per capita in the EU is higher than in China: 11 tons of CO2 equivalent per year compared to 8.The figure for the United States is 21 tons.
‘Blood Carbon’: How a Kenyan Carbon Offset Project Harms Indigenous Pastoralists and Does Nothing About Climate Change - For generations, the Indigenous Samburu, Maasai, Borana and Rendille people of northern Kenya have been grazing cattle and other animals, following the rhythm of the rains and rules passed down from community elders. But in 2013, a conservation organization run by a white, formerly colonial family thought it could do better. It set up a project to sell carbon offsets based on the idea that replacing the “unplanned” grazing methods of Kenya’s Indigenous communities with a more centralized approach closer to commercial ranching would actually store more carbon in the soil and help offset the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation responsible for the climate crisis. Now, a new report from Survival International backed by Indigenous Kenyans argues that the project is putting pastoralist culture and food security at risk, and likely isn’t offsetting emissions either. The report, “Blood Carbon: How a Carbon Offset Scheme Makes Millions From Indigenous Land in Northern Kenya,” focuses on a carbon offset project called the Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon Project. The project, which covers two million hectares of land home to more than 100,000 people, was started by conservation group the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), which calls it the “the world’s largest soil carbon removal project to date and the first project generating carbon credits reliant on modified livestock grazing practices.” This is based on the assumption that the “planned rotational grazing” methods introduced by the NRT will foster more vegetation — and therefore store more carbon — than traditional methods, to the tune of around three-quarters of a tonne more carbon per hectare per year. Over one year, that would amount to 1.5 millions of tonnes of carbon stored; over 30 years, the project claims it would generate around 41 million net tonnes of carbon credits for $300 to $500 million. The project was registered by Verra — the world’s top carbon credit certifier — as Project #1468 and has generated at least 6.7 million credits between 2013 and Feb. 2023, 4.5 million of which have been purchased as offsets, including 180,000 by Netflix and 90,000 by Meta. However, the report raises serious questions about whether any of that money actually accomplished anything. For example, the aim of the project is to increase vegetation, but NRT’s own maps for 2012 to 2020 show vegetation declining in 48.5 percent of the project area.“[I]f, as the project asserts, vegetation cover is correlated with soil carbon, this would suggest that soil carbon in much of the area is in fact also declining,”
Why injecting CO2 underground is a legal morass -- Texas is the Wild West when it comes to injecting carbon dioxide emissions into the earth. The Lone Star State has yet to pass laws regulating such long-term storage for CO2 emissions. And that’s the way rancher Ashley Watt likes it. Watt has been working for months to ink a deal with an energy company that wants to inject carbon dioxide into the geologic formations that lie beneath her land in West Texas. But she is ready to walk away if the Texas Legislature passes a new bill that would allow companies to pass on their liability to the state 10 years after their injections end. “Are we willing to bet the proverbial and literal ranch on this carbon capture working?” she said. “There’s real consequences to that carbon in the ground — are we willing to take that bet?” As oil and gas companies rush to build carbon sequestration projects — in hopes of taking advantage of increased tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act — states are scrambling to answer questions about how to regulate the new industry. The climate law’s incentives encourage carbon capture, as part of the Biden administration’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury. Companies hope to inject that captured CO2 in unprecedented quantities deep underground into the tiny holes within rocks and geologic formations known as the pore space. But who owns that pore space? What happens to companies hoping to extract oil or gas on the same land? And who pays for remediation if injecting millions of tons of CO2 into the earth creates problems? Only a handful of states, including North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana and Mississippi, have laws on the books that clearly tackle some of these issues. The carbon sequestration industry has only just begun to take off, with numerous carbon sequestration projects waiting for EPA approval before their operators can begin construction. Only two states — North Dakota and Wyoming — can authorize permits for carbon dioxide sequestration wells. Projects in other states have to wait out the EPA backlog. But when the federal government starts approving more of these projects — and gives more states the authority to permit them — project operators, landowners and oil and gas producers will begin to run up against a series of thorny legal issues. “It’s a clusterfuck,” said Ted Borrego, an oil and gas industry lawyer and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Houston who teaches courses on advanced oil and gas contracts. “I hate to use legal language like that, but it gets into some oddball issues.”
Biden’s climate blind spot --The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — Biden’s signature climate achievement — invests an impressive $369 billion toward clean energy technologies. In spite of this leadership, Biden has a climate blind spot. Like a driver unaware of an onrushing truck, the president is ignoring the oil and gas industry’s bold and reckless plans to keep America addicted to fossil fuels. Solving climate change requires rapidly ratcheting down oil and gas, which account for 60 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. A sobering energy forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently warned U.S. oil and gas production would increase steadily in the coming decades, despite the IRA efforts. Left unchecked, this path will sink plans to cut U.S. emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Increased oil and gas production can fundamentally upend climate calculations. According to a “high oil and gas supply” scenario included with EIA’s forecast, half of the CO2 reductions from the IRA could be wiped out within a decade if U.S. oil and gas supplies are higher than expected. By 2045, all of the IRA’s climate benefits could be erased. Relying entirely on demand-reduction strategies to cut total emissions is like squeezing one end of a balloon. If supplies continue to grow, emissions will merely shift to areas of emissions growth, such as oil and gas production and the industrial sector. According to EIA, oil and gas emissions from the U.S. industrial sector could increase by 30 percent by 2050. The math doesn’t add up. We can’t achieve net-zero emissions without phasing out fossil fuel supplies. New fossil fuel infrastructure will lock in emissions, slow growth in clean energy jobs and undermine the president’s climate and environmental justice goals. The blind spot was on display recently when Biden announced important Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules to curb climate pollution from tailpipes. “As a car enthusiast and self-proclaimed car guy, President Biden is seizing the moment,” according to the White House. The next evening the Biden administration quietly approved the Alaska LNG Project, greenlighting construction of 800 miles of new pipeline and liquefaction infrastructure as part of a 30-year plan to move gas from Alaska’s North Slope to Asian markets. The Alaska LNG Project’s climate footprint — 2.7 billion metric tons of carbon pollution over the project’s lifetime, according to Department of Energy (DOE) estimates — is equivalent to one-quarter of all the carbon pollution savings expected from EPA’s new tailpipe rules for cars, SUVs, buses, and freight trucks. DOE estimates that the Alaska LNG Project would result in as much as $350 billion in climate damages. Still, they approved the project because it would ostensibly only “contribute incrementally to climate change.” We don’t call these damages incremental when deadly wildfires, storms, floods and droughts hit communities. We call them an emergency.
Ocasio-Cortez, Markey reintroduce Green New Deal resolution: ‘we need bold big climate action’ - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced the reintroduction of their signature Green New Deal resolution Thursday, along with a “Green New Deal for Health” co-sponsored by Markey and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Speaking on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez said the successful passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 proved ambitious action on climate was possible. The bill would almost certainly never reach the House floor under the current Republican majority, but speakers repeatedly invoked the possibility of a restored Democratic trifecta in the 2024 elections. “First, we were called unrealistic. Then, when it was when it came time for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, we started to fight,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We said we are not going to take crumbs, and we’re not going to settle for that — we need bold big climate action, and we need it now.” “And that fight resulted in the largest piece of climate legislation in American history,” she added. Markey and Khanna timed the reintroduction for the fourth anniversary of their original Green New Deal resolution in 2019, shortly after Ocasio-Cortez was sworn into Congress. The resolution proposed a broad swath of environmental and economic reforms, including expansion of high-speed rail, implementation of a “social cost of carbon” rule and creation of a state jobs program modeled after the Depression-era initiatives that are its namesake. Khanna and Markey’s health care legislation, meanwhile, would revive the Hill-Burton program, a New Deal-era initiative that provided hospital construction grants, to provide $100 billion to hospitals for climate resilience. It would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to create a task force that would make policy on emission and climate risk disclosures for FDA-approved drugs and devices.
Climate envoy Kerry: No rolling back clean energy transition - — So much has been invested in clean energy that there can be no rolling back of moves to end carbon emissions, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Sunday. Kerry noted that if countries deliver on promises to phase out polluting fossil fuels, the world can limit average global warming to 1.7 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), better than the worst case scenarios but still above the current limit of 1.5 C global warming above pre-industrial levels. “We’re in a very different place than where we were a year ago, let alone two and three years ago,” Kerry said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But we’re not doing everything we said we’d do,” he said, after attending a meeting of energy and environment ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy nations. “A lot of countries need to step up including ours to reduce emissions faster, deploy renewables faster, bring new technologies online faster all of that has to happen.” Kerry said the G-7 talks in northeastern Japan’s Sapporo were “really constructive” in yielding a show of unity for phasing out use of unabated fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases. A meeting Thursday of President Joe Biden’s Major Economies Forum, which includes leaders of 20 nations that account for more than three-quarters of global carbon emissions, offers another opportunity for committing resources to the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050, Kerry said. “The United States and all the developed world has the responsibility to help the developing world through this crisis,” he said. “Those countries will really determine what happens. If they will reduce, if they will take the lead, if they will start deploying the new technologies, if they will stop using unabated fossil fuels, we’ll up the chance of winning this battle.” Kerry held out hope for cooperation with China on climate despite friction over Taiwan, human rights, technology and other issues, saying he had a “very good conversation” with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, just days earlier. “We agreed that we need to get back together personally, visit and try to see what we can find to work on together to accelerate the process. Is that doable? I hope so,” Kerry said.
U.S. offers $1B to global climate fund after six-year hiatus -- President Joe Biden will encourage major economies Thursday to ramp up their emissions reduction efforts and sign on to a pledge to make half of all car sales zero-emissions by 2030. He will also announce a $1 billion contribution to the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund — the first U.S. payment into the pot of developing country climate finance since 2017. The call to action will come as part of a virtual meeting of the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum on energy and climate. The group includes more than 20 nations that account for around 80 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Administration officials said the meeting offers an opportunity for Biden to take the lead on climate action, ahead of November’s global climate talks. “We think it’s extremely important for major economies to be playing a role in holding the high bar for ambition, but also demonstrating extremely concrete ways that we’re meeting those objectives,” said one senior administration official, who spoke to reporters on background. The administration’s announcement coincides with the release of an International Energy Agency report, which will outline the steps needed to bring down global emissions in line with the Paris Agreement target of holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Officials said Biden will focus on the four pillars outlined in that report: driving down emissions in the power and transportation sectors; ending deforestation; tackling potent climate pollutants like methane; and accelerating carbon capture technologies. The $1 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund is part of the administration’s pledge to scale up international climate finance to $11 billion by 2024. The money will come from funds appropriated from the State Department’s economic support fund from fiscal 2022 and 2023. Biden will also request that Congress appropriate $500 million over five years for the Amazon Fund, an international effort to help Brazil tackle rainforest destruction.
Citing Neo-Nazi Plots Against The Grid, States Pass Laws Meant To Thwart Climate Protests --In just the past month, lawmakers in Utah, Georgia and Tennessee have passed legislation granting police broad new authority to charge anyone who interferes with or disrupts the operations of power plants and pipelines with felonies carrying years in prison.Over the past five years, nearly two dozen states have enacted similar bills, all following the format of a model bill right-wing operatives working with fossil fuel lobbyists designed to thwart future climate protests like those against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.Early on, proponents were explicit about targeting environmentalists and community activists, pushing measures that threatened to bankrupt small-town Ohio churcheswhose parishioners took part in demonstrations with legal fines or throw a Louisiana grandmother in prison for three years for stepping on a petrochemical company’s land to visit the mass grave containing her enslaved ancestors. It obviously proved controversial: The Buckeye State passed its law, but the governor vetoed the Bayou State bill.This time, however, state lawmakers are pitching the harsh new penalties in their bills as the key to going after a different kind of political target: far-right extremists.It’s a rhetorical shift playing off a recent resurgence of neo-Nazi plots against the power grid, but free-speech advocates and extremism experts told HuffPost that prosecutors remain far more likely to use the statutes to charge left-wing and environmental activists.Lawmakers in Utah, Georgia and Tennessee pitched their bills as timely responses to the record wave of cyber- and physical attacks on the United States’ aging network of electrical grids last year. In a span of just weeks in December, gunmen damaged substations on opposite coasts and left tens of thousands of people without power for days.
From GE to Siemens, the wind energy industry hopes billions in losses are about to end - -It's been a tough couple of years for the U.S. wind energy industry. Despite mounting pressure to combat climate change by transitioning to renewable sources, a confluence of factors disrupted supply chains and upended the economics of project financing. Rising inflation and interest rates, the war in Ukraine, and reduced tax incentives have plagued wind turbine manufacturers and developers of both land-based and offshore wind projects.Nonetheless, today there's an air of optimism within the industry, driven in large part by billions of dollars in new tax credits and subsidies toward clean energy investments included in the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act. Although 2023 is expected to remain sluggish, GERenewable Energy, Siemens Energy and Vestas Wind Systems, the leading makers of wind turbines — outside of China, which has built the world's largest wind energy infrastructure — and their suppliers are banking on growth over the next decade, particularly in the nascent offshore wind niche."The wind energy market is stuck in this very strange paradox right now," said Aaron Barr, an industry analyst at Wood Mackenzie. "We have the best long-term climate policy certainty ever, across all the largest markets, but we're struggling through a period where the whole industry, particularly the supply chain, has been hit by issues that have culminated in destroying profit margins and running many of the top OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and their component vendors into negative profitability territory."Barr pointed to turbines that were sold to project developers back in the 2020-21 timeframe, when OEMs' capital expenditures and pricing had been steadily declining. Then, over the last two years, as it came time to deliver the turbines, "the costs of raw materials, specialized logistics and labor skyrocketed through the roof, which has left those OEMs holding the bag on profitability," Barr said.And it's a hefty bag. Last November, Siemens Gamesa (since absorbed into Siemens Energy) reported a net loss of more than $943.48 million for its fiscal year that ended September 30. In a November interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe," CEO Christian Bruch said there were "challenges in wind," especially when it came to supply chains.
Pentagon Calls Biden Wind Farm Plans 'Problematic' for US Military - The Defense Department has raised concerns about East Coast areas earmarked for new wind farms in a setback for the fledgling industry. The Pentagon is sounding alarms over Biden administration plans to advance offshore wind projects along the central Atlantic US coast, warning that almost all of the new terrain eyed for development conflicts with military operations. Maps shared with industry stakeholders and seen by Bloomberg News show vast red areas that the Navy and Air Force have deemed “highly problematic,” covering prime real estate the Interior Department last year earmarked for leasing off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The Defense Department’s concerns, which come on top of other conflicts identified by the US Coast Guard, have spooked renewable power developers and US East Coast states counting on mid-Atlantic wind farms to meet clean energy and climate goals. The breadth of the Pentagon’s opposition could imperil President Joe Biden’s bid to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power — equivalent to 30 nuclear reactors — by the end of the decade, newly bolstered state goals for the development and planned manufacturing facilities in Maryland and Virginia tied to the nascent US industry. The clash represents the latest threat to the fledgling industry that is already grappling with supply chain challenges, inflation-stoked prices and opposition from coastal communities. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management emphasized in an emailed statement that the US “is well positioned to satisfy state and federal offshore wind goals as we develop the clean energy economy.” A senior Defense Department official stressed that the maps represent an initial stage of discussions with the ocean energy bureau and that the Pentagon is committed to finding ways to accommodate leasing in the region. The Pentagon has identified challenges operating around wind turbines that would be installed into the seabed in Atlantic waters near many of its operations and facilities, including North Carolina’s Dare County bombing range, used for training fighter jet crews, and a weapons station in Yorktown, Virginia. They are documented vividly on a map of Navy and Air Force concerns, dated Oct. 6, 2022, and circulated with industry and state stakeholders this month. Four of six potential wind lease areas outlined by the ocean energy bureau last November are completely shaded red, including two deep-water parcels that might require floating turbines. The remaining two tracts, in yellow, are identified as requiring further study. The areas deemed highest priority by the Pentagon span a large portion of potential lease areas off the Maryland and North Carolina coasts. The Defense Department official said the representations were designed to pinpoint areas that present the most challenges — generally where the Pentagon would be unable to continue its mission as currently conducted in the space. The focus going forward is on finding ways to accommodate wind development, including by adjusting operations to allow the activity, the official said. That could take the form of shifting the location of military exercises and other steps — such as optimizing radar processing systems — to minimize interference from turbines. The two tracts marked in yellow are the least problematic, with concerns the Pentagon views as solvable, the Defense Department official said.
Shale Giant Investing in Geothermal Energy | Rigzone - Devon Energy Corp. is investing in a geothermal startup as the shale giant expands into renewable energy sources. Devon, a pioneer of the shale revolution that resuscitated US oil and natural gas production, will inject $10 million into Fervo Energy, the companies said in a joint announcement on Tuesday. Geothermal is a tried-and-true technology commonly used in volcanic zones to put subterranean heat to work producing electricity. Fervo, co-founded by former petroleum drilling engineer Tim Latimer, and other firms are seeking to expand geothermal’s reach, in part by adopting advanced drilling techniques honed by the shale industry. “It’s becoming clear that the same drilling technology breakthroughs that launched the shale oil and gas revolution are going to have a similar impact on the geothermal industry today, which is currently a pretty niche industry,” Latimer said during an interview.
Another offering from our tech overlords: A climate change solution without sacrifice - My expectations are never disappointed when I read the news each day and find out that the solutions to the problems created by our modern technology are to be found in more technology. We do not need to restructure our society, reduce our consumption, moderate our desires or change our habits. Technology will solve our problems without us having to make any substantial change in our way of life.The breathless coverage of a university-based startup company that will draw carbon dioxide out of the ocean—thereby making room for more carbon dioxide from the air to be absorbed—may convince you that we can all sit back and let our tech overlords solve climate change. But if you read to the very bottom of the article, you will find out that there is one important sticking point. It's an energy-intensive process and the energy must come from somewhere.The company says its process will produce hydrogen as a by-product which will cover about half of the energy needs. What about the other half? Well, I suppose they could just use renewable sources. But that would seriously limit the scale of this technology because of the lack of available renewable energy in many locales and its low market penetration to date. According to the "Our World in Energy" site (using data from the BP's Statistical Review of World Energy), less than 3 percent of the world’s energy comes from wind. Only 1.65 percent is solar. Only seven-tenths of one percent is biofuels. Even if you add nuclear which is nonrenewable, nuclear makes up only 4.3 percent of world energy. And, this is not to mention other demands on these sources of energy.There are more difficulties. It turns out that hydrogen when released in its gaseous form into the atmosphere makes climate change worse. And, hydrogen is notorious for leaking from just about anything you can put it in, partly because it's a gas and mostly because it is the smallest molecule in the universe (which makes it easier for hydrogen to get around other molecules trying to block it).Here's the explanation for why hydrogen aggravates global warming:[Hydrogen] has an indirect global warming effect by extending the lifetime of other GHGs [greenhouse gases]. Certain GHGs such as methane, ozone, and water vapor are gradually neutralized by reacting with hydroxide radicals (OH) in the atmosphere. When H2 reaches the atmosphere, however, the H2 molecule reacts with OH instead, depleting atmospheric OH levels and delaying the neutralization of the GHGs, which effectively increases the lifetime of these GHGs.How potent is hydrogen in its indirect warming effects? The report cited above says 100 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Another source says 11 times. So, the transition to a hydrogen economy would also have to be coupled with serious measures to prevent hydrogen leaks which are hard to prevent. In fact, in most applications involving liquid hydrogen—which is the form in which it is normally stored and transported—it is expected that about 1 percent of it will boil off and escape each day. Proponents say even with leaks, burning hydrogen will be far better than burning carbon fuels. But that's assuming that you make hydrogen fuel without burning carbon fuels. Remember: There are no hydrogen reservoirs. If we want to separate it from water molecules through hydrolysis, it takes a considerable amount of energy, more than we get back by burning the hydrogen. That means that under current technology, hydrogen is not an energy source, only an energy carrier. (Another common way to obtain hydrogen is to strip it from natural gas—which, of course, is not a sustainable or climate friendly way to make it.) I do not doubt the sincerity of the people behind extracting carbon dioxide from seawater. The oceans are believed to have absorbed about one-third of all human-made carbon dioxide emitted to date. Theoretically, it seems to make sense to extract that carbon dioxide in order to make room for more atmospheric carbon dioxide to dissolve in the oceans. But, of course, what makes even more sense is to stop emitting carbon dioxide into the air. But, human society continues to increase carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Our tech overlords, whether cynical or sincere, do not want anything to interrupt their ability to profit from the introduction of more and more technology.
G7 vows more effort on renewables but sets no coal phaseout deadline РGroup of Seven richest countries set higher 2030 targets for generating renewable energy, amid an energy crisis provoked by Russia's war on Ukraine, but they set no deadline to phase out coal-fired power plants.At a meeting hosted by Japan, ministers from Japan, the U.S., Canada, Italy, France, Germany and the U.K. reaffirmed their commitment to reach zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, and said they aimed to collectively increase solar power capacity by 1 terawatt and offshore wind by 150 gigawatts by the end of this decade."The G7 contributes to expanding renewable energy globally and bringing down costs by strengthening capacity including through a collective increase in offshore wind capacity ... and a collective increase of solar ...," the energy and environment ministers said in a 36-page communiqu̩ issued after the two-day meeting."In the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis, it's important to come up with measures to tackle climate change and promote energy security at the same time," Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference, according to Reuters.The ministers' statement also condemned Russia's "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine and its "devastating" impact on the environment. The ministers vowed to support a green recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine.They also published a five-point plan for securing access to critical raw materials that will be crucial for the green transition.Before the meeting, Japan was facing criticism from green groups over its push to keep the door open to continued investments in natural gas, a fossil fuel. The final agreed text said such investments "can be appropriate" to deal with the crisis if they are consistent with climate objectives. The ministers' meeting in the northern city of Sapporo comes just over a month before a G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima.
Panasonic’s renewed interest hinges on more state money - Panasonic has plans to build a manufacturing plant in northeast Oklahoma if the state comes up with hundreds of millions more than what lawmakers have said they are willing to pay. The company’s renewed interest was announced nearly a year after it first rejected the state’s $698 million incentive package and instead opted to build a manufacturing facility in Kansas. Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Friday that Panasonic will receive about $698 million in capital investment rebates as part of the LEAD Act passed last year by the state Legislature to entice the company to locate here. Panasonic, however, wants an additional $245 million in infrastructure upgrades at the industrial park in Pryor where it plans to build a $5 billion, 5-million-square-foot plant that will employ 3,500 Oklahomans and create about 20,000 indirect jobs. That’s a nearly $1 billion taxpayer-funded investment in exchange for the largest economic development project in state history. Not everyone is on board, but Stitt said he is confident the Legislature will figure out a way to generate the additional $245 million needed to close the deal.
Clogged transmission cost consumers $13B in 1 year — report - U.S. consumers paid an estimated $13.4 billion in 2021 because congested transmission lines couldn’t deliver the lowest-cost power, according to a new report. Those congestion costs were nearly double the average from the previous five years and also represented a roughly 100 percent jump from 2020, according to data analyzed by Grid Strategies LLC, a consulting firm that examines transmission options. And the costs could continue to stay that high unless grid operators expand the transmission network and find ways to better utilize the power lines they have, said Julia Selker, director of policy and strategy for Grid Strategies. “We’ve been concerned about these costs even before they exploded in 2021,” said Selker, who also serves as executive director of the Working for Advanced Transmission Technologies (WATT) Coalition. “Grid expansion is not keeping up with new generation. With more renewables, there is so much cheap generation available, but it can’t be delivered and that’s where congestion comes from.” The new report shows that “transmission pays dividends,” Selker added. The study arrives as the Biden administration is seeking to enhance the nation’s transmission system to accommodate the massive growth in renewable energy needed to meet a White House goal of a carbon-free U.S. grid by 2035. A report from the Department of Energy found that the country would need to add more than 50 percent to the grid’s current capacity by then to reach high levels of renewable power (Greenwire, Feb. 24). The Grid Strategies study analyzed public data from regional transmission organizations and independent system operators, which collectively serve about 58 percent of the U.S. electric load. Congestion costs in those regions — excluding the California Independent System Operator, which does not publicly release such data — totaled $7.7 billion in 2021. That was extrapolated to reach the national figure based on the assumption that congestion is similar across markets. Congestion data for 2022 is expected to be available this summer, according to Grid Strategies. On the whole, congestion costs ticked up slightly in 2020 but were lower than the annual average of recent years in part because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to reduced industrial and business electricity demand. The massive jump in 2021, however, had a variety of factors including rising demand, higher natural gas prices and extreme weather events.
Summary of FERC Meeting Agenda for April 2023 | White & Case LLP -Below are summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's open meeting to be held on April 20, 2023, pursuant to the sunshine notice released on April 13, 2023.
Manchin slams EPA for 'lying' to public on tailpipe rule - Sen. Joe Manchin is promising to work to undermine the Biden administration’s historic proposal to limit tailpipe emissions in a presidential election year. The West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday threw his support behind efforts to repeal EPA’s proposed rule to limit smog, soot and carbon from cars and trucks starting with model year 2027 — a move designed to hasten the transition to all-electric vehicles. “I fully support Congress overturning these dangerous EPA regulations,” Manchin said in a statement, in which he also accused the administration of “lying to Americans with false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security.” Manchin will join with Senate Republican leaders in this endeavor. They announced their intentions, at their weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, to deploy the Congressional Review Act to overturn the rulemaking. Resolutions under the CRA have become popular vehicles in a Republican-controlled House and a closely divided Senate — where they only require a simple majority for adoption — to disapprove of Biden administration policies and force Biden to use his veto pen. Manchin has sided with the GOP on several so far. The vote to overturn the proposed tailpipe rule under the CRA can’t happen until after the rule is finalized; that isn’t expected to taken place until later this year, at least, which would punt a resolution into early 2024. But that doesn’t mean Manchin can’t continue, in the intervening months, to make life difficult for the Biden administration, which has already crossed the senator once in recent weeks over its implementation of the EV tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act. Manchin berated EPA on Tuesday for setting up its proposed emissions standards as a “Trojan horse,” where the United States would be forced to rely on “minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese” in order to meet new deadlines to produce more EVs. “Taken in concert with the clear violation of the IRA to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China,” Manchin continued. “I don’t believe that making progress on climate change should come at the expense of our national and energy security.”
Want an electric car tax break? You pretty much need to buy American -Shoppers looking for a tax break on a new electric vehicle (EV) have fewer options starting today — and almost all of them come from American brands. The Treasury Department just narrowed the list of EVs eligible for a $7,500 consumer tax credit to U.S.-built cars made with battery components from the U.S. or its trading partners.It's great news if you're in the market for a Tesla or Chevrolet, not great if you want something from a foreign brand (with the sole exception of the Tennessee-built Volkswagen ID.4). The Biden administration is trying to steer Americans toward electric cars with a broad array of new policies, including a recentproposal that would drastically increase tailpipe emissions standards.But EVs are generally more expensive than traditional cars and remain out of reach for many potential buyers. Under the new rules, just 11 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit — about half as many as were eligible before the new rules took effect.
- But 90% of the best-selling EVs still qualify, including Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 and the Chevrolet Bolt. (A base-model Bolt will cost as little as $19,995 after the tax credit and destination fee.)
- Others, like Ford's Mustang Mach-E, only qualify for half the credit — $3,750 — because their batteries come from abroad.
- Eight EVs are no longer eligible, including the Nissan Leaf and Genesis GV70.
- See the full list on the Department of Energy's fueleconomy.gov website.
Biden's EV bet is a gamble on critical minerals - The Biden administration’s electric vehicle plan bets the U.S. will be able to secure enough critical minerals to electrify up to two-thirds of the nation’s new cars within less than a decade. But industry experts say the plan rests on assumptions that are bullish given volatility in the still-burgeoning mineral markets, a disconnect that could undermine one of President Joe Biden’s most aggressive climate rules. EPA in its proposed tailpipe rules released last week, which would aggressively limit emissions from cars, SUVs and trucks on U.S. roads by 2032, includes key assertions about the future of the EV industry. Among those: The price of lithium needed to make batteries will “likely stabilize” at or near historic levels by the mid-2020s, a crucial detail as this would help make EVs more affordable for consumers. EPA says that contention is supported, among other things, by proprietary price forecasts, analysis and news stories. “No one … has any idea whether that’s correct or not,” said Morgan Bazilian, public policy professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Right now, critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel needed to make EV batteries are largely mined and processed abroad — an industry dominated by China. As part of its EV push, the Biden administration has pledged to help shift that supply chain to the United States and allied countries, giving itself an enormous additional challenge on top of shepherding automakers away from gas-powered cars and trucks. That means the cost and availability of minerals like lithium in new supply chains will play a central role in EV adoption — and, ultimately, Biden’s climate and national security goals. EPA in its proposed clean car rule acknowledges uncertainty around pricing, as well as the pace of permitting of new mines and just how fast supply chains for refining and processing, EV battery manufacturing, and recycling can scale up. But the agency also concludes that prices for lithium — currently the essential ingredient in batteries — will stabilize and sufficient supplies will be available through at least 2027, and likely beyond. But Bazilian, a former energy specialist at the World Bank, said it’s difficult to make predictions about critical minerals markets given they’re small, opaque, and don’t have good liquidity or price discovery. Andrew Miller, chief operating officer at U.K. mining data firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said he doesn’t expect the U.S. to be able to produce the amount of lithium it needs over the coming decades. Miller also said he expects the “incredibly volatile” pricing around lithium and other minerals seen in recent weeks and months to continue, throwing into question the United States’ ability to secure enough material in an increasingly competitive global landscape. “That’s really a warning sign of what’s to come in the future,” said Miller. “So I think there’s a lot baked into those assumptions around the U.S.’s ability, in particular, to source raw material and establish the security of supply.”
Mining Corporations Are Up in Arms Over Mexican Government’s Potentially Game-Changing Mining Reform Proposals - Mexico’s government already faces the threat of international dispute settlements over its energy reforms and proposed ban of GM corn. It now wants to radically change the rules of the game for its huge mining sector.Mexico is the world’s largest silver producer, accounting for roughly one out of every five metric tons of the precious metal mined in 2021. It is also among the top ten global producers of 15 other metals and minerals (bismuth, fluorite, celestite, wollastonite, cadmium, molybdenum, lead, zinc, diatomite, salt, barite, graphite, gypsum, gold, and copper). For the past 31 years the country has functioned as a veritable paradise for global mining conglomerates, serving up some of the laxest regulations in Latin America. But that could all be about to change.The Mexican parliament’s lower chamber on Monday (April 17) began debating a proposed overhaul of the country’s mining law. Also under debate are proposed amendments to the National Water Law, the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection, and the General Law for the Prevention and Integral Management of Waste. This comes just two months after Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (aka AMLO) signed a decree handing over responsibility for lithium reserves to the energy ministry, after nationalizing the country’s lithium deposits in April 2022. The main objectives of the reforms are threefold, Mexico’s Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostrotold a private meeting of legislators on Monday (April 17): to restore state control over Mexico’s mineral and water resources; to regulate the granting, maintenance, supervision and termination of mining concessions; and to protect human rights, the environment and human health.One thing that sets Mexico apart from most, if not all, other resource-rich countries in Latin America is the extreme preferential treatment it grants to the mining industry. In the country’s 1992 Mining Law, mining activity took precedence over all other industries and activities. Article 6of the law reads: The exploration, exploitation and beneficiation of the minerals or substances referred to in this Law are public utilities and will have preference over any other use or utilization of the land, subject to the conditions established herein, and only by a Federal Law may taxes be assessed on these activities.Thanks largely to this bizarre four-line paragraph, the claims of the mining industry on Mexican land have had greater import than not just all other industries but all other human activity. For the next 31 years Mexico’s federal government has been bound by law to act against the interests and rights of both private landlords and local communities in order to guarantee mining companies access to the lands upon which a concession is granted.
Germany to Shut Down Its Last Remaining Nuclear Reactors - Germany is set to shutter its last three nuclear plants on Saturday, in a phaseout initiated 20 years ago and sped up in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. The move comes as other countries — including the U.S. and the UK — have expressed renewed interest in nuclear as a way to generate electricity that does not contribute to the climate crisis, and some in Germany argued that the government should not follow through with the closures. “Shutting down the world’s most modern and safest nuclear power plants in Germany is a dramatic mistake that will have painful economic and ecological consequences for us,” deputy chairman of German liberal party Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP) Wolfgang Kubicki told the Funke media group, as TVP World reported. Kubick’s party is a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition, as AP News noted. However, the government held firm against requests from both within and without to extend the life of the country’s last three nuclear reactors. Germany’s journey to nuclear retirement began in 2002, but picked up its pace in 2011 following protests in response to the Fukushima accident, according to Euronews and Sky. That incident, in which three reactor cores melted after a tsunami interrupted their power supply, released around 940 peta becquerels of radiation and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate, according to the World Nuclear Association. “[E]ven in a high-tech country like Japan, the risks associated with nuclear energy cannot be controlled 100 per cent,” then-Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the time, according to Euronews. Germany has closed down 16 nuclear reactors since 2003, according to Sky. The last three standing are the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim reactors as well as another located in Emsland in Lower Saxony. The reactors were supposed to close on the last day of 2022, but Scholz opted to keep them running through the winter in case the country faced energy shortages following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to AP News. Germany also brought retired coal plants back online for the same reason. Some have voiced concerns that the reactors may still be needed, but Environment Ministry spokesperson Bastian Zimmermann said this would be both illegal and too expensive. That’s because the plants are supposed to undergo safety checks every decade, but the last was in 2009. Mandatory inspections for 2019 were only waived because the plants were set to retire, so keeping them around would mean testing their safety again, a time-consuming process. Germany’s decision comes as it is trying to phase out coal, which still generates a third of its electricity, by 2038 at the latest, according to Sky. Nuclear, on the other hand, only makes up five percent, according to AP News. In order to meet its deadline, Germany will need to install “four to five wind turbines every day” Scholz has said, according to Euronews. Germany’s targets “are already ambitious without the nuclear phase-out — and every time you deprive yourself of a technological option, you make things more difficult,” energy expert at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel Georg Zachmann said, as Euronews reported.
Semi-trailer crashed and spilled 40,000 pounds of motor oil on I-70 East – A semi-trailer containing 40,000 pounds of Pennzoil Motor Oil crashed and overturned on Interstate 70 East late Tuesday night, forcing the closure of the interstate for over six hours. According to Columbus police at 11:22 p.m. a semi hit a bridge support beam at the Courtright Road overpass on I-70 East between the South Hamilton Road and James Road exits. Boxes containing a total of 40,000 pounds of Pennzoil Motor Oil spilled into the roadway and across the median of the highway. Some of the boxes and the containers within the boxes ruptured causing oil to spill onto the highway and crews took over six hours to clean up the wreckage. The cab of the truck caught fire and was totaled in the aftermath of the crash. Police have yet to determine the cause of the crash but reported that the driver was taken to Grant Medical Center in stable condition. As of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday I-70 eastbound remained closed eastbound from U.S. Route 33 to South Hamilton Road, though the debris and the semi-truck had been cleared.
Gas and oil wells in Ohio are leaking. Who’s responsible for fixing them? | The Statehouse News Bureau -- More than 270,000 oil and natural gas wells dot the landscape of Ohio. They’ve accumulated over centuries and they’ve been a big economic boon for the state since the first one was drilled in 1860. Eastern Ohio is especially attractive for oil and gas drilling because of an energy-producing geological formation there. Known as “Clinton sand,” overlapping layers of shale and sandstone produce trillions of cubic feet of gas.The region boasts 80,000 Clinton wells built to harvest that energy. About half are still active today, but many are in a state of disrepair. They’re rusty, covered in flaky paint, and some leak for years on end with no fix in sight.Rachel Wagoner, a journalist with Farm and Dairy Magazine, spent more than six months investigating this issue for her piece “Failure by design: Leaky gas and oil wells slip through the cracks.” She found that some companies don’t fix leaky wells – or take a long time to do so – despite rules put in place by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.Though the leaks don’t pose a threat to public safety, they affect the farming industry, and landowners who live nearby are left frustrated by corporate inaction and government bureaucracy.This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Interview Highlights: Green water bubbles around a gas well at the edge of Dave McCallion's hay field in Trumbull County. It has leaked like this for years. "[Wells] are leaking and some of them in really spectacular and gross ways. One well [in Trumbull County] really struck me. The well casing is coming up out of the ground. There's water surrounding it and the gas is bubbling up through the water, so it's really gross, brackish. There's green algae in the water. It looks like a witch's cauldron, and it's just constantly bubbling. And that's what it's been doing for over five years now, just bubbling away, letting methane out into the environment."
Ohio judge denies request to halt state park fracking (WCMH) – An Ohio law loosening restrictions on oil and gas companies’ ability to drill under state parks can remain in place for now, a Franklin County judge ruled last week. On April 10, Judge Kimberly Cocroft denied environmental groups’ request that she temporarily block the state’s enforcement of House Bill 507, dubbed the “chicken bill,” whose provisions make it easier for oil and gas companies to get green-lit for a fracking lease in Ohio’s state parks. The lawsuit – filed by the Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club, Buckeye Environmental Network and Ohio Valley Allies one day before the law took effect – contends that state lawmakers skirted constitutional requirements when considering HB 507, which plaintiffs say forces state agencies to grant an oil or gas company’s request for a fracking lease, regardless of an applicant’s qualifications. “The vitality of our public lands is essential to our own well-being,” said Nathan Johnson, an attorney and public lands director for the Ohio Environmental Council. “No one wants to experience visual blight or breathe in toxic air pollution when out on the trail. Our parks are often our best refuge for health and relaxation. These public resources must be protected.” Cocroft, however, dismissed the environmental advocates’ claims that expanded drilling could corrupt Ohio’s public land and those who enjoy it.Since HB 507 took effect this month, Cocroft pointed to the fact that no company has submitted a proposal to frack in a state park, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Andy Chow.Plus, given the “very few leases” that have been granted since 2011 – the year fracking in state parks was first legalized – Cocroft argued that HB 507 does not present an “immediate or irreparable harm” that must be remedied with a temporary restraining order.“The Court finds that any reference regarding an injury to the recreational, cultural, and aesthetic interests in the lands to the plaintiffs’ members is speculative, at best, and does not constitute an immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage,” Cocroft wrote.
Church officials, residents continue to discuss proposed natural gas well --Stow -- Dan and Denise Tonelli, residents who oppose the possible drilling for natural gas on the property of Stow Community United Church of Christ, maintain that a gas well could be dangerous. "It is not worth the risk," said Denise Tonelli, whose house on Pilgrim Drive is near the church. David Beck, president of Beck Energy of Ravenna, said his company is following all the legal guidelines in place. Beck said he already has numerous wells operating in the Stow area, among his 300 wells in 10 Ohio counties. No final decision was reached during an informational meeting July 15 at Stow City Hall. About 30 people were in attendance. "We'll meet with the church and discuss where we are," Beck said after the meeting. Beck said the possibility of mandatory pooling, where residents can be forced by a state committee to take part in the natural gas project -- similar to eminent domain, "has been shelved." Beck said his company is insured and bonded. "If a well is not producing, the state requires me to plug the well or they will remove my bond," Beck said. Stow Community United Church of Christ, 1567 Pilgrim Drive, is considering installing a natural gas well, which would allow the church to have free use of natural gas. Gary Aleman, a spokesman for the church, told the audience that the church has been running a deficit budget over the last 10 years, and the average age of its members is 62. "This [a proposed natural gas well] is a risk that we're willing to trying so we can keep our church doors open," Aleman said. "We're trying to raise money, but it's hard." Rich Reinhart, the Stow church's council president, previously said church officials wouldn't be pursuing the project if they didn't believe it was safe.
Ohio oil, gas offer energy solutions - The Toledo Blade - The United States is the world’s top producer of natural gas and oil, and millions of people across our nation and around the world rely on American-made energy to power and heat our homes, cook our food, and fuel our vehicles. Yet, as global demand for more U.S. natural gas and oil grows, a lack of commonsense energy policy, out of date regulations, and opposition to desperately needed infrastructure projects has created a worldwide energy crisis. Fortunately, as policymakers seek solutions to this crisis, they need look no further than Ohio. The American Petroleum Industry recently outlined a three-pronged approach to strengthen U.S. energy leadership to keep pace with demand while creating a lower-carbon future, and Ohio is poised for a leadership position in meeting these goals. First, API’s plan calls for making more American energy. Demand continues to outpace supply in the post-pandemic world, U.S. petroleum exports remain near record levels, and our Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude oil inventories are at the lowest levels since 1983. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas and oil are projected to supply nearly 50 percent of the world’s energy in 2050. Increasing production has never been more important. Ohio produces energy. Ohio’s natural gas production meets more than 70 percent of the state’s primary energy needs. A significant portion of the nation’s third largest shale formation exists in Ohio. The Utica Shale play accounts for almost all the rapid increase in Ohio’s natural gas output, which was more than 29 times higher in 2021 than in 2010, according to the energy administration. Since 2011, the natural gas and oil industry has invested nearly $98 billion in Ohio, according to a recent study conducted by JobsOhio and Cleveland State University. More than $2.5 billion of these investments were made between July and December, 2021. Second, API calls for streamlining the permitting processes to facilitate infrastructure construction such as new pipelines to move energy where it is needed. But permitting delays, prolonged regulatory agency reviews, and needless bureaucratic involvement have rendered many of the projects financially unviable and forced cancellation. In recent years, $34 billion in capital investments have been scuttled by permitting delays harming U.S. competitiveness, economic growth, and energy security. In Appalachia alone, infrastructure projects that could have transported significant volumes of natural gas to regions in desperate need, such as New England, were canceled. The third prong of API’s approach stresses the need to continue to improve the ways we produce and move energy with sound policy that encourages further investment in innovation for carbon capture, utilization, and storage, hydrogen use, and cleaner fuel technology, as well as advancing permitting for low-carbon infrastructure — including pipelines. Ohio is blessed with the resources and geology to take advantage of the next generation of energy production. Of note, Ohio already supports a robust hydrogen economy that cost-effectively generates, stores, and transports hydrogen to an industrial market led by the steel, petrochemical and fertilizer industries. Energy-intensive sectors accounted for one-third of the state’s $639 billion economy in the third quarter of 2022. In addition to Ohio’s natural gas and oil production capabilities and vast reserves, the state has four refineries that process 600,000 barrels of crude oil per calendar day, ranking Ohio as the sixth-largest refining state in the United States. Additionally, the industry operates more than 12,000 miles of pipeline infrastructure, employs more than 420,000 people and contributes $67.4 billion to the Buckeye State’s economy.
Extraction influences seismicity at some hydraulic fracturing sites in Ohio - A decade’s worth of research at oil and gas operations in the central and eastern United States has confirmed that fluid injection from hydraulic fracturing and wastewater disposal can induce seismicity.Now, data from hydraulic fracturing wells in eastern Ohio indicate that extraction activities also can influence the seismicity rate, according to a presentation at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)’s 2023 Annual Meeting. During hydraulic fracturing, well operators inject a pressurized liquid into a rock layer after drilling vertically and often horizontally through the rock. The liquid breaks apart—fractures–the rock layer and allows natural gas or petroleum to flow out more freely. This process can induce seismic activity large enough for people to feel, possibly by increasing fluid pressures within the rock that helps to unlock faults and allow them to slip.When seismologists detected a flurry of seismicity last fall in eastern Ohio, however, there was no clear link to injection, said Michael Brudzinski of Miami University.“The amount of seismicity kind of looked like patterns we would see when an injection operation was ongoing,” he explained. “However, when we asked the regulator what kind of activities were going on, he shared with us that there wasn’t anything new going on.”Puzzled, Brudzinski and his colleagues began to look for other well processes that might influence seismicity. One idea they had was that “fluctuations in the amount of extraction from the reservoir might be influencing when seismicity is occurring,” said Brudzinski.Because fracturing is so pervasive in newer wells, he explained, the amount of oil and gas that can be extracted “is large initially but it diminishes fairly quickly. So sometimes operators will stop extracting for a month or two, then start it up again, and when they start it up again it tends to produce a little bit better.”Comparing seismic data to publicly available oil and gas operations records for the Ohio wells, the researchers saw that the unusual change in seismicity rates was associated with this “charge-up” process. “When a particular well was temporarily halted in terms of their extraction, that’s when we see an increase in seismicity afterward,” said Brudzinski.The researchers also noted an increase in the seismicity rate accompanying initial flowback, when liquid injected for fracturing makes its way back up to the surface when extraction starts after the fracturing process.Extraction-related seismicity isn’t a new finding, Brudzinski said, noting studies of extraction earthquakes at the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands as one example.“But what’s new for us is that we were not really thinking about the extraction process having an influence on seismicity in these cases where injection has been the primary cause of seismicity,” he said.The earthquakes induced by extraction activities in this region are magnitude 2.6 or smaller—large enough to be felt but not damaging. The magnitude distribution of extraction-related earthquakes is similar to the distribution of earthquakes occurring when the wells were initially fractured.
Is there an association between residential proximity to fracking sites and birth defects? - A recent study to be published in the Environmental Research Journal explores the incidence of birth defects in children born to mothers residing within 10 km of fracking sites. Oil and gas development produces a slew of toxic chemicals, more so when produced by unconventional methods. Some of these are known to be teratogens or reproductive poisons.A new study from Ohio, where natural gas production shot up 30-fold in the period between 2010 and 2020, seeks to identify an association between unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) and birth anomalies. UOGD refers to the “extraction of oil and gas from previously inaccessible reservoirs through the use of directional drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing.”, according to the US Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency. The most common birth anomaly was hypospadias, followed closely by congenital heart disease and oral clefts. There were over 40,000 births to women living close to UOGD facilities, making up about 4% of the total cohort.The researchers found that children born to women who lived within a 10 km radius of UOGD were at higher odds for certain birth defects, though not for any birth defect overall. The risk of NTDs was increased by almost 60%, and that of limb reduction defects was doubled.Spina bifida risk was also doubled, but hypospadias was reduced by almost 40% following UOGD exposure. The latter was an unexpected finding, perhaps reflecting the presence of androgenic as well as anti-androgenic chemicals in the fracking fluid and wastewater. Earlier studies have not specifically mentioned hypospadias results.Structural defects were not significantly increased overall, but among females, the risk was ~30% higher.The odds for birth defects were higher among births to women living within 5 km of a UOGD plant and if the exposure was in the first trimester of pregnancy. The highest risk was associated with drinking water exposure.Lower-class neighborhoods were at greater risk compared to those with better social advantages. However, rural and urban neighborhoods appeared to be at equal risk. The presence of fine particulate matter did not seem to affect the risk.Our results suggest a positive association between UOGD and certain birth defects, and findings for neural tube defects corroborate results from prior studies.”Living near UOGD wells is associated with spina bifida and with limb reduction anomalies. A new parameter, namely, drinking water exposure to UOGD toxicants, was also presented as being associated with birth defects.This is the only study on the health risks of UOGD in Ohio, despite the boom in its production. Further studies would help frame appropriate guidelines, for instance, on the minimum setback distance from a UOGD well to a receptor, namely, a well that is used for drinking water or a house where people live.At present, Ohio mandates between 50-200 feet distance between a well drilled in a specific direction and the nearest receptor, such as the latter.The current study looked at groups of diagnoses that might have been caused by different mechanisms but presented similarly. This could have biased the results to show a false lack of association. To overcome this limitation, larger sample sizes are necessary to ensure adequate statistical power.Secondly, Ohio has a passive surveillance system, tending to underreport birth defects. This could be corrected by the direct use of hospital records by researchers or by using samples from states with active surveillance systems.Thirdly, serious anomalies that caused miscarriage or fetal death, or neonatal death would not be captured in the present study, causing falsely low estimates of the risk to the fetus, especially if the baby is already anomalous and more vulnerable to health risks because of UOGD toxicant exposure.These results, in conjunction with the broader literature, underscore the need to consider impacts to children’s health specifically when developing or improving public health protections around UOGD.”
Strs Ohio Sells 20% of Holdings in MRC Global Inc. - Strs Ohio, a prominent institutional investor, has significantly lessened its holdings in MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its recently released SEC filing. The company sold around 15,300 shares during the period, causing a decrease in the number of shares it owns from 74,800 to 59,500. Strs Ohio held approximately 0.07% of MRC Global’s total market value prior to the sale at $689,000. MRC Global is a holding company that offers distribution services for oil and gas pipelines, fittings, valves and other infrastructure services to energy companies operating in industrial plants and gas utility markets around the world. Operating across three main regions: Canada, US and International sectors; it was founded on November 20th of 2006 with its headquarters situated in Houston, TX. The Q4 results were positive for MRC Global – on February 13th they announced their quarterly earnings data showing an EPS of $0.32 per share higher than consensus predictions which was set at $0.28 per share – with an upswing of $0.04 per share since then they have beaten estimates again reinvesting billions back into their technology and marketing strategies as well as hiring new professionals to secure growth plans from this sector aimed towards meeting demands under increasingly rigorous restrictions.
Fracking yields both fears, funding for Pennsylvania public lands - In 2008, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell opened 2.2 million acres of state forests to the new, profitable — and controversial — use of hydraulic fracturing to access natural gas in rock formations thousands of feet underground. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, which controls another 1.4 million acres of predominantly wooded land that is open to the public, also jumped on the gas-leasing bandwagon. Together, 255,000 acres among some of the state’s last vast forests have been leased to private industry to extract natural gas by fracking. The contracts have brought in well over $1 billion in revenue for the state and $812 million for the Game Commission. Both say the money has led to benefits for the public and conservation. But others say that clearings for drilling rigs, wastewater holding tanks and hundreds of miles of new access roads and pipelines have fragmented the forests, harmed wildlife and altered the wild character of beloved forests. The debate over benefits and drawbacks won’t end soon, especially as a new state bill aims to lift a moratorium on additional leases in forests managed by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Meanwhile, about half of the existing leases haven’t become active yet. According to David Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a gas industry group based in Pittsburgh, drilling on those lands will come.About 1.5 million acres of the DCNR-managed forests lie atop the Marcellus Shale gas formation, which covers about three-fifths of the state.By 2010, two years after Rendell opened the gates for fracking on state land, 35 leases were in place for about 139,000 of those acres. As a result, about 1,900 acres of state forest have been converted to shale gas infrastructure, according to DCNR. That includes 171 well pads, many containing multiple wells. About 172 miles of pipelines have been built through the forests to connect the wells and move gas to markets. Trees were cleared to create approximately 46 miles of access roads, and another 186 miles of existing dirt roads have been widened or had their surfaces hardened with gravel and other fortifying methods. The leases have earned the state $1.3 billion as of 2021, much of it used to fill budget gaps. But that is set to change, as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that drilling revenue must stay within DCNR and be used for conservation. The other main public caretaker of Pennsylvania’s large forests is the Pennsylvania Game Commission. To date, the commission has signed 72 leases on 116,000 acres. All but three are still producing gas. But 48 of the 72 only allow drilling underground from adjacent private properties and do not result in surface disturbance on game lands. Even so, about 1,200 acres have seen trees cut or the landscape altered at 98 fracking sites. So far, the leases have brought in more than $812 million to the Game Commission, an independent state agency that had been facing a fiscal crisis as sales of hunting licenses steadily declined.
Awash in Toxic Wastewater From Fracking for Natural Gas, Pennsylvania Faces a Disposal Reckoning - Gillian Graber considers herself an “accidental activist,” a stay-at-home mom who learned in 2014 that a gas company wanted to drill wells 2,400 feet from her house on the eastern outskirts of Pittsburgh and had a vague notion that fracking that close would be dangerous for her two young children. She started reading everything she could find about the boom in harvesting gas from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. She soon concluded that she was concerned not just about the drilling itself but also about its toxic byproducts. In the fracking process, millions of gallons of water are tainted first by chemicals used to extract the gas and then by potentially dangerous substances that had been safely sequestered in the shale for millions of years until drillers washed them up. Add to that tons of solid waste that can also be toxic. Wells can produce wastewater for decades. “Holy cow. This is worse than we thought,” she recalls musing after an expert talked to her nascent group of protesters in Trafford, Pennsylvania, about fracking waste. Considering what to do about drilling waste is not for the faint of heart, Graber soon found. A daunting array of agencies regulate the process, but important loopholes remain. Scientists say they need more facts. Activists who fear fracking and seek cleaner energy collide with neighbors who want jobs, and with a powerful industry that provides a lot of them. “It’s an extremely complex web of risk and technology, and there’s a need for very strong regulations and enforcement,” said Amy Mall, a senior advocate on the National Resources Defense Council’s dirty energy team who has studied fracking regulation.The water that comes from gas wells in the Marcellus can contain a long list of substances you’ve probably barely heard of along with poisons like arsenic and naturally occurring radioactive material like radium 226 and 228. It is far saltier than the ocean. That alone makes it deadly to most plants and freshwater life. Some experts and activists fear that an industry producing a trillion gallons a year of wastewater nationwide—2.6 billion gallons of that were churned out in Pennsylvania last year—is heading for a disposal reckoning.
Environmentalists win; company drops plans for $1B gas-fired generating plant in Pa. - Plans for a $1 billion natural gas-fired power generating plant on the site of former railroad yards in a borough northwest of Lock Haven in Clinton County have been scrapped. “It’s a sad and disappointing time,” Michael Flannigan, president and CEO of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, said Friday about the decision of the Bechtel Corp. of Reston, Va. Bechtel cited the ongoing appeals from environmental groups as the reason for discontinuing the project that had been in the planning stages for eight years. The company referred to the appeal filed two years ago by the Clean Air Council, Penn Future and the Center for Biological Diversity over the approval by the state Department of Environmental Resources of the air quality permit. Only recently did the Environmental Hearing Board schedule a hearing on the appeal for later this year. “After more than eight years, we do not see a path to a reasonable conclusion of the project’s air permit appeal and have made the difficult decision to discontinue development,” Bechtel said in a statement. It noted the opponents were poised to appeal any further permit renewals. An environmental hearing judge asked the parties to discuss settlement talks but it was to avail, the company stated. “There was tremendous community and local and state official support for this project. In the end, the delay tactics of the environmental groups won out.” The Clean Air Council, Penn Future and the Center for Biological Diversity praised Bechtel’s decision stating in a release: “After many years of community opposition and nearly two years of litigation, the residents of Renovo can breathe easier.” “Bechtel’s decision to cancel this dangerous plant is a crucial win for the health, welfare and safety of the residents of Renovo, who have been peddled lies about this project’s purported benefits and illegally cut out of the permitting process,” said Joseph Otis Minott, executive director and chief counsel of the Clean Air Council. “It is a win for Renovo and for all Pennsylvanians when we realize that the fracked gas industry doesn’t make sense - from an economic, energy or environmental health perspective,” said PennFuture’s senior attorney Jessica O’Neill. “The cancellation of this proposed fracked gas burning power plant helps move us forward to a future powered by wind and solar power,” said Robert Ukeiley, an environmental health lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity. “As a great-grandparent, I’m grateful that this power plant didn’t come to fruition because we are now able to protect what is most important - the health of our children,”
What a ‘fossil fuel-free’ redo of the PES refinery looks like – WHYY - At a community summit on the redevelopment of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philly Saturday, residents talked about their visions for the site’s future, free of fossil fuels.“People want to live,” said Sylvia Bennett, a longtime resident of the Grays Ferry neighborhood near the refinery and a member of the activist group Philly Thrive. “We’re tired of dying and being sick.” When operating, the PES refinery was the largest oil refinery on the East Coast and the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and unhealthy local particulate pollution in Philly. Scientists say the world needs to transition awayfrom planet-warming fossil fuels, and the redevelopment of the former South Philly refinery site is a chance to reenvision a massive piece of old fossil fuel infrastructure.The company redeveloping the site, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, plans to turn it into a warehousing and logistics hub and life sciences campus called The Bellwether District. Activists with Philly Thrive have pushed for fossil fuel-free development at the site, but current plans for the redevelopment — including truck-intensive warehousing— could clash with this vision.
Pennsylvania natural gas production changed little in 2022 - In 2022, Pennsylvania accounted for 19% of U.S. marketed natural gas production, with more natural gas produced than in any other state except Texas. Marketed natural gas production in Pennsylvania fell slightly by 2% to average 20.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2022 after reaching an annual high of 20.9 Bcf/d in 2021, according to our Natural Gas Monthly. Natural gas production in Pennsylvania comes largely from the Marcellus shale gas play. In 2022, productivity declines and a plateauing of natural gas takeaway capacity resulted in the small decrease in production of 0.4 Bcf/d in Pennsylvania.Natural gas production in Pennsylvania is affected by drilling activity, well productivity, and the availability of infrastructure to transport natural gas to demand centers. Drilling activity in Pennsylvania, as measured by rig and permit counts in the state, has generally declined over the past 10 years. Pennsylvania averaged 384 permits and 59 rigs per month in 2013, compared with 83 permits and 18 rigs per month in 2021. In 2022, the rig and permit counts increased slightly to average 87 permits and 24 rigs per month.Despite declining rig and permit counts, operators in Pennsylvania have recently increased natural gas production by improving well productivity. Over the past decade, advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to rapid production growth. An important indicator of productivity is the volume of natural gas that new wells produce during the first six months of drilling. In 2013, a new well’s first six months of production in Pennsylvania averaged 0.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf); by 2021, that number had grown to a record high of 2.2 Bcf. Well productivity fell by 7% in 2022.The required infrastructure to transport natural gas from production regions to demand centers has also grown. Since 2013, about 11 Bcf/d of interstate pipeline takeaway capacity has entered service. Although natural gas pipeline takeaway capacity out of Pennsylvania has grown annually since 2014, the rate of increase slowed in recent years. In 2022, no new interstate pipeline takeaway capacity was added in Pennsylvania. Most interstate pipelines transporting natural gas out of Pennsylvania ran close to maximum capacity in 2022.Several pipeline projects that would expand natural gas takeaway capacity out of Pennsylvania have been proposed to enter service in 2023 or later, including the 1.05 Bcf/d Regional Energy Access Project and the 0.4 Bcf/d Northeast Supply Enhancement Project. Our Natural Gas Pipeline Project Tracker, which is updated quarterly, tracks recently approved natural gas pipeline projects through completion.
Mountain Valley Pipeline gets U.S. Forest Service blessing — again — but still faces legal challenges - On Thursday, the Mountain Valley Pipeline received a little good news to mix with recent legal hurdles: The U.S. Forest Service approved the pipeline to pass through Jefferson National Forest along the West Virginia-Virginia border from Monroe County to Giles County. The Forest Service decision impacts about 3.5 miles of the 303-mile project, which is said to be 94% complete. The Mountain Valley Pipeline project is planned to span approximately 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.
Environmentalists: Certified natural gas efforts fail to contain damaging leaks - Environmental groups charge that the oil and gas industry is using promises of a future “green” fossil fuel economy to boost the use of the fuels in the present. The Biden administration is backing a broad expansion of U.S. gas exports and a buildout in the infrastructure needed to produce it. That includes government approval of liquid natural gas plants and deepwater export terminals along the Gulf Coast, in South Florida and in New Jersey. “We know that oil and gas will remain part of our energy mix for years to come,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told a leading oil industry event in March. Even by midcentury “we’ll be using abated fossil fuels,” Granholm added, referring to fuels whose carbon cost has been lessened by some technological means. But the oil and gas sector is already building out the infrastructure to sell customers products billed as lower-emission — which may be called “green,” “certified,” “low-carbon,” or “responsibly sourced” gas. Could ‘certified’ gas be a green solution? Companies like the for-profit Project Canary and EO100 and the nonprofit MiQ have pitched their certification of “socially responsible gas” as a win-win solution to the age-old challenge between the need to slow planetary heating and the need for on-demand power. Project Canary CEO Chris Romer has described the certification of gas as a potentially industry-saving step in a climate-conscious world. In April, he told a company interviewer that such documentation is “critical for the industry’s social license to operate” — its ability to persuade regulators, employees and the general public that it should exist at all. That industry had spent much of the 2010s under a growing public relations assault spurred by increasing investigations that its gas polluted far more than had been believed. More than a decade of reporting from West Texas — much of it by Earthworks employees driving around with optimal gas cameras, which can take video of usually invisible methane — has revealed a constant stream of planet-warming gas spilling into the atmosphere. These leaks — which go largely unregulated by the state government — make the Permian Basin, stretching from West Texas into New Mexico, one of the largest sources of emissions on Earth and constitute a growing commercial liability for its gas industry. Natural gas is mostly methane — a pollutant that warms the planet dozens of times more powerfully than carbon dioxide — as well as a spicing of potential carcinogens, as The Hill reported. Its small molecules also leak easily from wellheads, valves and pipelines — leaks which may cancel out any climate benefits of gas over coal, according to a 2018 study in Science. That study also found that the Environmental Protection Agency was likely undercounting methane leaks by 60 percent. And while the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that gas was slightly less carbon-intensive than coal — even with leaks factored in — it also estimated that the world energy industry leaked 135 million tons of methane in 2022. According to U.S. government data, that’s the equivalent emissions of 900 coal plants — or nearly 8,500 gas plants — running year round without producing anything.
Louisiana energy companies wasted $82 million in natural gas, study finds - A new environmental advocacy group analysis released Thursday found Louisiana’s oil and gas industry wasted over $82 million worth of natural gas in 2019, which is more than two-thirds of the state’s yearly residential consumption.Commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund, the analysis drew gas production data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and fed it into a peer-reviewed emissions inventory modeling formula, EDF spokesperson Matt McGee said. The goal of the research was to try to determine how much methane, the primary compound in natural gas, is wasted and released into the atmosphere in Louisiana. The waste occurs when gas is flared, vented or leaked from oil and gas infrastructure.Compared with carbon dioxide, methane causes much more harm to the atmosphere in the short term. It traps over 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and is responsible for more than 25% of the atmospheric warming the Earth experiences, according to research cited by the United Nations. Natural gas is found at virtually every oil well because it’s a natural byproduct of exploration. But it is colorless and odorless, making it difficult to detect without expensive thermal imaging equipment. Scientists have begun finding significant methane leaks across the globe as such imaging technology becomes more accessible.According to the EDF analysis, Louisiana government missed out on an estimated $2.5 million in lost tax and royalty revenue in 2019 due to the 27 billion cubic feet of oil and gas methane wasted from Louisiana’s 31,000 active onshore wells.“Methane venting and flaring is bad for the environment, bad for the state economy, and bad for the state budget,” the Louisiana Budget Project’s Jan Moller said in an EDF press release. “When the industry is allowed to waste natural gas, it robs the state of important tax revenue, which then has to be made up through other taxes or else leave the state without the revenue it needs to fund critical programs.”
Methane leaks from oil and gas industry are 70% higher than EPA estimates, study shows - Planet-warming methane pollution from the US oil and gas industry was 70% higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s own estimates between 2010 and 2019, scientists reported Monday.The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the federal government’s current system for detecting methane leaks from fossil fuel pipes, wells and compressors is inadequate. Several recent studies have shown similar results, and scientists now say the EPA needs to leverage new technology to get a fuller picture of how much of this potent greenhouse gas is escaping into the atmosphere and hold companies accountable for the leaks.Methane, the main component of natural gas and a byproduct of fossil fuel drilling, has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in the first two decades it’s in the atmosphere. The oil and gas industry is the main source of global methane emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Levels have risen precipitously in recent years, and scientists are looking at the gas as a target to cut climate emissions quickly because it has such a powerful warming effect.While researchers used data from satellite instruments to paint a picture of methane leaks across the US, oil and gas operators and the EPA often rely on engineering models and hand-held infrared equipment to track leaks, which experts say is inadequate. “This has been known for a while, at least in the atmospheric science community,” said Daniel Jacob, one of the study’s lead authors and a professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering at Harvard University. “When we observe methane in the air, we find concentrations much higher than one would expect from the EPA inventories.”In a statement, an EPA spokesperson noted that another recent study found that 2019 levels were on par with the agency’s estimates for that year.“The EPA continues to work through its stakeholder process to review new data from [its] Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program and research studies to assess how emissions estimates can be improved,” the spokesperson said.Experts told CNN Monday’s study points to the need for the agency to adopt better monitoring practices, as technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last few years. New satellite instruments can monitor methane leaks with high accuracy from space, and there are emerging remote-sensing technologies that can help pinpoint leaks coming from specific locations.
US natgas jumps 8% to 3-week high on cooler forecasts, record LNG feedgas (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 8% to a three-week high on Monday on forecasts for cooler weather and more heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Prices also rose as the amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants remained on track to hit a record high for a second month in a row in April after Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas exited an eight-month outage in February. Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 16.1 cents, or 7.6%, to settle at $2.275 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since March 21. That puts the contract close to topping its 50-day moving average, a key point of technical resistance, for the first time since mid-December. On Friday, gas futures fell to a two-week low of $1.946 per mmBtu in intraday trade, while spot gas for Monday at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana collapsed to a 30-month low of $1.87. "As front-month gas prices crumble towards the $2.00/MMBtu threshold, shorts appear to be taking profits and decreasing exposure - potentially narrowing the scope of downward pressure on NYMEX gas futures later this year," Last week, gas speculators cut their net short futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental Exchanges for the sixth time in seven weeks to their lowest since late March, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report. Freeport LNG's export plant, which shut in June 2022 after a fire, was on track to pull in about 2.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas on Monday, the same as its two-week average, according to data provider Refinitiv. Refinitiv said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to 100.1 bcfd so far in April, up from 99.7 bcfd in March. That compares with a monthly record of 100.4 bcfd in January. Meteorologists projected the weather in the Lower 48 states would remain mostly colder than normal from April 17-25 before turning near normal from April 26-May 2. With the weather expected to remain cooler for longer, Refinitiv forecast U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 94.1 bcfd this week to 94.8 bcfd next week. Mostly mild weather during the winter of 2022-2023 allowed utilities to leave more gas in storage than usual. Gas stockpiles were about 19% above their five-year average (2018-2022) during the week ended April 7 and were expected to end about 23% above normal during the warmer-than-normal week ended April 14, according to federal data and analysts' estimates.
U.S. natgas up 4% to one-month high on output decline, cold weather (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 4% to a one-month high on Tuesday on a decline in daily output and forecasts for more cold weather and heating demand over the next week or so than previously expected. Prices also gained support as the amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants remained on track to hit a record high for a second month in a row in April after Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas exited an eight-month outage in February. Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 9.1 cents, or 4.0%, to settle at $2.366 per million British thermal units, their highest since March 16. That put the front-month up for a third day in a row for the first time since early March, gaining about 18% during that time. In addition, the contract settled over its 50-day moving average, a key point of technical resistance, for the first time since mid-December. In other news, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Berkeley, California, cannot ban gas hookups in new buildings because a U.S. federal law pre-empts the city's rule. Analysts said the California decision could be a blow to numerous state and local gas bans imposed across the country in recent years if upheld by the Supreme Court. "Functionally, however, new construction remains likely to generally favor electricity hookups due to ongoing legal uncertainty and increasing consumer preference for multi-decade assets," analysts at energy consulting firm EBW Analytics said in a note. Freeport LNG's export plant, which shut in June 2022 after a fire, was on track to pull in about 2.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas on Tuesday, the same amount it has pulled in over the past two weeks, according to data provider Refinitiv. That was above the 2.1 bcfd of gas Freeport LNG can turn into LNG for export. LNG plants can pull in more gas than they can turn into LNG because they use some of the fuel to power equipment used to produce LNG. Average gas flows to all seven big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 14.1 bcfd so far in April, up from a record 13.2 bcfd in March. The seven big U.S. LNG export plants can turn about 13.8 bcfd of gas into LNG.
U.S. natgas futures fall 6% on forecasts for mild weather (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 6% on Wednesday from a one-month high in the prior session on forecasts confirming the weather will remain mostly mild and heating demand lower than usual for the next two weeks. That price decline came despite a drop in preliminary daily output and as the amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants remained on track to hit a record high for a second month in a row in April after Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas exited an eight-month outage in February. Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 14.4 cents, or 6.1%, to settle at $2.222 per million British thermal units. On Tuesday, the contract gained about 4% to close at its highest since March 16. The market has been extremely volatile over the past month or so with the front-month gaining or losing more than 5% on 11 of the past 21 trading days. With gas market volatility rising, shares outstanding in the U.S. Natural Gas Fund climbed to a record 181.3 million on Tuesday, topping the prior record of 176.9 million on April 10. UNG is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to track the daily price movement of gas. Refinitiv said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to 100.2 bcfd so far in April, up from 99.7 bcfd in March. That compares with a monthly record of 100.4 bcfd in January. On a daily basis, however, output was on track to drop about 1.5 bcfd over the past couple of days to a preliminary two-week low of 99.3 bcfd on Wednesday due mostly to declines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Analysts, however, noted preliminary data is often revised later in the day. Meteorologists projected the weather in the Lower 48 states would remain mostly near normal through April 4, except for some colder-than-normal days from April 23-25 and May 1-3. With the weather turning seasonally warmer, Refinitiv forecast U.S. gas demand, including exports, would ease from 95.9 bcfd this week to 95.5 bcfd next week due to an expected decline in gas flows to LNG plants. Those forecasts were similar to Refinitiv's outlook on Tuesday.
Natural Gas Futures Prices Slip After EIA Reports Plump Storage Build, Expanding Surpluses - The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said natural gas storage inventories for the week ending April 14 increased by a larger-than-normal 75 Bcf, indicating that supply/demand balances remain far too loose. The May Nymex gas futures contract was trading slightly lower day/day at $2.210/MMBtu early in Thursday’s session and slipped under $2.200 as the EIA print crossed trading desks. By 11 a.m., the prompt month was at $2.184, down 3.8 cents from Wednesday’s close. After a nearly 36.0-cent rally over the past three trading sessions, natural gas traders had booked profits amid a stable weather outlook and continued soft production. The May Nymex gas futures contract settled Wednesday at $2.222/MMBtu, off 14.4 cents from Tuesday’s close. June futures fell 12.2 cents to $2.395. Cash prices declined across the majority of U.S. locations on Wednesday, but gains out West lifted NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. up 2.5 cents to $2.210. With production holding below 100 Bcf/d and weather models not deviating from a fluctuating weather pattern the remainder of this month, traders sold off positions as the near-term bearish price outlook remained firmly intact. EBW Analytics Group noted that the halving of demand from Tuesday into the end of the week could have sparked the relapse in the Nymex front month, particularly following the rapid rise over the past three trading sessions. Gas prices could fall further under pressure from the next round of government inventory data. Injection estimates point to the first weekly increase in the storage surplus versus the five-year average in five weeks with the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next storage report, to be published at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday. Injection estimates on Wednesday spanned a 16 Bcf range for the week ending April 14. A Bloomberg survey of 10 analysts had a range of estimates from 64 Bcf to 77 Bcf, with a median of 70 Bcf. Reuters polled 14 analysts, whose estimates ranged from injections of 64 Bcf to 80 Bcf, with a median increase of 68 Bcf. NGI modeled a 66 Bcf injection. Total working gas in storage as of April 7 stood at 1,855 Bcf, which is 460 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 295 Bcf above the five-year average of 1,560 Bcf, according to EIA. Even with several weather systems set to plunge into the Lower 48 in the coming days and weeks, NatGasWeather said surplus may improve only slightly when all are accounted for. Instead, the gas market needs early-season heat to make a more substantial impact on storage inventories. In the South Central region, where the overhang to the five-year average has contracted significantly in recent weeks, strong power burns and near-record LNG demand are driving gas demand. EBW noted that over the past four weeks, the South Central surplus has fallen by 72 Bcf, representing the lion’s share of an 83 Bcf decline in the national surplus.
Natural Gas Futures Slide as Robust Supply Outweighing Late-Season Demand, Strong LNG -Natural gas futures retreated on Friday, with the small loss driven by the continuation of an oversupplied market in the throes of shoulder season. The May Nymex gas futures contract closed out the week at $2.233/MMBtu, off 1.6 cents from Thursday’s close. June futures slid 1.9 cents to $2.408. Spot gas prices were mostly lower, especially out West, sending NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. down 3.0 cents to $2.130. Coming off a modest gain in spite of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) bearish storage inventory data, futures traded mostly in the same band on Friday. This indicates that traders are in a wait-and-see mode to determine the next significant move for futures prices. On one hand, supplies are stout. Production continues to fluctuate in the high 90s Bcf/d to low 100s Bcf/d as pipeline maintenance events temporarily curb gas flows. However, analysts have said a sustained decline below the century mark is needed in order for futures to gain momentum. That’s because storage inventories across most of the United States are sitting well above seasonal levels weeks into the injection season. The surplus to the five-year average is most pronounced in the South Central region, where stocks as of April 14 stood about 33% above the five-year average at 949 Bcf. Midwest inventories also are nearly 33% above the five-year average, while East stocks are about 30% above the norm. However, EBW Analytics Group pointed out that while the surplus in the South Central region is stout, it actually has narrowed for a fifth straight week. Tightening fundamentals driving the contraction include record feed gas demand to U.S. Gulf Coast export facilities along with softening regional production, EBW said. At the same time, particularly weak spot gas prices have rebalanced regional gas builds toward the East and Midwest regions. “From a market perspective, the narrowing surplus in the region home to Nymex benchmark Henry Hub may alleviate oversupply fears and risks of severe price weakness later this year,”
Oil, Gas Drilling Activity In The U.S. Perks Up - The total number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 5 this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published Friday, after falling 3 last week. The total rig count rose to 753 this week—58 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2022—still 322 rigs lower than the rig count at the beginning of 2019, prior to the pandemic. Oil rigs in the United States increased by 3 this week after two weeks of declines, landing at 591. Gas rigs rose by 2 to 159. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same. The rig count in the Permian Basin rose by 2, while the rig count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing unfinished wells fell by 4 for the week ending April 14, to 283. This is 7 fewer rigs than a month ago, and 14 more than a year ago. Crude oil production in the United States stayed the same for the week ending April 14 at 12.3 million bpd, according to the latest weekly EIA estimates. U.S. production levels are up 400,000 bpd versus a year ago. At 12:18 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading up $0.69 (+0.89%) on the day at $78.06, but down roughly $4 per barrel from this time last week. The Brent benchmark was trading up $0.70 (+0.86%) at $81.80 per barrel on the day, but down more than $4 per barrel from last Friday. WTI was trading at $77.76 minutes after the data release, up 0.50% on the day.
Washington's Biggest Clean Energy Lobbying Group Pushes Natural Gas-Friendly Policy - On two of the most consequential decisions facing Congress and the Biden administration on energy and climate change, the nation’s newest and largest clean power industry group has decisively aligned itself with companies that want to preserve markets for natural gas.To the dismay of some in the clean energy community, the American Clean Power Association, or ACP, has praised House Republicans’ fossil-fuel friendly treatment of permitting reform, or the fast-tracking of big energy infrastructure projects crucial to both oil and gas, and wind and solar, companies. The benefits for clean energy will depend on the details of that policy, now being hammered out in the Democratic-led Senate after House Republicans passed their sprawling energy package as their first piece of legislation in this Congress. The ACP’s new CEO—longtime bipartisanship advocate Jason Grumet—has blasted progressives for their opposition, which he has termed “solution denial.” He portrays them as naive idealists, who fail to recognize that clean energy projects won’t move forward without a compromise that allows fossil fuel infrastructure to advance as well, which he calls the only energy policy that is politically viable in a closely divided Congress. “We’re bringing a lot of carrots to the table, and the carrots are going to rot on the table,” Grumet said recently on the public radio program Living on Earth. “Do we actually care about doing something about climate change? Or do we just want to talk about caring about doing something about climate change?” On another issue that has received less attention but could decide the fate of one of the most lucrative incentive packages from last year’s Inflation Reduction Act—the so-called “clean hydrogen” program—ACP has staked out a position directly at odds with its own wind energy members. ACP is urging the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to adopt lenient accounting rules on clean hydrogen that are supported by its big utility and gas industry members like utility giant NextEra Energy, and the oil and gas behemoth BP. Like these big energy players, ACP argues that “overly burdensome” regulations will make hydrogen production too costly, will discourage investment and slow the pace of hydrogen production. The accounting method ACP favors would allow a large portion of more than $100 billion in tax credits in the program to flow to natural gas interests. Moreover, three separate peer-reviewed academic studies in the past year have concluded that the kind of hydrogen program being championed by ACP could have the perverse effect of generating higher carbon emissions than if there were no federal incentives for hydrogen at all.The most recent of these studies, published in January and led by researchers at Princeton University, showed that federally subsidized hydrogen production from the fossil fuel-heavy locations on the electric grid like Wyoming and Colorado could result in greenhouse gas emissions four times higher than unsubsidized hydrogen production directly from natural gas. Renewable energy industry companies—including some of ACP’s own members, turbine manufacturer Vestas and solar and storage project developer Intersect—have sided with most environmental groups in urging Treasury and the IRS to adopt rules keeping close track of whether hydrogen is produced with carbon-free energy. A tough regulation “is critical to the clean energy industry’s credibility and is essential to secure the emission-reducing intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” the renewable energy companies said in comments filed with the IRS.
Mad Dog Phase 2 Centerpiece in Gulf of Mexico Starts Oil Production | Rigzone - BP has announced that it has started oil production at the Argos offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. In a statement posted on its website, the company noted that the move delivers “more energy at a critical time” and strengthens BP’s position “as a leading producer in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico”. BP highlighted in the statement that Argos is the company’s fifth platform in the Gulf of Mexico and its first new operated production facility in the region since 2008. Argos has a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day and will increase BP’s gross operated production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico by an estimated 20 percent, according to the company, which said it expects to “safely and systematically ramp up production from Argos through 2023”. In the statement, BP described Argos as its most digitally advanced platform operating in the Gulf of Mexico and as the “centerpiece” of its Mad Dog Phase 2 project, which it noted extends the life of the “super-giant” oil field discovered in 1998. Argos operates in 4,500 feet of water about 190 miles south of New Orleans and will support 250 permanent jobs, according to BP. Starlee Sykes, BP’s Senior Vice President of Gulf of Mexico and Canada, said, “safely starting up the Argos platform is an incredible milestone for BP and a proud moment for our team who delivered the project with an impeccable safety record”. “Producing some of BP’s highest value, lowest operational emissions barrels, our Gulf of Mexico business has an important role to play in delivering the energy the world needs. I am grateful to everyone who worked on Argos over the years - from discovery to start-up,” Sykes added. BP’s Mad Dog asset partner, Woodside, confirmed the start-up of the Mad Dog Phase 2 project in a statement posted on its website, describing the development as a “significant addition” to Woodside’s Gulf of Mexico position. In the statement, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said production start-up from Mad Dog Phase 2 demonstrates the ongoing value being delivered by Woodside’s merger with BHP’s petroleum business in 2022.
They cleaned up BP’s massive oil spill. Now they’re sick – and want justice -- After 18 rounds of chemotherapy, Samuel Castleberry is tired. If it were up to him, he’d still be working his trucking job. The 59-year-old was making a decent living and felt fit. But in June 2020, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has already spread to his liver. Now he gets out of breath wheeling his garbage can to the curb at his home in Mobile, Alabama. Floyd Ruffin, 58, grew up around horses in Gibson, an unincorporated community in south Louisiana. In 2015, he was also diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has made it uncomfortable for him to ride. Before his prostate was removed, he had dreams of having more kids. Terry Odom, 53, lies awake at night in her home in San Antonio, Texas. She worries that she, too, has cancer. As a chemist she’s used to finding answers, but she can’t figure out why her health is deteriorating. She’s emailed dozens of doctors and researchers in search of answers. “You feel like you might die before your time,” she said. A single disaster unites the three of them. Thirteen years ago, they helped clean up BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest ever in US waters. They rushed toward the toxic oil to save the place they loved, joining forces with more than 33,000 others to clean up our coastlines. Now, they have active lawsuits against BP, saying the company made them sick. Since the cleanup, thousands have experienced chronic respiratory issues, rashes and diarrhea – a problem known among local residents as “BP syndrome” or “Gulf coast syndrome”. Others, like Castleberry and Ruffin, have developed cancer. The valor displayed by cleanup workers was comparable to the heroism of first responders during the 9/11 terror attacks, who ran to the World Trade Center to save people and breathed in toxic dust and fumes, said the Alaska toxicologist Riki Ott, who became involved in advocating for oil spill cleanup workers after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. “What resident and professional oil spill responders do is exactly what professional firefighters and emergency responders everywhere do: put their lives on the line to protect ours,” she said. But while those who responded to the deadliest single terror attack in American history have been rightly cemented into public memory, coastal workers in some of the poorest parts of the country – those who laid their bodies on the line following the worst industrial catastrophe in a generation – have faded away, unrecognized and left to fight for themselves.
A U.S. Shale Job Boom Is Coming - Rising oil and gas production in the U.S. shale patch is expected to bring higher wages for workers in the sector as companies need to attract more labor in an already tight market, energy research firm Rystad Energy says. Wages are set to grow through the end of 2024, due to the tight labor market, retirements in the industry, and competition from clean energy jobs, Rystad Energy said in a new report quoted by the Journal of Petroleum Technology. Average wage growth is expected at 2.5% and 7.2% in 2023 and 2024. Wages have already grown in the key shale basins, including the Permian, the Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Williston, and Appalachia, according to Rystad Energy. Those areas saw on average over 9% growth in wages in 2022.The growth in wages has increased the budgets of the operators in the shale patch and contributed to cost inflation.According to the Dallas Fed Energy Survey for the first quarter, executives at Permian operators saw oil and gas expansion stall amid surging costs and worsening outlooks.The aggregate wages and benefits index edged higher, to 43.6 from 40.2, according to the survey.Asked about what changes they expect in the workforce at their company from December 2022 to December 2023, more than half of the executives — 55% —expect their headcount to remain unchanged from December 2022 to December 2023. However, 37% of executives expect the number of employees to increase, of which 4% expect a significant increase and 33% anticipate a slight increase. Only 8% anticipate the number of employees decreasing over the period, according to the survey.Whereas the most-selected response among E&P firms was for employment to “remain the same” in 2023, the most-selected response of support service firms was for employment to “increase slightly” in 2023, the poll found.One executive at a services firm said in comments to the survey, “Regulatory uncertainty is a major overhang. Labor remains tight, with continued wage pressures. Supply-chain issues remain.”
Why 2 gas giants aren't changing after Southwest winter storms - Legislators and regulators vowed two years ago to hold energy companies accountable after Winter Storm Uri caused power outages across the central United States. But in Texas and Oklahoma — the largest natural gas-producing states — investigations into actions during the storm have sputtered. That has left the two gas giants potentially unprepared for future storms, raising concerns that there could be a repeat of the 2021 crisis, which led to more than 240 deaths in Texas alone. Without more federal action, states have been left to investigate and police actions taken by natural gas companies during the 2021 disaster. A number of gas sellers reported record profits after Uri, while many customers will be paying off billions of dollars of debt for years as utility companies pass along costs from the freeze in monthly bills. The lack of action by the two states shows the challenge governments across the country face as they prepare for extreme weather events while still working with energy companies that deliver natural gas. “The industry is very well insulated politically in Texas, and there’s lots of reasons for that: the number of jobs it creates, the revenue it generates and politicians they’re associated with give them a lot of pull in the Legislature,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. The chief financial officer of natural gas producer Comstock Resources Inc. said in February 2021 that the storm was “like hitting the jackpot” and that it was able to sell its product at “super-premium prices.” A BloombergNEF analysis found gas sellers in Texas made $11 billion in the five days during the storm. Oklahoma’s attorney general said he’s still investigating whether to act. In Texas, several bills that would make in-state natural gas transactions more transparent and give the state more authority to investigate and prosecute price gouging or market manipulation have been referred to legislative committees. Lawmakers, people affected by the high prices and political scientists say it’s unlikely that gas companies in the two states will face stiff new oversight despite industry failures as temperatures plunged below freezing. State courts have taken some steps. A Texas appellate court ruled in March that the state’s Public Utility Commission erred in raising the price of electricity to the then-maximum price of $9,000 a megawatt-hour during the storm. It remains to be seen how much money customers may be able to claw back. But Texas’ governor “has declared the problem has been solved,” Rottinghaus said. “Passing a bill relating to natural gas markets now or natural gas prices during the freeze backtracks on that.”
What Caused the Texas Sinkhole? Some Residents Blame the Oil Industry -About 15 years after residents of Daisetta, Texas witnessed the formation of a massive sinkhole back in 2008, yet another has collapsed adjacent to the first. Measuring at a length of almost 230 feet, and a depth of nearly 30 feet, environmental scientists worry the sinkholes may multiply or grow. Some believelocal oil production could be to blame — but does fracking cause sinkholes?"On Sunday, April 2, 2023, a sinkhole formed on the northwestern flank of the Hull salt dome in the city of Daisetta, Texas," reads a report written by the Bureau’s State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery(STARR) program following its collapse. "This nearly circular sinkhole, having a water-filled diameter of about 70 meters (almost 230 feet), is located adjacent to the southwestern edge of the larger 2008 Daisetta sinkhole."Fortunately, the team doesn't expect the sinkhole to grow, for now."The collapsed area could also not expand much beyond its current extent (similar to the limited growth of the larger 2008 sinkhole)," it continues. "Future collapse similar to that observed in 2008 and 2023 is also possible in adjacent areas along the steep flank of the salt dome. Further investigations are recommended to better understand the cause and mechanism of collapse to minimize risk associated with similar possible future events." Though it may get worse as gas production continues.
Bureau of Land Management Seeks Public Comment for Proposed Oil Lease Sale | Rigzone - Earlier this month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that, “consistent with the direction in the Inflation Reduction Act”, its Nevada State Office had released an environmental assessment analyzing four parcels for a proposed competitive oil and gas lease sale in July. The BLM outlined that the four parcels are located within Nye County, Nevada, and comprise 4,270 acres. The organization noted that it completed scoping on these parcels on December 21, 2023, and said it now seeks public comment on the environmental analysis. The public comment period will end on May 4, 2023, BLM highlighted. “The most valuable public comments are practical and relevant to the proposed action,” BLM said in a statement posted on its website. “For example, comments may question, within reason, the accuracy of information, methodology or assumptions, then present reasonable alternatives to those already analyzed,” the BLM added. “Comments containing only opinions and/or preferences, or those seeming similar to other comments will not be addressed specifically in the environmental review process,” the organization went on to state. The BLM noted that this lease sale will include updated fiscal provisions authorized by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act. Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be $10 per acre, an increase from the $2 per acre minimum bid set in 1987, and royalty rates will be 16.67 percent, up from the previous minimum of 12.5 percent, the BLM pointed out. The organization also stated that rental rates will be $3 per acre for the first two years; $5 per acre for years three through eight; and $15 per acre for years nine and ten. Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, rental rates were $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 per acre for each year thereafter, the BLM highlighted. On March 31, the BLM announced that its Montana-Dakotas State Office had opened a 30-day public scoping period to receive public input on 68 oil and gas parcels, totaling approximately 25,759 acres, which it said may be included in a scheduled September 2023 lease sale. On the same day, the BLM Wyoming State Office announced that it had issued an environmental assessment and a competitive sale notice for a second quarter competitive oil and gas lease sale. The posting of the sale notice initiated a 30-day public protest period that ends May 1, BLM revealed. On March 17, the BLM revealed that its Wyoming State Office had opened a 30-day public scoping period to receive public input on 47 oil and gas parcels, totaling 46,327.60 acres, which it said may be included in an upcoming lease sale. On March 10, BLM Wyoming announced that it had released an environmental assessment analyzing 115 oil and gas parcels, totaling approximately 95,419 acres, for a proposed lease sale that would be held in September 2023. The release started a 30-day public comment period, which ended on April 7, the organization outlined. Also on March 10, the BLM Eastern States Office revealed that it had released two environmental assessments analyzing an oil and gas parcel in Michigan, totaling 40 acres, and three parcels in Louisiana, totaling 88.81 acres, for proposed lease sales that would be held in June 2023. The BLM initiated a 30-day public comment period on the environmental assessments, parcels, and potential deferrals, which closed on April 9, the organization highlighted. Again on March 10, the BLM Montana-Dakotas State Office announced that it had released an environmental assessment analyzing 51 parcels, totaling 20,722.22 acres, for a proposed June 2023 competitive oil and gas lease sale. The release of this environmental assessment started a 30-day public comment period, which ended April 10, the BLM outlined. The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people, the organization states on its website.
TC Energy says Keystone oil spill caused by fatigue crack --Canada’s TC Energy on Friday said a 14,000-barrel oil spill from its Keystone pipeline in rural Kansas in December was primarily due to a progressive fatigue crack, which originated during the construction of the pipeline. The Calgary-based company released the findings after receiving an independent third-party root cause failure analysis (RCFA), as required by regulators. Keystone’s spill into a Kansas creek was the biggest U.S. oil spill in nine years and prompted a 21-day shutdown of a portion of the 622,000 barrel-per-day pipeline, which ships crude from Alberta to U.S. refineries. TC said it has recovered 98 per cent of the spilled product from the pipeline and cleaned up 90 per cent of the Mill Creek shoreline. “We are unwavering in our commitment to fully remediate the site and are taking action on the recommendations from the RCFA,” said Richard Prior, president of liquids pipelines at TC Energy in a statement. The company said it is now investigating other sites along Keystone with similar characteristics, performing extra inspections on 300 miles (482 km) of the pipeline, and reviewing design guidelines, construction and operations. TC said the RCFA report found the fatigue crack came from a girth weld connecting a manufactured elbow fitting to the section of pipe constructed across Mill Creek. The girth weld was completed at a fabrication factory and met applicable standards. During construction, the pipe segment came under “bending stresses” that initiated a crack in the girth weld and also led to a deformation in the elbow fitting and a wrinkle in the adjacent piping, TC said. The design of the weld transition made the pipe in that location more susceptible to bending. “This resulted in the initiation of a circumferential crack in the weld, which led to failure through operations after over a decade,” TC said. The company said the RCFA findings are consistent with its own investigation released in February. TC also noted the segment of pipeline where the leak occurred had always operated within its temperature and pressure design limits, and never exceeded 72 per cent of its Specific Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS).
The US Oil Pipeline With The Worst Spill Record - Following a serious rupture of the Keystone pipeline in Kansas this past December, the Federal government last month announced that stricter regulations were on the way, targeting Canada’s TC Energy Corp., the operator of the infamous pipeline. The rupture this past winter dumped 14,000 barrels of heavy crude, some of it into a creek, in the largest U.S. oil spill in nearly a decade. The new regulations would require TC Energy to reduce the pipeline’s operating pressure. The temporary shutdown resulting from the December rupture interrupted the flow of this critical artery through which 622,000 barrels of heavy crude oil flows daily from Alberta, Canada, to U.S. refineries and oil farms as far south as Houston. (Also see, cities with the most land flagged for hazardous waste cleanup.)The rupture, caused by faulty welding and stress fatigue on the pipe, was of the biggest spill in the company’s 71-year history. The 2,600-mile pipeline has had 22 accidents since its first phase went online in 2010, according to a report last year from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.Unfortunately, Keystone’s track record is actually about on par for the industry, which experiences dozens of “significant” oil pipeline incidents every year, according to data collected by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. To determine the U.S.-based pipelines that have leaked the most oil since 2010, 24/7 Wall St. examined press coverage from Bloomberg and other local and national news sources. Revenue and profit figures for the publicly listed companies operating the leakiest oil pipelines in the U.S. were taken from 2021 annual regulatory filings.Many of these spills are relatively small, but some are significant enough to cause property and environmental damage as well as, occasionally, the loss of life. Of Keystone’s 22 accidents reported by the GAO, six were large enough to impact people and the environment. The Kansas spill helped put the Keystone Pipeline at the top of the list of the five leakiest crude oil arteries in the country. The five based pipelines listed have spilled nearly 92,000 barrels (3.8 million gallons) of crude in various incidents since 2010.
DOJ reaches multimillion-dollar settlements against gas companies it says were failing to control harmful leaks --The Justice Department reached multimillion-dollar settlements in three major lawsuits against US oil and gas companies Thursday that it says will reduce air pollution and planet-warming gas emissions in a dozen states and Indian Country.The settlements aim to resolve claims that several large companies were using faulty equipment to manufacture and refine natural gas, failed to control leaks and allowed hazardous air pollution to seep into the atmosphere in violation of the Clean Air Act standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.Each settlement is still subject to approval by a federal judge and will undergo a 30-day public comment period.As part of the settlements, the companies will spend approximately $16 million combined on repairs, upgrades and other ways to fix the problems, according to the department. The details of the settlements were shared first with CNN.The agreements are a major move in the Justice Department’s effort to prioritize mitigation efforts as part of environmental lawsuits related to the climate crisis – and signal a willingness to target large fossil fuel companies.The department has undertaken an environmental justice effort to involve communities impacted by the climate crisis in understanding how company practices are contributing to the harmful personal effects of climate change.Nearly 36% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air quality, according to the American Lung Association, and low-income communities and communities of color face disproportionate risks from pollution and the impacts of the climate crisis, scientists and health experts have reported.“Having these Clean Air Act rules on the books, having state leak detection rules on the books, and actually enforcing this is sending a message to this entire industry that this matters, and we need you to be paying attention to these leaks,” Kate Konschnik, the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in an interview with CNN Thursday.“We expect you to do what is necessary to protect human health and the environment,” Konschnik said.
Xcel pushing measure that has raised gas bills in Minnesota, scrapped in other states -Xcel Energy is fighting the scheduled sunset of a Minnesota law that enables utilities to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars for fossil gas infrastructure upgrades without standard regulatory review, an approach ended in other states amid concerns that such programs significantly increase utility bills and undercut climate goals.Passed in its current form in 2013, Minnesota’s Gas Utility Infrastructure Cost rider – known as GUIC – was designed to fast-track the most critical improvements to an aging fossil gas pipe network, then expire in June 2023. Over the past decade, utilities have used the rider to recoup from customers the costs of replacing thousands of miles of the oldest, leakiest pipes, delivering on a promise of safety improvements and reduced methane emissions from leaks.With the most urgent upgrades made and state policy now prioritizing a transition away from the use of methane/fossil gas, critics say the provision should sunset on schedule to avoid inflating customers’ rates and padding utilities’ profits. But Xcel is pushing legislation to extend GUIC for five more years and the bill has quietly edged its way into Minnesota House and Senate omnibus energy bill discussions, set for debate in the coming weeks. Whether GUIC is in place or not, utilities have a duty to provide safe, reliable service. But the rider offers them wide latitude to invest customers’ money in fossil gas projects and collect a return for themselves. Without the rider, utilities would need to demonstrate the need for such expenditures in a traditional regulatory process before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, like a rate case that has significantly more oversight.
California city can't enforce natural gas ban, appeals court says (Reuters) - Berkeley, California, cannot ban natural gas hookups in new buildings because a U.S. federal law preempts its rule, a federal appeals court said Monday, siding with a challenge the state's restaurant industry made. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Berkeley's 2019 ban on new gas hookups effectively barred appliances that use the fuel, and that the U.S. Energy Policy Conservation Act preempts such a move. The federal appeals court is the first to weigh in on bans against new natural gas hookups. New York City, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle are among dozens of U.S. municipalities that have enacted similar restrictions since Berkeley adopted its rule, citing environmental and health concerns. The California Restaurant Association challenged the ban in court in 2019 alongside other industry groups including natural gas utilities and homebuilders, claiming the ordinance would introduce major costs and burdens. The restaurant group said the ban would mean restaurants can no longer prepare popular dishes. A spokesperson for the restaurant association welcomed the 9th Circuit decision, saying Berkeley's ordinance "is an overreaching measure beyond the scope of any city."
Appeals court tosses California city's ban on natural gas connections — A federal appellate court in California ruled Monday that a ban on natural gas hookups in Berkeley, Calif., is not allowed under federal energy laws. The ruling came as cities and towns across the country have forbidden the construction of new buildings with natural gas systems, as they seek to battle climate change. Such measures could reduce demand for natural gas from producers in states like Texas.A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Berkeley's ban on natural gas systems was preempted, or superseded, by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, a 1970's era law designed to conserve American oil and natural gas resources."By its plain text and structure, EPCA’s preemption provision encompasses building codes that regulate natural gas use by covered products,” Judge Patrick Bumatay wrote for the panel. “And by preventing such appliances from using natural gas, the new Berkeley building code does exactly that.”Berkeley's City Council in 2019 approved the ban on natural gas connections in new construction, which took effect in January 2020. That and further local bans on natural gas have drawn regular criticism from suppliers, who say they limited domestic demand at a time hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling had opened up vast new gas reserves in the United States.“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took a huge step today that will both safeguard energy choice for California consumers and help our nation continue on a path to achieving our energy and environmental goals,” Karen Harbert, president of the American Gas Association, said in a statement.The ruling stemmed from a 2019 lawsuit by the California Restaurant Association, which had argued that natural gas stoves were "crucial for restaurants to operate effectively and efficiently."Monday's decision also overturned a 2021 ruling by a California federal judge, who had found the gas bans did not preempt federal energy law because they did not "directly regulate either the energy use or energy efficiency of covered appliances.”Some 20 Republican-led states, including Texas, have passed legislation prohibiting bans on natural gas appliances like those that have been instituted in dozens of cities around the country.For natural gas producers and the utilities that distribute their product, which have spent years promoting the climate benefits of natural gas relative to coal, the recent attempts to ban natural gas appliances is an increasing cause of concern. Residential and commercial buildings account for more than 25 percent of natural gas demand, according to the Department of Energy.
What 9th Circuit ruling means for building gas bans --A federal appeals court’s overturning of the nation’s first natural gas ban for new buildings handed a victory to the fossil fuel industry Monday and sparked disagreement over whether similar restrictions should stay in place across the country. The decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down the landmark ordinance in Berkeley, Calif., has unclear ramifications, although some legal scholars expressed concerns that it could have a chilling effect on states and cities pursuing similar bans. The ruling also may not be the final one in the case. Lawyers representing the city of Berkeley did not rule out an appeal, saying they were assessing next steps. Several backers of Berkeley’s ban said they expect the city to challenge the decision. “I worry that state and local governments are going to take a broader view of today’s decision than is actually warranted,” said Amy Turner, a senior fellow at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, who supported the Berkeley ordinance but did not represent the city. Advertisement Berkeley passed the ban, which prevented builders from installing gas infrastructure in most new projects, in 2019. The California Restaurant Association sued the city soon after, claiming that the ordinance was preempted by federal law and would discourage restaurateurs from opening new businesses. The three judges on the 9th Circuit unanimously sided with the association, finding that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act “expressly preempts” state and local restrictions on gas appliances’ energy use (E&E News PM, April 17). By prohibiting gas piping, the city of Berkeley had indirectly banned gas appliances, despite federal laws against it, the judges wrote.“By completely prohibiting the installation of natural gas piping within newly constructed buildings, the City of Berkeley has waded into a domain preempted by Congress,” wrote Judge Patrick Bumatay.Last year, the Energy and Justice departments, eight state attorneys general and the 2,500-member National League of Cities submitted legal briefs in support of Berkeley’s policy. On the other side of the debate were national trade groups representing the natural gas industry, homebuilders and heating equipment manufacturers (Energywire, Feb. 10, 2022).
Federal appeals court rejects bid by conservation groups to immediately stop work at Willow oil project - A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that ConocoPhillips can continue its early stage construction work this winter season at the controversial Willow oil project in Alaska, as the broader case brought by conservation groups against the project continues. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a single sentence that it was denying the emergency motions seeking to stop the work, which is expected to wrap up by the end of the month. Several conservation groups have filed two lawsuits against the Interior Department to overturn the approval for the project. The decision is another step forward for ConocoPhillips and the $8 billion project. The company is pursuing plans to produce up to 600 million barrels of oil from the giant field over three decades, starting as early as 2029. The administration of President Joe Biden approved the project last month, over arguments from conservation groups that the project is a “carbon bomb” that will undermine the president’s plans to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Willow is located on Alaska’s North Slope not far from the Arctic Ocean, about 35 miles west of the village of Nuiqsut, in the Indiana-sized National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. ConocoPhillips has said it will extract gravel from a mine this month in order to build a 3-mile road toward the Willow project area, among other relatively small, early-stage projects. ConocoPhillips has said it expected to employ about 125 people for the work. Conservation groups that sued issued a statement Wednesday blasting the decision. “This ruling comes as more hard news and demonstrates again how the oil and gas industry exerts so much power over those whose health and food are most impacted and who will most experience the climate harm and disaster this project will fuel,” said Siqiñiq Maupin, executive director of Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic, one of the groups involved in the lawsuits.
ExxonMobil says it plans 'relatively limited' Arctic investment - ExxonMobil told shareholders last week the company doesn’t expect to expand its activities in the Arctic. “Our current investment plans do not include exploration activity within the (global Arctic) region, and we plan relatively limited investment to sustain our existing interests in the region,” it said in an April 13 proxy statement. Exxon has been a major player in Alaska since the dawn of the state’s oil industry. It has a stake in some of the largest oilfields in Alaska, including Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk, as well as Point Thomson. Exxon also owns a 21% share in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Environmental groups trumpeted the news as a sign that next year’s lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will be a bust. “I think it shows that oil companies are losing interest in the Arctic and recognizing that it’s a bad investment and it’s bad business,” said Tim Woody, a spokesman for The Wilderness Society in Alaska. The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and other groups have been trying to make the Arctic unattractive to oil companies, in part by pressing major banks and insurance companies not to support industrial activity there. Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said Exxon’s statement does not indicate any change in the company’s strategy for the region. “And it does not say that they have no interest, because if they had no interest, then their assets would be up for sale,” she said. A tax law Congress passed in 2017 requires the federal government to hold a second lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by the end of 2024. The first generated few bids and only a fraction of the revenue that was projected. The only bidder that has kept its leases in the refuge is a state-owned entity, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
Canada's Suncor spills 5,900 cubic metres of water from oil sands site – (Reuters) – Canada’s Suncor Energy has reported a spill of 5,900 cubic metres of muddy water from a sedimentation pond at Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oil sands mining project in northern Alberta. The spill on April 16 was reported to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) because the total suspended solids in water exceeded the approved limits, Suncor said. The news comes as oil sands companies face intense scrutiny into how they manage their tailings ponds, which hold a toxic mixture of mining waste products and water. Imperial Oil said in February that ponds at its Kearl site had been seeping for months and another spill released 5,300 cubic metres of process water in late January. “This is not a tailings pond, but a water run off pond that collects and discharges run off into Fort Creek (not directly to the Athabasca), in line with regulatory approvals,” Suncor spokeswoman Erin Rees said in an email. The AER said samples have been collected for analysis.
Peru Finds New Oil Spill Near Repsol’s La Pampilla Refinery -- Peruvian authorities said they spotted a new oil spill near a Repsol SA-operated refinery during a routine inspection, according to a statement. Peru’s environmental authority OEFA said the oil spill at the port of La Pampilla refinery affected a 300 square meter area. It was discovered on April 15 at the multi buoy terminal 2, which is regularly inspected after a major oil spill affected the area last year. Repsol had been required to “immediately and with urgency” report on the causes and measures taken to minimize the impact of the event, environmental officials said. In a later statement, Repsol said the spill was a “migratory stain” with the appearance of burnt fishing and motor oil that wasn’t related to the 2022 spill or with the La Pampilla refinery. The multi buoy has been idle since January last year and is free from hydrocarbons. Clean up procedures have started. Madrid-based Repsol spilled over 10,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean in January 2022, the largest ever in Peru. The Spanish energy giant operates the La Pampilla refinery, in El Callao province, the Andean nation’s largest that accounts for just over 50% of the country’s refining capacity. The government imposed fines worth about $5.75 million on Repsol over the 2022 accident.
Sinopec Wins Equity Stake in Qatar’s North Field East LNG Expansion --Sinopec becomes the first Asian equity holder in the NFE expansion after having signed a 27-year sales and purchase agreement with Qatar, the longest term in the industry.China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) has become partner No. 6 in Qatar’s North Field East (NFE) expansion, the first and so far, only Asian equity stakeholder to participate in what the industry regards as its largest project to date.Qatar’s Energy Minister and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, signed the equity-participation agreement with Sinopec Chairman Ma Yong-sheng on 12 April in Doha. Under the agreement, Sinopec will hold a 5% interest in one of the NFE joint-venture companies that own the project, according to a QatarEnergy news release.Sinopec’s stake is the equivalent of one NFE train with a capacity of 8 mpta and doesn’t affect the participating interests of any other shareholder, QatarEnergy said, while Sinopec clarified in its own release that its 5% joint-venture interest represents 1.25% of shares in the overall project.Sinopec now joins a partnership structure announced in summer 2022 in which Shell holds a 6.25% of NFE shares overall, TotalEnergies (6.25%), Exxon (6.25%), Eni (3.12%), and ConocoPhillips (3.12%).Phase 1 of the $28.75-billion NFE expansion envisions four new mega LNG trains with a combined nameplate capacity of 32 mpta to boost production initially by 43% to 110 mtpa from the current 77 mtpa. Two more trains will be added during Phase 2 (known as the North Field South) development to reach a final targeted production of 126 mtpa (up 64%) by 2027, according to QatarEnergy’s current plan.
Asia’s collapsing refinery margins undermine bullish crude case - There is an increasing disconnect between the forecasts for strong global oil demand growth this year, led by Asia, and the reality of weakening margins for refined fuels. The profit from turning a barrel of Dubai crude into refined products at a typical Singapore refinery dropped to $2.53 a barrel on Monday. This was the lowest since Oct. 27 and down 82% from the peak so far in 2023 of $14.33 a barrel on Jan. 25. It is also about a quarter of the moving 365-day average of $10.34 a barrel. The slide in refinery margins comes as OPEC+ producers act to further cut crude supply, a move seen as aimed at asserting the group’s influence in theglobal marketas well as boosting oil prices. The drop in refinery profits is being led by a contracting margin for gasoil, the base for diesel and jet fuel, with 10 ppm gasoil margin dropping for a seventh session on Monday. The margin declined to $14.25 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since January 2022 and down 63% from the peak so far in 2023 of $38.89 on Jan. 25. Given diesel is mainly used as a heavy vehicle transport and industrial fuel, falling margins indicate that sectors such as construction and manufacturing may be starting to come under pressure. It is not just gasoil that is being affected, with the margin on gasoline also dropping. The profit from turning a barrel of Brent crude into the light motor transport fuel in Singapore GL92-SIN-CRK slid to $12.03 on Monday, the weakest since March 7 and down 38% from the peak so far in 2023 of $19.32 on March 30. The falling margins on refined fuels may result in refiners in Asia processing less, especially as crude costs continue to rise. The April 2 announcement by OPEC+, the group consisting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, that they would cut a further 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd) of output from May has boosted oil prices. Global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 ended at $84.76 a barrel on Monday, having held onto the gains of about $5 a barrel made in the wake of the OPEC+ production decision. The cost of some physical crude for Asian refiners has also risen after top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked its official selling prices (OSPs) for May-loading cargoes for a third straight month. The OSP for the kingdom’s benchmark Arab Light blend was raised to a premium of $2.80 a barrel over the Oman/Dubai, up 30 cents from April-loading cargoes. Saudi Arabia’s pricing moves tend to be followed by other major Middle East exporters, thereby affecting the bulk of seaborne crude shipped to Asian customers. The question for the crude market is whether Asia’s refiners will start to cut throughput in response to the higher crude price and weaker margins on refined products.
Tanker Company Moving Russian Oil Loses Insurance on G7 Cap --An oil tanker company heavily involved in moving Russian oil lost industry standard insurance for its fleet after falling foul of a Group of Seven price cap relating to the transportation of the nation’s barrels. Gatik Ship Management lost so-called protection and indemnity cover that was provided by the American Club, a person familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified discussing sensitive information. The cover protects against risks including collisions and spills. The cover was terminated because the American Club was informed that Gatik intended to transport barrels bought at prices above the threshold, the person said. The American Club confirmed the discontinuation of cover. It declined to comment on why. Since early December, companies in G-7 countries have only been allowed to provide services for Russian oil if the cargoes cost $60 a barrel or less. While the threshold initially appeared to prioritize the continuation of Russian oil flows, the cessation of Gatik’s cover shows the measures have some teeth. On Monday, the US government warned that some oil tankers shipping Russian crude in Asia are using deceptive tactics to evade the Washington-led price cap on the country’s exports. The American Club is one of 12 organizations within the International Group of P&I Clubs, which collectively provide industry standard cover that serves as a passport to trade freely. Gatik, which has an address in Mumbai according to the Equasis international maritime database, is one of a handful of tanker companies that sprang up out of nowhere when the west began ratcheting up sanctions on Moscow last year. When Bloomberg visited the address earlier this year, a person from a neighboring office said Gatik had moved out and there was mail strewn on the floor outside. There is no website, phone number, or other means of contacting the firm. The insurance that Gatik lost is important for vessels when they enter ports or sail through key waterways like Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles shipping straits.
These Five Countries Are Laundering Russian Oil And Selling It To The West -- Five countries have expanded imports of Russian oil in the wake of the Ukraine invasion and refined it into products they are selling to countries that have sanctioned Russian oil, according to a report released today by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Their “laundering” operation is undermining the price cap on Russian oil and fueling the invasion, the analysts say.“This is currently a legal way of exporting oil products to countries that are imposing sanctions on Russia as the product origin has been changed,” according to the report. “This process provides funds to Putinʼs war chest.”CREA identifies China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Singapore as “laundromat countries” that increased imports of Russian oil after the Ukraine invasion. They also increased exports of refined products to the “price-cap countries” that sanctioned Russian oil, including the European Union, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.“The EU, G7 and Australia ... continue to import Russian fossil fuels as refined oil products from third countries and allow transportation on their vessels and insurance,” said Isaac Levi, Energy Analyst and co-author of the report.The EU has been the largest importer of these refined products, according to CREA, followed by Australia. And most of the laundered products are traveling on European ships.Five countries are helping Russian oil evade the cap set by a coalition led by the G7 nations.In the year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the five laundering countries increased seaborne imports of Russian crude oil by 140% over the previous year, according to CREA. They are absorbing 70% of Russiaʼs crude oil exports.Meanwhile, they increased exports of oil products by 26% to price cap-coalition countries. Their exports to non price-cap countries rose only 2%, showing that the price cap-coalition countries drove the increase in oil-product exports from countries importing Russian crude.“Increasing the imports of oil products from the main importers of Russian crude oil undermines the oil sanctions against Russia,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst and co-author of the report. “On the other hand, clamping down on this trade is an opportunity to exert badly needed additional leverage and cut off financing for Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.”The Russian oil finds its way into the price-cap countries as diesel, jet fuel andgasoil. The EU spent $19.3 billion on products from the countries sourcing the most Russian crude oil in the 12 months after the invasion of Ukraine, according to CREA, followed by:
- Australia, $8.74 billion
- The United States, $7.21 billion
- The United Kingdom, $5.46 billion
- Japan, $5.24 billion
Beetaloo companies urged to consider ‘human element’ of fracking - Australia’s most powerful onshore drilling rig has arrived in Darwin, as a federal inquiry recommended tighter carbon offset regulations and more consultation with local communities before fracking goes ahead in the Beetaloo Basin. Scientists and environmental activists were at Darwin’s port on Wednesday to protest the rig’s arrival. They joined Larrakia traditional owner Eric Fejo, who waved the Larrakia flag and called on companies to “stop ripping the veins out of my mother’s country” while trucks carrying drilling pipes drove past behind him. The owner of the drilling rig, Tamboran Resources, said its size would allow for more efficient operations, and reduce the number of well pads needed to extract gas. The rig’s arrival comes as a long-awaited Senate inquiry report into oil and gas exploration in the NT’s Beetaloo Basin was released. The report called on federal and territory governments to create better frameworks around reducing emissions in compliance with the newly reformed safeguard mechanism. Also among the inquiry’s final 14 recommendations was a call for more consultation with traditional owners and pastoralists. “In addition to these environmental concerns, there is a deeply human element to ‘unlocking’ gas reserves in the Beetaloo,” the report’s concluding comments said. “While certain corporations and local interests, the wider Territory, and the nation as a whole might benefit economically from gas extraction, many local communities in and around the Beetaloo are bearing, and will continue to bear, the brunt of exploration and production activities. “The committee believes it is incumbent on development proponents to clearly identify and articulate the benefits, and ensure they are shared more broadly across the region.” The cross-party inquiry was established in June 2021. Environmental groups, gas industry executives and pastoralists were among those who contributed to the 300-plus submissions. The paper also recommended further inquiries be made into a proposed gas and petrochemical plant at Middle Arm in Darwin Harbour that would likely source supplies from projects in the Beetaloo. Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, which represents Beetaloo Basin native title holders, called for a halt to fracking exploration while the report’s recommendations were implemented. “This is an important report because it tells the story of how we never consented to the scale of fracking on our country which gas companies now want,” Nurrdalinji chair Johnny Wilson said. The Senate inquiry also highlighted worries about the impact of gas exploration on groundwater and surface water resources. “In the driest continent on Earth, this is not a trivial concern,” the report said. “It raises very serious questions concerning the sustainability of life and livelihoods in the territorial centre, as well as risking irreversible damage to the culture and identity of First Nations people.” The inquiry’s recommendations come a day after the NT government released its own report into baseline environmental data in the Beetaloo Basin. Geologist Alan Langworthy criticised the government’s Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment’s finding of no new risks from fracking. “There are no new risks identified, because we’ve identified all the risks before,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that those earlier identified risks are in any way mitigated against.”
Beetaloo Basin cattle company loses Supreme Court bid to stop fracking exploration - A gas company will be able to continue exploration in the Beetaloo Basin after a cattle company's appeal to stop the activity was dismissed by the Northern Territory Supreme Court. Rallen Australia, owned by the Langenhoven-Ravazotti family, had sought to overturn a February 2022 NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision that allowed Tamboran Resources' subsidiary Sweetpea Petroleum to come onto Tanumbirini Station to explore for gas.Justice Peter Barr dismissed all eight grounds of appeal that Rallen's lawyers had argued.The case was seen as a precedent for legal interactions between pastoralists and gas companies because it was the first to test mandatory land access laws introduced in the NT in 2021. Tamboran chief executive and managing director Joel Riddle said in a statement that he was "pleased with the NT Supreme Court's ruling" and was looking forward "to working closely with all our stakeholders in progressing the development of the Beetaloo Basin in a safe and responsible manner"."As the first challenge of the NT government's changes to the legislation and regulations permitting access for exploration purposes, the decision sets an important precedent for future operations across the Beetaloo Basin," he said.
Clean-up removes 400,000 litres of oily water from Poole Harbour after spill - The Irish News - A total of 417,000 litres of oily water and 300 bags of waste have been collected as part of the clean-up operation following the oil leak in Poole Harbour. About 200 barrels of reservoir fluid made up of 85% water and 15% oil were released into Ower Bay last month from q pipeline operated by gas company Perenco, prompting a major containment and clean-up operation to protect the sensitive natural habitats in the area. Now, Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) have said that “good progress” is being made and no oil had been spotted outside of the harbour. At least 30 oiled birds have been spotted since the spill although no “serious” bird casualties had been reported, the PHC has said previously. A spokesman for PHC said that the clean-up operation was continuing and although people can enter water in the area and continue fishing, shellfishing was advised against because of health concerns. He said: “Good progress has continued with the clean-up operation since the Perenco oil spill on March 26. “Focus is centred around the site of the leak in Ower Bay and a recovery co-ordinating group has been set up to oversee the remediation of the affected area. “Floating booms remain in place to ensure that oil does not escape in to the wider harbour. “There have been no reports of any oil outside of Poole Harbour and no reports of oil outside of the contaminated site in Ower Bay since April 3. “So far, over 300 bags of oil and contaminated materials have been collected from the beaches as well as 417,000 litres of oil and oily water collected to tankers from Ower Bay. “The clean-up and remediation operation will continue at Ower Bay until the contamination has been fully dealt with.” He added: “Shellfish harvested from Poole Harbour from Sunday March 26 onwards should not be relayed or marketed. “This advice regarding shellfish remains unchanged, due to the difference in metabolism between fish and shellfish.”
Oil spill: CPCL begins removing pipeline along coast in Nagapattinam - Following relentless pressure from the fishing community, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on Tuesday started removing the damaged pipeline carrying crude oil from the ONGC oil wells at Narimanam to its refinery in Nagapattinam along the Pattinamchery coast. The pipeline had developed cracks on March 3 resulting in oil spill which polluted the sea and marine environment. With tension mounting in the fishing community and CPCL failing to fix the cracks, fishermen began protesting to remove the pipeline permanently. Subsequently, district collector A Arun Thamburaj and minister V Meyyanathanvisited the spot and instructed CPCL authorities to give in to the fisher folk's demand. They held peace talks with the fisherfolk from Pattinamchery, Akkaraipettai and Nambiar Nagar in this regard. Finally, CPCL authorities agreed to remove the pipeline permanently by May 31.
Oil spill leaves P130-M damage in Oriental Mindoro town — Pola, Oriental Mindoro has so far sustained around P130 million in damage from the oil spill that spread across the province's waters, Pola Mayor Jennifer Cruz said Monday. “More or less, nasa P130 million ang naapektuhan sa shoreline pa lang natin,” Cruz said in a public briefing. (The damage to our shorelines, at the very least, is at more or less P130 million.) She said that while the volume of oil reaching their area from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress has been significantly reduced, the town continues to suffer from the effects of the spill. "Simula noong nagka-oil spill ang Pola, kung noon ay 100 percent, ngayon mga 60 to 70 percent na,” she said. (Since Pola was hit by the oil spill, if the damage was initially at 100 percent, now it is around 60 to 70 percent.) Some 4,800 fisherfolk and their families have been affected by the oil spill, a number of whom experienced respiratory illnesses aside from losing their livelihood. “Kasi noong unang bugso talaga ng oil, napakahirap namin. Noong unang 3 days, wala kaming katulong kung hindi iyong ating mga Bantay Dagat, fisherfolk, at naglinis ng dalampasigan; dumating lang sila mga after three or four days na,” she said. (During the first few days of the spill, it was difficult for us. On the first 3 days, we did not have anyone else to rely on except for our Bantay Dagat personnel and fisherfolk to clean our shores. Authorities only came three or four days later.) “So talagang nagkasakit sila, nagkaroon ng respiratory problem. At ngayon ay tinututukan ng ating mga MHO (municipal health office) at doctor iyong 200 plus natin, more or less, 80 na lang ang under observation.” (So they fell ill and suffered respiratory problems. Our municipal health office and town doctor had to look after more than 200 patients. But now only 80 remain under observation.) Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard announced the completion of underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations conducted by ukada Salvage and Marine Works and U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (USN SUPSALV). The Japanese Dynamic Positioning Vessel (DPV), Shin Nichi Maru, first deployed ROV Hakuyo on March 21 and it later found 24 sources of leakage. By April 1, DPV Shin Nichi Maru found that 11 out of the 24 previously identified sources remain leaking. On April 2, the USN SUPSALV-contracted DPV Pacific Valkyrie arrived in Calapan to help in the operations. The ROVs capped the oil-leaking sections of the sunken tanker, and both the DPV Shin Nichi Maru and Pacific Valkyrie have already completed their missions and already departed their operation areas as of April 5 and 7, respectively. PCG said that their is still one remaining pressure valve producing a "slow intermittent release of oil" and it was not capped "due to obstructions that may compromise the ROV operations." On Saturday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. conducted an aerial inspection of the area to assess the extent of damage caused by the oil spill. He also led the distribution of aid to some 1,200 beneficiaries in Pola. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) earlier said that the Mindoro oil spill has caused more than P1 billion in damage, with P19 million worth of daily losses since MT Princess Empress sank on Feb. 23. More than 178,000 people across several provinces near Oriental Mindoro have also been affected by the spill, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DENR) earlier said.
Nigeria's Oil And Gas Sector Hit By $21 Billion In Divestments --The oil and gas production in Nigeria is being severely impacted by the Western ESG strategies that are forcing IOCs to reconsider their upstream and downstream operations worldwide, resulting in major reshuffling and divestments of assets. Nigeria, one of OPEC's leading oil producers, has already seen $21 billion worth of assets divested, putting its future in jeopardy. In contrast to Western NGO's strategies, NGOs in Nigeria, such as "We, the People," are calling for a government moratorium to prevent further divestments in the Niger Delta. The NGO is concerned that if oil companies are allowed to divest without cleaning up the entire Niger Delta region, the environmental issues in the area will never be addressed. Despite the ongoing divestments, African nations, including Nigeria, need to be given time to transition to using gas as their transition fuel, according to Ainojie Alex Irune, CEO of Oando Energy Resources. More investments and production are needed to counter expected demand growth in the future on the continent. In addition, NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of Africa Energy Chamber, believes that the continent needs to leverage its immediate resources to eliminate energy poverty, as Africa is a gas continent. The regulatory uncertainty of Nigeria's oil and gas sector prior to the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and ESG-related fossil fuel divestment schemes forced by energy transition and COVID-19 are the main reasons for the divestments, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Nigeria's yearly capital expenditure in the upstream arm of the oil sector decreased by over 70% within a period of eight years. The country's total annual upstream capital expenditure decreased by 74% from $27 billion in 2014 to less than $6 billion in 2022, and competition from regional peers has led to a decrease in the proportion of the overall upstream investment attracted by Nigeria.However, there is still hope, as Nigeria is showing increased natural gas reserves and oil reserves in the short term. The NUPRC has reported that Nigeria's oil and condensate reserves are 31.060 billion barrels for oil and 5.906 billion barrels for condensate. Associated gas reserves are 102.32 trillion cubic feet, non-associated gas reserves are 106.51 trillion cubic feet. The future of Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa is at stake, and according to a growing amount of Southern leaders and analysts, it is time to reassess strategies and policies pushed by the North without delay. The divestment strategies being pushed by Western climate change and IPCC/IEA reports are not only controversial but now counterproductive for most developing countries.
Guyana Refuses To Sell Discounted Oil To India -One of the world’s growing hotspots for crude oil exploration has refused to sell discounted crude oil to India, Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said this week. Guyana’s crude oil production has increased three-fold from a year ago, with the government of Guyana holding the rights to about 12.5% of the country’s vast oil riches. BP has a one-year contract to market those government-controlled barrels. India has lobbied Guyana for two years—well before Guyana’s oil boom took off, but the two have been unable to come to an agreement, Jagdeo said, adding that any crude oil sales from Guyana to India would “have to be on commercial terms, not a discounted terms.” India said it is interested in sourcing discounted crude oil to make up for the increased costs for shipping the crude oil to India. “Guyana crude is costly for us because of high freight. Instead of paying a high freight for their oil, we will prefer to buy oil from the Middle East and east and west Africa,” a person familiar with the Indian traders thinking said, according to Reuters. “Without concessions their crude doesn’t make commercial sense for us.” Despite Guyana’s unwillingness to offer India crude oil on the cheap, the oil-rich nation is eager to invite India to the auction table for its first competitive oil auction, which is scheduled to be held later this summer. In that auction, 14 offshore blocks will go up for bid. India has not said whether or not it will participate. Jagdeo confirmed, however, that although an oil deal has not been reached, it will continue to discuss with India other areas of cooperation, including in agriculture and health.
India Sees Oil Cuts And War Impact As Biggest Risks To Economy -The effect on fuel prices from the recent surprise OPEC+ oil-output cut and “the spillover of all the decisions which are related to the Russia-Ukraine war” are “the two main things which I think I’d be more worried about than anything internal,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during an interview in Washington. p The biggest threats to India’s economic growth would likely come from forces outside the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, citing the risk of higher oil prices and the impacts from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The effect on fuel prices from the recent surprise OPEC+ oil-output cut and “the spillover of all the decisions which are related to the Russia-Ukraine war” are “the two main things which I think I’d be more worried about than anything internal,” she said in an interview in Washington on Saturday She also said possible recessions in the US or other developed countries could be a drag on India by hurting exports, particularly manufacturing. India is also exploring buying Russian crude oil near or past the price cap imposed by the G7 as it navigates external risks it sees as the biggest economic threat. “Yes, because otherwise I’ll end up paying far more than what I can afford,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview on Saturday in Washington, when asked if India would continue importing Russian oil beyond the $60-a-barrel price cap. “We have a large population and we also therefore have to look at prices which are going to be affordable for us.” The stance underscores the pressing need in the country of 1.4 billion people to curb inflation and spur growth amid a surprise output cut by OPEC+ and western sanctions to rein in Russia’s oil revenue following the invasion of Ukraine. India, along with China, has emerged as one of the key buyers of Russian crude. It is now India’s top supplier, above Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The country needs to constantly look for the “best deal” since it imports almost 80 percent of its crude oil requirements, Sitharaman said. “For us, it is a very critical input for the economy.” Sitharaman was in the US to attend the International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings and to co-chair the Group of 20 finance chiefs’ gathering, along with Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das.
UN in final $29m push to avert oil spill off Yemen - A fundraising event next month will attempt to secure the final $29m needed to remove 1.14m barrels of oil from a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen. The UN appeal has bought a VLCC to receive oil from the 406,600-dwt floating “time-bomb” FSO Safer (built 1976) but the spiralling cost of the operation means more money is needed. The conference, co-hosted by the UK and Dutch governments, will attempt to fill the funding gap and allow the salvage operation to start. The appeal has nearly hit $100m, United Nations officials said. The 307,000-dwt VLCC Nautica (built 2008) has been converted into an FSO at a yard in China and the vessel is currently off the coast of Singapore en route to Yemen, according to Kpler tracking data. The UN bought the Nautica from Belgian tanker giant Euronav but rising asset values pushed the price up to $55m — a sum not covered in the original budget. “The replacement vessel has begun its journey to Yemen but there is not enough funding for the salvage operation to take place,” ambassador Barbara Wood, the UK’s permanent representative at the UN, said. “The costs of inaction are severe. This would devastate marine life and coastal livelihoods, disrupt live-saving humanitarian assistance for 17m people and cost the global economy billions in lost trade every day.” The conference will be held on 4 May for the final funding push for the salvage operation, the UK government said. “This event aims to fill the shortfall and provide a long-term solution for Yemen,” Woodward said. “It is on all of us, states, private sector, individuals, to step up and help. The time to act is now.” The long-delayed operation followed sluggish efforts to raise the money despite the threat of the ship breaking up leading to a spill in the Red Sea that would be four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. “[The FSO] Safer could break apart or explode at any time, unleashing an environmental, trade and humanitarian catastrophe,” UK development minister Andrew Mitchell warned. The Nautica is expected to arrive at the FSO Safer off Yemen’s Red Sea coast in May. The Nautica will remain there for months after receiving the FSO Safer’s oil and Euronav will help operate its former ship throughout that period. “We’re closer than ever to averting a catastrophe, but urgently need $29m more to start the salvage operation.”
QatarEnergy signs energy tie-up deal with Namibia - QatarEnergy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines & Energy of the Republic of Namibia in a special signing ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha. The MoU paves the way for continued cooperation and covers key areas such as knowledge sharing, workforce development and exploring further investment opportunities in Namibia. Minister Al-Kaabi said: “We are pleased to further enhance our cooperation with the Government of Namibia and build on our recent successes. This agreement further strengthens our relationship as we work jointly towards a prosperous future.” QatarEnergy recently announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X well in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia, adding to the previous two separate oil and associated gas discoveries in the same basin in 2022. QatarEnergy holds interests in three Exploration Licenses offshore Namibia, PEL-39 (45%), PEL-56 (30%) and PEL-91 (28.33%), covering a total area of over 28,000 sq km.
Gulf Energy wins $100mn contract extensions in Oman - National Energy Services Reunited (NESR), an international leading provider of integrated energy services in the Middle East and North Africa, announced that its Oman-based subsidiary, Gulf Energy, has successfully completed negotiations with multiple clients in the sultanate to extend existing well intervention contracts for up to five years. The multiple contract extensions secured in Oman amounts to US$100mn, NESR said in a statement. The company said based on Gulf Energy’s excellent service delivery and new technology introductions across various fields, the new contracts range in duration for different clients and reflect the strong mutual trust with the client base in an improving oilfield services landscape. NESR CEO and chairman Sherif Foda said, “The success of Gulf Energy in its In-Country Value and Omanisation initiatives clearly reflects NESR’s broader localisation ambition as national champion of the MENA region. Our foremost goal is to hire and train Omanis, and cultivate Omani R&D and manufacturing to support our operations.” Gulf Energy currently works with almost all of the major energy operators in Oman including Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), BP, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, ARA Petroleum Oman B44 Limited, Medco Energi, OQ, CC Energy Development (CCED) and PetroTel Oman. NESR is one of the largest national oilfield services providers in the MENA region. With over 5,000 employees, representing more than 60 nationalities in over 15 countries, the company provides production services such as hydraulic fracturing, cementing, coiled tubing, filtration, completions, stimulation, pumping and nitrogen services.
Iran, Venezuela sign MOUs on oil, gas, petchem co-op - Tehran Times - Iran and Venezuela inked several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on the expansion of cooperation in the fields of oil, gas, and petrochemicals. The MOUs were inked by Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji and his Venezuelan counterpart Pedro Rafael Tellechea in the presence of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation between Iran and Venezuela in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil industry, Shana reported on Sunday. The development of oil and gas fields, and the reconstruction and renovation of Venezuelan oil refineries with the aim of maximizing the capacity of these complexes are among the issues mentioned in the MOUs signed by the two sides. In these documents, agreements were also made about the reconstruction and modernization of Venezuelan petrochemical complexes with Iranian technical and engineering services and equipment, the reconstruction and modernization of the loading dock, oil terminal, and trade and export of oil, gas condensate, and petroleum products. Oji arrived in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, at the head of a delegation on Thursday, to strengthen energy cooperation with the Latin American country. The minister, who has traveled to Venezuela in order to strengthen energy cooperation in the upstream and downstream areas, was welcomed by the country's officials. Back in last December, Oji had discussed the latest developments in the oil market in a phone conversation with his former Venezuelan counterpart Tareck El Aissami. The officials also talked about the development of energy cooperation between the two countries and followed up on the recent agreements reached between the two sides. Iran and Venezuela have taken a new path to expand cooperation in all areas over the past two years, and the Latin American country has been one of the focal points of the Iranian oil ministry’s foreign diplomacy.
IEA Still Predicts Record Oil Demand in 2023 - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is still predicting record world oil demand this year, according to its latest oil market report (OMR). In its April OMR, the IEA projected that world oil demand will climb by two million barrels per day in 2023 to “a record 101.9 million barrels per day”. Non-OECD countries, buoyed by a resurgent China, will account for 90 percent of growth, the April OMR noted. OECD demand was “dragged down by weak industrial activity and warm weather” and contracted by 390,000 barrels per day year on year in the first quarter of 2023, the report outlined. “While oil demand in developed nations has underwhelmed in recent months, slowed by warmer weather and sluggish industrial activity, robust gains in China and other non-OECD countries are providing a strong offset,” the IEA stated in its April OMR. “In 1Q23, OECD oil demand fell 390,000 barrels per day year on year, but a solid Chinese rebound lifted global oil demand 810,000 barrels per day above year-earlier levels to 100.4 million barrels per day. A much stronger increase of 2.7 million barrels per day is expected through year-end, propelled by a continued recovery in China and international travel,” the IEA added. “For 2023 as a whole, world oil demand is forecast to rise by an average two million barrels per day, to 101.9 million barrels per day, with the non-OECD accounting for 87 percent of the growth and China alone making up more than half the global increase,” the IEA continued. In its April OMR, the IEA noted that meeting those gains may prove challenging “as the new OPEC+ cuts could reduce output by 1.4 million barrels per day from March through year-end, more than offsetting a one million barrel per day increase in non-OPEC+ production”. “Growth from the U.S. shale patch, traditionally the most price-responsive source of more output, is currently limited by supply chain bottlenecks and higher costs,” the IEA said in the OMR. The IEA noted in the report that its oil market balances were already set to tighten in the second half of 2023, “with the potential for a substantial supply deficit to emerge”. The latest OPEC+ cuts risk exacerbating those strains, pushing both crude and product prices higher, the IEA warned in the OMR. The April OMR projects that global oil production growth will come in at 1.2 million barrels per day in 2023. This figure stood at 4.6 million barrels per day in 2022, the report highlighted. “Non-OPEC+, led by the U.S. and Brazil, drives the 2023 expansion, rising 1.9 million barrels per day. OPEC+ is expected to drop by 760,000 barrels per day,” the report stated. In its March OMR, the IEA predicted that global oil demand growth would reach 102 million barrels per day in 2023. The IEA noted in that report that it expected non-OPEC+ to drive global output growth of 1.6 million barrels per day this year. In its February OMR, the IEA projected that demand would reach 101.9 million barrels per day and that global production would rise by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2023. Back in its January OMR, the IEA noted that global oil demand was set to rise by 1.9 million barrels per day in 2023 “to a record 101.7 million barrels per day”. That OMR said world oil supply growth in 2023 was set to slow to one million barrels per day. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on April 11, total world petroleum and other liquids consumption will hit 100.87 million barrels per day and total world production will come in at 101.30 million barrels per day in 2023. “Although our forecast includes declining production in OPEC and Russia, we expect global liquids fuel production will increase by 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023 because of strong growth from non-OPEC countries, which (excluding Russia) increase by 2.3 million barrels per day in our forecast,” the latest STEO noted. Non-OPEC production growth is largely driven by countries in North and South America, according to the STEO, which noted that global liquids production rises by an additional two million barrels per day in 2024, “driven by non-OPEC production growth of one million barrels per day and by OPEC crude oil production, which we expect to increase by 0.9 million barrels per day when current production cuts expire at the end of 2023”.
Oil prices stall as short-covering rally is completed: Kemp --Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 36 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts over the seven days ending on April 11. Purchases over the three most recent weeks totaled 225 million barrels, among the largest increases over any three-week period in the last decade. As a result, fund managers held a combined position of 515 million barrels (34th percentile for all weeks since 2013) on April 11, up from just 289 million barrels (6th percentile) on March 21. Bullish long positions outnumbered bearish short ones by a ratio of 5.13:1 (66th percentile) up from 2.16:1 (16th percentile) three weeks earlier. But the pace of buying slackened noticeably last week as most of the short positions that existed in late March had been closed out. Short positions were trimmed by just 9 million barrels over the seven days ending on April 11, compared with 67 million in the week ending on April 4 and 48 million in the week to March 28. By April 11, total shorts had been reduced to just 125 million barrels (7th percentile) as bearish investors were squeezed out of the market. The most recent week saw hedge funds purchase NYMEX and ICE WTI (+22 million barrels), U.S. gasoline (+13 million) and U.S. diesel (+4 million) but no change in Brent and small sales of European gasoil (-3 million). Fund short positions in NYMEX WTI were reduced to 24 million barrels, the lowest for almost six months, and down from 127 million barrels three weeks earlier. The short-selling cycle that began around January 27, reflecting concerns about faltering growth, persistent inflation, rising interest rates and bank failures, had largely been completed by April 11. Its end has removed upward pressure on oil prices and explains why they have been broadly stable since April 11 after increasing rapidly over the previous three weeks. Hedge fund long positions in NYMEX WTI outnumbered shorts by 9.11:1 (73rd percentile) on April 11 up from 1.56:1 (1st percentile) on March 21. Investors remain fairly bearish on the outlook for U.S. gas, though with prices already close to record lows in real terms the scope for them to decline further is limited. Funds purchased the equivalent of 49 billion cubic feet over the seven days ending on April 11 in the two main futures and options contracts based on deliveries at Henry Hub in Louisiana. The buying reversed 55 billion cubic feet the previous week, based on position records published by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Funds held a net short position of -55 billion cubic feet (30th percentile for all weeks since 2010) with the ratio of longs to shorts at 0.98:1 (also 30th percentile).
Oil Wavers as Traders Eye Demand, Tight Supply Concerns -- Oil futures nearest delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange edged lower early Monday as traders balanced persistent concerns about weak demand fundamentals in the U.S. and the Eurozone against expectations of tighter supplies in the second half of the year. Near 7 a.m. EDT, West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery slipped $0.38 to $82.14 barrel (bbl) and the international crude benchmark Brent for June delivery fell to $85.92 bbl, slipping $0.39 bbl in overnight trading. NYMEX May RBOB futures declined by $0.0342 to $2.8017 gallon, while the May ULSD contract fell $0.0092 to $2.6300 gallon. The International Energy Agency and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecast last week the global oil market will likely slide into a deeper deficit in response to production cuts announced by OPEC+ on April 3. "Our oil market balances were already set to tighten in the second half of 2023, with the potential for a substantial supply deficit to emerge," said the IEA. Global oil demand is seen climbing by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to a record 101.9 million bpd, with 90% of that growth realized in developing and emerging economies led by China, said the IEA in its Monthly Oil Market Report Friday morning. Despite a sizable fall in fuel consumption across advanced economies in the first quarter, a solid rebound in China's fuel consumption already lifted worldwide demand 810,000 bpd above year-ago levels to 100.4 million bpd, said IEA. The agency expects a further increase of 2.7 million bpd in global oil demand through year end, propelled by a continued recovery in the Asian region. For advanced economies, the IEA acknowledged that weakness in industrial activity is impacting diesel demand, whereas the services sector and personal consumption are driving gasoline and jet uptake. A similar sentiment was echoed by OPEC in their Monthly Oil Market Report on Thursday, in which the group left 2023 demand projections unchanged at 101.9 million bpd despite acknowledging risks tied to the banking stress in the United States and Eurozone. OPEC said its forecast for demand growth across OECD countries was revised down for all four quarters, but consumption in non-OECD countries was boosted in part by "better-than-expected improvements in economic activity in China after it dropped its zero-COVID policy." Separately, the International Monetary Fund last week downgraded its global growth forecast to 2.8% for this year from 3.4% in 2022, while forecasting a median of 3% expansion over the next five years -- the lowest growth rate since the 1990s. Advanced economies in North America and the European Union will likely suffer the sharpest slowdown from 2.7% in 2022 to 1.3% this year, reflecting tight policy stances needed to bring down inflation, the fallout from the recent deterioration in financial conditions and growing geoeconomic fragmentation. "Risks to the outlook are heavily skewed to the downside, with the chances of a hard landing having risen sharply," said the IMF.
Oil prices sink on prospect of more oil export from Iraq (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil prices suffered substantial losses on Monday on possible resumption of oil export from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region via Türkiye's Ceyhan oil terminal. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery dropped 1.69 U.S. dollars, or 2.05 percent, to settle at 80.83 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery decreased 1.55 dollars, or 1.8 percent, to settle at 84.76 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan regional government have resolved technical issues essential to resuming the region's oil exports via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, said a report by Reuters on Monday. Türkiye's Ceyhan port halted the shipment of oil from the Kurdistan region and Kirkuk province on March 25 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that export of oil from the Kurdistan region is subject to approval from the Iraqi central government. Crude oil supply in the international market lost around 450,000 barrels per day due to measures taken following the ruling by the ICC. The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan regional government signed an agreement on April 4 to resume Kurdish oil exports via Türkiye. Traders also tend to book profits as oil prices struggle to gain additional growth momentum amid economic uncertainties. "Given enough time we will get a bit of a pullback, simply because a lot of traders are sitting on nice gains that they would like to book sometime soon, especially if the market is not going to pick up more momentum," said Christopher Lewis, analyst with market information platform FX Empire. The substantial rise of the U.S. dollar index on Monday also weighed on commodity prices denominated in the currency.
Oil drops 2% on higher dollar, interest rate concerns -Oil prices turned lower on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened and as investors mulled over a possible May interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could dampen economic recovery hopes. Brent crude futures settled lower by 1.8% at $84.76 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.05% to $80.83 a barrel. Both contracts notched their fourth weekly gain in a row last week, the longest such streak since mid-2022. The U.S. dollar has been strengthening alongside interest rate hikes, making dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar index gained around 0.5% on Monday. "The dollar is a little bit stronger, and that seems to be putting a little bit of pressure on oil here," Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said. Traders are betting the Fed will raise its lending rate in May by another quarter of a percentage point and have pushed out to late this year expectations of a rate cut, as typically occurs in a slowdown. Meanwhile, the release of China's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data at 0200 GMT on Tuesday is expected to be positive for commodity prices, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasting it will account for most of 2023 demand growth. However, the IEA also warned in its monthly report that output cuts announced by OPEC+ producers risked exacerbating an oil supply deficit expected in the second half of this year and could hurt consumers and a global economic recovery. The Group of Seven (G7) coalition will keep a $60 per barrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil, a coalition official said, despite rising global crude prices and calls by some countries for a lower price cap to restrict Moscow's revenues. In Iraq, the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have ironed out technical issues essential to resuming northern oil exports from the Turkish port of Ceyhan to international markets, four sources told Reuters on Monday. Turkey halted Iraq's 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of northern exports on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which ordered Turkey to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for the KRG's unauthorised exports between 2014 and 2018. In Saudi Arabia, crude oil exports in February fell to 7.455 million bpd from 7.658 million bpd in January, official data showed on Monday.
Oil steadies on China recovery hopes after 2% drop -- Oil prices steadied on Tuesday after falling nearly 2 per cent the previous day amid signs of an economic recovery in China, the world’s largest crude importer. Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, was trading 0.20 per cent higher at $84.93 a barrel at 8.47am UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was up 0.19 per cent at $80.98 a barrel. On Monday, Brent settled 1.8 per cent lower at $84.76, while WTI was down 2.05 per cent at $80.83. China's economy, the world’s second-largest, grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter as the lifting of Covid-19 curbs earlier this year helped improve consumer spending. The country’s gross domestic product increased by 4.5 per cent on a yearly basis in the first three months of the year, higher than the 2.9 per cent recorded in the previous quarter, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The market was expecting China’s economy to grow by 4 per cent in the first quarter, Emirates NBD said in a research note. China, which followed a strict zero-Covid policy for nearly three years, is set to be a key driver of crude demand this year. The International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to rise by 2 million barrels per day to a record 101.9 million bpd in 2023. Oil futures ended lower on Monday as investors worried that higher inflation from a recent surge in energy prices may prompt the US Federal Reserve to adopt a more aggressive monetary policy. Last week, the International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecast for global growth this year and next by 0.1 percentage points to 2.8 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. The global economy faces a “rocky” recovery as geopolitics, monetary tightening and inflation continue to weigh on growth, the fund said. Earlier this month, Opec+ producers said they would make voluntary oil production cuts of 1.16 million bpd from May until the end of December to support oil market stability. Russia, a part of the 23-member alliance of producers, also said it would extend its output cut of 500,000 bpd until the end of this year. Moscow had previously pledged to curb its production until June in response to the price caps imposed by the West on exports of its crude oil and refined products.
The Market on Tuesday Continued on its Downward Trend Early in the Session Before it Bounced Higher and Settled in Positive Territory - The oil market on Tuesday continued on its downward trend early in the session before it bounced higher and settled in positive territory. The market traded mostly sideways in overnight trading in light of some data showing that China’s economy grew by a faster than expected 4.5% in the first quarter. However, the market erased its gains as the market’s focus on a possible increase in U.S. interest rates and wider concerns over the growth outlook more than offset any of its earlier gains on strong Chinese economic data. The market sold off to a low of $79.87 by mid-morning. The oil market later bounced off its low and rallied higher, with a weaker dollar driving some of its gains and ahead of the release of the weekly petroleum stocks reports later on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, which are expected to show draws across the board. The oil market rallied to a high of $81.48 ahead of the close. The May WTI contract settled up 3 cents at $80.86 and the June Brent contract settled up 1 cent at $84.77. The product markets ended the session in negative territory, with the heating oil market settling down 1.48 cents at $2.5999 and the RB market settling down 2.31 cents at $2.7509.Spencer Dale, BP Plc's chief economist, said the global oil market will likely tighten in the second half of 2023 after the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production. He said there is a scope for oil markets to tighten a little bit in case China's oil demand and its overall economy recovers.Transatlantic gasoline shipments in March fell to a near three-year low due to poor arbitrage economics but exports along the route in April are rebounding. Shipments to the U.S. in April are already at 634,000 tons, exceeding the 407,000 tons exported in March. Meanwhile, European diesel imports are set to reach 6.59 million tons in April, up from 6.11 million tons that arrived in March.Colonial Pipeline Co is allocating space for Cycle 24 shipments on Line 20, which carries distillates from Atlanta, Georgia to Nashville, Tennessee.Chinese oil refinery throughput increased to a record high in March, as refiners increased runs to capture strong export demand and build up inventories ahead of planned maintenance. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that total refinery throughput in March reached 63.9 million tons or 14.9 million bpd, up 8.8% from a year earlier. The National Bureau of Statistics also showed that China's crude oil production in March increased by 2.4% on the year to 18.2 million tons or about 4.28 million bpd.St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, said the U.S. central bank should continue raising interest rates on the back of recent data showing inflation remains persistent while the broader economy seems poised to continue growing, even if slowly. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President, Raphael Bostic, said the U.S. central bank probably has one more rate increase ahead of it.
Oil Prices Dip As Recession Fears Resurface -Oil prices fell early on Wednesday as the market assessed the latest hints from the Fed that one more rate hike could be coming in early May, which intensified concerns about a material economic slowdown that could weigh on oil demand.Early on Wednesday morning, the U.S. benchmark WTI Crude was down by 2.07% at $79.19, and the international benchmark Brent Crude was down by 2.05% on the day at $83.03. Prices dipped on Wednesday after having risen on Tuesday following the industry report from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which estimated that both crude oil and product inventories in the United States fell last week.Official data on inventories is due out later today from the EIA. Comments from a Fed official on Tuesday suggested that another small rate hike could be needed offset bullish economic data out of China. The world’s second-biggest economy and top crude oil importer posted GDP growth of 4.5% in the first quarter of 2023, beating analyst estimates of 4% economic growth in a Reuters poll. The growth was the highest quarterly Chinese growth since the first quarter of 2022. However, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Tuesday that one more rate hike is coming.“One more move should be enough for us to then take a step back and see how our policy is flowing through the economy, to understand the extent to which inflation is returning back to our target,” Bostic told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”.“If the data come in as I expect, we will be able to hold there for quite some time,” said Bostic, who is a non-voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year. “Having failed to build on the OPEC+ production news a couple of weeks of ago, the market could now be exposed to some long liquidation from recently established longs,” Saxo Bank analysts said on Wednesday. “Brent is currently trading below $85, and a break below $83.50 could prompt a fresh attempt to close the gap down to $80 (for WTI, between $79 and $75.70).”
WTI Rebounds After 3rd Straight Weekly SPR Drain - Oil prices rebounded after the initial downthrust on the gasoline inventory build. Flat production and a notable crude draw exacerbated the buy-the-dip as it became clear that the SPR saw its 3rd weekly drain in a row... And WTI is testing back up towards $80... ...but we thought the Biden admin was supposed to be refilling the SPR? Oil prices are sliding this morning after UK's shockingly high CPI set yields higher and reignited rate-hike-driven fears for demand growth. As Bloomberg reports, the upshot is that oil traders are wrestling with a quandary that has troubled them for much of this year: will consumption rise enough in the coming months to make a dent in inventories that are more than 100 million barrels higher than a year ago? Or, will recessionary forces continue to menace demand, stopping prices from moving higher? And today's official EIA data will give us the latest glimpse into that crystal ball. API
- Crude -2.675mm (-500k exp)
- Cushing -600k
- Gasoline -1.00mm (-1.2mm exp)
- Distillates -1.9mm (-900k exp)
DOE
- Crude -4.581mm (-500k exp)
- Cushing -1.088mm
- Gasoline +1.299mm (-1.2mm exp) - biggest build since Feb
- Distillates -355k (-900k exp)
Official estimates show crude stocks fell 4.68mm barrels last week (more than API reported) and inventories at the Cushing Hub fell for the 7th straight week. Gasoline stocks unexpectedly rose, breaking an 8-week streak of draws, while Distillates fell... The so-called 'adjustment factor' was higher once again... Stocks at the Cushing hub fell for the 7th straight week, back at the lowest levels since Jan... US Crude production was flat at 12.3m b/d as rig counts continue to drift lower... Graphics Source: Bloomberg WTI is trading around $79.50, after bouncing back off the lower end of its post-OPEC-production-cut spike range... But prices are extending losses here after the print...
Oil falls 2% as U.S. dollar strengthens on Fed rate hike expectations (Reuters) - Oil prices slid about 2% to a two-week low on Wednesday despite a sharp decline in U.S. crude inventories, as the U.S. dollar strengthened on fears that looming U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes could curb energy demand in the world's top consumer. A stronger dollar can hurt global demand for oil by making it more expensive in other countries. Investors were also discouraged by still high inflation in Europe and uneven economic data in China, the world's biggest crude importer. Brent futures fell $1.23, or 1.5%, to $83.54 a barrel by 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.23, or 1.5%, to $79.63. That put both WTI and Brent on track for their lowest closes since March 31, erasing most of the price gains since the surprise oil output cut announced on April 2 by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies in the OPEC+ group. "The crude benchmarks are posting ... lows ... in response to a strengthening in the U.S. dollar that is, in turn, weighing on risky assets following some hot inflation data out of Europe," U.S. crude stockpiles fell by a bigger-than-expected 4.6 million barrels last week as refinery runs and exports rose, while gasoline inventories jumped unexpectedly on disappointing demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That is a much bigger crude withdrawal than the 1.1-million barrel decline analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and the 2.7-million barrel decline reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday. In China, stock markets closed lower due to uneven first-quarter data indicating a bumpy economic recovery after the country dropped its strict zero-COVID-19 policy. Wall Street's main stock market indexes edged down on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer. The Fed is likely to have one more interest rate rise in store, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Tuesday. Markets are pricing in an 86% chance of the Fed raising rates by 25 basis points in May. In Europe, European Central Bank officials remained wary of inflation and have suggested further rate hikes also. Adding more pressure on oil benchmarks, Asian refiners have continued to snap up Russian crude in April. India and China have bought the vast majority of Russian oil so far in April at prices above the Western price cap of $60 a barrel, according to traders and Reuters calculations. Oil loadings from Russia's western ports in April will rise to the highest since 2019, above 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd), despite Moscow's pledge to cut output, trading and shipping sources said. In the U.S., meanwhile, heating oil futures were on track to close at their lowest since January 2022 for a second day in a row on low diesel demand
Oil prices dip 2% as expected rate hikes take toll - Oil prices fell to their lowest level in about three weeks on Thursday, as a firmer dollar and rate hike expectations outweighed lower U.S. crude stocks.Brent crude futures were down $1.65, or 2%, to trade at $81.47 a barrel at 1342 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures dropped $1.61, or 2%, to $77.55 a barrel.Both benchmarks, after a 2% fall on Wednesday, are at their lowest since late March, just before a surprise OPEC+ production cut announcement, but not all those gains have been wiped out.Equities markets, which often move in tandem with oil prices, were down after disappointing results from Tesla and other companies, while the U.S. dollar index has risen around 0.2% this week, putting it on course for its strongest week since late February.A strengthening greenback makes oil more expensive for holders of other currenciesAlthough the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, employment is still strong and a Reuters poll of economists showed the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to deliver a final 25 basis point rate rise in May, ending an aggressive spate of policy tightening.In Britain, persistent double-digit inflation has also bolstered expectations of a further Bank of England rate hike.Meanwhile, U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 4.6 million barrels as refinery runs and exports rose, while gasoline inventories jumped unexpectedly, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.On the supply side, oil loading from Russia’s western ports in April is likely to rise to the highest since 2019, trading and shipping sources said.Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude under a new deal which could cover 100,000 barrels per day, the country’s petroleum minister said.
The Market Has Reversed Almost All of its Gains Following the Saudi Announcement of Further Output Cuts - The oil market on Thursday remained on its downward trend ahead of the May contract’s expiration at the close, trading to the lowest level since the end of March as a stronger dollar and rate hike expectations continued to weigh on the market. The market has reversed almost all of its gains following the Saudi announcement of further output cuts earlier this month. The crude market opened 29 cents lower at $78.87 and continued to back fill its remaining gap from $78.46 to $75.72 as it sold off to a low of $76.97 ahead of the close. The May WTI contract went off the board down $1.87 at $77.29 while the June WTI contract settled down $1.87 at $77.37. The June Brent contract settled down $2.02 at $81.10. Meanwhile, the product markets also ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 6.28 cents at $2.4949 and the RB market settling down 5.91 cents at $2.5864. Amos Hochstein, the special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security said the U.S. could begin to refill its SPR as soon as the third quarter of 2023, if the price is right. However, he cautioned that the timeline would depend on a number of factors, including maintenance on the infrastructure while the reserve is half empty and how well the Biden administration can manage a congressionally mandated sale of 26 million barrels by June 30th. The U.S. has stated that it wanted to sell at a price target of $70/barrel.The White House said the federal government has offered assistance to Florida as it copes with a gasoline shortage. White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the EPA is processing a request it received from Florida to expand the available supply of gas in the region. Flooding from last week’s rainstorms across South Florida have caused a run on gas in some areas.Platts is reporting that Iraq’s federal oil marketer SOMO is seeking to draft and replace contracts with traders seeking to buy and sell crude oil produced in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. These contracts will need to be signed and accepted before it will allow exports to resume through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Exports of Kurdish-origin crude and federally produced Kirkuk grade through Ceyhan have been suspended since March 24th. Export flows at that time had been averaging 450,000 b/d. Iraqi officials reportedly have said that they expect exports to now resume in a “few days once all technical, administrative and logistical issues are finally ironed out.”The EPA reported that the U.S. generated 619 million biodiesel (D4) blending credits in March, up from 514 million credits in February. It also reported that the U.S. generated 1.22 billion ethanol (D6) blending credits in March, up from 1.13 billion credits in February.Reuters reported that China's refineries processed more crude than ever before in March, but despite this record, the world's largest oil importer still increased its inventories. China's refinery throughput hit a record high of 63.9 million tons in March, equivalent to about 15.11 million bpd, up from 14.36 million bpd in the first two months of the year. However, according to calculations based on official data, the amount of crude available to refiners from imports and domestic output also increased in March, reaching 16.67 million bpd. Subtracting the refinery throughput leaves 1.56 million bpd that likely flowed into either commercial or strategic inventories. This was an increase in the amount available for stockpiles from the first two months of the year, when the surplus was 270,000 bpd.
Oil prices extend losses on fears of recession - Brent futures for June delivery were down by 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $80.96 a barrel at 0101 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for June delivery slid 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.25 a barrel, CNBC reported.Both benchmarks slid by more than 2% to their lowest level since late March on Thursday amid fears of a possible recession, and were on track for a weekly drop of about 6%."Market sentiment remained bearish after the weak U.S. economic data, along with expectations of interest rate hikes, fueling worries over a recession that could dent oil demand," "WTI is expected to trade in the $75-$80 range for the next week as investors try to figure out if U.S. gasoline demand will increase toward the summer driving season, and if China's oil demand will really pick up in the second half of the year," Economic data showed weekly jobless claims rose last week, indicating the U.S. labor market may be starting to show signs of slowing as the lag effect of multiple interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve takes hold, fanning concerns about a slowdown in fuel demand.U.S. crude oil inventories last week fell more than forecast as refinery runs and exports rose, while gasoline stockpiles jumped unexpectedly on disappointing demand, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.Meanwhile, China may cut quotas for refined oil products exports in a second batch for 2023 as domestic demand improves while the need to boost its economy through oil products abates, a Reuters survey showed.On the supply side, oil loading from Russia's western ports in April is likely to rise to the highest since 2019, above 2.4 million barrels per day, despite Moscow's pledge to cut output, trading and shipping sources said.
Oil Gains After US Manufacturing Index Improves in April -- After retreating for four consecutive sessions, West Texas Intermediate futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange settled Friday's session with modest gains, although both benchmark contracts lost as much as 6% this week amid persistent concerns over global oil demand.Friday's higher settlements came after U.S. manufacturing data for the month of April surprised to the upside this morning, lifting the U.S. Dollar Index and Treasury yields. At 50.40 reading, U.S. manufacturing index moved out of contraction to the highest reading since October 2022. The survey data is a forward-looking indicator and highlights an economy that wasn't bruised as much as it was feared by the March banking crisis."The latest reading is indicative of GDP growing at an annualized rate of just over 2%," said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.The survey also showed prices paid by operators in the service sector are growing again, underscoring persistent inflationary pressures.It's worth noting that one data point cannot tell the full picture and there are plenty of macroeconomic indicators pointing to weakness, but it certainly raises the possibility that the Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle won't end on May 3. The market is pricing in a 90% chance for a 25-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate when the Federal Open Market Committee meets in less than two weeks' time and is now pricing in a modest chance for another rate hike on June 14.Oil complex came under modest selling pressure earlier in the session after overnight macroeconomic data showed European industrial sector fell into deeper contraction this month, with the headline index for manufacturing activity eroding to the lowest level since May 2020.The European manufacturing sector has remained in contraction for the tenth straight month and shows little signs of recovery in the foreseeable future. More positively, Eurozone business activity in the service sector accelerated to a 12-month high 56.6, lifting the composite PMI solidly into growth territory. Possibly contributing to manufacturing weakness were widespread protests in France that prompted shutdowns of industrial facilities and power plants.Oil traders pay close attention to manufacturing data given the energy-intensive nature of the industrial sector versus private consumption that has grown increasingly energy-efficient in recent years.At settlement, NYMEX June WTI futures advanced $0.50 to $77.87 barrel (bbl), with international crude benchmark ICE Brent futures for June delivery gaining to $81.66 bbl, up $0.56. NYMEX May RBOB futures moved $0.0152 higher to $2.6016 gallon and May ULSD futures edged $0.0063 lower to $2.4886 gallon.
Oil Reverses OPEC Gains to Post Weekly Loss - Oil set its first weekly loss in a month after erasing most of the gains stemming from OPEC+’s surprise output cut. Brent crude has wiped out almost all of the $7 that it gained after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies blindsided markets with a pledge to cut production. Global supplies are showing signs of growth with Russia’s crude exports bouncing back above 3 million barrels a day last week, while in global fuel markets, gasoline and diesel are slowing at a time when they should be ramping up or peaking. Asian refiners are considering cutting volumes as margins have weakened recently, signaling that refineries didn’t manage to pass on higher costs to consumers. “It appears that some of the excitement around the OPEC+ cuts has faded, amid light flows,” said Emily Ashford, Executive Director of Energy Research at Standard Chartered. Technical indicators also took a toll on prices. The US benchmark failed to break through its 200-day moving average last week and has been trading lower ever since. The $7 jump in prices after OPEC+ announcement created a so-called chart gap, which then prompted a corrective move to the downside to fill the large break in prices. In March, oil hit a 15-month low in the aftermath of bank turmoil that shook confidence across all markets. The combination of the surprise announcement by OPEC+ on production cuts coupled with a reduction in Iraqi flows pushed oil back into the $80-range. Many market watchers are still betting on China’s demand rebound, which grew its economy at the fastest pace in a year, putting the country on track to reach its growth goal. Hedge funds increased bullish bets on crude in the week ending April 18th, boosting long positions in WTI and Brent to five-month and six-week highs, respectively. WTI for June delivery rose 50 cents to settle at $77.87 a barrel. Brent for June settlement gained 56 cents to settle at $81.66 a barrel.
Syria's Assad Meets Saudi FM in Damascus - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hosted Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister in Damascus on Tuesday in the latest sign that Riyadh is ready to normalize diplomatic relations with Syria, which have been suspended since 2012.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s trip to Damascus marked the first high-level Saudi visit to Syria since 2011 when Riyadh threw its support behind the failed regime change effort against Assad.The visit comes as Saudi Arabia is looking to bring Syria back into the Arab League. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said bin Farhan’s trip showed Riyadh’s desire to find a solution to the conflict in Syria that would “Arab identity, and return it to its Arab surroundings.”Also on Tuesday, Syria’s foreign minister visited Tunisia on a trip to restore diplomatic ties with the African country, which also severed relations with Damascus in 2012.The Saudis are facing some resistance among other Arab nations in its push to bring Assad out of isolation, including Qatar, Morocco, and Kuwait, and the US is opposed to the idea, but Riyadh seems determined to follow through. Bin Farhan’s visit came after Syria’s foreign ministertraveled to Damascus for the first time since 2011.CIA Director William Burns recently visited Riyadh and told the Saudis that the US was “blindsided” by their steps to upgrade ties with Damascus and normalize with Iran. The US prefers to keep Syria isolated and under crippling economic sanctions, but more and more regional countries are accepting that Assad isn’t going anywhere. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Arab countries were looking to work out a normalization deal with Assad that would involve Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and other US allies lobbying for an end to Western sanctions on Syria.
Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Discuss OPEC+ Cooperation - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talked about OPEC+ cooperation by phone, the Kremlin said. The two leaders expressed “satisfaction with the level of coordination within OPEC+ in order to ensure the stability of global oil market,” according to a statement on Friday. The phone call was initiated by Saudi Arabia. The phone call between the two de-facto leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies follows an unexpected round of output cuts exceeding 1 million barrels a day earlier this month. The reductions were led by Saudi Arabia with a pledge to curb production by 500,000 barrels a day, while Russia extended its existing cut until the end of the year. The surprise cuts were driven by their interest “in keeping crude oil and petroleum product prices at a certain level,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 3. Russia and Saudi Arabia’s leaders also discussed bilateral relations, with a focus on further expansion of “mutually beneficial ties in the trade, economic, investment and energy areas,” according to the Kremlin. They also talked about the prospects of Saudi Arabia’s cooperation with the BRICS nations.
Ukraine Rejects Iraqi Offer to Mediate Negotiations With Russia - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday rejected an Iraqi offer to mediate talks between Ukraine and Russia during a visit to Baghdad, his first since the Russian invasion.Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with Kuleba and called for a ceasefire, saying it was the same message he gave to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he visited Baghdad in February.“We always strive to be a part of the solution. Wars end with negotiation and dialogue; that’s why we believe in the language of dialogue,” Hussein said. “That’s why when we negotiate or discuss with officials in Moscow, and Minister Lavrov was here in the same hall, we mentioned the same principles, and we told them that we support a ceasefire and the start of negotiations.”Hussein said that Iraq “has experience in communication with countries that have tension between them” and “is ready to be in service of peace.” But Kuleba declined the offer and reaffirmed Kyiv’s position that peace talks with Moscow can’t happen until Russia withdraws from all the territory it has captured.“Russia is on the offensive … and this is the biggest hurdle on the way to peace,” Kuleba said. “We need Russia to agree with a very simple fact that it has to stop the war and withdraw.”Kuleba has maintained a very hard line concerning peace talks with Moscow. He previously said negotiations could only happen after tribunals are held for alleged Russian war crimes. For their part, Moscow maintains any future peace deal must recognize the Ukrainian territory it has annexed as Russian, which is a non-starter for talks with Kyiv.
G7 Foreign Ministers Vow to Increase Russia Sanctions, Slam China - On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the G7 nations vowed to increase sanctions on Russia and issued a scathing statement against Beijing after three days of talks in Japan.The foreign ministers of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan said in a joint statement that they would “intensify” sanctions against Russia and threatened countries that looked to circumvent sanctions or provide Moscow with support.“We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them, including through the Enforcement Coordination Mechanism, and countering Russia’s and third parties’ attempts to evade and undermine our sanctions measures. We reiterate our call on third parties to cease assistance to Russia’s war, or face severe costs,” the statement said.Concerning China, the ministers said they recognize “the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China.” They acknowledged the need to “work together with China on global challenges” but went on to slam Beijing.“We reiterate our call for China to act as a responsible member of the international community,” the ministers said. They slammed China for its actions in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and over allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet.“We remind China of the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force,” they said. The ministers also mentioned Taiwan, saying they “reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”In response to the statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “The G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs and maliciously smeared and discredited China.”“The communiqué reflects the group’s arrogance, prejudice, and deliberate desire to block and contain China. We deplore and reject this and have made a strong démarche to the host Japan,” Wang added.The ministers also condemned North Korea’s recent weapons tests, which have been provoked by the resumption of massive US-South Korea war games. The meeting comes about a month before a summit of G7 leaders will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19-21.
NATO to surge troops to Russian border -- NATO plans to surge troops to Russia’s border as part of an effort to become a “war-fighting alliance,” the New York Times reported Monday. The Times wrote that “NATO now has deployed a battalion of multinational troops to eight countries along the eastern border with Russia. It is detailing how to enlarge those forces to brigade strength in those frontline states.” A battalion can include up to 1,000 troops, while a brigade can include up to 5,000 troops, meaning that NATO could potentially plan to increase the number of troops on Russia’s borders fivefold, to up to 40,000 troops. The Times reports that NATO “is also tasking thousands more forces, in case of war, to move quickly in support, with newly detailed plans for mobility and logistics and stiffer requirements for readiness.” Politico, meanwhile, has cited even larger numbers. On March 18, it reported, “In the coming months, the alliance will accelerate efforts to stockpile equipment along the alliance’s eastern edge and designate tens of thousands of forces that can rush to allies’ aid on short notice… The numbers will be large, with officials floating the idea of up to 300,000 NATO forces.” “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” wrote the Times, has launched “a full-throttled effort” to prepare for military operations all along its eastern flank. As the Times put it, this “means a revolution in practical terms: more troops based permanently along the Russian border,” It also means “more integration of American and allied war plans, more military spending and more detailed requirements for allies to have specific kinds of forces and equipment to fight, if necessary, in pre-assigned places.”
Russia Completes Belarusian Pilots' Training on Nuclear Weapons Use - This step comes amid soaring tensions over Ukraine and the NATO proxy war with Russia. Moscow made the decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus after London supplied Kiev Challenger 2 tanks armed with depleted uranium munitions. Belarusian Air Force crews have completed their training on the use of tactical nuclear weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday.The ministry released a video featuring a Belarusian pilot explaining that the Russian training course has enabled the crews manning the Belarusian Air Force’s Su-25 ground attack jets to use tactical nuclear bombs. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the storage facilities for the weapons in Belarus will be built and ready for use by July 1. Moscow is assisting Minsk modernizing its aircraft to carry the weapons and has provided short-range Iskander missiles which can fit such warheads as well. Russia began training Belarusian forces on the missiles earlier this month.Putin emphasizes that the nuclear weapons will remain under the full control of Moscow and has compared his recent move to NATO’s nuclear sharing program. American nuclear weapons are deployed in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, and the Netherlands. Russia’s ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, announced the weapons will be placed in western Belarus, near the country’s nearly 800 mile border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.On Friday, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin echoed President Alexander Lukashenko’s previous suggestion that Moscow may deploy strategic, as well as tactical, nuclear weapons to the territory of Belarus. "It could be the next step" if the West continues its hostile course, Khrenin said.Strategic nuclear weapons can possess a yield of more than 1,000 kilotons, the range of tactical nuclear weapons is between 0.3 and 170 kilotons. The bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had yields of 15 and 21 kilotons respectively.Putin announced his decision to deploy the weapons to its ally after London provided Kiev with Challenger 2 tanks armed with depleted uranium munitions, which Russia views the same as a "dirty bomb." Depleted uranium is highly radioactive and linked to cancer as well as birth defects. For instance, in Fallujah, the US military’s heavy use of such weapons during the Iraq war has led to leukemia rates orders of magnitude worsethan those recorded after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.
Russia unveils secretive weapon to target SpaceX’s Starlink in Ukraine - Russia’s quest to sabotage Ukrainian forces’ internet access by targeting the Starlink satellite operations that billionaire Elon Musk has provided to Kyiv since the war’s earliest days appears to be more advanced than previously known, according to a classified U.S. intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post. Moscow has experimented for months with its Tobol electronic warfare systems in a bid to disrupt Starlink’s transmissions in Ukraine, the top-secret assessment, which has not been previously disclosed, contends. The document, among a cache of sensitive materials leaked online through the messaging platform Discord, dates to March and does not indicate whether any of Russia’s tests have been successful. But the intelligence finding is striking nonetheless as it appears to affirm what observers had only hypothesized previously: that a program ostensibly designed to protect the Kremlin’s satellites can be employed instead to attack those used by its adversaries. SpaceX, the firm that owns Starlink, declined to comment. Last spring, Musk briefly addressed the Kremlin’s attempts to target the technology, writing on Twitter in May that while Starlink had demonstrated its resilience against such “jamming & hacking” attempts, the Russians appeared to be intensifying their efforts. The Pentagon did not address questions about the leaked assessment. “These systems constitute an important layer in Ukraine’s communications network,” said Maj. Charlie Dietz, a Defense Department spokesperson. The department’s focus, he added, “remains on getting the Ukrainians the satellite capabilities they need.” Kostiantyn Zhura, a spokesman for the Ukrainian defense ministry, said that officials in Kyiv are aware of Russia’s efforts and “taking measures to neutralize them.” The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Beijing's Antarctic Land Grab- CCP Builds 5th Base Near South Pole - Beijing is embarking on the “most significant” expansion of its footprint in Antarctica after new satellite images revealed the communist regime has resumed construction on a fifth polar station. A satellite view with overlays shows areas to be developed at the new Chinese station under construction, on Inexpressible Island, Antarctica, January 2, 2023. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)/Hidden Reach/Maxar Technologies 2023. The new station, located on Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, could double as a spying operation, a Washington-based think tank suggests.“While essential for tracking and communicating with China’s growing array of scientific satellites, ground stations can support intelligence collection,” the report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says.“Importantly, the station’s position may enable it to collect signals intelligence from U.S.-allied Australia and New Zealand and could collect telemetry data on rockets launching from newly established space facilities in both countries.”The CSIS says China has faced more challenges in establishing a footprint in the northern Arctic and, instead, has a “freer hand” to explore the South Pole.While the United States still maintains the largest presence on the continent, Beijing’s presence is expanding rapidly. It currently has four stations (all to be expanded), including the Great Wall, Taishan, Kunlun, and Zhongshan stations
After Feared Global Food Shortage, Rift in EU Emerges Over Grain Glut - Poland and Hungary will pause imports of Ukrainian grain. The European Union’s agricultural policies in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have caused a glut of wheat in Central Europe, harming the region’s farmers.On Saturday, Hungarian agriculture minister István Nagy announced Budapest would temporarily block imports of Ukrainian wheat and oilseeds until July 30th. In a separate statement, JarosÅ‚aw KaczyÅ„ski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, said Warsaw would also halt grain imports from Kiev. The Polish ban extends to other food products, such as beef and eggs.Warsaw and Budapest made the decision in response to demands made by struggling farmers. Wheat prices in Central Europe dropped after a bumper crop and additional Ukrainian imports.The EU denounced the actions by Poland and Hungary as unacceptable. "Trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable," said Miriam Garcia Ferrer, the commission spokesperson for trade and agriculture. "In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU."After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the EU lifted customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian grain imports. Some grain that was exported via the Black Sea was rerouted through Europe by rail as well. However, a portion of the wheat became stuck in Central Europe as those nations lack the infrastructure to move in the influx of grain.In April 2022, the EU warned, "There is widespread international concern that Russia’s war will provoke a global food crisis." However, according to a Financial Times report on Sunday, the desperate rush for food has not materialized. "Struggling with high debt and weakening economies, poorer nations in Africa and elsewhere have also recently been seeking to curtail food imports," the outlet noted. A reduction in demand will put additional downward pressure on prices for the struggling Polish and Hungarian farmers.
France's Macron Seeks China's Help to Foster Russia-Ukraine Negotiations - French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking China’s help to figure out a way to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, Bloombergreported on Tuesday.The report cited unnamed people familiar with the plan who said Macron tasked his diplomatic advisor, Emmanuel Bonne, to discuss the idea with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi.China has emerged as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine after Beijing released a 12-point peace plan for the conflict, although Chinese President Xi Jinping has yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Unlike President Biden, who immediately rejected the idea of China’s peace initiative, Macron has publicly expressed support for Beijjing’s efforts. During a visit to China last week, Macron said he could “count on” Xi to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.While France has followed the EU and NATO in its sanctions against Russia and military support for Kyiv, Macron has repeatedly called for negotiations to end the war. He previously warned against “humiliating” Russia and has said Moscow’s security concerns must be taken into account in a future peace deal.The sources told Bloomberg that any future negotiations would hinge on a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, but that appears increasingly unlikely. Some of the leaked Pentagon documents that have surfaced online revealed the US doesn’t think Kyiv can gain any significant territory.European officials have said “dangerously high expectations” have been placed on a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
"It Wasn't A Mistake Or Slip": Lagarde Hints At Raising Central Bank Inflation Target - The old Disraeli line is that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Like most market commentary, I focus on the former two (i.e., politics) and the latter, pointing out all the inconsistencies in the numbers on the screen that get markets so excited, whether that be US payrolls’ birth/death model, CPI’s hedonic regressions, or Chinese GDP’s internally inconsistent expectations-beating ‘magic’. However, yesterday we got a prime example of the Big Market Lie: talking only about statistics, as if nothing else more important is happening. Monday’s policy speech from ECB President Lagarde, was called “astounding” by a national-security expert, and my team said sounded like she has been reading our research: given the ECB staff do read it, that wasn’t hyperbole. The second-most important central banker in the world behind Powell stated: we are seeing fragmentation into competing geopolitical blocs, which is structurally inflationary; rival FX architecture is emerging; trade invoicing and swap lines are key in that shift; Western fiscal policy must be expansionary on the supply side and into defence; monetary policy needs to act like it did in the 80s; yet it must also work with fiscal policy for “strategic goals” – and Lagarde added later in the day that once the 2% CPI target has been met, “discussions” can be had on changing it(!); central bank digital currency may be needed to deliver hypothecated fiscal spending and trade invoicing; in “systemic competition”, the bloc that does state capitalism/mercantilism best will fare better; and central banks’ role is at the heart of it. We are not talking 2% CPI, nor 2°C.This has vast implications across every asset class, the economy, and the political economy. To have given this speech, Lagarde would have had to have cleared it with layers of stakeholders. It wasn’t a mistake or slip. It was a deliberate, establishment-approved declaration: we face an open-ended global political-economy competition with policy drift in just one direction, not a rate-hiking cycle, or a pause, and certainly not a pivot.And how did the market react? It didn’t. How did the financial press covering every market cough, sneeze, and shill react? It didn’t. There were very few headlines, almost no commentary, and no analysis. The focus was on relatively irrelevant statistics like Chinese GDP, or subscriber numbers. In short, we got an orchestrated ostrich-like policy of denial.Some might say that the magic of 0DTE options trading means nothing means anything anymore, and market volatility can keep going down, and stocks up, while real world volatility is exploding higher; but forever, and if rates keep rising?
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