week ending Nov 29

Fed's Waller: December cut appropriate, but January action more uncertain (Reuters) - The job market is weak enough to warrant another quarter-point rate cut in December, though action beyond that depends on an upcoming flood of data delayed by the government shutdown, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday.Since the last Fed meeting, "most of the private sector and anecdotal data that we've gotten is that nothing has really changed. The labor market is soft. It's continuing to weaken," with inflation expected to ease, Waller said on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria. While that makes a December cut appropriate, "January could be a little trickier, because we're going to get a flood of data that's released. If it is kind of consistent with what we've seen, then you can make the case for January. But if it suddenly shows a rebound in inflation or jobs or the economy's taking off, then it might give concern" about more cuts, Waller said.Fed officials are divided over whether to cut rates again at the December meeting, though recent comments from top policymakers - including New York Fed President John Williams on Friday - have shifted market expectations strongly in favor of another quarter-point reduction at their December 9-10 meeting. According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, the futures-market-implied probability of a quarter point reduction to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% is now about 83%, roughly double what it had been a week ago. The Fed will remain information-constrained at that session, with government statistical agencies still digging through the backlog of work from the 43-day shutdown that ended November 14. The Bureau of Labor Statistics already has said it will not release a jobs or consumer inflation report for October, while the reports for November will not become public until after the Fed meets.In the absence of those keystone data releases, officials are relying more heavily on information from private providers and on their own contacts in businesses and households around the country. Much of that information is compiled into a compendium known as the Beige Book that is released two weeks prior to each Fed meeting, with the next version due out on Wednesday."The labor market is still weak and ... we're getting no evidence telling me it's rebounding," Waller said. He downplayed the recently released September jobs report, showing the economy added a more-than-expected 119,000 jobs that month, as likely to be revised lower. The September report also showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3% the month before. One other policymaker joined Waller in voicing that concern on Monday. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who had been on the fence over whether to support a third consecutive rate cut next month, told the Wall Street Journal she now backs a reduction.“On the labor market, I don’t feel as confident we can get ahead of it,” she said in an interview Monday. “It’s vulnerable enough now that the risk is it’ll have a nonlinear change.” Daly, who does not have a vote on policy this year but like all Fed policymakers has a voice at the debate during meetings, now views an inflation surge as a lower risk.By the time of the next meeting on January 27-28, however, Waller, Daly and their colleagues should be able to better gauge which of two views of the economy are starting to materialize - the one where inflation stays persistent with a risk of moving higher, a possibility that has led several regional reserve bank presidents to oppose further rate cuts, or the one where job growth remains weak and the unemployment rate increases, the outcome Waller finds most concerning. Fed officials at the upcoming meeting will issue new economic projections that could reset expectations for any rate reductions next year. Policymakers were divided on the outlook in September, with the median official seeing only one further rate hike in 2026. Investors currently anticipate two to three cuts next year, according to data from the CME Group's FedWatch.By the next meeting, the Fed should have in hand official estimates for jobs, the unemployment rate, and inflation through December."You may see a more of a meeting-by-meeting approach once you get to January," Waller said. "But I still don't think the labor market is going to turn around in the next six to eight weeks."

Does the Fed have an ethics problem? -- Recent high-profile ethics violations by senior Federal Reserve officials, including new revelations concerning stock trades by former Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler, have sparked debate over the effectiveness of the central bank's oversight, even as some observers stress such cases remain rare.

• Key Insight: Even though ethics violations among Fed officials are uncommon, high-profile cases like that of former Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler highlights persistent questions about oversight effectiveness.
• Expert Quote: "When you're in a position that's as influential as working at the Federal Reserve, you're governed by the law of Caesar's wife — be above suspicion." — Alex Pollock, senior fellow at the Mises Institute.
• What's at stake: The Federal Reserve unveiled new reporting requirements in 2022 for members of the FOMC. The recent Kugler controversy has raised questions about whether the rules are actually working.

The Federal Reserve has been rocked in recent years by a number of high-profile trading scandals, leaving some to question whether the central bank has an endemic ethics problem that it is struggling to contain internally. Stakeholders interviewed differ on whether there are actual oversight lapses or whether attention to such cases is simply heightened when Fed officials are involved. But what is clear is that these incidents can undermine public confidence in the central bank.

Fed's Beige Book: "Economic activity little changed" --Beige Book - November 2025 – Excerpt: Economic activity was little changed since the previous report, according to most of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts, though two Districts noted a modest decline and one reported modest growth. Overall consumer spending declined further, while higher-end retail spending remained resilient. Some retailers noted a negative impact on consumer purchases from the government shutdown, and auto dealers saw declines in EV sales following the expiration of the federal tax credit. Reports of travel and tourism activity reflected little change in recent weeks, with some contacts noting cautious discretionary spending among consumers. Manufacturing activity increased somewhat, according to most Districts, though tariffs and tariff uncertainty remained a headwind. Revenues in the nonfinancial services sector were mostly flat to down, and reports of loan demand were mixed. Some Districts reported declines in residential construction, while others said it was unchanged, and home sales activity varied. A few Districts noted ongoing recovery in the office real estate market. Conditions in the agriculture and energy sectors were largely stable, though some contacts cited challenges from the low-price environment for oil and for some crops. Community organizations saw increased demand for food assistance, due in part to disruptions in SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. Outlooks were largely unchanged overall. Some contacts noted an increased risk of slower activity in coming months, while some optimism was noted among manufacturers. Employment declined slightly over the current period with around half of Districts noting weaker labor demand. Despite an uptick in layoff announcements, more Districts reported contacts limiting headcounts using hiring freezes, replacement-only hiring, and attrition than through layoffs. In addition, several employers adjusted hours worked to accommodate higher or lower than expected business volume instead of adjusting the number of employees. A few firms noted that artificial intelligence replaced entry-level positions or made existing workers productive enough to curb new hiring. Across most Districts, employers had an easier time finding workers, but there were still pockets of difficulty related to certain skilled positions and fewer immigrant workers. Wages generally grew at a modest pace; however, some sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and health care experienced more moderate wage pressure because of a tighter labor supply. Furthermore, rising health insurance premiums continue to put upward pressure on labor costs. Prices rose moderately during the reporting period. Input cost pressures were widespread in manufacturing and retail, largely reflecting tariff-induced increases. Some Districts noted rising costs for insurance, utilities, technology, and health care. The extent of passthrough of higher input costs to customers varied, and depended upon demand, competitive pressures, price sensitivity of consumers, and pushback from clients. There were multiple reports of margin compression or firms facing financial strain stemming from tariffs. Prices declined for certain materials, which firms attributed to sluggish demand, deferred tariff implementation, or reduced tariff rates. Looking ahead, contacts largely anticipate upward cost pressures to persist but plans to raise prices in the near term were mixed.

European Countries Offer Ukraine Peace Plan That's Radically Different From Trump's - The UK, France, and Germany have drafted and submitted a counter-proposal to President Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan that is radically different from the US draft and includes provisions that would almost certainly be rejected by Russia. Most notably, the European proposal doesn’t provide a guarantee that Ukraine won’t join NATO or include Ukrainian territorial concessions. Under the US plan, Ukraine would need to enshrine in its constitution that it wouldn’t join NATO, and the military alliance would agree that Ukraine wouldn’t be admitted in the future.The European proposal says that NATO joining Ukraine “depends on the consensus of NATO members, which does not exist. It also leaves open the possibility of NATO sending troops to Ukraine, something that’s explicitly ruled out under the US proposal. Regarding territory, the US plan would involve Ukraine ceding what territory it still controls in the Donbas, which would become a demilitarized zone, and freezing the battle lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The European proposal states that “negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact.”The European proposal also says that the US would give Ukraine a NATO Article 5-style guarantee, another provision that would be unacceptable to Moscow. The potential US security guarantee will be a major sticking point in negotiations, as the US reportedly told Ukraine it would provide a NATO-style guarantee, though it wasn’t spelled out in the leaked peace proposal.While the original US proposal includes some provisions Russia would likely not accept, such as using frozen Russian funds for reconstruction and investment in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that it works as a foundation for negotiations.“I believe that it could also form the basis for a final peace settlement, but this text has not been discussed with us in detail,” Putin told his Security Council on Friday, though he added that he doesn’t think Ukraine will go for the deal. “I believe the reason is the same: the US administration has not yet managed to secure the agreement of the Ukrainian side, as Ukraine is opposed to it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion that they can inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin added. President Trump has said he wants Ukraine’s response to the peace plan by Thursday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with European and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Sunday and said it went well despite the radically different peace proposals. Rubio said that the talks were “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting we’ve had so far in this entire process since we became involved” and added that the US was making changes to the peace proposal.“We’re making some changes and adjustments in hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to an outcome that both Ukraine and the United States can be comfortable with,” he said.

Ukraine Makes Significant Changes to US Peace Plan - Ukrainian officials made significant changes to a US-drafted peace deal during negotiations with their US counterparts in Geneva on Sunday, The Guardian has reported.The original 28-point plan leaked to the media was substantially altered during the talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the US side and Andriy Yermak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the Ukrainian side, and was reduced to 19 points.“As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said on Monday. It’s unclear exactly what changes were made to the plan, but the main objections from Ukrainian officials and their European backers were the provisions requiring Ukraine to cede territory it controls in the Donbas to Russia and the guarantees that Ukraine won’t ever join NATO.According to a report from the Financial Times, the US and Ukrainian officials left the most sensitive details, including territorial lines and Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, to be decided by Zelensky and President Trump, who are expected to meet soon.“Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps, and this is indeed the right approach – I will discuss the sensitive issues with President Trump,” Zelensky said.Also on Monday, Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he expects Moscow to hear from Washington about holding talks on the potential peace plan. “You know, I would proceed from the fact that it would probably be natural to assume that the Americans would come in to meet us face-to-face and start a discussion,” he said.Ushakov also said that he was aware of a European counter-proposal that stripped the Ukrainian territorial concessions from the US plan and left the door open for Ukrainian NATO membership, calling it “entirely unconstructive and unsuitable for us.” While the original US proposal includes some provisions Russia would likely not accept, such as using frozen Russian funds for reconstruction and investment in Ukraine, Putin has said that it could “form the basis for a final peace settlement.”

Rubio’s roller-coaster weekend of Ukraine talks - -Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from a turbulent weekend of diplomacy expressing optimism over the prospects of Ukraine and Russia reaching a peace deal. Rubio led a United States delegation that met with Ukrainian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a 28-point peace plan that has been roundly criticized by Ukraine’s supporters. On Saturday, Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Angus King (I-Maine) said Rubio told them on a call that the plan wasn’t primarily authored by the U.S., but instead was “essentially the wish list of the Russians.” Rubio and other State Department officials publicly pushed back on that characterization, insisting it was authored by the U.S. and is a “strong framework” for peace negotiations. America’s top diplomat emerged from the talks in Geneva on Sunday telling reporters “tremendous progress” was achieved during what he called “probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was typically cautious in a statement released after the talks. “A lot is changing: we are working very carefully. It is important that there is dialogue with the American representatives, and there are signals that President Trump’s team is hearing us,” he said. A joint statement released after the talks said: “Ukraine and the United States agreed to continue intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days. They will also remain in close contact with their European partners as the process advances.” The U.S. is reportedly pressuring Ukraine to agree to a deal by Thanksgiving or risk losing American military support. President Trump on Sunday revived the administration’s criticism that Kyiv is not thankful enough for Washington’s backing, a grievance famously aired by Vice President Vance during a February meeting with Zelensky in the White House. “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. He struck a more Rubio-like tone in a post on Truth Social Monday morning. “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” he wrote. On Saturday, the president said the 28-point plan was not his “final offer,” adding that Ukraine could continue fighting if it didn’t like the terms. Rubio deferred on a question about Trump’s Thanksgiving deadline, saying the goal is reach a peace deal “as soon as possible.” The proposal faced intense backlash on both sides of the Atlantic last week, including from members of the president’s party, over accusations that it is capitulating to Russian demands. It was reportedly negotiated by Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s top negotiator in peace talks. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed Trump’s proposal as rewarding Russian President Vladimir Putin and hurting U.S. interests. The peace plan would declare the regions of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk to be “de facto” Russian territory recognized by the U.S. It would also limit the size of the Ukrainian military and restrict NATO forces from being stationed in the country, essentially preventing a European peacekeeping force. All of these are considered nonstarters for Ukrainians. Ukraine would receive security guarantees, but would not be able to join NATO. Here are the 28 points of the plan.

Zelensky after Trump ‘zero gratitude’ post: ‘I am grateful’ for help ending war Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underscored his appreciation to the country’s allies for their help in working toward a resolution to end the war with Russia, hours after President Trump rebuked the leader of the war-torn country for having “zero gratitude” for the U.S. efforts. In a post on the social platform X, Zelensky pledged Ukraine would “never be an obstacle to peace,” but he stressed the importance of his country’s sovereignty and independence, as diplomatic talks have ramped up in recent days. “Everyone is offering support, giving advice, providing information — and I am grateful to each and every person who is giving this help to us, to Ukraine. It is important to ensure that the steps to end the war are effective, and that everything is doable,” Zelensky said in his statement. “Ukraine has never wanted war, and we will never be an obstacle to peace.” Zelensky praised the recent diplomatic efforts and underscored the country’s priorities, which he argued are popular among the Ukraine people. “Diplomacy has been reinvigorated — and this is good,” he wrote. “We expect the outcome to deliver the right steps. And the first priority is a reliable peace, guaranteed security, respect for our people, and respect for everyone who gave their lives defending Ukraine from Russian aggression.” “Millions of Ukrainians clearly support our state’s position. It is palpable. There is firm support for our independence and Ukrainian sovereignty. People must benefit from all political decisions,” he continued. Last week, a 28-point Ukraine peace plan, which was widely seen as more favorable to Russia, was presented after talks between U.S. and Russian envoys. It alarmed many European and Ukrainian allies. The proposal included a provision that would place the regions of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk under “de facto” Russian control to be recognized by the U.S., and it sought to prohibit Ukraine’s admission to NATO, among other likely nonstarters for Ukraine. There are also no major concessions required from Russia, apart from directing $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine’s reconstruction. Facing backlash from allies, Trump took aim at Ukrainian leadership, saying the war never would have started had there been “strong and proper U.S. and Ukrainian LEADERSHIP.” Former President Biden and Zelensky were the countries’ respective leaders when Russia invaded in 2022.

Zelensky Wants To Meet With Trump 'as Soon as Possible' To Finalize Terms of Ukraine Deal - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet with President Trump “as soon as possible” to finalize an agreement on the terms for ending the war in Ukraine, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelensky.Later on Tuesday, President Trump said on Truth Social that he wants to meet with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but only once the deal is finalized or in its final stages, suggesting he will not hold talks with Zelensky in the immediate future. He also said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Moscow to meet with Putin, while US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will travel to Ukraine again for talks on the potential deal.During talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other US officials on Sunday, Ukrainian officials made significant changes to the original US proposal that was leaked to the media, which called for Ukraine to cede territory and guarantee that it wouldn’t ever join NATO.According to The New York Times, Rubio removed the section that would bar Ukraine from joining NATO, one of Russia’s main demands for a peace deal. Other “sensitive” issues, including the territorial lines and limits on Ukraine’s military, are set to be decided by Trump and Zelensky.“I hope the visit of President Zelensky will take place as soon as possible, because … it will be help President Trump to continue his historical mission to end this war,” Yermak told Axios. “Because [Trump] can say: ‘Look, this is confirmed and agreed, our position with the Ukrainians. We support it, and we continue now to speak with the Russians.”While the original peace plan drafted by the US included elements that Russia may not accept, Putin has said it could work as the basis for a final settlement. But any proposal that doesn’t include Ukraine making territorial concessions and a guarantee that the country won’t join NATO will almost certainly be rejected by Moscow.Yermak told Axios that the main issue to be discussed between Trump and Zelensky is territory. The US proposal calls for Ukraine to cede the territory it still controls in the Donbas and the freezing of the lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but Ukrainian officials don’t want to do that even as their forces continue to lose territory in both southern and eastern Ukraine.Zelensky has been under pressure lately to fire Yermak over a corruption scandal that has rocked Ukraine, which implicated close allies of the Ukrainian president. According to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson,The Wall Street Journal has been sitting on a story about Yermak’s personal corruption.“For months, The Wall Street Journal has held a story detailing the personal corruption of Andrii Yermak, the second most powerful man in Ukraine. Yermak has skimmed hundreds of millions in American tax dollars meant for Ukraine aid,” Carlson wrote on X on Tuesday.“The Journal’s editors can prove that. But they’re not. Instead, they’re protecting Yermak. Why? Because Yermak is leading Ukraine’s efforts to scuttle the Trump peace plan for Eastern Europe. The owners of The Wall Street Journal don’t want peace with Russia. They want war. At the same time, the Journal’s editorial page has attacked the Trump administration for pushing a peace agreement,” Carlson added.

Ukraine agrees to ‘core terms’ of peace deal - Ukraine has agreed to the core elements of a peace proposal brokered by the Trump administration, with some details still to be worked out, a U.S. official confirmed Tuesday to NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer. Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed in a social media post that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations agreed on “the core terms” of the agreement presented in Geneva. “We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war,” Umerov wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva,” he continued. “We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps.” “We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine’s President to the US at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump,” he added. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a Tuesday morning post on X said the U.S. “has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table.” “There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States,” she added. The U.S. has renewed its effort to bring the war between Ukraine and Russia to an end, with delegations from the U.S., Ukraine and key European allies meeting in Geneva over the weekend to discuss the 28-point plan the U.S. proposed last week. The plan has been widely panned as too favorable to Russia, but U.S. officials have said the document is not the final offer and that it would likely change. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday that “the list of necessary steps to end the war can become workable” after officials emerged from talks in Geneva on Sunday optimistic about progress. Zelensky said he planned to discuss “sensitive” outstanding issues with Trump. Oleksandr Bevz, a Ukrainian delegate at talks in Geneva on Sunday, confirmed the number of points were reduced but denied reports that the new plan consisted of 19 points, The Associated Press reported. ”(The document) is going to continue to change. We can confirm that it was reduced to take out points not relating to Ukraine, to exclude duplicates and for editing purposes,” Bevz told the AP. He said points relating only to U.S.-Russian relations were dropped from the latest draft. U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll met with Russian officials for several hours late Monday and on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates. A U.S. official confirmed to the AP that the Ukrainians were aware the meeting was taking place and that all sides were eager to reach a deal as soon as possible. “Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine,” Driscoll spokesperson Jeff Tolbert told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.

Witkoff takes fire over call with top Putin aide: 5 takeaways -President Trump is standing behind his most trusted negotiator, Steve Witkoff, following the leak of a phone call with a senior Russian official, which Ukraine’s backers have criticized for what they see as the special envoy’s attempts to sabotage American support for Kyiv and broker a deal favorable to Moscow. It’s the latest twist over a chaotic week in which the Trump administration’s behind-the-scenes dealmaking between Russia and Ukraine has spurred both optimism and questions about progress toward peace. This includes the leak last week of a 28-point plan for ending Russia’s war that was heavily criticized as hewing to Moscow’s maximalist demands. That set off a diplomatic frenzy where Ukraine negotiated for its demands to be included, leading to talks over the weekend in which Ukrainian and U.S. officials agreed on a new set of “core terms,” leaving out major sticking points around future borders and security guarantees. “All of this should be done in private. I think the problem we have is all this is being done in public,” said Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for Russia on the National Security Council staff. “Whoever leaked the plan actually did a disservice to moving this process towards a real settlement.” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday night that, while he was not familiar with a phone call between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy adviser, it sounded like a “standard form of negotiation.”“Because he’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine,” Trump added. “Because each party has to give and take.”

White House Backs Steve Witkoff After Leak of His Call With Putin Advisor - The White House has backed President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, after Bloomberg received a recording of a call he held with Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.A transcript of the call, held on October 14, shows Witkoff and Ushakov discussing an upcoming phone call between Trump and Putin. Witkoff suggests that Putin should congratulate Trump on the Gaza ceasefire deal and discuss a “similar 20-point plan” for Ukraine.“Hey Steve, I agree with you that he will congratulate, he will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man and so and so,” Ushakov told Witkoff. Two days later, Putin and Trump spoke by phone, the day before Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.When asked for comment on the report, White House communications director Steven Cheung told Bloomberg, “This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do.”Journalist Glenn Greenwald, known for his reporting on the Edward Snowden leaks that revealed extensive surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency (NSA), noted on X that it was likely that the Witkoff-Ushakov call was leaked by the NSA. Bloomberg also obtained a recording of a call between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, another of Putin’s advisers.“Who is eavesdropping on Steve Witkoff’s calls with Russian officials to end the war in Ukraine, then leaking them to Bloomberg?” Greenwald wrote on X. “It’s the same thing the NSA did to Michael Flynn when he was negotiating with Russian officials. It’s the most serious leaking crime in the US Code.”In another post, Greenwald added that the NSA was “using its powers not for what they’re intended — spying on foreign adversaries — but instead spying on American citizens and American officials, then leaking their conversations to sabotage the elected President’s policies.”

Did Rubio 'Neo-Con' Trump's Ukraine Peace Plan? -Lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas; lie down with neocons, you wake up with wars. So goes President Trump’s 28 point peace plan to end the Russia/Ukraine war. Revealed at the end of last week, the plan initially received a cautious but cautiously optimistic reception in Moscow.It was hardly a dramatic tilt toward the Russian position. Many of the plan’s points ranged from the implausible to the bizarre. For example the idea that President Trump would be crowned some sort of “peace czar” overseeing the deal, and that Russia would agree to use its seized assets to rebuild Ukraine. Then there is the one that Russia should accept a demilitarized “buffer” zone taking up a good chunk of Donetsk (which itself would be “de facto” part of Russia but not de jure – and thereby subject to the vicissitudes of Western electoral politics). And of course there was the part where the US would share the “profits” from Russia’s paid reconstruction of Ukraine.Very Trumpian, very weird. Nevertheless the flawed plan (in terms of Russian acceptance) dropped like an atom bomb on the US neocons and their European counterparts. Trump’s peace plan was “entirely dictated by Putin,” the UK Independent breathlessly tells us. Yes, that is how propagandistic the western mainstream media really is. And suddenly we are back to Russiagate and accusations the Trump is acting as Putin’s puppet – or at least stenographer. President Trump’s demand that Ukraine’s acting president, Zelensky, accept the terms by Thanksgiving or face a cut-off in US military and intelligence assistance put the Europeans and US hawks in panic mode. It appeared Trump was finally tired of playing Hamlet after the framework he presented in Alaska in August was agreed upon by Russia and then abandoned by Trump himself after receiving an earful from said Europeans and US neocons.This time, by golly, Trump was finally going to step up and end a conflict nearly a year after he promised to end it 24 hours.And then Rubio walked in. The one lesson Trump 2.0 did not learn from Trump 1.0 is that the personnel is the policy, particularly with a president who appears uninterested in details and disengaged from complex processes. Rubio jetted off to Geneva to help lick the wounds of the European “leaders” who are dedicated to fighting the Russians down to the last Ukrainian.Politico lets us in on what happened next, in a piece titled, “Rubio changes the tack of Trump’s Ukraine negotiations after week of chaos.”Before Rubio showed up in Switzerland, it largely felt like Vice President JD Vance, via his close friend Driscoll, was leading the process. By the end of the weekend, Rubio had taken the reins because the conversations became more flexible, the official said.“Flexibility” means that we are back to square one, with a reversion to the Kellogg/Euro view that the side winning a war should unilaterally freeze military operations in favor of the losing side.Politico continued:Rubio’s participation in the talks produced much more American flexibility, the four people familiar with the discussions said. Rubio told reporters on Sunday night that the aim is simply to finalize discussions ‘as soon as possible,’ rather than by Thanksgiving. That loss of momentum and destruction of the sense of urgency means we have returned to the endless bickering of the eternally deluded voices who even in the face of rapid recent Russian advances believe that Ukraine is winning – or could win with a few hundred billion more dollars – the war against Russia. At the end of the day, all the drama changes little. As President Putin himself said while meeting with his own national security council (h/t MoA):Either Kiev’s leadership lacks objective reporting about the developments on the front, or, even if they receive such information, they are unable to assess it objectively. If Kiev refuses to discuss President Trump’s proposals and declines to engage in dialogue, then both they and their European instigators must understand that what happened in Kupyansk will inevitably occur in other key areas of the front. Perhaps not as quickly as we would prefer, but inevitably. And overall, this development suits us, as it leads to achieving the goals of the special military operation by force, through armed confrontation.In other words, Russia is happy to achieve its objectives through negotiation, which would save lives and infrastructure especially in Ukraine.But it is also willing to continue its accelerating push to achieve those objectives militarily. And no fever dreams of war with Russia from the likes of former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen is going to change that. Marco Rubio is a pretty bad Kissinger, and Kissinger was bad enough. At some point – and that point may have now passed – the Russians are going to rightly conclude that they have no negotiating partner in a US still dominated by people like the former Senator from Florida whose first love is regime change in Venezuela and Cuba.Whatever the case, Trump should be pretty miffed that Marco threw a spanner in what would have been a world record, unprecedented, universally-praised, like-nothing-the-world-has-ever-seen, solving of NINE wars in just his first year in office!

Putin Says US Plan Could Be 'Basis' for Ukraine Deal - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday spoke favorably about the US’s initial 28-point draft for a potential peace deal in Ukraine, saying it could serve as the “basis” for a future agreement, though he said work still needs to be done to turn it into a concrete plan.“In general, we agree that this could be the basis for future agreements,” Putin told reporters during a visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. “However, it would be inappropriate for me to speak now of any final versions, as these do not exist.”The initial US draft was altered during talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva, but the exact changes are unclear. Putin said that he understood that the officials “decided among themselves that all these 28 points should be divided into four separate components. All of this was passed on to us.”Putin said that it was clear the US was taking some Russian positions “into account” but that more discussions were needed. “There are, unquestionably, areas where we need to sit down and engage in serious discussions on specific points, and all such matters must be framed in proper diplomatic language,” he said.Putin also confirmed that President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff,will be traveling to Moscow next week to discuss the deal.The Russian leader also said it was “ridiculous” that Russia was being asked to commit to not attacking Europe since it has no plans to do so. “We never had any such intentions. But if they want to have it formalized, let’s do it, no problem,” he said.While speaking positively about the US proposal, Putin also said it was pointless to sign agreements with the Ukrainian government, which he said was not legitimate because of the lack of elections in Ukraine. The initial US plan called for elections within 100 days of the deal’s signing. “Signing documents with the Ukrainian leadership is pointless. I have emphasized this on many occasions. I believe that the Ukrainian authorities made a fundamental and strategic mistake when they succumbed to the fear of participating in the presidential elections. As a result, the president lost his legitimate status,” Putin said. Putin also made clear that if Ukraine doesn’t cede territory, he was content with continuing the war. “If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this through military means,” he said.

Trump-MbS Meeting Was Strained Behind Closed Doors: 'Disappointment & Irritation' -Axios reported some new details this week related to the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House. There were more tensions in the private dialogue between the two leaders than previously known, and some significant disagreements centered on policy toward Israel. While the two leaders exchanged compliments in front of the cameras, aspects of the private discussion were strained, Axios noted. Officials described Trump as being frustrated by the resistance he encountered from the crown prince on joining the Abraham Accords. Bin Salman presented his stance that a firm commitment toward a two-state solution involving the Palestinians must be made for Saudi Arabia to join the accords. Behind closed doors the crown prince reportedly pushed back when Trump pressed him to formally join the Abraham Accords which establishes normalization with Israel. MbS reportedly argued that he has to represent his people at a moment Saudi public sentiment has turned sharply against Israel in the aftermath the Gaza war. But Trump had "pressed hard" on the issue in the November 18 meeting, Axios underscored. One unnamed admin official explained in the meeting's aftermath, "The best way to say it is disappointment and irritation. The president really wants them to join the Abraham Accord. He tried very hard to talk him. It was an honest discussion. But MBS is a strong man. He stood his ground." The Saudis are insisting that Israel must agree to "an irreversible, credible and time-bound path" for a Palestinian state, but the Netanyahu government has firmly rejected this possibility, especially in the wake of the Oct.7, 2023 terror attack. Another US official said, "MBS never said no to normalization. The door is open for doing it later. But the two-state solution is an issue."

US Pushing Plan To Build Housing Compounds on the Israeli-Occupied Side of Gaza - The Trump administration is pushing a plan that would involve the construction of temporary housing compounds for Palestinians on the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.The planning for the camps, which would house Palestinians pre-screened by Israeli intelligence, is being led by Aryeh Lightstone, who previously served as an advisor for former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.The Times report said other US officials involved in the planning came from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and are working out of luxury beachfront hotels in Tel Aviv, where rooms run more than $700 per night.Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, who has been deeply involved in Gaza negotiations, has also been pushing the plan to start building in the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza as a way to pressure Hamas.Arab and European officials have warned that the plan could solidify the Israeli occupation of more than 50% of Gaza’s territory and turn the “yellow line” into a de facto border. The plan also does nothing to address the dire situation for the civilians in the Hamas-controlled side of Gaza, where the US and Israel are not allowing reconstruction to take place.The vast majority of the estimated two million civilians living in Gaza are on the Hamas-controlled side. The US plan would involve building several compounds that could hold about 25,000 people each, a fraction of the civilians in Gaza. The idea is to provide housing that is more substantial than tents but still temporary, such as trailers or container homes.The Times report said that some officials have raised concerns that the housing compounds would feel like internment camps, and Israeli officials have said that once the Palestinians enter the areas, they shouldn’t be able to leave.

Netanyahu's 2024 Diary Reveals Frequent Meetings and Calls With Sen. Lindsey Graham - - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 diary reveals that he spoke frequently with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was working at the time to ensure the US continued providing unconditional military aid to Israel to support its genocidal campaign in Gaza.According to Haaretz, the diary, published by the Israeli non-profit Hatzlacha, shows that Netanyahu held seven meetings and nine phone calls with the South Carolina senator in 2024. What was discussed during the meetings and calls was not included in the diary, but one call, made on May 7, came one day before Graham grilled Biden administration officials at a Senate hearing about military aid to Israel.At the time, the Biden administration had paused a bomb shipment to Israel over its attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, though the US ultimately supported the offensive. “If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the State of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price,” Graham said at the hearing. “This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose.” In one meeting that was made public, Netanyahu praised Graham for his support of Israel. “We have no better friend, and I mean it, than Senator Lindsey Graham,” Netanyahu said when hosting Graham at his office in Jerusalem on May 29, 2024. At the time, Graham was also working against efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over his role in war crimes in Gaza. “This is one of the most challenging times for the State of Israel since its founding,” Graham told Netanyahu at the May 29 meeting. “There are so many problems and challenges to overcome, but one of the problems you never have to worry about is America. I promise you that we will do all we can, Mr. Prime Minister, to hold the ICC to account for this outrage against the people of Israel. To the International Court of Justice, you’re a joke. The head judge of the ICJ is a raving antisemite.” Netanyahu’s diary also revealed regular contact with US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who worked to get a major military aid package for Israel passed by Congress in 2024. Johnson frequently hosts Netanyahu when the Israeli leader visits Washington, and invited him to address a joint session of Congress last year.

You Don't Hate The Mass Media Enough - Caitlin Johnstone -- There was another IDF massacre in Gaza on Saturday, reportedly killing dozens of Palestinians.Israel as usual claimed it was responding to a ceasefire violation by Hamas, but of course there’s absolutely no evidence for this to be found. AP reports that according to the IDF the strikes were launched after a Hamas fighter “shot at troops in southern Gaza,” but that “no soldiers were hurt” in this alleged attack. Not so much as a scratch. So I guess we’re just expected to take Israel’s word for it. Now check out these western media headlines about the massacre and notice the disgusting spin they are placing on the narrative to normalize the continued slaughter of Palestinians:

• “Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire’s latest test as hospitals say 24 killed,” by AP.
• “Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire’s latest test as hospitals say more than 20 killed,” by NBC News.
• “Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire,” from Sky News.
• “Israel launches strikes on Gaza in latest test to fragile ceasefire,” from France 24.
• “Israeli Strikes Kill at Least Two Dozen in Gaza Amid Fragile Ceasefire,” from Newsweek.

Do you see what they’re doing here? The western press see the killing of Palestinians as such a baseline norm that Israel can massacre dozens of people in Gaza and they’ll go, “Gosh I sure hope this doesn’t lead to any violations of the ceasefire!” It’s never a ceasefire violation to commit mass murder against Palestinians. It’s only ever a “test” of the ceasefire, or something that happens “amid a fragile ceasefire”. If Hamas suddenly attacked and killed dozens of Israelis, these empire propagandists wouldn’t be saying “Hmm I sure hope the fragile ceasefire holds up amid this challenging test.” They’d just call it what it is. And it would be the main news story in the world.The imperial media have been framing Israel’s ceasefire violations like this the entire time. Just the other day NBC News ran a report about a different IDF massacre in Gaza titled “Israeli airstrikes kill 25 Palestinians in Gaza, rattling fragile ceasefire”. Last month CNN ran a headline claiming “US-brokered ceasefire appears to survive first major test” after Israel killed at least 44 people, when Israel had been violating the ceasefire every single day up to that point. The mass media have been running egregiously misleading headlinesthroughout this entire genocide, which has an overwhelmingly distorting effect on public perception in an information environment where skim-reading has become the norm and most social media users share news stories after just reading the headline.It almost feels silly to point out that the mass media are wildly biased in favor of Israel two years into a genocide which they’ve actively run propaganda cover for in brazen acts of journalistic malpractice from the very beginning. But we can’t let it slip from our attention how evil these imperial spinmeisters are. How racist they are. How mendacious and manipulative they are. However much you hate them, you don’t hate them enough.These are the people who are informing western perspectives about what’s going on in our world. They aren’t just deceiving the public with dishonest headlines and precipitously slanted reporting which gets loudly amplified by Silicon Valley algorithms, they are writing the stories which get used and cited by AI chatbots and online platforms like Wikipedia which people are increasingly turning to for information about world events. They are polluting the entire information ecosystem with a deluge of propaganda they are churning out day after day, year after year.These freaks are attacking our minds. They are attacking humanity’s ability to understand its waking reality. They are continuously indoctrinating the public into an ignorant, western supremacist worldview which only values human life when it lives in the correct part of the world, speaks the correct language, practices the correct religion, has the correct skin color, and aligns with the correct geopolitical agendas. They make everything worse. It’s impossible to have enough disdain for these mass media propagandists.

US Bombs Somalia for 100th Time This Year - US Africa Command announced on Sunday that its forces have launched two more airstrikes in Somalia, bringing the total number of US bombings in the country this year to at least 100, an unprecedented number.AFRICOM said that the airstrikes were launched on November 21 and November 22 about 37 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bosaso, where US-backed forces have been fighting against an ISIS affiliate in the Caal-Miskaad Mountains.The command offered no other details about the strikes as it stopped sharing casualty estimates and assessments on civilian harm earlier this year. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” AFRICOM said. The Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operations claimed on Saturday that a US airstrike killed “five fleeing ISIS terrorists” and also said its forces detained a Moroccan national, who it said was the “head of GPS navigation systems” for the ISIS affiliate. The US supports local Puntland forces in the region because the US-backed Federal Government, based in Mogadishu, doesn’t control the region.Garowe Online, a media outlet based in Puntland, reported that Puntland officials said their forces took control of one of the last known ISIS positions in the Balade Valley, the area of the Caal-Miskaad mountains where recent fighting has been focused.The Puntland government has come under criticism recently over reports that the UAE has been shipping weapons to Sudan to arm the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of committing genocide and recently committed massacres against civilians after it took the city of El Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region. According to a report from Middle East Eye, the US has also been using the airbase in Bosaso to support its military operations in Somalia.

US Troops Fight ISIS Militants on the Ground in Somalia's Puntland Region - US special operations forces were involved in a joint raid with local forces in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region that involved an attack on a cave and ground fighting against ISIS militants, Garowe Online, a media outlet based in Puntland, reported on Tuesday.The report said that, according to US Africa Command, the attack on the Habar Bajuuke cave in the Balade Valley, an area where the US has launched airstrikes in recent days, was supported by 10 helicopters. So far, AFRICOM has not put out a press release confirming its involvement in the operations.The Garowe reports said that forces in the helicopters “landed on the ground and executed the mission following a confrontation between US troops” and members of Somalia’s ISIS affiliate. It said the operation lasted several hours and resulted in the capture and killing of several ISIS fighters. The report didn’t say if there were casualties among the US troops or the Puntland security forces.“In the Calmiskaad area, high-value #ISIS targets were struck in a joint air and ground operation carried out by Puntland’s US partners supporting the ongoing mission. Further details will be shared in due course,” the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operations said on X.The US has supported local forces in Puntland since the US-backed Federal Government, which is based in Mogadishu, doesn’t control the region. The Puntland government has come under criticism recently over reports that the UAE has been shipping weapons through an airbase in Puntland to Sudan to arm the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of committing genocide and recently committed massacres against civilians after it took the city of El Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region. According to a report from Middle East Eye, the US has also been using the airbase, which is in the port city of Bosaso, to support its military operations in Somalia.

US Africa Command Confirms Another Airstrike in Somalia, the 101st of the Year - US Africa Command on Wednesday confirmed that it launched another airstrike in Somalia on Tuesday, the same day that Somali media reportedthat US troops took part in a ground raid on a cave and fought against ISIS militants on the ground in the northeastern Puntland region.AFRICOM said the strike targeted Somalia’s ISIS affiliate and was launched about 40 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bosaso, the same area where the fighting occurred. The command offered no other details about the attack. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” AFRICOM said.According to Garowe Online, AFRICOM said that 10 helicopters took part in the ground raid, but so far, the command hasn’t offered public confirmation of the operation. Security sources told Hiraan Online that a total of 100 US troops were deployed to the area while US MQ-9 Reaper drones were bombing the ISIS hideout.The Garowe report said the operation lasted several hours and resulted in the capture and killing of several ISIS fighters, and didn’t say if there were casualties among the US troops or the Puntland security forces.Similar reports were posted on X; however, an AFRICOM official told Antiwar.com that “reports circulating on social media about US forces participating in a ground raid are not accurate. We do not have any additional details about the reporting to share.”

US Is Aware of Reports That It Killed a Civilian Clan Elder in a Somalia Airstrike - US Africa Command is aware of reports that it killed a civilian Somali clan elder in an airstrike that was launched in Somalia’s northern Sanag region on September 13, the command told Antiwar.com in an email on Tuesday.AFRICOM has claimed that the airstrike killed an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, but that has been strongly denied by family members and local officials, who say the strike killed Abdullahi Omar Abdi, a prominent clan leader known for his efforts at peacemaking in the region. Al-Shabaab has also denied that Abdi was a member of the militant group.“This was an unexpected and shocking incident,” Faisal Abdillahi, the Sanag region’s intelligence chief, said last month, according to Hiraan Online. “A man driving his car was bombed from the air. We, the officials, had no prior knowledge or warning. The deceased was a prominent figure who worked closely with the community. We don’t understand why he was targeted.”Abdillahi also said there was no evidence Abdi was linked to al-Shabaab. “We have never heard of any terrorist charges against him. People are now terrified whenever they hear aircraft overhead. We need to know why he was killed and who authorized it,” he said.On October 6, the Horn Observer reported that family members erected a memorial at the site of the airstrike to honor Abdi. “Our brother was a respected elder, not a terrorist. The US killed an innocent man without proof or remorse,” Elbuh, Abdi’s brother, said at a press conference at the memorial. “He preached peace, not war. Now his blood stains our soil.”

Report: Trump Plans To Hold Talks With Venezuela's Maduro - President Trump has told his advisers that he’s planning to speak directly with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Axios reported on Monday, citing administration officials.While the Trump administration has continued to build up its forces in the Caribbean, bomb boats in the region, and leak information to the media that suggests it’s preparing a regime change operation in Venezuela, Trump has signaled in recent weeks that he’s open to diplomacy with Maduro’s government after previously cutting off talks. “I see a diplomatic solution as being very likely,” one Trump adviser told Axios.But it’s unclear what sort of deal Trump would be satisfied with that doesn’t involve Maduro voluntarily stepping down from power, something the Venezuelan leader is very unlikely to do. Maduro has reportedly already offered a deal that would give US companies access to his country’s vast natural resources and reduce ties with China, Russia, and Iran, but the administration rejected it. The Venezuelan government has also continued to cooperate with the US on deportations of Venezuelan nationals.Sources told Axios that Trump’s openness to talks with Maduro suggests that missile strikes on Venezuela aren’t imminent, but said attacks on alleged drug-running boats in the region would continue. “Nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch [Maduro] — at this point. I wouldn’t say never, but that’s not the plan right now,” one official said.Another US official also described Trump as a “hawk” on Venezuela, disputing the idea that the US is only escalating in the region because of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The hawk in Venezuela is Donald Trump, followed by [White House Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller, followed by Marco Rubio,” the official said.The report came the same day that the State Department provided the administration with a pretext for attacking Venezuela by designating the so-called Cartel of the Suns, a group that doesn’t actually exist, a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” The US claims Maduro is the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, which is a term used to describe a network of Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in drug trafficking, but it doesn’t exist as a structured organization.

US Designates Non-Existent Cartel as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' To Justify Attacks on Venezuela -The US State Department on Monday formally designated the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, a group that doesn’t actually exist, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” providing a pretext for a potential attack on Venezuela. The term “Cartel of the Suns” was first used in the 1990s to describe two Venezuelan military generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in cocaine trafficking. According to a 60 Minutes report that aired in 1993, one of the generals was working with the CIA at the time. Today, the term is used to describe a loose network of Venezuelan military and government officials allegedly involved in drug trafficking, but the Cartel of the Suns doesn’t actually exist as a structured organization. According to InSight Crime, a think tank that receives grants from the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, recent US sanctions mischaracterized the Cartel of the Suns, which InSight described as “a system of corruption wherein military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers.” Despite the reality, the US is now calling the Cartel of the Suns a terrorist organization and claims that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is its leader, a push being led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long sought regime change in Caracas. President Trump has claimed that the terror designation would allow him to target Maduro or his assets, but any US attack on Venezuela would be illegal without congressional authorization. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in an interview last week that the designation gives the Pentagon “new options” to go after the “cartel,” meaning the Venezuelan government. The real allegation against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to InSight Crime, is that he allows lower-level officials to profit from the drug trade to keep them content. InSight said that the Venezuelan officials aren’t necessarily directing drug shipments but rather use their “positions to protect traffickers from arrest and ensure that shipments pass through a territory.”For his part, Maduro and his government strongly deny the allegations, pointing to their recent operations targeting cocaine shipments. The Venezuelan government on Monday rejected the US designation and said that it was meant to justify a regime change war.

US B-52 Bomber Flies Near Venezuela for Second Time Within Five Days - A US B-52 bomber flew near the coast of Venezuela on Monday, flight tracking data shows, as such flights have become a regular occurrence amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean and push toward a war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, two B-52 bombers left Minot Air Force Base, with one turning back and the other heading to the Caribbean, where it flew near Venezuela’s coast just north of the capital Caracas while accompanied by US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets.Just a few days earlier, on November 20, two B-52 bombers made the flight near Venezuela and were joined by F/A-18s dispatched from the USS Gerald Ford, a US aircraft carrier that recently arrived in the region.The US first began flying bombers near Venezuela’s coast in mid-October, and the flights have occurred weekly since then. The bombers keep their transponders on when flying near Venezuela, meaning they want to be seen. The US military has called the flights “bomber attack demos.”The provocative flights come as the US has been conducting a bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region and amid reports that the Trump administration is considering launching a war with Venezuela, which would be illegal without congressional authorization, as per the US Constitution. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has dubbed the military campaign“Operation Southern Spear” and has vowed it will continue. The operation has also involved increased US military drills in Trinidad and Tobago, which is just a few miles from Venezuela’s coast.

US Has Been Conducting "Bomber Attack Demos" Buzzing Venezuela Once Per Week - Another US B-52 bomber conducted a flight near Venezuela's coastline earlier this week, according to flight-tracking data, continuing a pattern of regular bomber activity amid threated regime change action targeting President Nicolás Maduro. These flights have occurred at a rate of about once a week for over a month, and are meant as a very public threat and warning, given the bombers which often fly from bases deep within the continental United States intentionally keep their transponders on so they can be tracked. According to the latest reports, in this fresh flight that occurred Monday two B-52s departed from Minot Air Force Base, with one returning to base while the other proceeded toward the Caribbean, flying close to Venezuela’s northern coast near Caracas. The bomber was additionally escorted by US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets. The last known flight prior to this was on November 20. That one was notably as it was accompanied by F/A-18s launched from the USS Gerald Ford, which just this month began patrolling the Caribbean Sea. There's been a lot of speculation of late over just what President Trump intends to do with the unprecedented US military build-up in the Caribbean. There's concern that he is preparing to launch imminent military action against the Maduro government, but the White House has also signaled that last minute-diplomacy could still ensure peace, and there are unverified claims that Presidents Trump and Maduro may speak by phone. Previously the Wall Street Journal commented on how rare the B-52 bomber flights are in prior history in the region:: The U.S. has seldom flown bombers near South America in recent decades, usually carrying out just one planned training mission a year. But more missions involving bombers could be carried out soon, according to two defense officials. Thursday’s flights signal “seriousness and intent,” said David Deptula, a retired Air Force general and Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, an aerospace think tank. “You’re bringing an enormous set of capabilities…endurance, payload, range and precision,” he said.

Airlines Cancel Flights To Venezuela After US Warning of 'Worsening Security Situation' - International airlines have continued to cancel flights to Venezuela after the US’s Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning about flying near the country, a statement that came as the US continues to move toward launching a war with the goal of ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.The FAA told pilots on Friday to “exercise caution” when flying in Venezuela’s airspace, due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity” around the country. It warned that unspecified threats could pose a risk to planes at any altitude, including during takeoff and landing.The Associated Press reported on Sunday that so far, six carriers have canceled flights to Venezuela: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol, and Caribbean. In recent weeks, the US has flown bombers near Venezuela, a US aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean, and the US has stepped up military exercises in Trinidad and Tobago. On Saturday, a US Navy destroyer conducted an operation off the coast of Guayana. The US has also continued its bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which has involved the extra-judicial execution of at least 82 people.The White House has reportedly been considering dropping leaflets on Venezuela reminding Venezuelan’s that the US government has placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head, though it’s unclear if it will follow through on the plan. Trump administration officials have been hoping that the US military buildup and psychological operations targeting Venezuela would be enough for Maduro to step down voluntarily or for someone in his inner circle to turn on him, but there’s no sign that either scenario will happen.The Trump administration is set up to give itself a pretext to launch a war with Venezuela by expanding the State Department’s list of “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” to include the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, a group that the US claims Maduro leads but doesn’t actually exist. The designation is set to take effect on Monday, according to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.The term “Cartel of the Suns” was first used in the 1990s to describe two Venezuelan military generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in the drug trade. One of the generals was working with the CIA at the time, according to a 1993 60 Minutes report. Today, the term is used to describe Venezuelan military and government officials who allegedly profit from drug trafficking, but the Cartel of the Suns doesn’t exist as a structured organization.

Rep. Maria Salazar Says US Needs To Invade Venezuela So US Oil Companies Can Have a 'Field Day' - Amid the US push toward a war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) has made the argument that the US must “go in” to Venezuela so American oil companies can have a “field day” since the country sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world.“Venezuela, for those Americans who do not understand why we need to go in … Venezuela, for the American oil companies, will be a field day, because it will be more than a trillion dollars in economic activity,” Salazar, a Miami-born daughter of Cuban exiles, told Fox Business. Salazar also said that the US must go to war with Venezuela because it has become the “launching pad” for people who “hate” the US, claiming Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas are active in the country. In one of the more absurd claims she made in the interview, Salazar said Maduro was “giving uranium to Hamas, and to Iran, and to North Korea, and Nicaragua.”Salazar’s third reason for going to war with Venezuela is the claim that Maduro is the leader of the so-called Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los Soles, a group that doesn’t actually exist. The term was first used in the early 1990s to describe Venezuelan generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in cocaine trafficking and were actually working with the CIA at the time. Today, the Cartel of the Suns is used to describe a network of Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in the drug trade, but it doesn’t exist as a structured organization. Regardless, the US State Department has labeled the Cartel of the Suns a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and claims Maduro is its leader, giving the administration a potential pretext to launch a war, though any attack on Venezuela without congressional authorization would be illegal, per the US Constitution. Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader and this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, has also been spreading false and unsubstantiated claims about Maduro and his government to get the US to invade. In an effort to appeal to President Trump, Machado has claimed that Maduro “rigged elections” in the US.

Another Poll Shows Going To War With Venezuela Is Extremely Unpopular Among Americans - A new CBS/YouGov poll has found that 70% of Americans oppose the US taking military action against Venezuela, reaffirming previous polls that show the idea of launching a war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is extremely unpopular among Americans.The new poll shows that the opposition to war with Venezuela is much stronger among Democrats, with 92% opposing military action against the country, while 42% of Republicans oppose attacking and 58% support the idea. The large majority of Independents (78%) also oppose attacking Venezuela.The poll did find that the majority of Republicans believe President Trump needs congressional authorization to launch an attack on Venezuela, something the administration is not seeking. Overall, 76% of respondents said the president would need congressional authorization, including 95% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 53% of Republicans. The CBS/YouGov poll also found that 76% of Americans, including 92% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans, feel that the Trump administration has not clearly explained its position regarding the possibility of taking military action against Venezuela.Regarding the US bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in the region, 75% of Americans believe the US should show evidence that the vessels it’s targeting had drugs on them, something the Trump administration has not been doing. The Pentagon has also acknowledged to Congress that it doesn’t know the identities of the people it has been killing on the boats.The poll found that the majority of respondents, 53%, support the US using military force to attack boats that it suspects are bringing drugs into the US.

It’s Not Only About Venezuela: Trump Intends a Wider Domino Effect - It’s increasingly obvious that the US military threats against Venezuela have a wider agenda. Their game plan is regime change, but not only in Venezuela. This is the objective – on a longer timescale in some cases – across several of the countries in the Caribbean Basin, aiming to cleanse the region of governments deemed undesirable to Washington.As international relations professor at the University of Chicago, John Mearsheimer reminds us, the US “does not tolerate left-leaning governments… and as soon as they see a government that is considered to be left-of-center they move to replace that government.”In the Financial Times, Ryan Berg, head of the Americas program at the Washington think-tank CSIS, which is heavily funded by Pentagon contractors, said that Trump’s vision is for the US to be the “undisputable, pre-eminent power in the western hemisphere.” The New York Timesdubbed Trump’s ambitions the “Donroe Doctrine.”After Venezuela, in the current US line of fire, is Honduras. This Central American country faces an election on November 30 which will determine whether the leftist Libre Party stays in power or whether the country reverts to neoliberalism.The crisis in the Caribbean engineered by the Trump administration is being actively instrumentalized to distract Hondurans from domestic issues when deciding how to vote. Honduras’s mainstream media repeatedly draw attention to the likelihood that Washington will threaten Honduras militarily if it votes the “wrong way” on November 30.Interviewed on television, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla was asked what would happen if the Libre Party won. He replied: “Those ships that are soon going to take over Venezuela are going to come and target Honduras.” Amplifying the supposed threat, opposition candidates have posted street signs labeling themselves “anti-communist,” as if communism were actually on offer in the election.In a bizarre article, the Wall Street Journal alleges that Venezuela aims to “gobble up Honduras.” Turning on its head recent alarming evidence of a plot by Libre’s opponents to steal the election, the article claims that Venezuela is schooling Libre in defrauding the Honduran people.This argument is also being repeated enthusiastically in the US Congress byMaría Elvira Salazar and others. On November 12, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the US government “will respond rapidly and firmly to any attack on the integrity of the electoral process in Honduras.” In fact, the US is working with the opposition to undermine the popular mandate.There is acute irony here. Washington’s justification for its military build-up is supposedly to tackle “narcoterrorism,” yet a Libre defeat would risk returning Honduras to the “narcostate” it had become in the decade under US patronage before the previous election in 2021.Also lined up for regime change is, inevitably, Cuba. The UK’s Daily Telegraph, not normally known for its Latin America coverage, argues that Cuba is the “real target” of Trump’s campaign in Venezuela.Having failed to dislodge the Cuban revolution after more than six decades of blockade, driving its citizens into acute hardship and pushing a tenth of them to migrate, Secretary of State Marco Rubio evidently sees the “real prize” of the US military build-up as dealing the fatal blow to its revolution.Installing a US-friendly government in Caracas would aid the counter-revolution by cutting off gasoline and other supplies it currently sends to Cuba. Or supplies might be stopped by the US navy itself, further tightening the screws on Havana. In addition, if the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela collapsed, it would embolden the US-sponsored dissidents in Cuba, who feed on the discontent rained upon their country by US sanctions.

Trump Declares Closure of Venezuela's Airspace - President Trump on Saturday declared that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela is to be closed, a sign that he might soon launch an attack on the country with the aim of ousting President Nicolas Maduro. “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” the president wrote on Truth Social. It’s unclear if the declaration means that the US will impose a no-fly zone on Venezuela, which would be an act of war. Such a step or any military strikes on Venezuela would be illegal without congressional authorization, per the US Constitution.The order came after the president said that he may “very soon” expand the bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region to strikes on Venezuelan territory.The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump spoke to Maduro by phone last week and discussed the possibility of meeting in person, but it doesn’t appear that the conversation did anything to slow the US military buildup in the region and push toward the US launching a regime change war.The Times report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading the campaign against Venezuela, joined Maduro and Trump in the phone call. They spoke a few days before Rubio’s State Department declared the Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los Soles, a group that doesn’t actually exist, a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”The US claims that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, a term first used in the early 1990s to describe Venezuelan generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in cocaine trafficking and were actually working with the CIA at the time. Today, the Cartel of the Suns is used to describe a network of Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in the drug trade, but it doesn’t exist as a structured organization. The Trump administration appears set to use the designation as a pretext to launch an illegal war, one that Americansoverwhelmingly don’t want.

Organized crime groups in Mexico have never been this dangerous -Organized crime groups in Mexico are now threatening U.S. companies and their employees. I have been working in cross-border logistics for over a decade and a half and I think that the security environment for companies operating in Mexico has never been more complicated than it is right now.. One company manager in Mexico recently told me a story about a truck driver who was kidnapped and threatened by hijackers. The driver resigned from the company out of fear of being targeted and attacked again in the future. This isn’t an isolated incident. Mexico’s logistics sector faces a labor shortage of truck drivers in part because of drivers quitting the sector over security concerns. Every day, 50 trucks are stolen in violent hijackings in Mexico. Companies including Apple, GM, Pepsi, Wal-Mart and Amazon have all been hit by hijackers. According to the Reliance Partners’ Cargo Truck Hijacking Data Portal, the area of central Mexico near Mexico City has emerged as the major hotspot for violent hijacking. On Aug. 9, 2025 state police in Estado de Mexico (on the periphery of Mexico City) recovered a stolen cargo truck carrying lithium batteries worth over $1.1 million.On Aug. 13, 2025 armed criminals hijacked a cargo truck in Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos, briefly kidnapping the driver. Cities such as Puebla and Toluca have attracted significant investment from foreign manufacturing firms but are also well-known hotspots for organized crime activity with a documented presence of groups including the Familia Michoacana and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Executives at some companies may face pressure from local criminal groups to make cash payments for “protection” from cargo truck hijacking and other types of predatory crime.The state of Morelos, next to Mexico City, has well-documented problems with criminal groups threatening and attempting to extort local companies, ranging from neighborhood tortilla-makers all the way up to major multinational companies.In September, 2024 Coca Cola-FEMSA announced a decision to pause operations at a warehouse in Morelos due to extortion threats from criminal groups.An executive at the company recently explained, “One of the tenets of all of FEMSA’s businesses is that there is no possibility of dialogue with organized crime. Here there’s no relationship [with criminals], no payments. When it’s been necessary, we’ve closed stores.” Companies facing extortion threats in Mexico still face a serious conundrum. Even though the Trump administration has signaled that it is choosing not to actively hunt down U.S. companies that engage in foreign bribery, companies that acquiesce to extortion threats from criminal groups in Mexico could face a long-term risk of future investigations and fines under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Companies could also face additional scrutiny and legal action if any payments are made to groups that are part of organizations that the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations — a list that now includes both the Familia Michoacana and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel. But U.S. executives managing operations in Mexico should also work with their elected representatives and business chambers to lobby the Trump administration to start making logistics security part of the broader conversation about cross-border crime.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is now beginning her second year in office. Executives in U.S. companies need to voice their concerns about roadway security issues in Mexico and encourage Sheinbaum to collaborate with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to dismantle the groups that are threatening and undermining the major companies that are operating in Mexico.

Trump announces pardon for former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking | Fox News --- President Trump announced Friday he intends to issue a "full and complete pardon" to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, while simultaneously reaffirming his support for presidential candidate Nasry "Tito" Asfura just days before Hondurans head to the polls. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Hernández. who was sentenced in New York last year to 45 years in prison for conspiring with drug traffickers to move over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S., was "treated very harshly and unfairly." "I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly," Trump said. "This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success." Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, second from right, is taken in handcuffs to a waiting aircraft as he is extradited to the U.S. at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez) Hernández was convicted in March 2024 on charges of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S. and two related weapons offenses after a two-week trial, according to The Associated Press. Trump also doubled down on his backing of Asfura, the National Party candidate and former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying the U.S. would be "very supportive" if he wins because Washington has "so much confidence in him, his policies and what he will do for the great people of Honduras." In a separate Truth Social post earlier Friday, Trump said he and Asfura "can work together to fight the narcocommunists and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras." He also sharply criticized Asfura’s rivals, including ruling party candidate Rixi Moncada and TV host Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party. "His chief opponent is Rixi Moncada, who says Fidel Castro is her idol," Trump said. "Normally, the smart people of Honduras, would reject her, and elect Tito Asfura, but the Communists are trying to trick the people by running a third Candidate, Salvador Nasralla. "Nasralla is no friend of Freedom. A borderline Communist, he helped Xiomara Castro by running as her Vice President. He won, and helped Castro win. Then he resigned, and is now pretending to be an anti-Communist only for the purposes of splitting Asfura’s vote. The people of Honduras must not be tricked again."

Trump says he will pardon ex-Honduras president convicted of drug trafficking - US President Donald Trump has said that he will pardon the ex-president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges in a US court last year. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Friday, congratulating the former president on the pardon, saying he was "treated very harshly and unfairly". Hernández was found guilty in March 2024 of conspiring to import cocaine into the US, and of possessing machine guns. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison. In the same post, Trump also said he supported conservative candidate Tito Asfura in the upcoming general election in the Central American country on Sunday. Hernández, a member of the National Party who served as Honduras's president from 2014 to 2022, was extradited to the United States in April 2022 to stand trial for running a violent drug trafficking conspiracy and helping to traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US. He was convicted by a New York jury two years later. Polls show the Honduran election remains a toss-up between Asfura, who is the former mayor of Tegucigalpa and now leader of the National Party, Rixi Moncada, the former defence minister with the ruling leftist LIBRE Party, and Salvador Nasralla, a television host with the centrist Liberal Party. Trump criticised Moncada and Nasralla in his Friday post, writing that Nasralla is "a boderline Communist" who is only running to split the vote between Moncada and Asfura. Trump in his post on Friday called Asfura a candidate that is "standing up for democracy" and fighting against Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has accused Maduro - whose re-election last year was dismissed as rigged by many countries - of being the leader of a drugs cartel. President Trump on Friday accused Maduro "and his narcoterrorists" of taking over Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Honduras has been governed since 2022 by President Xiomara Castro of the LIBRE Party, who had forged close ties with Cuba and Venezuela. But Castro has maintained a cooperative relationship with the US, agreeing to preserve a long-running extradition treaty with the United States. Her country also hosts a US military base involved in targeting transnational organised crime in the region. In August, the US launched a counternarcotics operation targeting boats it accuses of transporting drugs from Venezuela to America. More than 80 people have been killed in the US strikes on suspected vessels since. According to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the aim of "Operation Southern Spear" is to remove "narcoterrorists" from the Western Hemisphere. But legal experts have questioned the legality of the strikes, pointing out that the US has provided no evidence that the boats were carrying drugs.

Pentagon launches misconduct review of Mark Kelly after illegal orders video - The Pentagon said Monday that it has received “serious allegations of misconduct” against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and has initiated a “thorough review” of the allegations. It comes days after the senator, along with a handful of other lawmakers, called on U.S. service members to disobey any illegal orders issued by the Trump administration. The Department of Defense said it had initiated an investigation to “determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.” “This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality,” the statement read. “Further official comments will be limited, to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.” Kelly said Monday that he had upheld his oath to the Constitution through his time in the Navy and that his time in the military and at NASA was “in service to this country that I love and has given me so much.” The senator said he heard about the the department’s review from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post on the social platform X. “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” Kelly was one of the six Democratic lawmakers, along with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Reps. Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) and Jason Crow (Colo.), who addressed U.S. troops in a video last week, telling active-duty military and intelligence personnel to defy any illegal orders from the administration, in light of the U.S. military’s ongoing campaign of taking out alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Kelly retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of captain. The senator deployed twice to the Arabian Gulf and has also worked as an instructor at the Naval Pilot School.

Pentagon Opens Investigation Into Sen. Mark Kelly Over Call for Troops to Disobey Unlawful Orders --- The Department of War published a statement saying the agency received serious allegations of misconduct by Senator Mark Kelly and is opening an investigation into the claims against the former Navy captain. The Department of War posted on X: “The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.). In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures. This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality.”The investigation follows a video released by several Congressional Democrats who urged US troops not to follow unlawful orders. The video incited a firestorm of inflammatory comments from Republicans and President Donald Trump.Trump posted on Truth Social, following the publication of the video, that it was “seditious behavior, punishable by death.” He later walked back the remarks, saying he was “not threatening death.”The statement from the Department of War included a warning to other retired soldiers not to speak out on the issue. The X post continued:“The Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject to the UCMJ for applicable offenses, and federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 2387 prohibit actions intended to interfere with the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces. Any violations will be addressed through appropriate legal channels.All servicemembers are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful. A servicemember’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order.”Sen Kelly responded on his personal X account, saying he would not be intimidated by Trump. “I swore an oath to the Constitution in 1986. I’ve upheld it through 25 years of service and every day since I retired.” He added, “If Trump’s trying to intimidate me, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to our country to be silenced by bullies who care more about power than the Constitution.”

Gallego drops multiple f-bombs in response to Pentagon’s Mark Kelly probe - Sen. Ruben Gallego on Monday launched an expletive-ridden response to news that the Pentagon is investigating fellow Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly after he and other Democratic lawmakers released a video reminding members of the military that they are obliged to refuse unlawful orders. “F‑‑‑ you and your investigation,” Gallego said in a post on the social platform X, responding to the official statement on the investigation from the Department of Defense. “@CaptMarkKelly has dedicated his life to serving this country with honor. And now Trump is coming after him with the same baseless garbage he throws at anyone who refuses to bend the knee,” said Gallego, a veteran who did not participate in the video, in a separate statement. “Mark told the truth — in America, we swear an oath to the Constitution, not wannabe kings,” he continued. President Trump in recent days has repeatedly targeted a group of Democratic lawmakers with backgrounds in military or intelligence service who released a video telling service members they can “refuse illegal orders” and saying, “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.” Trump has called Kelly and the other Democrats “traitors” and said they should be in jail for sedition. The president insinuated they should be executed over the incident, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” But the White House later walked back that suggestion, saying the president just wants the accountability. Gallego released a subsequent video Monday afternoon in which he continued to use profane language to rail against news of the investigation. “This is f‑‑‑ing insane. We should all point out how f‑‑‑ing insane this is,” he said. “These guys are trying to say that they’re not acting like fascists, that they’re not trying to give as much power to this president as a king, then they should stop acting like it.” Gallego defended Kelly and the other Democratic lawmakers and directed an expletive at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying Democrats won’t be intimidated. “Mark Kelly is a patriot. There’s no reason why they’re going after him. He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members,” he said. “And you know, Secretary Hegseth, all these guys, f‑‑‑ you guys,” Gallego continued. “You’re not going to be able to scare us. We have a right to defend the Constitution of the United States. We have a right to tell other service members that they have a right to ignore illegal orders, and you’re not going to be able to intimidate us.”

FBI seeks to interview Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrats Trump accused --The FBI is seeking to interview Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and five other congressional Democrats in connection with their appearance in a video encouraging members of the U.S. military to refuse to follow illegal orders, those lawmakers confirmed Tuesday.President Donald Trump last week blasted the video, accusing Kelly and the other lawmakers of "seditious behavior," calling them "traitors," and saying that, "In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death."The other lawmakers on the video were Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, as well as House Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, both of Pennsylvania. Slotkin on Tuesday said the FBI's Counterterrorism Division "appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like.""The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place," Slotkin said in a tweet."He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up." Goodlander, Crow, Deluzio, and Houlahan, in a joint statement, said, "President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress." "Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews," the statement said."No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution," the lawmakers said. "We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship." Kelly's office told NBC News, "Senator Kelly won't be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's attempt to intimidate him and keep him from doing his job as a U.S. Senator."Fox News first reported on the FBI's efforts. The Pentagon on Monday said it was investigating "serious allegations of misconduct" against Kelly, who is a retired Navy captain, for his role in the video.

Republican senators distance from Donald Trump's 'traitor' label for Democrats -- President Trump’s heated rhetorical attacks on Democratic lawmakers, whom he called out as “traitors” who deserve to be jailed, have left his Republican allies in Washington dumbfounded and skeptical about any bipartisan dealmaking at the end of 2025. Republican lawmakers and strategists fear Trump is undermining his own credibility and ability to get anything done before the midterm election. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that Trump labeling his political opponents as traitors was “reckless” and “irresponsible.” “If you take it at face value, the idea that calling your opponents ‘traitors’ — and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty — is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible,” Paul told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Other GOP lawmakers were quick to distance themselves from the president. Initially, they could hardly believe Trump had threatened to toss prominent members of the Democratic Party in jail — a jarring comment even from a president known to post on social media without a filter. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) furrowed her brow incredulously when a reporter last week described to her Trump’s comments on Truth Social, in which he accused Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and a group of House Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” “Obviously, I don’t agree with that,” Collins said before darting into the Senate chamber. Slotkin, a former CIA intelligence analyst, said on ABC’s “This Week” that Trump’s attacks have affected her “security situation.” “The security situation changed for all of us,” she said when asked about the fallout from Trump’s attacks. Slotkin told ABC she has seen a “huge spike in death threats and intimidation” on her phones, email and websites since Trump lashed out against her. Yet Trump doubled down on his incendiary comments late Saturday. “THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK. IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE!” he posted on Truth Social. Two weeks after the conclusion of the longest government shutdown in American history, Trump and Democratic lawmakers are tearing at each other again, dimming the prospects of reaching a deal on expiring health insurance premium subsidies or legislation to fund the government past Jan. 30. “I think it’s problematic all the way around, I have thought that since the last shutdown ended,” said Vin Weber, a Republican strategist and former member of the House, on the sour vibe in Washington, which the Democrats’ video and Trump’s reaction have intensified. “They’re going to come back from the [Thanksgiving] holiday all wrapped up in this issue and still relitigating the release of the [Epstein] files and all sorts of stuff that is not going to get them closer to keeping the government funded in the new year,” he added. A group of centrist Senate Democrats are hoping to negotiate a bipartisan deal with GOP colleagues by Christmas to extend the expiring health insurance premium subsidies beyond December. Striking a deal in the next few weeks now appears to be an unreachable goal.

Trump says South Africa is not invited to next year’s G20 -- President Trump said Wednesday that South Africa would not be invited to next year’s Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami, escalating his feud with South African officials over allegations of mistreatment of white farmers. Trump posted the decision on Truth Social as this year’s G20, which was hosted in Johannesburg, came to a conclusion. He said the U.S. did not attend this year’s event “because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.” “To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,” Trump alleged. “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” Trump added. “South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.” The host nation typically has discretion over which countries are invited to attend the G20 summit. Trump has for months fixated on South Africa over claims that Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority, have been unfairly targeted. He signed an executive order in February pausing foreign assistance to South Africa over claims that the government there “racially disfavored landowners.” South African officials have rejected the Trump administration’s claims, saying there is no evidence of genocide or persecution of Afrikaners in the country.

Donald Trump authorizes designation of Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist groups President Trump on Monday signed an executive order that would allow his administration to designate certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. The order directs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to determine whether any chapters of the organization warrant the designation, which would allow for increased sanctions and greater authority to disrupt financial support for those chapters. “The Order’s ultimate aim is to eliminate the designated chapters’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and end any threat such chapters pose to U.S. nationals and the national security of the United States,” a White House fact sheet on the order said. Trump had in recent days said he intended to sign such an order after some of his supporters, including right-wing activist Laura Loomer, had expressed frustration about the lack of action against the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and has spread across the Middle East in the decades since. It has had a presence in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere. Jordan earlier this year moved to ban the group after accusing it of planning attacks in the country, according to The New York Times. Trump’s announcement comes days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization.

DOJ: Noem made final call on deportation flights after judge’s order - New filings by the Justice Department say it was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who made the decision to rebuff a court order by transferring more than 100 Venezuelan men to Salvadoran custody to be imprisoned. The disclosure is the latest detail to emerge in an ongoing review of whether to hold in contempt any Trump administration officials who defied a judge’s oral order to turn back the planes carrying the men. President Trump in March signed an order allowing alleged Venezuelan gang members to be deported under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), sparking a swift effort by administration officials to deport the men to a Salvadoran megaprison. “After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. As explained below, that decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order,” the Justice Department (DOJ) wrote in the filing. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to request for comment. The Trump administration has argued it was not obligated to follow the oral directive from District Judge James Boasberg.“The Government maintains that its actions did not violate the Court’s order—certainly not with the clarity required for criminal contempt—and no further proceedings are warranted or appropriate,” the DOJ wrote Tuesday.

Actor says ICE officers called her Oregon tribal ID ‘fake’: Report - Elaine Miles, an Indigenous actor, alleged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers said her Oregon tribal identification “looked fake” during a recent encounter, according to The Seattle Times. Miles, best known for her role as Marilyn Whirlwind in “Northern Exposure,” reportedly was stopped by four masked men while she was walking to a bus stop in Redmond, Wash. After they asked for her ID, Miles, a native of Pendleton, Ore., gave them her card from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. One officer said the identification “looked fake,” while another said, “anyone can make that,” the Times reported.Miles told the men to call the Umatilla tribal enrollment office number, listed on the back of her card. They refused, leading Miles to call the office herself. Upon that, an officer attempted to take her phone, before the men departed. Miles, who also appeared in “Smoke Signals,” “The Business of Fancydancing” and “Skins,” added that her son and uncle were previously detained by ICE officers who did not initially accept their tribal IDs. The two were later released. When reached for comment, ICE directed The Hill to DHS.

2 National Guard members shot near White House - Two National Guard members were shot blocks from the White House on Wednesday. Local police have a suspect in custody.The Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene of the shooting at 17th and I Street alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The West Virginia governor initially said in a post on the social platform X that the two guard members had died but has since said he is receiving conflicting reports. “It is with great sorrow that we can confirm both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries. These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. We are in ongoing contact with federal officials as the investigation continues,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) wrote in a statement on X.In a later post, the governor said he is receiving conflicting information.“We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information,” Morrisey said later on X. A local reporter from NTD News witnessed the incident.“National Guard shot near the White House at a little before 2:15. I was in an Uber to work, with my cameraman, and heard multiple shots fired as we passed Farragut West,” Mari Otsu wrote in a post on X. “A member of the National Guard fell while others rushed onto the scene. Area still on lockdown and Secret Service being deployed,” she added.The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the incident.

2 National Guard members in critical condition after what mayor calls ‘targeted shooting’ near White House -- Two National Guard members were shot blocks from the White House on Wednesday, and local police have a suspect in custody. The Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene of the shooting at 17th and I Street alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). FBI Director Kash Patel said at a press conference Wednesday evening that the two National Guard members are in critical condition. There were conflicting reports earlier Wednesday about their statuses.Jeffrey Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), said at the press conference that a suspect, who has been shot and is hospitalized, is in custody. Patel added that the incident will be treated as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer and that the FBI will lead the investigation alongside the ATF, the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Pete Hegseth: 500 more National Guardsmen to be deployed to DC after shooting - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that 500 more National Guard troops will be deployed to Washington, D.C., after two National Guard members were shot blocks from the White House on Wednesday. “That’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, D.C.,” Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday during his trip to the Dominican Republic. “This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic,” the Defense secretary added after his meeting with Dominican officials. “But if criminals want to conduct things like this, violence against America’s best, we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.” The request from Trump comes shortly after two members of the National Guard were “critically wounded” in a shooting on 17th and I Street. The Metropolitan Police Department said the suspect is in custody. There have been conflicting reports on the condition of the victims, as West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) initially announced that both service members were part of the West Virginia National Guard and had passed away. Minutes later, Morrisey said his office is “receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information.” There are around 2,200 National Guard troops, from various states, deployed to the nation’s capital as part of the administration’s effort to crack down on crime in the District. Last week, a federal judge blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. However, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Biden, put that ruling on hold until Dec. 11. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling.

"Allahu Akbar": D.C. National Guard Shooter Identified As Afghan National Who Entered U.S. During Biden Years --CBS News reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez confirms that the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Law-enforcement officials told Galvez that Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 during the Biden-Harris regime.CBS News: Multiple law enforcement officials say the suspect in the shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. today is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, noting he entered the U.S. in 2021. "The suspect reportedly shouted, Allahu akbar!" reporter Julio Rosas wrote on X.Fox News sources report the shooter overstayed his visa and was in the country illegally.BREAKING - The National Guard shooter has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan illegal who entered the United States under the Biden administration in 2021 and reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. pic.twitter.com/h3KklqepoQEarlier, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack on the two National Guard members as "targeted." West Virginia's governor initially stated that both Guardsmen had died, but later clarified that there is conflicting information about their conditions.BREAKING: Afghan National Guard shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal is an ILLEGAL migrant let in under Biden and Mayorkas' "Operation Allies Welcome," per Fox He was allowed to come with a "visa" - then he overstayed it.

State Department pauses visas for Afghan travelers after National Guard shooting -- The State Department has paused visas for Afghan nationals after two National Guard members from West Virginia were shot close to the White House. “The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety,” the State Department said in a post on the social platform X Friday evening. The suspect — an Afghan national — allegedly behind the shooting Wednesday in Washington, D.C., is facing a first-degree murder charge after U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is accused of shooting Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, was charged with three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and one count of first-degree murder. Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 through a program for Afghans who assisted the U.S. during its two-decade war in Afghanistan.

DC National Guard Shooter Worked for CIA-Backed Kandahar Strike Force in Afghanistan - The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, worked for a CIA-backed “Zero Unit” known as the Kandahar Strike Force (KSF) or the “03” unit, which has been implicated in war crimes against Afghan civilians. Lakanwal, 29, arrived in the US in September 2021 as part of a program called “Operation Allies Welcome,” which brought tens of thousands of Afghan nationals into the US during and after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, mainly people who worked with the US against the Taliban. Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump administration earlier this year. His cooperation with the CIA has been confirmed by the spy agency’s director, John Ratcliffe, who said Lakanwal worked “with the US Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.”The Zero Units worked under the National Directorate of Security (NDS), an intelligence service in the now-defunct US-backed Afghan government, formally known as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.A former Afghan general under the previous US-backed government toldCBS News that the “03 unit, also known as The Kandahar Strike Force, was under the special forces directorate of NDS. They were the most active and professional forces, trained and equipped by the CIA. All their operations were conducted under the CIA command.”Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in 2019 that Afghan members of the Zero Units “have been responsible for extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, indiscriminate airstrikes, attacks on medical facilities, and other violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war.”HRW said that it documented Afghan special forces raids on medical facilities that were carried out by the KSF and two other Zero Units between May 2018 and July 2019. “During these kill-or-capture operations, the forces involved assaulted and, in some cases, killed medical staff; assaulted or killed accompanying civilian or noncombatant caregivers; and caused damage to the facilities,” HRW said.

Karoline Leavitt's nephew's mother detained by ICE, set for deportation -- The mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew was detained by immigration agents and is in the process of being removed from the country, the Trump administration confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Bruna Ferreira, who is originally from Brazil, earlier this month, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. The spokesperson said Ferreira entered the U.S. on a tourist visa that required her to leave the country in June 1999. The spokesperson also said Ferreira “has a previous arrest for battery.” She is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation,” the spokesperson said.Ferreira has a son with Leavitt’s brother. A source familiar said the two have not spoken in years, and the child lives full-time with Leavitt’s brother in New Hampshire.WBUR, which first reported the story, said Ferreira’s sister started a GoFundMe page to help with legal costs to fight the ICE case. The GoFundMe asserts Ferreira arrived in the U.S. as a child in 1998 and has received protections through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offers legal status for those who were brought into the U.S. illegally as minors.The Trump administration has rapidly escalated its deportation efforts since taking office in January. Officials have insisted they are focused on prioritizing removing the “worst of the worst,” though some of the administration’s deportation efforts have run into legal roadblocks.

Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses Mike Johnson of sidelining House Republicans - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Monday that House Republicans have been sidelined by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), accusing the Republican leader of only obeying the Trump administration. In a post on the social platform X, Greene wrote that she and other House Republicans “came courageously roaring into 2025 with legislation that matched the 2024 electoral mandate only to be totally sidelined by Johnson under full obedience of the WH.” “Executive orders are temporary, [QAnon] memes have not … obliterated the deep state, and my colleagues constantly trying to pass loyalty tests instead of demanding what is right won’t help Americans pay their rent or stop corporations from buying up homes, buy their groceries, provide good paying jobs and stop foreigners with visas from stealing their jobs, stop American tax dollars from funding foreign wars and causes, or rebuild the value of the dollar,” Greene continued. “Passing effective legislation that gets signed into law is permanent and actually solves Americans problems,” she wrote. Greene warned that as lawmakers “are switching gears into campaign mode and will be fighting for their lives, our legislative majority has been mostly wasted.” She claimed that the “Uniparty always wins … leaving the American people empty handed,” predicting voters in 2026 and 2028 will ask candidates “what tangible thing have you done for me and how did it or will it make my life better?” Last week, Greene announced she will resign from Congress in January. The news came after President Trump pulled his support and endorsement of Greene and called her a “traitor.” Greene predicted “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for” if she ran for reelection, adding she will not “be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

Senate Republican: ‘We can’t afford’ $2,000 tariff checks - Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.), a leading fiscal hawk in the Senate, says the country “can’t afford” President Trump’s proposal to send out $2,000 tariff “dividend” checks to working-class Americans to help them afford higher living expenses. “Look, we can’t afford it. I wish we were in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not,” Johnson told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “We’ll have at least a $2 trillion deficit this year,” Johnson warned, comparing the staggering national deficit projected for 2025 to smaller deficits under former President Obama and during Trump’s first term. “President Trump had deficits about $800 billion. Obama, in his last four years, $550 billion a year. Now we’re $2 trillion? Completely unacceptable. We have to start focusing on that and doing something about it,” Johnson said. Trump has proposed paying out $2,000 tariff dividend checks to millions of Americans and funding it with the hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue projected to enter federal coffers because of higher tariffs. But budget experts project the inflow of new tariff revenue won’t be enough to cover the costs of doling out $2,000 checks, which could cost $600 billion per year, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that studies fiscal issues. The Treasury Department estimated in July that it could collect $300 billion this year from higher tariff rates, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the federal government could collect about $2.8 trillion over 10 years.

21 Democratic-led states sue USDA over SNAP cuts - Democratic officials in 21 states and Washington, D.C., sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday, alleging that it is “arbitrarily” excluding many lawful permanent residents from receiving food assistance benefits. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., says the USDA is unlawfully implementing guidance for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act. The sweeping budget legislation, signed into law by President Trump in July, enacted significant changes to SNAP. It expanded work requirements to groups previously exempt from them, changed eligibility for noncitizens and enacted penalties for noncompliance by states. The federal government funds the program monthly, while states administer SNAP benefits. The USDA issued new guidance in accordance with the OBBB on Oct. 31, one day before the end of the 120-day exclusionary period for states to adhere to the changes. The changes to the program restricted SNAP eligibility to three groups of noncitizens: lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and those lawfully residing in the U.S. from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Lawful permanent residents are only eligible for SNAP benefits after a five-year waiting period, given they meet other requirements. However, the lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges the USDA is misinterpreting the new eligibility provisions of the law, which did not bar “individuals who once held the status of refugees, individuals granted asylum, or parolees from gaining eligibility for SNAP” if and when they become lawful permanent residents. Meanwhile, the lawsuit claims that the Oct. 31 guidance from USDA should have marked the start of the 120-day period. Instead, USDA is arguing that July 4, when Trump signed the OBBB, is when that time frame began.

Trump faces GOP blowback on health plan - President Trump wanted to push congressional Republicans on a plan to extend the enhanced ObamaCare subsidies for two years. That plan is reportedly now in jeopardy amid intense GOP pushback. “Until President Trump makes an announcement himself, any reporting about the Administration’s healthcare positions is mere speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. Affordability has been at the front of mind of the White House, especially after the Democratic victories in elections earlier this month. Rising health care costs and the looming expiration of the enhanced subsidies—which would send premium payments soaring— would be a potent weapon for Democrats to run on. Polling shows extending the enhanced subsidies is politically popular, and the White House likely realized the president needed to act. “Health care is a topic of discussion that’s happening very frequently and robustly inside the West Wing right now,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. “The president is very much involved in these talks and he’s very focused on unveiling a health care proposal that will fix the system and will bring down costs for consumers. As for the details of those discussions, I’ll let the president speak for himself.” But conservatives in Congress have been railing against the enhanced subsidies for months, and the Affordable Care Act has been politically toxic to the GOP for a decade and a half. Republicans say the law is failing, and they would rather end it and start fresh than do anything to prop it up. Moderate House Republicans floated a plan late last week to extend the enhanced subsidies for two years and enact changes designed to cut down on the fraud and abuse Republicans have said is rampant. Trump’s idea, as originally leaked, would have been much similar to the moderate plan than to the ideas pitched in the Senate.

Donald Trump says he’d ‘rather not’ extend Affordable Care Act subsidies — President Trump on Tuesday said he would prefer not to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, but he acknowledged it may be necessary to reach an agreement on health care legislation. Trump, in response to a question from The Hill, told reporters his preference was to pass legislation that gave money directly to Americans to allow them to purchase their own health care plan. “I like my plan the best. Don’t give any money to the insurance companies, give it to the people directly. Let them buy their own health care plan. And we’re looking at that. If that can work. We’re looking at that,” Trump said. Asked if he is planning to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that were at the heart of the government shutdown debate, Trump said he’d “rather not.” “Somebody said I want to extend them for two years. I don’t want to extend them for two years. I’d rather not extend them at all,” Trump said. “Some kind of extension may be necessary to get something else done, because the un-Affordable Care Act has been a disaster.” Trump told reporters he was talking with Democrats about health care, but when asked who specifically, he would not say. Multiple outlets reported earlier this week that Trump intended to propose a health care plan that would extend the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years and place additional limits on who would be eligible. Those reports sparked backlash from Republicans, who have spent years railing against the Affordable Care Act and attempting to undo its major provisions. Democrats spent the duration of the record-setting government shutdown in October demanding an extension of the expiring subsidies. While some Democrats expressed frustration that the shutdown ended without any commitments to extend the tax credits, others in the party argued they had put Republicans on defense over the issue.

Trump administration unveils Medicare negotiated price cuts -- The Trump administration late Tuesday announced new lower Medicare prices for 15 drugs that were part of the latest round of the program’s price negotiations, touting a total of $12 billion saved compared to last year’s spending. The medications include widely used cancer and diabetes drugs, inhalers, and GLP-1 medications Ozempic and Wegovy — the drugs Medicare spends the most on. The negotiated prices are what the government pays, not what patients pay out-of-pocket. It’s expected to save Medicare enrollees $685 million in out-of-pocket costs when the prices take effect in 2027, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said. The drugs on the list accounted for $42.5 billion in prescription drug costs in 2024, before factoring in discounts and rebates that Medicare already receives. The negotiated savings range from 38 percent to 85 percent off the drugs’ list prices. However, Medicare already receives confidential savings and discounts from manufacturers and drug middlemen, making it harder to determine the true savings on each drug. Health officials took pains to contrast their results with the Biden administration’s, which negotiated the first round of prices last year. The Medicare drug price negotiation program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the Biden administration’s signature legislative accomplishments. It passed without any Republican votes. “Using the same process with a bolder direction, we have achieved substantially better outcomes for taxpayers and seniors in the Medicare Part D program — not the modest or even counterproductive ‘deals’ we saw before,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said in a statement. However, there was no White House press event or direct acknowledgement from President Trump, who has touted separate deals with drug companies in recent weeks. “Instead, the announcement was made by press release during a holiday week which may be a sign these are not as significant as they could have been,” Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins, a health official in the first Trump administration, wrote in an investor note. The government touted significant savings numbers. It reached a 50 percent discount on Pfizer’s Ibrance for breast cancer, which was used by 16,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries in 2024, and a 73 percent difference on GlaxoSmithKline’s Trelegy Ellipta inhaler for asthma and COPD. The negotiated price for 2027 ranges from $277 for Ozempic to $386 for Wegovy, for a 30-day supply for conditions covered by Medicare — a 71 percent drop from the 2024 list price. Nearly 2.3 million Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage took those GLP-1 drugs last year.

Trump takes populist turn against health insurers - President Trump is blaming health insurers for rising health care costs, adopting a populist approach as he seeks to counter attacks by Democrats that the GOP has done too little to keep health care affordable. Democrats are pushing Congress to quickly hold a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Trump is reportedly preparing a proposal that would extend the subsidies for two years, along with a series of reforms favored by Republicans, but delayed an announcement facing GOP pushback. Whether or not a deal gets done, Democrats have used the shutdown to put Republicans on defense over health care, and Trump and his allies are looking to reframe the conversation by making insurers enemy No. 1. “I’m sure the White House realizes that, you know, having premiums increase on voters ahead, especially heading into an election year where affordability is a big conversation, is not ideal politically,” one GOP campaign strategist told The Hill. “They may come to some kind of deal, but that will kind of maybe help alleviate the attention that’s being directed at insurance companies right now. But healthcare is still going to be a big issue.” Trump said last week he would only support a plan involving “sending the money directly back to the people,” aiming to circumvent insurance companies. “The only healthcare I will support or approve is sending the money directly back to the people, with nothing going to the big, fat, rich insurance companies, who have made $trillions, and ripped off America long enough,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. This messaging aligns with voters’ perceptions of high health care costs. In polling released last month, 63 percent of voters said insurance companies were the most responsible for medical debt. Seventy-six percent of voters said they wanted the country to switch to a different health insurance system in which they can be unemployed or self-employed and still remain insured. As the GOP strategist noted, Democrats have long held an advantage over Republicans when it comes to health care. “One thing about President Trump is he’s one of the best politicians in recent memory who is able to seize on an issue that has historically been a strength for the opposing party and make it his own. And so, I think it’s smart for him to focus on it.” According to Robert Cahaly, chief pollster and senior strategist for the right-leaning polling firm the Trafalgar Group, the success of Trump’s messaging will depend on rallying Republicans around an alternative to the unpopular status quo. “If they can have something to present, even if it’s just in a rough form, and the perception is the Democrats are killing it and they’re in favor of Obamacare because the Democrats are beholden to the insurance companies and not to the people, then the Democrats lose the compassion game,” said Cahaly. “We think the idea is going to be popular because there is this thought that the insurance companies have been the ones who’ve gotten rich on Obamacare,” Cahaly added. “And it is bipartisan, and we have one of the only nonpartisan things that Obamacare people agree with.”

CDC’s new deputy director is vocal critic of vaccines, advocated for ivermectin -Ralph Abraham, MD, the former Louisiana surgeon general, has been quietly named the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a controversial pick to help lead the nation’s top infectious disease organization as the second highest-ranking CDC official. Abraham is a longtime critic of COVID-19 vaccines, advocated for the use of ivermectin during the pandemic, and has stated the United States should stop birth doses of hepatitis B vaccines. As the state surgeon general, he told the health department to stop promoting mass vaccination campaigns and did not publicly respond to a pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak in Louisiana earlier this year for two months, even after two infants died. In the New York Times yesterday, Nirav Shah, MD, who had served as the CDC deputy director for two years before resigning earlier this year, said Abraham is unqualified.“A large part of the principal deputy’s portfolio is emergency response,” Shah told the newspaper.“Delayed notifying of the public of at least two pertussis deaths is not just unacceptable, it’s shameful.”

Even the Wall Street Journal’s Editors Have Had It With RFK, Jr.’s Anti-Vax Con Job – by Yves Smith --As most readers likely know, while the Wall Street Journal’s news pages often have very solid, well-reported stories along with barely-rewritten corporate press releases, the editorial page is a ferocious defender of conservative values and policies. A new Journal official editorial turns a blowtorch on RFK, Jr., and deservedly so. The immediate trigger is CDC taking up, clearly at RFK Jr.’s instigation, the quackery of depicting vaccines as being a possible cause of autism. Even though this is mainly KLG’s beat, the Journal deciding to lambaste RFK, Jr. confirms that the disgust with him has gone beyond the medical/science community and is now mainstream.It may seem like beating a dead horse to yet again have to point out the depth and severity of RFK Jr.’s dishonesty. He has lied repeatedly to Congress and therefore the American public: His lies have also killed people, yet the Senate overlooked that history in confirming him, out of traditional Congressional deference to the President over his senior staffing choices. From February: U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) underscored the troubling record of President Donald Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose efforts in Samoa to deceive families about measles vaccines led to a deadly outbreak that killed more than 80 people, many of whom were young children. Schatz urged his colleagues to vote against RFK Jr. in tomorrow’s confirmation vote. “It’s not often that the stakes of a vote to confirm a cabinet nominee are this high. But tomorrow, when we vote on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the stakes will be life or death,” said Senator Schatz. Most of Trump’s other nominees are living up to their sorry track records. Ex-Fox news host Pete Hegseth has shown his true colors as a loudmouth ex platoon sergeant hyping up his tough guy act to try to compensate for the fact that he is totally out of his depth. Trump repeatedly chose un or seriously underqualified candidates for their ability to deliver soundbites. And now these empty suits are doing great harm, in RFJ Jr.’s case, along predicted lines.Back to the excoriating Journal editorial. Its opener is suitably pointed:Who decided to leave Robert F. Kennedy Jr. home alone at the Health and Human Services Department? Without adults to supervise the Secretary, he’s damaging public trust in immunizations, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been conscripted into his anti-vaccine campaign.It soon turns to the CDC’s shameful change in posture on autism:Now it [the CDC site] explains: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”The studies haven’t been ignored. They’ve been examined and found deeply flawed. The updated CDC website points to a study by a University of Colorado, Boulder, environmental scientist, who also happens to have written for the newsletter of Children’s Health Defense. That’s the anti-vaccine outfit that Mr. Kennedy previously ran.The study claimed to find a strong correlation between the use in vaccines of aluminum adjuvants and rising autism in the 1980s and 1990s. These adjuvants are additives that boost the patient’s immune response. But to repeat basic logic: Correlation does not prove causation. A Danish study of more than 1.2 million children this year found no link between aluminum in vaccines and autism. Twitter piles on: […]The Journal was correct to finger RFK, Jr. personally: […] Needless to say, in keeping with the Journal having roused itself to fiercely criticize RFK, Jr., high circulation media outlets piled on: […] The Journal also gives a tidy, layperson-friendly debunking of RFK, Jr. scaremongering on aluminum: Early next month Mr. Kennedy’s handpicked Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will discuss aluminum adjuvants and could require manufacturers to remove them from vaccines. That could force a dozen vaccines out of use.The aluminum ingredient in vaccines isn’t the same as what’s in kitchen foil. Aluminum is naturally present in plants, soil, water and many foods, including vegetables, tea and chocolate. During the first six months of life, infants ingest significantly more aluminum from breast milk or formula than they get from vaccines. But RFK Jr. is on an ideological crusade. Reformulating these vaccines with different adjuvants would cost billions of dollars and could take years. The Journal then turns to corruption: In other news, Mr. Kennedy last week hired Calley Means as a senior adviser. Mr. Means has made a small fortune hawking dietary supplements, which (unlike vaccines and pharmaceuticals) can be sold without proof of their effectiveness.It’s a shame that the Journal missed the elephants in the room here. From a September post:Let’s point out the obvious: RFK, Jr. is up to his eyeballs with conflicts of interest with respect to vaccines, not just his need to defend his history but also his current interests. Did you know that Make America Health Again is copyrighted and RFK, Jr. reported earning $100,000 in licensing fees in his financial disclosure forms?Headlines alone tell the story:

• RFK Jr. says he’s not anti-vaccine. But he could profit off claim in vaccine lawsuit. ABC
• RFK Jr. plans to keep a financial stake in lawsuits against the drugmaker Merck NPR
• At Hearing, Warren Slams RFK Jr. for Dangerous Conflicts of Interest, Profiting From Anti-Vaccine Conspiracies Elizabeth Warren

RFK, Jr. has also promoted wearables as part of advancing his branded MAHA agenda.

Exclusive | Fauci involved in 'massive' COVID-19 origins cover-up, FDA chief Marty Makary tells 'Pod Force One' --Dr. Anthony Fauci orchestrated a “massive cover-up” about the origins of COVID-19 while serving as a top public health official during the coronavirus pandemic, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary argued on the latest episode of “Pod Force One.” Makary, a former professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, explained to “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine that as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), Fauci went to great lengths to suppress the theory that COVID-19 leaked out of a research lab in China — something few in the medical community picked up on. “One thing that’s extremely obvious that very few people realize, and certainly hardly anyone in the medical establishment where I come from realized, is that [Fauci] was involved in a massive cover-up of the origins of COVID, a massive cover-up,” the FDA commissioner said. “Whether or not he was involved in the experiments or funding the experiments that led to the origins of COVID, he was clearly 100% involved in the cover-up,” he added. Fauci, who also served as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, received a sweeping pardon from the then-president last December, for any offenses committed between Jan. 1, 2014, up to the date the pardon was signed. Makary suggested the pardon was related to Fauci’s alleged role in the COVID cover-up, which he argued supersedes any of the “massive disagreements” he has with the way he advised the public and government leaders during the pandemic. “[O]nly recently did Anthony Fauci take it to the next level of using science as political propaganda,” Makary told Devine. “He commissioned the pieces that lied about the COVID origins. The author who submitted the article said this was commissioned by Dr. Fauci and [Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health] in that cover letter.” In 2023, the House Oversight Committee released evidence showing Fauci commissioned and gave final approval for a scientific paper — “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” — written in February 2020 to disprove the theory that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. Eight weeks later, Fauci stood at a White House press conference alongside President Trump and cited that paper as evidence that the lab leak theory was implausible. The paper was written four days after Fauci, and his old boss Collins, held a call with the four authors to discuss reports that COVID-19 may have leaked from the Wuhan lab. “If you think back to the end of January, just before COVID became a thing in the news in the United States, January, February, what was Dr. Fauci doing? He was frantically engaging in a massive cover-up with 3 a.m. emails and phone calls,” Makary said.“He was convening people. And the notes from those meetings reveal that all these virologists he convened had told him, ‘We think it came from the Wuhan lab,’ and the output was days later, those same scientists wrote a letter in the medical journal saying it definitely did not come from the lab,” he continued, claiming that some of the authors went on to receive “millions of dollars in funding from Fauci’s agency.”“This is not rocket science. It’s a no-brainer where it came from,” Makary fumed.

FDA Chief: Fauci '100% Involved" In "Massive" COVID-19 Origins Cover-Up -Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary accused former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci of orchestrating a "massive cover-up" of the origins of Covid-19. In an interview with "Pod Force One” podcast, Makary said that Fauci, who served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease during the pandemic, worked to suppress the Wuhan lab-leak theory. "One thing that's extremely obvious that very few people realize, and certainly hardly anyone in the medical establishment where I come from realized, is that [Fauci] was involved in a massive cover-up of the origins of COVID, a massive cover-up,” Makary, who previously served as a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told host Miranda Devine. "Whether or not he was involved in the experiments or funding the experiments that led to the origins of COVID, he was clearly 100% involved in the cover-up,” the FDA head added. In 2023, the House Oversight Committee released evidence showing Fauci commissioned and approved a February 2020 scientific paper,"The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” which appeared aimed at refuting the lab-leak hypothesis. Shortly after, Fauci highlighted the paper’s findings during a White House briefing alongside President Donald Trump as evidence against the lab-leak theory. "If you think back to the end of January, just before COVID became a thing in the news in the United States, January, February, what was Dr. Fauci doing? He was frantically engaging in a massive cover-up with 3 a.m. emails and phone calls," Makary said. “He was convening people. And the notes from those meetings reveal that all these virologists he convened had told him, 'We think it came from the Wuhan lab,' and the output was days later, those same scientists wrote a letter in the medical journal saying it definitely did not come from the lab,” the FDA head added. "This is not rocket science. It's a no-brainer where it came from."

Senate unveils spending bill that cuts clean energy, science - The Senate on Monday unveiled its bill to fund the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, proposing some cuts to clean energy.The upper chamber’s version of the fiscal 2026 Energy-Water bill will have to be reconciled with the House’s version. Congressional appropriators are hoping to pass a number of compromise spending bills bill before Jan. 30.The Senate’s legislation reflects the priorities of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), chair of the Senate’s Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee, who said he wanted to cut funding for renewable energy in order to shore up nuclear weapons programs and the Army Corps of Engineers. It was released without the blessing of ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “While I am disappointed that Senate Republicans released a partisan bill instead of working with Senate Democrats — and I am especially disappointed by the cuts to critical clean energy programs — there are some important priorities I strongly advocated for that are addressed by the bill released today,” said Murray.

Bill aims to preserve funding for key solution to Colorado River drought -- For Las Vegas to keep its taps flowing, Rep. Susie Lee says this one drought measure must survive federal spending purges: water recycling. On Nov. 20, Lee, D-Nev., and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., introduced the Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act in Congress to reauthorize a federal grant program that will sunset in 2026. While it doesn't currently add any more money to the program, Lee said it would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to dole out $125 million in unused funds, extending the program to 2031. "The states that surround the Colorado River—they're red and blue," Lee said in an interview. "But it's a crisis, and the reason this reauthorization is so important is to make sure we continue to have the authority to use the funding to support these programs." Previously, Congress folded Lee's initial 2021 program proposal into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—a law creating a pool of funding that Republicans have tried to claw back. In 2024, a bill to nearly double the amount of funding for the program that Lee helped author stalled and did not get a hearing in committee. To date, according to Lee's office, the Bureau of Reclamation's program has provided more than $125 million to Pure Water Southern California, a water recycling program in California that officials say will produce 150 million gallons of water per day that would have previously been dumped in the Pacific Ocean. The Southern Nevada Water Authority's board authorized the agency to give $750 million to the project in 2021. That will likely be in exchange for a transfer of water, where Nevada would be able to pull more water from Lake Mead, agency spokesman Bronson Mack said. In addition to Pure Water, the Bureau of Reclamation has committed to funding other water recycling projects in California, and one in Utah. Capturing, treating and sending wastewater back into Lake Mead is the single way that modern Las Vegas is able to use more than its small share of the Colorado River amid remarkable population growth.

Trump faces rare rift with Florida Republicans over offshore drilling plan -- Florida Republicans are fuming as the Trump administration proposes to open up new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. “The new maps released today by @SecretaryBurgum and @Interior outlining potential new offshore oil drilling sites in the Gulf of America are HIGHLY concerning—and we will be engaging directly with the department on this issue,” Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) wrote in a post on the social platform X.“Preserving our state’s natural beauty is deeply important to the millions who call the Sunshine State home, our visitors, and those whose livelihoods depend on tourism,” Moody wrote. The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also criticized the plan, noting that in 2020, President Trump blocked drilling off the state’s coasts.“Our Administration supports the 2020 Presidential Memorandum and urges the Department of Interior to reconsider and to conform to the 2020 Trump Administration policy,” Molly Best, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a statement to The Hill.It’s a rare rift between the state’s Republicans and Trump, who made the state his primary residence in 2019. While his Mar-a-Lago resort is situated on the state’s east coast on the Atlantic Ocean, drilling in the Gulf would be more likely to impact the state’s west coast.On Thursday, the Trump administration proposed a massive expansion of U.S. offshore drilling, which would include opening up new drilling in the eastern Gulf, as well as in California. The move is something of a reversal for Trump, who in his first term as president barred drilling off the coast of Florida until 2032. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) indicated in a social media post that he preferred the previous policy.“Florida’s beautiful beaches and coastal waters are so important to our state’s economy, environment, and military community, which is why I have fought for years to keep drilling off Florida’s coasts and worked closely with President Trump during his first term to extend the moratorium banning oil drilling off Florida’s coasts through 2032,” Scott wrote. “I have been speaking to @SecretaryBurgum and made my expectations clear that this moratorium must remain in place, and that in any plan, Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities,” he added.The oil industry has argued that drilling even in controversial places such as the eastern Gulf is necessary for the long run. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s “updated reserve estimate of 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent shows the Central and Western areas will remain prolific for decades, but sustaining the Gulf’s long-term competitiveness means evaluating opportunities in the Gulf of America Program Area B as well,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said in a statement to The Hill, referring to all of the drilling areas proposed by the Trump administration.

Donald Trump exempts coal in steelmaking from Clean Air Act - President Trump is exempting coal used in steelmaking from Biden-era Clean Air Act regulations for two years. Trump on Friday issued a proclamation exempting facilities known as coke ovens from a rule limiting their releases of pollutants, such as mercury, formaldehyde, soot and dioxins. The rule that the facilities were exempted from also would have required them to monitor for a separate cancer-causing chemical called benzene at the fence line of their facility. Coke ovens are chambers where coal is heated to produce coke, which is a fuel that’s used in steelmaking. When it issued the rule, the EPA estimated it would apply to 11 facilities, costing them about $500,000 each for compliance. The Trump exemption applies to 11 facilities. The Biden administration said its rule was not necessarily expected to cut pollution, but it could prevent future pollution increases. This is because all of the facilities in question have pollution levels below the limits set in the rule, but the rule would have been expected to require them to install technology to detect emissions that are over the limits, “allowing for earlier corrective action and thus preventing pollution increases that could otherwise occur.” Trump, in his proclamation, argued that the technology required by the rule is not yet commercially viable and that steel production is important for the country. “The Coke Oven Rule places severe burdens on the coke production industry and, through its indirect effects, on the viability of our Nation’s critical infrastructure, defense, and national security,” the proclamation said. “Specifically, the Coke Oven Rule requires compliance with standards premised on the application of emissions-control technologies that do not yet exist in a commercially demonstrated or cost-effective form,” it continued. But observers criticized the exemptions. “Here was a very low-cost, common-sense way for coke oven operators to make sure that they weren’t spewing benzene into the backyards of their neighbors,” Tosh Sagar, senior attorney at Earthjustice, told The Hill. “Rather than do this very low-cost, common-sense thing to protect people, these… companies went and lobbied the president for this unprecedented and unwarranted exemption,” Sagar added. Companies gaining exemptions under the proclamation are: EES Coke, ABC Coke, SunCoke Energy, U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs. The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year set up a portal to make it easier for companies to request exemptions to Clean Air Act rules. Since that time, the Trump administration has exempted dozens of polluters from regulations, including oil refineries, coal plants and medical device sterilizers.

Trump says he’s canceling all executive orders Biden didn’t personally sign - President Trump said Friday that he’s canceling every executive order former President Biden enacted but didn’t personally sign. “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States,” Trump wrote in a Friday afternoon post on his Truth Social platform. “The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump added. Before Trump pardoned turkeys Gobble and Waddle on Tuesday, he joked that his predecessor’s turkey pardons were invalid due to him using an autopen. “After a thorough and very rigorous investigation … into a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden, he used an autopen last year for the turkey’s pardon,” Trump said. “So, I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined, that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid,” the president continued. The White House in September revealed a “Presidential Walk of Fame” outside of the Oval Office with all presidents’ portraits, except Biden’s. Photos and videos from the White House included gold frames of previous presidents, but instead of Biden’s portrait, there is a photo of an “autopen” writing his signature.

Citing 'Foreign Wars', Epstein Files, US Rep. Marjorie Greene Resigns from Congress - Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced her resignation from the US House of Representatives, a decision she said would take effect January 5, 2026. Greene released the announcement in a video message posted on her social media accounts, where she said she refused to put her district through what she called “a hateful and hurtful primary led by the President we all fought for.” In the message, she noted that she and President Trump had “only disagreed on a few areas,” specifically “standing strongly against all involvement in foreign wars and demanding the release of the Epstein files.” The resignation marks a dramatic rupture within the Make America Great Again movement. US President Donald Trump had already withdrawn his support for Greene, a striking reversal given her long-standing role as one of the most visible defenders of his presidency. For years, Greene had appeared inseparable from Trump’s political identity. As reported by The Guardian, she had repeatedly credited Trump with inspiring her to run for Congress in 2020 and had aligned herself with the most hardline wing of the MAGA base. But over the past year Greene evolved into one of the most vocal internal critics of Trump’s policies — a shift that centered, above all, on the question of Israel and the war on Gaza. Greene’s public split with Trump intensified after the October escalation in Gaza. The Guardian noted that Greene became the first Republican member of Congress to label Israel’s military campaign a “genocide” — a declaration that placed her directly at odds not only with Trump but with the overwhelming majority of Congress, including Republican leadership. Greene argued that Trump’s continued support for Israeli military operations — including weapons transfers and diplomatic backing — represented, in her view, a complete abandonment of the movement’s earlier non-interventionist, “America First” foreign policy. She stated on multiple occasions that “no American taxpayer should be funding foreign wars while families in this country can’t afford food, housing, or medical care.” Greene also referenced what she described as “mounting pressure and intimidation campaigns” tied to recent political investigations, including renewed public scrutiny surrounding the Epstein files. She stated that the backlash she faced after calling for a full release of Epstein-related documents, and for congressional inquiries into alleged networks of political influence, had resulted in “credible threats” to her safety and that of her family. “It became clear,” she said, “that there are powerful interests who do not want the truth exposed — not just about Israel, not just about foreign policy, but about the way power really works in Washington.” The division is part of a larger unraveling within the MAGA coalition. Foreign policy — particularly support for Israel’s war in Gaza — has become a defining fault line. The debate over tariffs, federal spending, and civil liberties has widened those fractures. In her resignation message, Greene criticized both major parties for fueling polarization without delivering meaningful change. “The only thing that changes,” she said, “is which party convinces Americans to hate the other side more.” She added: “And the results are always the same — whether Republicans or Democrats hold power — nothing improves for the American worker, the American family, or the American future.” Greene said she does not plan to run for governor or the Senate and suggested she may continue her political advocacy outside of elected office. Her departure leaves House Republicans, already navigating a fractured caucus, with one fewer vote and a high-profile reminder of a movement in transition.

Epstein files: DOJ requests judge to lift protective order The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday requested permission to release records and notes from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from the federal judge overseeing Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. The letter asked U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to lift the protective order on any evidence or information given to Maxwell’s lawyers before her trial. The DOJ also asked that this information be released in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Trump signed last week. “In summary, the Government is in the process of identifying potentially responsive materials the publication of which is called for under the Act, categorizing them and processing them for review, and reaching out to known victims and counsel to confer regarding the process and the content of redactions to ensure protection of victim identities,” the letter said. Documentation provided would be “subject to limitations,” the DOJ wrote, as the law requires that the identities of victims or names of possible associates under investigation be redacted. The law also allows Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold material that falls under any of several exceptions, including child sexual abuse material, images of physical abuse and victims’ personally identifiable information. The information sought by the DOJ varies and includes financial and travel records, records obtained by state and federal agencies, school records, flight logs, search warrants, photos and video seized from Epstein’s and Maxwell’s homes, forensic reports, mail records and “materials produced” from Epstein’s estate. “These categories are based principally on the Government’s initial review of discovery letters and logs,” the DOJ wrote, adding that the list was “not entirely comprehensive because the Government’s review is ongoing.” Following the law’s passage, the DOJ was given 30 days to release all information connected to Epstein. The DOJ also asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to unseal grand jury records in Epstein’s prosecution. After Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, he directed Bondi to investigate Epstein’s alleged ties to prominent Democrats. Bondi selected U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to oversee the investigation. It is unclear if Clayton’s investigation will impact the release of any documents. Last week, Maxwell’s attorneys said she will “plead the Fifth” against any investigations into Epstein by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. One of her attorneys said in July that she would only testify if she was granted immunity.

Sen. Jim Justice sued for $5 million in tax non-payment - The U.S. government on Monday sued Sen. Jim Justice, a West Virginia Republican, and his wife for more than $5 million in unpaid federal income taxes, penalties, and interest dating to the 2009 tax filing year. "Despite notice and demand for payment of the assessments ...James C. Justice, II, and Cathy L. Justice have neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments to the United States," the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Beckley, West Virginia, alleged. The lawsuit, filed by the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, asked a judge to enter a judgment in favor of the U.S. against the couple in the amount of $5,164,739.75, the amount owed to the Internal Revenue Service as of Aug. 4, according to the filing. Hours after the suit was docketed, a lawyer for the Justices and the DOJ filed a joint motion asking a judge to enter a consent judgment in favor of the U.S. for the amount requested. The motion indicates that the couple agreed to resolve their case by being ordered to pay the amount requested. But it does not say when they would or could pay that money. On Tuesday, Judge Frank Volk signed the consent judgment, which obligates the Justices to pay the requested amount. The suit was filed nearly two months after the IRS filed notices of tax liens for more than $8 million against Justice, who is the former governor of West Virginia, in Greenbrier County. Justice, who was a Democrat until 2019, has claimed that the liens were politically motivated. One of the notices referenced a federal income tax assessment of more than $3 million for the tax year 2009, which was assessed on Nov. 25, 2015 — the same date as the assessment referenced in the lawsuit filed Monday. The second federal income tax assessment, for nearly $5 million, was for the tax filing year 2017. A third such assessment, for the 2024 tax year, was for nearly $11,000./ Politico, which first broke the news of the tax lien on Oct. 10, noted then that the IRS website says "generally the IRS can pursue collection of a tax liability up to 10 years from the date it was assessed. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien may be filed any time within that 10-year period." Tuesday is the end of a 10-year period that would have begun on Nov. 25, 2015. Justice was elected to the Senate in November 2024, replacing Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent who quit the Democratic caucus earlier that year. The coal mining heir previously served as West Virginia's governor from 2017 until he entered the Senate in January.

Schweizer Exposes DEI Fraud Machine Inside Federal Contracting Complex -Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the investigative journalist who broke the Clinton Cash corruption story, has uncovered what may be one of the most brazen grifts operating inside the Capital Beltway. His new reporting exposes deep cronyism and corruption inside the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program, where DEI-driven preferences opened the door for fraudsters to siphon off lucrative no-bid federal contracts.Instead of supporting legitimate small business development, the 8(a) program has been a massive pipeline for pass-through entities that collect bidless contracts on silver platters while quietly outsourcing the real work to major consulting firms.The result: Merit-based competition gets sidelined, and tens of billions in taxpayer dollars flow through shell operators, allowing the corrupt Beltway economy of parasites to loot taxpayers. The looting went into hyperdrive during the Biden-Harris regime years.Remember the 'Gold Bars' corruption story with the EPA? - Well, this 8(a) corruption turns out to be very similar: loot taxpayers as much as possible with Biden in the White House, who had no idea what was happening. Schweizer has built a career exposing this kind of institutional rot, and the developments in the news cycle so far suggest the Trump administration is preparing to slam down the accountability hammer and smash parasites across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. "For years, DC insiders have exploited a federal DEI contracting program that provides windfalls to beltway elites. This open secret isn't about helping the downtrodden; it's about bagging no-bid paydays. The SBA's 8(a) program is long overdue for reform," Schweizer began the X thread post on Tuesday night, as well as publishing a report on The Drill Down.

Judge dismisses charges against James Comey and Letitia James -- A federal judge dismissed the cases against two of President Trump’s political adversaries on Monday after finding that the prosecutor Trump handpicked to pursue charges against them was unlawfully appointed. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney selected by Trump to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), was never eligible to assume the post. A 120-day clock on interim appointments expired during the previous prosecutor’s tenure, the judge said, meaning the authority to appoint a replacement fell with the district’s federal judges, not Attorney General Pam Bondi. “In light of these principles, I conclude that all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside,” Currie wrote, repeating the paragraph word-for-word in her ruling dismissing James’s case. She dismissed the indictments without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department could try to bring the charges again with another prosecutor, though the path forward is uncertain. Halligan is the fourth U.S. attorney loyal to Trump to have been found to be unlawfully serving in her post by a judge. Comey and James mounted parallel bids to disqualify Halligan from their cases. She was the sole prosecutor who sought their indictments from grand juries, which they claimed rendered the charging document void and required dismissal ahead of their trials.

Leavitt pushes back on Comey, James case dismissals, vows DOJ appeal -White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday the Department of Justice (DOJ) will appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Leavitt pushed back on the ruling from U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, who said Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney selected by President Trump to prosecute Comey and James, was never eligible to assume the post. “Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that is the administration’s position,” Leavitt said, asserting that the judge was “trying to shield” Comey and James.“The Department of Justice will be appealing very soon, and it is our position that Lindsey Halligan is extremely qualified for this position but more important was legally appointed to it,” Leavitt added.President Trump “absolutely” still has confidence in Halligan, Leavitt told reporters at the White House.The cases on Monday were dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning the government could theoretically try to bring them again with a different prosecutor.Halligan, who previously served as a White House aide, took over as the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia in September after the district’s previous top prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned rather than indict Comey over 2020 testimony the ex-FBI director gave Congress amid pressure from the White House. Days after Halligan assumed her role, Comey was indicted on two federal charges. James was indicted weeks later on fraud charges. Both Comey and James have been outspoken critics of the president. Halligan was the sole prosecutor who sought their indictments from grand juries, which they claimed rendered the charging document void and required dismissal ahead of their trials.While Leavitt argued the judge’s decision on Monday was “unprecedented,” Halligan is the fourth U.S. attorney loyal to Trump to have been found to be unlawfully serving in her post by a judge.

Trump calls female reporter ‘ugly, both inside and out’ over ‘hit piece’ - President Trump on Wednesday called a New York Times reporter “ugly, both inside and out” after the outlet posted a story about his health, age and “signs of fatigue.”In a post on Truth Social, the president claimed that the effort he puts into his policies “requires a lot of Work and Energy, and I have never worked so hard in my life.”“Yet despite all of this the Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite,” Trump wrote. “They know this is wrong, as is almost every thing that they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE.” He also accused New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers of being “a third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out” and “is assigned to write only bad things about me.”

Senators call for investigation into Facebook, Instagram scam ads - Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to regulators on Saturday, requesting an investigation into Meta for allegedly profiting from fraudulent advertisements. The letter, sent to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins, calls on their agencies to “investigate and, if appropriate, bring enforcement actions against Meta for its facilitation of and profiting from criminal investment scams, fake government benefits schemes, deepfake pornography, and other fraudulent activities.” Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Meta internally projected last year that it would earn $16 billion from advertising scams and banned goods on its platforms, accounting for roughly 10 percent of its annual revenue. An internal document from 2024 shows that the company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, exposes users to roughly 15 billion clearly fraudulent advertisements daily. Another document from last year showed it earns roughly $7 billion annually from such scam ads. “Meta’s ill-gotten gains appear to be no accident: it has made conscious choices based on business considerations that turned a blind eye and enabled it to profit from illicit advertisements,” Hawley and Blumenthal wrote. In July, the two senators introduced legislation to protect consumers from Big Tech companies exploiting their personal data to create artificial intelligence-generated content. In their letter, Hawley and Blumenthal allege that Meta knowingly profits off illicit gambling ads, payment scams, crypto scams, AI deepfake sex services and fake offers of federal benefits. The fraudulent federal benefits offers, the senators claim, are often run by cybercrime groups in China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines. Hawley and Blumenthal add that the FTC and SEC should force Meta to “fully disgorge all profits from fraudulent advertisements, impose steep civil penalties, hold individual executives personally accountable, and seek binding terms to end this scourge on consumers, our economy, and our national security” if its investigation confirms their accusations. The Hill has reached out to the commissions for comment. Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, told The Hill on Monday that the letter “makes claims that are exaggerated and wrong” and that the company “aggressively [fights] fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it and we don’t want it either.” Stone, citing his comments to Reuters earlier this month, also said that the 10 percent revenue estimate was “rough and overly-inclusive” and included “many” legitimate ads. He also pushed back on Reuters, citing an internal company document, reporting that a team responsible for vetting concerning advertisers could not cost Meta more than 0.15 percent of the company’s revenue. Stone told Reuters that the 0.15 figure was a projection and not a hard limit.

Donald Trump launches Genesis Mission for AI research- President Trump on Monday signed an executive order establishing the “Genesis Mission,” a new endeavor to expand AI resources for scientific research. The Genesis Mission, which the administration is comparing to the Apollo program that sent Americans to the moon in the late 1960s, seeks to create an integrated AI platform that brings together federal datasets, computing resources and AI tools to boost scientific discovery. “Since the 1990s, America’s scientific edge has faced growing challenges — new drug approvals have flatlined or declined, more researchers are needed to achieve the same output and workforce training has stagnated,” Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters Monday. “Genesis Mission aims to overcome these challenges by unifying agency scientific efforts and integrating AI as a scientific tool to revolutionize the way science and research are conducted,” he continued. The executive order directs Energy Secretary Chris Wright to create and operate the “American Science and Security Platform,” which the White House describes as “a closed-loop AI experimentation platform” bringing together existing resources from the National Laboratories. This is meant to include high-performance computing resources, AI modeling and analysis frameworks, computational tools, domain-specific foundation models and secure access to datasets. Wright is also tasked with identifying a list of “science and technology challenges of national importance,” as well as evaluating federal computing resources and identifying potential partnerships.

States fight Trump’s AI push --- More than 200 state lawmakers are urging Congress to reject a potential provision in an annual defense bill that would preempt state laws regulating AI. In a letter to both the House and Senate, the bipartisan group argued Monday that states need to retain the ability to act as AI continues to develop and raise new policy questions. “A blanket prohibition on state and local AI and automated decision-system regulation would abruptly cut off active democratic debate in statehouses and impose a sweeping pause on policymaking at the very moment when communities are seeking responsive solutions,” they wrote. The state lawmakers also argued such a provision would nullify numerous AI-related measures at the state level, covering everything from consumer transparency to government procurement to patient protections. “We appreciate congressional engagement on AI and stand ready to collaborate on thoughtful national policy,” they added.“But after years without comprehensive federal action on privacy and social media harms, a broad preemption of state and local AI laws until Congress acts would set back progress and undercut existing protections.” The letter comes amid a push by House GOP leadership to include a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would block state AI laws. Republican lawmakers previously sought to include a 10-year moratorium on state AI measures in President Trump’s tax and spending megabill but the provision was ultimately stripped out by a 99-1 vote in the Senate amid GOP infighting over the effort. Following a report last week that House lawmakers were contemplating a preemption provision in the NDAA, several key Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spoke out against the effort. However, Trump offered support for the preemption push, and a draft executive order that emerged Wednesday showed the White House was considering taking efforts into its own hands. The draft order would create a task force dedicated to challenging state AI laws in court, in addition to deeming states ineligible for broadband funding if they have enacted AI measures that the administration finds unduly onerous. House Republican leaders have reportedly urged the White House to delay such an executive order as they attempt to include the preemption provision in the must-pass defense legislation.

AI super PAC launches $10 million campaign pushing 'uniform' national policy - A super PAC backed by the artificial intelligence industry on Monday launched a $10 million campaign to push Congress to craft a national AI policy that will override a patchwork of state laws, the group told CNBC.The campaign from "Leading the Future," which launched over the summer with more than $100 million in initial funding, signals how the booming industry plans to leverage its wealth and power in next year's midterm elections."There is broad public demand for congressional action and a uniform national approach to AI," said Nathan Leamer, executive director of "Build American AI," the PAC's advocacy arm. "We are excited to have created this platform for Americans excited about the future of AI, to engage their members of Congress and make a difference."The campaign will run TV, digital and social media ads, plus organize 10,000 calls to lawmakers' offices this week alone, according to a memo about the campaign shared with CNBC.President Donald Trump appears to be convinced already: He wrote on Truth Social last Tuesday that the U.S. "MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes."The same day, Leamer posted a picture of himself at the White House, saying he was there to discuss "the need for a national AI framework."The PAC's mobilization comes as the White House and congressional Republicans are working to suppress states' ability to implement their AI laws.Several sources familiar with those ongoing discussions told CNBC that the plan is to insert language into one of the must-pass spending bills that Congress is expected to vote on in the next few months.Meanwhile, a draft executive order that surfaced last week aims to preempt state AI laws by creating a new "AI Litigation Task Force" and threatening to withhold federal funding. Trump, whose AI-friendly administration has sought to encourage the industry by lowering regulatory barriers, is expected to sign an executive order related to AI later Monday, a senior official told a White House pool reporter.

Big tech, states and utilities weigh in on DOE data center plan - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is facing fierce crosscurrents over a proposal from the Trump administration to speed grid connections for data centers and other large electricity loads, with states, utilities, technology companies and consumer advocates trying to shape the proposal. More than 160 parties have sent comments to FERC on a Department of Energy proposal that FERC assert authority to create a fast lane for connecting artificial intelligence data centers and advanced manufacturers to regional grids, along with large power supplies. Tech industry allies of President Donald Trump say the build-out of AI infrastructure is slowed down by the long and arcane process of connecting data centers to regional electric grids. Tech companies called on FERC to incentivize co-locating data centers at power plants while building in regulatory flexibility to help control costs to electricity consumers. “Doing so is necessary both to ensure that transmission rates, charges, and practices remain just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential,” Google wrote in its comments to the agency, “as well as to ensure that the United States continues to play the world-leading role in the development of AI and other advanced computing capabilities.”

Meta Pushes Into Power Trading as AI Sends Demand Soaring

• Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking authorization to participate in the wholesale power-trading business to manage its data centers' electricity needs.
• The company filed an application with US regulators to sell energy, capacity, and certain ancillary services through a subsidiary, Atem Energy LLC.
• Tech companies, including Meta, can sell excess electricity into wholesale markets and make extra money, especially when they have batteries or on-site generators at data centers.

Meta Platforms Inc. is moving to break into the wholesale power-trading business to better manage the massive electricity needs of its data centers.The company, which owns Facebook, filed an application with US regulators this week seeking authorization to do so. A Meta representative said it was a natural next step to participate in energy markets as it looks to power operations with clean energy. Buying electricity has become an increasingly urgent challenge for technology companies including Meta, Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. They’re all racing to develop more advanced artificial intelligence systems and tools that are notoriously resource-intensive. Amazon.com Inc., Google and Microsoft are already active power traders, according to filings with US regulators.While big tech companies consume huge amounts of electricity, they also have contracts for power that they can flip around and sell when prices are high.”There will be opportunities to sell electricity into the wholesale markets and make a little extra money doing that,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James.Plus, tech companies that have batteries or on-site generators at data centers can sell power from those back to the grid when prices spike, said Andy DeVries, a utilities and power analyst at CreditSights Inc. Power demand from data centers used to build and run AI models is set to quadruple in 10 years, based on projections from BloombergNEF. At the same time, power prices are rising amid this surge in electric demand. In fact, capacity payments — which generators get in some US markets — hit a record in an auction held this year by the country’s biggest grid, which stretches from Washington to Chicago.The demand is so robust that some tech firms that touted their climate goals are now considering natural gas a key source to help power their data centers. Last month, for instance, Louisiana regulators approved utility Entergy Corp.’s plan to build three natural gas plants to power Meta’s data center there.Meta’s application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeks authorization “to sell energy, capacity, and certain ancillary services.” It didn’t identify, however, where in the US it would seek to trade power. The company would be required to file for membership in order to trade in one of seven competitive power markets, such as the Texas grid or the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which encompasses the Louisiana data center. It filed the request through a subsidiary, Atem Energy LLC, formed to act as a power marketer. Meta asked for its application to be approved by Nov. 16.

OpenAI Needs To Fill $207 Billion Funding Hole By 2030: HSBC - As the AI 'circle jerk' rages on, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, will need to raise at least $207 billion more by 2030 to simply keep the lights on, according a new analysis by HSBC which takes into account recently disclosed megadeals with Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle. Even with bullish assumptions that include 3 billion users, rapid subscription growth, and a giant slice of enterprise AI spending, the company's projected revenues are nowhere near its exploding bills for energy and chips, the bank says. "OpenAI is a money pit with a website on top," according to FT's Bryce Elder, who notes that the bigger AI models get, the more cash they burn - and the winner in the LLM landscape may come down to who can continue raising money the longest. HSBC’s model runs through 2030 and arrives at these headline numbers:

• Cumulative data-center rental costs (2025-2030): $792 billion - rising to $1.4 trillion by 2033!
• Projected cumulative free cash flow: $282 billion
• Additional liquidity from Nvidia/AMD deals, undrawn facilities and cash on hand: ~$68 billion
• Net funding shortfall: $207 billion (plus a $10 billion buffer)

Key revenue assumptions that still leave OpenAI in the red:

• Total users reach 3 billion by 2030 (44% of global adults outside China), up from ~800 million today
• Paid-subscriber conversion rises from ~5% today to 10% by 2030
• Consumer AI market generates $129 billion annually by 2030 ($87 billion from search, $24 billion from advertising)
• Enterprise AI market hits $386 billion; OpenAI’s share slips from ~50% today to 37%
• Resulting 2030 revenue run-rate: roughly $174 billion (in line with CEO Sam Altman’s public hints of $100 billion by 2027 and continued hypergrowth)

HSBC also estimates cloud compute contracts that total up to $1.8 trillion in lifetime value, and notes that out of the 36 gigawtts of power they'll need, just one-third will be online by 2030. OpenAI's annual rental bill will approach $620 billion once capacity is fully online later in the decade. Biggest Challenges To Com According to the report, there are several pressure points that could worsen this outlook, possibly forcing drastic action... Investor Fatigue: "If revenue growth doesn’t exceed expectations and prospective investors turn cautious, OpenAI would need to make some hard decisions." -FT Debt-market jitters: Oracle’s recent bond volatility after its OpenAI deal shows how quickly sentiment can sour. Souring intensifies? Contract lock-in: With most cloud deals running for 4-5 years and containing stiff penalties for early exits, OpenAI has little wiggle room. Competition: "OpenAI’s consumer market share slips to 56 per cent by 2030, from around 71 per cent this year. Anthropic and xAI are both given market shares in the single digits, a mystery “others” is assigned 22 per cent, and Google is excluded entirely." -FT No AGI in the model: HSBC explicitly excludes any revenue or efficiency windfall from artificial general intelligence - an omission that could prove either prudent or massively conservative.

AI-Spending War and AI-Debt Pile-Up Could Squeeze Share Buybacks by Wolf Richter - One of the big drivers of the surge of stock prices over the past many years has been the prodigious amount of corporate cash spent on share buybacks by Big Tech and other companies. Some of the share buybacks were funded from cash flow, some with borrowed money. Share buybacks are not like stock trading; they represent new money entering the stock market to remove shares from the stock market. Their purpose is to drive up the price of the remaining shares. For example, from Q3 2020 through Q3 2025, six companies – Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Oracle, Meta, and Nvidia – spent $1.1 trillion on share buybacks (data via YCharts). These are amounts actually spent on share buybacks, not the announcements of future share buyback plans. I’m leaving out Amazon for a reason: It already stopped share buybacks in 2022 to spend that cash on capital expenditures, such as AI infrastructure. And others may have to follow. More in a moment. Apple topped the list with $437 billion in share buybacks over those five years, followed by Alphabet ($281 billion), Meta ($151 billion), Microsoft ($107 billion), and Nvidia ($87 billion). But Nvidia’s buyback program was ramped up in 2024; and over the past four quarters, Nvidia spent $43 billion on share buybacks. Some of these share buybacks were funded with borrowed money by issuing bonds. And it shows on their balance sheets: Apple now has $112 billion in short-term and long-term debt, Microsoft $120 billion, Meta $50 billion, Alphabet $30 billion. These companies are now engaged in an AI-spending war, on the premise that whoever spends the most wins? The amounts of spending on capital expenditures, such as for data centers, are mindboggling. In the third quarter alone, just four companies – Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta – spent $114 billion; and they’re on track to exceed $400 billion in capital expenditures this year. And they all said they’d accelerate their spending further in 2026. And they’re not the only ones doing it. Where does all this money come from?Some of it comes from operating cash flow, some of it from short-term investments that they accumulated over the years, and a lot of it comes from massive amounts of new debt issuance. Over the past three months, five companies alone – Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle – have issued $88 billion in new investment-grade bonds, according to Dealogic: $18 billion in September, $30 billion in October, $40 billion in November. The investment-grade bond market may have to absorb $1.5 trillion in AI data center bonds over the next five years, according to J.P. Morgan analysts, cited by Reuters. Meta has come up with a way to keep a recent $27 billion AI bond sale off its own balance sheet in order to avoid having its ‘AA-‘ credit rating dented. This deal involves Meta and Blue Owl Capital. The issuing entity was a joint venture between Meta and Blue Owl Capital, which sold most of the bonds to Pimco. Meta is going to lease the computing power, but in four-year terms, to be renewed every four years, to avoid “finance lease” accounting, which would have put the liability on Meta’s balance sheet. Ratings agencies are getting nervous about this type of off-balance-sheet debt. Fitch said today in a report on the circular hocus-pocus deals, as I’ve come to call them: “Opacity is a rising risk factor, with limited public disclosures from AI model developers and increased use of off-balance-sheet debt from some public issuers [such as Meta]. Uneven disclosure on customers and contract terms obscures the extent of counterparty exposure.” But these are precisely the companies that have spent tens of billions of dollars every year to buy back their own shares – some of it with borrowed money. Amazon has already spoken on this. Despite the super-hyped announcement in March 2022 that its board had authorized the company to buy back $10 billion in shares, the last share buybacks occurred in Q2 2022, and most of the authorization remains unused. Amazon has said that it has better things to do with the cash than blow it on share buybacks – it didn’t quite phrase it that way, it couched it in delicate corporate speak, but you get the idea.

NOAA chief plugs AI in forecasting as hurricane season wraps - NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said artificial intelligence technologies used for the first time this year helped the National Weather Service provide timely and precise hurricane forecasts. In a Tuesday news release, Jacobs said the use of AI should improve forecast reliability and reduce deaths, injuries and property damage for the nation’s coastal residents. AI can be applied to various forecasting tools, but its primary use to date has been enhancing storm prediction models through data mining and machine learning. In some cases, AI can incorporate billions of data points into storm models, providing a clearer road map for hurricane behavior. Jacobs said the National Hurricane Center “performed exceedingly well when it came to forecasting rapid intensification for some of the more impactful storms and provided critical decision support for our Caribbean partners.”

AI Forecaster Predicts “Multiple Significant Cold Snaps” This Winter - Marcellus Drilling News - Planette, a long-range weather prediction platform that combines cutting-edge AI with decades of Earth system science, says it can predict long-range weather more accurately than others. Planette’s Winter 2025-26 forecast anticipates a highly volatile season driven by a North Pacific dual ocean temperature “blob” and a weakened polar vortex, deeming the current La Niña too weak to be significant. The outlook predicts above-average temperatures interrupted by multiple, predictable, and “significant” cold snaps, with the AI-driven platform offering 30- to 40-day lead times to warn people of their approach. If you’ve been paying attention to MDN’s posts this week, you know how significant weather is in determining the price of natural gas.

Solomon Ray: AI Christian ‘singer’ tops the charts, stirs ethical debate - Solomon Ray became the top artist on the iTunes Top 100 Christian and gospel albums chart last week. But there’s something that may bother you about the Christian artist: He is not human. According to Christianity Today, Ray was entirely created by artificial intelligence. That includes his voice, performance style, lyrics and persona.His most recent album is called “A Soulful Christmas,” and it features tracks with titles like “Soul to the World” and “Jingle Bell Soul.”Solomon Ray is not unique. AI-generated music is a new frontier in the entertainment world, and artists, industry insiders, and consumers are trying to adapt.Earlier this month, Xania Monet became the first AI-powered virtual artist to debut on a Billboard airplay chart. That sparked debate about the role of technology in the music industry. Some platforms are taking actions. In September, Spotify announced protections against the impersonation of artists and deceptive content. The company acknowledged both the positive and negative sides of AI in music. “At its best, AI is unlocking incredible new ways for artists to create music and for listeners to discover it,” Spotify said. “At its worst, AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners, push ‘slop’ into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers. Christian singer Forrest Frank addressed the ethical pitfalls of AI in a social media post where he warned consumers.“At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it,” Frank said. “So I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.”

Online shopping scams are on the rise, with scammers using AI to dupe holiday shoppers - From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, we are now in the thick of the holiday shopping season. But as you hunt for deals, scammers are trying to strike. Experts warn that shoppers should be careful of emails they may get touting super deep discounts, like around 80% to 90% off. Those emails may look like they're from a legit retailer, but they could be a scam containing links to duped websites. There's been a whopping 250% spike in the creation of fake shopping sites, according to data from NordVPN. Now, the scammers are also using artificial intelligence (AI) to make the duped shopping websites look very legit. Experts say you always check the URL, and make sure it contains the padlock symbol and starts with "https." Also, shoppers should be aware of another scam where criminals send a package right to your own mailbox. It's usually a very small gift, and it's unsolicited. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service calls it the "brushing scam." The gift is often an imitation diamond, and it comes with a letter saying it's free, and all you just need to do is register it through a QR code. "Do not click on that QR code. Do not scan it. Do not provide any personal information," U.S. Postal Inspector Marjan Barrigan-Husted told ABC7 On Your Side Investigates. He said the personal information can be used to drain your accounts. If you do happen to get a ring or any other small item from this type of scam in the mail, the gift is yours. "You can keep the item if you want," added Barrigan-Husted The main takeaway is -- as you do your online shopping, just be very wary of any suspicious links or QR codes. A great rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

AI-driven scams growing in sophistication, experts warn — Artificial intelligence (AI) has improved so much that many people now have a hard time telling the difference between it and reality, making AI a powerful tool for criminals. Danny Jenkins is the CEO and founder of ThreatLocker. He recently shared a video of himself speaking Spanish. The problem? Jenkins doesn’t speak Spanish. “Most people just didn’t know AI could do that,” Jenkins said. “And that means most victims don’t know that what they’re looking at might not be real.” Jenkins said AI videos like this are getting harder to detect – and the threat goes beyond just fake footage. “The win for the attackers is much bigger. It’s normally because they’re going after businesses, because if they get access to one computer in a business, they can get access to 100 computers, 1,000 computers,” he explained. “So, I would say be super careful about what you download, because even if you don’t give somebody something over the phone, if they manage to convince you to run malware on your computer, then they can pretty much get everything that you can access from your machine.” Jenkins isn’t alone in his concern. Jon Clay, vice president of threat intelligence at Trend Micro, said AI scams are evolving faster than most people realize. Clay is worried that it is going to continue to get harder to detect fakes and shared advice to help people assess the material. “You want to look at the intent of the message,” he emphasized. “Is it intended to get you to do something quickly? Is it intending to get you to put in your or personal information somewhere, or spend money, spend, you know, pay something. Sometimes they may say ‘Hey, pay us in a gift card or pay us in a crypto or something. Those are a little non-standard.” For more information, Trend Micro has a portal on ‘How to Identify and Avoid Scams.’

In the age of AI, it's easy to make deepfake porn. But victims find it hard to undo the damage | CBC News - “The shock was something I didn’t expect.” That’s how L., a 21-year-old law student at the University of Hong Kong, remembers feeling the moment she discovered another student had created pornographic images of her without consent using artificial intelligence.Initially, she blamed herself, wondering if she had done something he had misunderstood. “I was super shocked and quite afraid at that time, and I stopped using social media for a while, because I had no idea who would have access to my photos,” L. told CBC. More than 700 photos, which included AI-generated pornographic images, were discovered by the male student’s former partner when she borrowed his laptop in February, according to three of the alleged victims, L., B. and H. All three spoke to CBC under the condition of anonymity, because they didn't want to be recognized by their classmates. The laptop contained around 20 folders of women, which included screenshots from their social media taken without their consent and explicit photos depicting them naked or doing sexual acts, created using AI tools, L., B. and H. said. The three HKU law students decided to go public about the incident in July. They set up an Instagram account to publish a letter detailing what had happened. They said that after being questioned by his ex-partner, the male student admitted using photos of the other students, screenshotted from social media, to create AI-generated pornographic images with their faces.H. said the University of Hong Kong initially asked him to write an apology letter, which he did, and sent him a warning letter to be kept in his personal file for internal reference. H. didn't think this went far enough in holding him accountable.B. told CBC she still had to see him in class at least four times after they contacted the university. The university later said it was reviewing the incident and vowed to take further action. But months later, the three HUK students continue to live with a lack of closure. B. told CBC their complaint to Hong Kong's Equal Opportunities Commission has been closed, because the action didn't amount to sexual harassment under the ordinance, and there was insufficient information to continue the investigation. In a statement to CBC, the Equal Opportunities Commission said it was “committed to handling enquiries and complaints under the anti-discrimination ordinances in an impartial, fair, just and objective manner.”The three women told CBC they haven't filed a police report, because Hong Kong doesn't have a law criminalizing the creation of AI-generated pornography.The case points to a worldwide problem when it comes to policing and regulating AI porn made without consent. “Once [someone has] possession of these images, you won't know how they would be used. They could be used personally, or they could be spread underground or publicly," said H. "You cannot control [it]."B. said there was also a chance the perpetrator’s computer could be hacked, so whether or not the male student wanted to publish the photos, there was still a risk the images could become widely available.

A collective concern: parent and carer views on the online blackmail of children and young people - No one can deny that the internet, especially social media, can pose significant dangers. Now, a new survey has found that about one in five parents and carers know—and have supported—a child who has experienced online blackmail.The survey, from the U.K.’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), also showed that one in ten of these individuals’ own children have experienced blackmail online. According to the NSPCC, bad actors often start communicating with young people on public platforms before actively moving the conversation to end-to-end encrypted messaging services—making it more challenging for them to be tracked.Only 43% of parents and carers found tech companies or platforms effective in preventing online blackmail, and just 37% thought the same of the government. “These findings show the scale of online blackmail that is taking place across the country, yet tech companies continue to fall short in their duty to protect children,” NSPCC policy manager Randi Govender said in response to the report. Some participants blamed online platforms for failing to care about children’s welfare. As one said, “They have no interest whatsoever. As long as they get their money from marketing, that’s good enough for them.” Another individual pointed to AI’s role: “I personally don’t feel like they do enough to remove the damaging content fast enough and rely too heavily on AI rather than humans.”The NSPCC also pointed to the role of AI in online blackmail, with bad actors sometimes using generative AI to create compromising deepfakes of children using regular photos of them on social media. While the survey was of 2,558 U.K. parents and carers, online blackmailing of children is also running rampant in the U.S. In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported29.2 million separate child sexual exploitation incidents sent to its CyberTipline. The FBI also reports an increase in financial sextortion cases, in which a blackmailer—often posting as a young person—convinces a child to send sexually explicit images and then demands the child send compensation or they will release the images. Oftentimes, they publish it whether they’ve received a payment or not. Instances of online blackmail can lead to young people attempting suicide. The NSPCC survey highlights a shortfall in discussions between parents and children about online blackmail. About two in five parents and carers said they’ve rarely or never talked about the subject with their children. They want and need more resources about online blackmailing, but also point to schools as another place children should learn about its dangers.

It Should Be Illegal To Use AI To Deceive People -- Caitlin Johnstone - It should be against the law to use generative AI to deceive the public. I’ve got absolutely no problem with outright government censorship in this case, and I say this as an aggressive and outspoken proponent of free speech. AI products which deceive people should be illegal in the same way fraud is illegal. I want it to be illegal to knowingly circulate AI video footage and pass it off as real. I want AI companies to be severely penalized if they don’t prevent people from using their products to generate fake videos that get passed off as real. I want generative AI companies to be forced to place highly visible warnings across all AI-generated videos with wording that explicitly says they are AI-generated — not just a little watermark in the corner that can be cropped out. I want AI companies to be harshly penalized if their chatbots encourage users to engage in harmful behavior, or if they tell users they are conscious, or if they psychologically manipulate users into forming emotional attachments to them. I want it to be illegal for companies to use bots which tell people they are talking to a real human being. I want it to be illegal for politicians to use AI deepfakes of their opponents saying outrageous things in their political campaigns, as we’ve been seeing more and more often lately. Your right to extend your fist ends at my nose. These products threaten to erode the fabric of our society. They are attacking people’s ability to understand reality and sort out fact from fiction. They are driving people insane. If fraud is illegal, than these abuses should be illegal. Fraud isn’t considered protected speech, because it hurts people and is detrimental to a functioning society. Generative AI deception shouldn’t be protected for precisely those same reasons. Tech plutocrats should not be allowed to profit from sowing deception, confusion, and mental illness. The collective has the right to protect itself from harm from destructive individuals. The state is a gentler tool for this than guillotines. Governments should intervene to end these assaults on our ability to perceive and understand our world. I really don’t care how much force needs to be used to rein this shit in. If people can’t perceive and understand reality clearly, then everything goes to hell. Nobody knows what to think, how to act, how to vote or how to live if they can’t determine what’s true or false. Bring these new technologies to heel by any means necessary. It’s about basic self-defense at this point. And I don’t expect any of this to happen any time soon; the rich and powerful are way too excited about generative AI and what it can do for them, and they tend to get what they want. Trump is already drawing significant backlash over reported plans for an executive order which would ban states from regulating AI companies on their own. So it looks like we’re getting these abusive technologies shoved down our throat in whatever way benefits the zillionaires and Zionists of the imperial power structure, whether we like it or not.

CME halts FX, commodities, futures trading after data center issue --Trading gradually resumed after coming to a standstill on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday, as a cooling issue at one of its data centers impacted traders across the globe.Stock futures and options trading reopened fully at 8:30 a.m. ET, with other services gradually being restored. Bonds and metals resumed trading after a pause, according to FactSet data, while individual stocks were still trading the premarket."All CME Group markets are open and trading," a CME Group spokesperson said in an emailed statement.Earlier, representatives for CME Group had told CNBC markets were halted due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, adding that it may take some time for moves in the impacted contracts to be seen once the outage is resolved.Globex futures and options markets, foreign exchange platform EBS markets and BMD markets were all impacted. EBS markets reopened at 7 a.m. ET, around 90 minutes after its subsidiary BrokerTec EU markets resumed trading.The CME — the largest exchange operator in the world by market value — trades futures and options across various asset classes, including agricultural commodities, energy, metals and equities.Earlier, a spokesperson for Dallas, Texas-headquartered CyrusOne told CNBC the company was actively responding to a cooling system issue at its CHI1 data center facility in the Chicago area, which had impacted customers including CME Group."On November 27, our CHI1 facility experienced a chiller plant failure affecting multiple cooling units," they said in an email. "Our engineering teams, along with specialized mechanical contractors, are on-site working to restore full cooling capacity. We have successfully restarted several chillers at limited capacity and have deployed temporary cooling equipment to supplement our permanent systems."CyrusOne's representative said the firm was in direct contact with all affected customers, and its teams were "working around the clock to restore normal operations as quickly and safely as possible.""We apologize for any disruption this has caused and appreciate the patience of our customers as we work toward full resolution," they added.Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, told CNBC it was fortunate the outage had come on one of the slowest trading days of the year in the U.S., just after Thanksgiving."It appears as though they are gradually starting to restore some operations," he said. "All told this could have been much worse."Emir Syazwan, a futures trader at Ninefold Trading Co. based in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, told CNBC on Friday that he had been on the phone to his broker "throughout the afternoon" local time as the CME outage dragged on.Given the timing of the outage — at the end of the week, just after a major U.S. holiday and in the early hours of the morning for American traders — Syazwan said those trading in the Asian or European session would be more directly impacted.Whether it will create "lasting distortions" in markets depends on how fast the issue can be resolved, he added.

Binance sued by Hamas victims after Trump pardons crypto founder CZ --Dozens of families of the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel by Hamas sued Binance, alleging the top cryptocurrencytrading platform knowingly helped transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in support of terrorist activities.The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in North Dakota came one month after President Donald Trump pardonedBinance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to failing to combat money laundering on the crypto exchange.Defendants Zhao, known as CZ, and close associate Guangying "Heina" Chen intentionally designed Binance "as a criminal enterprise to facilitate money laundering on a global scale," the lawsuit alleges."Years before October 7, Binance knew that Hamas, the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran], Hezbollah, [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] and other terrorist organizations were all transacting regularly on its platform and nevertheless actively assisted their use of the platform," the plaintiffs allege."It did so at a time when Hamas, in particular, was publicly directing its donors to send funds to so-called 'crypto wallets' held with Binance," they allege.The plaintiffs, who are U.S. nationals and their close family members, seek compensatory damages to be determined at trial. They are seeking "treble damages" under a law allowing victims of international terrorism to recover three times the damages they sustained.Binance was legally required to flag the U.S. government by filing "Suspicious Activity Reports," or SARs, on the terror groups' activities. But instead, the company attempted to manipulate how the transactions were reported "to avoid attracting scrutiny," the lawsuit alleges."Binance not only knowingly provided financial services to Hamas; it actively tried to shield its Hamas customers and their funds from scrutiny by U.S. regulators or law enforcement—a practice that continues to this day," according to the lawsuit.The legal complaint says that since the Oct. 7 attacks, Binance "knowingly facilitated the equivalent of more than $50 million U.S. dollars in transactions ... for Hamas, the IRGC, Hezbollah, and PIJ on public blockchains."Binance declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said in a statement that it fully complies with international sanctions laws and has "executed a wide-ranging transformation" of its sanctions framework in recent years.

Trump’s family’s $7bn crypto empire cracks as self-dealing and corruption allegations mount - When US President Donald Trump entered office in January, his political opponents were quick to allege his crypto dealings raised conflict of interest concerns. Now, those accusations are mounting. On Tuesday, House Democrats published a new report that they say presents extensive evidence of presidential self-dealing, foreign influence, and obstruction of justice stemming from his crypto conduct. “Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation, minting staggering personal fortunes for him and his family in less than a year,” Jamie Raskin, a Democratic Representative for Maryland, said in the report. At the same time, the value of the Trump family’s enterprises, many of which are implicated in the alleged crypto corruption, are plummeting. Shares of American Bitcoin Corp, the Bitcoin mining firm spun up by Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr, are down over 40% since the start of October, despite the firm’s revenue growing over the previous three months, per its third quarter financial results. Trump Media and Technology Group, which holds $2 billion worth of Bitcoin on its books, has seen its shares drop 33% in the same period. Elsewhere, the token tied to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s DeFi project, has slid 50% from its all-time highs, while Trump and his wife Melania’s memecoins have collapsed more than 91% and 99% respectively. President Trump's memecoin has collapsed 91% from its all-time high. Despite the rout, Trump’s net worth, which his crypto ventures contribute significantly to, sits at $6.7 billion, according to Bloomberg News’ Billionaires Index. The corruption accusations put increased pressure on the president and his family. The White House has repeatedly stated that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and that there are no conflicts of interest. But critics argue that Trump is the sole beneficiary of that trust, and that he still benefits from any deals or income generated by his family’s businesses during his time in office. Also mentioned in the report are the recent allegations of a quid pro quo deal between Trump and Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance. On November 17, a 60 Minutes investigation tied a $2 billion investment deal between Binance and Abu Dhabi’s MGX to Zhao’s recent presidential pardon. Critics say the deal, which was conducted with USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, was done as a favour in exchange for the pardon. Binance CEO Richard Teng, and Zhao’s lawyer Teresa Goody Guillen, have both dismissed claims that the exchange helped boost USD1 before Zhao received the pardon. It’s not the only accusation to implicate World Liberty Financial, either. The House Democrats’ report also alleges dozens of foreign nationals and the firms, many with governmental ties, invested in the project’s WLFI token sale conducted between October and March, which raised $550 million. They include Aqua 1, a UAE-based fund allegedly run by David Jia Hua Li, a 30-year-old Chinese-Brazilian finance professional who also works for the China National Petroleum Corporation, a Chinese state-owned energy enterprise. Another prominent investor in WLFI was DWF Labs, a crypto market maker and investment firm run by Andrei Grachev, who has a criminal history and “extensive ties to the Russian government,” per the report. Grachev did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There’s also Justin Sun, a Chinese-born businessman and founder of the $26 billion Tron blockchain. Sun bought $75 million worth of WLFI tokens between November 2024 and January this year. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused its ongoing case against the crypto billionaire.

Interpol Reports Over 60 Countries Hit by Human Trafficking-Fueled Crypto Scams - International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has formally designated crypto-enabled fraud as a global criminal threat, following the adoption of a new resolution at its General Assembly, which aims to tackle the rapid expansion of transnational scam centres implicated in large-scale fraud, human trafficking, and severe abuse.According to the organization, these criminal hubs often lure victims with promises of high-paying overseas jobs before coercing them into compounds where they are forced to carry out schemes ranging from voice phishing and romance scams to investment fraud and cryptocurrency fraud targeting individuals worldwide. While not everyone working in these centres is trafficked, Interpol noted that those held against their will frequently face brutal conditions, including physical violence, torture, sexual exploitation, and rape. The resolution comes amidst growing use of advanced technologies by criminal networks to deceive victims and conceal their operations. As part of a coordinated plan for joint action, Interpol has outlined several measures to strengthen international law enforcement efforts, including real-time intelligence sharing to identify perpetrators and pinpoint locations, multinational joint operations supported by Interpol, targeted action against criminal financing and illicit assets linked to scam networks, and standardized emergency protocols to rescue and repatriate victims alongside expanded support services.Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said,“To effectively counter these criminal networks, we must strengthen collaboration, improve information sharing, and move forward with coordinated, decisive action. INTERPOL is committed to supporting the resolution’s implementation and working with member countries to break these operations apart and protect the people who are most at risk.” The resolution also calls for global awareness campaigns directed at vulnerable groups, particularly youth and job seekers. Interpol said the threat has grown sharply, while pointing to its June crime trend update that reveals victims from more than 60 countries have been trafficked into scam centres operating well beyond Southeast Asia. Criminal activities have been found to be increasingly overlapping with drug, firearms, and wildlife trafficking. In 2024, Interpol led its largest-ever global operation against trafficking-driven fraud across 116 countries and territories, which resulted in more than 2,500 arrests, alongside additional regional operations in Africa and Europe. The organization first drew attention to the rise of scam centres in 2022 with a Purple Notice warning of social media recruitment tactics, followed by a 2023 Orange Notice which identified trafficking-fuelled fraud as a serious and imminent threat to public safety.

Pig butchering scam explained by cybersecurity expert– A new scam is born every day, but cybersecurity experts are fighting back by arming bankers and those at risk with information about a fraud run by multinational cybercriminals called pig butchering. The prevalence of pig butchering led to the creation of Operation Shamrock. This nonprofit provides education and training to disrupt these multinational, billion-dollar scams that target the elderly, burgeoning entrepreneurs, and newly minted millionaires, particularly those with large crypto coffers. Cybersecurity expert Micki Boland said she learned about Operation Shamrock’s work at a professional conference where they explained the reach and scope of pig butchering. The bad guys range in scope and capability from really experienced cyber criminals to low-level scammers and vast international fraud networks, complete with a labor force that is often subject to trafficking and threats of violence if they refuse to partake in the scam. “They’re being exploited, but they’re like, they will get beaten if they don’t get their quota. It’s terrible. It’s something everyone should know about,” Boland said. Boland explained that these vast networks engage in a type of attack known as “pig butchering.” She said groups based primarily in Malaysia or the Philippines have become experts at this form of cyberattack. “There are groups, I mean, literally tens of thousands of people behind keyboards in our mobile devices, basically just trying to exploit the targets that have already been social engineered,” Boland said. “They try to get them to give them money directly or send them money electronically. Transfer of bonds, or go out and buy gift cards and then give them the numbers for the gift cards.” Sometimes they will try to schedule in-person meetings to extract money from the person, typically cryptocurrency. These scams particularly target the elderly, new entrepreneurs, or “million dollar babies,” specifically those who did well investing in crypto, who are looking to grow it and live their passive income dreams. If you have withdrawn a large amount of money and were questioned by your banker, they were likely trying to determine if you were a victim of a scam in progress. Boland said anyone who knows about these scams should be sharing info with everyone they know. She suggests that schools, churches, and other community groups locate resources to become better educated about the pervasive and diverse types of scams that bilk people of their hard-earned money daily.

South Korean Crypto Exchange Upbit Hacked Again - Reports $30 Million Loss in Solana Tokens -Leading South Korean crypto exchange, Upbit, announced on Thursday that it has suffered a hack to the value of 44.5 billion Korean Won (approximately $30 million USD).On its website, Upbit posted a notice in Korean giving clearer information about an “abnormal withdrawal situation”, in other words a hack, that occurred on November 27 at 04:42 Korean local time.Upbit confirmed that most of the coins stolen were Solana-based, including BONK, JUP, PENGU, PYTH and Solana. Some other coins included TRUMP and USDC. Upbit has also frozen deposits and withdrawals to ensure no further funds are stolen while it investigates the full extent of the loss. Trading continues as normal, it is deposits and withdrawals that are suspended.

Bitcoin 34% below Peak, 12.5% below January 1st - Even as VIX declines. graph by Menzie Chinn

U.S. Bank is testing stablecoin issuance on Stellar network -- The bank is a step closer to having its own U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrency. It could become the first major financial institution to issue a stablecoin.

• Key insight: U.S. Bank's stablecoin pilot is part of a broader trend in which banks are moving toward tokenized settlement.
• Supporting data: Stellar supports about 1,000 transactions per second and native asset-freeze and trust-line controls.
• Forward Look: Prepare for regulatory rulings that will determine banks' stablecoin deployment timelines.

Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Citi is laying plans for crypto supremacy -- Citi is moving forward quickly with the tokenized deposit services it rolled out in late 2024 and a crypto custody service that's due to launch early next year. The New York bank already offers tokenized deposits, which allows global clients to move money around the world instantly, and it's building a crypto custody platform.

• Key insight: Citi is one of a handful of banks that are seeking first-mover advantage in crypto custody, tokenized deposits and related services.
• Supporting data: BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF crossed 800,000 bitcoin under management, worth almost $100 billion, after starting to trade in January 2024.
• Forward look: Citi is building a crypto custody platform for clients that want to invest in digital assets.

Klarna debuts stablecoin and gift card – Following its U.S. IPO, Klarna has accelerated its pitch to consumers and investors by tapping into the buzz around stablecoins and the holiday shopping season.

• Key insights: Klarna has issued a stablecoin and extended its gift card scale.
• What's at stake: The Swedish financial institution is looking to build a market in the U.S. following its IPO.
• Forward look: Hundreds of banks and non-banks are either issuing a stablecoin or considering a coin.

The Swedish financial technology firm issued its first stablecoin and signed a gift card distribution deal with BlackRock. Also, EMVCo is examining AI's impact on processing and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

Market Intelligence Regulatory proposals would loosen the ties between credit and payments- There's an old joke about the bank robber who, when asked why he robbed banks, answered: "Because that's where the money is." Noelle Acheson looks at recent proposals to allow payment institutions access to central bank liquidity, and what this could mean for both banking and economic resilience.

OCC simplifies AML rules, explores 'anticompetitive' cores - The OCC on Monday released new Bank Secrecy Act guidance that simplifies anti-money laundering examination procedures for community banks, a significant tailoring effort they say is aimed at reducing the burden for smaller institutions.

• Key insight: The OCC is moving to ease money-laundering compliance burdens for community banks.
• Supporting data: New "Community Bank Procedures" take effect Feb. 1, 2026.
• Forward look: Regulators may weigh new tools to improve transparency and competition among core service providers.

New guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released Monday afternoon would streamline Bank Secrecy Act exams for community banks. The agency issued a separate request for information on consolidation and contracting power among core service providers.

Regulators finalize revised leverage rule for big banks - The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a final rule Tuesday that softens leverage demands for the biggest and most systemically risky banks and lowers the community bank leverage ratio to 8%.
Key Insight: The enhanced supplemental leverage ratio was adjusted to be half of a bank's Global Systemically Important Bank surcharge, cutting headline capital requirements while reaffirming risk-based capital rules as the primary binding constraint for banks.

GOP reps. push banking regulators to ease rules for midsize banks — House Financial Services Committee Republicans are pressing federal banking regulators to overhaul supervision rules for mid-sized banks, including large regionals, arguing that the current framework imposes Wall Street-level requirements on regional lenders that pose far less systemic risk.

• Key insight: GOP lawmakers want bank regulators to further tailor prudential rules.
• What's at stake: They say that the rules put some banks with less than $250 billion in assets under more strict oversight than what Congress intended.
• Forward look: Trump administration regulators are, in fact, likely to further tailor requirements.

GOP lawmakers say current thresholds subject regional lenders to overly stringent oversight designed for Wall Street giants

Bank profits rise on lower provisions, stronger margins — Banks' quarterly earnings went up in the third quarter as lower provision costs and higher net interest income pushed industry profitability to its highest level in 2025, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile report.

• Key insight: Quarterly bank profits rebounded to $79.3B, up 13.5% from Q2, as provision expenses fell sharply and net interest margins widened.
• Supporting data: Provision expenses dropped 30.7% after Q2 charges tied to the Capital One–Discover merger.
• Forward look: Lawmakers are weighing targeted deposit insurance reforms, including raising coverage for non-interest bearing business accounts to $10 million.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in its Quarterly Banking Profile report for the third quarter that bank earnings hit 2025 highs as falling provision costs, wider margins and steady credit quality lifted industry profitability.

Comptroller Gould talks supervision, national trust charters — Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould Monday defended the OCC's increasingly open approach to national trust banks for compliant fintechs. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in an exclusive interview with American Banker Monday that regulators must bring more new entrants into the banking industry, establish a level playing field between banks and fintechs, and shore up supervision amid mounting legal scrutiny.

• Key insight: Gould reiterated a view that fintechs and crypto firms seeking national trust charters is a positive sign for the banking industry because it will bring more of those nonbank competitors onto an equal regulatory footing.
• Supporting data: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency oversees dozens of trust banks already, but they've had a historically niche role. Today, some of the largest digital asset firms are among those seeking trust charters.
• Forward look: Gould is tasked with reviewing at least a dozen pending trust charter applications from companies such as Coinbase, Silicon Valley-back Erebor and Paxos.

BankThink: The US bank chartering system is hopelessly behind the times --The binary charter rules that separate banks and nonbanks are no longer fit for purpose in a financial services industry where many companies offer banklike services. A new set of diverse charters is needed, writes Saema Somalya, of Remitly. The U.S. financial system is at an inflection point. Technology is reshaping how people move, save and manage money. It is further allowing innovators to specialize in particular areas of financial services, effectively unbundling inefficient or monopolistic models. The binary charter rules that separate banks and nonbanks are no longer fit for purpose in a financial services industry where a broad array of companies offer banklike services. A new set of diverse charters is needed.

Subprime Mortgages Are on the Rise Again -- Subprime mortgages, in both originations and balances held by less creditworthy borrowers, are on the rise in 2025, reflecting to a lesser degree the conditions that have preceded past financial crises. A new report from the consumer credit bureau Equifax has found that, with few exceptions, 2025 has seen a significant increase in loan originations, balances as well as the share going to subprime borrowers across nearly all lending types. Debt levels have emerged as a significant concern in 2025, with total household debt held by Americans growing to a record $18.6 trillion in the third quarter of the year. The increase in subprime lending—for mortgages in particular—is likely to arouse further fears given the potential for an increase in delinquencies that could ripple through the financial system as in the 2008 financial crisis. And beyond the potential macroeconomic consequences, increased borrowing has been taken by some as symptomatic of rising financial strains faced by U.S. consumers, who are now grappling with a cooling labor market and growing pessimism about the state of the economy. According to Equifax’s report, which analyzed data through August of this year, lending activity has increased across first mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, consumer financing and student loans. Of the 3.22 million first mortgages originated in the year-to-date, around 208,400 were extended to consumers with what are considered subprime credit scores—below the VantageScore 3.0 threshold of 620. This represents a 10.7 percent increase compared to last year, while the associated balances, totaling $54.6 billion, have risen 20.8 percent. The 6.5 percent share of mortgages going to subprime borrowers is only slightly higher than 6.3 percent at the same point last year, but marks the highest level in Equifax’s records going back to 2014.

FHFA Announces Baseline Conforming Loan Limit Will Increase to $832,750 in 2026 - Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: FHFA Announces Baseline Conforming Loan Limit Will Increase to $832,750 in 2026 A brief excerpt: After the release of the FHFA house price index for September this morning, the FHFA released the conforming loan limits for 2026. From the FHFA: FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2025 U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will acquire in 2026. In most of the United States, the 2026 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $832,750, an increase of $26,250 from 2025. …. For areas in which 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit value, the applicable loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit. HERA establishes the high-cost area limit in those areas as a multiple of the area median home value, while setting the ceiling at 150 percent of the baseline limit. Median home values generally increased in high-cost areas in 2025, which increased their CLL values. The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties will be $1,249,125, which is 150 percent of $832,750 .. .Note that there are different loan limits for various geographical areas. There are also different loan limits depending on the number of units (from 1 to 4 units). For example, next year the CLL is $832,750 for one-unit properties in low-cost areas. The four-unit limit is $1,601,750. For high-cost areas like Los Angeles County, the CLL is $1,249,125 for one-unit properties (50% higher than the baseline CLL) and the four-unit limit is $2,402,625.

Why Are The Elites Moving Into High Security 'Fortress Communities' - The elite aren’t stupid. They can see that our society is coming apart at the seams all around us, and so they want to live some place safe. In fact, for many among the elite security has become the number one priority when choosing a new home. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us do not have the resources to move into high security communities guarded by teams of armed professionals. When things really start hitting the fan, most Americans are just going to have to deal with the chaos that is suddenly erupting all around them. But for the ultra-wealthy, one of the benefits of having so much money is being able to shut yourself off from the rest of the world. In Delray Beach, Florida a community known as Stone Creek Ranch has become extremely trendy among the elite for one particular reason. It has a heavily armed security unit that watches over it 24 hours a day… On paper, Stone Creek Ranch—a “prestigious” enclave made up of less than 40 luxury homes—is a world away from Miami, Manalapan, and Palm Beach: It offers no beaches, no celebrity-approved nightlife, and no glitzy designer shopping. Yet it offers one very particular luxury that is proving to be quite the draw among the one percent: total and absolute privacy that is safeguarded by a team of armed professionals who watch over the community 24/7—a majority of whom come from previous jobs in law enforcement or the military. Prospective residents’ entry into the community is policed just as carefully: Any homebuyers seeking to purchase one of just 37 private residences within Stone Creek are required to go through rigorous criminal background checks before they can even attempt to secure a home there. Considering how fast conditions in our society are deteriorating, it sounds like a wonderful place. But you will never get to live there unless you have tens of millions of dollars… Just last month, Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg made headlines when he dropped $37 million on a newly constructed megamansion inside the enclave — only to be followed weeks later by Rockstar energy drink founder Russ Weiner, who is in contract on two properties in the community, worth a total of $43 million.

Sellers are yanking their homes off the market at fastest pace in nearly a decade - Buyers finally have leverage in the housing market, but good luck getting homeowners to bite on a low offer. Nearly 85,000 sellers yanked their homes off the market in September — up 28 percent from a year earlier and the highest level for that month in eight years, according to a new Redfin analysis.Sellers are pulling listings amid weak demand, with many homes sitting unsold for months. In September, 70 percent of listings had been on the market for at least 60 days, and the typical delisted home had been on the market for 100 days, Redfin found.The surge in delistings is a major reason prices haven’t fallen, even with more homes for sale and still-weak demand, conditions that normally pull prices down.“Many homes have a sticker price higher than buyers are willing to pay, but many sellers are unwilling to negotiate,” Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin, said in the report.The reluctance to negotiate comes at a time when there are roughly half a million more sellers than buyers — a sharp turn from the COVID-19 pandemic market when owners called the shots and buyers were throwing elbows in bidding wars.The disconnect between expectations and reality appears to be widest among those who bought recently. Nearly half of September’s delistings (47 percent) came from owners who purchased within the last five years.

Every Housing Down Cycle is "unhappy in its own way" --Today, in the CalculatedRisk Real Estate Newsletter: Every Housing Down Cycle is "unhappy in its own way" Excerpt: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina. Maybe we could say that all housing booms look alike, but every down cycle is “unhappy in its own way.” In March 2022, I wrote Don't Compare the Current Housing Boom to the Bubble and Bust. Instead, I suggested a more similar period was the late ‘70s to early ‘80s. It is natural to compare the current housing boom to the mid-00s housing bubble. The bubble and subsequent bust are part of our collective memories. And graphs of nominal house prices and price-to-rent ratios look eerily similar to the housing bubble. However, there are significant differences. First, lending has been reasonably solid during the current boom, whereas in the mid-00s, underwriting standards were almost non-existent (“fog a mirror, get a loan”). And demographics are much more favorable today than in the mid-00s. A much more similar period to today is the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. House prices were increasing sharply.Demographics were very favorable for homebuying as the baby boomers moved into the first-time homebuying age group (similar to the millennials now). And inflation picked up from an already elevated level due to the second oil embargo in 1979, followed by the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, driving up costs. Sure enough, there hasn’t been a national crash in house prices. However, although there are similarities to the late ‘70s / early ‘80s period, there also significant differences. The most obvious difference is the sharp slowdown in population growth and immigration. The population and workforce were expanding sharply in the early ‘80s.

Housing November 24th Weekly Update: Inventory Only Down 4.7% Compared to Same Week in 2019 --Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 1.1% week-over-week. Inventory usually starts to decline in the fall and then declines sharply during the holiday season.The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.The red line is for 2025. The black line is for 2019. Inventory was up 15.5% compared to the same week in 2024 (last week it was up 16.3%), and down 4.7% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 5.3%). Inventory started 2025 down 22% compared to 2019. Inventory has closed most of that gap, but it appears inventory will still be below 2019 levels at the end of 2025.This second inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of November 21st, inventory was at 830 thousand (7-day average), compared to 840 thousand the prior week. Mike Simonsen discusses this data and much more regularly on YouTube.

Freddie Mac House Price Index Up 1.0% Year-over-Year in October - Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Freddie Mac House Price Index Up 1.0% Year-over-Year in September -A brief excerpt:Freddie Mac reported that its “National” Home Price Index (FMHPI) increased 0.13% month-over-month (MoM) on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in October.On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, the National FMHPI was up 1.0% in October, down from up 1.1% YoY in September. The YoY increase peaked at 19.2% in July 2021, and for this cycle, and previously bottomed at up 1.1% YoY in April 2023. The YoY change in October is a new cycle low. ...As of October, 26 states and D.C. were below their previous peaks, Seasonally Adjusted. The largest seasonally adjusted declines from the recent peaks are in D.C. (-3.2%), Florida (-3.0%) and Texas (-2.5%).For cities (Core-based Statistical Areas, CBSA), 200 of the 387 CBSAs are below their previous peaks.Here are the 30 cities with the largest declines from the peak, seasonally adjusted. Punta Gorda has passed Austin as the worst performing city. Note that 5 of the 7 cities with the largest price declines are in Florida.Florida has the largest number of CBSAs on the list and Texas has the 2nd most.

Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 1.3% year-over-year in September --S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for September ("September" is a 3-month average of July, August and September closing prices). This release includes prices for 20 individual cities, two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities) and the monthly National index. From S&P S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index Records Annual Gain in September 2025:
• The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 1.3% annual gain for September, down from a 1.4% rise in the previous month.
• Inflation outpaced home prices for a fourth straight month, with September’s CPI running 1.7 percentage points above housing appreciation—the widest gap since the measures began diverging in June.
• All 20 metros recorded month-over-month declines before seasonal adjustment in September, underscoring broad-based weakening as elevated mortgage rates weigh on affordability and demand.
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the September 2025 results for the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices. Please note that September 2025 transaction records for Wayne County, MI, are delayed at the local recording office. Since Wayne is the most populous county in the Detroit metro area, Cotality is not able to generate a valid September 2025 update of the Detroit S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index before the November 25, 2025, release date. ... “This marks a continued slide from August’s 1.4% increase and represents a stark contrast to the double-digit gains that characterized the early post-pandemic era. National home prices continued trailing inflation, with September’s CPI running 1.7 percentage points ahead of housing appreciation. This marks the widest gap between inflation and home-price growth since the two measures diverged in June, with the spread continuing to widen each month. “Regional performance reveals a tale of two markets. Chicago continues to lead with a 5.5% annual gain, followed by New York at 5.2% and Boston at 4.1%. These Northeastern and Midwestern metros have sustained momentum even as broader market conditions soften. At the opposite extreme, Tampa posted a 4.1% annual decline—the sharpest drop among tracked metros and its 11th consecutive month of negative annual returns. Phoenix (-2.0%), Dallas (-1.3%), and Miami (-1.3%) likewise remained in negative territory, highlighting particular weakness in Sun Belt markets that experienced the most dramatic pandemic-era price surges. ... The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 1.3% annual gain for September, down from a 1.4% rise in the previous month. The 10-City Composite showed an annual increase of 2.0%, down from a 2.1% increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 1.4%, down from a 1.6% increase in the previous month. The pre-seasonally adjusted U.S. National, 10-City Composite, and 20-City Composite Indices continued to report negative month-over-month changes in September, posting -0.3% for the U.S. National Index and -0.5% for both the 10-City and 20-City Composite Indices. After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National and 10-City Composite Indices reported a monthly increase of 0.2% and the 20-City Composite Indices posted a month-over-month gain of 0.1%. The first graph shows the nominal seasonally adjusted Composite 10, Composite 20 and National indices (the Composite 20 was started in January 2000). The Composite 10 index was up 0.2% in September (SA). The Composite 20 index was up 0.1% (SA) in September. The National index was up 0.2% (SA) in September. The second graph shows the year-over-year change in all three indices. The Composite 10 NSA was up 2.0% year-over-year. The Composite 20 NSA was up 1.4% year-over-year. The National index NSA was up 1.3% year-over-year. Annual price changes were below expectations.

Newsletter: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 1.3% year-over-year in September -- Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 1.3% year-over-year in September Excerpt: S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for September (”September” is a 3-month average of July, August and September closing prices). July closing prices include some contracts signed in May, so there is a significant lag to this data. Here is a graph of the month-over-month (MoM) change in the Case-Shiller National Index Seasonally Adjusted (SA). This is the 2nd consecutive month with a slight MoM increase seasonally adjusted.

NAR: Pending Home Sales Increased 1.9% in October; Down 0.4% YoY--From the NAR: NAR Pending Home Sales Report Shows 1.9% Increase in October: Pending home sales in October increased by 1.9% from the prior month and fell 0.4% year over year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Report. ...
Month-Over-Month: 1.9% increase in pending home sales
Gains in the Northeast, Midwest and South; decline in the West
Year Over Year 0.4% decrease in pending home sales
Gains in the Midwest and South; decline in the Northeast and West
Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in November and December.

Bankruptcy Filings Increase 10.6 Percent -From the U.S. Courts: Bankruptcy Filings Increase 10.6 Percent Personal and business bankruptcy filings increased 10.6 percent in the twelve-month period ending Sept. 30, 2025, compared with the previous year. According to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, annual bankruptcy filings totaled 557,376 in the year ending September 2025, compared with 504,112 cases in the previous year.Business filings rose 5.6 percent, from 22,762 to 24,039 in the year ending Sept. 30, 2025. Non-business bankruptcy filings increased 10.8 percent to 533,337, compared with 481,350 in the previous year.Still fairly low.

Retail Sales Increased 0.2% in September -On a monthly basis, retail sales increased 0.2% from August to September (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 4.3 percent from September 2024. From the Census Bureau report:Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $733.3 billion, up 0.2 percent from the previous month, and up 4.3 percent from September 2024. ... The July 2025 to August 2025 percent change was unrevised from up 0.6 percent. This graph shows retail sales since 1992. This is monthly retail sales and food service, seasonally adjusted (total and ex-gasoline). Retail sales ex-gasoline was unchanged in September. The second graph shows the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service (ex-gasoline) since 1993. Retail and Food service sales, ex-gasoline, increased by 4.4% on a YoY basis. The change in sales in September were below expectations, however, the previous two months were revised up slightly.

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 216,000 -- The DOL reported: In the week ending November 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 216,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 220,000 to 222,000. The 4-week moving average was 223,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 224,250 to 224,750.The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971. The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased to 223,750.

Public Schools Are Failing And Parents Are Bailing - Students attending American public schools are struggling. Test scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released this year, indicate that 33% of 8th graders—a greater percentage than ever before—are reading at the “below basic” level. Additionally, only 22% of high school seniors are proficient or above in math, down from 24% in 2019, and only 35% are proficient in reading—the lowest score since NAEP began in 1969—down from 37% in 2019. Also, a record-high percentage scored at “below basic” levels in both math and reading compared to all previous assessments.Parents across the country, especially in big cities, have become aware of the problem and are removing their children.In Chicago, public school enrollment has decreased significantly over the past 15 years, from nearly 403,000 students in 2010-11 to just over 316,000 in 2025-26, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Most recently, the district reported a decline of 9,081 students between 2024-25 and 2025-26. IPI states that more than one in three desks in the district are empty. For the 2025–26 school year, the New York City Department of Education discloses that 793,300 students are enrolled in K-12 grades. That’s a 2.3% decrease from the previous year and a nearly 10% drop since 2020. The data also show that 112 of the city’s public schools have fewer than 150 students, up from 80 schools just two years ago.Twenty years ago, the Los Angeles Unified School District had 737,000 students, but that number has now fallen to approximately 408,000, reflecting a decline of over 40%.Among students who haven’t withdrawn, many are chronically absent. Using data from 44 states and Washington, DC, Nat Malkus, the director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, writes that the alarming rate of chronic absenteeism—students missing more than 10% of school days annually—was 23.5% in 2024.This problem, too, is especially serious in our large urban areas. In Los Angeles, over 32% of students were chronically absent in the 2023-2024 school year, 34 elementary schools have fewer than 200 students, and 29 use less than half of the building. Even worse, Chicago’s chronic absentee rate is 41%. As government-run schools are shrinking, private schools are expanding substantially.Participation in private school choice—when students use public funds for private school tuition—has risen 25%, from just over one million students in 2024 to 1.3 million this year, according to a new analysis by EdChoice, a school choice advocacy group.This has been the largest year-to-year increase since EdChoice started tracking the data in 2000, said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice. He noted that it took about 24 years for private school choice participation to reach one million students, and this year it hit 1.3 million.Florida educates over 500,000 students through its universal voucher and scholarship programs. Utah’s Fits All Scholarship launched in 2024 with about 10,000 seats and was immediately oversubscribed. Iowa’s Students First Educational Savings Account program enrolled nearly 28,000 students in its second year, surpassing projections.Additionally, many parents have chosen to homeschool. In fact, homeschooling has reached an all-time high.Angela Watson of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Homeschool Hub wrote earlier this month, “In the 2024-2025 school year, homeschooling continued to grow across the United States, increasing at an average rate of 5.4%. This is nearly three times the pre-pandemic homeschooling growth rate of around 2%. Notably, 36% of reporting states recorded their highest homeschool enrollment numbers ever—exceeding even the peaks reached during the pandemic.”It’s not just parents who are dissatisfied with public schools; only 26% of teachers believe K-12 education is heading in the right direction nationwide, a 5-point drop from the spring, when 31% felt optimistic.

A collective concern: parent and carer views on the online blackmail of children and young people - No one can deny that the internet, especially social media, can pose significant dangers. Now, a new survey has found that about one in five parents and carers know—and have supported—a child who has experienced online blackmail.The survey, from the U.K.’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), also showed that one in ten of these individuals’ own children have experienced blackmail online. According to the NSPCC, bad actors often start communicating with young people on public platforms before actively moving the conversation to end-to-end encrypted messaging services—making it more challenging for them to be tracked.Only 43% of parents and carers found tech companies or platforms effective in preventing online blackmail, and just 37% thought the same of the government. “These findings show the scale of online blackmail that is taking place across the country, yet tech companies continue to fall short in their duty to protect children,” NSPCC policy manager Randi Govender said in response to the report. Some participants blamed online platforms for failing to care about children’s welfare. As one said, “They have no interest whatsoever. As long as they get their money from marketing, that’s good enough for them.” Another individual pointed to AI’s role: “I personally don’t feel like they do enough to remove the damaging content fast enough and rely too heavily on AI rather than humans.”The NSPCC also pointed to the role of AI in online blackmail, with bad actors sometimes using generative AI to create compromising deepfakes of children using regular photos of them on social media. While the survey was of 2,558 U.K. parents and carers, online blackmailing of children is also running rampant in the U.S. In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported29.2 million separate child sexual exploitation incidents sent to its CyberTipline. The FBI also reports an increase in financial sextortion cases, in which a blackmailer—often posting as a young person—convinces a child to send sexually explicit images and then demands the child send compensation or they will release the images. Oftentimes, they publish it whether they’ve received a payment or not. Instances of online blackmail can lead to young people attempting suicide. The NSPCC survey highlights a shortfall in discussions between parents and children about online blackmail. About two in five parents and carers said they’ve rarely or never talked about the subject with their children. They want and need more resources about online blackmailing, but also point to schools as another place children should learn about its dangers.

Virginia governors clash over UVA leadership crisis blamed on Trump DOJ - The fight over who will lead the University of Virginia (UVA) has now drawn in the Trump administration and both the current and future governors of the state. After former UVA President James Ryan released a 12-page letter earlier this month alleging some on the school’s board worked with the Trump Justice Department to force him to resign under threat of funding cuts and federal investigations, the Faculty Senate of the university called for its rector and vice rector to resign, and Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) said the hunt for Ryan’s replacement should wait until she takes office. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is balking at that request, while the Charlottesville school’s interim president says he is focused on the future and trying to rebuild trust with a shaken community. The search for a new president is also stymied by the lack of a full Board of Visitors, with five vacancies on the 17-member board because they “have failed to achieve confirmation by the General Assembly,” Spanberger said in her letter to the board. All of the current members were appointed by Youngkin, serving four-year terms. UVA faculty and outside experts say the distrust between leadership and the community has been long in the making, with the letter from Ryan just the breaking point for a university they say desperately needs to restore confidence in the public eye. Jeri K. Seidman, chair of the UVA Faculty Senate, told The Hill that faculty have been trying to get answers from the rector for months regarding changes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, Ryan’s resignation and other issues. But the board refused to talk until Ryan came out with his letter accusing some of its members of pushing for him to leave at the request of the Trump administration, she added.

Student loan changes could impact nursing, other programs not considered ‘professional’ -- Changes that are set to impact federal student loan borrowers as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” are causing concerns for some. Tucked within the megabill signed by President Trump earlier this year are forthcoming student loan changes. The Biden administration’s SAVE plan is being phased out for a proposed Repayment Assistance Plan, and a standard plan. The Graduate PLUS Program, which covered the full cost of attendance for those enrolled “in a program leading to a graduate or professional degree or certificate,” will also be phased out.Starting next July, graduate students will be able to borrow up to $20,500 annually for an aggregate limit of $100,000. For professional students, the limit will be $50,000 annually with an aggregate max of $200,000.It’s the definition of the latter group that is sparking pushback.Earlier this month, the Department of Education said its Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee had agreed to more than a dozen changes to the proposed regulatory language it will submit for the aforementioned changes. Among them is “the definition of a professional student,” which will apply to the changing loan amounts. The Education Department said it is the definition found in existing regulator text, which includes “but [is] not limited to” the following:

• Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
• Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
• Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.)
• Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
• Law (L.L.B. or J.D.)
• Medicine (M.D.)
• Optometry (O.D.)
• Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
• Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.)
• Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.)

Other programs may fall under that umbrella if they generally require more practice and a higher level of skill than a bachelor’s degree, at least six academic years of postsecondary education, and a professional licensure to begin practice, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators explained. The definition was also established before programs, like nursing, had advanced programs, Inc. reported. Those negotiating the rulemaking were confronted with the definition of a professional student, according to Education Department documents. Specifically, they were warned that the language in the text at the time risked “excluding students in rigorous, licensure-dependent programs not explicitly named, despite meeting the established criteria.” Instead, it was recommended that the language define the list of professional degrees as “illustrative and not exhaustive.” Under the Education Department’s definition, which also considers a program’s Classification of Instructional Programs code, the NASFAA said several health professions that require advanced education — including physician’s assistant, physical therapy, and nursing — would not qualify as professional degrees for Direct Loans. Without that classification, students may find themselves ineligible for the larger federal student loan assistance, despite their programs meeting the necessary definition. According to the American Nurses Association, this could make affording school for many prospective students difficult. “Nurses make up the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and the backbone of our nation’s health system,” Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, and president of the American Nurses Association, said in a press release while calling on the Education Department to ensure nursing students have “access to loan programs that make advanced nursing education possible.”“At a time when healthcare in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care,” she added. “In many communities across the country, particularly in rural and underserved areas, advanced practice registered nurses ensure access to essential, high-quality care that would otherwise be unavailable.”Audiologists, occupational therapists, and nurse practitioners could also be impacted, Inside Higher Ed reported. It isn’t just healthcare fields that could suffer. The American Institute of Architects said in a statement Friday that it “strongly opposes any proposal or policy that fails to recognize architects as professionals, particularly when designating which degrees qualify for student loan caps.” “The title of ‘architect’ is earned through years of rigorous education, extensive professional examinations, and a demanding licensing process. To classify otherwise dismisses the expertise, professional standards, and dedication that define the profession. Lowering the loan cap will reduce the number of architects who can afford to pursue this professional degree and harm American leadership in this field,” the statement continued.

Social Security payments won’t happen as usual this December: Here’s why – Some payments from the U.S. Social Security Administration will arrive a little bit differently this December.No one will miss a check, but beneficiaries should expect their payments in their mailboxes (or bank accounts) on a different day than normal.The Administration provides Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for adults and children with limited income, who are blind or have some other qualifying disability. SSI benefits are paid on the 1st of the month, but holidays and weekends can alter the normal payment schedule. While the Dec. 1 SSI payment will go out as expected, another check will go out Dec. 31.The second payment is actually January’s benefit, paid early because Jan. 1 is a holiday. Beneficiaries will receive a second payment – February’s – on Jan. 30, because Feb. 1 falls on a Sunday.As for traditional Social Security benefits, when you get paid depends on when you were born. Recipients born between the 1st and 10th of the month receive their payment on the second Wednesday of the month. Those born between the 11th and the 20th will be paid on the third Wednesday, with the final group, those born between the 21st and the 31st getting their checks on the fourth Wednesday.In January, the nearly 71 million Social Security recipients will see the annual cost-of-living adjustment kick in, raising payments by 2.8%, or $56 per month on average.For the roughly 7.5 million Supplemental Security recipients, that increase will begin Dec. 31.

CDC’s new deputy director is vocal critic of vaccines, advocated for ivermectin -Ralph Abraham, MD, the former Louisiana surgeon general, has been quietly named the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a controversial pick to help lead the nation’s top infectious disease organization as the second highest-ranking CDC official. Abraham is a longtime critic of COVID-19 vaccines, advocated for the use of ivermectin during the pandemic, and has stated the United States should stop birth doses of hepatitis B vaccines. As the state surgeon general, he told the health department to stop promoting mass vaccination campaigns and did not publicly respond to a pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak in Louisiana earlier this year for two months, even after two infants died. In the New York Times yesterday, Nirav Shah, MD, who had served as the CDC deputy director for two years before resigning earlier this year, said Abraham is unqualified.“A large part of the principal deputy’s portfolio is emergency response,” Shah told the newspaper.“Delayed notifying of the public of at least two pertussis deaths is not just unacceptable, it’s shameful.”

Estimate: US city-level COVID indoor vaccine mandates had uneven, marginal effects --An analysis published in Contemporary Economic Policy suggests that COVID-19 indoor vaccine mandates in major US cities didn't increase weekly vaccination rates or reduce infections and deaths in adults or children, despite their success in countries such as Canada and France. The authors, led by a Clemson University researcher, estimated the effect of mandates in nine major US cities on first-dose COVID-19 vaccine uptake, cases, and deaths. The included cities—New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC—issued indoor vaccine requirements in 2021 and 2022.“Governments implemented a wide range of policies during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage vaccination and reduce disease spread, including public information campaigns, monetary incentives, and various forms of vaccine mandates,” they wrote. “Among the most restrictive and controversial of these were indoor vaccine mandates, which required proof of vaccination to enter public indoor venues such as restaurants, bars, gyms, and theaters.”While vaccine mandates appeared to be effective in some cities, no consistent pattern of significant effects was identified. “Even when point estimates appear sizeable… the confidence intervals are wide and include both meaningful increases and decreases,” the authors wrote.Our findings don’t suggest that mandates can’t work—only that their effectiveness depends on timing, context, and how easily people can sidestep local restrictions.They said that city-level mandates—unlike those at country and state levels, which are difficult to avoid—may have had limited effects because unvaccinated people can skirt restrictions by traveling to nearby jurisdictions.“The contrast with international findings suggests localized mandates may be less effective in settings with high baseline coverage, mobility across jurisdictions, and vaccine hesitancy,” as in the United States, the researchers wrote.

COVID patients have higher rates of depression, anxiety, headache, and fatigue before diagnosis, study suggests -A large, case-control study from Sweden finds that people with long COVID have higher rates of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and headache both before and after diagnosis. Thefindings, published last week in BMC Medicine, draw on medical records from more than 53,000 adults and suggest a link between long COVID and preexisting conditions. Across the three time periods examined—in 2019, in the year leading up to diagnosis, and in the six months afterward—people diagnosed with long COVID consistently had higher rates of depression, anxiety, headache, and fatigue-related conditions than those in the control group, with a higher frequency of all studied diagnoses in the year before and six months after a long COVID diagnosis. Fatigue-related diagnoses and headache had the most significant association with long COVID. While the risks of fatigue syndrome after a COVID infection in women and for headache in men declined slightly in the six months after diagnosis compared with the year before, they remained above pre-pandemic levels. (Two-thirds of participants were women.) It’s estimated that around 10% to 30% of people with a previous COVID diagnosis are affected by long COVID, with some longitudinal studies reporting rates as high as 46%. The study authors emphasize that higher rates of depression, anxiety, headache, and fatigue before COVID infection don’t imply that they cause post-COVID symptoms. Instead, they propose that shared biological pathways such as chronic inflammation, neuroinflammation, autonomic dysfunction, and immune responses, may explain the association between pre- and post-diagnosis symptom burden. Psychosocial factors may also play a role. The study’s strengths include its large, population-based design and matching cases and controls by age, sex, and socioeconomics (to reduce confounding bias). Limitations include potential surveillance bias (patients with prior mental health diagnoses may seek care more often) and difficulty distinguishing new-onset symptoms from preexisting conditions. “Our results support the hypothesis that individuals who develop long COVID may represent a distinct clinical phenotype characterized by an increased burden of mental health-related symptoms, both before and after infection with SARS-CoV-2” the authors conclude.

Study maps 8 long-COVID symptom patterns in adults -A large, prospective US study has identified eight distinct long-COVID trajectories, highlighting the diverse manifestations of the condition and laying the groundwork for future studies to evaluate risk factors and biomarkers that could explain variations in symptoms and identify therapeutic targets.The study, led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed 3,659 participants (69% female) from the National Institutes of Health Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Adult Cohort. The National Institutes of Health established RECOVER to address COVID as a global health priority.Researchers tracked participants from 3 to 15 months after their first COVID infection. Almost all participants (99.6%) were infected with the Omicron variant. The enrollment period spanned October 29, 2021, to June 27, 2023. Overall, 10.3% of participants met the criteria for long COVID at three months, and 81% of them continued to report persistent or fluctuating symptoms more than a year later.The findings were published last week in Nature Communications.Eight symptom trajectories emerged. About 5% of the infected cohort had “persistent, high” symptom burden across the entire 15-month period, while 12% experienced “intermittently high” symptoms. Another 10% showed moderate symptoms that gradually improved, and 9% experienced low-level symptoms that largely resolved by month six. Notably, 14% followed worsening or delayed-worsening trajectories, including a group whose symptoms remained minimal until spiking at month 15.The study compared infected participants with an uninfected cohort over the same period. While persistent and improving symptoms were less common among uninfected adults, some worsening patterns appeared in both groups, raising the possibility that not all symptom increases reflect long COVID.In a Mass General Brigham (MGB) press release, corresponding author Bruce Levy, MD, of the MGB Department of Medicine, said, “Our findings will help determine what resources are needed for clinical and public health support of individuals with long COVID and will also inform efforts to understand long COVID’s biological basis.”

Long COVID takes $1 trillion global economic toll each year, analysis suggests -A brief communication published last week in NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine outlines the substantial economic burden of long COVID worldwide, estimating that persistent symptoms after COVID infection cost the global economy roughly $1 trillion each year, or roughly 1% of global gross domestic product. The analysis looked at data across numerous studies and reports, analyzing long COVID’s impact on national economies, healthcare systems, labor markets, and quality of life. Global prevalence estimates of long COVID vary widely. Conservative estimates suggest a range of 2% to 7%, while a systematic review of 144 studies published through 2024 suggests a prevalence of 36%, with higher rates reported in hospitalized patients, adults, and women. Even using more conservative estimates, the economic footprint of long COVID is "material and persistent," write the authors. One economic model suggests $3.7 trillion in annual losses associated with long COVID, with 59% attributed to decreases in quality of life and the remaining losses attributed to reduced earnings and increased medical expenses. In the United States alone, analyses suggest that long COVID may be responsible for $170 billion in annual lost wages, with some estimates ranging even higher. Patients with long COVID often require more medical care, which comes at considerable personal expense. In a large study of 282,080 adults in the United Kingdom, annual median healthcare expenditures were £705 ($924), "substantially higher than observed in pre-long COVID (£294 [$385]), COVID-19 only (£447 [$586]), pre-pandemic (£306 [$401]), and contemporary non–COVID-19 (£350 [$459]) cohorts." Many patients also incur out-of-pocket medical expenses for fully self-funded treatments and insurance copayments. Reduced work hours and prolonged unemployment can also add to families’ economic hardship. Women, lower-income workers, and people without health insurance are hit even harder. Intangible impacts such as reduced social participation, psychological distress, and diminished quality of life are harder to quantify but no less real. "These impacts represent a profound impact on societal well-being," write the authors. "Emerging evidence suggests that the economic implications of long COVID are profound and multifaceted, necessitating a comprehensive understanding to inform global policy and resource allocation," the authors conclude. Despite increased awareness, understanding the economic burden of long COVID will require more research, write the authors, citing a need for comprehensive longitudinal studies to track the economic impact on individuals and healthcare systems over time, more longer-term cohort studies (most existing studies are cross-sectional or short-to-medium term), and more granular analyses to better understand the burden associated with different long COVID phenotypes (observable characteristics) and symptom clusters.

Exclusive | Fauci involved in 'massive' COVID-19 origins cover-up, FDA chief Marty Makary tells 'Pod Force One' --Dr. Anthony Fauci orchestrated a “massive cover-up” about the origins of COVID-19 while serving as a top public health official during the coronavirus pandemic, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary argued on the latest episode of “Pod Force One.” Makary, a former professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, explained to “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine that as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), Fauci went to great lengths to suppress the theory that COVID-19 leaked out of a research lab in China — something few in the medical community picked up on. “One thing that’s extremely obvious that very few people realize, and certainly hardly anyone in the medical establishment where I come from realized, is that [Fauci] was involved in a massive cover-up of the origins of COVID, a massive cover-up,” the FDA commissioner said. “Whether or not he was involved in the experiments or funding the experiments that led to the origins of COVID, he was clearly 100% involved in the cover-up,” he added. Fauci, who also served as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, received a sweeping pardon from the then-president last December, for any offenses committed between Jan. 1, 2014, up to the date the pardon was signed. Makary suggested the pardon was related to Fauci’s alleged role in the COVID cover-up, which he argued supersedes any of the “massive disagreements” he has with the way he advised the public and government leaders during the pandemic. “[O]nly recently did Anthony Fauci take it to the next level of using science as political propaganda,” Makary told Devine. “He commissioned the pieces that lied about the COVID origins. The author who submitted the article said this was commissioned by Dr. Fauci and [Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health] in that cover letter.” In 2023, the House Oversight Committee released evidence showing Fauci commissioned and gave final approval for a scientific paper — “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” — written in February 2020 to disprove the theory that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. Eight weeks later, Fauci stood at a White House press conference alongside President Trump and cited that paper as evidence that the lab leak theory was implausible. The paper was written four days after Fauci, and his old boss Collins, held a call with the four authors to discuss reports that COVID-19 may have leaked from the Wuhan lab. “If you think back to the end of January, just before COVID became a thing in the news in the United States, January, February, what was Dr. Fauci doing? He was frantically engaging in a massive cover-up with 3 a.m. emails and phone calls,” Makary said.“He was convening people. And the notes from those meetings reveal that all these virologists he convened had told him, ‘We think it came from the Wuhan lab,’ and the output was days later, those same scientists wrote a letter in the medical journal saying it definitely did not come from the lab,” he continued, claiming that some of the authors went on to receive “millions of dollars in funding from Fauci’s agency.”“This is not rocket science. It’s a no-brainer where it came from,” Makary fumed.

FDA Chief: Fauci '100% Involved" In "Massive" COVID-19 Origins Cover-Up -Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary accused former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci of orchestrating a "massive cover-up" of the origins of Covid-19. In an interview with "Pod Force One” podcast, Makary said that Fauci, who served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease during the pandemic, worked to suppress the Wuhan lab-leak theory. "One thing that's extremely obvious that very few people realize, and certainly hardly anyone in the medical establishment where I come from realized, is that [Fauci] was involved in a massive cover-up of the origins of COVID, a massive cover-up,” Makary, who previously served as a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told host Miranda Devine. "Whether or not he was involved in the experiments or funding the experiments that led to the origins of COVID, he was clearly 100% involved in the cover-up,” the FDA head added. In 2023, the House Oversight Committee released evidence showing Fauci commissioned and approved a February 2020 scientific paper,"The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” which appeared aimed at refuting the lab-leak hypothesis. Shortly after, Fauci highlighted the paper’s findings during a White House briefing alongside President Donald Trump as evidence against the lab-leak theory. "If you think back to the end of January, just before COVID became a thing in the news in the United States, January, February, what was Dr. Fauci doing? He was frantically engaging in a massive cover-up with 3 a.m. emails and phone calls," Makary said. “He was convening people. And the notes from those meetings reveal that all these virologists he convened had told him, 'We think it came from the Wuhan lab,' and the output was days later, those same scientists wrote a letter in the medical journal saying it definitely did not come from the lab,” the FDA head added. "This is not rocket science. It's a no-brainer where it came from."

US COVID, flu, and RSV levels low but rising in many regions -- US COVID, seasonal influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity remains low but is growing in some parts of the country, according to the most recent respiratory illness update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC monitors respiratory illness activity by looking at a range of diagnoses from emergency department (ED) visits, including the common cold, flu, RSV, and COVID. Nationally, levels of acute respiratory illnesses are low or very low, with only three states—Alabama, Arkansas, and New Hampshire—reporting moderate levels. Indiana and Arkansas report moderate levels of COVID, while rates remain low or very throughout the rest of the country. (Data from Arkansas are limited and may not represent levels across the whole state.) Flu cases are rising in all but 10 states, and COVID-19 rates are rising in nine. RSV activity is on the rise in all but 15 states, with increasing ED visits among children aged 0 to 4 years in the South. The update also highlights elevated levels of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in some parts of the country, based on ED visits and positive tests. M pneumoniae can cause “walking pneumonia.” Pertussis, or whooping cough, cases remain higher in 2025 than they were immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, even though they've declined since their peak in late 2024. Pertussis doesn’t follow a clear seasonal pattern, but cases often rise in summer and fall, and the disease is highly contagious. It poses the greatest risk to infants, and vaccination remains the best protection against severe outcomes.

Common antibiotic linked to risk of acute respiratory failure in kids, young adults -- A new study of adolescents and young adults has found a commonly used antibiotic for skin infections, urinary tract infections, and acne is associated with an increased risk of respiratory failure. The study, conducted in Ontario, found that the risk of a hospital visit with acute respiratory failure was nearly three times higher in healthy 10- to 25-year-olds who received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) than those who received either amoxicillin or cephalosporin antibiotics, though the overall risk was low. The findings were published yesterday by a team of Canadian researchers in JAMA Network Open. The study adds to evidence from 19 case reports that have linked use of TMP-SMX (marketed under the brand names Bactrim and Septra) to acute respiratory failure in previously healthy adolescents and young adults. Four patients required prolonged extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, and two died, including a 17-year-old who spent more than a year in the hospital and was on ECMO for 189 daysfollowing a severe reaction to Bactrim. The case reports led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to place a warning label in 2021 on oral and injection formulations of Bactrim and Septra that advises medical providers to watch for reports of cough, shortness of breath, or rapid, shallow breathing. This is the first population-based study to confirm the warning.

Public understanding of antibiotics is insufficient, global study finds - Despite the global expansion of antibiotic awareness campaigns over the past decade, the public's understanding of antibiotics remains insufficient, researchers reported last week in Clinical Microbiology and Infection. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers from Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom identified 227 studies from 98 countries that reported the knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance among the public. They found that 73.2% of the 322,492 participants correctly recognized that antibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections and 72.5% knew that excessive antibiotic use reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics.But only 42.1% knew that antibiotics were not effective against viruses, and that number was significantly lower in countries such as Laos (7.2%), Myanmar (11.7%), and Bangladesh (12.5%). Similarly, only 35.1% of respondents knew that antibiotics don't speed up recovery from cold and flu. The study authors note that a systematic review conducted in 2015—the year the World Health Organization declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a top 10 global health threat—reported that 46.1% of the public was aware that antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, which suggests a decade of public awareness campaigns has had little impact."This persistent misconception will continue to drive the misuse of antibiotics for viral infections, a widespread issue in many regions globally, thereby contributing to the broader challenge of AMR," they wrote. "The low levels of public knowledge regarding the ineffectiveness of antibiotics against viral infections suggest that current efforts and campaigns aimed at addressing antibiotic resistance remain insufficient."In addition, while 58.4% of respondents acknowledged antibiotic resistance as a global health threat, only 39.1% understood that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be transmitted between individuals."Understanding that resistant bacteria can be transmitted from person to person is crucial, as interpersonal spread represents a key mechanism by which antimicrobial resistance propagates within communities," the authors wrote.

Third infant in Kentucky dies of whooping cough as national cases stay high for second year in a row --An infant in Kentucky who was unvaccinated against pertussis, or whooping cough, has died, marking the third death from the deadly bacteria in the state this year. Kentucky had last recorded an infant whooping cough death in 2018. State officials said Kentucky is seeing the most pertussis activity since 2012 and expects more in the coming weeks. So far this year, Kentucky has reported at least 566 cases. “We are deeply saddened to learn of another infant death in Kentucky due to pertussis and are concerned by the volume of cases we are seeing throughout the commonwealth,” Steven Stack, MD, the state secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a statement. “We continue to urge Kentuckians to get their whooping cough vaccine and to make sure they are up to date on all other recommended immunizations. Many illnesses can be prevented through vaccination, which helps protect not only the individual but also those around them.” Nationally, there are more than 25,000 cases of whooping cough reported so far in 2025, according to a new report from ABC news. In 2024, more than 33,000 cases were reported by November. Pertussis cases had dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.In 2019, 18,600 whooping cough cases were reported nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, says that many cases go unrecognized and unreported.“Reported cases of pertussis have been trending down since a peak in November 2024. However, preliminary case report numbers remain elevated in 2025 compared to immediately before the pandemic,” the CDC said. Texas has reported the most whooping cough activity this year, with at least 3,500 cases so far in 2025, and two associated deaths among infants. Both Louisiana and Washington state also reported high activity at the beginning of the year.

Utah, South Carolina see more measles cases ahead of Thanksgiving - The current US hot spots for measles activity both reported new confirmed cases over the weekend, including exposures at a high school and an international airport. Officials in Utah, which has been battling a simmering outbreak in the southwestern part of the state, confirmed five new measles patients in Wasatch County in the north, east of Provo. They are the first measles patients identified in that county this year.All five patients are students at Wasatch High School, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Two more possible cases are being investigated, the newspaper reported.At least one student attended school activities and classes while infectious. The cases will push the Utah measles case count over 90.In South Carolina, officials late last week reported three new cases in the Upstate area, raising the state total to 55 and the Upstate outbreak to 52."Two of the cases are household members of known cases. A third is the result of unknown community transmission," officials said. Additionally, state officials said travelers at the Greensboro-Spartanburg International Airport may have been exposed to measles by an infectious employee during the week of November 10.Finally, in international news, a tenth child in Israel has died from measles as part of a large, ongoing outbreak. The child was 18 months old and unvaccinated. He had arrived at an emergency department yesterday in critical condition.

Utah, Arizona confirm more measles cases amid growing outbreaks -Measles outbreaks in both Utah and Arizona are growing, with Utah now having 102 cases, including eight students from Wasatch High School in Wasatch County in the northern part of the state, east of Provo.The Salt Lake Tribune reported this week that Wasatch County has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state; according to 2024-25 school year data, 13% of seventh graders in the county lacked documentation showing they had received the two-dose measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.Arizona also reported 16 more measles cases, for a new total of 153. All new cases are in Mohave County, which, along with Southwest Utah, is the new epicenter of measles activity in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also updated national measles numbers. The 2025 total is now 1,798 confirmed cases. There have been 46 outbreaks, accounting for 87% of cases.

South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak Shows Chilling Effect of Vaccine Misinformation KFF Health News. — Near the back corner of the local library’s parking lot, largely out of view from the main road, the South Carolina Department of Public Health opened a pop-up clinic in early November, offering free measles vaccines to adults and children.Spartanburg County, in South Carolina’s Upstate region, has been fighting a measles outbreak since early October, with more than 50 cases identified. Health officials have encouraged people who are unvaccinated to get a shot by visiting its mobile vaccine clinic at any of its several stops throughout the county.But on a Monday afternoon in Boiling Springs, only one person showed up.. “We had hoped to see a more robust uptake than that in our mobile health units.”As South Carolina tries to contain its measles outbreak, public health officials across the nation are concerned that the highly contagious virus is making a major comeback. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied more than 1,700 measles cases and 45 outbreaks in 2025. The largest started in Texas, where hundreds of people were infected and two children died.For the first time in more than two decades, the United States is poised to lose its measles elimination status, a designation indicating that outbreaks are rare and rapidly contained.South Carolina’s measles outbreak isn’t yet as large as those in other states, such asNew Mexico, Arizona, and Kansas. But it shows how a confluence of larger national trends — including historically low vaccination rates, skepticism fueled by the pandemic, misinformation, and “health freedom” ideologies proliferated by conservative politicians — have put some communities at risk for the reemergence of a preventable, potentially deadly virus.“Everyone talks about it being the canary in the coal mine because it’s the most contagious infectious disease out there,” said Josh Michaud, associate director for global and public health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. “The logic is indisputable that we’re likely to see more outbreaks.”

California identifies infant botulism cases tied to powdered formula from months before current outbreak - California health officials say they have identified cases of infant botulism with exposure to powdered infant formula that occurred prior to the current multistate outbreak. In a statement, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said the state has identified at least six cases of infant botulism with exposure to ByHeart powdered infant formula that occurred from November 2024 to June 2025. The 15-state outbreak currently being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which includes four sickened infants in California and 31 nationwide, began on August 1, 2015. "CDPH is continuing investigate, but at this time we cannot connect any pre-August 1 cases to the current outbreak," the CDPH spokesperson said. The statement explained that in early 2025 there was not enough evidence to immediately suspect a common source among the six suspected cases, and that the number of cases were within expected case numbers based on previous years' trends. Infant botulism occurs when a baby swallows Clostridium botulinum spores, which can grow in the intestine and produce toxins that cause constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing. CDPH's detection of C botulinum in an opened can of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula on November 8 led the FDA to recommend a recall of the product. Prior to the outbreak investigation, no powdered infant formula had tested positive for C botulinim in the United States.CDPH said that, from August 1 through November 19, 107 infants nationwide have received treatment with BabyBIG, a human plasma-derived treatment for infants with botulism. That includes confirmed cases and infants who were being treated while awaiting test results. CPDH developed and is the only source of BabyBIG. The CDC and FDA began their investigation into the outbreak after officials with CPDH's Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program alerted them to an increase in requests for the treatment.

Ethiopia’s Marburg death toll rises to 5 - At least five people are dead in a Marburg virus outbreak with 10 confirmed cases in Ethiopia. The country reported its first Marburg outbreak last week.According to media reports, there may be an additional three deaths not yet lab confirmed associated with this outbreak. Marburg, a filovirus, is related to Ebola but has no vaccine or treatment. Outbreaks often have high fatality rates, and the virus is typically transmitted to people from fruit bats.Late last week the World Health Organization (WHO) said the source of the outbreak has not yet been identified“Ethiopia is facing concurrent emergencies and multiple disease outbreaks, including of cholera, measles, dengue, which results in stretched health capacity,” the WHO said.

Washington state officials confirm H5N5 avian flu patient has died from infection --A Grays Harbor County, Washington, resident has died from avian flu, state officials confirmed over the weekend. The patient was the first person to be diagnosed as having avian flu in the United States since February and the first human ever known to be infected with the H5N5 strain.All previous human avian influenza infections had been caused by H5N1 and were relatively mild. However, one man died in January in Louisiana. Little is known about the Washington patient. He or she, identified as an older adult with underlying health conditions, had a mixed backyard flock of domestic poultry at home that had exposure to wild birds. Washington state has had dozens of detections of avian flu in wild birds, waterfowl, and backyard poultry in the past weeks, part of a seasonal spike in activity."The risk to the public remains low. No other people involved have tested positive for avian influenza. Public health officials will continue to monitor anyone who was in close contact with the patient for symptoms to ensure that human-to-human spread has not occurred," officials said.Indiana is still the epicenter of commercial poultry activity, with 11 detections over the weekend according to the latest update from the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).Included in the 11 detections are seven commercial duck breeder or broiler production facilities. Indiana is the nation’s largest duck producer. Outbreak sizes range from 23,000 to 2,900 affected birds.Ten of the 11 detections in Indiana are in LaGrange County, and the other detection is in Elkhart. Both counties have had several recent detections. APHIS noted several other poultry outbreaks, including a large commercial turkey outbreak in Edmunds County, South Dakota, affecting 35,400 birds, and a breeder hen facility in Wayne County, North Carolina, with 9,800 birds.

Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans - Bird flu viruses pose a significant danger to humans because they can continue multiplying at temperatures warmer than a normal fever. Fever is one of the body's main tools for slowing down viral infections, yet new research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow shows that these avian viruses can keep going even under conditions that usually shut other viruses down. A study published on November 28 in Science reports the discovery of a gene that strongly influences how sensitive a virus is to heat. During the major flu pandemics of 1957 and 1968, this gene moved from bird flu viruses into circulating human flu strains, which helped those strains thrive. Seasonal human flu viruses infect millions of people each year. These common influenza A viruses usually multiply most effectively in the cooler upper airways, where temperatures average about 33°C. They do not spread as efficiently in the warmer lower respiratory tract, which is typically closer to 37°C. Viruses spread through the body when left unchecked, sometimes leading to severe illness. Fever is one of the body's natural responses and can raise core temperature to as high as 41°C. Avian influenza viruses operate differently from human strains. They tend to multiply in the lower respiratory tract, and in their usual hosts, such as ducks and seagulls, they often infect the gut. Temperatures in these environments can reach 40-42°C. Earlier work in cultured cells suggested that bird flu viruses are more tolerant of fever-level temperatures than human flu viruses. In the new research, scientists from Cambridge and Glasgow recreated fever conditions in mice to observe how the virus responded. They used a laboratory-adapted human-origin influenza strain known as PR8, which is not a risk to people. The results showed that raising body temperature to fever levels was highly effective at preventing human-origin flu viruses from replicating. However, similar temperature increases did not stop avian influenza viruses. A rise of just 2C was enough to turn what would normally be a deadly human-origin influenza infection into a mild one. The team also found that the PB1 gene, which is essential for copying the viral genome inside infected cells, plays a central role in temperature resistance. Viruses containing an avian-like PB1 gene were able to tolerate the high temperatures associated with fever and caused serious disease in mice. This discovery is notable because bird and human flu viruses can exchange genetic material when they infect the same host, such as pigs.

Bird flu virus could risk pandemic worse than COVID if it mutates, France’s Institut Pasteur says Reuters) - The bird flu virus that has been spreading among wild birds, poultry and mammals could lead to a pandemic worse than COVID-19 if it mutates to transmit between humans, the head of France's Institut Pasteur respiratory infections centre said. The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in the past few years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices, though human infections remain rare. "What we fear is the virus adapting to mammals, and particularly to humans, becoming capable of human-to-human transmission, and that virus would be a pandemic virus," Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti, medical director at the Institut Pasteur's respiratory infections centre, told Reuters. The Institut Pasteur was among the first European labs to develop and share COVID-19 detection tests, making protocols available to the World Health Organization and labs worldwide. People have antibodies against common H1 and H3 seasonal flu, but none against the H5 bird flu affecting birds and mammals, like they had none against COVID-19, she said. And unlike COVID-19, which mainly affects vulnerable people, flu viruses can also kill healthy individuals, including children, Rameix-Welti said. "A bird flu pandemic would probably be quite severe, potentially even more severe than the pandemic we experienced," she said in her Paris laboratory. There have been many cases of people infected by H5 bird flu viruses in the past, including the H5N1 currently circulating among poultry and dairy cows in the U.S., but these were often in close contact with infected animals. A first ever human case of H5N5 appeared in the U.S. state of Washington this month. The man, who had underlying conditions, died last week. In its latest report on bird flu, the WHO said there had been nearly 1,000 outbreaks in humans between 2003 and 2025 - mainly in Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam, of which 48% had died. However, the risk of a human pandemic developing remains low, Gregorio Torres, head of the Science Department at the World Organisation for Animal Health, told Reuters. "We need to be prepared to respond early enough. But for the time being, you can happily walk in the forest, eat chicken and eggs and enjoy your life. The pandemic risk is a possibility. But in terms of probability, it's still very low," he said.

Climate change could expand habitats for malaria mosquitoes, researchers warn Every year, around 600,000 people die from malaria, a mosquito-borne disease—most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, and children are the most vulnerable. This makes malaria one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally. A new study from the University of Copenhagen, published in Global Change Biology, shows that future climate change could create more favorable conditions for malaria mosquitoes, exposing millions of people across large parts of Africa to more dangerous mosquito bites. "Our study indicates that climate change will benefit these malaria mosquitoes. This could put between 200 million and up to one billion people at additional risk—unless we act," says lead author Tiem van der Deure, a Ph.D. student at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. "The 200 million figure is a very conservative estimate assuming no demographic changes, but accounting for climate change. The one billion scenario includes significant population growth," he explains. If new areas become exposed to malaria, the consequences could be severe, as populations in these regions will lack experience in managing the disease and have very low immunity. Because malaria is such a major problem in Africa, researchers have long studied how climate change affects the parasites mosquitoes transmit to humans. While climate change influences malaria in many ways—making the overall picture complex—this study shows that future climate conditions could favor several mosquito species capable of carrying malaria across much of Africa. The researchers examined how six of the most widespread malaria mosquito species will respond to climate change. "To most people, mosquitoes look alike. But they differ greatly—even if we sometimes can't tell them apart with the naked eye. Their behavior and preferred environments vary significantly," says Associate Professor Anna-Sofie Stensgaard from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Copenhagen and senior author of the study. The team trained algorithms on thousands of mosquito observations and then used these models to predict where climate conditions will be suitable for different species—and how these conditions will shift as the climate changes. "Of the six species we studied, three are projected to expand, while the other three do not decline significantly. Overall, this is a worrying trend," says van der Deure. Mosquito habitats are expected to grow especially in East and Central Africa, while conditions in West Africa will remain favorable.

Some high-flying tropical mosquitoes carry disease-causing pathogens long distances, study finds - Some high-flying tropical mosquitoes carry disease-causing pathogens long distances, study findsIn the first study of its kind, mosquitoes captured high above Mali and Ghana were found to be infected with arboviruses, protozoans, and parasitic worms that cause human diseases such as dengue, malaria, and the disfiguring illness lymphatic filariasis, researchers reported yesterday in PNAS. They also note that the vectors could spread diseases many miles away. From March 2018 to October 2022, the team used nets suspended from helium balloons at night to obtain 1,017 wind-borne mosquitoes (81% female) from 61 species. The mosquitoes, many carrying eggs, were of 61 species and 10 genera, mostly Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles, at altitudes of 120 to 290 meters (393 to 951 feet). Wind-borne insects can temporarily migrate up to hundreds of kilometers per night. But migrations in tropical mosquitoes are poorly understood, including their effects on mosquito survival, reproduction, range expansion, and spread of insecticide resistance, and the epidemiologic factors of vector-borne diseases are unclear despite their potentially large effects. “Mosquito-borne diseases threaten public health and food security,” they wrote. “Long-range spread of these pathogens has been regarded as reflecting human or animal movement.” Rates of infection among the mosquitoes were 7.2% for Plasmodium species, 1.6% for parasitic nematodes (roundworms), and 3.5% for flaviviruses such as those that cause dengue and West Nile infections. Twenty-one mosquito-borne pathogens that infect vertebrates were identified, including dengue, West Nile virus (WNV), and mpox virus; three filarids, including Pelecitus spp. (affects mostly birds and can cause rare eye infections in people); and 15 avian Plasmodium species, including P matutinum (affects birds only).At least 20 of the 21 mosquito-borne pathogen species circulate among wild animals. (For example, dengue virus serotype 2 also circulates among nonhuman primates, and perhaps birds, in West Africa.) Confirmed disseminated infections with multiple pathogens in Culex perexiguus, Mansonia uniformis, and Anopheles squamosus mosquitoes showed that pathogens can infect hosts far from their departure location. “High rates of disseminated infections (overall 6.3%) implicated a considerable proportion of these mosquitoes as infectious—ready to transmit pathogens when taking a blood meal after landing,” the researchers wrote. “These pathogens represent sylvatic (i.e., circulating among wild animals) and zoonotic (transmitted to people from an animal natural host) species, e.g., WNV, which are transmitted by mosquitoes mainly among birds.”“Migrating mosquitoes are not only infected i.e., exposed to these pathogens, but are already likely infectious, i.e., presenting a disseminated infection to the haemocoel [body cavity] and likely to the salivary glands, highlighting their probable capacity to transmit pathogens upon landing in a distant territory,” they added.

New WHO framework aims to tackle rising resistance to HIV, STI, and hepatitis treatments The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday released a roadmap to address rising resistance to treatments for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Building on the WHO's Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, the integrated drug resistance action framework proposes a unified global approach to prevent the emergence and spread of drug resistance and reduce its impact through a people-centered approach. The document outlines strategic priorities and concrete actions across five key domains: prevention and response; monitoring and surveillance; research and innovation; laboratory capacity; and governance.Current treatments for HIV, STIs, and hepatitis B and C face varying degrees of resistance. Among HIV patients with unsuppressed viral load, resistance to dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy has been reported in some low- and middle-income countries, with resistance rates ranging from 5% to 20%. Resistance to first-line treatments for Neisseria gonorrhoeae—one of the four most common STIs globally—have substantially increased over the past decade, leaving some gonorrhea patients with limited treatment options. And while WHO-recommended treatments for hepatitis B and C remain highly effective, there are concerns about emerging resistance amid expanded treatment access.WHO officials say drug resistance could lead to rising rates of new infections and treatment failure, increase preventable morbidity and mortality, undo decades of progress in HIV, hepatitis, and STI control, and undermine global elimination goals.

Petition calls for EPA to ban use of medically important antimicrobials in pesticides - A coalition of public health, conservation, and farmworker advocacy groups this week filed a petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban use of pesticides that can promote resistance to medically important antibiotics and antifungals.The petition, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity on behalf of nine other groups, calls for the EPA to ban pesticides containing oxytetracycline and streptomycin, the two most commonly used antibiotics in pesticides. Both antibiotics are also used to treat a variety of human and animal infections and are considered important for human health by the World Health Organization.Other active ingredients in pesticides targeted in the petition include gentamicin, kasugamycin, ipflufenoquin, and triazole fungicides. Many are closely related to medically important antibiotics and antifungals and can contribute to cross-resistance. “Research is clear that the use of antibiotics and antifungals as pesticides poses a threat to public health because it contributes to the evolution of pathogens that are resistant to medicine,” the petition states. “Petitioners make this request because of the critical nature of these drugs and drug classes to human and veterinary medicine, along with scientifically established concerns related to increasing resistance and declining efficacy rates as a result of prophylactic and other uses of these antimicrobials outside of the medical field.” The petition also argues that, beyond the impact on human health, antibiotic exposure can hurt water quality, soil health, and wildlife. Several of the groups that signed on to the petition have been fighting the use of streptomycin and oxytetracycline as pesticides since their use was expanded under the first Trump administration. The EPA approved emergency use of oxytetracycline on citrus trees in Florida in 2016 to combat citrus greening disease, which is caused by a bacterium carried by insects. Since 2005, citrus greening disease has devastated millions of acres of citrus crops. The EPA then allowed expanded use on roughly 700,000 acres of citrus farms in Florida and California in 2018. Streptomycin was authorized for spraying in 2018. “The expansion of these products really happened during the first Trump administration, so it makes us worried that more is coming down the pike,” “We have no trust that this agency [the EPA] is going to act in the interests of the public.” According to the petition, approximately 25 pesticides registered by the EPA use streptomycin sulfate, 20 use oxytetracycline hydrochloride, and eight use calcium oxytetracycline. The US Geological Survey estimates that more than 125,000 pounds of the two antibiotics were sprayed on crops in 2018. In 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down the EPA’s approval of streptomycin for use on citrus crops, saying that it did not satisfy the requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA). But use of oxytetracycline on citrus crops has continued. Both antibiotics are also used, in smaller amounts, on other fruit plants, including apple trees. Donley said the concern is that spraying sub-therapeutic levels of these antibiotics as pesticides across tens of thousands of acres could spur the development of resistant bacteria on crops and in the soil that could ultimately find their way into people and cause drug-resistant infections. The petition cites past research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that the use of oxytetracycline and streptomycin as pesticides has the potential to select for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. Those findings were submitted to the EPA in May 2017. “If the pesticide is not killing the bacteria or the fungus, then there's a greater likelihood that the necessary mutations are going to develop that make those bugs resistant to those medicines,” Donley said. “This kind of supercharges that in a way that I don’t think people appreciate.”

Plastic 'bio-beads' from sewage plants are polluting the oceans and spreading superbugs—but there are alternatives - A recent spill of bio-beads—small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s—has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years. Millions of bio-beads recently washed up onto the beach at Camber Sands in East Sussex. But this is not just another form of plastic pollution. Bio-beads can carry potentially dangerous bacteria. Plastic bio-beads are used in wastewater treatment plants to help break down waste. They resemble the plastic pellets known as nurdles that are used as a feedstock by the plastic industry which are often found on beaches. Bio-beads, however, are compressed, like a concertina, to maximize their surface area-to-volume ratio. This promotes the growth of bacteria that form a biofilm on their surface. These bacteria break down nutrients in the wastewater effluent and help process sewage.Bio-beads are a relatively cheap and efficient method for treating waste. However, this efficiency comes with a significant environmental cost when these plastics escape.The UK's water industry insists that bio-beads shouldn't escape from treatment facilities. They are supposed to be contained within the system by mesh screens.Yet water companies are known to have to top up their bio-bead supplies, which raises the question of how much of this plastic pollution is being released, and why.The answer probably lies in aging infrastructure. Many wastewater treatment works have outdated retention mechanisms that aren't fit for purpose. Storage is another weak point.Bio-beads have been seen in large dumpy bags or strewn across the ground in wastewater treatment plants, so they can spill before treatment processes begin.Like any plastic, bio-beads will gradually break up into smaller particles. Fragmented bio-beads could escape into the environment as soon as they are smaller than the mesh screens used.What makes bio-beads particularly concerning isn't just the plastic itself—it's what they carry. These pellets are designed to maximize bacterial growth, and when they come from sewage treatment facilities, that biofilm may include harmful bacteria, including E. coli and other pathogens dangerous to humans. More worryingly, research—including our own studies—shows these plastics can harbor "superbug" bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Our latest research has examined how bacteria grow on bio-beads and other substrates such as polystyrene, wood and glass in the environment. By collecting samples at various points along two Cornish rivers—from hospital wastewater, upstream near Truro to the marine environment of the Fal estuary—we've demonstrated that antimicrobial-resistant pathogens are found on plastics sampled from source to sea.Protected within their biofilm, each bio-bead can become a tiny vehicle transporting potential pathogens from sewage works to beaches, swimming areas and locations where shellfish are cultivated. Our 2024 review of this rapidly growing research area suggests that plastics may promote horizontal gene transfer, the process by which antimicrobial resistance can spread between bacteria. The implications are sobering: these small plastics could be facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistance across marine environments. Reports from 2017 show there were at least 55 wastewater treatment works around the UK using bio-beads, serving a population of at least 2 million people. There are over 10,000 sewage treatment works in the UK, so those using bio-beads comprise a very small proportion.While exact figures on bio-bead losses remain elusive, their presence on beaches tells another story. Historic spills, including a major incident near Truro in Cornwall in 2010, have deposited billions of these pellets into coastal waters. Their black or gray color makes them easily mistaken for food by marine wildlife, from commercially important fish and, once broken or fragmented, shellfish and organisms at the base of the food chain. Some bio-beads also pose additional chemical risks. Many were manufactured from recycled electronics materials and contain substances like lead and bromine.If bio-beads are found accumulated on beaches, they can be removed—but with caution. Like any material from sewage systems, they should be handled with care. And any cleanup efforts are only treating symptoms. The solution must be at source. Alternative wastewater treatment methods exist. Not all wastewater treatment works use bio-beads, proving they're not essential. Some plants use activated sludge (a biological treatment process where wastewater is mixed with a community of microbes) that breaks down organic pollution. Other treatment stages, such as UV processing, add further layers of protection, though these complement rather than replace the bacterial breakdown process.

Microplastics pose a human health risk in more ways than one - A new study shows that microplastics in the natural environment are colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The study team calls for urgent action for waste management and strongly recommends wearing gloves when taking part in beach cleans. Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5mm in size and are extremely widespread pollutants. It is estimated that over 125 trillion particles have accumulated in the ocean (surface to seabed) and they have also been detected in soils, rivers, lakes, animals and the human body.An emerging concern associated with microplastics are the microbial communities that rapidly make their home on the particle surface, forming complex biofilms known as the "Plastisphere." These communities may often include pathogenic (disease-causing) or antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria. Wastewater treatment plants or solid waste landfill sites have been proposed to spread, boost or influence the evolution of antimicrobial resistance and pathogens in nature. This may well increase the risk to human health and it is therefore vital that more is understood about the interactions of the bacterial communities within the Plastisphere and other marine pollutants, such as domestic and clinical wastewater.Lab studies have shown that some commonly-discarded plastic materials serve as a platform for the selective growth of bacterial communities responsible for AMR and diseases in both humans and animals. While previous work has explored this in the environment, several questions and issues remained unanswered which this new study aimed to address. The study, titled "Sewers to Seas: exploring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance on microplastics from hospital wastewater to marine environments," was published in the journal Environment International.The study team developed a novel structure that would allow five different substrates (bio-beads, nurdles, polystyrene, wood and glass) to be secured along a waterway that was expected to decrease in anthropogenic pollution downstream. Bio-beads are small plastic pellets used in the wastewater treatment process by UK water companies to provide a surface for bacteria to grow and break down nutrients. Nurdles are small plastic pellets used as the raw material to make almost all plastic products, such as bottles, clothes and car parts.After two months in the water, bacterial biofilms growing on each substrate were analyzed using metagenomics; the genomic analysis of genetic material collected from an entire community of organisms in a specific environment.The findings show:

• Pathogens and AMR bacteria were found on all substrates, across all sample sites.
• Polystyrene and nurdles may pose a greater AMR risk than other substrates, potentially due to their ability to adsorb antibiotics and promote biofilm formation that facilitates transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs).
• Over 100 unique ARGs sequences were identified in microplastic biofilms, which is more than on natural (wood) or inert (glass) substrates.
• Environmental bio-beads can support bacteria that carry resistance genes to key antibiotics, like aminoglycosides, macrolides and tetracyclines.
• Unexpectedly, some bacterial pathogens increased in prevalence moving downstream, when associated with microplastic biofilms.
• Environmental location played a significant role in microbial community composition and AMR gene prevalence.
• There is a potential biosecurity risks posed by microplastics, particularly in areas near aquaculture facilities, where filter-feeding organisms may ingest colonized particles containing pathogens and ARGs.

"Our research shows that microplastics can act as carriers for harmful pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria, enhancing their survival and spread. This interaction poses a growing risk to environmental and public health and demands urgent attention."By tracking a source-to-sea pathway influenced by hospital and domestic wastewater discharges, our study shows how antimicrobial-resistant pathogens colonized all substrates. Protected within their biofilms, each microplastic particle effectively becomes a tiny vehicle capable of transporting potential pathogens from sewage works to beaches, swimming areas and shellfish-growing sites."

Scientists find toxic metals hidden in popular plastic toys -Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), working together with the Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL), have found significant amounts of hazardous chemicals in plastic toys sold throughout Brazil. The team examined 70 products, including both imported and locally produced items, creating what they describe as the most extensive investigation in the country to date on chemical contamination in toys. The findings appear in the journal Exposure and Health. Supported by FAPESP, the study showed that many of the toys failed to meet the safety requirements established by Brazil's National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology (INMETRO) as well as those set by the European Union. The most concerning violations were linked to barium. In 44.3% of the samples, barium levels surpassed the permitted limit, reaching concentrations up to 15 times higher than allowed. Exposure to this element can lead to serious heart and nervous system issues, including arrhythmias and paralysis. Elevated amounts of lead, chromium, and antimony were also detected. Lead, which is associated with irreversible neurological harm, memory problems, and reduced IQ in children, exceeded the limit in 32.9% of the samples, with some measurements reaching nearly four times the accepted threshold. Antimony, which can trigger gastrointestinal problems, and chromium, a known carcinogen, were present above acceptable levels in 24.3% and 20% of the toys, respectively. "These data reveal a worrying scenario of multiple contamination and lack of control. So much so that in the study we suggest stricter enforcement measures, such as regular laboratory analyses, product traceability, and more demanding certifications, especially for imported items," says Bruno Alves Rocha. The team used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to detect and measure the presence of metals and non-metals, including extremely small quantities. They also used microwave-assisted acid digestion to simulate how chemicals might be released when toys come into contact with a child's saliva. This approach revealed the presence of 21 toxic elements: silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), cerium (Ce), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lanthanum (La), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), rubidium (Rb), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), thallium (Tl), uranium (U), and zinc (Zn). Using bioavailability (acid digestion) tests, the researchers developed two different exposure scenarios. One represented typical exposure levels based on median concentrations, while the other considered the highest levels detected. According to Rocha, "Exposure varies according to the concentrations of toxic elements, but it can also vary greatly from one child to another depending on how long they play with or keep the object in their mouth."

Persistent environmental toxins already accumulate in animal tissues during the fetal stage, research finds --- Persistent environmental toxins, such as PCBs and DDT, remain in nature for long periods without breaking down. They can accumulate in the fatty tissues of organisms and bioaccumulate through the food chain. These substances were previously used in industry and as insecticides, and although their use is now strictly regulated, they remain widespread in the environment. A study appearing in Environmental Research analyzed tissue samples from 15 organic ewes and their lambs shortly after birth, searching for the most common POPs. . Almost all of the substances investigated were detected in both adult sheep and lamb tissues. All the compounds identified were able to cross the placenta, and the transfer was so effective that concentrations in the lambs' tissues averaged 30–103% of those measured in the mothers. Previous research in humans has shown that environmental toxins present in maternal circulation can pass through the placenta. What this study newly demonstrates is that, in sheep, compounds accumulated in the mother's adipose tissue are transferred to the developing fetus in almost the same proportion. Because placental structure in sheep differs from that in humans, no direct conclusions can be drawn regarding human exposure. However, concentrations of POPs in adult human adipose tissue are on average higher than in sheep, underscoring the need for further research. "The results illustrate the widespread distribution of persistent environmental toxins and the ways in which they infiltrate every part of our surroundings. In epidemiological studies, POP concentrations measured from umbilical cord blood after birth have been linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome and lower IQ,"

‘Just crazy’: FDA facing backlash over withdrawal of proposed rule to screen some cosmetics for asbestos --The Environmental Working Group is criticizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the agency abruptly withdrew a proposed rule meant to prevent asbestos contamination in talc-based cosmetic products. The Biden-era regulation would have required standardized screening methods to ensure talc used in cosmetics is asbestos-free. The FDA withdrew the proposal just days into the holiday season, sparking immediate concern among consumer safety advocates. “It’s just crazy,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. Defending its notice of withdrawal, the FDA said it was acting “on the basis of the Make America Healthy Again priorities to ensure safe additives in the American food and drug supply,” adding that it intends to reconsider the best way to address the safety issues raised in the now-abandoned proposal.The agency also said it plans to develop a “less costly” rule aimed at reducing the risk of asbestos contamination. Faber dismissed that pledge. 2022-2021 FDA testing found no asbestos in a sample of 50 talc-based cosmetic products. But Faber argues the testing was not broad enough, pointing to his organization’s analysis of 2,000 products that found a 15% contamination rate.“Nothing says happy holidays like more cancer,” he said. “We’re going back to the honor system, where we simply trust companies to test these products and cross our fingers and hope they’re free of asbestos.”

Judge dings California for allowing ORVs to harm shorebird - California officials violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing off-road vehicles to zoom across sand dunes inhabited by western snowy plovers, a federal judge ruled late last week. In a victory for environmentalists, U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang on Nov. 20 ruled that the California Department of Parks and Recreation improperly allowed the motorized vehicle use that harms federally protected shorebirds at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.“Despite State Parks’ natural resources management program, State Parks has documented incidents in which snowy plovers have been killed and harmed due to motorized vehicle use,” Hwang noted, adding off-road vehicles “can and do drive through flocks of roosting snowy plovers.” Hwang added that the harm to a species listed as threatened under the ESA resulted from the “inherent conflicts” that exist between off-road vehicles and “the snowy plovers that travel to the area occupied by park users.”

EPA to scrap lifesaving soot pollution limit - The Trump administration has crossed a key threshold in its campaign to toss a stricter air pollution standard for soot, in a move that threatens to erase one of the Biden administration’s core public health accomplishments.In a motion filed Monday evening, EPA attorneys asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate the standard, which is predicted to save thousands of lives by tightening the exposure limit to a pollutant tied to a higher risk of strokes, lung cancer and other cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.The case could provide a landmark test of the agency’s ability under President Donald Trump to successfully pull off an industry-friendly agenda of regulatory rollbacks.In the newly filed motion, EPA echoed the arguments of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business advocates in faulting the Biden administration for allegedly taking a “regulatory shortcut” by adopting the stricter annual standard for the fine particles often dubbed soot without first conducting the “thorough review” required by the Clean Air Act.“EPA now confesses error,” the attorneys wrote, adding that the agency also should have put greater weight on the “extraordinary” compliance costs associated with the new limit.They urged a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit to rule before Feb. 7, when EPA is statutorily required to issue a first round of decisions on what parts of the country are flunking the stricter standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Whether the panel will take that route, however, is very much an open question. Parenteau noted that a 2001 Supreme Court ruling bars EPA from considering the potential compliance pricetag when setting what are formally known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards for soot and other common pollutants. The Trump administration’s current stance, he added, would also preclude regulators from revisiting those standards outside of a Clean Air Act review cycle even if a “health emergency” were to arise. The judicial panel, made up of a Biden appointee as well as members named by former President Barack Obama and former President Ronald Reagan, seemed inclined to uphold the 9-micrograms rule during oral arguments held last December on legal challenges brought by Kentucky and almost two dozen other Republican-leaning states. EPA’s bid to now scrap the stronger limit is likely to face resistance from California and other Democratic-led states also enmeshed in the litigation. At the Trump administration’s request, proceedings have been on hold since February to give EPA’s new leadership time to consider its position. Soot is technically known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5 because individual specks or droplets are no bigger than 2.5 microns in diameter or one-thirtieth the width of human hair. Direct and indirect sources include emissions from coal-fired power plants, tailpipe exhaust and wood stoves, meaning that any change to EPA regulations can ripple across wide swaths of the economy. Because of their tiny size, those particles are able to find their way deep into the lungs and even reach the human bloodstream. Scientists have tied them a litany of heart and lung ailments as well as higher odds of developing Alzehimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. In opting to cut the standard early last year from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 9 micrograms, EPA predicted the change would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths in 2032 when it is supposed to be fully in effect.Because the agency also found that particulate exposure disproportionately harmed people of color, then-Administrator Michael Regan framed the stricter limit as an important step in furthering environmental justice. Even before Trump returned to office this past January, the National Association of Manufacturers and other business lobbies asked his incoming administration to reexamine the particulate rule as part of a broader “regulatory reset.”

Bill aims to preserve funding for key solution to Colorado River drought -- For Las Vegas to keep its taps flowing, Rep. Susie Lee says this one drought measure must survive federal spending purges: water recycling. On Nov. 20, Lee, D-Nev., and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., introduced the Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act in Congress to reauthorize a federal grant program that will sunset in 2026. While it doesn't currently add any more money to the program, Lee said it would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to dole out $125 million in unused funds, extending the program to 2031. "The states that surround the Colorado River—they're red and blue," Lee said in an interview. "But it's a crisis, and the reason this reauthorization is so important is to make sure we continue to have the authority to use the funding to support these programs." Previously, Congress folded Lee's initial 2021 program proposal into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—a law creating a pool of funding that Republicans have tried to claw back. In 2024, a bill to nearly double the amount of funding for the program that Lee helped author stalled and did not get a hearing in committee. To date, according to Lee's office, the Bureau of Reclamation's program has provided more than $125 million to Pure Water Southern California, a water recycling program in California that officials say will produce 150 million gallons of water per day that would have previously been dumped in the Pacific Ocean. The Southern Nevada Water Authority's board authorized the agency to give $750 million to the project in 2021. That will likely be in exchange for a transfer of water, where Nevada would be able to pull more water from Lake Mead, agency spokesman Bronson Mack said. In addition to Pure Water, the Bureau of Reclamation has committed to funding other water recycling projects in California, and one in Utah. Capturing, treating and sending wastewater back into Lake Mead is the single way that modern Las Vegas is able to use more than its small share of the Colorado River amid remarkable population growth. A 2024 analysis of water recycling in the Colorado River Basin from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that Nevada outperforms on that metric, reusing about 85% of its wastewater. Other states have yet to begin that journey, including Wyoming and Utah, which respectively only reuse about 3.3% and 1% of their wastewater, according to the study.

The global threat of water scarcity -- In 2013, the CEO of Nestle, Peter Brabeck, created a storm of controversy when he declared that water should not be considered a human right. As the European Public Service Union has explained, he based this position on the notion that water should be considered a foodstuff with a market value and he argued that the very idea of a right to water had been generated by ‘extremist’ NGOs. Brabeck’s comments weren’t the product of quirky thinking on his part but accurately reflected the realities of how access to safe water supplies is restricted and regulated by global capitalism. If water is, indeed, a human right, then that right is being denied to vast and growing numbers of people all across the planet.The link between the process of global heating and the proliferation of drought conditions is obvious and well-established and it is playing out in country after country. According to Al Jazeera. ‘Iran is now grappling with its sixth consecutive year of drought, while heatwaves pushed temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) during the summer.’Under such conditions, it is hardly surprising that the ‘past water year, ending in late September 2025, was one of the driest on record, with the current year shaping up to be worse, with Iran receiving only 2.3mm (0.09 inches) of precipitation by early November, down by 81 percent compared with the historical average of the same period.’Disastrously, a ‘whopping 19 dams – up from nine three weeks ago – are on the verge of drying out, filled to less than 5 percent capacity. Dozens of others are not faring much better, according to data from the Water Resources Management Company.’The severity of the drought in Iran is unleashing a social crisis of enormous proportions. ‘If there is no rain by next month, water will have to be rationed in Tehran; in fact, the city of 10 million may even have to be evacuated, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a speech on Friday.’The climate-induced horror that is unfolding in Iran is only part of a global process that continues to worsen. In July, the UN News commented on a new report that examines ‘the global impacts of droughts from 2023 to 2025.’ The report’s co-author, Dr. Mark Svoboda, noted that this ‘is not a dry spell. This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen. This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.’ The report finds that ‘as 90 million people face acute hunger across Eastern and Southern Africa, some areas in the region have been experiencing the worst drought ever recorded.’ Horribly, some ‘43,000 people in Somalia died in 2022 alone due to drought-linked hunger. The crisis continued through 2025, with a quarter of the population facing crisis-level food insecurity at the beginning of the year.’

Dallas-Fort Worth sets two rain records in a single day - Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport recorded 3.95 inches (100.3 mm) of rain on November 20, 2025, setting new records for both daily rainfall and the wettest November day on record. A storm system, moving across North Texas on November 20,produced 100.3 mm (3.95 inches) of rain at Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The 100.3 mm (3.95 inches) of rainfall broke two records for Dallas: The daily rainfall record for November 20, surpassing the previous record of 34 mm (1.34 inches)set in 2009. It also broke the previous record for the wettest November day at DFW, 87.6 mm (3.45 inches), set in 2015. DFW’s climate records date back to 1898 at various official sites, with the current long-term climate station located at the airport. The heavy rainfall also triggered a Flash Flood Emergency and forced evacuations in Menard County after around 254 mm (10 inches) of rain triggered flash floods in the region.

Menard County issues evacuation orders as more than 254 mm (10 inches) of rain trigger flash floods in Texas - Menard County officials issued evacuation orders on Thursday, November 20, 2025, after heavy rainfall of over 254 mm (10 inches) inundated parts of the Texas Hill Country. The flooding prompted a Flash Flood Emergency for the Menard area. Radar estimates showed between 203–229 mm (8 and 9 inches) of rain falling over six hours, with localized totals above 254 mm (10 inches). “We’re over 229 mm (9 inches) in town with reports of 304 mm (12 inches) in some places, but the rain has slowed in the last half hour and city streets are clearing” said Menard County Judge Brandon Corbin. Streams feeding into the San Saba River overflowed, forcing residents in low-lying areas and RV parks to evacuate. Local authorities advised anyone needing assistance to contact emergency services. A Flood Warning is in effect for the San Saba River, with the water levels being expected to rise above flood stage on Friday afternoon. It is then forecast to crest at 7.8 m (25.9 feet) at around 00:00 local time (LT) on Saturday, November 22. The heavy rainfall is associated to a surge of deep Gulf moisture affecting south-central Texas. The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) had issued a Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall for south-central Texas through Thursday, forecasting 75–125 mm (3–5 inches) of rain, with locally higher totals. Parts of the Texas Hill Country are still recovering from the severe flooding in July that left over a 100 dead, including 27 girls from camp mystic.

Tornado hits Harris County, Texas, damaging more than 100 homes and leaving 2 000 without power - More than 100 homes were damaged after a tornado moved through Harris County, Texas, on Monday, November 24, 2025, tearing off roofs, snapping trees, downing power lines, and leaving more than 2 000 customers without power. The tornadoes were associated with a line of severe thunderstorms that moved through the region, bringing widespread severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) received at least four tornado reports from Harris County on Monday, along with numerous damage reports. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Houston confirmed a tornado touchdown in Harris County on Monday and reported another unconfirmed potential tornado in Austin/Waller County. According to reports, a funnel cloud was observed at about 13:30 local time (LT) along U.S. Highway 290 southwest of Cypress, in Harris County. About 10 minutes later, a trained spotter reported a tornado near Champion Forest. Drone footage captured by Constable Mark Herman’s Office, Precinct 4, showed the extent of the destruction, with roofs torn off and trees snapped. More than 100 homes were damaged Monday afternoon after a tornado ripped through Harris County, Texas, said Constable Mark Herman. Officials also reported a strong smell of natural gas in the affected neighborhood following the twister’s impact. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported, said Brian Murray, spokesperson for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Over 2 300 people were without power in Harris County on Monday night, according to PowerOutage.us.

NOAA chief plugs AI in forecasting as hurricane season wraps - NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said artificial intelligence technologies used for the first time this year helped the National Weather Service provide timely and precise hurricane forecasts. In a Tuesday news release, Jacobs said the use of AI should improve forecast reliability and reduce deaths, injuries and property damage for the nation’s coastal residents. AI can be applied to various forecasting tools, but its primary use to date has been enhancing storm prediction models through data mining and machine learning. In some cases, AI can incorporate billions of data points into storm models, providing a clearer road map for hurricane behavior. Jacobs said the National Hurricane Center “performed exceedingly well when it came to forecasting rapid intensification for some of the more impactful storms and provided critical decision support for our Caribbean partners.”

Death toll climbs in Southeast Asia as heavy rains cause floods and landslides (AP) — The death toll in widespread flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains in Southeast Asia mounted on Monday with another person reported killed in Vietnam, and five others in Thailand with tens of thousands of people displaced. The total number of confirmed dead in Vietnam is now 91, with 11 others missing as the heavy rain that began a week ago has caused severe flooding and triggered landslides from Quang Tri to Lam Dong provinces, a stretch of 800 kilometers (500 miles) along the country’s central region, including the highlands. In Dak Lak, the worst hit province, 63 people were killed, mostly due to drowning. Other fatalities were from Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Danang, Hue and Quang Tri provinces. With roads washed out in many areas, helicopters have been deployed to drop food and aid supplies and to assist in evacuating people. After a break in the rain on the weekend, Pham Thu Huyen was one of many hundreds of residents and visitors who helped clean up debris washed ashore in Nha Trang, a popular tourist destination in Khanh Hoa province, known for its white sand beaches. “We’ve never experienced that much rain and such bad flooding,” the 45-year-old said. Waters have also taken their toll on this year’s crops, submerging coffee farms in Dak Lak, Vietnam’s major coffee growing region. Overall, damage so far is estimated to be around $500 million in this round of floods. Some of the waters have now receded but Vietnam’s weather agency warned that with rains continuing in some places the risks remain, and said a new tropical depression was forming that could bring worse weather again later in the week. Vietnam is among the world’s most flood-prone countries, with nearly half its population living in high-risk areas. Scientists warn that a warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall across Southeast Asia, making floods and landslides increasingly destructive and frequent. The current destruction has hit a region already battered earlier this month by floods from record rainfall and the powerful typhoon Kalmaegi. The country was also hit by typhoons in September and October, and the International Organization for Migration announced Monday that South Korea would contribute $1 million to help Vietnam assist displaced people, communities and migrants affected by those. The United Nations agency said that according to preliminary data, Vietnam estimates economic damage of some $1.2 billion from that period, with more than a half million homes damaged and hundreds of thousands of people evacuated and dozens killed. In Thailand, torrential rain in the south of the country caused severe flash flooding over the weekend, affecting nearly 2 million people, officials said. Five were killed and four were injured across six southern provinces, according to regional health officials. Ten southern provinces have been hit with heavy rainfall over the last week, and officials warned Monday that water levels are expected to rise further with the rain expected to continue through Tuesday. The city of Hat Yai, a major economic hub in Songkhla province, was hit with 335 millimeters (more than 13 inches) of rain on Friday, the highest 24-hour figure in 300 years, officials said. From Wednesday through Friday, the city saw 630 millimeters (nearly 25 inches) of rain, complicating evacuation efforts as hundreds of residents and tourists were trapped inside homes and hotels by rising water that forced emergency crews to use lifeboats to transport people along flooded streets. Thailand was already hit with widespread flooding in the north earlier in the year, followed by months of flooding in the central region, which killed more than two dozen people. That flooding also caused widespread damage to farmers fields and crops, and many thousands of homes. Malaysia is also grappling with flooding across several states that is expected to worsen as heavy, persistent rainfall continues. The Social Welfare Department reported Monday that more than 12,500 people across nine states have been evacuated. The worst-hit area is the northeastern state of Kelantan, which accounts for the majority of those displaced. Authorities have opened 86 temporary shelters and have warned that further rainfall is expected. Floods are common in parts of Malaysia during the annual monsoon season, which begins in November and can last until March.

Widespread floods leave 102 dead or missing in central Vietnam - YouTube video -- Severe mid-November flooding across central Vietnam has left 102 people dead or missing as of November 24, 2025, with Đắk Lắk suffering the worst losses and widespread destruction reported to homes, agriculture, and transport infrastructure. Severe flooding since mid-November has left 102 people dead or missing across central and Central Highlands Việt Nam. Đắk Lắk Province suffered the heaviest losses, with 63 deaths and 8 missing.Over 1 150 homes were destroyed and 185 000 flooded, with widespread damage to roads and railways.Agricultural losses include nearly 200 000 acres of crops and 289 000 acres of perennial plants, plus 3.23 million livestock and poultry.More than 1.17 million power customers were affected, with hundreds of thousands still without power.Widespread flooding has continued to devastate central Vietnam, causing extensive loss of life and damage since mid-November 2025. On November 23, disaster authorities reported 90 confirmed fatalities and 12 people still missing, up by 34 from the previous day. Đắk Lắk Province recorded the highest losses, with 63 deaths and eight missing, followed by Khánh Hòa with 14 deaths and two missing, and Lâm Đồng with five deaths. Other provinces affected include Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên Huế, Đà Nẵng, and Gia Lai. Economic losses are estimated at VND 9.035 trillion (USD 343 million), roughly unchanged from the previous day but expected to rise as assessments continue once water levels recede. More than 1 150 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, including 825 in Lâm Đồng. At the flood peak, approximately 185 700 homes were inundated, most in Đắk Lắk, though updated verification reduced the figure by around 50 000. Agricultural damage includes 80 825 ha (199 800 acres) of rice and crops and 117 067 ha (289 200 acres) of perennial plants ruined. More than 3.23 million livestock and poultry have perished or been swept away. Floods also damaged 1 157 ha (2 860 acres) of aquaculture ponds and cages, primarily in Đắk Lắk and Khánh Hòa. While National Highway 1 has reopened, 12 other road segments remain blocked by landslides or deep water, and six railway sections are still closed. In total, more than 1.17 million power customers were affected during the floods, while about 258 000 remain without electricity. Telecommunications networks report 552 base stations out of service. Although water levels in major rivers in Đắk Lắk, Khánh Hòa, and the Đồng Nai basin are falling, several areas remain submerged. In Đắk Lắk, four communes and wards, Hòa Xuân, Đông Hòa, Hòa Thịnh, and Hòa Mỹ, remain underwater. Khánh Hòa reports 87 affected households in Diên Điền and Hòa Trí, while Lâm Đồng reports 127 flooded homes in Nam Đà and Cát Tiên. Forecasts from the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) indicate that heavy rainfall will persist across parts of Huế, Đà Nẵng and eastern Quảng Ngãi through November 25, with totals between 60 and 120 mm (2.4–4.7 inches) and localized accumulations exceeding 250 mm (9.8 inches). The province of Gia Lai has requested 2 000 tonnes of rice, 3 000 kg of Chloramine B, and 100 000 Aquatabs tablets. Đắk Lắk is seeking 2 000 tonnes of food, water purification chemicals, medical kits, 5 000 social assistance packages, and support to restore agricultural production, including seeds, livestock, and essential inputs.

Severe floods in Sri Lanka kill over 30 as Cyclonic Storm Ditwah renews severe weather threat – YouTube videos - Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall across Sri Lanka over the weekend have killed at least 31 people. The heavy rain and severe weather are likely to persist as Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, formed on November 27, 2025, moves along the island’s eastern coast. Heavy rainfall began last week, prompting flood, thunderstorm, and heavy rain warnings across the island. Thus far, the severe weather has affected at least 4 000 families and left 31 people dead. The Disaster Management Center (DMC) said 18 of the reported deaths occurred in the tea-growing, mountainous regions of Badulla, and Nuwara Eliya in the Central Province, about 300 km (186 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. Another 14 people were reported missing Thursday due to landslides in the same areas, the center said. YouTube videoMultiple routes, including Kandy–Mahiyangana 18 Wanguwa Road and Badulla–Kandy Raja Road, were closed off until further notice due to the risk of landslides and flooding. The Advanced Level Exams in the country were also postponed by the examination department on Thursday and Friday due to the severe weather. Meanwhile, Cyclonic Storm Ditwah formed off the Sri Lankan Coast on November 27. As of 06:00 UTC, Ditwah’s center was located around 90 km (56 miles) south-southeast of Batticaloa and 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Hambantota in Sri Lanka, and 610 km (379 miles) south-southeast of Puducherry and 700 km (435 miles) south-southwest of Chennai in India. While it won’t make landfall, the storm is forecast to move northward toward southeastern India before turning northeast and dissipating by Sunday or early Monday, November 30–December 1.

Tropical Cyclone Fina reaches Category 3 strength as it nears Darwin, Australia - Tropical Cyclone Fina reached Category 3 strength on Saturday, November 22, 2025, as it neared its closest approach to Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The system is forecast to bring destructive winds and a threat of flash flooding across parts of northern Australia, and could potentially reach Category 4 strength by Monday, November 24. Tropical Cyclone Fina reached Category 3 strength on Saturday as the system moved toward Darwin. As of 15:00 AWST (07:00 UTC) on Saturday, the system was located about 60 km (37 miles) north of Darwin and 40 km (25 miles) south of Wurrumiyanga. Sustained winds near the center reached 150 km/h (93 mph), with gusts of up to 205 km/h (127 mph). The system was moving southwest at 7 km/h (4 mph). Darwin radar and satellite imagery show Fina on the south coast of Melville Island as a very compact yet strong system. Based on Fina’s forecast west-southwest track, the very destructive core is expected to pass just north of Darwin this evening, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). After passing Darwin, Fina is forecast to maintain severe tropical cyclone intensity on Sunday and into Monday as it moves through the southern Timor Sea, before beginning to weaken during Monday or Tuesday near the Kimberley coast. Tropical Cyclone Fina marked the earliest start of the Australian cyclone season in 12 years after it formed over the Timor Sea on November 19. Based on BOM’s forecast track, the system could reach Category 4 strength by Monday before it begins to weaken.

Mass power outages after giant hail and destructive winds hit south-east Queensland, Australia -(YouTube videos) A powerful thunderstorm struck south-east Queensland on Monday, November 24, 2025, generating giant hailstones, destructive winds and extensive power outages affecting over 150 000 homes. A line of severe thunderstorms swept through south-east Queensland on Monday afternoon, dropping giant hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that left more than 150 000 properties without power The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued multiple severe thunderstorm warnings as the system tracked eastward from the Darling Downs toward the coast, intensifying over the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane metropolitan area. Hailstones with diameters of up to 11 cm (4.3 inches) were reported in parts of the Moreton Bay region, while golf-ball-sized hail covered suburbs of the Sunshine Coast. Wind gusts of over 100 km/h (62 mph) were recorded at Brisbane Airport. The strong winds ripped through roofs, trees, and overturned multiple vehicles. The State Emergency Service (SES) responded to hundreds of calls for assistance across the region, primarily for roof damage, fallen trees, and flooding in low-lying areas. Power utility Energex reported that more than 150 000 customers lost supply across the south-east during the height of the storm. Restoration efforts were continuing late Monday evening, complicated by downed power lines and continuing hazardous conditions. YouTube video Localized flash flooding occurred in several coastal catchments as rainfall totals of over 60 mm (2.3 inches) in under an hour in some areas. Emergency services warned residents to stay clear of floodwaters and avoid fallen power infrastructure. The storms also affected transportation, with temporary road closures due to debris and flash flooding. Brisbane Airport experienced short delays as lightning activity forced ground staff indoors.

Heaviest rainfall in 300 years triggers severe flooding in Hat Yai, leaving over 30 dead, Thailand - YouTube videos -- Deadly floods triggered by record rainfall over the last week have claimed at least 33 lives in Thailand as of November 27, 2025. The government deployed military ships and helicopters to support the relief efforts across multiple provinces. “There have been 33 deaths across seven provinces,” said Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat. “Causes of death include being swept away by currents, drowning, electrocution, and landslides.” The city of Hat Yai received 335 mm (13 inches) of rainfall on November 21, the highest single-day rainfall in over 300 years. In the 72 hours between November 19 and 21, Hat Yai received around 630 mm (25 inches) of rainfall, the BBC reported. The heavy rainfall caused the Khlong U-Taphao and Khlong Phuminat Damri rivers to overflow, resulting in devastating floods.The flooding has caused damage worth over 500 million baht (15.5 million USD), according to a report by the Nation.According to the Thai interior ministry, floods have affected more than 980 000 homes and over 2.7 million people across Thailand over the past four days.Floodwaters inundated the first floor of Hat Yai’s main government hospital, treating 600 patients, including around 50 in intensive care, public health ministry official Somrerk Chungsaman told Reuters.. “Today, all intensive care patients will be transported out of Hat Yai Hospital,” he said. In Kangar, the capital of Malaysia’s Perlis state, workers moved patients out of the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital on gurneys through knee-high waters. The Thai military has deployed around 200 boats and 20 helicopters into service in the area, and authorities have received appeals for help from around 77 000 people through social media channels, according to Siripong. Thailand’s only aircraft carrier, Chakri Naruebet, which set out from its home port on Tuesday, November 25, had joined the relief effort, providing air support, the navy said. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, flooding and landslides following days of heavy rainfall have killed at least 23 people and left several missing since November 24.

Exceptionally rare Tropical Cyclone Senyar kills more than 300 across Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand - YouTube videos - A low-pressure area developed over the Strait of Malacca on November 22, 2025, and gradually organized into Cyclonic Storm Senyar on November 26. The rare low-latitude system made landfalls in northern Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, producing extreme rainfall and catastrophic flooding across Indonesia, Malaysia, and southern Thailand. At least 316 people were killed and thousands displaced before Senyar weakened into a low-pressure remnant on November 28.

• Cyclonic Storm Senyar was only the second documented tropical cyclone in the Strait of Malacca, and the first since Tropical Storm Vamei in 2001. Forming near 3° N, where the Coriolis force is normally too weak for tropical cyclogenesis, it represents an exceptionally rare equatorial cyclone likely aided by warm seas, cross-equatorial flow, and an active Madden–Julian Oscillation phase.
• The storm produced extreme rainfall, widespread flooding and landslides across northern Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and southern Thailand, destroying homes, roads, and bridges. Entire districts such as Sibolga (Indonesia) and Songkhla (Thailand) experienced severe infrastructure losses, mass evacuations, and ongoing humanitarian operations.
• Across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, Senyar caused more than 316 fatalities, including 169 in Indonesia and 145 in Thailand, with hundreds injured or missing and thousands displaced throughout the region.

Cyclonic Storm Senyar formed from a low-pressure area that developed over the Strait of Malacca on November 22. It was the thirteenth tropical depression and third cyclonic storm of the 2025 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. The disturbance intensified into a depression and deep depression on November 25 before reaching cyclonic-storm strength on November 26. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified it as a minimal tropical storm with sustained winds of about 65–75 km/h (40–45 mph). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Senyar made landfall on northern Sumatra near midnight local time on November 26, then paralleled the Sumatran coast while weakening slightly before making a second landfall in Peninsular Malaysia between Selangor and Negeri Sembilan around 00:30 MYT on November 28. The Malaysia Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) and IMD declared the system a low-pressure remnant later that day as it moved northeast toward southern Thailand and the South China Sea. YouTube video Intense convective thunderstorms produced extreme rainfall across western Sumatra, triggering flash floods and landslides that devastated multiple districts. Sibolga and the surrounding Tapanuli region suffered extensive damage to homes, roads, and bridges. Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirmed 169 fatalities, 113 injuries, and 154 people missing as of November 28. Thousands were displaced as floodwaters inundated coastal and upland settlements. Emergency teams supported by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and police continue to reach isolated areas where debris flows have blocked access. BNPB warns that saturated soils and ongoing rainfall could trigger further landslides even after the storm’s dissipation.

Polar vortex collapse begins, colder winter expected in U.S., Canada, and Europe - A sudden stratospheric warming event has begun, deforming the Polar Vortex and setting the stage for a colder start to winter across the United States, Canada, and Europe. 3D rendition of the Polar vortex for November 22, 2025. Credit: Stratobserve. Timeline of events:

• November 21: SSW event detected and begins
• November 25–28 (Thanksgiving): Peak disruption of the Polar Vortex in the stratosphere
• December 1–7: First major surface impacts (cold air) expected in the US/Canada
• Late December: Potential pattern shift bringing cold/snow to Europe.

A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event has begun and is weakening the Polar Vortex. This is expected to bring colder winter conditions across the United States, Canada, and Europe.The latest analysis by Andrej Flis from Severe Weather Europe (SWE) shows that the Polar Vortex has already begun to deform in the mid-stratosphere (around 30 km / 18.5 miles altitude).This is due to a high-pressure area located over the Arctic Ocean pushing it out of place. This high-pressure area–essentially an “anti-vortex”–is the direct result of the SSW event. A strong Polar Vortex locks cold air into the polar regions, creating milder winters. But when the Polar Vortex is disrupted or collapses, the cold air can escape, unleashing much colder winter conditions across the mid-latitudes (the U.S., Canada, and Europe).Peak disruption of the vortex is forecast to occur around Thanksgiving in the stratosphere. However, the effects typically take around 2–3 weeks to propagate downward, meaning weather impacts should become visible across the mid-latitudes by early December.This is one of the earliest collapse events on record. Only three similar early-season events have occurred in the last 70 years (1958, 1968, and 2000).Currently, the core of the Polar Vortex is being displaced over eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. As the vortex collapses, cold Arctic air will begin to spill downward. This positioning creates a “pump” that drives a sustained northerly flow, pulling deep polar air down from the Arctic.A significant polar outbreak is forecast across the northern, central, and northeastern U.S. Forecasts suggest this pattern will remain fairly stable and increase the probability of a white Christmas across the country. Snowfall from the event is expected to extend far into the southwestern U.S., potentially reaching northwestern Texas.Because the vortex core is positioned over North America, Europe will likely see a mild, warmer start to the month with westerly and southerly airflows.Later in the pattern, a high-pressure system may form in the north while low pressure develops to the south, creating an easterly flow. This would open the gates for freezing air to move into Northern and Central Europe–a phenomenon often called “The Beast from the East”–bringing the potential for heavy snow across the region in winter.

Volcano erupts in northern Ethiopia, sending ash plumes toward Yemen and Oman — A long-dormant volcano erupted in northern Ethiopia over the weekend, sending ash plumes across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman. The Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region of Ethiopia erupted on Sunday morning, leaving the neighboring village of Afdera covered in dust. A local administrator, Mohammed Seid, said there were no casualties, but the eruption could have economic implications for the local community of livestock herders. Seid told The Associated Press that there was no previous record of an eruption by the Hayli Gubbi volcano, and that he fears for the livelihoods of residents. “While no human lives and livestock have been lost so far, many villages have been covered in ash and as a result their animals have little to eat,” he said. The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in France also reported the eruption, which it observed on satellite imagery. The Afar region is prone to earthquakes and a resident, Ahmed Abdela, said he heard a loud sound and what he described as a shock wave. “It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” he said. The village near the Danakil desert, which is a tourist attraction, was still covered in ash on Monday and tourists and guides heading to the desert were stranded in the village, according to Abdela. The local authorities shared photos and videos of a towering ash plume rising from the volcano.

Explosive eruption at Bezymianny volcano sends ash to 11.4 km (37 000 feet), Kamchatka - A powerful explosive eruption took place at Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, on November 26, 2025, with ash reaching 11.4 km (37 400 feet) a.s.l., as of 04:00 UTC. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red due to ongoing explosions that could affect regional and international flights. Explosive activity at Bezymianny volcano, Kamchatka, persists according to the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT). The agency reported continuing explosions that sent ash up to approximately 11.4 km (37 400 feet) above sea level at 16:00 LT (04:00 UTC) on November 26. A dense ash cloud, estimated at 70 x 50 km (43 x 31 miles), was observed drifting east-northeast of the volcano at an azimuth of 57°, based on Himawari-9 satellite imagery acquired at 04:00 UTC. The Aviation Color Code remains Red, indicating an ongoing eruption with ash emissions posing potential hazards to both international and low-flying aircraft. KVERT reported that activity at Bezymianny had been gradually increasing prior to the eruption, with a large bright thermal anomaly visible in satellite imagery between November 16 and 20. The Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) noted that on most days during that period, hot avalanches descended the southeastern flank, crater incandescence was visible, and occasional ash plumes, produced either at the summit or by avalanches, rose as high as 4 km (13 100 feet) a.s.l. Scientists from the Kamchatka Volcanological Station (Volkstat) visited the volcano on November 20 and observed hot avalanches descending the southwestern part of a newly formed viscous lava dome.

New eruptive episode at Kīlauea produces strong lava fountaining and high sulfur dioxide emissions - Episode 37 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption began at 14:30 HST on November 25, 2025 (00:30 UTC, November 26), producing sustained lava fountains about 120 m (400 feet) high from the north vent inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The eruption remains confined within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with no impacts beyond the summit area. Seismic tremor intensified at the onset, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions rose to around 50 000 tonnes per day, generating volcanic gas plumes and vog drifting southwest under light northeast winds. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) reported sustained lava fountains reaching approximately 120 m (400 feet) from the north vent inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater at about 00:30 UTC on November 26. The eruption was accompanied by a sharp increase in volcanic tremor and a summit tilt reversal from inflation to deflation. Fountain heights increased rapidly through the afternoon as the eruption intensified. Based on patterns observed in previous episodes of this ongoing eruption sequence, such increases often precede brief periods of very high fountaining. Past episodes have produced incandescent lava jets exceeding 300 m (1 000 feet) and eruption plumes rising up to 6 000 m (20 000 feet) above ground level. Episode 37 was preceded by small, sporadic spattering that began on November 21 and transitioned to sustained activity following continuous overflows recorded at 14:15 HST on November 25. Inflationary tilt prior to eruption onset reached about 22 microradians. No impacts to communities or nearby airports have been reported, and flight operations at Kona (KOA) and Hilo (ITO) airports are unaffected. Since December 23, 2024, Kīlauea has shown a pattern of episodic summit activity, with short fountaining events typically lasting less than a day and separated by several days of quiet. HVO monitoring indicates no deformation or seismic changes in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone, suggesting magma storage remains restricted to the summit region. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions during the current episode are estimated at about 50 000 tonnes per day, producing visible volcanic gas plumes and vog (volcanic smog) downwind of the summit. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), winds are light and blowing from the northeast, carrying gases and fine volcanic particles toward the southwest. Downwind areas may experience fallout of Pele’s hair, fine strands of volcanic glass formed by lava fountains, along with minor ash, scoria, and reticulite fragments. These materials generally settle within 1–3 km (1–2 miles) of the eruptive vents but can be transported more than 15 km (10 miles) under suitable wind conditions. Residents and visitors are advised to minimize contact with Pele’s hair due to the risk of skin and eye irritation.

Debris strike on Shenzhou-20 leads to rare evacuation-capability gap on Tiangong station --- China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft at 04:11 UTC on November 25, 2025, to restore a safe return option for the three-member Tiangong space station crew, after debris damage earlier in the month rendered their original Shenzhou-20 return module unusable. The previous crew returned using the Shenzhou-21 arrival vehicle, leaving the current crew without an evacuation craft until Shenzhou-22’s launch. The astronauts remain in stable condition as docking procedures proceed. A debris impact that damaged the Shenzhou-20 return module earlier in November forced China to modify its crew rotation plan on the Tiangong space station and dispatch an emergency replacement spacecraft. The damage, described as cracks in a viewport of the re-entry module, was identified during routine inspection on November 4 and judged unsafe for crewed atmospheric return. As a result, the Shenzhou-20 crew returned to Earth using the newly arrived Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, leaving the Shenzhou-21 crew on Tiangong without a dedicated return vehicle. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) subsequently advanced the launch of Shenzhou-22, sending it uncrewed from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to serve as a replacement return craft. The mission launched from Jiuquan at 04:11 UTC on November 25, aboard a Long March-2F rocket, carrying over 600 kg (1 300 lbs) of supplies, including food, equipment, medicines, and fresh produce. shenzhou-22 launch china november 25 2025 cgtn bChina launches Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to Tiangong space station on November 25, 2025. Credit: CGTN (stillshot) shenzhou-22 launch china november 25 2025 cgtn cChina launches Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to Tiangong space station on November 25, 2025. Credit: CGTN (stillshot) The spacecraft autonomously docked with Tiangong’s Tianhe module at 07:50 UTC today, restoring the station’s safe return option. Officials said the Tiangong crew remains in good condition and continues scheduled operations while the new vehicle approaches docking.

Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds -Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet’s three main rainforest regions – the South American Amazon, south-east Asiaand Africa – have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.Human activity is the primary cause of the problem. Farmers are clearing more land for food production. Infrastructure projects and mining are exacerbating the loss of vegetation and global heating – caused by the burning of gas, oil and coal – thereby degrading the resilience of ecosystems.Scientists found that between 2010 and 2017, African forests lost approximately 106bn kg of biomass per year, which is equivalent to the weight of about 106m cars. The worst affected were the tropical moist broadleaf forests in Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and parts of west AfricaThe study, published on Friday in Scientific Reports, was led by researchers at the National Centre for Earth Observation at the Universities of Leicester, Sheffield and Edinburgh. Using satellite data and machine learning, they tracked more than a decade of changes in the amount of carbon stored in trees and woody vegetation.They discovered that Africa gained carbon between 2007 and 2010, but since then widespread forest loss has tipped the balance so the continent is contributing more CO2 into the atmosphere. The authors said the results show that urgent action is needed to stop forest loss or the world risks losing one of its most important natural carbon buffers. They say that Brazil has launched an initiative, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), which aims to mobilise more than $100bn (£76bn) for forest protection by paying countries to leave their forests untouched. So far, however, only a handful of nations have invested a total of $6.5bn in the initiative.

International research team discovers a potential source of abiotic methane in the Arctic Ocean An international team of scientists and students, led by the Arctic University of Norway, and including chemists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has announced a remarkable discovery of a venting system on the seafloor of the Arctic. This significant finding was made during the ongoing EXTREME25 expedition aboard the research vessel Kronprins Haakon. Utilizing the advanced remotely operated vehicle ROV ÆGIR 6000, researchers have been exploring the Fram Strait, a passage area situated between Greenland and Svalbard. During their exploration, the team identified a previously unknown diffuse venting field along the fault scarp of an oceanic core complex (OCC). The WHOI-developed SAGE (Sensor for Aqueous Gases in the Environment) methane sensor was used in situ to confirm the presence of methane in the fluids. This is significant as the location and geology of the area point to the potential of abiotic methane, which is methane that is produced without the presence of living organisms. Mary Burkitt-Gray is the WHOI principal investigator on this project, which uses the newly developed SAGE methane and CO2 sensors to identify sources of dissolved gas from seeps and vents in the high Arctic, map their distributions to determine the fate of these gases, and assess their impact on the surrounding ecosystems or environment. "By deploying SAGE on ROV ÆGIR, we were able to measure the emission of methane from this vent in real-time and confirm its composition at source," explained Burkitt-Gray. "Using these sensors in situ helps us to immediately start to link the science behind the data. "The realization that we're potentially measuring a source of methane that's never been confirmed in this region is thrilling. It's exciting to see what new discoveries this technology can help us make," she added.

The deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean are warming now too -A new study analysed temperature data gathered in recent decades to identify the main sources of heat causing Arctic Ocean warming. The study by the team from the Ocean University of China and Laoshan Laboratory demonstrated that the effect of climate change on the oceans is far greater than previously thought.The Arctic Ocean includes various basins, each with its own specific characteristics and rate of warming. The process of Atlantification in the Arctic Ocean - the process where the Arctic Ocean becomes more influenced by the warmer, saltier waters of the Atlantic - is well-known.However, a new study has found that the deep water in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean is warming at a rate of 0.020°C per decade. According to the researchers, this rate of warming is too fast to be explained by natural geothermal heating alone.“Our findings indicate that the deep Greenland Basin warming has already exerted obvious impacts on the deep Arctic Ocean,” researchers emphasise. The Greenland basin is a deep-water basin within the Greenland Sea, which is considered an outlying part of the Arctic Ocean and borders Greenland to the west.The team concluded that the additional warming in the Eurasian Basin originates from the Greenland Basin, which, due to rapid warming, is no longer functioning as a cold source for the Eurasian Basin as it did in the past."We find that the rapid warming in the deep Greenland Basin diminishes its cooling effect on the deep Eurasian Basin via the Fram Strait," the study concludes.The shallow Lomonosov Ridge prevents the warm water from spreading further into the Amerasian basin, "maintaining its relatively slow warming rate".

Polar ice melt offers unexpected solution to a global climate disaster --The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system of Atlantic Ocean currents that redistributes heat and nutrients between the tropics and the North Atlantic, is one of the planet's tipping points. That means there is a critical threshold that, once crossed, could trigger abrupt, irreversible climate shifts. According to predictions, melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) could destabilize the AMOC. However, new research published in the journal Science Advances suggests that meltwater from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could prevent it from collapsing altogether.Scientists have known for some time that the GIS poses a significant threat to AMOC. When its meltwater pours into the North Atlantic, it can slow down or stop the sinking of dense water that helps drive this ocean current system. But less well known was whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), located far away in the Southern Ocean, could also influence AMOC. So scientists from Utrecht University in the Netherlands decided to model what would happen if both Greenland and Antarctica started melting rapidly.The most significant finding was that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet's meltwater didn't always increase the risk of an AMOC collapse. Under some conditions, such as when its melting was rapid and began to slow down as Greenland's melt peaked, it could prevent a total collapse.This happens because Antarctic meltwater changes how layers of water behave in the Southern Ocean, which eventually sends slightly saltier water toward the North Atlantic. Over time, this helps the water stay dense enough to keep the AMOC moving, at least in the model. However, even with this stabilizing effect, the AMOC weakens by about 60% and would take about 3,000 years to recover.The finding confirmed similar results from previous, simpler conceptual models. "Our results clearly demonstrate that the AMOC stabilization driven by WAIS meltwater fluxes is not only present in conceptual models, but can also be found in EMICs," wrote the researchers. However, if the timing is wrong, such as if the WAIS melt peaks too late or is too slow, this stabilizing effect vanishes. In fact, WAIS meltwater could even accelerate the AMOC's tipping point. Even though this would be catastrophic, the study's authors emphasize that WAIS melt itself is far worse. "Such a marked event is far too dangerous to bet on given its many severe consequences including, for example, a total contribution to global sea level rise of up to 4.3 m."

Ocean's upper 1,000 meters undergoing unprecedented, deep-reaching compound change Vast regions of the global ocean are experiencing compound state change, with simultaneously warming, becoming saltier or fresher, losing oxygen, and acidifying. Credit: Zhetao Tan Earth's ocean, the planet's life-support system, is experiencing rapid and widespread transformations that extend far below its surface. A promising international study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that vast regions of the global ocean are experiencing compound state change, with simultaneously warming, becoming saltier or fresher, losing oxygen, and acidifying—clear indicators of climate change pushing marine environments into uncharted territory. Researchers developed an assessment and monitoring tool to standardize and combine multiple ocean essential variables, pinpointing when and where areas clearly affected by compound state change in a warming climate. With this framework, this study demonstrates an increase in impacts of these compound state changes across much of the ocean's upper 1,000 meters, identifying areas most affected. "Between 30% and 40% of the ocean's upper layers have already undergone significant shifts in at least two critical properties compared to 60 years ago," explains Dr. Zhetao Tan (ENS-PSL), the study's lead author. "In some areas, up to a quarter of the ocean shows simultaneous changes in temperature, salinity, and oxygen—a striking and alarming trend." The most intense compound changes are occurring in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, North Pacific, Arabian Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. The combined impact of these shifts is particularly concerning: while each variable affects marine life independently, their simultaneous alteration can push ecosystems beyond their adaptive limits. "The ocean is experiencing strong compound change multidimensionally," warns Prof. Lijing Cheng (IAP/CAS), "The ocean condition is transforming in multiple dimensions at once, and even the deep ocean—once considered stable—is responding more rapidly than we thought." This innovative framework also enables us to identify when and where climate change signals surpass short-term variability, and allows us to move from looking at the change in each variable on its own to combining them into a multivariate composite index. This approach allows scientists to determine when the ocean has transitioned into a new state and how deep these changes penetrate—critical insights for monitoring and mitigating climate risks. "Our findings are based on direct physical and biogeochemical observations," emphasizes Prof. Sabrina Speich (ENS-PSL), co-chair of the Ocean Observations for Physics and Climate group. "They underscore the urgent need for sustained, high-quality ocean monitoring to inform global climate action." Compound ocean changes are reshaping marine ecosystems and threatening the communities that rely on them. "Marine species face heightened stress when exposed to multiple stressors simultaneously, forcing migration or decline," notes Dr. Laurent Bopp (ENS–PSL). "This disruption can destabilize global fisheries, compromise food security, and jeopardize livelihoods." Beyond biodiversity, these shifts may weaken the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon and heat, undermining its role as Earth's climate regulator.

Fossil fuel emissions accelerate winter rainfall changes across Europe by 23 years -As COP30 negotiations failed to secure new pledges to cut fossil fuels, new research shows that the burning of coal, oil and gas is already driving dangerous increases in winter rainfall across northern Europe—decades ahead of climate model projections.. Our new study shows that winter rainfall is increasing far more quickly than climate models project—reaching levels now that models don't detect until the 2040s."As fossil fuels were taken out of the COP30 decision text, it is vital that politicians understand the science: the risks are accelerating, and delaying action will put more lives at risk. We urgently need our politicians to take these escalating weather events seriously. The UK must urgently transition away from fossil fuels and invest in resilience now, not decades from now." A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels has accelerated shifts in Europe's winter rainfall patterns by more than two decades. Conditions expected in the mid-2040s are already being observed today. Newcastle University climate experts found that winters in northern and central Europe—including the UK—are becoming significantly wetter, increasing winter flood risk. In contrast, winters in the Mediterranean are becoming markedly drier, deepening drought and water scarcity. Climate models significantly underestimate both the speed and magnitude of these changes. The team analyzed winter rainfall in Europe between 1950 and 2024 and examined how large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, including shifts in the North Atlantic jet stream, interact with human-caused warming. Their methods separated the natural variability from the effects of burning fossil fuels. Even after accounting for natural climate fluctuations, observed changes were much stronger than climate models predict for the same period. These trends are contributing to increases in winter flood risk in northern Europe. Lead author Dr. James Carruthers, Newcastle University School of Engineering, said,"Future winter flood risk, especially in northern Europe, is likely to be significantly underestimated. The level of risk we face today is already greater than climate models indicate."The findings raise urgent concerns for national adaptation plans, infrastructure investment, and emergency preparedness across Europe which may be underestimating climate risks for the next 20 to 30 years. The authors stress that the UK and Europe must accelerate and strengthen its adaptation planning to protect communities from worsening winter floods, as many systems are planned using these climate model projections. They plan to continue investigating whether similar early intensification is occurring in other seasons.

Contrails are a major driver of aviation's climate impact, study shows --Aviation's climate impact extends beyond carbon dioxide emissions. A new international study, involving researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, reveals that contrails can represent a significant portion of aviation's overall climate cost—with effects that vary sharply depending on atmospheric conditions and flight paths. By analyzing data from almost half a million flights, the research team has generated new insights that can support both industry and policymakers in guiding aviation toward more climate-optimized operations.In the Nature Communications article "The social costs of aviation CO₂ and contrail cirrus," researchers Daniel Johansson, Christian Azar, Susanne Pettersson, Thomas Sterner, Marc E. J. Stettler and Roger Teoh demonstrate that both CO₂ emissions and contrail formation contribute materially to aviation's climate impact—and that the associated societal costs differ substantially depending on weather patterns and routing decisions.Drawing on extensive flight and meteorological data over the North Atlantic, in combination with a contrail model and an advanced climate-economy model, the researchers estimated the climate and societal cost attributable to each emission source.Their findings indicate that strategies to reduce the impact of contrails can yield considerable climate benefits—even if such measures require rerouting flights to avoid atmospheric regions where persistent contrails may form.The study has several implications for policymakers, industry stakeholders and the research community, including:

• The climate impact of contrails should be considered in future aviation and climate policy.
• Airlines and air-traffic management may gain new tools to optimize operations from a climate perspective.
• Research and innovation programs should account for the climate impacts of CO₂ (long-lived) and contrails (short-lived) to manage aviation's overall climate effects.

Breaking: Airbus grounds over 6,000 A320 aircraft amid solar radiation risk - Airbus has urged airlines operating A320 family aircraft to take swift protective measures after engineers uncovered a rare but serious susceptibility to intense solar activity. The move follows an incident involving an A320 family jet in which elevated solar radiation levels were found to interfere with data fundamental to the aircraft’s flight-control architecture, prompting an immediate technical response. Intense solar radiation can result from powerful explosions in the solar system. Depending on the class and intensity of the flare, the energy can travel at the speed of light, reaching the earth’s atmosphere within minutes. Intense flares can also disrupt radio communications that pass through the atmosphere, such as those from aircraft communication systems. Airbus released a statement on Friday 28 November, noting that: “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has indicated that elevated solar radiation may compromise data critical to flight control functionality.” The event in question occurred on 30 October, when a JetBlue Airways A320 experienced an abrupt loss of altitude. The incident resulted in injuries to at least 15 passengers and forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Florida. The manufacturer’s inquiry determined that extreme solar radiation can impact specific onboard data channels, with the potential to impair flight-control functionality. Airbus’ technical teams concluded that a considerable share of the active A320 fleet could, under comparable circumstances, face the same exposure risk. To counter the hazard, Airbus has released an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) – a notice reserved for situations requiring rapid, mandatory operator action. The bulletin instructs carriers to apply the relevant software updates and, where necessary, integrate hardware safeguards designed to prevent radiation-related corruption of critical flight-control data. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has now formalised the measures through an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD). These directives are uncommon and deployed only when regulators determine an urgent need to implement corrective action across all affected aircraft. The EAD will obligate operators to carry out the specified updates before aircraft can remain in commercial service. Depending on fleet size, maintenance bandwidth, and scheduling, airlines may experience short-term operational impacts during the rollout.

Flight disruption warning as Airbus requests modifications to 6,000 planes - BBC News --Summary:

• European aerospace giant Airbus has warned flights will be disrupted after it requested immediate modifications to thousands of its planes
• The move comes after the discovery that intense radiation from the Sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls
• About 6,000 planes are thought to be affected, which makes up about half of Airbus's global fleet, but it is understood most will be able to undergo a simple software update
• The UK's aviation regulator has said carrying out the updates would likely cause "some disruption and cancellations to flights"
• American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air India, Wizz Air and Air New Zealand have all warned of disruption to flights

The discovery that computers installed on one of the most widely operated passenger planes could be vulnerable to interference from the sun has led to mass cancellations. Here is what we know.

• European aerospace giant Airbus has warned flights will be disrupted after it said it must carry out immediate software updates to thousands of its planes
• Over 6,000 planes, mainly the A320 model, are thought to be affected
• The disruption has fallen on a major holiday weekend in the US, which is home to four of the biggest A320 model operators: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines
• The issue was discovered after a JetBlue aircraft en-route from Mexico to the United States experienced a "sudden drop in altitude" in October
• It’s thought the incident was caused by interference from intense solar radiation, which corrupted data in a computer which controls the aircraft's elevation
• Disruption at UK airports has been fairly limited so far, though several airlines around the world have reported cancellations
• We are pausing our live coverage for now, but you can read our latest updates on the story here.

Former Qantas captain Dr Ian Getley, who holds a PHD in cosmic and solar radiation in aviation, says flights can be affected by coronal mass ejections (CME), which is when plasma is ejected from the sun into space.The higher the severity of the CME, the more likely it is that issues could arise with satellites and aircraft electronics above 28,000 ft (8.5 km), he tell us.A CME releases heavily charged particles that shoot into the Earth's atmosphere.These create more charged particles in the upper atmosphere, which in turn can interfere with aircraft electronics.The former pilot says his research began after a 2003 flight between LA and New York, where he experienced this phenomenon first hand.

Airbus warns that solar radiation could harm key data on popular A320 aircraft - One of the world’s largest airplane makers said Friday that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight controls on a “significant number” of its most popular aircraft, prompting a swift response from several airlines. Airbus attributed the revelation to a recent analysis involving its A320 family of aircraft. The company said it is working with aviation authorities to implement software or hardware fixes to ensure its fleet is safe to fly. Those fixes are expected to lead to operational disruptions for passengers, Airbus said in a statement. Some airlines in Europe and the United States were scrambling after the announcement to address the issue. In a statement, American Airlines described its response as “all hands on deck” and said that it began identifying and completing software updates on the hundreds of A320s that are part of its fleet and require the fix. The update takes roughly two hours per aircraft, the airline said. “Though we expect some delays as we accomplish these updates, we are intently focused on limiting cancellations — especially with customers returning home from holiday travel,” the company said. American Airlines added that an initial safety review found no indication that flight control data had been corrupted on its A320s. A spokesperson for Delta said the airline expects limited operational impact, while Wizz Air, based in Hungary, and EasyJet, based in London, said that some of its flights could be affected. In Germany, Lufthansa said there could be a small number of cancellations or delays. British Airways said it planned on working overnight to implement software fixes on its three A320s.

When trade routes shift, so do clouds: Researchers uncover ripple effects of new global shipping regulations --When militia attacks disrupted shipping lanes in the Red Sea, few imagined the ripple effects would reach the clouds over the South Atlantic. But for Florida State University atmospheric scientist Michael Diamond, the rerouting of cargo ships offered a rare opportunity to clarify a pressing climate question—How much do cleaner fuels change how clouds form? In research published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Diamond and FSU Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science graduate student Lilli Boss showed that new fuel regulations that cut sulfur by about 80% also lowered cloud droplet formation by about 67% compared with earlier, dirtier fuels. "The unexpected rerouting of global shipping gave us a unique opportunity to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions, reducing the largest source of uncertainty in global climate projections," said Diamond. "When your 'laboratory' is the atmosphere, it's not every day you can run experiments like this one.” In January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandated a major reduction in sulfur content in marine fuels to decrease air pollution. Aerosols from ship emissions, especially sulfate, influence cloud formation and brightness, which in turn affect Earth's energy balance. Referred to as aerosol-cloud interactions, these particles cause clouds to form with smaller, more numerous droplets, making them brighter and thus more reflective of sunlight. This creates a cooling effect, which has historically masked about one-third of the warming caused by greenhouse gases. But air pollution's effects are marked by huge uncertainty and variability. Unlike long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, which linger in the atmosphere for centuries, aerosols stay only for days or weeks. This short lifespan, coupled with the unpredictable nature of clouds, makes aerosol-cloud interactions the single largest source of uncertainty in global climate projections. Diamond's previous research had shown that clouds in major shipping corridors were forming with larger and less numerous droplets after IMO 2020. Beginning in November 2023, attacks in the Bab al-Mandab Strait caused a sharp decline in Red Sea traffic and a surge in shipping around the Cape of Good Hope. As a result, the South Atlantic region—which is highly susceptible to ship emissions because of its persistent, low-lying clouds—experienced a sudden, massive increase in ship volume. Because the rerouting was driven by conflict rather than weather or policy, researchers could observe how clouds changed in direct response to ship emissions alone. Such clear cause-and-effect situations are almost impossible to create in controlled experiments, making this a valuable natural test case.Satellite data revealed a clear increase in nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. NO2, a gas emitted by ship engines that was unaffected by the 2020 IMO fuel regulations, served as a reliable indicator of increased ship activity, confirming a surge in traffic through the region and allowing scientists to directly compare pre- and post-regulation conditions under heavy ship traffic. With roughly twice as many ships in operation during 2024, the overall impact on cloud droplet formation was only slightly weaker than before IMO 2020. However, by comparing NO2, which was unaffected by the sulfur-reducing regulations, with cloud droplet number, which is sensitive to sulfur, Diamond and Boss found a 67% reduction in ships' cloud-altering abilities after the IMO regulations went into effect. Their result provides further strong evidence that cleaner fuels have reduced shipping's influence on cloud formation and helps to quantify the relationship between pollution and cloud response, which is an important constraint for improving climate simulations.. These findings also highlight the complex trade-offs in air-quality policy, showing how actions aimed at protecting human health can simultaneously reshape the planet's climate response. Although these aerosols temporarily cool the planet, this comes at the cost of human health. Exposure to sulfur particles, potent air pollutants, is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The IMO regulation is estimated to have already prevented tens of thousands of premature deaths.

Climate summit proposal dodges call to accelerate away from fossil fuels - — A final, yet-to-be-agreed-on text for the U.N. climate summit would call on nations to take marginal steps toward combating climate change — but fails to substantially commit to new efforts to ditch the fossil fuels that cause it, according to a copy of the text seen by POLITICO.Such an outcome would be a disappointment for European countries and low-lying Pacific island nations that had urged the COP30 talks to end with a call for accelerating the world’s transition away from coal, oil and natural gas.The deal could win approval at a session scheduled for Saturday morning. The draft text, confirmed by one person close to the talks, did salvage a passing reference to a 2023 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels — while not mentioning the fuels themselves. Oil-rich Arab countries had fought to exorcise that deal from the record of climate talks.The person was granted anonymity in order to discuss the details of the draft deal.The proposal would also set up a meeting next year “to exchange experiences and views on related matters” — an oblique reference to a proposed post-fossil-fuel roadmap.The deal also agreed to a tripling of funding to help poorer countries adapt to the painful effects of climate change by 2035. That’s more than wealthy governments had said they were willing to agree to in the negotiations, but poorer countries that had sought a 2030 timeline have decried it as wholly inadequate in the face of devastating droughts, floods and fires driven by the superheated climate.The COP30 talks, which have been running for almost two weeks, have struggled to shake off the shadow of Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. The Trump administration did not send delegates to the talks and is universally expected to reject any outcome. That meant highly contentious discussions were held in the absence of the world’s largest economy and a frequent broker at these annual summits.

Amazon climate deal a 'win' for global unity but fossil fuels untouched -Nations sealed a modest agreement at the UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday as many countries swallowed weaker terms on a fossil fuel phaseout to preserve unity. Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of exhaustive negotiations on the fringes of the rainforest, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the talks. Applause rang out as the gavel was brought down in steamy Belem, capping a dramatic summit that witnessed raucous protests, a damaging fire and massive street marches. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who staked political capital on the success of COP30, said the pact was proof that a fractured world could still unite in crisis. "The international community faced a choice: to continue or to give up. We chose the first option," Lula said in South Africa, where he was attending a G20 summit. "Multilateralism won." There was less euphoria in Belem, where defeated European ministers admitted they only took the watered-down deal to keep the entire process from imploding. "We're not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more," said EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra. Later, he added, "I know it's a bit intangible, but there is huge value in doing stuff together." The head of China's delegation at COP30, Li Gao, told AFP that the summit will go down as a success. "We achieved this success in a very difficult situation, so it shows that the international community would like to show solidarity and make joint efforts to address climate change," Li said. India hailed a "meaningful" deal in a statement read on behalf of major emerging markets Brazil, South Africa, India and China. The Alliance of Small Island States—a bloc of 39 of the world's most climate-imperiled nations—said the deal was "imperfect, but necessary progress" for a global body that operates by consensus. Dozens of countries had threatened to walk away from the talks without an exit strategy from oil, gas and coal—instead, the deal points to a previous pact on fossil fuels, without explicitly using those words. "We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand," said COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago, who offered to create a voluntary "roadmap" away from fossil fuels as a consolation. Colombia "does not accept" the deal, said President Gustavo Petro, whose country is hosting a world-first summit on a fossil fuel phaseout in April next year. The roadmap idea picked up pace after an early endorsement from Lula, but ran into predictable opposition from oil giants like Saudi Arabia, coal producer India, and others. "President Lula set the bar high in calling for roadmaps to end fossil fuels and deforestation, but a divided multilateral landscape was unable to hurdle it," said Carolina Pasquali from Greenpeace Brazil.

What did countries agree to at COP30? - The COP30 climate summit has drawn to a close after two weeks in the Amazonian city of Belem where protests, street marches and even a fire caused unexpected moments of drama. But beneath enormous tents erected over a former airport at the edge of the rainforest, nations also adopted some decisions on how to battle climate change.Here are the main negotiated outcomes, and the voluntary commitments, made during the summit attended by nearly 200 nations:

• Fossil fuels - The thorniest issues were bundled into a "mutirao" pact—the summit's slogan, drawn from the Tupi-Guarani word for "collective effort."The agreement included an initiative for countries to collaborate on a voluntary basis to reduce carbon emissions and strive to limit global warming to 1.5C relative to pre-industrial levels.It also noted a commitment made by all nations at COP28 in Dubai to "transition away from fossil fuels"—but this exact phrase, which has become politically sensitive, was not included.Despite pressure from more than 80 nations from Europe to Latin America to the Pacific, the conference did not adopt a "roadmap" to phase out fossil fuels. Instead, COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago offered to create one for countries willing to join on a voluntary basis, and another plan to halt deforestation.
• Finance - The world's poorest nations have long complained they lack the finance for "adaptation"—measures to protect their economies from rising seas, such as building sea walls, and other impacts of climate change.In a win for developing countries at COP30, the final agreement "calls for efforts to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035." In 2024, rich countries agreed to provide $300 billion a year by 2035 in climate finance to developing nations, with no specific amount earmarked for adaptation. Most of that goes to projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as renewable energy, and not to adaptation—something developing nations have long complained puts them at a disadvantage.The "tripling" goal agreed in Belem could mean $120 billion from that $300 billion is earmarked for adaptation, but close observers said clarity was still needed around that target.
• Trade - For the first time, trade has been included as a pillar of the final text, with a three-year dialog to take place under the climate framework. This reflected concerns from countries including China that trade measures—like taxes on carbon-intensive goods—could erode export revenues or throw up barriers to green technology sales.
• Forests - At COP30, Brazil launched a new global investment vehicle that proposes paying out a share of profits to forest-rich countries for every hectare of trees they leave standing.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced during a leaders' summit in Belem last week—even before COP30 officially started—the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility.The TFFF attracted $5.5 billion in pledges from Norway, Germany, Indonesia, France and Brazil—the biggest contributors. Ultimately, Brazil is seeking to raise $125 billion in public and private investment, but said the fund could start working even without the full $25 billion in startup capital from governments.
• Methane pledges - Slashing methane emissions—the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide—is considered one of the fastest ways to curb global warming.Although it remains in the atmosphere for about 12 years, the "super pollutant" is roughly 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period.At COP30, seven countries—Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Norway, Japan and Kazakhstan—signed a statement vowing to achieve "near zero" methane emissions across the fossil fuel sector.

Deal or ‘meh’ deal? Climate efforts stagger but don’t collapse in Brazil - — Almost 200 countries gathered in Brazil acknowledged Saturday that their efforts to stop calamitous global warming were off pace — but geopolitical headwinds and fossil-fuel-producing countries snuffed out hopes of a meaningful commitment to move faster.The final deal emerging from a difficult final day of negotiations near the mouth of the Amazon calls for enhanced efforts by nations to curb the Earth’s rising temperatures and provide poorer, particularly vulnerable countries with assurances of funding to deal with the impacts of a hotter planet. But it offers money less quickly than those nations would have wanted, due to resistance from Europe and other rich countries.The COP30 agreement also points to expansions of the worldwide clean energy economy, calling the transition toward reduced planet-warming pollution and more climate-resilient development “irreversible and the trend of the future.” It was a stronger outcome than what the talks’ Brazilian hosts had proposed in the final days of the talks. The negotiations faced multiple headwinds, including the United States’ refusal to attend the summit at all.But the agreement still only alludes to a push by 82 nations, including many in Europe, for a concrete process to speed up the worldwide transition away from fossil fuels. That proposal had drawn objections from major oil- and natural-gas-producing nations, which have pointed to rising energy demand as a driver of the continued need for output.Instead, countries agreed to take marginal steps to accelerate their climate efforts while “striving” to do better, a phrase that China — the world’s clean energy superpower, second-biggest economy and largest greenhouse gas polluter — has used to refer to its own targets.Brazil also pushed a side deal for creating two separate “roadmaps” that would outline a path toward winding down fossil fuel use and ending deforestation. Colombia and the Netherlands, strong advocates of a fossil fuel phase out, had announced Friday they would co-host a summit next year to move that effort forward.“As president of this conference, it is my duty to recognize some very important discussions that took place in Belem and that need to continue during the Brazilian presidency … even if they are not reflected in these texts we just approved,” COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago said following the final gaveling.“There was no backtracking, there was a bit of progress,” said German climate minister Carsten Schneider. “I would have liked to see much more, but we also wanted a COP that produces results and shows that multilateralism works, even if it is incredibly difficult.”The final text is nonbinding, and even a firm reiteration of a previous summit’s 2023 pledge to eventually phase out oil, gas and coal would have no effect on countries such as the United States that are aggressively moving to expand their production and exports of fossil fuels. But the less-than-resounding support for taking that pledge forward raises questions about whether countries remained united behind a goal they had described as historic just two years ago, according to delegates who expressed disappointment Saturday.The 13 days of talks by nearly 200 countries in the northern Brazilian port city of Belém had taken place without U.S. delegates present — a first for the annual global climate talks — after President Donald Trump dismissed the entire effort to avert the Earth’s warming as a “hoax” and a “con job.”Trump announced in January that he was once again withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement, the global climate pact whose goals had provided a basis for this month’s negotiations.The absence of a strong U.S. push for a climate deal, something Washington had provided at previous talks under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, allowed a bloc of emerging economies and petro-states to scrub the final text of any explicit mention of the fuels driving climate change.EU members, while initially split over whether to endorse the roadmap on fossil fuels, had railed against the snub on Friday and were prepared to walk away from the summit on the final day without a deal.But the bloc won a handful of small concessions overnight, and after hours of discussions early Saturday morning decided to endorse the slightly tweaked text. “We would have liked to have more,” EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said, but “we do think we should support it because at least it goes in the right direction.” The 2023 U.N. climate summit in the United Arab Emirates — a major oil and gas producer in its own right — had urged countries to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” In the years since, fossil fuel production has continued rising. At the same time, though, use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power have taken off, thanks in large part to lower costs and rising exports of gear from China.But China, which still describes itself as a developing country, declined to step into a political leadership position at the talks, despite having a major presence at the summit and a predominant role in the world’s clean energy supply chains. That left the European Union and more progressive climate countries, such as Colombia and the United Kingdom, isolated in pushing for a more ambitious deal without U.S. backing.As the COP30 host and president, Brazil had placed a priority on connecting the talks to the real economy and sending a message that global cooperation on climate is still alive and breathing. The final deal achieved that aim, but just.

The world is fractured. The climate talks reflected that. -- The U.S. snubbed the talks. Petro-states and fossil-fuel-hungry emerging economies got most of what they wanted. And Europeans struggled to show they were prepared to lead the effort to squelch global warming. Two weeks of climate negotiations hardly ended in triumph Saturday, following a U.N. summit whose final days included a fire that interrupted discussions about how to stop burning the planet. But they did end, with a deal that even critical delegates said shows that a divided, leaderless collection of nearly 200 nations can make some progress toward the goal of averting heat waves, deepening droughts and increasingly destructive storms. The delegates shoved the hardest decisions off onto future summits, however. Those included debates about accelerating previous pledges to switch away from fossil fuels, and about reducing trade barriers that hinder the flow of clean energy technologies.

Republican split widens as Texas regulator bashes CCS - A Texas energy regulator is publicly slamming carbon injection plans, challenging the oil and gas industry over a technology designed to curb climate-warming emissions.Wayne Christian, one of three elected Republicans at the state Railroad Commission, disagreed with a recent staff decision to grant a state permit for a major Texas carbon removal and storage project.He called the proposal “a danger” during a public meeting last week, questioning how much it was studied. And he tied government incentives for carbon projects to global emissions efforts and a Biden-era climate law. Christian is one of a growing number of Republican voices pushing back on carbon capture and storage while typically supporting oil and gas initiatives.“We’re sitting here allowing a spending of taxpayer dollars — not private corporations, not industry — we’re talking about my grandkids’ money,” Christian said. “And we find the Railroad Commission of Texas agreeing with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and others like that rather than what’s pro-oil and gas.”EPA recently approved Texas’ request for top regulatory authority over Class VI wells used to inject carbon dioxide underground for long-term geologic storage. As of Nov. 7, applications for Class VI wells in Texas made up 24 percent of all Class VI permits pending at EPA, an online tracker shows. Carbon well approvals will shift solely to Texas in mid-December, while the recent state permit approval also involved Class VI permits for an Occidental project in the state’s Ector County. A broader debate, meanwhile, is unfolding across the country.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called carbon sequestration “a scam” in a video posted to Facebook in March, blasting Republican lawmakers in the state for using the party’s supermajority to advance carbon sequestration legislation.Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order in October instituting a moratorium on new applications for Class VI permits, citing a need to “put into place a well-thought-out and methodical approach to application review and permitting.” And Alabama GOP state Rep. Matthew Hammett has prefiled a bill that would prevent “persons from injecting and storing” CO2 and nonhazardous fluids in underground wells in Covington County, in the southern part of the state. That came after a company submitted a Class VI permit application to EPA in July for a sequestration hub, according to an EPA tracker. In a statement last week, Jeff Emerson — a spokesperson for project developer Reliant — said the Pine Hills storage hub will “operate under the strictest federal safety standards” set by EPA’s underground injection control program. EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said the agency welcomes Christian’s support for President Donald Trump’s energy dominance agenda and “our mutual interest in empowering Texas to protect its underground sources of drinking water while advancing economic growth and energy dominance.”Texas has its own Class VI regulations that require applications to get state permits for Class VI wells on top of Class VI permits from EPA, Hirsch said.Growing Republican concerns over safety related to carbon injection wells put officials in line with environmental groups they often spar with over oil and gas issues. Groups like the Center for International Environmental Law, the Center for Biological Diversity and Commission Shift — a nonprofit watchdog group that advocates for changes to the Railroad Commission — have all expressed safety concerns that mirrored some of Christian’s comments. Worries include potential CO2 pipeline leaks and underground pressure issues in areas that have already seen seismic activity tied to fracking wastewater injections. “It’s a sign of the strange political moment that we’re in, where a Republican regulator would attack carbon capture as an unproven technology,” “Some of what [Christian] said could have come from the mouths of climate activists who also would raise concerns around safety or efficacy.”

Electric vehicle owners face new pay-per-mile tax. What could be the environmental costs? -Modern electric vehicles are transforming the roads with low noise, rapid acceleration and zero exhaust emissions. However, drivers of electric vehicles in the UK will now face a new 3p per mile charge and drivers of hybrid vehicles a 1.5p per mile charge.In her speech, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said, "All cars contribute to the wear and tear on our roads. Drivers will be taxed on how much they drive, not just on the type of car they own."This new EV tax would add up to an extra cost of £300 annually, based on a vehicle traveling 10,000 miles per year. The government argues that this tax is needed to compensate for the reduction in fuel duty from the transition to electric vehicles, and because of its budget deficit.Given that electric vehicles are more expensive than petrol or diesel vehicles and they require further investment for home EV charging stations, it was previously considered important to provide incentives or grants to encourage the move to electric vehicles. There are three main scenarios that can show the potential effect on the environment. Let's consider a family that has an EV and likes to do things that are good for the environment. They may prefer to continue using electric vehicles to support net zero and clean air in their cities, despite the tax rise. The chancellor's decision would increase the cost of using their EV. But if the monthly increase of running the EV exceeds the cost of public transport, this environmentally conscious family might consider using their car less and using public transport more. In another scenario, a financially conscious couple might have bought their EV because they liked driving but wanted to avoid paying so much for petrol, tax and congestion charges.According to research, for an average annual distance of 10,000 miles, the annual cost of running an electric vehicle is about £1,154. This is about 50% less than the estimated £2,316 equivalent cost to run a conventional petrol car for the same period. With the extra 3p per mile tax, the annual running cost would be £1,454 so the EV could still be an attractive option. However, on average, electric vehicles in 2025 were 18% more expensive up front than petrol or diesel vehicles. According to OneEv Group, an EV app company, the cost of buying an electric vehicle is £39,000 compared with a petrol vehicle at £33,000. And based on fuel and electricity prices, the cost of ownership for three years is reported to be around £41,650 and £38,445, respectively. This means EV ownership over three years is already more expensive by £3,205. If the car is driven 10,000 miles per year, with the new 3p per mile tax the total difference would come to £4,105 over three years.Based on the above, if they carry on traveling the same number of miles, but don't change their car, there are some financial downsides but no additional environmental consequences.

Senate unveils spending bill that cuts clean energy, science - The Senate on Monday unveiled its bill to fund the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, proposing some cuts to clean energy.The upper chamber’s version of the fiscal 2026 Energy-Water bill will have to be reconciled with the House’s version. Congressional appropriators are hoping to pass a number of compromise spending bills bill before Jan. 30.The Senate’s legislation reflects the priorities of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), chair of the Senate’s Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee, who said he wanted to cut funding for renewable energy in order to shore up nuclear weapons programs and the Army Corps of Engineers. It was released without the blessing of ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “While I am disappointed that Senate Republicans released a partisan bill instead of working with Senate Democrats — and I am especially disappointed by the cuts to critical clean energy programs — there are some important priorities I strongly advocated for that are addressed by the bill released today,” said Murray.

How two NASA satellites survived Trump’s climate purge - NASA has sent two new satellites into space over the past six months to monitor many of the ways global warming is affecting the planet. Just don’t call them climate satellites. The launches of the NISAR satellite in July and the Sentinel-6B satellite last week have earned applause from climate scientists worldwide, but the missions have gone largely unheralded by the Trump administration. NASA officials have touted the satellites’ ability to provide life-saving information for search-and-rescue teams and commercial applications for real estate and energy — but they’ve said almost nothing about their potential for climate science. The lack of attention is hardly a surprise. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has sought to purge climate research throughout the federal government. In just 10 months, the White House has fired or overseen the resignations of at least 4,000 NASA employees and more than 1,500 staffers at NOAA — losses that represent cuts of about 20 percent apiece at two of America’s premier science agencies. The administration has proposed slashing in half NASA’s science budget. It has sought to offload orbiting spacecraft that collect climate data. And NASA is still operating without a permanent leader after Trump nominated, dismissed, then renominated a close ally of Elon Musk for the agency’s top job. So, do the launches of NISAR and Sentinel-6B suggest the Trump administration is softening its stance toward climate science? Hardly, says Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.), who previously served as NASA’s chief of staff. “While I’m glad that we launched those satellites,” he said. “That should not distract us from the incredible damage that is being done to the world’s best space agency.” For now, it appears as if the two missions will proceed as planned, though the broader fate of climate science at NASA remains unclear. When asked about the two satellites, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens insisted the missions would remain priorities for the agency, even if the probes’ contributions to global warming research were being downplayed by the administration. “I wouldn’t necessarily use the term climate,” she said. “But that research and those missions and everything that had fallen under that bucket in the last administration, it may be messaged differently, but it’s not deprioritized.”

Electricity prices jump after Trump rejects disaster aid for Michigan utilities - — A recent decision by President Donald Trump to deny disaster aid to electric utilities in rural northern Michigan could cost residents tens of millions of dollars.Trump’s decision on Oct. 22 is the most prominent example of how his cuts to disaster aid — and his vow for deeper reductions next year — threaten to shift billions of dollars in costs from federal taxpayers to households that are struggling to rebuild.The president’s refusal to reimburse two rural utilities that rebuilt their grids after a three-day ice storm in March could force rate hikes costing each household in this working-class area thousands of dollars, utility officials and lawmakers warned. The power companies might get state funding.The denial came after the Trump administration documented $90 million in damage to utility infrastructure, according to records obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. The amount is nearly five times the federal threshold to qualify for disaster aid.“It could be tens of millions of dollars left on the backs of the members,” said Allan Berg, the CEO of Presque Isle Electric & Gas, known as PIE&G, in northeastern Michigan.Great Lakes Energy, in northwestern Michigan, said on its website that “all storm-related costs not reimbursed by state or federal disaster aid will be paid for by the cooperative’s entire membership.”Both utilities are nonprofit electric cooperatives, which serve rural areas and are owned by customers — unlike the for-profit, investor-owned utilities that electrify most of the U.S. They collectively serve 160,000 households and businesses in this heavily wooded region that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2024 and helped him win a state that was crucial to his reelection.“It could make the co-op actually go broke if something isn’t done to make them whole again,” said Pete Rose, a retired PIE&G foreman, of his former employer.Democatic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned Trump in August that ratepayers face surcharges and rate hikes “equivalent to at least $4,500 per household” without federal aid.Trump’s denial is both unprecedented and unexplained.The administration’s October denial letter to Whitmer said only that “assistance of utilities is not warranted.” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson provided a statement saying Trump handles disaster requests “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately.”The decision came as Trump awaits an internal report from an expert group exploring ways to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump created the group after assailing FEMA as slow and wasteful. He voiced support at the time for dismantling the agency or constraining it. Both moves would force states to pay more for rebuilding efforts after disasters.Trump has already paused two FEMA grant programs that allocated billions of dollars a year for resilience projects to address weather-related hazards.

Big tech, states and utilities weigh in on DOE data center plan - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is facing fierce crosscurrents over a proposal from the Trump administration to speed grid connections for data centers and other large electricity loads, with states, utilities, technology companies and consumer advocates trying to shape the proposal. More than 160 parties have sent comments to FERC on a Department of Energy proposal that FERC assert authority to create a fast lane for connecting artificial intelligence data centers and advanced manufacturers to regional grids, along with large power supplies. Tech industry allies of President Donald Trump say the build-out of AI infrastructure is slowed down by the long and arcane process of connecting data centers to regional electric grids. Tech companies called on FERC to incentivize co-locating data centers at power plants while building in regulatory flexibility to help control costs to electricity consumers. “Doing so is necessary both to ensure that transmission rates, charges, and practices remain just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential,” Google wrote in its comments to the agency, “as well as to ensure that the United States continues to play the world-leading role in the development of AI and other advanced computing capabilities.”

Squabble Over Data Center in Lordstown Goes to Ohio Supreme Court - Marcellus Drilling News - Lordstown is a small village in southern Trumbull County, Ohio (population 3,332). The village has one operational gas-fired power plant, the Lordstown Energy Center, generating 940 megawatts (MW) of electricity. A second gas-fired power plant, the Trumbull Energy Center, is under construction and due to come online in 2026. It will generate 950 MW of electricity. Developers are proposing to build a $3.6 billion, 1.65 million square-foot data center campus in Lordstown on the site of the former GM complex (south of OpenAI’s Stargate AI data center campus). The developers filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court against Lordstown, claiming the village is blocking consideration of their proposal in violation of zoning procedures.

Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Map and Statistics - opsb.ohio.gov - Download a PDF map of Natural Gas & Combined Heat and Power Projects in Ohio.

PA PUC Continues Down Road to Taxation Perdition re Data Centers -Marcellus Drilling News - Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved a Tentative Order by a 3-2 vote, proposing a statewide model tariff (tax) to manage the growing impact of large-load customers, such as AI data centers, on the electric grid (see PA PUC Votes 3-2 to Levy New Taxes & Regs on AI Data Centers). The stated goal of the new tariff is to encourage investment and job growth while protecting existing ratepayers from cost-shifts and ensuring reliability. The PUC failed. The proposed order was passed on a partisan basis, with the three Democrat commissioners voting to make it harder and more expensive for data centers to locate in the Keystone State, potentially jeopardizing $92 billion of investments promised to the state related to data centers. The PUC published its flawed proposal in last Saturday’s Pennsylvania Bulletin, kicking off a 30-day comment period as a prelude to final adoption.

Va. SCC Finally Approves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant - Marcellus Drilling News - In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes—to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. In September of this year, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) began deliberating on whether to approve the project (see Va. SCC Begins Consideration of Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas Plant). Great news! The deliberation is over, and the project is officially approved.

EPA asks court to overturn Biden-era limits on deadly soot pollution -The Trump administration on Monday asked a federal court to overturn a Biden-era rule limiting deadly soot pollution. In a court filing, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) argued that the Biden-era rule tightening limits was procedurally flawed and therefore should be vacated.It said that the Biden administration took a “shortcut,” making the rule stricter “without the rigorous, stepwise process that Congress required.” “EPA now confesses error and urges this Court to vacate the Rule,” the agency said.The Biden administration tightened the soot pollution limit to 9 micrograms per cubic meter. The Trump administration’s request would restore a looser standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter that was first put in place by the Obama administration and upheld by the first Trump administration. The administration had already indicated that it hoped to overturn the Biden-era rule, putting it on a hit list of regulations earlier this year and proclaiming “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen.” Exposure to soot pollution, also known as fine particulate matter, has been linked to premature deaths, heart attacks and asthma. The move comes in spite of President Trump’s repeated promises of clean air and his pledge to “Make America Healthy Again.” When it tightened the standards for soot pollution last year, the Biden administration estimated that it would prevent as many as 4,500 premature deaths in 2032, the first year that states would have been required to meet the standard.However, it faced fierce opposition from industry figures and Republicans, who argued that the standard would be too difficult to meet and could harm the economy. An EPA spokesperson said in an email to The Hill that the Biden rule would cost “hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to American citizens if allowed to be implemented and was not based on the full analysis of available science that the statute requires.” Meanwhile, environmental advocates say that weaker rules will mean worse health for Americans. “[EPA Administrator Lee] Zeldin’s move will mean more lung cancers, more asthma attacks, more heart attacks, more premature births—more families hit with the stress and trauma of illness. This is the opposite of Make America Healthy Again!”

Donald Trump proposal extends life of controversial coal plants - The Trump administration is proposing to extend the life of some coal plants and their controversial waste-disposal practices.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed Tuesday to allow as many as 11 coal plants to keep operating for three extra years. In 2020, the last Trump administration issued a rule that exempted coal plants from requirements to stop disposing of toxic waste in unlined ponds if they planned to shutter by Oct. 17, 2028. Now, it is proposing to extend that deadline to Oct. 17, 2031 — meaning that the plants in question can both keep operating and continue to dump their toxic waste in these controversial coal ash ponds. The waste in question, called coal ash, can contain pollutants including mercury and arsenic. According to the EPA, if not properly managed, this waste can leak and contaminate nearby water.The administration described its latest proposal as helping to keep power on the electric grid at a time when power prices are rising. “President Trump understands that maintaining baseload capacity is critical to providing affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” Steven Cook, the EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management, said in a written statement. “Today’s proposal offers flexibility for coal-fired power plants, so they have the time needed to meet requirements and can continue to help secure prosperity and energy independence of our nation,” he said.

Donald Trump exempts coal in steelmaking from Clean Air Act - President Trump is exempting coal used in steelmaking from Biden-era Clean Air Act regulations for two years. Trump on Friday issued a proclamation exempting facilities known as coke ovens from a rule limiting their releases of pollutants, such as mercury, formaldehyde, soot and dioxins. The rule that the facilities were exempted from also would have required them to monitor for a separate cancer-causing chemical called benzene at the fence line of their facility. Coke ovens are chambers where coal is heated to produce coke, which is a fuel that’s used in steelmaking. When it issued the rule, the EPA estimated it would apply to 11 facilities, costing them about $500,000 each for compliance. The Trump exemption applies to 11 facilities. The Biden administration said its rule was not necessarily expected to cut pollution, but it could prevent future pollution increases. This is because all of the facilities in question have pollution levels below the limits set in the rule, but the rule would have been expected to require them to install technology to detect emissions that are over the limits, “allowing for earlier corrective action and thus preventing pollution increases that could otherwise occur.” Trump, in his proclamation, argued that the technology required by the rule is not yet commercially viable and that steel production is important for the country. “The Coke Oven Rule places severe burdens on the coke production industry and, through its indirect effects, on the viability of our Nation’s critical infrastructure, defense, and national security,” the proclamation said. “Specifically, the Coke Oven Rule requires compliance with standards premised on the application of emissions-control technologies that do not yet exist in a commercially demonstrated or cost-effective form,” it continued. But observers criticized the exemptions. “Here was a very low-cost, common-sense way for coke oven operators to make sure that they weren’t spewing benzene into the backyards of their neighbors,” Tosh Sagar, senior attorney at Earthjustice, told The Hill. “Rather than do this very low-cost, common-sense thing to protect people, these… companies went and lobbied the president for this unprecedented and unwarranted exemption,” Sagar added. Companies gaining exemptions under the proclamation are: EES Coke, ABC Coke, SunCoke Energy, U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs. The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year set up a portal to make it easier for companies to request exemptions to Clean Air Act rules. Since that time, the Trump administration has exempted dozens of polluters from regulations, including oil refineries, coal plants and medical device sterilizers.

Trump grants 2-year waivers for coke oven air pollution rule - The Allegheny Front -The Trump administration has reversed course again on a new air pollution rule for coke ovens. The White House is granting two-year waivers to coke oven plants for the rule issued under the Biden administration. Coke, a key component of the steelmaking process, is made by heating coal to high temperatures. The process creates hazardous air pollution. The Biden-era rule, finalized in 2024, was designed to lower the amount of this pollution. It would have required plants such as U.S. Steel’s Clairton Plant – the largest coke plant in North America – to monitor for cancer-causing emissions at the fence line. “Exempting these coke ovens from the 2024 coke oven rule, as the president appears to have done, [will] put people who live near Clairton coke works in harm’s way,” said Haley Lewis, an attorney with Environmental Integrity Project. The decision is the latest in a flurry of regulatory and administrative moves by the Trump administration on the rule. The 2024 coke oven rule was set to take effect in July. But that month, the Trump administration released its own rule, delaying the rule’s requirements by two years. Then in October, the Trump administration reversed course. It withdrew its own rule, allowing the Biden-era rule to stand. But now, the administration is allowing companies to simply not comply by granting them two-year exemptions from the rule. The so-called “presidential exemption” is allowed under special circumstances under the Clean Air Act. The law allows the president to grant two-year exemptions “if the President determines that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so.”In its statement announcing the exemptions, the White House claimed both to be true.“The Coke Oven Rule places severe burdens on the coke production industry and, through its indirect effects, on the viability of our Nation’s critical infrastructure, defense, and national security,” the statement said. The original rule established tighter limits on equipment leaks and set limits on different types of hazardous air pollutants, like the neurotoxin mercury.It also required coke plants to set up fenceline monitoring for benzene, a known carcinogen. If the monitors recorded pollution levels above a pre-set threshold of 7 micrograms per cubic meter, the plants would have to make plans to clean up their emissions. The EPA under the Trump administration found the rule would cost the industry only about $4 million a year to implement. But the industry claimed the real number was in the billions. U.S. Steel said in a statement that it sought out the presidential exemption and applauded the Trump administration’s decision to grant it. “The decision to grant this exception is a positive step toward preserving American jobs and domestic steel production,” the statement said. “Industries like ours must be able to rely on and play by rules that are well-grounded in science and law, which is why we challenged the [rule] legally and sought the presidential exemption.” But environmental groups say the rule was both achievable and necessary to preserve public health. The Clairton plant, where an explosion killed two workers in August, is the largest single source of several types of air pollutants in the Pittsburgh region.“Coke ovens really needed these common-sense rules that were proposed by EPA in 2024 to protect the health and safety of workers and the people who live downwind from these plants,” Lewis said. The plant emits 232 tons of hazardous air pollution into the surrounding community each year, including pollutants such as cyanides and carcinogens such as benzene and chromium, according to Allegheny County data. “Coke ovens are dirty; they’re not well controlled. They routinely violate their existing limits in their permits, and this will allow that to continue,” said Tosh Sagar, an attorney with Earthjustice. Since 2022, the Allegheny County Health Department has fined the plant$56 million for air quality violations.Sagar said the monitoring requirements from the 2024 rule would have given the plant better data to detect problems that could lead to pollution escaping into the community. “Instead of quickly discovering when there are leaks or other events causing spikes in emissions through monitoring, those emissions increases are going to go undetected,” Sagar said. Other facilities have received presidential exemptions from clean air rules under Trump, including 68 coal-fired power plants from the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Under the Clean Air Act, the exemptions may be extended for one “or more additional periods” of up to two years.

Ohio Judge Rules Against Austin Master Services for $6.2 Million -- Marcellus Drilling News - One of the significant stories of 2024 in the Ohio Utica was about Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry, Ohio, that processes and transports fracking waste for disposal. AMS ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The Martins Ferry facility in Belmont County, where waste is temporarily stored, had vastly exceeded its permitted limit of 600 tons (storing over 10,000 tons), resulting in a permit violation. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2024 to compel compliance and require cleanup of the facility. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) stepped in to handle the cleanup. As of May 2025, cleaning and testing were completed (see Austin Master Services Ohio Frack Waste Cleanup Complete Today). The AG’s office sued for $6 million to cover the cost of cleanup (see ODNR Seeks $6M from Austin Master Services to Cover Cleanup Costs). Last week, a Belmont County court ruled in favor of the state.

PA-Based Frac Sand Company Expands Presence in Ohio Utica in 3Q -- Marcellus Drilling News - We first told you about a frac sand company called Smart Sand some 13 years ago (see Smart Sand Lands Big Name for Board of Directors). Smart Sand, headquartered in Yardley, PA, is a supplier of industrial sand, primarily serving customers in the oil and gas industry, including drillers in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. Sand—the right kind of sand, which is crystalline—is a critical part of the hydraulic fracturing process. The company issued its third quarter update recently. The company said it further expanded its presence in the Utica shale through company-owned Ohio terminals in 3Q.

Don’t Stop Believin’ – A Drill Down Report on Marcellus/Utica Gas Production and Pipeline Egress - Appalachia is churning out 36 Bcf/d of natural gas, or just over one-third of Lower 48 production, and the region has the potential to produce considerably more — if demand warrants and sufficient takeaway infrastructure is in place. The big question for Appalachia E&Ps as 2025 draws to a close is whether their collective gas output will finally break out from the rangebound volumes they’ve been producing through the first half of this decade. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss highlights from our new Drill Down Report on Marcellus/Utica gas supply, demand and pipeline egress. The Shale Revolution changed everything in the Northeast U.S. In the 2010s, Marcellus/Utica natural gas production increased from less than 2 Bcf/d to a staggering 33 Bcf/d, and the region flipped from being heavily dependent on piped-in gas from the Gulf Coast, the Midcon, the Rockies and Canada to a gas-production powerhouse. Not only was Appalachia suddenly producing enough gas to meet the Northeast’s needs, but midstream companies were scrambling to add new pipeline capacity to transport many billions of cubic feet of Marcellus/Utica gas a day to the Midwest, the Southeast and the Gulf Coast itself. As shown in Figure 1 below, gas production in the broader Appalachia region (Marcellus/Utica plus other, much smaller production areas) has been hovering between 34 Bcf/d and 36 Bcf/d through the first half of the 2020s. Of the current ~35 Bcf/d of Marcellus/Utica production, about 11 Bcf/d comes out of the dry Marcellus in northeastern Pennsylvania and the other 24 Bcf/d comes out of the wet Marcellus/Utica: ~10 Bcf/d from northern West Virginia, ~9 Bcf/d from southwestern Pennsylvania and ~5 Bcf/d from eastern Ohio. (RBN estimates that more than 1 MMb/d of NGLs is currently being “recovered” — that is, not “rejected” into natural gas for its Btu value — in the wet Marcellus/Utica, more than 400 Mb/d in both southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia and more than 200 Mb/d in eastern Ohio.) There were at least a couple of reasons why Marcellus/Utica production growth stalled. One is the fact that by 2020 the buildout of new takeaway pipelines out of the Northeast — and pipelines within the region, for that matter — slowed to a crawl, largely due to regulatory and legal setbacks. That, combined with slowing gas-demand growth in the region, had the effect of capping how much E&Ps could produce. The tight takeaway-capacity situation also held down the price Appalachian producers received for their gas, providing a further disincentive to ramping up their output. The stagnation in Marcellus/Utica gas production may, at long last, be coming to an end. There are at least a few drivers:

• Rising gas demand for data-center-related power generation and LNG exports.
• New takeaway capacity coming online.
• Ever-improving efficiency in drilling and completion.

During their recent Q3 2025 earnings calls, nearly every major player in Marcellus/Utica gas production discussed their expectations for higher gas demand from new power generation in and near their production areas, most of which is tied to planned data centers. For example, EQT — the largest producer in Appalachia — holds agreements in principle to supply 665 MMcf/d of natural gas to a planned 4,400-MW power station in Homer City, PA, and 800 MMcf/d to a 3,600-MW power station in Shippingport, PA, each of which will support large data centers under development near the heart of EQT’s gas production area in southwestern Pennsylvania. Also, a slew of new gas-fired power plants will be coming online in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, many of which will be fueled by Marcellus/Utica-sourced gas thanks to new pipeline capacity being developed. Most important, the 2-Bcf/d Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from northern West Virginia to an interconnect with the Transco system in south-central Virginia started up in mid-2024 (a 600-MMcf/d expansion to MVP is being planned) and a long list of capacity-expansion projects along and off of Transco will enable more gas to move down the Eastern Seaboard (see Figure 2 below). Also, Kinder Morgan is planning several major projects in the Deep South — including the 2.1-Bcf/d Mississippi Crossing and 1.3-Bcf/d South System Expansion 4 projects — to move more Appalachian gas from its Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) system to power generators and other customers in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. New LNG export capacity slated to come online along the Gulf Coast over the next five or six years is another major factor. According to RBN’s LNG Voyager report, the capacity of LNG export facilities will increase from about 14 Bcf/d today to more than 25 Bcf/d in 2031. The pace of LNG export project development has been picking up. Just this year, projects that will add 8.5 Bcf/d of demand have reached a final investment decision (FID), including Venture Global’s CP2 in Louisiana, which will demand up to 2.6 Bcf/d of feedgas; Woodside’s Louisiana LNG (2.2 Bcf/d); and Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG 2 (1.7 Bcf/d in the first phase). There’s a caveat, though, for while Marcellus/Utica E&Ps send significant volumes of gas south to LNG export terminals in Louisiana and Texas, their ability to do so is limited by (you guessed it!) takeaway capacity — additional capacity is needed to allow Appalachia producers to take fuller advantage of the burgeoning Gulf Coast market. There’s one standout project here: Boardwalk Pipeline’s proposed Borealis Pipeline (dashed pink line in Figure 3 above), a greenfield pipe that would run about 180 miles from Clarington, OH, to the northeastern tip of Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Transmission (TGT; purple line) system in Lebanon, OH. The Borealis Pipeline project would also involve enhancements to TGT itself, which could allow up to 2 Bcf/d to flow south to LNG export terminals and other demand along the Gulf Coast. (Our understanding is that the project continues to move forward, with additional details to be unveiled by early 2026.) So, what is the likelihood — and the likely timeline — for the long-awaited ramp-up in Marcellus/Utica natural gas production? EQT, which produced 6.9 Bcfe/d in Q3 2025, has said that it sees new in-basin power generation as the main impetus for Marcellus/Utica production growth, with increased takeaway capacity having a smaller — but still significant — effect. Long-distance gas supply deals are important too, as evidenced by the 10-year deals EQT signed earlier this year with Duke Energy and Southern Co. — two of the largest utilities in the Southeast — to supply a total of 1.2 Bcf/d starting in 2027 via MVP. EQT’s demand outlook for gas produced in Appalachia anticipates growth of 6 to 7 Bcf/d — to perhaps 42 to 43 Bcf/d from the current 36 Bcf/d — over the next six years. Whether that forecast turns out to be on target will depend in large part on whether the projected growth in data centers (and gas-fired plants to power them) holds up — and whether the incremental pipeline capacity being added from Appalachia to the Southeast is filled as quickly as Marcellus/Utica producers hope. Expand Energy, the second-largest gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica, said in its Q3 earnings presentation that it sees about 11 Bcf/d of incremental gas demand along the- Gulf Coast (mostly from LNG exports) by 2030, with another 4 Bcf/d in the Northeast and 3 Bcf/d in the Southeast. Appalachia E&Ps would likely supply all the Northeast’s incremental requirements as well as most of the new needs of the Southeast and at least a slice of the Gulf Coast’s. That also suggests at least 6 to 7 Bcf/d more production in the Marcellus/Utica over the next five years or so. We expect that gas production will increase gradually as new power plants, LNG export terminals and pipeline capacity come online. In our newly released Drill Down Report on Marcellus/Utica gas production and pipeline egress, we begin with a discussion of Appalachia’s gas production history, the major pipelines that move gas through and out of the Marcellus/Utica, and the pipeline projects now underway. We follow that with a look at the primary growth markets for gas (data-center-related power generation, LNG exports and Southeast demand), and a review of the ongoing shift from “supply-push” to “demand-pull” growth. We conclude the report by detailing the specific impacts of a single pipeline job — the Southside Reliability Enhancement Project — on regional flows. For more information about the new Drill Down Report, click here.

Talen Completes Purchase of M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH - Marcellus Drilling News - In July, MDN told you that Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S., which owns and operates approximately 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure, had announced the acquisition of two gas-fired power plants: one located near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the other in Guernsey County, in eastern Ohio (see Talen Energy Buys 2 M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH for $3.8B). These types of transactions require approval from the federal government. Last week, Talen announced that both FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) had approved the transaction (see Talen Energy Gets Fed OK to Buy 2 M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH). And now, the deal is done.

Companies agree to $3.3M settlement over contamination of Allegheny River - The Allegheny Front -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has reached a $3.3 million agreement with two oil and gas companies over decades-old contamination at a petroleum storage facility in Pittsburgh. The agreement calls for Energy Transfer and Atlantic Richfield to fully clean up leaks emanating from the storage depot along the Allegheny River, in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. According to the DEP, the pollution dates back to when the site was a refinery owned by Standard Oil and Atlantic Refining, from 1868 to 1930. The contamination was first discovered in the late 1970s in connection with above-ground storage tank releases, and includes soil and groundwater contamination, tar releases along the Allegheny River, and “a petroleum sheen that has been present and continues to appear” along the river, according to the settlement. There have been various attempts by the state and previous owners to clean up the site, including a 1996 agreement with the terminal’s then-owner, Sunoco. But these have not worked, said Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. “It’s now a legacy site of petrochemicals that are just latent in that area,” VanTassel said. Her organization has been monitoring leaks from the site and reporting its findings to the DEP for several years. “We would find that this site was constantly leaking oil, creating an oil sheen on the Allegheny River that was consistent,” she said. In August, Three Rivers Waterkeeper issued a notice of intent to sue the site’s owners over the contamination. The site is occupied by a petroleum storage and distribution terminal owned by Energy Transfer, formerly Sunoco. It also includes a cold storage warehouse and an employee parking lot for UPMC Three Rivers Waterkeeper complained to DEP in 2023 about the site, and Sunoco placed booms in the river to contain the oil flow. But the seeps persisted, and in December 2023, the DEP issued notices of violation for the site “after inspectors confirmed unpermitted discharges to the Allegheny River,” the DEP said, in a statement. “This settlement sends a clear message that Pennsylvania will not tolerate ongoing violations that harm our waterways and communities,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley, in a statement. “The Allegheny River is one of our most vital natural resources, and DEP will ensure that Energy Transfer and Atlantic Richfield Company take every step necessary to eliminate these discharges and restore the site.” VanTassel says the oil and petrochemicals that leak from the facility are harmful not just to wildlife but also to people. “The Allegheny River provides drinking water to the Pittsburgh region as well as flows into the Ohio River, and helps make up the headwaters to the Ohio River basin, [which] provides drinking water to five million people,” VanTassel said. “Also, oil on the river is going to take away from the recreational value [of the river],” she said. “That impacts our economy, that impacts our community’s wellbeing.” The order requires the companies to clean up both the oil terminal site and tar buildup on the banks of the Allegheny River. Of the $3.3 million fine, $1 million can be used to fund community environmental projects that directly benefit nearby communities impacted by historical pollution.

PA EQB to Consider Ban on New Shale Drilling Via Setbacks Dec. 9 -- Marcellus Drilling News -- Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 9, to consider whether or not to accept a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State. The EQB tabled a decision on accepting the petition back in April (see PA EQB Votes to Delay Consideration of Marcellus-Banning Setbacks). The hectoring green left continues to agitate and demand that the board consider its shale-banning proposal, so the board will oblige.

DEP: MarkWest Liberty Midstream Pipeline Construction Results In 10,000 Gallon Spill Into Coal Mine Void Under Washington County, For The 4th Time --On November 21, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection was notified by MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources LLC that horizontal drilling operations on the construction of the shale gas-related Chiarelli to Imperial pipeline resulted in the loss of approximately 10,000 gallons of a water and bentonite mixture into coal mine voids under Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County.MarkWest said there was no evidence of any “inadvertent returns” on the surface as a result of the incident.DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mines was not notified. The Bureau was only to be notified if returns were observed again on the surface.Following DEP’s inspection of the site on November 24, no violations were issued. DEP Nov. 21 inspection report. DEP Nov. 24 inspection report.On October 28, 2025, MarkWest reported the loss of about 20,000 gallons of drilling fluid on the same pipeline construction project in Robinson Township, Washington County. Read more here.Two other loss of fluid events occurred in this same area, according to MarkWest, resulting in returns lost to suspected mine voids. Read more here.To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

DEP Issues Lazy Oil Company Violations For Abandoning 12 Conventional Wells In Venango County; None Of The Wells Could Be Found At Their GPS Coordinates; If You Know More, Call DEP - On November 20, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected 12 never before inspected conventional oil and gas wells owned by the Lazy Oil Company in Clinton Township, Venango County and found all 12 wells were abandoned and not plugged. None of the wells could be located at the GPS coordinates listed on their oil and gas well registrations that were all issued on the same day-- April 19, 1990. The conventional wells inspected included the Lower McKinley (Miller) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; and Heeter Upper 1, 2. The well owner also failed to submit annual production, waste generation/disposal and well integrity reports on the wells for at least 13 years. DEP said in its inspection reports attempts to contact the well owner were unsuccessful. DEP issued violations for abandonment and not submitting annual reports and gave the owner until December 11 to respond. Click Here for an example inspection report. Click Here for links to DEP inspection reports. The company address is listed 18955 Park Avenue Plaza, Meadville, PA 16335-4015 on the inspection reports. A search found there is a Vitality Natural Health and Wellness Center at that address. DEP’s eFACTS permits database shows Lazy Oil Company with an address of Squaw Valley Road, Emlenton, PA 16373. A search found multiple businesses on that road including The Hardwood Mall. DEP’s eFACTS database shows Lazy Oil holds 200 permits, including 1 for an abandoned well. PA Environment Digest encourages you to contact DEP if you have information that would be helpful in contacting the owners of the Lazy Oil Company or have more information on the abandoned wells. Contact DEP’s Northwest Oil & Gas District Office in Meadville at 814-332-6860 or the Knox Office at 814-797-1191.

UGI Cuts Ribbon on LNG Storage Facility in Cumberland County, PA - Marcellus Drilling News - UGI, a diversified energy company with midstream (pipeline) operations and one of PA’s largest utility companies, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newest LNG peak shaver facility in Carlisle (Cumberland County), PA, yesterday. In November 2020, UGI launched the operation of a new 2-million-gallon LNG peak shaver in Bethlehem, PA (see UGI Energy Launches LNG Peak Shaver in Bethlehem, PA). The new peak shaver in Carlisle holds 3 million gallons of LNG. What is a peak shaver?

Natural Gas via Pipeline for Va. Eastern Shore Gets a $6.5M Boost - Marcellus Drilling News -- Accomack County has secured a $6.5 million state grant to expand piped natural gas to the Eastern Shore, a move aimed at stabilizing the local economy. County Administrator Mike Mason announced that the funds are fully in place, allowing the county to solicit utility companies to build and operate a system extending as far south as Perdue Farms in Accomac. This project targets major employers like Perdue, Tyson, and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, while potentially reversing employment declines and lowering energy costs. Analysts highlight that natural gas could cost homeowners 57% less than propane and industrial users 75% less than electricity.

MAP: Where new natural gas power plants are being built in the U.S. · New gas-fired units are being increasingly concentrated in regions facing sharp load growth and accelerated retirements.

TET Propane versus Non-TET Differential At Levels Last Seen in 2019 | RBN Energy - In a pricing twist not seen since 2019, TET propane jumped to a 7.5 c/gal premium over non-TET on Wednesday (11/19) and averaged 6.5 c/gal for the week. This isn’t some obscure NGL spread with little real-world impact — it goes to the heart of how propane is traded. The TET index (the price in Energy Transfer storage) underpins more than 80% of propane hedging, while the non-TET price (the price in Enterprise storage caverns) dominates the physical market and is widely used in pricing formulae for production, exports, petrochemicals and domestic retail propane supply.This decades-old vestige of early propane markets is rarely a problem. As shown in the left graph below, for the past eleven years, non-TET has averaged 0.34 c/gal (about one-third of a cent) below TET, and the differential is quite stable. Until 2024, the annual average had never been above +.2 c/gal or below -.7 c/gal. The differential has been more volatile since 2024. Toward the end of that year, TET collapsed relative to non-TET, which drove the annual average differential to 0.52 c/gal. On September 30, TET dropped to more than 17 c/gal below non-TET and averaged 6.5 c/gal in October, primarily due to construction at the Energy Transfer dock, which resulted in low export volumes and high inventories across the Energy Transfer system. This time Energy Transfer also gets the blame, although for this spread blowout, the TET price is higher than non-TET. Exports out of the facility are again down, but the market has speculated that the reason is a shortfall in volumes through the Energy Transfer fractionators, causing the company to buy volumes to make up the difference, which has resulted in upward pressure on the TET price (right graph above). It is likely that the price disparity will correct itself in a few days when the November trade cycle rolls off the board on December 1.

Cameron LNG’s Long-planned Expansion Secures Federal Construction Extension - A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

• 5 years: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted Sempra Infrastructure an additional five years to construct a proposed one train expansion at Cameron LNG. A similar request to extend worldwide LNG exports is still pending with the U.S. Department of Energy. An expansion and debottlenecking project for Cameron LNG has been proposed since 2016. Sempra previously disclosed it considers the project fully subscribed, with equity partners expected to exercise contract rights for the additional LNG capacity.
• 2 trains: The remaining contractors building Golden Pass LNG have finalized a cost-sharing agreement and revised contract with the project developer. Chiyoda International Corp. and McDermott LLC have been working on the final two trains of the 18 million ton/year (Mt/y) facility under an interim agreement shortly after lead construction staffing contractor Zachry Group filed bankruptcy and exited the project. The first train of Golden Pass could begin producing LNG by early next year.
• 25 cargoes: LNG Canada loaded its 25th cargo from the British Columbia facility last week as maintenance on Train 1 ends. The first train came online over the summer and shipped its first cargo in June, but flaring at the facility and reports of delayed loadings followed for several months. LNG Canada is now in the process of bringing its second 6.5 Mt/y train online. The facility is expected to ship up to 2.67 Mt by the end of the year, according to Kpler predictive data.
• 5 Mt/y: Woodside Energy Group Ltd. and the government of Timor-Leste have agreed to a feasibility study for an LNG export project tied to the Greater Sunrise offshore field. The 5 Mt/y facility and helium extraction plant are targeted for operation between 2032 and 2035. Woodside has been studying options for exporting gas from Timor-Leste for years, including a concept study completed last year. The Greater Sunrise field is estimated to hold around 5.1 Tcf in extractable dry gas supply.

U.S. Feedgas Demand Set to Soar by the End of the Year - U.S. LNG feedgas demand remains exceptionally strong and every terminal is operating at or above long-term contracted levels. Average demand reached 18.4 Bcf/d last week, a slight 0.3 Bcf/d drop from the previous week, mostly due to modest reductions in intake at Sabine Pass and Calcasieu Pass. Both terminals are still operating at peak level, just with a lower intake than the week before. Freeport Train 1 tripped offline on November 20, which resulted in a single-day drop in feedgas intake. Feedgas demand has climbed by more than 4 Bcf/d since the start of the year, driven by commissioning at new terminals and expansions. The U.S.’s newest terminal, Plaquemines LNG is now operating near full capacity. We still expect feedgas demand to climb before the end of the year. Stay tuned to the LNG Voyager Weekly Report for more insights.

Venture Global, Tokyo Gas Sign 20-year LNG Pact Amid Major U.S. Export Buildout -- Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. is doubling down on its investment strategy across the U.S. natural gas value chain with a long-term LNG supply contract with Venture Global Inc. At A Glance:

• Tokyo Gas secures 1 Mt/y SPA
• Venture Global tallies 7.75 Mt/y in 2025 contracts
• Japan diversifies LNG portfolio

Venture Global, Tokyo Gas Sign 20-Year LNG Supply Agreement - - Venture Global has signed a 20-year LNG supply agreement with Tokyo Gas, adding 1 MMtpa of long-term sales and bringing its 2025 contract total to 7.75 MMtpa. The deal strengthens U.S.–Japan LNG trade as Gulf Coast export capacity continues to expand. Venture Global and Tokyo Gas have signed a new 20-year LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA), expanding long-term U.S. LNG supply into Japan as demand for stable baseload fuel continues to grow across Asia. Under the deal, Tokyo Gas will purchase 1 MMtpa of LNG from Venture Global beginning in 2030. The agreement marks Venture Global’s fourth long-term LNG contract with a Japanese buyer and brings its total new SPAs signed in 2025 to 7.75 MMtpa, underscoring continued commercial momentum for U.S. Gulf Coast LNG projects. “Tokyo Gas is a pioneer in the LNG industry and a leading supplier of natural gas in Japan,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global. “This agreement strengthens our position as one of Japan’s key LNG suppliers and will support reliable, affordable U.S. LNG deliveries for decades.” Venture Global now has more than 100 MMtpa of LNG capacity operational, in construction, or in development across its Louisiana export footprint, including Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines LNG, and the CP2 LNG project. The company continues to pursue vertically integrated growth strategies, including carbon capture and sequestration at each site. Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest city-gas provider, serves approximately 13 million customers and maintains a diversified global LNG procurement portfolio as it works to balance energy security and decarbonization goals.

Venture Global Accuses Shell of ‘Campaign’ to Damage its LNG Biz - Marcellus Drilling News - This is really rich. Venture Global (VG), now the second-largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporter in the U.S., is accusing Shell of waging a “three-year campaign” to damage VG’s LNG business. VG’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022. Typically, a new LNG facility will load and ship several (maybe two or three) cargoes to “work out the kinks” and ensure everything is working as advertised. VG, using loopholes in its signed contracts, maintained that it was working out the kinks long after it began shipping. After *hundreds of cargoes* were shipped, CP’s customers were still not receiving their contracted (at lower prices) shipments. Shell, along with several other customers, sued (see Shell, Edison, BP File for Arbitration Against Venture Global LNG). Shell lost its arbitration case, but two months later, BP won its case. So, Shell appealed its rejected case (see Shell Challenges Venture Global Arbitration Loss in NY Court).

NextDecade Pre-Files with FERC to Build Rio Grande LNG Train 6 - Marcellus Drilling News - NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG is being developed on a 984-acre site along the Brownsville Ship Channel (Brownsville, Texas), approximately 3 miles east of Port Isabel. The facility currently has five trains under construction, with space at the site to double capacity. One month ago, Rio Grande LNG announced a favorable final investment decision (FID) to move forward with the construction of Train 5 (see NextDecade Announces Positive FID on Rio Grande Train 5 LNG Project). Marcellus driller EQT has contracted to buy (for resale) LNG from Train 5 (see EQT Announces Deal to *Buy* LNG from Rio Grande LNG Train 5). Yesterday, NextDecade announced it has pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build Train 6.

NextDecade Targets More Than 36 Mt/y With Rio Grande LNG Upscale, Sixth Train Expansion -- NextDecade Corp. plans to push its natural gas export capacity in South Texas to rival the current largest terminal as it works to become the next U.S. LNG powerhouse. At A Glance:

• Firm requests upscale to 6 Mt/y per train
• Train 6 in-service targeted for 2032
• More Permian feed gas, pipelines required.

FERC Weighs Blanket Authorizations for LNG Projects in Bid to Cut Red Tape -FERC is considering blanket authorizations for certain activities at LNG projects in a bid to strengthen regulatory certainty and streamline permitting for the sector as U.S. export capacity has grown significantly in recent years. At A Glance:

• Commission exploring conditions for authorization
• Move could cover construction, expansions, operations
• Shakeup comes as LNG construction booming

US natural gas futures fall 3% on record output despite cold forecast (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 3% to a one-week low on Tuesday on record output, ample amounts of gas in storage, contract expiry, and lower gas prices in Europe on Ukraine peace talks. On its last day as the front-month, gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 12.5 cents, or 2.7%, to settle at $4.424 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since November 18. Futures for January 2026 NGF26, which will soon be the front-month, were down about 4.3% at $4.47 per mmBtu. Prices dropped despite record gas flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and forecasts of colder weather and higher demand than previously expected over the next two weeks. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states had risen to 109.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far this month, up from 107.4 bcfd in October and a record monthly high of 108.3 bcfd in August. On a daily basis, output had climbed to a record 111.2 bcfd on November 24, topping the previous record daily peak of 110.8 bcfd on November 23. Record output this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual, with about 5% more gas in storage than is normal for this time of year. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain mostly colder than normal through December 10. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 122.0 bcfd this week to 140.4 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Monday. Average gas flows to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. have risen to 18.0 bcfd so far this month, up from a record 16.6 bcfd in October. On a daily basis, LNG export feedgas was on track to reach 18.7 bcfd on Tuesday, up from the current all-time daily high of 18.6 bcfd on November 15. Around the world, gas prices fell to a 16-month low near $10 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe on negotiations over a potential peace plan for Russia and Ukraine, while prices at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) in Asia held around a one-week low of $11.

US natural gas futures climb 2% on record LNG flows, colder forecasts (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% on Wednesday on record flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants, the expiration of a lower-priced contract, forecasts for colder weather and higher demand, and a bigger-thanexpected storage withdrawal. Limiting gains were record output, ample amounts of gas in storage and lower gas prices in Europe on Ukraine peace talks. On its first day as the front-month, gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 7.7 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $4.558 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Tuesday, when futures for December were still the front-month, the contract closed at its lowest since November 18. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms pulled 11 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas out of storage during the week ended November 21. That was bigger than the 2-bcf withdrawal analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compares with a decline of two bcf during the same week last year and an average decline of 25 bcf over the past five years (2020-2024). LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to 109.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in November, up from 107.4 bcfd in October and a record monthly high of 108.3 bcfd in August. Record output this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual, with about 4% more gas in storage than is normal for this time of year. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain mostly colder than normal through December 11. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 122.6 bcfd this week to 140.1 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday, while its forecast for next week was lower. Average gas flows to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. rose to 18.1 bcfd so far this month, up from a record 16.6 bcfd in October. On a daily basis, LNG export feedgas was on track to reach 18.9 bcfd on Wednesday, up from the current all-time daily high of 18.6 bcfd on November 15. In other LNG news, the Imsaikah LNG vessel was moving across the Caribbean Sea on its way to Exxon Mobil/QatarEnergy's 2.4 bcfd Golden Pass LNG export plant under construction in Texas, according to LSEG data and analyst comments. The ship, expected to arrive at Golden Pass around November 29, is carrying LNG from Qatar that traders and analysts say will be used to cool equipment as part of the commissioning of the plant. The facility is expected to start producing LNG this year or early next year.

U.S. LNG Exports Set to Surge 40% as Europe Buys Record Volumes - Exports of liquefied natural gas from the United States are on track to book a 40% annual increase this month, hitting 10.7 million tons, projections from Kpler have shown, as cited by Bloomberg. An ample supply of liquefied gas has already pushed natural gas prices down in Europe, with prices reaching the lowest in over a year earlier this week, even as the weather gets colder as winter advances. According to Bloomberg, prices could fall further in the coming months, even though winter is peak demand season, all thanks to the abundance of U.S. liquefied gas. The United States turned into the world’s largest exporter of LNG in a matter of years as energy companies raced to build new liquefaction trains along the Gulf Coast in response to the surge in demand for a lower-emission alternative to coal. Last month, the U.S. became the first country to export 10 million tons of liquefied gas in a single month, enjoying solid demand from Europe, which earlier this year signed a commitment to buy significant volumes of both LNG and oil to get President Trump to lower tariffs. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the United States had become the first country to export 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas in a single month. Citing data from LSEG, the publication reported that U.S. LNG exports in October had hit 10.1 million tons, of which 6.9 million tons went to Europe, and another 1.96 million tons went to Asia. Europe accounted for 69% of total U.S. exports of liquefied gas, cementing the continent’s top spot among U.S. LNG clients. As for the source of the LNG, two companies accounted for over two-thirds of the total exports: Cheniere Energy and Venture Global. The two sold 72% of the 10.1 million tons of LNG that the country exported last month.

EPA cements delay of Biden-era methane rule for oil and gas -The Trump administration on Wednesday cemented its delay of Biden-era regulations on planet-warming methane coming from the oil and gas industry.Earlier this year, the administration issued an “interim final rule” that pushed back compliance deadlines for the Biden-era climate rule by 18 months. On Wednesday, it announced a final rule that locks in the delay.The delays apply to requirements to install certain technologies meant to reduce emissions. It also applies to timelines for states to create plans for cutting methane emissions from existing oil and gas. Methane is a gas that is about 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at heating the planet over a 100-year period.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said the administration was acting in order to protect U.S. energy production. “The previous administration used oil and gas standards as a weapon to shut down development and manufacturing in the United States,” Zeldin said in a written statement. “By finalizing compliance extensions, EPA is ensuring unrealistic regulations do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance,” he added.However, environmental advocates say the delay will result in more pollution.“The methane standards are already working to reduce pollution, protect people’s health, and prevent the needless waste of American energy. The rule released today means millions of Americans will be exposed to dangerous pollution for another year and a half, for no good reason,” Grace Smith, senior attorney at Environmental Defense Fund, said in a written statement. Meanwhile, the delay comes as the Trump administration reconsiders the rule altogether, having put it on a hit list of regulations earlier this year.

Trump faces rare rift with Florida Republicans over offshore drilling plan -- Florida Republicans are fuming as the Trump administration proposes to open up new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. “The new maps released today by @SecretaryBurgum and @Interior outlining potential new offshore oil drilling sites in the Gulf of America are HIGHLY concerning—and we will be engaging directly with the department on this issue,” Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) wrote in a post on the social platform X.“Preserving our state’s natural beauty is deeply important to the millions who call the Sunshine State home, our visitors, and those whose livelihoods depend on tourism,” Moody wrote. The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also criticized the plan, noting that in 2020, President Trump blocked drilling off the state’s coasts.“Our Administration supports the 2020 Presidential Memorandum and urges the Department of Interior to reconsider and to conform to the 2020 Trump Administration policy,” Molly Best, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a statement to The Hill.It’s a rare rift between the state’s Republicans and Trump, who made the state his primary residence in 2019. While his Mar-a-Lago resort is situated on the state’s east coast on the Atlantic Ocean, drilling in the Gulf would be more likely to impact the state’s west coast.On Thursday, the Trump administration proposed a massive expansion of U.S. offshore drilling, which would include opening up new drilling in the eastern Gulf, as well as in California. The move is something of a reversal for Trump, who in his first term as president barred drilling off the coast of Florida until 2032. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) indicated in a social media post that he preferred the previous policy.“Florida’s beautiful beaches and coastal waters are so important to our state’s economy, environment, and military community, which is why I have fought for years to keep drilling off Florida’s coasts and worked closely with President Trump during his first term to extend the moratorium banning oil drilling off Florida’s coasts through 2032,” Scott wrote. “I have been speaking to @SecretaryBurgum and made my expectations clear that this moratorium must remain in place, and that in any plan, Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities,” he added.The oil industry has argued that drilling even in controversial places such as the eastern Gulf is necessary for the long run. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s “updated reserve estimate of 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent shows the Central and Western areas will remain prolific for decades, but sustaining the Gulf’s long-term competitiveness means evaluating opportunities in the Gulf of America Program Area B as well,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said in a statement to The Hill, referring to all of the drilling areas proposed by the Trump administration.

Stitches – Piece by Piece, Permian Express Has Evolved Into a Midstream Standout for Energy Transfer | RBN Energy - Energy Transfer stitched together its Permian Express system in stages over multiple years — first reversing and repurposing existing crude oil pipes, then building new capacity — and it’s now a standout in the company’s midstream portfolio, able to carry 600 Mb/d of crude oil from the Permian Basin to Nederland, TX, with multiple receipt and delivery points. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the Permian Express system and how it fits into Energy Transfer’s broader midstream strategy. This is the latest in our series on crude oil pipelines exiting the Permian Basin. In Bustin’ Out, we discussed the EPIC Crude Pipeline, which has been operating at full capacity. Then, we told the story of Gray Oak Pipeline in Movin' On Up and the Cactus I and II pipelines in Can’t Hold Back. All four travel to Corpus Christi. We recently wrapped up our Permian-to-Houston series with a new Drill Down Report, West Texas Highway, where we detailed how Houston is competing head-to-head with the Corpus Christi area to attract Permian barrels. There are only two pipelines that make the long trip from the Permian to Nederland, both owned by Energy Transfer: West Texas Gulf, the subject of our most recent blog on the subject, and Permian Express, which we’ll discuss today. These two lines boast a combined capacity of nearly 1 MMb/d to Nederland, a small city about 10 miles southeast of Beaumont. Beaumont and Nederland are in an industrial corridor in southeast Texas known as the Golden Triangle and are often referred to as a single market. Over the next four years, North American gas will be reshaped by a LNG export surge and AI-driven power demand. Massive infrastructure buildouts loom. Nederland receives considerably less Permian crude than Corpus Christi and Houston because its primary role is feeding nearby refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, including facilities owned by ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. In contrast, Houston and Corpus Christi are export-driven hubs that together handle about 75% of Permian output. Through mid-year 2025, roughly 2.45 MMb/d of Permian crude flowed to Corpus Christi and 2.44 MMb/d headed to Houston, according to RBN’s Crude Oil Permian report, with only about 860 Mb/d destined for Nederland. Early flows to Nederland primarily supplied refinery demand, but after the ban on most U.S. crude exports was lifted in 2015, volumes also began supporting export movements. In October, crude export loadings in the Beaumont/Nederland area averaged about 230-250 Mb/d, while Houston consistently exports more than 1 MMb/d and Corpus Christi pushes above 2 MMb/d, according to RBN’s Crude Voyager. While crude export volumes from Nederland are far smaller than those from Houston or Corpus Christi, The Permian Express system (dark-pink lines in Figure 1), which was built in stages between 2012 and 2019, has been uniquely stitched together. The first phase was a somewhat unconventional project that relied on reversing and repurposing existing crude oil pipes, rather than constructing new pipes. Historically, Sunoco operated a line that moved crude north from Wortham, TX, to Wichita Falls, but in 2012 the company reversed the flow direction so oil could move south from Wichita Falls to Wortham. Several other Permian pipes have experienced flow reversals. ONEOK’s Longhorn was both reversed and repurposed. Enterprise’s Midland to ECHO 2 is also among the repurposed pipes, and it switches between NGL and crude service and is switching to crude later this year. (It’s known as the Seminole Pipeline when in NGL service.) The next major phase of the Permian Express system, originally dubbed Permian Express II, was a new, 340-mile pipeline constructed by Sunoco that originates in Garden City (east of Midland) and connects through Colorado City, where Energy Transfer has a storage complex. The line ultimately ties into Energy Transfer’s existing network toward Nederland, where it connects to its storage and marine terminal facilities. Construction on Permian Express II began in 2014 and the line entered service in mid-2015. Incremental expansions of the system (which didn’t change the route but added capacity on existing lines) followed, with Permian Express III adding 140 Mb/d in Q4 2018 and Permian Express IV adding 120 Mb/d in Q3 2019. To support these expansions and access growing production, Energy Transfer expanded west into the Permian’s Delaware Basin in 2019. The project involved more than 400 miles of pipeline tie-ins, which are connections made between new pipeline segments and existing pipeline systems. Permian Express outflows (red line in Figure 2 below) peaked in October 2021 at around 660 Mb/d, which is a little above the nameplate capacity (dotted black line) for the 24-inch-diameter system. Since then, flows have dropped and now average around 400 Mb/d. Throughput was at 380 Mb/d in June, down from 400 Mb/d in May, the most recent data available. As discussed in our weekly Crude Oil Permian report, we expect the flows to remain steady but at a lower level than historical averages in the coming months. As we discussed in our last blog, it appears some of these volumes were diverted to other systems — namely, the West Texas Gulf pipeline, which has operated above its nameplate capacity eight times in the past 17 months, suggesting it likely took on some of the volumes that would have gone on the Permian Express system. Energy Transfer's Midland terminal typically makes up more than 25% of the Permian Express flows, according to the T-1 report filed with the Texas Railroad Commission. Purchased from Vitol in 2016, the 2-MMbbl terminal is a key juncture in the Permian Basin, allowing crude to access a number of major pipelines, including Permian Express. The Permian Express system also receives crude from Sunoco, West Texas Gulf and other third parties at Colorado City, with Plains All American among the largest. The bulk of Permian Express crude is delivered at Nederland, although the barrels don’t necessarily stay there. The terminal connects to several outbound pipelines, allowing Energy Transfer to move Permian Express oil to other refining and export markets. The Nederland terminal can also provide access to nearby refineries, such as ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, Motiva’s Port Arthur, Valero’s Port Arthur, and TotalEnergies’s Port Arthur. The Nederland terminal is linked to Energy Transfer Houston Terminal (ETHT), formerly known as the Houston Fuel Oil Terminal (HFOT, commonly called “hoftee”), via Energy Transfer’s 235-Mb/d Ted Collins Link (yellow line at bottom of Figure 1). ETHT is a sprawling facility on the Houston Ship Channel with about 18 MMbbl of storage capacity (of which approximately 7 MMbbl is used for crude oil), five docks, and the ability to fully load Aframaxes and smaller vessels and partially load Suezmaxes. (ETHT is also linked to virtually all the refineries in the area.) Energy Transfer acquired the terminal as part of its $5 billion acquisition of SemGroup in December 2019. Energy Transfer also partners with Phillips 66 on the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (dark-purple line), which carries crude from Nederland east into Louisiana, reaching major refineries in Lake Charles and the St. James hub, which distributes crude to several refineries in that part of the state.Some Permian Express barrels flowing to Wortham likely shift onto the Permian Longview Louisiana Extension, or PELA (orange line), heading for Longview. At Longview, Energy Transfer and Plains run storage terminals. Plains’ facility connects to its 12-inch, 80-mile Caddo Pipeline (dark-blue line), a 50-50 joint venture with Delek Logistics, moving crude from Longview to Shreveport, LA. In Shreveport, Caddo links up with Delek’s Magnolia Pipeline (lavender line), which carries barrels to Delek’s storage in Magnolia, AR, and on to Delek’s SALA line for final delivery to the company’s El Dorado refinery in Arkansas (refinery icon in upper-right). Permian Express also serves the small hub in Corsicana, TX, though deliveries there typically stay below 50 Mb/d.To sum up, Permian Express is a crucial part of Energy Transfer’s crude oil operations in the Permian Basin and helps anchor crude gathering and transportation. Energy Transfer has increased volumes as Houston and Corpus filled up, but Enterprise's Midland to ECHO 2 pipeline will be converting back to crude service soon, which may impact flows to Nederland somewhat, although a large amount of crude should continue to run on West Texas Gulf and Permian Express.

US drillers cut oil rigs to lowest in four years, Baker Hughes says - (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the first time in four weeks, with oil rigs dropping to a four-year low, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O), opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Wednesday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 10 to 544 in the week to November 26, the lowest since September. , , Baker Hughes, which usually releases its North American rig count on Friday, issued this report a couple of days early due to the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday. Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by 12 to 407 this week, their lowest since September 2021, while gas rigs rose by 3 to 130, their highest since July 2023. In Texas, the biggest oil and gas producing state, the rig count fell by eight to 226, the lowest since July 2021. The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would decline for a third year in a row in 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would rise from a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to around 13.6 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, EIA projected a 58% increase in spot gas prices in 2025 would prompt producers to boost drilling activity this year after a 14% price drop in 2024 caused several energy firms to cut output for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for the fuel in 2020. EIA projected gas output would rise to 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023.

Crews race to contain oil spill in Ventura County creek - Cleanup was underway Wednesday in a wooded, remote area of Ventura County after about 420 gallons of crude oil inundated a waterway, officials said, and crews were working to beat the upcoming storm.An above-ground storage tank operated by Carbon California spilled the oil into a remote tributary of Sisar Creek near Ojai, contaminating about three-quarters of a mile of the waterway, according to state wildlife officials. Although the waterway and spill are small compared to some other major oil spills, "everything counts," said Kristina Meris, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response.“There’s wildlife, there’s the environment, and people live in these areas," she said. "We want to clean up everything we possibly can as quickly as we can safely.”Initial reports of an oil spill were received Tuesday afternoon, Meris said. But steep terrain, limited road access and the approaching severe weather are complicating the cleanup.Responders reached the creek bed Wednesday and “hit it pretty hard today,” Meris said, setting up a safety zone around the site. Officials will also conduct air quality tests to evaluate health hazards.“It’s a super remote and super difficult area to get to,” Meris told The Times. "The only concern for the response tomorrow will be the bad weather coming in, so the safety of our responders could become an issue.”The spill originated from a damaged gas tank owned by Carbon California, a company that operates oil and gas wells in the state, particularly in Ventura County. Officials said the cause remained under investigation, but the company has been designated the responsible party and is participating in a unified command with state and local agencies, which also includes personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.Cleanup teams are skimming and pumping oil from the tributary and deploying absorbent booms and pads to recover oil trapped along the creek bed. Crews have been able to contain much of the spill, Meris said, but storm conditions could hamper their efforts.They expect to begin reporting recovery totals Thursday morning, though those numbers will likely reflect an “oily water mixture,” not pure crude. “Sometimes it can be a little bit higher than the number [of gallons spilled] because there will be water mixed in,” she said. No wildlife had been reported harmed as of Wednesday evening, but Meris emphasized that swift response was critical to preventing harm.“The quicker you respond, the quicker you get this cleaned up, the better for the environment,” she said. The spill site is far from major roadways, part of what officials described as a rugged stretch of watershed feeding into Sisar Creek. Cleanup operations will pause overnight for safety but are expected to resume Thursday morning, weather permitting.Officials did not immediately provide a timeline for a complete cleanup but said the response would continue until the creek met “established environmental endpoints” and recoverable oil product was removed.

Pipeline Shutdown Near Everett Due to Leakage Disrupts Sea-Tac Fuel Supply | Pipeline Technology Journal -Crews working for the London-based energy company BP have excavated more than 100 feet of the Olympic Pipeline near Everett, Washington, but have yet to identify the source of a refined product leak that has kept the crucial fuel line shut down for nearly two weeks. The ongoing disruption has prompted Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to declare an emergency following the widespread disruptions caused by the shutdown. The shutdown has significantly impacted jet fuel deliveries to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), which is dependent on the pipeline for a substantial portion of its supply. In a statement released Friday, a BP spokesperson confirmed that excavation and inspection of the pipeline would continue overnight, noting that the line remains closed. The company provided no timeline for restarting the 400-mile system. The pipeline, which runs from northern Washington down to Oregon, transports gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel throughout the region. The initial leak was first reported on November 11. According to BP, crews briefly restored one of the two lines east of Everett earlier this week in an attempt to alleviate supply issues while the main investigation continued. However, the restored line was quickly shut down again, halting all refined product deliveries across the system once more. Governor Ferguson’s emergency declaration, issued on Wednesday, acknowledges the supply chain crisis caused by the closure. The declaration allows the state to take necessary steps to maintain essential services and mitigate the economic impact of the fuel shortage across the region.

U.S. Crude Hits a Record While Key Export Data Goes Dark -U.S. oil production hit another record in September, but the bigger story in this month’s Petroleum Supply Monthly is what isn’t in the report: actual export data. Because the U.S. Census Bureau couldn’t release September trade figures during a funding lapse, the EIA had no choice but to recycle August’s export numbers and paste them into September’s balance sheet. That one missing piece ripples through nearly everything analysts try to read from the monthly series — from product supplied to implied demand to net imports. In other words, September’s “demand” number is effectively a placeholder until Census provides new data.The production side, at least, is real. U.S. crude output in September edged up by 44,000 bpd to 13.84 million bpd — a fresh high and yet another reminder that weak prices haven’t slowed the machine much. New Mexico set another record at 2.351 million bpd, and the Gulf of Mexico climbed to just under 2 million bpd, the strongest since before the pandemic. The longer-cycle offshore projects are now doing more of the heavy lifting as the Permian approaches its comfort ceiling.Normally, the PSM would help sort out the noise from weekly data, but with exports frozen in amber, September’s disposition tables are something close to a shrug. Product supplied will look artificially subdued, adjustments will look bigger than they should, and net imports won’t tell you much of anything. EIA says it will republish the month once Census delivers the real figures. It's the worst possible time for the EIA to be missing export data. The market is already obsessed with the oversupply narrative. From OPEC+ arguing about baselines, to JPMorgan warnings, from U.S. shale flattening but the Gulf filling the gap, to IEA glut forecasts. The demand picture simply isn't real. Analysts will have to wait another cycle for the number that matters most: how much of that record production actually left the country.

CFE Advances Natural Gas Buildout With Los Cabos LNG-fed Plant - Mexican state utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) has launched a bidding process for a 240 MW internal combustion natural gas-fired power plant in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. Stacked bar chart titled “Mexico Natural Gas Demand by Sector” showing monthly natural gas demand from January 2024 through November 2025 across four categories—power, industrial, PEMEX, and LNG feed gas, with total demand generally ranging between 8 and 10 Bcf/d, based on Wood Mackenzie data and NGI calculations. At A Glance:
Los Cabos plant targets 2028 start
Pichilingue LNG supply drives plans
Mexico power demand approaches 5 Bcf/d

LNG Canada ships 25th cargo since launch in late June -- LNG Canada has shipped its 25th cargo since the export terminal came online in late June, Canada’s flagship LNG project announced on November 20. The milestone comes after the project previously encountered obstacles in getting cargoes delivered due to disruptions in operations. The export terminal, based in Kitimat, British Columbia, approximately 800 km north of Vancouver, shipped its first cargo to Japan on June 30. However, in late July at least one cargo delivery was cancelled due to technical problems, with sources telling Reuters that the challenges were related to a gas turbine as well as a refrigerant production unit. At times, the facility was operating below half capacity for its first liquefaction train, which has a production capacity of 6.5mn tonnes per year (tpy). The export terminal had only delivered 14 cargoes by October. In September, supply delivery fell with LNG Canada shipping only four cargoes and just 0.3mn tonnes of the super-cooled gas. And in August, the facility exported 0.4mn tonnes of LNG, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Nevertheless, production has been ramped up and in early November, the plant’s second liquefaction unit, which also has a capacity of 6.5mn tpy, began producing the super-chilled fuel. Beyond Japan, cargoes have also been shipped to South Korea and Malaysia. Despite steps in the right direction, another setback occurred when the plant also announced on November 20 that it would continue with flaring for Train 2. It marked a second extension of flaring activities, which were originally scheduled to be finished on November 10. A restart of Train 2 is slated for December 1, which will run for about two weeks. Operating at full capacity, LNG Canada will be able to pull in about 2bn cubic feet (57mn cubic metres) per day of natural gas or roughly 730bn cubic feet (20.7bn cubic metres) per year.

Re-Start Planned for LNG Canada Train 2 --LNG Canada issued a notice on November 20 that it planned to continue additional flaring activities associated with the commissioning of Train 2 beyond the scheduled November 20 ending, itself extended beyond the original ending date of November 10. It also gave notice that a re-start of Train 2 would take place on December 1 and run for approximately two weeks. It was on November 6 that LNG Canada issued a notice that Train 2 had begun production of LNG after an initial start up on October 6. Commissioning and testing activities at the LNG Canada site have been ongoing since June when increased gas intake began with the initial start-up of Train 1. Based on estimates published in RBN’s Canadian NatGas Billboard, daily gas intake to LNG Canada recently reached 1 Bcf on November 12 (blue circle in chart above). Intake rates have been highly variable in the past two months as commissioning and testing activities have been ongoing for Train 2.It was also reported that with a tanker departure on November 20, that 25 cargoes of LNG have been shipped from LNG Canada summing to approximately 85 Bcfe. RBN estimates that there will be six cargoes loaded in November (red column in chart above), which would bring the total number of shipments to 27 since first departure on June 30.LNG Canada is a two train LNG liquefaction facility located outside the town of Kitimat, BC with a nameplate capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum (MMtpa), or approximately 2.1 Bcf/d of gas intake at full utilization. A second phase expansion of the site, which would double its production capacity, was prioritized by the Canadian federal government on September 11 as part of a first tranche of projects referred to the Major Projects Office (MPO). The MPO was established in August as a federal agency intended to streamline regulatory approvals and help secure financing for projects earmarked by the federal government as being in the “national interest“. Discussions remain ongoing by the LNG Canada consortium as to the timing of a potential second phase expansion.

Rep. Maria Salazar Says US Needs To Invade Venezuela So US Oil Companies Can Have a 'Field Day' - Amid the US push toward a war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) has made the argument that the US must “go in” to Venezuela so American oil companies can have a “field day” since the country sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world.“Venezuela, for those Americans who do not understand why we need to go in … Venezuela, for the American oil companies, will be a field day, because it will be more than a trillion dollars in economic activity,” Salazar, a Miami-born daughter of Cuban exiles, told Fox Business.Salazar also said that the US must go to war with Venezuela because it has become the “launching pad” for people who “hate” the US, claiming Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas are active in the country. In one of the more absurd claims she made in the interview, Salazar said Maduro was “giving uranium to Hamas, and to Iran, and to North Korea, and Nicaragua.”Salazar’s third reason for going to war with Venezuela is the claim that Maduro is the leader of the so-called Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los Soles, a group that doesn’t actually exist. The term was first used in the early 1990s to describe Venezuelan generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in cocaine trafficking and were actuallyworking with the CIA at the time. Today, the Cartel of the Suns is used to describe a network of Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in the drug trade, but it doesn’t exist as a structured organization. Regardless, the US State Department has labeled the Cartel of the Suns a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and claims Maduro is its leader, giving the administration a potential pretext to launch a war, though any attack on Venezuela without congressional authorization would be illegal, per the US Constitution. Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader and this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, has also been spreading false and unsubstantiated claims about Maduro and his government to get the US to invade. In an effort to appeal to President Trump, Machado has claimed that Maduro “rigged elections” in the US.

Explosive LNG Demand Reshaping Global Markets as U.S. Feed Gas Forecast to Double by 2030 -- Natural gas and LNG are fast becoming the gravitational center of the global energy system, but some energy experts said the world is only beginning to grasp the scale of what’s to come. Line chart titled “NGI’s Henry Hub Forward Fixed Price Curve” showing U.S. natural gas forward prices from early 2026 through late 2027, with values starting near $4.60/MMBtu, dipping below $3.70/MMBtu mid-2026, peaking above $5.00/MMBtu in early 2027, then declining before a modest recovery toward $4.00/MMBtu by late 2027. At A Glance:
Domestic natural gas exports dominate
Infrastructure limits tighten markets
Volatile benchmarks reshape trade

Ukraine Peace Push Crushes TTF as War Risk Premium Fades — LNG Recap - European natural gas prices hit the lowest point in more than a year on Monday as prospects again emerged to end the war in Ukraine and fundamentals stayed weak. Chart showing spot LNG vessel rates in USD/day as of Nov. 24, 2025, comparing West and East basin prices for three carrier types: 174k XDF/MEGI ($160,000 West, $78,000 East), 155k–165k TFDE ($100,000 West, $62,000 East), and 138k–145k steam turbine ($30,000 West, $20,000 East), along with Pacific, Middle East, and Atlantic voyage parameters indicating 100% fuel and hire on ballast bonus to load port, sourced from Fearnleys. At A Glance:
TTF nears $10
Freight rates pressure JKM higher
U.S. natural gas production hits record

LNG demand for ships set to at least double by 2030 globally - Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel will at least double by 2030 as abundant supply and rising emissions regulations spur orders for ships that can run on it, industry executives said. Massive LNG export projects in the US and Qatar are expected to cause a supply glut by 2030, reducing prices and improving its competitiveness against conventional and more-polluting fuel oil. LNG is pulling ahead of other fuels in decarbonising shipping, which accounts for nearly 3 per cent of emissions, as supply and infrastructure hurdles cloud the outlook for cleaner alternatives methanol and ammonia. “Owners ultimately will choose the fuel that gives you the lowest cost,” said Tuomas Maljanen, associate director for LNG and new energy at shipbroker Fearnleys. “LNG is great because the infrastructure is there. It’s readily available ... maybe later on it’s going to be, hopefully, quite cheap as well,” he added. Singapore, the top bunkering hub, led global LNG bunkering activity in the third quarter, followed by China and the Netherlands, according to consultancy Rystad Energy, and it plans to issue additional bunker supply licences. Global LNG bunkering volumes could surpass four million tonnes by end-2025 and double by 2030, said Jo Friedmann, senior vice-president of supply chain research at Rystad Energy. French energy major TotalEnergies expects global LNG and bio-LNG bunker demand to surge to 15 million tonnes by 2030. Some 781 dual-fuelled ships can now use LNG, according to ship certifier DNV.

Chinese LNG demand looks set to disappoint for yet another year - The Business Times - Chinese liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are at risk of another weak year as disappointing industrial demand and persistently high global prices look set to reduce purchases. Imports will fall about 5 per cent to 73 million tonnes this year, meaning China may lose its position as the world’s biggest buyer of the super-chilled fuel to Japan, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF). The outlook for 2026 is also not encouraging: Overall gas demand is set to slump, suggesting it has decoupled with GDP growth, BNEF analysts said at a summit this week. China was the fastest-growing LNG market before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a surge in spot prices. Back then, Asia’s largest economy had been expected by BNEF to get to 100 million tonnes of imports by this year, but analysts have been forced to repeatedly downgrade their outlooks on persistently weaker-than-expected demand. A wave of new global LNG supply will probably reduce spot prices next year and potentially spur some additional Chinese buying, but the demand picture remains shaky. There’s been a decline in industrial activity across the steel, glass and cement sectors, key sources of LNG consumption, and Beijing’s campaigns to tackle overcapacity, as well as the trade war with the US, could also dampen purchases. Gas-fired power plants are facing intense competition from coal and rapidly expanding renewables such as solar and wind. The utilisation rate of facilities that burn gas has dropped to the lower end of the five-year seasonal range, as rising LNG costs force them to curb generation. Chinese LNG buyers, meanwhile, have more long-term supply contracts starting next year, but given that demand is deteriorating, they may choose to divert some fuel to places such as Europe, where prices are higher. This is likely to cement China’s role in balancing the global gas market, as companies there shift to becoming traders as well as consumers. “The path to portfolio trading is not by choice, but rather necessity,” Zhang Yaoyu, global head of LNG and new energies at PetroChina International, said at the BNEF Shanghai Summit on Wednesday. From a long-term perspective, Chinese gas demand is still supported by the expansion of import terminals, with capacity potentially doubling by 2030. But whether those facilities will be fully utilised will depend on price and demand.

Frustrated – Complex Projects, Unpredictable Events Make Adding Refining Capacity a Global Challenge | RBN Energy -- Building and expanding refineries has always been a challenging task, and it’s only gotten tougher and pricier lately. Getting a new project off the ground requires effectively managing many complex moving parts, including securing capital, procuring skilled engineers and craftsmen, and operating within a supportive government and economic climate. But even with all those pieces in place, projects can unravel fast if global politics shift, the economy sours, or unpredictable developments, such as wars, pandemics, or any number of other such “black swan” events, hit. In today’s RBN blog, we share our thoughts on refinery projects across the globe. In Part 1 of this series, we outlined the massive challenges and cost/schedule overruns facing the Dangote refinery in Nigeria and the Dos Bocas (Olmeca) refinery in Mexico. But the difficulties in adding refining capacity are far from isolated to those two sites, as projects across the globe have faced similar headaches, even in the U.S. (although not nearly to the same degree). A recent example is the $2 billion, 250-Mb/d expansion at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, TX, refinery, which, while overall very successful, especially regarding the project execution factors within their control, had a more than yearlong delay due to the impact of COVID shutdowns and the resulting drop in refined products demand before starting up in 2023.Too often, we at RBN’s Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice notice that many potential roadblocks, such as economic downturns and regulatory developments, aren’t factored into a project’s chances for success. As a result, startup timelines, operating performance and other variables for new projects are often overly optimistic. We share a more grounded, realistic view of the elements that contribute to successful projects when crafting our refinery project forecasts, including the consideration of differences in regional markets, which will influence future refinery capacity developments. Figure 1 below shows RFA’s overall view of the global refinery market, with a high-level, qualitative assessment of those regional factors.In our biannual Future of Fuels report (the next edition is out in January 2026), we have a Probable List and a Watch List of refinery projects. The Probable List includes projects we expect to start up in the next five years, along with important details for each, including startup timing, crude capacity, type of crude expected to be processed, product yields by type, downstream unit capacities, project cost and other relevant attributes. The much larger Watch List identifies projects that have been proposed and, in some cases, are even in advanced development, but which we don’t expect to come online within our five-year forecast timeframe. What follows is a sneak peek of our forecast (which we are constantly updating), showing how we expect things to play out by region.

• Asia continues to be the most active region for refinery investments (largely due to continued strong regional demand growth) but most of the proposed projects land in “watch-and-wait territory” (i.e., the Watch List) rather than the “ready-to-go list” (the Probable List). While China has led the world in capacity additions since 2000 (singlehandedly accounting for almost 60% of global growth), it is handing this mantle off to India (just as India takes over the lead in domestic demand growth and Chinese demand levels off). We see India leading the region (and the world) in refinery capacity additions through the end of the decade, driven by a flurry of state-backed projects, most of which are brownfield expansions of existing refineries, with about 900 Mb/d of additions expected by 2030. Most of these are likely to start up in the next two years, and project execution in India has generally been more efficient than in many other parts of the world. .
• Across Asia Pacific, China has publicly said it’s stepping back from adding new fuel production (and even continuing its program of shutting down older, less efficient plants), but one big project is about to hit the finish line: the 300-Mb/d greenfield HAPCO Panjin refinery, located in the northeast province of Liaoning. The $12 billion-plus project is a joint venture between NORINCO Group, Saudi Aramco and PXI and ties closely to a large petrochemical complex. While the sponsors say the startup is coming in 2026, we don’t expect it to be fully operational until 2027 (and perhaps later). Elsewhere in the region, most proposed projects are even further out, likely after 2030.
• Just like China, refinery investment in the Middle East has cooled. Bahrain’s BAPCO is wrapping up its Sitra expansion of +133 Mb/d, marking the end of a long wave of new projects. The biggest change comes from Saudi Arabia, which has stepped off the fuel-capacity expansion treadmill, canceling its giant Ras Al Khair crude-to-chemicals plant. It is now shifting investment to Asia, with a focus on India and the Panjin refinery in China (which we just discussed). Iran and Iraq talk big about expansion plans, but amid ongoing political instability, we believe most of these projects face limited chances of success over the next several years. .
• We discussed Nigeria’s Dangote refinery in our previous blog but we’re also watching other projects in development in Africa. Elsewhere in Nigeria, the rehabilitation of four long-idled refineries remains a high-risk play with one small unit at “Old” Port Harcourt limping along, but the other three (Warri, Kaduna and “New” Port Harcourt) remain more contractor headlines than credible capacity additions.
• We believe it’s more of the same for Latin America. Several countries have had ambitious refinery plans (similar to Dos Bocas), but most haven’t gone anywhere. The region has seen no increase in capacity and an actual drop in crude throughput by about 1.9 MMb/d since 2000. Looking forward, a few projects on our Watch List are attracting a lot of attention, but we think they are highly uncertain. In Mexico, in addition to the Dos Bocas refinery, Pemex has long promoted delayed coker projects at Tula (83 Mb/d) and Salina Cruz (70 Mb/d). While some progress has been made at Tula (and Pemex has repeatedly announced an imminent startup over the past couple of years), we forecast a 2027 startup, which is subject to further downgrade; the Salina Cruz coker is very unlikely to be complete before the end of the decade, if ever.
• As for Europe and Russia, decreasing capacity (or, in Russia’s case, throughput) is the story for the future. Europe has lost more than 3.5 MMb/d of refining capacity (about 25%) over the past two decades, including almost 500 Mb/d this year, and we can expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future amid declining demand driven by “green” forces and negative demographic trends. For Russia, its previously ambitious program to upgrade and modernize its refineries has ended abruptly due to its ill-conceived invasion of Ukraine and has led to a very bleak refining outlook. Drone strikes and sanctions have significantly eroded throughput, which in the last couple of months has fallen below 5 MMb/d, almost 800 Mb/d below pre-war levels.

Summing up, we expect global petroleum demand to keep growing through the next decade, which means more refining capacity will be needed. But adding that capacity remains very challenging and definitely “easier said than done” for all the reasons discussed above. Headline startup dates can’t be taken at face value, and many of the same problems that have affected Dangote and Dos Bocas will continue to impact the many projects under development throughout the world, requiring a high degree of diligence in evaluating their prospects.

False-Flag Tankers Shipped Russian Oil Worth $5.4 Billion This Year -Tankers of the Russian shadow fleet have increased the use of flying false flags this year and exported $5.4 billion (4.7 billion euros) worth of Russian oil between January and September, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a new report.A total of 113 Russian ‘shadow’ vessels flew a false flag during their operations in the first nine months of 2025, the analysis found.In volumes, 13% of Russian oil transported by ‘shadow’ vessels between January and September 2025 took place on vessels flying a false flag, the Helsinki-based CREA said. The think tank found that there were 90 vessels that have operated under false flags in September 2025, a six-fold surge compared to December 2024. A total of 52 of these vessels have traded at least once in the third quarter of 2025, according to the analysis, which monitored tanker routes and open flag registries.These open registries — also known colloquially as flags of convenience — are favored by shippers due to lower regulatory burdens and registration costs than closed registries, which also require a direct link between the vessel and the nation state.But this year, following the EU, UK, and U.S. sanctions on tankers, many open registries have deflagged sanctioned vessels, and have been reluctant to allow new ‘shadow’ vessels to enter their fleet. A reluctance among traditional open registries to offer their services to the ‘shadow’ fleet has seen the proliferation of many new registries with little to no history on maritime transport, CREA said.“The most frequently used false flag is that of Malawi. The first such case occurred in June 2025, and since then, 24 vessels have flown Malawi’s flag while carrying Russian oil. Every one of these vessels is sanctioned,” CREA said.Contacted by Indian outlet PTI to shed light on false-flagging operations to ship Russian crude to India, CREA said its analysis found 30 such vessels shipped crude oil to India in the first nine months of 2025, with the value of the crude estimated at $2.4 billion (2.1 billion euros).“The number of Russian 'shadow' tankers sailing under false flags is now increasing at an alarming rate,” Luke Wickenden, Energy Analyst and co-author of the report, told PTI.“False-flagged vessels carried EUR 1.4 billion worth of Russian crude oil and oil products through the Danish Straits in September alone.”

JP Morgan Says Oil Prices Could Plunge Into $30s By 2027 -The international crude benchmark, Brent, could dip to the $30s per barrel handle by 2027 as oversupply could overwhelm the market, according to a JP Morgan forecast posted by users on X. Brent Crude prices have dropped by 14% year to date, and traded relatively stable at $62.59 per barrel early on Monday, as the oil market awaits news from the renewed negotiations on peace in Ukraine. The U.S. and Ukraine held on Sunday in Geneva what the two sides described as “highly productive” talks and agreed to continue intensive work on a “refined” peace plan, which the U.S. first proposed last week. Despite the fears of a glut, analysts and investment banks don’t see oil prices moving down to $40 or below, even as oil is set to decline in the near term with strong supply from OPEC+ and the non-OPEC producers in the Americas. Peace in Ukraine could also weigh on energy prices as some sanctions and restrictions on Russia could be eased, analysts say. Oil prices are set to further drop into next year from current levels amid a large surplus on the market, with the U.S. benchmark WTI Crude expected to average $53 per barrel in 2026, according to Goldman Sachs.The investment bank’s call for next year is that oil prices are on track for further declines and investors should short oil right now, Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC last week.

Oil Prices Decline on Approaching Peace Talks... Oil prices fell on Monday, continuing the losses incurred last week, amid approaching peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and a stronger U.S. dollar. Brent crude futures dropped 14 cents, or 0.22%, to $62.42 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 15 cents, or 0.26%, to $57.91 per barrel. Both benchmark crude oils declined by nearly 3% last week, reaching their lowest levels since October 21, as market participants feared that a Russian-Ukrainian peace deal could lift sanctions on Moscow and flood the market with previously restricted supplies. On Sunday, the United States and Ukraine said they had made progress in talks on a peace plan that would require Kyiv to cede territory and abandon plans to join NATO. U.S. President Donald Trump set a deadline for next Thursday, despite European leaders pushing for a better deal. A peace agreement could potentially lead to a rollback of sanctions that have restrained Russian oil exports. Russia was the world’s second-largest crude oil producer after the United States in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Investor appetite was also dampened by the prospect of more oil entering the market and uncertainty over potential U.S. interest rate cuts. However, the probability of a rate cut next month rose after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams suggested lowering rates “in the near term.” The dollar is on track for its largest weekly gain in six weeks, with the dollar index reaching its highest level since late May. A stronger U.S. dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Market Weighed the Possibility of a Ukraine Peace Deal - The crude market rallied higher on Monday as the market weighed the prospect of a Ukraine peace deal and the possibility of a U.S. interest rate cut. On Monday, the crude market tested Friday’s low of $57.42 as it posted a low of $57.42 as the U.S. and Ukraine were continuing their talks for a second day to modify a U.S. peace proposal. However, as the market held support at its previous low, the market retraced its losses and rallied higher. The market was supported by the strength seen in the equities market amid increased expectations of a potential Fed rate cut in December. The January WTI contract rallied to a high of $58.94 ahead of the close and settled up 78 cents $58.84. The oil market continued to trend higher and posted a high of $59.06 in the post settlement period. The January Brent contract ended the session up 81 cents at $63.37. Meanwhile, the product markets settled in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling down 5.03 cents at $2.4061 and the RB market settling up 1.32 cents at $1.8966. The United States and Ukraine sought on Monday to narrow the gaps in a peace plan to end the war with Russia after agreeing to modify a U.S. proposal calling for concessions from Kyiv. The U.S. and Ukraine said in a joint statement they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after talks in Geneva on Sunday. The White House Press Secretary said the U.S. and Ukraine had productive talks and added that there remained just “a couple of points of disagreement.” She said there was no meeting scheduled this week between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Kremlin said that a European counter-proposal to a U.S. 28-point peace plan for Ukraine was not constructive and that it simply did not work for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that U.S. proposals for peace in Ukraine could be the basis of a resolution of the conflict but that if Kyiv turned down the plan then Russian forces would advance further. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that China’s President Xi Jinping held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. JPMorgan forecast Brent crude at $57/barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $53/barrel in 2027, while keeping its 2026 estimates unchanged at $58/barrel and $54/barrel, respectively. JPMorgan expects global oil demand to increase by 900,000 bpd in 2025 to 105.5 million bpd. Similar gains are expected in 2026 before accelerating to 1.2 million bpd in 2027. Global oil supply is forecast to outpace demand, growing at three times the rate of demand in both 2025 and 2026 before slowing to about one-third of that pace in 2027. It said that about half of the supply gains will come from non-OPEC+ producers, driven by strong offshore projects and continued momentum in global shale output. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 187,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending November 28th, increasing available refining capacity by 458,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 54,000 bpd in the week ending December 5th.

Oil prices settle up 1% on bets Fed will cut US rates and doubts about Ukraine peace (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed about 1% on Monday on increased bets of a U.S. interest rate cut in December and mounting doubts about whether Russia will get a peace deal with Ukraine that will boost Moscow's oil exports. Brent futures rose 81 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $63.37 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 78 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $58.84. Sign up here. On Friday, both crude benchmarks closed at their lowest levels since October 21. The U.S. and Ukraine sought to narrow the gaps in a peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war after a U.S. proposal that Kyiv and its European allies viewed as a Kremlin wish list. Recent price weakness was driven mainly by reported progress in Ukraine–Russia peace negotiations, analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. "However, we feel that a reduction of more than 5% of risk premium is excessive," they added, pointing to the potential for the war to drag on, re-injecting geopolitical risk into oil futures. U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, which took effect on Friday, have caused friction that would normally boost prices, but the market is preoccupied by the peace talks, said Jorge Montepeque, managing director at Onyx Capital. Russian state oil and gas revenue could fall in November by around 35% year-on-year to 520 billion roubles ($6.59 billion), owing to cheaper oil and a stronger rouble, Reuters calculations showed on Monday. European Council President Antonio Costa hailed the "new momentum" in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and pledged that the European Union will keep supporting Ukraine. U U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said available data indicates that the U.S. job market remains weak enough to warrant another quarter-point cut. Lower rates could boost economic growth and oil demand. Global brokerages remain split on whether the Fed will cut interest rates at its December meeting after last week's mixed signals on job growth and unemployment. In Germany, business morale fell unexpectedly in November, a survey showed, as companies grew more pessimistic about chances of economic recovery. JPMorgan forecast Brent crude at $57 a barrel and WTI at $53 in 2027 while keeping its 2026 estimates unchanged at $58 and $54 respectively. The U.S. formally designated Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, layering additional terrorism-related sanctions on the group it has said includes President Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials. U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), help support oil prices by limiting the South American country's exports. Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a "very good" phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The leaders discussed the war in Ukraine, fentanyl trafficking and a deal for farmers. Energy traders see positive discussions between the world's two biggest economies as supportive of oil demand.

Oil Prices Slip Again As Oversupply Fears Rise And Ukraine Talks Drag On -- Oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday, extending a cautious mood across global energy markets as traders weighed growing concerns of a supply surplus against ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. While sanctions on Russian exports remain firmly in place, expectations of looser supply-demand balances next year are shaping a more bearish outlook for crude. Brent crude fell by 27 cents to settle at $63.10 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 23 cents to $58.61 during early Asian trading hours, reported Reuters. The modest decline follows a 1.3 per cent rise on Monday, when fading hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war temporarily buoyed prices. Despite the geopolitical backdrop, analysts say the momentum remains fragile. Sanctions on Russian crude and refined products continue to disrupt flows, yet forecasts suggest the real driver of market sentiment is a looming imbalance in 2026. "In the short-term, the key risk is oversupply and current price levels seem vulnerable," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. Fresh sanctions on oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil have complicated Moscow’s ability to place its barrels, particularly after Europe tightened rules on purchasing refined products made from Russian crude. The restrictions have squeezed demand from some Indian refiners, including private-sector giant Reliance, which has reportedly scaled back purchases. With fewer willing buyers, Russia is increasingly turning eastwards. Alexander Novak, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, told a China–Russia business forum in Beijing that Moscow and Beijing have been exploring ways to deepen their energy partnership and expand oil shipments to China. This pivot underscores how Russia is reconfiguring its energy export strategy amid Western pressure, yet even these new avenues may not be enough to offset a globally softer demand outlook. Across major financial institutions, the consensus is shifting towards a view that crude markets may be heading for a prolonged period of oversupply. A note from Deutsche Bank on Monday projected a 2026 surplus of at least 2 million barrels per day, with "no clear path back to deficits even by 2027," according to analyst Michael Hsueh. Such forecasts have overshadowed the lack of progress in the Ukraine peace negotiations. If talks eventually succeed, the lifting of sanctions could flood the market with previously restricted Russian supply, adding further strain to already loose fundamentals. Still, not all sentiment is bearish. Oil markets have found pockets of support amid increased expectations of a US interest-rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting. Several Fed officials have signalled their backing for looser monetary policy, sparking optimism that cheaper borrowing could stimulate economic activity and, in turn, energy demand. "The oil market is in a tug-of-war between a caution-driven supply overhang and demand hopes predicated on easier monetary policy," Sachdeva noted.

Oil Prices Sink as Ukraine Agrees to Peace Deal -Oil prices extended losses early on Tuesday after news broke that Ukraine has mostly agreed to a peace deal, with “minor details” to discuss and settle. As of 8:35a.m. ET on Tuesday, the U.S. benchmark crude futures, WTI Crude, dropped by 1.29% to further slip below $60 per barrel, at $58.08. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was trading down by 1.23% at $62.59. Prices reacted to reports early on Tuesday that the U.S. plan for peace in Ukraine has received support from Ukrainians. The development added to persistent concerns about an already oversupplied oil market. “The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” a U.S. official told CBS News today. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal,” the U.S. official added. Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, posted on X early on Tuesday “We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war.” “Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva,” Umerov added. “We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps. We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine’s President to the US at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump.” A peace deal that President Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could agree on as early this week is weighing on oil prices as traders expect that some sanctions on Russia’s energy industry and exports could be eased. While Ukraine and the U.S. were negotiating in Geneva, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi for discussions with Russian officials, sources told CBS News. As of early Tuesday, there was no reaction or comment from Russia on a peace deal.

Oil falls as Ukraine signals support for framework of Russia peace deal (Reuters) - Oil prices settled over 1% lower on Tuesday after Ukraine hinted that an intense diplomatic push by the U.S. administration to end Russia's war against it could be yielding fruit. An end to the war in Ukraine could pave the way for the unwinding of Western sanctions against Moscow's energy trade, potentially adding more supply at a time when commodity prices have been battered by expectations of a glut next year. Brent crude futures fell 89 cents, or 1.4%, to $62.48 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell 89 cents, or 1.5%, to $57.95 a barrel. Both benchmarks hit their lowest levels since October 22 during intraday trading. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could visit the U.S. in the next few days to finalise a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, Kyiv's national security chief Rustem Umerov said. Still, Russia stressed it would not let any deal stray too far from its objectives, which helped keep oil's losses in check as Russia's position raises doubts about whether a formal agreement will be reached, said Ed Hayden-Briffett, oil analyst at Onyx Capital Group. The uncertainty was underscored by Russia's barrage of missiles on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday, which killed six people, wounded 13, and disrupted electricity and heating systems. "It needs two to tango, and it remains unclear if Russia agrees as well," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. The difficult part of negotiations to end the war is yet to come, with major gaps between the parties needing to be filled, analysts at oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates cautioned. A growing consensus of experts forecasts that crude oil supply growth in 2026 will exceed gains in demand. Deutsche Bank sees a surplus of at least 2 million barrels per day next year and no clear path back to deficits even by 2027, it said in a note on Monday. A peace deal could help Russia raise oil production to its agreed OPEC+ volume, Commerzbank Research analysts said. Sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil and rules against selling oil products refined from Russian crude to Europe have pushed some Indian refiners to cut back their purchases of Russian oil. That has caused a decline in Russian oil exports and an increase in crude oil from Russia stored in tankers at sea, which would become available if a peace deal leads to lifting sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, Commerzbank noted. Russia has also been discussing ways to expand exports to China, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday. U.S. crude stocks fell last week while fuel inventories rose, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. U.S. crude stocks were previously estimated in a Reuters poll to have risen by 1.86 million barrels in the week ended November 21.

Oil prices recover amid Ukraine peace hopes and Fed rate bets - – Oil prices rebounded slightly on Wednesday after falling to one-month lows in the previous session, as optimism grew over a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. The deal could ease international sanctions on Russian energy exports, influencing global supply. Brent crude futures rose 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.67 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 14 cents, or 0.24%, to $58.09 a barrel as of 0114 GMT. Both contracts had settled down 89 cents on Tuesday. The recent dip followed remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who told European leaders that only a few points of disagreement remained in a U.S.-backed framework to end the war with Russia. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore noted that if finalized, the agreement could rapidly dismantle Western sanctions, potentially pushing WTI prices toward $55. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his representatives will meet separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian officials, while Zelenskiy may travel to the United States soon to finalize the deal. Meanwhile, Russian oil exports to key buyers like India are expected to hit a three-year low in December, amid tightened sanctions by Britain, Europe, and the United States. Crude prices also received modest support from expectations of a potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. Recent economic data, showing weaker retail spending and softer inflation, suggest the Fed may lower rates, which could boost economic growth and oil demand. Traders remain cautious, monitoring developments in Ukraine peace talks and U.S. monetary policy. Analysts note that while optimism supports oil, the risk of lower prices remains if talks proceed smoothly and sanctions are eased.

WTI Steady Near One-Month Lows Amid Peace Deal Talk, Record Crude Production - Oil prices are steady this morning near one month lows, after a tempestuous few days swinging around Russia peace deal headlines.US President Donald Trump said “there are only a few remaining points of disagreement,” as he sent negotiators to more meetings, while the Ukrainian leader’s chief of staff said talks in Geneva had laid a “good foundation.”Goldman said a peace deal may shave off about $5 a barrel from its base-case forecast of $56 next year.“That would put Brent in 2026 in the low $50s,” analyst Daan Struyven told Bloomberg TV. API reported a lackluster set of inventory data that calmed the market too...

• Crude -1.86mm
• Cushing
• Gasoline +539k
• Distillates +753k

DOE:

• Crude +2.774mm
• Cushing -68k
• Gasoline +2.513mm
• Distillates +1.147mm

US Crude stocks rose for the 3rd time in the last four weeks as did product inventories... Graphics Source: Bloomberg. ... while Cushing stocks continue to test 'tank bottoms'... US Crude production continues to hover near record highs... WTI is hovering around $58, near one month lows...Much of Russia’s oil and fuel is subject to heavy Western sanctions, with US restrictions on the two biggest producers kicking in last week. However, China, India and Turkey have been eager buyers of the discounted crude, so the impact on global prices from any lifting of curbs is hard to gauge.“Minute adjustments between the US, Russia, Ukraine and the EU on proposed peace deals have been carefully digested by the market,” Standard Chartered analysts including Emily Ashford wrote in a note.“Any positive signs of collaboration or agreement have resulted in short-term sell-offs, while the dialing-back of enthusiasm has bolstered prices.” Oil has retreated by more than a fifth since the middle of June as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies restored barrels, while producers outside of the group also pumped more. Worldwide crude supply is expected to exceed demand by a record 4 million barrels a day next year, the International Energy Agency forecast this month.

Oil edges up as investors await clarity on supply, Russia-Ukraine deal (Reuters) - Oil prices settled up on Wednesday, bouncing back from one-month lows in the previous session, as investors assessed prospects of oversupply and talks over a Russia-Ukraine peace deal ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Brent crude futures settled 65 cents, or 1.04%, higher to $63.13 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 70 cents, or 1.21%, at $58.65. U.S. crude inventories climbed by 2.8 million barrels to 426.9 million barrels last week as imports surged, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 55,000-barrel rise. "We are definitely on the road to a rather healthy supply glut, there is no doubt about it, and the crude build is indicative of that," U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil rigs by 12 to 407 this week, their lowest since September 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes said on Wednesday. OPEC+ is likely to leave output levels unchanged at its meeting on Sunday, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Offering some support to crude prices were rising expectations for a potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. Lower rates would stimulate economic growth and bolster demand for oil. Investors awaited more clarity on Russia and Ukraine negotiations on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told European leaders on Tuesday that he was ready to advance a U.S.-backed framework for ending the war with Russia, driving both Brent crude and WTI down to one-month lows. "The bottom line is, there's still no peace agreement and it's going to be difficult to satisfy all the parties to come to the table and sign one," Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. U.S. President Donald Trump said he directed his representatives to meet separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian officials. A Ukrainian official said Zelenskiy could visit the United States in the next few days to finalize a deal. "If finalized, the deal could rapidly dismantle Western sanctions on Russian energy exports," potentially driving WTI prices to about $55, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a client note. "For now, the market waits for more clarity, but the risk appears to be for lower prices unless talks falter." The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which handles about 1.5% of global oil, said it resumed oil loadings overnight, having suspended loadings after a Ukrainian drone attack earlier in the week.

Oil prices settle up in low volume on US holiday; Russia-Ukraine talks in focus - CNA Oil prices rose on Thursday as market participants weighed the likelihood that talks to end the war in Ukraine will yield an agreement, with trading volume thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Brent crude futures settled up 21 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $63.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.8 per cent, at $59.10 a barrel by 1:46 p.m. ET (1846 GMT). The market is swinging between hope and skepticism over renewed peace efforts in Ukraine, SEB commodities analyst Ole Hvalbye said. U.S. and Ukrainian delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The two sides have been trying to narrow gaps over President Donald Trump's plan to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Kyiv remains wary of accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including territorial concessions. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the outlines of a draft peace plan discussed by the U.S. and Ukraine could become the basis of agreements to end the war. Putin also said that once Ukrainian troops withdraw from key areas, the fighting will stop, but Russia will achieve its objectives by force if that does not happen. "Geopolitical volatility continues and hopes of a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have neutralized the supply concerns arising from new U.S. sanctions on key Russian producers," Barclays said in a note. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are likely to leave oil output levels unchanged at their meetings on Sunday and to agree on a mechanism to assess members' maximum output capacity, two delegates from the group and a source familiar with OPEC+ talks told Reuters. Eight OPEC+ countries, which have been gradually raising production in 2025, are expected to keep their policy to pause hikes in the first quarter of 2026 unchanged, the two delegates said. Crude prices were also supported by rising expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. A lower rate typically stimulates economic growth and bolsters demand for oil. "We are now approaching the year-end with thinner liquidity without any new drivers unless the Fed surprises the markets with a hawkish guidance on the 10 December FOMC meeting," said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. "WTI crude is likely to be range-bound between US$56.80 and US$60.40 till year-end," he said.

Oil steady ahead of key OPEC+ meeting, Fed rate cut expectations -Oil prices slightly rose on Friday as investors awaited an OPEC+ decision on output strategy while monitoring peace efforts between Moscow and Kyiv. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $63.06 per barrel at 09.36 a.m. local time (06.36 GMT), up 0.4% from the previous close of $62.83. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remained unchanged at $58.96 compared to the prior session. Efforts to advance a peace framework for the Russia-Ukraine war, expectations around an upcoming OPEC+ meeting, and projections of a US interest rate cut in December drove volatility in oil prices. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Thursday that a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place last week in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at the initiative of Kyiv. Speaking at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, Putin said the meeting was attended by "a US administration representative" and that the event took place at Kyiv's initiative. Putin said the US has informed Moscow it would send a delegation in the first half of the coming week, adding that its composition is "solely Washington's decision." He said that following negotiations between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva, the parties decided to divide the proposal into four distinct parts. These developments have reinforced expectations that sanctions-driven restrictions on Russian oil exports could be loosened, reducing geopolitical risk premiums and allowing Russian supplies to reach global markets more steadily — a scenario that could add downward pressure on prices. Meanwhile, eight OPEC+ member states — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — are scheduled to meet online on Sunday to review production strategy. The group agreed on Nov. 2 to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day in December and to pause further increases in the first quarter of 2026. The absence of major policy changes is seen as supportive for prices, as stable supply outlooks help ease market uncertainty. Market sentiment is also underpinned by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will deliver a rate cut in December, a move anticipated to bolster economic growth and oil demand.

Brent Softens as Oil Prices Head for Fourth Monthly Drop -- Brent futures were mixed Friday, Nov. 28, morning as the oil complex was heading for the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Due to a technical issue at CME, trading of WTI, RBOB and ULSD futures was halted early in the morning but was subsequently restored. The front-month WTI futures contract edged up 0.29 to $58.94 bbl, while the ICE Brent futures contract for January delivery dropped 0.025 to $63.09 bbl. Downstream, the ULSD futures contract for December delivery was up $0.374 to $2.3629 gallon. Meanwhile, the December RBOB futures contract increased $0.0398 to $1.9288 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index also strengthened by 0.088 points to 99.78 against a basket of foreign currencies. Front-month crude futures softened by around 3% in November. Over the past four months, they slipped by close to 15% as it became evident the market was heading into oversupply. Global supply additions rapidly outpaced demand growth this year, and while a lower oil price will take some wind out of the sails of production growth, this trend is likely to continue in 2026. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has been ramping up output since April and is planning a modest increase in December. This is expected to be the last quota hike. Members are meeting this Sunday to set production policy for next year and will likely stick to their plan to pause output increases in the first quarter of 2026. In the U.S., oil inventories continued to expand. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, Nov. 26, reported builds to crude oil, gasoline, distillate fuel oil and jet fuel stocks in the week ended Nov. 21. While ULSD inventories remain limited, the tightness has eased over the last few weeks, with stocks now trailing year-ago levels by 4.3%. The EIA is set to release monthly oil statistics for September today. Monthly data provide a better view of market balances than weekly estimates, particularly when it comes to oil products supplied to the domestic market, a proxy figure for fuels demand.

Oil falls on drawn-out Ukraine peace talks, all eyes on upcoming OPEC+ meeting (Reuters) - Crude futures fell marginally on Friday as investors considered oil's geopolitical risk premium amid drawn-out Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while keeping an eye on Sunday's OPEC+ meeting for clues about potential output changes. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures resumed trading after being frozen due to a system outage at exchange operator CME Group, blamed on a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centres. Brent trades on the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE. Front-month Brent crude futures for January , which expire on Friday, settled down 14 cents, or 0.22%, at $63.20 a barrel. The more active February contract settled at $62.38, down 49 cents on Thursday's close. WTI crude settled at $58.55 a barrel, down 10 cents, or 0.17%, from Wednesday's close. There was no settlement on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Despite being up around 1% for the week, both contracts settled down for the fourth straight month, their longest losing streak since 2023, as expectations for higher global supply weighed on prices. The strength of fuel refining profit margins has supported crude demand in some places, but the bearish impact of an expected oil surplus is pressuring prices, said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah. U.S. oil production rose to record highs in September, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Friday, deepening concerns that the market is heading towards a surplus. U.S. crude oil output rose 44,000 barrels per day in September to a record 13.84 million bpd, according to the EIA data. A Reuters survey of 35 economists and analysts showed respondents expect Brent to average $62.23 per barrel in 2026, down from October's forecast of $63.15. The benchmark has averaged $68.80 per barrel so far in 2025, LSEG data showed. Signs that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia might be close pushed oil prices down sharply earlier this week, but they have recovered over the past three sessions as negotiations dragged on. "Futures had been anticipating some sort of a peace agreement which has kept pressure on prices," Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, said in a note on Friday. "Still, little is known at this time, and no agreement will likely mean even tighter sanctions on Russia's oil exports." On Sunday, OPEC+ is likely to leave oil output levels unchanged at its meetings and to agree on a mechanism to assess members' maximum production capacity, two delegates from the group and a source familiar with the group's talks told Reuters. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is expected to lower its January crude price for Asian buyers for a second month to its lowest in five years, under pressure from ample supplies and the surplus outlook, sources told Reuters on Friday.

Saudi Arabia Set to Slash Oil Prices to Asia for January -Saudi Arabia is expected to slash the prices for its crude bound for Asia in January to the lowest premium to benchmarks in five years, as the world’s largest crude exporter looks to preserve market share amid ample supply and falling spot Middle East benchmarks. Saudi oil giant Aramco will likely reduce the official selling price (OSP) of its flagship Arab Light crude grade by $0.30-$0.40 per barrel to a premium of $0.60-$0.70 a barrel to the average Oman/Dubai benchmark for loadings to Asia in January, a Reuters survey of Asian refining sources showed on Friday.The premium to Oman/Dubai would be the lowest since January 2021, as the Saudis are expected to slash OSPs for the Asian market for a second consecutive month. Early in November, Saudi Arabia cut the price of Arab Light for Asia to a premium of $1.00 per barrel above the Oman/Dubai average for shipments in December, down from a $2.20 a barrel premium in October and November.Now the world’s top crude exporter is poised to further slash the prices of Arab Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy by between $0.30 and $0.50 per barrel, according to the Reuters survey of refiners.The move is widely expected by the market as the spot benchmarks in the Middle East, including the cash Dubai premium to swaps, have slipped by about $0.30 per barrel in November compared to October.Moreover, the market appears to be well supplied as OPEC+ raises output, and Saudi Arabia is raising production the most as its share of the quotas is the biggest.The pricing announcement from Saudi Arabia is expected next week, after the OPEC+ meeting this weekend, at which producers are expected to stick with their decision to pause oil production increases in the first quarter of 2026. Saudi Arabia typically announces around the fifth of each month its crude pricing for the following month and doesn’t comment on price changes. It also sets the tone for the pricing of the other major oil producers in the Middle East, influencing the pricing policy of about 9 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports from the Arab Gulf region.

France and UK Insist on Sending Troops to Ukraine Despite Russia's Objection - France and the UK are still insisting that troops from NATO countries must be deployed to Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal, an idea that Russia has repeatedly rejected.French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a virtual meeting on Tuesday night of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” referring to countries willing to deploy troops to post-war Ukraine. According to POLITICO, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part in the call and told the European officials that the US wants a peace deal before agreeing to any security guarantees for Ukraine.Starmer said during the meeting that a “multinational force” will play a “vital” role in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. On Wednesday, Bloombergreported that British officials said the UK has already identified the military units it would send into Ukraine after “a series of reconnaissance visits in the country.” During the meeting on Tuesday, Macron suggested that the troops could be deployed in Kyiv and in parts of western Ukraine, so they’re not near the front lines. But Russian officials have made clear they wouldn’t accept any organized NATO force in Ukraine, regardless of where it’s located.The original 28-point Ukraine peace proposal drafted by the US, which was leaked to the media, included a blanket ban on the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine. A European counterproposal removed the total ban and says NATO would agree not to “permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime,” leaving open the possibility of rotational deployments.

Despite “ceasefires,” Israel massacres dozens in Gaza and Lebanon over the weekend - The Israeli military killed dozens of people in Gaza and Lebanon over the weekend, continuing its rampage throughout the Middle East under the cover of “ceasefires” in both Gaza and Lebanon. The massacres, which have become customary, have gone largely unreported in major newspapers, which have accepted the fraudulent proclamation by President Trump, as he put it on Friday, that “we actually have now for the first time, peace in the Middle East.” On Sunday, Israel carried out an airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, killing five people and wounding 28 more. The strike targeted the densely populated Haret Hreik area of the city. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the attack was carried out by two missile strikes, which targeted an apartment building, damaging surrounding cars and buildings. Sunday’s attack follows a separate strike last week on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon that killed 13 people. The attack, which killed mostly women and children, was the deadliest since the announcement of the “ceasefire” between Israel and Lebanon last November. Over the past year, Israel has killed over 300 people in Lebanon, including 127 civilians, according to figures from the United Nations. It likewise continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon, despite agreeing to withdraw its troops from Lebanese territory as part of the “ceasefire.” The strike targeted and killed Ali Tabtabai, the acting chief of staff of Hezbollah. In September 2024, Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in a strike involving dozens of bunker-busting bombs. A White House official praised this weekend’s murderous attack, telling Israel’s Channel 12, “We are pleased with the elimination of the number two in Hezbollah,” adding, “We think it’s a wonderful thing.” After the attack, Netanyahu’s office boasted: “In the heart of Beirut, the IDF attacked the Hezbollah chief of staff, who had been leading the terrorist organization’s buildup and rearmament. Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.” Netanyahu threatened more violence. “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its ability to threaten us,” he said. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks, stating that his government “reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, said, “The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon.” The attacks on Lebanon are part of an ongoing and developing war in the Middle East and, in particular, are preparatory to any direct war by Israel against Iran. The Jerusalem Post commented on Sunday, “Israel now has tensions with Syria, as well as Lebanon, and in Gaza, the West Bank, and on other fronts. The Beirut strike may send a message to Iran.” On Saturday, Israel killed 24 people and wounded 80 more, including children, in attacks throughout Gaza. This followed a series of airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday that killed 33 Palestinians. The strikes bring the number of people killed by Israel in Gaza since the announcement of a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas a month ago to over 312, with 760 more wounded. It has leveled 1,500 buildings over the past month.

Study: Israeli Forces Likely Killed More Than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza - --More than 100,000 Palestinians have likely been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to a research team from the Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR).A study conducted by the MPIDR and the Centre for Demographic Studies estimates that from October 7, 2023, to December 31, 2024, 78,318 people were killed by violence in Gaza, a significantly higher number than what Gaza’s Health Ministry was reporting at the time.“An update of their analysis, produced after the publication of the study, revealed that the current violent death toll likely exceeds 100,000,” the Max Planck Society said in an article on the study.The research aligns with two other studies on the Gaza death toll, which have found the real number of violent deaths is likely around 40% higherthan what the Gaza Health Ministry has reported. The latest update from the Health Ministry said its death toll has reached 69,775.The studies deal only with violent deaths, not indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege and destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure. “Our estimates of the impact of war on life expectancy in Gaza and Palestine are significant, but probably represent only a lower limit of the actual mortality burden. Our analysis focuses exclusively on direct, conflict-related deaths. The indirect effects of war, which are often greater and more long-lasting, are not quantified in our considerations,” said Ana C. Gómez-Ugarte, a researcher for MPIDR who was involved in the study.The MPIDR study found that life expectancy in Gaza in 2024 dropped to nearly half the level it was before October 7, 2023. “As a result of this unprecedented mortality, life expectancy in Gaza fell by 44% in 2023 and by 47% in 2024 compared with what it would have been without the war—equivalent to losses of 34.4 and 36.4 years, respectively,” said Gómez-Ugarte.The researchers also found that the “age and gender distribution of violent deaths in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024, closely resembled the demographic patterns observed in several genocides documented by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).”

Amnesty International Says Gaza Genocide Is Not Over - The group says Israel continues to deliberately inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.Amnesty International said on Thursday that the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza is not over despite the US-backed ceasefire deal, which Israel has continued to violate.While the agreement has led to a de-escalation of Israeli attacks and a slight increase in aid entering Gaza, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, and Israel continues to impose restrictions on humanitarian aid and is not allowing reconstruction.“More than one month after a ceasefire was announced in Gaza on 9 October, Israeli authorities are still committing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, by continuing to deliberately inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” Amnesty said in a statement.“Israel severely restricts the entry of supplies and the restoration of services essential for the survival of the civilian population – including nutritious food, medical supplies, and electricity – as well as stringently limiting medical evacuations. Israeli authorities continue to prohibit the entry of equipment and material necessary to repair life-sustaining infrastructure and required to remove unexploded ordnance, contaminated rubble and sewage,” the group added.Amnesty also pointed to the continued displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza as they are not allowed to enter the Israeli-occupied side of the Strip, which accounts for 58% of the territory, and are shot and killed if they attempt to cross the “yellow line,” the ambiguous boundary that cuts Gaza in two.“Palestinians are prevented from returning to their homes or agricultural lands located in areas beyond the yellow line, and the Israeli military has shot at those who come near,” Amnesty said. “Some 93 Palestinians attempting to cross and return to their homes have been killed.”Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that since the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect, Israeli forces have killed at least 347 Palestinians and wounded 889, more than 1,000 total casualties.

Hamas Affirms Commitment to Gaza Ceasefire amid Israeli Violations of Deal - Palestine Chronicle Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem affirmed on Monday that its delegation’s presence in Cairo demonstrates the movement’s seriousness in cooperating with mediators to move to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. “The second phase of the agreement is complex, and we have done what was required of us, while Israel continues its violations and breaches,” Qassem said in a press statement. He warned that “Israel’s continued violations could undermine the ceasefire agreement, a point the movement made clear to the mediators in the Cairo talks.” Qassem pointed out that “the tasks of the international forces must include separating our unarmed people from the occupation army, which continues its relentless aggression.” He stressed that “the occupation continues its daily process of encroaching on the Gaza Strip.” A Hamas delegation met on Sunday with Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, in Cairo to discuss developments related to the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel. The delegation was headed by Muhammad Darwish, Chairman of the Movement’s Leadership Council, and included Leadership Council members Khaled Mashal, Khalil Al-Hayya, Nizar Awadallah, and Zaher Jabarin, and Political Bureau member Dr. Ghazi Hamad. In a statement, Hamas said the meeting addressed developments concerning the ceasefire agreement, the general situation in the Gaza Strip, and a discussion of the nature of the second phase of the agreement. The delegation “affirmed the Movement’s commitment to implementing the first phase of the agreement, emphasizing the importance of halting the continuous zionist violations that threaten to undermine the agreement.” It said: “This must be done through a clear and specific mechanism under the sponsorship and follow-up of the mediators, based on informing the mediators of any violations so that they may take the necessary measures to stop them immediately and prevent unilateral actions that cause escalation and damage to the agreement.” The delegation also discussed ways to urgently address the issue of the al-Qassam Brigades fighters trapped behind the yellow line in Rafah with whom communication has been cut. The delegation urged mediators to intervene to resolve the situation. According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israeli forces have killed 342 Palestinians and injured hundreds since the ceasefire, the Anadolu news agency reported. Israel says it will not begin negotiations on the second phase of the agreement until it receives the remaining bodies of Israeli captives. Hamas has repeatedly said retrieving those bodies requires time because of the massive destruction across Gaza. Since the first phase took effect on October 10, Hamas has handed over 20 Israeli captives alive and the remains of 27 others out of 28. Israel has disputed two of those transfers, claiming one set of remains did not belong to any of its captives and another was not new. Among the measures expected in the second phase is the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza – an idea included in a recent US-drafted resolution adopted by the UN Security Council. On Saturday, the Israeli army claimed it killed and detained 17 Hamas fighters, saying they were trying to escape through a tunnel east of Rafah, according to Anadolu. Rafah lies inside areas still occupied by Israeli troops as part of the “yellow line” arrangements under the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, the report added. Anadolu cited a report by Egypt’s Cairo News channel which said Israel was attempting to use the standoff to derail the ceasefire agreement. Israeli officials have publicly urged the fighters to surrender and be transferred to Israel for interrogation or face being killed if they refuse, the report stated. Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of over 69,000 Palestinians, with more than 170,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing. In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk. Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

'Ethnic Cleansing’ - B’Tselem Says Over 1,000 Killed in West Bank since 2023 - The organization stated that since October 2023, alongside the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Israeli military “has been enforcing an increasingly permissive and reckless open-fire policy in the West Bank”. Israeli occupation forces and illegal Jewish settlers have killed 1,004 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 2023, including 217 minors, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem has said. At least 21 of the killings “were perpetrated by settlers,” it noted. “We are witnessing the total abandonment of Palestinian lives. Israel has already shown it is capable of far greater violence, as we are seeing in the Gaza Strip,” said Yuli Novak, B’Tselem executive director. “The situation in the West Bank is deteriorating by the day and will only worsen, because there is no internal or external mechanism to restrain Israel or stop its ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing,” Novak stressed. He emphasized that the “international community must put an end to Israel’s impunity and hold those responsible for crimes against the Palestinian people to account.” The organization stated that since October 2023, alongside the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Israeli military “has been enforcing an increasingly permissive and reckless open-fire policy in the West Bank, including the use of airstrikes in populated areas.” It highlighted that the military “has also armed and mobilized thousands of settlers into regional defense battalions and rapid-response teams within settlements.” “Under this blanket impunity, armed settlers attack Palestinians on a daily basis, burning homes, farmland and crops, looting property and killing residents,” B’Tselem said. The rights group stated that although dozens of such attacks occur every day, and many are captured on video and well documented, Israeli law-enforcement authorities “rarely open investigations.” “In the 21 cases where settlers have killed Palestinians, not a single perpetrator has been convicted,” it stressed. On Sunday evening, a young Palestinian man was killed by gunfire from Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers during an attack on the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Bara’ Khairy Ali Maali, 20, was killed when the soldiers and settlers opened fire on residents who attempted to quell the attack. Maali was shot in the chest, succumbing to his critical wounds after being transferred to the hospital, the report stated. On Friday, three Palestinian youth were killed by the occupation forces. Younes Waleed Mohammad Shtayyeh, 24, was killed after the army surrounded a house in the village of Tel, west of Nablus. The occupation forces fired live ammunition and stun grenades around the house, wounding Shtayyeh, before arresting him, WAFA reported. It cited the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as saying that Israeli soldiers prevented its medical teams from reaching the wounded man, before he was later pronounced dead. The army is withholding his body, WAFA reported. Early on Friday, Israeli occupation forces also shot and killed two youths during a raid in the town of Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the killings of Amr Khaled Al-Marboua, 18, and Sami Ibrahim Mashaikha, 16. WAFA reported that Israeli forces “had stormed the town, deployed infantry units in its streets, and positioned snipers on the rooftops of several buildings before opening fire at young men in the area, leading to the killing of Al-Marboua and Mashaikha.” The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that October 2025 recorded the highest monthly number of illegal Israeli settler attacks since the office began documenting such incidents in 2006, with more than 260 attacks resulting in casualties, property damage or both. This amounted to an average of eight incidents per day, it said.

China Slams Japanese Plan to Deploy Missiles on Island Near Taiwan - Japan will place surface-to-air missiles with a range of about 30 miles on Yonaguni Island, which is about 68 miles east of Taiwan. Japan has reaffirmed that it plans to deploy a surface-to-air missile system to one of its far-flung southwestern islands that’s near Taiwan, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters on Sunday that Tokyo would be deploying Type 03 Chu-SAM surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni Island, which lies about 68 miles east of the island of Taiwan.“The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi said during a visit to a Japanese military base on the island, according to Bloomberg. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.”The Chu-SAM missiles have a range of about 30 miles, meaning they can’t reach Taiwan, but the confirmation of the deployment comes against the backdrop of growing tensions between Beijing and Tokyo and Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying that a Chinese military blockade of Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning cited Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan when shecondemned the Japanese missile deployment to Yonaguni at a press conference on Monday.“Japan’s deployment of offensive weapons in Southwest Islands close to China’s Taiwan region is a deliberate move that breeds regional tensions and stokes military confrontation,” Mao said. “Given Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan, this move is extremely dangerous and should put Japan’s neighboring countries and the international community on high alert.”Japan has engaged in a US-encouraged military buildup in recent years that China says goes against Tokyo’s pacifist constitution that was imposed by US occupation forces after World War II, and the Potsdam Declaration, a statement that outlined the terms of surrender for Imperial Japan.

Why This Fear Of Deflation? --Certain myths survive from a period of trauma. They can be wholly incorrect and yet widely believed by nearly all living experts. The myth keeps moving from generation to generation and becomes doctrine, one which we dare not question for fear of contradicting the settled consensus. It so happens that “everyone knows” something that is entirely incorrect.The myth in this case is that deflation, in the form of falling prices, is always to be avoided at all costs. This myth is global.The other day, Bloomberg and Economic Times whipped up a frenzy with an article called “What India can do about its low inflation problem.” “India’s economy, so often touted for potential to supplant China as a global engine, is having a hard time getting its arms around inflation. Not that it’s too high, but because the pace of price increases is worryingly low.”The prescription is always the same: loosen the money and pump up the prices, robbing savers and consumers of all production.How can they say this? Because everyone believes it.India has had a roaring inflation problem in recent years, same as everyone else. I’m just going to eyeball this and say that the currency has lost 30 percent of its value over five years, again, not an unusual experience. Finally we have inflation tamed to the 2–3 percent realm. That means only that the problem is getting worse more slowly.This is not deflation. Not even close.And yet at this very moment, we are told that India has another problem. Inflation is too low! The central bank has to act before it is too late!Some of this confusion truly results from sloppy use of language. When inflation is falling, that vaguely feels like prices are falling. Not so! It only means that prices are rising more slowly than previously. This is not deflation. This is a lower rate of inflation.The language problem is coupled with a strange public psychology. For years, I’m convinced, consumers really believed that the inflation was temporary. Maybe you believed this too. I think I did briefly until I remembered that there is no way that the monetary authorities would actually let overall prices fall.Whatever damage has been done over five years is really done. Nothing can fix it. The price level will never go back to what it was. The monetary unit is permanently devalued. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Nigerian parents say they are kept in the dark over abducted schoolchildren - (AP) — Several parents of the over 300 schoolchildren seized by armed men in the latest mass abduction in Nigeria tell The Associated Press the government has told them nothing about rescue efforts — and the stress has been so high that one parent has died of a heart attack. “Nobody from the government has briefed us about the abduction,” said Emmanuel Ejeh, whose 12-year-old son was taken from the Catholic school in Niger state. No armed group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s abduction of 303 children from the remote community of Papiri, the latest in a series of high-profile seizures in search of ransom. Fifty of the students have since escaped. The rise in mass abductions from schools comes as the Trump administration pressures Nigeria to act against what it calls the persecution of Christians there — a claim Nigeria’s government denies. Such abductions had decreased in the past two years. Experts say Muslims suffer just as much or more from the attacks by bandits and militants linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group. Nigeria’s government has few answers Parents have gathered at the dusty school compound in Papiri, attempting to comfort each other. Ejeh said his wife fainted after hearing their son was taken. “It is painful,” Ejeh said. “Mathew is a very kind boy who dreams of becoming a football player. He is after football day and night.” Two parents of abducted children have died, one of a heart attack, said the bishop of Kontagora diocese, Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who also runs the school. A spokesperson for Nigeria’s presidency, Bayo Onanuga, did not directly address parents’ allegations of being left in the dark. Onanuga told the AP on Wednesday that the military is mounting pressure on the gunmen to release the children. Nigerian authorities have said helicopters and ground troops have been deployed. Military personnel mingled with anxious parents this week. The attack came days after gunmen seized 25 students in nearby Kebbi state. All have been rescued, Nigerian authorities said on Tuesday. On Wednesday, police said the students had been reunited with their families. An AP tally shows that at least 1,799 students have been abducted in a dozen of the largest attacks in Nigeria starting with the seizure of 276 schoolgirls in the village of Chibok by Boko Haram militants, an attack that sparked global outrage. Some students escape. Others are rescued. Some are never seen again.