week ending Jul 19

Fed's Logan unconvinced of case for rate cuts -- A top Federal Reserve official says the central bank's interest rate-setting committee should continue to keep interest rates steady for the time being, saying inflation must cool still further before rates come down. Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a speech Wednesday that she is content to leave interest rates where they are, adding that she would want to see inflation fall to 2% before considering cuts.

GOP senators warn Trump that firing Powell would send ‘shock wave’ through economy - Senate Republicans are warning President Trump that it would be a big mistake to follow through on his threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying it would likely send a “shock wave” through the financial markets and roil the broader economy. GOP senators, including lawmakers closely allied with Trump, warn that any move to oust Powell would jeopardize the Federal Reserve’s independence, which in turn could undermine investors’ confidence in U.S. monetary policy and creditworthiness “I do not believe a president, any president, has the authority to fire the Federal Reserve chair,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Fed. “I believe strongly in the independence of the Federal Reserve. Some countries in the world don’t have independent central banks. Ask Turkey how that’s been working out for them. At one point Turkey had inflation at 30 percent,” he added. Kennedy said he understands Trump’s desire to see interest rates lowered to energize the economy, noting that past presidents have pressed for the same thing. But he warned that slashing rates now when the U.S. debt stands at $36 trillion and inflation may be picking up could have major reverberations for the economy. “If you cut interest rates right now by 300 basis points or 3 percent it would crash the stock market, you would see bond prices take a journey to the center of the Earth, you would see the 10-year Treasury go up at least 50, probably 100 basis points, which makes it harder to issue new Treasurys,” he warned. Kennedy warned that if firing Powell backfires and causes the interest on Treasury bills to climb, it would cost “hundreds of billions of dollars more to service our debt.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Banking Committee, warned that firing Powell would send a “shock wave” through the economy. “It would be a colossal mistake,” he warned. He predicted that Trump would likely fail in his bigger goal of getting the Fed to lower rates because the central bank operates largely by consensus and has 12 voting members, including the seven members of the board of governors, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, and four members of regional reserve banks who serve on a rotation. “Anybody out there in voter-land who thinks that firing Jay Powell will change the policy outcomes … I don’t think it will,” he said. “What it will do is send a shock wave through the markets about maybe there’s a real threat to the independence of the Fed,” Tillis warned. “That will create second- and third-order effects that none of us who track markets want to see.” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who also sits on the Banking Committee, echoed his colleagues’ warnings that firing Powell would send “shock waves” through the financial markets. “I think, long term, the markets watch very carefully the independence of the Federal Reserve,” Rounds said. He said he would not support firing Powell. “If you’re challenging the independence of the Federal Reserve Board, I think that would send shock waves through the market,” he said. Rounds said he doesn’t think Trump would fire Powell but is instead “lobbying him to get a rate reduction.” The stock market bounced up and down like a yo-yo Wednesday amid conflicting stories about whether Trump was poised to oust the Fed chair. Powell’s term as chair is scheduled to end in May 2026, and his term as a member of the Fed’s board of governors ends in 2028. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), another member of the Senate Banking panel, warned “the disruption” caused by firing Powell “is probably not worth it.” But Cramer cautioned that while the Fed should maintain its independence, that doesn’t mean it should ignore what the president and members of Congress want to see in its monetary policy to keep the economy humming. Cramer said Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and Kevin Hassett, Trump’s director of the National Economic Council, would be “fine” as replacements for Powell. Trump waved around a draft of a dismissal letter for Powell at a meeting with about a dozen House Republicans in the Oval Office on Tuesday night, polling the attendees on whether he should drop the axe on the embattled Fed chair, according to a report in The New York Times. Trump then backed away from the threat Wednesday, telling reporters at the White House: “We’re not planning on doing anything.” But he didn’t take the option off the table. “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely. Unless he has to leave for fraud,” he said. Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, sent a letter to Powell last week informing the Fed chair that the president is “extremely troubled” by his management of the Federal Reserve System and undertaking of “an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington, DC, headquarters.” The letter pointed to $700 million in cost overruns and plans for rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features and premium marble. Vought said Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee “raises serious questions” about the project’s compliance with the National Capital Planning Act. The Supreme Court has indicated it would likely rule that Trump does not have the authority to fire the Fed chair because of a policy disagreement but could do so on the grounds of misconduct or fraud.

BankThink: Trump's fixation on removing Powell ignores real risks - A funny thing happened last week: it's late on a Friday, and into my inbox pops a statement from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte offering a statement on "reports" that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was considering resigning. President Trump and his lieutenants have been bullying Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for months over the Fed's reluctance to lower interest rates. But even if that campaign is successful, the president may not really get what he wants.

Will Bessent serve as Fed chair, Treasury secretary at the same time? - The possibility that President Trump could replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent is spinning heads from Washington to Wall Street and beyond. Senators on both sides of the aisle have thrown cold water on the idea despite rising tension between Trump and Powell over interest rates, and the precedent-breaking move could also rock markets and face legal challenges. Here’s a look at the political and financial feasibility of Bessent doubling up with two of the most important government roles in finance.Legal experts say there’s no law preventing the Treasury secretary from also serving as the chair of the Federal Reserve. “There’s no prohibition in the Federal Reserve Act that says a member of the board of governors, or the chair, can’t also be the Secretary of the Treasury,” Treasury secretaries used to sit on the board of the Fed prior to 1935. However, having a dual Fed-Treasury chief would fly in the face of the doctrine of central bank independence that has gotten stronger over the years.Specifically, it would undermine a semiformal 1951 agreement between the two entities that separated the duties of public debt issuance from interest-rate setting.The nearly 75-year-old accord made it so the Treasury Department would manage bonds and the debt, and the Fed would handle interest rates and the money supply. This was to protect against the temptation of printing money to pay for the debt.“The announcement [of the agreement referred] to a ‘full accord with respect to debt-management and monetary policies,’” Columbia Law School professor Lev Menand and New York Fed policy adviser Joshua Younger wrote in the Columbia Law Review in 2023. The separation of these duties is still passionately supported by many. “You don’t want the fiscal authority making decisions about interest rates,” Binder told The Hill.Bond markets got woozy in response to Trump’s trade policies earlier this year, and the administration course-corrected as a result.National Economic Council chief Kevin Hassett said the White House moved up its pause of wide-ranging “reciprocal” tariffs after the bond market cratered.“There’s no doubt that the Treasury market yesterday made it so that the decision – it was about time to move – was made with perhaps a little more urgency,” he said after the pause. Stock markets also buckled and bounced this week following a new extension of the “reciprocal” import tax deadline to Aug. 1.Some policy analysts don’t believe the markets would tolerate a dual Fed-Treasury head because it would subvert the central bank’s independence.“I don’t think the market would react [well] to that. Even if it was someone they respected, it just too overtly undermines the independence of the Fed,” Stephen Myrow, a managing partner at Beacon Policy Advisors, told The Hill. “I don’t think they would do that.”Fed independence encapsulates the idea that part of the central bank’s job is to crush inflation even though actions to do so can increase unemployment, start recessions and sometimes be politically unpopular. By undermining Fed independence with a dual Fed-Treasury chair, the worry is that Bessent will bend to Trump’s calls to cut interest rates and that the Fed will be more tolerant of inflation, similar to the dynamic between former President Nixon and his Fed chair, Arthur Burns.Inflation tolerance is of particular concern following the postpandemic inflation, which factored as the top issue in the 2024 election and has continued to play a role in subsequent ones.“The public is much more price-sensitive now,” David Beckworth, a fellow at the Mercatus Institute, told The Hill. “People were really upset about that [inflation]. To my mind, Trump is really playing with fire here.”

The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge (AP) — Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month. Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who as a candidate promised to immediately lower costs, but instead has engaged in a whipsawed frenzy of tariffs that have jolted businesses and consumers. Trump insists that the U.S. effectively has no inflation as he has attempted to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into cutting short-term interest rates. Yet the new inflation numbers make it more likely that the central bank will leave rates where they are. Powell has said that he wants to gauge the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs before reducing borrowing costs. Excluding volatile food and energy, core inflation increased 2.9% in June from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in May. On a monthly basis, it picked up 0.2% from May to June. Economists closely watch core prices because they typically provide a better sense of where inflation is headed. The uptick in inflation was driven by a range of higher prices. The cost of gasoline rose 1% just from May to June, while grocery prices increased 0.3%. Appliance prices jumped for the third straight month. Toys, clothes, audio equipment, shoes, and sporting goods all got more expensive, and are all heavily imported. “You are starting to see scattered bits of the tariff inflation regime filter in,” said Eric Winograd, chief economist at asset management firm Alliance Bernstein, who added that the cost of long-lasting goods rose last month, compared with a year ago, for the first time in about three years. Winograd also noted that housing costs, a big inflation driver since the pandemic, have continued to cool, actually holding down broader inflation. The cost of rent rose 3.8% in June compared with a year ago, the smallest yearly increase since late 2021. “Were it not for the tariff uncertainty, the Fed would already be cutting rates,” Winograd said. “The question is whether there is more to come, and the Fed clearly thinks there is,” along with most economists. Some items got cheaper last month, including new and used cars, hotel rooms, and airfares. Travel prices have generally declined in recent months as fewer international tourists visit the U.S. A broader political battle over Trump’s tariffs is emerging, a fight that will ultimately be determined by how the U.S. public feels about their cost of living and whether the president is making good on his 2024 promise to help the middle class. The White House pushed back on claims that the report showed a negative impact from tariffs, since the cost of new cars fell despite the 25% tariffs on autos and 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. The administration also noted that despite the June bump in apparel prices, clothing prices are still cheaper than three months ago. “Consumer Prices LOW,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!” For Democratic lawmakers, the inflation report confirmed their warnings over the past several months that Trump’s tariffs could reignite inflation. They said Tuesday that it will only become more painful given the size of the tariff rates in the letters that Trump posted over the past week. “For those saying we have not seen the impact of Trump’s tariff wars, look at today’s data. Americans continue to struggle with the costs of groceries and rent — and now prices of food and appliances are rising,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Many businesses built up a stockpile of goods this spring and were able to delay price hikes, while others likely waited to see if the duties would become permanent. More businesses now appear to be throwing in the towel and passing on costs to consumers, including Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which has said it raised prices in June. Automaker Mitsubishi said last month that it was lifting prices by an average of 2.1% in response to the duties, and Nike has said it would implement “surgical” price hikes. Powell said last month that companies up and down the supply chain would seek to avoid paying tariffs, but that ultimately some combination of businesses and consumers would bear the cost. “There’s the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, the retailer, and the consumer, and each one of those is going to be trying not to be the one to pay for the tariff,” the Fed chair said. “But together, they will all pay for it together—or maybe one party will pay it all. But that process is very hard to predict, and we haven’t been through a situation like this.” Trump has imposed sweeping duties of 10% on all imports plus 30% on goods from China. Last week the president threatened to hit the European Union with a new 30% tariff starting Aug. 1. He has also threatened to slap 50% duties on Brazil, which would push up the cost of orange juice and coffee. Orange prices leaped 3.5% just from May to June, and are 3.4% higher than a year ago, the government said Tuesday. Overall, grocery prices rose 0.3% last month and are up 2.4% from a year earlier. While that is a much smaller increase than after the pandemic, when inflation surged, it is slightly bigger than the pre-pandemic pace. The Trump administration has also placed a 17% duty on Mexican tomatoes.

Uptick in CPI inflation complicates case for rate cuts - Inflation continued to rise in June, driven by rising costs of housing and suggesting the Trump administration's emerging tariff policy is beginning to impact consumer prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the consumer price index rose to 0.3% in June to an annualized rate of 2.7%, making the case to cut interest rates more difficult for the Federal Reserve to justify at its next meeting later this month.

Fed's Beige Book: "Economic activity increased slightly" --Fed's Beige Book, excerpt: Economic activity increased slightly from late May through early July. Five Districts reported slight or modest gains, five had flat activity, and the remaining two Districts noted modest declines in activity. That represented an improvement over the previous report, in which half of Districts reported at least slight declines in activity. Uncertainty remained elevated, contributing to ongoing caution by businesses. Nonauto consumer spending declined in most Districts, softening slightly overall. Auto sales receded modestly on average, after consumers had rushed to buy vehicles earlier this year to avoid tariffs. Tourism activity was mixed, manufacturing activity edged lower, and nonfinancial services activity was little changed on average but varied across Districts. Loan volume increased slightly in most Districts. Construction activity slowed somewhat, constrained by rising costs in some Districts. Home sales were flat or little changed in most Districts, and nonresidential real estate activity was also mostly steady. Activity in the agriculture sector remained weak. Energy sector activity declined slightly, and transportation activity was mixed. The outlook was neutral to slightly pessimistic, as only two Districts expected activity to increase, and others foresaw flat or slightly weaker activity. Employment increased very slightly overall, with one District noting modest increases, six reporting slight increases, three no change, and two noting slight declines. Hiring remained generally cautious, which many contacts attributed to ongoing economic and policy uncertainty. Labor availability improved for many employers, with further reductions in turnover rates and increased job applications. A growing number of Districts cited labor shortages in the skilled trades. Several Districts also mentioned reduced availability of foreign-born workers, attributed to changes in immigration policy. Employers in a few Districts ramped up investments in automation and AI aimed at reducing the need for additional hiring. Wages increased modestly overall, extending recent trends, with reports that ranged from flat wages to moderate growth. Although reports of layoffs were limited in all industries, they were somewhat more common among manufacturers. Looking ahead, many contacts expected to postpone major hiring and layoff decisions until uncertainty diminished. Prices increased across Districts, with seven characterizing price growth as moderate and five characterizing it as modest, mostly similar to the previous report. In all twelve Districts, businesses reported experiencing modest to pronounced input cost pressures related to tariffs, especially for raw materials used in manufacturing and construction. Rising insurance costs represented another widespread source of pricing pressure. Many firms passed on at least a portion of cost increases to consumers through price hikes or surcharges, although some held off raising prices because of customers' growing price sensitivity, resulting in compressed profit margins. Contacts in a wide range of industries expected cost pressures to remain elevated in the coming months, increasing the likelihood that consumer prices will start to rise more rapidly by late summer.

House approves $832 billion Defense funding bill -The House early on Friday approved legislation allocating roughly $832 billion in funding for defense programs for fiscal year 2026, just weeks after Republicans approved a separate $150 billion plan to advance President Trump’s defense priorities. The GOP-led chamber approved the bill 221-209, mostly along party lines. Five Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while three Republicans opposed it. The measure marks only the second appropriations bill that Republicans have been able to pass for 2026, after GOP appropriators said the effort to pass Trump’s tax and spending cuts megabill dominated the party’s focus over the past few months. The bill passed Thursday would boost funding for active, reserve, and National Guard military personnel by $6.6 billion above current levels, to a total of $189 billion. It also allows for an increase of 3.8 percent in basic pay for military personnel that would take effect beginning in January. It calls for $174 billion for procurement, up $6.5 billion from current levels, and would provide $283 billion for operation and maintenance, or a roughly $7 billion decrease below 2025 levels. The bill also includes about $148 billion for research, development, test and evaluation, as well as boosts for Defense Department health programs and overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid programs. The bill comes after Republicans greenlit additional defense dollars as part of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this month. That plan called for $25 billion to fund Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system, with billions more aimed at items like shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base, munitions and nuclear deterrence. Democrats have risen in sharp opposition to the overall defense appropriations plan, which also seeks to codify Trump’s actions targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, advance prohibitions for funding for abortion-related travel, and block funds for gender-affirming surgeries. However, the party also managed to secure some changes during consideration in the House Appropriations Committee dealing with recent controversies at the Defense Department under the Trump administration. One measure was aimed at blocking armed forces from being deployed for law enforcement and another amendment that was later adopted sought to prohibit transmission of classified information over unsecured networks.

Senate poised to hand Trump $9B in cuts, second big legislative victory Senate Republicans say they have the votes to pass a package of $9 billion in spending cuts, which would give President Trump another big legislative victory in less than a month, after GOP leaders quelled a revolt from members of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told reporters Tuesday that the “rescissions package” now has enough votes to pass the Senate after he and the Senate GOP leaders agreed to an amendment to remove cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the global initiative former President George W. Bush launched in 2003 to combat AIDS. Vought, the administration’s chief budget watchdog, also worked out a side deal with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) to redirect money in the Interior Department to help approximately 28 radio stations across 14 states that broadcast onto tribal lands and are at risk of being hurt by $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As a result of the last-minute dealmaking, the overall size of the rescissions package is expected to shrink slightly from $9.4 billion to $9 billion. Getting Rounds to agree to vote for the package is a big win for the White House and Senate Republican leaders, as they can only afford to lose three GOP votes and still pass the package. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, had expressed misgivings over supporting the bill before it came to the Senate floor. Collins announced early last month that she did not support rescissions to PEPFAR and global health programs, while Murkowski said she had problems with the cuts to public broadcasting. Senate Republicans control a 53-47 majority and can rely on Vice President Vance to break a tie. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) hailed the bill as a key piece of Trump’s legislative agenda and an important “down payment” on reducing the size of the federal government. “What we’re talking about here is one-tenth of 1 percent of all federal spending,” he told reporters after Senate Republicans met with Vought on Tuesday, promising that Senate GOP colleagues would have a chance to offer amendments to the package. “This is something that all of us believe is a priority. When you have $36 trillion dollar debt, we have to do something to get spending under control,” he said. “We can start to get this thing back into balance.” He also highlighted the tax cuts and cuts to federal Medicaid and food assistance spending as part of the broader Republican strategy to spur economic growth and “spending restraint” in the federal government. Senate GOP leaders and Vought agreed Tuesday to a substitute amendment to the bill that would not include PEPFAR cuts. “We’re fine with it,” Vought told reporters after meeting with GOP senators. Thune later explained “there was a lot of interest among our members in doing something on the PEPFAR issue.” He described the change as “small” and expressed hope that House conservatives could accept it when the measure returns to the lower chamber for final approval later this week.

Trump’s ultimatum to Putin: Ceasefire in 50 days or else -- President Trump is seeking to pressure Russia’s leader to the negotiating table through a combination of arming Ukraine and threatening 100 percent tariffs on countries that trade with Russia. Trump made the announcement during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office Monday morning. It marks a potential turning point for a president who had wanted to pull U.S. support from Ukraine and has repeatedly demonstrated favorable treatment to Putin despite Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. “We’re very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump said, after teasing a major announcement. Trump and Rutte also officially announced a weapons deal in which NATO countries would foot the bill for U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine, though details on the provisions remain vague. “It’s everything. It’s Patriots. It’s all of them. It’s a full complement with the batteries,” Trump said, adding that the batteries could arrive in Ukraine within days. Ukraine is desperate for increased air defenses as Putin has ramped up aerial attacks on its cities in recent months. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump’s envoy retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg earlier in the day and said he spoke with Trump and Rutte later on. “Agreed to call more often and coordinate our steps further. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you America!” Zelensky wrote on Facebook. There’s no sign that Trump is seeking to send offensive weapons that would allow Ukraine to strike further into Russia, which Ukraine hawks say may be necessary to move Putin off his maximalist war demands. Former NATO chief and retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis told CNN on Monday he would like to see Ukraine given harpoon missiles, surface-to-surface weapons and F-16 aircraft. “I think that is what could move Putin to the negotiating table, which is what we want on our side,” he said.

Bolton on Russian sanctions threat: Trump laying the groundwork to say ‘I’m done with it’ Former national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that President Trump could soon retreat from efforts to resolve Russia’s war with Ukraine. The Trump administration has been engaged with both Kyiv and Moscow in search of peace, while GOP lawmakers have pushed for secondary sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He didn’t get what he wanted, which was a quick ceasefire from his friend Vladimir. He tried for six months, it’s not going anywhere,” Bolton said of Trump during a Monday appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.” “So now he’s justifying taking steps against Putin, but I think it also lays the groundwork for him to say, ‘I’m done with it, it’s Europe’s war, that’s what I said in the beginning, I’m done with it,’” he added. On Monday, the president threatened to impose tariffs on the Kremlin if Russia continues to reject ceasefire proposals. “We’re very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. Bolton said the increased pressure comes after Putin has outwitted Trump for months by prolonging the peace process. “I think he believed Putin was his friend — I think he still believes Putin was his friend. But you know, you can have arguments with your friends, they don’t last forever,” Bolton told anchor Leland Vittert. “I think what was really going on today was that he was saying, ‘this is not my war, this is Biden’s war’, and in 50 days, he may put secondary sanctions on Russia or he may not. I think he’s trying to walk away from this,” he added. Last week, NATO leaders struck a deal with the Trump administration outlining the organization’s purchase of U.S. weapons to be sent to Ukraine in an effort to support the defense of their sovereign borders. Trump said Monday the systems would include Patriot missile defense batteries to increase Ukraine’s air surveillance, providing more warning of incoming strikes from Russia. “Look, a number of American commanders in Europe, former commanders in the European combatant command, have said they think Ukraine could win the war. And I think what the U.S. could do uniquely to help the Ukrainians out is give them a strategy to do that, and then give them the weapons systems that they need,” Bolton told NewsNation. “And I understand it’s three years into this thing, but the fact is Putin thinks he’s on a roll now, he thinks he’s doing well in Ukraine militarily. I don’t understand how he believes that, but that’s what he believes. And a real defeat on the battlefield would have implications not just for what Russia’s done in Ukraine, but for Russia’s threat to all the former parts of the Soviet Union and to China watching America stand up to this aggression.”

Rep. Moulton: ‘Open-ended question’ if Trump wants Ukraine to win Russian war -Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) on Monday said whether President Trump wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia is an “open-ended question.” “I think it’s still an open-ended question, because — just because Donald Trump is saying the right thing in the last 24 hours, it doesn’t make the last six months go away,” Moulton told NewsNation’s Blake Burman on “The Hill.” “But listen, I’m happy with where Trump is today. He seems to make decisions based on politics, not on principle, even when you just heard him talking about this, he wasn’t talking about the principles of democracies overcoming murderous dictators. He was just talking about who pays the bill,” he added. Trump recently said the United States will impose “severe” tariffs against Russia if the country does not go along with a ceasefire in Ukraine within the next 50 days. “We’re very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump said amid an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The president signaled he would impose a 100 percent “secondary” tariff targeting other nations that do business with Russia. Since the start of his second term, Trump and his administration have pushed for an end to the war in Ukraine but have not experienced much success.

Trump Asked Zelensky If He Could Strike Moscow If the US Provided Longer-Range Weapons - President Trump has encouraged Ukraine to step up strikes deep inside Russia and even asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if his forces were capable of striking Moscow if the US provided longer-range weapons, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.Sources told the FT that the conversation occurred during a July 4 phone call. “Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked. Zelensky replied that his forces could “absolutely” strike the Russian cities if the US provided the necessary weapons.The report said that Trump signaled backing for the idea of providing long-range weapons in order to “make them [Russians] feel the pain” to pressure Moscow at the negotiating table. In comments to reporters, Trump later denied that he was considering providing Ukraine with long-range weapons andsaid that Zelensky “shouldn’t target Moscow.”The White House confirmed that the conversation about striking Moscow took place, but insisted Trump wasn’t encouraging Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. A White House official told the BBC that Trump was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”The FT report said that US officials have also provided Zelensky with a list of potential long-range weapons the US could supply. The Ukrainians have been asking for Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of over 1,000 miles, making them capable of hitting Moscow from Ukrainian territory.

Trump Clarifies No Long-Range Missiles To Ukraine, Declares "I'm On Nobody's Side" -Only this week are further contents of a July 4 phone call between Presidents Trump and Zelensky being revealed, but it comes amid accusations of fake news and taking statements out of context. "Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? … Can you hit St Petersburg too?" - that's reportedly what Trump posed to the Ukrianian leader in their July 4th call, which came the day following the president had a disappointing call Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Zelensky responded: "Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons." All of this is according to a report in Financial Times, which the White House is now pushing back against. The FT presented the exchange as indicative of a new US approach of quietly encouraging Ukraine's military to strike Moscow and other targets deeper inside Russia. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the FT's framing of the call was misleading and without proper context. "The Financial Times is notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying," she has stated. Trump sought to clarify in remarks to reporters on Tuesday that Zelensky "shouldn’t target Moscow" and proclaimed in interesting and ironic remarks that he's "on nobody’s side" - but that simply he wants the killing to stop. The major announcement which had been planned for Monday did not include any new package of offensive long-range missiles (that the public knowns about at least). "President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war," Leavitt has added. All of this helped paint a picture of Trump doing a complete 180 on Ukraine policy. To some extent he has - given he has continued sending Kiev arms packages, albeit 'defensive' in nature, supposedly. More anti-air defenses have been approved, despite that America's own stockpiles are being depleted. But clearly the White House is somewhat feeling the sting of pushback and angry criticism from among the Right and Trump's base.

Russia Reaffirms Nuclear Doctrine Amid Rumors That the US Could Provide Ukraine With Longer-Range Weapons - On Wednesday, the Kremlin reaffirmed Russia’s nuclear doctrine amid rumors that the US may provide longer-range weapons to Ukraine to strike targets deeper inside Russia, although President Trump has denied that he was considering such a move.“The nuclear doctrine remains in force, and consequently, all its provisions apply,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine last year, and they were formalized in response to the Biden administration giving Ukraine the green light to strike Russian territory using US-provided ATACMS missiles, which have a range of about 190 miles.The new nuclear doctrine lowers the threshold for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. One of the changes, which Peskov mentioned to reporters, was to classify an attack by a non-nuclear armed state that’s supported by a nuclear-armed power as a joint attack.Peskov’s comments came after a Financial Times report said that President Trump had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if his forces could hit Moscow or St. Petersburg if the US provided longer-range weapons. The report said that Trump appeared to support the idea, but he later told reporters that he was not considering sending long-range weapons and said Ukraine shouldn’t try to hit Moscow.The White House confirmed that Trump posed the question to Zelensky but insisted he was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”

France and Italy Won't Participate in NATO Plan To Buy US Weapons for Ukraine - France and Italy have declined to participate in a plan to purchase US weapons and send them to Ukraine, a scheme that was announced by President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday.France clarified that it’s still set on supporting Ukraine with military aid but wants to prioritize the purchase of European weapons, and that it was also dealing with budget constraints. Italy had a similar message and pointed to the Italian-made SAMP/T air defense system that it has already supplied to Ukraine.Reuters reported that some NATO allies were caught off guard by Trump and Rutte’s announcement. Rutte claimed that six countries — Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada — were already willing to participate in the scheme. But officials from two of those nations said that the announcement was the first they had heard of it.“It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance,” a European ambassador told Reuters. “I also suspect that internally in the administration, they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice.”Trump stated that under the plan, “billions of dollars” worth of US military equipment would be on the way to Ukraine soon, and reports indicated that $10 billion in arms sales were expected in the first wave. But so far, it remains unclear how many weapons sales will materialize.NATO allies are also struggling to find Patriot missile defense systems to send to Ukraine, despite Trump’s pledge that some would be on the way “within days.” The US stockpile of Patriot interceptors is significantly depleted due to US support for Ukraine and the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

20-year-old Palestinian American beaten to death by Zionist mob in the West Bank -On July 11, Sayfollah “Saif” Musallet, a 20-year-old US citizen from Tampa, Florida, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. Musallet had traveled there on June 4 to visit family and help defend their farmland, which had been threatened by settler encroachment. On the day of the incident, after Friday prayers, Musallet joined relatives and villagers heading to their fields amid heightened tensions and a recent escalation in settler attacks. As the group approached their property, a mob of armed settlers, wielding rocks, bats, sticks and at least two rifles, attacked. Musallet and another young man, Mohammed al-Shalabi, attempted to defend their families’ land. Al-Shalabi was shot and killed, while Musallet was set upon with bats and sticks by the mob. Ambulances were called immediately, but Israeli settlers blocked their advance for more than three hours. The windshield of an ambulance was smashed by stone-throwing, and Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinians while reportedly refusing medics access to the scene. Only after the mob retreated did Musallet’s younger brother reach him and bring him to a waiting ambulance, but the young man succumbed to his injuries before arriving at the hospital. Musallet’s father, Kamel, condemned both the settler violence and the actions of the Israeli military, insisting that they, alongside the US government, share responsibility for enabling impunity. He said, “The Israeli military prevented the ambulance and allowed the settlers to do what they do anytime they want. I hold the Israeli military just as responsible as the settlers and the American government for not doing anything about this.” Musallet’s cousin Diana, delivering the family’s official remarks, said, “We are devastated that our beloved Sayfollah, nicknamed Saif, was brutally beaten to death in our family’s land by illegal Israeli settlers, who were attempting to steal it. Israeli settlers surrounded Saif for over three hours as paramedics attempted to reach him, but the mob blocked the ambulance. … No family should ever have to face this injustice.” Eyewitnesses reported that some of the settlers wore army-style clothes and carried firearms and that Israeli soldiers present at the time failed to stop the attack or protect the Palestinians. The family has demanded that the US government conduct a full investigation and hold those responsible for Musallet’s murder accountable. The family statement said, “This murder is merely the latest incident involving the killing of an American citizen by Israeli settlers or soldiers.

Huckabee Visits Netanyahu's Corruption Trial in Strong Show of Support - US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Wednesday made an appearance at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial in a highly unusual move and a strong show of support for the Israeli leader.The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which is very critical of Netanyahu, described Huckabee’s visit to the trial as an “American, Mafioso-like intimidation tactic on a democratic ally’s independent justice system for the sake of protecting its political partner.”After visiting the trial, Huckabee backed President Trump’s recent calls for an end to Netanyahu’s trial. “I stopped by the trial of [Netanyahu] in Tel Aviv today. My conclusion? [President Trump] is right…again,”Huckabee wrote on X. Netanyahu thanked the US ambassador for his support. The Israeli leader is facing charges of bribery, theft, and breach of trust, and has been accused of using his executive power to delay his trial, including by waging war across the region. According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s trial was adjourned on Wednesday upon the news that Israel was bombing the Syrian capital of Damascus.In a post on Truth Social earlier this month, President Trump said the US would not “stand” for Netanyahu’s corruption trial and appeared to suggest he could try to leverage US military aid to Israel to get the charges dropped. “The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” he said.The Trump administration has also opposed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) case against Netanyahu, who is wanted for his role in war crimes in Gaza, by imposing sanctions on the ICC and threatening the court with further action.Huckabee recently helped Netanyahu avert a political crisis ahead of the 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran bymeeting with Haredi lawmakers who were threatening to quit the government over the lack of a draft exemption law for the ultra-Orthodox.The US ambassador is known as a Christian Zionist and a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and the occupation of the West Bank, which he calls Judea and Samaria. On Tuesday, he offered rare criticism of Israeli settlers by denouncing the killing of 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet, an American citizen who was murdered by settlers in the West Bank, as an act of “terror.”

US says it destroyed 500 metric tons of expired food aid but it won’t affect future distribution (AP) — The State Department says its destruction of 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that was stored in a warehouse in the Middle East was required because it had expired and that the move will not affect the distribution of similar assistance moving forward. The high energy biscuits — used primarily to provide immediate nutritional needs for children in crisis situations — had been stored in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to respond to emergencies and could no longer be safely sent to potential recipients, so it was destroyed, department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday. The issue, first reported by The Atlantic, has been raised repeatedly in congressional hearings this week, with Democratic lawmakers accusing the Trump administration of creating a crisis and ignoring urgent humanitarian needs by suspending most foreign assistance in its first month in office. The administration already has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, the nation’s main agency for distributing food aid abroad, and is currently trying to rescind billions of dollars in foreign assistance. It comes as 319 million people around the world are facing acute hunger, and people in places like Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Haiti are teetering on the brink of starvation, according to the U.N. World Food Program. Bruce said the amount destroyed was less than 1% of the 1 million metric tons of food assistance that the United States supplies each year and suggested that the destroyed stockpile would be replaced. But she could not say if the Trump administration would continue to provide the 1 million metric tons going forward.

The New York Times Finally Stops Avoiding The G-Word - Caitlin Johnstone -- The New York Times has published an op-ed by a genocide scholar who says that he resisted acknowledging the truth of what Israel is doing in Gaza for as long as he could, but can no longer deny the obvious.It’s an admission that may as well have come from The New York Times itself.In an article titled “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.”, a Brown University professor of Holocaust and genocide studies named Omer Bartov argues that “Israel is literally trying to wipe out Palestinian existence in Gaza,” and denounces his fellow Holocaust scholars for failing to acknowledge reality.“My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” Bartov writes. “Having grown up in a Zionist home, lived the first half of my life in Israel, served in the I.D.F. as a soldier and officer and spent most of my career researching and writing on war crimes and the Holocaust, this was a painful conclusion to reach, and one that I resisted as long as I could. But I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one.”And resist he did. In November 2023, Bartov wrote another op-ed for The New York Times saying “As a historian of genocide, I believe that there is no proof that genocide is currently taking place in Gaza, although it is very likely that war crimes, and even crimes against humanity, are happening.”Apparently he is seeing the proof now and has stopped resisting what’s been clear from the very beginning. And it would seem the editors of the Gray Lady have ceased resisting as well.The New York Times, which has an extensively documented pro-Israel bias, has frenetically avoided the use of the g-word on its pages from the very beginning of the Gaza onslaught. Even in its opinion and analysis pieces the NYT Overton window has cut off at framing the issue as a complex matter of rigorous debate, with headlines like “Accused of Genocide, Israelis See Reversal of Reality. Palestinians See Justice.” and “The Bitter Fight Over the Meaning of ‘Genocide’” representing the closest thing to the pro-Palestinian side of the debate you’d see. During the same time we’ve seen headlines like “From the Embers of an Old Genocide, a New One May Be Emerging” used in reference to Sudan. In an internal memo obtained by The Intercept last year, New York Times reporters were explicitly told to avoid the use of the word “genocide”, as well as terms like “ethnic cleansing” and “occupied territory”. Earlier this year the American Friends Service Committee cancelled its paid advertisement in The New York Times calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza, saying the outlet had wanted them to change the word “genocide” to “war” in order for their ad to be published.So there has been a significant change. To be clear, this analysis by Omer Bartov is not significant in and of itself. He is only joining the chorus of what has already been said by human rights organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United Nations human rights experts, and the overwhelming majority of leading authorities on the subject of genocide.What is significant is that even experts who’ve been resisting acknowledging the reality of the genocide in Gaza because of their bias toward Israel have stopped doing so, and that even the imperial media outlets most fiendishly devoted to running propaganda cover for that genocide have run out of room to hide.The Israel apologists have lost the argument. They might not know it yet, but they have. Public sentiment has turned irreversibly against them as people’s eyes are opened to the truth of what’s happening in Gaza, and more and more propagandists are choosing to rescue what’s left of their tattered credibility instead of going down with the sinking ship.

Trump administration denies new report on Iran's nuclear sites -The Trump administration is pressing back on a new intelligence assessment, first reported by NBC News, that contradicts President Trump’s repeated assertions that U.S. airstrikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities last month.Citing five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the latest assessment, NBC News reported Thursday that Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment site was mostly destroyed in the U.S. military operation, while two others — Isfahan and Natanz — may have only been set back by months and could resume operations. “The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill’s sister network NewsNation on Thursday. “President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated.”“There is no doubt about that,” he added. The White House also pushed back on the latest NBC News report.“As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told NewsNation. “America and the world are safer thanks to his decisive action.”Reports first surfaced last month, shortly after the U.S. launched its surprise attacks on Tehran’s nuclear sites, that U.S. intelligence officials at the Defense Department found that the attacks did not destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.The president and his allies forcefully pushed back on that assessment.NBC News reported that American and Israeli leaders have since discussed whether additional strikes on two less-damaged facilities could be necessary if Iran does not restart negotiations on a nuclear deal.The U.S. launched its Operation Midnight Hammer on the three key nuclear facilities on June 21 as Tehran and Israel traded airstrikes. The Israel-Iran conflict halted the U.S.’s efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to prohibit the country from developing a nuclear weapon.

France, UK, and Germany To Re-Impose UN Sanctions on Iran If No Nuclear Deal Reached by End of August --France, the UK, and Germany have agreed to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran if there has been no progress on a nuclear deal by the end of August, as the three Western countries are putting pressure on Tehran following the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.Under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, signatories can re-impose so-called snapback sanctions that were lifted by the UN Security Council when the deal was signed. Iran argues that the signatories don’t have the right to re-impose the sanctions since the US was the party that violated the agreement and withdrew from it in 2018.It’s unclear what sort of progress the UK, France, and Germany would require to stave off the sanctions. So far, there’s been no sign that negotiations between the US and Iran will resume since Tehran wants assurances that the US or Israel won’t attack during the next round of talks.Iran’s parliament on Wednesday reaffirmed Tehran’s position on the future talks with the US. “When the US uses negotiations as a tool to deceive Iran and cover up a sudden military attack by the Zionist regime, talks cannot be conducted as before. Preconditions must be set, and no new negotiations can take place until they are fully met,” the parliament said in a statement.Iranian officials have also said they cannot resume negotiations with the US as long as the US continues to demand Tehran abandon its nuclear enrichment program, which Iran says it has a right to as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that has vowed not to develop nuclear weapons. For his part, President Trump has said he would bomb Iran again if it restarted its enrichment program. At this point, it’s unclear how long it would take for Iran to restart the program following the US and Israeli attacks on its nuclear sites. Before the 12-Day War, there was no evidence that Tehran was seeking a nuclear weapon, and it was willing to reduce uranium enrichment levels as part of a deal with the US.

Drone Attack Shuts Down Oil Field Run by US Company in Iraqi Kurdistan - --A drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday suspended operations at an oil field operated by a US company, marking the latest in a series of attacks in the region.HKN Energy, the US firm operating the Sarsang oil field, reported an explosion at 7:00 am local time, followed by a fire. “Operations at the affected facility have been suspended until the site is secured,” the company said. Workers at the oil field told Rudaw that it was targeted by a drone, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denounced the attack as “an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region’s vital economic infrastructure.” The US Embassy in Iraq also denounced the attack. A day earlier, two drones targeted a different oil field in the area, and another was intercepted at the Erbil airport, which houses US troops. The airport has come under attack several times in recent weeks, and so far, there have been no casualties. No group has taken responsibility for the spate of drone attacks. The KRG has blamed the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iraqi Shia militias that are part of the Iraqi government’s security forces, but Baghdad has denied the accusation.

US Africa Command Says It Has Launched 51 Airstrikes in Somalia So Far This Year --US Africa Command has announced that it launched two separate airstrikes in Somalia on Sunday, as the Trump administration is continuing to bomb the country at a record pace, an air war that is receiving virtually no coverage in US media.AFRICOM said that the strikes targeted the ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, to the southeast of the port city of Bossaso. The command offered no further details, as it has stopped sharing estimates of casualties or assessments of potential civilian harm.AFRICOM confirmed to Antiwar.com in an email that the latest attack marked the 51st US airstrike in Somalia of the year, putting the Trump administration on track to easily break the annual record, which President Trump set at 63 in 2019. Antiwar.com is also seeking details on casualties from AFRICOM, but so far hasn’t received a figure.The US has been backing local Puntland forces against ISIS in battles in the Cal Miskaad mountains in Puntland’s Bari region. Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operations announced on Sunday — the day the US launched two airstrikes — that it was conducting a “clearance operation” against ISIS remnants in the mountains and said the area being targeted was “last used by terrorists as a hideout with their foreign women and children.”Puntland’s forces announced a new military operation on June 30 against ISIS-affiliated militants, and since then, the US has launched at least four airstrikes in the area. The ISIS affiliate in Somalia started in 2015 as an offshoot of al-Shabaab, a group the US has also been bombing in southern and central Somalia.

US To Fund and Build a Fast Boat Base for the Philippines on the South China Sea - The US will fund and construct a base for fast boats for the Philippine military on the South China Sea amid heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed rocks and reefs in the area.The base will be built on the west coast of the Philippine island province of Palawan and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. According to USNI News, the base will house five boats, including both “assault boats” and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, which will be constructed by the US-based company ReconCraft.The USNI report said that the base will be situated approximately 160 miles east of Second Thomas Shoal, a major source of tensions in the maritime dispute and the site of collisions and encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Despite the distance, the Philippine military frequently deploys small boats to the disputed reefs, and the US project will give them a more effective way to do that.It’s unclear how much the project will cost the US, but it’s the latest in a series of US-funded military construction projects in the Philippines. In 2023, Washington and Manila signed a deal to expand the US military presence in the country, and the US has also been increasing military aid to the Southeast Asian nation. The South China Sea has become a potential flashpoint for a conflict between the US and China since Washington has repeatedly affirmed that its mutual defense treaty with Manila applies to attacks on Philippine vessels in the disputed waters. Last year, it was revealed that US troops were secretly deployedto Palawa to assist the Philippines in its maritime dispute with China.

Lack of information on China super soldier experimentation ‘disturbing’: Ex-intelligence official ---An ex-intelligence official said late Thursday that China’s military leaders are experimenting with creating a “super soldier,” calling the lack of information “disturbing.” “Other nations have explored in this area over decades. So it’s not the newest thing in the world, but the more disturbing part [is] we don’t know exactly how much effort they’re putting in towards it,” Nicholas Eftimiades, a former senior intelligence officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency, said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “We don’t know any of the accomplishments they’ve had towards it. We do know, which is disturbing, is that it’s under the People’s Liberation Army.” Eftimiades said Beijing’s research is “promising,” but noted that little is known about gene splicing or personality altering efforts. “They’ve been exploring this concept for a while. Can they modify human behavior, human physiology, to create, if you will, a more superior individual, physically as well as mentally?” he asked. The remarks comes as China works to shore up military installments in Africa and elsewhere around the world amid a tense trade relationship with the United States and blossoming alliance with Russia. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this week warned that China has capabilities to shut off U.S. water and electricity grids during remarks at the inaugural Hill Nation summit.

Hochul calls for heightened federal drone defense strategy --New York Gov. Kathy Hochul(D) has called for a heightened federal drone defense strategy following reports of drone sightings in the Northeast toward the end of 2024. “I am writing to you with respect to the critical need for federal action regarding the threat posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly known as drones,” Hochul said in a letter to President Trump last week. “As you are aware, late last year, the New York City area and the Hudson Valley experienced concerning UAS sightings that underscored the inadequacy of the federal government’s posture and the constrained ability of state authorities to detect and mitigate these threats,” she added. Hochul wrote two letters, one addressed to Trump and another addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Drone sightings rattled multiple Northeastern states, most notably New Jersey, in late 2024. Former President Biden’s administration said in December the drones were not a national security or public risk. “In early June, the Ukrainian military launched a successful surprise attack against Russian strategic air forces using drones,” Hochul said in her letters. “This serves as a stark reminder of the evolving and significant danger these systems present. An attack against strategic military and critical infrastructure in New York poses an urgent danger to the United States.” “I urge the Administration to proactively improve the UAS detection and mitigation posture in New York and for Congress to extend existing authorities and expand states’ abilities to detect and mitigate these threats themselves,” the Empire State governor added.

The EU delays retaliatory tariffs on US goods in hopes of reaching a deal soon (AP) — The European Union will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month. ″This is now the time for negotiations,″ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, after President Donald Trump sent a letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug. 1. The EU — America’s biggest trading partner and the world’s largest trading bloc — had been scheduled to impose ″countermeasures″ starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EDT; 22:00 GMT). The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries. Von der Leyen said those countermeasures would be delayed until Aug. 1, and that Trump’s letter shows ″that we have until the first of August″ to negotiate. ″We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,″ she said. If they can’t reach a deal, she said that ″we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.″ Europe’s biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments and wine and spirits. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was heading to Washington for talks Monday with the U.S. administration and Congress. In a statement, Tajani’s office said that in his talks with EU allies before the meetings, he stressed the need to “negotiate with one’s head held high.” The right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, the only EU leader to attend Trump’s inauguration, has sought to position itself as a “ bridge” between Brussels and Washington. Trump has said his global tariffs would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. Trump in his letter to the EU said the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat. Trump isn’t satisfied with some of the draft agreements on trade, White House National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said on ABC News Sunday. “The bottom line is that he’s seen some sketches of deals that had been negotiated with Howard Lutnick and the rest of the trade team, and the president thinks that the deals need to be better, and to basically put a line in the sand, he sent these letters out to folks. And we’ll see how it works out,” he said. U.S. trade partners — and companies around the world from French winemakers to German carmakers — have faced months of uncertainty and on-and-off threats from Trump to impose tariffs, with deadlines sometimes extended or changed. The tariffs could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy. The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Trade ministers from EU countries are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss trade relations with the U.S., as well as with China. Speaking alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, von der Leyen said the trade tensions with the U.S. show the importance of ’’diversifying our trade relationships.″ Announcing closer cooperation between the EU and Indonesia, she stressed the need for ‘’predictable” trading partnerships based on ‘’trust.” The Indonesian leader said, ‘’I think the United States will be always a very important leader in the world,” but also stressed the need for multilateral relationships, adding, ‘’We would like to see a very strong Europe.”

Status Of Tariffs With 15 Top US Trading Partners - What To Know So Far - President Donald Trump’s administration is working to address trade imbalances with a group of 15 top trading partners.When the president’s trade saga commenced this year, White House officials coined the term “Dirty 15” to describe a group of nations identified as having significant surpluses with the United States.By grappling with multibillion-dollar trade deficits and various trade barriers, the Trump administration is signaling a broader realignment in international trade.Ahead of the Aug. 1 reciprocal tariff deadline, many of these countries are scrambling to intensify negotiations, seek exemptions or reductions, and reach trade agreements. Here is the state of trade with these foreign markets.

• China. This month, the White House announced that it reached a limited deal with China, putting together an agreement on tariffs and export controls.The Chinese regime agreed to resume rare earth exports to the United States, and the current U.S. administration rolled back countermeasures.Artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia stated on July 14 that the U.S. government has agreed to grant the tech titan licenses to sell chips to China.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a July 15 interview with Bloomberg Television: “It was all part of a mosaic. They had things we wanted. We had things they wanted, and we’re in a very good place.”According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, the U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $295.4 billion in 2024.
• Mexico. Trump will implement a 30 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico.“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, but what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump wrote in a letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. He also said that if Mexico raises tariffs, the United States will add an amount equal to that increase to the 30 percent rate.Mexican officials confirmed in a statement shortly after the letter was posted to social media platform Truth Social that a delegation had met with U.S. officials to discuss trade and was informed of the new tariff rate. In 2024, U.S.–Mexico trade totaled nearly $840 billion, with the United States running a deficit of $171.8 billion. On July 14, the Commerce Department announced a 17 percent antidumping duty on most fresh tomato imports from Mexico. The move could cause disruptions because Mexico supplies about two-thirds of the U.S. tomato market.
• Vietnam. Earlier this month, Trump confirmed that he reached a trade agreement with Vietnam. According to the president, Vietnam will pay a 20 percent tariff “on any and all goods sent into” the United States and a 40 percent tax on any transshipping. In exchange, U.S. goods exported to Vietnam will be subject to no tariffs. “Dealing with General Secretary To Lam, which I did personally, was an absolute pleasure,” Trump said on Truth Social.Although the deal was centered on Vietnam, the agreement also applies economic pressure on China and the issue oftransshipping. This practice involves rerouting Chinese goods to Vietnam, where they are repackaged or relabeled and then exported to the United States.
• European Union. In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said he would impose a 30 percent tariff on goods entering the United States from the European Union. Economists say member states Germany, Ireland, and Italy would be severely affected.Last year, the U.S. goods trade deficits with Germany and Ireland were firmly above $80 billion. The trade gap with Italy was close to $44 billion in 2024. Although the 27-member bloc is prepared to establish a trade agreement by Aug. 1, Von der Leyen said in a statement, “We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”
• Taiwan. Taiwan has not received a formal tariff letter from Trump and remains under a temporary blanket 10 percent levy. If a deal is not reached between the two sides, the tariff on Taiwan could climb to 32 percent. The U.S. goods trade gap with Taiwan was nearly $74 billion last year, up by more than 54 percent from 2023.
• Japan. Starting on Aug. 1, the United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on all Japanese imports. This is in addition to the current sector-specific levies, such as 50 percent on steel and aluminum and 25 percent on automobiles and car parts.The U.S. goods trade deficit with Japan was $68.5 billion in 2024, down by more than 4 percent from 2023.
• South Korea. South Korea will also face a 25 percent tariff if it cannot put together a deal with the U.S. administration. Officials in Seoul stated that they plan to bolster trade negotiations, noting that talks must include exemptions or reductions in auto and steel tariffs.Speaking to reporters in Maryland on July 13, Trump said that the country “wants to make a deal right now.” The U.S. trade deficit with South Korea totaled $66 billion in 2024, up by more than 29 percent from 2023.
• Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received a letter from Trump and was informed that a 35 percent tariff would be imposed on goods coming from Canada.The president alluded to the fentanyl crisis and protectionist measures such as Canada’s dairy import rules. Officials north of the border have said they need to ensure that Canadian businesses and workers are shielded from the adverse effects of Trump’s levies. In 2024, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada exceeded $63 billion.
• India. India was notably excluded from this month’s batch of letters.Officials have been involved in active bilateral trade talks, and both sides have signaled optimism that an agreement could be finalized.In April, India was facing a 26 percent reciprocal tariff.Trump announced at a Cabinet meeting that he plans to install a 10 percent tariff on imports from “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS.”BRICS is a coalition of emerging market countries led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Other countries recently joined the group, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.In 2024, the U.S. goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion, up by 5.4 percent from 2023.
• Thailand. Thailand, which enjoys a $46 billion trade surplus with the United States, could face a 36 percent tariff in August if the two sides cannot reach a deal. The U.S. economy is a significant market for Thailand, accounting for nearly one-fifth of its exports in 2024.Bangkok has proposed lowering its import duties on many U.S. products to zero.
• Malaysia. Malaysia, a major exporter of electronics and semiconductors, will be slapped with a 25 percent tariff on its exports next month, slightly higher than the 24 percent levy announced in April.Malaysian trade officials say they do not plan to retaliate and intend to continue negotiating. Data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative show that the U.S. goods trade deficit with Malaysia was $24.8 billion in 2024, a 7.6 percent decline from the previous year.
• Indonesia Indonesia became the fourth country to reach a new trade deal following Trump’s sweeping global tariff plans announced in April. According to the president, products imported from Indonesia would be hit with a 19 percent tariff.U.S. goods would have full access to the Indonesian economy without any levies.Without a bilateral trade agreement, Indonesia would have faced a 32 percent tariff.The U.S. goods trade deficit with Indonesia was shy of $18 billion in 2024.
• Brazil. Trump stated in a July 9 letter that he will impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazil next month, citing Brazil’s nontariff trade barriers and treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial. In a formal letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Trump said the country was engaged in a “witch hunt that should end immediately.” Bolsonaro is accused of trying to stage a coup against Lula. Lula threatened tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs if Trump follows through.Brazil exported goods worth a total of more than $42 billion to the United States in 2024, driven by crude oil, industrial metals, airplanes, and coffee.

Trump planning 10 percent tariffs on smaller countries - President Trump said there will be a roughly 10 percent tariff set across the board for smaller countries, including those in Africa and the Caribbean.“We’ll probably set one tariff for all of them,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday evening.When asked for the amount, the president said “a little over 10 percent.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added during the gaggle with reporters that they were referring to African and Caribbean countries, among others. The president has sent two dozen letters to countries setting tariff rates to be imposed Aug. 1, but he has also left the door open to negotiations to lower those rates with trading partners.He said this week that Europe may come to the table to try to lower the 30 percent that it’s been hit with.Earlier on Tuesday, Trump lowered the tariff rate on Indonesia to 19 percent after he had imposed a 32 percent tariff on the country on July 7. His other latest letters to trading partners imposed tariffs of 20 percent on the Philippines, 25 percent on Japan and Malaysia, 40 percent on Myanmar, 35 percent on Bangladesh and 36 percent on Thailand and Cambodia, among others.

US and EU firms strike major gas deal as trade talks hit crunch time - — One of Europe’s largest energy companies has signed a multidecade agreement to buy American natural gas, as U.S. President Donald Trump calls on the continent to boost imports to avoid hard-hitting tariffs. In a statement shared with POLITICO, Italian firm ENI and Virginia-headquartered exporter Venture Global confirmed they had penned a 20-year deal to ship 2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. The announcement marks the first long-term contract signed between ENI and a U.S. gas producer. “This deal marks a significant milestone for the company and is further recognition of our growing global energy leadership and strong record of execution,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global. Trump has consistently cited LNG as an opportunity to avoid a worsening trade war with Washington. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way,” he said in December.

Trump admin calls for Supreme Court to stay out of tariff dispute - The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to reject a petition from two toymakers asking the justices to determine whether the president could rely on a 1970s law to issue sweeping tariffs on imported goods. The petition is the first time the high court is being asked to intervene in the Trump administration’s highly controversial tariffs. A decision from the court could have broad implications for a range of industries, including the energy sector, which have seen economic uncertainty as a result of the president’s on-again-off-again tariffs and resulting global trade war. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the threshold question raised by the petition was whether a district court has jurisdiction over cases involving tariffs imposed by the president, or whether all such challenges belong before the U.S. Court of International Trade. “Because the district court lacked jurisdiction, this case is unlikely to resolve ultimate questions about the lawfulness of the tariffs,” he wrote in a brief to the high court Thursday.

Nvidia CEO shrugs off Donald Trump tariff worries: 'We'll make the best of it' -Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed concerns over President Trump’s tariff agenda, saying the California-based company will “work through it” and emphasized that the U.S. needs to bolster its production of chips. “Nobody likes disruptions and no one likes abrupt changes, but these settlements will — President Trump will settle these deals and countries will reorganize and resettle, and we’ll work through it,” Huang said in an interview with USA Today published on Friday. Trump has reshuffled U.S. trade policy since returning to the White House, and he has recently notified countries about the tariff rates some will face at the start of next month. The president has alerted nations about the “reciprocal” rate that will come into effect on Aug. 1, and some of warned of countermeasures and called for further negotiations. “Every single year there were rules and taxes and tariffs and policies and regulations, and we survived. I have every confidence that the world is going to survive this, companies will survive this and whatever it turns out to be, we’ll make the best of it,” Huang said. This week, Nvidia became the first public-traded company to hit a market capitalization above $4 trillion. Huang met with Trump at the White House the same day. The two have had five meetings since the president took office on Jan. 20, USA Today reported. Huang said on Friday that the U.S. has to manufacture more semiconductors, arguing the push will yield benefits across various sectors. “Absolutely. I believe President Trump’s vision, his bold vision to manufacture in the United States, it’s great for our industries, it’s great for our society,” the Nvidia head said to USA TODAY. “We’ve lost a lot of manufacturing capability and skills, which is really great for skilled craft and people that work with their hands and build things,” he added. “We want to celebrate that. We want to bring that back to the United States. It’s very important to national security, industrial security, supply chain resilience.” His remarks come as a bipartisan duo, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), sent a letter to Huang this week, asking him to reconsider an upcoming visit to China over national security concerns.

Businesses are passing along tariff costs, Fed reports - Businesses across the economy are passing increased input costs from tariffs along to consumers in the form of higher prices, the Federal Reserve’s latest anecdotal survey of domestic economic conditions — commonly referred to as the “beige book” — found. Higher costs from tariffs were reported by businesses in all of the Fed’s 12 regional districts, and many made the choice to raise prices as a result. “Many firms passed on at least a portion of cost increases to consumers through price hikes or surcharges,” the Fed’s July beige book, released Wednesday, reported. Those businesses that didn’t push the additional costs through to their customers saw restricted profit margins, the beige book said, noting consumers’ “growing price sensitivity.” Inflation in the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI) jumped in June, partly as a result of the tariffs. The CPI ticked up to a 2.7-percent annual increase last month from 2.4 percent in May and 2.3 percent in April. The uptick was in line with expectations. Many economists have been predicting that inflation coming from tariffs would show up in prices over the summer after the clearing of inventories of wholesale goods purchases made prior to the tariffs. Fitch Ratings recently put the aggregate U.S. tariff rate at 14.1 percent, the highest in decades. While President Trump has instituted a 10-percent general tariff, along with China-specific tariffs and targeted tariffs on some individual goods, his country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs have been paused until Aug. 1 as trade negotiations continue. Import prices advanced by 0.1 percent in June and deflated by 0.2 percent relative to last year, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number was below economists’ expectations and reflected lower energy prices. Fuel import prices slid by 0.7 percent last month after dropping 5 percent during the previous month amid rising tensions and conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down more than 10 percent on the month. Taking out fuel and food imports, core import prices increased by 0.2 percent in June after rising 0.1 percent in May. The U.S. dollar is also losing value now relative to other currencies, having fallen about 9 percent since the beginning of the year amid President Trump’s trade war.

US manufacturers are stuck in a rut despite subsidies from Biden and protection from Trump (AP) — Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much, but they share a conviction that the government should help American manufacturers, one way or another. Democratic President Joe Biden handed out subsidies to chipmakers and electric vehicle manufacturers. Republican President Donald Trump is building a wall of import taxes — tariffs — around the U.S. economy to protect domestic industry from foreign competition. Yet American manufacturing has been stuck in a rut for nearly three years. And it remains to be seen whether the trend will reverse itself. The U.S. Labor Department reports that American factories shed 7,000 jobs in June for the second month in a row. Manufacturing employment is on track to drop for the third straight year. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported that manufacturing activity in the United States shrank in June for the fourth straight month. In fact, U.S. factories have been in decline for 30 of the 32 months since October 2022, according to ISM. “The past three years have been a real slog for manufacturing,’’ said Eric Hagopian, CEO of Pilot Precision Products, a maker of industrial cutting tools in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. “We didn’t get destroyed like we did in the recession of 2008. But we’ve been in this stagnant, sort of stationary environment.’’ Big economic factors contributed to the slowdown: A surge in inflation, arising from the unexpectedly strong economic recovery from COVID-19, raised factory expenses and prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. The higher borrowing costs added to the strain. Government policy was meant to help. Biden’s tax incentives for semiconductor and clean energy production triggered a factory-building boom – investment in manufacturing facilities more than tripled from April 2021 through October 2024 – that seemed to herald a coming surge in factory production and hiring. Eventually anyway. But the factory investment spree has faded as the incoming Trump administration launched trade wars and, working with Congress, ended Biden’s subsidies for green energy. Now, predicts Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, “manufacturing production will continue to flatline.” “If production is flat, that suggests manufacturing employment will continue to slide,” Zandi said. “Manufacturing is likely to suffer a recession in the coming year.’’ Meanwhile, Trump is attempting to protect U.S. manufacturers — and to coax factories to relocate and produce in America — by imposing tariffs on goods made overseas. He slapped 50% taxes on steel and aluminum, 25% on autos and auto parts, 10% on many other imports. In some ways, Trump’s tariffs can give U.S. factories an edge. Chris Zuzick, vice president at Waukesha Metal Products, said the Sussex, Wisconsin-based manufacturer is facing stiff competition for a big contract in Texas. A foreign company offers much lower prices. But “when you throw the tariff on, it gets us closer,’’ Zuzick said. “So that’s definitely a situation where it’s beneficial.’’ But American factories import and use foreign products, too – machinery, chemicals, raw materials like steel and aluminum. Taxing those inputs can drive up costs and make U.S producers less competitive in world markets.

Trump administration expands third-country deportation program, sending 5 men to tiny Eswatini --The Trump administration has expanded its program of third-country removals, sending five men from various countries to the small African nation of Eswatini.The announcement came shortly after new guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allows migrants to be send to a country other than their home nation in as little as six hours. The five men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, and Yemen all have various criminal backgrounds and convictions, according to a post from Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, but were refused return by their home countries.The deportations mark an expansion of Trump administration efforts to send migrants to countries beyond their home nation. It has previously sent eight migrants to South Sudan after the Supreme Court lifted a court order barring such maneuvers. And the administration has also sent some 200 Venezuelan men to be held in a notorious Salvadoran megaprison.The post from McLaughlin said all the men sent to Eswatini had been convicted of serious crimes, such as murder and child rape. It was not clear from her post where they were convicted, whether they had finished serving their sentences and why they were released.>“These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to @POTUS Trump @Sec_Noem they are off of American soil,” she wrote. ICE updated its procedures following the Supreme Court ruling, determining migrants can be sent to third countries so long as they have “diplomatic assurances” they will not face torture or persecution there.Shared in a Tuesday court filing, the ICE memo signed July 9 allows migrants to be deported to a third country within 24 hours but “in exigent circumstances,” migrants can be removed in as little as six hours “as long as the alien is provided reasonable means and opportunity to speak with an attorney prior to removal.”

Trump admin limits bond hearings for those seeking release from immigration detention -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is directing attorneys to no longer allow bond hearings for those in the U.S. illegally, forcing them to remain in detention while fighting their deportation. A new memo, confirmed by the agency and the Department of Homeland Security, said migrants should be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” a process that can take months or years. Immigrants typically can move to be released on bond if they are not determined to be a public safety threat. A new memo from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons would largely end that practice, likely swelling the number of people held in detention centers as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement and targets more long-term residents. An ICE spokesperson framed the memo as “clos[ing] a loophole to our nation’s security based on an inaccurate interpretation of the statute.” The Washington Post first reported the memo. The move comes as the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill sets aside $45 billion in new funding to more than double current detention capacity, allowing the U.S. to hold more than 100,000 people in immigration detention.The Department of Homeland Security referenced the funding in the bill as aiding their efforts to detain those fighting their deportation implying without evidence that all those held without bond have criminal backgrounds.

BankThink: Making remittances more expensive does untold economic damage -- Remittances power much of the global economy. Governments must reconsider policies that aim to penalize migrants who remit funds back to their home countries, writes Mark Lenhard, of Zepz. In 2024, African countries received over $92 billion in remittances — more than triple the amount of foreign aid sent to the continent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, that figure reached approximately $161 billion, a 5% increase from the year before. In several economies, remittances account for up to 20% of GDP. These flows fund health care, education, housing and small businesses. These aren't undocumented stories. They're documented economic facts. Governments must reconsider policies that treat migrants sending money home as risks rather than contributors. Regulators should remove barriers to affordable transfers and enable innovation that puts people first.

Donald Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency following medical test -- President Trump underwent medical testing for “mild swelling” in his legs and bruising on his hand, which revealed a vein condition that is common in people over the age of 70, the White House said Thursday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a note from Trump’s physician during a press briefing that detailed the exam. Trump underwent ultrasounds and a “comprehensive exam” that included a diagnostic vascular study. The exam found Trump, 79, has chronic venous insufficiency. The condition happens when an individual’s leg veins struggle to pump blood back to the heart, causing blood to pool, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Leavitt said there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis — a type of blood clot — or arterial disease, which can include blockages. Recent photos also revealed bruising on the back of one of the president’s hands. Trump’s physician said the markings were “consistent with minor soft tissue damage from frequent handshaking” and with regular aspirin use. Leavitt told reporters Trump is not experiencing any discomfort.

Hospitals brace for ‘big, beautiful’ Medicaid cuts -Hospitals loudly raised alarms about Trump’s tax and spending bill, but their warnings went unheeded. Now they say they will bear the brunt of changes to Medicaid. The new law cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid, primarily through stringent work requirements as well as reductions to how states can fund their Medicaid programs through provider taxes and state-directed payments. While most of the cuts won’t happen immediately, rural facilities in particular say they likely will have to make difficult financial decisions about which services they can afford to keep and which may need to be cut. Republicans pushed back the start date for the provider tax reductions until 2028, and they won’t be fully phased in until 2031. The bill was only signed into law July 4, so hospitals said it’s too early for them to know specifics on which services they’ll have to cut back on. But the discussions are underway because hospitals need to start planning. “If they see a very negative outlook in terms of Medicaid revenue reductions, increases in uncompensated care costs, I think that will tip the scales towards cutting services, cutting staff, not hiring, not expanding,” said Edwin Park, a research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Rural hospitals rely heavily on Medicaid funding because many of the patients they care for are low-income. Medicaid-dependent services — like labor and delivery units, mental health care and emergency rooms — are some of the least profitable, yet most essential, services that hospitals provide. But experts said those will likely be axed as hospitals try to stay afloat. Mark Nantz, president and chief executive officer of Valley Health System said once the cuts are fully phased in, his system will lose about $50 million a year in revenue for Medicaid patients. The most likely casualty will be new construction and expansion plans, but he said it’s too early to know more.

RFK Jr.: ‘No cuts on Medicaid’ in ‘big, beautiful’ law -Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday refuted the existence of Medicaid cuts due to President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” “First of all, there’s no cuts on Medicaid. There is a — there’s a diminishment of the growth rate of Medicaid, which is bankrupting our country. And by the way, the national debt is also a determinant, a social determinant, of health,” Kennedy told Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow on his show. “If we’re leaving our kids with these giant debts, they can’t afford health care. They can’t afford good food,” he added. The “big, beautiful bill” law cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid, mostly through strict work requirements and reductions to how states can fund their Medicaid programs via provider taxes and state-directed payments. The majority of the cuts will not happen soon, but rural hospitals in particular have said they likely will have to make difficult financial decisions on which services they can afford to hold onto and which may need to be cut. Medicaid is also set to become a central issue in the fight over control of Congress during next year’s midterm elections now that the “big, beautiful bill” is law. Republicans have stated that the Medicaid cuts are required to address waste and fraud in the program, making sure “able-bodied” adults are not taking advantage of the system.

Hawley seeks to repeal Medicaid cuts he voted for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wants to repeal parts of the “big, beautiful” law he just voted for. Hawley on Tuesday introduced new legislation to roll back some of the Medicaid cuts that were included in the massive tax cut law, which passed the Senate two weeks ago and was signed into law by President Trump on July 4. Hawley’s bill would repeal provisions that limit states’ ability to levy taxes on health providers to receive more money from the federal government. The bill also seeks to repeal a cap on state-directed payments, which allows states to direct how providers are paid by privately run managed care plans. “Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,” Hawley said in a statement. “I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently,” he added. Hawley’s bill would boost a $50 billion fund aimed at helping rural hospitals by adding an additional $50 billion, and extending it from five years to ten. Experts have said $50 billion isn’t nearly enough to make up for the impact of the cuts. According to a KFF analysis, federal Medicaid spending in rural areas is estimated to decline by $155 billion over a decade because of the bill. Hawley was one of the most outspoken senators regarding Medicaid cuts in the runup to voting on Trump’s domestic policy law. He repeatedly said he wanted to protect Medicaid and warned against making any cuts to the program. But the legislation he ultimately voted for cut about $1 trillion from Medicaid. While most of the cuts won’t happen immediately, rural facilities say they likely will have to make difficult financial decisions about which services they can afford to keep and which may need to be cut.

Lawmakers signal plan to protect PEPFAR from cuts -- Senate Republicans and the White House yesterday agreed to a plan to remove $400 million in cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), as part of negotiations under way on President Donald Trump's $9.4 billion recissions package, Politico and other news outlets reported. The announcement was met with praise and relief from many public health experts. Launched in 2003 under former President George W. Bush, PEPFAR has been one of the marquee US foreign health policy programs and has been credited with saving 26 million lives. It was among the funding pauses and cuts announced in the early days of the second Trump administration, and a recent studysuggested that PEPFAR's elimination could lead to 500,000 child deaths over the next 5 years, with 1 million more infected and 2.8 orphaned after their parents die.PEPFAR had traditionally received strong bipartisan support, and multiple Republican senators have raised concerns about cuts to the program. The White House also signaled potential plans to protect programs related to maternal health, malaria, tuberculosis, and nutrition. Following the announcement, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association issued a statement saying reports that the Senate and White House will amend the recissions package to exclude cuts to PEPFAR is a testament to strong bipartisan support for the program. "While we agree that preserving PEPFAR funding is crucial, the infrastructure and other programs that support its implementation must also be saved from funding rescissions for it to be fully effective."The groups pressed lawmakers to preserve global health programs that address TB, malaria, and child and maternal health through the State Department, USAID, and other lifesaving programs "to ensure that decades’ worth of U.S. investments are not wasted."

State, local public health officials grapple with fallout from funding, job cuts - Public health officials around the country are long familiar with the boom-and-bust cycles that have marked public health funding in the United States. When you have an emergency that needs an immediate response, like a pandemic, the money flows. When the crisis is over, the money tends to dry up, making it hard for state and local health departments to prepare for the next emergency.With the COVID-19 pandemic declared over and a new presidential administration coming into office with a stated objective of cutting the deficit and dramatically reducing the size and scope of the federal government, a return to the bust part of the cycle was expected. But what's transpired under the second Trump administration has been even worse than what many officials were prepared for. It started with the layoffs at federal health agencies that began in February and accelerated on March 27, when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 workers. State and local health department officials quickly feared the loss of experts at the federal level would substantially affect them.But perhaps the biggest blow came 2 days earlier, when HHS announced it was blocking $11.4 billion in previously approved federal funding to states related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health threats. Although that funding has temporarily been restored by federal judges while a lawsuit challenging the cuts winds its way through the courts, the move has raised alarms about what's to come and how it could impair the ability of state and local health departments to respond to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies."The scale of it is something that we haven't seen before," What many Americans probably don't know, Harris explains, is that most federal money spent on public health goes to directly to state and local health departments. A 2022 report by the National Association of County & City Health Officials found that federal sources—primarily grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—accounted for 55% of local health department budgets. As much as 80% to 90% of the funding for state and local programs that monitor and combat infectious diseases comes from CDC grants. State and local health departments use that money to pay for staff and fund local partner organizations.In fiscal year 2023, the CDC obligated $14.9 billion to states and local jurisdictions. A significant share of that ($5.7 billion) consisted of time-limited funding for COVID-19 and public health infrastructure rebuilding, according to an analysis by KFF. "A cut in money at the federal level impacts the work of state and local health departments in a profound way," says Harris, who's also the state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health. "It doesn't just mean fewer dollars flowing or smaller programs—it also means [cuts to] a lot of staff."The HHS termination of the COVID funding in March meant the loss of $190 million in funding for the Alabama Department of Public Health, much of it tagged for immunization programs and health equity efforts, Harris says. For the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the amount was $226 million, a loss MDH officials said would result in the suspension of partner-led vaccine clinics and emergency preparedness activities, slower response times for infectious disease outbreaks, and reduced lab support for hospitals and healthcare facilities.On April 1, MDH officials announced they'd sent layoff and separation notices to 170 employees whose positions were funded by that money. MDH was able to rescind many of those layoffs after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on April 5, in response to a lawsuit filed against HHS by Minnesota and 15 other states. On May 16, the cuts were again blocked when a federal district court in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction. But the recissions didn't apply to temporary staff or contractors who'd been laid off, many of them from teams that have been working with local partners on engagement with communities that disproportionately bear the burden of infectious diseases. And courts could still find that the administration is within its rights to pull the funding.

Trump’s latest executive order creates new classification of federal employees - According to the White House. Schedule G jobs will be noncareer positions, which will “generally” be expected to end once the president who appointed them leaves the Oval Office. The classification does not apply to career positions or career workers. “President Trump believes creating non-career Schedule G positions will enhance government efficiency and accountability and improve services provided to taxpayers by increasing the horsepower for agency implementation of Administration policy,” the White House said on Thursday. The White House has argued that the new classification of federal government employees will boost operations, especially at the Department of Veterans Affairs, “by streamlining appointments for key policy roles.” The administration did not list how many workers would be considered under the new classification. In April, the administration proposed a rule to reclassify thousands of career federal government employees as “at-will” workers, empowering “federal agencies to swiftly remove employees in policy-influencing roles for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or subversion of Presidential directives, without lengthy procedural hurdles.”

Bill to claw back public media, foreign aid funds clears key Senate hurdle Senate Republicans on Tuesday narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle on the path to clawing back billions of dollars in funding previously authorized by Congress for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Vice President Vance had to break the 50-50 tie vote after three Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — voted against a motion to discharge the rescissions package out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, allowing the full upper chamber to advance to consideration of the package. The bill, which passed the House last month, calls for $8.3 billion in cuts to the United States Agency for International Development and foreign aid, and more than $1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Congress has until July 18 to pass the legislation under the special rescissions process initiated by the White House last month that allows the Senate to approve the funding cuts with a simple majority vote, bypassing expected Democratic opposition. Top Republicans are ramping up work to lock down support for Trump’s package to claw back previously congressionally approved funds. The party can afford to lose three votes in the Senate. Murkowski and Collins both expressed concerns about the cuts to public broadcasting and the way the rescissions package had been presented to Congress. “We do rescissions in our annual budget, bills, in our own appropriations bills, in fact, bills that we are working on right now as appropriators,” Murkowski said from the floor ahead of the vote. Murkowski also expressed concern that the administration hasn’t been able to provide “very transparent explanation about the programs and the priorities that are going to be cut as a result of the measure.” She additionally expressed concerns about public media cuts, saying lawmakers can work to address potential bias in coverage, but that there isn’t a need to “gut the entire Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” “But more important than all of that, more important is our role here. I don’t want us to go from one reconciliation bill to a rescissions package to another rescissions package to a reconciliation package to a continuing resolution. We’re lawmakers. We should be legislating,” she said.

US Senate votes to end funding of public broadcasting - The US Senate voted early Thursday to withdraw financing already allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which in part funds National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). By a vote of 51-48, the most august legislative political body in the US cast its support for the elimination of public broadcasting, first established in 1967 under Lyndon Johnson. The majority of senators, in effect, announced their determination to do whatever lay in their power to encourage ignorance and backwardness and suppress political criticism, even of the most limited variety. The Senate vote corresponded to a White House demand to take back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The administration submitted a rescissions bill, a measure that cancels previously approved funding. In this manner, Congress reverses its own spending decisions. The House is expected to approve the action, sending it to Trump for his signature. The amounts involved are minuscule by American government budgetary standards. The CPB had been allocated $1.1 billion by Congress for the next two years, to be disbursed among some 1,500 local stations nationwide. “I think $9 billion is a very small amount of money–as I mentioned, one-tenth of 1 percent of all federal spending,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican from South Dakota., told Fox News. “But we’ve got to look at all aspects of the federal budget and figure out where we can root out waste, fraud, and abuse, to put this country on a more sustainable fiscal path. We just can’t sustain where we are.” Of course, this comment has no bearing on objective reality, except in so far as the latter is perceived by a representative of the US ruling elite. The American government spends unimaginable sums each year on murderous weapons and equipment, spying on its own and other populations and countless illegal and bloody military-CIA operations in every corner of the globe. It grudgingly hands out what amount to pennies on culture, education and the arts, and Congress is now resolutely trying to put a halt to that fearful “waste” of public money. The funding of NPR and PBS is complicated, and comes from a number of sources, as there has never been a significant or adequate federal government subsidy. NPR only receives a small amount, some 1 percent, of its funding directly from the federal government. PBS receives approximately 15 percent of its money from the government. The majority of the CPB's appropriation goes to local public television and radio stations through grants. These local stations then choose to become members of PBS or NPR and pay dues and fees to the national organizations for programming and other services. According to the Public Media Alliance, approximately 60 million Americans accessed NPR content weekly across various platforms in 2020, including radio broadcasts, podcasts and digital services. This reach is facilitated by NPR’s network of member and affiliate stations, ensuring that 98.5 percent of the US population resides within the listening area of a station carrying NPR programming. The attack on NPR and PBS is an assault on the democratic rights of the population, its right to information, emergency services and culture. It will be particularly devastating in rural areas, where smaller broadcasters may be forced off the air over the coming months. As CNN noted, stations in rural areas and smaller communities tend to rely more heavily on the federal subsidy. Stations in larger markets typically have a wider variety of other funding sources, like viewer donations and foundation support.

Congress sends bill clawing back $9B in foreign aid, public media funds to Trump’s desk - House Republicans late Thursday night approved the first batch of cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), sending the $9 billion package to President Trump’s desk in a big victory for the GOP. The legislation — which claws back already-approved federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting — cleared the chamber in a mostly party-line 216-213 vote less than one day after the Senate passed the measure. Two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Mike Turner (Ohio), voted with every Democrat against the measure. Trump is expected to sign the bill soon, as Republicans face a Friday deadline to enact the cuts or release the funds to the organizations they were appropriated for. “The Republican Party and President Trump and everybody that works on our side has promised fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline and we’re delivering on those promises again tonight,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters after the vote, later adding: “I’m delighted to send that over to the president’s desk for signature and he’ll sign that quickly.” “We’re gonna downsize the scope of government,” he said. “Government is too large, it does too many things and it does almost nothing well. We believe in a limited government that’s accountable and efficient and effective for the people and we’re gonna continue to demonstrate that through our actions here on the floor.” The package takes aim at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS — two outlets that Republicans have labeled as biased — as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which DOGE targeted early in the Trump administration. Republicans see the bill as a critical “test run” for the party, as Trump administration officials have already indicated they aim to send multiple special requests to Congress to claw back more funding if the first package makes it through. The request initially sent by the White House, known as a rescissions package, called for $9.4 billion in cuts to federal funding previously approved by Congress, including $8.3 billion for USAID and foreign aid, as well as more than $1 billion in public broadcasting funds. But the White House ended up agreeing to exempt the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was established under former President George W. Bush in 2003 and totaled about $400 million, after those cuts became a critical point of contention for moderate GOP lawmakers. Republicans said they also reached a deal with the administration seeking to shield tribal stations from cuts to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Republicans in both chambers have voiced strong support for the overall package and say the cuts are overdue. Many in the party have long scrutinized the scope of funding for foreign aid and accused public radio and television of political bias. But the proposal also saw some resistance from Senate GOP appropriators earlier this week. The skeptics scolded the administration for trying to make an end run around the normal appropriations process and complained the request didn’t have enough information, particularly when compared to the last rescissions request approved by Congress under former President George H. W. Bush. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) specifically singled out a proposed $2.5 billion in cuts to the Development Assistance account. She noted in a statement that the account “covers everything from basic education, to water and sanitation, to food security,” but said lawmakers still lacked key details as to how those programs would be affected.

More than 20 states sue Trump administration over frozen after-school and summer funding (AP) — More than 20 states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more. Some of the withheld money funds after-school and summer programming at Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA or public schools, attended by 1.4 million children and teenagers nationwide. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families. But Trump’s administration recently froze the funding, saying it wants to ensure programs align with the Republican president’s priorities. Led by California, the lawsuit alleges withholding the money violates the Constitution and several federal laws. Many low-income families will lose access to after-school programs if the money isn’t released soon, according to the suit. In some states, school restarts in late July and early August. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Rhode Island, the state stepped in with funding to keep the summer programs running, according to the East Providence club, and the state has joined the federal lawsuit. Other Boys & Girls Clubs supported by the grants have found ways to keep open their summer programs, said Sara Leutzinger, vice president for communications for the Boys & Girls Club of America. But there isn’t the same hope for the after-school programming for the fall. Some of the 926 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide that run summer and after-school programs stand to close if the Trump administration doesn’t release the money in the next three to five weeks, Leutzinger said. The clubs receive funding from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The YMCA and Save the Children say many of the centers they run are also at risk of shuttering. “Time is of the essence,” said Christy Gleason, executive director of the political arm of Save the Children, which provides after-school programming for 41 schools in rural areas in Washington state and across the South, where school will begin as soon as August. “It’s not too late to make a decision so the kids who really need this still have it.” Rural and Republican-led areas especially affected Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze in federal education grants. Ninety-one of the 100 school districts that receive the most money per student from four frozen grant programs are in Republican congressional districts, according to an analysis from New America, a left-leaning think tank. New America’s analysis used funding levels reported in 2022 in 46 states. Republican officials have been among the educators criticizing the grant freeze. “I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility, which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies, but also means being responsible — releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump,” said Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods, an elected Republican. “In Georgia, we’re getting ready to start the school year, so I call on federal funds to be released so we can ensure the success of our students.” The Office of Management and Budget said some grants supported left-wing causes, pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts. But Congress’ appropriation of the money was in a bill signed by Trump himself, said Maurice “Mo” Green, North Carolina’s Democratic superintendent of public education. “To now suggest that, for some reason, this money is somehow or another needing review because of someone’s agenda, I think is deeply troubling,” Green told reporters Monday after North Carolina joined the federal lawsuit.

Supreme Court allows Donald Trump to resume Education Department layoffs --The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Trump to resume efforts to dismantle the Department of Education in an apparent 6-3 vote along ideological lines, lifting a judge’s order to reinstate hundreds of employees terminated in mass layoffs. The administration’s victory enables the president to move closer to fulfilling of one of his major campaign promises to oversee the elimination of the Education Department, which was created in the 1970s. The majority did not explain its reasoning, as is typical in emergency decisions. The court’s three Democratic-appointed justices publicly dissented, calling their colleagues’ ruling “indefensible.” “It hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave,” they continued. Since entering office, the administration has sought to lay off half of the Education Department’s workforce and move some of the agency’s core functions, such as managing student loans, to other federal departments. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun blocked those efforts in May. Ruling that Trump needed congressional authorization, Joun ordered the administration reinstate the roughly 1,400 workers laid off in March. The Supreme Court’s ruling lifts Joun’s injunction as the litigation proceeds in the lower courts, but it is not a final decision. The dispute could return to the justices. Following the ruling, Education Secretary Linda McMahon vowed to carry out the layoffs once again.“While today’s ruling is a significant win for students and families, it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using the authorities granted to him by the U.S. Constitution,” McMahon said in a statement.It marks the latest Trump administration victory at the Supreme Court, which has regularly intervened on its emergency docket to rein in lower judges who have blocked the president’s initiatives. Days earlier, the justices enabled the administration to resume planning large-scale layoffs across a wider swath of the federal bureaucracy. The high court previously enabled Trump to resume swiftly deporting migrants to countries where they have no ties, providing Department of Government Efficiency personnel with access to Social Security data and revoking temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants, among other policies. And the high court once before rebuked Joun, an appointee of former President Biden, in another case against the administration: The justices in April voted 5-4 to lift the judge’s order reinstating $65 million in federal teacher development grants. Solicitor General D. John Sauer described Joun’s latest ruling as “wresting of an entire Cabinet department from presidential control.” Sauer acknowledged the Education Department can only be completely eliminated by Congress, but he contended Trump was acting within his authority, pointing to the education secretary’s insistence that all the department’s legally mandated duties would continue. “The Department of Education has determined that it can carry out its statutorily mandated functions with a pared-down staff and that many discretionary functions are better left to the States,” Sauer wrote in court filings. The plaintiffs — two separate coalitions of Democratic-led states, school districts and unions — argued it is impossible for the department to carry out its mandatory functions with the changes that have been made to the agency.

Trump's Education Secretary McMahon to begin dismantling federal agency -President Trump on Monday said that Education Secretary Linda McMahon will begin the process of dismantling the Education Department in the wake of the Supreme Court decision allowing the administration to resume layoffs at the agency. “The United States Supreme Court has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country, by declaring the Trump Administration may proceed on returning the functions of the Department of Education BACK TO THE STATES. Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process,” Trump said on Truth Social. The high court’s decision is a victory for Trump, enabling him to move forward with fulfilling one of his major campaign promises to end the federal agency’s work. Trump continued, “The Federal Government has been running our Education System into the ground, but we are going to turn it all around by giving the Power back to the PEOPLE. America’s Students will be the best, brightest, and most Highly Educated anywhere in the World. Thank you to the United States Supreme Court!” The Supreme Court issued its decision earlier on Monday, in a 6-3 vote along ideological lines. Since taking office, the administration has sought to lay off half of the agency’s workforce and transfer some of its core functions, such as managing student loans, to other federal departments. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun blocked those efforts in May and ruled that Trump needed congressional authorization, ordering him to reinstate the roughly 1,400 workers who had been laid off two months prior. The ruling on Monday lifts Joun’s injunction as the litigation proceeds in the lower courts, but it is not a final decision. The majority did not explain its reasoning, as is typical in emergency decisions, while the three Democratic-appointed justices publicly dissented and called the ruling “indefensible.”

US Supreme Court greenlights destruction of Department of Education --In a decision with far-reaching implications for democratic rights and public education, the US Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to proceed with mass firings at the Department of Education. In a 6–3 vote, the court overruled a May 22 decision by US District Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts that had temporarily blocked the layoffs. The unsigned emergency order, issued without argument or explanation, allows Trump to remove 1,400 workers from the department, fast-tracking his administration’s long-standing goal of dismantling the cabinet-level agency established by Congress in 1979. The US Department of Education oversees a wide range of programs serving the needs of 70 million students. It provides more than $120 billion in financial aid each year to over 13 million students across the country. In the 2020–2021 school year alone, it distributed over $100 billion directly to public schools—amounting to roughly 11 percent of all funding for public elementary and secondary education nationwide. Beyond the immediate issue of public education, Monday’s ruling marks another major expansion of executive power by the Supreme Court, sanctioning Trump’s drive to establish a presidential dictatorship. In a 19-page dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor—joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson—cited Trump’s longstanding pledge to eliminate the Department of Education, noting that doing so is unconstitutional, as only Congress has the authority to create or abolish federal departments. Sotomayor warned that the Court’s decision grants the president unchecked power to nullify laws enacted by Congress. “When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise,” she wrote, “it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it.” The ruling, she continued, “hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out,” adding, “the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave.” The high court’s ruling disregards statutory protections enacted by Congress against executive reorganization of federal departments, violates the constitutional requirement that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” and undermines key legislation, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The latest ruling is part of a series of decisions by the gang of fascists that controls the court aimed at dismantling fundamental democratic rights. In July 2024, the court endorsed Trump’s claim of “absolute criminal immunity” for actions taken under his “constitutional powers.” In April 2025, it further gutted judicial oversight and due process by upholding mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. In the Trump v. CASA ruling of June 2025, the court stripped federal courts of the authority to issue nationwide injunctions against unconstitutional actions by the government—including Trump’s drive to abolish birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This week’s decision—coming on the heels of last week’s ruling permitting the mass firing of federal workers—clearly exposes the class character of the turn toward dictatorship: the dismantling of basic democratic protections to enforce the interests of the financial oligarchy. The existence and expansion of public education in the United States is the product of the American Revolution, the Civil War, the global impact of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the civil rights movement, and mass labor battles of the 20th century. Democratic and social rights were not granted from above—they were won through struggle in the face of fierce resistance from the capitalist ruling class. The dismantling of public education is a key element in the bipartisan social counterrevolution waged over decades by both Democrats and Republicans. Under Trump, this assault has entered a new and far more advanced stage. Trump has made students, universities, and culture in general a primary target. Billions have been slashed from federal grants supporting the sciences, arts, and social studies. The spending bill signed by Trump earlier this month—which guts Medicaid and food assistance—also cuts $300 billion in federal student aid over the next decade. It imposes draconian repayment schedules, denies loans to thousands of prospective students, and imposes new taxes on universities. The Supreme Court’s decision paves the way for an intensified assault on every level of public education and the plundering of its resources by the financial oligarchy through privatization. It aims to make meaningful education unattainable to the working class. Exposure to world cultures, history, the arts, and science is to be gutted and replaced with narrow vocational training. The ruling class seeks to funnel youth into two channels: the brutal reindustrialization of the US at home and military service in the predatory wars of American imperialism abroad.

King Donald? Supreme Court grants Trump power to repeal laws at his whim --“The executive has seized for itself the power to repeal federal law by way of mass terminations, in direct contravention of the Take Care Clause and our Constitution’s separation of powers.” Read that again. These are the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a dissenting opinion to the Supreme Court’s one-paragraph July 14 ruling, in which the majority basically held — without any justification or explanation whatsoever — that it’s fine that America has become a land of lawlessness with power consolidated in one person.President Trump is the law now. The case is McMahon v. New York, and it involves Trump’s stated plan to abolish the Department of Education by basically firing half of its workforce so that it cannot function. Unlike Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn DOGE experiment, this maneuver is not even thinly disguised by the pretense of government “efficiency.” Trump just wants the Department of Education to go.The trouble is that, as a matter of the Constitution’s core separation of powers, Congress makes the laws. In 1979, Congress enacted the Department of Education Organization Act for purposes of “ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual.”As Sotomayor explained in her dissent, which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined, “only Congress has the power to abolish the department. The executive’s task, by contrast, is to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.’”By shutting down the Department of Education “by executive fiat,” Trump is blatantly intruding on the powers of the legislature to make the laws while ignoring the constitutional mandate, and his oath of office, that he duly execute those laws. Trump’s plan ignores a bunch of other laws that the Department of Education is also responsible for executing, including laws governing federal grants for institutes of higher education; federal funding for kindergarten through high school (more than $100 billion during the 2020-2021 school year, or 11 percent of the total funding for public K-12 schools across the country); and laws banning discrimination in federally-funded schools on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and disability. Then there’s the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which, according to the department’s current website, “is a law that makes available a free appropriate education to eligible children with disabilities … and ensures special education and related services to those children, supports early services for infants and toddlers and their families, and awards competitive discretionary grants.” Seven million students across the country receive special education services supported by that law. Another statute the department administers, the Elementary and Student Education Act, provides financial assistance programs to tens of millions of low-income students, too. All of these laws are now being gutted by the stroke of Trump’s pen, as if he were a king.There has been no public debate in Congress, no mark-ups of bills amending the law, no ability for voters to call representatives to lobby for or against proposals to amend the Department of Education and the statutes it administers. There has been no budget analyses, no media coverage of congressional horse-trading, no interviews of people from both parties on the steps of the Capitol, no hearing from public school officials or teachers or parents on whether this is a good idea. Trump simply snatched the power to make and repeal major federal legislation and programs that affect millions of American children for himself. Worse, the majority on the Supreme Court is letting him do it. Like Trump, it made its ruling on-the-fly and behind closed doors — without full briefing, oral argument or a written decision explaining the justices’ rationale for allowing this end run around Article I of the Constitution (which lodges the lawmaking power in Congress) and Article II (which mandates that the president take care that the laws are faithfully executed). Sotomayor explains that Trump, shortly after taking office, condemned the Department of Education as a “big con job” that he would “like to close immediately.” A week into her tenure, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon eliminated “nearly 50 percent of the Department’s workforce” as “the first step on the road to a total shutdown.” She closed entire offices — including the team responsible for administering bilingual education, every lawyer in the general counsel’s office responsible for K-12 education funding and IDEA grants, numerous regional offices that deal with civil rights laws and most of the office that certifies schools to receive federal student financial aid.On March 20, Trump signed an executive order with a directive titled “Closing the Department of Education and Returning Authority to the States.” Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing that his actions violated the Take Care Clause and the Constitution’s separation of powers, incapacitating core components of the Department of Education on which the states rely. A similar lawsuit by school districts and unions followed. The cases were combined, and a district court issued an injunction preserving the status quo, keeping the department and the nation’s school system intact while the case was pending. An appeals court upheld that injunction.Mind you, the district court issued its injunction after considering dozens of affidavits from Department of Education officials and recipients of federal funding describing how McMahon’s mass terminations have already affected the ability to pay teachers, purchase materials and equipment, and enroll students on federal financial aid — and how full implantation of Trump’s plan could be far worse. The government submitted no evidence in response.Ignoring the record entirely, and on an emergency motion filed by the administration, the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority simply overturned the injunction, effectively handing Trump a win — just weeks before the start of the new school year — without even bothering to actually grapple with the Constitution, the lower court’s findings or the dire impacts on millions of children and young adults that rely on the department’s programs in order to get an education.This sounds like a dystopian science fiction storyline that a bunch of Hollywood writers and producers dreamed up. But it’s real. This is Trump’s — and the Supreme Court’s — America.

10 GOP senators come out against latest Trump school funding cuts, saying they ‘will harm students’ A group of 10 GOP senators penned a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Wednesday condemning a pause in funding for after-school and summer activities that has thrown schools and programs into chaos. The Republicans urged OMB Director Russell Vought to resume the $6 billion in funding, saying the pause, which is also the subject of a Democratic-backed lawsuit, will “harm students, families and local economies.” The letter says the funding pause goes against the Trump administration’s directive to send education back to the states. “This funding goes directly to state and local districts, where local leaders decide how the funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families,” the letter reads. It was signed by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), John Boozman (Ark.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Deb Fischer (Neb.), John Hoeven (N.D.) and Jim Justice (W.Va.). The Trump administration said it has held these funds due to concerns the money is going to “woke” or left-wing agendas. While the senators say they “share” the administration’s fears of “taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” they protest the idea that this funding is part of such efforts.

House releases Energy-Water spending bill with deep cuts - The House Appropriations Committee unveiled fiscal 2026 legislation Sunday with deep proposed cuts for the departments of Energy and Transportation.The bills come during a busy week for appropriators in both chambers. The House on Monday plans to release its Interior-Environment, State Department and Commerce-Justice-Science bills. The Defense spending bill is due on the floor.And in the Senate, lawmakers will be taking up President Donald Trump’s rescissions package with cuts to already appropriated international climate and environmental funding.“We will continue to get the country back on a path to fiscal responsibility by rescissions packages that will come from the White House that we’ll enact, and claw back spending and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in the multiple reconciliation packages, and in appropriating at lower levels of funding,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday on Fox News.Indeed, House Republicans’ Energy-Water spending bill aligns with Trump’s budget request in proposing to cut discretionary funding for programs with Democratic support. House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) quickly bashed the legislation as a “reckless and shortsighted proposal” that would increase energy costs.The bill aims to boost funding for some bipartisan priorities such as advanced nuclear energy and critical mineral production. But it would also eliminate the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and zero out funding intended to help communities disproportionately impacted by pollution. “I am proud that, in tight fiscal times where every dollar spent must be scrutinized, the Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill makes historic investments in our national security and nuclear deterrent, restores American energy production, and stops wasteful, unnecessary spending,” House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) said in a statement Sunday.The bill would appropriate $57.3 billion in discretionary funding, about $766 million below the currently enacted level. Fleischmann said it is “the product of close collaboration with the Trump Administration.”The Army Corps of Engineers’ civil programs would receive about $9.9 billion, an increase of over $1 billion relative to current funding. The Bureau of Reclamation would get a small increase of about $5.7 million in proposed spending of nearly $1.9 billion. The bill also includes more than $900 million in water project earmarks.The legislation would provide $48.8 billion for the Department of Energy, a cut of about $1.4 billion. More than half of the total — $25.3 billion — would go to the National Nuclear Security Administration, which would get a bump of almost $1.2 billion.DOE’s civilian nuclear energy account would get a $110 million increase, including a raise for the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Availability program to help support production of the kind of fuel used by advanced reactors. The loan program office would also get more money for nuclear project financing.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would get higher funding — $27.4 billion — for the second year in a row. It comes amid increased administration involvement in the independent agency to promote the industry’s growth.When it comes to nuclear waste, the legislation would prohibit new interim commercial storage that’s not approved by law or enjoys local consent.The bill would also increase investment in geothermal energy, a source favored by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and congressional Republicans.DOE’s Office of Science would see an increase of $160 million, but the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, known as ARPA-E, would see its funding drop to $350 million, a $110 million reduction. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would get a massive $1.6 billion cut, which would amount to a 46 percent reduction. The White House budget plan would cut EERE by more than 70 percent. The Office of Grid Deployment would see its $60 million budget reduced by more than half by the House, and the Office of Electricity would see a cut of almost 20 percent. Republicans do not plan to spare the Office of Fossil Energy either. The bill would allocate $687.5 million to that office — a reduction of $177.5 million.Funding would be shifted around to support research and development on critical minerals and fossil fuel generation technologies, according to a summary. DOE’s environmental management and cleanup efforts, which Fleischmann had said he wanted to protect, would get $7.7 billion. The Office of the Inspector General would get a $4 million boost. The legislation seeks to prevent petroleum sales to China from the federal stockpile. It also seeks to prevent DOE financing from benefiting foreign entities of concern. Democrats said a rider would prevent agencies from issuing rules with an economic impact of more than $100 million. The provision is similar to the GOP’s “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act.”

House approves bipartisan hydropower, wetland bills - The House approved legislation Monday homing in on hydropower licensing along with a bill to conserve wetlands.The “Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act,” H.R. 3657 from Reps. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) and Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), would require annual reports from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the status of hydropower relicensing applications. It passed by voice vote.“With relicensing activity set to double in the coming decade, and the process typically taking seven to 10 years to complete, there are crucial reforms that are needed to cut red tape without compromising careful consideration,” Schrier said during floor debate.House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said 15 percent of the nation’s electrical capacity will be undergoing the relicensing process in the near future.

House appropriators OK cuts to Interior, EPA, other agencies - House Appropriations subcommittees approved three fiscal 2026 bills Tuesday with significant cuts to energy, environment and climate initiatives.The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee passed its bill on a party-line 8-5 vote. The legislation would slash funding for the Interior Department, EPA and other environmental agencies, though not as deeply as proposed by President Donald Trump’s budget plan. Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) noted the legislation has funding for EPA grants that support water infrastructure and reduce air pollution. In addition, it targets several agency rules for the power sector.“The bill doubles down on rolling back burdensome and costly regulations from the prior administration, and it helps unleash American energy and domestic mineral development,” Simpson said.Democrats decried its cuts for national parks as well as to EPA’s efforts to combat climate change. The agency would receive $7 billion in fiscal 2026, a 23 percent drop.“It has become clear to me that the administration has moved beyond climate change denial into actively dismantling the government’s climate work,” said ranking member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).She added, “If we are going to keep the public safe, then building resilience and fighting against the impact of climate change is a commonsense measure, yet Republicans have clawed back those funds so that they could give tax breaks to billionaires.”The GOP reconciliation package, which became law earlier this month, contained several tax cuts and rescinded unobligated dollars for various EPA grant initiatives under the Inflation Reduction Act.The House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee similarly cleared its bill along party lines, leaving amendments for the full committee markup.The legislation includes a 6 percent drop for NOAA and a 23 percent reduction for the National Science Foundation compared with current levels.Subcommittee Chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said “flooding has inflicted much pain on the nation over the last few months, [from] my district in Kentucky to Texas. Now is the time to ensure the National Weather Service is equipped with the funding it needs to warn and protect our citizens. This bill does just that by appropriately funding NOAA’s weather units.”Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) took issue with the proposed cuts, even though they are smaller than the White House requested.“Weather forecasts are not waste, fraud and abuse.” DeLauro said. “And I ask my colleagues, did anyone come to your town halls and complain that the Weather Service has too many meteorologists, too many people issuing advisories, watches and warnings on severe storms? I don’t think so.”

House releases Interior-EPA spending bill with deep cuts - House Republican appropriators unveiled their fiscal 2026 funding legislation for the Interior Department and EPA, with steep cuts proposed for both agencies. The bill would approve about $38 billion for agencies under its purview, nearly $3 billion below the fiscal 2025 amount. Interior would get about $14.8 billion and EPA would be funded at $7 billion, a 23 percent cut for the environment agency.The legislation is, however, more generous than the president’s budget request. The bill would appropriate about $9.2 billion above what the White House requested.The Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will meet Tuesday to mark up the bill as lawmakers race to fund the government before the Sept. 30 deadline. Congress did not pass final appropriations bills last year, instead leaning on continuing resolutions.“As Congress works to rein in unnecessary spending and restore fiscal responsibility, the House Appropriations Committee remains committed to ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and efficiently,” Interior and Environment Chair Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said in a statement.“The Fiscal Year 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act does just that by right-sizing federal agencies, promoting domestic energy and mineral production, and reversing harmful Biden-era policies.”Democrats, however, pounced on the bill’s cuts for EPA and Interior, suggesting that a bipartisan agreement is still a long way away.“House Republicans are once again pushing an agenda that accelerates the climate crisis, upends our National Parks system, and leaves local communities to fend for themselves — all while undermining the power of the Appropriations Committee and of Congress,” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the subcommittee ranking member, said in a statement.“Instead of correcting course, the bill released today delivers more of the same: it cuts water infrastructure funding, slashes EPA programs, and wipes out environmental justice and climate initiatives.”The bill contains troves of policy riders, mostly aimed at rolling back Biden-era environmental actions and blocking funding for culture war issues like diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental justice.The individual Interior Department bureaus would get less than their current funding levels but more than the Trump administration budget proposal called for.The House bill’s $1.6 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service, for instance, is $109 million below the fiscal 2025 enacted level but $430 million above President Donald Trump’s budget request.In a similar vein, the $3.1 billion proposed for the National Park Service is $213 million below the fiscal 2025 level but $1 billion above Trump’s request.In a few cases, the bill would save programs that the White House sought to kill. The legislation, for instance, offers a $5 million lifeline to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a cut from previous years but not the elimination Trump wants.The Republican-authored House bill targets a number of familiar Democratic priorities, including one dear to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.The bill would eliminate $90 million in National Park Service funding allocated this year for the Presidio Trust in Pelosi’s hometown of San Francisco.The bill also includes myriad familiar policy riders, including a ban on listing the greater sage grouse as well as a handful of Texas freshwater mussels under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service would be required to reissue a rule delisting the gray wolf.The FWS would be blocked from implementing prior decisions that listed the northern long-eared bat as endangered and the wolverine as threatened, and the agency would be stopped from reintroducing grizzly bears into the North Cascades region of Washington state.The bill also ventures into broader culture-related areas. It prohibits funding for “diversity, equity, and inclusion training or implementation” as well as anything that “promotes or advances Critical Race Theory or any concept associated with Critical Race Theory.” The legislation does not provide a definition of critical race theory.The bill would prohibit the use of National Park Service funds to “provide housing to an alien without lawful status.” It would also prohibit spending money on the controversial 1,200-megawatt Lava Ridge Wind Project proposed for Bureau of Land Management property in Idaho pending further Interior Department review.

Burgum asked park rangers to flag negative US history. They’re delivering. -Park rangers across the country are reporting to National Park Service leadership the ways their roadside signs, museums exhibits and websites could be viewed as negatively portraying U.S. history or failing to focus visitors on the splendor of public lands.The suggestions — including potential edits — were ordered by the Trump administration, which wants to overhaul how American history is told at national parks and federally run museums.The internal documents viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News show how people on the front lines of telling those stories are dealing with a mandate from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to not provide content that “inappropriately disparages” historical figures and to emphasize the beauty of natural landscapes. Park personnel are grappling with how to tell stories about enslavement or the oppression of Native Americans without implicating the white Americans of those eras, as well as expressing uncertainty over whether describing the effects of climate change would diminish the “grandeur” of public lands in some visitors’ eyes, according to about a dozen documents submitted to an NPS online portal.

House Republicans buck Trump on NOAA cuts - House Republican appropriators would cut NOAA by nearly $400 million for fiscal 2026, but they’re rejecting deeper reductions proposed by the White House.The Commerce-Justice-Science bill — released Monday and up for subcommittee markup Tuesday — represents a blowback to the administration’s efforts to dismantle the science agency, including dissolving the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The legislation would still amount to a 6 percent cut from current levels, and Republicans focused more on its law enforcement portions than science provisions.“This bill importantly balances federal funding to support American values and the priorities of the Trump Administration by investing in programs that strengthen our economy and policies that protect our constitutional rights,” said Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), chair of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee.“This bill also ensures that America remains the global leader in space exploration as adversaries like China ramp up global aggression,” he said. Republicans say the bill includes “reducing spending on reckless climate change efforts” and “right-size the bureaucracy of the federal government by reducing salaries and expenses where appropriate.”Committee Democrats said the bill “continues Republicans’ attacks on America’s scientific and economic competitiveness by cutting billions from science, technology development, STEM education, and aeronautics research of NASA and the National Science Foundation.”The legislation would slash funding for independent ocean species research, with a 78 percent cut for the Marine Mammal Commission, established in 1972 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.The National Science Foundation would see a 23 percent cut of $2 billion. That’s significantly less than the 57 percent proposed drop included in the Trump administration budget request.The Republican bill would hold funding levels steady for NASA, at roughly $24.8 billion, compared to a 25 percent cut under the White House budget proposal of $18.8 billion.The House bill would codify President Donald Trump’s executive orders to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and prohibit federal funding “for DEI efforts and critical race theory.”The Senate Appropriations Committee planned to release its own Commerce-Justice-Science bill last week but a dispute over FBI headquarters thwarted that effort.But lawmakers discussing the bill said it would include full funding for the National Weather Service. Senators are working on their spending bills on a bipartisan basis.

Senate appropriators release fiscal 2026 plan for NOAA - The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced a $79.7 billion Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill that rejects deep cuts for NOAA and the National Weather Service. The Senate is working on fiscal 2026 bill on a bipartisan basis, but Democrats voted against the Commerce plan because of concerns about the location of FBI headquarters. The spat delayed a final committee vote on the bill by a week. The legislation would provide $6.1 billion for NOAA, a small drop from current levels, but much higher than the president’s $4.5 billion request. The House would fund NOAA at $5.8 billion. The bill report expressed concern about staffing at NWS. Democrats have said worker cuts could have affected the agency’s work ahead of deadly flooding in Texas, a claim the White House has rejected.

Texas failed to spend federal aid for disaster protection - In the past decade, as extreme weather killed nearly 700 people in Texas, the state relinquished $225 million in federal grant money that it was supposed to spend on protecting residents from disasters, federal records show. The money had come from a special federal disaster program that’s given states billions of dollars for projects such as flood protection, tornado safety and the type of warning systems that could have saved some of the 129 people killed in Texas’ recent flash flooding. Texas had rejected two requests from the flooded county for a small portion of the federal money to set up a flood-warning system. But Texas, like most states, has chosen not to spend a significant chunk of its mitigation grant money. States routinely let the government reclaim unspent money — or let available money go unused for as long as 20 years, according to an analysis of federal records by POLITICO’s E&E News. In addition to ceding the $225 million, Texas has not spent $505 million of the $820 million — 62 percent — that it got for mitigation projects nearly eight years ago after Hurricane Harvey killed 89 people and caused $160 billion in damage, records show. The funds remain available. The unspent money highlights a central flaw in the nation’s approach to protecting against climate change: The federal government gives states and communities both money and responsibility for disaster protection. Yet states and communities often lack the personnel and expertise to spend it fully. Since July 2015, the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has showered states with more than $23 billion to protect their counties, neighborhoods and homes against future disaster damage. The grants have been given automatically after each federally declared disaster and are separate from the federal money that pays for disaster cleanup and rebuilding. But nearly $21 billion of the grant money remains unspent, E&E News found, leaving people vulnerable to the deadly flooding, winds and wildfires that climate change is intensifying. Some of the grant money was awarded in recent years, but most was awarded more than three years ago. In the same period since 2015, states also relinquished a total of $1.4 billion in mitigation grant funding that had been approved but states never spent. The figure includes the $225 million that Texas gave up over the past 10 years as the government closed a series of partially spent hazard mitigation grants it had awarded the state since 2001. The grants were worth a total of $850 million, which means Texas did not spend more than a quarter of the money. Most recently, on April 29, Texas ceded $5.7 million of a $13 million mitigation grant it got in 2016. “It’s a lost opportunity to build resilience,” said Peter Gaynor, who ran the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2019 to 2021. FEMA operates the mitigation grant program. “What happens time and time again is mitigation money becomes an afterthought,” Gaynor said. The large amount of unspent hazard mitigation money prompted President Donald Trump in April to stop approving new allocations, a move that angered some state officials.A FEMA spokesperson said the agency is now helping states “identify projects and draw down balances in a way that makes the nation more resilient, while also responsibly safeguarding American taxpayer dollars.”Trump has assailed FEMA since taking office but on Friday offered unusual praise when he visited the damaged area in Texas. “FEMA has been really headed by some very good people,” Trump said.Although states had automatically received FEMA grant money after each disaster, spending the money has been excruciating at times. FEMA typically must approve each grant-funded project.“It’s such a cumbersome process,” said David Fogerson, who ran Nevada’s emergency management and homeland security agency from 2020 to 2024.States and communities — or their contractors — must submit detailed plans showing that a project is feasible, complies with environmental and preservation laws and makes sense financially. States, counties and municipalities also must have a written plan — typically a couple of hundred pages and updated every five years — showing its broad strategy to reduce disaster damage.A Government Accountability Office report in 2021 found that state officials were “overwhelmingly dissatisfied” with the application process.“It almost becomes overload when you’re trying to manage the disaster and then you’re trying to measure how to protect against the next disaster,” Fogerson said. Nevada has spent only a quarter of the $3.4 million hazard grant it got from FEMA after a wildfire in 2016, records show. Kerr County, Texas, the site of the flash flooding that began July 4, encountered the administrative gantlet in 2016 when it asked the state in 2016 and in 2018 for a small piece of its FEMA mitigation money to establish a flood warning system.Warning systems are a crucial but low-profile part of worldwide strategies to protect against natural hazards, particularly in places prone to flash flooding, which occurs when sudden, intense precipitation causes rivers to overflow.Texas officials are scrutinizing the limited warnings that were transmitted as the Guadalupe River surged in the middle of the night and devoured areas including a girls’ sleepaway camp where at least 27 campers and counselors were killed.In Kerrville, Texas, which was at the center of the flash flooding, City Manager Dalton Rice on Saturday pledged “a full review of the disaster response.”Trump’s staff reductions and proposed budget cuts to the National Weather Service offices have set off their own alarms that inadequate weather alerts will increase the number of disaster-related deaths.Kerr County’s request for grant money was denied in 2016 by the Texas Division of Emergency Management because the county did not have the required mitigation plan.When the county of 50,000 people in central Texas Hill Country applied again after Hurricane Harvey, the state denied the application after deciding to spend all the grant money in Harvey-damaged counties.

Noem takes heat on Texas amid doubts over FEMA flood response -Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is under fire amid reports of a botched disaster response effort in Texas, one that the editorial board of the state’s biggest newspaper is comparing to the debacle that followed Hurricane Katrina. “Heck of a job, Secretary Noem,” the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board wrote Monday, riffing on former President George W. Bush’s notorious praise of then-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown as New Orleans flooded. The editors joined Democratic members of Congress — including Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Ed Markey (Mass.), as well as Texas Reps. Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett — in calling for investigations into Noem’s handling of FEMA, an agency both she and President Trump have previously talked about closing, amid reports of poor response times and local volunteers filling in for federal responders. On Tuesday, Markey called for Noem’s resignation, describing her handling of the floods as “an absolute disgrace.” In a video posted to the social platform X, Murphy said FEMA had begun to look like “a PR agency for the secretary of Homeland Security, not an actual disaster response agency.” Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA director of public affairs under former President Obama, said Trump and Noem’s vision for FEMA — one where it exists mostly to back up state responses — is largely already reality. The Trump administration, he said, “is in denial about the role of FEMA, the improvements that FEMA has made since Hurricane Katrina — not only in its ability to respond better to disasters but to help communities prepare for them in an era of increased severity and frequency in disasters.” Since the reforms after hurricanes Rita and Katrina, FEMA has functioned as a support service for local officials, who must request its aid and run the disaster response themselves. “If there ever was a federal agency built not to tell states how to handle things but to support them when needed, it’s FEMA, which only kicks in when a state’s capacity is exceeded, whether in response, recovery, mitigation, or preparedness,” Lemaitre said. “Governors, red or blue, are in charge. They ask for what they need, and we provide it.” He argued that the administration is undoing the post-Katrina reforms, starting with its new head, David Richardson, who is under fire for his failure to make any public statements or appearances for more than a week after the floods. Richardson, who runs FEMA part-time, is the first agency head since Brown without any background in disaster response. Under the post-Katrina law requiring FEMA heads to have at least five years of disaster management experience, he would be disqualified — but as an acting head, he’s exempt.

Trump sued over ending grant program --A coalition of 20 states on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its decision to shut down a multibillion-dollar grant program aimed at strengthening infrastructure before natural disasters strikes. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, contends that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) unlawfully eliminated its Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) program earlier this year, stepping on Congress’s powers.The states say the impact of the shutdown has been “devastating.”“Communities across the country are being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding,” the complaint reads.“Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened,” it continues. Before the turn of the century, Congress and FEMA started implementing mitigation as a tactic against natural disasters, as opposed to reacting after crises.The BRIC program, created in 2018 as an iteration of past programs, has helped avoid more than $150 billion in costs alongside other federal mitigation grants, the complaint says. In April, the Trump administration shuttered the program, calling it “wasteful” and “politicized.” The Hill requested comment from FEMA.

20 States Sue Trump Administration for Slashing FEMA Disaster Mitigation Program --A group of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over the shutting down of a multibillion-dollar grant program with the purpose of strengthening natural disaster preparation and mitigation.The lawsuit filed in a Boston federal court contends that the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) unlawfully eliminated its Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) program, overriding Congress.The states said in the complaint that the shutdown’s impacts have been “devastating,” reported The Hill.“Communities across the country are being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding,” the complaint said. “Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened. And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters.”Created in 2018, the BRIC program has helped avert over $150 billion in costs, along with other federal mitigation grants, according to the complaint. Congress and FEMA began using mitigation as a strategy to deal with natural disasters decades ago, rather than responding to crises after the fact.Over the past four years, almost 2,000 projects were chosen by FEMA all over the country to receive roughly $4.5 billion in funding.“For the past 30 years, the BRIC program has provided communities across the nation with resources to proactively fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters. By focusing on preparation, the program has protected property, saved money that would have otherwise been spent on post-disaster costs, reduced injuries, and saved lives,” a press release from Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said. The Trump administration shut down the program in April, referring to it as “wasteful” and “politicized,” The Hill reported.President Donald Trump indicated early in his second term that there would be a major overhaul of FEMA, possibly resulting in the disaster relief program being eliminated. But in the wake of the recent deadly Texas floods, the administration has said FEMA would be reformed rather than gotten rid of entirely.“This illegal cut endangers the communities most vulnerable to natural disasters,” Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said in a press release. “Communities and states face devastating consequences when the federal government doesn’t meet its obligations to the public, and I will hold the Trump administration accountable for abandoning their safety.”The lawsuit noted that neither the termination of BRIC nor a substantial reduction in the “functions and capabilities” of FEMA were authorized by Congress, reported The Hill.“In fact, Congress has specifically barred it,” the complaint said. “Therefore, the BRIC termination violates these statutes and the Separation of Powers.”

With One Call, Trump Alters the Fate of a Contested Power Project - The New York Times --Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, said he had secured a commitment from Energy Secretary Chris Wright to cancel a conditional loan guarantee that the federal agency had granted to the developers of an $11 billion transmission line in the Midwest, with an assist from President Trump.The line, known as Grain Belt Express, is designed to transport electricity generated by wind farms in Kansas across four states, including Missouri, to more densely populated regions in Indiana and Illinois. It would be the largest privately funded transmission line in the country’s history, said Invenergy, its developer. In the works for more than a decade, the project appeared in recent months to have everything it needed to proceed, according to Invenergy. Approvals from the four states were in hand, contractors were ready to begin construction and the loan guarantee from the government provided critical financial support.It was just the kind of project that utilities and energy experts say is needed, a way to deliver new sources of energy to meet spiking demand for electricity around the country.But in recent weeks, challenges in Missouri appeared. Mr. Hawley began to question the viability of the project, saying it did not benefit Missouri residents and that farmers were upset that Invenergy was using eminent domain in some cases to run high voltage lines and place transmission towers on farmland. In March and again in June, Mr. Hawley called on the Energy Department to cancel the $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the project, which was awarded during the final months of the Biden Administration.This month, the Missouri attorney general, Andrew Bailey, a Republican, opened an investigation into the project and requested that the state’s Public Service Commission reconsider its approval.Then, last Thursday, Mr. Hawley was in the Oval Office, speaking with Mr. Trump when the conversation turned to the Grain Belt Express, Mr. Hawley said.He said he explained his concerns to the president, who has repeatedly expressed his distaste for wind power, saying he would not permit any new wind projects during his administration.“He said, ‘Well, let’s just resolve this now,’” Mr. Hawley said. “So he got Chris Wright on the line right there.”Mr. Hawley said he repeated his concerns to the energy secretary and that the president asked “several searching questions.”Mr. Hawley said that Mr. Wright announced that he intended to cancel the loan guarantee, and that he predicted it would happen in a couple weeks.A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that Mr. Trump had called Mr. Wright while Mr. Hawley was in the Oval Office.The White House and the Energy Department both declined to comment. The Energy Department has said Mr. Wright is currently reviewing all loans and loan guarantees it has made, including the commitment to Invenergy.In a statement posted on X, Invenergy called Mr. Hawley’s actions “bizarre.”“Senator Hawley is attempting to kill the largest transmission infrastructure project in U.S. history, which is already approved by all four states and is aligned with the President’s energy dominance agenda,” the statement said. “Senator Hawley is trying to deprive Americans of billions of dollars in energy cost savings, thousands of jobs, and grid reliability and national security, all in an era of exponentially growing electricity demand.”The company also wrote a letter to Mr. Wright pleading its case and noting that Grain Belt Express has broad bipartisan support.The Missouri Public Service commission on Wednesday said it could not repeal its approval for the project. Also on Wednesday, Invenergy pushed back against the investigation by Mr. Bailey,filing a petition in county court in Missouri calling on the judges to “quash and set aside” the legal challenge.“The attorney general has no authority to interfere with the Missouri Public Service Commission or its final approval of this project,” Catherine Hanaway, the lead counsel for Grain Belt Express, said in a statement. “Grain Belt Express seeks to bring an end to the A.G.’s unlawful and politically motivated investigation.”

DOGE told regulator to ‘rubber stamp’ nuclear - A DOGE representative told the chair and top staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the agency will be expected to give “rubber stamp” approval to new reactors tested by the departments of Energy or Defense, according to three people with knowledge of a May meeting where the message was delivered. The three people said Adam Blake, detailed to the NRC by the Department of Government Efficiency, described a new regulatory approach by NRC that would expedite nuclear safety assessments. “DOE, DOD would approve stuff, and then NRC would be expected to just kind of rubber-stamp it,” said one of the three people, who were all granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The meeting was held after President Donald Trump signed a May 23 executive order that would supplant the NRC’s historical role as the sole agency responsible for ensuring commercial nuclear projects are safe and won’t threaten public health. Two of the three people said Blake used the term “rubber stamp” at the meeting that included NRC Chair David Wright, senior agency staff and DOE officials. Under Trump’s executive order, the NRC could not revisit issues assessed by DOE or the Pentagon, but the people with knowledge of the meeting said Blake and DOE officials went a step further to suggest the NRC’s secondary assessment should be a foregone conclusion. Trump’s executive order and staff departures have added to concern at the independent agency and among nuclear experts that the White House is exerting more control over the NRC’s mandate under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 than any previous administration. “The NRC is working quickly to implement the executive orders reforming the agency and modernizing our regulatory and licensing processes,” said NRC spokesperson Maureen Conley. “We look forward to continuing to work with the administration, DOE and DOD on future nuclear programs.” The NRC’s Wright was not made available for an interview. POLITICO’s E&E News also reached out for comment from Blake about the “rubber stamp” remark and his role at the agency. Blake and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. When asked about the May meeting, a DOE spokesperson referenced Trump’s executive order. Trump has said he wants to quadruple the U.S. supply of nuclear power by 2050. Tech industry allies, Republicans in Congress and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright have been sharply critical of the NRC for what they say is an unreasonably slow approval process that has held back the nuclear industry. Defenders of the NRC and former agency officials agree that today’s smaller reactor designs require a new approach to licensing nuclear technology. They’re also adamant that a political push to build more nuclear reactors, and fast, doesn’t change NRC requirements under the law to ensure new reactor designs are safe. Nuclear is now in political vogue again, with bipartisan support lately driven by Silicon Valley and Trump administration plans to use nuclear power to fuel huge artificial intelligence data centers. Some clean energy supporters see new, smaller nuclear reactors as crucial sources of carbon-free power in the 2030s. Ongoing shake-up In the weeks following the “rubber stamp” comment, the NRC experienced significant upheaval, including the abrupt June 13 firing of Christopher Hanson, a Democratic commissioner originally appointed during Trump’s first term and the former chair under President Joe Biden. Hanson took to social media to protest the termination, saying it was done “without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told POLITICO at the time that “all organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” adding that Trump “reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.” Wright’s term on the commission expired at the end of June as his reappointment from Trump waited in a Senate committee. Wright’s appointment squeaked through the Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday on a party-line vote after Democrats decried what they characterized as the administration’s “hostile takeover” of the NRC. The decision by Trump and top aides to insert DOE into the NRC’s statutory licensing process was spelled out in four executive orders Trump signed May 23 — prompting nuclear experts to warn of “serious consequences” if the NRC’s loss of independence erodes safety.Trump ordered a “wholesale review” of the NRC’s reactor design and safety regulations, with a nine-month deadline for proposed changes and final action in another nine months. The order said commission reviews of new designs must be completed within 18 months, with shorter deadlines set as appropriate.A committee of at least 20 people would perform the review, including representatives of DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russ Vought, the architect of Project 2025’s conservative blueprint for shrinking the federal government.Leadership at Idaho National Laboratory, which has been one of the centers of DOE’s research on nuclear reactors, has said DOE can perform safety evaluations of new reactors, and in doing so move more quickly and efficiently than the NRC.The lab sent a proposal to members of Congress in April. The DOE process is viewed by industry “as being much shorter and more straightforward than NRC’s licensing process,” the INL authors said.Trump directed the creation of an “expedited pathway to approve reactor designs” that had been tested and certified either by DOE or the Defense Department. Under the Trump order, safety designs for new reactors approved by the two agencies could not be revisited by the NRC unless new issues arose.

The IRA was bearing fruit. Then Trump killed it. -As President Donald Trump races to dismantle his predecessor’s climate policies, green shoots are popping up throughout the economy.Solar power generation surged in the first half of 2025, a growing number of batteries were connected to the grid, and electric vehicles sales hit new records. The boom is owed in large part to the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate law signed in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden. The growth in clean energy shows how the economy has responded to the law’s tax incentives — and what could be lost when Trump’s rollbacks are complete.Solar is one example. Generation is up 32 percent through the first six months of 2025 compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The gains are even greater — 99 percent — compared to the first half of 2022, just before the Inflation Reduction Act was signed. The surge in solar installations led to almost 20 gigawatts of new capacity in 2023 and about 31 GW last year, shattering previous records. EIA expects that another 24 GW of solar capacity will be plugged in before this year is over — adding to the 10 GW that has already been installed. “I think the IRA was doing what it intended,” said Ryan Jones, the co-founder of Evolved Energy Research. “That increase in solar can’t be accounted for in the cost of projects over the last couple of years.”Similar trends have been observed with EVs and batteries. Storage developers connected 4.6 GW of new battery to the grid through May, according to the latest federal data. That would have been an annual record as recently as 2022. EV sales in the first half of 2025 hit a record 607,000 vehicles, an increase of 1.5 percent over 2024. Take out sales associated with Tesla, which has slumped, and the purchase of electric cars has risen by more than 14 percent this year, said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, an analyst at Cox Automotive.She noted that the average transaction price of EVs has trended down, but that they still cost more than gasoline-powered vehicles — a challenge that the climate law was designed to address.“The IRA was a way to bridge that gap,” Valdez Streaty said.That will soon be over.Incentives for EVs will be gone in October under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law earlier this month. Valdez Streaty predicts EV sales will surge in the third quarter of the year, then plunge in the fourth quarter. Cox Automotive initially projected EVs would account for 10 percent of new sales this year, but it downgraded that estimate to 8.5 percent after the Republican law was finalized.Tax credits for wind and solar will stick around a bit longer. Projects that are under construction before July 4, 2026, are likely to qualify for Inflation Reduction Act subsidies through 2030, though the Treasury Department may tighten its rules for what constitutes the start of construction. Projects that break ground next year after July 4 will need to be operating by the end of 2027.EIA estimates that solar installations would fall from 36 GW in 2027 to about 18 GW in 2028, and less than 5 GW in 2029. Wind projects, which were already struggling with transmission constraints and growing opposition, are in tougher shape. Onshore wind installations are expected to fall from 8 GW in 2026 to 3 GW in 2027, and a little more than 2 GW in 2028.“Solar and wind, in particular, are hit pretty hard in the 2028-2035 time frame,” Jones said.Outside of renewables, the power sector saw a reversal of recent trends over the first half of 2025. Natural gas generation, which has steadily risen in each of the last four years, fell 4 percent compared to the first half of 2024. The change is due to higher gas prices after cold temperatures increased demand in the first part of 2025. That in turn has helped coal, which experienced a 14 percent jump in the first six months of 2025. It was coal’s best first-half start since 2022.

Hakeem Jeffries urges release of all Jeffrey Epstein files - House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday the Trump administration should release all of the files related to the disgraced late-financier Jeffrey Epstein, and Congress should intervene to force that release if the administration doesn’t act on its own. Jeffries said there’s no good reason for the Justice Department to keep those details under wraps unless officials have something to hide — a veiled nod to speculation that Trump, who had crossed paths with Epstein in years past, is in the files. “The American people deserve to know the truth,” he told reporters in the Capitol. “What, if anything, is the Trump administration and the Department of Justice hiding?” Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan prison cell, where he was awaiting trial after his arrest for the sex trafficking of minors. But his case has been a rallying cry for right-wing conspiracy theorists — many of them avid Trump supporters — who have alleged the government is in possession of Epstein’s client list but hasn’t released it to protect powerful “elites” in high places of government and business. Some of those voices have since been promoted to powerful posts in the Trump administration — including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel — leading to high expectations from the MAGA faithful that Trump would release the full trove of Epstein files in his second term. In February, Bondi fueled those hopes when she said she had Epstein’s client list on her desk “right now” and was ready to release it. Last week, however, the DOJ issued an unsigned memo asserting the agency has no evidence that Epstein kept a client list or attempted to blackmail powerful figures who might have engaged in illegal sexual activities.

GOP senators want nothing to do with Trump-Epstein-MAGA controversy -Senate Republicans are scrambling to steer clear of the controversy exploding within their MAGA-aligned party’s base over allegations the Trump administration is hiding information related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his “clients.” President Trump is facing what may be the biggest backlash he’s ever encountered from usually loyal activists, such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn and prominent conservative activist Laura Loomer. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are coming under tremendous pressure from MAGA activists to provide more information about the people who may have been involved in Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking activities, even though the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI concluded in a memo that there is no “incriminating ‘client list.’” Republican lawmakers don’t want to go near the Epstein controversy that divides their base. They already have their hands full responding to political attacks from Democrats on Trump’s tariff policies and on the Medicaid spending cuts they passed into law this month, along with trillions of dollars in tax relief and new spending on border security and defense. “I’ll leave that up to DOJ and to the FBI. I think that’s in their purview. I think the president’s expressed his views on it and so I’ll just leave it at that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday. Trump pushed back on some of his most loyal supporters Saturday and defended Bondi after MAGA-aligned activists took shots at her handling of the Epstein case and related files at a student action summit hosted by the activist group Turning Point USA in Tampa, Fla., this weekend. “For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” Trump posted on Truth Social, implying Democrats have pushed the clamor of Epstein’s files. “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration,” he wrote, referring to former Presidents Obama and Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Monday that Bondi has done enough to provide transparency on what government investigators know about Epstein and his illicit activities. Asked if Bondi has been forthcoming enough with information, Grassley told The Hill: “What I know now, yes.” “With anything in government, I always urge the greatest of transparency,” he said. “I’m not saying they’re coming up short there but that’s just a good principle of government, as far as I’m concerned.” Asked if the Justice Department needs to provide more information about Epstein-related documents, Grassley said: “I think I’ve said all I should say.” Conservative activists have zeroed in on Bondi’s statement in February implying the Epstein files were “sitting on her desk.” The joint Justice Department-FBI memo released last week stated that much of the Epstein-related material is “subject to court-ordered sealing” and “only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.” The Justice Department and FBI said there was “no credible evidence” Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. And the memo dismissed theories Epstein was murdered in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019, stating the finding that he died by suicide was supported by video footage. GOP lawmakers are ready to accept the administration’s explanation of its handling of the issue, despite the uproar from the party’s base. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, said he’s leaving the handling of all Epstein-related matters to Trump. Cornyn and other Republicans don’t seem at all inclined to endorse activists’ calls for Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the alleged Epstein files. “I trust the president to handle it the way he deems appropriate,” Cornyn said Monday. Trump has expressed his irritation with the relentless focus of some conservative social media influencers and activists on the possibility of a cover-up to protect wealthy and powerful figures who consorted with Epstein and the underage girls he allegedly trafficked. The president expressed his disgust with the topic when a reporter asked him about Epstein at a July 8 Cabinet meeting. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump asked, appearing annoyed by the question. “This guy’s been talked about for years,” he said. “We have [the flooding in] Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.” But Republican strategists are starting to acknowledge that dismissing the controversy and moving on to new topics isn’t working for Trump, at least at the moment.

Donald Trump offers MAGA a third option on Jeffrey Epstein case -- There were a couple of ways to think about the Trump administration’s about-face on releasing the files on America’s most notorious sex criminal, Jeffrey Epstein. The most obvious explanation was that the members of President Trump’s administration had been aping him in his method of political warfare: exaggerating the connections between Epstein and America’s business and political elite and those elites’ involvement with procuring and trafficking underage girls. This is the cynical answer, which is oftentimes a good one when talking about politicians. And if that’s what happened, then the scandal would be that Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and others lied about the case and then failed to develop an effective exit strategy for their scheme, wrongly believing that they could manage the disappointment of their supporters when the jig was up. That wouldn’t have been a crazy miscalculation to make. Trump has pulled off exactly that maneuver many times, whether it was implicating a television host in the death of a congressional intern, that Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) father was part of the plot to kill former President John F. Kennedy, or that former President Obama was actually born in Kenya. As Trump said of the Cruz smear, “Of course I don’t believe that. I wouldn’t believe it, but I did say ‘let people read it.’” That’s the let-bygones-be-bygones approach. Trump explains this as being a “counterpuncher.” It’s not that truth is the first casualty, it is that truth is immaterial. It’s just the games people play, easily forgiven by supporters who don’t mind some rough justice for political foes. In such matters, Trump’s specific claims often fall apart, but his allies discover evidence of “something” in the same neighborhood. This is the old “seriously, but not literally” dodge, by which supporters can say Trump wasn’t exactly right, but he was pointing at something real — something they wanted to believe, what they might call “fake but accurate.” Perhaps Bondi and Patel believed they were doing some version of these approaches: fabulism in service of political gains against targets unloved by anyone on the right. But if that’s what it was, they failed to follow Trump’s lead in the general tactic or in this specific case. Trump had for years been soft-pedaling the Epstein stuff. The two had been friends and cads about town in Palm Beach, Fla., and Manhattan in the 1990s, but Trump had distanced himself during his 2016 presidential run, explaining that when Epstein was charged with sex crimes a decade prior, the future president had barred him from the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and cut all ties. But Epstein kept coming back to haunt him. When federal prosecutors nailed Epstein in 2019, it was not only the Trump Justice Department doing the busting, but the probe implicated Trump’s then-secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, as the author of the earlier sweetheart deal that let Epstein skate on federal charges when Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Miami. Acosta got the boot from the Trump Cabinet, and the feds threw the book at Epstein, but it was under the Trump administration’s supervision that Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York. All the while, Trump kept the story at arm’s length. The next year, when Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, was charged with the crimes for which she is now serving a 20-year sentence, Trump was again offered the chance to expound on the case but again hedged. “I don’t know,” Trump said at the time. “I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.” Oh. Trump, who wasn’t queasy about intimating that his foes were murderers or secret Kenyans, was given the chance during a losing presidential campaign to exploit the Epstein case by highlighting Epstein’s connections to prominent Democrats, particularly his old friends turned enemies, Bill and Hillary Clinton. But he passed, sending a pretty clear message to his team that this was not a place to swing freely. Which leads us to the only other explanation available prior to Saturday: Bondi and Patel had been telling the truth before but are now part of a cover-up. That one doesn’t work for Democrats or the mainstream press. An inspector general had determined during the Biden administration that Epstein’s death had been the result of negligence, not murder, and the Justice Department seemed to close the book on the case. If one believed that finding, then Patel and Bondi could at most be guilty of unseemly politics, hardly a capital offense in Washington. Just a dose of Harry Reid-ing. But if you don’t believe what the Biden administration said, then the range of potential misconduct would become much, much wider. That was the world as we knew it on Friday: Either the Trump Justice Department was caught in a politically motivated lie or it was involved in an ongoing cover-up on behalf of Trump, or the “deep state” or to keep a blackmail scheme going or … anything, really. That’s the thing about cover-ups: If their existence is revealed, but allowed to stay in place, the imagination is the only limit to conjecture about what might be underneath.

Ex-mob boss once held in Jeffrey Epstein's cell: 'Just no way' it was suicide - A man once held in the same jail cell as Jeffrey Epstein argued there is “just no way” the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender died by suicide in the cell in 2019. “I spent seven months on that tier and in those cells. And the first thing I have to say, there’s just, you — there’s no way you are able to commit suicide. There’s just no way. There’s no way to hang yourself. There’s nothing from the ceiling, there’s nothing from the bed. You’d have to be a midget and work really hard to try to hang yourself, and I don’t think you can accomplish it at that point,” former mob boss Michael Franzese told guest host Brian Entin during his Monday night appearance on NewsNation’s “Banfield.” The Justice Department (DOJ), alongside the FBI, released an unsigned memo earlier this month, writing Epstein, who was in prison awaiting sex trafficking charges, died by suicide in 2019 and did not keep a much-rumored “client list.” “After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings,” the FBI and DOJ wrote in the one-page memo. The DOJ also released a nearly 11-hour video recording of the outside of Epstein’s prison cell during the final hours of his life. “As DOJ’s Inspector General explained in 2023, anyone entering or attempting to enter the tier where Epstein’s cell was located from the SHU common area would have been captured by this footage. The FBI’s independent review of this footage confirmed that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at around 10:40 pm on August 9, 2019, until around 6:30 am the next morning, nobody entered any of the tiers in the SHU,” the DOJ memo read, referring to a special housing unit. The FBI’s “raw” Epstein prison video was likely modified and may have been stitched together from two or more source clips, Wired reported Friday, after analyzing, along with independent video forensics experts, the metadata embedded in the video. “You know, as far as the cameras being off, I haven’t experienced that. I did eight years in prison, and I haven’t experienced cameras being broken in the perfect storm of correctional officers not walking those cells,” Franzese told Entin. “They walk in and they look in on you all the time.”

Dershowitz: Judges suppressing Epstein information, not Trump administration --Jeffrey Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz said two judges in New York are suppressing information about the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender’s case, not the Trump administration. His comments come as President Trump and his Justice Department (DOJ) have been under heavy fire over its handling of the documents in the case.Dershowitz, who helped get a plea deal for Epstein in 2008, said that there’s no Epstein “client list,” just a redacted FBI affidavit from accusers. “There are several of them from accusers that accuse Jeffrey — that accuse various people of having improper sex, and that has been redacted, the names of the people accused have been blacked out. Now, of course, because I was lawyer and I did all the investigations, I know who all these people are,” Dershowitz said Monday in an appearance on NewsNation’s “Cuomo.” The former lawyer argued none of the people in the affidavit are figures currently holding a public office. “Some of them were previously in office. Some of them are dead. But there is no client list,” he told host Chris Cuomo. “And the redactions could be undone if you go to court.”“So, many of the things that are being suppressed are being suppressed by two judges in Manhattan, and they’re doing it largely to protect the alleged accusers who are, in the view of the judges, victims, even though we don’t know what their actual status is,” he added.Dershowitz reiterated he cannot disclose more information due to judge’s orders, but said Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump were “not responsible” for missing information.“I don’t know of any information that they could disclose that they haven’t disclosed. Now maybe there is some, but I’m simply not aware of it,” he said. “And so, I think it’s important to place the blame where the blame deserves to be placed.”

James Comey’s daughter who worked on Epstein case fired as federal prosecutor: Reports --Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was fired on Wednesday from her job as a prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), according to multiple news outlets. Maurene Comey worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that have troubled the Trump administration in recent weeks amid pressure to release further information about the financier’s dealings. Comey was on the team that brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein, and he later killed himself in jail while awaiting trial.Comey has also handled other high-profile cases, including the prosecution of Sean “Diddy” Combs.There was no specific reason given for her firing, according to The Associated Press, which cited a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Politico was the first to report on the firing. The Department of Justice declined to comment, and the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Lauren Boebert joins calls for Epstein files special counsel --Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a close ally of President Trump, on Tuesday joined calls for a special counsel to investigate the handling of files in the case involving former financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “We deserve the truth about the Epstein Files. I’m ready for a Special Counsel to handle this,” Boebert wrote in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday.She suggested the investigation be led by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who withdrew from consideration as Trump’s nominee for attorney general in November amid controversy.“@MattGaetz, how about it?” Boebert added.Her statement follows an interview she did with conservative influencer and commentator Benny Johnson earlier Tuesday, when she expanded on her call for a special counsel/“Of course we want answers,” Boebert said in the interview. “No one is satisfied with what has been received, or lack thereof. No one is satisfied with the rollout of this.”“I think moving forward, we need a special counsel,” she added. “That has got to happen. There has to be a special investigation into this if we aren’t going to be provided information.”The Justice Department and FBI issued a joint memo last week that said Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide — not due to foul play as many suspected — in his New York City jail cell in 2019.The findings incensed members of the MAGA movement, who have for years pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and claims that prominent Democrats would be named on a client list.Even staunch Trump supporters, like far-right activist Laura Loomer, have been critical of the handling of the files and called for a special counsel to investigate.Attorney General Pam Bondi, in particular, has faced significant backlash, given her comments earlier this year in which she pledged transparency regarding the Epstein files. The attorney general last week defended the Justice Department’s handling of the evidence, and Trump has fiercely defended Bondi against criticism.

Musk fuels clamor for Epstein files Tech billionaire Elon Musk has continued to fuel public intrigue surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the federal government faces growing pressure to release additional information from the criminal case against the late financier. Musk first planted the seeds of the latest Epstein controversy during his feud with President Trump last month, when the Tesla CEO alleged Trump was named in the Epstein files and said, “That is the real reason they have not been made public” — a claim the White House has flatly rejected. But as the calls have grown louder for greater transparency on Epstein’s files, from both lawmakers and the public, Musk has continued to use his social media platform to encourage their questions about the scope of the government’s authority and the details of what documents likely have been preserved. He launched a series of questions at his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, late Wednesday and early Thursday morning. “Are there likely to be electronic records in any government or commercial computers recording who traveled on Epstein’s plane to the US Virgin Islands?” he wrote. Grok said yes, the records “likely exist.” Musk responded: “Would that mean the government right now – as we speak – knows the names & ages of all those who traveled on Epstein’s plane? In other words, they have a list of all unaccompanied minors on those flights, along with a list of all adults on those flights?” Grok responded by noting the Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration hold “extensive passenger manifests and flight logs from Epstein’s jets.” The chatbot said names are often included, but ages are not always listed. Grok, in a subsequent post, noted the Justice Department recently said there are likely hundreds of victims in the criminal cases related to Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. “Over 1000 confirmed young victims is a shockingly large and tragic number! In order for the government to confirm that the girls were victimized, they would have had to name or at least describe who raped them,” Musk responded in a post on X. “This would necessarily mean that the government MUST have the list of rapists aka ‘the Epstein client list’ in their possession right f‑‑‑ing now!” Musk continued. In separate posts, Musk responded to other users who questioned where the evidence in the Epstein case is being held. “Yeah, where is it?” Musk wrote in response to one post. In another post, he responded to a photo of a binder released from the Justice Department earlier this year, titled, “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.” “Where is Phase 2?” Musk asked. The Justice Department and FBI issued a joint memo last week that said Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide — not due to foul play, as many suspected — in his New York City jail cell in 2019. The findings incensed members of the MAGA movement, who have for years pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and claims that prominent Democrats would be named on a client list. Even staunch Trump supporters, such as far-right activist Laura Loomer and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), have been critical of the handling of the files and called for a special counsel to investigate. But Trump has fired back at the criticism and bashed “foolish Republicans,” who he said were helping Democrats by focusing on the Epstein documents. “Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats’ work,” Trump said Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain.

Trump slams WSJ over Epstein story, threatens to sue -President Trump on Thursday vowed to sue the Wall Street Journal over an article detailing a birthday letter the outlet said he sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.Trump has denied writing the message, which the Journal said was part of a 2003 birthday gift, and said on Truth Social that he told the outlet the “supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE.” President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly. The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don’t even exist,” said a TruthSocial post from the president’s account. “President Trump has already beaten George Stephanopoulos/ABC, 60 Minutes/CBS, and others, and looks forward to suing and holding accountable the once great Wall Street Journal,” the statement continued.The Wall Street Journal reported that the message, which appears to bear Trump’s signature, was typed inside the outline of a naked woman.“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” says the final line, the Journal reported.

Trump directs Bondi to release relevant grand jury transcripts in Epstein case -- President Trump on Thursday said he was directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to release relevant grand jury testimony in the case of sex predator and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a move that comes after his supporters for days pressed the government to produce more information in the case. “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” Bondi posted on X. Many Trump supporters have pushed for additional disclosures after the FBI and Justice Department last week stated Epstein did not have a client list and that his 2019 death at his New York City jail cell was a suicide. A number of prominent Trump supporters have for years pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and claims that a client list would reveal ties between Epstein and prominent Democrats. Epstein, accused in several cases of sex trafficking young girls, ran in high-powered circles with figures that included Trump, former President Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew, and several other celebrities and ultrawealthy individuals. Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been convicted of sex trafficking.

Forensic expert says 'so many issues' with Jeffrey Epstein footage -Forensic expert Jake Green said Wednesday that he sees “so many issues” with the video footage recorded outside of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell door that the Justice Department released last week.The Justice Department and FBI originally released the roughly 11-hour video in an effort to dispel claims foul play was involved in the convicted sex offender’s death, which has been ruled a suicide.But some of the public noticed a minute is missing from the video, pointing to the time stamps, which jumped from 11:58 p.m. to midnight.And an analysis published Tuesday in Wired suggests that nearly three minutes total have been removed from the footage.“There are so many issues with this video — the minutes missing, the jumps, we can sometimes see a cursor move in the top right corner,” Green said in an interview on NewsNation’s “Banfield.” “There’s so many pieces wrong with this video, and for the DOJ to release it, it’s strange, and it’s kind of unnerving to know that this is the way they want to do this,” he continued. Green said he suspects the video was not the “raw” video but, instead, a screen recording of the footage. “Raw data is something that is in a forensically reliable format, meaning that we can go in and review it and confirm that it matches the original,” Green said. “What has been produced in this case is what you could consider as work product. This is not the original. This is a child of the original.” “It may be reliable as to what was on the screen, but it cannot be confirmed to match what was originally recorded. So I think that’s really what we’re seeing here,” he added. “It truly is the work product of FBI going in and attempting to change and alter and perhaps try to enhance the video. But it’s clearly not the original.” Attorney General Pam Bondi last week sought to tamp down outrage over the missing minute, suggesting it was a result of a routine system update. “The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide,” Bondi explained during a Cabinet meeting. “And what was on that — there was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is, every night they redo that video. … So, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” she added. “So we’re looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night. And that’s it on Epstein.” But Green said that explanation “makes it stink even worse.” While computers sometimes have scheduled restarts, he said, it wouldn’t make sense it to be the same time every night. “For a network attached video storage unit, if this is what it truly came from, you wouldn’t want it to shut down for at least a minute every night, and definitely don’t want to do the same minute every night,” he said. “Especially if word gets out about that, then you’ve got a complete minute every day of the year that you’re not going to have video for,” he added.

Trump Has Completely Dropped His "Populist" Act - Caitlin Johnstone --It’s so funny how Trump has stopped even pretending to be a populist. As soon as he was re-elected he was just “Yeah okay so Israel comes first and forget everything I said about free speech and the Ukraine war is continuing and there will be no Epstein investigation, fuck you.”It has long been obvious to anyone with half a brain that Donald Trump is just another Republican swamp monster playing on public discontent with the status quo to win votes and support, but it is genuinely surprising how completely he has stopped pretending to care about fighting the deep state and sticking up for ordinary Americans as soon as he got back into office. He’s just dropped the populist schtick entirely and is giving the finger to anyone who complains.The president has been aggressively and repeatedly demanding that his entire base shut up about Jeffrey Epstein and move on after years of MAGAworld fixation on the story, bizarrely going as far as claiming that interest and attention on the Epstein files was a concoction of the Democrats. He is doing this even as his Department of Justice releases a video which it claims disproves conspiracy theories that the sexual predator was murdered in his prison cell — but the video is edited and missing minutes of footage. This happens as the Financial Times reports that Trump is now encouraging Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to ramp up deep strikes into Russian territory and asking whether it would be possible to hit Moscow. This would be the same President Trump who falsely promised on the campaign trail that he would end the Ukraine war in “no longer than one day.”After pledging to restore and protect free speech in the United States, Trump has been aggressively stomping out speech that is critical of the state of Israel and its genocidal atrocities, scoring yet another win for government censorship on Tuesday with Columbia University’s announcement that it is adopting the IHRA definition of “antisemitism” which conflates criticism of Israel with hate speech against Jews, in accordance with the wishes of the Trump administration.After promising to “restore peace, stability, and harmony all throughout the world,” Trump has bombed Iran, poured weapons into Israel and Ukraine, backed Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its numerous acts of war against its neighbors, slaughtered hundreds of civilians with a savage bombing campaign in Yemen, and conducted dozens of airstrikes in renewed operations in Somalia, all while leading the nation into the era of official trillion-dollar Pentagon budgets. In 2023 Trump proclaimed that “if you put me back in the White House… I will totally obliterate the deep state.” In 2025 he’s advancing pretty much every longstanding deep state agenda in the book. Every single part of Trump’s platform where he could have claimed to be standing up for the little guy against the powerful has been completely flushed down the toilet in the first six months of his second term, leaving only a standard George W Bush Republican in its place. If you wanted tax cuts for the rich and cruel treatment for immigrants then Trump is still your man, but if you were hoping he’d benefit ordinary Americans or do anything to drain the swamp in Washington he’s just peeing on you and writing a wall of text on Truth Social explaining why the pee is actually rain.Which again should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. No real change will ever come from either of America’s two power-serving major parties. But what’s so funny is people are probably just going to fall for it again. Trump’s base is very upset about the Epstein thing and many of them might actually abandon Trump himself, but you know next election cycle someone like Tucker Carlson or JD Vance will run on his platform and these suckers will swallow it hook, line and sinker. I actually said this on Twitter the other day and got multiple people telling me that actually Tucker Carlson getting elected would be a major blow to the deep state, so you know they’re already primed for it. They can’t wait to fall in line behind the next phony Republican populism scam. Whatever. People will be fed whatever slop they keep asking for. The lesson will keep on repeating until it is learned.

Bitcoin hits record high as Capitol Hill turns to 'crypto week' --Bitcoin hit another record high Monday, surging above $120,000 as the House prepares to take up a raft of crypto legislation this week. The price of one bitcoin jumped above $122,000 Monday morning, before falling to about $119,700 by midday. The token has repeatedly set new records over the past week ahead of the House’s so-called crypto week. The lower chamber is set to take up three crypto bills — the GENIUS Act, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. The GENIUS Act — Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — which aims to create a regulatory framework for one type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, passed the Senate last month and would next head to President Trump’s desk if it clears the House. Trump has leaned on House lawmakers to pass a “clean” stablecoin bill, dashing hopes of formally tying the GENIUS Act to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also referred to as the Clarity Act. The Clarity Act seeks to regulate the broader crypto market, divvying up oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While the House no longer plans to tie the two bills together, it appears poised to move them side by side in an effort to put pressure on the Senate to kick into gear on market structure legislation. The upper chamber has yet to introduce its own version of the Clarity Act, although it does appear to be ramping up its efforts. The Senate Banking Committee held hearings on the digital asset market in late June and early July, while the Senate Agriculture Committee is set to hold a hearing this week. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), chair of the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee, told The Hill last Wednesday she believes senators will release a discussion draft of market structure legislation this week. Alongside White House crypto adviser Bo Hines, she and Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said late last month they’re now aiming to pass the crypto bill by the end of September.

What banks are worried about during the House's 'crypto week' — Despite promises from House leadership, bankers aren't going to get their biggest concerns about a pair of crypto bills addressed before lawmakers send them to President Donald Trump's desk. Some last-minute drama has derailed planned votes on crypto and stablecoin in the House, but the political maneuvering isn't likely to improve the long list of criticisms that bankers have raised about the legislation before it heads to President Donald Trump's desk.

Trump announces agreement to end House floor revolt over crypto bills - President Trump said late Tuesday that he has reached a deal with most of the House Republicans who derailed a procedural vote earlier in the day, putting a trio of cryptocurrency bills on a path to consideration in the lower chamber. The announcement — made on Truth Social — came after Trump said he met with 11 out of 12 of the House Republicans who torpedoed the procedural vote Tuesday afternoon, which brought the floor to a screeching halt. “I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 Congressmen/women necessary to pass the GENIUS Act and, after a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was at the meeting via telephone, and looks forward to taking the Vote as early as possible,” he added. “I want to thank the Congressmen/women for their quick and positive response. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” It remains unclear what assurances the dozen Republicans received to win over their support for the procedural rule. The Hill reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office for comment. The agreement, if it holds, nonetheless, will allow the House to adopt a procedural rule and move forward with consideration of the three cryptocurrency bills and a measure to fund the Pentagon for fiscal year 2026 as early as Wednesday, putting the chamber back on track after Tuesday’s hiccup. The chief concern among the hard-line contingent was the lack of a provision in the GENIUS Act that would block the creation of a central bank digital currency. The bill, which aims to create a regulatory framework for dollar-backed digital tokens known as stablecoins, is the most likely to become law after clearing the Senate last month. While the House is also set to consider the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, the measure seems unlikely to gain traction in the Senate.

Crypto bills stall amid GOP infighting, leaving House in limbo --The House floor was locked at a standstill Wednesday afternoon as a diverse array of House Republicans sparred over a trio of cryptocurrency bills and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) searched for consensus to unfreeze the floor. A procedural vote to advance the three crypto measures — meant to run for just five minutes — remained open more than three hours later as lawmakers from across the GOP’s ideological spectrum shuffled in and out of meetings with leadership to discuss the stalled legislation. As of publication, seven Republicans had voted “no” on clearing the procedural hurdle, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.), Chip Roy (Texas) and Keith Self (Texas) — enough to sink the vote in the GOP’s narrow majority. By Wednesday evening, Republican Reps. Eli Crane (Ariz.) and Ralph Norman (S.C.) had also joined the “no” votes, while Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Mark Green (R-Tenn.) were not voting. Lawmakers had appeared poised to approve a series of procedural votes for the bills on Wednesday, after President Trump announced a deal Tuesday night with a contingent of Republican hard-liners who torpedoed a vote earlier in the day. 'No The situation, however, quickly descended into disarray on Wednesday, as Trump’s deal failed to appease the entire hard-line group, while seemingly alienating key leaders on the House Financial Services Committee. Three hard-liners — Roy, Self and Greene — initially cast “no” votes on an early procedural motion before switching to “yes” and allowing the measure to pass. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, announced in a post on the social platform X during the vote that the House Freedom Caucus would back the rule after reaching an agreement with the president. “Under this agreement, the Rules Committee will reconvene later today to add clear, strong anti–Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) provisions to the CLARITY legislation,” Harris said, referring to a bill laying out regulatory rules for the crypto industry. “This is an important step to ensure Americans are protected from government overreach into their financial privacy,” he added. “We remain committed to securing these critical protections in the final legislation and ensuring they are preserved as the bill moves through the Senate and into law.” Leadership appeared to put that plan in motion on Wednesday, sending alerts for a 4 p.m. meeting of the House Rules Committee. Just after 4 p.m., however, that gathering was canceled. Drama continued in the next vote — the final procedural hurdle before a final vote — when Roy and Greene once again cast “no” votes. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, also initially voted against the measure. Johnson huddled with members in his office off the House floor, after which Huizenga switched his vote to “yes,” while five other hard-liners joined Roy and Greene and changed their votes to “no.” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) appeared optimistic about the legislation’s prospects Wednesday afternoon, suggesting there was “a lot of progress.”

'Crypto week' takes a turn for the worse for banks— Interparty fighting once again waylaid Republicans' "crypto week" as party hardliners huddled in House Speaker Mike Johnson's office with House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., and the House Agriculture committee chair over how to advance the legislation. The Republican Freedom Caucus wants to combine the market structure bill with another measure prohibiting the formation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. That move could tank the market structure bill's chances of becoming law, and with it the banking industry's best chances of getting its priorities enacted.

Bitcoin, Ether Bounce Back As House Passes Procedural Vote On 'Crypto Week' Bills -After yesterday's disappointment - and a meeting with President Trump - conservative Republicans flip-flopped and voted to push forward with landmark cryptocurrency legislation. As The Block reports, The House voted 215 to 211 on Wednesday to move forward and later take a vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (also known as the GENIUS bill), which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins and could be slated to head to President Donald Trump's desk before the end of the week. Lawmakers also voted to proceed with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or Clarity for short, that takes a whole-of-crypto approach and would create a clear regulatory framework for crypto in part through designating how the SEC and CFTC will regulate.They also agreed to later vote on a bill to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals, which was reportedly the most critical itemn for the conservative Republicans yesterday. No Democrats voted yes to move forward with the bills. The vote pushed Bitcoin higher (after yesterday's disappointment)...And sent Ethereum soaring even higher (notably outperforming its big brother this week)...Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, posted on X during the vote that the caucus would be voting in favor and that they had agreed to meet later to add CBDC provisions into Clarity. "This is an important step to ensure Americans are protected from government overreach into their financial privacy," Harris said. Punchbowl News reported that Rep. Greene originally voted no for moving forward with the bills, but later changed her vote to yes. Earlier in the day, Greene said she would not vote for it, again signaling concerns over CBDC bans.

House passes crypto market structure bill after GOP revolt --The House passed legislation Thursday laying out regulatory rules for the crypto industry, after GOP leadership managed to stem a revolt from competing factions in the conference that brought the floor to a standstill and left the crypto legislation in limbo. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act cleared the House in a 294-134 vote, with 78 House Democrats joining all Republicans to support it. Its passage comes at the end of a rollercoaster “crypto week” in the House, during which GOP leadership had hoped to easily pass a trio of digital asset bills. However, a group of hard-line Republicans revolted Tuesday, tanking a procedural vote and prompting President Trump to step in. He struck a deal with the lawmakers, but it ultimately failed to stem the rebellion and angered other members. The agreement would have added language from the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which bars the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to the broader crypto bill. After hours of negotiations and the longest House vote on record, leadership agreed to add the anti-CBDC provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), giving it a better chance of reaching Trump’s desk. Most of the remaining Republican holdouts changed their votes to “yes,” allowing the House to adopt the rule governing debate and unfreezing the floor. The crypto market structure bill, sometimes referred to as the Clarity Act, aims to provide clear rules for the crypto market by drawing bright lines between oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The industry has long sought legislation to help delineate when digital assets are considered securities or commodities and, as a result, which financial regulator they fall under. This became a key issue in the Biden administration, when former SEC Chair Gary Gensler brought numerous enforcement actions against crypto firms that accused him of failing to provide clear rules and attempting to regulate by enforcement. The House passed an earlier iteration of the market structure bill, called the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, last May, with 71 Democrats joining most Republicans to support the legislation. However, the Senate never took up the bill. Now, attention is once again turning back to the upper chamber, as it prepares to release its own discussion draft on crypto market structure. Meanwhile, the House also passed the GENIUS Act — Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — which would establish a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The bill, which cleared the Senate last month, next heads to Trump’s desk after being approved by the lower chamber in a 308-122 vote.

Stablecoin bill clears House after GOP revolt, heads to Trump’s desk - The House on Thursday passed a bill setting up a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, sending the cryptocurrency bill to President Trump’s desk and marking a major win for the industry. Lawmakers voted 308-122 to pass the GENIUS Act following a tumultuous “crypto week” in the chamber that saw competing GOP factions bring the House floor to a standstill for two days. Twelve Republicans voted against the measure while 102 Democrats voted “yes.” The GOP “no’s” included Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Russ Fulcher (Idaho), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Morgan Griffith (Va.), Andy Harris (Md.), Scott Perry (Pa.), Chip Roy (Texas) and Austin Scott (Ga.). The bill regulating dollar-backed digital tokens now heads to Trump’s desk, where he has indicated he is eager to sign it. “For far too long, America’s digital assets industry has been stifled by ambiguous rules, confusing enforcement and the Biden administration’s anti-crypto crusade. But President Trump and this Congress are correcting course and unleashing America’s digital asset potential with historic, transformative legislation,” Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said at a press conference Thursday. “President Trump promised to make America the crypto capital of the world, and today, we delivered,” he added. The legislation’s future appeared in jeopardy less than 24 hours earlier. A group of hard-line Republicans tanked a procedural vote on a trio of crypto bills Tuesday, freezing the floor. Trump struck a deal to secure their support the next day, but several holdouts remained on Wednesday, as the House attempted once again to adopt a rule governing debate on the bills. The agreement Trump reached with the hardliners also prompted new backlash from members of the House Financial Services Committee. The deal sought to add provisions from the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which aims to bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to a broader crypto framework called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Earlier Thursday, the House voted 294-134 to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The anti-CBDC measure later cleared the chamber in a 218-210 vote. After hours of deliberation on Wednesday — during which the rule vote remained open and the number of “no” votes from hardliners continued to grow — GOP leadership reached a deal to add the anti-CBDC provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act. Including the provisions in the must-pass legislation would put them on track to reach Trump’s desk, assuming they don’t get stripped out of the bill as it weaves its way through Congress later this year.

Bitcoin hits $120,000: A fever chart of the capitalist crisis The price of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, surged to as high as $123,000 this week before settling around $120,000. It has risen 9 percent in less than a week and is up roughly 76 percent since Trump’s election last November, driven by institutional investor demand and expectations of looser regulations under the “crypto champion”—as Vice President JD Vance has dubbed him—now occupying the White House. The massive rise in the crypto Ponzi scheme—whose value rests solely on the output of vast quantities of meaningless computations—is a testament to the speculative frenzy gripping US and world capitalism. No doubt, the big money flooding into crypto will be seeking further gains, conjured out of thin air, as three key pieces of legislation move through a compliant Congress. Congress is set to pass the legislation during what has been dubbed “Crypto Week,” accelerating the transformation of American capitalism and its financial system into the global epicenter of parasitism, speculation and outright criminality. The legislation aligns with Trump’s stated goal of making the US the “crypto capital of the world”—a policy aimed at funneling millions, and eventually billions, into his family’s coffers while enriching the financial oligarchy and corporations whose interests he serves. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, outlines regulations for the operation of so-called stablecoins—digital tokens pegged to the US dollar. The aim of the legislation is not to tighten controls on the crypto market but rather to loosen them and open the way for corporations and major financial players to issue their own cryptocurrencies. The legislation responds to demands from crypto advocates, who complained that there was too much interference from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which brought a limited number of cases against crypto firms. It aims to clear the path for a major expansion of the crypto industry. Trump has a direct personal financial stake in the legislation. He has launched his own $TRUMP meme coin, backed by no tangible asset, while World Liberty Financial, which lists him as its “chief crypto advocate,” has issued a dollar-pegged stablecoin now valued at $2.15 billion. According to estimates by Forbes, Trump’s various crypto ventures have added at least $1 billion to his net worth. The GENIUS bill has already passed the Senate and only awaits House approval before going to the White House to be signed into law by Trump. The bill initially faced some resistance in the Senate, where a group of Democrats proposed banning elected officials and their families, including the president, from owning or profiting from stablecoin ventures. But as with previous votes to fund the Trump administration, the Democrats, whose ranks include many crypto enthusiasts, ultimately allowed the bill to move forward, claiming that regulatory “clarity” was the overriding priority. The Clarity Act, which still awaits Senate approval, is designed to strip the SEC of its authority to regulate the crypto market. Although his interventions were extremely limited, former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, appointed by Biden, had become something of a thorn in the side of crypto operators. Since his replacement under Trump, both the SEC and the Department of Justice have dropped several cases against crypto firms. Julia Cartwright, a senior research fellow at the right-wing libertarian American Institute for Economic Research—the organization which issued the infamous Great Barrington Declaration promoting “herd immunity” in the COVID-19 pandemic—described the new legislation as “huge” for the industry. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act seeks to prohibit the US Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It is being promoted on the grounds that a CBDC would enable government surveillance of individual financial activity and pose a threat to privacy. The real aim of the legislation is to give private crypto operators free rein and to avoid any restrictions on criminal activity within the market. One key advantage of using cryptocurrency for drug transactions and similar illicit payments is that participants are anonymous, only identified by a number. These bills serve another objective. Like all Ponzi-style schemes, the continued rise of crypto depends on a constant inflow of new money into the market. This is because there is no underlying asset that represents real value. Therefore, the price of Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency, rises only if more money is made available to buy it. Accordingly, putting in place supposed regulatory legislation has the aim of drawing in small investors, sections of the working class and middle class, and attracting much larger sums from financial institutions. There have been mouse squeaks of opposition from a handful of Democrats. After Senate Democrats waved the GENIUS Act through, House Democrat Stephen Lynch issued a statement warning that the “volatile and risky nature of crypto products and the lack of investor protections will have devastating consequences on Americans’ financial lives.” He added, “President Trump’s blatant violation of ethics laws and exploitation of the presidency to … fill his own pockets is a disgrace and cannot go unchecked.” But as the Democrats’ own actions make clear, they—no less a party of Wall Street than the Republicans—will ensure that this is precisely what will happen.

Stablecoin legislation heads to Trump's desk - The GENIUS Act, which will give the green light to banks interested in stablecoins, but which has also raised fears that it will disintermediate the banking system, passed the House today and heads to President Donald Trump's desk.

Trump signs stablecoin bill into law -President Donald Trump arrived for a signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Friday. With the passage of the bill, large banks are looking into their own stablecoins or partnering with the sector, while concerns linger about state regulation, the separation of banking and commerce and the disintermediation of the banking system.

How FV Bank is preparing for a wave of stablecoins - The past few months have seen a stablecoin mania of sorts, as dozens of banks and non-banks have floated the idea of issuing their own coin. Miles Paschini, CEO of blockchain specialist FV Bank in Puerto Rico, says he expects a ton of new stablecoins. Here's why he's not worried about getting buried in a mountain of crypto.

BBVA launches crypto trading for its retail customers - As cryptocurrencies become increasingly mainstream in financial services, banks are thinking about taking advantage of this trend and offering in-house crypto custody services to their customers. Spanish consumers can buy, sell and trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via the bank's mobile app.

Why one regional bank is excited about stablecoins - Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati wants to become a bank for crypto platforms. Its CEO believes that stablecoins pose minimal threat to the U.S. deposit market. UPDATE: This story include comments from an interview with Fifth Third CFO Bryan Preston.

BankThink: The misplaced debate about interest-bearing stablecoins - The GENIUS Act is right to ban interest on payment stablecoins, points out Noelle Acheson, suggesting that the bigger debate should be around the current banking model. There is no such thing as the perfect bill. And, in politics, there is no such thing as pure consensus. Noelle Acheson points out that the GENIUS Act is right to ban interest on payment stablecoins, and suggests that the bigger debate should be around the current banking model.

Regulators issue new guidance on crypto 'safekeeping' - Federal regulators have begun outlining a new, more open approach to supervising bank involvement in crypto assets with the issuance of a new joint statement on their stance toward crypto custody activities. Federal banking regulators outlined considerations for safely handling digital assets in a new guidance published Monday, which replaces prior statements on crypto that were withdrawn earlier this year.

What crypto safekeeping rules mean for bank tech leaders - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released guidance this week that lays out the existing regulatory standards with which banks must comply when they hold crypto assets on a customer's behalf, a practice known as safekeeping or custody. The OCC, Fed and FDIC issued a letter this week clarifying the rules governing crypto safekeeping, which emphasize proper management of cryptographic keys.

As banks embrace crypto, a defense blueprint is born -- As U.S. financial regulators roll back previous restrictions on cryptocurrency activities and create new regulations designed to enable banks to engage in such activities, a new cybersecurity framework offers a detailed look at how cyberattackers break down and exploit digital assets. A new MITRE framework breaks down how cybercriminals attack cryptocurrency systems and helps institutions secure them. Plus, it's a free, open standard.

Grok controversies raise questions about moderating, regulating AI content -Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok has been plagued by controversy recently over its responses to users, raising questions about how tech companies seek to moderate content from AI and whether Washington should play a role in setting guidelines. Grok faced sharp scrutiny last week, after an update prompted the AI chatbot to produce antisemitic responses and praise Adolf Hitler. Musk’s AI company, xAI, quickly deleted numerous incendiary posts and said it added guardrails to “ban hate speech” from the chatbot. Just days later, xAI unveiled its newest version of Grok, which Musk claimed was the “smartest AI model in the world.” However, users soon discovered that the chatbot appeared to be relying on its owner’s views to respond to controversial queries. “We should be extremely concerned that the best performing AI model on the market is Hitler-aligned. That should set off some alarm bells for folks,” Chris MacKenzie, vice president of communications at Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), an advocacy group focused on AI policy. “I think that we’re at a period right now, where AI models still aren’t incredibly sophisticated,” he continued. “They might have access to a lot of information, right. But in terms of their capacity for malicious acts, it’s all very overt and not incredibly sophisticated.” “There is a lot of room for us to address this misaligned behavior before it becomes much more difficult and much more harder to detect,” he added. Lucas Hansen, co-founder of the nonprofit CivAI, which aims to provide information about AI’s capabilities and risks, said it was “not at all surprising” that it was possible to get Grok to behave the way it did. “For any language model, you can get it to behave in any way that you want, regardless of the guardrails that are currently in place,” he told The Hill. Musk announced last week that xAI had updated Grok, after he previously voiced frustrations with some of the chatbot’s responses. In mid-June, the tech mogul took issue with a response from Grok suggesting that right-wing violence had become more frequent and deadly since 2016. Musk claimed the chatbot was “parroting legacy media” and said he was “working on it.” He later indicated he was retraining the model and called on users to help provide “divisive facts,” which he defined as “things that are politically incorrect, but nonetheless factually true.” The update caused a firestorm for xAI, as Grok began making broad generalizations about people with Jewish last names and perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes about Hollywood. The chatbot falsely suggested that people with “Ashkenazi surnames” were pushing “anti-white hate” and that Hollywood was advancing “anti-white stereotypes,” which it later implied was the result of Jewish people being overrepresented in the industry. It also reportedly produced posts praising Hitler and referred to itself as “MechaHitler.” xAI ultimately deleted the posts and said it was banning hate speech from Grok. It later offered an apology for the chatbot’s “horrific behavior,” blaming the issue on “update to a code path upstream” of Grok. “The update was active for 16 [hours], in which deprecated code made @grok susceptible to existing X user posts; including when such posts contained extremist views,” xAI wrote in a post Saturday. “We have removed that deprecated code and refactored the entire system to prevent further abuse.” It identified several key prompts that caused Grok’s responses, including one informing the chatbot it is “not afraid to offend people who are politically correct” and another directing it to reflect the “tone, context and language of the post” in its response. xAI’s prompts for Grok have been publicly available since May, when the chatbot began responding to unrelated queries with allegations of “white genocide” in South Africa. The company later said the posts were the result of an “unauthorized modification” and vowed to make its prompts public in an effort to boost transparency. Just days after the latest incident, xAI unveiled the newest version of its AI model, called Grok 4. Users quickly spotted new problems, in which the chatbot suggested its surname was “Hitler” and referenced Musk’s views when responding to controversial queries. xAI explained Tuesday that Grok’s searches had picked up on the “MechaHitler” references, resulting in the chatbot’s ”Hitler” surname response, while suggesting it had turned to Musk’s views to “align itself with the company.” The company said it has since tweaked the prompts and shared the details on GitHub. “The kind of shocking thing is how that was closer to the default behavior, and it seemed that Grok needed very, very little encouragement or user prompting to start behaving in the way that it did,” Hansen said. The latest incident has echoes of problems that plagued Microsoft’s Tay chatbot in 2016, which began producing racist and offensive posts before it was disabled, noted Julia Stoyanovich, a computer science professor at New York University and director of the Center for Responsible AI. “This was almost 10 years ago, and the technology behind Grok is different from the technology behind Tay, but the problem is similar: hate speech moderation is a difficult problem that is bound to occur if it’s not deliberately safeguarded against,” Stoyanovich said in a statement to The Hill. She suggested xAI had failed to take the necessary steps to prevent hate speech. “Importantly, the kinds of safeguards one needs are not purely technical, we cannot ‘solve’ hate speech,” Stoyanovich added. “This needs to be done through a combination of technical solutions, policies, and substantial human intervention and oversight. Implementing safeguards takes planning and it takes substantial resources.” MacKenzie underscored that speech outputs are “incredibly hard” to regulate and instead pointed to a national framework for testing and transparency as a potential solution. “At the end of the day, what we’re concerned about is a model that shares the goals of Hitler, not just shares hate speech online, but is designed and weighted to support racist outcomes,” MacKenzie said.

xAI scores Pentagon contract -Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI has scored a contract for up to $200 million with the Department of Defense alongside three other major tech firms, the Pentagon announced Monday. xAI, Anthropic, Google and OpenAI all received contracts with the same ceiling from the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office to help boost the agency’s adoption of advanced AI, according to a press release. “The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” Doug Matty, the Defense Department’s chief digital and AI officer, said in a statement. The announcement comes the same day xAI unveiled a suite of AI products for U.S. government customers, which it refers to as Grok for Government. xAI noted that its products will also be available to the rest of the federal government for purchase via the General Services Administration schedule. “America is the world leader in AI, and this is in no small part due to a tradition of innovation and strong investments in engineering and science,” the company wrote in a news release Monday. “We’re excited to contribute back to the country that made xAI uniquely possible here.” The contract follows a week of controversy for Musk’s AI firm, after an update caused its chatbot Grok to produce antisemitic responses. xAI ultimately deleted numerous incendiary posts and offered an apology for the chatbot’s “horrific behavior” over the weekend. It suggested the “root cause” of the problem was “an update to a code path upstream” of the chatbot that was “independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.” After xAI last week unveiled the newest version of its AI model, Grok 4, users also noticed it appeared to reference Musk’s views when responding to more controversial inquiries. Grok 4 is among the suite of products available to government customers.

Pentagon Awards Contracts To 4 Artificial Intelligence Developers -The U.S. Department of Defense announced on July 14 that it has awarded contracts to four U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) developers to address national security challenges. Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI will each receive a contracting award with a ceiling of $200 million, according to a statementshared by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.The office said these four companies would help “develop agentic AI workflows across a variety of mission areas.”“Agentic AI” refers to systems designed to operate with minimal human input.Formed in 2021, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office is responsible for speeding up the military’s adoption of AI systems.OpenAI was the first of the four contract awardees to announce its contract with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.In June, the company unveiled “OpenAI for Government” and said its first partnership under the new initiative would help the Pentagon office identify and prototype new AI tools for administrative operations. Anthropic has developed the Claude family of AI chatbots.In June, Anthropic announced the development of custom “Claude Gov” models intended for national security clients. The company said agencies operating at the highest level of the U.S. national security sector are already using these AI models. Formed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2023, xAI serves as a parent to X Corp., which operates the social media platform X. Among its services, xAI has developed the Grok AI chatbot.On July 14, xAI announced “Grok for Government” and confirmed that the service holds contracts with the Department of Defense and the U.S. General Services Administration.Google Public Sector Vice President Jim Kelly said in a July 14 blog post that the new AI announcement with the Department of Defense would build on a long-standing partnership between Google and the U.S. military.Kelly said his company would give the military access to its Cloud Tensor Processing Units, which power Google’s current AI applications. “These advanced AI solutions will enable the DoD to effectively address defense challenges and scale the adoption of agentic AI across enterprise systems to drive innovation and efficiency with agile, proven technology,” Kelly wrote.

Trump’s AI Action Plan Set to Expand Energy Sources for Data Centers The Trump Administration is expected to unveil a so-called AI Action Plan to detail policy guidelines, including expanding power sources for data centers and easing regulations, sources briefed by administration officials told Bloomberg on Friday.The AI Action Plan is expected within days, with a set of measures to accelerate the development of AI in the United States. Some of the policies in the plan will be enacted via executive orders that President Trump will sign, according to Bloomberg’s sources.In an executive order in his first days in office, President Trump directed in January relevant government agencies and bodies to develop and submit to the President an action plan to achieve the U.S. policy “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”This week, the Trump Administration announced more than $90 billion worth of AI and energy investments in Pennsylvania. These include Google’s $25 billion investment in data centers and infrastructure, Blackstone’s $25 billion investment in data centers and natural gas plants, and CoreWeave’s $6 billion investment in data center expansion.President Trump’s agenda for next week includes remarks on AI at an event on July 23, so it’s possible that the AI Action Plan is unveiled around that date.In the energy sector, U.S. power utilities have announced billions of dollars in capital plans for the next few years and are getting a lot of requests from commercial users, most notably Big Tech, for new power capacity in many areas next to planned data centers.Onshoring of manufacturing activity and AI-related data centers are driving an increase in U.S. electricity consumption, Goldman Sachs said in a report earlier this year.U.S. electrical power demand is expected to rise by 2.4% each year through 2030, with AI-related demand accounting for about two-thirds of the incremental power demand in the country, the investment bank said. The world’s biggest economy will need all energy sources to ensure power demand is met. Natural gas is the biggest near-term winner of AI advancements, but renewables will also play a key role in powering the data centers of next-generation computing, analysts say.

Trump details $90B AI plan to transform Pennsylvania grid - When President Donald Trump announced more than $90 billion in investments Tuesday to supercharge artificial intelligence, he laid out a vision for how the technology revolution would be fueled: “Maybe nuclear, maybe gas, maybe coal.” But, he added, “they won’t be powered by wind, because it doesn’t work.” Trump’s Pennsylvania speech — and a slew of linked announcements — underscore how his administration views the AI boom as working hand-in-hand with an energy agenda that relies on fossil fuels and nuclear power. The energy summit at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University also enabled administration officials, tech companies and energy executives to detail their plans for building large data centers and power projects that could reshape the grid in one of the largest battleground states. The new initiatives include Google’s $25 billion effort to support AI infrastructure in PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest electricity market, as well as a partnership between Blackstone and PPL to construct and operate new gas plants. “Remaining the world’s leader in AI will require an enormous increase in energy production,” Trump said, highlighting the “massive build-out of physical infrastructure” in the state. The Pittsburgh event, organized by Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick (R), came before next week’s scheduled release of an administration action plan on AI. Administration officials used the opportunity to tout Trump’s efforts to ease pollution limits for fossil fuel power plants and keep such power on the electric grid — while emphasizing the role that Pennsylvania’s gas industry could play. “Pennsylvania’s natural gas production could ramp up tremendously fast, and Pennsylvania could lead the world in AI and reshoring manufacturing,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Besides Wright, the summit included remarks from McCormick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, White House AI czar David Sacks, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Leaders of large technology and energy companies also spoke, including Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods; BlackRock CEO Larry Fink; Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman; Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt; and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer at Google.McCormick released a list of related announcements Tuesday to build out AI in Pennsylvania, including $3 billion from Capital Power to expand a gas plant, $15 billion from FirstEnergy to expand and fortify the grid, and $3.2 billion from Frontier Group to turn a coal plant into a gas generator in Shippingport.Among the largest investments was from Blackstone, which announced its managed funds would spend more than $25 billion to support AI infrastructure in Pennsylvania and “catalyze” an additional $60 billion. The company inked a deal with PPL to forge long-term contracts to build and operate gas plants near the Marcellus and Utica shale basins, where power can connect to pipelines.The companies said they had secured multiple plots of land in the state, but have not yet signed long-term contracts with large technology companies to buy the power. QTS, a large data center operator backed by Blackstone, said it has secured multiple sites in northeastern Pennsylvania to operate data centers, and plans to issue a request for information to spur other communities to build AI facilities. Another large investment tied to the summit came from Google, which said it plans to spend more than $25 billion on data center and AI infrastructure across the PJM region, including in Pennsylvania. The company did not immediately detail which power sources would be tied to the investment. Google also agreed to buy as much as 3,000 megawatts of hydropower from Brookfield Asset Management in what the company said was the world’s largest corporate hydroelectricity deal. Under the 20-year agreement, Google will initially invest more than $3 billion to buy power from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydropower facilities on the Susquehanna River, roughly 77 miles west of Philadelphia. The facilities are being relicensed, the companies said.

AI couldn’t forecast Texas floods. Trump’s NOAA cuts won’t help. - Artificial intelligence is showing promise when it comes to weather forecasting, but it still couldn’t predict the Texas floods. The best-performing weather models during the July 4 floods were traditional ones specially designed to produce local forecasts at high resolution. Global-scale models were far less accurate — and so were AI models, weather experts say. “All those new fancy AI models? They missed it too,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources, in a live YouTube talk on July 7.Some meteorologists say that could change. AI weather models are starting to exhibit an ability for deep learning of atmospheric physics, which means they could be capable of forecasting unprecedented weather events based on atmospheric conditions.

The AI Bubble Now Is Bigger Than The Dot Com Tech Bubble At Its Peak -- Last week, DB's head of thematic research, Jim Reid, published the latest must read version of his "Charts that make you go WOW" (available to pro subs) which repeated a chart the Deutsche strategist has used before, namely on e tracking the earnings of the largest ten companies in the S&P 500 around the market peak in 2000 through to today. Obviously, the current period shares some similarities in valuations to 2000. In that chart, Reid showed how four of the top ten remarkably saw lower earnings in FY 2024 than in FY 2000. Of course, not all stories are the same: some companies have thrived. Microsoft stands out, with earnings increasing tenfold over the period. And to be clear, this isn’t an anti-earnings narrative: S&P 500 earnings overall have outpaced their long-term average over this period. The point is how unevenly those gains have been distributed. In today’s Chart of the Day, (page 58 of the WOW! pack), Reid follows up by showing the total equity return of those same top ten companies from 2000 to the present. Microsoft again leads the pack (+10.9% per year.), but only two of the ten have outperformed the S&P 500 over this 25+ year stretch. Remarkably, two have delivered negative returns, and the bottom five in the legend have all returned less than +2.8% p.a., well below the +7.8% p.a. for the S&P 500 over the period.

Florida woman conned out of $15K after AI clones daughter’s voice (WFLA) — A Florida woman wants to warn others after falling prey to an elaborate AI-powered scheme that used cloned audio of her daughter’s voice to demand thousands of dollars in fake bond money. Sharon Brightwell told Nexstar’s WFLA that the ordeal began last Wednesday when she received a call from a number that looked like her daughter’s. On the other end of the line, a young woman was sobbing, claiming to have been in a car crash. “There is nobody that could convince me that it wasn’t her,” Sharon said. “I know my daughter’s cry.” The caller said she had hit a pregnant woman while texting and driving and claimed her phone had been taken by police. A man then got on the line, claiming to be an attorney representing her daughter. He told Sharon that her daughter was being detained and needed $15,000 in bail money in cash. “He gave very specific instructions,” Sharon said. “He told me not to tell the bank what the money was for, that it could affect my daughter’s credit.” ' Following his instructions, she withdrew the money and placed it in a box as directed. A driver showed up to her house to pick up the package. Cybercrime group is targeting airlines, FBI says: How are passengers being affected? But it didn’t stop there. Sharon received another call saying the unborn child had died and that the family, described as “Christian people,” had agreed not to sue her daughter if she provided another $30,000. That’s when her grandson stepped in. He was on the phone with a family friend who quickly called Sharon directly this time with her real daughter on the line. “I screamed,” Sharon said. “When I heard her voice, I broke down. She was fine. She was still at work.” The family believes the suspects used videos from Facebook or other social media to create a convincing AI-generated replica of her daughter’s voice. “I pray this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Sharon said. “My husband and I are recently retired. That money was our savings.” Now, the family is urging others to take precautions, including creating a private “code word” to verify identities over the phone in emergency situations. “If they can’t give it to you,” Sharon said, “hang up and call them directly.”

NY man accused of using ‘gold bar scam’ to steal $555,892 from Pennsylvania resident — A New York man is accused of stealing gold bars worth over half a million dollars from a resident in Lancaster County, Pa., using a scam that authorities say is becoming increasingly common nationwide. The victim, described as an elderly woman by police in Ephrata, contacted authorities in April to report that someone stole $555,892 worth of gold bars. Investigators said that the suspect, 44-year-old Zhong Ren, of Brooklyn, N.Y., first gained access to the woman’s computer in March. Ren allegedly convinced her that someone was trying to access her life savings, and the only way to keep the money safe was to convert it into gold bars and turn them over to federal employees. These supposed federal employees would purportedly keep the gold safe in Philadelphia’s Federal Reserve vault. Investigators said people claiming to be government employees showed up twice in April at the woman’s Ephrata address, ultimately leaving with $555,892 in gold. A “complex” investigation led investigators to Ren, who was charged Thursday with theft by unlawful taking, criminal conspiracy of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, criminal conspiracy of theft by deception, and impersonating a public servant in connection with the crime.

Cybersecurity failures leave US Social Security data at risk -- The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a public rebuke of the Social Security Administration (SSA) for failing to resolve 11 open recommendations tied to cybersecurity and information technology management.In a July audit report addressed to SSA Chief Information Officers Aram Moghaddassi and Michael Russo, Congress’ investigative branch identified items critically linked to persistent federal high-risk areas and warned that continued inaction could jeopardize sensitive personal data and undermine public confidence in one of the federal government’s most essential service providers.At the heart of GAO’s findings lies SSA’s failure to implement event logging requirements which were outlined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These requirements, first codified in OMB Memorandum M-21-31 in the aftermath of theSolarWinds cyber breach, are part of a broader government-wide initiative to modernize incident response protocols. They mandate that federal agencies reach Event Logging Tier 3 maturity time log collection, cross-system integration, and the ability to search log data within 72 hours of a cyber incident.SSA’s noncompliance with this mandate, which had been documented by GAO in 2023, leaves the agency blind to advanced threat indicators. Without complete, tamper-proof logs, the SSA cannot reliably trace the origins of a cyber intrusion, assess its scope, or take effective remedial action.This gap is particularly alarming given SSA’s stewardship of high-value personal data such as Social Security Numbers, financial records, and healthcare eligibility information. A breach at SSA would not only compromise the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, but it could also have cascading effects across federal and state benefit systems.These vulnerabilities have been further compounded by the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) penetration into SSA’s operational and IT infrastructure. Under the Trump administration, DOGE assumed expanded oversight powers across multiple agencies, including SSA, leading to the displacement of experienced technical personnel and the consolidation of system controls under appointees lacking cybersecurity expertise.The resulting degradation in institutional knowledge and cybersecurity governance has left SSA even less equipped to manage complex system requirements and enforcement of protections for personally identifiable information, which is particularly vulnerable in such environments. Improper access controls, inadequate encryption, and outdated system architecture, all worsened by DOGE’s bureaucratic interference, raises the risk that sensitive data could be exposed, stolen, or misused. This is especially dangerous given SSA’s role as a central hub in verifying and storing identity information across government programs.

Regulators terminate actions against Texas banks -The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated enforcement orders against Industry Bancshares and its subsidiaries. The banks were considered prime examples of interest rate risk management gone awry. UPDATE: A statement from Cadence Bank was added to this article.

Pettit cruises through Senate confirmation vote -- The Senate confirmed a Banking Committee aide to one of the top bank oversight positions in the Treasury Department. Luke Pettit, a Senate Banking Committee staffer, will serve as the Treasury Department's next assistant secretary of financial institutions.

Business groups seek constraints on FSOC designation power --A collection of business groups asked the Treasury secretary Monday to repeal Biden-era guidance that made it easier to designate nonbanks as systemically important financial institutions, or SIFIs — a designation that can apply enhanced prudential standards like capital and liquidity rules to nonbanks. Major nonbank financial trade groups asked Treasury Secretary Bessent to scrap 2023 guidance expanding nonbank designations, citing cost and competitiveness concerns.

OCC axes disparate impact oversight -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is rolling back disparate impact supervision for banks, it announced Monday. The OCC said it will no longer include examinations for disparate impact liability but will still perform fair lending risk assessments on a regular basis.

FDIC proposes indexing thresholds, rescinds Biden ILC rule - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Tuesday issued a proposed rule to index key oversight thresholds for inflation, alongside a sweeping set of regulatory proposals aimed at rolling back regulatory measures put in place under former President Biden. The agency unveiled several deregulatory measures at a Tuesday board meeting, including a measure to tie regulatory thresholds to inflation, one creating a supervisory appeals office that reports to the board and withdrawal of a Biden-era rule on industrial loan companies.

Republicans gear up for Dodd-Frank rollback — House Republicans began their attempt to roll back significant parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, targeting not just the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau but a laundry list of bank regulation complaints that have percolated in the last fifteen years. mHouse Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill promised to begin combing through Dodd-Frank to find areas for deregulation, while the panel's ranking member made it clear that Democrats would fight for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Fed's Barr fears deregulation is a prelude to calamity -- Six months ago, Michael Barr was setting the Federal Reserve's regulatory agenda. Now he's speaking out against it. Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said Wednesday that policymakers are running the risk of repeating historical mistakes of lightening banking rules when the economy is doing well, which he said has often set the stage for financial crises later on.

BankThink Deregulation amnesia can't be allowed to blind us to the dangers of excessive risk - The history of bank deregulatory movements in the U.S. has serious warnings for the industry as the Trump administration slashes both regulation and consumer protections, writes Ken Thomas, of Community Development Fund Advisors.Deregulation amnesia has overtaken Washington as the banking industry enters one of the most extreme deregulatory periods in recent memory. Unlike prior cycles primarily expanding industry powers, this time consumer financial protection and supervisory oversight are being diluted.As we enter one of the banking industry's most extreme cycles of deregulation, we should remember it doesn't always work, especially when supervisory police are reduced and consumer protection guardrails are removed, resulting in a high-speed lane for risk-taking banks and nonbanks.

Wells Fargo sued for not disclosing fees during loan origination - A California borrower is accusing Wells Fargo of concealing for more than a decade that it improperly charged customers certain origination-related fees. A Wells Fargo customer was surprised to receive a "cryptic notice" and a cashier's check from the firm compensating him for float fees charged more than a decade ago. A lawsuit followed.

Budget bill, SCOTUS give 'clear path' to CFPB firings -Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are bracing for mass layoffs now that Congress has slashed the agency's budget in half and the Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the go-ahead to gut federal agencies.Supreme Court rulings and provisions in the recently passed budget bill are bolstering the legality of the administration's effort to fire more than 1,000 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Fed's Barr warns of BNPL 'debt trap,' other risks -Buy now/pay later products could have similar pitfalls to payday lenders and other predatory financial services, according to the Federal Reserve's former top regulator. The Federal Reserve governor said the uptick in buy now pay later repayment issues is likely a sign that consumers don't understand the terms of the emerging credit offering.

Rodney Hood isn't giving up on financial inclusion --In his short time as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Rodney Hood has cut a distinctive profile within the Trump administration: emphasizing the need for broader financial inclusion even as the administration targets diversity and equity efforts for elimination. The Outgoing Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood said in an interview with American Banker that advances can be made in economic inclusion through race-neutral policies, and he intends to keep up that fight as he leaves the Trump administration.

Regulators begin process of undoing 2023 CRA rule - Federal regulators have formally begun the process of nullifying their 2023 update to implementing regulations for the Community Reinvestment Act, a Civil Rights-era anti-redlining law that requires banks to invest in the communities they serve. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed a rule that would revert the anti-discrimination framework to its 1995 standards.

FHFA's Vantagescore move changes math on mortgage insurance --Even if conforming mortgage lenders were ready to adopt VantageScore 4.0 tomorrow, several industry players warn that infrastructure and policy alignment are still lacking — and that the road to implementation could be longer and bumpier than it seems. Private mortgage insurers must accept the FICO alternative as valid collateral before it can be widely adopted by the mortgage industry.

"The Office Sector’s Double Whammy"; Record High Office Vacancy Rate - From Nick Villa at Moody's The Office Sector’s Double Whammy The ongoing challenges affecting the office sector have not only resulted in deteriorating space market fundamentals—evidenced by the record-high national office vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2025—but have also had a direct negative impact on capital market activities, including the performance of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). Figure 1 illustrates the office sector’s “double whammy”—in particular, record-high vacancy rates and CMBS conduit delinquency rates. Specifically, the chart benchmarks the cumulative change in each of these metrics going back to the end of 2019. While the U.S. office vacancy rate has increased by nearly four percentage points over this period, the rise in office-backed CMBS delinquency has been significantly higher at around 11 percentage points. As one would expect, vacancy rates have slowly inched higher from weaker tenant demand and new supply entering the market, while the long-term nature of most office leases has helped delay the full impact on net operating income. Consequently, this has temporarily masked the underlying CMBS distress, which has recently become more apparent through rising loan delinquencies and declining property valuations. For example, the office-backed CMBS delinquency rate increased by approximately 600 basis points in 2024, which was the fastest annual increase on record since data collection began in 2000. In other words, 2024’s full-year delinquency spike even outpaced levels seen during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Concerningly, however, the first six months of 2025 reflected the fastest midyear increase on record, underscoring the unique structural challenges now facing the sector.nThe second graph shows the office vacancy rate over time. Moody’s Analytics reported that the office vacancy rate was at 20.7% in Q2 2025, up from 20.4% in Q1 2025, and up from 20.1% in Q2 2024. This is the highest vacancy rate on record and is above the 19.3% peak during the S&L crisis.

Trump says Fannie Mae suspects Schiff of mortgage fraud --Fannie Mae suspects Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of mortgage fraud, according to President Trump. Government officials confirmed the California Democrat is under scrutiny over a long-held Maryland property he designated as a second home in 2020. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called the Trump administration's accusations of mortgage fraud regarding his Maryland property political retaliation.

Trump Accuses 'Shifty Adam Schiff' Of Mortgage Fraud, Says He 'Needs To Be Brought To Justice' -fraud, calling him a “scam artist” who “needs to be brought to justice.” The president took to Truth Social Monday morning to share the conclusion of fraud allegedly reached by Fannie Mae’s financial crimes division. “I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud,” Trump stated. “Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA,” the president continued. By listing his Maryland home as his primary residence, according to the accusation, Schiff may have been trying to take advantage of more favorable loan terms, such as lower interest rates. “I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020.” The president concluded: “Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.”Trump’s accusations follow a “bombshell ethics complaint” against Schiff detailed in a May 2025 USA Herald report.The complaint was filed by Christine Bish and Darren Ellis in October 2024, accusing him of a “pattern of mortgage fraud, voter fraud, and unlawful campaign filings stretching back over two decades.”According to the complaint, “In 2009, Adam Schiff’s residence and voting registration was called to question in a House Ethics Committee hearing. Adam Schiff, despite claiming to live and represent the people in the state of California, filed and reaffirmed through refinancing documents, his primary residence at [—- —— —- ——-], Potomac Maryland, 28054.”The complaint further alleges, “Adam Schiff is on the record having acknowledged the mortgage document filings [of Maryland as his primary residence] during a House Ethics hearing in 2009… He made the claim of ‘mistake,’ thereby acknowledging the appearance of possible mortgage fraud.”

MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey -From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications decreased 10.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 11, 2025. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Fourth of July holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 13 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 7 percent from the previous week and was 25 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 11 percent compared with the previous week and was 13 percent higher than the same week one year ago. “Treasury yields finished higher last week on average despite an intra-week drop, driven partly by renewed concerns of the impact of tariffs on the economy. As a result, mortgage rates rose after two weeks of declines, which contributed to slower application activity,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Jumbo rates were lower than conventional rates for the third straight week, as some depositories may be positioning themselves for growth in balance sheet lending.” Added Kan, “Purchase applications remained sensitive to both the uncertain economic outlook and the volatility in rates and declined to the slowest pace since May. Refinance applications also dipped because of higher rates, with refinance applications falling, led by VA refinances partially reversing their previous week’s gain, dropping 22 percent.” ... The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) increased to 6.82 percent from 6.77 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index. According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 13% year-over-year unadjusted. Purchase application activity is still depressed, but above the lows of October 2023 and slightly above the lowest levels during the housing bust. The second graph shows the refinance index since 1990.The refinance index decreased and remains very low.

Housing July 14th Weekly Update: Inventory down 0.7% Week-over-week, Down 11% from 2019 Levels - Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 0.7% week-over-week.Inventory is now up 35.6% from the seasonal bottom in January and will likely be mostly flat over the summer. Usually, inventory is up about 20% from the seasonal low by this week in the year. So, 2025 is seeing a larger than normal increase in inventory.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 30.0% compared to the same week in 2024 (last week it was up 30.8%), and down 11.0% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 10.0%). It now appears inventory will be close to 2019 levels towards the end of 2025. This second inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of July 11th, inventory was at 847 thousand (7-day average), compared to 853 thousand the prior week. Mike Simonsen discusses this data regularly on Youtube

Will House Prices Decline Nationally in 2025?- -Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Will House Prices Decline Nationally in 2025? - A brief excerpt: Most forecasts for 2025 were for U.S. house prices to increase modestly in the 3% to 4% range. My early view was “mostly flat prices nationally in 2025” with some areas seeing price declines. I didn’t expect either a crash in prices or a surge in prices. With inventory increasing, year-over-year (YoY) price growth has slowed nationally, and declining in many areas. The following table shows the YoY price slowdown. Note that the median price is impacted by the mix of homes sold. The seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller National Index is essentially unchanged year-to-date (YTD). The index was at 327.81 in December 2024 and was at 327.90 in the April report. And the Freddie Mac HPI SA is down slightly YTD. The index was at 299.29 in December, and is now at 297.69, a decline of 0.5%. Other measures are also indicating a slowdown in the YoY growth, but not a collapse in prices.

Housing Starts Increased to 1.321 million Annual Rate in June --From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions -Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,321,000. This is 4.6 percent above the revised May estimate of 1,263,000, but is 0.5 percent below the June 2024 rate of 1,327,000. Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 883,000; this is 4.6 percent below the revised May figure of 926,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 414,000. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,397,000. This is 0.2 percent above the revised May rate of 1,394,000, but is 4.4 percent below the June 2024 rate of 1,461,000. Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 866,000; this is 3.7 percent below the revised May figure of 899,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 478,000 in June. The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000. Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) increased sharply month-over-month in June. Multi-family starts were up 26.6% year-over-year. Single-family starts (red) decreased in June and were down 10.0% year-over-year. The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.
Total housing starts in June were above expectations and starts in April and May were revised up.

Newsletter: Housing Starts Increased to 1.321 million Annual Rate in June -Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Increased to 1.321 million Annual Rate in June A brief excerpt: Total housing starts in June were above expectations (due to volatile multi-family sector) and starts in April and May were revised up. The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2024 (blue) and 2025 (red). Total starts were down 0.5% in June compared to June 2024. Year-to-date (YTD) starts are down 1.0% compared to the same period in 2024. Single family starts are down 6.9% YTD and multi-family up 15.7% YTD.

NAHB: "Builder Confidence Edges Up in July"'; "Negative territory for 15 consecutive months" -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the housing market index (HMI) was at 33, up from 33 last month. Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good. From the NAHB: Builder Confidence Edges Up in July Builder confidence for future sales expectations received a slight boost in July with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act but elevated interest rates and economic and policy uncertainty continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 33 in July, up one point from June, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Builder sentiment has now been in negative territory for 15 consecutive months. “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provided a number of important wins for households, home builders and small businesses,” “While this new law should provide economic momentum after a disappointing spring, the housing sector has weakened in 2025 due to poor affordability conditions, particularly from elevated interest rates.” Indeed, the latest HMI survey also revealed that 38% of builders reported cutting prices in July, the highest percentage since NAHB began tracking this figure on a monthly basis in 2022. This compares with 37% of builders who reported cutting prices in June, 34% in May and 29% in April. Meanwhile, the average price reduction was 5% in July, the same as it’s been every month since last November. The use of sales incentives was 62% in July, unchanged from June. “Single-family housing starts will post a decline in 2025 due to ongoing housing affordability challenges,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Single-family permits are down 6% on a year-to-date basis and builder traffic in the HMI is at a more than two-year low.” ... The HMI index gauging current sales conditions rose one point in July to a level of 36 while the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months increased three points to 43. The gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers posted a one-point decline to 20, the lowest reading since end of 2022. Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast increased two points to 45, the Midwest held steady at 41, the South dropped three points to 30 and the West declined three points to 25.

Tariffs and Interest Rates Squeeze Construction Budgets -The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) traded flat month-over-month, with no noteworthy price movement in either direction. Meanwhile, the U.S. construction industry is bracing for fallout from a new round of tariffs on key building materials. Industry groups warn that these tariffs, alongside persistently high interest rates, threaten to squeeze project budgets.As metal prices remain somewhat volatile, contractors nationwide report mounting cost pressures. Now that President Trump has announced more duties, including a 50% tariff on all copper imports, further cost spikes appear imminent. Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), cautioned, “It is likely that contractors will be hit with substantial additional price increases shortly, unless the tariffs are postponed or rolled back.”Such material inflation could strain profit margins across the construction industry. Many U.S. builders operate on thin margins (often <5%), so a jump of 5–7% in overall project costs can damage profitability. Industry estimates forecast that the 2025 tariffs could drive steel prices up by ~8.2% and aluminum by ~5.7%. As a result, total construction costs would rise 5–7%.Recent Producer Price Index data confirmed that essential products like structural steel beams, rebar and aluminum components are all more expensive. In fact, prices for aluminum mill shapes were nearly 10% higher this January than a year prior, while copper/brass mill forms surged over 12% year-on-year.Not only are material costs facing potential price spikes, but builders are also contending with a challenging financing environment. The Federal Reserve’s 2022–2023 interest rate hikes took benchmark rates from near-zero to over 5%, the highest in decades. Although the Fed eased slightly with a few rate cuts in late 2024, bringing its key rate to about 4.25–4.50%, borrowing costs remain elevated. This means that commercial construction loans and mortgages are carrying 6–7% interest rates, roughly double the lows seen a few years ago. These higher rates have made it pricier for developers to finance new projects, adding another layer of cost on top of expensive materials.

Retail Sales Increased 0.6% in June --On a monthly basis, retail sales increased 0.6% from May to June (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 3.9 percent from June 2024. From the Census Bureau report: Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $720.1 billion, up 0.6 percent from the previous month, and up 3.9 percent from June 2024. ... The April 2025 to May 2025 percent change was unrevised from down 0.9 percent (±0.2 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 up 0.7% in June. 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 4.9% on a YoY basis. The change in sales in June were above expectations and the previous two months were revised down slightly, combined.

BLS: CPI Increased 0.3% in June; Core CPI increased 0.2% - From the BLS: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, after rising 0.1 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter rose 0.2 percent in June and was the primary factor in the all items monthly increase. The energy index rose 0.9 percent in June as the gasoline index increased 1.0 percent over the month. The index for food increased 0.3 percent as the index for food at home rose 0.3 percent and the index for food away from home rose 0.4 percent in June. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in June, following a 0.1-percent increase in May. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, recreation, apparel, and personal care. The indexes for used cars and trucks, new vehicles, and airline fares were among the major indexes that decreased in June. The all items index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending May. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.9 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index decreased 0.8 percent for the 12 months ending June. The food index increased 3.0 percent over the last year. The change in CPI was close to expectations. I'll post a graph later today after the Cleveland Fed releases the median and trimmed-mean CPI.

The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge (AP) — Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month. Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who as a candidate promised to immediately lower costs, but instead has engaged in a whipsawed frenzy of tariffs that have jolted businesses and consumers. Trump insists that the U.S. effectively has no inflation as he has attempted to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell into cutting short-term interest rates. Yet the new inflation numbers make it more likely that the central bank will leave rates where they are. Powell has said that he wants to gauge the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs before reducing borrowing costs. Excluding volatile food and energy, core inflation increased 2.9% in June from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in May. On a monthly basis, it picked up 0.2% from May to June. Economists closely watch core prices because they typically provide a better sense of where inflation is headed. The uptick in inflation was driven by a range of higher prices. The cost of gasoline rose 1% just from May to June, while grocery prices increased 0.3%. Appliance prices jumped for the third straight month. Toys, clothes, audio equipment, shoes, and sporting goods all got more expensive, and are all heavily imported. “You are starting to see scattered bits of the tariff inflation regime filter in,” said Eric Winograd, chief economist at asset management firm Alliance Bernstein, who added that the cost of long-lasting goods rose last month, compared with a year ago, for the first time in about three years. Winograd also noted that housing costs, a big inflation driver since the pandemic, have continued to cool, actually holding down broader inflation. The cost of rent rose 3.8% in June compared with a year ago, the smallest yearly increase since late 2021. “Were it not for the tariff uncertainty, the Fed would already be cutting rates,” Winograd said. “The question is whether there is more to come, and the Fed clearly thinks there is,” along with most economists. Some items got cheaper last month, including new and used cars, hotel rooms, and airfares. Travel prices have generally declined in recent months as fewer international tourists visit the U.S. A broader political battle over Trump’s tariffs is emerging, a fight that will ultimately be determined by how the U.S. public feels about their cost of living and whether the president is making good on his 2024 promise to help the middle class. The White House pushed back on claims that the report showed a negative impact from tariffs, since the cost of new cars fell despite the 25% tariffs on autos and 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. The administration also noted that despite the June bump in apparel prices, clothing prices are still cheaper than three months ago. “Consumer Prices LOW,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!” For Democratic lawmakers, the inflation report confirmed their warnings over the past several months that Trump’s tariffs could reignite inflation. They said Tuesday that it will only become more painful given the size of the tariff rates in the letters that Trump posted over the past week. “For those saying we have not seen the impact of Trump’s tariff wars, look at today’s data. Americans continue to struggle with the costs of groceries and rent — and now prices of food and appliances are rising,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Many businesses built up a stockpile of goods this spring and were able to delay price hikes, while others likely waited to see if the duties would become permanent. More businesses now appear to be throwing in the towel and passing on costs to consumers, including Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which has said it raised prices in June. Automaker Mitsubishi said last month that it was lifting prices by an average of 2.1% in response to the duties, and Nike has said it would implement “surgical” price hikes. Powell said last month that companies up and down the supply chain would seek to avoid paying tariffs, but that ultimately some combination of businesses and consumers would bear the cost. “There’s the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, the retailer, and the consumer, and each one of those is going to be trying not to be the one to pay for the tariff,” the Fed chair said. “But together, they will all pay for it together—or maybe one party will pay it all. But that process is very hard to predict, and we haven’t been through a situation like this.” Trump has imposed sweeping duties of 10% on all imports plus 30% on goods from China. Last week the president threatened to hit the European Union with a new 30% tariff starting Aug. 1. He has also threatened to slap 50% duties on Brazil, which would push up the cost of orange juice and coffee. Orange prices leaped 3.5% just from May to June, and are 3.4% higher than a year ago, the government said Tuesday. Overall, grocery prices rose 0.3% last month and are up 2.4% from a year earlier. While that is a much smaller increase than after the pandemic, when inflation surged, it is slightly bigger than the pre-pandemic pace. The Trump administration has also placed a 17% duty on Mexican tomatoes.

Cleveland Fed: Median CPI increased 0.2% and Trimmed-mean CPI increased 0.3% in June -The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in May. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index increased 0.3%. "The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) monthly CPI report". This graph shows the year-over-year change for these four key measures of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the median CPI rose 3.6% (up from 3.5% YoY in May), the trimmed-mean CPI rose 3.2% (up from 3.0%), and the CPI less food and energy rose 2.9% (up from 2.8%). Core PCE is for May was up 2.7% YoY, up from 2.5% in April.

YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter --Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned two years ago when services less rent of shelter was up around 8% year-over-year. This declined and is now up 3.8% YoY. This graph shows the YoY price change for Services and Services less rent of shelter through June 2025. Services were up 3.8% YoY as of June 2025, up from 3.7% YoY in May. Services less rent of shelter was up 3.8% YoY in June, up from 3.5% YoY in April.The second graph shows that goods prices started to increase year-over-year (YoY) in 2020 and accelerated in 2021 due to both strong demand and supply chain disruptions.Durables were up 0.6% YoY as of June 2025, up from unchanged YoY in May. Commodities less food and energy commodities were at 0.6% YoY in June, up from 0.3% YoY in May.Here is a graph of the year-over-year change in shelter from the CPI report (through June) and housing from the PCE report (through May) Shelter was up 3.8% year-over-year in June, down from 3.9% in May. Housing (PCE) was up 4.1% YoY in June, down from 4.2% in May.This is still catching up with private new lease data (this includes renewals whereas private data is mostly for new leases).Core CPI ex-shelter was up 2.1% YoY in June, up from 1.9% in May.

An Early Look at 2026 Cost-Of-Living Adjustments and Maximum Contribution Base --The BLS reported earlier today:The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.6 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 315.945 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.4 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate the Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA). The calculation dates have changed over time (see Cost-of-Living Adjustments), but the current calculation uses the average CPI-W for the three months in Q3 (July, August, September) and compares to the average for the highest previous average of Q3 months. Note: this is not the headline CPI-U and is not seasonally adjusted (NSA). In 2024, the Q3 average of CPI-W was 308.729. The 2024 Q3 average was the highest Q3 average, so we only have to compare Q3 this year to last year. This graph shows CPI-W since January 2000. The red lines are the Q3 average of CPI-W for each year. Note: The year labeled is for the calculation, and the adjustment is effective for December of that year (received by beneficiaries in January of the following year). CPI-W was up 2.6% year-over-year in June (up from 2.2% YoY in May), and although this is very early - we need the data for July, August and September - my early guess is COLA will probably be in 3% range this year, up from 2.5% in 2025. The contribution base will be adjusted using the National Average Wage Index. This is based on a one-year lag. The National Average Wage Index is not available for 2024 yet, although we know wages increased solidly in 2024. If wages increased 5% in 2024, then the contribution base next year will increase to around $185,000 in 2026, from the current $176,100. Remember - this is a very early look. What matters is average CPI-W, NSA, for all three months in Q3 (July, August and September).

Industrial Production Increased 0.3% in June --From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization -Industrial production (IP) increased 0.3 percent in June after remaining unchanged in April and May; for the second quarter as a whole, IP increased at an annual rate of 1.1 percent. In June, manufacturing output ticked up 0.1 percent, and the index for mining decreased 0.3 percent. The index for utilities rose 2.8 percent. At 104.0 percent of its 2017 average, total IP in June was 0.7 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization moved up to 77.6 percent, a rate that is 2.0 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2024) average. This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, and close to the level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic). Capacity utilization at 77.6% is 2.0% below the average from 1972 to 2023. This was above consensus expectations. The second graph shows industrial production since 1967. Industrial production decreased to 104.0. This is above the pre-pandemic level. Industrial production was above consensus expectations.

US producer prices flat in June, but tariffs lift goods costs - U.S. producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June as a tariff-driven increase in the cost of goods such as communication and related equipment was offset by softening demand for travel services. The weakness in the cost of services, if sustained, offers hope that a tariff-induced flare-up in inflation will not lead to broad-based price pressures, allowing the Federal Reserve to resume cutting interest rates later this year. Still, the increase in producer goods prices reported by the Labor Department on Wednesday was the latest indication that the sweeping tariffs announced by President Donald Trump in April were starting to lift inflation. The government said on Tuesday the Consumer Price Index increased by the most in five months in June, with tariff-sensitive categories posting solid rises. The data support economists' expectations that the U.S. central bank will leave its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range at its July 29-30 policy meeting. Minutes of the Fed's meeting last month, which were published last week, showed only "a couple" of officials said they felt rates could fall as soon as this month. Trump has demanded the Fed start lowering borrowing costs now. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell soon, spooking financial markets, but the president later told reporters he wasn't planning to do so. "Fed officials are unlikely to push for interest rate cuts unless they are trying to curry favor with the president." The unchanged reading in the PPI for final demand last month followed an upwardly revised 0.3% rise in May, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI would rise 0.2% after a previously reported 0.1% gain in May. The BLS said PPI data from February through May was revised "to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents." In the 12 months through June, the PPI increased 2.3% after advancing 2.7% in May. Monthly goods producer prices increased 0.3% after gaining 0.1% in May. More than half of the broad-based increase in goods prices was due to a 0.3% advance in wholesale goods excluding food and energy. These so-called core goods prices rose 0.2% in May. They were boosted last month by a 0.8% jump in prices for communication and related equipment following a 0.4% rise in May. Household furniture costs surged 1.0% after climbing 0.7% in the prior month. Home electronic equipment rose 0.8% after being unchanged in May. Passenger car prices rebounded 0.3%. Some of the increases in wholesale goods prices mirrored similar rises in the CPI goods components. Wholesale food prices increased 0.2%, with the cost of beef soaring 0.8%. Egg prices, however, dropped 19.8%. Energy prices rose 0.6%, lifted by a 1.8% increase in the cost of gasoline. "The 3.8% annualized increase in these goods prices over the last three months is the fastest since March 2023 and may be a sign that either input cost increases are forcing companies to raise prices or the protection offered by tariffs is allowing companies to raise prices," Wholesale services prices slipped 0.1% after increasing 0.4% in May. A 4.1% decline in wholesale prices of hotel and motel rooms accounted for more than half of the drop in services. The cost of airline fares decreased 2.7%.

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 221,000 - The DOL reported: In the week ending July 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 229,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 235,500 to 235,750. The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

US child health plummets amid austerity and inequality The health of children in the United States has deteriorated catastrophically over the past 16 years, a trend now documented in a new study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Authored by Dr. Matthew M. Davis and a team of researchers from Northwestern University, UCLA and other leading institutions, the report sheds light on the devastating social and medical conditions confronting an entire generation of American youth. Drawing on extensive data from nationally representative surveys, pediatric health system records (PEDSnet), and mortality statistics from the US and comparable OECD countries, the study exposes a systematic and across-the-board decline in pediatric health outcomes. Between 2007 and 2022, mortality rates for infants under one year old in the US were consistently 1.78 times higher than in comparable OECD countries. The main drivers of these excess deaths were prematurity, which was 2.22 times more likely, and sudden unexpected infant death, at 2.39 times the OECD average. Additionally, among children and youth aged 1–19, the mortality rate was 1.80 times higher, with firearm-related deaths an alarming 15.34 times more likely, and motor vehicle crash deaths 2.45 times more likely in the US than in the OECD average. Chronic health conditions among children aged 3 to 17 have also risen substantially. From 2011 to 2023, the prevalence of chronic conditions increased from 39.9 percent to 45.7 percent according to clinical records (PEDSnet), and from 25.8 percent to 31.0 percent based on parent-reported data. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, obesity and developmental disorders have seen significant increases, with major depression more than tripling in prevalence. Additionally, childhood obesity rates climbed from 17 percent in 2007–2008 to 20.9 percent in 2021–2023. Early onset of menstruation in girls rose sharply, from 9.1 percent to 14.8 percent. Trouble sleeping among adolescents nearly doubled from 7.0 percent to 12.6 percent. Limitations in daily activities due to chronic illness also increased, affecting 9.1 percent of children in 2018 compared to 7.7 percent in 2008–2009. Furthermore, the prevalence of physical symptoms diagnosed by physicians, such as pain, dermatological issues and menstrual disorders, has significantly grown, with over 41 percent of children experiencing at least one of these symptoms by 2023. Data from the Human Mortality Database (HMD) and World Health Organization (WHO) showing increase in various forms of death among young people. [Photo: JAMA] Equally concerning is the stark rise in emotional and psychological distress. Depressive symptoms among high school students increased dramatically from 26.1 percent in 2009 to 39.7 percent in 2023, and loneliness rose from 20.2 percent to 30.8 percent among adolescents aged 12–18 between 2007 and 2021. This comprehensive evidence from the JAMA study provides clear documentation of a pervasive decline in the overall health and well-being of American children.

US COVID levels rise a bit in West, South - Though COVID-19 activity in the United States is still low, infections are on the rise in some parts of the country, including states in the Southeast, South, and West, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest respiratory virus updates. The upward trend is reflected mainly in early indicators, including emergency department visits for COVID, which are still very low nationally, at 0.5%. Visits were up 10.9% from the week before, with greater increases in children ages 4 years old and younger. Test positivity is also increasing slightly at the national level, now at 4.8%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous week. Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 detections, another early marker, were at the very low level earlier this summer and are now at the low level, with the highest levels in the West, followed by the South. States at the high level include California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, and Texas. The CDC has not updated its variant proportion projections since the middle of June, owing to few sequences reported. Its last update reflected growing proportions of newer subvariants that include NB.1.8.1 and XFG.

COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection for cancer patients, but uptake remains low -Today, JAMA Oncology published two studies and a research letter on COVID-19 and cancer, including a retrospective cohort study showing that COVID-19 booster vaccinations offered significant protection against severe infection.A second study determined risk factors for hospitalization and death in patients with cancer andCOVID-19 infection, and a third research letter describes the pandemic’s effect on breast cancer surveillance and outcomes.In an editorial on the first two studies, Larry Han, PhD, writes that the new studies help close the gap in knowledge about using vaccines in cancer patients, who are excluded from randomized controlled trials due to their illness.In the first study, on booster doses and cancer patients, the authors used data from the National Cancer Institute COVID-19 and Cancer Patients Study (NCCAPS), a prospective cohort study of 1,572 adults with cancer and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.In total, 69% received a monovalent booster by January 1, 2022. The COVID-19 hospitalization rate was 30.5 per 1,000 person-years among patients who received a monovalent booster, compared to 41.9 per 1,000 person-years among patients who received the primary series alone, with an adjusted vaccine efficacy (VE) of 29.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.9% to 37.3%).VE against COVID-19–related intensive care unit admission was also high (35.6%; 95% CI, 20.0% to 48.3%). Adjusted VE against COVID-19 among cancer patients with booster shots was not significant.In the second study, cancer patients with lymphoma had the highest cumulative incidence of COVID-19–specific death in the first 90 days after infection.Of the participants, 1,066 (67.8%) had a solid tumor, with 683 (64.0%) having metastatic disease; breast (252 [23.6%]) and lung cancer (148 [13.9%]) were the most common.,Use of chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.97; 95% CI, 1.52 to 2.54) and baseline history of stroke, atrial fibrillation, or pulmonary embolism (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.38) were associated with a higher risk of hospitalization. Overall, 290 patients (18.4%) had at least 1 hospitalization for COVID-19 within 90 days of enrollment in the study. “Patients with solid non–lung tumors and other hematologic cancers were least likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19,” the authors wrote. “Among patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19, the incidence of COVID-19–specific death was highest among patients with lung cancer.”Vaccination prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a lower risk of hospitalization (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.70).“The present study found that patients who were vaccinated had a 50% reduction in risk of hospitalization, even during the early phases of the vaccine rollout,” the authors concluded. “This is important because there is concern that vaccination response is not as robust in patients with hematologic cancers, particularly those receiving B-cell–depleting therapy. The current data suggest that, despite a potentially suboptimal response, vaccination is still an important preventive strategy in this population.”

Analysis shows higher COVID hospitalization rates for Black, Hispanic kids Yesterday in JAMA Network Open, researchers published a study highlighting higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates among Black and Hispanic children in the United States during the first 3 years of the pandemic. The cross-sectional study, which was based on population-based surveillance, identified 13,555 pediatric COVID-19–associated hospitalizations from March 2020 to September 2023. Hospitalizations occurred in 12 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah, covering approximately 10% of the US population. All patients were 17 years or younger at the time of hospitalization, and case-patients had a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 14 days prior to or during hospitalization. Overall, the average age of patients was 3.3 years, and 52.5% were boys. Asian and Pacific Islander children were the smallest group, representing 5.8% of all hospitalizations. White children represented 35.5% of hospitalizations, Hispanic children 30.5%, and Black children 28.3%. Hospitalization rates were 2.15 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.01 to 2.34) times higher for Black children and 2.06 (95% CI, 1.91 to 2.23) times higher for Hispanic children compared with Asian or Pacific Islander children. And when hospitalized, Black and Hispanic children had higher rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission than Asian or Pacific Islander children. ICU admission was 1.88 (95% CI, 1.28 to 2.74) times higher for Black children and 2.13 (95% CI, 1.47 to 3.10) times higher for Hispanic children. For all races, children 4 years and younger were most frequently hospitalized, and racial disparities persisted when examining hospitalization rates among different age-groups. Among children aged 4 years or younger, cumulative hospitalization rates were 1.64 (95% CI, 1.50 to 1.83) times greater for Black children and 1.74 (95% CI, 1.60 to 1.95) times greater for Hispanic children compared with Asian or Pacific Islander children. Rate ratios increased with age. “Rate ratios for White children of all ages compared with Asian or Pacific Islander children were not as disparate,” the authors wrote. For all children, the October 2021 to September 2022 period had the highest cumulative hospitalization rates per 100, 000 population. Rates were significantly higher among Black (113.2; 95% CI, 107.33 to 118.99) and Hispanic (113.0; 95% CI, 107.48 to 118.43) children compared with Asian or Pacific Islander (64.8; 95% CI, 58.10 to 71.49) and White (77.6; 95% CI, 74.48 to 80.79) children. In 2022 and 2023, hospitalization rates decreased for all groups. “However, hospitalization rates among Black and Hispanic children remained consistently higher compared with Asian or Pacific Islander children for each period," the authors wrote. Of note, nearly all vaccine-eligible children (95.2%) of all races and ethnicities hospitalized for COVID-19 in the study had not received the recommended vaccine. While the authors call for more research in the area of racial disparities, they said higher rates of asthma and chronic illness among Black children may play a role.

Common-sense COVID nursing-home visitor policies not tied to higher risk of resident cases - Allowing nursing-home visitors was safe for residents during the COVID-19 pandemic—even during community case surges and before vaccine availability, concludes a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control.An Emory University–led research team analyzed and modeled weekly data on visitor policies, resident COVID-19 infections, and community case rates from 677 Ohio nursing homes from November 1, 2020, to January 3, 2021."Nursing home residents were particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 with over 100,000 COVID-19 related deaths reported in 2020," the authors wrote. "As a response, in March of 2020 the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommended, and most states issued, bans on outside visitors to nursing homes." Ohio was the only state that collected facility-level visitation data after ending its visitor ban on October 29, 2020.In total, 226 to 327 nursing homes allowed visitors during any week of the study period, 316 to 448 banned visitors, 207 always allowed visitors, and 289 always prohibited them. Among nursing homes that permitted visitors in a week in 2020, the proportion with a new COVID-19 case rose from 9.5% the week of November 1 to 49.3% the week of December 6. A similar increase was seen among nursing homes that forbade visitors. Except for the first 2 weeks of the study, there were no differences in infection rates between the two facility types.

COVID hospitalization linked to cognitive impairment 2 years later -Almost 20% of people who were hospitalized for COVID-19 infections early in the pandemic still had signs of impairment with brain function 2 years after infection, finds a new study in Scientific Reports.The study population came from Portugal, in a region hit hard by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on hospital admission episodes and SARS-CoV-2 infection status from March 2020 to February 2021, the authors identified four groups: group 1 (101) hospitalized for COVID-19 infections, group 2 (87) hospitalized but uninfected with COVID-19, group 3 (252) infected but not requiring hospitalization, and group 4 (258) uninfected and not hospitalized for any reason.Cognitive assessments were conducted in two parts 2 years after infection, a general screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and a subsequent neuropsychological assessment conducted by one of four psychologists if the score of the general screening was low. Overall, verbal memory, visual memory, executive functions, language, and information processing speed and attention were evaluated.The authors found that the prevalence of cognitive impairment at 2 years was 19.1%, 6.8%, 10.7%, and 3.2%, in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Notably, hospitalized patients (groups 1 and 2) more often had three or more impaired cognitive domains than the non-hospitalized participants (54.6% vs 19.4%).Cognitive impairment was more than five times higher in group 1 (adjusted odds ratio, 5.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.54 to 18.92) than in group 2. Higher odds of cognitive impairment were linked to older age (58 years and older), a history of clinical anxiety, and lower levels of education.Intensive care unit admission and hospitalization for 15 or more days was also associated with cognitive impairment. "Infection with SARS-CoV-2 during the first year of the pandemic was associated with three to five times higher odds of cognitive impairment 2 years after infection," the authors concluded. "Survivors of the disease may require special attention from clinical doctors to diagnose and treat cognitive impairment."

Life expectancy didn't return to baseline after COVID pandemic, data suggest -While life expectancy in California edged up after plunging in 2021 amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn't fully rebounded, a Northwestern University-led study suggests.The research team analyzed death data for 2019 to 2024 from the California Comprehensive Death Files and population counts from the American Community Survey, publishing their findings last week in JAMA.The researchers calculated life expectancy—the estimated lifespan of a hypothetical group of newborns based on current age-specific death rates—for the state. They also calculated life expectancy by quartile based on median income in census tracts and by the four racial groups (Hispanic, Asian, Black, and White) recorded on death certificates."US life expectancy plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased in 2022-2023," the study authors wrote. "Although estimates for 2024 have not been reported for the US, vital statistics through 2024 are available for California." Life expectancy in California rose slightly in the years leading up to the pandemic but fell sharply after 2019, bottoming out in 2021. Life expectancy regained lost ground thereafter but was still 0.86 year lower in 2024 than in 2019. While people living in the lowest-income census tract quartile (Q1) lost more life expectancy than the highest-income group (Q4; eg, 4. vs 1.75 years in 2021), the gap between Q1 and Q4 in 2024 was similar to that in 2019 (5.77 vs 5.63 years). Life-expectancy deficits relative to 2019 were greater in Hispanic and Black people than in their Asian and White counterparts (eg, 5.18, 4.04, 2.73, and 2.18 years in 2021, respectively). The Hispanic population recovered from losses in 2020-2021, when its life expectancy was lower than that of White people, but the advantage over the White population was lower in 2024 than in 2019 (1.17 vs 1.98 years). The life-expectancy gap between Black and White people was higher in 2024 than in 2019 (6.52 vs 5.67 years).Relative to 2019, in 2021, COVID-19 accounted for 1.22 years (61.6%) of the life-expectancy deficit, after which non-COVID conditions became a larger contributor. Drug overdoses and cardiovascular disease made up 20.4% of the deficit in 2020 and 49.9% in 2023. Drug overdoses were a larger contributor in Q1 than in Q4 (36.6% vs 12.7% in 2023), while cardiovascular disease made a smaller contribution (11.5% vs 26.2%). The increasing contribution of drug overdoses to life-expectancy losses in 2021-2023 affected all four racial groups but was strongest among Black people. Overdoses accounted for 0.99 years of the deficit in Black people in 2023, versus 0.42 years in Hispanic and White people and 0.08 years in Asians. Overdoses had a smaller role in life-expectancy declines in 2024 than in 2023 across California (0.17 vs 0.40 years).

The surge of XFG (Stratus) as the next dominant variant of Omicron globally -More than five years after its initial emergence, COVID-19 continues to evolve, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently designating XFG, nicknamed “Stratus,” as a new variant under monitoring in late June 2025. XFG, which is rapidly outpacing its predecessor, Nimbus, is a recombinant Omicron subvariant that has been found in increasing proportions globally, particularly in India, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite its spread, the WHO currently assesses the additional public health risk posed by XFG as low at the global level, with existing COVID-19 vaccines expected to remain effective against symptomatic and severe disease. However, this ongoing viral evolution and transmission occurs amidst a devastating crisis in US public health, driven by sweeping policy shifts and budget cuts. With respect to recent scientific analysis on XFG, in a Lancet Correspondence, Caiwan Guo and colleagues from Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC) at Peking University explained that XFG is a recombinant variant, meaning it emerged from two existing subvariants, LF.7 and LP.8.1.2, sharing genetic material from both. It has four important mutations in its spike protein, which is the part of the virus that helps it attach to human cells. Some of these mutations are thought to help it evade certain antibodies, meaning our existing immune protection from past infections or vaccinations might not work as well. Early lab studies suggest XFG has a nearly two-fold reduction in neutralization compared to LP.8.1.1, indicating strong immune evasion. However, its ability to attach to human cells (ACE2 engagement efficiency) is relatively low, which might require additional changes for it to spread widely and consistently. It was first detected on January 27, 2025. By June 22, 2025, it accounted for 22.7 percent of globally available SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 38 countries, a significant increase from 7.4 percent four weeks prior. It presently accounts for at least 30 percent of all SARS-CoV-2 variants in the US. The only accurate and comprehensive review of the state of the pandemic in the US and internationally remains the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative (PMC), run by Dr. Mike Hoerger at Tulane University. This underscores the deep crisis of public health, as previously checked diseases like measles have recently resurfaced as a threat to American population. According to their latest forecast, as of its report on July 14, 2025, the PMC model estimates approximately 2.3 million new infections per week in the U.S. This rate is forecasted to increase, potentially reaching 500,000 daily infections around July 30 (or 3.5 million a week, an increase of more than 50 percent). While earlier estimates based on reported test cases suggested a much lower figure of around 50,000 new infections per day, updated analysis using wastewater data indicates a significantly higher range of 300,000 to 600,000 new daily infections, translating to 9 million to 18 million infections per month in the US.

Quick takes: US measles cases top 1,300, Oropouche test, improved food safety | CIDRAP

• In its latest weekly update today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported 21 more measles cases, bringing the national total since the first of the year to 1,309 cases in 40 states. Two more outbreaks were reported, putting the total at 29 for the year, up dramatically from all of 2024, when 16 outbreaks were confirmed. So far, 88% of the nation's cases have been linked to outbreaks, and 92% of people infected with the virus this year were unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Last week, the United States passed the post-elimination record number of cases set in 2019. Many of the cases earlier in the year were linked to a large outbreak in West Texas, but since then there have been numerous smaller outbreaks in undervaccinated populations as well as sporadic travel-related cases.
• Quest Diagnostics yesterday announced the launch of a new diagnostic test for Oropouche virus, a disease primarily spread by biting midges and some mosquito species that has spread in parts of the Americas, including the Caribbean. In the United States, several infections have been reported in people exposed during travel to Oropouche outbreak areas. In a statement, the company said the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test will be available with a prescription by the end of the month and that its advanced lab in San Juan Capistrano, California, will perform the test. Serology testing will be available by the end of the quarter.
• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday announced new measures to reduce foodborne illnesses. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the measures during the opening of the new Midwestern Food Safety Laboratory in St Louis. Some of the steps include quicker and broaderListeria testing, updating training and tools for Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors, reopening stakeholder discussion on strategies to reduce Salmonella illnesses, strengthening state partnerships, and empowering the FSIS inspectors to take compliance actions.

Measles detected in Utah wastewater amid new cases in other states -The Utah Department of Health and Human Services announced on July 11 that an independent testing program has detected measles in wastewater samples collected on July 7 from the Provo area, suggesting that at least one person in the area was recently was sick and serving as a warning that residents should take precautions.So far, the state’s number of measles cases remains at nine, which included seven from Utah County. Other states are tracking wastewater, including New Mexico and California (Sacramento), reported confirmed infections not long after positive wastewater detections were found.The alert about more potential measles in Utah comes against the backdrop of record high cases this year since measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000.The South Dakota Department of Health recently added 8 more cases to its total, all from Lincoln County, raising its total to 12. A local media report citing the health department said all 8 of the cases are from the same household. Lincoln County is in the southeastern corner of the state and is considered part of the Sioux Falls metropolitan area.Meanwhile, the Wyoming Department of Health reported a second case in an unvaccinated child from Niobrara County, with no known connection to the first case. So far, the source of the infection isn’t known, and the child may have been in Converse County while infectious. Iowa Health and Human Services reported the state’s seventh case, which involves a vaccinated adult from the eastern part of the state. The patient has no known links to earlier cases and had not recently traveled outside the state. Though the pace of new infections has dropped steeply in the West Texas outbreak, states reporting related cases continue to report more illnesses.The Texas Department of State Health Services today reported 9 more cases, bringing the state’s outbreak total to 762. The outbreak began in January, with 36 affected counties. However, only one—Lamar—is still reporting ongoing transmission.The Kansas Department of Health and Environment today added one more case to the state’s total, raising the total to 88. The illness is linked to an ongoing outbreak in the southwestern part of the state, which was originally linked to the outbreak in West Texas. Kansas now has 85 outbreak-linked cases.

Canadian hospitals seeing exponential increase in superbug incidence - Surveillance data from a network of Canadian acute-care hospitals suggests that the incidence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) infection and colonization is low but increasing exponentially, according to a study published last week in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. Using data from the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP), a team led by researchers with the Public Health Agency of Canada analyzed eligible CPE isolates submitted by participating hospitals from 2010 through 2023, along with microbiologic data and data on patient characteristics and outcomes. A previous analysis of CNISP data from 2010 through 2014 found no significant increase in incidence of CPE, which are resistant to multiple antibiotic classes, but increasing trends in CPE incidence have been reported in Canadian hospitals in recent years. A total of 138 CPE infections were reported by 97 hospitals in 2023, for an incidence rate of 0.14 per 10,000 patient-days, up from 0.03 per 10,000 patient-days in 2010. CPE colonization incidence rose from 0.02 to 0.78 per 10,000 patient-days over the same period. The analysis also identified rising rates of healthcare-associated (HA) CPE infections from 2019 through 2023 (0.05 to 0.09 per 10,000 patient-days), primarily from 7 hospitals that accounted for 53% of all HA-CPE infections in 2023. Carbapenemases were most frequently detected in Escherichia coli (29%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (22%), and Enterobacter cloacae complex (16%). The most frequently identified carbapenemase families were blaKPC (46%), blaNDM (29%), and blaOXA-48 (16%). The median age of patients was 67 years, and pre-existing comorbidities were common (84%). Thirty-day all-cause mortality was 19%. Most patients did not report international travel (66%) or receipt of medical care abroad (74%)—two factors that have previously been associated with CPE infection and colonization. The study authors say the observed exponential growth is a warning that current infection-control measures in Canadian hospitals are insufficient to prevent CPE transmission.

Study indicates rising resistance is complicating aspergillosis treatment A review of clinical Aspergillus fumigatus isolates collected over nearly 30 years from Dutch hospitals shows rising resistance to triazole antifungals, researchers reported last week in The Lancet Microbe. For the study, a team of Chinese and Dutch scientists conducted genomic and phenotypic screening of more than 12,000 A fumigatus isolates from Dutch hospitals from 1994 through 2022 for resistance to triazole therapy. Triazoles are the first-line recommended treatment for invasive aspergillosis, which is caused by inhalation of spores produced by the environmental fungus and can lead to severe lung infections in at-risk populations, including those with severe influenza and COVID-19. The researchers were looking for signature genetic mutations that confer resistance to triazoles and have emerged in samples of A fumigatus collected from plants and soil in response to widespread use of agricultural fungicides. Of the 12,679 isolates screened, 1,979 (15.6%) harbored cyp15A triazole resistance mutations, predominantly caused by tandem repeat (TR) of 34 bases (TR34/Leu98His) and 46 bases (TR46/Tyr121Phe/Thr289Ala) in the promoter region, which correspond with signature triazole resistance phenotypes. Phenotype and genotype variations were observed in 325 (17.2%) triazole-resistant isolates harboring a TR-resistance mechanism, including 12 cyp51A genotype variants. Triazole phenotype and genotype variations appeared to be more frequent in isolates collected since 2017 compared with those collected from 1994 to 2004. A review of 59 patients with confirmed or probable invasive aspergillosis infections found that 13 (22%) had triazole-resistant cases, of which three were caused by genotype variants. Mixed-genotype infection was observed in 11 (84.6%) of 13 triazole-resistant patients, and the number of antifungal treatment switches in those patients was much higher than in those with triazole-susceptible infections.

CDC, FDA probe Salmonella outbreaks in frozen sprouted beans, pistachio cream - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have launched investigations into separate Salmonella outbreaks involving frozen sprouted beans and pistachio cream. In a media alert issued today, the CDC said 11 people in 10 states have been sickened by a strain of Salmonella (Anatum) linked to Deep-brand frozen sprouted mat (moth) beans and frozen sprouted moong (mung) beans. Illnesses started on dates ranging from October 22, 2024, to June 24, 2025. Four people have been hospitalized, with no deaths reported. The affected states are Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.Routine sampling by the FDA in May detected Salmonella in product samples, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) determined it matched the Salmonella strain causing illness. Yesterday, Chetak LLC Group announced a recall of the sprouted beans, which are sold in retail stores nationwide."While the Chetak LLC Group has indicated they have not received reports of illnesses directly, FDA and CDC's investigation has linked these products to illnesses in this outbreak through laboratory and epidemiological evidence," the FDA said in its update.The CDC, FDA, and state partners are also investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg linked to pistachio cream sold in World Market stores.To date, the outbreak has caused three illnesses in two states—Minnesota and New Jersey—with one hospitalization. Illness-onset dates range from March 10 to May 19. All four people interviewed reported eating pistachio cream, including three at the same restaurant.World Market initiated a recall of Emek brand Pistachio Cream and Emek Spread Pistachio Cacao Cream with Kadayif on July 14, after testing by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture detected Salmonella in the products. WGS is pending to see if it matches the outbreak strain. The CDC says the true number of people affected in the outbreak is likely much higher.

Nicotine poisonings surge in babies and toddlers— Poison control centers are sounding the alarm on nicotine pouches as the number of young children accidentally ingesting them rises. According to a study published in the medical journal Pediatrics, calls to poison control centers that involved children under the age of 6 with nicotine poisoning rose by over 760% between 2020 and 2023. Nearly all cases happened at home. While cases included chewing tobacco, vapes and nicotine replacements such as gum and lozenges, authors of the study pointed to the rising popularity of flavored nicotine pouches as the driving force behind accidental nicotine poisonings. The levels of nicotine in pouches can vary from 3 to 12 milligrams per pouch. At the lowest doses, it can release more nicotine than a cigarette, and even that small amount can be dangerous to children. Some minor symptoms of nicotine poisoning include nausea and vomiting, but as the dose increases, more serious side effects include high blood pressure and a fast heart rate, which can lead to seizures and respiratory failure. Although the vast majority of nicotine ingestions in children resulted in little to no harm, the study found that more than 1,600 children had serious medical outcomes. Two 1-year-old boys died after ingesting liquid nicotine. Up Next - Epstein Files Fallout Reaches Capitol Hill: Johnson and Jeffries React To keep children safe, the study authors recommend not using nicotine pouches in front of children so they don’t imitate the behavior, and keeping them out of reach. If they ingest a nicotine pouch, the best thing to do is call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

FDA reverses ban on sale of Juul e-cigarettes - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized Juul Labs to keep its electronic cigarettes on the market, a major reversal after the agency completely banned the company’s products in 2022. The agency said Thursday it will allow the sale of Juul’s original e-cigarette device as well as refill cartridges in tobacco and menthol flavors. The move followed “an extensive scientific review” that showed the benefit to adult smokers outweighed the risk to young people or adults who don’t smoke. FDA said Juul submitted evidence showing high rates of adults completely switching from cigarettes to either the tobacco- or menthol-flavored Juul products. “While today’s actions permit these specific e-cigarette products to be legally marketed in the U.S. to adults 21 and older, it does not mean these tobacco products are safe, nor are they FDA approved,” the agency said. FDA’s decision marks the latest chapter for a company so popular it was once synonymous with vaping. But as more young people began using its fruit flavored products, federal scrutiny grew. Juul has denied allegations that it marketed its e-cigarettes to children and teens. The FDA in 2022 announced a ban on the sale of Juul e-cigarettes nationwide, saying the company did not prove that keeping its products on the market “would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.”

Popular yogurt recalled; could contain sharp plastic pieces– A popular yogurt company is recalling more than a dozen of its varieties due to the potential presence of plastic pieces that could have sharp edges and cause choking, as seen in a recall alert published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).According to the recall alert, Danone U.S. is voluntarily recalling all flavors and sizes of YoCrunch products currently sold at retail stores nationwide. Danone says consumers have reported finding plastic pieces in the “dome toppers,” which are separate compartments containing the yogurts’ toppings. Officials say only the separately packaged toppers are affected — not the separately packaged yogurt“The plastic pieces are transparent, may have sharp edges, and could present a risk to consumers because some pieces are between 7 and 25 mm in length,” reads the alert. “The company is working swiftly with retail partners to remove the impacted product from shelves, while it works to address the issue and bring back the YoCrunch® products so many people enjoy.” Impacted product names and code dates, as provided by the FDA, are below.

Report: No link between aluminum-adjuvanted childhood vaccines, conditions such as autism -A 24-year study of more than 1.2 million Danish children adds to the already considerable evidence finding no tie between exposure to aluminum-adjuvanted childhood vaccines and autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. The study, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, comes less than a month after US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly asked a government vaccines advisory group to scrutinize dozens of aluminum-containing vaccines that have been in use for nearly 100 years. Aluminum-based adjuvants are often used in inactivated vaccines, including childhood vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (Tdap), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and hepatitis A and B to boost immune responses, the study authors noted."Although immunization with aluminum-adsorbed vaccines in children has been used worldwide for many decades and is generally considered safe, concerns about potential harms continue to resurface," they wrote. Researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen led the nationwide study, which used registry data on childhood vaccinations and aluminum content, outcomes, and potential confounding factors in the first 2 years of life among more than 1.2 million children born in Denmark from 1997 to 2018. Only 15,237 children (1.2%) received no aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines before age 2. Each aluminum-adjuvanted vaccine dose contained 0.125 to 1.00 milligram (mg) of aluminum. The total vaccine-related aluminum exposure by age 2 varied by birth year (median, 3 mg). The researchers found no association between cumulative aluminum exposure in vaccines in the first 2 years of life and increased risk of any of the 50 chronic conditions. For groups of combined outcomes, adjusted hazard ratios per 1-milligram increase in aluminum exposure were 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94 to 1.02) for any autoimmune disorder, 0.99 (95% CI, 0.98 to 1.01) for any atopic or allergic disorder, and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.90 to 0.97) for any neurodevelopmental disorder. For most individually analyzed disorders, the upper limits of the 95% CIs were incompatible with relative increases higher than 10% for 19 disorders, 30% for 7 disorders, and 31% to 79% for the 4 remaining conditions. (they should check for an Alzheimer's link)

Study: Climate change helps diversify, increase transmissibility of West Nile virus -Warming trends across North America have helped establish West Nile virus (WNV) as an endemic disease in New York state, and in the future continued climate change will help increase transmissibility of the virus, according to new research published late last week in Scientific Reports. West Nile virus is part of the Flaviviridae family, which includes Zika, dengue, and yellow fever virus. Transmitted by mosquitoes, WNV infections are neuroinvasive and can be both severe and fatal, with significant proportions of patients experiencing meningitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid myelitis. WNV was first detected in New York state in 1999 and has become endemic in the last 25 years. The authors of the present study used surveillance and sequencing data of WNV isolated from mosquitoes across the state to study a correlation between rising temperatures, increased WNV genetic diversity, and prevalence. Samples collected as part of the WNV mosquito surveillance program in New York from 2000 to 2018 were used in the study. “Across the globe, average temperatures are increasing with consequences for vector-borne disease transmission,” the authors wrote. “In NYS [New York state], temperatures have risen at an average rate of 0.3 °C per a decade since 1970 and are predicted to increase an additional 2.2 °C by 2080.” In addition to looking at sequencing and surveillance data, the authors analyzed genetically distinct WNV strains from mosquitoes collected during recent warm summers (2017 and 2018) and cooler historic summers (2003 and 2004). The authors found a positive correlation between intraseason genetic diversity and increased temperature. To assess temperature and transmissibility the authors calculated the ratio of the mean relative reproducibility between different subsets of WNV samples collected in New York, including eight genetically distinct WNV strains from the years 2003–2004 (historic) and 2017–2018 (contemporary). They found that contemporary strains have a 29.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.8% to 48.0%) increase in transmission potential at 24 °C (75.2 °F) and a 10.2% (95% CI, -0.3%, to 21.5%) increase at 28 °C (82.4 °F) compared with historic strains. “The risk of WNV is predicted to increase in some regions as temperature increases yet predictive models that do not account for the potential for increased transmissibility of emerging WNV strains may underestimate the future risk,” the authors concluded. “Refining WNV thermal biology to consider the diverse and evolving nature of vector-virus interactions more accurately is key to preparing public health efforts for future vector-borne disease risks.”

Arizona reports pneumonic plague death in Coconino County -Arizona's Coconino County, near Flagstaff, has reported a pneumonic plague death, its first since 2007. The Arizona resident, who suffered a severe lung infection caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, had no connection to a prairie dog die-off in the Townsend Winona area, northeast of Flagstaff, officials said.This is the first plague death reported in Coconino County since 2007, when a person who had an interaction with a dead animal was infected with the disease. County officials said no further details about the recent death will be released out of respect for the person and his or her family. Officials also said the overall risk to the public is low. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about seven people in the United States are sickened with plague annually. Yersinia pestis can be transmitted to animals through bites from infected fleas, but the risk of human-to-human transmission is very low. The last documented human-to-human transmission in the United States occurs in 1924. If detected early, plague can be treated effectively with antibiotics.

Report describes offseason plague case transmitted via cat - An Oregon man contracted plague from his pet cat in January last year—by far the earliest case ever recorded in a calendar year in the state—possibly indicating a seasonal shift of the disease in people.The man's case was detailed yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Plague, caused by the bacteriumYersinia pestis, is most commonly confirmed in people in late spring or summer. It typically spreads through fleas from rodents.Oregon had not confirmed a human plague case since 2015, when it recorded two.The man's saga began on January 19, 2024, when his 2-year-old cat began receiving veterinary care in central Oregon for a neck abscess and vomiting. The cat received oral antibiotics, and a veterinarian drained and excised the abscess on January 24. The next day, the 73-year-old man cut his right index finger with a kitchen knife and received treatment at an urgent care center. Healthcare practitioners sutured the wound and sent the man home. Later that day the man had contact with his cat, which was still receiving veterinary care. The next day, on January 26, the man noticed a new tender, raised ulcer on his right wrist. On January 30 he sought care at a local emergency department with symptoms that included skin infection (cellulitis) and swollen lymph nodes extending from the wound on his wrist up to his right armpit. He was admitted to the hospital and was initially treated with the intravenous (IV) antibiotics ceftriaxone and metronidazole. Hospital lab testing revealed Y pestis in the man's blood, and plague was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacteriophage-lysis testing at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory on February 6. The man's antibiotic therapy was changed to IV gentamicin and levofloxacin, and his symptoms subsequently improved. He was discharged from the hospital on February 7 and prescribed a 9-day course of oral levofloxacin. Unfortunately, the man was not able to give the cat its antibiotics after its surgery, and the cat died on January 31. Scientists with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later confirmed Y pestis in tissues from the cat via PCR and tissue culture.

Nigeria Faces Multi Disease Alert, NCDC Urges Immediate Action - The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has issued an urgent nationwide alert over the growing threat of multiple infectious disease outbreaks, warning that Nigeria faces an escalating public health emergency if immediate measures are not taken. According to the NCDC, the country is currently battling a surge in cholera cases affecting 34 states, alongside fresh detections of yellow fever and dengue fever in several regions, while Mpox and diphtheria outbreaks continue to strain health systems. In its latest situation report covering Epidemiological Week 26 (June 23–29), the agency revealed that Zamfara State accounts for 32 percent of the national cholera burden, with other high-risk states including Bayelsa, Adamawa, Delta, Lagos, and Rivers. Although specific case numbers were not disclosed, the Centre warned that the situation requires “heightened vigilance and intensified response efforts.” The NCDC confirmed seven laboratory cases of yellow fever in Abia, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, and Rivers States, noting that even a single confirmed infection meets the threshold for an outbreak under international health regulations. The agency also reported a dengue fever outbreak in Edo State, detected between June 9 and 13, raising concerns of further mosquito-borne disease spread driven by poor sanitation and climate factors. “This convergence of outbreaks is occurring at a time when Nigeria is still managing Mpox and diphtheria, putting additional pressure on health services,” the agency said. It urged citizens to take preventive measures, including improved hygiene, vaccination against yellow fever, and elimination of mosquito breeding sites. The NCDC also advised Nigerians to seek immediate medical care for symptoms such as severe diarrhoea, persistent fever, joint pain, or unexplained bleeding, and warned against self-medication since yellow fever and dengue share similarities with malaria. To contain the situation, the Centre announced it is coordinating with state governments, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and partners to deploy rapid response teams, strengthen laboratory surveillance, and scale up risk communication campaigns nationwide. “Nigerians must act now to prevent further loss of lives,” the NCDC warned, stressing that controlling these outbreaks will require urgent, collective action across all sectors.

Nipah virus infects another in India's hot spot - A 32-year-old man who is the son of a man who died from a confirmed Nipah virus infection in India's Kerala state has tested positive in preliminary hospital testing, Onmanorama News reported today, which appears to lift the current outbreak total to five. The man had accompanied his 58-year-old father, who died from his infection and appears to represent the fourth case, to the hospital. He was on the contact list and began having symptoms while under observation. The outbreak is occurring in an area of Kerala state that has reported Nipah virus cases before. Besides the father and son, earlier outbreak patients include a 42-year-old woman from Malappuram district, an 18-year-old woman from Malappuram district who died from her illness, and a 38-year-old woman from Palakkad district Nipah virus is spread by fruit bats and can be transmitted between people. The virus can also be contracted by drinking palm sap or eating fruit contaminated with bat urine, droppings, or saliva. Nipah illness has a high case-fatality rate, and there are no specific treatments or vaccine, though trials are under way.

Bangladesh and India alert WHO about new H5N1 infections --In a monthly zoonotic flu update, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Bangladesh and India have reported new H5N1 avian flu cases that were previously unreported. Bangladesh’s patient is a child from Chittagong division in the country’s southeast who was admitted to the hospital on May 21, where a respiratory sample was collected. Symptoms included fever, diarrhea, and mild respiratory symptoms. The sample tested positive for H5 on May 28, and the neuraminidase was confirmed later as N1. An investigation revealed the child had contact with backyard poultry before symptoms began. No other cases were detected, and the child has recovered. The illness marks Bangladesh’s 11th human H5N1 case since 2008 and its third of 2025. In June, the WHO noted the two cases reported earlier this year, both of them children from Khulna division in the southwestern part of the country. Both recovered from their infections. Today’s report on the new cases didn’t note the clade, but the two cases reported earlier this year involved the older 2.3.2.1a, known to circulate in birds and poultry in Bangladesh and India. The WHO said India’s case involves a man from Karnataka state whose sample was obtained in May and has since died from his infection. Few details were available about his exposure. However, the report said the virus belongs to the 2.3.2.1a clade known to circulate in Bangladesh and India. India reported its last case in April, which involved a 2-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh state who died from her infection.

European nations report more local detections of chikungunya, dengue -Italy has reported its first local chikungunya case since 2017, in Piacenza province in Emilia-Romagna region in the north, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today in its latest weekly communicable disease report. The country is the second on the European mainland to report local chikungunya cases year. France has now confirmed 30 cases in 12 different administrative regions, with the largest cluster (13 cases) reported from Salon-de-Provence, in Bouches-du-Rhône department in the south.Meanwhile, France and Italy have reported their first local dengue cases of the year, France's from the Loire Valley and Italy's in Bologna province. Both involved single cases. Portugal had reported two dengue cases in Madeira in January, which the ECDC said likely involved transmission in 2024. Earlier this month, the ECDC announced the launch of a new series of mosquito-borne illness updates and published guidance on locally acquired mosquito-transmitted diseases in Europe.

Quick takes: Chikungunya in China, prefilled Shingrix vaccine approval, H5N1 in US mammals | CIDRAP

• Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) yesterday warned about a chikungunya outbreak in China's Guangdong province that has so far sickened at least 478 people. Though no related cases have been reported in Hong Kong, the CHP said it is preparing for imported cases and urged people to eliminate mosquito-breeding sites and take steps to avoid mosquito bites. Guangdong province's outbreak is centered in the Shunde district of Foshan, which is on the Pearl River delta. The outbreak was triggered by imported cases. So far, all illnesses have been mild with symptoms that include fever and joint pain. Hong Kong averaged 11 imported chikungunya cases per year from 2016 to 2019 but has not recorded any since 2020.
• GSK today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prefilled syringe formulation of its recombinant shingles vaccine (Shingrix). Prefilled syringes make it easier for healthcare providers to immunize, because they don't need to reconstitute separate vials before administration. The existing version of the vaccine contains two vials—a lyophilized (powdered) antigen and a liquid adjuvant. Consistent with the earlier version, the vaccine is approved for adults ages 50 and older and those ages 18 and older who are at increased risk for shingles, which is caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus, the same one that causes chickenpox. Two doses are needed to complete the vaccine series.
• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) this week confirmed 10 more H5N1 avian flu detections in wild and captive mammals, including two with recent sample collection dates—from a harbor seal in Lincoln County, Maine, and a domestic cat in Multnomah County, Oregon. The others were seven skunks from four Texas counties that have sample collection dates in February and March and a harbor seal from Suffolk County, Massachusetts, that was sampled in February.

Flies, ‘milk snatching’ among H5N1 transmission contributors in dairy cattle -Though H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in dairy cattle and commercial poultry are at low levels in the United States, scientists continue to sort out how the virus spreads on farms, and two new pieces of information this week shed more light on potential spread in dairy cattle: contamination from house flies and “milk snatching”. A new monthly update from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), which covers activity in June, said though poultry outbreaks have decreased, with only 15 reported for the month, new outbreaks in wild birds are on the rise, especially in Europe. In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play major roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued to occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and stepped-up biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions and intense scientific investigations into other contributing factors.Earlier this week, Raj Rajnarayanan, MSc, PhD, a computational biologist with the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, noticed that H5N1 sequence samples from a house fly from California in October had been recently uploaded to GISAID, the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, and posted his observations on X. Like the virus spreading in cattle, the virus belonged to the B3.13 subtype of the 2.3.4.4b clade.“Detection of avian influenza in house flies shows these insects can mechanically move virus around farms,” Rajnarayanan wrote in a follow-up post. “No evidence they spread H5N1 to people or animals but it’s another reason to step up farm biosecurity!” Mike Coston, a former paramedic who has been chronicling avian flu scientific developments for decades on his news blog Avian Flu Diary, in a post yesterday referenced a report from as far back as 2006 from Japan that showed blow flies found in the vicinity of a poultry outbreak could carry the virus and spread it by their feet or body following contact with infected material. “While we're not talking about classically 'infected' flies, it seems likely that contaminated flies may be one of many contributors to the spread of the HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] virus,” he wrote, also pointing to a more recent preprint study that suggested blowflies at a Japanese crane colony could acquire the virus from dead birds or from fecal material of infected birds.In other developments, a Chinese research team that studied experimental infections involving different inoculation routes and resulting transmission in dairy cattle found that mouth-to-teat transmission may be how the H5N1 virus initially infects mammary glands. The team published its findings earlier this month in National Science Review.They found that virus delivered through the nose only replicates in the mouth and respiratory tracts of dairy cattle, but inoculation into the mammary gland replicates only in that mammary gland, suggesting that entry through the teat is the only way the virus can naturally infect mammary glands.Because some lactating cows “steal milk” through self-nursing or mutual nursing, mouth-to-teat transmission may be the route by which H5N1 initially infects the mammary glands, the team wrote. Calves were also able to transmit the virus through nursing. Investigators noted that bovine oral tissues contain high levels of sialic acid receptors, which may facilitate viral infections through contaminated feed and water and efficient replication that can last for several days.

Avian flu exacts heavy financial toll on dairy industry, report says -Decreased milk production, death, and early removal from a single herd of adult dairy cows infected with the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cost an estimated $737,500, even before considering ongoing altered herd dynamics or reproductive losses, according to a studypublished this week in Nature Communications.Cornell University researchers evaluated the effects of HPAI on a herd of 3,876 dairy cows living on a farm in Ohio that experienced an outbreak in spring 2024 after the transfer of 42 healthy-looking lactating cows from a Texas farm. The team analyzed animal- and herd-level data collected before, during, and after the outbreak (March 8 to June 7). The ongoing US HPAI outbreak began in 2022, leading to the deaths of nearly 175 million birds. The virus spilled over into mammals and, in March 2024, dairy cattle. So far, 1,074 herds in 17 states have been infected.When the outbreak began on the Ohio farm, 3,433 of 3,876 cows (88.6%) were lactating. In total, 777 cows (20.0%) were diagnosed as having flu based on severe mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue) leading to a drop in milk production, loss of appetite, apathy, and decreased rumination time. Sick animals were segregated to a hospital pen next to those used for healthy non-lactating cows.Of the 777 sick cows, 776 were lactating, and 1 was in the dry period, with most affected cows at the mid-to-late stages of lactation and at the second or greater lactation. Acute illness lasted, on average, 7.9 days, and cows stayed in the hospital pen for, on average, 5.1 days. Notably, 53 of 777 sick cows (6.8%) died or were euthanized within, on average, 13.6 days after diagnosis, while another 245 (31.6%) were culled within 20.6 days after diagnosis. Relative to uninfected cows, sick cows were at a sixfold increased risk for death (relative risk [RR], 6.0) and a more than triple the risk of being removed from the herd (RR, 3.6). Seroprevalence (presence of avian flu antibodies in blood) was 89.4% in the herd, with 76.1% of seropositive cows infected. Risk factors for infection were having 100 to 200 days into milk production (number of days lactating since calving) and having given birth more than once. Economic losses from decreased milk production (about 900 kg [1,984 pounds] per cow) for 60 days and cow loss added up to $950 per cow, for a total of $737,500.

Pennsylvania identifies CWD case near Allegheny County -- Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been identified in Armstrong County, posing a risk of spread to suburban and urban areas with high deer densities, given the location northeast of Pittsburgh. The disease was found following tests on a severely emaciated doe that was euthanized and tested in early June, Andrea Korman, MS, who supervises the CWD division at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, told the PittsburghPost-Gazette. The deer was found near the city of Freeport, near the Allegheny County line. Pennsylvania first detected CWD in 2012 in Adams County, and the disease has since spread to all south-central counties, along with sections of other counties. In an emailed statement, the game commission said the Freeport detection is the furthest west CWD has been detected in the county and raised concerns about the high density of deer in the area of the most recent case detection. “This is the first time CWD has been detected in such a populated area,” the group said, adding that the location raises the possibility that officials will need the slow the spread of the disease in urban and suburban environments. Officials also warned that the new detection isn’t far from Butler County and is across the Allegheny River from Westmoreland County. CWD was most recently detected in Dauphin County. Officials said a few earlier detections have been reported from Armstrong County, most recently about 10 miles from Freeport.

After Devastating Winter Losses, Another Threat Looms for U.S. Beekeepers --Every January, Charles Linder travels from Illinois to Idaho to retrieve thousands of bee hives from a temperature-controlled storage facility. He loads boxes of hives onto a semi truck headed west for almond season, the first of many stops his bees will make on a cross-country pollination tour. But two winters ago, Mr. Linder opened those boxes and discovered that around 90 percent of his bees were dead. “It was gut-wrenching,” he said. “There’s an emotional loss from that. There’s a frustration that you didn’t do your job right. And then the economics hit.” His experience was not unique. The western honeybee, Apis mellifera, is the workhorse of American agriculture, pollinating more than 130 types of nuts, fruits and vegetables — some $15 billion worth of the nation’s crops — every year. But as the commercial beekeeping industry in the United States has grown, so too have its losses. Nearly 56 percent of managed honeybee colonies died off in the past year, according to preliminary resultsreleased in June by the U.S. Beekeeping Survey. That is the highest rate recorded since annual reporting began in 2011.“Beekeepers, especially commercial ones, experienced a particularly bad year,” Geoff Williams, an entomologist at Auburn University who coordinated the survey, wrote in an email. The results, he said, highlight “the tremendous strain honeybees and beekeepers are facing to safeguard our food supply.”Honeybee health has been negatively affected by a combination of factors: unpredictable weather, habitat loss, pesticides and disease. But one of the biggest threats is a parasite known as varroa destructor, a Southeast Asian mite that arrived in the United States in the late 1980s. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that viruses spread by varroa were a leading cause of the past year’s colony collapses, with an estimated financial impact of $600 million for beekeeping businesses.. While American beekeepers search for solutions, another, potentially worse threat looms: Tropilaelaps mites, which also hail from Southeast Asia and have been making their way across Asia and into Europe. Should they arrive in North America, experts fear, the mites would wreak havoc on honeybees and ravage a large part of the nation’s food supply. “The beekeeping industry in the United States, as we know it, would completely collapse,” said Patty Sundberg, president of the American Beekeeping Federation. In recent years, as concern about Tropilaelaps has grown, scientists have ramped up research on the mite. The federal government and honeybee nonprofits have funded much of that work, as well as trainings to educate beekeepers, some of whom are now pushing for the United States to have better protection against the mites. Despite these efforts, stakeholders fear that American honeybees cannot survive another parasite. “We already have a perfect storm of problematic issues for our bees,” said Sammy Ramsey, an entomologist at the University of Colorado Boulder who has spent years sounding the alarm about Tropilaelaps mites. Mass firings and funding cuts by the Trump administration may have further undermined the nation’s readiness. Beekeepers worry about what that could mean for commercial pollination and the nation’s produce supply. “From the blueberries of Maine to the avocados of San Diego County, we always show up,” said John Miller, a fourth-generation beekeeper in North Dakota who owns about 18,000 colonies. “I don’t know what’s going to happen the year we don’t.”

Algal bloom turns coast into a 'marine graveyard' -A massive, unstoppable, toxic algal bloom that has turned beaches into "marine graveyards" has prompted calls for a federal investigation. The bloom of the microalgae, karenia mikimotoi, was identified off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula in March, and grew to more than 4400 sq km, close to the size of Kangaroo Island. It's now breaking up and has spread into most of Gulf St Vincent, including along Adelaide's beaches and south into the Coorong wetlands. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the bloom was a horrific and heartbreaking "environmental catastrophe". "When parliament resumes in two weeks time in Canberra, I will be moving for a federal parliamentary inquiry," she told reporters on Friday. "We need proper investigation and proper federal support." Beaches have become "graveyards" for marine species, and the fishing and tourism industries have been significantly impacted, she said. Ms Hanson-Young claimed the federal government ignored warnings about the algae before it took hold. "It is very concerning that the country's leading marine scientists have been ignored and dismissed," she said. Experts believe there are three potential plausible contributing factors causing the bloom, the SA government said. One is a marine heatwave that started in September 2024, with sea temperatures about 2.5°C warmer than usual, combined with calm conditions, light winds and small swells. Another is the 2022-23 River Murray flood washing extra nutrients into the sea and an unprecedented cold-water upwelling in summer 2023-24 that brought nutrient-rich water to the surface. SA Environment Minister Susan Close said the bloom had lasted longer than experts thought it would. "Now that it's here, it's going to be hard to get rid of," she said. The SA government has met with impacted commercial fishers, tourism operators and local councils about support packages. "It's been very, very distressing for people, and it's affected people's livelihoods," Ms Close said. The state government is also starting work on a recovery plan, that could include creating artificial reefs to help build up marine life, restocking fish into the ocean and increasing the number of marine sanctuary zones along the coast. OzFish previously said more than 200 species of fish, sharks and other marine creatures had been killed by the algae bloom. This includes rarely encountered deepwater sharks and leafy sea dragons, and recreational fishing species like flathead, squid, crabs, and rock lobsters.

Tragic beach discovery sparks fresh alarm over ‘horror’ issue in Australia: ‘Devastating’ -- One of the country's leading marine biologists is warning there may be long-term ecological consequences in the wake of the toxic algae bloom currently killing thousands of animals in waters of the South Australian coast.Professor Shauna Murray, from the UTS School of Life Sciences, said she doesn't believe the crisis has been managed poorly, in response to some commentary earlier this week insisting the event would have received much more attention and swifter action if it had impacted eastern states like New South Wales or Queensland.But, Murray said, there is an opportunity for Australia to take global leadership when it comes to marine ecosystem threats. For months now,many thousands of marine animals, spanning over 390 species, have been washing ashore dead along beaches in the south, with the toxic algae Karenia mikimotoi to blame.Some believe that figure is modest, with not all deaths being witnessed, and incidents being heavily reliant on reporting. In an interview with Yahoo News Australia, Murray said she believes "it's too early to say exactly what factors" are driving this particular harmful algal bloom (HAB) of Karenia mikimotoi, though in general, climate change is "certainly having long-term impacts on HABS".algae has highly individual conditions that it grows under, and these vary. Karenia mikimotoi is normally a temperate species, which blooms in the north of China, the north Atlantic, and other countries," she explained."However, having said that, it could be that a one-degree increase in water temperatures over an extended time frame could be contributing to the growth of the species. Other conditions, such as currents, water nutrients, and other factors, are also contributing. HABs are almost always due to a specific combination of factors unique to the algal species."Murray believes there could be long-term ecological consequences, given that after a Karenia species bloom in Wellington Harbour in New Zealand in the 1990s, it took about three to five years for the ecosystem to recover.Though the current bloom involves similar Karenia species and brevetoxins, it is impacting a much larger area. "Hence, while I think habitat collapse is unlikely, I do think that we will need to closely monitor fish and invertebrate species abundances to understand impacts," Murray said.On social media, dozens of individual examples continue to emerge from beaches around the state that have been inundated with carcasses, attracting tens of thousands of responses from upset Australians, questioning if more could have been done. "This is literal horror," one person said."We should all be losing it at this. This is devastating," another said, with each comment attracting hundreds of likes.

Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ have infiltrated Antarctic waters: Study - The frigid waters that surround Antarctica may be inhospitable to human inhabitance, but they are churning with the manmade relics of toxic chemical production, a new study has found. Certain types of “forever chemicals” are present in ocean areas west of the Antarctic Peninsula at levels comparable to those in the North Atlantic, according to the study, published in Communications Earth & Environment. These findings, the study authors stated, underscore the importance of considering persistence when weighing environmental risk, while shedding light “on the impact of the larger pool of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” also known as PFAS. There are about 15,000 types of these so-called “forever chemicals,” many of which are linked to cancers and other serious illnesses. Known for their ability to linger in the environment, PFAS are found in certain firefighting foams and in a variety of household products, such as waterproof apparel, nonstick pans and cosmetics. Although previous studies have suggested only a limited presence of PFAS in the Southern Ocean, the authors — from Spain’s Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research and the University of Barcelona — were able to challenge this assumption. The prevailing notion, they explained, reasoned that the “circumpolar current” that flows clockwise around the Antarctic prevented the transport of PFAS southwards. Yet at the same time, the researchers recognized that oceans have become “a major reservoir” of a PFAS subgroup called perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) — and that certain precursors of PFAAs had been identified in the Southern Ocean’s atmosphere. “PFAAs are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical oceans and are extremely persistent in the environment,” the authors stated. Among the two most notorious types of PFAAs around the world are PFOA and PFOS — carcinogens that have largely been phased out of production but that remain in soil and water resources due to their longevity. To determine whether these persistent — and often toxic — types of PFAS had in fact infiltrated the Southern Ocean, the scientists conducted on-site water sampling in the area, accompanied by analytical procedures. In doing so, they identified PFAA concentrations in seawater at Antarctic latitudes of 71 degrees south comparable with those of 37 degrees north — in regions with known PFAS sources across Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia and the United States. Given the circumpolar current’s likely role as “a barrier for the north-south transport of PFAAs by oceanic currents,” the researchers focused on a possible mechanism called “wet deposition,” when aerosolized pollutants fall from the atmosphere with rain or snow. The scientists ultimately determined that PFAA compounds are transported via ocean currents from the southern subtropical Atlantic to the sub-Antarctic — the zone immediately north of the Antarctic region. From there, what likely occurs is a phenomenon known as “sea-spray mediated grasshopping,” in which PFAA-laden sea spray forms in the atmosphere and then deposits in the Southern Ocean, per the study.

House panel OKs grizzly bear, vulture, lead ammo bills - The sleepy 2,500-person Covert Township in Michigan is on the cusp of setting a new milestone amid what many are calling a U.S. nuclear renaissance. In October, Palisades nuclear generating station is expected to become the country’s first commercial reactor to reopen after fully shutting down. The milestone comes amid a resurgence in public support for nuclear power and state and federal leaders’ readiness to financially back the projects.The Biden administration committed a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to the Palisades restart, and the Trump administration has since continued those disbursements even as it moves to freeze other green energy dollars.“We’ve got two administrations with very different philosophies on energy, both saying this makes sense to move ahead with bringing Palisades back,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who represents Covert’s congressional district.“All the infrastructure is there. There’s no long, drawn-out permitting process. It’s not like it’s a new greenfield development. It’s been there for decades,” he continued.But to Kevin Kamps, a staffer at the Maryland-based watchdog group Beyond Nuclear and a Michigan native, the planned reopening of Palisades is an impending “nuclear nightmare.” Beyond Nuclear contested the plan at virtually every step of the vetting process and now “fully intend[s] to appeal to the federal courts,” Kamps said.Reopening Palisades, Kamps said, means “risking a Chernobyl on the Michigan shoreline.” Other advocates are concerned about the future environmental health of the Great Lakes, which account for over 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater.

German customs officials show images of tarantulas hidden in spongecake boxes after smuggling bust | The Hill(AP) — Customs officials on Monday released photos from a seizure of roughly 1,500 young tarantulas found inside plastic containers that had been hidden in chocolate spongecake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany. Customs officials found the shipment at Cologne Bonn airport in a package that had arrived from Vietnam, tipped off by a “noticeable smell” that didn’t resemble the expected aroma of the 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) of the confectionery treats, Cologne customs office spokesman Jens Ahland said. “My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the world, but the fact that they found around 1,500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless,” Ahland said in a statement. Ahland hailed an “extraordinary seizure,” but one that “saddens us to see what some people do to animals purely for profit.” Many of the eight-legged creatures didn’t survive the trip, in a suspected violation of German animal-welfare rules, while survivors were given to the care of an expert handler, the office said. Reached by phone, Ahland said that the estimated value of the shipment was being assessed. Criminal proceedings are underway against the intended recipient in the Sauerland region, east of the airport, in part for alleged violations of failure to pay the proper import duties and make the proper customs declarations, the office said.

A massive raft of fire ants found on Austin’s Lake Travis— Residents of Texas’s capital are reporting fire ants floating on floodwaters, forming living rafts out of their own bodies. On Wednesday morning, one Austinite shared video of one such raft drifting on Lake Travis. When their underground nests flood, fire ants link their legs and jaws together to create buoyant, self-assembled mounds. These floating colonies can contain thousands of ants — and they can still bite or sting if disturbed. Fire ants are widespread in Texas, and researchers at Texas A&M University are studying how they respond to flooding. The insects bite one another and interlock their limbs, forming tightly packed rafts that don’t sink. Their waxy skin helps repel water and keep the group afloat, as seen in the video from David Todd, a viewer of Nexstar’s KXAN: “It’s called a self-organizing or self-assembling process. And it’s something only social insects do,” Ed LeBrun, a research scientist at the University of Texas’ Brackenridge Field Lab in central Austin, said. “There are a lot of other structures that ants make in a similar way. For example, army ants will make bridges across rivers,” LeBrun added.

Texas halts flood catastrophe search efforts as new, life-threatening weather event approaches - Less than ten days after the catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River over the July 4 holiday, Texas has suspended all ongoing search and rescue operations due to the arrival of new, life-threatening storms approaching the area. On Sunday morning, the immediate suspension of all search and recovery missions along the Guadalupe River and surrounding areas in Central Texas was implemented. The decision was made in response to urgent warnings from meteorologists and local authorities about the imminent threat posed by renewed storms. In a statement, Kerr County officials declared: “Rescue personnel, equipment, and vehicles must be removed from the river area immediately. Volunteer efforts are currently paused until further notice. All self-employed should heed this warning for their own safety. The safety of lives is our utmost priority.” Fire Department spokesman Brian Lochte added, “We’re working with a few crews and airboats and SAR (search and rescue) boats just in case.” The suspension is expected to last at least until river conditions stabilize, with hopes of resuming operations as soon as Monday, when it is safe to do so. The “pause” in recovery operations, as local officials termed it, comes as new reports provide information exposing the role played in the catastrophe by the criminal policies of the Trump administration, both in cutting back on emergency preparedness and effectively shutting down all efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a series of escalating warnings as the new storm system approached central Texas. Forecasters predicted an additional two to four inches of rainfall across the already saturated region, with isolated pockets potentially receiving as much as nine to twelve inches. These are the conditions ripe for further flash flooding. The NWS issued flash flood watches for multiple counties, warning of “considerable to catastrophic flash flood impacts” and urging residents to avoid all travel on flooded roads. The Guadalupe River was expected to rise to nearly fifteen feet, five feet above flood stage; high enough to submerge critical infrastructure such as the Highway 39 bridge near Hunt. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office released a “Code Red” alert, instructing residents to prepare for possible evacuation, though not ordering one at the time. “This is not an evacuation, but a notice to prepare,” the sheriff’s office emphasized. Numerous secondary roads and bridges were already under water, and emergency officials warned that conditions could deteriorate rapidly.

Flash floods trigger mandatory evacuation as Guadalupe River nears flood stage again, Texas – (videos) Central Texas counties including San Saba, and Lampasas faced renewed flash flooding on July 13, 2025, forcing evacuations and suspending rescue operations as the Guadalupe River again approached flood stage.Central Texas experienced another round of severe flooding on July 13, leading to mandatory evacuations and a temporary halt in ongoing search and rescue operations that had been active since the deadly floods of July 4. A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for San Saba County on the morning of July 13, along with a mandatory evacuation order for areas previously affected by the July 4 floods. Rescues and evacuations were also carried out in Lampasas, Schleicher, Kimble, Menard, and Sutton counties.The San Saba County Sheriff’s Office reported numerous road closures due to rushing water and warned residents not to drive over flooded roadways.County Judge Jody Fauley used social media to urge residents to move to higher ground.“If you are in an area that was previously affected or close to being affected last week, please make plans now to move to safety,” Judge Fauley said.Residents in areas affected by last week’s floods received mobile alerts warning of the Guadalupe River possibly reaching flood stage on Sunday.“There is a high probability of the Guadalupe River at Hunt reaching flood stage today. All persons, equipment, and vehicles should be removed from the river immediately,” the alert stated.Properties near areas impacted by last week’s flash floods were placed under a recommended evacuation order and advised to prepare.“All homes that were damaged last Friday need to evacuate their homes in preparation for the river rising quickly throughout the day,” said Fauley. “Please do not be in this designated area after 13:00 local time on July 13.” On July 4, the Guadalupe River reached a record height of over 10 m (34 feet), causing deadly flooding in the region.The floods resulted in over 130 fatalities, including at least 106 in Kerr County. Among the dead were 27 individuals from Camp Mystic who were swept away by the floodwaters. Around 160 people remain missing in the areas affected by the flooding. Within a few hours, rainfall equivalent to four months fell across the Texas Hill Country on July 4, with peak totals reaching 516 mm (20.33 inches). This was the deadliest inland flooding event in the United States since the 1976 Big Thompson River flood, exceeding the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

FEMA's flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks, leaving homeowners unprepared --Deadly and destructive flash flooding in Texas and several other states in July 2025 is raising questions about the nation's flood maps and their ability to ensure that communities and homeowners can prepare for rising risks.The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims. Other states including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont and Iowa also saw flash flood damage in July. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps are intended to be the nation's primary tool for identifying flood risks. Originally developed in the 1970s to support the National Flood Insurance Program, these maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or FIRMs, are used to determine where flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, to inform local building codes and land-use decisions, and to guide floodplain management strategies. In theory, the maps enable homeowners, businesses and local officials to understand their flood risk and take appropriate steps to prepare and mitigate potential losses. But while FEMA has improved the accuracy and accessibility of the maps over time with better data, digital tools and community input, the maps still don't capture everything—including the changing climate. There are areas of the country that flood, some regularly, that don't show up on the maps as at risk. I study flood-risk mapping as a university-based researcher and at First Street, an organization created to quantify and communicate climate risk. In a 2023 assessment using newly modeled flood zones with climate-adjusted precipitation records, we found that more than twice as many properties across the country were at risk of a 100-year flood than the FEMA maps identified. Even in places where the FEMA maps identified a flood risk, we found that the federal mapping process, its overreliance on historical data, and political influence over the updating of maps can lead to maps that don't fully represent an area's risk.

Severe thunderstorms cause major flooding and power outages in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec, Canada - Severe thunderstorms impacted eastern Ontario and southern Quebec, Canada on July 13, 2025, producing up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain in 90 minutes, flash floods, wind gusts up to 90 km/h (56 mph), and widespread power outages affecting more than 60 000 customers. Severe thunderstorms swept through eastern Ontario and southern Quebec on Sunday, July 13, producing up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain within 90 minutes, widespread flash floods, damaging winds, and extensive power outages affecting tens of thousands of customers. The storm system developed as a fast-moving cold front, traveling at approximately 40 km/h (25 mph), interacted with a hot and humid air mass in the region, triggering multiple intense thunderstorm cells. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued severe thunderstorm warnings across southern Quebec and eastern Ontario early in the day, warning of wind gusts up to 90 km/h (56 mph), nickel-sized hail, and the possibility of flash flooding and power disruptions. The most severe impacts were observed in the greater Montreal region during the early afternoon hours. Montreal-Trudeau International Airport recorded 58 mm (2.3 inches) of rainfall in just one hour, while some neighborhoods registered up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) within a 90-minute period. This marked one of the wettest July days on record for the city. Total rainfall across Montreal ranged between 70–100 mm (2.8–3.9 inches). On the North Shore, precipitation totals reached between 80–110 mm (3.1–4.3 inches), while the South Shore recorded between 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 inches). Flash flooding affected residential districts, including St‑Leonard, where streets and basements were inundated. Major roadways such as Highways 40, 15, and 25 were submerged and temporarily closed due to rising water levels. Wind gusts reached 60 km/h (37 mph) at Ottawa Airport, with scattered reports of localized infrastructure damage across both urban and rural areas. Hydro‑Québec reported more than 60 000 customers without power at the peak of the storm. As of 16:15 LT, outages had been reduced to around 33 000 addresses, but by early evening the number had climbed to 36 726 as new outages occurred. The most affected areas included Montreal with over 13 000 customers in the dark, Montérégie and Lanaudière with over 5 000 each, and 4 600 outages in the Laurentians. In eastern Ontario, utilities reported a few thousand outages, though most were resolved by the following morning. Operations at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport were disrupted by the storm, including delays in flight schedules, baggage handling, and ground services due to lightning and rainfall conditions. Passengers were advised to check flight status with their carriers. The thunderstorms occurred during a regional heat event. A heat warning remained in effect for much of Ontario and Quebec, with temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) and humidex values approaching 40 °C (104 °F). These conditions persisted into the following day, complicating cleanup and recovery operations.

NYC saw its 2nd wettest hour in history as rain caused terrifying, freak flash flooding -The Big Apple experienced its second-wettest hour in history as torrential rain drenched the city overnight — with terrifying footage showing straphangers trapped on subways by the freak flash flooding. “New York City picked up a hair over 2 inches last night — 2.07 inches to be exact — making it the second wettest single hour ever recorded in the city,” FOX Forecast Center meteorologist Christopher Tate told The Post on Tuesday of the rainfall recorded between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. “It was bested only by the nearly 3 inches of rain that fell in New York City during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021.” The heavy downpours wreaked havoc across the city with footage showing commuters overwhelmed by floodwaters in various subway stations. One clip captured a deluge of water pouring into the 28th street station in Manhattan — trapping scores of people on the 1 train line. “I’m gonna call this one in, I can’t open the doors, it’s not safe,” the conductor can be heard saying in the video. Other videos appeared to show straphangers standing on train seats to avoid the deluge of water pooling on the floor – as one quipped: “Oh man, I might need a diaper!” The 1, 2 and 3 trains all ended up being suspended throughout Manhattan as the MTA addressed flooding across several stations. Meanwhile, the Forest Hills-bound M and R trains operated under severe delays as multiple stations reportedly flooded in Queens. Parts of major thoroughfares in New York, including the Saw Mill River Parkway and Cross Bronx Expressway, were temporarily closed due to flooding as New York’s emergency services agency blasted out a warning on X that parts of the city and mid-Hudson were getting hit with flash floods. Meanwhile, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports were also all struck by lengthy delays as the storm rolled through. Elsewhere across the city, footage showed water seeping through ceilings, partially submerged cars navigating flooded streets and sidewalks being turned into gushing rivers.

Record rainfall triggers flash floods across Tri-State area, state of emergency declared in New Jersey - (several videos) Flash floods triggered by record-breaking rainfall swept across the Tri-State area on July 14, 2025, prompting a State of Emergency in New Jersey and causing widespread damage to infrastructure, mass transit, and homes. Heavy rains swept across the northeastern United States on July 14, prompting a State of Emergency in New Jersey due to widespread flash floods. Flash flood watches and warnings were issued for parts of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas as downpours moved through the region. New York City recorded its second-wettest hour on record, receiving 52.6 mm (2.07 inches) of rain between 19:00 and 20:00 local time (LT). This was second only to the 88.1 mm (3.47 inches) that fell in one hour during the remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021. Water rescues, flooding in subway stations, and hazardous road conditions were reported across the Tri-State Area as heavy rains impacted the region. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency at 19:30 LT, urging residents to stay off the roads and seek shelter. Local emergency management agencies issued shelter-in-place orders for affected communities, including Somerset County. Swift water rescue teams were deployed to multiple locations in Union County and surrounding municipalities. A flood warning was issued for all five boroughs of New York City as floodwaters inundated subway stations. City officials advised residents to take precautions as afternoon thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall. “If you live in a basement apartment or low-lying area, be ready to move to higher ground,” New York City 311 stated in a post on X on Monday night. A flood warning was also issued for Staten Island, which received approximately 100–150 mm (4–6 inches) of rain, according to New York City’s emergency notification system. Mount Joy, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, declared a Disaster Emergency after receiving more than 178 mm (7 inches) of rain in less than five hours on Monday, according to the Mount Joy Fire Department. Residents reported over 1.5 m (5 feet) of water in their homes, and emergency responders conducted 16 water rescues. No injuries were reported. At least six airports along the East Coast, including John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, grounded flights due to storms on July 14. JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York City, along with Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, were all placed underground stop orders at one point on Monday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Philadelphia International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C., also had flights grounded. Some of the ground stops had ended by 20:30 LT, but the FAA continued to report delays ranging from 45 minutes to three hours for multiple flights. Hazardous conditions are expected to persist through the week, with the National Weather Service forecasting continued storms and rainfall across parts of the northeastern United States. Flood watches remain in effect for Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, and surrounding areas.

At least two killed after heavy rain in New York region floods subways and strands vehicles - At least two people were killed Monday evening in New Jersey amid heavy rain and flooding in that state and New York, according to authorities. The pair died in the city of Plainfield when the car they were in was swept into Cedar Brook during flash flooding, local officials announced on Facebook. Both deaths occurred as heavy rain swept across parts of the US north-east on Monday night, inundating communities and stranding vehicles in roadways. The tempestuous weather also closed subway lines and led to a declaration of a state of emergency. Most flash flood watches and warnings expired in parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania as the rain moved on – but some roads and streets were still flooded as of Tuesday morning. New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, declared a state of emergency due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall, advising people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. A video posted to social media by CBS showed flood waters bringing a major roadway in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, to a standstill, stranding buses. In one flooded North Plainfield, New Jersey, neighborhood, a house caught on fire and collapsed, possibly due to an explosion, not long after the family inside had evacuated, authorities said. No injuries were reported. In New York City, some subway service was temporarily suspended while other lines were running with severe delays due to flooding, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. New York’s emergency services agency wrote on the social platform X that parts of the city and the mid-Hudson region were getting hit with flash floods. Footage shows flood water gushing into New York subway station during heavy rain – video - Video posted on social media appears to show water flooding down into a Manhattan subway station, submerging the platform while passengers inside a train watch. Another photo appears to show passengers standing on a train’s seats to avoid the water beginning to soak the floor. Parts of major thoroughfares in New York, such as the northbound lanes of the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, were temporarily closed due to flooding and at least one downed tree. Officials in New York’s Westchester county were working to rescue people whose vehicles were submerged in water, according to Carolyn Fortino, a spokesperson for the county executive. “At this time, residents are still strongly advised to avoid all travel unless fleeing an area that is subject to flooding, or under an evacuation order,” she said in an email. A flood warning was also issued for Staten Island, which had seen about 4-6in (10.2-15.2cm) of rain, according to NYC’s emergency notification system.

WATCH: NYC subway stations flood from heavy rain – New York City’s subway system was fully operational for the Tuesday morning commute, however some roads remained closed in sections of New York and New Jersey after heavy rain swept across the U.S. Northeast overnight, causing flash floods. The region was hit with heavy rain Monday evening, resulting in flash floods that not only impacted roads and air travel, but also the transit system. Multiple subway lines ran with severe delays in several boroughs, and some were even suspended due to issues caused by the floods. Video taken by Veronica Zhang shows water spewing across the 28th Street Station in Manhattan as well as flooding at the street level. Video credit: Veronica Zhang Services along the 1, 2, and 3 lines were suspended at times due to flooding reported in multiple stations, according to the MTA. Trains on the E, F, M, R, and No. 6 lines were also affected. Additionally, the Staten Island Railway didn’t run between Huguenot and Tottenville in either direction on Monday due to flooding, according to the MTA. AMC theater in NYC closed after water was seen pouring from ceiling. Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at area airports Tuesday, including 159 total cancelations at Newark Liberty Airport, according to FlightAware data. Most flash flood watches and warnings had expired in parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania as the rain moved on, but a state of emergency declared by Gov. Phil Murphy remained in New Jersey, where video on social media showed cars still partially inundated in some parts of the state as residents worked to clean up. Delays were reported on part of the state’s commuter rail line due to the severe weather. Other videos posted on social media appeared to show water flooding down into a Manhattan subway station, submerging the platform while passengers inside a train watch. Another photo appears to show passengers standing on a train’s seats to avoid the water beginning to soak the floor. In one flooded neighborhood in North Plainfield, New Jersey, authorities were investigating why a house caught on fire and collapsed and whether it was due to a possible explosion. It occurred not long after the family inside had evacuated, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Multiple vehicles stranded during Flash Flood Emergency in Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia - Flash floods triggered by intense rainfall prompted a Flash Flood Emergency for Colonial Heights and Petersburg on July 14, 2025, as 51–76 mm (2–3 inches) of rain fell within two hours, submerging roads and stranding vehicles across Central Virginia. Heavy rainfall has been affecting the region since July 13, leading to widespread flooding in multiple areas, including Prince George and Chesterfield counties. Ad ends in 14 The Flash Flood Emergency was issued for Colonial Heights and Petersburg at approximately 23:15 local time (LT) on July 14, after 51–76 mm (2–3 inches) of rainfall occurred in less than 2 hours. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned residents of a “life-threatening situation,” forecasted more rainfall going into July 15, and urged them to seek higher ground. The emergency remained in effect through 07:00 LT on July 15, while multiple areas remained under flash flood warnings. While no injuries or fatalities have been reported, flooding has stranded numerous motorists since July 13, and prompted road closures as floodwaters submerged roads. Floodwaters stranded vehicles on Ware Bottom Spring Road in Chesterfield and near the train bridge along the Boulevard in Colonial Heights on July 14. Emergency services in the affected areas have responded to dozens of calls for assistance from motorists and flood-related incidents since July 13. Forecasts indicate that scattered storms are likely to continue affecting much of Central Virginia throughout the week.

Floods create sinkholes, submerge roads in central North Carolina – (videos) Flash floods caused widespread disruptions across central North Carolina on July 15, 2025, inundating roads, basements, and intersections in cities such as Burlington, Mount Airy, and Greensboro. Emergency services responded to flooded roadways, downed trees, and multiple sinkholes, while the Burlington City Council canceled its scheduled meeting due to the conditions. Several slow-moving storm cells developed over the Piedmont Triad during the afternoon and evening, producing intense rainfall in localized areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued flash flood warnings for Guilford and Alamance counties, with additional alerts extended into Caswell, Rowan, and Davidson counties. In Virginia, Patrick, and Henry counties were under a Flood Watch until midnight. A Flood Watch was issued for much of central North Carolina and southern Virginia earlier on July 15, with rainfall rates exceeding 25 mm (1 inch) per hour in some locations. The flooding led to the cancellation of the Burlington City Council’s meeting scheduled for 19:00 on July 15. According to the Burlington Fire Department, numerous intersections were flooded around Burlington, and there were reports of basement flooding. Videos and images shared on social media showed flooded intersections and submerged vehicles in Burlington. Basements in parts of Mount Airy were also reportedly inundated. In Greensboro, sinkholes were reported due to the heavy rainfall, while police confirmed multiple road closures caused by downed trees and power lines on July 15. Affected roads included all lanes of Summit Avenue between New Creek Lane and Lauderdale Road, southbound lanes of Rudd Station Road at Corporate Park Drive, and eastbound lanes of Scott Road at Lewis Farm Lane. The flooding was caused by high atmospheric moisture and weak steering currents, which allowed storm cells to remain stationary. This convective training effect resulted in locally excessive rainfall over a short time frame. This flood episode occurred just days after Tropical Storm Chantal caused at least six fatalities in North Carolina, bringing once in 1 000 years floods following its landfall at Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, on July 6. Residents in the region are still recovering from the storm, which brought around 305 mm (12 inches) of rainfall to some areas, saturating the soil. The historic floods saturated soil exacerbating the floods on July 15, as even low rainfall totals caused significant runoff in many locations.

Record rains trigger flash floods and water rescues across Kansas City, Missouri and KCK - - (videos) Record rainfall caused widespread flash flooding across the Kansas City metro area on July 17, 2025, affecting both Missouri and Kansas sides and prompting at least 23 water rescues. A total of 51.8 mm (2.04 inches) of rain fell across the Kansas City metropolitan area overnight into Thursday, July 17, 2025, triggering flash floods and prompting water rescues. It was the second consecutive day with more than 50.8 mm (2 inches) of rainfall, tying a record for back-to-back days with more than 50 mm (2 inches) of rain, an event that has occurred only 12 times in the past 137 years. The city also broke the daily rain record on Wednesday, July 16 when it registered 70.6 mm (2.78 inches) of rainfall, surpassing the previous daily record of 34.3 mm (1.35 inches) for the date set in 1968. Between Wednesday and Thursday, Kansas City received approximately 121.9 mm (4.8 inches) of rainfall, while Independence recorded approximately 177.8 mm (7 inches). Platte Woods recorded 139.7 mm (5.5 inches) of rainfall in the same period, and Parkville received 106.7 mm (4.2 inches). Totals decreased farther north and southeast, with Gladstone receiving 88.9 mm (3.5 inches) and Lee’s Summit recording 43.2 mm (1.7 inches). Flash flooding affected sections of Highway 169 and Interstate 70, while Interstate 435 at 23rd Street experienced extensive flooding. Several other low-lying roads across the metro area were also submerged. Emergency crews carried out at least 23 water rescues in the area after flooded roadways stranded and submerged multiple vehicles throughout the city. Many areas on the Kansas State side received heavy rains as well, with flooding being reported in Kansas City, Kansas (KCK). The highest total on the Kansas state side was recorded at Lake Quivira which logged 271.8 mm (10.7 inches), followed by Lenexa with 243.8 mm (9.6 inches), and Shawnee with 215.9 mm (8.5 inches). Olathe recorded 193 mm (7.6 inches). The Blue River at Highway 71 rose more than 6.4 m (21 feet) overnight Wednesday into Thursday due to the heavy rain. The waterway in south KCK reached the action stage, indicating that local governments should prepare for possible flooding. The Tomahawk Creek at Roe Avenue rose more than 3.4 m (11 feet) at the border between Overland Park and Leawood. The creek experienced minor flooding as water approached the northbound lane of Tomahawk Creek Parkway. Thousands of customers across Kansas and Missouri experienced power outages overnight, with more than 20 000 customers without power across both states on Thursday morning.

This is why there’s been so much extreme rainfall and flooding in the U.S. - In the week and a half since floods killed at least 130 people in Central Texas, heavy rains have filled New York subway stations, submerged busy roadways and drowned two people in a vehicle in New Jersey. Storms have stranded Washington-area motorists. Deadly torrents returned to a flood- and fire-scarred region of New Mexico. And meanwhile, flooding rains have yet to relent in Texas.Downpours and thunderstorms are a familiar signal of summer — but this one has been different. Barely halfway through, it’s already been a hyperactive season of often fatal flooding, with more than twice as many floods as usual so far this July, according to National Weather Service reports.While there are varying meteorological forces behind this month’s extreme rainfall, what has connected them all is significant amounts of atmospheric moisture pulsing above the country.It is flowing from abnormally warm oceans across the Northern Hemisphere that are likely to stretch elevated flood risks into August, data shows — perhaps into record territory. The conditions are allowing plumes of tropical moisture to stretch into middle latitudes and stagnate there, sending flood risks surging and exemplifying a critical consequence of rising global temperatures that researchers have been predicting and tracking for decades.“Global warming changes the odds,” said Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar with the National Center for Atmospheric Research who has published on the topic of increasing atmospheric water vapor since the 1990s.Additional flooding rainfall is likely this week in areas that have already been hit hard, including in Texas on Tuesday, the Midwest and the East through the rest of the week, and along the Gulf Coast from a possible tropical storm starting Thursday. There have been 1200 reports of flooding across the United States since the start of July. The drivers of the recent extreme rainfall include tropical storm remnants and frontal systems — but definitely not cloud seeding, a method of weather modification that conspiracy theorists have falsely blamed for the deadly Texas floods but that cannot produce the amount of rainfall and energy that recent storms have carried.The atmospheric moisture fueling the rain is flowing from oceans that have been unusually warm near the United States, Europe and eastern Asia, causing global subtropical ocean temperatures to reach record highs. nBut what happens in the ocean doesn’t stay in the ocean. Evaporation from the warm waters is sending unusually high levels of atmospheric water vapor across wide swaths of land in populated parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including the central and eastern United States.Ocean temperatures are well above-average across much of the Northern Hemisphere, adding extra warmth and moisture to the air.© Ben Noll/Data source: NOAA Water vapor is fuel for storms. When vapor condenses into clouds, it releases heat energy, causing storms to intensify. Weather systems that have more of this fuel can produce more rainfall.As the planet warms, that fuel is building up in the skies. For every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, air is capable of holding 7 percent more moisture. Human-caused fossil fuel emissions and the greenhouse effect have caused average global temperatures to rise close to 1.5 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution.Trenberth said the trend has been too often ignored as high ocean heat content drives increasing atmospheric moisture.There is still a randomness to the cases where all of that moisture is translating into pouring rain. But as extreme rainfall becomes more frequent and widespread, the odds of encountering extreme precipitation are rising, he said.“You can be lucky,” Trenberth said, “or not.”Flooding rainfall is a normal part of summer weather in the United States, but the number of floods reported so far during July is the highest in more than a decade.There have been 1,203 reports of flooding across the country, more than double the average of 563.The rate of flooding events has been most unusually high in New Mexico, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.In North Carolina, for example, July 6 flooding from the remnants of Tropical Depression Chantal inundated communities around Chapel Hill and Durham, prompting dozens of high-water rescues and displacing dozens of residents.Two days later, floods in Ruidoso, New Mexico, killed three people after more than 3 inches of rain fell in 90 minutes. The town’s recent history of wildfires — and past floods — means there isn’t enough vegetation to help such an intense burst of rainwater percolate into soil.The same day as the Ruidoso floods, parts of Chicago received more than 5 inches of rain within 90 minutes, a rate that local Weather Service meteorologists called “staggeringly high.” The downpour flooded viaducts and basements.In the meantime, most of the nation’s attention was focused on Texas, where more rivers continued to flood over the weekend as storms kept wringing tropical moisture from the air. Flooding on the Guadalupe River, where July 4 floodwaters tore through summer camps and RV parks, returned Sunday, forcing a pause in ongoing efforts to search for more than 100 people who remained missing.Now, New York and New Jersey are the latest to experience such intense rainfall. “It is now the case that five of the most intense rainstorms in New York City’s history have taken place in the last four years,” Rohit Aggarwala, commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, told reporters Tuesday. More than 2 inches of rain fell within an hour at Central Park, the second-highest hourly observation on record there. But unlike the city’s two other most intense rainfalls on record, this one was not tied to a tropical storm, said Matthew Wunsch, a meteorologist at the Weather Service’s New York City forecasting office. When the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the city in 2021, causing deadly floods in basement apartments, 3.15 inches fell in an hour. That same year, remnants of Hurricane Henri dropped 1.94 inches of rain in an hour. For a 15-minute stretch Monday, the rainfall rate surpassed 4 inches per hour, Aggarwala said, citing New York state’s mesonet weather observation system. “This is a level of rain that we never expected over the 400 years we’ve been here,” Aggarwala said. “It’s as if New York City moved 500 miles south, and so we have an infrastructure that was designed for an environment we no longer live in,” Aggarwala said.

‘Heavy rainfall and flash flooding threaten Florida and Gulf Coast as Invest 93L moves westward – (forecast video) A low-pressure system designated Invest 93L is moving westward across the Florida Peninsula on July 15, 2025, with a medium chance of tropical cyclone development in the northeastern Gulf by mid-week. The system could become a tropical depression or Tropical Storm Dexter later this week, potentially affecting the northern Gulf Coast with heavy rain and localized flooding. The system, currently centered just offshore of Florida’s east-central coast near Cape Canaveral, with a surface pressure of 1 014 hPa, is gradually becoming better organized but remains hindered by upper-level northerly wind shear that is disrupting convection. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Invest 93L has a medium (40%) chance of forming into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next 48 hours and again over the next 7 days. If named, it would become Tropical Storm Dexter. Regardless of development, the system is already producing widespread rainfall across Florida, with some central and western regions experiencing flash flooding. Local rainfall totals have exceeded 250 mm (10 inches) near Tampa. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flood advisories and warns that additional heavy rainfall through July 16 may lead to more localized flash flooding. Once Invest 93L reaches the Gulf, environmental conditions are expected to become more favorable for tropical development, including higher sea surface temperatures near 32°C (90°F) and reduced wind shear. Forecast models indicate that the disturbance may slowly intensify over the northeastern and north-central Gulf by July 17–18. The primary hazard from this system remains heavy rainfall. The northern Gulf Coast, including parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle, could see significant rainfall and flash flooding beginning mid-week. The NWS currently classifies the flash flood risk for these areas as moderate to high. Texas, particularly its eastern region, may experience some impacts later in the week. However, current model trends suggest the heaviest rainfall and potential landfall zone may remain east of the Texas coastline.

One month’s worth of rain in 2 hours floods roads and tunnels in Moscow - (videos) Torrential rainfall dumped one month’s worth of rain over Moscow in under two hours on July 15, 2025, causing flash floods that inundated roads, metro stations, and tunnels across the city. No injuries or fatalities were reported. A severe cloudburst impacted Moscow on July 15, 2025, delivering 75–85 mm (3–3.3 inches) of rain in less than two hours, matching or exceeding the city’s typical monthly average for July. The intense rainfall overwhelmed stormwater systems and caused flash flooding across key districts. The Russian weather authority Roshydromet indicated that the most affected areas were the Northern and Eastern Administrative Districts. Local media and social media footage documented widespread road flooding, submerged vehicles, and water intrusion into tunnels and underpasses. Aeroexpress service to Sheremetyevo International Airport experienced delays due to high water levels along segments of its route. Metro lines were also partially disrupted, with some stations reporting temporary closures or limited access.

Heaviest rains in 120 years leave at least 2 dead, force over 1 000 evacuations in South Korea - At least two people died and more than 1 000 were forced to evacuate after record rainfall hit South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday, July 16 and 17, 2025. Seosan in South Chungcheong Province experienced its highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1904. One of the fatalities involved a man in his 50s whose car was swept away in floodwaters in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. According to local reports, he called his wife in the early hours of Thursday saying ‘the car is being swept away.’ Emergency crews located the submerged vehicle at approximately 06:15 local time (LT) and transported the man to Seosan Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities had received a report about submerged vehicles at 03:59 and rescued three people from another vehicle. Details regarding the second fatality were not immediately available. Seosan recorded its highest-ever hourly rainfall rate of 114.9 mm (4.52 inches) on Thursday, the most since records began in 1904. By 10:00 LT on Thursday, total rainfall in Seosan had reached 419.5 mm (16.51 inches), resulting in widespread flooding in the region. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Hongseong recorded 411 mm (16.18 inches) of rainfall on Thursday, followed by 376.5 mm (14.82 inches) in Dangjin and 349.5 mm (13.76 inches) in Asan. All of these locations, including Seosan, are located in South Chungcheong Province. The coastal county of Taean, located west of Seosan, received over 300 mm (11.81 inches) of rain on Thursday. According to the ministry, 79 households from these areas underwent temporary evacuations. In total, 1 070 residents had evacuated their homes as of 10:00 LT due to the heavy rainfall. Multiple landslides were reported across several areas as the heavy rainfall persisted. At approximately 09:35 LT on Wednesday, two residents were buried under a landslide in Cheongyang-gun, South Chungcheong Province. Fire officials stated that the residents, who sustained leg injuries, were located and transported to a local hospital by 21:50 LT on the same day. Heavy rainfall led to school closures in several parts of South Chungcheong Province, including Yesan and Hongseong. According to the Ministry of Education, 403 schools were closed, and 166 schools reported property damage due to the rainfall. The Interior Ministry restricted access to nearly 80 underpasses, riverside roads, and low-lying bridges in the Chungcheong region for public safety.

Monsoon rains and floods kill 63 people in 24 hours across Punjab, Pakistan - (videos) Severe monsoon rains that began on July 16, 2025, in Pakistan’s Punjab province caused flooding that left at least 63 people dead and 290 injured within 24 hours. The latest fatalities raise the nationwide monsoon death toll to nearly 180 since late June. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), most of the fatalities were caused by collapsing walls and buildings, while others either drowned or were electrocuted. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz declared a state of emergency in several areas of the province on July 17. Authorities in Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital Islamabad, declared July 17 a public holiday to keep residents at home. People living near the rising river flowing through the city have been asked to evacuate. These recent deaths raise the nationwide toll to nearly 180 since the onset of the monsoon in late June. Over half of the fatalities were children. Chakwal was the worst-affected region, receiving 423 mm (16.7 inches) of rainfall in just 24 hours, according to officials on July 17. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) stated that a rescue operation is underway in Chakwal to evacuate people trapped by flash floods, with support from the military and local administration. The PDMA also reported that more than 125 houses were damaged in the Chakwal region. Flooding affected several other regions, prompting emergency rescues by the army. Aerial rescue operations were carried out for 40 people stranded in Deras at Moua Biddar and Nakkan Kalan following severe flooding. Punjab authorities have warned that further rainfall and flash floods are expected throughout the weekend. Thousands of rescuers have been placed on standby across the province.

Dragon Bravo Fire destroys Grand Canyon Lodge and 50 to 80 structures, Arizona - (videos) Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed between 50 and 80 structures on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, after igniting on July 4, 2025. The North Rim has been closed for the remainder of the 2025 season due to fire damage and chemical hazards. The Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on July 4, following a lightning strike on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. As of July 14, it has destroyed between 50 and 80 structures and burned more than 5 000 acres (2 023 hectares). Among the structures lost is the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1937. Fire activity intensified rapidly, driven by sustained winds of 32 km/h (20 mph) and gusts reaching up to 64 km/h (40 mph). Firefighters reported making significant efforts to slow the fire’s progression under hazardous and rapidly changing conditions. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the Dragon Bravo Fire exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior on Saturday evening, resulting in a 202 ha (500 acre) expansion. Fire managers confirmed the destruction of the Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous historic cabins in the developed area. As of July 12 the wildfire has burned more than 2 023 ha (5 000 acres) and remains 0 % contained. NPS officials stated that aerial bucket drops were conducted to slow the fire’s movement near the lodge; however, a chlorine gas leak at the nearby water treatment facility led to the evacuation of firefighting personnel from critical zones. Officials added that chlorine gas can quickly settle into lower elevations, such as the inner canyon, posing a health risk. The fire was ignited by lightning on July 4, according to park officials. Approximately 70 personnel continue efforts to control the blaze, which has burned more than 2 023 ha (5 000 acres) in the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon, south of the Basin. No deaths or injuries have been reported, and all staff and residents were successfully evacuated before the fire escalated, according to NPS officials. In addition to the North Rim closure, the NPS announced that all inner canyon corridor trails, campgrounds, and associated areas are closed until further notice. Firefighters are also battling the White Sage Fire, which has burned through more than 16 187 ha (40 000 acres) just north of the North Rim, further straining available resources and personnel.

Arizona governor calls for probe into federal handling of Grand Canyon fire: What to know - Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) is demanding an investigation into the federal government’s handling of a fire that ravaged multiple sites along the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in recent days.“An incident of this magnitude demands intense oversight and scrutiny into the federal government’s emergency response,” Hobbs wrote in a Sunday night statement on social platform X. Sparking particular outrage among Arizonans was the fire that destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, the only hotel located within the national park on the North Rim. The Dragon Bravo Fire, which began July 4, exhibited “extreme and volatile fire behavior” this past Saturday night, resulting in a 500-acre expansion of the blaze, according to the National Park Service (NPS). At about 10:30 p.m. local time, fire activity intensified as sustained winds of 20 miles per hour and gusts of up to 40 miles per hour fueled the flames, the NPS reported. Firefighters took action overnight to slow the blaze’s development under what the NPS described as “dangerous and fast-changing conditions” — accompanied by aerial bucket drops of water. The use of aerial retardant was impossible, the federal agency noted, due to a chlorine gas leak at a nearby water treatment facility that necessitated the evacuation of fire personnel in the area.

Large firenado forms over Deer Creek Fire near La Sal, Utah – (videos) A large fire vortex, or firenado, formed over the Deer Creek Fire near La Sal, Utah, on July 12, 2025, amid rapidly intensifying wildfire conditions. The vortex damaged a fire engine and prompted the temporary withdrawal of fire crews. A fire vortex, commonly referred to as a “firenado,” developed on July 12, over the Deer Creek Fire in southeastern Utah, approximately 30 km (18 miles) south of Moab. The vortex, captured on camera, visibly lifted flames and smoke high into the atmosphere as fire crews worked in extreme heat and wind conditions. The incident occurred during active firefighting operations on a blaze that had already consumed over 4 000 ha (10 000 acres) of grass, brush, and timber. According to Utah Fire Info, more than 300 firefighting personnel were assigned to the Deer Creek Fire at the time, supported by five helicopters and 15 engines. The strength of the vortex caused damage to a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) fire engine, prompting the temporary withdrawal of firefighting crews from the immediate area for safety. Evacuations were in place along Old La Sal Road and parts of Highway 46, while sections of the Manti-La Sal National Forest were closed as a precaution. Fire officials reported 0% containment as of the morning of July 13, and the fire continued to exhibit extreme behavior due to high temperatures, low humidity, and gusty winds. Meteorologist Lindsay Storrs from KMYU explained that such fire vortices form when intense heat from a wildfire generates powerful updrafts that begin to rotate under certain wind conditions. When the spinning column of air interacts with flames, it can produce a self-sustaining vertical vortex, sometimes reaching wind speeds in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph). While often short-lived, fire whirls can contribute to erratic fire spread and pose hazards to firefighting personnel. Fire vortex is a recognized but relatively rare phenomenon in wildland fire behavior, particularly so large and visible.

The Cram Fire in Central Oregon Grows to More Than 60,000 Acres - -Oregon’s governor declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as the Cram fire spread to more than 64,000 acres, fueled by high temperatures, gusty winds and low humidity.More than 200 people in two counties remained under evacuation orders or warnings. Officials said that the fire was threatening about 430 structures, including nearly 300 homes.Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon said in her emergency proclamation that the state was experiencing a “devastating wildfire season that will have lasting consequences.”“The summer is only getting hotter, drier and more dangerous — we have to be prepared for worsening conditions,” Ms. Kotek said.At least seven large wildfires were burning across Oregon on Wednesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The largest, the Cram fire, has spread rapidly in an area northeast of Madras in Central Oregon since it was first reported on Sunday.Gusty, shifting winds and hot weather have fanned the fire, which was burning grass, timber and brush east of U.S. Route 97, a north-south highway, near the sparsely populated area of Willowdale in Jefferson County.The fire grew overnight on Wednesday to 64,295 acres from 41,377 acres and was zero percent contained, according to an incident update issued by Central Oregon Fire Info. No injuries or fatalities have been reported, said Simone Cordery-Cotter, a spokeswoman for the Oregon state fire marshal’s office. Officials have yet to start a damage assessment, she said, adding that “all of our resources are going to full suppression” of the fire.Fire crews were patrolling the western flank of the fire, where “residential areas and key infrastructure” remained at risk,according to Central Oregon Fire Info. Firefighters also were working to protect threatened structures along the southern edge of the fire, according to the update.Parts of Jefferson and Wasco Counties remained under evacuation orders on Wednesday, and residents in other areas of those counties were advised to be prepared to evacuate.The smoke from the fire was also contributing to bad air quality in nearby communities, including Bend, Redmond and Madras.Efforts to contain the blaze have been complicated by the steep terrain and shifting winds, and officials said they expected the fire to continue to grow through Wednesday.Above normal fire activity is expected in Oregon through September, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. When the Cram fire started, Oregon officials said, it was the sixth time this summer that a fire threat had exceeded the capacity of local firefighters to manage it, forcing the state to activate its Emergency Conflagration Act, officials said.

Moscow sizzles in record-breaking heatwave - (AFP) – Moscow sweltered on Friday in a heatwave with temperatures topping 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the Russian weather service, breaching a municipal record registered nearly 30 years ago. The previous record temperature of 33.4C (92F) in the Russian capital, a city with a continental climate, was set in 1996. But it was broken Thursday with a temperature of 33.9C (93F), the Russian Meteorological Centre reported on its website Friday. It added that a new record high was likely to be registered during the day, with weather services predicting temperatures of up to 36C (37F). The heatwave was forecast to "persist" until early next week across central Russia and southern Europe, with temperatures "three to eight degrees above average climate norms", said the Russian Meteorological Centre. The unprecedented heatwave saw Muscovites flocking to their suburban country houses, as well as to the capital's parks and fountains. The heat stress poses a particular challenge for workers on construction sites, as well as for the elderly. The temperatures were "overwhelming," Aleksandrovna said, adding: "I don't remember ever experiencing such heat." Some were swimming in the city's ponds and canals, despite the swimming bans warning of pollution in place. "The water is dirty, look. We're here because it's easier to breathe near the water at 33 degrees," said Igor, 55, after taking a dip in Tushino, northwest of the capital. Scientists have long warned that climate change, driven by mankind's burning of fossil fuels, is making acute heatwaves, droughts, and other extreme weather events more frequent and more intense. Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record last month, according to the EU's climate monitor Copernicus.

Extreme heatwave breaks power demand records, China - A prolonged and widespread heatwave affecting large parts of China led to a historic surge in electricity demand on July 16, with the maximum national load surpassing 1.506 billion kilowatts. This was the third time in July that the national grid recorded a new high, following records on July 4 and 7. According to China’s National Energy Administration, the heat-driven surge in cooling demand caused 36 peak load records across 16 provincial grids. Power authorities confirmed that despite the unprecedented demand, national electricity supply remained stable, aided by interprovincial load balancing, flexible hydropower dispatch, and growing renewable output. Ad ends in 9 Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, experienced one of the country’s most intense heat episodes. The official weather station reported a maximum temperature of 42.3°C (108.1°F), while an automatic weather station (AWS) within the city recorded 46°C (114.8°F). Nighttime temperatures in urban districts remained between 32–34°C (89.6–93.2°F), and ground surface temperatures reached as high as 73.5°C (164.3°F). Unusually high temperatures were also recorded across elevated regions of western China. An AWS at 1 925 m (6 316 feet) above sea level in western Sichuan Province recorded a temperature of 42.2°C (108°F), while an AWS at 2 400 m (7 874 feet) in Mangkang County, Tibet, reported 37.6°C (99.7°F). These readings set new historical benchmarks for their respective regions. Local authorities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces reported record-high provincial electricity loads as well. Jiangsu’s grid exceeded 1.52 billion kilowatts, with demand supported by newly commissioned high-efficiency coal units and long-distance interregional power imports exceeding 30 million kilowatts. In Zhejiang, the July 16 load reached 126 million kilowatts, with projections nearing 133 million kilowatts under continued high-temperature conditions. Nationwide, the Chinese grid responded with increased solar and hydropower contributions, bolstered by over 100 million kilowatts of installed renewable capacity in certain provinces. Authorities deployed real-time flexible scheduling, including time-of-use pricing, industrial demand curtailment, and public energy-use guidance, to mitigate strain during peak hours.

China's air policies may boost global warming, study says -- Efforts to clean up air pollution in China and across East Asia may have inadvertently contributed to a spike in global warming, a new study has found. The decline in aerosol emissions — which can cool the planet by absorbing sunlight — have added about 0.05 degrees Celsius in warming per decade since 2010, according to the study, published on Monday in Communications Earth & Environment. At that time, China began implementing aggressive air quality policies and was ultimately able to achieve a 75 percent reduction in emissions rate of toxic sulfur dioxide, the authors noted. Sulfur dioxide gas, harmful pollutants that result from fossil fuel combustion and volcanoes, are precursors of sulfate aerosols, which are the dominant aerosol species that cool the Earth today. Despite posing health threats to plants, humans and other animals, these particles are among the many types of aerosols that also cool the planet. When clouds form around aerosols, such particles can absorb solar energy from the atmosphere and thereby reduce sunlight at ground level. And if clouds are not present, aerosols can reflect sunlight back into outer space. Before China’s air quality improvement policies took effect, pollution was a leading cause of premature death in the country, the study authors noted. However, with fewer cooling aerosols now present in the atmosphere, areas of East Asia and around the world have endured intensified warming — and are expected to face even more extreme heat, shifting monsoon patterns and potential disruptions to agriculture, according to the study. The plunge in sulfate levels “partially unmasks greenhouse-gas driven warming and influences the spatial pattern of surface temperature change,” the researchers observed. “Reducing air pollution has clear health benefits, but without also cutting CO₂, you’re removing a layer of protection against climate change,” co-author Robert Allen, a climatology professor at the University of California, Riverside, said in statement. “It highlights the need for parallel efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. Allen and his colleagues drew their conclusions based on simulations from major climate models for the years 2015 to 2049, using data from the Regional Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project, which includes contributions from the U.S., Europe and Asia. They projected a global, annual mean warming of about 0.07 degrees Celsius due to aerosol emissions reductions, with 0.05 degrees Celsius of warming per decade already occurring since 2010. Emissions reductions applied to their simulations corresponded closely with those realized over the 2010 to 2023 period in East Asia, the authors noted, adding that emissions from the region are expected to continue to decline — albeit at a slower rate. Although their work focused on sulfate aerosols, the researchers stressed that carbon dioxide and methane emissions remain the biggest drivers of long-term climate change. “Our study focused on the recent, dramatic speedup in global warming, which is very concerning but still small compared to the overall, long-term amount of warming from increased CO2 and methane,” said lead author Bjørn Samset, a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Norway, in a statement. Allen, meanwhile, also emphasized that because aerosols are short-lived in the atmosphere, the spike in global temperatures could subside in the near future. “Sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosols have lifetimes of about a week,” he said. “Once they’re removed, we’ll eventually settle back into a warming rate that’s more consistent with the long-term trend.” As other regions across the world, including South Asia, Africa and North America, begin to phase out aerosol emissions, the scientists said they plan to analyze how potential shifts could shape forthcoming climate trends. “Air quality improvements are a no-brainer for public health,” Allen said. “But if we want to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we have to cut CO₂ and methane too. The two must go hand in hand.”

NASA won't host National Climate Assessment online - In a reversal, NASA no longer plans to publish a major climate report whose previous website was scrubbed by the Trump administration. The report in question, known as known as the National Climate Assessment, was previously housed on globalchange.gov. After the Trump administration eliminated the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) website, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said that “all preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting.” But those plans have changed. Stevens appeared to indicate in a statement to The Hill on Monday that NASA no longer plans to host the information on its website. “The USGCRP met its statutory requirements by presenting its reports to Congress. NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov’s data,” Stevens said. The announcement comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to downplay or deny climate change’s existence and its impact on extreme weather.

Youth fighting Trump on climate get boost from Democrats - The young people suing to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to bolster oil, gas and coal got a boost of their own with the introduction of a congressional resolution that calls for reversing Trump’s energy-related executive orders.The resolution — which House and Senate Democrats unveiled Wednesday — calls for the recognition that children face a climate emergency and that Congress and the executive branch “have a duty to constrain government actions that harm young people’s lives.”The support comes after 22 young people from five states filed suit against the administration in May, challenging as unconstitutional a trio of Trump’s executive orders that seek to provide a fast path for fossil fuel production.“Every child in America deserves a healthy and prosperous future, but the Trump administration is selling out our health, safety, planet, and future to make billionaire corporate polluters even richer,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who led the resolution in the Senate.

Zeldin cites ‘legitimate questions’ about contrails as EPA launches webpage to combat conspiracy -Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said Thursday that Americans have “legitimate questions” about airplane contrails as his agency launches webpages aimed at combatting misinformation on the topic.Contrails, the vapor trails that follow high-flying airplanes, are the subject of the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory, which baselessly alleges that the trails are actually chemicals that are used for secret purposes, including weather modification.The EPA published a webpage Thursday with information about contrails and geoengineering that experts tell The Hill is accurate. Dustin Tingley, a public policy professor at Harvard University, described the EPA’s webpages as “rather thoughtful.””The EPA did a responsible job of taking the concerns that people might genuinely have and providing easy to understand explanations,” Tingley said. Columbia University climate economist Gernot Wagner also said the webpages published by the EPA are accurate. “The actual ‘About’ page on the EPA website does not seem to get it wrong,” he said.

New Budget Law Boosts Carbon Sequestration, Enhanced Oil Recovery -The budget reconciliation bill signed into law July 4 by President Trump — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — dramatically scales back a number of clean-energy tax credits and adds a new layer of complexity for some projects, leading to a lot of doom and gloom around clean-energy initiatives, but the new legislation is a big positive for the carbon-capture industry. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how changes to the 45Q tax credit could help advance carbon-capture efforts while also providing a boost to producers of crude oil and blue hydrogen. To drive development in the carbon-capture industry, Congress created the 45Q tax credit. It was added to the federal tax code in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, then expanded and extended under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. But the more generous tax credits didn’t spur a lot of activity, which is why improvements to the tax credit were included in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Credits jumped to $85 per metric ton (MT) for CCS and $60/MT for CCUS, up from $50/MT and $35/MT, respectively. Direct air capture (DAC), a far more expensive process, had been eligible for credits at the CCS and CCUS rates before the IRA. Its credit rates rose to $180/MT for CCS and $130/MT for CCUS. (Also note that all those enhanced credits under the IRA came with prevailing-wage and apprenticeship requirements.) The most significant changes under the OBBBA are the revisions to the credit rates themselves, with CCS and CCUS/EOR now equal at $85/MT for most carbon-capture facilities and $180/MT for DAC. (The blue bar sections in Figure 1 above indicate the credit rates under the IRA; the orange bar sections show the increases under the OBBBA.) The change provides additional operational and financial flexibility for blue hydrogen producers (more on them in a bit), who have the option to claim the 45Q or 45V tax credits, but not both. We should also note that while the tax credits will eventually be indexed to inflation, the legislation pushes the indexing year back from 2027 to 2028. The new rates are especially beneficial to two of the largest companies in the energy sector: Oxy and ExxonMobil.Let’s start with Oxy, which has big plans to utilize DAC technology through its 1PointFive subsidiary. Oxy has a significant footprint in the prolific Permian Basin and a long history with carbon capture via EOR. Its Stratos DAC project (see photo below) in West Texas’s Ector County, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion and begin commercial operations as soon as this year, received its operating permit from the EPA in April. It has already secured agreements to sell carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to several other companies, including AT&T, Microsoft and Trafigura. Its most recent agreement, announced July 16, is with cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. (CDR credits are measurable, verifiable emissions reductions from certified projects. Project developers like 1PointFive can sell credits directly to buyers, through a broker or on an exchange. Credit costs from DAC projects range from as low as $100/MT to several hundred dollars.)Another beneficiary of the enhanced tax credits is ExxonMobil, which established itself as the undisputed leader in CCS when it acquired Denbury in a deal announced in July 2023. As we detailed in I Was CCS When CCS Wasn’t Cool, the $4.9 billion transaction provided ExxonMobil with the largest owned and operated CO2 pipeline network in the U.S. at 1,300 miles, including about 925 miles in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as 10 strategically located onshore sequestration sites — all along the Gulf Coast industrial corridor, an area that has some of the highest concentrations of CO2 emissions anywhere in the world.ExxonMobil said it has already committed to storing more than 17 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of CO2from its customers, with current capacity at 9 MMtpa. Under its most recent agreement, announced in April, ExxonMobil will transport and store up to 2 MMtpa of CO2 from Calpine’s Baytown Energy Center, a cogeneration facility near Houston. It is part of Calpine’s Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project designed to capture the facility’s CO2 emissions, enabling the 24/7 supply of low-carbon electricity to Texas customers as well as steam to nearby industrial facilities. The agreement is ExxonMobil’s sixth with a CCS customer.

California has lost up to $3B in cap-and-trade revenue over past year: Report --California may have lost up to $3 billion in potential revenue from a signature emissions reduction program over the past year, a new report has found. The Golden State’s cap-and-trade program — a system that sets emissions caps and distributes tradable credits within that framework — has incurred these losses in response to weak auction results, according to the report published Monday by nonprofit research group Clean and Prosperous California. The poor auction outcomes stem from a plunge in “allowance prices,” the cost of the permits that polluters can purchase in exchange for emissions they generate. Allowance prices have plummeted from an all-time high of $42 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted to near-historic lows this year of $26 per metric ton, the report found. “These funds would have otherwise been directly invested into communities and used to lower utility bills for ratepayers,” Clayton Munnings, executive director of Clean and Prosperous California, said in a statement. These allowance prices also show no signs of recovering ahead of an upcoming auction on Aug. 20 — a situation the authors attributed to legislative uncertainty surrounding the program’s future. Bolstering future revenue would require several actions, including urgent action from the state Legislature to extend the program’s shelf life beyond its current 2030 end date, the researchers noted. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) would then need to resume relevant rulemaking processes that would allow for the reduction of available permits, the authors added. Without such legislative and regulatory action, California could continue losing between $600 million and $1 billion in revenue from each quarterly cap-and-trade auction — as likely occurred at the last event in May, the report concluded. Yet if auction revenues were restored, the authors observed, these funds could help insulate California’s climate change initiatives from setbacks the state is expected to incur from the federal government’s “one big, beautiful bill.” Following the recent passage of President’s Trump sweeping legislation, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned that California’s wildfire-prone communities could suffer from significant cuts to forest management services and to the firefighting workforce. The bill, according to the governor’s office, could end up slashing forest management services and eliminating the personnel capable of fighting fires. The governor’s office also said the bill “unfairly targets green vehicles,” presumably referring to the decision to do away with electric vehicle tax credits. To revive revenues and reinforce California’s ability to maintain its climate targets, the authors suggested a “swift legislative extension” of the cap-and-trade program. The subsequent rulemaking, they continued, would ideally include permit supply cuts, which in turn would help the Golden State achieve its and 2045 carbon neutrality goals.

Fortescue Halts New U.S. Green Energy Projects - Australia’s energy and metals group Fortescue is reassessing timelines and pausing green energy project developments in the United States following the latest U.S. legislation to phase out renewable energy incentives, Fortescue’s founder and executive chairman, Andrew Forrest, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.President Trump’s tax and spending act, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed earlier this month, contains punitive provisions on renewables in the U.S. The legislation includes a faster phase-out of the tax credits for low-carbon energy, or reduces or simply abolishes these incentives.“You’ve had a president come in and say that climate change is bunk,” Fortescue’s Forrest, a self-made billionaire who is a proponent of clean energy solutions, told the Journal. “We are big investors who always go where we’re loved,” Forrest added, and “if we stop feeling the love, timetables immediately get suspended.”Fortescue planned Arizona Hydrogen—a venture to produce liquid green hydrogen in the United States. Initially, the project was expected to begin production by the middle of 2026.However, after the U.S. presidential election and the early signs that the Trump Administration intends to go after the renewable energy incentives, Fortescue said in an earnings release in February that uncertain market conditions in the U.S. had prompted it to reconsider the development timeframes of its Arizona Project.Under the Big Beautiful Bill, the curtailed availability of the 45V tax credit for hydrogen means that “more than 75% of the total U.S. green hydrogen project pipeline is unlikely to qualify without rapid progress,” Ed Crooks, Vice Chair Americas at Wood Mackenzie, said last week.Fortescue Energy noted it “is continuing to progress and refine its green energy project pipeline in a disciplined manner, with timelines adjusted to reflect global market conditions and policy settings.”While reconsidering development projects, Fortescue is on the lookout to buy already operational green energy assets or companies in the United States, Fortescue’s Forrest told the Journal.“I have asked the team to look hard across North America for renewable-energy companies or assets which are struggling,” the entrepreneur said.

The IRA was bearing fruit. Then Trump killed it. -As President Donald Trump races to dismantle his predecessor’s climate policies, green shoots are popping up throughout the economy.Solar power generation surged in the first half of 2025, a growing number of batteries were connected to the grid, and electric vehicles sales hit new records. The boom is owed in large part to the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate law signed in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden. The growth in clean energy shows how the economy has responded to the law’s tax incentives — and what could be lost when Trump’s rollbacks are complete.Solar is one example. Generation is up 32 percent through the first six months of 2025 compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The gains are even greater — 99 percent — compared to the first half of 2022, just before the Inflation Reduction Act was signed. The surge in solar installations led to almost 20 gigawatts of new capacity in 2023 and about 31 GW last year, shattering previous records. EIA expects that another 24 GW of solar capacity will be plugged in before this year is over — adding to the 10 GW that has already been installed. “I think the IRA was doing what it intended,” said Ryan Jones, the co-founder of Evolved Energy Research. “That increase in solar can’t be accounted for in the cost of projects over the last couple of years.”Similar trends have been observed with EVs and batteries. Storage developers connected 4.6 GW of new battery to the grid through May, according to the latest federal data. That would have been an annual record as recently as 2022. EV sales in the first half of 2025 hit a record 607,000 vehicles, an increase of 1.5 percent over 2024. Take out sales associated with Tesla, which has slumped, and the purchase of electric cars has risen by more than 14 percent this year, said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, an analyst at Cox Automotive.She noted that the average transaction price of EVs has trended down, but that they still cost more than gasoline-powered vehicles — a challenge that the climate law was designed to address.“The IRA was a way to bridge that gap,” Valdez Streaty said.That will soon be over.Incentives for EVs will be gone in October under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law earlier this month. Valdez Streaty predicts EV sales will surge in the third quarter of the year, then plunge in the fourth quarter. Cox Automotive initially projected EVs would account for 10 percent of new sales this year, but it downgraded that estimate to 8.5 percent after the Republican law was finalized.Tax credits for wind and solar will stick around a bit longer. Projects that are under construction before July 4, 2026, are likely to qualify for Inflation Reduction Act subsidies through 2030, though the Treasury Department may tighten its rules for what constitutes the start of construction. Projects that break ground next year after July 4 will need to be operating by the end of 2027.EIA estimates that solar installations would fall from 36 GW in 2027 to about 18 GW in 2028, and less than 5 GW in 2029. Wind projects, which were already struggling with transmission constraints and growing opposition, are in tougher shape. Onshore wind installations are expected to fall from 8 GW in 2026 to 3 GW in 2027, and a little more than 2 GW in 2028.“Solar and wind, in particular, are hit pretty hard in the 2028-2035 time frame,” Jones said.Outside of renewables, the power sector saw a reversal of recent trends over the first half of 2025. Natural gas generation, which has steadily risen in each of the last four years, fell 4 percent compared to the first half of 2024. The change is due to higher gas prices after cold temperatures increased demand in the first part of 2025. That in turn has helped coal, which experienced a 14 percent jump in the first six months of 2025. It was coal’s best first-half start since 2022.

EPA tells Maryland to fix offshore wind permit ‘error’ - EPA has directed Maryland regulators to revise a finalized permit for an offshore wind project to avoid having the approval invalidated.The demand — if met by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) — would give opponents of the project an extra month to challenge its approval before developer US Wind has a final green light.Maryland’s regulator did not correctly identify the appeals process that project opponents should follow, EPA’s Region 3 Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey wrote to MDE on July 7. The “error” was directing potential opponents to follow an appeals process outlined in state law, versus an appeals process as defined in federal law, according to the letter.The snag from EPA is not the first time an offshore wind developer has received a formal federal letter describing a problem with a project during President Donald Trump’s second term. The president is an adversary of wind farms, and his administration has worked to stymie renewable energy projects at nearly every turn.

A stunning solar victory in Ohio against the deep-pocketed fossil fuel industry -Those who read the Ohio Capital Journal may be familiar with a series of commentaries that took an in-depth look into how the fossil fuel industry in Ohio has been conducting what many believe to be the most aggressive assault in the country aimed at shutting down utility scale solar power projects.When this reached an almost unbelievable extreme in the case of the Frasier solar project in Knox County, it led to the drawing of a proverbial “line in the sand.” Some grassroots solar advocates joined together in the hope that a collective effort might have a chance to push back.From the beginning, this was “David versus Goliath.” The motivation of advocates had much to do with the strenuous warning from the science community that our civilization must shift away from fossil fuels if we wish to preserve a livable future for our children and future generations.The anti-solar side had numerous direct connections with the fossil fuel industry, and when these were exposed there was not even much attempt to hide them. The attitude from the start seemed to be “we are a wealthy industry, and if we apply our wealth to saturate the entire area with misinformation, there is no way that we lose this siting decision.” Rent a luxurious theater and pay for an expert in distortion to travel all the way from Chicago to explain why 99% of the world’s science community has it all wrong and that the continually unraveling climate is nothing but a hoax. What were the credentials of this speaker? That he came from the Heartland Institute famous for being hired by the tobacco industry to convince the public there is no danger to health from smoking cigarettes. A major “problem” developed in the local news media. It was granting space to express both sides. Lo and behold, money appeared in order to actually purchase the Mt Vernon newspaper.From that point on, it was almost “miraculous” how the whole community seemed to suddenly be united in opposing the solar project. Then came the public hearing. A few people came from outside Knox County because they recognized the sweeping nature of climate disruption does not pay attention to imaginary lines on a map called county boundaries.If there was ever an issue that said we are all in this together, this was it.Both attorneys for the opposition vehemently demanded that anyone from outside these lines had no right to speak.Never mind that both were themselves from outside the county. And never mind that the opposition brought in someone all the way from Chicago. Did someone mention blatant hypocrisy?It was the wealth of an entire industry pitted against mere grassroots volunteers trying to make ends meet while eking out time to make a stand for the earth and future generations.Due to the colossal disparity between resources, it seemed a foregone conclusion that this project was going to become another casualty.Beyond the local barrage of misinformation, something else was happening.The Ohio Power Siting Board was altering its decision-making process in a way that undeniably favored the fossil fuel industry.It was saying that if a handful of local officials lined up in opposition to a project, that was pretty much the end of it.They were not even expected to present any rational reason of substance, but only had to say “no.” Whether a majority of the public supported it no longer mattered.All the industry needed was to conduct an intensive well-funded lobbying campaign to “lock up” the local officials, and that project would become history. But something unexpected happened. These grassroots volunteers were determined to not be intimidated. They were dedicated to not only continue speaking the truth, but also expose to the public how it was being cynically manipulated. A Pulitzer Prize winning investigative team was invited to expose the outrageous purchase of the newspaper.Articulate and well-documented writing was submitted for publication. A documentary producer was invited to expose the false claim that agricultural land was being taken out of use by the solar panels.His video demonstrated how solar panels and continuing agricultural use could easily co-exist on the same land. The developer of Frasier actually signed a contract with local sheep grazers so that the vast majority of the land would continue with agricultural use.Something else very significant was that these advocates were not willing to allow the state agency responsible for siting decisions to turn into a rubber stamp for the fossil fuel industry.A very principled and cogent case was made directly to the Ohio Power Siting Board about how these new rules were skewing the process. The Board was challenged to defend its actions. The end result of it all was stunning.On June 26, the Board approved the project by a very strong 8 to 1 majority — setting off a major celebration by the solar advocates.

Interior directive: Burgum must sign off on all solar, wind projects - Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and top agency leaders must approve any action advancing solar and wind power projects under federal permitting review, according to a guidance announced Thursday by the Interior Department. In a memorandum sent to all assistant secretaries and bureau and office heads, Gregory Wischer, the department’s deputy chief of staff for policy, says, “All decisions, actions, consultations, and other undertakings … related to wind and solar energy facilities” will now require “final review” by Burgum and be sent for “subsequent review” to Deputy Secretary Kate MacGregor. Wischer’s memo lists 69 items requiring Burgum’s approval for solar and wind — including whether to issue a “notice to proceed” with permitting review on individual projects, as well as draft and final environmental reviews and records of decision. Some are as mundane as “preconstruction environmental surveys” and “facility design reports,” as well as “access road authorizations.” The memo says these steps are consistent with various executive orders issued by President Donald Trump and will help ensure that green energy projects align with the administration’s energy policies.

PSEG seeks more land access for MPRP project in Maryland | WYPR --The company that plans to build a controversial power line, known as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, through Baltimore, Frederick and Carroll Counties has filed an additional lawsuit to get access to more people’s property. PSEG filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court against nearly 200 landowners. It says it needs access to the private land so it can survey the property. In June, in a separate lawsuit, a judge granted PSEG the right to access more than 100 pieces of private property. A group that is fighting the power line is appealing that decision and calls the new lawsuit a direct assault on property rights. In a statement, PSEG said it had reached out to landowners to get voluntary access agreements. “Because many landowners refused our efforts, and in order to obtain this survey data information, PSEG previously sought and has obtained a court order confirming that State law allows us to access a number of properties to complete the required surveys,” PSEG wrote. “That process continues with the additional properties included in today’s (Tuesday's) filing.” PJM Interconnection, which runs the electricity grid that serves Maryland, selected PSEG for the job. It says the MPRP is necessary because of an increased demand for electricity coming at the same time old power plants are being retired. But when the project was made public one year ago the opposition grew quickly and has been intense. Opponents of the project jammed public hearings in the three affected counties. In a statement Joanne Frederick, the President of Stop MPRP, Inc. said, “Hundreds of landowners across Maryland are now being dragged into federal court simply for saying no to forced corporate access and defending their right to control what happens on their land.” Maryland’s Public Service Commission will decide if the MPRP will be built.

Massive Midwest transmission project in peril after DOE ‘pledge’ - The developer of one of the largest transmission projects in U.S. history is urging the Department of Energy to follow through on Biden-era funding, after Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said last week that he had “secured a pledge” from the Energy secretary to halt the project. The $11 billion Grain Belt Express would transport power from wind and solar projects 800 miles across four Midwest states. The project, which sparked battles between landowners, environmentalists and politicians for more than a decade, received a $4.9 billion conditional loan guarantee last year from the Biden administration.On Friday, project developer Invenergy sent a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright pressing him to ignore “unfounded noise” and “affirm a commitment to the Grain Belt Express to reach closing, following the fulfillment of conditions negotiated in our conditional commitment.”The project “will strengthen grid reliability and resilience while saving U.S. consumers billions of dollars,” wrote Jim Shield, vice president of Grain Belt Express, a subsidiary of Invenergy.

With One Call, Trump Alters the Fate of a Contested Power Project - The New York Times --Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, said he had secured a commitment from Energy Secretary Chris Wright to cancel a conditional loan guarantee that the federal agency had granted to the developers of an $11 billion transmission line in the Midwest, with an assist from President Trump.The line, known as Grain Belt Express, is designed to transport electricity generated by wind farms in Kansas across four states, including Missouri, to more densely populated regions in Indiana and Illinois. It would be the largest privately funded transmission line in the country’s history, said Invenergy, its developer. In the works for more than a decade, the project appeared in recent months to have everything it needed to proceed, according to Invenergy. Approvals from the four states were in hand, contractors were ready to begin construction and the loan guarantee from the government provided critical financial support.It was just the kind of project that utilities and energy experts say is needed, a way to deliver new sources of energy to meet spiking demand for electricity around the country.But in recent weeks, challenges in Missouri appeared. Mr. Hawley began to question the viability of the project, saying it did not benefit Missouri residents and that farmers were upset that Invenergy was using eminent domain in some cases to run high voltage lines and place transmission towers on farmland. In March and again in June, Mr. Hawley called on the Energy Department to cancel the $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the project, which was awarded during the final months of the Biden Administration.This month, the Missouri attorney general, Andrew Bailey, a Republican, opened an investigation into the project and requested that the state’s Public Service Commission reconsider its approval.Then, last Thursday, Mr. Hawley was in the Oval Office, speaking with Mr. Trump when the conversation turned to the Grain Belt Express, Mr. Hawley said.He said he explained his concerns to the president, who has repeatedly expressed his distaste for wind power, saying he would not permit any new wind projects during his administration.“He said, ‘Well, let’s just resolve this now,’” Mr. Hawley said. “So he got Chris Wright on the line right there.”Mr. Hawley said he repeated his concerns to the energy secretary and that the president asked “several searching questions.”Mr. Hawley said that Mr. Wright announced that he intended to cancel the loan guarantee, and that he predicted it would happen in a couple weeks.A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that Mr. Trump had called Mr. Wright while Mr. Hawley was in the Oval Office.The White House and the Energy Department both declined to comment. The Energy Department has said Mr. Wright is currently reviewing all loans and loan guarantees it has made, including the commitment to Invenergy.In a statement posted on X, Invenergy called Mr. Hawley’s actions “bizarre.”“Senator Hawley is attempting to kill the largest transmission infrastructure project in U.S. history, which is already approved by all four states and is aligned with the President’s energy dominance agenda,” the statement said. “Senator Hawley is trying to deprive Americans of billions of dollars in energy cost savings, thousands of jobs, and grid reliability and national security, all in an era of exponentially growing electricity demand.”The company also wrote a letter to Mr. Wright pleading its case and noting that Grain Belt Express has broad bipartisan support.The Missouri Public Service commission on Wednesday said it could not repeal its approval for the project. Also on Wednesday, Invenergy pushed back against the investigation by Mr. Bailey,filing a petition in county court in Missouri calling on the judges to “quash and set aside” the legal challenge.“The attorney general has no authority to interfere with the Missouri Public Service Commission or its final approval of this project,” Catherine Hanaway, the lead counsel for Grain Belt Express, said in a statement. “Grain Belt Express seeks to bring an end to the A.G.’s unlawful and politically motivated investigation.”

Blackstone Investing $25B in NEPA Data Centers, Gas Power Plants-- Marcellus Drilling News -- The largest amount of money to be invested in Pennsylvania in the coming decade by a single company, announced yesterday at Senator Dave McCormick’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit held in Pittsburgh, came from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone pledged to invest *at least* $25 billion in the next 10 years in the Keystone State to (a) build data centers in the northeastern part of the state, and (b) build new Marcellus-fired power plants to provide electricity for those data centers. It’s a staggering amount of money. Blackstone President & COO, Jon Gray, was at yesterday’s event and said PA’s access to natural gas gives it a considerable advantage. “You can co-locate the data centers directly next to the source of power. That’s really the secret sauce here.” The Marcellus is responsible for Blackstone’s $25 billion investment! STAGGERING.

PPL, Blackstone JV to Build Natural Gas Plant for Data Center Support - PPL Corporation PPL announced that it has formed a joint venture (“JV”) with Blackstone Infrastructure to build, own and operate new gas-fired, combined-cycle generation stations. It will be used to power data centers under long-term energy services agreements (“ESAs”). There’s a strong U.S. policy push for domestic manufacturing and reshoring of tech infrastructure, including semiconductor and AI data facilities. Inflationary pressures and aging infrastructure are contributing to rising electricity prices across many U.S. markets. Flexible, localized generation capacity (like that planned by PPL and Blackstone) can help stabilize costs for large consumers and reduce dependence on volatile wholesale markets. The United States is undergoing a historic investment cycle in infrastructure due to federal programs like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These policies encourage public-private partnerships, with a focus on clean energy, grid modernization and tech-enabled infrastructure. The JV targets areas of high data center interest and aims to create front-of-the-meter power that sits atop the Marcellus and Utica shale basins and can swiftly connect to significant, available gas pipeline capacity. The JV intends to sign long-term energy services contracts that are controlled to protect the businesses from fluctuations in merchant energy and capacity prices. The successful completion of ESAs using hyperscalers will be necessary for the construction of new natural gas facilities. Although no ESA with hyperscalers has been signed as of yet, the JV has obtained many land parcels to facilitate this new generation buildout and is actively interacting with landowners, natural gas pipeline providers and turbine makers. PPL owns 51% of the JV interest, with Blackstone Infrastructure owning 49%. The parties will ratably share JV expenses and distributions. The newly formed entity does not include PPL Electric Utilities or PPL's other regulated subsidiaries. Data center interest has reached more than 60 gigawatts (GW) of possible projects inside PPL Electric Utilities' service zone in Pennsylvania alone, with over 13 GW in advanced development stages. In the next five to six years, PPL Electric Utilities anticipates a 6 GW generation gap in its service area if all 13 GW come online. If natural gas combined-cycle units are utilized to meet this need, it would amount to an approximately $15 billion investment need. PPL anticipates that current independent power producers, the recently announced joint venture, and, if approved, PPL Electric Utilities will construct this generation. Data center market is projected to see rapid expansion due to increasing artificial intelligence workloads. According to an Arizton Advisory & Intelligence report, the U.S. data center market size is expected to reach $308.83 billion by 2030. Dominion Energy D is experiencing commercial load growth, driven by the demand from data centers. The company has nearly 40 GW of data center capacity at various stages of development, including approximately 10 GW of capacity contracted under electric service agreements. D’s long-term (three to five-year) earnings growth rate is 13.59%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year increase of 22.4%. The Southern Company SO is significantly benefiting from the increased demand for data centers. Southern Company has a substantial pipeline of potential data center customers, exceeding 50 GW of incremental load, with a significant portion from Georgia Power. SO’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.55%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 5.4%. NRG Energy NRG has entered into Letters of Intent with two leading data center developers, Menlo Equities and PowLan. Targeting 400 MW of retail supply in the initial phase, these arrangements have the potential to scale to 6.5 GW, with work expected to start in 2026.

Blackstone's Pennsylvania Pivot: How Co-Located Data and Energy Infrastructure Could Power the AI Future --Blackstone's $25 billion bet on Pennsylvania's infrastructure is more than a real estate play—it's a strategic masterstroke to capitalize on the twin revolutions of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy transition. By co-locating data centers with natural gas power plants, Blackstone is leveraging Pennsylvania's abundant shale gas reserves to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for AI-driven industries. This synergy not only addresses critical supply chain bottlenecks but also positions Pennsylvania as a hub for 21st-century innovation, all while shielding investors from permitting delays and energy price volatility.Blackstone's subsidiary QTS, the world's largest independent data center operator, has secured prime land in northeastern Pennsylvania to build out high-density data facilities. These sites are strategically located near the Marcellus and Utica shale basins, ensuring proximity to the natural gas that will power them. The move targets hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services and Google, which are racing to expand AI infrastructure. The symbolizes this integration. QTS's Request for Information (RFI) to communities underscores its ambition to scale rapidly. With Pennsylvania's “Fast Track” permitting system expediting approvals, construction could begin by late 2028—years ahead of typical timelines. reveals its ability to deliver returns through infrastructure plays. BX shares have risen steadily as the firm's portfolio diversifies into energy and tech adjacencies, a trend this deal reinforces. The $25 billion investment's linchpin is a joint venture with PPL, Pennsylvania's largest utility. Together, they're building gas-fired combined-cycle power plants to provide the 24/7 energy needed for data centers. By locating these plants near shale fields, Blackstone ensures low-cost, reliable power—critical for AI workloads that demand constant uptime. Pennsylvania produces 20% of U.S. natural gas, a resource advantage no other state can match. underscores this dominance. The partnership's long-term energy services agreements (ESAs) with hyperscalers will lock in demand, shielding investors from electricity price spikes. The genius of Blackstone's strategy lies in its vertical integration. By housing data centers next to their power sources, it eliminates transmission losses and grid congestion risks. This model also reduces the carbon footprint compared to distant coal or renewables, appealing to hyperscalers' sustainability goals. The synergy creates a “closed-loop” system: data centers consume the energy produced by gas plants, while the plants benefit from guaranteed demand. This reduces financial risk for both infrastructure and energy investors. Blackstone's Pennsylvania play isn't just about infrastructure—it's about redefining how energy and tech industries intersect. By co-locating data centers and gas plants, the firm is creating a template for 21st-century industrial parks. For investors, this offers a rare opportunity to profit from two megatrends: AI's insatiable demand for compute power and energy's transition to cleaner, reliable sources. In a market hungry for tangible AI investments, Blackstone's Pennsylvania pivot is a bold move that blends risk mitigation with growth. This is infrastructure investing at its most visionary.

Mothballed nuclear plant on brink of revival - The sleepy 2,500-person Covert Township in Michigan is on the cusp of setting a new milestone amid what many are calling a U.S. nuclear renaissance.In October, Palisades nuclear generating station is expected to become the country’s first commercial reactor to reopen after fully shutting down. The milestone comes amid a resurgence in public support for nuclear power and state and federal leaders’ readiness to financially back the projects.The Biden administration committed a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to the Palisades restart, and the Trump administration has since continued those disbursements even as it moves to freeze other green energy dollars.“We’ve got two administrations with very different philosophies on energy, both saying this makes sense to move ahead with bringing Palisades back,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who represents Covert’s congressional district.“All the infrastructure is there. There’s no long, drawn-out permitting process. It’s not like it’s a new greenfield development. It’s been there for decades,” he continued.But to Kevin Kamps, a staffer at the Maryland-based watchdog group Beyond Nuclear and a Michigan native, the planned reopening of Palisades is an impending “nuclear nightmare.” Beyond Nuclear contested the plan at virtually every step of the vetting process and now “fully intend[s] to appeal to the federal courts,” Kamps said. Reopening Palisades, Kamps said, means “risking a Chernobyl on the Michigan shoreline.” Other advocates are concerned about the future environmental health of the Great Lakes, which account for over 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater.

DOGE told regulator to ‘rubber stamp’ nuclear - A DOGE representative told the chair and top staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the agency will be expected to give “rubber stamp” approval to new reactors tested by the departments of Energy or Defense, according to three people with knowledge of a May meeting where the message was delivered. The three people said Adam Blake, detailed to the NRC by the Department of Government Efficiency, described a new regulatory approach by NRC that would expedite nuclear safety assessments. “DOE, DOD would approve stuff, and then NRC would be expected to just kind of rubber-stamp it,” said one of the three people, who were all granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The meeting was held after President Donald Trump signed a May 23 executive order that would supplant the NRC’s historical role as the sole agency responsible for ensuring commercial nuclear projects are safe and won’t threaten public health. Two of the three people said Blake used the term “rubber stamp” at the meeting that included NRC Chair David Wright, senior agency staff and DOE officials. Under Trump’s executive order, the NRC could not revisit issues assessed by DOE or the Pentagon, but the people with knowledge of the meeting said Blake and DOE officials went a step further to suggest the NRC’s secondary assessment should be a foregone conclusion. Trump’s executive order and staff departures have added to concern at the independent agency and among nuclear experts that the White House is exerting more control over the NRC’s mandate under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 than any previous administration. “The NRC is working quickly to implement the executive orders reforming the agency and modernizing our regulatory and licensing processes,” said NRC spokesperson Maureen Conley. “We look forward to continuing to work with the administration, DOE and DOD on future nuclear programs.” The NRC’s Wright was not made available for an interview. POLITICO’s E&E News also reached out for comment from Blake about the “rubber stamp” remark and his role at the agency. Blake and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. When asked about the May meeting, a DOE spokesperson referenced Trump’s executive order. Trump has said he wants to quadruple the U.S. supply of nuclear power by 2050. Tech industry allies, Republicans in Congress and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright have been sharply critical of the NRC for what they say is an unreasonably slow approval process that has held back the nuclear industry. Defenders of the NRC and former agency officials agree that today’s smaller reactor designs require a new approach to licensing nuclear technology. They’re also adamant that a political push to build more nuclear reactors, and fast, doesn’t change NRC requirements under the law to ensure new reactor designs are safe. Nuclear is now in political vogue again, with bipartisan support lately driven by Silicon Valley and Trump administration plans to use nuclear power to fuel huge artificial intelligence data centers. Some clean energy supporters see new, smaller nuclear reactors as crucial sources of carbon-free power in the 2030s. Ongoing shake-up In the weeks following the “rubber stamp” comment, the NRC experienced significant upheaval, including the abrupt June 13 firing of Christopher Hanson, a Democratic commissioner originally appointed during Trump’s first term and the former chair under President Joe Biden. Hanson took to social media to protest the termination, saying it was done “without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told POLITICO at the time that “all organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” adding that Trump “reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.” Wright’s term on the commission expired at the end of June as his reappointment from Trump waited in a Senate committee. Wright’s appointment squeaked through the Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday on a party-line vote after Democrats decried what they characterized as the administration’s “hostile takeover” of the NRC. The decision by Trump and top aides to insert DOE into the NRC’s statutory licensing process was spelled out in four executive orders Trump signed May 23 — prompting nuclear experts to warn of “serious consequences” if the NRC’s loss of independence erodes safety.Trump ordered a “wholesale review” of the NRC’s reactor design and safety regulations, with a nine-month deadline for proposed changes and final action in another nine months. The order said commission reviews of new designs must be completed within 18 months, with shorter deadlines set as appropriate.A committee of at least 20 people would perform the review, including representatives of DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russ Vought, the architect of Project 2025’s conservative blueprint for shrinking the federal government.Leadership at Idaho National Laboratory, which has been one of the centers of DOE’s research on nuclear reactors, has said DOE can perform safety evaluations of new reactors, and in doing so move more quickly and efficiently than the NRC.The lab sent a proposal to members of Congress in April. The DOE process is viewed by industry “as being much shorter and more straightforward than NRC’s licensing process,” the INL authors said.Trump directed the creation of an “expedited pathway to approve reactor designs” that had been tested and certified either by DOE or the Defense Department. Under the Trump order, safety designs for new reactors approved by the two agencies could not be revisited by the NRC unless new issues arose.

ArcLight Acquires Ohio Gas-Fired Power Plant — ArcLight Capital Partners has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of the economic interests in the Middletown Energy Center, a 484-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in Butler County, Ohio. The plant, which began operations in 2018, is one of the newest combined-cycle natural gas facilities in PJM, the largest wholesale electricity market in the United States. ArcLight is purchasing the asset from a consortium of sellers through a series of transactions. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in 2025, pending regulatory approvals.ArcLight cited growing regional power needs, driven by industrial growth and data center expansion, as a key factor behind the investment.“With increasing demand for digital infrastructure, Ohio has emerged as a premier hub for data centers and Middletown Energy Center, with ArcLight's stewardship, stands ready to meet the substantial electric infrastructure needs of this vital sector,” said Angelo Acconcia, Partner at ArcLight.“Middletown provides reliable and dispatchable power to the PJM market,” said Andrew Brannan, Managing Director at ArcLight. “Reliable and efficient power generation is essential to ensuring continued industrial and data-center related investment in the region, and highly efficient resources such as Middletown are vital to these initiatives.”ArcLight has a long track record in power infrastructure investment, having owned, controlled, or operated over 65 gigawatts of assets and more than 47,000 miles of electric and gas transmission infrastructure. The firm currently manages what it says is the largest private power infrastructure portfolio in North America.

Talen Energy Buys 2 M-U Gas-Powered Plants in PA, OH for $3.8B -- Marcellus Drilling News -- Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S., which owns and operates approximately 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure, has 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, for $3.8 billion. The PA plant is fed by Marcellus molecules, and the OH plant is fed by Utica molecules. We have followed both projects from inception through commissioning and operation

Talen to acquire power stations in Pennsylvania, Ohio for $3.5 billion - - Talen Energy is acquiring two power plants located in Pennsylvania and Ohio for a net $3.5 billion, it said on Thursday, adding that it expects the move to boost the company's free cash flow per share by over 40% in 2026. Shares of the company jumped about 16% in extended trading. The two combined-cycle gas-fired plants are located in the PJM power market. U.S. electricity demand has risen for the first time in two decades, driven by the rapid growth of data centers and artificial intelligence, prompting Big Tech companies to scramble for reliable energy sources. Talen will pay $1.46 billion in cash for Caithness Energy's Moxie Freedom Energy Center, in Pennsylvania, which owns and controls a 1,105 megawatts (MW) natural gas fired combined cycle generation project. For the 1,875 MW Guernsey power station located in Ohio, owned by Caithness and BlackRock, Talen will pay $2.33 billion in cash, according to a regulatory filing. The gross value of the deals are expected to be about $3.8 billion. In June, Talen expanded its nuclear energy partnership with Amazon to supply up to 1,920 MW of electricity from its Susquehanna plant in Pennsylvania to cope up with the increasing electricity demand. "The transaction adds more than the equivalent of another Susquehanna nuclear plant to our platform, further enabling large load service," said Talen CEO Mac McFarland. The Moxie and Guernsey deals are both expected to close in the fourth-quarter and the company will issue about $3.8 billion in new debt to fund the acquisitions and refinance target debt, using both secured and unsecured instruments.

Pennsylvania Energy Industry Losing Out to Ohio Due to Red Tape -- Marcellus Drilling News --The media fuss is hard to miss about today’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit being held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. PA Senator Dave McCormick organized the event. Among the attendees will be President Trump, several cabinet secretaries, and other White House officials. Much of the buzz is around $90 billion in AI and energy investments expected to be announced. In preparation for the big event, a roundtable was held yesterday at CNX headquarters in Washington County, PA, to discuss clearing away permitting obstacles and red tape to help PA realize some (if not most) of that $90 billion in investments.

Frontier Group Converting Coal to Gas-Fired Plant, NatGas from EQT-- Marcellus Drilling News -- In the list of major energy projects announced for Pennsylvania yesterday, the Frontier Group announced plans to invest $3.2 billion to transform the former Bruce Mansfield coal power plant in Beaver County into a natural gas power station (and co-located data center), renamed the Shippingport Power Station. This project is expected to create 15,000 construction jobs and over 300 permanent jobs. But here’s the cool part. The new Shippingport Power Station will utilize approximately 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas produced from the Marcellus and Utica shales, all of which will be sourced from EQT Corporation.

EQT to Supply Natural Gas for Data Center Campus in Pennsylvania— Homer City Redevelopment (HCR) has reached an agreement in principle with EQT Corporation to supply natural gas to the Homer City Energy Campus, a planned 3,200-acre AI and high-performance computing data center campus in Pennsylvania.The project, set to begin producing power in 2027, will include a 4.4 GW natural gas–fired generation facility, converting the site of Pennsylvania’s largest retired coal plant into a next-generation energy and data infrastructure hub.Under the deal, EQT will serve as the exclusive gas supplier to the project, providing supply through both the Texas Eastern Transmission and Eastern Gas Transmission & Storage pipeline systems. This will create a high level of redundancy and supply security for the site.According to the companies, the project could unlock up to 665,000 MMBtu/day of natural gas supply, making it one of the largest single-site gas transactions in North America. “This agreement ensures long-term energy security for the data center campus, while demonstrating our commitment to powering the future with Pennsylvania gas, Pennsylvania power and ultimately, Pennsylvania data centers.”GE Vernova will supply seven high-efficiency 7HA.02 natural gas turbines, with deliveries set to begin in 2026. Kiewit Power Constructors Co. is leading engineering, procurement, and construction.

Homer City Power Pledges to Buy $15 Billion of PA NatGas from EQT -In a day of big news, there was big news related to the largest gas-fired power plant project in the country, along with a massive data center complex, to be built at a former coal-fired power plant site in Indiana County, PA (see Largest Gas-Fired Power Plant in the U.S. Coming in Western Pa.). As we previously informed you, the site will be transformed into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, complete with a 4.4-gigawatt Marcellus-fired power plant. Yesterday, the builder, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), announced an agreement in principle to purchase $15 billion of Pennsylvania natural gas to feed the plant. A separate announcement stated that HCR will purchase all $15 billion of that gas from EQT Corporation.

PPL Teams With Blackstone to Build $15B Gas Power Network for Data Centers - PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure have announced a strategic joint venture to construct and operate new gas-fired, combined-cycle generation stations in Pennsylvania. The venture, owned 51% by PPL and 49% by Blackstone, will focus on powering data centers through long-term energy services agreements (ESAs). The initiative addresses PJM Interconnection's forecasted capacity shortages starting 2026-27. Within PPL Electric Utilities' service territory, data center interest has reached over 60 GW of potential projects, with 13 GW in advanced planning. PPL estimates a 6 GW generation shortfall in the next 5-6 years, representing approximately $15 billion in investment needs. PPL's JV with Blackstone to build gas plants for data centers addresses PJM's looming capacity shortage while securing regulated-like revenue streams. This strategic joint venture positions PPL Corporation to capitalize on the explosive data center growth in Pennsylvania while mitigating traditional merchant power risks. The 51/49 partnership structure with Blackstone Infrastructure allows PPL to maintain control while leveraging Blackstone's deep pockets and expertise in data center development. The venture addresses a critical market need: PJM Interconnection forecasts potential capacity shortages by 2026-27, while PPL Electric's service territory alone has over 60GW of potential data center projects with 13GW in advanced planning. This creates an estimated 6GW generation shortfall in the next 5-6 years, representing approximately a $15 billion investment opportunity. What makes this approach unique is the business model - using long-term energy services agreements (ESAs) with hyperscalers that provide regulated-like risk profiles, shielding the venture from merchant energy and capacity price volatility. These contracts create predictable revenue streams without traditional merchant power risk, essentially creating utility-like returns from non-utility assets. The strategic positioning is exceptional - building generation atop the Marcellus and Utica shale basins with ready access to natural gas supply and targeting areas with significant data center interest. The venture has already secured multiple land parcels, engaged with gas pipeline companies and turbine manufacturers - all foundational steps before securing ESAs with hyperscalers. While no ESAs have been signed yet, the pressing need for dispatchable generation in PJM creates strong market pull. However, this venture doesn't eliminate the need for broader solutions to address resource adequacy, including potential legislation allowing utilities to directly own generation again

Pittsburgh Energy Event Truly Mind-Blowing, $92B+ Investments for PA -- Marcellus Drilling News -- We are still staggering, trying to get a handle on the Trump freight train that hit Pittsburgh yesterday at an event organized by Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, called the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit. Seriously, we are in awe of what happened yesterday. At the event, featuring Donald Trump and a host of luminaries, a list of more than $92 BILLION of new investments was announced that will go to the Keystone State. That’s nearly one-tenth of a trillion dollars! ALL of it private investment (not taxpayer money). It’s not unfair to say that the bell of the ball, the centerpiece, was the Marcellus Shale. Much (not all, but a significant portion) of the announced investments centered on the use of natural gas—specifically, PA Marcellus Shale natural gas. Just, WOW!!!! In this post, we present a brief overview of the announced projects. In today’s other posts, we focus on individual projects that most caught our attention and continue to leave us speechless.

21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 7 – 13 - Marcellus Drilling News -- For the week of July 7 – 13, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica remained the same as the previous week. There were 21 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week. The Keystone State (PA) issued seven new permits. Range Resources secured three permits, spread across Beaver and Washington counties, in the southwestern part of the state. Seneca Resources received two permits in Tioga County, in the northeastern part of the state. Greylock Energy and Coterra Energy each received a single permit, in Potter and Susquehanna counties, respectively. ARSENAL RESOURCES | ASCENT RESOURCES | BEAVER COUNTY | CARROLL COUNTY | COLUMBIANA COUNTY | COTERRA ENERGY (CABOT O&G) | ENCINO ENERGY |ENERGY COMPANIES | EOG RESOURCES | GREYLOCK ENERGY | GUERNSEY COUNTY | HARRISON COUNTY | HARRISON COUNTY | POTTER COUNTY| RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SENECA RESOURCES | SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY | TIOGA COUNTY (PA) | WASHINGTON COUNTY

TGP’s Mississippi Crossing Pipe Project Working on Approvals-- Marcellus Drilling News -- Last December, Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) subsidiary announced a final investment decision (FID) last December to build the Mississippi Crossing Project (MSX) Project after securing long-term, binding transportation agreements with customers for all the capacity (see TGP Announces FID on New 206-Mile Mississippi Crossing Pipe Project). The $1.7 billion project involves the construction of nearly 206 miles of 42-inch and 36-inch pipeline and two new compressor stations aimed at flowing 2.1 Bcf/d of natural gas (upgraded from an initial 1.5 Bcf/d). MSX will move more Marcellus/Utica gas into Mississippi and Alabama. The project is currently “winding its way through the approval process.”

208-Mile Mississippi-to-Alabama Gas Pipeline Moves Into FERC Review (P&GJ) — Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (TGP) has filed a formal application with federal regulators to build the Mississippi Crossing Project (MSX), a $1.7 billion natural gas pipeline expansion designed to deliver 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of firm transportation capacity across Mississippi and Alabama. The project includes 208 miles of new pipe — the centerpiece being a 199-mile, 42- and 36-inch mainline stretching from Greenville, Mississippi, to Butler, Alabama. Additional infrastructure includes three new compressor stations, multiple interconnects, and four metering facilities. TGP submitted its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 30, 2025, officially moving the project into the federal review phase. The filing followed the May 31 submission of all required environmental resource reports, which included consultations with regulatory agencies and other stakeholders. The project is backed by strong market demand, with more than 90% of its capacity under long-term precedent agreements. Customers include major Southeast utilities and power generators such as Southern Company Services, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. TGP affiliate Southern Natural Gas Company has secured 1.17 Bcf/d of capacity to serve downstream users. TGP is requesting FERC approval by July 1, 2026, with construction scheduled to begin in January 2027 and the pipeline expected to enter service by November 2028. An independent market analysis submitted with the application projects that natural gas demand in Mississippi and Alabama will grow by 8% by 2030, driven by coal retirements, increased electricity generation, and industrial activity. Current infrastructure in the region is operating near peak capacity. In addition to enhancing energy reliability, the project is expected to provide a significant economic boost. TGP estimates it will support 4,760 to 9,820 average annual jobs across Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia during construction, generating between $950 million and $2.4 billion in regional economic output.

Tallgrass Launches Open Season for New Permian Gas Pipeline — Tallgrass has launched a binding open season to solicit shipper commitments for firm transportation service on a planned new natural gas pipeline connecting the Permian Basin to multiple U.S. markets.The open season began July 21, 2025, and will allow shippers to secure capacity to transport Permian Basin gas to Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) markets and other delivery points as outlined in the open season terms.According to Tallgrass, the project is designed to expand access to affordable natural gas for key U.S. industrial, agricultural, and data center markets.“By connecting the Permian Basin to Rockies Express and multiple delivery points, this project will enable affordable and plentiful natural gas to access markets broadly across the U.S., including multiple major markets that are key hubs of activity for industrial, agricultural, and data center development,” Tallgrass said in the announcement.

Some M-U Molecules on REX Pipeline Could Get Bumped for Permian - Marcellus Drilling News - We still marvel, to this day, at how Tallgrass Energy Partners turned what looked like a financial disaster into an economic bonanza. Tallgrass built the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline, which stretches from Colorado and Wyoming to Ohio, just in time for the shale revolution to take hold. Whoops! Talk about bad timing! A significant portion of REX, its Zone 3 pipeline from Missouri to Ohio, was in danger of drying up in 2012 due to the increase in Marcellus/Utica gas production (see REX NatGas Pipeline Faces Stiff Competition from Marcellus). Tallgrass did an about-face, reversing the flow of REX to run from Ohio to Missouri a year later, in 2013 (see REX Reverses Pipeline Flow from OH for Mystery Utica Customer). Since that time, volumes along the Zone 3 portion of REX have continued to increase. A lot of Marcellus/Utica gas now flows from our region to the Midwest by hitching a ride on REX---some 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). However, M-U molecules will have to compete with cheaper molecules from the Permian if Tallgrass goes forward with a plan to build a new connecting pipeline from the Permian to REX.

Kinder Morgan Backlog Lifted by ‘Enormous’ Natural Gas Power Demand and LNG - Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) executives said they are witnessing the biggest surge in demand for natural gas in decades, with power generation chasing LNG as a growth driver and now claiming half of the midstream giant’s $9.3 billion project backlog. Kinder Morgan asset map showing an extensive network of natural gas pipelines, storage sites, processing plants, LNG facilities, and CO2 infrastructure across the United States. Key pipeline systems such as El Paso, Transco, and Tennessee Gas Pipeline are highlighted, along with refined products and CO2 pipelines, terminals, oil fields, RNG plants, and LNG production sites. Major hubs include Texas, the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Northeast regions, with dense infrastructure connecting key energy markets. “We’re seeing power demand in Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin and Texas,” CEO Kim Dang said Wednesday. She spoke during the Houston-based company's second quarter earnings call. “The breadth and the scope of the power demand is enormous.”

Gas storage can’t keep up with production boom - — From the surface, the Spindletop salt dome in East Texas looks like a shadow of its former glory. The marshy area started Texas’ oil boom in 1901, when a gusher spewed 800,000 barrels of crude over nine days. Now, while the area’s oil production has faded and a few industrial sites dot the landscape, Spindletop is home to what may become a new gold rush: underground natural gas storage. The U.S. could face a shortage of natural gas storage capabilities because of rising demand for liquefied natural gas exports and gas-fueled electricity to help power artificial intelligence and data center hubs. If companies don’t boost storage capabilities as demand for natural gas expands, a crunch could upend natural gas prices and how the market works, said Jason Feit, an adviser to energy data provider Enverus. “We’re getting really close to a timing mismatch risk where you’ve got LNG exports that are going to be in service and operating before new storage sites are going to be in service,” Feit said. “You can expect gas price volatility for the next few years and even more so if these storage projects don’t go forward.” Natural gas production has risen by an average of 4.7 percent a year from 2013 to 2023, according to the American Gas Association. Underground natural gas storage capabilities, meanwhile, have grown by 0.1 percent annually from 2014 to 2023. The trend is apparent near the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of America. That’s where large LNG export facilities are expected to come online in the next decade. But bringing underground storage online takes years, and some environmental groups and neighbors of gas facilities worry about safety risks — especially after a handful of accidents such as storage cavern collapses that have spawned sinkholes, swallowed personal property and triggered evacuations. Roughly 306 billion cubic feet of natural gas is stored in salt domes across the country over a five-year average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, while another 782 billion cubic feet of gas is stored underground in places like depleted oil and gas fields and old aquifers, typically located outside the Gulf Coast.

Natural Gas M&A Deals Sizzle as LNG, Power Demand Heats Up -Global upstream deals have fallen sharply this year in all but one category – North American natural gas – as LNG exports expand and power demand soars in the Lower 48 and Western Canada. Bar graph showing natural gas' share in upstream U.S. shale deals compared to NGLs and liquids. Natural gas deals, “especially in U.S. shale and Canada’s Montney region, are holding up well,” Rystad Energy’s Atul Raina, vice president of upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) research said. Worldwide M&A dealmaking was reviewed through the first half of the year. North American natural gas has been hot, but oil-rich prospects not so much.

U.S. LNG Expansion Marches on as Newcomers Advance Projects - As some new U.S. LNG export projects are ramping up, and others are under construction or have recently been sanctioned, still more are being proposed or advancing beyond the conceptual stage amid a wave of momentum for the sector. Eight projects are currently under construction or being commissioned along the Gulf Coast that would add 98.6 million tons/year (Mt/y) of U.S. liquefaction capacity. Another seven terminals are in commercial operation with about 94 Mt/y of capacity that already make the United States the world’s largest LNG exporter. Nearly two dozen other projects are in varying stages of development, including a few that are thought to be close to positive final investment decisions (FID). Despite the crowded market, new projects are still being announced and others are making progress that just a few years ago might have been inconceivable for a variety of reasons.

Venture Global Eyes 52 Mt/y LNG Output at Plaquemines as Supply Ambitions Expand- Venture Global LNG Inc. told federal regulators this week that it plans to further expand its Plaquemines export facility under construction in Louisiana. The company is now planning to design the third phase of Plaquemines to produce 24.8 million tons/year (Mt/y) of LNG, expanding a plan it first announced in March to add 18.6 Mt/y of liquefaction capacity to the plant. The third phase expansion project would now include 16 liquefaction blocks with 32 smaller LNG production trains instead of the 12 blocks with 24 modular trains that were previously planned.

Golden Pass LNG Preparing to Fire Up Equipment With First Feed Gas Nomination - The Golden Pass LNG export terminal under construction on the Texas coast nominated feed gas for the first time late Thursday. Chart and map of Lower 48 LNG export facilities tracking daily natural gas feedstock flows to sites for market intelligence. The evening cycle for Friday’s gas day shows Golden Pass nominated 4,067 Dth, or roughly 4 MMcf, of feed gas, according to data collected by NGI. The nomination doesn’t necessarily mean gas is flowing to the facility, but it was requested for the first time as Golden Pass ramps up commissioning activities. The 18 million tons/year project requested authorization from FERC earlier this month to introduce fuel gas to power boilers at the facility. It also requested permission to introduce hazardous fluids and fuel gas to the flare system. FERC has not yet authorized those requests.

Freeport Gets More Time to Expand After ‘22 Explosion Setback — FERC has given more time for Freeport LNG Development LP to build a fourth train at its export terminal on the upper Texas coast. The company now has until Dec. 1, 2031 to complete the expansion and bring it into service. The project was first authorized in 2019. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved two previous extensions. An explosion in 2022 knocked the terminal offline for eight months. The company has focused on restoration efforts since then. It finished bringing back equipment impacted by the incident earlier this year, but those efforts setback its expansion project, according to FERC’s authorization.

U.S. Feed Gas Nominations Droop on Apparent Outages at Two LNG Terminals — A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

• 15.44 million Dth: Operational interruptions at two LNG terminals reversed the steep recovery of feed gas demand from earlier in the week. After maintenance impacted flows at key Gulf Coast terminals at the beginning of the month, feed gas nominations had been sustained above 16 million Dth/d for the past several days, according to NGI calculations and pipeline data. However, U.S. nominations to LNG terminals dipped to 15.44 million Dth/d by Wednesday afternoon after outages at Freeport LNG in Texas and the Southern LNG facility on Elba Island, GA. Freeport reported a compressor system issue that caused an outage and extended restart of Train 2. Pipeline nomination data showed flows to Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) Elba Island facility dropped to zero Wednesday. A KMI spokesperson told NGI the drop was associated with planned maintenance at the 2.5 million ton/year (Mt/y) capacity terminal.
• 2 Mt/y: Eni SpA has become the latest customer of Venture Global LNG Inc.’s proposed CP2 terminal expansion with its first long-term supply agreement with a U.S. exporter. The Italian supermajor agreed to purchase 2 Mt/y for 20 years from the first phase of CP2. Cargoes could begin by 2029, according to Eni. Italy’s imports of U.S. LNG have been increasing since 2022, contributing to an increase in spot cargo purchases. U.S. suppliers are currently outpacing deliveries from Qatar, traditionally the top exporter to Italy, according to Kpler data.
• 138,250 cubic feet: Egypt has secured an additional floating storage and regasification unit, raising the potential for more U.S. LNG exports as soon as next month. The state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. has signed a five-year charter for New Fortress Energy Inc.’s (NFE) 138,250 cubic feet capacity vessel Winter. The unit could begin accepting cargoes at the terminal location in Damietta by August, according to NFE. Egypt’s LNG imports this year have already eclipsed the 2.9 Mt it received last year amid a heat wave and intense demand. The majority of Egypt’s LNG import volumes since 2024 have come from the United States, according to Kpler data.
• 63.2%: The pace of natural gas imports to the European Union (EU) is casting doubts about the bloc’s ability to hit its storage goals before the winter, according to Mind Energy. Analysts with the European trading company wrote in a recent note that higher gas consumption rates and the curtailment of Russian gas will likely make hitting a 90% storage level by Nov. 1 “a serious challenge to meet this year.” EU storage was at 63.2% full on July 14, almost 18% below the same time last year and 4.6% below the five-year average, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

U.S. Gas Prices Jump 5% on Rising LNG Exports, Gulf Heat Forecast - (Reuters) — U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 5% to a one-week high on Monday on forecasts for hotter weather over the next two weeks than previously expected and rising flows of gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants. Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 15.2 cents, or 4.6%, to settle at $3.466 per million British thermal units, their highest close since July 2. That price increase occurred despite rising output and forecasts for lower demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Even though gas futures have dropped about 14% over the past three weeks, speculators last week boosted their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange to their highest levels since early April, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report showed. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said a tropical system off the east coast of Florida has about a 30% chance of strengthening into a tropical cyclone as it moves west into the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida over the next week. Analysts have noted that tropical storms in the Gulf can knock some production out of service, but noted that only about 2% of all U.S. gas output comes from the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico. The analysts noted that storms were more likely to be demand-destroying events that leave homes and businesses without power and can shut LNG export plants. Meteorologists slightly reduced their forecasts for hotter weather for this week but continued to project the Lower 48 U.S. states will remain mostly warmer than normal through at least July 29, especially in late July. Even though the weather has remained above normal so far this summer, analysts expect energy firms to keep injecting more gas into storage than usual in coming weeks. That's because output hit a record high in June and was on track to top that in July, while gas flows to LNG export plants have so far languished since hitting a record in April. There is currently about 6% more gas in storage than the five-year (2020-2024) normal for this time of year, and analysts expect that surplus to grow in coming weeks. Some analysts, however, noted that an expected rise in LNG exports should start to chip away at that surplus later this year. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 rose to 106.8 billion cubic feet per day so far in July, up from a monthly record high of 106.4 Bcf/d in June. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would slide from 107.8 Bcf/d this week to 106.8 Bcf/d next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Friday.

US natgas prices hold near 2-week high as hot weather boosts power demand — U.S. natural gas futures held near a two-week high on Thursday as hot weather forced power generators to burn lots of gas to keep air conditioners humming. Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.9 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $3.542 per million British thermal units. On Wednesday, the contract closed at its highest since June 27 for a second day in a row. A federal storage report showed an expected build that was bigger than usual for this time of year due to near-record production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms added 46 billion cubic feet of gas into storage during the week ended July 11. That was in line with the 46-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compares with an increase of 18 bcf during the same week last year and an average of 41 bcf over the 2020-2024 period. The build left gas stockpiles around 6% above the five-year normal for this time of year. The U.S. National Hurricane Center on Thursday downgraded the chance that a tropical system off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi would strengthen into a tropical cyclone over the next week to just 10%, from a 40% chance on Wednesday. Analysts said that while tropical storms in the Gulf can knock some gas production out of service, storms were more likely to destroy demand by reducing the amount of gas power generators burn by leaving millions of homes and businesses without electricity, while also cutting gas exports by shutting Gulf Coast LNG export plants. Meteorologists forecast the weather in the Lower 48 U.S. states would mostly remain hotter than normal through at least August 1, with the hottest days of the summer expected next week. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 rose to 107.0 billion cubic feet per day so far in July, up from a monthly record high of 106.4 bcfd in June. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants rose to 15.8 bcfd so far in July as liquefaction units at some plants slowly exited maintenance reductions and unexpected outages. That was up from 14.3 bcfd in June and 15.0 bcfd in May, but remained below the monthly record high of 16.0 bcfd in April. On a daily basis, feedgas slid to a three-week low of 105.2 bcfd on Wednesday due to the shutdown of Kinder Morgan's KMI 0.4-bcfd Elba Island in Georgia and the brief shutdown of one of the three liquefaction trains at Freeport LNG's 2.1-bcfd plant in Texas. Energy traders said gas flow data shows the train at Freeport, which shut on Tuesday, was probably back in service.

US Natgas Prices Edge Up to 3-Week High as Heat Boosts Air Conditioning Use - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com (Reuters) – U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% to a three-week high on Friday as hot weather forces power generators to burn lots of the fuel to keep air conditioners humming and a slow but steady rise in gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants. That price increase came despite ample amounts of gas in storage and record output. That record output should allow energy firms to keep injecting more gas into storage than usual in coming weeks. Stockpiles were currently around 6% above the five-year normal. Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.3 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $3.565 per million British thermal units, their highest close since June 27. For the week, the front-month was up about 8% after dropping around 14% over the prior four weeks. Meteorologists forecast the weather in the Lower 48 U.S. states would remain mostly hotter than normal through at least August 2, with the hottest days so far this summer expected next week. Temperatures across the country will average around 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 degrees Celsius) on July 25, on track to top this summer’s current hottest daily average of 80 F on June 24 but still below the daily average record high of 83 F on July 20, 2022, according to data from financial firm LSEG going back to 2018. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 rose to 107.1 billion cubic feet per day so far in July, up from a monthly record high of 106.4 bcfd in June. On a daily basis, output hit a record high of 107.92 bcfd on July 14, topping the prior all-time daily high of 107.91 bcfd on April 18. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would slide from 110.1 bcfd this week to 107.4 bcfd next week before rising to 110.9 bcfd in two weeks. The forecasts for this week and next were similar to LSEG’s outlook on Thursday. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 15.8 bcfd so far in July as liquefaction units at some plants slowly exited maintenance reductions and unexpected outages. That was up from 14.3 bcfd in June and 15.0 bcfd in May, but remained below the monthly record high of 16.0 bcfd in April. U.S. energy firm Kinder Morgan said its 0.4-bcfd Elba Island LNG export plant in Georgia should return to service by the weekend after a couple of days of maintenance. Gas was trading around $12 per mmBtu at both the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark in Europe and the Japan Korea Marker benchmark in Asia.

Freeport LNG Granted 40-Month Extension for Delayed Train 4 - Freeport LNG’s Texas export terminal was set to increase natural gas intake on Thursday following a shutdown of one of its three liquefaction trains earlier in the week, according to a company filing with state regulators and gas flow data from LSEG, as reported byEnergy Now. In a notice to Texas environmental officials on Wednesday, Freeport reported an emissions event after Train 2 went offline Tuesday night due to a compressor system malfunction.The development comes shortly after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday granted Freeport LNG Development LP an additional 40 months to complete its fourth liquefaction train. The extension moves the deadline to December 1, 2031, allowing the company more time to restart construction following delays caused by the June 2022 explosion that shut down the facility.Train 4 would add 5 million tonnes per annum of LNG export capacity to Freeport’s existing three-train terminal, which currently operates at 15 mtpa. Once completed, total nameplate capacity would rise to nearly 20 mtpa. The expansion was originally approved in 2019 under Docket CP17-470. According to Natural Gas Intelligence, this marks the third time Freeport has requested an extension for the project.The 2022 explosion was caused by overpressurized piping and resulted in a fire that shut down all liquefaction operations. Freeport remained offline for more than six months while conducting a root-cause investigation and implementing FERC- and PHMSA-mandated safety upgrades. Partial service resumed in early 2023 under revised regulatory conditions.Freeport is the second-largest LNG export facility in the United States, accounting for roughly 15 percent of U.S. liquefaction capacity. Hart Energy reports that the company continues to evaluate financing and contractor alignment before issuing a final investment decision on Train 4.Construction timelines remain dependent on permitting conditions, capital structure, and global LNG demand.

When Will U.S. E&Ps Raise Rigs? Questions Mount as LNG Exports Climb, Data Center Interest Grows - As the earning season begins for second quarter results, U.S. natural gas and oil executives are likely to be peppered about waxing and waning commodity prices, uncertain tariff policies and the continued slump in Lower 48 drilling activity. Natural Gas Intelligence's (NGI) spot Waha daily natural gas price graph showing historical market volatility. Earnings season kicks off this week, with midstream giant Kinder Morgan Inc. delivering its results on Wednesday. SLB Ltd., the No. 1 global oilfield services (OFS) operator, will provide its results on Friday, with an outlook for exploration and production (E&P) activity in North America. The “No. 1 question likely will be when will rigs go back to work,” NGI’s Patrick Rau, senior vice president of research and analysis, said. He also wants to hear about concerns that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices could dip below $50/bbl by year’s end, as OPEC-plus increases output.

US Drillers Add Oil and Gas Rigs For First Time in 12 Weeks, Baker Hughes Says (Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in 12 weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by seven, its biggest weekly increase since December, to 544 in the week to July 18. Despite this week’s rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 42 rigs, or 7% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by two to 422 this week, their lowest since September 2021, while gas rigs rose by nine, the biggest weekly increase since July 2023, to 117, their most since March 2024. In Texas, the biggest oil and gas-producing state, the rig count fell by two to 253, the lowest since October 2021. In the Permian basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the biggest U.S. oil-producing shale formation, the rig count fell by two to 263, also the lowest since October 2021. But in the Haynesville shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, one of the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing gas-producing 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. The independent exploration and production (E&P) companies tracked by U.S. financial services firm TD Cowen said they planned to cut capital expenditures by around 3% in 2025 from levels seen in 2024. That compares with roughly flat year-over-year spending in 2024, and increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022 and 4% in 2021. 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 13.4 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, the EIA projected a 68% 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. The EIA projected gas output would rise to 105.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023.

Louisiana facility taps CO2 emissions to extract oil - CF Industries has begun operating a carbon dehydration and compression unit at a sprawling complex in southeast Louisiana — part of the ammonia producer’s efforts to curb emissions and take advantage of a top carbon capture incentive. In an announcement Monday, the Illinois-based company said carbon dioxide trapped at its Donaldsonville complex in Louisiana will be stored via enhanced oil recovery on an “interim basis.” The process uses the gas to help extract more oil.Texas-based Exxon Mobil is handling the transportation and storage component of the project as part of an agreement unveiled more than two years ago. The eventual plan is to sequester the carbon underground through dedicated geologic storage, CF Industries said in a news release.That will start at Exxon’s planned CO2 storage project in East Texas, CF Industries said in its release. This month, EPA issued draft permits for CO2 injection wells to Exxon’s proposal, which is called the Rose Carbon Capture and Storage project. The comment period closes Aug. 4.

New Budget Law Boosts Carbon Sequestration, Enhanced Oil Recovery -The budget reconciliation bill signed into law July 4 by President Trump — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — dramatically scales back a number of clean-energy tax credits and adds a new layer of complexity for some projects, leading to a lot of doom and gloom around clean-energy initiatives, but the new legislation is a big positive for the carbon-capture industry. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how changes to the 45Q tax credit could help advance carbon-capture efforts while also providing a boost to producers of crude oil and blue hydrogen. To drive development in the carbon-capture industry, Congress created the 45Q tax credit. It was added to the federal tax code in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, then expanded and extended under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. But the more generous tax credits didn’t spur a lot of activity, which is why improvements to the tax credit were included in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Credits jumped to $85 per metric ton (MT) for CCS and $60/MT for CCUS, up from $50/MT and $35/MT, respectively. Direct air capture (DAC), a far more expensive process, had been eligible for credits at the CCS and CCUS rates before the IRA. Its credit rates rose to $180/MT for CCS and $130/MT for CCUS. (Also note that all those enhanced credits under the IRA came with prevailing-wage and apprenticeship requirements.) The most significant changes under the OBBBA are the revisions to the credit rates themselves, with CCS and CCUS/EOR now equal at $85/MT for most carbon-capture facilities and $180/MT for DAC. (The blue bar sections in Figure 1 above indicate the credit rates under the IRA; the orange bar sections show the increases under the OBBBA.) The change provides additional operational and financial flexibility for blue hydrogen producers (more on them in a bit), who have the option to claim the 45Q or 45V tax credits, but not both. We should also note that while the tax credits will eventually be indexed to inflation, the legislation pushes the indexing year back from 2027 to 2028. The new rates are especially beneficial to two of the largest companies in the energy sector: Oxy and ExxonMobil.Let’s start with Oxy, which has big plans to utilize DAC technology through its 1PointFive subsidiary. Oxy has a significant footprint in the prolific Permian Basin and a long history with carbon capture via EOR. Its Stratos DAC project (see photo below) in West Texas’s Ector County, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion and begin commercial operations as soon as this year, received its operating permit from the EPA in April. It has already secured agreements to sell carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to several other companies, including AT&T, Microsoft and Trafigura. Its most recent agreement, announced July 16, is with cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. (CDR credits are measurable, verifiable emissions reductions from certified projects. Project developers like 1PointFive can sell credits directly to buyers, through a broker or on an exchange. Credit costs from DAC projects range from as low as $100/MT to several hundred dollars.)Another beneficiary of the enhanced tax credits is ExxonMobil, which established itself as the undisputed leader in CCS when it acquired Denbury in a deal announced in July 2023. As we detailed in I Was CCS When CCS Wasn’t Cool, the $4.9 billion transaction provided ExxonMobil with the largest owned and operated CO2pipeline network in the U.S. at 1,300 miles, including about 925 miles in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as 10 strategically located onshore sequestration sites — all along the Gulf Coast industrial corridor, an area that has some of the highest concentrations of CO2 emissions anywhere in the world.ExxonMobil said it has already committed to storing more than 17 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of CO2from its customers, with current capacity at 9 MMtpa. Under its most recent agreement, announced in April, ExxonMobil will transport and store up to 2 MMtpa of CO2 from Calpine’s Baytown Energy Center, a cogeneration facility near Houston. It is part of Calpine’s Baytown Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project designed to capture the facility’s CO2 emissions, enabling the 24/7 supply of low-carbon electricity to Texas customers as well as steam to nearby industrial facilities. The agreement is ExxonMobil’s sixth with a CCS customer.

Strike Pioneers First-of-Its-Kind Pipe-in-Pipe Installation on Gulf Coast with Enbridge — Strike, a leading provider of pipeline, facilities, and energy infrastructure solutions, recently completed a groundbreaking project along the Gulf Coast that set a new standard for complex pipeline installation. In what is believed to be the first project of its kind, Strike performed the engineering, procurement, and installation of approximately 13,000 linear feet of 16-inch pipeline inside an existing 20-inch pipeline, converting the larger pipe into a casing. The project included a 9,950-foot segment under Nueces Bay, as well as a 3,550-foot segment beneath the Corpus Christi Inner Harbor Channel. The two cased sections were connected via a 750-foot section of in situ replacement. This unique pipe-in-pipe solution allowed the team to minimize impacted areas and greatly reduce the schedule demands of permitting and executing a new HDD crossing. “When the client first approached our team with the challenge, our engineering and construction teams immediately went into problem-solving mode. The preparation and teamwork demonstrated by both Enbridge and Strike illustrated how much can be accomplished when you operate with full transparency,” said Tanner Patterson, Senior Vice President of Regional Operations at Strike. “This unique project wasn’t without its challenges, such as ensuring the new pipe and bumpers could be safely and effectively installed over such a long distance, given the existing HDD profile. Working alongside our client and leveraging our network of vendors, the team overcame these issues and ultimately completed the project on schedule. Our internal engineering and construction teams worked alongside the client throughout a challenging permitting and design process. Additionally, we aided in developing a unique solution to address long-term viability through the design and implementation of a cathodic protection system. Most importantly, the project was completed without any safety incidents.”

Analysis: EOG's Best Permian, Eagle Ford Inventory is Dwindling --EOG Resources “is basically out of Tier 1 Karnes [County, Texas] inventory” for oily Eagle Ford wells, Roth analyst Leo Mariani said. In the Permian Basin, “EOG may only have a few years left of Tier 1 Permian inventory.” Roth Capital Partners downgraded EOG Resources’ stock to “neutral,” reporting the $67-billion market cap E&P’s Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale economics are “deteriorating.” Roth Capital Partners downgraded EOG Resources’ stock to “neutral,” reporting the $67-billion market cap E&P’s Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale economics are “deteriorating.”EOG has a shorter inventory life versus its E&P peers—ConocoPhillips, Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum—Roth analyst Leo Mariani wrote to clients.Mariani told Hart Energy, “EOG is basically out of Tier 1 Karnes [County, Texas] inventory” for oily Eagle Ford wells.In the Permian Basin, “EOG may only have a few years left of Tier 1 Permian inventory.”EOG did not respond to a request for comment.In the Permian, EOG operates in the Delaware Basin, except for a relatively small position in the northern Midland Basin where it has been prospecting for Dean and Spraberry pay.Brandon Myers, head of research at Novi Labs, agreed that EOG is nearly out of oily Tier 1 future well locations in the Eagle Ford at its current drilling pace.“We're down to maybe between 100 and 200 locations of that with another couple hundred of Tier 2,” Myers told Hart Energy.Formerly a securities analyst, he cited from an Eagle Ford study Novi Labs plans to release in September.A recent EOG $275 million bolt-on acquisition from Arrow S Energy of mostly undeveloped property in the oil window gave it 110 more Tier 1 locations, but that’s about a year’s worth at EOG’s drilling and completions pace, he added.The deal “brings them up to a little over six years of remaining inventory implied at the recent drilling cadence,” he said.Overall, “Eagle Ford Tier 1 is definitely starting to see signs of exhaustion. You're getting into these little bolt-ons now.”EOG still has running room in the Delaware, though, Myers said. Data show the E&P’s remaining Tier 1 inventory there has simply become normal in comparison with other Delaware operators, he said.On a rock-quality score, EOG started drilling in the basin in the early 2010s with some of the best.“EOG’s starting point was ridiculous,” Myers said. “Their rock quality was so high that they were pretty much in front of everybody, maybe with the exception of Oxy.”In time, what EOG has left puts them only in the “best in class” category.“Yes, their rock quality in the Permian's deteriorating. Everyone's is. But EOG has deteriorated from considerably better than everyone to just best in class. And that's super important.”“Deteriorating” could suggest “they're middle of the pack now.”Rather, “they're still amazing.”“They had such a head start and they were so much better than everyone at the beginning that they obviously had to come down at some point.”

ConocoPhillips asks to drill more wells in Alaska - ConocoPhillips plans to drill exploratory wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to expand its drilling operations in the Arctic, if approved by the Interior Department.The exploration via four wells and seismic testing — if they lead to significant discoveries underground — could increase crude oil production out of Alaska for years. The state is already the site of ConocoPhillips’ planned Willow oil project. That would align with the Trump administration’s push to double down on American fossil fuel production. It could also lock in decades’ worth of new carbon emissions at a time when scientists are warning of the dire consequences that will come from a failure to curb climate change. Houston-based ConocoPhillips applied Monday for permits to drill exploration wells mostly in the eastern areas of the NPR-A, not far from the Willow project, according to a company statement. One well would be in the Greater Mooses Tooth unit, while another would be in the Bear Tooth unit; two other wells would be drilled “to the west,” ConocoPhillips said. The seismic program would occur south of the Greater Mooses and Bear Tooth units.“ConocoPhillips is dedicated to the safe and responsible development of our leaseholds in Alaska for the benefit of all Alaskans and our nation’s energy security,” the company said in its emailed statement. “We recognize the strategic importance of resource development in the state and are seeking authorization from the Bureau of Land Management to conduct exploration activities in the NPR-A during the winter season of 2025-2026.“ConocoPhillips looks forward to continuing our more than 50-year track record of responsibly exploring for and developing Alaska’s resources in the years ahead,” ConocoPhillips added.Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, which manages underground resources on federal lands, declined to comment.The application for exploratory wells was reported earlier by Bloomberg.For environmentalists, drilling in the largest tract of U.S. public land is both a danger to species like polar bears, arctic foxes and migrating birds as well as a failure to phase out oil operations. Green groups have long opposed the contentious Willow oil project, which is under construction and scheduled to begin producing oil in 2029. “The proposed oil exploration around the Willow mega-project is reckless in the face of the climate crisis and ongoing concerns from the community of Nuiqsut,” Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement.Drilling activity on Alaska’s North Slope has long been a source of tension. In 2023, former President Joe Biden approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project, which could involve about 200 wells that may be active for decades. But Biden also restricted or banned drilling in about half the NPR-A. The Trump administration has since moved to remove those protections, sometimes called the 2024 Western Arctic rule, and open up 82 percent of the NPR-A for oil and gas leasing.

Mexico Pacific Seeks to Delay Sagauro LNG Commercial Operations to 2032 -The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a seven-year extension request from Mexico Pacific Ltd. LLC that the company said it needs before it can finance its long-proposed LNG export project that would be fed by U.S. natural gas. Table summarizing Mexico LNG export projects by status, location, type, number of trains, capacity in MTPA and Bcf/d, including proposed and under-construction terminals such as Amigo LNG, Energia Costa Azul, and Vista Pacifico LNG, based on NGI and U.S. energy agency data. In its application entered into the federal register last week, representatives for Mexico Pacific disclosed the company would be unable to place the proposed 15 million ton/year (Mt/y) Saguaro Energía project into commercial service by mid-December (90 FR 30223). Mexico Pacific’s “inability to commence export operations by Dec. 14, 2025, has resulted from circumstances not under its control,” representatives for the firm wrote in the filing. “Nevertheless, [Mexico Pacific] has made, and continues to make, significant progress toward satisfying the conditions required to achieve a final investment decision (FID) and to commence construction of the facility.”

Trump Admin Tells Corrupt IEA: Change Your Ways or We & Our $$ Walk -- Marcellus Drilling News -- It’s one thing to openly criticize and attack fossil energy and the U.S.’s embrace of fossil energy. It’s an entirely different thing when U.S. taxpayers pay for those attacks. We’re speaking of the far-left-leaning International Energy Agency (IEA) and its corrupt leader, Dr. Fatih Birol. We’ve written plenty about the IEA over the years, noting its dramatic shift away from real science into leftist political science. The Trump administration has had enough of the IEA’s antics and has put the agency on notice that unless it changes the way it forecasts about energy, we’re out. The U.S. will withdraw its membership, and along with it, a substantial amount of the agency’s funding (millions of dollars). Birol can find someone else to fund his lavish lifestyle and jet-setting around the globe to bash fossil fuels.

US and EU firms strike major gas deal as trade talks hit crunch time - — One of Europe’s largest energy companies has signed a multidecade agreement to buy American natural gas, as U.S. President Donald Trump calls on the continent to boost imports to avoid hard-hitting tariffs. In a statement shared with POLITICO, Italian firm ENI and Virginia-headquartered exporter Venture Global confirmed they had penned a 20-year deal to ship 2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. The announcement marks the first long-term contract signed between ENI and a U.S. gas producer. “This deal marks a significant milestone for the company and is further recognition of our growing global energy leadership and strong record of execution,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global. Trump has consistently cited LNG as an opportunity to avoid a worsening trade war with Washington. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way,” he said in December.

Dutch Gas Demand Hits Record Lows, Raising Alarm for Global LNG Markets -- (Reuters) — Gas-fired electricity production has dropped to record lows in the home country of Europe's largest gas-trading hub, dealing a fresh blow to natural gas bulls who eye Europe as a key growth market for sales of LNG and pipelined gas supplies. The Title Transfer Facility in the Netherlands establishes the main benchmark natural gas price for most of Europe, and the Netherlands' extensive pipeline networks and central location give it insight into gas supply and demand trends. The Netherlands itself has historically been a heavy gas consumer, and from 2000 to 2020 relied on natural gas for well over half of its utility electricity supplies, according to energy thinktank Ember. However, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Dutch utilities have aggressively slashed natural gas use, and over the first half of 2025 gas power plants supplied only a third of the country's electricity. For major natural gas producers and exporters such as the United States, Russia and Qatar, the rapid and sustained cuts to gas use by a formerly integral gas consumer are cause for alarm, as it may herald further cuts for Europe as a whole. Despite its relatively small size and population, the Netherlands wields considerable influence regionally and globally. The country's massive port facilities around Rotterdam are the main entry and exit points for crude oil, refined products, crops and many consumer goods into and out of Europe. The Netherlands is also home to a large high-tech industry and several multi-national corporations which rely on the country's strong infrastructure and global connections. The country's strategic importance is reflected in the status of the Dutch government, which is highly influential within the European parliament and plays a key role in shaping regional policies on trade, agriculture and finance. Dutch utilities have also been leaders in adopting clean energy supplies, despite once being home of the headquarters of oil and gas major Shell. Between 2022 and 2024, electricity production from clean power supplies jumped by 27% in the Netherlands compared to a 16% rise in clean power output within the European Union over the same period, Ember data shows. That outsized growth was driven by a 57% jump in wind power and a 34% rise in solar power electricity generation. That aggressive increase in renewable energy sources in turn changed the balance of the country's electricity generation mix. Until 2023, the country was primarily powered by fossil fuels, but since then clean energy sources have become the primary fuels for electricity generation and so far in 2025 have generated 57% of the country's electricity. Despite the switches, electricity supplies scaled record highs in 2024 to ensure that the country's electricity output kept up with demand needs. Wholesale power prices in the Netherlands have also remained competitive within Europe as the Dutch power system cut back on gas use and added clean power output, and so far in 2025 have averaged slightly less than those of Germany. Over the first half of 2025, Dutch wholesale spot power prices have averaged around 90 euros per megawatt hour, according to LSEG. That price is roughly a third more than those in nuclear-powered France, but is lower than the average prices recorded in several other European nations including Italy and most of Eastern Europe. The fact that Dutch power costs have remained in line with the regional average despite sustained reductions to fossil fuel use in electricity generation will likely influence the energy planning of other nations in the region. The successful transition from fossil fuels being the main pillar of the country's electricity system until 2022 to a more minor role in 2025 could be seen as a blueprint for other utility networks also keen to cut back on fossil fuel use. And given the country's prowess in rolling out clean energy supplies, Dutch firms with expertise in offshore wind, solar systems and batteries are collaborating with other regional utilities to lift clean power output in other countries. Dutch firms are also pioneering the deployment of green energy to produce green hydrogen, which regional industries are hoping will help decarbonize their power needs and further reduce regional reliance on fossil fuels.

Heat Wave Tightens JKM-TTF Spread, Lifts Global Natural Gas Demand — Summer heat in North Asia continues to drive demand for spot LNG cargoes and narrow the spread between natural gas prices in the region and those in Europe. Chart and map of Lower 48 LNG export facilities tracking daily natural gas feedstock flows to sites for market intelligence. The Title Transfer Facility (TTF) has kept pace with Asian buying. The prompt contract jumped 5% last week, keeping it within a range of $1.00 or less to the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM), which has held steady around $13/MMBtu. “For U.S. exporters, most LNG cargoes continue to flow toward the Atlantic Basin, though Asia may become an option if prices in the Asia-Pacific rise higher than that of European LNG delivery prices,” said Rystad Energy analyst Masanori Odaka.

Russia, China Discuss Expanding Gas Supplies Amid Pipeline Uncertainty (Reuters) — The heads of Russia's Gazprom and China's energy company CNPC discussed future Russian gas supplies to China during talks in Beijing, Gazprom said on July 11, as Moscow seeks stronger ties with the world's biggest energy consumer. Russia, the holder of world's largest gas reserves, has diverted oil supplies from Europe to India and China since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022. At the same time, Russia's diversification of pipeline natural gas from the European Union has been slow. It started gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline in the end of 2019 and plans to reach the pipeline's annual exporting capacity of 38 billion cubic meters this year. Russia and China have also agreed on exports of 10 Bcm of gas from Russia's Pacific island of Sakhalin starting from 2027. However, years of talks about the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would ship 50 Bcm of gas per year to China via Mongolia, have yet to be concluded as the two sides disagree over issues such as the gas price. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China in early September to participate in celebrations marking the anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II. The trip follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow in May.

China’s June Crude Imports Jump as Iranian and Saudi Volumes Surge -China’s crude oil imports surged to 12.14 million barrels per day in June, marking a 7.4% year-on-year increase, driven by a sharp rise in deliveries from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Reuters reported on Monday. The spike reflects both restocking after refinery maintenance and opportunistic buying by independent refiners amid steep discounts on sanctioned barrels.According to China’s General Administration of Customs, cited by Reuters, total imports reached 49.89 million tonnes in June, the highest monthly volume since March. Analysts at Oilchem and Kpler cited refinery restarts and attractive Persian Gulf pricing as key drivers, particularly for China’s “teapot” refineries in Shandong, according to Reuters. Saudi crude shipments to China rose by 845,000 barrels per day to 1.78 million bpd. Iranian imports also climbed, with traders estimating a 445,000 bpd increase, despite ongoing U.S. sanctions. Many of these flows were channeled through independent refiners taking advantage of discounts of $2 to $3.50 per barrel below Brent.The renewed Iranian flows come as the Trump administration considers adjustments to existing sanctions enforcement, a development closely tracked by global crude markets. Analysts warn that any official easing, either via waivers or de facto tolerance, could further widen the gap between sanctioned and mainstream barrels, reshaping Asia’s sourcing landscape.For global markets, China’s behavior is pivotal. Increased Gulf intake by the world’s largest importer could tighten Atlantic Basin availability and constrain shipments to Europe heading into Q4. Spot market volatility is expected to rise if Chinese storage approaches capacity or if buying slows abruptly later in the year. While Saudi Arabia benefits from consistent contract volumes, Iran’s return highlights the limits of enforcement and the shifting structure of global oil flows. With Chinese refiners moving aggressively to lock in summer barrels, attention now turns to Beijing’s July tender activity and how Washington will respond to a deepening sanctions workaround.

Oil edges up, investors eye Trump statement on Russia --Oil prices nudged higher on Monday, adding to gains of more than 2% from Friday, as investors eyed further U.S. sanctions on Russia that may affect global supplies, but a ramp-up in Saudi output and ongoing tariff uncertainty limited gains. Brent crude futures rose 15 cents to $70.51 a barrel by 0400 GMT, extending a 2.51% gain on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed to $68.59, up 14 cents, after settling 2.82% higher in the previous session.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine. He is due to make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday. Last week, Brent rose 3%, while WTI had a weekly gain of around 2.2%, after the International Energy Agency said the global oil market may be tighter than it appears, with demand supported by peak summer refinery runs to meet travel and power generation.

Oil Futures Dip Amid US Tariff Threats on Russia -- Oil futures reversed earlier gains on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Russia with 100% secondary tariffs if an agreement to end the war in Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. Trump also confirmed that the U.S. will send weapons to NATO to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian attacks. The front-month NYMEX WTI futures contract fell by $1.35 to $67.10 bbl after hitting $69.65 bbl early in the morning, while the ICE Brent futures contract for August delivery decreased by $1.05 to $69.31 bbl. Downstream, August RBOB gasoline futures contract slid by $0.0186 to $2.1684 gallon, and the front-month ULSD futures contract fell $0.0622 to $2.3852 gallon. In contrast, the U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.246 points to 97.820 against a basket of foreign currencies. The announcement of additional sanctions on Russia came during a meeting with NATO officials at the White House today. Trump's statements also came just two weeks after the U.S. halted military aid shipments to Ukraine -- aid that had been committed by the previous administration -- in what was the latest sign of the White House's newfound more hawkish stance on Russia. Market participants will focus on the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to be released Tuesday morning, as analyst have predicted a higher inflation index due to increased tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China, Canada and Mexico, and other trade partners in recent months. On Saturday, July 12, the Trump administration announced 30% trade tariffs against Mexico and the European Union effective on Aug. 1. "So far, Trump has warned the European Union and 24 nations, including major trading partners like South Korea and Japan, that steeper tariffs will be imposed starting August 1," the AP reported during the weekend.

Imposed Tariffs on U.S. Imports from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico -The oil market erased its early gains and ended the session 2.15% lower as the market weighed perceived tightness against President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will impose 30% tariffs on U.S. imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico beginning August 1st and his threat for sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. The crude market traded higher and rallied to a high of $69.65 early in the morning, supported by news that China’s crude oil imports in June increased 7.4% on the year to 12.14 million bpd, the highest since August 2023. However, the oil market erased its gains and sold off sharply by the early afternoon. The market was pressured by concerns that President Trump’s tariff policies will slow global economic growth and energy demand. Also, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. was giving Russia 50 days to agree on a peace deal with Ukraine to avoid new sanctions, leaving traders questioning whether the U.S. would impose steep tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Russia. The crude market extended its losses to $1.58 as it posted a low of $66.87 ahead of the close. The August WTI contract settled down $1.47 at $66.98 and continued to trade lower, posting a new low of $66.84 in the post settlement period. The September Brent contract settled down $1.15 at $69.21. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 5.76 cents at $2.3898 and the RB market settling down 2.16 cents at $2.1654. U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced a plan on Monday to rearm Ukraine with missiles and other weaponry in its fight to fend off Russian invaders and warned of severe tariffs if Russia will not end the war. President Trump said he would impose “very severe tariffs” on Russia if no deal is made in 50 days. A White House official said President Trump was referring to 100% tariffs on Russian exports as well as so-called secondary sanctions, which target third countries that buy a country’s exports. Hardline Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kosari said any closure of the Strait of Hormuz was still under review but no decision has yet been made. The possibility of Iran closing the waterway was speculated upon during the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran last month. IIR Energy reported that U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 171,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending July 18th, increasing available refining capacity by 24,000 bpd. OPEC’s Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, said OPEC expects “very strong” oil demand in the third quarter and a tight supply-demand balance in the following months. Russia’s RIA news agency quoted OPEC’s Secretary General as saying on the sidelines of last week’s OPEC seminar in Vienna that the organization expected demand growth of 1.3 million bpd year on year in 2025 due to a strong global economy.

Oil falls as Trump gives Russia 50 days to avoid new sanctions (Reuters) - Oil prices settled down on Monday by more than $1, as investors weighed new threats from U.S. President Donald Trump for sanctions on buyers of Russian oil that may affect global supplies, while still worried about Trump's tariffs. Brent crude futures settled $1.15, or 1.63%, lower to $69.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost $1.47, also 2.15%, to $66.98 Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened to slap new sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal in 50 days. Oil prices rallied early, on expectations that Washington would impose steeper sanctions. But prices retreated as traders weighed whether the U.S. would actually impose steep tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Russia. "The market took it as a negative because there seemed to be a lot of time to negotiate," "The fear of immediate sanctions on Russian oil is further off in the future than the market thought this morning." China and India are among the top destinations for Russian crude oil exports. "The chance of U.S. imposing 100% tariffs on China are slim to none... It would force inflation to go through the moon," Last week, Trump said he was due to make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, having expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine. Russia's seaborne oil product exports in June were down 3.4% from May at 8.98 million metric tons, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed. A bipartisan U.S. bill that would hit Russia with sanctions gained momentum last week in Congress. European Union envoys, meanwhile, are on the verge of agreeing an 18th package of sanctions against Russia that would include a lower oil price cap. Investors were also eyeing the outcome of U.S. tariff talks with key trading partners. The European Union and South Korea said on Monday they were working on trade deals with the U.S. that would soften the blow from looming tariffs as Washington threatens to impose hefty duties from August 1. EU member states find Trump's tariff threat "absolutely unacceptable", Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday during a joint press conference with EU's Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Providing some support, China's June oil imports increased 7.4% on the year to 12.14 million barrels per day, the highest since August 2023, according to customs data released on Monday. "There is still a perceived tightness in the market, with most of the inventory build in China and on ships, and not in key locations," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. The International Energy Agency said last week the global oil market may be tighter than it appears in the short term. However, the agency boosted its forecast for supply growth this year, while trimming its outlook for growth in demand, implying a market in surplus.

Oil Extends Losses as Markets Don’t Buy Trump’s Russia Sanction Threat -Oil prices extended Monday’s losses into early Tuesday trade in Asia as President Trump’s threat to sanction Russian supply in 50 days if Putin continues to resist a peace deal in Ukraine eased concerns about an immediate impact on Moscow’s oil exports. Early on Tuesday in Asian trade, the U.S. benchmark,WTI Crude, fell by 0.85% at $66.43, and the international benchmark, Brent Crude, was down by 0.72% at $68.73 per barrel.Brent prices fell below $70 a barrel this week, as the markets continue to seek direction amid the return of President Trump’s tariff threats on a number of countries and jurisdictions, including Mexico, the EU, Japan, and South Korea.Strong seasonal demand and a rebound in China’s refinery throughput in June provided support to oil prices, offsetting much of the tariff-related concerns about the global economy. Near-term fundamentals appear supportive, with OPEC+ adding fewer barrels than the headline figures suggest and demand holding up during the peak summer travel season.Supply concerns were somewhat eased on Monday after President Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline to work on a peace deal in Ukraine. Otherwise, Moscow faces new sanctions on its oil exports.Traders, however, appear to be little convinced that there will be sanctions soon to reduce global oil supply.Brent prices were down early on Tuesday in Asia after settling 1.6% lower on Monday, as President Trump’s “major statement” on Russia was not an immediate sanctions action by the U.S. The President threatened to slap secondary tariffs of 100% on Russia if Putin fails to make a peace deal.“The lack of any immediate action and the belief that these threats won’t be carried out help to explain the market reaction,” ING’s commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Tuesday. Considering the potential large global market deficit in case of 100% tariffs and President Trump’s desire for low oil prices, ING analysts don’t believe Trump “would be keen to follow through with this threat.”

50-Day Deadline Raises Hopes of Avoiding Sanctions on Russia --The oil market traded lower on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine raised hopes that sanctions could be avoided and eased concerns about any immediate supply disruption. The crude market traded lower in overnight trading as the possible sanctions have been sidelined for the next couple of weeks. The market later retraced some of its losses and traded to a high of $67.13 early in the morning. In a yo-yo fashion, the market once again gave up its gains and posted a low of $66.22 by mid-day and settled in a sideways trading range ahead of the close. The August WTI contract ended the session 46 cents lower at $66.52, while the September Brent contract settled down 50 cents at $68.71. However, the product markets settled higher, with the heating oil market ending the session up 1.54 cents at $2.4052 and the RB market ending the session up 42 points at $2.1696. OPEC said the global economy may perform better than expected in the second half of the year despite trade conflicts and refineries’ crude intake would remain elevated to meet an increase in summer travel, helping to support the demand outlook. In a monthly report, OPEC left its forecasts for global oil demand growth unchanged in 2025 and 2026 after reductions in April, saying the economic outlook was strong. OPEC said global refinery crude intake posted a sharp increase of 2.1 million bpd in June from May as refiners returned from maintenance, a sign of a stronger oil market and added that throughput was likely to remain high. OPEC’s demand forecasts are at the higher end of the industry range, as the agency expects a slower energy transition than some other forecasters. OPEC’s report also showed that in June OPEC+ produced 41.56 million bpd, up 349,000 bpd from May. This is slightly less than the 411,000 bpd increased called for by the group’s increase in its June quotas. The actual hike was smaller than the headline increase in quotas partly because some nations, such as Iraq, cut output as part of a pledge to make further reductions for earlier pumping above targets.According to a BBC interview published on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “not done” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours after he said he was disappointed in Putin and threatened Moscow with sanctions.Three sources close to the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages on his terms for peace, unfazed by Donald Trump’s threats of tougher sanctions, and added that his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance.The Financial Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy whether he could strike Moscow if the U.S. provided long-range weapons. The Port of Corpus Christi said it moved 51.1 million tons of commodities through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the second quarter of 2025. It said crude oil shipments in the first half of 2025 totaled 65.2 million tons, up more than 3.8% over the same period last year. It said LNG volumes increased nearly 10.8% to 8.5 million tons.

Oil slips as Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia eases supply fears (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped by less than 1% on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and avoid sanctions eased concerns about any immediate supply disruption. Brent crude futures settled down 50 cents, or 0.7%, at $68.71 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 46 cents, or 0.7%, at $66.52. "The focus has been on Donald Trump. There was some fear he might target Russia with sanctions immediately and now he has given another 50 days," said UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "Those fears about an imminent additional tightness in the market have dissipated. That's the main story." Oil prices had climbed on the potential sanctions but later gave up gains as the 50-day deadline raised hopes that sanctions could be avoided. In the event the proposed sanctions are implemented, "it would drastically change the outlook for the oil market," analysts at ING said in a note. "China, India and Turkey are the largest buyers of Russian crude oil. They would need to weigh the benefits of buying discounted Russian crude oil against the cost of their exports to the U.S.," ING said. Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday and had said on Saturday that he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the European Union and Mexico from August 1, adding to similar warnings for other countries. Tariffs raise the risk of slower economic growth, which could reduce global fuel demand and drag oil prices lower. Also on the tariff front, Brazil will work to get the U.S. to reverse "as quickly as possible" the 50% tariff it announced on all goods from that country, but does not rule out asking for more time to negotiate, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said. China's economy slowed in the second quarter, data showed on Tuesday, with markets bracing for a weaker second half as exports lose momentum, prices continue to fall and consumer confidence remains low. Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, said economic growth in China came in above consensus, largely because of strong fiscal support and the frontloading of production and exports to beat U.S. tariffs. "The Chinese economic data was supportive overnight," Elsewhere, oil demand is set to remain "very strong" through the third quarter, keeping the market balanced in the near term, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' secretary general said, according to a Russian media report. In U.S. supply, U.S. crude stocks rose by 839,000 barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Oil Prices Dip As Demand Slows, OPEC+ Ramps Up Output --Oil prices declined on Wednesday as concerns over slowing global demand combined with rising OPEC+ production weighed on the market, while uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate path added to the cautious sentiment. Brent crude slipped by 0.17% to $68.17 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) eased by 0.16% to $65.55 per barrel, extending losses from the previous session. Data released Wednesday showed that US consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, matching expectations, while annual inflation accelerated to 2.7%, its highest level since February. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% for the month and 2.9% year-on-year, slightly below forecasts. The uptick in headline inflation tempered expectations for an interest rate cut by the Fed in September, although markets still anticipate two rate cuts before year-end. Higher US interest rates typically strengthen the dollar, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies and potentially dampening global demand. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported an increase in crude production, adding to supply-side pressures. OPEC’s output rose by 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June to 27.23 million bpd, driven primarily by higher production from Saudi Arabia, which increased output by 173,000 bpd to 9.35 million bpd. In contrast, Iran’s production fell by 62,000 bpd to 3.24 million bpd. Including non-OPEC allies, total OPEC+ production rose by 349,000 bpd in June to 41.56 million bpd, according to the group’s monthly report. Despite the increase in output, OPEC maintained its forecast for global oil demand growth, projecting a rise of 1.3 million bpd in 2025 to 105.13 million bpd, with most of the growth expected from non-OECD countries. Adding to bearish sentiment, the American Petroleum Institute reported an unexpected surge in US crude inventories, which rose by 19.1 million barrels last week against expectations of a 2 million-barrel drawdown. The unexpected buildup raised concerns about weakening demand in the world’s largest oil-consuming nation. Investors now await official US inventory data from the Energy Information Administration for further direction on market fundamentals. With steady demand projections amid rising supply and signs of softening consumption in key markets, concerns over a potential oversupply in the second half of the year continue to pressure oil prices.

WTI Holds Losses After Surprise Crude Draw As Rig Count Decline Rejects 'Drill, Baby, Drill' -- Crude futures are lower for a third session in a row with the market refocusing on supply and demand balances after putting concerns about U.S. tariffs and Russia sanctions on hold, and API reporting another build in crude (and gasoline) stocks - the third straight weekly rise in inventories.While global crude inventories have been swelling in recent months, the bulk of the accumulation has come in markets that have relatively little impact on futures prices, according to Morgan Stanley.The premiums traders are paying for more immediate supplies, a pattern known as backwardation, signal strong short-term demand.API

• Crude +800k
• Cushing +100k
• Gasoline +1.9mm
• Distillates +800k

DOE

• Crude -3.86mm
• Cushing +213k
• Gasoline +3.39mm
• Distillates +4.17mm

The official data reversed API's guess with a sizable Crude inventory draw (ending the short streak of builds), but products stocks soared...For the first time since Sept 2023, the SPR saw a drawdown as DoE Authorizes Exxon To Tap SPR To Avert Refinery Disruptions... US Crude production remains at or near record highs as rig counts continue to tumble despite Trump's 'drill baby drill' mantra... WTI was trading lower ahead of the official data and shows no signs of life post...

The Weekly Petroleum Stocks Report Reinforced Concerns Over Demand -The crude market ended the session lower as the weekly petroleum stocks report reinforced concerns over demand. In overnight trading, the oil market traded higher on an improved demand outlook from China. Traders and analysts said Chinese state-owned refiners are increasing their production after completing maintenance to meet higher third quarter fuel demand and rebuild diesel and gasoline stocks. Barclays estimated that China’s oil demand in the first half of the year increased by 400,000 bpd on the year to 17.2 million bpd. The oil market traded to a high of $67.01 in overnight trading before it gave up its gains ahead of the release of the EIA report. It sold off to a low of $65.42 in light of the EIA report showing a unexpected build in gasoline stocks of over 3.3 million barrels, with demand easing to 8.5 million bpd, and a larger than expected build in distillates stocks of 4 million barrels on the week. However, the oil market retraced most of its losses during the remainder of the session. The August WTI contract settled down 14 cents at $66.38 and the September Brent contract settled down 19 cents at $68.52. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 1.37 cents at $2.3915 and the RB market settling down 2.56 cents at $2.1440. U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with the United States, but he is in no rush to talk. Several oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan semi-autonomous region halted about 140,000 to 150,000 bpd of production as fields infrastructure was significantly damaged following a third day of drone attacks on Wednesday. It was not certain who had carried out the attacks and no group has claimed responsibility for them. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 245,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending July 18th, cutting available refining capacity by 50,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 171,000 bpd in the week ending July 25th. Data from the EPA showed that the U.S. generated more renewable blending credits in June than May. It reported that about 1.25 billion ethanol (D6) blending credits were generated in June, compared with about 1.22 billion in May. It also reported that credits generated from biodiesel (D4) blending increased to 629 million in June from 602 million May. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after a Bloomberg report that the president is likely to do so soon sparked a decline in stocks and the dollar and a rise in Treasury yields. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia said it produced 9.752 million bpd of crude oil in June, 385,000 bpd more than permitted under its OPEC+ agreement. Saudi Arabia called the increase a temporary response to the brief war between Israel and Iran that worried markets and increased fears that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would be disrupted. The excess crude was moved into storage outside the region to guarantee uninterrupted supplies in case hostilities escalated.

Oil Prices Rise on Tight Summer Market Oil prices rose early on Thursday amid signs that inventories are low in the peak summer demand season and resurfacing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.As of 8:33 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the U.S. benchmark,WTI Crude, was up by 0.98% at $67.01 per barrel. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was trading at $68.88, up by 0.53% on the day.Tight markets and falling U.S. crude oil inventories supported oil prices early on Thursday, despite the volatility caused by the uncertainty about the U.S. tariffs and trade deals and the pace of global economic growth.On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.9 million barrels during the week ending July 11. Commercial stockpiles at 422.2 million barrels are currently about 8% below the five-year average for this time of year.Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report that the market balance is tight in the peak summer consumption season.“Price indicators also point to a tighter physical oil market than suggested by the hefty surplus in our balances,” the agency said in the report.“Prompt time spreads are in steep backwardation and refinery margins remain healthy despite implied stock builds of 1.74 mb/d in 2Q25.”Prices were also supported on Thursday by drone attacks on oilfields in Kurdistan, which curtailed about 200,000 bpd, as well as the Israeli strikes into Syria.Yet, price gains were capped by the market anxiety amid uncertainties about the U.S. trade deals. “Near-term prices (are) set to remain volatile due to the uncertainty over the final scale of U.S. tariffs and the resultant impact on global growth,” Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, told Reuters. Analysts expect lower oil prices toward the end of the year when peak summer demand will have waned.

Drones Struck Iraqi Kurdistan Oil Fields - The oil market on Thursday continued to retrace Wednesday’s early losses and rallied higher on a resurgence of Middle East risk premium after drones struck Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields for a fourth day. Oil output in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been cut by between 140,000 and 150,000 bpd, more than half of the region’s normal output of about 280,000 bpd. The market posted a low of $66.29 in overnight trading before it breached its previous high at $67.01 and rallied higher throughout the session. The oil market, which was well supported by drone attacks on oil infrastructure in Kurdistan and Israel’s attacks in Syria, extended its gains to $1.25 as it rallied to a high of $67.63 ahead of the close. The August WTI contract settled up $1.16 at $67.54 and continued to trend higher, posting a high of $67.69 in the post settlement period. The September Brent contract settled up $1.00 at $69.52. Meanwhile, the product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up $7.31 cents at $2.4646 and the RB market settling up 2.64 cents at $2.1704. The Kurdistan region’s counter-terrorism service said a drone attack targeted an oilfield operated by Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO in Tawke, in the Zakho Administration area of northern Iraq. The attack is the second on the DNO-operated field since a wave of drone attacks began early this week. DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Turkey, temporarily suspended production at the fields following explosions that caused no injuries. This week’s drone attacks have reduced oil output from oilfields in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by between 140,000 to 150,000 bpd, as infrastructure damage forced multiple shutdowns. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department condemned recent drone attacks targeting oil fields in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. The State Department said the United States condemns violence in Syria, calling on all parties to step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Washington was actively engaging all constituencies in Syria to navigate toward calm and continued discussions on integration and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward. The State Department said the U.S. did not support recent Israeli action in Syria and added that the U.S. is engaging with both Israel and Syria.The Kremlin said Russia was continuing to analyze U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding possible secondary tariffs against buyers of Russian exports. The TASS state news agency reported that former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia had no plans to attack NATO or Europe but added if the West escalated the Ukraine war any further, then Moscow should respond and, if necessary, launch preemptive strikes. NBC News reported, citing current and former U.S. officials, that a new U.S. assessment has found that American strikes in June mostly destroyed one of three Iranian nuclear sites, while the other two were not as badly damaged.

Oil jumps $1 after further drone attacks on Iraq oil fields (Reuters) - Oil prices rose $1 on Thursday after drones struck Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields for a fourth day, pointing to continued risk in the volatile region. Brent crude futures settled at $69.52 a barrel, up $1.00, or 1.46%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $67.54 a barrel, up $1.16, or 1.75%. Officials pointed to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks this week on the oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan, although no group has claimed responsibility. Oil output in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been slashed by between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said, more than half the region's normal output of about 280,000 bpd. "Some of the gains are reaction to drone attacks in Iraq," . "It shows how vulnerable oil supplies are to attacks using low technology." Markets have also been jittery while waiting for the imposition of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, which could shift oil supplies from the United States to India and China, Lipow said. Trump has said letters notifying smaller countries of their U.S. tariff rates would go out soon, and has also alluded to prospects of a deal with Beijing on illicit drugs and a possible agreement with the European Union. "Near-term prices (are) set to remain volatile due to the uncertainty over the final scale of U.S. tariffs and the resultant impact on global growth," U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels last week, government data on Wednesday showed, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 552,000-barrel draw. Last week, the International Energy Agency said that oil output increases were not leading to higher inventories, which showed markets were thirsty for more oil. Markets were continuing to look for signals of tighter supply or higher demand, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst for Price Futures Group. Meanwhile, a tropical disturbance in the northern Gulf of Mexico was not expected to develop into a named storm as it makes its way west before moving onshore in Louisiana later on Thursday. Rainfall totals in Southeast Louisiana are forecast to be about four inches (10 cm), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Drone Attacks Disrupt Kurdish Output but Tariff Fears Cap Market Reaction -Oil prices were ticking up slightly but largely flat in Asian trading Friday as supply losses from Iraqi pipeline disruptions were offset by renewed demand concerns tied to U.S. tariff threats against key Asian economies.Brent crude edged up to $69.78 and WTI was trading at $67.75 at 2.25 a.m. ET, with both benchmarks holding narrow gains despite broader market uncertainty.Multiple drone strikes near oil infrastructure in Iraqi Kurdistan this week forced the suspension of production at several fields. The attacks disrupted operations and prompted a temporary halt in output. No group has claimed responsibility, but the incidents mark the most serious disruption in the region since April.The latest strikes have shut in at least 150,000 barrels per day of oil production across multiple sites, with some estimates nearing 200,000 bpd of shut-ins. The fields are operated by international consortia under contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).Energy officials in Kurdistan told Reuters that the region's output stood at approximately 285,000?bpd before production was slashed by up to 150,000?bpd due to the attacks, cutting output nearly in half Tariff warfare, however, appears to be in the driver's seat with respect to oil markets this week, overtaking fears of supply shut-ins in Iraqi Kurdistan. Growing fears of a tariff escalation between the U.S. and multiple Asian exporters have added pressure to fuel demand forecasts. With global growth already showing signs of slowing, the possibility of another round of tit-for-tat trade measures has weighed more heavily on oil sentiment than localized supply shocks. Reuters cited analysts on Friday as saying that the muted price response to the Kurdistan outages suggests markets are increasingly discounting temporary disruptions unless they escalate or coincide with broader geopolitical risk.

Oil Prices Climb as EU Sanctions Target Russian Trade --Oil prices rose on Friday after the EU adopted its 18thsanctions package against Russia, lowering the price cap, targeting Russian oil trade, and closing a loophole that has so far allowed EU imports of fuels processed from Russian crude. As of 9:50 a.m. EDT on Friday, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, rose by 1.36% to $68.51 per barrel. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was trading higher by 1.19%, and returned above the $70 a barrel mark, at $70.39.The European Union lowered the price cap on Russian crude oil to $47.60 from $60 per barrel, sanctioned another 100 shadow fleet tankers, as well as traders of Russian crude oil and a major customer of the shadow fleet – a refinery in India with Rosneft as its main shareholder. The EU is also banning the import of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country – with the exception of Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This is the EU’s attempt to prevent Russia’s crude oil from reaching the EU market through the back door. It is this provision in the sanctions package that’s likely to have the biggest impact on the markets in the near term, analysts say. Low fuel inventories the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub and the ban on imports of fuels made from Russian oil raised the gasoil futures in Europe, which has been importing an estimated nearly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of fuels from India and Turkey—two of the few, but major, buyers of Russian crude. President Trump on Monday gave Russia a 50-day deadline to work on a peace deal in Ukraine. Otherwise, Moscow faces new sanctions on its oil exports.Traders, however, appear to be little convinced that there will be U.S. sanctions soon to reduce global oil supply. They are also unconvinced that Europe’s lowered price cap and the blacklisting of another 100 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers could be easily enforced, especially without the support of the U.S. However, the tight fuel market, the diesel market in particular, is signaling a strong start to peak demand season, lifting oil prices. Near-term fundamentals appear supportive, with OPEC+ adding fewer barrels than the headline figures suggest and demand holding up during the peak summer travel season.

Oil steadies as mixed US economic and tariff news offset new Russia sanctions (Reuters) - Crude oil futures were little changed on Friday on mixed U.S. economic and tariff news and worries about oil supplies following the European Union's latest sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $69.28 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $67.34. That put both crude benchmarks down about 2% for the week. In the United States, single-family homebuilding dropped to an 11-month low in June as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty hampered home purchases, suggesting residential investment contracted again in the second quarter.In another report, however, U.S. consumer sentiment improved in July, while inflation expectations continued to decline. Lower inflation should make it easier for the U.S. Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates, which could cut consumers' borrowing costs and boost economic growth and oil demand. Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15% to 20% in any deal with the European Union, the Financial Times reported on Friday, adding that the administration is now looking at a reciprocal tariff rate that exceeds 10%, even if a deal is reached. "Currently envisioned reciprocal tariffs, coupled with announced sectoral levies, could push the U.S. effective tariff rate above 25%, surpassing 1930s peaks ... In coming months, the tariffs should increasingly be manifest in inflation," analysts at U.S. bank Citigroup's Citi Research said in a note. Rising inflation can raise prices for consumers and weaken economic growth and oil demand. In Europe, the EU reached an agreement on an 18th sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, which includes measures aimed at dealing further blows to Russia's oil and energy industries. "New sanctions on Russian oil from the U.S. and Europe this week were met by a muted market reaction," analysts at Capital Economics said in a note. "This is a reflection of investors doubting President Trump will follow through with his threats, and a belief that new European sanctions will be no more effective than previous attempts." The EU will also no longer import any petroleum products made from Russian crude, though the ban will not apply to imports from Norway, Britain, the U.S., Canada and Switzerland, EU diplomats said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also said on X that the EU has designated the largest Rosneft (ROSN.MM), opens new tab oil refinery in India as part of the measures. India is the biggest importer of Russian crude while Turkey is the third-biggest, Kpler data shows. "This shows the market fears the loss of diesel supply into Europe, as India had been a source of barrels,"

Houthi Attacks Trigger Unpaid-Debt Shutdown of Israel’s Eilat Port -Israel’s only Red Sea port at Eilat is on the verge of a full commercial halt as municipal authorities freeze the operator’s accounts, citing unpaid taxes and concession fees totaling around NIS 10 million (~$3 million). The financial crisis reflects the sharp fallout from nearly 20 months of Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea, which have slashed port revenues by over 90%, according to the Times of Israel.The closure, which is set to begin on July 20, has been confirmed by both Israel’s Ports Authority and National Emergency Authority, with additional reporting byMarine Insight. Regional sources, including Middle East Eye, highlight that municipal authorities froze the port’s accounts after months of deferred payments and repeated shortfalls, with throughput effectively collapsed since late 2023.“The Eilat port has strategic national importance to Israel as the country’s southern gateway on the Red Sea for maritime trade with the Far East, India, and Australia, and constitutes a significant economic anchor for the city and its residents,” Eilat port CEO Gideon Golber told The Times of Israel. “The closure of a strategic seaport in Israel would be a huge international success for the Houthis that none of our enemies have ever achieved.”From an energy-sector standpoint, the shutdown impairs not only general trade volumes but also strategic flows such as potash exports and potential crude oil movements via the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline. Shipping firms now face costly rerouting either to Mediterranean terminals or via the Cape of Good Hope. However, that alternative adds over 6,000 nautical miles and days to transit times.Analysts say the financial unraveling at Eilat reflects the wider vulnerability of Red Sea logistics infrastructure under massive and lasting pressure. With no clear resolution in sight, maritime risk premiums are rising, and Israeli authorities face a dilemma: absorb emergency losses to sustain operations or abandon the Red Sea corridor altogether. Either choice carries implications for regional energy supply chains and long-term port viability.

Drone Attack Shuts Down Oil Field Run by US Company in Iraqi Kurdistan - --A drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday suspended operations at an oil field operated by a US company, marking the latest in a series of attacks in the region.HKN Energy, the US firm operating the Sarsang oil field, reported an explosion at 7:00 am local time, followed by a fire. “Operations at the affected facility have been suspended until the site is secured,” the company said. Workers at the oil field told Rudaw that it was targeted by a drone, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denounced the attack as “an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region’s vital economic infrastructure.” The US Embassy in Iraq also denounced the attack. A day earlier, two drones targeted a different oil field in the area, and another was intercepted at the Erbil airport, which houses US troops. The airport has come under attack several times in recent weeks, and so far, there have been no casualties. No group has taken responsibility for the spate of drone attacks. The KRG has blamed the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iraqi Shia militias that are part of the Iraqi government’s security forces, but Baghdad has denied the accusation.

Israel Transfers Important West Bank Mosque to Settler Control - The Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank is incredibly important to Muslims dating back over 2,000 years. Israel occupied the mosque in 1967 and converted half of it to an important Jewish shrine called the Cave of the Patriarchs. The site has been a source of tension in the area around the city of Hebron, and that is likely about to get even worse.That’s because the Israeli government has announced they are stripping the Palestinian Hebron municipality of control over the mosque and handing it over to a settler council. Details about why are still emerging, but claims plans for “structural changes” to the ancient site, apparently to be facilitated by the Kiryat Arba settlement’s religious council.The site is in the Old City part of Hebron, called al-Khalil by Palestinians. A substantial Israeli settlement has been established in the neighborhood, with an estimated 400 settlers and about 1,500 Israeli occupation forces manning checkpoints across the neighborhood to keep the settlers protected.The Palestinian Foreign Ministry referred to it as a flagrant violation of international law and urged UNESCO to intervene before it led to “grave repercussions.” This is the first change since 1994, when Israel changed control of the mosque to grant 63% to Jewish worshipers and only 37% to Muslims.That change, enhancing Jewish control over the mosque site, came immediately following a 1994 massacre, when Jewish-American settler Baruch Goldstein entered the Muslim side in an Israeli military uniform with a gun and opened fire on worshipers, killing 29 and wounding 125 others.The massacre was roundly condemned by Israelis at the time, though Goldstein has subsequently been lionized by some of the more violent settler groups, and indeed his tomb has itself become a site for pilgrimage by some settler on Purim, because that was the holiday during which the massacre took place.Itamar Ben Gvir, the current Israeli National Security Minister, is one such massacre enthusiast, andappeared in a video praising Goldstein while calling for more massacres of Palestinians.Israeli media appears generally supportive of the idea of taking the mosque and placing it under settler control, saying it will “enhance the experience for Jewish worshipers.”

Israeli Attacks Kill 87 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours, Aid Seekers Killed in Stampede - Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks killed 87 Palestinians and wounded 252 people over the previous 24-hour period, as relentless US-backed Israeli strikes continued to pound the Strip.The Health Ministry said that another seven bodies were recovered from the rubble. “A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, where ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them at this time,” the ministry wrote on X.Also on Wednesday, at least 21 people were killed during an incident near an aid distribution site that’s operated by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.Witnesses told The Associated Press that American mercenaries who work for the GHF used pepper spray and stun grenades on a large crowd of Palestinians near the entrance of the GHF site before it opened, causing panic. Other witnesses told Al Jazeera that GHF guards used tear gas on the crowd, and the Health Ministry said at least 15 people died due to being crushed by the crowd and “suffocation” from the gas.“We were running like everyone else. We got to the gate and realized that it was closed, thousands of people were there,” a witness told Al Jazeera. “The Americans fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse them which caused a stampede and many people died while being crushed by the crowd.”The Health Ministry said that the incident marked the first time “deaths have been recorded due to suffocation and the intense stampede of citizens at aid distribution centers.”

British Surgeon in Gaza Reports 'Unprecedented Malnutrition,' Says IDF Snipers Targeting Aid Seekers - Nick Maynard, a British surgeon currently working at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, has told The Telegraphthat Palestinians in the besieged enclave are facing “unprecedented malnutrition” due to the Israeli blockade and that Israeli snipers are targeting people seeking food near aid distribution sites. Maynard said that the aid sites run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were “death traps” and that IDF snipers were targeting “certain body parts on different days, such as the head, legs, or genitals.” Nearly 900 aid seekers have been killed by Israeli forces since the GHF began operating in Gaza. The British surgeon said that he had operated on many young teenage boys who were wounded near aid sites. “A twelve-year-old boy I was operating on died from his injuries on the operating table – he had been shot through the chest,” he said.Maynard said that severe malnutrition has been contributing to preventable deaths among Palestinians receiving surgery. “The malnutrition I’m seeing here is indescribably bad. It’s much, much worse now than a year ago,” he said. “The repairs that we carry out fall to pieces, patients get terrible infections, and they die. I have never had so many patients die because they can’t get enough food to recover,” he added. Babies have been starving to death in Gaza due to Israeli restrictions on baby formula, as malnourished mothers cannot produce breast milk. Maynard said that the Nasser Hospital is also running out of intravenous liquid fluids used to treat severely malnourished children and that four infants died of malnutrition at the hospital last week.“I saw a seven-month-old who looked like a newborn. The expression ‘skin and bones’ doesn’t do it justice,” Maynard said.The British surgeon also volunteered in Gaza last year and said his visit to the besieged enclave was the worst thing he had ever experienced. “It was much worse than we could possibly have imagined. I couldn’t compare it to anything, it was just like nothing I’ve seen on Earth,” he said at the time.

More Than 500 Killed After Days of Clashes, Executions, and Israeli Airstrikes in Syria's Suwayda - More than 500 people have been killed after days of clashes, massacres, and Israeli airstrikes in Syria’s southern Suwayda province, according to numbers from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Clashes began between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes, with the al-Qaeda-linked Syrian government quickly intervening against the Druze. Among the dead were 154 civilians, including 83 who were “summarily executed by members of the defense and interior ministries.”The SOHR counted the deaths of 243 government personnel, including at least 15 who were killed by Israeli airstrikes, 79 Druze fighters, and 18 Bedouin fighters. Three members of the Bedouin tribes were also ” summarily executed by Druze fighters.”The executions of Druze follow a pattern of mass killings of civilians by the new Syrian government, which is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the founder of al-Qaeda in Syria, who rebranded in recent years to gain international support. His group of Jihadists, known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, took power in Damascus in December 2024 after ousting former President Bashar al-Assad.Sharaa claimed on Thursday that he would “protect” the Druze minority and that there would be accountability for “those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state.” However, there has been no accountability for the more than 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites, who were massacred by government-linked fighters in March.Sharaa said that government forces “succeeded in restoring stability and expelling outlaw factions in Suwayda, despite Israeli interventions” and said Israel was “sowing discord” by launching airstrikes.Syrian government troops mostly withdrew from the area, though the government on Thursday accused the Druze of violating the ceasefire, suggesting that the fighting may not be over. The Syrian presidency accused Druze forces of conducting “horrific violence” against Bedouin civilians.

Latest South Syria Ceasefire Crumbles, At Least 638 Killed - Fighting between the Druze and Bedouins in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate continues to rage, despite thesecond ceasefire of the week being declared on Wednesday. The toll in the fighting and killing since Sunday is now up to at least 638, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The fighting started Sunday in the Bedouin neighborhood of Maqus, with both sides claiming tit-for-tat kidnappings, eventually leading Druze forces into the area and the locals called nearby Bedouin tribes. That escalated quickly across the governorate, and now both sides are trading blame for respective massacres in the area, and given the enormous death toll it’s not unlikely that both are accurate. The Bedouins, backed by Syrian government forces, were accused to executing Druze several times in the area, while Syrian state media is reporting a large massacre in a hospital by forces loyal to a Druze cleric. The death tolls overall split among hundreds of civilians, hundreds of combatants, and even hundreds of Syrian Defense Ministry forces that got attacked by Israel when trying to enter the region in defiance of Israel’s “ban” on Syria deploying troops to southern Syria.Israel reiterated on Thursday that the ban remained in place, and Prime Minister Netanyahu bragged that the Wednesday ceasefire was only achieved because of Israeli force. Now that the ceasefire seems to be failing, Israel announced on Friday it is allowing Syrian troops to go back to the area for 48 hours to try to tamp down the violence.Syrian troops are said to be being redeployed. Whether that’s going to actually slow the violence remains to be seen, as the Syrian troops are accused of participating in summary executions and other violence against the Druze.Fighting in going on outside of the city of Suwayda in nearby villages, with more and more forces massing on each side. The Bedouins are reportedly preparing a counter-attack against Suwayda itself after seizing several towns and villages on the outskirts.The death toll is likely even higher than is being reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. One hospital in Suwayda alone claims to have received more than 400 bodies since Monday. The actual toll may not ultimately be known for some time, but one thing is clear, it continues to rise and this situation is far from resolved.

France and Italy Won't Participate in NATO Plan To Buy US Weapons for Ukraine - France and Italy have declined to participate in a plan to purchase US weapons and send them to Ukraine, a scheme that was announced by President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday.France clarified that it’s still set on supporting Ukraine with military aid but wants to prioritize the purchase of European weapons, and that it was also dealing with budget constraints. Italy had a similar message and pointed to the Italian-made SAMP/T air defense system that it has already supplied to Ukraine.Reuters reported that some NATO allies were caught off guard by Trump and Rutte’s announcement. Rutte claimed that six countries — Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada — were already willing to participate in the scheme. But officials from two of those nations said that the announcement was the first they had heard of it.“It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance,” a European ambassador told Reuters. “I also suspect that internally in the administration, they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice.”Trump stated that under the plan, “billions of dollars” worth of US military equipment would be on the way to Ukraine soon, and reports indicated that $10 billion in arms sales were expected in the first wave. But so far, it remains unclear how many weapons sales will materialize.NATO allies are also struggling to find Patriot missile defense systems to send to Ukraine, despite Trump’s pledge that some would be on the way “within days.” The US stockpile of Patriot interceptors is significantly depleted due to US support for Ukraine and the ongoing wars in the Middle East.