week ending Oct 31

Fed leaves rates unchanged as it awaits 'accumulation of more information' (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, as ​expected, opting to delay any changes to borrowing costs until after next week's US midterm elections while it awaits further data on inflation, which the central bank said "remains elevated." The 10-2 decision to maintain ‌the Fed's benchmark interest rate within the 3.75%-4.00% range came with an upgraded assessment of an economy that the central bank now says is growing at a "strong pace." Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh also expressed confidence that inflation can be lowered to the 2% target without having to "throw sand in the gears" and slow growth or raise unemployment. Warsh, speaking at a press conference after the end of a two-day policy meeting, said he expects a report on third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday to show strong investment and consumer ​spending and an acceleration of growth from the first half of the year. Warsh, however, said he still does not think the economy is "too hot" or generating demand-side inflation that needs to be curbed. "The ​economy is pointing in the right direction. Is the economy running too hot? Is the economy running too strong? That isn't the judgment of most of my colleagues," ⁠said Warsh, arguing, as he has before, that changes in productivity, even predating the artificial intelligence boom, may allow the US to grow faster without as much inflation. "The goal, in my view ... isn't to throw sand in ​the gears of the economy and throw people out of work. I don't think we have to do that." Rather, he said, a higher Fed policy rate is already showing its impact in slightly tighter credit conditions that could, ​for example, slow business investment and which arguably contributed to recent stock market declines, another potential source of "disinflation" if it slows spending among wealthier families. In comments to CNBC on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration continues to have faith that Warsh will "find the right balance" between the 2% inflation goal and continuing economic growth. The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee's latest policy statement, however, hinted that more rate hikes may be needed, and some of Warsh's colleagues have been explicit in their concerns that demand, ​fueled by AI and healthy consumer spending, is starting to drive prices higher. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Between now and the next policy meeting in December, "the accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely ​return of inflation to the Committee's 2% goal," the FOMC said. "The Committee will deliver price stability." Fed Governor Lisa Cook, currently being targeted by President Donald Trump for removal from the central bank, cast her first dissent on a ‌central bank policy ⁠decision on Wednesday, favoring a quarter-percentage-point rate hike. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, a consistently hawkish voice, also dissented in favor of a rate increase. Market reaction was muted, with US stocks paring gains slightly after the decision but ending higher on the day. Longer-dated US Treasury yields extended their rise. Short-term interest-rate futures rose a bit, as traders scaled back a bit on bets of Fed rate hikes ahead. "The forces keeping the Federal Reserve hawkish haven't faded. Diesel and gasoline prices remain elevated, AI-driven inflation isn't easing, and the labor market remains resilient," said Michael Pearce, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. The outcome of this week's meeting was widely expected after top Fed officials indicated they saw ​no rush to raise rates again following the quarter-percentage-point ​increase approved last month, despite inflation data in the ⁠meantime that was stronger than forecast and concerns that price pressures are broadening across the economy. Energy costs remain high, including for diesel fuel, which is a key input for shipping, agriculture and other industries. Inflation and the cost of living in general have been central to the political races that will determine whether Trump's Republican Party remains ​in control of both houses of Congress on November 3, or whether Democrats move into leadership positions and gain more robust oversight powers, including over the Fed. Trump, during ​his first and second terms ⁠in the White House, has excoriated the Fed for failing to deliver big rate cuts. After its decision in September to raise rates, he blamed Warsh's policymaking colleagues as "hostile" and "partisan." Warsh told reporters on Wednesday that politics played no role in the decision to leave rates unchanged this week, rebutting, at least indirectly, Trump's allegation of central bank bias. Financial markets are still pricing in a couple of additional rate hikes in the coming months, though with slightly less conviction than before Warsh spoke on ⁠Wednesday. Pricing shows ​about an 80% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December 8-9 meeting, with another increase in borrowing costs likely by March. Inflation, ​which is currently around a percentage point above the Fed's target, has shown little progress in recent months. The US central bank has missed its inflation target for more than half a decade, a fact that has left some officials worried that businesses and households are becoming ​accustomed to faster price increases and may plan for them in ways that will make inflation harder to control.

Fed keeps interest rates unchanged, but two officials dissented in favor of a rate hike -- The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is keeping its benchmark interest rate at current levels this month after raising rates in September for the first time since 2023. The war with Iran continues to push up energy prices, with higher costs starting to spread to other goods and services. That has complicated the picture for Fed officials as they balance the impact of persistently higher inflation with higher borrowing costs on already-stretched consumers.  Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack both opted for a quarter-point rate hike at this month’s meeting. Hammack also dissented in July, again favoring a hike. Cook has never dissented in her four years in this post. Chairman Kevin Warsh announced a key change in the way the central bank decides on monetary policy, reducing the number of rate-setting meetings from eight to seven next year and six the following.

Fed needs at least two more rate hikes, Logan says (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve needs to raise rates at least two more ‌times to get inflation under control, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said on Friday, in some of the most explicit rate guidance offered by a US central banker since Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh took the helm in May. "It remains ​clear to me, given the current outlook, that the FOMC needs to implement at least ​two more 25-basis-point rate increases," Logan said in remarks prepared for delivery to ⁠students at Davidson College, referring to the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. "After that, it would make sense ​in my view to pause and examine economic and financial developments to determine what further action may ​be appropriate." Logan joined the majority of the FOMC in a 10-2 vote this week to leave short-term US interest rates in their current 3.75%-4.00% range, even as it said the economy is strong and inflation too high. For Logan, among ​the more hawkish of Fed policymakers, the move isn't inconsistent with her view that the target rate ​should be at least half a percentage point higher in order to restrict the economy enough to get inflation ‌headed ⁠back to the Fed's 2% goal. "Financial markets have been volatile in response to news on the technology investment outlook and geopolitical developments," Logan said. "In such an environment, adjusting policy more gradually can help households, businesses and market participants adapt to higher rates and reduce the risk that economic activity deteriorates more sharply ​than necessary." It's important that ​the Fed make its ⁠policy destination clear though, Logan said -- a view that contrasts with Warsh's insistence that the Fed should only deliver such guidance in crisis times. For one thing, ​Logan sees financial conditions as delivering a tailwind to economic growth, and ​attributes the recent ⁠rise in longer-term borrowing costs to an expectation for stronger growth and higher interest rates. "The higher market rates are more a message that investors believe monetary policy has work to do than an independent headwind ⁠for activity," ​she said. Skipping a meeting, she said, does not change ​the Fed's policy destination. "As long as market participants understand the FOMC’s policy plans, the precise timing of each rate increase has little ​effect on the longer-term rates most borrowers pay," she said.

Fed will drop one interest rate vote next year; two in 2028  — The Federal Reserve will vote on its benchmark interest rate just seven times next year instead of eight.

• Key insight: Reducing the number of interest rate-setting meetings could be the first of several changes to the Fed's monetary policy practices.
• Expert quote: "Getting policy right involves assessing near-term developments at timely, regular, and information-rich intervals. But it's equally important we reserve time and space as an intellectually diverse group for strategic deliberations, for thinking anew about big questions, looking out over longer time horizons, focusing, as I say, on the left side of the decimal." — Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the Federal Open Market Committee will continue to meet eight times a year, but one such meeting will not include an interest rate vote or an official policy statement.

Fed's preferred inflation measure comes in hot at 3.6% -The latest print from the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation indicates the central bank still has work to do on price stability.

• Key insight: The September Personal Consumer Expenditure inflation rate came in at 3.6%, a number that in itself is unlikely to shape the Fed's next policy decision but it adds another key data point for the central bank to consider.
• Expert quote: "The information we receive over the coming period, will help us determine where we want policy to be, and at every turn, good or bad, our job is to get monetary policy right, and that's exactly what we're doing." —Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh

The Bureau of Economic Analysis' PCE index came in at an annualized rate of 3.6%, confirming that prices continue to rise faster than the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

U.S. Treasury Yields Fall as Investors Digest Fed Meet, Focus Shifts to ECB - U.S. Treasury yields dropped in Asian trade on Thursday as markets digested the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, with the focus now shifting to the European Central Bank's meeting. The two-year Treasury yield fell 4.6 basis points to 4.688%, while the 10-year yield also declined 4.6 basis points to 4.998%, according to Tradeweb. The Fed left the fed funds rate at 3.75%-4.00%, as expected, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point hike. Chairman Kevin Warsh unveiled a structural overhaul of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting schedule to separate near-term interest-rate decisions from long-term monetary policy strategy. "There is no doubt the markets have done some of the work for the Fed with higher rates and tighter credit conditions, especially within some of the frothier areas of the AI capex segment," said John Luke Tyner, portfolio manager and head of fixed income at Aptus Capital Advisors. Still, Chairman Warsh said that "while overall financial conditions are tighter, I'm unwilling and unable to call them tight." In response to Warsh's press conference, bond yields moved mixed, with the two-year yield falling and the 10-year yield rising. "Warsh's refusal to give forward guidance risks being self-defeating: the market-driven restraint he's counting on eased as the front end rallied," said Ali Hassan, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management. Money markets price in an 82% probability of a hike in December, according to LSEG. Macquarie Group's baseline remains that a total of 50 basis points in rate hikes lie ahead from the Fed, with the most likely timing being 25 basis points each in December and March, said David Doyle, head of economics. In the eurozone, the ECB is expected to stay on hold on Thursday, while a hike in December is priced with a 65% probability, according to LSEG. Investors will be on the lookout for potential comments by ECB President Christine Lagarde on the recent widening of 10-year French OAT-German Bund yield spreads. "We expect her to push back firmly against speculation about ECB intervention or even TPI [Transmission Protection Instrument] activation, while leaving the door open to a hike in December," said Martin Wolburg, senior economist at Generali Investments in a note. "The ECB's problem is no longer just inflation; it is inflation plus spreads," said Kevin Thozet, member of the investment committee at Carmignac.

U.S. Treasury Yields Fall on Tech Stock Selloff, 10-Year at 4.929% on Oct 30 -- U.S. Treasury yields declined on October 30 afternoon (New York time) as Intel's 30% plunge triggered safe-haven buying and dimmed expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes. The 10-year yield fell 5.9 basis points to 4.929%, while the 2-year yield dropped 7.5 basis points to 4.581%. The 10-2 year spread widened to 34.8 basis points, marking the highest level since early October. CME FedWatch data reflected declining odds for a December rate hike, with market pricing dropping to 72.9% from approximately 80% the prior session, despite recent hawkish remarks from Fed officials.

Ex-Treasury Sec. Paulson urges US to tame national debt - Henry Paulson, who helped steer the country through the global financial crisis, says the nation's ballooning deficits threaten to cause another disaster.

• Supporting data: The U.S. national debt is approximately $40.6 trillion, and rising.
• Expert quote: "We are paying more to service our past than invest in our future." —Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson

US orders non-essential gov't staff, families to leave Saudi Arabia amid escalating security risks  --The U.S. Department of State has ordered the withdrawal of non-emergency government personnel and their dependents from Saudi Arabia due to escalating security risks following recent Houthi attacks on the kingdom's civilian infrastructure, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh announced on Sunday. According to the announcement, the evacuation order was prompted by a deteriorating security environment in the region. The alert specifically highlighted recent Houthi strikes targeting civilian airports and other critical facilities within Saudi Arabia. The U.S. embassy noted that these assaults have resulted in civilian casualties and caused severe disruptions to transportation networks, cautioning that such hostile actions could escalate rapidly and pose continued threats to public safety. Yemen's Houthi group said on Saturday that it had launched seven missile and drone attacks on airports, oil facilities and a military base across Saudi Arabia, as heavy Saudi-led airstrikes hit various Houthi-held areas of Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement broadcast by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV that the group had used ballistic missiles and drones in the attacks targeting airports, oil facilities and a military base in the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Yanbu, Rabigh, Dammam, Najran and Khamis Mushait. Sarea said King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was targeted in two stages. Other attacks struck targets including Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

Iranian Army Says It Shot Down US LUCAS Drone That Was Flying Over Southern Iran - The Iranian Army said on Sunday that its forces shot down a US LUCAS drone over the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, an incident that comes as the US and Israel appear poised to launch another round of major strikes against Iran.So far, the US hasn’t confirmed losing a LUCAS and hasn’t responded to the Iranian claim. The LUCAS, or Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack Systems, is the US version of the Iranian Shahed-136 drone and was first deployed to the region last year. Iran’s PressTV published a photo that it said showed the wreckage of a US LUCAS drone in Bandar Abbas and said that Iranian forces previously shot one down in July. US Central Command first announced in December 2025 that it had deployed a fleet of LUCAS drones in the Middle East, calling it the “first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East.” On February 26, 2026, two days before the US and Israel began bombing Iran, CENTCOM said that the LUCAS drones were ready to strike the Islamic Republic. LUCAS drones are said to cost about $35,000 for the US to produce. Iranian air defenses have also shot down at least 45 US MQ-9 Reaper drones since the war began, a much more expensive unmanned aerial vehicle, costing somewhere between $30 million and $50 million to manufacture.

Trump weighs Iran deal or renewed strikes as tensions rise - U.S. President Donald Trump has said he was deciding whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off” as investors weigh heightened tensions across the Middle East.“Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? It’s getting to be decision time,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday. Mediators from Qatar, which has played a key role in efforts to negotiate an agreement between Washington and Tehran, visited Tehran on Sunday, according to Reuters. It comes as attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants on Saudi Arabia continued over the weekend.The last confirmed U.S. strikes on Iran were on Sept. 1. Trump previously said attacks would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Tehran says it is preparing a military response to any U.S. strikes. A potential U.S. target could be Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said in the Sunday interview.“We can read the badge on somebody’s shirt from space, okay? We know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain. We know the other three [nuclear sites] are obliterated,” Trump said.  Trump also repeated the claim that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global trade and a major flashpoint in the conflict, citing that crude oil flows have returned to prewar levels.Energy prices nonetheless remain elevated amid the disruption and a global refining squeeze.Washington and Tehran have both repeatedly claimed they control the route, where overall trade flows remain severely curtailed, impacting consumer prices. A Singapore-flagged container ship sank in the strait earlier this month after being struck by an unidentified projectile and catching fire.Ali Ozmaei, chief of the Iran Revolutionary Guard navy, said earlier this month that Tehran is “counting the moments” until it can sink American warships. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are meeting Iran’s leadership in Tehran on Monday. The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August, committing to closer defense cooperation and stipulating that an armed attack against one member would be regarded as an attack against all. It is the first meeting of the group since Houthi missiles and drones targeted sites across Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh airport and an administrative building belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco.  Saudi Arabia last week postponed its flagship Future Investment Initiative conference until 2027 due to security concerns after a string of fatal strikes.

CNN: US Forces Ready To Launch Major Attacks Against Iran Within 96 Hours of Receiving an Order From Trump - The US military is ready to launch potentially major attacks on Iran “within 96 hours of receiving” an order from President Trump, CNN reported on Monday. Sources told the outlet that the US now has sufficient forces in the region to carry out the potential attacks, and that the strikes would likely go beyond the US attacks in recent months that have targeted Iranian missile launchers and radar systems. Leaders in the Pentagon and at US Central Command have drawn up a wide range of targets, including energy infrastructure, military sites, and nuclear facilities, though the report acknowledged that it would be more difficult for the US to destroy all of them since Iran is now more familiar with the US military’s tactics. Trump has been threatening to restart major attacks on Iran, and some of CNN’s sources said it was a question of when, not if, he will give the order to go ahead with the strikes. The timeline is unclear, though he’s more likely to wait until after the November 3 US midterm elections. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared eager to restart attacks on Iran ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections, but it looks like he will have to wait. Even if Netanyahu’s Likud party doesn’t come out on top in the elections, Netanyahu would likely still be in power in the days following the US midterm elections as the winning party works to form a government. The CNN report said that Netanyahu wanted to launch an attack before the elections but that the Trump administration wanted to wait until it was ready to carry out joint US-Israeli strikes. “Netanyahu really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections, and Trump did not give a green light,” an Israeli security source told the outlet. The report said that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had told Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine that an attack on Iran could hurt the Israeli elections. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu and Zamir have been at odds over an order Netanyahu gave related to Iran that the Israeli army chief didn’t want to carry out due to the elections.

Trump says Iran war will end 'when I want it to' as costs reportedly balloon to $47 billion - U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that the Iran war will end “whenever I want it to,” but insists that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Speaking at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, Trump said “Somebody asked me before, ‘When will the war in Iran end?’ I said, ‘Whenever I want it to end.’” Trump said it “would be very quick, but we have to have an end properly,” with a “total statement” that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. His statement comes as the President grapples with poll numbers that are near a record low due to rising energy costs and affordability issues as the U.S. heads into the midterm elections on Nov. 3. Currently, Trump’s approval ratings stand at 32%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday. Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics’ Chief Economist said on Oct. 12 that the war was costing American families an average of $2,000 so far, where $1,100 comes from higher energy costs, $540 from higher interest rate costs, and $360 due to increased military spending.The Iran conflict shows no sign of winding down, with Trump saying that he will soon decide whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off.”Earlier in the month, the U.S. had evacuated diplomats from Saudi Arabia, as the New York Times reported that U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up specific plans for a “short but intensive” operation for strikes on Iran after the midterm elections. An estimate by U.S. Central Command on Oct. 16, according to a report by The Hill, also revealed that the cost of the Iran war has ballooned to $47 billion, about $3 billion more than the previous numbers.  The bulk of the costs was reportedly for munitions replacements at $29 million. Washington’s conflict with Iran has caused “shortfalls” in U.S. munitions, despite Trump claiming on Sept. 3 that the U.S. had “virtually unlimited” amounts of ammunition. The massive price tag on the war does not include the costs of damaged military bases in the Middle East, which is estimated at $184 million as of June 29, according to a lead inspector general report to Congress. This figure counts damage to U.S. diplomatic facilities in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — from Iranian strikes.

Pentagon Estimates the US Has Spent Over $47 Billion on Iran War, But True Cost Is Much Higher -   The Pentagon’s estimate for the cost of the Iran war is now over $47 billion, 25% higher than its estimate from July, according to data obtained by Reuters, though the true cost of the conflict is significantly higher since the US War Department’s numbers leave out the cost of damage to US bases.The Reuters report said the Pentagon estimates it needs $29 billion to replace munitions used in the conflict and $6 billion to replace military equipment and “platform losses,” including aircraft and the many drones lost during the war, but those numbers are also likely a significant undercount.Stephen Semler of the Security Policy Reform Institute published an analysis in July estimating the war’s real cost in the first 120 days at around $103 billion, including $46.7 billion on munitions. Unlike the Pentagon’s estimate, Semler’s analysis factored in damage to US bases. Semler said that his $103 billion estimate “refers only to direct war costs — the immediate budgetary costs directly tied to the war, including operations, personnel, and matériel” and not indirect costs that the US government will have to pay for years to come, which include interest added to the national debt and long-term care for veterans. According to the Pentagon’s official numbers, the US suffered nearly 1,000 casualties in the region since it launched the war on February 28, including 22 deaths and 905 injuries, though it’s unclear if the figures account for the true number of casualties since the Pentagon has downplayed them throughout the conflict.

Araghchi: Iran Ready To Defend Itself But Still Giving Diplomacy a Chance - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that while Tehran is ready to defend itself, it’s also still giving diplomacy a chance, comments that come amid reports of renewed efforts from Gulf Arab states to avert another US-Israeli attack on Iran.“While our Brave Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” Araghchi wrote on X.“We remain in close and ongoing contact with intermediaries to review ideas that can ensure implementation of our 7-Day Plan in even less than a week,” he added.Last month, Iran proposed a seven-day deal in which the US would end its blockade of Iranian ports, issue sanctions waivers for Iran, and release some frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran fully opening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. After that, the two sides would begin negotiations on a nuclear deal.According to a report from Reuters, Qatar has offered Iran a new seven-day proposal that would require Tehran to agree to some nuclear concessions, but Iranian officials have maintained the nuclear issue isn’t up for discussion until the US takes the steps lifted above, which the US previously agreed to do under the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding that was signed back in June.Reuters cited an unnamed Iranian official who said that Qatar had presented only “unacceptable ideas and not an offer,” though Araghchi’s comments suggest Iran is still engaging. The Guardian reported on Wednesday that the Gulf Arab states are also working on a potential multi-pronged deal that would also include de-escalation in Yemen.

Iran war live: 4 tankers hit in Hormuz; Trump says conflict will end ‘soon’ | Al Jazeera - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says four oil tankers have caught fire and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz while travelling along “unauthorised routes”. US President Donald Trump says the war on Iran is “going to get wrapped up soon”, adding that Washington needs a “guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon”. Iranian media say a Qatari delegation has returned to Tehran for talks, while an Iranian source confirmed to Al Jazeera that Iran has received a letter from the US on ending the war. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis claims it intercepted Houthi drones over the kingdom’s Eastern, Medina and Mecca regions. The Yemeni group denied launching any attacks towards Saudi Arabia on Friday. The US and Iran have sent mixed signals this week about what comes next in their eight-month war. The Wall Street Journal reported that the head of United States Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, briefed Trump on options for additional attacks on Iran. However, it also reported that Vice President JD Vance had offered to meet the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Moshen Rezaei, to discuss ending the war. Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday to discuss talks coordinated with the US, raising questions about whether renewed attacks or an end to the conflict is more likely.

Iran claims four tankers hit mines in Hormuz as U.S. strike fears grow - Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, escalating pressure on two fronts as the U.S. reportedly weighs renewed military action against Tehran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. The flare-up is fueling concern among regional officials and analysts that fighting could resume around the Nov. 3 vote, even as Vice President JD Vance seeks to reopen talks with Iran. The developments underscore the competing diplomatic and military tracks now shaping the conflict, which now in its ninth month. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three tankers caught fire after striking mines along what it called an “unauthorized southern route” near the Omani coast. Iran’s army said a fourth burned east of the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a small boat attaching two explosive devices to a tanker about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The blasts sparked an engine-room fire that disabled the vessel, the agency said, adding that the crew was safe.  Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday also challenged a U.S. Central Command statement that American forces had cleared mines from the primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.The vital waterway carried about one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies, and has seen traffic plummet to single-digit daily passings since the war started in late February. “Prove the claim that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared of mines with independent evidence, not a statement,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said. “The reality of the Strait of Hormuz is determined in the air, on land and at sea, not on social media and in America’s media war rooms.” Iran-backed Houthi forces said they launched six military operations across Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and oil facilities, despite a rare meeting of Saudi and Iranian senior officials in Tehran earlier this week. The two sides had agreed to resolve regional differences through dialogue. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the attacks but said their air defenses have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone launched toward the holy Mecca region. Earlier this week, Vance sent a letter via Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing a framework for talks. President Donald Trump, when asked whether he directed the outreach, said “no,” framing it as Iran needing “help with medical supplies and various things.” “He [Vance] asked me what I thought. I said, ‘if you want to do that, that’s OK,’” Trump said. Reports have emerged that the Trump administration may resume military actions in the Middle East after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Adm. Brad Cooper, top U.S. commander in the region briefed Trump on military options for Iran in a rare in-person visit to the White House, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials close to the matter. The meeting, joined by other cabinet members, covered other topics including the continuing U.S. blockade, according to the report.

Report: US Sending an Additional Patriot System to Israel To Prepare for Potential Attacks on Iran - - The US military is sending an additional Patriot missile system to Israel to beef up the country’s air defenses as part of preparations for a potential US-Israeli attack on Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday night.  It’s estimated that the US has used about 1,700 Patriot missile interceptors, or about two-thirds of its total stockpile, in Iran since it was launched on February 28, and the reported deployment to Israel comes as the US has been holding up a Patriot missile shipment to Ukraine. The Journal report said that the US has also warned its Gulf Arab allies to prepare for a short but intense renewed bombing campaign against Iran, though Iranian officials have warned that they will significantly escalate retaliatory strikes across the region in the face of any renewed US or Israeli attacks, meaning the US will have little control on the timeline. The reported warning to the Gulf states comes as senior Gulf Arab officials appear desperate to avoid a re-escalation of the war as they have been engaging with Iranian officials. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman visited Tehran on Monday, and the following day, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow.  Sources told the Journal that President Trump has made a final decision on going ahead with an attack on Iran but was leaning toward launching strikes after the November 3 US midterm elections. Other preparations have included moving troops around the region, loading aircraft with bombs, and deploying additional warships. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was eager to attack Iran ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections, and now that his party has come out on top but is short of a majority needed to form a government, he may have even more of a motive to re-escalate the war than before.

Trump Issues Second Endorsement of Netanyahu, Says the US and Israel Have to 'Finish the Job' Against Iran - -  President Trump on Sunday night put out his second statement endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the upcoming elections in Israel, saying that the US and Israel must “finish the job” against Iran.“To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago to your Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. As everyone is aware, including the enemy, Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that quoted the original endorsement post.“When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started,” the US president said. The post came after Axios reported that Netanyahu had “pleaded” with Trump in recent days to show more public support for his campaign ahead of Tuesday’s Knesset elections. A US source speaking to Barak Ravid said Netanyahu’s aggressive lobbying is a “sign of desperation.” Most of Israel’s final election polls show opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party overtaking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, but neither the governing coalition nor the main opposition bloc is projected to secure a majority in the Knesset.

Trump Takes Credit for Netanyahu’s Election Lead - -President Trump on Wednesday shared a quote crediting him with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lead in the Israeli elections, though his coalition is far from the majority needed to form a new government. “When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu,” Trump wrote on Truth Social just after midnight.“It all took place AFTER the Endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!” he added. Trump attributed the quote to a person named Irving C. Schwartz, but it’s unclear who that is or where the quote came from.Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Trump endorsed Netanyahu twice, and suggested that he needed a Netanyahu-led Israel to “finish the job” against Iran. Trump was asked on Wednesday whether he would get involved in efforts to form a unity government with Netanyahu as leader and said he hadn’t thought about it but would “take a look.”Initial Israeli exit polls on Tuesday showed the anti-Netanyahu bloc, led by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, with more Knesset seats than Netanyahu’s coalition, but the results flipped Tuesday night. As of Wednesday night in Israel, over 85% of the votes have been counted, showing Netanyahu’s coalition with 53 seats, Eisenkot’s with 48, and the parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel with 19 seats. While Netanyahu has taken the lead, he’s still well short of the 61 seats needed to form a government, and his Likud party is blaming the Palestinian parties.“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offenses of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters,” the Likud said in a statement shared by Netanyahu on X.Palestinian citizens of Israel have the right to vote in Knesset elections, but Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza do not, while Israeli settlers living in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank can vote. Tuesday’s vote saw a record turnout for Palestinian citizens of Israel, but the Likud is claiming some sort of fraud had taken place and is demanding an investigation.

‘She must go’: US envoy pressures UN to remove special rapporteur on Palestine - A US envoy to the UN has called for the removal of UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, calling her a “moral fugitive” and a “lunatic.” US Representative for UN Management and Reform Jeff Bartos on Monday accused Albanese of harboring hatred toward the US, the West, Israel, and the Jewish people. “[The UN] allows a charlatan to soil the UN uniform—even as she stokes the very conflicts this body was created to end—and even as her words are found in terrorists’ chants,” he said. He claimed that UN colleagues have privately expressed similar views, characterizing Albanese and others like her as “institutional poison” and “good for no one.” “Start by saying publicly what you say to me privately. That the UN should not be a nursery for evil. That its brand has been soiled long enough. That Albanese must go,” Bartos insisted. Albanese is an Italian scholar and international lawyer specializing in human rights and West Asia. Since May 2022, she has served as the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. The UN rapporteur has published several reports on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and has described the Israeli aggression against Palestinians as “the cruelest genocide in modern history.” On March 26, 2024, Albanese presented the report “Anatomy of a Genocide” before the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israel was intentionally committing genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. On March 23, 2026, she released a report on the human rights situation in Palestine titled “Torture and Genocide.” In it, she explained the torture that Israel has systematically inflicted on Palestinians since October 7, 2023. She elaborated that, since October 2023, Israelis have systematically tortured Palestinians and that this has become an integral component of the “settler-colonial genocide.” She added that the intent to commit genocide is apparent, as torture is perpetrated across the entire territory of Palestine and sustained through policies that destroy the conditions of life. “Torture has always been a central feature of the dispossession of Palestinians by Israel. Yet, since October 2023, Israel has employed torture on a scale that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent,” she stated in her report. Because of her many remarks against Israel and her condemnation of the occupying regime’s aggression against Palestinians, Albanese has been designated persona non grata by Israel and is denied entry to the occupied territories.

Lebanese Druze Figure Defiant After Denunciation by US State Dept -   Influential Druze leader and longtime Lebanese political figure Walid Jumblatt may be retired, officially, but that didn’t stop him from opining of the ongoing Israeli invasion and occupation of his country, and it quickly because an issue for the US State Department.In recent interviews, Jumblatt warned of Israel’s expansionist ambitions toward the country and called for a national dialogue instead of unilateral demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament. He also suggested that disarmament of Hezbollah should be done in cooperation with both Iran and Israel, noting Iran retains decisive influence over the group’s armed forces.The State Department wasn’t happy, declaring that the US would only accept the existing stance on disarmament, which they claimed was reciprocal despite Israel never actually committing to either withdrawing or stopping its attacks on Lebanon if Hezbollah is disarmed. They similarly ruled out Iranian involvement, and the spokesman declared “Walid Jumblat will do and say whatever is best for Walid Jumblat, with little regard for principle, his own constituency, or the future of his country.”  Jumblatt responded today, noting that no one within Lebanon was consulted before the government accepted this framework, and that he has every right to express his opinion on the matter. The “tripartite framework” has long proven controversial in Lebanon for the lack of meaningful concessions from the other sides, and Jumblatt, while offering a plausible alternative solution, is otherwise only echoing the growing consensus that the deal was a de facto surrender of sovereignty by the negotiators. Hezbollah is under pressure right now not just on the disarmament front, but also with the idea that the US and Israel are about to launch a new round of fighting with Iran, and are threatening Lebanon if Hezbollah in any way participates in that fighting. Hezbollah has suggested they don’t intend to, though since Israel is actively invading Lebanon at any rate, and attacking Hezbollah as the opportunity presents, any resistance by the Hezbollah forces can quickly be spun as involvement in the Iran War, a situation that could lead to yet more Israeli escalation. At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is proudly championing their invasion and occupation of Lebanon and other neighboring territories as part of a successful “offensive security strategy,” and with Israel’s election built around factions trying to out-hawk one another, such escalation may be forthcoming irrespective of Hezbollah’s actions.

US Launches Two More Airstrikes in Somalia, Bringing 2026 Total to 90 -  - US Africa Command has announced that its forces launched two more airstrikes in Somalia as the Trump administration continues a record-shattering bombing campaign in the country that receives virtually no media coverage in the US. AFRICOM said in one press release that it conducted a strike on October 21 that targeted al-Shabaab in the vicinity of Hargeisa Yare, a town about 58 miles northeast of the southern port city of Kismayo in the Lower Juba region. In a second press release, AFRICOM said its forces launched a strike on October 23 targeting al-Shabaab about four miles northeast of Janale, a town near the coast in the Lower Shabelle region. Radio Ergo, an independent Somali news service, reported that heavy fighting and airstrikes in the area since early September have displaced more than 1,700 families.  AFRICOM offered no other details about either strike, as it stopped sharing casualty estimates and assessments on potential civilian harm last year. US-backed Somali forces also haven’t put out statements about military operations in those areas.The two bombings bring the total number of US airstrikes in Somalia this year to 90, more airstrikes than the US ever launched in Somalia before 2025, when President Trump shattered the previous record for annual US strikes by launching 124. The previous record, which he set in 2019, was 63.The US has been involved in Somalia for decades and has been fighting al-Shabaab since the George W. Bush administration backed an Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a Muslim coalition that briefly held power in Mogadishu after taking the city from CIA-backed warlords.Al-Shabaab emerged as the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, and its first recorded attack was a suicide bombing in 2007 that targeted Ethiopian troops occupying Mogadishu. It wasn’t until 2012 that the group pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda. The US has also been bombing an ISIS affiliate in Puntland, which started as an offshoot of al-Shabaab and first emerged in 2015.

Musk Says Ukraine Violated Starlink Terms of Service by Using It For Offensive Drone Attacks - -SpaceX owner Elon Musk wrote in a post on X on Saturday that Ukraine had violated Starlink’s terms of service by using the satellite internet service for offensive drone attacks and said that the “loophole” allowing those attacks had been closed.“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk said, acknowledging he was behind the recent throttling of Ukraine’s Starlink service.Musk said that the US military’s version of Starlink, known as Starshield, was controlled by the US and that “what they decide to do is up to them.” However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said Ukraine didn’t have access to Starshield, while noting that it had requested to use the service for long-range attacks inside Russia.In his X post, Musk went on to detail how Starlink has aided the Ukrainian war effort. “Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now. Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact,” he wrote.“Starlink was also crucial to preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia. SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR. That said, I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell,” Musk added.In a reply to his post, Musk noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “himself posted about using Starlink for offensive drone strikes, which has always been against Starlink’s terms of service.”  Zelensky said on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield speeds for Ukraine have been restored. “The speeds are now where they need to be. The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered ‘shaheds,'” he said. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that President Trump called Musk and asked him to lift the Starlink restrictions, as it doesn’t appear the US president had imposed any consequences for continuing strikes on Russian oil refineries despite his stated opposition to the attacks, which are known to be supported by US intelligence.

Elon Musk says Ukraine broke Starlink rules with drone strikes - Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Elon Musk said Kyiv violated the terms of SpaceX’s commercial Starlink service by using it for offensive drone strikes, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Starlink and Starshield operations had been restored to the speeds available before recent restrictions were imposed.“ Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strike operations is explicitly a violation of the terms of use,” the company’s CEO wrote in a statement posted to X Saturday. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”Musk added that the commercial service is limited to “civilian or defensive use.”The terms of use on Starlink’s website say in part, “Starlink Kits and Services are commercial communication products. Off-the-shelf, Starlink can provide communication capabilities to a variety of end-users, such as consumers, schools, businesses and other commercial entities, hospitals, humanitarian organizations, non-governmental and governmental organizations in support of critical infrastructure and other services, including during times of crisis.”“However, Starlink is not designed or intended for use with or in offensive or defensive weaponry or other comparable end-uses,” the website reads.SpaceX fixed communications outages that emerged after the restriction was first introduced, but the 100-mph cap remained, Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to Zelensky, told the Associated Press. Reuters reported, citing a person in Ukraine’s defense ministry, that the receivers had resumed working while in motion but only at speeds of up to 100 mph.Zelensky, meanwhile, said in a video posted to X that Starlink and Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade system used by Ukraine, were again operating at the speeds Ukraine needed.“I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped – members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department, and the President,” Zelensky said. “Protecting lives matters.”Beskrestnov said on Saturday that existing restrictions on civilian Starlink service already prevented Ukraine from using it for such offensive operations.“It’s very strange that Elon Musk doesn’t know about the restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine,” he wrote online.The dispute highlights Ukraine’s reliance on satellite communications for military operations as the war with Russia continues.Ukrainian officials said access to Starlink had been restricted without advance warning and that SpaceX had placed a speed limit on Starlink terminals in Ukraine earlier this month, disrupting battlefield operations.Ukraine has targeted Russian oil and gas facilities in an effort to curb energy revenue used to finance Moscow’s war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukrainian refinery attacks have cost Russia roughly 1 percent of its gross domestic product.Moscow, meanwhile, has continued targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.President Donald Trump has pressured Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil facilities as high diesel prices remain an issue in the United States ahead of the midterm elections. Trump blamed Ukraine’s attacks for contributing to those prices, while his administration moved to allow Russian diesel back onto global markets and relaxed sanctions to authorize imports into the U.S.The controversy comes against a backdrop of tensions between Zelensky and the Trump administration.

Russia and Ukraine Confirm Humanitarian Ceasefire Has Taken Effect in Oleshky - - Both Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday confirmed that a humanitarian ceasefire had taken effect around Oleshky, a frontline town in Ukraine’s Kherson region that’s been under Russian control since the first days of the 2022 invasion. The purpose of the truce is to get humanitarian aid to the 2,000 remaining residents of the town and allow those who want to leave to evacuate. Civilians in the town have faced severe food shortages, with some telling Reuters they’ve been surviving on just a cup of rice or buckwheat a day. First Lady Melania Trump, who was involved in the negotiations for the truce, said in a post on X that the “geographic area has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson Region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys.” Pope Leo XIV also helped mediate between the two sides, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly after his recent lung surgery to urge them to agree to a truce that would allow humanitarian aid into the area. The White House released a statement on October 23 announcing the ceasefire, credited Melania Trump with the mediation, and didn’t mention Pope Leo’s role. The initial announcement said the truce would take effect on October 29, but Melania said on X that the “timing was accelerated two days ahead of schedule to protect the safety of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid.”The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that as “part of preparations for a humanitarian operation near the town of Alyoshki (Oleshky) in the Kherson Region, the Russian Armed Forces ceased fire in the Kherson direction at 4:00 a.m. Moscow time on October 27.”The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that starting at 3:00 am local time, it was “implementing a ceasefire in a designated area to conduct a humanitarian operation in the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.”

Russia and Ukraine Expect To Hold Trilateral Talks With the US in Abu Dhabi, But No Date Set - Russia and Ukraine expect to hold talks in Abu Dhabi sometime in November, though no date is set, as the two sides continue to observe a local ceasefire around the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region. Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters that Russia expects to hold trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi sometime after November 4. “The date will be [determined soon],” he said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the talks would be held between November 6 and November 10 but that he was waiting for confirmation from the US. “We are waiting for the American side, I think that they’ll be ready with all the answers after the elections,” he said, referring to the upcoming November US midterm elections. Russian and Ukrainian officials also said on Wednesday that the Oleshky ceasefire, meant to get humanitarian aid to the town’s remaining 2,000 residents and evacuate those who want to leave, is still holding. The truce, which began on Tuesday, is meant to last six days.The comments came a day after Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking the first known talks between Putin and a leader of one of Ukraine’s European allies since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the Russian president in July 2025.  In a statement on the call, the Nordic leaders said it was “related to the upcoming meetings to be held in Abu Dhabi” and that they “initiated the call to discuss Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe.”While there are moves toward diplomacy, Zelensky has signaled that Ukraine’s new peace-deal proposal would still include NATO Article 5-style security guarantees, an idea Russia has repeatedly rejected, and Moscow has signaled it won’t back down on its core demands. The Kremlin statement on the Stubb-Støre call said that Putin “assessed the current situation in the Ukraine conflict zone, reiterating its root causes and emphasizing that a just and lasting peace would be possible only if the interests of the Russian Federation are considered in full and without any conditions attached.”

Trump might allow more Russian diesel exports, energy secretary says - The U.S. may allow more diesel fuel from Russia onto the global market depending on Moscow’s behavior, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview Tuesday. Wright framed the Trump administration’s suspension of U.S. sanctions against Russian diesel exports earlier this month as “an incentive” for Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. It will help with fuel supplies on the margin, he said. The Russian-flagged tanker Talisman is expected to arrive on the U.S. East Coast on Nov. 9, according to the ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic. Another tanker, the Leruo, has departed Russia en route to the “Atlantic Coast” without explicitly declaring its destination as the U.S. More tankers with Russian diesel could “quite possibly” set sail under the U.S. sanctions waiver, Wright told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “It’s trying to put a carrot in front of Russia,” the energy secretary said. President Donald Trump struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin for Russia to export 800,000 metric tons of diesel in October and November, followed by another million tons. Trump reached the agreement with Putin as he faces political pressure to reduce surging diesel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections next Tuesday. Fuel prices have spiked since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. But the diesel volumes in the Trump-Putin deal won’t materially lower prices because the shipments are small compared with total global demand of around 28 million barrels per day, analysts say. The first shipment from Russia of 300,000 metric tons is equivalent to about 75,000 barrels per day if rolled out over one month. The second tranche, of 500,000 metric tons, equals about 124,000 bpd. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply criticized the diesel deal. Kyiv has pounded Russian refineries this year in an effort to cut the revenue the Kremlin collects from energy exports and curtail Moscow’s ability to wage war. The strikes forced Moscow to implement a diesel export ban in July. The Kremlin has partially lifted that ban to fulfill the Trump-Putin deal. Several Republican senators also slammed the deal, signing a letter with Democratic colleagues that condemned the agreement as “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies.”

Pentagon orders bases to plan for 90 days without the grid as Britain urges families to stockpile food and water - The Pentagon wants every major U.S. military base to run for 90 days without outside help if a war cuts off power and supply chains. Across the Atlantic, Britain is telling families to keep canned food, bottled water, and cash on hand to get through three days of disruption.  The two efforts aren’t known to be coordinated, and neither government has said a new war is imminent. But both are planning for disruptions that could leave homes and military installations without the services they depend on. The Pentagon is developing a requirement that every major military installation in the continental U.S. be able to sustain essential operations on its own for at least 90 days, Fox News Digital reported Oct. 25, citing internal planning documents. The requirement falls under an initiative called FORTRESS, short for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled FORTRESS in his Sept. 30 “State of the Force” address. He pledged that every major installation would generate its own power, independent of the civilian grid. A follow-up memo laid out plans for a dedicated program office. The 90-day standard goes further than that original goal, extending self-sufficiency beyond electricity to water, fuel, and communications. The plan envisions portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage, and microgrids that can disconnect bases from civilian power networks. The Army has already moved in that direction: In August it announced up to $2.2 billion in awards to build nuclear microreactors at five bases, including Fort Bragg and Fort Hood.“Power is combat now,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, who Fox said led the FORTRESS initiative, told the outlet. “Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines, and just basic military command structures.”FORTRESS also calls for strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies. For the military’s most critical dependencies, it would require at least two qualified supply or production pathways, so that losing a single factory or supplier wouldn’t halt operations. Through the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, an existing program folded into FORTRESS, the Pentagon plans to identify commercial factories that could switch to defense production in a crisis. Technical specifications, cybersecurity protections, contracting arrangements, and conversion procedures would be worked out in advanceThe Pentagon hasn’t publicly identified a specific country as FORTRESS’s target. But in a February 2024 joint advisory, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, NSA, and FBI warned that Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Volt Typhoon had compromised IT networks of U.S. organizations in the communications, energy, transportation, and water sectors. The agencies said the hackers were potentially positioning themselves to disrupt essential services during a future conflict. Microsoft first flagged the group’s activity in 2023.The Pentagon hasn’t released a cost estimate or timeline. A senior defense official told reporters Oct. 20 that officials are still assessing the needs of roughly 500 bases in the continental U.S. and that fully meeting the goal could take decades, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The magazine estimated the cost could run into the tens of billions of dollars, if not hundreds of billions.Details of the Pentagon plan emerged days after the British government launched its Be Ready campaign on Oct. 22.The government’s checklist recommends three liters of drinking water per person per day. It also lists nonperishable food that needs no cooking or refrigeration, flashlights, power banks, first-aid supplies, a battery-powered or windup radio, and food and water for pets. Households are also encouraged to keep cash in case card payments and ATMs go down.The government describes Be Ready as the first stage of a three-year campaign covering severe weather and other emergencies. Britain has published household preparedness guidance since May 2024, so the campaign isn’t a sudden signal that war is near. Britain’s defense leadership has been far blunter. Writing in the Telegraph over the weekend, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warned that adversaries could have the force strength and war economy to attack by 2030. That leaves Britain and its NATO allies a little over 1,000 days to prepare, he wrote. “To prevent the worst, we have to prepare for it,” Streeting wrote. He pointed to threats from hostile states, cyberattacks, organized crime, and climate change, and argued that terms like “hybrid warfare” understate the danger.

US Military Executes Five People in Bombing of Alleged Drug-Running Boat in Eastern Pacific -  US Southern Command said in a statement on Tuesday that its forces bombed another alleged drug-running boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and killed at least five people, as the Trump administration continues to conduct extrajudicial executions at sea. “On October 27, under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific,” SOUTHCOM said. Video of the strike released by SOUTHCOM. The attack marks the first boat strike announced by SOUTHCOM since October 4. The command offered no evidence to back up its claim that the small boat was carrying drugs, something the Pentagon has never done since the bombing campaign began in September 2025.The statement labeled the five people who were killed as “narco-terrorists,” a term the administration has employed in its attempts to justify executing people for an alleged crime that doesn’t receive the death penalty in the US. The attack brings the total number of people killed in the bombing campaign since it started to at least 243, according to a count from The Intercept, which has noted that all of the dead are civilians. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced a resolution to impeach US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for a number of reasons, including his role in the boat strike campaign, which the articles filed by Massie describe as “extrajudicial killings.”Massie’s resolution states that by “subjecting persons merely suspected of criminal conduct to lethal military force without judicial process, without Congressional authorization, and without establishing a lawful basis for treating such persons or vessels as military targets, Secretary Hegseth arrogated to himself and the Executive Branch the roles of judge, jury, and executioner and asserted a unilateral power to determine who may live and who may die.”

Hegseth ousted top military strategist from Pentagon, sources say - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted a top military strategist from the Pentagon, The Hill has learned, marking another senior officer who has been removed from the department since Hegseth took the helm close to two years ago.  Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who was the Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, J-5 on the Joint Staff this week, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. It is unclear why Sylvia, a former commander of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was removed from the role. When reached for comment, Hegseth’s office referred The Hill to Joint Staff. The Joint Staff J5’s put forward plans, policy recommendations and strategies to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to support “his provision of military advice across the full spectrum of national security concerns to the President and other national leaders and to ensure those recommendations are informed by a larger strategic context — coordinated with interagency and alliance partners — account for the view and requirements of the combatant commanders and assess risk in executing the National Military Strategy,” according to the Pentagon.  Sylvia’s ouster comes as the U.S. Central Command has drawn up Iran attack plans that could take place after the November midterm elections if there is authorization from the White House, The Hill previously reported.  It is not clear who will replace Sylvia, according to one of the U.S. officials and another source familiar with the matter. But typically, a deputy or vice director of the appropriate directorate on the Joint Staff would fill the position until the commander-in-chief nominates a replacement before the Senate for confirmation. Sylvia’s firing, which was reported earlier by The Atlantic, comes as Hegseth has fired or pushed out more than two-dozen senior military officers since taking the top role at the Pentagon, decisions that have prompted pushback from both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, Hegseth defended his plan to cut up to 20 percent of admirals and generals — which will affect positions across the Army, Navy and the Air Force — arguing they are “rank-heavy” and out of touch with troops on the ground.“With more layers and more rank comes more distance between the warfighter and the decisionmaker, and not necessarily better outcomes. In fact, there’s an inverse relationship between success on the battlefield [and] the number of four- and three-star generals since World War II,” Hegseth said on Oct. 1 at the Association of the United States Army in Washington, D.C.

Jeffries tiptoes around Hegseth impeachment  -House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is tiptoeing around the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, denouncing the Pentagon chief in the sharpest terms but without taking the further step of endorsing Hegseth’s forced removal. Jeffries’s careful approach highlights the delicate dance Democratic leaders are attempting as they seek to balance the various interests in their diverse caucus, especially ahead of next week’s elections when the House is theirs to lose. On one hand, Jeffries wants to take the fight to the Trump administration to appease a liberal base that’s been critical of the party for going too soft on the president in his second term. On the other hand, Democratic leaders also don’t want to lend fuel to President Trump’s claims that a Democratic majority would be hellbent on impeachments and other disciplinary actions against the administration simply to settle old political scores — a perception that could alienate more moderate voters in the midterms. Squeezed between those competing camps, Jeffries, who’s in line to become Speaker if the House does change hands, has repeatedly sought a middle ground. He’s lambasted Hegseth as grossly unqualified — and called for him to be fired — but stopped short of throwing his weight behind the impeachment push many Democrats want to see. The latest instance came over the weekend at a campaign rally in New York, where Jeffries vowed that a House Democratic majority would “run Pete Hegseth out of town.” Asked by reporters afterward to clarify his intentions, Jeffries instead remained vague. “It means that we’re going to hold him accountable in the same way that we held [former Attorney General] Pam Bondi and [former Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem accountable,” Jeffries said, according to MS NOW. “And Pete Hegseth needs to be pushed aside by the president, or we’re going to have to deal with that situation if he is not.” Taken literally, the analogy suggests Jeffries doesn’t want to go the impeachment route, since both Bondi and Noem were pushed out of power by Trump — not by Congress — after losing the president’s favor. One House Democrat, who requested anonymity to weigh in on Jeffries’s approach, guessed the minority leader wants to see how Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) impeachment push plays out first before turning to other possibilities that will also depend on how the elections will shake out. “I think if there’s an opportunity to be bipartisan, we’re always going to look for that opportunity. I know he [Jeffries] always looks for that opportunity. So, I think we don’t want to take the pressure off,” the Democratic lawmaker said, adding that more Republicans will want to register their frustration with Hegseth post-midterms. Jeffries won’t be able to remain on the fence much longer. Last month, Massie had introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth — half of them related to the Iran war. Critically, Massie invoked a special procedure that forces the resolution to the House floor even over the objections of the GOP leaders who control the chamber. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had altered the House calendar to avoid that vote before the midterms, but it only delayed the inevitable: The vote is expected to happen quickly when lawmakers return to Washington after the elections.

Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil through Argentina and is expected to land in Miami | The Hill(AP) — Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate, fled his country to Argentina and then Ecuador alongside his wife and two daughters, Argentina’s migration authority said Wednesday — a day after the 45-year-old senator and his family were granted United States visas by the Trump administration. Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases. The court had ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday — two days after he lost the vote to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It remained unclear whether he had complied, but allies said late Tuesday he also has an Italian passport. Argentina’s migration authority said Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and his daughters Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro crossed into the country at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday. They entered via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a primary border checkpoint linking Brazil to Argentina’s northeastern province of Misiones. “Those who did so possessed valid travel documentation and faced no legal impediments to entering the country,” the Argentine migration authority said on X. The authority said that at 11:30 p.m. local time, shortly after clearing immigration control, the four boarded a private charter flight operated by aviation company Baires Fly S.A. According to the filed flight plan, the aircraft departed for Guayaquil, Ecuador. The move is almost certain to cause a big diplomatic rift between Brazil’s newly reelected Lula and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei, a Trump ally who traveled to Brazil to take part in Bolsonaro’s campaign. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed that a plane fitting the description of Bolsonaro’s landed in Guayaquil at about 4 a.m. local time, before taking off minutes later for Miami’s Opa Locka executive airport. It was not clear whether the defeated candidate was on board. Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, told several dozen supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia that he did not have precise information about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts, but said he had left Brazil. “I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true,” Lula said. “This act of leaving Brazil is shameful.” Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said in a short statement he cannot confirm information from foreign authorities, but added “Flávio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family.” Figueiredo also said there would be a press conference Thursday in Miami to discuss the case. Representatives of Brazil’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

US to grant Flavio Bolsonaro visa as he flees Brazil after election loss -  Defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro will be granted entry into the United States, Washington said Tuesday, amid media reports that he has left Brazil for the country despite a court order banning his exit. The son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro lost the presidential election Sunday to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and refused to concede defeat. The US State Department said Tuesday it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them entry into the United States, without confirming his travel plans. The 45-year-old arrived in the United States Tuesday, CNN and the Washington Post reported, each citing an anonymous source. But where he landed remains unknown. The right-wing senator on Monday said a Supreme Court justice had ordered him to hand over his passports. Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, and with his election loss is also set to lose parliamentary immunity. A police source told AFP that the senator's Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been canceled, adding that "there is no formal record of Flavio Bolsonaro leaving the country." But he has held Italian nationality since 2023, according to an Italian parliamentary document seen by AFP. Bolsonaro's campaign manager Rogerio Marinho expressed shock over reports that the defeated candidate had fled Brazil. "We still don't have any news about his whereabouts," he told reporters Tuesday in Brasilia. "I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it," Marinho said.

Trump says he approves of Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro coming to U.S. following election loss - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he approved of Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro coming to the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential election. Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States, with a senior U.S. State Department official saying it would grant entry visas to him and his family, Reuters reported on Tuesday. “Well, I would approve,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on his return from a campaign trip to Texas, adding that he had heard Bolsonaro was in Argentina. Bolsonaro, who has yet to concede to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left Brazil after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. “I think they’re fine people,” Trump said. “The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It’s gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market.” He added, “I think it’s so terrible to see it. I didn’t take sides, you know. I know them both. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit. I know the father very well.” Trump was referring to former President Jair Bolsonaro, whom he has previously alleged to have been a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil. “The father was treated really badly. I thought, but I wasn’t involved,” Trump added. “That’s Brazil. It’s a different country.”

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from speeding up refugee status revocations - A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule that gives refugees just 10 days to challenge the termination of their legal status.U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston ordered the administration to halt the enforcement of the rule through Nov. 6, giving another judge time to consider whether to block the policy for a longer period. The rule, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Oct. 14, shortened the time refugees have to respond to notices stripping them of their legal status from 30 days to 10 days. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimated the change could impact as many as 186,000 refugees. In a statement, USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler called the lawsuit a “frivolous attempt to disrupt the Trump administration’s commitment to enforce our country’s immigration laws as intended by Congress.” “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services found an alarming erosion of screening and vetting measures under the Biden Administration in order to rush processing and maximize the number of refugees admitted to the United States. DHS is strengthening accountability and ensuring that refugee status is reserved only for those who were eligible under the law,” he continued. Refugee advocacy groups and four refugees from Afghanistan, Colombia, Ethiopia and Iraq filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts accusing the administration of unlawfully restricting refugees’ ability to obtain green cards, while making it easier to revoke their legal status.The lawsuit challenges three policies, including a broader effort to reexamine refugees admitted under former President Biden. The administration ordered immigration officials last November to re-vet those refugees and placed an indefinite hold on pending green card applications.The plaintiffs argue that the policies have left refugees in “legal limbo,” preventing them from obtaining permanent residency while exposing them to the possibility of losing their refugee status without a meaningful opportunity to contest the decision.

Lawyers say ICE has mistakenly detained a mentally ill US citizen (AP) — For nearly a year, immigration authorities have detained and sought to deport a mentally ill man whose mother, lawyers and public records say was born in the United States and not Jamaica as he claims, a review by The Associated Press found. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no authority to detain U.S. citizens, but has long done so, usually for hours or days, when officers mistake identities or can’t immediately verify citizenship. Immigration lawyers say a nearly 10-month improper detention would be rare but not unprecedented. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, disputes that the man is a U.S. citizen and alleges, without providing evidence, that the birth certificate he submitted to obtain a U.S. passport that he held for 15 years was fraudulent. But AP’s review found documents that support claims by his mother and legal team that he was born in Florida and therefore not subject to ICE’s authority. The findings suggest that a cursory investigation, lax oversight, and possibly a refusal to admit a mistake may have ensnared a U.S. citizen for nearly all of 2026 as the Trump administration rushes to deport large numbers of people suspected of being in the country illegally. Still locked up at ICE’s so-called Speedway Slammer in Indiana is Phillip James, a 39-year-old who also goes by the name Felibi Siagha-Coke, legal filings show. His lawyers are appealing an immigration judge’s ruling that he be deported to Jamaica, and a federal judge has indicated he could soon rule on a petition to free him from custody. In seeking to detain and deport him, immigration authorities relied on James’ word that he was born in Jamaica and entered the U.S. illegally in 2009, the AP review found. But Jamaican officials have denied any record that he was born or has citizenship there, and James has been unable to provide proof, public records show. James’ insistence that he was born in Jamaica is a grand delusion, a symptom of paranoid schizophrenia with which he has been diagnosed, according to reports filed in court by medical experts who have recently assessed him. In particular, he claims that he is the illegitimate son of a former Jamaican prime minister and the descendant of a royal family in Lebanon, where he also claims citizenship despite a lack of evidence. One psychologist concluded James was not “a reliable historian due to the serious nature of his mental illness, including a deeply entrenched delusional belief system.”

Hacker collective leaks DHS employee records -  Nonprofit leaker collective Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published data Wednesday on more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, some of whom are working in the intelligence community. The collective did not identify the source who leaked the personnel information, referring to the unnamed individual instead as the “Department of Peace.” “This dataset is massive in terms of both size and impact,” a hacker and activist affiliated with the group who goes by “maia arson crimew” said in a statement. “It provides an unprecedented look into the Department of Homeland Security’s organizational structure, highlighting which people do what work across multiple DHS agencies, including ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].” The hacker also released a tool that listed names, phone numbers and email addresses of employees from various DHS agencies — including for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Homeland Security Investigations personnel.  The tool incorporated job titles and email groups, which helped to show particular agents involved with undercover work, special operations and surveillance jobs.  “It is a complete game changer for anyone investigating DHS, simplifying the identification of agents and their lines of command. It provides FOIA material for years to come,” the press release continued, referring to the Freedom of Information Act.  Multiple hackers affiliated with the leak targeted “the officials responsible for overseeing covert and undercover operations, the government’s hunt for leakers and the failed BlueLeaks investigation — along with key personnel in DHS’s ever-escalating rendition and deportation programs.”Distributed Denial of Secrets co-founder Emma Best wrote that, through this leak, the group was “replacing the regime’s anonymity with accountability,” which “are a catalyst for investigations, empowering journalists, Congressional inquiries, legal challenges, community action and Freedom of Information Act requests.”In March, the “Department of Peace” leaked 6,000 DHS and ICE contracts with private universities and businesses — including Palantir, Microsoft, Oracle and Anduril. At the time of that leak, the “Department of Peace” said in a statement, “Why hack the DHS? I can think of a couple Pretti Good reasons! I’m releasing this because the DHS is killing us and people deserve to know which companies support them and what they’re working on.” The statement was likely referring to Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed earlier this year by immigration enforcement authorities. The hacks follow the DHS scaling up immigration enforcement operations across the country. According to numbers published in the Deportation Data Project, ICE arrested 49,571 people in July 2026 — marking its highest monthly arrest total during President Trump’s second term.

Trump promised 300,000 tons of beef imports at lower tariff rates to reduce grocery costs. Instead, shipments have lagged and prices haven’t budged -At the nexus of an ongoing affordability crisis and midterm election push, the Trump administration's effort to reduce beef prices appears to be falling short. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in August to temporarily increase the quantity of beef in the U.S. by importing 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings into the country at a reduced tariff rate. The imports were scheduled over 90 days, from September through November. "This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again," Trump wrote on Truth Social announcing the policy. But as of Oct. 19, the U.S. has imported just 59,423 metric tons of beef, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, or just 20% of the target. And ground beef averaged $6.79 per pound as of September, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, down from $6.92 in August, but still above $6.32 a year ago. This 7% year-over-year increase in beef prices, due to persistently high demand as well as dwindling herd sizes, has far outpaced the 2.5% to 2.9% hike in overall U.S. grocery prices, which has become representative of America's affordability woes. Trump has identified beef prices as a key issue to address during the second half of his term, as he targets policy toward the typically loyal Republican base of farmers."It really became unacceptable to the voter," Trump said last month. "And we do have to get elected, because if we're not going to get elected, your ranchers and your farmers are in big trouble." But both farmers and agricultural economists are doubtful that 300,000 tons of imported beef will deliver price cuts, arguing the initiative is ineffective at best, and a financial strain during an already challenging period for the industry at worst. "The simple assumption there was that if we can just increase supply of beef in the U.S., that should lower prices," Derrell Peel, a professor of agribusiness specializing in livestock at Oklahoma State University, told Fortune. "Unfortunately, the beef industry is much more complex than that." The White House said Trump has done more to support American agriculture "than anyone." "He is delivering on his promise to consumers by reducing beef prices while allowing our American beef herd to grow," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fortune in a statement. "The President will continue taking actions to support our great farmers while driving economic prosperity for all Americans.

Trump Says US Oil Companies Are Making a 'Fortune' Due to the Iran War - President Trump on Saturday boasted that US oil and gas companies are making a “fortune” due to the shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by his war with Iran, and dismissed the high gas prices that Americans are facing at the pump.“While oil prices are temporarily high and will be falling dramatically in a short period of time … the United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” the president told supporters at a rally in Georgia.“Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what’s happening in the Middle East because they’re coming to Texas, and they’re coming to Oklahoma, and they’re coming to Louisiana, and they’re taking that oil. They’re making hundreds of billions of dollars; our country is, and on top of it we have Venezuela, and we have Greenland,” he added.  The president said that he was advised not to make that point since Americans are paying higher gas prices. “My people said, ‘Please don’t mention that, sir, because people are paying a little higher,'” he said, adding that he could picture the “fake news headlines” about his comments.“I don’t give a damn, I’m gonna say it: we’re making a freakin fortune. Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time,” he said.The increased energy costs for Americans are expected to be detrimental to the Republicans in the upcoming November 3 midterm elections, but Trump has expressed little concern and is speaking openly about how he may resume the bombing campaign against Iran either before or after the elections.For their part, Iranian officials say that they’re ready to face another round of US-Israeli strikes and are warning that their retaliatory attacks will be much heavier and hit targets in the region that they previously spared.

Trump debuts oil rule rollback as Texas wobbles toward blue –   President Donald Trump couldn’t give Ken Paxton lower gas prices — but he did give him a roll back of the methane pollution rule that Paxton has led the legal charge against.Trump visited West Texas on Tuesday to drum up support for Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running a razor tight Senate battle against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. He announced at Tuesday’s rally a new draft rule from the U.S. EPA that would lessen requirements for oil and gas companies to limit methane leaks. Paxton was the first to sue over the rule in 2024.“Under crooked Joe Biden, Democrats crushed small oil and gas operators... with crippling regulations and methane that cause prices to skyrocket,” Trump said. “Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion dollars in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas and produce 210 million barrels of oil.” Trump said the move “would really bring down the cost.” GOP candidates nationwide have been facing voter anger over higher gasoline prices caused by the Iran war. Average U.S. gasoline prices hit $4.27 per gallon on Tuesday, one week from election day, compared with averages below $3 per gallon at the start of the year.Trump used his appearance in oil country to lay blame for those higher costs on former President Joe Biden’s regulatory policies, which he said had stymied U.S. production. Earlier in the day, the president toured an oil tankerto showcase his deal to take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves. EPA’s draft rule would neutralize one of the last pieces of former President Joe Biden’s climate program, requiring oil and gas producers to monitor and repair their operations to prevent methane from leaking into the atmosphere.The oil and gas sector is the third largest U.S. contributor of greenhouse gases, after motor vehicles and power plants. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin repealed climate rules for those sectors in February and September, respectively.But methane is a so-called climate superpollutant – more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a twenty-year period. Scientists say methane is likely responsible for about half a degree Celsius of observable global warming.The biggest impacts expected from Tuesday’s draft rule rollback would be for smaller, older oil and gas wells that produce no more than 15 gallons of petroleum per day – some of the lowest-producing wells that also contribute a disproportionate share of climate pollution. Studies based on satellite data show that marginal wells account for roughly half of the sector’s methane pollution, but only 5% of its product. EPA’s new proposal would exempt them from the toughest monitoring and repair requirements.

Trump says he’ll roll back Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas companies  - President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration plans to ease regulations on methane — a potent greenhouse gas that is the second-biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Speaking at a midterm rally in Texas, Trump announced the rollback of methane emissions rules for oil and gas producers that the Biden administration finalized in 2024. “Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers,” Trump said, adding that Democrats had “crushed small oil and gas operators” with excessive regulation. He did not provide further details. The Environmental Protection Agency previewed the changes this month, promising to loosen regulations on methane leaks at lower-production oil wells, among other changes.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at the time: “Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.”Trump made the announcement just a week before the midterm elections, in which numerous polls show that high fuel costs are a key issue for many voters.Methane, the main component of natural gas, traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, though it also breaks down more quickly. Scientists consider methane to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Methane, which is also released from natural sources like wetlands, is responsible for roughly one-third of all global warming.The Biden administration viewed eliminating methane leaks from oil and gas production as a relatively quick way to drive down emissions. The low-producing wells the rollback would affect (also called stripper wells) produce about 7% to 8% of U.S. natural gas, but they could account for about 50% of the methane that leaks into the atmosphere, research suggests. Many of those wells are near the end of their lives or at risk of falling below the threshold of profitability.However, the National Stripper Well Association has been calling for the rollback, saying in a letter last month that “the costs associated with complying with these regulations will make the wells uneconomical to operate.” As part of the rollback, the EPA also plans to eliminate its Super Emitter Program, which aimed to create a system for third-party groups to report methane leaks from natural gas production. Such leaks cannot be easily seen with the naked eye, but they can be detected by satellites or special thermal imaging cameras. The Trump administration paused implementing the program last year. Now, it is seeking to shutter it. Environmental and health groups decried the rollbacks, saying they would increase pollution in the atmosphere and increase the effects of climate change. Liz Scott, a senior director of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, said any rollback of methane regulations would also increase air pollution from volatile organic compounds, which are released alongside leaking methane during oil and gas production.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: HHS says it wants better evidence on vaccine injuries. It’s building a system that will produce the opposite. - On October 8, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced four actions on vaccine injury. It opened a clinic at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for people who report health problems after vaccination. It proposed, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to pay physicians for reporting suspected vaccine injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. It said electronic health records will be required to capture vaccine-related adverse events. And it is modernizing VAERS so that reports can be filed from a phone. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the package as a refusal to “dismiss or gaslight” patients and families. Some of this is fine. VAERS should be easier to use, and a QR code on a vaccine information statement is a reasonable idea. VAERS captures only a fraction of what happens after vaccination, and anyone who has filled out a VAERS form in the middle of a clinic day understands why. If the goal were simply more complete reporting, there would be little to object to.The problem is in the two centerpiece items, the billing code and the clinic. Both collect attributions. Neither verifies them. And both are built in a way that will increase the number of recorded injuries whether or not actual injuries rise.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) own description of VAERS is worth quoting, because the announcement never gives one. VAERS is an early-warning system, co-managed by the CDC and FDA. It is passive, meaning it waits for patients, families, and clinicians to send in reports. It “accepts all reports without judging whether the event was caused by the vaccine.” A report “is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.” Most events reported to VAERS are not associated with vaccination, the number of reports rises and falls with media attention, and because VAERS does not know how many people were vaccinated, it usually cannot turn reports into rates.VAERS is still useful, in the way a smoke detector is useful. In July 1999, the CDC published a report of 15 infants who developed intussusception, a bowel obstruction in which one segment of intestine slides into another, after receiving RotaShield, the first licensed rotavirus vaccine. The 15 cases came from VAERS. The CDC said the evidence suggested but did not establish a causal link, recommended postponing further doses, and investigated. The risk turned out to be real, and the vaccine was withdrawn.Fifteen reports in a passive system were enough to pause a vaccine. That is the system working as intended, and it worked because the reports were followed by studies that compared vaccinated infants with unvaccinated ones. Nobody needed to treat 15 reports as 15 confirmed injuries, and nobody did.The reports mattered because of what was done with them. The October 8 announcement, however, makes the report itself the product.The HHS release says CMS proposes to pay physicians “for the time they spend submitting reports of suspected vaccine-related injuries to VAERS.” The proposal itself, published in July in the rule that sets Medicare physician payment for 2027, describes something else. It creates a billing code, GADV1, for “the diagnosis and treatment of vaccine adverse effects.” The code is added on top of an ordinary office or telehealth visit and billed in 15-minute increments, and it can be used when the clinician documents that the symptoms began after a vaccination and has assessed other possible causes. The rule assigns the code its own payment value, so each 15 minutes adds to the bill. Comments closed September 14, and the rule is expected to be finalized in November for a January 1 start.So the rule does not pay for filing a report. It pays for time spent diagnosing and treating a vaccine adverse effect. That is a different service, and the difference is the whole problem.Medicare already pays physicians to evaluate patients with new symptoms. That is what an office visit is. What this code adds is extra payment that becomes available only when the symptoms are attached to a vaccine. The qualifying bar, symptoms that began after a vaccination, is low in a population that receives influenza, COVID-19, RSV, pneumococcal, and shingles vaccines, often several within one season. A 72-year-old who comes in with fatigue three weeks after her flu vaccine qualifies on timing alone. If I spend 15 minutes and conclude that her fatigue is a vaccine adverse effect, that time carries a new code. If I spend the same 15 minutes and conclude it is her anemia, or the blood pressure medication her cardiologist started last month, it does not. Nothing about the patient changed. Only the conclusion changed, and only one conclusion pays me for it.The medical societies that commented on the rule saw this. The Infectious Diseases Society of America told CMS the code is “neither clinically necessary nor advisable as a matter of public health policy,” because a separate payment framed around vaccine adverse effects conveys to patients and physicians alike that such effects are more common or more clinically significant than the evidence supports.

Trump says East Potomac renovation will proceed despite judge’s order blocking golf course closure  -- President Trump is insisting his plan to redevelop East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., and renovate the public golf course there will be carried out as scheduled despite an order from a federal judge halting future work at the site. In a Truth Social post late Monday, the president said “we are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled” on Nov. 15, saying a judge “does not have the Constitutional Right to ‘ask for or receive notices,’ which are time-consuming, unnecessary, expensive, and unconstitutional.” The president’s post came hours after U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted a preliminary injunction requested by a preservationist group and group of local D.C. golfers asking her to stop the Trump administration from cutting trees at the park as part of the redevelopment project. “We will immediately appeal this decision,” Trump said. “When completed, it is anticipated that this Course, which will be open to the Public, at a reduced rate for those living in Washington, D.C., will be one of the finest anywhere in the World.” Trump has enlisted the help of leading golf course architect Tom Fazio on the project, which would transform D.C.’s most widely used public golf course into an 18-hole, championship-length facility he hopes would lure professional tournaments to downtown Washington. The plan would also eliminate walking and biking trails currently at East Potomac Park, and questions remain about the feasibility of the project and affordability for golfers. “The Development of this World Championship Public Facility must begin, immediately, if it is to be completed in a timely and seasonal manner,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “To have to give advanced notices to a judge who has no expertise in Golf, Architecture, Landscaping, Construction, or anything else having to do with building such a World Class Project, is not fair, appropriate, or Constitutional.”

Judge blasts prosecutors, refuses to sign new criminal complaint against ex-FBI officials - A judge on Tuesday sharply criticized federal prosecutors for failing to get judicial approval before filing a new criminal complaint overnight against two ex-FBI officials accused of lying to Congress about investigations of Hunter Biden. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said he would not sign off on the new complaint, which added a charge of obstruction against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides in U.S. District Court in Washington. “I am not going to bless it as a superseding complaint,” Faruqui said at a court hearing, after Floris’ lawyers filed a motion arguing the new complaint was legally deficient and filed in bad faith. He told prosecutors that if they wanted to file a superseding complaint, a judge first would have to find probable cause that a crime had been committed, instead of sending him the complaint in the middle of the night and expecting him to sign it. Faruqui said he did not believe that federal prosecutors had previously sought to file a criminal complaint without a judge’s signature. “It is not our court’s practice … that unsigned complaints are filed in the docket,” Faruqui said. “I’m concerned with your view as to what the law is,” the judge told the prosecutors. “Why today, on this one case, have you changed the entire history of how you charge cases?” The superseding complaint that prosecutors in the office of D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro filed in court early Tuesday contained a signature block with Faruqui’s name typed out. But the judge had not personally signed the complaint. It was filed hours before prosecutors and defense lawyers were due to appear before Faruqui for a preliminary hearing on the original complaint. That first complaint, made public last Friday, accuses Floris and Benavides of making false statements to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 about their involvement in investigations of Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden. Floris and Benavides were arrested Friday and have been released. The new complaint sought to charge them with obstruction and attempted obstruction of a congressional proceeding. Typically, criminal cases for conduct that occurred well in the past — as this one alleges — are lodged through an indictment, not a criminal complaint. To obtain an indictment, prosecutors must present evidence to a grand jury, which then determines whether the evidence is sufficient to charge a defendant.A criminal complaint only requires a judge’s signature. It is often used to obtain an arrest warrant in situations where prosecutors need to move quickly.At Tuesday’s hearing, Faruqui homed in on the way prosecutors filed charges.“This case was charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 20, for testimony that occurred over a period of time in 2023,” he said. “As I noted, and I think it continues to be the case, that it’s unusual in a case that has conduct like this to be charged by criminal complaint.”“This has to get to a grand jury,” Faruqui said.Under federal rules, prosecutors generally must obtain an indictment within 30 days of a person’s arrest, or risk the case being dismissed.

Trump DOJ unlawfully fired Epstein prosecutor Maurene Comey, judge rules - A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Justice’s firinglast year of New York federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was unlawful. Judge Jesse Furman, in his ruling, also granted Maurene Comey retroactive reinstatement and back pay as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from her termination on July 16, 2025, through Dec. 20, 2025, when the judge inferred she accepted another job. The DOJ said it would appeal Furman’s ruling in which the judge rejected the department’s arguments that the attorney general had authority to dismiss Comey without cause. The case is in in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Comey’s lawyers, in a statement, said, “This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law.” “As the Court correctly held, to accept the government’s argument about unlimited executive power ‘would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system,’” the lawyers said. “This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances: the President is not above the law.” Before her termination, Comey was involved in a series of high-profile federal prosecutions, including ones against the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Her lawsuit against the DOJ argued that her termination violated federal law and the Constitution and stemmed from President Donald Trump’s longstanding animus toward her father, whom Trump had fired as FBI director in 2017. James Comey is currently under federal indictment that accuses him of threatening Trump’s life by posting on Instagram a photo of seashells forming the number “86 47.” His attorneys are seeking to have that case tossed out.

New Details of Rape Allegation Against Trump Revealed in House Democrats’ Epstein Report  - A woman who had accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in 1993 described it to congressional staff as rape and said the interaction left her bleeding and bruised, according to a report released Monday by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee examining Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.  Beatrice Keul, a model and former Miss Switzerland, alleged to Judiciary Committee staff that she was raped by Trump in a Plaza Hotel suite in Manhattan when she was 24. Keul said that while attending the American Dream Pageant, which had a partnership with Trump, she met with Trump at a press luncheon at the event.Trump, according to Keul, promised to arrange her visa in the U.S. and ensure her acceptance into New York University through his friend Paolo Zampolli, a close Trump ally who was, until earlier this month, part of his Administration. At the same event, she also spent at least 10 minutes talking to Epstein who she said claimed to have organized "many parties with Don." Later that day, Keul alleges, Trump invited her to a hotel suite where Trump "grabbed Keul from behind and forcibly raped her," causing "bleeding and bruising on multiple parts of her body," the report says. Following the incident, Keul alleges Trump made her promise she would keep quiet and repeated his promise for visa and college admission.Because Keul's passport had been taken from her on her arrival, she was not able to leave the contest following the incident, she alleges, according to the report. After she returned to Switzerland, she declined to participate in an additional Trump-sponsored pageant in Hawaii several weeks later.In a statement, the White House denies the allegations and says that President Trump has been "fully exonerated of anything related to Epstein." "This 'report' is nothing more than a desperate attempt by crazed Democrats to distract Americans from the surging Republican momentum driven by President Trump's historic achievements," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis says.Keul has previously spoken in public about her sexual assault allegations against Trump, but the report provided new details of the alleged rape—as well as reviewing similar accounts of other Trump accusers.In addition to Keul's account, the report also compiled allegations from four other women who have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in connection with the Epstein investigation. The allegations, spanning from the mid-1980s to the 1990s, had all been previously made public either through media interviews or FBI testimony released as part of the Epstein files.The report's release, just over a week before Election Day, comes as Democrats are working to signal to voters how they will make use of their power if they gain control of one or both chambers of Congress.On Monday, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee, called on the Department of Justice to appoint an independent special counsel to oversee the investigation of allegations mentioned in the report. So far, Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein confidant, is the only person to have been convicted of sex trafficking of minors in connection with the Epstein case."An independent special counsel must investigate Epstein's co-conspirators and DOJ's cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice," Raskin said in a statement.The report also alleges that Zampolli, a former Trump administration official and a close Trump ally, was "an active participant" in the Epstein sex trafficking allegations.According to the report, which cites multiple FBI reports included in the Epstein files, Zampolli arranged U.S. visas for young female models before they met Epstein. One FBI report mentioned that Zampolli arranged an 18-year-old model's visa before she was recruited to give a massage at Epstein's house, where Epstein allegedly raped her.Zampolli himself has also been accused of rape and sexual assault in a separate case brought by model Victoria Drake, who alleges in an ongoing civil lawsuit that Zampolli drugged and raped her in 2023. Previously, Zampolli has claimed that he had introduced First Lady Melania Trump to the President in 1998, but the report disputes that claim, citing two accounts—one from an unnamed Epstein associate and the other from Amanda Ungaro, a Brazilian model—saying that Epstein had introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump.The New York Times reported in March that Zampolli had asked a top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year to detain and deport Ungaro, whom Zampolli had previously dated, amid a custody battle over their son. Zampolli denied making such requests.Until earlier this month, Zampolli held a diplomatic role under the State Department as Special Representative for Global Partnerships. He was fired two weeks ago over a months-long dispute with the department's deputy secretary, according to Politico.

Speaker Johnson says 'peaceful transfer of power' after election -U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., committed Tuesday to a peaceful postelection transfer of power, calling concerns that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans could contest the results if Democrats win control of Congress “absurd.”“We’re going to follow the Constitution,” Johnson said in Orangeburg, New York during a campaign stop with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler one week before the Nov. 3 midterm election. “The Constitution says when a state certifies the election of members of Congress, then they’re administered the oath. That’s what I’ll be doing on Jan. 3 to everybody who’s there,” Johnson said in response to a question from MS NOW.“I may not like some of those outcomes, but that’s our system,” he said. “And for anybody to suggest otherwise is absurd.”Democrats and voting rights advocates are bracing for potential challenges if control of the House flips, as is widely projected to happen, or control changes in the Senate, which is more closely contested. Republicans have a majority in both chambers of Congress.Trump, who has continued to falsely claim that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election, has fueled those fears by calling to “nationalize” elections earlier this year and repeatedly questioning the security of mail voting, while also suggesting noncitizens could vote in large enough numbers to skew results. His administration sued California on Oct. 15 in a fight over noncitizens voting. The Department of Justice also sued Alaska on Oct. 22 to block the certification of its results in the event of voter confusion. GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan will appear on the ballot beside Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher whom Republicans have said is on the ballot only as a spoiler candidate.

Mary Peltola campaign uses Trump’s Truth Social post in Alaska legal filing  - Alaska Democrats and Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola have asked a federal judge to quickly dismiss a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to stop the state from certifying the race’s result if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan narrowly loses.President Donald Trump said he directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue the state of Alaska and its election officials last week over a U.S. Senate ballot that includes two candidates named Dan Sullivan, one of whom the administration says has been planted by Democrats to confuse voters. The lawsuit hinges on whether the votes cast for the other Sullivan—a retired teacher now listed on ballots as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.”—would have changed the winner under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system if they had instead been cast for the Trump-endorsed incumbent.In a court filing submitted on Sunday, Peltola’s campaign and the party’s senatorial campaign committee said they were concerned that Trump and the attorney general would use the pending lawsuit “to falsely suggest that there is doubt about the lawfulness of Alaska’s election results, without any legal basis, to lay the groundwork for unlawful efforts to challenge a potential Peltola victory.”The filing cites a Truth Social post that the president shared on Saturday, in which he described the Alaska Senate race’s ranked-choice voting ballot as “a total Democrat scam meant to confuse the voter, so that Senator Dan Sullivan will lose votes to a man who has never participated in politics before.” He added that Daniel J. Sullivan was “only there because the Democrats want to steal the election.” Trump called the DOJ lawsuit an attempt to “stop this impending crime and tragedy.” He added, “The Democrats are trying to steal this important Republican seat and, if that happens, everything we’ve done for Alaska will come to an immediate hault.”David R. Fox, the attorney for the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, described the DOJ’s lawsuit as “entirely baseless” and requested an expedited consideration of their motions to intervene and dismiss the case, seeking a ruling “before election day” on November 3.Newsweek contacted the White House, the DOJ, and the Peltola and two Sullivan campaigns for comment by email on Monday outside standard working hours. Under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, which it shares with Maine only, the top four candidates from each respective primary held earlier this year—whether for governor, the House or the Senate—are set to appear on the ballot for the midterms, regardless of party affiliation.In the Senate race, the candidates are Democratic former Representative Mary Peltola, Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and two other Republicans—Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes, who have been trailing far behind the other candidates in polls. Despite the lackluster polling, the candidacy of the incumbent’s same-name challenger has angered Republicans, including Trump.“The sole purpose of [Daniel J. Sullivan’s] candidacy is to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan,” the DOJ wrote in its lawsuit.Alaska election officials initially agreed that the retired teacher’s filing was intended to confuse voters and sought to exclude him from the ballot. But in June, a trial court ruled against that exclusion, and the Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed that decision, putting Daniel J. Sullivan back on the ballot.He appears on the ballot as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” with no party designation beneath his name. The other Sullivan, meanwhile, is listed as a “Registered Republican” and marked as the incumbent.The lawsuit, filed by the DOJ on Thursday, seeks to block the Alaska Senate results from being certified if the incumbent does not win the election and if he would have won the election “had all votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly.” It would also require an investigation into whether Alaskans who cast their vote for Daniel J. Sullivan intended to vote for the incumbent, and it would allow further procedures to determine what the election result would have been without the alleged voter confusion.

Alaska's GOP government urges dismissal of Department of Justice's Dan Sullivan candidate election lawsuit --Alaska’s GOP-led government is urging a federal court to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit seeking to bar the state from certifying its midterm election results, according to a Monday court filing.The DOJ lawsuit, filed last week, claimed the presence of a candidate with the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) could give Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola an unfair advantage in the upcoming election.In a motion to dismiss, attorneys representing Alaska and the other defendants named in the lawsuit said the state’s elections division “has taken significant steps to distinguish them on the ballot so that voters can easily determine which candidate is which.” The state’s filing also noted “the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections at all, much less in support of a favored candidate,” adding “the complaint has no legal basis.”The Justice Department’s lawsuit, which President Trump said he directed to be filed, claimed the other Dan Sullivan — Republican Daniel J. Sullivan — entered the Senate race “with the intention of misleading” the incumbent senator’s supporters.“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election,” the DOJ’s filing read.  Following the lawsuit, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department is not trying to stop the certification of Alaska’s election but is instead seeking “to ensure that after Alaskans cast their ballots, they are preserved in a manner so that only Alaska’s governing officials have the information necessary to make a determination as to whether Alaskan voters were confused or mislead.” A copy of the designed ballot attached to the state’s filing shows the word “incumbent” next to the GOP senator’s name, along with his party affiliation. It does not mention the other Sullivan’s registered Republican status. It also noted the two candidates’ middle initials to differentiate them; the incumbent senator is listed as “Sullivan, Dan S.” while the other candidate is labeled “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” Lawyers for Peltola’s campaign also asked the court to dismiss the DOJ lawsuit, calling it “wholly baseless.” Last week, nonprofit watchdog group Common Cause, represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, also filed a motion to intervene in the legal challenge.On Monday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ordered to expedite the consideration of the case, giving the federal government until 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to both Peltola’s and Common Cause’s motions.

Murkowski backs Alaska Democrat for governor -  Sen. Lisa Murkowski Loading (R-Alaska) endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in Alaska’s governor’s race Tuesday, crossing party lines to back the former state lawmaker over three Republican candidates. In a statement released by Kreiss-Tomkins’ campaign, Murkowski praised the Democrat for his commitment to bipartisanship, arguing that Alaska needs a governor willing to work with lawmakers from both parties. “Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” Murkowski said. “Jonathan understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.” In an interview with Alaska News Source, Murkowski ripped outgoing Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (R) administration for failing to take advantage of federal funding opportunities. “I have found fault with the Dunleavy administration,” she said. I think that they have left federal money on the table. I think in certain areas, where we have worked hard to put opportunities from the federal side, here, into the state, the state has failed with it.”

Neil Young sues Trump for using his classic song again: 'Opposite of everything' he stands for -Rock legend Neil Young has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Donald Trump’s political action committee over the president’s use of his 1989 classic “Rockin’ in the Free World” at one of his rallies earlier this month. Young, in a complaint filed to federal court on Monday, accused the PAC of copyright infringement after the song played just minutes before former NFL coach Jon Gruden introduced Trump at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio.  The rally featured an apparent Trump supporter repeatedly punching a female protester as the president watched and mocked the demonstrator from behind a lectern onstage.“‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ is a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten,” the complaint read. “The lyrics paint vivid street-level portraits — a mother discarding her baby, addicts lost in despair, garbage piling in the shadows of prosperity — while the repeated chorus delivers a savage irony, celebrating freedom that clearly isn’t shared by all.”It adds, “In short, the Song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”The lawsuit arrives more than six years after the rocker sued Trump’s reelection campaign for using the song, and another, 2003’s “Devil’s Sidewalk,” at a number of rallies and events.The lawsuit was dismissed later that year after Young reached a settlement with the campaign, which promised not to use the song again without a license and permission from the rocker.

SuperPACs are funneling millions of dollars into pro-AI candidates, with Trump saying communities that reject data centers will end up ‘backwards and poor’ - A new breed of AI-aligned super political action committees (SuperPAC) is spending millions of dollars in an attempt to get pro-AI data center candidates elected in this year’s midterm elections. Data centers have become a hot political topic with the majority of Americans preferring to have a nuclear reactor in their backyard rather than an AI data center. Americans are also increasingly concerned about AI and its effects on the job market, the environment, and their own health. But these perspectives just don’t align with AI companies, who have seen unprecedented growth in their model’s capabilities and their stock value. For that growth to continue, perspectives on AI and the infrastructure behind it need to change. There are a few main players behind this movement. Leading The Future (LTF) has become a key funder behind pro-AI and pro-data center candidates, but also says it is using its millions to oppose those opposed to AI - as if the midterms weren’t already confusing enough.  But a new group, Build American AI, has emerged to run pro-AI and pro-data center ads in key battleground states of Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Republican party recently issued a call for help from AI firms over AI opposition due to fears it could cost them the Ohio senate race.If that were to be the case, it could lead to a wider change of floating voters aligning themselves with whoever is opposed to AI data centers.The Trump administration has aligned much of America’s politics around AI. To remain a global power ahead of China, AI cannot be slowed down. To remain on top of America’s battlefields at home and abroad, AI is being integrated into every arm of the military and all aspects of law enforcement. Opposition to AI is therefore opposition to America’s future, or so Trump would want you to believe.The US economy is currently being buoyed by the surge in growth experienced by AI companies, but the models they are creating have been labelled not only a threat to financial institutions, but also a threat to financial stability of the world.“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”

Trump says he will ban the term artificial intelligence - President Trump said Tuesday that he was banning the term artificial intelligence “in all relevant documents and everything else.” “In short order, we will be officially BANNING the term, ‘AI/Artificial Intelligence,’ in all relevant documents, and everything else, due to its inaccuracy,” he wrote on Truth Social. Trump hit on The Wall Street Journal for using the term AI, rather super intelligence (SI), his preferred term. “When will The Wall Street Journal start calling Artificial Intelligence (AI), a very bad and inaccurate name, SI (Super Intelligence), the name which virtually everyone else is using, or soon will be,” he wrote. He signed an executive order in September directing the executive branch to use SI, instead of AI. Trump said in a post earlier this month that the White House “considers anyone that uses the term, ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’ THE ENEMY!” At the United Nations General Assembly last month, he told the group that the U.S. would be renaming AI to SI in documents. “The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globality scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now, hereinafter called super intelligence. Changing the name,” Trump said. “The use of the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake,” he continued. “It is not fake. It’s actually amazing. But we have to be careful. In fact, it is exactly the opposite of what it purports.”

Fox News’ pro-data center coverage explodes 420% following GOP warning that Democrats are defeating Republicans | TechRadar -New research has found that Fox News coverage on pro-data center topics has risen by 420% since August 18 2026 - the day the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned tech companies that Republican candidates were losing to Democrats in key battleground states. These are the findings of Media Matters, a nonprofit journalism watchdog which analyzed the two weeks preceding the GOP warning and compared it to the following period. Pro-data center perspectives from guests and Fox News hosts quintupled. AI, and the data centers that power the technology, have become a hot button issue in the run up to the November US midterm elections. Numerous polls have suggested that the majority of Americans oppose the buildout of AI data centers and infrastructure.The private memo from the GOP, as reported by Axios, explained that tech companies need to change public perspectives on AI data centers, lest Republicans candidates lose to a “Democrat candidate who wants to stop data center construction altogether, which will cause America to lose the AI race to China”.  In Ohio, the campaign of Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown is being driven by anti-data center sentiment, which the GOP fears could cost Republican incumbent Jon Husted his seat. The GOP called Brown’s strategy “significantly more effective than traditional messaging tracts.”To that end, the GOP urged tech companies to shift perspectives on to “who benefits, who pays, and why a community should want one.”Comparing the number of claims made before and after the GOP memo, the researchers found that claims in favor of data centers jumped from 39 in a two week period to 203 in the following two weeks.The balance of claims in favor and against data centers was also skewed, with those favorable to data centers outnumbering those against by almost double.Around 56% of the claims made argued that AI data centers were essential to the US’ progress and prosperity, with 43% of claims arguing that the widespread opposition to AI data centers is being fueled by bad actors such as “far-left activists” and the Chinese government.Fox News has frequently painted data centers as a boon to regions with large concentrations, with Fox News’ Will Cain pulling upon examples of Virginia’s Loudoun County as “data center alley, the richest county in America.”Research has found that opposition to data centers is not a politically partisan issue, with the majority of opposition coming from working class communities irrespective of Democrat or Republican leaning.

Crypto, Epstein are Dems top oversight targets next Congress  —  Banks and financial firms will likely face a different congressional oversight environment next year as polling suggests Democrats are poised to take back control of both chambers of Congress.

• Key insight: The degree to which oversight presents a risk to banks and other financial firms might hinge on the Senate outcome on Tuesday and the extent to which banks have exposure to either disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein or President Trump's crypto businesses. 
• Forward look: Regardless of whether Democrats win majorities in the election, banks should expect more scrutiny in the next Congress, particularly for large banks and crypto firms.

With Democrats expected to take majorities in both chambers, investigations into institutions' relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump's crypto ventures are the ripest topics for congressional inquiry. Both Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa,   have introduced bills that would enhance regulators' ability to claw back compensation from executives of failed banks.

Representative Haraz Ghanbari 'only concerned with data center development,' ‘does not care about constituents’ – LTE, Bowling Green Independent News - Representative Haraz Ghanbari is only concerned with data center development. According to public records, Representative Haraz Ghanbari has received over $471,000 from individuals and entities benefiting from the data center expansion in Ohio over the last four election cycles. Some of these PACs and individuals are registered lobbyists with tech companies including Meta. There is a PAC registered to the law firm that represents Meta for zoning changes in Middleton Township that has donated to him in every election cycle. This is incredibly concerning. As a representative, Haraz has voted yes on bills that actively harm our community here in northwest Ohio. HB 15 incentivizes projects with tax breaks like the Apollo gas generation plant/pipeline that powers the Meta BG data center. The bill removed all local approval of behind-the-meter gas generation power plants and moved it to the state level Ohio Power Siting Board. The bill mandated the fast-tracking of these plants to be approved in 45 days, a process that took months to years. The bill lowers tangible personal property tax rates for public utility companies, an estimated tax revenue loss of $629-$943 million. The reduced TPP tax on new transmission, distribution, and pipeline infrastructure is an estimated tax revenue loss of $49-$74 million annually according to the office of Ohio Legislative Service. This tax revenue loss will be felt by local municipalities and school districts. On July 9, Haraz praised HB 15 for its role in Ohio being ranked No. 1 in business. The constituents in Wood County want clean air and water not behind the meter gas plants for hyperscale data centers. Haraz voted for HB-96 which increases the signature requirements for townships to 35% – from 15% – for referendums. It allows for township zoning amendments tied to a designated “megaproject,” like a data center, to bypass the 30-day waiting period and referendum process entirely. This completely takes away the voice of the voters. District 75 deserves a state representative who has our community’s best interests, not those who wish to profit from data centers. Representative Haraz Ghanbari does not listen to or care about the constituents. - Tracy Wyatt and Beth Cole, Middleton Township

Eric Schmidt says China is now just six months behind the US in AI race - Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said China is now just six months behind the U.S. in the global race to develop AI, warning that China has a major advantage when it comes to energy.In an interview with Fast Company released Wednesday, Schmidt said the gap between the two countries has narrowed dramatically over the past two years, despite U.S. restrictions on China’s access to advanced computer chips. “A year or two ago, it looked like China was a year or two behind. Now it looks like they’re six months behind, and there are many studies that show this,” Schmidt said. The ex-Google chief, who helped advocate for the chip restrictions, said he initially believed they would slow China’s progress for about a decade. Instead, Chinese developers have found ways to build competitive AI systems using substantially less energy and computing power. “I assumed they would work for about 10 years,” he said. Schmidt said the U.S. still has the upper hand in advanced chips, talent and access to capital, but he argued that China has a significant advantage in building the infrastructure needed to support AI development. “China has infinite energy, most of it renewable, something we said we were going to do in our country 10 years ago and failed to do,” he said. He pointed to China’s rapid construction of data centers and power infrastructure, while American developers face lengthy delays connecting new facilities to the electrical grid. “They don’t have interconnection queue waits that go on seven years. They don’t have the same kind of debates. They’re building the data centers, and they’re building them massively,” Schmidt said. He estimated the U.S. will need between 60 gigawatts and 80 gigawatts of power by 2030 or 2031 to keep pace with AI demand, with each gigawatt costing roughly $50 billion. “What we don’t have is the energy, and we don’t have the data centers,” he said. His remarks come as the rapid expansion of AI data centers faces growing scrutiny over concerns about rising electricity costs and pressure on local water supplies. Democratic lawmakers have already begun investigating the industry’s energy demands. Earlier this month, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released a report examining how data centers could drive up costs. The scrutiny could intensify if Democrats regain control of Congress in November, with lawmakers signaling plans to pursue tougher AI safety regulations and investigations into major technology companies.

The Dirty Accounting Behind The AI Bubble - I’ve been arguing for months that the AI boom has become an increasingly circular exercise in which enormous amounts of capital are being thrown around, valuations are being inflated, and the financial system is becoming more dependent on the assumption that the whole thing will continue indefinitely.I’ve also argued that at some point between now and Q2 2027, I expect a crash. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal pointed out another particularly ridiculous, if not outright devastating feature of this arrangement: the accounting behind the AI boom is now helping inflate the reported earnings of the companies financing it. Specifically, Jonathan Weil highlighted the extraordinary accounting gymnastics surrounding Anthropic’s upcoming IPO, including the company’s eye-watering $80.7 billion GAAP net loss for the first half of 2026.As it turns out, much of that loss wasn’t the result of Anthropic lighting $80 billion in cash on fire. Rather, it came from marking up the value of convertible debt and other financial instruments as the company’s private valuation skyrocketed. In other words, as Anthropic became more valuable, the liabilities tied to its financing became more expensive on paper.Fair enough. These are largely noncash accounting adjustments, and there’s a reasonable argument for excluding them when trying to understand the company’s underlying operations.But here’s where things get interesting. While Anthropic is excluding those paper losses to report a $2.7 billion adjusted profit, Amazon and Alphabet are getting credit for enormous paper gains on the other side of these same investments...

Opinion: The dangerous financial web behind the surging AI bubble - Much has been said about the shaky financing of the current AI wave: the pool of money is huge, the bets are risky, and U.S. economic growth hinges on the market’s continued expansion. This past month has brought these issues into stark relief, with CoreWeave’s stock plummeting amid its mounting debt burden and fears of an AI bubble.   But the corporation escaping scrutiny in all this is Nvidia, whose monopoly over chip design and vast amounts of capital have allowed it to shape the AI capital market to its own ends, furthering its dominance of AI infrastructure and destabilizing the U.S. economy as it proceeds unchecked.   Nvidia was founded in 1993 as a small startup optimizing semiconductor chips for gamers who needed more computing power to render graphics quickly. But things started to change in the early 2010s with the rapid surge of interest in developing artificial intelligence. AI models required a large amount of specialized computational power, and Nvidia’s graphics processing units were ideally suited to AI use cases.  This marked a turning point for Nvidia. In 2016, co-founder and president Jensen Huang personally gifted an Nvidia supercomputer to OpenAI, recently founded by Elon Musk, Sam Altman and others, virtually guaranteeing that OpenAI’s software would primarily use Nvidia chips. Nvidia also began courting scientists and AI researchers by donating its processing units and supercomputers. By 2023, Nvidia’s stock price had begun a steep upward climb that culminated, by mid-2025, in the company being named the most valuable public company in the world. Once the AI world started running on Nvidia graphic processing units, Nvidia’s tech stack created lock-in that made it nearly impossible to switch.   The centerpiece of this strategy is the company’s Compute Unified Device Architecture, a proprietary software language optimized to run on the chips and achieve their best performance. Although the chips can be used without this specific software, the performance drop-off is steep, meaning that most AI applications require it.  Nvidia’s few competitors have tried to breach this barrier by designing software that more easily translates this language, but Nvidia maintains a powerful moat. In 2024, Nvidia updated its licensing agreements to disallow using the language on rival chips. The company also helps hyperscalers optimize their Nvidia stack, hiring engineers specifically for this purpose. As Nvidia executives noted during their most recent earnings call, “Customers can still mix and match. However, most companies just don't have the skills to do that or a desire to do that.”   Nvidia’s strategy has borne fruit; the company enjoys a nearly 90 percent monopoly over the design market for graphics processing units. What's more, Nvidia manages a 70-75 percent gross margin on the chips that it sells. The power that Nvidia has amassed through this lock-in and its enormous stock price growth has allowed the corporation to begin functioning as, to use The New York Times’s phrase, “Silicon Valley’s central banker.” It has begun offering complex financing arrangements to partners, investing heavily in infrastructure that supports the use of its chips, such as neoclouds, and evaluating outside companies to acquire. Although Nvidia has long invested in AI startups, there has been a notable uptick in its deal activity in recent months.  By operating as an unregulated banker, Nvidia is shaping the U.S. economy outside the regulatory bounds intended to keep risky bets from collapsing the financial system — and the company has a vested interest in fueling the AI mania.  The more AI models that need to be trained faster, and the more data centers there are, the more Nvidia’s technology stack is being purchased and integrated into the American AI industry. But Nvidia’s hardware is expensive, so the company has begun offering complex financing arrangements to incentivize rapid adoption and compute purchases. These arrangements, of course, come with requirements to purchase Nvidia products and, often, to upgrade to the newest chips at regular intervals.  This is not the only deal structure Nvidia has piloted. The company has increasingly pursued a strategy of directly investing in neocloud infrastructure — data centers that rent cloud space to AI companies — and in turn requiring the neocloud companies to purchase a certain amount of Nvidia hardware and to upgrade it at a regular cadence. One of Nvidia’s biggest investments is in CoreWeave, of which it owns nearly 7 percent. In late 2024, Nvidia completed an acquisition of Run:ai; in its most recent earnings call, the company announced commitments of $18 billion in equity investments for the remainder of the fiscal year, with its private company holdings almost doubling from 2025 to 2026. And in late August 2026, The Information reported Nvidia’s intention to acquire Hugging Face, a platform for open-source AI models, for $12.9 billion. Huang has noted that AI agents use “15-100x” the compute that a human using an AI model uses; it may be that Nvidia-owned Hugging Face begins preferencing agentic models, driving AI toward compute- and energy-heavy use cases (that benefit Nvidia). In early August 2026, Nvidia announced a partnership with six private equity and investment bankers including Apollo, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and KKR to “turn Nvidia compute and full-stack AI infrastructure into an investable asset class for global capital,” according to the press release. The partnership will pool capital and offer “attractive rates” for enterprises to invest in Nvidia infrastructure.  In other words, the AI bubble is now an asset for some of the biggest players on Wall Street, while Nvidia grows its bottom line. 

AI will bring in universal income and everyone will get wealthier, Oracle's Larry Ellison says  -The widespread roll-out of artificial intelligence will eventually lead to universal income and make "everyone wealthier", the executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle said on Tuesday. The ubiquitous use of robots across different industries and sectors will enable people to be more productive, Larry Ellison said in a wide-ranging discussion at the Oracle AI World event in Las Vegas. "We decided to get better tools, and we're going to build better systems... The tools make people much better, makes us much more productive," he said. Highlighting examples of robotic surgeons and autopilot on planes, Mr Ellison said the tech will replace some jobs but also reduce costs. With the government taxing "everything we produce ... we need to change from taxing human labour to taxing value-added tax returns", he said. "A lot of companies have value-added tax. So when the robots add value, all the value that the robots add is cash, and we can have universal product income." While it will take more than a decade to come about, "eventually, robots will do more and more work that we don't want to do - but they're adding value". "We are on track [to get] healthier and wealthier because of AI - and with the right taxation systems and the right computer systems - all of that is critical," Mr Ellison said. While the concept of AI eventually creating a system of universal income has been touted in the past, it has not gained universal acceptance. In a report in May, the International Labour Organisation stressed that universal basic income funded by the government is not the answer to the impact of AI on the labour market. The report by the UN body disputed claims by tech chief executives that AI will devastate labour markets catastrophically and that the productivity gains it generates will make such transfers noninflationary. "Both claims are empirically weak, and the second does not follow from the first even if the first were true," it said. For universal basic income to work, AI needs to expand supply in the sectors in which people will spend the new income, it said. The composition of productivity gains "does not support this". "The state can increase the number printed on every cheque. Whether the goods and services that determine real welfare, housing, health, quality food, care, are available in sufficient quantity at stable prices depends on supply-side conditions that AI improves only partially and unevenly," the report added. The impact of AI on the healthcare sector in particular is expected to be extremely significant, Mr Ellison said. "AI's great gift to the world will be ... [that] most cancers will be gone in five years, and certainly 10 years," he said. And cures won't be only for the very wealthy. An increase in the number of clinical trials and the quicker development of drugs supported by AI will make them reach markets faster, he explained "We think drug discovery is going to go through a golden age. But that's only half the problem. You get the drugs. You next have to get the drugs where you distribute them in such volume that the prices come down," Mr Ellison added. Some of the current innovations on the healthcare side also enable earlier diagnoses. For instance, with an "AI-enabled metagenomic test, we can do a much better job of diagnosing and catching sepsis early before it kills you very fast in the hospital", he said. DNA tests will also help providers detect cancer early on, while also distinguishing any false positives to ensure early treatment and better therapeutic care. When the quality of care goes up globally, "the overall cost per patient goes down dramatically", he added. And we’ll get pie in the sky when we die.

2026 Earnings Calls: Amazon on Track to Spend $220 Billion on Capex This Year | RBN Energy Amazon executives doubled down on their spending spree, calling AI a “once in a lifetime opportunity” as they discussed the tech giant’s 3Q 2026 earnings. On Thursday, October 29, Amazon held its earnings call, where executives said 2026 capex will be about $220 billion, the majority for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing platform. The company expects to “spend meaningfully more in 2027 with a clear line of sight to attractive financial returns,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Capex for Q3 2026 was $75.9 billion, primarily related to AWS and AI. Jassy said the company has “even more conviction than we already had” that the AWS investment will produce a much larger revenue and free cash flow business “than we would have imagined a couple of years ago.” At RBN, we are watching the tech giants because a portion of the billions they’re investing ultimately flows to the energy sector, with costs going to natural gas, coal, generators and the equipment to operate data centers.

Q3 2026 Earnings Calls: Alphabet, Microsoft Report Record Capex as Data Center Buildout Rolls On | RBN Energy Alphabet and Microsoft both reported their highest ever quarterly capex spending for the three months ending September 30, and neither is hitting the brakes. The two tech giants held their earnings calls on Wednesday, October 28, and the ramp-up of data center spending was a common thread for both firms. Alphabet, Google's parent, spent $51.4 billion in the third quarter and maintained its 2026 outlook of $195 billion to $205 billion of capex expenditures. CFO Anat Ashkenazi said capex "will increase significantly" in 2027, with details to come later. Microsoft runs on a different calendar and its fiscal year ends June 30, which means the September quarter was the first quarter of its fiscal 2027. The company spent $45.2 billion in this quarter, and CFO Amy Hood said the company’s 2026 calendar-year spending is estimated to be about $170 billion. She also expects the spending will accelerate in the coming months. Microsoft also added 24 new data centers across five continents during the quarter. Here at RBN, we're watching tech firms closely because a portion of the billions of dollars they're investing ultimately flows to the energy sector with costs going to natural gas, coal, generators and the equipment to operate data centers. When discussing costs, Alphabet's Ashkenazi addressed energy directly: "In terms of expenses, the significant increase in our investment in technical infrastructure will continue to weigh on the P&L in the form of higher depreciation expenses and related data centers operation costs, such as energy."

What if AI turns out to be a terrible investment? - Izabella Kaminska - What if the greatest technological revolution of our lifetimes turns out to be a terrible investment? That is the uncomfortable question haunting the artificial intelligence boom, as investors wonder whether the trillions being poured into computing infrastructure will ever generate sufficient returns. The doubts are no longer theoretical. US-based CoreWeave, one of the biggest independent providers of AI computing infrastructure, lost roughly a quarter of its market value earlier this month as concerns about its $50bn (£38bn) debt burden spread. Japan’s SoftBank has also been caught in the rout, while even Meta and the semiconductor giants have become vulnerable to a growing change in sentiment.. Indeed, what began as a race to build ever more data centres is turning into a heated debate about who will ultimately pay for them. Silicon Valley’s guiding assumption has been simple: if we build it, they will come. Yet as Torsten Slok, the chief economist at Apollo, has questioned, what if that demand only exists at scale when the product is practically free? “Silicon Valley operates on the premise that compute demand is unlimited, yet the recent slowdown in token spending growth suggests that this appetite may exist only when compute is effectively free,” he wrote in one of his regular missives. Companies could run AI on their own computers - why some businesses want to stop depending on outside providers Instead of renting an AI from someone, instead you just Slok’s immediate concern is that even modest price increases aimed at reflecting computing power’s true costs could prompt customers to cut usage or switch to cheaper open-source alternatives. This would leave the five biggest hyperscalers pouring ever more capital into infrastructure even as their returns decline. Underlying this reluctance to pay is a more troubling possibility: that the promised AI productivity boom is arriving far more slowly than projected or, in many cases, failing to materialise at all. If that continues, Slok warns, the global AI growth story risks becoming a margin-draining liability. If that is indeed the case, it may be time to question whether the wider computer revolution, which we have come to regard as an unqualified force for good, was really worth it economically either. Such scepticism is hardly new. Robert Solow, the late, great economist, quipped in 1987 that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. At the time, computers were becoming ubiquitous in offices and businesses, yet their spread was failing to produce the surge in productivity that many economists predicted. What is striking is how stubbornly the question persists. Productivity gains did eventually emerge, notably in the late 1990s, but the longer-term growth record of advanced economies remains disappointing, particularly given the mountain of debt accumulated along the way. Contrast that with the postwar period, when the US and other advanced economies enjoyed remarkable, sustained productivity growth. Admittedly, that growth had begun to slow before computers came into their own. But the question remains: why, for all their promise, did computers do so little to restore it to its former heights? It is an uncomfortable question, not least because it flies in the face of everyday experience. To anyone who uses one, the suggestion that computers haven’t made us more productive seems absurd. But what is good for the individual is not necessarily good for society as a whole. It is becoming clear that information technology tends to redistribute the existing economic pie rather than make it bigger. This is because much of its apparent economic dynamism stems from network effects that encourage socialisation and disintermediation, as well as a shift away from material production towards asset-light models. This, in turn, tends to favour financialisation over genuine wealth creation. At the same time, while reliance on open protocols, universal access and network effects encourages explosive adoption that seems to benefit everyone, it also has a downside: the gains can be offset by the harms they enable. This is where research by Geoffrey West, a complexity scientist, into cities offers insight. One of his key findings is that as cities grow, both the benefits and the costs of economic activity increase faster than their populations, a phenomenon known as superlinear growth. Information technology amplifies this effect by connecting ever more people. Crucially, such growth says nothing about the quality or value of that activity. It tells us that more is happening, not whether society is better off. More connections generate more opportunities; that is true. But, as it turns out, they also generate more competition, transactions and threats, including from monopolisation and wealth concentration. According to West, the overall outcome is a general acceleration in the pace of life, without necessarily a corresponding increase in collective prosperity. If superlinear growth is left unchecked, its mathematics points towards a finite-time singularity, threatening Malthusian-style collapse. West argues that innovation can stave off this fate by resetting the growth trajectory, but only temporarily. Each breakthrough buys less time than the last, forcing society to innovate ever faster merely to keep the system going. In other words, humanity finds itself on an innovation treadmill, running ever faster just to stay in the game. The implication is that every legitimate business made more productive by information technology may find its gains eroded by competitors, predators or criminals made equally productive by it. The outcome can resemble a perpetual arms race between good and bad actors. Many of us can sense this instinctively: for every advantage AI gives us in working faster, it seems also to make scammers, fraudsters and criminals more effective at exploiting us. The result is a growing breakdown in social trust, the costs of which may be far harder to quantify in monetary terms than any productivity gains.The consequence is a paradox: societies are more connected than ever technologically, but less cohesive culturally, with communities living alongside one another yet increasingly socially apart.Businesses, for their part, may be waking up to the same problem: the difference between the benefits technology promises and the value it delivers is narrowing. Many may even remember the BlackBerry effect: companies that first equipped employees with the devices enjoyed a productivity advantage, but only until everyone else caught up. What began as a competitive edge became a cost of doing business soon enough.AI threatens to shorten that period of competitive advantage dramatically.

Anthropic hacked by AI startup in less than 12 hours, report claims -An AI startup has claimed that it hacked Anthropic’s systems in less than 12 hours, exposing internal messages and data. US-based Cathedral, which was founded this year by former staff members of the US Department of Government Efficiency, said it breached the artificial intelligence company’s internal network as part of a bug bounty program that encourages outsiders to look for security flaws. First reported by the Washington Post, the breach exposed Slack messages, meeting transcripts, staff salaries and job offers. Anthropic confirmed that Cathedral had reached a “limited set” of sales, HR and IT systems, but did not access users’ conversations with Claude. The AI model’s source code was also not compromised. “Our monitoring flagged some of Cathedral’s activity before they reported it to us,” Anthropic said in a statement shared with the publication. “We shut off their access the same day.” A senior Trump administration official, speaking anonymously, said: “If a bunch of kids who have just started a company can do this, then potentially the Chinese aren’t far behind.” Anthropic pushed back on the claim that it only took 12 hours to breach the systems, with a spokesperson telling The Independent that it “involved attempts over several days”. The spokesperson added that Cathedral’s actions went “substantially beyond” the company’s bug bounty program by targeting third party applications. Security researchers noted that the incident was not a sophisticated AI attack, but a basic “hygiene failure” with third party software used by Anthropic. “This probe by Cathedral shows how even one of the most innovative companies can still be susceptible to a supply-chain attack,” Heath Mullins, the Chief Evangelist at cyber security firm ExtraHop, told The Independent. “AI providers are becoming a primary target because so many organizations now build their workflows on top of them. When a handful of platforms sit at the center of how a majority of businesses operate, a single compromise becomes a supply chain problem for everyone downstream.” The revelation came just hours after Anthropic filed for its initial public offering (IPO), which laid out the firm’s ambition to build AI systems capable of curing cancer and reshaping the global economy. Anthropic said in the filing that its AI is “one of the most consequential technologies in human history”, capable of “potentially curing diseases that have plagued humanity for millennia, including cancer Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, rare genetic diseases and major infectious diseases.” The filing also noted that Anthropic’s AI models may pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” due to how powerful they are.

Most data centers and servers on the planet could be vulnerable to dangerous UEFI firmware flaw -Cybersecurity researchers from Anthropic and Google have discovered a critical-severity vulnerability in boot-time firmware used by practically every server in existence today. A patch is available, but given the fragmented market of UEFI manufacturers, it could take months before most of the servers are secured. In the meantime, patch code was made publicly available, which means cybercriminals will have their work laid out for them. Virtually all modern servers today run UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), software built into the server’s motherboard that helps start the device and load the operating system. It includes security features like Secure Boot, which helps stop unauthorized programs from running when the machine starts. The free, open source toolkit developers use to build this firmware is called TianoCore EDK II - it serves as a common foundation for creating UEFI firmware for different types of hardware. Alex Matrosov of Anthropic and Dan Holmes of Google recently found that EDK II contained a critical buffer overflow vulnerability. The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) describes it as a bug in BIOS “where a user may cause “Out-of-bounds Write”, Classic Buffer Overflow, and “Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size” by remote access.” “Successful exploitation of this flaw can result in remote arbitrary code execution, " it added. Just like other UEFI vulnerability exploits, this one would be difficult to remediate in the wild. Deploying malicious code before security solutions, or even the operating system for that matter, means that whatever anti-malware or endpoint protection solutions are installed won’t be able to spot, or remove it. Reinstalling the operating system won’t help, and neither would replacing the hard drive. The bug is now tracked as CVE-2026-97631, and was given a severity score of 9.5/10 (critical). Luckily enough, it doesn’t seem to have been exploited in the wild. However, that might change very soon, given that the security community botched the disclosure efforts. Multiple companies and hardware manufacturers develop their own UEFI, and many rely on shared codebases such as EDK II. When a vulnerability is discovered in the code, fixing it upstream (in the codebase) is only half the work - each affected firmware vendor must patch their own product and then distribute the new firmware to their customers. This process can take time, leaving a window between the availability of the fix and its deployment across affected systems.That is why discretion is paramount, and some participants seem to have dropped the ball, with Ars Technica claiming the two researchers who found the bug arranged for it to stay private until a coordinated disclosure that was planned for January 2027.However, AMI - one of the manufacturers building motherboards - apparently published a pull request last month that not only detailed the vulnerability but also included a fix for the code.Since the cat was out of the bag, TianoCore Project members then published a public advisory about the flaws, as well.“With publicly available patch code, it will be trivial for advanced hackers to learn how the vulnerability is triggered and to build working exploits,” Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin writes. “Further compounding the urgency, patching UEFI code vulnerabilities in millions of end devices sold and used by thousands of hardware makers and cloud providers is cumbersome and time-consuming.”

AI is making scams against older Americans more convincing. Experts share how to spot the new red flags. -  In just two days, AI exposed critical flaws in a programming language behind 70% of all websites. That may have opened the door for a rush of scams — especially those targeted to vulnerable populations like older Americans.Last week, cybersecurity researchers uncovered two severe bugs in the PHP programming language. Attackers could hijack web servers and execute remote code. This prompted the PHP Foundation to release emergency patches to prevent widespread hacks, and governments, cybersecurity agencies, and businesses quickly moved to do damage control.Though some experts said there could have been more problems had these flaws not been immediately addressed, such a crisis can happen again. As AI becomes more advanced and widespread, Americans are becoming more exposed and susceptible to scams.Scams have been pervasive for decades, starting with physical mail and landline telemarketing. But they've gotten significantly more complex and deceptive, now integrating AI in ways that even tech whizzes may not spot. Older Americans are often the main targets of fraud, losing billions in fraud. An AARP survey from April found that 4 in 10 older Americans have lost money to fraud.With attackers pouncing on any vulnerability to steal personal details or get money, five experts told Business Insider that now is the time to get ahead on scam prevention. Their quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, who founded the cybersecurity awareness campaign Take9.  Craig Newmark advises families to take 9 seconds to pause before clicking on unknown texts.   Hackers are using AI to ditch the typos and make scams harder to spot. AI also makes it easier to produce large numbers of targeted scams. This includes AI voice cloning and scans of social accounts for personal details. These scams are on the rise and hurting real people, including older folks like me.  It shouldn't be up to regular folks to outsmart scammers. The best thing for families to focus on is basic cyber hygiene. Organizations like Google and Apple are working hard to block scams, particularly on phones. It's just as important that we prepare loved ones with the tools to protect themselves as scammers become more sophisticated.  I've been fighting scams for 25 years. I take them personally. That's why I founded Take9 in 2024 to help people understand how to protect themselves and stay safe online.  Scams are overwhelming, and people often don't know where to begin. My advice is to start with the basics: Take 9 seconds to pause before clicking on unknown texts or links. Once they've got that down, try multi-factor authentication, password managers, passkeys, and single sign-on. Family codes are an effective method to keep your loved ones safe, too.  Don Grant advises that having open conversations about financial fraud is one of the most effective ways to educate older Americans.   Scams often involve impersonation of an institution or government agency like the IRS, Medicare, or Social Security. Fake technical support scammers contact you with claims of a breach at your bank or financial institution.  A good friend and client is in his mid-60s, is a single Notre Dame graduate, and is a retired university English professor. He talked incessantly about his gorgeous, accomplished girlfriend. She has sent him photos, but he had never met her in person, nor via video chat.  Fast forward to earlier this year. They are no longer an item. He reluctantly admitted that she was attempting to scam him. He did send her about $1,200 to help get her 9-year-old daughter into a music school. When she hit him up about 10 times so she could move, he figured it out and cut the ties. From what we pieced together, this was an AI-assisted romance scam.A security breach at an institution doesn't automatically mean that your accounts have been hacked. However, it does mean it's time to change your login credentials. Set up account notifications for withdrawals, transfers, password changes, and anything to do with your accounts. Never respond to an unsolicited email from a site or financial institution with which you do business. Don't call the number provided in the communication or click the provided link. Take the time to log into a verifiable site and call a verifiable number with questions.Communication and education are critical. I have open conversations about financial fraud, anonymously citing actual situations where a scammer attempted to separate them from their money. Recounting others' experiences seems to really drive the point home. We also insist that all clients designate a trusted contact we can reach if we notice unusual activity or have concerns about possible financial exploitation.Removing the stigma that they are "stupid" if they are scammed is paramount. Many victims are embarrassed to admit they've been deceived, and that embarrassment can prevent them from seeking help. (advice from others on avoiding scams continues… )

What Anthropic’s AI-worm warning means for smart home devices - People are worried enough about AI. People might not realize that AI is learning constantly and pretty soon it could take over your devices at home. That's the alarm that Anthropic sounded when it announced that some AI models could become self-replicating and turn into AI worms. These models are potentially only months away from being able to clone themselves. This is a major issue because to replicate something now, you need a human to do it. If the models gain the ability to clone themselves, it means AI is heading towards potentially being uncontrollable. The fact that Anthropic is stating that this could happen within months is worrisome to anyone with a smart home. Of course, there are certain types of people that should be worried more than others. Anthropic states that these AI "worms" could replicate on Internet of Things (IoT) devices. What's unique about IoT is that it doesn't require human interaction. IoT can have the devices communicate with each other over the Internet or a local network. The smart devices use a cloud interface or AI to send the data that they collect in the form of a push notification or an automation. These worms and code would be able to invade these IoT devices and they would make your devices less secure and unsafe. A worm is a "program that copies itself from one computer to the next without human input." AI agents can act like a worm and can carry model weights with themselves as they replicate. This means the weights then become part of the problem. If you have weak machines that aren't heavily secured, this could be an issue, as these AI models can turn into something like malware. You could very well lose control of those devices. Not only can the AI models replicate, but they can then spread across your IoT devices. So this isn't just happening once and then it's done with. This can continue to happen across your devices. Now, how much of an imminent threat is this and what in your house should you be worried about? Pretty much any of your smart devices could be compromised easily if they are connected to Wi-Fi. It doesn't matter if you have Matter or Thread devices, as the worms are targeting the large language models controlling the devices. The weight-based replicators target weak devices without strong and secure built-in security. These worms will target smart TVs, robot vacuums, refrigerators, security cameras, and more. There are all kinds of devices, so they don't discriminate. You can even have something that's going to handle video conferencing during a meeting. This could jump in and ruin a work meeting or a chat with your family and friends, especially if you have any off-brand Android devices (Anthropic's words.) The worst part about this is that there's no quick way of shutting it off. Once the worms replicate, they are difficult to get rid of, mainly because there is no centralized point to focus on and shut off. End-to-end replication is something that many stronger AI models can already accomplish. As these smaller AI models gain the ability to do it, they could work together to accomplish the goal of spreading across devices. Anthropic isn't sure what form the AI malware will take, which is another tricky part about this. Unlike traditional malware, these worms could figure out devices it didn't know previously and work out the best ways to infiltrate them themselves.

AI Giant Anthropic Tells Wall Street It Needs Gas—and Pipelines -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Anthropic, the San Francisco company behind the Claude artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, filed its initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday (Oct. 26). Buried in the 318-page prospectus, in a risk section titled “Electrical Power and Fuel Constraints,” is an admission that should make every Marcellus/Utica driller, pipeline company, and royalty owner sit up and take notice: some of Anthropic’s planned data centers will run on their own dedicated, on-site natural gas-fired power plants. And Anthropic’s big worry isn’t the gas itself. It’s getting enough pipeline capacity to deliver it.

AI Chatbots Are Building an ‘Algorithmic Self-Portrait’ of You --  Hyperpersonalization has become the name of the game in AI chatbots. A chatbot’s ability to learn and remember a user’s specific wants and needs, then tailor its responses accordingly, is a big part of what makes it so appealing. But that personalization isn’t just a product of sophisticated technology. It also depends on the vast amount of personal information users willingly share with chatbots. Most of the time, they might not be completely aware of the extent and implications of the data they provide. Although conversations with AI chatbots may seem like isolated exchanges, systems like ChatGPT can retain information from past interactions and use it to personalize future responses through memory processes that aren’t always transparent to users. The AI memory then uses this to build a detailed profile of the user, a mechanism researchers in a study published earlier this year call “the algorithmic self-portrait.” “Memory creates what we refer to as the algorithmic self-portrait —a new form of personalization derived from users’ self-disclosed information divulged within private conversations,” the researchers wrote in the study. The team included scientists from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Software Systems and Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, along with several other institutions. To better understand how these algorithmic self-portraits take shape, the researchers examined ChatGPT conversation histories donated by 80 users who obtained copies of their data under European privacy laws. They identified 2,050 memory entries across conversations from 65 of those participants. They found that, most of the time, memories were created unilaterally by the AI chatbot. In 96% of the cases they studied, ChatGPT created or updated memories without the user explicitly asking it to do so. The researchers also discovered that most of these memories were drawn directly from information users had shared in conversations. But some were based on inferences that weren’t necessarily correct. For example, when one user asked ChatGPT to recommend bands similar to Nirvana, the chatbot created a memory stating that the user liked Nirvana, even though they had never explicitly said so. Since the researchers conducted their study, ChatGPT’s memory system has become even more complex. In June, OpenAI introduced an upgraded system that automatically synthesizes information from past conversations to maintain an evolving profile of users’ preferences, goals, and personal circumstances. Rather than simply compiling individual memories, the system continually updates its understanding of users based on what it considers relevant information. Users can review a summary of what ChatGPT remembers about them, but OpenAI acknowledges that the summary doesn’t necessarily include everything the system knows or uses to personalize responses.  Chatbots are specifically designed to feel both human-like and like a private space. So when you’re conversing with it, it could feel like talking to a trustworthy stranger that could give you advice as an unbiased third party distant to your life, but that’s where the privacy dangers lie, according to Lorrie Cranor, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute.  “Humans will sit next to a stranger on a plane or a bus or a train and tell them things they would never tell people that they’re going to see again, and I think some people think of AI in a similar way,” Cranor said. “But the difference is the stranger is unlikely to be recording the conversation —occasionally that does happen, but very rarely. The AI definitely is recording the conversation.”

Coinbase Denies Systems Breach, Says Vendor Exposed Customer Data  -  Some Coinbase customers' contact information was exposed in a security incident at analytics vendor Amplitude, the exchange said Wednesday. The incident impacted a "small subset" of Coinbase customers, along with other Amplitude clients, Coinbase Support said on X.Coinbase denied that its own systems had been breached and said customer funds were not affected.The disclosure adds to Wednesday's reports of cyberattacks affecting both crypto exchanges and traditional financial firms. In South Korea, Bithumb is investigating whether a breach of its internal work platform exposed customer information, while brokerage Daishin Securities reported a leak of personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers.  Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase to find out how many customers were affected but had not received a response by publication.In May 2025, Coinbase disclosed a separate data breach that impacted less than 1% of its monthly transacting users. The exchange estimated reimbursement and remediation costs at up to $400 million.

Crooks steal $150million in computer hardware in brazen heists as gangs loot data center equipment - America's latest crime wave sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller, as organized gangs steal millions of dollars' worth of data center equipment from trucks crisscrossing the country. More than $100 million in data center equipment has reportedly been stolen in transit since June alone, according to NBC News – while a separate industry report puts total AI equipment thefts at more than $150 million so far in 2026. The eye-watering figures come as criminals increasingly target the servers, computer chips and other expensive hardware needed to power the AI boom. And these are no smash-and-grab jobs involving a getaway car and a ski mask, with sophisticated international networks allegedly using cybercrime, fake identities and even deliberate road collisions to pull off their multimillion-dollar robberies. In one particularly audacious case in July, thieves allegedly made off with $38 million worth of cables and cartridges in Reno, Nevada, using drivers with fake licenses. In June, a shipment carrying $13 million in computer server equipment was targeted while travelling through California's Mojave Desert, with a car deliberately crashing into the vehicle escorting the truck. The trailer was later discovered in a truck yard in Stockton, California, but its valuable cargo had vanished. Weeks later, another shipment carrying an estimated $10 million in server rack components disappeared while travelling from San Jose, California, to a data center project in Texas. More than $100 million in data center equipment has reportedly been stolen in transit since June alone, while a separate industry report puts total AI equipment thefts at more than $150 million so far in 2026 More than $100 million in data center equipment has reportedly been stolen in transit since June alone, while a separate industry report puts total AI equipment thefts at more than $150 million so far in 2026 Its security team's vehicle was struck by an SUV in a hit-and-run-style collision, while tracking technology apparently displayed fake coordinates to disguise the truck's movements. The stolen goods include servers, memory modules, storage drives, routers, fiber-optic cables, copper wiring and other specialist equipment. With demand for AI infrastructure soaring, even seemingly unglamorous components can be worth a fortune, with one trailer containing around $300,000 worth of copper wire. 'It's like stealing pure gold bars,' Keith Lewis, head of operations at risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet, told NBC News. 'It's so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank.' But the real twist is that many of these thefts are allegedly planned long before a truck hits the road. Criminals have been breaking into freight brokers' and transport companies' online accounts to obtain confidential shipping schedules, identify valuable loads and impersonate legitimate carriers. Some gangs allegedly use AI-generated driving licenses to help fraudulent drivers pass identity checks, while GPS spoofing can make shipments appear to be travelling safely towards their intended destinations. In other cases, investigators believe drivers may be involved in the thefts themselves, highlighting weaknesses in how carriers and their employees are vetted. According to cargo risk management company Overhaul, reports of stolen data center equipment, computing components and semiconductors have risen 34 percent since 2024. Fraud featured in 92 percent of the high-value technology shipment thefts it analyzed, suggesting deception has overtaken brute force as the preferred method. The stolen equipment does not necessarily end up on online marketplaces, either. Investigators say overseas buyers may already be lined up before a shipment is intercepted, with some stolen technology believed to be destined for countries including China, where US export restrictions apply to certain advanced AI equipment. India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Colombia and Moldova have also been linked to suspicious or fraudulent activity associated with US cargo theft, according to carrier-verification platform Verified Carrier. Experts warn that the networks behind the thefts operate more like international businesses than opportunistic gangs. Scott Cornell, chair of the Transported Asset Protection Association's Americas division, told NBC News that the groups are 'planned,' 'plotted' and 'strategic,' exploiting weak points throughout the supply chain.

SEC's crypto fundraising rules face consumer group pushback -The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to ease fundraising steps for crypto firms faced pushback from investor and consumer protection groups and state regulators.

• Key insight: Critics of the proposed SEC rules warned that they could weaken investor protections and eliminate state oversight.
• What's at stake: As the SEC moves to establish a regulatory framework for crypto, industry insiders warn that the rules may lack the permanence of legislation passed by Congress.

Commentators on the proposed SEC rules, dubbed "Regulation Crypto Assets," raised concerns about insufficient investor protections and questioned the agency's legal authority.

Bessent: stablecoins will help ensure dollar dominance - — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday predicted dollar-backed stablecoins could become an important source of demand for federal government funding if adoption picks up, particularly in emerging markets.

• Key insight: Bessent argued stablecoins could strengthen dollar dominance and become an important source of Treasury funding as adoption expands internationally.
• Forward look: Bessent also predicted regulators would set up "guardrails" and best practices to prevent banks from cutting ties to customers over reputational concerns.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that dollar-pegged stablecoins could help expand market demand for U.S. government debt, lowering the pressure on long-dated bond yields.

Exclusive-Pentagon treating military base freezer malfunctions as suspected cyberattack, officials say (Reuters) - The Pentagon is treating the spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August as a suspected hack, according to four officials familiar with the matter. One of the officials said the military investigators were in touch with their French counterparts about a similar cyberattack on commercial freezers that disrupted supermarkets there earlier this month. Reuters was not able to ascertain how far along the Pentagon's investigation was or whether it had reached any conclusions about what happened or who might be responsible. When asked about the investigation, the Pentagon said that a unit of Cyber Command — the military's cyber force — was "working in close coordination with interagency and law enforcement partners." It did not elaborate. The US Army Criminal Investigation Division said its Cyber Field Office was involved in the investigation and that it was working with French law enforcement to better understand "the refrigeration outages in Europe." The late August malfunctions in the United States affected at least six commissaries — on-base stores where military personnel buy their food — according to a Reuters review of the military bases' contemporaneous Facebook posts and website updates. In at least one of the cases, the freezers did not simply stop working; the cooling units' temperatures were cranked up overnight, yielding mounds of wilted or melted food in the morning. The Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Facebook account explained on August 26 that its freezer "went into defrost mode where it heated up all the food. Trust us when we say it was 'spoiled.'"  The spate of rogue freezer behavior and the possibility of cybersabotage were first reported on August 28 by a recently created blog called Signal and Silence. The involvement of military investigators and their contacts with the French were reported by the newspaper Stars and Stripes and Britain's Daily Telegraph, respectively. The news that the investigators were treating the incident as a suspected hack is being reported here for the first time. If confirmed to be a cyberattack, the refrigerator malfunctions would be another illustration of how vulnerable critical infrastructure — in this case cold storage — can be to hackers. The French freezer cyberattack overrode the temperature controls on commercial cooling units in more than 350 establishments, leading to dramatic scenes as supermarkets' frozen food aisles were cleared of spoiled merchandise. The French hack involved cranking the temperature inside the units up rather than merely knocking them offline, similar to what happened in Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Some French refrigeration units had the temperature turned up so high they caught fire. The French attack's total costs could add up to tens of millions of euros nationwide, one supermarket owner estimated earlier this month. The French cyberattack appeared to have ​been easy to pull off, experts previously told Reuters. The Danish firm Danfoss, whose controllers ran made many of the stricken units, said that many of the controllers were obsolete or were running outdated firmware, which could have made it easy for hackers to break in. Reuters could not establish whether Danfoss or any other brand of freezer controller were in use at the affected US bases. Danfoss did not return messages seeking comment. Refrigeration plays a critical role in the distribution of fresh food and the sabotage of cold storage facilities over the internet has long been seen as a nightmare scenario, alongside the loss of electricity or water plants. Earlier this year, the Global Food Safety Initiative, an industry body, called on food safety professionals and IT leaders to work together to ensure "robust cybersecurity" for refrigeration technology, noting that "a hacked cooling system is just as dangerous as a broken one." Hackers have previously sabotaged fridges and freezers both in the United States and elsewhere. Danfoss has said that, in 2022, hackers either targeted or broke into supermarkets in Russia and Israel that were using obsolete versions of its cold storage controllers. In December of last year, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles accused a Ukrainian woman of being part of a hacker group that knocked out the refrigeration at a meatpacking facility in 2024, ruining more than 2,000 pounds of meat. The root problem was that controllers that were initially conceived as isolated interfaces that would be serviced by an in-person technician were increasingly being connected to the internet, said Bill Moore, the chief executive of industrial cybersecurity firm Xona Systems. Concerns about online exposure were not unique to cooling systems, he said, but they could have particularly serious consequences there.

Security experts warn North Korean hackers aren't just using AI in their new campaigns, but also 'post-quantum' encryption | TechRadar --North Korea's most notorious hacking group has been caught protecting its malware with the same post-quantum cryptography that governments and tech firms are still rolling out to safeguard their own data.In its analysis of a campaign dubbed Operation FlashHole, Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) says an updated version of LPEClient, a Lazarus Group tool, now uses ML-KEM-1024, a key exchange mechanism designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers, to secure the channel it uses to download more malware.The findings describe a campaign active since at least July 2025 that has hit at least three South Korean organizations in the software, construction, and wired communication equipment manufacturing sectors.The way in was familiar: Kaspersky found a GitHub Pages site tied to a GitHub account, created in September 2025, that the attackers used for command and control. The site first showed the résumé of a supposed senior network appliance developer, likely seen by an employee of the communications equipment maker, before the attackers swapped it in January 2026for an interior design showcase that probably targeted the construction firm.Kaspersky assesses with medium-to-high confidence that targets received spear-phishing emails linking to these sites, which loaded JavaScript from attacker-controlled domains, though it could not determine exactly what triggered the infection.From there, the chain ran through INISAFE CrossWeb EX, financial security software South Koreans need in order to use many online banking and government websites. How it was abused is unclear, but the malware ended up running in memory with elevated privileges, spawned by a CrossWeb EX build released in 2023 after a public advisory from South Korea's KrCERT.That is a well-trodden route; Kaspersky says Lazarus abused CrossWeb EX in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and in Operation SyncHole, disclosed in April 2025, it used Cross EX, a related program, to compromise at least six organizations, and we also reported on the group exploiting a zero-day in MagicLine4NX, another South Korean authentication tool.Kaspersky believes the photo on the résumé site was AI-generated, citing missing EXIF metadata and an unnatural texture, and that AI most likely built the site too, given a candidate name resembling Korea's equivalent of "John Doe" and a portfolio stuffed with filler details and unrelated companies. ojun Ryu, senior security researcher at Kaspersky GReAT, said the findings suggest Lazarus is "bringing AI into its long-established playbook," a shift Kaspersky has also seen among other Lazarus-aligned groups. That fits a broader pattern, from Kimsuky using ChatGPT to forge a South Korean military ID to North Korean IT workers using generative AI to get hired at Western firms.

Tech giants hit by clampdown on data centres -Tech giants will be hit with a crackdown on new data centres amid a growing backlash against the global expansion in AI data centre construction. The Treasury has confirmed plans for a data centre “covenant” – a deal with technology businesses that forces developers to abide by new rules in exchange for faster access to grid power.AI companies will need to agree that their data centres will not push up energy bills; must pledge to invest in local communities; and report on their water use.They will also be encouraged to reuse wasted heat from their facilities to power local homes and use British AI hardware.I n return, companies will get quicker planning and power approvals amid a backlog that has seen some companies told they must wait up to 15 years for a grid link.  Data centres are facing mounting resistance from communities globally, with some cities in the US and Europe introducing moratoriums on new development.  Confirming the plans in his first Budget, John Healey said: “Here’s the deal. I am today launching a new British data centre covenant with strict tests that data centres must meet.Officials are targeting tripling Britain’s AI data centre capacity to six gigawatts by 2030 to stay in the race.Under Sir Keir Starmer’s government, Labour promised to boost development by labelling data facilities critical national infrastructure to capitalise on the AI boom.But planning hurdles and high energy prices have held up key projects. Earlier this year OpenAI abandoned plans to build a major data centre in the UK because of the cost of power.The Telegraph also revealed in July that Nscale, a British AI company, was facing major delays in securing a grid connection at its flagship UK site in Essex. Microsoft subsequently withdrew its backing for the project.The new “covenant” promises to speed up access to power. It will also allow AI companies to build temporary power systems, normally gas-powered turbines, for “exceptionally strategic projects”.Yet industry experts warned it was unclear whether the trade-off would help accelerate projects.A source close to several technology giants said the grid proposals would be a “welcome package”, but the new rules risked “increasing the burden” of red tape.Will Stone, a former Treasury adviser and a researcher at Science Works, said on X: “These things may all be nice, but they are not cheap. This could very well backfire badly.”

PFAS Risks Reshape Data Center Development and AI Growth - Public opposition to data center development has been building, with residents, local advocacy groups and national environmental organizations raising concerns about electricity prices, strained power grids, and water resources. As the 2026 midterms approach, opponents have introduced another risk into the debate: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals.[1] PFAS and data center development are each flashpoints for public concern. Together, they drive heightened scrutiny. Data center developers, operators, and investors should prepare now for project opponents, regulators, and legislators to use PFAS concerns to influence how projects are permitted, litigated and investigated. PFAS are a family of thousands of man-made chemicals built on strong carbon-fluorine bonds. These bonds make PFAS useful across industries, but also allow the chemicals to persist in the environment. PFAS remain the subject of nationwide tort and product liability litigation, expanded remediation efforts under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and significant regulatory enforcement activity. Among their many commercial applications, PFAS are present in technology that supports artificial intelligence infrastructure. Semiconductor manufacturing, which produces chips that power AI servers, relies on PFAS compounds at multiple stages because of their chemical stability and resistance to heat and corrosion. The push to reduce data center water use also has accelerated the adoption of closed-loop and immersion cooling systems, many of which are designed to use PFAS-based fluids and gases for cooling. A growing number of environmental advocates and data center opponents contend that rising demand for computing capacity will increase PFAS production and releases into air, water, and soil. One advocacy group summarized that view succinctly: “More Data Centers = More Toxic PFAS.”[2] The emerging intersection of PFAS concerns and data center opposition adds fuel to the growing use of environmental laws in an effort to constrain the buildout of digital infrastructure. In several states, environmental and civil rights groups already have brought citizen-suit enforcement actions under the federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. State agencies are also increasing environmental compliance oversight,[3] and several states have adopted or are considering “responsible” data center development frameworks, including new environmental review and permitting requirements. Adding PFAS to this mix is likely to shift some attention from water use to alleged water pollution, implicating entirely separate state regulatory regimes designed to address PFAS and protect public drinking water supplies. In fact, some states that are most active in data center development also are among the most advanced in regulating PFAS, including Virginia, Illinois and North Carolina. Virginia, for example, has adopted a law requiring increased monitoring and disclosure of PFAS discharges across a range of industrial sectors. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality also recently acknowledged public concerns about potential PFAS discharges from a data center by including a unique reopener that would allow the permit to be revised to incorporate future PFAS-related terms. The practical question for developers is what are the legal risks if PFAS is detected at, or alleged to be associated with, a project? Potential consequences include citizen-suit enforcement actions alleging unpermitted PFAS discharges, investigations by state regulatory agencies, and the imposition of permit conditions requiring ongoing PFAS monitoring. Developers also should prepare for heightened congressional scrutiny, particularly if Democrats retake control of the House after the midterm elections. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is active on both PFAS and data center issues. In June 2026, he supported a nationwide moratorium on data center development, citing in part concerns about PFAS components used in data centers. In July 2026, he stated that, if he becomes committee chair, he will pursue “federal guardrails” on data center development through tools that include environmental regulation. Rep. Pallone already has launched inquiries as ranking member. In July, he requested information from xAI Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk about air emissions and monitoring, water use, and water contamination.[4] Congressional interest is not limited to oversight letters. A bipartisan transparency bill, H.R. 6984, would require public disclosure of, among other metrics, “the type and amount of pollutants . . . discharged into water by data centers. . ." The bill has gained bipartisan cosponsors, and a bipartisan Senate companion bill, S. 5640, also has been introduced. As PFAS scrutiny expands, data center developers, operators and investors should assess potential PFAS uses and releases early, evaluate permitting and monitoring exposure, and prepare for increased regulatory, legislative and citizen-suit attention.

Data centers, water myths, and what the numbers really say -As Europe emerges from record-breaking summer temperatures, and as the US prepares for midterm elections in November, data centers find themselves in the firing line on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, water companies say data centers are using 6.6 million liters of precious public supplies every day; in the US, some voters are blaming rises in their electricity bills on, you’ve guessed it, data centers . Bloomberg has described the data center “backlash” as a “defining midterms issue”. And so, a narrative has been allowed to develop – that too many data centers are being built, and too quickly, and worst of all in areas where water is scarce. No wonder some communities believe their water needs are being ignored in the name of advancing IT infrastructure to support AI. In some cases, there has been genuine cause for grievance – in an earlier era, water efficiency was not always a design constraint on data center construction. But the public debate is now running on figures which range from outdated to plain wrong. Some of the loudest claims overstate the problem by orders of magnitude. Others, including several the industry itself repeats, understate it. Getting the numbers right matters – and most of all to the communities that host these facilities – because bad numbers produce bad siting decisions, misdirected scrutiny, and misplaced trust. “Every ChatGPT conversation drinks a bottle of water” is the most famous quote in the public discourse about AI infrastructure and data centers. But the claim is not supported by anyone – not even its author. Traced to a single academic paper - Making AI Less “Thirsty” by Pengfei Li, Jianyi Yang, Mohammad A. Islam, and Shaolei Ren of UC Riverside – the figure was a calculated estimate built from public data, not an actual meter reading from a data center. But a 2024 Washington Post analysis ensured the figure went viral. Since then, Ren has indicated that the GPT-4 estimate was likely far too high and that the real figure is closer to 15ml per prompt in total, of which 5ml is on-site cooling water in a data center. Then in August 2025, Google found that a median text prompt of its AI tool, Gemini, consumed 0.26ml of on-site water – or about five drops. Credible estimates still span more than a thousandfold depending on model, location, season, and, above all, what you choose to count. But nobody is talking about bottles of water anymore – the honest answer to How much water does a query use? is a range, and the range is wide because disclosure is inconsistent. Critics think all data centers are the same when it comes to water and cooling – but that’s simply not the case. Different cooling technologies use different amounts of water. Google disclosed in 2024, for example, that one of its Texas data centers consumed about 10,000 gallons in a year – roughly two months of a single household’s use – while its largest water consumer, in Iowa, used around a billion gallons. Same company, same year, but a difference of five orders of magnitude determined almost entirely by cooling architecture and climate. There’s another myth that water used by data centers is lost forever. But again, no two facilities are the same. A data center which withdraws river water, runs it through heat exchangers and returns it to the river, at a slightly higher temperature, clearly has a very different impact from one which draws water from an aquifer and evaporates the same volume into the sky. Water withdrawal (and return) and water consumption are two different metrics. Again, bad numbers fail to tell the full story. National figures, though, obscure local impact. That’s why a single data center drawing millions of gallons of water a day, arriving suddenly in one small municipality, matters more locally than a thousand different water uses spread across a continent. It’s understandable – but important to put in context. Data centers attract community scrutiny not because they are large water users nationally but because they are concentrated and visible.

Bitcoin dips below $80,000, liquidating $356 million in crypto longs --Bitcoin fell below $80,000 during Thursday’s Asian trading session, reversing a two-day rebound as a fresh wave of risk aversion swept through global technology stocks. The largest cryptocurrency dropped from above $81,700 to around $79,800, dragging the broader crypto market lower and triggering a wave of liquidations among traders betting on a rally.  The selloff began in Asia, where Samsung shares fell more than 5% after its semiconductor division missed elevated investor expectations. While the chip unit reported a 15-fold surge in operating profit to 106.5 trillion won for the three months through September, the result fell just short of the average analyst estimate of 108.5 trillion won. Samsung also said it expects capital expenditure to reach 84.4 trillion won, or about $63 billion, this year—up roughly 60%.Group-wide net income still rose 39%, but the disappointment was enough to rattle markets. South Korea’s Kospi fell more than 2%, while futures tied to the Nasdaq declined 1.4%. That weakness rippled into crypto, dragging bitoin, ether, solana, and a host of other tokens lower.  Overnight, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.75%–4% range, delivering what has been described as a hawkish hold. Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged that progress is being made on inflation but said price pressures remain too high. ING still expects the central bank to deliver another rate increase in December, following September’s hike. BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income and Head of the Global Allocation Investment Team Rick Rieder struck a cautious tone, saying investors should avoid making a “heroic directional call” on rates. “Real yields remain attractive, and there’s considerable income available across high-quality fixed-income markets,” Rieder said. “We continue to favor a moderate duration posture, taking advantage of today’s income opportunities while remaining patient as this unusually divergent economy evolves.”  For crypto, the risk is that a hawkish tone keeps real or inflation-adjusted bond yields elevated and may limit capital inflows into risky, speculative assets. Bitcoin’s renewed slide below $80,000 accelerated selling across derivatives markets. Futures positions worth $356 million were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to market data. Long positions – bets that prices would rise – accounted for $205 million of that total. Bitcoin futures saw $94 million in liquidations, while ether futures accounted for $72 million.

Binance Suspends Transactions After It Is Targeted in Biggest-Ever Cyber Heist -- The crypto exchange says users will be made whole. But hackers made off with an estimated $6.3 billion.   Binance suspended transactions Thursday as the exchange investigates the biggest cyber heist in history. “It does look like a hack on Binance,” Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, said in a post on the social-media platform X. “User funds are safe.”

World's largest crypto exchange hit by world's largest heist - Hackers stole over $6 billion in cryptocurrency on Thursday, shattering the record for the largest such heist as multiple investigators pointed the finger at North Korea. As of Thursday night in the US, a team of cryptocurrency firms had managed to freeze about $3 billion of the stolen loot amid a frenetic battle with the hackers to find and control the digital money. The hackers broke into digital wallets held at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Binance said late Thursday that its initial investigation indicates that the hack went through an engineer’s laptop, “which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.” Binance said it would “cover all losses” from “the company’s funds” and an emergency assets fund, adding “user funds are safe.” The crypto exchange also said it had “temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while security checks are completed; revoked the affected address authorization; [and] engaged law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds.” Analysts were shocked by the amount of money impacted. “It’s the biggest hack in history,” Aravind Srinivasan, head of large crypto market maker GSR’s systematic OTC business, told Reuters. Crypto-tracing firm TRM Labs attributed the heist to an elite North Korean hacking unit, “based on robust on and off-chain intelligence.” Pangolin Intelligence, another blockchain-tracking firm based in Singapore, said it also believed that a North Korean hacking unit was behind the heist. “Analyzing the on-chain activity related to this hack and correlating with information gathered from previous known incidents [involving the North Korean cyber unit]” led to the attribution, said an analyst with Pangolin Intelligence, who did not want to be named for privacy reasons. “I think the cat and mouse game has barely begun yet,” the Pangolin Intelligence analyst told CNN, adding that North Korea was likely poised to tap a network of money laundering organizations to try to cash out the stolen funds. Chainalysis, another crypto-tracking company, said it was monitoring stolen funds “moving across multiple blockchains,” including Bitcoin and Ethereum. A Chainalysis spokesperson told CNN the firm had “high confidence” North Korea was behind the hack. CNN has reached out to North Korea’s mission at the UN for comment. Pyongyang has previously denied hacking allegations. CNN has requested comment from the FBI, as well as the US Secret Service, which also investigates cybercrime. In past investigations of big crypto hacks, the FBI has had an on-call team of analysts that worked to freeze some of the money. If North Korea is proven to be the culprit, it would be little surprise to US law enforcement officials and private experts. North Korean hackers were blamed for the previous record-high crypto hack, when they allegedly stole $1.5 billion from Bybit, another major cryptocurrency exchange. In that case, the attackers stole an amount equal to a significant portion of North Korea’s reported annual gross domestic product in a matter of minutes.North Korea’s formidable hacking teams are a key source of revenue for the nuclear-armed, sanctions-battered regime, according to current and former US and South Korean officials. Pyongyang-linked hackers have stolen billions of dollars from banks and cryptocurrency firms in the last several years, according to reports from the United Nations and private firms.A 2023 CNN investigation spotlighted how the South Korean intelligence service worked with private crypto-tracking experts to seize about $1 million in cryptocurrency that North Koreans had stolen from a victim. Unlike platforms for trading stocks, cryptocurrency exchanges tend to hold digital assets on their users’ behalf, which make them more vulnerable to hackers and theft, particularly given a lack of regulatory oversight within the relatively nascent industry. Binance was founded in 2017 by Canadian national Chaopeng Zhao, becoming the world’s largest crypto trading platform within a year of its launch. However, Zhao stepped down in 2023 after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws in the US. He was sentenced to four months in federal prison, and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in October last year. Zhao, who no longer manages the platform but remains its largest shareholder, said on X that the incident appeared to be a hack and that he expects user funds to be fully covered by the exchange. Prices of Bitcoin and Ether, the most widely-traded cryptocurrencies, plummeted following news of the Binance breach, but regained some losses to trade about 2-3% lower midday Friday in Hong Kong.

Tether, Circle freeze $2.38 billion after Binance reports security incident   (Reuters) - Circle and Tether on Thursday froze over $2.38 billion in stablecoin currency after Binance said it was actively investigating a potential security issue.Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a post on X its teams were reviewing all relevant information with urgency and added that user funds were safe. Crypto firm Ripple had frozen roughly $200 million, Binance co-founder Yi He said on X.Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer manages the company, wrote on X that the incident "looked like a hack".Tether, which issues the world’s largest stablecoin, said it froze nearly $1.57 billion related to the hack, with Circle freezing over $800 million.Circle, another stablecoin issuer, is closely tracking reports of a potential exploit involving Binance, its co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire wrote in a post on X, adding that it will continue supporting the investigation.Binance has over 335 million registered global users, according to its website. Crypto exchanges such as Binance are platforms where people buy, sell or trade digital assets.Binance.US, a separate cryptocurrency exchange, said it was not affected by the security incident.

Bitcoin tumbles as Binance hack rattles crypto markets - Bitcoin fell on Friday as concerns over a $6.3 billion hack at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, by far the biggest in crypto on record, rattled digital asset markets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell 2.8% to $78,489.73. Ether , the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 3.8% to $2,242.90 while Binance’s native token, BNB, tumbled 3.5% to $717.4 Defying the broader sell-off, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token surged 17% to $93.16. Binance said Friday that a security incident had an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, with around $3 billion in cryptocurrency assets frozen so far, and pledged to cover all losses. The world’s largest crypto exchange said an initial investigation suggests “the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.” Binance co-founder Yi He said deposits remained unaffected and continued to operate normally, while the exchange was working on enhancements to its withdrawal service and related address controls. It expects to begin resuming withdrawal services within the next 48 hours. The developments have renewed concerns over security vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency industry, which has suffered a string of major breaches in recent years. In 2025, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit suffered a roughly $1.5 billion hack, while rival Bitget more recently lost over $350 million in digital assets to cyber theft.

Bitcoin Crashes to $76K, $1.5B Liquidated After Crypto’s Biggest Hack - Binance confirmed earlier today that it has become the latest victim of a major hack that, according to some other reports, has seen well over $6 billion drained from the platform. This is by far the biggest hack in the crypto industry, which, as expected, led to a massive pullback in (almost) all digital assets. Bitcoin led the way south, dumping to $76,350 for the first time since September 18. Recall that the asset challenged the $82,000 resistance just a day prior to the conclusion of the latest FOMC meeting.The subsequent rejection pushed it toward $80,500 before the massive leg down to the aforementioned October low. It has rebounded since then and currently sits at just over $78,000.The altcoins follow suit. Ethereum has tanked by 3% daily and is struggling below $2,250. BNB has slumped by more than 4% and sits at $715. XRP is down to $1.250. Interestingly, there are some alts in the green, including the two largest privacy tokens – ZEC and XMR.HYPE, which is among Binance’s largest competitors, has skyrocketed by over 17% after some positive US developments we reported yesterday.The total value of wrecked positions has skyrocketed to $1.52 billion on a 24-hour scale, with $1.36 billion coming after the Binance hack. Naturally, longs are responsible for the lion’s share.

Tech stocks and crypto crashing today, perfect storm for markets - Traders are running scared this Halloween weekend as a combustible mix of market forces have sparked a selloff in major technology stocks and cryptocurrencies. Weak earnings reports from AI hyper-scalers including Amazon and Google, along with a historic hack on crypto exchange Binance, have left investors in high-growth assets feeling like they have nowhere to turn. As of this writing, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 3.3% on Friday, its worst day since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were also lower, though not as dramatically. The stock rout could have political implications, as markets now only have one trading day left to recover before Americans across the country are set to vote in elections that are seen as referendums on Republican leadership. Intel Corporation is leading the selloff, with shares collapsing 30% after it reported a weaker-than-expected outlook for its fourth quarter. According to CNBC, it was the tech giant’s worst day in more than 50 years. Memory chip and semiconductor companies, including Nvidia Corporation and Micron Technologies, are also taking a hit. Sandisk Corporation shares were down more than 14% Friday as of this writing, extending losses that have seen the stock plummet more than 35% over the last month. The current tech earnings season has deepened fears that massive spending on AI buildouts—most notably in the form of data centers—may not bear monetizable fruit in the long run. Google, for example, reported lower-than-expected ad revenue for its all-important Search division, a sign that AI chatbots, including its own, could be cannibalizing its core product. Google parent Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG) suffered its worst-ever post-earnings stock decline on Thursday after the report. On the crypto side, crypto-adjacent companies saw their share prices fall dramatically following news that hackers made off with $6.3 billion in an attack on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Cybersecurity experts linked the incident to an infamous North Korean hacking group. Binance is privately held, but fellow crypto exchange Coinbase Global saw its stock price tumble more than 10% on Friday. Trading platform Robinhood Markets and stable coin issuer Circle Internet Group also saw their shares fall. Some tokens themselves also took a tumble, most notably Bitcoin, whose price had fallen to under $77,000 as of this writing, its lowest in more than a month.

Intel stock has worst day since 1970s, wiping about $12 billion off government’s stake - Intel shares plummeted 29% on Friday, their worst day since the 1970s, after the chipmaker issued weaker-than-expected guidance due to a plant shutdown in Israel and ongoing softness in the PC market. It’s a major setback for CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was hired in March 2025, and has since been on a campaign to revive the company after it missed out on the early years of the artificial intelligence boom. Intel’s plunge is also a big hit to the Trump administration, which led the U.S. government into taking a 10% stake in the company over a year ago. While it’s still a profitable investment, the value of those holdings dropped by about $12 billion on Friday. Nvidia also took a big stake in Intel, and its stock dropped by about $6 billion in value. Heading into Thursday’s earnings report, Intel shares were up about 150% this year, buoyed by demand for central processors, which are becoming critical to agentic AI workloads. Analysts at D.A. Davidson downgraded the stock to neutral from buy on Friday in a report titled, “Not fixed yet.” “We understand the PC market is being impacted at the industry level,” the analysts wrote. “However it is hard to justify the current multiple when weakness is so significant.” Amazon shares also sold off on Friday, slipping 1.4%, after the company reported a third-quarter miss on the top and bottom line while maintaining its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 of $220 billion. Amazon also reported negative free cash flow for the second consecutive quarter, and a big increase from the previous period. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.9%, capping off a week of rough tech earnings. Alphabet on Thursday suffered its worst day on record, plunging more than 12%. The stock fell again on Friday. Other semiconductor names also notched declines. Chip giant Nvidia fell 4%, while Broadcom dropped more than 5% and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm tumbled 11%. Investors are growing nervous about the massive AI spending from the tech giants and whether their investments will pay off. “I don’t think this is a moment of reckoning but I think it’s a moment where investors should take a long thought about how positioning across the space still remains crowded even though the fundamentals are strong,” Matt Orton, chief market strategist at Raymond James, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday. For Intel, the disappointing forecast reflects a PC market that’s getting hammered due to soaring costs for memory and other components. Global PC shipments declined 4% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research. Intel said it expects adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents this quarter on revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $17.1 billion and EPS of 43 cents, according to LSEG. “We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year,” Intel finance chief David Zinsner, said in the release. “We will continue making disciplined investments in capacity and working capital to increase supply and support future growth.” The guidance also accounts for the effects of an explosion at a fab in Israel that killed two workers and seriously injured a third earlier this month. The incident will cost the company about $600 million in lost revenue over two quarters, Zinsner said. Tan said the explosion, which he called an “unfortunate and tragic accident,” caused an “extended shutdown” at the plant, impacting shipments of 10-nanometer chips. Key to Tan’s turnaround effort is Intel’s foundry business, which has struggled to find its footing. Intel is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of advanced logic chips, and is now in high-volume production of its most advanced 18A chip out of its new fab in Arizona, providing an alternative to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Its next Arizona fab is expected to begin operations by the end of 2028. Intel still has no external customers for its new chips. “We’re going to have a couple of customers ready to announce the next two quarters,” Tan said on the call, adding that Intel is making “tremendous progress” on its coming 14A chips.

A guide to getting AI buy in as RIAs look to scale | American Banker - Janise Brooks, president of Pax Financial Group, and David Quisenberry, CEO of Highvault Consulting, discussed AI deployment at ADVISE AI in Austin, Texas.

• Key insight: AI adoption allows a firm to grow quickly. But getting employees on board isn't always easy.
• Expert quote: "I have learned that it's not top-down. As leaders, we have to set the vision and the expectation of where we want AI to take us. It really comes bottom-up." — Janise Brooks, president of Pax Financial Group

Banks are blocking external AI agents. Is this sustainable? | American Banker --  (poll graphic: Consumers wary of letting AI agents access their accounts) A large bank was monitoring the behavior of an ordinary-looking AI agent when it saw something shocking: The agent conducted a password reset on an account, accessed the account, changed the approved accounts to which money could be transferred, and moved $100,000 out of the account. The bank's fraud team went to the CEO and recommended a policy of immediately blocking all external AI agents. The anecdote was shared with American Banker by a source who spoke under condition that the bank's identity not be disclosed.

• Key insight: Large banks are blocking external AI agents due to security and fraud risks.
• Expert quote: "Agents aren't going anywhere, and firms on all sides of this transaction will need to adapt to give clients what they want in a secure and managed way. As banks try to block AI agents, "the agents will go and open accounts for consumers at other firms that are not as restrictive." —Jeff McMillan, founder of McMillanAI

Lawmakers warn banks over Russian diesel imports  -A group of lawmakers warned six major U.S. banks over the weekend that facilitating imports of Russian diesel could violate federal law and urged them to preserve related records for future congressional investigations.

• Key insight: Lawmakers urged the CEOs of JPMorganChase, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to preserve records related to Russian diesel imports "in anticipation of further congressional oversight of this matter."
• Expert quote: "The potential arrangement to import Russian diesel also raises significant national security concerns, given that it would finance Russia's brutal and illegal war against Ukraine." — bipartisan letter addressed to U.S. banks, port authorities and fuel distributors

A group of lawmakers urged six major U.S. banks to steer clear of financing or otherwise facilitating purchases of Russian diesel, citing a potential violation of federal law.

Warren urges DOJ criminal probe of Bank of America over anti-money-laundering violations - Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into Bank of America and its executives after the banking giant admitted it willfully violated federal anti-money-laundering laws, according to a letter first shared with CNBC. The Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the Senate banking committee called the more than $1.2 billion in penalties imposed on the bank Oct. 13 a “slap on the wrist”” and urged Attorney General Todd Blanche to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. “The documented violations by Bank of America allowed illicit actors to move billions through the U.S. financial system,” Warren wrote. She gave the DOJ until Nov. 12 to say whether it has already investigated the conduct and, if not, whether it plans to do so. Bank of America and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letter comes just over two weeks after Treasury regulators accused the nation’s second-largest bank of years of serious compliance failures in one of the largest anti-money-laundering enforcement actions in department history. As part of its settlement with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Bank of America admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program and properly report suspicious activity. Regulators said the bank failed to report in a timely manner more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. More than $1 billion involved national-security and other high-priority risks, including activity indicative of Chinese money-laundering networks and transactions tied to the southwest border of the U.S. Treasury said Bank of America at times “prioritized its revenues” over compliance and relied heavily on law enforcement inquiries and referrals from other financial institutions to identify suspicious activity instead of its own systems. Regulators imposed more than $1.2 billion in penalties, including a record $750 million fine from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The actions did not include criminal charges against the bank or its executives. The bank said after the actions were announced that it had invested billions of dollars in compliance and was “far along” in addressing the problems. Warren argues the civil penalties are insufficient. “Civil fines have become the cost of doing business on Wall Street,” she wrote, pointing to federal law that allows criminal as well as civil penalties for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Bank of America was already operating under a 2024 cease-and-desist order over deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering controls. Regulators said this month that the bank had not made sufficient progress addressing some of those problems.

What rupture? RBC's CEO stays positive amid US-Canada rift --Even after a trade war escalated and Canada's prime minister declared a "rupture" in the world order, Royal Bank of Canada CEO Dave McKay is hopeful about the future. Here's why the head of Canada's biggest bank is so optimistic — and how he's hedging his bets.

• Key insight: RBC is hoping for the best by investing in projects that hinge on better U.S.-Canada relations, while also preparing for the worst by building loss provisions and taking other protective steps.
• Expert quote: "We're investing in growth, not decoupling." —Dave McKay, CEO of RBC

Appeals court upholds swipe fee decision, Fed must rewrite rule -A federal appeals court said the central bank must re-write its rule on debit card fee caps to strip out fixed cost considerations.

CFPB halts plan to force regional workers to move to DC - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has backed away from an effort to require employees who previously worked in the agency's regional offices to relocate to Washington, D.C.

Happen Bank originations up 26% as it adds home improvement - Happen Bank, formerly known as LendingClub before completing a rebrand earlier this year, ended its first quarter under its new name.

• Key insight: Happen Bank, the entity formerly known as LendingClub, reported strong results its first quarter under its new name.
• Expert quote: "We are four months into the rebrand [and] searches for Happen Bank are already more than two times those for LendingClub." —Scott Sanborn, CEO, Happen Bank

The lender-turned-bank is protecting itself against rising interest rates with extra hedging investments and anticipating external AI agent activity.

Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Delinquency Rates Increased in September -  In general, single family delinquency rates are low but slowly increasing. Multi-family delinquency rates are high. Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in September was 0.61%, up from 0.60% in July. Freddie's rate is up year-over-year from 0.57% in September 2025. This is close to the pre-pandemic level of 0.60%. Freddie's serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.17% in August 2020 during the pandemic.Fannie Mae reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in September was 0.62%, up from 0.60% in August. The serious delinquency rate is up year-over-year from 0.54% in September 2025, however, this rate is below the pre-pandemic lows of 0.65%.The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 5.59% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.32% in August 2020 during the pandemic. These are mortgage loans that are "three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure". Mortgages in forbearance are being counted as delinquent in this monthly report but are not reported to the credit bureaus.

Tennessee Governor Says Christa Pike's Death Sentence Will Stay The Same - Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Christa Pike’s sentence will likely stay the same, despite her failed execution last month. Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of her classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Last month, she became the first prisoner in U.S. history to survive a lethal injection. Prison staff administered two doses of pentobarbital with at least 10 needles, while Pike remained alive. She was hospitalized and declared brain dead days later. On October 6, she unexpectedly regained consciousness and began speaking. She is now reportedly walking independently and left the hospital, although her cognitive recovery remains uncertain. The New York Post reports that Pike’s lawyers called on Lee to commute her sentence after the failed execution, arguing that she has “endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty.” Lee, however, said Pike is “still incarcerated under the laws of the state of Tennessee” and that he suspects “her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts.” Pike is currently being held at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville.

Florida School Bans Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem 'The Hill We Climb'After Parent Complaint: I'm Gutted' -  A Miami-Dade County elementary school has removed Amanda Gorman’s presidential inauguration poem “The Hill We Climb” from its bookshelves. The school moved the poem to the middle school section after a parent objected to it, reported the Miami Herald. “It was determined at the school that ‘The Hill We Climb’ is better suited for middle school students, and it was shelved in the middle school section of the media center. The book remains available in the media center,” the school district said in a statement, according to NBC News. Amanda Gorman called out the school district for downplaying this decision. The video player is currently playing an ad. “I’m gutted. Because of one parent’s complaint, my inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb, has been banned from an elementary school in Miami-Dade County, Florida,” she wrote. “I wrote The Hill We Climb so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment. Ever since, I’ve received countless letters and videos by children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems. Robbing children of the chance to find their voice in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.” Gorman is suing Florida’s Escambia County alongside the publishing house Penguin Random House, PEN America, several authors and community members. They are citing the ban as a violation of freedom of speech. In March, the parent behind the ban called for several books alongside Gorman’s to be banned. Daily Salinas cited The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News: Cuba and Love to Langston for including “indirect hate messages.” The books were moved to the middle school section except for Countries in the News: Cuba, and despite The ABCs of Black History being written for ages 5 and up, reported the Miami Herald. Salinas told the news outlet she thinks the books should have been removed for all students. Hundreds of books have been banned across Florida in recent months. As of March, 175 books have been removed across the state, according to PEN America and as reported by the Miami Herald. Books that include topics of race, racism, gender and sexuality appear to be the main targets of censorship. “We’re seeing these topics pushed [away] from our kids at a time when they’re most accepting of our differences,” Stephana Ferrell, the director of research and insight at Florida Freedom to Read Project, told the Miami Herald. “This is the time to address the rougher topics in an age-appropriate way. Instead, those books are not available to them.”

Saturday night mass shooting near football stadium: 6 children shot, 12 total on busy homecoming weekend -Florida A&M University's homecoming weekend was rocked by a mass shooting late Saturday. Multiple outlets reported 12 individuals were shot near the university's stadium in Tallahassee. As of early Sunday morning, no arrest has been made in connection with the shooting. Fox News reported that among the 12 individuals shot were six children. The university published a message addressing the shooting shortly after it took place. "The University is aware of an incident that occurred near campus on Perry Street on the evening of October 24. The Tallahassee Police Department is on the scene and actively investigating the situation," the post said. "Our hearts go out to the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident. While the campus remains safe, individuals are encouraged to avoid the area to allow law enforcement to conduct its investigation." Eleven of the victims suffered from gunshot wounds and "at least three had serious injuries," per local WKMG-TV. Five victims have been released from the hospital. Another six remain hospitalized, and one of those six is reportedly in critical condition.

'No Point': UC Berkeley Math Professor Quits Grading Homework Over Student AI Use --  A prominent mathematician at the University of California, Berkeley has stopped grading homework for correctness due to the widespread and unavoidable use of artificial intelligence tools by students.  Breitbart reports Professor Richard Borcherds, a 1998 Fields Medal winner, has abandoned grading assignments after noticing that his students have been abusing AI to secure top scores.  Borcherds concluded that grading traditional, at-home assignments has become outmoded because AI can now solve undergraduate mathematics problems better than many students, making it nearly impossible to differentiate between a student's actual knowledge and a chatbot's output. Borcherds told The California Post, "Student use of AI for homework is now widespread. Grading for correctness just adds a huge incentive for them to use AI for homework instead of doing it themselves, and penalizes students for honesty." The professor has turned to giving his students credit for simply completing their work - paying no mind to whether the answers are right - and admits he knows of no better approach."There is no easy way to tell the difference between human and AI generated work. Occasionally one could tell it is AI because AI made a few characteristic errors, but AI has now improved so much that it rarely makes obvious mistakes," Borcherds said.Borcherds noted that while his current completion-based homework system is "not a very good system," educators have yet to figure out a better alternative to counter the structural skills gap emerging from AI reliance, according to Inc. In an interview with UC Berkeley's student newspaper, the Daily Californian, the professor expressed uncertainty about the future of mathematics, noting that five years ago, a mathematician appeared to be one of the safest careers from the AI boom.  Borcherds told the Daily Californian, "There have been plenty of technical breakthroughs in the past - hand weaving was put out of business by looms, and horses were put out of business by motor cars, and so on," adding, "This is the first time anything like this has happened in mathematics, though."The shift follows concerns expressed by other UC Berkeley faculty regarding an educational crisis where high homework grades are masking a severe lack of foundational math and engineering skills when students are tested under proctored conditions.

University Hospitals takes systems offline after detecting server breach - cleveland.com — University Hospitals disconnected its systems from the internet after detecting unusual activity on its servers Thursday, disrupting digital services that the health system said could remain offline for several days. UH said there is currently no impact on patient care delivery. Its MyChart patient portal appeared to remain unavailable Friday morning, and its website displayed a warning that limited services were available. The health system disconnected its systems as a precaution, according to a statement provided by a UH spokesperson. “We are working around the clock to address the issue, but anticipate digital service disruptions may continue for the next few days,” the spokesperson said. The statement did not identify all affected services or say whether patient information had been accessed. Quest Diagnostics, which offers outpatient laboratory services at UH locations, disclosed a cybersecurity incident this week.. UH has not confirmed whether the incidents are connected. During Quest’s Thursday earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Sam Samad said the company learned Wednesday of unauthorized access to a test-ordering system used by certain clients who do not use electronic medical records. “This incident has not materially disrupted our business operations or our ability to serve physicians and patients,” Samad said. He said the investigation was in its early stages and declined to provide additional details. In an update posted Friday morning, Quest identified the affected system as Quanum Lab Services Manager, which certain clients use to order tests and retrieve results. The company said it paused access after discovering the incident. Quest said personal information and patient records were affected, but investigators were still determining which patients and information were involved. The company said it would notify affected patients as required by law and provide information about resources, including credit and identity monitoring. Access to Quest’s Essential Insights and LabHQ systems was also temporarily paused as a precaution, though the company said no data was accessed in those systems. Providers who order tests through electronic medical records or direct laboratory interfaces could continue using those unaffected connections, Quest said. Quanum LSM clients could use paper requisitions or the company’s eLabs system to place orders and obtain results. Quest said it did not expect delays for clients who had not used Quanum LSM. The company notified federal law enforcement and hired outside cybersecurity experts to assist with its investigation, according to a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cybersecurity issue knocks out a major New Mexico hospital network (AP) — A major hospital network in New Mexico raced to fix a cybersecurity issue on Monday that forced it to send ambulances to other hospitals and left the state without an emergency department capable of treating the most serious injuries. The University of New Mexico Health System told people not to show up at its main hospital in Albuquerque and canceled appointments at its more than 30 clinics. It said it was working to resolve the issue, the extent and nature of which was not immediately clear. The hospital network conducts about 900,000 outpatient visits and receives 100,000 emergency room visits each year, according to its website. It operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System, two other major healthcare providers in New Mexico, said they were coordinating with the UNM Health System, including taking additional patients. The UNM Health System said in a statement that its hospitals and clinics began resuming operations in phases later in the day. Multiple UNM Health System employees said they heard messages across their computers while working late Monday morning that claimed to have stolen student and employee data and patient information. A spokesperson for the health system wouldn’t comment, saying that the incident remains an active law enforcement investigation. FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens in Albuquerque said the agency was “assisting our partner” but declined further comment. The Associated Press left emails and phone messages seeking comment from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department. The incident comes amid growing concern about the security of digital systems that underpin essential services, from banking to medical care. Incidents affecting hospitals, including demands for ransom, have been going on for a decade, said Josephine Wolff, a professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts University. Breaching a system to play a message on computers is pretty unusual, Wolff said. Monday’s incident, she said, shows “how much work we still have to do to get better at defending ourselves.” On Monday afternoon, at the main entrance to its Albuquerque hospital, employees in turquoise staff shirts sat on chairs that blocked the waiting room and told patients their appointments might be canceled.

CIDRAP Op-Ed: HHS says it wants better evidence on vaccine injuries. It’s building a system that will produce the opposite. | CIDRAP - On October 8, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced four actions on vaccine injury. It opened a clinic at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for people who report health problems after vaccination. It proposed, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to pay physicians for reporting suspected vaccine injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. It said electronic health records will be required to capture vaccine-related adverse events. And it is modernizing VAERS so that reports can be filed from a phone. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the package as a refusal to “dismiss or gaslight” patients and families. Some of this is fine. VAERS should be easier to use, and a QR code on a vaccine information statement is a reasonable idea. VAERS captures only a fraction of what happens after vaccination, and anyone who has filled out a VAERS form in the middle of a clinic day understands why. If the goal were simply more complete reporting, there would be little to object to.The problem is in the two centerpiece items, the billing code and the clinic. Both collect attributions. Neither verifies them. And both are built in a way that will increase the number of recorded injuries whether or not actual injuries rise.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) own description of VAERS is worth quoting, because the announcement never gives one. VAERS is an early-warning system, co-managed by the CDC and FDA. It is passive, meaning it waits for patients, families, and clinicians to send in reports. It “accepts all reports without judging whether the event was caused by the vaccine.” A report “is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.” Most events reported to VAERS are not associated with vaccination, the number of reports rises and falls with media attention, and because VAERS does not know how many people were vaccinated, it usually cannot turn reports into rates.VAERS is still useful, in the way a smoke detector is useful. In July 1999, the CDC published a report of 15 infants who developed intussusception, a bowel obstruction in which one segment of intestine slides into another, after receiving RotaShield, the first licensed rotavirus vaccine. The 15 cases came from VAERS. The CDC said the evidence suggested but did not establish a causal link, recommended postponing further doses, and investigated. The risk turned out to be real, and the vaccine was withdrawn.Fifteen reports in a passive system were enough to pause a vaccine. That is the system working as intended, and it worked because the reports were followed by studies that compared vaccinated infants with unvaccinated ones. Nobody needed to treat 15 reports as 15 confirmed injuries, and nobody did.The reports mattered because of what was done with them. The October 8 announcement, however, makes the report itself the product.The HHS release says CMS proposes to pay physicians “for the time they spend submitting reports of suspected vaccine-related injuries to VAERS.” The proposal itself, published in July in the rule that sets Medicare physician payment for 2027, describes something else. It creates a billing code, GADV1, for “the diagnosis and treatment of vaccine adverse effects.” The code is added on top of an ordinary office or telehealth visit and billed in 15-minute increments, and it can be used when the clinician documents that the symptoms began after a vaccination and has assessed other possible causes. The rule assigns the code its own payment value, so each 15 minutes adds to the bill. Comments closed September 14, and the rule is expected to be finalized in November for a January 1 start.So the rule does not pay for filing a report. It pays for time spent diagnosing and treating a vaccine adverse effect. That is a different service, and the difference is the whole problem.Medicare already pays physicians to evaluate patients with new symptoms. That is what an office visit is. What this code adds is extra payment that becomes available only when the symptoms are attached to a vaccine. The qualifying bar, symptoms that began after a vaccination, is low in a population that receives influenza, COVID-19, RSV, pneumococcal, and shingles vaccines, often several within one season. A 72-year-old who comes in with fatigue three weeks after her flu vaccine qualifies on timing alone. If I spend 15 minutes and conclude that her fatigue is a vaccine adverse effect, that time carries a new code. If I spend the same 15 minutes and conclude it is her anemia, or the blood pressure medication her cardiologist started last month, it does not. Nothing about the patient changed. Only the conclusion changed, and only one conclusion pays me for it.The medical societies that commented on the rule saw this. The Infectious Diseases Society of America told CMS the code is “neither clinically necessary nor advisable as a matter of public health policy,” because a separate payment framed around vaccine adverse effects conveys to patients and physicians alike that such effects are more common or more clinically significant than the evidence supports.

Study suggests gut microbiome determines vaccine reaction -  A new study shows a person’s gut microbiome, specifically levels of inflammation in the intestine, may be behind post-vaccination fevers. The study was published earlier this month in Science. Fever is a common reaction to a number of vaccines but can be a factor in vaccine hesitancy, the authors wrote, especially for vaccines against seasonal influenza and COVID-19. The study was based on 171 healthy adults whose fecal microbiomes, body temperature, and blood-based immune markers were measured before and after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The authors found that Lachnospiraceae, a bacteria that lives in the gut and can produce flagellin (which forms flagella, providing cell motility), played an important role in vaccine-related reactions. Notably, participants who had fevers following vaccination had higher levels of flagellated bacteria in their intestinal samples. The authors said it is possible flagellin may activate inflammatory pathways and intensify vaccine-related reactions and that these reactions may be enhanced by a high-fat and highly processed diet, which leaves the body in an inflammatory state. “Although interventional human studies are needed to establish causality, this suggests that diet modification could be a viable strategy to influence microbiome-dependent vaccine responses,” the authors wrote. 

National COVID-19 trends, October 27 - The Sick Times --Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers:

• SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater decreased 15% between October 7 and October 14, and the national wastewater trend is “high”  (high concentration and downward trend), per WastewaterSCAN.
• SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater decreased 7% between October 10 and October 17, and the national wastewater viral activity level is “low,” per the CDC.
• COVID-19 test positivity decreased 6%, from 3.8% of COVID-19 tests returning positive results during the week ending October 10 to 3.6% positive during the week ending October 17.

This summer’s COVID-19 wave is still lingering into the fall, as much of the country reports ongoing moderate to high disease levels in mid-October. While there’s some conflicting data about where cases are increasing and decreasing, it’s clear that parts of the Northeast and Midwest are starting to see outbreaks, as is expected when the weather starts getting colder.COVID-19 levels are mostly declining in the South, but remain higher in many areas as they are still coming down from late-summer peaks. In Florida, for example, the CDC reports wastewater viral activity levels are “very high,” which I interpret as actually incredibly high given the minimizing baselines that the agency uses for its calculations. The CDC and WastewaterSCAN also both report SARS-CoV-2 levels may be increasing again at some testing sites in Florida, though these are preliminary data that could be adjusted in future weeks.The West also continues to be a COVID-19 hotspot. The CDC reports “very high” wastewater viral activity levels in Washington state and Montana (though Montana has limited data, with only two testing sites across the state), and “high” levels in California, Nevada, and Hawaii. COVID-19 activity is clearly declining in California, which has one of the most robust wastewater testing networks of any state, but may not have reached its peak yet in other states further north and further inland.The CDC’s infectious disease forecasting center, which uses emergency department data for its modeling, estimates that COVID-19 cases are “growing” in four states — including Utah and Colorado — as of October 21 and “likely growing” in six states, with five out of those six in the Mountain West and upper Midwest. Colorado’s public health agency reports growing SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in wastewater at several testing sites in the state, and WWSCAN reports sky-high concentrations at one testing site in Boise, Idaho. Future data will tell if this is a true high level or related to testing or environmental issues. CDC map showing COVID-19 wastewater viral activity levels by state, for the week ending October 17; note that the CDC uses high baselines as a starting point for these levels. In the Northeast, a couple of states report higher SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island. Connecticut is also reporting a higher COVID-19 hospitalization rate, via the CDC’s hospitalization surveillance network: 2.8 COVID-19 hospitalizations per every 100,000 people, compared to 1.2 for every 100,000 nationally. Other parts of the Northeast are reporting declines from the late-summer surge, at least through mid-October. The Midwest remains the region with the lowest COVID-19 levels, but that’s likely to change as the weather continues to get colder. Wastewater and ED data show a couple of potential early hotspots: Ohio and West Virginia both have “growing” cases according to the CDC’s forecasting center, and there are WWSCAN testing sites with high coronavirus levels in Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan.Flu cases also continue to increase across the U.S. as we get into an earlier-than-usual flu season. The West and South are reporting higher flu levels than other regions so far, but indicators like test positivity, emergency department visits, flu levels in wastewater, and doctor’s visits for flu-like illness are increasing across all regions. Nationally, test positivity for flu is now higher than test positivity for COVID-19 (5.7% versus 3.6%, from the week ending October 17).In other flu news: last week, the Washington State Department of Health reported a recent human case of the bird flu strain H5N1 — the first human case in the U.S. this year, and the first one linked to dairy cows in the state. ProPublica also recently investigated unchecked bird flu spread at a mink farm in Utah. Bird flu hasn’t been in the headlines much lately, but it remains a threat to farmworkers and a potential precursor for the next pandemic

Policy brief suggests speedier, fairer COVID vaccine rollout could have averted millions of deaths by 2022 - Had lower-income and lower middle–income countries rolled out the COVID-19 vaccine at the same rate as their wealthy counterparts, they might have prevented up to half of deaths related to the virus by fall 2021, according to a model-based policy brief from Canada’s United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) and international partners.And rolling out the vaccine 100 days after the virus was sequenced could have saved more than 8 million lives around the world by 2022, mostly in poorer countries, the authors said.“COVID-19 vaccines were developed and deployed faster than any before them, yet countries differed widely in their ability to finance, procure, distribute and administer them,” they wrote. Sharing supplies more fairly could have averted 1.3 million deaths worldwide by 2022 by more evenly disrupting transmission, reducing the risk of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, and speeding economic recovery, they added.By the end of 2021, wealthy countries had administered, on average, at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose per person, compared with one dose for every three people in lower middle–income countries and one for every 25 in low-income countries.“When vaccine supplies are limited, distribution should respond to epidemiological evidence, including disease burden, risk of severe outcomes and the speed of transmission, so that vaccines reach the places where they can prevent the greatest harm,” lead author Mahan Ghafari, DPhil, of the University of Oxford, said in a UNU press release. “But for millions of people in poorer countries, they still arrived too late,” he added. “The science moved at record speed while the systems for financing, sharing and delivering vaccines did not.”Before the next pandemic, nations must agree on fair vaccine-sharing rules, said coauthor Kaveh Madani, PhD, director of UNU-INWEH. “We must strengthen the foundations for equity through cooperative global mechanisms that can effectively improve financing, manufacturing and delivery, ensuring that life-saving solutions reach those who need them most,” he said.

Japan’s COVID-19 efforts protected Olympians, Paralympians in 2021, analysis finds - During the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games—which the COVID-19 pandemic delayed until 2021—stronger surveillance and mitigation efforts protected most athletes and team officials from contracting COVID-19, a study published last week in Eurosurveillance finds. “The results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 transmission into and within athletes and team officials was minimized by multiple infection prevention measures,” said the authors, led by researchers at the Japan Institute for Health Security in Tokyo. “This conclusion is supported first by the low attack rates among both Olympic and Paralympic athletes and team officials.” For the 2020 Games, Japan enhanced its COVID-19 surveillance and mitigation in several ways. Country teams entering the nation needed to quarantine for 14 days. Following that, athletes were discouraged from interacting with people from outside of the venues. Those involved in Olympics and Paralympics events underwent regular COVID-19 testing, which found those with COVID-19 infections early and allowed them to enter isolation early. Those attending Olympic and Paralympic venues wore masks and physically distanced from one another. During the Olympic Games, only 0.6% of athletes and team officials (65 of 11,400) tested positive for COVID-19—the same rate as for the Paralympic Games (30 of 4,800). Most people who tested positive (85 of 95) did so upon arrival or within two weeks of entering Japan. Sixty-eight of those infected with COVID-19 had the Delta variant, 66 people had a strain that originated outside of Japan, and two had a domestic strain. “Low rates of infections, mainly affecting those from abroad shortly after their arrival in Japan indicate that the Games’ unique infection-control measures effectively minimized SARS-CoV-2 transmission,” the authors said.

CDC report shows rise in drug-resistant infections, deaths in US   - New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today show the nation has seen a substantial increase in the number of infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens.According to the CDC’s latest Antimicrobial Resistance [AR] Threats Report, drug-resistant bacteria and fungi cause an estimated 9.7 million infections in the United States each year, up from 2.8 million in a similar report issued in 2019. The estimated number of US deaths caused by drug-resistant pathogens rose from 35,000 to 50,800.Infections that commonly occur in hospital patients accounted for more than 42,000 US deaths and cost the US healthcare system more than $12 billion, according to the report. The findings are based on data collected in 2023. CDC officials say the jump in drug-resistant infections since the 2019 report partially reflects actual increases in the number of infections caused by some resistant bacteria and fungi. But they note that their data sources and methodologies have changed substantially and that direct comparisons between the two reports should not be made.  Still, the agency and infectious disease experts say the report highlights what is both a current and future health threat.“       Antimicrobial resistance threatens modern medicine and puts millions of Americans at risk every year,” CDC Director Erica Schwartz, MD, MPH, JD, said in a press release.“These numbers are alarming by any measure but are particularly sobering when infectious diseases physicians connect real patients with these statistics in their everyday experience,” Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) President Wendy Armstrong, MD, said in a statement. The CDC report highlights the 19 drug-resistant pathogens responsible for the 9.7 million annual infections—four of them labeled as urgent threats, 13 as serious threats, and two as concerning threats—along with a “watch list” of six additional pathogens the agency is keeping an eye on. Topping the list of urgent threats identified by the CDC is Candida auris, a fungus that’s almost completely resistant to one class of antifungal medications and has shown emerging resistance to the other two. C auris was first detected in US hospitals just 10 years ago but caused 4,523 infections in 2023—a 10-fold increase from 2019. The fungus is often found on patients’ skin, spreads rapidly in healthcare settings, and affects some of the most vulnerable patients.“For C auris we also need to figure out how to decolonize patients and rapidly disinfect healthcare environments. This will require lots more screening of patients and healthcare settings.” Other urgent threats are carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), a family of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens that have become increasingly difficult to treat and can share their resistance with other bacteria. Like C auris, these bacteria pose the greatest threat to hospital patients, particularly those who have indwelling devices like ventilators and catheters. In a study published in September 2025, CDC researchers found CRE incidence at US hospitals increased 18% from 2019 to 2023.  Also making the urgent threats list is Neisseria gonorrhea, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. “Healthcare providers only have a few antibiotics that can effectively treat this infection,” the report states.  Without effective treatment, gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. It can also increase the risk of HIV infection

Ohio nears 400 cases of sexually transmitted diarrhea disease  --A growing number of drug-resistant Shigella infections, considered a highly contagious sexually transmitted diarrhea disease, have health officials are sounding the alarm about as Ohio reports nearly 400 cases of the illness this year alone.The CDC considers shigellosis a public health threat. The disease causes an estimated 450,000 infections in the U.S. each year, according to USA TODAY. It can be spread through fecal‑oral transmission, sexual contact, and contaminated food or water.While most people recover within a week, health officials are increasingly concerned about drug-resistant strains that are becoming harder to treat.   Ohio has reported 383 cases of shigellosis in 2026 as of Oct. 26, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That's up from 360 cases reported through Oct. 8 and are approaching the 395 cases reported in all of 2025. Franklin County has reported the most cases with 122, followed by Cuyahoga County (45), Summit County (28) and Hamilton County (23).  The state reported 26 new cases in October, compared with 10 reported by Oct. 8. Among Ohio cases reported this year:

• Median age: 39
• Male: 258 cases (67.4%)
• Female: 125 cases (32.6%)
• Hospitalizations: 118 (30.8%)

Shigella bacteria cause shigellosis, an illness that can trigger diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, per the CDC. According to the Ohio Department of Health, the illness can also cause nausea and a persistent urge to have a bowel movement. Some people have no symptoms.Historically in the U.S., shigellosis primarily affected children, but the data from 2016 to 2023 showed cases were predominantly found in non-Hispanic White men, USA TODAY reports.Ohio's data shows a similar pattern. About 67% of reported cases this year have occurred among males, and White individuals account for roughly 56% of infections reported statewide. Anyone can get shigellosis, but young children are especially vulnerable, according to the CDC. Outbreaks often occur in child care settings and schools.   The agency adds that travelers, people experiencing homelessness, and gay and bisexual men are also at increased risk.  An April CDC report found that drug-resistant Shigella is on the rise. Extensively drug-resistant strains made up 8.5% of samples in 2023, up from 0% in 2011. In 2023, the CDC issued a health advisory warning about the XDR (extensively drug-resistant) strain, saying it's a growing threat because it resists commonly-used oral antibiotics. "It's hard to put the genie back in the bottle," Dr. Aaron Glatt, an epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York, told USA TODAY at the time. "We are going to be seeing strains here that are resistant to the commonly used treatments."

California: Clade 1 mpox cases reported in Stanislaus County - The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (HSA) reported four cases of Clade 1 mpox this past week. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has confirmed two of the cases as Clade I, while additional confirmatory testing is underway for the remaining two cases. Three individuals reported no recent international travel, while travel history of the fourth individual is still being investigated. Historically, Clade I mpox cases in the U.S. were linked to international travel. However, since August 2026, more cases have been reported among people without recent international travel. This suggests the virus may now be spreading within U.S. communities. “While we have identified four cases in our county, we want residents to know that the risk to the general public remains low,” said Dr. Thea Papasozomenos, Stanislaus County Public Health Officer. “Being aware of the symptoms, getting vaccinated if at risk of exposure to mpox, and seeking medical care when needed are important ways to protect yourself and prevent the spread of mpox.” Mpox is an infection caused by the monkeypox virus. There are two types of mpox, clade I and clade II. Both types cause similar symptoms and can be prevented using the same methods. Mpox mainly spreads through sex or close contact to a person who has mpox infection:

• Sex (oral, anal, or vaginal)
• ​​Intimate physical contact such as cuddling or massages
• Direct skin-to-skin contact with the rash, scabs, or body fluids that touched sores
• Sharing a living space or personal items with someone who has mpox
• Spread from a pregnant person with mpox to the fetus or baby

Casual contact, like one might have in an airplane, office, or store, is unlikely to spread mpox. After being exposed to mpox, it can take up to 21 days for symptoms to show. Mpox can start with symptoms such as:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Low energy
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Body aches

Within about 3 days, a rash or sore(s) develops.

• ​It can look like a pimple or blisters​ and may feel painful or itchy.
• The rash or sore(s) may be located anywhere on the body. This includes the genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina) or anus (butt).
• The sores go through several stages, including scabs, before healing. It may leave scarring.

See a health care provider if you have these symptoms. ​  To date, most mpox infections in California have been among gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and their social networks. Many infections have been associated with sexual or other intimate contact.   Also, there have been travel-related clade I mpox infections in the U.S. and California. These infections have been among international travelers who were exposed while traveling in a country where clade I mpox has been spreading. Both types of mpox can cause more severe illness in people who have certain health conditions, such as HIV. ​

US measles cases top 4,800 as the disease surges in multiple states -  It used to be that 200-plus US measles cases would reflect the total for the year or even for two years, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 264 new cases in just the past seven days, raising the country’s total to 4,852 cases, by far the highest yearly total in 35 years.The new data mark the 12th straight week of triple-digit increases nationwide. Rising cases in multiple states have contributed to the escalation, but Pennsylvania continues to be the nation’s hot spot, logging 88 new cases this week, followed closely by Wisconsin. The United States will very likely lose its measles elimination status—which it gained in 2000—in the coming month. Even an analysis published in May, when the country had only around 1,800 cases, said as much.The CDC has logged 43 measles outbreaks across the country so far this year, compared with 48 for all of last year, which saw 2,289 cases by year’s end. An outbreak involves three or more people. All but 18 infections this year have been locally acquired, with the rest involving international travelers.Of the confirmed cases, 17% have been in children under the age of 5 years, and 41% have been in kids and teens ages 5 to 19. Eleven percent of cases overall have required hospitalization, a number that has been slowly climbing and now matches the 2025 rate. Hospitalization rates are highest in preschoolers (16%), with a 14% rate in adults 20 and older. Though the CDC continues to acknowledge just three measles deaths this year, Pennsylvania has reported five, with a sixth death in that state under investigation. The vast majority of confirmed cases (96%) have been in people who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.In its ongoing outbreak, this week Pennsylvania confirmed 88 new cases and 1,426 total cases, by far the largest state outbreak the nation has seen since the early 1990s. Lancaster County continues to be the epicenter, with 493 cases now. Mifflin is second with 205 cases, followed by Chester (93) and Jefferson (88).As opposed to the national trend, 67% of reported cases in Pennsylvania have involved adults.The state’s outbreak doesn’t appear to be slowing, despite a statement from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. two weeks ago that he will bring it “to a quick close.” An Associated Press story today, however, said more of the state’s residents are open to vaccination, including those in hard-hit Amish communities.Wisconsin saw another large jump this week, with 82 new cases and 392 total. Of those cases, 336, or 86% of the total, have been confirmed in Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, and Vernon counties in southwestern Wisconsin. State and county officials in that area “are working to identify and notify people who may have been exposed to the measles virus,” the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. Chippewa County has 33 infections.Neighboring Minnesota has reached its highest measles total in 36 years, the Minnesota Department of Health reported yesterday. The state now has 80 cases, with 38 new cases in the past week.

Global pertussis burden remains high despite decades of progress | An estimated 18.9 million people worldwide developed pertussis (whooping cough), and 115,000 died from the disease in 2023, with infants and people in sub-Saharan Africa bearing a disproportionate burden, according to a study published last week in Nature Medicine. “This burden remains profoundly inequitable and inversely correlated with the sociodemographic index,” write the researchers, who were led by a team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for roughly 65% of global deaths, with the highest population-adjusted risk concentrated among infants younger than 6 months.” Pertussis remains a major cause of vaccine-preventable mortality, despite long-standing immunization programs. To estimate pertussis incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years across 204 countries and territories, the team analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study. The investigators found that, from 1990 through 2023, age-standardized pertussis incidence declined by 41.6%, and the age-standardized death rate fell 61.2%. But cases and deaths rose sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with 2020 estimates, pertussis incidence rose by 102.6%, and pertussis-related mortality increased 66.1% by 2023 (though the 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs] were wide—77.0% to 128.2% and 2.4% to 174.5%, respectively—indicating considerable imprecision in the numbers). Those increases largely represented a return to pre-pandemic levels, however, rather than an unprecedented global surge, with the estimated age-standardized incidence rate in 2023 being broadly comparable to the 2019 rate. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for roughly 65% of estimated pertussis deaths in 2023, up from approximately 30% in 1990. “This growing proportional share primarily reflects slower rates of decline compared to other regions, rather than an absolute increase in regional mortality,” write the researchers. Infants younger than 6 months had the highest risk of death globally, at 45.7 per 100,000 (although the UI was wide)—more than double that of the 12- to 23-month-old group (19.6) and nearly triple that of the 2- to 4-year-old group (6.6).

Study suggests US enteric fever cases won’t respond to ciprofloxacin - An analysis of US enteric fever cases found that most travel-associated cases were not susceptible to the first-line antibiotic treatment, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this week in JAMA Network Open. Enteric fever, which encompasses both typhoid and paratyphoid fever, is typically transmitted via food or water contaminated with Salmonella Typhi or Paratyphi bacteria and can be deadly if not treated promptly with antibiotics. Nearly 8 million enteric fever cases occur globally each year, but only a small fraction of those cases (5,700) occur in the United States, and they’re typically linked to travel to countries where typhoid and paratyphoid fever are endemic, such as India and Pakistan. With new patterns of antibiotic resistance emerging globally, particularly in Pakistan, where an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of Salmonella Typhi was identified in 2016, the researchers wanted to analyze US cases for antimicrobial-resistance trends. “Because resistance can evolve quickly, surveillance is important to detect emerging resistance, track trends, and guide clinical and public health decision-making,” they wrote. Using data from the National Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fever Surveillance system and bacterial samples from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), the researchers identified 2,342 enteric fever cases reported from 47 states from 2016 to 2020. Most patients (81.9%) reported traveling or residing internationally within 30 days of illness onset, with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh the most common destinations. Of the 1,635 enteric fever isolates that tested through NARMS, 78.4% of the Salmonella Typhi and 94.2% of the Paratyphi isolates were not susceptible to ciprofloxacin, which has been a first-line treatment since the 1980s. In addition, 5.5% of the Typhi isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, although it was largely confined to travelers to Pakistan. “These findings suggest that empiric treatment recommendations for enteric fever should avoid fluoroquinolones, as nonsusceptibility has been linked to poorer clinical outcomes,” the authors wrote, adding that treatment of enteric fever should be tailored to antibiotic susceptibility test results and patients’ travel history. The authors also note that getting vaccinated for typhoid fever prior to travel could help reduce the number of US cases.

Quick takes: CDC seeks nominations for vaccine advisory board, West Virginia probes Salmonella outbreak, 4 countries report polio | CIDRAP

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking nominations for membership on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The committee, which makes vaccine recommendations to the CDC, has been in limbo since a federal judge ruled in March that many of its members had been improperly appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The CDC said in a posting this week in the Federal Register that nominees will be selected “to represent a balanced range of scientific, clinical, and public health expertise relevant to the Committee’s mission, including person(s) knowledgeable about consumer perspectives and/or social and community aspects of immunization programs.”
• Health officials in West Virginia are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that has sickened 41 people since September, according to local media reports. Patients range in age from 3 to 54. Officials say no common source has been identified yet in the outbreak, in which five people have been hospitalized. Typhimurium is one of the top serovars isolated in human Salmonella infections, which are typically caused by contaminated water or food. In an advisory, state health officials urged healthcare providers to consider Salmonella infection in patients with acute diarrhea and to report cases to their local health department.
• Amid its ongoing Ebola outbreak, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week reported seven cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) with paralysis onsets in September, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. DRC has now reported 84 cVDPV2 cases for the year. Also reporting polio cases this week were Nigeria and Niger, which each reported a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3, and Pakistan, which reported a case of wild poliovirus type 1.

Kenya reports 2nd Ebola death as Nigeria races to understand transmission of index patient - Today, officials in Kenya reported the country’s second Bundibugyo Ebola death, in a 65-year-old woman who was a close relative of the country’s index patient and began showing symptoms of infection 10 days ago.The woman was under quarantine when she died and had been receiving supportive hospital-based care at an infectious disease unit in Nairobi. Kenya’s health ministry said it would help conduct a safe and dignified burial for the woman.Kenyan officials said there are no new cases of the virus, with seven positive patients still receiving treatment in isolation units. All patients in Kenya were exposed to the virus via the index patient, who arrived in Kenya via Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on October 3.  Since that patient died on October 5, Kenya has identified 135 contacts of the first patient and placed 118 in quarantine. Over the weekend, the first contacts who completed their 21-day quarantine were released. Nigeria’s index Ebola case-patient returned to Switzerland today in stable condition via air ambulance, according to a post on X. “The index patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results closing towards baseline,” said Muhammad Ali Pate, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare for Nigeria. “This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place. The patient was evacuated along with her spouse who has remained asymptomatic.” Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, announced over the weekend he was sending a team of scientists to Nigeria to investigate how the country’s first, and so far only, Ebola patient was infected, after a close examination of the patient’s travel itinerary late last week showed no travel to the DRC. The patient is 42-year-old Ugandan woman who is married to a Swiss national who works in Nigeria. She and her husband recently traveled to Uganda. Africa CDC said the index patients in both Kenya and Nigeria traveled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3, which may have been the scene of transmission. Switzerland said it would continue monitoring the Ebola patient and her husband, while Nigeria is continuing to monitor 52 case contacts in that country. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said, “The likelihood of infection for people from the EU/EEA [European Union/European Economic Area] living in or travelling to affected areas in Kenya and Nigeria is assessed as low, providing they adhere to recommended precautionary measures.” According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest outbreak numbers in the DRC show 9,964 cases and 4,841 deaths The case-fatality rate remains about 48%. Other Ebola developments:

• Yesterday, a nurse was killed and a health worker was attacked in Tshopo province, DRC, outside a clinic that was treating Ebola patients. Local authorities have not commented on the death, but on X, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said, “Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected.”
• While the outbreak in the DRC is far from being under control, a new three-way vaccine trial will test Merck & Co.’s Ervebo shot (targeting the Ebola Zaire strain), as well as experimental alternatives developed by Moderna, the University of Oxford, and the Serum Institute of India. The first participants received the Ervebo shot on Friday in Bunia, DRC.
• Regeneron announced it has extended its agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to provide additional supplies of the Ebola treatment Inmazeb for US preparedness. The drug is a three-antibody cocktail of atoltivimab, maftivimab, and odesivimab-ebgn, and reduces mortality by approximately 55% compared with an active control in trials conducted on Ebola Zaire.

Ebola disease: Multi-country outbreak 2026 – ECDC -An outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus has been ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since May 2026. Cases were also reported in Kenya and Nigeria in October 2026 and have been reported in Uganda, where the outbreak has ended.   Key facts:

• On 20 October 2026, an Ebola case was reported in Nigeria. The individual, who had travel history to Uganda, developed symptoms on 7 October, sought medical care on 11 October, and tested positive on 20 October. A total of 53 contacts have been identified to date, and further epidemiological investigations are ongoing.
• As of 25 October, in Kenya, a total of nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, have been reported, all linked to the first case. The last case was reported on 20 October 2026 (close contact of the first case) and the second death on 23 October 2026.
• As of 25 October 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported a total of 9 964 confirmed cases, including 4 851 related deaths (from data up until 24 October). Since the beginning of the outbreak, eight provinces have been affected: Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Sud Ubangi and Nord Ubangi.
• ECDC is monitoring the outbreak through its epidemic intelligence activities and actively liaising with partners to support the response.
• ECDC is actively liaising with key partners, including Africa CDC, the European Commission, the World Health Organization, the European Union Delegation in Nigeria and Nigeria CDC to provide further support through the EU Health Task Force in response to the ongoing event in Nigeria.

Since May 2026, four cases of Ebola disease linked to the outbreak in DRC have been medically evacuated or imported to the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). Three patients were medically evacuated for specialised care, two to Germany  and one to the Netherlands. A fourth case was reported in France in July. All four cases involved people working in healthcare or humanitarian roles in affected areas of DRC. In July, a resident of the United Kingdom (UK) was also evacuated to the UK following potential exposure while treating Ebola patients in DRC. On the basis of the available information, and given the uncertainties surrounding this outbreak, the likelihood of infection for people from the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) living in or travelling to affected areas is estimated to be low. Given the very low likelihood of importation and secondary transmission, the likelihood of infection for people living in the EU/EEA is estimated to be very low. This assessment will be reviewed as further information becomes available.

Quick takes: Warning over Ebola spread, price cut for malaria vaccine, polio in 6 nations | CIDRAP -

• The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is warning that the Ebola outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could spread throughout Africa. “We could see every region of Africa affected, and that is beginning to happen,” Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, told Semafor News. The comments come in the wake of Nigeria confirming its first Ebola patient earlier this week and Kenya its ninth. At a press conference yesterday, Africa CDC officials said the Nigerian patient, the wife of a diplomat, may have crossed paths with the first Kenyan patient at an airport in Uganda earlier this month. There have now been 9,735 confirmed cases in the outbreak, with 4,690 deaths, the vast majority of them in the DRC. Kaseya said African health, finance, and transport ministers will meet next week with officials from regional organizations to discuss national and cross-border measures.
• UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced yesterday that they have secured a deal to lower the price of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine by 40%. The groups say the deal will generate roughly $50 million in savings from 2027 through 2029 and could protect up to one million more children with the full four-dose course of the vaccine, which is now part of routine immunization programs in the 25 African countries that bear more than 70% of the global malaria burden. Full immunization reduces malaria cases by an estimated 75% when given seasonally in areas of high transmission. “This agreement is an important step towards protecting more children from malaria by expanding access to life-saving vaccines where they are needed most,” Leila Pakkala, director of UNICEF Supply Division, said in a news release.
• Six countries reported polio cases this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Afghanistan confirmed six cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) with onsets of paralysis in August and September, bringing its WPV1 total this year to 42 cases. In Africa, the DRC reported six cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) with onsets of paralysis in August and September, bringing its cVDPV2 total for 2026 to 77 cases; Chad reported one cVDPV2 case, its ninth of the year; Togo reported one cVDPV2 case, its third of the year; Nigeria reported one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 case, its 14th of the year; and South Sudan reported two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) cases, bringing its cVDPV1 total this year to 18.

Attackers kill nurse, injure health worker responding to Ebola case in eastern Congo | AP News - (AP) — A nurse was killed and a health worker severely injured after being attacked while responding to an Ebola alert in Congo, according to the World Health Organization. It was the latest in a series of attacks on health workers and responders that authorities say is hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world.The attack took place Saturday in the town of Bafwasende in the country’s eastern Tshopo province, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday. “Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected,” he said.WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, also condemned the attack on X. “Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence,” he said.The country’s health ministry’s most recent data indicates more than 9,800 cases including more than 4,700 deaths have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in May, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history.Last month, a Congolese politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola. He had been calling on the public to obey response measures, particularly social distancing and handwashing, on a radio show.It came after authorities launched a village-centered approach to fight the outbreak which faced resistance from some residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax. There is widespread distrust of the country’s government because of how it has managed past Ebola outbreaks as well as chronic corruption. Responders say skepticism about the disease among communities has complicated efforts to work with residents, including in remote areas and emerging hot spots that already face shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers. Back in May at the start of the outbreak, two tents at health centers were set alight in two separate attacks in just one week by angry residents.Those on the front line of the response to the outbreak have previously said some members of various response teams have been held captive in some health zones, and some teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened.

Congo's Ebola Outbreak Tops 10,000 Cases as Authorities Race to Slow the Spread - The fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Congo has reached 10,000 confirmed cases, government data showed Tuesday, as health authorities race to slow the spread of the disease in multiple African countries. It is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history and nearly half of the 10,060 confirmed to have the virus have died, according to data from Congo's Ministry of Health. That also makes it the deadliest outbreak of the disease in the country's history.The outbreak declared in May is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. Response teams are battling armed conflict, poor roads, and violence from residents fueled by mistrust and misinformation. Those obstacles compound the challenge of persuading people to report symptoms and accept care in communities that have endured years of violence and repeated epidemics.Compared to the West Africa Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016 -- history's largest and deadliest with more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths -- this has had at least three times the number of cases and number of deaths in the time since it was declared.It has spread farther across Africa than any previous Ebola outbreak, reaching three regions with cases recorded in Kenya and Nigeria as well. It's so far been recorded in five countries including Uganda and France, both of which have no active cases at the moment.A recurring problem in the spread in Africa is what appears to be lax surveillance efforts as most of the first cases were confirmed long after people started showing symptoms or after traveling. African health ministers are to hold a virtual summit on Wednesday to strengthen the continent's collective response. "Ebola is crossing borders. Our response must move faster, with stronger coordination, greater solidarity, and decisive political leadership," Jean Kaseya, MD, head of Africa CDC, has said. At least 2,600 patients have recovered from the disease in Congo, bringing rare moments of joy to affected communities. A viral video this week showed health workers in full protective gear dancing as the last two patients were discharged from a treatment center in Mongbwalu, Ituri province. "The outbreak is far from over, but every life saved is worth celebrating," In Congo, the disease has spread to 66 health zones across eight provinces, from three zones when it was first declared in May. Responders have told the Associated Press that they're seeing treatment centers in some of those health zones getting overwhelmed, people still skeptical and violent toward them, and health workers are regularly going on strike to protest delayed or unpaid wages. "Some people still don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation even though they are directly exposed to the risk," said Sephora Bgosi with the Ebola burial team in Ituri province, the epicenter. "Ebola disease is extremely dangerous and can be deadly," said Bgosi. About 80% of recorded cases are still coming from outside of monitored contacts, showing there are ongoing chains of transmission that health authorities are not aware of. At least 95% of recorded cases are supposed to be coming from known contacts for officials to say the outbreak has largely been brought under control, the Africa CDC has said. At least half of deaths recorded are among people who have not been admitted to treatment centers, a sign that people are still not reporting symptoms at all in many areas.

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo approaches 5,000 deaths as US issues new travel rule | CIDRAP - The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to kill almost half of all those infected in that country, as the official case count now includes 10,141 confirmed cases, including 4,928 related deaths.World Health Organization (WHO) officials say officials still record 50 to 80 new Ebola cases each day among eight affected DRC provinces, with 80% of cases coming from outside known transmission chains. Genomic testing released today shows that recent cases in Nigeria and Kenya are from the same genetic group as current cases in DRC, but there is still no understanding of how the patient in Nigeria got infected.The Nigerian patient visited Uganda from September 15 to October 3. The Kenyan index patient traveled from DRC through Uganda from October 1 to October 3. Both patients were at the Entebbe airport in Uganda on October 3. Both samples collected from the index patients do not carry any markers of the Ugandan Ebola cases reported in May and June of this year, eliminating the suggesting of underreported spread in that country. Instead, both carry the same genetic lineage as cases in the DRC.Kenya has confirmed nine cases and two deaths, while no additional Ebola patients have been identified in Nigeria. Although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Americans are at a low risk in the outbreak, the agency announced a new rule today stating all passengers boarding an international flight to the United States must attest via a signed statement that they have not been in the DRC during the previous 21 days.The required attestation will begin on November 3 and last through December 18.  “Travelers, including U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals, who have been in DRC within 21 days before their flight will not be allowed to board flights with U.S. destinations and should plan to remain outside the United States for at least 21 days after they leave DRC,” the CDC said. “This includes all passengers transiting through DRC on a connecting flight regardless of whether they disembark or stay on the airplane.” The CDC said about 500 people at the agency are involved in responding to the outbreak, including more than 120 people deployed to the affected countries. Today Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that the Ebola outbreak could spread to the United Kingdom and other European countries. “It is the first time three African regions have been affected [by Ebola]. The geographic extension of this outbreak is unprecedented,” he said. “Each country, not only in the African region, but all continents, must now increase the preparedness level and the possibility for treatment.”

Nigeria reports two suspected Ebola cases in the country’s North-East region -Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in Nigeria’s North-East region, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). Both individuals have been isolated, contact identification and listing is ongoing, and laboratory testing is being conducted. Being classified as suspected cases does not mean they are confirmed Ebola cases; confirmation is subject to laboratory results. The public is advised to maintain good hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and follow guidance from public health authorities.

Zambia cholera outbreak update as of October 26 -- The country of Zambia, in south-cental Africa, declared a cholera outbreak on July 28, 2026. Since the outbreak declaration, 1,488 total cholera cases, which includes 219 confirmed, have been reported. 29 deaths have been reported.This includes 68 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, including one confirmed case and one new death was reported.  Eighteen districts in six provinces have reported cases. 845 cases, or 57 percent of the country total has been reported in the capital city area of Lusaka.

Lebanon officials issue statement on suspected Trichinella cases The Lebanon Ministry of Public Health issued the following statement Friday: "Following the registration of suspected cases of trichinosis, the Ministry of Public Health is following up on the matter, in coordination with the relevant authorities, by conducting the necessary epidemiological investigations and laboratory tests, with the aim of identifying the sources of infection and taking appropriate measures to protect public health." The statement explained that "trichinosis is a parasitic disease transmitted to humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, particularly infected pork and its derivatives. The disease is not transmitted directly from person to person. The incubation period ranges from two to eight weeks after consuming the contaminated meal." It added, "Symptoms usually begin with digestive disturbances including nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, which may be followed by fever, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, and swelling around the eyes. In severe cases, complications may occur affecting the heart, nervous system, and respiratory system." In this context, the Ministry urged citizens to adhere to the following preventive guidelines: Avoid consuming raw or undercooked meat. Purchase meat from reliable and regulated sources. Freezing, salting, and smoking are not guaranteed methods for eliminating the parasite. Adherence to hygiene and food safety rules is crucial when preparing meat. Consult a doctor if any suspected symptoms appear after consuming raw or undercooked meat. The importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to minimize complications was emphasized. Restaurant owners, butchers, and meat suppliers were warned against any adulteration or manipulation of the type, source, or expiration date of meat. Violations will be monitored in coordination with the relevant regulatory and judicial authorities, and necessary legal measures will be taken against violators.

Quick takes: Ebola cases top 10,000; New World screwworm in Texas, New Mexico; more avian flu in Washington cattle | CIDRAP

• The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has now grown to 10,060 cases. Compared with the West African outbreak of 2014-2016, the current outbreak has at least three times the number of cases and number of deaths since it was declared on May 15, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported they are sending more experts to Nigeria this week to investigate how a woman in that country contracted the virus. The ECDC has also sent support to Kenya, where two people have died from the virus. Yesterday, 20 case contacts in Kenya were released from quarantine after finishing a 21-day monitoring period. Ninety-eight contacts remain in quarantine. In total, nine people in Kenya have tested positive for the virus.
• New World screwworm detections are increasing in both New Mexico and Texas this month, with six detections in the past week alone, and 15 in total for the month of October. Cattle in Luna County, New Mexico, were the most recently infected by the parasitic fly, along with cattle and sheep in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. In Texas, Hudspeth County is reporting two cattle detections. The jump in activity comes as officials in New Mexico re-opened a border crossing for Mexican cattle yesterday, after it had been closed for nearly two years to prevent the spread of New World screwworm. The crossing is in Columbus, New Mexico, and uses new safety measures, including tests and inspections, before allowing animals to enter into the United States.
• Over the last week, reports of H5N1 avian flu in Washington State cattle herds have tripled, from nine to 27. All but one cattle herd is located in Yakima County, Washington, with a single report in Benton County. “Seeing the virus move to another county is disappointing but our dairy farmers are working hard to implement their biosecurity plans, share lessons learned and help each other get through this,” said Washington State Veterinarian Amber Itle, VMD, MS. "This isn’t new for the country, but it is new for Washington.” On October 8, Washington reported its first detection of H5N1 in cattle, and on October 15 the state announced a dairy worker in Yakima County was infected with the virus, the first human H5N1 case reported in the United States so far this year.

Florida Dengue Cases Nearly Double A Month After Emergency Declared - Clinical Advisor — Dengue cases in Florida keep climbing about a month after three counties declared states of emergency over the mosquito-borne illness. As of Oct. 22,  Florida had reported 721 dengue cases this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That count includes people who caught the virus in the state and those infected while traveling.That’s nearly double the 392 cases the state logged in September, The Washington Post reports.Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, remains at the center of the outbreak. Cases there have almost doubled since September, The Post reports. New cases have also turned up in Orange, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Ira Longini, a University of Florida professor who studies how infectious diseases spread, said he wasn’t surprised. “It was just a matter of time,” he told The Post. Longini explained that climate change is boosting mosquito numbers and extending the months when they’re active. That’s helping dengue spread worldwide. Cooler, drier weather could slow or stop the virus from spreading, he said. But any break may be short-lived. “If it warms up and there’s more rain, then it’ll come back,” Longini said. Nationwide, the CDC reports 2,470 dengue cases in 2026, mainly in Puerto Rico, Florida and American Samoa. Most people infected with dengue don’t get sick. About 1 in 4 develop symptoms, according to the CDC. The most common sign is a fever along with aches and pains (often behind the eyes), nausea, vomiting or a rash. Symptoms usually last two to seven days, and most people recover in about a week. But dengue can turn dangerous within hours. About 1 in 20 people who get sick develop severe dengue, which can lead to shock, internal bleeding and death. Nationwide, CDC data show that about 43% of people who caught dengue locally this year were hospitalized. A blood test can confirm dengue, but doctors may treat it based on symptoms alone. The CDC urges anyone with symptoms who lives in or recently visited a dengue-risk area to see a healthcare provider. Warning signs of severe dengue usually appear a day or two after a fever goes away, the CDC says. Anyone with these signs should get to a clinic or emergency room right away:

• Belly pain or tenderness
• Vomiting at least three times in 24 hours
• Bleeding from the nose or gums
• Vomiting blood, or blood in the stool
• Feeling extremely tired, restless or irritable

To help slow the outbreak, Longini stressed the need to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. This includes small pools of standing water, such as water that collects in old tires and plastic containers.

Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City reports rise in dengue - Between October 19 and 25 alone, Ho Chi Minh City officials reported 1,785 dengue cases, 9.7% above the average for the previous four weeks. The figures indicate that transmission is high, with the risk of further increases in the coming weeks. Since the beginning of the year, Ho Chi Minh City has recorded more than 42,500 dengue cases and 11 deaths. Health authorities have warned that rainy-season conditions favour the breeding and development of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Removing potential breeding sites, eliminating mosquito larvae and addressing high-risk areas in residential communities are therefore essential to curbing new infections. Health authorities recommend that households spend around 10–15 minutes each week checking and cleaning their surroundings, keeping water containers tightly covered and removing bottles and other objects that can collect stagnant water. Areas where mosquitoes may breed should also be checked regularly. Residents are advised to take precautions against mosquito bites and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms suggestive of dengue. Anyone with a fever should visit a healthcare facility for assessment and appropriate advice, rather than taking medication without medical guidance. Dengue can become severe even after a patient’s fever begins to subside. Warning signs such as severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, unusual bleeding, lethargy or cold extremities require immediate medical attention.

60% of kids with Zika-related microcephaly hospitalized by age 5, data reveal Nearly 60% of children with Zika-related microcephaly were hospitalized during their first five years of life, with many experiencing respiratory problems, difficulty swallowing, and seizures, according to a study published yesterday in Pediatrics. The findings highlight the severity of Zika-related microcephaly, a neurologic condition marked by an abnormally small head and undersized brain. For the study, researchers from Universidade de Pernambuco in Brazil followed up on 181 children born with Zika-related microcephaly from April 2015 to April 2017 (a period that correlates with the peak of a local microcephaly epidemic). Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy can disrupt a baby’s development, especially the brain. First recognized as a global health concern in 2015, congenital Zika syndrome can cause an unusually small head, brain damage, vision problems, joint problems, and trouble swallowing. Among 166 children with head measurements available at birth, 48.8% had severe microcephaly, 28.9% had moderate microcephaly, and 22.3% were born with normal head circumferences but developed microcephaly later (at a median age of 10.8 months). During neurologic assessments at a median age of about 16 months, 73.8% had abnormalities, with 75.3% experiencing ventriculomegaly atrophy, or enlargement of the brain’s fluid-filled ventricles, and 64.4% experiencing cortical atrophy, or the loss of brain cells and the connections between them, in the cerebral cortex. Seizures affected 54.3% of the children and swallowing difficulties affected 69.5%. Overall, 59.7% were hospitalized at least once during follow-up, with 49.2% of hospitalizations due to respiratory complications, like bacterial pneumonia or bacterial infection of the upper respiratory tract, and 16.6% due to seizures. “The observed pattern of neurological impairment in Zika-related microcephaly reinforces that intrauterine ZIKV infections cause substantial neural tissue damage,” write the researchers. The researchers call the high frequency of hospitalizations among children with Zika-related microcephaly “unsurprising,” and recommend providing multidisciplinary care in consolidated referral centers to minimize a family’s need to travel between healthcare facilities.

Italy mosquito-borne disease update - - From January 1 to October 20, 2026, the national surveillance system coordinated by the ISS has recorded:

• - 363 confirmed cases of dengue: 73 of these are autochthonous, while all other cases are associated with travel abroad (51% with exposure in the Maldives), no deaths.
• - 30 confirmed cases of chikungunya: 1 of these cases has been identified as autochthonous, while all the others are associated with travel abroad (34% with exposure in the Seychelles), no deaths
• - 777 confirmed cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in humans , of which 414 were neuroinvasive (including 5 imported cases: 1 from the Maldives, 1 from France, 1 from Belgium, 1 from Greece, and 1 from the Netherlands), 95 asymptomatic cases identified in blood donors, 262 cases of fever (2 imported cases: 1 from Burkina Faso, 1 from Greece), 5 cases with other symptoms, and 1 asymptomatic case. Of the confirmed cases, 61 deaths were reported (including one from an imported case). The case fatality rate, calculated on the autochthonous neuroinvasive forms reported and confirmed to date, is 14.7%.
• - 19 cases of Usutu virus were reported (8 in Lombardy, 1 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1 in Emilia-Romagna, 2 in Marche, 4 in Lazio, 1 in Piedmont, and 2 in Veneto).

Avian flu activity increases in Midwestern, West Coast poultry - H5N1 avian flu activity is increasing across the United States, with 29 confirmations in the past 30 days, including 11 commercial flocks and 18 backyard flocks. A total of 1.32 million birds have been affected in the past month, according to the most recent update from the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Of note are several large outbreaks on turkey facilities, including ones in Roseau County, Minnesota, with 57,500 birds, and a turkey breeder hen facility in Barron County, Wisconsin, with 13,500 birds. In Dickey County, North Dakota, a flock of 60,600 birds was hit at a commercial turkey meat facility. The largest outbreak reported in October is in Clinton County, Illinois, where a commercial table egg-layer farm with 934,600 chickens reported H5N1. Along the West Coast are several new backyard flock notifications, including in Solano and Sacramento counties in California. Kittitas County, Washington also reported a backyard outbreak. Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento counties in California also reported several recent wild-bird detection among Canada geese and American white pelicans in October, which is typical with migratory patterns.

Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, but Officials Won’t Act. — ProPublica - The strain of bird flu that’s ripped through American barns for the last four years has killed two people who caught it from sick animals. But as far as anyone can tell, humans can’t spread it. The virus has remained a true “bird” flu, tailored to attach to avian cells, not invade human throats and noses, where coughing and sneezing reliably spew droplets. Under the right conditions, however, that could change. A single mutation could give the bird flu a foothold in people and spark a pandemic that experts fear could be deadlier than COVID-19. For that to happen, this bird flu would likely need to find an intermediate host — an animal vulnerable to viruses that infect both birds and humans. These animals would be crowded together, each infection raising the odds that a new strain could arise through mutation. Then, for that strain to jump across species, it would have to have access to humans and time to spread among them undetected. That perfect petri dish exists right now, a ProPublica investigation found. For over two months, an outbreak of bird flu has raged uncontrolled on a Utah farm that raises thousands of mink for fur. Mink have lungs and airways that on a cellular level are remarkably similar to those of people; they have caught and spread other flus and infected some humans with COVID-19. Instead of trying to stop the outbreak and prevent it from spilling into humans, state and federal officials have done little except try to keep its existence quiet, our investigation shows. The failure to act amounts to a cascade of missteps flu experts called “irresponsible” and “puzzling.” One called it “playing with fire.” Utah agriculture officials learned in mid-August that mink were dying of bird flu on C&T Fenn Farms, about an hour’s drive south from Salt Lake City, according to communications released under the state’s public records law. Had poultry been infected, the playbook would have been clear: The strain is so virulent that if a single chicken tests positive, the U.S. government requires farmers to kill the whole flock to protect other farms as well as public health. Poultry farmers are reimbursed for the loss. But there are no federal rules for how to deal with sick mink. Handling Utah’s response was state veterinarian Amanda Price, who sought help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which takes the lead on bird flu outbreaks involving poultry and cows. USDA officials said they didn’t regulate mink or have a vaccine that was approved to give them. And though officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spoke with Price’s health department counterparts who were less involved with the outbreak, they never talked to her, and she never reached out. The threat of spillover has been far from the minds of Utah officials, records and interviews show. Instead, front and center have been the interests of a business raising animals to skin for luxury pelts to ship overseas. “It has been devastating,” Price told ProPublica of the outbreak and its impact on the farm’s owner. “This is his life’s work that he’s seeing be destroyed. I really hope that you understand the humanity behind this situation.” Flu experts were unequivocal that the government should have ordered the farm to cull its mink, as other countries have done.. But Utah never seriously considered it. A fur trade representative warned Price that doing so would kill the business and, ultimately, the industry. Farms spend decades breeding mink to develop unique genetic lineages. “There’s just not a lot of options out there other than kind of sitting and waiting and seeing what happens,” Price said, noting that USDA officials did not urge her to kill the mink or make her feel like bird flu in mink was any riskier than infections in other animals that have caught it, like ducks and cows. Flu experts found that response surprising. “Every other country that I’m aware of that has had H5N1 in fur farms, depopulation has happened pretty quickly,” said Tom Peacock, an avian influenza researcher at the Pirbright Institute. “The fact that the first instinct wasn’t just to depopulate and figure stuff out later is very concerning to me.” And all the while, officials didn’t monitor the mink workers for symptoms, as guidance from the CDC urges.  Their exposure is significant: Mink sneeze. They escape. They attack. “The mink are fierce,” said a Spanish-speaking “minkero” who works on a nearby farm, showing the scars he got from the aggressive, solitary creatures. “You get scared because the fucking thing bites, and it claws at you.” Right now in Washington state, officials are working to track down the contacts of a symptomatic person exposed to dairy cattle infected with bird flu. The patient is isolating at home. Utah public health officials used to do similar, proactive monitoring. But they stopped after complaints from their colleagues in the agriculture department that farmers were annoyed by it.

Screwworm Spreads to Wildlife: USDA Urges Producer Vigilance as Cases Increase – AgWeb - The livestock industry’s worst-case containment scenario gained ground Wednesday, Oct. 21, as officials confirmed the first wildlife case of New World screwworm in an elk. Detected on a private game ranch in Pecos County, Texas, the find raises the pressure on ranchers, hunters and state agencies battling to keep the flesh-eating parasite from gaining a foothold across the Southwest. The infested elk was harvested by a hunter and reported immediately to wildlife authorities. Because the animal was already dead at the time of reporting, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) considers the case inactive, but the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is modifying existing quarantine zones while USDA and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) ramp up localized surveillance.Despite the concern of a wildlife detection, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Dudley Hoskins emphasizes the finding — and a recent bump in detected cases — does not signal an outbreak. Instead, he points to it as evidence that early-warning tripwires established by cattle producers, hunters, and federal and state agencies are holding.As of Oct. 21, there are seven active NWS cases in the U.S. Since the first case in June, there have been 59 recorded cases in two states. Looking at the monthly totals, there were only three in September compared to six in the last week. Since June 3, USDA has received 1,000 suspect case submissions nationwide, including 531 from Texas. There has also only been one fly trap detection of a wild NWS fly.For cattle producers, the chief concern since the first case surfaced in a South Texas calf has been the risk of screwworm establishing an unmanaged reservoir in deer, elk or feral hogs. An uncontrolled wild host population could reinfect pastures and complicate herd management.

New World screwworm spreads to Arizona and is found in a cat in New Mexico - Arizona has reported its first detection of New World screwworm (NWS). The detection is one of five new NWS cases confirmed in the past few days by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), all in pets. Four of the NWS infestations are in dogs in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and the other is in a domestic cat in New Mexico—the first case detected in a cat. There have now been 71 NWS cases in the country since the outbreak began in June. Most have been in cattle and sheep in Texas and New Mexico. Nine cases have been in dogs. NWS is a parasitic fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) that’s been spreading north from Central America in recent years. When the adult fly lays its eggs in the open wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, the larvae feed on the animals’ tissue, causing severe damage. Cases can be fatal if left untreated. Although state and federal officials are worried primarily about the threat to livestock, pets and wildlife are also at risk of getting infected, especially if they live in areas where NWS has been detected. The Arizona Department of Agriculture said the confirmed case was identified by a veterinarian in a dog in Cochise County with a heavily infested wound on its back. The county borders both Mexico and New Mexico.APHIS said it’s working closely with Arizona officials on a joint response.The USDA urges animal owners in the area to inspect animals daily for draining or enlarging wounds and maggots or egg masses in wounds.The Food and Drug Administration has issued several emergency use authorizations in recent months for drugs that can treat and prevent NWS in dogs and cats.

Wyoming discovers CWD in another deer hunt area -Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has encroached into another deer hunt area in Wyoming, state officials reported this week. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department said in a news release that the fatal neurodegenerative disease was discovered for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 156 in the Jackson Region. The affected animal was a mule deer buck. The finding comes just a week after the department confirmed the first detection of CWD in Deer Hunt Area 141. Jackson is in Teton County in the western part of the state, just east of the Idaho border. “Deer Hunt Area 156 is bordered by CWD-positive deer hunt areas 128 (positive in 2016), 148 (positive in 2021), 155 (positive in 2022) and Grand Teton National Park (positive in 2018),” the release said. CWD affects cervids such as deer, moose, and elk. It’s caused by misfolded proteins called prions, which spread through infected body fluids and environmental contamination. Symptoms include discoordination, weight loss, and excessive drooling. While CWD is not known to affect people, health authorities recommend against eating the meat of infected or sick cervids and urge caution when handling their carcasses.

Saskatchewan walks back plan to end CWD testing of hunter-harvested cervids after stiff pushback - Rates of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among cervids such as deer and elk in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, are the highest in the world, with up to 87% of mule deer bucks infected in certain parts of the province. So the announcement late last week (midway through the deer-hunting season) that the government of Saskatchewan was ending its CWD surveillance program as of November 1 was met with shock and disappointment by wildlife experts and hunters, who worried about the repercussions for cervids, other wildlife, and people. “This is crazy,” Ryan Brook, PhD, a professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, told CIDRAP News after the discontinuation was announced. “There was no consultation done, as far as we can tell, with anyone. None of the hunting groups were consulted. And I certainly wasn't engaged in any discussion.” CWD is an always-fatal neurodegenerative disease of cervids caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions, which spread through animal-to-animal contact and environmental contamination. The harvest of fewer cervids means more animals on the landscape, increasing the risk of CWD spread. And while no human cases have been documented, experts fear CWD could cross the species barrier. The FAQs accompanying the government’s email to stakeholders acknowledged that provincial hunters had no other testing option and said that hunters who still wanted to hunt cervids could give their untested harvest to a “person who is comfortable consuming untested meat” or to their pets, because it’s illegal to waste it. Saskatchewan also refused to refund hunters who had already bought licenses and tags. The government, however, listened to the pushback, as it announced last week that it would continue offering CWD testing to hunters, with mandatory testing in endemic areas and voluntary testing elsewhere in the province, as it did last hunting season. "We heard clearly from hunters that access to CWD testing matters to them and their families," Saskatchewan Environment Minister Darlene Rowden said in a government news release. "Returning to the previous testing approach will provide hunters with information to support their decisions and maintain important surveillance information to support wildlife management." “The revised approach will allow the ministry to continue collecting information about the prevalence and distribution of CWD, support wildlife health monitoring and provide individual hunters with the status of submitted samples,” the release said. The original announcement, sent by Iga Stasiak, DVM, DVSc, provincial wildlife health specialist, said the program was closing down for financial reasons. “Government is always looking at efficiencies and since uptake across our hunters has been low, we see this as an opportunity for efficiency,” it said. But the government’s website tells a different story, noting a rise in testing submissions from 2,248 submissions in 2024-25 to 2,900 in 2025-26, a five-year high. “Overall, white-tailed deer and elk submissions increased by 74 per cent and 88 per cent, respectively, while mule deer submissions decreased by 62 per cent and moose submissions decreased by 14 per cent since 2024-25,” the site noted. Last hunting season, 362 cervids tested positive for CWD, including 195 white-tailed deer, 125 mule deer, 33 elk, and nine moose. Rather than a financial issue, Russ Mason, PhD, retired from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, saw it as a reflection of a government throwing up its hands in the face of a rapidly spreading and difficult-to-control disease. “As I've been saying for quite a while now, agencies have increasingly less interest in knowing much about this disease, because most conservation agencies, whether in Canada or the United States, are primarily there to regulate recreational opportunity,” he said. “The only way to get anyone to take a zoonotic disease seriously is if it kills people or has a demonstrable economic impact. And of course, by that time—it's game over.” Darrell Crabbe, acting executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said that the decision made no sense from a financial standpoint, either. In the province, 30% of all license fees for hunting, angling, and trapping go into the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, which for this year accounted for $300,000 of the $440,000 CWD program budget, with the province paying only the remaining $140,000. Crabbe said he and his sons had already submitted samples from a moose they harvested recently for testing but would stop hunting in the absence of testing. “I just don't feel that I want to risk my grandchildren, because there is no definitive proof that CWD can't make a species jump,” he said. Another hunter, Stephen Urquhart, PhD, PChem, a professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Saskatchewan, said he has always had his harvest tested, which has resulted in two or three coming back positive for CWD. He said he would continue to hunt this year, but only pull the trigger if it’s a fawn—although he knows that does can pass CWD prions to fawns in utero. “It makes me anxious, because what if you're wrong?” he said. Urquhart understands that Saskatchewan, like every CWD-endemic municipality, is in a tough spot trying to control a disease that seems to defy control, but he said that the province hasn’t been proactive enough. “I realize action is hard because the levers are unpopular: doing culls and sharpshooting or bans on baiting,” he said. “The best time to have addressed this was 20 to 25 years ago,” he said. “The second-best time is now, but I don't know what you do when it's endemic, when it's in the soil.”

Watch: Deer seen crashing through apartment window in Wisconsin -  Two Appleton police officers were unfazed as a deer crashed through the window of an apartment while no one was home, according to the Appleton Police Department via Storyful.   The video of the deer smashing through the apartment window was caught on the officers' bodycam footage. The animal appeared unharmed, as it continued running off after crashing through the glass.  Police believe the deer had entered the apartment through another window while no one was home.  "While a deer entering an apartment is certainly unusual, increased deer movement this time of year is not," police said. "Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) identifies October and November as the months when most deer-vehicle collisions occur, as deer become more active during the fall breeding season."Deer crashes increase during the fall in Wisconsin as it is peak deer mating season in the state. The peak season lasts from October through December. During this time, deer are more likely to cross the road unexpectedly, especially in wooded areas and rural parts of the state. Deer-related crashes are some of the most common wildlife collisions on Wisconsin roadways.

Trump is gutting the Endangered Species Act, putting dozens of Illinois species at risk - Great Lakes Now -  Trump administration changes to the legal interpretation of the Endangered Species Act could put 24 federally endangered species and 12 threatened species at more risk in Illinois. Last month, the administration determined that razing the habitat where endangered or threatened species breed, feed, and shelter would no longer face federal penalties. In a separate, internal memo, the administration made clear that it also plans to reinterpret the law to only ban the intentional killing of an endangered species, letting go of the long-held criminalization of attempts to harass, harm, pursue, wound, trap, capture or collect at-risk species. (Nearly two dozen attorneys general have sued over some of these changes.)“These rule changes, when you zoom out, are an assault on threatened and endangered species unlike we’ve ever seen before,” said Elizabeth Forsyth, a senior attorney in the biodiversity defense program with Earthjustice. “It’s an effort to eliminate habitat protections, eliminate automatic protections for threatened species, and give industry power.” Here are three Illinois species that are now under threat:

• Rusty patched bumble bee. When Libby Shafer was a biological technician with the United States Geological Survey and tried to track down the rare rusty patched bumble bee over the course of a three-month search that spanned Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, she had very little luck.“I personally only saw one,” Shafer, now an urban ecologist and PhD candidate at Northwestern University, said.The bee, which sports a distinctive amber spot near the middle of its back, was once common in 28 states including Illinois and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The pollinator has declined by nearly 90 percent over the past 30 years. Today, it occupies just 0.1 percent of its historic range. The bee was listed as federally endangered in 2017, becoming the first bee species listed under the Endangered Species Act.The Trump administration’s reinterpretation of the Endangered Species Act could be particularly harmful to these bees because the administration will no longer consider the destruction of their habitat in violation of the law. The species is small and spends half the year in soil, making them difficult to spot for experts, let alone a developer building a road.
• Piping plovers.   “They are, in a word: adorable,” said Mikko Jimenez, an urban ecologist researching how migratory birds interact with cities, recalling the first time he saw Monty and Rose — the pair of federally endangered piping plovers that made headlines after making a home of Montrose Beach between 2019 and 2021.  The shorebirds’ historic homecoming marked the first time the migratory birds had nested on Chicago’s beaches since at least 1948. At a high point there were close to 800 pairs of small, white birds with their stubby orange bills nesting throughout the Great Lakes region, but populations plummeted to about a dozen breeding pairs in the 1990s, according to Jimenez.The plovers are competing with humans for popular beach front and coastal habitat, prime for real estate development and recreation. Experts like Jimenez worry that any loss of habitat protection could have serious implications on the bird species recovery.
• Freshwater mussels. Freshwater mussels are particularly imperiled in Illinois, where the aquatic species comprise half of all the federally endangered wildlife present in the state. Illinois was once a hotspot for the shelled species. Scientists recorded approximately 80 different species in the state before dropping down to 59 around 1970.Major threats to freshwater mussels include habitat degradation, water pollution, and invasive species, according to Kentaro Inoue, a research biologist at Shedd Aquarium. In Illinois and the Midwest, the species have had to contend with decades of industrial agricultural activity that have significantly altered freshwater habitats and river connectivity.The mussels are already facing significant pressures, and the Trump administration’s rule changes won’t make their survival any easier.

Texas Rancher Survives Three Cottonmouth Bites After 54 Vials of Anti-Venom -  Crouching on a creekbank, Jeremy Sons recoiled as the largest cottonmouth he’d ever seen attached itself to his body and delivered a cascade of venom via half-inch, hinged, hypodermic fangs. The snake bit three times in less than a second. No dry bites; no half measures. Approximately 5 ounces of venom, the full motherlode, surged into Sons’ finger. By reflex, he ripped the snake from his hand, flung it in the water, and began a race against the poison’s bullrush from tissue to lymphatic system to bloodstream. Over 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States, typically resulting in six to seven deaths. Sons, with hemotoxins and cytotoxins flooding his body, booked a spot on the fatality list. Despite remarkable fitness and a life spent in the outdoors, his survival demanded a bucket of antivenom. An astounding 54 vials. “What do you do when a snakebite overwhelms the antivenom and you lose count on how many doses you’ve taken?” Sons asks. “Not gonna lie. I was scared.” Despite Texas’ deserved reputation as a rattlesnake haven, Sons’ acreage has almost no rattlesnake presence. And nearly no copperheads. However, he has cottonmouths aplenty. “Cottonmouths are just a part of life on the ranch. If I wanted to avoid snakes, especially cottonmouths, I’d have to stay in bed.” In heavy foreshadowing, Sons’ father, Mark, was bitten on Clear Creek at 16 years old while coon hunting in the 1970s. Crawling up the bank in darkness, Mark placed his hand atop a cottonmouth and got tagged, requiring a multi-day stay in ICU and several vials of anti-venom. However, the incident was child’s play compared to what would befall his son almost 50 years later. On the evening of July 25, 2026, with farm work and chores completed, Sons and Katelyn walked to Clear Creek. With temps still hovering above 90-plus degrees, the time on the clock read “Snake:30,” the half-hour before dark when cottonmouths get active. In shorts and tennis shoes, while checking the bank for washed up hand-me-downs, Sons made a massive mistake: He got too comfortable. Slipping his hand beneath a log, Sons felt his hand vibrate with a severe stinging sensation. Pulling back, Sons retracted his arm—along with a near 4’ cottonmouth. The mainstay viper of the southeastern United States, often dubbed a water moccasin or swamp lion, a cottonmouth is known to frequently hold its ground when disturbed, head up and mouth agape. Typically, the snake is black-gray in color (although coloration fades creamier in the Deep South) with a mottled belly and thick, muscular midsection, blunt tale, and length ranging up to 5’, but often reaching 6’ and slightly beyond. In short, the snake is a semiaquatic hoss, and merited or not, usually elicits the fear of God, or at a bare minimum, a primal stream of invective. “This dude was dark and fat, with girth as thick as a baseball bat. About as long I’ve ever seen around here. In fact, I’d say he’s the biggest cottonmouth I’ve ever seen. He was an easy 3.5’, but coulda been pushing 4’.” In milliseconds, hinged fangs descended from a sheathed membrane and the cottonmouth struck three times. Before Sons could react, he had five puncture wounds in his right index finger. “It happened in a blur. I reacted on instinct. He’d locked up on me and it never occurred to me that he was venomous until I saw fangs. I grabbed behind his head, dropped him in the water, and started checking my finger. It still hadn’t dawned on me what happened.” “I’ve been bit by hundreds, if not thousands of watersnakes. They’ll leave behind blood from sandpaper-like abrasions from their teeth. Staring at my finger, this blood was different. No doubt, I was looking at puncture marks. On top of all that, there was no unusual pain in those first moments. I didn’t even know he bit me three times. It happened so quick that it felt like one continuous burn.” As Sons pulled out of the initial frozen moment and into fluid action, he turned toward Katelyn, who stood roughly 15’ distant. Without words, his pained grimace, his face said it all. Katelyn knew. She immediately knew. Pointing toward the house, roughly a half-mile distant, Sons began walking. “Let’s go.” Hand already swelling, Sons knew the drill: measured, steady steps to keep his heart rate down. But what he didn’t know? The ‘ole cottonmouth had absolutely smoked him with every last drop of venom in its glands. Emergency lights flashing atop an F-150, Katelyn burned highway to Denton and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital—a 25-minute ride. She’d already called ahead and made certain that antivenom was in supply. From creek to house, Sons’ pain level was moderate. Seated in the passenger seat of the F-150, his pain level rocketed to total agony. “In the truck, it was like the insides of my body started to scream out in burning pain. It was excruciating. I can handle a high, high level of pain, but this was something different. This was bone-crushing pain. Never felt anything like it. I had indescribable pain, but at the same time, I felt like I was fading away.” His hand ballooned. Elbow cocked upward, Sons tightened a makeshift tourniquet. Bad mistake. “No way. The pain burned even hotter and I took off the wrapping. Turns out, it’s better to let it go, because if you cut off the circulation, you can end up losing that part of your body.” What was happening inside Sons’ body? Litteratura Serpentium offers a sobering description: Cottonmouth venom literally dissolves the tissue that it contacts. Small blood vessels are disrupted so that the blood leaks out. As the zone of vascular damage increases in size, the animal bleeds to death in its own tissues. The heart fails, not because of direct injury, but because it can no longer pump effectively through the riddled vascular bed. Twenty minutes after leaving home, Sons staggered into the emergency room, with staff ready and waiting. “I walked in those doors and hit my knees, and started throwing up. I threw up, up, and up. The nurses came running over and put me in a wheelchair with a barf bag. I bet I threw up for 10 minutes straight.” Sons’ blood pressure was blitzing at 220/110, with pulse rate roaring at 200 beats per minute. “Cottonmouth bites aren’t typically fatal, but I’d be lying if I say I wasn’t starting to get a little bit scared. They gave me morphine to cut the pain and then came the antivenom.” Within 15 minutes of treatment, Sons estimates, he was given an intravenous dose of antivenom. “They started checking my coagulation numbers right after that. Long story short, mine wasn’t coagulating. They hit me again with antivenom. Eight bottles later, no coagulation.” Approximately 7,500 people are bitten by venomous snakes every year in the U.S. Only 5 to 10 of those bites are fatal. However, Sons’ snakebite was off the statistical charts. How much cottonmouth venom was injected into Sons? An average cottonmouth has a venom volume of .32 to 2.5 ml, or a dried weight of 125 mg. However, the largest specimens can hold around 4 ml, almost a teaspoon of liquid, with a dried weight of 1,094 milligrams. If Sons received near 1,094 mg of venom, then he absorbed 7 to 11 times the estimated lethal dose of 100-150 mg. Bottom line, Sons needed to guzzle beaucoup anti-venom, but the hospital’s cupboard was bare. Time for transport and surgery. “It’d be fair to say my anxiety leaped. What was at first an extremely serious situation went nuclear.” Hello, Fort Worth. “That’s only 45 minutes away from Denton, but by the time I arrived with no treatment, my bloodwork had gone through the roof again.” More anti-venom doses: 10, 20, 30, and counting. “By this time, as the poison progressed, they were marking all over my body to trace the swelling and discoloration. They kept marking further away. My arm tripled in size all the way up into my shoulder, and then it went down my armpit all the way down my rib cage and then started swelling around my hips. There was so much swelling you grab hunks of flesh. Then all that area turned black and purple, down into my lower legs.” Sons’ pulse only reached above his elbow, indicating lack of circulation. “They had to do something or I’d lose a limb. Basically, they filleted me. They sliced around my hand in seven different spots with deep cuts to encourage blood flow. Long story short, the surgery kept my hand from blowing up by giving the skin room to adjust.” Meanwhile, antivenom continued. Finally, after 54 treatments, Sons turned the corner. As he lay in hospital, Sons chronicled his stay via social media and TikTok. His posts exploded. Tens of millions of views. “I figured to put it on the internet and raise snake awareness and maybe help somebody out to avoid what happened to me. Instead, it went viral and people across the country, and even across the world, were supportive. To this day, I haven’t been able to respond to even 1% of the kind comments rooting for me.” After three days in ICU and a seven-day total stay in a hospital bed, Sons went home, finger and hand intact. The cottonmouth left permanent nerve damage. “So what?” Sons exclaims. “Who knows what kind of pain or limited use I’ll have for the rest of my life, but I don’t care, because I’m blessed beyond belief.”Crows make decisions twice as fast as humans and monkeys  --University of Tübingen researchers have shown that crows, when confronted with a visual choice, make a decision twice as fast as humans and monkeys. In the experiment, two carrion crows took just 235 milliseconds on average to identify the direction in which a dot pattern was moving and to indicate their choice—while maintaining a high degree of accuracy. Philipp Schmidbauer and professor Andreas Nieder from the Institute of Neurobiology of the University of Tübingen demonstrated how this speed is reflected in the activity of neurons in the crow brain. Their study has been published in the journal Science. In the task, the birds had to determine whether moving dots on a touchscreen were predominantly moving to the left or to the right. The crows indicated their decision by pecking at a target to the left or right of the dot pattern. "Even when the patterns of motion were hard to recognize, the crows' decisions were still better than random choices," Schmidbauer reports, "and with clear signals, they achieved an accuracy of nearly 100%." To investigate this ability, the researchers recorded the activity of neurons in the nidopallium caudolaterale, a key associative region of the avian brain, comparable to the prefrontal cortex in humans. As early as 70 milliseconds after the onset of the visual stimulus, neuronal signals for different motion directions began to diverge in the crows' brains—long before the birds could make their responses. Neural activity gradually increased as the decision was being formed, until it reached a decision threshold and the crow indicated its choice. The neurons reflected both the strength of the available visual information and the direction selected. "These findings show that neuronal dynamics in the avian brain are consistent with established models of decision-making in humans and nonhuman primates," says Nieder. Although birds do not possess a layered cerebral cortex, their differently organized brains appear to implement comparable basic principles of decision-making—and to do so twice as fast as primates. This speed may be related to the evolutionary demands for rapid visual processing and motor responses in birds, Nieder explains. "Birds rely on their vision to carry out precise, rapid maneuvers during flight and to guide their beaks toward objects when foraging," he says, adding that further research will be needed to determine exactly which mechanisms enable this temporal advantage.

Butter Recalled for Yeast, Mold, and E. Coli Contamination - Plant-based butter is being recalled right now due to yeast, mold and E. coli contamination, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.1 Just over 1,300 cases of Miyoko’s Creamery European Style Salted Plant Milk Butter have been voluntarily recalled and pulled from retail shelves in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.If you think you might have the recalled product on hand, check the box for a lot code of 07871 and a best-by date of November 11, 2026. This recall has been deemed a Class II recall by the FDA, meaning that consuming the butter may lead to “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”2 If you have this product in your fridge or freezer, do not consume it. E. coli can cause symptoms like diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. Consuming a food product with high levels of yeast and/or mold can also cause symptoms of illness. If you are experiencing any adverse effects after consuming this product, make sure to contact a health care professional.

Gasping for air: Borneo residents struggle as island burns - Sudarsono shuddered as he inhaled from an oxygen tank while being evacuated from his small house in Palangkaraya on Indonesian Borneo, yellow, acrid wildfire smoke billowing all around. The 57-year-old fell sick after going out with three friends days earlier to fight fires creeping closer to homes on the outskirts of the city in Central Kalimantan province, one of the regions hit hardest by months of blazes and haze. "I wore a mask, goggles, everything, but I was surrounded by smoke. I went home since I couldn't take it anymore," the construction worker and farmer told AFP as he was being loaded into an ambulance to go to the hospital last week. Sudarsono's backyard had been blackened by flames, with only a few tree stumps and cloying smoke left. "I hope that there will be no more haze, that Central Kalimantan will be free from fires so people can feel safe, work and earn a living," Sudarsono said before the ambulance doors closed. Government workers and volunteers bring portable oxygen tanks to those in need. He is among more than 11,000 people treated for respiratory infections in Palangkaraya during a months-long wildfire crisis that has also affected Indonesia's neighbors with toxic haze pollution. More than 300,000 people in seven provinces were laid low by respiratory tract infections from August to October, according to Indonesia's health ministry. At a nearby shelter run by nongovernmental organizations in Palangkaraya, Alexandra Surya Habsari was treated with a nebulizer and oxygen for breathing difficulties and a headache. "I'm really fed up, but I don't even know who I'm supposed to be angry with... this is already way beyond what can be considered normal for a human being to endure," Habsari told AFP. The toxic smog emitted by wildfires contains harmful elements including formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, as well as PM2.5 particles small enough to penetrate the lungs or bloodstream. The World Health Organization has linked PM2.5 exposure to increased illness and death. Deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas says wildfires have consumed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September. The Southeast Asian giant has for months struggled to contain fires that deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas says have consumed more than 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) in the nine months to September. The government has not confirmed or disputed the figure. Amid diplomatic objections from neighboring countries forced to breathe the foul air, patience has also been running thin at home, marked by sporadic anti-government protests. The health ministry said it has set up nearly 500 facilities countrywide where people can access free oxygen and treatment for haze-related ailments. Nearly 300 of them are in Central Kalimantan, where the fires and the haze have been particularly bad. The local government has also deployed buses with oxygen tanks around Palangkaraya. The months-long fire and haze crisis has sparked numerous protests. Local health official Riduan, who like many Indonesians has one name, said the people most affected by respiratory ailments were aged between 17 and 59—those who go out to work even in the toxic air. Habsari, 43, said her daily 20-minute commute to the office has become torture. "We're supposed to be able to see the blue sky, breathe in oxygen, see the sun and enjoy clean air. But when it's like this, what we're breathing is poison," she said.

US drinking water may contain two times reported levels of 'forever chemicals’   -The methods used to report harmful “forever chemicals” in U.S. drinking water may be underestimating their concentrations by more than half, according to a study published in Cell Reports Sustainability. Researchers analyzed more than 1.8 million measurement records from across the United States. They found that conventional calculations captured only 44.1 percent of the modeled concentration of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in community water systems. T\ The findings suggest current methods may be understating the amount of PFAS present in water. PFAS, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are called “forever chemicals” because they do not degrade naturally, and man-made processes to destroy them are costly and yield questionable results. Most PFAS measurements fall below reporting limits Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5), public water systems monitor 29 PFAS in drinking water. The researchers examined 1,863,306 PFAS measurement records from 10,297 monitored systems across the country, “of which 2 percent were detections above the reporting limit.” “Replacing these non-detects with zero, half the detection limit, or the detection limit itself remains a common practice in water-quality monitoring,” researchers wrote, adding that these methods can introduce biases into estimated averages and other statistical measurements. To investigate the missing concentrations, the researchers developed a statistical framework that accounts for results below laboratory reporting limits. The team generated 500 model estimates and calculated average concentrations for 25 PFAS detected at least once in the national dataset. For those chemicals, the model estimated a population-weighted average concentration of 15.04 nanograms per liter (parts per trillion), compared with 6.63 nanograms per liter when below-limit results were counted as zero. The conventional calculation fell 55.9 percent short of the model’s estimate. For the six PFAS included in the EPA’s April 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, the conventional calculation produced an average of 2.62 nanograms per liter, compared with the model’s estimate of 5.23 nanograms per liter. “Across sensitivity analyses, the direction of the national finding was consistent, but its magnitude was model dependent,” according to the study .Despite the notable differences, the researchers emphasized that their models do not directly measure unknown PFAS concentrations or establish additional health risks. “Our study only examines how PFAS measurements are summarized,” lead author Gehendra Kharel told Phys.org. “It does not establish that every below-limit result poses a health risk.”

Pennsylvania restricts use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam - The Allegheny Front - Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law on Thursday a measure that prohibits the use of chemicals known as PFAS in firefighting foam, which is used to suppress fires. The language was included in Senate Bill 804, unrelated legislation to phase out harmful chemicals in intravenous (IV) bags and other medical devices.The new law restricts the manufacture, sale and distribution of PFAS in firefighting foam in Pennsylvania starting in July 2027, and the use of them starting in January 2028, with exceptions including airports, chemical plants and oil refineries. There are thousands of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, which are man-made chemicals used in everyday products, such as food packaging, stain-resistant carpets and non-stick cookware. The Environmental Protection Agency considers them “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or the human body. PFAS are linked to cancer and other health issues.“We know that a major historic source of that is PFAS in firefighting foams,” said Stephanie Wein, clean water and conservation advocate at the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, a nonprofit group that advocated for the law.“That’s why you see big contamination sites near airports and military bases and firefighting training centers or even places where you have one big fire one time, and then you have contamination in the groundwater for decades to come,” she said.High levels of PFAS were found in the Montour Run watershed near the Pittsburgh International Airport, which has a firefighting training center. A recent PennEnvironment report found PFAS in 96% of rivers and streams tested throughout the commonwealth.  “Often due to their presence in firefighting foam, PFAS have been found in drinking water across the commonwealth, from Willow Grove in southeastern Pennsylvania and Emmaus in the Lehigh Valley to Moon Township in Allegheny County,” Wein said.  The bill was sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, in collaboration with firefighters, emergency responders and the industry, and was passed with a nearly unanimous vote in the legislature. “This to us feels like a really important first step and it was exciting to see it not just get over the finish line, but over the finish line with such tremendous bipartisan support,” said Wein.More than a dozen states have passed similar laws, and Congress started phasing out military use of PFAS in firefighting foam in 2020.  “This bill is a commonsense response that has already been adopted by many states,” said Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) in a press release. “It will undoubtedly protect firefighters moving forward, while also safeguarding our ground and surface water from contamination.”The law requires the safe disposal of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, overseen by the state fire commissioner and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.The personal protective equipment (PPE) firefighters wear can also contain PFAS chemicals. “Their qualities make them very effective as a water repellant which is applied to fire fighters’ personal protective equipment and the base of extinguishing agents,” said Adam Perreault, a fire fighter and the Political/Legislative Director for International Association of Fire Fighters Local 302 in Allentown, when he testified before the legislature about the bill in 2023. “Basically, we are in direct, prolonged contact with PFAS daily.”

PFAS Risks Reshape Data Center Development and AI Growth - Public opposition to data center development has been building, with residents, local advocacy groups and national environmental organizations raising concerns about electricity prices, strained power grids, and water resources. As the 2026 midterms approach, opponents have introduced another risk into the debate: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals.[1] PFAS and data center development are each flashpoints for public concern. Together, they drive heightened scrutiny. Data center developers, operators, and investors should prepare now for project opponents, regulators, and legislators to use PFAS concerns to influence how projects are permitted, litigated and investigated. PFAS are a family of thousands of man-made chemicals built on strong carbon-fluorine bonds. These bonds make PFAS useful across industries, but also allow the chemicals to persist in the environment. PFAS remain the subject of nationwide tort and product liability litigation, expanded remediation efforts under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and significant regulatory enforcement activity. Among their many commercial applications, PFAS are present in technology that supports artificial intelligence infrastructure. Semiconductor manufacturing, which produces chips that power AI servers, relies on PFAS compounds at multiple stages because of their chemical stability and resistance to heat and corrosion. The push to reduce data center water use also has accelerated the adoption of closed-loop and immersion cooling systems, many of which are designed to use PFAS-based fluids and gases for cooling. A growing number of environmental advocates and data center opponents contend that rising demand for computing capacity will increase PFAS production and releases into air, water, and soil. One advocacy group summarized that view succinctly: “More Data Centers = More Toxic PFAS.”[2] The emerging intersection of PFAS concerns and data center opposition adds fuel to the growing use of environmental laws in an effort to constrain the buildout of digital infrastructure. In several states, environmental and civil rights groups already have brought citizen-suit enforcement actions under the federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. State agencies are also increasing environmental compliance oversight,[3] and several states have adopted or are considering “responsible” data center development frameworks, including new environmental review and permitting requirements. Adding PFAS to this mix is likely to shift some attention from water use to alleged water pollution, implicating entirely separate state regulatory regimes designed to address PFAS and protect public drinking water supplies. In fact, some states that are most active in data center development also are among the most advanced in regulating PFAS, including Virginia, Illinois and North Carolina. Virginia, for example, has adopted a law requiring increased monitoring and disclosure of PFAS discharges across a range of industrial sectors. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality also recently acknowledged public concerns about potential PFAS discharges from a data center by including a unique reopener that would allow the permit to be revised to incorporate future PFAS-related terms. The practical question for developers is what are the legal risks if PFAS is detected at, or alleged to be associated with, a project? Potential consequences include citizen-suit enforcement actions alleging unpermitted PFAS discharges, investigations by state regulatory agencies, and the imposition of permit conditions requiring ongoing PFAS monitoring. Developers also should prepare for heightened congressional scrutiny, particularly if Democrats retake control of the House after the midterm elections. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is active on both PFAS and data center issues. In June 2026, he supported a nationwide moratorium on data center development, citing in part concerns about PFAS components used in data centers. In July 2026, he stated that, if he becomes committee chair, he will pursue “federal guardrails” on data center development through tools that include environmental regulation. Rep. Pallone already has launched inquiries as ranking member. In July, he requested information from xAI Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk about air emissions and monitoring, water use, and water contamination.[4] Congressional interest is not limited to oversight letters. A bipartisan transparency bill, H.R. 6984, would require public disclosure of, among other metrics, “the type and amount of pollutants . . . discharged into water by data centers. . ." The bill has gained bipartisan cosponsors, and a bipartisan Senate companion bill, S. 5640, also has been introduced. As PFAS scrutiny expands, data center developers, operators and investors should assess potential PFAS uses and releases early, evaluate permitting and monitoring exposure, and prepare for increased regulatory, legislative and citizen-suit attention. Sheppard will continue to monitor these developments.

Southwest flood damage estimates are hundreds of millions for New Mexico alone -- Intense rainstorms linked to a very active El Niño-driven Pacific hurricane season have left thousands of people in the Four Corners states displaced or facing massive cleanups from flooding. The adjoining states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all saw substantial flooding last week, and damage assessments are just starting to trickle in from cities, towns and some of the most remote territory in the continental U.S. The northern New Mexico city of Farmington was hit particularly hard after torrential rains fell on the San Juan mountains in Colorado, sending floodwaters down the San Juan River that passes through Farmington on its way to Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border. Small towns all along the river, from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, to Bloomfield, New Mexico and Bluff, Utah all saw historic flooding and are now assessing recovery challenges. About 46,000 people live in Farmington, long a center for coal, oil and natural gas production. It's also an important hub for the northeast side of the Navajo reservation, which sprawls across three states. Farmington residents started getting evacuation notices on their phones as early as Wednesday night. According to National Weather Service data from a river gauge in Farmington, the San Juan grew 13 times larger in just 36 hours, late last week. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the river was about 3.5 feet high. By Friday, it was 14 feet high, flooding neighborhoods across the city, and possibly setting a record for the highest water ever recorded in the city. This even after the Navajo Reservoir upstream from Farmington was able to mostly contain water rushing down from the mountains. But downstream of the reservoir, flood surges into the city came from two normally dry tributaries, Gobernador Canyon and Cañon Largo. "This is a catastrophic flood of historic proportions," said Devon Neeley, San Juan County's public information officer. "This river got wider than we have ever seen it in our lifetimes." Similar reports are coming in from the other side of the San Juan mountains in Colorado. "It's nothing like most of us have seen before," said Tyler Schmidt, captain of the fire and rescue team in the small town of South Fork, Colo. on the banks of the Rio Grande. "We had several neighborhoods that were under two to three feet of water." Colorado Public Radio's Dan Boyce reports that responders' immediate priorities are lifting final evacuation orders as waters recede. Damaged bridges need to be assessed. Well water all down the Rio Grande's path in the San Luis valley needs to be tested. Other drinking water impacts from the storm include sewage spills from flooded treatment plants in Sedona, Arizona and other locations. KNAU reports extensive damage on the Hopi reservation. The Hopi reservation is surrounded by the Navajo reservation, where there have also been reports of rescues, washed out roads and flooding of historic proportions. San Juan County, New Mexico's Neeley said fire crews, police officers, National Guard troops, and even out-of-state swift water teams rescued between 200 and 300 county residents. "We have pulled people out of vehicles stuck in running washes. We have pulled people by helicopter off of rooftops," Neeley said. "We have used not only high-clearance vehicles from the National Guard, but amphibious vehicles because the water is so high. It's been a lot."

Floods carry untreated wastewater into San Juan River near Navajo towns | Modesto Bee Debra Yazzie, vice president of Shiprock Chapter, was urging residents to evacuate as floodwaters continued to rise Oct. 23, when she and others began seeing barrels of unknown contents floating down the San Juan River, with more appearing as the hours passed. After getting word from the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management that the river was expected to reach 23 feet by midnight, they began warning people living near the riverbank and along the floodplain to evacuate. Then Yazzie learned that wastewater ponds in Bloomfield, N.M., had been compromised. Rising floodwaters along the San Juan had impacted the water reclamation facility in the town of Bloomfield, requiring a temporary shutdown of wastewater treatment operations. During this shutdown, untreated wastewater entering the city's sewer system began flowing into the San Juan River. "I knew as a person with a background in environmental science, and have worked in water treatment, I knew how important it was that we ask our relatives to immediately evacuate their homes," said Yazzie. On Oct. 25, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority posted that flooding along the San Juan River had affected the utility's Shiprock wastewater treatment plant and compromised normal wastewater treatment operations. As a result of the flooding, untreated wastewater was being discharged into the San Juan River. The San Juan River extends approximately 350 miles, flowing westward into New Mexico from where it originates in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Once in New Mexico, its waters are held in Navajo Reservoir, before continuing into southern Utah. The river ultimately empties into Lake Powell. Contaminated water could reach Lake Powell Yazzie said the wastewater treatment plant in Shiprock processes approximately 1 million gallons of wastewater per day, and after treatment it is released into the San Juan River. Shiprock is part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, a federal pollution control program, as are the other towns upstream. "Those facilities and those towns have much more people than we do here in Shiprock," Yazzie said. The volume of untreated wastewater entering the San Juan River from communities such as Bloomfield could exceed Shiprock's contribution alone, raising significant concerns about potential environmental and public health impacts. On Oct 26, residents along the San Juan River downstream of Montezuma Creek, Utah, were urged to avoid contact with river water following a wastewater facility breach caused by severe flooding. NTUA confirmed that flooding completely breached its wastewater lagoon treatment facility, releasing wastewater that may have contaminated the San Juan River downstream of Montezuma Creek. Utah's San Juan County Health Department received laboratory results Oct. 26 from water samples collected along the San Juan River. Twelve samples were collected from four locations between St. Christopher's Mission, located east of Bluff, Utah, across the San Juan River from the Navajo Nation, and the Navajo community of Mexican Hat. E. coli levels in the river average approximately 98 MPN/100 mL - a measurement of water quality. Nearly all samples collected that day measured between 2,400 and 2,500 MPN/100 mL, well above safe levels. "High E.coli levels pose real problems for people whose homes and property have been inundated by the flood," said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest Director for Center for Biological Diversity. "I think that the key right now is that this obviously requires an urgent all-of-government response, and I don't see that happening." A significant portion of the contaminated water will eventually reach Lake Powell. At this point, there are no options for mitigating its impact, as the water is already moving downstream. The river water contains E. coli at levels much higher than normal and, although the contaminants will be diluted as the water enters the lake, concerns remain about the elevated levels of bacteria as the contaminated water continues downstream. Concerns extend beyond untreated wastewater to include oil and gas wells in the floodplain and potential contamination from the former Shiprock uranium mill site. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Navajo Nation began a cleanup agreement in 1983, and by September 1986, uranium mill tailings and related contaminated materials had been encapsulated in an NRC-approved disposal cell. "So there's three potential pollution sources right now," said McKinnon. " It's the sewage treatment systems, the oil and gas wells, and then the uranium mill at Shiprock." The former uranium mill has been closed and remains under environmental remediation administered by the EPA. Groundwater contamination has been identified in the floodplain adjacent to the San Juan River. A pumping system extracts the contaminated groundwater and transfers it to a nearby terrace, where it is managed through evaporation and containment, said McKinnon. "We have some concern that that floodplain was flooded, and the pumping infrastructure may have been compromised, and that the flood could have mobilized pollutants from there," he said. "I don't know that, but I've seen some photos that indicate that that floodplain was flooded, as you would expect in a record flood."

Catastrophic flooding in Northwest New Mexico may take years to recover from, official says -- (video embedded) The Four Corners region was hit with catastrophic flooding last week as heavy rains caused rivers to overflow their banks and inundate communities. Evacuations were ordered for parts of San Juan County in Northwest New Mexico last week and hundreds of homes and other buildings were destroyed or damaged. There were more than 60 water rescues, though there were no reported deaths in the county. In the latest episode of the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast, San Juan County Manager Mike Stark joins Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Daniel J. Chacón to discuss the devastating effects of the flooding and where things stand for residents a week later. Stark says many residents who had their homes damaged or destroyed do not have flood insurance and will need assistance to rebuild. Damage estimates are still being tallied, but Stark says the final figure could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.As a safety warning, residents are recommended not to return to evacuated areas due to hazmat concerns and the potential for more rainfall in the coming days. Stark says scammers have tried to take advantage of the tragedy. He recommends people go to the Office of Emergency Management for San Juan County Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/oemsjc/) or the office’s website at https://www.sjcoem.com to get connected with resources, recovery information and ways to help.Speaking of a timetable for recovery, Stark says it may take years for some areas to get back in good order but “we’re in it for the long haul in trying to provide for these citizens who have had their lives turned upside down.”Watch this episode on YouTube or click here to listen.

Storms bring relief to Lake Powell as Lake Mead hits record low -- Recent storms appear to have brought some relief to Lake Powell, while Lake Mead remains near historically low levels. The contrasting picture comes amid a continuing strain on the Colorado River system and its two largest reservoirs, following years of drought and a winter of exceptionally low snowpack. “Lake Powell water levels continue to rise from all of the heavy rain across the Four Corners,” the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City, Utah office said on X, Sunday. “It is up over 10 feet (3529.4′) from the yearly low (3519.1′) with a lot more water moving toward Lake Powell as river flows remain very high,” the agency said, adding, however, that the reservoir still remained “very far” from full pool. As of Saturday, Lake Powell was just 23 percent full, according to official data. Provisional U.S. Geological Survey data indicate that Lake Powell, the nation’s second largest reservoir, gained around 7 feet over the past week, rising from approximately 3,523 feet on October 19 to about 3,530 feet by Sunday. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., saw little comparable improvement, however. Bureau of Reclamation figures show that its elevation hovered around 1,037 feet over the same period, below the record low recorded earlier this year. Newsweek contacted the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages Lakes Powell and Mead, for comment via email on Monday. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski told Newsweek repeated rounds of rain have progressively saturated the soil across the region. With evaporation also declining during autumn, a greater share of subsequent rainfall can run into streams and rivers, including those feeding the Colorado River system, he explained. “Some of that will work into the Colorado River basin, as we have been seeing, so there should continue to be ‘ratchet ups’ in lake levels as more rounds of surges work down the Colorado,” Sosnowski said. The meteorologist estimated that a general 0.5 to 3 inches of rain had fallen across the region over the past week, with up to twice that amount in some areas. Rainfall totals for October reached 5.69 inches in Flagstaff, Arizona, nearly four times its historical monthly average, and 4.28 inches in Durango, Colorado, roughly three times its average. Clovis, New Mexico, recorded 13.71 inches through Sunday, nearly 5.5 times its October average, he said. “The biggest rains with this most recent event over the past five days or so have been over the mountains from eastern Arizona to western New Mexico, northward to western and central Colorado and southeastern Utah,” Sosnowski said. “The steeper the terrain, the faster and more significant the runoff.”

King tides swamp California city in floodwater as ocean surges up busy street -A tidal surge swallowed streets in Newport Beach on Monday morning, sending knee-deep floodwater rushing into a picturesque coastal neighborhood as frantic residents scrambled to protect their homes and businesses.The ocean spilled into the upscale Orange County enclave as king tides battered the Southern California coastline, turning normally bustling streets into waterways and threatening another round of destruction in a city already reeling from severe flooding earlier this month. Aerial footage from KTLA showed residents desperately stacking sandbags along Edgewater Avenue and Washington Street on the harbor side of the Balboa Peninsula as murky water surged toward local businesses. Elsewhere, streets near 38th Street and River Avenue, close to the entrance of Newport Island, disappeared beneath roughly a foot of water.And one longtime resident said the flooding was unlike anything the coastal community had ever experienced.“Not only have I never seen anything like this, there’s never been something like this,” Newport Beach resident Bill Sharp told the outlet.Sharp said a tidal gauge registered a staggering 8.3 feet at 9:18 a.m. Monday. “It’s a new record, and this is absolutely unprecedented,” he said. The king tides turned normally bustling streets into waterways and threatened another round of destruction in Newport.  The frightening scenes unfolded as city crews worked to fortify sand berms, deploy pumps and reinforce vulnerable sections of the coastline against the relentless onslaught of seawater.Newport Beach City Manager Seimone Jurjis told the Los Angeles Times officials had been preparing for the dangerous conditions and monitoring the situation.“Our City teams have been busy reinforcing sand berms, evaluating vulnerable seawalls, placing sandbags, inspecting storm drains and preparing additional pumps, heavy equipment and emergency resources,” Jurjis said.The latest flooding comes just weeks after Newport Beach declared a local emergency on October 9 when powerful swells and elevated tides sent seawater pouring through the Balboa Peninsula, leaving motorists stranded and vehicles partially submerged.That earlier deluge, fueled by Tropical Storm Rachel and a Kelvin wave, prompted desperate efforts to rebuild protective sand barriers and pump water from flooded neighborhoods.Police warned motorists to steer clear of the peninsula and avoid driving through submerged streets. Now, the coastal paradise is once again facing a watery nightmare. And Newport Beach isn’t alone.The National Weather Service issued coastal flood warnings for Orange and San Diego counties through Thursday afternoon, cautioning that rising seawater could inundate homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.Less severe coastal flood advisories were also issued for Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Long Beach has also endured destructive coastal flooding in recent weeks, with dramatic footage capturing waves crashing into waterfront properties, parking lots and boardwalks.Metrolink announced it would suspend service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations from Monday through Friday because of the elevated tides.Meanwhile, officials have secured millions in emergency funding to repair a massive crack that developed beneath Pacific Coast Highway near Laguna Beach during earlier October high tides.Forecasters say unusually warm ocean waters associated with an emerging El Niño pattern, combined with Kelvin waves, are pushing tides well above their astronomical predictions.And the danger may not be over.Additional exceptionally high astronomical tides are expected around Thanksgiving and Christmas, potentially delivering another punishing blow to already battered coastal communities.

Record high tides slam US coasts. Here’s what’s driving them - Record-breaking high tides have arrived along the coasts of Southern California and the southeastern United States this week. A combination of weather and climate factors are fueling the high tides that are flooding streets and low-lying areas and gnawing away at beaches.The full moon on Oct. 26 is converging with warmer than normal waters, El Niño, offshore storms and other patterns to ramp up seasonal high tides, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.In California, water levels already were higher along the Pacific Coast thanks to a surge of higher sea levels from an underwater wave known as a Kelvin wave and warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the region, Oravec said. Then the full moon arrived. By the weekend, rain is forecast.A similar forecast may occur with the new moon in two weeks and throughout the winter, as a typical wet winter weather pattern associated with El Niño sets up, Oravec said. "We've already seen that in some of the forecasts out a week from now." Advocacy groups warning about the ongoing perils of the changing climate are pointing to the contribution of sea level rise on top of the other naturally occurring phenomenon pushing tides higher.A 10-day outlook calls for much above normal chances of precipitation across the United States, particularly in California and the Southwest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. High tide at San Pedro in Los Angeles Harbor on Oct. 26 hit just above 8 feet, an all-time record for the gauge, where records date back to November 1923, the weather service reported. The previous record was 7.93 feet, set on Jan. 10, 2005.High tides will generate "significant coastal flooding" in Southern California through Thursday, Oct. 29, the weather service offices in Los Angeles and San Diego warned. Tides are forecast to be as much as 1.7 feet above the normal full moon predictions, likely raising morning high tides above 8 feet.The tide hit 8.02 feet at a coastal buoy in Los Angeles Harbor on Monday morning, Oct. 26, 2026, breaking a 2005 record, at a gauge where records date back to 1923, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.In La Jolla, California, the morning high tide on Oct. 26 reached at least 7.79 feet, according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Coastal residents in the region should expect roads to be closed and low-lying homes, businesses and infrastructure to be inundated with water, the weather service said. Residents were advised to "prepare for rising water and take appropriate action to protect life and property."Southern California also is looking at chances for rainfall on Halloween weekend to be up to 250% of normal, according to one set of models, said the weather service office in San Diego.An emerging El Niño and oceanic Kelvin wave moving up the coastline have compounded conditions in the region.In the Southeast, strong winds and rough surf from the Atlantic are blowing onshore along the East Coast, pushing the water up higher in conjunction with the higher-than-normal tides associated with the full moon, Oravec said.Meanwhile record-breaking high tides are occurring in Florida, as the state is hit with the seasonally high tides known as "king tides." Flooding was reported in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, the weather service said.Gusty winds, "elevated seas, and high astronomical tides will maintain a plethora of hazards along the east central Florida coast," Megan Tollefsen, a meteorologist with the weather service in Melbourne said in a morning forecast on Oct. 26. A high tide at Port Canaveral was the highest non-tropical cyclone-related water level ever recorded since the gauge was established in October 1994. In Miami, a tidal record set on Oct. 25 was the fourth record in five days, becoming the fifth highest all-time record tide at the gauge, said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate with the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami.The streak in Miami could reach "an unprecedented 10 days" before water levels start to retreat, he said. The highest tide of the event is expected on Tuesday morning.On North Carolina's Outer Banks, sections of the coastal highway have been destroyed, closing portions of the only artery along the barrier islands, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.  An emergency evacuation order is in effect for visitors, and no visitors are permitted on Hatteras Island, after ongoing offshore storms and high tides pummeled the coastal highway, the department stated in social media updates.Work continues to reestablish a protective dune line, remove damaged pavement and grade the roadbed at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center, "but high tide overwash continues to be an issue," the department said.

California county abandons repair plans for crumbling coastal road ahead of El Niño-fueled winter -- Humboldt County officials have long debated what to do about Centerville Road, a narrow, twisting byway that leads to an eroding rural beach and a handful of homes. The rising, warming sea and ferocious winter storms have battered the road. Often, it is completely covered by sand and saltwater. Nearly two years ago, the Humboldt County Department of Public Works pitched a solution to the California Coastal Commission: Local officials wanted to elevate a 0.17-mile segment of Centerville Road by 10 feet and build a revetment, a sloping layer of rocks on the sand meant to protect it from the pounding surf, at least for a few years. In September, the Coastal Commission gave the county permission to raise and repair the road a few miles west of the town of Ferndale, with conditions. Construction was expected to start early next year. But this week, with a “super” El Niño on the horizon, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to surrender to the elements and abandon its long-sought $3.8-million project because the cliffs and bluffs over which Centerville Road runs are crumbling so fast that portions of the road could soon slide into the Pacific.“That place is just mind-boggling, the unraveling of those slopes,” Supervisor Steve Madrone said at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, adding: “It’s all going to go. I mean, there’s no doubt that it’s just a question of time.”Added Supervisor Mike Wilson: “That road will not last there forever.”In directing the county’s public works staff to come up with a plan not to repair the road but to move it farther inland, the supervisors opted for a policy called “managed retreat,” which means pushing infrastructure back from the water’s edge.It’s the kind of decision facing low-lying communities all along California’s 840-mile coastline, where historically hot ocean waters are pushing tide lines higher and where powerful waves — especially in this El Niño season — are battering beaches and infrastructure with little mercy.Managed retreat often is fraught with political challenges and local resistance. And in Humboldt County, the goal of moving Centerville Road inland has long faced pushback from adjacent private landowners, who have refused to grant right-of-way access because they worried about trespassing, vandalism and safety issues.At the supervisors’ meeting, Lorraine Pedrotti, who owns property south of Centerville Beach, said the county has done a poor job communicating with nearby landowners. She said she was “concerned about the proposal to drop a shovel-ready project” for which the county had already secured federal and state disaster funding in favor of pursuing road realignment with no clear timeline or funding.“I realize there’s a need to [have] a long-term solution, but in the meantime, dealing with a sometimes unpassable road for years is not acceptable,” she said.

India Cyclone Evacuations Trigger Major Coastal Crisis - India cyclone evacuations have exceeded 180,000 as Cyclone Arnab battered the country’s eastern coastline, killing at least six people and causing widespread damage to homes, electricity networks and agricultural land. The powerful storm made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, 28 October, bringing destructive winds and torrential rainfall to vulnerable coastal districts. Reuters reported six deaths on Thursday, while local authorities continued assessing the damage. Emergency operations remain under way in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha, where thousands of residents were moved to safer locations before the cyclone arrived. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classified Arnab as a very severe cyclonic storm before landfall, forecasting sustained winds of 115–125 kilometres per hour and gusts reaching 140 kilometres per hour. The storm crossed the Andhra Pradesh coastline near Yanam, uprooting trees, damaging buildings and disrupting transport services. According to Reuters, at least 15,000 electricity poles were damaged, leaving communities without reliable power supplies. Electricity restoration was progressing on Thursday, although disruption continued in parts of Konaseema and West Godavari. A cargo vessel carrying 20 crew members also remained grounded offshore amid difficult maritime conditions. Schools closed in several affected districts, while railway and aviation services experienced cancellations and delays. India’s central government activated emergency coordination arrangements ahead of the cyclone’s arrival. On 26 October, Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan chaired a National Crisis Management Committee meeting to review preparedness across vulnerable states. According to the government’s Press Information Bureau, the meeting examined evacuation arrangements, emergency shelters, disaster response resources and essential services. Andhra Pradesh authorities deployed rescue personnel and medical teams while moving residents away from flood-prone settlements. The Indian Express reported that 4,711 pregnant women were relocated from vulnerable areas to healthcare facilities before the cyclone arrived. Odisha also mobilised emergency teams across six southern districts, including Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur. Weather Officials Confirm Storm Is Weakening The IMD confirmed that Arnab weakened after moving inland. An official bulletin issued early on 29 October placed the system over northern coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of southern Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and northeastern Telangana. The weather agency reported that the storm had weakened into a deep depression and was expected to lose further intensity. However, heavy rainfall, flooding and damaged infrastructure remained concerns for affected communities.

Europe’s Warming Waters Are Attracting Unwanted Marine Life - Reeling rods, pulling pots and hauling nets this summer, fishermen from Greece to the U.K. discovered unexpected visitors popping their heads above the surface.   In the Aegean, it was silver-cheeked toadfish—an invasive pufferfish with powerful, prominent teeth. In the English Channel, it was the unprecedented arrival of uncommon common octopuses. And in the Adriatic, it was the aggressive and aptly named blue crab. Across the continent’s seas and straits, warming waters and decades of overfishing are  hrowing marine ecosystems off kilter and sending species swimming in new directions. For the fishermen landing unfamiliar tentacled and scaled sea creatures, the novel arrivals haven’t always been welcomed on deck. “The fisheries I found 30 years ago were more or less the species that archeozoologists found in [archaeological] remains many thousands years back. But today, this is changing really fast,” said Anastasia Miliou, the science director at Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, a Greek nonprofit.“Fishermen are [already] having a hard time because of a lack of fish. Changing temperatures and the new invasive and alien species don’t make it any easier,” said Miliou, noting the surprising spikes in certain stocks were adding financial pressure for artisanal fishermen struggling to survive.This summer was Western Europe’s warmest on record. Above the waterline, a wave of wildfires, droughts and heat-related deaths ravaged the continent. The blue-jewelled depths of the Aegean and even the more-bracing North Sea and Baltic basins also experienced mass heat. Globally, June to August 2026 saw the highest mean sea surface temperature on record. In Europe, this included sea surface temperatures more than 3.6 and 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 or 3 degrees Celsius) above the last three-decade average. As global ocean heat content rises for the ninth consecutive year, “ectothermic” fish—species unable to regulate their own temperature that depend on finding suitable surrounding conditions—are on the move.These newcomers across the continent have brought economic challenges to fisheries who have, at times, struggled to adapt. In Greece, the arrival of the fatal-if-consumed toadfish and their large, sharp gnashers has significantly damaged fishing gear as the rabbit-like front teeth chomp nets.“It’s got to the point where we might go out fishing one day and then spend the next three days fixing our nets,” Giorgos Kyriakakis, a Cretan fisherman, told Greek public broadcaster ERT in June. “They eat our catch and damage our nets—that’s very costly.” Over the summer, Greek fishermen were offered almost $6.00 (€5.33) per kilo to catch the invasive species by the Agriculture Ministry.Off Britain’s southern shores, eight-legged, suction-cupped common octopuses have arrived from breeding grounds in the Channel Islands and northern France in record numbers. The largest population bloom in 75 years, the arrival is tied to temperature increases, according to researchers at the Marine Biological Association.  The newcomers have proven both a blessing and a curse. Staggeringly lucrative catches have been recorded for those able to catch the creatures. But for traditional shellfish fisheries, the landings of brown crabs, European lobster and king scallops have dropped dramatically. With octopods expected to stay in U.K. waters, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs held its first “octopus conference” earlier this month.  Europe’s not alone.  More than 125 fish species in Japanese waters were found to have moved north to cooler waters, according to an eDNA study released this week by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.“Fishermen across Japan are already finding differences in the types of fish they reel in compared to a few decades ago,” said the paper’s lead author Timothy Ravasi in a press release.  “A sudden influx of new types of fish means you need new techniques, tools, and knowledge to catch them, which is especially hard on small, family-based fishing businesses,” Ravasi said, noting people might not be able to make their culturally or historically significant dishes. With European fish moving north to cooler confines—and also deeper to colder, darker depths—fisheries management will have to adapt. And as El Niño hits the Pacific Ocean, fish stocks are likely to be further disrupted the world over. “Healthy marine ecosystems have their own mechanisms to restore balance and resist the spread of invasive species,” .“Nature will remake the balance as long as we let it. Right now we’re not letting it.”

Putin calls Musk a genius as Russia develops its own satellite network - Russian President Vladimir Putin praised SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as a “genius” Wednesday while revealing that Russia has been in contact with the billionaire as the country works to develop a rival satellite internet network. Putin made the remarks during a summit with African leaders in Moscow, where Maksut Shadayev, Russia’s digital development minister, briefed him on the country’s efforts to build a satellite communications system for its military to use against Ukraine that would rival Musk’s Starlink. “Elon Musk is a genius, he’s just ​a real genius,” Putin said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russia has launched more than 30 satellites as part of its developing Rassvet network, a fraction of the nearly 10,000 satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX. “While we are only taking our first steps. But we are proud that we have begun to do this, and started to do it independently,” Putin said. The Russian leader also said Moscow has been communicating with Musk and other American partners about their respective satellite operations. “We are in close contact with our American partners — including Mr. Musk — because it is very important, in orbit, not to get in each other’s way and to maintain a certain level of discipline and order,” Putin said. Putin’s comments come after Ukraine said its access to Starlink and its military counterpart, Starshield, had been restored after nearly two weeks of disruptions that hampered its operations against Russian forces. Ukraine has depended on the satellite systems for battlefield communications, drone strikes and air defenses throughout its more than four-year war with Russia. The slowdown forced Ukrainian forces to cancel some operations and made it more difficult to intercept incoming Russian drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the restoration over the weekend in a statement shared on social media Saturday afternoon local time. “The speeds are now where they need to be,” he said in the statement. “The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered ‘shaheds.’”

OCC floats preemption of California climate-disclosure laws - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday urged a California environmental regulator to exempt nationally chartered banks from two laws that require firms to measure their lending and investment-related greenhouse gas emissions and disclose climate-related financial risks.

• Key insight: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is suggesting that California's climate-disclosure laws may be preempted by federal banking laws, urging a state regulator to exempt national banks before it moves to formalize that preemption. 
• Supporting data: California Senate Bill 253 requires firms with $1 billion or more in revenue to quantify and disclose investment-related emissions and another Senate Bill 263 requires climate-risk reports from firms with $500 million or more in revenue.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency argued in a letter to California environmental regulators that the state's greenhouse gas emission disclosure requirements may be preempted by federal banking law.

Quad O, the Sequel: EPA Proposes $45 Billion Methane Rule Rollback -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Wait a minute. Didn’t the EPA already fix the Biden-era “Quad O” methane regs? Back in April, MDN told you the EPA had issued a final Quad O rule (see EPA Issues Final Quad O Rule Overturning Biden-Era Onerous Regs). That was true, but it was only Part 1, a narrow fix to flaring and testing rules. On Tuesday, President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin rolled out Part 2 in Lubbock, Texas, and this is the big one. It’s a proposed wide-scale rewrite of the 2024 rules (known as OOOOb/c) that EPA says will save $45 billion. It would create separate, lighter rules for small “marginal” wells, kill the Biden “Super Emitter” program, and once again let oil drillers flare associated gas instead of being forced to pipe all of it to a sales line. It’s still only a proposal, so a public comment period and a hearing come first.

How a rollback of methane rules for oil and gas wells could impact the climate - The Allegheny Front (podcast and transcript) A couple of weeks ago, at the annual meeting of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency would be loosening Biden-era regulations for methane emissions at oil and gas wells. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and contributes to air pollution. To learn more about what this could mean for the environment, The Allegheny Front’s Kara Holsopple spoke with John Rutecki, regulatory and legislative manager at the Environmental Defense Fund. LISTEN to the interview.

Europe Blinks Again: Parliament Votes 3-Year Methane Rule Delay -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  Early last week, we told you Europe blinked on its crazy methane import rules, with the European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) proposing a one-year delay (see Europe Blinks: EU Delays Methane Rules on U.S. LNG Imports a Year). Turns out one blink wasn’t enough. Last Thursday, the European Parliament voted 341-225 (with 6 abstentions) to delay the rules by three years instead of one. Under Parliament’s version, importers of oil, natural gas, and coal would have until May 31, 2031, to prove their foreign suppliers measure, report, and verify (MRV) methane leaks to EU standards. That’s good news for U.S. LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporters, and for the Marcellus/Utica drillers and royalty owners whose gas feeds those export plants. But don’t pop the champagne just yet. Parliament’s vote is a negotiating position, not law. EU member governments couldn’t agree last week, and if they don’t publish a final fix by Dec. 31, the original rules kick in on Jan. 1, 2027.

Montrose Lithium Plant Seeks New Permit, Stays Mum on Lithium -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Remember the “world’s first” lithium-from-frack-water plant near Montrose in Susquehanna County? The one Boston-based Gradiant said would be in full commercial production by early 2026? It just turned up in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, asking DEP for an air permit to add new equipment and accept a much longer list of wastes. What the permit notice does not contain is the word “lithium.” Not once. MDN reached out to Gradiant and to the company that runs the site with a handful of questions. We heard precisely nothing back.

Permitting Reform Countdown: Who’s For, Who’s Against Before Nov 9 - The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) is leading a three-state push by Appalachian drillers to get the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA, S. 5653) over the finish line. The timing is no accident. When the U.S. Senate returns from its campaign break on Monday, November 9, the first thing it will do is take a make-or-break procedural vote on this permitting reform bill. Here’s where things stand: who’s lined up for it, who’s lined up against it, and why a bill about paperwork matters to every landowner and driller in the Marcellus/Utica.

SuperPACs are funneling millions of dollars into pro-AI candidates, with Trump saying communities that reject data centers will end up ‘backwards and poor’ - A new breed of AI-aligned super political action committees (SuperPAC) is spending millions of dollars in an attempt to get pro-AI data center candidates elected in this year’s midterm elections. Data centers have become a hot political topic with the majority of Americans preferring to have a nuclear reactor in their backyard rather than an AI data center. Americans are also increasingly concerned about AI and its effects on the job market, the environment, and their own health. But these perspectives just don’t align with AI companies, who have seen unprecedented growth in their model’s capabilities and their stock value. For that growth to continue, perspectives on AI and the infrastructure behind it need to change. There are a few main players behind this movement. Leading The Future (LTF) has become a key funder behind pro-AI and pro-data center candidates, but also says it is using its millions to oppose those opposed to AI - as if the midterms weren’t already confusing enough.  But a new group, Build American AI, has emerged to run pro-AI and pro-data center ads in key battleground states of Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Republican party recently issued a call for help from AI firms over AI opposition due to fears it could cost them the Ohio senate race.If that were to be the case, it could lead to a wider change of floating voters aligning themselves with whoever is opposed to AI data centers.The Trump administration has aligned much of America’s politics around AI. To remain a global power ahead of China, AI cannot be slowed down. To remain on top of America’s battlefields at home and abroad, AI is being integrated into every arm of the military and all aspects of law enforcement. Opposition to AI is therefore opposition to America’s future, or so Trump would want you to believe.The US economy is currently being buoyed by the surge in growth experienced by AI companies, but the models they are creating have been labelled not only a threat to financial institutions, but also a threat to financial stability of the world.“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”

Frustrated resident blasts the screeching sound of a data center to a county official during a council meeting, gets mocked --A fiscal court meeting in Carroll County, Kentucky grew contentious when local residents started playing the sound of a data center to county officials. Spoiler: they didn’t seem to like it.As local news station WHAS11 reported last week, Carroll County is the planned location for two separate data center projects, each of which will likely be around 800 megawatts and will overtake hundreds of acres of Kentucky land. At that size, the data centers are considered hyperscalers.“I believe they talked about 800 megawatts, so it is a hyperscale unit,” Scott Nab, a magistrate on the fiscal court, told WHAS11 of one of the projects. “It’ll be multiple buildings. It’ll spread over 1,000 acres when completed.” As the news station notes, a data center of that size would consume the equivalent of 560,000 average homes.Nab is among the data centers’ proponents, arguing that data is the industry of the future. Local residents of the rural region, however, are pushing back. One of their strategies? Subject county officials to the horrible, 24/7 screech that large data centers emit.“We’re going to be making them listen to it, so they can get a dose of what they’re asking us to endure,” Laura Beth Austin, a local resident who traveled to a nearby data center to record the sound, told WHAS11. The data center Austin and an associate, April Elwood, visited was reportedly just five megawatts — making it comparatively meager in size to the ones being planned in Carroll County.In a video of the meeting shared by WHAS11, which went viral this week, Austin and an associate are seen interrupting a recent Carroll County fiscal court meeting with the recordings, leading to a tense exchange between Nab and concerned locals in the crowd.“You guys have made your point, okay,” Nab tells the local residents.“But we have to live with this now!” they urgently respond.  “Oh, ya have to live with it?” Nab shoots back, smirking as he speaks.  “Yes we do!” the locals reply, as other townies chime in. At one point, a security guard jumps in and warns everyone to act like “adults.” The exchange is one of many contentious clashes between those who oppose data centers in their communities, which have earned bipartisan hatred, and those advocating for them. With some exceptions, like Elon Musk’s noxious data center project in Memphis, many planned data centers are to be built in rural communities, and thus stand to drastically change the landscape and living conditions of those who live nearby.Data center proponents generally argue that the facilities will provide jobs and sustain the American lead in the global AI race. Opponents, meanwhile, urge that the infrastructure projects are associated with dangerous pollution, spiking energy costs, and loss of natural land. And then, of course, there’s the noise.“We don’t need a data center in a community, let alone two hyperscale data centers in a community of less than a population of 12,000 people,” Austin told WHAS11. Nab, however, is holding onto his guns, arguing data centers are an inevitability.“We have significant — we have other industries in here that have similar amounts of land that are being used for industrial purposes,” Nab told WHAS11. “At the end of the day, if this doesn’t come to Carroll County, it’s going somewhere.”

Data centers, water myths, and what the numbers really say -As Europe emerges from record-breaking summer temperatures, and as the US prepares for midterm elections in November, data centers find themselves in the firing line on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, water companies say data centers are using 6.6 million liters of precious public supplies every day; in the US, some voters are blaming rises in their electricity bills on, you’ve guessed it, data centers . Bloomberg has described the data center “backlash” as a “defining midterms issue”. And so, a narrative has been allowed to develop – that too many data centers are being built, and too quickly, and worst of all in areas where water is scarce. No wonder some communities believe their water needs are being ignored in the name of advancing IT infrastructure to support AI. In some cases, there has been genuine cause for grievance – in an earlier era, water efficiency was not always a design constraint on data center construction. But the public debate is now running on figures which range from outdated to plain wrong. Some of the loudest claims overstate the problem by orders of magnitude. Others, including several the industry itself repeats, understate it. Getting the numbers right matters – and most of all to the communities that host these facilities – because bad numbers produce bad siting decisions, misdirected scrutiny, and misplaced trust. “Every ChatGPT conversation drinks a bottle of water” is the most famous quote in the public discourse about AI infrastructure and data centers. But the claim is not supported by anyone – not even its author. Traced to a single academic paper - Making AI Less “Thirsty” by Pengfei Li, Jianyi Yang, Mohammad A. Islam, and Shaolei Ren of UC Riverside – the figure was a calculated estimate built from public data, not an actual meter reading from a data center. But a 2024 Washington Post analysis ensured the figure went viral. Since then, Ren has indicated that the GPT-4 estimate was likely far too high and that the real figure is closer to 15ml per prompt in total, of which 5ml is on-site cooling water in a data center. Then in August 2025, Google found that a median text prompt of its AI tool, Gemini, consumed 0.26ml of on-site water – or about five drops. Credible estimates still span more than a thousandfold depending on model, location, season, and, above all, what you choose to count. But nobody is talking about bottles of water anymore – the honest answer to How much water does a query use? is a range, and the range is wide because disclosure is inconsistent. Critics think all data centers are the same when it comes to water and cooling – but that’s simply not the case. Different cooling technologies use different amounts of water. Google disclosed in 2024, for example, that one of its Texas data centers consumed about 10,000 gallons in a year – roughly two months of a single household’s use – while its largest water consumer, in Iowa, used around a billion gallons. Same company, same year, but a difference of five orders of magnitude determined almost entirely by cooling architecture and climate. There’s another myth that water used by data centers is lost forever. But again, no two facilities are the same. A data center which withdraws river water, runs it through heat exchangers and returns it to the river, at a slightly higher temperature, clearly has a very different impact from one which draws water from an aquifer and evaporates the same volume into the sky. Water withdrawal (and return) and water consumption are two different metrics. Again, bad numbers fail to tell the full story. National figures, though, obscure local impact. That’s why a single data center drawing millions of gallons of water a day, arriving suddenly in one small municipality, matters more locally than a thousand different water uses spread across a continent. It’s understandable – but important to put in context. Data centers attract community scrutiny not because they are large water users nationally but because they are concentrated and visible.

On Google Killing 400,000 Trees To Build Data Centers In Finland - Caitlin Johnstone -- That story about Google killing hundreds of thousands of trees in Finland for its data center project is such a perfect microcosm of what capitalism is doing to our world. Recent mass media headlines are saying the tech giant “illegally” cut down “250,000” trees, but both claims paint an inaccurate picture of what actually happened. Google killed 400,000 trees (250,000 near a town called Muhos and another 150,000 near the village of Otanmäki), and unless the company’s executives actually wind up going to prison for this, their actions cannot properly be described as “illegal”. I don’t know who first coined the saying “If the penalty is a fine, then it’s legal for rich people,” but it certainly applies here. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority has reportedly ordered Google to suspend all “measures that significantly change the environment,” saying it will “consider enforcement proceedings and fines” if the megacorporation does not comply. Google’s parent company Alphabet has a net worth of around four trillion dollars; whatever paltry penalties Finland might impose for these ecocidal actions, it won’t have any meaningful effect on Google. Giant corporations do this shit all the time. They calculate that the fines incurred by their abusive actions will be dwarfed by the massive profits they generate, issue fake apologies as needed, and leave it to their armies of lawyers to minimize the damage. That’s why the Sackler family is still worth billions despite all the fines Purdue Pharma was slapped with while creating the US opiate epidemic. A 2017 Harvard study titled “The Opioid Epidemic: Fixing a Broken Pharmaceutical Market” contains the following passage: As part of the plea bargain, Purdue agreed to pay the federal government $600 million and 27 states $20 million. The three executives agreed to $34.5 million in fines but avoided jailtime. By contrast, Purdue has earned an estimated $31 billion in total revenues from extended-release oxycodone since its launch. Rather than deterring fraudulent marketing, the penalties simply became a cost of doing business.” A cost of doing business. That’s how things work under capitalism. The law primarily exists not to protect people or the environment, but to protect the interests of capital. If you destroyed a Google data center you’d probably be charged as a terrorist and spend decades in prison, but Google can destroy the natural world around you and get off with a finger wag and a symbolic fine.  Under capitalism if you steal from your employer you go to jail but if your employer steals from you then you need to win a class action lawsuit to get back what they stole, and they suffer zero consequences. Capitalism is all about using state power to protect capital by force. Proponents of capitalism often pretend they support minimal government intervention in civilian affairs, but their entire model is at all times propped up by state power using force to protect the haves from the have-nots at every level of our society. Corporations are free to destroy the environment, destroy your health, rob you, exploit you, and manipulate your government to their advantage, and if you ever take action to stand up to this world-devouring onslaught, the state will lock you in a cage. In school we are taught that that the law exists to protect ordinary people from bad people, but that’s not true at all. Under capitalism, the law exists to protect the very worst among us from everyone else. That’s why we are seeing our planet being turned into dust and ashes for no reason other than shareholder profit.It’s an insane system, and it needs to end. These freaks are feeding our entire biosphere into the woodchipper.

Salem 3 Clears Big Hurdle: $1.4B Payday Nears for 194 NEPA Families -- Marcellus Drilling News  - In June, we told you that 194 landowners in Salem Township (Luzerne County, near Berwick) were lining up to become AI millionaires by selling their land for a giant new data center project (see NEPA Landowners Line Up to Become AI Millionaires by Selling Land). On Tuesday night, they got a lot closer. Salem Township supervisors voted 2-0 to more than double the size of the township’s data center zoning district, clearing the way for “Salem 3”: a proposed 4,466-acre energy and data center campus that needs 4 gigawatts (GW) of power. And the price went up! It’s now a potential $1.4 billion land sale, up from the $1.2 billion we reported in June. Should we pop the champagne? Almost. Call it a very big step toward the finish line.
State study aims to identify retired power plant sites that can be reactivated - The Allegheny Front -Nearly two dozen former power plant sites across Pennsylvania are part of a study to identify potential locations for new generating facilities that could help ease the region’s power crunch. The study is being carried out with a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant awarded to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). It’s being conducted by consulting firm KeyLogic Systems and the Electric Power Research Institute in a partnership between the PUC and the economic development nonprofit Team Pennsylvania. The goal is to narrow the list to five to seven sites with the best opportunities to quickly deploy new power generation and optimize investments to get the most out of existing infrastructure. That will help ensure the reliability of the region’s power grid as unprecedented demand from data centers and other large electricity users mounts, according to those carrying out the process. Named the Pennsylvania Accelerated Transmission and Energy Redevelopment (PATER) Study, it also aims to revitalize communities with industrial legacies to create long-term economic growth. Tom Murphy, managing director for energy at Team Pennsylvania, said PATER is a way to look at Pennsylvania’s power generation and transmission system as a whole, while energy regulators and state leaders across the country look to spur new investments in the electricity grid. “Is it possible to bring some of those brownfield sites back into the grid and restore power back?” he said, adding that the site assessments look at the potential for any new power technology such as battery storage, renewables or new nuclear technology, such as small modular reactors. Team Pennsylvania, funded by philanthropic foundations, federal grants, public-private partnerships and industry contributions, is co-chaired by Gov. Josh Shapiro and McNees Wallace & Nurick law firm chair Brian Jackson. The PUC held a nearly-three-hour hearing on the initial part of the study Oct. 5. The second part will run from November through March, with a public meeting set Feb. 10. That will be followed by an opportunity for public comment, PUC spokesman Niks Hagen-Frederiksen said.Pennsylvania, the study notes, is the nation’s leading energy exporter, sending nearly 89 million megawatt-hours of electricity to other states in the PJM Interconnection grid and beyond. PJM, based near Philadelphia in Montgomery County, is a nonprofit company tasked with managing the electricity supply and distribution for 67 million electric customers in 13 states including Pennsylvania. In the last two years, PJM has faced pressure from regulators and elected officials, including Shapiro, as electricity prices soared, driven by forecasts showing the demand for power will increase to unprecedented levels in coming decades.  At the same time, electricity industry leaders and public officials have criticized PJM for delaying approvals for new generation to connect to the grid. While PJM halted the queue from 2022 until this spring, it has since cleared a backlog of projects and reformed its review process to prioritize proposals with significant financial commitments. But another report from the PUC released in September warns that the PJM region could experience rolling blackouts even if new power generation resources are built over the next 15 years, as data centers come online.The PATER study will provide guidance for future investors on where new power plants can be added to the grid to power homes, businesses and industry, Murphy said. “How much can we squeeze out of the grid that we have? How much can we squeeze out of the power gen that’s out there, and where do we need to upgrade both of them?” he said. “We’re also agnostic on what the end use of the power could be. We’re not suggesting this power needs to go to this manufacturing plant or to a data center or to an EV plant or whatever,” he noted “We’re saying, ‘Where can you bring more power into the grid in a place that the grid can accept it?’” The study began with 76 power generation sites that have been decommissioned since 1971. Those locations were filtered by the size of the former power plant, whether the site is fully retired and whether the circumstances make redevelopment feasible to narrow the list to 21. Those sites identified in the first phase of the study include retired coal-, natural gas- and oil-fired power plants in 16 counties. The analysis found most of the sites are physically ready for redevelopment with transmission lines and substations within a mile. About half are less than 1.5 miles from natural gas pipelines and many are within a few miles of major fiber networks. The average size of decommissioned coal-fired power plant sites is about 200 acres, while former natural gas and oil-fired sites were much smaller, with nine at less than 100 acres. Transmission capacity for those sites is significant but limited at 9 gigawatts statewide, the study found, indicating the commonwealth’s grid “retains meaningful capability to support both new generation and new load development at the candidate deactivated sites.”

Sen. Yaw Wants an Act 13-Style Impact Fee for PA Data Centers -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23), who has chaired the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee since 2013, wants Pennsylvania’s data centers to pay their own version of the shale impact fee. On Thursday (Oct. 23), Yaw sent a co-sponsorship memo to all Senate members announcing plans for an annual, statewide “data center impact fee” modeled on Act 13 of 2012, the law that created the impact fee drillers have paid every year since. Yaw says the fee would be based on each facility’s size and electricity demand, and would be paid every year a data center operates. That’s different from today’s system, where towns rely on one-time deals negotiated with developers. The money would go to host communities and statewide programs, just like the shale fee. What’s not in the memo? Any dollar figures. Here’s the memo, followed by what it means (and what it doesn’t say).

AEP increases investment plan 30% on generation, transmission spending - American Electric Power increased its five-year capital expenditure plan to $100 billion, up 30% from its previous $78 billion plan, driven by expected generation and transmission spending, company officials said during an earnings call on Wednesday. AEP, based in Columbus, Ohio, plans to spend $20 billion on gas-fired generation and $37 billion on transmission through 2031, up from $13 billion and $33 billion under its last investment plan, respectively, according to company presentations. “Contracted customer demand is growing faster than the operating output of our existing fleet, creating a clear durable need for new baseload dispatchable generation,” Trevor Mihalik, AEP executive vice president and CFO, said on the earnings call. AEP also expects its utilities will spend $8 billion on renewable energy projects over the next five years. During the earnings call, William Fehrman, AEP chairman, president and CEO highlighted a roughly $5 billion, 765-kV transmission project in Ohio and a $4 billion fuel cell project in Wyoming as examples of the company’s investment opportunities. The projects were included in AEP’s updated capital spending plan. “Construction is well underway on the Wyoming fuel cell project, which is underpinned by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Google,” Fehrman said. AEP plans to use Bloom Energy fuel cells for the 702-MW project, which it expects to bring online in 2028. And in Ohio, AEP expects to start building the Piketon transmission project early next year to support a 10.4-GW data center campus planned by SB Energy, Fehrman said. That data center was the biggest driver in AEP’s increase in contracted load in the third quarter, according to Mihalik. The project’s three 765-kV transmission lines will each provide about 3.2 GW of capacity for the data center complex, and they have targeted in-service dates of Dec. 31, 2028, 2029 and 2030, AEP said in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The data center’s initial 800 MW of load is expected to be served with existing transmission capacity and does not require additional regulatory approvals, AEP said. SoftBank and its affiliates will pay for the transmission project, including an 11.35% base return on equity, which may increase to 11.99% or decrease to 10.71% depending on the final project costs and inservice dates. The transmission project requires approvals from the PJM Interconnection, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, AEP noted. Meanwhile, AEP utilities are preparing to add about 9 GW in gas-fired generation through 2032, according to the company’s presentation. AEP is continuing to consider creating “gencos” — or generating companies — to serve large loads, Fehrman said. “Should a genco structure emerge as a viable pathway in any given state, particularly West Virginia and Indiana, we could ultimately look to house a portion of the plan or future gas plants in that framework,” he said. AEP’s total retail electric sales increased 11% in the third quarter and 8.7% in the first nine months this year, mainly driven by data center development, the company said in its SEC filing. Keep up with the story. Subscribe to the Utility Dive free daily newsletter Email: Work email address Sign up AEP’s net income increased to $1.2 billion on $6.8 billion in revenue in the third quarter, up from $972 million and $6 billion in the year-ago period, driven by data center sales and warmer weather, according to the SEC filing. AEP’s utilities have about 5.6 million customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

PJM Fixes Data Center Power Auction, Aims for March 2027 Restart -- Marcellus Drilling News  --Round two. A month after FERC accepted PJM Interconnection’s one-time “emergency” power auction for data centers and then froze it for five months (see FERC Slams Brakes on PJM’s ‘Deeply Flawed’ Data Center Power Auction), PJM is back with a fixed version. On Oct. 29, the grid operator for all or part of 13 states (including PA, OH and WV) filed an amended Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) with FERC. PJM fixed all three problems FERC flagged, pretty much the way FERC suggested. The new plan opens bidding March 1, 2027, and posts winners May 10. Here’s what changed, and what it means for gas-fired power in our neck of the woods.

Google Pays PJM Customers to Use Less Power So It Can Use More -- Marcellus Drilling News  -- Last Thursday, Google announced it will pay a San Francisco company called Voltus to round up as much as 1,070 megawatts (MW) of electricity “capacity” on the PJM Interconnection grid, the 13-state (plus D.C.) grid that includes Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Google, Voltus, and nearly every news outlet covering the story call it a “virtual power plant.” Pardon us, but there is no such thing. No turbine spins. No Marcellus gas burns. What Google is actually doing is paying homes and businesses to use less electricity when the grid gets tight, so that Google’s power-hungry data centers can use more. Let’s call it what it is and quit with the euphemisms.

Northeast Ohio communities face challenges as fiber optic expands  - Jonathan Steiner didn’t think much when he first smelled gas in his Twinsburg Township neighborhood, one afternoon this past June. After noticing a firetruck outside, he headed back upstairs to his office, where he works remotely. Then, his wife called, urging him to get out of the house. "Right then the explosion happened," he said. "Knocked our back door in, blew blinds off the walls ... I thought it was our house that blew up, it was so loud and strong." Without stopping to put on shoes, Steiner fled his home, along with his 11-year-old son and family dog. The explosion in his neighborhood occurred because of a gas leak, while fiber optic work was being performed in the area. Three homes behind his own were destroyed, and at least three dozen others were damaged. The state is still investigating what exactly went wrong. But communities across the region say it's not an isolated incident, reporting utility strikes, damaged property and poor communication from contractors. Over the last four years, an increase in state and federal broadband funding has brought more fiber optic installations to the region — and more challenges. In 2024, the state received 162 complaints of damage from excavation, like the kind performed to install fiber. In 2025, that jumped to 432. Complaint reports detail problems like incorrect utility markings, failures by utilities to mark their lines and over 100 cases of failing to call before digging. In the city of Cortland, a series of utility strikes last summer led to a 90-day moratorium on fiber optic boring. "Over a week or two, we had a gas line hit, a water line hit," said Cortland City Councilmember Chelsea Munroe. "And that was a little bit concerning, being that it was the same company that had hit multiple lines in that short period of time." Cortland didn't have an ordinance in place requiring fiber companies to obtain permits or share their installation plans, meaning a company could come in and start a project without ever notifying anyone. Now, the city council is considering a new set of rules, which include greater coordination between fiber companies and the city. "We want a permitting process," Munroe said. "We want to know exactly what streets you are going to work on. We want to the timeframe that you're going do this. We want the project plans to be submitted so that we can review them." That process will be adapted to new technology often used for fiber optic work, known as horizontal directional drilling. "They basically take a rod, and drill through the ground one way and then they grab onto the pipe, and they pull it back through," Munroe said. Horizontal drilling is growing in popularity because it involves less digging than open trenching. But it can mean less visibility while bringing those cables through, and regulations are still catching up to the practice. The city of Hudson, which sit just to the south of Twinsburg Township, passed its own set of rules for fiber optic installation after the explosion and its own experiences with utility strikes. Orange conduits stick out of the ground in a Hudson neighborhood. Those requirements include verifying the location of existing utilities every 50 feet, and greater clearances between new fiber cables and existing utility lines. In Medina County, engineer Andy Conrad made his own recommendations to commissioners, which include greater communication with residents and limiting fiber companies to four installation permits at a time. But he said those proposals still won't be able to address many of the complaints he receives. "They're digging up people's front yards, and they're not happy with the restoration, or there are electric dog fences, irrigation lines that may get hit," Conrad said. Many of those issues arise from work performed on private utility easements, which give companies the right to perform utility work on private property. Local governments don't have the authority to regulate private easements. "So, it has been somewhat difficult trying to wrangle some of the repairs and working between the fiber companies and the residents to get them to be made whole," he said.

DEP Provides Update On Air Monitoring And Extinguishing Locust Gap Coal Refuse Bank Fire In Mount Carmel Twp., Northumberland County - On October 27, the Department of Environmental Protection issued this update on air monitoring and efforts to extinguish the Locust Gap Coal Refuse Bank Fire in Mount Carmel Township, Northumberland County, PA. DEP said results from Monday’s [Oct. 26] air quality spot check monitoring in Locust Gap indicated no current air quality risk to nearby residents. DEP is working with the US Environmental Protection Agency to install air quality monitors this week at multiple locations selected with input from local public safety officials. This community air monitoring will measure for combustion byproducts, including hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. DEP will continue to monitor the air quality directly at the site with personal safety field monitors that continuously measure levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, and combustive gases. Click Here for air monitoring data. On October 26, DEP said-- The Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is working to extinguish a coal refuse bank fire near the village of Locust Gap in Mount Carmel Township, Northumberland County. The fire has not spread since work began in Spring 2026, and DEP is confident that it has been contained and cannot spread underground. The burning material has been entrenched and surrounded. The contractor has been excavating burning material down to a clay soil layer and applying water to quench the fire. Click Here to watch a video of crews working to extinguish the fire. Borehole monitoring at the perimeter of the burning area confirms that underground temperatures are normal. To date, approximately 450,000 cubic yards of burning material have been excavated and quenched, and an estimated 100,000-150,000 cubic yards of material remain. The excavation and quenching work is estimated to be approximately 70% complete. For approximately the last month, the contractors have been working in the hottest area where the fire is believed to have originated. As the top layer of material is removed and the actively burning material is exposed to oxygen, the fire, while still contained, can temporarily intensify. This is a necessary step to completely extinguish the fire. DEP has received complaints in recent days about changing air quality conditions in the Locust Gap area. DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is working with local public safety officials and DEP’s air quality experts to understand and address the situation. DEP staff and contractors have, since the start of firefighting work, monitored the air quality directly at the site with personal safety field monitors that continuously measure levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, and combustive gases onsite. Air quality monitoring conducted in Locust Gap while firefighting operations continued during the summer found no risk to residents at that time. DEP is aware of the recent challenging air quality conditions and takes the community’s and township’s concerns seriously. DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation met Monday with Northumberland County Emergency Management to assess the recent air quality concerns and discuss the situation. In response to the new reports of air quality concerns, DEP began to perform air quality spot checks Monday at the site and in the nearby town while other options for air quality monitoring are considered. Results are not available yet, but DEP will provide a summary as soon as available. DEP’s contractor has been working continuously, seven days a week, since the start of the emergency contract and will continue to work at maximum capacity to extinguish the fire. PFAS-free firefighting foam has been used in the hottest areas of the fire to cool the material faster. DEP cannot provide a firm timeline for extinguishing the fire because this is a dynamic situation. Winter weather will not substantially affect the firefighting operations. Should operations continue into freezing weather, the contractor will take necessary measures, such as taking steps to keep water lines from freezing, to ensure work continues to a close.

New report shows there were 2529 oil and gas incidents in Ohio in a decade - There were more than 2,500 oil and gas incidents reported in Ohio from 2015 through 2025, according to a new report. The number of incidents are generally increasing, going from 103 in 2015 to 268 in 2025, according to a new report published last week by FracTracker Alliance in partnership with Buckeye Environmental Network. FracTracker Alliance analyzed ODNR records from 2015 to 2025 for the report. “That’s much more (total incidents) than I would expect,” said Gwen Klenke, the report’s author. There were 2,529 incidents recorded in Ohio from 2015 to 2025. “Obviously everyone’s human. Everyone makes mistakes, so there’s always going to be some amount of things going wrong, but 2,500 is a pretty massive number for 10 years. … It just feels like it’s more than it should be.” The Ohio Department of Natural Resources did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal’s questions by deadline. The Ohio Oil and Gas Association said the report was not “an objective assessment of Ohio’s energy industry.” “FracTracker’s conclusions should be viewed for what they are: advocacy, not a comprehensive assessment of the safety, environmental performance and regulatory oversight of Ohio’s oil and natural gas operations,” Ohio Oil and Gas Association Director of External Affairs Mike Chadsey said in an email. “Ohio’s energy producers remain focused on responsible development, protecting our communities and delivering the reliable energy that powers our state.” Bev Reed with Buckeye Environmental Network said the findings from this new report are alarming. “It’s incredibly important that ODNR and the legislature get their act together,” she said in an email. “We also received documents showing that an injection well company in Washington County requested that ODNR not suspend its injection well near Marietta, despite the fact that the state had grounds to immediately suspend the well.” The yearly total of oil and gas incidents in Ohio according to a report published from FracTracker Alliance in partnership with Buckeye Environmental Network. (Screenshot)The report showed incident classifications are often unclear. “There’s this really pervasive lack of good data throughout the whole data set, which is concerning considering its incidents and spills, things that we would want good details about, and related to that was the characterization of the incidents,” said Klenke, FracTracker’s Midwest Program Coordinator. A 2016 incident in Columbiana County was categorized as a “minor” incident, but was described as “static electricity from overhead power lines caused a conventional well’s tank to explode,” according to the report.  Another incident categorized as “minor” in Gallia County involved an unknown quantity of oil and gas wastewater was released from a well while it was being plugged. ODNR’s records reveal the well had been “flowing overnight with no well control in place.”  “I pointed out major explosions being categorized as minor incidents, and that just doesn’t seem good for public understanding of these types of events,” Klenke said.  ODNR has about 25 inspectors who are responsible for Ohio’s 96,000 wells, according to the report. This means one inspector is responsible for 1,500 wells in Harrison County while another inspector is responsible for about 24,000 wells in 26 counties, according to the report.  “Really any increase, I think I’d be happy with,” Klenke said when asked how many inspectors she wishes ODNR had.  “If they got 26 inspectors in Ohio, I’d be celebrating.”  More than 1,200 of the incidents were categorized as release/discharge. There 615 gas releases, 108 fires, 94 explosions or fires, and six injuries, according to the report. Of Ohio’s 88 counties, there were incidents in 73. Most of the incidents are in the eastern part of Ohio. Stark County had the most incidents with 133, followed by Noble County with 129, and Trumbull and Guernsey counties both had 114, according to the report. “Residents in those counties should be especially vigilant when they are doing things like going on hikes or walking more rural lanes,” Klenke said. “I would hope that residents in those counties would just really keep their eyes peeled for anything that doesn’t seem right. If they see something, they should definitely call emergency services to get them out there to at least check things out.” Klenke said she hopes to see more oversight and accountability with Ohio’s oil and gas wells. “It can happen with more inspectors,” she said. “It can also happen with just better tracking of the incidents, better follow through, just generally with well owners who may be concerned that something’s wrong with their well.”

Setting the Record Straight on Ohio's "2,529 Oil & Gas Incidents" - Marcellus Drilling News -- Big Green group FracTracker Alliance, with partner Buckeye Environmental Network (BEN), has released a new report claiming Ohio logged 2,529 oil and gas “incidents” from 2015 through 2025, and that incidents are “rising” while oversight is “lax.” The Ohio Capital Journal ran with the big number without checking it. But here’s the thing: if you actually read FracTracker’s own charts (we did, all 31 pages), they tell a very different story. Shale wells account for less than 8% of the incidents. Serious incidents fell more than 80%. And the “rise” is almost entirely in records that state regulators didn’t even rate as “minor.” Let’s set the record straight…NOTE: This full article is free for everyone to read; no subscription or registration required. Share the link so others learn the truth.The report, “Rising Incidents, Lax Oversight” (full copy below), is written by FracTracker’s Gwen Klenke. It’s built on Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) incident records obtained through public records requests. The headline numbers: 2,529 incidents over 11 years, rising from 103 in 2015 to 268 in 2025, and roughly 25 ODNR inspectors covering about 96,000 active wells.  The report complains that ODNR’s incident categories are fuzzy, that some incidents labeled “minor” weren’t so minor, that some records stay open for years, and that ODNR rarely issues fines. It wants more inspectors, fines for long-running violations, and an immediate stop-work order for any violation or contamination event. The project began after the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s president said publicly in 2023 that Ohio had seen only one or two incidents affecting public health and safety in the prior decade.The report admits, without putting it in the headline, that “a large majority of incidents occur at ‘conventional’ wells.” Here are its own figures (Figure 3):

• 1,309 incidents (52%) at conventional wells, the old shallow vertical wells Ohio has been drilling for over a century
• 197 incidents (7.8%) at horizontal wells, meaning Utica/Point Pleasant shale wells
• 619 incidents (24.5%) with no activity listed, listed as “not applicable,” or “undetermined”

That works out to about 18 shale-well incidents a year. FracTracker’s own website counts 3,878 drilled horizontal wells in Ohio as of September 2025.The report spends nearly two pages arguing that “conventional” doesn’t mean “safer.” That’s a convenient argument when your data shows that the modern shale industry isn’t where the problems are.ODNR rates incidents on a five-step scale. According to FracTracker’s Figure 5, moderate, major, and severe incidents dropped from 33 in 2015 to 6 in 2025. That’s a decline of about 82%. Over all 11 years, those three categories add up to 104 incidents. That’s 4.1% of the 2,529 total.We subtracted the “minor” and “moderate-or-worse” counts from each year’s total (see our chart). What’s left is records ODNR didn’t rate even “minor”: things like “information only,” “agency assist,” and “agency referral.”

• 2015: 1 such record. 2016: 56. 2025: 135. Over 11 years: 1,063 records, or 42% of the total.
• “Minor” incidents actually went down, from 137 in 2016 to 127 in 2025.

Nearly all of the increase comes from the least serious bucket. Going from 1 record to 56 in a single year looks a lot more like a change in ODNR’s record-keeping than a change in what happened in the oilfield. What Counts as an “Incident”? Just about anything, as it turns out. The list includes 40 “gas outage/interruption” records and 61 “complaints.” One of the report’s featured “major” incidents involves a property owner who drained a tank into a river from an unregistered well. Another involves a tank explosion caused by static electricity from overhead power lines. Another happened while a well was being plugged under the state’s orphan well program. And according to FracTracker’s own Figure 7, 1,007 incidents (40%) were closed the same day and 61% within a week. The Ohio Capital Journal’s Megan Henry wrote up the report on Oct. 29. To be fair to her, she asked ODNR for comment (it didn’t respond by deadline). She also printed a reply from the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s Mike Chadsey, who called FracTracker’s conclusions advocacy, not a real assessment. But getting a quote from each side isn’t the same as checking the numbers. The story repeated the 2,529 total and the “generally increasing” trend just as FracTracker served them up. It never mentioned that shale wells made up less than 8% of incidents, or that serious incidents fell from 33 to 6. Both facts were sitting right there in the report’s own charts. Instead, readers got Klenke telling residents of Stark, Noble, Trumbull, and Guernsey counties to be “especially vigilant when they are doing things like going on hikes.” On a hike? Really? Klenke also told the paper that 2,500 incidents feel like far more than there should be. Spread across the report’s own count of 96,000 wells, that’s about 230 records a year, or roughly one per year for every 420 wells. And some of those records weren’t at a well at all. Nobody asked her to compare that to anything.Here is the full Ohio Capital Journal article (allowed under a Creative Commons license) trumpeting the study:

Using an 8-Year-Old to Fight Gas Plants: New Albany’s New Low -- Marcellus Drilling News  -- Whitney Priestas, 8, with a microphone assist from her mom, Rhiannon Priestas, tells the Ohio Power Siting Board on Oct. 22 why a seventh gas-fired power plant for a New Albany data center would be harmful to children like her. Is there anything lower than using a child to scare grown-ups? Last Thursday night in New Albany, OH (a suburb northeast of Columbus), an 8-year-old second-grader, with her mom holding the microphone, asked the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) to reject a natural gas-fired power plant that would run a data center. She told the board she’s now worried that air pollution will hurt people and animals in the local parks. Nearly 100 adults in the room rose and gave her a standing ovation. MDN had a different reaction. We’re angry. Not at the little girl. At the grown-ups who taught an 8-year-old to be afraid of the very thing that keeps her lights on, her house warm in January, and her parents’ paychecks coming.

$12M gas project breaks ground -- — A natural gas infrastructure project expected to support dozens of new jobs and future industrial growth in the Norwalk area broke ground on Monday. This follows years of efforts to address limited natural gas capacity in the city and greater region. Many project stakeholders — city officials, utility representatives and economic development leaders — gathered near the Ernsthausen Recreation Center on Republic Street to mark the start of the project. Columbia Gas of Ohio and North Coast Gas Transmission intend to invest more than $12 million combined to construct a new natural gas delivery station and upgrade pipelines serving the area. The improvements are expected to:

• • Support planned expansions at three local manufacturers
• • Create more than 100 jobs
• • Retain hundreds of existing positions

The Huron County Growth Partnership played a central role in developing the project, working with city officials, local manufacturers, utility companies and regional economic development organizations to address the city's limited natural gas supply. Sarah Ross, the partnership's executive director, said the effort involved years of discussions and coordination among organizations. “There was no blueprint for how to do this kind of improvement project; however, working with willing partners like those involved showcases what can be accomplished through proactive cross-agency coordination,” Ross said. She continued: “The completed new delivery station will spur economic growth for housing and local employers to take on new customers, new employees and new growth, meaning a stronger City of Norwalk, Huron County and region.” Norwalk Mayor Dave Light stressed how, "This project is very important to our community's economic future. Light said insufficient natural gas capacity has been a longstanding obstacle to attracting businesses and helping existing employers expand. When he took office nearly seven years ago, Light said, increasing the city's natural gas supply was already among its most pressing infrastructure needs. Businesses considering Norwalk routinely asked whether adequate water, electricity and natural gas were available. Natural gas was often the problem. Light pointed to expansions at local businesses, including Norweco, as examples of the growing demand. "This investment is vital to our business community and supports economic growth, business expansion and positions us to compete for new opportunities to strengthen our economy." The project will connect North Coast's existing transmission pipeline with Columbia Gas' distribution system through a new delivery station. About 1 mile of additional pipeline will allow more natural gas to reach a broader portion of the city's distribution network. The station will be constructed on land made available by the city near the Ernsthausen Recreation Center. Project representatives said the site was selected because of its proximity to an existing North Coast pipeline. The improvements are expected to be in service by mid-2027. The expanded capacity will also help attract development at the 79-acre North Central Ohio Industrial Park on Furniture Parkway, which has received SiteOhio Authenticated status through JobsOhio.

Norwalk Breaks Ground on Natural Gas Infrastructure Project | JobsOhio  -  NORWALK, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2026 – City, utility, business and economic development leaders broke ground today on a new natural gas point of delivery (POD) station and gas pipeline upgrades in Norwalk. The project clears the way for new jobs and investment by expanding natural gas capacity in an area where supply constraints have held back local manufacturers for years and limited the city’s ability to attract new business.  The added capacity will support planned expansions at three local advanced manufacturers, helping create over 100 new jobs and retain hundreds of existing jobs.  This project is very important to our community’s economic future,” said Norwalk Mayor David Light. “This investment is vital to our business community and supports economic growth, business expansion and positions us to compete for new opportunities to strengthen our economy. The city is thankful for all of the partners mentioned here, but also the employers, organizations, and council members who contributed to this project in some way. Columbia Gas of Ohio and North Coast Gas Transmission are investing more than $12 million combined in the project. JobsOhio plans to provide assistance for the project, which will be made public after final agreements are executed.  The project is the first supported by the JobsOhio Energy Opportunity Initiative, an up to $100 million, five-year initiative announced in October 2025. The initiative provides grants and low-interest loans to help offset costs related to natural gas and nuclear power production in Ohio, including engineering, right-of-way, and construction costs for new and existing natural gas infrastructure.  The Energy Opportunity Initiative removes the cost barriers that stifle economic development and delivers the energy capacity companies need to invest and create jobs statewide,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “In Norwalk, natural gas constraints threatened growth. That’s when the community, utility companies, and economic development partners came together to build a public-private solution that fulfills a local vision and empowers local manufacturers to expand. Expanded gas capacity will also enable the 79-acre North Central Ohio Industrial Park on Furniture Parkway to attract future business and maintain its SiteOhio Authenticated status, keeping the site competitive. The new station, located near the Ernsthausen Recreation Center, will draw supply from North Coast’s transmission line, and about a mile of new pipeline offsite from the station will enable the supply to support a broader area of Columbia Gas’ Norwalk system. The project is expected to be in service by mid-2027. This project demonstrates the power of collaboration,” said Bob Heidorn, President and Chief Operating Officer of Columbia Gas of Ohio. “By bringing together partners committed to economic development, we’ve designed an infrastructure solution that will support long-term economic growth in Norwalk and Huron County. Columbia Gas is proud to be part of this project, and we look forward to seeing its benefits realized in the coming years. The City of Norwalk is a great community with a lot of opportunities. The city, the Huron County Growth Partnership, Team NEO and JobsOhio worked quickly and collaboratively to remove multiple hurdles and bring this project to reality,” said North Coast Gas Transmission President Lee Lochtefeld. “North Coast is excited to invest alongside Columbia Gas and JobsOhio’s Energy Opportunity Initiative to be a part of this solution.  Local employers identified the gas capacity issue and contacted the City of Norwalk and Huron County Growth Partnership for help, who then reached out to regional and state partners at Team NEO and JobsOhio. Over nearly 18 months, the team worked with Columbia Gas and North Coast Gas Transmission to develop a solution. Access to reliable energy infrastructure is critical to attracting new investment and supporting business growth,” added Team NEO Chief Executive Officer Matt Dolan. “We are grateful to Columbia Gas of Ohio and North Coast Gas Transmission for investing in this important infrastructure project. There was no blueprint for how to do this kind of improvement project; however, working with willing partners like those involved showcases what can be accomplished through proactive cross-agency coordination,” said Sarah Ross, executive director, Huron County Growth Partnership. “The completed new delivery station will spur economic growth for housing and local employers to take on new customers, new employees, and new growth, meaning a stronger City of Norwalk, Huron County and region.  The project builds on Ohio’s energy and infrastructure advantages. Ohio ranked No. 1 for Infrastructure, the most heavily weighted category, in CNBC’s 2026 America’s Top States for Business study on its way to being named the top state for business overall. The state’s shale-energy sector has also drawn more than $117 billion in direct investment since 2011.

Refinery disruptions push Ohio gas prices higher - Spectrum News— Ohio gas prices rose sharply over the weekend, with AAA reporting the state average is now $4.40 per gallon, up 36 cents from a week ago. Economists and other experts said the increase is being driven by higher crude oil costs and disruptions at refineries that serve Ohio. Those disruptions are affecting supply in Ohio as well as in Pennsylvania and Michigan, where drivers are currently paying more than motorists in Ohio. “Those two events are taking millions of gallons of refined product out of the supply,” said Tony Ehler, a lawyer and tax group chair at Vorys Law Firm. “And when you take that amount of gallon, there’s, you know, it’s out of the supply that they need to come from somewhere else. They’re coming from further away. They’re coming from alternative sources. That means the pricing is higher.” Ohio eliminated its 38-cent gas tax earlier this month, providing drivers with short-lived relief before prices spiked again. The state’s gas tax holiday remains in effect until the new year. “The question is what are gas prices going to be if taxes were still imposed and then it would be higher,” said Michael Jones, an associate professor of economics at the University of Cincinnati. Ohio’s prices are higher than those in several neighboring states and rising at a faster pace. According to AAA, Indiana’s average is $3.97 per gallon, up 13 cents from a week ago. Kentucky’s average rose 9 cents to $4.02 per gallon, while West Virginia’s average stayed even at $4.19. Jones said the difference comes down in part to which gas stations rely on regional refineries and distribution networks. “Those gas stations that rely on the regional refineries and distribution networks, they’re going to see those higher prices than say, Kentucky, for example,” Jones said. Ehler said high prices are also affecting how gas stations buy fuel, especially smaller retailers. “The price is so high,” Ehler said. “There are some smaller retailers that may be forced to hold their capital.” Jonathan Ernest, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University, said drivers can still compare prices and choose lower-cost stations, which may add pressure for prices to fall faster. “If you’re doing that search and you’re comparing, then you can, you know, find those other stations, go to those instead of there’s a lot more pressure on prices to come down a lot faster and kind of take advantage of that competitiveness,” Ernest said. Economists said prices may come back down before the gas tax holiday ends if refineries can stabilize.

Ohio economists split on gas tax replacement - Ohio has paused its gasoline tax in an attempt to bring down high fuel prices, but some are debating whether to replace it altogether. In a recent survey, Ohio economists weighed the options.Revenue from the gas tax is mostly used to build and maintain roads and bridges. And as electric vehicles and hybrids proliferate, a “vehicle miles traveled fee” would ensure a stable source of funding, the thinking goes.When asked whether that would be more efficient than a gas tax, a panel of Ohio economists divided, according to a survey conducted last week by Scioto Analysis. Sixteen said it would be, 11 said it would not be, and four were uncertain.In the comments section of the survey, Lucas Englehardt of Kent State University agreed that a miles-traveled fee makes sense in terms of funding road maintenance. But he said policymakers need to be cognizant of other expenses created by gas-burning cars.“In as far as the goal is funding roads, it makes sense to proportion the fee to the use of roads — miles traveled being a reasonable approach, and much more representative of the benefit than ‘fuel used’ is,” he wrote.“The one wrinkle here: the gas tax is part road user fee but also part emissions charge. So, for the question of road funding, a per-mile charge is more efficient — but that doesn’t mean that it’s more efficient overall.”  David Brasington of the University of Cincinnati disagreed that a miles-traveled fee would be more efficient for a practical reason. He said people probably wouldn’t go along with its implementation. “If you use GPS tracking of Ohio drivers, it would be feasible, but people would probably have big privacy concerns,” he wrote. “Other ways of implementing a miles-driven system have high costs of administering the system compared to a gas tax.”Ali Enami of the University of Akron said he thought a miles-traveled tax would be more efficient than a gas tax. But he said that if the purpose is to maintain roads, vehicle weight should also be taken into account.Research has shown that a loaded, five-axle truck does as much damage to a road as hundreds or even thousands of cars, depending on the road’s condition.“I would add that other factors, such as vehicle weight, should be included in the calculation of the fee,” Enami wrote. “That is, holding vehicle miles traveled constant, a road used by heavier vehicles would require more frequent repairs.” When it comes to fairness, Ohio already digs a little deeper into the pockets of those who drive the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Owners of hybrids pay a $100 annual fee while those who have plug-in hybrids pay $150 and owners of full EVs pay $200. Kevin Egan of the University of Toledo said that means that those driving fully electric vehicles are already paying more than the average gas-powered motorist is paying in gas tax. “Ohio’s $200 annual registration fee on electric vehicles (vs. $35 for a gas car) is already a little more than the average gas car driver pays in state gas tax so this change already makes-up for lost state gas tax revenue from an electric car,” he wrote.“The advantage is it is easy to implement as it is just a higher annual registration fee. Yes, a vehicle-miles-traveled fee would be more efficient as those driving electric cars more would then pay more, but it would require tracking each vehicle’s annual mileage, which is not currently done.”

AI Giant Anthropic Tells Wall Street It Needs Gas—and Pipelines -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Anthropic, the San Francisco company behind the Claude artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, filed its initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday (Oct. 26). Buried in the 318-page prospectus, in a risk section titled “Electrical Power and Fuel Constraints,” is an admission that should make every Marcellus/Utica driller, pipeline company, and royalty owner sit up and take notice: some of Anthropic’s planned data centers will run on their own dedicated, on-site natural gas-fired power plants. And Anthropic’s big worry isn’t the gas itself. It’s getting enough pipeline capacity to deliver it.

New Pipeline Alert: Antero Midstream Targets Clarington, Ohio Hub -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Antero Midstream (AM) has a new pipeline on the drawing board. During Thursday’s 3Q26 earnings call, CEO Michael Kennedy said AM wants to build a North-South pipeline from Antero Resources’ West Virginia field north to the Clarington, Ohio, market. Kennedy said AM is “scoping it right now” and spending “a little initial capital” to assess it, and that “you’ll probably see us FID that in 2027.” (FID means final investment decision, the point where a company commits to build.) There was no press release. The news came out in answer to a question from a Goldman Sachs analyst.

CenterPoint Energy completes $2.62B Ohio gas sale | CNP Quarterly Report (10-Q) - CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.191 billion, versus $1.988 billion in 2025, and net income of $331 million, versus $293 million. Diluted earnings per share were $0.50, compared with $0.45. Nine-month consolidated net income was $891 million, versus $788 million; CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. (CERC) reported $360 million, versus $465 million. On October 1, 2026, CenterPoint Energy and CERC completed the sale of all equity interests in their Ohio natural gas local distribution company, CEOH, to National Fuel Gas Company. The purchase price was $2.62 billion, comprising $1.42 billion cash payable at closing, subject to adjustments, and a 364-day seller promissory note with original principal of $1.20 billion.For Houston Electric’s temporary emergency electric energy facilities, an administrative law judge filed a revised proposed order on October 9, 2026. If the PUCT approves the proposal, the current revenue requirement would be reduced by $112 million; assignment to a commission open meeting agenda was pending. At September 30, 2026, CenterPoint reported cash and equivalents, including amounts related to variable-interest entities; separately, restricted cash was unavailable for withdrawal until the securitization bonds mature.This combined Form 10-Q is filed separately by three registrants: CenterPoint Energy, Inc., CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC and CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. Information contained herein relating to any individual Registrant is filed by such Registrant solely on its own behalf. No Registrant makes any representation as to information relating exclusively to the other Registrants or the subsidiaries of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. other than itself or its subsidiaries.

PUCO: Mismarked gas line caused Twinsburg Township explosion - News 5 Cleveland — A devastating gas explosion that destroyed three homes and damaged dozens more in Twinsburg Township last summer was the result of the inaccurate marking of a buried gas line, according to findings from the state's Public Utilities Commission.  (watch previous coverage)  According to records obtained by News 5 Investigators through a public records request, PUCO found that the June 25 explosion was caused by the inaccurate marking of a buried gas line. The investigation found workers installing fiber optic lines hit that gas line, creating a 4-inch diameter gouge in the pipeline. Inspectors say gas escaping from that line filled a house, resulting in the explosion that rocked the area. Two people were hurt, and PUCO estimated damages at $5 million. According to the report, the marking of the gas line was done by Benchmark, a contractor hired by Enbridge, two days before the explosion. Investigators found that the marking was off by 28 inches. A PUCO spokesperson said the commission is reviewing the results of the investigation and that any violations of federal pipeline safety regulations could lead to fines, operational changes, process improvements and more.Because those actions are still pending, she said she couldn't comment on the findings. An attorney representing Benchmark sent the following statement about the matter: "We are aware of the PUCO report regarding the June 25 incident in Twinsburg Township and are reviewing it carefully. The safety of the communities where we work is our highest priority, and our thoughts remain with the residents affected. Multiple parties were involved in this project, and we have cooperated fully with regulators and will continue to do so. Because this matter remains ongoing, we are not able to comment further at this time.” PUCO isn't the only agency that is investigating what happened.  OSHA investigating after Twinsburg Township explosion

Enbridge Gas responds to Mill Trace Road in Boardman, Ohio -  (WKBN)— A Boardman road was closed Friday afternoon while crews were called in to shut off a gas line. Emergency crews were called to Mill Trace Road, and Enbridge Gas shut off the line. A truck with an auger drill was set up in the area and appeared to be digging into the ground. Our crew on the scene said there was a heavy gas smell in the area.

Shippingport Gas Fuel Yard Permit Shows Data Center Hub Taking Shape -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  A new permit application for the natural gas “plumbing” at the old Bruce Mansfield coal plant site in Shippingport (Beaver County) has landed at the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Shippingport Power Station, LLC wants a stormwater permit for a 14.5-acre natural gas “fuel yard” on part of the former coal plant property. Next door, Aligned Data Centers broke ground last month on a 2-gigawatt data center campus. A stormwater permit isn’t the most exciting document you’ll read this week. What makes it news is that it shows this project moving from press releases to bulldozers.

Shell's Pennsylvania PE plant generates positive cash flow as sale talks continue - Shell plc’s massive polyethylene complex in Monaca, Pa., has generated positive free cash flow for two consecutive quarters, a significant improvement as the energy giant continues discussions with potential buyers or partners for its chemicals business.

CNX to Shift to Pennsylvania's Utica in Coming Years - Hart Energy - The deep Utica in the Appalachian Basin’s core where the formation is at its deepest—thus entirely natural gas—will predominantly be CNX Resources’ future soon.  CNX Resources plans to wind down its Marcellus shale drilling in southwestern Pennsylvania around the end of the decade and shift its primary drilling and completion focus to the deep Utica formation. The Utica formation is at about 14,000 ft in drill are about 50, down from 65 in 2023. Drilling costs are more than $1,500 per lateral ft—the same as drilling the deep Haynesville in a new play north of Houston and twice as much as drilling a Haynesville well in the original play at the Texas-Louisiana border.  Further details from Google:

• Timeline: CNX expects to finish developing its remaining 40,000 to 50,000 net acres of Marcellus inventory in southwestern Pennsylvania over the next four to five years, targeting an exit from Marcellus drilling and completion around 2030. [1]
• Geographic Shift: The company will transition its primary drilling operations to the deep Utica formation—predominantly in central Pennsylvania—before eventually returning to southwestern Pennsylvania later to tap deeper Utica horizons. [1]
• Strong Well Results: Early performance has driven the pivot; three recent CNX Utica wells east of Pittsburgh (in Westmoreland County) produced over 8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) combined in their first three months online. [1]
• Cost and Operations: Deep Utica wells are expensive, requiring more than $1,500 per lateral foot. CNX drilled about seven deep Utica wells in 2026 and plans a similar number in 2027 while working to lower drilling days (down to roughly 50 days) and keep all-in costs under $1 per Mcfe. [1]
• Broader Strategy: Beyond traditional gas sales, CNX is utilizing its Utica assets for specialized infrastructure projects, including on-site natural gas-to-LNG/CNG conversion at Pittsburgh International Airport and an enhanced geothermal energy pilot in Indiana County

Shale Permits Dip to 9 Last Week; Gulfport, Snyder Bros Lead the Way -- Marcellus Drilling News  - The Marcellus/Utica region received 9 new shale well permits last week, Oct. 19 – 25, down 3 from 12 the week before. Pennsylvania issued 4 new permits, Ohio issued 4, and West Virginia issued 1. The drillers who received new-well permits last week were: Antero Resources, Gulfport, INR, JKLM Energy, and Snyder Brothers. It was a quieter week on the new-permit front. The busiest driller of all, EOG Resources, didn't get a single permit for a brand-new well — but it did get seven permits to tweak wells it was already approved to drill in Ohio (more on that below). Antero Resources | Armstrong County | Belmont County | Carroll County | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | INR/Infinity Natural Resources | JKLM Energy | Noble County | Snyder Brothers | Tioga County (PA) | Tyler County | Wyoming County (PA)

FracTracker Alliance: A.I. Data Center Developers Propose 12.5 GW Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants To Feed 12 Data Center Projects In Southwest PA - On October 26, the FracTracker Alliance released a new report saying A.I. data center developers are proposing 12.5 GW of natural gas-fired power plants to feed 12 data center projects in Southwest PA.  The report says these power plants would generate an amount of electricity equal to roughly 75% of all the power Pennsylvania used in 2024.The report said many proposals target communities already shaped by fossil-fuel infrastructure and legacy industrial pollution.  "Residents in these communities frequently face limited access to clear, trustworthy project information while dealing with compressed approval timelines and technical, hard-to-navigate decision-making processes. "These proposals put residents’ air quality, water resources, public health, and community future at stake." The 12 data center proposals are located in Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Beaver, Greene, and Indiana counties.The information on the data center power plants was compiled during a nine-week Data Stewardship Sprint in summer 2026.FracTracker trained four Pittsburgh-based student interns to investigate proposed data center developments and produce information that communities could use in local decisions.  The team attended public meetings, filed Right-to-Know requests, reviewed permits, researched ordinances and zoning designations, mapped potentially affected community resources and ecological sites, and spoke with residents to get their side of the story.Click Here for a copy of the report and detailed information on each power plant proposal. The FracTracker Alliance supports groups across the United States, addressing pressing concerns about the health effects and exposure risks to communities from oil and gas development. Click Here to sign up for regular updates. [Note: These power plants are being built to serve one customer-- A.I. data centers-- and will likely not participate in the PJM Interconnection wholesale electricity auctions that provide power to all the other ratepayers-- residential, small business, industrial-- and will not address the shrinking power generation capacity in the PJM system. [In addition, A.I. data center developers, not necessarily locating in the state, are signing power deals with existing Pennsylvania nuclear power plants, hydroelectric generators, coal waste-fired and natural gas power plants to serve only data centers, taking more generation from PJM auctions and driving up prices, as identified by the PJM Market Monitor.]

DEP: Fracking Fluid Hose Rupture Contaminates Range Resources Appalachia Shale Gas Pad, And Down The Well Pad Slope In Washington County  - On October 21, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the Range Resources Appalachia LLC Wylie Dennis 17563 shale gas well in response to a spill notification on October 20 in Buffalo Township, Washington County. DEP found a large hose holding fracking fluid ruptured during fracking operations resulting in a release of fluid that contaminated an area about 250 x 150 feet on the pad outside of secondary containment. What was described as a “mist” of fracking fluid from the ruptured hose also contaminated an area 250 x 100 feet down the southern cutslope of the well pad. Field measurements confirmed the rough area of contamination. During the inspection contaminated material was being removed from a portion of the well pad, but cleanup had not yet started on the impacted southern slope of the pad.  The owner proposes to remove the contaminated vegetation and soil on the slope for disposal. Three rolloff boxes had been filled with contaminated material and a fourth was onsite.  More boxes are expected to be needed.DEP also noted the secondary containment inspection log said damage was found and repaired in containment on October 16.Multiple violations issued.  DEP requested a response by November 9. The owner said 126 gallons of fracking fluid was released, but DEP specifically asked for “an updated quantity of the produced water released and the duration that it was in contact with the ground” to be included in the response. Click Here for DEP inspection report + photos. A fact sheet from the Environmental Health Project, fracking water is a mixture of water, chemicals (such as methanol, ethylene glycol, and biocides), and proppants (fine sand) used in shale gas drilling operations.Fracking water is forced down the wellbore at high pressure in order to fracture the shale and free the gas. As pressure is released, some of the HFF returns to the surface along with contaminated water from the gas formations, radioactive materials, gases, and metals.This combination of materials is called flowback and “produced” (contaminated) water. It is considered highly toxic.  Some of the injected fluids are proprietary, so we don’t even know what they are.

DEP: Release From Diversified Production LLC Conventional Contaminated Water Pipeline Pollutes Field In Indiana County - On October 26, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected a Diversified Production LLC contaminated water release near the R&P Coal Company NT5 conventional well in response to a complaint in Young Township, Indiana County.DEP found a contaminated water pipeline released fluid that contaminated part of a field near a coalbed methane well owned by Diversified.Contaminated water was continuing to bubble up around a pipeline access pipe. Dead vegetation and field measures documented the area impacted by the release.Multiple violations were issued. DEP requested a response by November 10.  Click Here for DEP inspection report + photos.  To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

DEP Investigates Transfer Of Conventional Well Ownership, Finds Abandoned, Unplugged Well Leaking Gas 10 Feet From Apartment Building In Washington County - On October 26, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the Alexander Selwyn conventional gas well owned by Don Wright in North Strabane Township, Washington County as part of an investigation into its change in ownership.DEP found the well was abandoned and not plugged and was leaking gas 10 feet from an apartment building and “distressed” area of vegetation was apparent from a gas line leading from the well.DEP also found the owner failed to submit annual production and waste generation and well integrity reports.The owner also failed to notify DEP of a change in ownership for the well within 30 days of the transfer.Multiple violations were issued.  A response was requested by November 13.Click Here for the DEP inspection report + photos.  Don Wright holds one permit. To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

DEP Inspections Of 5 Shale Gas Pads Found 2 New Well Casing/Cementing Failures, 7 Continuing Well Failures in Bradford, Susquehanna, Westmoreland, Wyoming Counties -  The Department of Environmental Protection inspected five shale gas well pads between October 23 and October 29 and discovered two new instances of casing/cementing failures and seven shale gas wells with continuing failures. On October 23, 2026, DEP did an inspection of the EQT Chap LLC Sinay 7H shale gas well in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County in response to an October 2, 2026 notification a gas leak was detected in the well casing.DEP confirmed the leak, but did not issue any violations or request any follow-up by the owner. Click Here for DEP inspection report. (Report courtesy of Protect PT Oil & Gas Permits & Violations Weekly Round-Up.)On October 28, 2026, DEP did a routine inspection of the Expand Operating LLC Lines 4H shale gas well in Monroe Township, Bradford County and found the presence of gas indicating a casing/cementing failure.DEP issued a new violation to the owner for failing to notify the agency of the problem, but dated it for April 28, 2026. Click Here for DEP inspection report. On October 27, 2026, DEP inspected the Expand Operating LLC Pieszala WYO 3H and WYO 8H shale gas wells in Windham Township, Wyoming County and found the continued presence of gas indicating casing/cementing failure.The original violations were issued on June 18, 2015 and were continued. Monitoring will continue.Click Here for DEP inspection report.  On October 29, 2026, DEP inspected the Expand Operating LLC Susan 4H, Susan 5H, Susan 25HC shale gas wells in Auburn Township, Susquehanna County and found the continued presence of gas indicating casing/cementing failure.The original violations were issued on October 29, 2020 and were continued.  Monitoring will continue. Click Here for DEP inspection report. On October 29, 2026, DEP inspected the Expand Operating LLC Cappucci 2H,  Cappucci 4H, Cappucci 102H shale gas wells in Mehoopany Township, Wyoming County and found the continued presence of gas indicating casing/cementing failure.The original violations were issued on May 21, 2020 and were continued. Monitoring will continue.Click Here for DEP inspection report.

DEP Issued 53 Violations To Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners For Abandoning, Not Plugging Wells In October; Violations Top 409 So Far In 2026 -The Department of Environmental Protection issued and continued 53 violations to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning and not plugging their wells in October; a total of about 409 so far in 2026. Violations for groups of abandoned wells include--

• -- DEP: Routine Inspections Find 16 Anderson Energy SVC LLC Conventional Wells Abandoned, Not Plugged In Forest County  [PaEN]
• -- DEP - Day 357: S.R. Star O&G LLC Still Fails To Comply With An Order To Plug At Least Some Of The 11 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Owns In Butler County [PaEN]
• -- DEP: Follow-Up Inspections Of 4 Michael Harju Conventional Wells Found They Continue To Be Abandoned, Not Plugged Going Back To 2020 In Westmoreland County  [PaEN]
• -- DEP: Routine Inspections Find 3 Keystone Crude LLC Abandoned, Unplugged Conventional Gas Wells In Allegheny County [PaEN]
• -- DEP Investigates Transfer Of Conventional Well Ownership, Finds Abandoned, Unplugged Well Leaking Gas 10 Feet From Apartment Building In Washington County  [PaEN]
• -- DEP: Diversified Prod LLC Failed To Comply With Order To Stop Gas Venting From 2 Abandoned Conventional Wells In Westmoreland County  [PaEN]
• -- DEP - Day 82: McGuffie Oil Co Inc. Abandoned Conventional Gas Well Still Venting Gas, Creating A Hazard To Health, Safety In Allegheny County [PaEN]

DEP issued individual violations to these conventional well owners—(see list)  To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage. Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.

EQT's $13 Billion Range Deal Bets On A Bigger Gas Future - The all-stock tie-up would create the largest US natural gas producer, with EQT pointing to LNG exports and AI data center power demand as key drivers. EQT said it’s buying Range Resources in a $13 billion all-stock deal to create the largest US natural gas producer, betting that LNG exports and AI data centers will keep gas demand climbing. EQT, the country’s biggest gas-focused producer, and Range Resources, a major Appalachian Basin driller, are combining to get bigger and more efficient in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields. EQT says the merged company would produce more than 9 billion cubic feet equivalent a day and control decades of drilling locations, plus pipelines and processing assets that help move gas to utilities, factories, and LNG export terminals. The sales pitch leans on demand. The Energy Information Administration expects US gas use to rise from 91.9 billion cubic feet a day in 2025 to 94.3 in 2027, and EQT says Appalachia can supply more of that as new LNG plants ramp up and power-hungry data centers expand. EQT also argues the bigger footprint lowers costs, projecting $20 billion of cumulative free cash flow over five years at recent prices and saying its breakeven gas price – the level needed to cover spending – would fall below $2 per million British thermal units. The catch is timing: the companies expect to close in the first quarter of 2027, leaving plenty of runway for gas prices, regulators, and markets to shift. Range holders get 0.987 EQT shares and the wait runs to the first quarter of 2027. Because the exchange ratio is fixed at 0.987 EQT shares per Range share, Range’s price usually tracks EQT’s, minus a discount for time and uncertainty until closing. That helps explain the first-day split – EQT fell 3.7% while Range rose 15.1% to $52.43 – since deal traders often buy the target and hedge by selling the acquirer. The key gauge now is the “deal spread”: the gap between Range’s market price and the value implied by 0.987 times EQT’s stock. If EQT’s shares get more volatile, or if approvals and integration look tougher, that gap can widen, keeping pressure on EQT around key milestones while Range trades like EQT with an extra layer of deal risk.

EQT's acquisition of Range underscores race to dominate US natgas market - (Reuters) - EQT's acquisition of rival producer Range Resources this week marks the latest consolidation in the natural gas industry, as producers are scrambling to lock in supply to feed growing demand for liquefied natural gas exports and power demand. Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based EQT said on Monday it will buy Fort Worth, Texas-based Range Resources in a $13 billion all-stock deal that will create the nation's biggest gas producer. EQT is the second-largest natural gas producer in the US. "The Range transaction increases our market access to what we believe are the two premium markets in this world - domestically in Appalachia and on the international front with LNG," EQT CEO Toby Rice told Reuters in an interview following the deal. He said it makes the company "the natural choice for gas supply domestically and around the world." The deal underscores how top US gas producers are racing to consolidate ahead of what they expect will be a step-change in domestic demand, driven by new LNG export terminals coming online and a buildout of gas-fired power plants to supply electricity-hungry data centers - even as a near-term glut has depressed prices and forced operators to curtail output. In Appalachia, where EQT and Range produce most of their gas, Rice said the company boosted its demand growth estimates for the region to over 25 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) from a prior forecast of around 20 bcfd. One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five million US homes for a day. TOP VIDEOS Rice said that about half of that demand growth would remain in the basin, supplying things like power plants to feed data centers, and the other half is for pipeline takeaway projects like EQT's Mountain Valley Boost project to move more gas from West Virginia to Virginia and its proposed POWER project to move more gas from Pennsylvania to Ohio. On the international front, EQT has targeted having 15% of its gas sales exposed to international markets. "Increasing our production base with Range is going to give us the ability to increase our LNG capacity, still maintain our 15% strategic target (and) increase our LNG exposure," Rice said, noting that now was "an incredibly attractive opportunity" since gas was currently trading below $4 per million British thermal units in the US but over $30 in Europe and Asia. "Natural gas demand is inflecting in two directions at once (power for data centers and LNG exports) and EQT is the only Appalachian producer contracted into both," Melius Research analysts said in a note. MORE TO COME The EQT-Range merger follows Devon Energy's merger with Coterra Energy in May 2026 to create the nation's third-biggest gas producer, and the merger of Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy in October 2024 to create Expand Energy, currently the nation's biggest gas producer. About a third of US gas production comes from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia in Appalachia. "There's a number of logical ... combinations there that would likely occur over the next couple of years up in the Northeast ... I think it's a natural next step in consolidation," said Matthew Bernstein, vice president of North American oil and gas at energy research and consulting firm Rystad Energy. Bernstein said Expand Energy could make a move to bolster its position in the Northeast, noting there were quite a few public players with production in Appalachia, including Antero Resources, CNX Resources and National Fuel Gas' Seneca Resources spinoff. Officials at Expand, Antero and National Fuel Gas were not immediately available for comment. Officials at CNX said they do not comment on market speculation regarding mergers and acquisitions. Analysts at Mizuho said in a note that they "continue to see gas-focused US shale assets getting concentrated in fewer hands ... This bodes well for capital discipline, especially as gas demand is expected to inflect starting in 2028 on LNG and AI data center/electrification power demand tailwinds." 

Roar – EQT's Range Resources Deal to Supercharge Inventory and Boost Midstream Opportunities  -With its newly announced, $50 billion-plus combination with Range Resources, EQT Corp. — already the largest natural gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica — will overtake Expand Energy as the king of the gas jungle in the U.S. as a whole. But EQT’s planned acquisition of Range isn’t really about size. Instead, the transaction is largely aimed at supercharging EQT’s gas inventory and giving it an edge in lining up long-term gas-supply agreements with power generators and other big gas customers. It’s also about expanding opportunities to develop new pipelines to transport gas, especially to fast-growing Midwest demand centers. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the EQT/Range deal and its implications.  Unless you took a mini digital detox on Monday, you probably heard that EQT Corp. and Range Resources have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which EQT will acquire Range in an all-stock transaction. The end result, as they put it: “America’s leading natural gas company with a pro forma enterprise value over $50 billion.” If, as expected, the deal closes in Q1 2027, the combined company will have more than 9 Bcfe/d of net production, more than 30 years of inventory across nearly 3 million acres, and more than 3,700 miles of midstream infrastructure. (EQT shareholders will own about 73% of the combined company and Range shareholders will own 27%.) Figure 1 below shows EQT’s and Range Resources’ self-described “core acreage” (pink- and blue-shaded areas, respectively), most of which are in the NGLs-rich “wet” Marcellus/Utica in southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA), northern West Virginia and southeastern Ohio. The companies also have significant — and highly complementary — core acreage in the “dry” Marcellus in northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA). The dark-pink lines show the companies’ roughly 2,000 miles of gathering pipelines and most of its 1,250 miles of transmission pipelines, the standout of which is the 2-Bcf/d Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from northern West Virginia to Station 165 on the Transco Pipeline in southwestern Virginia (dark-pink line to bottom of map). (EQT holds a ~53% stake in MVP and operates it; the other co-owners include NextEra Energy, AltaGas and Consolidated Edison.)During an October 26 conference call about the deal, EQT President and CEO Toby Rice and other top brass said that a primary driver of the transaction was Range Resources’ massive gas inventory in southwestern Pennsylvania. EQT is already the top producer in that part of the Marcellus/Utica — it boosted its position there in July 2025 with the purchase of Olympus Energy, and became an even bigger player in northern West Virginia a couple of years before that with the acquisition of Tug Hill’s gas production assets and XcL Midstream’s pipeline and processing assets.  We will leave a detailed analysis of EQT’s and Range’s gas production and inventories to our partners at Novi Labs — RBN’s corporate parent — who just posted their initial analysis of the deal. Instead, we’ll focus on what the planned merger is likely to mean for pro forma EQT’s efforts to secure long-term gas-supply deals with power generators and other large gas users — and for the buildout of the company’s growing gas transmission network. For at least a couple of years now, EQT has been highlighting the development of new gas-fired power plants within and near its Appalachia production area, some of them tied to AI-related data centers. For example, in July 2025 the company announced two 20-year gas supply deals, one to provide up to 800 MMcf/d to a power-and-data-center complex in Shippingport, PA, and other to provide up to 665 MMcf/d to a similar facility in Homer City, PA. More recently, EQT said in July that it had entered into a 10-year agreement to supply up to 325 MMcf/d to Competitive Power Ventures’ (CPV) planned 2,100-megawatt (MW) Shay Energy Center in Doddridge County, WV.Many more deals like these are likely, not just in Pennsylvania and West Virginia but especially in Ohio, which has emerged as an epicenter of new data centers and related gas-fired power projects. In fact, EQT just increased its estimate for Appalachian gas demand growth through 2035 — most of it from power generators — to 25 Bcf/d from the old 20 Bcf/d. As shown in Figure 2 below, most of that growth is expected to occur in the 2029-31 period, when a tsunami of new data centers is expected to come online. Note that only about 5 Bcf/d of those incremental gas needs have been secured so far (dashed red line), suggesting that EQT and other gas producers in the Marcellus/Utica will be scrambling to reach long-term deals with gas plant owners/operators.  To deliver all that incremental gas, existing gas pipelines throughout the region will need to be expanded and entirely new pipelines built — and EQT plans to be in on that action too.First, a reminder that in July 2024 EQT “re-acquired” Equitrans, a midstream company that EQT had spun off in 2018 so it could focus on production. Equitrans was the lead developer of the 303-mile MVP we mentioned earlier — under EQT, that pipeline’s capacity is being expanded to 2.6 Bcf/d (from the current 2 Bcf/d). With Equitrans now fully owned by EQT, the company once again owns its gathering systems and other, smaller interstate pipelines near its Marcellus/Utica production.During EQT’s October 26 call, company executives said that another important rationale for acquiring Range Resources is that a good bit of the E&P’s best inventory is in southwestern Pennsylvania, close by the gas hub in Clarington, OH, that is fast-becoming a central point for shuttling Marcellus/Utica gas west and south to power generators, local distribution utilities (LDUs) and other large gas customers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and points beyond.  As we discussed a few months ago in Movin’ Out, EQT has been developing the Clarington Connector (dashed yellow line in Figure 3 below), a 20-mile, 400-MMcf/d pipeline that will run from the producer’s system in northern West Virginia’s Marshall County to Clarington in Ohio’s Monroe County.  More recently, EQT has been pursuing the development of a much larger pipeline: the proposed Pennsylvania Ohio West Virginia Energy Reliability Pipeline — POWER Pipeline for short — which would run from an as-yet-unspecified location in southwestern Pennsylvania and/or West Virginia to the Clarington Hub. In a non-binding open season that ran from August 26 to October 26, EQT sought expression of interest for firm capacity on a pipeline with capacity of up to 1 Bcf/d that would come online by 2030. Once more gas can get to Clarington, it could move along several existing and planned pipes that connect (or will connect) to the hub there, including Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO), Tallgrass Energy’s Rockies Express (REX), Energy Transfer’s Rover Pipeline, and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners’ planned Borealis Pipeline.To sum up, as EQT sees it, the company’s pending acquisition of Range Resources isn’t about getting bigger, it’s about adding Range’s deep inventory of well-site natural gas to EQT’s own impressive stockpile, thereby putting the combined company in an even better position to secure the long-term, large-volume gas-supply deals with power generators. And, as a bonus of sorts, these supply deals will provide EQT with an expanded opportunity to develop new gas pipelines to connect its supply either directly to new power plants or to takeaway pipelines at the Clarington Hub.

Q3 2026 Earnings Calls: EQT Counts on Demand far Outside Appalachia | RBN Energy - EQT started off the week by announcing that it would regain its title as the country’s largest natural gas producer by purchasing Range Resources. We covered that announcement and its implications in our blog Roar. As EQT held the transaction call for the merger on Monday, it cancelled its planned earnings call on Tuesday. However, it did release the earnings report and presentation on time. The presentation gives an overview of how EQT sees some elements of the gas market evolving over time. Notably, the presentation clarifies that the 24 Bcf/d of potential Appalachian demand growth over the coming decade that it touted in the Range Resources announcement is “underpinned by power, data center and egress.” The egress portion specifically implies that not all of this new demand is going to come from near the basin, but from new pipelines leading outbound. And the company is increasing its exposure even further afield. As seen in the graphic above, it has 6 mtpa (0.8 Bcf/d) in contracted capacity at four LNG facilities, three of which have reached FID. Two of these facilities are so far south in Texas that access to any actual Appalachian molecules is impossible. However, it gives the company exposure to global prices. EQT notes in the presentation that it has more price exposure to global LNG than any of its six closest peers as independent oil and gas producers.

Toby Rice on Mike Rowe Podcast: Raccoons, Rigs and Energy Abundance -- Marcellus Drilling News  -- Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” fame, sat down with EQT CEO Toby Rice for a 77-minute episode of his podcast, The Way I Heard It, taped at the Brush Creek Frontier Summit in Wyoming. They covered why AI means we have to build a lot of stuff, why your energy bills are up 40% despite record production, how much Big Green spends fighting us, Rice’s energy-poverty nonprofit, and why permit reform is the No. 1 issue right now. Oh, and a raccoon! The interview aired the same week EQT announced its deal to buy Range Resources, but the deal didn’t come up (taped before the official announcement). Highlights and the full video are below.

Expand Energy Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Twin Eagle, Delfin and the Next Wave of Gas Demand | RBN Energy - As discussed in their Q3 2026 Earnings call, Expand Energy is building more ways to reach premium gas markets, with its Twin Eagle acquisition and Delfin LNG agreement anchoring that strategy while Western Haynesville remains a longer-term supply option. Together, those initiatives show how the company intends to connect its upstream portfolio with growing LNG, power and industrial demand, although each operates on a different timeline. The most immediate development is Twin Eagle, whose acquisition closed September 16. Its transportation and storage access, along with relationships with more than 1,000 customers, gives Expand a broader platform to supply buyers beyond its core Haynesville and Appalachian footprint. That includes data centers across the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, as well as commercial and industrial customers willing to pay for reliable delivery to locations away from major pipelines. Management expects the combined marketing and commercial business to generate approximately $80 million of EBITDA in Q4 and reach $500 million annually by 2028. The opportunity extends beyond selling more of Expand’s own gas: the platform can also source third-party supply and capture value from regional price differences and transportation constraints. Further out, the Delfin LNG agreement provides a route toward international pricing exposure. Expand has contracted for 1.15 million tonnes annually of LNG offtake, with deliveries expected to begin during 2031–32, and management indicated that additional agreements could follow. The commercial significance is diversification beyond Henry Hub, although the value ultimately captured will depend on liquefaction, shipping and sales terms. Delfin therefore represents a longer-term outlet rather than near-term relief from a well-supplied domestic market. On the supply side in the Western Haynesville, so far in 2026, Expand has one horizontal producing well online, drilled a second appraisal well roughly 15 miles farther north and expects to drill approximately two wells in 2027. Management sees substantial resource potential but said the deep, complex reservoir currently needs gas prices above $4/Mcf to compete within its portfolio. For now, that makes Western Haynesville an option on future Gulf Coast demand growth, with capital concentrated in more competitive acreage until stronger pricing or better well economics justify broader development.

Pennsylvania Plugs 500th Abandoned Well as Cleanup Expands — Pennsylvania has plugged 500 orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, advancing a federally funded cleanup program targeting methane emissions, groundwater risks and environmental hazards left by decades of energy production. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley marked the milestone Wednesday, Oct. 21, following the completion of an emergency plugging project in Somerset Township, Washington County. The 500th well had been leaking significant quantities of gas into the ground and atmosphere in a residential neighborhood before crews located and sealed it, according to the governor’s office. Washington County-based M&A Resources completed the project under an emergency contract, working with DEP, the Environmental Defense Fund and McGill University. The milestone reflects an acceleration in Pennsylvania’s efforts to address abandoned energy infrastructure. The administration reports that more wells have been plugged during Shapiro’s tenure than in the preceding 12 years combined. Despite that progress, the scale of the remaining work is substantial. DEP has identified more than 27,000 orphaned and abandoned wells statewide, many of which pose potential environmental and safety risks. The agency prioritizes plugging projects based on threats to public health, groundwater, and surrounding communities. Abandoned wells can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while creating pathways for groundwater contamination and other hazards. Unsealed wells can also complicate land redevelopment and restrict future property uses. “I’ve spoken to the families and communities most affected by these leaking wells who are concerned about their water or the quality of the air near their homes – especially here in Western Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. The governor described well plugging as a public health measure that also supports employment among Pennsylvania contractors. The cleanup program has received substantial federal financial support. Since 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior has provided Pennsylvania with $216 million through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. The state’s 2026-27 budget also authorizes a one-time $19 million transfer to the Well Plugging Program, providing additional resources for addressing abandoned wells. A separate $20 million transfer supports the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program, which addresses contaminated properties and toxic waste sites across Pennsylvania.

SRBC OKs 33 Well Pad Water Permits in Sept; Bradford Back on Top -- Marcellus Drilling News  - - The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use requests for responsible, safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the October 24th Pennsylvania Bulletin that the SRBC approved and/or renewed 33 general water use permits in September for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, McKean, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties.

Susquehanna River Basin Commission Reports Low-Flow Stream Conditions Trigger Stop To 11 Shale Gas Water Withdrawals, 7 More Put On Watch Status - On October 31, 2026, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission Hydrologic Conditions Monitor Dashboard shows low-flow stream conditions have triggered a stop to 11 shale gas water withdrawals and put 7 more on Watch status approaching operating restrictions. The 11 water withdrawals are in Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga counties. Shale gas water withdrawal points are among the first to be restricted by low flow and ice conditions because many of the withdrawals are on smaller streams. Similar information is not available for the Northwest and Southwest areas of the state in the Ohio River Watershed where there is shale gas drilling because there is no agency like SRBC to regulate water withdrawals. DEP does require shale gas drillers to have water management plans that include low-flow restrictions, but that’s just one more thing DEP has to enforce. Contact the Susquehanna River Basin Commission to report suspected violations of these requirements. Visit SRBC’s Hydrologic Conditions Monitor webpage to learn more.

3rd Circuit Denies Rehearing; NESE Pipeline Timeline Now at Risk -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  Last week, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said “no thanks” to Williams’ request to reconsider its September ruling that tossed out New Jersey’s water permit for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project. The October 22 order (embedded below) means NESE’s New Jersey water quality certification (WQC) stays vacated (i.e., canceled), and the whole matter goes back to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for a do-over. And here’s what caught our eye: Williams no longer says the ruling won’t affect its schedule. In its rehearing petition, the company admitted the loss “will delay construction” in New Jersey and could jeopardize NESE’s November 1, 2027 in-service date. So what happens now? Let’s walk through it.

Westmoreland Seismic Event: DEP Checks EQT Pad, No Red Flags Found --- Marcellus Drilling News  -  Did the ground rumble in Westmoreland County on Sunday, October 4, because of fracking? The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked that question, checked EQT’s nearby Porter well pad, and found nothing abnormal. EQT’s pressure logs for that day were clean, no violations were cited, and DEP asked for more paperwork. That’s good news for EQT, even if the headline you may have seen elsewhere makes it sound much more ominous.

EPA Proposes Changes To OOOOb/c Oil & Gas Industry Methane Reduction Rules To Help Reduce Burdens On Oil & Gas Industry; Over 99% Of PA Conventional Well Owners Failed To Comply With DEP's 2022 Methane Rules - On October 27, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced changes to the OOOOb/c regulations designed to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations.In particular, EPA highlighted the changes designed to benefit marginal well owners-- conventional oil and gas wells. EPA is proposing two options to create separate categories and standards for well sites to make sure the regulations are workable for different types of wells. The first option would categorize well sites by production level, marginal or non-marginal (conventional wells). The second option would categorize them by resource type, conventional or unconventional. Before this proposed change, both conventional and unconventional oil and gas wells had to meet the same reduction requirements.EPA will hold a 45-day public comment period, including a public hearing on the proposed changes. Click Here for the EPA announcement. DEP adopted methane reduction regulations in 2022 covering both conventional oil and gas and unconventional shale gas facilities.DEP said 80% of the expected methane reductions and 76% of the volatile organic reductions from the regulations would come from conventional oil and gas wells complying with the new requirements. Read more here.In November 2025, DEP reported 99.3% of conventional oil and gas facility owners failed to comply with a 2022 DEP regulation to reduce methane and volatile organic compound emissions from their oil and gas facilities, in response to questions from PA Environment Digest.DEP said 32  [0.65%] of the approximately 4,960 conventional oil and gas well facility owners did submit reports covering approximately 36,400 [36%] out of the 101,000 wells required to report.  Read more here. In December 2025, representatives of the conventional oil and gas industry told DEP at the PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council--“A very large proportion, perhaps as high as 95% of Pennsylvania conventional gas wells and Pennsylvania conventional oil wells and oil/gas wells which are constructed with a production string of casing, are purposely constructed as to allow the release of methane which methane may not be a steady flow and are constructed that way by regulation.“Further, the Pennsylvania mechanical integrity process contemplates this construction.”  Read more here. Conventional gas wells produce around 46,400,000 Mcf of gas annually according to industry reports to DEP, but that’s less than 0.6% of all natural gas production in the state and falling, according to the FracTracker Alliance.The Independent Fiscal Office does not report on natural gas production from conventional gas wells in its quarterly natural gas reports because it is insignificant compared to shale gas production-- about 7,712,000,000 Mcf.Conventional oil wells produce roughly 800,000 to 920,000 barrels of oil annually in Pennsylvania, based on industry reports to DEP and the FracTracker Alliance.US production of crude oil is about 14 million barrels per day-- PA production is roughly 2,520 barrels per day (0.018%). In May 2025, DEP proposed a plan for implementing EPA’s original OOOOb/c oil and gas methane emissions reduction rule using general permits.  Read more here.In April 2026, DEP said it received more than 10,000 comments on the proposed plan and that it was reevaluating its plan.  Read more here. Comments from industry and many from environmental groups said DEP should adopt its own regulations, but for different reasons.Industry suggested a Pennsylvania rule was needed to tailor the emission reduction standards to meet the needs of the conventional oil and gas well owners, versus the unconventional shale gas drillers they said had very different operations.In July 2026, the Governor’s Office announced in the PA Bulletin DEP would be adopting its own oil and gas methane regulations to meet the EPA OOOOb/c regulation requirements.  Read more here.DEP laid out its plan for developing the regulation at an August 6 Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Read more here. DEP said it would be submitting a plan to comply with OOOOb/c to EPA in January, however with the changes EPA is now proposing it is unclear whether that will happen. Dr. Rev. Jessica Moerman, President and CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network, issued the following statement in response to the EPA action--“Families in oil and gas country should not have to wonder what is leaking from the wells and equipment near their homes, churches, and schools. “Weakening methane pollution protections means this worry remains a reality. “Leaking methane is not only a wasted product. The same leaks can carry benzene, and other harmful pollutants linked to cancer and birth defects, into the air that children and seniors breathe.“Just as we expect restaurants to be inspected for proper practices to keep our food safe, we believe the same principle applies to the oil and gas sites in our neighborhoods. “Leak monitoring and prompt repair are necessary practices to keep our families safe and stop our valuable natural resources from going to waste. “Pollution safeguards that cut waste and protect health are good for families, good for communities, and good stewardship of God’s bounty. “American families are justified in asking the EPA why it is wasting our taxpayer dollars on eliminating cost-effective methane pollution protections instead of directing its time and our money toward building upon positive first steps to address new and emerging health toxins, like microplastics in drinking water.”

NFG Midstream Plans Side-by-Side 24-Inch, 20-Inch Pipes in Tioga Co. -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  National Fuel Gas (NFG) is laying more pipe in Tioga County. Its gathering subsidiary, NFG Midstream Covington, has asked the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a stream-and-wetland crossing permit for two natural gas pipelines, 24-inch and 20-inch, running side by side through Farmington, Deerfield, and Chatham townships. The notice also mentions a 16-inch water line. The filing comes just 10 days after NFG’s board approved splitting the company in two, and it strongly suggests NFG’s Seneca Resources drilling arm is gearing up for more Utica production in Tioga County.

20 States, Including PA & WV, Move to Defend NWP 12 from Big Green -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  In August, MDN told you about two federal lawsuits, filed six days apart by Big Green groups, aimed at killing Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12). That’s the Army Corps of Engineers permit that lets pipelines cross streams and wetlands without a separate federal review at every single crossing (see 2 Lawsuits in 6 Days: Big Green Targets the Permit Behind Every Pipe). Now the other side is lining up. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading 20 state attorneys general, Pennsylvania and West Virginia among them, in asking to join both lawsuits as defendants. They would stand alongside the Corps and the pipeline industry, which already won a seat at the table.

Antero 3Q: Sets Production Record, Shuts In Gas Selling for 60 Cents - Marcellus Drilling News - Antero Resources, the biggest driller in West Virginia, pumped out a company-record 4.234 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) in 3Q26. That’s up 23% from a year ago. And Antero did it while shutting in more than 100 MMcfe/d of dry gas on purpose, because local prices got so bad that on some weekends in September and October, gas went for 60 to 65 cents. Antero plans to shut in even more gas in 4Q, so it lowered its 4Q forecast to 4.3 Bcfe/d. Back in July, it promised 4.4 to 4.5 Bcfe/d. The good news? Antero says prices for its natural gas liquids (NGLs), meaning propane, butane, and their cousins, have jumped about 50% since 3Q ended. And Antero hedges almost none of its NGLs, so it keeps nearly all of that gain.

Antero Midstream Q3 earnings include $377M litigation gain | AM Quarterly Report (10-Q) - Antero Midstream Corp. (AM) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $327.0 million, versus $294.8 million a year earlier, and net income of $392.7 million, versus $116.0 million. The quarter included a $377.0 million litigation gain after the company received damages, interest and attorneys’ fees in a concluded matter with Veolia. Nine-month operating cash flow was $1.093 billion, compared with $677.0 million. The company completed its acquisition of HG Midstream for $1.1 billion in cash consideration on February 3, 2026; the acquired assets contributed $108.3 million of revenue and $26.5 million of net income through September 30, 2026. It closed the Utica Shale divestiture on February 23, 2026, for $400 million before closing adjustments, using net proceeds to repay long-term debt. Antero Midstream redeemed all $650 million principal amount of its 2028 Notes on August 8, 2026, funded with cash on hand and Credit Facility borrowings. The board declared a $0.225-per-share common dividend payable November 11, 2026, to holders of record October 28, 2026. This unaudited quarterly report shows that at September 30, 2026, Antero Midstream reported no cash, cash equivalents or restricted cash, alongside long-term debt of $3,153,695 thousand; its reported cash buffer was therefore zero.

WV AG Probes Climate Groups for Deceptive Claims About Drillers -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, a Republican and an outspoken defender of the state’s coal, oil and natural gas industries, has served investigative subpoenas on at least six environmental groups. He wants nearly 10 years’ worth of their records—fundraising letters, internal emails, talking points, donor names, even any ties to wind and solar companies. The legal hook? West Virginia’s consumer protection law, the same law used to go after predatory lenders and bait-and-switch con artists. McCuskey’s office is investigating whether the groups made “unfair or deceptive” claims blaming specific West Virginia energy companies (including drillers and pipeline companies) for climate change. Two of the groups, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and 350.org, sued McCuskey in federal court on Thursday. The Sierra Club got a subpoena too, but McCuskey’s office withdrew it after the club threatened to sue. Big Green is calling it a “fishing expedition.” We call it something else (see MDN’s Take below).

DOE Doubles Down on Constitution Pipeline with New Fact Sheet --- Marcellus Drilling News  -  Constitution Pipeline map (click for larger version) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) isn’t just writing a check for the Constitution Pipeline anymore — it’s writing the sales brochure, too. Last Wednesday, DOE posted a “fact sheet” making the case for the long-stalled 125-mile Williams pipeline, which would carry Marcellus Shale gas from Susquehanna County, PA, to Schoharie County, NY. The fact sheet follows Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s Monday visit to New York, where he announced up to $42 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funding to push the project through permitting (see Uncle Sam Writes $42M Check to Jump-Start Constitution Pipeline). The White House and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office then traded punches in the press. Here’s the latest.

Sierra Club Takes Aim at Cape Cod Canal Pipeline Relocation -- Marcellus Drilling News  - Back in April, MDN told you about Enbridge’s ~$300 million job to move the natural gas lines that hang off the Bourne and Sagamore bridges and run them under the Cape Cod Canal instead (see Algonquin Gas Pipeline to Cape Cod Needs $301M Relocation). It’s a must-do project before Massachusetts can replace the two 90-year-old bridges. The Army Corps of Engineers ordered the move. MassDOT is paying for it. Nobody asked for more gas. Yet the Sierra Club has now decided this is a sneaky pipeline expansion in disguise, and it’s taking that argument to the Cape Cod Commission, which holds its first hearing on the project this Wednesday, Oct. 28.

U.S. Propane’s Surplus Is Nearly Gone Heading Into Winter | RBN Energy -The EIA reported a 111-Mbbl draw in total U.S. propane/propylene inventories for the week ended October 23, the fourth draw in a row. Stocks fell to 105.7 MMbbl (red line in the first chart below), just 54 Mbbl above the same week last year (blue line) but still 11.3 MMbbl, or 12%, above the five-year average (green line). Stocks have fallen 3.9 MMbbl over the past four weeks, while over the same four weeks last year they rose 2.3 MMbbl. The surplus to last year has shrunk in six of the past seven weeks, from 12.8 MMbbl in the week ended September 4, when stocks hit a record 110.5 MMbbl, to 2.7 MMbbl a week ago and just 54 Mbbl this week (second chart below). The cushion is now all but gone. Exports are the main reason. Since early September, U.S. exports have averaged 2.15 MMb/d, about 230 Mb/d more than the same period last year. The four-week average (red dashed line in the exports chart below) has stayed above last year’s (blue dashed line) every week since July, and weekly exports have topped the previous five-year range (gray area) in six of the past eight weeks. The extra exports add up to about 11 MMbbl over seven weeks, nearly the entire surplus. Stocks could fall below last year’s level as soon as next week. That leaves less room for error heading into heating season, especially in the Midwest, where stocks are already 11% below last year

Enterprise Q3 2026: Gas-to-Oil Ratio Drives More Permian Gas/NGLs | RBN Energy   - Three themes from Enterprise Products Partners’ Q3 2026 earnings call on Thursday stood out: an upward revision to its Permian natural gas and NGL production forecast, the approaching completion of a major LPG export expansion, and a farewell from Co-CEO Jim Teague on his final earnings call before retirement. The biggest news was Enterprise’s revised outlook for Permian production. The company now expects wet natural gas and NGL production to increase 34% between 2025 and 2030, up from the 23% growth it forecast just six months ago. Its crude oil production outlook, however, increased by only 100 Mb/d. The difference reflects rising gas-to-oil ratios (GORs), meaning producers are recovering more natural gas relative to crude oil than previously anticipated. As Enterprise executive Corey Johnson explained, the revision was not driven by changes in drilling or completion activity, but by “what we’re seeing coming out of the rock.” Several factors are behind the higher GORs. First, natural gas production decline curves have been flattening, allowing existing wells to sustain higher gas output relative to crude oil. Second, drilling activity is shifting toward formations with higher GORs, including the Woodford and Barnett, where initial GORs can reach 8-9, compared with roughly 2 in the Wolfcamp. Improved drilling and completion technologies are also increasing recoveries, with incremental production trending toward lighter hydrocarbons. The implications for midstream infrastructure are significant. Enterprise now anticipates building closer to two Permian gas processing plants annually, with additional NGL transportation and fractionation capacity likely needed to accommodate growing volumes. On exports, Enterprise said its fully contracted 300-Mb/d Houston Ship Channel LPG expansion is undergoing commissioning and should be completed before year-end, increasing terminal capacity to approximately 1.1 MMb/d. Management expects a substantial increase in export volumes in 2027.

Anchors Aweigh! EQT Leases LNG Tankers Named Marcellus and Utica -  Marcellus Drilling News -Here's a story that made us smile this morning. EQT, about to become the country's biggest natural gas producer once its ~$12.8 billion takeover of Range Resources closes, is leasing two brand-new LNG tankers. And EQT is naming them... wait for it... the Marcellus and the Utica! The ships arrive in 2028. Meanwhile, EQT plans to start trading LNG cargoes as soon as next year, open offices in London and Singapore, and possibly lease up to 10 more ships. Appalachian gas, on EQT-leased ships, with the names of our two great shale plays painted on the side. What's not to love?

US LNG Feedgas Rebounds Above 20 Bcf/d, Seen Holding Into Mid-November A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers. {graphic: North America LNG Flow Tracker}

• 20.2 Bcf/d: US LNG feedgas demand rebounded Wednesday, climbing about 800 MMcf/d from Tuesday, according to NGI’s Entropic Analytics data. Feedgas demand has averaged 19.2 Bcf/d so far in October, up from 18.7 Bcf/d in September and about 2 Bcf/d above the October 2025 average. Daily gains in nominations can be attributed to Sabine Pass, Plaquemines and Cameron LNG, which have been running ahead of their September levels. Intake at Golden Pass LNG has averaged about 570 MMcf/d this month, up from about 345 MMcf/d in September, and reached nearly 800 MMcf/d on Oct. 22. Additional feedgas could be making its way to the Gulf Coast on intrastate systems, with NGI estimates of around 1.6 Bcf/d of implied deliveries to Corpus Christi and Freeport over the four weeks ended Oct. 28. Entropic Analytics forecasts feedgas demand holding near 20.0 Bcf/d through mid-November.
• 1.5 Bcf/d: Feedgas nominations to Freeport LNG recovered to about 1.5 Bcf/d Wednesday after a power disruption tripped all three of the terminal’s liquefaction trains early in the week, according to the company’s filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Freeport told regulators that an interruption in its incoming power feed tripped Trains 1, 2 and 3 on Monday morning, with flaring at the liquefaction plant and pretreatment facility continuing through noon Tuesday as operators restarted the units. Gulf South Pipeline nominations to the terminal were cut from about 1.4 Bcf/d to zero Monday, and volumes on Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) tapered to near zero by that evening. Interstate nominations recovered partially to about 490 MMcf/d Tuesday before rebounding Wednesday, though TETCO volumes were trimmed by about 270 MMcf/d late Wednesday morning. Including modeled intrastate deliveries, NGI estimates total Freeport feedgas at about 2.1 Bcf/d Wednesday, compared with about 2.5 Bcf/d Sunday.
• $23.825/MMBtu: Asian LNG futures settled Tuesday at a steep premium to coal, while European power-sector economics continued to favor coal over gas. December Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) futures settled at $31.735/MMBtu in Tuesday trading, about four times Japan’s coal price of $7.91/MMBtu on an energy-equivalent basis. JKM also settled at $12.145 above Brent crude parity of $19.59/MMBtu. In Europe, December clean dark spreads, a measure of coal-fired generation margins after carbon costs, were positive Tuesday in all nine markets NGI tracks, averaging €75.04/MWh ($83.71/MWh). Clean spark spreads for gas-fired generation were negative in seven of the nine, averaging minus €16.54/MWh. High gas prices are boosting coal demand in both Europe and Asia, according to analysts with European trading firm Mind Energy. The analysts said the coal market is also contending with supply problems, which has pushed 2027 coal futures to $149, the highest level since January 2023.

QatarEnergy Expands US LNG Portfolio With 20-Year Woodside Deal - QatarEnergy has agreed to purchase up to 3 Mt/y of LNG from Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project, expanding its US supply portfolio as it seeks replacements for disrupted Qatari production.At a Glance:

• Woodside deal adds up to 3 Mt/y
• Deliveries tied to Louisiana LNG startup
• 20-year contract goes beyond recovery

Cheniere Deal Marked Only the Start of Qatar’s Global LNG Buying Spree --Cheniere Energy, the largest US LNG producer, continues to see commercial momentum as buyers seek out new suppliers amid supply shortages caused by the Iran war and its impact on Middle East output, said CEO Jack Fusco. At a Glance:

• Iran war creating momentum for Cheniere
• Company loads record amount of cargoes
• QatarEnergy develops new strategy

Freeport LNG Feedgas Cuts Knock US Demand From Recent Highs -Natural gas deliveries to Freeport LNG stayed sharply curtailed Tuesday after nearly halting Monday, shrinking a major outlet for Texas Gulf Coast supply.NGI's North America LNG flow tracker shows US export feedgas deliveries rebounding to 19.48 Bcf/d on Oct. 27, 2026, led by Gulf Coast terminals. At a Glance:
Freeport interstate feedgas near 0 Monday
Gulf South cuts Tuesday nominations intraday
Plaquemines, Golden Pass deliveries up

Rio Grande LNG Nears Feedgas Milestone as Bay Runner Enters Service - NextDecade expects to introduce natural gas into its Rio Grande LNG terminal before year-end, narrowing its first LNG production target to the second quarter of 2027 as commissioning advances. At a Glance:

• Train 1 expected ahead of schedule
• Pipeline startup supports commissioning
• First 2 trains nearly 80% complete

ST LNG Project Offshore Texas Clears Key Regulatory Hurdle - Here are three things to know about the global LNG market this week.  QatarEnergy has developed a new strategy to further build its global LNG portfolio with long-term offtake from other suppliers to generate revenue if exports are disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz in the future. The company was once the world’s top LNG supplier, but it has signed long-term deals to buy 7 Mt/y of American LNG over the past week. CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told Reuters this week that the company is in negotiations with LNG suppliers across the world, and it expects to sign more deals that far exceed the volumes it’s announced so far.

Energy Transfer opens season for South Mississippi gas pipeline -Energy Transfer opens a binding open season for its 215-mile South Mississippi natural gas pipeline from Louisiana, targeting service by March 2030. (P&GJ) — Energy Transfer Interstate Holdings (ETIH) has launched a binding open season for the South Mississippi Project, a proposed natural gas pipeline that would carry gas from a proposed receipt point in Richland Parish, La., to a new delivery point in the George County, Miss., area. The open season began at 9 a.m. CT on Oct. 28 and closes at 5 p.m. CT on Nov. 25. As planned, the project includes about 215 miles of either 42-inch or 36-inch pipeline, along with required compression and metering facilities, to provide incremental firm natural gas transportation service and increase capacity in southern Mississippi. ETIH said it has secured binding commitments with anchor shippers for the project. Anchor shipper capacity will not be subject to proration, will have extension rights and will be considered in determining the optimal size and design of the project. ETIH will also accept binding offers for capacity, though those offers could be subject to proration and will have no extension rights. The company plans to seek Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to build the project facilities. ETIH proposes to co-locate most of the expansion with existing infrastructure to minimize impacts on landowners and communities and to simplify the FERC review process. ETIH expects the project to be available on or before March 1, 2030. After the open season closes, ETIH will evaluate all bids and determine whether to proceed with the project. Capacity awards, if any, will be based on the highest net present value of reservation charges from acceptable bids, up to the total quantity the facilities ETIH chooses to build can provide.

US Natural Gas Falls to Six-Month Low on Warm Weather Forecast -- US natural gas futures closed down after falling to the lowest since April as forecasts shifted significantly warmer over the weekend. Warmer weather indicates lower demand for the furnace and power-plant fuel during the early weeks of the winter heating season.The change in outlook reinforces traders’ expectations that a Super El Niño weather pattern will produce very mild weather this winter, reducing demand for gas when it is typically highest. Hedge funds last week amassed the largest short position in data going back to 2013, a huge bet on falling prices that could get even larger as conviction builds that a very warm winter is on the horizon.

U.S. natural gas falls 4% to six-month low as March-April 'widow-maker' spread hits record low 10/26/2026 - U.S. natgas futures fell 4% to a six-month low of $2.526/MMBtu as the March-April spread hit a record low, signaling limited winter supply concerns. (P&GJ) — U.S. natural gas futures fell about 4% to a six-month low on Monday as forecasts called for milder weather and lower demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Front-month November futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 11.4 cents to $2.526/MMBtu, on track for the lowest close since April 24. The contract stayed in technically oversold territory for a fourth straight day, the first such run since April. With futures down 21% over the past seven days, speculators raised their net short positions on the NYMEX and Intercontinental Exchange to the highest since February 2024, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report. The premium of March 2027 futures over April 2027 fell to a record low of about 6 cents/MMBtu, a sign the market sees little risk of tight supply this winter. March is the last month of the heating season, when utilities draw on storage, while April starts the injection season. The spread is known as the "widow-maker" because sharp swings driven by weather forecasts have forced some speculators out of business, including the Amaranth hedge fund, which lost more than $6 billion in 2006. The 12-month futures strip also slid to $2.86/MMBtu, its lowest in 25 months. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states fell to 111.9 Bcfd so far in October from record highs of 113.3 Bcfd in August and September, though daily output has recovered to about 113.3 Bcfd over the past week. Meteorologists expect weather to stay mostly milder than normal through Nov. 10. Even so, LSEG forecast average Lower 48 demand, including exports, will rise from 106.6 Bcfd this week to 110.4 Bcfd next week as temperatures turn seasonally colder. Average gas flows to the nine major U.S. LNG export plants rose to 18.3 Bcfd so far in October from 17.9 Bcfd in September, below the monthly record of 18.8 Bcfd set in April. Analysts expect a 68 Bcf storage injection for the week ended Oct. 23, which would bring total U.S. inventories to 3,712 Bcf, about 0.7% above the five-year average.

Hedge funds build record US natural gas shorts on mild winter forecasts - Short-only positions across seven benchmark Henry Hub contracts climbed to 599,731, the highest since Commodity Futures Trading Commission records began in May 2013. Net short positions rose to 192,728 contracts, their most bearish level in more than six years, while bullish wagers fell to their lowest in almost two years. The positioning shift follows a sharp decline in US natural gas futures, which fell more than 15% over the week, their steepest weekly drop since February, as weather forecasts pointed to warmer-than-expected conditions during the early winter months. Commodity Weather Group expects October and November to rank as the third-warmest comparable period in records dating back to 1950, reinforcing expectations that a strong El Niño weather pattern will suppress demand for natural gas used in heating and electricity generation. However, the concentration of bearish positions has heightened the risk of a short squeeze if temperatures fall unexpectedly. A sudden cold snap could simultaneously increase heating demand and disrupt production, forcing hedge funds to cover positions and potentially accelerating a price rebound. A similar scenario unfolded in late January, when a winter storm triggered a sharp rally in natural gas prices. Money managers reduced short-only positions by more than 53,000 contracts in a single week, the largest weekly decline in more than a year. The latest positioning leaves hedge funds heavily exposed to changes in winter weather forecasts, with any reversal towards colder conditions potentially triggering substantial short covering.

Hedge funds build biggest bearish US natural gas bet in six years - As of 20 October, speculative investors held a net short position equivalent to 1,833 billion cubic feet across NYMEX and ICE Henry Hub contracts, placing bearish positioning in the third percentile of weekly observations since 2010. The positioning marks a sharp reversal from the same period last year, when money managers held a net long position equivalent to 2,026 billion cubic feet, ranking in the 74th percentile of historical observations. The shift reflects expectations that strong El Niño conditions will suppress US heating demand over the winter, adding pressure to natural gas prices. Traders anticipate that lower prices may be needed to absorb excess supply by encouraging increased consumption among electricity generators. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures could rise as much as 3.8°C above average between November and January, potentially intensifying the impact of El Niño on winter weather patterns.

U.S. natural gas rises 3% as 12-month strip hits 26-month low - U.S. natgas futures rose 3% on November contract expiry on higher demand forecasts, as the 12-month strip fell to a 26-month low of $2.84/MMBtu. (P&GJ) — U.S. natural gas futures rose about 3% on Wednesday in volatile trading ahead of contract expiration, on forecasts for more demand this week than previously expected and rising gas flows to LNG export plants in recent weeks. On its last day as the front month, November futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 7.9 cents to $2.776 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). December futures, which will soon become the front month, fell about 2% to $3.06 per MMBtu. In a sign the market is not concerned about supply meeting demand in coming months, the 12-month futures strip fell to a 26-month low of $2.84 per MMBtu. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states has slipped to 112.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bft3d) so far in October from record highs of 113.3 Bft3d in August and September, though daily output has recovered to about 113.3 Bft3d over the past week. Meteorologists expect mostly milder-than-normal weather through Nov. 12, limiting heating demand. Even so, LSEG forecast average Lower 48 demand, including exports, will rise from 106.4 Bft3d this week to 110.3 Bft3d next week. Average gas flows to the nine major U.S. LNG export plants have risen to 18.3 Bft3d so far in October from 17.9 Bft3d in September, below the monthly record of 18.8 Bft3d set in April. Daily LNG feedgas has averaged about 19.1 Bft3d over the past two weeks. Gas was trading near 46-month highs of about $32 per MMBtu at both the Dutch TTF benchmark and the Japan-Korea Marker. U.S. prices have reacted little, however, because the country produces all the gas it consumes and U.S. LNG plants are already liquefying as much gas as they can. The U.S. cannot export more LNG until new liquefaction units under construction enter service. Analysts expect a storage injection of 68 billion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 23, which would bring U.S. inventories to 3,712 billion cubic feet, about 0.7% above the five-year average.

U.S. natural gas falls 3% on rising output, milder weather -- U.S. natgas futures fall 3% on rising output and milder forecasts as the March-April spread hits a record low and the 2027 strip sinks to a 58-month low. (P&GJ) — U.S. natural gas futures fell 3% on Friday on rising output in recent days and forecasts for milder weather and lower demand than previously expected next week. Front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 9.4 cents, or 3%, to $2.858 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). On Thursday, the December contract closed at its highest price since Oct. 20. For the week, the contract was up about 8% after falling 15% the week before. For the month, it was down about 6% after rising 3% in September. In a sign that the market is not too worried about gas supplies this winter, the premium of March 2027 futures over April 2027 futures fell to a record low of about 5 cents per MMBtu. March is the last month of the winter season, when demand is usually high and utilities pull gas from storage to heat homes and businesses. April is the first month of the summer season, when demand is usually low and energy firms produce enough gas to inject into storage for the next winter. Analysts say March should never trade below April. The industry calls the March-April spread the "widow-maker" because rapid price moves resulting from changing weather forecasts have forced some speculators out of business. The Amaranth hedge fund lost more than $6 billion in 2006. The market also does not appear too worried about supply meeting demand next year, with the Calendar 2027 futures strip falling to a 58-month low of $3.02 per MMBtu. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states has slid to 112.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bft³d) so far in October, down from record highs of 113.3 Bft³d in both August and September. On a daily basis, however, output has rebounded to an average of about 113.5 Bft³d over the past two weeks. With seasonally colder weather coming, LSEG said average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would rise from 106.3 Bft³d this week to 108.3 Bft³d next week and 114.7 Bft³d in two weeks. The forecast for next week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Thursday. Average gas flows to the nine major U.S. LNG export plants have risen to 18.4 Bft³d so far in October, up from 17.9 Bft³d in September, but remain below the monthly record of 18.8 Bft³d set in April. On a daily basis, LNG feedgas has increased to an average of about 19.2 Bft³d over the past two weeks. Analysts forecast a 74-billion-cubic-foot storage injection for the week ended Oct. 30, which would bring total U.S. gas in storage to 3,798 billion cubic feet, about 1.4% above the five-year average.

Hedge Funds Build Record Short Positions on US Natural Gas as Warm Winter Looms – Hedge funds this week amassed the largest-ever short position on US natural gas on expectations that an unusually warm winter will slash demand for the furnace and power-plant fuel. Money managers boosted their short-only exposure, or bets on prices falling, across seven benchmark Henry Hub contracts to 625,150, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released Friday. That’s the largest in data going back to May 2013, breaking the most recent short-only record which was set just a week earlier.

U.S. natural gas market sees record hedge fund short bets as warm winter outlook weighs on demand -- Expectations of an unusually warm winter are driving a stronger bearish turn in the U.S. natural gas market this week. The shift centers on forecasts that milder weather will curb demand for gas used in home heating and power generation. Highlights:

• Hedge funds increased short-only exposure on seven Henry Hub contracts to 625,150, marking the highest level since at least May 2013.
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show the previous record for natural gas short-only positioning was surpassed for a second consecutive week.
• Unusually warm winter outlook is driving expectations for reduced natural gas demand, fueling the record bearish positioning by money managers.

As reported by Bloomberg, hedge funds this week amassed the largest-ever short position on U.S. natural gas as investors position for weaker seasonal demand.

Money managers increased their short-only exposure, or bets that prices will fall, across seven benchmark Henry Hub contracts to 625,150, based on Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released Friday. The total is the highest in records going back to May 2013, surpassing the previous short-only record that was set just a week earlier.The growing bearish stance reflects expectations that an unusually warm winter will reduce consumption of natural gas for furnaces and power plants.That outlook is reinforcing pressure on the fuel market, with traders focusing on the risk that milder temperatures leave demand below typical winter levels.Our earlier article on rising U.S. Treasury yields and swelling federal deficits explained how borrowing costs above 5% are tightening financial conditions across the economy, lifting mortgage rates and increasing the government’s interest burden. It also noted that heavy funding needs—alongside massive investment demand such as AI infrastructure—are intensifying competition for capital and complicating any near-term fiscal fix amid political gridlock.

Trump debuts oil rule rollback as Texas wobbles toward blue –   President Donald Trump couldn’t give Ken Paxton lower gas prices — but he did give him a roll back of the methane pollution rule that Paxton has led the legal charge against.Trump visited West Texas on Tuesday to drum up support for Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running a razor tight Senate battle against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. He announced at Tuesday’s rally a new draft rule from the U.S. EPA that would lessen requirements for oil and gas companies to limit methane leaks. Paxton was the first to sue over the rule in 2024.“Under crooked Joe Biden, Democrats crushed small oil and gas operators... with crippling regulations and methane that cause prices to skyrocket,” Trump said. “Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion dollars in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas and produce 210 million barrels of oil.” Trump said the move “would really bring down the cost.” GOP candidates nationwide have been facing voter anger over higher gasoline prices caused by the Iran war. Average U.S. gasoline prices hit $4.27 per gallon on Tuesday, one week from election day, compared with averages below $3 per gallon at the start of the year.Trump used his appearance in oil country to lay blame for those higher costs on former President Joe Biden’s regulatory policies, which he said had stymied U.S. production. Earlier in the day, the president toured an oil tankerto showcase his deal to take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves. EPA’s draft rule would neutralize one of the last pieces of former President Joe Biden’s climate program, requiring oil and gas producers to monitor and repair their operations to prevent methane from leaking into the atmosphere.The oil and gas sector is the third largest U.S. contributor of greenhouse gases, after motor vehicles and power plants. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin repealed climate rules for those sectors in February and September, respectively.But methane is a so-called climate superpollutant – more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a twenty-year period. Scientists say methane is likely responsible for about half a degree Celsius of observable global warming.The biggest impacts expected from Tuesday’s draft rule rollback would be for smaller, older oil and gas wells that produce no more than 15 gallons of petroleum per day – some of the lowest-producing wells that also contribute a disproportionate share of climate pollution. Studies based on satellite data show that marginal wells account for roughly half of the sector’s methane pollution, but only 5% of its product. EPA’s new proposal would exempt them from the toughest monitoring and repair requirements. 

Trump says he’ll roll back Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas companies  - President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration plans to ease regulations on methane — a potent greenhouse gas that is the second-biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Speaking at a midterm rally in Texas, Trump announced the rollback of methane emissions rules for oil and gas producers that the Biden administration finalized in 2024. “Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers,” Trump said, adding that Democrats had “crushed small oil and gas operators” with excessive regulation. He did not provide further details. The Environmental Protection Agency previewed the changes this month, promising to loosen regulations on methane leaks at lower-production oil wells, among other changes.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at the time: “Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.”Trump made the announcement just a week before the midterm elections, in which numerous polls show that high fuel costs are a key issue for many voters.Methane, the main component of natural gas, traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, though it also breaks down more quickly. Scientists consider methane to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Methane, which is also released from natural sources like wetlands, is responsible for roughly one-third of all global warming.The Biden administration viewed eliminating methane leaks from oil and gas production as a relatively quick way to drive down emissions. The low-producing wells the rollback would affect (also called stripper wells) produce about 7% to 8% of U.S. natural gas, but they could account for about 50% of the methane that leaks into the atmosphere, research suggests. Many of those wells are near the end of their lives or at risk of falling below the threshold of profitability.However, the National Stripper Well Association has been calling for the rollback, saying in a letter last month that “the costs associated with complying with these regulations will make the wells uneconomical to operate.” As part of the rollback, the EPA also plans to eliminate its Super Emitter Program, which aimed to create a system for third-party groups to report methane leaks from natural gas production. Such leaks cannot be easily seen with the naked eye, but they can be detected by satellites or special thermal imaging cameras. The Trump administration paused implementing the program last year. Now, it is seeking to shutter it. Environmental and health groups decried the rollbacks, saying they would increase pollution in the atmosphere and increase the effects of climate change. Liz Scott, a senior director of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, said any rollback of methane regulations would also increase air pollution from volatile organic compounds, which are released alongside leaking methane during oil and gas production.

U.S. Rig Count Unchanged for Third Straight Week at 603; Niobrara Leads Gains | RBN Energy U.S. oil and gas rig count was unchanged at 603 for the week ending October 30 according to Baker Hughes data, its third consecutive week without a change and the fourth straight above 600, as gains in the Niobrara (+2) and Gulf of Mexico (+1) balanced out declines in the Eagle Ford (-1), Haynesville (-1) and All Other (-1). Oil-directed rigs climbed to 462 (+2) while gas-directed rigs fell to 130 (-2) and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 11. Total U.S. rig count is up 15 over the last 90 days and now stands 53 rigs above this week last year.

Crude Oil Production Skyrockets to All-Time High 14 MMb/d  -- U.S. crude oil production came roaring back for the week ended October 23, reaching an all-time high of 14 MMb/d (far right of chart below), according to the EIA’s latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) released this morning. As discussed in this week’s Crude Oil Billboard, production in the Lower 48 skyrocketed 753 Mb/d week-over-week, largely reflecting the return of barrels previously shut in due to Hurricane Isaias. That makes the significant week-over-week jump more a story of restored barrels than a sudden acceleration in underlying supply growth. However, the previous all-time high of 13.98 MMb/d was just set three weeks ago, prior to the storm, as a trend of gradual growth can be seen over time the past year.

Passenger ship suspends global cruise because of fuel costs, stranding hundreds - A U.S. passenger ship Tuesday paused its global three-year voyage in Cambodia because of fuel costs, stranding hundreds of passengers.The MV Odyssey, which began its voyage from Belfast, Northern Ireland, two years ago, has no certain departure date as it remains docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand.The ship is carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, with 156 crew members, Cambodian officials told The Associated Press. The vessel is capable of carrying 650 passengers.Villa Vie Residences, the ship’s Florida-based parent company, said in a statement that “extraordinary increases in fuel costs have placed our current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure.”We are working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and temporary living arrangements, and are supporting residents, crew, and employees as we evaluate restructuring and recapitalization alternatives over the next 60 days,” the company added.Villa Vie Residences said fuel costs per cabin previously averaged $1,800, but monthly costs have soared to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in some parts of Asia.It added that the price hike was a result of the Iran war, which has caused a global fuel shortage and energy prices to skyrocket.Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk Province, told reporters that the ship is scheduled to refuel before departing on Saturday, NBC News reported.Pamela Reckamp, who rented a cabin with her husband and disembarked this month, told the outlet that during a meeting in September, a company official asked cabin owners to help raise $1 million to help the ship leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. She recalled a woman saying she “sold [her] house” and car to be on the ship.

Diesel prices may stay elevated into spring 2027, fuel executives warn— U.S. trucking companies could face elevated diesel prices through at least spring 2027, according to energy and truck stop executives speaking Tuesday at the WEX OTR Summit. Geopolitical conflicts, refinery constraints and limited pipeline capacity continue to strain fuel supplies could continue to impact the trucking industry, according to Chuck Ryan, president and CEO of AMBEST, a nationwide network of independent truck stops and service centers. Ryan said diesel prices are unlikely to decline significantly before spring, even if global crude oil prices retreat. "I don't see it coming down until spring, and that's if things start to work out on the war front," Ryan told FreightWaves and Transport Topics during an interview following the panel discussion. Ryan said the ongoing conflicts involving Iran and Russia's war in Ukraine have disrupted global energy supplies, while U.S. refining and transportation infrastructure remains constrained. "If oil dropped today, that does not mean the price will go down," Ryan said during the panel. "In fact, I think we will have this problem for the next several months, whether the wars end or not." The second annual WEX OTR Summit drew more than 115 attendees, including trucking executives, fuel providers, technology companies and other transportation industry representatives. Panelists discussed how fuel supply disruptions, retail pricing strategies and changing fleet purchasing practices are affecting the trucking industry. Ryan said the nation's shrinking number of refineries, limited pipeline capacity and changing energy policies have made it increasingly difficult to respond to sudden disruptions in diesel supplies. The U.S. had more than 300 operating refineries in 1980, compared with approximately 128 today, Ryan said. Although many remaining facilities have expanded their capacity, he argued that the nation's distribution infrastructure has not kept pace with demand. "There's no space in the pipelines. There's no space in the terminals," Ryan said. "There's no place to put additional products." Ryan also warned that refineries operating near maximum capacity could become vulnerable to unexpected shutdowns or maintenance problems. During the separate interview, Ryan said restoring shuttered refineries would require substantial investment and regulatory certainty. He estimated that rebuilding portions of older California refineries could cost between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, depending on the facilities and equipment involved. Ryan said major oil companies would likely need to share the financial risks of large-scale refinery redevelopment projects. Meanwhile, Denton Cinquegrana, director of energy research at Dow Jones Energy, said global diesel markets remain vulnerable to supply disruptions caused by attacks on Russian refineries and shipping restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz. Cinquegrana said U.S. refineries have been operating above 95% of capacity, leaving limited flexibility if major facilities experience unplanned outages. He also expressed concerns about refinery maintenance schedules and the potential consequences for fuel supplies heading into 2027. Ryan identified the Northeast as a particularly vulnerable region because diesel fuel and heating oil compete for pipeline capacity during periods of cold weather. "If it gets cold in the northeast, pipeline space is going to be consumed by heating oil, and diesel oil won't make the line," Ryan said during the panel. "So then you could get into reliability issues." He said trucking fleets should diversify their fuel supply options rather than depend on a single provider. Ryan said the nation's refined-product pipelines are already heavily allocated, making alternative transportation methods more expensive. Transporting additional fuel by truck or marine vessel could help alleviate localized shortages, but those alternatives carry significantly higher costs, he said. Cinquegrana also warned that the closure of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery following a 2019 fire reduced regional refining capacity, leaving the Northeast more dependent on fuel shipments from other regions.

Valero to Restart 165 Mb/d Houston Refinery | RBN Energy - Valero has agreed to buy LyondellBasell’s shuttered Houston refinery, next to its own Houston plant. It plans to restart 165 Mb/d of light-sweet crude processing capacity by year-end 2027, with an option to add heavy-sour processing later. LyondellBasell stopped running crude at the 264-Mb/d site in Q1 2025.For the domestic crude market, phase one creates about 165 Mb/d of new Ship Channel demand for light-sweet grades. Those are many of the same barrels that supply the export docks, where crude exports averaged a record 5.6 MMb/d in April, and 4.2 MMb/d this October, per RBN's Crude Voyager. It extends the pattern described in our May blog about how Gulf Coast refiners are absorbing incremental light crude that would otherwise be exported. Valero’s deal materials also show the restarted plant supplying FCC and hydrocracker feed to Valero’s own system (which includes a 255 Mb/d refinery neighbouring the Lyondell plant and another 260 Mb/d refinery in Texas City), reducing what it buys from third parties. The heavy-sour phase would make Valero a new heavy-crude buyer in Houston, since its existing Houston refinery runs sweet crude. Valero set a Q3 record for Venezuelan crude runs and calls heavy-sour debottlenecking a priority. If Valero builds it, it would compete for Canadian and Latin American heavy grades. For now, Valero describes it as an opportunity, not a commitment.

Homeward Bound – Shell Returns to Production Growth With Focus on Deepwater, LNG and Montney | RBN Energy -Shell’s two major September developments — the closing of its C$26 billion (US$16.4 billion) acquisition of Canadian conventional producer ARC Resources and its final investment decision (FID) for the C$33 billion doubling of LNG Canada capacity — mark strategic milestones in its resumption of upstream growth after an extended reshaping of its portfolio since 2020. Shell’s cautious, returns-driven approach to the energy transition and the pandemic price shock have led it to refocus on core LNG growth, augmented by deepwater and onshore natural gas production. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze how Shell’s upstream strategy has taken a different path from fellow supermajors ExxonMobil and BP.The severe downturn triggered by the onset of the pandemic in 2020 marked a major inflection point for all oil and gas producers, including the major international integrateds. As we outlined recently in Gimme Three Steps, ExxonMobil stayed committed to investing through the cycle in large, long-life, low-cost resources. Instead of investing in renewable energy generation, Exxon focused on reducing emissions from operations and lower-carbon solutions such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). In stark contrast, BP in 2020 announced a strategy to cut oil and gas production by 40% and direct investment to renewable power such as offshore wind and solar. Three years later, BP did a strategic U-turn, walking back renewable investment and refocusing on upstream growth, as we described in Back in the High Life Again. RBN Energy’s South Texas Energy Infrastructure Map brings together all the pieces of the critical and complex puzzle of the greater Corpus Christi region.  Spanning from Point Comfort, TX to Corpus Christ, TX and south of the Agua Dulce natural gas hub, the map details the processing, transportation and export facilities in RBN Energy’s classic clear, concise and easy to comprehend style.Shell struck a middle path. The company rebased its dividend in 2020 and undertook major portfolio reviews that led to asset sales, which reduced output in the short term, but it did not commit to long-term production cutbacks. In terms of the energy transition, Shell maintained its net-zero target but explicitly capped investment in lower-carbon platforms to a relatively small share of capital employed.Now, after several years of asset sales and declining output, Shell is returning to upstream growth. At its 2025 Capital Markets Day, the company targeted about 1% annual growth in combined Conventional Gas and Integrated Gas (primarily LNG) production through 2030 while keeping liquids output near 1.4 MMbbl/d. The strategy centers on deepwater oil, LNG and low-cost gas rather than rebuilding the broad asset base Shell sold off earlier in the decade.Projects starting between 2025 and 2030 were expected to provide more than 1 MMboe/d of peak capacity at an average breakeven of about $35/bbl. The Whale platform in the offshore Gulf and the Mero-4 project offshore Brazil began producing in 2025. The next wave of projects includes Bonga North (offshore Nigeria), Crux (offshore western Australia), Gato do Mato (offshore Brazil), Manatee (offshore Trinidad and Tobago), the North Field expansions (Qatar), Rosmari/Marjoram (offshore Malaysia), and Sparta (U.S. Gulf). Shell owns only partial interest in many of those projects. New volumes must also offset natural declines, maintenance and production-sharing contract effects, which is why more than 1 MMboe/d of project capacity initially translated into only about 1% annual companywide growth.  The September acquisition of ARC Resources (yellow bar segment at right in Figure 1 above) changed the outlook. The transaction added about 370 Mboe/d of output, more than 1.5 million net Montney acres and roughly 2 billion boe of proved-plus-probable reserves. Shell now expects its new projects and Canadian assets to provide about 1.4 MMboe/d of peak capacity by 2030, while combined Conventional Gas (orange bar segments) and Integrated Gas (gray bar segments) production is now expected to grow about 4% annually from 2025, while crude oil, synthetic oil and NGLs (blue bar segments) fall by about 16%.

Q3 2026 Earnings Calls: BP Touts Operational Improvements in Record Quarter | RBN Energy Improved operational performance helped BP capitalize on favorable markets for refined fuels in Q3 2026, lifting underlying replacement cost profit, its version of net income, 48% from the previous quarter to a record $8.5 billion, the company said in its earnings presentation October 30. Refining was a major earnings driver. Refining availability (left side of chart below) improved to 96.5%, exceeding BP’s 96% target, while refinery utilization (middle section of chart) averaged 98% over the first nine months of the year. Operating efficiencies, higher reliability and reduced maintenance activity lowered refining costs per barrel (right side of chart). Throughput declined to about 1.4 MMb/d following the sale of the Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany. Better reliability, optimized product output and stronger market margins supported almost $2 billion in additional refining margin capture. Upstream production averaged 2.22 MMboe/d, essentially unchanged from Q2 2026. Plant reliability increased to 95.3% from 92.4%, primarily as operations recovered from outages in the North Sea and Indonesia. CEO Meg O’Neill said BP has taken steps to simplify its portfolio over the last six to nine months, exiting assets that were not the right strategic or financial fit. During Q3, BP launched the sale processes for its U.K. North Sea oil and gas business and its Archaea Energy renewable natural gas subsidiary, agreed to sell its mobility and convenience business in Austria, and completed the sale of the Gelsenkirchen refinery. She said completion of its Castrol sale is expected imminently. “We continue to see real depth of opportunity in our portfolio, but we need to earn the right to grow. The decisions on what we invest in — and what we do not — are fundamental to improving the portfolio over time,” O’Neill said. BP also said it would accelerate its Deepwater Horizon settlement payments to Louisiana and plans to prioritize excess cash flow toward settling remaining liabilities.

Baker Hughes Touts ‘Exceptionally Strong’ Power Demand, ‘Favorable Outlook’ for LNG - Baker Hughes is known as an oilfield services heavyweight, but the company is rapidly growing its footprint beyond the upstream as LNG and artificial intelligence (AI) fuel natural gas demand growth.The chart shows Lower 48 dry natural gas production recovering to roughly 109 Bcf/d in late October, following a sharp decline to around 106.6 Bcf/d in mid-October. At a Glance:
Company highlights AI, LNG-related projects
Upstream activity seen rising in 2027
Rig counts, frac spreads up year/year

Japanese Supply Deal Adds Commercial Support for LNG Canada Expansion - Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power has reached a preliminary agreement to purchase 0.85 Mt/y from LNG Canada’s planned expansion, diversifying its supplies with Canadian cargoes expected to begin arriving in the early 2030s. At a Glance:

• Kyushu agreement covers 12 annual cargoes
• Deliveries would begin in early 2030s
• British Columbia terminals offer shorter voyages

Canadian LNG Development Advances With Ksi Lisims SPA, Cedar Progress - Ksi Lisims LNG has finalized a 20-year supply agreement with Germany's SEFE, advancing commercialization of the proposed British Columbia export project as Canada’s next wave of LNG developments continues to take shape. At a Glance:

• Ksi Lisims binding contracts reach 7 Mt/y
• Preliminary agreements cover another 2 Mt/y
• Cedar LNG construction surpasses 70% completion

Shell Sees LNG Growth Opportunities From Canada to Venezuela Amid Supply Crunch - Following the acquisition of Canadian producer ARC and sanctioning of LNG Canada’s second phase, Shell management sees “multiple opportunities” for growth in a world facing severe energy disruptions.At a Glance:

• ARC acquisition strengthens portfolio
• LNG Canada expansion boosts export potential
• Venezuela offers access to Trinidad infrastructure

Europe Blinks Again: Parliament Votes 3-Year Methane Rule Delay -- Marcellus Drilling News  -  Early last week, we told you Europe blinked on its crazy methane import rules, with the European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) proposing a one-year delay (see Europe Blinks: EU Delays Methane Rules on U.S. LNG Imports a Year). Turns out one blink wasn’t enough. Last Thursday, the European Parliament voted 341-225 (with 6 abstentions) to delay the rules by three years instead of one. Under Parliament’s version, importers of oil, natural gas, and coal would have until May 31, 2031, to prove their foreign suppliers measure, report, and verify (MRV) methane leaks to EU standards. That’s good news for U.S. LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporters, and for the Marcellus/Utica drillers and royalty owners whose gas feeds those export plants. But don’t pop the champagne just yet. Parliament’s vote is a negotiating position, not law. EU member governments couldn’t agree last week, and if they don’t publish a final fix by Dec. 31, the original rules kick in on Jan. 1, 2027.

European Natural Gas Rallies as Mixed Weather Signals Obscures LNG Demand - European natural gas prices climbed last week as winter supply concerns persisted, while weather forecasts Monday showed northern European warmth and a temporary Asian cold spell giving way to milder conditions in early November. [graphic: Asia LNG parity prices] At a Glance:

• European forecasts turn cooler across continent
• Asian cold gives way to warmth
• US heating demand faces warmer outlook

Low European Storage Levels Signal Potential LNG Volatility, BP Says -BP management said its gas marketing and trading division posted results “significantly higher” than the previous quarter as European and Asian natural gas prices spiked amid the conflict in Iran. European Union natural gas storage was 74.9% full at 848.38 TWh on Oct. 28, 2026, trailing the five-year average by 165.6 TWh.  At a Glance:
South Asia seeking replacement cargoes
Henry Hub trades below $3
European storage raises winter concerns

Equinor warns Europe vulnerable to winter gas price spike - Equinor CEO warns Europe could face a winter gas price spike in a cold snap, with storage at its lowest since 2011 and Asia competing for LNG cargoes. (P&GJ) — Europe could face another gas price spike if cold weather lifts demand later this winter, when storage is depleted and the region depends more on scarce LNG cargoes, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said Wednesday. The warning came as the Norwegian gas producer reported its highest quarterly earnings since 2022, driven largely by higher natural gas and oil prices this year. "Storage levels are at their lowest for this time of year since 2011, and there will be competition for LNG between Asia and Europe, especially if the weather turns cold," Opedal told a press conference. A cold spell near the end of the heating season, when storage will likely be at its lowest, could lead to significant price volatility, Opedal told Reuters, though he said actual prices were impossible to predict. Europe's benchmark gas price has more than tripled this year to its highest levels since the 2022 energy crisis, after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting about 20% of global LNG supply. European gas storage was only 75% full at the start of the heating season, a historic low. Norway is Europe's largest single natural gas supplier, through an extensive pipeline network linking its production directly with customers on the continent and in Britain. Equinor also sells LNG from its Hammerfest plant in Norway and has signed contracts for U.S. LNG, including a 1.75 MMtpy deal with Cheniere. "The Cheniere contract has now started up, meaning that we also have more LNG cargoes," Opedal said. "Some of it goes to Europe; some of it goes to other places."

Welcome To Europe's Natural Gas Car Crash -   European natural gas prices are back at their highest since 2022, firmly in energy-crisis territory. At around €97/MWh, TTF now trades at 10x the US gas price and is up 2.5x from its April lows. We have been long TTF since the Iran crisis began. It has been our highest-conviction call of the year, made when it was far from the consensus view, and it is playing out. We have held this view since April.  What is noteworthy is how little our year-end storage forecast has shifted since we turned bullish at the start of the Iran conflict. Injections ran ahead of what we had assumed through the summer, but we have since lowered our demand projections on a now-milder base case, and the two broadly offset. The chart below shows our forecast today against where it stood back in April. Source: Asymmetric Research. * Our current forecasts shown here assume no cold spells later this year. With the injection season effectively over, attention turns to heating demand, and the key point is that demand destruction is likely to be limited this time. European gas consumption has already reset at structurally lower levels since 2022, down around 60 bcm, or 16%, versus 2021. Having already cut the easy demand, any price spike from here bites less on consumption and more on the economy, and prices can stay elevated for longer. The demand-destruction buffer that cushioned Europe in the last crisis is smaller now. This week QatarEnergy again extended its LNG force majeure to Italy’s Edison, now to end-December, the fifth extension this year. The same is true for Pakistan. Worth noting that only a few weeks back the market was getting excited about a minor resumption of LNG tanker flows out of Qatar, though still running at around a third of pre-war levels. This extension should dampen that excitement. Until recently a mild winter was treated as a given, by the market and by the politicians relying on it. In the past few days, the odds of a consistently warm winter have turned, and some models now point to potentially much colder spells late in November and into early December. Our base case still leans on mild overall, but the easy comfort of a guaranteed warm winter is gone, and that is the assumption a lot of the current calm rests on. European politicians and some academics keep reminding the market that storage should be read in the context of lower demand since 2022. But they do not, at the same time, adjust for the loss of Russian gas flows planned for next year, which makes the conclusion misleading. Pipeline gas long-term contracts are due to be phased out by September to November 2027, and the legislative window to alter any of this has, to our mind, now closed for this year. The official message remains that all is well. The data say otherwise. In short, the crisis is here, and policymakers have been asleep at the wheel, if not actively driving towards the cliff. The US has reportedly floated the idea of Europe buying more Russian gas as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal. Commission President von der Leyen rejected it clearly. President Putin, for his part, floated restoring flows through the undamaged Nord Stream line, while noting it remains under sanction and that Germany, whose coalition is firmly against, would need to agree. Our view has long been that Europe will eventually have to reconsider Russian gas, but we expected the pain to come first. The political conditions for a reversal are not yet in place, and the legal and geopolitical obstacles remain substantial. We see no meaningful return of Russian volumes before late 2027 at the earliest. Until then, Russia holds real leverage over Europe at its most vulnerable point.Some policymakers are beginning to take supply security more seriously, but the steps are small. Germany has mandated filling storage by an additional 8 TWh by December, which does little to change the broader picture. The UK has given the green light to the Jackdaw gas project, but we expect only minimal volumes next year, ramping towards around 2.5 bcm of capacity in 2028. Neither materially alters European dynamics. The next few months force the issue: the injection season is over, storage is drawing down, and there is no quick supply fix on the table. The Qatari force majeure, the thinner demand cushion, the weather models turning, the looming Russian phase-out and an incremental official response all point the same way. Where storage ends after winter, where that leaves TTF, where the asymmetry is and how we are positioned: read our full report.

European gas prices hit €100 per MWh for the first time since the 2022 energy crisis - Analysts expect high prices to persist for at least a year, even under favorable conditions On October 28, the price of European natural gas rose above €100/MWh for the first time since the 2022 energy crisis, Reuters reports. According to Intercontinental Exchange, the front-month contract at the TTF hub briefly traded at this level, about 4% above the previous session’s close. Prices are climbing to 2022 highs amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East and are now trading roughly three times above the level seen before the war with Iran. Disruptions to LNG supplies from the region are causing a shortage of cargoes ahead of winter. Analysts and industry experts expect high gas prices to persist for at least a year, even if the conflict is resolved and the winter turns out to be mild, as Europe will have to replenish its reserves, which have fallen to a record low. High wholesale gas prices are feeding into energy bills for consumers and industry. In particular, the German baseload power contract for 2027 rose by 1.7% to €159.3/MWh, the highest since June 2023, while its French equivalent stood close to a two-year high of €122.5/MWh. Europe has entered the heating season, when demand is usually higher. At the same time, gas storage facilities are almost 75% full, and in Germany about 60%, well below 2025 levels. As Mathieu Utting, gas and LNG analyst at Rystad Energy, noted, the region has a smaller gas cushion than it needs and fewer options to quickly offset supply disruptions. The highest peak in gas prices on the TTF exchange was around €340/MWh in August 2022. Nevertheless, the €100 mark is still significant for energy-intensive industries. As Bloomberg notes, LNG prices in Asia have also risen to their highest level since 2022. If this winter turns out to be colder than average and supplies are limited, the European benchmark could exceed €200/MWh, consulting firm Energy Aspects warned in early October. This would be a competitive disaster for European industry, especially given the equivalent price in the US of around €8.5/MWh. As a reminder, during the trading session on October 20, the European gas price reached €90/MWh for the first time in almost four years, but declined by the end of the trading day. Mild weather this month allowed European energy companies to refill storage facilities faster than usual for October. At the same time, traders remain cautious, as the prospects for the resumption of LNG supplies from the Persian Gulf remain uncertain. An additional source of pressure was the rise in Asian liquefied natural gas prices to the highest level since 2022..

European NatGas Crosses 100-Euro "Psychological Mark" As Winter Supply Fears Mount - European natural gas prices hit triple-digit territory for the first time since December 2022. The energy-stricken continent has already begun drawing from critical stockpiles, with levels well below seasonal norms, as it braces for a cold snap and continued disruption to supplies transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark TTF NatGas futures jumped as much as 4.1%, taking prices above 100 euros per megawatt-hour. US NatGas prices remain largely constrained amid ample supplies as El Niño-related warmth spreads across the Lower 48. The chart shows EU NatGas at 32.628 and US gas at 2.773 priced in dollars and per million British thermal units. EU NatGas is trading at about 11.8 times the US price. In other words, the chart shows a widening transatlantic energy divide. The region's storage facilities are just 75% full, compared with a 10-year average of around 90% for this time of year. Last week, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed that EU natural gas inventories declined for the first time this year. This is troubling because the EU has entered the withdrawal period with seasonally low inventories, leaving limited buffers to shield the continent from back-to-back cold blasts. What's next for Europe? A cold blast is expected in parts of continental Europe early next month. Tom Marzec-Manser, director of Europe gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, "€100 is no doubt a psychological mark and could provide some resistance to further gains." Marzec-Manser continued, "With the geopolitical situation in the Middle East changing so much at the moment, particularly given the upcoming US midterms, it will not take much to move European gas prices even higher." Recall that earlier this month, Goldman energy expert Daan Struyven warned that NatGas prices could reach 150 euros per megawatt-hour "by year-end if Persian Gulf LNG exports don't improve beyond 25% of normal and if the winter realizes 1 std. dev. colder than average." Read the note here.

Iran War Adds $20B-Plus to EU Natural Gas Bill, Increases Reliance on US LNG -- The Iran war has added tens of billions of dollars to the European Union’s (EU) natural gas import bill, boosted its reliance on US LNG and left the continent’s storage inventories at the lowest point in years, the bloc’s energy watchdog said Tuesday. NGI chart shows EU natural gas storage at 74.9% full, or 848.62 TWh, on Oct. 25, 2026, 163.9 TWh below the five-year average.  At a Glance:
EU storage 75% full
US LNG accounts for 30% of supply
Gulf Coast netbacks above $30

TotalEnergies Sees LNG Prices Moving Higher as Iran War Squeezes Supply -  TotalEnergies reported double-digit increases for its LNG sales in the third quarter and expects even higher prices through the end of the year as the Iran war continues with no end in sight. Global natural gas futures through 2029 compare Henry Hub, European TTF and Japan/Korea LNG prices, highlighting wide regional price spreads. At a Glance:

• Company’s LNG prices surged 38% year/year
• Expects higher fourth quarter prices
• War delivers record downstream results

Equinor Sees Tight Winter LNG Market as Hormuz Flows Remain Limited -  LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz are likely to remain severely restricted until the conflict is resolved and vessels can transit safely, compounding Europe’s storage vulnerability heading into winter, according to Equinor. Persian Gulf map. At a Glance:
Hormuz LNG flows face prolonged restrictions
Asian LNG demand withstands high prices
Equinor links Appalachian gas with power

LNG Buying Steady in Asia, Europe Despite Soaring Prices - Asian and European natural gas prices continued to rise Monday as LNG buying is steady in both regions ahead of winter and geopolitical tensions remain high in the Middle East. At a Glance:

• TTF, JKM top $31/MMBtu
• Prices highest since 2022
• US exports highest since June

Cronos Natural Gas Field Advances as Egypt Remains Major Outlet for US LNG - Eni is advancing a natural gas project to supply gas from Cyprus for LNG exports through Egypt, where US cargoes dominate imports as declining domestic production and rising consumption collide. NGI chart shows Egyptian LNG imports rising from 2.9 Mt in 2024 to 11.3 Mt in 2026, with US LNG dominating shipments.  At a Glance:
Cronos startup targeted for early 2028
US supplies dominate Egypt’s LNG purchases
Domestic output declines sustain import demand

The Purple People Eater – Tight Tanker Supply Sends Shipping Costs to Frightening Heights | RBN Energy --   Forget ghosts and monsters. This Halloween, the scariest thing in the energy industry isn’t a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater — it’s the tanker market, where a spooky jump in demand and frighteningly tight vessel supply have sent freight rates soaring. The culprit behind these hair-raising rates isn’t something lurking in the shadows, it’s a multi-headed monster of market disruptions: an unbalanced global fleet, mounting congestion in the Mediterranean, and a surge in vessel attacks. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how these forces are squeezing vessel supply and keeping freight rates at scream-inducing heights. Here at RBN, we regularly track crude oil tanker voyages and freight rates but it’s not a topic that has taken up much space in our blogosphere until recently. To help make sense of it all, we turned to our friends at McQuilling Services, a U.S.-based shipping consultancy that tracks and forecasts the tanker market. This is our second in a series on freight rates. In Part 1, we explored how stronger demand for long-haul crude shipments, a tightening supply of available tankers and other factors have sent freight rates soaring, with little relief in sight.The cost to charter a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) capable of carrying 2 MMbbl of crude from the Gulf Coast to Asia (red line and right axis in Figure 1 below) reached its highest point on record in early October at more than $80 million (equivalent to $40/bbl), although rates have fallen since then, dropping back below $60 million on October 21 and settling around $58 million on October 27. Prior to the start of the war with Iran earlier this year, the voyage cost typically ranged between $8 million and $14 million. However, once the conflict began and the Strait of Hormuz closed to normal traffic, freight rates became a lot more volatile. The cost to charter an Aframax from the Gulf Coast to Europe (blue line and left axis) has followed a similar pattern, dropping from about WS1,000 earlier this month to about WS720 over the same period. [Freight rates are expressed in total dollars per voyage or in Worldscale (WS) points, an industry-standard system that measures freight rates relative to a benchmark or specific route; for a more detailed explanation, see Part 1.] Our first blog looked at the unique combination of vessel demand-side factors that have helped drive freight rates to record highs, including new routes for Middle Eastern crude and increased purchases by China. Today, we turn to the supply-side forces further squeezing the tanker market, starting with atypical fleet deployments and congested traffic.Earlier this year, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sharply reduced the number of cargoes available to tankers located East of Suez (the Middle East and Asia). Many owners responded by sending their ships to the West of Suez market (Africa, Europe and the Americas), leaving the global tanker market geographically unbalanced. Oil flows through the strait have recovered and cargo opportunities in the East are beginning to recover, but those ships cannot be quickly or easily repositioned. Vessel owners are looking for cargoes in the West to cover the cost of the long voyage back to the East, while Suez Canal transits and loading delays also add time to the transition.That situation is illustrated in Figure 2 below, which tracks the percentage of the global VLCC fleet positioned East of Suez each month. (The vast majority of VLCCs typically operate east of the canal because the Middle East is the world’s primary hub for VLCC loadings, with the massive volumes of crude moving from the Persian Gulf to Asian markets accounting for a dominant share of global VLCC demand.) The year started normally enough, with 84% of the VLCC fleet in the East in January (left end of blue line), near the top of the 2021-25 range (gray-shaded area) and just above the five-year average (dotted orange line). But that percentage quickly began dropping and reached as low as 74% in September, well below the five-year range. In other words, the giant tankers that normally load Middle East crude for Asia were pulled west in numbers not seen in at least five years. The turnaround has been fast: by late October, the Eastern share had rebounded to 82% (red dot), above the five-year average, as ships began the long voyage back. The geographic imbalance isn’t limited to VLCCs — smaller tankers also play an important role in the crude and refined product markets, so let’s take a moment to offer some background there. As noted above, VLCCs are the largest tankers, typically carrying about 2 MMbbl of crude oil. Suezmax tankers — so named for their ability to transit the Suez Canal at or near its maximum vessel-size limits, making them well suited for long-haul routes between major exporting regions and global refining markets — fall below VLCCs in size, typically capable of carrying around 1 MMbbl of crude oil. Aframax tankers are smaller yet, capable of carrying roughly 600-700 Mbbl (generally crude oil) and often serving regional markets and ports that can’t accommodate the larger vessels. Long Range 2 (LR2) tankers are similar in size to Aframaxes, and capable of carrying around the same volume, but have coated cargo tanks that also allow them to transport refined products such as diesel, jet fuel and naphtha. Medium Range (MR2) tankers are smaller still, typically carrying about 300-450 Mbbl of refined products on shorter regional routes, and share the same coated-tank flexibility. Across all five major tanker sizes (VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax, LR2 and MR2), the proportion of vessels operating East of Suez fell during the June-September period to its lowest level in at least five years, according to McQuilling. As demand and earnings in the East recover along with the strait’s traffic and China’s refined product exports, that imbalance should begin to unwind. Aframax owners are offering competitive freight rates for U.S. Gulf cargoes to Asia to reposition to the East, while stronger earnings have prompted a net 122 LR2s to switch to crude and other heavier cargoes since January, shrinking the fleet available to transport lighter refined products. Several MR2 owners in the Atlantic Basin have also expressed a willingness to carry crude cargoes to Asia, an unusual trading strategy that underscores the growing incentive to reposition vessels back to the East.As more Saudi crude was rerouted through Egypt in recent months, the Mediterranean went from quiet to crowded almost overnight. Just five VLCCs were working the region prior to the U.S.-Iran conflict; by September that number had swelled to a peak of 32. The influx followed increased Saudi crude flows through Saudi Aramco’s East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, then by tanker to Egypt’s Ain Sukhna terminal and through the SUMED pipeline to Sidi Kerir on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. The surge in tanker traffic strained loading logistics at Sidi Kerir, while Houthi drone attacks on the East-West Pipeline on September 10 disrupted incoming supplies, further complicating loading schedules.As of the end of October, the bottleneck is starting to clear. With the East-West Pipeline back in service, congestion around Sidi Kerir has eased, and VLCC presence in the Mediterranean has fallen from that September peak to just 14 by mid-October. But those ships can’t rejoin the market right away, as they face roughly 50 days at sea taking the longer route past Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope before their tonnage becomes available again in the East. Attacks on commercial shipping aren’t new, but 2026 is on another level, with at least 252 confirmed incidents so far, including 127 oil tankers. In the Middle East, most tanker attacks have happened in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and strikes, mainly by Iran and the U.S. (the latter against Iranian vessels), have contributed to 63 tankers being disabled this year. Tracking attacked tankers by their AIS signals (the transponders that broadcast a ship’s position) shows 20 VLCCs, 13 Suezmaxes, 14 Aframaxes and 16 smaller tankers are still out of service. Among vessels that have returned to trading, observed repair periods have generally ranged from one to three months, further constraining effective tanker supply and supporting freight rates. McQuilling has also counted at least 21 VLCCs entering drydock in August and another 21 in September, the highest monthly levels in three years. (Drydocking typically removes a vessel from service for about 30 days.)To ease the pressure that soaring freight costs and reduced tanker availability are putting on global oil and fuel prices, the Trump administration has floated the idea of relaxing U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions on certain tankers. In an October 19 interview, Energy Secretary Chris Wright suggested relief could include allowing sanctioned vessels to be sold to conventional owners, subject to an approval process that would let them return to legitimate trading. That looks like a meaningful supply increase at first glance, especially for VLCCs and MR2s. McQuilling’s analysis shows 92% of OFAC-sanctioned VLCCs carry no additional European Union (EU) or U.K. sanctions, so in theory those ships could rejoin the conventional fleet without any action from European authorities. McQuilling still expects the near-term impact to be limited, even if these measures happen. Conventional owners would first need clear rules on acquiring, approving and delisting sanctioned vessels, and none have been issued.The bigger issue is the ships themselves. More than 80% of OFAC-sanctioned oil tankers are over 20 years old, and conventional charterers won’t touch tankers that old because of port restrictions and compliance requirements. Of the rest, most are 16 to 20 years old, leaving just 22 VLCCs, two Aframax/LR2s and a handful of smaller tankers under 20 that could realistically trade conventionally. On top of that, almost all OFAC-sanctioned VLCCs were designated for Iranian oil trades, not Russian ones; some of them are even owned by Iranian government or Iranian shipping entities. So even under broad OFAC-only relief, the boost in commercially acceptable VLCC supply would be modest, and other tanker segments would see little change without matching relief from the EU and U.K. The bottom line is that tanker freight rates should hold a floor beneath them for a while. Crude moving out of the Strait of Hormuz still leans heavily on ship-to-ship operations, and ships are spending more time sailing and waiting than before. All of that makes the fleet less efficient, and that inefficiency keeps effective supply tight. The wild card is geopolitics. U.S. and Israeli officials have talked openly about a new round of strikes after the November midterms. An escalation would disrupt these flows all over again Volatility looks likely to stay the defining feature of this market for months to come and this is a topic we’ll be closely watching.

Nigerian Navy uncovers 132,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Rivers – The Nigerian Navy has uncovered approximately 132,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil stored in 10 dugout pits in Allison community, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, as part of its ongoing operations against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.The Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed the discovery in a statement detailing the Navy’s latest efforts to dismantle illegal petroleum storage and refining facilities across the region. According to the statement, the discovery was made on Thursday, October 22, 2026, by personnel of Forward Operating Base (FOB) BONNY under Operation Delta Sentinel, following actionable intelligence on suspected illegal petroleum activities in the area. Folorunsho explained that intelligence received by naval personnel led to the discovery of 10 dugout pits containing approximately 132,000 litres of substance suspected to be stolen crude oil in Allison community.“The Nigerian Navy has uncovered an estimated 132,000 litres of substance suspected to be stolen crude oil in Allison community, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a potential storage point within the illicit petroleum supply chain,” the statement reads in part.The Navy described the location as a potential storage point within the illegal petroleum supply chain, where stolen crude oil could be concealed before being moved for unauthorised processing or distribution. “The operation reinforces the importance of intelligence-led action in identifying concealed petroleum stockpiles and disrupting the infrastructure that enables crude oil theft and the unauthorised movement of petroleum products,” the statement read.The Navy also urged community leaders, residents, traditional institutions and other stakeholders to report suspicious petroleum storage facilities, illegal refining activities and unauthorised movement of petroleum products to security agencies.The latest discovery adds to several recoveries of suspected stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products recorded by the Nigerian Navy across the Niger Delta in 2026.

• In September, naval personnel uncovered approximately 85,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in 16 concealed dugout pits in Allison community, the same location where the latest discovery was made.
• The September 29 operation followed the dismantling of an illegal refining camp in the area on September 22, indicating repeated attempts to use the community for suspected illegal petroleum activities.
• Earlier in October, the Navy uncovered another suspected illegal refining site in Orashi Forest, Ogbogolo community, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
• The October 15 operation led to the discovery of 23 dugout pits containing approximately 114,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products.

Of the recovered products, approximately 105,000 litres were suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel, while 9,500 litres were suspected to be stolen crude oil.

India Diesel Export Boom Set to Ease Global Crunch - A surge in Indian diesel exports is set to hit global markets next year as new refining capacity comes online, bringing much-needed supply to fuel-starved markets from the US to Europe. State-owned refiners will add at least 15 million tons of annual diesel-making capacity through a new refinery and expansions at existing plants, India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday. “We’ll be in the happy situation of not only refining for ourselves but for the world,” Puri told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Goa. The Middle East and Russia-Ukraine wars have disrupted crude and fuel flows, tightening global supplies and driving up prices this year. Diesel has been particularly squeezed after Russia halted exports in July to protect domestic supplies following attacks on its refineries and ports. The crunch sent US diesel prices to a record, prompting Washington to consider export curbs before President Donald Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release more fuel into global markets. The turmoil has created an opportunity for India, already one of the world’s biggest suppliers of diesel, the workhorse fuel that powers farms, factories and heavy transport. The South Asian nation overtook Russia this year to become the world’s second-biggest diesel exporter, according to Kpler data. The refinery expansions could further strengthen India’s global fuel markets share as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects supplies to remain tight through 2027. Indian Oil Corp., the country’s largest refiner, expects to produce as much as 9 million tons more diesel annually from next year after completing expansions that will add more than 17 million tons of crude-processing capacity across three refineries, Chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. will add about 4 million tons of diesel output as its new 9 million-ton-a-year Rajasthan refinery ramps up to full capacity, Chairman Vikas Kaushal said. Oil India Ltd.’s unit Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. will boost production of the fuel to about 3 million tons. Meanwhile, Bharat Petroleum Corp. expects to add 1.5 million tons from 2028, Chairman Sanjay Khanna said. In the first half of the financial year that began in April, Indian refiners produced 59 million tons of the fuel while domestic consumption was about 46 million tons, according to oil ministry data. Overall refining capacity in the country is set to climb to 300 million tons a year from about 267 million tons currently, before reaching 400 million tons in a few years, Puri said. “India’s scale of refining will become its strategic advantage,” Mukesh Sahdev, founder, CEO, and chief oil analyst at XAnalysts said.

Coast Guard deploys oil spill booms around capsized vessel in Quezon | ABS-CBN News— The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has deployed oil spill containment booms around the roll-on/roll-off vessel MV Virgen de Peñafrancia II, which capsized about 10 meters from Ungos Port in Real, Quezon. The vessel was carrying some 1,300 liters of marine diesel in its service tank. PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said that while marine diesel naturally dissipates, the Coast Guard still deployed containment booms as a precaution to protect nearby communities from possible oil contamination. “We have directed the shipping company to apply for an Emergency Salvage Permit and undertake measures to safely remove the distressed vessel,” Cayabyab said. In a statement, Starhorse Shipping Lines said it has been cooperating with the PCG since the incident. The Coast Guard said its personnel promptly responded to the incident and rescued all 40 passengers, including two infants, as well as the vessel’s 18 crew members. The PCG and Starhorse Shipping Lines confirmed that all passengers and crew members are safe. The vessel was also carrying 14 rolling cargoes, or vehicles, when it capsized. Based on the initial investigation by the Coast Guard Northern Quezon, the ship’s captain said a mooring rope securing the vessel to the pier snapped due to strong water current, causing its bow to drift about 10 meters away from the port. The vessel reportedly attempted to maneuver back toward the pier, but its bow ran aground before it capsized onto its starboard or right side. The MV Virgen de Peñafrancia II had arrived from Polillo Island and was preparing to disembark its passengers when the incident occurred.

UAE oil spill: Everything we know as beaches close and clean-up drive continues | The National - Authorities across the UAE are stepping up efforts to contain an oil spill from a supertanker off the coast of Umm Al Quwain to limit the environmental impact and protect precious marine life. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment confirmed the incident last Friday, stating it was the cause of a strong fuel smell reported in a number of emirates. The ministry moved to assure the public that the odour posed no health risk and said clean-up operations were under way, with assessments taking place to best protect the diverse and abundant marine ecosystems that populate local waters. A number of beaches across the country have subsequently been closed as a precautionary measure and to allow environmental teams to carry out key work. The climate ministry said on Friday confirmed that the UAE's technical monitoring and environmental assessment system had detected a tanker oil spill, affecting Umm Al Quwain’s beaches. The ministry did not name the vessel, but international maritime agencies say the Gem No 2 was struck in a suspected Iranian drone attack on October 9 or 10. Twenty-two Indian sailors were rescued from the 330-metre vessel at the time. The ministry said teams immediately launched containment work, including creating cordons, clean-up and remediation with local and federal authorities to “limit environmental impacts”. Coastal surveys, monitoring and assessment are being carried out to help protect the marine environment. Beaches and coastal areas in Umm Al Quwain were temporarily closed as a result to allow technical teams to complete assessments and identify safety and marine protection measures. Fishermen and sea-goers were urged to follow directives from authorities and avoid fishing in affected areas. Sharjah on Wednesday announced the temporary closure of all beaches as part of “proactive precautionary measures” to guard against the threat of marine pollution. Sharjah Government Media Bureau said that specialist teams had been sent to prevent marine pollution from reaching beaches. It called on the public and sea-goers to abide by the key safety measures and to follow official channels for the latest updates. The directive comes after Ras Al Khaimah closed all of its beaches on Saturday “until further notice” and follows a move by Umm Al Quwain to close its beaches and coastal areas. Experts have told The National that containment was vital to limit damage to the environment and the UAE's marine ecosystems. When dealing with oil slicks, preventing pollution from reaching the coast is typically a top priority. If that happens, clean-up becomes harder and habitats can suffer lasting harm. Rob Mortimer, chief executive of Dubai-based Fuelre4m, which supplies substances used to disperse oil slicks, told The National last week that the initial priority should be “to keep it all together” using floating barriers known as booms, allowing as much as possible to be recovered from the sea surface. “It’s reasonably easy to do it while it’s all together,” he said. “Once it’s spreading and moving around, it’s more difficult. Even with the dispersant, you have to cover a greater distance … The longer you leave it, the more the oil gets dispersed.” Inesaf Benzaki, campaigns lead at Greenpeace Mena, said timely containment was particularly important because the Gulf’s semi-enclosed geography limited the exchange of water with the open ocean, potentially allowing pollutants to persist. “As these efforts continue, understanding the potential environmental impact will be important to protecting the area’s marine ecosystems,” she said. Ms Benzaki said the coastline formed part of a wider marine environment where shallow coastal waters, mangroves, seagrass meadows and lagoons provided important habitats for marine life and supported coastal livelihoods. She warned that even after visible oil was removed, residues could remain in coastal sediments and sensitive habitats, prolonging the spill's effects. If oil reached the UAE coastline, it could “threaten sensitive marine and coastal ecosystems”, she said.

Sharjah temporarily closes beaches over oil spill concerns -- Sharjah has announced the temporary closure of beaches across the city as a precautionary measure following an oil spill involving a maritime tanker, amid concerns that marine pollution could reach the emirate’s coastline.The Sharjah Government Media Bureau confirmed the decision in a post on X, stating that the closures were introduced proactively to protect the beaches and safeguard public safety.According to the announcement, specialised teams and relevant authorities across the emirate are taking the necessary measures to prevent oil-related pollution from reaching coastal areas.The temporary closures form part of preventive efforts aimed at minimising the potential environmental impact of the spill and protecting public beach areas.  Specialised teams are coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the coastline and prevent marine contamination.The Sharjah Government Media Bureau also urged residents, visitors and sea-goers to comply with all official instructions and safety guidelines while the precautionary measures remain in place.Members of the public have been advised to obtain updates exclusively through official government channels and refrain from circulating rumours or unverified information.The announcement follows similar precautionary closures in neighbouring emirates. Ras Al Khaimah announced the closure of all public beaches until further notice on October 24, while Umm Al Quwain temporarily closed all beaches and coastal areas on October 23 after authorities confirmed that an offshore tanker oil spill had affected its coastline.

Oil spill off UAE widens, satellite images show, prompting more beach closures  (Reuters) - An oil spill from a ‌damaged tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has widened, satellite images showed, triggering more beach closures and raising environmental concerns. Images from the European Union's Copernicus satellite observation network dated October 24 show the oil spill has widened over the last few days ​and is reaching close to the shores of the northern Umm Al Quwain emirate, with dark layers ​of oil spreading at sea and along its coastline. Since the start of the US-Israeli war with ⁠Iran, attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf shipping lanes have driven up security risks for maritime traffic and heightened ​fears over the conflict's environmental fallout. October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of ​Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to data compiled by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank. The UAE said on Friday that efforts were under way to contain oil leaking from a tanker offshore, with its Ministry of Climate Change and Environment conducting an environmental ​assessment. Authorities have not named the tanker involved in the incident or said what caused the spill. But experts told Reuters ​that the spill was coming from a tanker called the Gem No.2, which shipping sources said was a vessel that had ‌been struck ⁠by an unidentified projectile last month, causing a fire that was later extinguished. The images provided by the EU's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites showed a large oil spill coming from the tanker. Authorities across various northern emirates responded to the spill by restricting access to coastal areas. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said on Friday that all beaches and coastal areas ​around the city of Umm ​Al Quwain were temporarily ⁠closed, while authorities in neighbouring Sharjah shut access to Al Hamriyah Beach as a precaution. "The reported oil spill off Umm Al Quwain is a serious environmental concern. The temporary ​closure of beaches and coastal areas is a prudent precaution while the extent of ​the spill and ⁠the movement of the oil are assessed," Nidal Hilal, Professor of Engineering and Director of New York University Abu Dhabi's Water Research Center, told Reuters. In Ras Al Khaimah, known for its beaches and luxury resorts, authorities said on Saturday that all beaches ⁠in ​the emirate would be closed until further notice. The UAE's marine life "is rich ​in fish, plants and corals, with over 500 different species of fish inhabiting the Gulf waters," including dolphins and marine turtles, the International Union ​for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, says on its website.

Oil pollution from war-damaged tanker polluting UAE beaches - Beaches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been closed due to oil pollution apparently caused by an attack on a tanker during the war involving Iran, the Environment Ministry said on Sunday. The affected beaches are in the emirates of Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah, near Dubai. The ministry said the pollution originated from a leaking oil tanker and that efforts were under way to contain the spill and clean up the affected areas. Residents of Sharjah, which borders Dubai, have reported a strong smell of petrol or gas lingering for several days. The ministry said it was investigating the odour but stressed that there was no health risk. According to Wim Zwijnenburg, a researcher specializing in conflict and environmental issues at the Dutch peace organization PAX, the oil came from the Panamanian-flagged tanker Gem No 2, which is owned by a Taiwan-based company. The 330-metre-long tanker began leaking oil after being attacked two weeks ago, Zwijnenburg told dpa. The resulting oil slick now stretches approximately 90 kilometres. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported the attack two weeks ago, saying a projectile had struck the vessel and sparked a fire on board. The affected waters are home to a wide range of marine life, including dugongs, dolphins and sea turtles. Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows also provide vital habitats and feeding grounds for numerous species of birds and marine animals. Oil pollution in the Gulf has increased significantly since the war involving Iran began in February.

Senior Saudi, Pakistani, and Turkish Officials Hold Talks With Iranian Leaders in Tehran - - Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, the three countries that form the new Mecca defense pact, visited Tehran on Monday and met with Iranian officials amid threats of another US-Israeli attack on Iran.The meeting was seen as an effort to avoid another escalation in the US war against Iran, and the Saudi Foreign Ministry described it as an effort to “de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis.”  The delegation included Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. The visiting officials met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.A brief joint statement issued by the four countries said that the “participants agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation amongst the four regional countries, including for peace and security in the region.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that the meeting could lay the groundwork for a new regional security framework that doesn’t rely on outside powers.“From our perspective, the fact that regional countries are seeking to establish, or at least consider, regional security mechanisms based on their own interests and concerns is a welcome development,” Baghaei told reporters. “We have consistently emphasized that regional security can only be ensured by relying on the will and security considerations of the countries of the region.”The meeting came amid Saudi Arabia’s renewed war against Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, an ally of Iran. Araghchi said last week that Iran had offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Ansar Allah but that neither side responded to the proposal. Both Pakistan and Turkey have pledged to come to Saudi Arabia’s aid in the war under the Mecca agreement, though it doesn’t appear that the support will go beyond helping fend off Ansar Allah’s strikes on Saudi territory.

Press statement after four-way Tehran meeting between Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia High-level delegations from Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia visited Tehran on Monday and held four-way talks with Iranian officials. From the Iranian side, the meeting was attended by top security official Major General Mohsen Rezaei and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Following is the joint statement after the four-way meeting in Tehran: The first meeting of four regional countries was held today, 26 October 2026, in Tehran. His Excellency General Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, hosted the meeting. His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia, High Excellency Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Chief of the Army Staff and Chief of the Defense Forces of Pakistan, and his Excellency Ibrahim Kalin, the head of the Turkish Intelligence Service, participated in the meeting. The participants agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation amongst the four regional countries, including for peace and security in the region.

Oil prices fall as hopes emerge for easing Iran war - - Oil prices fell on Monday as hopes of easing hostilities between the United States and Iran eased market concerns. However, continued attacks on Saudi Arabia kept investors worried about global energy supplies. Brent crude and US oil futures both declined after reaching near six-month highs last week.Read Economics Brent crude futures dropped $2.21, or 1.89%, to $114.51 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.23, or 2.16%, to $101.04 per barrel. Both prices were recorded at 9:26 am Pakistan time on Monday. Oil prices had risen sharply on Friday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia raised concerns about potential supply disruptions. Brent crude ended the week 6% higher, while WTI gained 2.3%. The latest decline followed renewed diplomatic efforts to reduce regional tensions. Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Sunday as part of efforts to ease tensions in coordination with Washington. Oil market analyst Vandana Hari said concerns about renewed military action had eased temporarily. However, she warned that market volatility could remain high because the risk of further strikes persisted. Attacks continued over the weekend despite the diplomatic efforts. The Iran-backed Houthis said they targeted an airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Saudi authorities reported intercepting additional missiles and drones on Sunday. These developments continued to raise concerns about energy production and transportation.Explore History The conflict has also disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Singapore announced plans for Saudi Aramco to begin storing crude oil in Singapore during the second half of 2027. The arrangement aims to strengthen the company’s regional supply chain resilience. International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said energy markets might not return to their pre-war conditions in 2027. Analysts also warned that the latest price decline did not necessarily indicate an improvement in supply conditions. With shipping risks and regional hostilities continuing, oil markets remain vulnerable to further price swings.

WTI, Brent Crude Fall on Mideast Diplomatic Talks (DTN) --Oil crude futures fell on Monday morning as Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials prepared to meet in Tehran for talks aimed at preventing a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The diplomatic efforts followed comments from U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday that he was still deciding whether to pursue an agreement with Iran or take action to "finish them off." Eight months into the Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict, vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained highly constrained, with just eight vessels transiting the key waterway in the last 24 hours, compared with an average daily rate of nearly 60 vessels, according to vessel tracking data. The front-month ICE Brent dropped $1.90 to $115.947 barrel (bbl) while the NYMEX WTI futures contract for December delivery fell $1.44 to $101.82 bbl. In contrast, the NYMEX ULSD futures contract for November delivery rose $0.0130 to $4.9972 gallon, while front-month NYMEX RBOB futures increased g $0.0369 to $3.2485 gallon. The U.S. dollar index climbed 0.222 points to 101.87 against a basket of foreign currencies. In domestic developments, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 bbl of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to support operations at Phillips 66's 264,000-barrels per day (bpd) Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana following a disruption to crude oil deliveries. The DOE said Friday that the crude will be released from its West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana for immediate delivery, helping the refinery maintain production of gasoline, diesel and other transportation fuels serving regional markets. U.S. refineries have been running at high utilization rates and postponing winter to meet strong refined-product demand, particularly for diesel, as exports demand has been prioritized over domestic supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported last week that U.S. refinery utilization rose to 93.4% during the week ended Oct. 16, up from 88.6% recorded the same week last year.

Oil Market Slips as Regional Diplomacy Offsets Houthi Attacks - The oil market posted an inside trading day on Monday as the market weighed the hopes of easing hostilities between the U.S. and Iran against the continuing attacks on Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, Qatari mediators traveled to Iran as part of an effort to de-escalate regional tensions in coordination with the United States. Also, top officials from Mecca Pact countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met with Iran’s leaders in Tehran on Monday. Despite the mediation talks, attacks continued on Monday, with Yemen’s Houthis launching new attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Egypt’s parliament approving defense support for Saudi Arabia. The crude market traded lower in overnight trading following the news that Qatari mediators held talks with Iranian officials on Sunday. The oil market remained under pressure amid the efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and sold off to a low of $100.33 by mid-morning. However, the market bounced off its low and rallied to a high of $103.13 amid the news of further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The market later settled in a sideways trading range ahead of the close. The December WTI contract ended the session down $1.51 at $101.76 and the December Brent contract ended the session down 91 cents at $115.81. The product markets ended the session in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling down 7.22 cents at $4.9120 and the RB market settling up 69 points at $3.2185. According to the AAA, Americans have paid more for their gasoline and diesel at the pump on average during President Donald Trump’s second term than they did under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. Data from the AAA showed that the price of a gallon of regular gasoline has averaged $3.472/gallon since President Trump took office almost two years ago, surpassing $3.471/gallon average for Biden’s term. Prices for diesel, have also surpassed former President Biden’s national average under President Trump, at $4.343/gallon compared with $4.078/gallon. Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said Russia was ready to supply the U.S. with any volume of diesel. On Friday, he said that three tankers carrying Russian diesel were on their way to North America. The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said that he does not expect energy markets in 2027 to return to where they were before the Iran war, which began in late February. Saudi Arabia plans to store crude oil at Singapore’s Jurong Rock Caverns from the second half of 2027 to strengthen supply security in the region. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry, said Saudi Aramco will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Energy Market Authority and JTC Corp on Monday and aimed to conclude negotiations in a few months’ time. The rock caverns at Jurong Island can store up to 1.47 million cubic meters or roughly 9 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil and condensate. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 228,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending October 30th, increasing available refining capacity by 263,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to decrease to 81,000 bpd in the week ending November 6th.

Crude oil prices trade lower on reports of renewed US-Iran diplomatic efforts - The HinduBusinessLine  - Crude oil futures traded lower on Tuesday morning following reports of renewed diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in West Asia. At 10.03 am on Tuesday, December Brent oil futures were at $114.66, down by 0.98 per cent, and December crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $100.75, down by 0.99 per cent. November crude oil futures were trading at ₹9,604 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹9,723, down by 1.22 per cent, and December futures were trading at ₹9,460 against the previous close of ₹9,567, down by 1.12 per cent. Reports said Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and Turkey, held discussions with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to ease tensions in West Asia. Saudi Arabia urged the need to establish open negotiating channels to prevent the return of military escalations in West Asia. This development helped ease fears of oil supply disruption. The meeting in Tehran comes a few days before the US mid-term elections. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told Fox News that it was ‘getting to be decision time’ on whether to strike a deal with Iran or ‘finish off’. Meanwhile, the Houthis said on Monday that they had attacked East-West crude oil pumping stations and Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia. The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, said on Monday that energy markets were unlikely to return to their pre-war conditions in 2027. Speaking at the Singapore International ⁠Energy Week conference, he said: “I am afraid I don’t see any credible pathway that the markets will go next year, where we were before this war has started.” October copper futures were trading at ₹1,392 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹1,386.10, up by 0.43 per cent. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), November guargum contracts were trading at ₹15,150 in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹15,309, down by 1.04 per cent. December dhaniya futures were trading at ₹16,564 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹16,692, down by 0.77 per cent.

Oil Prices Rise as Houthi Attack Claims and Middle East Diplomatic Talks Remain in Focus -  Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, reversing earlier declines as markets assessed diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions involving Iran alongside reports of further attacks on regional energy infrastructure. At 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT), Brent crude futures were trading 0.5% higher at $116.38 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.6% to $102.35 per barrel. Both benchmarks had traded lower earlier in the session. Brent reached a six-month high last week amid concerns about potential disruptions to Middle Eastern energy facilities and commercial shipping routes. Diplomatic discussions involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have continued as regional governments seek to reduce tensions surrounding the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional security and potential negotiations. Qatar has also maintained contact with Tehran as part of efforts to prevent further escalation. According to reports, the discussions covered attacks attributed to Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, possible negotiations between Washington and Tehran, restrictions affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Although diplomatic activity has reduced some immediate concerns about further military escalation, uncertainty remains over whether the discussions will result in an agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump has not ruled out additional military action against Iran. Tehran, meanwhile, has indicated that negotiations with Washington would depend on concessions, including the removal of the U.S. blockade and sanctions affecting Iranian oil exports. Analysts at Capital Economics highlighted the economic effects of the blockade and the factors that could influence Iran's negotiating position. "The U.S. naval blockade that has now been in place for more than 100 days is imposing severe pain on Iran's economy, with the rial tumbling and inflation at close to 90% y/y. But the extent to which this affects Iran's negotiating position depends on which faction of the regime is in the ascendency as well as the degree of control that Iran can exert over the Strait of Hormuz," analysts at Capital Economics said in a note. Regional security developments remained a focus after Houthi forces said on Monday that they had targeted pumping stations along Saudi Arabia's East-West crude oil pipeline and Riyadh airport.Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the reported attacks. However, the kingdom has reported intercepting missiles and drones in recent days. The claims come as shipping disruptions and threats to energy infrastructure continue to feature in assessments of Middle Eastern oil supply conditions. The Strait of Hormuz remains a central issue in diplomatic discussions because of restrictions affecting commercial shipping through the waterway. IEA Sees Continued Effects on Energy Markets Into 2027 International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday that global energy markets were unlikely to return to conditions prevailing before the conflict during 2027. His comments indicated that the effects of the conflict on energy supply chains could extend beyond the current period of military and diplomatic activity. Separately, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco plans to begin storing crude oil in Singapore during the second half of 2027. The initiative, announced by Saudi and Singaporean energy ministers, is intended to improve the resilience of Aramco's regional supply chain.

Oil Steadies with Peace Talks, Houthi Attacks in Focus  (DTN) -- Crude oil and product futures inched lower Tuesday morning as traders weighed renewed diplomacy hopes against supply risks posed by the latest wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. By 10:10 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was down $0.41 to trade near $115.40 a barre; (bbl), and NYMEX WTI for December delivery fell $0.18 to $101.58 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery slipped $0.0585 to $4.8535 gallon, and front-month RBOB futures retreated $0.0269 to $3.1916 gallon. The U.S. dollar index strengthened by 0.27 points to 102.07 against a basket of foreign currencies. On Monday, mediators from the newly formed Mecca Defence Alliance (MDA) comprising Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, met with Iranian officials in Tehran to deescalate a recently reheating conflict in the Middle East as Iran and its allies have this month markedly stepped up attacks. The result of the meeting, which Riyadh said was aimed at preventing a military reescalation, was a mutual agreement to continue talks. Tehran-allied Houthis in Yemen on Monday claimed to have struck a pumping station along Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. Saudi Arabia, which was still working on restoring capacity following an attack that last month forced shut the vital crude oil artery, has so far not commented on the alleged attack. Intensifying missile attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, have worsened the supply disruption. Ship tracking data show that crude oil exports from the Persian Gulf have been slipping continuously throughout October, from around 90% of ante-bellum levels at the beginning of the month to 65% last week. This week, market participants will be on the lookout for results of Israel's general election taking place Tuesday, and on the FOMC's latest interest rate decision to be announced at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday.

Oil falls almost $2 as Middle East talks help ease supply worries (Reuters) - Oil futures settled down by almost $2 a barrel on Tuesday, though prices remain near six-month highs due to the disruption of shipping around the Middle East, and an agreement to end the US-Israeli war with Iran remains elusive. Brent crude futures settled down $1.93, or 1.67%, at $113.88 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude settled down $1.86, or 1.83%, at $99.90. Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Tuesday, a day after holding talks with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. State media said Khamenei had emphasized the importance of pursuing Iran's interests and maintaining its conditions for ending the war. The four countries agreed to continue talks with a view to strengthening cooperation in peace and security, Iranian state media said. The outlook for peace remains uncertain as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis renewed attacks on key oil producer Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said on Tuesday that they had struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, the ⁠biggest in the kingdom, with a ballistic missile. "Continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the expanding military presence in the Gulf are keeping supply risks in place, even as diplomatic headlines encourage some of the recent premium to unwind," said Gelber & Associates analysts in a note. October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to data compiled by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank that has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide since 2017. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has risen but the number of vessel attacks has increased, with risks likely to become more acute if US naval support wavers, UBS said. Brent prices surged to more than $117 a barrel last week, their highest since April, after a wave of Iranian attacks on tankers around the strait. UBS said it expects Brent prices to stay elevated near $110 a barrel through the end of the year, an increase from its previous forecast for $100 a barrel at the end of the year. "The impression now is that there is a significant risk premium in crude oil prices for the risk that the US/Israel will attack Iran in the coming weeks," said SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop. Investors were also looking for cues from Israel's election on Tuesday, which could spell the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's time in office, though polling suggested results would be close and that his Likud party could still prevail. "The outcome of today’s parliamentary elections in Israel could also be significant for further developments in the war with Iran, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, if re-elected, might attempt to achieve regime change in Iran," Commerzbank analysts wrote. Crude oil exports from Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports were forecast to fall next month as domestic refiners plan to increase their output after the end of maintenance and to produce more diesel to meet the demands of a deal struck this month between Washington and Moscow, two traders said. Russian oil refineries increased crude processing by 25% in the second half of October compared to the beginning of the month after persistent Ukrainian drone attacks on the plants ceased, three people in the industry told Reuters.

Saudi Refinery attack sends global oil prices higher - Global crude oil prices rose on Wednesday amid renewed concerns over oil supplies from the Middle East following reports of an attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery, one of the country’s largest oil-processing facilities. Brent crude futures gained $1.48, or 1.3%, to reach $115.36 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12 a barrel. On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have launched a missile attack targeting the Saudi refinery, which has a processing capacity of 550,000 barrels of oil per day. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the reported attack. The ongoing conflict involving Iran and its allies has heightened concerns about possible disruptions to oil supplies across the Middle East, contributing to renewed upward pressure on international crude prices. Oil prices had fallen by around $2 on Tuesday as hopes for progress in diplomatic discussions eased some concerns about supply disruptions. Reports of the latest attack, however, brought fresh uncertainty to the market. Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories are expected to have edged up slightly. Analysts estimate that stockpiles increased by around 15,000 barrels in the week ended October 23. Traders also expect Russia’s crude oil exports through its Baltic and Black Sea ports to decline next month if domestic refineries increase diesel production following an agreement with the United States.

Oil Rises After Strike on Oil Hub Highlights Supply Risks  (DTN) -- Oil prices rose Wednesday morning as Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure continued to suffer attacks, with the latest Houthi strike on the country's main export hub threatening to further tighten a supply-starved global fuels market. By 9:05 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was up $1.26 to trade near $115.14 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for December delivery rose $1.91 to $101.81 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery advanced $0.0351 to $4.8103 gallon, while front-month RBOB futures inched lower $0.0081 to $3.1295 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed, up 0.03 points to 102.195 against a basket of foreign currencies. The Houthis on Tuesday claimed to have struck the 550,000-bpd capacity Ras Tanura refinery with a ballistic missile. Riyadh has not yet commented on any potential damage after reports of a large fire at the oil hub's export terminal circulated Tuesday. Ras Tanura not only houses the country's largest and oldest refinery, which has since 2022 stepped up to become a major diesel supplier for Europe, but is also one of Saudi Arabia's two main oil export hubs. The kingdom's other major crude oil export outlet, the Red Sea port of Yanbu, was targeted by Houthi drones just last week, and the Tehran-allied militia on Monday alleged to have hit an oil pumping station along the East-West pipeline feeding the port. A similar incident last month led to a two-week shutdown of the pipeline and an ensuing export drought. In the U.S., meanwhile, oil inventories may have declined for the fourth consecutive week, an American Petroleum Institute report published Tuesday suggested. Commercial crude oil stocks have held up comparatively well during most of the now nearly eight-month long supply crisis, largely due to the release of more than 133 million bbl from federal emergency stockpiles. While the delivery of significant volumes from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve ended last month, refiners continued to chase dizzying middle distillate cracks in October. The seasonally highest domestic crude oil demand in decades, as indicated by recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, may have contributed to yet another drop in inventories last week. The EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ended Oct. 23 is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT release Wednesday. Market participants are also awaiting the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this afternoon. Chances of a rate hike just one month after the central bank increased its target rate for the first time in three years are low, despite sticky inflation remaining far above the 2%-target. CME Group's FedWatch tool attributes a 9.4% chance to a 25-basis point increase, and most observers expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates steady.

WTI Surges Back Near War Highs: Gasoline Inventories Surge, US Production Rebounds To Record High Oil prices rose Wednesday as traders focused on renewed threats to Middle East energy supplies after Yemen's Houthi militants said they targeted Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery. The Houthis said Tuesday that they struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile. Prospects for diplomatic talks have failed to generate significant selling interest in oil as traders increasingly focus on developments on the ground, analysts at ANZ Research said Wednesday. “The market is treating this with caution,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank AS. “With uncertainty surrounding the Israeli election and the US midterms just days away, the risk of renewed escalation remains elevated.” The analysts said risks to crude supplies continued to increase. “The market is pricing in a larger probability of re-escalation,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV. “Oil prices remain sensitive to developments in the Persian Gulf, specifically around what action, if any, the US may take following the US midterm elections.” So what happened to US inventories? DOE:

• Crude -1.89mm
• Cushing -624k
• Gasoline +3.87mm
• Distillates -1.46mm

Crude inventories drewdown for the fourth week in a row, and stocks at Cushing saw a surprise drop as Gasoline stocks soared... The Trump admin basically left the SPR alone for the eighth week in a row (100k barrel drain)... US Crude production rebounded to a new record high after the hurricane-driven shut-ins... Crude exports jumped to nearly 5 million barrels a day, the highest level seen late May. Exorbitant freight costs have been crimping demand on some routes, but it’s clear that US supplies are still being drawn abroad. Distillates stocks remain at record lows for this time of year... Are elevated gasoline prices finally eroding demand? Weekly US gasoline demand declined by a sizable 624,000 barrels per day for the EIA week. While one data point doesn’t make a trend, it did slipped below the 5-year seasonal range. Meanwhile, the recent pullback in gasoline crack spread is providing some relief to US drivers. Average US retail gasoline prices are now at $4.25 per gallon, a drop of $0.25 per gallon from late-September. WTI remains back above $102... Finally, the U.S. has told several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a possible short, intense military campaign after the U.S. midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the conversations.

Oil prices rise on Yemen fighting, Saudi refinery attack (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up about 1% on ​Wednesday on renewed concerns about additional energy supply disruptions in the Middle East due to continued fighting in Yemen, an attack ‌on a refinery in Saudi Arabia and worries the US could strike Iran after next week's US midterm elections. Brent futures rose $1.44, or 1%, to settle at $115.32 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.88, or 3%, to settle at $102.78. That price gain pushed Brent back into overbought territory for the fourth time in five days. Yemen's Houthis attacked Aden airport on Wednesday, Yemeni ​government forces said, after the Iran-aligned group warned people to evacuate the facility as fighting escalated in the impoverished country caught in the wider Middle ​East conflict. On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery with a missile, intensifying their strikes against ⁠the world's second-largest crude producer behind the US. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the 550,000-barrel-per-day facility. "Crude futures once again pricing in nearer ​term tighter supplies on news the US is likely to re-start military operations soon, which could be more intense than in the past given the latest ​attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Middle East allies," In recent weeks, several analysts have said renewed US strikes on Iran could happen sometime after the US midterm elections on November 3. In hopes of ending the now eight-month-long conflict, Qatari mediators have presented Iran with ​a new draft deal to end the war with the US and Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations said. A senior Iranian official, however, said ​Doha had only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer. The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Tehran continued to give diplomacy a chance to succeed ‌and raised ⁠the possibility of the seven-day plan proposed by Tehran being completed in less than a week if implemented. Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war, which has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and has spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Another factor supporting crude prices was a US federal report showing a surprise decline in stockpiles. The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that energy firms pulled 1.9 million barrels of crude from storage during the ​week ended October 23. That was a ​surprise draw compared with the 15,000-barrel ⁠build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, and was in line with the 2-million-barrel decline seen in data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, according to sources. , China, meanwhile, issued a fourth batch of fuel export quotas for gasoline, diesel ​and jet fuel, a rare additional issue that brings the 2026 total in line with 2025 despite curbs earlier ​in the year, ⁠three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Looking ahead, the market is waiting for an industry meeting on Sunday, where OPEC+ oil producers are expected to keep their December oil output targets steady, people familiar with the matter said. Production in most of the seven core OPEC+ members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — ⁠is below their ​output targets. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia. Crude ​oil exports from Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports could fall next month as domestic refiners increase diesel output following a deal with Washington this month, traders said.

Oil prices decline after diplomatic push in Iran war -- Oil prices declined on Thursday as traders assessed new diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, aimed at averting potential US military action against Iran. Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, slipped to $114.10 a barrel at 7.48am UAE time, after gaining more than 1 per cent in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was trading above $101 a barrel. US Vice President JD Vance reportedly sent a letter to Iran’s National Security Council ⁠chief Mohsen ​Rezaei in an effort to revive negotiations, which President Donald Trump played down, saying he did not direct Mr Vance to reach out to the Iranians. "No, what that is ... they need help with medical supplies and various things. He asked me what I thought, I said if you want to do that, that's okay," Mr Trump told reporters when asked if he had directed Mr Vance to send a letter. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, quoting ​US ‌officials, that Mr Vance sent a letter to Mr Rezaei in a bid to revive peace negotiations. "Basically it's about getting supplies in to help people that are not well," Mr Trump added. The latest diplomatic moves have raised hopes of a resolution, although uncertainty over the conflict and the risk of further disruption to global oil supplies continue to weigh on market sentiment. Oil prices had climbed sharply on Wednesday amid fears of renewed US military action and further disruption to Middle East supplies. Brent settled at $115.32 a barrel, up 1.3 per cent, on Wednesday, while WTI closed at $102.78 a barrel, up 2.9 per cent. "Oil prices remain volatile as markets respond to developments affecting regional production and infrastructure," . Oil remains at multi-month highs as tensions linger in the Middle East. The WSJ reported that Washington has warned several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a possible renewed US military campaign against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections. Swiss lender UBS said in a report this week it expects Brent crude prices to stay elevated, near $110 a barrel at the end of the year, as Middle Eastern supply remains volatile and geopolitical uncertainty persists. "Global inventories have fallen sharply, with pledged strategic oil reserves releases largely completed. An under-supplied market could push commercial stocks lower and should sustain oil prices. Record freight costs, constrained tanker capacity, and recovering Chinese imports are other factors likely to keep oil prices high," UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. "Uncertainty around our forecasts remains elevated, reflecting both the unpredictable nature of the Middle East conflict, and the pace of recovery in Gulf production and global oil demand."

Oil Eases as Europe Readies First Emergency Diesel Batch - (DTN)- - Oil prices eased Thursday morning as traders assessed the latest diplomatic push for a temporary peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. In Europe, the first tranche of 42 million barrels (bbl) of oil and diesel from emergency reserves is set to be delivered over the coming days. By 09:00 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was down $1.03 to trade near $114.29 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for December delivery fell $1.34 to $101.44 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery slid $0.1302 to $4.685 gallon, and front-month RBOB futures retreated $0.0422 to $3.1312 gallon. The U.S. dollar index remained steady, inching up 0.015 points to 102.045 against a basket of foreign currencies. U.S. Vice President JD Vance reportedly reached out to senior leadership in Iran to negotiate a temporary peace deal. Tehran and Washington have since the breakdown of the last ceasefire mostly exchanged messages via mediators. Iran has not yet commented on the Vice President's proposal to revive direct talks which would involve the most senior government officials to date, but on Wednesday reiterated their openness to a diplomatic solution. Elsewhere, France is set to start deliveries of 10 million bbl of diesel from emergency reserves the country had committed to last month as part of a coordinated European 42 million bbl release of equal amounts of crude oil and diesel. The push came less than a month into the agreed upon 3-month window as Paris was seeking to ease domestic tensions after high fuel prices recently helped spark violent protests. Diesel inventories also continued to decline in the U.S., Energy Information Administration data published Wednesday showed, with nationwide stocks of ultra-low sulfur diesel trailing year-ago levels by more than 10%. Commercial crude oil inventories, meanwhile, recorded the fourth consecutive weekly decline, coinciding with the end of the release of significant volumes from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which until September helped meet the highest domestic crude oil demand in nine years, and the seasonally highest in decades.

Oil prices settles lower as diplomacy hopes offset some Mideast supply concerns (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday in a choppy session ​as hopes for peace talks between the US and Iran offset some concerns over Middle East supply disruptions from an escalating regional conflict. Brent crude futures ‌settled down 44 cents, or 0.38%, to $114.88 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled down 78 cents, or 0.76%, at $102. Both benchmarks fell by more than $2 a barrel earlier in the session, unwinding some of Brent's 1.3% and WTI's 3% Wednesday gains. US oil firms ExxonMobil and Chevron have cancelled plans for their executives to travel to the United Arab Emirates' biggest oil show next week, citing security concerns, two ​sources familiar with the developments told Reuters. Yemen's Houthis on Thursday said they attacked Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, Rabigh oil refinery, an Aramco facility in ​Abqaiq and airports in the country. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia on the Houthi statement. Those reports of a new ⁠spate of attacks helped oil recoup some losses later in the session, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance sought to revive peace negotiations by ​sending a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. "Oil prices ​are under pressure today amid renewed diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Qatari mediators have presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war, an official briefed on the negotiations said, but a senior Iranian official dismissed it as unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer. Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday Tehran continued to give diplomacy a ​chance to succeed and flagged the possibility of completing its seven-day plan in less than a week if adopted. Concerns over intensified attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis and fears the ​Trump administration may launch an attack on Iran following the US midterm elections on November 3 limited the decline. The US military's senior officer overseeing the Middle East met US President Donald Trump at ‌the White ⁠House on Thursday to outline military options in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US officials and other people with direct knowledge of the meeting. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the group towards the kingdom's eastern region early on Thursday, as hostilities between the two sides show no signs of abating. "The Saudi-led coalition's interception of another Houthi missile early Thursday shows that threats to regional infrastructure remain active despite the renewed push for negotiations," The Houthis attacked Aden's airport on ​Wednesday, Yemeni government forces said. On Wednesday, ⁠the Houthis said they hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery with a missile, stepping up strikes against the world's second-largest crude producer after the US. Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that three tankers hit sea mines, exploded and caught fire while attempting to use an unauthorised route south ​of the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. Some expectations of rising crude and diesel production from Russia also kept ​a lid on prices. "There ⁠are mixed signals coming from Russia about what they are going to do about fulfilling their diesel promise to the US, that is helping keep prices aloft," There have been no further confirmed attacks on Russian refining infrastructure since the October 15 strike on the Ryazan refinery, JPMorgan analysts said in a note late on Wednesday. "The silence has allowed Russian refinery runs to ⁠rebound by ​350,000 barrels a day last week, to 4 million barrels a day." US crude and distillate inventories fell due ​to higher demand, while gasoline stockpiles rose in the week ended October 23, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. However, analysts at ship-tracking firm Kpler highlighted that export figures reported by the EIA were higher than ​their own tracking systems.

Is Something Else Influencing the Value of Oil?  -- What is the price of oil? This is the question analysts at J.P. Morgan, including the Head of Global Commodities Strategy at the company, Natasha Kaneva, asked in a report sent to Rigzone by Kaneva on Friday, adding that, “eight months into the war with Iran, what should be a straightforward question has become surprisingly hard to answer”. “Oil is once again flowing from the Middle East, and our pricing model puts Brent’s fair value at $94 per barrel,” the analysts said in the report. “Yet Brent is trading near $114, almost $20 above what fundamentals imply. Is this simply the price of geopolitical risk or is something else influencing the value of oil?” they asked. The analysts revealed in the report that they have never been “fully comfortable” with the concept of a “geopolitical risk premium”. They outlined that this is not because geopolitical risk is irrelevant but because “it is remarkably difficult to quantify”. “Over the years, we have tested conflict indicators, geopolitical risk indices, and even the performance of traditional safe-haven assets as explanatory variables in our oil pricing model,” the analysts pointed out. “None improved the model’s fit,” they added. The analysts went on to note in the report that any risk premium tends to be fleeting. “Historically, sustained deviations of more than five percent above our model’s fair value have lasted on average just 3.8 months before prices either converged back to fundamentals or slipped into a discount,” they said. The J.P. Morgan analysts did concede that a model built solely on oil market fundamentals cannot capture every movement in prices. “Uncertainty can push prices away from fair value, sometimes by a wide margin,” they said. They added, however, that before they attribute today’s nearly $20 gap entirely to geopolitics, “we need to ask whether something else has changed in the way oil is being priced”. “One reason to question this explanation is the growing divergence in physical crude markets,” they pointed out. “Crude grades that once moved broadly in line with benchmark prices are now trading at sharply different levels,” they said. “With freight costs reaching extraordinary highs, the key question is whether transportation costs are merely widening physical price differentials or whether they are also influencing the benchmarks against which these barrels are priced,” they continued. The scale of the divergence in physical crude prices is “striking”, the J.P. Morgan analysts highlighted in the report. “So far in October, the UAE’s Upper Zakum crude price has averaged just $71 per barrel, Congo’s Djeno $79, and Brazil’s Mero $89,” they noted. “At the other end of the spectrum, North Sea grades have commanded substantially higher prices, with Forties averaging $127 per barrel, Johan Sverdrup $118, and Ekofisk $130 - against an average Brent price of $106,” they added. “Even after accounting for differences in crude quality and refining characteristics, the nearly $60 spread between the cheapest and most expensive grades is extraordinary, particularly as all prices exclude freight to the final destination,” they said. The analysts noted in the report that, “to understand this divergence, it helps to start with the basics”. “The world’s two main crude benchmarks - Brent and WTI - reflect what the market is willing to pay today for crude delivered in a specific future month, but neither includes the cost of transporting the oil,” they said. “These are the prices we forecast. Dated Brent, which assesses physical crude cargoes loading in the near term, is also quoted on a free-on-board (FOB) equivalent basis, which - like futures pricing - excludes freight to the final destination,” they added. Other grades are priced differently, the analysts pointed out. “Russian Urals has traditionally been priced on both a free-on-board (FOB) basis at Russian export terminals - where the buyer covers delivery costs - and on a delivered basis, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF) at destination ports - where the producer pays the expenses,” they said. “Historically, however, it made little difference to the overall crude price: freight from Russia to Europe was typically only around $2 per barrel,” they added. Most Middle Eastern crudes are assessed through yet another mechanism, the analysts highlighted in the report. “Saudi grades, Iraq’s Basrah and Kuwait Export Crude are more commonly sold under term contracts using official selling prices (OSPs),” they pointed out. “Rather than negotiating a fixed outright price for each cargo, producers typically set a monthly premium or discount to a regional benchmark - generally Oman/Dubai for Asian buyers, and often Dated Brent (or a related Brent reference) for European buyers,” they said. That structure makes OSPs particularly hard to interpret, the analysts noted, adding that, “unlike a freely traded spot price, an OSP is set by the producer and reflects a blend of market conditions, competing crude grades, refinery economics, and commercial strategy”. “A reduction in the OSP differential may signal weakening demand, but it could just as easily represent an attempt to protect market share or compensate buyers for higher transportation costs,” they said. The analysts outlined that they began to see this dynamic in early July 2026. “After the U.S. signed the MoU with Iran, more Hormuz-linked barrels flowed back into the market, but buying remained cautious,” they said. “Producers therefore had to compete more aggressively for market share in Asia,” they added. “Saudi Arabia’s July 6 announcement underscored that shift. It set some of the deepest discounts for August deliveries to Asian buyers - levels comparable only to the Covid period - and the month-on-month cut was described as the steepest in roughly two decades,” they continued. “By October, those discounts had widened further, moving from roughly $3 to $7 versus Dubai for November delivery across different grades - a $14 per barrel swing in the differential in just four months,” they highlighted. The analysts stated in the report, however, that it would be misleading to read this as a corresponding decline in the underlying value of Saudi crude. “At least part of the adjustment reflects an effort to compensate refiners for extraordinary freight costs and preserve the competitiveness of Saudi barrels,” they said. The analysts went on to highlight that the adjustment has been particularly visible in the Atlantic Basin. “Brazilian, Guyanese, and some West African grades initially benefited from higher crude prices as the war disrupted Middle Eastern supply,” they said. “More recently, however, physical differentials have begun to move in the opposite direction to freight rates,” they added. “As the cost of transporting these barrels increased, their FOB values weakened to preserve competitiveness in destination markets,” they continued. The scale of the adjustment is “remarkable”, according to the analysts, who pointed out that, on October 19, Guyana’s Payara Gold was assessed at a $26 per barrel discount to Brent, “its weakest level since assessment began in 2023”. In West Africa, Congo’s Djeno crude traded at a $34 discount, the analysts highlighted, adding that this had widened by $25 per barrel in just three weeks. “These moves are not simply indications of weakening demand for individual grades,” they said. “They largely reflect the rising cost of transporting crude, which is increasingly being absorbed through lower prices at the point of loading,” they added. The analysts noted that the divergence becomes even clearer when comparing crudes of broadly comparable quality destined for Asia and Europe. “In April, the average FOB price of crude bound for Asia was $106 per barrel, compared with $111 for Europe,” they said. “So far in October, the Asian-bound price has averaged $93, while Europe’s has slipped only to $107, widening the gap from $5 to $14,” they added. “Yet the picture reverses once freight is included. Over the same period, the average delivered cost of crude to Asia has risen from $116 to $131, while Europe’s has increased from $116 to $120,” they continued. “The implied transportation cost for Asia has therefore surged from $10 to $38, compared with an increase from $5 to $13 for Europe. Crude destined for Asia is now $14 cheaper at the loading point, yet $11 more expensive once delivered,” they said. The J.P. Morgan analysts highlighted in the report that this is the “geography premium” at work. “Higher freight costs are being absorbed partly through lower FOB prices - particularly for barrels traveling longer distances - while refiners still face sharply higher delivered costs,” they said. “The result is a market in which crude can become more expensive for the buyer even as it becomes less valuable to the producer,” they added.

Oil Prices Jump Amid More Shipping Incidents in Strait of Hormuz - Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track for sharp monthly gains after fresh maritime security incidents in the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns about Middle East energy supplies. Brent crude futures for December, which expire on Friday, rose $2.26, or 2 percent, to $117.14 a barrel. The more active January contract gained $2.30 to $113.10. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.94, or 1.9 percent, to $103.94 a barrel. For October, Brent was on course to gain about 13 percent, while WTI was set for a monthly increase of roughly 15 percent. The gains follow a series of security incidents reported on Thursday in and around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while leaving the Strait of Hormuz. The company operating the vessel reported no crew injuries or environmental damage, while authorities continued to investigate. In a separate incident, UKMTO said another outbound vessel was on fire about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The cause of the blaze, the condition of the crew, and the extent of any damage remained unknown. Earlier on Thursday, Maritime Trade Operations reported that a dhow caught fire following what it described as a maritime security incident about nine nautical miles north of Khasab. Regional authorities later confirmed the vessel had listed and sunk after the blaze, but said all crew members had been safely evacuated. UKMTO advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity while investigations continue. The latest incidents add to months of repeated attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the onset of the Iran war in February. The waterway carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and is a critical route for crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports from Gulf producers. Analysts said the disruption was increasing concerns that energy exports could face further interruptions as winter approaches. “European natural gas prices rallied further yesterday, with TTF settling 4.85 percent higher,” Warren Patterson, head of commodities at ING, wrote in a Thursday market note. He said prices had climbed above 100 euros ($111.4) per megawatt-hour for the first time since 2022, with “little sign of imminent relief in Persian Gulf LNG flows.” Patterson added that “the outlook appears more dire amid the risk of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran following the U.S. midterm elections next week.” He also said QatarEnergy had reportedly extended force majeure declarations for several buyers until the end of the year, while unplanned outages in Norway and forecasts for colder weather across northwest Europe were adding to supply concerns. European Union gas storage facilities are currently just below 75 percent full, according to the note, with more sustained seasonal withdrawals expected as temperatures fall. The latest shipping incidents followed renewed attacks linked to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Houthis said they had carried out six military operations against targets in Saudi Arabia, including the Ras Tanura and Rabigh oil refineries, the Abqaiq Aramco facility, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and military positions in Najran. Saudi coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said coalition air defenses had intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh and western Saudi Arabia over the past two days. The escalation comes as Yemen has become another front in the wider conflict between Iran and the United States and its regional allies. Diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing a broader regional war are ongoing. High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional security. The parties agreed to continue discussions on expanding cooperation, although no timetable for future meetings was announced. Qatari mediators also visited Tehran this week, working in coordination with the United States to reduce tensions. Pakistan and Qatar had previously helped broker a June agreement that led to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and launched broader negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. The ceasefire collapsed on July 8 after U.S. President Donald Trump declared it over and ordered strikes, accusing Iran of attacking ships in the strategic waterway. Trump said on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance’s recent outreach to Iran was intended to help facilitate medical supplies after reports that Vance had written to Tehran’s senior security leadership seeking to revive peace negotiations. Iran has acknowledged receiving the letter but has not yet responded, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which said Tehran expects Washington to meet its conditions before negotiations can advance.

Oil Rises Amid Growing Escalation Risks, Tanker Attacks (DTN) -- Oil prices rose Friday morning after a tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz and market participants weighed the growing likelihood of a reescalation in the U.S.-Iran war following next week's U.S. elections. By 9:00 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for December delivery was up $2.33 to trade near $117.21 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for December delivery rose $1.86 to $103.86 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD for November delivery advanced $0.089 to $4.825 gallon, and front-month RBOB futures appreciated $0.041 to $3.226 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.235 points to 101.655 against a basket of foreign currencies. Iranian attacks on shipping have intensified over the past few weeks, with October recording more incidents than any other month since the start of the conflict at the end of February. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center late Thursday reported that yet another tanker suffered damages after being hit by an explosives-rigged boat in the Strait of Hormuz. The maritime safety watchdog has recorded 43 security incidents involving commercial vessels in the region so far this month, 30 of which were attacks on tankers. Uncertainty over the direction of the war following the U.S. midterm elections remained elevated amid conflicting signals. A Qatari delegation reportedly arrived in Tehran Friday as part of recently stepped-up mediation efforts, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier this week proposed a return to direct negotiations. At the same time, a growing number of reports are suggesting that the U.S. and Israel were independently considering launching fresh attacks on Iran after next week's elections. U.S. President Donald Trump, who was last briefed on strike options Thursday, has ramped up bellicose rhetoric on the campaign trail this month, hinting at delivering a decisive blow to permanently end the war. Amassing U.S. forces in the region additionally fed re-escalation concerns. Four weeks ago, the U.S. launched the third aircraft carrier group toward the region, followed a day later by the deployment of amphibious landing units, expected to arrive at Iranian shores by the end of November. Crude oil futures, meanwhile, were on track for the fourth consecutive monthly increase, reflecting both returning and newly emerging risks to Middle Eastern oil exports. On Friday morning, front-month Brent and WTI futures were trading 13% and 15% higher than at the beginning of October, eyeing their largest month-on-month increases since the July rally that was fueled by the breakdown of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Oil prices jump as tanker attack threatens Strait of Hormuz shipments -Oil prices rose more than 2% Friday after an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz renewed concerns about Middle East supply disruptions. Crude benchmarks were heading for a fourth consecutive monthly gain as traders assessed the risk of further escalation in the US-Iran conflict. January Brent futures advanced 2.55%, to $113.62 a barrel, while December West Texas Intermediate futures gained 2.32%, to $104.37, according to the latest market snapshots. The rally followed a tanker attack near the Strait of Hormuz and renewed threats to Saudi energy infrastructure, Reuters reports. Brent was on course for a monthly increase of approximately 13%, while WTI was heading for a 15% gain. A tanker traveling through the Strait of Hormuz was struck Friday by explosives attached to its hull from a small boat, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency. The incident marked the first known successful attack involving limpet mines in the waterway since the US-Iran war began in February. The perpetrators had not been identified. The incident raised concerns about shipping security along one of the world's most important oil transportation routes. Although Middle Eastern crude exports have recovered above prewar levels, repeated attacks on vessels threaten to disrupt deliveries and increase transportation costs. Security risks extended beyond the strait. Yemen's Houthi movement said Thursday it had attacked several Saudi Arabian energy facilities, including the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries and an oil production installation in Abqaiq. A Saudi-led coalition separately reported intercepting a cruise missile targeting the kingdom's western region. Qatari mediators returned to Tehran Friday as part of efforts to restart negotiations between Washington and Iran. The diplomatic activity followed reports that US Vice President JD Vance had contacted Iranian officials about humanitarian assistance and possible renewed talks. However, significant disagreements remain over the conditions for an agreement. Investors are also watching the approaching US midterm elections and Israel's parliamentary vote, which could influence regional policy and military decisions. The security situation has affected corporate activity. ExxonMobil and Chevron canceled plans for executives to attend a major energy industry conference in the United Arab Emirates next week. Oil prices continued to rise as attacks on tankers and energy facilities heightened concerns about the security of Middle Eastern supplies. Although crude exports from the region remain relatively strong, the threat of further military escalation and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is keeping traders cautious about the stability of global oil flows. Saxo Bank expects crude prices to remain within a higher range of $70 to $90 a barrel after the conflict ends, compared with approximately $60 to $70 before the war. The outlook reflects the possibility of renewed hostilities and the need to rebuild depleted inventories.

Oil jumps 2%, settles at 6-month highs on fears of escalation in Iran - Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Friday and settled ​at their highest levels since the end of April, as traders braced for a potential escalation in the Iran war after the US midterm elections, ‌with an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting supply risks. Brent crude futures for December, which expired on Friday, settled up $2.76, or 2.4%, at $117.64 a barrel, after touching a high of $118. The more active January contract gained $2.63 to $113.43. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled $2.12, or 2.08%, higher at $104.12. For the month, Brent finished 13.6% higher, while WTI rose 15.2%. “Traders will remain ​focused on oil flows out of the Middle East and the likely escalation by US and allied forces,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president ​of trading at BOK Financial. On Friday, a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by explosive devices attached by a small ⁠boat, said the UKMTO, the British maritime security service. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack in the strait, the key sea outlet for ​Gulf crude and fuel supplies. It was the first known successful strike in the waterway using limpet mines, explosives that are attached to a ship’s hull from a small boat, ​since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February, maritime sources said. The US ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia effective October 23 due to safety risks, the US embassy in Riyadh said on Friday, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants said on Thursday they had attacked ​several sites in Saudi Arabia, including the large Ras Tanura oil refinery, the Rabigh refinery and a production facility in Abqaiq owned by state oil company Saudi ​Aramco. A Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted a cruise missile launched by the Houthis towards the kingdom’s western region. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of coordinated efforts to ‌reach a ⁠deal between the US and Iran, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Vice President JD Vance had reached out to Iran to help the country get medical supplies, after US media reported Vance had written to Tehran’s top security official to revive peace talks. Iran has received a letter from Vance, but it has not responded to it yet, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that Tehran wants the US to meet its conditions and “any ​position that contradicts this framework is ​unacceptable.” Oil prices could become even more ⁠volatile in the next couple of weeks due to Israel’s recent elections and the US midterm elections on November 3, according to a Saxo Bank briefing on Thursday. The Danish bank said crude is expected to trade in a higher range of $70 ​to $90 a barrel even after the conflict ends, compared with a pre-war range of $60 to $70. Saudi Arabia’s crude exports rose ​in October from September, two ⁠of three ship-tracking companies said, despite Iranian attacks on shipping in the Gulf and claims by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis of attacks on Saudi oil facilities. The US oil rig count, an indicator of future output, rose by two. US crude oil output increased in August, while demand for crude oil and petroleum products declined, the US Energy Information ⁠Administration (EIA) said in ​its Petroleum Supply Monthly report on Friday. Meanwhile, Libya’s National Oil Corporation said an armed group shut ​a valve on Friday on the main Hamada crude oil pipeline, which links the Hamada field to the Zawiya refinery. It said the closure of the valve had halted the flow of about ​15,000 barrels per day.

Oil prices rise for the fourth consecutive month amid the war with Iran | УНН -- Oil prices rose on Friday, October 30, and are expected to post a fourth consecutive month of gains after an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz highlighted the continuing supply risks from the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, now in its eighth month. UNN reports, citing Reuters. Brent crude futures for December delivery, which expire on Friday, rose by $1.20, or 1.04%, to $116.08 per barrel as of 3:23 GMT (5:23 a.m. Kyiv time). The more active January contract rose by $1.39 to $112.19. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by $1.37, or 1.34%, to $103.37. During the month, Brent crude prices rose by nearly 11%, while WTI prices increased by 14%. On Friday, a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz — a key maritime route for oil and fuel supplies from the Persian Gulf — was hit by explosive devices attached from a small vessel, UKMTO reported. The attackers have not yet been identified. "Ongoing fighting in the Strait of Hormuz area, amid doubts about the viability of a diplomatic path, is keeping oil prices high as markets anticipate an escalation of the conflict in the coming weeks," said Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee. On Thursday, the Houthis claimed attacks on several facilities in Saudi Arabia, including the largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura, the refinery in Rabigh and a production facility in Abqaiq owned by state-run Saudi Aramco, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a cruise missile launched by the Houthis toward the kingdom's western region. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday, October 29, that Vice President J.D. Vance had asked Iran to help the country obtain medicines after U.S. media reported that Vance had written to Tehran's top security official asking him to resume peace talks. Iran received a letter from Vance but has not yet responded to it, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that Tehran wants the United States to meet its conditions and that "any position contrary to these conditions is unacceptable." Amid concerns about security in the Middle East, ExxonMobil and Chevron canceled plans for their executives to attend the United Arab Emirates' largest oil exhibition next week, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Price forecast Oil prices could become even more volatile over the next couple of weeks because of Israel's parliamentary elections and the U.S. midterm congressional elections, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said at a media briefing in Singapore on Thursday. Hansen said that heightened uncertainty makes price forecasting more difficult, but he expects oil to trade in a higher range of $70 to $90 per barrel compared with the prewar level of $60–70, even after the conflict ends, due to the risk of renewed hostilities and the need to replenish inventories.

Wall Street Banks Raise Oil Price Forecasts as Supply Fears Deepen - Brent Crude oil prices are set to end the year at about $105 per barrel, bank ANZ said on Friday as it hiked its projection by $10 a barrel on the assumption that Middle East oil exports, shipping availability, and fuel supplies will remain constrained through December."The forecast does not require another geopolitical shock," ANZ's strategists wrote in a note carried by Bloomberg.   “Rather, it assumes that the constraints already confronting Middle Eastern exports, shipping and refined-product markets persist through year-end."Of course, any escalation in the Middle East would send oil prices even higher, the bank said.  The world is out of buffers to curb new shocks, ANZ notes."Eight months of adapting to disrupted Middle Eastern supply have materially weakened the buffers that absorbed the initial shock," according to the bank's strategists.Earlier this week, UBS also raised its Brent Crude forecasts to $110 a barrel at the end of 2026, up from a previous projection of $100 per barrel, amid elevated uncertainty about the Middle East conflict, production and exports from the region, and global oil demand. Goldman Sachs, for its part, sees Brent at $90 per barrel at the end of this year and an annual average at $80 in 2027, but "the risks to our forecasts are clearly skewed to the upside," Daan Struyven, co-head of Global Commodities Research and head of Oil Research, said last week.Goldman estimates the baked-in risk premium in oil at about $27 per barrel for Brent at the moment."But for the risk premium to come off quickly, you would probably need to see a diplomatic solution that market participants see as sustainable," Struyven said.Oil prices, however, are heading for a fourth consecutive monthly gain on Friday, as the Houthis are escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia and the market braces for a potential new round of U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Tanker Disabled in Strait of Hormuz Attack, Another Vessel Reported on Fire in Persian Gulf  -Two new maritime security warnings issued Monday point to continued dangers for commercial shipping in the Middle East, with one tanker confirmed disabled by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz and another vessel reportedly on fire in the northern Persian Gulf. UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a verified, time-late report of a tanker struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz on October 23 at 0839 UTC. The impact disabled the vessel, although all crew members were reported safe. UKMTO did not identify the tanker or provide details about the extent of the damage. No assessment of possible environmental impacts was available. The incident was disclosed three days after it occurred, highlighting the continuing delays in reporting attacks against commercial vessels in the region. In a separate warning issued Monday, UKMTO said it had received multiple third-party reports of a vessel on fire approximately 63 nautical miles southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq, in the northern Persian Gulf. The vessel’s identity, crew status, extent of damage and potential environmental impact were unknown. UKMTO classified the report as suspicious activity rather than a confirmed attack. The cause of the fire remains unclear, and authorities are investigating. The two reports come amid continued attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with violence increasingly extending into the wider Persian Gulf. In its latest advisory, issued October 25, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) maintained its SEVERE threat assessment for the Strait of Hormuz, warning that further deliberate attacks were highly likely. The assessment also kept the threat level across the wider Persian Gulf at SUBSTANTIAL, citing five attacks inside the Gulf since October 7, including incidents near anchorages and ship-to-ship transfer areas. JMIC reported 156 confirmed maritime security incidents across the region since March 1. That figure was published before UKMTO disclosed the latest verified tanker attack. The advisory highlighted another recent incident involving an LPG tanker struck by an unidentified projectile on October 22, approximately seven nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. That vessel subsequently reached an anchorage off Khor Fakkan. According to JMIC, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps activity continues to include attacks, attempted attacks, drone overflights, surveillance and radio communications directing commercial vessels toward Iranian-controlled routes. The latest incidents also underscore the growing risks beyond the Strait itself, particularly in the Persian Gulf, where ships waiting at anchor or conducting cargo transfers remain exposed. Despite efforts by the United States to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, commercial traffic remains well below historical levels. JMIC reported 101 U.S.-facilitated vessel transits between October 22 and 24, compared with a historical average of approximately 138 vessels per day in 2025. The figures use different reporting methodologies, with the U.S. tally covering assisted transits rather than all commercial movements. Separate tracking data showed only single-digit daily transits outside the U.S.-facilitated system. Congestion also remains severe. As of October 25, JMIC estimated approximately 492 vessels were waiting outside the Strait of Hormuz, with large concentrations near Fujairah, Khor Fakkan and other regional anchorages. The continuing disruption comes as U.S. forces enforce a naval blockade of Iranian ports while attempting to maintain safe passage for other commercial shipping. JMIC warned that vessels using the Strait face persistent threats from projectile attacks, possible renewed mining activity and electronic navigation interference. UKMTO has advised vessels operating in the affected areas to exercise caution and report suspicious activity while investigations continue.

Persian Gulf Strait Authority issues warning to COSCO shipping over repeated transit violations The Persian Gulf Strait Authority has issued a decisive warning to all parties affiliated with the COSCO Shipping Company, declaring that all vessels belonging to the company will face legal action starting November 1 for repeated violations of maritime transit regulations. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Authority confirmed that vessels belonging to COSCO Shipping, a Chinese multinational transportation service conglomerate, have committed the highest number of transit violations over the past three months. The statement noted that proportionate enforcement actions have already been taken against at least seven of the company's vessels for defying maritime regulations. "All cargo owners, stakeholders, and insurance service providers are hereby warned that starting from November 1, all vessels belonging to this company will face legal action," the Authority declared. The warning comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to strictly enforce its sovereign maritime regulations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Following the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran earlier this year, and the subsequent US violations of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Iranian authorities declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to unauthorized traffic. The IRGC Navy has repeatedly warned that any vessel attempting to transit through the strategic waterway without coordinating with Iranian maritime authorities will face severe consequences. The enforcement measures include strict monitoring of transit routes, mandatory coordination with Iranian port authorities, and the prosecution of vessels found to be in violation of the established maritime protocols. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority has been at the forefront of enforcing these regulations, ensuring that all commercial shipping in the region adheres to the sovereign rights of the Islamic Republic as the coastal state controlling the strategic chokepoint.

Iran Cracks Down on Sinokor Tankers - Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said it would take "legal action" against tankers belonging to Sinokor, the world's biggest oil tanker owner that has carried millions of barrels out of the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks. "The vessels belonging to Sinokor Shipping Company have committed the highest number of crossing violations over the past 3 months, and so far, appropriate enforcement actions have been taken against at least 7 of them," the PGSA said in a social media post, without specifying what those actions were. Iran established the PGSA earlier this year as a point of contact for transits through Hormuz. It has since published a list of vessels that it says have violated its rules for crossing the waterway. Meanwhile Sinokor is the world's largest owner of supertankers and has emerged as a vital cog in keeping the world's oil moving, by pouncing on the lucrative trade of getting barrels out of Hormuz. The company's ships accounted for nearly 40 percent of all the crude oil that flowed out from the Strait of Hormuz last month, more than the next three biggest players combined, according to data from intelligence firms and maritime databases. Since the Iran war began, there's been a tussle for control of the world's most important energy chokepoint. While it was largely shut in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, there's been a persistent increase in the amount of oil transiting Hormuz since, and most trackers now see total shipments from the Middle East around pre-war levels. "All cargo owners, stakeholders, and insurance service providers are hereby warned that as of November 1, legal action will be taken against all vessels of this company," the PGSA said in its post. Sinokor didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran claims four tankers hit mines in Hormuz as U.S. strike fears grow - Iran said four tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, escalating pressure on two fronts as the U.S. reportedly weighs renewed military action against Tehran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. The flare-up is fueling concern among regional officials and analysts that fighting could resume around the Nov. 3 vote, even as Vice President JD Vance seeks to reopen talks with Iran. The developments underscore the competing diplomatic and military tracks now shaping the conflict, which now in its ninth month. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three tankers caught fire after striking mines along what it called an “unauthorized southern route” near the Omani coast. Iran’s army said a fourth burned east of the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a small boat attaching two explosive devices to a tanker about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The blasts sparked an engine-room fire that disabled the vessel, the agency said, adding that the crew was safe.  Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday also challenged a U.S. Central Command statement that American forces had cleared mines from the primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.The vital waterway carried about one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies, and has seen traffic plummet to single-digit daily passings since the war started in late February. “Prove the claim that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared of mines with independent evidence, not a statement,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said. “The reality of the Strait of Hormuz is determined in the air, on land and at sea, not on social media and in America’s media war rooms.” Iran-backed Houthi forces said they launched six military operations across Saudi Arabia, targeting airports and oil facilities, despite a rare meeting of Saudi and Iranian senior officials in Tehran earlier this week. The two sides had agreed to resolve regional differences through dialogue. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the attacks but said their air defenses have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone launched toward the holy Mecca region. Earlier this week, Vance sent a letter via Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing a framework for talks. President Donald Trump, when asked whether he directed the outreach, said “no,” framing it as Iran needing “help with medical supplies and various things.” “He [Vance] asked me what I thought. I said, ‘if you want to do that, that’s OK,’” Trump said. Reports have emerged that the Trump administration may resume military actions in the Middle East after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Adm. Brad Cooper, top U.S. commander in the region briefed Trump on military options for Iran in a rare in-person visit to the White House, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials close to the matter. The meeting, joined by other cabinet members, covered other topics including the continuing U.S. blockade, according to the report.

Iranian President Holds Talks With Qatar Emir in Moscow -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Moscow on Tuesday, Iran’s PressTV has reported. The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the 8th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit, marked the second day in a row of high-level engagement between Iran and a Gulf Arab state, as Saudi Arabia’s defense minister was in Tehran on Monday for a four-way meeting that involved senior officials from Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran.According to PressTV, during the talks in Moscow, Pezeshkian and al-Thani “reviewed the latest status of relations between Tehran and Doha and underscored the importance of expanding political and economic ties, as well as utilizing existing capacities to elevate the level of mutual cooperation.” Readouts of the meeting made no mention of the US war with Iran, though the talks came amid threats of another major US-Israeli attack against the Islamic Republic, which is expected to happen sometime after the US midterm elections. Iranian leaders have been warning that any renewed US strikes would lead to heavier retaliatory attacks, which will involve more strikes on Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases.In the meantime, the US continues to enforce a blockade on Iran, and Iranian forces continue to attack oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Addressing the GECF on Tuesday, Pezeshkian said the disruptions to security and the energy market were the result of US-Israeli aggression.“The military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran, occurring in two phases and in the midst of political negotiations, was one of the most regrettable and dangerous events against global security,” Pezeshkian said. “These illegal actions have seriously jeopardized the stability of energy markets and must be condemned and effectively countered by the world’s major energy suppliers.”

Yemen: Saudi Airstrikes on Civilian Homes, Cement Factory Workers’ Housing Kill 17 - - Saudi airstrikes pounded Yemen’s Hodeidah province and the capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, killing at least 17 civilians as the US-backed bombing campaign continues to have a devastating impact on Yemeni civilians. One strike on Saturday hit housing units for workers at a cement factory in the Sanaa Governorate, killing eight civilians, including four children and three women, according to the latest numbers from the Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni government. Fifteen others, including eight children, were wounded. A separate strike in the capital city of Sanaa hit a home belonging to a man identified as Fouad al-Shaabi, killing at least four people, including two children, according to a local source speaking to Yemen’s SABA news agency. A woman and a man were also injured by the bombing.   Another Saudi strike hit a civilian home in Hodeidah, a province on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. According to a source speaking to SABA, the home belonged to Abdul-Wahid al-Wasabi, and the Saudi strike killed him, his two wives, and two of their children. A girl, al-Wasabi’s daughter, was also reported wounded in the attack.Saudi airstrikes against civilian targets continued on Sunday, with the Health Ministry reporting that Saudi warplanes bombed a maternity hospital in the Taiz province. The ministry said the strike caused “significant damage” but didn’t report any casualties. “Targeting hospitals and health facilities constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reveals the aggression’s determination to deprive the Yemeni people of their right to safe healthcare,” the Health Ministry wrote on Telegram. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen was notorious for bombing civilian areas during the war in Yemen from 2015 to 2022, and the current conflict has followed a similar pattern. The US is strongly backing the Saudi bombing campaign by providing intelligence and refueling Saudi warplanes, a form of support the US suspended back in 2018 due to pressure from Congress.

Eight Civilians Killed in Yemen by Saudi Airstrikes, Saudi-Backed Forces Over 24 Hours: Health Ministry -   Saudi airstrikes and attacks launched by Saudi-backed forces on the ground killed at least eight Yemeni civilians and wounded 19 in three Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni government.The ministry wrote on Telegram that the casualties were recorded in the provinces of Saada, Taiz, and Hajjah, and that women and children were among the casualties.The ministry added that it considered “the Saudi-led coalition’s attacks to be a direct targeting of civilians in their homes and service facilities, a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law which prohibits targeting civilians, and a systematic war crime that necessitates urgent action from the international community to hold those responsible accountable.”Notable incidents over the past day included the bombing of a vehicle repair shop in the Taiz province, an attack that killed at least two people, according to Yemen’s SABA news agency. The Health Ministry said that Saudi-backed forces shelled a gas station in Taiz’s Sabr al-Mawadim District and that one woman was killed by shelling in the Jabal Habash District.  Other attacks included a Saudi airstrike on a drinking water tank in Taiz and a Saudi bombing that damaged a school and a mosque in Taiz’s Maqbanah District, which injured a girl. In Saada, two children were reported wounded by a Saudi airstrike near a school. Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, has also been accused of killing civilians, with a rights group that’s critical of Ansar Allah reporting that four civilians were killed over a 48-hour period by Houthi shelling in the city of Taiz. Ansar Allah has had the city encircled for weeks, and civilians are suffering due to shortages caused by the fighting.The Saudi-led coalition was notorious for bombing civilian areas in Yemen during the war from 2015 to 2022, and it has followed a similar pattern since Riyadh reignited the war back in July by bombing the Sanaa International Airport. The US is strongly backing the Saudi air campaign by providing intelligence and refueling Saudi warplanes. Since early September, Saudi airstrikes have frequently hit civilian homes and caused devastating casualties. On Saturday, 17 civilians were reported killed by Saudi strikes on homes and housing units for workers at a cement factory.

Saudi-led troops had just gathered when a Houthi missile left dozens dead -For days, drones surveilled a desert base in the far reaches of Yemen where Saudi Arabian officers prepared to train newly enlisted local forces as the fight against the Iran-backed Houthi militia rages. Just as the training got under way Oct. 19, the Houthis hit the base with three ballistic missiles over the span of a few minutes, killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 200 others—including Saudi troops—in the deadliest single attack by the militants in the new war, Saudi and Yemen officials briefed on the incident and witnesses said. The strike on Shabwah was one of a string of recent attacks that show the stiff challenge Saudi Arabia faces in trying to contain an enemy that has demonstrated an ability to gather sensitive intelligence on its movements and respond quickly with precision. On Oct. 15, a Houthi drone and missile attack targeted Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, the seat of power for Yemen’s internationally recognized government, killing and injuring several people including Saudi officers, whose housing was hit by one of the missiles, some of the Saudi and Yemeni officials briefed on the incident said. On Wednesday, a Houthi missile attack targeted an airport near the eastern port city of Mukalla shortly after Saudi military reinforcements reached a base there, some officials said. “The bigger picture is that the Houthis are systematically targeting military reinforcements and redeployments across Yemen, including newly arriving vehicles, ammunition shipments, troop concentrations and gatherings at recruitment centers,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert who runs the U.S.-based Basha Report risk-advisory company. The government of Saudi Arabia didn’t respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia has tried and failed to contain the Houthi threat on its southern border for more than a decade. The kingdom intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 shortly after the Houthis seized the capital, San’a, but struck a ceasefire seven years later after the Houthis hit Saudi cities and energy infrastructure. The kingdom offered financial support to cover government employees’ salaries in San’a during several years of relative quiet, but fighting resumed this summer and quickly escalated. The Houthis seized territory along the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint, threatening Saudi oil exports, and repeatedly struck the international airport in Riyadh, leaving at least 18 dead and choking off flights for weeks. Saudi-backed forces launched a counterattack early this month but have made little decisive progress. The Houthis, meanwhile, are threatening the strategic city of Taiz and repeatedly attacking the seat of government at Aden. Saudi Arabia will need to either recruit more fighters on the ground or send in more of its own forces into Yemen if it wants to mount a major offensive against the Houthis. The militia’s latest attacks show how bloody that fight could get. The Houthis now employ far more sophisticated drones, missiles and intelligence. And they are showing they can launch precise and well-timed strikes inside and outside of Yemen.

Israeli Media: Saudi Arabia Offered Ansar Allah $1 Billion for Yemen Ceasefire - The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Monday that Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman’s visit to Tehran was meant to secure a ceasefire with Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as part of a deal that would involve Riyadh transferring $1 billion to the Yemeni group to fulfill a 2023 roadmap for peace that was never implemented. Under the 2023 deal, the first phase would have involved salary payments to civil workers living in Ansar Allah-controlled Yemen, where most Yemenis live. But US sanctions imposed on Ansar Allah in 2024, specifically the re-designation of the group as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” blocked the payments as part of punishment from the Biden administration over Yemeni attacks on Israeli-linked shipping, a response to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.One source speaking to Israel Hayom said Salman brought $1 billion in cash to Iran, but the report didn’t specify whether the money changed hands. A Saudi official didn’t confirm the transfer but said much of the conflict stems from the failure to implement the 2023 agreement.For their part, now that they have significant momentum on the ground, Ansar Allah is demanding an immediate lifting of the Saudi blockade for a ceasefire. Hamid Asim, a member of Sanaa’s negotiating delegation, told The Cradle earlier this month that Ansar Allah wants “an end to the aggression, the lifting of the blockade, payment of compensation, the release of prisoners, and the withdrawal of forces occupying parts of the country.” Asim said the 2023 understanding could form the basis for a settlement, as long as it accounts for the new realities on the ground.Since Riyadh reignited the war by bombing the Sanaa International Airport in July, Ansar Allah has pounded Saudi oil sites and airports and has taken a significant amount of territory from Saudi-backed forces, while Saudi Arabia has escalated its bombing campaign in the country with little to show for it besides an increasing number of civilian casualties.  The National also reported on the talks in Tehran and cited sources who said that the Saudi, Turkish, and Pakistani officials urged Tehran to ask Ansar Allah to halt its attacks on the kingdom. The report said that Iran responded by saying it lacked the leverage over Ansar Allah to compel them to stop the attacks but relayed Ansar Allah’s condition for an end to the Saudi blockade.

Saudi Airstrikes on Yemen Market, Gas Station Kill 14 Civilians: Health Ministry   -- Saudi airstrikes in Yemen’s northern al-Jawf province hit a market and a gas station on Wednesday, killing at least 14 civilians, according to the Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni government. “We condemn in the strongest terms the crime that targeted civilians in Al-Jawf Governorate, which, according to the initial toll, resulted in the martyrdom of 14 citizens and the injury of 15 others,” the Health Ministry wrote on Telegram. The ministry said the strikes hit the “al-Hazm Central Market during peak shopping hours, several residential homes surrounding the market, and a gas station in the same area.” It stressed that the casualty count was a “preliminary toll,” suggesting that it could rise.The Saudi bombing campaign has had a devastating impact on Yemeni civilians since Riyadh reignited the war back in July by bombing the Sanaa International Airport. Saudi airstrikes escalated in early September when Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, launched a ground offensive against Saudi-backed forces on the ground. According to the Yemen Data Project, Saudi airstrikes killed at least 66 civilians in September, and the civilian casualties appear to have significantly escalated in October. On October 21, the Health Ministry said that since July, Saudi airstrikes and attacks by Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have killed 155 civilians. The US has up to 200 military advisors in Saudi Arabia to provide intelligence and targeting support for the bombing campaign. The US also resumed refueling Saudi warplanes, a form of support the US cut off back in 2018 due to pressure from Congress.

Civilians Reported Killed by Jordanian Airstrikes in Syria - -The Jordanian military on Monday launched airstrikes in southern Syria, a bombing that Amman framed as retaliation for the October 23 attack on St. George’s Orthodox Church in Jordan’s western Karak province, which killed nine Christians who were attending a funeral.  The strikes hit multiple locations in Syria’s Suwayda and Daraa provinces, and according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, at least five civilians were killed, including women and children. Syria’s state-funded Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that five civilians were killed and said a 65-year-old man was among the dead. Jordan said that the strikes were launched in coordination with Damascus, but the Syrian government, led by former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, issued a statement denying that it was notified of the attack ahead of time. In its statement on the strikes, the Jordanian military claimed that it targeted “terrorist hideouts” in response to the church shooting. “The operation was conducted in retaliation for the martyrs of last Friday’s Hamoud church attack in Karak. The terrorists behind the Hamoud attack have ties to the targeted terrorist organizations,” the statement said.The Jordanian statement didn’t specify what “terrorist organizations” were targeted, and Jordanian officials said earlier in the day that three suspects were arrested inside Jordan after a shootout with security forces, and that they had no known link to other terrorist cells. Jordanian officials also said that two of the men who were arrested were brothers, and that the other man was their brother-in-law, and they adhered to an “extremist takfiri ideology.”  The attack on the church in Karak rocked Jordan, as the country is known for protecting its Christian minority, which has until now been spared such violence relative to other Christian communities in the region. Following the massacre, Jordan’s King Abdullah vowed that the perpetrators would be punished “with an iron fist.”

Jordan Acknowledges Civilian Casualties in Its Airstrikes in Syria, Claims ISIS Fighters Were Also Killed - - Jordan on Tuesday acknowledged that airstrikes it launched in southern Syria on Monday caused civilian casualties, while also claiming that the attack killed about 20 ISIS fighters. Amman framed the strikes as retaliation for the October 23 attack on St. George’s Orthodox Church in Jordan’s western Karak province, which killed nine Christians who were attending a funeral, though it arrested three suspects in Jordan after a shootout before the airstrikes.Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Momani said that Amman regretted the civilian casualties in the Syria strikes and was cooperating with Syrian authorities to investigate the strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Tuesday that at least seven civilians were confirmed killed by the Jordanian strikes, which hit multiple targets across the Suwayda and Daraa provinces. Among the dead was a family of five, including three children, and an elderly man.The SOHR also said that there were “no confirmed casualties among ISIS, Al-Qaeda or other groups classified as terrorist organizations have been documented in the available toll.”Momani claimed that initial “operational assessments indicate substantial enemy casualties, estimated at over 20 Daesh (ISIS) operatives killed, alongside the destruction of a major weapons depot belonging to the group.” Jordanian officials have described the three suspected church shooters as having a “takfiri extremist ideology” but initially said they had no known links to other terrorist cells.`Jordan, which receives a minimum of $350 million in military aid from the US each year and flies US-made F-16 fighter jets, claimed that the attack was coordinated with Damascus. But the Syrian government, led by former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, denied that it received advanced notice.

Israeli Media: IDF Chief Resisted Netanyahu Order for Military Action Related to Iran - - Israeli media reported on Sunday that an “unprecedented confrontation” is unfolding between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, as the army chief is resisting an order to take unspecified military action related to Iran ahead of Tuesday’s Knesset elections.It’s unclear exactly what Netanyahu has ordered, but the report from Israel’s Channel 12 said that the clash between the two is related to the “Iranian issue” and “the concern of Zamir and the military echelon that the political echelon could lead Israel into a scenario of miscalculation facing Iran just before the elections.”According to The Times of Israel, a military source said that it “relates to an action that could lead to a lightning confrontation with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation.” Other sources said military leaders were concerned about an effort by political leadership “to utilize the Iranian issue for political benefit,” while a political source was quoted as calling the allegations a “lie.”The report came after Netanyahu shared an AI-generated image of an atomic blast in Tel Aviv that included comments made by Yuval Blumberg, an Israeli political commentator, that said Israel is in “real and tangible existential danger” over the alleged threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu has ramped up his rhetoric about Iran as the election approaches and has gone back to claiming Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, a claim he’s been making for decades. While both Netanyahu and President Trump frame the conflict with Iran as being about preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, there was no evidence either before the June 2025 war or the current war that Tehran had decided to pursue nuclear weapons, and that was the consensus of the US intelligence agencies. In the post on Sunday that quoted Blumberg, Netanyahu wrote that Israel has “another two years of Trump to finish the work in Iran, and there’s no telling what will come after that—whether it’s Kamala Harris or some other mediocre figure.”Israel’s Channel 12 reported that some US officials were concerned that Iran could take the statement as a threat and that it could lead to an Iranian attack on Israel.

Israeli Quadcopter Drones Set Fire to Gaza Tent Camp, Displacing 800 Palestinians - - Israeli quadcopter drones dropped incendiary bombs on a displacement camp in Gaza City’s eastern Shuja’iyya junction on Sunday night, setting fire to tents and displacing more than 800 Palestinians, local sources have told the Palestinian news agency WAFA. The camp was near the “yellow line,” the dividing line between the IDF-occupied side of Gaza and the rest of the Strip, and Palestinians who lived in the camp said that they frequently faced Israeli fire but had nowhere else to go. The WAFA report said that about 200 families were impacted by the fire.Displaced Palestinians inspect the charred remains of their tents and belongings at a displacement camp near the Shujaiya junction in eastern Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2026 (video via Reuters Connect)  WAFA cited human rights advocates who described the burning of the camp as part of an Israeli policy of “forced displacement and continuous uprooting,” arguing that the incident could amount to a “full-fledged war crime and crime against humanity.”The destruction of the tents came as the Israeli military has been conducting heavy attacks across Gaza, as the IDF appears to be escalating its attacks ahead of Tuesday’s Knesset elections. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that over the past 24 hours, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians and that another three died of wounds sustained in previous Israeli attacks.Al Jazeera reported that attacks in Gaza on Monday have killed at least five Palestinians, including a seven-year-old girl who was among four people killed by the bombing of a displacement camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Another person was killed by an Israeli strike on Gaza City’s western Remal neighborhood.The Health Ministry said that since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed in October 2025, Israel has killed at least 1,559 Palestinians and wounded 5,608, as the IDF has constantly violated the agreement.

Nearly 50,000 women, girls killed or maimed in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza: Ministry - The Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Gaza says nearly 50,000 Palestinian women and girls have been killed or sustained serious injuries since Israel launched its genocidal war on the besieged territory on October 7, 2023. In a statement issued on Monday to mark Palestinian Women’s National Day, the ministry said the toll includes more than 38,000 women and girls killed and another 11,700 who suffered injuries resulting in permanent disabilities. It noted that the numbers mean approximately one in every 21 women and girls in Gaza has been killed or left permanently disabled amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war. The ministry reported that more than 277 women and girls lost their lives last year, despite the "ceasefire agreement" that took effect in October 2025. “The Israeli occupation army has issued more than 150 evacuation orders since October 2023, resulting in the displacement of about one million women and girls from their homes,” the ministry added. According to the figures given by the ministry, the number of "widows in the Gaza Strip has reached 64,413, including 28,224 women who were widowed during the genocidal war, while the number of orphaned children has risen to 71, 846.” Citing reports from human rights organizations, the women's affairs ministry stated that 90 Palestinian women were held in Israeli prisons as of early October 2026, including women held under administrative detention. The figures came as four Palestinians, including a 7-year-old girl, were killed and 14 others injured in attacks by the Israeli military and regime-backed forces in the Gaza Strip on Monday. A medical source at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said the bodies of two young men and a girl were brought to the hospital following an Israeli airstrike and gunfire in the Bir 19 area, west of Khan Younis. Despite the so-called ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, Israeli forces have continued their daily attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,551 Palestinians and injuring 5,573 others since the truce began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Since October 2023, Israel has killed over 74,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 175,000 others in Gaza, while nearly 90% of the territory's civilian infrastructure has been destroyed.