week ending July 17

Frontline Investigates the Federal Reserve: Is It a Captured Regulator that’s Wrecking the U.S. Economy with Asset Bubbles? Pam Martens - Fed Chair Jerome Powell will take his seat before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday at noon and before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. for his semi-annual testimony on monetary policy. Some embarrassing questions may come up for Powell based on an investigative report on the Fed that’s airing earlier in the week.This Tuesday evening, the PBS investigative program, Frontline, will broadcast a documentary covering its year-long investigation of the Federal Reserve’s bailouts of Wall Street, from the financial crisis of 2008 to the present.According to the information about the program that Frontline has released, the documentary, titled “The Power of the Fed,” will include interviews with multiple people who believe that the Fed has been captured by Wall Street and is creating dangerous asset bubbles.Legendary investor Jeremy Grantham will tell viewers this about the Fed’s policies:“They have the housing market, the stock market and the bond market all overpriced at the same time. And they will not be able to prevent, sooner or later, the asset prices coming back down. So we are playing with fire because we have the three great asset classes moving into bubble territory simultaneously.”Grantham characterizes what the Fed has created on Wall Street as a “giant bloodsucker,” that is “sucking more than twice the blood out of the rest of the economy.” Andrew Huszar, a former insider at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where the Federal Reserve has a serial habit of outsourcing its bailout programs for the mega banks on Wall Street (likely because it is literally owned by those same banks) will explain to viewers how he was “single-handedly responsible for directing the deployment of $1.25 trillion of Fed funds, and we did not see the knock-on benefits that we had hoped for the average American.”Huszar is talking about the $1.25 trillion the Fed spent in buying up agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) following the 2008 financial crash on Wall Street. Despite the fact that the Fed saw no benefits accrue from that program to the average American, it doubled down on the same program during the pandemic, buying up $40 billion a month in agency MBS. The Fed’s current total of agency MBS on its balance sheet stands at $2.3 trillion as of last Wednesday. The custodian of the securities purchased in the Fed’s MBS program has been, from the outset, JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest owners of the New York Fed. The fact that the bank has received an unprecedented five felony counts from the Department of Justice since 2014 hasn’t changed the Fed’s mind about entrusting the bank with $2.3 trillion of its assets. (JPMorgan Chase admitted to all five felony counts.) The illusion that when the Fed pumps money into the banks it will somehow trickle down to the average American is back in full swing this time around. Powell states at every press conference that the Fed is working to benefit the American people. The reality is that the banks that received the almost zero interest rate loans from the Fed since September 17, 2019 (before there was any pandemic anywhere in the world) have continued to gouge consumers on credit cards. (See Citigroup Has Made a Sap of the Fed: It’s Borrowing at 0.35 % from the Fed While Charging Struggling Consumers 27.4 % on Credit Cards.)

 The Federal Reserve Has Radically Changed from a Central Bank to a Bailout Kingpin. Americans Just Haven’t Paid Attention – Until Tonight - Pam Martens -This evening, the PBS program, Frontline, will do something that corporate broadcast media has failed to do since the financial crash of 2008. Frontline will air the results of its year-long investigation of the most powerful financial institution in the world – the central bank of the United States – known as the Federal Reserve, or simply “the Fed.” The Fed’s radical makeover of itself began in December of 2007 when the Fed decided, on its own, that it had the authority to secretly pump out trillions of dollars in cumulative loans to prop up the mega banks on Wall Street, as well as to the foreign banks that were on the other side of Wall Street’s hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivative trades. The Fed secretly ran that program through at least July of 2010 according to the eventual audit that was conducted by the Government Accountability Office. (That audit only came about because Senator Bernie Sanders attached an amendment to the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation of 2010.) The Fed’s latest massive bailout operation began on September 17, 2019, months before there was a case of COVID-19 anywhere in the world. The full scope of this operation and other bailout programs remain a dark secret at the Fed, casting a pall over investors’ confidence in the transparency and stability of the U.S. financial system. Frontline writers and producers James Jacoby and Anya Bourg, who are the force behind tonight’sFrontline documentary, The Power of the Fed, will now become part of a rarefied group of individuals who have mustered the determination to cut through the Fed’s insidiously cultivated armor of Fed-speak and its preposterous structure that allows it to create trillions of dollars of money electronically out of thin air for bailouts, with only feigned oversight by Congress. We have not yet seen the Frontline program but we have high hopes given the past work of Frontline. (See here and here.) The Frontline team has the opportunity tonight to significantly build on the herculean work of two other journalists who spent years investigating the Fed and advancing Americans’ understanding of its kleptocratic nature: Mark Pittman and Nomi Prins....

Despite inflation, Fed will not pull back on present monetary policies -Fed chair Jerome Powell has again reassured financial markets that, despite the significant rise in US inflation, the central bank is not going to pull back its ultra-loose monetary policies that have seen Wall Street reach record highs. Powell’s assurances came in his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee yesterday in the wake of inflation data which showed that prices had jumped at an annual rate of 5.4 percent in the year to June. The rise of 0.9 percent for last month was the highest since 2008. Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP) Powell insisted that, while inflation had “increased notably” and the price rises were higher and more persistent than the Fed had anticipated, the rises were “transitory” and inflation would begin to decline. However, he said, the Fed was prepared to “adjust monetary policy as appropriate if we saw signs that the path of inflation or longer-term inflation expectations were moving materially and persistently beyond levels consistent with our goal.” In the face of comments from House representatives that price rises were becoming entrenched, Powell called on lawmakers to have “faith” in the Fed’s judgment that it was riskier to tighten monetary too early than too late. “We really do believe and virtually all forecasters do believe that these things will come down of their own accord as the economy re-opens—it would be a mistake to act prematurely.” There is always as element of shadow boxing on the issue of inflation. The central concern is not prices rises as such, but whether inflation is going to lead to an upsurge in the wages struggles of the working class. This issue was touched on by David Scott, a Democrat representative from Georgia, who said a return to a more stable inflation rate would be advantageous. He pointed out that “wage increases will not keep pace” and price rises would create real hardship for low-income households as well as people on fixed incomes and retirees. As Powell was giving his testimony, the Fed’s own Beige Book, an anecdotal survey of economic conditions, reported that inflationary pressures were increasing. It stated that while some respondents “felt that pricing pressures were transitory, the majority expected further increases in input costs and selling prices in the coming months.” Powell said the Fed policy of keeping interest rates at virtually zero and financial asset purchases at $120 billion a month—an amount of more than $1.4 trillion a year—would continue and the goal of “substantial further progress” in the economy was “still a ways off.”

With Fed picks, Biden will have to walk political tightrope — President Biden will soon have a unique opportunity to leave a mark on the Federal Reserve when he names his picks for key leadership posts at the central bank. But his ability to remake the Fed will ultimately be determined by Congress.There is already one vacant seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors. In addition, Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles's term expires in October (though he can serve as a Fed governor until 2032), followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term expiring in February. Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida’s term expires in January.Biden will likely feel pressure from the left to use the upcoming appointments to push the Fed to be tougher on the industry, focus on consumer protection, narrow racial inequity in the financial system and address climate-related risks.

Beige Book: Majority Of Contacts Say Inflation Not Transitory Amid Record Shortages Of Everything- There were no big surprises in the latest Fed Beige Book, at least at the token summary level: the July 14 edition of the Fed's assessment of the economy starts with the following summary of the national economic situation: "The U.S. economy strengthened further from late May to early July, displaying moderate to robust growth." With the economy still overheating we'd hate to see what less than moderate is these days.But while the boilerplate verbal assessment was to be expected, what we found especially interesting is that the Beige Book itself contradicted the Fed's own contention that inflation is transitory. Specifically, in the Beige Book section discussing pricing pressures, we read that:

• prices increased at an above-average pace, as seven Districts reported strong price growth and the rest saw moderate gains.
• Pricing pressures were broad-based and grew more acute in the hospitality sector, as the reopening of hotels and restaurants confronted limited supplies of materials and workers.
• Construction costs remained high, but lumber prices reportedly eased a bit.
• Container prices returned to very high levels after having moderated in the spring.
• Some contacts reported that high end-user demand enabled them to increase their prices and others said that input price pressures had reduced their profit margins.

And the punchline: "While some contacts felt that pricing pressures were transitory, the majority expected further increases in input costs and selling prices in the coming months." Translation: only "some" believe inflation is transitory; the "majority" expect non-transitory inflation, as in longer and higher for much longer. Which is generally in line with the even Wall Street analysts are now telling us.

The WSJ July Survey of Economists – CPI and GDP Forecasts - by Menzie Chinn - The forecasted price level (CPI) has been moved up, as near term expected inflation has increased. Near term GDP growth forecasts upwardly revised, but downside risks remain. Projected output gap small positive at year’s end.Note the actual CPI data and the CBO and SPF forecast are for quarter averages of monthly data, while the Michigan and Wall Street Journal forecasts are for end-of-quarter.Showing these in comparable time series: Figure 2: CPI – all urban, end-of-quarter monthly data (black bold), CBO projection for quarterly average of monthly data (red), WSJ July survey mean for end-of-quarter (pink square), Michigan survey of consumers for end-of-quarter (blue triangle), Brian Wesbury, Robert Stein/First Trust Advisors (green +), Bill Diviney/ABN Amro (blue +). June CPI actual and Michigan survey implied level for June 2022 uses Bloomberg consensus for June 2021 CPI as of 7/12. NBER peak at dashed line. Source: BLS via FRED, WSJ July survey, Michigan survey of consumers, Bloomberg as of 7/12, and author’s calculations.The forecasts imply a deceleration in inflation (the index is on a log scale, so a flattening of the slope implies a slowing of growth rate). There is a considerable spread in the expectations of price increase. At the 90% lower bound (for inflation over the next year) is Diviney/ABN Amro, while Wesbury and Stein at First Trust is at the top.The Wall Street Journal article stresses the jump up in inflation expectations:Americans should brace themselves for several years of higher inflation than they’ve seen in decades, according to economists who expect the robust post-pandemic economic recovery to fuel brisk price increases for a while. Economists surveyed this month by The Wall Street Journal raised their forecasts of how high inflation would go and for how long, compared with their previous expectations in April.Notice that the Michigan y/y inflation estimate (4% for June) implies a CPI level above the 90% upper bound for CPI from the professional forecasters.On GDP, the forecast for Q1 GDP growth has been moved up again relative to April (the WSJ moved to quarterly surveys from monthly). The July, April, January and October 2020 forecasts for Q1 were 9.11%, 8.15%, 4.91%, and 3.72% (SAAR), respectively.There’s a fairly wide dispersion of forecasts, particularly on the downside. That is, most respondents agree on rapid growth in the next quarter (Q2) and in the near future, but there’s a view that downside risks to growth remain. Figure 5: GDP as reported (bold black), WSJ July survey (pink), CBO (red), Administration (blue triangle), IMF Article IV for US (green +), FT-IGM survey (light green triangle), all in billions Ch.2012$ SAAR. Source: BEA, 2021Q1 3rd release, WSJ survey of economists, July 2021, IMF, FT-IGM June survey, and author’s calculations. All of the forecasts save the Administration’s imply a small positive output gap (using the CBO estimate of potential) by year’s end.

The return of stagflation? --Lachman -Today, there is a real risk that we will return to the stagflation of the past but for a different reason than in the 1970s. This time around it might be the result of excessively loose budget and monetary policies combined with continued supply disruptions both at home and abroad. Those supply disruptions might intensify as a result of the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant that is already wreaking havoc in several countries.The stagflation risk is underlined by recent economic data. Consumer price inflation has risen to 5 percent, its highest level since 2008, even as unemployment remains stuck at around 6 percent, far from its full employment level. The main risk that today’s inflation will prove to be anything but transitory stems from the unusually easy stance of budget and monetary policy. It also stems from the likely release of the considerable amount of pent-up demand that was built up during the pandemic’s lockdown phase.One way to gauge this risk is to consider the size of the budget stimulus in relation to the gap between the current U.S. output level and its full employment level. Combining the December 2020 bipartisan stimulus package with the March 2021 Biden American Rescue Plan, it turns out that this year the U.S. economy will receive a record peacetime budget stimulus amounting to a staggering 13 percent of GDP. That stimulus is around four times the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the current output gap, which must raise the specter of economic overheating by yearend. Adding to the specter of overheating is the continued extraordinarily easy monetary policy stance. As a result of the Federal Reserve’s continuing to buy $120 billion a month in Treasury Bonds and mortgage-backed securities, interest rates remain at ultra-low levels, housing and equity prices are soaring and the broad money supply continues to grow at by far its fastest rate in the past 40 years. Adding fuel to the rapidly increasing aggregate demand is the fact that households are now beginning to draw down the $2.6 trillion in excess savings that they are estimated to have built up during the lockdown phase.The key risk that higher inflation will continue to be accompanied by high unemployment is that the Delta variant might spread rapidly both at home and abroad. Underlining this risk are the facts that this variant is much more infectious than the earlier COVID strains and that the vaccines seem to be less effective in protecting the vaccinated public against this particular strain than against the original strain.

Seven High Frequency Indicators for the Economy - These indicators are mostly for travel and entertainment. The TSA is providing daily travel numbers. This data shows the 7-day average of daily total traveler throughput from the TSA for 2019 (Light Blue), 2020 (Blue) and 2021 (Red). The dashed line is the percent of 2019 for the seven day average. The 7-day average is down 20.9% from the same day in 2019 (79.1% of 2019). (Dashed line) There was a slow increase from the bottom - and TSA data has picked up in 2021. The second graph shows the 7-day average of the year-over-year change in diners as tabulated by OpenTable for the US and several selected cities. This data is updated through July 10th, 2021. This data is "a sample of restaurants on the OpenTable network across all channels: online reservations, phone reservations, and walk-ins. Dining picked up during the holidays, then slumped with the huge winter surge in cases. Dining is generally picking up, but was down 15% in the US (7-day average compared to 2019). Florida and Texas are above 2019 levels. -This data shows domestic box office for each week and the median for the years 2016 through 2019 (dashed light blue). Movie ticket sales were at $115 million last week, down about 61% from the median for the week. This graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four week average. Occupancy is now above the horrible 2009 levels and weekend occupancy (leisure) has been solid. This data is through July 3rd. Hotel occupancy is currently down slightly compared to same week in 2019 (a timing issue with July 4th helped)). Note: Occupancy was up year-over-year, since occupancy declined sharply at the onset of the pandemic. However, the 4-week average occupancy is still down from normal levels. This graph, based on weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shows gasoline supplied compared to the same week of 2019. As of July 2nd, gasoline supplied was up 2.9% compared to the same week in 2019. This is the second week this year when gasoline supplied was up compared to the same week in 2019. This graph is from Apple mobility. From Apple: "This data is generated by counting the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions in select countries/regions, sub-regions, and cities." This data is through July 9th for the United States and several selected cities. The graph is the running 7-day average to remove the impact of weekends. According to the Apple data directions requests, public transit in the 7 day average for the US is at 97% of the January 2020 level and moving up.Here is some interesting data on New York subway usage. This graph is from Todd W Schneider. This is weekly data since 2015. Most weeks are between 30 and 35 million entries, and currently there are over 11 million subway turnstile entries per week - and generally increasing.This data is through Friday, July 9th.

Macroeconomic Management in the Biden Administration - Menzie Chinn - Here is an update to this post, on who’s where at the top of select agencies. There are many striking contrasts. We go from Kevin Hassett (AEI) to Cecilia Rouse (Princeton), and Steven Mnuchin to Janet Yellen (UC Berkeley/Board/SF Fed/Board) [Econbrowser post]. All I can say is, I’m a lot more confident about things than I was a year ago.I add this (edited/updated) addendum to my last post on this subject.

• Janet Yellen: Akerlof, George A., and Janet L. Yellen. “The fair wage-effort hypothesis and unemployment.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 105.2 (1990): 255-283. 2800 cites
• Cecilia Rouse: Goldin, Claudia, and Cecilia Rouse. “Orchestrating impartiality: The impact of” blind” auditions on female musicians.” American economic review 90.4 (2000): 715-741. 1951 cites
• Heather Boushey: Boushey, Heather. ““Opting out?” The effect of children on women’s employment in the United States.” Feminist Economics 14.1 (2008): 1-36. 152 cites.
• Jared Bernstein: Mishel, Lawrence R., Jared Bernstein, and Sylvia A. Allegretto. The state of working America 2006/2007. Cornell University Press, 2006. 561 cites.
• Shalanda Young: Stein, B.D., Tanielian, T.L., Ryan, G.W., Rhodes, H.J., Young, S.D. and Blanchard, J.C., 2004. A bitter pill to swallow: nonadherence with prophylactic antibiotics during the anthrax attacks and the role of private physicians. Biosecurity and bioterrorism: biodefense strategy, practice, and science, 2(3), pp.175-185. 36 cites.
• Gina Raimondo: Raimondo, G.M., 2011. Truth in Numbers. Rhode Island, Office of the General Treasures. 11 cites.
• Brian Deese: Birdsall, Nancy, John Williamson, and Brian Deese. Delivering on debt relief: From IMF gold to a new aid architecture. Peterson Institute, 2002. 216 cites.

PS: I’ll also note that the folks in the previous administration made me waste time figuring out how a border adjustment tax would work (and whether tariffs on Mexican imports could “pay for the wall” since Americans would be literally paying for the tax), forcing me to look up soybean futures over and over again, making me argue with individuals whether soybean futures predicted, forcing me to explain why giving massive tax cuts to high income individuals and corporations was unlikely to presage a new golden era in sustainable growth, etc. etc.

Infrastructure bill: Schumer and Pelosi face leadership test as legislative push kicks into high gear - Democrats will face a critical month on infrastructure in July as they reckon with deep schisms in their ranks and questions over legislative strategy and policy specifics of a bill the party wants to position itself with ahead of the midterm elections.The busy July will test Democratic congressional leaders -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- both of whom govern diverse caucuses and control narrow majorities where just a handful of members could bring the President's legislative agenda to a screeching halt.Schumer and Pelosi are navigating a delicate balancing act over President Joe Biden's agenda amid calls from moderates for quick passage of a bipartisan bill, while progressives are focused on securing a more sweeping measure that can pass the Senate with only Democratic votes under a process known as budget reconciliation.The infrastructure push is set to kick into high gear in the Senate when the chamber returns to Washington after the July 4 holiday recess.Schumer has set an ambitious goal during the next session: pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill on the floor -- a product that currently has the backing of 11 Republicans but still faces resistance from liberal members in the Senate -- and advance a massive budget resolution, a blueprint that will guide what gets included in the Democrats' broader infrastructure package. "My intention for this work period is for the Senate to consider both the bipartisan infrastructure legislation and a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, which is the first step for passing legislation through the reconciliation process," Schumer wrote in a dear colleague letter on Friday. Lobsters, cruises and scotch: One Cabinet secretary's push to sell Biden's agenda Lobsters, cruises and scotch: One Cabinet secretary's push to sell Biden's agenda Over the recess, aides worked around the clock to turn a legislative framework from the bipartisan infrastructure group into legislative text. Sources tell CNN the work is ongoing, but a source also tells CNN that it's possible Schumer could put the bill on the floor for a vote as soon as the week of July 19. At the same time, Democrats are still trying to find consensus on a budget resolution, which will set the parameters for how big their own infrastructure and social agenda bill will ultimately be as the White House has been working closely to make it clear what their priorities are for that legislation.

White House dodges question on size of Democratic infrastructure bill - The White House dodged a question Monday on the size of an infrastructure proposal that Democrats are aiming to pass through the budget reconciliation process, allowing them to sidestep a GOP filibuster. “I will say that, as it relates to the budget reconciliation process, that of course is for members of the Senate to work through what they can all collectively support together to get enough votes,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Monday's press briefing in response to a reporter's question on whether the administration had decided on a dollar amount for the bill. Psaki said President Biden will advocate for certain provisions to be included in the eventual legislation but did not specify a preferred price tag. “The president will continue to advocate for components of his Build Back Better agenda, the American Families Plan, components he’s laid out in his budget and pieces of his American Jobs Plan that were not included in the bipartisan package," Psaki said, adding that "those will be his priorities" as he talks with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other lawmakers. Sanders, who has said Democrats are considering a measure that could cost $6 trillion, has said he will not support the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without a larger measure that Democrats could pass without any Republican votes. Democratic leadership is pursuing a two-track system to pass the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the separate bill through budget reconciliation. “Back in April, when the president said we would move forward on two tracks — that we would seek a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure and that we would work with Democrats on a budget reconciliation process that included key components of the American Families Plan — there was some skepticism about the possibility of that moving forward and that’s a diplomatic definition of how the broad reaction was,” Psaki said. She said the same kind of reaction is happening now with the reconciliation package. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has vowed to take up both the bipartisan bill and a budget resolution, which would pave the way for the larger Democratic measure, before the Senate starts its August recess. Psaki said Biden will be engaged with lawmakers during the negotiations process and invite members of Congress to the White House for discussions as needed. The bipartisan bill will require support from at least 60 senators in the 50-50 Senate. Progressives have raised concerns about voting for the legislation unless there's a guarantee of passing a larger reconciliation bill.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: Progressives May Sink Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Without Reconciliation Deal | Democracy Now! (video & transcript) As lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., following a two-week recess, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about efforts to pass major infrastructure funding that could address child care, climate change, education and poverty. President Joe Biden has already struck a $1 trillion infrastructure agreement with a centrist group of lawmakers concentrated on roads, bridges and highways, but a fight is brewing over a larger package that Democrats want to pass in the Senate using the budget reconciliation process, which can pass with just 50 votes and avoid a filibuster. “The Progressive Caucus is rather united in the fact that we will not support bipartisan legislation without a reconciliation bill, and one that takes bold and large action on climate, drawing down carbon emissions, but also job creation and increasing equity and resilience for impacted communities, particularly frontline communities,” says Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York’s 14th Congressional District. “That’s where we’ve drawn a strong line.”

Brewing battle over tax hikes to test Democratic unity - An emerging proposal from the White House and Senate Democratic leaders to pay for President Biden’s infrastructure agenda is setting the stage for a major battle in Congress that will test the support of moderates concerned about hiking taxes. Key centrists such as Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) have largely avoided questions about Biden’s tax agenda, which is focused on raising hundreds of billions of dollars from corporations and wealthy Americans. To date, much of the debate in Congress has focused on how to pay for a scaled-down $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package and the contours of a more expensive measure that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to pass under a budget reconciliation process allowing Democrats to sidestep a GOP filibuster. But the brewing battle over tax policy is starting to heat up as lawmakers return to Washington for a crucial work period when Democrats will begin hashing out the budget resolution that sets in motion the legislative vehicle Democrats intend to use to pass some of the party’s biggest priorities, without any GOP support. Schumer and Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee have discussed a $6 trillion reconciliation package that would include $2.4 trillion in tax increases and legislation to lower the price of prescription drugs that would save the federal government an estimated $600 billion over 10 years. “They’re all trying to figure out what the bottom line is,” said a person familiar with the internal negotiations. “Schumer had $2.4 trillion [in tax revenues] plus $600 billion from the Medicare drug-price negotiation. He’s trying to figure out: ‘What can I get my caucus to support? What’s the revenue number?’ It’s not clear to me he can get $3 trillion." “There’s a lot of pressure on these people, pressure from both sides. Manchin has been very clear he wants it all paid for,” the source added, meaning no deficit spending. Manchin dealt an early blow against Biden’s tax plans by declaring months ago that he wouldn’t support raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, proposing a compromise target of 25 percent instead. That 3 percentage point difference would cost Biden’s plan more than $300 billion in revenue, as the White House envisions raising $858 billion over a decade by hiking the rate to 28 percent. Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said Manchin has changed expectations on where the corporate tax rate will end up. “Biden hasn’t explicitly said he’s changing the plan to 25 percent, which is what Joe Manchin wants ... but the hard reality of narrow majorities in both houses is that if Manchin says 25 percent that’s kind of the [limit]. So that seems like the most likely thing where you can say it’s going to be different from what [Biden] proposed initially.” Manchin has further complicated the political calculus by insisting that Congress pay for as much of the budget reconciliation package as possible.

Democrats closing in on deal to unlock massive infrastructure bill - Senate Democrats indicated on Monday that they are close to a deal on a budget resolution that will pave the way for them to pass a sweeping, multi-trillion infrastructure bill along party lines later this year. “The Senate Budget Committee is close to finalizing a budget resolution which will allow the Senate to move forward with the remaining parts of the American jobs and families plan,” Schumer said, referring to President Biden's two infrastructure proposals. Schumer’s comments, made on the Senate floor, come as lawmakers are returning to Washington and the Senate leader is expected to meet as soon as Monday evening with a key group of Democrats to try to lock down the budget resolution. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Budget panel, declined to comment on reports that Democrats are looking at a price tag of between $3 trillion and $4 trillion for their reconciliation package but indicated they could soon be ready to share details. “Hopefully there will be news soon,” he said, quipping that reporters should prepare for a week of meetings as Democrats try to make progress on their biggest legislative priority. Warner has emerged as a key figure in the talks with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Schumer’s No. 2, indicating that Schumer is working with Warner and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the chairman of the Budget Committee, to secure a deal on the budget resolution that will set the price tag and include instructions for the Democratic-only bill. Senate Democrats are vowing to vote during this work period, tentatively scheduled to last through the first week of August, on both the budget resolution that green-lights reconciliation and the smaller bipartisan deal that would spend $1.2 trillion over eight years on infrastructure. White House dodges question on size of Democratic infrastructure bill Democrats hit crunch time in Biden spending fight Members of the bipartisan group, which now totals 22 members, are working to turn their proposal into legislative text. Democrats could bring that measure to the floor as soon as next week, though there’s skepticism that the group will finish by then.

Sanders, Biden meet as infrastructure bill swells past $3.5T (AP) — Emerging from a private meeting at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a “transformative” infrastructure package unleashing more than $3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Democrats on his panel also huddled privately at the Capitol for two hours late Monday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and key White House advisers during a consequential time for Biden’s top priority. Congress is racing to put together a sweeping proposal financing infrastructure, family assistance and other programs for initial votes later this month. Sanders, I-Vt., said he had a “very good discussion” with Biden . “He knows and I know that we’re seeing an economy where the very, very rich are getting richer while working families are struggling,” Sanders told reporters. Sanders said he and the president did not discuss a topline figure, but the Vermont senator mentioned his own more far-reaching $6 trillion proposal, which includes expanding Medicare for older adults. Later at the Capitol, he told reporters that the Democrats’ package would be bigger than $3.5 trillion, an amount floated as in line with Biden’s initial proposal. “The end of the day we’re going to accomplish something very significant,” Sanders said. After Democrats’ evening meeting at the Capitol, Sanders said lawmakers were still discussing overall spending and other figures. Biden’s big infrastructure proposals are moving through Congress on various tracks — each potentially complementing or torpedoing the other. A bipartisan group of 10 senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion package of traditional infrastructure for roads, bridges, broadband and some climate change investments in electric vehicles and resiliency for extreme weather conditions. Senators in the bipartisan group are struggling to draft their proposal into legislation but hope to have a bill ready as soon as this week. Disagreements are emerging over how to pay for it. The rest of Biden’s ideas are being collected into the much broader multitrillion-dollar package that could be approved by Democrats on their own under a special budget reconciliation process that allows passage with 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold that’s needed to overcome a Senate filibuster. Sanders, as chair of the Budget Committee, has been leading his colleagues in a series of private conversations. A one-time Biden rival for the presidency, Sanders now holds an influential position shaping the president’s top priority.

Joe Manchin says both infrastructure bills should be paid for - Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told reporters Tuesday that both the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package and a larger bill being crafted by congressional Democrats should be fully paid for, and that he doesn’t “think we need more debt.” “We need to pay for it,” Manchin said, according to Politico. “I’d like to pay for all of it. I don’t think we need more debt.” Manchin’s statement could help lower the cost of the Democrat-only bill, the drafting of which is being led by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Democrats have said they will pass the measure through the parliamentary gambit of reconciliation, meaning the larger bill would only need 51 votes to pass the Senate. However, with the Senate currently split 50-50, Democrats can’t afford to alienate any of their members. Manchin, a moderate who has balked at the level of proposed increases in corporate taxation by the Biden administration, told Fox News earlier this month that “I don’t think I can” support a reconciliation measure costing between $4 trillion and $6 trillion. “That seems to me just totally out of the ballpark,” he said at the time. Manchin declined to say Tuesday what price would be too much for him, telling Politico: “I’ve heard so many different numbers. In all honesty, in respect to the people doing the hard work, I say when I see the final product I can make an evaluation.”

Sanders, Schumer reach deal on Biden budget - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders announced late Tuesday that they had reached agreement on the broad outlines of a budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins October 1, setting a $3.5 trillion ceiling on new social spending by the Biden administration.White House legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese attended the discussions, and Biden reportedly signed off on the deal. The agreement is only the initial sketch of what would become dozens of specific appropriations to be consolidated into a single, massive “budget reconciliation” bill.There are numerous twists and turns ahead in the congressional wrangling over the budget deal, which is aimed at producing companion legislation to the bipartisan infrastructure bill being negotiated by a group of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats in the Senate. Neither bill is assured of passage in either house of Congress, and a handful of the most conservative House and Senate Democrats are likely to have a major say over the outcome.A few critical observations can be made at this stage. First, whatever passes will provide only a minute fraction of what is required to meet the vast social needs of American working people. Second, it will impose only the slightest of burdens, if any at all, on the vast incomes and wealth of the super-rich.The latter point can be grasped immediately by comparing the size of the total package, $3.5 trillion over 10 years, with the increase in wealth of the top one percent of the American population, $10 trillion in a single year.The $3.5 trillion top-line number, presented in the media—and by the Democrats themselves—as a huge commitment of resources, amounts to an average of $350 billion a year, or 3.5 percent of the additional wealth accumulated by the top one percent just this year alone. And that assumes that the social spending package passes in full. There is no reason to believe that, since the figure agreed on by Schumer and Sanders represents only the starting point for negotiations by the Democratic leadership with their own most right-wing elements and with the Republicans, who will inevitably demand a lower figure.

Senate Democrats announce $3.5 trillion budget deal - Senate Democrats on the Budget committee announced late Tuesday night that they have reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion package to address "human" infrastructure, which they plan to pass via reconciliation.The price tag for the proposal — which is expected to include bold provisions on climate change, Medicare and education — comes in far below the $6 trillion figure Budget committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and other progressive Democrats have pushed for.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the meeting that President Biden will join Senate Democrats at their caucus lunch on Wednesday — his first in-person meeting with lawmakers on the Hill as president — to discuss the package.Schumer said the budget plan will cover all of the major Biden administration proposals on human infrastructure, including the president's families, climate and housing programs. He added that the plan will also include "a robust expansion of Medicare, including … money for dental, vision and hearing." While negotiators are still finalizing details, the proposal is expected to fully offset with new revenues, among other pay-fors. How to pay for the package remains a key sticking point in passing the bill.Democrats have their work cut out for them in order to pass this bill.Democratic leaders will need to get all 50 Senate Democrats on board — a huge feat in the current makeup of the party. timing comes as several key moderate Democrats are simultaneously working on a $1 trillion bipartisan package on "hard" infrastructure. Schumer has been clear for weeks that he wants the Senate to consider this package on a "dual track" with the bipartisan proposal — but time is running out if they want to meet their self-imposed deadline of getting this done by August recess.

Democrats Propose $3.5 Trillion Budget to Advance with Infrastructure Deal - The New York Times The measure, which would include money to address climate change, expand Medicare and fulfill other Democratic priorities, is intended to deliver on President Biden’s economic proposal.— Top Democrats announced on Tuesday evening that they had reached agreement on an expansive $3.5 trillion budget blueprint, including plans to pour money into addressing climate change and expanding Medicare among an array of other Democratic priorities, that they plan to advance alongside a bipartisan infrastructure deal. Combined with nearly $600 billion in new spending on physical infrastructure contained in the bipartisan plan, which omits many of Democrats’ highest ambitions, the measure is intended to deliver on President Biden’s $4 trillion economic proposal. The budget blueprint, expected to be dominated by spending, tax increases and programs that Republicans oppose, would pave the way for a Democrats-only bill that leaders plan to push through Congress using a process known as reconciliation, which shields it from a filibuster. To push the package — and the reconciliation bill that follows — through the evenly divided Senate, Democrats will have to hold together every member of their party and the independents aligned with them over what promises to be unified Republican opposition. It was not clear if all 50 lawmakers in the Democratic caucus, which includes centrists unafraid to break with their party like Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, had signed off the blueprint. The package is considerably smaller than the $6 trillion some progressives had proposed but larger than some moderates had envisioned. The agreement, reached among Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and the 11 senators who caucus with the Democrats on the Budget Committee, came after a second consecutive day of meetings that stretched late into the evening. Louisa Terrell, Mr. Biden’s head of legislative affairs, and Brian Deese, his National Economic Council director, were also present for the meeting. “We are very proud of this plan,” Mr. Schumer said, emerging from the session flanked by the other Democrats in the corridor outside his office just off the Senate floor. “We know we have a long road to go. We’re going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans’ lives a whole lot better.” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the liberal chairman of the Budget Committee, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a key moderate who is negotiating the details of the bipartisan framework, also confirmed their support for the agreement, in impassioned remarks. “This is, in our view, a pivotal moment in American history,” proclaimed Mr. Sanders, who had initially called for a package as large as $6 trillion. Details about the outline were sparse on Tuesday evening, as many of the specifics of the legislative package will be hammered out after the blueprint is adopted. Mr. Warner said the plan would be fully paid for, though Democrats did not offer specifics about how they planned to do so. Discussions of how to raise that money are expected to continue in the coming days, one aide said. “I make no illusions how challenging this is going to be,” said Mr. Warner, who made a point of thanking both the committee and the bipartisan group he had been negotiating with. “I can’t think of a more meaningful effort that we’re taking on than what we’re doing right now.”

Senate Democrats announce plans for $3.5 trillion budget package to expand Medicare, advance Biden priorities - Senate Democrats on Tuesday reached an early agreement to pursue a sweeping $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that would expand Medicare benefits, boost federal safety net programs and combat climate change, aiming to sidestep Republican opposition and deliver on President Biden’s top economic priorities. The wide array of planned health, education and social programs would represent a historic burst of federal spending if lawmakers ultimately adopt it, as Democrats aim to seize on their slim but powerful majorities in Washington to expand the footprint of government and catalyze major changes in the economy. Party leaders plan to fashion their agenda using a process known as reconciliation, a move that only requires them to stick together to turn their vision into law. It does not require the traditional 60 votes to advance. To help rally support and keep the caucus together, Biden plans to visit with congressional Democrats on Wednesday. Democrats see the still-forming package as a critical companion piece to the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure deal that lawmakers from both parties are assembling to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections. Biden has sought both tranches of funding as part of jobs- and families-focused plans he released earlier this spring that totaled roughly $6 trillion. But the fate of the two in many ways are unsettled, and politically intertwined, with some Democrats insisting on votes on both — even as Republicans line up in opposition to some of Biden’s plans to spend big sums and expand the role of government. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined top lawmakers on the chamber’s foremost budget committee in announcing the agreement at a news conference late Tuesday evening. He said “every major program” Biden had endorsed in past economic packages would be “funded in a robust way.” Schumer added that the Senate measure would also feature a robust expansion of Medicare, adding more federal money for seniors to obtain dental, vision and hearing coverage. Flanking Schumer, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), one of the centrist lawmakers involved in the crafting of the package, said the budget measure would be fully financed. Democrats previously have said they planned to pay for much of their package using tax increases on wealthy Americans and corporations. Otherwise, the plan will not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 per year, nor small businesses, in keeping with Biden’s prior commitments, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the package.

Senate Democrats unveil details of $3.5 trillion budget deal - Senate Democrats revealed on Wednesday key details of their $3.5 trillion budget framework, a starting point for a Democrat-only bill for "human" infrastructure that would enhance federal safety net programs, expand Medicare and tackle climate change. The release of the FY2022 budget deal formally kicks off the process for getting a pair of infrastructure bills across the finish line.Democratic leaders need to hold all 50 of their senators together to pass this budget framework, which they plan to usher through the budget reconciliation process. Details:

• Extend the child tax credit under the American Rescue Plan, the earned income tax credit, and separate child and dependent care tax credits.
• A senior Senate Democratic aide said the duration of each credit’s enactment will be determined by congressional scoring and committee input.
• Create 80% clean electricity and 50% economy-wide carbon emissions by 2030.
• More funding for the clean energy standard, clean energy and vehicle tax incentives, "climate-smart agriculture," wildfire prevention, federal procurement of clean technologies, and the weatherization and electrification of buildings.
• The resolution will also propose a new methane reduction and polluter import fees "to increase our emissions reductions," per the aide.
• Universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-old children, child care and community college.
• Increased funding for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), pell grants, paid family and medical leave, nutrition assistance and affordable housing.
• The package would add a new dental, vision, and hearing benefit to Medicare, extend expansions of the Affordable Care Act, expand home care, reduced prescription drugs costs and expand Medicaid coverage to states that haven't done so yet.
• Increased funding for housing investments and manufacturing and supply chains.
• Improve green cards and pro-worker incentives and penalties.
• Increasing corporate and international taxes, as well as taxes on the wealthy.
• Increased funding for the IRS to crack down on tax enforcement.
• Through new language on prescription drugs and by repealing the Trump rebate.
• The framework would prohibit tax increases on families making under $400,000 per year, small businesses and family farms.

During Senate Democrats' caucus lunch on Wednesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) briefed their colleagues on these top-line details. President Biden also attended the lunch in an attempt to keep Democrats unified in their support for both infrastructure bills. The Senate will continue to work on the massive budget reconciliation package while it takes up a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure, with a goal of passing both by August recess.

What’s in Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan—and How They Plan to Pay for It – WSJ -Senate Democrats have unveiled a $3.5 trillion price tag for their antipoverty, education and climate plan. Here are details on the proposal and the steps needed to turn their broad budget framework into actual legislation and law, according to lawmakers and aides.The $3.5 trillion in spending and tax credits—which the lawmakers hope to offset with tax increases and savings elsewhere—will determine the specific policy priorities that Democrats can fit into their antipoverty, education and climate legislation. They will seek to codify the agreement on the top-line spending figure into a budget resolution in the coming weeks and get it approved by Congress. The number marks a middle ground between the $6 trillion package some progressives were seeking and the roughly $2 trillion figure backed by some centrists.The legislation Democrats are preparing is expected to include paid family and medical leave, subsidized child care, an extension of an expanded child tax credit, universal prekindergarten for three and four-year-olds and affordable housing, among other issues. It would alsoextend expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies approved earlier this year in the Covid-19 aid package.The plan would broaden Medicare benefits to cover dental, vision and hearing—and would aim to reduce the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices, among other steps. Democrats are proposing a series of ideas, including tax credits for clean energy investments and a clean electricity standard, aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the electricity sector by 80% and economywide by 50% by 2030. Democrats are also proposing polluter import fees. Such fees could help lower emissions globally while generating revenue for the U.S., effectively acting as an emissions-based tariff. President Biden has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, tightening the net on U.S. companies’ foreign earnings andraising the top capital-gains tax rate to 43.4% from 23.8% to cover the cost of his roughly $4 trillion overall spending agenda over 15 years, which includes enhanced spending on infrastructure. Some Democrats have balked at the scale of the proposed tax increases, however. It is far from clear that Democrats will be able to coalesce behind the $3.5 trillion number.Democrats will need to pass identical budget resolutions in both the House and Senate. The budget will likely face amendment votes in the Senate, requiring Democrats to be unified behind it. This doesn’t actually approve any spending, but it marks a needed step before committees then craft the details of the legislation within the overall framework. Later, likely this fall, Democrats plan to use their narrow control of the 50-50 Senate to advance the legislation through a budget maneuver called reconciliation, an exception to the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation.Democratic leaders need to keep every single senator in line, as no GOP support is expected. Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tiebreaking vote. In the House, Democrats have a very slim margin as well. The party will need to bridge gaps both on the spending side and on the revenue side, where lawmakers have aired disagreements over the capital-gains and corporate taxes proposed by Mr. Biden. They will also have to reach agreement on whether the plan increases budget deficits or not. Also, complicating matters, Democrats are hoping to move their partisan plan alongside a bipartisan infrastructure agreement. They plan to pass that proposal, which provides roughly $600 billion in funding above expected federal spending on infrastructure, through the normal Senate process requiring 60 votes.

Centrist Democrats Take Wait-and-See Stance on $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan – WSJ —Several centrist Democrats took a neutral stance Wednesday on a new $3.5 trillion budget agreement, saying they needed to review details of a sweeping plan to fund expanded access to preschool and affordable child care, broader Medicare benefits and programs aimed at combating poverty and climate change. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Democratic members of the Budget Committee on Tuesday night announced the $3.5 trillion agreement, which will be used to craft a budget resolution setting the parameters of legislation containing much of President Biden’s legislative agenda. Democrats hope to use a process tied to the budget known as reconciliation to pass the package without GOP support, but will have to maintain total unity in their ranks to advance it through the evenly divided Senate. “We’re gonna get this done,” Mr. Biden said Wednesday in the Capitol, pumping his fist as he entered a lunchtime meeting with Senate Democrats where he endorsed the $3.5 trillion plan and stressed the importance of unity, according to lawmakers.The $3.5 trillion agreement was bigger than some centrist Democrats had sought, but marked a softening in the stance of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who had originally pursued a $6 trillion package. Many moderate Senate Democrats pivotal to the package’s chances of passage, including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, said they were still reviewing details of the agreement. Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said he raised concerns about the package’s impact on inflation and its climate-change provisions during the lunch meeting.The bill is expected to include broad tax credits for clean energy investments and liberal Democrats are pressing to end subsidies for fossil fuels.“I’m concerned also about maintaining the energy independence the United States of America has, and with that you cannot be moving towards eliminating the fossil,” Mr. Manchin said. “Hopefully we can come to an agreement that they understand fossil is going to play a part.”Another central concern for Mr. Manchin is covering the full cost of the $3.5 trillion bill. Democrats on the Budget Committee said Tuesday night the package would be fully paid for with tax increases and other sources of revenue.“Look, I’m open to it,” Mr. Tester said Wednesday, noting that he thought it was appropriate for the federal government to invest in housing, child care and workforce training. “I just need to know what’s in it, how it’s paid for.”The White House has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21%, tightening the tax net on U.S. companies’ foreign earnings, and raising the capital-gains rate for high-income households, among other changes. The plan will also rely on capturing revenue from enhanced enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service, which is also an idea lawmakers are looking at in a separate, bipartisan infrastructure effort.A spokesman for Ms. Sinema said she would “give careful consideration to any idea that can strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona families get ahead.”

 Joe Manchin says he's 'very, very' disturbed about reconciliation proposals on climate change - Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrats' most pivotal swing vote, expressed his most serious concerns yet about a key element in their party's $3.5 trillion sweeping economic plan: Provisions dealing with climate change that have been sought by progressives. Manchin, who hails from coal-producing West Virginia, told CNN that he's "very, very disturbed" by provisions he believes would eliminate fossil fuels -- a warning sign for Democrats who need all 50 members of their caucus to sign off on the plan in order to get it through the Senate. But the climate provisions are key to getting support from liberals, particularly in the House. And how Democratic leaders keep both factions of their caucus will be key to determining if they can approve much of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda by the fall. "I know they have the climate portion in here, and I'm concerned about that," Manchin said moments after Biden met with Senate Democrats in the Capitol on Wednesday. "Because if they're eliminating fossils, and I'm finding out there's a lot of language in places they're eliminating fossils, which is very, very disturbing, because if you're sticking your head in the sand, and saying that fossil (fuel) has to be eliminated in America, and they want to get rid of it, and thinking that's going to clean up the global climate, it won't clean it up all. If anything, it would be worse." Democrats still need to draft their bill to expand the social safety net, which would go through the budget reconciliation process by September and cannot be filibustered, meaning it can advance with just 51 votes rather than 60. Separately, Manchin is central to an effort to approve nearly $600 billion in new spending on a narrower bill on infrastructure. But that infrastructure plan is going through the typical legislative process, which would need the support of at least 10 Republicans to overcome any filibuster attempt. The dual-track approach will only succeed if Senate Democrats unify behind it. But it's clear that party leaders have their work cut out for them to keep their caucus in line.

Democrats face daunting hurdles despite promising start - President Biden and Democratic leaders face daunting hurdles as they fight to preserve a fragile bipartisan coalition crucial to the success of Biden’s legacy-defining economic agenda. Party leaders are treading a minefield as they seek to adopt both a massive infrastructure bill with Republican support, and a second, even larger Democratic package expanding social benefits and environmental programs demanded by liberals — all without spooking moderate Democrats leery of deficit spending. Losing any one of those groups would likely sink the entire project. This week, they passed the first test by adhering to a simple rule: alienate no one. The $3.5 trillion budget outline unveiled by Senate Democrats on Tuesday is winning praise from progressives, despite their initial demands for a much larger figure. Centrist Republicans are still determined to move a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal, despite reservations about its ties to the separate social spending bill. And moderate Democrats remain open to supporting both, despite apprehensions about the mammoth costs. To be sure, there’s still a long way to go to get the proposals to Biden’s desk, with plenty of obstacles standing in the way — any one of which could tank the whole agenda. Those perils were highlighted Thursday, when Senate and White House negotiators scrambled back to the table after Republicans balked at a provision of the infrastructure bill designed to raise roughly $100 billion by empowering the IRS to go after tax cheats. Still, the simple fact that all the major players remain engaged — and none of them were scared off by the $3.5 trillion proposal — represents an auspicious, if early, signal that Democrats have a solid shot of enacting Biden's top domestic priority over the next several months — a massive expansion of government programs that has drawn comparisons to former President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. “This is a good start ... and it's excellent momentum,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Moderate Democrats haggling over the infrastructure portion of the two-pronged agenda are sounding similarly optimistic. Although they’re demanding that the cost of Biden’s plans be paid for with changes elsewhere in the budget — an ultimatum complicated by the Republicans’ revolt over the IRS provision — they’re still expressing confidence that those offsets can be worked out with Republicans and the White House. “We’ve just gotta find the pay-fors. That’s it,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told reporters Thursday in the Capitol. “We’re gonna keep moving forward — try to keep moving forward,” echoed Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), another moderate Democrat. “I’m gonna stay confident.” Republicans, meanwhile, have remained engaged in the infrastructure talks, despite grumbling over the Democrats’ plan to link the new public works spending to the bigger social benefits package, which GOP lawmakers unanimously oppose. The top Republican negotiator on infrastructure, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, predicted lawmakers would get to the finish line, even as he dismissed pressure by Senate Democratic leaders to speed things along. “We're gonna get it done,” Portman said. “I don’t know if we’ll make anybody's arbitrary timeline. That's not the point. The point is to get it right. We're moving as fast as we possibly can.” The willingness of all sides to remain at the table reflects the enormous stakes of the current debate. Infrastructure is among those rare issues that’s enormously popular across ideological lines, largely because it would benefit every district in the country. Yet a major overhaul of the nation’s aging public works systems has eluded leaders in both parties for decades.

G20 pushes ahead on global tax deal - The finance chiefs of the G20, representing the world’s largest economies, have signed off on a deal crafted with the aim of preventing multinational companies shifting profits to low-tax havens. Under the agreement, there will be a global minimum tax of 15 percent on corporations. New rules will be developed so that large corporations, including tech giants such as Amazon and Google, will pay taxes in the countries where they obtain revenue, even if they have no physical presence there. The deal was endorsed at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers held in Venice over the weekend. Whether it is enacted remains to be seen. There are still several lower-tax countries that have refused to sign, including European Union members, Ireland and Hungary. Their support is necessary, in order to secure the deal’s endorsement by the EU, where a unanimous vote is required. Speaking after the agreement was reached, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated maximum pressure would be applied and the holdouts would be “encouraged” to sign on before the deal goes for final ratification, at a meeting of G20 leaders in October. Even if they did not, other measures could be used. She said that agreement contained “the kind of enforcement mechanism” that holdout countries would not be able to undermine. Yellen and the Biden administration have their own problems in getting US endorsement. The tax deal comes in two parts, designated as pillars. Pillar one, which is promoted by the European powers, allows for greater taxation of multinational companies. Pillar 2, which has been promoted by the US, sets the global minimum corporate tax rate at 15 percent. The two parts of the deal are interconnected. Endorsement of Pillar 1 in the US may need changes to existing treaties, requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate, which is divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. If Pillar 1 falls through, then all bets are off, and the European powers go ahead with their imposition of digital taxes on the large US tech giants. If this were to take place, it would mean a return to the kind of confrontation that occurred during the Trump administration, which the tax agreement is aimed at avoiding. Even if the deal is implemented, it will not bring a major boost in tax revenue, as experience has shown that major corporations are certain to devise new avoidance mechanisms.

The U.S. says it can answer cyberattacks with nuclear weapons. That’s lunacy. Over the July 4 weekend, the Russian-based cybercriminal organization REvilclaimed credit for hacking into as many as 1,500 companies in what has been called the largest ransomware attack to date. In May, another cybercriminal group, DarkSide, also apparently located mainly in Russia, shut down most of the operations of Colonial Pipeline, which supplies nearly half the diesel, gasoline and other fuels used on the East Coast — setting off a round of panic buying that ended only when the company handed over a ransom. These incidents were bad enough. But imagine a much worse cyberattack, one that not only disabled pipelines but turned off the power at hundreds of U.S. hospitals, wreaked havoc on air-traffic-control systems and shut down the electrical grid in major cities in the dead of winter. The grisly cost might be counted not just in lost dollars but in the deaths of many thousands of people.Under current U.S. nuclear doctrine, developed during the Trump administration, the president would be given the military option to launch nuclear weapons at Russia, China or North Korea if that country was determined to be behind such an attack.That’s because in 2018, the Trump administration expanded the role of nuclear weapons by declaring for the first time that the United States would consider nuclear retaliation in the case of “significant non-nuclear strategic attacks,” including “attacks on the U.S., allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure.” The same principle could also be used to justify a nuclear response to a devastating biological weapons strike.But our analysis suggests that using nuclear weapons in response to biological or cyberattacks would be illegal under international law in virtually all circumstances. Threatening an illegal nuclear response weakens deterrence because the threat lacks inherent credibility. Perversely, this policy could also wind up committing a president to a nuclear attack if deterrence fails. While the American public would indeed be likely to want vengeance after a destructive enemy assault, the law of armed conflict requires that some military options be taken off the table. Nuclear retaliation for “significant non-nuclear strategic attacks” is one of them.

America’s Afghan War Is Over, So What About Iraq – and Iran? - Medea Benjamin - At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the dead of night, without notice or coordination. The Taliban are rapidly expanding their control over hundreds of districts, usually through negotiations between local elders, but also by force when troops loyal to the Kabul government refuse to give up their outposts and weapons. A few weeks ago, the Taliban controlled a quarter of the country. Now it’s a third. They are taking control of border posts and large swathes of territory in the north of the country. These include areas that were once strongholds of the Northern Alliance, a militia that prevented the Taliban from unifying the country under their rule in the late 1990s. The U.S. and its corrupt puppet government lost this war. But for 40 million Iraqis, as for 40 million Afghans, America’s most stupidly chosen battlefield is their country, not just an occasional news story. They are living their entire lives under the enduring impacts of the neocons’ war of mass destruction. Young Iraqis took to the streets in 2019 to protest 16 years of corrupt government by the former exiles to whom the United States handed over their country and its oil revenues. The 2019 protests were directed at the Iraqi government’s corruption and failure to provide jobs and basic services to its people, but also at the underlying, self-serving foreign influences of the United States and Iran over every Iraqi government since the 2003 invasion.Recent U.S. airstrikes have targeted Iraqi security forces called Popular Mobilization Forces(PMF), which were formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (IS), the twisted religious force spawned by the U.S. decision, only ten years after 9/11, to unleash and arm Al Qaeda in a Western proxy war against Syria.The PMFs now comprise about 130,000 troops in 40 or more different units. Most were recruited by pro-Iranian Iraqi political parties and groups, but they are an integral part of Iraq’s armed forces and are credited with playing a critical role in the war against IS.Western media represent the PMFs as militias that Iran can turn on and off as a weapon against the United States, but these units have their own interests and decision-making structures. When Iran has tried to calm tensions with the United States, it has not always been able to control the PMFs. General Haider al-Afghani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer in charge of coordinating with the PMF, recently requested a transfer out of Iraq, complaining that the PMFs are paying no attention to him. Ever since the U.S. assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January 2020, the PMFs have been determined to force the last remaining U.S. occupation forces out of Iraq. After the assassination, the Iraqi National Assembly passed a resolution calling for U.S. forces to leave Iraq. Following U.S. airstrikes against PMF units in February, Iraq and the United States agreed in early April that U.S. combat troops would leave soon. But no date has been set, no detailed agreement has been signed, many Iraqis do not believe U.S. forces will leave, nor do they trust the Kadhimi government to ensure their departure.

White House backs Trump-era rejection of Beijing's claim to South China Sea --The White House on Sunday backed a Trump-era rejection of China’s claim to the South China Sea.Secretary of State Anthony Blinken affirmed the administration's commitment to a July 2020 policy that called Beijing’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea “completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them.”The secretary of State also said attacking Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would “invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.”“Nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to coerce and intimidate Southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway,” Blinken wrote in a statement.“The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea. We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” he added.The U.S. commitment comes before the fifth anniversary of the Arbitral Tribunal ruling on the South China Sea, which decided in favor of the Philippines and against China’s maritime claims near the Spratly Islands and other reefs and shoals, according to The Associated Press.China, however, rejects the ruling, the AP noted.

Obama calls on Congress to find permanent solution for Dreamers following federal judge ruling - Former President Obama called on Congress to pass legislation that would provide permanent protections to undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors, known as Dreamers, following a ruling issued Friday that blocked new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.“For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known. It’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve,” Obama said in a tweet on Saturday.In a ruling issued on Friday, a federal judge in Texas blocked new applications for the DACA program, saying the Department of Homeland Security violated the Administrative Procedure Act "with the creation of DACA and its continued operation." Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling does not affect the status of the more than 600,000 current DACA recipients, who will be allowed to remain in the program and renew their benefits — shielding immigrants from deportation and offering work permits — pending a future order from Hanen himself, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. The Obama-era program was created in 2012 through an executive order following several failed efforts to pass legislation in Congress. President Biden signed an executive order shortly after taking office to preserve the DACA program.In his own statement on Saturday, Biden called the ruling "deeply disappointing."

Homeland Security begins administering Johnson & Johnson shots at ICE facilities. - In an effort to increase vaccination rates at detention centers, the Department of Homeland Security has begun administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines to people being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement lockups.The department said it has received 10,000 doses of the vaccine, with more expected in the future on a rolling basis.“DHS remains committed to a public health guided, evidence-based approach to vaccine education that ensures those in our care and custody can make an informed choice during this global pandemic,” the agency said in a statement.The new push to scale up vaccine distribution comes after the agency has drawn criticism for its previous efforts. As of May, according to ICE’s latest available data, only about 20 percent of detainees passing through its facilities had received at least one dose of vaccine while in custody.Since testing for the virus began at ICE facilities in 2020, more than 19,000 detainees have tested positive, according to the agency.On July 11, there were 906 detained immigrants at ICE facilities who had tested positive for the coronavirus and were being monitored or under isolation. Those positive cases were out of about 27,000 detainees, according to ICE.Lagging vaccination rates have not just been an issue at ICE facilities, but at prisons, jails and detention centers across the United States, which have seen some of the worst outbreaks.Throughout the pandemic, prison inmates have been more than three times as likely as other Americans to become infected, according to a New York Times database. The virus has killed prisoners at higher rates than the general population, according to the data.In May, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, calling for detained immigrants to have access to Covid-19 vaccines.“ICE’s failure to ensure a coordinated strategy for vaccination continues to endanger people in detention nationwide,” the A.C.L.U. said in its letter.

 Federal bill would ban vaccine database in response to Biden’s 'door-to-door' pledge - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from creating and maintaining a federal database of every American who has received COVID-19 vaccines. Cruz introduced the bill after White House officials announced a plan to use taxpayer dollars to pay individuals to go door-to-door in regions of the country where there are relatively low vaccination rates. In response to statements made by President Joe Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the door-to-door outreach initiative, Cruz tweeted, “When the Biden admin calls for ‘targeted’ ‘door-to-door outreach’ to get people vaccinated, it comes across as a g-man saying: ‘We know you’re unvaccinated, let’s talk, comrade.’ My bill to ban federal vaccine passports prohibits the feds from maintaining a vaccine database.” The bill states: “To the extent any federal department or agency has received, obtained, collected, aggregated, stored, or is otherwise in possession of any data or records from officials, including public health officials, in any state, the District of Columbia, or any territory, or any third party who administered or has information related to the administration of any COVID-19 vaccinations, including health care providers and insurers, such data and records about any individuals’ vaccination status shall be destroyed by the federal department or agency and, if in digital form, that data record shall be deleted in its entirety within 30 days of the enactment of this act.” Biden said, “We need to go community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and often times door by door – literally knocking on doors to get help to the remaining people.” Neither Biden nor Psaki provided details about the initiative, including who it would target, how long it would last, and what type of outreach the teams would engage in or what kind of data they would collect, or how and where this data would be stored.

Forcing People Out of Traditional Medicare and into Medicare Advantage. -This was always the plan? The plan did not include forcing people out of traditional Medicare and into Medicare Advantage. No mistake on the date on this Copied and Pasted Angry Bear post from almost two years ago. Nancy Alt, Andrew Sprung, and Angry Bear were sounding the alarm in 2019 about trump’s move to privatize Medicare using Medicare Advantage plans and by placing traditional Medicare users into these commercial insurance plans. Without using tax funds to back Medicare Advantage, there is no way Medicare Advantage can compete with traditional Medicare. Oh wait there are some ways and that is to make up the differences by cutting back on the care and service to users and increasing fees for that service to those who are in need of the care (which it does now). Many people who have gone to Medicare Advantage plans come back to traditional Medicare. Typically, they have to go through an examination to secure the MediGap Insurance again. Medigap covers the 20% gap in Part B as well as the ~$1450 Part A deductible and other things too. The comeback s occurs because of care costs and reduced care in Medicare Advantage. Mind you, there is waste in Medicare. Former Medicare Director Dr. Donald Berwick stated it may be as much as 30% in the treatment of Medicare participants and doctors know it. Even at that percentage, commercial healthcare insurance is more expensive. Just to start, 15-20% of commercial healthcare insurance cost-waste is solely in the processing of insurance claims. Most recently, plans were released detailing the placement of traditional Medicare participants into Medicare Advantage plans with no exceptions. This will occur in and around selected metropolitan areas. Plans to do so were started by trump and his CMS administrators and are now being touted as being Joe Biden’s plan. It is not and there is evidence the president has put a hold on this going forward. Which makes sense as this action is a huge give away to commercial interests and the healthcare insurance industry. Some people (when you question them) will tell you the costs and/or prices of Medicare and MediGap insurance is private information for an individual. This is readily available and public information. You can look up MediGap prices for the multiple plans (N, etc.) being offered. You can also find pricing for Part D (pharma) plans. Your monthly payment for Medicare is public domain also which can be deducted automatically from SS or you can pay it yourself. I will be posting on Medicare and what is going on in greater detail later. In the short of it, I find all the noise being toos up to cloud the issue made as being deliberately deceptive or the result of a lack of knowledge.

 Biden Targets Non-Compete Agreements, Which Restrict the Job Opportunities of Millions of Low-Wage Workers - Most American workers are hired “at will”: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party may terminate the arrangement at any time for a good or bad reason or none at all.In keeping with that no-strings-attached spirit, employees may move on as they see fit – unless they happen to be among the tens of millions of workers bound by a contract that explicitly forbids getting hired by a competitor. These “non-compete clauses” may make sense for CEOs and other top executives who possess trade secrets but may seem nonsensical when they are applied to low-wage workers such as draftsmen in the construction industry. A 2019 business survey found that 29% of companies paying an average wage of less than $13 an hour required all their employees to sign non-compete agreements.President Joe Biden seems to agree about the oppressive nature of non-compete contracts. On July 9, 2021, he called on the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit them. As a scholar of employment law and policy, I also have many concerns about non-compete clauses – such as how they tend to aggravate the power imbalances relationship between workers and bosses and suppress wages and discourage labor market mobility. It’s unclear exactly how many U.S. workers are subject to a non-compete, but the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute estimated in a 2019 report that it’s around 28% to 47% of all private-sector workers.The leeway for employers to impose these provisions varies widely from state to state and is in flux.California, North Dakota and Oklahoma are the only states to ban them outright, while about a dozen forbid them with certain types of low-wage workers. Washington, D.C., also outlaws all non-compete agreements. At the same time, some states, such as Georgia and Idaho, have made it even easier for companies to enforce them.

USPS proposal Reduces service standards Causing “undue discrimination” - Steve Hutkins from Save The Post Office, “Why the USPS proposal to reduce service standards will cause “undue discrimination”The Postal Service’s plan to reduce service standards is now being reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission for an Advisory Opinion. On Monday, June 21, the Postal Service and several of the intervenors in the case submitted their briefs and statements of position. You can find the briefs here, and the statements of position here. Here’s my brief. (At several points it refers to numbers and maps in my testimony, which is here.)

• I. Statement of the Case - On April 21, 2021, the Postal Service filed a request for an Advisory Opinion under 39 U.S.C. §3661 regarding planned changes to the service standards for First-Class Mail and end-to-end Periodicals.[1] The Postal Service’s plan is to add an extra day of delivery to a percentage of mail currently under a two-day standard and one or two extra days to a percentage of mail currently under a three-day standard. The Postal Service contends that such a relaxation of service standards would allow it to decrease dependance on air transportation and improve the overall reliability of delivery.
• II. Statement of Position - I am opposed to the Postal Service’s plan because the proposed service standards will cause undue discrimination of users of the mail who happen to live in places distant from the country’s centers of population. The proposed standards will impact some areas of the country — particularly the Pacific states but also the Western states and portions of Florida, Texas and Maine — more than it will impact other areas. These highly impacted areas will see more of their origin-destination pairs and more of their volumes downgraded, as well as larger increases in average delivery time, than other parts of the country will experience. Consequently, the proposed changes in service standards will result in unreasonable and undue discrimination among users of the mail, in violation of 39 U.S. Code § 403(c).
• III. Discussion…

Schumer calls for NRA to be investigated for bankruptcy fraud -- Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday called for the National Rifle Association (NRA) to be investigated for bankruptcy fraud by the Justice Department (DOJ), claiming that the organization continued to spend money on advertising despite filing for bankruptcy.A judge in May dismissed the NRA’s bankruptcy case, ruling that the advocacy group cannot use the bankruptcy code to move from New York, where it is the subject of a lawsuit, to Texas, a more gun-friendly state.The court determined that the bankruptcy case was not “filed in good faith” because “it was filed to gain an unfair litigation advantage and because it was filed to avoid a state regulatory scheme.”The group filed for bankruptcy in January and sought to reincorporate in Texas by “utilizing the protection of the bankruptcy court.”The legal action followed an August lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), which called for dissolving the organization.Schumer on Sunday said the NRA continued spending large sums of money on advertising efforts criticizing proposed gun proposals and the nomination of gun control lobbyist David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, contending that those pursuits bolster the allegation that the bankruptcy claim was motivated by legal, not financial, concerns.“They recently told the judicial branch of government that they are bankrupt after the lawsuit by Tish James, and at the same time they’re saying they’re bankrupt, they’re spending millions of dollars on ads to stop universal background checks,” Schumer told reporters, according to The Associated Press.“That demands an investigation by the Justice Department,” he added.He specifically cited a $2 million advertising push announced by the NRA in April, when the bankruptcy case was still pending, which targeted gun control proposals, the AP reported.

Taibbi: Spying And Smearing Is "Un-American," Not Tucker Carlson --On Monday, June 28th, Fox host Tucker Carlson dropped a bomb mid-show, announcing he’d been approached by a “whistleblower” who told him he was being spied on by the NSA. “The National Security Agency is monitoring our electronic communications,” he said, “and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.” The reaction was swift, mocking, and ferocious. “Carlson is sounding more and more like InfoWars host and notorious conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones,” chirped CNN media analyst Brian Stelter. Vox ripped Carlson as a “serial fabulist” whose claims were “evidence-free.” The Washington Post quipped that “in a testament to just how far the credibility of Tucker Carlson Tonight has cratered,” even groups like Pen America and the Reporters Committee on the Freedom of the Press were no-commenting the story, while CNN learned from its always-reliable “people familiar with the matter” that even Carlson’s bosses at Fox didn’t believe him. None of this was surprising. A lot of media people despise Carlson. The paranoid rumor that he’s running for president (he’s not) comes almost entirely from a handful of editors and producers who’ve convinced themselves it’s true, half out of anxiety and half subconscious desperation to find a click-generating replacement for Donald Trump. The NSA story took a turn on the morning of July 7th last week, when Carlson went on Maria Bartiromo’s program. He said that it would shortly come out that the NSA “leaked the contents of my email to journalists,” claiming he knew this because one of them called him for comment. On cue, hours later, a piece came out in Axios, “Scoop: Tucker Carlson sought Putin interview at time of spying claim.” In a flash, the gloating and non-denial denials that littered early coverage of this story (like the NSA’s meaningless insistence that Carlson was not a “target” of surveillance) dried up. They were instantly replaced by new, more tortured rhetoric, exemplified by an amazingly loathsome interview conducted by former Bush official Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC. The Wallace panel included rodentine former Robert Mueller team member Andrew Weissman, and another of the networks’ seemingly limitless pool of interchangeable ex-FBI stooge-commentators, Frank Figliuzzi. Weissman denounced Carlson for sowing “distrust” in the intel community, which he said was “so anti-American.” Wallace, who we recall was MSNBC’s idea of a “crossover” voice to attract a younger demographic, agreed that Carlson had contributed to a “growing chorus of distrust in our country’s intelligence agencies.” The scene was perfectly representative of what the erstwhile “liberal” press has become: collections of current and former enforcement types, masquerading as journalists, engaged in patriotic denunciations of critics and rote recitals of quasi-official statements.Not that it matters to Carlson’s critics, but odds favor the NSA scandal being true. An extraordinarily rich recent history of illegal, politically-directed leaks has gone mostly uncovered, in another glaring recent press failure that itself is part of this story.

Twitter Says Government Demands To Remove Tweets From Journalists, News Outlets Jump 26% - Twitter on Wednesday announced that government demands to remove content posted by journalists and news outlets jumped 26% worldwide in the second half of 2020 vs. the first half of the year, Reuters reports. According to the company's transparency report, 199 'verified' journalists and news outlets on its platform were subject to 361 legal demands to remove content - though the social media giant refused to say which countries had submitted them.Meanwhile, Twitter received over 14,500 requests for information between July 1 and Dec. 31, of which 30% of the requests were honored. India is "the single largest source of all information requests from governments during the second half of 2020, overtaking the United States, which was second in the volume of requests," according to the report. Such information requests can include governments or other entities asking for the identities of people tweeting under pseudonyms. Twitter also received more than 38,500 legal demands to take down various content, which was down 9% from the first half of 2020, and said it complied with 29% of the demands. –Reuters After engaging in several conflicts with countries - primarily India - over rules regulating social media content, Twitter announced last week that it had hired an interim chief compliance officer in India, as well as other executives tasked with ensuring that the company adheres to international laws.In April, Twitter admitted to censoring criticism of the Indian government amid widespread reports that the official government death toll during the pandemic was misrepresented - and the actual figure could be as much as 30 times higherthan reported. As Jonathan Turley noted at the time:With the support of many Democratic leaders in the United States, Twitter now regularly censors viewpoints in the United States and India had no trouble in enlisting it to crackdown on those raising the alarm over false government reporting. Buried in an Associated Press story on the raging pandemic and failures of the Indian government are these two lines:“On Saturday, Twitter complied with the government’s request and prevented people in India from viewing more than 50 tweets that appeared to criticize the administration’s handling of the pandemic. The targeted posts include tweets from opposition ministers critical of Modi, journalists and ordinary Indians.”The article quotes Twitter as saying that it had powers to “withhold access to the content in India only” if the company determined the content to be “illegal in a particular jurisdiction.” Thus, criticism of the government in this context is illegal so Twitter has agreed to become an arm of the government in censoring information. Keep in mind that this information could protect lives. It is not “fake news” but efforts by journalists and others to disclose failures by the government that could cost hundreds of thousands of lives. This is the face of the new censors. The future in speech control is not in the classic state media model but the alliance of states with corporate giants like Twitter. Twitter now actively engages in what Democratic leaders approvingly call “robust content modification” to control viewpoints and political dissent.

Texas AG to stop blocking critics on Twitter, ending First Amendment suit --Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has unblocked critics on his Twitter account and agreed to not block anyone in the future, ending a First Amendment lawsuit against him. The agreement was filed Friday in an Austin-based federal case brought against him by nine Twitter users who had been blocked from Paxton’s @KenPaxtonTX Twitter account after criticizing him or his policies. The plaintiffs, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, agreed to drop their suit as part of the deal. “We’re pleased that Attorney General Paxton has agreed to stop blocking people from his Twitter account simply because he doesn’t like what they have to say,” said Katie Fallow, an attorney at the Knight Institute. “Multiple courts have recognized that government officials who use their social media accounts for official purposes violate the First Amendment if they block people from those accounts on the basis of viewpoint. What Paxton was doing was unconstitutional.” The Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Texas Democrats flee state to block voting bill - Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state for Washington, DC, Monday in order to block Republican-backed election reform bills for a second time — setting up a standoff with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and risking arrest by leaving during a special session. Close to 60 of the Texas House of Representatives’ 67 Democrats departed Austin on two charter flights to the nation’s capital, where they vowed to press the Biden administration and congressional lawmakers to pass federal voting rights legislation. KXAS reporter Scott Gordon tweeted an image of barefaced lawmakers on one of the planes, apparently defying federal rules about wearing masks while traveling. The mass exodus would deny the Texas House a quorum when it gathers on Tuesday. “Today, Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote,” read a statement signed by Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner and four other lawmakers.

Texas man faces 40 years in prison for voting while on parole- In a case of calculated political savagery, the state of Texas has arrested a 62-year-old African American man for allegedly voting illegally last year. The Republican administration of Governor Greg Abbott is bringing charges that could put Hervis Earl Rogers in prison for the rest of his life. Rogers was held on $100,000 bail for three days, until the nonprofit Bail Project posted bail and secured his release. State Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered Rogers arrested Wednesday and charged him with two counts of felony illegal voting for casting ballots in the March 2020 Democratic primary and the 2018 general election, at a time when he was still on parole from a 1995 conviction for burglary. Each count carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, and as a “repeat offender” Rogers could face even more jail time. Rogers was celebrated in the media last year for his determination to vote in the Democratic presidential primary, when he waited in line for seven hours at a Houston polling place at Texas Southern University. He gave interviews to both CNN and a local television station, explaining that he had considered giving up and going home but stayed to do his civic duty. In what has been described as “forum shopping,” the state attorney general brought charges against Rogers not in Harris County, where he lives and voted, but in neighboring Montgomery County, which is 90 percent white. Harris County, which includes Houston, is majority nonwhite. According to his attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Rogers served a prison term for burglary, was paroled in 2004, worked and raised a family until his parole (very lengthy under the barbaric judicial system of Texas) was discharged in June 2020. There is no indication that Rogers had any idea that he was not allowed to vote, as indicated by his conversations with reporters while he was the “last man in line” at the polls in March 2020. Texas law requires that the parolee “knowingly” vote illegally, which his attorneys argued meant he should not have been charged.

Melee reported at Porter town hall in California --A melee erupted between protesters and attendees over the weekend at a town hall meeting held by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), the Los Angeles Times reported..In her first in-person town hall meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter was interrupted by a group of protesters who back former President Trump as she was discussing climate change and coronavirus vaccinations. The protesters were screaming “Carpetbagger Katie” and “Corrupt Katie Porter” while she spoke as her supporters began to chant her name or scream back at the demonstrators, according to the Times.The Times reports that a fight broke out between the two groups and Porter rushed to the scuffle to apparently help protect an elderly woman. Irvine Police Department (IPD) officers came to the event to deescalate the situation.IPD Sgt. Karie Davis told the Times that they arrested one Porter supporter at the scuffle who was later released on a citation, adding that officers took reports on assault and battery charges with a few people suffering from “minor injuries.”The event comes as Porter is defending her seat in the 2022 midterm elections and as Republicans eye a chance to take back control of the lower chamber. Porter told Times that the melee was a premeditated attack from conservative Nick Taurus, an Orange County native who is running against Porter.In her statement, Porter referred to an Instagram post that Taurus shared on Thursday telling his supporters to attend the town hall meeting to confront the congresswoman. "Katie Porter is a far-left ideologue supported by Bay Area academics, the billionaire class and foreign lobbies!” Taurus wrote in his post. “Her America Last policies are awful for the 45th district and we intend to voice our displeasure!”

 Democrats take Powell to task for easing regulation of big banks — With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's term slated to end in February, many in the nation's capital are calling for him to be reappointed. But two key Democrats signaled Thursday they may have reservations about prolonging his tenure. During Powell's regularly scheduled appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio — who chairs the panel — and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts strongly criticized regulatory relief provided to large banks."Strong financial regulation enables the Fed to be more aggressive and helping workers, and that should be your mission," Brown said during the in-person hearing. "It's time, Mr. Chair, respectfully, you change the way you think about regulating the biggest banks."

Powell Says Fed Likely to Require Banks to Test for Climate Risk - The Federal Reserve will probably end up requiring banks to conduct tests to judge their vulnerability to the effects of climate change, Chairman Jerome Powell suggested on Thursday.“My guess is that’s a direction we’ll go in but we’re not ready to do yet,” he told the Senate Banking Committee.Some European central banks are already running climate stress scenario exercises for their banks to undergo. They are designed to ascertain the banks’ readiness and resiliency to extreme weather events and other long-term effects of a warming climate.Powell said the European tests are “proving to be a very profitable exercise both for the financial institutions and for regulators.”The Fed chair has previously drawn a clear distinction between such exercises and the stress tests that U.S. banks are already required to undergo.Those test how the banks would perform under adverse economic conditions and carry regulatory consequences depending on the results, with failing institutions required to shore up their capital.

Biden calls for tougher reviews of bank mergers, urges data portability -President Biden is encouraging the Justice Department and federal regulators to tighten their scrutiny of bank mergers just as new deals are picking up.The move, announced Friday, is part of a broader executive order meant to promote competition across the U.S. economy, including in sectors such as health care, technology and agriculture. The order also has implications for the growing policy debates over consumer data privacy and data portability. In the banking industry, the White House is taking on a consolidation frenzy that has resulted in scores of branch closings. Federal agencies have not formally denied a bank merger in more than 15 years, according to a White House statement.

Regulators propose joint guidance on managing third-party risk — Three federal bank regulators are requesting industry input on a set of interagency guidelines to help financial institutions navigate the risks of third-party relationships. The proposed guidance, released jointly on Tuesday afternoon by the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., centers on the responsibilities of banks when practicing risk management with business partners. Rather than eliminate the need for rigorous compliance, the agencies wrote in the guidance, “the use of third parties may present elevated risks to banking organizations and their customers.”

Banks demand high bar for fintech access to Fed services - Banks want the Federal Reserve to create tough standards for evaluating whether fintech firms with narrow-purpose banking charters should be given access to the payments system and other central bank services.Bank trade groups sent letters to the Fed on Monday in response to guidelines it proposed in May that would grant such fintech firms access to Fed accounts and services. The proposal contains six principles for the 12 Federal Reserve banks to consider when evaluating applications by fintech firms. The Fed asked for public comment by Monday on what standards should be used when vetting such requests.The banking groups generally expressed support for the Fed’s proposal but also said it is too broad and that any company granted access to the payments system should be subject to the same strict regulatory requirements as traditional financial institutions. The groups contend that fintechs with narrow-purpose charters pose a safety-and-soundness risk and should be denied access.

 Fed’s Powell calls for stricter oversight of stablecoins — As the Federal Reserve mulls the creation of its own digital currency, the central bank also sees the benefits of stronger regulation of stablecoins offered by the private sector, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.Powell told lawmakers that stablecoins — a cryptocurrency pegged to normal currency to avoid price volatility — should be regulated to bring them more in line with standards for bank deposits and money market funds."It's very simple: these are economic activities that are very similar to deposits and money market funds, and they need to be regulated in comparable ways," Powell said during a virtual hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

Pot banking bill's prospects fade amid broader legalization push --In a dramatic reversal, top Senate Democrats are abandoning targeted legislation to help banks and credit unions serve cannabis businesses as lawmakers launch a broader effort to legalize marijuana.The conventional wisdom was that Democrats' 2020 electoral victories could overcome GOP objections to a pot banking bill, clearing its path to enactment. But now in control of both chambers of Congress, Democrats have unveiled a more sweeping proposal to decriminalize marijuana use, which they say should be the vehicle. Some lawmakers have gone so far as to oppose the pot banking bill, saying it would be a mistake to support legislation that only benefits businesses without ending a drug enforcement regime that has hurt people of color.

Can banks allay concerns about emerging student loan product? — A novel partnership between a Virginia bank and a Boston-based community development financial institution is reigniting a debate about student financing products known as income-share agreements.In April, consumer groups led by the Student Borrower Protection Center urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to scrutinize the first-of-its-kind arrangement between Blue Ridge Bank of Martinsville in Virginia and MentorWorks Education Capital. The bank funds financing packages developed by MentorWorks, a fintech firm, which students repay with a portion of their income after entering the workforce.Critics say banks could face reputational risks from working with a sector that is increasingly targeted for alleged consumer protection abuses, such as requiring expensive prepayment penalties, which some experts argue is illegal under the Truth in Lending Act. They worry that banks could lend false credibility to a product that has avoided regulatory scrutiny, similar to criticism of partnerships between banks and other nonbanks such as small-dollar lenders.

Ignored by banks, Indigenous communities build their own financial system | American Banker— The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation is big, but it isn’t as big as it used to be.As seen from the air, the land is an expansive, grayish-brown terrain cracked open by the winding Missouri River with scattered clusters of black dots. On the ground, the dots become cows — so many cows — and the land becomes a roiling sea of prairie grass heaving under currents of wind you can see coming and going from miles in every direction.The reservation covers some 4,200 square miles in north-central South Dakota; it is the fourth-largest Indigenous reservation in the continental United States. Officially, it is home to some 8,000 people, though census figures systemically undercount Indigenous communities.

Maloney reintroduces bill to curb banks' overdraft fees — In the latest example of pressure on banks to rein in overdraft fees, a senior House Democrat has reintroduced legislation to restrict the charges.Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., held a press conference Wednesday to tout the Overdraft Protection Act, which would restrict the number of times banks can collect the fees and is also intended to ensure that charges are reasonable.“The Overdraft Protection Act will keep money in people's pockets,” Maloney said.

Card industry braces for security threats from quantum computing -- Quantum computing — the use of machines that perform exponentially more calculations and process far more data than standard hardware — is growing at a rate that could make it a threat to payment security systems. And an increasing number of firms are investing in quantum computing, reports IDC, adding the companies that are investing more than 17% of their IT budgets on quantum computing will nearly triple in the next two years. Among those investing in quantum, 20% are already using it and 66% will begin using it in the next two years. The use cases most cited are accelerated business development and artificially intelligence enhancement.But the same raw computing power can be turned against the security used in contactless payments, if banks and card networks aren't prepared.

Acting CFPB director should come before House panel, McHenry says — The House Financial Services Committee's top Republican wants the panel to review recent actions taken by the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.“It is concerning the CFPB is conducting business as usual without a Senate-confirmed Director and without proper oversight,” Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said of acting CFPB Director Dave Uejio in a July 15 letter to Financial Service Committee Chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif. McHenry urged Waters to call acting CFPB Director Dave Uejio to testify about policies that the GOP lawmaker said would “traditionally be reserved for a Senate-confirmed Director.” Uejio was appointed just as President Biden took office in January.

Harsher rules, more enforcement: What to expect from Chopra's CFPB - Soon after he was inaugurated as president, Barack Obama famously quipped to congressional Republicans that “elections have consequences.” One of the consequences of Obama’s election was the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, established a new federal agency known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The brainchild of then-Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, the bureau wielded broad authority to define what consumer lending practices are unfair and punish companies that offered them.A lot has changed since the CFPB opened its doors in 2011. The bureau’s director, originally protected from removal by the president but for cause, now serves at the pleasure of the President after a landmark decision from the Supreme Court last year. Elizabeth Warren is now the senior senator from Massachusetts and a force within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. And the bureau itself has been led by both Democratic and Republican administrations, pursuing both Democratic and Republican visions of what consumer financial protection should mean.

FHFA to end fee meant to cover Fannie, Freddie’s COVID-related losses - The Federal Housing Finance Agency will eliminate a fee that lenders have paid since December to offset potential losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the agency said Friday. The agency mandated the "adverse market fee" last year on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to address economic uncertainty from COVID-19. The fee was similar to one implemented by the two mortgage companies during the 2008 financial crisis.The refinance fee will end Aug. 1, the FHFA said in a letter to lenders.

Mortgage distress drops annually, small share of borrowers lack equity - It’s been a year-plus since widespread forbearance arrived and it’s gone a long way toward reducing distress, but a recent estimate for the equity held by borrowers with hardships suggests the financial duress remaining is likely to create some limited hot spots.The drop in the forborne-payment rate to nearly 5% earlier this year from a peak of 7% in May 2020 is promising when it comes to future mortgage performance, a Government Accountability Office report f inds. But roughly 1.9% of distressed borrowers may be at risk of eventual foreclosure because not only were they late on an average of a total $8,300 in payments for eight months but also equity is lacking. Borrowers with equity might still lose their homes if they can’t resume normal payments or modify loans when forbearance ends. But if the property is worth more than the borrower owes, they may avoid a long foreclosure process by selling and exiting with clean credit and/or even a profit. Given that home prices are skyrocketing, many houses have equity, but exceptions do exist.

MBA Survey: "Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 3.76%" -Note: This is as of July 4th. From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 3.76% The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 11 basis points from 3.87% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.76% as of July 4, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.9 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 8 basis points to 1.91%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 32 basis points to 4.78%, while the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 7.94%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 13 basis points to 3.87%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers also decreased 13 basis points to 3.98%.“Forbearance exits increased in the week of the July 4th holiday to the fastest pace since early April,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “New requests stayed very low, resulting in a large drop in the share of loans in forbearance, particularly for Ginnie Mae loans, which also continue to be impacted by buyouts of delinquent loans. These loans are tracked as portfolio loans after a buyout.” “The mortgage delinquency rate across the entire servicing portfolio declined in June compared to May. However, the delinquency rate slightly increased for homeowners who have completed a workout. Borrowers who are exiting forbearance now are likely to have been in relief for over a year, with almost 60 percent of borrowers in forbearance extensions of longer than 12 months. These borrowers may face more challenges getting back to making regular payments.”This graph shows the percent of portfolio in forbearance by investor type over time. Most of the increase was in late March and early April 2020, and has trended down since then.The MBA notes: "Total weekly forbearance requests as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) remained the same relative to the prior week at 0.04%.". Note: Deferral plans are very popular. Basically when the homeowner exits forbearance, they just go back to making their regular monthly payments, they are not charged interest on the missed payments, and the unpaid balanced is deferred until the end of the mortgage.

Black Knight: Number of Homeowners in COVID-19-Related Forbearance Plans Declined Slightly -Note: Both Black Knight and the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) are putting out weekly estimates of mortgages in forbearance. This data is as of July 13th.From Andy Walden at Black Knight: Forbearance Volumes Essentially Flat This Week After last week’s roughly 190,000 reduction in the number of active forbearance plans, a decline of just 1,000 plans may feel miniscule. It may indeed be, but it’s also very much in line with what we’ve seen month after month since the recovery began – namely, the well-documented, mid-month lull in activity.As of July 13, 1.86 million borrowers remain in COVID-19 forbearance plans, making up 3.5% of all active mortgages and 2.1% of GSE, 6.2% of FHA/VA and 4.0% of Portfolio/PLS loans.What little weekly improvement was seen was found among FHA/VA forbearance plans (-5,000). This was partially offset by a 4,000 rise among portfolio/PLS forbearances while at the same time plan volumes among GSE loans held steady from last week. All in, this puts the number of loans in active forbearance down 196,000 (-9.5%) from the same time last month. With nearly 400,000 plans still scheduled to be reviewed for extension/removal this month, there is still a chance for moderate recovery towards the end of this month and the beginning of August.Removal volumes returned to mid-June levels as the number of loans being reviewed for extension/removal trailed off after the first week of the month, while plan starts edged higher, driven by an increase in restart activity.This too is a familiar phenomenon; one we’ve seen following large volumes of quarterly plan reviews over the course of the pandemic. As in the past, the increase in restarts is most likely a counter to last week’s large number of exits.

Black Knight Mortgage Monitor for May; Highest Annual Home Price Increase on Record --Black Knight released their Mortgage Monitor report for May today. According to Black Knight, 4.73% of mortgage were delinquent in May, up from 4.66% of mortgages in April, and down from 7.76% in May 2020. Black Knight also reported that 0.28% of mortgages were in the foreclosure process, down from 0.38% a year ago.This gives a total of 5.01% delinquent or in foreclosure.Press Release: Black Knight: Home Prices Surge Nearly 18% Annually as May Sees Greatest Single-Month Acceleration on Record; eMBS Securities Issuance Data Suggests Borrower Behavior Changing in Response: Today, the Data & Analytics division of Black Knight, Inc. released its latest Mortgage Monitor Report, based upon the company’s industry-leading mortgage, real estate and public records datasets. This month’s report looks at the continued, unprecedented levels of home price growth, and the impact that growth is having on mortgage lending and borrower behavior. According to Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske, home price appreciation continues to break records, with ramifications that stretch across the real estate and mortgage markets. “The Black Knight HPI shows home prices in May up nearly 18% from the same time last year,” said Graboske. “Frankly, home values are appreciating at rates we’ve simply never seen before, as low interest rates, ultra-scarce inventory and increasingly competitive homebuyers combine to create a truly unprecedented market.“Indeed, the rate of growth has been accelerating by more than 2% in each of the past two months, and May’s 2.1% rise marked the sharpest monthly jump on record. Single-family home prices are up more than 18% from last May – also a record. And the growth has been widespread – home price appreciation accelerated in each of the nation’s 100 largest metros in May, with even the slowest appreciating metro area now seeing at least 10% annual growth. Data from our Collateral Analytics Group suggests even further acceleration may be on tap, as the median sales price of single-family homes in the first three weeks of June was already up 25% year-over-year. Here is a graph on delinquencies from Black Knight:
• Early-stage delinquencies (30 or 60 days past due) rose by 110K in May, while the number of seriously delinquent mortgages (90+ days but not yet in foreclosure) improved for the ninth consecutive month<
And on monthly payments (affordability) from Black Knight:
• Factoring income into the equation, it now requires 21.3% of the median household income to make the monthly payment on the average priced home purchase assuming a 20% down payment
• Even with the average 30-year interest rate hovering at just over 3%, that payment-to-income ratio is up from 18.1% at the beginning of 2021
• In areas like Los Angeles, the ratio has climbed as high as 46.5%, an unsettling number for buyers hoping to make the leap into homeownership.

 MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest Weekly Survey --From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey: Mortgage applications increased 16.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 9, 2021. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Fourth of July holiday... The Refinance Index increased 20 percent from the previous week and was 29 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 8 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 13 percent compared with the previous week and was 29 percent lower than the same week one year ago.“Overall applications climbed last week, driven heavily by increased refinancing as rates dipped again. Treasury yields have trended lower over the past month as investors remained concerned about the COVID-19 variant and slowing economic growth,” said Joel Kan, MBA's Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Mortgage rates fell for the second consecutive week as a result, with the 30-year fixed rate hitting 3.09 percent, its lowest level since February 2021. Refinance applications increased over 20 percent last week after adjusting for the July 4th holiday, aided by a 23 percent increase in conventional refinance applications. Also, there may have been a delayed spillover of applications from the previous week, when rates also decreased but there was not much of response in terms of refinance applications.”: “Purchase applications increased last week, but average loan sizes decreased to their lowest level since January 2021. The year-over-year comparisons were down significantly for both purchase and refinance applications, as they were relative to a non-holiday week in 2020.”...The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) decreased to 3.09 percent from 3.15 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990.

 Officials evacuate fourth Miami Beach apartment building after finding concrete deterioration - Another apartment building in Miami was evacuated by the city after concrete deterioration was found, an attorney representing the building owners announced on Monday.The vacated complex, located at 6881 Indian Creek Dr., is at least the fourth housing facility to be evacuated after at least 94 people were killed last month in the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside.Attorney Manny Vadillo said the facility owners have been actively communicating with its residents regarding the evacuation order."My clients are extremely sensitive to safety and, in fact, visited the property several times since last week to speak with tenants when communications started with the city to ensure tenants were not caught by surprise," Vadillo said. "Some tenants have been there many years."The decision to order the evacuation comes after Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an audit of buildings surrounding the collapsed Surfside apartment to gauge their structural integrity. The audit was announced in the days following the Surfside collapse and included any five-story or higher buildings that are at least 40 years old. Earlier this month, the Crestview Towers Condominium building was similarly evacuated after the North Miami Beach Building and Zoning Department deemed the facility "structurally and electrically unsafe.” “I can’t stress this enough: This is a very serious situation,” North Miami Beach City Manager Arthur Sorey III said at the time. “We understand this has been extremely difficult for the residents who have been displaced, but the City has a legal and moral obligation to ensure their home is safe.” The complex “did not comply with the recertification process. More importantly, they did not address the problems raised in the condo's original 40-year recertification dated Jan. 11," Sorey said at a press conference.

 A Few Excerpts from a Local Commercial Real Estate Report: "Good news is construction activity has all but stopped" --Voit Real Estate Services released their Q2 reports on Commercial Real Estate (CRE) in SoCal. Here are a few excerpts from the Orange County Office report: "The Orange County office market struggled again in 2Q. It had already been slowing before the pandemic hit, and by virtue of the higher employee density and multi-tenant configuration of office product, the office sector was hit harder by COVID than other sectors. Vacancy and availability both moved higher, and net absorption remained in negative territory. Average asking lease rates were relatively flat, but they alone do not tell the full story, as landlord concessions have risen sharply and are not reflected in market metrics. Office tenants are still trying to sort out how to fold their workforces back into the office, and that has delayed decision-making regarding relocations and renewals....The vacancy rate in Orange County rose to 13.76%, up 61 basis points in 2Q. That came on top of a 116-basis-point spike in 1Q. The increase was expected given how many moves have been put on hold to re-evaluate space utilization. Class A product is under the most stress. Vacancy in those buildings rose to 18.28% in 2Q, compared with 10.96% for Class B and just 8.75% for Class C....Fewer relocations and an increase in short-term renewals significantly impacted net absorption in 1Q, and the same held true in 2Q. Net absorption was in negative territory again in 2Q, posting a net loss of 512,502 SF, after recording a loss of more than 1.2 MSF in the opening quarter. Consistent negative absorption points to afuture increase in vacancy....The good news is that construction activity has all but stopped for the moment, which gives the market a chance to reabsorb existing unoccupied space and clear off some of the lower-priced sublease space. Just 439,206 SF of office space was in the construction queue as 2Q ended, all of it in one project in Costa Mesa, The Press. Another 1.7 MSF of space is in the planning stage but is not expected to get underway until market conditions improve."

Utilities can be a catch-up trade with Biden's $579 billion infrastructure bill in sight, CEO says - Utilities could be the underrated beneficiaries of a U.S. infrastructure overhaul, one CEO says. With Washington lawmakers working to make the Biden administration's $579 billion infrastructure spending framework a reality, the year's worst-performing sector could be in for a rebound, Reaves Asset Management CEO Jay Rhame told CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week. Two major tailwinds could propel utilities higher, said Rhame, whose co-manages the Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF (UTES). The first is potential spending on things like electric transmission, grid resilience and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, which is "incremental to growth," Rhame said in the interview Wednesday. The second is the administration's focus on clean energy, the CEO said. Biden has previously expressed goals of reaching carbon-free power generation by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. "This is really the big upside for the sector," Rhame said. "There's been talk about extending the tax credits for wind and solar, even creating a new tax credit for nuclear production for existing nuclear facilities and then a standalone tax credit for battery storage." Those tax credits could continue to lower costs to the point where building new sustainable energy infrastructures is cheaper than maintaining fossil fuel plants, he said. "It creates an interesting dynamic for utilities to really transition the grid to more renewable energy and do it in a cost-effective manner, and it should be a nice growth opportunity for the sector," Rhame said.

Hotels: Occupancy Rate Down 9% Compared to Same Week in 2019 -Note: The year-over-year occupancy comparisons are easy, since occupancy declined sharply at the onset of the pandemic. So STR is comparing to the same week in 2019.The occupancy rate is down 9.3% compared to the same week in 2019.From CoStar: STR: US Weekly Hotel Occupancy Improves; Average Daily Rate Sets New Record: U.S. hotel occupancy improved week over week, while average daily rate (ADR) was the highest on record, according to STR‘s latest data through July 10.July 4-10, 2021 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019*):
• Occupancy: 67.2% (-9.3%)
• Average daily rate (ADR): US$139.84 (+5.4%)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$93.99 (-4.4%)
Inflation aside, STR analysts note that hoteliers are taking advantage of pent-up leisure demand and higher spending travelers while trying to counter staffing shortages and rising operational costs in some regions. Additionally, with demand mostly transient, there is not the usual lowering effect of discounted group rates at the higher end of the market. Most of the higher ADR performances are outside of the major metro markets. The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four week average. The red line is for 2021, black is 2020, blue is the median, dashed purple is 2019, and dashed light blue is for 2009 (the worst year on record for hotels prior to 2020). Occupancy is well above the horrible 2009 levels and weekend occupancy (leisure) has been solid.. With solid leisure travel, the Summer months should have decent occupancy - but it is uncertain what will happen in the Fall with business travel.

Retail Sales Increased 0.6% in June - On a monthly basis, retail sales were increased 0.6% from May to June (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 18.0 percent from June 2020. From the Census Bureau report: Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June 2021, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $621.3 billion,an increase of 0.6 percent from the previous month, and 18.0 percent above June 2020. ... The April 2021 to May 2021 percent change was revised from down 1.3 percent to down 1.7 percent. This graph shows retail sales since 1992. This is monthly retail sales and food service, seasonally adjusted (total and ex-gasoline). Retail sales ex-gasoline were up 0.4% in June. The stimulus checks boosted retail sales significantly in March and April. The second graph shows the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service (ex-gasoline) since 1993. Retail and Food service sales, ex-gasoline, increased by 16.6% on a YoY basis. Sales in June were above expectations, however sales in May were revised down.

US Consumers So Far Completely Undeterred By Delta Variant --Despite the recent jump in Delta variant covid cases in the US, economic data continues to show that consumers are actively spending on services and remain undeterred despite the media's best efforts to spark a fresh pre-lockdown panic.First, a quick update on the current state of the virus in the US. Average daily virus cases jumped by 28.3% to 17.4k during the week ending July 9, and the 7-day moving average of virus cases increased to 17.4k during the week ending July 9. This is the highest level since May 31 and a 28.3% increase from the week ending July 2. As BofA note this morning, from July 2 to July 9, forty states have recorded growth in daily cases and states where vaccine rates are lower are experiencing faster case growth. As shown in the chart below, the bank finds that growth in virus cases and vaccination rates at the state level exhibit a negative relationship.Along with low vaccine rates, the Delta variant, which is more infectious than earlier strains, has driven the rise in cases of late. Outbreak.info estimates that the variant accounted for 20% of virus cases over the 60 days ending July 7.Meantime, vaccine rates have slowed appreciably with the 7-day average of jabs dropping to just about 500k. This was likely due in part to the July 4 holiday; however, shots have been on a downward trend since April.Regardless, the US remains one of the most vaccinated countries, with 67.7% of its adult population and 88.7% of those 65 and older having received at least one shot to date. This, BofA concedes, should limit the spread of the Delta variant. However, the bank warns that the uneven vaccination rates across states and within states means that there are areas that have little protection against this highly infectious variant. Moreover, the longer the virus lingers the greater the risk for a vaccine-resistant variant to develop. In short: whether be decree or due to simple population dynamics, Covid-19 could be with us for the foreseeable future.In light of this data, BofA thinks we will continue to see a surge in cases over the near-term, but does not expect restrictions on activity to be broadly imposed again. This means that while the downside risk to the economy is relatively low, the bank's economists will continue to reevaluate this view as things can change in a matter of days when it comes to the virus.

BLS: CPI increased 0.9% in June, Core CPI increased 0.9% -- From the BLS: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was the largest 1-month change since June 2008 when the index rose 1.0 percent. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.4 percent before seasonal adjustment; this was the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending August 2008. The index for used cars and trucks continued to rise sharply, increasing 10.5 percent in June. This increase accounted for more than one-third of the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The food index increased 0.8 percent in June, a larger increase than the 0.4-percent increase reported for May. The energy index increased 1.5 percent in June, with the gasoline index rising 2.5 percent over the month.The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in June after increasing 0.7 percent in May. Many of the same indexes continued to increase, including used cars and trucks, new vehicles, airline fares, and apparel. The index for medical care and the index for household furnishings and operations were among the few major component indexes which decreased in June.The all items index rose 5.4 percent for the 12 months ending June; it has been trending up every month since January, when the 12-month change was 1.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.5 percent over the last 12-months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1991. The energy index rose 24.5 percent over the last 12-months, and the food index increased 2.4 percent. CPI and core CPI were well above expectations.

Consumer Price Index: June Headline at 5.4% - The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the June Consumer Price Index data this morning. The year-over-year non-seasonally adjusted Headline CPI came in at 5.49%, up from 4.99% the previous month. Year-over-year Core CPI (ex Food and Energy) came in at 4.47%, up from 3.80% the previous month and above the Fed's 2% PCE target.Here is the introduction from the BLS summary, which leads with the seasonally adjusted monthly data: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was the largest 1-month change since June 2008 when the index rose 1.0 percent. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.4 percent before seasonal adjustment; this was the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending August 2008.The index for used cars and trucks continued to rise sharply, increasing 10.5 percent in June. This increase accounted for more than one-third of the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The food index increased 0.8 percent in June, a larger increase than the 0.4-percent increase reported for May. The energy index increased 1.5 percent in June, with the gasoline index rising 2.5 percent over the month.The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in June after increasing 0.7 percent in May. Many of the same indexes continued to increase, including used cars and trucks, new vehicles, airline fares, and apparel. The index for medical care and the index for household furnishings and operations were among the few major component indexes which decreased in June.The all items index rose 5.4 percent for the 12 months ending June; it has been trending up every month since January, when the 12-month change was 1.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.5 percent over the last 12-months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1991. The energy index rose 24.5 percent over the last 12-months, and the food index increased 2.4 percent. Read more Investing.com was looking for a 0.5% MoM change in seasonally adjusted Headline CPI and a 0.4% in Core CPI. Year-over-year forecasts were 4.9% for Headline and 4.0% for Core.The first chart is an overlay of Headline CPI and Core CPI (the latter excludes Food and Energy) since the turn of the century. The highlighted two percent level is the Federal Reserve's Core inflation target for the CPI's cousin index, the BEA's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index.

Inflation! by Menzie Chinn - Reuters – “U.S. consumer prices post largest gain in 13 years; inflation has likely peaked”. Surprises on the upside, put in context. Stripping out volatile components, inflation is up; focusing on sticky prices, inflation is down. The CPI surprise was 0.4%, while that for Core CPI was 0.43% (relative to Bloomberg consensus as of yesterday). To place these in context, the variability of m/m changes in the (log) CPI and Core CPI is about 0.2%. Figure 1: CPI all urban (bold blue line), Bloomberg consensus (blue +), 2016-19 stochastic trend (blue gray line), CPI less food and energy (“core”), (bold dark red), Bloomberg consensus (red square), and 2016-19 stochastic trend (red gray line), both on log scale. Source: BLS, Bloomberg, and author’s calculations. In addition, the price level as of June was above the 2016-19 linear trend, as shown above. Prices have caught up, and more (both are about 1.5% above trend). On the other hand, while headline m/m inflation is up, a measure that focuses on infrequently changed prices — the sticky price CPI — has declined, suggesting easing pressures. The trimmed CPI — which excises highly volatile components — kept on rising indicating it’s not outliers driving June increases. Figure 2: Month-on-month annualized inflation from CPI-all urban (blue), from personal consumption expenditure (PCE) deflator (black), chained CPI, nsa (brown), sticky price CPI (green), and 16% trimmed mean CPI (red). Source: BLS, Atlanta Fed, Cleveland Fed, via FRED, and author’s calculations. What about core measures? These are shown in Figure 3 (no trimmed core shown). Figure 3: Month-on-month annualized inflation from CPI-all urban (blue), from personal consumption expenditure (PCE) deflator (black), chained CPI, nsa (brown), and sticky price CPI (green). Source: BLS, Atlanta Fed, Cleveland Fed, via FRED, and author’s calculations.The pandemic has made it more important to examine the role of specific components. CEA notes that excluding “cars and pandemic-affected services, core inflation rose 0.22 percent month-over-month, relative to 0.28 percent in May and 0.31 percent in April”. This is shown in this graph:Source: CEA (7/13/2021).

Consumer inflation rises the most in over a decade; will it draw the Fed’s attention? -- Let me start my take on this month’s inflation report with my concluding remarks last month: “this is not a big deal if it only lasts another month or two. But if the trend continues longer than that, it will begin to impact consumer spending, and it will get the Fed’s attention.” Well, it has definitely lasted another month. In spades. The 0.9% increase in June was the highest since June 2008’s 1.0% increase (driven by $4+ gas).(red in the graph below) More importantly, the 5.3% YoY increase is also the highest since summer 2008, and well in excess of the YoY average wage increase for nonsupervisory workers of 3.7% (blue): This is going to get the Fed’s attention. They may not even wait another month. Be that as it may, the primary driver of this inflation is not wage increases, it is first and foremost a supply bottleneck in the production of new cars, which is driving insane demand for used cars (blue in the graph below), the prices of which are up 45.2% YoY. Secondarily it is the demand driven increase in gas usage, which has caused those prices to increase 44.8% YoY (red): The spike in prices in used cars alone is responsible for about 1/3 of the total increase in prices last month. Used car prices, which are about 3.2% of the total weighting in the inflation index, rose 10.8% in just the past month! That nets out to over 0.3% of the total inflation number being just used cars. On the other hand, rent continues to be somnolent (as is “owners’ equivalent rent,” which is how the Census Bureau tries to measure house prices): By the way, ultimately the house price spike has been driven by the fact that during the pandemic last year, existing homes placed on the market (which are about 90% of the typical housing market) declined precipitously compared with the typical year: I expect both house prices and gas prices to work themselves out. Not only have home sales declined, but I expect most of the houses that were going to be placed on the market in 2020 to go to market over the next 12 to 24 months. This surge in existing home inventory is going to drive house prices down. Similarly, the travel bug from being cooped up at home during the pandemic is going to pass as well. That leaves motor vehicles. As I wrote last month, I have no special insight into vehicle part supply chains, and in particular microchips, which have been fingered as a primary shortage. But, hypothetically, would the Fed raising rates do anything about that shortage? The answer seems a pretty clear “NO,” so why deliberately slow down the rest of the economy to deal with a bottleneck that is beyond their control? Beyond that, as I wrote last month, there have been a number of 10%+ spikes in commodity prices in the past several decades that were brief in nature and worked themselves out without causing a recession: Ironically, the only way I can see the Fed “helping out” with inflation, is in the area of their “blind spot” - actual house prices. If they were to raise rates just enough to trigger an increase in mortgage rates of 0.5%-0.75%, which would serve to cool down the housing market in a very substantial way without necessarily causing the economy as a whole to stall.

 Record inflation in US leads to double digit increases in basic consumer goods - On Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released the latest consumer price index (CPI) data from June, which showed that prices for basic consumer goods and services continue to rise at historic rates. The BLS reported that the CPI rose 0.9 percent from May, nearly double what Wall Street analysts had predicted, leading to a year-over-year CPI increase of 5.4 percent, the highest in 13 years.The core inflation growth statistic, which just measures the increase in consumer goods, minus energy and food, showed a 4.5 percent year-over-year increase, which is the highest since 1991.Driving the soaring increase in the CPI is the rising cost for energy commodities such as fuel oil and gasoline, which the BLS recorded rising 44.2 percent in the last year. Used car prices are also showing an unprecedented rise in prices, jumping 10.5 percent in June, which follows a 7.3 percent increase in May and 10 percent in April. New car prices also rose 2 percent in June, the biggest increase since May 1981.The meteoric rise in car prices is being driven by two main factors: a global semiconductor shortage, components used in nearly every modern electronic device and a so-called labor shortage. Major car companies, such as General Motors, have lamented the fact that workers are unwilling to work in COVID-19-infested factories for the $16.67 an hour offered to new hires under its agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The labor contracts signed by the unions have long included raises at or below the rate of inflation and lump sum payments instead of increases in hourly wages. The contract proposed by the UAW at Volvo Trucks would provide an average annual raise of only 2 percent over six years for the top-paid workers at the factory. With the annual rate of inflation at over 5 percent, this would result in a nearly 20 percent cut in real wages over the life of the contract.As the corporatist trade unions and companies conspire to depress wages and increase profits, workers are finding it difficult just to afford basic food items, leading to an increase in food insecurity across the US. Some 20 million adults are without enough to eat as of mid-June, according to data collected by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, while the latest US Census Bureau survey found that 42 million US adults reported not being able to afford the types of food they want to eat last month.

LA Area Port Traffic: Solid Imports, Weak Exports in June -Container traffic gives us an idea about the volume of goods being exported and imported - and usually some hints about the trade report since LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic. The following graphs are for inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container).To remove the strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, the first graph shows the rolling 12 month average. On a rolling 12 month basis, inbound traffic was up 1.5% in June compared to the rolling 12 months ending in May. Outbound traffic was down 0.5% compared to the rolling 12 months ending the previous month. The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with a strong seasonal pattern for imports).Usually imports peak in the July to October period as retailers import goods for the Christmas holiday, and then decline sharply and bottom in February or March depending on the timing of the Chinese New Year. 2021 started off incredibly strong for imports.Imports were up 23% YoY in June (collapsed last year due to pandemic), and exports were down 6.2% YoY.

Industrial Production Increased 0.4 Percent in June --From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in June after moving up 0.7 percent in May. In June, manufacturing output edged down 0.1 percent, as an ongoing shortage of semiconductors contributed to a decrease of 6.6 percent in the production of motor vehicles and parts. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory output increased 0.4 percent. The output of utilities advanced 2.7 percent, reflecting heightened demand for air conditioning, as much of the country experienced a heat wave in June. The index for mining increased 1.4 percent.For the second quarter as a whole, total industrial production rose at an annual rate of 5.5 percent. Manufacturing output increased at an annual rate of 3.7 percent despite a drop of 22.5 percent for motor vehicles and parts.At 100.1 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in June was 9.8 percent above its year-earlier level but 1.2 percent below its pre-pandemic (February 2020) level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector rose 0.3 percentage point in June to 75.4 percent, a rate that is 4.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2020) average.This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, but still below the level in February 2020.Capacity utilization at 75.4% is 4.2% below the average from 1972 to 2020. Note: y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change. The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.Industrial production increased in June to 100.1. This is 1.2% below the February 2020 level.The change in industrial production was below consensus expectations.

Empire State Mfg Survey: Record Setting Growth in July -This morning we got the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The diffusion index for General Business Conditions at 43 was an increase of 25.6 from the previous month's 17.4. The Investing.com forecast was for a reading of 18. The Empire State Manufacturing Index rates the relative level of general business conditions in New York state. A level above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions. The reading is compiled from a survey of about 200 manufacturers in New York state.Here is the opening paragraph from the report. Business activity grew at a record-setting pace in New York State, according to firms responding to the July 2021 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index shot up twenty-six points to 43.0. New orders and shipments increased robustly. Delivery times continued to lengthen substantially, and inventories expanded. Employment grew strongly, and the average workweek increased. Input prices continued to increase sharply, and selling prices rose at the fastest pace on record. Looking ahead, firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months, with the index for future employment reaching another record high. [Full report] Here is a chart of the current conditions and its 3-month moving average, which helps clarify the trend for this extremely volatile indicator:

Philly Fed Mfg Index: "Current Indicators Remain Elevated" - The Philly Fed's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey is a monthly report for the Third Federal Reserve District, covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. While it focuses exclusively on business in this district, this regional survey gives a generally reliable clue as to the direction of the broader Chicago Fed's National Activity Index.The latest Manufacturing Index came in at 21.9, down 8.8 from last month's 30.7. The 3-month moving average came in at 28.0, down from 33.6 last month. Since this is a diffusion index, negative readings indicate contraction, positive ones indicate expansion. The Six-Month Outlook came in at 48.6, down 20.6 from the previous month's 69.2.The 21.9 headline number came in below the 28.0 forecast at Investing.com.Here is the introduction from the survey: Manufacturing activity in the region continued to expand this month, according to firms responding to the July Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The indicators for general activity, shipments, and new orders all declined but remain elevated. The firms continued to report increases in employment and prices. Most of the survey’s future indexes tempered but continue to indicate overall optimism about growth over the next six months. (Full Report) The first chart below gives us a look at this diffusion index since 2000, which shows us how it has behaved in proximity to the two 21st century recessions. The red dots show the indicator itself, which is quite noisy, and the 3-month moving average, which is more useful as an indicator of coincident economic activity. We can see periods of contraction in 2011, 2012, and 2015, and a shallower contraction in 2013. The contraction due to COVID-19 is clear in 2020.

 U.S. Producer Prices Rose More Than Forecast in June - Prices paid to U.S. producers rose in June by more than expected, indicating pressure is mounting on companies to pass along higher costs to consumers. The producer price index for final demand increased 1% from the prior month and 7.3% from June of last year, Labor Department data showed Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy components, the so-called core PPI also rose 1%, the most on record, and was up 5.6% from a year ago. Producer prices surged in June amid supply chain bottlenecks The median forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.6% month-over-month advance in the overall PPI and a 0.5% increase in the core figure. The annual increases were the largest in data back to 2010. The PPI, which tracks changes in the cost of production, has accelerated at a faster pace than expected in recent months due to higher commodity prices and complications with global supply chains. Challenges in hiring skilled workers have also put upward pressure on wages. The increases in production and labor costs help explain why the pace of consumer inflation has exceeded economists’ estimates in each of the last four months. A report Tuesday showed the consumer price index surged in June by the most since 2008. The increase was primarily in categories associated with reopening, including hotel stays, car rentals and airfares. Federal Reserve officials have said upward pressure on prices is likely to be transitory, but some investors worry the recent gains will lead to more persistent inflation. “Strong demand in sectors where production bottlenecks or other supply constraints have limited production has led to especially rapid price increases for some goods and services, which should partially reverse as the effects of the bottlenecks unwind,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday in prepared remarks to lawmakers. The PPI report showed prices for goods increased 1.2% after a 1.5% advance in the prior month, while the cost of services rose 0.8%, the most since the start of the year. Almost 60% of the overall PPI advance was due to services, according to the Labor Department. The increase in the costs of services reflected growth in margins received by wholesalers and retailers. Liquefied petroleum gas, plywood, aluminum base scrap were among goods that climbed by double digits from a month earlier. Producer prices excluding food, energy, and trade services -- a measure often preferred by economists because it strips out the most volatile components -- rose 0.5% from the prior month and increased 5.5% from a year earlier. The annual gain was the largest on data back to 2014.

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decrease to 360,000 -- The DOL reported: In the week ending July 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 360,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 13,000 from 373,000 to 386,000. The 4-week moving average was 382,500, a decrease of 14,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,500 from 394,500 to 397,000.This does not include the 96,362 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) that was down from 100,590 the previous week.The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 392,750.The previous week was revised up.Regular state continued claims decreased to 3,241,000 (SA) from 3,367,000 (SA) the previous week.Note: There are an additional 5,687,188 receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) that decreased from 5,824,831 the previous week (there are questions about these numbers). This is a special program for business owners, self-employed, independent contractors or gig workers not receiving other unemployment insurance. And an additional 4,710,359 receiving Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) down from 4,908,107.Weekly claims were higher than the consensus forecast.

Real wages decrease sharply - at least, if you include used vehicle prices - As I pointed out yesterday, the big increase in inflation over the past few months has made the YoY change in real wages for nonsupervisory workers negative. Let’s take a little closer look.Here is a graph of wages for nonsupervisory workers taking overall inflation into account, normed to 100 as of January 1973 (its peak previous to the pandemic):Wages had been gradually increasing in real terms for several decades before the pandemic. The big surge in spring 2020 was due to the massive layoffs in the low wage sectors of the economy. Much of the decline since then has been attributable to their being rehired.Here is a close-up over the past 2 years:Average wages are still 2.4% higher than before the pandemic.The same data YoY shows a decline of -3.9%:But when we take used vehicles out of the inflation equation, YoY inflation is less explosive than the total number appears, at +3.9%:So now here is the YoY% change in wages, leaving out used vehicles: If you’re not in the market for a used vehicle, YoY real wages have risen ever so slightly (less than 0.1%).I do expect the issue with vehicle prices to work itself out as microchips for vehicle manufacture become more available, but I have no insight as to how short or long a period of time that will be.And of course, if you are looking to buy a house as well, you are really up the creek without a paddle.

NFIB Small Business Survey: "Labor Shortage Remains a Challenge for Small Businesses as Inflation Increases" -The latest issue of the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends came out this morning. The headline number for June came in at 102.5, up 2.9 from the previous month. The index is at the 84th percentile in this series.Here is an excerpt from the opening summary of the news release.“Small businesses optimism is rising as the economy opens up, yet a record number of employers continue to report that there are few or no qualified applicants for open positions,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Owners are also having a hard time keeping their inventory stocks up with strong sales and supply chain problems.”The first chart below highlights the 1986 baseline level of 100 and includes some labels to help us visualize that dramatic change in small-business sentiment that accompanied the Great Financial Crisis and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Compare, for example, the relative resilience of the index during the 2000-2003 collapse of the Tech Bubble with the far weaker readings following the Great Recession that ended in June 2009 and today's figures.

 Bureau of Labor Statistics (Non) Reporting Tallies 8 Strikes in 2020 Versus Payday Report’s >1200 --Earlier this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that 2020 was the third-lowest year for strikes in the United States since they started collecting data on strikes in 1947. The Bureau of Labor Statistics claimed that there were just eight “major work stoppages” in the US in 2020.Payday Report’s COVID-19 Strike Wave Interactive Map, launched at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, began using news and social media accounts of workers walking off the job in protest as a measure of strike activity. By this measure, the map indicates at least 1,200 strikes in 2020 as reported in news and social media reports. These labor strike activities were counted as strikes even without regard to workplace size or union authorization.Early on in the pandemic, Payday Report began to notice a massive strike wave brewing as workers, fearful of losing their lives, simply refused to work.Almost immediately, strikes were on the move. In late March of 2020, hundreds of mostly Black sanitation workers in Pittsburgh, members of Teamsters Local 249, engaged in an illegal wildcat strike to protest their working conditions during the pandemic. Days later on March 27, a group of Black members of Teamsters Local 667 went on strike after a worker contracted COVID-19.That same week poultry workers at Perdue Farms in Georgia went on strike to protest their working conditions during the pandemic.One week later, another 1,000 meatpackers walked off in Greely, CO, requesting better personal protective safety gear and complaining how social distancing at the plant was all but nonexistent; they were working elbow to elbow.In April, dozens of nurses in Beaver County, PAwalked off the jobat the Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center after 36 of their residents and six health care workers tested positive for the virus. While the pandemic continued, so did the strikes.

Norwegian Cruise Line sues Florida over prohibition on vaccine requirements. - The fight over requiring vaccinations for travel is heating up. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sued Florida’s surgeon general on Tuesday, accusing the state of preventing it from “safely and soundly” resuming trips by barring it from requiring customers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The filing represents the latest twist in a months long fight over the resumption of cruises from Florida, a hub for the industry. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state has fought vaccine requirements by cruises and other businesses, claiming that such policies are discriminatory. Supporters of vaccine requirements have argued that requiring vaccines is necessary to protect public health. Under a state law approved in May, businesses that force customers to provide proof of vaccination could face fines of up to $5,000 per violation. In its lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Norwegian said it was forced to sue Scott Rivkees, the state’s surgeon general, “as a last resort.” “One anomalous, misguided intrusion threatens to spoil N.C.L.H.’s careful planning and force it to cancel or hobble upcoming cruises, thereby imperiling and impairing passengers’ experiences and inflicting irreparable harm of vast dimensions,” the company said in the lawsuit. Norwegian is claiming that Florida’s ban is not valid because it pre-empts federal law and violates various provisions of the Constitution, including the First Amendment. Neither Norwegian nor the Florida Department of Health immediately responded to requests for comment. After banning cruises nearly a year and a half ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in the fall that it would allow cruises to set sail again. The agency later developed a set of stringent conditions that cruise lines are required to follow. Florida sued the C.D.C., arguing that the health agency had overstepped its authority in setting those standards. In June, a federal judge temporarily blocked the agency from enforcing the rules in the state while the case proceeds. Later that month, Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group, began the first major cruise from a U.S. port since the pandemic began, sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Norwegian hopes to restart cruises from Miami on Aug. 15. The industry was devastated by the pandemic, with ridership falling 80 percent last year compared with 2019. The three major cruise companies — Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean and Norwegian — have lost a combined $900 million each month since March 2020, according to a recent report by Moody’s, the credit rating firm.

Missouri festival called off as coronavirus cases rise. A rise in the coronavirus cases has prompted the city of Springfield, Mo., to cancel this year’s Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, which features musical acts, car shows and other exhibitions.The festival, which was scheduled for Aug. 13–14, drew 65,000 attendees in 2019 over two days, and it was expected to draw more than 75,000 this year, said Cora Scott, the city of Springfield’s director of public information and civic engagement.“Obviously, we are very disappointed. After having to cancel the 2020 festival, we were so looking forward to 2021,” Ms. Scott said in a statement. “With our region’s low vaccination rate against Covid-19, the resulting surge of infections are overwhelming our hospitals and making our community sick. We feel it is just not safe to bring tens of thousands of people from all over the world to this community for any reason. ”The cancellation of the festival comes after Mercy Hospital in Springfield ran out of ventilators earlier this month as a rise in cases drove an increase in hospitalizations.About 46 percent of Missourians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 40 percent are fully vaccinated, according to a New York Times tracker. The state’s vaccination rates fall behind the national average of 56 percent of Americans who have received at least one shot, and 48 percent who are fully vaccinated.In some parts of Missouri, vaccination rates are even further behind, such as Greene County — home to Springfield — where only about 35 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated.The cancellation of the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival is a blow to Springfield, which like other Missouri cities counts on tourism dollars.Cases are also up in other tourist cities such as Branson, Mo., which is home to attractions such as Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner show and the Titanic Museum Attraction. Infections also appeared to be up in the counties around the Lake of the Ozarks area, a popular tourist destination in the state. Over Memorial Day weekend 2020, viral videos of large crowds at Lake of the Ozarks grew sharp criticism from state officials, who urged those at the lake that weekend to get tested for the virus or quarantine for two weeks.

A top Tennessee health official says she was fired over vaccines for teenagers. - First came public service ads alerting teenagers in Tennessee that they were eligible to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Then, the state’s top immunization leader, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, distributed a memo that suggested some teenagers might be eligible for vaccinations without their parents’ consent.By this week, Dr. Fiscus said she was fired — a circumstance she attributed to pushback among Republican lawmakers in the state, who have complained that the Tennessee Department of Health had gone too far in its efforts to raise awareness of the shot among young people.Dr. Fiscus, the health department’s medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs, is one of scores of public health officials across the United States who have quit or been forced from their jobs in a pandemic that was unlike anything they had tackled before and in a political climate that has grown increasingly split over the coronavirus and the vaccines.A review published in December by Kaiser Health News and The Associated Press found that at least 181 state and local public health leaders in 38 states had resigned, retired or been fired since April 1, 2020.“It’s just a huge symptom of just how toxic the whole political landscape has become,” Dr. Fiscus said in an interview on Tuesday. “This virus is apolitical — it doesn’t care who you are or where you live or which president you preferred.”The Tennessean, the Nashville newspaper that earlier reported Dr. Fiscus’s dismissal, also reported on Tuesday that the health department was pulling back its vaccination outreach efforts to children for all diseases — not just the coronavirus — amid the backlash from lawmakers. The tumult comes as virus cases are rising in Tennessee, as vaccinations have slowed, and as concerns about the Delta variant are emerging in parts of the country.

Statistics show it's time to ring the alarm on early childhood education - --With the U.S. fully reopening, life for many Americans has begun to feel more normal than it has at any time since the COVID-19 crisis began. But for young children, families, and the early educators who serve them, the crisis is still very real. Young children have disproportionately borne the educational burden of the crisis because of remote and hybrid scheduling and through sitting out kindergarten, preschool and early education altogether. And they will not be eligible for vaccines until fall at the earliest, meaning the crisis is on track to last longest and cause the greatest disruptions for those in their critical early years of development. A real return to normal will require smart new investments in finally building a coherent, robust early care and education (ECE) system in the U.S. That’s the key finding from a new summary of the best available evidence completed by our team of 16 early childhood experts and 10 early childhood policy leaders. The message across our work is clear: we’re worried. The studies we reviewed in depth — 16 national, 45 in 31 states, and 15 local — told a consistent story of learning setbacks and unmet needs. Across the country, children experienced setbacks in the quality of instruction they experienced in-person, hybrid, and remote along with substantial setbacks in their learning. For instance, literacy assessment data from 41 states show that nearly half of kindergarteners were falling well below grade-level benchmarks midway through the 2020-2021 year, versus around a quarter of students in previous years. Learning setbacks were larger for children of color, dual language learners, and children from families with low incomes.

As the C.D.C. relaxes guidelines for schools, New York City and California are sticking with their mask rules. -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new school guidance on Friday, calling for a full return to classrooms in the fall and recommending that masks be optional for fully vaccinated students and staff.But the guidance left a lot of details up to state and local governments, advising districts to use local coronavirus data to guide decisions about when to tighten or relax prevention measures like masking and physical distancing. It also recommended that unvaccinated students and staff members keep wearing masks.In New York City, the nation’s largest public school district, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that masks will still be required for everyone in the upcoming school year, though he added that officials would continue to evaluate the decision.“For now, assume we’re wearing masks, but that could change as we get closer,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference. “But we’ll be driven by, you know, the data we see and, and the science as always.”California also announced that it will continue requiring masks in public schools, a policy that has been in place since February and was reiterated in newly issued guidance released on Monday for K-12 public schools.But on Monday, California officials briefly went a step further when it was announced that “schools must exclude students from campus if they are not exempt from wearing a face covering under California Dept. of Public Health guidelines and refuse to wear one provided by the school.”The announcement created confusion about whether it marked a change in how mask rules would be enforced in schools and what the state’s role might be in that enforcement, the state’s health and human services secretary, Mark Ghaly, said in an interview.Within hours, that language was removed, and updated guidelines were released again, omitting the reference that schools “must exclude” students who refuse to wear masks.Mr. Ghaly said masks will continue to be required in school settings, but how that mandate will be enforced will be up to schools’ own discretion, a continuation of a policy from the previous academic year.

California Relaxes Over Unmasked Students After Policies Conflict With CDC Guidance - California has walked back a rule banning unmasked students and teachers from school campuses this fall. While a state mandate requiring masks will remain in effect, the Newsom administration will leave enforcement in the hands of local districts when it comes to those who refuse to mask up."Update: California’s school guidance will be clarified regarding masking enforcement, recognizing local schools’ experience in keeping students and educators safe while ensuring schools fully reopen for in-person instruction," the California Department of Public Health tweeted on Tuesday.This comes after the department's initial July 12 update stated that "Schools must exclude students from campus if they are not exempt from wearing a face covering under California Dept. of Public Health guidelines and refuse to wear one provided by the school."Yet, despite the update leaving enforcement in the hands of local officials, the state's mandate still breaks with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which on Friday said that students and faculty who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear masks in school."Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated, reads the CDC's announcement. "Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained," (via Just The News).School officials are said to be preparing specific guidelines in response, according to the Epoch Times.

Arizona’s governor says schools cannot force exposed, unvaccinated students to quarantine. - The Arizona governor’s office has said that school districts in the state cannot require unvaccinated students to quarantine for 10 days if they have been exposed to the coronavirus, prompting a standoff with some local education officials. A senior adviser to Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, sent letters to two large school districts, asserting that their policies requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine was illegal under state law. Governor Ducey’s office posted the letters on Twitter on Wednesday evening. “Parents are the sole decision makers in the State of Arizona when it comes to the health and well-being of their children,” the letters said, adding that “children of parents who choose not to have their children get the Covid-19 vaccine should not be discriminated against for such decisions.” The two districts — the Catalina Foothills Unified School District of Pima County and the Peoria Unified School District in Maricopa County — disputed the Ducey administration’s position in a joint response sent to the governor’s education policy adviser, Kaitlin Harrier. The districts said their policies complied with state law, arguing the statute only bans districts from requiring students to wear masks or to get vaccinated but does not address the 10-day quarantine policy. They also said they were following the guidance of federal and local officials. “While parents in Arizona are empowered to decide whether and where their children attend public school, they are not permitted to dictate which of the school’s otherwise lawful health and safety procedures their children will follow,” the districts wrote.

Educators angered over scrapping of COVID-19 mitigation measures in schools -Last Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines on reopening K-12 schools, encouraging the reckless repudiation of all safety measures. A note in the “Summary of Recent Changes” section of the guidelines stated that the CDC “Added language on the importance of offering in-person learning, regardless of whether all of the prevention strategies can be implemented at the school.” The first bullet point in the “Key Takeaways” section reads, “Students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.” The corporate media has wholeheartedly supported the CDC’s revisions, with the New York Times noting in an article, “The country’s two major teachers’ unions, which have close relationships with the Biden administration, praised the guidance. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, whose members in some cases fought the reopening of schools this past school year, said the recommendations are ‘grounded in both science and common sense.’” The CDC’s repudiation of safety measures takes place while summer school is still in session, with a majority of districts having opened their doors to as many students as possible. In most districts, large numbers of teachers have opted out of teaching this summer, meaning that understaffed classrooms will be packed with students. In New York City, the largest school district in the US with roughly 1.1 million students, 200,000 have enrolled in summer school. Los Angeles United School District, the second largest with 660,000 students, has roughly 100,000 students enrolled in summer school. Numerous other districts have 5-10 times their normal summer school enrollment, while major outbreaks have already happened in summer school programs. The school reopening campaign orchestrated by the CDC, Democratic and Republican politicians, the teachers unions and the corporate media has been met with outrage among educators who oppose this reckless endangerment of millions of children, educators, parents and the broader population. They recognize the enormous dangers posed, as this takes place under conditions in which the highly infectious and lethal Delta variant is already the dominant strain in the US and is causing a major surge in infections.

Media, critical race theory and one serious disconnect -Critical race theory (CRT) and education in the United States as a whole is shaping up to be a huge campaign issue for 2022 and 2024. And that's terrible news for Democrats. Recent polling backs up this perspective. Exhibit A: A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found 61 percent of registered voters said children should not be taught that America is “structurally racist.” Exhibit B: A YouGov-Economist poll says almost 6-in-10 American voters have an unfavorable view of critical race theory. Many in traditional media, along with representatives of teacher unions, have said that CRT is not being taught in American schools; that it is a myth similar to the current Republicans-want-to-defund-the-police kind of myth. Here's Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, on July 6: Fast forward to just days later, and now we're being told by Weingarten not only that CRT is being taught in schools, but also that millions of dollars have been lined up to fight inevitable legal battles to ensure it stays: So, while we focus on CRT in our schools and teach children as young as five years old to see others through a racial prism, to judge others by the color of one's skin rather than the content of their character (which would only serve to divide this country further for generations to come), we’ll continue to lag behind the rest of the world in the key areas of reading, math and science, where the U.S. ranks 25th. First in math, of course, is China. Ireland is 11th; Australia, 21st. And the U.S. – with more resources and technology poured into education than almost any other country -- sits in 25th place. But don’t blame the teachers, for the most part — blame the teacher union leaders as well as the public officials, including the president, who fail to stand up to them. Know this: Parents aren’t taking this anymore. Look at school board recall efforts, for example; it’s a huge indicator of how parents are responding to CRT being taught in their children’s schools. Already, there have been more than 50 school board recall efforts this year — and we’re barely halfway through 2021.

Purdue Bankruptcy Plan Moves Closer to Approval: Sacklers Would Make Out Well and Preserve Much of the Family Fortune, Despite the Opioids Crisis - - Jerri-Lynn Scofield - Last week, fifteen states, including Massachusetts and New York, dropped opposition to the bankruptcy exit plan of Purdue Pharma, making it likely the plan will be approved when it comes before federal bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain on August 9, according to NPR, 15 States Drop Opposition To Controversial Purdue Pharma OxyContin Bankruptcy.Faced with thousands of lawsuits over Its sales of OxyContin, Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 (as I discussed in Purdue Files for Bankruptcy, Agrees to Settle Some Pending Opioids Litigation: Sacklers on Hook for Billions?) Recall at the time: But 24 other state attorney’s-general – including California, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania – as well as the District of Columbia, oppose …the efforts of Purdue’s lawyers to wield the bankruptcy shield to protect the personal assets of the Sacklers – none of whom has sought to declare personal bankruptcy.That earlier post discussed the shenanigans in which various Sacklers had engaged to preserve personal assets – including a New York Times report of $1 billion in family wire transfers – as well as other avenues the state AGs might pursue to reach personal Sackler assets, despite the Purdue bankruptcy filing.These state efforts have now apparently come to naught and this exit plan vindicates Purdue’s lawyers, who have succeeded in sheltering the bulk of Sackler family assets from Purdue-related claims, without any need to declare personal bankruptcy.As part of the exit plan, Purdue has agreed to release tens of millions of documents and pay approximately $4.2 – $4.5 billion over nine years. The Sackler family would cede ownership of Purdue and would be shielded from future opioid lawsuits

Several inhalable COVID-19 vaccines move to human trials - A new study in the journal Science Advances presents the latest research demonstrating the potential effectiveness of an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is one of several in development designed to be administered through a nasal spray. "The currently available vaccines against COVID-19 are very successful, but the majority of the world's population is still unvaccinated and there is a critical need for more vaccines that are easy to use and effective at stopping disease and transmission," explains Paul McCray, a researcher from the University of Iowa working on an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine. McCray is working alongside colleagues from the University of Georgia on a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine delivered via a nasal spray. Their particular vaccine utilizes a virus called parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), optimized to express the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2. PIV5 is harmless in humans and previous experiments with the virus as a vaccine delivery system have been effective in animal studies against MERS, another coronavirus. The new data demonstrates the experimental COVID-19 vaccine is effective in mice and ferrets. "We have been developing this vaccine platform for more than 20 years, and we began working on new vaccine formulations to combat COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic," says co-lead on the study, Biao He, from the University of Georgia. "Our preclinical data show that this vaccine not only protects against infection, but also significantly reduces the chances of transmission." Traditional vaccines are usually administered by an intramuscular injection. But injections come with a whole load of hurdles making widespread vaccination campaigns complicated and costly. Injected vaccines often need cold storage and must be administered by medical professionals. Syringes are also a finite resource and supply problems have caused major issues with the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. Alongside the ease of administration of a nasal spray vaccine there is a strong hypothesis suggesting delivering vaccines directly to mucosal tissue in the upper respiratory tract could offer better localized protection from infection. Darrell Irvine, a bioengineer from MIT, has been working on developing inhalable vaccines for several years. “In some cases, vaccines given in muscle can elicit immunity at mucosal surfaces, but there is a general principle that if you vaccinate through the mucosal surface, you tend to elicit a stronger protection at that site,” says Irvine. “Unfortunately, we don’t have great technologies yet for mounting immune responses that specifically protect those mucosal surfaces.”

New UK study reveals extent of brain complications in children hospitalized with COVID-19 - Although the risk of a child being admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is small, a new UK study has found that around 1 in 20 of children hospitalised with COVID-19 develop brain or nerve complications linked to the viral infection. The research, published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health and led by the University of Liverpool, identifies a wide spectrum of neurological complications in children and suggests they may be more common than in adults admitted with COVID-19. While neurological problems have been reported in children with the newly described post-COVID condition paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS), the capacity of COVID-19 to cause a broad range of nervous system complications in children has been under-recognised. To address this, the CoroNerve Studies Group, a collaboration between the universities of Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton and UCL, developed a real-time UK-wide notification system in partnership with the British Paediatric Neurology Association. Between April 2020 and January 2021, they identified 52 cases of children less than 18 years old with neurological complications among 1,334 children hospitalised with COVID-19, giving an estimated prevalence of 3.8%. This compares to an estimated prevalence of 0.9% in adults admitted with COVID-19. Eight (15%) children presenting with neurological features did not have COVID-19 symptoms although the virus was detected by PCR, underscoring the importance of screening children with acute neurological disorders for the virus. Ethnicity was found to be a risk factor, over two thirds of children being of Black or Asian background.

U.S. doctors had to ration a last-resort Covid treatment, forcing stark choices. -Throughout the pandemic, wrenching scenes have played out across the United States as doctors found themselves in the unfamiliar position of overtly rationing a treatment. But it was not ventilators, as initially feared: Concerted action largely headed off those shortages. Instead, it was the limited availability of ECMO — which requires expensive equipment similar in concept to a heart-lung machine and specially trained staff who can provide constant monitoring and one-on-one nursing — that forced stark choices among patients. “Patients died because they could not get ECMO,” said Dr. Lena M. Napolitano, co-director of the Surgical Critical Care Unit at the University of Michigan. This spring, she was overwhelmed with requests to accept patients considered good candidates for ECMO. “We could not accommodate all of them,” she said. Doctors tried to select individuals most likely to benefit from ECMO, a last-resort treatment that can mechanically substitute for badly damaged lungs. But dozens of interviews with medical staff and patients across the country, and reporting inside five hospitals that provide ECMO, revealed that in the absence of regional sharing systems to ensure fairness and match resources to needs, hospitals and clinicians were left to apply differing criteria, with insurance coverage, geography and even personal appeals having an influence. “It’s unsettling to have to make those kinds of decisions,” said Dr. Ryan Barbaro, a critical care physician in Michigan and head of an international registry of Covid-19 patients who have received ECMO — short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — about half of whom survived hospitalization. Close to 8,000 patients worldwide have received ECMO to date, including nearly 5,000 in North America. Despite the progress the United States has made against the coronavirus, some doctors are still having to ration ECMO, which is offered in less than 10 percent of hospitals.

Common COVID-19 antibiotic no more effective than placebo - A UC San Francisco study has found that the antibiotic azithromycin was no more effective than a placebo in preventing symptoms of COVID-19 among non-hospitalized patients, and may increase their chance of hospitalization, despite widespread prescription of the antibiotic for the disease. "These findings do not support the routine use of azithromycin for outpatient SARS-CoV-2 infection," said lead author Catherine E. Oldenburg, ScD, MPH, an assistant professor with the UCSF Proctor Foundation. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. Azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is widely prescribed as a treatment for COVID-19 in the United States and the rest of the world. "The hypothesis is that it has anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent progression if treated early in the disease," said Oldenburg. "We did not find this to be the case." The study, which was conducted in collaboration with Stanford University, appears July 16, 2021, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study included 263 participants who all tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within seven days before entering the study. None were hospitalized at the time of enrollment. In a random selection process, 171 participants received a single, 1.2 gram oral dose of azithromycin and 92 received an identical placebo. At day 14 of the study, 50 percent of the participants remained symptom free in both groups. By day 21, five of the participants who received azithromycin had been hospitalized with severe symptoms of COVID-19 and none of the placebo group had been hospitalized. The researchers concluded that treatment with a single dose of azithromycin compared to placebo did not result in greater likelihood of being symptom-free. "Most of the trials done so far with azithromycin have focused on hospitalized patients with pretty severe disease," said Oldenburg. "Our paper is one of the first placebo-controlled studies showing no role for azithromycin in outpatients." ###

A Curious Union: Covid, Clorox, Cleveland Clinic, and the CDC Foundation - Yves here. This post calls out institutional and corporate profiteering via describing how, via donations of $1 million each to the Cleveland Clinic and the CDC Foundation, Clorox bought the use of their names to tout the highly dubious idea of using bleach as an anti-Covid measure. The story hammers the Clorox touts for one of Lambert’s key issues: Covid is an airborne disease. The idea that surfaces were a contagion vector was debunked quite a while back, airline hygiene theater notwithstanding. Although the author likely skipped further arguments over space and reader patience concerns, it fails to address is how bleach is a poor choice for anti-Covid sanitation even if fomite transmission were a real concern. In other words, bleach Recall that we sang the praises of 60-70% isopropyl alcohol (and our trusty spray bottle!) back in the days when the public was worked up about surface transmission. We pointed out that the area being sanitized had to be left wet for 30 seconds. From WebMD: Solutions of 70% alcohol should be left on surfaces for 30 seconds (including cellphones) to ensure they will kill viruses. Pure (100%) alcohol evaporates too quickly for such use. An NIH study found our favorite, povidine iodine, not only kills Covid pronto too but even in low enough concentrations to use as gargle or a nose spray. From Povidone-Iodine Demonstrates Rapid In Vitro Virucidal Activity Against SARS-CoV-2, The Virus Causing COVID-19 Disease: All four products [antiseptic solution (PVP-I 10%), skin cleanser (PVP-I 7.5%), gargle and mouth wash (PVP-I 1%) and throat spray (PVP-I 0.45%)] achieved ≥ 99.99% virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2, corresponding to ≥ 4 log10 reduction of virus titre, within 30 s of contact…. This study provides evidence of rapid and effective virucidal activity of PVP-I against SARS-CoV-2. PVP-I-based products are widely available for medical and personal use for hand hygiene and oral decontamination, and could be readily integrated into coronavirus disease, COVID-19, infection control measures in hospital and community settings. By contrast, does anyone leave a countertop or surface damp with a bleach solution for 1-5 minutes to make sure Covid was killed?

Necessity of COVID-19 vaccination in previously infected individuals - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the necessity of COVID-19 vaccination in persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Employees of the Cleveland Clinic Health System working in Ohio on Dec 16, 2020, the day COVID-19 vaccination was started, were included. Any subject who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at least 42 days earlier was considered previously infected. One was considered vaccinated 14 days after receipt of the second dose of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection over the next five months, among previously infected subjects who received the vaccine, was compared with those of previously infected subjects who remained unvaccinated, previously uninfected subjects who received the vaccine, and previously uninfected subjects who remained unvaccinated. Among the 52238 included employees, 1359 (53%) of 2579 previously infected subjects remained unvaccinated, compared with 22777 (41%) of 49659 not previously infected. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection remained almost zero among previously infected unvaccinated subjects, previously infected subjects who were vaccinated, and previously uninfected subjects who were vaccinated, compared with a steady increase in cumulative incidence among previously uninfected subjects who remained unvaccinated. Not one of the 1359 previously infected subjects who remained unvaccinated had a SARS-CoV-2 infection over the duration of the study. In a Cox proportional hazards regression model, after adjusting for the phase of the epidemic, vaccination was associated with a significantly lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among those not previously infected (HR 0.031, 95% CI 0.015 to 0.061) but not among those previously infected (HR 0.313, 95% CI 0 to Infinity). Conclusions: Individuals who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination, and vaccines can be safely prioritized to those who have not been infected before. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was examined among 52238 employees in an American healthcare system. COVID-19 did not occur in anyone over the five months of the study among 2579 individuals previously infected with COVID-19, including 1359 who did not take the vaccine.

Fauci says boosters are not recommended ‘right now.’ = Dr. Anthony S. Fauci made the rounds of the morning TV news shows on Sunday, trying to quell confusion over the latest federal pandemic guidance for the start of school in the fall as well as growing questions about the necessity of booster shots.On Sunday, Israel’s health ministry announced that it would begin offering boosters to adults with weakened immune systems who already had two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, in light of the rising number of cases there caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The news was first reported by Reuters.Asked about the development on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Dr. Fauci emphasized that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was committed to following the science and said that boosters were not recommended “right now,” given that more than 90 percent of new Covid-related hospitalizations were in unvaccinated patients.But he did not rule out the possibility that boosters might eventually be advisable for certain populations. Pfizer and BioNTech announced last week that they weredeveloping a vaccine targeted to the Delta variant and also had promising results from studies of people who received a booster shot. With a third shot, “you get five to 10 times the number of antibodies that you had from the second dose,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration who is now on Pfizer’s board, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”

U.S. officials tell Pfizer that more data is needed for a decision on booster shots. Representatives of Pfizer met privately with senior U.S. scientists and regulators on Monday to press their case for swift authorization of coronavirus booster vaccines, amid growing public confusion about whether they will be needed and pushback from federal health officials who say the extra doses are not necessary now. The high-level online meeting, which lasted an hour and involved Pfizer’s chief scientific officer briefing virtually every top doctor in the federal government, came on the same day Israel started administering third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to heart transplant patients and others with compromised immune systems. Officials said after the meeting that more data — and possibly several more months — would be needed before regulators could determine whether booster shots were necessary. The twin developments underscored the intensifying debate about whether booster shots are needed in the United States, at what point and for whom. Many American experts, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser for the pandemic, have said there is insufficient evidence yet that boosters are necessary. Some, though, say Israel’s move may foreshadow a government decision to at least recommend them for the vulnerable. Pfizer is gathering information on antibody responses in those who receive a third dose, as well as data from Israel, and expects to submit at least some of that to the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks in a formal request to broaden the emergency authorization for its coronavirus vaccine. But the final decision on booster shots, several officials said after the meeting, will also depend on real-world information gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about breakthrough infections — those occurring in vaccinated people — that cause serious disease or hospitalization. And any recommendations about booster shots are likely to be calibrated, even within age groups, officials said. For example, if booster shots are recommended, they might go first to nursing home residents who received their vaccines in late 2020 or early 2021, while elderly people who received their first shots in the spring might have a longer wait. And then there is the question of what kind of booster: a third dose of the original vaccine, or perhaps a shot tailored to the highly infectious Delta variant, which is surging in the United States.

Natural Infection May Offer Better Protection Against Delta Variant, Israeli Health Ministry Says --In recent weeks, Israeli media has become a factory for stories that cut against the 'official' 'scientific' narrative about the COVID-19 vaccines. Most visibly, Israel has made a deal with Pfizer to start doling out "booster" shots for the most vulnerable Israelis, despite the FDA's insistence that there's "no evidence" that a booster shot is necessary. Now, the Israeli Health Ministry has discovered that the number of patients who had been infected prior to becoming infected again during the latest Delta-driven wave of the pandemic were less likely to be reinfected than patients who have only been vaccinated. The finding directly contradicts research spouted by American experts like Dr. Fauci, along with Pfizer and Moderna, who have previously insisted that the antibodies created by their jabs are more powerful than antibodies produced by natural infection (which is one reason even the previously infected have been asked to get vaccinated).According to Israel National News, more than 7.7K new cases of the virus have been detected during the most recent wave (beginning back in May). However, just 72 of the confirmed cases were reported in people who were known to have been previously infected - that is, less than 1% of the new cases.Roughly 40% of new cases – involving more than 3K patients – were infected despite being fully vaccinated.By this count, Israelis who had been vaccinated were 6.72x more likely to get infected after the shot than after natural infection, with more than 3K of the 5,193,499, or 0.0578%, of Israelis who were vaccinated getting infected in the latest wave. The disparity has confounded Health Ministry experts, with some saying the data proves the higher level of immunity provided by natural infection versus vaccination. However, others remain unconvinced.Israel's Health Ministry previously estimated that the efficacy of Pfizer's COVID jab was only 64% against the Delta variant, which helped prompt Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to develop a new jab designed to protect against variants including Delta and Beta (the variant first discovered in South Africa).

CDC advisory panel to consider third COVID-19 shot for immunocompromised - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory panel will consider a third COVID-19 shot for immunocompromised individuals. The panel will meet on July 22 to discuss “clinical considerations for additional doses in immunocompromised individuals,” the meeting’s agenda states. Heavy debate around a third COVID-19 shot sparked last week after Pfizer said it would seek authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a third dose of its vaccine. The company said the third dose would provide even stronger protection, citing data that showed the booster shot provided levels of neutralizing antibodies five to 10 times higher when administered six months after the second dose. While U.S. health officials have not ruled out the possibility that booster shots will be needed, they have said a booster is not needed at this time. Hours after Pfizer’s announcement, the FDA and CDC said in a rare joint statement that Americans who have been fully inoculated do not need a booster shot. After meeting with Pfizer officials on Monday, the Biden administration maintained that position. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also pushed back on the need for a third vaccine dose. “Currently, data shows us that vaccination offers long lasting immunity against severe and deadly COVID-19,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday. “The priority now must be to vaccinate those who have received no doses and protection.” Israel has begun administering a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to people with weak immune systems. This includes people with cancer, people who have undergone liver transplants and others who have weak protection from the vaccine.

The F.D.A. will add a warning about a rare nerve syndrome to J.&J.’s vaccine, but regulators found the risk was low. - The Food and Drug Administration is planning to warn that Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine can lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition known as Guillain–Barré syndrome, another setback for a vaccine that has largely been sidelined in the United States because of manufacturing problems and a temporary safety pause earlier this year, according to several people familiar with the plans.Although regulators have found that the chances of developing the condition are low, they appear to be three to five times higher among recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than among the general population in the United States, according to people familiar with the decision.Federal officials have identified roughly 100 suspected cases of Guillain-Barré disease among recipients of the Johnson & Johnson shot through a federal monitoring system that relies on patients and health care providers to report adverse effects of vaccines. The reports are considered preliminary. Most people who develop the condition recover.“It’s not surprising to find these types of adverse events associated with vaccination,” said Dr. Luciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the F.D.A. under President Barack Obama. The data collected so far by the F.D.A., she added, suggested that the vaccine’s benefits “continue to vastly outweigh the risks.” The database reports indicate that symptoms of Guillain-Barrédeveloped within about three weeks of vaccination. One recipient, a 57-year-old man from Delaware who had suffered both a heart attack and a stroke within the last four years, died in early April after he was vaccinated and developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, according to a report filed to the database.The Biden administration is expected to announce the new warning as early as Tuesday. The F.D.A. has concluded that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing severe disease or death from the coronavirus still strongly outweigh the risk, but it plans to include the proviso in fact sheets about the drug for providers and patients. European regulators may soon follow suit. No link has been found between Guillain-Barré syndrome and the coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, the other two federally authorized manufacturers. Those rely on a different technology. Nearly 13 million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson’s shot, but 92 percent of Americans who have been fully vaccinated received shots developed by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. Even though it requires only one dose, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has been marginalized by manufacturing delays and a 10-day pause while investigators studied whether it was linked to a rare but serious blood clotting disorder in women. That investigation also resulted in a warning added to the fact sheet.

FDA adds new warning to J&J COVID-19 vaccine - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding a label on Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, warning that it has been linked to rare cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a neurological disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks part of its nervous system. There have been 100 preliminary reports following vaccination after approximately 12.5 million doses administered, FDA said in a statement. Of these reports, 95 of them were serious and required hospitalization. There was one reported death. The cases have largely occurred about two weeks after vaccination and mostly in men, many aged 50 and older, the CDC said in a statement. The cases are rare, "but do likely indicate a small possible risk of this side effect following this vaccine," the CDC said. The CDC added that available data do not show a similar pattern with mRNA vaccines, after over 321 million doses administered in the United States. This agency said its vaccine advisory committee will discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting. The FDA noted that while the available evidence suggests an association between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and increased risk of Guillain-Barré, “it is insufficient to establish a causal relationship." GBS itself is rare, affecting only about 3,000 to 6,000 people every year. The exact cause is not known, but most cases usually start a few days or weeks following a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Some vaccines have also been shown to cause GBS in rare instances, such as the seasonal influenza shot and a vaccine to prevent shingles.

Compensation for COVID-19 Vaccine Victims - Recent news from Norway may provide us with a glimpse of what lies ahead for many nations that have basically forced their citizens into accepting a COVID-19 vaccine. Back in mid-April 2021, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) posted this news on its website: "Since use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was put on hold on 11th March, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health has considered further use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Norway, together with other experts. "We now know significantly more about the association between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the rare but severe incidents with low platelet counts, blood clots and haemorrhages, than when Norway decided to pause use of the AstraZeneca-vaccine in March," says Geir Bukholm, Director of the Division of Infection Control and Environmental Health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. "Based on this knowledge, we come with a recommendation to remove the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Coronavirus Immunisation Programme in Norway," says Bukholm. Calculations have been performed based on Norwegian data where the risk of dying from COVID-19 disease among the different age groups is compared with the risk of dying from the severe, but rare, condition with severe blood clots observed after AstraZeneca vaccination."Since there are few people who die from COVID-19 in Norway, the risk of dying after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine would be higher than the risk of dying from the disease, particularly for younger people," says Bukholm. "Norwegians who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for their first dose will be offered another vaccine for their second dose." Now, let's look at some more recent news from Norway dated July 2, 2021: Three claimants are granted compensation by the Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation (NPE) due to serious side effects after the AstraZeneca vaccine.""These are the first to be upheld for vaccine damage in connection with the covid-19 pandemic in Norway.All three received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was later withdrawn from the national vaccination program due to several cases of severe blood clots, low platelets and bleeding. One case concerns a female health worker in her 40s who died in March. The woman was prioritized in the vaccine queue due to her position as a health worker.

Covid-19: Vaccinations Have Hit A Wall -- July 13, 2021 - CDC data here. I doubt if anyone cares, but holy mackerel, the Covid-19 vaccine data released today by the CDC -- I don't think -- has ever been worse. Tuesday's data has always been one of the worse days but today's is particularly bad. The government distributed an all-time low (one doesn't consider deliveries on the weekends or holidays): only 235,410 doses were distributed to health care facilities. In other words, health care facilities are no longer ordering much vaccine from the US government; they have way more on hand than they can get rid of. Previously posted:\In addition, the number of vaccinations given in the past twenty-four hours broke below 345,000 for the first time. Much could be said. It certainly doesn't help that Guillain-Barré has now been associated with the vaccine.Much could be said. It will be an interesting autumn.

 Census Data Show Half of Unvaccinated Americans Live in Lower-Income Households - New Census Bureau data shows that the majority of the adults in the U.S. who haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccine live in households that make less than $50,000 a year.Axios reports that, according to a June survey of adults in the U.S., about 52.7 percent of Americans who have yet to be vaccinated live in households making $50,000 a year or less. People living in households making less than $25,000 annually make up the largest portion of the unvaccinated people surveyed at 22 percent. About 67 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one shot of a COVID vaccine, according to the New York Times’s vaccine tracker. The country recently fell short of President Joe Biden’s vaccination goal of 70 percent of adults with at least one jab by July 4. Vaccination rates have been slowing over the past couple of months even as vaccine appointments have become more available.Though Republicans have highly politicized and spread conspiracies about the vaccine, the Census data appears to show that a significant reason for the slowdown could be over issues of access. About two-thirds of the people surveyed in households making less than $50,000 a year said they would “definitely” or “probably” get the vaccine.The decision of whether or not to get vaccinated, then, seems to be a choice that not everyone can make freely or without consequences. Experts say that the reason why many people who are lower-income or are otherwise marginalized may not have gotten vaccinated may be due to a variety of labor and social issues barring them from accessing a vaccine. Many unvaccinated people fear financial barriers to getting the shot. Some people worry they may get charged for the vaccine, as there have been some reports of people being billed for their shots even though they are supposed to be free to the public.

Some Republican leaders are speaking out in favor of Covid vaccines. - As the Delta variant rips through conservative swaths of the country, some elected Republicans are facing growing pressure from public health advocates to speak out — not only in favor of their constituents being inoculated against the coronavirus but also against media figures and elected officials who arequestioning the vaccines.“We don’t control conservative media figures so far as I know — at least I don’t,” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, said in an interview on Wednesday. “That being said, I think it’s an enormous error for anyone to suggest that we shouldn’t be taking vaccines. Look, the politicization of vaccination is an outrage and frankly moronic.”Republican senators who favor vaccination are still taking pains not to mention the names of colleagues, such as Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who have given voice to vaccine skepticism, or media personalities like Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson, who expresses such skepticism almost nightly. .Still, with cases ticking upward, driven by localized outbreaks in places with low vaccination rates — Arkansas, Missouri, Texas andNevada — Republican leaders are talking.“As a polio victim myself when I was young, I’ve studied that disease,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, said on Tuesday. “It took 70 years — 70 years — to come up with two vaccines that finally ended the polio threat. As a result of Operation Warp Speed, we have not one, not two, but three highly effective vaccines, so I’m perplexed by the difficulty we have finishing the job.”“If you’re a football fan,” Mr. McConnell said, “we’re in the red zone. But we’re not in the end zone yet. And we need to keep preaching that getting the vaccine is important.” Still, when asked about his conversations with vaccine skeptics in the Senate Republican Conference, Mr. McConnell demurred. “I can only speak for myself, and I just did,” he said.

Children under 12 could be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by winter: report -- The COVID-19 vaccine could be approved for emergency use for children under 12 years old as soon as early to midwinter, NBC News reported. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official told the news outlet that children would likely be able to receive the vaccine under the emergency authorization by that time, with a goal to have it fully approved soon afterward. The official said that the FDA wants four to six months of follow-up data for children under the age of 12. Acquiring follow-up data could make it easier to get the inoculation fully approved, according to NBC. The FDA used two months of follow-up data from clinical trials for adults. Currently, the COVID-19 vaccine is only authorized in the U.S. for people ages 12 and up. The news comes amid vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. — a significant portion of the nation remains unvaccinated as the delta variant spreads. States and localities have reported that the majority of people who have been hospitalized or have died from COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. President Biden and members of his administration have repeatedly underscored the need to get the jab, and on Thursday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy made a personal appeal to Americans to get vaccinated. He stated that he had 10 people in his family die from the disease. The FDA official told NBC News that one factor that may still make families hesitant about getting the vaccine is the fact that they have been used under an emergency use authorization. None of the vaccines available have been fully approved by the agency. Pfizer and BioNTech announced in May that they started their Biologics License Application to ultimately get their vaccine fully approved for people ages 16 and up. Additionally, Pfizer and Moderna have already started conducting trials in children under the age of 12 years old. According to NBC, both companies expect data from their clinical trials by the fall.

BioNTech Shot Produces 10 Times More Antibodies Than Sinovac, Study Finds -There is a substantial gap in the amount of antibodies that mRNA and inactivated vaccines can generate against the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a Hong Kong study, in the latest finding on what may have contributed to the varied outcomes following mass vaccination using different types of shots. The research, published in The Lancet on Thursday, found that antibody levels among Hong Kong health workers who have been fully vaccinated with BioNTech SE‘s mRNA shot are about 10 times higher than those observed in the recipients of the inactivated vaccine from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. While disease-fighting antibodies don’t account for the full picture when it comes to measuring the ability to generate immunity and the effectiveness of Covid vaccines, “the difference in concentrations of neutralizing antibodies identified in our study could translate into substantial differences in vaccine effectiveness,” the researchers said. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting the superiority of mRNA vaccines in providing potent and comprehensive protection against Sars-CoV-2 and its variants, compared to vaccines developed by more traditional methods such as inactivated shots.

COVID-19 Outbreaks Hit Summer Camps — Are Schools Next? The U.S. has seen a string of COVID-19 outbreaks tied to summer camps in recent weeks in places such as Texas, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and Kansas, in what some fear could be a preview of the upcoming school year. In some cases the outbreaks have spread from the camp to the broader community. The clusters have come as the number of newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has reversed course, surging more than 60% over the past two weeks from an average of about 12,000 a day to around 19,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The rise in many places has been blamed on too many unvaccinated people and the highly contagious delta variant. Gwen Ford, a 43-year-old science teacher from Adrian, Missouri, was cautiously optimistic when she eyed the dropping case numbers in the spring and signed up her 12-year-old daughter for the West Central Christian Service Camp. But one day after the girl got home from a week of playing in the pool, worshipping with friends and bunking in a dormitory, Ford got an email about an outbreak and then learned that her daughter’s camp buddy was infected.

New Johns Hopkins map shows COVID-19 cases rising across America - Cases of COVID-19 and its variant strains are rising across the United States, according to a new coronavirus map from Johns Hopkins University.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are currently 37.4 new cases per 100,000 people nationwide this week, up from 28.7 cases per 100,000 just last week.Specific states and areas are largely responsible for a majority of the new cases. For example, Missouri has seen a nearly 70-percent increase in coronavirus cases in the past week, with 161.7 new cases per 100,000. The state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with only 37.09 percent of its population fully vaccinated.The national average of fully vaccinated residents is 55.4 percent.Meanwhile, Vermont is reporting the fewest new coronavirus cases in the country, with only 33 new cases per week, or 5.3 per 100,000. The state has the highest vaccination rate in the country, with 60.27 percent of the population being fully vaccinated.As the delta variant continues to spread, however, even some states with above-average vaccination rates are experiencing small surges of new cases. Last week, Massachusetts, which has a vaccination rate of 58.65 percent, surged from 65 new cases per day to 98.

COVID-19 case count spikes hit almost every state - Most areas of the country are seeing a new surge in COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus serve as a painful reminder that the pandemic is not over despite eased restrictions.Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have documented an increase in average daily cases over the past two weeks. But nine in particular, including seven in the South, have seen cases at least double in that time period, according to data from The New York Times.In Los Angeles County, officials recorded more than 1,000 new cases forthree consecutive days this week for the first time since March. Arkansas also reported more than 1,000 new cases for a third straight day Friday.“The majority of states have large swaths of population that are still not protected,” said Amber D’Souza, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She said that despite tremendous progress on vaccinations, the new data show the outbreaks are mostly hitting areas with lower vaccination rates. Those spikes are due in part to the spread of the more transmissible delta variant and loosened COVID-19 restrictions, D’Souza said. “We expect to see continuing surges of infection until we are able to bring vaccination rates higher than they currently are,” she added. Overall, the U.S. is now averaging more than 19,000 new cases for the first time since the end of May, marking a 60 percent increase compared with two weeks ago. A third of those cases were documented in five states — Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada — CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner told the network Monday. Throughout the pandemic, rises in coronavirus cases have typically preceded spikes in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. While the rate of COVID-19 deaths is still decreasing in the U.S., data from the Times shows an 11 percent increase in average daily hospitalizations over the past two weeks. During that same period, vaccination rates have plummeted to an average of 500,000 a day, the lowest level since President Biden took office.

NYC officials warn of COVID-19 Delta variant spread on Staten Island - Staten Island is experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 cases at least partly because of the recent spread of the highly contagious Delta variant among unvaccinated New Yorkers, the city’s top doctor warned Monday. “The spread of the Delta variant means it is perhaps the most dangerous time to be unvaccinated, and that’s why we have ensured that our vaccination efforts are proceeding with as much urgency as possible,” said Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, at a virtual press briefing with Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re seeing, for example, in Staten Island the percent positivity and the case numbers have increased in recent days and weeks, and that’s because we have unvaccinated individuals, particularly younger people, who remain unvaccinated,” Chokshi said. New York City residents who do not receive a COVID-19 jab are now at “very high risk” of contracting the coronavirus, added de Blasio’s senior adviser for public health, Dr. Jay Varma. “This new strain of the virus is particularly contagious, and so for that percentage of the population that is unvaccinated, they are at very high risk of getting infected and potentially having these very serious complications,” Varma said at the briefing. Overall, the city is experiencing a slight increase in new COVID-19 cases, with the daily seven-day rolling average at 328 and a 1.27 percent positivity rate, according to figures released Monday by the mayor. On Friday, the city’s positivity rate was 0.85 percent for the latest seven-day average, with Staten Island being the only borough to clock in above 1 percent, state data showed. It had a 1.41 percent positive rate.

Coronavirus dashboard for July 12: the completely preventable “delta wave” is here - The completely unnecessary and preventable “delta wave” of COVID infections, hospitalizations, and deaths is now in force - all three metrics are now rising nationwide. Here are the 7 day average of confirmed cases (thin line) and deaths (thick): Cases have gone up roughly 50% from their 11,300 trough 3 weeks ago. Deaths likely bottomed 7 days ago. Hospitalizations (graph from the CDC) have also started rising in the past week or so: There are July 4 artifacts in almost all the new data, which won’t pass out of the 7 day averages for several more days. Also, about half of the States have apparently decided that COVID is so “over” that they no longer need to report on the weekends. With those caveats, here are a few graphs of the worst-affected States. Here are Arkansas, Missouri, and Nevada: And here they are for spring and summer 2020 for comparison: Arkansas and Missouri have already matched their worst summer 2020 levels. Nevada is at less than half of its worst levels. Next, here are Florida and Arizona, both of which had the worst summer outbreaks last year: Here they are for comparison last year: Florida is currently only at a little over 1/4 of its worst level from 2020, and Arizona is at about 1/6th of last year’s worst levels. I expect the situation for all of the above States, except possibly Arizona, to change considerably for the worse before the end of this month. All of which was completely preventable.

 79 fully vaccinated Mass. residents have died from breakthrough COVID-19 infections, data shows. (WHDH) - Of the more than 5,000 Massachusetts residents who have died from COVID-19 since vaccinations became available, 79 of them had been fully vaccinated against the virus, new public health data indicated.As of July 10, there were 4,450 cases of COVID out of 4,195,844 vaccinated individuals statewide, resulting in 303 hospitalizations, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.Fifty-six residents were hospitalized and later died, while 23 others died without going to the hospital, the data showed. Breakthrough case numbers in the state remain very low and cases in which an infected person was hospitalized or died are even lower, state health officials added.Health officials also noted that breakthrough cases are expected given the state’s high vaccination rates. Provincetown has seen 20 recent breakthrough cases, with 10 from out-of-town visitors, according to town officials. People who are unvaccinated are urged to continue to wear masks, especially indoors, and those who are feeling ill should get tested for COVID-19.

 Virus cases rise in New York City as the Delta variant infects the unvaccinated. - Fueled by the Delta variant, daily coronavirus case counts in New York City have climbed in recent days, even as the city seems determined to turn the page on the pandemic.Just a few weeks ago, there were only 200 new cases a day across the city on average, the lowest level since the early days of the pandemic. But in the past week, the city had a stretch of several days of 400 or more cases. And the test positivity rate has doubled: from below 0.6 percent on average to about 1.3 percent.Those numbers are still low, but the increase has been swift, surprising some epidemiologists and public health officials who had not expected to see cases jump so quickly after remaining level through June.With some 64 percent of adults in the city fully vaccinated, epidemiologists say it remains unlikely that the Delta variant will create conditions as devastating as the past two waves of Covid-19. Still, Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, calls the recent uptick “concerning.” The Delta variant is far more contagious than the original form of the virus that swept across the city in March 2020. It was detected in a few cases in New York City in February during the second wave, but it really made inroads over the past two months. By the end of May, it accounted for about 8 percent of the cases sequenced by the city, and by mid-June, more than 40 percent.

As the Delta variant fuels rising U.S. cases, the C.D.C. director warns of a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated.’ - As the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus fuels outbreaks in the United States, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Friday that “this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”Cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain far below last winter’s peak, and vaccines are effective against Delta, but the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, urged people to get fully vaccinated to receive robust protection, pleading: “Do it for yourself, your family and for your community. And please do it to protect your young children who right now can’t get vaccinated themselves.”The number of new virus cases is likely to increase in the coming weeks, and those cases are likely to be concentrated in areas with low vaccine coverage, officials said at a White House briefing on the pandemic.“Our biggest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated,” Dr. Walensky said. The nation surpassed 34 million cumulative cases on Friday, according to a New York Times database.Delta now accounts for more than half of new infections across the country, and case numbers have been rising in every state. Roughly 30,400 new cases are reported each day, up from just 11,000 a day less than a month ago.So far, data suggests that many of the vaccines — including the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots — provide good protection against Delta, especially against the worst outcomes, including hospitalization and death. (Receiving a single dose of a two-shot regimen provides only weak protection against the variant, however.) Nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, but fewer than 50 percent of all Americans have been; only those 12 and older are eligible.“We have come a long way in our fight against this virus,” Jeffrey D. Zients, the administration’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said at the briefing.The pace of vaccination has slowed considerably since the spring, and vaccine coverage remains highly uneven. Delta is already driving case numbers up in undervaccinated areas, including in parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Tennessee vaccination outreach to minors halted, not just for COVID-19 - The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach – not just for coronavirus, but all diseases – amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean. If the health department must issue any information about vaccines, staff are instructed to strip the agency logo off the documents.The health department will also stop all COVID-19 vaccine events on school property, despite holding at least one such event this month. The decisions to end vaccine outreach and school events come directly from Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey, the internal report states.Additionally, the health department will take steps to ensure it no longer sends postcards or other notices reminding teenagers to get their second dose of the coronavirus vaccines. Postcards will still be sent to adults, but teens will be excluded from the mailing list so the postcards are not “potentially interpreted as solicitation to minors,” the report states.These changes to Tennessee’s vaccination strategy, detailed in an COVID-19 report distributed to health department staff on Friday, then reiterated in a mass email on Monday, illustrate how the state government continues to dial back efforts to vaccinate minors against coronavirus. This state's approach to vaccinations will not only lessen efforts to inoculate young people against coronavirus, it could also hamper the capacity to vaccinate adults and protect children from other infectious diseases.And these changes will take effect just as the coronavirus pandemic shows new signs of spread in Tennessee. After months of declining infections, the average number of new cases per day has more than doubled in the past two weeks – from 177 to 418. The average test positivity rate has jumped from 2.2% to 5.4% in the same time period.

Los Angeles County will require masks to be worn indoors as Delta variant spreads -- Los Angeles County announced Thursday that it will require masks to be worn inside regardless of vaccination status, as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads throughout California.Public health officials in L.A. County had already been urging residents to wear masks indoors. The mandate will begin Saturday night, just before midnight.Only weeks ago, on June 15, Californians celebrated their state’s reopening as most restrictions were lifted. A statewide mask mandate was relaxed for vaccinated people.The Delta variant is extremely contagious, scientists say, and may cause more severe illness. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, has described it as “the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19.” The tens of millions of Americans who are vaccinated are largely protected from the virus, including the Delta variant, scientists have said.The C.D.C. says that the variant is now responsible for over half of all new cases in the United States. While cases are rising nationally, overall, the average numbers of new virus cases and deaths, as well as hospitalizations, are significantly down from the devastating peaks during previous national surges. Daily case numbers have increased at least 15 percent over the last two weeks in 49 states, including 19 states that are reporting at least twice as many new cases a day. Full-fledged outbreaks have emerged in a handful of places with relatively low vaccination rates, including Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Nevada.L.A. County is averaging over 1,000 new cases per day, a 279 percent increase from the average two weeks ago, according to a New York Times database. By comparison, the county averaged at least 13,000 new cases or higher through much of December and January. Hospitalizations are up 27 percent over the past two weeks.

 COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise in Texas as less than 50 percent of the state is fully vaccinated -Coronavirus hospitalizations and infections are on the rise in Texas as the Lone Star State has vaccinated less than half of its total population, according to data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. As of Thursday, there were 2,653 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, an increase of 134 new patients from the day before, according to state health data. Thursday’s hospitalizations come after the state health department recorded 1,888 hospitalizations the previous Thursday. Additionally, there were more than 3,000 new infections recorded on Friday alone, with the seven-day average up by about 963 from just a week ago. The upticks in cases and hospitalizations come as health officials are warning of new coronavirus surges across the country due in part to the highly transmissible delta variant. New COVID-19 clusters have been especially predominant in communities with relatively low vaccination rates. As of Friday, roughly 50 percent of Texas’s total population had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, with just about 43 percent fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the rate of vaccination in Texas is higher than in some bordering states, including Louisiana and Arkansas, which have between 35 and 36 percent of their populations fully vaccinated. Both neighboring states have also recorded recent surges in coronavirus infections, with Arkansas on Tuesday reporting its biggest daily jump in new cases in five months with 1,476 new cases.

The Delta variant has been detected in 104 countries in new surge of the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the Delta variant of coronavirus had spread to at least 104 countries last week in conjunction with the worrisome trend in the epidemiological curves of new infections. During the WHO’s coronavirus press brief, Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead for COVID-19, warned about these dire developments. “I counted again this morning. There are more than two dozen countries that have epidemiological curves that are almost vertical right now,” meaning the pandemic is growing at an exponential rate. On June 21, the seven-day moving average had reached a low of 360,000 COVID-19 infections each day. It has presently climbed to 425,000 cases per day or an 18 percent increase in little more than two weeks. The epidemiologic curve for reported deaths has also swung upwards. As of July 10, 2021, 187.2 million COVID-19 infections and 4.04 million deaths were reported globally. In every region of the world, weekly statistics indicate that infections are either turning up or continue to remain high:

• The trend in Europe is alarming as the week-to-week change has been accelerating over the last three weeks. The week beginning June 28, 2021, there were 543,584 confirmed cases, a 40.1 percent increase.
• Though the Americas have seen a 13 percent decline over the last week in June, the number of weekly new infections remains nearly one million.
• Cases across Southeast Asia have turned up again with almost 613,000 infections per week, a nearly 7 percent increase.
• Similarly, the Eastern Mediterranean has seen cases surge once more, with almost 246,000 infections for the week beginning June 28, 2021, an 11.1 percent rise.
• Africa had the highest number of confirmed cases ever reported during the pandemic, with 204,000 new infections, a 14.8 percent increase from last week. It appears the number of new cases being reported is slowing, but this will need to be followed closely.
• The Western Pacific continues to see high community transmission though reported cases have remained stable. There were 128,000 new cases for the week beginning June 28, 2021.

The epidemiological curves for reported fatalities are trending with the infections in their respective regions.In the United States, where the Delta variant now dominates, the seven-day average of new daily cases has been rising since June 21, 2021, when they had reached their lowest point with only 12,000 new infections per day. The last time the US saw such numbers was on March 26, 2020, when the emerging pandemic first fell on the population of New York City.Cases are climbing again, having reached 18,000 cases per day. At the end of last week, the US saw a sudden jump in new infections to over 27,000 per day. The seven-day average of deaths has ceased its decline, with about 220 people dying every day. As of July 10, 2021, the cumulative death toll stands at 622,819, and 34.7 million reported infections. Florida appears to have become the new epicenter, as cases have jumped from around 1,000 per day in mid to late June to almost 5,800 cases on July 10, 2021. However, regions in the Southeast and portions of the Midwest where vaccination rates are comparatively low continue to see rising infections. COVID-19 hospitalization rates over the last two weeks have risen 40 percent for Arkansas, Nevada and Iowa.

Israel allows those with weakened immune systems to get a third Pfizer-BioNTech shot. - Israel’s Ministry of Health on Monday issued guidelines for administering a third shot of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to people with compromised immune systems, citing the rising infection rate in recent weeks as well as growing evidence that such people do not develop sufficient antibodies after two doses.The ministry released a list of those now eligible for a third shot, prioritizing heart, lung and kidney transplant recipients followed by others with weak immune systems including cancer patients.Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv began giving third Pfizer shots to dozens of heart transplant recipients on Monday afternoon, an hour after receiving a green light from the Ministry of Health.“It’s really urgent to do it now,” Prof. Galia Rahav, the head of the Infectious Disease Unit and Laboratories at the Sheba Medical Center, said in a video statement, citing the rise of the Delta variant. The hospital said it would be testing and tracking the recipients of the third shot for research purposes.Israel initially led the world with a rapid vaccination campaign and 57 percent of its population is fully vaccinated. But the arrival of the highly contagious Delta variant has brought a rise in daily infections, up from single digits a month ago to an average of 452 cases per day. About 58 percent of the 81 Israeli Covid-19 patients currently hospitalized are vaccinated, according to Israeli Ministry of Health data. Studies suggest that vaccines remain effectiveagainst the Delta variant.Health care providers in France have been giving a third dose of a two-dose vaccine to people with certain immune conditions since April.The number of organ transplant recipients who had antibodies increased to 68 percent four weeks after the third dose, up from 40 percent after the second dose, one team of French researchers recently reported. In the United States, there has been no concerted effort by federal agencies or vaccine manufacturers to test this approach so far.

India’s pandemic response varies from one village to the next.— When a devastating second wave of Covid-19 infections reached India’s countryside this spring, the village of Khilwai took immediate action. Two testing centers were set up, and 30 positive cases were isolated. The outbreak was contained with just three deaths.It was a different story in the two villages on either side of Khilwai. Testing remained limited. The local health center in one village had been closed, its staff sent away to a larger hospital. The coronavirus spread, and at least 30 people in each village died with Covid-19 symptoms.But even as the three villages in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, diverged in their handling of the coronavirus, they have been united in another way: a vaccine hesitancy that is prevalent throughout India and threatens to prolong the country’s crisis.The combination of an uneven virus response — a reflection ofhuge inequality in resources and the vagaries of local attitudes — and a struggling vaccination campaign has left officials warning of a third wave of infections when the second has at best only leveled off. Any sense of rapid relief like the one now prevailing in the United States is unlikely anytime soon.Just 5 percent of India’s 1.4 billion people are fully vaccinated, while about 20 percent have had a first dose. That gives the country insufficient protection against the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, which first surfaced in India. At the same time, the country continues to report tens of thousands of new infections and close to 1,000 deaths each day, numbers that are almost certainly an undercounting. Resigned talk of a third wave is indicative of how virus fatigue, and the catastrophic toll of hundreds of thousands of people in the last wave, have resulted in a new definition of acceptable loss.

Short on vaccines, Asia grapples with Delta-driven outbreaks. In recent days, Indonesia has reported nearly twice as many coronavirus cases as the United States. Malaysia’s per capita caseload is roughly on par with those of Brazil and Iran. And the latest Covid surges in Japan and South Korea have prompted harsh new restrictions on movement there, effective Monday.Across the Asia-Pacific region, the Delta variant is driving new outbreaks in places where transmission was once kept relatively low, but where the pace of vaccination has been too slow to contain the latest outbreaks. One result is that everyday activities are again being restricted, just as they were in the anxious, early days of the pandemic — even as the West edges back to normalcy.Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, is a case in point. Its government once hoped that its archipelagic geography and youthful population would spare it a debilitating outbreak. But only about 13 percent of its 270 million people have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and the rise of Delta is pushing its health system to the brink and forcing some patients to hunt for oxygen.On July 3, the government closed mosques, schools, shopping malls and sports facilities on two of Indonesia’s major islands for two weeks. But the daily average of new cases — more than 33,000 as of Sunday — has continued to climb. Officials said on Friday that they would extend the same emergency rules to other islands. Intensive care wards in and around the capital, Jakarta, have beenoperating at full capacity, and doctors who received the vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinovac have been falling ill or dying. The government has said it will administer a third dose, of the Moderna vaccine, to about 1.5 million health workers starting this week.

Chinese vaccines are pledged to be shared with countries in need, a vaccine initiative says. -The Gavi Alliance announced Monday that it had signed its first agreements to buy coronavirus vaccine from two Chinese companies, Sinopharm and Sinovac, providing for deliveries of 110 million doses within three months, with options for bigger deliveries later this year and in the first half of 2022.Gavi, the public-private partnership that is overseeing Covax, the program to donate vaccines to poor countries, said that Sinopharm would contribute 60 million doses between July and October, with an option to provide 60 million more in the last quarter of 2021 and 50 million more doses in the first half of 2022.Sinovac would deliver 50 million doses, Gavi said, by the end of September, with an option for Covax to receive 150 million more doses in the last quarter of the year and 180 million doses in the first half of 2022.The agreements, combined with donations pledged by the United States and other Group of 7 countries, will give a boost to Covax. It was set up to help the poorest countries gain access to vaccines, but it has struggled to gain a footing, as world leaders and vaccine manufacturers have prioritized sending doses to populations in wealthy nations.China kicked off its vaccine diplomacy campaign last year by pledging to provide a shot that would be safe and effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19, and dozens of countries are using Covid vaccines from China. Some of the countries that have experienced fresh virus outbreaks despite high inoculation rates, though, relied on Chinese-made vaccines. During a news conference Monday, World Health Organization officials supported the addition of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines to the Covax portfolio, and expressed confidence in the efficacy of the vaccines.But as concerns grow about more transmissible variants as well as about the waning immunity provided by the Sinovac vaccine, Thailand said on Monday that health care workers who had received the vaccine made by Sinovac would also be inoculatedwith the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots to give them greater protection. About 3.4 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally but the vast majority have gone to wealthy countries. Covax, since its launch in February, has shipped 107 million vaccine doses to 135 countries. About 70 percent of these doses have gone to poorer countries; the other 30 percent have gone to wealthier nations paying their own way.

South Asian migrant workers are stranded as they wait for vaccines - The pandemic has been a cruel blow for thousands of migrant workers in South Asia who are out of work or unable to return to their jobs abroad. Countries like Bangladesh, India and Nepal rely heavily on migrant workers, who send billions of dollars home each year. But over the past year, many have lost their jobs and been forced to return to their native countries. Others still have jobs or have found new ones, but are struggling to make travel arrangements to take up the posts.The lack of Covid-19 vaccines has compounded the problem, with many countries requiring migrant workers to be inoculated to avoid quarantine or sometimes to enter at all.Ajay Sodari, a migrant worker in Kathmandu, Nepal, who needs to be vaccinated before he can start his job in South Korea, said, “I spent four years studying the Korean language, to get selected as a qualified worker in language tests and sign a labor agreement with the company.” He said that he had spent thousands of dollars to meet the employment requirements but that the pandemic had “shattered my dream.”The lack of vaccines has been most acute in Bangladesh and Nepal, both of which planned to source most of their doses from neighboring India until New Delhi stopped vaccine exports this spring to prioritize its own citizens. In Bangladesh and Nepal, only about 3 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to aNew York Times database.In Nepal, where inward remittances account for a quarter of gross domestic product, migrant workers were not among the priority groups in initial phases of the vaccination campaign, which favored older adults, frontline health workers, security personnel and government officials. As many as 35,000 migrant workers are stuck in Nepal despite obtaining final work permit approval from the country’s government, according to the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies. The group says that most countries have stopped recruiting workers from Nepal because they are not vaccinated. In Bangladesh, there are at least 90,000 migrant workers waiting to get vaccinated before they can start their jobs abroad, said Shahidul Alam, director general at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, a government agency. Mr. Alam said that Bangladesh was stepping up its vaccination efforts among migrant workers, including with the introduction of an app.

Indonesia battles virus surge; Japan to send special flights to evacuate citizens, --Indonesia reported over 47,000 coronavirus cases on Tuesday with 864 deaths as reports said the Japanese government has decided to send special flights to the country to pull out its citizens from the country.The archipelago has become a virus hotspot due to surging coronavirus cases. Last Thursday, the country had reported over 38,000 new coronavirus cases.

Indonesia overtakes India to become Asia's COVID epicenter - -Indonesia has overtaken India as Asia's new epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic, with daily infections exceeding 40,000 for two straight days and officials warning that the delta variant is spreading outside the most populous island of Java. Southeast Asia's largest economy on Tuesday reported 47,899 new infections, a record high, up from 40,427 the previous day. India's cases, meanwhile, dropped to 32,906 from 37,154. More alarming is that despite having more daily infections, Indonesia's population of 270 million population is just a fifth of India's. Indonesia now has around 132 cases per million people, compared with India 26 as of Sunday, according to ourworldindata.org. While the daily death toll on Tuesday was less than half India's 2,020, Indonesia's per capita count is higher -- average 3 per million people, compared with less than one in the south Asian country. The figures do not take into account Indonesia's poor record of testing and tracing. The Southeast Asia's case positivity rate -- the percentage of confirmed infections vs people tested -- has hovered around 30% over the past week, while the figure for India's 2%. Cumulatively, India's confirmed coronavirus tallies are still the highest in Asia with 30.9 million cases and 410,784 deaths as of Tuesday, followed by Indonesia with 2,615,529 cases and 68,219 deaths. But while India's figures keep falling from a May peak, Indonesia's worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic is not yet showing any signs of slowing down. Health Minister Budi Sadikin said Tuesday that bed occupancy rates for COVID-19 patients in 12 provinces have exceeded 70% -- half of them on Java and the rest on other major Indonesian islands. In the nation's capital, Jakarta, the occupancy rate is close to 90% despite the recent conversion of some facilities into hospitals just for the coronavirus. Sadikin said the government is preparing for a scenario where cases could increase 30% over the next two weeks and accelerate in other regions. Steps include converting more regular hospital beds into treatment facilities for COVID-19. The government earlier this year designated 30% of 400,000 hospital beds nationwide for COVID-19 treatment, but they have quickly been filling up following the Eid holiday exodus in May and as the more contagious delta strain spreads across the country.

The caseload in Indonesia has been skyrocketing, setting daily records. Indonesia reported more than 54,500 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its third record daily rise in a row as the country has surpassed India’s current daily caseload.A seven-day rolling average of daily cases in the two countries showed them running neck and neck, but India’s caseload has been steadily declining while Indonesia’s has been skyrocketing, according to data collected by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.Over the past few weeks, hospitals on Java island have overflowed with patients and residents have scrambled to buy medical oxygen to treat family members at home. Hundreds of people have been reported to have died of the virus at home because of a lack of oxygen and as a result of an overwhelmed health care system.“Based on the last three days’ data, I can say clearly that Indonesia has become the new epicenter in the world,” said Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia, who has long urged the Indonesian authorities to implement firmer measures to control the spread of the virus. Over the past two weeks, the daily numbers of infections have nearly doubled, and on Wednesday, Indonesia reported 991 new deaths.Experts believe that the Delta variant is behind the surge in cases in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populated country. By contrast, India’s daily case count, which peaked at more than 414,000 in early May, has fallen to about 40,000.The outbreak in Indonesia is the latest example of the widening gap between Western countries and other nations during the pandemic. Countries like Britain and the United States have reopened their economies and so far have been able to absorb a surge in cases with limited hospitalizations and deaths thanks to successful vaccine rollouts. Others, like India and now Indonesia, have lagged behind in vaccinations and face devastating consequences from Delta’s spread. Studies suggest that vaccines remain effective against the Delta variant, but only 13 percent of Indonesia’s population of 270 millionhas received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while less than 6 percent has been fully vaccinated, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.By comparison, nearly half of the U.S. population has been fully inoculated, and on Wednesday Britain passed the threshold of having vaccinated two thirds of its population.

Indonesia Regulator Allows Ivermectin Use For Covid Treatment -- Merely mentioning the name of the vaccine-busting drug Ivermectin in the US is enough to get you carted off for "questioning" to the nearest illegal CIA blacksite, have the NSA leak all your private information to MSNBC, WaPo and the NYT and quietly shipped off to Guantanamo for permanent re-education under the daily auspices of Critical Race Theory. But not in the "banana republic" of Indonesia, where on Thursday, Ivermectin was officially approved for covid treatment in a vicious blow to the "buy my vaccine" pharmaceutical lobby around the world.According to Bloomberg, Indonesia’s food and drug regulator, known as BPOM, has issued a letter approving the distribution of Ivermectin, Remdesivir, Favipiravir, Oseltamivir, immunoglobulin, Tocilizumab, Azithromycin and Dexametason to be used in treatment of Covid-19, according to a statement from the agency. The latter, Bloomberg adds, was issued as guidance for distributors of the drugs.The startling development - if only to the anti-Ivermectin oligarchs in "developed" Western nations - takes place two weeks after eight hospitals in Indonesia began conducting clinical trials on Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medicine that has appeared to be a potential Covid-19 medication and which is greatly hated by the establishment due to its low price and its ability to eradicate the covid plague which the establishment desperately needs to perpetuate a state of constant near-panic not to mention enabling trillions in fiscal and monetary stimulus, following a permit issued by the national agency of drug and food control.

Australia’s COVID-19 Delta outbreak worsens despite Sydney lockdown— The prospect of an extended lockdown in Sydney loomed on Monday as Australian health officials reported yet another record daily rise in COVID-19 cases for the year, fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant. New South Wales state reported 112 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, almost all in Sydney, despite the country’s biggest city entering its third week of lockdown. Case numbers have been at record levels for at least three days. There was, however, a glimmer of light as the number of newly infected people who were out in the community while infectious dropped to 34 from 45 on Sunday. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the progress of that figure in coming days would determine whether Sydney’s lockdown, due to end Friday, would be extended. “That’s the number we need to get as close to zero as possible,” Berejiklian said during her daily televised briefing. “It is really up to us. The health expert advice will be based on what those numbers look like. I can’t be clearer than that.”

A graphic Covid-19 ad prompts a backlash in Australia. --Australians have lashed out at the government after the release of a graphic advertising video that depicts a woman with severe symptoms of Covid-19, arguing that it unfairly blames younger people, most of whom are ineligible for vaccination.The campaign, released on Sunday and aimed at encouraging Australians to get vaccinated, depicts a sweating woman lying in a hospital bed gasping for air. Her eyes are desperate. She claws at the breathing tube in her nose. “Covid-19 can affect anyone,” reads the text that follows. “Stay home. Get tested. Book your vaccination.”The advertisement first aired in Sydney, a city of more than five million people that is battling a ballooning outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. On Tuesday, the authorities reported 89 new cases and Australia’s second death from the virus this year as concerns continue over a slow vaccine rollout.Only about 9 percent of Australia’s population is fully inoculated, according to New York Times data, and those younger than 40 can only receive the AstraZeneca shot after getting clearance from a doctor. They are not eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, the only other vaccine authorized for use in Australia.“Is the new Covid ad satire?” tweeted Emma Husar, a former member of Australia’s opposition Labor party, adding that the government had given Australians conflicted advice and failed to order sufficient doses.Dan Ilic, an Australian comedian, parodied the ad by adding a voice-over suggesting that the woman in the video was 39, and therefore months away from being eligible for a Pfizer vaccine. “Turn 40 sooner,” he said.Australian officials defended the campaign, which they said was intended to be shocking. “It is quite graphic, and it’s meant to be graphic,” the country’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, told reporters on Sunday. “It is meant to really push that message home that this is important.”

Iranians, desperate for Covid vaccines, are crossing into Armenia to get them. -- Thousands of Iranians frustrated with the government’s chaotic vaccine rollout and desperate for protection after enduring wave after wave of the coronavirus are flocking by air and land to neighboring Armenia to be vaccinated against Covid-19.Iran is enduring a fifth wave of the pandemic, with Tehran and 143 cities declared high-risk “red” zones and the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus spreading quickly. Over the past two weeks, Iran’s average daily caseload has risen by 63 percent, to nearly 17,000, according to a New York Times database.Only about 2 percent of Iran’s 84 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford. With U.S.- and British-made vaccines banned by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top leader, the country is waiting for shipments of vaccines made by China and Russia.Across the border in Armenia, a country of three million, there are more vaccine doses than people willing to take them, largely because of widespread conspiracy theories and misinformation. Officials there announced in May that they would provide free vaccines to foreigners without registration. Mobile clinics were set up in the streets to make them easily accessible to tourists and visitors. Iranians don’t need a visa to travel to Armenia, and the drive from the border to the capital, Yerevan, is about seven hours.Based on Iran’s vaccine eligibility chart, Parvin Chamanpira, 53, and her husband calculated that it would be months before they qualified, so they traveled from Tehran to Yerevan last week and received their shots from an ambulance parked on the side of the road. She said it took about five minutes, requiring only a blood pressure check and no paperwork. They will return in a few weeks for their second shots.

African countries are left with scarce vaccine supplies as the virus spreads. -Africa is in its deadliest stage of the pandemic so far, and there is little relief in sight.The more contagious Delta variant is sweeping across the continent. Namibia and Tunisia are reporting more deaths per capita than any other country. Hospitals across the continent are filling up, oxygen supplies and medical workers are stretched thin, and recorded deaths jumped 40 percent last week alone.But only about 1 percent of Africans have been fully vaccinated. And even the African Union’s modest goal of inoculating 20 percent of the population by the end of this year seems out of reach.Rich nations have bought up most doses long into the future, often far more than they could conceivably need. Hundreds of millions of shots from a global vaccine-sharing effort have failed to materialize.Supplies to African countries are unlikely to increase much in the next few months, rendering vaccines, the most effective tool against Covid, of little use in the current wave. Instead, many countries are resorting to lockdowns and curfews.On Friday, Gavi, the vaccine alliance that co-lead the vaccine sharing program Covax, said the United States would deliver 25 millions doses of the vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson to African countries in the coming weeks.Yet even a year from now, supplies may not be enough to meet demand from Africa’s 1.3 billion people unless richer countries share their stockpiles and rethink how the distribution system should work. “The blame squarely lies with the rich countries,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, a commissioner with Africa Covid-19 Response, a continental task force. “A vaccine delayed is a vaccine denied.”

France orders health workers to be vaccinated as part of a push to prevent another Covid wave. --Hoping to combat a possible wave of coronavirus infections, President Emmanuel Macron of France on Monday announced new vaccination requirements, including mandatory inoculation for health care workers and proof of immunization or a recent negative test to enter restaurants and cultural venues.But whether these measures could be enough to avoid a fourth wave of the virus powered by the fast-spreading Delta variant, which already accounts for about half of new infections in France, remains highly uncertain.The announcement came just three days after nightclubs reopened for the first time in 16 months, which many believed symbolically signaled the end of the country’s protracted efforts to emerge from the pandemic. Instead, the new measures dashed hopes that France was about to return to a prepandemic normal and that summer vacation will run smoothly.“As I speak, our country is facing a strong resurgence of the epidemic,” Mr. Macron said, in a solemn televised address.To combat this resurgence, Mr. Macron said that France would redouble its efforts to use what he called “a key asset”: vaccines.He announced that he wanted to pass a law that would require all health workers to get vaccinated by Sept. 15 and that the goal was now to “put restrictions on the unvaccinated rather than on everyone.”To that effect, anyone wanting to enter a cultural venue or an amusement park will need to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative virus test, starting on July 21, Mr. Macron said. The requirement will be extended in August to restaurants, shopping centers, hospitals, retirement homes and in transportation on long journeys.France will also start charging money for some virus tests, which until now were free, in the fall, “to encourage vaccination rather than increased testing,” Mr. Macron said.Although none of the new measures compared to the severe restrictions that were imposed from early 2020 through last month— France has experienced three national lockdowns, nighttime curfews and forced closures of all nonessential businesses — they were aimed at reminding the French that the pandemic is not over.

Dutch COVID-19 infections soar by 500% in a week (AP) — Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week, the country’s public health institute reported Tuesday. The surge follows the scrapping of almost all remaining lockdown restrictions and the reopening of night clubs in late June. The weekly update showing that nearly 52,000 people in the Netherlands tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week came a day after caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized for the June 26 lockdown relaxation and called it “an error of judgment.” Rutte backtracked Friday and reintroduced some restrictions in an attempt to rein in the soaring infection rate. Bars again have to close at midnight, while discotheques and clubs were shuttered again until at least Aug. 13. The Netherlands, along with other European nations, is facing a rise in infections fueled by the more contagious delta variant just as governments hoped to greatly ease or eliminate remaining pandemic restrictions during the summer holiday season. With infections rising around France, President Emmanuel Macron on Monday cranked up pressure on people to get vaccinated and said special COVID passes would be required to go into restaurants and shopping malls starting next month. The Dutch public health institute said that of the infections that could be traced to their source, 37% happened in a hospitality venue such as a bar or club. Infections among people ages 18-24 surged by 262%, followed by a 191% rise in 25-29 year-olds.

 EU Leaders Turn Up Heat on Vaccines; U.K. Fears: Virus Update - More than half of adults in the European Union are now vaccinated, and regional leaders turned up the pressure to get even more people immunized. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that will be the deciding factor for the future course of the pandemic.U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing warnings that his plan to ease pandemic restrictions in England could lead to a rise in infections that will strain hospitals and undermine an economic recovery. In Scotland, face masks remain mandatory in public places and the government is maintaining its work-from-home policy. In Greece and the Netherlands, cases surged. Russia signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India to boost annual production of Sputnik V shots. In the U.S., regulators added a warning to Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine about a rare immune-system disorder.Greece reported 3,109 new cases Tuesday, the highest daily rise in just over two months. To combat the recent increase amid concerns for its tourism industry, authorities said customers of indoor restaurants and indoor areas at entertainment venues will need to show they’ve been vaccinated or have tested negative within the last three days.The requirement will remain in force until the end of August at the earliest, and doesn’t concern outdoor areas. Spain, Europe’s second largest tourism market pre-pandemic, is still a safe destination, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on Tuesday after Germany and France earlier warned citizens about the risks of heading there.Catalonia and Valencia, two of the most popular vacation spots, have both seen a surge in infections in recent days as restrictions are relaxed.Weekly cases in the Netherlands surged more than sixfold with 51,957 infections reported by the Dutch health service in the week ending July 13. Last week’s tally was 8,541 cases.On Friday, the Dutch government announced it would reintroduce some pandemic restrictions in a bid to reduce the rising number of infections. Nightclubs were closed until August 13 and the opening hours of bars were reduced. Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte publicly apologized on Monday for making an “error in judgement” and easing restrictions too quickly.

EU regulator weighing mixing COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses (Reuters) -Europe's drug regulator on Wednesday refrained from making any recommendations on mixing schedules of COVID-19 vaccines with doses from different manufacturers, saying it was too early to confirm if and when an additional booster shot would be needed.However, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) did say both doses of two-shot coronavirus vaccines, such as those from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna, are needed to protect against the fast-spreading Delta variant. In a bid to tackle increasing infections and vaccine shortages, countries are testing whether giving a different second dose to the first could boost immunity in people and bridge the gap between vaccine availability. EMA made no definitive recommendations on switching up doses, but advised countries to take several conditions into account. "In order to respond to these needs and increase vaccination coverage, countries may adapt their strategies...based on the epidemiological situation and circulation of variants, and the evolving evidence on vaccine effectiveness against variants," EMA said in a statement . An Oxford study last month found that a mixed schedule of vaccines where a shot of Pfizer's vaccine is given four weeks after an AstraZeneca shot will produce better immune responses than giving another dose of AstraZeneca. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has estimated that the Delta variant will account for 90% of strains in circulation in the European Union by the end of August. The variant, first identified in India, has led to a surge in cases worldwide and is setting back economic recovery plans. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the Delta variant was likely to become the dominant variant globally over the coming months. Its chief scientist on Tuesday advised individuals against mixing vaccines, saying such decisions should be left to public health authorities.

UK health minister Javid tests positive for COVID-19 (Reuters) -British health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he had tested positive for COVID-19, but added that his symptoms were mild and he was thankful to have had had two doses of vaccine against the disease. Javid, who has been health secretary for three weeks, has backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to scrap all remaining legal coronavirus restrictions from Monday, despite a fresh surge of cases fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant. "This morning I tested positive for COVID," Javid said in a tweet, adding he had taken a rapid lateral flow test, and was awaiting confirmation from a PCR test, which needs processing in a laboratory. "I'm waiting for my PCR result, but thankfully I have had my jabs and symptoms are mild." Javid tweeted on March 17 that he had received a first shot of Oxford/AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, posting a picture of him getting a second dose on May 16. Vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, but fully-vaccinated people are less likely to get seriously ill with COVID-19 even if they can test positive. Real-world analysis published by Public Health England has found that two doses of the AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccine are 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the Delta variant and 92% effective against hospitalisation. Britain is facing a new wave of cases of COVID-19, but Johnson and Javid claim the vaccine programme has largely broken the link between COVID-19 cases and mortality, although Johnson has said that the country should reconcile itself to the prospect of more deaths from COVID.

UK reports another 6-month high in daily COVID cases (Reuters) - Britain on Saturday reported 54,674 new COVID-19 cases, a rise on the 51,870 new cases reported on the previous day to post a fresh highest daily total in six months. The daily totals for each of the last four days have been the highest since Jan. 15 when 55,761 cases were recorded. Britain reported 41 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, down from the 49 recorded on Friday.

J&J recalls Aveeno, Neutrogena sunscreens over cancer risk - Johnson & Johnson is recalling five of its Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens after the company found low levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, in some samples. The company said customers should stop using the affected products, which were distributed through stores nationwide. The recall covers the Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen, and four Neutrogena sunscreens: Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen, CoolDry Sport aerosol sunscreen, Invisible Daily Defense aerosol sunscreen and UltraSheer aerosol sunscreen. Benzene, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says can cause leukemia or other cancers after long-term exposure to high levels, is not an ingredient in the affected sunscreens, J&J noted. The pharmaceutical giant said it’s investigating how the chemical might have gotten into some of its products.

New Zealand, where Covid-19 is dormant, fights another respiratory virus --Strict lockdowns in New Zealand last year appear to have contributed to a recent outbreak in children of respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., a highly contagious, flulike illness whose symptoms include a runny nose, coughing, sneezing and fever.Children in New Zealand were mostly stuck indoors amid lockdowns last autumn, which runs from March to May in the Southern Hemisphere. After the country reopened last winter, health officials say, few of them contracted seasonal viruses and infections, probably because they had been underexposed to germs.In a typical year, New Zealand sees a peak of cases of respiratory infections from June to September. But in 2020, the country experienced “the complete absence of an annual winter influenza epidemic,” with a 99.9 percent reduction in flu cases and a 98 percent reduction in R.S.V., according to a study published in Nature in February.This year, however, the same children have been more vulnerable than usual to those same ailments.Since the start of winter five weeks ago, during which there have been no coronavirus restrictions, children’s wards in New Zealand have seen dozens of patients, many of them infants, battling the sometimes deadly disease, while some elementary schools have reported having as many as half their students absent because of respiratory illnesses.The country has reported 969 cases of R.S.V. in five weeks, compared with an average of 1,743 cases over the entire 29-week winter season in the five years before the pandemic, according to New Zealand’s Institute of Environmental Science and Research.The recent surge has yet to reach a plateau, said Dr. Sue Huang, a virologist at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research and the lead author of the Nature study.“The exponential increase is very sharp,” she said in a statement. “The absence of R.S.V. last winter meant there is a young cohort of children from last year, plus a new cohort this year, who have not been exposed to the seasonal virus.”

Texas patient becomes U.S.' first monkeypox case since 2003 -A Dallas, Texas, resident who recently returned from Nigeria has tested positive for monkeypox, a rare virus similar to smallpox, local officials said Friday. Though this is the first confirmed case of the virus in the U.S. since 2003, officials said the public should not be concerned. "While rare, this case is not a reason for alarm and we do not expect any threat to the general public," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement from Dallas County's health department. Because passengers were wearing masks on the flight and in the airport, the health department said, "It's believed the risk of spread of monkeypox via respiratory droplets to others on the planes and in the airports is low." Monkeypox, which is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, is a rare but potentially deadly viral infection that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses to a rash on the face and body, according to the CDC. It tends to last two to four weeks. People who do not have symptoms are not capable of transmitting the virus, the health department said. Laboratory testing confirmed the patient is infected with a strain of the virus that is mainly seen in West Africa, which includes Nigeria. Monkeypox infections of that strain are fatal in about 1 in 100 people, affecting those with weakened immune systems more strongly, according to the CDC. Prior to this case, there have been six other cases of monkeypox in travelers returning from Nigeria. The CDC said this case is not believed to be related to any of the prior cases. This is the first reported case of monkeypox in Dallas County, according to the health department's statement. The person is currently in isolation at a hospital in Dallas and is in stable condition. The CDC said it is working with local health officials to contact airline passengers and others who were in contact with the infected traveller during their flights from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta on July 8, and Atlanta to Dallas on July 9.

17-million-gallon sewage spill at Los Angeles' largest treatment plant closes miles of Southern California beaches -- Miles of beaches in Los Angeles were closed to swimmers Monday as 17 million gallons of sewage from the city's largest treatment plant spilled into Santa Monica Bay the night before. A mechanical failure "at the Hyperion plant last night caused untreated sewage to be discharged into the ocean," Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on Twitter. "Water samples are being tested and I'm getting more information about the scope of the problem. Beaches from El Segundo to the Dockweiler RV Park are closed for swimming."Closure signs were posted in the areas around El Segundo and Dockweiler State Beaches, as well as Grand Avenue Storm Drain, and officials urged visitors not to go into the water. The beaches, which in all total about four miles, will remain closed until water sample tests come up negative for bacteria, the County Department of Public Health said in a news release.The Hyperion plant is both the city’s largest and oldest sewage treatment facility and has been in operation since 1894. The plant was designed to accommodate a daily flow of 450 million gallons of water per day. Executive Plant Manager Timeyin Dafeta said in a statement that the facility “became inundated with overwhelming quantities of debris, causing backup of the headworks facilities."“The plant’s relief system was triggered and sewage flows were controlled through use of the plant’s one-mile outfall and discharge of untreated sewage into Santa Monica Bay,” Dafeta said.Wildfires in the United States: Over 50 large fires are burning in 10 states across the western US. Here's how they stack in history.About 6% of the facility's daily load was discharged as an emergency measure to prevent the plant from going offline and spewing even more raw sewage, the statement said."Bacteria and viruses in raw sewage are extremely dangerous to people and can carry a variety of diseases," environmental advocacy group Heal the Bay said. "Debris such as tampons and plastic trash, when released into the Bay, can harbor bacteria and can cause entanglement of wildlife, but it seems in this case those debris were successfully filtered out of the spill before it made it to the Bay."“It’s the amount of material and the kind of materials that came through that caused the problem.”

Hundreds of syringes found washed up on New Jersey beaches - Beach patrollers discovered hundreds of syringes washed up on the beaches of the Jersey Shore over the weekend, causing numerous safety closures on Sunday following days of intense storms from Tropical Storm Elsa.Beach patrollers were shocked to find hundreds of syringes on the Shore. On Sunday alone, patrollers found dozens in the sand of Monmouth Beach, according to NBC News 4. They are now warning beachgoers to stay out of the water as there is a high risk of stepping on a needle.Officials speculate that the needles are from sewage overflow miles away. Previous investigations suggest people with diabetes flush used needles down the toilet and storm water carries them to beaches, according to the local report. "I had gloves on and I had a picker thing, so I didn't touch any of them," beach patroller Kathrine Gough, who was one of many to clean up the beaches, told NBC News. "But it was pretty weird because people were asking questions and we don't know what happened." While some areas are still closed, other sites reopened Monday after crews closely inspected the area. Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, a part of the Monmouth County park system on the Shore, gave the "all clear" on their website Monday morning, allowing beachgoers to enjoy the park freely.

Report: Masks, Gloves A Significant Source Of Beach Pollution – CBS Los Angeles - — Single-use masks and gloves have become a significant source of beach pollution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Surfrider Foundation’s Beach Cleanup annual report. From June to December of last year, more than 2,270 single-use masks and gloves were removed from beaches and waterways during the San Clemente-based foundation’s cleanup program. Nearly 90% of all items removed from U.S. beaches are plastic, according to the report. “Plastic pollution is a global crisis,” Jennifer Hart, the foundation’s plastic pollution coordinator, said. The pandemic forced the group to modify its beach cleanup program, switching from large-scale events to solo cleanups and allowing individuals to log their own cleanup data in the foundation’s database. However, the changes actually increased the foundation’s efforts with 927 cleanups held in 2020. Coverage increased by nearly 55% and more than 80,000 pounds of trash were removed form the nation’s beaches and waterways, according to the report.

Massive red tide fish kill cleanup in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida (video) Several beaches around St. Petersburg and Tampa are closed due to harmful algal bloom (red tide) after the passage of Hurricane "Elsa," Live Storms Media noted in their latest video report.The National Weather Service has issued a special beach hazards statement warning of the effects on people's respiratory system through Monday evening, July 12.As seen in the video, thousands of fish that have been killed are floating to the shore.Around 120 employees have been taken from their normal jobs to assist in 24-hour a day cleanup efforts. 15-tons and counting of dead fish have been removed so far, according to the City of St. Petersburg.

Florida Manatees Die in Record Numbers From Lack of Food --A record number of manatees have died in Florida this year due to food scarcity in the Indian River Lagoon, officials said.The loss of seagrass in the waters has caused manatees to die from starvation and malnutrition, according toTCPalm. A total of 841 manatees died, with 312 deaths occurring in Brevard County's segment of the 156-mile long lagoon from Jan. 1 to July 2 of this year.Some biologists speculate that water pollution has devastated seagrass beds in the area, according to The Guardian."Unprecedented manatee mortality due to starvation was documented on the Atlantic coast this past winter and spring," Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote, as reported by The Guardian. "Most deaths occurred during the colder months when manatees migrated to and through the Indian River Lagoon, where the majority of seagrass has died off."Wildlife officials declared the deaths of the sea cows as an Unusual Mortality Event, which helps the government to work with Florida and nonprofits to adequately investigate the cause of the high death rate, according to USA TODAY.The previous death record for manatees was in 2013 when 830 manatees died from subjection to red dye toxins, according to TCPalm.In addition to the scarce food supply, at least 63 manatees have perished from boat strikes, according to CBS News.Once classified as endangered, the sea cows were reclassified as threatened in 2017. Some environmentalists are urging officials to consider the animal endangered once again, according to CBS News.Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan wrote a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June, asking them to consider recategorizing the "beloved, iconic mammals" as endangered, as reported by CBS News andWTSP Tampa Bay.Around 6,300 manatees call Florida home. This number has increased by around 1,300 since the 1990s, as reported by The Guardian.

2021 marks deadliest year for manatees in Florida recorded history - At least 841 manatees have died in Florida waters so far in 2021, marking the deadliest year for manatees in the state's recorded history, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), nearly 53 percent of the dead manatees were found in five neighboring counties: Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin. FWC data found that 312 manatees died in Brevard County, the outlet reported. The previous record was set in 2013, when 830 manatees died over the course of the entire year. Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) said in its report that manatees are starving to death during the winter and springtime, when the majority of seagrass has died out. Pollution of waterways through urban and agricultural development is contributing to the deaths by putting into the water nitrogen and phosphorus that feeds algal blooms, which choke off seagrass, a major food source for manatees. FWRI also said that boating accidents are a factor in manatee deaths, with 63 manatees dying due to boat crashes, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. The FWC in March declared manatee death as an Unusual Mortality Event, which allows state and federal government officials to aid FWC in its investigation of the cause and in preventing any more deaths of the animals. According to Treasure Coast Newspapers, 16 environmental groups and clean water-dependent businesses have urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to declare a state of emergency on the growing issue.

Pet Goldfish Dumped in Minnesota Lakes Are Growing Huge and Disrupting Ecosystems - Authorities in Minnesota have instructed residents and goldfish owners to stop dumping goldfish into the state's waterways after abnormally large goldfish were found in a local lake.The city of Burnsville tweeted photographs of the huge goldfish with the caption, "Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!"Groups of large goldfish, which can grow to be the size of a football, were found in local waters. The City of Burnsville said that when the fish grow bigger they "contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants."The act of releasing unwanted fish is called "illegal fish stocking," and it's happening all over Minnesota, disrupting the balance of the natural ecosystems and fish communities, according to NPR.The city is working with Carp Solutions, a start-up company that develops new technologies to control carp, according to ABC News.This is not the first time the state has dealt with this issue. In November, officials removed around 50,000 goldfish from local waters. Paul Moline, Carver County's water management manager, said goldfish are an "understudied species" with "a high potential to negatively impact the water quality of lakes," according to The Guardian. An adaptable fish of the carp family, goldfish can survive low levels of oxygen and easily reproduce, according to The Guardian.

With Snake River spring, summer Chinook on a ‘quasi-extinction threshold,’ NW tribes call for dam removals - Tribes across the Northwest are calling for immediate action to remove the four Lower Snake River dams. During a two-day salmon and orca summit in Western Washington last week, the group called on President Biden and congressional members to “take bold action, now.”Many tribal leaders placed support behind Idaho Republican Congressman Mike Simpson’s broad concept to breach the dams while still finding ways to support the resulting holes in industries like energy development and agricultural irrigation.Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spoke on the second day of the conference, connected virtually from off site. He continued to call for more talks on how to move forward – at one point jumping in to tell Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman, “We should have daily discussions.” Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington have not signed on to Simpson’s $33.5 billion dollar concept. In May, they said solutions for the Snake River dams controversy need more work.During the conference, Inslee called this a “critical” moment. Climate change, and the recent heatwave, make the urgency even more apparent, he said.“I believe we should be – and have to be – committed to getting down to business to define what can provide the services that these dams provide, so we can take the next steps in this regional discussion ... to define how to replace these services so that we can build more support in our communities to taking the next step in the dam breaching discussion,” Inslee said.He said that should happen “in the months ahead.”In the online chat discussion, attendees called Inslee’s comments “encouraging” news for dam breaching.“Well, I didn’t expect to hear the Gov say ‘breach the dams!’ explicitly, but he did come as close as I think he dared, with his statement about the next step being to replace the services provided by the dams!”

Mississippi Claims Memphis is Stealing its Groundwater, Supreme Court to Decide - The battle over water rights is heating up. Please consider the State of Mississippi v. City of Memphis and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water now on the Supreme Court Docket. Mississippi’s complaint alleges that MLGW has “forcibly siphoned” off its water to the tune of billions of gallons. Compl. ¶ 23. And that without modern pumping technology none of that water would be available to Tennessee. Id. at ¶ 24. To make matters worse, Mississippi says Tennessee has removed groundwater far beyond “the water’s natural seepage rate.” Id. Evidence of Tennessee’s heist, Mississippi claims, can be seen in “substantial drop in pressure and corresponding drawdown of stored water in the Sparta Sand” and the “cone of depression” that extends into north Mississippi. Id. at ¶¶ 25, 30. Because Tennessee is allegedly stealing water at such a rapid rate, Mississippi must now drill wells to substantially greater depths. Id. at ¶ 54(b). Naturally, that practice has increased the costs on Mississippians who rely on the Aquifer for their groundwater. Mississippi now seeks both declaratory relief and money damages for the taking of its groundwater. The declaratory judgment would establish Mississippi’s “sovereign right, title and exclusive interest in the groundwater stored naturally in the Sparta Sand formation” which would not be available to the Defendants without pumping. This suit has been brewing for years. But analysts strongly favor Tennessee. For example, the University of Chicago Law Review writer Joseph Regalia says Mississippi’s Plea to the Supreme Court That It “Owns” Its Water and That Tennessee Is “Stealing” It Is Just Wrong. States have been fighting over water for a long time, and usually, the U.S. Supreme Court has settled those disputes by using a doctrine called equitable apportionment: a flexible standard that allows the High Court to balance the states’ competing interests in water and issue a decree that splits the water up between those interests. But what’s new is that Mississippi has tried to resurrect an old theory to avoid the normal equitable apportionment process, seeking to hoard water for its own uses without sharing. Mississippi’s theory is misleadingly simple. The state says it ownsthe water in its borders and that Tennessee is stealing it. After the case was sent to a Special Master, Tennessee moved for summary judgment, but the Court denied it (surprising many of us), and the case has been percolating for years now.

Proposed WV water quality standard update draws controversy for allowing case-by-case evaluation of toxin levels - Environmentalists again are rankled over West Virginia water quality standards.The state Department of Environmental Protection is proposing updates to 35 water quality criteria to match the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 updates of nationally recommended criteria. The proposed changes include a provision for evaluating human health criteria on a case-by-case basis. The West Virginia Rivers Coalition views that as a loophole for chemical manufacturers. Human health ambient water-quality criteria represent specific levels of chemicals or conditions in a body of water that are not expected to cause adverse effects to human health, according to the EPA’s definition.The provision would allow, as part of the water pollution permitting process, case-by-case evaluation of the total human exposure to water toxicants from ingestion of water and fish from an ambient waterbody. Permit limits based on revisions to the criteria would be subject to a 45-day public comment period and EPA review. But permit limits would not be subject to review by the West Virginia Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee, a panel of lawmakers from the Senate and House of Delegates that usually signs off on rule modifications.The DEP is required by the federal Clean Water Act to review the state’s water quality standards every three years. The state requires all revisions to be approved by the Legislature before final EPA approval.West Virginia Rivers Coalition Executive Director Angie Rosser views the newly proposed provision as an unwelcome divergence from that process. . “It puts the public interest at a disadvantage, because the public would only have 45 days’ notice to know about the site-specific request to take a look at the science,” Rosser said.

Human activity imperils one of the Earth's great survivalists: dragonflies -- Dragonflies are among the Earth’s oldest existing groups of animals. Based on exceptionally preservedfossil specimens, our best estimate is that the ancestor of modern-day dragonflies originated more than 200 million years ago. Some pre-historic dragonfly ancestors werequite large, but, for the most part, fossils indicate that ancient dragonflies and their relatives looked fairly similar to what we have today. This means that dragonflies have been around in their current form since before iconic dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops roamed the Earth, since before the continent of North America broke off from Eurasia and since before flowers first bloomed.You may or may not spend much time considering the dragonflies that you see today, but I imagine you can appreciate their impressive record of survival through the ages. Given this remarkable run of stability, it is ominous for the rest of us animals that there are warning signs that dragonflies may now be in some trouble.The decimation of 35 percent of the world’s wetlands through over-useand global warming threatens many dragonflies — a group of animals that withstood a worldwide drought so severe that the tropics received less rain than the Sahara Desert does today. Dragonflies, like frogs, spend their juvenile stage developing in the water and then undergo a metamorphosis. With lakes and streams currently drying and draining, dragonflies have fewer places to live than they did even a hundred years ago. After 200 million years of developing in the water, it is quite unlikely that they will suddenly learn to develop on land, which makes the drying and destruction of wetlands perhaps the most serious threat facing dragonflies today.Even among the waterbodies that have not yet disappeared completely, shallower lakes and more stagnant streams allow for lower concentrations of the dissolved oxygen that juvenile dragonflies need to breathe. As a result, some remaining waterbodies are now poorly suited for the growthand survival of many dragonfly species.The influx of novel chemicals into our waterways also endangers many dragonflies — a group of animals that survived global storms of acid rainthat made water bodies uninhabitable to many other organisms. Pesticides like carbaryl and malathion are used to control pests like ticks and fruit flies, but these chemicals are often encountered by dragonflies after they runoff into streams and lakes. Researchers have shown thatdragonflies die when exposed to pesticide concentrations that can be found in many waterbodies. High levels of metals and man-made pollutants also accumulate in the ponds and wetlands that are constructed near highways. Although dragonflies often inhabit these highway-adjacent wetlands, the chemicals that accumulate in these ponds can damage the dragonflies’ DNA molecules, rendering them extremely susceptible to harmful mutations and the degeneration of their bodies’ cells.

Maine Has a Dangerous, Small, and Very Itchy Problem - Climate change is keeping temperatures higher in the fall, setting up browntail-moth caterpillars to boom in summer. The caterpillar is roughly an inch and a half long with a fuzzy coat, brown but for two white stripes that flank its back and two red-orange dots near its rear. It has a soft visual texture that makes it seem harmless, charming even, tempting enough to stroke.But touch a browntail-moth caterpillar at your own peril.“Browntail-moth-caterpillar hairs are barbed and hollow. And inside that hollow tube, there’s a reservoir of a toxin,” says Allison Kanoti, the state entomologist for Maine, which is in the middle of a massive browntail-moth outbreak. Until recently, the insect was constrained to a few coastal areas of the state. This year, they’ve been spotted in nearly every one of Maine’s 16 counties. Portland, Maine’s largest city, has had to temporarily relocate its farmers’ market to avoid the insects’ uncanny habit of dropping down from the trees where they nest. In June, Waterville, a city of 16,000, declared a public emergency because of the caterpillars. And all across the state, shoppers covered in itchy abrasions have stripped drugstore shelves bare of witch hazel and cortisone, key ingredients in a DIY compound designed to soothe the downy beast’s ferocious burn. Brushing up against a browntail-moth caterpillar or otherwise encountering its hairs—on a picnic table, on a dock, on a bit of clothes hung out to dry—can leave a person itching for days as a poison-ivy-like rash creeps across the flesh. And as the caterpillar sheds its hairs, they can go airborne, causing wheezing if they’re inhaled. Both reactions can be so severe it necessitates a trip to the emergency room. Research suggests that getting a hair of a browntail-moth caterpillar in your eye can even cause blindness (though this is exceedingly rare). The hairs can remain toxic for up to three years.

Farmers Braced for Water Shortages as Reservoirs Dry Up in Mexico - Mexico is in the grip of a severe drought, which has left reservoir levels dangerously low and threatened agricultural production throughout much of the country. And despite the fact that, with the notable exception of northwestern provinces like Chihuahua and Sonora, rains are forecast to bring some relief over the summer, barring a radical regulatory shift, it appears only a matter of time before the agricultural shocks of 1996 and 2011 are eventually repeated in the country. The present drought is already among the worse in memory, with the outlook expected to deteriorate further in certain regions as summer temperatures heat up. Currently, around 70% of the country is experiencing drought conditions, 20% of which falls under the ‘extreme’ classification. Over the previous decade, the typical percentage of territory experiencing extreme drought would fall somewhere under 5% on average. Some of the worst-affected states at present include Durango, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, and Sonora. As an arid/semi-arid country, Mexico is no stranger to parched conditions. However, Mexico’s hydrological baseline has been consistently deteriorating on the back of supply- and demand-side pressures. On the demand side, intensive urbanization and industrialization are drawing more water than is able to be replenished by natural systems. For example, the 10 largest pairs of cities along the US-Mexico border have grown from a total of 560,000 people to over 10 million people today. Mexico City’s growth from 3.4 million in 1950 to nearly 22 million in 2021 has made it a global byword for urban sprawl; unsurprisingly, the city is also at the center of Mexico’s water concerns. Big agriculture is also another major consumer of water, with some 76.6% of available national supply going toward irrigation. And, similar to the case of California, some of the crops its being diverted to are water-intensive and thus exacerbate the scarcity; for example, lettuce and alfalfa. On the supply side, warming temperatures are increasing evaporation in Mexico’s surface reserves – a phenomenon that is particularly pronounced in arid regions such as the west of the country. This ebb and flow of gradually intensifying drought is important to keep in mind when considering impacts on the country’s water supply, which are becoming more pronounced with every passing year. Some 77 of Mexico’s 210 major reservoirs are currently running below 25% as of the end of June. This number is a notable increase from 2020, when 56 reservoirs were below the 25% mark, and 2019, when 40 were. Moreover, satellite imaging reveals dramatic declines at some key reservoirs, such as Villa Victoria, which provides most of Mexico City’s water supply.

Record highs fall in the Southwest as intense heat continues -An abundance of excessive heat warnings have spilled across the Southwest as residents continue to bake under record heat. Most notably, the heat wave has stamped new record highs in the weather history books in Las Vegas, Nevada, andDeath Valley, California.On Friday, the temperature at Death Valley soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the previous daily record high of 129 set back in 1913, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). This mark fell just 4 degrees shy of the highest temperature ever measured on Earth, which was set in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. The mercury then rose to 129 and 128 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. A normal high at this point in the year is 116. The temperature in Death Valley is averaging over 8 degrees above normal so far this month.On Saturday, Las Vegas soared to a high of 117 and tied the city's all-time record high temperature. The first time the city ever climbed to 117 was back in July of 1942. In the nearly 80 years since that first reading, the mercury has only topped out at 117 four times, including Saturday. Las Vegas also set a new daily record-high temperature on Friday of 116, breaking the previous record of 113, which was set back in 1943 and tied in 2012. Flights at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport were delayed on Friday due to excessive heat. According to Flight Aware, 364 flights in the airport were delayed.NV Energy asked that customers conserve energy each evening over the weekend due to supply shortages caused by the weather conditions. The company asked that customers turn off the lights, avoid using large appliances and electronics, unplug electronics when they are not in use and turn off pool pumps.On Saturday, St. George, Utah, also experienced some impressive heat. According to the NWS, St. George reached 117 degrees on July 10. If this temperature is confirmed after a more thorough investigation, it would tie for the hottest day on record for the entire state. An array of other cities also broke or tied daily and all-time records on Saturday and Sunday. Desert Rock, Nevada, tied its all-time record of 113 degrees, which was originally recorded in 2013, at the beginning of the weekend. Barstow-Daggett, California, tied its all-time record of 118 degrees set back in 1994, which was then reached again in 2007.Bishop, California, also tied its all-time record that was set in 2002 of 111 degrees. Kingman, Arizona, reached the same temperature, tying its daily record for July 10 that was set in 2003. Needles, California, broke its daily record on Saturday when temperatures peaked at 122. The previous record was 121, set in 2003. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys said that the intense heat is a result of another expansive heat dome that has set up over the region.The setup is similar to what led to the extreme heat across the Pacific Northwest and western Canada at the end of June, when the region battled a round of its own record-breaking temperatures and devastating wildfires. This time, the core of the high pressure and heat has been anchored farther to the south and has allowed excessive heat to build up across the region,

Records Break and Fires Rage as U.S. West Sees Third Heat Wave This Summer - The West Coast of the U.S. continues to bake as high temperatures fuel wildfires.The region faced its third heat wave this summer as the heat dome effect that smothered the Pacific Northwest in late June settled over California and parts of the Southwest over the weekend, The New York Times reported. More than 31 million people are now living in areas under heat warnings or advisories."This time, the core of the high pressure and heat has been anchored farther to the south and has allowed excessive heat to build up across the region," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty said.High temperatures were expected to impact southeast Oregon, northern California, the Mojave Desert, eastern California, and parts of Nevada and Utah, CNN reported.The effect has led to some record-breaking temperatures. Death Valley broke a daily record first set in 1913 on Friday with a temperature reading of 130 degrees Fahrenheit, AccuWeather reported. Las Vegas, meanwhile, reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, tying the city's all-time record. Other cities in Nevada and California also broke or tied their all-time high the same day.Meanwhile, Lake George, Utah hit a temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, which may be the highest temperature ever recorded in the state, pending confirmation.One particular danger of the heat wave has bee high night-time temperatures. In parts of the Desert Southwest, the thermometer has not dipped below 90 after sunset, CNN reported. In California, National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Rogowski predicted nighttime temperatures would be 15 to 25 degrees above average, according to The New York Times."When you start getting those warm temperatures overnight combined with those high temperatures during the day, it really starts to build the effect," Rogowski told The New York Times. "People aren't able to cool off; it's a lot harder to get relief."This can put people at more risk of developing heat stroke and dying, according to CNN.The high heat is also fueling 55 large wildfires. Fires now cover nearly 500 square miles in six Western states,USA TODAY reported. The largest is the Bootleg Fire, which has engulfed more than 220 square miles in Oregon and is zero percent contained.Another fire in Arizona proved deadly when a plane heading to respond to the fire crashed on Saturday, killing two firefighters. California is also battling its largest fire so far this year in the Beckwourth Complex Fire, which doubled in size over the weekend, as 9&10 News reported."There have been 3,061 people affected by the evacuation with 1,199 residences threatened," Beckwourth Complex Fire Information spokesman Mike Ferris told CNN.

Oregon's Bootleg Fire burns more than 150,000 acres as wildfires rage through West - The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon nearly doubled in size from Saturday to Sunday to more than 150,000 acres as extreme heatwaves and wildfires continued to scorch the West. The intense flames in the Fremont-Winema National Forest broke out on July 6, burning for its sixth day on Sunday, according to anincident report. The out-of-control wildfire was so intense that it forced firefighters to retreat to safety zones and prompted more personnel to be deployed overnight, fire officials said.Residents in some areas of Klamath County were forced to evacuate as the wildfire continued to spread and was zero percent contained Sunday, the incident report said. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but authorities said "dry weather and extremely dry fuels contribute to extreme fire behavior."The fire interrupted electrical lines that transmit power from Oregon to California, energy officials said. California lost thousands of megawatts of imported power and struggled to maintain operating reserves as temperatures soared into triple digits in parts of the state. The Bootleg Fire came amid record wildfires and temperatures ravaging states across the West.The Beckwourth Complex Fire — California's largest wildfire burning — consumed more than 80,000 acres and destroyed about 20 homes Sunday as it jumped across state borders to Nevada.The wildfire, one of several brush fires burning in California, was 8 percent contained Sunday. Federal fire officials reported some progress in holding the fire on the south and southwestern flanks.In Arizona, two firefighters were killed in a plane crash while conducting aerial reconnaissance over the Cedar Basin Fire near the Prescott National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement.Wildfires also blazed through western Idaho and southeast Washington over the weekend, prompting both Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to declare emergencies in their states.

Bootleg Fire rages through Oregon, threatening California’s electricity supply -- A fast-growing wildfire blazing across southwest Oregon has burned through more than 153,500 acres, forced hundreds of evacuations and is imperiling a major power grid as much of the West endures yet another heat wave. The Bootleg Fire, the biggest of nearly 60 large fires burning mostly in Western states, has been spreading uncontrolled for six days, doubling in size three times over the weekend. It threatened electric transmission lines that supply energy to California, leading the state to make emergency calls for power conservation. Coming so early in the season, the Bootleg Fire’s size and intensity has officials worried about the months ahead. More than 1,000 firefighters were on the scene Monday, with more expected to join the effort. “The fire behavior we are seeing on the Bootleg Fire is among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before,” Al Lawson, an incident commander for the fire, said in a statement. Across parts of Klamath County, near the California border in southern Oregon, authorities ordered evacuations, urging residents to “go now.” The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office began issuing citations and said it would make arrests to keep people out of those areas, a rare step to enforce evacuation compliance as some residents have not heeded warnings. By early Monday evening, flames had destroyed at least 50 structures, including seven homes, Gert Zoutendijk, a fire marshal assisting the response, told The Washington Post. In all, nearly 2,000 structures are at risk, authorities said. The California Independent System Operator (CISO), which manages electricity for a power grid that serves 80 percent of California, called the fire “a wild card” and said it has made transmission lines from Oregon “unreliable.” As of Monday evening, efforts by customers to conserve power had worked, keeping the grid stable, the CISO tweeted. The blaze is threatening the California Oregon Intertie, also referred to as Path 66, a key link that shuttles power between the Northwest and California. The fire “tripped off transmission lines” Friday and Saturday, the CISO said, “limiting electricity flow.” The lines can normally transport 4,400 megawatts, but are now down to just 428, said Maryam Habibi, a spokesperson for the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency that operates the intertie. The dense smoke hanging over the area is main barrier to restoring service, Habibi said.

'If you don't leave, you're dead': Fleeing Oregon's Bootleg Fire - The growing Bootleg Fire continued to devour forest in south-central Oregon on Tuesday, after forcing hundreds of residents in the Klamath Falls area to evacuate, some of whom recounted a harrowing escape."The sheriff pulled up, sparks and embers were coming down. Says 'you better get the hell -- if you don't leave, you're dead.'" Reuters visited this Red Cross evacuation center in Klamath County, where residents, including Tim McCarly, spent Monday night. "You know, before you hear reports of this and these people there and you go oh, poor people, oh poor people, oh that's horrible. But when you're with them, experiencing the same thing and hearing stories, it gives you a different outlook on life. It gives you a different outlook on compassion."As of Tuesday, the Bootleg Fire had burned through more than 200,000 acres and is just one of a number of major wildfires raging nearly unchecked in drought-stricken Oregon.The fires also come amid an unseasonable heat wave, the third for the region this year, an anomaly that many experts attribute to climate change. Dale Kunce, who heads the Red Cross Cascades Region in Oregon, is among them. "So this is not the first wildfire of the season. It certainly won't be the last. It may be the biggest at the end of it, but it won't be the last that impacts people. And what we've seen as the Red Cross is really this change from a one big event a year or one big event every five years or ten years, to now we're seeing chronic events... And, unfortunately, this fire, the Bootleg Fire, got going and without really anything to stand in its way it's just been rampaging with big high winds and really high temperatures, and it's just been moving and moving and moving." The Bootleg Fire, which has been burning since July 6, is now the largest active blaze in the nation, covering an area larger than the size of New York City.

Oregon wildfire becomes biggest in the nation, burning over 200,000 acres - A wildfire raging in Oregon is currently the largest fire in the nation, burning more than 201,000 acres across the state, officials said Tuesday. The Bootleg Fire started in Klamath County on July 6, forcing officials to place more than 100 homes under mandatory evacuation orders.As of Tuesday, the fire destroyed 54 structures and 21 homes, according to CBS affiliate KOIN. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.Fire officials said the blaze will continue to spread in areas with above-average temperatures and will only be fueled by dry ground and high winds, KOIN reported. Residents living in areas with the highest evacuation levels face citations or arrest, police said. As of Tuesday night, there were three other fires across the state: The Jack Fire in Douglas County, the Grandview Fire near Oregon's Crooked River National Grassland and the Bruler Fire near Detroit. The Jack Fire has grown to more than 12,500 acres and is 15% contained. Meanwhile, the Grandview Fire has burned over 5,700 acres and is 5% contained, KOIN reported. The Bruler Fire, which was detected Monday, is estimated to be about 60 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said. It is not currently a threat to any structures or communities, but it is 0% contained, the agency said. "This fire does have the potential to spread and the forest is very dry," Sweet Home District Ranger and agency administrator Nikki Swanson said in a news release. "The safety of the public and the firefighters is our first priority. We're in the process of closing several roads and trails to ensure firefighters can work efficiently and that the public remains safe. This will be managed as a full suppression fire."In California, The Beckwourth Complex fire, a combination of two fires in Plumas National Forest, has burned more than 90,000 acres as of Tuesday night. This fire season is sparking memories of 2020, the worst year ever for California wildfires. This year, twice as many acres have already burned.

Wildfires, heat wave ravage California, Oregon, other Western states - Scores of major wildfires were raging virtually unchecked across the West on Tuesday as an unrelenting heat wave and historic drought turned a wide swath of the nation into tinder. The 67 blazes were consuming 1,562 square miles of mostly timber and brush, but an undetermined number of homes have burned and thousands have been threatened. More than 14,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel were battling the fires as of Tuesday afternoon. "The excessive heat wave in parts of the West continues to linger with potentially a few record high temperatures today in portions of California and Nevada," the National Weather Service said Tuesday. Heat will continue to only make things worse for fire crews as high temperatures remain above average through the week and widespread readings soar to the 90s and 100s, AccuWeather said. Temperatures will only increase over the weekend and into next week, forecasters said.Through Monday, more than 33,000 fires had scorched 2 million acres across the nation, the most fires through that date in a decade, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That's an area larger than the state of Delaware. Large fires are burning across the western US. The largest fire in the country was incinerating huge swaths of the Fremont-Winema National Forest in southern Oregon near the California border. The Bootleg Fire was disrupting service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to California. The Goldpower grid operator has asked for voluntary power conservation during evening hours. Eight fires raged in California. Blazes also were burning in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Minnesota and Alaska amid a week of heat warnings, record-smashing temperatures and regional drought. The week-long Bootleg Fire had burned at least seven homes and more than 40 other buildings. The blaze has raced through about 315 square miles, and 2,000 homes remained threatened, state fire officials said. "Conditions were so extreme that firefighters needed to disengage and move to predetermined safety zones," the U.S. Forest Service said in an incident report. "Fire managers evaluated conditions and looked for opportunities to reengage firefighters safely."

Nearly All Chinook Salmon in ​Sacramento River Expected to Be Killed by Extreme Heat, Water Mismanagement - A drumbeat of climate-fueled heatwaves, compounded by water management practices, will likely kill nearly all juvenile chinook salmon in the Sacramento River, California wildlife officials warn."It's an extreme set of cascading climate events pushing us into this crisis situation," California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jordan Traverso told reporters. Salmon need river water at or below 56°F to fully develop (which, in a human context, is so dangerously cold it can inhibit your ability to control your breathing).Low river levels caused by drought mean the water heats and evaporates faster, which lowers, and thus further warms the water in a vicious cycle. The salmon die-offs have increased due to diversions from the Shasta Reservoir, which was formed by damming the Sacramento River in the 1940s, to the agriculture industry across the Central Valley, itself parched by the climate-fueled megadrought. As reported by CNN: To combat the poor river conditions in the Central Valley, some fish preservation organizations have tried to save the salmon population by launching large scale trucking operations to transport millions of salmon to the San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay and other fish farms where they are more likely to survive, Traverso said.The CDFW announced Tuesday that it had successfully relocated 1.1 million juvenile salmon from the Klamath River in northern California, where conditions are similarly extreme.While relocating salmon is an option, there are better alternatives than the high-priced trucking process, a spokesperson for the Golden State Salmon Association said.John McManus, president of the association, said dam operators could hold on to more water to keep the fish alive, but that would require contracts to be modified between the operators and their federal and state partners who supply water to cities and farmers.A warmer California recently prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to call on voluntarily reductions of water use by 15% to protect reserves and to help maintain critical flows for fish and other wildlife."We could lose salmon here in California if we continue with business as usual and the climate continues to warm," McManus said. "There's a very real possibility we could lose salmon forever here."

Extreme Heat Sent Thousands to Emergency Rooms in May, June - Record-high temperatures that scorched the Pacific Northwest in June sent 3,500 people to hospital emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.Emergency room visits in May and June were recorded in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. Most took place in the last week of June, when Portland reached 116 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 Celsius).Average daily heat-related emergency visits in June were seven times higher in the region than in 2019. Researchers didn’t use 2020 as a baseline for comparison because the Covid-19 pandemic distorted typical patterns of hospital visits.The report highlights one of the health risks of climate change. In the northwest U.S., “increasing temperatures are projected to cause significant adverse health effects in the coming years,” the agency wrote. The U.S. records about 700 heat-related deaths in an average year, the CDC said.

Amid Extreme Heat, Humanitarian Group Reports Dozens of Migrant Deaths in Arizona Desert -- The Tucson, Arizona-based non-profit group Humane Borders said Tuesday that amid the Southwest's extreme heatwave last month, an unusually large number of migrants' human remains were found in the desert near the U.S.-Mexico border.The group, which maps the recovery of human remains using data from the Pima County medical examiner and operates stations scattered throughout the borderlands where migrants can access water, said its volunteers counted 43 human bodies in June.At least 29 of the people whose remains were found were confirmed to have died last month, as Arizona officials recorded the hottest June on record. Temperatures reached above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, which typically has similar weather to the Sonoran Desert, where migrants make perilous journeys throughout the year after crossing the border.The Pima County medical examiner's office listed exposure to the elements as the most common cause of death among the people whose bodies were found.The unusually high number of migrant deaths in the desert last month follows the discovery of 127 bodies in the border region in the first half of 2021, compared to 96 bodies that were recovered in the same period last year. According to the Associated Press, the Brooks County Sheriff's Department in southern Texas, which also experienced extreme heat last month, reported 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of this year, surpassing the total number found in 2020.

Arizona hit hard with flash flooding in wildfire burn scar After weeks of scorching heat and devastating drought, Arizona cities have been inundated with flash flooding. Residents of the Copper State – which has been ravaged by wildfires, some sparked bylightning, both before and during the state's monsoon season – watched, snapped photos and recorded videos as floodwaters flowed through intersections and lifted cars in residential neighborhoods. In a video posted by Golder Ranch Fire District, firefighters could be seen rescuing a man and his two daughters from the roof of their vehicle on Wednesday after it was swept away.Tens of thousands of residents were under advisories on Wednesday and the Coconino County Emergency Management officials issued a shelter-in-place order in response to the threat. Neighborhoods east of Flagstaff were primarily impacted – menacing the communities of Flagstaff, Doney Park and Winona – and rushing waters in downstream neighborhoods were expected as a byproduct of a burn scar from 2019's 1,961-acre Museum fire."The Museum Fire Burn Area received just over 1" of rain today. Although the rain amount and intensity was lower today than yesterday, the rain fell over a longer period of time. Furthermore, rain from within the flood area compounded the impacts of the flooding from the burn area," the Arizona Emergency Information Network (AZEIN)explained in a Wednesday release. "The ground in the Museum Flood Area is also becoming more saturated and the watershed is becoming more responsive. This means additional flooding is expected in future rain events, which the National Weather Service predicts for the remainder of the week and weekend."Flash flood watches were also issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in metro Phoenix, Tucson and large parts of central, southern and northwestern Arizona from Tuesday through yesterday evening. In the wake of the flooding, streets have been left cluttered by debris and drains have been clogged.The NWS said Thursday that more rainfall was expected to pelt the arid Desert Southwest, with afternoon and evening showers near the Four Corners region.

Anthrax, Grasshoppers, Dying Clams Show North American Heat Toll - Swarms of hungry grasshoppers are leaving little food behind for grazing cattle, shellfish are baking in coastal waters, baby birds are falling from trees and dormant anthrax is reawakening to threaten sheep.Such calamities are the result of a record heat wave and bone-dry conditions that gripped western North America in the past month, threatening animals and undermining the livelihood of farmers. What’s happening in parts of the U.S. and Canada shows the damage climate change is wreaking on agriculture. In Montana and Manitoba, hot and dry conditions have become such a boon for grasshoppers that they’re devouring pastures and some cereal crops. “The damage is going to get worse,” Rancher Gilles Stockton said he won’t have enough grass to get his 500 cattle at his ranch north of Billings through the winter, prompting him to search for feed alternatives before deciding if he needs to cull the herd in the coming months. “Nobody is going to have any hay surplus for us,” said Stockton, who’s also president of the Montana Cattlemen’s Association. “If we can get through this year with a bunch of pain, what happens next year?” In the Canadian province of Manitoba, where heat has stunted plants and caused two communities to declare agricultural disasters, the grasshopper population is on track to be the biggest since 2003. “They’re chewing the grass right down to the point where it looks like it’s been sprayed by Roundup,” Feed prices are soaring as extreme weather curbs crop growth amid surging global demand, making it harder for some farmers to feed their animals. Saskatchewan cattle producers may have to reduce their herds by as much as 40% by winter after years of well-below average precipitation “pushed livestock to the brink,” That province has also seen some sheep die after exposure to anthrax, a deadly bacteria whose spores are found naturally in soil and can lie dormant for decades until dry conditions bring them to the surface where animals graze. California dairy farmers face the added challenge of keeping cows cool and nourished during hot, dry weather while many farms are already wrestling with a lower birth rate and reduced milk production due to smoke inhalation from last year’s wildfires, said Jed Asmus, a dairy nutritionist for January Innovation Inc. “In most cases, if you pull things out of a diet you are going to lower production,” Asmus said. “Couple heat with that, it gets very hard to maintain production.” Fish and fowl are also being hurt by the heat. Dozens of baby hawks in Washington and Oregon tried escaping the sun by jumping from their nests early in the week, according to Blue Mountain Wildlife rehabilitation facility. When temperatures soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in northeast Oregon, one facility treated 118 birds for dehydration and injuries from falls. In nearby waters of Canada’s west coast, the stench of dead shellfish after the heat wave showed how widespread the impacts are. “Shellfish including clams and mussels were essentially baked to death during the heat dome we suffered through at the end of June,” said Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia. “Many other animals -- crabs, snails, sea stars, barnacles -- died as well. I’ve never seen anything this bad in 25 years of studying the coast in the Pacific Northwest.” Inland fish in the Pacific Northwest were also affected.

'We were just cooked': The heat wave that gripped the American heartland - During the 1954 Midwestern heat wave, triple-digit temperatures enveloped the heart of the nation from the last week of June to the first week of September during a time when air conditioning was still relatively new. Across a significant portion of 11 states, from eastern Colorado to South Carolina, the heat wave refused to let up. However, parts of the Midwest seemed to be the center of the heat. "We were just cooked," 83-year-old Frances Sanner of downstate Union County recounted to OutdoorIllinois Online of the Department of Natural Resources, which dubbed July 14, 1954, "the hottest day ever." She and her husband had been living in an apartment in St. Louis that summer."If they could find someplace, a basement, a cellar, a cellar at a relative's house, they would go there," Sanner said. "On July 14, when it was 115 in St. Louis, you absolutely couldn't stand to be inside. It was actually cooler out on the sidewalk."Across the river, East St. Louis, Illinois, saw the mercury rise to 117 degrees on July 14, the highest recorded temperature in the state during the heat wave. The record still stands as the state's all-time high record.For 22 days throughout the heat wave, the St. Louis Lambert International Airport recorded temperatures of at least 100 degrees. Kansas City recorded seven daily record highs, which were reached between July 11 and 19. Four of those records were reached consecutively, on July 11 through July 14. On June 13, a section of concrete one-and-a-half feet wide and 18 feet long had buckled on the fifth consecutive day of 90-plus degree weather, according to an article from The Chicago Tribune. "Only a small percentage of the people had air conditioning even in the wealthy areas, and in the poor areas, no one had air conditioning," AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel Myers said, adding that the problem with heat during the summer, particularly without air conditioning, is that "the heat builds up in the buildings, day after day as the cement and concrete and the brick absorbs the heat."

EF-2 tornado hits Dexter, leaving at least 150 homes damaged, Missouri --An EF-2 tornado touched down on the west side of Dexter, Missouri on July 10, 2021, and moved through the city. This is the first EF-2 or stronger tornado in the month of July since 1971 across all 58 Paducah NWS forecast areas.At least 150 homes were damaged, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) preliminary survey results.One of them sustained major loss of roof decking and 6 or fewer had major damage mainly due to fallen trees. Most of the damage was the loss of shingles, facia, and siding.Several mobile homes were badly damaged or destroyed and one mobile home was flipped on its roof.Several garages were blown from their foundation and at least three large buildings sustained major damage, including at least three with major loss of roof structures.A hospital sustained major damage with several windows blown in, ceiling panels blown down, and one attached structure blown away from the hospital.Several vehicles at the hospital had their windows blown out or were otherwise damaged from flying debris.The twister snapped or uprooted hundreds of trees. The tornado touched down at 20:18 CDT on July 10 (01:18 UTC, July 11), 4 km (2.5 miles) WNW of downtown Dexter and ended at 20:29 CDT, 4.8 km (3 miles) E of downtown Dexter.Its path length is 8.8 km (5.5 miles) and the maximum path width of 180 m (175 yards).

The U.S. experienced 8 billion-dollar disasters in the first six months of 2021 - The first six months of 2021 brought a total of 8 billion-dollar disasters to the United States, according to data provided by the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Disasters. The 1980 - 2020 annual average is 7.1 events (CPI-adjusted), while the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2016 - 2020) is 16.2 events (CPI-adjusted).The United States experienced 4 severe storms with damages in excess of $1 billion in the first 6 months of 2021, including tornadoes, hail and high wind damage. The nation also had 2 flooding events with damages exceeding $1 billion, 1 winter storm with a deep freeze, and 1 heat wave-influenced drought.The costliest event was the February 10 - 19 winter storm and cold wave in Texas that incurred direct losses of approximately $20 billion.The next costliest disaster was the severe weather outbreak of April 27 - 28 in Texas and Oklahoma that caused $2.4 billion in damages.The large hailstone you can see on the featured image fell on April 28, 2021, near Hondo, Texas. NCEI verified that it's the largest hailstone on record to fall in Texas. It had a diameter of 16.29 cm (6.416 inches) and weighed 0.57 kg (1.26 pounds).According to NOAA, these events resulted in the deaths of 331 people, but the actual number might be higher as it's still not clear how many people died in the 2021 Texas deep freeze.In 2020, the country had a record 22 weather and climate disasters, each causing at least $1 billion in damages. However, despite the record number of disasters in 2020, none of them made it among the costliest disasters ever to strike the U.S.The 2021 YTD inflation-adjusted losses from all eight disasters were also at a near-record high for the first 6 months and came in at nearly $30 billion – only behind 2011, NOAA said. The U.S. has experienced 298 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2021). The total cost of these 298 events exceeds $1.975 trillion.

Here’s why FEMA is denying disaster aid to Black families who’ve lived for generations in the Deep South— Not enough people were signing up for help after a series of tornadoes ripped through rural Alabama, so the government sent Chris Baker to figure out why. He had driven past the spot where a tornado threw a 13-year-old girl high into a tree, past where injured cows had to be shot one by one, and past where a family was crushed to death in their bathtub. And now, as another day began in this patchwork of destruction, he grabbed a stack of fliers with a picture of an outstretched hand and headed to his car to let people know Washington had assistance to offer. He needn’t have bothered. “There goes FEMA,” called a woman on her porch as they drove by. Two burly White men in khaki cargo pants on a hot day — who else would it be? A majority-Black county named for an officer in the Confederate Army, Hale County is a place of little interest to outsiders; an area of dense forests, catfish farms and 15,000 residents, most of whom can trace their ancestry back to enslaved people or plantation owners. President Biden has instructed FEMA to prioritize getting help to these kinds of “too often overlooked” communities — the places that climate change is already overwhelming with more storms, floods and heat waves. And Baker was eager to do just that. “That’s why we’re knocking on what doors we can,” he said. More than a third of Black-owned land in the South is passed down informally, rather than through deeds and wills, according to land use experts. It’s a custom that dates to the Jim Crow era, when Black people were excluded from the Southern legal system. When land is handed down like this, it becomes heirs’ property, a form of ownership in which families hold property collectively, without clear title. People believed this protected their land, but the Department of Agriculture has found that heirs’ property is “the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss.” Without formal deeds, families are cut off from federal loans and grants, including from FEMA, which requires that disaster survivors prove they own their property before they can get help rebuilding. Nationally, FEMA denies requests for help from about 2 percent of applicants for disaster aid because of title issues. In majority-Black counties, the rate is twice as high, according to a Washington Post analysis, in large part because Black people are twice as likely to pass down property informally. But in parts of the Deep South, FEMA has rejected up to a quarter of applicants because they can’t document ownership, according to the Post analysis. In Hale County, FEMA has denied 35 percent of disaster aid applicants for this reason since March.

New York City Subway Flooding Demonstrates Transit System Vulnerability to Climate Change -- Even on a dry day, the MTA says it pumps 14 million gallons of water out of subway stations.But on Thursday, as a month’s worth of rain deluged the city inside of two hours, the vulnerability of the subway went on full display in videos of commuters wading waist-deep into pool-like stations.The Dyckman Street station on the A line in Inwood took on 28,000 gallons of water, the MTA said, while the B and D line’s Tremont Avenue stop in The Bronx was flooded by 15,000 gallons.“If the rain is coming down at 100 gallons a minute and the pumps are 50 gallons a minute, you’ve lost the battle,” said Robert Paaswell, a distinguished professor of engineering at the City College of New York. The sudden soaking of stations in Upper Manhattan and The Bronx, which typically do not experience heavy flooding, underscored the exposure of a nearly 117-year-old subway system not built for the extreme weather wrought by climate change.The downpour also highlighted the resiliency challenges still facing the MTA and the city at large close to a decade after Superstorm Sandy swamped stations, tunnels and railyards.“This is a teachable moment,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. “Unfortunately, teachable moments tend to come from other people’s misery.” The MTA displayed a warning about rain inside the 157th Street Street station in Manhattan Friday morning.Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITYTransit officials said Thursday’s flash flooding — which led to service being suspended for hours along the A line — overwhelmed the hundreds of pumps in the subway system, many in locations where workers had not been posted in advance.A transit source said the storm caused 110 scheduled trips to be canceled and 116 trains to arrive late. The rain also added to the mess at flooded stations as crews encountered obstacles while en route.“They were trapped in traffic and because of closed roads,” said Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit. “Because obviously, they’re trying to move pump trucks and equipment to those locations. It’s not like they can just bail out and walk.”That was on top of the city’s drainage system already being pushed to its limits.“If some of the gutters are not free of leaves or garbage, you have extensive flooding,” Klaus Jacob, a geophysicist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, told THE CITY. “And when street flooding occurred in this mini valley in Upper Manhattan, the subway system essentially became a default sewer system.”

Flooded NYC Subways Exemplify Why Climate Is Key to Infrastructure Fight, Progressives Say - Footage of New Yorkers struggling to wade through filthy, waist-deep water at a Manhattan subway station as heavy rainfall engulfed the city's aging and long-neglected infrastructure on Thursday added fuel to progressive demands for a robust federal spending package that confronts the climate crisis — which is making such extreme weather more frequent and destructive."It's been raining for two hours and our infrastructure is flooding and overwhelmed," tweeted Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). "Our infrastructure package must address the climate change crisis with the urgency it deserves — with massive investments in decarbonization and clean energy.""The impacts of climate change are already here," Bowman added. "It is urgent that our infrastructure package makes significant investments to prepare for and mitigate future emergency weather events." One New Yorker who witnessed the scene at Manhattan's 157th Street Station told Gothamist that "people were pacing back and forth deliberating whether they were going to brave the waters or not." The person described the water as "real disgusting." Other videos posted to social media on Thursday showed cars nearly halfway submerged in water as commuters attempted to navigate through the storm. One person was seen driving a jet ski on a badly flooded street. "A 'bipartisan' infrastructure bill isn't big enough to stop climate change," said Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), referring to a $579 billion White House-endorsed package that includes hardly any climate funding — an omission progressives are attempting to remedy with a separate multitrillion-dollar bill that will move through the budget reconciliation process.The fierce rainfall and heavy winds came as Tropical Storm Elsa made its way up the East Coast of the U.S., sparking tornadoes in Georgia and North Carolina and prompting warnings of additional flooding in the Northeast on Friday."Flash flood watches were in effect for parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut until noon on Friday, as Elsa was expected to deliver heavy rain across the area," the New York Times reported. "Transit officials, already girding for Elsa's arrival, said they had crews out across the city addressing the flooding problems as quickly as possible and warned against entering stations that might still be inundated." The tropical storm hammered the Eastern U.S. as the Pacific Northwest grapples with a heatwave that experts have characterized as "the most extreme in world weather records." The historic temperatures, which reached as high as 121°F in British Columbia, killed hundreds of people — and more than a billion intertidal animals — in the U.S. and Canada.

Severe flash flooding after exceptionally heavy rains hit Pennsylvania, U.S. (videos) Slow-moving thunderstorms dropped exceptionally heavy rains in just a couple of hours over parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Monday, July 12, 2021, shutting down highways, prompting water rescues, and forcing authorities to issue flash flood emergencies. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers said slow-moving thunderstorms, fueled by a nearly stationary front, tropical moisture and warm weather, dropped astounding amounts of rain in a couple of hours, causing serious flash flooding late Monday afternoon (LT). The National Weather Service (NWS) office of Mount Holly, NJ placed parts of Bucks County near Philadelphia and Burlington County, New Jersey, under Flash Flood Emergency at 17:00 LT. Areas under emergency included Levittown and Croydon, Pennsylvania, and Burlington, New Jersey. This is where most of the rain fell, with Croydon receiving over 254 mm (10 inches) of rainfall, Bristol Township, PA 250.19 mm (9.85 inches), Bristol (Borough), PA 220.72 mm (8.69 inches), West Bristol, PA 207.77 mm (8.18 inches), and Florence, NJ 193.80 mm (7.63 inches). The active summertime pattern of mainly afternoon/evening intense thunderstorms with heavy downpours will continue to make weather headlines through the middle of the week, NWS forecaster Hamrick noted on July 13. This especially holds true for portions of the Northeast U.S., Florida, and the Northern Plains to the Upper Midwest. A quasi-stationary frontal boundary will be nearly anchored in place across New York and southern New England, and this in combination with multiple mid-upper level impulses will fuel additional rounds of storms with high rainfall rates, and any storms that develop will have the potential to produce flash flooding. The threat for flooding will be even greater across those areas that have observed well above normal rainfall over the past few days. Afternoon and evening showers and storms are expected to be in place across the Four Corners region, and especially southern Arizona and New Mexico, as the southwest monsoon kicks into high gear. Given relatively weak steering flow aloft, many of these storms will likely be slow-moving and result in flash flooding for canyons, across burn scars, and other vulnerable areas.

Flash floods after 2 months' worth of rain hit eastern England in just 2 hours- Heavy rainfall hit eastern England on July 9, 2021, causing traffic-disrupting flash floods and damaging homes and businesses.According to Weatherquest forecaster Dan Holley, parts of Norwich received 50 mm (1.9 inches) of rain, while Peterborough registered as much as 90 mm (3.5 inches)."That's nearly 2 months' rain in the space of 2 hours," Holley said.Peterborough in Cambridgeshire was the worst affected, with more than 160 flooding incidents in just a few hours. In addition, around 20 elderly people were evacuated from a retirement home."Heavy rainfall has caused flash flooding in Peterborough this evening. Please do not attempt to drive through flooded roads," Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said."Bourges Boulevard area is among the areas badly affected. Roads are looking like rivers so please avoid the area until the water subsides. Please also be aware that some manhole covers have lifted posing a risk to anyone walking through flooded roads. Please just avoid the flooded areas for now. Thank you." "Emergency services are working together with other partner agencies to help those affected."

Extreme rainfall causes catastrophic flooding in western Germany - (videos) At least 18 people have died and many more are still missing after exceptionally heavy rain caused massive flooding in western Germany on July 14 and 15, 2021. Numerous rivers across the region are still above flood stage or at exceptionally high levels and several dams are at the brink of collapse. The government has called in helicopters to help rescue people stranded on the top of buildings. Extreme rainfall and floods have also affected neighboring countries, including Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

• Exceptionally heavy rains hit western Germany on Wednesday, July 14, causing massive damage, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power and prompting mass evacuations.
• Internet and telephone communications are down, as well as power, gas, and drinking water for millions of residents.
• Parts of the region registered more than two months' worth of rain in just 24 or 48 hours.
• Heavy rains are expected to continue on Thursday, with continuous downpour until Friday evening.

According to official reports received Thursday morning, July 15, at least 8 people are known to have died in the Euskirchen district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The situation in the state is very critical and rescue efforts are still underway, district authorities said early Thursday morning. Communication, including internet and telephone connections, is down and the 112 emergency number is not reachable.Authorities of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate said 4 people have died in Ahrweiler county, adding that many more are reported missing."Many of the missing people were on the roofs of houses that were washed away in the town of Schuld," Koblenz police spokesman said. The spokesman said they estimate about 50 people were awaiting rescue on roofs.As of late July 14, the Ahr river at Altenahr reached 5.75 m (18.8 feet), well above the previous record high of 3.71 m (12.2 feet) set in 2016.The city of Hagen declared a state of emergency and called for people to evacuate their homes after the Volme river burst its banks. "If you can’t leave the house, you should move to higher floors so that you can be rescued from there if necessary," authorities said.The same was reported in the city of Düsseldorf after the Düssel river reached a record high of 2.65 m (8.7 feet) on July 14.5 people have already lost their lives in different parts of western Germany on Wednesday, July 14. Among them is a fireman who drowned during rescue work in Altena and an 82-year-old man who drowned in his basement. Another fireman died in the line of duty in the town of Wedohl on Thursday."We haven't seen a disaster like this. It's just devastating," Rhineland-Palatinate’s state premier Malu Dreyer said, as reported by DW. "There are dead, there are missing, there are many who are still in danger," she said. As of July 15, rivers in at least 15 locations are at the highest warning level.

 Deadly Flooding Ravages Europe Belgium Germany -- Dozens were killed and many others remained missing across western and central Europe Thursday after rounds of heavy rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks, producing disastrous flooding that washed away houses and roadways. And the death toll may continue to rise as floodwaters begin to gradually recede.The death toll rose to over 50 across Germany and Belgium Thursday, and several people are still missing after catastrophic flooding broke out across the countries,The Associated Press reported. The North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate regions of Germany were among the areas hit hardest by the torrential rainfall."We have never seen such a catastrophe, it is truly devastating,"In the village of Schuld, located to the southwest of Cologne, up to 70 people were reported missing after floodwaters caused houses to collapse Wednesday night, the AP reported. The German army deployed around 200 soldiers to assist in rescue operations across western Germany. The military units used inflatable boats and helicopters to reach people stranded on roofs, but downed phone and internet connections hindered the rescues, according to the AP. Tanks were also used to clear mud, trees and debris from roadways.On Wednesday, firefighters in Hagen were called to rescue stranded motorists after streets were turned into rivers, the AP reported. Photos and videos on social media showed the torrents and water levels reaching to the hoods of cars. Roadways were also flooded in Düsseldorf, including in the A44 tunnel that runs just south of the airport. The city reported 1.89 inches (48 mm) of rain in about 12 hours Tuesday night into Wednesday. Flooding was not limited to western Germany this week with reports of flooding along eastern Germany's border with the Czech Republic. One man went missing after being swept away in floodwaters trying to secure his property in Jöhstadt Tuesday night, and a disaster alert was declared in Hof County after torrential rains filled basements, uprooted trees and cut power to many in the region. Rainfall totals of 3.34 inches (85 mm) over 12 hours were reported in Hof on Tuesday. This area also received around 3.50 inches (89 mm) on July 9. According to Reuters, two men were killed by floodwaters and a 15-year-old girl was missing after disappearing near a flooded river in Belgium. There are unconfirmed reports that the death toll is higher.The Vesdre River in Belgium burst its banks after rounds of heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and sent raging rapids into the town of Pepinster, the AP stated. The force of the water caused several buildings to collapse, Mayor Philippe Godin said in a press briefing.Major highways in Belgium were also submerged in floodwater and railway service was stopped. A train was derailed in the Belgian Ardennes after a portion of the track was washed away by floodwaters.

At least 69 dead amid flooding in Western Europe -At least 69 people have died amid heavy flooding in Belgium and Germany, according to The New York Times. Fifty-eight people were reported to have died in Germany in the areas hardest hit by the storm, and at least 11 more were reported to have died in Belgium. Officials said late Thursday that they were unable to account for at least 1,300 people, the Times reports. Storms caused reservoirs to break open and flash flooding to occur, resulting in collapsed buildings and people trapped on roofs.The extent of the damage is still unclear. The AP noted that many of the known deceased were discovered after floodwaters receded. Members of the European Union have dispatched assistance to aid in local rescue efforts. A flood rescue team and helicopter was mobilized from France on Wednesday to aid in rescue efforts, the European Commission said in a statement. Italy and Austria have also have also offered flood rescue teams.

Dramatic Photos of Germany’s Worst Flooding in Decades Capture Devastation - Heavy rains and floods are wreaking havoc in central Europe, with more than 100 dead in Germany and scores of people unaccounted for as houses collapsed and roads and bridges were destroyed. The scenes underscore the dangers of more extreme weather wrought by climate change, even to some of the world’s most advanced economies. Pedestrians look at cars piled up at a roundabout in the Belgian city of Verviers. The devastation struck central Europe the same week that the continent’s leaders proposed the most ambitious package of climate measures ever attempted by a major economy. While Germany was hardest hit, heavy rains Wednesday night and into Thursday also swamped parts of Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. “Science tells us that with climate change we see more and more extreme weather phenomena that last longer,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference in Dublin on Friday. “It is the intensity and the length of these events where science tells us this a clear indication of climate change and that this is something where it really really shows the urgency to act.” In Belgium, waters are still rising downstream on the Meuse river that flows through to the Netherlands. The southern province of Limburg was hit hardest in the Netherlands as thousands of people living there were forced to leave their homes and businesses closed. Liset Meddens, the director of nonprofit Fossielvrij NL who grew up in Limburg, said people have to be prepared for more natural disasters as the planet warms. “The water, the heat, the fire, the drought, it’s going to affect us all, and those in the most vulnerable positions the most,” she said. “Governments and financial institutions must stop financing the fossil fuel industry.” Some regions in western Germany smashed daily precipitation records going back seven decades. The Kall-Sistig weather station in North Rhine-Westphalia recorded 144.8 millimeters of rainfall over a 24-hour period, breaking the previous record of 82.7 mm set in 1947. “You can imagine this sort of stuff happening in Asia, but not here,” Edgar Gillessen told the BBC, as his village of Schuld suffered severe damage.

German floods: Several feared dead after landslide south of Cologne - Several people have died in a landslide in Erftstadt-Blessem in Germany's North Rhine Westphalia state, local officials said on Friday, after dozens were killed by flooding in the country in recent days. “Houses were largely swept away by the water and some collapsed. Several people are missing,” according to a tweet from the Cologne local authority about the landslide.“There are fatalities,” confirmed a spokeswoman for the district government of Cologne to German newspaper Welt on Friday. No information could be given yet on the exact number of people who have died. The local authority said in the tweet that emergency calls were coming from houses, but “rescue is not possible in many cases”. “Our disaster control team is on the scene,” they said. German emergency responders were on Friday still searching for hundreds of missing people after the worst floods in living memory killed dozens of people in the country’s western regions. Aerial photographs distributed by the district government and photos taken by DPA photographers show landslides of enormous proportions in Erfstadt-Blessem, which is around 50 minutes from Cologne. Houses have been swept away while cars are lying in huge holes in the ground.

German Death Toll Exceeds 100 After Worst Floods in Decades - The death toll from the floods that devastated parts of western Germany rose to at least 103, with scores of people injured and many others unaccounted for after houses were swept away and roads and bridges were badly damaged. Many rail lines and streets remained blocked and tens of thousands were without electricity Friday as rescue workers toiled in the worst-hit areas in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia -- which is run by conservative chancellor candidate Armin Laschet -- and Rhineland-Palatinate. “Our region is experiencing a flooding catastrophe of historic proportions,” Laschet, who is the front-runner to succeed Angela Merkel after September’s election, said Friday at a news conference. Linking the flooding to global warming, he said Germany must speed up its effort to achieve climate neutrality. While Germany was hardest hit and faces a massive clean-up and reconstruction effort, heavy rains Wednesday night and into Thursday also swamped parts of Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. RTBF TV reported at least 15 deaths in Belgium, where train and road networks have been badly disrupted in the southeast of the country. Malu Dreyer, the Social Democrat premier of Rhineland-Palatinate, echoed Laschet in warning that the disaster was more evidence of the impact of global warming. “We have more than 50 deaths to mourn and still people who are missing,” Dreyer said in an interview with ZDF television, adding that police helicopters alone had rescued more than 300 stranded on Thursday. “The pain is acute in our region and we have never seen anything like this.” Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said all of Germany’s armed forces not involved in missions abroad were focusing their resources on the recovery effort. Many smaller, family-owned businesses in the area have been hit hard, but the effects on Germany’s main industrial areas have been limited so far. BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical producer, has experienced some delays to receiving goods via barge and train, but these haven’t yet led to production outages. RWE AG was forced to halt operations at the Tagebau Inden open-cast lignite mine and one worker is missing, while Aurubis AG declared a force majeure at one of its plants which produces copper-based strip and wire used in electronics and the auto industry. The flooding is among the most severe in western Germany in decades. Residents climbed onto rooftops and into trees after houses were inundated or collapsed. Thousands of homes were without power and phone connections for hours. While the floodwaters have receded in some parts, the situation remains tense amid warnings that a key dam is at risk of bursting. Emergency crews have evacuated thousands of people living below the Steinbach reservoir, as more heavy rains are forecast. Weather conditions should normalize next week, which may provide some relief, national weather forecaster Deutscher Wetterdienst said Friday in its latest four-week forecast. But there could be more heavy rain in Germany from July 26 to early August, it said.

Catastrophic floods claim lives of more than 150 people, leave more than 1 000 missing, Europe (videos) More than 150 people across Europe have been killed and more than 600 injured after record-breaking rains caused catastrophic flooding on July 14 and 15, 2021. German authorities said more than 1 000 people are still unaccounted for. The worst affected were Germany and Belgium, followed by France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In western Germany alone, the worst-affected region, more than 130 people have been killed after extremely heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks, destroying roads, bridges, and homes. Numerous mudslides have contributed to the disaster which happened at an astonishing speed.According to DW, more than 1 000 people are still missing and many more remain trapped in flooded buildings. Most of the unaccounted for are in the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. While it's unclear why there is such a high number of unaccounted people, it's possible this could be due to land and mobile network outages.Many places in Germany's worst-affected state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), are still underwater, while others are assessing damage as floodwaters recede.Leaking gas pipes and structural damage to buildings across the state have turned some sites into death traps and authorities have warned people not to go looking for missing relatives on their own but to leave it to rescue workers, DW reports.Rhine-Westphalia minister said rescuers had carried out about 30 000 missions, airlifting people from flooded and destroyed homes and buildings. This is now considered one of the worst natural disasters in Germany's history and one of the deadliest flood events in Europe. Parts of western Germany smashed numerous daily precipitation records going back 70 years. The amount of rain that usually falls over the space of two months fell in just twelve hours in some parts of eastern Germany and northwestern France, said Frederic Nathan, a forecaster with Meteo-France. Cologne registered 154 mm (6 inches) of rainfall over a 24-hour period, breaking the previous record of 95 mm (3.7 inches). The Kall-Sistig weather station in North Rhine-Westphalia recorded 144.8 mm (5.7 inches) during the same period, breaking the previous record of 82.7 mm (3.2 inches) set in 1947. In just 9 hours, Reifferscheid near Bonn received 207 mm (8.1 inches)."We have seen five or six cold spells since the beginning of June, which is something quite rare for this time of the year that we have certainly not seen in recent times," Nathan said, as reported by Bloomberg.

Violent tornado hits downtown Shenxian, leaving catastrophic damage, China - A violent tornado moved directly into downtown Shenxian, China's Shandong Province, around 13:00 UTC on July 11, 2021, causing 'catastrophic' damage. The twister debarked hardwood, tossed cars, leveled a number of homes, and left several people injured, according to extreme weather enthusiast Eric Wang, who described the damage as catastrophic. Wang shared what he described as 'unbelievable footage' ...captured at the time the violent roaring wedge moved directly into downtown Shenxian. "The worst case scenario," Wang said.

Shandong hit by largest tornado outbreak in more than a decade, China - Eastern China's Shandong Province was hit by its largest tornado outbreak in more than 10 years on July 11, 2021. At least 10 tornadoes were reported, with at least 3 of them were violent. The reports are still coming in and the number of reported tornadoes is rising.A violent tornado moved directly into downtown Shenxian around 13:00 UTC on July 11, 2021, causing 'catastrophic' damage.The twister debarked hardwood, tossed cars, leveled a number of homes, and left several people injured, according to extreme weather enthusiast Eric Wang.Wang shared what he described as 'unbelievable footage' ...captured at the time the violent roaring wedge moved directly into downtown Shenxian. "The worst case scenario," Wang said.Another possible violent tornado flattened entire forests before moving directly into downtown Gaotang shortly after the Shenxian event."Seems like a 1.6 km (1 mile) wide rain-wrapped wedge [tornado] moved directly into downtown Gaotang, the worst-case scenario you can imagine," Wang said. Another possible major tornado hit BingZhou at midnight local time. This tornado destroyed manufactured houses, completely tore down reinforced concrete telephone poles and threw vehicles.

 Extreme flooding hits multiple provinces of China, capital Beijing brought to standstill (videos) Prolonged heavy rainfall affecting parts of China over the past couple of days caused extreme flooding in several provinces, including Sichuan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong. Severe thunderstorms also affected the capital Beijing, bringing the entire city to a standstill. On July 12, authorities have issued an orange alert, the 2^nd highest in the country's 4-tier weather warning system.Parts of eastern China registered as much as 457 mm (18 inches) of rain in a matter of days, turning roads and rivers into raging rapids and causing extreme flooding.The storms produced what is described as Shandong's worst tornado outbreak in more than a decade on July 11 and 12. At least 10 tornadoes were reported in the province, with at least 3 of them violent. A major tornado moved directly into downtown Shenxian around 13:00 UTC on July 11, causing 'catastrophic' damage.The twister debarked hardwood, tossed cars, leveled a number of homes, and left several people injured, according to extreme weather enthusiast Eric Wang.Wang shared what he described as 'unbelievable footage' ...captured at the time the violent roaring wedge moved directly into downtown Shenxian. "The worst case scenario," Wang said.Another possible violent tornado flattened entire forests before moving directly into downtown Gaotang shortly after the Shenxian event."Seems like a 1.6 km (1 mile) wide rain-wrapped wedge [tornado] moved directly into downtown Gaotang, the worst-case scenario you can imagine," Wang said.Beijing authorities said the capital is facing the biggest storm of the year and issued a stay-at-home order for the entire city on July 12.The city received an average of 80.1 mm (3.15 inches) of rainfall and a maximum of 177.6 mm (6.99 inches) from 18:00 LT on July 11 to 12:00 LT on July 12. A road-blocking landslide hit one of the city’s northern districts, according to state broadcaster CCTV.Other provinces affected by extremely heavy rains include Sichuan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan. At least 14 rivers are in a state of flood, including tributaries in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

 Felicia Becomes a Major Hurricane in East Pacific as Tropical Atlantic Stays Quiet - While the tropical Atlantic is expected to remain quiet for the foreseeable future, it's a different story in the East Pacific, as AccuWeather forecasters say multiple hurricanes could soon be spinning in the basin.The East Pacific was devoid of activity for nearly two weeks after Enrique dissipated in the Gulf of California on June 30. This changed Wednesday morning when Tropical Depression 6-E formed well to the south of Mexico and quickly intensified to Tropical Storm Felicia. Less than 24 hours after that, Felicia became a hurricane. So far this season, Enrique and Felicia have been the only two hurricanes in the East Pacific. However, there are some differences between the two.While both Enrique and Felicia became hurricanes within 24 hours of being designated as tropical systems, Enrique turned northward toward Mexico and brought heavy rain and strong winds. Felicia is expected to bring no direct impacts to Mexico, but there will still be some effects."Felicia will generate large swells and rough surf along the coast of Baja California Sur," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.He added that shipping interests in the area will encounter dangerous seas. Felicia has already become much stronger than Enrique, which peaked at Category 1 strength.Friday morning, Felicia was already a solid Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Felicia is the first major hurricane of the season in either the Atlantic or East Pacific basins. A major hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 111-129 mph.By Friday afternoon, the hurricane reached Category 4 status as winds strengthened to 130 mph. As of 11 a.m. PDT, Felicia was about 985 miles west-southwest of Baja California, Mexico, and moving gradually at a speed of 9 mph.

Resumption of fissure eruption close to Fagradalsfjall, Iceland - The fissure eruption in the western part of the Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system, close to Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, periodically continued since the start of July.Lava fountaining and overflows from the fifth vent were occasionally visible, and lava from the crater flowed in tubes as well as on the surface.Occasional rim collapses generated minor ash plumes on July 2 based on footage captured by a visitor, according to the GVP.The longest pause in the eruption so far, also reflected in seismic data, began near midnight on July 5 and ended early on July 7, according to a news source. Other sources mention July 11 as the re-start of the eruption.The Aviation Color Code remains at Orange due to the lack of ash and tephra emissions, though IMO warned of the potential for lapilli and scoria fallout within a 650 m (2 130 feet) radius of the active vent.Authorities warned of increased gas emissions hazards.Sigfús Steindórsson took the following video from the Hafnarfjörður in the Reykjavík capital area on July 11.

‘Sunny Day’ Floods Hit Record Along U.S. Coasts as Seas Rise - Record high-tide flooding washed over U.S. coasts in the past year, and rising sea levels are expected to send the deluges into streets, homes and businesses even more frequently over the next decade, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The surges, sometimes referred to as “sunny day” or “nuisance” floods, are becoming increasingly common as the increase in sea levels continues, the agency said in an annual report. Damaging floods that used to happen mainly during storms now happen during regular events such a full-moon tide or with a change in prevailing winds. High waters are flowing into coastal economies and crucial infrastructure like waste and storm water systems, with those areas seeing twice as many high-tide flooding days than they did 20 years ago. The trend is expected to continue into 2022 and beyond without improved flood defenses, NOAA said. “NOAA’s tide gauges show that 80% of locations where we collect date along the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts are seeing an acceleration in the number of flood days,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, the newly appointed director of the National Ocean Service. Flood records were set in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, NOAA said. Galveston and Corpus Christi, Texas, along with Bay Waveland, Mississippi, had a record 20 days with high-tide flooding from May 2020 to April 2021. Twenty years ago these locations would typically only flood two or three days a year. Such flooding occurs when the tide rises about 1.75 to 2 feet (0.53 to 0.61 meters) above the daily average high tide, with water spilling onto streets or bubbling up from storm drains. NOAA said. Oceans are rising in part to due glacier melt and because sea water expands as it warms, said William Sweet, an oceanographer with the National Ocean Service. Bodies such as the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico have been warmer than normal. There are also local influences such as passing storms that can influence the number of flood days. In some areas this is all made worse because land is sinking as underground water is withdrawn and oil and natural gas are pumped out, Sweet said. On top of this, starting in the mid-2030s, the alignment of rising sea levels with a lunar cycle will cause coastal cities all around the U.S. to begin a decade of dramatic increases in flood numbers, according to a study released earlier this month by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers at the University of Hawaii.

Biden to Restore Protections for Tongass National Forest in 'Critical Step' for Climate --Conservation and climate action groups on Thursday applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement of far-reaching new protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest as well as a restoration of a key rule that former President Donald Trump rescinded three months before leaving office in a bid to open millions of acres to industrial logging.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the administration would put back in place the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, also known as the Roadless Rule, which Trump exempted Alaska from in a move that outraged Indigenous communities in the region as well as environmental advocates.With the rule back in effect, companies will again be barred from road construction and large-scale logging in more than half of the 16 million acre forest, which includes five million acres of old-growth trees such as Sitka spruce trees that date back at least 800 years.The forest serves as a habitat for more than 400 species of wildlife and fish, ensures food sovereignty for Indigenous communities in Alaska — including the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, whose traditional territories lie within the forest — and plays a vital role in mitigating the climate crisis.As one of the world's largest intact temperate forests, the Tongass National Forest stores more than 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon and sequesters an additional 10 million metric tons annually, according to the Alaska Wilderness League. The carbon held by the Tongass amounts to about 8% of all carbon stored in trees in the United States, Defenders of Wildlife said.

Amazon rainforest now releasing more carbon than it absorbs: study - The Amazon rainforest is emitting more carbon emissions than it can absorb, according to a new study. The rainforest was once a carbon sink — meaning it absorbed more carbon than it released — but it now accounts for more than 1 billion metric tons of emissions every year, mainly due to forest fires and deforestation. The nine-year research project, published Wednesday, was led by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research in partnership with scientists from several countries, including the U.S., the Netherlands and New Zealand. Drones collected samples to measure carbon levels in four locations across the Amazon, with the study's long timeframe allowing the researchers to account for year-to-year variations in the forest's carbon levels. The carbon balance — the final balance between emissions and the absorption of carbon — of the Amazon showed that it released 1.06 billion metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year between 2010 and 2018. According to the study, 0.87 billion metric tons of emissions came from the Brazilian Amazon. Burning was the biggest source of carbon emissions from the Amazon, according to the research, accounting for 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon emissions. If there were no fires or deforestation, the agency noted, the Amazon would remove almost 0.5 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere. Researchers found that regions of the rainforest where deforestation levels exceeded 30% had carbon emissions that were 10 times higher than areas with 20% deforestation or less. The most deforested areas of the Amazon had drier, warmer and longer dry seasons, the study found. Dry months saw a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius in these parts of the Amazon, increasing the forest's flammability and restricting its ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Emanuel Gloor, one of the researchers based at the U.K.'s University of Leeds, told CNBC the study showed a need for immediate action. "The data show that forests in large parts of Amazonia, increasingly exposed to heat, are suffering," he said in an email. "It is yet another wake-up call that the onslaught on Amazonian forests should be stopped urgently." Although the Amazon covers ground across nine countries, some 60% of the forest is in Brazil. In the last 40 years, the Brazilian Amazon has lost more than 18% of its rainforest, according to Greenpeace.

 EPA Struggles to Track Methane Emissions From Landfills. Here’s Why It Matters - Garbage is strewn among thigh-high drifts of dirt, used to bury the filthy, weather-worn items at the Orange County Landfill in Florida and prevent the intrusion of insects, rats and pigs. Bulldozers smooth the dirt into place while tractor-trailers deliver ever more trash. Vultures and seagulls circle above. A bald eagle lands nearby. “Anything you will see out in the real world you’ll see it here,” said David Gregory, manager of the solid waste division of the Orange County Utilities Department. “Because when people throw things away, this is where it comes.” According to the Environmental Protection Agency, landfills such as this one on the edge of Orlando are among the nation’s largest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide and a major contributor to global warming. A seminal U.N. report published in May found that immediate reductions in methane emissions are the best, swiftest chance the planet has at slowing climate change. Landfills emit methane when organic wastes such as food scraps, wood and paper decompose. But the challenges to reining in methane are big, beginning with even quantifying how much leaves landfills. Industry operators insist the EPA overestimates emissions. Yet independent research looking at emissions from landfills in California and a top EPA methane expert say that the agency significantly underestimates landfill methane. The EPA has “been understating methane emissions from landfills by a factor of two,” said Susan Thorneloe, a senior chemical engineer at the EPA who has worked on the agency’s methane estimation methods since the 1980s.Part of the problem may be that the EPA’s methods for estimating landfill methane emissions are outdated and flawed, Thorneloe said. Ryan Maher, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project, a watchdog group, said landfill methane emissions are “a neglected problem.“We’re basing our emissions estimates on models rather than direct measurement,” said Maher, who recently authored a study that found that Maryland’s landfill methane emissions were four times higher than that state had estimated. “We do have the capacity to measure these emissions directly. And we just haven’t been.”The stakes are high for getting an accurate picture of methane emissions. Reducing methane could almost immediately curb climate change, because it stays in the atmosphere for a short time, unlike carbon dioxide, which lingers for a century or more. Landfills are one of three main sources of human methane pollution, along with livestock and the oil and gas industry. The United States is the third-biggest emitter of methane in the world.

Study: Just 25 cities account for majority of global urban greenhouse gas emissions - Just 25 cities comprise more than half of greenhouse gas emissions from a sample of 167 urban centers, according to research published Monday in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities.Researchers analyzed a sample of 167 cities and metropolitan areas in 53 countries, including more cities from countries that are major emitters, such as China, the U.S. and India. They then compared the cities’ respective levels of progress in carbon reduction based on 2012 and 2016 emissions inventories, in combination with their short and long-term reduction targets.The researchers found that 25 cities accounted for 52 percent of the sample’s emissions. All but three of the 25 — Moscow, Istanbul and Tokyo — were located in China, including major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.However, researchers wrote, the analysis also found per capita emissions are higher in cities located in wealthier countries compared to developing nations. This aligns with total contributions to worldwide emissions, which are higher overall from China but higher per capita from the U.S.When researchers broke down the missions by source, they found that stationary energy uses like fuel and electricity for residential, commercial and industrial buildings were responsible for up to 80 percent of North American and European emissions. In about one-third of the cities analyzed, more than 30 percent of emissions were from road travel, while rail, water and air transportation comprised less than 15 percent of emissions.In cities in developing countries, meanwhile, urbanization has led to increased vehicle traffic and growing transportation sectors, leading to a larger share of emissions from those sources.

Environmentalists "Feel Burned" By Biden's Infrastructure Bill, Want Another $2.1 Trillion In Climate Spending -An environmentalist group made up of the Center for American Progress, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Conservation Voters and "dozens of others" is seeking an additional $2.1 trillion in infrastructure spending after "feeling burned" by the lack of climate change measure in President Biden's infrastructure deal.The group is now asking comrade Bernie Sanders to "include that much spending on climate measures in a package being assembled by Democrats", according to a new report by BNN Bloomberg. A written request was given to Sanders that asks for $225 billion for clean-energy tax credits, $250 billion for a clean-energy standard and $100 billion in consumer incentives for clean vehicles.The bill also asks for "billions more" for water infrastructure, nuclear energy, electric buses and - we swear we're not making this up - "efficient electric appliances." The push represents what is likely going to be decades-long pressure on Democratic administrations to help fulfill Biden's promises to eliminate carbon emissions from the electric grid by 2035 and the rest of the economy by 2050.The group likely targeted Sanders to push for their requests for a reason:Sanders previously had outlined a $6 trillion proposal covering Biden’s agenda as well as an expansion of Medicare, additional climate change items, immigration reform and a permanent extension of the child-care tax credit. But that measure is expected to shrink as agreement is sought from moderates in the caucus to pass both the budget resolution and a follow-up reconciliation bill, which requires 50 votes for passage along with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.The groups’ demands are "unlikely to be realized in full," BNN wrote.

U.S. Companies Say Climate Change Is a Problem—But Still Lobby Against Solutions -While more than 80% of the largest U.S. companies have set emissions reduction goals, less than half engaged with lawmakers to advocate for science-based climate policies — and more than 20% have lobbied against them, according to report released Tuesday by sustainability nonprofit Ceres.“Claiming credit for making operational climate change commitments while undermining the necessary policy measures to achieve those very commitments poses significant reputational and financial risks to companies,” the report’s authors wrote.Ceres’s analysis comes as climate concerns are playing a larger role in capital markets and shareholder actions. So far this year, companies around the globe have issued $297 billion in green bonds, a 152% increase year-over-year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shareholders also have been increasingly forceful in demanding change, including from fossil fuel titans Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which were each the target of successful resolutions demanding climate-conscious changes to corporate strategy. “This is a work in progress,” said Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. “The good thing is companies are highlighting their climate needs. Investors are shouting it from the rooftops in every way they can, and now it has to go deeper.” Ceres’s report included 96 members of the S&P 100 in 2019, with four companies excluded due to later mergers and other consolidations. The group scored the companies on how they assess, systematize, advocate for, and engage with science-based climate policies in disclosures and documents such as annual filings, as well as on their advocacy and trade group memberships. A science-based climate target is one aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of restricting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will require reaching net-zero emissions worldwide by 2050. Almost three-quarters of companies in the report describe climate change as a material risk in their regulatory filings, while nearly 90% have tasked their boards with overseeing climate and ESG topics. “What makes me optimistic is that so many companies are recognizing that climate is a crisis and they’re taking bold steps,” Rothstein said. One lobbying group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, came under particular scrutiny from Ceres due to its “oppositional climate change track record,” according to the report. Close to 75% of the companies Ceres analyzed are members of the Chamber, but only one — Apple Inc. — left the lobbying group over its climate stance. Earlier this year, the Chamber reversed its previous stance on climate policy and said it supports a “market-based” approach to reducing emissions, such as a carbon tax or emissions caps.

Report: Corporate giants have been lobbying against their own emissions targets - Corporate America has made a slew of pledges to reduce its emissions over the past few years. Today, 92 percent of the companies on the S&P 100, an index of leading U.S. stocks, have announced intentions to reduce at least some of their carbon emissions, according to the corporate sustainability advocacy nonprofit Ceres. But do these companies actually plan to change their business practices, and in some cases their entire business models, to meet the scale of the challenge? Or are these pledges just greenwashing? A telling way to assess how serious companies are about meeting their own goals is to look at whether they are lobbying in statehouses and in Washington for the policy changes that would make reducing emissions easier and cheaper. But a new report from Ceres published on Tuesday finds that over the past five years, only 40 percent of those S&P 100 companies have engaged with lawmakers at the state or federal level to advocate for science-based climate policy. “Those companies that are not actively lobbying for science-based climate policies are effectively working against themselves,” said Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, in a statement. Rothstein said they were “risking both their reputations and their financial performance.” The report also looked at companies’ memberships in trade groups that have actively fought climate policy, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Nearly three-quarters of the companies were members of that group, and only 7 percent of companies disclosed that they have pushed the Chamber to change its position on climate change. Apple is the only company that left the group over its climate positions. Many of the companies on the list are oil and gas companies and utilities, whose lack of enthusiasm for climate policy is unsurprising. But companies’ low engagement across the board is significant. Earlier this year, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island told Grist that the absence of corporate lobbying in favor of climate policies on Capitol Hill makes passing them much more difficult because there’s no counterbalance to the aggressive and deep-pocketed campaigns against such policies by the fossil fuel industry.

Senate committee advances bipartisan energy infrastructure bill -The $3.5 trillion budget proposal being put together by Senate Democrats will include a raft of climate priorities, including a clean electricity standard, clean energy and vehicle tax credits and a civilian climate corps, according to a senior Democratic aide. The aide said that overall, the proposed budget resolution for fiscal 2022 will meet the goals of reaching 80 percent clean electricity and cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. Other policies that will be included in the $3.5 trillion proposal include weatherization and electrification of buildings, polluter import fees and the creation of a clean energy accelerator. It’s also expected to fund climate smart agriculture, wildfire prevention and forestry as well as federal procurement of clean technologies. It’s not clear how much money would be directed to the climate-specific provisions. Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee agreed to the $3.5 trillion package Tuesday night. The budget would include instructions for a reconciliation package that would include the climate priorities and a host of other measures. The budgetary rules would allow Democrats to pass the package with just Democratic votes, as the rules prevent the package from being filibustered. But Democrats would not be able to afford a single defection among their members. The reconciliation package includes major pieces of President Biden’s climate agenda that aren't included in a smaller bill that resulted from negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. The Senate is also seeking to pass that bill this summer. The smaller bipartisan deal left out the clean electricity standards and cut down spending on electric vehicles.Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who has been a leading proponent of a clean electricity standard, also said Wednesday that this provision would be included in the bill and told The Hill she hopes it will include 80 percent clean electricity by 2030.

The Green New Deal’s Big Open Secret: It Doesn’t Exist - Since its ascension in 2018, the Green New Deal has defined the terms of the global climate debate. Perhaps no other climate policy in history has been as successful. Democrats and Republicans alike have been judged by how closely they seem to hew to it. The Sunrise Movement, the highest-profile American climate-activism group, rallies for it. Abroad, the European Union has dubbed its 1-trillion-euro attempt to decarbonize its economy “the European Green Deal.” And on the histrionic fields of social media, progressives ask how society can afford flooded subways, horrific droughts,deadly heat waves, and uncontrollable wildfires but not pay for a Green New Deal.Even now, as Democrats in Congress and the White House wrangle over the terms of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, the Green New Deal leers from the sidelines. How does the bipartisan infrastructure deal differ from the Green New Deal? Will the partisan reconciliation bill amount to a Green New Deal?With so much ballyhoo, it’s become easy to miss the central, implacable fact about the Green New Deal: It does not exist.By this, I don’t mean that it hasn’t passed. I mean something more fundamental: Nobody has written it down. Three years after the idea of a Green New Deal broke into the mainstream, you can’t find an authoritative and detailed list of Green New Deal policies anywhere. There is no handbook, no draft legislation, no official report that articulates what belongs in a Green New Deal and what doesn’t. This is more than just an academic point. It means that tens of thousands of Americans want very badly to see Congress adopt a political program that definitionally cannot pass, because there is no “it” for lawmakers to vote on. It means that Biden’s infrastructure package cannot be compared with the Green New Deal, because the contrast will not find purchase. It means that at a moment of historic possibility, American climate politics still has one leg stuck in the spectral and symbolic, when it should be knee-deep in the real. To hear most supporters tell it, the core idea of a Green New Deal is that the federal government should be the author and finisher of America’s climate transition. The government should decarbonize the country’s energy system by 2030, if not sooner, and adapt American infrastructure to a hotter, angrier world. And it should do so while reducing material inequality and remedying racial injustice. So far, so good. Onto these climate goals, the Green New Deal has tacked demands for good old-fashioned European social democracy: The original, 14-page Green New Deal resolution, which sketched broad goals and was introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in 2019, demanded universal health care, affordable and safe housing, and protections for workers’ right to unionize. These goals made it into later versions of the Green New Deal: You could find them in Senator Bernie Sanders’s climate platform during the 2020 presidential primary, and the Sunrise Movement still demands Medicare for All and student-debt forgiveness.

Why we’re failing to stop climate chaos --Climate chaos (CC) is the largest threat to our collective prosperity. (Water scarcity, biodiversity loss, increasing vulnerability to viruses and bacteria are a few more.) But “we” (citizens of rich countries) are having a hardER time understanding and addressing CC due to a few strategic mistakes, i.e.,

1. Most discussions of impacts focus on 2100, which is too far away from our time now to take seriously. It also “hides” the fact that we are now seeing weather patterns (due to changes in climate) that are harming our way of life.
2. Most discussions focus on +2C increases in average temperatures, when the focus should be on increasing risks at the extremes (the changes in the distribution), i.e., fat tails or black swans causing massive damages in surprising places. Examples: Houston getting three “500-year” storms in a decade a few years ago; the Pacific Northwest recently breaking high temperature records by a huge margin; Texas facing “record” cold then “record” warmth within a month; Hurricane Sandy; etc.
3. Economists recommending a global cap and trade system rather than a series of national carbon tax and rebate systems at Kyoto (1998). The former requires global coordination, a political willingness to send money to “foreigners”, and trustworthy supra-national institutions.
4. Economists (led by that incompetent fraud, Nordhaus) have used flawed models to justify inaction (their logic is that action now limits growth that will give us resources in the future to deal with damages in the future) rather than implementing action now that can be tightened/loosened as we learn how taxes affect emissions affecting CC.
5. Most people do not understand how the change from stationarity to non-stationarity will disrupt their habits, food production, infrastructure performance, etc. These are the same people who hesitate to take the COVID vaccine until they are offered lottery tickets. Their choice inconsistency shows they misunderstand probabilities.
6. Few people understand the consequences of missing +2C targets due to lag effects. Hitting that target (a long run increase) means reducing emissions (and deforestation) at a radical rate now and still waiting for decades for forcing momentum to dissipate and warming to slow and reverse. Put differently, it would take 50-100 years for currently “baked in” forcing to manifest in CC-impacts assuming we went to zero emissions today, and another 10,000 years (±) for current CO2 concentrations of 409ppm (a level not seen for 800,000 years) to fall back to “pre-industrial” levels of 280ppm last seen 170 years ago. We’ve passed the point of no return.
7. Forgetting that non-CO2 factors matter. If all GHGs are included, then we’re looking at 456ppm CO2-equilivalent, so we’re in far worse shape than the most-discussed number would suggest.
8. I’m not even talking about the problems of greed (converting rainforest into palm oil, soy beans or more oil fields), lobbying (politicians need to be re-elected often and fossil fuel companies have lots of money to pay for protection or inaction), the massive market failure/collective action problem, our psychological desire to maintain “progress” at all costs, and so on.

My one-handed conclusion is that we — humans, as a species — have put ourselves in a difficult situation that we’ve made even harder to tackle by a series of strategic communication blunders.

Billionaires descend on Sun Valley in private jets to talk about climate change - A cabal of some of the most high-profile people in media, finance and technology descended on Idaho’s resort town of Sun Valley in private jets this week to tackle, among other things, climate change. On Tuesday, the day the conference kicked off, traffic from private jets got to be so busy that the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned planes on the West Coast from taking off. The FAA told Fox News it briefly held planes on the ground at their departure airports to avoid congestion in the airspace around Sun Valley.The manager of the Friedman Memorial Airport in the neighboring town of Hailey, Idaho, told NPR ahead of the conference that he expected more than 90 private planes. A session preaching the perils of climate change to people who flew to the event on their own carbon-emitting Gulfstream jets rankled some business leaders that FOX Business contacted earlier in the week. "Talking climate change on his private jet?" one CEO remarked with a laugh, referring to Gates. The private conference, hosted by the private investment bank Allen & Company, has been held in July every year since 1983, with the exception of last year due to the pandemic. The event is largely a summer camp for some of the world’s billionaires. Notable attendees this year included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose public image has taken a hit in recent months over his divorce announcement and reported ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"Not ESG-Friendly" - 20 Tons Of Water Used To Extinguish Tesla Fire In Taiwan - As part of the great COVID reset, the transformation period has been a massive opportunity for lawmakers and corporations to push electric cars to the masses as they say these vehicles are "ESG-Friendly."We'll save the mining part of minerals for electric batteries for an entirely different conversation. Today we want to focus on the amount of fresh water it takes to extinguish a fire in an electric car versus an internal combustion engine. Last week, in Tainan City, Taiwan, firefighters used about 20 tons of water to extinguish a fire after a Tesla crashed and went up into flames. Fire Captain Chiu Yuan-ming told Taiwan News that around three tons of water are required to extinguish an internal combustion engine fire. However, he noted, an enormous amount of water is needed to extinguish an electric vehicle fire.The Tesla in question slammed into a residential building on Wednesday and burst into flames. The driver survived and was rescued before fire consumed the vehicle. There was no word if the Tesla vehicle was on Autopilot during the collision. It took firefighters at least an hour to extinguish the fire spraying 20 tons of water on the Tesla. Fire Captain Chiu pointed to research that said upwards of 75 tons of water are required to extinguish a Tesla fire. The reason is that the batteries are compacted with highly combustible lithium metal. Another fire earlier this month in a Philadelphia suburb had firefighters spray a steady stream of water for more than 90 minutes on a Tesla Plaid that had caught fire under what was called "strange circumstances." Sales of electric vehicles are soaring worldwide, and firefighters have yet to have adequate training or equipment to put out a lithium battery fire quickly - so they waste 20-75 tons of water for a single-vehicle fire versus a combustion engine that only needs 3 tons. Wasting tons and tons of water for electric vehicle fires is not ESG-Friendly, especially when parts of the world are experiencing vicious megadroughts.

Heat Pumps are the Most Climate Friendly Way to Heat Homes, But Still Emit a Climate Super Pollutant, Despite the Availability of a Cleaner Chemical - Devices sold in the United States rely on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) 410a, a synthetic chemical refrigerant that is 4,260 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over the near term. As the refrigerant circulates between an outdoor compressor and heat exchangers within the home, a small amount of HFC-410a slowly leaks into the atmosphere. While the amount of gas they release is tiny compared to the exhaust from a gas furnace, over the years, those emissions add up.The typical heat pump system will leak 12 pounds of HFC-410a over the course of its lifetime, according to a recent assessment by the California Public Utilities Commission. Those emissions, the majority of which come when the device is destroyed at the end of its useful life, equal the near-term climate impact of 23 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of burning 54 barrels of oil, or driving a car for five years, according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator. “It’s critically important that we get rid of these chemicals because when they do get accidentally emitted they have a very potent warming impact,” said Taddonio, a senior climate and energy advisor with the Washington-based Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. “If we continue using 410a in air conditioners and heat pumps it will produce an outsized climate harm.”Interest in heat pumps has soared in recent years as cities and states from California to New England have proposed or enacted bans on natural gas hookups in new construction or incentivized heat pump installations. In areas where electricity primarily comes from fossil fuels, the majority of greenhouse gas emissions associated with heat pumps—roughly 80 percent—stems from electricity production. However, in places with clean electricity, the refrigerant’s contribution to the pumps’ total greenhouse gas emissions is higher. In most cases the total emissions associated with heat pumps are less than those that come from burning natural gas or other fossil fuels for heating. However, refrigerant emissions are still significant. Eliminating the use of HFC-410a and other HFCs with high global warming potential in all applications, including heat pumps, air conditioners and refrigeration, could prevent as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century.

Biden Climate Czar Gina McCarthy Vows Clean-Energy Rules With Congress or Not - Congress should enact a clean-electricity standard that forces utilities to pare greenhouse gas emissions, but if lawmakers fail to deliver, the administration is prepared to act on its own, President Joe Biden’s climate chief told Bloomberg. A clean-electricity mandate is critical for catalyzing emissions reductions, White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy said during a taped discussion for the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit that opened Tuesday. But she refused to say the requirement is a must-have ingredient in a broad tax-and-spending bill meant to build on a bipartisan infrastructure package. “I don’t want to say that anything is a red line, because, frankly, a lot of the work that went into the bipartisan infrastructure plan was really building a tremendous foundation for us to grow on,” McCarthy said. “We have lots of regulatory authority that we intend to use regardless, and we will move forward with those efforts to try to tackle the climate crisis.”Biden has vowed to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035, and a clean-energy standard is seen as a vital tool for achieving that goal as well as the U.S. pledge under the Paris climate accord to at least halve the nation’s planet-warming pollution by 2030. But the mandate was left out a bipartisan infrastructure package negotiated with Republicans, and now administration officials are pushing to include it and a raft of renewable energy incentives as part of a separate tax-and-spending plan. McCarthy’s comments come even as some Democrats are doubling down on their insistence that major climate initiatives must be part of the forthcoming legislation.“The issues of climate change and infrastructure cannot -- cannot -- be separated from one another,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Tuesday on the Senate floor.McCarthy stressed the importance of Congress advancing an array of climate policies -- including longer-lasting and more-effective renewable tax credits that complement a utility-focused mandate. Expanded tax incentives “just means we have businesses ready,” McCarthy said. “What the clean-electricity standard says is ‘Go -- don’t wait, go -- because we are going to put you on a schedule that says you get out of the gate and run, and you keep running. “Without that, there’s going to have be a regulatory strategy to move that forward,” McCarthy said, “and I think we all can agree that a clean-electricity standard can actually be that motivator out of the gate that will allow us to get the kind of impacts at scale that we really need to have now.”

Cities in Ohio Want to Use the Same Clean-Energy Financing Company That Saddled Missouri Homeowners With Debt — For five years, economic development officials in Toledo, Ohio, have operated a pilot program that allows residents to borrow money for energy-saving home renovations without paying exorbitant interest rates. The program has been widely seen as a success, with only one of 61 borrowers currently delinquent on their repayments. But now officials at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority are preparing to expand the program to other parts of Ohio in a way that has led to trouble for some homeowners in other states — by turning over the program to a private, for-profit lender. Those plans, which supporters say are necessary to grow the program to additional areas across the state, have many other local officials and housing advocates worried that borrowers will be harmed. Already, the leaders in the state’s two most populous cities — Columbus and Cleveland — have said they won’t participate.The Toledo program is known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, and it allows borrowers to pay off home upgrades through their property tax bills. By operating on a small scale with strong oversight, the Toledo pilot stands in contrast to high-cost PACE programs in other states that have been run by for-profit lenders.A ProPublica investigation in April found, for example, that Missouri’s PACE programs have charged high interest and fees, then enforced borrowers’ debts through liens, leaving more than 100 homes across the state at risk of being auctioned at public tax sales. Local and state officials exercised little oversight over the two companies that have run the programs, Renovate America and Ygrene.The loans made to Missouri homeowners have carried a median annual percentage rate of 10%. The terms have stretched as long as 20 years, burdening some borrowers with total interest and fees that exceeded the cost of the project — or even the entire value of their home. Last month, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed into law a measure that added consumer protections and oversight to the state’s PACE programs.Dave Rinebolt, executive director of Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, which advocates for weatherization and energy assistance, said PACE programs run by governments are safer than those run by private companies “because these loans aren’t sold through contractors to poor people.” Companies like Renovate America and Ygrene, he said, sometimes lend to homeowners who can’t repay their loans, leaving them in financial peril.“And that’s who they target,” Rinebolt added. “Low-income, elderly, disabled clients.”

California has embraced clean energy, so why is it still building natural gas infrastructure? - California, the fifth-largest economy in the world, continues to up its clean electricity game, most recently with state regulators’ groundbreaking mandate for 11.5 gigawatts of new non-fossil resources to come online by 2026 to help decarbonize the grid. But at the same time, regulators are allowing continued long-term investments in climate-unfriendly natural gas infrastructure, including ratepayer-funded gas connections to new homes and rebates for relatively efficient gas water heaters, furnaces, stoves and dryers.“We have to stop digging the climate hole deeper,” said Panama Bartholomy, executive director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition. “If we don’t, we will see an escalation of the extreme weather events we’ve seen the last month and year, including in Seattle, Portland and Texas, and worsening air quality.” The coalition’s 60 members hail from the building industry, utilities, local governments and environmental organizations.Ratepayer-subsidized investments extending the life of California’s natural gas industry not only go against the grain of clean energy but also drive up already high electric rates.Rate increases from California’s investor-owned utilities have far exceeded the annual rate of inflation since 2013, potentially jeopardizing decarbonization investments, according to a white paper released in February by the staff of the California Public Utilities Commission. Pacific Gas & Electric’s rates increased by 38 percent between 2013 and the end of 2019, and San Diego Gas & Electric’s went up by 48 percent. The CPUC ratepayer advocate expects rates to spike even more. Earlier this month, PG&E, the state’s biggest investor-owned utility, filed for a 30 percent rate hike between 2023 and 2026, with half going to improve the safety of its electric and gas systems.Making matters more complicated is that as California moves toward its 2045 goal of 100% decarbonization, partly through electrifying buildings with clean electricity, costly new investments in gas infrastructure will have to be ditched. “Once constructed, these facilities become a sunk cost to the system and are typically depreciated over an expected service life of 50 to 60 years,” according to a 2019 report by Gridworks, a clean-energy consulting firm. Because the state has set a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045, new gas connections “could easily become ‘stranded’ well before the end of their useful lives.” The CPUC says it’s concerned about a broad array of stranded gas investments, ranging from pipelines to gas storage fields. CPUC spokesperson Terrie Prosper said in an email that the issue will be looked at as part of the commission’s Long-Term Gas System Planning rulemaking, which launched in January 2020 and is still ongoing. She said California was the first state in the U.S. to establish a regulatory framework to specifically examine “how to transition its gas system to comply with its climate goals.” It has “since been followed by other states, including New York, Massachusetts and Colorado,” she added. But the CPUC proceeding is too little, too late for decarbonization advocates, who say time is of the essence because of the worsening climate crisis.

Building Solar Farms May Not Build the Middle Class - The New York Times - To hear Democrats tell it, a green job is supposed to be a good job — and not just good for the planet.The Green New Deal, first introduced in 2019, sought to “create millions of good, high-wage jobs.” And in March, when President Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, he emphasized the “good-paying” union jobs it would produce while reining in climate change.“My American Jobs Plan will put hundreds of thousands of people to work,” Mr. Biden said, “paying the same exact rate that a union man or woman would get.”But on its current trajectory, the green economy is shaping up to look less like the industrial workplace that lifted workers into the middle class in the 20th century than something more akin to an Amazon warehouse or a fleet of Uber drivers: grueling work schedules, few unions, middling wages and limited benefits.Kellogg Dipzinski has seen this up close, at Assembly Solar, a nearly 2,000-acre solar farm under construction near Flint, Mich.“Hey I see your ads for help,” Mr. Dipzinski, an organizer with the local electrical workers union, texted the site’s project manager in May. “We have manpower. I’ll be out that way Friday.”“Hahahahaha …. yes — help needed on unskilled low wage workers,” was the response. “Competing with our federal government for unemployment is tough.”For workers used to the pay standards of traditional energy industries, such declarations may be jarring. Building an electricity plant powered by fossil fuels usually requires hundreds of electricians, pipe fitters, millwrights and boilermakers who typically earn more than $100,000 a year in wages and benefits when they are unionized.But on solar farms, workers are often nonunion construction laborers who earn an hourly wage in the upper teens with modest benefits — even as the projects are backed by some of the largest investment firms in the world. In the case of Assembly Solar, the backer is D.E. Shaw, with more than $50 billion in assets under management, whose renewable energy arm owns and will operate the plant.While Mr. Biden has proposed higher wage floors for such work, the Senate prospects for this approach are murky. And absent such protections — or even with them — there’s a nagging concern among worker advocates that the shift to green jobs may reinforce inequality rather than alleviate it.“The clean tech industry is incredibly anti-union,” said Jim Harrison, the director of renewable energy for the Utility Workers Union of America. “It’s a lot of transient work, work that is marginal, precarious and very difficult to be able to organize.”

How the American South is paying the price for Europe's 'green' energy’  - In 1996, scientists at the United Nations devised a method to measure global carbon emissions. To simplify the process and avoid double counting, they suggested emissions from burning biomass should be calculated where the trees are cut down, not where the wood pellets are burned. The EU adopted this methodology in its Renewable Energy Directive, allowing energy companies to burn biomass produced in the US without having to report the emissions. “The idea was to curb our addiction to fossil fuels,” said Bas Eickhout, Dutch politician and member of the European Parliament. Biomass was an attractive option for EU countries at the time, he explained, because it was much cheaper than solar or wind power and could be “mixed in” when burning coal.However, European decision-makers didn’t fully consider the repercussions of importing biomass, Eickhout said, adding they “were too naïve.”“The production of biomass has become an industrial process which means something has gone fundamentally wrong,” he said. “The professionalization of the biomass industry is a problem that needs attention.”The directive led to troubling consequences across the Atlantic. By failing to restrict biomass to the byproduct from manufacturing paper, furniture or lumber, Europe created a strong incentive to cut down whole trees and turn them into wood pellets.Encouraged by government subsidies, European power plants began importing biomass from the largest wood producing region in the world: the American Southeast.North Carolina has been “ground zero” for the wood pellet industry, said Danna Smith, co-founder and executive director of the environmental advocacy group Dogwood Alliance. One hundred and sixty-four acres of the state’s forests are cut down by the biomass industry every day, according to an analysis by Key-Log Economics. US-based Enviva, which owns four wood pellet plants in North Carolina, says their product is fighting climate change. Yet, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — the UN body that came up with the carbon accounting methodology — states its guidelines “do not automatically consider or assume biomass used for energy as ‘carbon neutral,’ even in cases where the biomass is thought to be produced sustainably.”

Oregon wildfire robs California of critical electricity supply from Pacific Northwest during heat wave - The Bootleg fire in southern Oregon has knocked out power lines that feed electricity from the Pacific Northwest to California, leaving the Golden State without a key source of power during an intense heat wave that was already straining the grid. The power lines affected, called the California-Oregon AC intertie, can carry about 4,800 megawatts of power, enough electricity to serve millions of homes. It is a key source of electricity for California in the summer and is used to send energy north during periods of high demand here in the winter.The supply problem led California’s grid operators to issue an urgent alert for the second day running asking customers across the state to conserve power between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to avoid rolling blackouts. The interie is operated by the Bonneville Power Administration, the Portland-based federal power marketing agency that sells electricity from federal hydroelectric dams and operates three quarters of the region’s high voltage grid. Steve Wingert, a BPA spokesman, said the Bootleg fire in Klamath County, which doubled in size overnight, was burning in or near the rights-of-way for the transmission lines. While the high voltage lines sit on large steel towers and typically escape harm from all but the largest fires, heavy smoke and particulate matter can cause them to arc and trip offline. “The lines have been tripping in and out of service and we finally took them out of service for the stability of the system,” Wingert said. He said line crews are in the area, monitoring the status of the fire and its proximity to equipment. They are in touch with dispatchers who are waiting for approval to test the lines and bring them back into service. While the capacity of the lines is 4,800 megawatts, BPA has set that limit to 428 megawatts. A megawatt of electricity can serve about 400 to 900 homes. The intertie, which also includes lines owned by Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp, was taken down shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday. Wingert said the operational status of the lines is not expected to affect utility operations in Oregon. California’s grid operator, called the Independent System Operator, was already facing challenging conditions Friday amid triple digit temperatures across much of the state. Its flex alert asks customers to set their thermostats to 78 degrees and avoid using large appliances to reduce the load on the grid. The grid operator forecast peak demand of just over 40,000 megawatts, and available capacity of 46,000 megawatts.

It's not just mining. Refining holds U.S. back on minerals - E&E News - Republicans are questioning whether the Biden administration will embrace mining projects to ramp up the United States’ access to the minerals vital to building electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. They have taken aim at a Biden administration decision to delay a land swap that would facilitate copper mining on sacred Apache land and another to postpone orders to open Alaskan land to mineral development (E&E Daily, April 29).But experts say mining expansion isn’t a silver bullet in the United States’ quest to become competitive with China on critical minerals during the energy transition. Instead, they argue that the key problem the Biden administration must swiftly address is farther up the supply chain: the dearth of U.S. mineral processing plants and refineries. “Even if we dig up more minerals here, the majority would have to be shipped abroad for processing,” said Abigail Wulf, director of the Center for Critical Minerals Strategy at Securing America’s Energy Future.Supply chain weaknesses have captured the White House’s attention, with officials saying one of President Biden’s top priorities will be securing domestic access to the full range of minerals needed to make the United States a significant player in manufacturing technologies that can help combat global warming (Greenwire, June 8). The White House has maintained that this effort will encourage both mining and processing. Experts, however, say quickly expanding the United States’ capacity to refine minerals like nickel and lithium could prove more feasible in the short term than opening mines — a prospect that involves a lengthy regulatory approval process and often draws complaints from nearby residents about pollution. That said, people in local communities are also likely to object to new smelters and refineries. The Biden administration, too, could find its environmental justice pledges tested if the facilities encroach on poorer neighborhoods. China is the unquestioned leader in refining a range of minerals. Controlling the midstream of the supply chain has helped the country become the world’s leading producer of electric vehicles, said Wulf, who previously worked as a senior science communicator at NASA.“China has been thinking about this in a much more strategic way for much longer than we have,” she said. “They planned a while ago to leapfrog us and conquer the electric vehicle future.”The country has long been the top miner and processor of rare earth elements, a group of 17 metals, some of which are key components of clean technology. It also dominates with refining lithium and cobalt, both necessary for electric vehicle batteries. In 1992, former Chinese Communist Party Leader Deng Xiaoping said, “The Middle East has oil, and China has rare earth.” Today, the country controls about 55% of rare earth mining capacity and 85% of rare earth refining, according to a recent White House supply chain review. China went on to use the last two economic recessions to solidify itself as the top EV maker, a recent report by consulting group Horizon Advisory says. Right now, Congo mines 68% of the world’s cobalt. Chinese companies own or invest in at least a dozen major Congolese mines. And nearly 87% of cobalt ore leaving Congo is refined in China. Australia is the top miner of lithium. But the country, a U.S. ally, exports most of it to China, which accounts for more than 60% of the world’s lithium refining capacity, according to the Horizon Advisory report. China’s extensive smelting and refining capacity also allows it to recover secondary critical minerals contained in the ore concentrates tapped at mines outside that country, said Michael Moats, a metallurgical engineering professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology. “Those mineral concentrates are often exported and processed somewhere else,” he said about ore produced at U.S. mines. “The critical minerals that might have been in those concentrates leave the country and are reimported.”

EIA says U.S. 2020 coal output lowest since 1965 - The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday said U.S. coal production fell in 2020 to its lowest level since 1965 due to low global demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The federal agency said in a report that U.S. coal production totaled 535 million short tons (MMst) in 2020, a 24% decrease from the 706 MMst mined in 2019. The EIA said the pandemic slowed global demand for coal, and some U.S. mines were idled for extended periods to slow the spread of the virus among workers, with exports declining significantly in April 2020. U.S. coal-fired generation fell 20% year-on-year and exports were 26% lower in 2020 than in 2019. Coal production in Wyoming, where more coal is produced than in any other state, was 21% lower in 2020 than it was in 2019, while the second-largest producer West Virginia saw an annual slide of 28%, the agency said. The EIA explained that the decline was also as a result of less U.S. electric power sector demand for the non-renewable energy source, while lower natural gas prices made coal less competitive for power generation. Coal had been the primary fuel for U.S. power plants for much of the last century, but its use has been declining since peaking in 2007. Gas overtook coal as the leading fuel for U.S. power plants in 2016, according to federal data, and has held that title ever since. As of late-May this year, U.S. power companies plan to retire or convert over 5,800 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired plants in 2021 to gas after shutting over 10,400 MW in 2020, according to EIA and Thomson Reuters data.

Black lung, a scourge of the past, still plagues Illinois mines - When Robert Cohen learned about black lung disease as a medical student, he assumed it was a relic of the past.. “I didn’t think I’d see it in my practice.” Almost four decades later, he still treats miners from downstate Illinois, their lungs scarred from breathing coal dust. They trek up to Chicago, sometimes looking out of place in the sleek hospital waiting room on Chicago’s ritzy Gold Coast, where Cohen sees patients. “The nurses love them, they are so down to earth,” said Cohen, who also founded a black lung clinic at Chicago’s public county hospital, serving miners from around the region, including many who had migrated to Chicago from Appalachia after mines there closed. Coal mining has become exponentially safer in recent decades, with far fewer miners dying on the job than at any point in history. However, an ancient and fatal scourge continues to take a toll beyond the workplace. Black lung cases have steadily increased and even spiked in recent years in Appalachia, as documented by researchers including Cohen and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is a clinical professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and director of the Mining Education and Research Center.Cases are lower in Illinois than Appalachia, but still troubling, experts including Cohen say. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, between 2010 and 2014, the latest data available online, Illinois led the country in the number of miners examined for black lung under the federal program, with 1,143 miners. Twelve of them were found to have cases eligible for benefits. During that time, 148 cases nationwide were diagnosed, 62 of them in West Virginia. Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shows that in 2018, there were 120 hospital discharges in Illinois for coal mine-related pneumoconiosis, or black lung. In 2001 there were 265 hospital discharges for black lung in Illinois, perhaps reflecting higher coal mine employment in years past.

A small price to pay: Illinois mines routinely appeal safety penalties | Energy News Network - In 2012, federal mine safety inspectors discovered a dangerous buildup of combustible dust inside Murray Energy’s New Era mine in southern Illinois. On top of that, they flagged problems with the communication systems miners would rely on to escape a disaster such as a dust explosion. The Mine Safety and Health Administration proposed more than $146,000 in fines against the company. Through an appeals process, the company was able to pay less than half that amount, around $68,000. For a company that made more than $845 million in revenue that year, the fines were comparable to a $5 penalty for someone who earns $60,000 a year. The New Era mine in the last two decades has successfully appealed fines more than any other underground mine in the state, according to an Energy News Network review of federal mine safety penalties. Appeals meant that only 55% of the $14.36 million in originally proposed penalties for safety violations at New Era were paid since Murray Energy acquired the mine in 1998. (As part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, Murray Energy is now owned by former creditors and known by a different name; New Era has ceased production, though it is still listed as an active mine in federal records.) Federal inspections are the main safeguard meant to prevent accidents and deaths in an inherently dangerous industry, but critics say the penalties — even as originally proposed — are typically so small that they become a cost of doing business rather than a deterrent for unsafe equipment or inadequate protocols. Often penalties are reduced dramatically after mines take action to remedy problems. The New Era mine agreed to clean and apply rock dust to mitigate the risk of explosion, move cones so they faced the right direction, and install a two-way communication system, according to documents obtained from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Federal ruling clears way for activist investor Carl Icahn to control two voting seats on FirstEnergy’s board - cleveland.com - —Billionaire investor Carl Icahn appears all but certain to gain control over two FirstEnergy Corp. Board seats with voting rights, as federal energy regulators approved the move on Thursday. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in an order, asserted that giving voting rights to Icahn’s FirstEnergy board appointees would not adversely affect competition or electricity rates, nor impair state or federal regulations.Andrew Teno and Jesse Lynn, both employees of Icahn’s investment firm, will expand FirstEnergy’s board of trustees from 12 members to 14 members. Teno will serve on a company subcommittee overseeing changes to FirstEnergy’s compliance policies, while Lynn will join the company’s Independent Review Committee and the Demand Review Committee. The FERC waved off arguments from utility watchdog groups, including Public Citizen and the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio, that the commission should rule on whether state regulators have the power to approve the deal involving the Akron-based utility.But it left open the question of whether Icahn’s companies should now legally be considered “affiliates” of FirstEnergy – a legal designation that would restrict interactions between the companies and require more public disclosure about their business transactions. Tom Bullock, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio, said his group will petition the FERC to make such a ruling. In February, Icahn announced his intent to acquire a stake in FirstEnergy worth $184 million to $920 million. The 85-year-old New Yorker has a track record of buying large stakes in companies and influencing corporate decision-making. His interest in FirstEnergy comes as the company is attempting to navigate itself through the House Bill 6 scandal, in which ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others stand accused of using $60 million in FirstEnergy money to help pass a law that benefitted the company – including a $1 billion-plus bailout of two nuclear power plants then owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.In addition, authorities are investigating a questionable $4 million payment to an entity tied to Sam Randazzo, then the state’s chief utilities regulator.

 Ohio rules for oil and gas waste facilities move ahead 8 years later -Ohio Department of Natural Resources has issued a draft of proposed rules that would regulate how the state's oil and gas waste facilities manage radioactive fracking waste.The draft comes after a Dispatch story highlighted there are no rulesfor the waste facilities even though Ohio’s legislature directed ODNR, which regulates the industry, to enact rules in 2013."I think it's good that they're doing this this rulemaking. It's long overdue," said Megan Hunter, a senior attorney at Chicago-based EarthJustice. "But they don't address a lot of the really serious issues presented by these types of facilities."ODNR is accepting comments through Friday. This is the first of three opportunities when Ohioans will have a chance to comment. It's also the third attempt of the agency to get rules passed.The draft, which is 46 pages, proposes standards for where oil and gas waste facilities can be located and how they can operate. As written, it would allow the industry the freedom to have certain records exempted from public inspection if they classify them as infrastructure records. Even though the facilities handle radioactive waste, the draft rules do not require all of the waste facilities to have a radiation protection plan.When hydraulic fracturing or fracking takes place, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure thousands of feet below the soil's surface. The shale rock is fractured from the pressure, which then releases the oil and gas. The process generates lots of waste. Companies use their own formulas for the fluid mixture to frack. They don't have to disclose the chemicals it contains because it's considered a trade secret. Some of the thousands of chemicals in the frack waste fluid are radioactive.This week, Physicians for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit coalition of healthcare workers advocating for climate solutions, released the results of a public records request that showed PFAS (the acronym for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), which are man-made long-lasting compounds dubbed “forever chemicals,” may be present in fracking fluids.PFAS can increase the risk of cancer, reduce fertility in women, interfere with hormones, increase cholesterol levels and negatively affect the immune system and development in infants and children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There also have been studies linking frack waste to severe headaches, asthma symptoms, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems and birth defects, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.ODNR did not make anyone available for an interview for this story. The agency emailed a statement saying, "The division develops draft rules by using the scientific expertise and experience of our staff—then by engaging stakeholders and welcoming public comments as outlined in the rulemaking process. ... The division looks forward to reviewing comments from any interested party during the current and future public comment periods." "We always try to strike that balance between good, strong regulations and not over-regulating. We think that the waste facility rule in its current form, generally speaking, does," said Matt Hammond, president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

 Utica Shale Academy accepts grants to invest in welding lab — A new welding lab will provide students with hands on training at the Utica Shale Academy this school year. On Tuesday, the board of the Utica Shale Academy accepted a $200,000 Equity grant, which the school is combining with another $200,000 Equity grant provided through their partner, Southern Local Schools to purchase all the equipment needed for the new lab. The welding lab will allow Utica Shale Academy students to learn hands on welding skills and gain career path credentials through Lincoln Electric Welding. It will be located downstairs in the Kenneth Hutson Building in Salineville where the school is hoping to relocate in time to welcome most students back to the program this fall. The board also approved a nearly $1,000 per teacher for two instructors to attend a Lincoln Electric Welding virtual training seminar, so those instructors will be ready when the lab is in place. Superintendent Bill Watson said he is in the process of getting all the permits needed to open that building, but is still waiting for American Electric Power to determine what transformer the building will need to provide power to the welding lab equipment and other equipment for the building.

 ODA Director Pelanda Being Forced To Choose Sides --In Union County Common Pleas Court Monday, a petition for a writ of mandamus was filed asking the court to order Dorothy Pelanda, Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, to use her power as director of the ODA and put a stop to a proposed gas pipeline that would cross protected farm properties in Jerome Township. At issue here is what is called the Columbia Gas Northern Columbus Loop Pipeline, a part of large network of lines which encircles the better part of the Columbus-metro area. A large section has been planned to be laid through Delaware County and Jerome Township in Union County. Columbus Gas did yeoman’s work putting the plans for pipeline together for the Northern Columbus Loop, every last foot having been been mapped out, measured, and marked down. Crews are ready to get to work, ready to install 17 miles of 16- and 24-inch lines that will carry 720 psi of natural gas through the two counties. But a fair part of those 17 miles of pipeline was mapped through three properties in Union County’s Jerome Township, properties that are controlled or owned by Don Bailey Jr., Trustee of the Arno Renner Trust, Charles Renner, and Patrick E. and Whitney Bailey, who are the plaintiffs in the case and are called “Relators” in the court filing.They wanted nothing do with the pipeline and said so. The Relators turned down offers of money from Columbia Gas as recently as June 14, offers which also came with clear warnings of ‘eminent domain’, a frank acknowledgement that Columbia Gas has the political juice to force the granting of the easement and was going to end up with the land for the pipeline one way on another.So the Relators struck first.Represented by David Watkins of Plank Law Firm of Columbus, Mr. Bailey, Mr. and Ms. Bailey and Mr. Renner presented the court Monday a petition for a writ of mandamus to order Director Pelanda to intervene and honor the Deed of Agriculture Easement (Ag Easement) that was issued on the properties in question by the very Ohio Department of Agriculture now headed by Director Pelanda.

Whistleblowers say 'bad seeds' undermine pipeline safety -Two former pipeline inspectors say they were fired for reporting hazards on a volatile liquids pipeline to Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s massive new petrochemical plant northwest of Pittsburgh.The inspectors, Frank Chamberlin and Susan D’Layne Carite, said they warned Shell managers and even federal regulators in 2019 that the anti-corrosion coating was defective on the company’s Falcon pipeline. That could increase the threat of corrosion, a leading cause of pipeline ruptures.A representative of the coating manufacturer told Chamberlin the protective layer was “unacceptable,” and another person on the project told him it peeled from the pipe during installation. Rather than fixing the problem, he says, Shell ordered them off the project and the contractor fired the two inspectors, who live together in a rural part of upstate New York. The couple’s allegations are contained in their whistleblower complaint they filed with the Labor Department.“We did our jobs, and we were harassed, abused, ridiculed, and humiliated then released because we would not follow the bad seeds that are giving the industry a very bad reputation,” Chamberlin wrote in his complaint, obtained by E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act. They said they’d been repeatedly warned they’d be “run off” if they kept pressing safety concerns.The allegations highlight that the inspectors in charge of assuring safety and environmental protection on large pipeline projects are usually paid by the pipeline builders themselves. Critics say that creates a conflict of interest, but pipeline industry officials compare the practice to quality control in other areas of manufacturing.“The system isn’t set up to ensure experienced and accountable inspections,” said Shannon Smith of the FracTracker Alliance, a Pennsylvania-based energy watchdog group that has monitored Shell’s project. Federal pipeline safety regulators from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration investigated the former inspectors’ allegations, and agency officials say no safety problems were found. They said the coating that peeled was a protective overcoat. But there’s no record that they followed up with the manufacturer.

PUC approves $1 million settlement over Revolution Pipeline explosion in Beaver County in 2018 - Energy Transfer LP will pay a $1 million fine to settle safety violations over a fiery 2018 natural gas pipeline explosion that destroyed a home in Western Pennsylvania.The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday approved a settlement made last December with the Texas company, whose Revolution Pipeline ruptured and exploded after heavy rains caused a landslide in Beaver County. The new 24-inch diameter pipeline was just being brought into service when the failure occurred.The explosion and fire destroyed a nearby home, whose occupants fled without injury, and knocked out a major electrical transmission line. The pipeline has been out of service since the Sept. 10, 2018, incident.Under the settlement, Energy Transfer does not admit it violated the safety regulations alleged by the PUC’s Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement. But in addition to the $1 million payment, Energy Transfer agreed to several conditions that the PUC says go beyond federal safety requirements.The company agreed to conduct five annual inline inspections of the Revolution pipeline through 2025, to walk the entire 40-mile pipeline right of way after heavy rains and to improve how preconstruction geologic research is incorporated into pipeline design and construction.The PUC agreed not to oppose Energy Transfer’s efforts to restart the pipeline.The commission’s order seeks public comment on the proposed settlement. Any modifications to the settlement would allow either party to withdraw from the agreement and pursue litigation.The Revolution Pipeline is operated by ETC Northeast Pipeline LLC, which is separate from Energy Transfer’s former Sunoco Pipeline unit that is building the contentious Mariner East pipeline system. The Mariner East system delivers natural gas liquids like propane from Western Pennsylvania to an export terminal in Marcus Hook, Delaware County.

Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Jul 5-11 (see embedded documents) - Last week not a whole lot of permit action was goin’ on. Pennsylvania scored only a single (1) new permit. We can’t remember the last time that happened! The PA permit was for a well that will be drilled by EQT in Greene County. Ohio’s Utica got skunked with no new permits. West Virginia rode in to save the day, posting 5 new permits–4 of them for Tug Hill and 1 for Antero Resources.

Physicians Group Uncovers Evidence That ‘Forever Chemicals’ Used Extensively in Fracking Unbeknownst to Public – A new report, released today by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), presents evidence that oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil and Chevron have used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and/or substances that can degrade into PFAS, in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for oil and gas in more than 1,200 wells in six U.S. states between 2012 and 2020. The report also notes that, due to the lack of full disclosure concerning chemicals used, PFAS could have been used in additional states and in drilling and other extraction techniques that precede the underground injections known as fracking.PFAS have been linked to cancer, birth defects, pre-eclampsia, and other serious health effects. Toxic in minuscule concentrations, they accumulate inside the human body and do not break down in the environment – hence their nickname, “forever chemicals.”Evidence related to the use of PFAS or PFAS precursors in oil and gas operations has not been previously publicized.The report, Fracking with “Forever Chemicals,” also documents the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s approval of three chemicals for use in oil and gas drilling and/or fracking, despite EPA’s written observation that the chemicals could degrade into substances similar to PFOA, the most infamous PFAS, highlighted in the 2019 feature film Dark Waters. EPA regulators wrote,EPA has concerns that these degradation products will persist in the environment, could bioaccumulate or biomagnify, and could be toxic (PBT) to people, wild mammals, and birds based on data on analog chemicals, including PFOA and [REDACTED]. One of these chemicals was used commercially for unspecified purposes as recently as 2018, according to EPA records.On Monday, July 12 at noon Eastern time, Physicians for Social Responsibility will host a webinar where report findings will be presented. Representatives of the press will have the opportunity to direct questions to the speakers. “The evidence that people could be unknowingly exposed to these extremely toxic chemicals through oil and gas operations is disturbing,” said Horwitt. “Considering the terrible history of pollution associated with PFAS, EPA and state governments need to move quickly to ensure that the public knows where these chemicals have been used and is protected from their impacts.”

E.P.A. Approved Toxic Chemicals for Fracking a Decade Ago, New Files Show - The compounds can form PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to cancer and birth defects. The E.P.A. approvals came despite the agency’s own concerns about toxicity. For much of the past decade, oil companies engaged in drilling and fracking have been allowed to pump into the ground chemicals that, over time, can break down into toxic substances known as PFAS — a class of long-lasting compounds known to pose a threat to people and wildlife — according to internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. in 2011 approved the use of these chemicals, used to ease the flow of oil from the ground, despite the agency’s own grave concerns about their toxicity, according to the documents, which were reviewed by The New York Times. The E.P.A.’s approval of the three chemicals wasn’t previously publicly known. The records, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by a nonprofit group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, are among the first public indications that PFAS, long-lasting compounds also known as “forever chemicals,” may be present in the fluids used during drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In a consent order issued for the three chemicals on Oct. 26, 2011, E.P.A. scientists pointed to preliminary evidence that, under some conditions, the chemicals could “degrade in the environment” into substances akin to PFOA, a kind of PFAS chemical, and could “persist in the environment” and “be toxic to people, wild mammals, and birds.” The E.P.A. scientists recommended additional testing. Those tests were not mandatory and there is no indication that they were carried out. “The E.P.A. identified serious health risks associated with chemicals proposed for use in oil and gas extraction, and yet allowed those chemicals to be used commercially with very lax regulation,” said Dusty Horwitt, researcher at Physicians for Social Responsibility. The documents, dating from the Obama administration, are heavily redacted because the E.P.A. allows companies to invoke trade-secret claims to keep basic information on new chemicals from public release. Even the name of the company that applied for approval is redacted, and the records give only a generic name for the chemicals: fluorinated acrylic alkylamino copolymer. However, an identification number for one of the chemicals issued by the E.P.A. appears in separate E.P.A. data and identifies Chemours, previously Dupont, as the submitter. A separate E.P.A. document shows that a chemical with the same EPA-issued number was first imported for commercial use in November 2011. (Chemours did not exist until 2015, though it would have had the responsibility to report chemicals on behalf of its predecessor, Dupont.)

Pennsylvania Remains Negligent On Radiation Guidance Despite TENORM Study - Public Herald --After nearly two years of revisions, and five years since the release of the state-funded study on Technically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is in the final stage of updating a “technical guidance document” to establish rules for safely handling TENORM from oil and gas waste. Though DEP’s document only makes recommendations based on existing regulation — it does not set new policy — the technical guidance is still important to analyze. This type of document is where the commonwealth reveals under current law how it prioritizes and protects the public from carcinogenic and toxic materials from an industry that is intricately woven into the physical, legal, social and political landscapes. Pennsylvania is the place that’s home to the world’s first commercial oil well and is the second-largest natural gas producing state in the United States, where 75% of the natural gas extracted is exported to other states. So, when it finally starts to speak up about radiation, we better start listening to what they’re saying. As you might imagine, and as Public Herald has uncovered in ten years of investigations, Pennsylvania has a love affair with the oil and gas industry. From buying politicians on both sides of the aisle to the revolving door of staffers who work inside both industry and the government, from open attacks on transparency and protections for the public to converting large swaths of forested public land for industrial use, from ripping prodigious amounts of freshwater out of the state’s water supplies to poisoning drinking water, from DEP being called out by Pennsylvania’s own Auditor and Attorney Generals for prioritizing its relationship with industry more than public health and safety, to unearthing mountains of radioactive waste – the evidence is in Pennsylvania’s actions.Though we certainly did not expect the DEP’s guidance to address all the problems with the industry’s waste, like the dumping of the industry’s radioactive materials into rivers via reclassification loopholes, we remained open to the chance that improvement was possible. But after reviewing DEP’s technical guidance, we lament the continued absence of scientific integrity. Despite a growing body of data that reveals just how ‘hot’ the industry is, or simply the state’s own TENORM study, Pennsylvania remains blasé about the dangers of the radioactive threat of oil and gas waste.The revised technical guidance document is clear. Though DEP reiterates that “there are multiple waste streams that may contain TENORM from [oil and gas] wells, including sediments, drill cuttings, filter socks, hydraulic fracturing flowback water, and other wastes…”, the guidance also states that “DEP may require long-term monitoring of leachate and groundwater” at facilities that handle “large volumes” of TENORM.” It goes on to state that the DEP “may require providing appropriate justification and/or pathway analysis for modeling potential radiation exposure to the public and facility or O&G well site staff…” [Emphasis added.]

 Equitrans plans to buy $150M in offsets to reduce methane emissions ** The Canonsburg-based operators of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Equitrans Midstream Corp., announced Monday it would purchase at least $150 million in carbon offsets over 10 years from a coal mining abatement project with the goal of making MVP carbon neutral for a decade. Equitrans is building and will be the operator of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will take Marcellus and Utica Shale natural gas from western Pennsylvania from a starting point in northern West Virginia through to a distribution point in Virginia. The pipeline, which has been under construction for several years, could be operational next year but it has been facing opposition from environmentalists and neighbors. It’s a big step for Equitrans and MVP, a joint venture of Equitrans and other owners including utilities. They say it’s one of the first interstate pipelines that will have carbon offsets for its emissions. And, said Equitrans Chief Sustainability Officer Todd Normane, the companies weren’t looking for just any project to offset MVP’s carbon impact. “It took a while before we were able to find the right project,” Normane told the Business Times on Monday afternoon. The centerpiece of the project is a methane abatement project that is being done at a metallurgical coal mine in southwestern Virginia near the West Virginia border and in the same region as MVP is being constructed. The methane abatement project will use a regenerative thermal oxidizer to capture methane and turn it into carbon dioxide and water vapor instead of methane, which is considered a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. It’s being put into place in two phases with full operation by 2023 and in concert with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, a partner in MVP. Normane said the project would demonstrably reduce methane emissions — it’s estimated when operational that it will reduce Virginia’s underground coal mine emissions by 25% — and that was a big appeal. So was the location, which is where MVP will be operating, as was the long-term commitment of 10 years. MVP and Equitrans did the carbon offset program, which will be worth between $13 million and $15 million a year, voluntarily.

MVP to Purchase Carbon Offsets, Potentially Pleasing Climate-Conscious FERC - Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), the proposed Appalachia-to-Southeast natural gas conduit seeking FERC approval to resume construction following legal and regulatory setbacks, plans to purchase carbon offsets for its first 10 years of operational emissions. Management for the embattled pipeline project, a joint venture (JV) led by Equitrans Midstream Corp., said the move would make MVP one of the nation’s first large-scale interstate natural gas pipelines to achieve carbon neutrality for its operational emissions.“We understand the sensitivities that surround the blending of large-scale infrastructure projects with environmental protection,” Equitrans Midstream CEO Diana Charletta said. “Equitrans Midstream is committed to aggressively pursuing climate change mitigation and adaptation while also balancing the intermediate and increasing need for energy in our country.”The carbon offsets are part of the company’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Charletta added.MVP plans to purchase more than $150 million of carbon offsets during the first decade in service. “Through an agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources…these carbon offsets will be sourced through a methane abatement project in Virginia that is expected to be the largest operating coal mine methane abatement project in the world when it reaches full production in 2023,” management said. NextEra Capital Holdings Inc. is a JV partner in MVP. The methane abatement project, which would be at a southwestern Virginia mine near the West Virginia border, is to be built in phases. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023. The project would make use of an “onsite regenerative thermal oxidizer” to capture methane and convert it to carbon dioxide and water in an effort to reduce climate impacts. The methane abatement project is expected to offset 90% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from MVP operations through the first decade, with the pipeline planning additional GHG abatement projects in West Virginia, including plans to address abandoned and orphaned gas wells.The announcement comes as MVP awaits final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to restart construction on the 303-mile, 2 million Dth/d pipeline. MVP has faced substantial delays since first receiving a certificate from the agency in 2017..

Developer Defends FERC's Approvals Of $468M Project - The developer of a $468 million natural gas pipeline told the D. C. Circuit that federal energy regulators' review of the project was sound and argued project challengers are retreading rejected assertions and that Native American tribes' historic preservation claims aren't properly before the court. Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, the developer of the Southgate natural gas pipeline project, and Dominion Energy Inc. subsidiary Public Service Company of North Carolina Inc. , which would be the pipeline's primary shipper, told the D. C. Circuit on Monday it should reject a petition for review lodged by a coalition of environmental groups because the Federal Energy Regulatory. .

Colonial Pipeline faces huge fine after massive NC fuel leak - Colonial Pipeline Co. could face daily fines of up to $200,000 per violation if it fails to improve the way it detects leaks in its U.S. pipeline system, after a massive gasoline leak in Huntersville, according to a recent settlement in the case with the U.S. government. The agreement orders Colonial to find and use a better leak detection system across its entire network, citing several newly disclosed leaks over the years. Colonial, meanwhile, faces separate potential action by the state Department of Environmental Quality for the August 2020 leak in Mecklenburg County’s Oehler Nature Preserve, State Sen. Natasha Marcus, D-Mecklenburg, told The Charlotte Observer. Two teenage ATV riders chanced upon and reported the Huntersville leak in August. The spill was among the worst in the state, Michael Regan, then-NCDEQ secretary, said in September. Regan now heads the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company eventually reported that almost 18 times more gasoline leaked from its pipe than its original estimate, according to the June 15 settlement with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). An administration spokesman wouldn’t say why the agency didn’t issue a fine for the spill as part the settlement. In an email, he instead pointed the Observer to the agreement, which calls for daily fines of up to $200,000 per violation. But the leak in Mecklenburg’s Oehler Nature Preserve was just the latest of several large spills in Colonial’s pipeline system, the settlement revealed. “Colonial has experienced several other accidents that were not detected by its leak detection system or by Colonial personnel.,” federal officials wrote. Leaks included 309,540 gallons of gasoline near Pelham, Ala., in September 2016; 588 gallons in Gwinnett County, Ga., in February 2016; and 4,000 gallons in Centreville, Va., in September 2015, according to the settlement. The company has until Oct. 15 to show how and by when it will improve its leak detection process, according to the settlement with PHMSA.

Massachusetts cities try new legal path toward banning new fossil fuel hookups | Energy News Network - A year after Massachusetts’ attorney general struck down a suburban town’s attempt to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, a growing number of municipalities are pursuing new strategies to restrict the use of oil and natural gas in buildings. In the past eight months, the towns of Brookline, Arlington, Lexington, Concord, and Acton have all passed measures asking the state Legislature to allow them to prohibit the installation of fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction and, in some cases, buildings undergoing major renovations. Other municipalities are expected to follow in coming months, as part of a coordinated effort to galvanize statewide action. “We need to rapidly decarbonize,” said Lisa Cunningham of Brookline, a town meeting member and clean energy activist. “And the first thing we need to do is stop making the problem worse.” The movement began in 2019, when Brookline first approved, by an overwhelming majority, a bylaw prohibiting fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction or gut renovations. It was the first such municipal measure passed outside of California. Inspired by the idea, other towns began preparing similar measures. Supporters of these bylaws argue that prohibiting fossil fuel infrastructure right now makes the most logistical and financial sense. Fossil fuel use in buildings will have to be eliminated over the coming decades in order to reach the state’s goal of going carbon-neutral by 2050, they say. Therefore, any natural gas or oil systems installed now would likely have to be replaced with electric alternatives within 10 or 20 years. “Any fossil fuel infrastructure that goes in now is going to have to be torn up,” said Anne Wright, an activist in Arlington who helped push for that town’s bylaw. “So why not save money and put electric infrastructure in there now? That’s the long-term vision and economic argument.”

Massachusetts gas delivery company to pay $850k in settlement for overcharging state for subpar fuel - Diesel Direct, LLC will pay $850,000 in a settlement over the delivery of sub-par gas deliveries to Massachusetts agencies. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said that the company knowingly delivered nonconforming petroleum diesel fuel to state agencies while charging for higher-priced and more environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel. “By not delivering on the terms of its contracts, this company bilked Massachusetts out of taxpayer dollars and undermined our efforts to reduce harmful emissions,” said Healey. “The company further ignored an important part of its contracts designed to ensure minority, women and veteran-owned businesses have an opportunity to participate in government work. Those who accept taxpayer funding to contract with the state have a duty to operate with integrity and those who don’t will be held accountable.” In addition to paying $850,000, Diesel Direct has agreed not to bid, submit a response to a request for proposal, or otherwise participate in any contract with the state or any state agencies for five years. The issue was brought to Healey’s office by a whistleblower saying that the companies Senior Vice President of Operations Augustine Pesaturo, directed employees to deliver nonconforming petroleum diesel fuel to state agencies, instead of the higher-priced and more environmentally friendly biodiesel blend the agencies ordered. Pesaturo then directed employees to charge state agencies for the higher-priced biodiesel that it did not provide, according to the AG’s office. Healey’s office goes further to say that the company’s Chief Executive Officer William McNamara, Jr., knew about the company’s improper actions, failed to stop the conduct. Diesel Direct’s improper conduct caused state agencies to consume fuel that emitted greater amounts of greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere.

Gas leak sends 53 Catskills campers to regional hospitals— A total of 53 people were taken to regional hospitals Thursday after authorities believe a leaky gas pipe sickened youngsters at an all-boys religious camp in the Catskill Mountains.“We sent 53 people to the hospital,” Schoharie County Emergency Services Director Michael Hartzel said of the episode at Camp Oorah for Boys, an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish summer camp located near the now-closed Scotch Valley ski resort.Hartzel said the call initially went to Delaware County, since the closest firehouse, in Stamford, is in that neighboring county. The initial report was that camp officials said that six campers were ill and lapsing in and out of consciousness. It was unclear how many of the 53 people being treated are campers and/or adults.First responders, including ambulances, firefighting and other rescue crews from Jefferson and Stamford, found high levels of carbon monoxide in the building, prompting a call for more medical help and regional assistance.No one was believed to have died. As of late Thursday afternoon, it remained unclear how many campers or camp employees were still in the five hospitals to which they had earlier been rushed.“They all came in around the same time,” said Angie Blair, spokeswoman for the Bassett health care system which operates hospitals in Cooperstown, Cobleskill, Delhi and Oneonta.Another group was taken to a hospital in Margaretville, Hartzel added.When more than five people come in at once, it is considered a mass casualty incident, which triggers procedures for activating the system of multiple hospitals and personnel as needed.“It alerts our emergency and trauma departments for a larger-than-normal influx,” said Blair.All told, 13 ambulances and two fire trucks responded, said Jefferson Assistant Fire Chief Mckay McMullen.

South Portland wins pipeline lawsuit over local clean air rule - - The city has prevailed in the lawsuit brought by the Portland Pipe Line Corp., ending more than six years of federal litigation over a local law that blocks the company from reversing the flow of its World War II-era oil pipeline to bring crude from Canada to Maine.The company gave up the fight Thursday, filing an agreement with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to voluntarily dismiss its appeal of a previous federal court judgment that upheld the city’s Clear Skies Ordinance.Passed by the City Council in 2014, the ordinance prohibits bulk loading of crude oil into marine tanker vessels on the city’s waterfront, and its survival of federal court scrutiny is seen as precedent-setting by many.The dismissal follows the city’s victories in U.S. District Court in Portland and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, as well as an amicus brief filed by the Biden administration last month supporting the city’s stance that the ordinance doesn’t violate the Constitution, federal laws or foreign policies. Under the terms of the two-page agreement, the company and the city will pay their own court costs, and the company gave up the right to pursue the appeal further in the future. The city has spent $2.8 million fighting the lawsuit, including $174,529 in private donations from residents, organizations and others.

Plans canceled for one of two gas power plants in Charles City; opponents say mystery surrounds fossil fuel interests there - The developer of a proposed natural gas plant in Charles City County said Friday that it is no longer pursuing the project. The move was welcomed by people in the county who say they don’t want more fossil fuel pollution. Opponents say local and state officials haven’t been transparent about the proposal and a plan for a second plant a mile away. The proposed C4GT power plant was backed by private investors and would have brought gas via pipeline to the county to be burned to create electricity. Michigan-based NOVI Energy, the company that wanted the project, announced it is moving on. “NOVI Energy cares deeply about the communities it serves and the affordable, reliable power facilities it helps build,” read a statement from a communications firm representing the company. “After taking feedback from the community and assessing the changing market, NOVI Energy has decided not to pursue the C4GT power plant.” Wanda Roberts, who lives in Charles City and is helping lead opposition to the plants, said the announcement took her breath away. “We were praying and hoping this was going to happen,” she said. “We were told from the very beginning ... that it’s a done deal, there’s nothing anybody can do to stop this plant from coming.” County government officials were already in the process of taking back land where the plant would go, but until Friday the plan appeared to still be on the table.

Chesapeake Energy moves to certify Gulf Coast gas output as RSG by end of 2021 - Chesapeake Energy will work with a pair of environmental groups to certify its Haynesville shale production in Louisiana as responsibly produced by year end, with plans to later do the same with its Appalachia production, as the natural gas industry continues to respond to environmental concerns at home and in global LNG markets. MiQ — a joint venture between RMI and SYSTEMIQ — and Equitable Origin were chosen as the third-party certifiers. MiQ will provide a quantitative assessment of the company's methane emissions and detection practices, while Equitable Origin will certify to a broader qualitative environmental, social, and governance standard. The new initiative will be Chesapeake Energy's second responsibly sourced gas certification project, having previously launched a pilot program with Project Canary in April. The pilot involved installing on-site continuous methane monitoring devices on select Chesapeake well pads in the Marcellus and Haynesville basins, as well as undergoing Trustwell certification. Chesapeake's Haynesville gas production totaled around 532 MMcf/d in the first quarter, according to a May 12 investor presentation. The Haynesville shale basin has seen steady production growth over the past several years, with Platts Analytics data showing year-to-date production volumes of 12.43 Bcf/d, up from 12.03 Bcf/d in 2020 and 11.73 Bcf/d in 2019. Appalachia plans Following its Gulf Coast certification process, Chesapeake aims to complete certification of its Appalachia gas production by Q2 2022. Chesapeake produced 1.26 Bcf/d of gas in Appalachia in Q1, according to the May 12 investor presentation. Appalachia has emerged as the country's dominant basin for RSG certification, likely due to the basin's lower emissions profile. Four out of the top five Pennsylvania gas producers have announced RSG certification efforts for some or all production.

Spire Pipe Closure to Cut Off MU NatGas for Some St. Louis Residents - The people of St. Louis can call and thank the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) when their natural gas supplies and/or electricity are turned off later this summer because the Spire STL pipeline must shut down. In June MDN brought you the news that three far-left Democrat judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for a long-completed and flowing natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis, MO area that flows Marcellus/Utica gas to residents, businesses, and electric generating plants throughout the region (see Fed Court Overturns Marcellus to St. Louis Pipe – Shutdown Coming?). The parent company of the pipeline is now warning it is in the process of shutting down the pipeline and that could lead to “service disruptions for customers.”Earlier this week we brought you the news that the EDF, the organization that brought the lawsuit shutting down Spire STL, is crowing that this case is the “tipping point” and that EDF believes it can shut down and block even more pipelines across the country (see Radical EDF Brags Spire Pipeline Court Decision is “Tipping Point”). Ever notice that groups like EDF always destroy jobs and the economy, and never, ever create jobs or contribute to the economy? Spire STL connects to and gets M-U gas from the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline. REX between Ohio and Missouri was reversed several years ago to bring our molecules to the Midwest. An important market for our molecules is now directly threatened because of the EDF.

Natural Gas Prices Swing as Traders Track Variables Across Globe — LNG Recap -- Global natural gas prices have turned volatile after a stretch of gains as traders watch variables in key markets from the United States to Asia. In the United States, the Henry Hub prompt contract finally retreated early last week after a nine-day winning streak. However, it spiked again by nearly 10 cents last Thursday (July 8) on a weak storage build before finishing lower to end the week. Traders looked past a tilt toward cooler weather Monday and focused instead on near-term heat and expectations for strong domestic demand and U.S. exports over the balance of summer. That sent gas futures higher. The August contract shed 5 cents Tuesday to finish at $3.696/MMBtu, with similar losses seen across the forward curve.Cameron LNG in Louisiana shut one of its three liquefaction trains for maintenance on Monday, but it was expected back online by Tuesday. Feed gas deliveries dipped to about 10.46 Bcf/d as the week got underway and were hovering near that level on Tuesday. However, nominations to the Cameron terminal were up slightly, according to NGI’s U.S. LNG Export Tracker. The market has also been on a seesaw in Europe. Dutch futures finished last week higher as storage inventories on the continent remain low and Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices remain high enough to lure cargoes away from Europe. Still, prices dipped significantly on Monday in most European markets. Engie EnergyScan analysts said prices were pressured lower by supply rebounding and technical selling. Russian pipeline imports jumped as maintenance on the Yamal system ended, while Norwegian flows also increased as the week started. Statements by Nord Stream 2 AG CEO Matthias Warnig also moved the market lower Monday. He told German newspaper Handelsblatt that both legs of the 5.3 Bcf/d system planned to move gas from Russia to Germany would be online by the end of the year. Testing has already started on the first leg of the project, Warnig reportedly said. Only 2% of construction remains on the second leg. By Tuesday, prices had jumped higher as both the Title Transfer Facility and National Balancing Point contracts gained across the curve. Further volatility is likely this week as the European Commission is slated to unveil a climate policy package on Wednesday aimed at reducing emissions by 55% across the continent by 2030 from 1990 levels. In Asia, meanwhile, spot prices were assessed above $13/MMBtu, down by about $1 from a week ago. Demand still remains strong in the region, but higher prices have sidelined some buyers from the spot market.

U.S. natgas futures hit 30-month high on soaring global prices (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures rose 2% to a 30-month high on Monday as rising global gas prices offset forecasts for slightly less hot weather and lower air conditioning demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Front-month gas futures NGc1 rose 7.5 cents, or 2.0%, to settle at $3.749 per million British thermal units, their highest close since December 2018. U.S. speculators last week boosted their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental Exchanges for a sixth week in a row to their highest since May 2017 on expectations U.S. exports would reach fresh record highs as global gas prices soar with low stockpiles around the world. The amount of gas in U.S. storage for the winter of 2021-2022 was almost 7% below the five-year (2016-2020) normal for this time of year. Data provider Refinitiv said U.S. output in the Lower 48 states slipped to 91.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in July, due mostly to pipeline problems in West Virginia earlier in the month. That compares with an average of 92.2 bcfd in June and an all-time high of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. Refinitiv projected average gas demand, including exports, would rise from 91.9 bcfd this week to 94.0 bcfd next week as the weather turns seasonally hotter. Those forecasts, however, were lower than Refinitiv projected on Friday. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants averaged 10.9 bcfd so far in July, up from 10.1 bcfd in June but still below the record 11.5 bcfd in April. With European and Asian gas both trading over $12 per mmBtu, analysts said buyers around the world would keep purchasing all the LNG the United States can produce. U.S. pipeline exports to Mexico, meanwhile, averaged 6.5 bcfd so far in July, down from a record 6.8 bcfd in June.

Record Natural Gas Prices Give Power Markets a Jolt – WSJ - A scramble for natural gas is creating pockets of scarcity in the global market, boosting prices for the fuel and for the electricity generated by burning it. Rampant demand in China is sucking in chilled cargoes of gas from the U.S., after a year in which American energy companies throttled back production. A drought in Brazil has added to the competition by curtailing power output from hydroelectric dams.Searing heat in Canada and the Pacific Northwest has also lifted gas demand. Some places are missing out, like Pakistan, where a shortage of gas and the delayed onset of the summer monsoon have prompted power outages. The drought gripping the Western U.S. has climate scientists concerned that the natural cycle of water may be shifting.Europe, in particular, is feeling the pinch. With vessels of liquefied natural gas heading to Asia, buyers on the continent have struggled to replenish tanks and caverns after a long and cold winter. Storage levels are the lowest for this time of year in a decade, said Natasha Fielding, a gas analyst at Argus Media.The price of gas at a trading hub in the Netherlands shot to a record $13.10 per million British thermal units in July, according to S&P Global Platts data going back to 2004. Barring mild temperatures this winter, gas prices are likely to remain elevated globally for at least another year, according to Chris Midgley, head of analytics at the commodities-data firm.“There just isn’t enough [liquefied natural gas] to supply Europe,” Mr. Midgley said. “The LNG, of course predominantly coming out of the U.S., is being pulled into Asia and also into Latin America.”High prices for gas, coal and emission permits—the main input costs for power plants—have fed off each other to send electricity markets skyward too. In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, power prices in July jumped to about €83.67, equivalent to around $99.26, a megawatt-hour, according to Argus. That is close to their highest level in figures dating back to 2000. U.K., Spanish and Italian power prices have shot to record highs.The moves are among the most extreme cases in a broader upswing in energy markets. U.S. crude prices have risen 54% this year to about $75 a barrel and Americans drivers are paying more for gasoline than they have done in almost seven years. Thermal coal hasn’t been as expensive in a decade.For consumers and businesses, it is a painful reminder that energy bills can go up as well as down. The jump is driving a quicker pace of inflation, though central banks say that effect will wash out. Lofty prices are taking the shine off a boom in demand for products made by energy-intensive companies. Profits are being squeezed in industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and automotive companies.

Despite Cooler Forecast Shift, August Natural Gas Futures, Cash Prices Jump as Heat Reigns Out West - Traders looked past a tilt toward cooler weather in new forecasts and focused instead on near-term heat and expectations for both strong domestic demand and U.S. exports over the balance of summer, sending natural gas futures higher on Monday. Natural gas futures bounced back on Thursday, bolstered by an anemic increase in inventories that pointed to a tight supply/demand balance and ignited concerns about adequate storage levels. The August Nymex contract spiked 9.2 cents day/day and settled at $3.688/MMBtu. September jumped 9.3 cents to $3.667. The August Nymex contract gained 7.5 cents from the prior week’s close and settled at $3.749/MMBtu. September natural gas also rose 7.5 cents, reaching $3.732 at the close. The prompt month had finished modestly lower on Friday and closed last week overall essentially flat after a series of rallies in June. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. advanced 15.5 cents on Monday to $3.720. NatGasWeather said forecast data over the weekend shifted slightly cooler, with both the domestic and European models showing about five fewer cooling degree days (CDD) early next week. However, the firm added, “It’s still a very warm to hot overall U.S. pattern much of the next 15 days, especially over the western half” of the Lower 48, “as strong upper high pressure continues to bring oppressive heat.” EBW Analytics Group provided a similar assessment. Its analysts noted the loss of CDD but said cooling demand overall is expected to “generally remain elevated for 10 to 14 days.”

August Natural Gas Futures, Cash Prices Retreat Along With Weather, LNG Data - Natural gas futures on Tuesday slid lower, following forecasts for a pullback in weather-driven demand and lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) levels in the wake of maintenance work. The August Nymex contract shed 5.3 cents day/day and settled at $3.696/MMBtu. A day earlier, the prompt month had gained 9.2 cents. September fell 5.0 cents to $3.682 on Tuesday.NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 10.5 cents to $3.615 as hubs in the West gave back some of the whopping gains made over several recent trading sessions.Bespoke Weather Services said that for a second consecutive day, it made forecast revisions to “the cooler side.“We continue to see a general lack of heat in the pattern compared to what was expected previously, with the 15-day period, along with July as a whole, looking to come in cooler than the five- and 10-year normal,” the firm said Tuesday. “Best heat in the pattern lies from the northern Plains back into the interior West, though even in the West the upcoming heat is nothing like what has been seen out there in previous weeks. There remains a total lack of heat with respect to normal in the southern U.S., especially in Texas.” The East could see modest heat at times over the next two weeks, Bespoke added, “though not as strong as recent heat surges.” In total, the firm projected that July gas-weighted degree days would reach about 350, “which would be the lowest July total since 2015.”

August Natural Gas Futures Fail to Sustain Momentum, Falter a Second Day - Natural Gas Intelligence - Natural gas futures rebounded early Wednesday, as liquefied natural gas (LNG) levels bounced back and reassured markets of robust export demand. Still, bearish tilts in domestic weather outlooks and estimates for a higher storage injection put downward pressure on futures in afternoon trading. The August Nymex contract ultimately fell 3.6 cents day/day and settled at $3.660/MMBtu on Wednesday. The prompt month had shed 5.3 cents a day earlier. The September contract slipped 3.4 cents on Wednesday to $3.648. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. moved sideways through most of the day, finishing up 2.0 cents to $3.635. While demand this week is holding strong, bolstered by persistent heat in the West and upper high pressure over large swaths of the East Coast, forecasts called for eased cooling needs next week. NatGasWeather said weather systems would track across the Great Lakes and East this coming weekend and next week, an outlook that cut several cooling degree days (CDD) from earlier forecasts.Both the domestic and European weather models maintained a hotter pattern for the last week of July, the firm said, “although this has been delayed by one to two days in recent data due to cooler trends.” Bespoke Weather Services posted a similar outlook. The forecasts overshadowed data elsewhere that was favorable for gas prices. Production declined for a second day and dipped below 90 Bcf in early estimates Wednesday. That was notably below the 92-93 Bcf highs in recent weeks. LNG feed gas volumes, meanwhile, climbed back above 11 Bcf Wednesday after hovering closer to 10 Bcf for a few days because of maintenance work. Several analysts have projected that LNG levels could steadily exceed 11 Bcf in the second half of the summer – barring surprise maintenance work – and potentially eclipse 12 Bcf to set a new record. Demand for U.S. exports of LNG is running high from both Asia and Europe, following cold winters that depleted stockpiles and several hot weeks to start the summer. Even with recent maintenance work curbing volumes, LNG demand “comparisons have averaged a startling 7.3 Bcf/d higher year-over-year for the past three weeks,” EBW Analytics Group said.

US working natural gas volumes in underground storage increase 55 Bcf: EIA -- US natural gas inventories rose nearly in line with the five-year average for the week ended July 9, doing little to erase the storage deficit, as Henry Hub futures fell slightly. Storage inventories increased 55 Bcf to 2.629 Tcf for the week ended July 9, the US Energy Information Administration reported July 15. The build was more than the 46 Bcf injection an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts expected and just above the five-year average build of 54 Bcf, according to EIA data. Storage volumes now stand 543 Bcf, or 17.1%, below the year-ago level of 3.172 Tcf, and 189 Bcf, or 6.7%, below the five-year average of 2.818 Tcf. The NYMEX Henry Hub August contract dipped 4 cents to $3.62/MMBtu July 15, nearly $2/MMBtu above where the prompt month was valued last year at this time as fundamentals have demonstrated significant change. US dry production is down 700 MMcf/d so far this year, while total demand rose 3.9 Bcf/d year to date, according to Platts Analytics. LNG exports have fueled 3.4 Bcf/d of the rise in demand. Platts Analytics' supply-and-demand model currently forecasts a 38 Bcf injection for the week ending July 16, which would measure only 2 Bcf more than the five-year average, doing little to erase the deficit as the injection season nears the halfway point. Midwest injections have increased by 2.5 Bcf while East injections fell by a similar amount for the week ending July 16. The largest change has come from the Pacific region, where pipeline sample data indicate a possible flip to a net withdrawal, likely the result of sustained, hotter-than-normal weather affecting the West Coast. The current Platts Analytics end-of-season forecast has stocks peaking at 3.5 Tcf, 400 Bcf below last year's storage peak. In response to below-normal volumes in storage, shippers, local distribution companies, and end-users will likely boost injection activity over the next few months to build up adequate supply by the time the heating season arrives in early November. But this might prove difficult in the short term as the US enters the peak demand period of the summer.

August Natural Gas Futures Bounce Back as Inventory Concerns Bubble Up - The August Nymex contract gained 6.0 cents day/day and settled at $3.674/MMBtu. September advanced 5.7 cents to $3.658.NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg., however, fell 13.5 cents to $3.485, as next-day prices dropped in the Northeast ahead of an anticipated cool down.The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 55 Bcf into U.S. natural gas storage for the week ended July 9. The result exceeded expectations for a build in the upper 40s Bcf, and it also eclipsed the year-earlier increase of 47 Bcf and the five-year average 54 Bcf injection.Bearish reads on the EIA print pressured futures on Thursday. Still, the prompt month bounced back Friday as analysts emphasized supply/balance tightness following bouts of record heat and robust cooling demand throughout June.Strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) levels, fueled by Asian and European demand for U.S. exports, continued to help drive the demand side of the equation as well. LNG feed gas volumes hovered near 11 Bcf on Friday, according to NGI data.EIA’s 55 Bcf injection left the market roughly 3 Bcf/d tighter than the five-year average when compared to degree days and normal seasonality, according to Wood Mackenzie analyst Eric Fell. This included an estimated 14 Bcf of demand impacts from the Fourth of July holiday.“Three of the last four weeks have appeared tight by between 3-4 Bcf/d,” Fell said Friday. “These three tight weeks have corresponded with nuclear/renewable generation realizing at or below the prior five-year average, cutting against the trend of growth in nuclear/renewable generation that we have seen over time and in 23 of the 27 weeks in 2021.”

Gas Sellers Reaped $11 Billion Windfall During Texas Freeze - The official autopsy of the great Texas winter blackout of February 2021 quickly established a clear timeline of events: Electric utilities cut off power to customers and distributors as well as natural gas producers, which in turn triggered a negative feedback loop that sunk the state deeper and deeper into frigid darkness. It’s now becoming clear that while millions of Texans endured days of power cuts, the state’s gas producers contributed to fuel shortages, allowing pipelines and traders to profit handsomely off them. Interviews with energy executives and an analysis of public records by Bloomberg News show that natural gas producers in the Permian shale basin began to drastically reduce output days before power companies cut them off. As the flow of gas cratered, everyone scrambled to secure enough supply, sparking one of the wildest price surges in history. Power producers were forced to pay top dollar in the spot market for whatever gas they could find. Soon customers will be saddled with the bill. And it’s a big one: The total comes to about $11.1 billion for a storm that lasted for just five days, according to estimates by BloombergNEF analysts Jade Patterson and Nakul Nair. The cost of gas for power generation alone was about $8.1 billion, or 75 times normal levels. A further $3 billion was spent by utilities providing gas for cooking, heating and fireplaces. The BNEF estimate is based on spot prices at major hubs assessed by S&P Global Platts rather than private contracts, so is likely an upper limit of the total cost. Millions of Texans are now faced with the prospect of paying higher gas prices for years as utilities seek to spread the cost over a decade or more. Texas lawmakers have set aside $10 billion to help natural gas utilities cover their natural gas costs from the storm through low-interest, state-backed bonds. A special legislative session convened Thursday but the agenda did not include any measures to fix the power grid. This week, Governor Greg Abbott appeared to double down on his early assessment that wind and solar were prime culprits of the freeze. Even though gas failed in its role as a reliable backup fuel during the freeze, Abbott pushed regulators in a letter to strengthen incentives for fossil fuel and nuclear generators while increasing “reliability costs” for intermittent renewable power sources. What Abbott didn’t mention was the massive windfall key industry players made during the freeze. Energy Transfer posted its highest quarterly net income on record, more than three times its previous best quarter. This is “the most massive wealth transfer in Texas history,” said Ron Nirenberg, mayor of San Antonio. “Energy market participants took full advantage of the declared disaster, or did not take the appropriate steps to stop the exorbitant and unconscionable prices.”

As Texas electric grid failed, natural gas companies were paid to turn off power: report - The February winter storm that nearly brought the Texas electricity grid to its knees likely stressed the state’s natural gas infrastructure “more than any time in history,” according to the authors ofa new UT Austin report analyzing the power outages and their financial implications. The report includes previously undisclosed data about how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid’s manager, responded to the unfolding crisis, which led to widespread outages andhundreds of deaths statewide. The report was released just before ERCOT announced its own “roadmap” of 60 proposals to improve the grid. “This isn’t the only time natural gas has constrained electricity generation — it happened in other recent blackouts (1989 and 2011) — but this time was unique,” said Carey King, the assistant director of UT’s Energy Institute and a co-author of the report. “The system was stressed to its absolute maximum capability. One striking revelation from the report involves ERCOT’s Emergency Response Service (ERS) program, which pays enrolled customers to reduce the amount of electricity they are purchasing from the grid or start using backup generators during emergencies. The goal is to decrease ERCOT’s need to start rolling blackouts, according to the agency’s website. UT Austin researchers discovered that 67 electric meters run by natural gas companies were enrolled in the program. In turn, those meters, which were part of the fuel supply chain providing energy to millions of Texans, lost power when the program was activated on Feb. 15.At least five of those meters were later identified as “critical natural gas infrastructure,” including natural gas compressors, processing facilities or other parts of the supply chain, according to Joshua Rhodes, a research associate and co-author.“It seems inconsistent that critical infrastructure should also voluntarily allow themselves to be turned off when they are needed most,” Rhodes said.Natural gas production, storage and distribution facilities played a key role in the electricity crisis by not providing the amount of fuel demanded by power plants during the storm, the report found. That failure led to a dramatic drop in power plant capacity and forced ERCOT to cut power across the state to “avoid a catastrophic failure,” researchers wrote.Researchers attributed those failures in the natural gas system to direct freezing of equipment and failing to inform electric utilities about which parts of their systems were critical and needed power at all times.The outcome was a nearly 85% drop in dry gas production between early February and the winter storm, leading some companies to experience financial windfalls when they could provide scarce gas during the storm.

After explosion kills 14-year-old, Louisiana wants tighter safety rules on oil field tank batteries -Zalee Gail Day-Smith was a talkative, smart 14-year-old from a rural corner of southwest Louisiana who dreamed of going to Harvard University, becoming a lawyer and a judge, and one day making the criminal justice system fairer for more people, her father said. But Day-Smith's dreams were abruptly snuffed out in a tragic explosion and fire on Feb. 28 at an oil tank battery a few hundred feet from her mom's house in the Ragley community between DeRidder and Lake Charles. State Police investigators believe Day-Smith frequently hung out on the Urban Oil and Gas tank battery. She was on top of the first tank that exploded on Feb. 28, throwing her into the air and killing her, a report says. Her death prompted the state Office of Conservation to propose rules that would require tank batteries close to homes, schools, churches and roads to have security fencing, warning signs and other protective measures to keep people from getting onto the flammable, hazardous equipment. The proposed safety changes in Louisiana come nearly 10 years after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board warned that oil batteries in rural areas posed a unique and dangerous attraction for teens and even young adults living among the nation's wide-open spaces. The board recommended warnings and other steps to limit public access. In Louisiana, for instance, the tank batteries are usually set up in far-flung rural areas. They collect the oil and waste salt water, often from a handful of production wells. The Chemical Safety Board found 26 instances between 1983 and 2010 where people were killed in explosions among the more 800,000 oil tank batteries in the nation. In those incidents, 44 people were killed and 25 injured. All of the victims were 25 years old or younger. "They have proven to be a tempting venue for young people looking for a place to gather, and socialize," the CSB wrote in the September 2011 report. "Activities where an ignition source is introduced into the tank, or even the presence of static electricity or lightning, can cause hydrocarbon vapors in the tanks to ignite and explode." The report and its safety recommendations were directed to regulators in Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma, as well as industry and fire safety groups. They have led to mixed changes to some safety rules, primarily in Mississippi. The state Office of Conservation doesn't currently track oil tank batteries individually and couldn't say how many were in the state. But it's likely thousands based on the nearly 27,000 active oil wells on the state land.

 MPCA investigating Enbridge Line 3 nontoxic spill - – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is investigating a drilling fluid spill that occurred on the Willow River in Aitkin County at one of Enbridge's construction sites for its new Line 3 oil pipeline. Drilling was halted after the nontoxic spill was discovered early July 6 and "containment and cleanup activities were started," MPCA spokeswoman Cori Rude-Young said Monday. "The MPCA has been in regular communication with the on-site, independent environmental monitors and Enbridge Energy, and we have inspected the site cleanup," she said. The new pipeline will replace the Enbridge's current Line 3, which is deteriorating with age and can now only carry about half of its capacity. It is more than 60% completed. The site where the spill occurred is one of several along the 340-mile route where Enbridge is undertaking horizontal directional drilling to bury its $3 billion pipeline below waterways. The drilling method involves sending a pressurized mud mixture into a tunnel beneath a stream bed before pulling the pipe through. Between 80 and 100 gallons of drilling mud were released, according to the MPCA. "There were no impacts to any aquifers nor were there downstream impacts because environmental control measures were installed at this location," Enbridge spokeswoman Juli Kellner said in a statement. "The drilling operation was immediately shut down, and crews followed the procedure for managing containment and cleanup of material as specified in project permits." The company will need clearance from the MPCA before resuming drilling at the site, which is outside of Palisade in Aitkin County.

State regulators investigate release of drilling fluid into Willow River during Line 3 construction The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is investigating a spill of drilling fluid into the Willow River in Aitkin County last week during construction on the Line 3 oil pipeline. About 80 to 100 gallons of drilling fluid, or mud, were inadvertently released on July 6 at a construction site near the town of Palisade, Minn., the MPCA said.Enbridge Energy is drilling beneath the Willow River to install a new crude oil pipeline to replace the existing Line 3. It's one of several river crossings along the 340-mile pipeline corridor across northern Minnesota.The MPCA said the drilling mud was a combination of bentonite clay, water and xanthan gum, which it says is not toxic and commonly used as a food additive.Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner stated in an email that the company immediately shut down the drilling operation, and crews began containment and cleanup.“There were no impacts to any aquifers nor were there downstream impacts because environmental control measures were installed at this location,” Kellner stated.Environmental groups opposed to the Line 3 project criticized the release, which they call a “frac-out.” They voiced concern that the fine particles in drilling mud could impact aquatic life.The MPCA said it’s been in regular communication with independent environmental monitors on site and has inspected the cleanup. Enbridge must consult with the agency before it an resume drilling at the site. Enbridge says construction on Line 3 is more than halfway complete. It expects the pipeline to be operating by the fourth quarter of this year.

'We're here to ask for help': Tribal leaders urge Walz to block Line 3 - White Earth Nation leadership traveled to the state Capitol Wednesday, calling on Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and President Joe Biden to meet with them, government to government, about Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline. The Capitol rotunda was draped with signs reading “honor the treaties” and echoed with chants of “stop Line 3” from the 100-plus people in attendance. As the new Line 3 nears completion, tribal leaders are increasing pressure on Walz and Biden to block the project. The 337-mile pipeline is more than 60% complete and expected to carry oil by the end of the year. “We’re not here to cause trouble. We’re here to ask for help,” said Ray Auginaush, a White Earth representative. “Remember our generations ahead of us — this is why we’re here today. My great-grandkids are here. That’s who I’m looking out for.” Walz spoke with White Earth Chairman Michael Fairbanks before the rally Wednesday, according to a spokesperson from Walz’s office. They discussed “a commitment to an ongoing government-to-government dialogue,” the spokesperson said. White Earth and Red Lake say the state didn’t sufficiently engage with them as sovereign nations throughout the pipeline permitting and construction process, which the state disputes. Another tribe, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, agreed to let Enbridge build the new pipeline through its land in exchange for compensation and removing the existing Line 3 pipeline there. \ “Government-to-government relations and tribal-state relations are important to the governor and a priority of his administration,” Walz’s spokesperson said. The calls for Walz and Flanagan to act also highlighted a rift in the governor’s office: Walz supports the project, while Flanagan opposes it. Walz, a first-term Democrat-Farmer-Labor governor, announced in 2019 that he would not block the project because he felt doing so would defy the checks and balances between the branches of government. He has publicly said little about the project since.

Line 3 pipeline opponents appeal to Minnesota Supreme Court -- Tribal and environmental groups opposed to Enbridge Energy's Line 3 oil pipeline project asked the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn a lower court decision affirming the approvals granted by independent regulators that allowed construction to begin last December. The legal move came as protests continue along the route in northern Minnesota. More than 500 protesters have been arrested or issued citations since construction on the Minnesota leg of the project began in December, but they have failed so far to persuade President Joe Biden's administration to stop the project. Meanwhile, opponents have been demanding more transparency about a spill last week of drilling mud into a river that the pipeline will cross. The White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, the Sierra Club and Honor the Earth petitioned the state's highest court to hear the case after the Minnesota Court of Appeals last month ruled that the Public Utilities Commission correctly granted Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge a certificate of need and route permit for the 337-mile (542-kilometer) Minnesota segment of a larger project to replace a crude oil pipeline built in the 1960s that can run at only half capacity. Two other groups — Friends of the Headwaters and Youth Climate Intervenors — made similar but separate filings. The state Commerce Department was part of that earlier appeal but decided not to ask the Supreme Court for further review. One of the central issues in the earlier appeal was the Commerce Department’s contention that Enbridge’s long-range oil demand projections failed to meet the legal requirements. But the appeals panel ruled 2-1 that there was reasonable evidence to support the PUC’s conclusion that the forecasts were adequate. The department said that while the Court of Appeals disagreed with its position, the court’s opinion provided clarity for similar future proceedings. The remaining parties still argue that the PUC failed to demonstrate the need for the oil that Line 3 would transport. And they said in their petition that the appeals court should have considered whether there was enough evidence to back up the PUC's finding that the existing Line 3 poses a real and immediate safety risk. The Commerce Department's involvement had posed a thorny political problem for Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate expressed its displeasure last summer by firing then-Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley. And the Senate GOP reaffirmed its readiness to fight the Walz administration on environmental disputes last week when it forced out Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura Bishop over other matters. The Line 3 replacement would carry Canadian tar sands oil and regular crude from Alberta to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. The more than $7 billion project is nearly done except for the Minnesota leg, which is more than 60% complete. Opponents say the heavy oil would accelerate climate change and risk spills in lakes, wetlands and streams where Native Americans harvest wild rice, hunt, fish, and claim treaty rights. But Enbridge says the replacement, made of stronger steel, will better protect the environment while restoring capacity and ensuring reliable deliveries to refineries.

What are the treaties being invoked by Line 3 opponents? Tribal council representatives and members of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe will be gathering at the Minnesota Capitol today to request a “nation-to nation” dialogue with Gov. Tim Walz and President Joe Biden in an effort to stop construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline. Last Friday, leaders of the tribe gathered in a press conference to raise concerns about the pipeline’s effects on surrounding resources and waters, most notably the treaty-protected wild rice, and said continued efforts to build the pipeline was in violation of the tribe’s treaty rights. As the pipeline nears completion, with the project estimated to be 60% finished as of June, opponents of the pipeline have been advocating for upholding treaty rights as a means to try to halt construction. The White Earth Band is currently suing in federal court, arguing the Army Corps of Engineers can’t issue a permit without tribal approval. Another lawsuit against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) over a water crossing permit is in the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, in June the Minnesota Court of Appeals reaffirmed state regulators’ key approvals of Line 3 permits, with a three-judge panel ruling 2-1 that the state’s Public Utilities Commission correctly granted a certificate of need to the Canadian oil company. “Manoomin (wild rice) is our most important spiritual, sacred, central part of our culture. This is part of the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act and our rights,” said Frank Bibeau, tribal attorney for the White Earth Band, during the press conference. “Manoomin grows everywhere right now in northern Minnesota. And it’s being starved out from water. It’s being starved out for its nutrients.” During the press conference, Bibeau and Allan Roy, secretary treasure for White Earth, spoke of the 1855 Treaty Authority and others. Here are the relevant treaties and what they mean: A series of 19th-century treaties While the U.S. government signed a series of treaties with the Anishinaabe people, including the Ojibwe, between 1825 and 1867, the most significant are those of 1837, 1854 and 1855. The treaty of 1837 coincided with the collapse of the fur trade, the dominant source of commerce at the time, and the transition to logging as the dominant industry. The treaty is notable for being the first major land cession involving the Ojibwe people, and more importantly specifies the rights of the tribes to gather wild rice, hunt and fish. An estimated 12 million acres of land in central and eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin was sold to the U.S. government in exchange for payments of $35,000 a year over the course of 20 years.

DNR suspends some water permits for Line 3 construction amid drought - The drought is having an impact on construction of Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline.The Minnesota DNR suspended water permits for dust control, drilling and line testing in some locations where surface water is in low supply.The project has been stop-and-go in Minnesota since work began on the pipeline in December. The DNR will continue to monitor water levels and will allow water use to resume once supplies are back to more sustainable levels.

Susan Rice to sell $2.7M stake in oil pipeline company after project upheld - President Biden’s adviser Susan Rice is being ordered to sell a $2.7 million stake in the oil pipeline company Enbridge — after the Biden administration decided to allow the firm’s Line 3 pipeline project. The Office of Government Ethics ordered Rice to divest from the company on July 9, according to filings first reported by The Daily Poster. Although Biden has broadly taken action against oil pipelines, most notably canceling the Keystone XL oil pipeline, his administration has continued to allow the Line 3 project, which would bring Canadian oil through Minnesota to Wisconsin. Environmental activists oppose the Line 3 project, but the cause has received far less national attention than other pipelines. Last month, Biden administration officials indicated they would not withdraw permission for Line 3 in a major boon for the company. The Office of Government Ethics also ordered Rice, who is director of the Domestic Policy Council, as well as her husband and family trust to divest from smaller holdings that may present a conflict of interest.

Undocumented oilfield workers struggle in New Mexico. Heinrich pushes for energy transition - Pedro Espinoza, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was leaving the Permian Basin for the second time as an operator in the busy oil and gas region. Lower pay and poor conditions, Saucedo said, meant her husband would travel from their home in Hobbs to another prolific oil-producing area thousands of miles north in the Bakken of North DakotaShe said Espinoza left the family and headed north when the Permian Basin last busted in 2016 but was able to return when the industry boomed again a year later. Saucedo said her family is divided not by the boom and bust cycle of the oil and gas industry in the Permian, but rather the treatment he received from his employer as an undocumented laborer. “He came back when there were more jobs available in Hobbs, but then he noticed the big pay difference,” she said in an interview facilitated by a translator. “In North Dakota they pay way more and when he came, he noticed the drop in pay he was getting in Hobbs working the same jobs in the oilfield.” Saucedo expressed concern for worker conditions in New Mexico to Sen. Martin Heinrich during a recent meeting in Roswell where the senator met with members of Somos Un Pueblo Unido – a statewide organization dedicated to racial and worker issues.Aside from a lack of adequate pay, Saucedo said her husband was not provided safety equipment or housing during his time in the Permian, amenities provide to workers in the Bakken.She said she believed this treatment was because of his citizenship status. “This is because companies are choosing to hire undocumented workers and treat them this way,” Saucedo said. “If he was a U.S. citizen, companies wouldn’t be treating him this way.”There are lower standards for undocumented workers in southeast New Mexico because there are more of them, Saucedo said, and companies can hire from a larger pool of undocumented workers.“Lea County is experiencing a lot of Hispanic and Latino people moving to the region,” she said. “They’re hearing about great paying jobs, but they don’t know the dangerous conditions they have to work in. It’s very shocking to people.”

198 oil and gas wells found abandoned near Carlsbad Caverns National Park -Almost 200 oil and gas wells sit abandoned within a 30-mile radius of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.The caverns, which contain a complex system of underground caves, filter local groundwater sources and could be susceptible to contamination from industrial sources like orphaned wells.A study conducted by the National Parks Conservation Association ranked Carlsbad Caverns as the national park or monument with the second-most nearby abandoned wells in New Mexico.Azetc Ruins National Monument in northwest New Mexico was ranked second with 260 abandoned wells within 30 miles of its boundary, and Chaco Culture Historical Park in the same region was third with 44 wells.Manhattan Project National Historical Park near Los Alamos was fourth with seven nearby orphaned wells and Valles Caldera National Preserve just north of Albuquerque was fifth with two wells, per the study.Carlsbad Caverns’ location in southeast New Mexico just outside Carlsbad places it within the oil-rich Permian Basin – New Mexico’s most active oilfield.Aztec Ruins and Chaco Culture in the northwest San Juan Basin are in New Mexico’s other active but less production natural gas field known for one of the densest methane clouds every discovered hovering over the Four Corners region.Nationwide, the study showed there were more than 30,000 orphaned wells within a 30-mile radius of national parks, which could bring pollution in the air and groundwater to the federal public lands.America Fitzpatrick, energy program manager at the Association said the abandoned wells could harm public lands set aside for conservation while also worsening the impacts of climate change.“It is shocking to learn how many orphaned oil and gas wells are leaking dangerous pollutants into the air and water, harming not only our national parks but also local communities,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed by Congress to protect parks and public health, and prevent oil and gas companies from skipping town without cleaning up after themselves again in future.”

Antsy Industry Awaits Interior Oil Lease Sale After Court Order -- Oil and gas industry-aligned lawyers say the Interior Department could be held in contempt of court if it doesn’t soon comply with a Louisiana federal judge’s order to restart federal oil and gas leasing. The department paused quarterly oil and gas leasing nationwide in January while it reviewed the leasing program. But Louisiana U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty on June 15 issued a preliminary injunction enjoining and restraining Interior from implementing the pause in Louisiana v. Biden. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Tuesday that the department is complying with Doughty’s order and will follow the law, but she declined to say how exactly it’s doing so. If Interior doesn’t conduct a quarterly lease sale soon, “the secretary risks a contempt citation from Judge Doughty,” said John Martin, an oil and gas lawyer and Wyoming-based partner at Holland & Hart LLP. “One would expect that those lease sales would have to go forward forthwith.” Interior Communications Director Melissa Schwartz said Thursday that the department is still reviewing Doughty’s preliminary injunction and declined to comment on whether a lease sale announcement is imminent. Interior needs to resume quarterly lease sales in most Western states where land is available for leasing to comply with the order. But it doesn’t need to “offer all of the lands” that are available, said Mark Squillace, a natural resources law professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder. “I’m expecting that we’re going to see both on shore and offshore lease sales soon,” Martin said. “I do believe that Judge Doughty will be watching those closely.”Some of Interior’s oil and gas activity is moving ahead despite the leasing pause. Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, which is in charge of onshore oil and gas leasing, is actively issuing drilling permits on existing leases nationwide. The pause applies only to new leases. The land bureau approved 616 drilling applications for federal leases nationwide in May—418 of which were in New Mexico, according to its most recent data. It has approved a total of 3,994 drilling applications during FY2021. The bureau’s oil and gas permitting activity shows that its leasing pause hasn’t adversely affected oil and gas production on federal lands, said Bob Abbey, a former land bureau director in the Obama administration.

 U.S. drilling approvals increase despite Biden climate pledge - Approvals for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. public lands are on pace this year to reach their highest level since George W. Bush was president, underscoring President Biden’s reluctance to more forcefully curb petroleum production in the face of industry and Republican resistance.The Interior Department approved about 2,500 permits to drill on public and tribal lands in the first six months of the year, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data. That includes more than 2,100 drilling approvals since Biden took office Jan. 20.Biden campaigned last year on pledges to end new drilling on federal lands to rein in climate-changing emissions. His pick to oversee those lands, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, adamantly opposed drilling on federal lands while in Congress and co-sponsored the liberal Green New Deal.But the steps taken by the administration to date on fossil fuels are more modest, including a temporary suspension on new oil and gas leases on federal lands that a judge blocked last month. Further complicating Biden’s climate agenda is a recent rise in gasoline prices to $3 a gallon or more in many parts of the country. Any attempt to limit petroleum production could push gasoline prices even higher and risk souring economic recovery from the pandemic. “He is definitely backing off taking drastic action that would rock the market.... What you’re going to see is U.S. oil production is going to continue to rebound.”Haaland has sought to tamp down Republican concern over potential constraints on the industry. She said during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last month that there was no “plan right now for a permanent ban.”“Gas and oil production will continue well into the future and we believe that is the reality of our economy and the world we’re living in,” Haaland told Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn.

Industry Calls the Climate Shots in the Biden Administration --Don’t miss the fact that millions of gallons of poison (“chemicals”) are pumped into the ground in order to force other poisons (methane and fracked oil) out of it. In contrast to the praise Biden is getting from people like Maureen Dowd (the essence of her latest column is “See, Bernie likes Biden and he likes Bernie”), Biden’s actual deeds, especially on climate, are deadly.(The other essence of Dowd’s latest column is, “Continue to hope; Bernie can still save us.” She writes, “Sanders … and Biden have a bond that could have a profound effect on the lives of Americans,” whitewashing Biden with Sanders’ remaining cred. No mention of Sanders’ ultimate powerlessness.)Food And Water Watch (FWW), a group that’s always excellent on climate and environmental issues, has put together a list of Biden’s actions that contradict his promises. It’s an easy read. Taken together, these are deadly indictments.If Biden wanted to fix the increasingly urgent climate problem, he’d be doing that now and we’d be seeing him do it. Instead he fed us nice words when he wanted our vote, then contradicted those words with his constant and ongoing deeds once he gained power. There can be no question that industry calls the shots in his administration. Read and weep. The following is excerpted and adapted from the FWW article. Read it in full for additional detail on each of these points.

The UN needs stricter resolutions to stop fracking - It is quite ironic that the US wants to play a leading role in the fight against climate change, yet the country continues to use harmful and environmentally hazardous fracking to extract shale gas, resulting in emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and chemicals into water and soil. Proponents of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling are credited with turning unproductive shales into the largest natural gas. Good for business. But protagonists of this dangerous technology of hydraulic fracturing stand accused of putting profits before the environment and humanity. Combating environmental degradation remains one of the UN’s key Millennium Development Goals. Hence initiatives such as the annual World Environment Day during which a conscious effort is made to educate the international community about the wisdom of protecting and preserving our environment. The use of plastic is currently facing extinction. Examples of the negative impact of plastic manufacturing and usage are abound, with images of sea population suffocating on plastic dominating the world stage. Leading global powers such as the US carry on their shoulders the responsibility to take a front role in preserving the environment and indeed our universe. Efforts aimed at fighting climate change have become a collective objective of multilateral organisations. But what is sadly evident is the display of double standards in climate policy of Washington in particular. The international community was left aghast when former US president Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Paris Declaration and prioritised his “America First” foreign policy. Pretty swiftly, though, Trump’s successor President Joe Biden enchanted the world with his decision to return his country to the multilateral institutions where its absence had been felt during Trump’s four years in the Oval Office, particularly with Washington’s crucial monetary contributions and general aid.

Berkshire Hathaway scraps pipeline purchase because of antitrust concerns – CNN - Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced Monday it was scrapping plans to buy a big natural gas pipeline for more than $1.7 billion because of antitrust concerns.Oil Giant Dominion Energy (D) already completed the sale of gas transmission assets to Berkshire Hathaway's energy subsidiary in November. But Dominion said the plan to sell its Questar Pipelines business to Buffett's firm was canceled because of "ongoing uncertainty associated with achieving clearance from the Federal Trade Commission" for that part of the deal.Questar operates mainly in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. So there may have been FTC concerns about overlap with the Berkshire Hatahway Energy subsidiary PacifiCorp, which owns the Rocky Mountain Power energy company that serves customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Dominion said in November when the initial part of the deal was finalized, it had already received approximately $1.3 billion in cash from Berkshire in anticipation of the full sale being completed. Dominion also said it was planning to transfer about $430 million in Questar debt to Berkshire once the deal closed.Now that the Questar sale is off the table, Dominion said it will begin a competitive process to sell the business to another bidder, adding that it hopes to complete a deal by the end of this year.

Four operators' wells declared abandoned, another's bonds revoked at WOGCC hearing - More than four years after Bearcat Energy filed for bankruptcy, the Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday voted to require the natural gas operator to forfeit $2.25 million in bonds for the plugging and reclamation of its abandoned wells. Bearcat, which bid close to $1.2 million for approximately 100 Wyoming coal-bed methane wells in 2010, ceased known operations in 2016. It failed to provide nearly $200,000 in additional bonds requested by the commission in 2016 and stopped submitting production reports in 2017, violating commission requirements for well monitoring during bankruptcy. The company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy — known as “reorganization” bankruptcy — in early 2017. Corporations that successfully undergo this type of bankruptcy often continue to operate throughout the proceedings, retain many of their existing assets and emerge with reduced debt. Wyoming’s regulators prefer to wait to revoke reclamation bonds from oil and gas companies undergoing chapter 11 bankruptcy until they can determine whether the companies will resume operations at idle wells. “Oftentimes, we try to let the dust settle in some of these cases, because something might emerge from bankruptcy, or a purchaser may come and be able to turn these wells back on,” said Micah Christensen, the assistant attorney general representing the commission staff, during the hearing. In Bearcat’s case, the bankruptcy filing was converted last year from chapter 11 to chapter 7 — liquidation — leaving the company with no chance of revival. But another operator is attempting to take over some of the company’s wells prior to its dissolution. “If we give ourselves a window of time where the forfeiture of the bonds takes place, that will probably be the best for all parties, including the state, to make sure that we go forward with an abandonment for these wells that clearly need to be forfeited, but also provide an opportunity for that other operator,” Christensen said. The commission will require Bearcat to surrender up to $2,250,430 in bonds by Oct. 15. But that’s unlikely to cover the full costs of reclamation, according to Lottie Mitchell, an organizer with the Powder River Basin Resource Council.

Goldman Sachs caught in flareup over natural gas pollution in North Dakota -David Solomon’s bid to rebrand Goldman Sachs as environmentally green is going up in flames — courtesy of a bankrupt oil and gas company in North Dakota. That’s the charge from critics — and creditors — who claim that Goldman, as a key lender of debtor-in-possession financing to Nine Point Energy, has failed to curb the driller from flaring natural gas into the atmosphere as part of what looks like hard-knuckle Chapter 11 negotiations. In April, Nine Point flared over 155 million cubic feet of the greenhouse gas from its North Dakota wells. That’s more than two-and-a-half times what they emitted prior to the company’s February bankruptcy filing, and equates to more than 21 million miles driven by passenger vehicles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That also amounted to a whopping third of its production — well north of the 9-percent limit allowed by environmental regulators, who cite emissions of carbon dioxide, as well as nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain, ozone and smog. Goldman — whose CEO Solomon pledged in March to detail this year how “climate-risk considerations” figure into the bank’s business strategy — is in a lending group led by Alliance Bernstein that’s poised to take ownership of Nine Point to forgive $250 million in debt. But the deal has hit a snag over a lawsuit from Caliber Midstream, a pipeline company whose contracts to safely transport the gas Nine Point rejected in Chapter 11. Caliber is suing for $150 million in construction costs. Nine Point’s gas flaring provoked a befuddled response from a Caliber attorney at the start of the bankruptcy. Alfredo Perez of white-shoe law firm Weil Gotshal noted that Nine Point was “literally flaring the natural gas that would otherwise come into our system for some reason, in an effort to … put pressure on us, I’m not quite sure exactly why, but it’s part of our theory,” according to a March 17 court transcript.

'Black Snake' tells saga of Dakota Access Pipeline protests - The protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline by the Standing Rock Sioux was one of the most important news stories of 2016 – and rightly so, as it touched on issues related to climate change, fossil fuel dependence, Indigenous rights, and environmental justice. The protest spanned nearly a year, straddled two presidential administrations, and drew thousands to the protest camp site in North Dakota. It caught the world’s attention and starkly illuminated the nation’s long, shameful history of mistreatment of its Indigenous peoples. In “Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice,” human rights lawyer Katherine Wiltenburg Todrys takes a deep dive into the protest against the oil pipeline, whose proposed route threatened the Standing Rock Sioux’s water source and sacred sites. Although Todrys makes extensive use of sources and documents from both sides of the dispute, there is no doubt that her sympathies lie with the protestors. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) was a mammoth, $3.8 billion project that would carry up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil from the shale oil fields of the Bakken formation in northwest North Dakota to an oil terminal in south-central Illinois. Dakota Access and its parent company Energy Transfer Partners argued that a pipeline would be safer and more efficient than transporting oil by rail. (Train cars full of oil are known to derail and even explode, but pipelines are also problematic; they’re notorious for producing spills large and small, leaving behind poisoned land and water.)Even with the environmental risks inherent in a pipeline, Dakota Access had little difficulty in securing voluntary easements from property owners along its proposed 1,170-mile route. Little difficulty, that is, until the company had to deal with the Standing Rock Sioux. Despite widespread poverty on the reservation and an unemployment rate of 70 percent, as the author puts it, “the Standing Rock Sioux would not be bought off.”In April 2016, a small group of “water protectors,” many of them teenagers, gathered on land owned by a tribe member and established the Sacred Stone Camp to protest the DAPL, which they called the “black snake,” referring to an ancient Lakota prophecy about a snake that would one day devour the earth. The camp quickly drew Indigenous people from across the country, as well as non-native supporters. Their efforts gained attention through social media campaigns as well as acts of civil disobedience, in which protestors locked themselves to heavy machinery on the construction site and were subsequently arrested. In time, the camp swelled to an eclectic mix of some 10,000 protestors, including representatives of 300 federally recognized tribes, possibly the largest alliance of native tribes in U.S. history. Politicians and celebrities joined in, and the effort caught the attention of the international press and organizations like Amnesty International. The eyes of the world were focused on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. In the meantime, work on the pipeline continued. In the fall of 2016, peaceful protestors were met with violent opposition from local law enforcement, which used rubber bullets, water cannons, and attack dogs against them. Videos showing dogs with bloody mouths, similar to images of violent crackdowns during the civil rights movement, went viral and were replayed by major news networks. “The whole world also saw what had happened to the water protectors,” Todrys writes.

Permafrost thaw threatens Alaska's largest oil pipeline - Thawing permafrost is compromising part of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which connects crude oil drilled in the Arctic to tankers in the Port of Valdez, highlighting how a warming climate is reshaping the oil industry in Alaska. While there is no immediate threat of an oil spill, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the pipeline operator for TAPS, discovered buckling supports that hold the pipe above ground. Alyeska, a consortium of oil and gas companies, will install underground coolers as a solution “to protect the integrity of TAPS from permafrost degradation” in addition to replacing the supports, according to an update from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources this winter. The finding was first reported by Inside Climate News. State regulators approved driving 100 hundred pipes 50 to 60 feet deep. They will be equipped with passive cooling systems to draw heat away from the ground, according to the state. Alyeska will also use wood chips and other measures as insulation on the surface. “TAPS was designed and built to manage changing environmental conditions, including permafrost zones,” Michelle Egan, a spokesperson for TAPS, said in an email, noting that cooling systems to stabilize the permafrost are not new for the pipeline. “Alyeska has operated TAPS for more than 44 years with commitment and respect for its dynamic environment. As part of that commitment, thermal units and the VSMs are regularly monitored and when needed, Alyeska repairs or reinforces them,” she said. Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, said the pipeline does not appear to be in immediate danger of a severe failure, such as a collapse that could lead to an oil spill. But he said this finding, and the necessary remediation, could be a “harbinger” of things to come as temperatures rise. “The pipeline was designed to handle the dynamic nature of permafrost, but not in a rapid climate change environment,” he said.

‘Wake Up Call’: Rapidly Thawing Permafrost Threatens Trans-Alaska Pipeline - Alaska’s thawing permafrost is undermining the supports that hold up an elevated section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, putting in danger the structural integrity of one of the world’s largest oil pipelines.In a worst-case scenario, a rupture of the pipeline would result in an oil spill in a delicate and remote landscape where it would be extremely difficult to clean up.“This is a wake-up call,” said Carl Weimer, of Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit pipeline watchdog group based in Bellingham, Washington. “The implications of this speak to the pipeline’s integrity and the effect climate change is having on pipeline safety in general.”A slope where an 810-foot long section of the pipeline is secured has started to slip due to the melting permafrost, in turn, causing the braces holding this section of the pipeline to twist and bend. According to NBC News, the pipeline supports have been damaged by “slope creep” caused by thawing permafrost, records, and interviews with officials involved with managing the pipeline show.To combat the problem, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has approved the use of about 100 thermosyphons — tubes that suck heat out of the permafrost – to keep the frozen slope in place and prevent further damage to the pipeline’s support structure.“The proposed project is integral to the protection of the pipeline,” according to the department’s November 2020 analysis.There is some concern in using these cooling tubes – They have never been used as a defensive safeguard once a slope has begun to slide, and the permafrost is already thawing.The Arctic and Alaska are heating twice as fast as the rest of the globe because of global warming. And global warming is driving the thawing of permafrost that the oil industry must keep frozen to maintain the infrastructure that allows it to extract more of the fossil fuels that cause the warming.Permafrost is ground that has remained completely frozen for at least two years straight and is found beneath nearly 85 percent of Alaska. In the last few decades, permafrost temperatures there have warmed as much as 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit.The state’s average temperature is projected to increase 2 to 4 degrees more by the middle of the century, and a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change projects that with every 2-degree increase in temperature, 1.5 million square miles of permafrost could be lost to thawing.

Oil prices are up, but Alaska is America's bottom state for business in 2021 - In a normal summer, Skagway, Alaska, population 1,183, would be teeming with tourists from the cruise ships sailing the Inside Passage. Residents could drive 15 miles up the Yukon Highway into Canada to run their basic errands, or they could hop on a state-run ferry to the next town over, Haines.But this year, the cruise ships have just started running again. Cremata is hoping Skagway will see 100,000 passengers this year; in 2019 they had 1.1 million. The border to Canada remains closed to non-essential traffic, and the ferries, part of the Alaska Marine Highway System, are plagued by budget cuts."Just getting your family down to go see a dentist or doctor, when that becomes burdensome or overly expensive, there's a point where people have just had it and move away," Multiply Skagway's situation by thousands of communities and more than 700,000 Alaskans, and you can begin to understand why The Last Frontier finds itself in last place in CNBC's 2021 America's Top States for Business rankings. It is the sixth bottom-state finish for Alaska in 14 years. The state previously achieved the dubious distinction in the first four years of the study between 2007 and 2010, hitting bottom again in 2018. Alaska met the pandemic with the best-funded public health system in the nation, according to the United Health Foundation, spending $289 per person per year. That is more than three times the national average. Earlier this year, the state was setting the pace for Covid-19 vaccinations, even in its most remote regions. As the national economy struggled to regain its footing, Alaska offered a generally business-friendly regulatory climate — its legal system tilts toward business, and the number of state laws and regulations is manageable. The conservative-leaning Tax Foundation ranks Alaska's tax climate the third-best in the country. So how did Alaska manage to finish No. 50 again in 2021 despite so many advantages going in? In a word: cost.Cost of Doing Business carries the most weight in this year's study. As the recovery builds, states are touting low business costs more than any other factor, according to CNBC's analysis. Alaska is an extremely expensive place to do business.Even Alaska's competitive tax climate, which earns points for relatively low property taxes and no personal income tax, includes a top corporate tax rateof 9.4%, among the highest in the country.

Arctic oil spill cleanup costs could reach $9.4B over 5 years, says risk analyst | CBC News - As global temperatures rise, ice in the Canadian Arctic is melting at an unprecedented rate. This means the Northwest Passage will see more ship traffic — which increases the potential for an oil or fuel spills in the region.A new risk assessment on the consequences of a hypothetical oil spill in the Rankin Inlet region of Nunavut posits that the cleanup and socioeconomic costs of such a disaster could limb to $9.4 billion ($7.5 billion US) in five years under a worst case scenario.The worst case scenario is where no attempt is made to clean up or otherwise mitigate the spill. While non-intervention is unlikely, the report says considering such a worst case situation is "the best scenario to use in making decisions for insurance, resource allocation, and contingency planning."The Arctic can also be a harsh environment which gives only a short window for open-water response to an environmental disaster. As such, a delayed response to a fuel spill in the Arctic is plausible. The study, as part of the GENICE project, also showed that the impacts of an Arctic oil spill would be devastating for Inuit and the environment. "It's a low probability, high consequence event, which means that it happens once in a while, but when it does happen, the consequences are really, really high," To estimate the consequences of a spill, Afenyo and his colleagues simulated the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, in which 11 million gallons of crude oil were spilled into an inlet on the Gulf of Alaska. The simulated spill in their analysis took place in the Rankin Inlet coastal region. Using a "unique" method they developed for this research, the researchers determined that each year, there is a gradual increase in socioeconomic impact — such as damage to flora and fauna, disruption of hunting and negative psychological effects — as well as cost.

Troubled Caribbean refinery seeks bankruptcy as lenders balk at injecting more cash -(Reuters) -The owners of Limetree Bay, a refinery on the U.S. Virgin Islands that was once the largest in the Western Hemisphere, filed for bankruptcy on Monday after lenders balked at putting new cash into a project dogged by environmental violations, cost overruns and regulatory troubles. The St. Croix refinery overhaul was the most expensive effort in nearly a decade to expand refining capacity in the hemisphere. Investors plunged more than $4 billion into the project, aimed at taking advantage of its prime location along shipping routes in the Caribbean. The plan fizzled after construction delays and the COVID-19 pandemic, which slashed demand for fuel worldwide. The refinery finally restarted in February - only to shut three months later when Limetree Bay ran afoul of U.S. environmental regulators who ordered it shut after a series of fires and noxious gas releases. "Severe financial and regulatory constraints have left us no choice but to pursue this path, after careful consideration of all alternatives," Jeff Rinker, Limetree Bay's chief executive, said of the bankruptcy filing in a statement. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May ordered the plant to shut temporarily after the gas releases contaminated local drinking water, shut a school and led residents to complain of breathing problems and foul odors. The EPA order, and subsequent investigations by U.S. officials, made investors wary of investing the additional money needed to get the refinery restarted, the company said in court filings.

Investors balk as bankrupt St. Croix refinery needs $1 bln to be viable (Reuters) - The Limetree Bay refinery, which landed in U.S. bankruptcy court on Monday, needs at least $1 billion to finish a massive overhaul to continue as a viable operation, according to bankers, lawyers and restructuring specialists involved in the case, stacking the odds against the Caribbean facility resuming operations. The St. Croix-based facility's owners burned through $4.1 billion to resurrect what was once the largest refinery in the Western Hemisphere, hoping to take advantage of rising global demand. Instead, the refinery only operated for three months before U.S. environmental regulators shut it in May due to foul odors and noxious releases that harmed nearby communities. Limetree filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with no clear path to restructure some $1.8 billion in debt. It says it needs "at least $150 million" to restart, but restructuring specialists familiar with the operation put that figure at an additional $1 billion. That grim assessment comes from interviews with several Wall Street bankers, lawyers and restructuring specialists involved in the bankruptcy case or closely familiar with it. These sources did not want their names used in this story because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The facility also now faces the specter of ongoing investigations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department. Even if Limetree were to restart, it faces several challenges. The refining market is already weak after fuel demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and heavy crude oil favored by Limetree is in short supply due to reduced production out of Mexico and Venezuela, putting its price near three-year highs, which hurts potential margins. The refinery’s oil supplier, BP, is among the largest unpaid trade suppliers to Limetree and has shifted investment to wind and solar from fossil fuels. Limetree also has higher fuel expenses because it burns fuel oil or refinery gases to power operations, according to analysts at Morningstar, compared with U.S. refineries that power themselves with cheaper natural gas. That extra cost is enough to shave $1 to $2 per barrel off refining margins, analysts say.

Oil cleanup complete at historic shipwreck off Vancouver Island-- The Canadian government says the removal of oil from a shipwreck off Vancouver Island is complete after oil was spotted leaking from the wreck in December. On Monday, Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said roughly 60 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and diesel had been removed from the MV Schiedyk, which sunk off Bligh Island in 1968. After oil was seen leaking from the shipwreck in December, federal, provincial and local First Nations began containing the materials. The U.S.-based Resolve Marine Group was contracted tohelp remove the fuel in the spring. Much of the oil was coming from the ship's four fuel tanks after the vessel had sunk to a depth of roughly 122 metres.To remove the fuel, Resolve used drones to drill holes into the fuel tanks, then attached drainage valves and hoses to pump out the oil. Hot water was also injected into the tanks to help liquefy the oil to make it easier to pump, according to the federal government.The oil and water mix was pumped onto a Canadian-registered ship, the Atlantic Condor, where the oil and water was then separated.This pumping technique was used until oil was no longer detected in the fuel tanks, according to the federal government.

Why Russia Is Refusing To Send Europe More Natural Gas - Rising commodity prices have strengthened the economic outlook of resource-rich countries. Russia is taking advantage of this in a major way, with a particular focus on crude oil and natural gas. As Europe’s most important supplier of gas, Gazprom is well-positioned to reap major dividends. However, the state-controlled energy behemoth's lukewarm response to sending additional volumes to Europe could be a sign that the company’s strategy has changed. In 2020, Gazprom’s exports decreased from 199 bcm in 2019 to 170 bcm. The majority of this gas transits through Soviet-era pipelines from Russia to Belarus and Ukraine. Another 55 bcm capacity was added in 2011 with Nord Stream’s completion and will be double to 110 bcm when the heavily contested Nord Stream 2 pipeline starts pumping gas at some point in the next two years.The restart of the European economy has increased demand for commodities and led to substantially higher prices. Although LNG imports have increased over the years, the bulk of the natural gas is still transported through pipelines. Of these exporters, Russia is by far the largest and most influential country due to its sizeable energy industry and excess capacity. Although prices are favorable, Gazprom doesn't seem to be in a hurry to send extra volumes on top of the running contracts with European customers. After an exceptionally cold heating season, European storages are historically low which further boosts demand to prepare for the coming winter. Also, some parts of Europe are experiencing an unusually warm summer leading to higher demand for electricity to run air-conditioners. Under normal circumstances, coal-fired powerplants would fill the gap, but the price of CO2 on Europe’s ETS has doubled to €52 since November. Therefore, natural gas-fired powerplants, which emit almost 50 percent less, are in higher demand.In the past, Gazprom would have quickly ramped up exports to satisfy additional needs with the ultimate goal of increasing market share. However, the Russian company has held off from booking extra transit capacity through Ukraine’s pipeline system. According to Nick Campbell, director at consultancy Inspired Energy, “so far this summer Gazprom has yet to purchase any capacity in the (Ukraine’s) monthly auctions. Therefore, one could see this as a strategy to push Nord Stream 2 to completion.”

Shell Abandons Push for Oil Spill Case to Be Heard in Nigeria -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc has abandoned its final attempt to argue that a major lawsuit brought by thousands of Nigerians over an oil spill in the West African country should be heard in Nigeria rather than the U.K. Shell’s legal team declined to return to England’s High Court with arguments that the five-year-old case would be better heard in Nigeria, according to the parties in the case, conceding that the Nigerian subsidiary will now be joined to claims made in England against the parent company. The U.K. Supreme Court said in a landmark ruling in February that Shell’s parent company could be sued in English courts for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary. The court, however, left the door open for Shell to argue that it was more appropriate to leave any action against the local unit to Nigerian courts. By including the subsidiary in the U.K. proceedings, more documents about Shell’s work in Nigeria are likely to be made public. The decision follows a pair of recent legal defeats for Shell. A Dutch court in January ordered the company to pay compensation to villagers in the Niger Delta over an oil spill decades ago. In a separate trial in The Hague in May, Shell lost a key case in which it was told to slash emissions by 45% across all its international operations by 2030.

Shell confirms another oil spillage at an oil field in Bayelsa State - Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has said that there was an oil spillage at its facility in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. This is as the Nigerian subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant noted that the spill clean-up is progressing while the Joint Investigation report is at the conclusion stage. This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Media Relations Manager of SPDC, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, saying that the spill, which discharged a yet to be ascertained volume of crude into the environment, occurred on June 15. According to a report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Odugbesan dismissed claims by residents that the oil firm was yet to respond to the spill and said that the leak was promptly contained within SPDC’s right of way. Odugbesan in his statement said, “On June 15, a leak was reported at a facility of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd.’s Joint Venture at Opukushi in Ekeremo Local Government Area of Bayelsa. SPDC’s Emergency Response Team was promptly mobilised and it stopped and contained the spill within the SPDC JV right of way. “Spill clean-up is progressing while the Joint Investigation report is being finalised for sign-off by the team comprising representatives of regulatory and relevant government agencies, the community and SPDC.’’ Meanwhile, residents of the host communities have expressed their reservations at the pollution caused by the oil spill and claimed that clean-up was yet to be carried out.

Nigeria loses 21,300 barrels of oil to spill — NOSDRA - Nigeria suffered losses amounting to 21,291.673 barrels of oil, an equivalent of 3,364,084.375 litres, due to spill in 2020, according to the latest data obtained from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA. This showed a 50 per cent decline, compared to 2019, when 42,076.492 barrels of oil (6,648,085.706 litres) were spilled. NOSDRA, while noting that the spill could be attributed to several factors, explained that the bulk of the spill was caused by sabotage and theft. According to the agency, much of the spill in 2020 was recorded in February, when 6,327 barrels were lost, followed by 4,676 barrels recorded in January, while July took the third position by recording 2,174 barrels. In August, 1,815 barrels of spill were recorded, followed by 1,596 barrels in April, while 1,262 barrels were spilled in June. December, November, October, September, May and March had 846, 572, 401, 321, 235 and 229 barrels of spill, respectively. Interestingly, in 2019, February also recorded the highest spill with 9,148 barrels, followed by June with 6,404 barrels, while January made the third position with 5,559 barrels. November, August, July, October and April had 4,113, 2,620, 1,978, 1,338 and 1,230, barrels, respectively, while September, March, May and December recorded 1,113, 1,015, 993 and 879 barrels, respectively.

Commercial vessel detained following oil spill in Hambantota - A commercial vessel has been detained following an oil spill in Hambantota. The cleanup operation of the minor oil spill at the Hambantota Port has been completed, the port authorities said. The minor oil spill occurred during bunkering at the Hambantota International Port (HIP). The oil has been successfully cleaned up by the Emergency Response Unit of the port. The oil spill occurred at approximately 6 pm on Sunday, 11th of July 2021 whilst a bunkering barge was refueling a commercial vessel that had called at the port. “Minimal chemicals were utilized in the cleaning operation, keeping the environment in mind by using ecofriendly means- including manual oil retrieval was carried out. This method took more time but it’s a more effective and thorough way of cleaning up smaller oil spills,” says Ravi Jayawickreme, CEO of Hambantota International Port Services. Meanwhile, the commercial vessel has been detained until costs incurred are accepted and settled by its owners.

Hydraulic oil spills in Melaka Straits after bulk carrier collides with containership | Hellenic Shipping News - The Panamax bulk carrier Galapagos has spilled hydraulic oil in the Melaka Straits after colliding with the 15,000 Teu mega container ship Zephyr Lumos over the weekend, Malaysia’s maritime authority said July 12. “A team each is onboard the two ships and investigating the matter and, based on the information, there was a thin sheen of oil spill from the hydraulic crane on the Galapagos,” a senior executive at Malaysia’s Marine Department told S&P Global Platts. There has been no spill of bunker fuel, and the hydraulic oil leakage that was within a 50- to 100-meter radius of the ship has mostly evaporated, the executive added. Preliminary investigations show that the 2010-built and Malta-flagged Galapagos experienced a steering gear failure and suddenly turned swiftly after losing control, the senior executive said. The marine gasoil or MGO in the Galapagos has been transferred to another tank space, the marine department said in a statement. The part of the ship that is open as a result of the breach does not store MGO and the oil spilled into the sea is hydraulic oil, the department added. The collision resulted in both ships being dragged together for a short distance before coming to a halt, it said. The Malaysian executive said that the 2021-built, Zodiac Maritime’s UK-flagged Zephyr Lumos was overtaking the Galapagos and, after the Panamax bulk carrier lost control, the container ship hit it on the starboard side from behind. The Zephyr Lumos was asked to anchor outside the traffic separation scheme or TSS in the straits; its destination is Suez from Singapore. The Galapagos is anchored near the collision site; it had been en route to India’s Vizag port. The Straits of Melaka is one of the world’s busiest waterways, with a ship moving through every few minutes and daily cargo movement worth billions of dollars.

Oil Spill After Containership and Bulk Carrier Collide in Strait of Malacca - A containership and a bulk carrier collided early Sunday in the Strait of Malacca, causing major damage and resulting in an oil spill. The Malaysian Coast guard reports that the containership MV Zephyr Lumos and bulk carrier MV Galapagos collided at 14.1 nautical miles southwest of Kuala Sungai just after midnight. The agency said the Galapagos reportedly suffered a rudder failure that resulted in the ship crossing in from of the Zephyr Lumos. Photos published by the Coast Guard show an oil spill from the breached hull of the Galapagos. Zephyr Lumos is a new 2021-built containership registered in the United Kingdom. It measures 366-meters-long and 15,000 TEU capacity. AIS ship tracking shows it is underway from Singapore to the Suez Canal. MV Galapagos, registered in Malta, measures 225-meters-long and is 76,000 DWT. It was built in 2010. AIS shows it is sailing from Gladstone, Australia to Visakhapatnam, India. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Some photos published by the Malaysian Coast Guard are below:

OPEC+ deadlock is bad news for oil producers, consumers and energy transitions, IEA warns— The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that world oil markets are likely to remain volatile following a breakdown in talks between OPEC members and their non-OPEC allies, creating a no-win situation. In its latest monthly oil market report, the IEA said energy market participants were closely monitoring the prospect of a deepening supply deficit if a deal was not reached by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its oil-producing allies, a group known as OPEC+. "Oil markets are likely to remain volatile until there is clarity on OPEC+ production policy. And volatility does not help ensure orderly and secure energy transitions — nor is it in the interest of either producers or consumers," the IEA said. OPEC+ abandoned talks last week that would have boosted oil supply. Most delegates tentatively agreed to increase oil production by around 400,000 barrels per day in monthly installments from August until the remaining supply cuts were unwound. This was likely to extend supply cuts through to the end of 2022. The UAE rejected these plans, however, insisting on a higher baseline from which cuts are calculated to better reflect its increased capacity. It means no agreement has been reached on a possible increase in crude production beyond the end of July, leaving oil markets in a state of limbo just as global fuel demand recovers from the ongoing coronavirus crisis. OPEC+, which is dominated by Middle East crude producers, agreed to implement massive crude production cuts last year in an effort to support oil prices when the coronavirus pandemic coincided with a historic fuel demand shock. The energy alliance has since met monthly to try to decide on the next phase of production policy. OPEC+ has not made progress in resolving the dispute between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed OPEC+ sources. It makes the prospect of another policy meeting this week less likely. The IEA said it expects global oil demand to rise by 5.4 million barrels per day this year and by a further 3 million barrels in 2022, largely unchanged from last month's forecast. Meanwhile, the "remote" possibility of a market share battle between producers is hanging over energy markets, the IEA said, warning that higher fuel prices and rising inflation could damage a fragile economic recovery. The uncertainty over the potential global impact of the highly transmissible Covid-19 delta variant was also likely to temper market sentiment in the coming months, the group said.

Oil prices slip as economic worries offset tightening supplies - Crude futures slipped on Monday as concerns over slowing global growth outweighed the prospect of tightening supply after talks among key producers to raise output in coming months stalled. Brent crude for September fell 0.52% to settle at $75.16 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August settled at $74.10 a barrel, for a loss of 0.62%. Both benchmarks fell around 1% last week but still hover near highs last reached in October 2018. The spread of coronavirus variants and unequal access to vaccines threaten the global economic recovery, finance chiefs of the G20 large economies warned on Saturday. A Reuters tally of new COVID-19 infections shows them rising in 69 countries, with the daily rate pointing upwards since late-June and now hitting 478,000. "The market has been a bit negative as of late amid the growing sense that the latest OPEC+ impasse could be a precursor to a pump-and-grab scenario, meaning a lot more oil potentially gets put on the market," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. Oil prices slumped last Tuesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, did not reach an agreement to increase output from August. This was because the United Arab Emirates rejected a proposed eight-month extension to OPEC+ output curbs. The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia met full contractual demand for crude oil from five buyers in August, but turned down at least two requests for additional volumes. Front-month WTI crude futures posted their sixth weekly gain last week after a bullish report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell while gasoline demand reached its highest since 2019. In response to higher oil prices, U.S. energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, data from Baker Hughes showed.

Oil Prices Settle Lower in Early Week Trading - -- Oil dipped as traders grappled with the demand implications of a Covid-19 resurgence in several regions and slowing economic growth in China. Futures in New York fell 0.6% on Monday. New mobility restrictions have been introduced in parts of Japan, South Korea and Vietnam to curb the spread of the delta variant, clouding the demand outlook for oil. Confirmed Covid-19 cases in the U.S. soared 47% in the week ending Sunday, the largest weekly rise since April 2020. Meanwhile, China’s economic rebound is reported to have slowed. A stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on prices, making commodities priced in the currency less attractive. “As the Covid-19 variant continues to hit Asia hard, which is really the key swing demand center, that’s a big, big negative for the complex,” Rebounding fuel consumption in economies such as the U.S. and China has boosted oil prices this year amid tight global supplies. Now, the spread of the delta variant is threatening the demand recovery, while OPEC+ remains in a stalemate over near-term production. China’s growth eased in the second quarter to 8% from the record gain of 18.3% in the first quarter, according to a Bloomberg poll of economists. Retail sales and industrial production are expected to moderate, too. The delta variant continues to spread around the world. In Europe, officials in the U.K. and France are issuing warnings about new cases and reopenings. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist, said “ideological rigidity” is preventing people from getting Covid-19 shots and voiced frustration at the struggle to boost vaccination rates in parts of the country. West Texas Intermediate for August delivery lost 46 cents to settle at $74.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for September settlement slid 39 cents to end the session at $75.16 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. On the supply side, OPEC and its allies have been unable to agree on an output increase, creating swings in the market and pushing crude to its first weekly loss since May last week. The OPEC+ alliance abandoned meetings last week after a dispute between members over production cuts, and one week later, no deal is in sight.

Oil Rises Nearly 2% As Investors Size Up Tight Market - Oil prices gained almost 2 percent on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency said the market should expect tighter supply for now due to disagreements among major producers over how much additional crude to ship worldwide. The market has been generally stronger as demand has rebounded and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies have held millions of barrels of supply from the market. OPEC+, as the group is known, was expected to boost supply, but discussions broke off without an agreement. Brent crude rose $1.33, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $76.49 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.15, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $75.25 a barrel. The Paris-based IEA said global storage drawdowns in the third quarter were set to be the biggest in at least a decade, citing early June stock draws from the United States, Europe and Japan. “You’re still not going to have enough crude oil on the market to avoid a supply deficit by the end of the year. That was definitely a tailwind for the market,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Oil prices will be volatile, the IEA said, until differences are resolved among members of OPEC+. The group has been unwinding record output curbs agreed last year to cope with the pandemic. But a dispute over policy between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates put plans to pump more oil on hold. Nuclear talks between world powers and Iran are not likely to resume until after the Islamic Republic installs its new president next month, restricting another potential source of supply. Industry data on US stockpiles on Tuesday showed that oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, according to two market sources, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Crude stocks fell by 4.1 million barrels for the week ended July 9, the sources said, which would be their eighth consecutive weekly decline. US government data is expected on Wednesday. Still, coronavirus infections are surging in some parts of the world, which could sap demand if outbreaks become more pronounced. The World Health Organization warned the Delta COVID-19 variant was becoming dominant and many countries had yet to receive enough doses of vaccine to secure their health workers.

WTI Slides From 33-Month Highs After Inventory Data - Despite ongoing uncertainty over US-Iran talks (supply increase), Delta variant fears (demand concerns) and Saudi-UAE (OPEC+) malarkey (cartel breakup fears), oil prices managed gains on the day (to 33-month highs) as IEA said global storage drawdowns in the third quarter were set to be the biggest in at least a decade, citing early June stock draws from the United States, Europe and Japan. "You're still not going to have enough crude oil on the market to avoid a supply deficit by the end of the year. That was definitely a tailwind for the market," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Will inventory data provide support for today's rebound? API:

• Crude -4.079mm (-4.4mm exp)
• Cushing -1.585mm
• Gasoline -1.545mm
• Distillates +3.699mm

Analysts expected an 8th straight week of drawdowns in crude stocks but the draw was smaller than expected and less than the prior week. Gasoline stocks also dropped again but far less than last week. Distillates stocks unexpectedly rose...

OPEC reportedly reaches compromise on oil production after dispute with UAE - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday arrived at a deal after a nearly two-week standoff over its future oil production levels, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The temporary but unprecedented gridlock that began in early July saw the United Arab Emirates reject a coordinated oil production plan for the group spearheaded by its kingpin, Saudi Arabia.Abu Dhabi had demanded that its own “baseline” for crude production — the maximum volume it’s recognized by OPEC as being able to produce — be raised because this figure then determines the size of production cuts and quotas it must follow as per the group’s output agreements. Members cut the same percentage from their baseline, so having a higher baseline would allow the UAE a greater production quota.The UAE initially called for its baseline to be raised from 3.2 million barrels a day to 3.8 million barrels a day. According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, the compromise reached between Saudi Arabia and its smaller neighbor will raise the UAE’s baseline to 3.65 million barrels per day from April 2022. The reports have not been officially confirmed, and OPEC and the Saudi energy ministry did not reply to CNBC requests for comment.The initial agreement supported by most OPEC delegates set out a plan for the group to collectively bring production up to 400,000 barrels of crude per day monthly through to the end of 2022. This would end the remaining limits that were set in the spring of 2020, as economic recovery and growing demand for oil have brought crude prices up to their highest level since late 2018.

UAE Denies Reports That OPEC+ Deal Has Been Reached, Oil Slides - Oil algos are unsure what to make of the latest headlines for now as Bloomberg reports that UAE has resolved its standoff with OPEC and agreed on a new higher baseline production level of 3.65m b/d (versus the UAE's prior 3.16m b/d output level). Additionally, the OPEC+ deal is to be extended until the end of 2022 (vs the original April 2022), according to a source. Reminder, OPEC+ talks were postponed early July after the UAE dissented on OPEC's August proposal, prompting some concerns over the future of OPEC, especially as reports were doing the rounds that the UAE was mulling a unilateral increase in production.. WTI tested up to to $75 and tumbled down to $74 on the headline, then rebounded rapidly back up to test $75 again... Update (1000ET): Not so fast! Reuters is reporting that the UAE Energy Minister has confirmed that no agreement has been reached yet with OPEC+ and that deliberations continue. And that headline removed all the earlier gains from oil prices...

WTI Extends Losses After (Delayed) Inventory Data - After tagging 33-month highs yesterday, oil prices have been chaotic overnight as API inventory data mixed with reports and denials from UAE/OPEC+ over a deal have left WTI lower so far. However, even if a deal is done, timing will remain an issue.“Even if OPEC decides to raise output in August, that crude will not reach refineries until after the August peak-demand period will be over,” Ed Morse, head of commodities research at Citigroup Inc., said in an email.The next $1 one way or the other may be driven by the official inventory data, as industry watchers would consider API’s report of a nearly 5m bbl build in diesel bearish, if the U.S. government confirms it. DOE

• Crude -7.897mm (-4.4mm exp)
• Cushing +1.04mm
• Gasoline -2.489mm
• Distillates +3.657mm

Expectations for an 8th straight week of crude draws were met with a bigger than expected 7.897mm drop in stocks. US gasoline demand is back at its highest since Oct 2019 and back above its 5y average for this time of year (and last week we saw seasonal demand for petroleum products reach a high in data going back three decades)...

Oil Prices Falter with USA Fuel Build - -- Oil’s rally fizzled as a build in U.S. fuel inventories and a potential OPEC+ agreement to increase supply cooled a buying spree that had pushed the market above $75. Futures in New York fell 2.8%, the most since May. Both gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, according to a U.S. government report. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were said to resolve the standoff that has prevented OPEC+ from satisfying growing demand for extra barrels. Technical indicators also showed crude close to overbought territory earlier Wednesday, which signals oil may be due for a pullback. With the prospect of more supply from OPEC+ and crude nearing overbought levels, “it’s not surprising to see it down,” said Tariq Zahir, managing member of the global macro program at Tyche Capital Advisors LLC. Economic recovery in countries like the U.S. and China has increased fuel consumption over the course of this year, propelling oil prices forward by more than 50%. Rising demand, especially during the peak summer travel season in the U.S., drew warnings about a deepening supply deficit after OPEC+ talks on a production hike broke down earlier this month. The latest breakthrough proposal involves a higher output quota for the UAE, which said OPEC+ talks are ongoing. It would need to be approved by all OPEC+ members before it can take effect. If the compromise is ratified at a new meeting, it could open the way to higher output, although some members have already locked in most of their supply volumes for August. The 23-nation coalition is aiming to restore supplies in installments of 400,000 barrels a day through to late 2022. The impasse introduced volatility in the market over the last week while near-term supply remained in question. In addition to gasoline, a boom in durable goods is driving demand for naphtha to make plastics as well as diesel to power deliveries. Domestic crude supplies tumbled for the eighth straight week, according to the weekly report. Inventories at the nation’s largest storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 1.6 million barrels.

Oil slides 2% on oversupply fears after OPEC wrangles an agreement - Oil prices dropped more than 2% Wednesday after major global oil producers came to a compromise about supply and after U.S. data showed demand slacked off a bit in the most recent week. Crude prices have surged to highs not seen in nearly three years, but have been choppy lately on worries about a pickup in supply. Brent crude settled down $1.73 a barrel, or 2.26%, at $74.76 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate was off by $2.12, or 2.82%, at $73.13 a barrel. Brent crude’s premium to West Texas Intermediate futures widened to the most since July 6, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. The U.S. benchmark fell more precipitously due to demand concerns. Oil initially dropped after Reuters reported Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached a compromise that should unlock an OPEC+ deal to boost global oil supplies as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmarks fell more after U.S. government data showed implied gasoline demand declining considerably last week. While the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles declined more than expected, in their eighth consecutive draw, the drawdown was overshadowed by lagging gasoline demand. “The significant decline in gasoline and diesel demand has pressured prices, even though crude oil inventories have continued to draw,” U.S. fuel stocks were higher, even as refinery runs eased. Gasoline stocks rose by 1 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 1.8 million-barrel drop. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, had been at loggerheads over increasing supply due to demands from the United Arab Emirates that its contribution to supply cuts be calculated from a higher production level. The agreement should now pave the way for OPEC+ members to extend a deal to curb output until the end of 2022, the sources added, although the UAE energy ministry said in a statement that no deal with OPEC+ on its baseline has been reached and deliberations were continuing. Also adding to a potential supply glut is crude from Iran, . For the market balance, two critical are the timing of a deal between Iran and Western powers, which could lead to increased oil exports, and supply coming from the U.S..

Goldman Sees Oil Price Spiking On UAE/OPEC+ Deal -Oil suffered its biggest drop in 2.5 months today after the EIA reported that in the latest week, gasoline demand in the US unexpectedly tumbled by 760,000 barrels a day from the record 10 million barrels a day a week, to 9.28 million barrels a day to get back to levels in late June. While algos focused on the sharp drop, what they ignored was that the number was largely meaningless, since the reporting week included July 5, a day off for Americans. Additionally, the EIA’s estimate, known as product supplied, is derived from other data rather than being a direct measurement of consumption. Since that method often leads to erratic numbers, some observers prefer to use the 4-week rolling average. That measure was 9.485 million barrels a day, which was about equal to the same week in 2019 None of that mattered, however, as CTAs quickly joined in the selling frenzy and completely erasing the earlier jump on the far more important news of an OPEC+ deal. Just how important was the Reuters report that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are close to reaching a production agreement, one which sees both the higher baseline requested by the UAE (of 3.65 mb/d starting in April 2022) as well as an extension of the output agreement requested by Saudi (through December 2022). Important enough that in a note released late on Wednesday, Goldman said that the deal would remove the low-probability tail risks of potential price war, and "represents $2 to $4/bbl upside risk to our $80/bbl summer and $75/bbl 2022 Brent price forecasts." In the note from Goldman commodity analysts Damien Courvalin and Jeff Currie, the two also write that the expected agreement “as the first of likely four potential bullish supply catalysts over the coming month” that would more than offset higher North American production. Additionally, although some OPEC+ details remain uncertain, like August and September quotas or baselines of other countries, “these are of limited magnitude and importance to the global oil market outlook, which the bank continues to see as supportive of higher oil prices” Piling on the bullish cash, Courvalin writes that an OPEC+ deal that offers a higher baseline for the UAE, as well as an extension of output agreement through December 2022 - such as the one being contemplated - would be bullish relative to Goldman’s base case.

Oil Prices Fall Amid Stronger Greenback and OPEC+ Uncertainty --- Oil slid to a four-week low Thursday as the dollar strengthened and on OPEC+’s signal it may raise output soon. Futures in New York slid 2% on Thursday with a rising U.S. dollar reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the currency. Traders are watching to see whether the OPEC+ alliance sets a date to formalize a deal to hike production after delegates said Wednesday the United Arab Emirates made significant progress in resolving its standoff with Saudi Arabia. In the U.S., an inventory report this week showing expanding fuel supplies and crude production also weighed on prices. “The market is still continuing to assess the fundamentals like what the OPEC+ deal is going to mean,” It “looks like the group is coming to an agreement, but there is lots of uncertainty over how it will be executed.” Crude has rallied nearly 50% this year as economies across the globe reopen and demand returns. Citigroup Inc. said the oil market is expected to be tight in the near-term and should push Brent prices into the mid-$80s, despite any compromise supply deal between the UAE and OPEC+. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries published its first detailed assessment of 2022, in which it forecast that global oil demand will steadily recover to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the second half of next year. However, it also pointed to a lull in the first quarter. West Texas Intermediate for August declined $1.48 to settle at $71.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The prompt spread ended the session at 27 cents a barrel, the narrowest in four weeks. Brent for September settled $1.29 lower at $73.47 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. WTI’s prompt timespread weakened to its narrowest level since mid-June with U.S. government data shows domestic crude production is rising. The spread’s backwardation -- indicating tighter supplies -- is fading with output currently at the highest since May 2020. There are also demand concerns with rising Covid-19 cases in Europe and Asia that may lower consumption expectations in the second half of this year.. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the UAE appear to be closing in on an agreement to revise Abu Dhabi’s production quota, it would still need to be ratified by the whole group before they can salvage plans to revive halted supply. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said an accord would be a “bullish catalyst,” and would help remove the low risk of a potential price war. The two sides haven’t fully resolved their differences and talks are ongoing. There are signs other members of the alliance have been inspired to air their own grievances, with Iraq now seeking a higher baseline for its cuts too.

Oil slumps on OPEC compromise expectations, COVID variant concerns Oil futures fell Thursday, extending a slump that began in the previous session after data showed a rise in U.S. fuel supplies and after reports said the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reached a compromise that would allow a further relaxation of output curbs beginning next month.Concerns that the spread of the delta coronavirus variant have also contributed to weakness in oil prices as the variant is leading to renewed lockdowns in some countries, particularly in Asia, dulling demand for energy."We do feel the Delta variant is the biggest factor as Asia is having a real issue and Europe is problematic," Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors, told MarketWatch. COVID cases are on the rise in the U.S. again also and this "could hamper oil demand in the days and weeks to come in parts of the country [where] vaccination levels are low," he said. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell 89 cents, or 1.2%, to $72.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude , the global benchmark, was off 82 cents, or 1.1%, at $73.94 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.Crude fell sharply Wednesday after reports (link) said the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia had reached a compromise in their dispute over output cuts. The U.A.E., however, has said no deal has been reached with OPEC+ producers and that talks are ongoing and would need the support of other OPEC countries, according to various news reports (link).A meeting of OPEC and its allies -- known as OPEC+ -- ended earlier this month without an agreement on a proposed easing of output curbs after the U.A.E. insisted it should be allowed to raise the baseline dictating its output, putting it at odds with Saudi Arabia."It is also unclear whether the UAE's higher oil production would be set off against the planned increase in OPEC+ production, which would mean the other countries could raise their output by less, which they would hardly be willing to accept," said Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank, in a note."If not, the UAE's increased output would be on top of the intended increase in OPEC+ production, which could ultimately lead to too much oil on the market," he said.Traders will be watching to see if OPEC+ calls a meeting to ratify the reported compromise, said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities."All OPEC+ members will need to agree on the increase for it to become official OPEC+ policy. No meeting [means] no agreement," he said.Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday (link) revealed that domestic crude supplies fell for an eighth week in a row, but implied demand for motor gasoline declined, leading to an increase in supplies of the fuel.In Thursday dealings, August gasoline fell by nearly 1.3% to $2.26 a gallon and August heating oil declined by 1.2% to $2.12 a gallon.Meanwhile, OPEC on Thursday forecast world oil demand to grow by 6 million barrels a day (link) in 2021, unchanged from its June projection, with total demand expected to average 96.6 million barrels a day.

Oil Futures Flat Amid OPEC+ Deal Chatter, Mixed Economic Data - Fading from intra-session highs, oil futures nearest delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange settled Friday's session little changed as mixed economic data in the United States pointed to accelerated inflation amid surging consumer spending. Renewed strength in the U.S. Dollar Index and risk-off sentiment across equity markets triggered additional pressure on the oil complex. U.S. retail sales -- a measure of purchases at stores, restaurants and online -- gained 0.6% in June, beating market expectations for a modest decrease compared to the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday morning. Last month's surge in consumer spending would have been stronger if it excluded auto sales, which fell 2% from the previous month amid ongoing shortages of the key materials. High retail spending coincides with a faster-than-expected increase in consumer prices, which jumped 5.4% in June from a year earlier following a 5% increase in the prior month. There are growing signs that faster inflation has begun to take a toll on consumer sentiment in July, with University of Michigan's gauge on year-ahead inflation expectations rising to the highest since 2008. Preliminary reading on consumer sentiment, meanwhile, dropped to the lowest since February at 80.8, compared with expectations for a monthly gain to 87.6."Inflation has put added pressure on living standards, especially on lower- and middle-income households, and caused postponement of large discretionary purchases, especially among upper income households," Richard Curtin, director of the survey, said in a statement.U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that inflation has risen to uncomfortably high levels but maintained that rising costs are transitory and tied to the economy's reopening. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of several more months of rapid inflation before price pressures finally ease. U.S. equities declined and the dollar index gained modestly against the basket of foreign currencies, pressuring the front-month West Texas Intermediate futures into market-on-close trade. On the session, the NYMEX August WTI contract settled at $71.81 barrel (bbl), up 16 cents from the Thursday's close, and the international crude benchmark Brent for September delivery added 0.12 cents for a $73.59 bbl settlement. Both crude benchmarks declined more than 2.5% on week. NYMEX August ULSD futures settled little changed at $2.1133 gallon, and the front-month NYMEX RBOB contact gained 0.33 cents to $2.2536 gallon.

Oil Has Worst Week in Months; UAE’s OPEC Deal Could Open ‘Can of Worms’ - New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil, settled up 35 cents, or 0.5%, at $72 per barrel. For the week though, WTI lost $2.56, or 3.4%. It was the largest weekly loss for U.S. crude since the week ended April 2. London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for oil, rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, to finish the session at $75.55. For the week, Brent lost $1.96, or 2.6%, for its sharpest weekly decline since the week to May 14. OPEC+ - which groups the 13 member Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with 10 other oil producers led by Russia - had initially failed to agree on August production levels after the UAE sought a higher baseline for measuring its output cuts. News reports from the past couple of days, however, suggested that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have reached a compromise, paving the way for OPEC+ producers to end an uncertainty that had bogged down the market and prices for weeks. “All signs indicate that OPEC+ is heading for a potential compromise agreement that will allow the UAE to secure a baseline adjustment,” RBC Capital analysts said in a note. “Other producers will undoubtedly seek similar treatment and potentially prolong the deliberations heading into the August ministerial meeting.” John Kilduff, founding partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital, concurred with that view. “This certainly opens a can of worms where OPEC production is concerned,” said Kilduff. “The Iraqis were already talking about wanting their baseline for production increased too.” “Unless the Saudis can point at the new Covid outbreaks from the Delta variant and say ‘hey, we should all keep our production down in order not to lose what we have gained’, I think oil prices will remain under pressure.” On the Covid front, vaccination rates are down and cases are on the rise, exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant -- and an expert said earlier this week that the key to winning the race against the spread is getting more Americans vaccinated. "We're losing time here. The Delta variant is spreading, people are dying, we can't actually just wait for things to get more rational," Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Wednesday. Vaccines have been available to most Americans for months, but still only 48.2% of the country is fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and the rate of new vaccinations is on the decline. Meanwhile, case rates have been going up dramatically. In 47 states, the rate of new cases in the past week are at least 10% higher than the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Of those, 35 have seen increases of over 50%.

The Conflict Within OPEC Is Far From Over - As expected, OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and UAE have reached a so-called solution to the current export quota conflict. For two weeks, the global oil market was shocked by the strong position taken by Abu Dhabi’s power brokers, which demanded higher baseline production quota. OPEC sources now have stated that both countries have reached a compromise on production.Even that the first reactions to the so-called agreement which includes a higher base line production level for the UAE are positive, the deal in reality is nothing more than a band aid. Officials in many oil importing nations are hoping that the agreement will help to cool soaring prices.Reuters reports indicate that Riyadh has agreed to Abu Dhabi’s request to have its baseline production level lifted to 3.65 million barrels per day (bpd) when the current pact expires in April 2022, according to the source. The current baseline for the UAE was around 3.17 million bpd. With this gesture, Riyadh looks to keep the current OPEC+ agreement in place, while giving room to Abu Dhabi in order to claim a potential win-win situation. However, the higher production baseline will only be implemented in April 2022, and is a long way from the requested 3.8 million bpd at present. Knowing both sides, the first reactions will be positive, indicating a renewal of the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi-Moscow tandem, showing the market that OPEC is not heading towards a possible breakdown or implosion. It also shows that analysts that were expecting Abu Dhabi to leave OPEC were too quick to draw conclusions. Still, the unease about production quota may persist in the UAE, and the conflict could flare up again at the next OPEC+ meeting. The high-profile clash between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed is not over, instead, it’s just been pushed aside for the moment being. For both parties, a more volatile oil (and gas) market is not the goal, as both pursue a stable situation where prices stay at a level that is acceptable for both producers and consumers.OPEC also wants to continue the overall strong cooperation of the last years, as non-OPEC, especially Russia and FSU countries are starting to become unhappy about production and export levels. Russian companies are for sure willing to up the ante, bringing additional volumes to the market to reap the gains at present. Some other OPEC producers, including Iraq are also unhappy about missing out on higher revenues or market share due to OPEC policies. Battling COVID-19’s economic impact, high unemployment, and the ongoing threat of energy-transition polices in the EU and OECD, a growing amount of countries want accelerate the monetization of their hydrocarbon resources. The UAE-Saudi spat is only a sign on the wall of future problems within the cartel. Whatever analysts were stating, MBS and MBZ are maybe competing on lots of issues, but oil and gas are still a binding factor for decision making and cooperation. Saudi Arabia also knows that Abu Dhabi’s continues to invest in increasing its production capacity, which it aims to boost to around 5 million bpd by 2030.

US Waives Sanctions On Frozen Iranian Oil Funds -The United States has decided to temporarily waive sanctions on Iranian oil funds abroad but without returning Tehran's access to its bank accounts in Japan and South Korea. "Allowing these funds to be used to repay exporters in these jurisdictions will make those entities whole with respect to the goods and services they exported to Iran, address a recurring irritant in important bilateral relationships, and decrease Iran's foreign reserves," the waiver, which the Department of State presented to Congress, said, as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.This means the government in Tehran will be unable to withdraw the funds but can use them to pay accounts outstanding to South Korean and Japanese exporters. In fact, the money cannot be transferred to Iran at all, the State Department said."The secretary of state previously signed a waiver to allow funds held in restricted Iranian accounts in Japan and Korea to be used to pay back Japanese and Korean companies that exported non-sanctioned items to Iran," a State Department spokesperson said as quoted by Mehr."These repayment transactions can sometimes be time-consuming, and the secretary extended the waivers for another 90 days."The sanction talks between the U.S. and Iran have stalled lately as the government in Iran changed, with the new president known as a hardliner unlike his predecessor Hassan Rouhani who was hailed as a reformer when he came into power.

Scores die in Iraq COVID hospital fire for second time in three months - Protests erupted in Iraq Tuesday as the death toll from a horrific fire that tore through a makeshift COVID-19 isolation ward in the southern city of Nasiriyah climbed to 93. The blaze left at least another 100 people injured. The fire began at 10:30 p.m. Monday night, reportedly as the result of an electrical short in an air-conditioning system, which in turn touched off the explosion of improperly stored oxygen tanks. The fire quickly spread through the facility, which had been hastily constructed from a fleet of trailers made of cheap and highly flammable sandwich panels topped with a tin roof to house COVID patients outside Nasiriyah’s al-Hussein Teaching Hospital. The facility was equipped neither with fire extinguishers nor smoke alarms. Hundreds of relatives and young men from surrounding neighborhoods rushed to the scene of the fire in a desperate attempt to rescue patients, many of them unable to breathe without oxygen and incapable of getting out of their beds, where they died from burns and asphyxiation. Some of the rescuers died carrying patients when the roof collapsed on them, blocking an entrance. In one incident, a young man succeeded in pulling out his father and carrying him to a waiting ambulance, only to see him die because the vehicle had no oxygen. Angry crowds gathered outside the hospital and the nearby morgue. Distraught family members searched through the still smoking rubble for remains of their loved ones, while many of the recovered bodies were burned beyond recognition. One youth was seen collapsing in tears while searching for his grandfather, father, uncle and aunt, all of them lost in the fire. Demonstrators outside the hospital chanted “revolution” and “The political parties burned us,” while setting police cars on fire. Protesters later set up tents and occupied Nasiriyah’s central al-Habboubi Square, the scene of mass protests during the nationwide anti-government protests that shook the country beginning in 2019. Nasiriyah was at the center of this rebellion and hundreds were killed and wounded there. Demonstrations were also reported spreading to other Iraqi cities. The outrage provoked by the entirely preventable fire has been intensified by the fact that this is the second such massive criminal tragedy in the space of barely three months. On April 24, a similar fire ravaged the COVID intensive care unit of the Ibn al-Khatib hospital in a poor neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad, killing 82 people, including patients on ventilators, and injuring another 110. That fire was triggered by an accident causing improperly stored oxygen tanks to explode and, as in the blaze in Nasiriyah, the hospital had no fire protection system and its shoddy construction allowed flames to spread rapidly. At the time, investigators had warned that the same conditions that led to the Baghdad hospital fire existed throughout the country.

Russia Warns Pentagon: Don't Deploy Troops In Central Asia Near Afghanistan Amid the continuing full US troop draw down from Afghanistan, which last week President Biden said would be 'complete' by August 31st, the Pentagon has been debating how to maintain a foothold in Central Asia as it increasingly looks like Kabul will come under Taliban threat within a mere months. Last month in an interview with Axios' Jonathan Swan, Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan slammed the door shut on allowing the CIA or US special forces to conduct cross-border counterterrorism missions against a resurgent Al-Qaeda, ISIS or the Taliban. Given Washington's scrambling to establish other outposts in countries neighboring Afghanistan,Russia is now warning against such an expanded Central Asian US military presence. On Tuesday Russia's foreign ministry put the US on notice, warning that the possibility of a US "permanent military presence" in countries neighboring Afghanistan is "unacceptable". The comments by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov further stated: "We told the Americans in a direct and straightforward way that it would change a lot of things not only in our perceptions of what’s going on in that important region, but also in our relations with the United States."Crucially Moscow also warned Central Asian countries, especially its allies, against hosting US troops connected to events in Afghanistan."We cautioned them against such steps, and we also have had a frank talk on the subject with our Central Asian allies, neighbors and friends and also other countries in the region that would be directly affected," Ryabkov said further.

China GDP Growth Disappoints As Credit Impulse Crashes Following Q1's record-breaking surge in China's YoY GDP (thanks to base-effect malarkey and a massive credit impulse), tonight's Q2 GDP was expected to slow drastically (especially given the crackdown on investment/real estate deleveraging and the collapse in the credit impulse)... Source: Bloomberg The question is how much? Consensus estimates called for an 8.0% YoY GDP rise, but whisper numbers were notably lower with Bloomberg Economics' Shu noting that various early indicators are consistent in pointing to some weakening in consumption in June. “On balance, these indicators suggest production growth - after base effects are taken into account - may have slowed, but only a touch.” The official services PMI fell to 52.3 in June from 54.3 in May, while its Caixin counterpart showed a much steeper slide from a strong reading to just slightly above 50 - the line between expansion and contraction. The headline GDP growth figure printed a very slightly disappointing +7.9% YoY

India's crackdown on Mastercard escalates data ownership fight -The fight over data control between U.S. payment firms and the Indian government came to a head with a sweeping ruling on Mastercard, which will not be allowed to issue new payment cards to Indian customers starting July 22.The Reserve Bank of India contends Mastercard is not complying with rules that require foreign payment companies to store data on Indian payments within the country. The July 22 ban is indefinite, but it does not impact existing Mastercard customers in India. India's data storage policy, issued in 2018, includes unfettered supervisory access to data stored in local systems. Payment companies must include full end-to-end transaction details, and information that is collected, carried and processed as part of the messaging and payment instructions. "Notwithstanding a lapse of considerable time and adequate opportunities being given, the entity has been found to be non-compliant," the reserve bank said in its letter. It did not return a request for comment by deadline.

Dutch PM sorry for early reopening as France tightens Covid rules --As governments in multiple EU states struggle to curb an increasingly alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, the Dutch premier, Mark Rutte, has apologised and conceded that restrictions reinstated this weekend were lifted too soon. Meanwhile France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, unveiled a raft of new measures on Monday, including making health certificates mandatory in cafes, bars and restaurants and on planes and long-distance trains from next month. While cases are rising, hospital admissions in most EU countries have not so far followed the same curve, prompting officials to suggest that as vaccination campaigns advance, hospital data should become a bigger factor in responding to the pandemic. Rutte last week reimposed curbs on bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the Netherlands and cancelled all events involving large crowds until at least 14 August as new cases rose almost sevenfold, from a rolling seven-day average of 49 for every million people on 4 July to nearly 330 at the weekend. “What we thought would be possible turned out not to be in practice,” he said on Monday. “We had poor judgment, which we regret and for which we apologise.” At least 30 event organisers have launched joint legal proceedings over the U-turn. The Dutch health minister, Hugo de Jonge, said last week that holidays could be affected by the surge but he was hopeful that other EU countries would look at hospital data rather than infections when debating quarantine or test requirements on Dutch travellers. “Two weeks ago all the signals were green,” De Jonge said. “Now there is reason to intervene. This is unprecedented.” However, Dutch hospital admissions remain low at 2.7 a million, down from a peak of more than 100 in early April. Macron said in a televised address on Monday that French health workers who had not been vaccinated by September would face sanctions, and health certificates proving vaccination, a negative test or Covid immunity would be required in cinemas, theatres and at concerts from this month. From August the certificate will also be required in cafes, bars and restaurants. New infections in France have surged by 65% in a week, from an average of 34 to 56 for every million people. Macron said PCR tests, which have been free in France until now, would have to be paid for from the end of the summer holidays, as part of a concerted drive to encourage “the entire population to get vaccinated – the only sure path out of this crisis”.

Protests in France continue to grow after Macron enacts new COVID-19 measures - — Protesters took to the streets in France on Saturday following new COVID-19 measures that French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Macron said earlier this week that all health care workers had to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 15 or would face suspension without pay. Additionally, he said all residents had to start using a health pass showing proof they had been vaccinated, had a recent negative test or were recovering from COVID-19 before going to certain public places such as shopping malls, restaurants and planes. Protesters marched in the cities of Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille and elsewhere, and some argued that the government was encroaching on their ability to choose whether they wanted to get the vaccine, Reuters noted. According to data from the World Health Organization, France had 3,616 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday and had reached a particularly high number of cases on Thursday, with 8,748 cases confirmed. The country last saw fewer than a thousand cases on July 6, though COVID-19 cases had been trending upward more so at the beginning of July. As of Friday, 55 percent of people in France have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 44 percent have had both doses, Reuters reported. Saturday's protests come after demonstrators on Wednesday, coinciding with France's Bastille Day, set mechanical diggers on fire and tipped over garbage cans, prompting police to use tear gas, Reuters reported. Greece had announced similar measures on Monday, saying that health care workers will face suspension if they do not get vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. Starting Aug. 16, nursing home staff will face suspension if they have not made an appointment to get vaccinated. Staff at hospitals will face a similar dilemma in September. The decision in Greece also prompted protests earlier this week, Reuters reported.

Europe struggles to break free of Covid restrictions as delta variant surges — Europe is struggling to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the delta variant, but while several countries reimpose measures to control the spread, the U.K. is taking the plunge and lifting restrictions. From residual vaccine skepticism in some countries, to surges in infections linked to nightlife resuming, Europe is having to contend with competing needs: the reopening of crucial economic sectors this summer, while at the same time, curbing surging cases. It's not an easy balance to strike and, erring on the side of caution, a number of countries – including France, the Netherlands, Greece and Spain – announced new restrictions on Monday in a bid to curb the rise in infections, particularly among younger people who are the last in the queue to be vaccinated against Covid. In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced that for health and care workers, vaccines would be mandatory, and that a "health pass" (an app showing one's vaccination status or recent negative test) would soon be required to access culture or leisure venues of a larger capacity. From August, the pass will be mandatory to access cafes, restaurants, malls, planes and trains in France. Lastly, in a bid to encourage vaccination take-up, PCR tests will stop being free from the fall unless they're part of a prescription. "If we do not act today, the number of cases will continue to rise sharply, and will inevitably lead to increased hospitalizations from the month of August," Macron told the public in a televised address. Similarly, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also gave a televised address Monday in which he announced that Covid shots would be mandatory for nursing home and healthcare workers and that only vaccinated people will be allowed indoors in bars, cinemas, theaters and enclosed spaces. Greece, like France, has struggled to encourage vaccine take up among more skeptical members of the public. Imploring people to take up Covid shots, Mitsotakis said: "The country will not be shut down again by the attitude of some. It will give freedom to many. And protection for all. Because it is not Greece that is in danger, but the unvaccinated Greeks."

The spreading Delta variant is hampering Europe’s economic recovery. - The relaxation of pandemic restrictions and the growing ranks of people vaccinated against the coronavirus have propelled Europe’s economy forward in the past few months. And the European Commission even upgraded its forecasts for the region.But the rapid spread of the more contagious Delta variant has made the path of the recovery much more unpredictable and uneven.In Britain, the final lifting of restrictions on Monday is expected to add fresh momentum to the economic recovery. But the surge in infections presents a new hurdle to businesses trying to operate at full capacity. Sectors like hospitality, theater and trucking are having to temporarily shut as workers go into self-isolation because they have either caught the virus or have been told they have come into contact with someone who has.In Spain, which once again has one of the highest infection rates in Europe, some regional governments have reintroduced restrictions. Portugal has reintroduced a curfew in Lisbon, Porto and other popular tourism spots, dampening a second summer travel season. The Netherlands also announced new measures this week.The German economy has been bouncing back quickly, and the country’s unemployment rate, at 5.9 percent, is almost back to the pre-crisis level.But Germany’s recovery has also been bumpy. The number of new cases has doubled in the last week, and three-quarters of those were attributed to the variant. Although there is no talk of renewed lockdowns in Germany so far, quarantine rules for returning travelers may discourage tourism. That is bad news for the rest of Europe: Germans are among the continent’s most avid travelers.

Music banned on Greece's Mykonos in new COVID-19 restrictions (Reuters) -Greece banned music in restaurants and bars and imposed a nighttime curfew on its popular holiday island of Mykonos on Saturday after a rise in new coronavirus infections there.Known as the party island of the super-rich, Mykonos is one of Greece's most popular destinations, attracting more than a million visitors each summer, among them Hollywood stars, models and world-famous athletes.Following a "worrying" local outbreak, the Civil Protection Ministry said it was banning music on the island around the clock, including in shops, cafes and beach bars. It also said it would restrict movement between 1 a.m to 6 a.m except for those going to and from work or to hospital.Greece depends on tourism for a fifth of its economy and desperately needs a strong season this year following a disastrous 2020 when visitor numbers and revenues collapsed.The number of infections has been rising in Greece in recent weeks, forcing the government to mandate the vaccination of healthcare workers and nursing home staff, and to introduce new restrictions across the country, including allowing only vaccinated customers indoors at restaurants and clubs.Mykonos's Mayor Konstantinos Koukas said imposing measures at the heart of the tourism season was "unfair" and "misguided.""Mykonos cannot be the only island where music won't be heard... the only thing this will achieve is that visitors will go to another island," he wrote on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).The government banned music in restaurants and bars across the country in May to avoid people having to get close to one another to be heard, increasing the chances of transmitting the virus. It lifted that measure when infections dropped.

England will lift most Covid restrictions on July 19, Johnson says. - With coronavirus infections surging yet again, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday urged Britons to keep wearing face masks in crowded, indoor spaces even as he promised to unlock England’s economy next week and lift almost all virus-related restrictions. Mr. Johnson’s admonition on masks, while not compulsory, represents the latest swerve from a government that delayed the imposition of several lockdowns and then promised the “irreversible” lifting of restrictions, culminating in what British tabloid newspapers called “freedom day.”Having delayed that moment once, Mr. Johnson on Monday confirmed plans to proceed with the removal of most legal curbs in England on July 19, allowing pubs and restaurants to operate at full capacity and nightclubs to open their doors. Curbs on the number of people who can meet indoors, generally limited to six, will also be lifted.Despite the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the government believes that Britain’s successful vaccination program has weakened the link between cases and hospital admissions. The government now argues that there is no better time to end lockdown restrictions than in the summer when the virus tends to spread more slowly and schools take a vacation break, eliminating one source of transmission.Still, the landmark once hailed boldly as “freedom day” by libertarian lawmakers is now being given much more cautious billing by the government as Britain records around 30,000 cases a day, a number that the health secretary, Sajid Javid, on Monday said could climb to 100,000 during the summer.“Whether we like it or not, coronavirus is not going away,” Mr. Javid said in Parliament.The government decision to recommend the continued use of face masks in crowded indoor spaces is a shift, in tone at least, from a week ago when Mr. Johnson outlined his thinking at a news conference.When asked then whether he would wear a mask, he said, “it would depend on the circumstances,” before clarifying later that he would wear one on a crowded train.On Monday, Mr. Johnson struck a decidedly cautious tone. “I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough,” he said at a news conference. “This pandemic is not over. This disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks for you and your family. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, 19 July to life as it was before Covid.”Mr. Johnson added that the government strongly recommended that people wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces such as on public transportation.The government plans to work with organizers of large indoor events to encourage the use of certification for those who have been vaccinated or recently tested. Mr. Johnson said he wanted a gradual return to the workplace rather than a mass move back to offices next week. And Britain’s border restrictions would remain in place, including hotel quarantine for those arriving from countries deemed to be in the highest risk category.

Amid warnings of 4,800 daily hospitalisations: UK prime minister Johnson green lights July 19 lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that all coronavirus restrictions in England will be removed on July 19. Social distancing, already reduced to 1 metre plus, is being ditched and mask wearing will be voluntary. This takes place as 218,503 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the last seven days, up from 170,856 the previous week. 203 lives were lost to COVID-19 in the last week, a 66 percent increase on 122 the week prior. What is being enforced is an upscaling of the social murder carried out by the Conservative government, which has already taken the lives of over 152,000 people. New modelling released yesterday from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that an 80 reduction in all protective measures, including mask-wearing and social distancing, could lead to 46,000 deaths by the end of the year. Authorising the end of safety controls, under conditions in which the virus is surging in Britain, Johnson told a Downing Street press conference that “it is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution, and I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough—this pandemic is not over.” People should be cautious and not “tear the pants out of it” on July 19, and he would “expect and recommend” people still wear masks in crowded indoor spaces. Ending legal coronavirus restrictions “should not be taken as an invitation by everybody simply to have a great jubilee and freedom from any kind of caution or restraint.” Nothing could be more grotesque than Johnson’s pose of restraint. He was speaking the day after his government authorised the largest super spreader event held anywhere in the world since the onset of the pandemic. Tens of millions were given the go-ahead to freely mix to watch the European Championship final between England and Italy. Well over 60,000 mainly unmasked people were in Wembley Stadium in London. Thousands massed around the stadium and hundreds broke down security fences and forced entry into the stadium. Many thousands more filled the capital’s main squares and other city centre “fan zones”, and pubs, while millions gathered in homes.

UK Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee holds online forum as Johnson government lifts all safety restrictions - The UK Educators Rank-and-File Safety committee held an online meeting Saturday, to outline a response to the pandemic based on science and the need to protect the health, livelihoods and lives of working people. It proposed a programme on which to oppose Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s herd immunity policies that have sacrificed 150,000 lives to protect profit. As the global death toll surpasses four million, public health restrictions are being scrapped in one country after another while more transmissible variants such as Delta spread exponentially. Alex Dickerson the reception class teacher, left leads the class at the Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Greenwich, London, Monday, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Tania Kent, a Socialist Equality Party member, special needs teacher and chairperson of the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, explained the aim of popularising “the call made by the International Committee of the Fourth International for the establishment of an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees to organise the global fight back.” She explained how UK prime minister Johnson had declared, in ending Covid restrictions, “I want to stress from the outset that this pandemic is far from over. There could be 50,000 cases per day.” Support group Long Covid Kids reports 59 paediatric deaths due to COVID and 9,000 children with long COVID extending beyond 12 months. “A government that claims to be acting in the interests of children,” said Kent, “is allowed to oversee the deaths and suffering of young children, with no challenge from what passes as the official organisations of the working class.” Labour Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has complained that the government’s announcement “isn’t a guarantee that restrictions will end—only what it will look like.” The National Education Union (NEU) released a press statement asking the government, “Are there any thresholds on case numbers, or hospitalisation or deaths that mean the DfE would do something different in schools in September? We all know the results of dither and delay.” “To call a social crime of unprecedented scale ‘dither and delay’,” said Kent, “exposes the unions as nothing but an arm of the government in imposing social murder. Their main concern is the reopening of schools being jeopardised, not the threat to lives.”

London’s mayor says masks will remain mandatory on public transport. -Face masks will continue to be mandatory on London’s subways and buses even after the government lifts the legal requirement to wear them on July 19, the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said on Wednesday.Mr. Khan’s announcement puts the London rules at odds with those announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is pushing ahead with a plan to lift almost all Covid restrictions in England, even as coronavirus infections surge and hospital admissions begin to mount.Adding to the messaging confusion, Mr. Johnson has encouraged people to continue wearing masks in crowded and confined places even though, under the relaxed rules he announced, it will no longer be a legal requirement.Mr. Khan, who is in the opposition Labour Party, said that wearing a face mask would be a condition of using London’s sprawling public transportation system, which includes the Tube, buses, overground trains, and light rail networks. Passengers who refuse to put one on will be ordered to leave the system.“The wearing of face coverings helps reduce the spread of Covid, and crucially gives Londoners confidence to travel — vital to our economic recovery,” Mr. Khan said on Twitter. “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.”Mr. Khan said that masks would also remain mandatory in taxis and ride-hailing services.Mr. Khan expressed optimism in television interviews that people would abide by the rules. Most riders on the subway and buses wear masks, but some public-health officials worry that behavior could change quickly if they were no longer compulsory.Officials in other cities have expressed fears that the government’s relaxed rules will contribute to a further surge in infection rates. In Manchester, the city’s Labour mayor, Andy Burnham, is also weighing a legal requirement to continue wearing masks on the public transportation system.Mr. Johnson has argued that, with vaccines widely deployed in the adult population, England must stick with plans to reopen its economy fully and shift the emphasis from legal restrictions to personal responsibility.

Britain will continue to require vaccinated travelers from France to quarantine, citing Beta variant concerns. - British medical officials announced Friday that fully vaccinated travelers returning to England from France must continue to quarantine because of the threat posed by the Beta variant.Travelers arriving from France must quarantine for five to 10 days, at home or elsewhere, the British health ministry said.Beginning on Monday, vaccinated travelers from other European nations that Britain had placed on its medium-risk amber list no longer have to quarantine. Most virus-related restrictions in England will be lifted, allowing pubs and restaurants to operate at full capacity and nightclubs to open their doors. Curbs on the number of people who can meet indoors, generally limited to six, will also be removed.“With restrictions lifting on Monday across the country, we will do everything we can to ensure international travel is conducted as safely as possible, and protect our borders from the threat of variants,” Health Minister Sajid Javid said in a statement.While attention has been focused on the threat from the Delta variant, which is now dominant in Britain and France as well as the United States, scientists are also concerned about the Beta variantbecause clinical trials of vaccines are showing that they offer less protection against it. The Beta variant was first identified in South Africa in December.The presence of Beta in France remains relatively low, according toGISAID, an international open source database; it accounts for 3.4 percent of new cases over the past four weeks. Some research has shown that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, the backbone of Britain’s inoculation campaign, has been less effective in preventing mild and moderate Beta cases. In February,South Africa halted use of the vaccine over those concerns.