week ending Jul 27

Fed seen on track for September rate cut after good inflation data (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers on Friday got fresh evidence of progress on inflation, fueling expectations they will use the U.S. central bank's meeting next week to signal they could start cutting interest rates in September.The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index edged up just 0.1% last month, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reported, putting the year-over-year increase at 2.5%, after a rise of 2.6% in May. The Fed has a 2% inflation target.Fed policymakers have said they want to be confident inflation is headed sustainably back to that goal before they cut rates. The latest data shows they are edging closer but are widely expected to feel it is still too high to reduce the policy rate from the current 5.25%-5.50% range when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets on July 30-31.U.S. central bankers, who have kept rates where they are since last July to put downward pressure on prices, are increasingly focused on the potential for harm to the labor market if they keep borrowing costs above inflation for too long.The unemployment rate, at 4.1%, is still low by historical standards but has risen in recent months, and job growth has slowed."From the Fed's perspective, cumulatively, we think the data show enough progress - on both inflation and labor market conditions - for policymakers to open the door to a rate cut in September at next week's FOMC meeting," Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote.After the data, traders of futures tied to the Fed policy rate added slightly to bets the central bank will deliver a total of three rate cuts by the end of this year, with contracts pricing in a policy rate of 4.64% in December.Core PCE prices, which exclude volatile food and energy prices and which the Fed uses as a gauge of where inflation is headed, rose 0.2% last month from May, the report showed, a bit more than the 0.1% economists polled by Reuters had projected.Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slowed in June, the Commerce Department report also showed, rising 0.3% from May after a 0.4% increase in the prior month.Bank of America economists argued on Friday that cooling consumer demand and inflation may not be proceeding fast enough to allow for as much policy easing as financial markets expect. "We remain comfortable with our forecast that cuts will start in December, but upcoming inflation and employment data could tip the scale to an earlier cut," they wrote.

Fed's preferred inflation gauge cools, adding to likelihood of a September rate cut - -- The Federal Reserve's favored inflation measure remained low last month, bolstering evidence that price pressures are steadily cooling and setting the stage for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates in September. Prices rose just 0.1% from May to June, the Commerce Department said Friday, up from the previous month's unchanged reading. Compared with a year earlier, inflation declined to 2.5% from 2.6%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose 0.2% from May to June, up from the previous month’s 0.1%. Measured from one year earlier, core prices increased 2.6%, unchanged from June. Economists closely watch core prices, which typically provide a better read of future inflation trends. Taken as a whole, Friday's figures suggest that the worst streak of inflation in four decades, which peaked two years ago, is nearing an end. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that this summer's cooling price data hasstrengthened his confidence that inflation is returning sustainably to the central bank's target level of 2%.Lower interest rates and weaker inflation, along with a still-solid job market, could brighten Americans'assessment of the economy and influence this year's presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.Friday's report also showed that consumer spending ticked higher in June. So did incomes, even after adjusting for inflation. The report suggested that a rare “soft landing,” in which the Fed manages to slow the economy and inflation through higher borrowing rates without causing a recession, is taking place — so far.“A two-word summary of the report is, 'good enough,'" said Robert Frick, an economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union. “Spending is good enough to maintain the expansion, and income is good enough to maintain spending. And the level of inflation is good enough to make the decision to cut rates easy for the Fed.” Consumer spending rose 0.3% from May to June, slightly below the previous month's 0.4% gain. Incomes rose 0.2%, down from 0.4% in May. Average inflation-adjusted income has risen 1% from a year ago, Friday's report said, though that figure has slowed from 1.9% at the start of the year.With the pace of hiring cooling and the economy growing at a steady, if not robust, pace, it’s considered a near-certainty that the Fed will cut its benchmark interest rate when it meets in mid-September. The central bank will first meet next week. Powell is expected to say afterward that the Fed’s policymakers still want to see additional data to be sure that inflation is slowing consistently.Still, the central bank will likely signal next week that it's getting closer to reducing borrowing costs.

Large Upward Revisions of “Core Services” PCE Inflation Pushed Six-Month “Core” PCE Inflation to 3.4%, Worst in a Year by Wolf Richter -- The Bureau of Economic Analysis released today the PCE price index for June; and as part of it, the “core” PCE price index – the Fed’s primary yardstick for inflation – was revised substantially higher for May, driven by a large upward revision of the “core services” PCE price index. So the much-hailed month-to-month core PCE reading a month ago of +1.0% annualized (+0.08% not annualized) was revised up to +1.5% annualized (+0.13% not annualized). Then in June, core PCE accelerated further from that upwardly revised pace, to 2.2% annualized (0.18% not annualized). Part of the hotter than expected month-to-month reading for June was the index for durable goods, which was 0% in June, after the “freak plunge,” as we called it, of 9.1% in May, the biggest month-to-month drop since 2001. The six-month annualized core PCE price index, which irons out most of the squiggles and includes all the revisions, and which Powell cites a lot, accelerated to 3.4%, the worst since June 2023 (red). The Fed’s target is 2% (for your amusement, here is the unrevised chart through May from our report a month ago): “Core PCE” v. “Core CPI.” Something interesting has happened – a fairly rare occurrence: The six-month Core PCE price index here, rising by 3.4% for June, is now higher than the six-month Core CPI for June, which had decelerated for the second month in a row, and in June rose by 3.3%. Normally, the core CPI is significantly higher than the core PCE price index. But not right now. In summary, year-over-year: Overall PCE price index, which includes food and energy, rose by 2.5% in June from a year ago, a deceleration from May (+2.6%), but the same as in January and February. It has essentially been stuck in this 2.5% to 2.6% range all year (blue in the chart below). Gasoline and other energy products fell further in June from May, and were nearly flat year-over-year; and food prices were essentially flat for the past four months, and up 1.4% year-over-year. “Core” PCE price index, which excludes food and energy, rose by 2.6% in June year-over-year, same as in May (red). The Fed’s target for this metric is 2% (purple). “Core services” PCE price index rose by 3.9% in June, same as the unrevised increase in May (+3.9%), but down a tad from the upwardly revised May increase (+4.0%), which was the same as April, March, and February (all +4.0%). The index has been in that 4.0% proximity since December (yellow). Durable goods PCE price index fell by 2.9% year-over-year, a smaller drop than in May (-3.1%, which had been the biggest year-over-year drop since 2004 (green): “Core Services” PCE price index is where the big revisions for May took place. In the data released a month ago, the index rose by 2.1% annualized in May from April. Today, the May increase was revised higher to +2.8%. Then in June, the index increased by 2.5% annualized, according to today’s release. So that’s a deceleration from the revised May figure, but an acceleration from the original May figure. This big upward revision in the month-to-month data caused the six-month core services index for May to be revised up to 4.5%, same as in April, up from the original 4.4%. For June, the six-month core services PCE index rose by 4.3% annualized. It has been in the 4.3% to 4.5% range for the entire year so far – and up a full percentage point from the 3.4% range of the last three months of 2023 (red). This inflation data rumbles along as the economy has solidly re-accelerated in Q2. Core services is where inflation has accelerated this year and it’s where the majority of consumer spending goes. It includes housing, healthcare, insurance, transportation services, communication services, entertainment, etc.

US economy grew at 2.8 percent rate in second quarter, blowing past expectations --The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to new Commerce Department data released Thursday. Economists expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 1.9 percent between April and June, closer to the 1.4 percent growth posted in the first quarter of the year. “The US economy is much stronger than people realize and to the extent that markets were worried about a growth slowdown, they should breathe a sigh of relief after this morning’s GDP number,” The strong report comes as the Federal Reserve is set to meet next week to consider changing interest rates, which it has held steady since last July. The central bank has kept rates at a two-decade high, as inflation has remained stubbornly above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Inflation has improved significantly since peaking at a 40-year high of 9.1 percent in June 2022. However, several higher-than-expected inflation readings in the first quarter delayed hopes of rate cuts. More recent inflation readings have reignited hopes of imminent rate cuts. Consumer prices fell for the first time since the pandemic in June, dipping 0.1 percent. Prices were up 3 percent year over year, down from 3.3 percent in May. “The second quarter pace of disinflation has effectively negated the scare that was the first quarter, it now looks like we are back to the 2% glide path,” said Olu Sonola, Fitch Ratings head of economic research. “This is a perfect report for the Fed, growth during the first half of the year is not too hot, inflation continues to cool and the elusive soft landing scenario looks within reach,” he added in a statement. The labor market, which has remained surprisingly strong over the past two years, is also showing signs of cooling, increasing the potential for rate cuts. While the June jobs report showed a solid 206,000 jobs added last month, the Labor Department made significant downward revisions to April and May’s jobs gains, totaling 110,000 jobs fewer than initially reported. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.1 percent in June. Traders now largely expect the Fed’s first rate cut to come in September, with the CME FedWatch tool now showing an 87.7 percent chance the central bank will lower rates. “The sharper-than-expected pick-up in second-quarter GDP growth to 2.8% annualised should make the Fed a bit more comfortable about keeping policy unchanged next week,” However, he added that “the recent loosening of labour market conditions and signs of slower price growth still mean that there is a strong case for a cut at the following meeting in September.” President Biden touted Thursday’s strong GDP report while also making sure to share the accomplishment with Vice President Harris, who is now the likely Democratic nominee after Biden opted to step aside last weekend. “When I took office, we were in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” Biden said in a statement. “Today’s GDP report makes clear we now have the strongest economy in the world.” “Thanks to my and Vice President Harris’s economic agenda, our economy grew a robust 2.8% over the last quarter, based on strong American consumers and business investment,” he added. “We’ve created nearly 16 million jobs, wages are up, and inflation is coming down.”

Economy Re-Accelerates in Q2. Our Drunken Sailors Splurge on Durable Goods, Investment Jumps, Federal Gov Undoes Blip by Wolf Richter - GDP, adjusted for inflation (“real GDP”), rose by an annualized rate of 2.8% in Q2 from Q1, doubling the growth rate in Q1 (+1.4%), according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis today.By comparison, the 14-year average annual growth rate is 2.2%. So the 2.8% growth rate is well above average, and pretty good for the US economy.We said at the time of the feeble Q1 release (+1.8%, now revised down to +1.4%) that it was driven by a “blip”: adecline in federal government consumption and investment, which turned out to be correct, it was a blip, it bounced back in Q2 (+3.9%), as we all knew it would because the drunken sailors in Congress are not suddenly slowing down.

• Consumer spending (69% of GDP): +2.3%, on a 4.7% surge in spending on durable goods (motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, household durable goods, etc.). Services +2.2%; nondurable goods +1.4%.
• Gross private investment (18% of GDP): +8.4%, amid an 11.6% surge of investment in equipment and a 1.4% decline in residential fixed investment.
• Government consumption and investment(federal, state, and local, 17% of GDP): +3.1%, after the 1.8% increase in Q1. Federal government +3.9%; state and local +2.6%.
• Change in private inventories investment added to GDP growth in Q2 after dragging on GDP growth in Q1.
• Trade deficit worsened by a big chunk for the second consecutive quarter, on surging imports to meet strong US demand for durable goods. Imports drag on GDP.

The actual size of the US economy: “Current-dollar” GDP (not adjusted for inflation and expressed in current dollars) rose by 5.2%, to $28.6 trillion annualized.This $28.6 trillion of current-dollar GDP represents the actual size of the US economy, measured in today’s dollars, and is used for the GDP ratios, such as the US debt-to-GDP ratio.“Real” GDP in dollar terms, adjusted for inflation and expressed in 2017 dollars, rose to $22.9 trillion annualized in Q2:Consumer spending on goods and services rose by 2.3% in Q2 from Q1 to $15.7 trillion annualized and adjusted for inflation, an acceleration from the Q1 growth rate of 1.5%. In Q2, consumers re-stepped on the accelerator.

• Services: +2.2%.
• Durable goods: +4.7% (after the 4.5% drop in Q1), driven by motor vehicles, household durable goods, and recreational vehicles and goods.
• Nondurable goods: +1.4% (after the 1.1% drop in Q1), with increases in food, beverages, and gasoline, and a decline in clothing and footwear.

Our Drunken Sailors are back at it, but in moderation, so to speak, their feathers largely unruffled by higher interest rates:Gross private domestic investment jumped by 8.4%, to $4.25 trillion annualized and adjusted for inflation, a sharp acceleration from Q1 (+4.4%) and Q4 (+0.7%). Of which: Fixed investment: +3.6%, of which:

• Residential fixed investment: -1.4% after the +16.0% spike in Q1
• Nonresidential fixed investments: +5.2%, the fastest growth in a year:
  • Structures: -3.3%.
  • Equipment: +11.6%
  • Intellectual property products (software, movies, etc.): +4.5%.

Finally back to the peak in Q1 2022 of the free-money pandemic spike:Government consumption expenditures and gross investment rose by 3.1%, to $3.9 trillion annualized and adjusted for inflation, up from the 1.8% growth rate in Q1.Federal, state, and local government consumption and investment accounts for 17% of GDP (state and local governments account for 61% of government spending, the federal government for 39%). This does not include transfer payments and other direct payments to consumers (stimulus payments, unemployment payments, Social Security payments, etc.), which are counted in GDP when consumers and businesses spend or invest these funds.

• State and local governments: +2.0%, to $2.42 trillion.
• Federal government: +3.9%, to $1.51 trillion, up from -0.2% in Q1.
  • Defense +5.2% (to $846 billion)
  • Nondefense +2.2% (to $668 billion).

The Trade Deficit (“net exports”) in goods & services got more horrible:

• Exports: +2.0%, to $2.55 trillion
• Imports: +6.9%, to $3.56 trillion, of which goods +7.7% and services +3.6% (services imports includes spending by Americans traveling overseas).
• Net exports (exports minus imports): -4.7%, to -$1.01 trillion.

Exports add to GDP. Imports subtract from GDP. Exports are much smaller in dollars than imports, hence the trade deficit, or negative “net exports.” The worsening imports dragged GDP growth (+2.8%) down by 0.93 percentage points. If imports had remained at the same horrible level as in Q1, rather than worsening further, GDP growth would have been 3.7%, instead of 2.8%.

Timeline slipping for House GOP funding plans --The timeline is slipping for House GOP leadership’s ambitious funding plans as the party navigates internal spending divides and a tight schedule ahead of August recess.Republicans had previously eyed votes on four funding bills this week as part of a larger effort to pass all 12 annual spending bills by the end of next week.But in a new floor schedule, the House laid out plans to only vote on two bills this week, including measures to fund the departments of Interior and Energy for much of 2025, while punting plans to vote on funding proposals for agencies like the Department of Agriculture and financial services. In comments to reporters Monday, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee that crafts the annual funding bills, cited lawmakers’ tight schedule this week when asked about the scrapped plans. “Apparently, there’s other stuff coming on the floor,” he said Monday afternoon. “I mean, there’s going to be a bipartisan bill on a commission to look at the attempted assassination of President Trump.”“But yeah, we’ll see what happens. We’re still moving. We’ve still got four across the floor. If these happen, we’ll get six,” he said, while noting the House is still “well ahead of the Senate.”However, he and other Republicans acknowledge other concerns that could pose hurdles for the party as it works to get its remaining partisan funding bills across the finish line.So far, the House has passed four of their 12 funding bills, and members have been optimistic about them approving the remaining funding bills by the time Congress heads home for their August recess.But members were caught off guard earlier this month when they saw their annual legislative branch funding bill fail on the floor, after a group of conservatives defected amid concerns over spending levels and other issues.Discussing the funding bills coming down the pike this week, Cole noted some worries from members about the funding levels in the fiscal 2025 energy and water funding bill, arguing: “That’s all additional money, honestly, for the nuclear triad, and it makes a lot of sense.”“I think they’re good bills, are very solid, but we’ll see,” he said. “I mean, it didn’t take much to lose the [legislative] branch bill and, you know, five, six, seven members go south on you, you’re in trouble.”His comments underscore the challenges leadership face in pushing all 12 funding bills across the floor with a tight majority, particularly as partisan policy riders in areas like abortion and lower spending levels than those pursued in the Senate turn off most Democrats from supporting the legislation. Some Republicans have also been tempering expectations about other funding bills on the horizon, including measures to fund the FBI, as members acknowledge intraparty rifts on spending and policy that derailed efforts to pass similar legislation last year continue to persist.

Republican funding plans crumbling as House eyes early exit - House Republicans’ ambitious hopes of passing their annual government funding bills by next week are quickly crumbling as a tight schedule and intraparty rifts threaten efforts to approve their spending blueprints for 2025. Republicans had previously aimed to have all 12 annual funding bills pass by the August recess. But the timeline has been slipping as leadership has punted plans for votes on legislation funding the Department of Agriculture and financial services amid concerns about riders related to reproductive rights. Late Tuesday, a planned vote on the bill to fund the Department of Energy was abruptly canceled. And now, Republicans say leaders are planning to start August recess early this week, despite previous plans to hold votes into next week on their outstanding funding legislation. One House Republican who spoke to The Hill said a leadership office told them “point-blank” that the House will not return for votes next week. Several others said they have heard votes are likely to be canceled, too. That would be a change from Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) vow when he first took the gavel that the House wouldn’t recess without passing all 12 bills. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill on Tuesday that leadership will “make a formal announcement about next week’s schedule by tomorrow.” Asked about plans for the House to tackle its outstanding funding bills, Scalise defended the House’s work so far, while noting the challenges staunch Democratic opposition and defections on the GOP side pose to party efforts to approve the remaining measures. “When you have a situation where the Democrats all vote no on every appropriations bill, you eventually hit a wall because, you know, we have a few of our own members that vote against some of these bills.” “We’ve passed about 70 percent of all government funding over to the Senate. At some point, it’s time for the Senate to start doing their work,” he said. The Senate has yet to pass any of its funding bills for fiscal 2025. Republicans are pushing to get their annual spending bills covering the departments of Energy, Interior and other related programs across the floor this week. If they pass, the GOP will have approved half of their annual government funding plans. The bills are much more partisan in nature than those being crafted in the Democratic-led Senate, where a 60-vote threshold is required for most legislation. However, there is much uncertainty about the House Republicans’ chances of passing the remaining funding bills; the divisions that derailed the conference’s efforts to pass its fiscal 2024 funding plans have made a reemergence. Earlier this month, a small faction of Republicans tanked the party’s attempt to pass a bill to fund the legislative branch. In remarks to reporters this week, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said he’d heard some “pro-life” concerns over changes to the agriculture funding bill, which Republicans were previously expected to vote on this week. Earlier this year, Republicans notably left out language in the funding bill that would have limited access to the abortion pill mifepristone, after a similar push helped doom their fiscal 2024 plan following pushback from moderates. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the subcommittee that crafts the bill, expressed confidence in the measure’s chances of passage in comments to The Hill on Monday. He noted the legislation “decreases funding” and cited the House’s schedule, as Congress prepares for an address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, as explanation for the punted vote this week. “I think that the major objections that often go for the reason it didn’t pass last year have been removed, so I don’t see a problem with it,” Harris, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also said when pressed about the bill not including the mifepristone language. But that hasn’t stopped others from taking issue with the move. “That’s one of the issues that I identified,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another member of the House Freedom Caucus, said when pressed on the matter, as well as his support for other measures. “My belief is, you got to figure that stuff out, and you got to know in the aggregate what you’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “So, I think that bill’s currently stuck, and then we’ll have to kind of see what the deal is.”

Joe Biden withdraws from race in election earthquake -- President Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race, a stunning end to a 50-year-long political career that culminated in caving to pressure from fellow Democrats to end his bid for reelection, which never fully recovered from an abysmal debate performance on June 27.Biden, 81, announced Sunday he will no longer seek another four years in office after his physical and mental acuity were called into question following a prime-time debate in which he struggled to finish sentences, gave confused looks and fumbled through his answers.“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to social media.The president said he would address the nation later in the week about his decision. He later endorsed Vice President Harris to be the party’s nominee in November.Biden withstood weeks of mounting pressure from his party, vowing to stay in the race so strongly that at one point he suggested only “the Lord Almighty” could convince him otherwise. But the barrage of Democrats calling for his exit ramped up in the last week, both publicly and privately. More than 30 Democratic lawmakers had called on Biden to stand down as the nominee and pass the torch to another candidate, arguing he could not win in November and risked tanking the party’s chances down the ballot.Privately, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had bluntly told Biden of their concerns about his chances in November against former President Trump.The president acknowledged multiple times after the June debate that he had a bad night, where his aides said he had a cold. He had just returned from a foreign trip, which was blamed for his sickness despite his being out of the public eye while staying at Camp David for nearly one week before he went head-to-head with Trump. Biden’s campaign had pressed for an early debate date because he thought it might turn into a moment that could change polls, but it did anything but. Trump, meanwhile, found a new wind in his sails in scoring major legal and political wins recently, particularly after an attempted assassination that reinforced Republicans behind his campaign right before what turned out to be a jubilant and unified coronation at the Republican National Convention.

Donald Trump attacks Joe Biden's decision not to seek reelection -- Former President Trump on Sunday went on a social media tirade against President Biden’s decision not to seek reelection in November, claiming it was undemocratic and mocking Biden’s mental fitness.Trump posted 10 times on Truth Social between when Biden dropped out and Monday morning, complaining it was unfair to the Republican Party to have to face a new opponent and suggesting Biden should not be able to remain on as president if he can’t run for reelection. “The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris,” Trump posted Monday. “They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries — A First! These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”That message echoed one coming from different corners of the GOP as some conservatives sought to make the case that Democrats were ignoring the will of primary voters by replacing Biden atop the ticket. But Democrats have largely united behind Vice President Harris, who was on the ticket that received millions of primary votes.Trump otherwise has been focused on attacking Biden’s mental acuity, and at one point falsely suggested the president did not actually have COVID-19 as he isolated in Delaware.“It’s a new day and Joe Biden doesn’t remember quitting the race yesterday! He is demanding his campaign schedule and arranging talks with Presidents Xi of China, and Putin of Russia, concerning the possible start of World War 3. Biden is ‘sharp, decisive, energetic, angry, and ready to go!’” Trump wrote mockingly in one post.“It’s not over! Tomorrow Crooked Joe Biden’s going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!” Trump wrote in another.The former president echoed calls from other Republicans for Biden to resign at one point, asking, “Who is running our Country right now? It’s not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!”

Why Biden finally dropped out - For 23 days, President Joe Biden insisted on pushing forward with his reelection bid in the face of calls from Democratic lawmakers and donors for him to step aside.And then, almost on a dime, things changed.Early Saturday, Biden told senior aides it was “full steam ahead” for the campaign. But by later that evening, he had changed his mind following a long discussion with his two closest aides. Steve Ricchetti, who’s been with Biden since his days in the Senate, drove to see the president at his house on the Delaware shore on Friday. Mike Donilon arrived on Saturday. The two men, both of whom had been by Biden’s side during key decisions about whether to seek the presidency in 2016 and 2020, sat at a distance from the president, still testing positive for Covid, and presented damning new information in a meeting that would hasten the end of Biden’s political career. In addition to presenting new concerns from lawmakers and updates on a fundraising operation that had slowed considerably, they carried the campaign’s own polls, which came back this week and showed his path to victory in November was gone, according to five people familiar with the matter, who, like others interviewed for this article, were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Biden asked several questions during the exchange.The only other people with Biden in the residence when he arose Sunday were first lady Jill Biden and two other trusted aides: deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and assistant to the first lady Anthony Bernal. At 1:45 p.m., he notified a somewhat larger group of close aides that he had decided the night before to end his quest for another term, reading his letter and thanking them for their service. A minute later, before any other campaign and White House staffers could be notified, he posted the historic letter from his campaign account on the social media site X.The announcement, which shocked the political world, almost immediately flipped the narrative around Biden: His own party, after three weeks of deriding him privately as an isolated, deluded lion in winter dragging other Democrats down with him, was showering him with loving tributes, praising his record, career of public service and a selfless decision they said put his country first.It wasn’t that the president had grown tired of the drip of defections from within his own party — although he had. Rather, it was that Biden himself was finally convinced of what so many other Democrats had come to believe since his poor debate performance last month: He couldn’t win.When the campaign commissioned new battleground polling over the last week, it was the first time they had done surveys in some key states in more than two months, according to two people familiar with the surveys. And the numbers were grim, showing Biden not just trailing in all six critical swing states but collapsing in places like Virginia and New Mexico where Democrats had not planned on needing to spend massive resources to win.With that knowledge and the awareness that more party elders, including more of his former Senate colleagues, would pile on the public pressure campaign, a sudden exit offered the president his best chance to make it appear that the decision came on his own terms. It was a face-saving move of high importance to Jill Biden, who, according to people familiar with recent conversations, was adamant that her husband’s dignity be preserved.

Obama Call for Open Nomination After Biden Withdrawal Assures Party Damaging “All Pay Auction” Process by Yves Smith - Biden has now officially withdrawn as the Democratic Party 2024 candidate, but intrigue is very much in play. Since Lambert will have much to say on this topic (and given the Sunday announcement, a lot more backstory and analysis is sure to emerge), for now we will focus on one proof that the party is still in considerable internal division: that there are visible splits on whether Kamala Harris should, invoking the new cliche, be the one to carry the torch. Biden endorsed Harris in a tweet after he posted his resignation letter:The Clintons endorsed Harris: Statement from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton By contrast, Obama, who unlike the Clintons was a lead Biden defenestrater, has not. His statement, courtesy CBS:We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.Aiee!Obama does not take positions like this casually, so I assume he will not be easily moved. Pelosi has not yet endorsed Harris, and neither have Newsom, Prizker, Whitmer, or Shapiro. The Twitterverse shows all have made approving noises about Biden withdrawing but have not backed Harris. On the one hand, donations on Act Blue shot up after the Biden resignation. Readers can correct me, but I assume this represents primarily small donors. I assume we will hear soon about what the big moneybags are doing. On the other hand, Rajiv Sethi explains below how a fight over the candidacy (assuming Harris is not able to demonstrate quickly that she is by far the leading contender) will burn a lot of donor money.By Rajiv Sethi, professor of economics at Barnard College. Originally published at his website: There’s an all-pay auction unfolding before our eyes, and the bidders are factions within the Democratic party.All-pay auctions are like conventional auctions in that the highest bidder gets the prize and pays the winning bid, but with one important difference—even the losing bidders, who get no prize, must pay their respective bids.You won’t see such auctions at Christie’s or Sotheby’s but they are arguably more important in economic and political life than conventional auctions. When parties with opposing interests lobby for or against a piece of legislation, the losing party cannot recover the money paid to lobbyists. When multiple pharmaceutical companies race to develop a lucrative drug, the one to get there first captures the market but the others don’t get their investments back. When two countries go to war, it is not just the winner who pays in lives and treasure. And so on.To get a sense of how the structure of all-pay auctions can lead to some terribly self-defeating behavior, consider the following simple experiment. Standing before a fairly large audience, you take out a crisp twenty dollar bill and announce that it will be sold to the highest bidder, but that all bidders will have to pay what they bid. Initial bids are typically small, just a few pennies. But as the bidding proceeds, you get to a point where the sum of all bids exceeds the value of the prize. For example, if the top two bids are $11 and $10 respectively, one bidder stands to gain nine and the other to lose ten. The lower bidder thus has an incentive to keep going, bidding $12 for example, switching from a loss of ten to a gain of eight. But the one now pushed into second place (losing eleven) can counter by bidding $13, switching to a gain of seven. And so the contest continues, until all but one person has accepted their losses and given up.It is not unusual in such experiments for the highest bid (and even some that are not the highest) to vastly exceed the value of the prize.The struggle to replace or retain Joe Biden as the official nominee of the Democratic party has a similar flavor. As long as each faction believes that a bit more effort will cause the others to give up, the expenditure seems worthwhile. But unlike the textbook all-pay auction in which only the contestants make payments, the costs of this competition are being paid by the party membership as a whole, and others who would like to see it prevail in November. If the president succeeds in remaining at the top of the ticket, he will do so bloodied and bruised, with little prospect of success. And if he succumbs to the pressure to step aside, whoever replaces him will have to contend with his anger and resentment, and that of his most loyal supporters.The tug-of-war is taking place in full view of the public, with every lurch documented on social media and reflected in prediction market prices. The chart below shows prices for contracts that pay a dollar if Biden is the eventual nominee, and nothing otherwise. You can see that well over a million contracts were traded a couple of days ago, and more than half a million on days with significant movements, including the day of the debate. Every confident assertion that the matter is closed has led to a discernible rise in the implied probability of the event, only to be reversed in short order:I am not an expert on such matters by any means, but it seems to me that if the party is to have any hope of success, the president has to take the initiative, throw his weight behind his vice-president (or some other process for selecting a nominee), lead the transition, play a starring role at the convention, and be given the dignity and respect that he feels is his due. Someone in whom he retains trust and confidence has to guide and assist him in this; Senator Coons comes to mind. And the negotiations with other party leaders have to be conducted outside the glare of media scrutiny. By Aman Sethi, Originally published at openDemocracy: Until last week, it appeared the US elections would be about one single issue: Joe Biden’s age. Biden has since stepped aside, and Kamala Harris’s nomination as the Democrats’ presidential candidate is now a near certainty. This leaves the Democrats facing an arguably even bigger issue. Having been in charge for 12 of the past 16 years, they are the party of the status quo – but US voters clearly want significant change.In a New York Times poll of voters in six crucial battleground states this May, 55% of respondents said the current political and economic system needs major changes, with another 14% saying it should be torn down completely. Some 70% of respondents felt Donald Trump is the man who could achieve such an overhaul, with 43% thinking that the changes he would make would be good for the country.Only 23% expected Biden to do the same; he isn’t on the ticket anymore but his vice-president, Harris, doesn’t appear the sort of politician who will torch the system.Over the coming weeks and months, the Trump and Harris campaigns will seek to frame the election on terms favourable to their respective candidates, but it is worth taking a moment to understand why so many Americans think ‘the system’ needs to change and that Trump is the man to do it. Wendy Brown is a political theorist at the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, and the author of several books including Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution and In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Anti-Democratic Politics in the West.Brown spoke to openDemocracy in what seemed like another lifetime, but was in fact, just last week when Biden was yet to withdraw from the presidential race. This interview has been edited for clarity.

Biden endorses Harris after dropping out of 2024 race -- President Biden has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, caving to pressure from Democrats who agitated for him to step aside after a debate performance that left the political world in shock.Biden announced his decision in a social media post Sunday afternoon.On Sunday, he also endorsed Vice President Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee as he announced he would not seek reelection.The debate set off weeks of calamity around Biden’s campaign with Democratic lawmakers, donors, high-profile political analysts and celebrities abandoning any chance he had of winning in November against former President Trump.It culminated this week in reports of senior Democratic leaders in Congress urging Biden to step aside. Matters were not helped when Biden tested positive for COVID-19, which forced him to go into isolation.Biden had secured enough delegates during this year’s primary season to formally accept the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention, which was slated to begin Aug. 19 in Chicago.

US Voters Want Change, Biden’s Exit Hasn’t Fixed That - Yves here. This post provides a useful reminder that the hidden disease at the heart of the politics of most economies is neoliberalism. And as we have pointed out since the financial crisis, in bad economic times, voters tend to move to the right. That propensity is if anything more pronounced when government budget-cutting makes social safety nets a prime target. So the rejection of a working class faux friend like Biden in favor of a wrecking ball like Trump should not be a surprise. However, there is one claim that needs to be addressed, which is the continued depiction of Trump’s fanbase as consisting only or mainly of less educated whites. In fact, for a Republican, Trump has been getting so much support from Hispanics and blacks that the Democrats are in freakout mode.One assumption is that the men in these demographics like Trump’s macho posturing. But it seems to go beyond that. Consider this eye-popping factoid from New York Magazine’s The Cut, which Lambert included in last Friday’s Water Cooler:“How Black Women Feel About Biden, Kamala Harris, and 2024 A Cut survey shows a warning sign for Democrats ahead of Election Day” [New York Magazine]. “The Cut asked 1,200 Black women how they feel about the candidates and which issues are most important to them. More than half said they plan to vote for Biden, foreshadowing a weaker level of support than the 95 percent who pulled the lever for him and Kamala Harris four years ago. ….The survey is the first of four the Cut is running between now and November. It polled Black women ages 18 to 55 between June 3 and June 14 — notably, before the president’s disastrous debate performance sparked calls for him to exit the race, a gunman made an attempt on former president Donald Trump’s life, and Trump announced J.D. Vance as his running mate.” Only some unspecified “more than half” for Biden????? That means at best three-quarters and strongly implies barely more than half. This is stunningly bad. Black women have long been seen as a core Dem faction. Mind you, that does not mean they would vote for Trump, unlikely their male peers who might admire, erm, Trump’s force of personality. But it’s still terrible. Admittedly, the same story says these women think better of Harris, but only by five points, and well below the historical 90% black propensity to vote Democrat: “[T]he survey found that more Black women approved of Harris’s job performance than Biden’s. Sixty-eight percent approved of how the vice-president is handling her role, compared to 63 percent in Biden’s case. Black women ages 18 to 34 were more likely to say they feel moderate or strong pressure to support Harris.” Perhaps this survey was an outlier. But the sample size makes it hard to dismiss.

House Republicans call on Biden to resign after 2024 withdrawal - House Republicans are calling on President Biden to resign from office after he announced that he would no longer seek reelection, arguing that he should not continue to serve in the White House if he is unable to run for another term. The comments — several of which were from House GOP leadership — came shortly after Biden said he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race, a seismic announcement that rocked the political world and left the path forward for Democrats uncertain. “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on the social platform X. “November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.” “If the Democrat party has deemed Joe Biden unfit to run for re-election, he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes. Biden must step down from office immediately,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.), the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, wrote on X. Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), the chair of the House GOP conference, echoed that sentiment, arguing that he is “unable and unfit” to complete his term. “If Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is unable and unfit to serve as President of the United States,” Stefanik said in a statement. “He must immediately resign.” Biden announced he was stepping aside from the Democratic presidential ticket in a letter to the country Sunday afternoon, reversing his decision regarding the 2024 election amid mounting pressure from Democrats calling on him to withdraw from the race. Several Democrats had urged him to drop out of the race after last month’s disastrous debate performance, where he at times stumbled over his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.

Harris says she intends ‘to earn and win this nomination’ after Biden drops out -- Vice President Harris on Sunday said she intends to earn and win the Democratic presidential nomination after President Biden stunningly dropped out of the race and endorsed her as his successor.“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she added.Biden withdrew from the 2024 race earlier on Sunday, announcing he will no longer seek another four years in office. He then endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee after not initially endorsing her in his letter announcing he was dropping out.The vice president thanked Biden for his decades of service and said his “remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history.” She called his decision to back out of the race a “selfless and patriotic act,” and she recalled first getting to know Biden through his late son, Beau, who was an attorney general with Harris.“We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win,” Harris said. Allies of former President Trump went on the attack against Harris immediately on Sunday after Biden endorsed her.“Kamala Harris is just as much of a joke as Biden is. Harris will be even WORSE for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden,” Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote in a memo. Biden’s full support for Harris to be at the top of the ticket gives Democrats a clear successor with weeks to go before the convention, but her becoming the nominee is not inevitable.Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison on Sunday said the party will go forward this week with selecting a nominee, not mentioning Harris specifically in his statement.“In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he said. “This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”Harris has been a staunch supporter of Biden amid the political fallout since his dismal debate performance last month that led to calls from around 30 Democrats for him to step aside. She continued on the campaign trail, most recently campaigning in North Carolina, and has been a leading voice out of the Biden administration on reproductive rights issues this campaign cycle.

Vice President Harris' stance on key health issues -Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she will seek the Democratic nomination after President Biden decided not to continue his reelection campaign, has previously staked out health positions to the left of President Biden. But there isn’t expected to be much daylight between her policy priorities and President Biden’s. Harris will be able to claim ownership of Biden’s health wins—like a $35 insulin cap, Medicare drug price negotiations and an out-of-pocket cap on Medicare drug coverage—while also being a much stronger messenger than Biden has been. Here’s where Harris stands on major health issues:

• Abortion. Abortion is one of Democrats’ strongest issues, but Biden has not been the most consistent messenger, given his complicated views on the issue. By contrast, Harris has cemented herself as the Democrats’ foremost advocate on abortion rights, forcefully championing it. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris crisscrossed the country, visiting red, blue and swing states to meet with activists, providers and women impacted by abortion bans. She was the first vice president to visit an abortion provider, and abortion rights groups lined up to endorse her after Biden announced he was no longer running.
• ObamaCare. While running against Biden in the 2019 Democratic primary, Harris tried to present herself as someone between moderates like Biden and progressives like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). She endorsed the Medicare for All bill introduced by Sanders, but also backed an array of moderate alternatives, including a “private option” plan that would transition to Medicare for All by allowing private insurance plans to compete with public plans. That seeming indecision to pick a lane led to criticisms from other candidates and helped to doom her candidacy. Still, experts agree she is a staunch supporter of expanding ObamaCare and making health care more affordable for millions of Americans — something that is likely to be one of the biggest health care fights in Congress in 2025.
• Drug pricing. As a presidential candidate, Harris wanted to go further than Biden on drug pricing by capping U.S. prices to the lowest ones negotiated by other countries, like Japan and the United Kingdom. Democrats in 2019 were mostly aligned on bringing down drug prices with then-President Trump, who wanted to ensure Americans didn’t pay more for the same drugs than people in other countries. Harris also endorsed “march-in” rights, which would allow the government to seize patents of high-priced drugs developed using federal research to make them more affordable and increase competition. Progressives have long insisted the U.S. has the authority to take such action, but the Biden administration has been reluctant to do so.
• Health costs. As the attorney general of California, Harris focused on health care consolidation and clashed with major insurers, hospitals, and drug companies. Her record indicates she isn’t afraid to aggressively use antitrust laws to keep companies from raising costs due to anti-competitive behavior. Under Harris’ leadership, California joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the proposed $54 billion merger of insurers Anthem and Cigna to create the nation’s largest health insurance company. She also won multimillion-dollar settlements from major health care corporations like Quest Diagnostics and McKesson, which were the subjects of whistle-blower lawsuits accusing them of Medicaid fraud. As vice president, Harris has taken the lead on the administration’s medical debt initiatives. Earlier this year, she announced a new set of rules that bans medical debt from credit reports. Other federal efforts to curb medical debt include the No Surprises Act, which took effect in July 2022 and prohibits surprise billing for most emergency services and non-emergency services done out-of-network.

GOP Rep. Burchett calls Kamala Harris a 'DEI hire' -- Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Monday doubled down on previous claims that Vice President Kamala Harris is a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hire, blasting her a day after becoming the frontrunner to replace President Biden as the Democratic nominee following his historic exitfrom the race. “The incompetency level is at an all-time high in Washington. The media propped up this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president,” Burchett wrote in a post on the social platform X, highlighting an earlier interview with NewsNation. The Tennessee Republican reiterated these comments at the Capitol on Monday to CNN’s Manu Raju, arguing that former President Trump would now perform better with Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.“Biden said he’s gonna hire a Black female for vice president,” Burchett said. “What about white females? What about any other group?” When you go down that route, you take mediocrity and that’s what they have right now as a vice president.”

House GOP leaders urge members: Stop making race comments about Harris -House Republican leaders told lawmakers to focus on criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ record without reference to her race and gender, following caustic remarks from some Republicans attacking her on the basis of identity.During a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, chair of the House GOP campaign arm Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and others issued the warning after a series of comments by their members that focused on Harris’ race as well as claims she is a “DEI” pick, according to two people in the room.In the 48 hours since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Republican leaders have tried to train their criticism of the presumptive Democratic nominee on her handling of the border and her plan to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress. But several Republicans immediately took the criticism in a different direction. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said Monday that Harris was a “DEI vice president” and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) over the weekend questioned if Democrats are sticking by her “because of her ethnic background.” If nominated, Harris would be the first Black and South Asian woman to be a major party nominee. “This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare,” Speaker Mike Johnson told POLITICO as he left the Tuesday meeting, saying Harris would have to answer for Biden’s record. “This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the competence of the person running for president, the relative strength of the two candidates and what ideas they have on how to solve America’s problems. And I think in that comparison, we’ll win in a landslide.”The remarks about Harris’ race have privately infuriated some Republicans, who feel it shifts the spotlight back on the GOP instead of Democrats’ missteps.One House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Republicans who made comments about Harris being a DEI pick, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, needed to stop.“We have everything going our way and you just can’t handle that?” this member added. “We’ll give you a cheat sheet if you don’t know what else to talk about.”Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who chairs the governing-minded Main Street Caucus, said Republicans “should run this campaign based on the fact that she hasn’t done a very good job” rather than “make allegations.”And the right flank is facing additional pushback from their Republican colleagues beyond the race comments. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a second impeachment resolution against Harris on Tuesday, according to a copy of the measure obtained by POLITICO, an effort some of his colleagues have already panned. His first attempt to impeach Harris last year stalled in the Judiciary Committee.Additionally, conservatives have argued the House GOP should investigate Harris and pressure Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Biden. Most Republicans have brushed off those pushes as well, instead gearing up to hammer Harris on the border and other policies.“I see no more reason for investigations to start in the House if they’re going to be politically weaponized. I believe that her record is his record, and we should focus on that,” said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), a former aide in Donald Trump’s administration.

Kamala Harris secures enough delegates for Democratic nomination -- Vice President Kamala Harris officially crossed the threshold to secure the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, receiving over 1,968 delegate endorsements. She secured the unanimous endorsement of all delegates in her home state of California, the largest Democratic delegation in the country. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the motion to endorse Harris for president, a Pelosi spokesperson told The Hill.The flurry of endorsements adds to Harris’ meteoric ascent to becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. The Harris campaign received $81 million in contributions within just 24 hours of Biden’s letter announcing that he would step out of the presidential race, adding to the $240 million war chest the president’s campaign left behind.It is unlikely Harris will face a major competitor at the Democratic National Convention at the end of August, where delegates will decide the party nominee on national ballots. Every Democratic governor in the country, including rising stars like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchin Whitmer, has fallen in line behind Harris. Significant swaths of the Democratic congressional caucus have also backed Harris. Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.V.) had been rumored to be considering a challenge to the Vice President, but has made no public statements signaling he would rejoin the party to do so.

Democrats urge Kamala Harris to look to Midwest governors for VP pick - Democrats are urging Vice President Harris to look to the battleground states and the party’s governors for her potential running mate as she consolidates Democratic support behind her nascent bid for the presidency. Harris has swiftly brought the party to her side since President Biden stepped aside as the Democratic nominee Sunday and endorsed her as his successor. That rapid coalescing is prompting Democrats to turn their attention to who should succeed her as the vice presidential nominee, with many looking at how to use what they describe as a loaded bench to best balance out the ticket. “That is the first presidential decision that Vice President Harris has, so she’s got a lot of good choices ahead of her,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told reporters at the Capitol, rattling off a number of Democratic governors — Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Roy Cooper of North Carolina among them — along with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) as possible choices. “And the list goes on,” Schatz said. “I’m sure I’m missing somebody and offending somebody, but we’ve got an abundance of riches now.” Party strategists and lawmakers acknowledge Harris may need to look for a candidate that can serve as a counterweight to a presidential nominee who hails from California, has a legal background, and is the first Black and Asian American woman in her position. The lion’s share of those options are men hailing from the Midwest or battleground states, many of whom are governors and would be tasked with helping Harris maintain the “Blue Wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. “Having someone not from a coast who has run an agency or run a state or been a mayor would be a nice balance,” one Democratic operative said. Multiple Democrats pointed to Cooper, who is wrapping up his second term as governor in Raleigh, as someone who could boost the ticket, and they note that former President Trump only carried North Carolina by fewer than 75,000 votes in 2020. “If I could picture the VP, it would look a lot like Cooper,” one House Democrat said. “He’s basically out of central casting.” Cooper said during a TV interview Monday that he spoke on the phone with Harris on Sunday. He said the conversation focused on “winning this race” but declined to talk specifics about the vice presidential slot. “I appreciate people talking about me,” the 67-year-old Cooper said, “but I think the focus right now needs to be on her this week.” Buttigieg, the lone member of Biden’s Cabinet said to be up for consideration, has his own positives, and Democrats argue he would perform best in a debate against GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). He also hails from Indiana and has the highest name ID of anyone being mentioned after his bid for the presidency. But his potential drawbacks center on whether voters will back a ticket consisting of a Black and Asian American woman and gay man.

Tennessee Republican files impeachment article against Kamala Harris -- Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Harris on Tuesday, as Republicans ramp up attacks while she launches a presidential campaign.The filing expands on previously introduced articles that target Harris’s record on immigration, a GOP rallying cry against the vice president.He added a second article in the new filing, which claims Harris covered up President Biden’s mental well-being, constituting a “breach of public trust.” While Biden ended his reelection campaign Monday, he has maintained that he will finish his term and is in good health.“Kamala Devi Harris has knowingly misled the people of the United States and the Congress of the United States, principally to obfuscate the physical and cognitive well-being of the President of the United States, Joe Biden,” the filing reads.

Young Democrats embrace Harris, but have demands on Gaza, health care, student loans --Young liberals are bursting with enthusiasm for Vice President Harris’s new White House campaign, pointing to a strong contrast between her and former President Trump, but some are concerned she is overlooking major concerns for students. Harris can piggyback off the accomplishments of the Biden administration on numerous issues college students care about, such as student loans, but, after weeks of protests over the Israel-Gaza war on campuses this year, others are worried that she, too, will fail to satisfy their demands over Palestine. “Kamala Harris is a superstar among Gen Z voters,” said Antonio Arellano, vice president of communications at Next Gen America. “My phone has been blowing up since the announcement that President Biden made last night, with young people that are now telling me they are enthusiastic to come out and cast their ballot, because it’s going to be a monumental fight, but of historic proportions, and they know that they can make history. So I think the vibe has shifted. Excitement and enthusiasm are palpable.” Harris will be able to use her platform as vice president to point to accomplishments over the past four years such as creating a new income-driven repayment program for student loans and championing abortion rights across the country. “We have every hope that she will continue to advance and pursue aggressively additional relief for student debt, and to make sure that it is centered in her candidacy, because it remains top of mind for young voters as they make their way to the ballot box, among other key issues like abortion rights, the economy, climate change and of course, student debt being a key voting motivator for Gen Z and millennial voters,” Arellano said. The vice president will need reliable Democratic blocs such as young Americans to come out in force, as she is neck-and-neck in polls with former President Trump ahead of November. Trump leads Harris by two points, according to a survey from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, 47 percent to 45 percent. Her favorability is also another weak spot, as 55.5 percent of Americans rate her unfavorably. One of the biggest advantages she has with young voters is her age: At 59, she is nearly 20 years younger than Trump. “We think that she champions the values of youth the most right now,” said Sohali Vaddula, national director of communications for College Democrats of America. “She’s younger and therefore a lot more relatable and appealing. The younger the president, the better. I mean, I think a lot of people’s concern with President Biden was he’s old, and Trump is not really that much younger.” Harris has has regular interactions with young voters, including a White House event for student athletes on Monday and on her “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour,” where she talked to students about issues including abortion rights, climate change and gun safety. “This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future,” Harris said on the university tour. “It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”

Democrats, corporate media glorify right-wing candidacy of Kamala Harris --Virtually every top elected Democrat endorsed Harris Sunday or Monday, including every senator and governor who has been mentioned in the corporate media as a potential rival. This includes governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, as well as senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy and Rafael Warnock. Whitmer announced that she would be a co-chair of the Harris for President campaign, the same role she played in the Biden reelection campaign. According to a running tally by the New York Times, all 23 Democratic governors have endorsed Harris, along with 41 out of 51 senators and 184 out of 212 members of the House of Representatives. Only one senator has publicly refused to endorse her, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who was the most right-wing member of the Democratic caucus until he left to sit as an independent earlier this year. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who played a key role in the pressure campaign to force Biden out of the race, waited a day to issue a statement endorsing Harris, but finally did so Monday afternoon. The two top congressional Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have remained publicly neutral, reportedly to maintain the pretense that Harris is not being “coronated” in a closed-door process dictated by the party leadership, although that is obviously the case. In keeping with the promotion of identity politics by the Democrats, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and various other groups in and out of Congress based on race, gender and sexual orientation have embraced the Harris campaign. Hosannas are being sung for the prospective “first woman president,” as they were for Hillary Clinton before her loss to Donald Trump in 2016, amplified by applause for the first black woman and first Asian-American to receive the presidential nomination of one of the two main capitalist parties. Following Biden’s own endorsement of Harris, which came in a separate statement issued on Twitter/X 15 minutes after he posted his withdrawal letter, the resources of the Biden reelection campaign have been turned over to Harris entirely. Campaign officials told all staff members they now had jobs working for Harris. The campaign organization has been formally relabeled “Harris for President,” and she has full access to the $96 million in campaign cash it held in its bank accounts. This sum was quickly doubled as more than $100 million in donations came in to the Harris campaign in the first 24 hours, the bulk of it in small-dollar online donations to the official Democratic online portal. Billionaire and multi-millionaire donors also showed their approval, according to a report by Politico under the headline, “Harris’ big-donor money bomb.” A single pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, reported $150 million in new funding commitments since Biden’s withdrawal from the race Sunday afternoon. A major factor in Biden’s pull-out was the decision of several big donors to hold back $90 million in pledges they had made to his reelection campaign. Convention delegates are also being mobilized to rubber-stamp the Harris nomination. The first three state delegations to be polled Sunday night—North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee—voted overwhelmingly to back Harris. The New Jersey and Connecticut delegations were to meet Monday, and there is little doubt that Harris will receive near-unanimous votes at these and other caucuses. To challenge Harris for the nomination, a candidate would require the support of 300 convention delegates, no more than 50 of them from a single state. No one has yet announced such a challenge, and Senator Manchin, who was reported to be considering it, said Monday he would not be a candidate. While Democratic Party leaders and their corporate media allies are hoping to revive their flagging electoral prospects by presenting Harris as a younger and more attractive candidate than the decrepit Biden, there has not been the slightest change in the right-wing program of the Democrats, backing all-out war with Russia in Ukraine, Israeli genocide in Gaza, and attacks on the living standards and democratic rights of the working class at home. Nor is there any discussion of Harris’s own right-wing political record, including nearly two decades as a prosecutor in California. She was so identified as a law-and-order prosecutor that Donald Trump sent her campaign contributions in two election campaigns.

Vulnerable House Democrats look to get boost from Harris - Vulnerable House Democrats are circling the wagons around Vice President Harris, arguing that their new probable presidential nominee will only increase excitement for Democrats up and down the ballot as they work to recapture the lower chamber in November. The majority of frontliners — a title given to vulnerable lawmakers running in the most competitive races this cycle — have thrown their support behind Harris, just one day after President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and endorsed his No. 2. Asked on Monday if he is happier running with Harris at the top of the ticket rather than Biden, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a frontliner who has endorsed the vice president, told The Hill: “Yes.” “One is, she’ll do the job well. Two, she will energize an entire group of voters who have been frustrated for a long time,” Landsman added when pressed on his endorsement of Harris. “Been frustrated and feeling like they’re not part of this. And some of those folks are Democrats, some of those folks are young people, some of them are independents, some of them will be moderate Republicans.” There are, to be sure, some outliers. A handful of frontliners have stopped short of endorsing Harris’s nascent bid, with some brushing aside questions when pressed by The Hill. But the overwhelming support from the most vulnerable Democrats is a reassuring sign for Harris’s nascent campaign, which she is looking to turbocharge in the lead-up to next month’s convention in Chicago. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), a frontliner who heads the Congressional Black Caucus, rejected having any concerns about Harris being a drag on down-ballot races — ”absolutely not” — citing the excitement among Democrats with their new nominee. “She’s already showing that there’s energy and excitement that’s gonna help the entire up and down the ballot,” he said.

Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump: What the polls tell us - President Biden is out of the 2024 race and backing Vice President Harris to take over his mantle in November, raising questions about what the polling can help us glean about her chances against former President Trump.Though Harris still has to win over enough delegates before the party’s national convention next month in order to score the official nod, she’s the heir apparent now. This will come as a relief to many Democrats who were alarmed by Biden’s dismal polling numbers in recent weeks.But the vice president would face her own challenges if she were to go head-to-head with Trump, according to the latest polling averages from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) and The Hill.Trump, who officially accepted the Republican nomination at the GOP convention last week, leads Harris by 2 points, according to the aggregate of national polls, 47 percent support to 45 percent. That’s around the same as Trump’s 2.5-point lead over Biden, with 46 percent support to the incumbent’s 43.5. With independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the mix, Trump boasts a 6-point lead over Harris, 43 percent support to 37 percent, while Kennedy sits at 6 percent. The vice president’s favorability sits at 38 percent, slightly lower than Biden’s 41 percent. Trump’s 2-point edge over Harris in the averages is notably down from around 8 points at the start of the year, and other recent surveys offer her supporters some cause for hope.In an Economist/YouGov survey taken mid-July, roughly 8 in 10 Democrats said they approve of Harris becoming the nominee if Biden steps aside, and a little more than a quarter said they think she’d be more likely than Biden to win against Trump.A CBS News poll released last week found Harris performing better than Biden against Trump, with Harris behind by 3 points and Biden trailing by 5 points.A CNN poll released after the first presidential debate, during which Biden’s disappointing performance renewed talk of taking him off the ticket, found Harris running closer to Trump than Biden was. She came in just 2 points behind the former president, while Biden was 6 points behind.

How Harris’ Gaza stance could win back young climate voters - Vice President Kamala Harris could reenergize young climate activists if she replaces President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket — and not only because of her views on global warming.Harris quickly racked up endorsements from Democrats on Sunday, after Biden ended his reelection bid and threw his support behind his vice president. As the party’s most likely presidential candidate, Harris now has the opportunity to drop some of the administration’s heaviest baggage with young voters.That includes not only Biden’s pro-oil moves — like approving Chevron’s mammoth Willow project in Alaska — but also his support for Israel’s war in Gaza and his denunciation of college protests calling for a cease-fire. Such moves alienated the youth-heavy green groups that in 2020 helped power Biden’s campaign to victory. “The Venn diagram of young people who want climate action and young people who want a cease-fire is basically a circle,” said Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen Z for Change.

US Criticizes ICJ Ruling That Israeli Occupation of Palestine Is Illegal - The US has criticized the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that said the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and must come to an end, claiming it impedes a two-state solution.“We are concerned that the breadth of the court’s opinion will complicate efforts to resolve the conflict and bring about an urgently needed just and lasting peace, with two states living side-by-side in peace and security,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an email on Saturday.The spokesperson said the ICJ ruling, which was a non-binding opinion, was “inconsistent with the established framework.”In contrast, the US refused to condemn the Israeli Knesset passing a resolution that rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River, which covers all of the occupied territories.“I’ll let Israeli officials speak to their own legislative chamber and the actions that that chamber takes,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said about the Knesset vote. He claimed the US was still committed to a two-state solution, but the US continues to back an Israeli government that’s explicitly opposed to the idea.The ICJ ruling said the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem amounted to annexation. Since October 7, Israeli settlers have stepped up their attacks on Palestinians to steal their homes, and the Israeli government has approved the largest land grab in the West Bank in 30 years.In Gaza, the Israeli military controls about 26% of the territory and has demolished buildings and destroyed agricultural land in those areas,potentially paving the way for new Jewish settlements.Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the minister in charge of settlement expansion in the West Bank, has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to formally annex the territory in response to the ICJ ruling.

American Surgeon Who Volunteered in Gaza Says IDF Snipers Shoot Toddlers - An American surgeon who volunteered in Gaza told “CBS Sunday Morning” in an interview that aired Sunday that Israeli snipers were purposely shooting Palestinian children, including toddlers.“I had children who were shot twice,” said Dr. Mark Perlmutter, who said he was in Gaza at the end of April and the first couple weeks of May. “I have two children that I have photographs of that were shot so perfectly in the chest I couldn’t put my stethoscope over their heart more accurately and directly on the side of the head in the same child.”Perlmutter added, “No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by ‘the world’s best snipers.’ And they’re dead-center shots.” Other foreign doctors who volunteered in Gaza gave a similar account to The Guardian back in April, saying Israeli snipers were shooting children in the head.Earlier this month, the Israeli outlet 972 Magazine published a report citing Israeli soldiers that detailed how the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza essentially had no restrictions on who they could shoot. The report said the IDF “routinely executes” civilians who enter areas the military deemed “no-go zones,” and it detailed shootings where young children were killed.In his interview, Perlmutter, vice president of the International College of Surgeons, said what he saw in Gaza was worse than all of the disaster zones he’s seen combined. “Forty mission trips, 30 years, Ground Zero, earthquakes. All of that combined doesn’t equal the level of carnage that I saw against civilians in just my first week in Gaza,” he said.When asked if the civilians he saw wounded or killed were mostly children, Perlmutter said, “Almost exclusively children. I’ve never seen that before. Never seen that. I’ve seen more incinerated children than I’ve ever seen in my entire life combined. I’ve seen more shredded children in just the first week.”Asked what he meant by “shredded” children, Perlmutter explained, “Missing body parts, being crushed by buildings, the greatest majority, or bomb explosions, the next greatest majority. We’ve taken shrapnel as big as my thumb out of eight-year-olds.”According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, nearly 16,000 children have been killed by the Israeli assault on Gaza, and about 38,000 have been wounded, which includes many amputees. Due to the Israeli siege, children’s limbs have been amputated without anesthetics.

Netanyahu Arrives in Washington - On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the US, where he is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress.Netanyahu’s visit comes amid political turmoil in the US as President Biden announced on Sunday that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden was supposed to host Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, but an Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the meeting might not happen because the president is still sick with COVID-19.Netanyahu’s visit comes as he has been sabotaging the chances of reaching a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, a fact widely acknowledged by Israeli officials and media outlets. Even the Israeli security and military establishment has been pushing for Netanyahu to agree to a deal. While the US claims it has been pushing for a ceasefire, the Biden administration has refused to condemn Netanyahu’s actions and continues to provide full-throated support for the genocidal war on Gaza.Before departing Israel, Netanyahu said Israel would be a strong ally of the US, regardless of who is in charge of Washington. “I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East,” he said.“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always,” Netanyahu added.Also on Monday, Israel ramped up attacks on the southern Gaza city Khan Younis, slaughtering at least 70 Palestinians.

Israeli tanks massacre Palestinians in Khan Younis as Netanyahu arrives in Washington D.C. - The Israeli government pressed ahead with its genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza this week as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington D.C. for his appearance Wednesday before a joint session of the US Congress and meetings with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Al Jazeera reported Tuesday that 89 Palestinians had been killed and 329 wounded throughout the Gaza Strip as Israel launched a new assault on the city of Khan Younis, about seven miles from the enclave’s southern border. Al Jazeera added that there are another 68 missing under the rubble of the attacks. Israeli tanks rolled back into Khan Younis on Monday in the third assault on the city and 70 Palestinians were killed. Reuters reported, “The Palestinians were killed by tank salvoes in the town of Bani Suhaila and other towns fringing the eastern side of Khan Younis, with the area also bombarded from the air,” according to Gaza medics. “It is like doomsday,” one resident told Reuters via chat app. “People are fleeing under fire, many are dead and wounded on the roads,” he said. The Gaza health ministry reported that the dead included several women and children and that at least 200 others had been wounded. Per the formula of the Zionist state, the massacre at Khan Younis was justified because Israeli intelligence said militants were firing rockets from the area and Hamas was attempting to regroup there. However, Palestinian authorities said 400,000 people were living in the targeted areas and dozens of families had started leaving their homes but were not given enough time to vacate the zone before the air strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began. Reuters reported, “Some families fled on donkey carts, others on foot, carrying mattresses and other belongings.” Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that two of its clinics in eastern Khan Younis had been knocked out of operation by the Israeli onslaught. At the Nasser Medical Complex, some people stood outside the morgue to bid farewell to their dead relatives. Ahmed Sammour, who lost several relatives in bombings of eastern Khan Younis, told Reuters, “We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day our children are martyred—every day, every moment.” Sammour went on, “No one told us to evacuate. They brought four floors crashing down on civilians… and the bodies they could reach, they brought to the refrigerator [morgue].” One man who arrived at the hospital with an ambulance carrying dead bodies told Al Jazeera, “A family, including children, were all torn to pieces while they were sleeping.” Events in nearby Deir Al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, also exposed the lies of the Israeli regime, as an airstrike hit a tent used by local journalists inside Al-Aqsa Hospital, killing one of them and wounding two other people, according to the Gaza government media office. This killing raised the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the Israeli genocide to 163. Al Jazeera also reported that nine people were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house at the entrance to the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Four children were among the dead and another 10 people were wounded. Video of the aftermath posted by Al Jazeera showed blood splattered on the walls of the house as people evacuated the bodies. Also on Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to leave al-Mawasi, a coastal town between Khan Younis and Rafah. In a statement, the IDF urged people to relocate from eastern Khan Younis to the west of the “adjusted humanitarian area of al-Mawasi.” However, Palestinians are reluctant to move into the tent camps in west al-Mawasi after an attack on the “safe zone” 10 days before which killed at least 92 people and wounded more than 300. There is nowhere safe in Gaza for Palestinians, as the bogus “humanitarian zones” designated by Israel have been downsized to 18.5 square miles. This means that a population of 1.7 million people, which has been uprooted through forced evacuations but prevented from leaving Gaza, is now living in just 13 percent of the entire area of the Gaza Strip. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said the Israeli military has placed more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip “under evacuation orders or designated as a no-go zone.” UNRWA posted on X, “We just keep hearing the same question: Where do I go?” There is now no question that the Israeli government, after systematically destroying the infrastructure, residences, businesses, schools, religious buildings and hospitals of Gaza, is confining the Palestinian population into a tiny fraction of the strip so it can complete the ethnic cleansing of the area.

Speaker Johnson: Supporting Israel Is One of America's 'Founding Principles' - House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) described US support for Israel as one of America’s “founding principles” during a speech at an event hosted by the Republican Jewish Committee on July 18.“It is an important principle that America and Israel stand together resolutely. That is part of who we are as a country. It’s one of our founding principles. I believe that we maintain peace through strength, and I think that the relationship with Israel is essential to who we are as Americans,” Johnson said. Since the modern state of Israel was created in 1948, it’s unclear what Johnson meant when he said the US-Israel relationship is a “founding principle.” The most well-known Founding Fathers would also disagree with Johnson since they strongly warned against permanent alliances and “attachments” to other nations.In his farewell address in 1796, George Washington said, “A passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification.”Johnson also threatened Democratic lawmakers with possible arrest if they protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, which is scheduled for this Thursday.“There’s a number of Democrats in the House who have said they are going to boycott the event, and then some others are gonna protest,” he said. “We’re gonna have extra sergeants at arms on the floor, and if anybody gets out of hand the Speaker of the House will bang the gavel. We’re gonna arrest people if we have to do it. We’re gonna get the message out.”

Vance not attending Netanyahu speech to Congress --Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) will not attend the speech to a joint session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a Trump campaign adviser told The Hill on Monday. Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement that Vance has “duties to fulfill as the Republican nominee for Vice President.” “Senator Vance stands steadfastly with the people of Israel in their fight to defend their homeland, eradicate terrorist threats, and bring back their countrymen held hostage,” Miller said. “He will not, however, be in attendance for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.” Vance, who is holding campaign events in Ohio and Virginia on Monday, will defer to former President Trump for direct communication with Netanyahu this week, according to a source familiar with the matter. Netanyahu’s speech comes as he faces growing calls to move on a Gaza cease-fire deal backed by the Biden administration. Israel’s war against Hamas in the wake of the militant’s group’s October terrorist attack has faced rising scrutiny from Democrats, some of whom plan to boycott his address.

Congress hails the war criminal Netanyahu --On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to a joint session of the US Congress, boasting of the progress of the Gaza genocide to cheers and applause from the assembled Democrats and Republicans. The reception of Netanyahu, in defiance of overwhelming public opposition, marked a new milestone in the breakdown of democratic forms of rule in the United States and the open and public embrace by the US government of genocide, ethnic cleansing and fascist barbarism. Netanyahu’s speech, and the rapturous reception he received, recalled nothing more than the appearance of Hitler before the German Reichstag. The German deputies who shouted “Heil Hitler!” and the American congressmen who barked “USA” are cut from the same cloth. Netanyahu spoke as a war criminal among war criminals. The bipartisan ovations for this mass murderer confirmed the truth of Mark Twain’s observation that “There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” While some Democrats did not take part in the event, and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib held a sign that accused Netanyahu of being “guilty of genocide,” this was for show. The real position of the Democratic Party was summed up by Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democrats’ candidate for president. Harris issued a statement Thursday condemning “unpatriotic protesters” against Netanyahu and declared, after meeting with Netanyahu separately, “I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself.” Netanyahu began by referring to Israel’s genocidal war against the people of Palestine as a “clash between barbarism and civilization.” The Israeli prime minister meant to imply that he spoke on behalf of “civilization.” But the vast majority of the world’s population sees the more than nine-month genocide in Gaza as the embodiment of imperialist barbarism. After proclaiming Congress the “citadel of democracy,” Netanyahu focused a substantial amount of his speech on a vicious denunciation of anti-genocide protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights. Netanyahu condemned peaceful protests against his government by calling Americans opposed to the Gaza genocide “Iran’s useful idiots.” He added, “For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building.” The protests, he asserted, were motivated by “antisemitism.” The fact that many Jewish people have been at the forefront of the protests is an inconvenient truth that Netanyahu, in his “big lie,” chose to ignore. Those protesting are not motivated by antisemitism, but by opposition to the monumental crimes that Israel is carrying out. Netanyahu addressed Congress in the shadow of accusations filed last month by the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accusing Netanyahu of “murder” and “extermination” and a ruling last week by the International Court of Justice that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal. In response to these rulings, Netanyahu condemned international law and asserted the right not only of Israel, but the United States, to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. These institutions, Netanyahu asserted, were participating in a new “blood libel” against Israel. To defend his accusations, Netanyahu resorted to staggering lies, including the claim that the civilian death toll in Gaza is “practically none.” The official death toll in Gaza since October 7 stands at over 39,000, while The Lancet has estimated that it could be 186,000 or more. All of Gaza is in a state of famine, according to the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food. As significant as Netanyahu’s address, however, is the fact that he was invited to deliver it. In the face of mass opposition from workers and youth in the US and throughout the world, the Democrats and Republicans invited the head of state of a government carrying out a genocide to address a joint session of Congress, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a foreign leader.

In Congressional Address, Netanyahu Slams American Protesters and Receives Standing Ovation - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday delivered an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday and spent a good portion of his speech attacking Americans who have been protesting Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.Netanyahu accused the pro-Palestine protesters, which include many Jewish Americans, of being pro-Hamas and “standing with evil” and said they should be “ashamed of themselves.” The majority of the lawmakers in the chamber responded with a standing ovation.He also repeated unsubstantiated claims that Iran was funding the protests in the US. “They want to disrupt America,” Netanyahu said, referring to Iran. “For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building … well, I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”People protesting Netanyahu included family members of Israeli hostages who are being held in Gaza who wore shirts inside the chamber during his address that said “Seal the Deal Now,” as the Israeli leader has been working to sabotage the chances of an agreement with Hamas to free the hostages. Several of the hostage family members were reportedly removed by police and arrested.A small number of Democratic lawmakers did not stand up to applaud Netanyahu during much of his speech, and about half of the Democrats in the House and Senate skipped the address. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, attended and was spotted holding a sign that said “war criminal.”Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn’t attend and slammed Netanyahu after the address, calling his speech “the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”At least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), chose not to attend. “The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war,” Massie wrote on X. “I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”Overall, however, Netanyahu received strong support, and Congress gave him a big public relations victory by frequently standing up and applauding him. The address and its reception also demonstrated the strong US support for Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

Pelosi blasts Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress --Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday as the “worst” in the body’s history, harshly criticizing the leader’s lack of progress toward a hostage deal with Hamas. “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi wrote on the social platform X after the speech. The former Speaker skipped the event in order to attend a listening session with Israeli families of hostages held by Hamas and those killed in the war. “Many of us who love Israel spent time today listening to Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings,” Pelosi continued. “These families are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home – and we hope the Prime Minister would spend his time achieving that goal.” The striking statement from a top Democrat underlines the the growing divide between Netanyahu and the party. Democrats have been increasingly critical of Netanyahu, despite overwhelming support for Israel, as he has appeared hesitant to back a hostage deal with Hama supported by President Biden. About half of both House and Senate Democrats sat out the lengthy speech, which included the prime minister downplaying civilian casualties in the conflict, claiming that American protesters were backed by Iran and bashing his critics. Netanyahu urges unity, but stirs a firestorm inside and outside Capitol Netanyahu also praised Biden for his support of Israel and encouraged Congress to double down on its military and financial support. “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together,” he said, thanking President Biden for “half a century of friendship to Israel.” “I deeply appreciate America’s support, including in this current war, but this is an exceptional moment. Fast-tracking U.S. military aid can dramatically expedite an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East,” he said.

Netanyahu's Speech Was As American As It Gets by Caitlin Johnstone - Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress was everything you’d expect: packed full of lies and propaganda spin, yet simultaneously very illuminating and revealing. The Israeli prime minister received no fewer than 58 standing ovations while speaking before both houses of Congress and spewing the most despicable lies you could possibly imagine in his conspicuously American accent. Depending on how politically aware you are, this spectacle could be perceived as either deeply un-American, or as American as it gets. Netanyahu repeated evidence-free atrocity propaganda about what happened on October 7, falsely asserting that Hamas “burned babies alive” and killed two babies in an attic. He falsely claimed that Hamas “butchered 1,200 people”, pretending it’s not a well-established fact that many of the 1,139 Israeli deaths that day came from both indiscriminate IDF fire and deliberate targeting in implementation of the Hannibal Directive. He made the completely baseless claim that Iran may be paying the anti-genocide demonstrators outside the Capitol Building during his speech, saying, “When the Tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.” Netanyahu spent minutes ranting and raving about protests in America against his government’s atrocities in Gaza, during which he received a standing ovation from Congress that went on for nearly a minute. He accused the International Criminal Court of “antisemitism” and “blood libel” for saying that Israel deliberately targets civilians, as though this hasn’t been conclusively established by mountains of evidence like the IDF’s Lavender AI system and statements from doctors describing what can only be deliberate sniper executions of children in Gaza. He repeated Israel’s evidence-free claim that the only reason people are starving in Gaza is because Hamas is “stealing” all of the aid Israel allows in for itself. Netanyahu went out of his way to frame Israel’s plight as civilized people against uncivilized barbarians, which only works if you harbor a supremely racist worldview. He kept repeating the word “civilization”, contrasting this with the “barbarism” of Hamas and its supporters, calling Israel’s US-backed military violence “a clash between barbarism and civilization” and saying “Israel fights on the frontline of civilization”. He made these appeals to the racism that westerners harbor toward middle easterners in the same speech wherein he decried the “outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal”. Netanyahu said Israel “must retain overriding security control” over Gaza “for the foreseeable future”, an open admission of plans for indefinite military occupation. This deluge of lies and racist invective received dozens and dozens of standing ovations. The same political class that’s spent the last eight years shrieking about the threat of misinformation, disinformation and foreign propaganda just normalized and applauded a foreign genocidal war criminal as he stood before Congress telling lie after lie after lie. You couldn’t ask for a better example of everything Washington stands for than this. Both houses of Congress rising to feverishly applaud one of history’s worst genocidal monsters dozens of times as he lies over and over again is a much better representation of what the US government is about than anything you’ll see during the presidential race from now until November. This is everything Israel is, and this is everything the US empire is. They’re showing you who they are. Believe them.

Kamala Harris welcomes “Butcher of Gaza” to Washington: “I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself” In a short six-minute address before reporters after meeting privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, soon-to-be the Democratic nominee for president, reiterated her lifelong support for the Zionist state and its continued ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza. “So I just had a frank and constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Harris said. “I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.” She continued:From when I was a young girl, collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I’ve had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the State of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel. I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating. Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters. Repeating Israeli propaganda that was debunked months ago, Harris declared, “Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization. On October 7 Hamas triggered this war when it massacred 1,200 innocent people, including 44 Americans. Hamas has committed horrific acts of sexual violence and took 250 hostages.” Harris then proceeded to say the names of some of those allegedly taken by Hamas, adding, “I have met with the families of these American hostages multiple times now, I stand with them. Bring them home.”In her comments, Harris never mentioned the name of a single one of the over 39,000 Palestinians, the vast majority women and children, who have been killed in Gaza with US-supplied weaponry. In fact, she did not give any figures in regards to the number of Palestinians killed, instead only referring obliquely to “images of dead children and desperate hungry people.” Who or what was responsible for these “dead children” and “desperate hungry people” was purposely omitted.Harris then thanked President Joe Biden, who will live in infamy as Netanyahu’s top weapons supplier, for his “leadership” in cobbling together a “ceasefire” deal that has gone nowhere for months and will not end Israel’s continued ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians from their homes.Harris’s public statements are just the latest confirmation that a Democratic administration under her leadership would be no less aggressive than Biden’s in the genocide in Gaza or imperialist war against Iran in the Middle East, Russia in Ukraine or China in Taiwan.

Netanyahu Upset with VP Harris's Remarks After Meeting - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly upset with Vice President Kamala Harris’s remarks after the two met in Washington. After the meeting, Harris said it was time for a ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu claims her statement set back any potential agreement with Hamas.On Thursday, Netanyahu held separate meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris. After her sit-down with Netanyahu, Harris reaffirmed that she is committed to arming and supporting Israel. However, she also called for a ceasefire and expressed that too many Palestinians had been killed.According to Israeli officials speaking with Axios, Harris’s remarks irked the Israeli leader. One official said Netanyahu was taken aback by her tone following their discussion. “Harris’ statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting,” they told the outlet.Describing the meeting to reporters, Harris said “I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah.” She continued, “From when I was a young girl collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I have had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”The vice president also called for an end to the war in Gaza. “And as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done. Let’s get the deal done. So we can get a ceasefire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home,” she added. “And let’s provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people.”Israeli officials said behind closed doors, there was little difference between the PM’s discussions with Biden and Harris. They told Axios that the sit-down with Biden “was much more constructive than his meeting with Harris, but stressed the meeting with the vice president wasn’t tense or difficult.”The Israeli official said Netanyahu believes Harris’s remarks make an agreement with Hamas less likely and is unwilling to link a hostage deal with a permanent ceasefire. However, the vice president also said that any agreement must affirm Israel’s security. Netanyahu has argued that Israel will not be safe without the eradication of Hamas.

Netanyahu reportedly upset with Harris over VP’s Israel remarks as White House pushes back -- The White House on Friday is pushing back against reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is upset with Vice President Kamala Harris over her remarks on the war in Gaza that he believes could jeopardize a hostage and cease-fire deal — with one aide telling Fox News, "I don’t know what they’re talking about." The reported diplomatic flare-up comes after Netanyahu met with both President Biden and Harris in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, ahead of his meeting Friday with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. An Israeli official told Axios that Netanyahu was unhappy with Harris mentioning civilian deaths in Gaza and the "dire humanitarian situation there." The official added that, in their view, Netanyahu was irked with Harris speaking about a hostage and cease-fire deal as a way to end the war outright, when Israel wants to be able to resume fighting after one is implemented. "When our enemies see the U.S. and Israel are aligned, it increases the chances for a hostage deal and decreases the chances for a regional escalation," the Israeli official told Axios. "When there is such daylight, it pushes the deal further away and brings a regional escalation closer. We hope that Harris' public criticism of Israel won't give Hamas the impression that there is daylight between the U.S. and Israel and, as a result, make it harder to get a deal." One Israeli official also said to Axios that "Harris' statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting." But an aide for Harris told Fox News on Friday morning, "I don’t know what they’re talking about. "President Biden and Vice President Harris delivered the same message in their private meetings to Prime Minister Netanyahu: it’s time to get the cease-fire and hostage deal done. And this is what the Vice President said publicly as well," the aide said. Activists-Demonstrate-In-D.C.-During-Israeli-Prime-Minister-Netanyahu's-Address-To-Congress Activists cheer as they burn flags and a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) "The public comments tracked with her previous comments on the conflict. She started with underscoring rock-solid support for Israel and then expressed concern about civilian causalities and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as she always does," the aide added. "The meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Vice President Harris was serious and collegial."

Donald Trump criticizes Kamala Harris for ‘insulting’ meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu -- Former President Trump is stepping up his attacks on Vice President Harris on Israel, faulting her for what he says was an insulting meeting with that country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel and Gaza is quickly emerging as a central issue in the expected presidential race between Trump and Harris, with Netanyahu’s high-profile visit to Washington and scrutiny from both parties and the outside world on whether Harris will represent a new path on U.S. policy compared to President Biden. Trump has criticized Harris for not attending Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress this week. Harris had a scheduling conflict, and Trump’s own running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), also did not attend the speech for similar scheduling reasons. He doubled down on that criticism in a Saturday post on Truth Social while also arguing the Harris and Netanyahu meeting this week was insulting. “P.M. Netanyahu of Israel had a terrible and “insulting” meeting in D.C. with Kamala Harris, who also refused to preside over Congress during his speech, which is an obligation of the V.P.,” Trump wrote. Vice presidents often preside over speeches to joint sessions of Congress, but there is no obligation to do so. Trump argued Harris’s “ineptness” would delay the release of hostages held by Hamas while prolonging the war, and then criticized Harris over the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan. Trump also said “any Jewish person that votes for Kamala, or a Democrat, should immediately have their head examined.” Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. Trump has faced criticism in the past for similar statements suggesting entire ethnic and religious groups should vote for a specific party. Harris met with Netanyahu on Thursday, urging him to get a deal done that would end the war in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands dead. The vice president in her public remarks defended Israel’s right to self defense, but also made it clear it should take measures to reduce harm to civilians. A number of outside observers saw a shift in those comments, at least in their emphasis, from past remarks by President Biden. “I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating, Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it does so matters,” Harris said, saying she brought up with Netanyahu “the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.” “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating,” Harris said. “The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.” Biden has seen the Democratic Party badly divided over Israel’s war in Gaza. More than 100,000 votes in the key swing state of Michigan voted “uncommitted” in this year’s primary in a move meant to sent a message of discontent over the president’s handling of the issue. Netanyahu separately met with Biden this week and with Trump in Florida on Friday. He told reporters outside the meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate that he wanted to see U.S.-mediated talks succeed for a cease-fire and release of hostages.

Israel Delays Sending a Delegation to Qatar for Hostage Talks - Israel has postponed the planned departure of a delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas, angering family members of Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. The delegation was set to travel on Thursday but now won’t be sent until next week.An Israeli official told Haaretz that a delegation would not be sent until at least after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with President Biden at the White House on Thursday.Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, slammed Netanyahu for the delay. “Instead of proclaiming before Congress that he accepts the deal on the table, Netanyahu is stopping the deal from going ahead for personal reasons,” she said.In his address to Congress, Netanyahu claimed he was working toward a hostage deal, but it’s been widely acknowledged by Israeli officials and media reports that he’s been the one standing in the way of an agreement. Zangauker said Netanyahu was afraid of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has threatened to quit the coalition government if a deal is reached with Hamas.“It is unimaginable that even today, nine months after the failure, the life of his coalition is more important than the lives of Matan and the other hostages abandoned by him,” she said.Once they do head to Qatar, the Israeli negotiators are expected to present a proposal that includes new demands from Netanyahu, which he has made public in recent weeks. After Hamas made a significant concession by agreeing to language Israel didn’t think would commit it to a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu demanded Israel maintain control of the Gaza-Egypt border and screen Palestinians returning to north Gaza.

Gaza Is The Single Defining Feature Of This Political Moment In The US - by Caitlin Johnstone “I’m not a big fan of her pro-genocide policies, but I like her positions on women’s reproductive healthcare” is not the sort of thing that would be said in a sane and normal country. The single defining feature of this political moment in the United States is that all major presidential candidates favor continuing the perpetration of an active genocide — and that everyone’s trying to tap dance around this issue. That’s it. That’s the main story here. It’s not “American democracy is on the line in this election.” It’s not “Making America great again” or “Taking back our country” or “Fighting the woke agenda” or any of that braindead nonsense. The main story is that an actual genocide is scheduled to continue no matter whom Americans elect, and everyone’s meant to just ignore that point as though it’s some small insignificant quibble and focus on the candidates’ positions on other issues like immigration reform and student loan debt forgiveness. The main story is this mind-warpingly insane situation in which progressive-minded Americans now find themselves saying plainly ridiculous things like “Gosh I’m not crazy about this candidate’s pro-genocide policies, but I really like what she’s saying about tax credits for low and middle income families!” It’s that right wingers are now forced to adopt the position “Yeehaw, Trump’s gonna end the wars and bring our troops home and Make America Great Again, right after he helps Israel defeat Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, and oh yeah, also Iran.” It’s that independents are saying “RFK Jr is going to dismantle the war machine while simultaneously backing a genocide and pledging ‘unconditional support’ for the front-line aggressor in today’s major conflicts throughout the middle east.” That’s what all the headlines should be about. Not how Trump’s 2024 campaign strategy differs from his other presidential runs. Not the ways Kamala should go after him in their first debate. The main story in US politics is the fact that there’s a genocide happening which all viable candidates support, and that an entire country is trying to find ways to psychologically compartmentalize around this horrifying fact. You can’t “lesser evil” a genocide. That’s not a thing. Past a certain line a candidate is just plain evil, and if genocide is not on the other side of that line for you, then it no longer makes sense for you to talk about “evil” — or any other moral distinction for that matter. By framing the single worst thing a leader can do as a forgivable infraction, you have made all moral distinctions nonsensical. You live your life with your head in a moral universe where good and bad have no meaning apart from your feelings and how things make you feel. You can say you’re voting for your preferred genocidal monster because you feel a preference for that genocidal monster’s positions on healthcare or gun control or whatever, but what you can’t do is fool anyone who has their eyes open into believing you are siding with any kind of “lesser evil”. Once you’ve crossed into the same kind of moral landscape that would argue for supporting Six-Headed Hitler to stop Seven-Headed Hitler, you’re no longer standing in a landscape where it makes sense to talk about good and evil. The closer we get to the November election the clearer it will become which American lefties have been using the word “genocide” sincerely and which have been using it solely to gain acceptance and approval in leftist circles.

Iraq Wants US To Start Drawing Down Troops in September - The Iraqi government wants the US to begin drawing down the number of troops it has in Iraq starting this September, Reuters reported on Monday, citing four Iraqi sources.The sources said Baghdad wants the US-led anti-ISIS coalition to formally end its work by September 2025, although some US troops will likely remain in a different capacity. The US currently has 2,500 US troops in Iraq, a presence that supports the US occupation of eastern Syria, where there are about 900 US soldiers deployed.There’s no formal agreement yet on the withdrawal of some US forces or the timetable. US and Iraqi officials will discuss the issue this week during a meeting in Washington.Any agreement that leaves US troops in Iraq could lead to more attacks on US bases by Iraqi Shia militias, as they have been pressuring Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to expel US forces.Al-Sudani began calling for the US to withdraw after President Biden began launching airstrikes in Iraq against the Shia militias that fall under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of militias that are part of Iraq’s security forces.Al-Sudani has said that Iraqi forces could handle the ISIS remnants in the country without the US-led coalition. The US and Iraq entered talks on the issue, but there’s been no sign of progress yet.Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US forces back in 2020 after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and PMF leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. But the US refused to leave and has been able to stay in Iraq despite the frequent calls for withdrawal due to Washington’s significant economic leverage over Baghdad. Since the 2003 invasion, Iraq’s foreign reserves have been held by the US Federal Reserve, giving Washington control over Baghdad’s dollar supply and the ability to devalue the Iraqi dinar. The US also keeps tight control over Iraq’s ability to pay its neighbor Iran for much-needed electricity.

Rockets Fired at US Base in Iraq, No Casualties Reported - On Thursday, Multiple rockets were fired at a US base in Iraq, an attack that came after US and Iraqi officials held talks on the future of the US military presence in the country.According to Reuters, the attack targeted the Ain al-Asad airbase, and no casualties or damage was reported. US officials said the base itself was not hit by the rockets.From October 2023 until February, US bases in Iraq and Syria came under hundreds of rocket and drone attacks. Iraqi Shia militias began the attacks in response to US support for the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.After three US troops were killed in an attack on Tower 22, a secretive base in Jordan on the Syrian border, Iran and the Iraqi government pressured the militias to stop, and there have only been a handful of attacks since February.The Iraqi militias fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which is part of Iraq’s official security forces. The PMF militias, including Kataib Hezbollah, want the US to withdraw and have been pressuring Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to expel US forces.

President Biden Claims the US Isn't at War as He Bombs Yemen - On Wednesday night, President Biden falsely claimed in an address to the nation that the US was not at war.“I’m the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world,” the president said.About a half hour before Biden delivered his address, US Central Command announced that it launched new strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen. Since January, the US has carried out hundreds of strikes in Yemen as part of a new war that has not been authorized by Congress. US naval commanders have described the fight against the Houthis in the Red Sea as the largest naval battle the US has been engaged in since World War II. Back in April, US military officials said the munitions used in the Red Sea and other bombings Biden ordered in Iraq and Syria since October 7 had cost the US about $1 billion. The US has also been involved in combat operations against ISIS remnants in Iraq and Syria. Earlier this month, CENTCOM said it had been involved in196 partnered operations in both countries in the first half of 2024. US troops deployed in Syria are not welcomed by the government, making it an illegal military occupation.The US has also bombed Somalia multiple times this year to support the Mogadishu-based government against al-Shabaab. The US also launched an airstrike that it said targeted ISIS in Somalia back in May.Besides the direct combat, the US is also providing vast amounts of military aid and intelligence support for Ukraine’s war with Russia and Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. President Biden has brought the US and Russia closer to a direct war than at any time in history and has continued to enable a mass slaughter of Palestinians.

German Officials at Odds Over Planned US Missile Deployment - Members of Germany’s ruling coalition government are at odds with each other over a US plan to deploy missile systems to the country in 2026 that were previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019.The plan was announced in a joint statement released by the US and Germany during the NATO summit earlier this month, but some German officials said they were caught off guard or denounced the plan as unnecessary escalation, including members of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SDP).Rolf Mützenich, parliamentary leader of the SDP, warned that the “danger of an unintentional military escalation is considerable.” Russian officials have said they’re not ruling out deploying new nuclear missiles in response.The announcement said the US would deploy land-based nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles, SM-6 missiles, and “developmental hypersonic weapons.”The Tomahawks are typically used by US Navy destroyers and submarines and have a range of over 1,000 miles. The land-based version was previously banned by the INF, which prohibited ground-fired missile systems with a range between 310 and 3,400 miles. Mützenich warned that the missiles the US plans to deploy to Germany have a “very short warning time and open up new technological capabilities.”Ralf Stegner, another member of the SDP, also warned against the deployment. “This will not make the world safer,” he said. “On the contrary, we are entering a spiral in which the world is becoming increasingly dangerous.” Sara Nanni, a member of the Greens, which is part of Scholz’s coalition government, denounced the US plan. “It can increase fears and leaves room for disinformation and incitement,” she said.On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, also a member of the Greens, responded to the criticism from within her own party and government, saying the US missiles were welcome. “We must protect ourselves and our Baltic partners against this, including through increased deterrence and additional stand-off weapons,” she said.Germany’s leading opposition party, the Christian Democrats, has said it supports the US deployment, while other opposition parties, including the Alternative for Germany and the Left Party, have come out against it.

True Purpose Of NATO Remains USA Hegemony - NATO’s new focus on China harkens back to the belligerent alliance’s early days.At the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC, last week China was a big part of the agenda. The NATO summit’s final declaration mentioned the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) 14 times. It noted that “the PRC continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security” and China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values.”The leaders of NATO “partner” nations Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia attended the summit. They collectively met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to map out strategy for the Asia Pacific region. NATO announced four new joint projects with countries that are important to Washington’s bid to establish an anti-China military bloc. In response, Beijing accused NATO of “inciting bloc confrontation and hyping up regional tensions”.Unsurprisingly, NATO frames its focus on China as defensive. “The PRC has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine”, claimed the summit’s final communique. According to this storyline, Chinese relations with Russia threaten NATO. But this is exaggerated. China has taken a cautious approach to Russia’s war largely complying with (illegal) US sanctions and refusing to sell arms (though its companies sell some dual use products to Russian firms). Conversely, North Korea and Iran are selling Russia arms while NATO countries are donating large amounts of weapons to Ukraine.Comparing Chinese ties to India’s highlights NATO’s exaggeration. India is buying more oil and weapons from Russia than China and when NATO began its meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. In 2022, NATO released a strategic concept listing China for the first-time. It labeled Beijing a challenge to the alliance’s “interests, security and values” and at the time Stoltenberg declared, “China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, threatening Taiwan ….”This is all part of the US empire’s bid to contain China’s rise. Washington has become obsessed with an emerging “peer competitor” that may eventually rival its power.While it seems strange that an alliance to defend the ‘north Atlantic’ should target a faraway Asian state, NATO is neither defensive nor only about the north Atlantic. The alliance’s recent wars in Afghanistan and Libya demonstrate that it’s a tool to enable US-led global domination.

Pentagon Finds Another $2 Billion in Ukraine Aid 'Accounting Errors' - The Pentagon discovered $2 billion in additional accounting errors regarding its valuation of missiles, ammo, and other equipment provided to Kiev, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found on Thursday. The Defense Department made a similar claim last year, saying it availed Washington of $6.2 billion in weapons to fuel the Ukraine proxy war with Russia.This latest report brings the improperly valued military material to a total of $8.2 billion, with the error said to be a result of unclear accounting definitions. In June 2023, the Pentagon insisted that weapons shipped to Ukraine from US military stockpiles, under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), over the past two years were overvalued using the “replacement value” of the arms as opposed to the “depreciated value.” This bought the White House some time to continue sending weapons to Kiev after much of the US funding then allocated for the war had dried up.In April, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law a massive $95 billion foreign military aid supplemental which included $61 billion to keep the Ukraine war going. This is despite Kiev’s inability to win the war or reclaim significant territory already seized by Russia. After discovering the latest overvaluations, the Pentagon told the GAO it now has another $2 billion in weapons which can be shipped to Ukraine.“The GAO said a vague definition of value in the Foreign Assistance Act and the absence of specific valuation guidance for [PDA] have led to inconsistencies in the reported value of military aid,” Reuters reported. For instance, 10 vehicles were incorrectly valued at $7,050,000 compared to their zero net book value. The GAO has made some recommendations to Congress as well as the Pentagon to resolve the inconsistencies.Military aid for Kiev is provided in another form besides PDA, namely the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, whereby aid funds are used to purchase arms directly from the weapons industry. In April, prior to the passing of the $95 billion foreign military aid bill, the Office of Management and Budget revealed the White House had severely undercounted its total spending on the Ukraine war by at least $14 billion. Therefore, Washington has spent a total of $186 billion in its effort to “weaken” Russia using Ukraine as a proxy force. Since the invasion, it has been estimated that approximately 500,000 Ukrainian soldiers have beenkilled or injured.Trump Speaks With Zelensky, Says He Will Work To End the War in Ukraine - Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and said he would work to end the war in Ukraine.“I appreciate President Zelenskyy for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.“Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity,” he added.The conversation came after Trump was formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. Zelensky’s office said in a statement on the call that the Ukrainian president congratulated Trump “on his nomination as the candidate of the Republican Party in the presidential elections.”The statement said Zelensky condemned the assassination attempt on Trump and that the two leaders agreed “to discuss in a personal meeting what steps can be taken to restore a just peace for Ukraine as soon as possible.”Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), has also said he favors a peace deal in Ukraine so the US can focus on building up around China, which he called the “biggest threat” facing the US, an opinion shared by the Pentagon.

Ukrainian Officials Hope To Convince Trump and Vance To Continue Proxy War - Ukrainian officials are hoping former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, could be swayed to continue supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia if they win in November, Time Magazine reported on Tuesday. A senior Ukrainian official told the magazine that they believe Trump might initially cut aid to Ukraine and force Kyiv to make a deal with Moscow but could come around to continuing the proxy war.“Over time, he will see that Putin cannot be trusted,” the anonymous official said, adding that Trump will realize “that Putin can’t care less about Trump and his agenda. That’s when we could start to see some advantages from Trump. He will not want to be played by Putin.”The official said Ukraine was hoping for support from European countries and the US military-industrial complex in winning over Trump and Vance. “They can explain to [Trump] why this benefits many people in America, especially in red states. It creates jobs, it supports the economy,” the official said. During his time in office, Trump pointed to arms sales to Saudi Arabia as a reason to continue supporting Riyadh despite the massive civilian casualties in its war in Yemen and the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.In recent weeks, both Trump and Vance have said they want to end the war in Ukraine. Vance has been a leading critic of the proxy war in Congress since he became a senator in January 2023 and has said the US should reduce support for Ukraine so it can focus on China.The Ukrainian official said Kyiv is hoping Vance could be swayed as well. “He’s like a pendulum. His position swings from one side to the other,” the official said, noting he was once a staunch critic of Trump.The Time report said Ukrainian officials were trying to see the positive in a potential second Trump administration and thought he could be more “decisive” than President Biden and not be worried about the risk of escalation.

Pentagon unveils new strategy to enhance Arctic presence - The Pentagon on Monday announced a new strategy to build up its presence in the Arctic region, which is becoming more contested militarily as climate change drives the melting of sea ice and opens up new passageways. The Defense Department, pushing to counter Russia and China in the Arctic, outlined a new effort that includes a multi-pronged approach: investing in more Icebreaker ships, training forces for the Arctic, investing in regional bases and building out advanced technology for Arctic-based missions such as aircraft and communications infrastructure. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in announcing the new strategy on Monday, said “this new Arctic strategy is an important step forward in ensuring that the Arctic remains stable and secure, now and into the future.” “The strategic can quickly become tactical, ensuring that our troops have the training, the gear and the operating procedures for the unique arctic environment, [which] could be the difference between mission success and failure,” Hicks said at a press conference. “It is imperative that the joint force is equipped and trained with what they need to operate in the Arctic.” The 2024 Department of Defense Arctic strategy, packaged into a 28-page report, comes a couple of weeks after the U.S. announced the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, a multibillion dollar and multiyear pact with Finland and Canada to build more Icebreaker ships that can navigate the region. The U.S. has long worried it is falling behind Russia and China in the Arctic, especially as Beijing and Moscow conduct joint patrols and exercises in the region. Russia has some 40 Icebreakers, according to the Pentagon, while the U.S. Coast Guard only has two operating ones that are expected to soon reach the end of their life. While the western security alliance NATO includes seven of eight Arctic states, Russia has the largest share of regional territory and the most developed military presence there, according to the Pentagon. Russia is also continuing to invest heavily in the Arctic and renovate its installations. China has just three Icebreakers and is not an Arctic state. But it often conducts research there that the U.S. says is military related, and Beijing is seeking to promote the Arctic as a shared space while gaining access to the region through investments. Hicks said that it was “very noticeable and concerning” regarding both Chinese and Russian activity in the Arctic.

Pentagon Releases Strategy Calling for Increased Military Presence in the Arctic - On Tuesday, the Pentagon released a new strategy for the Arctic that called for an increased US military presence in the region to confront Russia and China.The Pentagon said the Arctic is increasingly becoming an area of “strategic competition,” and the strategy outlines a plan to “enhance” US military capabilities in the region and conduct military exercises, including those with NATO allies.With Sweden and Finland joining NATO, all Arctic countries are now members of the alliance except for Russia, which has the largest Arctic coastline.“The accession of new NATO Allies and the strengthening of the alliance opens strategic opportunities and supports critical objectives in the [2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region]. The Arctic serves as an avenue for power projection to Europe and is vital to the defense of Atlantic sea lines of communication between North America and Europe,” the strategy reads. While China is not an Arctic nation, the strategy spends a lot of time on Beijing and accuses the country of “attempting to leverage changing dynamics in the Arctic to pursue greater influence and access, take advantage of Arctic resources, and play a larger role in regional governance.”

NORAD Says It Intercepted Russian and Chinese Bombers in Alaska's ADIZ - North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said on Wednesdaythat US and Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers operating in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).An ADIZ is an area that extends far beyond territorial waters and airspace where the US wants foreign aircraft to identify themselves. Alaska’s ADIZ is a massive area that extends near Russia’s coast, where Russian aircraft routinely operate. A US official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the incident marked the first time the Russian and Chinese militaries entered the area together. Russia and China have been increasing joint military cooperation in recent years, a reaction to the increasing military pressure both nations face from the West. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang confirmed on Thursday that China and Russia conducted a joint patrol over the Bering Sea. “This is the eighth air strategic joint patrol organized by the two militaries since 2019. It further tested and improved coordination between two air forces and deepened strategic mutual trust and substantive cooperation,” he said, according to The South China Morning Post.“This operation did not target any third parties and was in line with relevant international law and practice and had nothing to do with the current international or regional situation,” Zhang added.It’s unclear how far off Alaska’s coast the interception occurred, but NORAD said it was beyond A laska’s airspace. “The Russian and PRC [People’s Republic of China] aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” said NORAD, which is a joint US-Canadian military command. The incident occurred a few days after Russia said it intercepted two American B-52 bombers near its territorial border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic. Such incidents are likely to occur more often since Finland and Sweden joined NATO, making every Arctic nation except for Russia a member of the alliance. The Pentagon also released a new Arctic strategy this week calling for an increased military presence in the region.

US Says It's Looking To Bolster Philippines Ability To Operate in South China Sea - US officials said Wednesday that the US is looking to help bolster the Philippines’ military and its ability to operate in the South China Sea, an area where Chinese and Philippine vessels frequently have tense encounters over disputed reefs.“What we are looking to do across the board … is to bolster our Philippine ally’s capabilities and abilities to continue to operate lawfully in its waters and just stand up to the types of challenges that has faced in recent months,” Mira Rapp-Hooper, director for East Asia on the National Security Council, said at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute think tank, according to Reuters.Ely Ratner, the top Pentagon official for the Asia Pacific, said the US was “on track to engage in some unprecedented support for the modernization of the … armed forces of the Philippines.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are leaving for a trip to Asia this week and will meet with Philippine officials in Manila on Monday and Tuesday. They’re expected to announce new US support for the Philippines while they are there.The comments from Ratner and Rapp-Hooper came after China and the Philippines reached a deal to ease tensions around Second Thomas Shoal, a Philippine-occupied reef in the South China Sea that’s also claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. However, China and the Philippines are at odds over the details of the agreement, which weren’t made public.Incidents between Chinese and Philippine boats in the South China Sea became much more frequent after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022. His predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, was much friendlier toward Beijing and maintained a status quo in the South China Sea to avoid conflict.

Top US General 'Fully Confident' the US Would Beat China in a War Over Taiwan - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown has said he is “fully confident” that the US could beat China in a war that breaks out over Taiwan.When asked at the Aspen Security Forum last Friday if he thought the US could defeat China, Brown said, “Yes, I’m fully confident in our force. We are the most lethal, most respected combat force in the world.”He continued, “Now, it’s going to take all the nation if we go to conflict with the with the PRC [People’s Republic of China], and I’m confident, if we’re challenged, we will be there.”Brown acknowledged the war would be a major conflict and said the US was working to build up military logistics in the Asia Pacific by stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and other types of supplies.“These will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in WWII, and so we’ve got to come to grips with that,” he said. “Two, the PRC knows where our advantages are and the combat capability we can bring to bear. My sense is they’ll want to go quick so they can do it before we can bring capability there.” Brown framed the US military buildup in the region as an effort to deter a war. But as the US has been beefing up its presence in the Asia Pacific and increasing support for Taiwan, tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen significantly.Brown’s comments reflect a growing trend of US military officials openly discussing that they’re preparing for a direct war with China even though Beijing is a nuclear-armed power. The risk of nuclear escalation doesn’t appear to be factored into the plans since it’s rarely mentioned by US officials.

"Everywhere Is Garbage": Chinese Making Documentaries About America's Collapse -The Chinese are now producing documentaries on the collapse of American cities. What this showcases is the grim aftermath of decades of deindustrialization, disastrous progressive policies, and an opioid crisis—ironically fueled by China. "Chinese are making documentaries about ultra-extreme poverty and decaying cities since they don't exist in China anymore," X user S.L. Kanthan wrote in a recent post, accompanied by a short clip from the documentary highlighting the implosion of Oakland, California. Chinese are making documentaries about ultra-extreme poverty and decaying cities, since they don’t exist in #China anymore. And the prime location for these films? Greatest country on earth, USA 🇺🇸! Welcome to Oakland, California: pic.twitter.com/DlITruvvkr Since the video was narrated in Chinese, X user TranslateMom translated some of the captions, which said, "Everywhere is garbage ... People don't live in places. There are wanderers everywhere."TranslateMom has subtitled your video in English! For instant translations and captions, visit our web app athttps://t.co/vgpywdvEdE. Tool created by @montakaoh. pic.twitter.com/9neE57xlIa— TranslateMom (@TranslateMom) July 17, 2024Remember late last year when leftist California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted he cleaned up several city blocks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to town? Newsom admits he only cleaned up San Francisco because Xi came to visit. “That’s true. Because it’s true.” pic.twitter.com/vKgz1BQl4A The problem with Oakland is long-term de-industrial trends, compounded with medium-term failed progressive policies that have only led to crime, chaos, homelessness, and rampant decay of households amid the worst drug overdose crisis ever. In April, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party uncovered that China is actively subsidizing the sale of fentanyl chemicals to Mexico. Drug cartels in Mexico then cook these chemicals, and the finished product is then flooded into the US via open southern borders. Some have referred to this crisis as the 'Reverse Opium War.'

US Image Deteriorates In Parts Of Asia -Large groups of people in Asian countries believe that the U.S. democracy used to be a good example for others to follow, but isn't anymore.Some also believe that it has never been a good example.Put together, Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports that this means that a majority in six out of nine Asian countries surveyed by Pew Research Center don't consider the U.S. a beacon of democracy (anymore).The exception are three countries from South Asia - India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - an interesting result given how the largest of them has recently attempted the balancing act of positioning itself as an ally of both the U.S. and Eastern powers like China and Russia.However, many people in the region refused the question, meaning that there is also not a majority considering the U.S. democracy a good example for the world.In traditional U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, the most people have changed their mind about U.S. democracy and the countries ended up ranking quite high in the overall ranking of both negative answer options combined.They came in behind Singapore and Malaysia, however, where unfavorable opinions of U.S. democracy were most widespread.Former U.S. colony the Philippines also picked negative answers mostly, while in Thailand, opinion about democracy in the United States was somewhat better.

Undocumented immigrants will boost economy, lower deficit, CBO says - The growing undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. will lower the deficit by nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO’s projections are based on the net sum of economic activity generated, taxes paid and benefits allotted to the immigrant groups included in the study.The nonpartisan agency estimates a net population increase of 8.7 million such immigrants between 2021 and 2026, averaging an increase of 1.7 million people per year above the pre-2020 average annual net immigration of 200,000.CBO based its projections on the economic effects that surge group of 8.7 million people is expected to have between 2024 and 2034.The report excludes immigrants who receive or are eligible for legal permanent resident status, non-immigrant foreign nationals on temporary work visas or asylees, instead focusing on people paroled at or between ports of entry at the border, visa overstayers and undocumented immigrants who entered the country without encountering U.S. border officials.That group is expected to generate $1.175 trillion in increased federal revenue in the 2024-2034 period and $270 billion in mandatory outlays and net federal spending for a net decrease of $897 billion in the federal deficit.The economic effects of that population are expected to increase over time: from 2024 to 2028, the projected net deficit reduction due to their presence is $296 billion.CBO’s projection divides the budgetary effects of undocumented immigrants into two categories: the taxes directly paid by that population, and the economic growth spurred by the immigrants roles as consumers and in the labor market.Between 2024 and 2034, CBO projects the immigrants in the surge population will pay $788 billion in taxes and generate $387 of extra federal revenue through their effects on the overall economy.Their effect on mandatory outlays and net spending for interest — how much the immigrants’ presence will cost the federal government — is also divided in two, the cost of benefits themselves and the costs related to the economic effects of the increased population.CBO estimates that the federal government will spend $177 billion on benefits for that population between 2024 and 2034, a number that will grow over time as the immigrants and their children become eligible for more government benefits.The group’s effect on interest payments is estimated to decrease the deficit by about $4 billion in the 2024-2028 period, but trend upward in the second half of the decade, leading to a spending increase of $101 billion in the whole 2024-2034 period.CBO estimates the net effect of taxes paid minus benefits allotted will reduce the deficit by $611 billion between 2024 and 2034, and the collateral economic effects of undocumented and paroled immigrants will reduce the deficit by $285 billion over that time period.Though CBO did not produce a projection for state and local budgets, the balance of tax revenue versus benefits allotted will depend on the benefit structures in each state, according to the report.“Researchers have generally found that increases in immigration tend to raise the federal government’s revenues more than its costs but increase state and local governments’ costs more than their revenues,” it reads.“CBO expects that general pattern to hold for the immigration surge considered in this report—the additional 8.7 million people in the other-foreign-national category who migrate to the United States or remain in the country after an authorized stay from 2021 to 2026 and their U.S.-born children” But the report added the overall local budgetary effect of the specific group of 8.7 million people could split from that norm, in part because the group is predominantly made up of working-age people, who tend to use fewer social services and pay more taxes than children or older people.CBO’s estimate of a net population growth of 8.7 million people estimates that roughly half that population arrived between 2021 and 2023, and the other half is arriving between 2024 and 2026. The researchers ran their numbers predicting a return to the long-term average of annual net undocumented and paroled immigration of 200,000 people per year.

Abbott threatens to ‘triple razor wire’ on border after Biden's Harris endorsement -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) greeted the news of the historic shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket with threats to increase his state’s operations at the Mexican border.“Joe Biden has now endorsed and fully supports his ‘Borders Czar’ Kamala Harris to be the Democrat candidate for president,” Abbott wrote on the social platform X.“I think I will need to triple the border wall, razor wire barriers and National Guard on the border.”Abbott was one of a long list of Trump allies to unload on Harris after Biden’s withdrawal from the race Sunday, as The Hill reported.That criticism has frequently — and inaccurately — referred to Harris as a “border czar,” aposition she did not hold.Since Abbott began a campaign to intensify enforcement along Texas’s southern border in 2021 — in open challenge to federal authority — the state has spent more than $11 billion on razor wire, base construction and shipping migrants to northern cities.State lawmakers approved another $5 billion last session alone to keep immigrants out of Texas.While migration flows surged through 2023, they are currently at a three-year low, CBS reported. Immigrants in Texas contribute $34 billion to the state economy, according to Juan Carlos Cerda of the American Business Immigration Coalition.Along with the conservative criticism she has faced on immigration, Harris has drawn fire from progressives for a 2021 speech in which she told potential migrants “who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: ‘Do not come. Do not come.’”Texas state leaders also baselessly argued in their attacks on Harris and Democrats that left-wing Democrats used the June debate to force Biden out and replace him with a more pliable candidate.Former President Obama “is seeking his 4th term as president,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) wroteon X. “The June debate was a hit job on Biden by his own party; humiliating him was step one to run him out.”“Obama has been running the White House and will continue to run it with Michelle or Kamala,” Patrick added. “They picked Biden in 2020 so Obama could serve a third term, and now Obama seeks a fourth term.”Patrick has voiced similar theories, without evidence, since the debate, which he said at the time was “a ploy to make it absolutely clear that Biden had to be replaced.”

More NGOs Aiding Illegal Aliens Come Under Scrutiny In Texas -- At least four Texas nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating on the U.S. southern border have come under scrutiny from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for their role in aiding illegal immigrants in recent months. The latest action involves petitions filed by the attorney general’s office to depose officials at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV) and Team Brownsville Inc.The attorney general’s office could shut down the NGOs if it can prove they broke the law.Earlier this month, a judge in El Paso, Texas, dismissed Mr. Paxton’s lawsuit seeking to close Annunciation House, a Catholic NGO, over allegations that it was facilitating illegal immigration.Mr. Paxton’s office contends that it is unlawful to “encourage or induce” a person to enter or remain in the United States illegally and that concealing, harboring, or shielding a person from detection is also a violation of federal law.In December 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into whether NGOs may have planned and assisted illegal border crossings on both sides of the Texas–Mexico border.NGOs traditionally have offered humanitarian aid to illegal aliens, but Mr. Abbott and other Republicans have questioned whether some organizations have crossed the line into “unlawfully orchestrating” border crossings.Also in 2022, Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) introduced the Stop Federal Funding for Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act “to defund U.S. non-profit organizations that are complicit in human smuggling and exacerbate the border crisis,” which was noted in the state’s court documents surrounding its probe of NGOs.

Court Reverses Biden EPA on Denial of Small-Refinery Exemptions in 2022 (DTN) -- A federal appeals court vacated Biden administration reversals of small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard in a judgment handed down Friday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sealed its opinion in the case for seven days but issued a two-page judgment that appears to side with refining companies, so the number of exemptions affected is unclear. In April 2022, the EPA revoked 36 SREs granted by the Trump administration for the 2018 compliance year. In June 2022, the EPA announced the denial of 69 exemption requests. In April 2022, however, EPA offered most refineries an alternative way to comply with the RFS that wouldn't require the companies to make up for the 1.4 billion gallons of biofuels or compliance credits originally exempted. There were 32 cases filed against EPA on the Biden administration's decision and consolidated by the court in one group, while six other cases were consolidated in a second group. "Ordered and adjudged that, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date, the petitions of company A and company B be denied, but otherwise the petitions for review in (the first group) be granted," the court said in the judgment. Those cases were remanded back to EPA for "further proceedings," according to the judgment. In a joint statement following the court's ruling, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol, all of whom intervened on EPA's behalf in the litigation, said they were disappointed in the ruling. "We are extremely disappointed in today's decision to vacate and remand EPA's denial of dozens of small refinery exemption petitions," the groups said. "EPA's decision in 2022 to deny the petitions was well-reasoned, based on sound economic analysis and consistent with both the Clean Air Act and the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard. We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today's decision. Our coalition remains resolute and committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS." In the second group of cases, the court said in its judgment it dismissed petitions filed by Growth Energy and Wynnewood Refining Company and denied a petition filed by Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company LLC. The second group of lawsuits challenged the EPA's alternative compliance option given to the small refiners. The appeals court's action is the latest in a long drama that has played out across multiple administrations. In December 2021, the Biden EPA released a proposal to reject all pending exemption requests. The Trump administration approved more than 80 small-refinery exemption requests.

Congress Trump-proofed this $27B climate program. Here’s why that’s a problem. - The Environmental Protection Agency is racing to deliver a fortune in taxpayer money through its largest-ever climate grant program. The surge in spending aims to reshape impoverished areas of the U.S. by financing the installation of renewable energy and improving buildings’ energy efficiency. Congress commanded that the money go out quickly, setting a strict Sept. 30 deadline that would prevent a future Trump administration from clawing it back. But the initiative has a shoestring operating budget, and the $27 billion program is now facing charges of empty oversight and potential waste — and the prospects of a Republican feeding frenzy over President Joe Biden’s climate law if the program stumbles. Analysts say the quick pace of handing out such a staggering amount raises an overlooked risk: the possibility of mistakes. Out of all the programs authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act, this one has the smallest amount of money allotted to hire staff and track the spending. “The concern is legitimate,” said Matthew Tejada, a former deputy assistant administrator at the agency who worked on the program before leaving in December. “EPA got more money than it could have ever imagined, and time lines — deadlines — that were as close to wildly unrealistic as you can get.” Tejada, who’s now a senior vice president at the Natural Resources Defense Council, described the program’s oversight budget as “decimal dust.” The program, named the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, will steer the billions of dollars to state and local governments and nonprofit lending institutions, which then will filter the money to projects in low-income communities. The Trump-proofed spending deadline is a contrast with much of the IRA’s $369 billion in authorized climate-related funding, which the administration is laboring to distribute amid a presidential race that features voter apathy over the legislative cornerstone of Biden’s environmental agenda. But the greenhouse gas fund’s limits are already being tested. EPA told POLITICO’s E&E News that the program’s budget is the smallest amount of money allotted to any federal agency for running any IRA program, as a percentage of the initiative’s total funding. So far, the agency has had enough money to design the greenhouse gas program from scratch and choose its recipients. But additional cash will be needed to ensure “proper financial management and robust oversight,” agency spokesperson Angela Hackel said in an email. “Thus far, EPA has had the resources necessary to run a rigorous program design process, select highly capable grant partners, and conduct the complex award agreement negotiations that are now underway,” she said. The agency’s administrator, Michael Regan, has raised concerns about the program’s tiny operating budget at several congressional hearings this spring. Biden included a $5 million request in his fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which Republicans declined to include in their spending bill. Lawmakers have expressed alarm about the administration’s ability to keep tabs on a grant program that’s three times EPA’s annual budget. “I am concerned about EPA’s ability to keep track of the money,” Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, told E&E News. “I have not yet seen anything that suggests robust auditing” of the grant recipients by EPA.

Biden’s exit puts spotlight on Harris’ energy record - Vice President Kamala Harris has a more progressive energy record than President Joe Biden, but it’s unclear how that will play with voters if she secures the Democratic presidential nomination.Biden ended his reelection bid Sunday after increasing pressure from Democrats following his widely panned debate performance. His endorsement of Harris makes her the frontrunner for his replacement — but uncertainty reigns as Democrats scramble to organize a new 2024 ticket ahead of the party’s convention on Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.Some environmentalists are already putting their weight behind Harris, who they expect would largely continue Biden’s effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions as the effects of climate change increasingly ravage the globe.Harris’ energy record as a senator, and later as a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary of 2020, was to the left of Biden’s on many issues and sharply critical of the oil and gas industry.She called for an end to hydraulic fracturing — a drilling technique in the oil and gas industry that uses chemicals and water to fracture rock and release hydrocarbons. She also urged a ban on plastic straws and called for the end of the filibuster, a Senate legislative tool that ensures some members of the minority party have to sign off on most legislation. Harris was one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal, the nonbinding resolution introduced in 2019 by Democratic progressives like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. The resolution stalled, but some of its ideas made it into the Inflation Reduction Act — and Republicans often use the phrase as shorthand for policies they say attack fossil fuels.She also co-sponsored the Climate Equity Act of 2020, which would have created an arm of the Congressional Budget Office to score legislation based on effects to historically disadvantaged communities.After becoming Biden’s vice presidential candidate, Harris made it clear that the Biden ticket did not intend to ban fracking — a practice important for the oil industry in key swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.But as California’s attorney general, Harris sued the Obama administration’s Interior Department in 2016 over potential fracking off the state’s coastline, characterizing the practice as a “threat to the health and well-being of California communities.”“We must balance our energy needs with our longstanding commitment to protecting our natural resources and public health,” Harris said at the time. She also launched a probe into whether Exxon Mobil lied to the public about climate change.

Manchin, Barrasso reach agreement on permitting reform bill -- Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have reached an agreement on a bill to speed up the nation’s energy and infrastructure projects after about two years of trying to reach a deal. The bill takes on a suite of issues known collectively as permitting reform. It is expected to bolster the buildout of both renewable and fossil fuel energy sources. Passing a permitting reform bill has been a long-time priority of Manchin’s and is expected to be considered a legacy issue for him after he departs the Senate next year. It’s not immediately clear whether party leaders have bought into the plan, if it will be brought to the floor or if it will garner enough votes to evade a filibuster. “After over a year of holding hearings in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, thoughtfully considering input from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and engaging in good faith negotiations, Ranking Member Barrasso and I have put together a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities,” Manchin said in a written statement. The legislation includes a key Democratic priority: improving the nation’s ability to build out power lines. Doing so would likely help more renewable energy plug into the nation’s electric grid. The bill would enhance that ability by shortening the process to allow federal energy regulators to approve new power lines. The bill also contains provisions that boost fossil fuels. For one, it would set a deadline for the Energy Department to make a decisions about whether to approve or reject a gas export project — effectively barring policies like President Biden’s now-stalledpause on gas export approvals. The legislation also seeks to make it easier to extract oil gas and coal from public lands and to build renewable projects there.It would additionally require the federal government to give companies at least one opportunity each year to bid on chances to drill offshore and to bid on chances to build offshore wind farms between the years 2025 and 2029. This provision would expand offshore drilling beyond theBiden administration’s current plans to offer up to three chances to bid on offshore drilling rights during that period. The bill would also cut down on the amount of time that opponents of energy projects have to sue over their approval — creating hurdles for those who want to challenge them on environmental or other grounds. The announcement comes after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in May that reaching a permitting reform deal would be “virtually impossible” this year amid a lengthy impasse that Democrats and Republicans had on the issue. Schumer has touted new rules from federal energy regulators as an alternative to what Congress had not been able to achieve. The majority leader in 2022 agreed to support permitting reform legislation in exchange for Manchin’s vote on the Democrats’ sweeping climate, tax and healthcare bill. Republicans ultimately tanked the 2022 efforts amid tensions with Manchin over his support for the Democratic measure. The new agreement comes shortly before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess — meaning there’s little time left this year to pass significant legislation.

Can Manchin’s Energy Permitting Reform Bill Finally Pass? Clock Ticking Away - In what may be the final effort to fortify his energy-focused legacy, retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) on Monday advanced legislation yet again to overhaul permitting for natural gas and oil lease sales, as well as to derail the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export approvals. Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee, introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 with Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY). The latest bill follows similar legislation that Manchin had proposed but which failed to pass in 2022 and 2023. “The United States of America is blessed with abundant natural resources that have powered our nation to greatness and allow us to help our friends and allies around the world,” Manchin said. “Unfortunately, today our outdated permitting system is stifling our economic growth, geopolitical strength and ability to reduce emissions.”

Biden administration announces $4B in EPA grants to reduce climate pollution -The Biden administration has announced more than $4 billion in Environmental Protection Act (EPA) grants to cut climate pollution across 30 states. The grants will be disbursed through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and are set to go to a total of 25 projects. The funds will be aimed at reducing greenhouse gas pollution from the transportation, electric power, commercial/residential building, industrial, agricultural and waste management sectors. EPA administrator Michael Regan is set to announce the selections in Pittsburgh today with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). Shapiro, the governor of a pivotal swing state, has been named as a potential running mate for Vice President Harris since President Biden’s announcement he will withdraw from his re-election campaign. Pennsylvania is set to receive $396 million under the grant. Administration officials said the selected projects could reduce emissions by 971 million metric tons by 2050. “This is one of the largest federal grants Pennsylvania has ever received, and through RISE PA, we will offer grants for companies working to make their operations more efficient,” Shapiro said in a statement. “This investment will help us reduce toxic air pollution, create thousands of jobs, invest in our energy sector, and continue Pennsylvania’s legacy of energy leadership.” “President Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health, and grow our economy. Thanks to his leadership, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will deliver unprecedented resources to states, local governments, and Tribes to fund the solutions that work best in their communities,” Regan said. Biden’s term has been marked by aggressive emissions reduction targets, with a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of the decade. In the wake of the president’s announcement Sunday, the Democratic Party is likely to message around Biden’s environmental legacy as well as present Harris as its inheritor as the party seeks to maintain its hold on younger and progressive voters.

House Republicans pass bill cutting EPA funding by 20 percent - House Republicans on Wednesday passed what is expected to be the final government funding bill before August recess, proposing steep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget for fiscal year 2025.The annual Department of Interior and EPA funding bill passed 210-205 late Wednesday. Democrats have come out in staunch opposition to the measure over proposed cuts to the EPA and other areas like the National Park Service, the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art. The bill’s narrow passage comes as House Republicans’ ambitious hopes of passing all 12 annual government funding bills by the August recess have crumbled. House leadership canceled votes on three other funding bills this week, including yanking one off the floor at the last minute Tuesday night, and announced Wednesday they would begin their annual summer recess a week early.GOP leadership on Wednesday night could be seen talking with members during the vote as the tally appeared touch and go at certain points.“Well they had whipped it pretty much. They called and just wanted to talk it through, which was good. It ended up swaying a lot of people,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hardline conservative that had previously been undecided on the bill before backing it on Wednesday night, told The Hill. However, he also voiced frustration with some proposed amendments offered by conservatives that went down during the vote.Five Republicans voted against the legislation, while one Democrat was in favor.The bill faces tough odds in the Democratic-led Senate in its current form. But it helps provide a starting place for Republicans ahead of eventual funding negotiations with the upper chamber.

House approves bipartisan water projects bill - The House passed a sweeping water infrastructure bill Monday that could help curb flooding, slow coastal erosion and restore struggling ecosystems, in a rare show of bipartisanship as election season heats up.Lawmakers approved the “Water Resources Development Act of 2024,” which would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with 12 new water infrastructure projects and study 159 more potential projects. The vote was 359-13.The biennial legislation directs the Army Corps’ work on flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration and has historically been popular among Republicans and Democrats. It comes as water infrastructure across the U.S. — from dams to levees to sewage treatment plants — is struggling to hold up amid more frequent and intense storms and deferred maintenance.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle grilled by both sides in brutal hearing - Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced growing, bipartisan calls for her resignation during a brutal hearing Monday on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Lawmakers from both parties on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee — which is known for its fiery hearings and partisan rhetoric — expressed exasperation, frustration and at times disbelief at Cheatle’s testimony. “This committee is not known for its model of bipartisanship,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the panel’s chair. “We came together unanimously in our disappointment for your lack of answers.” Cheatle, who has been in her role for just less than two years, admitted the assassination attempt was the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.” “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” she said in her opening remarks. “As a director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency.” But her resistance to providing details about the shooting and the Secret Service’s actions — she at one point said, “I have a timeline that does not have specifics” — will raise new questions about how long she’ll remain in her job. Several Democrats on Monday joined the calls for her to resign, including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the panel’s top Democrat. “I don’t want to add to the director’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation of the director just because I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point,” Raskin said. “And I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country. And we need to very quickly move beyond this.” Shortly after the hearing closed, Comer and Raskin penned a joint letter — another rarity — demanding Cheatle’s resignation. “Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures. In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” they wrote. Cheatle repeatedly declined to get into specifics about the investigation into how 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to gain access to and open fire from a nearby roof shortly after Trump started speaking at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pa. The former president was injured, one rally attendee was killed, and two others were severely injured. Republicans were at times bombastic in voicing their displeasure with Cheatle. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she was “full of s‑‑‑.” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) asked Cheatle if she had Alzheimer’s disease or dementia because she could not recall all the details. At one point, Cheatle’s response about not having a specific timeline of events for the hearing drew exasperated laughter from lawmakers. “That’s shocking. That is absolutely unacceptable. That means you are a failure at your job,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who had been questioning Cheatle. Democrats, too, expressed irritation with Cheatle’s answers. “Can you explain why you are answering so many fewer questions here than you have to the media?” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) asked at one point. “You’re not making this easy for us,” Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) said at another. Cheatle explained that her seeming reticence was because she did not want to provide incorrect information, citing multiple ongoing investigations with the Department of Justice, multiple inspector general offices, in Congress, and internally.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presses Secret Service director: Timeline for report ‘not acceptable’ --Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle that the projected 60-day timeline for an initial report about the security breakdowns that led to the assassination attempt against former President Trump is “not acceptable.” Cheatle, who is testifying Monday before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, had just told committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) that an internal mission assurance investigation is targeted to be complete within 60 days. “We are currently in the midst of … an especially concentrated presidential campaign,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to President Biden dropping his reelection bid and Vice President Harris launching one on Sunday. She also noted that elections across the country are happening in about 100 days. “So the idea that a report will be finalized in 60 days, let alone prior to any actionable decisions that would be made, is simply not acceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It has been 10 days since an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States, regardless of party. There need to be answers.” “This is not a moment of theater. We need to make policy decisions, and we need to make them now. We do,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That may require legislation … that we must pass in the immediate term. And without that, we are flying blind.” Cheatle told Ocasio-Cortez that she is not waiting on a report to take action. “We have been conducting analysis all along, and we have been adding additional features to our security details since this incident occurred,” Cheatle said. In addition to the Secret Service’s internal investigation, there are “a number” of office of inspector general investigations, Cheatle said, in addition to a Department of Justice investigation. Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Sunday a bipartisan, independent panel to conduct a 45-day review of the assassination attempt.

Progressive Rep. Maxwell Frost calls for Secret Service chief to resign - Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign Monday, joining a number of Democrats who have similarly expressed frustration following her congressional testimony earlier that day. “The mass shooting at the campaign rally + attempted assassination of the former President was a massive failure of the Secret Service,” Frost wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Unfortunately, in today’s hearing, Director Cheatle barely answered questions and evaded legitimate concerns. She should immediately resign,” he continued. Frost included a short clip from his exchange with Cheatle earlier that day during the hearing. In the exchange, Frost pressed Cheatle on how many times the Secret Service was alerted to suspicious activity prior to the attempted assassination of former President Trump. “I don’t have an exact number to share with you today, but from what I’ve been able to discern, somewhere between two and five times there was some sort of communication about a suspicious individual,” Cheatle responded. “To the Secret Service specifically?” Frost asked. Cheatle responded with a nonverbal confirmation. Ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) joined calls for Cheatle to resign at the close of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing. “I don’t want to add to the director’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation of the director, just because I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point,” Raskin said. “And I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country. And we need to very quickly move beyond this.” Shortly after the hearing ended, Raskin, along with Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) sent a joint letter to Cheatle asking her to resign. “Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures. In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” they wrote in a rare joint letter. “We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people.”

Florida Republican Greg Steube says he filed articles of impeachment against Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle -Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said on Monday he filed an impeachment resolution against Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for her “dereliction of duty” in failing to protect former President Trump from a would-be assassin at his rally last week. “The Secret Service calls themselves ‘one of the most elite law enforcement agencies in the world’. What happened under their watch in Butler, Pennsylvania was an international embarrassment and an inexcusable tragedy,” Steube said in a press release. “Today I’m exercising our Congressional authority of oversight by filing an article of impeachment against Director Cheatle for her dereliction of duty as it relates to the assassination attempt on President Trump’s life,” he continued. Steube pointed to reports that indicated the Secret Service received warnings about suspicious activity well before the actual shooting took place. Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet, before he was rushed off stage by Secret Service agents. One rallygoer, Corey Comperatore, died shielding his family from the gunfire, while two other people were seriously injured. In the days since the attack, questions have mounted about how an armed attacker could get access to a building just approximately 130 yards away from the stage of the rally, with an unobstructed view of the former president. “Every supervisor in that chain of command should be fired immediately and that starts with the Director. An American hero is dead and several severely wounded as a result of the Secret Service failure to protect President Trump,” he said, adding, “All in the chain of command including the Director should be held responsible.” Steube’s resolution includes one impeachment article for “dereliction of duty.” The article says Cheatle, as director, “negligently failed to uphold the agency’s mission and statutory charge to ‘ensure the safety and security’ of ‘protectees, key locations, and events of national significance,’” and noted that “the Secret Service is tasked with providing protection to former Presidents as well as ‘major Presidential candidates.’” The impeachment resolution also criticizes Cheatle for focusing on increasing the number of female agents, with a goal of 30 percent of all recruits to be women by 2030. The article suggests Cheatle “chose to focus on the gender of recruits instead of their fitness for the job.” “Through these actions, Director Cheatle has demonstrated a neglect for her duty to lead the Secret Service in a manner that provides effective protection to protectees, including President Donald Trump. Wherefore, Kimberly A. Cheatle, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States,” the resolution concludes. The resolution comes as calls for Cheatle to resign have mounted, in particular following Cheatle’s House Oversight Committee testimony, which failed to address some of the lawmakers’ key questions about the shooting.

Mace moves to force a vote on impeaching Secret Service director --Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Monday moved to force a vote on impeaching U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, ratcheting up the pressure on the embattled agency leader following the assassination attempt on former President Trump earlier this month.The effort by Mace — which forces leadership to act on the resolution within two legislative days — came just over one week after the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa., which left Trump injured, one rally goer dead and two others seriously injured.It also comes hours after lawmakers from both parties grilled Cheatle in an Oversight Committee hearing that left them frustrated and exasperated.Mace took on Cheatle directly during the hearing, telling her “you’re full of s—.”“You’re just being completely dishonest,” she added.The shooting has sparked intense scrutiny on the Secret Service — especially Cheatle — with lawmakers raising questions about security lapses at the rally and how a gunman could get so close to a former president and the current presidential nominee of a major political party.Several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on her to resign, a number that grew at Monday’s hearing. Cheatle has said she does not plan to leave her post.It remains unclear how Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership team plan to handle the measure, which accuses Cheatle of dereliction of duty. They could either stage a vote on the resolution or move to table it or refer it to committee. Asked about potential options if Cheatle does not resign — including impeachment — during an interview with The Hill at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, Johnson said, “We’re looking at all those options right now.”

Secret Service defends female agents amid diversity criticism - The Secret Service is defending its female agents following attacks from conservative pundits and lawmakers who have suggested, without evidence, that the agents are underqualified and were only hired because of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. The wave of criticism comes after the assassination attempt on former President Trump shocked the nation and sparked questions about how a gunman was able to gain access to a building so close to the former president. Lawmakers have looked to the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to answer for what’s been called the agency’s biggest security failure since former President Reagan was shot in 1981, and a growing list of Republicans have called for her ouster. On conservative airwaves and on social media, much of the criticism has focused on Cheatle’s gender, with some calling her a “DEI hire.” Social media users have also taken note that female agents were part of the team that rushed Trump offstage after he was shot. The Secret Service’s chief of communication, Anthony Guglielmi, called out the “baseless assertions” that agents are unqualified, in a statement to The Hill, saying the federal agency is “appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel.” “As an elite law enforcement agency, all of our agents and officers are highly trained and fully capable of performing our missions,” Guglielmi wrote in the statement. “It is an insult to the women of our agency to imply that they are unqualified based on gender. Such baseless assertions undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce.” “We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission,” he added. The attacks on Cheatle on Capitol Hill have been fierce since the shocking assassination attempt. “Somebody really dropped the ball,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said in an interview following the shooting, before taking aim at Cheatle. “You’ve got a DEI, basically, person — a DEI initiative person — who heads up our Secret Service. You know she was working at Pepsi before this. I know she was a former Secret Service agent, but still,” he continued. “This is what happens when you don’t put the best players in. It’s a complete failure on our part.”

Secret Service director resigns amid bipartisan demands that she step down following Trump assassination attempt On Tuesday morning, it was announced that Kimberly Cheatle, director of the United States Secret Service, was resigning her post. Cheatle, appointed by President Biden in September 2022, had spent 29 years at the agency. Cheatle resigned amidst demands by both Republicans and Democrats that she step down following the near-assassination of former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Those demands increased following her testimony Monday at a contentious four-hour hearing of the House Oversight Committee, during which she refused to answer questions about massive security lapses that allowed the 20-year-old shooter, Matthew Crooks, to graze Trump’s ear with a bullet fired from a rooftop little more than 100 yards from the rally platform. Crooks was able to fire off at least eight bullets, wounding Trump and two attendees and killing one attendee, before he was killed by a Secret Service sniper. At the hearing, Cheatle acknowledged “colossal” problems with the security at the rally but rebuffed demands for her resignation, saying, “I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time.” But in her resignation letter the following morning, she said the agency “fell short” of its mission “to protect the nation’s leaders” at the July 13 rally, and that she did not want escalating calls for her resignation to distract Secret Service agents from their mission. This was an implicit allusion to the highly tense and potentially explosive and violent political situation in the US four months before the November elections. Cheatle’s resignation is the latest in a series of events in the space of less than two weeks that reflect the historic scale and depth of the political crisis in the US. Trump’s near-assassination was followed by a four-day spectacle of fascistic reaction, backwardness and cultural depravity at the Republican National Convention, which marked the full takeover of the Republican Party by Trump’s MAGA movement. This was followed three days later by the withdrawal of President Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate and the subsequent overnight coronation of Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement, with not even a pretense of democratic process in her selection. Just a week ago, Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, of which the Secret Service is a part, were defending Cheatle and rebuffing Republican demands that she resign or be fired. But in a statement Tuesday, Biden thanked Cheatle and praised her decision to step down, while promising to appoint a permanent successor “soon.” Later that afternoon, Mayorkas designated current Deputy Director Ronald Rowe as the agency’s acting director. Later on Tuesday it was reported that the Secret Service had asked the Trump campaign to stop holding campaign rallies outdoors and to hold them indoors instead. At Monday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, Cheatle stonewalled and deflected specific questions about the timeline of events leading up to the shooting of Trump at 6:11 p.m. on July 13. “I’m not going to get into specifics of the day,” Cheatle testified, citing an “ongoing investigation.” She repeatedly parried questions with responses such as, “There was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities.” That internal review, she said, would take 60 days, and until then she would not speak about specifics. Questions she refused to answer included:

• Why was the building from which the gunman fired, which offered an unobstructed view of the rally platform, not included in the Secret Service’s security perimeter, and why was no law enforcement officer placed on the building’s roof?
• Why was Trump allowed to take the stage of the rally when law enforcement had identified someone with a rangefinder who was milling around the outskirts of the rally site, when they had labeled that person “suspicious,” and when state and local police had alerted the Secret Service that they were looking for him as the event began?

Watch: Bodycam Footage Of Trump Shooter On Sloped Roof Released --New footage has been released showing local Beaver County police officers and a Secret Service agent on the roof with the neutralised shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks at the July rally where President Trump was almost assassinated. The footage, obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in compliance with congressional requests, shows police and the agent talking about what has transpired while standing over the dead and bloodied body of the shooter, with the rifle he used just a few feet away.Grassley notes “July 13 Bodycam footage provides more info than Secret Service will share with America. We NEED detailed answers ASAP on security failures TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY.” My office has obtained docs from law enforcement on July 13 assassination attempt of Pres Trump I’m writing Secret Service Acting Dir Rowe & DHS Scty Mayorkas AGAIN 2get badly needed answers/claritypic.twitter.com/LyQMzYGCkD— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 23, 2024 Here is the footage:New police bodycam footage has been released showing local Beaver County police officers and a Secret Service agent on the roof with the neutralised shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks at the July rally where President Trump was almost assassinated. Full report:https://t.co/5zd92uzs6l pic.twitter.com/9OOuiCiVCG Here is a Rumble embed of the footage in case X blocks it on grounds of it being sensitive:The biggest takeaway from the footage is that one of the county officers is heard saying that a police sniper in a building overlooking where Crooks was positioned was able to take multiple photos of Crooks before he began shooting.This corroborates the timeline released by Senator Ron Johnson, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.Another facet of the bodycam footage that is interesting is the Secret Service agent believes that two other people had been detained, but the local police don’t seem to know anything about it. In addition, the fact that several people are standing on and moving around the roof completely rubbishes the excuse from the now former head of the Secret Service that the sloped roof was too hazardous to position personnel on.

Director Wray tells Congress FBI has no evidence of conspiracy in Trump shooting - FBI Director Christopher Wray testified for more than four hours Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, taking questions on his agency’s investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt against former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The hearing had been previously scheduled as a routine part of congressional oversight of the FBI and Justice Department, but it took on added significance in the wake of the near assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania 11 days before and unanswered questions regarding the failure of the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement to prevent it. The hearing was held two days after Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under fire from Democrats as well as Republicans when she refused to answer questions at a hearing Monday of the House Oversight Committee about her agency’s failure to prevent twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from firing eight shots at Trump from a nearby factory roof with an unobstructed line of sight to the rally platform. The assassination attempt, followed in rapid succession by the fascistic outpouring at the Republican National Convention, the withdrawal of Biden from the presidential race and the resignation of Cheatle, reflects the unprecedented and highly explosive political crisis of American capitalism. Cheatle’s stonewalling came amidst revelations that more than an hour before the shooting, Crooks had been identified by local police as “suspicious” and photographed when he was seen using a range finder. Among the questions Cheatle would not answer were: (1) Why the Secret Service’s security perimeter did not include the building from which the gunman fired, (2) why no law enforcement officer was stationed there before or during the rally, and (3) why Trump was allowed to take the stage when the Secret Service and local police were still searching for the suspicious person. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service countersniper after the shots from his AR-style weapon had wounded Trump in the ear, killed one attendee and seriously wounded two others. Wray’s main concern in his testimony seemed to be quelling suspicions—well founded—that Crooks was not simply acting alone, but rather was part of a broader conspiracy, very possibly involving elements in the intelligence and police apparatus. The very fact that he answered questions about the FBI’s findings to date was highly unusual. Agency policy is to refuse to answer questions about an ongoing investigation. But on Wednesday, Wray repeated at least four times that the FBI had “to date found no evidence that the gunman had accomplices or co-conspirators.” At the same time, he deflected all questions about the security failures of the Secret Service and state and local police by saying those issues were the purview of investigations by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general and independent investigators. This, however, took as its premise the absurdity that the existence or non-existence of a conspiracy could be considered apart from the role of the security agencies themselves. Wray maintained that the FBI had no prior knowledge of or contact with Crooks, saying that “the shooter was not in our holdings before the shooting.” He confirmed that the agency had been able to get into the shooter’s cell phone, but complained that many of his electronic and digital communications were encrypted and could not be accessed. When Representative Wesley Hunt (R-TX) asked for the identity of the encryption applications, Wray dodged the question. According to Wray, Crooks’ contacts, communications and computer searches, as well as FBI interviews with hundreds of individuals, did not establish a political motivation or agenda behind the shooting. It was previously revealed that Crooks registered as a Republican in 2023 but had previously, in January 2021, donated $15 to a pro-Democratic group. It has also been reported that Crooks, known as an excellent student, was bullied in school and largely kept to himself. Additionally, reports say that he had been diagnosed as suffering from depression. He was working in the kitchen of a seniors’ residence at the time of the shooting. Both he and his father were gun enthusiasts. Wray reported that 14 weapons were found at the Crooks’ home in the middle class community of Bethel Park. He also told the committee that Crooks purchased the weapon he used in the shooting from his father in October 2023 and that he regularly practiced shooting at a local firing range. He went to the firing range on July 12, the day before the assassination attempt. Asked if the FBI had interviewed the family, Wray said it had and that the father was cooperative, but he said nothing beyond that.

DOJ asks Supreme Court to partially restore Biden Title IX rule in 15 Republican-led states -The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Supreme Court to take emergency action Monday to restore parts of President Biden’s Title IX rule in a handful of Republican-led states where the new regulations are blocked, arguing that lower court injunctions pausing the rule in its entirety are “more burdensome” than necessary.In April, the Education Department unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding. The new rule, which covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time, drew swift criticism from Republicans who claimed the new regulations undermine the original intent of Title IX, triggering a flurry of multistate lawsuits. Federal judges sided with the states in three cases, preventing the administration’s rule from taking effect in 15 GOP-led states while legal challenges against the rule play out in court. The remaining states are still expected to implement the changes by Aug. 1. The rule is also blocked from taking effect at any school attended by the child of a member of Moms for Liberty, a conservative political group, or any school attended by members of the Young America’s Foundation, an organization for young conservatives. On Monday, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the Supreme Court to narrow district court injunctions blocking the administration’s Title IX rule in 10 states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho. The injunctions, she argued, should only apply to the rule’s prohibition on gender identity discrimination — the provision at the center of the lawsuits challenging the new Title IX regulations, which also bolster protections for pregnant and parenting students and change how schools handle claims of sexual harassment and assault. States have not challenged “the vast majority” of changes made to Title IX, Prelogar wrote Monday. “Instead, they object to three discrete provisions of the Rule related to discrimination against transgender individuals,” she wrote. Conservative states and leaders have long argued that the administration’s Title IX rule misinterprets a 2020 Supreme Court decision protecting employees from discrimination based on gender identity.The rule has also faced criticism from Republicans for potentially requiring schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms and pronouns that match their gender identity, conflicting with laws passed in more than a dozen GOP-led states. “The district court held that respondents’ challenges are likely to succeed and issued a preliminary injunction. But the court refused to tailor the injunction to the two provisions of the Rule that are the source of respondents’ asserted injuries — or even to the three provisions they have challenged on the merits,” Prelogar wrote Monday. “Instead, the court enjoined the entire Rule, including dozens of provisions that respondents had not challenged and that the court did not purport to find likely invalid.”

Feds discover transcripts of Biden chats with biographer - The Justice Department told a federal judge late Monday that it has located transcripts it previously denied having of President Joe Biden’s talks with a biographer that played a role in the recently completed criminal investigation into Biden’s handling of classified material before he became president.In the wake of a report special counsel Robert Hur issued in February that described Biden as “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the Justice Department has been swamped with Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits demanding access to various records related to Hur’s probe.Some of the requests came from news outlets, while others originated with conservative groups apparently seeking to obtain information that could reinforce doubts about Biden’s mental acuity and fitness for the presidency. Nagging concerns about those issues, particularly after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last month, helped drive Biden’s announcement Sunday that he is dropping his bid for reelection.It’s unclear whether his exit from the race will affect the handling of Hur’s materials by the Justice Department, which has argued that the release of audio of Biden’s interviews with Hur would violate the president’s privacy, lead to potential abuse — such as deepfakes — and deter other witnesses from agreeing to recorded interviews. Biden asserted executive privilege over the audio recordings of his interviews in a bid to head off House Republicans’ effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release the recordings.At a hearing last month, DOJ lawyers handling one Freedom of Information case told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich that it would be highly time-consuming to process other audio files containing Biden’s interviews with writer Mark Zwonitzer. The attorneys said those recordings stretched to 70 hours and reviewing audio for potential classified material is far more difficult than written material.“We don’t have some transcript that’s been created by the special counsel that we can attest to its accuracy,” Justice Department lawyer Cameron Silverberg told Friedrich at the June 18 hearing on a suit brought by the conservative Heritage Foundation.However, Silverberg said in a court filing Monday night that the department “in the past few days” confirmed that Hur’s office had transcripts made of a portion of Biden’s discussions with Zwonitzer, which occurred as Biden worked with him on memoirs published in 2007 and 2017. Prosecutors determined that some of those conversations contained classified information, although they were barred by Justice Department policy from pursuing charges against a sitting president and said they would not have done so in any event because of the imprecision of Biden’s memory and other factors.In its efforts to wade through the records being demanded by conservative groups and news organizations, the Justice Department also reversed itself on another matter, the new filing reveals.DOJ officials had resisted requests from Heritage to contact Hur and find out what materials he relied upon for key portions of his report, but amidst the confusion over the transcripts, it reached out to another unnamed person involved in Hur’s probe, according to the filing.When that person was unavailable, the Justice Department relented and contacted Hur directly, the new submission says.

Biden’s third COVID infection and the ongoing dangers of the pandemic -- In the public statement announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential elections, Joe Biden claimed, “Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic.” Out of a series of delusional claims about his presidency, this was the most glaringly absurd, as Biden issued the letter while still in isolation with his third COVID-19 infection. Undoubtedly, Biden’s bout with COVID played a role in his decision to withdraw from the elections. While official pronouncements on his infection have stated that he is on the way to recovery, COVID-19 remains a dangerous pathogen for anyone, especially those above 65 years old. Now at 81, Biden’s body and mind were clearly impacted by his first infection and subsequent rebound in July-August 2022. While one cannot say with certainty that his mental decline is directly attributable to his prior COVID infections, it is entirely possible that he could be showing symptoms of “brain fog,” fatigue and other neurological symptoms commonly associated with Long COVID. The fact that Biden, the most protected person on the planet, was allowed to contract COVID-19 last week underscores the growing recklessness and self-delusion of the American ruling class. Having fallen for their own lies that “the pandemic is over,” the last remaining testing measures were lifted in the White House in March. Great pains are being taken to care for Biden round the clock, including checks on his vital signs led by a team of highly trained healthcare practitioners and access to costly anti-viral medications. Additionally, Biden is isolating, not according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) anti-public health policies, but based on actual scientifically grounded recommendations. The double standards for the American and international working class are glaringly obvious. Anti-viral medications and vaccines have become cost prohibitive or entirely inaccessible for the vast majority of the world’s population. For workers in the US, attempting to obtain a prescription for the anti-viral Paxlovid usually means waiting days for a call back from your physician. Meanwhile, regardless of the infectious nature of the constantly evolving virus, those with asymptomatic infections or mild symptoms are forced to return to work, risking the well-being of colleagues. Without proper rest and treatment, which the medical community emphatically endorses, workers raise their risk of developing Long COVID, which can have tremendous consequences on their ability to earn wages and provide for their families. Biden is one of millions of Americans who have been infected in recent weeks amid the deepening annual summer surge. According to the latest wastewater data released Friday, the US now has the highest concentrations of the coronavirus in wastewater for this date of any year in the pandemic, with current estimates placing daily infection rates somewhere between 780,000 to 850,000 per day. The surge is deepest in the West and South, but spreading to every region of the country. The 9th wave of mass infection in the US is being driven by the KP.3 and KP.2 subvariants and their daughters, which account for more than 75 percent of all recently sequenced viral genomes. In particular, the emergence of KP.3.1.1—with high ACE2 binding affinity and considerable immune evasive characteristics—and its ability to outcompete its recent descendants, underscores the tremendous capacity for this virus to continue to evolve and infect humanity.

Judge Rules For Musk's SpaceX In Lawsuit Against National Labor Relations Board -The makeup of a federal labor board is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on July 24, siding with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.Members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and administrative law judges (ALJs) employed by the board, are likely unconstitutionally protected from removal by the president, according to U.S. District Judge Alan Albright.“Under binding precedent, this court is satisfied that SpaceX has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claims that Congress has impermissibly protected both the NLRB Members and the NLRB ALJs from the President’s Article II power of removal,” he said in a 15-page decision.SpaceX, which builds and launches rockets and other spacefaring vehicles, filed the legal action in April in Waco, Texas.The company pointed to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the president all executive power.Under court precedent, the president must have unrestricted power to remove officers, including administrative law judges, who assist him in carrying out his duties.But under federal law, the NLRB members can only be removed for neglect or malfeasance, and the board’s judges can only be removed if a different board decides there is good cause. “The statutes’ provision of at least two layers of removal protection prevents that exercise of presidential authority and thus violates Article II of the Constitution,” the suit stated. SpaceX asked for a preliminary injunction to block proceedings initiated against it by the board. Lawyers for the firm said the company would be harmed if an injunction was not issued. Government attorneys opposed the request, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1935, known as Humphrey’s Executor, that found the president does not have “illimitable power of removal” of executive officers.Judge Albright ruled in favor of SpaceX and imposed an injunction as the case proceeds. He said the ruling came in part because of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that restrictions on removal for administrative law judges in the Securities and Exchange Commission are unconstitutional.“Allowing Congress to eliminate the president’s ability to remove principal officers for inefficiency would be an unjustified expansion of Humphrey’s Executor,” he stated.“Finding that NLRB member’s removal protection constitutional would require this court to expand Humphrey’s Executor where the Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to do so.”The judge added later that no part of the injunction “prevents Congress from using a constitutional means to achieve its goals.”

Elon Musk Says Report Of $45 Million Monthly Donation To Pro-Trump Super PAC Was "Made Up Fiction By WSJ" --Elon Musk was spotted Wednesday in the US Capitol Building ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to lawmakers as the war in Gaza continues into its ninth month. A reporter asked Musk, "Are you still going to donate to Trump? Are you still donating $45 million?"Musk replied, "At no point did I say that I was donating $45 million a month for Trump. That was a fiction made up by the Wall Street Journal."Footage of the interaction between the reporter and Musk was posted on X by Collin Rugg. NEW: Elon Musk blasts the Wall Street Journal, says he never said he was donating $45 million a month to Donald Trump.Reporter: “Are you still gonna donate to Trump? Are you still donating $45 million?”Musk: “At no point did I say that I was donating $45 million a month for…pic.twitter.com/6PCTwiJCm7On July 16, The Wall Street Journal reported that "people familiar with the matter" said Musk committed $45 million monthly to a new super political-action committee supporting the former president. Earlier this week, in an interview with Jordan Peterson, the billionaire said, "What's been reported in the media is simply not true. I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump."

What Elon Musk can win from Donald Trump's reelection - Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has officially backed former President Trump’s campaign, a move seemingly at odds with his interests as CEO of Tesla given the former president’s antagonistic stance toward the electric vehicle (EV) industry. However, Tesla could stand to benefit from Trump’s proposed drawdown of the Biden administration’s EV subsidies, while Musk’s other companies and the billionaire himself could also reap rewards from a second Trump presidency, experts said. Musk endorsed Trump earlier this month, shortly after the former president was injured in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. He also pledged to donate millions of dollars to support Trump’s campaign, though he has walked back the amount he would commit.The endorsement marked a turning point for the billionaire, who had long been drifting to the right politically but had yet to fully embrace Trump. While Musk’s rightward shift has aligned him with Trump on many fronts — especially immigration — the former president’s vows to end President Biden’s EV policies would initially appear to be a drawback for the Tesla CEO. “I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” Trump said in his address at the Republican National Convention last week, claiming he would save “the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration.”Musk’s EV company is central to his status as the world’s richest person. He holds about $120 billion worth of shares and options in Tesla, constituting the majority of his wealth, according to The Washington Post. However, Musk has argued in recent days that eliminating Biden’s EV policies, including a $7,500 federal tax credit for consumers buying qualifying electric vehicles, “will only help Tesla.” “Take away the subsidies,” Musk wrote in a post on X, the social media platform he purchased and rebranded, last week. “It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!”

The fascist spectacle of the Republican National Convention - One need not idealize the American party conventions of decades past to acknowledge that this year’s Republican National Convention was an unprecedented spectacle of reaction and backwardness. The tradition of the national party convention has its roots in early 19th century America, in a period of widening enfranchisement when the mass character of bourgeois politics was a relatively new historical phenomenon. In its democratic beginnings, the national convention served as a means to fight out political programs and to bring forward individuals associated with such programs. At the hotly-contested 1860 Republican convention held at Chicago’s “Wig Wam” pavilion, for example, the party adopted a Free Soil platform and nominated Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate. Following the Civil War, the capitalist class consolidated its rule, and the reactionary side of party conventions came to predominate, affirming that the United States was, in Marx’s words, “the model country of the democratic swindle.” Corrupt horse-trading by party bosses in smoke-filled convention halls became the norm. However, conventions still remained arenas for the hashing out of party platforms, as was the case in 1896 when the Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan on a “free silver” platform at its convention in Chicago. The convention continued to serve this role through the middle of the 20th century, and at times bourgeois politicians of considerable ability were elevated through the convention system, including figures like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy. The bourgeoisie grappled with such issues as civil rights through platform fights held at conventions in 1948, 1964 and 1968. The development of more naked forms of oligarchic rule in the latter half of the 20th century meant that by the 1980s and 1990s, all politically significant decisions were reached in private. Over the last half-century, the massive growth of inequality and ever-expanding imperialist war have dovetailed with the more naked domination of both parties by private capital. Political life has become more openly criminal and violent, as expressed in the multiple assassination attempts from the 1960s through to today. This process of degeneration was accelerated by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the conventions of both parties have been transformed into nothing more than vapid, stage-managed infomercials full of meaningless patriotic bathos. This week’s gathering of Republicans in Milwaukee, however, witnessed a level of political putrefaction that is without historical parallel. Pitched to the lowest, most degraded intellectual, political and moral level, the convention was an obscene celebration of brutality, violence and cultural backwardness. To the extent that any political ideas were elaborated, they consisted of fascist appeals for the mass deportation of 15 million immigrants and mad ravings about the dangers of communism and socialism. The speakers list was a line-up of right-wing conspirators, CEOs, evangelicals, entertainers, fascist personalities and other political nobodies. Prominent slots were given to the politicians and media figures most publicly identified with the fascist coup attempt of January 6, including Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Kari Lake, Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson and Kimberly Guilfoyle. To lend a personalist character to the event, four members of Trump’s family and several of his close personal advisors gave speeches, including economic advisor Peter Navarro, who arrived at the convention straight from jail. Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance promoted the lie that the Republican Party is the party of the working man, an ahistorical absurdity to which Teamsters President Sean O’Brien lent credence during his own prime time address. The convention was a festival of the culturally retrograde. O’Brien was immediately preceded by an “entrepreneur” named Amber Rose, a reality TV star who authored a book titled How to Be a Bad Bitch and is the ex-girlfriend of Hitler admirer and rapper Kanye West. On the last night of the convention, Trump’s keynote speech was preceded by a political freak show. Fascist musician Kid Rock performed his song “American Bad Ass,” while 70-year-old wrestler Hulk Hogan screamed and shouted and tore off his shirt. The final speaker introducing Trump was Ultimate Fighting Championship promoter Dana White, whose claim to fame is having invented the “power slap” competition in which individuals sit opposite one another and attempt to slap one another’s faces as hard as possible. Such garbage has been systematically promoted for decades by the corporate media and political establishment in a deliberate effort to lower the cultural level and dull political consciousness.With this backdrop, Trump emerged to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” and delivered a 90-minute semi-literate fascist rant, a meandering series of self-congratulatory half-baked ideas rehashed from previous rally speeches. He presented the failure of last week’s assassination attempt as an act of divine intervention and attempted to claim the endorsement of the Almighty himself by claiming he was speaking to the convention “only by the grace of God.”

US Presidential Races Hide The Criminality Of The US Empire by Caitlin Johnstone --The thing I hate about western electoral politics in general and US presidential races in particular is that they take the focus off the depravity of the US-centralized empire itself, and run cover for its criminality. In the coming months you’re going to be hearing a lot of talk about the two leading presidential candidates and how very very different they are from each other, and how one is clearly much much worse than the other. But in reality the very worst things about both of them will not be their differences — the worst things about them will be be the countless ways in which they are both indistinguishably in lockstep with one another. Donald Trump is not going to end America’s non-existent “democracy” if elected and rule the United States as an iron-fisted dictator, and he’s certainly not going to be some kind of populist hero who leads a revolution against the Deep State. He will govern as your standard evil Republican president who is evil in all the usual ways US presidents are evil, just like he did during his first term. His administration will continue to fill the world with more war machinery, implement more starvation sanctions, back covert operations, uprisings and proxy conflicts, and work to subjugate the global population to the will of the empire, all while perpetuating the poisoning of the earth via ecocidal capitalism, just as all his predecessors have done.And the same will be true of whatever moronic fantasies Republicans wind up concocting about Kamala Harris between now and November. She’s not going to institute communism or give everyone welfare, implement Sharia law, weaken Israel, take everyone’s guns, subjugate Americans to the “Woke Agenda” and make everyone declare their pronouns and eat bugs, or any of that fuzzbrained nonsense. She will continue to expand US warmongering and tyranny while making the world a sicker, more violent, and more dangerous place for everyone while funneling the wealth of the people and the planet into the bank accounts of the already obscenely rich. Just as Biden has spent his entire term doing, and just as Trump did before him.The truth is that while everyone’s going to have their attention locked on the differences between Trump and Harris these next few months, by far the most significant and consequential things about each of these candidates are the ways in which they are similar. The policies and agendas either of them will roll out which will kill the most people, negatively impact the most lives and do the most damage to the ecosystem are the areas in which they are in complete agreement, not those relatively small and relatively inconsequential areas in which they differ. You can learn a lot more about the US and its globe-spanning empire by looking at the similarities between presidential administrations than you can by looking at their differences, because that’s where the overwhelming majority of the abusiveness can be found.But nobody’s going to be watching any of that normalized criminality while the drama of this fake election plays out. More and more emotional hysteria is going to get invested in the outcome of this fraudulent two-handed sock puppet popularity contest between two loyal empire lackeys who are both sworn to advance the interests of the empire no matter which one wins, and the mundane day-to-day murderousness of the empire will continue to tick on unnoticed in the background.The other day the US Navy’s highest-ranking officer just casually mentioned that the AUKUS military alliance which is geared toward roping Australia into a future US-driven military confrontation with China will remain in place no matter who wins the presidential election.“Regardless of who is in our political parties and whatever is happening in that space, it’s allies and partners that are always our priority,” said Admiral Lisa Franchetti in response to the (completely baseless) concern that Trump will withdraw from military alliances and make the US “isolationist” if elected.How could Franchetti make such a confident assertion if the behavior of the US war machine meaningfully changed from administration to administration? The answer is that she couldn’t, and it doesn’t. The official elected government of the United States may change every few years, but its real government does not. To be clear, I am not telling you not to vote here. These elections are designed to function as an emotional pacifier for the American people to let them feel like they have some control over their government, so if you feel like you want to vote then vote in whatever way pacifies your emotions. I’ve got nothing invested in convincing you either way. Whenever I talk about this stuff I get people accusing me of being defeatist and interpreting this message as a position that there’s nothing anyone can do, but that’s not true at all. I’m just saying the fake election ritual you’ve been given by the powerful and told that’s how you solve your problems is not the tool for the job. You’re as likely to solve your problems by voting as you are by wishing or by praying — but that doesn’t mean problems can’t be solved. If you thought you could cure an infection by huffing paint thinner I’d tell you that won’t work either, and tell you to go see a doctor instead. Just because the only viable candidates in any US presidential race will always be murderous empire lackeys doesn’t mean things are hopeless; that’s just what it looks like when you live in the heart of an empire that’s held together by lies, violence and tyranny, whose behavior has too much riding on it for the powerful to allow it to be left to the will of the electorate. Your vote won’t make any difference to the behavior of the empire, but what can make a difference is taking actions every day to help pave the way toward a genuine people’s uprising against the empire later on down the road. You do this by opening people’s eyes to the reality that what they’ve been taught about their government, their nation and their world is a lie, and that the mainstream sources they’ve been trained to look to for information are cleverly disguised imperial propaganda services.What we can all do as individuals right here and now is begin cultivating a habit of committing small acts of sedition. Making little paper cuts in the flesh of the beast which add up over time. You can’t stop the machine by yourself, but you can sure as hell throw sand in its gears.Giving a receptive listener some information about what’s going on in the world. Creating dissident media online. Graffiti with a powerful message. Amplifying an inconvenient voice. Sharing a disruptive idea. Supporting an unauthorized cause. Organizing toward forbidden ends. Distributing eye-opening literature. Creating eye-opening literature. Creating eye-opening art. Having authentic conversations about real things with anyone who can hear you. Every day there’s something you can do. After you start pointing your creativity at cultivating this habit, you’ll surprise yourself with the innovative ideas you come up with. Even a well-placed meme or tweet can open a bunch of eyes to a reality they’d previously been closed to. Remember: they wouldn’t be working so frantically to restrict online speech if it didn’t pose a genuine threat to the empire.Such regular small acts of sabotage do infinitely more damage to the imperial machine than voting, talking about voting or thinking about voting, which is why voting, talking about voting and thinking about voting is all you’re ever encouraged to do. The more people wake up to the fact that they’re running to nowhere on a hamster wheel built by the powerful for the benefit of the powerful, the more people there will be to step off the wheel and start pushing for real change in real ways that matter — and the more people there will be to help wake up everyone else.

Man Runs Over 80-Year-Old Planting Trump Sign In Yard, Then Kills Himself - An 80-year-old man who was placing a Trump sign in a residential yard has life-threatening injuries after being run over by a 22-year-old on an anti-Trump rampage in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The assailant later confessed to the crime via a phone call with police, only to kill himself before officers arrived to arrest him. This latest display of ugly leftist political violence took place at 5:45pm Sunday in Hancock, Michigan, a town of 4,500 located on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Police say the victim was placing Trump campaign signs in his yard when a man riding an ATV accosted him with obscenities and yanked the signs out of the ground. When the resolute octogenarian attempted to re-set the signs, the attacker drove back into the yard, and accelerated before running him over from behind and fleeing the scene.6)The victim was left in critical condition. “We’re not sure what could happen. Could he die from these injuries? Possible,” said Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman. Daily Wire reports that his injuries include a "brain bleed." On Monday, Hancock police received a message from someone saying they wanted to "confess [to] a crime involving an ATVdriver within the last 24 hours." The person provided an address and instructed police to "send someone to pick me up." When cops arrived, they found a young man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the same location, they found a four-wheeler and clothing that matched what was observed during the cruel attack. While they have yet to release the name of the dead suspect, police say the assault-via-ATV was part of a broader spree of vandalism targeting Trump signage, along with property adorned with stickers and flags supporting law enforcement. Two of the incidents involved vandalism to vehicles.Sleeman told the New York Times that the suspect used a shovel to smash the windows of a parked truck that had a Trump sticker, and performed an unspecified act of vandalism against the tires of a vehicle with a pro-cop message. In 2020, Trump won Houghton County -- where Hancock is located -- by a 56% to 42% margin. This latest savage political violence came 8 days after Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania -- while a spectator was killed and two others critically wounded. A Kamala Harris campaign spokesperson decried the Michigan incident, telling the Times that“politically motivated violence is always unacceptable and we unequivocally condemn it.”

JD Vance Has a Bunch of Weird Views on Gender - On July 29, 2021, JD Vance appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show back when he was still a Fox News host. Like Carlson, Vance had once opposed Donald Trump, and like Carlson, he had transformed into a prominent Trump supporter and a rabid participant in the culture wars. “We are effectively ruining the country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs,” he told Carlson, “by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” He went on to name Kamala Harris (and Pete Buttigieg, and AOC) as his prime examples of the childless leaders who should be excluded from positions of power. For years, Vance has played a key role in the elite echelons of the New Right, which can be described, loosely, as the intellectual wing of the Trumpified GOP (including many of the people in charge of Project 2025). This mixed-up group of intellectuals, activists, politicians and influencers is made up of a wide array of characters, who hold to a variety of belief systems and sometimes have divergent policy goals. But the one instinct that Vance and the rest of the New Right share is a deep skepticism about modern feminism and gender equality — or what the New Right calls “gender ideology.” Overt chauvinism that seeks to roll back much of feminism’s gains is one of the most obvious unifying threads of this varied movement, and Trump’s choice of Vance anoints and entrenches it into the culture-war side of the MAGA movement. Vance appears to be a decent family man — someone who supports traditional conservative values, and is even willing to buck conventional GOP norms by supporting strong pro-family policies. But a quick perusal of his thoughts on women and gender reveal some unusual opinions that lie outside the American mainstream, beyond a stray comment about cat ladies. Vance is staunchly opposed to abortion, and has suggested that it is wrong even in cases of rape and incest. He has compared the evil of abortion to that of slavery, and opposed the Ohio ballot measure ensuring the right to abortion in 2023. He also was one of only 28 members of Congress who opposed a new HIPAA rule that would limit law enforcement’s access to women’s medical records. He has promoted Viktor Orban’s pro-natalist policies in Hungary, which offer paybacks to married couples that scale up along with the number of children (a new Hungarian Constitution that banned gay marriage went into effect in 2012, so these benefits only serve “traditional” couples). Vance opposes same-sex marriage. During his 2022 Senate campaign, he suggested the sexual revolution had made divorce too easy (people nowadays “shift spouses like they change their underwear”), arguing that people in unhappy marriages, and maybe even those in violent ones, should stay together for their children. His campaign said such an insinuation was “preposterous,” but you can watch the video yourself and be the judge. Patrick Deneen, a professor at Notre Dame, captured the basic outlook on gender and feminism among this cohort in his 2018 hit Why Liberalism Failed. Deneen’s argument is that liberal modernity is based on an irreparably individualistic view of human nature, which leads to a culture that values autonomy over community and family life. “Liberalism posits that freeing women from the household is tantamount to liberation,” he wrote, “but it effectively puts women and men alike into a far more encompassing bondage,” because work outside the home is submission to the forces of market capitalism. Somewhat bizarrely, in the postliberal mind, even gay marriage — people coming together and uniting legally into family units — becomes a form of social dissolution, because it is based on individual choice rather than traditional moral forms. Vance is an admirer of Deneen’s work and was a featured speaker at the launch of his most recent book, Regime Change, at Catholic University in May 2023. Vance spoke highly of Deneen’s book, identified personally with postliberalism and the New Right, and declared himself to be “anti-elitist” and “anti-regime.” He has picked up on the populist language used by the postliberals, who speak in all-or-nothing terms like the “ruling class,” “replacing the elites,” “using Machiavellian means to Aristotelian ends,” or “searing the liberal faith with hot irons.” Vance is also friendly with the Claremont Institute, an election-denying “nerve center” for the broader New Right movement. He gave a speech at their newly opened “Center for the American Way of Life” in 2021 where, revealingly, he declared that the conservative movement should be about something simple: “I think that we should fight for the right of every American to live a good life in the country they call their own, to raise a family and dignity on a single middle-class job.” The Claremont cohort is home to, or friendly with, some of the most extreme anti-feminists and misogynists in the movement, such as Scott Yenor, a professor at Boise State and a fellow with Claremont’s Center for the American Way of Life. He courted controversy in 2021 for calling career-oriented women “more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be.” Or Jack Murphy, a stalwart of the Manosphere, who once declared that “feminists need rape,” and was a fellow with Claremont in 2021. Many of the leaders at the Institute, including Yenor and the president, Ryan Williams, are also part of a newly formed and pro-patriarchy fraternal organization, the Society for American Civic Renewal. As for Vance’s comments about miserable cat ladies, they sound like the tamer musings of far-right extremists like Costin Alamariu, whose 2018 book Bronze Age Mindset popularized the concept of “the Longhouse,” a disparaging description of a political culture dominated by women, or Stephen Wolfe, who similarly rails against a “gynocracy” society where women have outsize control in his 2023 book The Case for Christian Nationalism and believes that in the ideal state women would not have the right to vote.

Trump expected to draw heavily from Senate to fill Cabinet - Republican allies of former President Trump expect him to draw heavily from the Senate GOP conference to fill his Cabinet if he is elected to a second term in November, with Sens. Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) in contention for top-level jobs. Republicans feel confident about Trump’s chances against Vice President Harris in November and are buzzing about who could lead the departments of Treasury, Defense, State and Education if Trump wins. GOP lawmakers expect Trump, if elected, to push big reforms to overhaul the federal bureaucracy, and they believe that senators are well positioned to manage Washington’s sprawling departments and agencies to make changes and produce results. Serving in a new Trump administration could be appealing to senators who are frustrated with the lack of legislative action on Capitol Hill at a time when partisanship has ground work to a halt, making the 118th Congress one of the least productive in recent history. Republicans expect to win back control of the Senate in the November election, but some GOP senators would be eager to raise their profiles by leaving Congress to head powerful federal departments. “I think we’d have a bunch of individuals that would be very good as Cabinet members,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who highlighted colleagues who were under consideration to be Trump’s vice presidential running mate as likely choices. Braun, a Trump ally, said “talent” is needed on the “executive side” to “rein in the agencies that are all poorly managed, terribly expensive, not producing outcomes.” “Many might be gauging where does it make more sense to spend your time,” he said of Senate Republican colleagues eyeing jobs in a Trump administration. Here are some of the names considered in contention.

Trump says he never thought of Jamie Dimon to lead Treasury after saying he’d consider him --Former President Trump said Tuesday he has not discussed Jamie Dimon as a potential Treasury secretary if he is reelected, despite saying himself he would consider the JPMorgan Chase CEO for the position.“I don’t know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury,” Trump said, also ruling out the BlackRock CEO.But it was the former president who said Dimon was someone he would consider for a Cabinet post during an interview earlier this month with Bloomberg.“I have a lot of respect for Jamie Dimon,” Trump told the outlet.Asked if he might consider Dimon as a future Treasury secretary, Trump said, “He is somebody that I would consider, sure.”Dimon has been noncommittal in the past when asked about a potential government role in the future.“I want to help my country,” he said during an April event. “I want the next president, whoever it is, to put the other party [members] in their Cabinet. That is what I would like to see. I would like to see practitioners go back to the government.” Dimon has served as JPMorgan Chase’s CEO and chair since 2006.

Administration threatens to veto GOP spending bill for Treasury — The Biden Administration Monday issued a statement expressing its firm opposition to Republican-backed spending cuts for multiple financial consumer protection, oversight and enforcement agencies in the House version of the 2025 Financial Services Appropriations bill. The administration said President Biden would be willing to veto the bill — known as H.R. 8773, or, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for 2025 — if it arrived at his desk. "House Republicans are again wasting time with partisan bills that would result in deep cuts to law enforcement, education, housing, healthcare, consumer safety, energy programs that lower utility bills and combat climate change, and essential nutrition services," an administration statement noted. "The Administration stands ready to engage with both chambers of the Congress in a bipartisan appropriations process to enact responsible appropriations bills that fully fund Federal agencies in a timely manner." In a Monday release, the administration's Office of Management and Budget expressed concern that the bill proposes cutting Internal Revenue Service operating funds by $2.2 billion below its fiscal year 2024 enacted level, leaving it with what the administration called a nominal 20-year low in the agency's funding. The proposal also seeks to prohibit the IRS from developing government-run tax preparation software, which the Treasury Department had recently made permanent and has planned to expand. Another provision of the bill would reduce funding for the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or Fincen, at a time when the agency is tasked with implementing the Corporate Transparency Act, which includes establishing a database listing personal information of most business owners in the United States, a measure required by the bipartisan law. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about the agency's beneficial ownership database rollout's impact on businesses. The OMB also strongly opposed the bill's proposed $48 million cut to firms which provide financial services to underserved communities, known as Community Development Financial Institutions. The bill would also restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and subject it to annual appropriations, a perennial effort by Republicans who lave long questioned the validity of the agency's funding structure. The OMB also noted the bill would provide funding for markets' regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission that fell short of its FY 2025 Budget request level and restrict its enforcement authority.

Judge threatens to sanction Hunter Biden's attorneys --A federal judge threatened to sanction Hunter Biden’s attorneys for making “false statements” in their motion asking to dismiss his criminal charges in California.U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi issued an order Wednesday asking Hunter Biden’s attorneys to “show cause why sanctions should not be imposed for making false statements in the motion.” Scarsi wrote that Biden’s attorneys falsely claimed that U.S. Attorney David Weiss did not bring charges against the president’s son until after he was appointed special counsel.“These statements, however, are not true, and Mr. Biden’s counsel knows they are not true.” Scarsi wrote.Biden’s lawyers filed a motion last week asking the judge to dismiss his criminal charges in California, where he is scheduled to stand trial this fall on accusations of filing false tax returns and tax evasion. They also filed a motion asking a judge in Delaware to throw out his criminal charges in his federal gun case, which resulted in a conviction last month.In both motions, the attorneys cited U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s recent decision to dismiss former President Trump’s classified documents charges in Florida that ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was not lawfully appointed. Cannon said selecting him as special counsel “effectively usurps” Congress’s constitutional role in the appointment process.Biden’s team attempted to use that decision as a reason why his charges should be dismissed, writing that Weiss had years as a U.S. Attorney “to bring whatever charges he believed were merited, but he brought no charges until after he received the Special Counsel title that he sought.”

Call It Censorship: A Court Rules Against Former "Disinformation Czar" Nina Jankowicz - by Jonathan Turley -- For free speech advocates, there are few images more chilling than that of Nina Jankowicz singing her now-infamous tune as “the Mary Poppins of Disinformation.”The woman who would become known as the “Disinformation Czar” sang a cheerful TikTok parody of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” to rally people to the cause of censorship.When the press caught wind of President Biden’s plan to appoint Jankowicz as head of the Department of Homeland Security’s new “disinformation board,” Fox News said she “intended to censor Americans’ speech.”The backlash was swift. Plans for the board were suspended, and Jankowicz resigned in 2022. She then sued Fox News for defamation.On Monday, the case was dismissed. But Chief Judge Colm Connolly, a Delaware Democrat, didn’t just say it was legally unfounded — he demolished the claims of figures like Jankowicz that they are really not engaged in censorship. I was one of Jankowicz’s earliest and most vocal critics and she is discussed in my new book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” as part of the current growing anti-free speech movement in the United States. The Biden administration has coordinated with social media and targeted the revenue of conservative, libertarian and other sites. These figures gleefully worked to silence others with the support of millions in public dollars for years. Yet, when exposed to criticism, they often portrayed themselves as victims with an obliging and supportive media. They all took a page from Mary Poppins, who “taught us the most wonderful word!” In this case, the word is “disinformation” and it is certainly not connected to “censorship.” Rather you are supposed to call the barring, blacklisting and throttling of opposing views “content moderation.”Jankowicz took that not-so-noble lie to a new level. After losing her job, she launched a campaign soliciting funds to sue those who called her a censor.I was highly critical of these efforts as trying to use defamation as another tool to chill critics and shut down criticism.It was a telling lawsuit, as Jankowicz simply labeled criticism of her as “defamation” — just as she labeled opposing views “disinformation.”The objections to her work were called false and she insisted that she was really not seeking to censor people with her work.

House Republicans call on CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to testify about global outage -House Republicans are calling on the CrowdStrike CEO to testify in a congressional hearing about the global tech outage that impacted flights and businesses across the world on Friday.Reps. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sent a letter to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz on Monday requesting that he appear before the committee for a public testimony about the global outage.“Recognizing that Americans will undoubtedly feel the lasting, real-world consequences of this incident, they deserve to know in detail how this incident happened and the mitigation steps CrowdStrike is taking,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.The outage was attributed to a “defect” in a software update from CrowdStrike, which later said it was not a result of a cybersecurity attack.Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed over the weekend in the wake of the outage. Hospitals, emergency services and some government offices were also affected by the outage.Green, the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Garbarino, the chair of the subcommittee on cybersecurity and infrastructure protection, wrote that they “cannot ignore the magnitude of this incident.”“However, this incident must serve as a broader warning about the national security risks associated with network dependency. Malicious cyber actors backed by nation-states, such as China and Russia, are watching our response to this incident closely,” the lawmakers wrote.They asked CrowdStrike to schedule a hearing with the committee by Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Fallout from global IT failure continues for third day - The fallout from the biggest worldwide collapse of information systems in history, which occurred on Friday, continued into Sunday, with planes grounded, trains stopped and stores closed, among many other serious problems. Banks, hospitals and other vital operations were scrambling on Saturday and Sunday to identify and correct the impacts of the loss of an estimated 8.5 million Windows computers from a flawed security software update from CrowdStrike. Air travelers are continuing to experience chaos at airports around the world from the outage. In the UK, flight delays and cancellations at London Gatwick, Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and Belfast International Airport were reported to be continuing, with a ripple effect, throughout the weekend. While airline check-in systems are reported to be back up and running, flights “may still be subject to delays and cancellations,” according to a website statement from Manchester Airport. The airport also advised passengers to regularly check the status of their flights before they leave for the airport. Airports in the US and Asia, including in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, reported that operations resumed or were “mostly back to normal.” But flight-tracking service FlightAware listed more than 33,000 total flight delays on its website and more than 2,700 cancellations as of Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. In Saudi Arabia, Matarat Holdings, provider of aviation services in the kingdom, said operations at its airports in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Cluster 2 in the capital had “resumed effectively,” according to an unconvincing statement from the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday. In a written statement to National Public Radio in the US, Noah Brown, director of global communications at Massachusetts General Brigham, a hospital system in Boston, said the healthcare provider was back to operational on Saturday after canceling all non-urgent surgeries and other appointments on Friday because of the outage. Brown said, “Our response teams are continuing to work diligently throughout the weekend to address the many additional downstream impacts across our system from the CrowdStrike failure.” The IT security agency of the government in Germany warned that numerous companies were still struggling with the consequences of the far-reaching outage. “Many business processes and procedures have been disturbed by the breakdown of computer systems,” the BSI agency (Federal Office for Information Security) said on its website. While the agency said Saturday that many impacted areas had returned to normal, it also said that cybercriminals were seeking to exploit the situation through phishing, fake websites and other scams, and that “unofficial” software code was in circulation.

Berks County DA's Office warns residents about scam callers trying to solicit cryptocurrency - CBS Philadelphia (CBS) -- The Berks County District Attorney's Office is asking residents to stay vigilant after a phone call scam targeting residents is on the rise. The DA's Office said the scam begins with a phone call from either a random number or in many cases, a phone number spoofing a member of the Berks County Sheriff's Department, to a potential victim. The scammers, whose telephone numbers often use the names and numbers of active sheriff deputies and judges in the Berks County Court of Common Pleas, tell victims they missed jury duty or failed to comply with a court subpoena, the DA's Office said in a news release Monday. The scammers tell victims that because of this oversight, they have to rectify the situation by choosing between a new court appearance, imprisonment for up to three days, or a "civil option" where the victim is tasked with taking money to a cryptocurrency ATM, investigators said. The cryptocurrency ATMs are often used in these sorts of scams, according to the DA's Office, because the transactions are irreversible and hard to trace. The DA's Office is reminding residents that failure to comply with a court subpoena or missing jury duty will never lead the Berks County Sheriff's Office to solicit money over the phone. A similar scam was recently reported by the Northampton County Sheriff's Department. Investigators with the department claimed that someone had been calling county residents and falsely claiming to be the sergeant of Northampton County's Sheriff's Department. Aside from impersonating the sergeant, the caller then asks for the person's bank and credit card information to settle an arrest warrant issued for the resident after failing to attend jury duty. Authorities ask anyone who receives a call from a potential scammer to contact their local police department, the Sheriff's Department or the Berks County DA's Office. You can also file a complaint with the FTC online or by calling them at 202-326-2222.

Chainalysis unveils Operation Spincaster to fight $2.7bn in crypto fraud – Blockchain data firm Chainalysis in a blog post revealed Operation Spincaster, an international effort that was created to fight “approval phishing” scams, which have defrauded victims of $2.7 billion in crypto since May 2021. Approval phishing is a tactic used by criminals to steal funds through different scamming techniques including fake crypto apps and romance scams, which are also known as pig butchering. Operation Spincaster is a global extension of an operational sprint Chainalysis conducted with the Calgary Police Service, called Operation Disruption, back in March. Sergeant Danny Leong of the Calgary Police Service Blockchain Investigations Team said his organisation partnered with Chainalysis in a workshop that brought several Canadian law enforcement agencies and crypto businesses together to address crypto-related crime. They “identified more than 770 individuals, 119 which were Canadians, as victims of cryptocurrency fraud, with an estimated combined loss of $59 million,” he said, adding that the participants took swift action to notify the victims and prevent further losses. From that beginning, Operation Spincaster evolved into a series of operational sprints between April and June, designed to disrupt and prevent scams through public-private collaboration. The transparency of the blockchain along with advanced analytics provide many opportunities for investigation, asset recovery and crime prevention, Chainalysis said. Chainalysis proactively identified thousands of compromised wallets, which formed the basis of a series of operations across six countries — US, UK, Canada, Spain, Netherlands and Australia — with more than 100 attendees, including 12 public sector agencies and 17 crypto exchanges. More than 7,000 leads were disseminated, relating to about $162 million of losses. The leads were used to close accounts, seize funds and build intelligence to prevent future scams. Preventing scams requires an ecosystem-wide strategy that brings together the public, private sector, and civil society through a three-pronged approach that includes public education and user awareness, proactive transaction monitoring for exchanges, and boosting law-enforcement capabilities, the blog post said. Chainalysis said it plans to roll out Operation Spincaster in more countries over the next few months.

Crypto: Hamster Kombat, now a prime target for scammers -The meteoric rise of Hamster Kombat in the mobile gaming world has sparked both excitement and concerns. While the game has captured millions of users and generated worldwide enthusiasm, it has also drawn the attention of scammers. Players are finding themselves the target of sophisticated phishing attacks aimed at stealing their personal information and cryptocurrencies. This article explores the security challenges faced by players and offers ways to protect against these threats. Hamster Kombat, a Telegram-based game, has exploded in popularity, reaching 239 million users in just 81 days, with an impressive daily growth of 4 to 5 million new players. Unfortunately, this resounding success has opened the door to a wave of phishing attacks. According to Kaspersky, scammers are exploiting the game’s popularity by promising game coin conversions to rubles via phishing links requiring users’ Telegram credentials. Once these credentials are obtained, attackers access personal accounts, steal data, engage in blackmail, and send fraudulent messages. The popularity of Hamster Kombat crypto (HMSTR), recently listed on Bybit for pre-market trading, has only intensified fraud attempts. Cybercriminals create fake websites and fictitious airdrops to steal users’ crypto wallet information. Promises of free crypto lure users into traps where they unknowingly provide access to their funds. Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, emphasizes: “The game’s meteoric growth has unfortunately attracted both players and fraudsters.” The Dangers of Airdrops and Fraudulent Crypto Sites Crypto scams continue to pose major challenges to the industry. Fake Hamster Kombat airdrops are a common way for scammers to steal players’ crypto wallet information. Kaspersky has revealed that these fake airdrops exploit the appeal of free cryptocurrencies, leading users to fraudulent links. Furthermore, scammers create websites claiming to sell Hamster cryptos at a discount, deceiving users into providing sensitive information.

‘Crypto King’ Allegedly Behind $30,000,000 Fraud Likely To Remain Bankrupt Until Resolution of Criminal Charges: Report - A Canadian judge has reportedly dismissed an application to discharge the alleged crypto fraudster Aiden Pleterski from bankruptcy until criminal proceedings against the suspect are completed.According to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Ontario Superior Court Justice William Black argues that it was in the interest of “public protection and accountability” to dismiss Pleterski’s application for discharge from bankruptcy.“Refusing a discharge absolutely at this stage, pending the result of the criminal prosecution, would allow this court to take into account, in fashioning an appropriate remedy at that point, the outcome of the criminal proceedings.”A discharge from bankruptcy is an official court order releasing an entity from liability for certain types of debt.Pleterski, who styles himself as the “Crypto King,” allegedlymasterminded a digital asset Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than $30 million from investors. Pleterski was arrested in May on fraud and money-laundering charges after an 18-month-long investigation.Initial complaints were filed with the police in Durham, Ontario in July of 2022. Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) subsequently launched a joint investigation reportedly dubbed Project Swan.Pleterski and his businesses were placed into bankruptcy in 2022 and accounting firm Grant Thornton was named trustee.In his ruling dismissing Pleterski’s application for discharge from bankruptcy, the judge says that he expected the alleged crypto fraudster to “cooperate fully with the Trustee going forward, and to make full disclosure of all relevant facts.”Leanne Williams, a lawyer for the trustee, had earlier complained that Pleterski had refused to cooperate in the bankruptcy proceedings.“Mr. Pleterski should be embarrassed and ashamed of his conduct, but he clearly is not, and this is precisely the reason he should not be granted a discharge. He has lied about his assets; he has lied about his income.”

Westport Man Pleads Guilty In $4.5 Million Cryptocurrency Scam: Feds — A 31-year-old Westport man pleaded guilty last week to a fraud offense stemming from his theft of more than $4.5 million from his unnamed former employer, announced United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and FBI Special Agent Robert Fuller.Dylan Meissner pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud, which carries a possible maximum prison term of 20 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea on Oct. 11.According to court documents and statements, Meissner was employed at a cryptocurrency research firm as Vice President of Finance, and as such, he had access to the firm’s cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts. In approximately January 2022, Meissner obtained a 50 Ethereum (approximately $170,000) loan from his employer, stating that he would use the funds in an attempt to avoid a substantial loss in certain cryptocurrency investments he had made using his personal funds."Then, from February 2022 until his termination in November 2022, in continued attempts to counteract significant personal trading losses, Meissner fraudulently diverted his employer’s funds to his own use and covered up his conduct through false entries in the firm’s books and records," Roberts and Fuller said in a statement.Through the scheme during those months, Meissner stole approximately $4,461,828 from his employer, according to authorities.In addition to a possible prison term, Meissner also faces a restitution order of $4,633,424.99, which includes the money he stole from his employer and the loan he failed to repay.Meissner is currently free on a bond of $100,000, pending sentencing.

Forcount crypto scheme promoters plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy -- Two individuals indicted for their involvement in the Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme have pleaded guilty to charges in a New York courtroom.In a July 22 hearing at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Antonia Perez Hernandez and Nestor Nunez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to the Forcount scheme. Hernandez, Nunez and others allegedly pilfered $8.4 million from mostly Spanish-speaking investors between 2017 and 2021 by promoting crypto trading and mining on Forcount, promising significant returns.Of the five defendants in the case charged in 2022, Juan Tacuri has also pleaded guilty. He was one of the promoters who traveled across the US to host presentations in which he convinced investors to sign up for Forcount. As part of a deal with prosecutors announced in June, he agreed to forfeit roughly $4 million and properties purchased with victims’ funds.Judge Analisa Torres is expected to sentence Tacuri on Sept. 24. At the time of publication, no sentencing hearing appeared on the docket for Nunez or Hernandez. The remaining defendants, Francisley Da Silva and Ramon Perez, did not seem to have entered a guilty plea at the time of publication and were awaiting trial.The Forcount guilty plea was the latest movement in a series of criminal cases brought by US authorities against individuals involved with crypto firms. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is serving 25 years in prison after a 2023 conviction for fraud associated with the misuse of customer funds at the crypto exchange. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao will likely be in prison until October following a guilty plea and four-month sentence for violating US money laundering laws.

Interpol targets Hong Kong crypto promoter with red notice over $384k fraud -- Interpol has issued a red notice seeking the arrest of a Hong Kong crypto promoter over an alleged $384,000 crypto fraud.Interpol has issued a red notice for Wong Ching-kit, a Hong Kong crypto promoter known as the “Coin Young Master,” who is wanted for fraud and two counts of theft linked to a HK$3 million (around $384,000) deception case.While Interpol hasn’t detailed the reasons for the red notice, a source familiar with the mattertold the South China Morning Post that Wong is connected to several ongoing investigations by Hong Kong’s commercial crime bureau, including the significant crypto fraud.Wong has long been known in the local crypto community, at least since early 2019, when he was accused of defrauding investors through a crypto mining hardware scheme associated with a token called “Filecoin.” It’s unclear whether that project is somehow related to the legitimate Filecoin network founded by Juan Benet. As of press time, Wong’s whereabouts remain unknown.Interpol’s red notice is a global alert for law enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally arrest individuals pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. This notice includes identifying and judicial information about the person, assisting authorities in their efforts to apprehend fugitives.In September 2022, Interpol also issued a red notice for Do Kwon, the South Korean co-founder of Terraform Labs. Kwon was arrested in March 2023 at Podgorica airport while attempting to travel to Dubai with a fake passport.

Rotterdam police help intercept global crypto investing scam - Police in Rotterdam have helped intercept a so-called “pig butchering” scam, in which fraudsters target victims through dating or social media websites before draining their savings.The international collaboration, known as Operation Spincaster, identified 186 victims in the Netherlands as well as targets in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Spain.Law enforcement agencies worked with Chainanalysis, a blockchain data platform, and 17 cryptocurrency exchanges to gather evidence, close accounts, seize assets and identify more than $162 million (€149 million) obtained by fraudsters.In one case a Dutch “investor” was stopped just as he was about to lose €65,000 from his crypto account, the Telegraaf reported.“Pig butchering” scams, also known as approval phishing, work by encouraging victims to authorise the transfer of large sums of money, supposedly to invest in cryptocurrency.The technique originated in China and went worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic, according to online investigative website Propublica, with criminal gangs employing human trafficking victims in boiler rooms to operate the scam. Fraudsters make contact with their targets on social media or dating sites and build up a relationship of trust, sometimes over months, before offering to let them into a investing scheme.They start by inviting the victim to transfer a small amount, such as €500, into a cryptocurrency account, then repaying a larger sum to “demonstrate” the potential gains.But when making the initial transfer the victim is asked to sign an “approval document” authorising the transfer of funds from their crypto account, allowing the fraudster to make off with their savings.“If a victim then puts the rest of their savings into the crypto account, the approval document can be very damaging,” Jesse Brobbel of Rotterdam police told NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “They will have a hard time seeing that money ever again.”

Block to refocus Cash App; stablecoin pay expands -Block's peer-to-peer Cash App will no longer operate in the U.K. as of September 15, ending six years of service. Block attributed the move to a broader strategy that emphasizes growth in its home market of the U.S. over global expansion. In the P2P market, Block faces pressure from U.S.-based firms PayPal, PayPal's Venmo and the bank-supported Zelle, along with local services in Europe and other regions. The move isn't expected to impact Block's other functions in the U.K. or Europe. Block referred questions to the company's media statement. While Block's core business is enabling payments and extending credit for small businesses, Cash App in recent years has become a connective tissue for Block, supporting the merchant and consumer sides of the payment company. Cash also serves as a funding source for products such as Block's crypto trading and is marketed within Afterpay, Block's buy now/pay later unit.Since retaking the CEO job at Block in 2023, Jack Dorsey has been cutting costs, a strategy that includes choosing parts of the business to discontinue or deemphasize while enhancing products with a greater earning potential. While Block scales back its global ambitions, it is doubling down on the U.S. The company is adding financial tools to Cash in the U.S. in an effort to make Cash operate more like a bank, with Block focusing on U.S. consumers earning up to $150,000 in yearly income. It's also positioning Cash as a merchant banker for its small businesses, with Dorsey recently telling analysts Block, which retains its original Square brand for its merchant services group, will make Cash the primary account for its business clients. Like most payment technology companies, Block struggled in 2022 and 2023 due to the impacts of a correction that followed rapid growth during the pandemic. Block reported improvements in profitability during its most recent earnings report, largely due to cost-cutting and downsizing. The company reports second-quarter earnings on August 1. ZA Bank has launched reserve banking services for stablecoin issuers, attempting to attract clients in digital assets, cryptocurrency payments and blockchain in and outside of Hong Kong. The digital-only bank recently launched a sandbox, or technology testing venue, for stablecoin issuers. The initial users include stablecoin issuer RD Innotech, with a pipeline of about a dozen other issuers. "By providing a secure and reliable banking infrastructure with greater security for users, we aim to build greater trust and confidence in the stablecoin market," said Ronald Iu, CEO of ZA Bank, in a release. The bank's move comes as stablecoin issuers try to expand use beyond early adopters and investors in an attempt to support payments and other financial services. PayPal, for example, is assembling a roster of partners includingblockchain company BVNK to scale PayPal's own stablecoin.

Kamala Harris' digital dollar Vision: A new era of financial inclusion? -- It's likely that very few people have heard of the U.S. Digital Service. But Kamala Harris' push to expand the agency suggests that a potential Harris presidency could lay the groundwork for a central bank digital currency. In 2020, then-Senator Harris proposed an unsuccessful 400% increase in funding for the USDS, an agency that still has fewer than 200 people. Harris said the USDS could play a role in improving government disbursements for disaster relief and other purposes such as pandemic stimulus payments. "One of the issues that is up for discussion with digital money is: It could give the Federal Reserve more power," said David Bieri, an associate professor of urban affairs at Virginia Tech University. "The link that Harris may make is to emphasize the inclusion concept. If the Fed were to have a digital dollar it could benefit marginalized segments." While the Obama Administration created the USDS to improve the technology that underpinned the Affordable Care Act, the USDS' work provided early technology that can power a digital dollar, which remains in limbo in the U.S. as CBDC projects advance in dozens of other countries.CBDCs are designed to streamline payments that involve a central bank, with the goal of expanding access to financial services or speeding payment processing. CBDCs can also serve as an alternative to private digital assets, such as stablecoins or other forms of cryptocurrency. In the U.S., CBDCs have faced controversy over the economic impact on banks, uncertainty over use cases, and a lack of clarity over the political path required to approve a digital dollar. "The argument from the conservative point of view is that digital currencies could disintermediate the banking industry," Bieri said. "It would give the Federal Reserve more control." The battle over a CBDC in the U.S. will play out against the backdrop of the 2024 election, which will include clashing philosophies over the role of government in regulating and enabling financial services. Harris is the likely Democratic nominee following Joe Biden's announcement that he would not seek a second term. Donald Trump has likened CBDCs to "government tyranny." Other conservatives such as Florida Governor Ron Desantis have expressed opposition to CBDCs, and some banks are concerned that a digital dollar could cause consumers to withdraw funds from bank accounts.President Biden has pushed for work on a CBDC as part of a broader government effort to build policies for digital assets, but has not taken a strong stand on the issue.Harris could use the power of the presidency to advocate publicly for a CBDC and lobby members of Congress and regulators for approval. Pushing for a digital dollar could also be a way for Harris to forge a distinct path from Biden on financial services issues. If Harris becomes president in January, there are reasons to think the U.S. will issue a CBDC soon, according to Robert Hockett, a law professor at Cornell University. Harris' push to increase the funding of the USDS puts her on record as supporting an initiative that could lead to a digital dollar. Hockett, who worked on a pandemic-era digital currency project tied to the USDC, said the USDC is capable of converting TreasuryDirect accounts into a system of peer-to-peer digital wallets. "Such a system could serve as a public option for digital banking and payments for all Americans, eliminating the problems of inefficient clearing and the plight of the unbanked in a single stroke," Hockett said. "Since the Treasury would have to coordinate any such system with Fed monetary operations, a digital Treasury dollar would amount to a CBDC."

Lawmakers say banks aren't doing enough for Zelle fraud victims — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said banks should fully reimburse victims of fraud on Zelle, theculmination of a monthslong investigation into the payment app.Senate Democrats, in a report led by Blumenthal and in an accompanying hearing late Tuesday afternoon, argued that banks who own and operate peer-to-peer payment network Zelle should do more to help fraud and scam victims."While this problem affects all peer-to-peer apps, nowhere is it more problematic than on Zelle, which is the largest of them," Blumenthal said. "Sending a payment on Zelle is fast, easy and irreversible. Zelle and the big banks who own it know that its speed and convenience makes it a target, and they're well aware that every day some of their customers will be hurt."Representatives of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America — the three largest banks that share ownership of Zelle's parent company Early Warning Services, suggested that lawmakers should also focus on the criminals who are defrauding customers. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act, a decades-old law, requires that banks and other payment providers investigate and reimburse unauthorized funds transfers. But Blumenthal and other Democrats on the committee said some of the most rampant fraud problems with Zelle involve authorized fund transfers where victims are tricked into sending money to scammers who might pose as a bank employee or use an AI-generated voice scheme. Blumenthal asked whether the bankers believe that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act should be updated to also include authorized fund transfers — rather than unauthorized ones that might include something like a computer hack — and if banks should be required to reimburse scammed customers. The bank representatives warned that doing so could cause "unintended consequences," including a rise in claims of scams that are not valid.

Regulators issue joint warning on bank-fintech risks — Federal banking regulators issued a joint warning Thursday on — and a request for information about — the potential risks of bank-fintech partnerships. The joint statement — issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — warned banks of risks associated with relying on third parties, particularly for deposit-related services. "A bank's use of third parties to perform certain activities does not diminish its responsibility to comply with all applicable laws and regulations," the statement notes. The joint statement notes that banks sometimes "rely on one or multiple third parties to maintain the deposit and transaction system of record," "process payments," "perform regulatory compliance functions," "perform customer service," and more. The regulators suggested that banks thoroughly vet third-party partners for reliability and establish clear contracts that lay out the roles and responsibilities of each party. They also suggested that banks conduct ongoing monitoring of the management information systems used by third parties and have contingency plans handy in case of operational disruptions. While the statement provides a roadmap for how banks could manage risks, it does not alter existing regulations or supervisory expectations. The statement noted that relying on third parties to manage crucial operations — including deposits — can generally weaken banks' oversight over such functions and hinder their ability to monitor risk. Fragmented record-keeping across third parties could muddy banks' understanding of outstanding obligations and delay depositors' access to funds. The agencies also highlighted concerns about outsourcing compliance functions and the risk of noncompliance with consumer-protection obligations. In addition, the statement cited the potential that unclear third-party relationships could mislead consumers about the extent to which their funds are covered by FDIC deposit insurance, which generally does not apply to nonbanks. "Some nonbank third parties could be reasonably mistaken for an insured depository institution by end users, particularly when they refer to FDIC deposit insurance in marketing and other public-facing materials," the statement noted. "End users may not be aware that access to their funds may depend on the third party and that deposit insurance does not protect against losses resulting from the failure of the third party."Regulators have been working to better understand bank-fintech partnerships particularly in the wake of middleware provider Synapse Financial's bankruptcy in April. That situation left tens of millions of dollars in consumer deposits frozen. It has also led to more regulatory scrutiny of banks in similar partnerships. The Federal Reserve in June issued a cease-and-desist order against Synapse partner Evolve Bank related to gaps in its anti-money-laundering, risk management and consumer protection programs.Just weeks ago, FDIC board members Jonathan McKernan and Rohit Chopra, who is also director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, suggested that regulators consider issuing more specific third-party risk guidance.

Powell ‘solely responsible’ for delays on banker compensation reform: Warren -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is growing increasingly aggravated with regulatory delays at the Federal Reserve and is calling on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to step on the gas. Warren’s latest point of frustration is the banker compensation section of the Dodd-Frank reforms, which were enacted in 2010 after Congress bailed out the financial sector and demanded that Wall Street take fewer risks. Fourteen years later, the Section 956 regulations that would block bankers from getting bonuses as a result of placing high risk bets with company assets are still not in place and Warren is putting the blame squarely on Powell’s shoulders. “You appear to be solely responsible for blocking Section 956’s implementation,” Warren wrote to Powell in a letter dated July 24. “Your ongoing blindness to the legal requirement … reveals a disdain for the law and the American public,” she wrote. In a comment to The Hill, Warren said that Powell’s delays prioritize “his CEO friends” over regular Americans. “With each day that passes, Chair Powell is choosing to make his CEO friends richer rather than protecting American families,” she said. A representative for the Fed told The Hill it had received Warren’s letter and plans to respond. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank last year, which nearly caused the sector to collapse before the government stepped in with a taxpayer-backed line of credit for the banking industry, were exacerbated by the banks’ payment structures, Warren observed. “The CEOs of SVB, Signature, and First Republic siphoned as much as they could from the businesses,” Warren said. “All three took big risks to juice their banks’ short-term stock value — and then offloaded their inflated shares in the final hours before their banks collapsed.” Last year, the Fed found “major weaknesses” in SVB payment plans in their post collapse review, in which central bankers acknowledged a “shift in culture” that allowed them to miss the standard interest rate exposure that ultimately tanked SVB. “The exam team identified major weaknesses in [SVB’s] incentive compensation program and board oversight of the program that had not been uncovered in [a previous] exam, and this resulted in the issuance of [a Matter Requiring Immediate Attention memorandum] on board effectiveness,” Fed supervision boss Michael Barr said last year. This isn’t the only time in recent weeks that Sen. Warren has called the Fed out for other extensive delays related to the 2008 financial crisis. In June, she tapped her watch on the so-called Basel III endgame, a series of international reforms that would require banks to hold more capital and cash on hand, effectively making them less profitable as businesses but also sturdier in the event of a wider collapse. “You should do your job and allow the Board to convene for a vote on a 16% capital increase by June 30th, as global regulators determined was necessary to prevent another financial crisis,” Warren wrote in a June letter to Powell. Those reforms were also first published in 2010, the same years that Dodd-Frank was enacted, but have languished in regulatory purgatory. “Progress in implementing the G20 financial regulatory reforms continues but remains uneven,” the Swiss Financial Stability Board concluded in its latest annual report.

Watchdog tells Fed to step up analysis on regulatory proposals --The government's top internal watchdog wants the Federal Reserve to step up its regulatory analysis practices. In a report released late last week, the Government Accountability Office noted that the Fed has not updated its analytics protocol in 30 years and falls short of what are generally considered best practices. In particular, it flagged disclosure shortcomings related to stress testing reforms enacted by the central bank since 2017. The GAO also noted that both the Fed and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency could improve their retrospective reviews of regulatory changes. The Bank Policy Institute, a trade group representing the nation's largest banks, echoed the report's findings, noting that regulators could stand to improve their data analytics practices. "Not only are transparency and cost-benefit analysis of rules essential to prevent government agencies from needlessly harming the economy, they are also required by law," BPI said in a written statement. "As we have emphasized in our comments on the Basel endgame proposal, the inadequate analysis underpinning regulators' proposed capital increases is a failure of both law and policy." For the report, investigators combed through 22 capital and liquidity reforms implemented by Washington's top bank oversight agencies — the Fed, OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — between 2012 and 2022. They also interviewed agency officials, bank leaders, industry groups and public advocacy organizations. While the FDIC and OCC have revised their policies around data disclosures in recent years, aligning themselves with "leading practices," the Fed has not changed its formal approach since 1994, the report notes. The top concern raised is the Fed's track record on sharing the data underlying its rule changes and the methodology behind them. In three of the 21 Fed-involved regulatory processes examined, the GAO said the agency issued "little or no documentation of its analyses." In the other 18 rules, the documentation "did not consistently discuss methods and data used and how conclusions were reached." The GAO notes that practices at all three regulatory agencies began to improve in 2019. They began including a dedicated impact analysis section to their rule proposals — a change implemented in response to public calls for more transparency. "Nearly all the notices we reviewed for rules issued after October 2019 had a dedicated impact analysis section," the GAO report states. "These sections often discussed potential overall effects of the changes to capital and liquidity requirements on subject banking organizations, with notices also separately addressing comments from associated proposed rules."

FDIC's Hill pushed Basel reproposal, expanded brokered deposits — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chair Travis Hill Wednesday joined a chorus of banking industry allies calling for the three major federal banking agencies to repropose the Basel III endgame capital standards and solicit further feedback on changes they've since made to the draft.In the remarks at the American Enterprise Institute Wednesday afternoon, Hill stressed that any such reproposal must be advanced jointly by all three agencies and allow for an additional comment period when the industry and other interested parties may weigh in. "For just one agency to repropose — but with an expectation that a future final rule will be issued jointly by the three agencies — would be unprecedented, sow confusion and lead to a number of practical and legal questions," Hill said. "For example, under such a scenario, if the final rule were challenged, and a court determined the final rule lacked logical outgrowth from the original proposal, would the court strike down the FDIC and OCC rules but uphold the Federal Reserve rule?"As FDIC board member, Hill voted against issuing the proposal, which would have drastic implications — for the way regulators calculate banks' capital requirements and the amount of nonborrowed money they must put up alongside borrowed assets to fund their lending activities.Hill's call comes after similar calls from various other top bank regulators, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said last week that reproposal is "essential." Hill and other industry allies argue the broad materiality of likely changes to the rule warrant a full reproposal.Fellow Republican member of the FDIC board Jonathan McKernan called generally for a reproposal, but has not specified what portion he wants reproposed.

BankThink: Don't fall for the false promises of federal preemption | American Banker-The U.S. financial services system is the envy of the world, and the dual banking system is the beating heart of a $27 trillion economy. The dual banking system is a uniquely American construct that provides the stability of a strong national framework while allowing states to provide for the well-being of their citizens and local communities.Despite the demonstrated success of the dual banking system, there are periodic calls — often in times of stress or challenge — for the federal government to take over more and more of the financial system. These proposals would inject a federal, one-size-fits-all approach to regulation and supervision over an even greater share of the financial services market, eliminating or greatly constraining the vital role that states play in their local economies. Do not let the siren song of federal uniformity lure you to the death of financial innovation.State supervisors charter and are the primary regulator for 79% of the nation's banks. The states also license, regulate and supervise many consumer-facing nonbank institutions, like mortgage lenders, money services businesses and consumer finance companies. The nonbank component of our financial services sector is indeed growing. Last year alone, state-licensed mortgage companies originated $925 billion and serviced $6.6 trillion in loans, while money services businesses handled $5.5 trillion in payments for U.S. consumers. Anticipating this market growth, states increased their coordination of nonbank supervision and enforcement, including the development of model laws to set prudential standards for mortgage servicing and money transmission.New and innovative financial products and services are being developed every day in the dual banking system. Technology is allowing financial services to reach new customers, including consumers that have been overlooked historically by traditional finance. Banks and nonbanks are also partnering to increase access and choice for consumers. Many of these innovations are possible because individual states have allowed financial firms to take measured risks — while insisting on consumer protection and safety and soundness. Policy variations among the states often allow technologies and financial products to mature. The regulatory and supervisory framework provided by the states enabled many of the innovations consumers rely on daily — such as checking accounts, ATMs and peer-to-peer payment services.The growth of technology and the expansion of financial services beyond traditional institutions has created a more competitive and inclusive system, but it also comes with added complexity. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu correctly noted this complexity last week in his remarks at the Exchequer Club. But preemption and increased federalization are not the answers.Federal regulators already have significant authority to regulate and supervise in this environment — including deposit insurance misrepresentation rules and enforcement powers held by the FDIC, federal supervision of banks and third-party service providers and CFPB efforts related to a growing list of activities and institutions. Federal guidance and enforcement actions have not resolved risks associated with this growing complexity or provided our nation's banks and their partners with a meaningful, operational path to innovate.Federal preemption of state financial and consumer protection laws should be the exception, not the rule. Instead of overreaching for more exclusive authority, I encourage our federal agency partners to work together with the states to cooperatively manage risk in the sector. This partnership could start with better information sharing and coordination on third-party supervision, but it need not stop there. Additional engagement and coordination on safety and soundness risks, consumer protection and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering could strengthen the resilience of the system and improve the allocation of limited federal and state supervisory resources, while providing additional regulatory clarity to the industry.The U.S. financial services sector must continue to innovate. Finger-pointing and federal regulatory overreach will not resolve the complex challenges facing this ecosystem. Working together, the states and our federal partners can steer clear of the siren song and manage the risk of this forward progress — protecting consumers and promoting competition in the process.

BankThink: How a Harris administration could be different for banks | American Banker - The biggest story in the world is happening right now, but it isn't immediately clear what it means for banks.This election is not about banking, because very few elections — with the exceptions of maybe 1930 and 2008 — ever are. In fact, with the possible exceptions of economics, health care and foreign policy, most policy arenas are afterthoughts on the national political stage — those smaller decisions like how much subsidy to offer soybean farmers or how much margin to require on cleared derivatives fall to agencies, and the distinctions in vision tend to be between Democratic and Republican administrations rather than between individual appointees. Put another way, banks can usually tell the difference between Democratic and Republican administrations, but not between one Democratic or Republican administration and another of the same stripe.But at this moment, we have something that could actually be quite different. Vice President Kamala Harris stands poised to be the Democratic nominee at the party's convention next month, and will take the stage with a relatively clean slate. She has been active in the Biden administration, to be sure, but we know relatively little about what her policy preferences are or what her individual contributions may have been. She is free to either champion or disavow Biden's policies as she sees fit — and will likely be compelled to do so in the coming months — but aside from her time as California attorney general and senator, she's relatively unencumbered by her record or Biden's. She can paint the picture for voters that she wants to paint, and in doing so tell voters what she thinks they want to hear.There are a couple of things that, if I were Harris, I would think people would want to hear. One is that there is a structural shortage of housing in the United States, and that problem is at the root of issues like homelessness, declining household formation and racial wealth disparities. Developing some kind of a plausible strategy to make housing stability and/or homeownership viable for more Americans — particularly younger Americans who are most locked out of the housing market — should be a top priority for the now-Harris campaign.Another priority would be getting serious about mitigating the risks posed to consumers and the financial system by nonbank financial companies. Banks are regulated and supervised because if they aren't they can damage not only themselves but their customers and the broader economy. The same is true of many nonbanks, but their regulation is decidedly less stringent or consistent for the simple reason that they are not called banks. The Financial Stability Oversight Council has made some inroads in this arena in recent years, but the thrust of those initiatives have been more procedural and fact-finding in nature than they could be. With the recent demise of fintech middleware provider Synapse, leaving thousands of customers' savings in limbo, now is the time to put nonbanks on notice.Finally, I would pick my financial regulatory battles more carefully. The Basel III endgame proposal that came out almost exactly a year ago and that is almost certain to be re-proposed with drastic changes was a triumphant waste of time for all concerned. Some other initiatives, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule, could probably have been calibrated to meet the stated policy goal without so much friction with the banking industry. Not every battle is worth fighting, and Harris is in a unique position to reset the agenda in a more productive way.

Dueling economic visions come into focus in 2024 campaign — As the political world settles from a week that's turned the 2024 presidential election on its head, economic visions from both parties have started to come into focus. After President Joe Biden said he would no longer seek a second term Sunday, Democratic party heavyweights began to close ranks around Vice President Kamala Harris as the new pick atop of the Democratic ticket, making her the standard-bearer for the party's vision for the economy. Harris could still lose the nomination in an open convention, but she appears to have fended off most serious challengers by Monday evening and donations have poured into her campaign. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, meanwhile, now must frame their own narrative about the economy in a way that is designed to defeat Harris rather than Biden. Trump's selection of Vance as his vice presidential pick was widely seen as the campaign leaning into a populist economic message, and could represent a change of direction for the Republican party's economic vision. Vance expanded on that message Monday in his first solo appearance as Trump's running mate in a speech in his old high school gymnasium in Middletown, Ohio."We're going to fight for every single worker in this country," he said. "If you work hard and play by the rules, you ought to be able to put a good dinner on the table and send your kids to whatever vacation and whatever school you want. To work hard and play by the rules, you get a good life. It's that simple."The Trump-Vance campaign message also took a more sharply nationalist tone during the Republican National Convention last week, and since."We are done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street," Vance said at his speech at the Republican National Convention last week. "We're done importing foreign labor, we are going to fight for American citizens and their good jobs and their good wages." Brian Gardner, chief Washington strategist for Stifel, said that the long-term implications of this growing strain of populist thought among Republicans poses a problem for the banking industry — or, more specifically, for larger banks. "I think community banks will be fine, the populists will actually lean into community banks even more than we've seen before," he said. "I think it's a big problem for the Wall Street banks, where not only are some of the populists not aligned with the largest banks, there's some open hostility." To be sure, Gardner said that's likely more of a signal as to where the Republican party heads after Trump rather than an indication of where a potential Trump 2.0 administration would land on issues important to the financial industry, such as tax policy. By contrast, Harris' ascent represents less of a departure from the policies and ethos of her party when it comes to economic issues. She has, for the last three and a half years, focused on promoting the Biden administration's priorities, which have included lending her stature to elevate some issues at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, like a measure to exclude medical debt from credit reports. Overall, Harris is expected to promote Democrats' "new economic thinking," said Suzanne Kahn, vice president of Roosevelt Forward, the advocacy arm of the Roosevelt Institute. That includes issues like unequal economic opportunity among various groups and public options for things like child care and health care.

Surge in counterfeit checks prompts outcry from small community banks --Mark Harrell, the president and CEO of CNB Bank in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was so alarmed by the number of counterfeit checks the bank had received in the past year that he felt compelled to show the fake checks to the bank's board. CNB's in-house fraud experts lined up the counterfeit checks — fakes that the bank had taken losses on — with real checks, side-by-side. "We presented the checks to the board and said, 'Here's a good one, here's a bad one,' to share with them what we're up against," said Harrell, of the nine-branch, $622 million-asset bank. "It certainly served as an education for the board to see that." Bank CEOs and chief risk officers have been sounding the alarm for several years about rising check fraud and specifically a big jump in counterfeit checks. Losses from check fraud are approaching debit card levels, according to the Federal Reserve's annual risk officer survey. Check fraud has nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023. Banks filed roughly 680,000 suspicious activity reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last year. Fraud expert Frank McKenna, co-founder of Point Predictive, a San Diego technology firm, said there are inherent problems in the check ecosystem. He traced the evolution of check fraud to the pandemic when billions in stimulus payments were stolen from the government and to the U.S. Postal Service which has struggled to combat mail thefts. The pandemic also created a cultural shift among criminals, he said. "Millions of new fraudsters were radicalized," McKenna said. "When the stimulus funds dried up, there was a whole ecosystem waiting for the next big payoff, and they turned to check fraud."Community banks have asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve to issue joint supervisory guidance and more rigorously examine and enforce compliance with know-your-customer rules. "The reason check fraud is rampant is because banks are not doing a good enough job of knowing their customers," said Frances Waugh, vice president and operations officer at CNB Bank. "This is a big, big topic right now and big banks need to be getting to know their customers, and also processing things quicker for us smaller community banks."

BankThink: The CFPB's earned wage access rule is misguided and disappointing | American Banker -- As the CEO of the trade association representing the largest earned wage access providers across the United States, my team and I at the American Fintech Council have worked to promote and advocate for industry best practices and consumer protection. We are deeply disappointed with the proposed interpretive rule released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to EWA that reverses its previous guidance and is contrary to the established language and interpretation of the Truth in Lending Act.Millions of families across the country rely on this product and responsible industry participants have followed CFPB guidance for years. The proposed interpretive rule creates uncertainty, limits competition, harms consumer access and will actually serve to help payday and predatory lenders. Simply put, EWA is not a loan or an "advance" and should not be regulated as such. EWA is a safe, reliable alternative to payday and predatory loans and gives consumers the ability to access the money they have already earned on their own terms, often at no charge. EWA services allow consumers access to wages for the work they have already completed as opposed to waiting for the end of an arbitrary pay period. Most importantly, EWA does not charge interest or late fees, does not conduct collection activity of any kind and all AFC EWA member companies offer a no-cost option that ensures employees can use their services without ever paying a cent to access their wages.Square pegs do not belong in round holes. The interpretation offered by the bureau ignores the fundamental properties of EWA and misclassifies the product in favor of expediency that will only serve to confuse borrowers and further promulgate a patchwork of state regulation. AFC also supports the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act at the federal level, which would implement a pragmatic, consumer-protected approach to regulating the EWA industry, namely through the establishment of clear definitions.Additionally, annual percentage rates, or APRs, are best suited for consumers to compare a monthly interest payment that is paid over the course of several months, if not years. An APR construct for a one-time, flat fee for faster or instant funds delivery is ill-suited for consumers to use to compare out-of-pocket costs on financial products and strategies. Since EWA products are not credit, the EWA industry conducts no underwriting and does not base its low transaction fees or access to wages on creditworthiness. These rates therefore do not represent the actual cost and potential savings available to EWA users.In actuality, a study on EWA by the Financial Health Network in December 2023 found that most consumers have a positive experience with EWA. The report further noted that families plan to continue using the service and it increases their ability to pay bills on time. Many users took advantage of EWA for the first time to cover an emergency expense. Responsible EWA products provide a consumer with the ability to access their earned wages, rather than taking out a payday loan, incurring overdraft and late fees or taking on high-cost debt. Nearly all participants in the study did not view EWA as a loan. Instead, they saw it as a way to access the wages they had already earned, a fundamentally different concept from borrowing against future earnings. The participants also preferred EWA over other short-term liquidity options, with one user even stating that EWA allowed them to access the liquidity they needed while preserving their dignity. Expanding access to liquidity options is critical for workers who must deal with expenses or pay for an emergency that can't wait until the next paycheck.We are equally disheartened that the CFPB proposed an informal, nonbinding, interpretive rule as opposed to a formal rulemaking. While agency opinions are helpful for understanding supervisory expectations at the time of issuance, they do not carry the same effect as formal rulemaking and often leave market participants without the clarity and long-term regulatory expectations they need to safely serve their consumers.Given the lack of formal, federal regulation in the EWA sector, it is imprudent for the CFPB to pursue a nonbinding, interpretive rule in lieu of a full legislative rulemaking. In practice, this interpretive rule will have the effect of a legislative rule, while not being subject to the proper procedures under the Administrative Procedures Act. In short, the use of an interpretive rule in this situation is simply not good governance and represents a hurried approach by the CFPB which is ill-suited to EWA providers and the consumers they serve.We stand in strong opposition to the newly proposed interpretive rule and urge the bureau to rescind it in favor of an inclusive and collaborative process that serves consumers and the responsible fintech companies serving them. The American Fintech Council remains committed to finding a productive avenue for responsible earned wage access providers to operate and for consumers to access this critically important financial tool.

Housing: The issue everyone is thinking about but not talking about - For the first time in a generation, housing could play a significant role in a presidential election, but the leading candidates have yet to stake out clear positions on the issue.Housing affordability registered as the fourth most important issue for voters in a University of Michigan-Financial Times poll conducted in the spring, putting it ahead of traditional linchpin topics such as tax policy or unemployment.While housing affordability and supply have crept into the national discourse before — namely during the post-World War II population boom and during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s — such instances are few and far between, said Brian Connelly, a business law professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in real estate, land use and zoning."I was not alive in the 60s, but housing has not been an issue that has taken on this level of importance in my lifetime," Connelly said.Driving this fixation are record low sales volumes, a rapid increase in rents and a surge in homelessness in some of the nation's biggest cities. Some voters are concerned about their own housing situation, but others worry about family or friends, or the implications for racial inequality. The issue is top-of-mind for many voters, but especially younger ones who feel locked out of what has historically been the single greatest source of generational wealth. While some of the biggest housing market hurdles are local land use laws and permitting practices, experts like Lee Ohanian, head of the University of California at Los Angeles' Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research, are surprised federal politicians have not been more vocal about their strategies for alleviating these pressure points."Zoning and other regulations that affect housing are largely at the state and local level, but the federal government can incentivize state and local governments to make regulatory changes," Ohanian said. "From that standpoint, I'm surprised we haven't seen more."Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has espoused what some believe to be contradictory opinions on the matter. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, he said the key to solving the housing crisis was easing zoning restrictions, but his actions in office indicated a preference for leaving such decisions to local officials. Trump's signature housing achievement was ending the Obama-era changes to the Affirmatively Further Fair Housing provision of the Fair Housing Act, which attached greater reporting and planning requirements to Housing and Urban Development funds. The 2015 change called for municipalities to take more direct action to address segregation and was seen as incentivizing zoning changes to allow for affordable housing development. Trump said ending it preserved the "Suburban Lifestyle Dream.""I don't think he has a huge identity on housing, aside from that particular action, which suggested that he might be more favorable to local control of planning and zoning and giving local communities more power to approve new housing," Connelly said.Along with promoting deregulation at all levels of government, the other pillar of the Trump housing agenda is bringing down inflation, thereby allowing for interest rates to fall and making mortgages more affordable. Though skeptics question whether the former president's broader economic plan — including tax cuts, higher tariffs on trade and a crackdown on immigration — will impact the inflation picture.Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race earlier this week, has said little about housing affordability since moving to the top of her party's ticket. She also has no direct track record on the matter. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said he expects Harris will largely maintain the housing policies of the Biden administration, which have emphasized expanding the supply of housing through tax credits and other incentives. He added that her prosecutorial work as California's attorney general — which included extracting a $18 billion settlement from large banks over mortgage-related misconduct — could make her better versed in the nuances of housing than the current president.

Agencies push back on court's narrow definition of CRA authority — Federal banking regulators last week asked the Fifth Circuit to lift a preliminary injunction against their revised implementation rules for the Community Reinvestment Act, arguing that the injunction was unwarranted and that the lower court erred in its interpretation of the underlying statute."The court claimed to be interpreting the CRA's text to determine whether [regulators] exceeded their authority in issuing the Final Rule, but instead misconstrued the statutory text to find in Plaintiffs' favor," the agencies wrote. "Because of the district court's errors, [regulators] respectfully request that its preliminary injunction order be reversed." The request — argued in a Thursday brief by the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — said that the district court improperly restricted the assessment of a bank's community lending to areas around physical facilities when the CRA statute is not so explicitly restrictive. Congress passed the CRA in 1977, directing the banking agencies to issue rules that ensure banks lend to their entire community — including low-income residents — in an attempt to combat redlining at financial institutions. Banks have complained about aspects of the existing CRA regime for years, but nonetheless opposed aspects of the revamped rule since it was unveiled last fall. That opposition culminated in a lawsuit filed against the regulators over the final rules when they were issued in February, with the scope of the final rule being a core pillar of the legal case. Just before the rule's implementation date on April 1, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued an interim injunction against the rule, finding that it mandates the agencies evaluate a bank's retail lending activities — such as residential mortgage and small business loans — both in areas with deposit-taking facilities and in other areas where banks do significant lending.In an April appeal, the three regulators sought to lift the injunction granted to banking trade groups, which claimed the new rules would increase costs and reduce lending to low- and moderate-income borrowers. In the brief, regulators argue the district court "rewrote" the CRA statute in two impermissible ways. First, they say the court took too narrow an interpretation of the statute's directive that the agencies compel banks to lend to their whole communities. Judge Kacsmaryk previously found that a bank's community — the area within which regulators judge their CRA compliance — should be defined as solely the geographic areas near a bank's brick-and-mortar facilities. Regulators argue that the CRA allowed them the authority to define the entire community in a more holistic way. While the geographic areas will still be considered, regulators argue modern banking — in which consumers bank far beyond their neighborhoods — warrants expanding the scope of where they assess firms' lending activity.

ICE: Mortgage Delinquency Rate Increased in June - From ICE: ICE First Look at Mortgage Performance: June Sees Calendar-Driven Spike in Delinquencies; Foreclosures Remain Historically Low:
• Coming off a near-record low in May and with June ending on a Sunday, the national delinquency rate jumped +14.5% (+45 basis points) to 3.49%, its second highest level in 18 months
• Sunday month-ends often lead to sharp, but typically temporary, spikes in delinquent mortgages, as payments made on the last day of a given month are not processed until the following month
• As such, June saw a +19.6% increase in the number of borrowers a single payment past due – the highest inflow since May 2020 – while 60-day delinquencies rose 11.8% to a five-month high
• Though up 5.1% from May, serious delinquencies (loans 90+ days past due but not in active foreclosure) were still down 8.5% year over year and 10.1% below pre-pandemic levels
• Foreclosure starts declined 6.2% in June – pushing active foreclosure inventory to its lowest point since the end of COVID-era moratoriums, now 34% below pre-pandemic levels
• 5.3K foreclosure sales were completed nationally in June, representing a -14.9% month-over-month decrease to their lowest level since February 2022, still well below pre-pandemic norms
• Prepayments eased -7.6% from May, breaking a six-month streak of increasing prepay activity as we near the typical seasonal peak of home sales, and affordability and rate constraints persist
Here is a table from ICE.

MBA Survey: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases to 0.23% in June --From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases to 0.23% in June - The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance increased to 0.23% as of June 30, 2024. According to MBA’s estimate, 115,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.2 million borrowers since March 2020. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased 1 basis point to 0.11% in June 2024. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by 5 basis points to 0.44%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) stayed flat at 0.31%. “The number of loans in forbearance increased in June for the first time since October of 2022,” “Furthermore, the performance of both loan workouts and overall servicing portfolios weakened, particularly for government loans.” “There were several factors that impacted homeowners, including the uptick of severe weather events that hit multiple regions of the country as well as early signs of consumer distress that could potentially impact borrowers’ ability to pay their mortgages. Additionally, June’s month-end fell on a Sunday, and the weekend timing typically leads to higher mortgage defaults in any given month.” At the end of June, there were about 115,000 homeowners in forbearance plans.

MBA: Mortgage Applications Decreased in Weekly Survey -From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey - Mortgage applications decreased 2.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 19, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 0.3 percent from the previous week and was 38 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week and was 15 percent lower than the same week one year ago. “Mortgage rates continued to ease, with the 30-year fixed rate dipping to 6.82 percent, the lowest level since February 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Refinance applications were up, driven by conventional and FHA application activity, as some borrowers took the opportunity to act. Furthermore, the conventional refi index was at its highest level since September 2022.” “Purchase applications decreased as ongoing affordability challenges persist with rates at their current levels and with home-price appreciation still strong in many markets.” ... The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.82 percent from 6.87 percent, with points increasing to 0.59 from 0.57 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index. According to the MBA, purchase activity is down 15% year-over-year unadjusted. Red is a four-week average (blue is weekly). Purchase application activity is up slightly from the lows in late October 2023, but still below the lowest levels during the housing bust. The second graph shows the refinance index since 1990.With higher mortgage rates, the refinance index declined sharply in 2022, and mostly flat lined since then with some increase recently.

Housing July 22nd Weekly Update: Inventory up 2.6% Week-over-week, Up 39.1% Year-over-year -- Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 2.6% week-over-week. Inventory is now up 35.3% from the February seasonal bottom. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of July 19th, inventory was at 668 thousand (7-day average), compared to 651 thousand the prior week. Inventory is still far below pre-pandemic levels. The second graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015. The red line is for 2024. The black line is for 2019. Note that inventory is up 75% from the record low for the same week in 2021, but still well below normal levels.Inventory was up 39.1% compared to the same week in 2023 (last week it was up 38.1%), and down 30.3% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 31.5%). Inventory is now above 2020 levels for the same week.Back in June 2023, inventory was down almost 54% compared to 2019, so the gap to more normal inventory levels is slowly closing. Mike Simonsen discusses this data regularly on Youtube.

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 3.89 million SAAR in June - From the NAR: Existing-Home Sales Slipped 5.4% in June; Median Sales Price Jumps to Record High of $426,900 - Existing-home sales fell in June as the median sales price climbed to the highest price ever recorded for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four major U.S. regions posted sales declines. Year-over-year, sales waned in the Northeast, Midwest and South but were unchanged in the West. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – receded 5.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million in June. Year-over-year, sales also dropped 5.4% (down from 4.11 million in June 2023). ... Total housing inventory registered at the end of June was 1.32 million units, up 3.1% from May and 23.4% from one year ago (1.07 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.7 months in May and 3.1 months in June 2023. The last time unsold inventory posted a four-month supply was May 2020 (4.5 months). This graph shows existing home sales, on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis since 1994. Sales in June (3.89 million SAAR) were down 5.4% from the previous month and were 5.4% below the June 2023 sales rate. The second graph shows nationwide inventory for existing homes. According to the NAR, inventory increased to 1.32 million in June from 1.28 million the previous month. Headline inventory is not seasonally adjusted, and inventory usually decreases to the seasonal lows in December and January, and peaks in mid-to-late summer. The last graph shows the year-over-year (YoY) change in reported existing home inventory and months-of-supply. Since inventory is not seasonally adjusted, it really helps to look at the YoY change. Note: Months-of-supply is based on the seasonally adjusted sales and not seasonally adjusted inventory. Inventory was up 23.4% year-over-year (blue) in June compared to June 2023. Months of supply (red) increased to 4.1 months in June from 3.7 months the previous month. The sales rate was lower than the consensus forecast.

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 3.89 million SAAR in June; Median House Prices Increased 4.1% Year-over-Year - Today, in the CalculatedRisk Real Estate Newsletter: NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 3.89 million SAAR in June Excerpt: Sales Year-over-Year and Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) The fourth graph shows existing home sales by month for 2023 and 2024. Sales declined 5.4% year-over-year compared to June 2023. This was the thirty-fourth consecutive month with sales down year-over-year.

New Home Sales Decrease to 617,000 Annual Rate in June -The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 617 thousand. The previous three months were revised up sharply, combined.Sales of new single-family houses in June 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 617,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 0.6 percent below the revised May rate of 621,000 and is 7.4 percent below the June 2023 estimate of 666,000.. The first graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions since 1963. The dashed line is the current sales rate. New home sales were close to pre-pandemic levels. The second graph shows New Home Months of Supply.The months of supply increased in June to 9.3 months from 9.1 months in May. The all-time record high was 12.2 months of supply in January 2009. The all-time record low was 3.3 months in August 2020. This is well above the top of the normal range (about 4 to 6 months of supply is normal)."The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 476,000. This represents a supply of 9.3 months at the current sales rate. "Sales were below expectations of 640 thousand SAAR, however sales for the three previous months were revised up significantly, combined. I'll have more later today.

New Home Sales Decrease to 617,000 Annual Rate in June; Median New Home Price is Down 9% from the Peak - Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: New Home Sales Decrease to 617,000 Annual Rate in June Brief excerpt: The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 617 thousand. The previous three months were revised up sharply, combined....The next graph shows new home sales for 2023 and 2024 by month (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate). Sales in June 2024 were down 7.4% from June 2023.This is the 2nd consecutive year-over-year decline following 13 consecutive months with a year-over-year increase.

NMHC: "Apartment Market Conditions Continue to Loosen" -- Today, in the CalculatedRisk Real Estate Newsletter: NMHC: "Apartment Market Conditions Continue to Loosen" Excerpt: From the NMHC: From the NMHC: Apartment Market Conditions Continue to Loosen, Though Deal Flow Increased for the Second Straight Quarter Amidst More Favorable Conditions for Debt Financing Apartment market conditions came in mixed in the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC’s) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions for July 2024. While the Debt Financing (63) and Sales Volume (57) indexes indicated more favorable conditions this quarter, Equity Financing (49) and Market Tightness (47) came in below the breakeven level (50). ... “Concessions have become commonplace in markets with elevated levels of deliveries, as survey respondents reported overall looser market conditions for the eighth consecutive quarter,” The Market Tightness Index came in at 47 this quarter – below the breakeven level of 50 – indicating looser market conditions for the eighth consecutive quarter. Half of respondents, though, thought market conditions were unchanged compared to three months ago while 27% thought markets have become looser, down from 37% in April. Twenty-two percent of respondents reported tighter markets than three months ago.The quarterly index increased to 47 in July from 41 in April. Any reading below 50 indicates looser conditions from the previous quarter. This index has been an excellent leading indicator for rents and vacancy rates, and this suggests higher vacancy rates and a further weakness in asking rents. This is the eighth consecutive quarter with looser conditions than the previous quarter.

AIA: Architecture Billings Declined in June; Multi-family Billings Declined for 23rd Consecutive Month --Note: This index is a leading indicator primarily for new Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment. From the AIA: ABI June 2024: Business conditions remain soft at architecture firms Billings at firms decreased for the seventeenth consecutive month, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 46.4 (any score below 50 means that billings declined). Although somewhat fewer firms reported a decline in billings in June than in May, the majority continued to experience a decrease from the previous month. Indicators of future work remained generally soft as well, with only slightly more than half of responding firms reporting an increase in inquiries into new work. Firms also reported a decline in the value of newly signed design contracts for the third consecutive month. While many firms still have a healthy backlog of projects in the pipeline, 6.4 months on average, this is the smallest that backlogs have been in more than three years. Business conditions remained soft at firms across the country in June, except for those located in the Northeast, which reported a slight increase in billings for the first time since January 2023. However, conditions softened further at firms located in the other regions of the country, with particularly weak conditions reported at firms located in the Midwest. Billings also continued to decline at firms of all specializations in June. While conditions remained soft at firms with a multifamily residential specialization, conditions are now weaker at firms with other specializations for the first time in nearly two years, most notably at those with a commercial/industrial specialization. ... The ABI score is a leading economic indicator of construction activity, providing an approximately nine-to-twelve-month glimpse into the future of nonresidential construction spending activity. The score is derived from a monthly survey of architecture firms that measures the change in the number of services provided to clients.
• Northeast (52.2); Midwest (40.9); South (43.9); West (43.1)
• Sector index breakdown: commercial/industrial (42.0); institutional (44.3); multifamily residential (45.1)
This graph shows the Architecture Billings Index since 1996. The index was at 46.4 in June, up from 42.4 in May. Anything below 50 indicates a decrease in demand for architects' services.Note: This includes commercial and industrial facilities like hotels and office buildings, multi-family residential, as well as schools, hospitals and other institutions.This index usually leads CRE investment by 9 to 12 months, so this index suggests a slowdown in CRE investment into 2025. Note that multi-family billing turned down in August 2022 and has been negative for twenty-three consecutive months (with revisions). This suggests we will see a further weakness in multi-family starts.

July Vehicle Sales Forecast: 16.1 million SAAR, Up 1% YoY -From WardsAuto: July U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales Tracking to Strongest SAAR So Far in 2024 (pay content). Brief excerpt: An expected boost to volume in July from lost sales in June, caused by a cyberattack affecting dealer management systems, will not be as big as initially expected. Dealers apparently were quite adept at finding alternative ways to reporting sales and lost volume was less than thought. Still, July’s forecast SAAR of 16.1 million units is the highest for any month this year and inventory will enter August at a five-year high for the period.This graph shows actual sales from the BEA (Blue), and Wards forecast for July (Red). On a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis, the Wards forecast of 16.1 million SAAR, would be up 5.3% from last month, and up 1.0% from a year ago.

US Services Soar, Manufacturing Slumps In Preliminary July PMIs The Euro area composite flash PMI declined by 0.9pt to 50.1, notably below consensus. The deceleration in the composite index was broad-based across sectors, with the manufacturing output index falling to 45.3, and the services index declining to 51.9. Across countries, the decline in the area-wide index was driven by Germany and the periphery.However, amid plummeting 'hard' data signals over the last two months, S&P Global's 'soft' surveys have soared (somehow) in the US (even as European PMIs slipped lower), but were expected to dip a little in the flash July print.But the picture - as always - was mixed with Manufacturing tumbling to 49.5 from 51.6 (51.6 exp) while Services accelerated further to 56 from 55.3 (54.9 exp)...That dragged the Composite US PMI up to 55.0 - a 27-month high (as Europe hits 4-month lows)...Commenting on the data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said:“The flash PMI data signal a ‘Goldilocks’ scenario at the start of the third quarter, with the economy growing at a robust pace while inflation moderates.“Output across manufacturing and services is expanding at the strongest rate for over two years in July, the survey data indicative of GDP rising at an annualized rate of 2.5% after a 2.0% gain was signaled for the second quarter.

Michigan mired in poverty, with 41 percent living paycheck to paycheck An estimated 41 percent of Michigan households, 1.7 million, are living paycheck to paycheck and lack enough income to cover basic household expenses, according to a 2024 report issued by the Michigan Association of United Ways and United for ALICE. These statistics are even worse in 11 Michigan counties, including Detroit’s Wayne County, in which more than half of households are struggling to maintain a “survival budget.” In Detroit, 69 percent of households live paycheck to paycheck, in River Rouge, 79 percent; Benton Harbor, 78 percent; Highland Park, 76 percent; and Pontiac, 66 percent. The updated report is based on data surveys from 2022 and 2023. The study focused on a broader definition of poverty than the notoriously inaccurate Federal Poverty Level by including those who are “ALICE,” Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. It sheds light on the vast numbers of working poor who do not qualify for federal assistance but nevertheless must choose between quality childcare or paying the rent, taking their medications or buying nutritious food, or some other impossible trade-off. The plight of these millions of low-paid workers are routinely concealed in the official claims of low unemployment. Michigan’s poverty rate remained at 13 percent between 2021 and 2022. This is defined as less than an annual income of $13,590 for an individual or $27,750 for a family of four. Such obviously unsustainably low incomes mean living with insecure housing or doubling up with others, relying on family members and food pantries, and constant anxiety. While official poverty numbers flatlined, however, by 2022, 41 percent of all households in the state—1,671,196—fell below the ALICE threshold. As shocking as these enormous numbers are, they are mirrored across the US, where 42 percent of all households qualify as ALICE. The recent dramatic rise in the percentage of working poor has resulted from double-digit rises in the cost of many staple foods, higher rents and stagnating poverty-level wages. This terrible squeeze on budgets has been coupled with the Biden administration’s decision to end minimal pandemic aid programs. These included the expanded Child Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, extended unemployment benefits, waivers for food stamps, a pause in student loan repayments, and Medicaid expansion. The latest ALICE report cites the enormous economic hit created by the termination of these programs for impoverished families with young children, “In 2022, a family of four with an infant and a preschooler in Michigan was eligible for approximately $15,000 less in maximum federal tax credits and stimulus payments than in 2021.” Rochelle, a member of the Michigan Educators Rank and File Committee, emphasized this reality in an interview with the WSWS: Families have no vehicles and no reliable transportation. Any assistance for daycare is hard to get and not very much help with the cost going so high. Many parents are working and unable to get their kids off to school. They’re relying on others to do that for them. In many low-income families, the older children end up staying home to look after kids who are too young to go to school. Daycare itself is just too expensive. When I was young, I was basically working for nothing but my pension. Most of my check went to pay for daycare. Now, there are people who are working all these weird shifts, and there is an extra burden with that! They have to rest, but it may not be when their children are sleeping. What can they do? According to the ALICE report, the cost of “essentials,” including daycare, in the US Midwest rose 10.3 percent between 2021 and 2022, with another 5.8 percent rise in 2023—substantially faster than the official rise in the cost of living, used as a benchmark for federal assistance. Median rent in Michigan also rose nearly 9 percent in 2022—the ninth-highest increase among all states. MLive reports that median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Michigan jumped by $251 from $1,116 in May 2020 to $1,367 in May 2023. Protesters at the state Capitol in Lansing last September held a “Rent is Too Darn High” rally with signs that included, “I Pay $1,314 a Month for Cockroaches & Blackmold.” In another measure of the destitution of large swaths of Michigan, the Detroit News recently reported on the skyrocketing of pregnancy-related deaths in the state. From 2019 to 2020, maternal deaths rose 33.6 percent, while a separate study showed these were overwhelmingly preventable, i.e., the result of poverty.

Gavin Newsom orders removal of homeless encampments in California --California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered the removal of homeless encampments in the state following the recent Supreme Court ruling that empowers cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public. Newsom’s executive order directs state agencies and departments to develop “clear policies” to “urgently address” the thousands of homeless encampments located across California, his office said Thursday.The order requires agencies to prioritize clearing encampments with safety risks and to provide advance notice of the clearance. Officials were also told to work with local service providers who can support the people at the encampments and help store their belongings for at least 60 days.“I don’t think there’s anything more urgent and more frustrating than addressing the issue of encampments in the state of California,” Newsom said Thursday in a video.The governor noted that the courts previously prevented the local government and state from cleaning up the encampments, but the Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson changes things.In the decision, the high court ruled cities can ticket homeless people for camping in public even when there is no alternative shelter available.The justices sided 6-3 with the Oregon city of Grants Pass, which asked the high court to review a lower court’s decision blocking the enforcement of a public camping ordinance.The lower court initially determined banning camping where shelter beds were limited amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, but Grants Pass officials argued the restrictions imposed by the decision prevented them from implementing “common sense” laws against camping in some public places.“Today I announced an executive order to move the process forward. We’re done, it’s time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety. There are no longer any excuses,” Newsom said. “We now have no excuse with the Supreme Court decision.”California has so far invested more than $1 billion in encampment resolution grants to clean up homeless encampments and address the underlying issues, per the governor.California has about one-third of the nation’s population of homeless people, and Newsom has been a vocal advocate for addressing the issue. His office touted his administration has spent about $24 billion total to clean up the streets and house people.Earlier this year, he supported a ballot measure to allow the state to borrow about $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units, which passed with a thin margin, The Associated Press reported.

Billionaire Illinois governor Pritzker refuses extra funding for Chicago schools, setting stage for huge cuts -- Illinois’ billionaire governor J.B. Pritzker will not allocate additional state funding for Chicago Public Schools, he declared in comments to the Chicago Sun-Times published Friday night. The article had the character of a public intervention by Pritzker into the ongoing contract talks between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). With the district facing a more than $500 million funding shortfall, it makes clear that massive cuts are on the way. A showdown is brewing between teachers and the Democratic Party which controls the city and state governments, along with the Democrats’ allies in the union bureaucracy. Since the expiration of the last contract on June 30, CTU officials have largely kept workers in the dark about what is coming. But in a recent members webinar on the budget, the union suggested that without additional funding, the budget presented by CPS CEO Pedro Martinez would require layoffs of 2,000 and 3,000 teachers for additional costs and spending to be added to the budget, such as teacher raises. An internal CPS memo reported on by Chalkbeat suggests CPS was asked by Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson to assume a hypothetical 4 percent raise for the coming year, far below what is needed to make up for record inflation over the past four years. Even this, however, will not be possible without additional funding. Johnson’s proposal for a $300 million loan to pay for meager pay hikes has been rejected out of hand as unserious, given the district’s credit rating is in junk status. With aristocratic arrogance, Pritzker told the Sun-Times: “I don’t think that that’s the job of Springfield [the state capital], to rescue the school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time money they received. Poor fiscal management on the part of a local government is not necessarily the responsibility of Springfield.” CPS, like many school districts throughout the state and country, spent funds allocated for COVID relief to cover gaps in its operations budget. With CPS spending the final $300 million of its original $2.8 billion allocation this year, the district is now facing a deficit of $505 million. This is up from an earlier estimate of $391 million, and it is set to grow even larger next year. The article, written by Rich Miller, a long-time reporter on state politics, answers claims by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTU that the district is being shortchanged by the state. The CTU has publicly called throughout the negotiations has been to call on Pritzker and to increase state funding for the school district. Johnson and the CTU have claimed that CPS should be receiving an additional $1.1 billion annually in state revenue. This is based upon the “evidence-based funding” (EBF) formula for public schools the state enacted in 2017. That law established “adequacy” levels for school districts, and called for annual increases in state appropriations until districts reached funding at the level of 90 percent adequacy. According to the Sun-Times article, the $1.1 billion figure is what CPS would receive in additional state funding if it was immediately funded to 100 percent adequacy. According to an analysis by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA), the state legislature has increased annual spending on public education by just the minimum specified in the EBF law. As a result, it will miss the legally specified target of 90 percent funding by fiscal year 2027. Adjusting for inflation, state funding will only reach 90 percent adequacy by fiscal year 2034. Miller and the Sun-Times attempted to scare the public by pointing out that fully funding every school district in the state would require funding public education by an additional $4.85 billion. This bill could be easily footed by the state’s 23 billionaires, including Pritzker himself. His family is worth an estimated $41.6 billion, according to Forbes. Not only wages, but also pensions are on the chopping block. According to CPS, the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF) is only 47.2 percent funded and will only reach a 90 percent funding level in fiscal year 2059, assuming its funding assumptions hold. There is also growing recognition that the Tier II pensions the state enacted in 2010 are completely inadequate, and in fact violate federal law because the pension payouts they provide are worse than Social Security, which CPS teachers do not pay into and for which they are thus ineligible.

DOJ asks Supreme Court to partially restore Biden Title IX rule in 15 Republican-led states -The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Supreme Court to take emergency action Monday to restore parts of President Biden’s Title IX rule in a handful of Republican-led states where the new regulations are blocked, arguing that lower court injunctions pausing the rule in its entirety are “more burdensome” than necessary.In April, the Education Department unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding. The new rule, which covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time, drew swift criticism from Republicans who claimed the new regulations undermine the original intent of Title IX, triggering a flurry of multistate lawsuits. Federal judges sided with the states in three cases, preventing the administration’s rule from taking effect in 15 GOP-led states while legal challenges against the rule play out in court. The remaining states are still expected to implement the changes by Aug. 1. The rule is also blocked from taking effect at any school attended by the child of a member of Moms for Liberty, a conservative political group, or any school attended by members of the Young America’s Foundation, an organization for young conservatives. On Monday, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the Supreme Court to narrow district court injunctions blocking the administration’s Title IX rule in 10 states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho. The injunctions, she argued, should only apply to the rule’s prohibition on gender identity discrimination — the provision at the center of the lawsuits challenging the new Title IX regulations, which also bolster protections for pregnant and parenting students and change how schools handle claims of sexual harassment and assault. States have not challenged “the vast majority” of changes made to Title IX, Prelogar wrote Monday. “Instead, they object to three discrete provisions of the Rule related to discrimination against transgender individuals,” she wrote. Conservative states and leaders have long argued that the administration’s Title IX rule misinterprets a 2020 Supreme Court decision protecting employees from discrimination based on gender identity.The rule has also faced criticism from Republicans for potentially requiring schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms and pronouns that match their gender identity, conflicting with laws passed in more than a dozen GOP-led states. “The district court held that respondents’ challenges are likely to succeed and issued a preliminary injunction. But the court refused to tailor the injunction to the two provisions of the Rule that are the source of respondents’ asserted injuries — or even to the three provisions they have challenged on the merits,” Prelogar wrote Monday. “Instead, the court enjoined the entire Rule, including dozens of provisions that respondents had not challenged and that the court did not purport to find likely invalid.”

More alumni of school that was ‘predators’ playground’ file suit against district --Another lawsuit is being filed against the El Monte Union High School District related to alleged sexual abuse at Rosemead High School that was detailed by a journalist and school alumnus.Business Insider reporter Matt Drange noted in a report published in October that “altogether, I corroborated dozens of instances of sexual misconduct, involving 20 different educators, ranging from lewd remarks about students’ bodies to statutory rape.”“Grooming was so rampant that in a couple of cases, more than one educator targeted the same girl,” he added. “Two teachers appear to have maintained sexual relationships with more than one student at the same time.”The large amount of misconduct lasted over four decades, Drange noted in “The predators’ playground.”While one group of former students filed suit against the district in May, another group of nine alumni are filing a suit with similar claims of sex abuse, they and their attorneys said in Wednesday press conference.“These sexual predators and deviants at Rosemead High School were perpetrating their abuses for years in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” said attorney Michael Carrillo. “With the other cases that we have, that [abuse] continued all the way up until the mid 2000s. Again, we ask ourselves, ‘What’s being done to change Rosemead High School? What is the district doing to make sure that there’s not additional Jane Does like what we have on our hands here today?'”In a statement, the school district said it “cannot comment on pending litigation.”“With that said, The District is deeply committed to the success of its students, and we work diligently to foster positive learning environments and ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all students entrusted to our care,” the statement said. “We do not tolerate any behavior that undermines those values and we take swift and decisive action if we suspect student safety is being compromised in any way.”

Columbia University removes three administrators on bogus charges of antisemitism -- The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) demands the immediate reinstatement of the three Columbia University administrators removed from their positions in late June on bogus charges of antisemitism. The removals are the latest in an international crackdown on free speech on college and university campuses aimed at intimidating opposition to the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. The three administrators—Vice Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Susan Chang-Kim, Dean of Undergraduate Student Life Cristen Kromm, and Associate Dean for Student and Family Support Matthew Patashnick—were targeted after an unidentified photographer, sitting behind the administrators, took pictures of text messages exchanged between them during a panel discussion titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future” at Columbia on May 31. The panel event featured Columbia Law School dean emeritus, David Schizer, who was one of three chairs overseeing Columbia’s Task Force on Antisemitism; director of the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Brian Cohen; dean of Columbia’s Earl Hall Center for Religious Life, Ian Rottenberg; and Columbia undergraduate and Deputy News Editor of the Columbia Spectator, Rebecca Massel. In the text messages, the administrators respond frankly to the panel, which was a propaganda event intended to appease the witch-hunters in Congress and promote the lie that opposition to Zionism is equivalent to antisemitic hate speech. The texts amount to little more than an exercise in basic critical thought. Patashnick writes, “His use of the word Hamas is interesting. Students generally weren’t protesting for Hamas.” Chang-Kim asks, “Did we really have students kicked out of clubs for being Jewish?” Patashnick responds, “To my knowledge no one was actively kicked out.” When Chang-Kim objects to “Painting our students as dangerous,” Patashnick responds, “He knows exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential.” In a message that brings to mind the implementation of segregated housing at NYU, Patashnick writes, “Laying the case to expand physical space! They will have their own dorm soon.” In texts that the far right have claimed are particularly antisemitic, Chang-Kim writes, “Comes from such a place of privilege… hard to hear the woe is me, we need to huddle at the Kraft center.” Kromm responds, “Blind to the idea that non-Israel supporting Jews have no space to come together,” and later writes, “Amazing what $$$$ can do.” These texts have nothing to do with antisemitic tropes and everything to do with social reality: a layer of upper-middle-class Zionists are using the language and methods of identity politics to participate in and profit from the propaganda supporting the genocide in Gaza. The texts have provoked the ire of this layer not because they are antisemitic, but because they tell the truth.

"Unreasonable": These 20 Universities Still Require Students Get COVID Vaccine --Twenty United States colleges continue to require their students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the watchdog organization No College Mandates.These mandates face increasingly heavy criticism from medical doctors and scholars who point to concerns regarding the vaccine’s safety, efficacy, and necessity. Lucia Sinatra, co-founder of No College Mandates, an organization that tracks and advocates for the abolition of vaccine mandates, told The College Fix that such policies are “unreasonable and discriminatory.”“One can only assume the purpose of this monthly testing is to discriminate against those who choose against COVID-19 vaccination and put undue pressure on them with the hopes they will tire of both the cost and routine of the monthly testing and succumb to the coercion to take COVID-19 vaccines,” Sinatra said in a recent email. Many schools have been quietly retiring their vaccine mandates over the past year. The most recent of these include Wayne State University, which announced this month that it “strongly” recommends but no longer requires the vaccine.San Diego State University also ended its mandate recently, according to No College Mandates. The number is down from approximately 100 colleges one year ago, according to an August 2023 report by The Fix.However, 20 schools continue to require their students to receive the vaccine, including the Southern University System based in Louisiana and three California State University campuses, the watchdog reports.

Shortage of BD blood culture tubes forcing some hospitals to make tough decisions -The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday issued a Health Alert Network advisory on the shortage of plastic Becton Dickinson (BD) BACTEC blood culture vials, which is expected to challenge the treatment of some infectious diseases through delayed diagnoses and misdiagnoses and compromise antimicrobial stewardship efforts."Blood cultures are critical for assisting healthcare providers with diagnosing patients with bloodstream infections and associated conditions including endocarditis, catheter-related bloodstream infections and sepsis," the advisory said. "Blood cultures can identify the microorganisms causing these infections, and follow-on antimicrobial susceptibility testing can be performed to help guide optimal therapy."Most US blood cultures have continuous-monitoring blood culture systems like BD's, which is used in roughly half of labs and is compatible with only BD BACTEC vials. The supply disruption was added to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) medical device shortages list on July 10. During a CDC/Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)-hosted clinician call yesterday, Chris Beddard, MBA, vice president at BD Life Sciences, said the company's supplier has had manufacturing problems affecting the US and global supply but that more vials should be available in September.

Biden’s third COVID infection and the ongoing dangers of the pandemic -- In the public statement announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential elections, Joe Biden claimed, “Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic.” Out of a series of delusional claims about his presidency, this was the most glaringly absurd, as Biden issued the letter while still in isolation with his third COVID-19 infection. Undoubtedly, Biden’s bout with COVID played a role in his decision to withdraw from the elections. While official pronouncements on his infection have stated that he is on the way to recovery, COVID-19 remains a dangerous pathogen for anyone, especially those above 65 years old. Now at 81, Biden’s body and mind were clearly impacted by his first infection and subsequent rebound in July-August 2022. While one cannot say with certainty that his mental decline is directly attributable to his prior COVID infections, it is entirely possible that he could be showing symptoms of “brain fog,” fatigue and other neurological symptoms commonly associated with Long COVID. The fact that Biden, the most protected person on the planet, was allowed to contract COVID-19 last week underscores the growing recklessness and self-delusion of the American ruling class. Having fallen for their own lies that “the pandemic is over,” the last remaining testing measures were lifted in the White House in March. Great pains are being taken to care for Biden round the clock, including checks on his vital signs led by a team of highly trained healthcare practitioners and access to costly anti-viral medications. Additionally, Biden is isolating, not according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) anti-public health policies, but based on actual scientifically grounded recommendations. The double standards for the American and international working class are glaringly obvious. Anti-viral medications and vaccines have become cost prohibitive or entirely inaccessible for the vast majority of the world’s population. For workers in the US, attempting to obtain a prescription for the anti-viral Paxlovid usually means waiting days for a call back from your physician. Meanwhile, regardless of the infectious nature of the constantly evolving virus, those with asymptomatic infections or mild symptoms are forced to return to work, risking the well-being of colleagues. Without proper rest and treatment, which the medical community emphatically endorses, workers raise their risk of developing Long COVID, which can have tremendous consequences on their ability to earn wages and provide for their families. Biden is one of millions of Americans who have been infected in recent weeks amid the deepening annual summer surge. According to the latest wastewater data released Friday, the US now has the highest concentrations of the coronavirus in wastewater for this date of any year in the pandemic, with current estimates placing daily infection rates somewhere between 780,000 to 850,000 per day. The surge is deepest in the West and South, but spreading to every region of the country. The 9th wave of mass infection in the US is being driven by the KP.3 and KP.2 subvariants and their daughters, which account for more than 75 percent of all recently sequenced viral genomes. In particular, the emergence of KP.3.1.1—with high ACE2 binding affinity and considerable immune evasive characteristics—and its ability to outcompete its recent descendants, underscores the tremendous capacity for this virus to continue to evolve and infect humanity.

COVID activity continues at brisk pace across much of US -- US COVID activity continues a steady rise across most of the nation, according to the latest indicators today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).In its latest respiratory illness snapshot, the CDC said most areas of the country are seeing consistent rises in COVID activity. "Surges like this are known to occur throughout the year, including during summer months," it said, adding there are many effective tools for preventing the spread of the virus or becoming seriously ill.Test positivity is at 14.3% nationally, the highest since August 2023, according to CDC data. Levels are much higher—averaging 23.4%--in Texas and surrounding states, with levels in other parts of the Southwest also tracking higher than the rest of the nation. Emergency department visits for COVID—at the highest level since the middle of February— rose 13.5% compared to the previous week and make up nearly 2% of all ED visits. The levels are highest, at the moderate range, in Florida, Hawaii, and Texas.Heading into July, hospitalization levels rose to the highest level since early March. In its respiratory virus snapshot today, the CDC said hospitalization rates are increasing, especially among people ages 65 and older.Meanwhile, deaths from COVID are up slightly, with levels highest in Puerto Rico compared to the rest of the nation. Currently, only 1.1% of deaths are due to COVID, up 10% compared to the previous week. Nationally, wastewater detections of SARS-CoV-2 have been at the high level over the past few weeks, with the highest levels in Western states over the summer months. However, the CDC’s latest data show though detections in the West are still the highest in the nation, the level declined in the most recent reporting week.Wastewater detections are still rising steadily in the South. In the Midwest and Northeast, detections are still increasing, but at a slower pace.

Study shows no increase in newborn deaths with COVID-related social distancing -Despite an observed association between initial COVID-19 pandemic social distancing measures and higher rates of neonatal mortality, a new study based on US health statistics shows no such link. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.Though initial shutdowns due to the pandemic helped control the spread of the virus, they also resulted in disrupted medical services and limited access to healthcare.The study compared neonatal outcomes collected by the National Center for Health Statistics, a population-level US database, from 2016 through 2020 and included 18,011,173 births, of which 2,874,577 were from the pandemic period."The mortality rates during the pandemic period did not significantly differ from the expected rates," the authors said. The social distancing index (SDI) was not significantly correlated with neonatal mortality in an unadjusted analysis, but it was significantly associated with higher neonatal mortality rates with a 2-month lag period."The finding of significant associations between the SDI and higher neonatal and early neonatal mortality with a 2-month lag period, and higher births at 22 to 27 weeks’ and 28 to 32 weeks’ gestational age with a 1-month lag period could possibly be due to disruptions in prenatal care and the resultant pregnancy complications that were more pronounced not immediately but after a lag period," the authors concluded.

ICU-acquired infections more common in COVID patients than those with flu -- Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who required intensive care unit (ICU) treatment were more likely to acquire infections than those hospitalized with influenza, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.The study was based on outcomes seen among Swedish adults treated with invasive mechanical ventilation due to COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2022 and those with flu between January 2015 and May 2023 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.In total, 480 participants were included in the final analysis, and 436 had COVID-19. The median age in both cohorts was 63 years. During the first wave of the pandemic, the authors wrote, approximately 14% of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 were admitted to the ICU, and compared to influenza, COVID-19 patients had longer ICU stays.Risk of infection also increased with length of ICU stay. The incidence rates of ICU-acquired infections were 31.6 per 1,000 and 9.9 per 1,000 ICU-days in the COVID-19 and influenza cohorts, respectively, the authors said. Infections were associated with corticosteroid treatment, which was given more frequently to COVID-19 patients."Secondary infections among ICU patients with COVID-19 are a common complication associated with a more complex course of disease," the authors concluded, finding that COVID-19 patients were more likely to have difficult-to-treat gram-negative infections.

Study finds ME/CFS not more likely from COVID than from other infections - Levels of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a disabling chronic multisystem illness from an unknown cause, is largely the same in people who were sick with COVID-19 and those who had other acute illness, a team led by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles reported today. For the study, the group conducted the study in English and Spanish using the INSPIRE (Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry), a project funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They published their findings today in the latest edition of JAMA Network Open.They examined data from 4,700 participants who had COVID symptoms between December 11, 2020, and August 29, 2022. Sixty-eight percent of the participants were female.Participants with ME/CFS at 3 months made up 3.4% of those who tested positive for COVID compared to 3.7% of people who tested negative for the virus. Researcher found no significant difference in prevalence through 12-month follow-ups.Researchers noted some limitations of the study, including differences in patient characteristics at baseline, such as new COVID infections in people who initially tested negative. They also said ME/CFS assessment is based on self-reported symptoms and may result in recall bias.ME/CFS, marked by the inability to easily do activities patients did before they got sick, can be disabling due to extreme fatigue, trouble with cognition, and other symptoms. The trigger isn't known, but researchers suspect that it might be due to infection, because many patients with the condition report illnesses directly before their ME/CFS symptoms began.

Study highlights impact of COVID lockdowns on drug-resistant TB diagnosis - A study conducted in South Africa highlights the impact that COVID-19 lockdowns had on drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) diagnoses and incidence patterns. The findings were published late last week in Annals of Epidemiology. For the study, a team of US and South African researchers compared the number, spatial distribution, and characteristics of DR-TB diagnoses in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province before and after the initial COVID-19 lockdown on March 26, 2020. Previous research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted rates of TB case notifications worldwide, resulting in an 18% decline in the number of diagnoses reported in 2020 compared with 2019, and a 26% decline in South Africa. The decline has been attributed in part to disruptions to TB services and hesitancy among TB patients to visit healthcare facilities out of fear of contracting COVID-19. From October 2018 through February 2022, 693 individuals were diagnosed with DR-TB in the province. The rate of diagnosis per year was 274 prior to the initial lockdown and 155 after, corresponding to a 43% decrease in the notification rate. Analysis of detailed sociodemographic data of a subgroup of DR-TB cases showed that, compared with cases diagnosed before the lockdowns, cases diagnosed after were associated with worse living conditions. Specifically, they were less likely to have a fuel source for heating, piped water, a flush toilet, or own a phone. DR-TB cases diagnosed after the lockdowns also reported more adults living in their household compared with cases diagnosed prior to the lockdowns. "These findings are similar to those found in a previous cohort study conducted in the region, and depict that indicators of poverty at both the individual and municipality level are associated with increased DR TB incidence, which may have worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic," the study authors wrote.

Long COVID primary care visits marked by breathing, sleeping problems Visits for symptoms associated with long COVID make up a moderate burden of primary care visits and are marked by recurring symptoms including breathing problems and sleep disturbances. The findings are published in Annals of Family Medicine.Primary care visits for long COVIDare, however, less frequent than long COVID-associated visits in subspecialty clinics.The study used data from the American Family Cohort, a national primary care registry to examine data from the years 2018 to 2021. In the United States, the authors estimate one-third of patient health visits occur in the primary care setting. Researchers compared three groups: people who had COVID-19, people from 2018-2019 with flu-like illnesses (ILI), and people from 2020-2021 who had regular health check-ups but not COVID-19. The researchers used the ILI patients as controls and looked for diagnostic codes for 17 long-lasting health symptoms most commonly associated with long COVID.Overall, 28,215 COVID-19 patients were compared to 235,953 historical control patients with influenza-like illness.COVID-19 patients had higher prevalences of breathing difficulties (4.2% vs 1.9%), type 2 diabetes (12.0% vs 10.2%), fatigue (3.9% vs 2.2%), and sleep disturbances (3.5% vs 2.4%), compared to ILI patients. "All differences were less than 3%, with most less than 1%, and all effect size estimates were less than 0.20, suggesting little or no meaningful difference," the authors said. "The mean number of conditions increased from 0.48 at diagnosis to 0.68 at the 6-month follow-up among patients with COVID-19 and from 0.46 to 0.59 among ILI control patients." In general, primary care visits for long COVID represented only 12% of patient visits after COVID-19 infection.The authors of the study said the lower prevalence of long COVID visits may be due to more mild initial infections."Greater COVID-19 severity is a known risk factor for PCC [post COVID condition], our study patients presented to primary care rather than an acute care setting," the authors wrote. "A tendency to include mainly patients hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment is a known critique of existing literature on PCC."

'Mini lungs' research leads to multiple COVID-19 discoveries -- Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys, University of California San Diego and their international collaborators have reported that more types of lung cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, including those without known viral receptors. The research team also reported for the first time that the lung is capable of independently mustering an inflammatory antiviral response without help from the immune system when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. This work is especially timely, as cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in the scientists' hometown of San Diego during a summertime spike. Looking beyond the region, more than half of the states in the country have reported "very high" or "high" levels of infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "While many people experience mild or moderate symptoms, COVID-19 still kills," adds Sandra Leibel, MD, MSc, a neonatologist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and an associate professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "This virus is here to stay, and we need to learn everything we can about it so we can improve treatment and prevention." Leibel, Snyder and their collaborators reported their new discoveries about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 in a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists used a technique to transform cells taken from patients into cells resembling stem cells. These embryonic-like cells—known as induced pluripotentstem cells (iPSCs)—can then be turned into other types of human cells. The team caused them to develop into a grouping of various lung cell types in a pattern that mimics the human lung at a smaller scale. "With most models for studying respiratory infections, you can't isolate a specific cellular response because you have all the immune system cells rushing in to help deal with the invaders," notes Snyder."Using our lung organoids or 'mini lungs,' another benefit is that we can choose the sex of the cells, so we're not just studying male-dominant or female-dominant lung tissue," adds Leibel. "This is important, as we know that the lung responds differently during disease if you're a female or a male."In addition, the team could make iPSCs from patients of different racial and ethnic groups to try to understand the known disparity in this and other diseases—both in terms of susceptibility to infection, severity of the consequences, and responsiveness to various medications.The scientists observed that SARS-CoV-2 was able to acutely infect many previously undescribed cell types in the mini lungs. This held true when testing different strains of SARS-CoV-2, although it was clear that certain strains were more effective at infecting specific cell types."People used to say that SARS-CoV-2 only infects cells with certain receptors, especially those with the ACE2 receptor known to interact with the infamous SARS-CoV-2 spike protein," says Snyder. "We demonstrated that when a direct entry point was unavailable, the virus just punches through the cell membrane instead."

Pandemic disbelief identified as key factor in vaccine hesitancy - A new study among Hispanic people in the United States suggests that an initial disbelief in the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to vaccine hesitancy among that population, especially among parents making vaccine decisions for their children. The study is published in PLOS One.Vaccine hesitancy is usually linked to safety concerns, but this study proposes that those concerns are not the total picture and that more research needs to be undertaken on Latino attitudes towards vaccination."The Hispanic/Latino/Latinx community makes up 19% of the United States population yet accounted for 24.5% of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) cases, second highest only to non-Hispanic Whites," the authors said. "Although 84% of Latinx adults over 18 years had completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines by March 2023, this community has been impacted by systemic inequities that have resulted in disproportionate health outcomes."The study was based on an online survey completed by 290 Latino parent and adolescent dyads from a Southwestern metropolitan area of the United States. The survey was given twice, initially between August 2020 and March 2021 and 1 year later.Among other questions, parents were asked to rate their agreement with the statement, "The COVID-19 pandemic is a conspiracy," and youth rated their agreement with the statement, "The COVID-19 pandemic is fake or not real."Overall, there was high vaccine uptake in the sample, with 88% of parents and 80% of youth receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.Most notable, however, was the role of youth pandemic disbelief (belief the pandemic was a conspiracy or not real) in vaccine hesitancy: In addition to youths' pandemic disbelief predicting their own vaccine hesitancy, the authors wrote, it also predicted their parents’ vaccine hesitancy."Parents are often thought of as the key decision maker for children under the age of 18, and although the final decision may rest with them, our findings suggest that their child’s perspective, particularly around disbelief, may be part of this decision-making process," the authors concluded.

Physician PTSD levels rose during COVID | In their meta-analysis, Canadian researchers reviewed 57 studies in the topic published between December 2019 and November 2022, which included nearly 59,000 participants across 25 countries. The team published its findings today in JAMA Network Open.Earlier studies have estimated the level of PTSD in physicians at 15%, notably higher than 4% to 5% for the general population. The COVID pandemic put an unprecedented strain on the health system with high patient volumes, overflowing hospital and intensive care unit populations, work burnout, and infections among physicians themselves.The team noted that assessing PTSD prevalence in doctors is challenging due to wide variation in study methods, which preclude making a definitive estimate. Their findings suggest that 18.3% of doctors reported PTSD symptoms during the pandemic. When they examined the studies for possible risk factors, they found higher PTSD levels in female, older, and trainee doctors. The group also found higher levels in emergency medicine and family medicine. Though PTSD levels are higher in women in the general population, more research is needed to explore why female doctors have higher levels than their male peers, the team wrote. Regarding higher levels in medical residents, they said longer work hours may contribute to great exposure to traumatic events.They said the findings can be used to guide interventions to prevent PTSD during traumatic events such as pandemics. "The high prevalence of PTSD suggests that system level changes may be indicated to support physician health, which can include wellness supports and specific interventions to target and alleviate root causes," the team wrote.

Data: COVID shaved 2.6 years from life expectancy—much more in some groups—in India - COVID-19 dealt an outsized blow to India during the first year of the pandemic, reveals an analysis of survey data from 765,180 residents that fills a gap left by the incomplete vital statistics and disease surveillance often seen in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford and the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics in Connecticut, estimates a 2.6-year lower life expectancy at birth and a 17% higher death rate, with the greatest losses among females, the youngest and oldest people, and marginalized groups.The investigators compared high-quality empirical data on death rates and socioeconomic characteristics from India’s National Family Health Survey-5 from 2019 to 2021 with official estimates from the United Nations and the Indian government. Prepandemic rates and characteristics from the two data sources matched closely.The team used a subsample of households from 14 states and territories (representative of roughly a quarter of India's population) interviewed in 2021 to compare death rates in 2020 with those in previous years.The research was published late last week in Science Advances.Life expectancy fell 2.6 years from 2019 to 2020, a decline larger than that in modeled life-expectancy estimates in India and in any high-income country (HIC) during the same period. While drops in life expectancy in HICs were mainly driven by rising death rates among people aged 60 or older, nearly all Indian age-groups—especially the youngest and oldest—contributed to lower life expectancy.The death rate was 17% higher in 2020 than in 2019 in India, implying an estimated 1.19 million excess deaths—eight times higher than the official number, 1.5 times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, and more than 2.5 times higher than US deaths. Higher death rates among children were likely due to other causes in addition to COVID-19 (eg, worse economic conditions, public health service disruptions), but excess deaths in 2020 among older people was higher than expected based on age-specific infection deaths in HICs and the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence seen in India, the authors said. "Greater observed than expected excess mortality for older age groups could have been due to higher age-specific infection fatality rates in India as well as due to indirect effects of the pandemic," they wrote.Unlike other countries, Indian women lost 3.1 years in life expectancy—1 year more than males, which the authors said could be attributed to healthcare inequalities and uneven allocation of resources in households. And Muslims and Scheduled Tribes lost 5.4 and 4.1 years, respectively, compared with 1.3 years among high-cast Hindu groups.Our findings challenge the view that 2020 was not significant in terms of the mortality impacts and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in India."Indian society is one of the most stratified in the world," the researchers noted, with Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Muslims facing discrimination based on caste, indigenous identity, and religion, respectively."Our findings challenge the view that 2020 was not significant in terms of the mortality impacts and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in India," coauthor Ridhi Kashyap, of the University of Oxford, said in a university news release. "While a mortality surge caused by the Delta variant in 2021 received more attention, our study reveals significant and unequal mortality increases even earlier on in the pandemic."The study also underscores the importance of considering inequality when calculating death rates and the need for policies to address social determinants of health, she added: "This was particularly noticeable on the role that COVID-19 had in further exacerbating the health impacts of pre-pandemic gender disparities."

Study: Pandemic widened global economic disparities -The COVID-19 pandemic hit low-income countries harder than wealthier nations, according to a new study in PLOS One, further slowing progress toward health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).On average, the pandemic caused low-income countries to experience an average progress loss of 16.5% across all health indicators, whereas high-income countries have seen losses as low as 3%, the authors said.The SDGs were developed in 2015 and adopted by the United Nations as a way to tackle both global poverty and the challenges of climate change. SDG 3 is “good health and well-being” and encompasses several indicators of a nation’s health, including controlling infectious diseases and protecting maternal health.The authors said 2021 was the first year since their creation that SDGs had a marked decline in progress. To understand the pandemic’s effects, the authors created a model for 185 countries to assess SDG goals in 2030 based on trends seen since 2020.The model takes into account the International Monetary Fund’s pre-COVID annual growth estimates for each country and compares them to growth estimates after 2021.Average economic growth losses after 2020 are 42% and 28% for low– and lower–middle-income countries and 15% and 7% in high– and upper–middle-income countries, the authors found.Interestingly, though high-income countries saw the biggest number of COVID-related deaths and illnesses, low- and middle-income countries have seen more downstream poor health outcomes in the wake of the pandemic, including decreased childhood immunization coverage and impoverishing out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.In middle-income countries, the authors found the most losses in SDG indicators of other infectious diseases. In lower-income countries, losses of 10% or more were seen with maternal-fetal health and environmental risks.High-income countries saw the most post-pandemic losses in noncommunicable diseases, injuries, and violence."The most significant losses are concentrated in Africa, the Middle East, Southern Asia, and Latin America. Positive results due to upward revisions are evident in Northern Africa (Libya and Sudan), Iran, Eastern Europe, among others," the authors wrote.

The COVID coverup still haunts the world -A new surge of COVID-19 in the United States — highlighted by President Joe Biden and his health secretary, Xavier Becerra, both testing positive — serves as a fresh reminder that there is still no accountability for a pandemic originating in China that killed more people than World War I. In his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump referred to the “China virus.”But, paradoxically, it is the U.S. under Biden that has effectively let Beijing off the hook for obscuring the origins of the COVID virus, including stonewalling international investigations into the credible possibility that the pathogen was functionally enhanced at China’s military-linkedWuhan Institute of Virology. Evidence has grown that the virus escaped from the Chinese lab due to inadequate safeguards. The U.S. role in aiding China’s coverup is all the more ironic because America has led the world in total COVID case counts and number of deaths since the first year of the pandemic. Biden, despite being vaccinated and boosted, is battling his third bout with COVID.Almost 1.2 million Americans, according to U.S. federal data, have died from COVID; worldwide, according to the WHO, around 7 million people died from this disease. Excess mortality studies, however, suggest that the American total is vastly undercounted. For example, one importantstudy this year concluded that that many excess deaths attributed to natural causes in the U.S. were likely “unrecognized COVID deaths.”Had the COVID virus originated in Russia, especially in a military-linked lab similar to the one in Wuhan, would the Biden administration have been as forgiving as it has been toward China?To be sure, the key reason why the U.S. government seems uninterested in getting to the bottom of how the COVID virus originated is that the coronavirus research at the Wuhan lab was part of a collaborative U.S.-China scientific program funded by the American government. Washington has up to now offered no explanation why U.S. government agencies, either directly or through the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, were funneling money to the Wuhan lab that they knew was linked to the Chinese military.More fundamentally, the most important lesson from the pandemic is that “gain of function” research (of the type U.S. government agencies funded in Wuhan) is the greatest existential threat to humankind ever produced by science — a threat bigger than nuclear weapons. Such research, aimed at studying pathogens by altering their genetic make-up to enhance their virulence or infectiousness, is still continuing in some labs in the West, China and Russia. These experiments represents a mortal threat to humanity.Viruses leaking from laboratories are not uncommon. In 1979, anthrax escaped from a Soviet laboratory in Yekaterinburg, killing 64 people. The 2004 SARS outbreak in Beijing also resultedfrom a lab leak. COVID originated in the city that is the center of Chinese research on super-viruses.Unfortunately, the role of American government agencies in the Wuhan coronavirus research led to a concerted effort, extending to U.S. scientific and bureaucratic institutions, to obscure the truth on how the pandemic began. Beijing’s own efforts to conceal the virus’s origins received unexpected help from Western governments, American mainstream media, Silicon Valley social media giants and some prominent American scientists who hid their conflicts of interest, including their ties with Chinese scientists.Until Biden in May 2021 publicly called the Wuhan lab-leak theory one of “two likely scenarios” on how the pandemic originated, major American media outlets treated that hypothesis as a crazy idea or fringe theory. Social media companies aggressively censored references to a possible lab leak, and even suspended accounts for supporting that hypothesis.The long suppression of an open debate on the COVID origins was intended to obscure America’s probable culpability. But the prolonged silencing of free discussion likely aided China’s efforts to destroy any incriminating evidence of its negligence or complicity in the worst disaster of our time. Simply put, the world’s most powerful autocracy and most powerful democracy were effective partners in covering up the likely genesis of a severely disruptive pandemic after their research collaboration backfired, imposing global costs. While China conducted dangerous experiments on coronaviruses with poor safeguards, U.S. funding from 2014 to 2020 enabled that reckless lack of responsibility. Understanding what caused COVID is essential to prevent the next pandemic, yet the truth may remain hidden forever.

Elevated levels of antibiotic resistance genes should be considered a new factor of global change, researchers say - Human-caused global change is a complex phenomenon comprising many factors such as climate change, environmental contamination with chemicals, microplastics, light pollution, and invasive plants. One of the main tasks of global change biology is to investigate the effects of these factors, as well as to identify potential new ones. The Rillig Lab at Freie Universität Berlin, led by biology professor Matthias Rillig, has been investigating factors of global change such as microplastics. In a new study, titled "Elevated Levels of Antibiotic Resistance Genes as a Factor of Human-Caused Global Environmental Change" published in the journal Global Change Biology, Rillig and his colleagues propose recognizing increased levels of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment as a new, standalone factor of global change. Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem facing human health, with the environmental reservoirs of genes that provide this type of resistance an established topic of investigation for researchers around the world. "These resistance genes do occur naturally, for example, in the soil. However, our proposal is related to how their number is increasing as a result of human activity," says Rillig. In part, this resistance is due to antibiotics that make their way into the environment through improper disposal and their increased use in human and veterinary medicine. However, these are not the only reasons. It has been shown that many factors of global change also contribute toward raising antibiotic resistance. For example, pollution with heavy metals or microplastics has also been shown to elevate levels of ARGs. "Faced with the number of global change factors that increase antibiotic resistance in the environment, the global spread of these effects, and the fact that these genes have very real biological consequences, we need to consider the increased number of ARGs itself a factor of global change," says Rillig, first author of the study. In the paper, the researchers argue that ARGs meet all the necessary criteria to be defined as a factor of global change. Including ARGs in the list of factors of global change would bring with it an important change in perspective. Previously, these genes were primarily considered measurement variables, i.e., the research focus was on if and how various human-caused factors influence these genes. Now, however, the ARGs themselves can be a treatment factor in experiments, i.e., a variable that can be directly manipulated in the lab.

Could a Conflict-Borne Superbug Bring on Our Next Pandemic? - As Sergiy Antonenko regained consciousness, the Ukrainian sniper realized the blaze set off by the makeshift explosive was all around him. It took nearly every remaining ounce of energy he had to roll into the river abutting the nameless village at the Dnipro border where his brigade had held the line against the Russians. When Antonenko woke up two and a half weeks later, in September 2022, he was in a hospital bed in Kyiv. He had suffered third-degree burns over 25 percent of his body. In the ensuing months, Antonenko’s injuries became a nightmare. The former farmer had lived through the battle, but his larger war for survival was just beginning. And it was taking place on a microscopic scale. Purplish, red-speckled burns now lined Antonenko’s arms, legs, torso, and back like odd, geometric tattoos. Where the burns came, the bacteria followed. In his case, a species ofKlebsiella so vicious that no antibiotic in modern medicine’s arsenal could stop it from feasting on his flesh, entering his bloodstream, and throwing the then-28-year-old into life-threatening sepsis.Antonenko’s case is far from rare. Injured soldiers all over the world are increasingly fighting a deadly, invisible enemy: drug-resistant bacteria, or so-called superbugs, which can spread like wildfire in conflict zones. But the risk is not limited to soldiers alone. As conflicts proliferate in all corners of the globe — Gaza, Yemen, Ecuador, Haiti — doctors are increasingly worried that the superbugs will find their way into civilian populations, too. The problem first came to light during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. At the time, Marines were surviving Humvee explosions and shrapnel injuries overseas only to die later of superbug infections back home. Since then, nearly two decades of research shows that the superbug threat isn’t just the stuff of off-tour veteran rumor mills. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out a most wanted list of 18 different bugs — technically, antimicrobial-resistant organisms, or AMRs for short — that the agency called “one of our greatest public health concerns.” The report cited nearly three million drug-resistant infections per year in the U.S. — and enough deaths annually to fill Madison Square Garden two-and-a-half times over. Moreover, as hospitals were overwhelmed by surges of Covid patients, the pandemic reversed the historical progress in the fight against superbugs: Infection rates — and deaths — each leapt 15 percent in the first year of the pandemic alone, a 2022 CDC report found. (An update released by the CDC on July 16 showed persistence of these trends: “We can and must do more to combat antimicrobial resistance,” the agency wrote in a press release.) Globally, AMRs are estimated to contribute to five million deaths every year — a number larger than the entire population of Croatia, and greater than deaths from HIV and malaria combined.

Preoperative Staph aureus colonization linked to increased risk of postoperative infections --Preoperative carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, especially in the nose, is associated with increased risk of S aureus surgical-site and postoperative bloodstream infections (SA SSI/BSI), researchers reported yesterdayin Open Forum Infectious Diseases.Higher bacterial load in the nose and S aureus colonization at other body sites further increased the risk, researchers with the ASPIRE-SSI study group found. ASPIRE-SSI was a prospective observational cohort study that followed adult surgical patients at 33 European hospitals for up to 90 days after surgery to assess the occurrence of and risk factors for postoperative S aureus infections.S aureus is known to colonize 20% to 30% of the human population at different body sites, particularly the nose but also the throat, axilla, and perineal region, and previous studies have shown that it causes approximately 30% of SSIs. This study aimed to determine the effects of S aureus nasal carriage alone, carriage at multiple sites, and bacterial load on the risk of developing SA SSI/BSI.Of the 5,004 patients included in the study cohort, 3,369 (67.3%) were S aureus carriers. Of the 100 SA SSI/BSIs that occurred, 86 occurred in S aureus carriers. Both S aureus nasal carriage (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0 to 8.6) and S aureus carriage at any body site (aHR, 4.6; 95% CI, 2.1 to 10.0) were independently associated with an increased risk of developing SA SSI/BSI within 90 days of surgery. The risk increased as the number of preoperatively colonized bodily sites increased (aHR, 3.5 to 8.5) as the number of colonized sites increased from one to three) and as the S aureus bacterial load in the nose increased (aHR, 1.8 to 3.4). But extranasal carriage only was not independently associated with increased SA SSI/BSI risk.

Global measles cases spiked 140% in 2019 amid falling vaccinations in many nations, study estimates A new study from Columbia University shows that measles cases around the world surged 140% from 2010 to 2019, with declining vaccination rates in 59 of 194 nations fueled by socioeconomic factors in some low-resourced countries and vaccine reluctance in wealthier nations.The researchers analyzed data on measles incidence, vaccine uptake, and socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental influences from 2010 to 2019 in the 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries using country-level linear regression models. The results were published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. "Measles cases and deaths increased globally following the disruptions to health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the researchers noted. "Even before the pandemic, measles cases were on the rise, including in countries that had previously eliminated the disease."During the study period, global measles cases per 1 million people varied, declining from 2010 to 2016 but rising about 140% in 2019. "Out of 184 countries reporting measles incidence data, the trend analysis indicates that only 6 countries experienced a clear decreasing trend in measles incidence and 12 experienced an increasing trend," the study authors wrote.Of the 10 socioeconomic factors considered in measles incidence, effective vaccine coverage, higher gross national per-capita income, greater proportion of urban population, migration, and political stability/absence of violence had significant negative correlations with lower rates. High birth rates, however, were positively correlated."These factors likely reflect the quality of public health infrastructure (e.g., access to vaccines), particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)," the researchers said. "In addition, stratified analysis suggests vaccine hesitancy likely contributed to measles case increases in high- and upper-middle income countries (HIC & UMIC)."While overall measles vaccine uptake increased, reaching 86% and 71% for first and second doses by 2019, it dropped in 37 countries and likely dropped in 22, according to model estimates. At the same time, vaccine coverage rose in 72 nations and likely rose in 20, and the trend was uncertain or stable in the other 43."The decline in vaccination coverage was most pronounced in the European region (18 countries experienced downward trend, followed by the African region (7 countries) and the American region (5 countries)," the researchers wrote. "These regional differences highlight the challenges in achieving widespread immunization against measles globally."

Quick Takes: Measles in Minnesota, new polio cases, liverwurst recall due to potential Listeria | CIDRAP

• Minnesota's health department has reported three measles cases in unvaccinated kids in the Twin Cities metro area, none of whom have any travel history. They are from different counties and don't appear to have any links to each other, suggesting possible community spread in Anoka, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties. The cases were identified on July 22 and 24 and bring the state’s total number of cases in 2024 to 15. All the cases have occurred among unvaccinated children, according to officials, and over 50% have been hospitalized. Two of the three most recent cases required hospitalization.
• Five countries reported new polio cases this week according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Pakistan reported a wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case. Vaccine-derived cases were detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1), Ethiopia (5), Somalia (1), and Yemen (11). This is the ninth WPV1 case reported in Pakistan this year.
• Boar's Head is recalling about 207,000 pounds of liverwurst due to potential Listeria contamination, after Maryland testing identified the pathogen in an unopened package as part of an outbreak investigation. The company is also recalling additional deli meat products that were produced on the same line and on the same day as the liverwurst. Recalled products were produced between June 11, 2024, and July 17, 2024. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, as of July 25, 2024, 34 sick people have been identified in 13 states, including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths.

PAHO warns of uptick in whooping cough cases -The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is reporting an uptick in pertussis (whooping cough) cases in several countries.In an alert published yesterday, PAHO said that the 7,251 pertussis cases reported in the United States through the first half of 2024 marks a 300% increase from the same period in 2023, while cases in Mexico are 242% higher than reported in all of 2023. Brazil and Peru are also seeing increases compared with 2023. PAHO notes that cases have also been rising in Europe.The increase comes after a decade of progressive annual declines in reported pertussis cases in the Region of the Americas. From 2012 to 2022, reported cases fell from a high of 72,328 to a low of 3,238 during the COVID-19 pandemic. But coverage with the first and third doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines (DTP1 and DTP3) also declined during the pandemic, and 2021 was the lowest-coverage year in the region when compared with the previous 20 years.Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Easily transmitted from person to person through droplets expelled by sneezing or coughing, it's a major cause of illness in children, who can have coughing fits that last 4 to 8 weeks.PAHO is encouraging member states to strengthen surveillance activities and maintain constant monitoring of vaccination coverage in children under 1 and 5 years of age.

Novel Vaccine Could Offer Lifetime Immunity Against Evolving Flu Strains --New research led by Oregon Health & Science University reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine — a so-called “one and done” vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus.The study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, tested an OHSU-developed vaccine platform against the virus considered most likely to trigger the next pandemic. Researchers reported the vaccine generated a robust immune response in nonhuman primates that were exposed to the avian H5N1 influenza, or flu, virus. But the vaccine wasn’t based on the contemporary H5N1 virus; instead, the primates were inoculated against the flu virus of 1918 that killed millions of people worldwide.Researchers reported that six of 11 nonhuman primates inoculated against the virus that circulated a century ago — the 1918 flu — survived exposure to one of the deadliest viruses in the world today, H5N1. In contrast, a control group of six unvaccinated nonhuman primates exposed to the H5N1 virus succumbed to the disease.Sacha said he believes the platform “absolutely” could be useful against other mutating viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.“It’s a very viable approach,” he said. “For viruses of pandemic potential, it’s critical to have something like this. We set out to test influenza, but we don’t know what’s going to come next.”

Poliovirus found in Gaza wastewater -Sewage sampling has turned up circulating variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) in two sites in the Gaza Strip, though no related paralysis cases have been detected, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in a July 19 statement.Genetic analysis suggests the viruses from the two locations are related to each other, and are closely related to the variant circulating in Egypt in the last half of 2023. GPEI said the virus could have been introduced to Gaza as early as September 2023. The health ministry is conducting a risk assessment to assess how well the surveillance system is doing at detecting acute flaccid paralysis and wastewater sampling and to more clearly assess subnational immunity levels. "The ongoing crisis continues to pose a significant challenge to the ability to implement full disease surveillance and outreach with immunization services," the group said, adding routine immunization rates in the occupied Palestinian territory were optimal before the conflict began in 2023. Polio vaccine coverage was estimated to be 99% in 2022, declining to 89% in 2023, according to the latest estimates from global health groups. GPEI said only 16 of 36 hospitals are partly functional and only 45 of 105 primary health facilities are operational. "The impact on health system, insecurity, inaccessibility, population displacement, and shortages of medical supplies, coupled with poor quality of water and weakened sanitation, have contributed to reduced routine immunization rates and an increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, the group said.The World Health Organization considers the risk of further spread within Gaza as high.

Multiple sclerosis progression linked to immune response outside the brain -- New research, led by the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton, shows that inflammation outside the brain, such as that caused by common infections such as colds and urine infections, is linked to the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).The Systemic Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis (SIMS) study followed 50 people living with progressive forms of MS for two and a half years. Researchers measured inflammation in the body by looking at a weekly urine sample. This inflammation can be caused by a number of factors, including infections, other medical conditions, trauma and an unhealthy lifestyle.The research is published in the journal Brain Communications. MS is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Over time, this can lead to the loss of nerves, which causes MS progression. Research in animals has shown that inflammation outside the brain can exacerbate this process, but researchers wanted to understand whether this happens in people with MS.The study also builds on previous research which has found that infections can sometimes trigger a relapse or temporary worsening of symptoms in MS. This new study suggests that inflammation, which can be caused by infections like colds, flu and UTIs (urinary tract infections), is linked with the loss of nerve cells in the spinal cord—which is a major underlying cause of MS progression."The results of this study suggest it is important for people with MS to minimize inflammation where they can. This includes receiving all recommended vaccinations and seeking prompt attention for bladder infections."Following a healthy lifestyle could also be beneficial, as factors like smoking, alcohol and obesity are linked to inflammation. And as health care professionals, we can help too by talking about these things with our patients so they have the facts they need."More than 150,000 people live with MS in the U.K., with 135 diagnosed each week. The condition affects the brain and spinal cord, impacting how people move, think and feel. Symptoms are different for everyone, but can include fatigue, pain, vision problems and mobility issues. Most people are diagnosed in their 30s or 40s, but it can affect people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and genders.

Multistate Listeria outbreak tied to meats sliced at delis sickens 28, kills 2 -The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report a 12-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenesthat has hospitalized all 28 people affected and killed 2 since late May. In an investigation notice posted late last week, the CDC said 16 of 18 people sickened (89%) reported eating meats sliced at deli counters (not packaged meats). The two deaths were reported from Illinois and New Jersey. Other affected states are Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. "This outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely higher than the number reported," the notice said. "This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria."The investigation is ongoing to determine the specific products that may have been contaminated. No products have been recalled. The CDC recommends that people at high risk for severe Listeria infections (pregnant women, those aged 65 and older, and those with weakened immune systems) avoid eating deli-sliced meats or heat them to an internal temperature of 165°F or until steaming before consuming. Any containers and surfaces that may have touched the meats should be thoroughly cleaned with hot, soapy water. "Listeria spreads easily among deli equipment, surfaces, hands and food," the notice said. "Refrigeration does not kill Listeria, but reheating to a high enough temperature before eating will kill any germs that may be on these meats."Infection usually causes fever, muscle aches, and fatigue but can also feature headache, stiff neck, confusion, balance problems, or seizures. Listeria can also lead to pregnancy loss or premature delivery in pregnant women, and life-threatening illness in newborns. Symptoms typically begin within 2 weeks of eating contaminated food, but can start the same day or as late as 10 weeks later. Anyone with Listeria symptoms who recently ate sliced deli meats should call their healthcare provider, the CDC said.

India reports fatal Nipah virus infection - India's health ministry yesterday reported a fatal Nipah virus case involving a 14-year-old boy from Kerala state, which has been the country's hot spot for the virus in recent years.The boy from Mallapuram was hospitalized for acute encephalitis in Perinthalmanna before he was transferred to a facility in Kozhikode. Samples were sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, which confirmed Nipah virus. Investigators are looking for related cases and conducting contact tracing, and a federal task force will be deployed to assist health officials in Kerala state. The top health official in Kerala state said the boy had eaten hog plum fruit from his neighborhood before he got sick and that the neighborhood harbors bats, according to the Hindustan Times. Health officials have identified 350 contacts, of which 101 are considered high risk. Nipah virus is spread by fruit bats and can be spread person-to-person. People can also contract the virus from drinking palm sap or eating fruit contaminated with bat urine, droppings, or saliva. The disease has a high case-fatality rate, and currently there are no specific treatments or vaccine, though a clinical trial is underway in India and Bangladesh to assess a monoclonal antibody treatment. The trial, launched earlier this month, is supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Response. An expert group led by the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which publishes CIDRAP News, with support from Wellcome recently published an updated roadmap for developing medical countermeasures against Nipah virus.

Iran reports first local dengue cases -- In the middle of June, Iran's health ministry reported the country's first two locally acquired dengue infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in an outbreak announcement.The patients with confirmed infections are from Bandar-Lengheh in Homozgan province, located in southern Iran. Neither had a recent travel history, and their illnesses were confirmed at the Pasteur Institute in Bandar Abbas.As of July 17, Iran's number of locally acquired cases had risen to 12, all from the same city. The WHO said Iran averages about 20 imported dengue cases per year but this year has seen a sharp rise, with 137 reported between May and July."The confirmation of local dengue virus transmission in 2024 is therefore an unusual although expected event due to the presence of the vector in the country and movement of people from endemic areas to Iran," the WHO said. Mosquito surveillance in Iran suggests two mosquitos that carry the virus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are present in five of Iran's provinces: Sistan and Balouchistan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzastan, and Gilan. Iran's health ministry has stepped up hospital readiness in response to the emerging threat and has identified high-risk provinces for targeted mosquito control activities. The WHO said it is supporting the ministry to enhance surveillance and by distributing medical and rapid diagnostic supplies.The WHO said the risk to Iran from dengue is high due to the presence of the vector, favorable conditions for mosquitoes, and movements of people from countries where the disease is endemic into Iran.

Rat disease with no cure has spread to humans and killed four people - A rodent disease that can be spread to humans and has no cure has killed several people in the US and prompted a health warning. Cases of hantavirus, which is spread from rodents to people through viral droplets from handling materials with the animals’ urine, saliva or feces, are on the rise, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services From the beginning of January to the start of July this year, seven cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome have been confirmed in Arizona. Three of them resulted in death. The syndrome ‘is a severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness caused by the infection with hantavirus’, stated the agency in a July 12 advisory. In addition, there have been two hantavirus cases in California and one death. Symptoms include fever, headache, and muscle aches quickly making it hard to breathe. Hantavirus has been found mostly in deer mouse in the Grand Canyon state and is not spread on human-to-human contact. But it is not confined to a specific region. ‘It can be present in many areas in the southwestern region of the United States where there is rodent activity, even if mice are never seen,’ the advisory states. Before the recent hantavirus cases, the last one in Coconino County was reported in 2016. The syndrome was detected in 1993 after infecting a Navajo tribe residing at the border of Arizona and New Mexico. About 80% of the population died at the time. Public health officials recommend residents who have experienced rodent activity to follow certain clean-up procedures.They include spraying rodent droppings and nests with disinfectants like bleach, sealing and discarding them in the trash, and avoiding dusting up infested areas. Residents are also advised to stop rodents from entering their homes by sealing holes larger than a quarter-inch in diameter with wire screen or cement, and to use traps for mice found inside. ‘The best way to prevent infection with this illness is by carefully disinfecting and cleaning up any waste products from the rodents and by not coming into contact with them,’ Dr Aaron Glatt, Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital’s chief of infectious diseases, told NBC News. Arizona’s hantavirus warning comes more than six months after a new case of the ‘zombie deer disease’ at Yellowstone National park sparked concerns that the fatal illness could spread among humans.

China reports fatal H5N6 avian flu case --China has reported another H5N6 avian flu infection, which involves a 70-year-old woman who was sick in the middle of June and has died from her illness, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said today in a statement. The woman is from Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in eastern China. Her symptoms began on June 17, following a visit to a live poultry market. She was hospitalized on June 19 and died on July 8.Highly pathogenic H5N6 is known to circulate in China's poultry and in a few other Asian countries. However, only China and Laos have reported human cases, which are often severe or fatal.China has now reported four H5N6 cases for 2024. It reported its last illness in June, which involved a man from Fujian province who also died from his infection. Since the first human infections were reported in 2014, China has now reported 92 cases.

Colorado orders weekly bulk tank avian flu testing for dairy farms Colorado's state veterinarian yesterday issued a mandatory order for weekly bulk milk-tank testing for highly pathogenic avian influenza, as officials continue to battle the virus in dairy herds, with recent spillover to at least one large layer farm and workers culling the birds.The order from state veterinarian Maggie Baldwin, DVM, applies to all dairy cow farms licensed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and took effect yesterday.It applies to all farms that aren't currently in quarantine and will apply to all affected farms that are released from quarantine. The samples will be collected by CDPHE-certified collection samplers and submitted to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.With 49 outbreaks in dairy cattle reported by the state's agriculture department so far, Colorado by far has reported the most of any of the 13 affected states. The state has 105 licensed dairy facilities. Weld County has been the state's hardest hit area and is where the B3.13 genotype circulating in dairy cattle was recently confirmed at a massive layer farm. Outbreaks at two large layer farms in Weld County have recently been linked to seven H5N1 infections in cullers, who are working in barns in heat wave conditions, which make it difficult for personal protective equipment (PPE) to provide optimal protection.The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today added one more confirmation in another herd from Colorado to its list of affected dairy farms, raising the national total to 169 from 13 states.In its latest updates, APHIS also reported one more outbreak at a poultry farm, a commercial table egg pullet facility in Weld County.Also, APHIS reported detections in three live bird markets in Florida's Miami-Dade County, which together have nearly 800 birds. Since H5N1 was first detected in US poultry in early 2022, more than 100 million bird losses have been reported across 48 states, according to APHIS.

Avian flu infects two more Colorado poultry cullers, one at second farm - The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) today reported that another worker culling poultry a second large layer farm tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza in preliminary tests, just days after it reported another case at the first farm, raising the total number to seven.Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed initial positive results for H5N1 in two of Colorado's recent cases, detailed genetic sequencing findings from a sample from a sick Colorado poultry culler, and reported preliminary results from a seroprevalence study in Michigan farm workers. In a statement today, the CDPHE said the patient who tested positive in initial state testing was providing assistance at a second large layer farm hit by the virus in Weld County. Culling operations are under way at two large layer farms, which together have about 3 million birds.Last week, federal health officials said the culling staff is working in sweltering conditions in the poultry barns, which makes personal protective equipment (PPE) less effective and may further spread environmental contamination. They also described a slow, laborious hands-on process for culling the birds that increases worker exposure to the virus.In a July 19 statement, the CDPHE reported an additional confirmed case from the first of the two layer farms where earlier infections were reported. On the same day, the CDC said in an update that it has confirmed H5N1 in the two most recent infections from the first farm. Similar to the earlier cases, workers had mild infections and were offered the antiviral drug oseltamivir, the CDC added.The CDC also said it has uploaded a genetic sequence of the virus from one of the Colorado cullers to public databases. It is closely related to the B3.13 genotype found in recent poultry outbreaks and infected cattle herds. "This is the only virus that CDC has been able to fully sequence out of the cases in Colorado so far," the group said. The virus primarily has avian genetic characteristics and doesn't have changes that increase its ability to infect or spread among humans. It has the same PB2 M631L mammalian adaptation marker seen in nearly all dairy cow sequences and in Michigan's first human case. It did not have the PB2 E627K mutation—linked in the past to adaptation in mammals—that was seen in an earlier human case from Texas.In its update, the CDC also detailed initial findings from a Michigan-led seroprevalence study, which has so far looked at blood samples collected in June from 35 people who work on Michigan farms that had H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cows. The participants were from multiple counties and had different roles, though all had worked directly with sick cows. Fewer than half said they wore masks or goggles. Researchers tested the blood samples for antibodies to the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus, which might suggest undetected infections. As a control, they also measured antibodies against seasonal flu viruses. None of the 35 workers had antibodies to H5N1, but many had neutralization antibodies to seasonal flu, suggesting prior infection or vaccination. The CDC said the initial findings align with earlier studies from Asia that suggested low H5N1 seroprevalence, even in workers with known exposure. The number of affected dairy farms continues to rise, with five more outbreaks confirmed, raising the national total to 168 from 13 states, according to the latest update from the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Four of the latest confirmations are from Colorado, with the fifth from Minnesota.

Finland offering farmworkers bird flu shots - KFF Health News - As bird flu spreads among dairy cattle in the U.S., veterinarians and researchers have taken note of Finland’s move to vaccinate farmworkers at risk of infection. They wonder why their government doesn’t do the same. “Farmworkers, veterinarians and producers are handling large volumes of milk that can contain high levels of bird flu virus,” said Kay Russo, a livestock and poultry veterinarian in Fort Collins, Colo. “If a vaccine seems to provide some immunity, I think it should be offered to them.” Among a dozen virology and outbreak experts interviewed by KFF Health News, most agree with Russo. They said people who work with dairy cows should be offered vaccination for a disease that has killed roughly half of the people known to have gotten it globally over the past two decades, has killed cats in the U.S. this year, and has pandemic potential. However, some researchers sided with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recommending against vaccination for now. There’s no evidence that this year’s bird flu virus spreads between people or causes serious disease in humans. And it’s unclear how well the available vaccine would prevent either scenario. But the wait-and-see approach “is a gamble,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University. “By the time we see severe outcomes, it means a lot of people have been infected.” “Now is the time to offer the vaccines to farmworkers in the United States,” said Nahid Bhadelia, director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Even more urgent measures are lagging in the U.S., she added. Testing of farmworkers and cows is sorely needed to detect the H5N1 bird flu virus, study it, and extinguish it before it becomes a fixture on farms — posing an ever-present pandemic threat. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the agency takes bird flu seriously, and the U.S. is stockpiling 4.8 million doses of the vaccine. But, he said, “there’s no recommendation to launch a vaccine campaign.” “It’s all about riskbenefit ratios,” Daskalakis said. The benefits are blurry because there hasn’t been enough testing to understand how easily the virus jumps from cows into people, and how sick they become. Just a handful of people in the United States have tested positive this year, with mild cases — too few to draw conclusions. Other farmworkers and veterinarians working on dairy farms with outbreaks have reported being sick, Russo said, but they haven’t been tested. Public health labs have tested only about 50 people for the bird flu since the outbreak was detected in March. Still, Daskalakis said the CDC is not concerned that the agency is missing worrisome bird flu infections because of its influenza surveillance system. Hospitals report patients with severe cases of flu, and numbers are normal this year. Another signal that puts the agency at ease is that the virus doesn’t yet have mutations that allow it to spread rapidly between people as they sneeze and breathe. “If we start to see changes in the virus, that’s another factor that would be part of the decision to move from a planning phase into an operational one,” Daskalakis said.

Colorado reports 2 more avian flu infections in poultry cullers --The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) today reported two more human avian flu infections connected to H5N1 outbreaks at poultry farms, both of whom are part of the response to an event at a second large layer farm.Colorado is currently battling the virus at two large layer farms in Weld County, which combined have about 3 million birds. Officials have said heat wave conditions may be contributing to recent infections in poultry cullers. Poultry depopulation is a laborious process, and sweltering conditions in the barns and air movement from industrial fans are thought to be reducing protection from goggles and masks the workers are wearing. On July 20, the state reported the first illness linked to the second farm, which was classified as a presumptive positive. Colorado has now reported nine cases among workers at the two layer farms. The state had earlier reported another case in a dairy farm worker, bringing its total to 10 in recent outbreaks.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that it has confirmed three H5 avian influenza infections from the second farm. It added that all of the people had been working directly with infected poultry.Patients have mild illness, and all have been offered the antiviral drug oseltamivir.The CDC said the new cases haven't changed its risk assessment for the general public, which remains low. However, it said the latest infections underscore the risk from exposure from infected animals. Also, the CDPHE today said later today it will launch a data table to track human infections. Colorado is currently grappling with ongoing outbreaks affecting dairy cows, and the B13.3 genotype circulating in cows has been confirmed in at least one recent outbreak at a massive layer farm in Colorado, along with a worker on that farm.The CDPHE said it would update the data table by 4 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that it will include presumptive positives, confirmed cases, and the approximate number of people tested.Earlier this week, the Colorado Department of Agriculture reported a third recent outbreak, this time at a layer pullet facility in Weld County that houses about 300,000 birds. Officials also reported two more outbreaks on dairy farms, raising its total to 51. The avian flu outbreaks have affected nearly half of the states licensed dairy farms. In response to the ongoing escalation, Colorado's state veterinarian ordered mandatory weekly bulk milk testing.

UK ups risk assessment for H5N1 in US dairy cattle --The United Kingdom's Health Security Agency (HSA) yesterday updated its risk assessment for H5N1 avian influenza B3.13 genotype in US dairy cattle, from three to four on a six-tier scale, noting that it is making the notch up based on moderate confidence.The group made its initial assessment on the US H5N1 developments in May, when it put the level at three, with a caveat that said it may have risen to four, but with low confidence. In the update, the HSA said, "There is high uncertainty regarding the trajectory of the outbreak and there is no apparent reduction in transmission in response to the biosecurity measures that have been introduced to date."Mild zoonotic cases in humans are likely going undetected and unreported, so there isn't enough data to say if the rate is unusually high. So far, the B3.13 genotype is limited to the United States, and hard to gauge whether other genotypes in Europe could trigger similar outbreaks. "Levels are indicators that a zoonotic influenza virus outbreak may be an increasing human health threat, either because the opportunities for it to evolve are increasing or because there is evidence that it has already begun to evolve," the group said.Yesterday when it announced two more H5 avian influenza infections in poultry outbreak cullers, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) said it would launch a dashboard on confirmed human cases, presumptive positives, and people tested. The dashboard reflects 10 cases, which include nine related to the poultry culling activities and one worker exposed to poultry. So far, about 118 people have been tested for the virus.

ISU research identifies possible point of entry for avian flu in cattle -As avian influenza is being detected in more and more dairy herds across the U.S., Iowa State University researchers have found a possible “why” connection to the virus being found in raw milk. A study published this month by a team in ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine found that bovine mammary gland tissue held receptors for the avian influenza virus, offering a potential explanation for how cattle are being infected.Todd Bell, a professor of veterinary pathology and co-author of the study, said the idea to look at mammary glands as a potential entry point for the virus came after it was identified in raw milk. Two ISU alums in the spring identified an illness impacting cattle in Texas as avian flu, and ever since different teams at the university and in partnerships with other organizations have been working to tackle the virus and its spread from different angles.“They really answered the ‘what,’ what was actually going on, what was making these cattle sick, which is a new and novel finding, and then our job, really, at that point as researchers was to understand the ‘why,’” Bell said. “We’ve never seen this before. Why is this happening?” To understand the concept, Bell suggested thinking of viruses as like keys, and receptors are like locks to cells. In order for the avian flu virus to enter a cell and reproduce, it needs the right receptor. The research team found that receptor on cattle mammary glands. Another receptor they found is connected to human influenza, Bell said, which is important because it opens up the possibility of a cell being infected by both viruses, potentially causing the creation of a new virus. “To our knowledge, that hasn’t happened yet in this particular outbreak, but we wanted to look for those receptors to understand what might be possible and hopefully stop the transmission and stop that from happening,” Bell said. The team also looked at the respiratory system to try and identify evidence of the bird flu, but found little there, narrowing down the possibilities of how cattle are being infected. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, as of July 12 the avian influenza had been detected in dairy herds in 12 states, including 13 herds in Iowa. While the virus is being detected in raw milk, the pasteurization process ensures it is safe to be consumed. While Bell and his colleague’s work is still very much focused on the “why” of avian flu in dairy herds and its spread, he said the hope is that their research will help inform regulators in making decisions on testing and biosecurity measures to try and stop the spread of the virus. He said there is some literature that states the virus can live on milking machines for a few hours after an infected cow is hooked up to them, offering one potential method of spread.“We hope that what we find will help them make those types of decisions, specifically if we can find it in mammary tissue, then how do we stop it from getting to that mammary tissue in the first place,” Bell said.

New study confirms mammal-to-mammal avian flu spread --A new study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission—between cows and from cows to cats and a raccoon."This is one of the first times that we are seeing evidence of efficient and sustained mammalian-to-mammalian transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1," said Diego Diel, associate professor of virology in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) in the College of Veterinary Medicine.Diel is co-corresponding author of the study titled "Spillover of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus to Dairy Cattle," published in Nature.Whole genome sequencing of the virus did not reveal any mutations in the virus that would lead to enhanced transmissibility of H5N1 in humans, although the data clearly shows mammal-to-mammal transmission, which is concerning as the virus may adapt in mammals, Diel said.So far, 11 human cases have been reported in the U.S., with the first dating back to April 2022, each with mild symptoms: four were linked to cattle farms and seven have been linked to poultry farms, including an outbreak of four cases reported in the last few weeks in Colorado. These recent patients fell ill with the same strain identified in the study as circulating in dairy cows, leading the researchers to suspect that the virus likely originated from dairy farms in the same county.While the virus does have the ability to infect and replicate in people, the efficiency of those infections is low.

Are Chronic Wasting Disease Fears Making People Quit Deer Hunting? --- Wyoming hunter Meg Stanton had to reread her mule deer’s chronic wasting disease results a couple times. The four-point buck she had shot in an old burn scar last fall had looked healthy. It showed no signs of disease. But the test came back positive for CWD and now Stanton had a decision to make. She could throw out the animal she’d harvested, field dressed, and partially processed, or she could finish packaging the meat and eat it anyway. The Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization advise hunters like Stanton not to eat a CWD-positive animal. Plenty of hunters do anyway. She briefly weighed her options, then chose not to risk it. So just like thousands of hunters from Wyoming to Saskatchewan to Pennsylvania have also done, she hauled the quarters to the landfill. Then she had another decision to make: Would she keep deer hunting knowing this could happen again? As CWD continues to spread across the country and prevalence rates in some areas creep upwards, wildlife managers have asked similar questions of hunters. Will hunters quit buying deer tags because they’re concerned about getting CWD? And, will hunters hang it up after they’ve shot a few CWD-infected deer that wind up in a landfill? Bryan Richards, the emerging disease coordinator at the National Wildlife Health Center, says there’s an “ick” factor when it comes to CWD and venison. “Human dimensions work suggests pretty clearly that at some point, when prevalence gets high, and I don’t know that there’s a pure definition of that, but when prevalence gets into 30 percent or 40 percent, either hunters or their families will alter their behavior,” he says. “At some point you go, ‘this is no longer worth it.’” Surveys by Responsive Management, a research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues, have found that when the disease is discovered in a new location, license sales and participation drop, but they usually creep back up, says Mark Damien Duda, the company’s executive director. Hunters have what he describes as a moderate level of concern, which is somewhere between head-in-the-sand pretending CWD doesn’t exist and being afraid to touch a piece of venison regardless of where it came from or if it was tested. People also tend to trust their state fish and game agencies, taking their lead. On the flip side, Richards says plenty of people still knowingly eat animals that test positive. Most survey respondents from a group of hunters in Wisconsin with CWD-positive deer said they planned to eat the venison, Richards says. A retired Wyoming wildlife disease specialist once told me that many hunters responded to positive CWD results by saying, “Thanks, I’m eating it anyway.” The caveat, he says, is those hunters were unwilling to feed CWD-infected meat to their children and grandchildren. Richards often gives talks at sporting clubs and hunting groups about the possible danger of the disease and watches as people nod along. “Then I’m done and walking outside and see three or four people are out there talking about CWD having a cigarette,” he says. “The messaging about tobacco use is pretty darned clear as well, but a lot of people have made a choice not to follow that health guidance. It’s all about risk tolerance.”

Clearance of deer cull carcasses is a loss to ecosystem, finds Scotland study --The removal of deer bodies following annual culls in Scotland may be depriving the environment of essential nutrients, according to a new study published inEcological Solutions and Evidence.Ecologists estimate that the clearance of deer carcasses prevents hundreds of thousands of kilos of vital minerals from re-entering the environment every year.This loss could undermine the long-term success of habitat recovery efforts, experts say.In Scotland, deer populations have been actively managed since 1959, primarily to control over-browsing—eating shoots and leaves of trees and shrubs.Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Yale University used nationwide cull data on red, roe, fallow, and sika deer between 2010 and 2022 to calculate annual nutrient losses. They estimated levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and calcium for each deer species based on their average body and antler size.They calculated that 251,188 kg of calcium, 195,652 kg of nitrogen and 152,834 kg of phosphorus are lost across Scotland each year.The research team says that the loss of calcium has a bigger environmental impact than loss of nitrogen or phosphorus. Low-calcium soils can hinder commercial and native woodland regeneration, and can have knock-on effects for birds, which experience declines in shell thickness in low-calcium environments.Carcasses also bring other ecosystem benefits, such as being a food source for small predators including pine martens. Carcasses have also been shown to distract predators from ground-nesting birds, such as capercaillies, during the breeding season."The results of our study call for deer managers to reconsider current practices and integrate approaches that retain a proportion of deer carcasses within ecosystems.

Plan to capture Minnesota elk, establish new herd gains momentum -An idea first floated a dozen years ago to capture wild elk and move them to an area in northeastern Minnesota is two years away from reality—a progression firmed up by the recent hirings of two full-time elk specialists. This spring, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources big game biologist Kelsie LaSharr was promoted to the new permanent position of elk coordinator to oversee the establishment of Minnesota's fourth wild elk herd. Similarly, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa just hired Makenzie Henk, a wildlife biologist who studied Roosevelt elk in California. She was hired from California's Catalina Island Conservancy and starts work July 29. "She's going to be the elk biologist for Fond du Lac and our lead on all things elk," said Fond du Lac wildlife biologist Mike Schrage, who has led the band's exploration of elk starting in 2013. The DNR has become a full-fledged partner in the project, also supported by the Legislature ($2.3 million in 2023), University of Minnesota, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, among others. Plans call for the new herd to be located around the Fond du Lac reservation in an area roughly bounded by Cloquet, Cromwell, Floodwood and the St. Louis River. Schrage and LaSharr said the first capture and relocation of animals is planned for the first three months of 2026. The animals will be sourced from two of the three existing wild herds roaming in northwestern Minnesota. "The number will depend on how many elk will be available," Schrage said. "We will be trying to move what we consider to be surplus animals."

How roads are reshaping and scarring our planet, and even changing animals' DNA --A web of roads encircles the Earth and stretches 40 million miles. In Crossings, a new book by environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb, tarmac is exposed for the planet-shaping force it is—one that has polluted rivers and the air, emptied soils and woodlands, and struck fear into wild animals.Roads are one of the most ubiquitous man-made features, existing on every continent and in most habitats. Their effects don't end at the paved periphery either. While roadscover 1% of land in the US, their ecological effects—disruptive noise, foul air andhabitat fragmentation, to name a few—extend over 20% of the country, according to Goldfarb.Furthermore, transport is among thefastest-growing contributors to climate change, wildlife collisions with vehicles cause more than 59,000 human injuries in the US each year, and road design disproportionately burdens the health and welfare of low-income and minority communities.An estimated 25 million miles of new road lanes will be built worldwide by 2050. Roadbuilding will have to change drastically for any hope of preserving biodiversity and halting climate change.Despite roadkill being a common sight, its consequences are easily ignored. Vehicles directly kill more land-based vertebrate animals than anything else humans do, be it poaching, hunting, trapping or causing fires.Roads and their effects are so pervasive that they even leave a mark in DNA. For example, after years of flying in between and over cars, cliff swallows haveevolved shorter wings to nimbly avoid getting hit by them.Swifts are, in one sense, a success story. Other species haven't been so lucky. Throughout Crossings, roads are described as knives, scalpels and guillotines that carve up the landscape. Nor are waterways spared: culverts (tunnels that carry streams and rivers under roads) are so ubiquitous and faulty that they have thwarted fish migrating upstream to breed, and caused populations to collapse.Even the sounds that roads create can dramatically change animal lives. Robins, wrens and great tits raise the frequency of their calls to be heard above cars.One study found that some birds spent so much additional energy around noisy roads, trying to listen for predators, that they were too tired to forage and starved.

Global study demonstrates benefit of marine protected areas to recreational fisheries -Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are having a positive spillover effect, producing more "trophy-size" fish just outside of the fully protected areas, and the effect is growing stronger over time. That's according to research led by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa scientists at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) published in Science Advances. The research provides the first global assessment of the benefits of MPAs. "Trophy-size" refers to fish that are exceptionally long or heavy and are considered a rare, prized catch. "This standardized global assessment illustrates the benefits that MPAs provide for recreational anglers, confirming the effectiveness of MPAs in enhancing fish biomass and local fisheries," says Simone Franceschini, Principal Investigator of the study and a Postdoctoral Researcher at HIMB. "Our study found that MPAs may take more than 20 years to show tangible spillover effects in the adjacent areas, which helps to set realistic expectations about the timeframe over which a marine reserve can be expected to have this type of effect on surrounding fisheries." The Hawaiian archipelago has 13 state and federal MPAs. The state protected areas, called Marine Life Conservation Districts, are managed by the State of Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources. Marine protected areas have been identified as one of the most effective tools for securing marine biodiversity, but until now the global impact of MPAs on local, recreational fisheries has been unclear. This study provides globally-relevant guidance for what management agencies, conservation practitioners, and, importantly, recreational fishers can expect over the long term from the establishment of MPAs. "In this paper, we test whether the results of one of the most well-known studies of MPA impacts on recreational fishers can be replicated at a global scale," explains Elizabeth Madin, co-author of the paper and Associate Professor at HIMB. "We show that, on average, highly-protected marine ecosystems produce tangible, real-world, long-term benefits for recreational fishers, resulting in a win-win situation for nature and people alike. Nonetheless, it's important to realize that not every MPA will have the same spillover effects, and that successful MPAs have been shown to depend on community support, enforcement, and effective fisheries management."

Deal of the day: New study links online shopping to air pollution | Grist - Nitrogen dioxide levels near e-commerce warehouses are 20 percent higher than in other neighborhoods. It can even be measured from space. In recent decades, the way Americans buy things has undergone a radical transformation. E-commerce firms like Amazon have reshaped how people shop and how they receive their purchases, dotting the country with gigantic warehouses for the distribution of merchandise and bringing high volumes of truck traffic to nearby communities. In a paper published Wednesday, researchers at George Washington University used satellite data to measure the air pollution associated with large warehouses — the first such nationwide study. The researchers focused in part on nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, a traffic-related air pollutant that is regulated under the Clean Air Act and is linked to asthma and other respiratory diseases. The study, which was funded by NASA, cross-referenced the locations of 150,000 warehouses across the U.S. with satellite observations of NO2 and found that people who live near warehouses are exposed to an average of 20 percent more NO2 than those who don’t. It also found that warehouses are located disproportionately in Black, Hispanic, and Asian neighborhoods — and that the concentration of racial minorities was closely correlated with the number of warehouses in a given area. Over 250 percent more Hispanic and Asian residents live near the largest warehouse clusters than the national average. The highest concentrations of NO2 pollution are one or two miles downwind of the warehouses, said Gaige Kerr, the study’s lead author. This reflects the fact that NO2 is not directly emitted by vehicles. Instead, Kerr said, “Tailpipes emit NO, nitrogen oxide, and then NO undergoes chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Those reactions take a little bit of time, so the result of that is, you can imagine, there’s this plume of NO-rich air at the warehouse and it’s blown by the prevailing winds.” Warehousing is as old as the shipping of goods, but Kerr said the growth of online retail has transformed an industry that had looked the same for decades. “If you look at a plot of warehouse characteristics over time, the average new warehouse built from about 1980 to 2010 all kind of are the same,” Kerr said.But then everything changed. “Following 2010, there is a really dramatic increase in the average square footage of warehouses,” Kerr said. “There’s about a 400 percent increase in the number of loading docks at the average warehouse, and also increases in the number of parking spaces as well as the density of warehousing clusters.” With the growth of these facilities came organized community opposition in some of the country’s biggest warehouse hubs. In California’s South Coast, home to the largest concentration of warehouses in the country, local regulators adopted a landmark pollution rule in 2021, requiring warehouses to offset pollution from their trucks by choosing from a suite of actions including adding electric vehicle chargers or solar panels, or paying a mitigation fee to fund clean energy investments in the affected communities.This rule was novel in its recognition of warehouses as an “indirect source” of pollution: Even though the buildings themselves didn’t emit pollutants, their owners were now on the hook for the pollution from the traffic they brought. Other states have begun considering implementing versions of this rule. Kerr said there are policy solutions available at a variety of jurisdictional levels to lessen the health impacts of warehouse pollution. Besides issuing emissions limits, the federal government can further incentivize the electrification of trucks. But other players can do their part as well: “Individual corporations can pledge to phase out some of their older diesel vehicles, which are the worst when it comes to pollution. And there can also be commitments from electric utilities to deploy charging infrastructure, especially near clusters of warehouses and in really heavy trucking corridors,” Kerr said.

Climate change threatens age-old Mauritania date harvest --Wandering atop a small sand dune in central Mauritania, Aliene Haimoud gazed despondently at the yellowing date palms before him –- the trees are dying if they are not already dead. The advance of the desert is striking in the oasis village of Azougui, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) northeast of Nouakchott, the West African state's capital. Despite the ever-encroaching sand which is gradually swallowing up the trees, residents here are preparing for the Guetna -– the annual harvest date. The popular event is rooted in a long nomadic tradition and involves large family celebrations centered around the small, sweet fruit—the region's main source of income. "You go from 10 to 1,000 friends," one local said cheerfully. But when a palm tree dies, a little of the life in each village is extinguished. "Because of the sand, people are forced to settle elsewhere, because here there can be no more harvests," said Haimoud, president of the local cooperative association. Nearly 20,000 palm trees have perished since the 1980s and his village is becoming emptier every year, he said. Like other countries in Western Africa and the Sahel region, Mauritania is on the front lines of climate change. Temperatures in the region are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, while rainfall is erratic and wet seasons are decreasing, according to a 2022 report from the UN Human Rights Office. In Mauritania, the government has tried to halt the desertification by planting trees to repel the onslaught of sand. But the chosen prosopis variety has caused the soil to dry out even more, further exacerbating the palm trees' fragility. Around 70 kilometers further south, the green oasis of M'Heiret has also been decimated. Some 6,000 palm trees, already weakened by years of drought, were swept away two years ago by the massive flooding of a wadi—a stream that forms during the rainy season. The trees now lie in the riverbed, which is completely dry at this time of year. "This place used to be full of palm trees," said Amou Dehah, who was mayor of the village at the time. "Their owners are still here, but there's nothing left for them," he added. "We need to find a solution. If we don't, people will go and live elsewhere, because this is our only source of income," he added.

Earth just sweltered through the hottest day ever recorded -Sunday was an unprecedented day, and not just because President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race so close to the election. July 21 was the hottest day on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, with a global average temperature of 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly beating out the previous record set on July 6 of last year. For 13 straight months now, the planet has been notching record temperatures, from hottest year (2023) to hottest month (last July). And what was a daily temperature record eight years ago has now become worryingly commonplace. “What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the European Union’s Copernicus service, in a statement. “We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.” The territory may be uncharted, but the causes of this heat are abundantly clear. For one, there’s the steady rise of global temperatures due to carbon emissions. Since 1850, the Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.11 degrees F per decade on average, but that rate of warming since 1982 has jumped to 0.36 degrees per decade. Last year was already the hottest year on record by far, while 10 of the warmest years have all happened in the last decade. Copernicus also notes that before July 2023, the daily global average temperature record was 62.24 degrees F, on August 13, 2016. But since July 3, 2023, 57 days have exceeded that mark. Uncharted territory, indeed. The world may also be feeling the lingering aftereffects of El Niño this summer. That’s the band of warm Pacific Ocean water off the coast of South America, which sends additional heat into the atmosphere that raises temperatures and influences weather patterns. The most recent El Niño peaked around the new year,then faded through this spring. “The atmosphere knows no boundaries,” said Shang-Ping Xie, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. “We’re still under the influence of El Niño. Not to mention that North Atlantic warming is one of the reasons that this Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be very active.” So while July 21 might have been sweltering for landlubbers, the parts of the Atlantic Ocean where hurricanes form are also extremely hot. Those warm waters are what fuel cyclones like Hurricane Beryl, which slammed into Texas earlier this month and left hunger in its wake. Scientists have forecasted five major hurricanes and 21 named storms this season, thanks in part to those high ocean temperatures. There might also be some natural variability thrown into the mix this summer: Some years are just hotter than others even in the absence of human-caused warming. And this time of year is when global average temperatures naturally peak, as the Northern Hemisphere summer starts to mature. (More landmasses in the North absorb and emit the sun’s energy, versus all that ocean area in the South that helps cool things down. “It just so happened that we had a spike on top of what is typically the warmest climatological week of the entire year,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, which does its own climate analyses. “This is the warmest day on record, but also July is now — at least in my analysis — almost certain to not be the warmest July on record.” That is, the 13-month streak of records may well come to an end. Last July was so hot, it set a very high bar for future Julys to beat.At the same time, by Hausfather’s calculations, there’s a 95 percent chance that 2024 will edge out 2023 as the hottest year ever. “It’s just been so warm in the first six months of the year that even if we don’t set new records for the second six months, we’re still very likely going to end up above 2023,” Hausfather said. “We’ve just built up that much of a lead already.”

Global temperature records again broken on Monday and Tuesday --Satellite data from the European climate monitoring service Copernicus confirms that Monday and Tuesday were the hottest days on Earth so far recorded by the program. Temperatures Wednesday will likely also be added to the record once the preliminary data are finalized. The last such record was on July 6, 2023, when the global mean temperature (the temperature measured over the entire surface of the planet over the span of 24 hours) reached 17.08 degrees Celsius (just under 64 degrees Fahrenheit). On Monday, the temperature rose to 17.09 degrees Celsius before spiking to 17.16 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.Preliminary data, which will be confirmed in the coming days, show that temperatures hit 17.15 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.The regions experiencing the highest anomalous temperatures, contributing to the new record, are Antarctica, the western and northern parts of North America, and parts of Siberia.Data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concurs with the trends represented in the Copernicus data. In the past seven days, 1,769 locations monitored by NOAA around the world have tied or broken heat records.Such record-breaking temperatures have become a regular occurrence in the past two decades. The past 10 years are among the hottest 11 years recorded by Copernicus, with the one outlier being 2010, which was slightly hotter than 2014.Moreover, there are indications that 2023 was something of a tipping point for global warming. In the 67 years in which Copernicus has collected such data, Earth’s temperatures have climbed about 0.02 degrees Celsius each year. In contrast, the average worldwide temperature from January to December last year was 14.98 degrees Celsius, a jump of 0.17 degrees Celsius from the previous hottest years in 2016 and 2020, and a spike of 0.30 degrees Celsius hotter from the average worldwide temperature in 2022.Data from the first half of this year suggest that 2024 will have a similarly sharp increase in the global temperature.The direct cause of the record high temperatures is man-made climate change, itself caused by the largely uncontrolled release of greenhouse gases over the past century and a half by capitalist production. In particular, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere via burning fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, natural gas) traps more and more of the heat Earth receives from the Sun, steadily increasing the planet’s temperature.And the problem compounds, since carbon dioxide stays and builds up in the atmosphere. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has measured atmospheric carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii since 1958. The first measurements recorded CO2 levels of about 315 parts per million in the atmosphere. Levels now stand at 424 parts per million.Various atmospheric models suggest that CO2 levels have to be brought sharply down, to as low as 350 parts per million, to reverse global warming.One of the many complications is the collapse of land “carbon sinks.” In the past, carbon dioxide has been removed from the atmosphere by forests and jungles as plants go through their natural growth cycle. From 2010 to 2022, such growth removed about 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. A recently published preprint on atmospheric and oceanic physics found that in 2023, these carbon sinks only removed at most 0.65 gigatons of CO2 from Earth’s atmosphere, as a result of extreme heat, drought and wildfire activity last year. If the trend continues, the world’s forests will generate a net increase to atmospheric carbon dioxide, yet another tipping point in the climate crisis. Humanity is already living through the dire consequences of unchecked climate change. This year alone, wildfires and the ongoing global heat wave have killed thousands. At the end of June, Hurricane Beryl developed from a tropical depression to a Category 4 and Category 5 hurricane in the span of a few days, the earliest in a year that such a rapid intensification has happened. Beryl is expected to cost upwards of $32 billion, once all the damage has been assessed, and caused 52 confirmed deaths. And the hurricane, heat wave and wildfire season have only barely begun. As Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Joseph Kishore recently said in a campaign statement: According to a report published by the World Meteorological Organization last year, a staggering 489,000 people died from heat-related causes every year between 2000 and 2019—that is, nearly 10 million total.Kishore continued:Scientists have repeatedly warned that the climate crisis produced by global warming is reaching a tipping point. Steadily increasing temperatures are behind a series of disasters, from deadly hurricanes to wildfires. Warming oceans threaten the entire global food chain, and rising ocean levels from melting ice caps will lead to worldwide and permanent flooding in areas where billions of people live.And there is growing evidence that climate change is pushing thousands of species out of their native habitats, increasing the likelihood of spillover events and future pandemics even deadlier than Covid-19.

A Jump in the Global Temperature -- Scientists have concluded a few years ago the Earth has entered a new climate state. This is one not seen in more than 100,000 years. Read elsewhere, that conclusion was part of a climate assessment report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021. In 2024, we are threading in new temperature events which do not bode well for us. The Hottest Day in 125,000 Years? The AtlanticMonday was likely the hottest day on Earth since modern record keeping began. On that day, the planet was 17.16 degrees Celsius, or 62.89 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, according to the European climate service Copernicus. It narrowly beat out the previous record, set just the day before, by about 0.1 degrees. Like previous records of its kind, that news was quickly characterized as the hottest day in millennia since the peak of the last interglacial period, about 125,000 years ago. That claim is true, in a way: Ice cores and sediment cores can tell us with remarkable precision what the world was like back then, a very hot and radically different place. Hippos lived in the British Isles, and the seas were 20 to 30 feet higher than they are today. Comparing July 22, 2024, to the peak of a prehistoric hot era isn’t quite fair: Those ancient temperatures, deciphered through sampling layers of ancient ice or soil, are at best one-year averages, not one-day averages, like that of the record-breaking days this week. But average annual temperatures are rising fast too, and are approaching, if not yet surpassing, those ancient highs. For example, the world was about 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in 2023 than the average of the late 19th century, which is used as a benchmark for the preindustrial climate. The long-term average temperature during the last interglacial period was something like 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 19th-century benchmark. We are not yet living in the world of 125,000 years ago. We have simply and ominously visited it.Paleoecology professor at the University of Maine Jacquelyn Gill thinks of these visits as “dipping your toe” into that ancient climate. If temperatures held at this level for a week or two each year, we’d be ankle-deep. We could be experiencing even warmer climate soon. If the long-term temperature averages over decades begin to resemble the current short-term ones. We’ll have succeeded in traveling back to the interglacial period from a climate perspective.“We have a couple of degrees to go,” Gill told me. “But we’re certainly on track. That’s where we’re headed by the end of the century.”Gill specializes in that precise time period. The warm era between the last two glacial periods when the seas rose by some estimates an average of eight feet a century, submerging large areas of land. Studying that time is a useful window into what may lie ahead for us. Arctic summers were probably ice-free, and were four to five degrees Celsius warmer than they are today.There is evidence that although some ice likely persisted year-round in Antarctica, the rapid melting of the Antarctic ice sheet likely played a major or even starring role in the oceans’ rise at the time. This detail is especially worrying, given that the Copernicus analysis pointed to an unusually warm Antarctic winter as one of the main factors pushing the global temperature into record-breaking territory earlier this week. Antarctic temperatures have been as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal this winter. Scientists still don’t fully understand Antarctic sea-ice dynamics, making insights about how ice sheets reacted the last time the world warmed this much particularly useful.The climate 125,000 years ago was very unstable, Gill said. The hotter air temperatures may have fueled stronger storms, including hurricanes, a parallel to the rapidly intensifying hurricanes the planet is experiencing now. Some models of that ancient period suggest, warmer air holding more moisture result in the Asian monsoon becoming more intense, echoing the rainfall increase projected for the modern monsoon season in the nearer future. (Other studies of that period suggest a weakened interglacial monsoon, which goes to show how hard it can be to look back that far.) But by all accounts, in our modern climate, the relationship between heat and rain is clear:As the world warms, wet places will get wetter, possibly as they did the last time the world warmed like this. Forests at the time extended well into the Arctic circle. As the tree line moved northward, so did animal species, according to the fossil record. The Neanderthals, our closely related human relatives, followed. They “started going further north than they had been hanging out previously, tracking resources up,” Gill said. Northward migration of both humans and other species is already a foregone conclusion of climate change today. But every organism living now is dealing with temperature change that’s likely happening far faster than creatures alive back then experienced. Whereas the world warmed over thousands of years in the last interglacial period, human activity has warmed the planet rapidly in just the past 150 years or so. Many species simply cannot move toward newly more habitable places fast enough to survive.While Neanderthals certainly had no say in the chaotic and overheated climate they contended with, modern humans are in no such bind. If humanity ceased to burn fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases, the planet would, within a few years or decades, likely begin to cool. Gill adds . . .“We get to decide how much time travel we’re doing. I don’t want to go to the interglacial. It’s fun to visit in my mind, but it’s not the planet I want to live on.” For most people, from a climate perspective, Monday was just a typical day. None of us can feel the slippage of a global average into record-breaking territory, and even if we could, a fraction of a degree would not likely faze anyone. And yet, all the same, we are hurtling remarkably fast toward a world distinct from the one our societies developed in. Paleoclimatic data exist precisely for this moment: to show us what might be ahead, should history be allowed to repeat itself.

322 suspected heat-related deaths in a single week in Maricopa County, Arizona -- In Maricopa County, Arizona, 322 suspected heat-related deaths are being investigated, with 100 of these deaths taking place in a single week, July 7-13, when temperatures reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius). At this point, 23 deaths are confirmed in the county, with 17 being directly caused by heat and six others being “heat-contributed.” This is likely a vast undercount as heat deaths are frequently not recorded as such.The 10 warmest years in the recorded history of world temperatures, going back to 1850, have all occurred in the last decade. This crisis has created conditions for global heat waves that have killed thousands of people and sickened tens of thousands. This is in addition to the associated increasing number of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, as well as the spread of infectious diseases, which include mosquito-, flea- and tick-borne diseases, as well as the spillovers of viruses (and other pathogens) to humans from animals. In the United States, this has resulted in hundreds of heat deaths, particularly in the Southwest in 2023, as well as 33 in the Western US reported earlier this month. In Houston, Texas, at least half of the official deaths from Hurricane Beryl have been due to heat. The disaster itself was a result of global warming and negligence by the local, state and federal government, as well as the profit-hungry power company CenterPoint energy, leading to nearly 3 million homes and businesses lacking power in the midst of a heat wave. The death toll is likely to rise, as the cleanup efforts as well as power outages continue. Houston has been the subject of numerous hurricanes and associated power outages, such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when 350,000 CenterPoint customers were left without power, and in 2008, when Hurricane Ike left 2.26 million customers in the dark. That CenterPoint was unprepared was unsurprising and demonstrates the incompatibility of for-profit utilities and basic human needs. In 2021, tens of millions across Texas were hit by power outages in the midst of a winter blast, leading to hundreds of deaths. The state’s grid was previously taken off the national grid to facilitate deregulation in favor of for-profit power providers. That the state experienced the highest number of weather-related power outages from 2000 to 2023 is a function of this for-profit deregulation scheme.Last year, there were 645 heat deaths in Arizona’s Maricopa County alone. This represented an increase of 52 percent over the previous year. The majority of these deaths, 60 percent, were among “non-Hispanic White individuals” with 78 percent being male and two thirds over age 50. Almost half of those who died were experiencing homelessness.The 2023 Heat Related Deaths Report, while presenting these facts, is also a grotesque whitewash, as exposed on page 4 of the report where deaths are mentioned. Graphics on the number of drug users, that one out of two had “physical/mental health conditions” and that “71% of heat related deaths occurred on a day with an excessive heat warning” are intended to lay blame on the victims themselves for using drugs and being homeless. This reasoning is absurd, considering that almost 20 percent of Americans experience some form of mental illness, and at least 129 million people in the US (roughly 39 percent) have at least one major chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or hypertension, according to the CDC. More than 40 percent of the US population is obese. This argument could easily be used to justify the heat death of any average American. In many ways, the report is a variant of the Biden administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which it embraced eugenics claiming that it was “encouraging news” that COVID-19 predominantly kills people who are “unwell to begin with.” It also mirrors the “you do you” personal responsibility argument, claiming what is clearly a social problem boils down to personal responsibility.

Sandhurst Fire 10% contained, evacuation orders lifted after intense efforts, Utah - A blaze that ignited on July 20, 2024, at Ensign Peak near Salt Lake City, Utah, prompted a mandatory evacuation order for residents north of Dorchester Drive and a voluntary evacuation for neighborhoods west of East Capitol Boulevard. By the evening of July 21, firefighters had achieved 10% containment and lifted the evacuation order. Despite ongoing containment efforts, the fire’s proximity to homes, infrastructure, and gas lines remains a concern. Sandhurst Fire started on July 20 near Ensign Peak and was 10% contained by Sunday evening, July 21, according to officials. Subsequently, Salt Lake City police announced the lifting of the evacuation order that had been in place for over a day. “Today we had really good success on the fire,” said Ryan LaFontaine, operations trainee with the Northern Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team. “If conditions on the fire stay the way they are and we don’t have any more flareups,” he noted around 20:00 local time (LT) on July 21. “We’ll be looking at potentially lifting that order at around 22:00 LT tonight.” “After strong efforts by firefighting resources on the Sandhurst Fire, containment has been reached on the southern perimeter,” said Salt Lake City police at 22:00 LT on July 21. “Fire managers feel confident the fire will not progress further towards the community. Therefore, they have recommended lifting the evacuations for the fire,” the statement added. This decision affected the mandatory evacuation order for residents north of Dorchester Drive, including Twickenham Drive, as well as the voluntary evacuation of the neighborhood west of East Capitol Boulevard and east of Victory Road. LaFontaine mentioned that overnight, operations would include staffing the fire with a team and several engines to maintain a presence and respond to any potential issues arising from the predicted diurnal winds. Morning crews on July 22 will focus on reinforcing the southern and eastern perimeters, aiming to increase containment. Throughout July 21, firefighters targeted hotspots on the eastern side of the fire, with helicopters and ground resources intensively addressing these areas. On the western side, firefighters secured the northern ridge line near the communication towers on Ensign Peak and the southern flank of the fire. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, which the Utah Fire Info website indicated was human-caused without further details. Authorities continue to request that people avoid the area, with trails on Ensign Peak, Tunnel Springs, and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail remaining closed. “With fire engines, helicopters, and hand crews battling the fire, I’m optimistic we’ll make progress and the fire will not grow in size,” Lambert told reporters around 15:00 LT on July 21.

Wildfires plague the West amid a scorching heat wave and high winds (AP) — At least a half-dozen homes lay in ruins Monday after one of many dangerous wildfires in the West suddenly swept into a Southern California neighborhood during a blistering heat wave. Six homes were ravaged and seven damaged when the fire sparked by fireworks erupted Sunday afternoon in a hilly area of Riverside, a city about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, authorities said at a media briefing Monday evening.The blaze scorched just under a square mile (2.6 square kilometers). Resident Noel Piri and his wife were away when they got a call about a fire in the neighborhood, rushed home and rescued their dog. Unfortunately, their house was in flames when firefighters arrived, The Press-Enterprise reported.“It was kind of sad to see the house was gone,” Piri told the newspaper after rummaging through the remains of the newly remodeled house.Riverside hit 102 degrees (38.9 Celsius) on Sunday amid a heat wave that has been largely focused on the interior of California and is expected to last through much of the week.Many other fires were also burning throughout the state, including one that started Saturday and rapidly expanded to more than 4 square miles (10.3 square kilometers) on the border of Lake and Colusa counties, northwest of Sacramento. Containment reached 25% on MondayMore than two dozen fires also were burning in the Pacific Northwest and Idaho, where lightning ignited more blazes in Oregon over the weekend amid extremely dry and hot conditions. The largest blazes were active in rural areas of eastern Oregon and Washington, and smoke was impacting air quality in those places as well as into Idaho.Authorities evacuated the town of Huntington, Oregon, with a population of about 500, and temporarily closed a stretch of Interstate 84 late Sunday after thunderstorms caused a massive smoke column to collapse.The implosion of the plume sent winds of 50 mph (80 kph) in every direction, raising fears the fire would jump I-84, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. Evacuation orders remained in place with extreme fire behavior prompted by high winds pushing the flames Monday afternoon, authorities said. The fire covered more than 272 square miles (704 square kilometers) with no containment.

'Long-duration' heat wave to again broil inland California - LA Times --Another bout of prolonged heat has kicked off across California and much of the West, expected to again bring several days of triple-digit temperatures to most inland areas.July’s second major heat wave isn’t forecast to be as extreme as the last event, which set several all-time records for high temperatures. Nevertheless, theNational Weather Service predicted that it will be a “long-duration heat wave,” which creates uniquely dangerous conditions — especially when temperatures barely drop at night.“Heat is cumulative over multiple days,” said David Gomberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “It starts to impact more people the longer the duration — and this has that going for it.” The next few days of extreme heat could cap a potentially historic month when it comes to hot temperatures.“Given what has already transpired, and the forecast for the next week or so, it’s quite likely that much of California and the Southwest will end up experiencing their hottest July on record,” UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain wrote in a blog post this weekend. Much of inland Southern California remains under an excessive heat warning through Thursday night, with highs forecast from 100 to 110 degrees and lows staying in the 70s and 80s, the warning said.“There is a high risk for dangerous heat illness for anyone, especially for the very young, the very old, those without air conditioning, and those active outdoors,” the weather service warned.Weather officials continue to urge residents across California’s interior to take the heat seriously, especially after the last heat wave was linked to several deathsacross the region.Climate change is transforming the character of the West’s hottest periods — making them more frequent, more persistent, more humid and more lethal. Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels also play a role, not only by fueling higher air temperatures but also by warming ocean water.In Death Valley, temperatures may not drop below 100 degrees over the next three days, with daytime highs reaching up to 125 degrees, the National Weather Service said.Influencing the heat this week will be some monsoonal moisture over the state’s mountains and deserts. That moisture could cause some thunderstorms through Wednesday, forecasters said.“Afternoon high temperatures will feel more oppressive than experienced a few weeks ago due to the increase in humidity,” the weather service in Las Vegas warned.This week’s excessive heat warning also covers much of the San Joaquin Valley through Wednesday night, as well as the Bay Area’s interior mountains; both regions are expected to see temperatures that easily surpass 100.

2 infants injured in fast-moving Fork Fire in Southern California's Angeles National Forest - Two infants needed medical attention due to smoke inhalation as a fast-moving brush fire in Southern California spread 330 acres with 0% containment, officials said as of Saturday morning. The brush fire began in the San Gabriel Mountains in northern Los Angeles County near East Fork and Glendora Mountain roads after 3:00 p.m. local time, according to Angeles National Forest officials, who named the spreading blaze the Fork Fire. Highway 39 remains closed on Saturday, officials said. Firefighters applied hoses on two flanks of the wildfire late Friday night. Multiple families had to evacuate the area, which has several hiking trails, officials said. Two infants required medical attention due to being exposed to smoke during their escape, according to officials. The condition of the children and others evacuated is not known at this time. "Spreading is rapid, winds are light and growth potential is high," Angeles National Forest officials said. There is no immediate threat to buildings in the area, officials added.

Fireworks blamed for devastating Southern California wildfire that destroyed homes | KTLA --While some victims of a fast-moving wildfire in the City of Riverside that destroyed six homes and damaged seven others are asking questions about the fire department’s response time, city officials say the devastating blaze was caused by fireworks. The “Hawarden Fire” started around 1:30 p.m. in the 6500 block of Hawarden Drive in Riverside Sunday and quickly spread to just over 500 acres. An estimated 1,500 people were forced to evacuate their homes as the intense flames ignited trees and residences. By late afternoon Monday, crews with the Riverside Fire Department had the blaze fully contained. For Angelena Piri, who is three months pregnant, and her husband, Noel, the containment came too late. The recently married couple’s home was completely gutted by the fire. While the Piris are heartbroken and in shock at the loss of their home, they’re also frustrated because they believe the damage to their home was preventable. “We immediately started calling the fire department,” Angelena told KTLA. “They were like, ‘Yes, we’re dispatching them right now.’” The Piris say that call was at about 3:39 p.m., but it wasn’t until an hour and a half later that they finally saw fire crews respond to their house. Cpt. Paul Seawright with the Riverside Fire Department said resources were limited and that the fire’s erratic movement required additional help, but at the same time, neighboring agencies were responding to the “Eagle Fire” less than 20 miles away in Corona. “I can’t speak to the details of the reflex time, what we call response time,” he explained. “Our dispatch center was overwhelmed at the time with multiple calls. I know that our dispatch center and our command staff and our frontline personnel did everything that they could to stop the fires from damaging structures.” In a press conference held Monday evening, Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson confirmed the number of structures burned and damaged and added that there is surveillance footage of suspects believed to have started the fire with fireworks fleeing the area. As for the Piris, they said they had created a defensible space around their home and had contacted the city about the dry, overgrown brush nearby that was a fire hazard. KTLA has reached out to city officials about whether that brush was in the city’s jurisdiction and is awaiting a response.

California’s Park Fire explodes into massive ‘inferno consuming everything in its path’ – (4 videos) In just several hours, the Park Fire in California exploded from a 162 ha (400 acres) fire to more than 58 750 ha (145 000 acres) massive inferno, consuming everything in its path. One person has been arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze. The Park Fire broke out Wednesday afternoon, July 24, 2024, near Bidwell Municipal Park in Chico, California, and exploded in size to more than 28 700 ha (71 000 acres) by late Thursday, making it California’s largest wildfire so far this year. At 01:04 LT on July 26, the fire had consumed 58 750 ha (145 171 acres) and was just 3% contained. The fire has consumed more than a dozen homes, buildings, and cars and is burning in 2 counties now – Butte and Tehama. Early on July 25, the fire prompted the evacuation of 3 500 residents near Chico. In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the acquisition of a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure sufficient resources for fire suppression efforts. CAL FIRE, in cooperation with multiple agencies, has activated Incident Management Team 3 (IMT 3) to coordinate the response, leveraging staff and resources from across the state. The prompt response of CAL FIRE law enforcement and Butte County District Attorney investigators has led to the arrest of an individual in connection with this fire. The suspect is currently in custody as the investigation continues. “This year more than 54 arson arrests have been made statewide,” a CAL FIRE representative said. The fire is driven by low humidity and strong winds and is part of a broader increase in fire activity across California. To date, more than 141 640 ha (350 000 acres) have burned this year, which is double the five-year average.

Wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia force evacuations, Canada - Wildfires in northern Alberta prompted evacuations of three communities as the province contends with five significant blazes posing a severe threat to safety and infrastructure. Over 5 000 residents were affected, covering 62 000 ha (150 000 acres). Meanwhile, British Columbia is battling over 300 wildfires, exacerbated by a three-week heatwave. High temperatures and lightning have caused widespread evacuation orders, with firefighters struggling to contain the rapidly spreading flames across both provinces. Wildfires in northern Alberta have prompted evacuations of three communities, as the province battles five significant “wildfires of note.” According to a provincial body, the fires pose a considerable threat to public safety, communities, and critical infrastructure. Evacuation orders have been issued for the communities of John D’Or, Fox Lake, and Garden River, affecting approximately 5 000 residents and covering nearly 62 000 ha (150 000 acres). Despite the widespread fires, no threat to oil sands production has been reported. Currently, Alberta is experiencing 158 wildfire events, with 55 classified as out of control.

Wildfire devastates Jasper National Park, forces mass evacuations, Canada – (2 videos) A destructive wildfire continues to engulf parts of Jasper National Park and the adjacent town of Jasper in Alberta, Canada, leading to extensive evacuations and significant structural damage. As of this morning, the fire, which started due to lightning, has destroyed an estimated 30 – 50 % of buildings in the area. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith provided an emotional update yesterday, describing the situation as the worst nightmare for the community. “This is devastating for our residents and the many who cherish Jasper National Park,” Smith said, noting the park’s significance as a major tourist destination and a source of pride for many generations. The latest map shows the estimated perimeter of what Parks Canada originally named the North and South Wildfires. Because the perimeters of the two wildfires have merged, they are now referring to the wildfires in Jasper National Park as the Jasper Wildfire Complex. Accurately mapping the affected area has been challenging due to strong winds, extreme fire behavior, smoke, and the relocation of incident management personnel to Hinton on the evening of July 24, Parks Canada officials said. This area is now estimated at 36 000 ha (88 958 acres). The wildfire, driven by high winds and dry conditions, prompted immediate evacuation orders on Monday, July 22. Approximately 25 000 people, including residents and tourists, have fled the area. The emergency alert initially stated that the fire was expected to reach the community in about five hours, or around 03:00 LT on Tuesday, but it was later updated to clarify that everyone needed to be out by then. Incident Command confirmed that all critical infrastructure in Jasper, including the hospital, emergency services building, elementary and junior/senior schools, activity center, and wastewater treatment plant, has been successfully protected. However, a detailed damage assessment is pending. Preliminary reports indicate that some homes and businesses have been lost, with the most significant damage occurring on the west side of town, southwest of Miette Avenue. Firefighting efforts have so far prevented major damage to infrastructure in the east end of town, and the priority remains on protecting unaffected structures. In addition to structural damage, several bridges around the town and throughout the national park have been impacted, including Moberly Bridge and Old Fort Point Bridge. Bridges on the Icefields Parkway also require assessment for potential structural damage. These damages are expected to delay access to Maligne Lake and Highway 93, with a full damage assessment still forthcoming. The Canadian National Railway’s main line through Jasper has been shut down due to the advancing flames. This critical transportation route, which connects Vancouver and Prince Rupert to the rest of Canada, has seen significant disruptions. CN Railway has deployed its firefighting train, Trident, to protect the track infrastructure, and there have been no reports of track damage so far. Efforts to contain the wildfire are ongoing, with around 400 firefighters from around the globe joining the battle. However, despite recent rainfall providing temporary relief, forecasted warm weather is expected to worsen fire conditions in the coming days. Authorities have warned that the battle against the fire could last for weeks, with a significant rebuild required once the flames are extinguished.

Severe storms bring flooding to southeastern U.S., Texas mobilizes emergency response - -- Heavy downpours and thunderstorms continued to affect the southeastern United States, particularly Texas, resulting in severe flooding and road blockages. Governor Greg Abbott activated emergency response teams to mitigate flash flooding risks as the Guadalupe River in Kerrville reached flood levels for the first time since 2018. Torrential rain and thunderstorms continue to batter the southeastern United States, with severe weather predicted to persist through the weekend. On July 23, several regions across Texas faced severe flooding and road blockages due to heavy downpours. In Kerrville, the Guadalupe River reached flood levels for the first time since 2018, as the area received 50 – 100 mm (2 – 4 inches) of rain per hour at times on the morning of July 23. The river is expected to rise 1.21 m (4 feet) by the evening of July 24. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of flash flooding threats from severe storms moving across the state. “As storms with heavy rainfall move across our state, communities in East Texas and the Coastal Bend are urged to remain weather aware and be mindful of flash flood risks,” said Governor Abbott in a news release on July 23. Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall are expected today through the weekend, bringing an increased risk of flash flooding to the southern half of the state. River flooding is also expected across East/Southeast Texas, with that threat expanding towards the Coastal Bend mid-week, according to the National Weather Service Coastal Texas, Louisiana, and the Carolinas are expected to experience the heaviest rainfall and the highest risk of flash flooding. While the Southeast will see intermittent sunshine and typical late-July heat, the region will remain prone to severe downpours, according to AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. From July 23 to July 27, the Texas coast to western Louisiana is projected to receive 25 – 102 mm (1 – 4 inches) of rain, with localized areas potentially seeing 102 – 203 mm (4 – 8 inches). An AccuWeather Local StormMax of 381 mm (15 inches) is forecasted. In Houston, blocked drains from debris left by Beryl may exacerbate flooding issues. “The main funnel of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will be directed toward southeastern Texas and part of Louisiana through July 26 and possibly into the weekend,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. “Some of that rain will fall within a couple of hours, overwhelming storm drains and causing flash flooding in cities such as Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Victoria, Houston, and Port Arthur. Driving through flooded roads can be dangerous, as water may rise rapidly, be fast-flowing, or conceal washed-away roadways.”added Buckingham Some downpours are expected farther inland over Texas to portions of the Interstate 35 corridor, providing relief from drought conditions in central Texas, benefiting residents, agriculture, and watershed management. Metro areas like San Antonio and Austin, as well as Laredo, should expect some rain. Northern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, southeastern Arkansas, and southern Tennessee will also experience downpours. An enhanced zone will develop over the Carolinas, where 25 – 102 mm (1 – 4 inches) of rain with locally higher amounts are expected through July 26. Cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia, and Charleston are at risk for flash flooding. Across the Southeast, there will be a mosaic of shower and thunderstorm activity through the weekend. Any rainfall will benefit groundwater, small streams, and reservoirs, particularly in drought-stricken areas. Localized flash flooding and afternoon storm wind gusts pose risks, particularly near airports like Atlanta, Houston, and Charlotte, potentially causing flight delays and cancellations.

Extreme rainfall, severe flooding in Haute-Marne department, France - Severe thunderstorms caused severe flooding in France’s Haute-Marne department on July 20, 2024, leaving significant damage and injuring at least 5 people. The prefecture reported that the “intense stormy episode” started at 19:00 local time (LT), impacting the communes of Bologne, Marault, Annéville-la-Prairie, and Meures. Rainfall in these areas was ten times higher than usual in just one hour, local authorities reported. Météo-France confirmed that Bologne, Meures, and Sexfontaines experienced over 50 mm (1.97 inches) of rain within an hour and nearly 100 mm (3.94 inches) over six hours. Emergency services responded to 80 incidents, with five individuals hospitalized primarily for hypothermia. By 01:00 LT, six roads in the department were blocked, about 60 homes were without power, and 34 people had been evacuated to the Sexfontaines village hall. The departmental council reported considerable damage in several municipalities due to water and mud flows. A second storm hit Bologne around 23:00 LT, resulting in more than 1 m (3.28 feet) of water flooding the streets and homes within minutes. Montbard in the Côte-d’Or department and Othe, situated between Yonne and Aube, were also affected by flooding. Météo-France lifted its amber storm alerts on the morning of July 21 for the northeast to the center-east regions. However, thunderstorms were predicted for southern parts of the country, with expectations of heavy precipitation adding to the previous day’s accumulations.

11 confirmed dead, over 30 missing following highway bridge collapse in Shaanxi Province, China - (video) A highway bridge in Zhashui County, Shaanxi Province, partially collapsed on July 19 due to a sudden downpour and flash floods, leading to the confirmed deaths of 11 people. The bridge, located in Shangluo City, collapsed at approximately 20:40 local time (LT), as reported by local authorities. As of 10:00 LT on July 20, rescue teams had recovered 5 vehicles from the river beneath the bridge along with the victims inside. 20 other cars are still missing as well as more than 30 people. Rescue operations are ongoing. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out rescue and relief efforts to safeguard people’s lives and property.” Heavy rainfall has caused significant damage and flooding across northern and central China since July 16. In Shaanxi’s Baoji city, flooding and mudslides have resulted in five deaths and left 8 people missing. In Henan’s Nanyang city, the equivalent of a year’s worth of rain fell earlier in the week, while in southwestern Sichuan province, flooding has led to 2 deaths and 7 missing persons.

Two landslides hit Ethiopia’s Gofa district, claiming over 50 lives, including rescuers - Two landslides hit the same area in southern Ethiopia on July 21 and 22, 2024, killing at least 55 people in the Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). The first landslide, triggered by heavy rains on Sunday night, July 21, claimed several lives. This triggered rescue efforts on Monday morning when a second landslide struck, killing many of the rescuers, including women, children, and local police officers. “There was a heavy rain yesterday night and some people died from a landslide,” said Kassahun Abayneh, the government spokesperson for Gofa district in the South Ethiopia regional state. The situation worsened on Monday morning when locals, including police officers, gathered at the site to rescue those affected by the first landslide. At around 10:00 local time (07:00 UTC), a second landslide struck, killing many of the gathered rescuers and further devastating the area. Local chief Dagmawi Zerihun said more than 55 bodies were found, adding that the death toll could increase as search and rescue efforts continue. Meskir Mitku, the district general administrator of Gofa district, reported that among the dead were women, children, and local police officers. Ethiopia is currently experiencing its rainy season, which began in July and is anticipated to continue until mid-September.

Typhoon “Gaemi” intensifies into a super typhoon, makes a loop before striking Taiwan - The Watchers Typhoon “Gaemi” — known as Carina in the Philippines — made landfall on Taiwan’s east coast near Hualien City on July 24, 2024, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 205 km/h (125 mph) and gusts to 250 km/h (155 mph). Gaemi is the fourth named storm and the second typhoon of the 2024 West Pacific typhoon season. This storm is considered one of the strongest to impact Taiwan in recent years. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 17:00 LT bulletin on Wednesday that Gaemi (Carina) reached maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph), and gusts up to 230 km/h (145 mph) on July 23, making it a super typhoon. Gaemi is expected to weaken as it moves over Taiwan’s mountainous terrain but will likely regain strength before making a second landfall in Fujian, China. At least 3 fatalities and more than 200 injured people have been reported so far. Authorities are bracing for potential landslides and flash flooding, especially in areas destabilized by a significant earthquake in April. The storm has forced the cancellation of Taiwan’s largest annual military drills, along with almost all domestic flights and more than 200 international flights. The government has declared July 24 a typhoon day, suspending work and classes across the island except for the Kinmen islands. Financial markets are shut, and work and school will remain suspended for a second day on Thursday. Gaemi deviated considerably south from its expected path and made a rare counterclockwise mini-loop before making landfall: (satelitte loop video)

Massive Saharan dust plume reaches Florida, U.S. - A massive Saharan dust plume reached South Florida on July 20, 2024, causing reduced air quality and hazy skies. Rain is also forecasted for the weekend, and the mix of dust and precipitation is expected to bring dirty rains to Florida. A large Saharan dust plume reached South Florida today, causing reduced air quality and hazy skies. Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102) The dust plume is expected to be at its thickest in South Florida on July 20, dissipating slowly as it moves to Central Florida by July 21. This may lead to colorful sunsets and sunrises in the coming days. Forecasts predict 25 – 50 mm (1 – 2 inches) of rain for Central Florida and 50 – 75 mm (2 – 3 inches) for Southwestern Florida between July 19 and 21. The mix of precipitation and dust is expected to cause mucky rain over the weekend. Every three to five days, from late June through the middle of August, a mass of dusty air forms over the Sahara Desert, known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). This sand, dirt, and dust accumulation rises from the Sahara Desert in Africa and can extend from 1 524 m to 6 096 m (5 000 to 20 000 feet) into the atmosphere. Saharan Air Layer (SAL) over the Atlantic Ocean at 12:00 UTC on July 20, 2024. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this “dusty air” will often travel several thousand miles as it moves west across the Atlantic Ocean, “reaching as far as the Caribbean, Florida, and the U.S. Gulf Coast when winds are particularly strong.” The Saharan dust plume originates more than 4 828 km (3 000 miles) away from northern Africa. Hot, dry air rises from the Saharan Desert, carrying fine particles of dust from the sands. That dust-laden air climbs to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, where Easterlies or Trade Winds (blowing from east to west) carry that dust across the Atlantic Ocean into the Western Hemisphere. The dry layer will inhibit tropical storm development and give a milky haze to the air that makes for colorful sunrises and sunsets. While most of the dust stays aloft, some of it can reach the surface and degrade air quality.

Impacts of Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) on southern hemisphere’s weather patterns - The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) has started shifting into its negative phase this week, likely caused by a recent Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event over Antarctica, which is expected to bring colder and wetter conditions to southern Australia. This week, the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), a key climate phenomenon in the southern hemisphere, has started shifting into its negative phase. The SAM, which describes the north-south movement of the westerly wind belt around Antarctica, plays a significant role in shaping the weather patterns across regions such as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America and Africa. The negative phase of SAM brings notable changes in atmospheric conditions, including increased rainfall and cooler temperatures in southern Australia and parts of New Zealand. This shift can have wide-reaching effects on agriculture, water resources, and marine environments. Understanding and monitoring these changes are crucial for preparing and adapting to the upcoming weather impacts. Meteorologists warn there are signs that another period of stratospheric warming could occur above Antarctica in the last week of July. If this does happen, it will increase the likelihood of more negative SAM phases in late winter and early spring. Abnormally warm air has disrupted the shape of the southern hemisphere’s stratospheric polar vortex over the past two weeks, causing a phenomenon known as Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW). Occurring roughly 30 – 40 km (19 to 25 miles) above the Earth’s surface, this warming event is now filtering downwards, affecting weather patterns closer to the ground. SSW is characterized by an abrupt increase in air temperature above Earth’s polar regions. When this warming occurs during winter and spring, it can cause the tropospheric polar vortex to weaken and distort. This weakening typically triggers a negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM) phase, resulting in westerly winds and polar air drifting further from Antarctica towards the mid-latitudes. The shift to a negative SAM phase during winter can lead to several weather changes in Australia:

• Increased cold fronts and low-pressure systems over southern Australia.
• Higher rainfall and snow potential in southwest and southeast Australia.
• Reduced rainfall in parts of eastern Australia.
• Stronger winds in the southern half of Australia.

Additionally, a weakened polar vortex can cause the southern hemisphere’s polar jet stream to adopt a more wavy pattern, known as meridional flow. This pattern allows cold air to move away from Antarctica in large blobs, leading to wintry outbreaks in mid-latitude areas under these polar air pools. WeatherZone’s Ben Domasino reported that the SAM has begun shifting into a negative phase this week, likely in response to the recent stratospheric warming. Forecast models predict this negative SAM will strengthen through the end of July and persist into early August. Concurrently, a wavy polar jet stream is anticipated to meander around the southern hemisphere. Australia’s weather forecast over the next fortnight reflects these changes:

• At least three cold fronts will sweep over southern Australia in the next 10 days, causing increased wind and dropping temperatures in the region.
• Heavy and frequent rain is expected in southwestern Western Australia and western Tasmania.
• Dry and warm continental air will flow over eastern Australia, leading to a series of dry and warmer-than-average days on the east coast.

Hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin thermal area damages nearby boardwalk - Hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin thermal area july 23 2024 A small hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone National Park in the Biscuit Basin thermal area at around 16:19 UTC (10:19 MST) on July 23, 2024. According to the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), the explosion appears to have originated near Black Diamond Pool, about 3.5 km (2.1 miles) northwest of Old Faithful. The eruption damaged a nearby boardwalk, but despite visitors being near the eruption site, nobody was injured. Biscuit Basin, including the parking lot and boardwalks, is temporarily closed for visitor safety, but the Grand Loop road remains open. “Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region and the explosion does not reflect activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity,” YVO volcanologists said. “Hydrothermal explosions like that of today are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.” Numerous videos of the event were recorded by visitors: Hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground, and they are relatively common in Yellowstone. For example, Porkchop Geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, experienced an explosion in 1989, and a small event in Norris Geyser Basin was recorded by monitoring equipment on April 15, 2024. An explosion similar to that of today also occurred in Biscuit Basin on May 17, 2009. The Volcano Alert Level remains at NORMAL and the Aviation Color Code at GREEN.

Analysis of the July 23, 2024, hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park - The Watchers (video) A hydrothermal explosion occurred in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park at approximately 16:00 UTC on July 23, 2024. The event, caused by the rapid transition of water to steam in the shallow hydrothermal system beneath the Black Diamond Pool, resulted in significant debris ejection but was not linked to volcanic activity, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) reported in an update published July 24. Seismicity, ground deformation, and gas and thermal emissions remained at normal levels, with no detectable precursors. The explosion sent steam and debris hundreds of feet into the air, destroying a nearby boardwalk and projecting rocks, some as large as 0.9 m (3 feet), considerable distances. The debris was primarily directed northeast towards the Firehole River. The explosion’s dark color stemmed from mud and debris mixed with steam and boiling water. No injuries were reported despite the presence of visitors. Black Diamond Pool and Black Opal Pool were affected, with Black Diamond Pool’s shape altered and both pools murky from debris. The ground around their edges remains unstable. Post-explosion, Black Diamond Pool exhibited minor roiling and occasional water spouts, with the water level rising throughout the day. By the morning of July 24, both pools were overflowing into the Firehole River, with no further water bursts observed from the Black Diamond Pool. “Hydrothermal explosions typically occur in the park one to a few times per year, but often in the backcountry where they may not be immediately detected,” YVO volcanologists said. Similar, although smaller, hydrothermal explosions took place in 1989 at Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin, and on April 15, 2024, from the Porcelain Terrace Area of Norris Geyser Basin. A small hydrothermal explosion occurred from Wall Pool, in Biscuit Basin, in 2009. S Significant hydrothermal explosions, probably similar in size to that of July 23, 2024, occurred in the 1880s at Excelsior Geyser, in Midway Geyser Basin. Ongoing hazards include the possibility of small explosions of boiling water from the area over the coming days to months. USGS and NPS geologists are monitoring conditions, mapping the debris field, and sampling water to assess changes in the hydrothermal system.

Iwo-Jima volcano enters new eruptive period, Japan - Satellite images taken on July 19, 2024, suggest Japan’s Iwo-Jima volcano, also known as Ioto and Ogasawara-Iojima, has entered a new eruptive period. A series of new submarine explosive activity started roughly 600 m (1 969 feet) off the coast of Okinahama beach in the island’s southern portion. This activity started between July 9 and 19. The last eruptive period at this volcano took place from October 18, 2023, to March 16, 2024 (VEI 1). In August 2022, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that for the first time in 1 000 years, volcanic eruptions spewing magma have taken place just off the southern coast of Ioto. The island has undergone uplift for at least the past 700 years, accompanying resurgent doming of the caldera; a shoreline landed upon by Captain Cook’s surveying crew in 1779 is now 40 m (131 feet) above sea level. The Motoyama plateau on the NE half of the island consists of submarine tuffs overlain by coral deposits and forms the island’s high point. Many fumaroles are oriented along a NE-SW zone cutting through Motoyama. Numerous recorded phreatic eruptions, many from vents on the W and NW sides of the island, have accompanied the uplift.

Strong eruption, large pyroclastic flow at Mount Merapi, Indonesia - A total of 19 lava flows were detected on Mount Merapi, Indonesia on July 20, 2024. The maximum glide distance of the lava flows was 1.7 km (1 mile), accompanied by pyroclastic flows with a sliding distance of 1.2 km (3 900 feet). Mount Merapi in Tunggul Arum, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, exhibited significant volcanic activity on July 20, according to a report by the Center for Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development (BPPTKG). The volcano released 19 lava flows with a maximum glide distance of 1.7 km (1.06 miles). BPPTKG observed weakly pressurized crater smoke, white in color, with moderate intensity and a height ranging from 10 to 20 m (33 to 66 feet) above the crater. A video recorded by BPPTKG on July 20, at 19:46 local time captured the pyroclastic flow of the mountain. BPPTKG mentioned a maximum amplitude of 35 mm (1.38 inches) and a duration of 119 seconds, with the PDC sliding 1.2 km (3 900 feet) towards Kali Bebeng. The wind direction was towards the southwest. The Alert Level remains at 3 (on a scale of 1 – 4), and the public is warned to stay 3 – 7 km (1.8 – 4.3 miles) away from the summit, based on location.

Strong explosive eruption at Sakurajima volcano, Japan - A strong explosive eruption was registered at Sakurajima volcano, Japan at 04:58 UTC on July 20, 2024. At 05:40 UTC, the plume was reaching 4.8 km (16 000 feet) above sea level and was moving NE, according to the Tokyo VAAC Volcanic Ash Advisory issued at 06:06 UTC. Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102) Volcanic ash is continuously observed in satellite imagery, the center reported at 14:00 UTC. The eruption produced multiple shockwaves, clearly visible in the videos below: Eruptions of similar strength took place at the volcano on July 14 and 17.

Strong ash emissions, new lava fountaining episode at Etna volcano, Italy – The Strong Strombolian activity that started at Etna’s Voragine crater at 15:45 UTC on July 22, 2024, increased around 01:00 UTC on July 23 and evolved into a new lava fountaining episode at 02:59 UTC. The eruption produced strong ash emissions, rising up to 4.6 km (15 000 feet) above sea level, according to Toulouse VAAC. In addition, INGV’s Etna Observatory reported that a lava overflow has started from the western rim of the Bocca Nuova crater. From a seismic point of view, the average amplitude of the volcanic tremor has further increased with this activity. The sources of the tremor remained in the area of the Voragine crater at an elevation of approximately 3 000 m (9 800 feet) above sea level. “There is a further increase in frequency of occurrence and amplitude of infrasonic events at the Voragine crater,” INGV-OE volcanologists said at 03:08 UTC. “The amplitude of the infrasonic tremor is increasing.” “Starting from around 02:00 UTC, the clinometric network shows clear variations, more evident at the summit stations. The Monte Ruvolo dilatometer has accumulated a decompression equal to approximately 10 nanostrain.” The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red at 20:44 UTC on July 22 and remains at Red at the time of press.

Alert Level for Kilauea volcano raised to Watch, Hawaii - Increased earthquake activity and ground deformation at Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone began at approximately 13:30 UTC (03:30 HST) on July 23, 2024, indicating likely magma movement in the subsurface. This activity has prompted Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to close areas that could put visitors and staff at risk if the volcano erupts. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) has raised the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from ADVISORY to WATCH and the Aviation Color Code from YELLOW to ORANGE. Earthquake activity is centered near Pauahi Crater, HVO volcanologists reported. “The situation is rapidly evolving, and it is not possible to determine if this activity will lead to an eruption or remain below ground.” An eruption in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is one potential outcome. Based on past eruptive patterns, the area between Hiʻiaka Crater and Maunaulu in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is potentially at risk for a new lava outbreak. Past eruptions in this region of Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone, between Hiʻiaka Crater and Maunaulu, occurred over hours to about a month. The location of any future outbreak will determine which areas could be in the path of new lava flows. reference map depicting the features on Kīlauea's upper East Rift Zone Image credit: USGS/HVO This activity has prompted Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to close areas that could put visitors and staff at risk if the volcano erupts.

High-level eruption at Bezymianny volcano, Russia - A strong explosive eruption began at Bezymianny volcano, Kamchatka, Russia, at 15:10 UTC on July 24, 2024, ejecting ash up to 12 km (40 000 feet) above sea level. Bezymianny has experienced three periods of intensified activity over the past 3 000 years (VEI 3 – 5). The most recent period began with a significant eruption in 1955-56, which followed 1 000 years of dormancy. Today’s first explosions sent ash up to 9.6 km (31 500 feet) above sea level and later up to 12 km (40 000 feet) a.s.l. Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102) The large ash plume produced by the eruption continues to move to the east-southeast of the volcano, and at 19:30 UTC, it was 300 km (186 miles) away. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Red at 20:02 UTC today for the first time since October 18, 2023, when a large explosion produced ash plumes that rose 10 – 11 km (32 800 – 36 100 feet) a.s.l. While ashfalls do not currently threaten populated areas of the Kamchatka Krai, the explosive eruption of the volcano continues. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft. high level eruption bezymianny volcano 2030 utc july 24 2024 himawari-9 satellite image Satellite image of ash rising from Bezymianny volcano at 20:30 UTC on July 24, 2024. Credit: JMA/Himawari-9, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers An extrusive eruption of the volcano increased significantly on July 21, with pyroclastic flows on the eastern slopes of the lava dome, sending ash up to 2 – 3 km (6 600 – 9 800 feet) a.s.l. Satellite data acquired by KVERT on July 22 showed a significant increase in the size and temperature of the thermal anomaly over the volcano. On the same day, KVERT reported that ash explosions up to 10 – 15 km (32 800 – 49 200 feet) a.s.l. could occur over the next three days.

Rare fireball detected over Antarctica with an impact energy of 5.1 kilotons - A significant fireball was detected over eastern Antarctica at 14:08 UTC on July 20, 2024. The event’s total impact energy was calculated to be 5.1 kilotons (kt). The fireball’s peak brightness occurred at a latitude of 73.5 degrees South and a longitude of 22.5 degrees East, placing it above Queen Maud Land, which is a part of the Norwegian Antarctic Territory. This peak brightness was observed at an altitude of 38.8 km (20.7 miles) above the geoid. The velocity at peak brightness was 30.8 km/s. The total radiated energy from the fireball was measured at 2.3 trillion joules (J). This fireball was reported by CNEOS on July 22. In terms of total impact energy, this is the strongest fireball reported by CNEOS since April 15, 2023, when a 6.3 kt event was detected over Mozambique, southeastern Africa. CNEOS archive dates back to April 15, 1988.

Two Earth-directed CMEs, G2 - Moderate geomagnetic storm watch in effect – (video)Two Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CME) were produced over the past 3 days. The estimated time of arrival to Earth is late July 23 to midday July 24, 2024. A G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm watch is in effect. A disappearing solar filament (DSF), approximately 8 degrees in length, began erupting in the vicinity of Active Region 3757 (beta) after 16:10 UTC on July 21, 2024, producing an Earth-directed CME. The event coincided with an M1.0 flare from AR 3747. A subsequent halo CME signature was observed in LASCO C2 imagery beginning at 16:48 UTC. The CME is forecast to reach Earth late on July 23 to midday (UTC) on July 24. cme forecast july 23-24 2024 In addition, it appears another CME — produced on July 19, is expected to reach Earth around the same time. As a result, a G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm watch is in effect for July 24. Under G2 conditions, power grid fluctuations can occur and high-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms. Satellite orientation irregularities may occur and increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible. High-frequency radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes and aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.

New dawn for space storm alerts could help shield Earth's tech --Space storms could soon be forecast with greater accuracy than ever before thanks to a big leap forward in our understanding of exactly when a violent solar eruption may hit Earth. Scientists say it is now possible to predict the precise speed a coronal mass ejection (CME) is traveling at and when it will smash into our planet—even before it has fully erupted from the sun. CMEs are bursts of gas and magnetic fields spewed into space from the solar atmosphere. They can cause geomagnetic storms that have the potential to wreak havoc with terrestrial technology in Earth's orbit and on its surface, which is why experts across the globe are striving to improve space weather forecasts. Advancements such as this one could make a huge difference in helping to protect infrastructure that is vital to our everyday lives, according to researchers at Aberystwyth University, who will present their findings today at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2024) in Hull. They made their discovery after studying specific areas on the sun called "active regions," which have strong magnetic fields where CMEs are born. The researchers monitored how these areas changed in the periods before, during and after an eruption. (Video clip shows the before, during and post eruption state of the active region AR11158, with the top left panel showing the AR in 171 wavelength, the top right panel a cutout of HMI magnetogram and the bottom panel a running difference movie.) A vital aspect which they looked at was the "critical height" of the active regions, which is the height at which the magnetic field becomes unstable and can lead to a CME. "By measuring how the strength of the magnetic field decreases with height, we can determine this critical height," said lead researcher Harshita Gandhi, a solar physicist at Aberystwyth University. "This data can then be used along with a geometric model which is used to track the true speed of CMEs in three dimensions, rather than just two, which is essential for precise predictions."

S1 - Minor solar radiation storm in progress - An S1 – Minor solar radiation storm has been in progress since 02:50 UTC on July 23, 2024, and is expected to continue through the rest of the day and possibly into July 24. Our planet has been experiencing an S1 – Minor solar radiation storm since 02:50 UTC today. This storm is a result of coronal mass ejection (CME) on the far side of the Sun, according to NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The storm is expected to continue at S1 levels through July 23 and there’s a slight chance for S1 levels on July 24 and 25. On average, such storms occur about 50 times per cycle. According to the NOAA, they pose no threat to biological life or satellite operations, but can have minor impacts on HF radio in the polar regions. Solar activity was at high levels over the past 24+ hours, with an M2.4 solar flare at 14:28 UTC today and an M1.5 at 13:00 UTC yesterday. There’s a 60% chance of M-class flares and a 15% chance of X-class flares through July 25. Solar wind parameters were slightly enhanced over the past 24 hours and are expected to continue at or near current levels through late July 23. According to the SWPC, the onset of influence from a CME that left the Sun on July 21 is expected to enhance conditions over July 24 and 25. Other experts suggest Earth will be hit by two CMEs over this period — one launched on July 19 and the other on July 21. As a result, G1 – Minor to G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storming is likely on July 24, followed by active conditions on July 25 as CME influences wane.

Major X14 solar flare erupts on the Sun’s far side, the strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25 - A major, long-duration solar flare measuring X14 erupted on the Sun’s far side around 00:00 UTC on July 23, 2024, producing a full halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The event sent energetic particles throughout the solar system, including Earth, where it caused an S1 – Minor solar radiation storm.

• The X14 farside solar flare on July 23, 2024, was detected by ESA’s Solar Orbiter.
• This is the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25.
• The source region is expected to turn into Earth-view next week.

On Earth, we experienced an S1 – Minor solar radiation storm starting at 02:50 UTC on July 23 and lasting for the remainder of the UTC day. While only minor effects were observed on Earth due to the location of the source region, this flare was estimated as X14 by the STIX X-ray telescope aboard ESA’s Solar Orbiter, making it the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25. George Ho, a space physicist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the principal investigator of the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS) — one of four sensors in an instrument suite that measures the composition of energetic electrons, protons, and heavy ions from the Sun — said ‘this was a big, 360-degree event’ that also had a high impact on planet Mars. The region that produced the July 23 X14 solar flare will rotate into Earth’s view next week. Solar Orbiter also detected an X12 solar flare on May 20, 2024, which was previously the strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25 and among the top 10 flares since 1996, and an X10 on July 17, 2023 — both from the far side of the Sun. The largest solar flare detected on the Earth-facing side of the Sun was X8.9 on May 14, 2024, just three days after a series of CMEs hit Earth, causing a G5 – Extreme geomagnetic storm — the strongest since 2003. This geomagnetic storm forced thousands of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to begin mass maneuvers in response to the sudden increase in atmospheric density after the CMEs impacted Earth.On Earth, such powerful solar flares can cause widespread disruptions to power grids, satellite communications, and navigation systems, as seen in events like the Great Quebec Blackout in March 1989.

House approves bipartisan water projects bill - The House passed a sweeping water infrastructure bill Monday that could help curb flooding, slow coastal erosion and restore struggling ecosystems, in a rare show of bipartisanship as election season heats up.Lawmakers approved the “Water Resources Development Act of 2024,” which would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with 12 new water infrastructure projects and study 159 more potential projects. The vote was 359-13.The biennial legislation directs the Army Corps’ work on flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration and has historically been popular among Republicans and Democrats. It comes as water infrastructure across the U.S. — from dams to levees to sewage treatment plants — is struggling to hold up amid more frequent and intense storms and deferred maintenance.

Studies explore converting wastewater to fertilizer with fungal treatment --Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. Two studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explore the use of a fungal treatment to convert the leftover wastewater into fertilizer for agricultural crops. "HTL uses wet biomass from organic sources such as swine manure or food waste. The process yields wastewater, called hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase (HTL-AP), which is usually discarded. We know it contains nutrients that can be used for fertilizer, but they are mostly in organic forms that plants can't access. HTL-AP may also contain toxic heavy metals, depending on the type of biowaste," said co-author Paul Davidson, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering at Illinois. "We explored the use of Trametes versicolor, a white-rot fungus, to break the organic nitrogen compounds into ammonia or nitrate and potentially remove toxic components. As an eco-friendly approach, T. versicolor has been explored to treat different wastewater and seems a promising candidate to treat HTL-AP," said Vitória Leme, lead author of the first study. Karla Lopez was the lead author of the second study combining the fungal treatment with a bacterial nitrification process to further convert ammonia into nitrate. The study found that simultaneous inoculation of T. versicolor and nitrifying bacteria increased nitrate concentrations in HTL-AP 17 times. "We looked at different factors that affected the results and found the samples had the highest increases in both nitrate and ammonia when the microorganisms were subjected to water with a pH range of 6 to 7.5," Lopez stated. "There's also evidence that the fungus is removing some of the potentially toxic compounds in the biowaste. We found the treatment produced an enzyme that has been shown to degrade toxins."

Pa. gets $400M from EPA to lower carbon emissions from industries -- EPA Secretary Michael Regan joined Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro near Pittsburgh Monday to unveil federal grants to state and local governments to fight climate change.The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program was created by the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden’s signature climate bill passed in 2022. The program gives $4.3 billion to cut carbon pollution around the country.Pennsylvania will get $396 million to lower carbon dioxide pollution from the industrial sector, the state’s largest source of greenhouse gases. Gov. Josh Shapiro — considered a potential vice presidential candidate on the Democratic side — said businesses and workers want to make fighting climate change a priority. “The problem is, there has not been enough help available for businesses to be able to do that, for workers to be able to make those kind of contributions in their communities until today,” Shapiro said. Pennsylvania’s industrial sector, including steel and plastic production, accounts for 31 percent of the state’s carbon pollution. Shapiro said these businesses can apply for grants to lower their footprint. “These grants can be used for a wide array of projects, including improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions, implementing carbon capture…and replacing equipment with electric powered options,” he said.Scientists say carbon pollution, mainly from fossil fuel use, is warming the planet. The earth has experienced record-breaking temperatures in 13 consecutive months. A majority of Americans want politicians to do more to address climate change.

Pa. looks to regulate carbon storage wells with new law - A new Pennsylvania law paves the way for the state to oversee the practice of storing carbon dioxide emissions deep underground.Gas industry groups are applauding passage of the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act, while environmental advocates are divided.Trapping emissions rather than releasing them into the atmosphere is a proposed solution for cleaning up some industries that are hard to electrify, such as steel-making and cement production.Carbon dioxide holds heat in the atmosphere, contributing to rising global temperatures. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says every increment of warming results in rapidly escalating hazards.Carbon capture and storage is a pillar of Pennsylvania’s plan to establish a clean hydrogen hub near Pittsburgh. The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub wants to use a process that combines methane gas with heat and steam to make hydrogen. Resulting carbon gases would need to be captured for the hydrogen to be considered clean.Gov. Josh Shapiro said the new law sets the stage for Pennsylvania to lead in a new industry that will reduce pollution while creating good-paying jobs.“As the only state in the nation to secure two regional clean hydrogen hubs, carbon capture will be a crucial element of our Western hub and continue Pennsylvania’s legacy of innovation in the energy sector,” Shapiro said.American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania said the law will help Pennsylvania build a “low-carbon future.”“Carbon capture offers a promising pathway for Pennsylvania to bolster its manufacturing industries, as well as support new hydrogen projects, to help usher in a stronger economy and cleaner future,” said Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman.Right now, companies can apply for federal permits to drill Class VI wells, which are used to deposit carbon dioxide and trap it in rock formations.The new state law starts a process of transferring that permit authority to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which could take two to three years.DEP spokesman Neil Shader said the measure gives DEP clear authority and creates the foundation for regulations in this space. He said DEP is still applying for primacy of Class VI wells with EPA, which is part of the governor’s energy plan.“Pennsylvania is applying for primacy for the Class VI wells to be able to better manage anticipated carbon storage needs associated with the hydrogen hubs that are part of the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act. This will include managing both the state and federal regulations associated with these types of wells, rather than requiring permit applicants to apply for separate federal and state well permits,” Shader said.John Walliser with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council said his group supported the legislation after it was amended to offer more protections, including a specific provision for environmental justice areas. The law lets DEP require additional analysis and greater public participation before a permit is issued.Walliser said he sees carbon capture and storage as part of the decarbonization puzzle, but it’s not the only answer to addressing climate change.“If Pennsylvania’s going to do this, we just wanted to make sure there was a robust and protective regulatory program in place and we feel that’s what this legislation accomplishes,” Walliser said.Walliser said the measure stands out because it allows DEP to deny or set conditions on permits if impacts on public health or the environment are too great. Typically, DEP must issue permits if applications meet regulatory requirements.The legislation also gives DEP measures for collecting fees to fund oversight work and holding companies liable for damages.Walliser said now he will be watching how DEP follows through on the authority granted in the law.Other environmental groups objected to the law, saying carbon capture wells are unproven and dangerous.Clean Air Council and Food and Water Watch released a joint statement saying it “sets the stage for a new network of hazardous gas industrial pipelines to be built across the Commonwealth.” In a letter to Shapiro, Better Path Coalition said the bill never had a hearing in the legislature. It noted that, to date, carbon capture has been used most often as a way to recover more oil during drilling, not to prevent emissions.

ExxonMobil signs second carbon capture agreement with CF Industries -ExxonMobil Corp. has signed a second carbon capture and storage (CCS) agreement with CF Industries Holdings Inc., the energy major’s first in Mississippi. The agreement is ExxonMobil’s fourth emissions-capturing deal, bringing its total CCS customer commitments to 5.5 million tonnes/year (tpy), the company said in a release July 25. In this recent deal, ExxonMobil agreed to remove up to 500,000 tpy of CO2 emissions from CF Industries’ industrial site in Yazoo City, Miss., where the company makes nitrogen products for agricultural fertilizer and other essential products. The deal with ExxonMobil is expected to enable CF Industries to reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by up to about 50%. CF Industries will invest about $100 million into its Yazoo City complex to build a CO2 dehydration and compression unit to enable CO2 generated as a byproduct of the ammonia production process to be captured for transport and storage, the company said in a separate release. Startup is planned for 2028. Once sequestration has begun, CF Industries expects the project to qualify for tax credits under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code. This is the second CCS agreement signed between ExxonMobil and Illinois-based CF Industries. In October 2022, ExxonMobil, EnLink Midstream LLC, and CF Industries agreed to a partnership to store as much as 2 million tpy of industrial CO2 emissions from CF Industries’ Ascension Parish, La., complex. Emissions are to be transported via EnLink’s network and stored underground at a 125,000-acre property owned by ExxonMobil in Vermilion Parish, about 100 miles southwest of the complex (OGJ Online, Oct. 13, 2022). Startup remains on track for 2025.

With No Recovery in Sight, Lithium Prices Force Miners to Reevaluate Output -With lithium prices languishing near three-year lows and showing no signs a recovery is coming, attention is now turning to whether miners will be forced to rein in supply of the battery metal.The price of the material that’s vital to the energy transition has plunged by around 80% since late 2022, and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence sees the current glut deepening through 2027. While some smaller producers have already cut output, the question now is whether the bigger firms will choose to shutter mines and delay projects from Australia to Chile.Clearer indications of the intentions of some top miners may be revealed in the coming weeks with the release of quarterly production reports or earnings. The insights from Pilbara Minerals Ltd., Mineral Resources Ltd., Albemarle Corp. and Arcadium Lithium Plc may provide clues on what the supply response might look like.A prolonged period of low lithium prices could “trigger a renewed wave of mine supply cuts and project delays,” said Alice Yu, the lead metals and mining research analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Prices for spodumene, a lithium-bearing raw material, dropped last week closer to the level when mining output cuts previously occurred between mid-January and end-February, according to data from Platts.Lithium remains in the doldrums due to slowing growth in electric-vehicle adoption and increased supply. Spot prices of lithium carbonate in China have been hovering near the lowest since March 2021.The market is expected to see a growth in supply of 32% in 2025, outpacing demand expansion of 23%, according to Benchmark Mineral. The surplus is set to peak in 2027 before a deficit returns at end of the decade, the consultancy said. Some smaller players have already reacted to the prolonged price slump. Australia’s Core Lithium Ltd. said this month it would halt operations at its Finniss project. In China, two of Zhicun Lithium Group Co.’s carbonate units will be put into maintenance from this month.The weaker demand-growth outlook for EVs has continued to put downward pressure on lithium, with China’s market maturing while European and American consumers delay purchases.The EV tariffs imposed by the EU and US against China products “have not only weighed on sentiment but have led to a drop in real-world lithium hydroxide demand,” said Claudia Cook, an analyst at Benchmark Mineral.Chinese industry giants Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. and Tianqi Lithium Corp. both swung to preliminary net losses in the first half. While major miners such as Pilbara Minerals are still aiming to expand output, there’s growing pressure on other miners to curtail production.“We’ve downgraded supply forecasts for Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Australia due to diminished profit margins,” said Linda Zhang, the battery materials lead for Asia Pacific at CRU Group.Some producers are clinging on despite having little to no profit margin, Benchmark Mineral’s Cook added, citing reasons including maintaining a skilled workforce, avoiding restarting-production costs, and preserving relationships with their buyers.

Berlin inks lithium deal with Belgrade despite environmental concerns - — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič locked down a series of deals Friday granting the EU and European carmakers exclusive access to Serbian lithium and paving the way for the construction of one of the largest lithium mines on the Continent.“This is an important European project and contributes to Europe remaining sovereign and independent in the supply of raw materials in a changing world,” Scholz told journalists in the Serbian capital.Šefčovič and Dubravka Đedović Handanović, Serbia’s mining and energy minister, signed a deal to formalize the EU supply chain and value-added processing for lithium mined by Rio Tinto, a British-Australian mining consortium. Lithium, sometimes dubbed “white gold” due to its high demand in the green energy transition for use in the batteries that power electric vehicles and its distinctive white color, is plentiful — and so far untapped — in Serbia’s western Jadar region.

Increased demand for metals and minerals needed for clean energy transition puts 4,000+ species at risk, finds study - New research has found that 4,642 species of vertebrates are threatened by mineral extraction around the world through mining and quarrying, and drilling for oil and gas.Mining activity coincides with the world's most valuable biodiversity hotspots, which contain a hyper-diversity of species and unique habitats found nowhere else on Earth.The biggest risk to species comes from mining for materials fundamental to our transition to clean energy, such as lithium and cobalt—both essential components of solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars.Quarrying for limestone, which is required in huge amounts for cement as a construction material, is also putting many species at risk.The threat to nature is not limited to the physical locations of the mines—species living at great distances away can also be impacted, for example by polluted watercourses, or deforestation for new access roads and infrastructure.The researchers say governments and the mining industry should focus on reducing the pollution driven by mining as an "easy win" to reduce thebiodiversity loss associated with mineral extraction.This is the most complete global assessment of the threat to biodiversity from mineral extraction ever undertaken. The results are published today in the journal Current Biology.

DOJ says Trump-era probe of Calif. auto emissions deal wasn’t political - A Trump-era antitrust investigation of automakers’ voluntary emissions agreement with California wasn’t politically motivated, the Department of Justice wrote in a report released Monday.DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded that although the timing of the Justice Department’s 2019 probe into the agreement raised eyebrows, his team did not find evidence of “improper political influence” that warranted further review.The investigation from DOJ’s antitrust division publicly launched in September 2019, the day after former President Donald Trump tweeted a series of posts criticizing the deal between California and automakers to abide by California’s emissions rules rather than the federal government’s. Horowitz’s review — which included interviews and thousands of documents and communication records from DOJ staff at the time — found that the division had started looking into the agreement weeks before Trump’s tweets.

House Republicans pass bill cutting EPA funding by 20 percent - House Republicans on Wednesday passed what is expected to be the final government funding bill before August recess, proposing steep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget for fiscal year 2025.The annual Department of Interior and EPA funding bill passed 210-205 late Wednesday. Democrats have come out in staunch opposition to the measure over proposed cuts to the EPA and other areas like the National Park Service, the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art. The bill’s narrow passage comes as House Republicans’ ambitious hopes of passing all 12 annual government funding bills by the August recess have crumbled. House leadership canceled votes on three other funding bills this week, including yanking one off the floor at the last minute Tuesday night, and announced Wednesday they would begin their annual summer recess a week early.GOP leadership on Wednesday night could be seen talking with members during the vote as the tally appeared touch and go at certain points.“Well they had whipped it pretty much. They called and just wanted to talk it through, which was good. It ended up swaying a lot of people,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hardline conservative that had previously been undecided on the bill before backing it on Wednesday night, told The Hill. However, he also voiced frustration with some proposed amendments offered by conservatives that went down during the vote.Five Republicans voted against the legislation, while one Democrat was in favor.The bill faces tough odds in the Democratic-led Senate in its current form. But it helps provide a starting place for Republicans ahead of eventual funding negotiations with the upper chamber.

Congress Trump-proofed this $27B climate program. Here’s why that’s a problem. - The Environmental Protection Agency is racing to deliver a fortune in taxpayer money through its largest-ever climate grant program. The surge in spending aims to reshape impoverished areas of the U.S. by financing the installation of renewable energy and improving buildings’ energy efficiency. Congress commanded that the money go out quickly, setting a strict Sept. 30 deadline that would prevent a future Trump administration from clawing it back. But the initiative has a shoestring operating budget, and the $27 billion program is now facing charges of empty oversight and potential waste — and the prospects of a Republican feeding frenzy over President Joe Biden’s climate law if the program stumbles. Analysts say the quick pace of handing out such a staggering amount raises an overlooked risk: the possibility of mistakes. Out of all the programs authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act, this one has the smallest amount of money allotted to hire staff and track the spending. “The concern is legitimate,” said Matthew Tejada, a former deputy assistant administrator at the agency who worked on the program before leaving in December. “EPA got more money than it could have ever imagined, and time lines — deadlines — that were as close to wildly unrealistic as you can get.” Tejada, who’s now a senior vice president at the Natural Resources Defense Council, described the program’s oversight budget as “decimal dust.” The program, named the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, will steer the billions of dollars to state and local governments and nonprofit lending institutions, which then will filter the money to projects in low-income communities. The Trump-proofed spending deadline is a contrast with much of the IRA’s $369 billion in authorized climate-related funding, which the administration is laboring to distribute amid a presidential race that features voter apathy over the legislative cornerstone of Biden’s environmental agenda. But the greenhouse gas fund’s limits are already being tested. EPA told POLITICO’s E&E News that the program’s budget is the smallest amount of money allotted to any federal agency for running any IRA program, as a percentage of the initiative’s total funding. So far, the agency has had enough money to design the greenhouse gas program from scratch and choose its recipients. But additional cash will be needed to ensure “proper financial management and robust oversight,” agency spokesperson Angela Hackel said in an email. “Thus far, EPA has had the resources necessary to run a rigorous program design process, select highly capable grant partners, and conduct the complex award agreement negotiations that are now underway,” she said. The agency’s administrator, Michael Regan, has raised concerns about the program’s tiny operating budget at several congressional hearings this spring. Biden included a $5 million request in his fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which Republicans declined to include in their spending bill. Lawmakers have expressed alarm about the administration’s ability to keep tabs on a grant program that’s three times EPA’s annual budget. “I am concerned about EPA’s ability to keep track of the money,” Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, told E&E News. “I have not yet seen anything that suggests robust auditing” of the grant recipients by EPA.

Manchin, Barrasso reach agreement on permitting reform bill -- Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have reached an agreement on a bill to speed up the nation’s energy and infrastructure projects after about two years of trying to reach a deal. The bill takes on a suite of issues known collectively as permitting reform. It is expected to bolster the buildout of both renewable and fossil fuel energy sources. Passing a permitting reform bill has been a long-time priority of Manchin’s and is expected to be considered a legacy issue for him after he departs the Senate next year. It’s not immediately clear whether party leaders have bought into the plan, if it will be brought to the floor or if it will garner enough votes to evade a filibuster. “After over a year of holding hearings in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, thoughtfully considering input from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and engaging in good faith negotiations, Ranking Member Barrasso and I have put together a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities,” Manchin said in a written statement. The legislation includes a key Democratic priority: improving the nation’s ability to build out power lines. Doing so would likely help more renewable energy plug into the nation’s electric grid. The bill would enhance that ability by shortening the process to allow federal energy regulators to approve new power lines. The bill also contains provisions that boost fossil fuels. For one, it would set a deadline for the Energy Department to make a decisions about whether to approve or reject a gas export project — effectively barring policies like President Biden’s now-stalledpause on gas export approvals. The legislation also seeks to make it easier to extract oil gas and coal from public lands and to build renewable projects there.It would additionally require the federal government to give companies at least one opportunity each year to bid on chances to drill offshore and to bid on chances to build offshore wind farms between the years 2025 and 2029. This provision would expand offshore drilling beyond theBiden administration’s current plans to offer up to three chances to bid on offshore drilling rights during that period. The bill would also cut down on the amount of time that opponents of energy projects have to sue over their approval — creating hurdles for those who want to challenge them on environmental or other grounds. The announcement comes after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in May that reaching a permitting reform deal would be “virtually impossible” this year amid a lengthy impasse that Democrats and Republicans had on the issue. Schumer has touted new rules from federal energy regulators as an alternative to what Congress had not been able to achieve. The majority leader in 2022 agreed to support permitting reform legislation in exchange for Manchin’s vote on the Democrats’ sweeping climate, tax and healthcare bill. Republicans ultimately tanked the 2022 efforts amid tensions with Manchin over his support for the Democratic measure. The new agreement comes shortly before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess — meaning there’s little time left this year to pass significant legislation.

Can Manchin’s Energy Permitting Reform Bill Finally Pass? Clock Ticking Away - In what may be the final effort to fortify his energy-focused legacy, retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) on Monday advanced legislation yet again to overhaul permitting for natural gas and oil lease sales, as well as to derail the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export approvals. Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee, introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 with Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY). The latest bill follows similar legislation that Manchin had proposed but which failed to pass in 2022 and 2023. “The United States of America is blessed with abundant natural resources that have powered our nation to greatness and allow us to help our friends and allies around the world,” Manchin said. “Unfortunately, today our outdated permitting system is stifling our economic growth, geopolitical strength and ability to reduce emissions.”

Biden’s exit puts spotlight on Harris’ energy record - Vice President Kamala Harris has a more progressive energy record than President Joe Biden, but it’s unclear how that will play with voters if she secures the Democratic presidential nomination.Biden ended his reelection bid Sunday after increasing pressure from Democrats following his widely panned debate performance. His endorsement of Harris makes her the frontrunner for his replacement — but uncertainty reigns as Democrats scramble to organize a new 2024 ticket ahead of the party’s convention on Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.Some environmentalists are already putting their weight behind Harris, who they expect would largely continue Biden’s effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions as the effects of climate change increasingly ravage the globe.Harris’ energy record as a senator, and later as a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary of 2020, was to the left of Biden’s on many issues and sharply critical of the oil and gas industry.She called for an end to hydraulic fracturing — a drilling technique in the oil and gas industry that uses chemicals and water to fracture rock and release hydrocarbons. She also urged a ban on plastic straws and called for the end of the filibuster, a Senate legislative tool that ensures some members of the minority party have to sign off on most legislation. Harris was one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal, the nonbinding resolution introduced in 2019 by Democratic progressives like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. The resolution stalled, but some of its ideas made it into the Inflation Reduction Act — and Republicans often use the phrase as shorthand for policies they say attack fossil fuels.She also co-sponsored the Climate Equity Act of 2020, which would have created an arm of the Congressional Budget Office to score legislation based on effects to historically disadvantaged communities.After becoming Biden’s vice presidential candidate, Harris made it clear that the Biden ticket did not intend to ban fracking — a practice important for the oil industry in key swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.But as California’s attorney general, Harris sued the Obama administration’s Interior Department in 2016 over potential fracking off the state’s coastline, characterizing the practice as a “threat to the health and well-being of California communities.”“We must balance our energy needs with our longstanding commitment to protecting our natural resources and public health,” Harris said at the time. She also launched a probe into whether Exxon Mobil lied to the public about climate change.

Offshore wind gets boost from California’s utility regulator - — The California Public Utilities Commission on Friday proposed committing to buy 7.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy in the next decade — less than what developers and part of California’s Democratic delegation in Congress wanted but more than what the agency had signaled it was considering.The CPUC’s proposed decision outlines how California should use new purchasing authority that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature created last year to buy renewable energy years ahead of time from projects that take a lot of time and money to develop, including offshore wind.The proposal, which also calls for up to 1 gigawatt of geothermal energy and up to 2 gigawatts of long-duration energy storage, won’t be finalized until the agency’s commissioners vote to approve, reject or modify it as soon as next month. The proposal encompasses two of California’s most pressing energy goals: weaning itself off fossil fuels and addressing a rising crisis in electricity affordability.

U.S. is Facing a Major Energy Crunch Due to AI's Insatiable Demand | OilPrice.com - The rapid growth of artificial intelligence poses significant energy security risks due to its high electricity consumption. To date, the runaway growth of the Artificial Intelligence agency has proven itself to be all but ungovernable. As the technology has taken over the tech sector like wildfire, regulators have been largely impotent to stay ahead of its spread and evolution. Questions about the reach and responsibility of Artificial Intelligence are being bandied around, but there are few answers to go around. And then there is the issue of the sector’s gargantuan and growing energy footprint and associated carbon emissions, which are now so significant that the developed world is facing a major energy crunch like they haven’t seen since before the shale revolution. “AI-powered services involve considerably more computer power - and so electricity - than standard online activity, prompting a series of warnings about the technology's environmental impact,” the BBC recently reported. A recent study from scientists at Cornell University finds that generative AI systems like ChatGPT use up to 33 times more energy than computers running task-specific software, and each AI-powered internet query consumes about ten times more energy than a standard search. The global AI sector is expected to be responsible for 3.5 percent of global electricity consumption by 2030. In the United States, data centers alone could consume 9 percent of electricity generation by 2030, double their current levels. Already, this development is making major waves for Big Tech – earlier this month Google revealed that its carbon emissions have skyrocketed by48 percent over the last five years. Not only does the United States need far more renewable growth to keep up with the insatiable demand of the tech sector, it needs more energy production, period, in order to avoid crippling shortages. Broad and rapid action is needed on several fronts in order to slow the runaway train of AI’s energy consumption, but the United States also needs to keep up with other nations’ AI spending and development for its own national security concerns. The genie is out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in. “Certain strategic areas of the US government’s artificial intelligence capabilities currently lag industry while foreign adversaries are investing in AI at scale,” arecent Department of Energy (DoE) bulletinread. “If U.S. government leadership is not rapidly established in this sector, the nation risks falling behind in the development of safe and trustworthy AI for national security, energy, and scientific discovery, and thereby compromising our ability to address pressing national and global challenges.” So the question now is not how to walk back the global AI takeover, but how to secure new energy sources in a hurry, how to place strategic limits on the intensity of the sector’s growth and consumption rates, and how to ensure that AI is employed responsibly and for the benefit of the energy sector, the nation, the public, and the world as a whole.To this end, the United States Department of Energy (DoE) has proposed a new agency-wide initiative to ‘harness and advance artificial intelligence for the public's benefit’ according to reporting from Axios. Just this month, the DoE released a roadmap for the program, which was first publicly mentioned back in May of this year. The Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology (FASST) includes coordinated cooperation from all 17 of the DoE’s national laboratories. This program would focus on staying competitive in the AI sector on a global scale, but would also put significant resources into making more energy-efficient computer models to avoid compromising the country’s energy security and climate goals in the process. The five overarching objectives of the program are:

• 1. Advance National Security
• 2. Attract and build a talented workforce
• 3. Harness AI for Scientific Discovery
• 4. Address Energy Challenges
• 5. Develop technical expertise necessary for AI governance

Under the “address energy challenges” objective, the Department of Energy states that “FASST will unlock new clean energy sources, optimize energy production, and improve grid resilience, and build tomorrow’s advanced energy economy. America needs low-cost energy to support economic growth and FASST can help us meet this challenge.”While the proposed FASST program will be a critical first step in the right direction for responsible growth and application of Artificial Intelligence in the United States, it still needs congressional authorization and funding to be put into action. A bipartisan bill has already been introduced in the Senate.

Utility commissioners from 14 states, DC, say FERC transmission rule will lower energy costs - The support comes after utility commissions from Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia challenged the agency’s rule in court, partly because they say it usurps state authority.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 1920 gives states an “unprecedented expansion” of their role in the transmission planning and cost allocation process, according to 33 utility commissioners from 14 states and the District of Columbia.“Nothing in Order 1920 causes one state to be forced to pay for lines that only have public policy benefit to others,” they said in a Monday letter to the commission. “Order 1920 builds on long-standing FERC precedent that customers need only pay costs that are ‘roughly commensurate’ with the benefits they are expected to receive.”The letter comes as states, clean energy groups, environmental groups and others are challenging various aspects of FERC’s transmission planning and cost allocation rule in appeals courts around the United States.Utility commissions from Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia, as well as the state of Texas, have asked appeals courts to reverse FERC’s rule.The Public Service Commission of West Virginia, for example, argued the rule undermines the states’ role in transmission planning, “eviscerates” their role in determining how transmission costs are allocated and interferes with state decisions on power plant planning, according to a rehearing request filed in June at FERC by the state agency. It will also make states pay for transmission lines that are built to meet other states’ policies, the PSC said.FERC on May 13, on a 2-1 vote, approved Order 1920, a rule requiring transmission providers to consider forward-looking factors when developing their plans — such as utility resource plans, state energy goals, corporate energy procurement commitments and interconnection queues. The transmission plans must look ahead at least 20 years.Transmission operators must also consider certain economic and reliability benefits when considering possible transmission projects, including production cost savings and how transmission could help grid operators handle extreme weather events.“The current status quo of incremental, reactive transmission planning has led to more expensive outcomes for consumers and businesses than the proactive multi-purpose approach FERC has developed,” the utility commissioners said, noting the transmission planning rule was influenced by a transmission task force of state and FERC commissioners that met eight times.FERC’s rule requires direct consultation with state regulatory authorities in deciding how transmission costs will be shared, while avoiding a process where a single state could effectively veto a cost sharing framework for transmission that could provide benefits across a whole region, the state regulators said.“This order has been informed at every level by the views, perspectives, and authorities of the states and is designed to lead to the effective planning of the interstate transmission system and an equitable sharing of the costs associated with transmission buildout, the outcome of which will be a lower delivered cost of energy for the ratepayers of our states,” the regulators said.Utility commissioners signing the letter come from California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.The utility commissioners said they represent different parts of the country and have diverse political backgrounds. Also, they come from states with a range of regulatory frameworks, including vertically-integrated and restructured markets and regional transmission organization and non-RTO areas, the regulators said.

Texas lawmakers ask DOE why it rejected Houston grid upgrade - Seven Texas lawmakers are demanding that the Biden administration explain its rejection of a funding request last year from a now-embattled Houston utility to strengthen its electricity distribution system.The Department of Energy denied an application by CenterPoint Energy for $100 million to reinforce electric poles and wires against hurricane winds and flooding.The utility is being investigated in Texas for its response to Hurricane Beryl, which caused more than 2 million people in the greater Houston area to lose power. Many CenterPoint customers had no electricity for days as the Houston region sweltered under what the National Weather Service called “extremely dangerous heat conditions.” The seven House members, all Republicans, told Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm they were “troubled” by the department’s rejection of CenterPoint’s funding request, which was first reported by POLITICO’s E&E News. The utility asserted in its application for the grant that it needed the money to “fund high wind and flood mitigation projects.”

Court Reverses Biden EPA on Denial of Small-Refinery Exemptions in 2022 (DTN) -- A federal appeals court vacated Biden administration reversals of small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard in a judgment handed down Friday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sealed its opinion in the case for seven days but issued a two-page judgment that appears to side with refining companies, so the number of exemptions affected is unclear. In April 2022, the EPA revoked 36 SREs granted by the Trump administration for the 2018 compliance year. In June 2022, the EPA announced the denial of 69 exemption requests. In April 2022, however, EPA offered most refineries an alternative way to comply with the RFS that wouldn't require the companies to make up for the 1.4 billion gallons of biofuels or compliance credits originally exempted. There were 32 cases filed against EPA on the Biden administration's decision and consolidated by the court in one group, while six other cases were consolidated in a second group. "Ordered and adjudged that, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date, the petitions of company A and company B be denied, but otherwise the petitions for review in (the first group) be granted," the court said in the judgment. Those cases were remanded back to EPA for "further proceedings," according to the judgment. In a joint statement following the court's ruling, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol, all of whom intervened on EPA's behalf in the litigation, said they were disappointed in the ruling. "We are extremely disappointed in today's decision to vacate and remand EPA's denial of dozens of small refinery exemption petitions," the groups said. "EPA's decision in 2022 to deny the petitions was well-reasoned, based on sound economic analysis and consistent with both the Clean Air Act and the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard. We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today's decision. Our coalition remains resolute and committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS." In the second group of cases, the court said in its judgment it dismissed petitions filed by Growth Energy and Wynnewood Refining Company and denied a petition filed by Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company LLC. The second group of lawsuits challenged the EPA's alternative compliance option given to the small refiners. The appeals court's action is the latest in a long drama that has played out across multiple administrations. In December 2021, the Biden EPA released a proposal to reject all pending exemption requests. The Trump administration approved more than 80 small-refinery exemption requests.

Top nuclear regulator says Palisades could be running again by August 2025 - The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near South Haven could be back online and generating electricity in just over a year, according to the top U.S. nuclear regulatory official.The chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday during a Congressional hearing how he expects the agency’s review of a request to restart the 1970s-era nuclear reactor on Lake Michigan to be wrapped by May. He said the plant could be operating again by August, if approved.

COP29 host Azerbaijan: Fossil fuel extraction compatible with climate action - — Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s global climate talks, has suggested that continued fossil fuel extraction is compatible with the Paris Agreement.With four months to go until COP29 kicks off in Baku, the Azerbaijani presidency on Friday announced a flurry of “initiatives” — a set of 14 nonbinding pledges and partnerships that countries are encouraged to sign up to at the summit.At the same press conference, the summit’s chief executive, Elnur Soltanov, suggested that the Paris climate accord — under which countries agreed to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and ideally to 1.5 C — does not necessarily mean reducing fossil fuel production. “To be 1.5 C-aligned is the goal,” said Soltanov, who also serves as Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister, when asked if Baku believed that countries’ climate plans could include continued expansion of oil, gas and coal.

CNX Touts Deep Utica Wells Results as Deferrals Hit Production | Hart Energy CNX Resources leaders are “pretty excited” about early results from two deep Utica gas wells brought online last quarter. CNX turned in line two of three deep Utica Shale wells the company drilled in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, during the second quarter, the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based E&P reported July 25. The two Utica wells were drilled with average lateral lengths of 13,800 ft (~2.6 miles), according to CNX regulatory filings. Alan Shepard, CFO at CNX, said the two deep Utica gas wells are “absolutely meeting expectations” both on drilling costs and on well performance. CNX expects to bring the third deep Utica well in central Pennsylvania online during the third quarter. The bulk of CNX’s core drilling program has focused on Marcellus Shale wells in southwestern Pennsylvania. CNX reported drilling eight Marcellus wells with average lateral lengths of approximately 14,100 ft (~2.67 miles) during the second quarter; Two wells featured average lateral lengths of 19,800 ft (3.75 miles). As of year-end 2023, CNX held the rights on 527,000 net Marcellus acres and 607,000 net Utica acres, per regulatory filings. Overall, CNX’s quarterly production declined to 134 Bcf equivalent due to deferred completions in response to low natural gas prices. U.S. natural gas prices have been historically low amid a run of overproduction, elevated storage inventories and weaker-than-expected demand during a mild winter season. Henry Hub gas prices averaged $1.49/MMBtu in March, the lowest average monthly inflation-adjusted price since at least 1997, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported. And prices from February through April 2024 were the lowest ever recorded for those months, per EIA data. CNX said it deferred 11 well completions in response to the challenging macro gas pricing environment. Several other large Appalachia gas producers also slashed drilling and completion activity, including EQT, Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources and Gulfport Energy. However, CNX’s gas production is expected to climb as the company brings the remainder of its planned 2024 wells online during the back half of the year.

Companies Chip In to Help Encino Energy Raise $100K for Local Charities –- Encino Energy has capitalized on the Utica Shale natural gas and oil play to become one of Ohio’s leading natural gas producers and the state’s No. 1 oil producer. “We started in Houston and we could have operated anywhere in the country, but we really looked across the whole country and found the best opportunity was right here in the Ohio Utica, so that’s why we are here,” said Hardy Murchison, founder, president, CEO and director of Encino Energy. “We’re dedicated to Ohio. We really are. We can’t find anything that can compete per capital with what we’re doing in Ohio.” But Encino Energy did not do it alone, partnering with many companies here in the Mahoning Valley for mutual success. On Wednesday, they partnered again to hold the Encino Vendor Charity Classic at the Avalon Lakes and Squaw Creek golf courses, where 300 golfers raised $100,000 for charities in the region. One of the companies Encino partners with is Vallourec Star, which produces the seamless steel pipes that are connected and placed into the ground to produce oil and gas. “In the [Mahoning] Valley, people don’t necessarily associate a steel plant with energy or even an energy producing company,” said Gary Hauck, president of Vallourec Star, which currently employs 1,600 in the Youngstown area. “And what is great about our partnership with Encino, it allows us to showcase the products that our people so proudly make … that they’re being used in Ohio. And we’re here to support the energy independence of the nation, and our people are proud to do that and they’re excited to be part of that.” Vallourec is only one of the many companies in the region that teams up with Encino Energy to produce what they need. Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said Encino and the natural gas and oil industry has created several thousand jobs here, including at other companies like Brilex Industries Inc., Dearing Compressor and Pump and Warren Fabricating. Additionally, the golf outing attracted Encino vendors and partnering organizations from elsewhere, another plus according to Coviello. “You’ve got companies from all over the country, so I can’t thank Encino enough for giving us the opportunity to show off the Valley to all these companies coast to coast,” Coviello said. “And also to draw attention to the fact that we are a major player in the oil and gas industry, and the world is becoming more and more dependent on the Mahoning Valley for energy.” Murchison said those participating included not only Encino employees but equipment and service providers from across the country. The current natural gas and oil play is not showing any signs of slowing down, either. Murchison said the company just added another quarter-billion dollar investment, its fourth drilling rig in the area. With that fourth rig and two completion crews, Encino Energy is the largest active oil and gas operator in Appalachia, he said. And he believes the future is in natural gas energy, although the oil play found in Columbiana County has been a “huge bonus for the state of Ohio and Encino.” “I think there’s huge potential for Ohio to expand electric generation from natural gas, although we do have to have some help from the regulatory bodies, particularly the federal ones,” Murchison said. “I think as artificial intelligence expands and becomes a bigger part of American life, we’re going to have to use more electricity, and the best source of electricity is natural gas.” The Encino Vendor Charity Classic was an opportunity to give back to Ohio, especially the region that has been so much a part of the Utica Shale play. According to Jackie Stewart, vice president of external affairs with Encino Energy, the five charities receiving donations will be the Brightside Project in Columbiana, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber Foundation, the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, the Cambridge-Guernsey County Community Improvement Corporation’s manufacturing workforce initiative and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy Foundation. Coviello said the money for the Regional Chamber Foundation will go a long way toward implementing strategies to grow the workforce, including the marginalized population, and toward strategies to increase housing stock for the Valley. “We are seeing a lot of economic growth thanks to Encino and others, and so we need to grow population so we can fill the jobs that are being created,” Coviello said. “And in order to grow the population, we have to increase the housing stock so we can have places for people to live.” Coviello said he was happy to see the corporate citizenship effort that companies like Encino and its partners showed through the event Wednesday. “Vallourec has a long history here in the community in the Mahoning Valley,” Hauck said. “We’re excited to partner with a great partner of ours, Encino Energy, and give back to the community that is so important to our business and, more importantly, to our employees. We’re excited to just be a small part of this event and to give to the great charities that have been identified. And we can’t wait to see the great work that this money will do.”

Ohio Gets Another $57M from Biden Dept. Interior to Plug Old Wells -Marcellus Drilling News - In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Infrastructure Bill, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the help of turncoat Republicans (see Biden So-Called $1.2T Infrastructure Bill Passes Thanks to RINOs). Only about 9% of the $1.2 trillion is being used for actual infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. One of the line items in the bill (so small it’s a rounding error) is money to plug orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. The money is dribbed and drabbed out as the Bidenistas have time (and need). Ohio is about to get another drib.

Austin Master Services Misses Deadline, ODNR Steps in To Clean Site - Marcellus Drilling News - Austin Master Services (AMS) is a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio. The Ohio Attorney General lodged charges against AMS in March, accusing the company of storing 16+ times more drill cuttings at the facility than it’s rated for (see Ohio AG Sues Austin Master Services for Unsafe Storage of Wastewater). A county judge ordered AMS to clean out the site and bring it back into compliance by July 22, or else AMS would be fined $200 per day, and the owner and CEO, Brad Domitrovitsch, would need to report to jail for a 30-day stint. Yesterday’s deadline came and went without compliance, so the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) is stepping in to do the cleanup work.

Austin Master Serv. CEO Asks Court to Block Jail Time, $1.2M Bond - Marcellus Drilling News - As we have been reporting, Austin Master Services, a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, that handles fracking waste (trucks it for disposal), ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The facility where waste is temporarily stored went from a permitted maximum of 600 tons of stored waste to over 10,000 tons, in violation of its permit. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company to force compliance. As is always the case, there are two sides to every story. The side of AMS and its owner, Brad Domitrovitsch, is not getting much media coverage. We have an update on Brad’s side of the story…

Flurry of Activity at Austin Master Services Site in Martins Ferry - Marcellus Drilling News Yesterday, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) opened up the shuttered Austin Master Services (AMS) radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, to begin cleanup work at the facility. One contractor began working at the site, while a bunch of others did a “pre-bid walkthrough” to look at what is there to make bids for cleaning it. AMS is permitted by the ODNR to temporarily store up to 600 tons of fracking waste, like drill cuttings and wastewater. ODNR estimates there are some 10,000 tons of fracking waste at the site. AMS ran out of money, and vendors quit accepting the waste. After failing to meet a court-ordered July 22 deadline, ODNR stepped in to handle the cleanup.

‘Roadspreading’ returns: How Pennsylvania’s oil industry quietly dumped waste across the state -- Siri Lawson and her husband live on a stamp of wooded, hilly land in Warren County, Pennsylvania, nestled in the state’s rural northwest corner. During the summer heat, cars traveling on the county’s dirt roads cast plumes of dust in their wake. Winter’s chill can cause a hazardous film of ice to spawn on paved roads. To protect motorists from both slippery ice and vision-impairing dust, communities across Pennsylvania coat these roads with large, cheap volumes of de-icing and dust-suppressing fluids. In Lawson’s case, her township had been using oil and gas wastewater as a dust suppressant, believing the material was effective. But researchers have found it is no better at controlling dust than rainwater. It can also contain toxic chemicals and have radioactive concentrations several hundred times the acceptable federal limit in drinking water. Given the risks it poses to human health and the environment, Pennsylvania lawmakers and the state’s environmental agency disallowed this practice more than seven years ago. But oil and gas companies have continued to spread their wastewater practically unchecked across the state, thanks to a loophole in state regulations. A Grist review of records from 2019 to 2023 found that oil and gas producers submitted more than 3,000 reports of wastewater dumping to the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP. In total, they reported spraying nearly 2.4 million gallons of wastewater on Pennsylvania roads. This number is likely a vast undercount: About 86 percent of Pennsylvania’s smaller oil and gas drillersdid not report how they disposed of their waste in 2023. Wastewater dumping is an open secret on Pennsylvania roads. At a legislative hearing this spring, state senators Katie Muth and Carolyn Comitta, both Democrats, said they witnessed companies spreading wastewater last fall during a tour of new fracking wells. Lawson, who has become a public face of opposition to wastewater dumping, experiences sinus pains and believes her symptoms are connected to living near roads coated with wastewater. Sometimes the pain has been so intense she’s had to leave her home “to get different air.” She’s submitted multiple complaints to DEP over the years, but she says it has done little to drag the agency off the sidelines. “I am told [by DEP] to catch the truck,” Lawson said. “I’m told to be my own cop.” Neil Shader, a spokesperson for DEP, told Grist that the department “is committed to responding to all brine/roadspreading complaints that are received from the general public” and that it investigates all complaints. “If/when a responsible party is identified, appropriate enforcement action is taken,” he said. Lawmakers first banned the use of wastewater from fracking wells as a dust suppressant in 2016. Two years later, the DEP issued a moratorium on the use of wastewater from traditional drilling methods as well. But conventional oil and gas companies have found a loophole that allows them to skirt these rules with impunity. The DEP requires permits for wastewater disposal, but the agency grants an exception if the wastewater can be reused for a “beneficial” purpose. Any waste that is no more injurious to the environment and human health than a commercial alternative may be classified as a “coproduct,” a designation that receives less DEP oversight. Under Pennsylvania law, companies can grant their wastewater coproduct status by conducting in-house analyses to determine whether their waste is harmful to human health or the environment. These tests do not have to include a radiation analysis, even though studies have shown radium from oil and gas wastewater — which often contains 300 to 560 times the acceptable levels of radioactive substances in drinking water — has made its way into roadside vegetation, fresh water, and up the food chain. A company is only required to submit its justification for using the coproduct status if asked by the DEP to do so. The agency rarely asks. In 2021, the DEP requested justification for claiming coproduct status from 16 companies. Only 10 responded. The DEP told them that the materials they submitted were “inadequate.”Any conventional driller who is audited and “roadspreads” in the absence of an approved coproduct determination from the DEP — and without updating or submitting a new coproduct determination — is technically violating the agency’s moratorium, putting them in murky legal territory. But without agency enforcement, these companies face no consequences.“As far as I am aware, there have been zero notices of violations, compliance orders, fines, and penalties for anything dealing with rogue dumping of wastewater,” said David Hess, a former DEP secretary. “No one is enforcing the moratorium.”

14 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 15 – 21 -Marcellus Drilling News -- For the week of July 15 – 21, a total of 14 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. Pennsylvania issued six new permits, split two each for INR, Chesapeake Energy, and Olympus Energy. Ohio issued eight new permits, all of them to Encino Energy split between two counties. West Virginia issued no new permits last week.

EQT Moving to Knock Down Appalachian Storage Volumes by Shuttering More Natural Gas - EQT Corp., the largest natural gas producer in the United States, will continue to curtail Appalachian volumes through the second half of the year in light of surplus storage levels, executives said Wednesday. Chart showing natural gas storage and EQT estimates on prices. During the second quarter conference call, CEO Toby Rice and CFO Jeremy Knop said the longer-term outlook for the Appalachian pure play is solid. For now, though, the executive team is focused on reducing Appalachian gas storage levels, which have failed to moderate on flat prices and industry curtailments. EQT began curtailing about 1 Bcf/d in late February, or around 180 Bcfe, Knop reminded analysts. Through the second half of this year, EQT expects to hold back an average of 90 Bcfe, or around 500 MMcf/d.

U.S. E&Ps Shifting Upstream Capex Lower on ‘Weak’ Natural Gas Prices, M&A Wave --North American upstream activity remained sluggish through the first half of the year, with little optimism things would change before 2025, according to an industry survey. NGI's Henry Hub Forward Fixed price chart Expand Evercore ISI conducts two global spending surveys each year to check the temperature of the natural gas and oil market. An increasing focus on energy security and reliability drove global upstream spending through June. However, U.S. and Canadian exploration and production (E&P) companies have reduced capital expenditures (capex) more than was forecast last December.

Mountain Valley pipeline sold to largest US gas producer - The original lead developer of the Mountain Valley gas pipeline is again its owner, after EQT closed its acquisition of Equitrans Midstream on Monday.EQT proposed the pipeline in 2014, before handing it over to Equitrans in a corporate spinoff in late 2018. In acquiring Equitrans, EQT has estimated that it could realize more than $425 million in savings, partly by integrating the two companies’ pipeline assets. The deal was contingent on federal approval to start moving gas through the 303-mile pipeline, which came on June 11. But the business deal came together more quickly than expected. At the time the deal was announced in March, EQT said it would close in the last three months of this year.

TVA leadership’s ‘fossil fuel agenda’ questioned as utility advances another gas project --The Tennessee Valley Authority released details about one of its latest gas plant proposals in a public document last week. TVA is planning to build a half-gigawatt methane gas plant in central Mississippi. Last week, the federal utility released a draft environmental review for the project, in which TVA considered no alternatives to a gas plant. “The climate emergency is so in our face right now, and TVA is continuing to ignore that reality to build gas plant after gas plant,” said Gaby Sarri-Tobar, climate justice campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity. “We need the TVA Board to take a good hard look at this, nix the plan and lead the way on renewables instead.” The TVA Board is the main regulator for the federally-owned utility, with members appointed by U.S. presidents. The board has not made any public decisions in recent years to limit or end TVA’s fossil fuel buildout and has even given more decision-making power to TVA CEO Jeff Lyash. Lyash, along with TVA’s other top executives, have collectively banked millions of dollars for decisions to expand gas infrastructure. “They have a very clear responsibility as TVA Board members, and it’s very concerning that they’re relinquishing that to someone with a fossil fuel agenda,” Sarri-Tobar said. Since 2020, TVA has proposed eight gas plants across its seven-state region, equivalent to 20% of the utility’s operating capacity, and 160 miles of pipelines. The proposed Mississippi project is located on the Kinder Morgan pipeline system that supplies many of TVA’s other gas plants. The project will not require any new pipelines, but it will financially benefit the pipeline operator and gas producers. Kinder Morgan has pipelines that run through Tennessee between the largest gas-producing region in the nation and the Gulf of Mexico.Every time TVA builds a new gas plant, a pipeline operator gets more money annually selling gas on its lines. In this case, the operator will be Kinder Morgan, which transports about 40% of the gas consumed in the United States and sold $15 billion of gas services on its pipeline systems last year. The electricity sector is the largest consumer of gas in the U.S. The electric-gas system has a lot of layers, and gas producers, pipeline operators and utilities set up contracts to ensure both sufficient fuel needs and profits forcompanies and investors. These contracts are often hidden from the public, even by public utilities like TVA. In the case of the Cumberland and Kingston projects, for example, TVA set up “precedent agreements” with pipeline giants Kinder Morgan and Enbridge years before the projects were formally reviewed — the Southern Environmental Law Center has been in litigation with TVA for not disclosing these documents for the past two years.

‘This used to be a beautiful place’: how the US became the world’s biggest fossil fuel state -- To witness how the United States has become the world’s unchallenged oil and gas behemoth is to contemplate the scene from John Allaire’s home, situated on a small spit of coastal land on the fraying, pancake-flat western flank of Louisiana.Allaire’s looming neighbor, barely a mile east across a ship channel that has been pushed into the Gulf of Mexico, is a hulking liquified natural gas (or LNG) plant, served by leviathan ships shuttling its chilled cargo overseas. Another such terminal lies a few miles to the west, yet another to the north. The theme continues even in Allaire’s seaward vista – alongside a boneyard of old oil rigs, a new floating offshore LNG platform is in the works.“I’m pretty much surrounded,” said Allaire, a retired oil industry engineer who has a trailer, a couple of friendly dogs, and a patch of marshland and beach in Cameron parish. Yet another gas export plant is planned just a few hundred yards from Allaire’s property, while his existing imposing neighbor, which Allaire compares to Las Vegas due to its incandescent flaring of gas into the night’s sky, is on track to expand to become one of the largest such facilities in the world.“We don’t really have a Gulf coast in the US,” said Allaire. “We have the east coast, the west coast and the carbon coast. This is simply a sacrifice zone for the oil and gas industry.” Venture Global’s CP1 plant sits near the Calcasieu Pass marina, where many shrimpers and fishers work from.The rise of the US as the world’s oil and gas powerhouse has come at an astonishing pace. Within just the last decade, Congress lifted a ban on exporting crude oil and the US became one of the world’s leading oil exporters, elbowing aside classic petrostates like the UAE and Kuwait. In that timeframe, US exports of gas, frozen to liquid form and shipped, also started in earnest and last year America became the world’s leader. “To go from zero to billions of barrels is just stunning,” said David Dismukes, an energy expert at Louisiana State University. “It can be hard to comprehend.” Domestic oil and gas production, turbocharged by the advance of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rocketed. No country in history has extracted as much oil as the US has in each of the past six years, with a fifth of all oil drilled in 2023 being American flavored. US gas production also tops the global charts, having surged 50% in the past decade. Every hour of every day, on average, around 1m barrels of oil and 2m tons of gas are sucked up from oil and gas fields from Texas to Appalachia to Alaska.Domestic oil and gas production, turbocharged by the advance of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rocketed. No country in history has extracted as much oil as the US has in each of the past six years, with a fifth of all oil drilled in 2023 being American flavored. US gas production also tops the global charts, having surged 50% in the past decade. Every hour of every day, on average, around 1m barrels of oil and 2m tons of gas are sucked up from oil and gas fields from Texas to Appalachia to Alaska.The US’s hydrocarbon dominance, coming as experts have warned there can be no new fossil fuel projects if the world is to avoid climate breakdown, challenges conventional assumptions about what makes a “petrostate”. While the vast, diverse US economy doesn’t hinge upon oil and gas like Libya’s and Kuwait’s economies do, some regions have become hooked on industry incomes, research shows.“The US has become a petrostate and is still, even under President Biden, permitting new drilling,” said John Sterman, a climate policy expert at MIT.

US weekly LNG exports drop to 20 shipments - US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reached 20 shipments in the week ending July 17, and pipeline deliveries to US terminals decreased compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.The agency said in its weekly report, citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance, the total capacity of these 20 LNG vessels is 75 Bcf.This compares to 23 shipments and 85 Bcf in the week ending July 10.Based on EIA’s previous weekly reports, this is also the lowest number of weekly shipments since January this year.Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals decreased 0.8 Bcf/d from last week to 11.1 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased by 1.3 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 7.8 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased 27.9 percent (0.9 Bcf/d) to 2.2 Bcf/d.Also, natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast decreased slightly (less than 0.1 Bcf/d) to 1.1 Bcf/d, the agency said.The agency said that Freeport LNG, south of Houston, resumed operations this week by restarting the first train.Feedgas deliveries to the facility have averaged under 0.2 Bcf/d since July 16, according to Gulf South Pipeline Company.The facility had been offline since July 7, a day before Hurricane Beryl made landfall 40 miles southwest of the terminal.Freeport LNG, the operator of the three-train 15 mtpa liquefaction plant in Texas, told LNG Prime on July 15 it expects to restart the first train this week after the terminal’s fin fan air coolers were damaged during Hurricane Beryl.Freeport LNG plans to restart the remaining two trains “shortly thereafter”.Moreover, the LNG terminal operator said production levels after restart would be at “reduced rates for a period of time” as Freeport LNG continues repairs while operating the facility.During the week under review, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped seven cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments.Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal and Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass facility each shipped three cargoes.Also, the Cove Point terminal sent two cargoes and the Elba Island facility sent one cargo during the week under review. This report week, the Henry Hub spot price fell 39 cents from $2.37 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $1.98/MMBtu this Wednesday.The last time the Henry Hub price was below $2.00/MMBtu in July was in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the EIA.The agency said the price of the August 2024 NYMEX contract decreased 29.4 cents, from $2.329/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.035/MMBtu this Wednesday.The price of the 12-month strip averaging August 2024 through July 2025 futures contracts declined 17.5 cents to $2.827/MMBtu.The agency said that international natural gas futures were mixed this report week.Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia decreased 12 cents to a weekly average of $12.28/MMBtu.Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF increased 4 cents to a weekly average of $10.16/MMBtu.In the same week last year (week ending July 19, 2023), the prices were $11.22/MMBtu in East Asia and $8.67/MMBtu at TTF, the agency said.

DOE Authorizes Plaquemines LNG to Export Foreign Cargoes Needed for Start-Up Operations --The Plaquemines LNG terminal under construction in Louisiana is a step closer to bringing its terminal into service after federal regulators authorized it to re-export cargoes it would need to import to cool down its facilities. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said the liquefied natural gas facility’s developer Venture Global LNG Inc. could export up to 6 Bcf of foreign-sourced LNG to both U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries and non-FTA countries between July 11, 2024 and July 10, 2026. Earlier this year, Venture Global filed an application with the DOE saying it would need to import at least three cargoes so facilities at Plaquemines could be cooled down for cryogenic operations. The company said it “has determined that the optimal method for this part of the start-up of its terminal facilities is to import foreign-sourced LNG by vessel.”

Golden Pass, Zachry Near Settlement to Restart LNG Terminal Construction -Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC and its primary contractors, including Zachry Industrial Inc., have agreed to a settlement that could jumpstart construction again at the Texas LNG facility. In a filing Monday, San Antonio, TX-based Zachry requested that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas accept the proposed agreement at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Along with structuring the release of around $213 million in contested costs, Zachry agreed to exit the liquefied natural gas export project and turn over equipment and work to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partners Chiyoda Corp. and McDermott

Golden Pass Ready to Ramp Construction with Zachry Settlement — Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC is looking to ramp up construction at the 18 million metric tons/year (mmty) capacity project after a bankruptcy court approved a deal between the project partners and Zachry Holdings Inc. At an interim hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas gave the greenlight for a settlement that allows Golden Pass and its construction contractors to pay vendors and progresses Zachry’s bankruptcy proceedings. In exchange, San Antonio-based Zachry will exit the project. “This allows Golden Pass and our construction contractors McDermott and Chiyoda Corp. to ramp up site construction activities and progress our” liquefied natural gas terminal, a Golden Pass representative said. “Going forward, we are focused on getting people back to work, including local workers and vendors, and progressing this critical energy project.”

Tellurian LNG Agrees to Sell Company, Driftwood LNG to Australia's Woodside --Tellurian Inc. has agreed to sell the company and its developing 27.6 million metric ton/year (mmty) Driftwood LNG project to an Australian oil and natural gas giant, Woodside Energy Group Ltd. The Houston-based company has agreed to be acquired by Woodside in a deal valued at $900 million. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year, according to Tellurian. After more than a decade of development for Driftwood, the first phase of the five-train Louisiana export project could also be a step closer to advancing. In its disclosure of the deal, Woodside targeted a final investment decision (FID) on the first phase of Driftwood, which could consist of 11 mmty of capacity, by March of next year.

Australia's Woodside to buy Tellurian - Australian LNG player Woodside has entered into a definitive deal to buy Tellurian, the developer of the Driftwood LNG export project in Louisiana.Woodisde said in a statement the consideration for the transaction is an all-cash payment of about $900 million, or $1.00 per share of outstanding Tellurian common stock, while the implied enterprise value is about $1.2 billion.This represents an “attractive entry into an opportunity” with more than $1 billion of expenditure incurred to date, Woodside said.Tellurian said in a separate statement the acquisition price represents a 75 percent premium to Tellurian’s closing price on July 19, 2024, and also a 48 percent premium to Tellurian’s 30-day volume weighted average price.The US LNG firm this reflects Driftwood LNG’s “premier site, fully permitted status, advanced stage of pre-FID development and strong relationships with Bechtel, Baker Hughes, and Chart.”Tellurian issued a limited notice to proceed to compatriot engineering and construction giant Bechtel in March 2022.The company claims it has invested more than $1 billion in the Driftwood project up to date.The transaction, which was unanimously approved by both boards of directors, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from Tellurian and Woodside shareholders and the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Freeport Volumes Return to Market; Global Natural Gas Trade Picks Up as Prices Moderate — Global natural gas benchmarks relaxed once again as cargoes from Freeport LNG Development LP returned to the market and the pace of worldwide imports of the super-chilled fuel heated up along with the temperatures.NGI's LNG tracker. Feed gas flows to the South Texas liquefied natural gas facility have ticked up since July 17 after the 2.1 Bcf/d capacity facility was shut down in response to Hurricane Beryl’s impact on the Gulf Coast. Since then, flows to Freeport LNG have increased to around 13% of capacity, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data, indicating that at least one train may be online.A ship controlled by Glencore plc departed from Freeport over the weekend, while another cargo left Monday for Japan, according to Kpler ship tracking data.

Freeport LNG Natural Gas Pipeline Nominations Point to Another Possible Outage — Feed gas nominations to the Freeport LNG Development LP facility were revised down Wednesday and Gulf South Pipeline Co. LLC issued a failure to take notice, indicating the facility may have experienced another operational issue, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data. Feed gas flows to the liquefied natural gas export facility had previously topped 50% of pipeline capacity, near the highest point since former Hurricane Beryl passed through the Texas coast. The third vessel in less than a week was loading at one of Freeport’s berths Wednesday, according to Kpler data. New Fortress Energy Inc. updated its target for the first shipment of LNG from its Fast LNG (FLNG) terminal offshore Altamira to August. A vessel, thought to be carrying Mexico’s first LNG export cargo after anchoring near the FLNG unit for about a week, is likely empty, according to Kpler ship tracking data. The Energos Princess, passing south of Cuba on Wednesday, was reported as being in ballast and open for orders. Eni SpA is preparing to send a floating production and storage unit and a floating storage unit to the Baleine field, located offshore Côte d'Ivoire. It has targeted a startup of a second phase of development at the field by December, boosting oil output to 60,000 b/d and increasing associated gas to 70 MMcf/d.

EQT Finalizes Agreement to Provide Half of Texas LNG's Export Capacity - Back on January 11 of this year, EQT announced that they entered into an informal tolling agreement to provide 65 MMcf/d in feedgas to the proposed Texas LNG facility in Brownsville. That amount was quadrupled to 260 MMcf/d with a subsequent agreement announced in April. These earlier Heads of Agreement (HOAs) have now been executed, and EQT is committed to supplying 260 MMcf/d to the facility for 20 years if it becomes operational. This amounts to half of Texas LNG’s overall liquefaction capacity.Texas LNG also has HOAs with two other suppliers. It will seek to convert these to executed agreements and reach a Final Investment Decision (FID). The project has benefited from the permitting pause, as its permit from the Department of Energy to export to non-Free Trade Agreement countries has already been approved. If FID is reached it will further EQT’s desire to gain more exposure to international prices. EQT, a leading Appalachian pure-play natural gas producer, has contracted pipeline capacity in what the company calls its "firm transportation portfolio" to deliver 1.2 Bcf/d, or 20%, of its production to the U.S. Gulf Coast for LNG exports from its operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays.EQT also has signed an informal 15-year HOA with Commonwealth LNG in Cameron, Louisiana for 133 MMcf/d, and negotiations toward a definitive tolling agreement are ongoing. Commonwealth expects to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project in the first half of 2025 in order to start up in 2028.

An Awful Thing to Waste – The Push to Consume More Natural Gas Close to Where It’s Produced | RBN Energy - There are two primary drivers for consuming more natural gas close to where it emerges from production wells. One is to eliminate routine gas flaring, which is wasteful and environmentally detrimental, and the other — especially true in takeaway-constrained plays like the Permian — is to add value to gas that otherwise would be sold downstream at steeply discounted prices. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss some innovative approaches to maximizing gas value by consuming it “in-basin” — and the potential for a lot more gas to be used in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. We first blogged about gas flaring a dozen years ago, in the RBN blogosphere’s Stone Age, noting that one-third — yes, one-third! — of the associated gas then being produced in the booming Bakken was being flared. The main culprit was a dire lack of gas gathering systems, gas processing plants and long-haul gas pipelines, whose development was far outpaced by the increases in crude oil and associated gas production. Gas flaring wasn’t a new thing, of course. In fact, crude-oil-focused E&Ps have been flaring gas in the U.S. since the first oil was produced in western Pennsylvania more than 160 years ago, both for safety reasons and — then as now — for lack of infrastructure. As we’ve discussed often (see It Don’t Come Easy and Cover Me), there’s a big push in the U.S. — and globally — to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with a special focus on both carbon dioxide (because of the gargantuan volumes involved) and methane (because of its heat-trapping potency). And that’s spurred broad efforts to eliminate all “routine” (non-emergency/non-safety-related) flaring of natural gas by 2030 (if not sooner). The U.S. and more than 30 other countries have agreed to work toward that target, as have more than 50 large oil and gas companies.

US natgas prices jump 6% on rising feedgas to Freeport LNG in Texas (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 6% to a one-week high on Monday with an increase in the amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants as Freeport LNG in Texas started exporting cargoes again after shutting for Hurricane Beryl in early July. Traders also noted that the hottest weather of the summer is forecast to cover much of the U.S. Lower 48 states in early August. That heat could boost the amount of gas power generators burn to produce electricity for air conditioning to a fresh record high, topping the current all-time high set on July 9. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 12.3 cents, or 5.8%, to settle at $2.251 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since July 12. That also put the contract up for a third day in a row for the first time since early June. In other news, Australian energy firm Woodside Energy Group agreed to buy U.S. LNG developer Tellurian for about $1.2 billion in a deal that could increase the chances that Tellurian's Driftwood LNG export plant in Louisiana will be built. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states rose to an average of 102.1 bcfd so far in July, up from an average of 100.2 bcfd in June and a 17-month low of 99.4 bcfd in May. U.S. output hit a monthly record high of 105.5 bcfd in December 2023. Meteorologists projected weather across the Lower 48 states would remain mostly near normal through July 28 before turning hotter than normal through at least Aug. 6. With hotter weather coming, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 104.7 bcfd this week to 105.9 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday, while its forecast for next week was lower. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants fell to 11.5 bcfd so far in July after Freeport shut before Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Coast on July 8, down from 12.8 bcfd in June and a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023. With Freeport starting to export LNG over the weekend for the first time since Beryl, gas flows to the 2.1 bcfd plant was on track to rise to around 1.0 bcfd on Monday, up from 0.8 bcfd on Sunday after the facility pulled in almost no gas from July 7-15.

US natgas prices slide 3% on rising output, oversupply in storage (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures slid about 3% on Tuesday on rising output and an ongoing oversupply of gas in storage. Analysts said there was still about 17% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year even though injections have been smaller than usual for nine of the past 10 weeks after several producers cut output earlier in the year when futures prices dropped to 3-1/2 year lows in February and March. EIA/GAS NGAS/POLL Higher prices in April and May, however, prompted some drillers, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy, to boost output so far in June and July. EQT is the nation's biggest gas producer and Chesapeake is on track to become the biggest after its planned merger with Southwestern Energy. EQT, meanwhile, completed its roughly $14 billion acquisition of Equitrans, the pipeline company EQT spun off in 2018. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 6.4 cents, or 2.8%, to settle at $2.187 per million British thermal units. That price increase came despite rising amounts of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants as Freeport LNG in Texas started exporting cargoes again after shutting for Hurricane Beryl in early July. Another factor that kept gas prices incheck was the latestforecast that the weather over much of the Lower 48 U.S. states would turn extremely hot in August. That should boost the amount of gas power generators burn to produce electricity to keep air conditioners humming. In addition to the heat, electricgenerators were also burning more gas because wind powerso far this week was much lower than usual. Wind farms were on track to produce an average of just 4% of power generation this week, down from 7% last week, 12% so far in 2024 and 10% in 2023. Gas-fired power plants were producing an average of 48% of generation this week, up from 46% last week, 40% so far in 2024 and 41% in 2023. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants fell to 11.6 bcfd so far in July after Freeport shut before Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Coast on July 8, down from 12.8 bcfd in June and a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023. On a daily basis, however, LNG feedgas was on track to reach a two-week high of 12.6 bcfd on Tuesday as the 2.1-bcfd Freeport slowly returns to service. Gas flows to Freeport, which started to exit a nine-day outage on July 16, held near 1.4 bcfd on Monday and Tuesday after the plant pulled in almost no gas from July 7-15.

US natgas prices slide 3% on forecasts for less demand, rising output (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures slid about 3% to a one-week low on Wednesday on forecasts for less demand next week than previously expected and expectations by EQT, the nation's biggest gas producer, that output will rise during the second half of the year. Another bearish factor keeping a lid on prices was the tremendous oversupply of gas still in storage. There was still about 16% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year even though injections have been smaller than usual for nine of the past 10 weeks after several producers cut output earlier in the year when futures prices dropped to 3-1/2 year lows in February and March. EQT said late Tuesday that it produced about 508 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent (bcfe) in the second quarter and projected output would rise to around 510-560 bcfe in the third quarter and 515-565 bcfe in the fourth quarter. Even though EQT kept its output forecast for all of 2024 flat at 2,100-2,200 bcfe, analysts noted the company's expectations that output would rise in the second half of the year came even though gas futures were down about 19% so far in July. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 7.0 cents, or 3.2%, to settle at $2.117 per million British thermal units, their lowest close since July 17. That price decline came despite the latest weather forecast calling for extreme heat to return in August, which should boost the amount of gas power generators burn to produce electricity to keep air conditioners humming. In addition to the heat, power generators were burning more gas this week after the amount of electricity produced by wind farms in the Lower 48 states fell to a 33-month low on Monday. With hotter weather coming, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 105.2 bcfd this week to 105.8 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Tuesday, while the forecast for next week was lower. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants fell to 11.6 bcfd so far in July after Freeport shut before Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Coast on July 8, down from 12.8 bcfd in June and a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023.

US natural gas prices fall 4% on bigger storage build - (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 4% to a one-week low on Thursday on a bigger-than-expected storage build, rising output and forecasts for less demand next week than previously projected. Despite the larger build, traders noted it was still smaller than usual for this time of year for the 10th time in 11 weeks. Recent storage builds have mostly been smaller than usual because several producers cut output earlier in the year after futures prices dropped to 3-1/2-year lows in February and March, traders said. Higher prices in April and May, however, prompted some drillers, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy, to boost output. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast utilities added 22 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended July 19. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 16-bcf build. The EIA forecast compares with an increase of 23 bcf in the same week last year and a five-year (2019-2023) average rise of 31 bcf for this time of year. Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 7.6 cents, or 3.6%, to settle at $2.041 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since July 17 for a second day in a row. That puts the contract within a penny of the 11-week closing low of $2.035 per mmBtu on July 17. That price decline came despite the latest weather forecast calling for extreme heat to return in August, which should boost the amount of gas power generators burn to produce electricity to keep air conditioners humming. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the Lower 48 states will average around 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28.3 Celsius) on Aug. 2, according to LSEG data. That would match the current record high average temperature set on July 20, 2022, when power demand peaked at an all-time high of 742,600 megawatts, according to LSEG and federal energy data. In addition to the heat, power generators were burning more gas this week after the amount of electricity produced by wind farms in the Lower 48 states fell to a preliminary 59-month low on Tuesday. That drop in wind power came even though energy firms have added about 53.3 gigawatts of wind over the past five years (2019-2023), bringing total wind capacity up to around 147.6 GW by the end of 2023, according to EIA data. That is an average capacity increase of about 9% a year over the past five years and makes wind power the nation's third largest source of power capacity behind gas at 490.8 GW and coal at 177.1 GW. Power companies get a lot more energy out of those gas and coal plants. Gas was producing about 49% of the country's power so far this week, with the rest coming from coal at 18%, nuclear at 18%, hydro and solar at 5% each, wind at 3% and other at 1%. Financial firm LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to an average of 102.4 billion cubic feet per day so far in July, up from an average of 100.2 bcfd in June and a 17-month low of 99.4 bcfd in May. U.S. output hit a monthly record high of 105.5 bcfd in December 2023. With more wind power expected next week, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will ease from 105.5 bcfd this week to 105.3 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Wednesday, while the forecast for next week was lower.

Court Reverses Biden EPA on Denial of Small-Refinery Exemptions in 2022 (DTN) -- A federal appeals court vacated Biden administration reversals of small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard in a judgment handed down Friday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sealed its opinion in the case for seven days but issued a two-page judgment that appears to side with refining companies, so the number of exemptions affected is unclear. In April 2022, the EPA revoked 36 SREs granted by the Trump administration for the 2018 compliance year. In June 2022, the EPA announced the denial of 69 exemption requests. In April 2022, however, EPA offered most refineries an alternative way to comply with the RFS that wouldn't require the companies to make up for the 1.4 billion gallons of biofuels or compliance credits originally exempted. There were 32 cases filed against EPA on the Biden administration's decision and consolidated by the court in one group, while six other cases were consolidated in a second group. "Ordered and adjudged that, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date, the petitions of company A and company B be denied, but otherwise the petitions for review in (the first group) be granted," the court said in the judgment. Those cases were remanded back to EPA for "further proceedings," according to the judgment. In a joint statement following the court's ruling, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol, all of whom intervened on EPA's behalf in the litigation, said they were disappointed in the ruling. "We are extremely disappointed in today's decision to vacate and remand EPA's denial of dozens of small refinery exemption petitions," the groups said. "EPA's decision in 2022 to deny the petitions was well-reasoned, based on sound economic analysis and consistent with both the Clean Air Act and the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard. We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today's decision. Our coalition remains resolute and committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS." In the second group of cases, the court said in its judgment it dismissed petitions filed by Growth Energy and Wynnewood Refining Company and denied a petition filed by Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company LLC. The second group of lawsuits challenged the EPA's alternative compliance option given to the small refiners. The appeals court's action is the latest in a long drama that has played out across multiple administrations. In December 2021, the Biden EPA released a proposal to reject all pending exemption requests. The Trump administration approved more than 80 small-refinery exemption requests.

Three US states are rattled by a wave of earthquakes ranging from 3.0 to 5.0 magnitude... did YOU feel the shake? - Texas was hit by three earthquakes on Monday evening through Tuesday morning, with the largest felt 200 miles away from the epicenter. Reports of the quakes flooded out of Texas after the first shook people awake in Hermleigh at 10.38pm, which registered as a 4.9 magnitude - the eighth strongest in the state's history. At least 1.6 million people as far away as Austin, southern Oklahoma andNew Mexico experienced the event.A 4.4 magnitude aftershock occurred less than 10 minutes after the initial earthquake and residents experienced a 3.1 magnitude in the early hours of Tuesday morning.Northern Texas, where Hermleigh is located, doesn't sit on any major fault lines, but 250 minor ones extend outward 1,800 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth area - which reaches the epicenter of Monday's quake.The earthquake started near the Scurry-Fisher County line which is located 54 miles west of Abilene and 10 miles northeast of Hermleigh.The Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed that the earthquake started just 4.8 miles beneath the earth's surface. At their deepest, quakes can begin as far as 400 miles underground. Earthquakes that reach 43 miles or less are considered shallow and will only result in mild to moderate damage.The seismology site Volcano Discovery reported that residents experienced notable shaking indoors which caused minor cracks in floors and ceilings and felt two aftershocks.Although much of the US experiences naturally occurring quakes, the USGS reported that 'in some regions, such as the south-central states, a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced.' These activities have included the water impoundment behind dams, injecting fluid into the earth's crust, extracting fluid or gas and removing rock during mining efforts.Because of this, residents rarely experience quakes or tremors, but scientists have speculated that the recent spate of earthquakes in Texas is largely due tohydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.Texas is listed as the number one state for fracking, and as of February 2017, it was home to 279,615 oil and gas wells but by 2023, that number had increased to 373,133 active wells.This process involves miners drilling deep into the earth's surface and releasing high-pressure water that creates a small explosion to release natural gas and oil that can be used to create energy. The action brings groundwater to the surface and when it is injected back into the ground, it puts pressure on fault lines, resulting in more earthquakes.

Texas Hit By Multiple Earthquakes In Last 48 Hours, Scientists Believe THIS Is The Reason -Texas has reported five earthquakes in just 48 hours, with the latest being a 2.5 magnitude tremor. The series of quakes, centered around the town of Hermleigh in northern Texas, began with a 4.9 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. This first earthquake, the seventh largest in the state's history, affected 1.6 million people and was felt as far away as Austin, southern Oklahoma, and New Mexico. A 4.4 magnitude event, a 3.1 magnitude tremor on Tuesday morning, and a subsequent 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Thursday evening were among the subsequent aftershocks. A 2.5 magnitude aftershock followed the 4.0 magnitude event. Scientists believe that the current seismic activity is related to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is a method of extracting natural gas and oil from the earth by pumping wastewater underground. It is thought that this process puts extra strain on fault lines, which causes an increase in seismic activity. According to US Geological Survey (USGS) geophysicist Justin Rubinstein, there is a connection between these earthquakes and the exploitation of oil and gas. The number of operational oil and gas wells increased in Texas, the state that leads the nation in fracking, from 279,615 in 2017 to 373,133 in 2023. Since 2019, the Hermleigh region has seen a marked rise in seismic activity, which the USGS has linked to more intensive fracking activities. In other states, including Colorado, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Arkansas, fracking—which entails drilling deep into the ground and utilizing high-pressure water to liberate natural gas and oil—has been linked to induced seismicity. Since at least 1990, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized a link between fracking and earthquakes. For instance, from 1967 to 2000, Oklahoma saw just 21 earthquakes larger than a 3.0 magnitude yearly; but, since the fracking boom began in 2010, the state has seen over 300 earthquakes annually. If the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), which oversees the state's oil and gas sector, determines that saltwater disposal is causing seismic activity, it can suspend or revoke permits related to the practice. After discovering that wastewater injection was causing fault lines to break and cause earthquakes, the RRC suspended 23 of these licenses in January. In the event of an earthquake in the region measuring 4.5 or higher, the commission has also put into effect a strategy that forbids operators from injecting wastewater for a period of two years. Research professor Dr. Peter Hennings of the Bureau of Economic Geology in Austin stressed the need of comprehending why faults rupture in certain regions but not in others. He proposed that the probability of generated seismicity may be reduced with improved wastewater injection management. In order to lessen the need for subterranean disposal, the RRC is also looking at alternate techniques for treating and repurposing wastewater for advantageous uses.

Texas earthquakes: How common are they? Why do they happen? — At 10:38 p.m. Monday, the ground began to rumble in West Texas. The real action was nearly five miles below the surface, where a 4.9-magnitude earthquake happened just west of the Scurry-Fisher county line. A few minutes later, and several miles to the northwest, another earthquake rumbled -- this time a 2.8-magnitude rattler. Three more earthquakes then followed in the same area, all within the same half-hour, according to data from U.S. Geological Survey.Rumblings -- most likely from the initial 4.9-magnitude earthquake, about 10 miles northwest of Hermleigh -- were felt across the West Texas region, and reportedly as far away as the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, about three hours to the east.The exact causes of the earthquakes won't be determined until researchers have the chance to look into them further. But they were all part of a recent cluster of earthquakes in the Hermleigh area this week, most of them in the smaller 1.0-2.0-magnitude range, according to USGS data.More broadly, they were part of a growing trend in Texas in the last five years: Earthquakes are becoming increasingly common in the Lone Star State, particularly in West Texas.In 2023, there were 2,493 earthquakes that registered a 2.0-magnitude or higher on the Richter scale in Texas, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin.These numbers were similar to those of 2022 when Texas saw 2,601 earthquakes of at least a 2.0-magnitude.But they are also more than double the amount in seen 2020, and eight times the amount in 2017 -- all according to the bureau, which tracks Texas earthquakes through the TexNet Earthquake Catalog.This increase in earthquakes has been attributed by researchers to the rise of a form of oil drilling known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process involves injecting liquid into a well to break up shale and rock to extract oil or gas reserves, as the USGS explains here.Often, the USGS says, it's not the fracking that causes the earthquakes but rather the disposing of the large amounts of wastewater it produces.The disposal of that wastewater -- which sees it injected deep back into the earth's surface -- is what researchers have identified as the "primary causal agent" of the increased number of Texas earthquakes, said Dr. Peter H. Hennings, the principal investigator for the Bureau of Economic Geology's Center for Injection and Seismicity Research.Hennings researches earthquakes and their causes and has authored numerous papers that detail the recent rise in earthquakes in Texas.Hennings said the 4.9-magnitude earthquake near Hermleigh this week was "certainly notable." For one, Hennings said a 4.9 reading is on the higher end of what Texas usually sees, although the state has in recent years seen recordings venture past the 5.0 magnitudes. He also notes that the Hermleigh earthquakes happened within a newer cluster of earthquakes recorded on the eastern shelf of the Midland Basin. It's just one of many clusters identified across the Midland Basin and Delaware Basin, and extending into New Mexico, according to research Hennings has compiled.In a 2023 paper published by the Geological Society of America, Hennings and co-author Michael H. Young presented data that showed the sharp increase in earthquakes in the last five years. While the North Texas area saw an increase in earthquakes about 10 years ago, most of the recent rise in earthquakes has been seen in the Delaware and Midland basins of West Texas, located along the Interstate 10 corridor between Odessa and El Paso.

Beyond Permian? Breaking Down E&Ps' Second Half M&A Prospects | Hart Energy Times are good for Permian Basin E&Ps—provided, of course, that they aren’t looking to buy something. So far, Permian companies that have braved deals outside of the vaunted center of the shale universe haven’t necessarily been treated kindly by investors or analysts.Exhibit 1 is the aftermath of SM Energy Co.’s recent $2 billion deal to buy Uinta Basin producer XCL Resources. The transaction set the company’s stock reeling in late June, with share prices gradually returning to pre-deal levels by July 18.Generally, Permian Basin deals, where multiples are seemingly irrelevant, have been gold for equity prices. Not so for entering basins. For SM Energy, negative investor sentiment may have centered on a foray into Utah’s less well-known Uinta.Next, Devon Energy, looking to fortify its portfolio in the Williston Basin, agreed to purchase Grayson Mill Energy in a $5 billion acquisition in early July. Devon’s deal caused a brief flutter in share prices but the chief fallout was criticism over relatively high multiples paid for Bakken inventory.But E&Ps’ well-documented Permian inventory scramble has led to increasingly slim M&A pickings in the basin that may be leading them to look elsewhere. The Permian’s scarce A&D options are clearly starting to show, “with the exception ofDouble Eagle IV in the Midland, and the bulk of likely acquirers still early in the integration of other deals,” Mark A. Lear, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, said in a July 18 report.To be clear two deals do not make a trend, Lear said. But the fact that two established Permian operators—Devon and SM Energy—went shopping outside of the Permian has not gone unnoticed. “Both deals got a decent amount of pushback, with Grayson Mill (Bakken) trading at a premium multiple to CHRD [Chord Energy], while XCL Resources (Uinta) appears to be a difficult asset to grow and scale despite strong project returns,” Lear wrote in the report.Piper Sandler noted that Chord Energy’s $4 billion acquisition of Enerplus Corp., which closed May 31, didn’t get more attention despite trading at “a ~0.75-turn discount” to the Devon deal on estimated fiscal year 2025 EBITDA.That’s despite Enerplus bringing among the best remaining undeveloped inventory in shale, let alone the Bakken, Lear said.While Devon acknowledged the premium valuation paid for Grayson Mill, Lear said the deal was “accretive on our FY25E estimates [for Devon] and replenishes a big inventory hole for the company in the Bakken which has not seen a similar level of capital allocation as year’s past as a result.”And Devon has acknowledged that the company will continue to look for opportunities to replenish inventory in other parts of its legacy portfolio, Lear said.In advance of second-quarter earnings reports, here’s how analysts surmise dealmaking opportunities, plans and delays for E&Ps in their coverage.

California Halts Injection of Fracking Waste, Warning it May Be Contaminating Aquifers --California officials have ordered an emergency shut-down of 11 oil and gas waste injection sites and a review more than 100 others in the state's drought-wracked Central Valley out of fear that companies may have been pumping fracking fluids and other toxic waste into drinking water aquifers there.The state's Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources on July 7 issued cease and desist orders to seven energy companies warning that they may be injecting their waste into aquifers that could be a source of drinking water, and stating that their waste disposal "poses danger to life, health, property, and natural resources." The orders were first reported by the Bakersfield Californian, and the state has confirmed with ProPublica that its investigation is expanding to look at additional wells.The action comes as California's agriculture industry copes with a drought crisis that has emptied reservoirs and cost the state $2.2 billion this year alone. The lack of water has forced farmers across the state to supplement their water supply from underground aquifers, according to a study released this week by the University of California Davis.The problem is that at least 100 of the state's aquifers were presumed to be useless for drinking and farming because the water was either of poor quality, or too deep underground to easily access. Years ago, the state exempted them from environmental protection and allowed the oil and gas industry to intentionally pollute them. But not all aquifers are exempted, and the system amounts to a patchwork of protected and unprotected water resources deep underground. Now, according to the cease and desist orders issued by the state, it appears that at least seven injection wells are likely pumping waste into fresh water aquifers protected by the law, and not other aquifers sacrificed by the state long ago."The aquifers in question with respect to the orders that have been issued are not exempt," said Ed Wilson, a spokesperson for the California Department of Conservation in an email.A 2012 ProPublica investigation of more than 700,000 injection wells across the country found that wells were often poorly regulated and experienced high rates of failure, outcomes that were likely polluting underground water supplies that are supposed to be protected by federal law. That investigation also disclosed a little-known program overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that exempted more than 1,000 other drinking water aquifers from any sort of pollution protection at all, many of them in California.Those are the aquifers at issue today. The exempted aquifers, according to documents the state filed with the U.S. EPA in 1981 and obtained by ProPublica, were poorly defined and ambiguously outlined. They were often identified by hand-drawn lines on a map, making it difficult to know today exactly which bodies of water were supposed to be protected, and by which aspects of the governing laws. Those exemptions and documents were signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown, who also was governor in 1981. State officials emphasized to ProPublica that they will now order water testing and monitoring at the injection well sites in question. To date, they said, they have not yet found any of the more regulated aquifers to have been contaminated. California officials have long been under fire for their injection well practices, a waste disposal program that the state runs according to federal law and under a sort of license — called "primacy" — given to it by the EPA. For one, experts say that aquifers the states and the EPA once thought would never be needed may soon become important sources of water as the climate changes and technology reduces the cost of pumping it from deep underground and treating it for consumption. Indeed, towns in Wyoming and Texas — two states also suffering long-term droughts — are pumping, treating, then delivering drinking water to taps from aquifers which would be considered unusable under California state regulations governing the oil and gas industry.The EPA's report, commissioned from outside consultants, also said that California regulators routinely failed to adequately examine the geology around an injection well to ensure that fluids pumped into it would not leak underground and contaminate drinking water aquifers. The report found that state inspectors often allowed injection at pressures that exceeded the capabilities of the wells and thus risked cracking the surrounding rock and spreading contaminants. Several accidents in recent years in California involved injected waste or injected steam leaking back out of abandoned wells, or blowing out of the ground and creating sinkholes, including one 2011 incident that killed an oil worker.The exemptions and other failings, said Damon Nagami, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in an email, are "especially disturbing" in a state that has been keenly aware of severe water constraints for more than a century and is now suffering from a crippling drought. "Our drinking water sources must be protected and preserved for the precious resources they are, not sacrificed as a garbage dump for the oil and gas industry."Still, three years after the EPA's report, California has not yet completed its review of its underground injection program, according to state officials. The scrutiny of the wells surrounding Bakersfield may be the start.

Canada Set To Delay Trans Mountain Pipeline Sale After 2025 Election --Canada’s federal government plans to postpone the sale of the state-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline for after the 2025 general election amid politics, regulations, and slow progress in talks with indigenous groups, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting officials with knowledge of the discussions within the cabinet. The Federal Government of Canada bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) from Kinder Morgan back in 2018, together with related pipeline and terminal assets. That cost the federal government $3.3 billion (C$4.5 billion) at the time. Since then, the costs for the pipeline expansion have soared to nearly $23 billion (C$30.9 billion).It’s not certain that Canada’s government can recoup all the costs it had plowed in the pipeline and its expansion if an auction is held before the election. A possible change of government after the 2025 election and ongoing talks with Indigenous groups about them owning a stake in the pipeline could also be reasons to delay the sale of the Trans Mountain pipeline, according to Bloomberg’s sources.Regulatory hurdles have added years to the timeline for the pipeline completion, but TMX received the final permits in early May from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). This allowed it to enter into service on May 1. The expanded pipeline is tripling the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.The rise in pipeline egress is set to boost the price of Western Canada Select (WCS), the benchmark for Canadian heavy crude sold at Hardisty in Alberta, as it will narrow the discount at which WCS has traded in recent years relative to the U.S. crude oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI).With TMX now in service, producers see more options to get their crude to demand centers—the U.S. West Coast and the prized Asian crude oil market.

NFE Achieves First LNG at Mexico’s Floating Altamira Export Facility --New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE) has reportedly achieved first LNG at its export terminal offshore of Altamira, indicating it could be close to loading Mexico’s first export cargo. NGI map showing offshore mexico projects. Market analysts have been honing in on Central Mexico’s east coast after an LNG tanker anchored Thursday near NFE’s storage vessel at the floating Altamira liquefied natural gas facility. The arrival of the Energos Princess, a tanker owned by NFE and Apollo Global Management’s shipping joint venture, coincided with the company’s guidance that it could begin loading cargoes in mid-July. On Friday, the company disclosed it had achieved its goal of achieving the fastest timeline from construction to first LNG for a large-scale export facility with the start of liquefaction at Altamira.

Market Left Guessing on Outlook for Mexico’s LNG Projects Amid U.S. Permit Pause, Rising Competition -- The clock is ticking on Mexico LNG projects as a glut of liquefied natural gas supply is set to hit the market and giant projects advance elsewhere. None Some 40 million metric tons (mmt) of LNG capacity is expected to come online annually between 2026 and 2028, moving the world’s liquefaction capabilities beyond 500 mmt/year (mmty), or some 25% higher than current levels. Mexico could add as much as 6 Bcf/d in proposed projects. But the Biden administration’s pause on new export permits could scale these back, according to experts.

Mexico May Need to Import Crude and Cease Exports After 2030 -- Crude oil producer and exporter Mexico could see itself in need of crude imports in 2030 as its field production is set to rapidly decline at the end of this decade while it expands its refining capacity, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing projections from the Mexican Energy Ministry.Currently, Mexico pumps around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and condensates and is betting on a major new refinery to process some of the crude into fuels and end its dependence on fuel imports.However, the new fields that have started up recently will not be enough to offset what is expected to be a rapid decline in output from mature fields from 2030 onwards.Per the energy ministry assumptions of three scenarios, Mexico could be able to raise its crude oil production to between 2.164 million bpd and 2.39 million bpd in 2028. However, all three scenarios, which also assume some new discoveries, project a rapid decline in output from 2030, per the estimates reported by Reuters.The recently launched Trion field production – expected to reach a peak of 100,000 bpd in 2028 – and the Zama field could temporarily raise Mexico’s crude oil output this decade. But major declines at other fields would likely force the country to turn to crude imports to keep its refineries operating at relatively high utilization rates.Earlier this week, industry regulator CNH said that Mexico’s crude oil production fell by 6.2% year-over-year to just 1.57 million bpd in June. Crude plus condensate output came in at 1.84 million bpd, also down by 6.2% on the year, per the data reported by Bnamericas.Meanwhile, Mexico’s newest refinery, the long-delayed Olmeca processing facility with a planned capacity of 340,000 bpd, is unlikely to be ready to produce commercial quantities of fuels by the end of this year, five sources familiar with the operations told Reuters last month.The Olmeca refinery, also known as Dos Bocas, is a flagship project of outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who sought to reduce Mexico’s dependence on fuel imports from the United States.The refinery, however, has seen multiple delays and budget overruns and is now estimated to have needed double the initial budgeted investment. Initially budgeted at $8 billion, the refinery went into significant cost overruns, with the price tag to date standing at some $18 billion and the start date still unclear.

New Government Seen Cementing UK's Role as Market of Last Resort for LNG - The UK’s new Labour government won in a landslide election earlier this month and has promoted the island country as a “clean energy superpower,” moving away from the previous government’s emphasis on oil and natural gas. Although Prime Minister Keir Starmer has supported a green energy plan, he has ensured a “phased and responsible transition” away from drilling in the North Sea. The new government recognized the need for keeping existing natural gas-fired power stations running, but has planned to halt the construction of any new gas plants. EnergyAspects analyst James Waddell told NGI that policies under Labour may accelerate the energy transition, “thereby cutting UK gas demand faster than would have otherwise been the case.”

TotalEnergies Output Up, but Lower Euro LNG Demand and Natural Gas Prices Hit Bottom Line - Subdued natural gas prices and lower European demand between April and June dinged Paris-based TotalEnergies SE during the second quarter. Bar graph showing natural gas demand by region. The lack of momentum in natural gas prices, combined with reduced demand for LNG, led to a sharper decline in profits than anticipated. The integrated major was the first of its peer group to issue quarterly results. The company, one of the world’s top gas traders, said liquefied natural gas sales slipped in the second quarter by 20% year/year to 8.8 million tons (Mt). Sales from equity production and third-party LNG purchases declined by 24% to average 7.6 Mt.

European Natural Gas Demand Continued Decline Through June, Says Energy Watchdog -- Natural gas-fired power generation in Europe declined 16% year/year during the first half of 2024, driven partly by a sluggish recovery in industrial demand across the continent, according to the European Union (EU) energy watchdog. Henry Hub vs Prompt JPN/KOR and TTF futures. Gas-fired power generation also declined amid mild weather, stronger renewable output and household energy efficiency, according to the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (Acer). Overall, natural gas demand has fallen since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, cut off exports to the continent and sent prices soaring. Supplies have steadily recovered and storage inventories are filling fast. Acer said in its latest quarterly market monitoring review that both LNG and pipeline supplies are stable.

Germany’s Future as LNG Importer Expands with First Onshore Terminal -- The first of three planned onshore LNG import projects in Germany has broken ground as the country continues its journey as one of the fastest growing destinations in Europe for the super-chilled fuel. After roughly two-and-half years since Germany imported its first volumes of liquefied natural gas, Europe’s largest consumer of the fuel has flipped from relying on Russian supplies to meet over 50% of the country’s demand to a combination of Norwegian pipeline and U.S. LNG imports. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the German government has progressed and approved plans for up to a dozen offshore and onshore LNG import facilities.

Pacific LNG shipping rates continue to rise, European prices up - Pacific spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) freight rates continued to increase this week, while European prices also rose compared to the week before.Last week, spot charter rates rose in the Pacific with Atlantic rates decreasing after nine weeks of increases.“Spark30s Atlantic rates continued to decrease this week, falling by $9,000 to $79,250 per day – the largest week-on-week decrease since the end of January,” Qasim Afghan, Spark’s commercial analyst told LNG Prime on Friday.“In comparison, Spark25S Pacific rates experienced a $10,500 increase this week, rising to $67,250 per day – this is the largest week-on-week increase since October 2023, and the highest Spark25S rate since January,” he said.In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG front month was up compared to the prior week.“The SparkNWE DES LNG front month price for August delivery is assessed at $10.297/MMBtu and at a $0.155/MMBtu discount to the TTF,” Afghan said.“This is a $0.542/MMBtu week-on-week increase in SparkNWE DES LNG price,” he said.Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU continued to rise and were 81.83 percent full on July 17.Gas storages were 80.09 percent full on July 10, and 82.01 percent full on July 17 last year.In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia, for August settled at $12.200/MMBtu on Thursday.Last week, JKM for August settled at 12.330/MMBtu on Friday.Front month JKM dropped this week to 12.321/MMBtu on Monday, 12.300/MMBtu on Tuesday, and 12.090/MMBtu on Wednesday.US LNG exports reached 20 shipments in the week ending July 17, and pipeline deliveries to US terminals decreased compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.Freeport LNG, the operator of the three-train 15 mtpa liquefaction plant in Texas, toldLNG Prime on July 15 it expects to restart the first train this week after the terminal’s fin fan air coolers were damaged during Hurricane Beryl.The LNG terminal operator ramped down production at its liquefaction end export facility on Sunday, July 7, ahead of Hurricane Beryl making landfall.A Freeport LNG spokeswoman said the company is “completing initial repairs on the damage sustained to our fin fan air coolers in the hurricane and anticipate restarting the first train this week”. Freeport LNG plans to restart the remaining two trains “shortly thereafter”.

Natural Gas Flowing at Jerun Field to Help Boost Utilization at Malaysia LNG -The Bintulu LNG complex in Malaysia is poised to boost liquefied natural gas output now that supplies are flowing from the Jerun field. Bar graph showing Malaysian LNG Exports. Malaysia-based SapuraOMV Upstream Inc., which operates the field about 100 miles off the coast of Malaysian state Sarawak, said it achieved first gas from Jerun in early July. SapuraOMV holds a 40% interest in the field. The offshore platform is designed to produce up to 550 MMcf/d of natural gas. It would be delivered via pipeline to a production hub onshore. From there, it would be delivered to customers in the coastal town of Bintulu, including Malaysia LNG, which operates the nearly 30 million metric tons/year (mmty) liquefaction complex.

Russia Cuts Crude Exports To China And India By 17% -Russia’s four-week average seaborne oil exports fell to 3.11 million barrels a day as of July 14, down by almost 600,000 barrels or 17% from their recent peak in April, Bloomberg has reported. The country’s seaborne crude shipments have now sunk to the lowest since January and are likely to remain that way at least to the end of August, thanks to a rebound of domestic refining rates to a six-month high. China and India are likely to feel the export cuts most keenly since they buy more than 80% Russian seaborne crude sales. However, the barrels that have been taken off the market represent a small fraction of their total crude purchases, meaning Chinese and Indian buyers could easily replace them with crude from other markets.“The sharp drop in July isn’t a one-off event,” Viktor Kurilov, senior oil markets analyst at consultant Rystad Energy A/S, has told Bloomberg.Rystad Energy has predicted that Russia’s seaborne crude flows will remain capped at around 2.7 million barrels a day in July and August but rebound slightly to 2.9 million barrels a day in September when Russian refineries are expected to begin their traditional autumn maintenance. That’s a considerable drop from exports of 3.6 million to 3.7 million barrels per day recorded in April and May as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted domestic refining.“The levels seen in April or May are not to be repeated in 2024, barring large-scale drone attacks that would debilitate even more refineries than the spring strikes,” Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at intelligence firm Kpler, has told Bloomberg. Katona has predicted that Russia’s seaborne crude supplies will hover near 3 million barrels a day for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Ukraine has cut oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary by Russia’s oil and gas giant Lukoil. Lukoil supplies Russian oil to Europe via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline and stands as the last major functioning Russian oil supply route to the continent. The European countries are, however, still receiving oil from other Russian companies.

Russia Could Ban Diesel Exports Again -- Russia is considering banning the export of diesel if prices rise further, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing several sources. The Russian government could ban diesel exports if prices spike in the near term, but no decision has been made yet, according to Kommersant’s sources. There are no conditions for a complete ban on diesel shipments abroad yet, a source at a local oil company told the Russian daily.The government is restoring a ban on gasoline exports from August 1.In the autumn of 2023, Russia banned exports of diesel and gasoline in an effort to stabilize domestic fuel prices in the face of soaring prices and shortages as crude oil rallied and the Russian ruble weakened.Prior to implementing the ban, Russia had raised mandatory supply volumes for motor gasoline and diesel fuel to deal with a supply crunch.These bans lasted only a few weeks. This year, Russia reinstated a ban on gasoline shipments from March 1 but lifted the restriction on May 20 as more refineries completed planned seasonal maintenance or emergency repairs after Ukrainian drone hits in the winter and early spring.

Equinor lets platform drilling services contract for work offshore Brazil | Oil & Gas Journal - Equinor has let a 2-year contract for platform drilling services to Archer Ltd. in Brazil.The contract will begin in November 2024 in direct continuation of Archer’s current contract for drilling operations and maintenance on Equinor’s Peregrino A and B platforms and includes an optional 2-year extension period. The estimated firm contract value is $40 million.In February, Equinor extended a contract with Wood to deliver maintenance and modification solutions to the Peregrino assets. According to Equinor, more than 220 million bbl have been produced at Peregrino since 2011. With production of 110,000 b/d of oil, Peregrino is the largest producing field operated by Equinor outside of Norway (OGJ Online, Feb. 1, 2024).Peregrino Phase 2 produced its first oil in 2022 and will extend the life of the field until 2040. It will also add 250-300 million bbl of oil to the asset, according to Equinor’s website. The field consists of an FPSO accompanied by three fixed platforms: Alfa, Bravo, and Charlie.

Spain Detains Cargo Ship Over Fuel Spill Near Ceuta -- Spanish authorities have detained a German-operated cargo ship for causing a spill during a refueling operation near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Spain's Merchant Fleet said on Monday.The Antigua & Barbuda-flagged Tony Stark ship cannot leave the port on Africa's north coast until the owners pay bail of 120,000 euros ($130,524), it added.The Tony Stark's German-based operator NautiCore Shipping did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Last week, trails of fuel oil were detected in front of Benitez beach, the breakwaters of the port and San Amaro beach in Ceuta, in the Alboran sea.In a separate statement, the Merchant Fleet estimated the size of the fuel spill was one metric ton.The Merchant Fleet said it opened a disciplinary procedure that will determine the final fine.In a separate incident, three beaches near the eastern city of Valencia were closed last week after fuel from a spill washed up on a 2-km (1.2-mile) line of sand. The cause was not immediately clear.

Philippine oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay, raising concerns about a possible major spill - A Philippine oil tanker sank in Manila Bay early Thursday after encountering huge waves, and the coast guard was working to determine whether the vessel was leaking oil — in what could be a major spill — after it rescued 16 of 17 crew members in a nighttime operation, officials said.The tanker Terra Nova left Bataan province en route to the central province of Iloilo with about 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil stored in watertight tanks when it got buffeted by huge waves and took on water. The crew struggled to steer the tanker back to port but it eventually sank shortly after midnight, coast guard spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said, citing statements from surviving crew members.The sinking followed days of monsoon rains, exacerbated by a passing offshore typhoon, that caused landslides and floodings across the archipelago, leaving at least 22 people dead and displacing more than half a million people.An aerial survey spotted an oil spill about 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) long near the rough seawaters where the tanker sank but that may have come from the fuel intended to power the tanker’s engine, not the much greater amount of fuel the Terra Nova was carrying as cargo, Balilo said.A coast guard ship, the BRP Melchora Aquino, was in the waters where the tanker sank, more than 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) from Bataan province’s coast, to search for the last missing crewman and to carry out an initial assessment of the tanker’s fuel oil cargo, Balilo told an online news conference.He added that the coast guard was bracing to contain a possible major oil spill.“There’s a big danger that Manila would be affected, its shorelines, if the fuel leaks because this happened within Manila Bay. It’s part of the contingency we’re preparing for,” Balilo said. “The effect on the marine environment would not be good.”Balilo later said the oil tanker sank at a relatively shallow depth of 34 meters (111 feet), based on an initial assessment, and raised the possibility that its fuel oil cargo could be siphoned off by special ships in a delicate operation that could take about a week.“Siphoning will not be very technical and can be done quickly to protect the vicinity waters of Bataan and Manila Bay against environmental, social, economic, financial and political impacts,” Balilo said.He did not say if the tanker has been located on the seafloor and did not specify the status of its fuel oil cargo.Balilo compared the magnitude of the possible oil spill to one caused by the sinking of another Philippine oil tanker, which was carrying much less fuel oil cargo, in February last year off Oriental Mindoro province north of Manila. That spill took about three months to contain, caused massive damage to coral reefs and mangroves in a region known for its rich biodiversity, and affected tens of thousands of fishermen and beach resorts in at least six provinces. Manila’s shoreline is a major tourism and business hub, where the main seaport, a historic public park, the U.S. Embassy and upscale hotels and restaurants are located. Land reclamation efforts are also underway in the bay to create space for entertainment and tourism complexes with casinos. The bay for years has been notorious for its pollution but famous for its picturesque sunsets.

Philippine coast guard says oil leaking from sunken tanker --Some of the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken Philippine tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay, the coast guard said Saturday, as they raced to avoid an environmental catastrophe.The MT Terra Nova sank in bad weather off Manila early Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the country potentially facing its worst oil spill disaster.The oil slick has more than tripled in size and is now estimated to stretch 12-14 kilometers (7.5-8.7 miles) across the bay, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.Divers inspected the hull of the vessel on Saturday and saw a "minimal leak" from the valves, coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said, adding it was "not alarming yet"."It's just a small volume flowing out," Balilo said, adding "the tanks are intact"."We're hoping that tomorrow we will be able to start siphoning the oil from the motor tanker," he said.The ship that will carry the recovered oil is on its way to the area, he said.The coast guard has warned that if the entire cargo leaked it would be an "environmental catastrophe".It has previously said the oil leaking from the tanker appeared to be the diesel fuel used to power the vessel, which is resting on the sea floor under 34 meters (116 feet) of water.The coast guard now thinks the slick is a mixture of diesel and industrial fuel oil.Oil containment booms have been deployed for what Balilo earlier described as "the worst case scenario" of the cargo leaking out.Three coast guard vessels were also spreading dispersants on the oil.Balilo called for a suspension of fishing in Manila Bay to prevent people "eating contaminated fish".The vessel sank nearly seven kilometers from its origin in the port of Limay west of Manila. It was attempting to return to port after running into bad weather.Sixteen of the 17 crew members were rescued from the tanker, which vessel tracking website vesselfinder.com said was 65-meters long and built in 2002.The incident occurred as heavy rains fueled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.The state weather service said the monsoon had weakened by late Friday, giving the authorities a window of relative calm at sea to recover the cargo.The coast guard estimates the extraction would take at least seven days.It met with representatives of the MT Terra Nova's owner and a contracted salvage company on Friday to discuss the timeline.The Philippines has struggled to contain serious oil spills in the past.It took months to clean up after a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro last year, contaminating waters and beaches of the island and devastating the fishing and tourism industries.Another tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras in 2006, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.

Iranian Oil Exports Have Risen Sharply, Facilitated By Malaysia | OilPrice.com

• According to StanChart, the latest China customs import data shows crude oil imports from Malaysia clocked in at 1.456 million barrels per day, a lot more than the country produces.
• Previously, we reported that Iran’s oil exports have seen a strong rebound under the Biden administration.
• Whether or not the U.S. will allow Iran to continue pumping freely will depend on who sits in the Oval Office come 2025.

Back in February, three U.S. service members were killed in Jordan, while more than 40 other soldiers were injured following a drone attack on a U.S. military base near the Syrian border. Oil markets only issued a muted response to the attack, with many analysts predicting that the administration was unlikely to cut off Iran’s key lifeline: oil exports. Experts pointed out that Washington would allow Iranian oil to continue flowing due to the risk of squeezing supply and triggering a politically damaging spike in world oil prices. Two months later, Washington imposed a raft of new sanctions and export controls on Iran after it launched one of the largest missile and drone attacks against Israel. According to the White House, the sanctions targeted leaders and entities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian government’s missile and drone program and Iran’s Defense Ministry. Again, the U.S. did not try to limit Iran’s oil exports. And now commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have reported that Iranian oil exports have spiked, with Malaysian waters becoming a conduit for ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil.According to StanChart, the latest China customs import data shows crude oil imports from Malaysia clocked in at 1.456 million barrels per day (mb/d) in June, the second-highest monthly average on record. The commodity experts have pointed out that Malaysia’s crude oil output is about 0.35 mb/d while exports usually average 0.2 mb/d, implying that the vast majority of the oil that China imports from Malaysia was not produced in the country.According to multiple media sources, the transfers involve a dark fleet consisting of a group of aging tankers that rarely have an identifiable insurer. These transfers can be hazardous, including the danger of spills and collisions, with so many low-quality tankers massed in a narrow trade route with their transponders off. For instance, two such vessels caught fire off Singapore after a collision on 19 July.Previously, we reported that Iran’s oil exports have seen a strong rebound under the Biden administration with the U.S. and its allies hoping to strike a new nuclear deal with Tehran after the Trump administration scuttled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal of 2015. Under former President Donald Trump, Iranian oil production tumbled from 3.8 million barrels per day in early 2018 to less than 2 mb/d in late 2020; in contrast, production has surged under Biden to 3.2 mb/d.Whether or not the U.S. will allow Iran to continue pumping freely will depend on who sits in the Oval Office come 2025. A week ago, Trump promised in his 18 July Republican National Convention speech to reduce Iranian oil exports. He said he had previously achieved this objective by linking it to trade; “I told China and other countries, if you buy from Iran, we will not let you do any business in this country and we will put tariffs on every product you do send in of 100% or more.” According to StanChart, Iranian oil is likely to play a key role in Trump’s wider China trade policy agenda. However, Tehran is likely to hope for a Kamala Harris victory since another Democrat in the highest office is likely to continue advancing Biden’s agenda.

CNOOC Announces Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Breakthrough - Chinese state-held oil and gas giant CNOOC said on Monday it had achieved an exploration breakthrough in medium-to-deep Mesozoic plays in the Bohai Bay offshore China. CNOOC, which specializes in offshore exploration and production in China and abroad, was exploring a discovery well in the Longkou 7-1 oilfield in eastern Bohai Bay. The well was drilled and completed at a depth of approximately 4,400 meters (14,436 ft), encountering a total of 76 meters (249 ft) of oil and gas pay zones. The well was tested to produce about 210 cubic meters of crude oil and nearly one million cubic meters of natural gas, a new record for gas tested productivity in Bohai Bay, according to the Chinese firm.The successful well shows CNOOC’s “understanding and technological capabilities in tapping resources in medium-to-deep plays. The expertise we gained will guide our exploration in similar plays offshore China,” Xu Changgui, CNOOC’s deputy chief exploration officer, said in a statement. CNOOC and other Chinese state-owned energy giants are boosting domestic oil and gas exploration and production to keep up with government guidance for increased production to enhance China’s domestic energy supply and energy security.At the end of last month, CNOOC launched crude oil production from a new development project in the South China Sea.CNOOC announced the start of the Enping 21-4 Oilfield Development Project in the eastern South China Sea. The project is expected to reach peak production of about 5,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of light crude oil in 2025.The company boosted its 2023 oil and gas production to a record-high of 678 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), above the 650 million boe guidance, it said in March. CNOOC hiked in January its oil and gas production targets and capital expenditures to record-high levels as it looks to boost reserves and production. Since the beginning of this year, CNOOC has announced two major oil discoveries offshore China.

Crude oil up as China lowers lending rate - The Hindu BusinessLine -- Crude oil futures traded higher on Monday morning as China reduced its lending rate in an effort to boost the economy. At 9.56 am on Monday, September Brent oil futures were at $83.11, up by 0.58 per cent, and September crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $79.05, up by 0.52 per cent. August crude oil futures were trading at ₹6625 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹6612, up by 0.20 per cent, and September futures were trading at ₹6565 against the previous close of ₹6553, up by 0.18 per cent. The People’s Bank of China has reduced the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points to 3.35 per cent. One-year LPR is the benchmark for most corporate and household loans. The five-year rate was reduced by 10 basis points to 3.85 per cent. This rate is a benchmark for property mortgages. Also read: Copper futures: Testing a crucial support The slowing economic growth in China has affected the demand for commodities such as crude oil in the world market. China is the second largest consumer of crude oil. China hopes to boost its economy with this reduction in LPR. Media reports on the peace talks between Israel and Hamas also supported the crude oil prices. Reports said that Israel and Hamas are likely to broker a ceasefire during the week. Any such development would help bring stability in West Asia region, reducing the risks associated with supply of the commodity. Meanwhile, the US President Joe Biden has decided not to seek re-election to the post of the President. He has endorsed his deputy Kamala Harris to fight against Donald Trump. Investors assessing the impact of this decision on the market. The former US President Donald Trump has promised to increase oil production if he wins the second term. August natural gas futures were trading at ₹185 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹181.50, up by 1.93 per cent. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹16050 in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹15876, up by 1.10 per cent. August jeera futures were trading at ₹26790 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹26620, up by 0.64 per cent.

Oil Slips as Chinese Demand Woes Outweigh Supply Risks -- Oil futures closest to expiration on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange softened Monday morning after two back-to-back weeks of losses. Stunted economic growth in China last quarter and the lack of major policy responses overshadowed flaring tensions in the Middle East, wildfires in Alberta and firmed up chances of a U.S. rate cut in September. Even two interest rate cuts by China's central bank weren't enough to relieve concerns in the light of struggling domestic consumption and swelling debt-to-capital ratios. The People's Bank of China on Monday cut both 1- and 5-year loan prime rates by 10 basis points. While the first interest rate cut in 11 months was unexpected, it was also deemed too little to revive growth rates to levels seen at the beginning of the year. Chinese interest rate cuts have a muted effect on consumer spending compared to their international counterparts, and a separate stimulus program does not seem to be on the table for now. A slowdown in domestic growth and poor refining margins led to crude oil throughput trailing expectations. On the bright side, we can expect a seasonal pick-up in refining activity as operable capacity is set to increase with state refiners returning from maintenance and two new plants ramping up operations. And given the increased odds of U.S. rate cuts starting in September, the PBOC may follow suit. A measurable cooldown in U.S. inflation and diffident growth outlooks have over the past month reopened the door to lowering interest rates, with now more than 91% of investors expecting the first 25 basis point cut at the Federal Reserve's Sept. 18 meeting, compared to less than 60% four weeks ago, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. The Bureau of Economic Analysis' first projection for second quarter GDP growth out Thursday and the June PCE price index scheduled for Friday release will help gauge future interest rate policy. Near 9:45 a.m. EDT, WTI futures for August delivery were trading near $79.39 barrel (bbl), down $0.74, and Brent for September delivery hovered around $81.84 bbl, down $0.79. RBOB and ULSD for August delivery dropped to $2.4276 gallon and $2.4052 gallon, respectively.

Oil drops as investors look past Biden exit, focus on weak fundamentals (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a second consecutive session on Monday to their lowest level in over a month, as investors looked past U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to end his reelection bid and focused on rising stockpiles and signs of weak demand. Brent crude futures fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $82.40 per barrel, the lowest since June 11. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for August delivery expired on Monday after falling 35 cents to $79.78 a barrel, also a one-month low. Biden ended his campaign on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat who should face Republican Donald Trump in the November election. Traders took Biden's decision in stride while shrugging off escalating tensions in the Middle East, U.S. fuel distributor TACenergy's trading desk wrote on Monday. Market participants were focusing on a weak technical outlook, ample inventories and soft demand, they wrote. While the oil market is visibly tight, it is expected to reach a balance by the fourth quarter and a surplus by next year, dragging Brent prices down to the mid-to-high $70s range in 2025, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. Global petroleum inventories rose last week, according to a StoneX analysis. Total oil and refined products stockpiles are trending higher in all major trading hubs except Europe, StoneX analyst Alex Hodes noted. Energy policy will likely be a core debating point between Harris and Trump, but Citi analysts believe neither will promote policies that have an extreme effect on oil and gas operations as core positions. In the Middle East, Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi military targets near Yemen's Hodeidah port on Saturday, killing at least six people. The Houthis on Sunday told media that they will continue to attack Israel and not abide by any rules of engagement. Israel also sent tanks back into the greater Khan Younis area of Gaza, and at least 70 Palestinians were reported killed by Israeli fire, Gaza medics said on Monday. Elsewhere, top oil importer China surprised markets by lowering a key short-term policy interest rate and benchmark lending rates to boost its economy, but the move failed to support oil prices. "The Chinese interest rate cut has been too small to lift overall sentiment for crude oil,". The U.S. Federal Reserve will hold a policy meeting on July 30-31, with investors expecting it to keep rates steady, though there have been signs of a possible cut in September. "If we get an indication of a [near-term] rate cut, the Fed could be positive for risk sensitive assets like oil,

Expectations of a Ceasefire in Gaza Seemed to Outweigh the News of a Potential September Interest Rate Cut -- The oil market continued to trend lower as expectations of a ceasefire in Gaza seemed to outweigh the news of a potential September interest rate cut in the U.S. as well as in Europe and supply threats from Canadian wildfires. The market traded mostly sideways as the news of possible interest rate cuts in September helped support the market. It posted a high of $78.73 before it sold off and breached its previous low of $77.55. The market retraced more than 62% of its move from a low of $72.23 to a high of $83.58 as it sold off to a low of $76.40 by midday amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. President Biden is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday and are expected to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire. The market later retraced some of its losses and traded in a sideways trading range. The September contract, in its first day as the spot contract, settled down $1.44 at $76.96, while the September Brent contract settled down $1.39 at $81.01. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 2.49 cents at $2.4099 and the RB market settling down 5.65 cents at $2.4141. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their release could be near, as fighting continued in the battered Palestinian enclave. Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently in Washington and is expected to meet U.S. President Joe Biden later this week after making an address to Congress. An Israeli negotiation team was due on Thursday to resume talks that would include hostages being released in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. In a week-long truce in November, 105 hostages were freed in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said the country’s oil production is close to the quotas agreed within the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers. He did not detail production data. Last month, Russia conceded that its oil production in May had exceeded quotas set by the OPEC+ group of major oil producing countries, while pledging to meet its obligations. Separately, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia will reinstate a ban on gasoline exports from August 1st and that it is considering extending the restriction into the autumn. Goldman Sachs said Canada’s oil production has remained largely stable, but the risk that wildfires pose to the industry is increasing. It said the worst of the wildfire season is likely yet to come, and a third of Alberta wildfires are burning out of control, threatening 400,000 bpd of oilsands production. Suncor has been curtailing production in its over 200,000 bpd Firebag field for over two weeks and other producers started to evacuate non-essential workers from the most affected fields, while keeping production stable so far. Exxon Mobil said Monday its 251,800 b/d Joliet refinery was still awaiting power restoration at the refinery to assess damages after severe storms and a nearby tornado hit the region back on July 15th. Colonial Pipeline Co is allocating space for Cycle 43 shipments on Line 20, which carries distillates from Atlanta, Georgia to Nashville, Tennessee.

Oil prices fall 2% to six-week low on ceasefire talks, demand concerns (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 2% to a six-week low on Tuesday on rising expectations of a ceasefire in Gaza and growing concerns about demand in China. Brent futures fell $1.39, or 1.7%, to settle at $81.01 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) closed $1.44, or 1.8%, lower at $76.96. That was the lowest closes for Brent and WTI since June 7 and pushed both benchmarks into technically oversold territory for the first time since early June. U.S. diesel futures also settled at their lowest since June 7, while gasoline futures closed at their lowest since June 14. In the Middle East, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and militant group Hamas under a plan outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden in May and mediated by Egypt and Qatar, have gained momentum over the past month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal to secure their release could be near even asfighting raged in the Palestinian enclave.Biden is expected to meet Netanyahu on Thursday at the White House.The war in Gaza has lent support to oil futures as investors priced in the risk of potential disruptions to global crude supply in the key producing regions of the Middle East.United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg warned of a real danger of a devastating regional escalation following new Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and the first Israeli air strikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel.Palestinian factions including rivals Hamas and Fatah, meanwhile, agreed to end their divisions and form an interim national unity government during negotiations in China. "Ceasefire negotiations in the Middle East and an uncertain macroeconomic outlook in China are exerting downward pressure on oil prices this week," Also weighing on prices, the U.S. dollar strengthened to a nine-day high against a basket of other currencies. A stronger greenback makes oil more expensive in other countries, which can reduce demand for the fuel. Growing bets on interest rate cuts in September, however, could provide a floor to oil prices, as lower borrowing costs tend to support oil demand. European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos hinted at a possible interest rate cut in September, while in the U.S., investors are betting the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September. The Fed hiked rates aggressively in 2022 and 2023 to tame a surge in inflation. Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which can reduce economic growth and demand for oil. China surprised markets by cutting major short and long-term interest rates on Monday, its first such broad move since last August, signalling intent to boost growth in the world's second-largest economy. The market is looking for direction from weekly U.S. oil storage data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group later on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. Analysts projected U.S. energy firms pulled about 1.6 million barrels of crude out of storage during the week ended July 19. If correct, that would be the first time U.S. crude stocks declined for four weeks in a row since September 2023 and compares with a decrease of 600,000 barrels in the same week last year and an average decline of 1.8 million barrels over the past five years (2019-2023).

Oil Prices Rebound As API Reports Inventory Draw - Oil prices rose on Wednesday, snapping three straight sessions of declines after industry data showed a draw in U.S. inventories for a fourth consecutive week.Growing supply risks from wildfires in Canada also offered some support while the upside was capped by a firmer dollar, lingering concerns over top importer China and chatter over an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 0.7 percent to $81.61 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 0.9 percent at $77.62.Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed U.S. crude oil inventories shrank by 3.9 million barrels (mb) in the week to July 19, as oil demand likely picked up with the travel-heavy summer season.Analysts had predicted a 700,000-barrel build for the week. The API report also showed draws in gasoline and distillate inventories, indicating strong demand in the world's largest fuel consumer.Official oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the session. Elsewhere, wildfires in Canada have forced some producers to curtail production and were threatening a large amount of supply, analysts said.

WTI Extends Gains After Across-The-Board Inventory Draws - Oil prices continued to drift higher, after finding technical support yesterday the 200DMA and also buoyed by across-the-board draws reported by API. API :

• Crude: -3.9M
• Cushing: -1.6M
• Gasoline: -2.8M
• Distillates: -1.5M

DOE;

• Crude: -3.74mm
• Cushing: -1.71mm
• Gasoline: -5.57mm - biggest draw since March
• Distillates: -2.75mm

The official data confirmed API's across-the-board draws with crude stocks down for 4 straight weeks and a large gasoline draw too.... The Biden admin added another 690k barrels to the SPR last week... US Crude production remains at record highs despite the rig count continuing to decline...WTI is extending gains on the draws and yesterday supportive bounce from the 200DMA...Over the past five years, crude prices have averaged monthly declines from August through November, he said. Oil benchmarks have been "dragged lower by renewed concerns over Chinese demand, given the absence of further economic support out of Beijing," said Tan.

The Oil Market Broke its Three Day Losing Streak in Light of the Supportive Oil Inventory Reports --The oil market on Wednesday posted an inside trading day and broke its three day losing streak in light of the supportive oil inventory reports. The crude market posted the day’s trading range following the release of the EIA’s weekly inventory report. The market traded to a low of $76.98 despite the larger than expected draws in stocks reported across the board by the EIA. However, the market later bounced off its low and rallied to a high of $78.19 by mid-day. The market later settled in a sideways trading pattern during the remainder of the session. The September WTI contract ended the session up 63 cents at $77.59, while the September Brent contract settled up 70 cents at $81.71. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 4.25 cents at $2.4524 and the RB market settling up 3.74 cents at $2.4515.The EIA reported that U.S. crude oil stocks fell for the fourth consecutive week, the longest declining streak since September 2023. It reported that U.S. gasoline demand increased to 9.46 million bpd in the week ending July 19^th, the most for this time of the year since 2021’s record high of over 10 million bpd. Product supplied of gasoline increased by 673,000 bpd on the week, the biggest weekly increase since November 2023. S&P Global Commodities at Sea estimates loadings of diesel for export to Europe have surged to record highs in July to 517,000 b/d, up from 330,000 loaded in June. Growth in U.S. diesel exports to Europe has come at a time that western sanctions have disrupted Russian gasoil shipments to Europe but also Saudi exports to Europe have dropped off significantly in June and July.IIR Energy reported that U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 671,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending July 26^th, cutting available refining capacity by 12,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to fall to 504,000 bpd in the week ending August 2^nd. Colonial Pipeline Co is allocating space for Cycle 44 shipments on Line 1, its main gasoline line from Houston, Texas to Greensboro, North Carolina. The current allocation is for the pipeline segment north of Collins, Mississippi.The OPEC Secretariat said it had received a plan from Iraq to make up for overproduction in the first half of the year and said it would offset it by September 2025. OPEC said Iraq’s overproduced volumes between January and June totaled about 1.184 million bpd.Russian crude oil production in June exceeded quotas set by the OPEC+ group. However, Russia’s Energy Ministry pledged on Wednesday to stick to the required output level in July. Russia’s cumulative oil overproduction in January-June this year stood at 480,000 bpd under the OPEC+ deal and the country has pledged to offset the majority of the excess output next year. According to OPEC, Russia would offset 40,000 bpd of oil overproduction in October-November 2024, while 440,000 bpd of excess output will be offset in March-September 2025.OPEC also reported that it received a plan from Kazakhstan to make up for the country’s overproduction in the first six months of the year. The country overproduced 620,000 bpd between January and June.

US crude oil prices retreat amid doubts about further stock draw: Kemp - U.S. crude oil inventories have depleted faster than normal over the last four weeks – squeezing hedge funds running short positions, keeping spot prices firm and the futures curve in a steep backwardation. But with most short positions now repurchased this source of support has melted away and both spot prices and calendar spreads have retreated in recent trading sessions. Commercial crude inventories across the United States depleted by 24 million barrels between June 21 and July 19, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Crude inventories normally deplete at this time of year as refineries ramp up processing to meet demand for gasoline during the summer holiday driving season. But the drawdown in crude stocks this year has been more than twice as fast as the average over the previous ten years. As a result, crude inventories were 8 million barrels (-2% or -0.15 standard deviations) below the seasonal average on July 19. The draw more than eliminated a surplus of 6 million barrels (+1% or +0.12 standard deviations) four weeks earlier. Most of the stocks were taken from refineries and tank farms along the Gulf of Mexico (-17 million barrels) and around the delivery point for the NYMEX WTI futures contract at Cushing in Oklahoma (-3 million). The Gulf Coast and the Cushing hub are the parts of the U.S. petroleum refining system most closely integrated with international markets. The drawdown more than halved the seasonal surplus on the Gulf Coast to 11 million barrels (+5% or +0.34 standard deviations) from 25 million barrels (+10% or +0.79 standard deviations) four weeks earlier. And it slightly widened the deficit at Cushing to 11 million barrels (-26% or -0.69 standard deviations) from 10 million barrels (-22% or -0.66 standard deviations). The depletion of crude stocks has been accompanied by an influx of investment money into futures contracts based on U.S. crude prices anticipating a further increase in prices. Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 79 million barrels of futures and options in the NYMEX and ICE WTI contracts over the four weeks ending on July 16. Purchases were faster than for Brent, where fund managers bought the equivalent of 44 million barrels, according to records filed with regulators and exchanges. In consequence, fund managers had amassed a combined position of 239 million barrels (48th percentile for all weeks since 2013) in WTI compared with only 184 million (33rd percentile) in Brent. The number of hedge fund short positions betting on a fall in WTI prices had been squeezed down to just 21 million barrels on July 16 from 41 million four weeks earlier and as many as 96 million in early May. Inventory depletion and the associated short squeeze have forced the NYMEX WTI futures curve into a relatively steep backwardation. The three-month calendar spread has been in an average backwardation of almost $3 per barrel so far in July compared with less than $1.50 in May. Even so, the fund buying and backwardation have looked a little overdone given the relatively moderate stock depletion so far and the limited rise in spot prices. Cushing inventories 20% below the seasonal average have been associated with much narrower backwardations in the past making the market look a bit overheated. Similarly, backwardations of this scale would normally be associated with a rising spot price trend; instead prices have fallen slightly compared with three months ago. Perhaps traders anticipate a deliberate raid on deliverable inventories at Cushing in the next few weeks – reprising the drawdown between July and September 2023. The squeeze on Cushing inventories in the third quarter of 2023 sent spot prices surging to almost $94 per barrel and the backwardation flying to more than $6. Perhaps they also anticipate U.S. crude production will be disrupted by the forecast for an unusually large number of hurricanes of higher-than-normal intensity. Since the start of June, traders have been positioning themselves for a relatively large depletion of global petroleum inventories over the third quarter. But doubts about another physical and futures squeeze seem to have crept in, with spot prices and spreads falling to multi-week lows in recent trading sessions. Hedge fund short positions in NYMEX WTI have already been reduced close to the lowest level over the last decade so there is not much scope to squeeze them further. Short positions are just 6 million barrels above the lowest-ever level since 2013, removing one of the major supports for prices and spreads. U.S. oil prices are unlikely to rebound much in the next two months – unless there is another depletion of deliverable supplies at Cushing and a broader drawdown on the Gulf Coast.

Oil Prices Tank on Fears China’s Rate Cuts Herald Demand Weakness -- Oil prices were trading down nearly 2% in early-morning trading on Thursday, with markets attempting to digest the impact of lagging Chinese consumption on other positive U.S. inventory reports against the backdrop of another interest rate cut by Beijing. At 6:50 a.m. ET on Thursday, Brent crude was trading down 1.77% at $80.26, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was trading down 1.80% at $76.19. Though this week saw another big U.S. crude inventory draw reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the market remains focused today on the global economic outlook and China demand. Refinery margins worldwide are also taking a hit, with big refiners lining up ahead of earnings reports to warn investors of a weak Q2 earnings season. Throughout the year, China has seen crude oil imports on a downward trend, with refinery runs also trending lower, year-on-year, suggesting sustained economic growth weakness. On Thursday, China’s central bank cut interest rates again, lending more concern to analyst fears that demand is shrinking. The People’s Bank of China slashed rates from 2.5% to 2.3% on Thursday in a surprise move that is being interpreted as a response to weak economic growth. Also potentially weighing on prices is Wednesday’s news that Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iraq have established clear plans to compensate for overproduction to raise compliance with OPEC+ output cuts.According to OPEC, the entire over-produced volumes will be fully compensated for over the next 15 months through September 2025, with Russia ‘paying back’ a cumulative 480 kb/d, Iraq 1,184 kb/d, and Kazakhstan 620 kb/d.Earlier this week, Exxon, Shell, and BP warned of flagging refining margins that will be reflected in Q2 earnings. On Thursday, European refiners French TotalEnergies and Neste also warned of sluggish demand and profit margin weakness. Earlier on Thursday, TotalEnergies reported a 34% drop in operating income for the quarter for its refining and chemicals arms.

Oil prices end higher on pause in risk-asset selloff - WTI and Brent oil move up after tapping lowest prices in over 6 weeks. Oil futures settled higher Thursday, with U.S. and global benchmark prices rebounding from their lowest prices in more than six weeks and supported by a similar rise in other risk assets after a recent slump. Oil prices had been pressured in early dealings after China's central bank delivered another cut to interest rates, underlining worries about demand from the world's second-largest crude consumer. West Texas Intermediate crude CL00 for September delivery CL.1 CLU24 tacked on 69 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $78.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched a low of $76.04, the lowest since June 10, FactSet data show.September Brent crude BRNU24, the global benchmark, climbed 66 cents, or 0.8%, at $82.37 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. The more actively traded October contract BRN00 BRNV24 added 57 cents, or 0.7%, to $81.39 a barrel.August gasoline RBQ24 edged up 0.7% to $2.47 a gallon, while August heating oil HOQ24 climbed by 0.8% to $2.47 a gallon.Natural gas for August delivery NGQ24 settled at $2.04 per million British thermal units, down 3.6%."We never bought into the [early] decline today, and have been upping our positions," said Manish Raj, managing director at Velandera Energy Partners. "When oil markets diverge from fundamentals and blindly follow the broader markets instead, we chose the other way."Early Thursday, Raj had said oil's price decline was primarily "in sympathy with the broader market sentiment." When traders are "taking chips off the table, they avoid all risk assets, with oil and gold being no exceptions."On Wednesday, U.S. stocks saw their worst decline sine 2022, but they were moving higher in Thursday's trading.Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China surprised market participants Thursday by cutting the rate on its medium-term lending facility, or MLF, to 2.3% from 2.5%.When it comes to oil, "China remains a wildcard and its sentiment hard to tame," said Raj. "Chinese demand signals aren't weak, but there is a lot of noise on how to synthesize the demand story there."The central bank's move comes after it unexpectedly lowered its seven-day reverse-repo rate on Monday. Both moves appear to have stoked concerns about the underlying strength of China's economy."These announcements could be part of the plan agreed at the recent plenary session meeting of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, but the market is clearly worried whether these actions can successfully treat the housing-sector issues" that have plagued the country's economy, Brent and WTI bounced off of six-week lows in Wednesday's session, boosted by Energy Information Administration data that showed larger-than-expected declines in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories last week. Crude was also left technically oversold by its recent retreat.On Nymex, prices for natural gas continued to decline, settling with a nearly 4% loss, after the EIA reported Thursday an increase of 22 billion cubic feet in domestic supplies for the week ended July 19.Analysts had forecast an increase of 19 bcf, according to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal.

Oil edges higher on upbeat US economic data (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Thursday after strong U.S. economic data stoked expectations for higher crude demand, but the gains were limited by concerns about lower oil imports from China. Brent crude futures for September settled up 66 cents, or 0.81%, to $82.37 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September gained 69 cents, or 0.89%, to $78.28. U.S. Commerce Department data on Thursday showed the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter while inflation eased, boosting expectations the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates in September. Lower interest rates are expected to stir economic activity, which could increase oil consumption. "The U.S. GDP data implied the economy is humming along in a pretty nice rate," s "It's an indication that we're going to have a 'soft landing,'" he said, referring to a scenario in which inflation is tamed without triggering a painful recession or large rise in unemployment. In China, oil imports and refinery runs this year have trended lower than in 2023 on weaker fuel demand amid sluggish economic growth, government data showed. "While Chinese economic data remains disappointing, we are starting to see larger oil inventory draws, which suggests supply growth lags demand growth," Earlier on Thursday, China's central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates in a move to shore up its weakening economy. Both crude oil benchmarks fell by more than $1 per barrel earlier in the session. In Canada, hundreds of wildfires are burning in the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, including in the area of oil sands hub Fort McMurray. The area is forecast to receive some rain later this week, allaying supply worries. The hub produces 3.3 million barrels per day of crude. Elsewhere, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and militant group Hamas have gained momentum over the past month. A breakthrough could erode lingering threats to supply, sending prices lower. "With continued, and according to some sources, conciliatory developments in Gaza peace talks, oil prices are finding it increasingly hard to hang on to intermittent rallies," Israeli forces, however, advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home.

Oil prices rise on signs of increased US demand --Oil prices rose on Friday, driven by stronger-than-expected US economic growth, signalling greater oil demand, reported Anadolu. International benchmark Brent crude traded at US$82.49 per barrel at 09.32 am local time (0632 GMT), an increase of 0.15 per cent from the closing price of US$82.37 per barrel in the previous trading session. The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at US$78.39 per barrel at the same time, a 0.14 per cent rise from the previous session that closed at US$78.28 per barrel. The US economy expanded 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, according to the Commerce Department’s first advance reading released Thursday. The figure came much higher than market estimates of 2 per cent. The American economy expanded by 1.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. The current dollar GDP increased 5.2 per cent at an annual rate, or US$360 billion, in the second quarter to reach US$28.63 trillion, the Commerce Department said in a statement. In the first quarter, GDP rose 4.5 per cent, or US$312.2 billion, it added. The data also sparked increased optimism over a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in September. However, gains were weak as prices continued to be depressed by slower-than-expected economic growth data in China. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, below market expectations, according to official data. The data prompted concerns about oil demand in the world’s largest crude oil importer. Demand worries were also supported by figures showing a softness in oil imports. Uncertainty over the country’s oil demand fuels market players’ fears that imp

Oil falls 1.5%, ends week lower on China demand fears (Reuters) - Oil futures fell about 1.5% on Friday, finishing the week lower on declining Chinese demand and hopes of a Gaza ceasefire agreement that could ease Middle East tensions and accompanying supply concerns. Brent crude settled down $1.24, or 1.5%, at $81.13 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $1.12, or 1.4%, lower at $77.16 a barrel. For the week, Brent was trading down more than 1% while WTI fell beyond 3%. "Yesterday’s better-than-expected U.S. GDP growth figures initially supported the crude market," . "However, these gains were overshadowed by concerns about declining Chinese oil demand." Data released last week showing that China's total fuel oil imports, opens new tab dropped 11% in the first half of 2024 have raised concern about the wider demand outlook in China. "The Chinese demand situation is going down the tubes here and crude oil prices are going down with it," China's economy, opens new tab is threatening to enter a deflationary cycle, where prices will fall because of falling demand, Yawger said. "And that is about the worst possible scenario for a country that is the largest importer of crude oil on the planet," he said. Meanwhile, demand from the world's top oil consumer was also expected to ease as U.S. refiners are preparing to cut back production as the end of the summer driving season in early September nears. The nation's second largest refiner, Valero Energy, said on Thursday its 14 refineries would run at 92% of combined capacity in the third quarter. Valero's refineries ran at 94% in the second quarter. In the Middle East, hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza have been gaining momentum. A ceasefire has been the subject of negotiations for months, but U.S. officials believe the parties are closer than ever to an agreement for a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release by Hamas of female, sick, elderly and wounded hostages. Baker Hughes' count of U.S. oil drilling rigs, an early indicator of future output, increased by five to 482 this week and by three in July, raising the number of rigs for the first month since March.

Oil prices in third weekly plunge as demand concerns bite - Oil prices settled lower Friday, suffering a third consecutive losing week as concerns over sluggish demand conditions in China dented sentiment. At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), Brent oil futures fell 2% to $80.70 barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 1.4% to $77.16 a barrel.The third losing week for oil prices was driven by ongoing concerns over slowing growth and weaker demand from top importer China as data showed the country's apparent oil demand fell 8.1% to 13.66 million barrels per day in June.The persist growth concerns in China follow a weaker GDP print last week showing its economy grew less than expected in the second quarter.Beijing attempted to arrest worries about stumbling growth by unexpectedly cutting a swathe of lending rates this week, but that has done little to lift sentiment.Apart from China, uncertainty over Japan also grew following middling inflation data from Tokyo, while weak activity data in Europe also pointed to economic woes. Also weighing on the crude market have been increasing hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza.The leaders of Australia, New Zealand and Canada called for an immediate ceasefire in a joint statement on Friday, while U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help efforts at reaching a deal, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.A ceasefire has been talked about for months, but if it was to occur then some of the risk premium could be removed from the market.The downside in oil prices was limited somewhat by stronger data out of the U.S. showing better-than-expected Q2 growth and cooler inflation, stoking investor optimism on a soft landing and sooner rate cuts. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index slipped to 2.5% in June, from 2.6% the prior month. .On the domestic demand front, meanwhile, data showing steady drawdowns in U.S. oil inventoriesalso offered some positive cues to oil markets, as fuel demand in the country remained robust amid the travel-heavy summer season. In sign of pick in drilling activity, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes on Friday reported its weekly U.S. rig count climbed to 482 from 477.

Yemen's Houthis Claim Deadly Tel Aviv Drone Attack - At least one person was killed and several others injured in a drone strike on Tel Aviv early Friday morning. Yemen’s ruling Houthi government claimed responsibility for the blast, saying a new weapon was used in the operation.A spokesman for the Houthis’ military wing, Yahya Saree, announced the attack in a televised statement later on Friday. Saree said the drone mission utilized a new unmanned weapon dubbed the “Yaffa” and “successfully achieved its goals.” The Houthis had previouslyacknowledged a “qualitative operation” targeting Tel Aviv.“A state of confusion prevailed among the enemy authorities following the attack,” Houthi-linked media reported, adding that Israel’s “Iron Dome systems were unable to detect the drone until after reports from settlers about an explosion in the middle of the capital of the enemy entity.”The exact type of drone used remains unclear, though Reuters cited an unnamed Israeli military official who described a “large UAV that can fly large distances.”The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later claimed that an “Iranian drone, believed to have been launched from Yemen,” had crossed into Israeli territory and “hit a residential building downtown,” per Daniel Hagari, IDF spokesman. Hagari noted one fatality and at least “eight others” wounded.The Times of Israel clarified that four of those hospitalized were treated for “anxiety,” while four others sustained injuries.

Middle East Heating Up: Increased Hezbollah, Houthi Attacks on Israel after Israel Strike on Yemen Port, by Yves Smith - The intensification of Hezbollah’s and Yemen’s strikes against Israel feels like more than just a short-term uptick, but we’ll have to follow the pace over the upcoming week or more to be sure. But on the surface, it looks as if the Houthi and Hezbollah are ratcheting up their operations to a degree that this new campaign has good odds of being sustained. For quick confirmation, see these news updates from The Hindustan and Times of India, both reputable outlets:There appear to be additional Hezbollah strikes since the time of those videos: The proximate cause of the Hezbollah strikes, as the Hindustan Times confirms in its segment headline above, is retaliation for the Israeli response against a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv last Friday. That was clearly a significant escalation from Israel’s perspective. It destroyed a house and resulted in a fatality.The National, in Israel and Yemen braced for wider war after escalation of hostilities, recaps the Israel response of striking a Yemen port city, which among other things blew up fuel storage tanks. That port also receives humanitarian aid, and many reports singled out Israel as also intending to curb food supplies to Yemen, which has suffered from both food shortages and outbreaks of cholera during its war with the Saudis.From the National:Houthi-controlled areas were bracing for the prospect of regular missile, drone and aerial attacks on Sunday, after the first Israeli air strikes in Yemen since the war in Gaza started.Residents of Houthi-controlled Hodeidah woke up to palls of black smoke over their port city, while in Eilat, Israel, air-raid sirens sounded.Both Yemenis and Israelis are now facing a wider war between the two countries.A resident of Hodeidah told The National the entire city was engulfed in smoke, the density of which increased closer to the port hours after Israel’s counter-strike on Saturday. The attacks left fuel depots blazing, turning parts of the horizon fiery red and black.One might wonder why Ansar Allah decided to attack Tel Aviv when it did, which was pretty much guaranteed to elicit Israel lashing back. I don’t think one has to look further than, “Because it could.”The Houthis are set on punishing Israel and any sea carriers it reaches until Israel stops its genocide in Gaza, which Israel is absolutely determined to continue. The Houthis have been implementing new strategies with increasing success, such as low tech gambits like sending unmanned boats full of explosives into ships. But it has also been claiming to be upping its rocket game with new weapons. Whether they are indigenous or supplied by friends seems unimportant compared to the result, that the Houthis can and are inflicting more pain on Israel. We have the question of why Hezbollah decided to up the ante now, particularly with Netanyahu appearing before Congress this week. Hezbollah increasing its attacks would seem to play directly into Netanyahu demanding US assistance.But none other than the head of the Joint Chiefs, Charles Brown, has already told Israel that the US can do little to help. From the Jerusalem Times in late June: Joint Chiefs of Staff head Charles Q. Brown warned on Monday that the US may not be able to help defend Israel against an all-out war with Hezbollah in the same way that it stepped in during the Iran drone attack in April.That remark is even more fraught with meaning than it might appear.In the armed exchange Brown is describing, Israel first hit an Iranian embassy compound in Beirut, killing seven officials, including a top member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.Iran and the US then effectively negotiated what the US presumed would be a face-saving retaliation. Iran would target only specified military sites. In other words, Israel and the US had full notice of what to expect.The US further underscored its message to Israel that “There’s really not much we can do” by asking Israel to ship eight Patriot systems to Ukraine, and also by telling all Patriot users that Ukraine was getting top priority in new missile deliveries. Even if the US and Israel both knew those systems were mothballed, Israel might still want them as backups or for parts. And the message about not being in the front of the line for new Patriot missiles was hard to misconstrue.

Houthi Leader Says Yemen 'Pleased To Be in Direct Confrontation' With Israel - On Sunday, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said Yemenis were “pleased to be in a direct confrontation” with Israel and vowed to hit back hard at the Israeli bombing of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah.“Yemeni people are pleased to be in direct confrontation with the Israeli enemy, and they are steadfast and brave people,” al-Houthi said, according to Iran’s Press TV.Israel bombed fuel depots in Hodeidah on Saturday following the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person. Yemeni health authorities said the Israeli strikes killed at least six people and wounded 83, many with severe burns, as the attack caused a massive fire.Al-Houthi said that Israel’s attack “was aimed at Yemen’s economy” since the port of Hodeidah is a vital entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid. Since 2015, Yemen has been under a US-backed Saudi blockade, which has been eased but not fully lifted.Al-Houthi noted that the US and British bombing campaign in Yemen had done nothing to deter Houthi attacks on Israel-linked and other commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and beyond. The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have made clear they would only end their attacks if Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza came to an end.Also on Sunday, the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Yemen’s “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.”Israeli officials said a missile fired from Yemen toward the Israeli port of Eilat had been intercepted. Over the past nine months, the Houthis have fired hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel, but most were intercepted by US warships in the Red Sea. The attack on Tel Aviv was notable since it was a longer range than other attacks. Israeli officials said it traveled through Egypt and targeted Tel Aviv from the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel Launches New Assault on Khan Younis, Kills 70 Palestinians - On Monday, the Israeli military launched a new assault on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and ordered the evacuation of an area where 400,000 Palestinians were sheltering.According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, a heavy assault began almost immediately after the evacuation order, giving Palestinians on the ground no time to prepare and forcing them to flee under fire.Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Israeli air and ground assault killed at least 70 Palestinians. “Due to the Israeli occupation’s attacks and massacres in Khan Younis governorate from the early hours of this morning until now, 70 people have been martyred and more than 200 wounded,” the ministry said, according to Al Jazeera.The ministry said the dead included women and children. “We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day our children are martyred – every day, every moment,” Ahmed Sammour, who lost family members in the Israeli attack, told Reuters. “No one told us to evacuate. They brought four floors crashing down on civilians, … and the bodies they could reach, they brought to the refrigerator [morgue].” The IDF evacuation order covered some areas that were previously declared so-called “safe zones.” Such areas have been bombed by the IDF throughout the genocidal assault on Gaza, including the al-Mawasi camp, part of which was ordered to be evacuated on Monday.According to the UN, about 1.9 million Palestinians, or nine in 10 people, have been internally displaced in Gaza. Some Palestinians have been displaced up to 10 times due to Israeli attacks.Gaza’s Health Ministry also said on Monday that the death toll has crossed 39,000, a number that’s considered a low estimate since it doesn’t account for the estimated 10,000 people who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble. Others have died due to malnutrition, disease, and other health complications caused by the Israeli siege.

Israel Delays Sending a Delegation to Qatar for Hostage Talks - Israel has postponed the planned departure of a delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas, angering family members of Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. The delegation was set to travel on Thursday but now won’t be sent until next week.An Israeli official told Haaretz that a delegation would not be sent until at least after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with President Biden at the White House on Thursday.Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, slammed Netanyahu for the delay. “Instead of proclaiming before Congress that he accepts the deal on the table, Netanyahu is stopping the deal from going ahead for personal reasons,” she said.In his address to Congress, Netanyahu claimed he was working toward a hostage deal, but it’s been widely acknowledged by Israeli officials and media reports that he’s been the one standing in the way of an agreement. Zangauker said Netanyahu was afraid of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has threatened to quit the coalition government if a deal is reached with Hamas.“It is unimaginable that even today, nine months after the failure, the life of his coalition is more important than the lives of Matan and the other hostages abandoned by him,” she said.Once they do head to Qatar, the Israeli negotiators are expected to present a proposal that includes new demands from Netanyahu, which he has made public in recent weeks. After Hamas made a significant concession by agreeing to language Israel didn’t think would commit it to a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu demanded Israel maintain control of the Gaza-Egypt border and screen Palestinians returning to north Gaza.

University of Sydney cracks down on campus protests amid broader assault on opposition to Gaza genocide - University of Sydney (USyd) management has, in the wake of the ending of the student encampment protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, unveiled a new policy which severely curtails the right to protest on campus. Anti-Gaza genocide protests at the University of Sydney, March 2024 The move at one of Australia’s most prestigious universities is among the sharpest in a coordinated attack by the Australian Labor government, the corporate media and university managements across the country against the democratic rights of students. The aim is to suppress broader hostility in the population to genocide, militarism and the pro-war policies of the ruling elite. Vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney Mark Scott issued a “campus access policy” on 27 June effective immediately. Scott announced the new policy to staff in a July 4 email under the guise of “[e]nsuring our campus is vibrant, welcoming, and safe for all members of our community.” With this pretense, the administration is trying to create the conditions where popular discontent cannot be expressed on campus. The policy has been widely opposed by students and staff at USyd, and broader layers of the population who have correctly denounced it as a draconian attack on the right to protest. While paying lip service to demonstrations as “a legitimate exercise of freedom of speech,” the USyd policy outlines that such activities will be essentially outlawed. Only staff and students will be allowed to organise protests on campus subject to a plethora of conditions. These cannot be held inside buildings. The policy states that demonstrations must be “orderly and peaceful.” It cites as examples of disorderly and not “peaceful” behaviour: interfering with safety, property damage, disruption of the university’s operations and impeding the movement of people or vehicles. Those stipulations are so vague they could include almost any activity. In a clear attempt to prevent the broadening of student movements to involve the wider population and, above all, the working class, the university’s new policy mandates that members of the public outside the university will only be allowed to engage in demonstrations if they have prior approval from management. Student demonstrations must be approved by management, with 72-hours notice, barring rapid snap actions in response to political events as well as campus developments such as university cuts. It is forbidden to use “a megaphone or other amplifier in close proximity to a person,” a provision which effectively bars any large protest.

South Korea warns North Korea will ‘pay a fatal price’ after new wave of trash balloons -South Korea has warned that North Korea will pay a “fatal price” after Pyongyang flew a new wave of trash-filled balloons across the border, as Seoul blared propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts for the fourth day in a row. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons appeared to be flying towards the north of the capital, Seoul, after crossing the border.The residents in the most populous northwestern Gyeonggi province were advised to be on alert for objects falling from the sky and not to touch the debris.South Korea on Sunday said it would respond with “full-scale” loudspeaker broadcasts and warned that the North’s actions were raising tensions and could have fatal consequences.“As we warned several times, the military will carry out loudspeaker broadcasts in full scale and on all fronts starting 1pm today,” the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, calling the North‘s launch of balloons “vulgar” and “shameful”. The two Koreas have ratcheted up tensions with a Cold War-style psychological battle after the suspension of a 2018 tension-easing deal that blocked the two neighbours from using such tactics.North Korea began floating large balloons carrying waste paper, scraps of cloth, cigarette butts, waste batteries and manure in May, and more than 2,000 have landed in the country since.The balloons have sparked warnings for residents and led to flight diversions, as well as a brief shutdown of Seoul’s Incheon International Airport after balloons landed on the tarmac.The latest launch on Sunday, the ninth since May, came after days of South Korean loudspeaker broadcasts towards North Korea in response to an earlier balloon launch on Thursday.The broadcasts ran on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 10pm from speakers installed near the heavily fortified border, Yonhap reported.

Philippines Says It Reached Deal With China To Avoid Clashes at Disputed Shoal - The Philippines said on Sunday that it reached a deal with China to reduce tensions around Second Thomas Shoal, a Philippine-occupied reef in the South China Sea that’s also claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.Manila did not disclose any details about the deal but said it would allow the resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship the Philippines grounded on the reef in 1999 and uses as a base of operations for the area.China has been blocking Philippine vessels attempting to resupply the ship, and sometimes the encounters lead to collisions. In some instances, the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons at the Philippine boats.The incidents risk major escalation since the US is strongly backing the Philippines in the dispute and has repeatedly warned attacks on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea apply to the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty. That means if the Chinese and Philippine boats start shooting at each other, the US could intervene and be in direct conflict with China.The encounters in the South China Sea became much more frequent after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came into office in June 2022. Emboldened by the US, he pushed hard against China’s claims to the waters and broke from the Beijing-friendly policies of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Earlier this year, China released the details of what it said was an unwritten agreement between Manila and Beijing over Second Thomas Shoal and other hotspots in the South China Sea. Duterte had acknowledged that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to maintain the “status quo” to avoid war.Part of that status quo was the Philippines not delivering construction materials to the BRP Sierra Madre, only food, water, and other basic supplies. China has made that demand in recent negotiations, along with the demand to be able to inspect boats making the deliveries, but a Philippine official told AP that Manila had not conceded to that as part of the new agreement.

Ukraine Strongly Signals Willingness To Negotiate With Russia: China FM --The Ukrainian government has been showing an increased willingness to get to the negotiating table to end the war, with the latest development being a trip by the country's top diplomat to China to explore avenues forward. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, and communicated in a statement that "I am convinced that a just peace in Ukraine is in China’s strategic interests.""China’s role as a global force for peace is important," he emphasized, while also stipulating that Kiev will only engage Moscow when Putin is "ready to negotiate in good faith." However, he added that "No such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side." This marks the first such trip of Ukraine's foreign minister to China since the war began in February 2022.Wang in a readout said that Russia and Ukraine had each "sent signals of their willingness to negotiate to varying degrees."From Ukraine's perspective, China alone is a powerful enough external actor which possesses enough influence with Moscow to get it to end the invasion. For Beijing, this is an opportunity to show itself a crucial counterweight to the United States on the world stage in dealing with intractable conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza.A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement continued in follow-up to Wang's comments, saying, "Of course, the negotiations should be rational and substantive, aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace."Wang had in the meeting warned the Ukrainian diplomat that there is the "risk of escalation and spillover" of the conflict, adding that "China believes that the resolution of all conflicts must eventually return to the negotiation table."Last week, President Zelensky issued a surprise reversal, saying that a second Ukraine peace summit should include Russian representation. "I believe that Russian representatives should be at the second summit," Zelensky told a press conference in Kiev on July 15 while outlining preparatory work for another summit.The first "Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock" in Switzerland in mid-June importantly did not have either Russian or Chinese participation. While Beijing had been invited, Russia was not, and the Chinese government cited this as a reason it found the whole endeavor futile. China has been busy presenting itself as peacemaker while condemning 'hegemonic' Washington...China 🇨🇳 just brokered a historic unity pledge with Palestinian leaders.Ukraine is requesting China mediate peace with Russia.China brokered peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. fuels genocide and endless war, China is showing its a peace making super power. pic.twitter.com/uHq4RJOJLO In addition to China, the Vatican is also this week calling for some very real talk regarding the war. According to a readout from the Vatican as quoted in Russian media: The Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, believes that the Ukrainian conflict is still far from being settled and that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s proposed peace formula is not sufficient, the Cardinal said on Wednesday in an interview with Italian daily Avvenire..."It seems to me that we are still far away from the resolution [of the conflict]," he said. "We have President Zelensky’s peace proposal, which the Holy See supported immediately, particularly in the sphere of humanitarian issues.""It represents an attempt to find peace, although it has gaps in the sense of not involving Russia. This plan can help, but it is not sufficient," he continued. "I hope other formulae can be found to pave the way for the talks."It remains that Kiev has been unwilling to budge on the idea of making territorial concessions. At the same time, Russia is unwilling to give up the four eastern territories it previously annexed, declaring them part of the Russian Federation after a referendum last year. But this month has included a series of openings and unprecedented signaling coming from Kiev for the first time. This as both Ukraine is in a desperate situation on the battlefield and as it is bracing for a likely future Trump administration in the US.

Swiss 'Big Macs' Are 44% More Expensive Than In America -What can a Big Mac tell us about currency rates? As it turns out, quite a lot.The Big Mac Index, created by The Economist in 1986, started out as a simple tool to make currency theory more digestible. Now, it’s a widely-known measure in popular economics to assess and compare currency valuations.In short, the Big Mac index compares the purchasing power parity (PPP) of currencies using the price of a Big Mac in the U.S. as the benchmark. It shows how much a Big Mac costs in various countries compared to the U.S., but it also works as a way to assess exchange rates.In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu visualizes the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac in U.S. dollars between 13 different countries around the world, the eurozone, and the United States, using the latest January 2024 data from The Economist’s Big Mac Index dataset.One can use the price of Big Macs in other countries to see if a currency has more or less purchasing power than expected. This is done by taking the local price of a Big Mac (in local currency) and dividing it by the U.S. price of a Big Mac to calculate an implied exchange rate. This implied exchange rate is then compared against the actual exchange rate between the two currencies; if the implied rate is higher than the actual rate, the local currency is “overvalued”, and if it is lower, the local currency is “undervalued”.It’s worth noting that this measure is relatively simplistic and doesn’t account for some factors like taxes, local production costs, and market barriers.Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the world at $8.17 USD, which is 44% more expensive than the price of a Big Mac in the United States. Using the Big Mac Index, that suggests that the Swiss franc is 44% overvalued against the U.S. dollar.