week ending Dec 28

The Fed Is Cutting... So, Why Are Mortgage Rates Going Up? --Powell is admitting that inflation is still too high, but the Fed still plans to cut interest rates by .25%. So why are mortgage rates going up? The Fed has turned hawkish relative to its recent rhetoric, resisting to slash interest rates as low as it had envisioned. Although it’s continuing to cut, the Fed’s actions primarily influence short-term interest rates, such as the federal funds rate. This is the rate at which banks lend to one another overnight. These short-term rates affect a wide range of borrowing costs including those on credit cards, car loans, and adjustable-rate mortgages. However, most mortgage rates, particularly those for fixed-rate loans, are more closely tied to long-term bond yields such as the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds. And right now, 10-year Treasury yields are soaring.While both short-term rates and long-term bond yields are influenced by the broader economic climate, they don’t move in lockstep. When the Fed cuts interest rates, it doesn’t directly control long-term bond yields, so mortgage rates can behave differently from the federal funds rate. This disconnect can lead to situations where mortgage rates rise, even though the Fed is trying to lower borrowing costs for the broader economy.Mortgage rates are sensitive to inflation expectations. If investors believe that the Fed’s rate cut signals future inflationary pressure, they may demand higher yields on long-term bonds to compensate for the eroding value of money over time. When inflation expectations rise, long-term bond yields go up, which can push mortgage rates higher along with them. And now the Fed itself has admitted that it hasn’t been able to control inflation. But even as Powell admits defeat and says it could be two years before inflation is back down to Fed targets, he still paints a picture much rosier than the reality. If bond investors see the rate cut as a sign of weakening economic conditions, they might sell off bonds, driving yields higher. As bond yields rise, mortgage rates tend to follow suit, even if the Fed’s action aims to make borrowing cheaper. If investors believe that economic conditions are deteriorating, they might demand higher premiums for taking on long-term risk. This can lead to rising mortgage rates as lenders pass that risk onto borrowers. Anticipating higher inflation, they’ll demand higher and higher yields.People hoping to buy homes are delaying their plans as mortgages become more expensive, along with home insurance premiums, materials for home improvement projects, and plenty of other costs that are part of the collective burden of home ownership. Commercial real estate is on the brink as well. With borrowing costs for properties continuing to creep upward, and other costs moving up as well, the Fed is trapped by its simultaneous need to lower borrowing costs and ease inflationary pressures at the same time.It can’t do both. With a stagnant economy and high inflation, expect mortgage rates to rise further as the 10-year yield keeps surging closer back toward 5%. At that point, the Fed would be forced to take drastic action to push borrowing costs lower and prevent an all-out meltdown, possibly being forced into a round of QE which will ultimately solve nothing, ripping the inflation wound open even wider.

10-Year Treasury Yield Rose 100 Basis Points since September as the Fed Cut 100 Basis Points. Why the Historic Divergence? by Wolf Richter - Treasury yields and the now un-inverted and nicely steepening Treasury yield curve passed another landmark on Friday, maybe the first such landmark ever: While the Fedcut its policy rates by a full percentage point, long-term yields have risen by a full percentage point.Since September 16, the low point two days before the rate cut, the 5-year yield has risen by 106 basis points, the 7-year yield by 105 basis points, the 10-year yield by 100 basis points, and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate by 100 basis points.The 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.62% on Friday, the highest since May 1 (red), while the Effective Federal Funds Rate (EFFR), which the Fed targets with its policy rates, was 4.33% (blue). This equal move into opposite directions of the EFFR and the 10-year yield is amazing. The yield curve steepened nicely after un-inverting entirely. With longer-term Treasury yields rising, while short-term Treasury yields haven’t changed much during the week – no longer pricing in any rate cuts during their time window – the yield curve has steepened further, after it un-inverted entirely a week ago. At the longer end, 5-year and 7-year yields rose by 8 basis points during the week, while 10-year and 30-year yields rose by 10 basis points, with the 30-year yield rising to 4.82%, the highest since April. The chart below shows the yield curve of Treasury yields across the maturity spectrum, from 1 month to 30 years, on three key dates:

• Gold: July 25, 2024, before the labor market data spiraled down (which was a false alarm).
• Blue: September 16, 2024, the low point two days before the Fed’s initial cut.
• Red: Friday, December 27, 2024.

Even though the yield curve has gently steepened this week, it remains fairly flat, with only a 31-basis point spread between the 2-year yield (4.31%) and the 10-year yield (4.62%), but that spread has widened from 22 basis points a week ago.In other words, investors are accepting still low term premiums. But when the yield curve was inverted until recently, longer-term yields were lower than short-term yields and the term premium was negative.As the yield curve normalizes, it will steepen further and term premiums will rise. This could happen in two ways: With shorter-term yields falling or with long-term yields rising, or both. Why the divergence of the 10-year yield from the EFFR?Among the primary reasons the Fed cut its policy rates by 100 basis points, as it pointed out many times, were the loosening labor market conditions and the substantial cooling of inflation since mid-2022.The labor market remains relatively solid, but it shouldn’t loosen further, the Fed said. And inflation has cooled from the highs in 2022, with all major inflation rates – CPI (2.7%), core CPI (3.3%), PCE price index (2.4%), and core PCE price index (2.8%) – well below the Fed’s policy rates and well below the EFFR (5.33% before the cuts, 4.33% currently).With inflation rates lower than the EFFR, the “real” EFFR is positive (adjusted for inflation). Compared to November core CPI, the highest of the main inflation readings at 3.3%, the real EFFR currently is +1.0%. Since 2008, the real EFFR was mostly negative. But the Fed didn’t cut because it saw a recession coming. Seeing a recession is the normal reason for cutting rates, but the economy has been growing at a pace that is substantially higher than the 15-year average, there is no recession in sight, and economic growth seems to have picked up in the second half, running above 3%.The fact that the Fed has hiked rates so fast and so far, and has kept them there for so long, and that inflation has cooled so much, without the economy going into a tailspin, but cruising along at an above average pace, is historically unusual.Faster economic growth often leads to higher longer-term yields. Conversely, recessions lead to low longer-term yields. Normally when the Fed starts cutting rates, it sees a recession, and longer-term yields are falling along with the Fed’s policy rates because the bond market too is seeing that recession.But this time around, the Fed cut amid above-average economic growth with no recession in sight – so that’s unusual – and longer-term yields have risen amid this solid economic growth. Inflation concerns are now re-emerging. It has been warming up again in recent months. The Fed itself at the last meeting projected a scenario of higher inflation by the end of 2025 than now, and higher “longer-run” policy rates, and its reduced its projections for rate cuts from four to just two in 2025 for those reasons. Powell at the press conference said that the rate cut had been a “close call,” and doubts emerged during the press conference that there may even be two cuts next year.And there are concerns that continued stimulative fiscal policies and additional tariffs will provide further fuel for inflation.In addition, there are rising concerns in the bond market about the ballooning US debt, and about the flood of new supply of Treasury securities that the government will have to sell in order to fund the out-of-whack deficits. Treasury buyers and holders are spread far and wide, but higher yields may be necessary to reel in the mass of new buyers needed, even as the Fed is shedding its Treasury holdings through QT. These are worrisome thoughts for potential buyers of long-term Treasury securities; they want to be compensated through higher yields for the risks of higher inflation and the risks this flood of new supply might bring.

Lawler: Interest Rates Since the Federal Reserve Began Cutting Rates --From housing economist Tom Lawler: Since September 17th the Federal Reserve has lowered its federal funds rate range by 100 basis points. Below is a table showing Treasury and MBS rates since September 17th. 10-Year T1PS Yield The chart below shows the monthly average 10-Year TIPS yield from December 2003 to December 2007 and then from January 2023 to December 2024 (December 2024 is the average to date). It excludes the financial crisis and the subsequent decade as well as the 2020-2022 Covid period. From 2003 to 2007 the 10-year TIPS yield averaged 2.06%, about the same as the average so far in December 2024.

Is the FOMC ready to pause? - The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds target again in December but signaled fewer cuts in 2025. There was some dissent. The markets are watching to see if the Federal Reserve pauses its easing cycle in January. Join us at noon, Eastern, on Jan. 30 as Brian Rehling, head of global fixed-income strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, recaps and parses the previous day's FOMC meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

2024 Closes With Strongest 7 Year Auction On Record The final coupon auction of 2024 is now the history books and on the day yields blew out to 6 months highs and just shy of the highest level of 2024, it is probably not a surprise that demand was stellar. Stopping at a high yield of 4.532, this was - not surprisingly after the Fed's hawkish pivot - the highest yield since May. It also stopped through the When Issued 4.532 by 2.1bps, the biggest stop through since January 2023. It was also the 4th consecutive stop for the 7 year tenor, the longest such stretch on record.The bid to cover was also remarkable: surging to 2.758 from 2.709 in November, this was the highest bid to cover since March 2020, aka the depth of the covid crisis when everyone was fleeing into TSYs.And while this metric was remarkable, the internals were absolutely off the charts, with indirects exploding higher to 87.9% from 64.1%, the highest on record by a long shot. This left virtually nothing for Directs who took down just 2.85%, a record low, while Dealers were awarded 9.3%, the lowest since October.Overall, it is somewhat fitting that in this upside down market, where "investors" are dumping value energy names trading at single digit PEs to buy megashoter, garbage "AI story" stonks which will never not survive more than a year or two, let alone make a profit, that the final auction of the year would also be the best 7Y auction on record. It is also not a surprise that with the market positioned extremely bearishly, that there was another round of short covering which sent 10Y yields from day highs of 4.64% around noon to just around 4.57% after today's blowout auction as the name of the game in this "market" is just to squeeze as many shorts as possible.

Q4 GDP Tracking: 2.3% to 3.1% --From Goldman: We lowered our Q4 GDP tracking estimate by 0.1pp to +2.3% (quarter-over-quarter annualized). Our Q4 domestic final sales forecast stands at +2.3% (quarter-over-quarter annualized). [Dec 27th estimate] And from the Atlanta Fed: GDPNow The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the fourth quarter of 2024 is 3.1 percent on December 24, unchanged from December 20 after rounding. After both the advance durable manufacturing report and the new home sales release from the US Census Bureau, the nowcast of fourth-quarter real gross private domestic investment growth increased from 1.2 percent to 1.3 percent. [Dec 24th estimate]

Who Bought and Holds the Recklessly Ballooning US National Debt, even as the Fed is Unloading its Treasury Securities? by Wolf Richter - The US national debt keeps ballooning at an amazing rate and has now reached $36.16 trillion. These are Treasury securities that private and public entities in the US and foreign countries hold as interest-earning assets. The question is: Who holds this debt? Who bought it even as the Fed has been unloading its holdings? At the end of Q3, the time frame here, the total debt was $35.46 trillion. Who held this $35.46 trillion in Treasury securities at the end of Q3?

• US Government entities: $7.16 trillion. This “debt held internally,” also called “intragovernmental holdings,” consists of Treasury securities held by various federal civilian and military pension funds, the Social Security Trust Fund (we discussed the Social Security Trust Fund holdings, income, and outgo here), the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Medicare Trust Funds, and other funds.
• Foreign holders: $8.67 trillion, or 30.6% of the debt held by the public, including foreign private sector holdings and foreign official holdings, such as by central banks, according to Treasury Department data.Overall foreign holdings of Treasury securities have continued to rise from record to record. The biggest holders are the top six financial centers ($2.60 trillion), the Euro Area ($1.78 trillion), Japan ($1.12 trillion), China and Hong Kong combined ($1.0 trillion).Other big holders with rapidly growing holdings include Canada ($370 billion), Taiwan ($288 billion), and India ($247 billion). We discussed the details here:
• US mutual funds: 17.6% or about $5.0 trillion of the debt held by the public. This includes bond mutual funds, money market mutual funds, according to the Quarterly Fixed Income Report for Q3 from SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association).
• Federal Reserve: 15.4% or $4.36 trillion of the debt held by the public. Under its QT program, the Fed has already shed $1.46 trillion of Treasury securities since the peak in June 2022 (our latest update on the Fed’s balance sheet).
• US Individuals: 10.3% or about $3.1 trillion of the debt held by the public, according to quarterly data from SIFMA. These are investors who hold Treasuries in their accounts in the US.
• US State and local governments, including in their pension funds: 6.4% or about $1.8 trillion of the debt held by the public, according to SIFMA.
• US Commercial Banks: 6.1% or $1.73 trillion of the debt held by the public at the end of November, according to Federal Reserve data about bank balance sheets – back to the record established in May 2022. Banks are re-loving them?
• US Private Pension funds: 3.7% or $1.1 trillion of the debt held by the public.
• US Insurance companies: 2.3% or $0.63 trillion of the debt held by the public.
• Nonmarketable Securities Held by the Public: 2.1% or $0.59 trillion of the debt held by the public, according to Treasury Department data. These securities held by the public cannot be traded in the market and are not purchased at auctions but directly from the government. They include the I series savings bonds and the EE savings bonds, largely held by savers and retail investors.

Yellen says extraordinary measures to avoid default will begin as soon as Jan. 14 --Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested in a letter to Congress on Friday that the department doesn’t think the U.S. will need to take “extraordinary measures” on Jan. 2 to avoid defaulting on its obligations, and instead expects that it will reach the new limit between Jan. 14 and 23. “Treasury currently expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and January 23, at which time it will be necessary for Treasury to start taking extraordinary measures,” Yellen wrote in the letter. Such measures would be shifting federal funds from certain accounts to pay immediate expenses and other ways to make sure the Treasury has enough cash on hand to pay debts. Failing to raise the debt limit after running out of money could force the U.S. to default on debt payments, which could trigger a financial crisis. In the letter, Yellen said that the outstanding debt is projected to decrease by roughly $54 billion, which is why the department does not think it’s necessary for extraordinary measures to be taken on Jan. 2 and should instead be pushed to sometime between Jan. 14 and 23. “I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” the letter read. Yellen’s letter comes as President-elect Trump floated eliminating the debt ceiling, which limits how much debt the Treasury Department can incur by issuing bonds, which are widely bought and sold in financial markets. Raising the limit would potentially allow for trillions of dollars in tax cuts that Republicans have been eager to secure. The incoming president signed three debt ceiling extensions into law during his first presidency without cutting debt. The issue has largely become a leverage point in funding disputes for lawmakers in Congress over the past two decades. The president and Congress can lift the debt ceiling by raising it to a certain monetary level, or suspending it for a period of time. Both options allow the Treasury to take on as much debt as necessary to pay for expenses already approved by law until the debt ceiling is reached, or the limit is reimposed.

Biden signs $895B Defense bill despite transgender care provision -- President Biden on Monday evening signed the $895 billion Defense authorization bill, despite a provision included in the massive package that restricts transgender care. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed in the Senate 85-14, even with the insertion of a controversial measure that would restrict the use of funds from TRICARE — the health care program for active-duty service members — for gender-affirming care for children 18 years and younger of military members.Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, said Biden and Congress “have failed military families.” “For them, this law is not about politics – it’s about losing the freedom to make their own health care decisions,” Robinson said Tuesday in a statement. In a statement, Biden said he is “pleased to support the critical objectives” of a bill that typically enjoys bipartisan support but noted that provisions in this year’s NDAA, including the transgender health care restriction, “raise concerns.” His administration strongly opposes that provision, he said, because it targets a group based on gender identity and “interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.” He said it also undermines the military’s ability to recruit and retain service members. Biden also objected to language barring the use of funds made available by the bill to transfer detainees held at Guantánamo Bay into the United States. “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch that these provisions unduly impair the ability of the executive branch to determine when and where to prosecute Guantánamo Bay detainees and where to send them upon release,” Biden said, adding, “I urge the Congress to eliminate these restrictions as soon as possible.” Biden has repeatedly promised to veto legislation that discriminates against transgender people but opted to sign the legislation just a month before leaving office. The about-face is sure to anger advocates and some military families with transgender children, who say the provision is a “slap in the face” rooted in misinformation and misunderstanding about the trans community. The bill, which sets Pentagon policy for the year, is a must-pass legislation and typically receives widespread bipartisan support. But, many Democrats voted against it after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) inserted language that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members last minute. It passed the House 281-140 last week.Additionally, a handful of Democrats voted against it in the Senate, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Ed Markey (Mass.). Several Democratic senators also attempted to block the provision on Monday, introducing an amendment that would strike Johnson’s language.

House conservatives raised concerns about Mike Johnson to Donald Trump -A handful of conservative House Republicans were voicing concerns about Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to President-elect Trump even before last week’s government funding fiasco, multiple sources on Capitol Hill and in Trump’s orbit told The Hill, prompting even more uncertainty about the Louisiana Republican’s grasp on the gavel less than two weeks before the Speakership vote. The Republicans had spoken to the president-elect in the weeks before the shutdown showdown, airing grievances and raising reservations about Johnson’s handling of various issues and his management of the House GOP conference, the sources said. The sources — most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversations — would not reveal the names of the Republicans who spoke to Trump out of fear of detailing private discussions. But the conversations were a mix of Republicans calling Trump with concerns about Johnson, and the president-elect asking members for a status report on the Speaker. “Members are calling Trump to dump Johnson,” a Trump World source told The Hill before last week’s funding fight began. A second source told The Hill that “members are sharing their discontent and concern and he’s observing,” citing Johnson’s “inability to decide, inability to get it done.” “The president recognizes that [Johnson] is somebody he can push around,” they added. “I think he’s weighing the benefit of that with, can this guy get it done.” A third source told The Hill “there’s real concerns about his ability to manage the place.” “It’s just laying out what’s going on,” they added, arguing that Johnson’s handling of matters in recent months foreshadowed the current spending debacle. “You can kind of see what was happening with this was going to happen,” they said. The source said Trump “took it fine,” noting that the president-elect was focused on getting prepared for his incoming administration. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill he was aware of Republicans talking to Trump about concerns with Johnson, noting that the discussions have been ongoing “for a couple of weeks.” Norman said the GOP gripes have included “that the Democrats have ruled and Johnson doesn’t fight.”Johnson and congressional leaders first rolled out a 1,500-page continuing resolution on Tuesday, and by Wednesday it was dead. Republicans on Capitol Hill raised frustrations with the measure even before it was unveiled, and Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on Wednesday afternoon added the final nail to the coffin. They not only slammed the existing deal but called for an increase in the debt limit, throwing a curveball into the already complicated funding negotiations.Trump intensified his rhetoric on Wednesday, threatening primary challenges for Republicans who vote to pass Johnson’s negotiated spending package. After attempting — but failing — to pass a package that included a two-year suspension of the debt limit, Johnson moved on the bipartisan, short-term stopgap that just included disaster relief and economic assistance for farmers, excluding language on the debt limit despite Trump’s demand. Instead, Republicans entered into an agreement to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion in net cuts to spending, done through a reconciliation package in the next Congress.

Warning signs for conservatives who want to draft Trump in their spending war - Conservatives who want to slash the federal budget are hoping they can enlist President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk to their side come January. But last week’s meltdown over government funding underscored that Trump doesn’t always share their fiscal restraint. Though Trump and Musk helped upend an initial bipartisan appropriations deal loathed by fiscal hardliners, 38 House Republicans later balked at Trump’s big demand in the next bill: a looser limit on Washington’s borrowing authority. That move is a reminder that Trump exploded the deficit and greenlit billions in additional spending during his first term — two overall budget concerns that the House Republicans who opposed last week’s bill say they want to fix. After the debt ceiling battle last week, the fiscal rebels, GOP leadership and Trump appeared to land on a handshake agreement to raise the debt limit next year in exchange for $2.5 trillion in spending cuts. It won’t be easy as Republicans try to deliver on campaign pledges that include bolstering border security, slashing taxes and boosting energy production. For now, fiscal conservatives are banking on Trump being their best hope after losing battle after battle the last two years. “We allow the bureaucracy to grow. We pass CR after CR,” said Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, who voted against a Trump-blessed funding plan on the floor last week. “That’s going to be where the Trump bully pulpit is going to come in and actually try to deal with some of this stasis, this problem.” It’s a big risk for fiscal hardliners. Trump could be effective at pushing for cuts if he wants, or he could end up amplifying the GOP’s existing internal fights and cause more chaos. And if he doesn’t ultimately align with conservatives on their spending goals, it raises questions about whether those members will get into a public fight with the incoming president or bend to his will. And they’re not the only ones courting Trump and Musk. Different factions of the conference have their own relationships with the president-elect and have been clearly trying to appeal to Musk on his mission to find significant government funding cuts. And Speaker Mike Johnson has worked diligently for months to keep Trump on his side, with mixed results. Trump may be unhappy with Johnson after the spending battle, but he hasn’t publicly crossed him ahead of the Jan. 3 speaker vote — where Johnson appears to be on thin ice. Other, more centrist Republicans, are also embracing the idea of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, even if they aren’t aligned on the specifics. Some are actively hoping Trump can help them tame their hardliners instead of emboldening them. “I think unified government helps us, because I think President Trump is going to tell some of these guys: ‘Get in line,’” said centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), noting, without naming anyone, that the GOP is also losing some of its most “incendiary” members. Even appropriators are opening the door to having outside eyes on the federal budget process — they have their own ideas for where Trump and his allies should look to cut spending. “If this DOGE group really wants to do something, they should look at the mandatory spending, how we can fix that problem,” said Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), referring to a bucket of government funding that involves things like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. But members of the House Freedom Caucus and others in their corner of the conference have already started to try to sway Trump’s DOGE leaders, in particular. They warned Musk and his co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy during a closed-door meeting that some of the very House Republicans in the room with them were the biggest impediment to overhauling spending and the size of the federal government, according to three people in the meeting. Conservatives will also have two notable allies in the middle of the White House budget process: Russ Vought, who Trump intends to nominate to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and outgoing North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop, who is being tapped for the No. 2 OMB spot. And they are encouraging Musk and Ramaswamy to effectively launch a public pressure campaign against Republicans who impede their efforts — a move that could risk backfiring. There are early signs that GOP lawmakers are already bristling after Musk injected uncertainty into the December spending fight. The two men also pitched creating a “naughty” and “nice” list to help keep members accountable. “I think what they’re able to do is shine a spotlight on this crap and frankly force Congress to do its job,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). “Their primary benefit is going to be [to] expose — if they can highlight the stupid then Congress has to defend the stupid, or they have to get with the program to fix the stupid.”

Turkey Demands US End Support for Syrian Kurds - The US has been repeatedly trying to reassure their Kurdish allies that they don’t face any major threat from Turkey. Turkey, however, seems to be going out of their way to make clear they are very much a threat, and that their goal in the region is the end of Kurdish autonomy in Syria.On Friday, Turkish President Erdogan said that there was no longer any reason for the international community to back the Kurdish SDF, anddemanded that other nations, particularly the United States, end their support for that group.Though the demand has been renewed since the Turkish-backed regime change in Syria, it is not entirely new, as Turkey has been demanding the US stop backing the SDF for many years now. The US chose to get out of Turkey’s way for anti-Kurd offensives in 2019, a decision which led to a lot of criticism, though ultimately the US did not remain unaligned with the SDF, which controls area along Syria’s largest oil and natural gas fields.With Assad ousted, Turkey seems to believe that they can convince the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to tamp down Kurdish ambitions for autonomy. Foreign Minister Hasan Fidan said Turkey is prepared to do “whatever it takes,” up to and including military action, to see this goal through if the HTS proves unable to address “territorial integrity,” which is to say ensuring the Kurds don’t retain any measure of the autonomy they enjoy right now.Fidan elaborated on those comment on Sunday, saying that Turkey believes there is “no room” for the Kurdish YPG organization inside Syria. The YPG is the largest of multiple factions that make up the SDF. Though presented as a question of national unity for Syria, Turkey’s problem with the Kurds, and particularly with the YPG, long predates this regime change. Turkey has fought off and on against the Kurdish PKK separatists for decades, and considers the YPG effectively an offshoot of the PKK. In practice, the YPG is a separate organization, though it does have substantial ideological similarity to the PKK. Turkey appears to see weakening the autonomous ambitions of Kurds in Syria and Iraq as part and parcel to preventing the PKK from re-emerging inside Turkey to try to carve out an autonomous region as well.The anti-YPG intentions mean Turkey would end up with substantial control over the new Syrian government. That’s not sitting well with other regional powers, like Israel, and some are suggesting backing the Kurds more overtly as a way to prevent Turkey from gaining too much clout inside Syria.

Pentagon Admits It's Been Lying About the Number of Troops in Both Iraq and Syria - The Pentagon said on Monday that the US has more troops deployed in Iraq than it has been disclosing, an admission that comes after it revealed there are significantly more US troops in Syria than the US has said.For years, the Pentagon has said there are 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq. Last week, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder revealed the US was lying about the number of troops in Syria, saying the real number is 2,000.In a statement meant to clarify the situation that was released on Monday, Ryder also said there were more than 2,500 US troops in Iraq but refused to say how many. “However, due to operations security and diplomatic considerations, we do not have any more specifics to provide,” Ryder said.Ryder’s statement revealed that the number of US troops in Syria has been higher than publicly disclosed since 2020. “In addition to the approximately 900 baseline troops, there are also approximately 1,100 US military personnel in Syria that deploy for shorter durations as temporary enablers in support of force protection, transportation, maintenance, or other emerging operational requirements,” Ryder said.“The numbers of these additional temporary forces have fluctuated over the past several years based on mission needs but in general have increased over time as the threat has increased to baseline forces,” he added. Lying about the actual number of US troops in Syria goes back to at least the Trump administration. In 2020, James Jeffrey, the outgoing US envoy for Syria at the time, admitted his team was “always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there.” In 2019, after reversing an order to withdraw all troops from Syria, Trump agreed to keep 200 in the country. But Jeffrey said there was “a lot more” than that deployed. In his statement on Monday, Ryder also said that “some additional temporary enablers” had been deployed alongside the 2,500 US troops in Iraq. Sources told CNN that the US had been lying about the number of US troops in Syria because it didn’t want to anger neighboring countries, particularly Iraq, where the presence of US troops is strongly opposed by many political factions. The sources said the US was worried if Iraqi officials found out the US had more troops in Syria than it was disclosing, officials would fear the same is happening in Iraq. Ryder’s statement that there are more than 2,500 US troops in Iraq will likely cause trouble for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who has been under significant pressure to get the US to leave.

New York Times reveals Israeli extermination order authorizing killing 20 civilians for each “combatant” -- On Thursday, the New York Times published a detailed account reporting the existence of official Israeli military documents authorizing the killing of 20 non-combatants for every “pre-emptive” attack on a single presumed Hamas supporter, with the ratio in some cases reaching 100 to one.The report makes clear that Israel has waged its war on Gaza as a war of extermination, with the killing of the civilian population through aerial bombardment as a goal co-equal with the massacre of those who took up arms against the Israeli occupation.The Times reported that within hours of the beginning of the October 7 attack, the IDF issued an unprecedented order authorizing the effectively unrestricted bombardment of civilian areas of Gaza.“In each strike, the order said, officers had the authority to risk killing up to 20 civilians,” the Times wrote.The order authorized the IDF to target figures vaguely associated with Hamas while they were at home with their families, creating the conditions for the systematic and deliberate massacre of entire households. “It meant, for example, that the military could target rank-and-file militants as they were at home surrounded by relatives and neighbors.”The Times added that “senior commanders approved strikes on Hamas leaders that they knew would each endanger more than 100 noncombatants—crossing an extraordinary threshold for a contemporary Western military.” What becomes clear in the Times’ account is that the “system” and “rules of engagement” used in “pre-emptive strikes” targeting suspected Hamas sympathizers was nothing more than a cover for a blanket bombardment of Gaza with massive block-buster bombs, aimed at killing as many people as possible and destroying as much of Gaza as possible. The aim of this massacre was an ethnically cleansed Gaza, to be permanently annexed, occupied and settled by Israel, as a part of what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the “new Middle East,” under the direct hegemony and domination of the imperialist powers via their Israeli vassal state. The fact that this mass extermination campaign continues to this day was shown by the murder Thursday of five journalists in an airstrike, bringing the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 201.To date, 45,361 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza that began on October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. But this figure does not account for the vast number of people who have died from the deliberate starvation of the population of Gaza by Israel or the destruction of its healthcare system; the total could be 186,000 or more, according to The Lancet in July.The report by the Times constitutes a semi-official acknowledgement by the US government of the existence of the extermination order, largely from the standpoint of damage control. Much of the story was previously reported by +972 Magazine, an independent Israeli-Palestinian publication, but the Times report is the first time that a major US media source has claimed to have seen the document authorizing the killing of 20 civilians for every combatant.The Israeli strikes were carried out with no warnings, often on the basis of a system called “Lavender” that used artificial intelligence to target entire apartment buildings and their residents for destruction without any warning and in some cases without human oversight.The order issued on October 7 was followed by another, issued on October 8, which, according to the Times, declared, “Strikes on military targets in Gaza … were permitted to cumulatively endanger up to 500 civilians each day.” In an extraordinary passage, the Times wrote that “A scholar at West Point consulted by the Times, Prof. Michael N. Schmitt, said it risked being construed by mid-ranking officers as a quota that they had to reach.” Regardless, the Times wrote, the “quota” was removed just days later, and there were multiple days in which more than 500 deaths were reported in Gaza. During the first two days of the war, the Times reported in an earlier article, “90 percent of the munitions Israel dropped in Gaza were satellite-guided bombs of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds.” US officials have repeatedly stated that they have encouraged Israeli leaders to use lower-yield munitions. But these public statements were belied by the fact that, according to a July report by Reuters, the US sent Israel 14,000 2,000-pound bombs between October and July, more than any other type of munition. The existence of this order helps explain the findings of a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office published in November that concluded that 70 percent of civilian deaths in Gaza since October were women and children, with children under 18 making up by far the highest portion of fatalities. Throughout the genocide, the Biden administration has sought to promote the claim that Israel, despite at times being overzealous in the use of weapons, does not intend to either exterminate the people of Gaza or forcibly displace them. The reality is, however, that the documents that the New York Times has verified would have been immediately available to the US intelligence agencies within a matter of days of their circulation. US President Joe Biden would have been briefed on them ahead of his trip to Israel in October 2023, where he pledged the total support of the US government to the genocide. While the Israeli assault on Gaza sets a mark for rapid extermination that is without precedent in a US-sponsored war of the 21st century, the United States has been waging war throughout the Middle East since the proclamation of the “war on terror,” using many of the methods being used by Israel. In 2013, a study published in the medical journal PLOS Medicine concluded that the US invasion of Iraq led to the deaths of half a million people or more between 2003 and 2011, with 70 percent being killed in violent attacks.Since 2001, the United States has carried out a staggering 100,000 airstrikes throughout the world, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia. During the Obama administration, US drone assassinations were given a shocking regularity in the president’s “terror Tuesday” meetings, in which he personally selected targets for illegal murder, picked from an Orwellian “disposition matrix” of targets.No comparable up-to-date study has been made of the death tolls of these wars, but if the methods applied to Iraq in 2013 were used in these countries, the death toll is likely to be in the millions.

US-Funded Group Removes Report Warning of Famine in North Gaza After Complaint From US Ambassador - The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has removed a report from its website that warned it was “highly likely” famine is occurring in northern Gaza after a complaint by the US ambassador to Israel.The report noted that Israel has imposed a “near-total blockade of humanitarian and commercial food supplies” on the North Gaza Governorate, which includes the cities of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia. The report said 65,000 to 75,000 civilians remained in the area, “including civilians who have been unable to or prevented from evacuating.”US Ambassador Jack Lew issued a statement slamming the report, saying there are far fewer civilians in those areas, an acknowledgment of the ethnic cleansing campaign that Israel has been conducting in northern Gaza since early October.“The report issued today on Gaza by FEWS NET relies on data that is outdated and inaccurate,” Lew said. He claimed that there are somewhere between 7,000 and 15,000 civilians in the North Gaza Governorate.“At a time when inaccurate information is causing confusion and accusations, it is irresponsible to issue a report like this,” the US ambassador said.FEWS Net said it used UN numbers from mid-November and that it would update its report with the latest figures. But the group did not withdraw its assessment that famine was likely occurring in north Gaza.Last month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said there was a strong likelihood famine was occurring in north Gaza.Lew also claimed that the US has worked to ensure more humanitarian access in north Gaza, but the area has been under a total siege, and only 12 aid trucks have been able to make deliveries since October 6. Israel has forcibly displaced civilians from the area under the threat of death, either by shooting, bombing, or starvation, following an outline known as the “general’s plan.”

US Says F/A-18 Shot Down Over Red Sea in Friendly Fire Incident - The US military said Sunday that one of its F/A-18 fighter jets was shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, which came after the command said it launched more airstrikes on Yemen.Two pilots ejected safely from the aircraft, with one only suffering minor injuries. CENTCOM said the US jet took off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and was mistakenly shot down by the guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg. According to The Associated Press, US Navy ships and aircraft shot down Houthi drones and one cruise missile right before the incident. The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, said the downing of the F/A-18 was a result of an operation it launched against the USS Truman and other warships.“The [Yemeni] Armed Forces carried out the strategic operation using eight cruise missiles, 17 drones. The operation resulted in the downing of an ‘F-18’ aircraft as the destroyers attempted to intercept the Yemeni drones and missiles,” Yemen’s Al Masirah TV reported, citing a statement from Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.On Saturday, CENTCOM said its forces conducted “precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility” operated by the Houthis in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The Houthis downplayed the strikes, saying Yemeni forces “thwarted” the attack. “The Armed Forces confirmed their success in repelling and thwarting the US-British aggression, reiterating their readiness to confront any American, British, or Israeli folly in the future,” Al Masirah reported. Early Saturday, a Houthi missile landed in Israel, lightly injuring dozens of people. The attack came two days after Israeli strikes pounded energy infrastructure in Sanaa and Yemeni ports in the Red Sea province of Hodeidah, killing at least nine workers.Since last year, the Houthis have been launching attacks on Israel-linked shipping and firing missiles and drones at Israel in response to the onslaught in Gaza.In January of this year, the US began a new bombing campaign against the Houthis and launched hundreds of missile strikes on Yemen that have done nothing but escalate the situation. The Houthis started targeting American shipping in response and have expanded their attacks on Israel.From 2015-2022, the US supported a Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis, which involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became a more capable fighting force during that time.

US Launches Airstrike in Somalia, Claims 2 al-Shabaab Fighters Killed --US Africa Command said in a press release on Thursday that its forces launched an airstrike in Somalia on December 24. AFRICOM claimed that according to its “initial assessment” of the strike, two al-Shabaab fighters were killed, and no civilians were harmed, although the Pentagon is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties in Somalia.The command said the strike was launched 10 kilometers southwest of the town of Quyno Barrow, which is in the southern Middle Juba region.The bombing comes after a lull of US airstrikes in Somalia. The last US strike claimed by AFRICOM in Somalia occurred on July 15, although it’s possible other US attacks have been launched that haven’t been made public.The US strike comes a few weeks after Jubaland, the southern Federal Member State of Somalia, which includes the Middle Juba region, suspended relations with the US-backed Mogadishu-based federal government. The move came after the federal government rejected Jubaland’s election results.Tensions over the election led to clashes between federal troops and local Jubaland forces. On Monday, clashes broke out again in the of Doolow, which is on the border of Ethiopia, and Ethiopian troops reportedly intervened on the side of the local Jubaland forces.Al-Shabaab is expected to exploit the destabilization of Jubaland. The US military claims al-Shabaab is a threat to the US due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation, but it’s widely believed the group does not have ambitions outside of Somalia.Al-Shabaab was born out of a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that toppled the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups who briefly held power in Mogadishu after ousting CIA-backed warlords.Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union. The group’s first recorded attack was in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2012 that al-Shabaab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda after years of fighting the US and its proxies.

Trump's Ukraine-Russia envoy slams Kremlin's Christmas Day attack - President-elect Trump’s choice for special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, slammed the retaliatory Russian military missile and drone attack on Christmas Day and said the U.S. is “more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region.”“Christmas should be a time of peace, yet Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day,” Kellogg wrote Wednesday on social platform X. “Launching large-scale missile and drone attacks on the day of the Lord’s birth is wrong. The world is closely watching actions on both sides. The U.S. is more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region.”Kellogg’s remarks came as Russia’s military hit Ukraine’s energy supplies and infrastructure Wednesday. Kremlin’s forces attacked with 78 air and ground missiles and 106 Shahed drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Ukraine’s defense said it intercepted 54 Shahed drones and 59 missiles. Not all were intercepted, and some hit targets in multiple Ukrainian cities and caused power outages. One person died in the Dnipropetrovsk region due to the attack while at least six people were injured in the Kharkiv region. “Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. “What could be more inhumane? Over 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred attack drones. The targets are our energy infrastructure. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”Trump appointed Kellogg, who served on the president-elect’s National Security Council during his first term, in late November. He has called for a ceasefire in the conflict that has been raging since February 2022. In his writing, Kellogg argued that any further U.S. military aid to the war-torn country should depend on Ukraine’s willingness to enter peace talks with Russia. He has said that in order tobring Russia to the negotiating table, NATO leaders should delay Kyiv’s entrance into the military alliance for an “extended period” in “exchange for a comprehensive and verifiable peace deal with security guarantees.”Trump has vowed on the campaign trail to end the war in Eastern Europe in one day. He has been critical of the Biden administration’s policy to allow Ukraine to utilize U.S.-supplied weapons to hit inside Russia.The president-elect met with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris earlier this month. Trump and Ukraine’s president also met in late September in New York City where they discussed ending the conflict.Trump said over the weekend that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin showed willingness to meet with the incoming commander in chief to discuss the war. “President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible,” Trump said at Turning Point’s AmericaFest convention. “So we have to wait for this, but we have to end that war. That war is horrible, horrible.”

Biden Pledges More Arms To Ukraine After Christmas Strikes President Joe Biden on Christmas Day said he has directed the Pentagon to continue its “surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine,” following a wave of Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure early Christmas morning.“The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid,” Biden said in a statement.“Let me be clear: the Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety, and the United States and the international community must continue to stand with Ukraine until it triumphs over Russia’s aggression.”The president said that the United States will “continue to work tirelessly” to back Ukraine against Russian forces in the ongoing war.Ukraine’s air force said that the early morning attack by Russia using 78 air and ground missiles and 106 Shahed drones damaged critical equipment in Ukraine’s power grid, causing outages on Christmas Day.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decried the deliberate attack on Christmas day as “inhumane.”Ukraine shot down “more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones” and was still hit as there are power outages in a number of regions as engineers are trying to restore power, Zelenskyy said.“Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas,” Zelenskyy said.The strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

Russia Says It Has Shot Down A US-Made F-16 Over Ukraine -- Moscow is claiming that its forces have downed a US-made F-16 aircraft given to Ukraine just as the warplane was preparing to launch a missile strike from over a southeast region of the country. "The F-16 aircraft was in position to launch a missile strike on the region, and it was shot down," TASS reports Thursday. The alleged downing has not been acknowledged by Ukraine, the Pentagon, or any outside entity.State-run RT has also described that "One of the F-16 jets donated to Ukraine by NATO has reportedly been downed while attempting to launch missiles at Russia’s Zaporozhye Region.""Preliminary information from the front line was reported on Thursday by Vladimir Rogov, the co-chair of Russia’s Coordinating Council for the Integration of New Regions," the same report adds. Despite these big claims being made in Russian media, the story has been slow to appear in Western mainstream press accounts as of Thursday afternoon. If true it would be the second US-donated F-16 to go down over Ukraine during the war, after a reported incident last August.The August downing had come only days following an initial delivery of the fighter jets to Kiev, and was the result of a 'friendly fire' incident, based on the description of the crash by a Ukrainian member of parliament at the time."The pilot, Oleksiy Mes, died while helping to repel a massive Russian missile attack on Monday, the officials said," WSJ wrote of that first downing. "Initial reports indicate the jet wasn’t shot down by enemy fire, U.S. officials said." Accounts have remained conflicting.As for this purported second downing, little details have been revealed. Ukraine is expected to keep mum about it even if the claims of a shootdown are accurate. If Russia starts shooting down Western-provided warplanes out of the skies at a higher rate, this would certainly help dissuade Ukraine's allies from sending more.

Biden Signs Off on New $571 Million Military Aid Package for Taiwan - On Friday, the White House released a brief memo that said President Biden directed the authorization of a new military aid package for Taiwan worth $571 million. The memo didn’t detail the contents of the arms package, only saying it would include “defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan.”The US provided Taiwan with a similar $571 million weapons packageabout three months ago, and the latest brings the total of US-funded military aid sent to the island this year to over $1 billion.Both military aid packages were provided through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to ship weapons directly from US military stockpiles. Congress has authorized the provision of about $1 billion in PDA for Taiwan each year, and the $95 billion foreign military aid bill Biden signed in April included $1.9 billion that could be used to replenish weapons sent to Taiwan. The US has sold weapons to Taiwan since severing diplomatic relations with the island in 1979, but it wasn’t until last year that the US started providing US-funded military aid, a step that marked a significant escalation aimed at Beijing.Separately on Friday, the State Department approved two new arms sales to Taiwan worth a combined $295 million that include command and control communications systems and MK 75 76mm gun mounts.In response to the military aid and weapons sales, China said the US was “playing with fire” and repeated its warning that the issue of Taiwan is a major “red line” in US-China relations that must “not be crossed.”In recent months, China has stepped up its warning about Taiwan andlaunched major drills around the island. The Biden administration has ignored Beijing’s concerns and has recently approved a slew of weapons sales for the island.

Philippines Says It Will Acquire Controversial US Missile System, China Warns of 'Arms Race' - The Philippines said Monday that it plans to acquire a new controversial US missile system, known as the Typhon, prompting Beijing to warn of an “arms race” in the region. The Typhon missile launcher is a ground-based system concealed in a 40-foot shipping container that can fire nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of more than 1,000 miles, and SM-6 missiles, which can hit targets up to 290 miles away.The US began developing the Typhon after it withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. The INF was a Cold War-era treaty between the US and Russia that prohibited the development of ground-based missiles with a range between 310 and 3,400 miles.The US sent a Typhon system to the Philippines in April for military drills. The deployment was initially said to be temporary, but the Typhon is still there despite strong protests from Beijing. Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the Philippine Army, told reporters Manila would acquire a Typhon system “because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defense implementation.”“I’m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” Galido said.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked about Galido’s comments and said, “China firmly opposes US deployment of Mid-Range Capability missile system in the Philippines. We have made clear this opposition more than once.”“Let me stress again that the Philippines, by bringing in this strategic offensive weapon, is enabling a country outside the region to fuel tensions and antagonism in this region and incite geopolitical confrontation and arms race,” Mao added.

Trump threatens to try to take back the Panama Canal (AP) — Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Panama’s conservative president José Raúl Mulino, who was elected in May on a pro-business platform, roundly rejected that notion as an affront to his country’s sovereignty. The Republican president-elect’s comment came during his first major rally since winning the White House on Nov. 5. He also basked in his return to power as a large audience of conservatives cheered along. It was a display of party unity at odds with a just-concluded budget fight on Capitol Hill, where some GOP lawmakers openly defied their leader’s demands. Addressing supporters at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona, Trump pledged that his “dream team Cabinet” would deliver a booming economy, seal U.S. borders and quickly settle wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. “I can proudly proclaim that the Golden Age of America is upon us,” Trump said. “There’s a spirit that we have now that we didn’t have just a short while a His appearance capped a four-day pep rally that drew more than 20,000 activists and projected an image of Republican cohesion despite the past week’s turbulence in Washington with Trump pulling strings from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as Congress worked to avoid a government shutdown heading into the holidays. House Republicans spiked a bipartisan deal after Trump and Elon Musk, his billionaire ally, expressed their opposition on social media. Budget hawks flouted Trump’s demand that they raise the nation’s debt ceiling, which would have spared some new rounds of the same fight after he takes office on Jan. 20, with Republicans holding narrow control of the House and Senate. The final agreement did not address the issue and there was no shutdown.

Trump threatens to seize Panama Canal - President-elect Donald Trump told a conference of fascist supporters in Arizona that the United States would demand the return of the Panama Canal to US control if the Panamanian government failed to follow his dictates about the fees imposed for transit and the stepped-up Chinese economic activity around the critical maritime facility. Trump spoke to Turning Point USA “American Fest” after posting several messages on his Truth Social site denouncing Panama in the style of a loud-mouthed Yankee imperialist bully. He denounced the administration of President Jimmy Carter for signing the treaty in 1977 that ultimately returned the Canal Zone to Panamanian control in 1999. “When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar, during his term in Office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump wrote. “It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our Country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage.” Panama was abusing the “privilege” of charging tolls for passage through its own canal, he declared. “Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US. … This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.” Tacitly admitting the weakened position of American imperialism even in its own hemisphere, Trump warned that the canal should not fall into the “wrong hands,” a clear reference to China. He called the canal a “vital national asset” that was “crucial” both for US trade and national security. Returning to this theme in Arizona, he declared, “It was given to Panama and to the people of Panama, but it has provisions, you gotta treat us fairly and they haven’t treated us fairly.” While this appeared to be another complaint about the fees being charged, these are the same for American ships as for the vessels of any other country, based on tonnage and type of cargo, not what flag the ship flies. He added, “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question.” When one of his fascist listeners shouted, “Take it back,” Trump replied: “That’s a good idea.” There is a second aspect to Trump’s sudden declaration of interest in Panama. Returning American military forces to the Panama could give them a significant role in the interdiction of the flow of migrant workers across the US-Mexico border. Millions of these migrants come from South America through the “Darien gap,” the jungle region of Panama that borders on Colombia, and then up through Central America. US troops in the former Canal Zone would be in a position to block the migrants either at the canal itself or by pushing further south.

After Trump threat, Mexican president says Panama Canal belongs to Panamanians (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed support for Panama's government on Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday. "Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians," Sheinbaum said, speaking during her regular morning press conference. Sheinbaum's comments came one day after Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage while speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona. After the event, he posted an image on Truth Social of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, with the comment: "Welcome to the United States Canal!" Trump's comments were an exceedingly rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino swiftly denounced Trump's comments. "Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama)," Mulino said in a statement released on X.

Trump adds Greenland to list of potential US acquisitions - In a statement that would be dismissed as insanely provocative and warmongering if made by any other global leader, US President-elect Donald Trump added Greenland to the list of territories he has proposed to acquire for the United States. He has previously called for the return of the Panama Canal Zone to US control and for Canada to become the 51st state. The corporate media has largely dismissed the fascist musings about territorial expansion of the United States as mere bluster or, at most, signs of a Biden-style mental deterioration on the part of Trump, the oldest man ever to be elected president. But some of the intended targets of US takeover have not been so complacent. Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” How he would compel Denmark, a NATO member, to give up its ownership of the territory he did not say. Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede issued a written response Monday to Trump’s declaration of interest in purchasing the Arctic island: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.” In Panama, President Jose Raul Mulino denounced Trump’s comments about taking back the canal. “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging” to Panama, he said in a video posted on social media. During his first term, in 2019, Trump raised the prospect of buying Greenland from Denmark, which exercises loose control over the giant but largely unpopulated territory, with fewer than 59,000 people spread out over 836,000 square miles, or 2,166,000 square kilometers. Nearly three-quarters of the land surface is covered by glaciers. The island is larger than Alaska and ten times the size of Great Britain. Due to its position on the globe, Greenland is the most direct route for air travel from much of North America to Europe—including American nuclear missiles headed towards European Russia. This accounts for the longstanding US military interest, expressed in the US facility long known as Thule Air Base but renamed Pituffik Space Base last year, after the Inuit name for the area. In the 1960s, Thule had more than 10,000 US personnel, rivalling the adult population of Greenland as a whole. Its current estimated population is about 3,000, along with US nuclear-armed missiles, specialized radars, and dozens of classified missions. In addition to its military strategic importance, Greenland is being eyed by US and Canadian corporations for exploitation of its vast mineral wealth, as the ice sheet that covers most of the island’s surface melts. The island’s western coast could become a major route for ocean-going trade if the melting of the Arctic Ocean opens up a year-round Northwest Passage. If Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping were to begin musing about the need to absorb large adjacent territories—Poland, the Baltic states, Mongolia or Nepal—or critical choke points like the Turkish straits or the Strait of Malacca, the corporate media in both the US and other imperialist powers would be sounding notes of alarm and predicting imminent war.

Trump’s Wish to Control Greenland and Panama Canal: Not a Joke This Time - The New York Times -- Over the past two days, President-elect Donald J. Trump has made clear that he has designs for American territorial expansion, declaring that the United States has both security concerns and commercial interests that can best be addressed by bringing the Panama Canal and Greenland under American control or outright ownership. Mr. Trump’s tone has had none of the trolling jocularity that surrounded his repeated suggestions in recent weeks that Canada should become America’s “51st state,” including his social media references to the country’s beleaguered prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau.”Instead, while naming a new ambassador to Denmark — which controls Greenland’s foreign and defense affairs — Mr. Trump made clear on Sunday that his first-term offer to buy the landmass could, in the coming term, become a deal the Danes cannot refuse.He appears to covet Greenland both for its strategic location at a time when the melting of Arctic ice is opening new commercial and naval competition and for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology.“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media, “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”On Saturday evening, he had accused Panama of price-gouging American ships traversing the canal, and suggested that unless that changed, he would abandon the Jimmy Carter-era treaty that returned all control of the canal zone to Panama.“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,” he wrote, just ahead of an increase in the charges scheduled for Jan. 1. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.”He went on to express worry that the canal could fall into the “wrong hands,” an apparent reference to China, the second-largest user of the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm controls two ports near the canal, but China has no control over the canal itself. Not surprisingly, the government of Greenland immediately rejected Mr. Trump’s demands, as it did in 2019, when he first floated the idea. “Greenland is ours,” Prime Minister Mute B. Egede said in a statement. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”The Danish prime minister’s office was more circumspect, writing in a statement that the government was “looking forward to working with the new administration” and offering no further comment on Mr. Trump’s remarks. Mr. Trump appears to covet Greenland both for its strategic location at a time when the melting of Arctic ice is opening new commercial and naval competition and for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology.Credit...Carsten Snejbjerg for The New York Times. After Mr. Trump brought up the Panama Canal again in a speech on Sunday, Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, said in a video that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be.” He added: “Our country’s sovereignty and independence are not negotiable.” But the president-elect’s statements — and the not-so-subtle threats behind them — were another reminder that his version of “America First” is not an isolationist creed.His aggressive interpretation of the phrase evokes the expansionism, or colonialism, of President Theodore Roosevelt, who cemented control of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. And it reflects the instincts of a real estate developer who suddenly has the power of the world’s largest military to back up his negotiating strategy.Mr. Trump has often suggested that he does not always see the sovereignty of other nations’ borders as sacrosanct. When Russia invaded Ukraine, his first response was not a condemnation of the blatant land grab, but rather the observation that President Vladimir V. Putin’s move was an act of “genius.” Even now, as Mr. Trump seeks a deal to end the war in Ukraine, he has never said that the country’s borders must be restored, a key demand of the United States and NATO — he has only promised a “deal” to end the fighting.In the cases of Greenland and Panama, both commercial and national security interests are at play.Mr. Trump’s desire for Greenland was made explicit in the first term, when a wealthy New York friend of his, Ronald S. Lauder, the New York cosmetics heir, put the idea in his head.In the Trump White House in 2019, the National Security Council was suddenly delving into the details of how the United States would pull off a land acquisition of that size. Mr. Trump kept pressing the point with Denmark, which consistently rebuffed him.Mr. Trump was not the first president to make the case: Harry S. Truman wanted to buy Greenland after World War II, as part of a Cold War strategy for boxing out Soviet forces. Mr. Trump can make a parallel argument, especially as Russia, China and the United States jockey for control of Arctic routes for commercial shipping and naval assets.Arctic experts did not dismiss Mr. Trump’s Greenland bid as a joke.“Not that many people are laughing about it now,” said Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defense College in Denmark who focuses on Arctic security.Mr. Jacobsen noted that the reaction in Denmark to Mr. Trump’s latest bid had been one of fury (one Danish politician called it “an unusually strange way to be an ally”). But, he said, Greenlanders — who have long sought independence — may seek to use Mr. Trump’s interest as an opportunity to further strengthen economic ties with the United States.Since 2009, Greenland has had the right to declare its independence, but the vast territory of about 56,000 people is still heavily dependent on Denmark and has never chosen to pursue that path. Mr. Trump’s interest could give Greenland an opening for more U.S. investments, including in tourism or rare earth mining, he said.

Rahm Emanuel rips US defense firms, calls for punishments in final Tokyo missive --U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel is calling for defense firms that miss deadlines and increase costs to be forbidden from bidding on new military contracts as a punishment. The final note in his “Tokyo Takes” newsletter, obtained by The Hill, calls for defense firms to be blocked from buying back billions in stock if they fail to meet their obligations on major weapons systems. He specifically proposes a five-year ban on buying back stocks or a ban on buying back stocks until deadlines are met for firms that fail to meet their commitments. “Trust me, that would quickly get the attention of the C-suite,” Emanuel wrote. He also suggested blocking “the big five” from bidding on contracts in some areas, like emerging systems, and encouraging bids from startups and “small, ambitious firms only.” While he doesn’t name them, the five biggest contractors with the Department of Defense are Lockheed Martin Corporation; Raytheon Technologies Corporation; General Dynamics Corporation; The Boeing Company; and Northrop Grumman Corporation, according to the Congressional Research Service. “I know that both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and both parties are responsible for this situation. None of us are free from blame here, which means we need to work together to solve it,” the ambassador wrote. Emanuel’s focus on military production is part of wide-spread recognition that America’s defense industrial base is failing to meet demands necessary to counter China’s aggressive ambitions in the region. U.S. resources are further strained by supplying Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia and aiding Israel’s defense in the Middle East. “Everybody agrees that something beyond business as usual, has to happen, that this is a breaking point,” Emanuel said in a brief phone call with The Hill. “I don’t know whether a five-year restriction on stock buy-back until they fix it will work, but somehow you have to shake up Lockheed, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Grumman and Boeing, somehow they have to be brought to heel, and the corporate suite has to be brought to a laser focus to solve this problem.” Emanuel calls the “atrophied defense industrial base” the “weak link” in America’s strategic posture and blamed the major defense contractors as having “zero sense of urgency or understanding at how America’s deterrence and security commitments are being undermined.

Biden steps up anti-China trade war and provides a springboard for Trump - In one of its last actions on the economic front, the outgoing Biden administration has announced a trade-war investigation into so-called anti-competitive practices by the Chinese semi-conductor industry. This will provide the Trump administration with more weapons in its economic war against Beijing. The latest measures represent a significant escalation of the actions of the Biden administration which has been seeking to cut off China from access to the most advanced chips needed for high-tech development and from chip-making equipment. Previous measures have been imposed on the grounds that access to these products would provide China with the means to develop its military capacities. Washington has maintained it is not trying to cripple the Chinese economy. Instead, it has claimed to be purely targeting Beijing’s military capacities as part of what it calls a “small yard high fence policy,” which is quarantining its measures to issues of so-called “national security.” But this piece of fiction has now been completely exposed by the latest investigation, which can open the way for tariffs and other restrictions because it covers Chinese chips employed in a range of consumer products. The investigation will be conducted under Section 301 of the US Trade Act and will target what the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) called “foundational” chips that are widely used in the auto and other manufacturing industries as well as in health care, infrastructure, aerospace and defence. A report by the Commerce Department earlier this month found that more than two thirds of US companies used chips produced in China. Announcing the launching of the probe, the USTR made clear its actions were not confined to the US and that it intended to hit Chinese domestic chip production as well. It stated: “Evidence indicates that China seeks to dominate domestic and global markets in the semiconductor industry and undertakes extensive anticompetitive and non-markets means, including setting and pursuing market share targets to achieve indigenization and self-sufficiency.” If this is a “crime,” then it is one committed by every other capitalist country, above all the US.

US Launches New Trade Probe Into Chinese Legacy Chips - The Biden administration announced an 11th-hour probe on Monday into China’s trade practice regarding “legacy” chips that power everything from smart appliances and phones to the electric grid and weapons systems.The administration has already imposed 50 percent tariffs on semiconductors from China, which are set to take effect on Jan. 1. The new Section 301 probe could pave the way for the incoming Trump administration to add more tariffs on legacy chips or take other measures.The probe was launched because evidence indicates that the Chinese regime’s attempts to dominate domestic and global chip markets “appear to have and to threaten detrimental impacts on the United States and other economies, undermining the competitiveness of American industry and workers, critical U.S. supply chains, and U.S. economic security,” the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.A spokesperson for the Chinese regime’s Ministry of Commerce accused the United States of “disrupting and distorting the global chip production and supply chains” and “harming the interests of American companies and consumers,” and vowed to “take all necessary measures to firmly defend its interests.”The Biden administration will begin accepting public comments on Jan. 6. The probe will then be handed over to the incoming Trump administration for completion, officials said.According to the Federal Register notice, the deadline for submitting comments will be set on Feb. 5, and a public hearing will be held on March 11 and March 12. It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead USTR, Jamieson Greer, a trade lawyer and former USTR chief during Trump’s first administration, will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by then.The investigation will initially focus on China’s legacy chip production, downstream products that contain legacy chips, and wafers that are used to make the chips, including silicon carbide substrates.According to USTR, China is projected to reach around half of the world’s capacity to build foundational logic chips by 2029, and to lead in production capacity for other types of legacy chips. Evidence indicates Beijing has been using unfair trade practices to achieve the goals, such as subsidies, state-backed hacking, forced technology transfer, wage suppression, market gate-keeping, and opaque regulatory preferences and discrimination.“This is enabling its companies to rapidly expand capacity and to offer artificially lower priced chips that threaten to significantly harm and potentially eliminate their market-oriented competition,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told reporters on a conference call.U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her department’s research shows two-thirds of U.S. products using chips had Chinese legacy chips in them, and half of U.S. companies did not know the origin of their chips including some in the defense industry, findings that were “fairly alarming.”After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply of semiconductors and temporarily halted production of autos and medical equipment, the United States has sought to build its own semiconductor supply chain with $52.7 billion in new subsidies for chip production, research, and workforce development. Raimondo said China’s plans to build more than 60 percent of the world’s new legacy chip capacity over the next decade were discouraging investment elsewhere and constituted unfair competition. It “undercuts our companies and makes the U.S. dependent on China for the chips that we use every day in so many things,” she told reporters.

Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can ‘negotiate a resolution to save the platform’ -President-elect Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay the deadline for a potential TikTok ban, which is slated for the day before his inauguration. The court has agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to the potential ban on an expedited schedule, but Trump told the justices that delaying the law until he returns to the White House could obviate the need for the court to weigh in. “President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns,” wrote D. John Sauer, one of Trump’s personal appellate attorneys. Sauer is Trump’s nominee for U.S. solicitor general, which would have him take over managing the government’s defense of the ban from the Biden administration. “In light of these interests—including, most importantly, his overarching responsibility for the United States’ national security and foreign policy—President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office,” Sauer wrote.

Trump ramps up EU trade war threat unless bloc buys American oil and gas - — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump issued a fresh threat of a trade war to the European Union on Friday, urging it to purchase more American oil and gas or face a barrage of tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!! It was not immediately clear which EU official Trump had “told” this to, if anyone. European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill did not provide clarity on who was involved in the conversation Trump alluded to, but said: “The EU and US have deeply integrated economies, with overall balanced trade and investment. We are ready to discuss with President-elect Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common interests in the energy sector.”

Trump’s “border czar” promises incoming administration will build “family facilities” to hasten mass deportations, including of US citizens In an interview with the Washington Post published on December 26, Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming “border czar,” promised that the new administration would construct large internment camps, euphemistically dubbed “family facilities,” to expedite the mass deportation of human beings out of the United States, including US citizens.In an article titled, “Trump’s top border adviser says he will bring back family detention,” Homan said that as “border czar” he would work alongside South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to resume detaining entire families, including those with US-born children, for weeks or even months at a time in “soft-sided” prison facilities before deporting them.He said, “We’re going to need to construct family facilities. How many beds we’re going to need will depend on what the data says.”“Soft-sided” immigrants’ camps have been previously constructed during the Biden administration, including in Arizona.While Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claims the facilities are “weatherproof,” in the last three years alone climate-change driven weather events have lead to mass casualties in several southern states, including where human beings aren’t forced to reside in plastic tents.This past January, an “arctic blast” bomb cyclone lead to at least 55 deaths across 12 southern states, with fatalities from hypothermia and icy road conditions reported in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. In February 2021, winter storm “Uri” led to a reported 151 deaths in Texas, although some estimates are as high as 702 after the storm knocked out Texas’ power grid leaving millions without electricity.There is no question the facilities will be breeding grounds for abuse. Under the current Biden administration, immigrants are already treated as less-than-human. Last month, video emerged of a CBP agent running down immigrants in his government vehicle as they were trying to cross the border into San Diego from Tijuana. Despite video evidence of the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed without any attempt to hit the brakes before striking a person, representatives for the Border Patrol told Border Report that an “investigation” is underway with no criminal charges filed as of this writing. Earlier this month, a joint investigation between the Washington Post, Lighthouse Reports and the El Universal newspaper in Mexico found that over the last seven years “hundreds more people have drowned” in the Rio Grande river compared to what the US and Mexican governments have reported.The organizations found that between 2017 and 2023, that is, during both the Trump and Biden administrations, at least 1,107 people drowned trying to cross the river, with “more than 1 in 10 drownings involving a child” in 2023. The largest concentration of these deaths, 858, occurred in Texas. This figure is nearly 300 more than CBP reported along the entire southwest border at the time.Less than three weeks after the report was released, Abbott posted several photos on his X social media account boasting about building more border walls in Maverick County.“Texas will continue working with President Donald Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan to secure the border and build the wall,” Abbott wrote.Speaking to the Post, Homan defended detaining and deporting entire families, including legal US citizens. The fascist gruffed, “Here’s the issue... You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”Homan’s words are not just idle threats, but express deadly serious bipartisan intent. Homan has spent over three decades waging war on immigrants for the federal government, beginning as a border agent in 1984 before moving his way up the ranks to eventually become an executive at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under President Barack Obama and then acting director of ICE under Trump. In 2015, Obama presented Homan a Presidential Rank award for his role in carrying out “interior” mass deportations, which earned Obama the well-deserved moniker “deporter-in-chief.” Transitioning smoothly from Obama to Trump, Homan embraced Trump’s fascistic rhetoric and frequently appeared on Fox News to trumpet the administration’s “enforcement” policies.In his interview with the Post, Homan confirmed that workplace raids, which were temporarily suspended under the Biden administration, would also resume under Trump. Homan said. “We haven’t really worked out the plan for worksite enforcement,” adding “We know that employers are going to be upset.” Homan also said the Trump administration would resume the “Remain in Mexico” program, which blocks asylum seekers from entering the country while their cases are adjudicated in US courts for months, or years, at a time. In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlin Collins on December 18, Homan likewise promised to build large camps as part of a “massive deportation operation” that would begin on “day one” of the Trump administration. “Yeah, we are going to build detention facilities because, yeah, this is a massive deportation operation,” Homan told Collins. Pledging to send teams of border gestapo into workplaces and homes, Homan said, “Millions of people have entered this country illegally... we are going to enforce the law and to do that we are going to have teams throughout the country arresting these targets and we got to build detention facilities to hold these people so we can remove them.”Homan promised to detain and deport as many people as possible, saying, “The target number is arresting as many people as we can possibly arrest with the resources we have.” Calling out “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with ICE, Homan said, “that forces us to go into the neighborhood... we got to send a whole team to the neighborhood. What happens there? We are going to find others, others that are non-priority criminals, but guess what, they are going to be arrested too. So sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want.”Homan concluded, saying, “This operation isn’t going to stop. We got four years to do this operation... if you are in the country illegally, you got a problem.”

Trump's immigration plans to hit budget and legal hurdles --President-elect Trump has made ambitious promises on the border and immigration, including the biggest deportation operation ever seen. But much like in Trump’s first term in office, his immigration agenda faces significant roadblocks. Trump saw a number of his policies tied up in legal battles, with some rejected by the courts on the merits, due to technicalities or on procedural grounds. He also doesn’t have the workforce to match his rhetoric as he has suggested that any of the nation’s roughly 13 million undocumented migrants could face deportation. “I think he’s going to violate every norm and law in order to do what he wants. The question is whether he really is going to have a [deportation] program as expansive as he’s described, because the reality of what he’s described would be pretty devastating to the national economy and the workforce,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), whose district lies along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite questions on the economic wisdom of mass deportations and the feasibility of carrying them out, Trump is inheriting a supercharged immigration enforcement apparatus with ample powers to find causes to deport individuals. But he promised enforcement to dwarf the efforts of prior administrations — a tall order, given the Biden administration hit a 10-year high with 271,484 deportations in 2024, according to the annual Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report released Thursday. An expansion beyond that existing deportation behemoth is likely to face new challenges, whether logistical, legal, economic or political. Trump faces a difficult landscape when it comes to carrying out the level of deportations he promised voters. He has suggested anyone not legally present in the country could face removal, a departure from administrations of both parties that have focused limited resources on deporting those who present a public safety risk. Doing so would require an astronomical budget increase. Incoming border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday acknowledged the size of the deportation program would depend on the budget allocated by Congress, but he said the incoming administration would target all immigrants lacking permanent legal status for deportation. “I don’t have a number. We want to arrest as many people as we can that are in the country illegally,” Homan said on “The Source” with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “If you’re here illegally, you’re not off the table. It’s a violation of the law; it’s a crime to enter this country illegally.” The American Immigration Council estimates deporting the nation’s estimated 13 million undocumented people at a rate of 1 million per year would cost about $88 billion, exceeding the entire current budget of the Department of Homeland Security. “There’s a lot of unknowns right now, until we see exactly what the Republicans are planning in terms of the budget for this program, and until we hear from the future president himself whether he plans to deport as many people as he promised, all of this is hypothetical,” Escobar said. She noted that Trump has shifted some of his rhetoric after facing pressure from major agricultural lobbies and business leaders fearful of losing their workforce. “He then started talking about focusing only on criminals, which is to a large extent what happens today anyway,” Escobar added, noting that the Biden administration prioritizes removal of those with serious criminal records. Immigrants — a group with lower crime rates than native-born residents — contend with extra layers of policing from agencies including ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol, in addition to elevated consequences for illicit conduct ranging from infractions to felonies. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), who will take over as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in January, pointed to “crimes involving moral turpitude,” a tool in immigration law that federal officials can use to render certain immigrants deportable or to prevent their status cases from going forward. “If you went to the candy store, you play the numbers, and the candy store got raided, and you were there, they took you in, and if you didn’t have your papers, that was considered, or is considered, a deportable offense. Or urinating in the streets, soliciting a prostitute, jumping the turnstile, these are all deportable offenses,” Espaillat said. Immigration advocates say there are few obstacles in place to prevent the incoming Trump administration from using those tools to their fullest extent — beyond the sheer amount of funding required to remove so many people. “It could be funding. I think the legal tools are available to them. Certainly the TPS status and DACA can be revoked by the executive,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), referring to humanitarian programs that rely on executive action to grant protections from deportation. “Under the 1996 [Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility] Act, which I voted against, you can do expedited removal for people who’ve been in the United States undocumented for less than two years within 200 miles of the border. Now that includes coasts, so that’s 80 percent of the U.S. population. The question is, what kind of process will be used to determine ‘two years or less,’ since the majority of individuals who are undocumented have been here way more than two years, but we’ll see what kind of efforts they make.”

Elon Musk calls some MAGA supporters ‘contemptible fools’ as visa row intensifies - Tech billionaire Elon Musk labeled a section of President-elect Trump supporters as “contemptible fools” as the online debate around visas for highly skilled workers on the right intensifies. A Trump world civil war has been brewing this week as Musk, and his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) partner Vivek Ramaswamy have found themselves on the opposite end of the legal immigration debate with the anti-immigration contingent of the MAGA base. On Friday, right-leaning “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams chimed in on the debate, which has largely taken place on the social media platform X, arguing that “MAGA is taking a page from Democrats on how to lose elections while feeling good about themselves.”Musk, who has defended foreign-born engineers, agreed with Adams and said “those contemptible fools must be removed from the Republican Party, root and stem.” The tech mogul, who dropped at least $250 million backing Trump’s second White House run, then clarified that “the ‘contemptible fools’ I’m referring to are those in the Republican Party who are hateful, unrepentant racists. They will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”Ramaswamy ignited the firestorm Thursday when he, in part, argued that the lack of U.S.-born engineers in the job market was due to American culture that “has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” Musk, who has gotten closer to Trump over the course of this year, defended Ramaswamy. Then, far-right provocateur Laura Loomer chimed in, criticizing President-elect Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence. Loomer went after Krishnan for his November post where he proposed immigration changes: “Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.”The debate then shifted focus to the H-1B visa program, which is an employer-sponsored visa created for high-skilled professionals that has allowed tech companies to employ foreigners in tech and computer-related positions. The portion of the MAGA base argued the system undercuts opportunities for American workers. Loomer, who has accused Musk of censoring her post on X over her immigration remarks, fired back at the Tesla owner and said he was not living up to his ideal of being a “free speech absolutist” in regards to his “contemptible fool” comments.“@elonmusk has been a Republican for 5 minutes and now he wants to decide who gets to be a Republican,” she wrote Friday on X. “Elon, you said you were a free speech absolutist. If you are, let’s please let all ideas flourish and we will let the best ideas win. Let’s embrace free speech absolutism.”

MAGA civil war erupts between Musk, critics over H-1B visas -A Trump World civil war has erupted over visas for highly skilled workers, with the president-elect’s new tech industry allies like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on one side and the anti-immigration MAGA base on the other.The clash is a preview of the challenges in holding the Trump coalition together as his administration executes his immigration policy, an issue that drove his 2024 victory. But while President-elect Trump has promised to shut down illegal immigration at the southern border and start a mass deportation effort, the latest debate concerns immigrants here legally — exposing a larger, sometimes racist, anti-immigrant sentiment on the right. The debate was sparked by Trump on Sunday when he announced he was appointing Sriram Krishnan to be a White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence. Krishnan quickly came under fire for a November post suggesting immigration changes: “Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.” Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer called the comments “alarming,” accusing Krishnan of supporting foreigners being able to “come to the US and take jobs that should be given to American STEM students.” The bulk of the discussion began to center on the H-1B visa program, an employer-sponsored visa intended for high-skilled professionals that is used mostly for computer-related and tech jobs. Congress has capped that program at 65,000 per year plus an additional 20,000 for foreign professionals who graduate with a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. college or university. Those in the MAGA base argue that the visa program is used to undercut American workers.Some of the online reaction was overtly racist against Indians. By law, no more than 7 percent of green cards issued per year may be given to applicants from any one country. The vast majority of pending applicants are from India. And Indian workers make up the bulk of H-1B recipients, accounting for 72 percent of those approved in fiscal 2023.A wave of Trump supporters in the tech industry, meanwhile, voiced support for bringing in high-skilled foreign workers.Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump since the election, argued in a post on his social platform X that Silicon Valley often turns to immigrants because there are too few U.S.-born engineers. The tech billionaire, who was born in South Africa, once held an H-1B visa himself.“OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process,” the Tesla and SpaceX head said. “HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America.”Ramaswamy, co-chair of Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) alongside Musk, previously called to “gut” the H-1B visa program during his own presidential campaign. But he chimed in on the debate by blaming the lack of U.S.-born engineers on American culture, suggesting that it has “venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,” pointing to pop culture examples like the sitcom “Saved by the Bell” and characters Zach and Slater being “venerated” over the school nerd Screech. His comments were not received well by fellow conservatives. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley slammed Ramaswamy, arguing that there is “nothing wrong with American workers or American culture.”“All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have,” she wrote on X. “We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”Other Silicon Valley conservatives, such as venture capitalists David Sacks and Joe Lonsdale, also weighed in on the debate, arguing in favor of greater high-skilled immigration. Sacks, who is set to serve as White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, came to Krishnan’s defense and emphasized that he was calling for the elimination of per-country caps on green cards, not all limitations on green cards.“Supporting a limited number of highly skilled immigrants is still a prevalent view on the right. Sriram is definitely not a ‘career leftist’!” Sacks said, responding to Loomer’s comments about Krishnan.

Trump weighs in on H-1B debate, backs immigration visas - President-elect Trump backed immigration visas for highly-skilled workers as the program has been in the spotlight after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy faced backlash within the Republican leader’s base for signaling their support for the H-1B work visa, which has been criticized as too complicated and susceptible to abuse.“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said in a phone interview with The New York Post published Saturday. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he added, as reported by the NY Post. Trump’s support for the program comes as two of his key allies set to run the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk and Ramaswamy, have faced heightened scrutiny on Musk’s social platform X from some in the GOP, including far-right activist Laura Loomer and other hard-line anti-immigration Republicans.The dispute further escalated late Friday night after Musk pledged to “go to war” over the issue in a post on X.“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,” he wrote in the post.“I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” he added.The debate appeared to originate from a suggestion last month from Sriram Krishnan, Trump’s pick for White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence, that Musk examine removing caps on green cards for skilled immigrants. Krishnan’s comments resurfaced in recent days after he was appointed by Trump to serve in his incoming administration.The dispute also comes as the Biden administration announced a rule earlier this month clarifying who can apply for the visas, which followed years of lobbying for a more streamlined H-1B process. Some democratic lawmakers previously called on the Biden administration to address gaps in the immigration system to prepare for the incoming Trump administration’s expected crackdown on immigration.

Fiend accused of burning woman to death on NYC subway is illegal migrant from Guatemala who sneaked into US after he was deported - The illegal Guatemalan migrant accused of setting a straphanger on fire and gawking as she burned to death was once deported — but sneaked back into the US and the Big Apple shelter system, sources told The Post. The accused firebug, who has not yet been charged, first entered the US illegally at the Arizona border in 2018, but was nabbed just days later and shipped back home. He later crossed the border again, dodging federal agents and finding his way north to the five boroughs — although it is unclear how long he was in the city before the horrific F train attack Sunday, the sources said. The Post confirmed the suspect is a migrant from Guatemala who is in the US illegally.DCPI What is clear is that by April 2023 he was staying at a Days Inn hotel on 36th Street which had been converted into a migrant shelter — the first of four tax-funded facilities in the city. When he was issued a transit ticket in 2023, he gave an address of a shelter on Randall’s Island, the sources said. On Sunday, police said he was at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station, calmly watching the sleeping passenger he allegedly set on fire as she apparently burned to death. Dramatic video obtained by The Post shows cops swarming the fiery scene, with the migrant getting up and walking away. But cops nabbed him and took him into custody. Law enforcement sources said the illegal firebug is being held pending autopsy results on the victim.

As Woman Burned Alive on NYC Subway Car, Bystanders Watched — and Filmed - New Yorkers have long been haunted by the story of Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old bartender who was raped and stabbed outside her apartment building in Queens in 1964. The most harrowing part of the story came two weeks after the murder, when the New York Times published an article that claimed some three dozen witnesses saw or heard the attack—which lasted more than half an hour—but that no one, apart from Genovese's neighbor, called the police or came to her aid. The infamous story has been thrown back into the national conversation in the aftermath of the horrific murder of a woman on a New York City subway train early on Sunday, when an illegal migrant allegedly lit the passenger on fire and watched as she burned alive while the train was stopped at a Brooklyn station. In addition to the alleged killer, video of the horrifying incident shows bystanders and at least one uniformed NYPD officer appearing to casually walk by or mill about rather than render aid to the fully engulfed victim.Gerald Posner, the journalist and author known for his investigations into the JFK assassination, called the "stomach-wrenching videos" a "digital Kitty Genovese" in a post on social media."I could imagine if you didn't want to be the person who wanted to rush in and try to help them, because you're afraid you're going to catch on fire, you don't know what's going on—I get that," Posner told Newsweek in an interview. "But the idea, then, of just not running to get the cops, as opposed to just sort of looking out at the phone and filming it... It did make me think back to that 1964 murder."Around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, a woman—who is yet to be identified by officials—was set lit on fire as the F train she was riding pulled into the Stillwell Avenue station at the end of the line in Coney Island.NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the victim became "fully engulfed in a matter of seconds" after a man walked calmly to the woman and used a lighter to ignite her clothes.Videos of the incident spread nearly as fast on social media. The victim was seen standing motionless against the subway door as bystanders watched, some filming her with their phones. Meanwhile, a man, who was later identified as the suspect, approaches the woman with a garment and — instead of using it to smother the fire — fans the flames with the cloth.A day later, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who had been deported in 2018 only to return to the U.S. at a later date, was charged with first-degree murder and arson in the attack that officials said was at random.When asked for comment about the officer who was captured on camera walking by the woman on fire, rather than coming to her aid, the NYPD referred Newsweek to the department's Monday press conference.At that briefing, Joseph Gulotta, the NYPD's chief of transit, pushed back on questions about whether the unidentified officer had responded appropriately, saying he "did his job perfectly as his fellow officers went and got [transit] workers, got fire extinguishers and eventually, were able to extinguish the individual.""I went and spoke to these officers and I'll say this: They responded—there were numerous officers responding, not just the one officer, to this heinous crime," Gulotta said. "What the officers saw and they had to deal with, and they were trying to get fire extinguishers, I commend that one officer who stayed there, made sure he kept the crime scene the way it's supposed to be, made sure he kept an eye on what was going on."Even still, Posner wondered why people stood around recording the inferno instead of trying to extinguish the flames and why the police officer did not, at the least, take off his jacket to smother the flames.

Man Who Allegedly Set Sleeping Woman on Fire on NYC Subway Says He Doesn't Recall the Incident -A man who allegedly killed a woman after setting her on fire on a New York City subway told police he "doesn't know what happened," NBC News reports Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, allegedly used a lighter to start the fatal fire on Sunday, Dec. 22. When the victim, who has not been identified, was consumed in the blaze, Zapeta-Calil allegedly began "fanning the flames with a shirt," a prosecutor alleged during his arraignment in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Dec. 24.Surveillance footage showed the victim sleeping on an immobile F train at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station around 7:30 a.m. Zapeta-Calil, who was sitting across from her, then allegedly set her and the blanket she was underneath on fire, CNN reported, citing a complaint from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.The prosecutor added that Zapeta-Calil told police after the incident that “he drinks a lot of liquor" and "doesn't know what happened."Zapeta-Calil and the victim were the only two in the car. He allegedly left the train and sat on a nearby bench and looked on as the woman continued to burn, footage showed. Sources suggested that she was unconscious the entire time, CNN reported.A walker was discovered close to the scene, indicating that the woman had trouble getting around on her own. She was wearing several layers of clothing, and officials believe that's what caused the fire to spread. The woman is over 18, and a law enforcement official informed The New York Times that she appeared to be homeless.Zapeta-Calil was arrested after three high school students recognized his face when surveillance footage and pictures were released to the public. He was later found at a Herald Square train with a lighter in his pocket, NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said, per CNN.The New York City Office of the Medical Examiner ruled the woman's death a homicide, noting that she died of "thermal injuries and smoke inhalation," NBC News reports, citing court papers.During his court appearance, he was charged with first- and second-degree murder as well as arson, according to court docs. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and was remanded to custody without bail.

Lawler: New Census Population Estimates Show Massively Higher Population Growth - Today, in the CalculatedRisk Real Estate Newsletter: Lawler: New Census Population Estimates Show Massively Higher Population Growth Excerpt: From housing economist Tom Lawler: New Census Population Estimates Incorporate Revised Methodology for Estimating Net International Migration, Show Massively Higher Population Growth -- Last week Census released its “Vintage 2024” estimates of the US resident population, and the new estimates show substantially faster population growth over the past few years than those shown in the “Vintage 2023” estimates. The reason, not surprisingly, is that Census updated its methodology to include estimates of what it refers to as “humanitarian” migrants, including border patrol releases and paroles. As many probably remember, last year the CBO issued a report suggesting that border patrol/other data indicated that net international migration over the past few years had been massively higher than official Census estimates had suggested. For more details on Census’ updated NIM methodology, see Census Bureau Improves Methodology to Better Estimate Increase in Net International Migration Below are some tables comparing the Vintage 2024 population estimates with the Vintage 2023 population estimates. Note: Each population “Vintage” includes projections of the resident population for the subsequent year. Thus, for Vintage 2023 the 2024 numbers are projections, and for Vintage 2024 the 2025 numbers are projections. As this table shows, estimated population growth from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2024 from Vintage 2024 is an eye-popping 3,386,610 higher than the Vintage 2023 estimate. Virtually all of this difference reflects higher estimates of net international migration in the Vintage 2024 estimates.

Net International Migration Drives Highest U.S. Population Growth in Decades— — The U.S. population grew by nearly 1.0% between 2023 and 2024, according to the new Vintage 2024 population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. As the nation’s population surpasses 340 million, this is the fastest annual population growth the nation has seen since 2001 — a notable increase from the record low growth rate of 0.2% in 2021. The growth was primarily driven by rising net international migration.Net international migration, which refers to any change of residence across U.S. borders (the 50 states and the District of Columbia), was the critical demographic component of change driving growth in the resident population. With a net increase of 2.8 million people, it accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024. This reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023."Improved integration of federal data sources on immigration has enhanced our estimates methodology," said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections. "With this update, we can better understand how the recent increase in international migration is impacting the country's overall population growth." (More information on the Census Bureau’s updates to how it measures international migration are available in Census Bureau Improves Methodology to Better Capture Increase in Net International Migration).Natural increase also contributed to the population growth, as births outnumbered deaths by nearly 519,000 between 2023 and 2024. This marks an increase from the historic low in 2021 when natural increase was just over 146,000, but it was still well below the highs in prior decades. “An annual growth rate of 1.0% is higher than what we’ve seen over recent years but well within historical norms,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “What stands out is the diminishing role of natural increase over the last five years, as net international migration has become the primary driver of the nation’s growth.” Meanwhile, the voting-age resident population (age 18 and over) grew to nearly 267 million, representing 78.5% of the population and the number of U.S. children (ages 0 to 17) declined by 0.2% from 73.3 million in 2023 to 73.1 million in 2024. The South Remains Fastest-Growing Region At nearly 132.7 million residents, the South is the most populous region. With a population gain of nearly 1.8 million — a change of 1.4% between 2023 and 2024 — the South added more people than all other regions combined, making it both the fastest-growing and largest-gaining region in the country. The largest contributing component to this growth was international migration, which added 1.1 million people. Domestic migration netted another 411,004 residents. The South was the only region with positive net domestic migration, where the number of people entering the region exceeded those leaving. Natural increase also contributed 218,567 to the growing region. Within the South, Texas (562,941) and Florida (467,347) had the largest numeric gains, and the District of Columbia grew the fastest (2.2%) from 2023 to 2024. The population in the West grew by almost 688,000 (0.9%) to a total of 80,015,776 residents. This growth was consistent with the national trend and continued despite a net domestic migration loss of almost 170,000, offset by a gain of 667,794 from net international migration. There was a gain of 187,986 from natural increase. In the West, California (232,570) and Arizona (109,357) had the largest numeric gains between 2023 and 2024, while Utah (1.8%) and Nevada (1.7%) grew the fastest. Just over 57.8 million people lived in the Northeast between 2023 and 2024. During that time, the number of residents increased by 0.76% — a gain of almost 435,000. Growth in the Northeast largely stemmed from net international migration (567,420). The number of people moving from the Northeast to other parts of the country continued to slow as the region lost fewer residents via net domestic outmigration (192,109) in 2024 than in 2023 (278,245). Within the Northeast, New York (129,881) had the largest numeric gains, and New Jersey (1.3%) had the fastest-growing population. The population in the Midwest increased by over 410,000 (0.6%) to a total population of 69,596,584 in 2024. The region had a net domestic migration loss of 49,214, far fewer than the net domestic outmigration of 89,787 in the previous year. The Midwest gained 406,737 people through net international migration and experienced a net gain of 52,741 from natural increase. Within the region, Illinois (67,899) and Ohio (59,270) had the largest population gains, while North Dakota (1.0%) and *Nebraska (0.9%) were the fastest-growing states.

Ethics report finds ‘substantial evidence’ Gaetz paid a 17-year-old for sex while serving in Congress - A yearslong House Ethics Committee investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz found “substantial evidence” that the Florida Republican committed statutory rape, solicited prostitutes and used illegal drugs, according to a copy of the report obtained by POLITICO.The report’s most explosive allegation, which Gaetz has long denied, is that he had sex twice with a 17-year-old girl at a party in July 2017, when he was 35 and serving in the House. Ethics Committee investigators found that he later paid the girl — part of a trend laid out in the report of him paying women after sexual encounters. Gaetz has repeatedly denied that he broke any laws. “These claims would be destroyed in court — which is why they were never made in any court against me,” he told POLITICO Friday morning.But the committee’s 37-page report, which it decided to release in a secret vote earlier this month, alleges several instances of illegal conduct by President-elect Donald Trump’s one-time pick to serve as attorney general. Gaetz withdrew from consideration as Trump’s AG last month as the potential public release of the investigation weighed on his chances of Senate confirmation.“The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the ethics panel said in its report, adding that he “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” the investigation.The findings are poised to trigger shockwaves in Republican politics, in part because of Gaetz’s close ties to Trump. Gaetz, who resigned from Congress when Trump tapped him to lead the Justice Department, has been floated as a potential Florida governor candidate in 2026, and some Republicans believe he could still win an appointment in the second Trump administration. Gaetz on Sunday also publicly mulled running for Sen.Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) likely soon-to-be vacant seat. The report’s findings could make Gaetz’s political future difficult, though Trump has a history of dismissing accusations of criminal behavior against his allies.The Ethics Committee investigation did not find “sufficient evidence” to show that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws — an accusation that the Justice Department had also investigated. The DOJ did not charge Gaetz.Gaetz has expressed regret that he once partied heavily and mistreated women and has said he’s a different person now. In response to accusations that he slept with someone under 18, he has said “unequivocally no.”In addition to allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, the Ethics investigation found that Gaetz violated House rules by accepting excessive gifts, including transportation and lodging, in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas. It also alleges that Gaetz violated another ethics rule in 2018 when he arranged for his top staffer to assist “a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.”The Ethics Committee’s decision to release the report — a move that required a majority vote by a panel split evenly between Republicans and Democrats — is controversial within the House. Members of the committee and other lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, argued that the panel shouldn’t break with its regular practice of ending an inquiry after a member leaves the House. But a majority of panel members concluded it was still “in the public interest to release its findings.”

Absent US congresswoman, 81, found in care home triggering demands for younger politicians - An 81-year-old congresswoman found in a Texas care home with dementia has sparked calls for a “new generation” of American politicians. Kay Granger, a Republican representative, was revealed earlier this week to be living in a care home in Fort Worth, explaining her months of absence from votes in Washington. Her son, Brandon Granger, told a local newspaper in Texas his mother had been “having some dementia-related issues”.In a statement released on Tuesday, Ms Granger said she had been “navigating some unforeseen health challenges” that had made travelling to vote in Congress “both difficult and unpredictable”. She said her staff had continued to work in her absence. The news has prompted fresh demands for a younger generation of politicians, following a presidential campaign cycle dominated by speculation about the age and health of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Mr Trump, 78, will become the oldest president to take office next month, overtaking the record set by Mr Biden in 2020.Politics in the White House and on Capitol Hill has been dominated by octogenarian politicians in recent years.In February, the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, 82, announced he would stand down from his leadership role after health issues that saw him freeze in front of television cameras, apparently unable to continue speaking.Ro Khanna, a 48-year-old California Democrat, said the latest revelations about Ms Granger’s health were part of a long-running issue with Washington’s “sclerotic gerontocracy”.“Kay Granger’s long absence reveals the problem with a Congress that rewards seniority and relationships more than merit and ideas,” he said.“We have a sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.” Tony Gonzales, a fellow Texas Republican, said he did not know his colleague had been moved to an assisted living facility. “I think there’s no doubt a lot of us knew that she was gaining in age, like a lot of members do,” he told CBS. “And, sadly, some of these members wait until it’s too long – things have gone too far.” Following his election last month, Mr Trump said he would make all official assessments of his health public, in line with White House precedent. None of his previous assessments, or those of Mr Biden, have suggested they are suffering with mental slowness. Kari Lake, a former GOP senatorial candidate who Mr Trump has appointed to lead the state-funded Voice of America broadcaster, suggested Ms Granger had avoided telling her constituents about her health because of “entrenched forces” in Washington. “Washington DC shouldn’t be a retirement home, but the entrenched forces there are so desperate to hold on to power that they will reject fresh voices while pulling stunts like this,” she said.

Missing congresswoman's case shows Congress needs new rules on attendance - Have you ever heard of Kay Granger? Probably not. She’s a Republican congresswoman from Texas who has been in office almost 30 years. But that’s not why I’m writing about her. I’m writing about her because she hadn’t been in her office or even seen for six months. She was just gone — poof. And there wasn’t really anything the House was able or willing to do about it. That has to change. If you stopped showing up to work, what would happen? After a series of unanswered phone calls and emails, you’d be fired. In Congress, though, there is no boss to fire anyone. There is a Speaker of the House, who can call for a vote for expel members who violate their oaths of office or for egregious violations of Congressional ethics, but that happens only rarely. In 1983, Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) admitted to having sex with an underage House page and “made sexual advances” toward two other kids. He was censured, and he turned his back on the chamber as it voted. Then he was reelected, repeatedly, until 1997. If contempt in the face of your exposure for molesting pages can’t get you booted from the House, almost nothing can. More recently, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was actually expelled, but it took a federal indictment to make Congress act.In that context, a mere poor attendance record is not going to get you removed. We know this because Granger was AWOL for half the year, for crying out loud. She didn’t run for reelection, but probably only because she would have had to offer proof of life to the voters at some point.Granger was recently discovered living in a $4,000 per month nursing home that specializes in treating dementia patients. Certainly no one would wish that on anyone, but Granger should not have clung to her job if she was not capable of doing it. As matters stand, her constituents have had no representation in the House for a very long time. Just to be clear, the office itself still functions as far as constituents are concerned. Anyone seeking casework help will get the same service they always have, whatever level that office maintained. What they won’t get is a vote on anything.It is likely either that the chief of staff steps up and leads the employees or no one does and the office becomes a base of operations for people who clock-watch all day — if they bother to show up at all. In either case, in committees and on the floor, the people of Texas’s 12th Congressional District had no say in anything. You might wonder how someone could simply disappear, not do their job at all and face zero consequences. That’s because, outside of Election Day, the only mechanism to hold members of Congress to any standards at all is … other members of Congress. Members are reluctant to support kicking out others for sex scandals or health issues because they often have sex scandals or health issues themselves, or expect to in the future. Mutual self-preservation makes for good job security.Sure, they booted Santos, but he was a clown more interested in attention than his job anyway. They will pick the easy fruit, if only so they can claim to be farmers. When it comes to corruption, Congress is just OK at policing itself. When it comes to health, it is horrible. Former Republican Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk suffered a stroke in January 2012 and wasn’t able to resume his duties for more than a year. Former Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson suffered a brain bleed during a radio interview in December 2006 and wasn’t able to go back to work until September 2007. Both men, like Congresswoman Granger, should have been removed from their jobs.Help them keep their pay or insurance or whatever (they technically work 24 hours a day, so a case could be made that they were on the job), but their constituents need a say in the business of government. Without some mechanism to remove members who cannot do the job, the idea of public service becomes reversed in cases of incapacitation.

‘I Probably Could Have Flipped Over a Few More Tables’ - Rep. Cori Bush was swept into office in 2020 on a wave of liberal energy, defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent and cementing the notion of a rising insurgency on the left. Four years later, she was defeated in her own primary — along with fellow progressive firebrand Rep. Jamaal Bowman — amid a deluge of money spent attacking her, mostly by the pro-Israel group AIPAC.In an exit interview with POLITICO Magazine, Bush defended her tenure in Congress and touted her accomplishments, including successfully pressuring the Biden administration to extend a pandemic-era eviction moratorium.A member of the progressive Squad, Bush was targeted by AIPAC because of her outspoken criticism of the Israeli government and her push for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. But she said the attacks were a “deception” since AIPAC’s ads focused on her vote against a bipartisan infrastructure law rather than Israel policy. (Bush and some other progressives opposed the infrastructure measure after it was decoupled from the broader social spending legislation in Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan.)Bush leaves office with the Squad smaller and the American left facing an uncertain path after Donald Trump’s victory. But she said her progressive colleagues weren’t going to back down despite the latest defeats.“Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere,” she said. “And I will always be Squad. I’m not going far.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Anthony Scaramucci to Elon Musk: 'Lay off the gas on politics a little bit' -Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Monday urged Elon Musk to stay out of politics and focus on his successful businesses. “Stick to business. You’ve done great. You’ve made a couple hundred billion dollars since the election,” Scaramucci said in an interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer, describing his advice to Musk. “Lay off the gas on politics a little bit because these people, these people could hurt you. And it’s no, no need for you to get hurt. You’re doing so well in your life,” Scaramucci continued. Scaramucci — who worked briefly in the Trump administration and since has become an outspoken critic — noted the outsized role Musk played during the 2024 election but said he does not expect Musk to have the same power in Washington. “Listen, he’s got a very powerful role. He’s got a $44 billion megaphone. He’s got over 200-plus million followers and, Wolf, he was instrumental in that election,” Scaramucci said. “The stuff that Elon Musk did in Pennsylvania alone, I think helped the president win that election. So he has a very big voice.” But Scaramucci said that while Musk might expect to “go to Washington and change Washington,” he might not find the success he is hoping to find. “He’s just got to be very, very careful because he’s making enemies that he doesn‘t realize,” Scaramucci said of Musk. “And the incentives in Washington are totally different than those in business. And so everybody is incentivized in a different and sometimes irrational way.” “And I think the power that he’s wielding right now, Washington has a great immunological system, and I think they’ll find a way to rebut him,” Scaramucci said.

Elon Musk’s ‘Move Fast and Break Things’ Attitude Clashes with Washington – - House Republicans are in a state of chaos after ramming through a hastily put together package to fund the government. Frustration with Speaker Mike Johnson is simmering, ugly intraparty fights among Republicans are spilling out into the public eye and Democrats are claiming victory while President-elect Donald Trump sought to pin some of the blame on Joe Biden for the whole thing. It all happened thanks to Elon Musk. Congress was on a glidepath to heading home for the holidays without much agitation, but the framework of an earlier proposed deal blew up after Musk posted over 150 times on X urging House Republicans to reject what was in place and go back to the drawing board. For Congress — and the larger Washington government apparatus — it’s a warning sign of things to come, of carefully laid plans being blown up by fiat of the world’s richest person. For Musk, it’s just another day at the office. The billionaire tapped by Trump to co-chair the commission dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) embodies the Silicon Valley ethos of “move fast and break things,” more so even than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who made the motto famous in the first place. And Musk’s embrace of creative destruction and willingness to take enormous risks in the service of mission — as he has at various moments with SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter — is now ramming straight into a Washington culture that operates very differently. Thus far, the culture clash has made Republicans angry but also netted Musk a deal that he says he’s happier with. It’s also made manifest the stark differences in how disruptive entrepreneurs and government officials understand the duty of running a company or a country. The SpaceX founder’s freewheeling, “if things are not failing, you are not innovating enough” approach — which he’s used to become the richest person in the world — versus Washington’s sometimes staid, risk averse and sclerotic lawmaking could well define the successes and failures of the second Trump administration, at least for as long as Musk lasts in government and as long as it holds his interest. “Elon Musk is the heir to a long tradition in Silicon Valley of making war on bureaucracy,” Charles Petersen, the Harold Hohbach historian at the Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University, says. “This is the business philosophy of disruption — it’s better to break something than to reform it.” Musk insisted that the bipartisan spending bill that was on the verge of passing the House was chock full of wasteful spending. And he sees tearing the government’s infrastructure down to the studs — even if it results in more chaos — as part of his mandate to cut government expenditures in the incoming administration. For decades, Musk has been comfortable at his companies with taking on extreme risk and experiencing big, sometimes embarrassing public failure — so long as there’s a potentially large payoff. In the early days of SpaceX between 2006 and 2008, the first three rocket launches failed, putting SpaceX and Musk himself teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Even after Musk turned the ship around with many successful launches beginning in 2008, he continued to push towards new innovation at almost any cost — including the prospect of more failure and more danger. According to a Reuters report, worker injuries have soared at SpaceX over the past decade, with workers describing Musk as cavalier about safety and an environment in which lax precautions, under-trained staff and a need to meet Musk’s lofty goals imperiled employees. Since 2020, as Musk has developed the spacecraft Starship, many of his tests have ended in fiery explosions. When Musk responds publicly to criticism, he generally shrugs off concerns and pushes to take on even more risk. After one of these failures, an insouciant Musk tweeted, “So … how was your night?” and attached a video of his rocket dramatically falling apart. For SpaceX, it’s the cost of doing business. When designs fail, the team at SpaceX can see what’s wrong with their product. If you’re going to innovate, you might break some rockets, the thinking goes. The same goes for Tesla. The company, like SpaceX, had a flirtation with bankruptcy in 2008, and since pulling itself out of that hole, the electric car maker has still sometimes seen speedy innovation lead to public failure. In 2023, Reuters reported that Tesla documents tracked chronic failures in the cars for years. Just last week, Tesla recalled 700,000 vehicles — but managed to fix the issue with an over-the-air software update, meaning drivers didn’t have to bring in the cars for a fix. Musk is constantly testing just how far he can push before something blows up and becomes unfixable. “It’s what many [tech startups] are always navigating,” Petersen says. “How much can you break something before it truly breaks?” Tesla and SpaceX ultimately made him the wealthiest man on the planet. So far, his purchase of Twitter has been a different story. His decision to fire broad swaths of staff soon after taking over led to bugs cropping up regularly on the social platform — most memorably when Twitter Spaces melted down during Ron DeSantis’ official presidential campaign launch. His use of the website to advance his own political ideology has been equally damaging — advertisers have been running for the hills. Musk is still learning what kind of pressure works in Washington. In early December, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced a bill “led by X” that was an updated version of the Kids Online Safety Act and urged Congress to pass it. Musk threw his weight behind it, noting on X that “Protecting kids should always be priority #1,” but House Speaker Mike Johnson shut the door on the bill, noting that it “might lead to further censorship by the government of valid conservative voices.” Musk isn’t accustomed to that kind of response. In his companies, when he identifies problems and decides to fix them, Musk operates quickly and in a top down banner, ruling over every inch of his empire. “Basically, what Elon does is he shows up every week at each of his companies, he identifies the biggest problem that the company’s having that week and he fixes it,” Now, the X owner is up against much more than a company full of underlings. There are co-equal branches of government to deal with. He will have to convince a group of people with independent power bases and all kinds of their own concerns to bend the knee. And the consequences of action or inaction are on a wholly different scale. Parts of the government bureaucracy ceasing to function properly can mean millions of Americans losing access to essential government benefits and functions. To succeed at his goal of cutting government spending, he’ll need to better understand the administrative state that he’s antagonized and played fast and loose with for years. Musk has spent the transition cutting an imposing figure in Washington, insisting that landmark changes are to come. To be successful in his mission, though, he’ll need the help of parts of the bureaucratic state that he’s been tasked with disassembling. “[Musk] has goals. There are things he wants the government to do,” Petersen says. “You can’t achieve these things if you just burn it all down.”

Mark Zuckerberg and Meta got a big win. They have the House GOP to thank. - In the waning days of 2024, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his company Meta took on 91 senators, a bipartisan group of representatives, President-elect Donald Trump’s son, Trump ally Elon Musk, and a coalition of parents who thought this would be the year Congress passed legislation to protect kids online. Zuckerberg and Meta won. Congress left Washington without passing the Kids Online Safety Act after coming closer than ever to imposing rules on social media to prevent the addiction and mental health harms the sites are widely agreed to cause. Zuckerberg can thank House Speaker Mike Johnson for closing the door on it this Congress. Once reviled by Republicans for kicking Trump off Facebook, the outcome shows how well Zuckerberg and Meta have restored a rapport. “At the end of the day, we see the influence of these platforms is really powerful and they want to stop this legislation and any other tech legislation by any means necessary,” said Alix Fraser, vice president of technology reform at Issue One, an advocacy group that supports the Kids Online Safety Act. Zuckerberg’s company Meta, the parent of Facebook and the photo-sharing site Instagram, led the way in opposing it. A team of 14 lobbyists employed directly by Meta, as well as outside firms, worked the issue, federal lobbying disclosure forms show. The advocates included past aides to House Republicans, including Greg Maurer, a former staffer to then-House GOP Leader John Boehner; Christopher Herndon, who worked for Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.); and Elizabeth Carroll, who was on the staff of former Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.). Zuckerberg and his company also relied on an outside advocacy group of which Meta is a member, NetChoice, to convince Republicans that the bill would threaten free speech by allowing Washington regulators to squelch conservative and religious voices. NetChoice hired its own lobbyists, including a former aide to Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Matt Bravo. Scalise has led the House opposition to KOSA and has voiced censorship concerns. Acts of contrition — such as Zuckerberg’s August letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) apologizing for censoring Facebook posts critical of the government’s Covid response — as well as strategic political contributions have helped him and his firm repair its relationship with the GOP. Those ties grew strained during the pandemic and 2020 election campaign and broke after Facebook banished Trump in January 2021 after finding he condoned the actions of followers who ransacked the Capitol. Meta recently donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. “Stripping American parents and guardians of their authority and choice, replacing them with a council of bureaucrats to parent their kids online, and compelling them to surrender personal information for themselves and their children to exercise free speech is a perilous path and a breach of protected rights,” said Amy Bos, NetChoice director of state and federal affairs in a statement earlier this month urging lawmakers to kill the Kids Online Safety Act. When Johnson finally weighed in, he echoed Bos’ take: He said he had concerns about “the free speech components” of the bill and specifically “whether it might lead to further censorship by the government of valid conservative voices.” He said he planned to pursue legislation to protect kids online starting next year. Advocates of the bill fear that whatever emerges will be much weaker than what the Senate passed by a 91-3 vote in July. Johnson told POLITICO he was committed to getting a bill done. “Online safety is critically important,” he said. “I’m a parent, I get that. But we also have to make sure that we don’t open the door for violations of free speech. And it’s a very delicate balance.” Meta declined to comment directly, but has advocated for rules that would require app stores to verify user ages. It has also increasingly rolled out new safety tools allowing parents to monitor and control their children’s access to its sites.

RFK Jr. adviser petitioned the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine 2 years ago - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attorney, Aaron Siri, who is assisting him in interviewing and staffing up the Department of Health and Human Services, is an ardent opponent of proven vaccines who has filed legal challenges to the polio vaccine and 13 other vaccines in recent years, it was reported last week by the New York Times. Siri has been working on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), the well-funded anti-vaccination group headed by Del Bigtree, a former television producer and antivaccine propaganda documentary filmmaker, since its founding in 2016. He filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in use in the United States in 2022. The gravity of this petition and dangers it poses to the US are noteworthy as the polio vaccines are on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and have, since their introduction, protected millions of people from becoming paralyzed or dying. The gains in public health over the last century are rapidly being extinguished and all for political expediency and the rightward lurch into fascism. In the “action requested” section, the petition requests that “the FDA withdraw or suspend the approval of the inactivated polio vaccine [IPOL produced by Sanofi Pasteur SA] for infants, toddlers, and children until a properly controlled and properly double-blind trial of sufficient duration is conducted to assess the safety of this product.” This implies that all polio vaccine administration would come to a grinding halt until years of safety data are acquired to prove the already safe polio vaccines are actually safe. Years of experience with these vaccines have proven their efficacy and safety profiles, and the resort to claiming a double-blinded study is required is simply preposterous. Not only do vaccines undergo rigorous testing before approval, but they are also continuously monitored for any safety issues once they come to market. This attempt to assert that these vaccines, with decades of real-world use, lack any evidence for their safety is entirely bogus. Siri and Kennedy speak for fringe layers of reactionary anti-public health zealots. Worse, using fearmongering tactics, the petition dares even to claim that because the vaccine is grown in “vero cells,” people may be susceptible to cancers or viruses from the IPOL vaccine. In fact, vero cells (African green monkey kidney cells isolated in 1962) and cell-based technology for the production of vaccines have shown to be stable and providing high yields with excellent quality controls. It was one of the first cell lines that received FDA approval for vaccine development and is used throughout the world. In fact, cell technology has increased in recent years allowing for commercial suppliers to develop serum-free and protein-free options. But the petition is just the first volley in the anti-vaccine crusade that RFK Jr. and company have in store, despite the claim made by Kennedy that he would not prevent anyone seeking vaccines from having access to them. Indeed, Aaron Siri’s firm submitted another petition in 2021 to the Human Health Services (HHS) and the FDA, on behalf of ICAN, taking issue with the level of “aluminum” in 13 other vaccines. The repeated and recurring misleading statements on the use of aluminum as an adjuvant in vaccines by anti-vaccine groups, such as being a neurotoxin that can cause autism, have become an epidemic of their own. Yet not one serious study has shown any evidence that aluminum used in vaccines has had detrimental impact on infants.

Soda manufacturers push to keep sugary drinks on SNAP list — Popular soft drinks like Coke, Pepsi and Mountain Dew are currently all eligible for purchase with food stamps, but that could change once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to remove soda from the list of items that can be purchased using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The push to keep sugary drinks out of the grocery carts of low-income families is part of Kennedy’s “Make Americans Healthy” initiative. Kennedy has announced plans to remove soda and other processed foods from the SNAP eligibility list. In response, soft drink manufacturers have countered that they produce zero-sugar drink options and that soda packages include labels with the calorie information listed.A representative for the American Beverage Association told NewsNation in a statement that limited choices restricting SNAP purchases won’t make America healthy or save taxpayers money.The restrictions go against America’s commitment to individual freedom and liberties, the agency said. The Wall Street Journal reported Coke is looking to hire more lobbyists who have ties to the incoming Trump administration and plans to donate money to Trump’s inauguration. Coke officials told NewsNation that there is nothing inaccurate about the report.The report said in 2023, an average of 42.1 million people per month — roughly 12.6% of Americans — used the SNAP benefit. Federal funding provided $112.8 billion for the program, which offers almost $212 per month to people who rely on the benefits.

Mangione pleads not guilty to state charges in health insurance CEO killing -Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan earlier this month, pleaded not guilty on Monday to the state charges he is facing, including murder. Mangione’s not guilty plea comes after he was extradited late last week from Pennsylvania, where he was initially found and arrested, to New York, where the trial will be held. He is also facing four federal counts, including a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty. But while prosecutors have said the state and federal cases will progress on parallel tracks, the state trial is expected to happen first. The maximum sentence Mangione could receive if convicted in the state trial is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors have accused Mangione of killing Thompson on Dec. 4 by New York Hilton Midtown as the CEO was set to address an annual investors meeting. Officials embarked on a five-day manhunt for the suspect, eventually tracking Mangione to a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. Upon his arrest, authorities found Mangione carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting, a fake ID and a notebook railing against the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. The most significant charge that Mangione is facing in state court is murder as an act of terrorism. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, pushed back against the simultaneous state and federal cases against her client, calling it “highly unusual” and “very confusing”for someone to face charges in both jurisdictions at once. Friedman Agnifilo also raised concerns about Mangione’s ability to receive a fair trial, arguing that he is being prejudiced from statements from public officials. She slammed what she called “the biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen,” referring to when Mangione was brought from Pennsylvania to New York on Thursday to face the charges over Thompson’s killing. “It was perfectly choreographed,” she said. Thompson’s killing has received widespread condemnation but also sparked some backlash among some against the health care industry. Critics have pointed to instances of steep medical bills and denials of coverage as issues that motivate frustration with the industry.

41% Of College-Aged Voters Consider UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing "Acceptable"; New Poll Finds --Authored by Adam Sabes via Campus Reform, 41% of college-aged voters consider the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thomas as “acceptable,” according to a new poll... Emerson Polling conducted the survey of 1,000 registered voters between Dec. 11-13, according to Axios. A whopping 41% of voters aged 18 to 29 years old either consider the killing of Thomas as “acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable.” Support for the killing drops significantly in older generations, as 23% of voters aged 30 to 39 support the killing and 13% of those aged 40 to 49. Just 8% of voters aged 50 to 59 support the killing. One professor at the University of Pennsylvania apologized after praising Luigi Mangione, who allegedly killed Thompson. In several posts, University of Pennsylvania Professor Julia Alekseyeva called Mangione “[t]he icon we all need and deserve” and took pride in the fact that he graduated from the same institution. In her apology, Alekseyeva wrote: “Late last night I posted a TikTok, as well as several stories on my Instagram. These were completely insensitive and inappropriate, and I retract them wholly. I do not condone violence and I am genuinely regretful of any harm the posts have caused.” Overall, 68% of voters surveyed consider the actions of Thompson’s killer unacceptable.

GOP Rep. Don Bacon: House GOP will be better without volatile members - Republican Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), who won a hotly contested general election race last month, said the House GOP will be “better off” without “volatile” lawmakers in the next Congress. Bacon did not mention the members he was referring to in comments about the House’s passage last week of a measure to keep the government funded. The Nebraska Republican said his party “did the right thing” by helping to pass the spending bill to keep the government funded, but he added that “we sure made it painful to get there” as two previous versions of the legislation sunk last week after heavy pressure from some Republican lawmakers, President-elect Trump and his allies on the outside. Bacon argued during his Monday interview on NewsNation that the GOP conference in the lower chamber will be “more cohesive” next year since some of the “volatile” members will be gone. “And I do think our House Republicans will be more cohesive than the last Congress, because we have three of the most volatile people will not be in it this Congress. And I won’t mention who those names are, but you probably know who they are,” Bacon said. Several rabble-rousers who were a thorn in the leadership’s side are leaving the House, including Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Bob Good (R-Va.). Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who helped spearhead the end of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) Speakership, resigned in mid-November. “But so we’re gonna be a little better off, but we only gonna have a one-seat majority, and we need to have these special elections as soon as we can, to get back to 220, to 215, majority,” Bacon said. The Nebraska Republican was referring to the thin majority the House GOP will enjoy in the next Congress. With Gaetz’s departure, Republicans will at first have a 219-215 margin. But Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) have been nominated for positions in the Trump administration, which will cut into the majority further until the GOP has a chance to win back the seats in special elections. Because of the slim majorities, Bacon said lawmakers in both chambers will need a “bipartisan spirit” to ensure that legislation has the best chance of passing.

Biden signs 50 bills, including 1 backed by Paris Hilton, on Christmas Eve -- President Biden spent Christmas Eve signing new bills into law approving everything from the country’s official bird to protections for children in youth care facilities. Here are a few of the most pressing pieces of holiday legislation: Celebrity singer and actress Paris Hilton has spent months pushing for a federal law that will hold treatment centers and care facilities serving youth accountable. She made frequent appearances on Capitol Hill to encourage lawmakers to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in the House and Senate. December proved to be a fruitful month as the Senate unanimously approved the measure and the House voted 367 to 33, sending the bill to President Biden’s desk. He signed the act into law on Tuesday, securing a political victory for Hilton, who expressed potential interest in serving as an elected official. Biden also passed a law that creates disclosure regulations for federally funded higher learning institutions, requiring them to include reports involving campus hazing in their annual security report. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) in the House in addition to Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Hazing is frequently discovered to be part of college pledging processes for on-campus fraternities and sororities. More than half of college students are involved in some form of campus hazing, according to North Carolina State University.The president signed two bills renaming local postal offices to honor community leaders in the state of Texas and California.The site at 1106 Main St. in Bastrop, Texas, is now the Sergeant Major Billy D. Waugh Post Office in honor of a CIA intelligence officer and Army soldier who served the country for more than five decades.Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sponsored the legislation. San Francisco will rename a post office in honor of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), thanks to a bill sponsored by Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).

Biden takes heat for vetoing bill that would add new judgeships --Federal judiciary leadership and some lawmakers are criticizing President Biden for vetoing a bill that would’ve added 66 new federal judgeships amid growing caseloads. Biden on Monday made good on his promise to veto the JUDGES Act, which originally had broad support from both parties before it stalled until after the election. The bill gradually would’ve added new federal judgeships in 13 states through 2035 in two-year waves. President-elect Trump’s victory meant that he would’ve been entitled to nominate roughly two dozen of the new seats over the course of his White House term. Biden in his veto message suggested that caseload is “not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now,” noting it would create judgeships in states where senators have sought to hold open existing vacancies in advance of Trump’s presidency. “S. 4199 seeks to hastily add judgeships with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress. The House of Representative’s hurried action fails to resolve key questions in the legislation,” Biden wrote. Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, called Biden’s veto “extremely disappointing” and said the additional judgeships are “necessary for the efficient and effective administration of justice.” “It is not a bill that was hastily put together. Rather it is the product of careful and detailed analysis which considers primarily the weighted caseload per active judge in each judicial district, while also factoring in the contribution of senior judges, magistrate judges and visiting judges,” Conrad said in a statement. “This veto is a deviation from the long historical pattern of approving judgeship bills that awarded new judgeships to sitting Presidents. The President’s veto is contrary to the actions of Senator Biden who helped pass many of those bills,” Conrad added. Conrad’s office is supervised by the Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary’s policymaking arm. The conference recommended the additional judgeships to Congress, spurring the introduction of the JUDGES Act. The number of pending federal civil cases has risen 346 percent over the past 20 years, with roughly 82,000 cases pending as of March, according to data published by the federal judiciary.

Trump vows to direct DOJ to pursue death penalty in wake of Biden clemencies -- President-elect Trump vowed Tuesday to direct his Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue the death penalty in the wake of President Biden’s clemencies of nearly every federal death row inmate. “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump’s remarks come just a day after Biden officially announced he has commuted sentences of 37 out of 40 prisoners on federal death row, reclassifying their sentences from execution to life in prison.The move, which has drawn mixed reaction, leaves only three “hard cases” behind — that of two notorious mass shooters who carried out their killings in a church and synagogue and one of the brothers responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing. Some of the prisoners granted clemency have been on death row for more than a decade with their crimes including the murders of other prisoners and prison guards. Biden in a statement said he was commuting the sentences in part because he expected Trump’s incoming administration to remove a moratorium placed on federal executions under Biden’s White House, with the exception of those involving terrorism and hate-fueled murders. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said. Trump’s team criticized the president’s decision Monday, characterizing it as “abhorrent” and a “slap in the face.” “These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said. “President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people,” Cheung added.

IRS to send up to $1,400 rebates to 1 million taxpayers -The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said around 1 million taxpayers will get up to $1,400 in a rebate in the coming weeks. The automatic payments, which are set to go out later this month, will be sent out to taxpayers who did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. After going through internal data, the IRS said it found many eligible taxpayers who filed a return but did not claim the available credit. Taxpayers don’t need to take any extra steps; the payments will be automatically directly deposited or sent by paper check. They will go out in December, and the public should receive them by late January. According to the IRS, taxpayers will be notified about the payment via a separate letter. The payments will vary based on several factors, but they will go up to $1,400. The total amount that will be sent out will be around $2.4 billion. “The IRS continues to work hard to make improvements and help taxpayers,” IRS CommissionerDanny Werfel said in a Friday statement. “These payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers.” Those who have not filed a 2021 tax return could also be eligible, but they have to file the return before an April 15 deadline.

Trump's FCC pick warns ABC over affiliate agreements - President-elect Trump’s pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sent Disney CEO Bob Iger a letter warning that he would be “monitoring” ABC’s negotiations with local stations to ensure they can serve “local communities.” The letter from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, dated Saturday, focuses on so-called “affiliate agreements” with local stations, which ABC is renegotiating with local stations that carry its programming.“As you know, affiliate agreements establish the contractual terms that govern many features of ABC’s relationship with the dozens of licensed local broadcast TV stations across the country,” Carr wrote in the letter, posted on the social platform X by CNN’s Brian Stelter on Monday. Carr noted these deals included the rights to ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight” with David Muir, NFL football and Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show, setting the terms for how much local outlets pay for ABC content.Carr cited reporting that some ABC affiliate agreements were set to expire by the year’s end without new deals, and he suggested local viewers could pay the price.“My understanding is that ABC is attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations, which could result in blackouts and other harms to local consumers of broadcast news and content,” he added.“I want you to know that I will be monitoring the outcome of your ongoing discussions with local broadcast TV stations to ensure that those negotiations enable local broadcast TV stations to meet their federal obligations to serve the needs of their local communities. A fair agreement would do just that,” the letter concluded.

John Fetterman doesn't rule out supporting Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel as nominees --Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) didn’t rule out Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s picks for Defense secretary and head of the FBI, respectively, as nominees for their roles in an interview that aired Sunday. “You met with Pete Hegseth,” ABC News’s Jonathan Karl said in the “This Week” interview, with Fetterman responding that he did. “You think he’s qualified to be Defense secretary?” Karl asked Fetterman. “Well, I think we’re going to learn more. We’re going to learn more. And that, that, that hearing, and there’s going to be an FBI background and that. But, you know, my commitment, and I think I’m doing the job, is I’m going to sit down and have a conversation,” Fetterman responded. “And the president picked these people,” he continued. “Not going to be my first choice, second choice, third choice, but that’s democracy. And to me, it would be distressing if, if he is confirmed, if the Democrats are going to turn our back collectively to the leader of the Defense. I mean, that’s astonishing, and that’s dangerous.” “So you see yourself inclined to be open to supporting these controversial nominees. You may not support them all, but you see yourself —” Karl said. “Potentially. But there is going to be some that I will vote yes, and there’s some maybe that I’ll vote no,” Fetterman responded. Hegseth has recently faced accusations of alleged alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct in his past.Despite the controversy, Hegseth has said that he won’t back down, and in a post on the social platform X, he suggested he is the target of a smear campaign by Democrats.Fetterman also said in the interview with Karl that he and Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, had recently had a meeting. Patel has commonly referred to the FBI as under the “deep state,” also describing many of those opposed to the president-elect as “government gangsters” who must be “held accountable and exposed.”“So did you come across liking Kash Patel more than you thought you would? Thinking you could support him?” Karl asked Fetterman in the “This Week” interview. “I mean, how much you can absorb in 30 minutes. But I have learned things, and I have heard things, and I have no regrets for having these. I never left any of those interviews saying, well, that was a waste of time, or I regret that,” Fetterman replied.

Ford to donate $1M, fleet of vehicles to Trump inauguration --Ford Motor Co. said it will donate $1 million and a small fleet of vehicles for use in President-elect Trump’s inauguration, multiple outlets reported Monday. Ford joins a recent wave of major tech companies that have pledged hefty donations to the incoming president’s inaugural fund. While inaugural donations from companies are not new, the flood of cash — coupled with meetings with Trump at his Florida residence — signal a shift among companies looking to curry favor with the president as he prepares to take office. Meta and Amazon each dished out $1 million donations to Trump’s inaugural fund last week, followed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said he would give the same amount from his personal wealth. The move marked a shift for Altman, who has repeatedly donated to Democratic candidates since 2013.

Toyota Motors North America donates $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund -President-elect Trump’s inauguration is getting $1 million from Toyota Motor North America. A spokesperson for Toyota confirmed the inauguration donation to The Hill on Tuesday. Toyota joins Ford and a number of other companies in pledging significant donations to Trump’s inauguration. Ford is reportedly donating $1 million. Meta and Amazon both handed over seven-figure donations of their own to the president-elect’s inaugural fund last week. Open AI CEO Sam Altman has also said he would give $1 million out of his personal wealth.A report from S&P Global released in late November found U.S. and European carmakers could lose a maximum of 17 percent of their combined annual core profits in the case of steep tariffs on Europe, Canada and Mexico. Last month, Trump said he would issue an executive order imposing fresh tariffs at the start of his next term on Chinese, Canadian and Mexican goods. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Mark Zuckerberg Denies Hawaii 'Doomsday Bunker' Existence, Calls It A "Little Shelter -Bloomberg's Emily Chang asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an exclusive interview at their estate in Lake Tahoe about a 4,500-square-foot underground structure - considered by some as a 'doomsday bunker' - at his 1,500-acre ranch in Kauai, Hawaii. Chang asked: "You do have a bunker there; is there something you know that we don't?" Zuckerberg's response was priceless because he denied it was a doomsday bunker, calling it a "little shelter ... basement." The billionaire said his whole ranch "got blown out of proportion as if it was some kind of doomsday bunker, which is just not true." In late 2023, Wired revealed that Zuckerberg's bunker was around 4,500 square feet, equipped with a "blast-resistant door" and enough food for the tech bro and friends to survive an apocalypse. So, what does Zuckerberg know about future world events coming down the pipe?Well, read Free Press Jay Solomon's latest note, "Is World War III Already Here?"Not everyone is a billionaire who can afford the luxury of a custom bunker. However, Zillow recently listed an affordable option: a bunker in an old missile silo in Missouri with EMP shielding and one in Kansas for under a million dollars.

Visualizing Big Tech Company Spending On AI Data Centers - Big tech companies are aggressively investing billions of dollars in AI data centers to meet the escalating demand for computational power and infrastructure necessary for advanced AI workloads.This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, visualizes the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon from January to August 2024.AI capital expenditures are one-time or infrequent investments in long-term AI assets and infrastructure. Data center operating costs are ongoing expenses for running and maintaining AI data centers on a day-to-day basis The data comes from New Street Research via JP Morgan and is updated as of August 2024. Figures are in billions. Operating costs include cash operating expenses, software, depreciation, and electricity. Below, we show the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon. Microsoft currently leads the pack in total AI data center costs, spending a total of $46 billion on capital expenditures and operating costs as of August 2024. Microsoft also currently has the highest number of data centers at 300, followed by Amazon at about 215. However, variations in size and capacity mean the number of facilities doesn’t always reflect total computing power. In September, Microsoft and BlackRock unveiled a $100 billion plan through the Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to develop AI-focused data centers and the energy infrastructure to support them. Notably, both Google and Amazon currently spend more than twice as much training their models as they do running them for their end-use customers (inference). The training cost for a major AI model is getting increasingly expensive, as it requires large data sets, complex calculations, and substantial computational resources, often involving powerful GPUs and significant energy consumption. However, as the frequency and scale of AI model deployments continue to grow, the cumulative cost of inference is likely to surpass these initial training costs, which is already the case for OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Montenegro approves the extradition of cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon to the United States (AP) — Montenegro has approved the extradition of a South Korean mogul known as “the cryptocurrency king” to the United States, the Balkan country’s Justice Ministry said on Friday.Minister Bojan Bozovic has issued a deposition allowing the handover of Do Kwon, the founder of the Singapore crypto firm Terraform Labs who was arrested in Montenegro last year, according to the ministry.It was not immediately clear when exactly Kwon would be sent to the U.S.The move follows a months-long legal saga in the case of Do Kwon. Both South Korea and the U.S. had requested Do Kwon’s extradition and various courts in Montenegro over the past months have brought and overturned multiple rulings to extradite Kwon either to the U.S. or South Korea.The Justice Ministry statement cited the latest ruling of Montenegro’s Supreme Court which said that conditions have been met for Kwon to be extradited to one of the two countries, and that the final decision lies with the justice minister.The ministry said on Friday that more legal criteria were in favor of extradition the U.S.Kwon’s lawyers in Montenegro said they learned about the decision from the media and that their client cannot be extradited until they receive the ruling.

$22 Million Crypto Scam Charges in California Highlight Potential Fallout for Hawk Tuah Meme Coin Star -Two California men stand accused of orchestrating a sprawling nonfungible token (NFT) scam that federal prosecutors say netted at least $22 million from unsuspecting investors, placing a sharp spotlight on the dangers in the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency market. Observers note that the high-profile case—one of the largest NFT fraud prosecutions to date—could foreshadow potential repercussions for other controversial crypto projects, including the recent “Hawk Tuah” meme coin meltdown that left many investors claiming heavy losses.According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 23-year-old Gabriel Hay of Beverly Hills and 23-year-old Gavin Mayo of Thousand Oaks face charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Their indictments, unsealed Friday in Los Angeles, allege that between May 2021 and May 2024, Hay and Mayo carried out multiple “rug pull” schemes involving NFT offerings on prominent blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum and Solana. Prosecutors say the suspects lured investors with elaborate “project roadmaps” and assurances that the tokens being sold would be backed by real-world assets or exclusive benefits. Instead, the pair allegedly abandoned the projects once they had raised substantial capital, leaving thousands of investors with NFTs that quickly became worthless. Authorities have identified projects with names like “Vault of Gems,” “Dirty Dogs,” and “Sinful Souls” as among those allegedly misused to generate illicit gains.If convicted, Hay and Mayo each face up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud-related counts and up to five years on a separate charge of stalking, which prosecutors say arose when they allegedly harassed a project manager who attempted to expose their activities. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada emphasized in a statement that “whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow.”Legal experts and consumer advocates say the SoCal case may provide a cautionary tale for other high-profile crypto ventures, including the recently collapsed Hawk Tuah meme coin. The $HAWK coin, promoted by social media celebrity Haliey Welch—best known for her viral “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase—launched on December 4 to significant fanfare. Within minutes, its market capitalization reportedly soared to around $490 million on the Solana blockchain, only to plunge over 90 percent shortly thereafter, prompting outrage and allegations of “snipers” and insider profiteering.Investors claimed they lost millions in the collapse, with at least one lawsuit filed in New York federal court seeking over $150,000 in damages. Although Welch herself is not named as a defendant, critics allege her social media endorsements helped generate a “speculative frenzy” among inexperienced crypto buyers. In statements posted on X (formerly Twitter), Welch has maintained her innocence and vowed to cooperate fully with any legal inquiries on behalf of affected investors.The circumstances surrounding the Hawk Tuah coin share some thematic parallels with the allegations against Hay and Mayo. Both cases involve internet hype, an exponential increase in token prices, and a swift downturn that left contributors with steep financial losses. Consumer advocates underscore that, much like the NFT scam described in the California indictment, the Hawk Tuah controversy also featured the promise of exclusivity and community rewards.However, crucial distinctions exist. While Hay and Mayo are accused of deliberately planning to abandon their projects after collecting millions, Welch’s representatives insist her team retained their holdings and never attempted to “dump” or profit from selling $HAWK tokens. The influencer has not been charged with any wrongdoing but remains under scrutiny, as investor lawsuits unfold to determine whether the meme coin offering violated securities laws.

Crypto Criminals Ramp Up Pig Butchering Scams - Pig butchering—a drawn-out process in which criminals gradually entice victims to hand over assets—has become the number one fraud threat for crypto investors.In 2024, pig butchering scams resulted in $3.6 billion in stolen assets from crypto investors. A report released by Cyvers, a Web 3 security firm, revealed that the most targeted currency in these scams was not bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, but ethereum.The report also highlighted a 40% increase in cyber threats this year compared to the previous year.Ethereum is considered particularly vulnerable to such scams. According to separate analysis from Kryptocasinos, ethereum accounted for 18% of all stolen crypto funds in 2024, compared to just 2% for bitcoin.Ethereum’s blockchain utilizes smart contracts, which automatically carry out transactions without the need for banks, brokers, or other third parties. However, criminals have found ways to create one-time-use smart contracts that are difficult to flag as fraudulent. Since smart contracts are irreversible, there is no way to halt automatic payments once they have been authorized.In pig butchering, a criminal uses a social media account to convince a victim to invest their money in a fake transaction, often involving crypto. The “pig” gets stuffed over several weeks, watching the apparent growth of their investment, which encourages them to invest even more money.These types of scams appear to be on the rise. Last year, cybersecurity firm Hacken reported that rug pulls were the most common type of crypto scam, accounting for 65% of all incidents within the crypto ecosystem. A rug pull occurs when a developer promotes a new currency as a lucrative investment opportunity, then disappears, taking investors’ funds along with them.Social media frequently plays a significant role in these crimes. Last year, Lloyds Bank issued a warning stating that 66% of investment scams are initiated through social media, particularly on Facebook and Instagram.Even the most financially savvy individuals are vulnerable to these scams. In August, the CEO of a Kansas bank pleaded guilty to embezzlement after falling victim to a pig butchering crypto scam. Ultimately, he transferred $47 million of the bank’s assets to the criminals, leading to the bank’s collapse.Even Mark Cuban, the star of “Shark Tank” and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, admitted to being scammed, losing $870,000 to a crypto fraud after downloading a fake version of MetaMask, a crypto wallet used to manage ethereum-based assets.

Is Axie Infinity a Scam? - Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based game developed by Sky Mavis, came onto the gaming scene in 2021, offering players worldwide but mainly focused in Asia, with its innovative “play-to-earn” model.This model allows players to earn real-world income by playing the game, leading to its widespread adoption, particularly in developing countries. However, the game has also faced scrutiny and controversy, with questions raised about its sustainability and potential for being a scam.This article tries to understand Axie Infinity, exploring its mechanics, its impact on livelihoods, the challenges it faces, and its future prospects.Axie Infinity revolves around collecting, breeding, and battling creatures called Axies, which are represented as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain. Each Axie possesses unique characteristics and abilities, categorized into different classes (e.g., Plant, Beast, Aquatic) with strengths and weaknesses against each other, similar to the Pokémon series.Players can earn two types of cryptocurrencies within the game:

• Smooth Love Potion (SLP): Earned by playing the game in Adventure mode (player vs. environment) and Arena mode (player vs. player). SLP is primarily used for breeding new Axies.
• Axie Infinity Shards (AXS): The governance token of the Axie Infinity ecosystem. AXS holders can participate in governance decisions and stake their tokens for rewards.

The play-to-earn model works by allowing players to convert their in-game earnings (SLP) into real-world currency through cryptocurrency exchanges. This model has proven particularly attractive in countries with lower average incomes, where the potential to earn more than local wages by playing a game has been a significant draw. Axie Infinity’s impact on livelihoods, particularly in developing economies, cannot be ignored. The game provided a source of income for many individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic when traditional jobs were scarce.The Philippines became a hotspot for Axie Infinity adoption. Many Filipinos turned to the game as a primary source of income during lockdowns. Stories emerged of people earning enough SLP to support their families, pay bills, and even purchase homes. The game became so prevalent that some even considered it a form of employment.Examples of Livelihood Impact:

• Replacing lost income: Many individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic were able to replace their lost income by playing Axie Infinity.
• Supplementing existing income: For those with existing jobs, Axie Infinity provided a way to supplement their income and improve their financial situation.
• Creating new opportunities: The game also created new opportunities, such as Axie breeding and scholarship programs, where experienced players lend out Axies to new players in exchange for a share of their earnings.

These examples highlight how Axie Infinity has not only helped individuals recover or supplement their income but also created entirely new economic opportunities within its ecosystem.This phenomenon offers a glimpse into the potential future of earning in a digital-first world, where play-to-earn games and decentralized platforms could redefine how people generate income and participate in the global economy.Despite its positive impact on some individuals’ lives, Axie Infinity has faced several challenges and controversies:

• High entry barrier: The initial cost of purchasing three Axies to start playing can be prohibitively high for many potential players. This creates a barrier to entry and raises concerns about accessibility.
• Ponzi-like tokenomics: The game’s economy relies on a constant influx of new players to drive demand for Axies and SLP. This has led to comparisons with Ponzi schemes, where early investors are paid with money from new investors. While early adopters may have benefited significantly, the game is not solely reliant on new investment for its value.
• SLP inflation and price volatility: The value of SLP is subject to inflation, and its price can fluctuate significantly. This makes it difficult for players to rely on a stable income stream.
• Ronin Network hack: In March 2022, the Ronin Network, a sidechain used by Axie Infinity, was the victim of a major hack, resulting in the loss of over $600 million in cryptocurrency.
• Sustainability concerns: The long-term sustainability of the play-to-earn model is a major concern. As the game matures and the player base stabilizes, it may become more difficult for players to earn significant income.

OCC issues Bank of America cease-and-desist for AML lapses -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Monday issued a cease-and-desist order against Bank of America for shortcomings in its sanctions programs and noncompliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. Bank of America must overhaul anti-money-laundering protocols and hire third-party consultants, but will not face growth limits, following OCC action for compliance deficiencies.

CBW Bank to contest $20 million FDIC fine for AML lapses -- The FDIC has hit CBW Bank, a $90 million-assets institution in Weir, Kansas, with a $20,448,000 civil money penalty and an order of charges for inadequately monitoring transactions for signs of money laundering. The tiny community bank handled hundreds of millions of bulk cash shipments from Mexico without red-flagging any of them, the agency said. The bank has filed a motion to dismiss.

Discover fixes SEC issue that delayed Capital One deal - Discover Financial refiled its 2023 annual report on Monday after correcting an accounting error, completing another task ahead of its pending merger with Capital One Financial next year. The two companies continue to tick items off their year-end to-do list, which analysts hope will tee up the merger for finalization in early 2025. Regulatory approval remains a major question.

Fincen beneficial ownership reporting deadlines reinstated, extended -- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Monday reinstated and extended the deadline for U.S. legal entities to file beneficial ownership information to the body after an appeals court lifted a nationwide injunction against the reporting requirements. The Treasury Department extended deadlines for businesses to file beneficial ownership information after a court lifted a nationwide injunction on the reporting requirements.

FDIC, Vanguard reach agreement over large stakes in U.S. banks — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has reached an agreement with Vanguard that will give the bank regulator more oversight of the asset manager's investments in some U.S. banks. A passivity agreement with the FDIC means that when the asset management giant Vanguard owns more than 10% of an FDIC-overseen bank, it can't seek certain levels of control over the bank's behavior.

Fed to consider changes to stress testing -- The Federal Reserve is open to changing its stress-testing practices in hopes of heading off potential future legal challenges. The Federal Reserve will seek comment on the current stress-testing regime with an eye toward increasing transparency and reducing volatility. Modifications would not go into effect until at least 2026.

Banks sue Fed over stress tests -Banks and business trade groups sued the Federal Reserve board on Tuesday, demanding that bank capital requirements go through a rigorous notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association and others said proposed changes would address "some if not all" of banks' concerns about stress tests, but they are filing the lawsuit to preserve their legal right to do so.

Bank Think: Minority groups should brace for the impact of Trump's bank policies 00 Former President Donald Trump's economic policies, particularly his approaches to banking and financial services, have reignited speculation about their potential impact on minority businesses and consumers. As his political presence grows, understanding the implications of Trump-aligned policies becomes essential for those navigating this complex economic landscape. The president-elect's history of deregulatory financial services policies could offer some benefits to minority businesses and consumers, but the more likely outcome is reduced access to capital and higher costs.

CFPB accuses Walmart and Branch of opening illegal accounts -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and payment app Branch Messenger, accusing them of illegally opening 1 million deposit accounts and charging $10 million in fees. Branch said the agency refused to engage in any meaningful way about the matter.

Elon Musk wants to ‘delete’ many Americans’ financial lifeline --Nearly every exit poll conducted on Election Day found that, more than any other issues, voters’concerns about the economy helped to return Donald Trump to the White House and put Republicans back in charge of both houses of Congress. Americans who felt the sting of inflation and who had trouble making ends meet, as companies steadily increased prices for essential goods like groceries and clothing, voted in the hopes that a new administration and new Congress would bring relief for their families. So it is especially surprising that one of the first federal agencies to come under scrutiny from the incoming administration is one that has returned billions of dollars to many of the same consumers who were counting on leaders in Washington to look out for their wallets. On Nov. 27, Elon Musk — who, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, has been tasked by President-Elect Trump with running a new Department of Government Efficiency — posted on his platform X that he wants to “Delete CFPB,” referring to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency, Musk said, was part of a problem of “too many duplicative regulatory agencies” in Washington. But there are no other agencies in the federal government returning money to Americans’ bank accounts in the way the CFPB does. Since its founding, the agency has returned more than $19 billion in cash to people who have been scammed by financial institutions, including predatory payday lenders and even some of the largest banks in the country. It has done so under Republican and Democratic presidents, including major actions against Wells Fargo and Equifax during President Trump’s first term in office, which, combined, returned $425 million to consumers. (Those actions both began under the Obama administration, but Trump’s CFPB directors oversaw the execution of those fines.) The money recovered is made available to those who have been impacted by the institutions’ wrongdoing through the CFPB’s victims’ relief fund. To date, more than 200 million Americans have been eligible for payments from the fund. The agency has also cancelled many consumers’ debts altogether and reduced loan principles for many others. In fact, just days after Musk posted his message on X, the CFPB announced that it was mailing refund checks to more than 4 million people who were scammed by so-called credit repair companies, including Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com, which illegally collected fees from consumers seeking relief for the effects of economic woes weighing down them and their families. The companies will pay $2.7 billion in consumer redress and civil penalties; $1.8 billion of that will go directly to those who lost money as a result of the scam. It’s no wonder the agency enjoys broad, bipartisan support, with more than eight in 10 Americans supporting the CFPB’s various enforcement actions. In red and blue states, Americans seem to support returning money to those who have been cheated. So why is an agency that has been so effective, and returned so much money to so many people, being targeted for “deletion?” Because, in the course of holding wrongdoers accountable, it has crossed paths with some of the most powerful people in the country. Musk’s post on X, for example, seems to have been prompted by complaints from Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist whose companies have been sanctioned (and, in the case of LendUp Loans, shuttered) because of CFPB investigations and actions. Andreessen accused the agency of “terrorizing financial institutions,” and was clearly infuriated when the CFPB found that LendUp had misled customers about high-interest loans and overcharged U.S. service personnel. President-elect Trump and Republicans in Congress should not let Andreessen’s views overshadow the overwhelming opinion among Americans that the agency is doing important work that makes a real difference to those who turn to financial institutions and lenders for help during tough financial times. By one count, even under the first Trump administration’s CFPB directors — who tended to enforce far fewer fines against companies than Biden and Obama appointees — the agency brought more than $1 billion in redress back to consumers’ wallets. That’s direct relief, and money in wallets, for millions of Americans. “Deleting” the agency would almost certainly ensure that no such future relief ever reaches consumers again.

CFPB sues Rocket Homes, brokerage over kickback scheme -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is accusing Rocket Homes, the real estate arm of Rocket Companies, of initiating a kickback scheme between itself and The Mitchell Group, a real estate brokerage, to boost origination business. The watchdog accuses Rocket Homes and The Mitchell Group brokerage of initiating a plan to generate origination business for Rocket Mortgage.

MBA Survey: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases to 0.50% in November - From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases to 0.50% in NovemberThe Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance increased to 0.50% as of November 30, 2024. According to MBA’s estimate, 250,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.5 million borrowers since March 2020. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased 1 basis point to 0.21% in November 2024. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by 5 basis points to 1.11%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 1 basis point to 0.42%. “The overall mortgage forbearance rate increased three basis points in November and has now risen for six consecutive months,” “By investor type, Ginnie Mae loans are showing the greatest variance, with an increase of 72 basis points over the six-month period. That is compared to 11 basis points for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loans, and portfolio and PLS loans, respectively.” “There is some weakening in performance of servicing portfolios and loan workouts compared to one year ago. In the wake of natural disasters and slowing in the labor market, borrowers with government loans tend to be impacted more than conventional borrowers.” At the end of November, there were about 250,000 homeowners in forbearance plans.

FHFA’s National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores --Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: FHFA’s National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores
A brief excerpt: Here are some graphs on outstanding mortgages by interest rate, the average mortgage interest rate, borrowers’ credit scores and current loan-to-value (LTV) from the FHFA’s National Mortgage Database through Q3 2024 (just released). ... Here is some data showing the distribution of interest rates on closed-end, fixed-rate 1-4 family mortgages outstanding at the end of each quarter since Q1 2013 through Q3 2024. This shows the surge in the percent of loans under 3%, and also under 4%, starting in early 2020 as mortgage rates declined sharply during the pandemic. The percent of outstanding loans under 4% peaked in Q1 2022 at 65.1% (now at 55.2%), and the percent under 5% peaked at 85.6% (now at 73.3%). These low existing mortgage rates makes it difficult for homeowners to sell their homes and buy a new home since their monthly payments would increase sharply. This is a key reason existing home inventory levels are so low.

Why setting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac free is a gamble -Under President-elect Donald Trump, the government's conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could become a thing of the past. The question is if the 30-year fixed rate mortgage would be, too. Releasing the GSEs from government conservatorship is on the agenda for the incoming Trump administration. Doing so could threaten the 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

Housing Dec 23rd Weekly Update: Inventory down 2.2% Week-over-week, Up 26.3% Year-over-year - Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 2.2% week-over-week. Inventory is now 9.7% below the peak for the year (9 weeks ago).Inventory will continue to decline seasonally until early next year and probably bottom in January or February.The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.The red line is for 2024. The black line is for 2019. Inventory was up 26.3% compared to the same week in 2023 (last week it was up 26.6%), and down 16.9% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 17.0%). Back in June 2023, inventory was down almost 54% compared to 2019, so the gap to more normal inventory levels has closed significantly! This second inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of Dec 20th, inventory was at 667 thousand (7-day average), compared to 682 thousand the prior week. Mike Simonsen discusses this data regularly on Youtube.

New Home Sales Increase to 664,000 Annual Rate in November -The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 664 thousand. The previous three months were revised up, combined.Sales of new single-family houses in November 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.9 percent above the revised October rate of 627,000 and is 8.7 percent above the November 2023 estimate of 611,000. The first graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions since 1963. The dashed line is the current sales rate. New home sales were below pre-pandemic levels. The second graph shows New Home Months of Supply. The months of supply decreased in November to 8.9 months from 9.2 months in October. 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 November was 490,000. This represents a supply of 8.9 months at the current sales rate."Sales were above expectations of 650 thousand SAAR, and sales for the three previous months were revised up, combined. I'll have more later today.

New Home Sales Increase to 664,000 Annual Rate in November -Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: New Home Sales Increase to 664,000 Annual Rate in November Brief excerpt: The Census Bureau reported New Home Sales in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 664 thousand. The previous three months were revised up, combined. ... The next graph shows new home sales for 2023 and 2024 by month (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate). Sales in November 2024 were up 8.7% from November 2023.
New home sales, seasonally adjusted, have increased year-over-year in 18 of the last 20 months. Note that sales the previous month - October 2024 - were impacted by the hurricanes.

LA Ports: Traffic Increased Sharply Year-over-year in November -Container traffic gives us an idea about the volume of goods being exported and imported - and usually some hints about the trade report since LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic. The following graphs are for inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container). To remove the strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, the first graph shows the rolling 12-month average. On a rolling 12-month basis, inbound traffic increased 1.5% in November compared to the rolling 12 months ending in October. Outbound traffic increased 0.8% compared to the rolling 12 months ending the previous month. The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with a strong seasonal pattern for imports). Usually imports peak in the July to October period as retailers import goods for the Christmas holiday and then decline sharply and bottom in the Winter depending on the timing of the Chinese New Year. Imports were up 20% YoY in November, and exports were up 10% YoY. This was a very strong July through November period for imports as retailers prepared for holiday shopping - and likely to stockpile goods prior to the increase in tariffs.

The Musk-Led Manufacturing Revolution Nobody Is Talking About -When most analysts discuss Tesla, they focus on new vehicles or the electric vehicle company’s advancements in autonomy. Yet,according to Launch i/o CEO Jeff Lutz, one of the most significant—and under-discussed—developments at Tesla is happening not in its design studios or on the road, but in its factories. Lutz, a former executive at Google and Motorola, argues that Tesla’s true innovation isn’t just the electric vehicles or robots it’s building, but how those products are being made. The company’s first-principles approach to manufacturing is a radical departure from the industry norm, focusing not just on cheap labor or existing models, but on rethinking the entire production process.Tesla is creating factories that are the product—designing, testing, and perfecting every element just as they do with their cars. This focus on manufacturing efficiency, Lutz believes, will lead to a dramatic reduction in production costs, potentially bringing them closer to zero. And this shift in how products are built—rather than merely assembled—could set a new standard for the entire manufacturing world.

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 219,000 The DOL reported: In the week ending December 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 220,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 225,500. The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971. The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 226,500.The previous week was unrevised.Weekly claims were close to the consensus forecast.

US Labor Department reports 5,283 work-related deaths in 2023 as Trump prepares to slash safety oversightThere were 5,283 workers killed on the job in 2023 in the US, a slight decline from the previous year. This devastating toll is the result of the capitalist system’s willingness to sacrifice the lives of workers in the naked pursuit of profit—exemplified most graphically by the over one million lives lost needlessly in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the US Department of Labor news release last week, the two sectors with the most worker deaths were transportation and warehousing, with 930 fatalities, and construction, with 1,075 fatalities, the highest number of deaths in construction since 2011. A grave warning must be issued: the incoming Trump administration can be expected to intensify the attack on workplace safety by cutting funding for regulatory agencies and further relaxing regulations to boost corporate profits at the expense of workers’ health and lives. This is demonstrated by reports that Trump may appoint Heather MacDougall, a former Amazon executive, to head the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Amazon is notorious for the high injury rates at its warehouses. Further, Elon Musk, the leading figure in the Trump administration, the world’s richest person and the owner of electric vehicle maker Tesla, stands to directly benefit from the relaxation of safety standards. Elon Musk tours the recently inaugurated Tesla plant Gigafactory Texas in Austin, Texas, Monday, Sept. 25, 202 [AP Photo/Gyula Bartos/Hungarian President's Press Office/MTI] One major goal of the announced plans by the Trump administration to deport 11 million immigrants is to terrorize and silence immigrant and native-born workers alike from speaking out over workplace conditions. Added to this is the continual destruction of jobs which further intimidates workers. The fact that the unions will do nothing to oppose plans by Musk and Trump to cut funding for safety programs and further gut safety regulations to boost corporate profits is shown by their praise for Trump’s choice of Oregon Republican US Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary. Teamster President Sean O’Brien has stated he’s ready to work with Chavez-DeRemer and has posed for photos with Trump and his labor pick. The actual scope of worker deaths is estimated to be much higher than the official DOL figures. According to the AFL-CIO’s report Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 2024, in 2022 there were an estimated 344 daily job-related deaths in the US. In addition, there were an estimated 120,000 annual worker deaths due to occupational illnesses, as well as 3.5 million job-related injuries and illnesses that same year. The AFL-CIO report further noted that funding for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) remained stagnant under the Democratic Biden administration. The agency has only 1,875 inspectors to cover 11.5 million workplaces. The report also found that for 2022, “The average penalty for a serious violation was $4,597 for federal OSHA.” The AFL-CIO report also detailed the increased use of child labor stating, “On Feb. 17, 2023, DOL announced it fined a contractor that had employed 31 children, ages 13 to 17, systematically across eight states to clean dangerous machinery in meat and poultry plants; some of the children reported suffering injuries.” The report highlights the way the xenophobic anti-immigrant policies of the US government have made children vulnerable to the predation of corporations through the use of unscrupulous contract agencies.Jake Zuckerman covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

9-Year-Old Arrested In Baltimore For Armed Carjacking, Robbery Spree --If you want another reason to avoid the crime-ridden Democratic stronghold of Baltimore City, well, look no further than mobs of kids running around and committing senseless armed carjackings.Local news Fox Baltimore reports three juveniles, including a 9-year-old, and two adults were arrested last Sunday in connection to anarmed carjacking near the 3900 block of East Lombard Street. "Once there, officers spoke with a 32-year-old woman who stated while stopped at a stop sign at Grundy at Bank Street, four male suspects approached her vehicle. One suspect, described as a white male, produced a metal tool, smashing her window. The suspect then proceeded to drag the woman from the vehicle and fled the location in the victim's car," the local outlet said. Officers arrested a 21-year-old man, a 15-year-old boy, a 19-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy, and a 9-year-old boy after a short foot pursuit. The 21 and 16-year-olds were taken to the Central Booking Intake Facility, while the 15-year-old was taken to the Department of Juvenile Services. The 9-year-old was released to his parents.In a separate report, Fox Baltimore warned listeners in the area about an epidemic of juvenile carjackings plaguing the metro area.

Why there is no such thing as normal in child development -- For parents, caregivers and teachers, it's often tempting to base our thinking on a child's development around what we understand as "normal." Much of the time we do this without thinking, describing a child as "doing well" in one subject and "behind" in another. Whenever we make this sort of comparison, we have some sort of mental benchmark or yardstick in our head: for example, a toddler should be able to climb on furniture by age two. Increasingly, child development researchers are arguing that the same thing happens in child development research—the study of how behaviors and abilities such as language develop. Many of the studies that claim to research child development either implicitly, or explicitly, claim that their findings are universal. The upshot is that what's been found in one group of children is then taken as the standard—the yardstick against which future research is compared. Most of the research into how children develop comes from wealthier, western countries, in particular the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Chances are, if you've heard of milestones in child development, they were developed in one of these countries. Of course, without realizing it, these peers and reviewers have set up western children as a norm.But is it fair to make these comparisons? One of the tricky things about researching child development is that it occurs within a cultural and social context it can't be removed from. But this context is often messy. Differences in physical environment, parenting styles, location, climate and so on all interact to shape how children grow. Besides these differences, there is individual variation as well. These could be, for instance, curiosity, shyness and neurodiversity, which can all frame how a child shapes their own learning environment. Early research was preoccupied with finding out what was normal, and it makes sense to try to support children who might be at risk of falling behind. But it turns out that the context that children develop in plays a huge role even in something as seemingly universal as this. In countries and cultures where babies routinely receive firm massages from caregivers, such as in Jamaica, motor development is accelerated. It's clear that a norm developed in one culture might not translate well to another.. In areas like language development or social development, the cultural component is even more compelling.There is simply no way of understanding these elements of child development withoutalso understanding the context in which they take place. Every child is developing within a context and however normal our own culture feels to us, there is no objective context-free norm that we can compare other children to. That is, to say, we should embrace the mess.If we think of normal child development as being something that just happens, researchers miss out on understanding the dynamics of development itself. But worse, educators and caregivers might not realize development is something we can act upon, and miss an opportunity to enact change. An important part of seeing child development as being intertwined with culture is that it doesn't just mean collecting data from other cultures, but involving local communities and research perspectives. Understanding communities means listening to them, empowering them and making space for them to have a voice.Moving beyond a western-centric understanding of child development won't just benefit researchers and lead to more accurate science, but hopefully benefit everyone working with children around the world.

The 'choking game' and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences -The "choking game" has potentially deadly consequences, as players are challenged to temporarily strangle themselves by restricting oxygen to the brain. It sounds terrifying, but rough estimates suggest that about 10% of U.S. teenagers may have played this type of game at least once. There's more, unfortunately: The Skullbreaker Challenge, the Tide Pod Challenge and Car Surfing are but a few of the deadly games popularized through social media, particularly on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X—formerly Twitter. Many of these games go back more than a generation, and some are resurging. The consequences of these so-called games can be deadly. Skullbreaker Challenge, for example, involves two people kicking the legs out from under a third person, causing them to fall and potentially suffer lasting injuries. Swallowing detergent pods can result in choking and serious illness. A fall from car surfing can lead to severe head trauma. Coming up with an exact number of adolescent deaths from these activities is difficult. Data is lacking, partly because public health databases do not track these activities well—some deaths may be misclassified as suicides—and partly because much of the existing research is dated. A 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 82 U.S.children over a 12-year period died after playing the Choking Game. About 87% of the participants were male, most were alone, and their average age was just over 13. Obviously, new, updated research is needed to determine the severity of the problem. As professor of educational neuroscience and a Ph.D. student in educational psychology, we study how children regulate their behaviors and emotions, why teenagers are particularly vulnerable to dangerous games, and how social media amplifies their risks. Risk-taking is a necessary part of human development, and parents, peers, schools and the broader community play an integral role in guiding and moderating risk-taking. Children are drawn to, and often encouraged to engage in, activities with a degree of social or physical risk, like riding a bike, asking someone for a date or learning how to drive. During adolescence, the brain is growing and developing in ways that affect maturity, particularly within the circuits responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation. At the same time, hormonal changes increase the drive for reward and social feedback. All of these biological events are happening as teenagers deal with increasingly complex social relationships while simultaneously trying to gain greater autonomy. The desire for social validation, to impress peers or to attract a potential romantic interest, coupled with less adult supervision, increases the likelihood of participating in risky behaviors. An adolescent might participate in these antics to impress someone they have a crush on, or fit in with others. That's why the combination of teenagers and social media can be a perfect storm—and the ideal environment for the proliferation of these dangerous activities. Monitoring what teens watch on social media is extraordinarily difficult, and adults often are ill-equipped to help. But there are some things parents can do. Unexplained marks on the neck, bloodshot eyes or frequent headaches may indicate involvement in the choking game. Some social media sites, such as YouTube, are sensitive to community feedback and will take down a video that is flagged as dangerous. As parents keep an eye out for unhealthy risks, they should encourage their children to take healthy ones, such as joining a new social group or participating in outdoor activities. These healthy risks help children learn from mistakes, build resilience and improve risk-management skills. The more they can assess and manage potential dangers, the less likely they will engage in truly unhealthy behaviors. But many parents have increasingly adopted another route. They shield their children from the healthy challenges the real world presents to them. When that happens, children tend to underestimate more dangerous risks, and they may be more likely to try them.

Court Blocks Chicago Mayor From Firing Chicago Public Schools CEO - On December 20, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand-picked school board voted unanimously to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez without cause. Johnson’s entire board resigned unanimously in November when Johnson told them to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. Johnson sought to terminate Martinez because Martinez didn’t support Johnson’s push to take out a high-interest loan to cover CPS’ $300 million shortfall. The Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) proposal includes annual raises of 10-12 percent after factoring in cost-of-living adjustments. And the union demands 13,000 new positions despite falling school enrollment. Martinez filed suit on his removal from the CTU negotiations because his contact calls for 180 days extension if he is fired without cause. Yahoo!Finance reports Pedro Martinez Wins Temporary Restraining Order Against School Board After Ouster. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board was blocked from modifying Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez’s duties by a Cook County Judge on Tuesday, giving the embattled schools chief a victory as he battles with City Hall over the district’s future.Judge Joel Chupack granted Martinez a temporary restraining order against CPS board members after hearing arguments that they obstructed Martinez’s performance of his job duties. The Tuesday hearing — which lasted over an hour and a half — included an assertion by Martinez’s lawyer William J. Quinlan that CPS board members appointed by Johnson met with the teachers union but not their own team while negotiating the teachers contract Monday. “They’re not shy about the interference. They’re brazen. They’re bullish. And they’ll tell you that,” said Martinez’s attorney Quinlan of Quinlan Law Firm LLC before the judge.Quinlan filed a lawsuit in the Cook County Court last Friday to prevent the board from firing the CEO, and then amended the complaint early Tuesday morning.“The CEO, is the ‘sole representative of the Board’ authorized to conduct such negotiations,” according to the complaint.“(The board) didn’t even go to my team. They went directly to CTU, and even went after to strategize,” Martinez told the judge. “They feel empowered … They have the mayor and the board. And so they’re telling my team to agree.”The conflict dates back to September when the mayor asked CPS CEO Martinez to take out a $300 million high-interest loan to cover a new proposed teachers contract and a pension payment previously paid for by the city. Facing deficits of around $500 million in each of the next five years, Martinez said the loan would be fiscally irresponsible.Johnson then gave directives for Martinez to resign, according to an internal memo obtained by the Tribune. The mayor’s board resigned in October around the dispute, and Johnson — a former teacher and union organizer — appointed a new board.Quinlan handwrote an injunction that he handed to the judge before signing off for the holidays. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 3:15 p.m.

Students and faculty at New York University rally against the banning of anti-genocide protesters - On Wednesday, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) intervened at a pro-Palestinian rally near New York University’s Bobst Library in Lower Manhattan.The rally, titled “We are all PNG,” was called to demand that NYU lift the loathsome “persona non grata” (PNG) status it imposed on dozens of pro-Palestinian students and faculty for protesting against the Gaza genocide at Bobst Library on December 12. Eight people, including three members of the faculty, were arrested at that protest. Under PNG, students and faculty are banned from the library and other campus buildings without an end date or the right of appeal. Members of the IYSSE leafleted with the statement, “New York University bans pro-Palestinian faculty and students,” which demands that NYU’s PNG bans be lifted immediately, connects the bans at NYU to the broader pro-genocide purge on campuses across the United States and calls on students and youth to turn outward to the working class to stop the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza and defend democratic rights. Chenjerai Kumanyika, a professor of journalism at NYU and a member of NYU’s Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), read to the rally from the email he received informing him of his PNG status. He received this email after filming and observing, but not participating in, the protests at Bobst Library: Dear Chenjerai Kumanyika,This letter is to advise you that you have been banned from accessing Bobst Library, Kimmel Center, Paulson Center, and Vanderbilt Hall, and designated persona non grata (PNG) from Bobst Library, Kimmel Center, Paulson Center, and Vanderbilt Hall effective immediately due to a violation of university policy. Any future attempts to gain access to Bobst Library, Kimmel Center, Paulson Center, and Vanderbilt Hall will be considered trespassing, and the NYPD will be notified. This may result in your arrest.Signed, New York University Department of Campus Safety“Despite requests from people in my department, from my colleagues, and from myself,” Kumanyika said, “I’ve not been told what the violation was. I’ve not been told any sense of how long this PNG will last, nor have I been told if there’s any process for recourse or appeal. This is outrageous. And, you know, I believe in civil disobedience and have stood with my colleagues in civil disobedience in the past, but in this case, I just want to point out I was documenting a protest as a journalist who covers police.”

George Mason University president doubles-down on lies to justify crackdown on Students for Justice in Palestine -On Friday, December 13, George Mason University president Gregory Washington published a statement to the university website following the police and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s joint raid of two members of the campus chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the subsequent banning of the students and the club from campus.Washington claims to be addressing “concerns we have heard voiced on campus” regarding an “off-campus police action [that] has left many alarmed.” Many students at GMU, located in Northern Virginia outside Washington, D.C., have explained to the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) that the police and FBI agents’ raid of the SJP members’ home and the latter’s subsequent banning raises many concerns about the university’s regard for democratic rights. Washington’s letter is not interested in addressing these concerns. Instead, the president merely doubles down on deceitful allegations that have been made to justify the unprecedented assault on due process and freedom of speech on campus.The university president drums up a dishonest narrative of the police raid last month, stating, “the search turned up sufficient amounts of weaponry and materials calling for violence against Americans and in particular Jews.” This was enough “to warrant immediate precautionary action to maintain the safety of the university community,” he says.In fact, no publicly available documents surrounding the incident indicate any intent of committing violence on the part of the two students or the SJP as a whole. According to The Intercept, the weapons found on the premises were “antique firearms legally registered to the family’s son, a Mason alum and volunteer deputy chief firefighter.” Efforts to press charges against him were fought in court “and a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge dismissed them two weeks later.” Lawyers representing the family have stated claims of “antisemitism” are based on mistranslations of anti-Zionist literature. No further arrests or charges have been made following the raid a month ago.Washington resorts to a series of circular arguments, stating that “based on the evidence obtained [during the raid] and in furtherance of the investigation, GMU Police had cause under University Policy 1132 to issue a criminal trespass notice, barring two George Mason students from physically entering university property.” The reference to the university’s policy resolves nothing, as a search of GMU’s website brings back a description of its criminal trespass notice.

Pornhub set to block Florida users due to age verification law (WFLA) – Pornhub says it will block access to its website in Florida as an adult entertainment advocacy group sues over the state’s new law requiring age verification. HB-3, an act relating to online protections for minors, will go into effect in the Sunshine State on New Year’s Day, requiring adult websites to prevent children from accessing them. Mike Stabile, a public policy director with Free Speech Coalition, a group that advocates for the adult entertainment industry, says he is concerned about the steps that will be used to verify someone’s age. “When you’re uploading an ID or when you’re doing this type of verification, nothing is ever secure,” Stabile said. Free Speech Coalition is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the law form taking effect over privacy and free speech concerns. “You are asking people who are legal adults to risk their privacy and risk possible surveillance to access the internet,” Stabile said. Since 2022, 19 states have passed laws requiring age verification to access adult websites. Ian Corby, the director of global group Age Verification Providers Association, pushed back, saying personal information will be protected. “The Florida law includes, explicitly, a requirement for anonymous age verification done by a third-party. Our entire industry was created to prove your age online and not have to disclose your identity,” Corby said. It’s a measure that was passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. “All we are trying to do is to make the same laws apply in the online world as applied in the real world,” Corby said. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is listed as the defendant in the case. “As a mother, and Florida’s Attorney General, I will fight aggressively in court to ensure the ability to protect Florida children,” Moody said. Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, released a statement after vowing to block access to users statewide as a form of protest that read in part: “First, to be clear, Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults.” “Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide, including Florida, have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.” Read the full lawsuit below

Long-COVID study shows high rates of cognitive change --Two new studies add to the growing body of literature on the lasting effects of long COVID. In the first, a study of 114 patients with long COVID in Israel, researchers found high rates of depressive disorders (46%), generalized anxiety disorders (21%), sleep disturbances (76%), and reported cognitive changes (95%) among those diagnosed with the condition.In a second study, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers find that the prevalence of long COVID-19 in the US population in 2021 was 29.9%, and 77.2% of those with long COVID had not returned to pre-COVID health within 8 to 60 weeks after infection.The first study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, was an online survey given to long COVID patients composed of several established questionnaires, including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) for psychological distress, the Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) questionnaire for cognitive decline, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep disorders.The participants had an average age of 44 years, and 29 were men (25.4%) and 85 were women (74.6%).The high rates of sleep disturbances and cognitive changes, including brain fog and memory loss, were the most significant findings. Social support negatively correlated with psychological distress, with those who reported more social isolation during their long COVID illness having worse mental health outcomes.“Personality traits and social support were found to modulate symptom severity, with conscientiousness and social support appearing to confer protective effects, while neuroticism was associated with greater risk,” the authors said. “These findings highlight the potential for psychological interventions to alleviate distress in Long COVID patients.”The second study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, used data collected in 2021 to assess long COVID prevalence. Notably, the authors found 30% of those infected with COVID-19 in the pre-Delta period (March to December 2020) developed long COVID, or post-COVID Condition (PCC).Among those, 3 out of every 4 patients did not return to prior health within 60 weeks of initial infection.Certain symptom clusters were associated with not returning to pre-COVID health, including respiratory problems, gastrointestinal symptoms, and chronic fatigue syndrome-like symptoms.

Quick takes: WHO vaccine advisers say to stick with JN.1 lineage, respiratory viruses found in some DRC remote-outbreak samples | CIDRAP

• The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that its Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition recently met to review the latest SARS-CoV-2 genetic developments, along with immune responses to infection and vaccination, and recommends that countries stick with monovalent (one-strain) COVID vaccines targeting the JN.1 lineage. The group initially recommended JN.1 lineage vaccines in April, and several manufacturers have updated their formulations to cover JN.1 or KP.2. The group emphasized that variant timing and antigenic characteristics are hard to predict. “There are JN.1-derived variants such as LP.8.1, NP.1 and LF.7.2 that are currently in low proportions, but which have mutations that may give them more immune escape than XEC,” the group said. "These will continue to be monitored and/or characterized."
• Ongoing analysis of lab samples collected following an illness outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has found influenza in 28% of samples, a government spokesman said in a December 20 TV broadcast following a council of ministers meeting, Xinha reported. Reading from the meeting minutes, the spokesman, citing the public health minister, said some patients had flulike symptoms and that the outbreak occurred during flu season. Along with flu, some samples yielded human rhinovirus and SARS-CoV-2. Initial test results suggested a severe form of malaria with malnutrition as a factor. Follow-up testing is still under way, including on samples from a man who died from hemorrhagic fever symptoms. The outbreak is occurring in Kwango province’s Panzi health district, a remote region in southwestern DRC, located about 425 miles from Kinshasa.

CDC: Respiratory illness activity high nationally - According to the latest weekly update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity continue to increase across the country, with COVID wastewater detections reaching high levels. COVID-19 is still causing a low number of people to seek emergency department care, but numbers are increasing. RSV and flu are also increasing."We predict COVID-19 illness will continue to increase in the coming weeks as it usually does in the winter," the CDC said. "COVID-19 activity is increasing in most areas of the country, with high COVID-19 wastewater levels and increasing emergency department visits and laboratory percent positivity.”RSV activity remains high, with pediatric hospitalizations increasing across most of the country, the CDC said.Though hospital visits for flu are still moderate, flu positivity increased by 12% in the week ending on December 21. Influenza A, H1N1 and H3N2, were the predominant viruses reported.Of note, five pediatric deaths associated with seasonal influenza virus infection were reported this week, bringing the 2024-2025 season total to nine pediatric deaths.“CDC estimates that there have been at least 3.1 million illnesses, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 1,500 deaths from flu so far this season,” the CDC said.

Walking pneumonia, the 'great masquerader,' on the rise in Washington -- This year, in addition to more familiar respiratory viruses like influenza, RSV and SARS-CoV-2, local health experts are also warning about a particular type of pneumonia infection. Infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria—often associated with "walking" pneumonia—have startled providers as cases have surged through the United States since the spring, especially in young children. Infections appeared to peak in late August, but have stayed at high levels, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in October. Infections caused by M. pneumoniae bacteria have been rising in Washington and nationally. In King County, providers noticed an increase in the percentage of emergency department visits with M. pneumonia diagnosis across all ages, especially among those aged 5 to 17 years old. "We've seen a dramatic increase in illness and hospitalization due to Mycoplasma pneumonia," said Dr. Mary Fairchok, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. "Adults can get Mycoplasma too, but it's really hitting the pediatric population." Seattle Children's has experienced a similar wave. Earlier this year, the hospital saw between zero and four cases of M. pneumonia in a typical week, said Dr. Danielle Zerr, chief of infectious diseases and virology at Children's. In the past couple of months, the hospital has seen between 13 and 26 cases per week. "We're thinking this is it coming back, as we've seen other infections come back," Zerr said. "We're basically catching up to where we were prepandemic." While the state Department of Health doesn't specifically track cases linked to the bacteria, as M. pneumonia isn't one of the CDC's notifiable conditions, epidemiologists have also seen an "observed increase in provider diagnoses" statewide, according to a department spokesperson. Other viruses are also starting to pick up as we enter the heart of respiratory illness season. Pneumonia is a lower respiratory tract infection that causes the air sacs in the lungs to become inflamed and fill with pus or fluid. As inflammation gets worse, it can become harder to get oxygen into the bloodstream and the rest of the body—making it difficult to breathe. Many germs can lead to a pneumonia infection, including bacteria, fungi or viruses such as influenza, RSV or SARS-CoV-2. "This time of year, it's not terribly surprising to see an increase in pneumonia," said Dr. Eric Chow, chief of communicable diseases at Public Health—Seattle & King County. "But what a lot of people are talking about is, 'What are the specific causes?' And the increase of those specific causes is eye-opening." M. pneumonia—the illness caused by the bacteria—is considered to be common, according to the CDC, which reports about 2 million such cases a year. But because there's no national reporting or dedicated surveillance system that tracks these infections, the actual figure is hard to confirm, the agency said. These infections are generally mild and mostly feel like a cold, often allowing people to get out of bed and recover at home. Other bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, which typically lives in the upper respiratory tract, usually causes more severe illness, Chow said. But any case of pneumonia can become serious and require antibiotics. This year, Mary Bridge has seen more young infants and older children with pneumonia, even though providers typically mostly see kids between 2 and 4, Fairchok said. More kids are ending up in the ICU. "Pneumonia is a great masquerader," Fairchok said. "It doesn't just infect the lungs, it can also infect other parts of the body." The worst cases she's seen recently involve patients with not just fevers and coughing, but also brain inflammation, severe skin burns, and infections in the eyes, mouth and genitals. For kids with M. pneumonia, which Mary Bridge confirms through PCR testing, she's also seen a high rate of diarrhea and vomiting. There's not yet a clear reason why pneumonia is surging this year. Many providers nationwide have theorized the spread of many pathogens slowed during the pandemic, when distancing, masking and hygiene practices were more widespread. Now that many people have put those measures behind them, some respiratory viruses are rebounding. There's also been recent evidence COVID-19 infections can cause significant long-term changes to the immune system, which could help explain some long COVID symptoms or a weaker immune response, Fairchok said. But these are all theories. "Nobody really knows exactly why" pneumonia in particular is on the rise this year, she said.

Pet dogs linked to antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella spread - Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella is a serious public health concern that has increased in recent years as the bacteria have developed ways to survive drugs. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can get Salmonella from eating contaminated food products or from infected people or animals—typically via unintentional contact with feces via touching hands or stroking a pet.However, a team of Penn State researchers have found that household dogs are an overlooked transmission point for zoonotic pathogens such as non-typhoidal Salmonella, which can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, with some infections potentially having life-threatening complications.The findings were made available online in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health. Given the proximity of dogs to humans and the use of critically important antibiotics in companion animal medicine, the researchers reported, household dogs represent a risk for the spread of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella. They explained that better awareness of the risk and proper hygiene could potentially help mitigate cross-species infections.Salmonella infections in dogs can be clinical—showing signs or symptoms—or asymptomatic, with numerous studies reporting Salmonella isolation from clinically healthy dogs, according to team leader Erika Ganda, assistant professor of food animal microbiomes, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.A major concern, she explained, is the closeness of humans and pet dogs, which creates ample opportunity for Salmonella "zoonosis"—the disease transmitted to humans from animals. Pet-management decisions involving food contamination, improper food handling or both can increase the likelihood of infection.To investigate antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella and the zoonotic potential of non-typhoidal Salmonella isolated from dogs and humans, the researchers leveraged existing biosurveillance infrastructure. Using the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network, they identified all non-typhoidal Salmonella strains isolated from domestic dogs between May 2017 and March 2023.."We identified 16 nontyphoidal Salmonella isolates from humans closely related to more than one of six dog-associated strains," ."Collectively, our data emphasize the importance of antimicrobial stewardship and sustained biosurveillance beyond human and agriculture-associated veterinary medicine, using a One Health framework, that accounts for all transmission points—including companion animals. "Especially with Salmonella, we think about the role of agriculture and transmission—we think about eggs, we think about beef. But the thing is, we don't let cows sleep in our beds or lick our faces, but we do dogs," she said.

Quick Takes: FDA egg recall, mpox in Kosovo, polio in Pakistan and Australia | CIDRAP

• The US Food and Drug Administration has upgraded a voluntary recall of organic, pasture-raised eggs sold by Costco stores to Class I, the agency's highest risk level. The eggs, sold under Costco's Kirkland Signature brand, were recalled by Handsome Brook Farms of New York on November 26 because of possible contamination with Salmonella. The eggs were distributed to 25 Costco stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee beginning November 22, 2024, and have a Use By Date of January 5, 2025. The FDA classifies a recall as Class I when there is "a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."
• Health authorities in Kosovo have confirmed the country's first mpox case, according to media reports. Citing a statement from Kosovo's Institute of Public Health, Reuters reports that the case-patient is a 30-year-old man who recently returned from an unidentified West African country and was hospitalized on December 24 after exhibiting fever, chills, and skin changes on his face and hands. The institute said health officials have traced all contacts of the patient and shared recommendations for infection control and prevention.
• Two children in Pakistan were diagnosed with the polio this week, according to Pakistani news site Geo News. The cases, which were reported in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, bring the polio-endemic country's tally for the year to 67. The cases come amid efforts by Pakistani health officials to inoculate 44 million children across the country. In other polio news, Australian health officials revealed this week that routine wastewater testing in Melbourne detected the virus earlier this month. The Victoria Department of Public Health said in a news release that circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was detected on December 2 and was likely linked to a person who received a live polio vaccine overseas and has continued to shed the virus since arriving in the country.

Belgium becomes 8th non-African country to confirm clade 1b mpox case --For the first time, Belgium has confirmed a case of clade 1b mpox case, becoming the eighth country outside of Africa to report the infection, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in its latest weekly communicable disease threat report.Belgium reported the case on December 18 in an adult traveler returning from an African country where the clade 1b virus circulates. The patient, who had sexual contact with a person with mpox-like symptoms, isolated on their own before diagnosis. No high-risk contacts in Belgium have been identified, and the risk to the public in the country remains low, according to the ECDC.Clade 1b cases have also been reported in Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Africa has been dealing with complex mpox outbreaks, which were nearing the 70,000-case mark last week from 20 countries since the first of the year. The cases are caused by different clades of the mpox virus and follow different transmission patterns, with regional variations seen in some countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the main hot spot.

H5N1 sickens Iowa poultry worker; virus strikes more cats, wild birds, and poultry - The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) on December 20 reported the state’s first human H5 avian influenza case, which involves an individual exposed to poultry while working with a commercial flock.Meanwhile, groups in multiple states issued new reports and warnings about avian flu detections and deaths in cats and wild birds, and a surge in activity continues in poultry, with more outbreaks confirmed across nine states.In a statement, Iowa HHS officials said the patient had mild symptoms, received treatment, and is recovering. The case was identified through testing at Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory and was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new case pushes the national total since the first of the year to 65 cases from 10 states.The farm where the patient was exposed is in the northwestern part of the state. Over the past several weeks, H5N1 has struck several Iowa commercial farms. Iowa is the nation’s top egg-producing state.The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on December 20 posted an animal health alert about H5 in domestic cats, sharing more details about recently reported illnesses in cats from one household that were exposed to raw milk and a cat from another household that got sick after eating commercially produced raw pet food.In the first instance, the household had eight cats, seven of which became ill. Five died or were euthanized, and the other two are quarantined and improving. Of the five cats that died, four were tested for influenza A, and the samples were later subtyped and confirmed as H5N1.Separately, veterinary officials are investigating five indoor-only cats from another household that got sick after eating two different brands of raw pet food that contained raw poultry and raw beef. Two of the cats, one with an underlying health condition, had acute respiratory distress and were euthanized. Another cat had multiple symptoms, including eye issues. A respiratory panel was positive for influenza A, with subtyping at a state lab positive for H5. Results are pending final confirmation. An investigation is still underway, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is testing samples of the raw pet food.Elsewhere, the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington on December 20 announced that highly pathogenic avian flu has sickened more than half of its wild felids. On its Facebook page, the group said 20 of the cats have died, including an Amur/Bengal tiger, 4 cougars, an African caracal, 2 Canada lynx, a Geoffroy cat, a Bengal cat, a Eurasian lynx, 4 bobcats, and 5 African servals.The group said the center is under quarantine and will remain closed to the public until further notice and that it is working closely with county, state, and federal officials to ensure the safety of people and animals.The Illinois Department of Natural Resources on December 20 announced that it, along with state health and agriculture officials, is monitoring avian flu mortality events in waterfowl throughout the state.In a statement, the group said numerous locations are involved and that testing so far indicates highly pathogenic avian influenza is the cause. Officials urged the public to avoid handling or attempting to capture waterfowl or other wild birds that are showing illness signs. It also urged animal owners to keep pets away from wild birds that may have died from avian flu.Wildlife officials in Missouri, Louisiana, and Iowa have issued similar warnings about avian flu in wild birds over the past few weeks. In other animal health developments, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed more poultry outbreaks across nine states, in a mix of commercial farms and backyard birds.Outbreaks on commercial farms were reported from Minnesota, where three turkey facilities were affected. Alabama and Mississippi reported events at broiler farms, California reported an outbreak at a layer farm, and Wisconsin and Missouri also reported detections. Meanwhile, outbreaks in backyard flocks were reported from Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Alabama, and Oregon.Also, APHIS confirmed 1 more outbreak in dairy cattle, which involves another herd from California. The confirmation lifts California’s total to 660 and the national total to 876 across 16 states.

Does California's Bird Flu Emergency Portend The Next Trump-Era Outbreak? - Last week California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency over avian influenza, aka Bird Flu. And while Newsom says the order was simply a precaution after one person in Louisiana was hospitalized with the first severe illness caused by the bird flu in the United States, one has to wonder - WTF... "This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak," Newsom said in a Wednesday statement. According to the governor's office, Bird flu has been found in dairy cows in Southern California - therefore, the emergency is needed to "contain and mitigate the spread of the virus" despite the fact that there have been no reported cases of person-to-person transmission in the state. What makes this extra-interesting is a tidbit at the end of the new documentary, Thank You Dr. Fauci - notably an infamous op-ed penned by Fauci and his former 'boss', NIH head Dr. Francis Collins, in which they suggested that their dangerous research was a "risk worth taking." Fauci and Collins penned infamous op-ed for @washingtonpost claiming this dangerous research could cause a pandemic but it was a "Flu Risk Worth Taking" See past 🧵from @Bryce_Nickels https://t.co/rq4tfVzQXP and continue this 🧵 for more... Which brings us back to California - where the new emergency declaration will empower state and local agencies with additional funding and flexibility in dealing with the virus, that nobody in the state has caught... yet. As the Epoch Times notes further, While not linked to human bird flu cases, a raw milk dairy based in California issued a voluntary recall several weeks ago after avian influenza was found in a lot. All of the illnesses in the United States, except for the Louisiana case, have been mild, and the vast majority have been among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. This year, more than 60 bird flu infections have been reported, with more than half of them in California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the Louisiana case, the infected person is older than 65, has underlying medical problems, and has also been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock, according to the CDC. Last month, Canadian officials reported that a teen in British Columbia was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu. CDC officials did not answer a question about whether the new U.S. case and the case in Canada had any similarities or differences, directing reporters to ask Louisiana officials. Health officials say bird flu is still mainly an animal health issue and that the risk to the general public remains low. There has been no documented spread of the virus from person to person in the United States or elsewhere.

CDC: H5N1 mutations in severely ill patient could boost spread, but risk remains low -The genetic analysis of the H5N1 avian flu virus in specimens from the nation's first severely ill hospitalized patient in Louisiana reveals mutations that may enable upper-airway infection and greater transmission, concludes a technical summary from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).But the authors of the report, released late yesterday afternoon, say the risk of an influenza pandemic amid the ongoing outbreak remains low.In related news, Los Angeles County and Stanislaus County this week announced their first human H5N1 cases in two dairy workers. Both workers had mild symptoms and are recovering after receiving antiviral drugs. No related cases have been identified. California, which has reported a total of 37 cases, recently announced a public health emergency for H5N1 to free up more resources with the virus now spreading to dairy farms beyond the Central Valley and further south. The US total for human cases is now at 65.CDC scientists compared H5N1 genomes in the virus infecting the Louisiana patient, who had contact with backyard poultry, with those of other H5N1 viruses from dairy cows, wild birds, poultry, and previous human patients.The causative viral genotype in the Louisiana patient was D1.1. The hemagglutinin (HA) sequences from the patient's two respiratory specimens were closely related to those identified in other D1.1 viruses, including those sequenced from samples collected in November and December in wild birds and poultry in Louisiana. The genotype is different from B3.13, the genotype causing outbreaks in animals such as dairy cows and poultry, with sporadic mild infections in dairy workers in the United States, the authors noted.The viral mutations seen in the Louisiana case weren't seen in viruses collected from poultry living on the patient's property."It is important to note that these changes represent a small proportion of the total virus population identified in the sample analyzed (i.e., the virus still maintains a majority of 'avian' amino acids at the residues associated with receptor binding)," the authors wrote. "The changes observed were likely generated by replication of this virus in the patient with advanced disease rather than primarily transmitted at the time of infection." The researchers said that the mutations are rare in people and occur most often during severe infections. "One of the changes found was also identified in a specimen collected from the human case with severe illness detected in British Columbia, Canada, suggesting they emerged during the clinical course as the virus replicated in the patient," they wrote. The British Columbian case was reported in November in a hospitalized teen. No mutations in sequences facilitating adaptation to mammalian hosts or those tied to antimicrobial resistance were found. "Notably, in this case, no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other persons has been identified," the researchers wrote. "The Louisiana Department of Public Health and CDC are collaborating to generate additional sequence data from sequential patient specimens to facilitate further genetic and virologic analysis."

Bird flu virus in Louisiana patient likely mutated to be more transmissible, CDC says --- A genetic analysis of viral samples from a patient in Louisiana hospitalized with the first severe case of bird flu showed mutations that may result in the virus becoming more transmissible among humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency in its latest update released Thursday said the mutations were not found in samples taken from wild birds, suggesting the virus changed over the course of the patient’s infection. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist who specializes in emerging infectious diseases, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “good news” the changes to the virus weren’t detected in birds, “because it reduces risk of transmission to another person and suggests ‘human-adapted’ viruses aren’t emerging in birds.” The Louisiana patient was hospitalized in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms from bird flu. According to agency officials, the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks. The CDC said the mutations in that patient were similar to ones observed in a hospitalized patient in British Columbia, Canada. The changes may make it easier for the virus to bind to receptors in a person’s upper respiratory tract. “Although concerning, and a reminder that A(H5N1) viruses can develop changes during the clinical course of a human infection, these changes would be more concerning if found in animal hosts or in early stages of infection … when these changes might be more likely to facilitate spread to close contacts,” the CDC said in the report. “Notably, in this case, no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other persons has been identified.” Health experts said it’s been expected that the virus would mutate, and while there’s a sliver of good news that the changes happened after infection, it’s still concerning. “The H5N1 situation remains grim,” Rasmussen wrote. “There has been an explosion of human cases. … More sequences from humans is a trend we need to reverse—we need fewer humans infected, period.” Michael Mina, an infectious disease immunologist, said on X the situation ought to be a “wake up call” for the U.S. response, which experts said has been extremely lacking. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on X that in the “low probability scenario” bird flu develops into a widespread outbreak, the “U.S. will have only itself to blame. Agricultural officials did just about everything wrong over last year, hoping [the] virus would burn out and it didn’t.”

Oregon avian flu cat death prompts nationwide raw pet food recall - The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) yesterday reported that a house cat has died from H5N1 avian flu after eating raw frozen pet food, which has prompted the voluntary recall of raw pet food that was sold nationwide through distributors in 12 states as well as in British Columbia. The development is part of a growing number of avian flu infections in cats, including new detections in pets from a second California county. In a statement, the ODA said the house cat that tested positive for H5N1 died after eating raw food. Tests confirmed a genetic match between a sample from the cat and the virus from Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food. Ryan Scholz, DVM, Oregon’s state veterinarian, said officials are confident the cat contracted the virus from Northwest Naturals food. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”The recall involves the company’s 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe raw & frozen pet food. The product was sold nationwide through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington. Oregon’s Health Authority is monitoring household members who had contact with the sick cat, and the ODA is urging consumers who bought the recalled food to discard the product. Last week, Los Angeles County issued an animal health alert about H5 in domestic cats following illness reports in cats from two households, one where cats had consumed recalled raw milk and the other involving a cat that was exposed to an unspecified commercially produced raw pet food.On December 23, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department announced the confirmation of two H5 avian flu infections in pet cats from two different households. After testing positive for influenza A, a rare occurrence in cats, the cats experienced severe neurological symptoms and died from their infections. The source of infection is still under investigation. “Currently, there is no evidence of local cat-to-cat, cat-to-human or human-to-human spread of H5 bird flu, and the risk to the general public continues to be low,” the health department said. It added that people who have close contact with wild birds or their feces, infected cats, dairy cows or raw milk, sick poultry, and infected cats may have a higher risk of exposure. Since December 23, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed 25 more H5N1 detections in dairy cattle, all from California, raising the state’s total to 685 and the national total to 901 from 16 states. APHIS also confirmed more outbreaks in poultry flocks in five different states, including three more layer farms in three different California counties, Riverside, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus. The virus also hit turkey farms in Oklahoma’s Adair County, Illinois’ Lawrence County, and Michigan’s Ottawa County. Also, the virus struck backyard poultry in Missouri, Vermont, and California.Meanwhile, APHIS reported more than 60 more H5N1 detections in wild birds across a wide portion of the country, mostly involving waterfowl. The sample collection dates range from late November and into December. The detections are a mix of hunter-harvested, mortality events, and live sampling. Many of the samples are from Georgia, Iowa, New Mexico, and northwestern states including Washington.

New CWD detections reported in Wyoming, Alabama New chronic wasting disease (CWD) detections were reported this week in Wyoming and Alabama.In Wyoming, officials with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of CWD in a dead cow elk from Elk Hunt Area 84, which is located in the Jackson region in the northwest part of the state. The department said the area has no surrounding CWD-positive elk areas, but its corresponding deer area (Deer HA 152) has had previous CWD detections.CWD was first identified in free-ranging mule deer in southeastern Wyoming in 1985 and is now found in deer and elk across most of the state. The disease is caused by misfolded infectious proteins called prions, which are extremely resilient and can persist in the environment for years. CWD can spread from animal to animal and through environmental contamination. The CWD detection in Alabama was in a white-tailed deer harvested by a hunter in Colbert County in the northwest part of the state, according to an update from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). It’s the first case of CWD detected in Colbert County and brings the total number of CWD positive detections in the state to nine.ADCNR officials say the detection has resulted in an expansion of the state's CWD management zone to include all of Colbert, Lauderdale, and Franklin counties. "I would like to thank our hunters for submitting their harvest samples for testing," ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship said in a news release. "They are our most important partners in the management of this disease in Alabama."While no human CWD cases have been reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization advise against eating meat from sick cervids and urge taking precautions when handling carcasses.

California bans invasive golden mussels in battle to keep species out of waters - It is now illegal to possess or transport golden mussels in California. The California Fish and Game Commission has designated the golden mussel a restricted species, the latest salvo in the battle to keep the invasive species out of the state's waterways. The mussels are considered an immediate threat to the ecological health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and California waterways. The emergency restrictions enacted at the commission's Dec. 11–12 meetings in Sacramento add the mussel to the list of species restricted from live importation, transportation and possession. "Putting golden mussels on the restricted species list is an important first step toward containment and prevention of spread of this non-native species," said Jay Rowan, Chief of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fisheries Branch. Authorities say golden mussels are a bigger threat to California waters than other mussel species because they can thrive in a wider range of water quality conditions. State and local agencies have been on high alert for the golden mussel since it was first spotted in mid-October in the Port of Stockton. The Oct. 17 discovery was the first in North America, say California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials. The mussels, native to China and Southeast Asia, likely found their way to California waters by large ships. The emergency listing will reduce the potential for people to introduce the bivalves to other waters of the state, say fish and wildlife officials. The mussels easily make their way into live wells, bilges and ballast tanks, watercraft's engine systems, plumbing and other compartments onboard boats. The mussels can survive for extended periods of time in the water that collects in the craft's systems Since the Stockton discovery, local agencies, including Solano County, have imposed travel restrictions and quarantines on watercraft sailing from the Delta. In November, Solano County barred watercraft traveling from the Delta from launching in Lake Berryessa without a 30-day quarantine or decontamination

'Murder hornets' eradicated from United States: USDA — “Murder hornets,” the largest wasps in the world, have been eradicated from the United States. The U.S. and Washington Departments of Agriculture announced the news Dec. 18, almost five years since they were last sighted. “I’ve gotta tell you, as an entomologist — I’ve been doing this for over 25 years now, and it is a rare day when the humans actually get to win one against the insects,” Sven Spichiger, pest program manager of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, said in a virtual news conference. The hornets killed 42 people in China in 2013, injuring another 1,675 people. Also known as Asian giant hornets, the murder hornets can be 2 inches long and are native to tropical parts of East Asia. They feast upon medium-sized insects, including bees, beetles and other hornets. There were signs of the hornet in Washington in 2019 and again in 2020. It is the only state in the United States to have confirmed sightings.

Study reveals right whales live 130 years—or more - New research published in Science Advances reveals that right whales can survive for more than 130 years—almost twice as long as previously understood. Extreme longevity is a trait common to the right whales' cousins, the bowheads.Scientists working with Indigenous subsistence hunters in Utqiaġvik usedchemical analysis of harvested bowhead whales to show they can live more than 200 years. Corroborating the chemical evidence, hunters have recovered 19th-century harpoon tips from bowheads taken in modern hunts.Right whales, which are much more closely related to bowhead whales than any other species, appear to exhibit similar lifespans. Like bowheads, right whales filter feed through baleen and migrate seasonally to give birth. Whalers considered them the "right" whales to hunt due to their thick blubber, which caused them to float when killed.The current study examined four decades of data collected by photo identification programs tracking individual whales from two species: the Southern right whale, which lives in the oceans south of the equator, and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, found along the Atlantic coast of North America.Researchers used the data to construct survivorship curves—graphs that show the proportion of a population that survives to each age—similar to those used by insurance companies to calculate human life expectancies.Analysis revealed that Southern right whales, once thought to live only 70 to 80 years, can exceed lifespans of 130 years, with some individuals possibly reaching 150 years. In contrast, the study found the average lifespan of the North Atlantic right whale is just 22 years, with very few individuals surviving past the age of 50.According to University of Alaska Fairbanks associate professor Greg Breed, the stark contrast in lifespans between these two closely related species is primarily due to human impacts. Breed is the study's lead author."North Atlantic whales have unusually short lifespans compared to other whales, but this isn't because of intrinsic differences in biology, and they should live much longer," he said. "They're frequently tangled in fishing gearor struck by ships, and they suffer from starvation, potentially linked to environmental changes we don't fully understand."

Santa Cruz Wharf collapses, one fatality reported as atmospheric rivers make way to Northern California - Powerful waves from a series of atmospheric rivers caused the Santa Cruz Wharf to collapse, claimed the life of a man at Sunset State Beach, and left another missing at Marina State Beach on Monday, December 23, 2024.

• Four atmospheric rivers are currently making their way to the West Coast, bringing heavy moisture, dangerous winds, and massive waves that are forecast to reach up to 18 m (60 feet) along Northern California’s coastline.
• A 46 m (150-foot) section of the Santa Cruz Wharf, already closed for repairs, collapsed into the ocean on December 23 due to massive waves. Three personnel inspecting the wharf were unharmed, and multiple water rescues were carried out.
• A man died at Sunset State Beach after being trapped beneath debris by large waves, while another person remained missing after entering the water at Marina State Beach in Monterey County.

Dangerous waves caused by the first atmospheric river brought down part of the Santa Cruz Wharf on Monday afternoon, December 23. The wharf section reportedly collapsed around 12:45 local time (LT). Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley stated that the 46 m (150 feet) long section of the pier, which fell into the ocean, had been closed to the public since January for repairs due to damage from a previous storm. Two people were rescued by Santa Cruz County lifeguards, while one person managed to exit the water alone, according to the fire department. Three city personnel were on the pier inspecting its safety during the ongoing coastal storm when the collapse occurred. No injuries were reported, and all three personnel who were on the wharf were accounted for, according to Mayor Keeley. Further south, Santa Cruz County authorities confirmed that a man died at Sunset State Beach after being trapped beneath washed-up debris by a large wave. A second person remained missing after entering the water at Marina State Beach in Monterey County on Monday afternoon. The Santa Cruz Harbor has also suffered some damage with authorities sharing videos of boats flipped over at the harbor due to rough seas. High Surf Advisories are in effect through Tuesday for the entire Pacific coast, affecting over 2.5 million people. The high surf caused additional impacts on Monday. Shortly after 15:00 LT, the Santa Cruz office of the CHP confirmed flooding had closed several roads, including East Cliff at 9th Ave., East Cliff at Moran Lake, Marina Ave. at Aptos Beach Dr., Moosehead Dr., and Rio Del Mar at Aptos Beach Dr. Dangerous breaking waves up to 11 m (35 feet) are expected along the Pacific coast through Tuesday, December 24, with waves up to 18 m (60 feet) forecast for Northern California.

60,000 feared dead: Residents of cyclone-hit Mayotte boo Macron - President Emmanuel Macron arrived in France’s Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte on Thursday after cyclone Chido devastated it last weekend. From when his visit began, the banker-president was faced with angry crowds who booed him as he arrogantly lectured them that they should be proud to be French and called to crack down on Comoran immigrants. As Macron arrived, Réunion1, a public TV station on Réunion island, reported that rescue and health workers in Mayotte believe the cyclone may have killed 60,000 people—nearly a fifth of the registered population. France’s monarchist interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, dismissed the report as a “rumor,” as Réunion1 had pulled it from its web site. But contacted by Libération, Réunion1 journalist Raphaël Kahn defended the now-deleted report, insisting this is what Mayotte rescue workers had said. The cyclone’s 220km/h winds destroyed sheet-metal houses in which much of Mayotte’s population lives, wiping out hillside slums in the capital, Mamoudzou. The French government is hiding the extent of the disaster caused by its decades of neglect of Mayotte’s infrastructure, claiming that it has confirmed 35 dead and 2,500 wounded. The interior ministry admitted, however, that its own estimate “does not match the reality that 100,000 people live in precarious housing.” A further reason that death tolls are flagrant underestimates is that communication between the Small Island, on which Mayotte airport is located, and the rest of Mayotte, particularly the Large Island on which the bulk of the population lives, is very limited. Several barges that used to serve as ferries between Mayotte’s different islands were sunk in the storm. Food and water are only beginning to arrive via airlift to the Small Island. Mayotte’s notoriously poor water system has collapsed, and residents of Mamoudzou’s Kawni slum told Europe1 they are drinking dirty water or not drinking anything at all. Amina, who drank water out of a stream that formed after it rained, said: “We don’t have a choice, we drink this water even though it’s muddy. We do our best to filter it, but anyway if we don’t do that, we die.” Ibrahim said he would go to a spring lower down on the hill where Kawni sits: “There is a spring there, but even that water is not particularly clean. I’m going to drink it anyway, I have to for the time being. For now I’m not sick, but I do not know what will happen later.” Mayotte residents booed and publicly criticized Macron at every step of his brief two-day tour of the archipelago, which exposed his government’s incompetence and his flagrant contempt for the population.

Multiple tornadoes touch down in Texas, enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms continues on Saturday, U.S. - Several tornadoes touched down in southeastern Texas one day after Christmas, Thursday, December 26, 2024. NWS Storm Prediction Center is warning of an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms on Saturday, December 27 across the East Texas/Lower Mississippi Valley to Tennessee Valley. YouTube video Multiple tornadoes were reported in southeastern Texas on Thursday, December 26. Local emergency managers confirmed three tornado sightings during the afternoon as severe storms moved through the state. The Wharton County Office of Emergency Management reported that one tornado touched down near Highway 59, causing damage to several barns. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Houston reported that a spotter observed damage in Meadows, just across the Harris County line, caused by a brief tornado. YouTube video The NWS confirmed that a waterspout over Lake Houston moved onto land near Huffman. Shortly after, the NWS received a separate report of a tornado sighting northwest of Dayton. No significant damages were associated with the tornadoes, but an impact assessment is underway. The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center has issued an enhanced risk warning for severe thunderstorms expected to impact regions from east Texas across the Lower Mississippi Valley and into parts of the Tennessee Valley on Saturday, December 27. “An active severe-weather day is expected Saturday into Saturday night, with severe storms likely from east Texas across the Lower Mississippi Valley into parts of the Tennessee Valley,” NWS forecaster Guyer noted. ” Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes are likely, potentially including a few strong (EF2+) tornadoes.”

I-80 eastbound in New Jersey closed until further notice after large sinkhole opens up - A 12 m (40 foot) wide sinkhole collapsed a portion of the I-80 highway in New Jersey on Thursday, December 26, 2024, leading to the closure of the route. The sinkhole was caused by the collapse of an abandoned mineshaft. YouTube video I-80 eastbound was closed after Exit 34 in Wharton, New Jersey near milepost 34, after a massive sinkhole opened on the right shoulder encroaching the right lane at around 07:45 local time (LT) on Thursday, December 26. The sinkhole has been measured at 12 x 12 m (40 by 40 feet) by the New Jersey Department of Transport (NJDOT), and the cause was determined as the collapse of an abandoned mineshaft. NJDOT operatives are on the site repairing the damage. “It’s too soon to estimate a specific time because of the extensive nature of the repairs and forecasted weather this weekend,” NJDOT said in a press release on December 27.

Bushfire in Victoria triples in size in 24 hours to over 30 000 ha (74 130 acres), Australia - Victoria residents were urged to flee immediately on Saturday, December 21. 2024 as massive bushfire, spanning over 30 000 ha (74 132 acres), swept through the Grampians region. Officials are warning the fire could burn for weeks.

• The bushfire, originating from Grampians National Park, grew from 7 500 ha (18 533 acres) on Friday, December 20 to over 30 000 ha (74 132 acres) by Saturday, December 21, posing a significant threat to nearby communities.
• An Emergency Warning was issued on December 21 for several areas, including Halls Gap, urging residents to evacuate immediately as the fire advanced toward populated regions.

At 06:48 UTC local time (LT) on Saturday, an Emergency Warning was issued for Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction, and Halls Gap, superseding an earlier alert. When the warning was issued, the fire was advancing northward from Grampians National Park toward Halls Gap and had already reached Lake Bellfield. This EMERGENCY WARNING - BUSHFIRE - Leave Immediately is issued for Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction, Halls Gap. More details at http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/warning/35211/moreinfo… Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay. Spanning 7 500 ha (18 533 acres) on Friday, December 20, the fire expanded dramatically to over 30 000 ha (74 132 acres) by Saturday. At a town hall meeting in Ararat on Saturday morning, Incident Controller Mark Gunning informed residents that the high-intensity fire could burn for weeks and was beyond firefighters’ control. “This fire is in areas inaccessible to machinery or crews, so our approach involves ‘burning out’—a controlled ‘fight fire with fire’ strategy,” explained Glen Rudolph from Forest Fire Management. Around 400 firefighters, supported by over 100 tankers, 25 aircraft, and various heavy equipment, are engaged in battling the fire.

Race to find survivors following devastating Vanuatu earthquake - Rescuers in Vanuatu remain under pressure to reach trapped victims following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu on December 17. The shockwaves caused widespread damage in the small South Pacific country, population of 334,000 situated 2,600 kilometres northeast of Sydney. The powerful earthquake struck 30 kilometres off the west coast of Efate, Vanuatu’s main island at a depth of just 50km. It damaged many buildings and domestic dwellings in and around Port Vila. There have been numerous aftershocks—the latest a magnitude 6.1 quake which shook buildings on the country’s main island at 2.30 a.m. on Sunday. Aftershocks of at least magnitude 5 are typical of an earthquake sequence—a series of smaller quakes that follow the initial one. For an earthquake at over 7, there could be ten times as many aftershocks in the magnitude 5 range, and ten times as many again at magnitude 4, and so on. The pattern can continue for weeks to several months, or even longer. Some 80,000 people have been directly affected. The official death toll was revised down from an initial 14 to nine, though it is expected to rise again with people still caught under rubble and landslides. Vanuatu President Nike Vurobatavu later said the number of people dead was “around 16.” Hundreds more have been injured with casualties overwhelming hospital services. A seven-day state of emergency has been declared by caretaker Prime Minister Charlot Salwai. It includes a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. with only essential services allowed to operate. Shops and fuel stations open only at certain times and people have been rushing to get food supplies, water and fuel. On Sunday the capital’s airport finally reopened allowing commercial flights to resume. In Port Vila there are several sites where buildings are reported to be “fully pancaked,” according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Rescuers have concentrated on two disaster areas; a four-storey building housing a supermarket, hotel and garage and a shopping block in the CBD that crumbled into a pile of concrete. It is unlikely they will find anyone else alive in a collapsed building which housed the US, French, UK and New Zealand diplomatic missions. Any buildings still standing have sustained significant structural damage. The main wharf is closed due to a major landslide. Two water reservoirs supplying Port Vila were totally destroyed causing major water shortages and will require reconstruction. Telecommunications, still piecemeal and patchy, were restored two days after a near total blackout following the quake.

Eruption at Home Reef volcano drives significant lava lobe growth, Tonga - The formation of 75 000 m2 (807 300 feet2) lava lobe has been observed at the Home Reef volcano between December 4 and 15, 2024. Satellite image of Home Reef volcano captured on December 17, 2024. The image showcases enhanced natural color visualization with prominent lava flows and new growth along the northeastern shore. Image credit: Copernicus EU/Sentinel-2, EO Browser, The Watchers Tonga Geological Services reported that satellite imagery captured on December 15 confirmed a new lava lobe covering approximately 75 000 m2 (807 300 feet2). The development occurred between December 4 and December 15 with small explosions and persistent effusion of mafic lava. Thermal activity at the volcano was first observed at 01:15 LT (12:15 UTC) on December 4 through satellite monitoring. Since then, the volcanic radiative power (VRP) on the Middle Infrared Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) scale has remained at moderate to low levels. Sentinel-2 imagery from December 7 and 12 indicated an additional 1 000 m2 (10 764 feet2) of growth on the island during this period. . The most recent imagery was captured on December 15, revealing gray-colored clouds presumed to be ash-rich near the island along with a long line of vapor. No major explosive eruptions have been observed despite these indicators.

Volcanic ash from Popocatépetl volcano reaches 6.7 km (22 000 feet) a.s.l., Mexico - Volcanic ash plumes reached an altitude of approximately 6.7 km (22 000 feet) during the continued explosive activity at the Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico on Sunday, December 22, 2024. A true-color image of Popocatépetl volcano, showing the eruption and ash plume as captured by Sentinel-2 satellite on December 21, 2024. According to the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), the ash cloud was seen rising up to 6.7 km (22 000 feet) above sea level at 07:36 UTC today, moving northeast at 37 km/h (23 mph). The plume extended as far as 50 km (31 miles) from the summit, with forecasts predicting continued movement in the NNE direction for at least 18 hours. Updated reports at 13:17 UTC noted intermittent ash emissions observed via satellite imagery and webcams. The ash plume, now recorded at a slightly lower altitude of 6.4 km (21 000 feet), continued to move northeast at approximately 65 km/h (40 mph). Weather conditions partially obscured satellite imagery during this time, but volcanic activity remained moderate, with emissions persisting.

Explosion, cracks reported at Masaya volcano, Nicaragua - The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported explosive eruptions at Sakurajima volcano between 07:10 and 07:29 LT on Monday, December 23, 2024, with ash clouds rising to approximately 3 000 m (9 850 feet) above the volcano. A high-resolution satellite image of Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, captured on December 21, 2024. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a forecast for light ashfall spreading southeast across Kagoshima Prefecture. Volcanic ash is affecting the Osumi region, while small volcanic rocks could be carried by winds up to 7 km (4 miles) southeast of the volcano. The JMA maintains Alert Level 3 (on a scale of 1 to 5) and has restricted access to the areas near the volcano’s summit. Residents are warned to stay careful as there is a risk of fast-moving hot gas flows and falling volcanic rocks. In advisory issued at 05:50 UTC today, the Tokyo VAAC stated that volcanic ash could not be seen in satellite imagery, possibly because of meteorological clouds or its dissipation The eruptions on December 23 follow a period of increased volcanic activity reported from December 9 to December 13 when small eruptions and nightly crater incandescence were recorded. Public access within 1 km (0.6 miles) of both craters remains restricted. Officials have advised residents in Tarumizu City and other nearby areas to prepare for minor ashfall. The ashfall is expected to cause disruptions, including reduced visibility and hazardous road conditions in affected areas. Authorities have warned that fine particulate matter could impact air travel, and temporary closures of airport facilities may occur if ash accumulates. Transportation in the surrounding region may be disrupted, and roads near the volcano could be closed if conditions worsen. Seismic activity, ash clouds, and landslides pose ongoing risks.

Explosive eruptions at Sakurajima volcano, Japan - The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported explosive eruptions at Sakurajima volcano between 07:10 and 07:29 LT on Monday, December 23, 2024, with ash clouds rising to approximately 3 000 m (9 850 feet) above the volcano. A high-resolution satellite image of Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, captured on December 21, 2024. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a forecast for light ashfall spreading southeast across Kagoshima Prefecture. Volcanic ash is affecting the Osumi region, while small volcanic rocks could be carried by winds up to 7 km (4 miles) southeast of the volcano. The JMA maintains Alert Level 3 (on a scale of 1 to 5) and has restricted access to the areas near the volcano’s summit. Residents are warned to stay careful as there is a risk of fast-moving hot gas flows and falling volcanic rocks. In advisory issued at 05:50 UTC today, the Tokyo VAAC stated that volcanic ash could not be seen in satellite imagery, possibly because of meteorological clouds or its dissipation The eruptions on December 23 follow a period of increased volcanic activity reported from December 9 to December 13 when small eruptions and nightly crater incandescence were recorded. Public access within 1 km (0.6 miles) of both craters remains restricted. Officials have advised residents in Tarumizu City and other nearby areas to prepare for minor ashfall. The ashfall is expected to cause disruptions, including reduced visibility and hazardous road conditions in affected areas. Authorities have warned that fine particulate matter could impact air travel, and temporary closures of airport facilities may occur if ash accumulates. Transportation in the surrounding region may be disrupted, and roads near the volcano could be closed if conditions worsen. Seismic activity, ash clouds, and landslides pose ongoing risks.

New eruption, increased hazard alerts at Kīlauea volcano, Hawai’i - A new eruption at Kilauea volcano led the USGS to raise the Aviation Color Code to Red and the Volcano Alert Level to Warning on Monday, December 23, 2024. The eruption is occurring within a closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Halema'uma'u eruption captured from West Rim. Lava activity observed at Halema'uma'u and the down-dropped block, viewed from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit, December 23, 2024. Image credit: USGS Increased seismic activity beneath the summit began around 02:00 LT (12:00 UTC) on December 23, followed by eruptive activity observed via summit webcams by 02:30 LT (12:30 UTC) as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Lava fountains erupted from a line of fissures, producing flows confined to the base of Halema’uma’u. The eruption has resulted in the release of high levels of volcanic gases, including water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). SO2 emissions contribute to vog (volcanic smog), which could spread downwind, affecting air quality across the region. Lava flows from the eruption are advancing slowly within the summit area. Risks include volcanic glass fragments, such as Pele’s hair, which can travel short distances from the fissures. These lightweight particles, carried by strong winds, pose hazards to skin and eyes. Residents and visitors near affected areas are advised to minimize exposure. Other risks include ground instability in the area, where earthquakes, rockfalls, and ground cracking are possible. The region around Halema’uma’u has been closed to the public since 2007. Halema'uma'u thermal image. Before this eruption, Kīlauea had periods of activity throughout 2024, from September 15 to October 17. Fissures in the middle East Rift Zone produced lava flows covering approximately 0.63 km2 (0.24 mi2). During this phase, SO2 emissions peaked at 10 000 tonnes per day, and lava effusion rates ranged between 5 and 15 m3 (176 to 530 ft3) per second. Eruptive activity paused on October 17, and by September 23, alert levels were downgraded as seismicity and magma movement subsided. Kīlauea’s eruptions are part of its long history of frequent volcanic activity, with over 74 confirmed eruptive periods during the Holocene. Main events include the prolonged East Rift Zone eruption from 1983 to 2018, which generated lava flows covering over 100 km2 (38 mi2), destroyed numerous homes, and expanded Hawai’i’s coastline. Kīlauea, a basaltic shield volcano overlapping the eastern flank of Mauna Loa, has a 3 x 5 km (1.9 x 3.1 miles) caldera formed around 1 500 years ago. Its surface consists of lava flows younger than 600 years. The volcano is situated in an intraplate oceanic crust setting less than 15 km (9.3 miles) thick.

Eruption at Kanloan volcano triggers preparation for Alert Level 4, Philippines - The WatchersEruption at Kanloan volcano emitted a dark ash plume reaching 1.2 km (0.75 miles) on Monday, December 23, 2024. Communities within a 6 km (3.7 miles) radius of the summit crater must remain evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents, ballistic projectiles and ashfall, lava flows, rockfalls, and other related hazards. Local government units were advised to prepare for potential escalation to Alert Level 4. Eruption at Kanlaon volcano on December 23, 2024. Kanlaon volcano erupted again at 11:05 LT (03:05 UTC) on December 23, sending an ash plume approximately 1 200 m (4 000 feet) high. The ash plume drifted west-northwest, affecting communities in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported ongoing dark ash emissions caused by gas-driven explosions and low-frequency volcanic earthquakes. PHIVOLCS recorded at least 15 volcanic earthquakes within 24 hours leading up to the event. “Since 11:45 LT, dark ash has been issuing from the summit of Kanlaon volcano accompanied by weak low frequency volcanic earthquakes. This has produced a dark plume roughly 1.2 km tall that is drifting to the northwest,” PHIVOLCs said. PHIVOLCS advised residents to wear N95 masks or use damp cloths as a precaution against ashfall. They also warned that pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) and lahars could pose risks during heavy rainfall. The Task Force Kanlaon, led by Raul Fernandez, Director of the Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas, conducted an emergency meeting. Communities within a 6 km (3.7 miles) radius of the summit crater must remain evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents or PDCs, ballistic projectiles and ashfall, lava flows, rockfalls and other related hazards. Representatives from various government agencies, including the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), discussed preparedness for a potential escalation to Alert Level 4, which could indicate major ground deformation and an increased likelihood of hazardous eruptions.

Strong eruption at Raung volcano sends ash plumes to 8 km (26 000 feet) a.s.l., Indonesia - A strong eruption at Raung volcano in East Java, Indonesia sent ash plumes as high as 8 km (26 000 feet) a.s.l. on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. Authorities advised maintaining a 3 km (1.9 miles) exclusion zone around the summit. The latest advisory from the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) at 07:05 UTC confirmed ash emissions from Raung volcano reaching an altitude of 8 km (26 000 feet) above sea level (a.s.l.). The ash cloud was observed moving north-northwest at 9 km/h (6 mph). Satellite imagery, reports from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM)/Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG), and pilots identified the ash plume despite limited visibility caused by weather conditions. The Aviation Color Code is maintained at Orange. Aviation stakeholders are urged to take precautions for potential disruptions. An earlier advisory at 03:12 UTC on December 24 reported ash plumes reaching an altitude of 7 km (23 000 feet) and moving northeast at 18 km/h (11 mph). The emissions were described as medium-dense and indicative of continued volcanic activity.

Lava overflow and spattering intensify at Stromboli volcano, Italy - Intensifying spattering activity in the northern area led to a lava overflow down the upper Sciara del Fuoco at Stromboli volcano in the Aeolian Islands, Italy on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. INGV reported it was accompanied by heightened seismic activity and increased tremor amplitudes. stromboli volcano december 24 2024 f Stromboli volcano on December 24, 2024. Credit: INGV The Stromboli volcano exhibited increased eruptive activity early on December 24 as spattering in the northern crater zone intensified. The activity generated a lava overflow that remains confined to the upper Sciara del Fuoco slope. According to the INGV’s Etneo Observatory, the overflow began at 05:20 UTC following an explosive event at 05:14 UTC. The explosion produced pyroclastic materials that funneled into the upper portion of a canyon within the volcano. Seismic data captured at 05:14 UTC indicated a signal with slightly higher energy than usual and was consistent with the explosive event. This was followed by a 5-minute period of increased tremor levels. Tremor amplitudes initially recorded as high escalated to very high values before settling back to high levels later. Instrumental readings from clinometric and GPS networks showed no deformation linked to the activity. INGV documented Strombolian activity at 4 vents in the northern sector and 3 vents in the south-central crater area from December 2 to 8. Explosions in the northern vents occurred at a rate of 9 to 13 events per hour with ejecta reaching up to 150 m (500 feet) above the vents. The south to central vents saw lower frequency explosions (3 to 8 per hour) with tephra reaching heights exceeding 250 m (820 feet). A period of intense spattering on December 4 at vent N2 in the northern area caused a lava overflow starting at 03:09 UTC. The lava flow descended the upper to mid-slopes of the Sciara del Fuoco and remained active for approximately 2 hours, ending at 05:45 UTC.

Christmas Eve Asteroid Alert: 120-Foot Space Rock Racing Toward Earth -- As Christmas Eve approaches, the sky above promises more than twinkling stars and festive cheer. A massive celestial visitor, known as the “Christmas Eve asteroid,” is hurtling toward Earth at astonishing speeds. While its approach is being closely monitored by NASA, the sheer size and velocity of this space rock have sparked fascination and a hint of unease. What makes this event so remarkable? Could this asteroid pose a threat, or is it simply a fleeting guest in the cosmic dance of our solar system? Asteroid 2024 XN1, discovered on December 12, 2024, is set to make a close approach to Earth on Christmas Eve. Measuring between 95 and 230 feet in diameter—comparable to a 10-story building—this celestial object will pass at a distance of approximately 4.48 million miles from our planet, about 18 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Traveling at a velocity of 14,743 miles per hour, 2024 XN1 has been classified by NASA as a near-Earth object (NEO). Despite this classification, experts confirm there is no risk of collision. Astronomer Jess Lee from the Royal Greenwich Observatory notes, “It will be very far away, around 18 times further away from the Earth than the Moon is, and so with this predicted path won’t come close enough to hit the Earth.” The significance of monitoring such asteroids is underscored by historical events like the Tunguska explosion in 1908, where a similarly sized object caused extensive damage over Siberia. This event flattened approximately 2,000 square kilometers of forest, highlighting the potential impact of near-Earth objects.

Cyanobacteria research unlocks potential for renewable plastics from carbon dioxide - Scientists at The University of Manchester have achieved a significant breakthrough in using cyanobacteria—commonly known as "blue-green algae"—to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable bio-based materials. Their work, published in Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, could accelerate the development of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived products like plastics, helping pave the way for a carbon-neutral circular bioeconomy. The research, led by Dr. Matthew Faulkner, working alongside Dr. Fraser Andrews, and Professor Nigel Scrutton, focused on improving the production of citramalate, a compound that serves as a precursor for renewable plastics such as Perspex or Plexiglas. Using an innovative approach called "design of experiment," the team achieved a remarkable 23-fold increase in citramalate production by optimizing key process parameters. Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms capable of photosynthesis, converting sunlight and CO2 into organic compounds. They are a promising candidate for industrial applications because they can transform CO2—a major greenhouse gas—into valuable products without relying on traditional agricultural resources like sugar or corn. However, until now, the slow growth and limited efficiency of these organisms have posed challenges for large-scale industrial use. "Our research addresses one of the key bottlenecks in using cyanobacteria for sustainable manufacturing," explains Matthew. "By optimizing how these organisms convert carbon into useful products, we've taken an important step toward making this technology commercially viable." The team's research centered on Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a well-studied strain of cyanobacteria. Citramalate, the focus of their study, is produced in a single enzymatic step using two key metabolites: pyruvate and acetyl-CoA. By fine-tuning process parameters such as light intensity, CO2 concentration, and nutrient availability, the researchers were able to significantly boost citramalate production. Initial experiments yielded only small amounts of citramalate, but the design of the experimental approach allowed the team to systematically explore the interplay between multiple factors. As a result, they increased citramalate production to 6.35 grams per liter (g/L) in 2-liter photobioreactors, with a productivity rate of 1.59 g/L/day. While productivity slightly decreased when scaling up to 5-liter reactors due to light delivery challenges, the study demonstrates that such adjustments are manageable in biotechnology scale-up processes.

DOE, EPA unveil projects chosen for $850M methane-cutting plan -The Biden administration is divvying up $850 million to 43 projects to help track, measure and curb methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas sector.The Department of Energy and EPA announced the planned funding Friday — roughly six months after the Biden administration unveiled its plan to dole out the money. It also came a month before President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn in for a second time.Most of the projects selected are those designed to speed up the deployment of “early-commercial technology solutions” to cut methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas equipment, the Biden administration said in a news release.Other projects are focused on improving communities’ access to emissions data and boosting the detection and measurement of methane at a regional scale, DOE and EPA said.

US DOE, EPA Set to Award $850 Million to Methane Reduction Projects - The United States Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have selected 43 methane reduction projects for potential funding totaling about $850 million. “Three projects will help small operators across the country significantly reduce methane emissions from low-producing oil and natural gas operations, using commercially available technology solutions”, the DOE said in a statement. “Thirty-one projects will accelerate the deployment of early-commercial technology solutions to reduce methane emissions from new and existing equipment”, added the statement on the DOE’s website. “Four projects will improve communities’ access to empirical emissions data and participation in monitoring. “Five projects will enhance the detection and measurement of methane emissions from oil and gas operations at regional scale”. The selected beneficiaries comprise 20 private companies, 11 universities and one tribal consortium. “The selected projects support the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to reduce harmful methane emissions across economic sectors”, the DOE said. “These efforts are accelerating reductions in methane emissions, supporting clean air and public health, creating good jobs, and advancing President Biden’s ambitious climate goals”. According to the statement, $350 million for 14 states announced December 15, 2023, had also been finalized, meant to help the states support industry efforts to cut methane emissions from wells on non-federal lands and support the environmental restoration of well sites. The biggest recipient was Texas at $134.15 million, followed by Pennsylvania at $44.46 million and West Virginia at $37.79 million. The other beneficiaries were California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Utah and Virginia. The announcements are part of a total of $1.36 billion in financial and technical aid under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program. “Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to approximately one-third of the global warming we are experiencing today”, the DOE said. “Over 100 years, one ton of emitted methane traps 28 times as much heat in the Earth’s atmosphere as one ton of emitted carbon dioxide. “The oil and natural gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States. A rapid reduction in methane emissions is one of the most important and cost-effective actions the United States can take in the short term to slow the rate of rapidly rising global temperatures”. The statement added that minimizing methane emissions “will help position the United States as the most efficient producer of oil and natural gas in the world and ensure that the industry remains competitive in overseas markets that require a minimum level of emissions performance”.

Ameren Missouri must pay $61 million over illegal emissions at Missouri power plant -- Ameren Missouri has been ordered by a court to spend $61 million on projects tied to mitigation around violations of the Clean Air Act at the Rush Island Power Plant near Festus. The Environmental Protection Agency says that this includes 14 years of unpermitted “excess emissions” of sulfur dioxide, and that the order resolves litigation going back years. An Ameren spokesperson tells First Alert 4 that there are talks about the future of the Rush Island facility underway. In a statement, Ameren said, "The approved agreement with the Department of Justice fully resolves the case." Under the order, Ameren Missouri will spend $25 million to provide vouchers for 125,000 eastern Missouri households to buy air filters to improve home air quality. The terms were “jointly proposed” by the utility company, the Sierra Club and the Department of Justice. Excess SO2 emissions led to increased risk of lung disease, heart disease, and premature death in downwind communities, the EPA says, mainly from harmful particulate matter in the air. “Eligible residential customers will be hearing directly from Ameren Missouri with information on how to participate in the air filter program,” an Ameren spokesperson told First Alert 4. “Ameren Missouri is prioritizing low-income and disadvantaged communities. At the same time, the company is also working with school districts to implement the second mitigation program related to electric buses.” Another $36 million will be spent on helping St. Louis area school districts move to zero-emission, all-electric school buses. If benchmarks in the agreement aren’t met, the EPA says Ameren will have to implement a third project focused on energy efficiency upgrades in the St. Louis metro area. The EPA had alleged that Ameren had operated the coal-fired power plant in violation of Clean Air Act standards for years, and that it failed to install air emission controls at the Rush Island facility, which is southeast of Festus. The DOJ filed a complaint against Ameren in 2011 in the Eastern District of Missouri, and in 2017 the court ruled in favor of the DOJ’s claims and that Ameren violated Clean Air. Act. Five years ago, the Court had ordered Ameren to enter into compliance with Clean Air requirements at Rush Island, and to place controls to lower emissions. There were appeals, and after some time -- Ameren announced it would “shutter the plant and did so by Court order in October 2024,” the EPA says. In a statement, the EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director said, “Nothing can undo the widespread harm to human health that Ameren caused by illegally emitting thousands of tons of harmful pollution into the air that St. Louisans breathe every day, but today’s court order requires Ameren to pay for projects that will make that air a little cleaner and provide some measure of justice to the public.”

American Efficient faces $975M FERC hit for ‘manipulative scheme’ in MISO, PJM | Utility Dive

• American Efficient and its related companies face a $722 million penalty and the return of $253 million in unjust profits for allegedly providing capacity from energy efficiency resources that didn’t reduce energy use through the companies’ efforts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Monday.
• Besides engaging in a “manipulative scheme,” the company also violated Midcontinent Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection rules over the last decade, enforcement office staff said in a report that was released with the agency’s “show cause” order.
• American Efficient’s program receives more capacity payments than any single generator in PJM, and offers nothing in return, according to the report. FERC gave American Efficient 30 days to respond.

FERC enforcement staff contend that American Efficient’s program fails to meet provisions in the PJM and MISO tariffs because it doesn’t reduce electricity use, lacks the nexus to end-use customer projects required by those tariffs and does not include the required ownership or contractual rights in end-use customer projects.American Efficient buys sales data of energy efficient products from retailers like The Home Depot, Lowes and Costco and then figures out how much electricity would be saved if end-use customers installed the products, enforcement office staff said. It then bids the energy savings into the capacity markets as if it caused them, staff said. “But American Efficient does not cause the energy savings. In fact, it has nothing to do with the end-use customers or the home improvement and other projects that actually cause the savings associated with the use of those energy efficient products,” staff said. “It does not even tell those customers that it is bidding those savings into the capacity markets and getting rich on those customers’ work.”Staff said American Efficient claims it obtained the rights to payments for the energy savings by buying from manufacturers, distributors and retailers “environmental attributes” associated with the energy efficient products used by end-use customers.However, American Efficient’s collection of sales data and environmental attributes does not qualify its program as an energy efficiency resource under the MISO or PJM tariff requirements, staff said.MISO and ISO New England have disqualified American Efficient from their capacity markets, according to enforcement office staff. MISO and PJM’s market monitors referred the issue for enforcement office staff, according to the report.After American Efficient was barred from operating in the ISO-NE and MISO markets, it expanded in PJM, according to the report. “The company brought on new investment bank partners to help fuel its conversion of sales data into PJM capacity payments, and it even sold part of its capacity revenue stream to one of those partners,” staff said.In PJM’s last three delivery years, American Efficient offered and cleared on average about 4,610 MW per PJM delivery year with average delivery year revenues of $86.7 million, according to the report. American Efficient has cleared 20,751 MW and $473.7 million in capacity payments since entering PJM’s capacity market in 2014, staff said.American Efficient told its unnamed investment bank partners that it expected to clear up to $1.34 billion in capacity over PJM’s next five base capacity auctions, according to the report.Affirmed Energy, an American Efficient affiliate, in June disclosed it faced a possible FERC enforcement action.The allegations against Affirmed Energy were “substantially similar” to those made in May in a complaint by Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s market monitor, American Efficient said in its letter to the enforcement office.The market monitor contends that Affirmed Energy and nine other companies, including Exelon’s Baltimore Gas & Electric, should be ineligible for capacity payments because they failed to provide adequate measurement and verification reports for their efficiency resources.American Efficient denies the allegations, which it said are based on “deeply flawed” theories.

UK Inks First Hydrogen Production Contracts - The United Kingdom government’s Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) has signed the first three contracts under the Hydrogen Production Business Model. The government says the model provides revenue support to producers to close the operating cost gap between low-carbon hydrogen and higher-emission fuels. The three projects are Cromarty Hydrogen, led by Scottish Power Ltd. and Storegga Ltd.; Scottish Power’s Whitelee Green Hydrogen; and West Wales Hydrogen by Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. “These contracts will enable clean hydrogen production, reduce emissions across key industries and create jobs and investment opportunities”, LCCC said in an online statement. “The Cromarty, Whitelee and West Wales projects represent first-of-a-kind hydrogen contracts in Great Britain and once operational, will have a combined capacity of 31.8MW”. The British Energy Security Strategy has set a goal of up to 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, at least half of which is targeted to come from electrolyzers. By 2025, the UK aims to have up to 1GW of electrolytic hydrogen capacity under operation or in construction. Enrique Cornejo, head of energy policy at offshore energy industry group OEUK, said, “Today’s announcement kickstarts the first green hydrogen production projects in the UK”. “These projects have been made possible by industry and government developing policy foundations such as the low-carbon hydrogen standard and the hydrogen production business model”, Cornejo added. “Mechanisms like this must continue to evolve and clear deployment timelines are essential to provide clarity to developers and investors”. Cornejo urged the government to also support hydrogen produced using natural gas and supported with carbon capture. Up to four GW of the 2030 ambition has been allotted to CCUS-enabled hydrogen, according to the Hydrogen Production Delivery Roadmap published online by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) December 2023. Cromarty, Whitelee and West Wales are part of 11 projects selected under the UK’s First Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), launched July 2022. Covering eight regions across England, Scotland and Wales, the 11 have a combined capacity of 125 megawatts, according to the notice of results published December 2023 by the DESNZ.

Green Hydrogen Advocates Get A Cold Dose Of Reality From Bloomberg – When it comes to hydrogen news on CleanTechnica, Michael Barnard is the resident expert. He has written dozens of articles about how the green hydrogen dream has led governments and corporations — which presumably have intelligent people in charge — down a primrose path of hype, hope, and hyperbole for years, leaving shattered dreams and cubic miles of misspent dollars in their wake. Some may remember the Tokyo Olympics of 2020, which were promoted as the first Olympic games to feature buses and other mobility devices powered exclusively by hydrogen — either in fuel cells or as the source of zero emissions electricity to charge the batteries of electric vehicles.In March of 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world, “During the Olympics and Paralympics, cars and buses will run through the city powered by hydrogen, and the athletes’ village will run on electricity made from hydrogen.” As we reported at the time, that was a bold promise that was built on a lie. There was nothing “green” about those fuel cell buses. The hydrogen Japan intended to use didn’t come from Japan. It mostly came from Australia, where it was supposed to be made from coal using carbon capture technology. That technology didn’t exist at the time and still doesn’t today.To make matters worse, the hydrogen fuel cell buses manufactured by Toyota cost $900,000 for a 6-year lease — which did not include the cost of the hydrogen. Japan was completely mesmerized by the promise of a hydrogen-based economy after the Fukushima disaster. A lot of smart people bought into that promise, largely under pressure from the Japanese government, which is why Toyota and Honda wasted years developing hydrogen fuel cell powered cars that had no refueling infrastructure and precious few customers.Japan should not have been surprised. A decade earlier, Vancouver also tried to introduce hydrogen buses at the 2010 Olympics — an experiment that failed miserably. After the games were over, the fuel cells in those buses were ripped out and replaced with diesel engines. Like Japan, Vancouver had no local supply of hydrogen, so the fuel for the buses had to be trucked in from Toronto. Needless to say, it was super expensive, which put another hole in the dream of hydrogen-powered transportation.Nevertheless, hydrogen remains high on the list of things we could do to decarbonize the global economy. In the US, the Inflation Reduction Act contains billions of dollars worth of incentives for the nascent green hydrogen industry. Green hydrogen is not green in color; it is made by splitting water molecules apart using electricity into their component parts — hydrogen and oxygen. That sounds all well and good, except that it takes massive amounts of electricity to make the process work. If that electricity comes from thermal generation powered by burning coal or methane, is the resulting hydrogen really green? The answer should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer. If you answeredd no, go to the head of the class.This week, BloombergNEF threw a bucket of cold water on green hydrogen, which has been touted by politicians and business leaders as a key fuel for a carbon free future. But it will remain far more expensive than previously thought for decades to come, the new report from BNEF says. Previously, it had forecast steep declines in the price of green hydrogen, but in its forecast published December 23, 2024, it more than tripled its 2050 cost estimate, citing higher future costs for the electrolyzers themselves. BNEF says the current price range for green hydrogen is $3.74 to $11.70 per kilogram. It now expects prices in 2050 to range between $1.60 to $5.09 per kilogramBNEF took an in-depth look at how green hydrogen will fare in New York, Texas, and Utah. The report found that Texas will create the cheapest green hydrogen, but costs will only fall from $7.22 per kilogram today to $4.82 in 2030. If Biden’s planned tax credit of $3 per kilogram is included, Texas hydrogen costs could fall below $1 by 2040, according to the forecast. But the fate of US hydrogen incentives remains uncertain. Although industry executives remain hopeful the new administration will continue many of the initiatives of the Biden government, partly because oil companies are interested in hydrogen, Trump has said little about it. His threatened tariffs on imported products could boost the price of foreign-made electrolyzers, but BNEF’s price forecast did not take tariffs or subsidies into account. Slow hydrogen demand growth has forced companies worldwide to scale back their ambitions. Equinor, Shell, and Origin Energy all canceled hydrogen production projects this year due to a lack of buyers.

Florida Battery Energy Storage Project Gets $28.7 Million Federal Grant - City of Tallahassee Electric & Gas Utility to deploy a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS). The grant comes from the $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program (GRIP), which is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to boost the climate resilience of the country’s power system. To be built at the Birmingham Street Substation, the BESS project will store backup power for four facilities providing essential community services: the Lawrence-Gregory Community Center, the Lincoln Center, the Miracle Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the Tallahassee Senior Center. Additionally it is expected to help municipal utility customers save about $160,000 a year from fuel costs, the DOE said in an online statement. “Like many communities across the country, Tallahassee, Florida experiences extreme weather events, and its existing substation is overburdened”, the DOE said. The project is subject to the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative. Justice40, which President Joe Biden passed January 27, 2021, through an executive order, aims to direct 40 percent of the benefits of certain investments, including those poured into clean energy and housing, to disadvantaged communities. “The utility will engage the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, local universities, community-based organizations, and residents, to develop and implement a Community Benefits Agreement”, the DOE said. “In further service of the local economy, the project will issue 30 Clean Energy Trades certificates to trainees, among other workforce opportunities”. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said, “The Administration’s Investing in America agenda has delivered the largest grid investment in U.S. history, adding more power to the grid faster, improving reliability and resilience, and investing in innovative technologies so all Americans can have access to affordable, reliable energy”. GRIP expects to enable 53 gigawatts of grid capacity, enough to power nearly 40 million homes annually, according to the DOE. The DOE has so far announced a total of $7.6 billion from GRIP from two rounds of selection, covering 105 projects across all 50 states and Washington DC. These projects will add or upgrade nearly 2,500 miles of transmission, the DOE said. It expects to launch a third round next year. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership, the U.S. is projected to build more new electric generation capacity this year than in two decades while also mobilizing to upgrade thousands of miles of existing transmission lines”, the DOE added. “This includes catalyzing nationwide collaboration on modern grid technologies and funding their deployment, accelerating transmission permitting, and increasing grid capacity to support electricity demand to support increased electrification, data centers, and manufacturing”.

Data center energy demand could triple by 2028 — DOE - Fueled by the rapid rise in artificial intelligence, data centers could triple their energy use by 2028, accounting for as much as 12 percent of the country’s electricity consumption, according to a new report backed by the Department of Energy.The findings from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory add to the flurry of warnings about the toll that data centers could take on the nation’s electric grid. But administration officials say they’re not concerned about the grid’s ability to handle the needs of the growing industry.“This is a success story in American innovation and investment. This is a new technology that has enabled economic growth and it does create an opportunity for us to meet the moment and provide the amount of energy that is demanded,” said Avi Shultz, director of DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. “We do have the technologies and the suite of strategies to meet the moment.” The report, which was requested by Congress, finds that data center energy use was generally stable between 2014 and 2016. That changed in 2017, when the base of installed servers started growing and companies started using servers for energy-intensive data center uses. In 2018, the report found, data centers used the equivalent to 1.9 percent of the country’s electricity use, growing to 4.4 percent by 2023.

Visualizing Big Tech Company Spending On AI Data Centers - Big tech companies are aggressively investing billions of dollars in AI data centers to meet the escalating demand for computational power and infrastructure necessary for advanced AI workloads.This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, visualizes the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon from January to August 2024.AI capital expenditures are one-time or infrequent investments in long-term AI assets and infrastructure. Data center operating costs are ongoing expenses for running and maintaining AI data centers on a day-to-day basis The data comes from New Street Research via JP Morgan and is updated as of August 2024. Figures are in billions. Operating costs include cash operating expenses, software, depreciation, and electricity. Below, we show the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon. Microsoft currently leads the pack in total AI data center costs, spending a total of $46 billion on capital expenditures and operating costs as of August 2024. Microsoft also currently has the highest number of data centers at 300, followed by Amazon at about 215. However, variations in size and capacity mean the number of facilities doesn’t always reflect total computing power. In September, Microsoft and BlackRock unveiled a $100 billion plan through the Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to develop AI-focused data centers and the energy infrastructure to support them. Notably, both Google and Amazon currently spend more than twice as much training their models as they do running them for their end-use customers (inference). The training cost for a major AI model is getting increasingly expensive, as it requires large data sets, complex calculations, and substantial computational resources, often involving powerful GPUs and significant energy consumption. However, as the frequency and scale of AI model deployments continue to grow, the cumulative cost of inference is likely to surpass these initial training costs, which is already the case for OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

EPA approves road made of radioactive fertilizer byproduct in Florida -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a pilot project that would allow a company to build a small road made out of a radioactive fertilizer byproduct — drawing environmentalist ire. The Biden administration’s approval allows Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC to construct a road made of phosphogypsum on its property in New Wales, Fla. Phosphogypsum contains radium, which decays to form radon gas, both of which are radioactive and can cause cancer, according to the agency.In the past, the agency has raised concerns about the use of this material in road building. It said in 1992 that use of phosphogypsum in road construction created risks for both construction workers and also anyone who later builds a home where the phosphogypsum road had once been. The agency now says that members of the public are not expected to come into contact with the road.However, Mosaic, which will build the road, has described the effort as part of a pilot project that will “demonstrate the range of … road construction designs.” It’s not clear if additional road construction will follow — though doing so would likely require further approvals. Ragan Whitlock, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a written statement that the EPA’s decision was “mind-boggling.”“That dramatically increases the potential for harm to our road crews and water quality,” Whitlock said. “The EPA has bowed to political pressure from the phosphate industry and paved the way for this dangerous waste to be used in roads all over the country.”In 2020, under the Trump administration, the EPA approved the use of phosphogypsum in government road construction. That approval was withdrawn under the Biden administration, which described it as a broad, generalized request. It’s not clear whether the incoming Trump administration will seek to reinstate it.

Ohio kills energy-saving measure as power demand grows - The Ohio General Assembly ended its session last week by scuttling a bipartisan energy efficiency bill, despite tightening power supplies in the region and concern over demand tied to new data centers.Hours before the end of the biennial session, Senate leadership abruptly canceled a key vote on a bill that would give utilities the ability to implement energy-saving programs. Energy forecasts since legislators introduced H.B. 79 in early 2023 have only pointed to rising electricity demand.Wholesale electricity prices for future capacity on the regional transmission grid serving Ohio, PJM Interconnection, shot up eightfold earlier this year. At the same time, there seems to be no letup to announcements from the largest companies in the world that they intend to build more power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine last week announced plans by Amazon Web Services to invest an additional $10 billion to expand data center infrastructure across the state. Total investment by Amazon in Ohio comes to about $23 billion by 2030.

Effort to revive energy efficiency programs in Ohio dies in the Senate - cleveland.com – The Ohio Senate killed legislation that would have allowed utility companies to run energy efficiency program designed to reduce their customers’ net energy use. Legislation at the center of a criminal bribery scandal at the statehouse from 2019 ended the programs in Ohio. A bipartisan coalition in the House narrowly passed House Bill 79 this summer, which would have revived them. The legislation was scheduled for a last-minute vote in the Senate Energy committee Wednesday morning, the last scheduled lawmaking day of the year, though it was removed from the schedule Tuesday evening without explanation. Chairman Bill Reineke, a Tiffin Republican, declined comment when asked what happened. Donovan O’Neil, state director of Americans for Prosperity, a free market advocacy group started by wealthy conservative donors, said his organization made the bill a major target. “We made it clear in the Senate that this is something we have big concerns about,” he said. The bill also drew opposition from the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, a state agency that represents residential ratepayers’ interests in regulatory and lobbying matters, which said the bill only forces more money from customers to power companies for a problem a free market can solve. HB79 would have created an energy efficiency program less ambitious than its predecessor – a 0.5% electricity reduction year over year instead of 2% – but more specific in its guidance to utilities and with more oversight from regulators. It passed the House by an unusually tight 50-46 vote in June, winning almost all Democrats and a good chunk of the Republican caucus. Senate President Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, said “we’re going to start turning toward other solutions to provide energy and energy policy than taking money from ratepayers.” Under the bill, utilities at their discretion would apply to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to create an efficiency program. Customers would pay a maximum of $1.50 extra per month and can opt out if they choose. year. They accomplish this either by subsidizing customers' purchase of efficient appliances, or by deploying different forms of incentives or strategies for customers to reduce energy use at peak demand moments. The bill requires 15% of program spending go toward low-income customers with income below 200% of the federal poverty level ($51,640 a year for a family of three) who would struggle to afford the up front costs of a new dishwasher or other appliance. In effect, the programs task utilities with the goal of decreasing Ohio’s net power demand, and then pays them for the money they lose to the new efficiencies. The bills’ backers included two of Ohio’s biggest distribution utilities, along with interests they regularly tussle with: environmentalists and the Citizens Utility Board, a ratepayer advocacy nonprofit. Supporters pointed to the results of the most recent wholesale electricity auction from PJM, which oversees the 13-state electrical grid that includes Ohio. Its power for next year sold 800% higher than it did in 2023, Reuters reported, driven in part by retiring coal facilities and a backlogged queue for new generation projects. Efficiency programs, backers say, help individual customers cover the added purchase price of more efficient appliances that save money in the long run. And given the net reduction in demand, they say prices and maintenance costs will fall. Brian Billing, director of customer experience for American Electric Power, estimated to state senators that the bill could save 500 megawatts – about the output of a small natural gas power plant – in one year. He said while a certified, energy efficient appliance saves money in the long run, customers need a nudge (the rebate) for the math to work on their timeline. However, the Ohio Consumers Counsel, a state agency representing residential ratepayers’ interests at the PUCO, testified against the bill. Director Maureen Willis said energy efficiency is a problem that the free market can solve – customers will buy the appliances that save them money over time, without utilities’ involvement or new fees on their bills. She also questioned the wisdom of paying utilities for their “lost distribution revenue” – the revenue (from power sales) they lost to the more efficient appliances – which will limit any savings to customers. John Seryak, a lobbyist representing the Ohio Manufacturers Association, testified against the bill, flagging to lawmakers language that requires utilities to include in their application a plan to exercise control over the “demand or impacts” of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. He said this could allow utilities to “shut down” companies that rely on rooftop-generated solar. A throughline under much of the opposition: a deep mistrust of Ohio’s utilities. The legislation that ended energy efficiency programs in Ohio, House Bill 6, sent its champion to prison for 20 years. He was accused of taking a bribe via a nonprofit he secretly controlled from FirstEnergy. The company’s CEO and a senior vice president have been charged and await trial for bribing the former PUCO chairman. American Electric Power, meanwhile, contributed $700,000 to Householder’s nonprofit. The company has not been criminally charged, but the company told its investors it has set aside $19 million to settle a lawsuit brought against it in connection with HB6 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FirstEnergy didn’t register to lobby on the bill. AEP and AES Ohio, two of its peers, support it.

Gas drillers ask to open 4,700 acres of Ohio wildlife areas for fracking – At least one interested driller asked the state to open an additional 4,360 acres of Egypt Valley Wildlife Area and 383 acres of Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area, both in Belmont County, to oil and gas development.The applicants, whose identity is shielded by state law, want to access oil and gas thousands of feet beneath the wildlife areas via well pads adjacent to the park.Earlier this month, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission accepted a $152,000 bid plus 18% royalty fees from Gulfport Energy to allow hydraulic fracturing – fracking – under 30 acres of Egypt Valley. The new request, posted shortly before Christmas, would significantly expand operations in the roughly 18,000-acre wildlife area.Elsewhere in Belmont County, the commission was asked to open 383 acres in Jockey Hollow, a 3,469-acre wildlife area with a history of surface mining established in 2004 near Egypt Valley. To access the gas, drillers start at well pads adjacent from the wildlife areas. They drill down thousands of feet before turning laterally, reaching a mile or more underground to tap into the shale underground. From there, they pump at high pressure huge volumes of a mixture of water, sand, and noxious chemicals to free methane from shale, before pumping it all up to the surface to dispose of the wastewater and sell the oil and gas.State law shields the identity of the requesters until the commission undergoes the months long process of granting a land nomination and selecting a winning bidder after a competitive process.If it agrees to open the additional acreage in Egypt Valley, it would be the second-largest tract the commission has leased for oil and gas development.Since the commission formed in earnest in 2023, its members have already opened 5,700 acres of Salt Fork State Park to Infinity Natural Resources, of West Virginia, for $58 million plus a 20% royalty fee. Bids are underway, meanwhile, for another 884 mineral acres of the parkland.Other companies, exclusively from out of state, have purchased mineral rights to other smaller parcels around the state. Houston-based Encino Energy bought 303 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area; Houston-based EOG Resources bought 85 acres of Keen Wildlife Area; and Encino bought 66 acres of Zepernick Wildlife Area. The bid process is also underway for parcels at Leesville Wildlife Area.Gov. Mike DeWine signed GOP-backed legislation in 2023 that force started the technically existent, but functionally dormant, state lands leasing program created more than a decade prior. Soon, DeWine could sign related legislation that would extend the default lease term of a fracking operation on state lands from three years to five years (drillers would still have the opportunity to renew for an additional three years).

OH Court Case Mixed Bag for Landowners re Post-Production Deductions - Marcellus Drilling News - A lawsuit that slipped by us (and is still playing out) that began in Carroll County, OH, has major ramifications for landowners and drillers across the state. The case is EAP Ohio LLC v. Sunnydale Farms LLC, et al. in which 13 oil and gas leases were executed in 2008 and 2009 in Carroll County, Ohio. The 2008 Leases contained an identical royalty clause that limited post-production deductions to three categories: transportation, compression, and/or dehydration to deliver the gas for sale. After drilling wells on those properties, EAP (Encino Energy) deducted several other items from royalties, including costs incurred for processing, treating, fuel, gathering, and trucking. The lawsuit tussles with the issue of how terms are defined and whether these “extra” categories are allowed under the lease’s language.

Trump administration to boost US LNG exports - Liquefied natural gas (LNG) export in the US is expected to accelerate under the administration of Donald Trump who takes office on Jan. 20, according to a senior expert and new report projection. Following Trump's inauguration, for the next four years, US LNG exports are expected to increase substantially, Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a global research fellow at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, told Anadolu. With 5 LNG export facilities currently under construction in the US, exports are set to double, Corbeau said. 'The first two LNG terminals, Plaquemines and Corpus Christi, are about to start, with Golden Pass probably starting in early 2026. The last two, Rio Grande and Port Arthur, will start later in the decade,' she explained. The US LNG sector will double its export capacity within the next five years, according to a report, titled 'Major New US Industry at a Crossroads: A US LNG Impact Study – Phase 1', co-authored by S&P Global Vice President Daniel Yergin. This expansion is expected to generate an average of 500,000 jobs annually and contribute an additional $1.3 trillion to the US economy by 2040, according to the report. Last year, the US emerged as the global leader in the LNG market, capturing a 21% share—an important rise from having no exports in 2015. The country exported 84.3 million tons of LNG, outpacing Australia's 78.9 million tons and Qatar's 78.5 million tons. Earlier this year in January, the Biden administration paused LNG export approvals due to immense pressure from environmental groups. 'President Trump has announced he will make the US energy dominant again. I think on US LNG, they are already and expected to remain so,' Corbeau said. Noting that several countries are importing US LNG, including Türkiye, Corbeau said, 'The interest in US LNG is that it is flexible, so companies which have long-term US LNG contracts can use this LNG for their domestic market or to supply other markets if the LNG is not needed.' Corbeau emphasized Türkiye's growing LNG trade with the US, citing the 2024 agreement between Türkiye's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and TotalEnergies as an example. This 10-year deal secures the supply of 16 billion cubic meters of LNG.

Plaquemines Ships First Cargo to Germany — Venture Global LNG Inc. said Thursday that it has shipped its first commissioning cargo from the Plaquemines LNG facility it is building in Louisiana. The company’s Venture Bayou vessel left the terminal on Monday with a cargo headed for the Brunsbuttel floating storage and regasification unit in Germany. It was purchased by German utility EnBW AG. Vessel-tracking data shows the shipment is scheduled to arrive Jan. 8. Plaquemines produced its first LNG on Dec. 14. It has received regulatory approval to introduce feed gas to four blocks consisting of 8 smaller, modular liquefaction trains. Wood Mackenzie said in a note to clients Thursday that the facility currently has the capacity to produce more than 600 MMcf/d of LNG with four blocks being commissioned.

Kinder Morgan’s Evangeline Pass Expansion Ramps Up Alongside Plaquemines LNG Terminal Startup Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) is adding 100,000 Dth/d of firm service to the 2 Bcf/d Evangeline Pass pipeline to support ramping operations at Venture Global LNG Inc.’s Plaquemines export facility. (A map showing Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast natural gas assets and nearby LNG export terminals.) FERC authorized KMI subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) to place into service part of a new nine-mile, 36-inch diameter looping pipeline operated by the Southern Natural Gas Co. LLC (SNG) in St. Bernard Parish, LA. by Jan. 1. TGP said the facilities, which include an interconnection valve and pipe launcher, would increase firm capacity on the Evangeline Pass project to 400,000 Dth/d.

IPO Filing Shines Light on Venture Global LNG Operations -- Information published in Venture Global LNG Inc.’s long-rumored initial public offering (IPO) has provided some of the first public views of the firm’s spot-market sales from Calcasieu Pass and its vision for the future of U.S. natural gas exports. Founded by industry outsiders Mike Sabel and Bob Pender in 2013 as a nimble technological answer to massive stick-build export projects, Venture Global has used smaller modular equipment to bring projects online faster. It would continue to be controlled by Sabel and Pender after the IPO, according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As the Virginia-based company moves to advance a pipeline of projects in Louisiana that could reach 104 million tons/year (Mt/y) by the middle of the next decade, management is seeking to raise $3-4 billion from investors in an IPO disclosed last week.

US natgas prices hit 23-month high on increased LNG feedgas, heating demand - US natural gas futures hit a 23-month high on Tuesday in thin pre-holiday trading, supported by an increase in the amount of gas flowing to liquefied natural gas export plants, and forecasts for more cold weather in January than previously expected. Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 29 cents higher, or 7.9%, to $3.946 per million British thermal units, their highest close since January 2023. “As most of the marginal demand comes from the residential and commercial sectors due to heating needs, weather is the most important factor that determines the gas price in winter. We still have a lot of winter left and the uncertainty about weather tends to push up gas prices,” Financial firm LSEG estimated 376 heating degree days over the next two weeks, compared with 370 estimated on Monday. “Much of today’s rebound appears prompted by less bearish temperature outlooks within the 6–14-day portion of the NOAA forecast,” Mild temperatures are expected to subside later next week in limiting downside possibilities, Ritterbusch said. The amount of gas flowing to the eight big US LNG export plants rose to an average of 14.6 billion cubic feet per day so far in December from 13.6 bcfd in November. That compares with a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 US states rose to 103 bcfd so far in December from 101.5 bcfd in November. That compares with a record 105.3 bcfd in December 2023. It also forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, rising to 132.6 bcfd this week from 124.7 bcfd in the prior week. Meanwhile, Venture Global LNG wants to extend the force majeure at its Calcasieu Pass LNG plant in Louisiana to 2025, delaying first supplies under long-term contracts to three years after starting production, according to its initial public offering document. Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were slightly up on Wednesday in thin trading ahead of Christmas holidays across Europe, as uncertainty remains over Russian gas flows when the Ukraine gas transit deal expires at the year-end.

US natural gas prices retreat from 2-year peak on less cold forecasts - US natural gas futures fell more than 5% on Thursday from a near two-year high in holiday-thinned trade as forecasts for less cold conditions in the short term overshadowed support from a rise in the amount of gas flowing to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants. Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 20.2 cents, or 5.1%, to $3.74 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 8:59 a.m. EST (1318 GMT) after hitting their highest level since January 2023 earlier in the session. “This morning we’re pulling back, mainly because there is some doubt as to how cold January will be and we are definitely going to see a bit of a warm-up at the start of the year,” Financial firm LSEG forecast 393 heating degree days over the next two weeks, lower than the 10-year normal of 427 HDDs and 30-year normal of 432 HDDs. It also forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, falling to 119.8 bcfd next week from 132.9 bcfd this week. The amount of gas flowing to the eight big US LNG export plants rose to an average of 14.8 bcfd so far in December from 13.6 bcfd in November. That compares with a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 US states rose to 103.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in December from 101.5 bcfd in November. That compares with a record 105.3 bcfd in December 2023.

EIA Natural Gas Storage Draw Of -93 Bcf Misses Expectations On December 27, 2024, EIA released its Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. The report indicated that working gas in storage declined by -93 Bcf from the previous week, compared to analyst consensus of -99 Bcf. In the previous week, working gas in storage decreased by -125 Bcf. At current levels, stocks are 14 Bcf higher than last year and 166 Bcf above the five-year average for this time of the year. High storage levels have served as the key bearish catalyst for natural gas markets in 2024, but traders have started to focus on other catalysts in recent months. Natural gas moved away from session highs as traders reacted to the report. The storage draw missed analyst expectations, which is bearish for natural gas markets. Traders will also stay focused on weather forecasts. The recent changes in forecasts for the beginning of January pointed to colder weather, which may provide additional support to natural gas markets. The situation in Europe may also impact the dynamics of U.S. natural gas markets. Russia is expected to stop the transit of natural gas to EU through Ukraine, which will likely increase demand for U.S. LNG in the first half of the next year.

Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility Not Closing Until Demand Falls, California Regulator Says -- Southern California Gas Co.’s 86 Bcf Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility is to continue operating, but with a roadmap toward its eventual closure if local consumption drops sufficiently, state regulators said. Graph showing SoCal Citygate versus Henry Hub natural gas prices and SoCalGas core storage. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a measure establishing that if forecast peak gas demand in Southern California over a two-year horizon falls below 4,121 MMcf/d, regulators would begin a review process to shutter the facility. “This decision puts forward a path to the closure of Aliso Canyon that is achievable, realistic, and protective of families and businesses who are struggling to pay energy bills,” said CPUC President Alice Reynolds. “Huge progress is underway to bring online clean energy resources and drive down demand for natural gas-fired power plants.

Virtual Reality Revolutionizes Training in Oil, Gas, GlobalData Says - Virtual reality revolutionizes training and operations in the oil and gas industry. That’s what GlobalData said in a release sent to Rigzone recently, which highlighted a recently published strategic intelligence report from the company on virtual reality in oil and gas. The report “presents an overview of the adoption of virtual reality in the oil and gas industry”, the release pointed out. “Virtual reality primarily has applications around training across the oil and gas value chain, i.e., from rigs and pipelines to refineries,” GlobalData said in the release. “Leading oil and gas companies such as Shell, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil, have adopted VR to train as well as aid regular workflows in operations,” the company added. “It offers a cost-effective means to acclimatize the workforce to various environments through immersive training programs. It also offers safe environment for the workforce to understand the workflows by participating in virtual walk-throughs, without being in proximity of heavy industrial equipment,” it went on to state. The applications of virtual reality technology in the oil and gas industry include generating training modules for the workforce and visualizing the asset under consideration for planning and decision making, GlobalData noted in the release. It added that virtual reality “plays a key role in the digital twin set up, helping companies recreate scenarios through detailed simulations”. In the release, Ravindra Puranik, an oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said, “virtual reality enhances the operational safety through immersive training programs”. “It can help develop safety procedures at production facilities to address smaller accidents as well as for emergency response,” Puranik added. “Industry technicians work in hazardous environments, such as offshore rigs or at a densely packed equipment maze in a refinery,” the GlobalData analyst continued. “Virtual reality can be used to relay important information and instructions to the technician onsite, without the need to fly out experts to that location or carrying detailed instruction manuals for referencing,” Puranik went on to state. Puranik also highlighted in the release that “various aspects of a production platform can be modeled through virtual reality simulations to enhance the understanding of personnel for on-field tasks”. “They can simulate the processes using virtual reality before implementing on the operational floor. It thus reduces the scope for human errors during critical operations,” Puranik said. “Besides, designers and engineers can better visualize the layout under development using virtual reality technology. This can potentially help to improve designs, and carefully plan its execution to optimize the project costs,” the GlobalData analyst continued.

European Gas Jumps as Putin Doubts New Transit Deal Can Be Made - European natural gas advanced after Russian President Vladimir Putin cast further doubt on the likelihood of a deal to maintain flows to Europe via Ukraine. Benchmark futures jumped as much as 5% Friday, the most in a week. Putin said Thursday it would be impossible to arrange a new transit contract before year’s end, when the current agreement expires. Central European nations that still buy Russian gas have floated alternative solutions to keep the fuel flowing across Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected any arrangement that sends money to Russian coffers while the war continues. As things stand, there will be no transit of Russian gas from Jan. 1, Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday. Still, talks continue in the remaining days of the year and a last-minute deal cannot be completely ruled out, especially given the history of such arrangements at the last moment during previous gas disputes between the two nations. If Ukraine receives any proposals from the European Commission on continuing transit, it is ready to consider them and guarantee “energy security for the region,” Tykhyi said. Some consultations in “different formats” are taking place, but “not with Russia, of course,” he added. Meanwhile, no capacity on the Slovakia-Austria border point was booked for January at auctions on Friday. Putin on Thursday acknowledged that the various proposals on the table — allowing Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey or Azerbaijan to take control of the gas shipped via Ukraine — are difficult to realize because Gazprom PJSC has long-term contracts that are hard to change. The flows at risk account for about 5% of European demand. While that’s a small slice of the market, the loss of those volumes would force countries to rely more heavily on piped gas from Norway or liquefied supplies from the US. Traders in Europe are closely monitoring the region’s gas storage, with levels now below 75%. Putin also said a lawsuit from Ukraine’s Naftogaz that alleges Gazprom hasn’t fully paid for transit services is another barrier to a deal. That claim must be withdrawn for any transit agreement to be reached, he said. Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, rose 3.38% to €47.27 a megawatt-hour at 12:13 p.m. in Amsterdam. The January contract expires Monday.

U.S. LNG Could Help Fill EU Supply Void if Russia-Ukraine Natural Gas Transit Deal Expires -Extending a gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine that expires Dec. 31 appears unlikely as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed last week he would not renew the agreement with Gazprom PJSC. Bar chart showing Russian LNG exports by destination over the past five years. With the European gas market anticipating the end of deliveries via Ukraine, prices have continued to rise as the five-year transit agreement nears its expiration. Prior to Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, Europe received nearly 150 billion cubic meters (Bcm), or about 5,297 Bcf, of Russian pipeline gas through several transit points, including those in Ukraine. Russia now moves about 15 Bcm, or 530 Bcf, through Ukraine.

TTF Rally Continues as Russia-Ukraine Natural Gas Transit Deal Nears Expiration — European natural gas prices gained for a third consecutive session on Monday amid colder weather and more competition for LNG cargoes with Asia. (a chart showing European Union natural gas storage levels) The Title Transfer Facility (TTF) February contract gained 3% on Monday to finish at $13.95/MMBtu, continuing last week’s rally, when the contract finished 9% higher for its first weekly gain of the month. The Japan-Korea Marker is trading at roughly the same level in Asia, where prices have come down in recent weeks and brought more buyers onto the spot market.

Trump ramps up EU trade war threat unless bloc buys American oil and gas - — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump issued a fresh threat of a trade war to the European Union on Friday, urging it to purchase more American oil and gas or face a barrage of tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!! It was not immediately clear which EU official Trump had “told” this to, if anyone. European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill did not provide clarity on who was involved in the conversation Trump alluded to, but said: “The EU and US have deeply integrated economies, with overall balanced trade and investment. We are ready to discuss with President-elect Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common interests in the energy sector.”

EU Still Relies on Russia for a Fifth of Its Gas Needs: Official Q3 Report -- Twenty percent or 12.7 billion cubic meters (448.5 billion cubic feet) of natural gas imported into the European Union in the third quarter came from Russia, up two percentage points from the previous quarter and five percentage points against the third quarter of 2023, the European Commission has reported. The increase comes as the EU prepares for the expected end this month of the transit agreement allowing the export of Russian gas to the EU via Ukraine. However, compared to the first quarter of 2021, before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the figure marks a 64 percent fall in the Russian share of EU gas imports, according to the Commission’s quarterly gas market report. The 27-member EU imported 64 billion cubic meters of gas in July–September 2024, down eight percent quarter-on-quarter and six percent year-on-year. Of the total, pipeline gas accounted for 67 percent and liquefied natural gas (LNG) declined to 33 percent, said the report on the Commission’s website. Russia accounted for 20 percent of gas imported by the EU via pipeline in the third quarter. Norway continued to be the EU’s top pipeline gas supplier with a share of 47 percent, followed by North Africa (16 percent). The United Kingdom was the EU’s fourth-biggest pipeline gas source accounting for 11 percent, while Azerbaijan came fifth with six percent. Compared to the second quarter, the pipeline figures showed Russia’s share rose from 17 percent while the share of the others in the top four sources in the second quarter — Norway, North Africa and Azerbaijan — declined in the third quarter. Besides the increase in Russia’s share in terms of percentage, this decrease in the others’ share was absorbed by the United Kingdom, which displaced Azerbaijan as the EU’s fourth-biggest supplier. For LNG, Russia also accounted for 20 percent, while the United States remained the EU’s biggest source accounting for 40 percent. Qatar came third accounting for 12 percent. European gas spot prices — based on the virtual trading platform Title Transfer Facility — averaged EUR 35.4 ($37) per megawatt hour (mWh) in the third quarter. That is seven percent higher than the same quarter in 2023 and 11 percent higher than the prior quarter in 2024. However, compared to historic peaks in the third quarter of 2022, the average spot price in the third quarter of 2024 represents an 82 percent decrease. “In the third quarter, prices continued to rise throughout July and August continuing the rising trend observed already in the second quarter”, the report noted. “The average monthly price was 32.2 EUR/MWh in July and 37.8 EUR/MWh in August, when they peaked at 39.3 EUR/MWh on 8 August following Ukraine incursion into Russian territory in the Kursk region on 6 August and threatening to cut gas flows through the only remaining entry point of Russian gas into Ukraine at the Sudzha interconnection. “As gas flows continued at the usual rate despite the continuation of the conflict, European gas markets calmed down and prices declined to a monthly average of 36.2 EUR/MWh in September”.

"Theoretically, Yes": Goldman Says US LNG Can Replace Russian LNG Imports To EU - Samantha Dart, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman, published a note to clients outlining five key questions and answers about the US-EU liquefied natural gas trade. This comes just days after President-elect Donald Trump threatened the EU with a barrage of tariffs unless Brussels ramped up purchases of American LNG. For context, last Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!" Dart told clients that the US is already Europe's largest LNG supplier and a key source of supply growth. She said replacing Russian LNG with US LNG imports could raise shipping costs and European prices to incentivize re-routing cargoes. She said such a shift would have minimal impact on US LNG export revenues, as total export capacity remains fixed, adding exporters with long-term contracts with proposed US LNG projects would benefit. However, Europe's decarbonization strategy may limit the willingness of European companies to make long-term NatGas commitments with US exporters. Dart laid out key questions and answers about the US-EU LNG trade that help clients understand that US LNG Gulf exports can "theoretically" replace Russian NatGas flowing into the EU.

• 1. How much US LNG is exported to Europe? US LNG exports averaged 91 mt over the past year (Dec23-Nov24), of which 47 mt or 51% were delivered to Europe. US LNG exports to Europe have grown significantly in levels and as a share of total US LNG exports since the European energy crisis in 2022, peaking in 2023 (Exhibit 1).
• 2. Are US LNG volumes sold in the spot market or are they contracted? The vast majority of US LNG sales are under contract. That said, US contracts typically have flexible destination ports, in that the buyer is not obligated to deliver to a particular location. This allows buyers of US LNG to re-sell or re-direct cargoes to higher-paying destinations. This was evident during the European energy crisis, when European gas prices increased sharply relative to the rest of the world. Even as total US LNG exports grew, this worked as an effective incentive for US LNG deliveries to non-European destinations to contract by 41%, while European deliveries increased by 197%[1], as seen in Exhibit 1.
• 3. What portion of European LNG imports come from the US? The US has become the single largest source of LNG to Europe, averaging 46% of imports into the region over the past 12 months (Exhibit 2). Most European LNG imports are sourced from Atlantic Basin suppliers to minimize shipping costs. Importantly, the US is also the primary source of likely European LNG import growth, based on long-term LNG contracts signed by European buyers since the start of the Ukraine war. US volumes contracted by European buyers in the period add to just under 16 mtpa, which is more than with any other single supplier globally (Exhibit 3).
• 4. Can US LNG replace Russian LNG imports into the EU? Theoretically, yes. US LNG deliveries to non-EU countries are currently approximately 18 mtpa above the levels observed during the peak of the European energy crisis, suggesting there is enough flexibility in the market to replace Russia's current 17 mtpa of LNG exports to the region. However, such a reallocation of flows might offer little benefit, if any, to Europe or the US. Less optimal routes for LNG deliveries (for example, longer routes for Russian cargoes) would likely lead to higher freight costs. In addition, European import costs might go up in order to motivate the re-route of US cargoes that would have otherwise opted to deliver elsewhere.Total US LNG exports would also not increase as a result of this reallocation, given that US LNG export capacity would not be impacted in the process.
• 5. How could Europe support growing US LNG exports?Additional long-term contracting by European buyers with proposed US LNG projects would be the most impactful measure the EU could take to support higher future US LNG exports, as this would increase the likelihood such contracted liquefaction projects reach a final investment decision (FID). As of now, the forward curve for European gas prices suggests new long-term US LNG export contracts are in the money through at least 2027 (Exhibit 4). That said, Europe's decarbonization goals might limit European companies' appetite for long-term commitments to grow natural gas use. In fact, when we look across all long-term LNG contracts signed since the start of the Ukraine war, European companies are far behind Portfolio player companies and Asia importers (Exhibit 5).

It appears that Goldman believes Trump's 'America First' policy of replacing Russian LNG to Europe with American LNG is "theoretically" possible.

Russia Ready to Send Gas to Europe via Several Routes, Novak Says - Russia is ready to continue gas exports to Europe through several routes just as a contract to transit the fuel via Ukraine is expected to end this year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. It is up to authorities in Kyiv and the European Union to agree on the future of gas transportation, Novak said Wednesday in an interview with state-run Rossiya 24 TV channel. “We, in turn, have always stated that we are ready to continue supplying gas not only via the existing link” through Ukraine, he said. The looming end of supplies through Ukraine comes with significant concerns for nations such as Slovakia which relies heavily on Gazprom PJSC to meet demand, despite much of Europe weaning itself away from Russian piped gas. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has indicated his country won’t transit Russian-origin gas unless he has assurances the Kremlin won’t benefit financially while the war continues. It coincides with forecasts for colder weather across much of Europe, which is likely to increase demand for gas just as stockpiles deplete faster than normal. A tight market makes it challenging for traders to secure enough gas for next year as they vie with Asia for seaborne supplies of liquefied natural gas. Russia sends gas to Europe through various routes. Besides Ukraine, the fuel is transported via a leg of the TurkStream pipeline that crosses the Black Sea. Each of the two routes currently ships around 15 billion cubic meters per year. Supplies are also sent in tankers as LNG. Novak said Wednesday that total gas exports to Europe exceeded 50 billion cubic meters in the first 11 months of this year. In September, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is also ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via the last remaining link of the controversial Nord Stream pipeline across the Baltic Sea. Despite political pressure, “Russian gas is more attractive price-wise and logistically” for regional buyers, Novak said.

OECD Fails to Agree Ban on Foreign Fossil Fuel Financing -- Talks on a plan by wealthy nations to throttle tens of billions of dollars in public support for oil and gas projects have broken down without agreement, weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The EU, UK, US and other countries had sought the deal to limit export-credit agency finance for global fossil-fuel projects under the umbrella of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group of market-based economies. While improving transparency in export financing remains a target, the likelihood of a broader deal to curb support for hydrocarbon projects is now remote, said senior US officials, who asked to speak anonymously as the deliberations are private. The failure is a blow for climate activists, who saw the proposed finance curbs as a critical way to free up funding for emission-free energy projects around the globe. Where the US under departing President Joe Biden had rallied behind additional restrictions, these are unlikely to win support under Trump, who has campaigned on promises to unleash American oil and gas development and is pushing allies to buy more US energy. “Transparency measures are not good enough,” said Adam McGibbon, a campaign strategist at the Oil Change International advocacy group. “We cannot afford another penny for fossil fuel expansion if we want to preserve a liveable planet.” Although the EU advanced a plan last year, talks only began in earnest on a new, US-proffered compromise approach in November, after Trump won the presidential election. The negotiations had previously stalled for months because of concerns from the US Export-Import Bank, an independent agency whose charter prohibits denying financing against any particular industry, sector or business. During a meeting in Paris in November, the US proposed incorporating a technology-neutral, emissions-based threshold for financing that was seen as compatible with the charter. That policy innovation allowed the US to support the EU proposal while still maintaining fidelity with the statutory constraints imposed on the US bank, one of the officials said. But it wasn’t enough. Weeks of frenzied negotiations — including a session in Paris and subsequent virtual meetings — couldn’t overcome concerns about national security, competition and emissions accounting advanced by South Korea and Turkey. Countries also wrestled with technical questions around the appropriate methodologies for calculating the emissions of various energy projects, necessary to ensure transparency and national-level compliance, one of the officials said. OECD members have a longstanding agreement that effectively allows them to use export-credit agencies to give preference to domestic companies in international deals without running afoul of World Trade Organization rules. The club’s 38 countries have an incentive to abide by OECD policies governing the practice since they help ensure a level playing field. For years, the group has precluded support for unabated coal projects; the latest effort would have put most oil and gas limits off limits too. Export-credit agencies in OECD countries financed an average of $41 billion annually in oil and gas projects, according to data compiled by environmental advocates. Even in the US, that finance has continued to flow, despite Biden’s pledges to cut it off.

YPF, Shell Agree to Partner on Flagship Argentina Export Project - Argentina’s state-owned YPF SA said last week it had reached a tentative deal with Shell plc to develop LNG exports from the country. The agreement must still be finalized. It calls for cooperation in developing the first phase of the Argentina LNG project, which would include floating liquefaction units with the capacity to produce 10 million tons/year (Mt/y) of the super-chilled fuel. YPF is aiming to export $15 billion of LNG by 2030 by bringing online floating units that would use natural gas from the Vaca Muerta Shale. It is unclear whether former partner, Malaysia’s Petronas, would now back out of the project.

Peru declares environmental emergency after oil spill – (Reuters) – Peru’s government on Thursday declared an environmental emergency in a northern coastal area, where state oil firm Petroperu last weekend spilled a crude oil shipment into surrounding waters of the Pacific Ocean. A vessel carrying out pre-shipment maneuvers caused the spill on Saturday at a terminal of Peru’s Talara refinery in northern Peru. Petroperu has not said how much crude was spilled into the sea, but Peru’s environmental watchdog OEFA said in a preliminary report it has affected some 10,000 square meters of surface seawater, and the environment ministry said it has affected at least seven beaches, as well as local wildlife. Peru’s environment ministry said the 90-day emergency aims to “guarantee the sustainable management of the area and the execution of recovery and remediation works to mitigate environmental contamination.” Petroperu said on Wednesday it had deployed clean-up brigades from the moment of the spill and coordinated with the fishermen’s union and local authorities so that local economic and tourist activities could continue normally. Petroperu said in a statement that it maintains cleaning personnel, boats and drones in the affected area to “carry out preventive monitoring to guarantee the early detection of any eventuality.” Local authorities have said the spill has damaged coastal plants and animals such as crabs, while fishermen say the spill has stopped them from working. “We have not been able to go out for six days now,” fisherman Martin Pasos told local radio RPP. “It is chaos, what happened in Lobitos. So far, we have not had any response from the oil company.”

Sasol reduces gas output at Mozambique plant due to unrest - (Reuters) – South African petrochemical company Sasol has reduced natural gas production at its central processing facility in Temane, Mozambique, to ensure the safety of its staff and assets amid widespread post-election unrest, its spokesperson said. South Africa receives the bulk of its gas imports via the Rompco pipeline that links onshore gas fields in Mozambique to Sasol’s Secunda industrial complex in Mpumalanga province, before being piped onwards to clients in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal regions. “We have informed various gas users and our customers that we are not able to supply gas at full production rates to maintain stability of the gas value chain infrastructure and pipeline network,” Alex Anderson, a Sasol spokesperson said late on Wednesday. Mozambique has been wracked by unrest following a disputed election in October that saw ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo elected as president. The unrest has already affected the operations of foreign companies including the Australian mining firm South32 and led to the temporary closure of the main border crossing with neighbouring South Africa. Civil unrest escalated when the Constitutional Council on Monday confirmed long-ruling party Frelimo’s victory. On Tuesday, at least 21 people were killed in the unrest which on Wednesday spread to some prisons and saw 33 people killed. Western observers said the election was not free and fair, saying there were irregularities in the tabulation process and a lack of transparency in the election period. “The situation around the central processing facility is calm and there has been no security or perimeter breach,” Anderson said, adding that the safety of staff, service providers and communities was their main priority.

Oil Spill Ravages Russia's Black Sea Coastline (Reuters) - Volunteers struggled on Friday to shovel up tons of sticky oil from Russia's Black Sea coastline following what President Vladimir Putin has called an ecological disaster. The oil spilled from two ageing Russian oil tankers that were severely damaged by a weekend storm in the Kerch Strait that separates southern Russia from Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. One of the vessels split in half, and a crew member was killed, while the other ran aground. At the sea's edge, volunteers shovelled oil and blackened sand into white sacks to be taken away in trucks, as more viscous black tar drifted in on the waves. "I've never seen anything like this. I can't even really imagine it. It seems to me that nature will be affected for many decades to come," said one of the volunteers, a woman who gave her first name as Tatiana. "Even when you remove the top layer of sand, then you step on it and fall through, because there is still fuel oil under the sand." Volunteers have set up a rescue centre for stricken sea birds such as cormorants, which flapped their wings in distress as oil was wiped from their plumage and syringes were used to feed them. The head of the centre, Evgeniy Vitishko, said some 500 birds had been treated, but more than 30 had died. The Kerch Strait is a route for exports of Russian grain and fuel products. The two ships were carrying some 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total, of which 40% is estimated to have leaked into the sea. On Thursday one of the ships' captains was placed in investigative custody for two months and the other was put under house arrest, both on suspicion of violating maritime safety rules. The disaster happened in an area that provides an important habitat for seabirds and dolphins. Among the worst hit locations is Anapa, a popular tourist resort that is known for its golden, sandy beaches. State news agency TASS said the contaminated area included more than 45 hectares of a protected nature reserve. It quoted the emergencies ministry as saying that 6,000 rescuers and volunteers were taking part in clean-up efforts, and more than 3,300 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been collected.

Environmental Disaster in Kerch Strait: The Aftermath of a Massive Oil Spill --The Kerch Strait, near Russia's Crimea, has been the site of a major oil spill, leaking 3,700 tons of fuel oil after two Russian tankers were damaged during storms. Cleanup efforts involve thousands of volunteers, with significant environmental damage reported, including affected wildlife and contaminated coastlines. In the Kerch Strait, near Russia's Crimea, the cleanup continued on Sunday following a devastating oil spill from two storm-damaged Russian tankers, affecting the region's environment severely. Over 7,500 volunteers mobilized to rescue wildlife and clean the contaminated shores, yet thousands of tons of polluted material were still being removed as of Sunday afternoon, local authorities reported. Despite claims of progress in the cleanup, oil continued to wash ashore, and concerns over state support have grown, as calls for sanctions against Russian tankers intensify amid this ecological crisis.

Krasnodar Declares Regional Emergency as Black Sea Oil Spill Cleanup Stalls - The Moscow Times --Authorities in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region have declared a regionwide state of emergency as cleanup efforts for an oil spill along the Black Sea coast stall.The spill occurred on Dec. 15 after two Russian-flagged oil tankers were damaged during a storm, releasing thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil — known as mazut — into the Black Sea. Emergency officials reported Monday that the spill had polluted approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) of coastline.Authorities in affected coastal communities, including the resort city of Anapa, had previously declared local emergencies to address the growing layers of oil washing up on beaches. However, residents and volunteers argued that the spill warranted a national-level emergency, which would unlock additional resources for the cleanup.On Tuesday, Russia’s top investigator, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered law enforcement authorities to launch a criminal probe into alleged “failures” in addressing the cleanup. “Unfortunately, the discharge of oil products onto the shores of Anapa and the Temryuk district has dragged on and shows no signs of stopping,” Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram as he announced the regional emergency.According to Kondratyev, initial expert assessments suggested that most of the oil residue would settle on the seabed, making it easier to collect. However, he noted that warmer temperatures were causing the oil to rise to the surface and wash ashore.The regional emergency declaration will allow Krasnodar authorities to allocate additional resources, mobilize emergency services and request federal assistance if needed.At his annual press conference on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin blamed the oil tankers’ captains for the disaster, claiming they ventured out to sea without authorization.Meanwhile, volunteers and activists have criticized regional authorities for their slow and disorganized response to the environmental crisis. Many volunteers have been forced to fund cleanup efforts independently, purchasing equipment and supplies out of pocket.

Oil spill may have polluted 200,000 tons of soil (AFP) — An oil slick from two damaged tankers off the coast of southern Russia this month may have polluted up to 200,000 tons of soil, Russia’s minister of natural resources said on Monday. “The volume of polluted soil could reach 200,000 tons,” Alexander Kozlov said at a meeting broadcast by the Zvezda channel on Telegram. On 15 December, two Russian oil tankers, the Volgoneft-212 and the Volgoneft-239 were hit by a storm in the Kerch Strait, with one sinking and the other running aground. The strait separates southern Russia from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The ships were carrying 9,200 tons of fuel oil, around 40 percent of which may have spilled into the sea, according to Russian authorities. President Vladimir Putin last week called it an “ecological disaster.” Fuel oil was found along dozens of kilometers of beach, with the seaside resort of Anapa particularly hard hit. The port city of Kerch, in annexed Crimea, also saw patches of fuel oil arrive on its shores, according to images broadcast by local authorities. Volunteers in white protective clothing have been clearing up beaches in the region, according to images published on Monday by regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev. “Volunteers said that last night almost everything had been cleaned up, but during the night the waves deposited fuel oil again,” he said. Local authorities also broadcast images of oil-spattered birds being treated by volunteers. Ten dolphins may also have been killed by the oil spill, the specialist Delpha center said on Sunday, adding that tests were needed to confirm the cause of death. “This is an extremely alarming situation,” the scientific institution, which protects dolphins in the Black Sea, said on Telegram.

Oil spill prompts national emergency in Russia --Moscow on Thursday declared a national state of emergency following an oil spill caused by two separate incidents involving Russian tankers in the Black Sea. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement that a severe storm hit the two tankers on December 15, causing one to split in half and the other to run aground. This incident resulted in an oil spill, polluting the shores of the famous Anapa resort and surrounding areas, as well as causing serious problems for wildlife. The Ministry stated that more than 10,000 people are working to contain the oil spill and clean the affected beaches.

Russian scientists criticise cleanup efforts after oil spill in Black Sea Russian scientists have criticised the effort to clean up oil that has washed ashore from two oil tankers in the Black Sea, saying it lacks sufficient equipment.On 15 December, two Russian oil tankers, the Volgoneft-212 and the Volgoneft-239 were hit by a storm in the Kerch Strait, with one sinking and the other running aground.The strait separates southern Russia from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.The ships were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, about 40% of which may have spilled into the sea, according to Russian authorities.President Vladimir Putin last week called it an “ecological disaster”.Thousands of volunteers were mobilised to remove oil-sogged sand from nearby beaches. But scientists say the volunteers do not have the necessary equipment. A graphic of Kerch Strait where the tankers sank“There are no bulldozers there, no trucks. Practically no heavy machinery,” said Viktor Danilov-Danilyan at a news conference.Danilov-Danilyan is the scientific head of the Water Problems Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and served as Russia’s environment minister in the 1990s.The volunteers have only “shovels and useless plastic bags that rip apart”, he said. “While the bags wait to finally be collected, storms arrive and they end up back in the sea. It’s unthinkable!”Public criticism of the authorities is rare in Russia.Up to 200,000 tonnes of sand may have been contaminated with oil, Russia’s minister of natural resources said on Monday.Nearly 30,000 tonnes have already been collected, said Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev on Wednesday.Sergei Ostakh, a professor at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, said the oil could soon reach shores in Crimea.“No one should have illusions it will stay clean,” he said, calling for quick action.The oil spills may have killed 21 dolphins, the Delfa dolphin rescue centre said, although additional tests were needed to confirm the cause of death.

Finland Police Investigating Oil Tanker Involvement in Power Cable Rupture Finland Police Investigating Oil Tanker Involvement in Power Cable Rupture 'The repair work is estimated to take several months', Fingrid said. In a statement posted on its website on December 26, the Finland police said it is investigating “the rupture of the Estlink 2 power transmission cable within Finland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Gulf of Finland”, adding that it is also “looking into other possible damages in the maritime area”. The statement revealed that the Eagle S vessel’s “involvement in causing the rupture is under investigation”. It noted that “due to actions taken by the authorities”, the tanker entered Finland's territorial waters. The statement went on to reveal that the Helsinki Police Department and the Border Guard “have conducted a tactical operation on the vessel”. “The authorities have taken investigative measures on the vessel, with access there provided by the Finnish Border Guard and the Defense Forces helicopters,” the statement said. “At this stage, the case is being investigated as aggravated criminal mischief. In this respect, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is responsible for leading the criminal investigation,” it added. “Customs is making preliminary inquiries on-site in regard to an aggravated regulation violation and is looking into details concerning the cargo. For the purposes of the criminal investigation, the police are working closely and exchanging information with Estonian authorities,” it continued. “The police are investigating the incidents, and more information on the case will be provided as soon as possible,” it went on to state. The Finland police statement highlighted that the Eagle S tanker is registered in the Cook Islands. Reuters reported in an article published on December 26 that, according to MarineTraffic data, Caravella LLCFZ owns the Eagle S. That Reuters article also reported that, according to MarineTraffic, Peninsular Maritime acts as a technical manager for the Eagle S. MarineTraffic.com categorizes the Eagle S as a crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Cook Islands. A statement posted on Fingrid’s website on December 25 stated that the EstLink 2 electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia had failed. “The EstLink 2 electricity transmission link between Finland and Estonia was disconnected from the grid after noon on Wednesday,” the statement noted. “The Finnish and Estonian transmission system operators Fingrid and Elering immediately started investigating the fault with the authorities and work will continue until the fault has been located,” it added.

USA Oil Exports to China Dwindle as Demand Wanes, Buying Shifts - US crude exports to China plunged by almost half this year as shifts in the nation’s economy weighed on demand and it bought more barrels from other countries including Russia and Iran. Exports of US oil to China plunged to 81.9 million barrels over the course of the year, down 46% from 150.6 million barrels last year, according to data from Kpler. That knocked China down to the sixth-largest buyer of US crude, from second last year. China’s slowing economic growth and its increasing use of electric vehicles and energy sources such as liquefied natural gas are reducing the country’s appetite for crude, with its imports from all nations sliding 7.2% from a year earlier. That softening demand in China has helped drive global oil prices lower this year, and the outlook for 2025 is a top focus for the market. China also is shifting its sources of oil and imported about 26% of its seaborne crude from Russia, Iran and Venezuela this year, up from 24% a year earlier, the Kpler data show. Overall, the country still relies primarily on the Middle East, accounting for about 60% of seaborne oil imports. Meanwhile, Europe has become an increasingly important destination for US crude, driven partly by the inclusion of West Texas Intermediate oil in dated Brent, a European benchmark. The continent has been the top destination for US crude for three years since supplanting Asia as the biggest buyer after the onset of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Netherlands continues to import the most crude from the US, taking in 194 million barrels in 2024, a 12% increase from last year, the Kpler data show. South Korea was the second-largest importer of US oil in 2024, buying around 166 million barrels. South Korea is working to make up for the loss of some crude from Kazakhstan after the nation began shipping more oil to Italy.

India Takes the Lead in Oil Demand Growth - For a few years now, forecasters and market analysts have been expecting India to become the largest oil demand driver in the world in the medium and long term, surpassing China’s growth rates. This has now happened as early as this year, amid growing demand for fuel transportation in India and slowing gasoline and diesel demand in China due to the advance of electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks in the world’s top crude oil importer.India surpassing China as the world’s top driver of oil demand growth isn’t surprising at all. The surprise, if any, came from the fact that this is happening a bit earlier than many forecasters had expected a year or two ago. Almost every year between 1998 and 2023, China’s oil demand growth has surpassed India’s. But in 2024 and 2025, it will be India that will drive the increase in the world’s oil consumption, the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for December.India is expected to account for 25% of global oil demand growth this year and next, the EIA reckons. This year, Indian oil consumption growth is estimated at around 220,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared to China’s 90,000 bpd growth.In 2025, Indian oil demand is set to grow by 330,000 bpd. China will see a higher growth rate next year compared to this year’s weaker-than-expected increase. Yet, at 250,000 bpd growth in 2025, China will still lag India’s consumption increase, according to the EIA. Although India’s growth in percentage and volume terms exceeds China’s growth in the administration’s forecast, China still consumes significantly more oil—around triple the total amount India uses.And that is a key reason why China’s weak demand this year has been weighing on oil prices and wrong-footing oil producers.OPEC has been downgrading its global oil demand forecasts for this year for several consecutive months. The cartel’s latest monthly report contained the fifth straight downward revision to global oil demand, largely owing to weaker-than-anticipated Chinese demand.The International Energy Agency (IEA) also said in its monthly report in December that “Non-OECD demand growth, notably in China, has slowed markedly,” but acknowledged that emerging Asia will continue to lead gains in global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025.Over the past year, China’s economy has faltered, with growth below expectations. The property crisis has hit construction activity and diesel use with it, while EV and LNG truck sales have soared, displacing some growth in gasoline and diesel. Consumption of diesel has even dropped in some months this year compared to the same months of 2023.China’s oil demand could peak as early as next year as the penetration of electric vehicles and LNG trucks is accelerating, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said earlier this month. Although some of the weakness is attributable to China’s weaker economic performance, the shift toward EVs and LNG trucks is removing some road fuel demand permanently, analysts say.While oil demand in China has been sputtering this year, India’s has increased by higher percentages despite the seasonality of consumption with marked slowdowns during the monsoon season in the world’s third-largest crude oil importer. Due to India’s strong economy, population growth, and emerging middle class, the country’s demand for oil is set to continue growing for many more years, analysts and forecasters say. That’s in contrast with the recent oil demand growth leader, China, where the structural shift in transportation is slowing growth rates.OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2050 says that India, Asia outside China, Africa, and the Middle East will be the key sources of incremental demand in the coming years. Combined demand in these four regions is set to increase by 22 million bpd between 2023 and 2050. India alone will add 8 million bpd to its oil demand by 2050. China, for its part, will see its oil demand increase by 2.5 million bpd, according to OPEC. In the near term, Indian refiners are on the lookout for funding to build new refineries as they seek to expand their refining capacity to meet growing domestic demand for fuels amid higher-than-average economic growth and rising middle-class numbers.For example, state-controlled refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is said to be in talks with major local banks to secure a loan of about $3.8 billion, which it will use to expand the capacity of one of its refineries. Another state-owned refiner, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, is reportedly in discussions with banks to obtain a loan of $3.33 billion (280 billion Indian rupees) that would help it build a refinery in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. India also aims to be a refining hub in Asia as it is boosting refining capacity and expects to continue relying on fossil fuels until at least 2040, Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this year.

Oil spill from Mettur plant spreads deeper into Cauvery, raises safety concerns for drinking water : An oil spill from the Mettur Thermal Power Plant (MTPT), triggered by a coal bunker collapse, has spread out to a vast stretch of the Cauvery river, raising concerns about  aquatic life, winged visitors, and also possible contamination of drinking water. “As several drinking water pumping stations are located downstream from Mettur in the Cauvery river stretch, the {ow of contaminated water, probably containing toxins, should be restricted immediately. Minimal traces of oil have already reached Chekkanur barrage in the mainstream Cauvery. Necessary water quality tests should be done to ensure the safety of the drinking water. Even though a cleanup is under way, it should be done scientizcally as the oil spill is gradually entering the mainstream river,” claimed a study by Suzhal Arivom, an NGO. The oil spill was zrst noticed by local people on December 20, and a zeld study by environmentalists on December 23 revealed its spread to around one km. This seems to be the zrst instance of an oil spill in this region and it is impacting Cauvery’s ecosystem. Unlike marine oil spills, which appear thicker because of the high density of the salt water, oil spills dissolve quickly in freshwater because of their low density and form a thin layer of oil on the surface of the water. “A more scientizc approach is necessary as thin oil coating can spread across a wider area in freshwater, making it difzcult to determine by physical examination the extent of spread. As the dam is nearing its full capacity and with a likely release of water anytime soon, prompt clean-up and mitigation measures should be taken to minimise these impacts further downstream,” claimed the study's lead investigator, requesting anonymity. Farmlands on the Cauvery surplus water stretch have already been impacted by a layer of oil settling on crops. It may also impact aquatic life, as around 36 indigenous zsh species have been recorded in the stretch up to Chekkanur Barrage, where traces of oil have reached. Many rare and migratory bird species have been recorded by the Salem Ornithological Foundation in Mettur. “To contain the oil {ow, long {oating booms, interconnected barriers, skimmers and absorbent pads should be deployed, rather than manual cleaning to effectively restrict the oil from entering the mainstream Cauvery river,” he added. Meanwhile, an ofzcial with the MTPP said they have engaged local zshermen to remove the spilled oil. “Using paddy hay, barriers were created to prevent oil from spreading from the stagnant water. The oil-mixed water was removed in ten tankers on Tuesday and 16 tankers on Wednesday. The spill was only in stagnant water and, perhaps, there is no possibility of it contaminating drinking water. We are desperate to adopt a scientizc cleaning method, but couldn’t get access to those facilities,” the ofzcial said. Two workers died in the collapse of the coal bunker on December 19

Libya’s oil production surpasses annual target | The Libya Observer The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that daily crude oil production has exceeded this year’s target, reaching 1,405,609 barrels of crude oil and 52,633 barrels of condensates. In a statement on Wednesday, the NOC credited this achievement to the dedication of workers across production sites despite delays in the disbursement of the 2024 budget. The corporation confirmed that plans are underway to increase production further in the coming years, following the launch of a bidding round for oil and gas exploration and production-sharing agreements. The initiative is expected to attract international investment, boost revenues, create job opportunities for local youth, and promote economic growth. The NOC reaffirmed its commitment to developing Libya’s oil sector and positioning it among leading global institutions while contributing to the country’s economic growth.

Iraqi oil output falls again in November -- Iraqi oil production continued a four-month slide, falling to its lowest level since June 2023 as the Oil Ministry tried to improve compliance with an OPEC-plus quota agreement. Federal output was just 4.20 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, down from 4.28 million bpd in October, according to an Iraq Oil Report analysis based on data gathered independently from producing fields.* Production controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was roughly steady month-on-month at about 290,000 bpd.

Oil firms in Iraqi Kurdistan demand compensation of $24 billion - Iraqi News (IraqiNews.com) – Nine oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq requested compensation of $24 billion because of the suspension of oil exports through Turkey. Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi revealed on Monday that the Iraqi judiciary denied the Iraqi Ministry of Oil’s request to terminate these companies’ contracts with Iraqi Kurdistan, Shafaq News reported. The Karkh Court of Appeal canceled previous court decisions that considered the contracts concluded between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and oil companies invalid, according to Al-Marsoumi. Gazprom Neft, Addax Petroleum, Dana Gas, DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, HKN Energy, ShaMaran Petroleum Corp, and WesternZagros are the nine oil companies. Since March 2023, crude oil flows along the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which formerly handled around 0.5 percent of the world’s oil supply, have been suspended due to legal and financial uncertainty. After the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris decided in March 2023 that Ankara had broken a 1973 treaty by enabling oil exports without the federal government’s approval, flows via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline were stopped. Several foreign oil companies have halted production, and shipments have not yet resumed despite multiple discussions between officials in Iraqi Kurdistan, the federal government in Baghdad, and Turkish authorities.

Crude oil futures rise after US avoids govt shutdown - The Hindu BusinessLine - Crude oil futures traded higher on Monday morning as markets heaved a sigh of relief after the US avoided a potential government shutdown over the weekend. At 9.57 am on Monday, March Brent oil futures were at $72.93, up by 0.51 per cent, and February crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $69.86, up by 0.58 per cent. January crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,961 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5,938, up by 0.39 per cent, and February futures were trading at ₹5,954 against the previous close of ₹5,924, up by 0.51 per cent. Fears of a shutdown rose in the US after the President-elect Donald Trump criticised a funding bill. He also proposed a revised bill that sought to increase the debt limit. The revised bill was rejected by the lawmakers. However, the market players were relieved after the US Congress passed a spending legislation late on Saturday night avoiding the possibilities of a week-end shutdown in the US. The US President, Joe Biden, approved the spending bill providing government funding until March. A US shutdown would have impacted the travel during the holiday season in the US. This, in turn, would have impacted the demand for commodities such as crude oil. Meanwhile, the latest PCE price index data in the US also supported the prices of crude oil. This preferred inflation gauge of the US Federal Reserve read lower than expected for November. This raised hopes of further rate cuts in 2025. A reduction in interest rates would help boost demand for commodities such as crude oil. The fears of a potential trade war between the US and European Union (EU) surfaced after the US President-elect, Donald Trump, warned of tariffs on the EU, if it did not conduct large-scale purchases of oil and gas from the US. January natural gas futures were trading at ₹298.50 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹291.10, up by 2.54 per cent. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), January jeera contracts were trading at ₹24,100 in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹23,970, up by 0.54 per cent. January guarseed futures were trading at ₹5,283 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5,272, up by 0.21 per cent.

Oil rates surge on Monday as US inflation data indicates slowdown -Oil prices climbed at the start of trading on Monday after U.S. inflation data indicated a slowdown, renewing hopes for further monetary policy easing next year to bolster global economic growth and oil demand, according to a UK news agency. This optimism contributed to early gains in the energy market as traders speculated on the potential for more supportive conditions in 2024. Brent crude futures rose by 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, to USD73.20 a barrel by 01:41 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by 31 cents, or 0.5 percent, to USD69.77 a barrel. The modest gains marked a recovery after a challenging week for crude prices. Last week, oil prices dropped by more than 2 percent due to concerns over global economic growth and subdued demand, following cautious signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve regarding future monetary policy easing. In addition to U.S. policy considerations, market sentiment was influenced by research from Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, which projected that China's oil consumption would peak by 2027. This forecast added pressure to prices amid broader uncertainties about long-term demand trends in the world's second-largest economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 2.4 percent year-on-year in November, slightly below economists’ expectations of 2.5 percent, reinforcing the view of easing inflation. Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, noted that risk assets, including U.S. equity futures and crude oil, began the week on firmer ground. He attributed the positive momentum to lower inflation data, which helped alleviate concerns sparked by the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cut. Sycamore also highlighted the significance of the U.S. Senate passing legislation over the weekend to end a brief government shutdown, which provided additional support to market sentiment.

Oil Futures Mixed, Despite CCI Pulling Back in December -- Oil futures prices were mixed on Monday, despite the Consumer Confidence Index pulling back in December compared to the prior month on concerns of weak future business conditions and the expectation that tariffs will increase the cost of living in 2025. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 104.7 in December from a revised figure of 112.8 reported in November, and it was below market expectations of 113. The data reinforced the bearish sentiment the market has seen since last week, when the Federal Reserve confirmed that inflationary pressures will continue in 2025, coupled with expectations of weak demand driven mainly by China. "The recent rebound in consumer confidence was not sustained in December as the Index dropped back to the middle of the range that has prevailed over the past two years," said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. Compared to November, consumers in December were substantially less optimistic about future business conditions and incomes, said Peterson. Mentions of tariffs increased in December showing that 46% of U.S. consumers expect tariffs to raise the cost of living while 21% expected them to create more U.S. jobs. Last week, President-elect Donald Trump said that his administration will impose trade tariffs on European Union countries if they do not buy more U.S. oil and gas next year. Trump has also threatened to increase tariffs on China, and its main trade partners, Mexico and Canada, in 2025. However, analysts consider that those punitive measures could harm the U.S. economy even more as consumers will have to pay higher prices on imported goods. At 3:10 p.m. EST, the NYMEX WTI futures contract for February delivery was almost steady at $69.45 bbl compared to the previous trading session. Meanwhile, the February Brent crude contract fell $0.13 to $72.81. But in the opposite direction, January RBOB futures rose by $ 0.0025 to $1.9441 gallon while ULSD futures for January delivery fell $0.0011 to $2.2328 gallon.

Crude Oil Market Pressured by Projected Surplus and Strength of the U.S. Dollar -- The oil market traded lower on Monday at the start of what is expected to be a light trading week due to the Christmas holiday. The crude market posted a high of $69.94 in overnight trading as the market stabilized after data on Friday showed lower than expected U.S. inflation, with the personal consumption expenditures price index increasing 0.1% in November following a 0.2% gain in October. However, the market erased its gains and sold off to a low of 68.59 by mid-day. The oil market was pressured after Macquarie analysts projected an increasing surplus for next year. The market was also pressured by the strength in the U.S. dollar, which was trading around two-year highs on Monday after it reached that level on Friday. It later bounced off its low and retraced some of its earlier losses ahead of the close. The February WTI contract settled down 22 cents at $69.24 and the February Brent contract settled down 31 cents at $72.63. The product markets ended the session lower, with the heating oil market settling down 54 points at $2.2263 and the RB market settling down 33 points at $1.9383. On Sunday, Hungary’s Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, said oil shipments have resumed via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline to Hungary. Russian and Kazakh oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany via the Druzhba pipeline stopped on Thursday due to technical problems at a Russian pumping station.IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 25,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending December 27^th, increasing available refining capacity by 103,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to increase to 83,000 bpd in the week ending January 3^rd.Valero reported an unanticipated intermittent process unit upset on Saturday, December 21^st at its 89,000 bpd Three Rivers, Texas refinery. New orders for U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased in November amid strong demand for machinery and electrical products, offering more signs that the economy is on solid footing as the year ends. The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rebounded 0.7% after falling 0.1% in October. Core capital goods shipments increased 0.4% on the year. Orders for durable goods fell 1.1% after increasing 0.8% in October. The declines mostly reflected the weakness in commercial aircraft orders. U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly weakened in December as the post-election strength fizzled and concerns about future business conditions emerged. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 104.7 in December from an upwardly revised 112.8 in November.

Oil prices ease on surplus concerns, dollar strength (Reuters) -Oil prices edged lower on Monday in thin trade ahead of the Christmas holiday on concerns about a supply surplus next year and a strengthened dollar. Brent crude futures settled down 31 cents, or 0.43%, at $72.63 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.32%, to $69.24 a barrel. Macquarie analysts projected a growing supply surplus for next year, which will hold Brent prices to an average of $70.50 a barrel, down from this year's average of $79.64, they said in a December report. Concerns about European supply eased on reports the Druzhba pipeline, which sends Russian and Kazakh oil to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany, has restarted after halting on Thursday due to technical problems at a Russian pumping station. The U.S. dollar was hovering around two-year highs on Monday morning, after hitting that milestone on Friday. "With the U.S. dollar changing from weaker to stronger, oil prices have given up earlier gains," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. On Friday, U.S. data that showed cooling inflation helped alleviate concerns after the Federal Reserve interest rate cut last week. "With the Fed sending mixed signals and some of these economic data points not being all that robust, the market is listless," Brent futures fell by around 2.1% last week, while WTI futures lost 2.6%, on concerns about global economic growth and oil demand after the U.S. central bank signalled caution over further easing of monetary policy. Research from Asia's top refiner Sinopec pointing to China's oil consumption peaking in 2027 also weighed on prices. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday urged the European Union to increase U.S. oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc's exports. Trump also threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.

Global oil prices rise to $73.05/barrel in pre-Christmas trade - Global oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, recovering from the previous session’s losses, as a slightly optimistic market outlook provided a lift despite light trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. Brent crude futures gained 42 cents, from $72.63 or 0.6%, to settle at $73.05 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 38 cents, or 0.6%, reaching $69.62 a barrel as of 0742 GMT, Reuters reported.Analysts at FGE noted that benchmark prices are likely to remain stable around current levels in the short term due to reduced trading activity during the holiday season. “As activity in the paper markets decreases and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances, prices should see limited movement,” they remarked in a note.The analysts highlighted supportive supply and demand dynamics in December that contributed to their less bearish outlook.“Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure,” they added, signaling potential volatility if unexpected events occur.Other market watchers echoed similar sentiments, forecasting a positive trajectory for oil in the coming months. Neil Crosby, assistant vice-president of oil analytics at Sparta Commodities, commented on shifting views regarding long-term balances. “The year is ending with the consensus from major agencies over long 2025 liquids balances starting to break down,” Crosby said. He pointed to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest short-term energy outlook, which now forecasts a draw in 2025 liquid balances despite expectations of increased OPEC+ production next year. In addition, China’s announcement of a plan to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in special treasury bonds in 2024 to stimulate its struggling economy bolstered market sentiment. As the world’s largest oil importer, China’s fiscal measures are expected to drive energy demand. “This is likely to provide near-term support for WTI crude at $67 a barrel,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA.Attention is also turning to economic signals from the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer. Recent data showed a mixed picture but offered some reasons for optimism. November saw a surge in new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods, driven by strong demand for machinery. Additionally, new home sales rebounded, indicating that the U.S. economy remains resilient as the year concludes.While market participants tread cautiously due to uncertainties surrounding the global economic outlook and energy policies, the pre-Christmas trading session reflects a market still poised for potential gains as 2024 approaches.The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has slashed the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from ₦1,020 to ₦899 per litre.

• This price reduction is part of the government’s efforts to align with the competitive dynamics brought about by the deregulation of the fuel sector. It is expected to foster increased competition among oil marketers, potentially leading to cost savings for consumers.
• Analysts have forecasted that PMS prices could decrease even further by the end of January 2025, citing a combination of factors including a global decline in crude oil prices and the recent strengthening of the naira against the dollar.

However, it remains to be seen how the Nigerian market will respond to the recent slight increase in global oil prices, and whether the local market will maintain the downward trajectory in fuel costs.

Oil prices rise; supply, demand concerns in focus for 2025 -- Oil prices rose Tuesday, but stuck to a tight trading range as traders remained uncertain over a potential supply glut and softening demand in the coming year.At 11:58 ET (17:58 GMT), Brent oil futures rose 1.1% to $73.44 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.2% to $70.03 a barrel. Trading volumes were thin ahead of the Christmas holiday, while strength in the dollar also weighed on oil prices after the Federal Reserve signaled a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025. Brent and WTI prices were down about 5% so far in 2024, with persistent concerns over slowing demand in China being a key point of pressure.Chinese oil imports steadily dropped this year as the world’s largest oil importer struggled with slowing economic growth. While the country did outline plans to ramp up fiscal spending and stimulus measures in the coming year, markets were still holding out for more clarity on the planned measures. Increased electric vehicle adoption in China also undermined fuel demand in the country. Both the OPEC and the IEA have forecast slower demand growth in 2025 due to slowing demand in China. The country is also expected to face increased economic headwinds from a renewed trade war with the U.S. under Donald Trump. Oil markets were on edge over a potential supply glut in 2025. While the OPEC recently agreed to extend its ongoing supply cuts until at least mid-2025, production elsewhere could potentially increase.US oil production remained close to record highs, and could potentially increase in the coming year, especially as Trump vowed to ramp up domestic energy production.

Oil prices rise in thin pre-holiday trade - Oil prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday, reversing the prior session’s losses on a brightening short-term outlook tied to the prospect of slightly tightening supplies as trade thinned ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. Brent crude futures settled at $73.58, rising 95 cents, or 1.3%. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $70.10, rising 86 cents, or 1.2%. FGE analysts said they expect the benchmark prices will fluctuate around current levels in the near term “as activity in the paper markets decreases during the holiday season and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances.” Supply and demand changes in December have been supportive of their current less-bearish view so far, the FGE analysts said in a note. “Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure,” they added. Some analysts also pointed to signs of greater oil demand over the next few months. “The year is ending with the consensus from major agencies over long 2025 liquids balances starting to break down,” Neil Crosby, Sparta Commodities’ assistant vice president of oil analytics, said in a note. “The EIA’s short-term energy outlook recently shifted their 2025 liquids to a draw, despite continuing to bring back some OPEC+ barrels next year,” Crosby said. US crude oil and distillate stocks were seen falling last week by 3.2 million barrels and 2.5 million barrels, respectively, while gasoline stocks were seen rising last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories were seen rising by 3.9 million barrels. The figures come ahead of data from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) on Friday. Also supporting prices was a plan by China, the world’s biggest oil importer, to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy. China’s stimulus is likely to provide near-term support for WTI crude at $67 a barrel, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. Markets will also be watching the US economy, the world’s largest oil consumer, which released a mixed bag of data. While consumer confidence weakened in December, new orders for key US-manufactured capital goods surged in November amid strong demand for machinery and new home sales rebounded, suggesting the US economy was on a solid footing as the year closes out. US markets will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 25, and there will be no global oil market report for the day.’

Oil prices rise slightly amid holiday trading, demand optimism in China -Oil prices saw a modest increase on Thursday, supported by expectations of higher demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer, amid light trading volumes due to the holiday season.Global benchmark brent crude rose by 1.16 percent, reaching USD73.25 per barrel at 11:10 AM local time (0810 GMT), up from USD73.13 at the previous session’s close.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also saw a slight increase of 0.24 percent, rising to USD70.10 per barrel from USD69.93 in the prior session.Thin trading volumes were observed in the oil markets, driven by the Christmas holiday.The price uptick was supported by reports that Chinese authorities had agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan (USD411 billion) in special Treasury bonds to stimulate the country's struggling economy. Additionally, rising expectations for both supply and demand in the fossil fuel market contributed to the price gains, with the incoming US President, Donald Trump, set to take office on January 20.

Oil prices fall as gains on fresh China stimulus hopes fade - Oil prices fell Thursday, giving up early-day gains that followed growing hopes for fresh stimulus from China that could lift the demand outlook on crude. At 1:58 p.m. ET (18:58 GMT), Brent Oil Futures traded 0.5% higher to $73.97 a barrel, and Crude Oil WTI Futures also gained 0.5% to $70.01 a barrel. Volumes were expected to be thin for the remainder of the holiday-shortened week.Oil had risen more than 1% on Tuesday, and extended gains on Thursday after reports emerged around fresh stimulus measures from China. Chinese authorities have decided to issue a record-breaking 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in special treasury bonds next year, in an intensified fiscal effort to stimulate a struggling economy, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.Moreover, China is allowing local officials to broaden investments with key government bonds and simplifying approvals, permitting projects unless restricted by a cabinet-published list, to better utilize public funding for economic growth, a government document showed on Wednesday.Hopes that China, the largest oil importer, can revive its economy remains key for the oil demand outlook at time when are concerned about an oversupply next as non-OPEC are expected to ramp up output.Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities, noted that oil prices are also being supported by anticipation of higher fossil fuel production and demand once U.S. President-elect Donald Trump assumes office next month.US oil inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels during the week ended Dec. 20, media reports showed on Wednesday, citing the American Petroleum Institute (API) data.Gasoline inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels last week, while distillate inventories—which include diesel and heating oil—fell by about 2.5 million barrels.The figures come ahead of data from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, due on Friday.A Reuters poll on Tuesday projected that crude oil inventories likely declined by approximately 1.9 million barrels in the week ending December 20, with gasoline stocks expected to drop by 1.1 million barrels and distillate inventories by 0.3 million barrels.The report comes ahead of the official petroleum report from Energy Information Administration due Friday, with economists forecasting a 700,000 barrel decline for the week ended Dec. 20.

WTI Extends Gains After Another Crude Draw, Cushing 'Tank Bottoms' Loom | Oil prices were slightly higher on Friday as Israeli strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels triggered what Tom Essaye, founder and president of Sevens Report Research described as a "fear bid" for the commodity."This is a geopolitics-driven market," Melek said."We're a little worried about events around the Red Sea and potentially getting shipments interrupted in the broader region," he added.U.S. crude oil inventories fell by more than expected last week and product stocks were mixed as refineries raised their capacity use, according to official data released (on a delay due to the holiday) from DOE.

• Crude -4.24mm
• Cushing -320k
• Gasoline +1.63mm
• Distillates -1.69mm

This is the 5th straight week of crude stock drawdowns and sixth straight week of gasoline builds... Source: Bloomberg Cushing stocks fell back near 'tank bottoms' once again (lowest since Oct 2023)... WTI extended the day's gains on the crude draw, holding solidly above $70... Crude is on track for a modest annual loss, with trading confined in a narrow band since mid-October. There are widespread concerns the market may be oversupplied next year as China’s demand slows and global production expands, although traders remain cautious about potentially tighter US sanctions against flows from Iran under Donald Trump. The prompt spread on WTI futs - with the nearby contract trading at a premium of more than 40 cents a barrel to the next in line -points to near-term supply tightness.

Oil prices rise as Israeli strikes against Yemen's Houthis triggers 'fear bid' - Oil prices climbed on Friday as Israeli strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels triggered what one strategist described as a "fear bid" for the commodity.

• -- West Texas Intermediate crude CL00 for February delivery CL.1 CLG25 gained 98 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $70.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• -- February Brent crude BRNG25, the global benchmark, rose by 91 cents, or 1.2%, to $74.17 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
• -- Back on Nymex, January gasoline RBF25 rose 0.6% to $1.9582 a gallon, while January heating oil HOF25 gained 1.8% to $2.2448 a gallon.
• -- January natural gas NGF25 shed 5.4% to $3.514 per million British thermal units.

Israel unleashed an aerial assault on Thursday against parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebel group, stoking concerns about more potential instability in the oil-rich region. Tom Essaye, founder and president of Sevens Report Research, said a "fear bid" from traders was pushing oil prices higher.Investors were particularly concerned about potential disruptions to oil shipments through the Red Sea, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Bank, during an interview with MarketWatch."This is a geopolitics-driven market," Melek said."We're a little worried about events around the Red Sea and potentially getting shipments interrupted in the broader region," he added.Crude prices got an additional boost in afternoon trading after the release of the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which showed crude inventories dropping by much more than expected, Melek said. But only a modest increase in oil demand limited the advance.

Oil settles up over 1% on large draw from US crude stocks (Reuters) -Oil prices settled more than 1% higher on Friday and recorded a weekly gain in low trading volume ahead of year-end, buoyed by a larger-than-expected drawdown from U.S. crude inventories last week. Brent crude futures rose 91 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $74.17 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 98 cents, or 1.4%, to $70.60 per barrel. On a weekly basis, both Brent and WTI crude gained about 1.4%. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20 as refiners ramped up activity and the holiday season boosted fuel demand, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Friday. [EIA/S] Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 1.9 million-barrel drawdown, whereas figures from the American Petroleum Institute released earlier in the week estimated a 3.2 million-barrel draw, according to market sources. [API/S] Optimism over Chinese economic growth has also sparked hopes of higher demand next year from the top oil importing nation. The World Bank on Thursday raised its forecast for Chinese economic growth in 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have agreed to issue special treasury bonds worth 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) next year, sources told Reuters this week, as Beijing acts to revive the sluggish economy. The war between Russia and Ukraine, which had become an afterthought in energy markets due to stagnant global oil demand, seems to be returning to the forefront after numerous events this week that could impact supplies next year, fuel distributor TACenergy's trading desk wrote on Friday. NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the Baltic Sea, a day after Finland seized a ship carrying Russian oil on suspicion of causing internet and power cable outages. Meanwhile, Dutch and British wholesale natural gas prices rose amid fading hopes for a new deal to transit Russian gas through Ukraine. Tensions have flared in the Middle East too, after Israel raided a north Gaza hospital on Friday and struck targets linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, but these events are unlikely to affect oil prices much heading into next year, StoneX analyst Alex Hodes said. Instead, the largest risk in the Middle East is from sanctions enforcement that will likely occur with the incoming Donald Trump administration in the U.S., he said.

Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children - — Pakistan’s airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday, raising fears of further straining the relations between the two neighbors. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said those killed in the strikes that targeted four locations in Barmal, a district in the province of Paktika, were refugees, adding that six others were also wounded. This comes a day after Pakistani security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday’s operation was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in Paktika in Afghanistan. Earlier Wednesday, Mohammad Khurasani, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed in a statement that 50 people, including 27 women and children, have died in the strikes. He said they were “unarmed refugees” who fled to Afghanistan because of Pakistan’s offensive in the northwest. The TTP — a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban — also shared photos, alleging they were of children killed during the Pakistani operation. Meanwhile, residents in the area told an AP reporter over the phone that at least 13 people were left dead, adding that the death toll could be higher. They also said the wounded were transported to a local hospital. Pakistan has not commented on the strikes. However, on Wednesday, the Pakistani military said security forces killed 13 insurgents in an intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan, a district located along eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday praised “Pakistan’s brave security force” in a statement for thwarting “the nefarious designs” of “terrorists.” He didn’t mention the Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan The Taliban Defense Ministry denounced the attacks on Tuesday and promised retaliation. On Wednesday, the situation along the shared border seemed to be business as usual. However, security analysts say the TTP could launch retaliatory attacks in Pakistan. Pakistan has seen innumerable militant attacks in the past two decades but there has been an uptick in recent months. The latest was this weekend when at least 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed when the TTP attacked a checkpoint in the country’s northwest. Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban of not doing enough to combat militant activity across the border, a charge the Afghan Taliban government denies, saying it does not allow anyone to carry out attacks against any country. North and South Waziristan are former strongholds of Pakistani Taliban, who have fled to Afghanistan.

Israel Passing Messages to Syria's HTS, But Turkey's Influence Is a Concern - Both Israel and Turkey were at the forefront of this month’s regime change in Syria. The takeover of Syria by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alters the landscape of the region, but Turkey and Israel may quickly find themselves at odds over who’s really calling the shots.Israel has been engaging with the HTS, though officials say they’re passing messages and are not in “direct” contract with them. HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani has been loudly trying to reassure Israel that Syria won’t be used as a launchpad for attacks on that country. HTS efforts to curry favor with Israel began even before its offensive even ended with the taking of Damascus, but the level of influence Tel Aviv can expect to have pales in comparison with that of Turkey.Turkey very openly backed the HTS-led offensive, and Julani says that Turkey and Syria will now have close strategic relations. Moreover, Julani says that Turkey will have “priority” over all other countries in the reconstruction effort in Syria.While Israel’s goal was to see Syria removed from the Iranian alliance of nations, it’s not much more comfortable with Syria becoming a client state of Turkey. Turkey is another regional rival for Israel, albeit not one with such overt military hostility as Iran.Israel’s opposition leader Yair Golan expressed concern today that Turkey might end up too dominant in Syria. He couched this mostly as a concern about Sunni Islamists dominating Syria (though that clearly wasn’t a problem for Israel during the HTS takeover), but it also ended up being a call to back Syria’s Kurds to prevent Turkey from moving against them.Israel is on relatively friendly terms with the Kurds, and Turkey plainly isn’t. Turkey’s backing of the HTS was less about getting rid of Assad and more about believing HTS would be harder on Kurdish autonomy. The HTS government is already talking about ending Kurdish autonomy. Turkey has launched multiple offensives against Syria’s Kurdish SDF in recent years, and evidence is they’re poised to begin another one.That complicates Israel’s policy toward Syria, beyond seizing new territory in the southwest. They don’t necessarily have designs on picking a fight with a mostly compliant HTS, but backing Kurdish autonomy in the northeast would be an obvious way to limit Turkey’s influence over Syria. Navigating potential conflicts in those interests is going to be a challenge.

Turkey Eyes Role in Reviving Syrian Oil and Gas Production -Turkey said it wants to help increase oil and natural gas production in Syria, the latest step in Ankara’s overtures for deeper involvement in the reconstruction of the war-torn country. Turkish authorities are also working on ways to meet Syria’s electricity needs after more than a decade of conflict damaged the country’s infrastructure, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday. “We are also studying the use of crude oil and natural gas for reconstruction of Syria. We plan to tell our counterparts how we can make contributions in that sense,” Bayraktar said. “Our objective is to develop these projects.” His comments highlight Turkey’s desire to play a role in rebuilding of Syria after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led an advance on capital Damascus, toppling President Bashar al-Assad and bringing to an end the civil war that began in 2011. Syria was a minnow producer of hydrocarbons even before the conflict shut down most of the oil and gas production there, and further political hurdles remain before its new rulers can revive its industries. The Islamist group that seized power earlier this month, known as HTS, is designated a terror group by many countries. Group of Seven leaders have said they would support a new Syrian government, while Turkey signaled it could soon remove HTS from its list of terrorist organizations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to maintain friendly ties with groups leading Syria’s interim government, an outreach that could see Turkish companies play a leading role in reconstruction and allow some of the 3 million Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey to return home. Long-term cooperation could see new oil and gas pipelines linking Syria to Turkey’s export terminals, Bayraktar said. The current level of oil output in Syria is estimated to be just around 30,000 barrels per day, about 5 percent of the levels seen around two decades ago, according to Turkish estimates.

Syrian Christians Protest Presence Of Foreign Jihadists After Christmas Display Burned - Starting Monday night and into Tuesday, large demonstrations broke out in Christian areas of Damascus and other parts of Syria over the continued presence of foreign jihadists in the country. The ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has vowed to protect the sizeable non-Muslim communities of Syria (Christians, Alawites, and Druze) following the overthrow of the secular-leaning President Assad and his Baath government, but deep fears have remained that an Islamic state based on Sharia law will emerge. HTS Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is currently trying to appease Western and external backers by saying all the 'right things' in public—but Christians in particular are deeply fearful given that since the jihadist takeover of the country there have been several acts of anti-Christian vandalism and attacks. Under the prior Assad government, Christians and others had a high degree of religious freedom. Churches would sound bells on special holidays, Christmas lights and decorations would be prominent in December, and special festivals would often take over entire streets and neighborhoods in celebration. The pre-war Christian population was commonly estimated to be ten to twelve percent of the population, but since 2011 many have fled. Christians have also been killed or kidnapped over the years by Western and Gulf-backed militants, including priests and two bishops who were Christian leaders in Aleppo. While Jolani is trying to send positive signals to the US government and others over the future of Syria's Christians, Church leaders and the people are not waiting around. On Tuesday night Christian districts in and around Damascus as well parts of Hama countryside erupted in protest after the day priorarmed men set fire to a large Christmas display in the Christian town of Suqaylabiyah, in Hama governate. "We demand the rights of Christians," the protesters chanted, many carrying crosses. Other slogans demanded a future role in the country for all Syrians, and that churches and the religious freedom of everyone must be protected. A regional source has described the initial Christmas tree burning which outraged Syria's Christians as follows: Video footage that circulated on social media on 23 December showed a large Christmas tree burning in Hama’s Suqaylabiyah – a Christian neighborhood. The tree was set ablaze on Monday by foreign militants under HTS’s command. Some reports said the militants were from Chechnya, while others said they were Uzbeki fighters. n HTS deployed a military official to the scene of the burning to condemn the incident and vow punishment for those responsible. The actual war on Christmas, brought to you by NATO https://t.co/FAUMb2ieoF

'We Created A Pretend World': Mossad Agents Boast About Mass Pager Attack In Lebanon - Former Mossad agents revealed new details of Israel's pager and walkie-talkie terror attacks carried out against members of Hezbollah in interviews with the CBS News program 60 Minutes this week..According to a former Israeli intelligence agent known as Michael, Hezbollah bought more than 16,000 of the exploding devices. When Mossad chief David Barnea gave the green light for the attack in September, the pagers and walkie-talkies were detonated on subsequent days.Some 42 people were killed, including two children, while about 4,000 were injured. Many lost their hands and eyes or had their stomachs ripped open by the explosions. Michael said the walkie-talkie batteries, which included explosive devices, were made in Israel at a Mossad facility.Mossad then set up shell companies to infiltrate the supply chain and sell the devices to Hezbollah. The walkie-talkies were designed to go into armored tactical vests used in battle."We create a pretend world. We are a global production company: We write the screenplay, we're the directors, we're the producers, we're the main actors," Michael said. "And the world is our stage."Another former Mossad agent, Gabriel, told 60 Minutes that the spy agency began developing booby-trapped pagers in 2022. They wanted a device that Hezbollah members would carry with them at all times, not just in battle.Gabriel said Mossad had learned that the Lebanese resistance movement was buying pagers from a company in Taiwan called Gold Apollo. Mossad set up shell companies, including one in Hungary, to produce the explosive pagers and market them under a licensing agreement with Gold Apollo.The pagers had no intelligence capabilities and could not be used to track Hezbollah members or gather information about them, Gabriel said. They could only be detonated to kill or maim anyone holding them.

Israeli Officials: Lebanon Withdrawal May Go Slower Than Planned - Under the November 27 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw all of its troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days. Today, however, officials said Israel may miss that deadline, evidenced by how few troops have left Lebanon so far.These statements to the Israeli press shift the blame for the slow pullout to the Lebanese military, saying it is deploying into southern Lebanon too slowly. Per the ceasefire, Lebanon also has 60 days to put troops in the south, which, in contradiction to Israel, the US believes will be accomplished in 50 days.Lebanese PM Najib Mikati has called on the US and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire, to do something to speed up the Israeli pullout, saying that they “need to put an end to this Israeli procrastination.”Mikati isn’t the only one concerned about the sluggish situation. TheUNIFIL peacekeepers issued a statement calling for an accelerated Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. They said they want to see accelerated progress in both Israel leaving and Lebanese military forces arriving in the south.Israel’s repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire are undoubtedly a big reason as to why the Lebanese people want Israel out soon. On Sunday Israeli forces blew up several homes in Hanin, along with attacks on other towns and villages across the south. At least 286 Israeli ceasefire violations have occurred since the ceasefire began, killing no less than 30 people.Overnight, Israel also carried out an airstrike on the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon, killing two people and wounding another. This strike took place near the local public school. However, the highest profile violations were probably those in the southern border town of Naqoura.In Naqoura, Israeli troops entered the town and raised an Israeli flag at the entrance, even though it is plainly on the Lebanese side of the border. Days earlier, Israeli artillery fire had destroyed a number of civilian homes in the town, as it has in so many places where fire was supposed to be ceased.UNIFIL’s statement on the withdrawal acceleration today reiterated a call for all sides to stop violating the ceasefire. In general, the meaningful violations have come from the Israeli side, though Israel has claimed the presence of cars in southern Lebanon is a violation in and of itself and justifies IDF fire.

Midway Through Ceasefire, Israeli Army Moves Deeper Into Southern Lebanon - Thursday marks the 30-day mark in the 60-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. While plainly obvious that IDF military operations never really ceased, Israel is now openly talking about staying in Lebanon past the 60-day pullout deadline. Even more concerning, Israel has pushed the offensive deeper into southern Lebanon, seizing the town of Wadi al-Hujeir and firing rounds of machine gun fire as troops advance, forcing the civilian population to flee once again. Wadi al-Hujeir is nearly five miles over the Blue Line, deeper than Israel’s invasion actually penetrated during the war that was supposed to end with last month’s ceasefire. The town also lies along the Litani River, beyond which Hezbollah was to remove its forces after the war. But travel in occupied southern Lebanon is a difficult business, even 30 days into the ceasefire, as Israel seems to attack anything and everything trying to return to the towns and villages that were seized. The roads around Wadi al-Hujeir have now been closed by Lebanese officials in an effort to keep the civilian population safely away from continuing Israeli incursions.Multiple voices have expressed growing concern about Israel’s looming failure to withdraw from Lebanon and its continued firing on Lebanese territory despite the nominal ceasefire.UNIFIL issued such a statement today about the continuing damage Israel is causing in residential and agricultural areas, and on road networks throughout southern Lebanon. Israel has issued no statement on the new incursions, nor any official clarification surrounding media reports that it’s looking to stay beyond next month’s deadline.

Israel targets Gaza refugee camps and kills more than 100 in 2 days - The murderous Israeli onslaught on Gaza continued Friday, as dozens of Palestinians were killed by airstrikes that targeted homes in refugee camps over a 24-hour period. The Washington Post reported that Palestinian health officials said 77 people were killed in missile strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and the Jabalya refugee camp in the north. Other media have reported more than 100 were killed in two days. Staff at the two hospitals near Nuseirat where bodies were brought reported eight people killed. At the Jabalya camp, Gaza civil defense force spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said 10 people were killed, including seven children, and 15 others were injured. The Post reported, “In a civil defense force video sent out after the Jabalya strike, Bassal holds up the lifeless body of a small child. ‘Why do they kill? Why are these children killed?’ he asks, his voice full of grief and anger. ‘Imagine this little girl is your daughter, imagine she is your child.’” The Associated Press said an Israeli missile struck the Jaffa residential tower in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Speaking from Nuseirat, United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) emergency officer Louise Wateridge said aid was needed in Gaza to support people who have been uprooted multiple times by Israeli attacks and have little to protect themselves from the cold and rain. Wateridge said, “The world is not seeing what’s going on with these people—it’s impossible for families to shelter in these conditions,” as more heavy rain was expected to hit Gaza on Friday evening. “Most people are living under fabric. They don’t even have waterproof structures, and 69 percent of the buildings here have been damaged or destroyed. There’s absolutely nowhere for people to shelter from these elements.” She said that the horrific conditions across Gaza show, “An entire society here is now a graveyard. “Over 2 million people are trapped. They cannot escape. And people continue to have basic needs deprived, and it just feels like every path here that you could possibly take is leading to death,” Wateridge said.

Israel Has Turned Jabalia Refugee Camp Into a 'Ghost Town' - The Israeli military has almost completely destroyed the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, once one of the most densely populated places on earth, turning it into a “ghost town,” Haaretz reported on Sunday.First established in 1948 as a refuge for Palestinians driven from their homes by Zionist militias during the establishment of the modern state of Israel, the Jabalia refugee camp has been under a total siege since early October as part of a new ethnic cleansing campaign to move all Palestinians in northern Gaza to the south.The IDF estimates that it has completely destroyed 70% of the buildings in the camp, and the ones that remain are damaged. “During a brief visit to the camp Friday afternoon, I could see that even the few buildings that are still standing were badly damaged,” wrote Haaretz reporter Amos Harel.According to IDF data, the Israeli military has forcibly driven 9 6,000 Palestinian civilians out of the Jabalia refugee camp. The IDF also says it killed 2,000 Palestinians during the operation, claiming most were armed, but there is a significant amount of evidence that the IDF kills unarmed civilians and counts them as “terrorists.” The IDF says 35 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in the camp since early October.The Haaretz report says only 100 “terrorists” and a similar number of civilians remain in the camp. “Jabalia has become a ghost town. Outside, you mainly see pack after pack of stray dogs roaming around and hunting for scraps of food,” the report reads.The ethnic cleansing campaign, which is based on an outline known as the “general’s plan,” has been focused on Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia. In each city, the IDF is demolishing every building in sight to ensure Palestinian civilians have nowhere to return, and the campaign will likely lead to the establishment of Jewish settlements and permanent Israeli occupation. Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill at Least 32 More Palestinians Over 24 Hours - Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that Israeli attacks killed at least 32 Palestinians and wounded 54 over the previous 24-hour period as children were slaughtered across the Strip.The ministry’s numbers only account for dead and wounded Palestinians who arrived at hospitals and don’t factor in those missing under the rubble or in besieged areas rescuers are unable to access.“There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said.Israeli attacks on Sunday included the bombing of a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City. According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, the strike killed at least eight Palestinians, including four children.Israeli strikes also targeted Jabalia, northern Gaza, which has been under total siege since early October as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign. According to Al Jazeera, the strikes killed at least five Palestinians, including four children.Another child was killed by an Israeli drone attack on a group of people in the Burej refugee camp in central Gaza.Overnight Israeli strikes hit a home in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least five were killed, and women and children were among the dead.A day earlier, Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli strike that hit a home in Jabalia on Friday evening killed at least 12, including seven children. “All of the martyrs are from the same family, including seven children, the oldest aged six,” Gaza’s Civil Defense said in a telegram post about the strike.Later on Sunday, Israeli strikes hit the al-Mawasi camp, which Israel has labeled a so-called “safe zone” but has come under repeated IDF attacks. At least seven were killed in the camp by strikes that targeted tents. In October, a group of American healthcare workers who volunteered in Gaza estimated in an open letter to President Biden that the US-backed Israeli onslaught has killed at least 118,908 Palestinians, a total that includes indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, who led the letter, told Antiwar.com in a recent interview that the estimate was the bare minimum they came up with by looking at the available data.

Israel Kills At Least 58 More Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours - Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that Israeli attacks killed at least 58 Palestinians and wounded 86 over the previous 24-hour period as the daily US-backed slaughter continues.The ministry only counts dead and wounded Palestinians who arrive at hospitals and morgues and doesn’t account for people missing under the rubble or those trapped in besieged areas rescuers cannot access.“There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry wrote on Telegram. Israeli strikes on Monday included overnight attacks on the al-Mawasi camp, an area the Israeli military designated a so-called “safe zone” that has come under frequent attacks. According to Al Jazeera, a total of three strikes on al-Mawasi killed at least 11 Palestinians, including one that hit tents and killed seven people.Israeli strikes also pounded the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza,killing at least four Palestinians, according to the Palestinian news agencyWAFA. In southern Gaza, at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing east of Rafah and Khan Younis.In northern Gaza, Israel continued its near-daily attacks on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, a city that’s been under a total siege since early October as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign.“The bombing continues from all directions, affecting the building, the departments, and the staff. This is a serious and extremely horrifying situation,” said Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the hospital.“The world must understand that our hospital is being targeted with the intent to kill and forcibly displace us. We urge the international community to intervene quickly and stop this fierce assault on us, to protect the healthcare system, the workers, and the patients within it,” Abu Safia added.

New York Times reveals Israeli extermination order authorizing killing 20 civilians for each “combatant” -- On Thursday, the New York Times published a detailed account reporting the existence of official Israeli military documents authorizing the killing of 20 non-combatants for every “pre-emptive” attack on a single presumed Hamas supporter, with the ratio in some cases reaching 100 to one.The report makes clear that Israel has waged its war on Gaza as a war of extermination, with the killing of the civilian population through aerial bombardment as a goal co-equal with the massacre of those who took up arms against the Israeli occupation.The Times reported that within hours of the beginning of the October 7 attack, the IDF issued an unprecedented order authorizing the effectively unrestricted bombardment of civilian areas of Gaza.“In each strike, the order said, officers had the authority to risk killing up to 20 civilians,” the Times wrote.The order authorized the IDF to target figures vaguely associated with Hamas while they were at home with their families, creating the conditions for the systematic and deliberate massacre of entire households. “It meant, for example, that the military could target rank-and-file militants as they were at home surrounded by relatives and neighbors.”The Times added that “senior commanders approved strikes on Hamas leaders that they knew would each endanger more than 100 noncombatants—crossing an extraordinary threshold for a contemporary Western military.” What becomes clear in the Times’ account is that the “system” and “rules of engagement” used in “pre-emptive strikes” targeting suspected Hamas sympathizers was nothing more than a cover for a blanket bombardment of Gaza with massive block-buster bombs, aimed at killing as many people as possible and destroying as much of Gaza as possible. The aim of this massacre was an ethnically cleansed Gaza, to be permanently annexed, occupied and settled by Israel, as a part of what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the “new Middle East,” under the direct hegemony and domination of the imperialist powers via their Israeli vassal state. The fact that this mass extermination campaign continues to this day was shown by the murder Thursday of five journalists in an airstrike, bringing the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 201.To date, 45,361 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza that began on October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. But this figure does not account for the vast number of people who have died from the deliberate starvation of the population of Gaza by Israel or the destruction of its healthcare system; the total could be 186,000 or more, according to The Lancet in July.The report by the Times constitutes a semi-official acknowledgement by the US government of the existence of the extermination order, largely from the standpoint of damage control. Much of the story was previously reported by +972 Magazine, an independent Israeli-Palestinian publication, but the Times report is the first time that a major US media source has claimed to have seen the document authorizing the killing of 20 civilians for every combatant.The Israeli strikes were carried out with no warnings, often on the basis of a system called “Lavender” that used artificial intelligence to target entire apartment buildings and their residents for destruction without any warning and in some cases without human oversight.The order issued on October 7 was followed by another, issued on October 8, which, according to the Times, declared, “Strikes on military targets in Gaza … were permitted to cumulatively endanger up to 500 civilians each day.” In an extraordinary passage, the Times wrote that “A scholar at West Point consulted by the Times, Prof. Michael N. Schmitt, said it risked being construed by mid-ranking officers as a quota that they had to reach.” Regardless, the Times wrote, the “quota” was removed just days later, and there were multiple days in which more than 500 deaths were reported in Gaza. During the first two days of the war, the Times reported in an earlier article, “90 percent of the munitions Israel dropped in Gaza were satellite-guided bombs of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds.” US officials have repeatedly stated that they have encouraged Israeli leaders to use lower-yield munitions. But these public statements were belied by the fact that, according to a July report by Reuters, the US sent Israel 14,000 2,000-pound bombs between October and July, more than any other type of munition. The existence of this order helps explain the findings of a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office published in November that concluded that 70 percent of civilian deaths in Gaza since October were women and children, with children under 18 making up by far the highest portion of fatalities. Throughout the genocide, the Biden administration has sought to promote the claim that Israel, despite at times being overzealous in the use of weapons, does not intend to either exterminate the people of Gaza or forcibly displace them. The reality is, however, that the documents that the New York Times has verified would have been immediately available to the US intelligence agencies within a matter of days of their circulation. US President Joe Biden would have been briefed on them ahead of his trip to Israel in October 2023, where he pledged the total support of the US government to the genocide. While the Israeli assault on Gaza sets a mark for rapid extermination that is without precedent in a US-sponsored war of the 21st century, the United States has been waging war throughout the Middle East since the proclamation of the “war on terror,” using many of the methods being used by Israel. In 2013, a study published in the medical journal PLOS Medicine concluded that the US invasion of Iraq led to the deaths of half a million people or more between 2003 and 2011, with 70 percent being killed in violent attacks.Since 2001, the United States has carried out a staggering 100,000 airstrikes throughout the world, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia. During the Obama administration, US drone assassinations were given a shocking regularity in the president’s “terror Tuesday” meetings, in which he personally selected targets for illegal murder, picked from an Orwellian “disposition matrix” of targets.No comparable up-to-date study has been made of the death tolls of these wars, but if the methods applied to Iraq in 2013 were used in these countries, the death toll is likely to be in the millions.

Israel Is Killing Civilians In Gaza On Purpose, And It's Not Even Debatable – Caitlin Johnstone - Just so we’re all clear, it is a fully established fact that the IDF is directly, deliberately killing civilians in Gaza. There was a time in the early days of the genocide when this could be disputed, but that is no longer true. The facts are in and the case is closed. It’s happening.Israeli soldiers are telling the press that they’ve been knowingly killing civilians and then falsely categorizing them as terrorists afterward. Countless doctors have testified to routinely encountering dead and wounded children who’ve been shot in the head by Israeli snipers. Israeli media reports have revealed that the IDF is intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure and using AI systems to specifically target suspected Hamas members when they are at home with their families instead of out on the battlefield.The debate is over. The “human shields” argument has been completely, thoroughly debunked. If you still deny that this is happening, its because your worldview is so false that it requires you to deny facts and reality. We were fed lies about what happened on October 7. We were fed lies about the Israeli abuses which led to October 7. We’ve been fed lies about what’s been done for the last 15 months under the justification of October 7. And yet Israel’s defenders still expect to be taken seriously when they babble about October 7 in response to criticisms of Israel’s actions.

Pope Francis Doubles Down on Criticism of Israel's 'Cruelty' in Gaza - Pope Francis has doubled down on calling out Israel’s “cruelty” in Gaza after he was criticized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Pope Francis first made the comments on Saturday when he said Israel prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering Gaza. “Yesterday, they did not allow the Patriarch into Gaza as promised. Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war,” he said.The pope was referring to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that hit a home in Jabalia, killing seven children from the same family. “I want to say it because it touches my heart,” he said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded by saying, “The Pope’s remarks are particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.”The ministry added, “The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them. Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people.” Pope Francis was not deterred by the statement and offered more sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday. “And with pain, I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty,” he said after his weekly Angelus prayer.Also on Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was able to enter Gaza, bringing attention to the enclave’s small Christian minority. He led Mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City and visited the nearby Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church. Both Christian churches have come under Israeli attack. In October 2023, Israeli strikes killed 18 Palestinian civilians who were sheltering at St. Porphyrius, including relatives of former US congressman Justin Amash.In July 2024, Israeli shelling hit a building in the compound of St. Porphyrius, causing minor damage and wounding three.

Israel Builds a 'Beachside Resort' in Gaza for IDF Soldiers - The Israeli military has built a “beachside resort” on the coast of the northern Gaza Strip where IDF soldiers occupying the Palestinian territory can relax and take a break from waging a genocidal war.According to the Israeli news site Ynet, the “retreat” was built alongside a water desalination plant that provides 60,000 liters of drinking water per day. At the resort, IDF soldiers can enjoy a cafe, hotel-style meals, massages, and hot showers and have access to mental health support and medical services.“You know this is Gaza, right? Yet we’ve created a sense of home here, with iced coffee, espresso, protein shakes, toast, shakshuka, fresh fruit, and even ice cream on warmer days,” Chief Warrant Officer David Turjeman, the head of food services for IDF’s southern command, toldYnet. One soldier said each platoon gets a day at the resort every 10 days.The Ynet report said the IDF has built similar “refreshment centers” elsewhere in Gaza, but they don’t match the “scope and quality” of this one. The construction of such facilities is the latest sign that Israel is planning for a long-term military occupation of Gaza and is not interested in a hostage deal with Hamas that would lead to a permanent ceasefire.

Dozens of Israelis Wounded as Houthi Rocket Strikes Tel Aviv - Back and forth strikes between Israel and the Shi’ite Houthi movement in Yemen seem to be growing this past week. On Thursday morning, Israel launched multiple airstrikes against the Houthi-controlled part of northern Yemen, killing at least nine. Overnight Friday, the Houthis responded with a rocket. The Houthis reported that they had aimed at an unspecified military target in Tel Aviv with a Palestine-2 hypersonic missile. The Israeli military reported that 23 people were lightly injured by shattered glass, and another 14 were injured in trying to flee to the shelters. Reportedly the missile hit a public park, and alarms were activated across Central Israel, leading millions to flee to shelters. The Israeli military’s air defenses failed to intercept the missile, and officials are saying they intend to launch an investigation to figure out why that was. Israel has long considered the Houthis to be one of their seven fronts going on at the same time. In practice, Yemen is far enough away from Israel that there have been minimal exchanges for the most part. That might be changing.The Houthis have held northern Yemen since 2014, and a Saudi-led invasion was launched shortly after to try to unite the country under a different faction. Fighting has been ongoing ever since.The ongoing Israel war in the Gaza Strip has increased the regional implications of the Houthi presence, as they’ve been attacking Western ships, both civilian and military, passing through the area near their shoreline as part of an effort to try to support the Palestinians. That has led to a number of US and British airstrikes against northern Yemen as well, though so far it has not ended up removing the Houthis from power.

Israel Conducts Huge Airstrikes Targeting Houthis At International Airport & Across Yemen -Israel has launched major aerial attacks on Yemen on Thursday, just on heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening to destroy Houthi infrastructure and hunt down its leaders. "I have instructed our forces to destroy the infrastructure of Houthis becauseanyone who tries to harm us will be struck with full force," Netanyahu told parliament, following a Houthi ballistic missile strike on Tel Aviv Saturday."We will continue to crush the forces of evil with strength and ingenuity, even if it takes time," Netanyahu has said of the new offensive over the skies of Yemen. The Saturday attack incident had wounded 16 Israelis.Viral footage allegedly from Hodaydah of today's Israeli attack on Yemen. According to early reports from Arabic media, various sites have been hit including civilian infrastructure such as ports, power stations and Sanaa's airport. pic.twitter.com/4NxVO5T34r"A short time ago, the Air Force attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, both on the coastline and in Sana’a," Netanyahu continued.He directly called out Iran in the new remarks, given the Iranian have long supplied the Shia Houthi rebels. "We are determined to cut off this terror arm of the Iranian axis of evil. We will persist in this until we complete the job," the Israeli leader said. This strongly suggests more such attacks to come in the next days.The new Israeli air strikes have hit the international airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa as well as the Red Sea port of Hudaydah, which has been a frequent focus on the Western coalition's own intermittent air campaign. An IDF statement has claimed the new operation hit only "military infrastructure" at Sanaa International Airport, the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, as well as military targets at Al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the country's west coast."These infrastructures were used by the Houthi terror regime to transfer Iranian weapons to the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials," the IDF has additionally said.An Al Jazeera correspondent in the region speculates this will only lead to stepped up attacks on Israel out of Yemen:Yemeni journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti told Al Jazeera the attack on the airport in the capital Sanaa targeted one of its control towers, disrupting operations."All Israeli attacks … whether its against Yemen or Gaza, they [Yemeni forces] will treat as an escalation. And I believe … the Yemeni army may conduct a major attack against Israel," he added.

Israel Launches Another Round of Airstrikes on Yemen, Killing at Least 4 - On Thursday, Israeli warplanes carried out another round of airstrikes against Yemen, targeting the capital, Sanaa, and several ports, killing at least four people.The Israeli attacks on the Yemeni capital included strikes on the Sanaa International Airport, which killed three people and injured 16 others, according to Yemeni media. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), said he was at the airport during the attack.Ghebreyesus said he was about to board a plane with WHO and UN staff when the attack started. “One of our plane’s crew members was injured,” he said. “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.”On the western coast of Yemen, Israeli strikes hit a power station in the city of Hodeidah and the ports of Salif and Ras Isa, which are all located in the Hodeidah province. At least one person was killed in Hodeidah, and three people are missing.The Israeli military claimed it hit “military infrastructure” used by the Houthis and also acknowledged targeting energy infrastructure. “The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations,” the IDF said.The attack marked the second round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen within a week. Strikes launched last Thursday hit similar targets and killed at least nine people. Israel has ramped up its attacks on Yemen as the Houthis have been more successful in their missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.

Iran Oil Tycoon Plays Key Role in Arms Sales to Russia - An Iranian oil tycoon who’s managed to quietly embed himself in the heart of the Western financial system is among a cadre of businessmen handling weapons deliveries across the Caspian Sea to Russia, helping Moscow in its war in Ukraine. Hossein Shamkhani, through a web of firms he oversees that include Dubai-based Crios Shipping LLC, began moving missiles, drone components and dual-use goods across the Caspian Sea on at least two ships last year, according to more than a dozen US, UK and European officials as well as people with direct knowledge of his dealings. They spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. Moscow pays for the shipments with cargoes of petroleum, the people said, the kind of barter trade that has become increasingly common because of US and European sanctions on both Russia and Iran. The transactions, which coincided with Russia using more Iranian weaponry in its assault on Ukraine, represent another side of a sprawling global business network that has enriched Shamkhani, whose father was Iran’s longest-tenured defense minister and remains a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Shamkhani’s web of firms handle more than a quarter of the total volume of Iranian arms deliveries to Russia, according to people tracking the transactions. His empire also spans a hedge fund, which has operated from offices in London, Geneva and Singapore, as well as a Dubai-based commodities trading firm that’s dealt with Western oil majors. Iran and Russia have acknowledged their strengthened defense cooperation, without disclosing all the details. While the bilateral weapons trade exposes participants to potential sanctions from Western governments, it’s not illegal. “My understanding is the Shamkhani network ties into the drone contracts for use in Ukraine,” former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who currently runs the Washington-based foreign policy research group Foundation for American Security and Freedom, said in an interview. Representatives for the governments of Iran and Russia as well as Crios didn’t reply to requests for comment. A lawyer representing Shamkhani, who has consistently contested Bloomberg’s reporting on his business affairs, declined to comment on the specifics of this story in an e-mailed response to questions.

Putin Vows Ukraine Will Face 'Destruction' Over Drone Attack Deep Inside Russia - On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Ukraine would face more “destruction” in response to a Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russia.The attack was launched on Saturday and targeted apartment buildings in the city of Kazan, which is about 620 miles from the frontlines in Ukraine. Six drones hit residential buildings, and one hit an industrial facility, causing some damage, but no casualties were reported.“Whoever and however tries to destroy something in our country, he will face destruction many times larger in his own country and will regret its attempts to do that in our country,” Putin said. Throughout the war, Russia has stepped up its bombardment of Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Last week, Ukraine fired more US-provided ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. Two days later, Russia launched heavy missile strikes on Kyiv, killing one and cutting heat to hundreds of residential buildings, an attack Moscow said was a response to the NATO missiles being fired into its territory.While the ATACMS and Storm Shadows strikes are more provocative since they are directly supported by NATO countries, Ukrainian drones are able to hit much deeper inside Russia. There are also indications that the drone attacks are supported by the US and NATO.Last year, The Economist reported that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory were carried out using intelligence provided by Ukraine’s Western backers. The US also recently announced it would spend $800 million to help Ukraine manufacture more long-range drones, marking another type of support for attacks inside Russian territory.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243 crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 38 – but 29 onboard survive -- An international investigation has begun into how an Embraer 190 passenger jet with 67 people onboard crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people but leaving 29 survivors Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243, which had been flying from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia‘s Chechnya, crash-landed instead a few kilometres short of Aktau airport. It was the first fatal accident anywhere in the world involving a passenger jet in 2024. Unverified video footage of the crash showed the aircraft descending – apparently with control problems – and hitting the ground where it burst into flames. Children were among the survivors being treated at a nearby hospital, authorities said in a statement. Some of the videos posted on social media showed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the wreckage. Russia’s aviation watchdog a preliminary investigation indicated the pilot decided to change landing site after “a collision with birds”. But Reuters news agency noted that the plane had diverted from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks. The news agency quoted Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, who also raised doubt over a bird strike. “You can lose control of the plane, but you don’t fly wildly off course as a consequence,” he said. However, Azeri president Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, and said bad weather in Grozny had forced the flight to divert. Mr Aliyev said: “The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing.” Commercial aviation-tracking websites monitored the flight as it flew north on its scheduled route along the west coast before it disappeared. It then reappeared on the east coast, where it circled near Aktau airport before crashing into the beach. Kazakh officials said those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals. Five of the 67 were crew. Transport prosecutor, Timur Suleimenov, told a briefing that the plane’s black box, which contains flight data to help determine the cause of a crash, had been found, Interfax reported. President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences, while Mr Aliyev decided to return home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit. “Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev was forced to leave St Petersburg [where he had a summit]. Putin has already called him and expressed his condolences in connection with the crash of the Azerbaijani plane in Aktau,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. “We deeply sympathise with those who lost their relatives and friends in this plane crash and wish a speedy recovery to all those who managed to survive.”

Azerbaijan plane was likely downed by Russian air defenses, sources say | The Times of Israel - An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, was downed by a Russian air defense system, four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters. Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 came down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defense systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months. The Embraer passenger jet had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan’s Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s southern Chechnya region, when it crashed on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board. Officials did not explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash happened after Ukrainian drone strikes this month hit Chechnya. The nearest Russian airport on the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning. One of the Azerbaijani sources familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation into the crash told Reuters that preliminary results showed the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, and its communications were paralyzed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny.

Vladimir Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan leader over 'tragic' plane crash --Russia’s President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic” Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people on board, but stopped short of admitting any responsibility for the incident.Putin apologized to Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace, and once again expressed deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured,” according to the Kremlin’s readout of the call that wasreleased on Saturday. The Kremlin said its military defense systems were active against Ukraine’s drone strikes in the area where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight, carrying 67 passengers, was attempting to land. The plane, an Embraer 190 aircraft model, was flying Wednesday from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny, a city in Russia’s Chechnya republic, a region of the country that has often used air defense system to shoot down Ukraine’s drones. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to land, the aircraft crashed near Aktau, a city in southwestern Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea.On Friday, the White House said the “early indications” showed that Russia’s air defense systems were responsible for downing the plane. The same day, Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement that the airline’s plane was knocked down by “physical and technical external interference.”

Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean, two crew missing - A Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday leaving two of the 16 crew members unaccounted for according to the country’s authorities. Fourteen of the crewmen were rescued and taken to a Spanish port after the crash, caused by an explosion in the engine room, plunged the ship into the waters near Spain.Russian authorities said Ursa Major was transporting 380 ton freight cranes for a Russian state project seeking to develop port infrastructure. Oboronlogistika, the company that manages the ship, said it was headed to the city of Vladivostok. However, Kyiv intelligence officials reported the ship was headed for Syria with a mission to collect Russia’s weapons after Bashar al-Assad fled his post as the nation’s leader following rebel’s conquest of Damascus.

Owners Of Russian Ship Ursa Major Declare Sinking An "Act Of Terrorism" -- The Russian cargo ship that sank on Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea following a mysterious explosion in its engine room was described as an "act of terrorism," according to the vessel's owner. Reuters cites the Russian news agency RIA, which reported on Christmas Day that Oboronlogistika, the ship's owner and a subsidiary of the Russian Defense Ministry's military construction operations, stated that the cargo ship, named Ursa Major, had been targeted in "a terrorist act." On Monday, Ukraine's main intelligence directorate reported the cargo vessel was "sent by Russia to retrieve its weapons and equipment from Syria, broke down off the coast of Portugal due to a malfunction in the fuel pipe of its main engine." Russian cargo ship Ursa Major has sunk in the Mediterranean after suffering a catastrophic engine room explosion, according to Spanish authorities. 14 crew have been rescued, while two are still missing, according to Spanish media. pic.twitter.com/KbZTq1DuRs The ship tracking website Marine Traffic shows Ursa Major's last location was drifting on the high seas near Portugal before sinking on Tuesday. Neither RIA nor Russian authorities have provided additional color about the claimed terrorist attack on the cargo vessel or who they suspect is responsible. We asked earlier this week: "The big question for the Ursa Major is whether any US Navy submarines with special forces units lurk beneath." If the terrorist attack claim is confirmed, the fear is that the battlefield in Eastern Europe is broadening outside the region.

Russia-Ukraine War's unexpected casualties: Hungry people in distant nations - The war in Ukraine is causing hunger thousands of miles from the battlefields, according to a study in Communications Earth & Environment. Nearly three years of war in the "breadbasket of the world" has left croplands destroyed and forced laborers who grow, harvest and process a bounty of wheat, barley and oats to flee. Combined with export bans from other countries, ripple effects resonated through global trade and upended food supply systems. But understanding how far those disruptions reached, who suffered and who gained has been difficult. Researchers at Michigan State University's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS) lead a unique effort, relying on satellite images to quantify loss of cropland and employing a holistic method called the metacoupling framework and network analysis to analyze connections within a region, between neighboring areas, and across distant ones. "The most striking aspect of our research is its ability to connect a regional conflict to its far-reaching impacts on global food accessibility," said Nan Jia, a Ph.D. student and lead author. The stakes are high. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization models suggest that 13 million more people would be undernourished in 2022 due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine's lost production of three winter cereals in 2021 could have met the caloric needs of 76 million adults for a year. The study revealed that regarding wheat, barley, and oats, the war has had a much greater impact on distant countries than on countries next to the Ukraine and disproportionately harms poor countries. "It's remarkable how interconnected our world is—an event in one part of the globe can lead to food insecurity thousands of kilometers away," "By using the metacoupling framework to trace these connections, we were able to reveal the unequal impact of the war, highlighting how distant and low-income nations are often left more vulnerable in times of crisis." Countries far from Ukraine were disproportionately affected, facing higher costs and fewer options to secure food supplies. Among these, lower-income nations in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia—and Montenegro, Albania and Belarus in Europe, bore the brunt of the crisis, as they lacked the resources to adapt to soaring prices or find alternative suppliers. However, amidst this challenge, the study also revealed hope: over time, major exporting countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia stepped up, partially filling the gaps left by Ukraine. But these changes can compromise biodiversity in these exporting countries, as shown in another paper "Telecoupled impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war on global cropland expansion and biodiversity " published in Nature Sustainability by Liu and collaborators. "By revealing the hidden vulnerabilities in global food systems, our study emphasizes the need for international cooperation to ensure food security," Jia said. "Policymakers and global organizations can use these insights to build more resilient food networks, invest in local production in vulnerable countries, and create strategies to mitigate the impacts of future crises."

Denmark to invest equivalent of $1.5 billion in Greenland's security - Denmark announced a major new package to boost the security of Greenland in a move the Danish defense minister called “ironic” because it came just two days after President-elect Trump called for U.S. ownership of the Arctic island.Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Tuesday that Copenhagen plans to spend the equivalent of around $1.5 billion in the new defense package.“For many years we have not invested enough in the Arctic, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he told the outlet. Poulsen explained the package was planned in advance, and it was “ironic” that it coincided with Trump’s call for control of the island. He also said Denmark was willing to “work with the U.S.” to secure Greenland.The package includes two Thetis-class patrol boats, two long-range drones, two sled dog teams and more Danish military personnel in Greenland, according to Jyllands-Posten.Trump, in a Truth Social post on Sunday, said U.S. ownership and control of Greenland was an “absolute necessity” for national security reasons.In his first term, Trump had also called for buying Greenland in a move that sparked tensions between Washington and Copenhagen.Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede responded with defiance to Trump in a Monday Facebook post.“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede wrote, though he also signaled an openness to cooperation and trade.Greenland is a self-governing region but is still within the control of Denmark, which handles matters of defense, security and foreign policy.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to three years in prison - On Wednesday December 18, the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) had his final legal appeal rejected and was definitively sentenced by the Court of Cassation to a three-year jail term. Two of those years will not be served, on condition of good behavior, and the remaining year has been reduced to the wearing of an electronic bracelet for that period. Sarkozy has been found guilty of “corruption” and “influence peddling” mainly in connection with his electoral campaign contributions. The electronic bracelet wearer is normally obliged to stay home under surveillance with his/her movements limited to a defined perimeter of one’s domicile. Sarkozy’s limits have not yet been set by the judges. Sarkozy has announced that he intends to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights against the French State, claiming his democratic rights were infringed upon by the State’s wiretapping of his private, privileged discussions with his lawyer which led to his initial conviction. The ruling that a former head of state of France is a criminal underscores the illegitimacy of the French capitalist regime. The bourgeois newspaper of record Le Monde admitted that it was “an earthquake in the history of the French Fifth Republic, the first time an ex-French President has been dealt such a severe punishment.” In reality, the ruling marks the second time, after the conviction of former President Jacques Chirac on embezzlement charges in 2011, that a former French president is condemned to prison. Chirac’s prison term was however entirely suspended by the courts. Sarkozy’s was not, and in that sense the ruling against him marks a new stage in the official recognition of the criminality of the French political system.

Musk writes op-ed backing far-right German political party -- Tech billionaire Elon Musk penned an op-ed further expressing support for the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD). In response, the paper’s commentary editor resigned in protest. Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, wrote a guest opinion piece in the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Axel Springer media group’s flagship news outlet, that was released on Saturday. In it, the tech mogul touched on a variety of issues that, in his view, Germany needs to address as it near an “economic and cultural collapse.” The Tesla CEO said he has the “right” to address the country’s political climate as he has “made significant investments” in Germany’s technological and industrial sectors. Musk’s op-ed in the German newspaper comes just over a week ago after the SpaceX executive endorsed the far-right party, saying “Only the AfD can save Germany.” He received pushback from some current and former Congressional lawmakers, with some labeling the group as a neo-Nazi party. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk wrote in his opinion piece, mentioning Weidel, a co-chair of the party. In the op-ed, Musk argued that Germany’s economy is handicapped by regulatory overreach and bureaucracy. “The AfD has understood that economic freedom is not just desirable, but necessary. Its approach of reducing government over-regulation, cutting taxes and deregulating the market reflects the principles that made Tesla and SpaceX successful,” Musk wrote, according to a rough translation. “If Germany wants to regain its industrial strength, it needs a party that doesn’t just talk about growth, but also takes policy action to create an environment where companies can thrive without heavy government intervention,” he added.