week ending Dec 6

Fed Balance Sheet QT: -$37 Billion in November, -$2.43 Trillion from Peak, to $6.54 Trillion by Wolf Richter - QT ended on December 1, as per the Fed’s announcement at its FOMC meeting. But in November, QT continued, and the Fed’s total balance sheet declined by $37 billion in November, to $6.53 trillion, according to the Fed’s weekly balance sheet today.Over the three years and five months of QT, the Fed shed $2.43 trillion in assets, or 27% of its total assets, and over 50% of the $4.81 trillion it had piled on during mega-QE from March 2020 through April 2022. QT assets.

• Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS): -$16 billion in November, -$687 billion (-25%) from the peak, to $2.05 trillion, where they’d first been in November 2020.According to the Fed’s new plan going forward, MBS will continue to come off the balance sheet until they’re gone, and will be replaced by Treasury bills (T-bills, they mature in one year or less).The Fed holds only “agency” MBS that are guaranteed by the government (issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae), where the taxpayer would eat the losses when borrowers default on mortgages.MBS come off the balance sheet primarily via pass-through principal payments that holders receive when mortgages are paid off (mortgaged homes are sold, mortgages are refinanced) and as mortgage payments are made. But sales of existing homes and mortgage refis have plunged, and far fewer mortgages got paid off, and passthrough principal payments to MBS holders have slowed to about $15-19 billion a month.
• Treasury securities: -$4 billion in November, -$1.58 trillion (-27.4%) from the peak in June 2022, to $4.19 trillion. Under the Fed’s new plan, as the balance sheet remains flat going forward, but MBS decline, while T-bills increase to replace MBS, overall Treasury securities will increase with the increase in T-bills. This will gradually shift the composition of the balance sheet from MBS to Treasury securities, with T-bills (now just $195 billion) becoming a larger part.
• Bank liquidity facilities:
  • Standing Repo Facility (SRF) had a zero balance again, see below.
  • Central Bank Liquidity Swaps ($0.0 billion)
  • Discount Window: balance ticked up by $700 million to $7.8 billion.

The Fed has been exhorting its approved 40 or so counterparties, all of them big banks or broker-dealers, to use its new SRF, implemented in July 2021, to borrow overnight at it via repos and lend to the repo market overnight when yields in the repo market rise above the rate at the SRF (4.0% currently).At the end of October, there was turmoil in the repo market as month-end liquidity pressures met with the government shutdown, which had caused the government’s checking account at the Fed, the TGA, to absorb $200 billion in cash that wasn’t getting disbursed, and repo market yields spiked.Banks stepped in and borrowed at the SRF and lent to the repo market to profit from the spread. On October 31, the SRF balance hit $50 billion.These are overnight repos that unwind the next business day, when the Fed gets its money back and the banks get their collateral back.The month-end pressures abated in early November, and the SRF balance dropped back to zero. The SRF had done its job (my discussion of this episode is here).But the Fed expressed its disappointment with the banks that they had used the SRF too little and too late, which had allowed repo market rates to surge too far above the upper end of the Fed’s policy rates, currently 4.0%.At the end of November, the month-end liquidity pressures pushed up repo rates again, but not that much, and banks used the SRF, but not that much, with the balance peaking at $26 billion on December 1. Those overnight repos matured, and over the past two days, the SRF balance has been back to zero.Without SRF, the repo market blew out in 2019. Back in September 2019, after two years of QT, liquidity had become tighter in the repo market, and several things came together, including quarter-end liquidity pressures and corporate estimated tax payments, and repo market rates rose and then spiked, but banks didn’t step in and lend to the repo market to profit from it because they were tight on liquidity themselves as reserve balances had dropped during QT, and there was no SRF for them to borrow from because the Fed had scuttled its classic SRF in 2009 because it wasn’t needed during QE.

Bessent floats residency rule for regional Fed presidents — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve Board should reject the appointment of regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents who have not resided in their districts for three years, potentially setting up a confrontation between the central bank and the administration when all 12 regional Fed reappointments come before the Fed board in February.

• Key takeaway: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an appearance Wednesday that the Federal Reserve should require regional Fed presidents to reside in their districts for three years going forward.
• Supporting data: All 12 regional Fed presidents' terms expire every five years and are reappointed as a bloc. The next vote on reappointing regional bank presidents comes in February.
• What's at stake: The Trump White House has engaged in a prolonged effort to exert greater control over the central bank, with the president preferring far lower interest rates than what are currently on offer.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Federal Reserve Board should reject the renomination of any regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents who have not lived in their districts for three years, signaling a potential confrontation when reappointments come before the board in February.

Peer Reviewed Articles of Kevin Hassett on Monetary Policy – Menzie Chinn- Following up on this post, what are the academic works of Kevin Hassett on monetary policy?

• From Google Scholar (check yourself!): [null set]
• Now, lack of publications in specifically monetary policy is no disqualification. Hassett’s academic work is primarily in public finance. He does have 245 references to one asset pricing work, “Dow 36,000”, published in October 1999. (For the record, Hasset was right on this count, some 22 years after publishing the book). Since the Fed has a regulatory role, it’s of interest to consider his academic work on financial regulation, once again from Google Scholar: [null set]
• For work on how monetary policy or financial regulation might impact income distribution, access to financial services, etc., that other Fed Governors have: [null set]

This is a quick tabulation. I am happy to be corrected in my reference counts. For the peer reviewed work of Stephen Miran, CEA Chair on leave to serve as Fed Governor, in monetary policy, see here.

GOP lawmakers lack confidence in Trump’s plans to tackle costs - Republican senators are panning President Trump’s latest proposals to help Americans cope with high prices and a slowing economy, a sign of waning confidence among GOP lawmakers in the president’s ability to overhaul the nation’s $30 trillion economy. Capitol Hill Republicans are becoming more sensitive to how Trump is responding to higher prices as they face relentless attacks from Democrats, who plan to make “affordability” their top issue in the 2026 midterm elections. The cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner is about 5 percent cheaper than it was during former President Biden’s final year in office, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, but many GOP lawmakers say high prices are still a major problem for the party in power. Trump repeatedly highlights that stock markets have hit all-time highs throughout this year, but some lawmakers worry the market doesn’t match the reality of the real economy, where consumer confidence is slumping and American households are reporting record-high debts. The annual inflation rate of 3 percent in September, as measured by the Labor Department’s consumer price index, is also equivalent to its level when Trump took office in January. “I get the feeling that there’s concern about there,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said of what he sees as growing apprehension over the future of the economy. “I still worry that there’s a giddiness of the stock market. A lot of the money that was given to people, government printed-up money … the inflation that came, an enormous amount of that money went into the stock market.” “I am concerned there’s a possibility of a severe correction. I think the tariffs could be part of causing that correction as well,” Paul said.

Republican dissenters spark discharge petition clash with Speaker Mike Johnson - Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is staring down a potential political firestorm in the coming weeks as a few Republican dissenters aim to use a rare procedural mechanism to force legislation on a stock trading ban and Russian sanctions onto the House floor. His colleagues’ attempts to sidestep him on these issues puts Johnson in a bind, as he seeks to unify a divided and disgruntled caucus ahead of critical votes on a national defense policy bill, government funding measures and other key items tied to President Trump’s agenda. Republicans have doubled down on the use of discharge petitions, which require the support of 218 lawmakers, after four Republicans joined Democrats in forcing a vote on a bill demanding the Justice Department release files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in November. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has said she will introduce a discharge petition to force a vote on a bipartisan bill that would ban lawmakers, their spouses, dependent children and trustees from owning, buying or selling individual stocks. The fight over stock trading has long gripped Capitol Hill, with lawmakers repeatedly pushing bans that rarely advance. But any attempt by Johnson to block a discharge petition on the latest effort could trigger significant backlash. The bill, introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), has 101 cosponsors as of late November, including 21 Republicans. Some of the most hard-line conservatives in the House, including Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), have backed it. Johnson in May expressed support for banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, noting that he doesn’t want any “impropriety.” However, he added that he has “some sympathy” for the “counterargument” members have made that lawmakers’ salaries have been frozen since 2009 while inflation has risen. “The largest obstacle to getting this done is that Speaker Johnson needs to decide what he’s going to do, right?” Magaziner told MS NOW. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who supports the bill, previously told The Hill that the discharge petition “is one of the only mechanisms that we have for, you know, frankly, working class members to try to fix this institution and prevent insider trading.” Discharge petitions — usually difficult to pull off — have seen more success under Johnson’s leadership since only a few members of his conference are needed to challenge him amid a razor-thin GOP majority. The tool has also empowered rank-and-file members who have grown frustrated with certain legislative roadblocks, such as committees holding up bills and opposition from leadership. Foreign policy is another issue facing Johnson. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said in late November that he would file a discharge petition to force a vote on bipartisan legislation imposing punishing sanctions on countries enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine. It follows the Trump administration’s reported 28-point peace plan that was widely panned among some Republicans as a pro-Moscow proposal. U.S. officials have said the document is not the final offer and that it would likely change. Ukraine agreed to the core elements of the peace plan, a U.S. official confirmed Tuesday to NewsNation. President Trump had OK’d a vote on the legislation, dubbed the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025. But Fitzpatrick’s decision to bring forth a discharge petition reflects his desire for swifter action on the bill — another headache for Johnson. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) previously said the House should take up the bill first because it includes revenue measures. But Johnson has argued it would be “simpler and quicker” if the Senate, where the legislation has more than 80 cosponsors, took up the bill first.

AI fights split Republicans in high-stakes NDAA talks -A battle among Republican lawmakers over the future of U.S. AI policy is threatening to hold up a must-pass annual Defense bill. Lawmakers are wrestling over whether to halt state AI regulations and other thorny AI provisions in final negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one of the heaviest legislative lifts in any congressional year. President Trump and the White House are pushing Republicans to include a provision banning state AI laws in the NDAA, provoking a fight with tech-skeptical GOP lawmakers. “We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month.Republicans were already split over a state AI regulation ban in May when such a provision was included in the reconciliation bill. The Senate ended up removing the provision, after backlash from progressive Democrats and hard-line conservatives in both chambers.The issue reared its head again in late November, as House GOP leadership considered adding a last-minute preemption provision to the NDAA.This sparked outcry from key Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Alabama Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.“There should not be a moratorium on states rights for AI. States must retain the right to regulate and make laws on AI and anything else for the benefit of their state. Federalism must be preserved,” Greene wrote on the social platform X. After publicly voicing support for the effort, Trump appeared to be considering an executive order that would have unilaterally sought to limit state AI regulations, creating a task force dedicated to challenging state AI laws and restricting broadband funding to states with AI measures deemed too restrictive by the administration, according to a draft seen by The Hill.The Trump administration, which has developed close relationships with Silicon Valley in the president’s second term, has pushed for a light-touch regulatory regime.It has bristled at wide-ranging state efforts, particularly in California, to rein in the technology with laws that the administration contends will stifle innovation at a key moment in the AI race with China.However, House GOP leaders reportedly urged the White House to delay the executive order as they seek to include the measure in the Defense bill. Lawmakers are set to unveil the text of the NDAA this week, with votes expected to follow soon after. The final push on the Defense bill comes amid a busy three-week stretch at the end of the year, in which Congress is also seeking to tackle expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies and government funding.

Committee leaders to release final nuclear-infused defense bill - --The House and Senate Armed Services panels are poised to release their final defense authorization as soon as Monday with provisions meant to promote nuclear energy development. As one of the few must-pass bills every year, the National Defense Authorization Act often includes legislation on a number of priorities, including on energy and the environment. “My colleagues and I have prioritized reindustrialization and the structural rebuilding of the arsenal of democracy, starting with drone technology, shipbuilding and innovative low-cost weapons,” said Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) when that chamber passed its version of the NDAA in October. “We have also set out to enact historic reforms in the Pentagon’s budgeting and acquisition process to unleash innovation and root out inefficiencies,” the senator said.

Housing provision emerges as key in defense spending bill — The defense spending bill has long been one of the few must-pass pieces of legislation for Congress, and thus a predictable target for lawmakers and their allies to tack on policy riders that might not otherwise get a vote.

• Key insight: Bank-specific items in the National Defense Authorization Act include a housing package, credit union liquidity and Community Development Financial Institution Fund provisions.
• Forward look: Negotiations on those and other provisions are still ongoing and fluid after the White House weighed in in favor of the housing bill.
• What's at stake: Mortgage bankers say the housing package would help depository institutions reenter and gain market share in the mortgage origination market.

A bipartisan housing provision has emerged as a critical negotiating point for passage of an uncommonly bank-relevant defense authorization bill.

House Republican after Witkoff’s leaked Russia call: White House ‘should be very concerned’ - Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that the White House “should be very concerned” after a call featuring special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Russian official was leaked. “I think you can’t take just one slice of someone’s conversation during long, stretched-out aspects of negotiations as reflective, but I think it’s certainly important that when we do get that opportunity, that our voices are heard of caution and concern,” Turner told CBS News’s Nancy Cordes on “Face the Nation.” “And the orchestration of inserting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s voice before [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky’s is very concerning, and I think the White House should be very concerned about any efforts to orchestrate Putin’s voice at the White House before Zelensky’s because Ukraine’s sovereignty and security needs to be preeminent. And we heard that this morning from [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio, and that needs to be the focus,” he added. President Trump has stood up for Witkoff following the leak of a phone call with a top Russian official that has faced criticism from Ukraine supporters. The backers of the Ukrainians have scrutinized the call over what they view as Witkoff’s efforts to hamper American support for Kyiv and put together a deal that is friendly to Russian interests. On Tuesday, Trump backed Witkoff’s call with Russian aide Yuri Ushakov to guide the Kremlin foreign policy adviser on how to deal with Putin on a peace deal to stop the war. “That’s a standard thing. He’s got to sell this to Ukraine, he’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “That’s what a dealmaker does.” Since the beginning of his second term, Trump and his administration have heavily pushed for an end to the war in Ukraine, without much success. The president has met separately with Zelensky and Putin in the U.S. in the last few months.

Witkoff and Kushner Hold Five-Hour Meeting With Putin, No Sign of Breakthrough - US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held five hours of talkswith Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisers at the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss a potential peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, but the meeting ended with no sign of a breakthrough.Yury Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, said that the talks were “useful, constructive and meaningful” but that no compromises were reached. “Some American proposals are acceptable to Russia, while others are not,” he said. Ushakov said that the US presented proposals on territorial control, one of the main sticking points in the negotiations, and declined to share more details about the conversation.“We agreed with our American colleagues not to disclose the substance of the negotiations that took place. The discussion was confidential,” Ushakov told reporters.The original 28-point US proposal that was leaked to the media required Ukraine to cede what territory it controls in the Donbas, a key Russian demand to end the war. But Ukraine has been resistant to the idea of ceding any territory, and the US proposal was altered during talks between US and Ukrainian officials. Ushakov said that another meeting between Trump and Putin could happen, but that it required more progress to be made on the potential peace deal. “A possible meeting at the presidential level will depend on how much progress we can make along this line. We will continue [talks] at the level of representatives and assistants,” he said.

Europe Accuses Putin Of Faking Peace Talks With Trump Envoys -After the American delegation sent by President Trump met some 5 hours with President Putin and his team in Moscow Tuesday night, but with no significant progress made (and with some observers declaring it a 'failure'), some European officials are trying to have an 'I told you so' moment.Ukrainian and European officials on Wednesday have alleged Putin is faking a desire to achieve peace, and is intentionally wasting Washington's time while prolonging the war and intensifying strikes on the battlefield.For example, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared immediately after the Moscow discussions that Putin should "stop wasting the world's time." The Zelensky government, it should be noted, has also been quietly frustrated with the White House for largely sidelining its long-running objection to territorial concessions. But the US plan is truly "new" in that it offers Russia de facto control of land in the Donbass and Crimea. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper voiced similar criticism, saying Putin "should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace." Baltic and northern European states have continued in their rhetoric challenging the Kremlin, with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna responding, "What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. He's pushing more aggressively on the battlefield." The top diplomat said, "It's pretty obvious that he doesn't want to have any kind of peace." And Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said similarly, "So far we haven't seen any concessions from the side of the aggressor, which is Russia, and I think the best confidence-building measure would be to start with a full ceasefire." While the Kremlin has called the Tuesday Moscow talks "constructive" - it conceded that little actual progress was made toward a deal, given Russia is demanding nothing less than full legal and international recognition of the territories under its control. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meanwhile is calling on allies to ensure Ukraine is in its strongest possible position as negotiations proceed. Of course this involves flooding Kiev with more money and weapons. "The peace talks are ongoing. That's good," Rutte said. "But at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place and we are not sure when they will end, thatUkraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians. But also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table," he added.

Putin says there are points he can't agree to in the US proposal to end Russia's war in Ukraine - Russian President Vladimir Putin says some proposals in a U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin, indicating in comments published Thursday that any deal is still some ways off. U.S. President Donald Trump has set in motion the most intense diplomatic push to stop the fighting since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. But the effort has once again run into demands that are hard to reconcile, especially over whether Ukraine must give up land to Russia and how it can be kept safe from any future aggression by Moscow. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner planned to meet later Thursday with the Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov following the Americans’ discussions with Putin at the Kremlin, but there was no immediate confirmation whether that meeting took place. The meeting at the Shell Bay Club, a golf property developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach, was tentatively set to begin at 5 p.m. EST, according to an official familiar with the logistics. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly because the meeting has not yet been formally announced and spoke on condition of anonymity. Putin said his five-hour talks Tuesday with Witkoff and Kushner were “necessary” and “useful,” but also “difficult work,” and some proposals were unacceptable. Speaking to the India Today television channel before he landed Thursday in New Delhi for a state visit, Putin said the American proposals discussed at the Kremlin meeting were based on earlier discussions between Russia and the U.S., including his meeting with Trump in Alaska in August, but also included new elements. “We had to go through practically every point, which is why it took so much time,” he said. “It was a meaningful, highly specific and substantive conversation. Sometimes we said, ‘Yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree.’” Trump said Wednesday that Witkoff and Kushner came away from the marathon session confident that Putin wants to find an end to the war. “Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” he added.

US and Ukrainian Officials Hold Talks in Florida on Potential Peace Plan - US and Ukrainian officials held talks in Florida on Sunday to discuss a potential outline for a peace deal to end the war with Russia.The US delegation was led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that good progress had been made but added that there’s “more work to be done,” including further discussions with Russia. President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to travel to Moscow this week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“That will continue later this week when Mr. Witkoff will travel to Moscow, but we have also been in touch with the Russians in varying degrees,” Rubio said.Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, also attended the talks. While he doesn’t have an official position in the Trump administration, Kushner has been serving as an unofficial adviser to Witkoff and has been deeply involved in talks on the future of Gaza.The Ukrainian delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council, after Andriy Yermak, a close advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,resigned following a police raid on his home as part of an anti-corruption probe.It’s unclear exactly what the US and Ukrainian delegations discussed on Sunday, but they likely covered the two major sticking points in the negotiations: territory and security guarantees.The original US proposal to end the war, which was leaked to the media, required Ukraine to cede the territory it still controls in the Donbas, but Ukraine and its European backers rejected that point. Previous reports said that President Trump and Zelensky would work out the territorial details, but since then, Trump has said that he won’t meet with Zelensky until a peace plan is finalized.

NATO's Top Military Officer Floats Idea of 'Pre-Emptive Strike' on Russia - NATO’s top military officer has floated the idea of the Western alliance conducting a “pre-emptive” strike on Russia, a comment that drew a sharp rebuke from Moscow.Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, made the provocative comment in the context of discussing alleged “Russian hybrid attacks” in Europe. He told theFinancial Times that a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action,” but added that “it is further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”“Being more aggressive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could be an option. [The issues are] legal framework, jurisdictional framework, who is going to do this?” the Italian admiral said.The Russian Foreign Ministry called Dragone’s comments “extremely irresponsible” and said it could be an effort to undermine peace talks around Ukraine. “People who make such statements should be aware of the risks and potential consequences, including for the alliance members themselves,” said Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.Zakharova also criticized NATO officials for constantly hyping the threat of a Russian attack on Europe, saying that “against the backdrop of the anti-Russian hysteria being whipped up by the alliance and the fearmongering about an ‘inevitable attack’ by Russia on the bloc’s member states, such statements not only add fuel to the fire, but also seriously escalate the already existing confrontation.”

A German court may have just shattered one of the Biden era’s biggest lies -Jonathan Turley - It is often said that “the first casualty when war comes is truth.” A criminal warrant just issued in Germany shows that war continues to claim its victims. However, this warrant could prove to be as great an indictment not just of the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, but also of former President Joe Biden. This week, a German court issued an arrest warrant for Ukrainian Serhii Kuznietsov, which may finally confirm what was long suspected: that Ukraine was responsible for the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the waters near Denmark and Sweden. The Biden administration may have been given prior warning. It was allegedly told years ago by a Ukrainian whistleblower that a six-person team of Ukrainian special forces was planning to rent a boat, dive to the sea floor and blow up the Nord Stream project. The operation was reportedly led by Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. Nevertheless, after the attack, the Biden administration and many in the media fueled speculation that Russia had destroyed its own pipeline, despite evidence and logic to the contrary. It was another convenient claim of a Russian false-flag operation that allowed the Biden administration to ignore the possibility that Ukraine had not only engaged in environmental crimes but had also knowingly lied to its allies. For years, some of us have questioned the official account from the Biden administration about the available evidence of those responsible. The suggestion of a Russian attack on a Russian pipeline never seemed logical. However, the administration was funneling billions in support for Ukraine, funding that has now exceeds an estimated $180 billion. Having Ukraine sabotage pipelines to our allies would hardly be opportune when many were questioning the costs to U.S. citizens. The Biden administration was not alone in running interference for Ukraine, as Zelensky denied responsibility despite mounting evidence to the contrary. When another alleged Ukrainian saboteur was found in Poland, a Polish court blocked the extradition to Germany and ordered his release. The reason? The judge did base the decision on Ukrainian denials. Instead, he declared that the act had been committed in the name of a just war. (Poland remains the frontline against Russian aggression in Europe). An Italian court did not engage in such rationalization. It ordered the extradition of Kuznietsov, believed to be a key figure in the conspiracy. The attack involved leasing a yacht in the German port of Rostock, using forged IDs and a screen of intermediaries. Kuznietsov insists that he was an army captain serving in Ukraine at the time.

Report: No Progress on Deploying 'Stabilization Force' To Gaza as Countries Back Out - The deployment of an “International Stabilization Force” to the Gaza Strip, as envisioned by President Trump’s ceasefire plan, has struggled to get off the ground as countries initially willing to commit troops are backing out, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.“Commitments are being considered. No one is going to send troops from their country without understanding the specifics of the mission,” a US official told the Post.The report said that the main concern is that troops in the ISF would be put in a position where they have to use force against Palestinians. Indonesia previously said it was willing to deploy 20,000 troops, but Indonesian officials have walked that back, saying that the number represents Jakarta’s entire peacekeeping capacity, not what it would commit to Gaza.An Indonesian Foreign Ministry official told the Post that Indonesia would be willing to send 1,200, but added that some officers are “really hesitant” to deploy to Gaza over concerns that it would turn into armed conflict against Palestinians.Other countries that have said they’re willing to send troops include Azerbaijan and Pakistan, but they have expressed skepticism about the plan. According to a report from Reuters, Azerbaijan is only willing to send troops if there’s a complete halt to military action in the Strip, and Israel continues to launch attacks against Palestinians. Pakistan said on Sunday that it would be willing to send troops to commit to a peacekeeping force but not if its soldiers had to disarm Hamas. “If the purpose of deploying an international stabilization force in Palestine is to disarm Hamas, then we are not ready for that, that’s not our job,” said Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, according to The Cradle. The original US proposal for a Gaza peace plan said that the US would work with “Arab and international partners” to develop the ISF, but so far, no Arab countries have committed to providing troops, and they do not seem on board with the plan amid the uncertainty over what the mission would look like.Earlier this month, the UN Security Council passed a resolution placing Gaza under the governance of the so-called “Board of Peace,” which will be led by President Trump. But since the resolution has been passed, there have been been no announcements on the formation of the board, which is meant to oversee the ISF.In the meantime, the Israeli military continues to occupy more than 50% of Gaza and regularly launches attacks, which have killed more than 350 Palestinians since the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect. The Trump administration is pushing a plan to allow reconstruction only in the Israeli-controlled side of Gaza, which could solidify the occupation.

US Opens $800 Million Consulate Compound in Erbil, Iraq - The US on Wednesday officially opened a new consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, that is said to be the largest US consulate building in the world.The compound sits on 206,000 square meters, or about 50 acres, and cost about $800 million to build, and is a sign that the US is planning long-term involvement in Iraq. The country also hosts the largest US embassy in Baghdad, which sits on about 104 acres in the heavily fortified Green Zone.“We have significant opportunities in the coming period to demonstrate the return on America’s investment in this new consulate by delivering tangible outcomes that make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous through a partnership that delivers value for our America First agenda,” Michael Rigas, US deputy secretary of state for Management and Resources, said at an opening cermony, according to Rudaw.The opening of the consulate comes after the US confirmed that it doesn’t plan to withdraw all of its troops from Iraq despite a deal with the Baghdad-based Iraqi government to end the mission of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. The US is keeping troops at the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and an airbase in Erbil, and a small number of military advisors will be based at the embassy in Baghdad.

As Visiting Pope Prays for Peace, US Informs Iraq of Imminent Lebanon War - Amid Pope Leo XIV’s high-profile visit to Lebanon, the lines are being drawn for a new war against the small Mediterranean country. The pope’s prayers for peace are contrasted by US Ambassador Tom Barrack informing Iraq that a new war is imminent.Barrack reportedly told Iraq that there would be an “imminent Israeli operation” in Lebanon, and warned them that if any of the Iraqi Shi’ite militias interfered in any way, they would face a “harsh” Israeli strike on Iraq itself. The reason to suspect this is more than just another minor escalation from Israel is that there were no reports of the US going around warning regional countries at all amid previous operations. Indeed, Israel tends to carry out attacks on Lebanon almost daily, though for the past couple of days, they have held back, likely because of the optics of attacking during a papal visit.

Report: After Bomb Dropped on Beirut Fails to Explode, US Wants It Back from Lebanon - Last Sunday, Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, hitting an apartment complex and killing Hezbollah figure Haitham Ali Tabatabai, along with several other people. It was one of the most high-profile attacks on Beirut in recent months.In the course of the strike, Israel dropped multiple Boeing-made GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs. The first reaction that the United States has had to this attack on a residential area in a major city in violation of a ceasefire is because one of those bombs didn’t explode.According to Lebanese officials, the US has demanded that Lebanese return the unexploded bomb to them. Reportedly, this is about the bomb’s guidance system, viewing the possibility of it falling into another country’s hands as a “security risk.”The GBU-29B is referred to as a “glide bomb,” a relatively low-cost guided bomb with a high explosive payload, and has been favored by the IDF for use against targets in densely populated areas, being spun as “precision” munitions despite the potential for enormous additional casualties. Israel began purchasing GBU-29Bs in 2012, and have used them heavily in recent years in the Gaza Strip as well as Lebanon.Despite the GBU-29B being almost two decades old now, the concern is that China or Russia will manage to get ahold of the unexploded bomb from Lebanon and be able to reverse engineer the technology of the guidance system.

US War Department Launches First Kamikaze Drone Squadron in the Middle East - US Central Command announced on Wednesday that it was launching the US military’s “first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East” as President Trump’s Department of War continues to get further entrenched in the region.“CENTCOM launched Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology,” CENTCOM said.Hegseth has announced a program known as “Drone Dominance” that will involve spending $1 billion to acquire about 300,000 units over the next three years. “Drone dominance is a billion-dollar program funded by President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill,” the US War Chief said on Tuesday.CENTCOM said that it has already “formed a squadron of Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones” and released photos of drones in its press release.“LUCAS drones deployed by CENTCOM have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously. They can be launched with different mechanisms to include catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems,” the command said.

Trump Sends Handwritten Letter To Syria's Al-Qaeda Leader Turned President - President Trump sent a short handwritten letter to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda leader who took power in Damascus with his group of jihadists, known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), nearly one year ago.“Ahmed, you will be a great leader — and the United States will help!” Trump said in the note, which was delivered by Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, who has also served as an envoy to Syria. Attached to the letter was a photo of Trump and Sharaa’s Oval Office meeting that took place last month.Barrack met with Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, and, according to the Syrian Presidency, they discussed “the latest developments in the region and issues of common interest.”The Trump administration has embraced Sharaa despite his al-Qaeda past, which involved fighting against US troops in Iraq and founding the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front, which eventually became HTS when Sharaa rebranded and claimed he was cutting ties with al-Qaeda. Sharaa was previously known by his al-Qaeda nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani

Trump Urges Dialogue With Syria as Israel Continues Raids in Southwest - Israeli troops continued their regular raids into southwestern Syria today, sending troops near two different villages in the Quneitra Governorate for reasons unknown. The troops are on the outskirts of Saida al-Hanout and on a hilltop overlooking Ein Zivan. Such Israeli operations are increasingly common, particularly in Quneitra, where troops often set up checkpoints along key roads, harass locals for a few hours, and then withdraw. Intermittently they detain young men from the area as “suspects,” but often they end up released shortly later.Concerns are mounting about the direction Israel’s operations are going in Syria, following a Friday incident in which the IDF faced resistance and ended up bombing a town further north, killing at least 15 people.After that incident, it was reported the Israeli military was considering conducting less on-the-ground operations and a more Lebanon-style strategy of just assassinating suspects with drones. Today’s ground operations may suggest that has not yet happened.President Trump issued a statement on Truth Social in which he warned Israel against interfering in Syria’s “evolution into a prosperous State.” Trump has repeatedly praised Syria’s current leader, former al-Qaeda figure Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying he is “working diligently to make sure good things happen.” Israel was less than enamored with Sharaa, invading Syria more or less immediately after he took power last December. The IDF continues to operate within Syria, and the Israeli Defense Ministry has ruled out peace with them, despite ongoing direct negotiations.

US Bombs Somalia for 102nd Time This Year - US Africa Command has announced that its forces have launched another airstrike in Somalia, marking the 102nd time the US has bombed the country this year, an unprecedented number.AFRICOM said the strike occurred on November 30 and offered no details other than saying it targeted al-Shabaab and was launched about 70 miles southwest of the southern port city of Kismayo, in the southern Jubaland region.“Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” AFRICOM said in its press release. The command stopped sharing casualty estimates and assessments on potential civilian harm earlier this year.The US-backed Federal Government, which is based in Mogadishu, has been at odds with the government of the Jubaland state since the region rejected constitutional changes made by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud last year. Toward the end of 2024, Jubaland cut ties with the Federal Government, and sporadic clashes have since occurred between Jubaland forces and the Somali military.

US War Department Claims It's Not Waging a 'Forever War' in Somalia Despite Record Airstrikes - The US Department of War insisted on Tuesday that it’s not waging a “forever war” in Somalia despite the fact that the Trump administration has shattered the record for annual airstrikes in the country.Liam Cosgrove, a reporter for ZeroHedge, noted during a Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday that the US has launched 101 airstrikes (now 102) in Somalia and that US troops reportedly conducted a recent ground raid, and asked why the US military is still in the country.“I can assure you this is an America First Department of War and president, so we aren’t conducting forever wars in Somalia, we aren’t seeking regime change, and we’re not nation building,” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson said in reply.The Trump administration has dramatically escalated the US war in Somalia, launching more than 10 times the number of airstrikes that the US conducted in 2024, and more than the combined total of airstrikes launched during the 12 years that Presidents Obama and Biden were in office. Despite the unprecedented scale of US strikes, Kingsley described the campaign as “narrowly scoped.”She told Cosgrove, “I will say that this Department’s narrowly scoped, intelligence-driven, counterintelligence operations in places like Somalia, alongside our partners, allow us to protect the American homeland from terrorist threats and to protect our interests.”US airstrikes this year have targeted a small ISIS affiliate based in caves in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region and al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia. The US has been fighting al-Shabaab since it backed an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, which ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups that briefly held power in Mogadishu after taking the capital from CIA-backed warlords.

AFRICOM Commander Visits Somalia's Puntland Region, Calls To 'Intensify' War Against ISIS Affiliate - Gen. Dagvin Anderson, the commander of US Africa Command, visited Somalia’s Puntland region late last month and called for the US-backed war against the small ISIS affiliate in the area to be “intensified,” according to a press release from AFRICOM.The US has dramatically escalated its air campaign in Somalia this year, launching at least 102 airstrikes, an unprecedented number. According to AFRICOM, 59 of those strikes were launched against the ISIS affiliate, which is based in caves in a remote mountainous region in Puntland.The US supports local military forces in Puntland because the region is not under the control of the US-backed Federal Government, which is based in Mogadishu. During his visit to Puntland, Anderson met with the region’s vice president, Ilyas Osman Lugatoor, and Gen. Adan Abdi Hashi, the chief of Puntland’s Defense Forces. “He praised Puntland’s maximum-pressure campaign against ISIS in the Golis Mountains – acknowledging their success while stressing the need to intensify operations,” AFRICOM said in its press release.The Puntland government has come under criticism recently over reports that the UAE is shipping weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through an airbase in Bosaso, an airbase that’s also used by the US military for its operations in Puntland.Anderson visited Puntland as a last stop on a trip that took him to Ethiopia and Somaliland, another autonomous region in northern Somalia. During the trip, AFRICOM said that he expressed support for “maximum pressure on ISIS, al-Shabaab, and other violent terrorist organizations.”The US has provided heavy air support for the Mogadishu-based government in its fight against al-Shabaab in central and southern Somalia. Despite the record number of airstrikes, the US is nowhere near defeating the group. A report published last month by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Pentagon-funded think tank, said that al-Shabaab’s seizure of Mogadishu may already be just a “matter of time.”

US Watchdog Rips Failed Nation-Building Effort in Afghanistan in Its Final Report - The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a US government watchdog established in 2008 to oversee US reconstruction spending in Afghanistan, has issued a scathing final report on the US’s failed nation-building effort.SIGAR will be closed down on January 31, 2026, and was required to issue a final report summarizing its findings over the years. The report said that from 2002 through mid-2021, the US government spent $144.7 billion on Afghan reconstruction, far more than it spent to help rebuild 16 European nations after World War II under the Marshall Plan in inflation-adjusted terms.The report said the US also spent $763 billion on “warfighting” in Afghanistan, though the true cost of the US War in Afghanistan exceeds $2.3 trillion, a total that accounts for veteran care, interest paid on debt incurred to fund the war, and other factors.Gene Aloise, SIGAR’s acting inspector general, said multiple factors led to the failure of the nation-building project, and that “early and ongoing US decisions to ally with corrupt, human-rights-abusing powerbrokers bolstered the insurgency and undermined the mission, including US goals for bringing democracy and good governance to Afghanistan.”Aloise also noted the huge sum of money the US invested in the Afghan military, only for it to quickly fall to the Taliban. “Despite nearly $90 billion in US appropriations for security-sector assistance, Afghan security forces ultimately collapsed quickly without a sustained US military presence,” he said.The report said that since its inception, SIGAR “identified 1,327 instances of waste, fraud, and abuse totaling between $26.0 billion and $29.2 billion” with waste being the most “prevalent issue identified, accounting for 93 percent of the total amount of waste, fraud, and abuse.”SIGAR said that through its work, it found “more than $4.6 billion in savings to the US taxpayer, including recovered monies, questioned costs, and canceled expenditures.” The report also noted that the US has continued to provide aid to Afghanistan despite the Taliban taking over during its withdrawal in August 2021.

Hegseth in hot water over boat strike order -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing bipartisan scrutiny over his reported order to strike a boat in the Caribbean a second time, killing two survivors who were clinging to the ship’s wreckage on Sept. 2. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hegseth issued an order to “kill everybody” after the initial strike, the first of what is now more than 20 such attacks, did not immediately kill all 11 of the people on board the vessel, leading the Special Operations commander overseeing the attack to order a second strike. Some Democrats and a senior Republican said Sunday the strike was a possible war crime. The GOP chairs of the House and Senate armed services committees are promising “vigorous oversight” of the incident. “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the House committee, and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in their statement. “The Committee has directed inquiries to the Department, and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to the circumstances,” said Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the Senate committee chair, and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), a former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, agreed with Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.), who said the strike against defenseless individuals appeared illegal. “Obviously if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had “great confidence” in his defense chief, adding that Hegseth had denied giving such orders. Trump said Hegseth told him “he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent.” Hegseth rejected the Post’s story as “fake news,” emphasizing the attacks are intended to be “lethal, kinetic strikes.” “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” he said in a post on the social platform X. The questions about the strike and Hegseth’s role come as tensions reach a new high point with Venezuela amid speculation of a full-on military confrontation with the South American country.

Lawmakers raise alarms about possible war crimes after second boat strike report -- Several lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration for answers after multiple outlets reported Friday that the U.S. conducted a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in September.CNN and The Washington Post reported that on Sept. 2, the U.S. struck a vessel it accused of trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela a second time, killing the remaining survivors of its initial attack. The operation, which the administration said killed 11 “narco-terrorists,” was the first in a series of strikes President Trump has authorized against boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The strikes have killed more than 80 people, whom the administration has alleged are trafficking drugs into the U.S., and ramped up tensions with Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday on the social platform X that the operations are “lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.” Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the chair and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, respectively, vowed Saturday to conduct “vigorous oversight” into the matter. “The Committee is aware of recent news reports — and the Department of Defense’s initial response — regarding alleged follow-on strikes on suspected narcotics vessels in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” the two wrote in a joint statement. “The Committee has directed inquiries to the Department, and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to the circumstances,” they added. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the committee, said Sunday that the body will put military officials “under oath” as part of its inquiry. “We’re going to have an investigation,” Kelly told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’re going to have a public hearing. We’re going to put these folks under oath. And we’re going to find out what happened. And then, there needs to be accountability.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), meanwhile, said Sunday it is “very possible” that the follow-up strike constituted a war crime. “I think it’s very possible there was a war crime committed,” Van Hollen told host Jonathan Karl on ABC News’s “This Week.” Kelly also told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the second strike, if it occurred, “seems to” be a war crime. “If that is true, if what has been reported is accurate, I have got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” the Arizona Democrat said Sunday. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that while it is important to “get to the truth” of what occurred, the second strike, if true, is a “clear violation of the law of war.” “If it was as if the article said, that is a violation of the law of war,” Bacon said on “This Week.” “When people want to surrender, you don’t kill them, and they have to pose an imminent threat. It’s hard to believe that two people on a raft, trying to survive, would pose an imminent threat.” Last month, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Ca.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a war powers resolution requiring congressional approval for the strikes in international waters. While the measure did not garner enough GOP support to pass the upper chamber, Kaine told host Nancy Cordes on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” Sunday that he, Schiff, Paul and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will refile the resolution, and he expects more support from across the aisle.

Trump says he believes Hegseth denial on boat strike order ‘100 percent’ - President Trump said late Sunday that he has complete confidence in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, even as the commander in chief said he would look into allegations that Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in September. “I don’t know anything about it. He said he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent,” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked about a Washington Post report on Friday that the initial strike left two survivors clinging to the wreckage. The Post reported that the special operations commander, who was in charge of the military operation, ordered a second attack to comply with Hegseth’s earlier order to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel. “He said he didn’t do it. He said he never said that,” Trump added on Air Force One when asked specifically about the second strike. And when questioned whether he would find it acceptable if Hegseth did give the “kill everybody” order, Trump said, “He said he didn’t do it, so I don’t have to make that decision.”

White House confirms Hegseth authorized second strike on drug boat - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September following a bombshell Washington Post report that claimed he ordered the military to “kill everybody.” Leavitt told reporters at the White House press briefing that Hegseth authorized Adm. Frank Bradley to carry out the second strike, which reportedly killed two people who were hanging onto the burning vessel after an initial strike. “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narcoterrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on Sept. 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Adm. Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” Leavitt said. “Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” she continued. “This administration has designated these narcoterrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has the right to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America, if they are bringing illegal narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing.” The administration has been peppered with questions in the aftermath of the Post report claiming Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” onboard before an initial strike. Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that the order amounted to a war crime. According to the Post, an initial strike left two survivors, and Bradley ordered a follow-up strike to comply with Hegseth’s orders to leave no survivors.

House committee seeks ‘full accounting’ of boat strike after ‘kill everybody’ Washington Post report - The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said late Saturday they are seeking “full accounting” of an early September U.S. military attack against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean after a report alleged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. troops to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel. “This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) military operations in the Caribbean,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on the panel, said in a joint statement. “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” the duo stated. The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon for comment. The administration said the Sept. 2 attack killed 11 people whom Trump officials called “narco-terrorists” in the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) area of responsibility. The boat departed Venezuela, and President Trump said the vessel was carrying members of Tren de Aragua, a transnational gang that is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. On Friday, The Washington Post reported that the first strike on Sept. 2 on the boat left two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage and that the special operations commander, who was in charge of the military operation, ordered a second attack to comply with Hegseth’s order. Hegseth fired back against the report later on Friday, calling it “fake news” and insisting that the U.S. military’s strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats, which have taken place in both the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, are “lawful.” The report prompted Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) to issue a joint statement, saying the Senate Armed Services Committee has “directed inquires to the Department, and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to the circumstances.” Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted 21 strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, killing at least 83 people the administration has deemed “narco-terrorists.” The lethal strikes have prompted pushback from Democrats and some Republicans, who have questioned the legality of the operations and asked the administration for more information about the way the U.S. military is identifying targets on the speed boats. The administration says it has provided 14 bipartisan briefings to lawmakers, but the DOD has at times declined to make available during the briefings attorneys who could present the legal justification for the attacks. The administration has argued it does not need congressional approval for the ongoing strikes as the military operations do not rise to the level of “hostilities” that would warrant authorization from Congress. Trump indicated on Thursday that the strikes against alleged drug traffickers could soon take place on land. At the same time, the U.S. has beefed up its military presence in the Southcom area in recent weeks, deploying at least a dozen warships, F-35 fighter jets, spy planes and Marines as the Trump administration has turned up the pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom U.S. officials have called an “illegitimate leader.”

Ex-Defense chief Panetta says he doesn't 'think there's any question' second strike was war crime - Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday he doesn’t “think there’s any question” a reported second U.S. strike on an alleged Caribbean drug boat was a war crime. “I don’t think there’s any question that that’s a war crime, if it happened in that way. I think the best thing that’s happening now is that the Armed Services Committee in both the Senate and the House have indicated that they’re going to do a full investigation of this issue,” Panetta said on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” “And I think that’s what’s needed, because, there’s obviously going to be a lot of different viewpoints, you heard what the president said. But, I think, ultimately it’s up to those committees to find out exactly what happened. And if it was a war crime, to make sure we hold people accountable,” he added. Multiple lawmakers have pushed the Trump administration for information after The Washington Post and CNN reported late last week that the U.S. carried out an additional strike on the alleged drug-smuggling boat in September, killing two survivors of the initial strike. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday defended the U.S. military’s recent strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats, calling the Post’s report “fake news.”

Fears grow inside military over illegal orders after Hegseth authorized follow-up boat strike There is an increasing apprehension among service members that they may be asked to carry out an illegal order, amid reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” in a boat strike in September. The concerns, reflected in an uptick in calls to the Orders Project — which provides free legal advice to military personnel — come from the likes of staff officers involved in planning the strikes on supposed drug-carrying boats and those in charge of designating those on the vessels as a threat in order to carry out such attacks. Even as a reported Justice Department classified memo from this summer preemptively argued that U.S. troops involved in the strikes would not be in legal jeopardy, service members appear far more concerned than usual that the U.S. military may be opening them up to legal harm, according to Frank Rosenblatt, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, which runs the Orders Project. “They have questions, because this didn’t come up before. This was never an issue throughout both administrations of the global war on terror in Iraq or Afghanistan. No one ever came down and said, ‘You’re immunized for any potential crimes you commit,’” Rosenblatt told The Hill of the increase in calls to his organization. Established in 2020, he said such “activity was generally very low until three months ago.” “I think most people knew they did their jobs faithfully and didn’t do things that are beyond the pale, like executing civilians, that they would be OK and wouldn’t be prosecuted. So now to have this immunity as part of the discussion really tends to chill people and make them ask, ‘What the heck’s going on? What is it that I might be asked to do?’” he added. Service members’ uncertainty over whether they will be asked to carry out an illegal order or pressured to go against their training is likely to be exacerbated after The Washington Post and CNN late last week reported that Hegseth authorized a highly unusual strike to kill all survivors aboard a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea this fall. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that on Sept. 2, Hegseth authorized Adm. Frank Bradley to carry out a follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean; the strike reportedly killed two people who were hanging onto the burning vessel, having survived an initial strike.

Trump backs Hegseth, but says he wouldn’t have ordered second strike on boat -- President Trump said late Sunday that he has complete confidence in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, even as the commander in chief said he would look into allegations that Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in September. Trump also said he wouldn’t have ordered a second strike on the boat, which Democrats and one senior Republican in Congress have called a potential war crime. “I don’t know anything about it. He said he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent,” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked about a Washington Post report on Friday that the initial strike left two survivors clinging to the wreckage. The Post reported that the special operations commander, who was in charge of the military operation, ordered a second attack to comply with Hegseth’s earlier order to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel. “He said he didn’t do it. He said he never said that,” Trump added on Air Force One when asked specifically about the second strike. And when questioned whether he would find it acceptable if Hegseth did give the “kill everybody” order, Trump said, “He said he didn’t do it, so I don’t have to make that decision.” Hegseth fired back against the report later on Friday, calling it “fake news” and insisting that the U.S. military’s strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats, which have taken place in both the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, are “lawful.” Trump did not repeat Hegseth’s claim of “fake news” in his remarks to reporters on Sunday, but the president raised questions about the report’s reliability and said he would look into the matter. He also said he would not have ordered the second strike. “Number one, I don’t know that that happened,” Trump said, when asked whether a hypothetical second strike would be illegal. “And Pete said he did not want them — he didn’t even know what people were talking about. So, we’ll look at, we’ll look into it.” “But no, I wouldn’t have wanted that, not a second strike,” he continued. “The first strike was very lethal, it was fine, and if there were two people around. But Pete said that didn’t happen. I have great confidence in him.” A reporter asked the president if he was “saying there’s no second strike.” “I don’t know,” Trump responded. “I’m going to find out about it. But Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.”.

Hegseth Says He Wasn't in the Room When Adm. Bradley Ordered Second Strike on Alleged Drug Boat - Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday that he wasn’t in the room when the order was given to launch a second strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug boat on September 2, as the Trump administration has shifted the responsibility for the order to Adm. Frank M. Bradley, the commander of US Special Operations Command.“I watched that first strike live,” Hegseth told reporters at a cabinet meeting. “As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we’ve got a lot of things to do, so I didn’t stick around for the hour, two hours, whatever, when all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs, so I moved on to my next meeting.”The US war chief said that a “couple of hours later,” he learned that Bradley, who was the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at the time, made the “correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.” He added that it was the “right call” and “we have his back.”According to The Washington Post report, US military commanders saw two survivors clinging to the burning wreck and launched a second strike to kill them. Intercept reporter Nick Turse, who firstbroke the story that the bombing of the alleged drug boat involved multiple strikes to kill survivors, pointed out in a story published Tuesday that bombing survivors of a wrecked boat is against the Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual.“Persons who have been rendered unconscious or otherwise incapacitated by wounds, sickness, or shipwreck, such that they are no longer capable of fighting, are hors de combat (out of action),” the guide reads. “Persons who have been incapacitated by wounds, sickness, or shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack.”

Pete Hegseth jokes about drug boat strikes amid 'kill everybody' controversy -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday evening made light of the mounting scrutiny he faces over a report that he gave an order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September. In a post on the social platform X, the Defense secretary included a mock cover of a children’s book from the “Franklin the Turtle” book franchise. The edited cover includes a small-print label at the top, “A Classic Franklin Story,” followed by the made-up title, “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.” The illustrated cover depicts the Franklin character, dressed in military garb, standing off the side of a helicopter, as he holds what appears to be a rocket launcher, aimed at three boats below, which all appear to be carrying cargo representing drugs. One of the boats is midexplosion, as Franklin fires off more ammunition directed below. Hegseth tagged in the photo U.S. Southern Command, which covers the region where the Trump administration has launched a series of attacks in recent months targeting what it alleges are boats carrying drugs headed to the United States. “For your Christmas wish list…,” Hegseth wrote Sunday in the post, alongside the mock book cover. Hegseth is facing mounting scrutiny from Congress after The Washington Post reported Friday that he gave an order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in early September. According to the Post, two survivors were left clinging to the wreckage following an initial strike on the boat, prompting the commander in charge to order a second strike in order to comply with Hegseth’s earlier order to “kill everybody.”

Soldiers Have ‘Duty To Refuse’ Hegseth’s Order To Commit War Crimes - Moon of Alabama - My post on Trump’s war on Venezuela two days ago mentioned a Washington Post report (archived) about a war crime directly ordered by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said.A missile screamed off the Trinidad coast, striking the vessel and igniting a blaze from bow to stern. For minutes, commanders watched the boat burning on a live drone feed. As the smoke cleared, they got a jolt: Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck.The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack — the opening salvo in the Trump administration’s war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere — ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, two people familiar with the matter said. The two men were blown apart in the water. The Intercept had previously reported (archived) the second strike the U.S. military had launched against survivors: People on board the boat off the coast of Venezuela that the U.S. military destroyed last Tuesday were said to have survived an initial strike, according to two American officials familiar with the matter. They were then killed shortly after in a follow-up attack. … Last week, a high-ranking Pentagon official who spoke to the Intercept on the condition of anonymity said that the strike in the Caribbean was a criminal attack on civilians and said that the Trump administration paved the way for it by firing the top legal authorities of the Army and the Air Force earlier this year. “The U.S. is now directly targeting civilians. Drug traffickers may be criminals but they aren’t combatants,” the War Department official said. “When Trump fired the military’s top lawyers the rest saw the writing on the wall, and instead of being a critical firebreak they are now a rubber stamp complicit in this crime.”The high-ranking Pentagon official is correct in that the strikes against boats in international waters are criminal attacks on civilians. But the killing of survivors of such strikes is more than that. It is undoubtedly a war crime. Hegseth’s order to kill survivors was clearly illegal. It was the duty of the soldiers in the line of command to reject the order. That they have not done so but followed the order is in itself a war crime. How do we know this? Because the Department of Defense’s LAW OF WAR MANUAL (LOWM) (pdf) says so:

18.3 DUTIES OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES - Each member of the armed services has a duty to: (1) comply with the law of war in good faith; and (2) refuse to comply with clearly illegal orders to commit violations of the law of war.

Further down the Manual uses the exact case in question, an order to kill survivors at sea, as an example of an illegal order:

• 18.3.2 Refuse to Comply With Clearly Illegal Orders to Commit Law of War Violations.
  Members of the armed forces must refuse to comply with clearly illegal orders to commit law of war violations. In addition, orders should not be construed to authorize implicitly violations of law of war.
• 18.3.2.1 Clearly Illegal Orders to Commit Law of War Violations.
  The requirement to refuse to comply with orders to commit law of war violations applies to orders to perform conduct that is clearly illegal or orders that the subordinate knows, in fact, are illegal. For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.²⁷

Every soldier down the line of command, from the commanding general receiving Hegseth’s verbal order down to the guys who pushed the button to launch the missile had the duty to reject the order. Those who have not done so are themselves guilty.The footnote in 18.3.2.1 points to the case of the Canadian hospital ship HMHS Llandovery Castle which on 27 June 1918 had been torpedoed by a German U-Boot: The sinking was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the war. 234 doctors, nurses, members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, soldiers and seamen died in the sinking and subsequent machine-gunning of lifeboats. In 1921 a German court sentenced two officers to years in prison because they had followed the illegal order of the submarine’s captain, Helmut Brümmer-Patzig, to kill the survivors. It can not be more clear. The DoD’s Law of Warfare manual is using the case of killing survivors at sea as an example of an illegal order. Today the court would say: “They could only have gathered, from the order given by Hedseth, that he wished to make use of his subordinates to carry out a breach of the law. They should, therefore, have refused to obey.” There are signs that one commanding officer did his duty and refused to execute Hegseth’s illegal order. On October 16 the U.S. military attacked another, the sixth, vessel. Two of the four people on board survived and were rescued:President Trump said that the two survivors of a U.S. military strike Thursday on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea will be returned to their countries of origin. … One survivor is from Ecuador and the other is from Colombia. Thursday’s strike marks the sixth known boat attack in the area since last month — and the first known attack with survivors. Mr. Trump said the strike was against a submarine carrying mostly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics. … A Navy helicopter transported the survivors from the semi-submersible to a Navy ship, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News on Friday.“It is the custom of the sea to save people who are at risk in international waters. You don’t sort of sail on. That’s against every principle of naval activity,” Eugene R. Fidell, a senior research scholar at Yale Law School, told CBS News on Friday. “You’re supposed to save people, even though the people here are people who are only in danger because the U.S. was attempting to kill them.” On the very same day those survivors were rescued, October 16, the DoD announced that the head of its Southern Command was ‘stepping down’:The military commander overseeing the Pentagon’s escalating attacks against boats in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs is stepping down, three U.S. officials said Thursday.The officer, Adm. Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America, even as the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region in what it says is a major counterdrug and counterterrorism mission. It was unclear why Holsey is leaving now, less than a year into his tenure, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career. But one of the U.S. officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats. It now seems clear that Admiral Holsey got fired for not following Hegseth’s illegal order and for ordering the rescue of the survivors of the strike.Hegseth meanwhile reveals himself as veritable psychopath: (see) There are signs that Congress is waking up to the issue(archived) and that Hegseth’s order may well have real consequences for him: A top Republican and Democrats in Congress suggested on Sunday that American military officials might have committed a war crime in President Trump’s offensive against boats in the Caribbean after a news report said that during one such attack, a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors. … The lawmakers’ comments came after top Republicans and Democrats on the two congressional committees overseeing the Pentagon vowed over the weekend to increase their scrutiny of U.S. boat strikes in the Caribbean after the report. Mr. Turner said the [Washington Post] article had only sharpened lawmakers’ already grave questions about the operation.The senators and member of congress should grow a spine and use their power over the budget to reign in the president. The secretary of defense must be fired from his position. Admiral Holsey must be reinstate as Southern Command.

Pete Hegseth wouldn't trust Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio to babysit his kids --Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a recent interview said he would not trust Secretary of State Marco Rubio or White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to babysit his children. In an episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast,” posted Tuesday, the host asked Hegseth and his wife, Jen Hegseth, which members of the Trump administration they would trust to watch their kids. “Oh, I mean, not your husband or Marco,” the secretary said, with a smile, prompting laughter from his spouse and Katie Miller — who is married to the White House aide.Hegseth proceeded to answer the question seriously, naming Vice President Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, his former colleague at Fox News, along with some of the women in President Trump’s Cabinet.“I would trust the vice president. I mean, I’ve known Sean Duffy for years. I would trust him,” he said.“Brooke Rollins or Pam. Tulsi’s incredible,” he continued, referring to the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.The host asked the questions as part of her “Cabinet Confidential” section of the podcast.Miller noted she asked Vance a similar set of questions, when he appeared on her podcast earlier this year. The vice president said he would allow Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration, to babysit his children.

Navy commander briefs Congress on boat strike that targeted survivors -- Navy Adm. Frank Bradley appeared on Capitol Hill on Thursday to brief bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers on the details of a September attack on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean.The meetings, held behind closed doors with the leaders of the Intelligence and Armed Services committees, shed new light on an episode that’s become a flash point in the fierce debate over President Trump’s aggressive approach to fighting alleged drug traffickers from Latin America.Bradley was in charge of the opening volley of Trump’s drug war, on Sept. 2, which targeted alleged drug runners near the coast of Venezuela. The operation gained outsized attention last week after The Washington Post reported that the initial strike on the boat was followed by several others targeting a pair of survivors who were clinging to the vessel. Both suspects were killed. The revelations sparked a firestorm of controversy in the Capitol, where Democrats — and even some Republicans — voiced concerns that the follow-up strikes constituted war crimes. Indeed, the Pentagon’s own manual detailing the laws of war specifies that “orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.” The story raised numerous questions about where the orders originated, and the precise roles played by Bradley, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon’s legal team in the lead-up to the attack — questions lawmakers were hoping to get answered during Thursday’s briefings. Bradley, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, denied that Hegseth issued an order to “kill everybody” aboard the alleged drug-smuggling vessel, multiple lawmakers said.“Adm. Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, not to give no quarter or to kill them all. He was given an order that, of course, was written down in great detail, as our military always does,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters after the Thursday closed-door, classified briefing. The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth gave a spoken directive ahead of the Sept. 2 attack to “kill everybody.” The White House has said the strike killed 11 “narco-terrorists.”Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Bradley shared a similar account during the Thursday morning briefing. “The admiral confirmed that there had not been a ‘kill them all’ order, and that there was not an order to grant ‘no quarter,’” Himes said. Cotton, a defense hawk, came out in defense of the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 operation in the Caribbean, praising the military leaders; declaring the mission was “lawful”; and proclaiming the lethal strikes since then, which have killed at least 83 people, are “justified and righteous.” “The first strike, the second strike and the third and the fourth strike on Sept. 2 were entirely lawful and needful and they were exactly what we would expect our military commanders to do,” Cotton told reporters after the classified session. The Arkansas senator also pushed back on Himes’s characterization of the operation as one of the “most troubling” things he has seen, telling journalists he did not see “anything disturbing about it.” “What’s disturbing to me is that millions of Americans have died from drugs being run to America by these cartels. What’s gratifying to me is that the president has made the decision finally, after decades of letting it happen, that we’re going to take the battle to them,” the GOP lawmaker said. While Cotton defended the operation in light of the new information, Democrats had a decidedly different response after viewing the video of the subsequent strikes.Himes emerged from the briefing to say the evidence showed clearly that U.S. forces had targeted survivors who posed no threat to American security. He characterized the footage as “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”“I reviewed the video, and it’s deeply, deeply troubling,” Himes said. “The fact is that we killed two people who were in deep distress and had neither the means nor obviously the intent to continue their mission.”Himes declined to provide further details, citing the confidential nature of the meeting. But his misgivings highlight one of the chief concerns voiced by lawmakers in response to the Post story: Namely, that if U.S. forces are targeting noncombatants, how can America expect better treatment from adversaries if U.S. troops find themselves in similar circumstances?

Admiral denied Hegseth gave ‘kill everybody’ order in briefing to lawmakers - Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, the commander who oversaw the Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, denied that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered his subordinates to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel during briefings to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The denial follows a report from The Washington Post last week that the Pentagon chief gave a spoken directive to “kill everybody” ahead of the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 attack against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean, an operation where 11 “narco-terrorists” were killed. Both Hegseth and the White House have denied that he gave such an order to Bradley, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command. “Admiral Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, not to give no quarter or to kill them all. He was given an order that, of course, was written down in great detail, as our military always does,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters after the Thursday closed-door, classified briefing with Bradley and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, Gen. Dan Caine. Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, gave the same account of Bradley’s testimony. “The admiral confirmed that there had not been a ‘kill them all’ order, and that there was not an order to ‘grant no quarter,’” Himes said on Thursday. Still, Himes said that he was “deeply” troubled by the Defense Department’s attack on Sept. 2, in which the U.S. military conducted four strikes, killing 11 and sinking the boat.

Hegseth ousted Navy admiral who raised concerns about boat strikes -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked the four-star Navy admiral overseeing the U.S. military’s strikes against boats in the Caribbean to step down after the top officer voiced concerns about the “murky” legality of the attacks. U.S. Southern Command head Adm. Alvin Holsey will retire two years ahead of schedule on Dec. 12 following “months of discord” between him and Hegseth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Hegseth announced the surprise retirement on Oct. 16 with Holsey only one year into his tenure and during a major new military operation — an extraordinary move, lawmakers and experts said at the time. But tensions between the two had simmered since the start of the year, when the newly confirmed Hegseth met with Holsey via a secure video conference, two Pentagon officials and former officials told the outlet. “You’re either on the team or you’re not,” Hegseth reportedly told Holsey at the time. “When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions.” Later in March, Hegseth ordered Holsey to develop military options to ensure the U.S. had full access to the Panama Canal after President Trump said he wanted to “reclaim” the strategic waterway, but the Pentagon chief felt Holsey didn’t move quickly enough on the plans, according to the Journal. Hegseth also was suspicious that Holsey may have leaked details about those options when such media reports surfaced, one former official told the outlet. Then this past summer, when the U.S. military began striking boats off the coast of Venezuela that the administration claimed without evidence were carrying drugs bound for America, Holsey was reportedly concerned about the tenuous legal authority for the campaign. Holsey objected that parts of the operations fell outside his direct control, as other military units under separate chains of command were also involved in the strikes, according to the Journal. But even before Holsey’s concerns, Hegseth reportedly had lost confidence in him and was looking for his replacement. Tension came to a head with a “confrontation” between the two at the Pentagon in early October. Multiple outlets reported at the time that Holsey and Hegseth were at odds over the U.S. mission in the Caribbean, but Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell at the time dismissed the stories as “fake news,” insisting there was “no hesitation or concerns about this mission.”

Report: Hegseth Ousted Head of US Southern Command Who Raised Concerns About Boat Strikes - Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander of US Southern Command who abruptly announced he was stepping down in October, was pushed out by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.The report said that Hegseth and Holsey were at odds during the first months of the Trump administration, and the tension intensified when Holsey expressed concerns about the “murky legal authority” for the bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in Latin America, which is clearly illegal under US and international law.Holsey also objected that parts of the operation fell outside of his control since other military units under separate chains of command were also involved, including elite special operations units. Earlier in the year, Hegseth was unhappy with Holsey for not drawing up plans to “reclaim” the Panama Canal quickly enough and suspected that the four-star admiral may have been involved in leaks of potential US plans for the waterway. Holsey hasn’t given a reason for his early retirement, which is highly unusual for a career military officer just one year into a three-year term as the head of a combatant command. When he first announced he was stepping down in October, The New York Times reported that he had raised concerns about the boat strikes.

House Democrat announces articles of impeachment against Hegseth- Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) on Thursday announced he will file articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is at the center of two scandals at the Defense Department. “This secretary has to go,” Thanedar told Fox News host Josh Breslow. “He’s incompetent. He’s, you know, violated — he has committed war crimes. He must go.” He added, “And if both parties, if Republicans are willing to look at this for the merit of this case and not just their loyalty to President Trump, this can be done.”Thanedar pointed to Hegseth’s use of the encrypted messaging app Signal with other administration officials to discuss a pending strike on Houthi targets in Yemen as one reason to oust the Defense chief. A report from the Pentagon’s inspector general, released publicly on Thursday, found that Hegseth put the lives of U.S. troops at risk and violated department policy through the use of the app. The Atlantic’s editor Jeffrey Goldberg was included in the Signal chat, along with Hegseth, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Office of Inspector General argued in its report that if detailed strike plans were intercepted, the lives of U.S. troops would have been endangered. The Michigan Democrat also cited reporting that Hegseth’s ordered military leaders to “kill everybody” in a Sept. 2 strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean. The commanding officer, Adm. Frank Bradley, carried out the second strike in compliance with the secretary’s order even after two people were seen clinging to the boat’s wreckage.Thanedar said both controversies show the need for accountability from both parties, using the discharge petition to force a vote on a bill to release all of the files in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case as an example of bipartisan support. President Trump later signed the legislation into law.“If Republicans are willing to look at this for the merit of this case and not just their loyalty to President Trump, this can be done,” the Michigan Democrat said. “Republicans need to look at this as laws that have been broken. War crimes have been committed. And Hegseth — the secretary is refusing to show up.” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson slammed Thanedar and called the articles of impeachment “another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had” at DOD. “While Shri tries to win points with his base to fend off his political opponents, Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland,” Wilson said. After the White House confirmed the Sept. 2 directive, Hegseth said he learned about the second strike hours later after having left for another meeting. A U.S. official previously told The Hill that the incident saw four strikes carried out, two to kill everyone onboard and two to sink the vessel.

US Military Blows Up Another Boat in Latin America Amid Scrutiny of Bombing Campaign - The US military blew up another boat in the waters of Latin America on Wednesday, an attack that comes amid growing congressional scrutiny of the bombing campaign.US Southern Command said in a statement on X that its forces conducted a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The command claimed, without providing any evidence, that the boat was carrying “illicit narcotics.” SOUTHCOM said the strike killed four male “narcoterrorists,” a term used to justify the extrajudicial executions at sea. The Pentagon has previously admitted to Congress that it doesn’t know the identities of all the people it has killed in the boat strikes. (Video of the strike released by SOUTHCOM) According to numbers released by the Trump administration, the attack brings the total number of people killed in the bombing campaign to 87 and marks the 22nd strike and 23rd boat that has been destroyed. Eleven of the boats have been struck in the Caribbean near Venezuela, where the bombing campaign started, and 12 have been hit in the Eastern Pacific.

US military blows up alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4 ‘narco-terrorists’ -- The U.S. military blew up another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Thursday, killing four male “narco-terrorists” and continuing its lethal counternarcotics campaign as scrutiny over the Trump administration’s early September operation intensifies. The boat on Thursday was struck in international waters and was operated by a designated terrorist organization, U.S. Southern Command announced. It is unclear which terrorist group the military was referring to. The vessel was allegedly carrying illegal drugs and was transiting along a “known narco-trafficking” route in the eastern Pacific, according to the U.S. military. The U.S. military shared a 21-second video of the attack, showing the boat being struck and engulfed in flame. The latest strike came the same day Navy Adm. Frank Bradley was in Congress to brief lawmakers on the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 strike against an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, where 11 people were killed. During the briefings, which were held in both chambers, Bradley, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, denied reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an order to “kill everybody” aboard before the Sept. 2 operation. The briefing from Bradley came as lawmakers in both parties were asking the Trump administration for more information regarding the Sept. 2 mission, where the U.S. military conducted four strikes, two to kill those on board and two others to sink the vessel. Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted more than 20 strikes against purported drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 87 people, according to the Trump administration. Thursday’s strike in the eastern Pacific represents the first U.S. strike against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel since mid-November, when the U.S. military blew up a purported drug-smuggling boat and killed three “narco-terrorists.”

Trump gave Maduro a week to leave Venezuela and closed the country's airspace - Reuters On November 21, Donald Trump, in a phone conversation, gave Nicolas Maduro until November 28 to safely leave Venezuela. The next day, Trump announced the closure of the country's airspace. Trump gave Maduro a week to leave Venezuela and closed the country's airspace - Reuters US President Donald Trump, in a phone conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on November 21, gave him until November 28 to safely leave the country, and the very next day announced the closure of airspace over Venezuela. This was reported by Reuters, citing sources in the White House, informs UNN. It is noted that Maduro told Trump that he was ready to leave Venezuela on the condition of full amnesty for him and members of his family, including the lifting of all US sanctions. He also asked for the lifting of sanctions for more than 100 Venezuelan government officials, many of whom the US accuses of human rights violations, drug trafficking or corruption. - writes the publication. It is indicated that Trump rejected most of Maduro's requests during the conversation, which lasted less than 15 minutes, but told him that he had a week to leave Venezuela and go to any place of his choice with his family members. "The deadline for safe passage expired on Friday, prompting Trump to announce on Saturday the closure of Venezuelan airspace," the article says. Recall On Saturday, Trump stated that the airspace over and around Venezuela should be considered "completely closed," but provided no details.

Venezuela's Maduro Confirms That He Held 'Cordial' Call With Trump - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed that he held a phone call with President Trump amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and the threats of an attack on his country.Maduro said the call, which occurred last month, was “cordial” and that he decided to comment on the conversation because it was reported by US media.“During my six years as foreign minister, I learned diplomatic prudence, and then, in these years as president, with the experience of being foreign minister and having been mentored by our Commander Chavez, I value prudence,” Maduro told Venezuelan TV on Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera.“I don’t like diplomacy with microphones; when there are important matters, they must be handled quietly until they are resolved!” the Venezuelan leader added.According to unconfirmed US media reports, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading the push toward war with Venezuela, joined Trump and Maduro on the call, and Trump demanded that Maduro flee the country, but the Venezuelan leader rejected his terms.Maduro declined to say what he discussed with Trump, but said he thought it could be a step toward “respectful dialogue” and that Venezuela seeks peace. “With the favor of God and our Commander of Commanders, Our Lord Jesus Christ, everything will go well for the peace, independence, dignity, and future of Venezuela,” Maduro said.

Maduro Could Be Exiled To Qatar As Trump Warns Land Strikes On Venezuela Coming "Very Soon" -President Trump reportedly issued Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a deadline of last Friday to of his own volition step down as president and accomplish a peaceful transition of power, or else face possible direct military action.The New York Post is freshly reporting that the White House has offered that Maduro could be exiled to Qatar, where he would live out his days in luxury in one of the world's wealthiest countries."A senior Trump administration source said Secretary of State Marco Rubio has floated allowing Maduro, 63, to relocate to Qatar as the gas-rich emirate helps mediate the conflict," NY Post writes Wednesday. "Three current and two former administration officials described the scenario as plausible."A source close to the administration described that "Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE love to do stuff like this. It helps build chits with the US." The person further said, "All three compete against each other — in the region and for the ultimate affection of the US."So far Maduro has resisted Trump's call to immediately step down, and the last Friday deadline came and went. If it were to suddenly happen - and by looks of it Maduro doesn't seem prepared to go anywhere - this scenario would quickly lead to lower oil prices as Washington's crude embargo would be dropped and US firms move to pump oil out of the Latin American country, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.As for the supposed exile to Qatar plan, there's been no immediately forthcoming confirmation from the White House that this is accurate, but Maduro would have to go somewhere after all.The large military presence in the southern Caribbean has persisted for months at this point, and the clock is ticking, especially given President Trump's Tuesday remarks of land attacks possibly beginning "very soon". He said as follows:President Trump said Tuesday his administration could attack accused drug traffickers who traverse Latin America by land "very soon," which would mark an escalation in the U.S. military's campaign of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats. "We're going to start doing those strikes on land, too," Mr. Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting when asked about the administration's strikes at sea. "You know, the land is much easier ... And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we're going to start that very soon, too."

Trump Declares Closure of Venezuela's Airspace - President Trump on Saturday declared that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela is to be closed, a sign that he might soon launch an attack on the country with the aim of ousting President Nicolas Maduro.“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” the president wrote on Truth Social.It’s unclear if the declaration means that the US will impose a no-fly zone on Venezuela, which would be an act of war. Such a step or any military strikes on Venezuela would be illegal without congressional authorization, per the US Constitution.The order came after the president said that he may “very soon” expand the bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region to strikes on Venezuelan territory.The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry later responded by calling Trump’s declaration “a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act, incompatible with the most basic principles of International Law.” Venezuelan officials also said the announcement halted all deportation flights from the US to Venezuela, saying Trump “unilaterally suspended the Venezuelan migrant flights that were regularly and weekly being carried out.”The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump spoke to Maduro by phone last week and discussed the possibility of meeting in person, but it doesn’t appear that the conversation did anything to slow the US military buildup in the region and push toward the US launching a regime change war.The Times report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading the campaign against Venezuela, joined Maduro and Trump in the phone call. They spoke a few days before Rubio’s State Department declared the Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los Soles, a group that doesn’t actually exist, a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

Trump Holds Talks With Top Advisers on Venezuela Amid Push Toward Regime Change War - President Trump held talks with his top advisers on Monday to discuss Venezuela amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and signs that he’s planning to launch attacks on the country, which would be illegal under the Constitution without congressional authorization.At this point, it’s unclear exactly what was discussed during the talks or whether any decisions were made. The meeting came after Trump confirmed a report that he held a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a call that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been leading the push toward war, also joined.According to a report from the Miami Herald, Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum during the call, telling the Venezuelan leader that the only way he could save himself and his family was if he fled the country, and Maduro rejected his terms.Maduro has made clear he’s willing to work with the US and reportedly offered significant access to Venezuela’s natural resources, but the Miami Herald report signals the Trump administration won’t be happy with any arrangement that leaves the Venezuelan leader in power.Maduro’s government has also been cooperating on deportation flights from the US, but they have been suspended since Trump announced the closure of Venezuela’s airspace, a declaration that Caracas said was “a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act, incompatible with the most basic principles of International Law.”

Pope Leo Warns US Against Launching a War in Venezuela To Remove Maduro - Pope Leo XIV has warned the US against invading Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and threats of the US launching a regime change war.Leo was asked about the US threats against Venezuela during a press conference he held on his way back from Lebanon, where he prayed for peace in the war-torn nation that faces the threat of an escalation of ongoing Israeli attacks. The US-born pontiff pointed out to reporters the mixed signals coming from the Trump administration and urged dialogue.“On the one hand, it seems there has been a telephone conversation between the two presidents; on the other hand, there is this danger, this possibility, that there could be an action, an operation, including an invasion of Venezuelan territory,” Leo said.“I again believe it is better to seek dialogue within this pressure, including economic pressure, but looking for another way to bring about change, if that is what the United States decides to do,” he added.Leo also said that bishops in Venezuela, a majority Catholic nation, are “trying to find a way to calm the situation, seeking above all the good of the people, because in these situations it is the people who suffer, not the authorities.” Leo has previously expressed concern about the US military buildup in the Caribbean, saying that it was raising tensions. Catholic bishops in the Caribbean have harshly condemned the US military campaign and the strikes on alleged drug-running boats in the region, saying it violates the “sacredness” of human life.

Senators Reintroduce Bill To Block Trump From Launching War With Venezuela - A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced a War Powers Resolution aimed at blocking President Trump from launching a war with Venezuela without congressional authorization.The bill was introduced by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), who sponsored the previous resolution, and this time they were joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). According to a press release from Kaine’s office, the new War Powers Resolution is privileged and may be called up for a vote on the Senate floor within 10 days.The first bill failed last month in a vote of 49-51, with just two Republicans, Paul and Lisa Murkowski (AK), supporting it. Kaine has said he expects the legislation to receive more support now that the US has deployed more military assets near Venezuela and due to the controversy over the September 2 bombing of an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela that involved a second strike to kill survivors.“We should not be risking the lives of our nation’s servicemembers to engage in military action within Venezuela without a robust debate in Congress. This is why the Framers gave the power to declare war to Congress, not the President,” Kaine said in a statement on the new bill.Paul said that the “American people do not want to be dragged into endless war with Venezuela without public debate or a vote. We ought to defend what the Constitution demands: deliberation before war.”A War Powers Resolution to block an attack on Venezuela has also been introduced in the House, as Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX) have been joined by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in co-sponsoring the bill.

Venezuela Allows US To Continue Deportation Flights Despite Trump Order To Close Airspace - The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has approved a migrant repatriation flight from the US, allowing the US to continue deportation flights to Venezuela despite President Trump’s order for the country’s airspace to be closed.“The Aeronautic Authority of Venezuela has received a request from the government of the United States to restart migrant repatriation flights from that country to Venezuela,” Venezuela’s Transportation Ministry said in a statement.Over the weekend, Trump declared that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela be closed in its entirety, suggesting he was going to enforce a no-fly-zone over the country, which would be an act of war. In response, Venezuela’s government called the declaration illegal and said Trump’s announcement “unilaterally suspended the Venezuelan migrant flights that were regularly and weekly being carried out.” But now those deportation flights appear to be back on.

Ah, Good Old War Propaganda -Caitlin Johnstone - Just as the news breaks that Trump has issued Maduro an ultimatum to leave Venezuela immediately if he wants to escape with his life, the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal has published an amazingly brazen war propaganda piece titled “How Venezuelan Gangs and African Jihadists Are Flooding Europe With Cocaine.”“Venezuela has become a major launchpad for huge volumes of cocaine shipped to West Africa, where jihadists are helping traffic it to Europe in record quantities,” the article begins, going out of its way to note that “the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro — who it asserts is heavily involved in drug smuggling — has brought global attention to the country’s role in the drug trade.”The propaganda piece is plainly aimed at Europeans as well as Americans, emphasizing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s quip last month that the Europeans “should be thanking us” for blowing up alleged drug boats coming from Venezuela because he says some of those drugs are winding up in Europe.It’s got everything. Whipping up international support for a regime change war. Fearmongering about “jihadists”. The evil, scary dictator. The whole war propaganda sales package. The mass media do this every time the US empire gets war-horny. And the Murdoch press are always the most egregious offenders.Reminds me of an old tweet by a man named Malcolm Price: “I remember in the run-up to the Iraq War a friend I had known all my life suddenly said to me, ‘We must do something about this monster in Iraq.’ I said, ‘When did you first think that?’ He answered honestly, ‘A month ago’.” Price’s friend had been swept up in the imperial war propaganda campaignthat had recently begun, just like countless millions of others. Month after month after month western consciousness was hammered with false narrativesabout weapons of mass destruction, forced associations of Saddam Hussein with 9/11, and stories about how much better things will be for the people of Iraq once that evil tyrant is gone. Normally it never would have occurred to the average westerner that a country on the other side of the planet should be invaded and its leader replaced with a puppet regime. That’s not the sort of thing that would have organically entered someone’s mind. It needed to be placed there. So it was.The most common misconception about the free press of the western world is that it exists. All the west’s most influential and far-reaching news media publications are here not to report factual stories about current events, but to manufacture consent for the pre-existing agendas of the US-centralized western empire. They report many true things, to be sure, and if you acquire some media literacy you can actually learn how to glean a lot of useful information from the imperial press without losing your mind to the spin machine. But reporting true things is not their purpose. Their purpose is to manipulate public psychology at mass scale for the benefit of the empire they serve. This doesn’t happen through some kind of centralized Ministry of Truth where sinister social engineers secretly conspire to deceive people. It happens because all mainstream press institutions are controlled either by plutocrats or by western governments in the form of state broadcasters like the BBC, both of which have a vested interest in maintaining the imperial status quo. They control who the executives and lead editors of these outlets are, and those leaders shape the hiring and editing processes of the publication or broadcaster. Reporters come to understand that there are certain lines they need to color within if they want to get articles published and continue advancing their careers, so they either learn to toe the imperial line or they disappear from the mass media industry. If people had a clear understanding of everything that’s really going on in our world, they would tear the empire apart brick by brick. If they could truly see how much evil is being done in their name and really wrap their minds around it, and if they could understand how much wealth the plutocrats are getting out of the imperial status quo compared to how little they themselves benefit from it, there would be immediate revolution. So the oligarchs and empire managers shore up narrative control in the form of media ownership, think tanks, Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation, imperial information ops like Wikipedia, and now increasingly through billionaire-owned AI chatbots to ensure that this never happens. The entire empire is built on a foundation of lies. The whole power structure is held together by nonstop manipulation of the way westerners think, speak, act, shop, work, and vote. If truth ever finds a way to get a word in edgewise, the entire thing would collapse.What we need, then, is a grassroots effort to help truth get a word in. Help people understand that they’ve been propagandized and deceived about the world by western media and by their power-serving education systems every day of their lives, because propaganda only works if you don’t know it’s happening to you. Sow distrust in the imperial media and institutions. Open people’s eyes to the fact that they’re being lied to, and help them learn to see the truth. Anywhere the empire is sowing lies and distortions — whether that’s in Venezuela or Gaza or somewhere else — use that opportunity to help more people unplug their minds from the propaganda matrix.

Pentagon watchdog says Hegseth's use of Signal posed risk to US personnel (AP) — The Pentagon’s watchdog found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. personnel and their mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Yemen’s Houthi militants, two people familiar with the findings said Wednesday.Hegseth, however, has the ability to declassify material and the report did not find he did so improperly, according to one of the people familiar with the findings who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the information. That person also said the report concluded that Hegseth violated Pentagon policy by using his personal device for official business and it recommended better training for all Pentagon officials. Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the Pentagon’s inspector general but provided a written statement, that person said. The defense secretary asserted that he was permitted to declassify information as he saw fit and only communicated details he thought would not endanger the mission. The initial findings, which were first reported by CNN, ramp up the pressure on the former Fox News Channel host after lawmakers called for the independent inquiry into his use of the commercially available app.

Trump warns 'hell to pay' if Honduras alters presidential election results - President Donald Trump threw himself in the middle of Honduras’ razor-thin presidential race on Monday, warning that there would be "hell to pay" if election officials altered the results. Writing on Truth Social, Trump, without offering evidence, accused Honduras of "trying to change the results." "If they do, there will be hell to pay! The people of Honduras voted in overwhelming numbers on November 30th," Trump said. The president’s remarks came hours after Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council, wrote on X that the preliminary rapid reporting system that began providing results Sunday night had reached its conclusion with votes 57% tallied. Their count showed a close race between two conservative candidates, Nasry Asfura of the National Party and Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, with Asfura holding a narrow lead of only a few hundred votes. Rixi Moncada, the democratic socialist LIBRE candidate, trailed roughly 20 percentage points behind. "It is imperative that the Commission finish counting the Votes," Trump wrote. "Hundreds of thousands of Hondurans must have their Votes counted. Democracy must prevail!" Officials have said the count would continue but did not specify when updated totals would be released, and parts of the council’s online system appeared to have been taken down. Just before the freeze, Trump had endorsed Asfura, calling him the "only Honduran candidate his administration would work with and saying he would fight "narco-communists" alongside the U.S. Both leading candidates have pointed to the close tally as evidence that they are ahead – though both men have stopped short of declaring victory. Trump’s announcement that he would pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is now serving a 45-year U.S. sentence – also loomed large over the race, underscoring how U.S. politics can intrude in the country’s politics. Trump’s latest warning injects new pressure into an already hostile post-election environment. The outcome will determine whether the Latin American country shifts away from the ruling LIBRE party and have deep impacts on its future relationship with Washington.

Sen. Kelly says death threats have increased since Trump called for his execution -- Sen. Mark Kelly said Monday he and his family have seen threats to their lives increase since President Trump called for the Arizona Democrat and a group of other Democratic lawmakers to be executed after they urged service members to refuse illegal orders. Kelly told reporters during a press conference that he and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), have received an uptick in threats since Trump’s comments and the Pentagon announced that it is investigating him and other Democrats in the video. “I’m no stranger — Gabby and I are no stranger to political violence. We get a lot of threats already. She continues to get threats. She has threats on her life, more so today, because of what Donald Trump said about me 10 days ago,” Kelly said when asked if he has stepped up his security since the remarks were made. “The threats on us have obviously gone up,” Kelly continued, declining to get into specifics about their personal security. “We take these threats very seriously, and I take the threats from this president seriously.” The Arizona senator added that he has not heard anything further from the Department of Defense or others in the administration outside the public social media postings by the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Defense Department said at the time it was investigating “serious allegations of misconduct” by Kelly, a retired Navy captain. Kelly appeared alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Democratic Reps. Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) and Jason Crow (Colo.) in the video that set off the series of comments and angered Trump and Hegseth. The senator said the recent targeted killings of drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific had not prompted the Democratic video. Instead, he said it was scores of remarks by the president dating back nearly a decade. “It wasn’t about this specific event,” Kelly said. “I was really surprised that he responded at all,” Kelly added, noting he and the other lawmakers had released a similar video previously. He also said he became aware of Trump’s comments while sitting next to Slotkin in a sensitive compartmented information facility during a briefing. An aide passed Slotkin a note detailing that Trump had called for her execution. “She leaves the room. Five minutes later, she comes back [and] she says to me, ‘He’s called for your execution, too.’ That was not the response we expected.”

Noem says she met with Trump, recommended full travel ban -- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that she recommended a “full travel ban” to President Trump during a Monday meeting. “I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” Noem said Monday on the social platform X. “Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” she continued. “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.” In the wake of the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday, the Trump administration has cracked down on migration. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indefinitely paused the processing of immigration requests from Afghans on Wednesday. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspected shooter of U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, is Aghan national who entered the country in 2021 via a program for those who assisted the U.S. during its two-decade war in the Middle Eastern nation. Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds on Thursday, while Wolfe, 24, remains in serious condition after showing “positive” signs, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) said Monday.

US immigration authorities reviewing status of 3.3 million “green card” holders - The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is pausing indefinitely all decisions on asylum applications, while launching systematic reviews that threaten the legal status of two large groups of immigrants—the 3.3 million green card holders from 19 countries designated by President Trump and the 180,000 people admitted as refugees during the four years of the Biden administration. The Trump administration claims that these actions are in response to the shooting Wednesday of two National Guard soldiers in Washington D.C by an Afghan refugee, a former participant in a CIA-run death squad in his home country who fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021. One of the two soldiers, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of Summersville, has died, while the other, Andrew Wolfe, 24, of Martinsburg, remains in critical condition. The shooting last week is merely a pretext, as both the selection of the 19 countries “of concern” was announced in June and the decision to review all refugees admitted during the Biden administration had been made public Monday, before Wednesday’s attack. The review of green card holders will affect 3.3 million people, the bulk of them, 2.2 million, from three countries in the Caribbean basin—1 million from Cuba, 700,000 from Venezuela and 500,000 from Haiti. All three countries are subject to either US economic blockade or other forms of sanctions, which have devastated living standards. The majority of these Caribbean green card holders live in Florida, although there are other large concentrations in New York, New Jersey and many other states. Ten African countries are affected—Burundi, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Togo. The largest such group is Somalis, concentrated in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota and targeted for incessant witch-hunting by the Trump administration. Six Asian countries are affected—Afghanistan, Iran, Laos, Myanmar, Turkmenistan and Yemen. Iran alone accounts for at least 400,000 green card holders, with the largest concentration in Southern California but widely settled across the US. The agency also declared that in the case of at least seven of the 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Somalia and Venezuela, there was no “competent or central authority for issuing passports and civil documents,” which would make it virtually impossible for USCIS to favorably review their cases. The Trump order to pause all asylum decisions does not stop the processing of applications already submitted or prevent refugees from making new applications. But it means that no refugees will be given final approval for asylum for the indefinite future. USCIS guidance to officers reviewing asylum cases reads: “Once you’ve reached decision entry, stop and hold.” Trump sought to justify his sweeping attack on refugees with a racist diatribe against “Third World Countries” whose people would be “non-compatible with Western civilization.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the administration had effectively stopped all refugee intake since taking office, “with the exception of Afrikaners fleeing persecution in South Africa.” (In other words, members of the white South African minority who ruled under apartheid.) The plan to review the cases of all 180,000 refugees admitted to the US between January 20, 2021 and February 20, 2025 was revealed November 24 by the Associated Press, which obtained an internal memo from USCIS Director Joseph Edlow. The memo also required that even refugees who have already received green cards should be subjected for review. The memo declared that if the USCIS determines the person did not qualify for entry as a refugee, the person “has no right to appeal” and would immediately be put into removal proceedings through an immigration court. The agency already has an enormous backlog of 1.4 million pending asylum claims, and the addition of automatic reviews of Biden era admissions, as well as the review of 3.3 million green card holders from the 19 “countries of concern,” effectively extends the waiting list indefinitely. The long delays make it more likely that refugees awaiting determination of their claims will fall afoul of the complex and burdensome requirements, including endless paperwork and regular reporting to federal officers, leading to their seizure by ICE or CBP thugs for detention and deportation. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News, referring to Biden era refugees and immigrants, “I really, truly think that most of them are going to end up getting deported, because we’re not going to be able to properly vet them.”

Trump Administration Officially Halts Immigration Processing From 19 Countries - The Trump administration announced Tuesday it has suspended the processing of all immigration applications from 19 countries, including Afghanistan and Somalia, citing national security and public safety concerns. The action comes a week after an Afghan national was arrested for shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House, killing one and critically wounding the other.The action includes processing for green cards and U.S. citizenship, according to a memorandum. Nations affected include Myanmar (Burma), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.The memorandum places a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the applicant’s country of nationality. It also places hold on pending benefit requests for individuals from the impacted countries, and conducts a comprehensive review of approved benefit requests for aliens from impacted countries who entered the country on or after Jan. 20, 2021.“This memorandum mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility,” the memo announcing the changes reads.The policy also follows a partial travel ban implemented in June on a similar list of nations.The new memo cited the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington last week, where the male Afghan suspect has pleaded not guilty, as an example of public safety and national security concerns.“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” states the memo.“USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] plays an instrumental role in preventing terrorists from seeking safe haven in the United States and ensuring that USCIS' screening and vetting and adjudications prioritize the safety of the American people and uphold all U.S. laws.”The new directive stops ongoing applications and requires immigrants from the targeted countries to be completely re-evaluated.Border czar Tom Homan has highlighted shortcomings in the screening of Afghans.“It’s the biggest national security failure in the history of the nation,” Homan told Fox News in an interview on Nov. 30.

Trump administration will expand travel ban to more than 30 countries, Noem says (AP) — The Trump administration will be expanding its ban on travel for citizens of certain countries to more than 30, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, in the latest restriction to come since a man from Afghanistan was accused of shooting two National Guard members. The expansion would build on a travel ban already announced in June by the Republican administration, which barred travel to the U.S. for citizens from 12 countries and restricted access to the U.S. for people from seven others. In a social media post earlier this week, Noem had suggested more countries would be included. Noem, who spoke late Thursday in an interview with Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham, would not provide further details, saying President Donald Trump was considering which countries would be included. In the wake of the National Guard shooting, the administration already ratcheted up restrictions on the 19 countries included in the initial travel ban, which include Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Haiti, among others. Ingraham asked Noem whether the travel ban was expanding to 32 countries and asked which countries would be added to the 19 announced earlier this year. “I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30. And the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” Noem said. “If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?” Noem said. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment about when an updated travel ban might go into effect and which countries would be included in it. Additions to the June travel ban are the latest in what has been a rapidly unfolding series of immigration actions since the shooting Thanksgiving week of two National Guard troops in Washington. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who emigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal, has been charged with first-degree murder after one of the two victims, West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, died of wounds sustained in the Nov. 26 shooting. The second victim, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, was critically wounded. Lakanwal has pleaded not guilty. The Trump administration has argued that more vetting is needed to make sure people entering or already in the U.S. aren’t a threat. Critics say the administration is traumatizing people who’ve already gone through extensive vetting to get to the U.S. and say the new measures amount to collective punishment.

Trump lashes out against Ilhan Omar, says he doesn’t want Somalis in the country -President Trump lashed out at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) during his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, calling the congresswoman “garbage” and saying he doesn’t want Somali immigrants in the country. In a conversation about immigration policy, the president unleashed a pointed attack on the progressive Minnesota congresswoman, who became a U.S. citizen 25 years ago after fleeing a civil war in Somalia when she was eight years old. “We could go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump said. “Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people who say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great.’” “These are people that do nothing but complain,” Trump said, adding, “When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but b—-, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.” At another point, Trump said Somalia “stinks, and we don’t want them in our country. I can say that about other countries too.” The remarks come amid reports that federal authorities are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation focusing on Somali immigrants in Minnesota living unlawfully in the country. Trump has also attacked Omar on multiple occasions in recent months. Last month, he mocked her for quoting the Constitution excessively and becoming involved in U.S. politics. He repeated that sentiment in his remarks on Tuesday. “When I see somebody like Ilhan Omar, who I don’t know at all, but I always watch her — for years, I’ve watched her — complain about our Constitution, how she’s being treated badly, our Constitution, the United States of America is a bad place, hates everybody, hates Jewish people, hates everybody. And I think she’s an incompetent person. She’s a real terrible person,” Trump said during the Cabinet meeting.

A Hard Truth About the DC Shooting -- Last Wednesday, two West Virginia National Guard members were shot near the White House. One of them, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, died. The other remains in critical condition. The shooter was a 29-year-old Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He worked for us. For a decade. He was part of what the CIA calls a “Zero Unit”—paramilitary forces trained and backed by American intelligence. Human rights groups have another name for these units: death squads. According to the New York Times, a childhood friend of Lakanwal’s said he “suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused.” His family told investigators he has PTSD from the fighting he did on our behalf. We trained him to kill. We pointed him at targets. We made him part of a unit known for brutality. And then when the war ended and the Taliban took over, we brought him here—and apparently did nothing to address what we’d done to his mind. And now a young woman from West Virginia is dead. Here’s what nobody wants to say: Rahmanullah Lakanwal is not an immigration story. He’s a war story. The same story we’ve been living with American veterans for twenty years. Since 9/11, at least 15 confirmed mass shootings and targeted attacks on police or military personnel have been perpetrated by U.S. military veterans. These attacks have killed 128 people and wounded nearly 200 more. Veterans make up about 7% of the adult population—but they account for 26% of mass shooters. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a cost. The cost of what we ask people to do. Lakanwal served in a death squad. American veterans were sent to Iraq to kick down doors, raid homes, and kill people’s families. They were sent to Afghanistan to call in drone strikes on wedding parties. They served at checkpoints where the rules of engagement meant shooting first and asking questions never. We ask human beings to do inhuman things, and then we act surprised when they can’t just switch it off. The evidence is overwhelming: what we make people do in these wars destroys them. And destroyed people do violence. Doesn’t matter if they were born in Kandahar or Kentucky—the damage is the same.Look at who they target. Veterans don’t just commit mass shootings at higher rates—they shoot their fellow soldiers. They ambush police officers. They attack the very institutions they served. In Dallas in 2016, a veteran killed five cops. Ten days later in Baton Rouge, another veteran killed three more. Fort Hood has been the site of two mass shootings by service members targeting their own.And now an Afghan who served alongside U.S. forces shot two National Guard members in D.C.The violence turns inward—toward the uniforms, toward the system. American or Afghan, the pattern holds. What does that tell you about what we’re doing to these people?We break them. Then we lose track of them. Then we act surprised when they break others.And what are we doing right now? Starting another one. While supporting genocide in Gaza. While arming the Israelis to do things we’d call war crimes if anyone else did them.Donald Trump—the guy who promised to end the forever wars—has spent the last several months building up the largest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean since the Cold War. He says it’s about drugs. He’s been sinking boats off the coast of Venezuela. At least 21 strikes since September. More than 80 people killed. And we’ve seen no evidence that most of these people were trafficking anything.Now he’s declared Venezuelan airspace “closed in its entirety.” Venezuela called it what it is: a colonialist threat. International law experts say it’s illegal. And Trump is telling service members we’ll have “land operations” there “very soon.”This is about power. It’s about oil. It’s about regime change. Trump isn’t even pretending otherwise.Here’s how you know the drug thing is bullshit. The same man who announced Saturday that Venezuelan airspace is closed? On Friday he announced he’s pardoning Juan Orlando Hernández. You might not know that name. Hernández is the former president of Honduras. He’s sitting in a U.S. federal prison right now—convicted of conspiring to traffic 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Prosecutors said he took “cocaine-fueled bribes” and “protected their drugs with the full power and strength of the state.” Four hundred tons of cocaine. And Trump is pardoning him while claiming he’s going to war with Venezuela over drugs. Trump is also working to put a narco-government back in power in Honduras. He endorsed the right-wing candidate in their upcoming election—the same party that Hernández led. He’s threatened to withhold U.S. aid if the left-wing candidate wins. This is what “war on drugs” looks like in 2025: pardoning convicted drug traffickers and propping up their political parties while sinking fishing boats in the Caribbean and calling it national security. I’ve been at this for ten years. I helped recruit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress. I worked on Bernie’s campaigns. I thought we were building something that could stop this machine. Still, here we are again. Another young woman dead in D.C. at the hands of a man we trained to kill and then abandoned to his trauma. Another war being manufactured on lies. Another generation about to learn what we learned in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Vietnam—that the blood doesn’t stay over there. It comes home. It always comes home. An estimated 29% of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. That’s nearly one in three. And we’re about to create a new generation of broken minds in Venezuela, for what? So Trump can tweet about being tough? So Chevron can get access to oil fields? The shooter in D.C. had a wife and five children that we are considering deporting. They bear no responsibility for the actions of their father or husband. Correctly, we wouldn’t dream of doing that to the family of a war veteran. Trump is using this tragedy to justify cracking down on Afghan refugees. That’s the wrong lesson. This isn’t an immigration problem. It’s an endless-war problem. Lakanwal caved to the same emotional wounds that many American veterans have borne since we started these wars. He’s not an outlier—he’s part of the pattern. The pattern is what happens when you train people to kill, expose them to the worst of humanity, and then abandon them to figure it out on their own. We keep creating the conditions for this violence—American and Afghan alike—and then pointing fingers at the individuals who carry it out. We blame the broken instead of the machine that breaks them. How about we stop the damn war machine? Look, if we’re going to send people to fight, we owe them something when they come home. Real support. Not a check and a waiting list. Not a brief psychiatric hold and their gun handed back to them.And the people we recruit to help us in these wars—the interpreters, the soldiers, the families who risked everything—we owe them the same. We made the trauma. We own it.Are these wars worth the price we continue to pay?Iraq wasn’t worth it. Afghanistan wasn’t worth it. Twenty years. Trillions of dollars. Millions dead. Minds shattered on both sides. For what?And war with Venezuela won’t be worth it either. There is no amount of oil, no political victory, no strongman fantasy that justifies what we’re considering. The blood will come home. It always does. How many more Sarah Beckstroms are we willing to sacrifice before we figure that out?

Customs and Border Patrol abducts 2 16-year-old Detroit high school students in predawn raid - Two students from Western International High School (WIHS) in Detroit—16-year-old cousins from Venezuela—were seized by federal immigration agents in a predawn raid on November 20. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents swept into their home on Detroit’s east side with a search warrant for another individual. Not finding their target, the CBP seized the young students together with one parent from each family. The youths are Venezuelan asylum seekers with active cases and valid work permits. They both worked at a Chili’s restaurant and were described as “excellent students.” The young boys and their family members are now imprisoned in the South Texas Family Residential Center, an ICE facility. Attorney George Washington, who is part of the family’s legal team, told the Detroit Free Press that ICE agents entered the home while the occupants were sleeping. “Suddenly, ICE appears at the door, busts into the place, and tells them that they’re all being arrested.” All four who were detained had pending asylum petitions, Washington said. “We have a tremendous immigration lawyer from Detroit who did everything he could,” to assist the four while they remained in Michigan. But, Washington said, they were sent to Texas “too quick.” “He’s going to continue representing them, and we’re going to get them out,” Washington said. These children are not the first Western International students to be abducted. On May 20, 2025, Maykol Bogoya-Duarte was pulled over by Rockwood, Michigan police while on his way to a school field trip. Unable to produce a driver’s license, he was arrested by Border Patrol and deported to Colombia in June. There is no national or statewide database of how many students or youth have been abducted, detained or deported, although the Detroit ICE field office oversaw the deportation of approximately 2,300 people to more than 80 countries in the first six months of 2025. The available information indicates that these deportees include at least 40 children under 16, the youngest of whom is three or four years old. “This is very wrong! Kids shouldn’t be taken,” “School is supposed to be a safe space. They were kidnapped by ICE even though they were following the rules. This is kidnapping, no matter how you cut it. Kidnapping in its finest form. Kids should be able to go to school without having to be worried about if ICE is going to take them or not.” High school students nationally are incensed at the brutal attacks on their classmates. Last week, more than 56,000 students in districts across North Carolina walked out or did not go to school to protest the presence of ICE and Border Patrol. Western International students walked out last March to protest Trump’s deportations. A Western International teacher, speaking to the WSWS, explained that fliers in the school first said the students were “missing.” “We just thought they were missing. Everyone thought that it was a non-governmental, ordinary criminal who kidnapped them. Then we found out it was ICE. “The abduction is quick, but the process takes so long when ICE abducts people. Even when someone is arrested for a crime they are given due process, then everyone knows what happened and where they are. “How do they get away with this? Not letting anyone know? The rapidity of this is outrageous. If you can’t identify yourself and explain what you’re doing, you are trying to outrun due process, and that is wrong. It is illegal and should be stopped.

College student deported on way home to surprise parents— A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and, within two days, sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age 7. Babson College has instructed faculty and staff to provide her “academic and community support.” Lopez Belloza, a freshman, is studying business at Babson, which has 2,800 undergraduate students at its campus in Wellesley, just west of Boston. Caitlin Capozzi, the dean of campus life, said the college is following protocols and staying informed, and provided links to resources for students. A message posted online from college President Stephen Spinelli said the college would not be commenting further due to legal and privacy considerations. “We understand that this news may feel unsettling, particularly for our students, faculty, and staff who may already be navigating uncertainty,” he wrote.

Lawyer says student who was removed despite a court order was 'deported in shackles' - ABC News -The attorney representing a 19-year-old college student who was removed to Honduras, despite a court order, while on her way home for Thanksgiving break, said his client was "deported in shackles like she's a murder suspect." "They deported a child alone in shackles and handcuffs a few days before Thanksgiving," attorney Todd Pomerleau told ABC News. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, who entered the U.S. from Honduras when she was a young child, was about to board her flight from Massachusetts to Texas last Friday to visit her parents and siblings when airport authorities arrested her. Court documents obtained by ABC News show that within hours of her detainment, a federal judge ordered the government not to remove Lopez Belloza from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts. But according to Pomerleau, Lopez Belloza was transferred that evening to Texas and deported to Honduras the next day. "She came here around seven years old, no, fleeing persecution with her family seeking asylum ... and now she's sitting in Honduras," Pomerleau said. "This shouldn't happen to her at all." Pomerleau said that immigration authorities informed Lopez Belloza that she was issued a removal order in 2015, but that he hasn't seen a record of her original deportation order even though such orders are usually available in the Executive Office for Immigration Review database. Regardless, Pomerleau said, she should not have been deported because a federal judge blocked her removal. "The lack of communication from ICE and the fast-paced nature of their actions are highlighted with Any being deported despite a federal judge's order to maintain the status quo," Pomerleau said. Pomerleau said he will be seeking Lopez Belloza's return. "She had protections under the law," he said. "She was still in U.S. soil, and the Constitution applies to her like it does to everybody else. So we're going to make sure her rights are upheld. We're not stopping till she's returned."

College student deported over Thanksgiving: Why is Trump targeting ‘people like me’? - A college student deported while attempting to catch a flight home for Thanksgiving break questioned why the Trump administration was “targeting” people like her. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, was detained by immigration authorities on Nov. 20 at Boston Logan International Airport. She was planning to surprise her family in Texas for the holiday. “Why is he getting people who are living in the United States working day and night, people, people like me, who are in college, doing their dreams, having an education?” she asked in an interview with ABC published Thursday. Lopez Belloza, an immigrant from Honduras and a Babson College student, is one of half a million migrants who have been deported during President Trump’s second stint in office. Lopez Belloza, who entered the U.S. as a child, was sent back to Honduras days after being detained despite a ​​federal judge’s order not to remove her from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts, according to documents obtained by ABC. “It feels unfair,” Lopez Belloza told the outlet. “If there was an order, then why did everything happen to me so fast, within three days?” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Lopez Belloza’s deportation was justified because of a past order for removal issued in 2015. “This illegal alien entered the country in 2014 and an immigration judge ordered her removed from the country in 2015, over 10 years ago. She has illegally stayed in the country since,” a DHS spokesperson told ABC. “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to fly home for free and receive $1,000 stipend, while preserving the option to return the legal, right way,” they added. “It’s an easy choice leave voluntarily and receive $1,000 check or stay and wait till you are fined $1,000 day, arrested, and deported without a possibility to return legally.”

International students fear travel amid Donald Trump's immigration enforcement -International students are taking a close look at their holiday travel plans amid increased concerns over President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has threatened the status of thousands since he took office. Foreign visitors are eyeing travel with fear after seeing at least one student deported over Thanksgiving break when visiting family and watching other reports of students who have been detained over the past year with no prior notification or criminal activity. Advocates say students and schools are struggling to find the right balance between concern and overcaution amid the administration’s general hostility and lack of transparency. During Thanksgiving travel, Babson College freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was set to fly from Boston to Texas to see her family but was detained by immigration officials after going through airport security. Lopez Belloza, who came to the U.S. at 7 years old, was swiftly deported back to Honduras. The Trump administration said she had a deportation order dating back to 2015, but her lawyer said he cannot find any record of the order and his client was never informed of the decision. The deportation also came after a federal judge issued an emergency order that Lopez Belloza could not be sent out of the country for at least 72 hours. “I wouldn’t typically classify her as an international student, which makes it even more alarming that here’s essentially a Dreamer going back to Texas and being stopped in a domestic flight within the United States and then sent back to her home country,” said Shaun Carver, president of the International House Association. “Just anecdotally talking to our residents … there are some that are concerned about these types of stories and this unpredictability of who and when and how enforcement is going to take place, and certainly they’re adjusting the travel plans,” added Carver, who is also the CEO of the International House at the University of California, Berkeley. Lopez Belloza’s swift deportation is only the latest example of the administration’s actions against foreign students. The president has talked about wanting to limit international enrollment more broadly, added a social media component to the student visa vetting process, pulled thousands of visa registrations before a court ordered them restored and repeatedly targeted for deportation students who were involved in the pro-Palestinian movement on campuses. Trump has also launched broader immigration enforcement efforts across the country, just this week announcing new federal action in New Orleans and the Twin Cities.

ICE "Strike Teams" Deployed To Minneapolis After Bombshell Somali Welfare-Fraud Report Linked To Overseas Terror - Investigative journalist Christopher Rufo, whose City Journal expose revealed how Minnesota's Somali community stole billions in taxpayer funds, with money ultimately flowing to a foreign terrorist network, notes that just weeks after his bombshell report, ICE has now mobilized in Minneapolis. "How it started ... How it's going," Rufo wrote on X on Tuesday evening. Rufo cited a report from the New York Times that said the Trump administration launched a massive ICE enforcement operation in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, set to target hundreds of illegal alien Somalis. According to an official with knowledge of the deportation operation and documents obtained by the NYT, about 100 federal agents have been deployed to the Minneapolis-St. Paul region as part of a new "strike team" to deport Somali illegal aliens who are a net drain on public resources.Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity," adding, "I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota." During a news conference on Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's loyalties were with the Somalis…Rufo commented on the news conference by saying, "Incredible, the Somalis in Jacob Frey's city stole billions of dollars in taxpayer money, and all he can do is mindlessly repeat 'Orange Man Bad.'"

Pritzker appeals Trump denial of disaster aid for Chicago - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is asking President Donald Trump to reconsider his denial of disaster aid to thousands of Chicago residents whose homes were flooded during severe rainstorms this summer.Trump, who called the Democratic governor “a big fat slob” four days after Pritzker sent his appeal, has rejected two separate requests for a total of $130 million to help households affected by the storms in late July and mid-August.The denial was unusual because the damage documented by the administration was at such a high level that it would routinely lead to a presidential approval for disaster aid.Trump has waged a public war with Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over immigration enforcement, crime and other issues. The president called Johnson, a Democrat, “incompetent” at the same time he assailed Pritzker during a White House event Thursday.

New trade deal pushes UK to increase drug spending to avoid Trump tariffs--The United States and the United Kingdom announced a high-level trade deal Monday that would exempt U.K. pharmaceuticals from U.S.-imposed tariffs in exchange for Britain paying more for medicines. President Trump has long complained that wealthy nations don’t pay enough for prescription drugs, forcing the U.S. to shoulder more of the price burden. The announcement marks a further development in Trump’s quest to tie domestic prices to those abroad and increase international costs. “For too long, American patients have been forced to subsidize prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries by paying a significant premium for the same products in ours,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a news release announcing the deal. Under the agreement, the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) will increase the net price it pays for new medicines by 25 percent, and the country will change the tax that drugmakers have to pay to the government when drug spending increases, according to an announcement from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative In return, U.K.-made medicines, drug ingredients and medical technology will be exempt from Section 232 sectoral tariffs and any future Section 301 country tariffs. Trump for months has been threatening to impose tariffs on imported medicines, though he has not yet followed through on the threats. The Trump administration has struck confidential deals with a handful of individual drugmakers under the administration’s “most favored nation” policy to lower their prices for Medicare and Medicaid plans in exchange for tariff relief. The deal included a major change to the value appraisal framework at the U.K.’s cost effectiveness agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE’s “quality-adjusted life year” threshold, currently £30,000 ($39,789) per year, will rise to £35,000. Those thresholds have been frozen for more than two decades, despite pressure for them to be raised. The increase will likely result in three to five additional new medicines or indications per year when they take effect in April 2026, NICE said in a statement. “This vital deal will ensure UK patients get the cutting-edge medicines they need sooner, and our world-leading UK firms keep developing the treatments that can change lives,” British Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said in a statement. NICE must approve a medicine before the NHS can pay for it, and it will typically refuse to recommend a drug if a pharmaceutical company won’t lower its price below the threshold. NICE has previously rejected coverage of new, expensive drugs through the NHS. Last year Britain declined to cover the metastatic breast cancer treatment Enhertu, and earlier this year declined two Alzheimer’s treatments from Eli Lilly and partners Biogen and Eisai. The new criteria will not affect the price of existing treatments.

Costco sues Trump administration over tariffs : NPR - Costco is now one of the largest companies to sue the Trump administration over tariffs, hoping to secure a refund if the Supreme Court declares the new import duties illegal. The Supreme Court is weighing the future of President Trump's tariffs on nearly all imports. Justices seemed skeptical about the tariffs' legality during last month's oral arguments. Lower courts had previously found that Trump had improperly used emergency economic powers to set most of the new levies. Dozens of companies across industries have filed lawsuits to seek refunds in the event that the Supreme Court finds Trump's tariffs illegal. The list includes makeup giant Revlon, canned-foods maker Bumble Bee and Kawasaki, which makes motorcycles and more. Now Costco has joined the queue."This is the first time we're seeing big companies take their heads out of the sand publicly," said Marc Busch, a trade law expert at Georgetown University. For the most part, small companies have been leading the legal action against tariffs, he said, adding, "It's nice to finally see some heavyweights joining in the fray."In its suit filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade, Costco did not specify how much it has already paid in tariffs. But the retail giant worries that even if the Supreme Court eventually unravels Trump's tariff regime, it may not be able to recoup all that money.Costco executives in May had said that about a third of what it sells in the U.S. comes from abroad, predominantly nonfood items.

Klobuchar says Senate ACA vote ‘will happen’ before New Year - Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) predicted Sunday that the Senate will hold a vote on extending subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this year. “That vote will happen. And whether it will pass is in the hands of Donald Trump and the Republicans,” Klobuchar told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The subsidies, set to expire at the end of the year, were a flash point during the 43-day government shutdown, which ended earlier this month. Senate Majority John Thune (R-S.D.) offered eight Democratic caucus members a vote on the premiums by mid-December in exchange for their support of a measure to end the funding lapse. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, has expressed little interest in holding a vote in the lower chamber on the subsidies. Earlier this month, a group of 58 House Democrats sent a letter to Johnson asking him to do so. GOP and Democratic proposals on the issue have varied, with some Republicans and President Trump suggesting sending payments directly to consumers instead of insurance companies. A bipartisan House bill, meanwhile, calls for a two-year extension of the subsidies. If the tax credits — first passed during the COVID pandemic and extended by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — expire, health care premiums for millions are set to spike in 2026. Klobuchar said Sunday that Democrats will force a vote and get enough Republicans to back an extension before the premiums expire. If not, the Minnesota Democrat said she believes the GOP will pay the price in the midterms. “If they don’t want to do anything about people’s costs and their grocery bills and their health care and pummel them with these punishing Trump tariffs, then we will simply have to beat them in the midterms. We have no other choice,” Klobuchar added.

House GOP centrists urge extension of ObamaCare subsidies, decry stalled talks -- Frustration is mounting among moderate House Republicans as various competing health care plans appear to be going nowhere, with less than 10 working days left on the calendar before millions of Americans see their health insurance premiums spike. A small but animated group of GOP centrists is imploring party leaders to extend the ObamaCare tax credits set to expire at the end of the year. But they’ve run into a wall of opposition from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who’s cold to the idea, and a larger group of conference conservatives, who are openly fighting to have the subsidies end. The resistance from the top has prompted warnings from a growing number of Republican moderates that their thin majority will be lost in next year’s midterms unless GOP leaders hold their noses and extend the enhanced payments to prevent a spiral in out-of-pocket costs for more than 20 million Americans. “It’s just bad to go into a very tight midterm election … and be hurting, you know, 20 some million people in the country,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said. “To do this is buffoonery,” Van Drew added, referring to Republican inaction. “I want to be in the majority next year, and this makes that much harder because of the districts that are so close.” There are a handful of competing ideas circulating among Republicans, but there’s no consensus on which plan to coalesce behind. Some plans would extend the subsidies for two years, some for one year. Almost all have new restrictions, though they differ on the specifics. And none addresses abortion, which is a significant stumbling block to any compromise. Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) has introduced both a one-year extension and a two-year extension. A pair of GOP lawmakers — Reps. Don Bacon and (Neb.) and Jeff Hurd (Colo.) — have championed a two-year plan. And Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is racing this week to finalize a separate two-year proposal. But none of them has won a commitment from GOP leaders to get a vote on the floor — a mistake, in the eyes of the moderates. “The details of each individual plan are not as important as the desire to get it done,” Van Drew said. “I hate ObamaCare. … It’s wrong, it’s bad, it’s corrupt. However, in the short term: Fix it immediately, as quickly as you can. We only have a few weeks here.”

RFK Jr. replaces chair of controversial vaccine advisory panel - The chair of a federal vaccine advisory committee, himself a well-known vaccine critic, will be moving to an official role within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency announced Monday. HHS announced Martin Kulldorff was appointed to be chief science officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Kulldorff, a Swedish biostatistician, served as chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired and remade the entire committee with many known vaccine skeptics and critics. Kulldorff formerly taught at Harvard University’s medical school until he was fired in 2024 for what he claimed was his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He was also an author of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” which called for promoting herd immunity early on in the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing the virus to spread unmitigated. “Martin Kulldorff transformed ACIP from a rubber stamp into a committee that delivers gold-standard science for the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I’m glad to welcome him to my team to help develop bold, evidence-based policies to Make America Healthy Again.” Kulldorff said he was honored “to join the team of distinguished scientists” at HHS. “I look forward to contributing to the science-based public health policies that will Make America Healthy Again.” Pediatric cardiologist and former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon Kirk Milhoan will replace Kulldorff as chair of the ACIP. Milhoan is also an ardent vaccine critic and previously argued that vaccines were ineffective, arguing only natural immunity could end the COVID-19 pandemic

FDA official proposes ‘impossible’ standards for vaccine testing that could curtail access to immunizations -The top vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to impose vague but sweeping new standards on vaccine testing that, health experts say, would impede the development of new immunizations and likely curtail access to life-saving shots, according to a memo sent to staff on October 28. Vinay Prasad, MD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), proposed the "path forward" in an internal memo in which he claimed—but provided no evidence—that COVID-19 vaccines caused the death of 10 children. Many infectious disease experts say Prasad should share the evidence on which he based his argument. Linking a vaccine to an adverse event requires a high level of evidence, including autopsy results and medical records that rule out other causes of death and show whether the affected person was infected with the coronavirus itself, said Paul Offit, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine. Prasad is "making a fairly fantastic statement," Offit said. "He should provide extraordinary evidence that that's clear, and he didn't, which is incredibly irresponsible and unprofessional to do."In the memo, Prasad wrote that the FDA's current vaccine approval process falls short. In the future, the FDA will "demand pre-market randomized trials assessing clinical endpoints for most new products," including vaccines, Prasad wrote. He noted that COVID-19 vaccines have not been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in pregnant women. Such trials are the most rigorous type of study, but they can cost millions of dollars and take years to produce results."We will not be granting marketing authorization to vaccines in pregnant women" without such evidence, Prasad wrote. The memo's contents were first reported by a PBS News correspondent in a series of posts on X, the social media platform.Demanding an RCT would prevent pregnant women from receiving most vaccines, said Jake Scott, MD, a clinical associate professor of infectious disease and geographic medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.That's because pregnant women are almost never included in RCTs of vaccines or other drugs due to potential risks to the fetus, Scott said. Instead, the FDA does careful safety monitoring and measures antibody levels in women's blood, which can show whether the vaccine is generating an immune response.In his memo, Prasad also wrote that "pneumonia vaccine makers will have to show their products reduce pneumonia," at least after they're licensed, rather than provide indirect evidence of protection, such as antibody levels. Prasad appears to refer to a childhood pneumonia vaccine that blocks infections with pneumococcus bacteria, which has been updated and improved several times over the years, said Dorit Reiss, PhD, a law professor at the University of California Law, San Francisco. Although the first version of the vaccine protected children from seven bacterial strains, the latest iteration protects against 20 strains. Pneumococcal vaccines on the market today are approved based on antibody levels that correlate with protection and have been validated over decades, Scott said.Proving that childhood vaccines prevent cases of pneumonia would be difficult, Scott said, because so many pathogens can cause pneumonia, including the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).Requiring manufacturers to conduct additional clinical trials every time they want to add additional viral or bacterial strains would delay updates by several years, all the while leaving people vulnerable to the bacteria, Reiss said. Some companies may decide that conducting such trials is too expensive. "You'd need massive, expensive trials that many companies won't pursue," Scott said. Conducting RCTs of proven vaccines could also be unethical, said Jesse Goodman, MD, who previously filled Prasad's role at the FDA and now directs Georgetown University's Center on Medical Product Access, Safety and Stewardship. "It would be unethical to use placebos and let people get pneumococcal pneumonia," Goodman said.

Changing the FDA’s Vaccine Approval Process Could Threaten COVID, Flu Protection for Children Scientific American -- In a memo obtained by the New York Times and other outlets, a top FDA official directly linked the deaths of 10 children to COVID vaccines but included scant details about the cases, including the specific vaccine in question or how the FDA came to its conclusions. The memo, which was written by FDA chief medical and scientific officer Vinay Prasad and apparently leaked days before a key vaccine advisory panel is set to meet, outlines several proposals to change the way vaccines are tested and approved in the U.S. that experts said are not based in science. The proposals include requiring vaccine makers to study new shots in all subgroups (including pregnant people), changing how the annual flu shot is approved and reconsidering whether the flu and COVID shots can be gotten together. Collectively, the changes would require vaccine makers to show far more data on safety and efficacy, driving up costs and ultimately making childhood vaccinations less accessible, experts say. “It means that every vaccine that could save us from going into the hospital with one of these respiratory viruses will now be delayed,” And spreading out vaccines rather than giving them at the same time would create “a lot of complexity and confusion and isn’t really based on the science of immunology,” she adds. COVID vaccines have been extensively tested for safety. As with any vaccine, there are potential risks, which regulators weigh against the benefits in protecting against disease. In the case of the COVID shots, scientists identified rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, in some boys and young men who received mRNA COVID vaccines. But these cases generally resolved without treatment, and COVID and other infections can also trigger the condition. “The COVID vaccine, and mRNA vaccines in general, remain one of the safest vaccine platforms that we’ve ever seen developed,” Permar says. In the memo, the FDA calls for stricter requirements for approving vaccines for pregnant women, the Washington Post reported, a move that could affect both expectant parents and young babies. Pregnant people have a higher risk of severe disease and death from COVID, so making it harder for them to get vaccinated would jeopardize their health and that of their fetus, Permar says. The same is true for flu, which is why doctors recommend that all pregnant people get a flu shot. Young babies are also among the highest-risk groups because they have little to no immunity to the disease, Permar says. Maternal vaccination or infection protects babies under six months of age, but after that point, their immunity starts to wane. The COVID vaccines were approved for children six months and older as a way to provide continuing protection. The memo also reportedly called for re-examining how the annual flu shot is approved. Scientists have decades of evidence to show that the flu vaccine is safe and effective at keeping people out of the hospital, even if it doesn’t prevent them from getting sick, Permar says. Every year the flu virus evolves, so the vaccine is tweaked slightly to match circulating strains. These seasonal variations are not typically tested in a full-blown clinical trial, but under the FDA’s proposal, that could change—costing vaccine makers much more money and time. The FDA is also reportedly reconsidering whether COVID and flu shots should be given together. Trump administration secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—and President Donald Trump himself—have previously suggested that childhood vaccines should be more spaced out. Evidence does not support this. Combination vaccines such as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine have been shown to be as safe and effective, or more so, than giving children the shots individually. Spacing them out would only require parents to make more trips to the pediatrician, leading to lower uptake, Permar says.

CDC panel votes to change newborn hepatitis B vaccine guidance -- The vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday voted in favor of changing long-held guidance for newborn hepatitis B vaccinations. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 in favor of altering the recommendation that all newborns receive hepatitis B vaccinations at birth.The language of the vote was:“For infants born to HBsAg-negative women: ACIP recommends individual-based decision-making, in consultation with a health care provider, for parents deciding when or if to give the HBV vaccine, including the birth dose. A Parents and health care providers should consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks. For those not receiving the HBV birth dose, it is suggested that the initial dose is administered no earlier than 2 months of age.”There was a clear divide in the committee, with a minority of panelists strongly opposed to what they believed was a perceived harm that would stem from the vote and the lack of data supporting a change to the guidance.“The language offers flexibility, access, coverage at any time. I vote yes,” ACIP member Hillary Blackburn said in her vote. “This has a great potential to cause and I simply hope that the committee will accept its responsibility when this harm is caused and I vote no,” fellow panel member Joe Hibbeln stated as he gave the final vote.“We’ve heard ‘do no harm’ is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no,” said ACIP member Cody Meissner, who led the opposition to changing the guidance.

Deep divides plague kids online safety push in House - A push by House lawmakers to advance kids online safety legislation is facing partisan divisions and pushback from key advocates that could spell trouble for the effort, which has struggled to get across the finish line in recent years. This dynamic was on display Tuesday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee weighed a slate of 19 bills, with Democratic lawmakers voicing concerns that key legislation has been watered down — echoing frustrations from parent advocates. The debate centers on revisions to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the crown jewel of the proposed package of bills, which aims to create guardrails to protect kids from online harms. The new version of KOSA, unveiled last week by Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, removes the bill’s controversial “duty of care” provision that required platforms to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent harms to minors. The move seeks to address First Amendment concerns that derailed the legislation in the House last Congress, but could cost the support of Big Tech critics. “This committee knows too well that the Big Tech companies take advantage of young people online,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said at Tuesday’s hearing. “That is why it’s so disappointing that Republicans in the House are offering weak, ineffectual versions of [the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act] and KOSA.” “These versions are a gift to Big Tech companies, and they are a slap in the face to the parents, the experts and the advocates, to bipartisan members of Congress who worked long and hard on strong child protection bills,” she continued. KOSA, which has been introduced several times in recent years, appeared to be gaining momentum last year after clearing the Senate in a 91-3 vote and advancing out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. However, the bill hit a wall with House GOP leadership over free speech concerns. In a last-ditch effort to get the measure across the finish line, its Senate co-sponsors, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), unveiled changes negotiated with Elon Musk’s social platform X. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ultimately threw cold water on the effort, saying he still had concerns with the bill. The latest updates to KOSA take aim at these First Amendment concerns, said Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R- Fla.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. “We’ve seen it in the states. Laws with good intentions have been struck down for violating the First Amendment,” he said Tuesday. “We are learning from those experiences because a law that gets struck down in court does not protect a single child. And the status quo is unacceptable. “I made precise changes to ensure KOSA is durable,” Bilirakis added. “Don’t mistake durability for weakness. This bill has teeth. By focusing on design features rather than protected speech, we will ensure it can withstand legal challenge while delivering real protections for kids and families.” It’s not yet clear whether these changes will allay concerns from House GOP leadership. But when asked Tuesday whether the lower chamber could pass kids safety legislation by the end of this Congress, Johnson appeared hopeful, though he noted he hadn’t yet seen the provisions of the bill.

Trump team urges agencies to reassign ‘entrenched’ feds - The Trump administration wants federal agencies to shuffle top civil servants to more effectively implement the president’s agenda.The head of the Office of Personnel Management on Monday issued guidance encouraging agency leaders to review their rosters of top civil servants known as the Senior Executive Service and to consider reassigning them to new posts.The guidance marks the Trump administration’s latest move to overhaul the federal workforce and its senior management. The administration says the move will help dislodge “entrenched” civil servants, but critics accuse the administration of exerting undue political influence over federal workers.President Donald Trump has “directed that agency heads shall, consistent with applicable procedural requirements, ‘reassign agency SES members to ensure their knowledge, skills, abilities, and mission assignments are optimally aligned’” to implement his agenda, OPM Director Scott Kupor wrote in the guidance issued Monday.When Congress created the SES category of executive leaders in government in the late 1970s, Kupor wrote, lawmakers envisioned a team of strong leaders who can “respond to rapidly changing conditions and circumstances” while achieving “presidential and congressional goals.”However, Kupor said, the “SES has too often failed to fulfill Congress’s expectation that it would serve as a mobile corps of managers responsive to the public interest and presidential priorities. Instead, SES members frequently become entrenched at a single agency and place the parochial interests of particular departments above the national interest.”Under the law, the guidance says, agencies can direct the reassignment of career SES appointees to other senior management positions in the agency. Agencies can also send senior managers on temporary details within or outside the ranks of the SES.After a governmentwide push to reduce the size of the federal workforce, the Trump administration last week urged federal agencies to review its needs for senior managers and senior scientists across the government and to consider possible reductions.Don Kettl, professor emeritus and former dean in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, said Monday that SES was designed “to create a corps of senior executives who could rotate to where their expertise was most needed.”The SES “was not designed, however, for an administration to shuffle senior leaders around for political reasons, including removing people who were not sufficiently politically loyal or to nudge out senior leaders for political reasons,” Kettl said. The guidance “seems to encourage” moving “senior managers for political reasons,” he added, and there is “a significant risk here of politicizing the SES.”

DOGE staffers exit enviro agencies - DOGE employees who landed in environmental agencies in the early days of the Trump administration have departed from their government gigs as the bureaucracy-slashing operation has dwindled. A trio of “Department of Government Efficiency” members who worked to cut programs at EPA is out. A central player in DOGE’s work to overhaul the Interior Department recently stepped down from that agency. The head of the government’s human resources agency was recently quoted saying DOGE “doesn’t exist,” although he later sought to clarify, saying the “principles of DOGE remain alive and well.”The DOGE operation isn’t entirely gone from President Donald Trump’s government, but it has a diminished role following the departures of its early leader Elon Musk and his acolytes installed in federal agencies. The exits of key DOGE officials from environmental agencies are the latest indication that the operation has taken a backseat in the Trump administration following Musk’s departure in the spring.Members of the DOGE team who were assigned to EPA early this year — Kathryn Loving, Erica Jehling and Cole Killian — have “departed EPA,” an agency spokesperson said in an email in response to questions about DOGE’s status there.

Democrats slam Trump’s rollback of fuel economy rules - Congressional Democrats slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed rollback of auto efficiency standards Wednesday, while Republicans wholeheartedly supported the move. With the GOP holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, Democratic opposition is unlikely to affect the plans from the Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Still, Democrats will try to make their voices heard on the matter. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), long a champion of the major automakers that call her state home, said the rollback threatens certainty for the industry. “I think the automobile industry needs certainty. I think they’re tired of being a pingpong ball between administrations. The American industry needs stability,” she told POLITICO’s E&E News. “All the stakeholders need to be at the table, and we need to not make cars more expensive for people to run. So let’s give stability to the auto industry and not help the oil industry.” Numerous auto executives, including from Ford Motor and Stellantis, joined Trump at the White House on Wednesday to announce the proposal, including from Ford Motor and Stellantis. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called the move one of Trump’s “regulatory gifts to his corrupt fossil fuel megadonors.” “Trump is, yet again, choosing his billionaire buddies over the American people,” he said in a statement. “Thanks to his relentless attacks on cleaner vehicles, thousands of auto workers have lost their jobs, America has lagged back in international competition, and we’ll all be saddled with more pollution, higher costs, and worse vehicles.” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, similarly argued Trump is raising costs for drivers. “The June 2024 [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards lowered costs for Americans at the pump, made our air cleaner and more breathable, and reduced pollution to combat climate change,” said Pallone. Today’s announcement once again shows the Trump Administration is more concerned with lining the pockets of their polluter friends than providing relief to hardworking Americans.” A number of Republicans attended the White House announement, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who sponsored a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to reduce automaker penalties for violating efficiency rules to $0. “This is a victory today for consumers. This is a victory for affordability,” Cruz said. “Under Joe Biden and the Democrats, they put mandate after mandate after mandate on cars and trucks and they drove the prices up thousands and thousands of dollars.” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, agreed. “By making [cars] more affordable, making them more choice-driven by what families want and need, today is a great day for the American family,” she said. “Democrats have used many different avenues, from blue state legislation to regulations at the EPA and Department of Transportation, to repeatedly attempt to force a transition to EVs that many Americans don’t want to buy,” Capito said in a statement after the White House event, adding that the standards “placed unnecessary burdens and higher prices on consumers.”

Senate poised to undo Biden ANWR drilling restrictions - The Senate on Wednesday moved to kill Biden-era oil and gas drilling limits in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Congressional Review Act resolution, brought by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), passed an initial procedural vote 49-47. A final vote will happen as soon as Thursday. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican to cross the aisle against the legislation. No Democrat voted in favor. S.J. Res. 91 targets the Biden administration’s land management plan for ANWR’s Coastal Plain. A companion measure, H.J. Res. 131, passed in the House last month.

Alaska Republicans push back on Trump offshore drilling plan - --Alaska’s Republican senators are splitting with the Trump administration over an expansive offshore lease plan that would open large swaths of the state’s waters to drilling. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have both contacted the Interior Department after it proposed a new five-year lease schedule that would mandate 21 sales in Alaska waters, as well as expanded drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Gulf of America. The duo is particularly concerned with plans to drill in the Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, Bering Strait and High Arctic, which the U.S. has recently claimed. They want the administration to instead focus on expanding drilling in Cook Inlet, in southern Alaska. Sullivan said he has already talked to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and requested that lease sales not proceed in Arctic waters. The Alaska Republican said that he was particularly concerned that offshore drilling could hurt communities in the area that depend on fishing and whaling. “He was listening,” Sullivan said of Burgum. “I mean, what they wanted to do was put out an expansive plan and then they’re going to listen. I told him it was very important to listen to the communities.” Murkowski, similarly, said she had reached out to the Interior Department to share “concerns” with their plan. She cited the remoteness of the Arctic region, its limited infrastructure and lack of industry interest in the area as reasons why Interior should not proceed with sales in the area. “I appreciate where they’re going with putting everything on the table, but as we have seen with prior five-year lease sales, there have been recommendations that we take certain areas off the table,” Murkowski said in an interview. “I’m fully expecting that we’re going to be seeing some comments that will weigh in to that effect, and you’re going to see some of these areas taken off,” she added. Interior didn’t respond to request for comment.

Trump Confirms Biden's Autopen Documents, Orders, & Pardons Are Void -President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has nullified all documents, proclamations, executive orders, memorandums, and contracts signed by autopen during President Joe Biden’s term.“Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized ‘AUTOPEN,’ within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote in a social media post.“Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”The declaration follows Trump’s Nov. 28 announcement that he was revoking all executive orders signed by autopen during the Biden administration.“The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Trump alleged the documents were signed illegally. “The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him,” Trump posted. “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”The autopen, which uses a real pen and ink to mechanically replicate a president’s signature, can be used to sign official documents, but the president must direct the signing of each document or bill, according to the Office of Legal Counsel.

Donald Trump's 'blame Joe Biden' strategy seems to be hitting a wall - - President Trump keeps blaming former President Biden for everything from the cost of living to the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. But there are signs that the effectiveness of the strategy is petering out, now that Trump has been back in power for almost a year. On Tuesday at the White House, Trump complained that the term “affordability” is “a Democrat scam” and went on at some length about his efforts to bring prices down. But the most recent rate of inflation given by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — 3 percent on an annualized basis, for September, — is exactly the same as it was in January, when Biden left the White House. In relation to the killing of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom and the wounding of fellow Guard member Andrew Wolfe, the Afghanistan-born suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, did indeed come to the U.S. during the Biden presidency. But Trump’s efforts to pin culpability on his predecessor are complicated, because Lakanwal was granted asylum in April, three months into the Trump presidency. Many specifics regarding the National Guard shooting also remain unclear. When it comes to the larger political fight on the cusp of a midterm election year, Democrats insist Trump’s attacks on Biden are reaching their sell-by date.

GOP House lawmaker retirements complicating midterm path to retaining majority - Who’s leaving Congress? Here’s the full list - House Republicans have an exodus problem. More than two dozen GOP lawmakers have already announced their decision to leave their seats at the end of the term, and the number is expected to grow in the coming weeks as lawmakers visit their families for the holidays, complicating Republican efforts to fend off a blue wave and keep their slim majority. The reasons are numerous, and the trend is hardly new: Retirements have historically spiked for the party of the president in the midterm cycle. But the numbers are on track to reach 2018 levels — when Republicans got clobbered — and the dynamic is creating huge headaches for GOP leaders scrambling to protect President Trump from a Democratic House in his final years in office. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) sent shock waves throughout Capitol Hill when she announced she would resign as of Jan. 5, fed up with her party’s handling of health care, foreign policy and other issues. Her departure echoes a broader trend: 23 House Republicans so far are retiring or seeking another office, while four Republicans have chosen to resign. In comparison, 17 Democrats are retiring or seeking another office.The roster spans the GOP spectrum — from high-profile conservatives such as Texas Reps. Chip Roy, Jodey Arrington, and Michael McCaul, to battle-tested moderates such as Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), who has repeatedly run for reelection and won in a competitive district.By this point in the 2018 midterm cycle during Trump’s first term, 20 House Republicans had announced they wouldn’t seek reelection, according to data from Ballotpedia. Six House Republicans had left office early or announced resignations. Those figures are close to the current numbers.Overall, 34 House Republicans chose not to seek reelection and 14 had resigned during their term in the 2018 cycle. Democrats ended up winning control of the House that year.

James Boasberg Snubs Senate Hearing On 'Rogue Judges' -Two of the federal judges facing impeachment threats refused to attend a Wednesday Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on “rogue judges.” James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman, district judges in Washington and Maryland, respectively, told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts that they would not appear over concerns about the separation of powers and judicial ethics. Their refusal was delivered through a Nov. 12 letter sent by U.S. Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, to Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the subcommittee. Conrad claimed that allowing the judges to testify could violate ethics rules and “encroach upon the separation of powers,” according to the Daily Caller. He cited judicial rule Canon 3A(6), which forbids judges from testifying about matters they have decided or that may be pending before them. “The commentary to this provision explains that the ‘admonition against public comment about the merits of a pending or impending matter continues until the appellate process is complete,’” Conrad added.

DOJ fails to secure new Letitia James indictment from grand jury - The Justice Department has failed to secure a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) after its initial case against her was dismissed, a blunder for prosecutors who have trained their sights on the adversary of President Trump. Justice Department officials sought to proceed with a fresh case against James, despite vowing at first to appeal the dismissal, after a judge found the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as acting U.S. attorney was unlawful. But the panel of grand jurors returned a no bill on the charges pursued by prosecutors. Spokespeople for the Justice Department and U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment. Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, said in a statement that the grand jury’s refusal to reindict her is a “decisive rejection of a case that should never have existed in the first place.” “A federal court threw this case out after President Trump illegally installed a U.S. Attorney to file baseless charges against Attorney General James that career prosecutors refused to bring. This should be the end of this case,” Lowell said. “If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.” Halligan was the only prosecutor to present the initial case against James to a grand jury. Several outlets have reported that, this time around, other prosecutors were pulled in to lay out the allegations against James, including one from Missouri. The previous two-count indictment against James centered on her plans for a Virginia home and whether she lied about them, allowing her to obtain favorable loan terms that prosecutors claim would have saved her nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan. She faced bank fraud and false statements charges. James has denied wrongdoing and cast herself as a target of selective and vindictive prosecution at the president’s behest. James responded to the rejection by reiterating her stance that the charges against her are “baseless.” “It is time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop,” she said in a statement that expressed gratitude to the grand jury. She came into Trump’s crosshairs after taking on his business empire in Manhattan, alleging in a 2022 lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization that he inflated his net worth for tax and insurance benefits. A New York judge found Trump liable for fraud, and the president was hit with a penalty that ballooned to more than $500 million, including interest, before an appeals court wiped it out in August. Both James and Trump have appealed to the state’s highest court. After career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to pursue charges against James and former FBI Director James Comey, another Trump foe, the president pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to take legal action against his adversaries and suggested Halligan for the job. A White House aide with no prosecutorial experience, Halligan was named to the office’s top post. U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ruled last week that she was never eligible for the job because Bondi’s authority to install an interim U.S. attorney had expired, ending the cases against James and Comey.

Former Trump personal lawyer Alina Habba is unlawfully serving as the US attorney for New Jersey, appeals court says -A federal appeals court on Monday found Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is serving unlawfully as US attorney for New Jersey, dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration that could have far-reaching consequences on other appointments across the country.A panel of three appellate judges with 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s finding that the administration violated the law when it used of a series of maneuvers to install Habba in the position after failing to win Senate support.“Under the Government’s delegation theory, Habba may avoid the gauntlet of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation and serve as the de facto U.S. Attorney indefinitely,” the unanimous panel wrote. “This view is so broad that it bypasses the constitutional (appointment and Senate confirmation) process entirely.”The ruling could impact what happens in several key jurisdictions where the Trump administration doesn’t have Senate-confirmed US attorneys, including the Los Angeles and Las Vegas areas.Last week, a district court threw out two indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was serving unlawfully. While the 3rd Circuit’s decisions cover New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the US Virgin Islands, appeals court cases are often given deference in other parts of the country especially when they are dealing with novel legal issues.It isn’t clear who will lead the US attorney’s office following the court’s ruling. The Justice Department could appeal the case further by asking the full bench of 3rd Circuit judges to rehear the argument or go directly to the US Supreme Court. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. “The panel issued a clear and carefully reasoned decision that recognizes the extraordinary power vested in US attorneys and reinforces the limits Congress has set on who may occupy those positions,”

GAO confirms investigation into FHFA Director Bill Pulte - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday confirmed it has launched an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, who has opened numerous probes into the mortgage dealings of adversaries of President Trump. Pulte has referred at least four different Democrats to the Justice Department for prosecution, recommending charges for Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, both Democrats from California, while prosecutors have brought mortgage-related charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook. Senate Democrats last month had asked the nonpartisan watchdog for an investigation, and GAO said Thursday it took the case based on a referral. “GAO has accepted this request following our standard process,” the agency said in a statement. “The first thing GAO does as any work begins is to determine the full scope of what we will cover and the methodology to be used.” “This can take a few months, and until that is done, we cannot provide any estimates on a completion date,” the administration added. The FHFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The investigation requested by Senate Democrats asked for an overview of what processes FHFA has in place for criminal referrals and whether Pulte has made any changes to those policies. It also asks the watchdog to crunch numbers on recent mortgage investigations at FHFA and determine whether there have been any shifts under the Trump administration. The investigation appears to be the second involving Pulte. Federal prosecutors assembled a grand jury in Maryland to take the unusual step of reviewing the mortgage fraud allegations made against Schiff. The probe involves Pulte as well as Ed Martin, a Justice Department official who among other titles has been tapped as a special attorney for mortgage fraud. A subpoena for a witness in the matter asked whether they dealt with anyone “claiming to be working for or at the direction” of the Justice Department, Martin or Pulte, apparently reviewing whether the team improperly deputized two figures outside the Justice Department to aid in the investigation of Schiff. All those who have had their mortgages reviewed by Pulte have denied wrongdoing.

AI fights split Republicans in high-stakes NDAA talks -A battle among Republican lawmakers over the future of U.S. AI policy is threatening to hold up a must-pass annual Defense bill. Lawmakers are wrestling over whether to halt state AI regulations and other thorny AI provisions in final negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one of the heaviest legislative lifts in any congressional year. President Trump and the White House are pushing Republicans to include a provision banning state AI laws in the NDAA, provoking a fight with tech-skeptical GOP lawmakers. “We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month.Republicans were already split over a state AI regulation ban in May when such a provision was included in the reconciliation bill. The Senate ended up removing the provision, after backlash from progressive Democrats and hard-line conservatives in both chambers.The issue reared its head again in late November, as House GOP leadership considered adding a last-minute preemption provision to the NDAA.This sparked outcry from key Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Alabama Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.“There should not be a moratorium on states rights for AI. States must retain the right to regulate and make laws on AI and anything else for the benefit of their state. Federalism must be preserved,” Greene wrote on the social platform X. After publicly voicing support for the effort, Trump appeared to be considering an executive order that would have unilaterally sought to limit state AI regulations, creating a task force dedicated to challenging state AI laws and restricting broadband funding to states with AI measures deemed too restrictive by the administration, according to a draft seen by The Hill.The Trump administration, which has developed close relationships with Silicon Valley in the president’s second term, has pushed for a light-touch regulatory regime.It has bristled at wide-ranging state efforts, particularly in California, to rein in the technology with laws that the administration contends will stifle innovation at a key moment in the AI race with China.However, House GOP leaders reportedly urged the White House to delay the executive order as they seek to include the measure in the Defense bill. Lawmakers are set to unveil the text of the NDAA this week, with votes expected to follow soon after. The final push on the Defense bill comes amid a busy three-week stretch at the end of the year, in which Congress is also seeking to tackle expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies and government funding.

Trump's AI data centers push sparks energy, environment worries - The Trump administration’s data center push is spurring concerns about energy prices and environmental impacts. The administration has embraced data centers, which house the computers and infrastructure used by tech companies, including for artificial intelligence, as well as the AI they power. White House officials argue it’s important for the U.S. to win the global “AI race” and outcompete rivals including China in the emerging tech space. Just this week, President Trump announced a new initiative seeking to expand AI’s use in scientific research. The administration is also considering a move to block “onerous” state-level regulations on AI.. Earlier this year, the administration also floated shielding data centers from environmental impact scrutiny and fast-tracking approvals of the centers and associated energy projects as part of its AI framework. And they are not alone. Many Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed support for the build-out of data centers, though Democrats have been more likely to back some restrictions on the technology. Experts say that technology and data centers are expected to have massive impacts on the electric grid in the years ahead. “Utilities are expecting a lot of this load to land around 2030,” said Ben Hertz-Shargel, who leads research about the electric grid at Wood Mackenzie. “That is the period when the reliability uncertainty will come to a head, and that’s when things will get tighter. So I think it’s that time frame … of three to five years from now that we’re looking at to start seeing the material cost and potentially reliability impacts of AI demand,” Hertz-Shargel said. Electricity prices are also relatively high at the moment. In September, electricity prices were about 5.1 percent higher than they were a year ago, outpacing general inflation, which was at 3 percent. Hertz-Shargel said that prices are currently high for other reasons, including the aging electric grid and extreme weather that creates storm damage. Meanwhile, the government is also warning of potential issues in the future due to data centers. An Energy Department report from July said that increasing power demand, including from AI, was increasing risks of blackouts. The Energy Information Administration, the nation’s independent energy statistics agency, has forecast new highs in electricity usage in 2025 and 2026, saying increases in the commercial sector will be driven “largely by more demand from data centers.” The Trump administration has argued that data centers can actually help bring down electricity prices over time. Asked about the issue, a White House official recently told reporters that the additional infrastructure needed to power data centers will ultimately lead to more supply of electricity and power lines, and therefore lower prices in the long term. Hertz-Shargel said that this can be true in “limited situations” but that overall, data centers are expected to raise prices. He said that in these limited cases, data centers “consume power when others are not and that does allow better utilization of grid infrastructure, which can, in certain cases, lower energy prices for a certain amount of data center and demand contribution.” “However, once you get to anywhere near the levels of demand … that are being planned for, you’re way past that regime, and you’re in a regime where now utilities are needed to build much bigger and newer and much more expensive infrastructure, including expensive gas plants … so you’re spending much more money and you’re significantly raising the cost of electricity, both the cost of the electricity itself as a commodity and also the cost of the infrastructure that must be recovered,” he added. Higher demand, and therefore higher prices, are expected to keep more fossil fuels, particularly coal and natural gas, on the grid for more time. In the case of gas, the increased demand is likely to result in more investment. “It looks like we have a setback in our climate and decarbonization trajectory here, as we build a lot of new gas plants and some pipeline capacity and drill more. It looks like our emissions are going to go up for a while and old coal plants are being retained on the system,”

YouTube AI: Deepfake detector tool is alarming creators, experts YouTube's new AI deepfake tracking tool is alarming experts and creators --A YouTube tool that uses creators' biometrics to help them remove AI-generated videos that exploit their likeness also allows Google to train its artificial intelligence models on that sensitive data, experts told CNBC. In response to concern from intellectual property experts, YouTube told CNBC that Google has never used creators' biometric data to train AI models and it is reviewing the language used in the tool's sign-up form to avoid confusion. But YouTube told CNBC it will not be changing its underlying policy. The discrepancy highlights a broader divide inside Alphabet , where Google is aggressively expanding its AI efforts while YouTube works to maintain trust with creators and rights holders who depend on the platform for their businesses. YouTube is expanding its "likeness detection," a tool the company introduced in October that flags when a creator's face is used without their permission in deepfakes, the term used to describe fake videos created using AI. The feature is being expanded to millions of creators in the YouTube Partner Program as AI-manipulated content becomes more prevalent throughout social media. The tool scans videos uploaded across YouTube to identify where a creator's face may have been altered or generated by artificial intelligence. Creators can then decide whether to request the video's removal, but to use the tool, YouTube requires that creators upload a government ID and a biometric video of their face. Biometrics are the measurement of physical characteristics to verify a person's identity. Experts say that by tying the tool to Google's privacy policy, YouTube has left the door open for future misuse of creators' biometrics. The policy states that public content, including biometric information, can be used "to help train Google's AI models and build products and features.""Likeness detection is a completely optional feature, but does require a visual reference to work," YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon said in a statement to CNBC. "Our approach to that data is not changing. As our Help Center has stated since the launch, the data provided for the likeness detection tool is only used for identity verification purposes and to power this specific safety feature." YouTube told CNBC it is "considering ways to make the in-product language clearer." The company has not said what specific changes to the wording will be made or when they will take effect. Experts remain cautious, saying they raised concerns about the policy to YouTube months ago. "As Google races to compete in AI and training data becomes strategic gold, creators need to think carefully about whether they want their face controlled by a platform rather than owned by themselves," "Your likeness will be one of the most valuable assets in the AI era, and once you give that control away, you may never get it back." Vermillio and Loti are third-party companies working with creators, celebrities and media companies to monitor and enforce likeness rights across the internet. With advancements in AI video generation, their usefulness has ramped up for IP rights holders. Loti CEO Luke Arrigoni said the risks of YouTube's current biometric policy "are enormous." "Because the release currently allows someone to be able to attach that name to the actual biometrics of the face, they could create something more synthetic that looks like that person," Arrigoni said. Neely and Arrigoni both said they would not currently recommend that any of their clients sign up for likeness detection on YouTube. YouTube's head of creator product, Amjad Hanif, said YouTube built its likeness detection tool to operate "at the scale of YouTube," where hundreds of hours of new footage are posted every minute. The tool is set to be made available to the more than 3 million creators in the YouTube Partner Program by the end of January, Hanif said. "We do well when creators do well," Hanif told CNBC. "We're here as stewards and supporters of the creator ecosystem, and so we are investing in tools to support them on that journey." The rollout comes as AI-generated video tools rapidly improve in quality and accessibility, raising new concerns for creators whose likeness and voice are central to their business.

Flock Uses Overseas Gig Workers to Build its Surveillance AI -- Flock accidentally exposed training materials and a panel which tracked what its AI annotators were working on. It showed that Flock, which has cameras in thousands of U.S. communities, is using workers in the Philippines to review and classify footage. Flock, the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) and AI-powered camera company, uses overseas workers from Upwork to train its machine learning algorithms, with training material telling workers how to review and categorize footage including images people and vehicles in the U.S., according to material reviewed by 404 Media that was accidentally exposed by the company. The findings bring up questions about who exactly has access to footage collected by Flock surveillance cameras and where people reviewing the footage may be based. Flock has become a pervasive technology in the U.S., with its cameras present in thousands of communities that cops use everyday to investigate things like car jackings. Local police have also performed numerous lookups for ICE in the system. Companies that use AI or machine learning regularly turn to overseas workers to train their algorithms, often because the labor is cheaper than hiring domestically. But the nature of Flock’s business—creating a surveillance system that constantly monitors U.S. residents’ movements—means that footage might be more sensitive than other AI training jobs. Flock’s cameras continuously scan the license plate, color, brand, and model of all vehicles that drive by. Law enforcement are then able to search cameras nationwide to see where else a vehicle has driven. Authorities typically dig through this data without a warrant, leading the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to recently sue a city blanketed in nearly 500 Flock cameras. Broadly, Flock uses AI or machine learning to automatically detect license plates, vehicles, and people, including what clothes they are wearing, from camera footage. A Flock patent also mentions cameras detecting “race.”

The use of AI-generated deepfakes in campaign ads: Lying is the problem, not AI -- A recent campaign ad in Georgia that used an AI generated video of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) saying things he never said is appropriately getting attention because of the ethical questions it raises. The answer to the ethical question is that it’s wrong, campaigns shouldn’t make things up about their opponents. But it’s not wrong because the ad uses artificial intelligence. The ad is wrong because it makes stuff up. AI isn’t the problem, lying is the problem. The Republican attack ad is not the first, and will certainly not be the last, to get headlines for using AI to generate nonsense. In early 2024, an unpopular sheriff in Philadelphia got in trouble for using AI to generate what looked like real and glowing coverage in local media outlets. The media outlets were real, but the stories were fake. As with the most recent ad, AI got the headlines, but the lying was the problem. Concerns about politicians making up news, faking images, and otherwise lying to get what they want are as old as politics. The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato criticized the sophists for emphasizing what sounded good over what was true. In about 94 C.E., the Roman orator Quintilian warned about “hack advocates” (his words, not mine). One of the most famous political lies of all time was told in the 12th Century B.C.E. when the Greek army pretended to leave Troy and left behind what appeared to be the gift of a large wooden horse. The horse, of course, was full of soldiers who took the city and won the war. No AI needed, just a bit of cunning and a lot of wood. The U.S. has our own history of lying for political gain. In 1782 Ben Franklin fabricated storiesabout the British to help sway European public opinion toward the colonies. One hundred years later, the Hudson River School painter Albert Bierstadt “freely altered details” in his paintings of the American West that helped shape federal policy. In 1895, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst sent a reporter to cover an insurrection in Cuba. The reporter said there was no war to cover, to which Hearst reportedly replied, “you furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war.” Closer to our time, President Trump has been fooled by impersonators calling his office twice. In 2018 a comedian pretending to be Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J) talked to the president about the Supreme Court and immigration. In 2021 Trump was fooled by someone pretending to be Piers Morgan. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called the 2018 call “chilling” in its implications, a word many apply to AI generated deepfakes. As with fake images and fake news the problem isn’t AI, it’s the faking. By focusing on AI generated lies, we miss the point that lying is bad and should be condemned. We also risk not paying attention to the real gray areas. For example, during the most recent federal government shutdown, the National Republican Senatorial Committee used AI to generate what appeared to be a video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying something that was never recorded. The words were the senator’s, he really said them, but there was no recording or video of him saying them. AI generated the visuals and audio.Whether or not that is ethical is something worth debating. For example, what if the ad showed an image of Schumer’s words and had someone impersonating the senator read them? Would that be different from the AI generated voice, and if so why? As with the anti-Ossoff ad, the debate isn’t about AI, it’s about how the information is presented.

Indiana state website hosted AI deepfake porn instructions --A number of documents with instructions on how to create AI deepfake sex images were posted to Indiana's state government website and have been discoverable through Google searches for nearly two weeks. A Google search earlier in the afternoon of Dec. 2 showed PDF documents indexed under the web address for the Indiana Department of Health, advertising apps and tools such as "Best no filter NSFW generator" ― an acronym for "not safe for work" ― that, for example, can generate images that artificially removes a person's clothes. Those documents have since been taken down. Greta Sanderson, chief communications officer for IDOH, said the agency discovered a "significant surge in bot activity" on Nov. 19 on three of IDOH's web applications that the public can access. This wasn't a hack, she said. "IDOH worked with the Indiana Office of Technology to successfully contain the incident and no data were impacted," she said. "As a result, most of the files involved have been already been deleted, but we are still working through the process of also eliminating them from Google searches." Google searches reveal some of the results that are showing up under the in.gov website Dec. 2, 2025.She said the incidents are also not related to web-service provider Granicus, which has had a few other government-agency customers who have dealt with the unwanted uploading of illicit content.In those cases, Granicus explained to Kansas station KWCH, outside actors used government web portals meant to solicit resident feedback and uploaded the content through public form submissions. Then, Google indexed these attachments in its search results." While the above feature was intended by governments to provide transparency and good customer service, it has been abused in these instances," the company wrote in a statement. As of state legislation passed in 2024, creating or distributing non-consensual pornographic deepfakes is a misdemeanor offense in Indiana. President Donald Trump also signed a federal law in May making the publication of so-called "revenge porn" online or on social media punishible by prison time. This wouldn't be the state's first brush with an AI deepfake scandal. In August, allegations surfaced that staffers in the Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith's office watched a deepfake video portraying a state lawmaker's wife topless. A Marion County grand jury has investigated the alleged incident.

The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’ --A headteacher is describing how a teenage boy, sitting on a bus on his way home from school, casually pulled out his phone, selected a picture from social media of a girl at a neighbouring school and used a “nudifying” app to doctor her image. It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.”Ten years ago it was sexting and nudes causing havoc in classrooms. Today, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it child’s play to generate deepfake nude images or videos, featuring what appear to be your friends, your classmates, even your teachers. This may involve removing clothes, getting an image to move suggestively or pasting someone’s head on to a pornographic image. The headteacher does not know why this particular girl – a student at her school – was selected, whether the boy knew her, or whether it was completely random. It only came to her attention because he was spotted by another of her pupils who realised what was happening and reported it to the school.The parents were contacted, the boy was traced and the police were called in. But such is the stigma and shame associated with image-based sexual abuse and the sharing of deepfakes that a decision was made that the girl who was the target should not be told.“The girl doesn’t actually even know,” the head said. “I talked to the parents and the parents didn’t want her to know.”The boy on the bus is just one example of how deepfakes and easily accessed nudifying technology are playing out among schoolchildren – often to devastating effect. In Spain last year, 15 boys in the south-western region of Extremadura were sentenced to a year’s probation after being convicted of using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates, which they shared on WhatsApp groups. About 20 girls were affected, most of them aged 14, while the youngest was 11.In Australia, about 50 high school students at Bacchus Marsh grammar in Victoria reported that their images had been faked and distributed – the mother of one student said her daughter was so horrified by the sexually explicit images that she vomited. In the US, more than 30 female students at Westfield high school in New Jersey discovered that deepfake pornographic images of them had been shared among their male classmates on Snapchat. A new poll of 4,300 secondary school teachers in England, carried out by Teacher Tapp on behalf of the Guardian, found that about one in 10 were aware of students at their school creating “deepfake, sexually explicit videos” in the last academic year.Three-quarters of these incidents involved children aged 14 or younger, while one in 10 incidents involved 11-year-olds, and 3% were younger still, illustrating just how easy the technology is to access and use. Among participating teachers, 7% said they were aware of a single incident, and 1% said it had happened twice, while a similar proportion said it had happened three times or more in the last academic year.Earlier this year, a Girlguiding survey found that one in four respondents aged 13 to 18 had seen a sexually explicit deepfake image of a celebrity, a friend, a teacher or themselves.“A year ago I was using examples from the US and Spain to talk about these issues,” says Margaret Mulholland, a special needs and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders. “Now it’s happening on our doorstep and it’s really worrying.” Last year the Times reportedthat two private schools in the UK were at the centre of a police investigation into the alleged making and sharing of deepfake pornographic images. The newspaper said police were investigating claims that the deepfakes were created at a boys’ school by someone manipulating images taken from the social media accounts of pupils at a girls’ school.The children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has called for nudification apps such as ClothOff, which was investigated as part of the Guardian’s Black Box podcast series about AI, to be banned. “Children have told me they are frightened by the very idea of this technology even being available, let alone used,” she says. It’s not easy to find teachers willing to speak about deepfake incidents. Those who agreed to be interviewed by the Guardian insisted on strict anonymity. Other accounts were provided by academics researching deepfakes in schools, and providers of sex education.

AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions - Students applying to college know they can't—or at least shouldn't—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be a delicate topic, and not all colleges are eager to talk about it, but higher education is among the many industries where artificial intelligence is rapidly taking on tasks once reserved for humans. In some cases, schools are quietly slipping AI into their evaluation process, experts say. Others are touting the technology's potential to speed up their review of applications, cut processing times and even perform some tasks better than humans. "Humans get tired; some days are better than others. The AI does not get tired. It doesn't get grumpy. It doesn't have a bad day. The AI is consistent," says Juan Espinoza, vice provost for enrollment management at Virginia Tech. This fall, Virginia Tech is debuting an AI-powered essay reader. The college expects it will be able to inform students of admissions decisions a month sooner than usual, in late January, because of the tool's help sorting tens of thousands of applications. Colleges stress they are not relying on AI to make admissions decisions, using it primarily to review transcripts and eliminate data-entry tasks. But artificial intelligence also is playing a role in evaluating students. Some highly selective schools are adopting AI tools to vet the increasingly curated application packages that some students develop with the help of high-priced admissions consultants.The California Institute of Technology is launching an AI tool this fall to look for "authenticity" in students who submit research projects with their applications, admissions director Ashley Pallie said. Students upload their research to an AI chatbot that interviews them about it on video, which is then reviewed by Caltech faculty. "It's a gauge of authenticity. Can you claim this research intellectually? Is there a level of joy around your project? That passion is important to us," Pallie said. The prevalence of AI usage is difficult to gauge because it is such a new trend, said Ruby Bhattacharya, chair of the admission practices committee at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. NACAC updated its ethics guide this fall to add a section on artificial intelligence. It urges colleges to ensure the way they use it "aligns with our shared values of transparency, integrity, fairness and respect for student dignity." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faced a barrage of negative feedback from applicants, parents and students after its student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, reported in January the school was using AI to evaluate the grammar and writing style of applicants' essays. The university declined to comment for this article and referred to its admissions website, which it updated after the criticism. "UNC uses AI programs to provide data points about students' common application essay and their school transcripts," the website says. Every application "is evaluated comprehensively by extensively trained human application evaluators." At Virginia Tech, Espinoza said he has been contacted by several colleges that are interested in the new technology but wary of backlash. "The feedback from a lot of colleagues is, 'You roll this out, we're watching you, and we'll see how everyone's reacting,'" he said.

Banks paid $370M in ransoms to cybercriminals in 2024 - While overall payments declined, the financial sector remained the top payer to cybercriminals, surpassing both health care and manufacturing.

• Key insight: Financial institutions paid more in ransom to cybercriminals than any other sector, accounting for $365.6 million across 432 incidents.
• What's at stake: Banks navigate a "dual reality" as both prime targets for extortion and the government's primary tripwire for detecting illicit payments.
• Supporting data: Bitcoin remains the overwhelming currency of choice for extortionists, accounting for 97% of reported ransomware transactions.

Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Feds seize website used in massive crypto scheme -- While banks welcome the "whole-of-government" approach that led the effort, private sector takedowns remain difficult without federal warrants.

• Key insight: The DOJ seized a domain used by a Myanmar-based syndicate, marking the first major victory for the new Scam Center Strike Force.
• Expert quote: "American consumers are under attack from sophisticated criminal networks ... to the tune of over $12 billion per year," says BPI's Heather Hogsett.
• What's at stake: While the DOJ can secure warrants to seize domains, banks face legal hurdles and "bulletproof" hosts that make private takedowns nearly impossible.

Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Bitcoin, Crypto Plunge Accelerates as Leveraged Players ("Treasuries") Like Strategy Dump Holdings - by Yves Smith --Warren Buffett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do y ou discover who’s been swimming naked.” Buffett did not add that unlike nature-induced exposure events, market losses will feed on themselves when there is meaningful leverage involved. We are getting a sense now of how significant borrowed money was in stoking the crypto boom as experts warn that the downdraft could go from bad to bloody. Due to the lack of regulation and centralized reporting, along with the very large number of coins implicated. it’s not possible to know how much debt was behind the crypto boom. But the persistent fall of the once pride of the pack, Bitcoin, suggests quite a lot. We’ll soon discuss crypto “treasuries,” a cleverly misleading branding of entities that bought cypto and borrowed against it and then sold interests to investors as ETFs, giving them an all-too-easy way to turbo charge their crypto exposure. But let’s first look at the level of carnage.From CoinDesk: Digital Asset Treasuries Lead Crypto Stock Sell-Off as Bitcoin Falls to $84K Strategy fell to the lowest since October, 2024, and ether and solana treasury plays including BitMine, Sharplink, Solana Company, Upexi tumbled nearly 10%. “Since October 2024” ought not sound that bad….unless you were among the punters who added to Bitcoin or crypto positions since then. But all eyes are on the crypto treasury Stragegy. The lead story in Bloomberg Asia now: Crypto’s Retail Traders Hit Hard as Strategy ETFs Plunge 80% – From the text:

• Retail investors who invested in Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin experiment are paying a heavy price as Strategy Inc.’s shares plunged more than 60% from recent highs.
• The most popular exchange-traded funds tracking Strategy’s stock have dropped more than 80% this year, with the trio of MSTX, MSTU, and MSTP losing about $1.5 billion in assets since early October.
• Strategy Inc. has created a $1.4 billion reserve to fund dividend and interest payments, hoping to calm fears that it may be forced to sell Bitcoin if prices fall further.

Strategy Inc. — the company once hailed for wrapping crypto exposure into a public stock — is scrambling to calm markets after its shares plunged more than 60% from recent highs, amid a sweeping digital-currency rout. On Monday, Strategy said it had created a $1.4 billion reserve to fund dividend and interest payments, hoping to calm fears that it may be forced to sell Bitcoin if prices fall further.But for many investors, the damage is already done. The most popular exchange-traded funds tracking Strategy’s volatile stock — MSTX and MSTU, which offer double the daily return — have both dropped more than 80% this year. That puts them among the 10 worst-performing funds in the entire US ETF market, out of more than 4,700 products currently trading — just behind obscure short bets against gold miners and semiconductor stocks. A third fund, known as MSTP, launched during the crypto mania in June, is down a similar amount since its debut. Together, the trio has lost about $1.5 billion in assets since early October…At the center of concern is a valuation metric known as mNAV — or market net asset value — which compares Strategy’s enterprise value to its Bitcoin holdings. That premium has largely vanished, bringing the ratio to around 1.15 — a level executives have flagged as a warning zone. CEO Phong Le said on a podcast that slipping below 1.0 could force the company to sell Bitcoin to meet payout obligations, albeit only as a last resort.Yahoo elaborated: For half a decade, Strategy — still “MicroStrategy” in every trader’s muscle memory — has lived by a simple, almost religious rule: buy Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), never sell. Executive chairman Michael Saylor turned that hard-and-fast rule into a brand — a battle cry, even — and the company’s stock went up faster than the asset it was hoarding.Strategy’s orange dots — the little markers Saylor posts on X every time he adds more Bitcoin to the pile — became a kind of crypto liturgy. There have never been any red dots. Ever. Whenever the crypto’s high priest was asked by someone about what would happen during a steep collapse in price, he declared he would simply buy more Bitcoin.And from the Wall Street Journal in The Year’s Hottest Crypto Trade Is Crumbling:Michael Saylor pioneered the move in 2020 when he transformed a tiny software company, then called MicroStrategy into a bitcoin whale now known as Strategy. But with bitcoin and ether prices now tumbling, so are shares in Strategy and its copycats. Strategy was worth around $128 billion at its peak in July; it is now worth about $70 billion.The selloff is hitting big-name investors including Peter Thiel, the famed venture capitalist who has backed multiple crypto-treasury companies, as well as individuals who followed evangelists into these stocks..“The whole concept makes no sense to me. You are just paying $2 for a one-dollar bill,” said Brent Donnelly, president of Spectra Markets. “Eventually those premiums will compress.”When they first appeared, crypto-treasury companies also gave institutional investors who previously couldn’t easily access crypto a way to invest. Crypto exchange-traded funds that became available over the past two years now offer the same solution.And the Financial Times: Shares of Strategy slipped after the bitcoin champion launched a US dollar reserve to fund its dividends and warned that it could incur a $5.5bn loss if the price of the cryptocurrency does not rebound this year…The company has funded its bitcoin purchases using a mix of debt and equity products, many of which have promised to pay investors dividends. But as the price of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has fallen from record highs above $126,000 in early October to around $85,000 in just over a month, Saylor’s method has come under pressure.Strategy said on Monday it had created a $1.44bn “US dollar reserve” to fund its dividends. The reserve was financed by money raised from its share sales, and the Nasdaq-listed company said it aimed to maintain a dollar reserve that would fund “at least 12 months of its dividends”, growing to eventually cover “24 months or more” of payouts. Shares in Strategy trimmed an intraday decline of as much as 12.2 per cent to close 3.3 per cent lower on Monday. The stock has fallen almost 41 per cent this year as investors have questioned the viability of its business model.The company buys bitcoin by issuing shares, convertible debt and new preferred equity instruments. The move highlights how Strategy is bracing for its share price to fall even further. The company will in particular need cash to repay its $8.2bn worth of convertible debt holders if its share price does not rise.

The heavy tech lift behind stablecoin banking -Once banks decide how they're going to play in digital assets such as stablecoins, the equally hard work of how to manage data, compliance and risk heightens.

• Key insights: The GENIUS Act will push banks to create strategies for stablecoins and other digital assets.
• What's at stake: Complicated technology work will be required to manage compliance, security and data.
• Forward look: As post-GENIUS Act policymaking continues, the requirements will become more complicated.

At a UCLA economic panel, experts from Zions, JPMorgan, Berkeley Research Group and Wave Digital Assets discussed the challenges in data management and compliance risk that goes with adopting digital assets.

Europe's bank-backed stablecoin; Ripple gets a win in Singapore

• Key insights: A group of European banks are teaming to issue a euro-backed stablecoin.
• What's at stake: Most current stablecoins are U.S. dollar-backed, creating pressure on banks in other countries to offer a local alternative.
• Forward Look: The stablecoin is expected to launch in 2026.

While U.S. dollars have been the primary reserve backing most stablecoins, there are efforts in other countries to diversify the supporting assets.

A group of European banks have formed Qivalis, which expects to launch its coin in early 2026 as a counter to the U.S. dollar-led market. Plus, Singapore regulators give Ripple permission to expand and other news in the global payments and fintech roundup.

Payment fintechs pump the gas for an on-chain world --The GENIUS Act passed nearly six months ago, but for Dante Disparte the benefits are only starting to emerge.

• Key insights: Block and Circle are both pursuing blockchain projects, with Block focusing more on bitcoin than stablecoins.
• What's at stake: The GENIUS Act is expected to create a massive global market for digital assets.
• Forward look: Payment experts say banks will need to up their game to keep up.

Circle's Dante Disparte and Block's Owen Jennings discuss how blockchain, crypto and AI can combine to open new lanes for international commerce. Payment experts say banks need to play catch up.

In the stablecoin era, what counts as a 'dollar' is getting complicated - - What is a dollar? We all assume we know the meaning of the term "dollar." Noelle Acheson highlights how stablecoins are underlining the ways in which the absence of an official definition can have geopolitical and macroeconomic consequences.

BankThink: Banks need to steel themselves for the next battle over crypto rules - The debate over the "macro" questions about crypto in the U.S. has been largely settled. We're now entering a "micro" phase, where specific rules and regulations will be written to chart the industry's future, writes John Wu, of Ava Labs. U.S. crypto regulation is currently in its "macro era." Policymakers are focusing on existential questions: Should retail investors be allowed exposure to crypto assets through regulated products? Which federal regulators should oversee stablecoins? What role can banks legally and prudently play in digital assets?

TD has completed 'majority' of US AML remediation -More than a year after TD Bank Group was hit with historic anti-money-laundering related penalties in the U.S., the Canadian bank believes it's achieved promising momentum in America.

• Key insight: TD Bank will spend much of 2026 internally auditing the enhancements it's made to its anti-money-laundering protocols.
• What's at stake: The bank was hit with historic penalties of more than $3 billion, along with an asset cap on U.S. operations last year.
• Supporting data: The bank spent $507 million on remediation in its 2025 fiscal year, and it expects to spend a similar amount in 2026.

The Canadian bank still has more work to do as it rolls out additional processes, technology and training. TD will also have to prove to regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice that its actions are sustainable.

Former CEO of failed Okla. bank indicted on fraud charges -- A federal grand jury has indicted the CEO of a failed Oklahoma community bank on bank fraud charges. Danny Seibel, who led First National Bank of Lindsay from 2007 until shortly before the bank's failure last year, is accused of falsifying bank documents to conceal the condition of loans.

• Key insight: The indictment claims CEO Danny Seibel manipulated the packets he prepared for First National's board and loan committee to conceal problem loans and excessive overdrafts.
• Supporting data: First National Bank of Lindsay's failure cost the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund $42.3 million.
• Forward look: The OCC is preparing a more in-depth review into First National Bank of Lindsay's failure that should be complete this month.

OCC, FDIC scrap 2013 post-crisis leveraged-loan guidance --Key federal bank regulators Friday withdrew from a decade-old interagency guidance document that had governed how banks engage in the leveraged lending market, saying the framework was overly restrictive. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday that they are withdrawing from a 2013 interagency leveraged lending guidance, arguing it was overly restrictive, pushed activity to nonbanks and sidestepped official rulemaking.

• Key insight: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rescinded a 2013 interagency leveraged lending guidance, but left the door open to reissuing a revised version in the future.
• Supporting data: The agencies said the framework was never formally submitted to Congress despite the Government Accountability Office's determination that the guidance qualified as a rule under the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Forward look: In the absence of the guidance, banks will now follow general risk-management principles concerning leveraged lending.

In Congress, bank regulators defend Trump agenda — Top regulators at the prudential banking agencies underlined plans for a pared down regulatory system for financial companies, defending the work they've done so far under President Donald Trump's administration.

• Key insight: Bank regulators plan to continue with tailoring exercises and other deregulation.
• Forward look: The regulators should be back in the Senate Banking Committee in the new year per oversight requirements, but oversight hearings have been scarce in this Congress.
• What's at stake: Banks are watching as key rules like Basel III endgame and risks like debanking enforcement proceed in the administration.

In a relatively mild oversight hearing in the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday morning, regulatory heads at the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. outlined plans for reduced capital requirements and debanking enforcement.

Exclusive: Sen. Warren presses credit unions on late fees — A group of Senate Democrats led, by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are pushing credit unions to rethink their overdraft fees.

• Key insight: Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is leading a group of lawmakers in asking credit unions to curb their overdraft practices.
• Forward look: Going forward, the National Credit Union Administration no longer publicly reports overdraft or nonsufficient fund data for individual credit unions.
• What's at stake: Warren has investigated overdraft fees at individual credit unions before, but Monday's letter represents a broader push to change the credit union industry's overdraft practices.

Democratic lawmakers, led by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., press 21 institutions for fee data after a federal agency halted disclosure requirements.

Dems demand answers from Fed, Treasury amid penny shortage - As America's penny shortage has grown, banks and retailers have repeatedly asked for federal guidance. Now congressional Democrats are demanding it.

• Key insight: Two prominent Democratic lawmakers have joined banks and retailers in asking that the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve provide guidance or formulate a plan to manage penny circulation.
• What's at stake: After the U.S. Mint printed its last one-cent coin on Nov. 12, there has been widespread confusion about how retailers should handle situations where customers pay with cash and exact change is not available.
• Forward look: The Fed said Wednesday that it will respond to the letter sent by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters.

In a sternly worded letter, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters demanded to know why federal agencies haven't provided more guidance since the one-cent coin was discontinued. They accused the Trump administration of making an "abrupt and unilateral decision" without thinking it through.

Fed seeks comment on future of check services - The Federal Reserve Board put out a request for public input on the future of the check services provided by the Fed banks, a move that comes as the administration has begun to phase out paper checks, citing long-term decline in check usage, access to digital payment methods and the prevalence of check fraud.

• Key insight: Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman warned that the move tilts toward ending check services, even as she says checks remain an important payment option for many.
• Supporting data: Checks represented 5% of noncash payments by volume in 2021.
• Forward look: Following public comment, a potential phase-out plan could be in the offing that could reshape the federal payments system.

The agency is weighing costly infrastructure needs, fraud risks and long-term decline in check use as it solicits public input on the possibility of winding down checks following an executive order phasing out paper in federal payments.

Housing provision emerges as key in defense spending bill — The defense spending bill has long been one of the few must-pass pieces of legislation for Congress, and thus a predictable target for lawmakers and their allies to tack on policy riders that might not otherwise get a vote.

• Key insight: Bank-specific items in the National Defense Authorization Act include a housing package, credit union liquidity and Community Development Financial Institution Fund provisions.
• Forward look: Negotiations on those and other provisions are still ongoing and fluid after the White House weighed in in favor of the housing bill.
• What's at stake: Mortgage bankers say the housing package would help depository institutions reenter and gain market share in the mortgage origination market.

A bipartisan housing provision has emerged as a critical negotiating point for passage of an uncommonly bank-relevant defense authorization bill.

BankThink CFPB's proposed credit access rule would bring redlining back - A comment deadline is approaching on a proposed CFPB rule that would dismantle longstanding rules meant to protect minorities from discrimination in the market for credit, writes Alphonso David. Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — led by Project 2025 architect Russ Vought — proposed a rule that would effectively neuter the agency's ability to stop discriminatory lending. Quietly released with only a 30-day comment window, the CFPB's proposal would upend decades of fair lending protections. It would also make modern redlining far easier to carry out — and far harder to challenge. The consequences would fall first and hardest on Black communities. Homeownership, small-business growth, education and intergenerational stability all depend on fair access to credit.A comment deadline is approaching on a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would dismantle longstanding rules meant to protect minorities from discrimination in the market for credit.

Q3 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO -- Even with the recent weakness in house prices, it is important to note that there will NOT be a surge in foreclosures that could lead to cascading house price declines (as happened following the housing bubble) for two key reasons: 1) mortgage lending has been solid, and 2) most homeowners have substantial equity in their homes.With substantial equity, and low mortgage rates (mostly at a fixed rates), few homeowners will have financial difficulties.But it is still important to track delinquencies and foreclosures. Here is some data on REOs through Q3 2025 … This graph shows the nominal dollar value of Residential REO for FDIC insured institutions based on the Q3 FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile released in late November. Note: The FDIC reports the dollar value and not the total number of REOs.The dollar value of 1-4 family residential Real Estate Owned (REOs, foreclosure houses) was up 24% YOY from $765 million in Q3 2024 to $951 million in Q3 2025. This is still historically very low, but increasing.Fannie Mae reported the number of REOs decreased to 4,496 at the end of Q3 2025, down 4% from 4,666 at the end of the previous quarter, and down 31% year-over-year from 6,481 in Q3 2024. Here is a graph of Fannie Real Estate Owned (REO). This is very low and well below the pre-pandemic levels. REOs are a lagging indicator. REOs increase when borrowers struggle financially and have little or no equity, so they can’t sell their homes - as happened after the housing bubble. That will not happen this time. Here is some data on delinquencies …It is important to note that loans in forbearance are counted as delinquent in the various surveys but not reported to the credit agencies.Here is a graph from the MBA’s National Delinquency Survey through Q3 2025.The percent of loans in the foreclosure process increased year-over-year from 0.45 percent in Q3 2024 to 0.50 percent in Q3 2025 (red) but remains historically low.From the MBA:

• Compared to last quarter, the seasonally adjusted mortgage delinquency rate increased for all loans outstanding. By stage, the 30-day delinquency rate increased 2 basis points to 2.12 percent, the 60-day delinquency rate increased 4 basis points to 0.76 percent, and the 90-day delinquency bucket remained unchanged at 1.11 percent ...
• The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the third quarter was 0.50 percent, up 2 basis points from the second quarter of 2025 and 5 basis points higher than one year ago.

Both Fannie and Freddie release serious delinquency (90+ days) data monthly.This graph shows the recent decline in serious delinquencies. This is very low.These are mortgage loans that are "three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure". The pandemic related increase in serious delinquencies was very different from the increase in delinquencies following the housing bubble. Lending standards have been fairly solid over the last decade, and most of these homeowners have equity in their homes - and they have been able to restructure their loans once they were employed.And on foreclosures …ICE reported that active foreclosures are still very low but have increased recently. have decreased and are near the records. From ICE: ICE November Mortgage Monitor report

• There were 103K foreclosure starts in Q3 2025, a 23% increase from the same period last year, but 18% below Q3 2019’s pre-pandemic levels with FHA loans accounting for 44% of foreclosure starts in Q3
• The number of loans in active foreclosure rose modestly year-over-year (18%), yet overall foreclosure volume remains historically low, with Q3 foreclosure sales (21K) at roughly half of 2019 levels
• FHA loans account for the majority of that rise, making up 38% of active foreclosures, roughly half of the annual rise in foreclosure starts and 80% of the rise in active foreclosures
• The resumption of VA foreclosure activity following last year’s moratorium is largely responsible for the remainder of
• the recent growth, with foreclosure inventory for portfolio-held loans and GSE mortgages largely flat year over year

The bottom line is there will likely be an increase in delinquencies and foreclosures, but there will not be a huge wave of foreclosures as happened following the housing bubble. The distressed sales during the housing bust led to cascading price declines, and that will not happen this time.

MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest Weekly Survey -- From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey - Mortgage applications decreased 1.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 28, 2025. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 33 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 109 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 32 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent higher than the same week one year ago. “Mortgage rates moved lower in line with Treasury yields, which declined on data showing a weaker labor market and declining consumer confidence. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined to 6.32 percent after steadily increasing over the past month,” “After adjusting for the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday, refinance activity decreased across both conventional and government loans, as borrowers held out for lower rates. Purchase applications were up slightly, but we continue to see mixed results each week as the broader economic outlook remains cloudy, even as cooling home-price growth and increasing for-sale inventory bring some buyers back into the market.” ... The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.32 percent from 6.40 percent, with points decreasing to 0.58 from 0.60 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index. According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 17% year-over-year unadjusted. Red is a four-week average (blue is weekly). Purchase application activity is still depressed, but solidly above the lows of 2023 and above the lowest levels during the housing bust. The second graph shows the refinance index since 1990. The refinance index increased from the bottom as mortgage rates declined, but is down from the recent peak in September.

Mortgage Rates Erase Last Week's Gains - - Mortgage rates are based on bonds and the bond market is prone to erratic behavior on major holiday weeks. One of the more common patterns is for the holiday week to see a noticeable departure from a prevailing trend only to return to that trend in the following week. That's exactly what we're seeing on the first day of the new week. The prevailing trend saw rates hold a narrow, sideways range with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate in the 6.3s. Last week saw that average drop to 6.20% and now today, we're right back up to 6.31%. In the coming days, economic data should have a bigger impact on rates than the sort serendipity at work today.

Housing December 1st Weekly Update: Inventory Only Down 4.3% Compared to Same Week in 2019 --Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 1.6% week-over-week. Inventory usually starts to decline in the fall and then declines sharply during the holiday season.The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.The red line is for 2025. The black line is for 2019. Inventory was up 15.6% compared to the same week in 2024 (last week it was up 15.5%), and down 4.3% compared to the same week in 2019 (last week it was down 4.7%). Inventory started 2025 down 22% compared to 2019. Inventory has closed most of that gap, but it appears inventory will still be below 2019 levels at the end of 2025. This second inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of November 28th, inventory was at 817 thousand (7-day average), compared to 830 thousand the prior week. Mike Simonsen discusses this data and much more regularly on YouTube

Inflation Adjusted House Prices 3.0% Below 2022 Peak - Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Inflation Adjusted House Prices 3.0% Below 2022 Peak -Excerpt: It has been 19 years since the housing bubble peak, ancient history for many readers! In the September Case-Shiller house price index released last Tuesday, the seasonally adjusted National Index (SA), was reported as being 78% above the bubble peak. However, in real terms, the National index (SA) is about 9.4% above the bubble peak (and historically there has been an upward slope to real house prices). The composite 20, in real terms, is 0.9% above the bubble peak. People usually graph nominal house prices, but it is also important to look at prices in real terms. As an example, if a house price was $300,000 in January 2010, the price would be $447,000 today adjusted for inflation (49% increase). That is why the second graph below is important - this shows "real" prices. The third graph shows the price-to-rent ratio, and the fourth graph is the affordability index. The last graph shows the 5-year real return based on the Case-Shiller National Index. ...The second graph shows the same two indexes in real terms (adjusted for inflation using CPI). In real terms (using CPI), the National index is 3.0% below the recent peak, and the Composite 20 index is 3.2% below the recent peak in 2022. Both the real National index and the Comp-20 index decreased in August. The real National index has decreased for 9 consecutive months. It has now been 40 months since the real peak in house prices. Typically, after a sharp increase in prices, it takes a number of years for real prices to reach new highs (see House Prices: 7 Years in Purgatory)

Update: Lumber Prices Down 8% Year-over-year - Here is another update on lumber prices. NOTE: The CME group discontinued the Random Length Lumber Futures contract on May 16, 2023. I switched to a physically-delivered Lumber Futures contract that was started in August 2022. Unfortunately, this impacts long term price comparisons since the new contract was priced about 24% higher than the old random length contract for the period when both contracts were available. This graph shows CME random length framing futures through August 2022 (blue), and the new physically-delivered Lumber Futures (LBR) contract starting in August 2022 (Red). On November 28, 2025, LBR was at $544.00 per 1,000 board feet, down 7.6% from a year ago. There is somewhat of a seasonal demand for lumber, and lumber prices frequently peak in the first half of the year. The pickup in early 2018 was due to the Trump lumber tariffs in 2017. There were huge increases during the pandemic due to a combination of supply constraints and a pickup in housing starts. Now, even with the tariffs, prices are down slightly year-over-year suggesting weak demand.

Asking Rents Soft Year-over-year - Today, in the Real Estate Newsletter: Asking Rents Soft Year-over-year - Brief excerpt: Another monthly update on rents. Tracking rents is important for understanding the dynamics of the housing market. Slower household formation and increased supply (more multi-family completions) has kept asking rents under pressure.
More recently, immigration policy has become a negative for rentals.
Apartment List: Asking Rent Growth -1.1% Year-over-year... The national median rent fell 1.0% in November, and now stands at $1,367. This was the fourth consecutive month-over-month decline, as we’re now in the midst of the rental market’s off-season. It’s likely that we will close out the year with an additional modest rent decline in December.
Realtor.com: 27th Consecutive Month with Year-over-year Decline in Rents October 2025 marks the 27th straight month of year-over-year rent decline for 0-2 bedroom properties since trend data began in 2020. Asking rents dipped by $29, or -1.7%, year over year.

LME Copper Hits Another Record; Goldman Trader Pinpoints Driver Behind Move -Copper futures in London hit another record as traders reacted to a sharp rise in requests to withdraw metal from London Metal Exchange warehouses - the largest surge since 2013 - driven primarily by Taiwan and South Korea, but only signaling the industrial metal being pulled toward China, not the Comex system.

Rising Commodities Suggest There Is Still An Inflation Problem --Commodities have broken out of their three-year range, signaling there are still global inflation pressures not fully priced in by Treasury yields. The Bloomberg Commodity Index has risen above the narrow band it’s been in since early 2023, helped by the resurgence of precious metals, especially silver.

Light Vehicle Sales Increased to 15.6 Million SAAR in October -- The BEA reported that light vehicle sales were at 15.6 million in November on a seasonally adjusted annual basis (SAAR). This was up 2.0% from the sales rate in October, and down 5.6% from November 2024.
This graph shows light vehicle sales since 2006 from the BEA (blue) through October (red from Omdia). Vehicle sales were over 17 million SAAR in March and April as consumers rushed to "beat the tariffs". Then sales were depressed in May and June. Sales were boosted in August and September due to the termination of the EV credit at the end of September. The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967. Sales in November were slightly above the consensus forecast of 15.4 million SAAR.

Heavy Truck Sales Collapsed in October and November - This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the November 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 367 thousand. Note: "Heavy trucks - trucks more than 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight." Heavy truck sales were at 367 thousand SAAR in November, up from 339 thousand in October, and down 25.2% from 491 thousand SAAR in November 2024. Year-to-date (NSA) sales are down 13.2% in 2025 compared to 2024 through November. Usually, heavy truck sales decline sharply prior to a recession, and sales have collapsed recently.

Industrial Production Increased 0.1% in September - From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization- Industrial production (IP) increased 0.1 percent in September after moving down 0.3 percent in August; for the third quarter as a whole, IP increased at an annual rate of 1.1 percent. In September, the indexes for manufacturing and for mining were unchanged relative to August, and the output of utilities moved up 1.1 percent. At 101.4 percent of its 2017 average, total IP in September was 1.6 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization was unchanged relative to August at 75.9 percent, a rate that is 3.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2024) average.This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, and close to the level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).Capacity utilization at 75.9% is 3.6% below the average from 1972 to 2023. This was below consensus expectations. The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.Industrial production increased to 101.4. This is below the pre-pandemic level.Industrial production was below consensus expectations (with revisions).

US Industrial Production Sees Biggest Annual Gain In 3 Years Despite Slowing Capacity Utilization - Graphics Source: Bloomberg - First things first, this is data for September. But we would given this morning's Industrial Production and Manufacturing Output data a 'meh' ranking. Industrial Production rose just 0.1% MoM (as expected) up from the downwardly revised 0.3% MoM decline in August. On a YoY basis, production rose 1.62% - its best since Nov 2022... US Manufacturing output was unchanged in September (slowing from the 0.1% MoM rise in August), but, like IP, that supported a 1.5% YoY rise in output, its highest level since April 2022... But the big headline of this (admittedly lagged) report is the weakness in Capacity Utilization at just 75.9% in September (well below the 77.4% print for August, which was revised down to 75.9%, and a big miss versus the 77.2% exp) Just as we have seen with the employment data, it appears the US Manufacturing economy has flatlined for much of Q3. Certainly supportive of a cut next week and trend toward more cuts (which are not priced in for now).

ISM® Manufacturing index Decreased to 48.2% in November --The ISM manufacturing index indicated contraction. The PMI® was at 48.2% in November, down from 48.7% in October. The employment index was at 44.0%, down from 46.9% the previous month, and the new orders index was at 47.4%, down from 49.4%. From ISM: Manufacturing PMI® at 48.2% November 2025 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report - Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in November for the ninth consecutive month, following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report. “The Manufacturing PMI® registered 48.2 percent in November, a 0.5-percentage point decrease compared to the reading of 48.7 percent in October. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 67th month after one month of contraction in April 2020. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 42.3 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The New Orders Index contracted for a third straight month in November following one month of growth; the figure of 47.4 percent is 2 percentage points lower than the 49.4 percent recorded in October. The November reading of the Production Index (51.4 percent) is 3.2 percentage points higher than October’s figure of 48.2 percent. The Prices Index remained in expansion (or ‘increasing’ territory), registering 58.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage point compared to the reading of 58 percent reported in October. The Backlog of Orders Index registered 44 percent, down 3.9 percentage points compared to the 47.9 percent recorded in October. The Employment Index registered 44 percent, down 2 percentage points from October’s figure of 46 percent. This suggests manufacturing contracted for the ninth consecutive month in November.. This was below the consensus forecast, and employment was very weak and prices very strong.

ISM® Services Index Increased to 52.6% in November; Employment in Contraction for Sixth Consecutive Month -The ISM® Services index was at 52.6%, up from 52.4% the previous month. The employment index increased to 48.9%, up from 48.2%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 in contraction. From the Institute for Supply Management: Services PMI® at 52.6% November 2025 ISM® Services PMI® Report -The Services PMI® registered at 52.6 percent and is in expansion territory for the ninth time in 2025. “In November, the Services PMI® registered a reading of 52.6 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than the October figure of 52.4 percent. The Business Activity Index continued in expansion territory in November, registering 54.5 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than the reading of 54.3 percent recorded in October. The New Orders Index also remained in expansion in November, with a reading of 52.9 percent, 3.3 percentage points below October’s figure of 56.2 percent but 0.9 percentage point above its 12-month average of 51.7 percent. The Employment Index contracted for the sixth month in a row with a reading of 48.9 percent, a 0.7-percentage point improvement from the 48.2 percent recorded in October — the fourth consecutive monthly increase since a reading of 46.4 percent in July.“The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 54.1 percent, 3.3 percentage points higher than the 50.8 percent recorded in October and 2.2 percentage points above its 12-month average of 51.9 percent. This is the 12th consecutive month that the index has been in expansion territory, indicating slower supplier delivery performance. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM® PMI® Reports index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.)“The Prices Index registered 65.4 percent in November, its lowest reading since hitting 65.1 percent in April 2025. The November figure was a 4.6-percentage point drop from October’s reading of 70 percent. The index has exceeded 60 percent for 12 straight months. Employment was in contraction for the 6th consecutive month, and prices paid remained high.

ADP: Private Employment Decreased 32,000 in November = From ADP: ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Shed 32,000 Jobs in November; Annual Pay was Up 4.4% - “Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “And while November's slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.” This was below the consensus forecast of 20,000 jobs added. The BLS report will NOT be released on Friday due to the government shutdown.

Small Business Job Losses Soar In November; ADP -Graphics Source: ADP and Bloomberg. - Following the last three weeks showing job losses (for ADP's new weekly model)... The official ADP report confirmed this weakness, printing 32k job losses in November (far worse than the +10k expected) and well down from the +47k revised for October... That is the biggest job loss since March 2023. Job creation has been flat during the second half of 2025 and pay growth has been on a downward trend. "Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment," says Dr. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP. "And while November's slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses." Labor market dispersion is rising with an increasing number of industries seeing losses with Goods-Producers suffering their biggest job loss since COVID... November hiring was particularly weak in manufacturing, professional and business services, information, and construction. Year-over-year pay for job-stayers rose 4.4 percent, down from 4.5 percent growth in October. For job-changers, pay was up 6.3 percent, slowing from 6.7 percent growth the month prior. While not the 'official' BLS data, this information definitely supports a tilt towards a dovish rate-cut next week (rather than the hawkish cut expected).

Small businesses suffered major job losses in November, ADP says --Private employers in the United States shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting to see an increase of 40,000. ADP chief economist Nela Richardson described November's jobs data as a "slowdown" that was "broad-based." The drop was "led by a pullback among small businesses," she said. Small firms with fewer than 50 employees led the contraction by far, shedding 120,000 jobs. Smaller businesses have less money and fewer resources than larger companies to contend with higher costs from tariffs, rising utility bills and other economic pressures. The Main Street Alliance, which consists of 30,000 small-business owners, blamed President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans for the difficult conditions. "Today’s ADP report showing a loss of 120,000 small business jobs in November highlights the lasting damage of Trump-era and Republican economic policies," Richard Trent, the group's executive director, told NBC News. "Trade wars, healthcare cuts, and tax breaks for big corporations have left Main Street businesses struggling to hire and grow." The pace of hiring also slowed at medium- and large-sized businesses, although these firms still added a net number of positions. "There would have been a net increase in hiring, but it is those mom-and-pop, Main Street companies, firms, small businesses and establishments that are really weathering what is a uncertain macro environment and a cautious consumer,” Richardson told reporters on a conference call. Among the industries that fared the worst in November were professional/business services, manufacturing and firms that provide information services. One bright spot Richardson highlighted was the natural resources and mining industry, which added 8,000 roles. "I think it is tied to the enormous amount of infrastructure investment that we've seen with data centers, which are resource intensive," she said, referring to dozens of investments that tech and artificial intelligence firms are making in cloud-computing centers that require huge amounts of power. The report comes as the data blackout caused by the government shutdown nears its end. But still, the next government jobs report will not be released until Dec. 18. ADP's Wednesday report will likely fuel further concerns about a deteriorating employment picture, after the most recent federal jobs reports showed a labor market on unsteady ground. In June, the economy shed 13,000 jobs, in July it added 72,000, but then in August it again lost jobs with 4,000 roles being eliminated. The latest report in September showed 119,000 jobs being added across the country. The recent private jobs reports released from ADP also showed unsteadiness. Payrolls at private companies have contracted in four of the last six ADP reports, which are released monthly. "The slowdown in hiring is matched by a slowing in pay growth year over year. Pay for jobs stayers rose 4.4% and that's down from 4.5% in October," Richardson said. The delay in official government data due to the shutdown also means that the Federal Reserve will not receive the all-important jobs report or inflation reports for the month of October. Those were canceled because the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not have staff in place to conduct surveys that inform the report. Likewise, the central bank’s policymakers will not receive November’s employment report or inflation until after their next interest rate-setting meeting Dec. 9-10. While ADP’s report has been used as a substitute for the official jobs report, it only covers some of the private workforce in the U.S. and does not include the local, state or federal government workforce. Economists also typically view ADP’s report as being slightly out of sync with the BLS’ report.

1 In 4 Unemployed Americans Has A Degree - The Future Of White Collar Jobs - With a changing economy, artificial intelligence (AI) replacing many jobs, and widespread unpreparedness for the job market, the time-honored tradition of tossing their caps in the air to celebrate earning their degrees and starting exciting new careers has turned into disappointment for many college graduates.Statistics released by the Department of Labor on Nov. 20 show that 25 percent of the 7.6 million unemployed Americans in September held at least a bachelor’s degree. With more than 1.9 million unemployed college graduates on the market, the September data show little or no change from that of August in major industries to which young degree-holders typically gravitate. These include financial activities, professional and business services, wholesale and retail trade, the federal government, and transportation. The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in September, while the rate for degree holders rose to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent in August—well above the 2.3 percent recorded in September 2024.Stacey Cohen has been working with college graduates, and even high school students, to prepare them for future careers.“I’ve been talking with many recent graduates and a lot of them are frustrated and upset about not finding a job yet,” she told The Epoch Times. “They feel like they’ve worked so hard over the past four years and now nobody wants them.” Cohen believes the current situation, with so many unemployed college graduates, could be the result of several factors, including a changing economy, AI replacing many entry-level jobs, and graduates who may be unprepared for the job market. “One graduate told me about sending hundreds of resumes out and not hearing back from anyone,” she said.

Smartphones at age 12 linked to worse health -Axios - Preteens who own smartphones are likelier to have depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than their peers, according to a new University of Pennsylvania-led study. Roughly half of American kids now own a smartphone by the time they turn 11. Pediatric health groups have recommended appropriate screen time for youths, but there are no public health guidelines on the appropriate age for kids to first get a smartphone, the study says. What they found: Kids who owned a smartphone at age 12 were found to have about 31% higher odds of depression, 40% higher odds of obesity and 62% higher odds of insufficient sleep than their peers who didn't have one. The researchers analyzed data from the National Institutes of Health-supported Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study assessments conducted between 2016 and 2022. The study included responses from 10,588 youths. Kids who had smartphones were more likely to be female, Black or Hispanic, and from lower-income households. The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Pediatrics. The intrigue: The results seem specific to owning a smartphone, the researchers write, since their models accounted for owning other devices like tablets and smartwatches. A separate study published last week found that a one-week social media detox significantly improved mental health outcomes among 373 young adults with problematic social media use. "[S]martphone ownership offers unique challenges as it may grant youth unfettered access to a world for which they may not be ready, without the discipline to effectively manage their own use," the study says. Just like kids' diet, media consumption and relationships, kids' smartphones require dedicated oversight, it adds.

Preteen smartphone users at risk of depression, obesity: Research-- Smartphone ownership among preteens is associated with greater risk of depression, obesity and lack of sleep, according to a new study. The study, set to be published in the January edition of the journal Pediatrics, examined the impacts of smartphone ownership on a group of more than 10,000 adolescents. It found that the odds of depression were 31 percent greater for 12-year-olds who owned smartphones than their peers who did not have smartphones. The odds of obesity and insufficient sleep were also 40 percent and 62 percent higher, respectively. Earlier smartphone ownership was associated with higher rates of obesity and insufficient sleep, the study found. “Given our findings, it is evident that a concrete framework is needed to advise on childhood and early adolescent smartphone ownership to support the healthier development of youth,” it noted. However, the researchers underscored that they are not making the case for restrictions on preteens’ access to smartphones. Rather, they suggested “dedicated oversight” of kids’ smartphone usage. “This is particularly true because there may be various adverse consequences and challenges for certain youths who do not own smartphones, which underscores the need to protect these youths who require smartphones and support families as they embark on this rite of passage,” the study added. The findings come as lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are set to take up a slate of 19 kids’ online safety and privacy related bills Tuesday, including measures to expand privacy protections and require app stores to verify user ages. At the center of this effort is the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill, which seeks to protect children from online harms, passed the Senate last year but failed to clear the House. House lawmakers have proposed a new version of the legislation that would remove the controversial “duty of care” provision, which required companies to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent harms to minors. However, this move has frustrated parent advocates, who said they were “extremely disappointed” by the decision to remove the language and urged Congress to “put KOSA back together again.”

Deep divides plague kids online safety push in House - A push by House lawmakers to advance kids online safety legislation is facing partisan divisions and pushback from key advocates that could spell trouble for the effort, which has struggled to get across the finish line in recent years. This dynamic was on display Tuesday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee weighed a slate of 19 bills, with Democratic lawmakers voicing concerns that key legislation has been watered down — echoing frustrations from parent advocates. The debate centers on revisions to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the crown jewel of the proposed package of bills, which aims to create guardrails to protect kids from online harms. The new version of KOSA, unveiled last week by Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, removes the bill’s controversial “duty of care” provision that required platforms to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent harms to minors. The move seeks to address First Amendment concerns that derailed the legislation in the House last Congress, but could cost the support of Big Tech critics. “This committee knows too well that the Big Tech companies take advantage of young people online,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said at Tuesday’s hearing. “That is why it’s so disappointing that Republicans in the House are offering weak, ineffectual versions of [the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act] and KOSA.” “These versions are a gift to Big Tech companies, and they are a slap in the face to the parents, the experts and the advocates, to bipartisan members of Congress who worked long and hard on strong child protection bills,” she continued. KOSA, which has been introduced several times in recent years, appeared to be gaining momentum last year after clearing the Senate in a 91-3 vote and advancing out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. However, the bill hit a wall with House GOP leadership over free speech concerns. In a last-ditch effort to get the measure across the finish line, its Senate co-sponsors, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), unveiled changes negotiated with Elon Musk’s social platform X. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ultimately threw cold water on the effort, saying he still had concerns with the bill. The latest updates to KOSA take aim at these First Amendment concerns, said Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R- Fla.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. “We’ve seen it in the states. Laws with good intentions have been struck down for violating the First Amendment,” he said Tuesday. “We are learning from those experiences because a law that gets struck down in court does not protect a single child. And the status quo is unacceptable. “I made precise changes to ensure KOSA is durable,” Bilirakis added. “Don’t mistake durability for weakness. This bill has teeth. By focusing on design features rather than protected speech, we will ensure it can withstand legal challenge while delivering real protections for kids and families.” It’s not yet clear whether these changes will allay concerns from House GOP leadership. But when asked Tuesday whether the lower chamber could pass kids safety legislation by the end of this Congress, Johnson appeared hopeful, though he noted he hadn’t yet seen the provisions of the bill.

The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’ --A headteacher is describing how a teenage boy, sitting on a bus on his way home from school, casually pulled out his phone, selected a picture from social media of a girl at a neighbouring school and used a “nudifying” app to doctor her image. It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.”Ten years ago it was sexting and nudes causing havoc in classrooms. Today, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it child’s play to generate deepfake nude images or videos, featuring what appear to be your friends, your classmates, even your teachers. This may involve removing clothes, getting an image to move suggestively or pasting someone’s head on to a pornographic image. The headteacher does not know why this particular girl – a student at her school – was selected, whether the boy knew her, or whether it was completely random. It only came to her attention because he was spotted by another of her pupils who realised what was happening and reported it to the school.The parents were contacted, the boy was traced and the police were called in. But such is the stigma and shame associated with image-based sexual abuse and the sharing of deepfakes that a decision was made that the girl who was the target should not be told.“The girl doesn’t actually even know,” the head said. “I talked to the parents and the parents didn’t want her to know.”The boy on the bus is just one example of how deepfakes and easily accessed nudifying technology are playing out among schoolchildren – often to devastating effect. In Spain last year, 15 boys in the south-western region of Extremadura were sentenced to a year’s probation after being convicted of using AI to produce fake naked images of their female schoolmates, which they shared on WhatsApp groups. About 20 girls were affected, most of them aged 14, while the youngest was 11.In Australia, about 50 high school students at Bacchus Marsh grammar in Victoria reported that their images had been faked and distributed – the mother of one student said her daughter was so horrified by the sexually explicit images that she vomited. In the US, more than 30 female students at Westfield high school in New Jersey discovered that deepfake pornographic images of them had been shared among their male classmates on Snapchat. A new poll of 4,300 secondary school teachers in England, carried out by Teacher Tapp on behalf of the Guardian, found that about one in 10 were aware of students at their school creating “deepfake, sexually explicit videos” in the last academic year.Three-quarters of these incidents involved children aged 14 or younger, while one in 10 incidents involved 11-year-olds, and 3% were younger still, illustrating just how easy the technology is to access and use. Among participating teachers, 7% said they were aware of a single incident, and 1% said it had happened twice, while a similar proportion said it had happened three times or more in the last academic year.Earlier this year, a Girlguiding survey found that one in four respondents aged 13 to 18 had seen a sexually explicit deepfake image of a celebrity, a friend, a teacher or themselves.“A year ago I was using examples from the US and Spain to talk about these issues,” says Margaret Mulholland, a special needs and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders. “Now it’s happening on our doorstep and it’s really worrying.” Last year the Times reportedthat two private schools in the UK were at the centre of a police investigation into the alleged making and sharing of deepfake pornographic images. The newspaper said police were investigating claims that the deepfakes were created at a boys’ school by someone manipulating images taken from the social media accounts of pupils at a girls’ school.The children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has called for nudification apps such as ClothOff, which was investigated as part of the Guardian’s Black Box podcast series about AI, to be banned. “Children have told me they are frightened by the very idea of this technology even being available, let alone used,” she says. It’s not easy to find teachers willing to speak about deepfake incidents. Those who agreed to be interviewed by the Guardian insisted on strict anonymity. Other accounts were provided by academics researching deepfakes in schools, and providers of sex education.

Customs and Border Patrol abducts 2 16-year-old Detroit high school students in predawn raid - Two students from Western International High School (WIHS) in Detroit—16-year-old cousins from Venezuela—were seized by federal immigration agents in a predawn raid on November 20. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents swept into their home on Detroit’s east side with a search warrant for another individual. Not finding their target, the CBP seized the young students together with one parent from each family. The youths are Venezuelan asylum seekers with active cases and valid work permits. They both worked at a Chili’s restaurant and were described as “excellent students.” The young boys and their family members are now imprisoned in the South Texas Family Residential Center, an ICE facility. Attorney George Washington, who is part of the family’s legal team, told the Detroit Free Press that ICE agents entered the home while the occupants were sleeping. “Suddenly, ICE appears at the door, busts into the place, and tells them that they’re all being arrested.” All four who were detained had pending asylum petitions, Washington said. “We have a tremendous immigration lawyer from Detroit who did everything he could,” to assist the four while they remained in Michigan. But, Washington said, they were sent to Texas “too quick.” “He’s going to continue representing them, and we’re going to get them out,” Washington said. These children are not the first Western International students to be abducted. On May 20, 2025, Maykol Bogoya-Duarte was pulled over by Rockwood, Michigan police while on his way to a school field trip. Unable to produce a driver’s license, he was arrested by Border Patrol and deported to Colombia in June. There is no national or statewide database of how many students or youth have been abducted, detained or deported, although the Detroit ICE field office oversaw the deportation of approximately 2,300 people to more than 80 countries in the first six months of 2025. The available information indicates that these deportees include at least 40 children under 16, the youngest of whom is three or four years old. “This is very wrong! Kids shouldn’t be taken,” “School is supposed to be a safe space. They were kidnapped by ICE even though they were following the rules. This is kidnapping, no matter how you cut it. Kidnapping in its finest form. Kids should be able to go to school without having to be worried about if ICE is going to take them or not.” High school students nationally are incensed at the brutal attacks on their classmates. Last week, more than 56,000 students in districts across North Carolina walked out or did not go to school to protest the presence of ICE and Border Patrol. Western International students walked out last March to protest Trump’s deportations. A Western International teacher, speaking to the WSWS, explained that fliers in the school first said the students were “missing.” “We just thought they were missing. Everyone thought that it was a non-governmental, ordinary criminal who kidnapped them. Then we found out it was ICE. “The abduction is quick, but the process takes so long when ICE abducts people. Even when someone is arrested for a crime they are given due process, then everyone knows what happened and where they are. “How do they get away with this? Not letting anyone know? The rapidity of this is outrageous. If you can’t identify yourself and explain what you’re doing, you are trying to outrun due process, and that is wrong. It is illegal and should be stopped.

College student deported on way home to surprise parents— A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and, within two days, sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age 7. Babson College has instructed faculty and staff to provide her “academic and community support.” Lopez Belloza, a freshman, is studying business at Babson, which has 2,800 undergraduate students at its campus in Wellesley, just west of Boston. Caitlin Capozzi, the dean of campus life, said the college is following protocols and staying informed, and provided links to resources for students. A message posted online from college President Stephen Spinelli said the college would not be commenting further due to legal and privacy considerations. “We understand that this news may feel unsettling, particularly for our students, faculty, and staff who may already be navigating uncertainty,” he wrote.

Lawyer says student who was removed despite a court order was 'deported in shackles' - ABC News -The attorney representing a 19-year-old college student who was removed to Honduras, despite a court order, while on her way home for Thanksgiving break, said his client was "deported in shackles like she's a murder suspect." "They deported a child alone in shackles and handcuffs a few days before Thanksgiving," attorney Todd Pomerleau told ABC News. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, who entered the U.S. from Honduras when she was a young child, was about to board her flight from Massachusetts to Texas last Friday to visit her parents and siblings when airport authorities arrested her. Court documents obtained by ABC News show that within hours of her detainment, a federal judge ordered the government not to remove Lopez Belloza from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts. But according to Pomerleau, Lopez Belloza was transferred that evening to Texas and deported to Honduras the next day. "She came here around seven years old, no, fleeing persecution with her family seeking asylum ... and now she's sitting in Honduras," Pomerleau said. "This shouldn't happen to her at all." Pomerleau said that immigration authorities informed Lopez Belloza that she was issued a removal order in 2015, but that he hasn't seen a record of her original deportation order even though such orders are usually available in the Executive Office for Immigration Review database. Regardless, Pomerleau said, she should not have been deported because a federal judge blocked her removal. "The lack of communication from ICE and the fast-paced nature of their actions are highlighted with Any being deported despite a federal judge's order to maintain the status quo," Pomerleau said. Pomerleau said he will be seeking Lopez Belloza's return. "She had protections under the law," he said. "She was still in U.S. soil, and the Constitution applies to her like it does to everybody else. So we're going to make sure her rights are upheld. We're not stopping till she's returned."

College student deported over Thanksgiving: Why is Trump targeting ‘people like me’? - A college student deported while attempting to catch a flight home for Thanksgiving break questioned why the Trump administration was “targeting” people like her. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, was detained by immigration authorities on Nov. 20 at Boston Logan International Airport. She was planning to surprise her family in Texas for the holiday. “Why is he getting people who are living in the United States working day and night, people, people like me, who are in college, doing their dreams, having an education?” she asked in an interview with ABC published Thursday. Lopez Belloza, an immigrant from Honduras and a Babson College student, is one of half a million migrants who have been deported during President Trump’s second stint in office. Lopez Belloza, who entered the U.S. as a child, was sent back to Honduras days after being detained despite a ​​federal judge’s order not to remove her from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts, according to documents obtained by ABC. “It feels unfair,” Lopez Belloza told the outlet. “If there was an order, then why did everything happen to me so fast, within three days?” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Lopez Belloza’s deportation was justified because of a past order for removal issued in 2015. “This illegal alien entered the country in 2014 and an immigration judge ordered her removed from the country in 2015, over 10 years ago. She has illegally stayed in the country since,” a DHS spokesperson told ABC. “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to fly home for free and receive $1,000 stipend, while preserving the option to return the legal, right way,” they added. “It’s an easy choice leave voluntarily and receive $1,000 check or stay and wait till you are fined $1,000 day, arrested, and deported without a possibility to return legally.”

International students fear travel amid Donald Trump's immigration enforcement -International students are taking a close look at their holiday travel plans amid increased concerns over President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has threatened the status of thousands since he took office. Foreign visitors are eyeing travel with fear after seeing at least one student deported over Thanksgiving break when visiting family and watching other reports of students who have been detained over the past year with no prior notification or criminal activity. Advocates say students and schools are struggling to find the right balance between concern and overcaution amid the administration’s general hostility and lack of transparency. During Thanksgiving travel, Babson College freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was set to fly from Boston to Texas to see her family but was detained by immigration officials after going through airport security. Lopez Belloza, who came to the U.S. at 7 years old, was swiftly deported back to Honduras. The Trump administration said she had a deportation order dating back to 2015, but her lawyer said he cannot find any record of the order and his client was never informed of the decision. The deportation also came after a federal judge issued an emergency order that Lopez Belloza could not be sent out of the country for at least 72 hours. “I wouldn’t typically classify her as an international student, which makes it even more alarming that here’s essentially a Dreamer going back to Texas and being stopped in a domestic flight within the United States and then sent back to her home country,” said Shaun Carver, president of the International House Association. “Just anecdotally talking to our residents … there are some that are concerned about these types of stories and this unpredictability of who and when and how enforcement is going to take place, and certainly they’re adjusting the travel plans,” added Carver, who is also the CEO of the International House at the University of California, Berkeley. Lopez Belloza’s swift deportation is only the latest example of the administration’s actions against foreign students. The president has talked about wanting to limit international enrollment more broadly, added a social media component to the student visa vetting process, pulled thousands of visa registrations before a court ordered them restored and repeatedly targeted for deportation students who were involved in the pro-Palestinian movement on campuses. Trump has also launched broader immigration enforcement efforts across the country, just this week announcing new federal action in New Orleans and the Twin Cities.

Group sues Hispanic Scholarship Fund for excluding non-Hispanic students -- An anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) group on Wednesday sued the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) for excluding non-Hispanic students from funding opportunities.The American Alliance for Equal Rights alleged the HSF was violating the Civil Rights Act of 1866 by not offering benefits to all.According to the lawsuit, the group has awarded more than $750 million in scholarships to more than 65,000 students. Winners receive a range of prizes, from “lucrative scholarships, to exclusive mentorship opportunities, to private seminars and more.”The American Alliance for Equal Rights says two students who are members of their organization “are being harmed” by the HSF’s ethnic requirements.“HSF is intentionally discriminating based on ethnicity,” the American Alliance for Equal Rights’ lawyers wrote, citing a previous case against Oberlin College denoting proof of a facially discriminatory policy as “direct evidence of discriminatory intent.” “Here, there’s both. The program ‘facially discriminat[es]’ against anyone who isn’t Hispanic. And HSF’s ‘corporate decision maker[s]’ have expressed a ‘desire to avoid’ contracting with non-Hispanics by broadcasting their anti-Hispanic bar on their Facebook account and their website,” they added.The case coincides with the Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI which has been supported by many conservative activists but opposed by others.

University of Alabama suspends Black, female student magazines citing Donald Trump's DEI rules - The University of Alabama has suspended two university-funded student magazines, citing a federal memo on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi.The publications — Alice, a fashion and wellness magazine that primarily covers women, and Nineteen Fifty-Six, a magazine that covers Black student life and culture — were launched in 2015 and 2020, respectively, according to the university’s student newspaper, the Crimson White.“It is so disheartening to know that so many of us have put so much work into these magazines that are now being censored,” said Alice editor-in-chief Gabrielle Gunter. “Alice is what got me into journalism, and it breaks my heart that there will no longer be spaces like Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six where students can learn to create beautiful, diverse magazines that honor all types of identities.”Gunter told the New York Times that Alice was in the process of putting together its next issue when the team received the news.Kendal Wright, editor-in-chief of Nineteen Fifty-Six, said she was “deeply saddened” by the university’s decision to suspend the magazine.“This publication has cultivated incredibly talented and budding Black student journalists and brought our community on campus together in such a beautiful way,” Wright said.In July, Bondi issued a memo in which she included recommendations on how institutions receiving federal funding could avoid what the Trump administration deemed unlawful practices, and said the Justice Department will “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.”Steven Hood, the university’s vice president of student life, told students that because the magazines target a specific audience, they are considered “unlawful proxies.” Hood said the movie was the university’s decision and had not been spurred by a complaint.

University of Oklahoma instructor on leave after failing grade on gender essay - A graduate instructor at the University of Oklahoma was placed on leave after giving a student a failing grade for rejecting the notion that someone’s identity can fall outside of the two genders assigned at birth. Samantha Fulnecky, 20, received zero points out of 25 total on a 650-word essay assignment requiring students to respond to an academic study that examined whether conformity with gender norms was associated with popularity or bullying among middle school students. “God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind,” Fulnecky wrote in her essay provided to The Oklahoman. “It is frustrating to me when I read articles like this and discussion posts from my classmates of so many people trying to conform to the same mundane opinion, so they do not step on people’s toes. I think that is a cowardly and insincere way to live,” she added. However, her instructor said the submission failed to “answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive.” “While you are entitled to your own personal beliefs, there is an appropriate time or place to implement them in your reflections. I encourage all students to question or challenge the course material with other empirical findings or testable hypotheses, but using your own personal beliefs to argue against the findings of not only this article, but the findings of countless articles across psychology, biology, sociology, etc. is not best practice,” the instructor added. The school has not revealed the identity of the instructor, who was placed on leave on Nov. 30, according to The Oklahoman.

Northwestern agrees to pay $75M to restore funding amid Trump antisemitism probe -- Northwestern University on Friday agreed to pay $75 million to the Trump administration to end its investigation into alleged antisemitism on campus and to resume millions of dollars in federal funding that was previously frozen.The university will “adhere to federal anti-discrimination laws, ensuring that the university does not preference individuals based on race, color, or national origin in admissions, scholarships, hiring, or promotion,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release. “Northwestern shall maintain clear policies and procedures relating to demonstrations, protests, displays, and other expressive activities, as well as implement mandatory antisemitism training for all students, faculty, and staff,” the statement continued.In fulfilling its agreement with DOJ, the Education Department and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Northwestern will be eligible for contracts and future grants. It will pay the $75 million to the federal government through 2028, according to the administration. Government agencies investigating the Chicago-area university will close their probes. Under penalty of perjury, Northwestern’s president and chair of the board of trustees will certify each quarter that the university is complying with the agreement.

AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions - Students applying to college know they can't—or at least shouldn't—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be a delicate topic, and not all colleges are eager to talk about it, but higher education is among the many industries where artificial intelligence is rapidly taking on tasks once reserved for humans. In some cases, schools are quietly slipping AI into their evaluation process, experts say. Others are touting the technology's potential to speed up their review of applications, cut processing times and even perform some tasks better than humans. "Humans get tired; some days are better than others. The AI does not get tired. It doesn't get grumpy. It doesn't have a bad day. The AI is consistent," says Juan Espinoza, vice provost for enrollment management at Virginia Tech. This fall, Virginia Tech is debuting an AI-powered essay reader. The college expects it will be able to inform students of admissions decisions a month sooner than usual, in late January, because of the tool's help sorting tens of thousands of applications. Colleges stress they are not relying on AI to make admissions decisions, using it primarily to review transcripts and eliminate data-entry tasks. But artificial intelligence also is playing a role in evaluating students. Some highly selective schools are adopting AI tools to vet the increasingly curated application packages that some students develop with the help of high-priced admissions consultants.The California Institute of Technology is launching an AI tool this fall to look for "authenticity" in students who submit research projects with their applications, admissions director Ashley Pallie said. Students upload their research to an AI chatbot that interviews them about it on video, which is then reviewed by Caltech faculty. "It's a gauge of authenticity. Can you claim this research intellectually? Is there a level of joy around your project? That passion is important to us," Pallie said. The prevalence of AI usage is difficult to gauge because it is such a new trend, said Ruby Bhattacharya, chair of the admission practices committee at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. NACAC updated its ethics guide this fall to add a section on artificial intelligence. It urges colleges to ensure the way they use it "aligns with our shared values of transparency, integrity, fairness and respect for student dignity." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faced a barrage of negative feedback from applicants, parents and students after its student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, reported in January the school was using AI to evaluate the grammar and writing style of applicants' essays. The university declined to comment for this article and referred to its admissions website, which it updated after the criticism. "UNC uses AI programs to provide data points about students' common application essay and their school transcripts," the website says. Every application "is evaluated comprehensively by extensively trained human application evaluators." At Virginia Tech, Espinoza said he has been contacted by several colleges that are interested in the new technology but wary of backlash. "The feedback from a lot of colleagues is, 'You roll this out, we're watching you, and we'll see how everyone's reacting,'" he said.

Most Americans don’t see value of 4-year college degree: Survey -- Most Americans don’t see the value in a four-year degree in higher education, according to a new poll.An NBC News survey found 63 percent of people saying a bachelor’s degree is “not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off,” while 33 percent of survey participants said a four-year college degree is “worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime.”The results are much different compared to 2017, when NBC News found that 49 percent of U.S. adults said a degree was worth the cost and 47 percent said it wasn’t.However, new sentiments have impacted college enrollment at four-year universities.The student population at community colleges is steadily increasing as economic circumstances drive more students into vocational programs and others have begun taking college-level courses earlier with dual-enrollment programs in high school. Community colleges are currently educating more than 12 million students across the country. “It’s just remarkable to see attitudes on any issue shift this dramatically, and particularly on a central tenet of the American dream, which is a college degree. Americans used to view a college degree as aspirational — it provided an opportunity for a better life. And now that promise is really in doubt,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the NBC News poll.

Glucose monitor problems linked with deaths, injuries: FDA — At least seven deaths and hundreds of serious injuries may be tied to malfunctioning glucose monitors manufactured by Abbott Diabetes Care, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The agency, citing internal testing by Abbott, has issued an “early alert” that some FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus devices may provide incorrect, low glucose readings. About 3 million devices are affected by the issue, which was traced to one production line.“If undetected, incorrect low glucose readings over an extended period may lead to incorrect treatment decisions for people living with diabetes, such as excessive carbohydrate intake or skipping or delaying insulin doses. These decisions may pose serious health risks, including potential injury or death, or other less serious complications,” Abbott said in a recent news release. As of November, Abbott said, the company had received reports of 736 “severe adverse events,” including 57 in the United States, potentially related to the issue. The seven deaths associated with the problem have all been outside the U.S., Abbott said.The company urges potentially affected consumers to visit www.FreeStyleCheck.com. Abbott will replace any sensors that fall all under the “medical device correction” announcement.

Feds ‘reconsider’ black lung protections as cases surge - - The Trump administration is considering changes to black lung protections that U.S. coal miners have lobbied federal agencies to keep and enforce in the face of debilitating and deadly diseases.Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer plans to “reconsider and seek comments” on parts of the Biden-era silica rule that mining companies and trade groups are fighting in court, according to an attorney for the Labor Department.“The Secretary will engage in limited rulemaking to reconsider and seek comments on portions of the Silica Rule impacted by this appeal,” Brad Mantel, an attorney representing the secretary and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit last week.The comments provide a window into the Trump administration’s plans for a long-awaited rule completed by the Biden administration last year, which would have reduced exposure limits for miners to airborne silica — crystals that can reach deep into the lungs when inhaled — to 50 micrograms. The rule also called on companies to conduct more testing for silica in all types of mines and expand medical surveillance programs that are available to coal miners. More than 50 miners, their supporters and medical experts rallied outside the department’s headquarters in Washington in October to call for the rule to be saved, warning that younger miners are contracting deadly diseases. The Biden administration estimated the rule would prevent more than 1,000 deaths and 3,700 cases of black lung.Across the U.S., miners and those working in mines are contracting black lung at younger ages. The highest rates — 1 in 5 miners — are occurring in areas like coal-rich Appalachia that have seen decades of heavy extraction, according to data from the Labor Department.Gary Hairston, a former West Virginia coal miner and president of the National Black Lung Association, during a phone interview with POLITICO’s E&E News reiterated that there appears to be a lack of urgency around getting the rule enforced and said the current standard that was voted on is strong. “They ain’t worried about stopping it,” said Hairston.Indeed, the rule has been under attack in the courts and on Capitol Hill.Trump officials earlier this year froze the rule, citing agency cutbacks, legal challenges and the government shutdown, despite calling for more coal mining and use. MSHA in April then delayed implementation of the rule by four months, blaming an ongoing restructuring of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.In early April, the appeals court granted the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association’s request for an emergency stay of the rule. The association at the time argued the rule was “deeply flawed” and faulted MSHA for not allowing companies to include personal respirators toward compliance. The group also argued the pending deadline was “generating extreme costs for coal mining operators.” The Trump administration later asked the court for more time to work through arguments, citing the government shutdown.MSHA did not respond when asked what parts of the rule would be reconsidered.Conor Bernstein, a spokesperson for the National Mining Association, which is one of the petitioners in the case, said industry’s position remains unchanged.“From our perspective, we have consistently said that the MSHA rule must align with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s silica rule on methods of compliance, and that position has not changed,” said Bernstein.“Consistent with recognized industrial hygiene practices utilized by OSHA, and elsewhere, we believe effective implementation of the MSHA rule needs to allow for the use of administrative controls and personal protective equipment for compliance with the standard to supplement and enhance engineering controls,” he added.

Internet of Beings: The Dream of Digitising Human Bodies for Healthcare (and the Nightmare) -In the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, a spacecraft and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into the body of an injured astronaut to remove a life-threatening blood clot from his brain. The Academy Award-winning movie – later developed into a novel by Isaac Asimov – seemed like pure fantasy at the time. However, it anticipated what could be the next revolution in medicine: the idea that ever-smaller and more sophisticated sensors are about to enter our bodies, connecting human beings to the internet.This “internet of beings” could be the third and ultimate phase of the internet’s evolution. After linking computers in the first phase and everyday objects in the second, global information systems would now connect directly to our organs. According to natural scientists, who recently met in Dubai for a conference titled Prototypes for Humanity, this scenario is becoming technically feasible. The impact on individuals, industries and societies will be enormous.The idea of digitising human bodies inspires both dreams and nightmares. Some Silicon Valley billionaires fantasise about living forever, while security experts worry that the risks of hacking bodies dwarf current cybersecurity concerns. As I discuss in my forthcoming book, Internet of Beings, this technology will have at least three radical consequences.First, permanent monitoring of health conditions will make it far easier to detect diseases before they develop. Treatment costs much more than prevention, but sophisticated tracking could replace many drugs with less invasive measures – changes in diet or more personalised exercise routines.Millions of deaths could be prevented simply by sending alerts in time. In the US alone, 170,000 of the 805,000 heart attacks each year are “silent” because people don’t recognise the symptoms.Second, the sensors – better called biorobots, since they’ll probably be made of gel – are becoming capable of not just monitoring the body but actively healing it. They could release doses of aspirin when detecting a blood clot, or activate vaccines when viruses attack.The mRNA vaccines developed for COVID may have opened this frontier. Advances in gene editing technologies may even lead to biorobots that can perform microsurgery with minuscule protein-made “scissors” that repair damaged DNA. Third, and most important, medical research and drug discovery will be turned on its head. Today, scientists propose hypotheses about substances that might work against certain conditions, then test them through expensive, time-consuming trials. In the internet of beings era, the process reverses: huge databases generate patterns showing what works for a problem, and scientists work backwards to understand why. Solutions will be developed much more quickly, cheaply and precisely. The era of one-size-fits-all medicine is already ending, but the internet of beings will go much further. Each person could receive daily advice on medication doses tailored to micro-changes such as body temperature or sleep quality.The organisation of medical research itself will transform radically. Enormous amounts of data from bodies living natural lives might reveal that some headaches are caused by how we walk, or that brains and feet influence each other in unexpected ways.Research currently focuses on specific diseases and organs. In future, this could shift to the use of increasingly sophisticated “digital twins” – virtual models of a person’s biology that update in real time using their health data. These simulations can be used to test treatments, predict how the body will respond and explore disease before it appears. Such a shift would fundamentally change what we mean by life science.The dream here isn’t to defeat ageing, as some transhumanists claim. It’s more concrete: making healthcare accessible to all Americans, saving the UK’s NHS,defeating cancers, reaching poorer countries and helping everyone live longer without disease.The nightmare, however, is about losing our humanity while digitising our bodies. The internet of beings is one of the most fascinating possibilities that technology is opening up – but we need to explore it carefully. We’re resuming the voyage that humankind was travelling in those optimistic years of the 1960s, when we landed on an alien planet for the first time. Only now, the alien territory we’re exploring is ourselves.

Study highlights hospital-based bacterial, fungal outbreaks during COVID pandemic -- An overview of hospital-based bacterial and fungal outbreaks worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the strain placed that was place on infection prevention and control (IPC) programs, researchers reported this week in the American Journal of Infection Control.In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 studies conducted in university and tertiary hospitals in 13 countries, researchers from Koc University in Istanbul identified 619 outbreak-related cases of bacterial and fungal infections reported from January 2020 through March 2024. The authors note that while several studies have examined the rise in healthcare-associated infections during the pandemic, fewer have examined unexpected outbreaks attributable to specific bacterial and fungal pathogens.“Existing reviews have mostly addressed antimicrobial resistance trends or secondary infections during the pandemic but have not examined outbreak dynamics or variations across settings and time periods,” they wrote.Among the identified outbreaks, the most frequently reported pathogens were Acinetobacter baumannii, Candida auris, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which combined accounted for 95% of all outbreak-related cases. The pooled case-fatality rates for the three pathogens (A baumannii, 59%; C auris, 52%; K pneumoniae, 48%) all exceeded values reported in pre-pandemic studies, the authors said. Approximately two-thirds of outbreak-related cases subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing contained multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates. Outbreaks were most frequently reported in hospitals in Brazil, Qatar, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States. The media duration of outbreaks was nearly six months. Commonly reported contributing factors included staff shortages, insufficient IPC training, and inconsistent environmental cleaning or disinfection practices.

FDA official proposes ‘impossible’ standards for vaccine testing that could curtail access to immunizations -The top vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to impose vague but sweeping new standards on vaccine testing that, health experts say, would impede the development of new immunizations and likely curtail access to life-saving shots, according to a memo sent to staff on October 28. Vinay Prasad, MD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), proposed the "path forward" in an internal memo in which he claimed—but provided no evidence—that COVID-19 vaccines caused the death of 10 children. Many infectious disease experts say Prasad should share the evidence on which he based his argument. Linking a vaccine to an adverse event requires a high level of evidence, including autopsy results and medical records that rule out other causes of death and show whether the affected person was infected with the coronavirus itself, said Paul Offit, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine. Prasad is "making a fairly fantastic statement," Offit said. "He should provide extraordinary evidence that that's clear, and he didn't, which is incredibly irresponsible and unprofessional to do."In the memo, Prasad wrote that the FDA's current vaccine approval process falls short. In the future, the FDA will "demand pre-market randomized trials assessing clinical endpoints for most new products," including vaccines, Prasad wrote. He noted that COVID-19 vaccines have not been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in pregnant women. Such trials are the most rigorous type of study, but they can cost millions of dollars and take years to produce results."We will not be granting marketing authorization to vaccines in pregnant women" without such evidence, Prasad wrote. The memo's contents were first reported by a PBS News correspondent in a series of posts on X, the social media platform.Demanding an RCT would prevent pregnant women from receiving most vaccines, said Jake Scott, MD, a clinical associate professor of infectious disease and geographic medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.That's because pregnant women are almost never included in RCTs of vaccines or other drugs due to potential risks to the fetus, Scott said. Instead, the FDA does careful safety monitoring and measures antibody levels in women's blood, which can show whether the vaccine is generating an immune response.In his memo, Prasad also wrote that "pneumonia vaccine makers will have to show their products reduce pneumonia," at least after they're licensed, rather than provide indirect evidence of protection, such as antibody levels. Prasad appears to refer to a childhood pneumonia vaccine that blocks infections with pneumococcus bacteria, which has been updated and improved several times over the years, said Dorit Reiss, PhD, a law professor at the University of California Law, San Francisco. Although the first version of the vaccine protected children from seven bacterial strains, the latest iteration protects against 20 strains. Pneumococcal vaccines on the market today are approved based on antibody levels that correlate with protection and have been validated over decades, Scott said.Proving that childhood vaccines prevent cases of pneumonia would be difficult, Scott said, because so many pathogens can cause pneumonia, including the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).Requiring manufacturers to conduct additional clinical trials every time they want to add additional viral or bacterial strains would delay updates by several years, all the while leaving people vulnerable to the bacteria, Reiss said. Some companies may decide that conducting such trials is too expensive. "You'd need massive, expensive trials that many companies won't pursue," Scott said. Conducting RCTs of proven vaccines could also be unethical, said Jesse Goodman, MD, who previously filled Prasad's role at the FDA and now directs Georgetown University's Center on Medical Product Access, Safety and Stewardship. "It would be unethical to use placebos and let people get pneumococcal pneumonia," Goodman said.

Former FDA heads, Sen Cassidy push back on FDA official’s claim of 10 COVID vaccine deaths -Twelve former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioners yesterday published a commentary calling out Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, for proposing sweeping changes to vaccine safety regulation based on what he claims, without presenting evidence, are 10 deaths in children caused by COVID-19 vaccines.In addition, Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), on the social media platform X called for a full Senate briefing on the deaths.“We are deeply concerned by sweeping new FDA assertions about vaccine safety and proposals that would undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure that vaccines are safe, effective, and available when the public needs them most,” wrote the former FDA directors in the New England Journal of Medicine. “The proposed new directives are not small adjustments or coherent policy updates,” the group add. “They represent a major shift in the FDA’s understanding of its job.”They ex-commissioners write, “The stated motivation for these sweeping changes is the deaths of 10 children, which the FDA leadership asserts were caused by Covid-19 vaccines. … The memo [from Prasad] offered no explanation of the process and analyses that were used to reach the new retrospective judgment, nor did it indicate why that assessment should justify wholesale rewriting of vaccine regulation.“The reanalysis relied on adverse event reports filed in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a passive postapproval surveillance system that collects unverified reports, from any source, of events occurring after vaccination. VAERS reports, by themselves, cannot be used to determine whether a vaccine caused a particular event.”The group also note, “The memo asserts, incorrectly, that ‘we do not have reliable data’ on the benefits of Covid vaccination in children.”On his post on X, Cassidy wrote, “FDA has not published any data around the alleged deaths or explained the process they took to verify it. I’ve asked FDA for a full briefing on this. The American people deserve clarity. Withholding this critical information is not radical transparency and will worsen confusion and fear among patients and parents.”

Changing the FDA’s Vaccine Approval Process Could Threaten COVID, Flu Protection for Children Scientific American -- In a memo obtained by the New York Times and other outlets, a top FDA official directly linked the deaths of 10 children to COVID vaccines but included scant details about the cases, including the specific vaccine in question or how the FDA came to its conclusions. The memo, which was written by FDA chief medical and scientific officer Vinay Prasad and apparently leaked days before a key vaccine advisory panel is set to meet, outlines several proposals to change the way vaccines are tested and approved in the U.S. that experts said are not based in science. The proposals include requiring vaccine makers to study new shots in all subgroups (including pregnant people), changing how the annual flu shot is approved and reconsidering whether the flu and COVID shots can be gotten together. Collectively, the changes would require vaccine makers to show far more data on safety and efficacy, driving up costs and ultimately making childhood vaccinations less accessible, experts say. “It means that every vaccine that could save us from going into the hospital with one of these respiratory viruses will now be delayed,” And spreading out vaccines rather than giving them at the same time would create “a lot of complexity and confusion and isn’t really based on the science of immunology,” she adds. COVID vaccines have been extensively tested for safety. As with any vaccine, there are potential risks, which regulators weigh against the benefits in protecting against disease. In the case of the COVID shots, scientists identified rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, in some boys and young men who received mRNA COVID vaccines. But these cases generally resolved without treatment, and COVID and other infections can also trigger the condition. “The COVID vaccine, and mRNA vaccines in general, remain one of the safest vaccine platforms that we’ve ever seen developed,” Permar says. In the memo, the FDA calls for stricter requirements for approving vaccines for pregnant women, the Washington Post reported, a move that could affect both expectant parents and young babies. Pregnant people have a higher risk of severe disease and death from COVID, so making it harder for them to get vaccinated would jeopardize their health and that of their fetus, Permar says. The same is true for flu, which is why doctors recommend that all pregnant people get a flu shot. Young babies are also among the highest-risk groups because they have little to no immunity to the disease, Permar says. Maternal vaccination or infection protects babies under six months of age, but after that point, their immunity starts to wane. The COVID vaccines were approved for children six months and older as a way to provide continuing protection. The memo also reportedly called for re-examining how the annual flu shot is approved. Scientists have decades of evidence to show that the flu vaccine is safe and effective at keeping people out of the hospital, even if it doesn’t prevent them from getting sick, Permar says. Every year the flu virus evolves, so the vaccine is tweaked slightly to match circulating strains. These seasonal variations are not typically tested in a full-blown clinical trial, but under the FDA’s proposal, that could change—costing vaccine makers much more money and time. The FDA is also reportedly reconsidering whether COVID and flu shots should be given together. Trump administration secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—and President Donald Trump himself—have previously suggested that childhood vaccines should be more spaced out. Evidence does not support this. Combination vaccines such as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine have been shown to be as safe and effective, or more so, than giving children the shots individually. Spacing them out would only require parents to make more trips to the pediatrician, leading to lower uptake, Permar says.

Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B saves lives. Why might a CDC panel stop recommending it? -Like many people with chronic hepatitis B, Lee contracted the virus from his mother during birth. Lee didn't learn he was infected until he was 40, when his mother underwent a liver transplant due to organ failure caused by hepatitis B.By the time Lee was diagnosed, he already had advanced cirrhosis, a serious liver disease. He has since undergone surgery to remove growths on his liver, followed by chemotherapy to treat liver cancer caused by the virus, as well as a liver transplant. Although Lee is healthy today at 68, he will need to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life to prevent his immune system from attacking his new liver.Yet Lee considers himself lucky; he doesn't need to worry that his children will develop the same disease. All three were vaccinated against hepatitis B, the first anti-cancer vaccine approved in the United States.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first recommended vaccinating all babies against hepatitis B at birth in 1991. Since then, chronic hepatitis B infections in children and adolescents have fallen by 99%. A study published in 2022 found that US children who received the vaccines as newborns were 22% less likely to die from any cause. Vaccination has had even more dramatic effects in Taiwan, which in 1984 became the first country to vaccinate all newborns against the virus. Mortality from a life-threatening form of hepatitis B in infantsfell by more than 90% from 1977-1980 to 2009-2011, according to a research letter in JAMA. Mortality from chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer that can be caused by hepatitis B, fell by more than 90% among people age 5 to 29 from 1977-1980 to 2001-2004. US vaccination efforts, which began in limited populations in 1984, are expected to prevent 9.5 million acute cases of hepatitis B infection and 2.4 million chronic cases by 2050, saving over 600,000 lives, said Devin Razavi-Shearer, MPH, director of the Polaris Observatory at the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation, a nonprofit research group that specializes in the study of complex and poorly understood diseases. Yet the vaccination programs’ success is now in danger. The Trump administration has questioned the safety and necessity of the hepatitis B vaccine for months.In September, the ACIP postponed a vote on changing its recommendation for hepatitis B vaccines. But the committee is scheduled to reconsider the birth dose of hepatitis vaccine—along with safety of other childhood immunizations—at meetings tomorrow and Friday. The committee, whose members were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., plans to vote to stop recommending the universal birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, according to an interview with the committee's new chair, Kirk Milhoan, MD, PhD, published in theWashington Post yesterday. Instead, members could vote to withhold the first dose of hepatitis vaccine until babies are older. Many of the new members of the ACIP have expressed anti-vaccine views. Few have any experience with vaccine research.A vote against the birth dose could lead insurance plans—which tend to base their coverage of vaccines on ACIP recommendation—to stop paying for the shots. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which publishes its own vaccine schedule, still recommends the universal birth dose.

During chaotic meeting, CDC advisers handpicked by RFK Jr. postpone vote on changing hepatitis B vaccine recommendations - During a contentious meeting dominated by racial innuendo and anti-vaccine talking points, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today voted to delay a decision on whether to recommend scaling back infant vaccinations for hepatitis B, a virus that kills 1.1 million people around the world each year. Several members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) asked for the postponement after complaining that they hadn't been given sufficient time to consider the wording of the proposal. The committee, whose members were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is now scheduled to vote on hepatitis B vaccines tomorrow. Although the hepatitis B vaccine is widely heralded as a public health success story, Kennedy has long targeted the vaccine as unnecessary and dangerous. He has suggested, without evidence, that hepatitis B vaccines cause autism. Joseph Hibbeln, MD, a psychiatrist, said committee members weren’t consulted when developing the questions on which to vote. "I protest the description that the ACIP members have been consulted in developing these questions,” said Hibbeln, who worked at the National Institutes of Health and served in the US Public Health Service. He complained that the wording of the proposal had changed three times in the past three days, which prevented committee members from considering it carefully. "We are trying to evaluate a moving target, Hibbeln said. "We really need to know what we are voting on." The hastily updated wording also caused a CDC scientist to revise her presentation about how a new recommendation would affect coverage by the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, which pays for immunizations for about half of children. The committee waited for her to update her slides, then moved on and eventually came back to her. We are trying to evaluate a moving target. We really need to know what we are voting on. Representatives of the VFC Program and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services both said they would continue to cover hepatitis B vaccines. Grant Paulsen, MD, a liaison member representing the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, asked the committee why it decided to revisit the hepatitis vaccine’s safety when there have been no new publications that raise concerns. The reply came from committee member Vicky Pebsworth, PhD, RN, the research director of the National Vaccine Information Center, one of the country’s oldest anti-vaccine groups. Her answer was vague: “We were aware that there was pressure coming from stakeholder groups wanting the policy to be revisited,” she said. This was the not the first time that ACIP has struggled to cast a vote. The committee also postponed a vote on hepatitis B vaccines at its September meeting. Also at the September meeting, the committee reversed a decision made the day before about whether to recommend VFC coverage for a vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, known as the MMRV. Members of the committee asked for a do-over because several said they were confused about what they were voting for.

Relatively calm afternoon ACIP session still cauldron of ‘misinformation, disinformation, and information taken out of context’ - As the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting moved into its second afternoon, members turned their focus to the childhood vaccine schedule, although no votes were planned or cast. ACIP makes vaccination recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including those for different age-groups and disease risk status, as well as on US immunization schedules for children, adolescents, and adults. The CDC director has ultimate discretion whether to approve ACIP’s advice, and physicians can make their own decisions about whether to comply, but ACIP recommendations have historically affected vaccine insurance coverage. The first presenter, Aaron Siri, JD, spoke about the childhood and adolescent vaccination schedule. Siri is an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and has worked with Kennedy on vaccine-related lawsuits. His inclusion as a presenter was denounced by experts, including US Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), who posted yesterday on X (formerly Twitter): “Aaron Siri is a trial attorney who makes his living suing vaccine manufacturers. He is presenting as if an expert on childhood vaccines. The ACIP is totally discredited. They are not protecting children.” Siri’s presentation focused on what he described as a lack of placebo-controlled trials in determining vaccine safety, a lack of large-scale studies (saying most studies were “underpowered”), and the short timeframe between licensure and recommendation. Siri also blamed the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which grants immunity to vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits related to adverse side effects for leading to a lack of oversight. He also encouraged the committee to depoliticize vaccines. “The only way you depoliticize vaccines is you need to take them out of politics… you have to end the mandate. Mandates make vaccines political.” When Siri concluded his presentation, Robert Malone, MD, a vaccinologist at Louisiana State University who led the two-day meeting, was directed to address the question of why Mr. Siri had been asked to speak and whether other voices and points of view were solicited to participate in the discussion. ACIP Executive Secretary Mina Zadeh, who replaced veteran committee meeting coordinator Melinda Wharton when secretary Kennedy fired all previous ACIP members in June, noted that Peter Jay Hotez, MD, PhD, the Director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, and Paul Offit, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, had been invited to speak but both declined. She did not address why Siri was chosen to speak. H. Cody Meissner, MD, retired chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Tufts Medical Center, pushed back forcefully against Siri’s arguments. “You live in this country, so you're entitled to the same First Amendment rights that we all are. But what you have said is a terrible, terrible distortion of all the facts.” Meisner questioned why Siri had shown a slide showing the number of vaccines administered in the United States. “What was your point? I mean, that is a phenomenal accomplishment. That's why we have the lowest rates of infectious disease in the United States, because we have the highest uptake of vaccines. And if vaccine uptake goes down, we're going to see an increase of these diseases, such as with hepatitis B, which I think is going to happen now.” Meisner also pointed out that Siri confused causation and association. “Remember, there are tens of thousands of vaccines that are administered every day, and just because there's an adverse event that occurs around the time of vaccine administration, it doesn't mean there is any causal association, and you're jumping to the conclusion.” Siri also likely gets paid “very handsomely” to represent his clients, noted Meisner. In his rebuttal, Siri said, “in terms of being paid handsomely, I will assure you that this is not a very lucrative endeavor.” KFF Health News reports that Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), an anti-vaccination group, paid Siri’s law firm $6 million dollars in 2023. “The fact that you have an attorney who sues people for money for a living talking about how bad vaccines are is pretty amazing,”

CDC panel votes to change newborn hepatitis B vaccine guidance -- The vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday voted in favor of changing long-held guidance for newborn hepatitis B vaccinations. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 in favor of altering the recommendation that all newborns receive hepatitis B vaccinations at birth.The language of the vote was:“For infants born to HBsAg-negative women: ACIP recommends individual-based decision-making, in consultation with a health care provider, for parents deciding when or if to give the HBV vaccine, including the birth dose. A Parents and health care providers should consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks. For those not receiving the HBV birth dose, it is suggested that the initial dose is administered no earlier than 2 months of age.”There was a clear divide in the committee, with a minority of panelists strongly opposed to what they believed was a perceived harm that would stem from the vote and the lack of data supporting a change to the guidance.“The language offers flexibility, access, coverage at any time. I vote yes,” ACIP member Hillary Blackburn said in her vote. “This has a great potential to cause and I simply hope that the committee will accept its responsibility when this harm is caused and I vote no,” fellow panel member Joe Hibbeln stated as he gave the final vote.“We’ve heard ‘do no harm’ is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no,” said ACIP member Cody Meissner, who led the opposition to changing the guidance.

CDC advisers drop decades-old universal hepatitis B birth dose recommendation, suggest blood testing after 1 dose - This morning, after contentious discussion, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 to drop the recommendation for a universal birth hepatitis B vaccine dose and 6-4 to suggest that parents use serologic testing—which detects antibodies in the blood—to determine whether more than one dose of the three-dose series are needed. Under the first recommendation, only infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B would receive a birth dose, while parents of other babies would be advised to postpone the first dose for at least two months. ACIP makes vaccination recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including those for different age-groups and disease risk status, as well as on US immunization schedules for children, adolescents, and adults. The CDC director has ultimate discretion whether to approve ACIP’s advice, and physicians can make their own decisions about whether to comply, but ACIP recommendations have historically affected insurance coverage of vaccines. The historic decisions came a day after the committee, installed by US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., decided to postpone the vote following a contentious discussion filled with anti-vaccine rhetoric and racial innuendo. Kennedy has claimed. Today’s votes occurred despite some members urging another delay, heated exchanges during which members cited abundant evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of the current recommendations, a lack of evidence to support the changes, and an ad hoc two-minute rule for speaking that cut off some members before they could finish their statements. The first part of the discussion, led by Robert Malone, MD, a vaccinologist at Louisiana State University, centered on the risks and benefits of the universal hepatitis B vaccine birth dose, which the CDC has recommended, regardless of the mother’s risk factors, since 1991. The second, very brief, discussion segment focused on whether children need more than one hepatitis B vaccine dose and the proposed use of serologic testing to investigate whether vaccinees are protected against hepatitis B. A proposal touted a threshold of at least 10 milli-international units per milliliter (mlIU/mL) of antibody, which proponents said correlates to adequate protection against infection, despite a lack of evidence that it does. ACIP member Joseph Hibbeln, MD, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and former chief of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), questioned the basis of the recommendation that infants of uninfected mothers not receive their initial hepatitis B vaccine dose until at least two months of age. “This specific point is the reason why we tabled this issue for three months to more fully discuss it; however, we have still not had any information or science presented or discussed with regards to this issue of before or after two months of age,” he said. He also urged his fellow members to rely on data rather than speculation. At ACIP’s September meeting, members voted to postpone a vote on the birth hepatitis B dose because most felt that more data was needed to inform the wording of the recommendation.

US flu activity on the rise -- According to the latest FluView report yesterday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu activity is on the rise across the United States, with activity especially noted in young adults and children. Clinical labs reported a 5% case-positivity rate for influenza in the past week, up from 2.9% the week before. Outpatient vistas for respiratory illnesses also increased, from 2.2% to 2.5%.“Percent positivity for influenza and the percentage of outpatient visits for respiratory illness and emergency department visits for influenza among pediatric age groups increased this week,” the CDC said. “The timing of the increasing activity is similar to several past seasons.”Only one state—Louisiana—reported high influenza-like illness (ILI), while Colorado is seeing moderate activity. The previous week Louisiana and Puerto Rico logged moderate ILI activity.Influenza A(H3N2) accounted for 82.3% of all influenza A viruses detected. Influenza A viruses account for around 90% of influenza cases seen in the United States this season, and H3N2 has been the dominant strain seen in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada so far.There have been no pediatric deaths associated with influenza this season, but the CDC estimates 450 adult deaths and 11,000 hospitalizations have already occurred.

Flu activity is rising – especially in these states - - The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a rise in people testing positive for influenza and visiting doctors with flu symptoms. Nationwide, there has been a 5% week-over-week increase in positive flu tests, according to CDC data released Monday. But in a few states, the rise in cases has been even steeper.For the first time this flu season, two states – Colorado and Louisiana – have broken into the “high” category for flu activity. New York City, which tracks its data separately from New York state, is also showing “moderate” flu activity.While most states are still seeing “low” or “minimal” flu activity, the recent data still shows cases trending upward. Just three weeks prior, every U.S. state was in the lowest tier, “minimal” category.

• At the start of November, flu activity was “minimal” in every U.S. state. (CDC)
• The CDC’s latest flu tracking map shows “high” activity in two states, Colorado and Louisiana. (Credit: CDC)
• At the start of November, flu activity was “minimal” in every U.S. state. (CDC)
• The CDC’s latest flu tracking map shows “high” activity in two states, Colorado and Louisiana. (Credit: CDC)

The CDC’s latest flu tracking map shows “high” activity in two states, Colorado and Louisiana. (Credit: CDC)The data released by the CDC is on a delay, so it doesn’t yet include the week of Thanksgiving, when many people were expected to travel and gather in large groups.The uptick in flu activity also comes as a new subvariant of the virus, the K subclade, has emerged. It now makes up a majority of the H3N2 cases we’re seeing. (H3N2 influenza has historically caused more hospitalizations and deaths.) Cases are expected to continue rising as we get deeper into the typical U.S. flu season. While it varies year to year, flu activity typically picks up in December and peaks between January and March.

New type of flu emerges: What to know about the new K variant of influenza A – As we get deeper into flu season, a new type of the influenza virus has been identified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms. The new strain is a variation of influenza A. Technically, it’s called the K subclade of influenza A’s H3N2 subtype, and it makes up a majority of the H3N2 cases we’re seeing right now. H3N2 influenza has historically caused more hospitalizations and deaths in older people than other strains. Experts warn it could be an especially brutal flu season this winter, especially if vaccination rates remain low. “I think we’re going to see a really severe season,” Asefeh Faraz Covelli, an associate professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing, told the Associated Press. NOAA releases 2025-26 winter weather predictions. Here’s what to expect What are the symptoms of the new K variant?The K subclade doesn’t appear to cause markedly different symptoms than other types of flu; however, as a subtype of influenza A, its symptoms may be more serious. “Influenza A typically causes worse symptoms compared to influenza B, and patients are more likely to get hospitalized with influenza A compared to influenza B,” Dr. Donald Dumford, an infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic, told Nexstar. Flu symptoms can be mild or severe, but they usually come on quickly, according to the CDC. Signs include fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, body aches, headaches and fatigue. Not everyone with the flu will experience all the possible symptoms. People who have trouble breathing, severe pain, weakness, or aren’t seeing symptoms improve should seek urgent medical care, the CDC advises. Younger children and older adults, who are more vulnerable to flu complications, may need care sooner. Are this year’s flu shots effective against it?A preliminary analysis from the United Kingdom suggests the shots do provide at least partial protection, although it will take some time for scientists to know exactly how effective they are. Experts say any protection that softens the blow of a flu infection is important to get. Even vaccines that aren’t perfectly formulated to match a new variant can often still give “cross-protection” and boost your immune response. Public health experts are more concerned about vaccination uptake than vaccination matching. “The thing that really concerns me most is the decreasing rates of influenza vaccination, particularly among children,” Andrew Pavia, a professor and pediatric infectious disease expert at the University of Utah, told The Hill last week. “We don’t claim the vaccine to be perfect, it’s not, [but] it works better at keeping you out of the hospital, the intensive care unit and helping keep you out of the cemetery,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University’s Department of Health Policy, added.

US schools brace for absences as flu variant spreads - Despite a relatively slow start to the flu season, U.S. schools are preparing for an increase in absences and sick children as a new variant gains momentum. The flu vaccine for the 2025-2026 season could be less effective against H3N2 subclade K, which has already caused spikes in hospitalizations in countries including Canada and the U.K. Experts stress that the vaccine is still one of the best tools for avoiding a bad flu season and that children should stay home when they are sick, as schools are struggling with vaccine hesitancy and increased chronic absenteeism rates. “Although the number of U.S. influenza viruses analyzed so far is low because of low domestic flu activity, most have been H3N2 viruses and, among those, H3N2 subclade K viruses have been most common,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. While the vaccine may not be as effective against the new variant, experts stress some protection is better than none, and even a less effective vaccine can decrease rates of hospitalizations and the spread of the virus. “Even an imperfect influenza vaccine — let’s say it shaves 30 percent off of your influenza risk — is still probably shaving even more off your risk of getting severe influenza, meaning you’re only 30 percent as likely to get the flu, but if you get the flu, your likelihood of getting severe flu is much, much lower,” said Ryan Maves, professor of infectious disease at Wake Forest University. “Your likelihood of going to the ICU is much lower. Your likelihood of getting hospitalized is much lower, your likelihood of death is much lower. All of those things together cumulatively affect the risk and the efficacy of any given influenza vaccine and so, when we look at getting the flu shot this year, I don’t think it’s really a decision. The decision is, ‘How lucky do you feel?’” he added. But vaccine rates have been dropping at U.S. schools, even among shots normally required for classrooms. The CDC found that in the 2024-2025 school year, vaccination rates dipped to 92.1 percent for the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) and to 92.5 percent for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine for kindergartners. For the 2019-2020 school year, vaccination rates for DTaP were at 94.9 percent among kindergartners, and MMR was at 95.2 percent, according to the CDC. Exceptions for vaccines rose in the same school year to 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent the year before. Seventeen states had a more than 5 percent exemption rate. A community needs a 95 percent vaccination rate for herd immunity. Currently, no state requires the flu vaccine for kids to go to school, and last year, flu vaccinations among students were less than 50 percent. “You also have to recognize that vaccines are not just for each of us as individuals. They’re for everyone. If there are children in your child’s school who have immune suppression, who have leukemia, have other diseases, and if they get the flu or viral illness, they might get significantly more ill than a child who has a normal immune system or is not on drugs that may suppress their immune system,” said Ron Marino, a member of the Council on School Health Executive Committee at the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We’re all in this together. We get a benefit to ourselves. We don’t transmit the disease to grandma and the people at home, and we protect other kids in the in the school setting,”

West Virginia reinstates school vaccine mandate - The West Virginia Board of Education announced Tuesday it will be reinstating its school vaccine mandate without religious exemption after a state Supreme Court decision. The West Virginia Supreme Court chose to stay a permanent injunction issued by a circuit judge that said the state’s vaccine mandates without religious exemptions were illegal. Circuit Judge Michael Froble ruled in favor of parents in a class-action lawsuit challenging West Virginia’s policy, one of the strictest school vaccine mandates in the country with no exemptions for religious beliefs. The state Supreme Court reversed the decision, for now, while the appeals process takes place. “This directive will be in effect until the Supreme Court issues further guidance. Our priority is to ensure compliance with W. Va. Code §16-3-4 and safeguard the health and well-being of all students across West Virginia,” the board said in a statement. The fight comes as vaccination rates among school children are dropping below the 95 percent barrier experts say is needed for herd immunity. The board previously went against West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s (R) executive order that said religious exemptions should be allowed. West Virginia requires students to get vaccinated for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough. Around 30 other states have religious exemptions laws on the books.

Effectiveness of the Influenza Vaccine During the 2024-2025 Respiratory Viral Season - MedRxiv. ABSTRACT: Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season. Methods. Employees of Cleveland Clinic in employment in Ohio on October 1, 2024, were included. The cumulative incidence of influenza among those in the vaccinated and unvaccinated states was compared over the following 25 weeks. Protection provided by vaccination (analyzed as a time- dependent covariate) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results. Among 53402 employees, 43857 (82.1%) had received the influenza vaccine by the end of the study. Influenza occurred in 1079 (2.02%) during the study. The cumulative incidence of influenza was similar for the vaccinated and unvaccinated states early, but over the course of the study the cumulative incidence of influenza increased more rapidly among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. In an analysis adjusted for age, sex, clinical nursing job, and employment location, the risk of influenza was significantly higher for the vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated state (HR, 1.27; 95% C.I., 1.07 – 1.51; P = 0.007), yielding a calculated vaccine effectiveness of -26.9% (95% C.I., -55.0 to -6.6%). Conclusions. This study found that influenza vaccination of working-aged adults was associated with a higher risk of influenza during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season, suggesting that the vaccine has not been effective in preventing influenza this season.

Early-infancy RSV infection, inherited allergy may amplify risk of childhood asthma - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in early infancy may significantly raise the risk of childhood asthma, particularly for children whose parents have asthma or allergy, Belgian and Danish researchers wrote last week in Science Immunology. The investigators analyzed data from the Danish National Patient Registry on more than 24,000 RSV-related hospitalizations among roughly 1.5 million infants younger than 6 months and on the receipt of specialized asthma care among parents and their children (up to 24 years of age) from 1994 to 2018. They also evaluated inhaler and nasal corticosteroid prescriptions from the Danish National Prescription Registry and the link between both outcomes and age and parents and children using the Danish Civil Registration System. Last, the team modeled the mechanism behind the connection in newborn mice infected with an RSV-like virus and exposed to the house dust mite (HDM) allergen. While maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy and immunization of newborns with long-acting monoclonal antibodies can help prevent poor infection outcomes, uptake is uneven, the study authors noted.Children born to nonasthmatic parents and hospitalized for RSV bronchiolitis (inflammation of the bronchial airways) in the first 6 months of life had a threefold higher cumulative risk of asthma than those not hospitalized for RSV in the same period (hazard ratio [HR], 3.32).But children born to an asthmatic parent and not hospitalized for RSV bronchiolitis were at nearly double the risk of asthma than those born to parents without asthma (HR, 2.06 for children of an asthmatic mother; HR, 1.71 for an asthmatic father), confirming the strong influence of parental asthma on risk. Unexpectedly, the highest cumulative asthma risk was seen in children both hospitalized for RSV and born to an asthmatic mother (HR, 5.38) or asthmatic father (HR, 4.73) compared with the uninfected children of nonasthmatic parents. Having a parent with allergic rhinitis (AR, or hay fever) was also a risk factor for asthma development, with the highest risk among those both hospitalized for RSV and born to a parent with AR. The effect was stronger when the mother was taking an AR medication (HR, 4.09) than when the father was taking it (HR, 3.77) and when both parents were taking it (HR, 4.98) than in uninfected children of parents without AR. Newborn mice born to mothers with HDM allergy experienced more severe type 2 inflammation (outsized immune response involved in asthma and allergy) and asthma-like symptoms, explained by maternal transfer of allergen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies (Abs), which increase uptake of allergens. But the risk was mitigated when mice were immunized against RSV. In a news release from the Vlaams Instituut Voor Biotechnologie (VIB) in Belgium, co-senior author Bart Lambrecht, MD, PhD, said, “We found that early-life RSV infection and genetic allergy risk interact in a very specific way that pushes the immune system toward asthma. The encouraging news is that this process can be prevented.”

Utah measles cases hit 105; South Carolina sees 14 more cases | CIDRAP - Utah’s Davis County has reported its first measles case of 2025, and media reports suggest the individual visited several public places while infectious, including a children’s museum and a Walmart. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services said there are now 105 measles cases in the state, with 22 reported in the past 3 weeks. The southwestern part of the state has 76 cases and is site of the current largest outbreak in the United States, along with neighboring Mohave County, Arizona. The second largest outbreak in the United States is in Upstate South Carolina, where unvaccinated students at two schools in September started an outbreak that has spread in the community.Today the South Carolina Department of Public Health said there were 14 more cases detected in the state since late last week. The total number of cases in South Carolina related to the Upstate outbreak is now 76, and the total number reported in the state is 79.“Eight of the new cases resulted from the previously reported exposure at the Way of Truth Church in Inman. The other two are still under investigation,” the department said. “There are currently 134 individuals in quarantine and one in isolation. “With the new cases, the state has identified public exposures at four schools.

US measles outbreak tops 1,800 cases as respiratory illness surveillance returns -The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 30 more measles cases reported in the United States this past week, raising the national total to 1,828 confirmed cases so far in 2025.Current US hot spots are Utah, Arizona, and South Carolina, where outbreaks among predominately unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people have led to community spread and widespread quarantines at schools.In total, the country has had 46 outbreaks this year of three or more cases; for comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during all of 2024.Today Arizona officials said there are now 155 measles cases in that state, 151 of which are in Mohave County. The total represents two new cases, both in Mohave County.Arizona officials said 97% of people who have gotten measles this year in the state are unvaccinated. Nationally, 92% of measles patients this year are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, while 4% each have one dose of measles-containing vaccine or two full doses. This week the CDC resumed publishing data on its respiratory illness channel, following a similar return of the weekly FluView report.Nationally, respiratory illness activity is low, but there are increasing reports of seasonal flu activity among children and young adults. COVID-19 activity is low across the country.Only three states reported moderate acute respiratory illness activity: Louisiana, Alabama, and New Hampshire. RSV activity is on the rise in the South and Southeaste, with increased emergency department visits among children ages 0 to 5 years, the CDC said.

WHO: Measles deaths dropped by 88% in past 25 years, but cases now surging --Since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated from the United States, measles-associated deaths worldwide have dropped by 88%, according to a report published late last week by the World Health Organization (WHO). But in 2024, measles cases surged in a number of countries, a post-pandemic rebound that has ended the elimination status of Canada and puts the United States elimination status in major jeopardy.In 2024, there were 95,000 measles deaths recorded globally, according to the WHO report. While this is the lowest global death toll since 2000, overall cases in 2024 totaled 11 million, roughly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.Fifty-nine countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks, triple the number reported in 2021. By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) had eliminated measles, which is three additional countries since before the pandemic. “Measles is the world's most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defenses against it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said in a press release. “Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”Overall, the WHO said measles cases in 2024 increased by 86% in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, 47% in the European Region, and 42% in South-East Asian Region compared with 2019.And last year, only 84% of children received the first dose and 76% received the second dose of measles vaccine worldwide.Late last week South Carolina reported seven new measles cases, raising the state’s total to 62 cases, almost all part of a large Upstate outbreak.Six of the new cases are household members of known cases who were in quarantine, officials said, and one case was an individual exposed in a school setting who was in quarantine. Currently six people are in isolation. The United States has recorded almost 1,800 measles cases.

Global whooping cough resurgence after COVID lull may point to need for better vaccines After a lull during the COVID-19 pandemic, pertussis (whooping cough) has made a resurgence—especially in adolescents—with larger outbreaks than those seen during recent peaks in many countries, according to a summary of an online workshop organized by the International Bordetella Society in mid-November.While most countries didn’t experience significant declines in pertussis vaccination during the pandemic, better vaccines may be needed to more fully protect against infection and curb disease transmission of circulating strains, the authors said.Workshop attendees presented pertussis surveillance data from Australia, Japan, China, South Africa, France, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, England, Argentina, and the United States. This international group, led by UK Health Security Agency researchers, wrote the resulting special communication, published this week in JAMA Network Open. Caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium, pertussis is a highly contagious disease that causes a prolonged forceful cough in all age-groups and is a life-threatening disease in young infants. While pertussis vaccines made of inactivated whole-cell B pertussis bacteria have been used for decades, the adverse reactions they can cause led to the development of acellular vaccines, or those made from isolates from the bacterial antigen. The World Health Organization continues to recommend whole-cell pertussis vaccines, which are used in most lower-income countries, while most higher-income countries use acellular vaccines. Acellular vaccines are recommended for pregnant women in many countries.“Despite sustained high vaccine coverage, peaks of pertussis disease continue to occur every 3 to 5 years in some countries, indicating that B pertussis continues to circulate and the resulting population immunity plays a role in pertussis disease prevention,” the study authors wrote.The researchers noted that, before the pandemic, several countries—particularly those that used acellular pertussis vaccines in infants—reported circulating B pertussis isolates that lacked pertactin, the acellular vaccine antigen that enables the bacteria to attach to cells. But recently, most isolates have expressed this antigen, and several countries have observed an increase in B pertussis isolates resistant to macrolides, a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics. From 2019 to 2024, the proportion of pertussis cases in children aged 5 to 14 years rose in Australia (from 41.4% to 57.7%), Czech Republic (7.4% to 21.1%), France (23.0% to 31.5%), Finland (25.8% to 36.7%), and England (18.7% to 29.3%). The proportion of cases in infants younger than 1 year was comparable or reduced when comparing 2019 with 2024, indicating that infant and maternal vaccines likely remained effective in that age-group. Another troubling finding, the authors said, was the detection of 17 macrolide-resistant B pertussis (MRBP) isolates, making up nearly 2% of the samples processed. Of the 14 isolates cultured, genomic and microbiologic analyses identified them as belonging to an MRBP lineage circulating in China; unlike most isolates from 2024, 93% of these isolates were deficient in pertactin.

Quick takes: More infant botulism in US, avian flu in Indiana | CIDRAP

• According to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are now 37 US infants sickened with botulism in a multistate outbreak tied to ByHeart infant powder formula, with six new infections. Seventeen states now report cases, two more than the previous update on November 20. All 37 infants have required hospitalization, with no death reported. The CDC urged parents and caregivers to stop using any ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula immediately.
• The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published several new commercial poultry detections over the past week, including four outbreaks in Indiana’s LaGrange County, which has been the epicenter of bird flu activity in recent weeks. LaGrange detections included 73,900 birds at four facilities. In Wayne County, North Carolina, two major commercial turkey farms were also hit, involving 17,800 birds in total. In the past 30 days 95 flocks have had confirmed outbreaks, including 43 commercial flocks. In total, 184 million birds have been affected since the outbreak began in February 2022.

France reports MERS in 2 travelers who had been to Middle East The French Ministry of Health today confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in two travelers who had recently returned from the Arabian Peninsula. The patients were diagnosed after suggestive symptoms and are hospitalized in stable condition.So far, no secondary transmission chains have been identified in France, authorities said. The two case-patients had traveled together on the same trip; other tour group attendees are being monitored. MERS-CoV has been primarily identified in Saudi Arabia, which has seen 12 cases this year, including 3 deaths. The virus was detected more often before the pandemic, after first being identified in 2012. Since 2012, a total of 2,639 cases of MERS, including 957 deaths, have been reported by health authorities worldwide. Of the cases, 84% have been in Saudi Arabia.Dromedary camels are the main animal reservoir for the virus, and several cases have been linked to camel contact. Hospital-related transmission has also been a feature of previous MERS cases and outbreaks, with health care workers at time sickened after contact with patients.

Death toll climbs in Ethiopia's Marburg outbreak -- Three new deaths have been confirmed in Ethiopia's Marburg virus outbreak, bringing the death toll to eight, according to the latest update from Ethiopian health officials.There are now 12 confirmed cases in the outbreak, which was first reported in mid-November and is occurring in the southern part of the country. Last week, the Ministry of Health said that 73 suspected case-patients have been tested so far, and 349 contacts were being monitored. Three patients have recovered, and one is still in treatment.This is Ethiopia's first outbreak of the severe and often deadly viral hemorrhagic fever, which is typically transmitted to people from fruit bats, can spread through contact with bodily fluids and contaminated materials, and is in the same family as Ebola. Nineteen outbreaks have previously been reported globally.The case-fatality rate in previous outbreaks has ranged from 24% to 88%. Unlike with Ebola, there is no vaccine. In a media briefing today, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the WHO is providing testing supplies and protective equipment for health care workers and deploying experts to support local authorities.

Quick takes: Marburg cases reach 13, avian flu detections in Alaska | CIDRAP

• There are now 13 Marburg cases confirmed in Ethiopia’s outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever. Thedeath toll remains at eight. During remarks given earlier this week, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD said, “The government of Ethiopia is leading the response, and WHO is supporting as requested. We’re providing testing supplies and protective equipment for health workers, and deploying experts to support local authorities.”
• The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published several new wild bird avian flu detections, with several detections among wild predators and water fowl in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. Of note are more than 30 detections in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, almost all of which were mallards. Additionally, APHIS yesterday said there was a new detection of avian influenza in a dairy milking cow in California. This is the first avian flu livestock detection in weeks.

Preschoolers with congenital Zika syndrome at significantly higher risk for epilepsy-related hospitalization --A study involving more than 10 million children in Brazil finds a significantly higher risk of epilepsy-related hospitalization in early childhood in those with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS).For the study, published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers in Brazil and the United Kingdom analyzed national data to compare the risk of epilepsy-related hospitalizations during the first four years of life among children exposed to Zika virus (ZIKV) in utero (with and without CZS) compared with their unexposed peers. The children were singletons born at 22 or more weeks’ gestation from January 2015 to November 2018. The average gestational age was 38.5 weeks, 0.03% had CZS, and 0.08% were exposed to ZIKV in utero but didn’t develop CZS. ZIKV is primarily spread by infected Aedes mosquitoes, from mother to fetus or baby, and via unprotected sex.“Some cases of epilepsy are primary, with no identifiable underlying cause, while others are secondary to structural abnormalities in the central nervous system,” the study authors noted. “An example of the latter is congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), where epilepsy is a clinical manifestation in nearly 50% of affected children, increasing to approximately 99% when microcephaly [abnormally small head size] is also present.”After adjusting for confounding factors, CZS was tied to a markedly elevated risk of epilepsy-related hospitalization (2.44 vs 0.04 per 100 person-years in those without CZS; adjusted HR [aHR], 34.2). Age-specific aHRs peaked at 7 to 18 months (aHRs, 33.7 at ages 0 to 6 months, 44.6 for ages 7 to 18 months, and 20.6 for ages 19 to 48 months). Children with CZS who were microcephalic, normocephalic (normal head size), or macrocephalic (abnormally large head) showed similar links to hospitalizations for epilepsy, but those exposed to ZIKV without CZS weren’t at higher risk than their unexposed counterparts (aHR, 0.66). “These results suggest that prenatal ZIKV exposure alone may not elevate epilepsy risk requiring hospitalization, while CZS was associated with early childhood epilepsy-related hospitalizations,” the study authors wrote. “These findings for children with CZS were independent of the presence of microcephaly.”

Tennessee officials announce first CWD detection in Decatur County - The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) yesterday announced the identification of a chronic wasting disease (CWD)–positive hunter-harvested deer inDecatur County, its first.Decatur County, located in the southwestern part of the state, abuts other CWD-positive counties. Because Decatur was already within the state’s CWD management zone, wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions are in place, and deer-hunting season dates and regulations won’t be changed.But hunters in the county are now eligible for Tennessee’s Earn-a-Buck Program, in which they can harvest antlerless deer by submitting samples for testing.CWD has been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer in 18 Tennessee counties in addition to Decatur: Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lauderdale, Lewis, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley.“Hunter's [sic] participation in CWD testing is critical for the continued surveillance and monitoring of CWD throughout the state,” TWRA said, adding that it has already submitted roughly 4,400 samples for testing this hunting season. “Hunters can access CWD testing through participating taxidermists and meat processors or by using drop-off freezers.” CWD is a fatal disease of cervids such as deer, elk, and moose caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions.

Mad cow disease: A new culprit beyond prions - Recent research led by the University of Alberta challenges the belief that mad cow disease is caused only by misfolded proteins—a discovery that sheds new light on the devastating outbreak in the United Kingdom 40 years ago and provides new hope for prevention.The study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, shows for the first time that such prion-like brain diseases can be triggered without the presence of infectious prions. Prion disease occurs when normal proteins in the brain misfold into infectious, abnormal proteins.Instead, chronic inflammation caused by a powerful bacterial endotoxin called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was identified as a culprit that can independently trigger brain damage resembling prion disease. "This fundamentally challenges the prevailing theory that these types of brain diseases are only about prions or similar misfolded proteins," says Burim Ametaj, a nutritional immunobiologist in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and lead author on the study.The research revealed more of a multifaceted process behind that neurodegeneration, showing that inflammation weakens the brain's defenses first, overwhelming cells. Proteins could then start misfolding and the immune system over-reacts, causing more damage."All three processes feed into each other, which means we need to target inflammation and immune health, not just the misfolded proteins."The discovery suggests that endotoxins in the animal-derived feed offered to cattle may have contributed to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, crises in the United Kingdom, Ametaj says.The outbreaks devastated the livestock industry in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the deaths of more than 160 people who'd eaten infected beef, and the slaughter of more than four million cattle. The study provided striking evidence that LPS alone, administered under the skin, caused spongiform brain symptoms in 40% of mouse models—a "holey" appearance in the tissues seen in BSE and related diseases. When LPS was combined with lab-created misfolded proteins, that number rose to 50%. In both scenarios, this Alzheimer-like damage happened even when the naturally occurring infectious prion responsible for BSE was absent.The research also showed that when an actual prion disease such as BSE is present, inflammation caused by LPS dramatically worsens damage to the brain, resulting in 100% mortality within 200 days of infection. The new findings could offer insight into why there were many more BSE cases in England and Wales than in Scotland, based on the procedures rendering plants used to make livestock feed, Ametaj says."Plants in England and Wales removed a critical substance called hexane from the production process to cut costs. This solvent was essential not only for fat extraction, but also for dissolving and removing LPS from the meat-and-bone meal. "In contrast, Scottish rendering plants retained the hexane step and, potentially because of that, had markedly fewer BSE cases—a fact long known but never systematically explained," he notes..Combined with chronic exposure to such feed, predisposing conditions in dairy cows induced by high-grain diets immediately postpartum, and by an increased "leaky gut," can trigger systemic inflammation and could contribute to the development of neurodegenerative disease, Ametaj notes. "This suggests that excluding the hexane step left contaminated feed that could independently trigger neurodegeneration, explaining why the BSE epidemic followed the geographic pattern it did."

Shredded cheese sold in Walmart, Target, Aldi recalled over metal, FDA says (WPIX) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to double-check their shredded cheese after an Ohio-based company recalled multiple products distributed to 31 states for potentially containing metal fragments.The recall from Great Lakes Cheese Co. was first initiated on Oct. 3, but was reclassified on Monday to Class II, which is defined as “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the FDA.The cheeses were distributed in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico. The recalled cheeses, which were made by Great Lakes Cheese Co. but sold by different brands, included: {see very long list} The products were sold in Walmart, Target, Aldi and other supermarkets across the country. Anyone who has bought one of these cheeses is asked not to eat it, as the metal fragments can cause serious injury, and should return it to their local store for a full refund.

Gas stoves are filling millions of homes with hidden toxic air - For many people in the United States, spending time indoors does not guarantee protection from harmful air pollution. A new study led by Stanford University and published Dec. 2 in PNAS Nexus reports that gas and propane stoves release significant amounts of nitrogen dioxide. This pollutant has been associated with asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease, preterm birth, diabetes, and lung cancer. Outdoor air pollution contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year and leads to millions of new cases of childhood asthma worldwide. Laws such as the U.S. Clean Air Act have helped reduce outdoor pollution, but indoor air remains largely unregulated even though it can pose similar risks. This new analysis is the first nationwide evaluation of how much nitrogen dioxide people encounter from both indoor and outdoor sources, including gas stoves, vehicle traffic, and electricity generation.A 2024 investigation by the same research team found that gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide at unsafe levels that persist for hours after cooking ends. Additional studies from several of the same authors have identified gas stoves as a source of benzene, a known carcinogen linked to leukemia and other blood disorders.To understand how people are exposed to nitrogen dioxide, the team combined indoor air measurements with outdoor pollution data, information on 133 million residential buildings, and statistics on household behavior. These data allowed researchers to determine where pollution originates and how it affects human health. The team also created national maps that show long-term and short-term nitrogen dioxide exposure by zip code for both indoor and outdoor environments.For most people in the U.S., outdoor sources such as cars and trucks still account for the majority of nitrogen dioxide exposure. However, the maps showed that 22 million Americans, particularly those in smaller homes and in rural areas, experience nitrogen dioxide levels above recommended long-term limits from cooking with gas. In rural regions, stoves play a proportionally larger role in overall nitrogen dioxide exposure. Meanwhile, total exposure is highest in major cities, where outdoor nitrogen dioxide levels are already elevated and smaller living spaces allow stove emissions to accumulate more easily.The study also found that the greatest short-term nitrogen dioxide spikes occur indoors and are directly caused by gas stove use. These sharp increases do not come from outdoor pollution but from concentrated bursts produced during cooking.

Amphibians see steep global decline: Study finds 788 species in decline over four decades - A new analysis has revealed that amphibian populations have deteriorated sharply worldwide, with more than six times as many species declining as improving since 1980. A total of 788 amphibian species have declined in conservation status over the past four decades, while only 121 have shown improvement, according to a new study. Between 1980 and 2004, the conservation status of 482 amphibian species deteriorated, with a further 306 species declining between 2004 and 2022. By contrast, assessments by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) show that only 35 species improved in the first period and 86 in the second. The findings, published in the journal Nature Reviews Biodiversity, warn that amphibians are experiencing a biodiversity crisis more severe than any other vertebrate group, yet conservation and research investment remains disproportionately low. According to the study, habitat loss and degradation threaten the largest number of amphibians, affecting 2,684 species. Agriculture impacts 77 per cent of species, timber and plant harvesting 53 per cent, and infrastructure development 40 per cent. Climate change and disease are the next most significant pressures, each affecting 29 per cent of threatened species. Overexploitation for food and the pet trade impacts a further 8 per cent.

Wetlands trap toxic metals after battery plant fire scatters debris -When fire broke out at the world's largest battery energy storage facility in January 2025, its thick smoke blanketed surrounding wetlands, farms and nearby communities on the central California coast. Highways closed, residents evacuated and firefighters could do little but watch as debris and ash rained down. People living in the area reported headaches and respiratory problems, and some pets and livestock fell ill. Two days later, officials announced that the air quality met federal safety standards. But the initial all-clear decision missed something important—heavy metal fallout on the ground. When battery energy storage facilities burn, the makeup of the chemical fallout can be a mystery for surrounding communities. Yet, these batteries often contain metals that are toxic to humans and wildlife.The smoke plume from the fire in Vistra's battery energy storage facility at Moss Landing released not just hazardous gases such as hydrogen fluoride but also soot and charred fragments of burned batteries that landed for miles around. I am a marine geologist who has been tracking soil changes in marshes adjacent to the Vistra facility for over a decade as part of a wetland-restoration project. In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, my colleagues and I were able to show through detailed before-and-after samples from the marshes what was in the battery fire's debris and what happened to the heavy metals. The batteries' metal fragments, often too tiny to see with the naked eye, didn't disappear. They continue to be remobilized in the environment today. The Vistra battery storage facility rose on the site of an old Duke Energy and PG&E gas power plant, which was once filled with turbines and oil tanks. When Vistra announced it was converting the site into the world's largest lithium-ion battery facility, the plan was hailed as a clean energy milestone. Phase 1 alone housed batteries with 300 megawatts of capacity, enough to power about 225,000 homes for four hours.The energy in rechargeable batteries comes from the flow of electrons released by lithium atoms in the anode moving toward the cathode. In the type of batteries at the Moss Landing facility, the cathode was rich in three metals: nickel, manganese and cobalt. These batteries are prized for their high energy density and relatively low cost, but they are also prone to thermal runaway.Lab experiments have shown that burning batteries can eject metal particles like confetti.When my team and I returned to the marsh three days after the fire, ash and burned debris covered the ground. Weeks afterward, charred fragments still clung to the vegetation. Our measurements with portable X-ray fluorescence showed sharp increases in nickel, manganese and cobalt compared with data from before the fire. As soon as we saw the numbers, we alerted officials in four counties about the risk. We estimate that about 25 metric tons (55,000 pounds) of heavy metals were deposited across roughly half a square mile (1.2 square kilometers) of wetland around Elkorn Slough, and that was only part of the area that saw fallout. To put this in perspective, the part of the Vistra battery facility that burned was hosting 300 megawatts of batteries, which equates to roughly 1,900 metric tons of cathode material. Estimates of the amount of batteries that burned range from 55% to 80%. Based on those estimates, roughly 1,000 to 1,400 metric tons of cathode material could have been carried into the smoke plume. What we found in the marsh represents about 2% of what may have been released. We took samples at hundreds of locations and examined millimeter-thin soil slices with a scanning electron microscope. Those slices revealed metallic particles smaller than one-tenth the width of a human hair—small enough to travel long distances and lodge deep in the lungs. The ratio of nickel to cobalt in these particles matched that of nickel, manganese and cobalt battery cathodes, clearly linking the contamination to the fire. Over the following months, we found that surface concentrations of the metals dropped sharply after major rain and tidal events, but the metals did not disappear. They were remobilized. Some migrated to the main channel of the estuary and may have been flushed out into the ocean. Some of the metals that settled in the estuary could enter the food chain in this wildlife hot spot, often populated with sea otters, harbor seals, pelicans and herons. Metals from the Moss Landing battery fire still linger in the region's sediments and food webs.These metals bioaccumulate, building up through the food chain: The metals in marsh soils can be taken up by worms and small invertebrates, which are eaten by fish, crabs or shorebirds, and eventually by top predators such as sea otters or harbor seals.Our research group is now tracking the bioaccumulation in Elkhorn Slough's shellfish, crabs and fish. Because uptake varies among species and seasons, the effect of the metals on ecosystems will take months or years to emerge.

Unprecedented levels of forever chemicals found in dolphins and whales --New research has revealed that marine mammals who live far below the ocean's surface are not immune from the burden of toxic forever chemicals, with whales and dolphins showing unprecedented levels of PFAS contamination. The study is titled "No place to hide: Marine habitat does not determine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in odontocetes." The findings challenge the assumption that a deep-sea habitat offers protection from human-made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS. "Whales and dolphins are considered indicator species because they reflect their ecosystem. We expected that species feeding mainly in deep water, like sperm whales, would have lower PFAS contamination than coastal species like Hector's dolphins, which are closer to pollution sources. Our analyses show that this is not the case: there really seems to be no place to hide from PFAS," Dr. Peters said. Published in Science of the Total Environment, the findings raise concerns about the long-term health of marine species and the invisible legacy that forever chemicals are leaving in the environment. PFAS are human-made chemicals that accumulate through the food chain and can disrupt immune, endocrine and reproductive systems, raising concerns for both individual and population health in humans and animals, including cetaceans. The scientists analyzed tissues from 127 animals across 16 species of toothed whales and dolphins in New Zealand waters, from bottlenose dolphins to deep-diving sperm whales. For eight of the 16 species, including New Zealand's endemic Hector's dolphin and three species of beaked whales, this was a global first for PFAS assessment. The researchers looked at how the acquisition of forever chemicals varied according to species, sex, age and the habitat in which they predominantly live and feed. Study co-author Dr. Frédérik Saltré said they found that habitat is a poor predictor of PFAS concentrations. "Even offshore and deep-diving species are exposed to similar levels of PFAS, highlighting how widespread pollution, compounded by climate-driven stressors, poses a growing threat to marine biodiversity,"

Ocean microplastics can drift for years or sink rapidly: Analysis reveals two distinct pathways -- Publishing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers at Kyushu University report that they have developed a new method to more accurately analyze the distribution of small microplastics in the ocean at various depths.Their findings showed that concentrations of small microplastics suspended in the ocean range from 1,000 to 10,000 particles per cubic meter. The team also discovered that small microplastics sink to the depths of the ocean in two distinct ways: some attain near-neutral buoyancy and drift at specific depths, while others sink rapidly to the deep sea.. As plastics degrade, they break off into smaller pieces. When they reach less than 5 mm in size, they are called microplastics. "When these microplastics degrade further to 10–300 µm, we call them small microplastics. Many researchers are investigating the distribution and movement of microplastics in the ocean. However, when they reach that size, they become harder to collect and analyze," explains Professor Atsuhiko Isobe of Kyushu University Research Institute for Applied Mechanics and one of the researchers who led the study."There was no standardized protocol to evaluate the presence of small microplastics in the ocean that could minimize contamination, particle loss, and potential fragmentation."Most ocean microplastics are made of polyethylene and polypropylene. These materials are less dense than seawater, so they float near the sea surface. However, over time, algae, bacteria, and other marine organisms attach to their surface in a process called biofouling. This results in the microplastic increasing in weight and sinking toward the seafloor.Past studies that collected small microplastics from the ocean used net tows or pumped ocean water from different depths. However, researchers still lacked a detailed view of the distribution of small microplastics at different ocean depths."To achieve this clearer view, we developed a protocol that collected seawater from 12 ocean layers (from 0 to 1,000 m) across 4 regions in the North Pacific Ocean," explains Isobe. "Our method required only about 50 liters of seawater, which is one to two orders of magnitude less than conventional pump sampling.""Our findings revealed that small microplastics reach sea depths via two distinct pathways: drifting and sinking. In the first pathway, small microplastics reach neutral buoyancy with the seawater. They then drift in an area of the ocean where water density is between 1,023 and 1,025 kilograms per cubic meter at depths of about 100 to 300 meters," Isobe continues. "These small microplastics will drift through this layer for approximately 20 to 40 years." The other way small microplastics reach the depths of the sea is by increasing their density through biofouling, causing them to sink to the seafloor. The team observed that the concentration of small microplastics drifting in the ocean ranged from 1,000 to 10,000 particles per cubic meter of seawater.

Plastic pollution is worsened by warming climate and must be stemmed, researchers warn - Climate change conditions turn plastics into more mobile, persistent, and hazardous pollutants. This is done by speeding up plastic breakdown into microplastics—microscopic fragments of plastic—spreading them considerable distances, and increasing exposure and impact within the environment.This is set to worsen as both plastic manufacturing and climate effects increase. Global annual plastic production rose 200-fold between 1950 and 2023.A new review published in Frontiers in Science is calling for urgent action to avoid irreversible ecological damage by stemming the tide of microplastics entering the environment. The authors urge eliminating non-essential single-use plastics (which account for 35% of production), limiting virgin plastic production, and creating international standards for making plastics reusable and recyclable. "Plastic pollution and the climate are co-crises that intensify each other. They also have origins—and solutions—in common,". "We urgently need a coordinated international approach to stop end-of-life plastics from building up in the environment." The researchers conducted a comprehensive review of existing evidence that highlights how the climate crisis worsens the impact of plastic pollution. Rising temperatures, humidity, and UV exposure all boost the breakdown of plastics. Furthermore, extreme storms, floods, and winds can increase fragmentation as well as dispersal of plastic waste—with six billion tons and rising—into landfill, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, atmospheric environments, and food webs. There are growing concerns about the persistence, spread, and accumulation of microplastics that can disturb nutrient cycles in aquatic ecosystems, reduce soil health, and crop yields. They also adversely affect feeding, reproduction, and the behavior of organisms that are capable of ingesting them, should levels exceed safe thresholds. Microplastics can also act as Trojan horses to transfer other contaminants like metals, pesticides, and PFAS forever chemicals. Climatic conditions may also enhance the adherence and transfer of these contaminants, as well as the leaching of hazardous chemicals such as flame retardants or plasticizers. There is also historical plastic to consider. When ice forms in the sea, it takes up microplastics and concentrates them, removing them from the water. However, as sea ice melts under warming conditions, this process could reverse and become a major additional source of plastic release. "There's a chance that microplastics—already in every corner of the planet—will have a greater impact on certain species over time. Both the climate crisis and plastic pollution, which come from society's over-reliance on fossil fuels, could combine to worsen an already stressed environment in the near future," said co-author Dr. Stephanie Wright from Imperial's School of Public Health.

Bipartisan bill to launch Ohio River cleanup gains momentum - A bipartisan group of House members is taking another stab at creating a federal cleanup program for the Ohio River, considered one of the nation’s most impaired.Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), along with seven co-sponsors, introduced the “Ohio River Restoration Program Act, H.R. 5966, last month. The bill would direct EPA to create a dedicated restoration program for the Ohio, one of the largest rivers in the nation, and develop an action plan to reduce pollution in partnership with state, local and tribal governments.McGarvey brought forth similar legislation last year. But he has since built a broader coalition of Democrats and Republicans to try to secure passage, potentially to coincide with the upcoming reauthorization of existing EPA programs for other major bodies of water, he said in an interview.“We’re pushing for this to happen as soon as we can possibly get it done,” McGarvey said this week.

Trump administration to direct more water to California farms (AP) — The Trump administration is making good on a promise to send more water to California farmers in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday announced a new plan for operating the Central Valley Project, a vast system of pumps, dams and canals that direct water southward from the state’s wetter north. It follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January calling for more water to flow to farmers, arguing the state was wasting the precious resource in the name of protecting endangered fish species. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the plan will help the federal government “strengthen California’s water resilience.” It takes effect Friday. But California officials and environmental groups blasted the move, saying sending significantly more water to farmlands could threaten water delivery to the rest of the state and would harm salmon and other fish. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the plan was an example of the Trump administration “putting politics over people.” “As per usual, the emperor is left with no clothes, pushing for an outcome that disregards science and undermines our ability to protect the water supply for people, farms, and the environment,” spokesperson Tara Gallegos said in a statement. Most of the state’s water is in the north, but most of its people are in the south. The federally managed Central Valley Project works in tandem with the state-managed State Water Project, which sends water to cities that supply 27 million Californians. The systems transport water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary that provides critical habitat to fish and wildlife including salmon and the delta smelt.

Decades-old palm trees in Rio de Janeiro flower for the first — and only — time (AP) — Towering talipot palms in a Rio de Janeiro park are flowering for the first and only time in their lives, decades after famed Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx introduced them in the 1960s. Towards the end of its life — which can span between 40 and 80 years — the palm tree sends up a central plume crowded with millions of small, creamy-white blossoms that rise high above its fan-shaped leaves. The rare phenomenon that ties past to present has sparked the curiosity of passersby in Flamengo Park who stop, crane their necks to admire them and take photos. Vinicius Vanni, a 42-year-old civil engineer, was even hoping to collect seedlings and plant them. “I probably won’t see them flower, but they’ll be there for future generations,” he said from Flamengo Park, which hugs a nearby beach and offers a spectacular view of Sugarloaf Mountain. Originating from southern India and Sri Lanka, the talipot palm can reach up to 30 meters (98 feet) in height and produce around 25 million flowers when it blossoms, using energy accumulated over decades. If the flowers are pollinated, they produce fruits that can become seedlings. In addition to Flamengo Park, the talipot palms can be found in Rio’s Botanical Garden, where they are also flowering. That’s because they were brought across from southern Asia together, have the same metabolism and have been exposed to the same Brazilian rhythm of daylight, according to Aline Saavedra, a biologist at Rio de Janeiro State University. Saavedra said that environmental laws strictly regulate transporting species native from another continent, although talipot palms are not invasive due to their slow development. The interest the phenomenon has generated is positive and could encourage a sense of belonging for human beings to preserve rather than destroy the environment, according to Saavedra.

Record-breaking winter storm leads to plane slide-off and crashes across the Midwest, U.S. - YouTube video - A post-Thanksgiving winter storm dropped record snow in St. Louis and parts of the Midwest on Saturday, November 29, 2025, causing a Delta flight to slide off the runway in Des Moines and triggering hundreds of crashes and multi-vehicle pileups on major interstate highways, including I-70 and I-80. The winter storm broke multiple snowfall records across the Midwest. St. Louis, Missouri, recorded 16.2 cm (6.4 inches) of snow through Saturday. This was the highest snowfall accumulation for the city since 1929 and the fifth-highest on record, according to the NWS. Snowfall accumulations in parts of the region reached 20-25 cm (8–10 inches). Hannibal, Missouri, and Pittsfield, Illinois, both recorded 25 cm (10 inches) of snow through Saturday. Multiple daily and monthly snow records were reportedly broken across the Midwest through Saturday. The storm caused travel disruptions across the affected regions, with over 1 000 flights to and from Chicago airports being canceled in 24 hours, with more disruptions expected through this weekend. Delta flight 5087 slid off the runway at around 22:00 local time (LT) on Saturday while arriving at the Des Moines (DSM) International Airport, Iowa, due to icy conditions. The plane was coming in from Detroit, Michigan, when the incident occurred. All 58 passengers were safely transported off the aircraft with no injuries reported, according to Des Moines International Airport Communications Manager Sarah Hoodjer. The airport had to be closed due to the incident, and remained closed as of Sunday morning, November 30. While there was no clear timeline for reopening, DSM airport officials said the airport was expected to open by midday on Sunday.“The aircraft remains on pavement at this time and will be moved once it is formally released by the National Transportation Safety Board,” Hoodjer told NewsRadio 1040 WHO.“We are aware and collecting information, but have not opened an investigation at this time,” said Sarah Taylor Sulick, NTSB Public Affairs Specialist. The closure is affecting thousands of travelers trying to get home after the holiday. The Federal Aviation Administration says this is one of the busiest Thanksgivings in 15 years.

Snowstorm triggers large pile-up on I-70 in western Indiana - YouTube videos - A large chain-reaction crash involving about 45 vehicles occurred on Interstate 70 westbound near Terre Haute, Indiana, at around 10:00 LT on November 29, 2025, amid heavy snowfall and reduced visibility. The collision blocked all westbound lanes for nearly 6 hours, but authorities reported no fatalities or major injuries. The event happened as a winter storm system brought snow and freezing rain across parts of Illinois and Indiana, creating hazardous travel conditions. A major multi-vehicle pile-up occurred on Interstate 70 westbound, approximately 15 km (9 miles) west of Terre Haute, Indiana, around 10:00 local time on November 29. According to the Indiana State Police (ISP), an estimated 45 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction crash triggered by snow-covered pavement and rapidly deteriorating visibility. Initial estimates from first responders suggested 20 to 30 vehicles, but the number rose as tow and emergency crews assessed additional collisions and slide-offs along the route. The westbound lanes remained closed for approximately 6 hours while crews removed wreckage and treated the roadway surface. Traffic was diverted through State Road 46 and other local routes until early afternoon. Despite the scale of the incident, ISP reported no fatalities and no serious injuries. Several drivers and passengers sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by local emergency medical services. The pile-up coincided with a broad winter storm affecting much of the Midwest during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter weather advisories for western Indiana and eastern Illinois, forecasting snow accumulations of 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) and wind gusts up to 45 km/h (28 mph). The combination of fresh snow, ice, and strong winds created rapidly changing road conditions that reduced visibility to less than 400 m (1 300 feet) in some areas.

Downtown San Francisco records coldest daytime high for November 30 since 1922 - Downtown San Francisco reached only 10°C (50°F) on Sunday, November 30, 2025–the city’s lowest daily maximum for the date in records dating back to 1874. The unseasonably cold conditions developed under a persistent marine layer and stagnant air pattern, keeping the city unusually cold for late autumn. This was a new record low maximum for the date, breaking the 1922 record of 10.6°C (51°F). “The last time San Francisco had a high temperature 10°C (50°F) or cooler was February 27, 2023,” the National Weather Service (NWS) office in the Bay Area reported. Typical late-November highs in the city average near 15.6°C (60°F). Sunday’s high was the lowest daytime temperature observed in the city during any fall season since 2019, following several weeks of relatively mild autumn weather. Meteorologists attributed the unusually cold day to a persistent marine layer and stagnant atmospheric conditions. A shallow temperature inversion limited vertical mixing, while widespread fog and light onshore flow prevented surface warming. Temperatures in downtown San Francisco remained near 10°C (50°F) for most of the day, an uncommon occurrence for coastal California in late autumn, and local media reported that much of the Bay Area experienced similarly below-normal daytime highs during the same period.

New Jersey counties under State of Emergency as Nor’easter brings heavy snow to the U.S. Northeast - The season’s first Nor’easter began impacting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast overnight, prompting a State of Emergency in parts of New Jersey and school closures across multiple states. The storm is forecast to rapidly intensify, possibly dropping up to 30 cm (12 inches) of snow across parts of the interior Northeast through Tuesday, December 2, 2025.A powerful Nor’easter is sweeping across the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast, bringing heavy snow across the region, including areas along the I-95 corridor on Tuesday. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency through Tuesday for Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties due to heavy snow and sleet forecast across the region. “Starting early tomorrow morning, we anticipate snowfall, sleet, and freezing rain. I urge all drivers to exercise caution, remain alert, and follow all safety protocols,” said Governor Murphy. The storm, along with the departing winter storm, had prompted winter weather advisories on Monday, December 1. While many of the advisories have expired, much of the interior Northeast remains under winter weather advisories and warnings through Tuesday.

Arctic blast brings record lows to the Midwest, below freezing Friday for the Northeast - - The first of multiple Arctic blasts expected this month brought record-low temperatures across the Midwest on Thursday, December 4, 2025, with reports of over 40 record lows for the day. More record lows are expected as the Arctic wave moves through the Northeast on Friday, December 5.The ongoing Arctic blast swept across the Midwest on Thursday, December 4, bringing record-breaking low temperatures to the region.The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Des Moines confirmed six record-breaking daily low temperatures on Thursday.Estherville and Mason City both dropped to -25°C (-13°F), while Fort Dodge and Marshalltown recorded -25.6°C (-14°F). Meanwhile, Waterloo saw the coldest reading at -26.1°C (-15°F).Temperatures in Ames reached -22.2°C (-8°F), Des Moines recorded -19.4°C (-3°F), and Ottumwa hit -21.7°C (-7°F), which was also a record low. Lamoni registered -18.9°C (-2°F), marking another record-breaking minimum.The mercury fell to -20°C (-4°F) in Moline, Illinois, on Thursday, breaking the previous daily low temperature record of -18.8°C (-2°F) set in 1991, reported NWS.According to Fox Weather, more than 40 low-temperature records were broken across the country.Washington, D.C., activated its first Extreme Cold Alert of the season on Thursday due to forecasted low temperatures.“We’ve officially activated the first Extreme Cold Alert of the season in Washington, DC,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “Limit time outdoors, dress in layers, and bring your pets inside. Shelter hotline: (202) 399-7093. Together, let’s stay safe and warm all winter long.”Temperatures dipped to nearly -29°C (-20°F) in the Adirondacks of northeastern New York on Friday morning. More record lows are expected across the Northeast through Friday as the first Arctic wave moves out.The freezing temperatures are the result of a shifting polar vortex that has settled over Canada and is driving cold air from the North Pole into the U.S.The setup will bring multiple waves of Arctic air into the country through early December, bringing more record lows this month.

Floods hit Sri Lanka's capital as cyclone deaths near 200 - Entire areas of Sri Lanka's capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing. Officials said the extent of the damage in the country's worst-affected central region was only just being revealed as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides. The Disaster Management Center (DMC) said at least 193 people had died following a week of heavy rains brought on by Cyclone Ditwah, while 228 people were missing. The northern parts of Colombo were flooded as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly, the DMC said. "Although the cyclone has left us, heavy rains upstream are now flooding low-lying areas along the banks of the Kelani River," a DMC official said. "My house is completely flooded. I don't know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family," Selvi, 46, told AFP. Water levels in the town of Manampitiya, 250 kilometers (156 miles) north-east of Colombo, were receding, revealing massive destruction. Although there have been relatively few injuries, the National Blood Transfusion Service said they were in short supply. The blood bank chief, Lakshman Edirisinghe, said their daily requirement was about 1,500 units of blood, but the weather-related disruptions had reduced supply to just 236 units on Saturday. "Because of floods and heavy rains, we were unable to conduct our mobile campaigns to collect blood," he told reporters in Colombo. "We appeal to donors to visit the nearest blood bank." The National Building Research Organization, which monitors the stability of hillsides, said there was a high risk of further landslides because mountain slopes were still saturated with rainwater. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency on Saturday to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone and appealed for international aid. India was the first to respond, sending relief supplies and two helicopters with crew to carry out rescue missions. Two more choppers were due to join on Sunday, officials said. Pakistan was also sending rescue teams, according to the Sri Lankan Air Force. Japan said it would send a team to assess immediate needs and pledged further assistance. The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 25,000 homes and sent 147,000 people into state-run temporary shelters. Another 968,000 people required assistance after being displaced by the floods. Troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers to assist with the relief effort. The cyclone is Sri Lanka's deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed more than 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Over 800 people are still missing after flooding in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand — Over 800 people remained missing Monday after devastating floods killed over 1,000 people last week in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as Indonesia’s president urged more action to confront the changing climate. The flooding and landslides killed at least 604 people in Indonesia, 366 in Sri Lanka and 176 in Thailand, authorities said. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to rebuild infrastructure while visiting affected areas. Some areas remained unreachable, with roads damaged and communications lines down. Residents relied on aircraft delivering supplies. At least 464 people in Indonesia were missing. Flooding displaced 290,700 people in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, the National Disaster Management Agency said. “We need to confront climate change effectively,” Prabowo told reporters. “Local governments must take a significant role in safeguarding the environment and preparing for the extreme weather conditions that will arise from future climate change.” Sri Lankan authorities said rescuers were searching for 367 missing people. About 218,000 others were in temporary shelters after being battered in the downpours that triggered landslides, primarily in the tea-growing central hill country. In Thailand, the first compensation payments were set to be distributed Monday, beginning with 239 million baht ($7.4 million) for 26,000 people, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.

Emergency declared in Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah leaves at least 355 dead and 366 missing – 3 YouTube videos- At least 355 people were confirmed dead, and 366 remain missing as of December 1, 2025, after Cyclone Ditwah brought days of intense rainfall across Sri Lanka, producing severe flooding and landslides in multiple districts. Seventy-one deaths and 53 missing were reported in Badulla District; 66 deaths and 105 missing in Kandy District; 20 deaths and 10 missing in Matale District; 19 deaths and 37 missing in Kurunegala District; 8 deaths in Ampara District; 6 deaths and 4 missing in Nuwara Eliya District; and 144 deaths and 161 missing in unspecified locations. Sri Lanka has declared a State of Emergency and deployed over 25 000 personnel for relief efforts. Officials report that the impact extends across nearly all administrative districts, affecting close to one million people. Around 200 000 people were reportedly in state-run shelters after the storm destroyed more than 20 000 homes across the island. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said it is the “most challenging natural disaster” in the country’s history and that the destruction was so severe that reconstruction estimates were staggering. A rain-related incident caused by Ditwah claimed at least 3 lives in Tamil Nadu, India. Two people were killed when walls collapsed in Thoothukudi and Thanjavur, while a 20-year-old died from electrocution in Mayiladuthurai. A Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter crashed in Wennappuwa during relief operations, killing the pilot and injuring four others. Meanwhile, a landslide in Gangoda village buried 20 people. Three people were killed in Sainthamaruthu, Ampara District, after their car was swept away by floodwaters. Colombo, Gampaha, and Puttalam, three of the island’s most populated western districts, experienced widespread urban flooding as rivers overtopped, forcing families to evacuate to schools, community centers, and temporary shelters. Tens of thousands of residents were displaced in Colombo District alone after floodwaters entered tightly packed neighborhoods along riverbanks and low-lying streets. Cyclone Ditwah also disrupted essential services across wide areas. Power failures were reported in multiple districts, while several water-supply stations were affected by floodwaters. Hospitals in flooded areas were forced to reroute emergency cases and operate with reduced capacity, while health authorities warned of increased risks of waterborne diseases in crowded temporary shelters.

Death and devastation: Why a rare equatorial cyclone and other storms have hit southern Asia so hard - More than 900 people are dead, thousands more missing and millions affected by a band of cyclones and extreme monsoonal weather across southern Asia. Torrential rain has triggered the worst flooding in decades, accompanied by landslides. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia have been hit hardest. The death toll is likely to rise significantly.Normally, cyclones don't form close to the equator. But Cyclone Senyar formed just north of the equator in the Malacca Strait. It triggered lethal flooding in Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia last week.It wasn't alone. Other tropical cyclones formed along a zone of converging trade winds north of the equator. Typhoon Koto caused severe flash floods and landslides in the Philippines before weakening as it neared Vietnam. Tropical Cyclone Ditwah devastated Sri Lanka. One reason Sumatra was hit by such severe flooding was due to the unusual interaction between Typhoon Koto and Cyclone Senyar, which has now weakened.The near-simultaneous emergence of these intense storms isn't unheard of, and equatorial cyclones are rare but known. But the devastation is extraordinary. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake described the floods as the "most challenging natural disaster" in the country's history. Is there a climate link? We don't know yet, but we do know climate change is projected to trigger fewer cyclones overall, but with higher intensity. Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes are different names for the same strong, spinning tropical storms. These storms form over large expanses of warm water—but not usually on the equatorial seas. This is because there's not enough Coriolis force from Earth's rotation at the equator to spin storms into their classic cyclonic structure. The closest cyclone to the equator was the 2001 Tropical Storm Vamei, which formed at just 1.4°N. Cyclone Senyar formed at 3.8°N. While tropical cyclones can form in any month, they're more common between July and October in the northwest Pacific and North Indian oceans. Cyclone Senyar and Typhoon Koto formed in the Northwest Pacific Basin, which has the largest, most frequent and most intense tropical cyclones in the world. Several devastating typhoons have hit the Philippines and parts of southern China this year. One reason these cyclones have caused widespread damage is because they have hit countries where cyclones are rare, such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Tropical cyclones are often smaller and much less common in the North Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. But Cyclone Ditwah tracked directly down Sri Lanka's east coast, magnifying the damage.As the world's oceans and atmosphere warm at an accelerating rate due to the rise in greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, tropical cyclones are expected to become more intense.This is because cyclones get their energy from warm oceans. The warmer the ocean, the more fuel for the storm.The warming atmosphere is supercharging the global water cycle, and peak rainfall rates are increasing. When more rain falls in a short time, flash flooding becomes more likely.We can't immediately say climate change made these storms worse, as it takes time to pinpoint any link..

How deforestation turbocharged Indonesia's deadly floods - The deadly flooding that has killed hundreds in Indonesia was largely the result of monsoon rains and a rare tropical storm. But something else may have played a role: deforestation.Environmentalists, experts and even Indonesia's government have pointed to the role forest loss played in flash flooding and landslides that washed torrents of mud into villages and stranded residents on roofs.Forests help absorb rainfall and stabilize the ground held by their roots, and their absence makes areas more prone to flash flooding and landslides.Indonesia is regularly among the countries in the world with the largest annual forest loss.Mining, plantations and fires have caused the clearance of large tracts of the country's lush rainforest over recent decades. In 2024, over 240,000 hectares of primary forest was lost, and that was less than the year before, according to analysis by conservation start-up The TreeMap's Nusantara Atlas project."Forests upstream act as a protective barrier, a bit like a sponge," "The canopy captures some of the rain before it reaches the ground. The roots also help stabilize the soil. When the forest is cleared upstream, rainwater runs off rapidly into rivers creating flash floods."Indonesia's forests are also home to enormous biodiversity and some of the world's most threatened species, including orangutans.Experts, environmentalists and even government officials have pointed to the role of deforestation in Indonesia's deadly floods. The floods carried not only collapsed hillsides and torrents of mud, but also timber that fueled speculation about the link between deforestation and the disaster.The forestry ministry is reportedly investigating claims of illegal logging in affected areas, and Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni called the disaster a chance to "evaluate our policies".In one of the worst-affected areas, Batang Toru, "there are seven companies operating along the upstream region," said Uli Arta Siagian, forest and plantation campaign manager for conservation group Walhi. “There is a gold mine that has already cleared around 300 hectares of forest cover... the Batang Toru Hydropower Plant has caused the loss of 350 hectares of forest," she told AFP. Timber washed away in floodwaters has fuelled speculation about the role deforestation played in the Indonesia disaster.On one beach in Padang, AFP saw workers dressed in orange using chainsaws to break up massive logs strewn along the sand. Large tracts of forest have also been converted into palm oil plantations. Sumatra, where the flood damage was concentrated, is particularly vulnerable because its river basins are relatively small, explained Kiki Taufik, head of Greenpeace Indonesia's forest campaign. Deforestation rates in Sumatra are among the highest in Indonesia, Losing forest also raises flooding risks because soil washes into rivers, raising the riverbed and reducing the capacity of waterways to absorb sudden torrential downpours, he said.

Deforestation has turned Africa's forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources, new study finds - New research warns that Africa's forests, once vital allies in the fight against climate change, have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source.A new international study published in Scientific Reports reveals that Africa's forests, which have long absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, are now releasing more carbon than they remove.This alarming shift, which happened after 2010, underscores the urgent need for stronger global action to protect forests, a major focus of the COP30 Climate Summit that concluded last week in Brazil. Using advanced satellite data and machine learning, the researchers tracked more than a decade of changes in aboveground forest biomass, the amount of carbon stored in trees and woody vegetation. They found that while Africa gained carbon between 2007 and 2010, widespread forest loss in tropical rainforests has since tipped the balance.Between 2010 and 2017, the continent lost approximately 106 billion kilograms of forest biomass per year. That is equivalent to the weight of about 106 million cars. The losses are concentrated in tropical moist broadleaf forests in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and parts of West Africa, driven by deforestation and forest degradation. Gains in savanna regions due to shrub growth have not been enough to offset the losses. "This is a critical wake-up call for global climate policy. If Africa's forests are no longer absorbing carbon, it means other regions and the world as a whole will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions even more deeply to stay within the 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement and avoid catastrophic climate change. Climate finance for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility must be scaled up quickly to put an end to global deforestation for good."The research draws on data from NASA's spaceborne laser instrument called GEDI and Japan's ALOS radar satellites, combined with machine learning and thousands of on-the-ground forest measurements. The result is the most detailed map to date of biomass changes across the African continent, covering a decade, at a resolution fine enough to capture local deforestation patterns. The findings come as the COP30 Presidency announced the new Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which aims to mobilize billions of pounds for climate finance. It would pay forested countries to leave their tropical forests untouched. The results show that without urgent action to stop forest loss, the world risks losing one of its most important natural carbon buffers.

Drought forces Iran to halt power generation at major dam -Iran’s Karkheh Dam hydroelectric power plant has stopped generating electricity because of a sharp drop in the reservoir’s water level, state media reported on Saturday.Amir Mahmoudi, head of the Karkheh Dam and power plant, said water is now being released through lower outlets to supply downstream needs after the generating units went offline. He said the dam’s reservoir currently holds about one billion cubic meters of water, with the water level 40 meters below normal operating height.Mahmoudi said the Karkheh basin has endured several years of drought and low rainfall, urging conservation of water for drinking, farming, livestock, and industrial use.The Karkheh Dam, one of the largest earthen dams in the world and the biggest in Iran and the Middle East, was built on the Karkheh River about 22 kilometers northwest of Andimeshk in Khuzestan province. It has a total generating capacity of 400 megawatts.The shutdown comes as Iran faces one of its worst droughts in decades, with reservoirs across the country running dangerously low. Domestic media have reported steep drops at Tehran’s Karaj and Latian dams, while officials in Mashhad, Kerman and Yazd warn of collapsing aquifers and forced water rationing.The Kurdish rights group Hengaw said this week that authorities in western Iran have also increased pressure on local journalists covering the crisis. Reporters in the city of Baneh were summoned or threatened by security agents after publishing reports on water shortages that left some neighborhoods without running water for more than three days. The group said some journalists were accused of “spreading public anxiety” and forced to sign written pledges not to report further on the issue.

Why Iran May Abandon Tehran: Drought, Subsidence, No Water – Talk of relocating Iran’s capital from Tehran first surfaced last year, as a years-long drought began to alarm not only experts but senior officials. By summer, with the country in the grip of an unprecedented dry spell, the proposal had become a prominent item on the government’s agenda.The only factor that could have slowed the plan was rain, but autumn, too, passed without it. With drinking water supplies for more than 10 million residents falling to catastrophic levels, debate over moving the capital has intensified and is now unfolding at the highest levels of government.Three weeks ago, the Tasnim news agency reported that Masoud Pezeshkian’s proposal to relocate the capital had been taken off the agenda. “A final decision has been made that water and environmental problems in the capital will be resolved through new technologies and scientific resource management directly in Tehran,” the president’s representative for maritime development coordination said. He added that a major 1,000-kilometer project to bring water from the Persian Gulf to Tehran had been completed and currently serves as the city’s only reliable supply. Latest News & Breaking Stories | Stay Updated with Caspianpost.com - Why Iran May Abandon Tehran: Drought, Subsidence, No Water Photo: Reuters However, in recent days, the head of state admitted that the country no longer has a choice and the capital must be moved from Tehran. According to him, the city can no longer function due to severe environmental problems. “When we say the ground is sinking 30 centimeters every day, that means catastrophe,” Iran International quoted him as saying. Pezeshkian also pointed to declining water reserves and emphasized that environmental protection is not a joke - ignoring it means signing one’s own death warrant. Tehran subsides by 30 centimeters not daily but annually. Pezeshkian apparently exaggerated to strengthen the impact of his message and draw more attention to the issue. Still, even a 30-centimeter annual land subsidence is, according to experts, a true disaster caused by excessive extraction of groundwater, a problem that cannot be solved even with the most advanced technologies. The city is overpopulated, and the only solution is relocating the capital, which would also help reduce the population. Climate change has dealt a heavy blow to Iran. Over the past five years, precipitation has fallen to critically low levels. The drought of 2025 has been the most severe. The reservoirs supplying drinking water to the capital are filled to only 5 percent or less. Earlier in November, Masoud Pezeshkian warned that if rains did not begin by winter, the capital would have to be evacuated. There would be no other choice. The rains never came, and now the question of relocating the capital has become urgent. There are no major rivers on the Iranian plateau. Surrounded by mountains, the region receives little rainfall. The water crisis has reduced hydropower production, shrunk crop areas, and caused problems for industrial enterprises. According to Iranian sources, it is possible that Iran may seek assistance from neighboring countries. However, experts see little prospect of broad international support due to the nature of relations between the Iranian regime and the West. While the water shortage can be addressed to some extent by using desalinated seawater, the problem of land subsidence cannot be resolved. The disaster stems from uncontrolled drilling of artesian wells by the population. At one time, the government allowed farmers to drill freely, believing it would stimulate agriculture. But this led to a sharp decline in groundwater reserves and sinking of the soil. Numerous dams and reservoirs also worsened the situation, as in a country with few rivers and low water flow, they altered the natural water regime. As for where Iran’s capital might be moved, earlier this year, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said at a briefing that the city of Makran, located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran, could become the new capital. According to her, a Council for the Transfer of Iran’s Capital is operating, although she noted that the issue is not currently at the top of the agenda. Makran is located in a sandy desert, but its proximity to the sea would allow it to be supplied with desalinated water. It was previously reported that cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, which has the necessary technology, was being considered in this regard. Iran would not be the first country to move its capital in the 21st century. The Russian newspaper Kommersant researched this topic and published notable findings. On November 6, 2005, at 6:37 a.m., the relocation of Myanmar’s government from Yangon to Naypyidaw began. The exact reason for the move was not specified, but the date and time were determined by astrologers. Civil servants and archives were transported by military trucks under the escort of soldiers. The cost of building the new city was estimated at $4 billion. Yangon’s population before the relocation was just over 4 million, a figure incomparable to the challenges Tehran, a city of more than 10 million, would face in the event of evacuation. In 2015, Egypt announced plans to relocate its capital from overcrowded Cairo to a specially constructed city tentatively named the “New Administrative Capital.” The project’s estimated cost was $45 billion. By May 2023, at least 14 ministries and agencies had moved to the new city, although it has not yet been officially declared the capital. At different times, several other small countries have moved or planned to move their capitals, for example, Palau, Burundi, and Equatorial Guinea. In 2002, South Korea also announced plans to relocate its capital from overcrowded Seoul. Construction of the new city of Sejong cost $20 billion. However, Seoul remains the capital, although several ministries and agencies were transferred to the new city. Today, Iranians are praying for rain. Clerics are urging the population to appeal to the Almighty for rain during Friday prayers. Meanwhile, the authorities, not relying too much on divine intervention, are seeking solutions. According to IRNA, cloud seeding has begun - spraying substances to artificially induce rainfall. Silver iodide or potassium is injected into clouds from planes or from the ground to accelerate condensation and trigger precipitation. Two weeks ago, this method was used over the basin of the dried-up Lake Urmia. However, the method is expensive and yields very limited results. The authorities continue to search for a way out. It appears that evacuation of Tehran is no longer considered a last-resort option postponed for the future.

El Niño is beginning to occur more regularly, every 2 to 5 years - A new climate modeling study suggests that El Niño may soon become stronger and more regular. This Pacific pattern already disrupts weather across the planet, so a shift in its behavior would matter almost everywhere.An international team used a detailed climate model to explore how the tropical Pacific might respond to high greenhouse gas emissions this century.They found that El Niño events could start switching more regularly every two to five years, altering rain and temperature patterns worldwide.In their simulations, the team saw the tropical Pacific cross a climate tipping point, a threshold where small warming triggers much larger swings.“In a warmer world, the tropical Pacific can undergo a type of climate tipping point,” said Stuecker in the study.To explore that shift, the team used a high resolution model called AWI CM3, which divides atmosphere into grid boxes about 19 miles wide. In the ocean part, grid cells are as small as about 2.5 miles, so the model can represent currents that help shape El Niño.The experiments assumed a future where greenhouse gas emissions stay very high, so the tropical Pacific keeps warming through the late twenty-first century.Under those conditions, sea surface temperature, the temperature of the ocean surface, began to swing intensely between warm and cool phases in the Pacific.El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a repeating swing in tropical Pacific ocean temperatures and winds, acts as one of Earth’s most important climate rhythms. It shifts rainfall, drought, and storm risks across many regions. Right now, El Niño and La Niña come and go irregularly every few years, with some events huge and others barely noticeable. Their distant impacts, called teleconnections, long distance links between the tropics and regions, can bring wet winters to one place and drought to another.Many current climate models suggest that future El Niño events will often produce larger swings in tropical rainfall and ocean warmth.One review finds climate models project stronger sea surface temperature and rainfall variability linked to El Niño.The new simulations go beyond simply making El Niño stronger by showing a shift from irregular behavior to a more regular swing. When that swing becomes more regular, its influence on wind and rain patterns can align more easily with other climate modes.In the model, El Niño and La Niña first behave much like observations over the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Later in the run, their ups and downs become larger and far more tightly grouped around a single repeating timescale.The team measured this change with sample entropy, a statistic that drops as a signal becomes more predictable and regular.That metric fell steadily in the future run, and comparisons with a long control simulation showed the shift exceeded natural randomness.Physically, the model points to stronger air sea feedbacks, two way interactions between ocean temperatures and winds that can amplify small disturbances.At the same time, random tropical weather fluctuations grow more energetic, helping to kick the Pacific into bigger, more self-sustaining swings.

Asteroid 2025 WV13 flew past Earth at just 0.06 lunar distances - A newly discovered asteroid designated 2025 WV13 made a very close approach to Earth on November 27, 2025, passing at an estimated distance of just 0.065 lunar distances. The asteroid designated 2025 WV13 flew past Earth at an estimated distance of 0.064 LD (0.00019 AU / 24 420 km / 15 200 miles) from the center of our planet at 23:30 UTC on November 27. This is about 18 000 km (11 200 miles) from the surface and well within the orbit of geostationary satellites. The object was first reported by the Catalina Sky Survey on November 28, one day after its close approach. 2025 WV13 is an Apollo-type near-Earth object, a class of asteroids whose orbits cross Earth’s orbit with semimajor axes larger than 1 AU. Its absolute magnitude (H = 28.86) suggests a diameter between 4 and 10 m (13–33 feet), depending on surface reflectivity. Its orbital elements, based on observations up to November 30, show a semimajor axis of 2.5157 AU, eccentricity of 0.613, and inclination of 3.6°. The asteroid’s orbital period is 3.99 years, with an aphelion distance of 4.057 AU and a perihelion of 0.9736 AU. The Earth Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance (MOID) is estimated at 0.0001878 AU, equivalent to about 28 100 km (17 450 miles), placing the object among the tighter known orbital proximities to Earth’s path.

Major X1.9 solar flare erupts from AR 4299, producing partial halo CME – video -A major solar flare registered as X1.9 erupted from Active Region 4299 at 02:49 UTC on December 1, 2025. The event started at 02:27 and ended at 03:05 UTC. This region is currently making its second run through the Earth-side of the Sun, after producing multiple X-class flares in early November. A Type II Radio Emission with an estimated velocity of 988 km/s was registered at 02:43 UTC, indicating a coronal mass ejection (CME) was associated with the event. Active Region 4299 is located on the Sun’s northeastern limb, limiting the possibility for Earth-directed CMEs. However, this will change as the week progresses, and the region moves toward a geoeffective position. This is the old Region 4274, source of multiple X-class flares during its last rotation over the Earth-side in early November, including X5.1 on November 11, which produced the strongest Ground Level Enhancement event in 20 years.Other notable flares from this region include X4.0 on November 14, X1.7 on November 9, and X1.2 on November 10. Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over Australia at the time of the flare event. “This storm is not Earth-directed (it is directed towards Saturn), but I would not be surprised if we see a radiation storm rise at Earth over the next few hours,” Space Weather Physicist Dr. Tamitha Skov said. “Preliminary analysis of the recent X1.95-flare shows radio bursts of over 1.2 GHz observed at the new Wairakei SIGN station in New Zealand,” Skov said. “This means this region has the potential to temporarily disrupt GPS/GNSS, satellite phone, and ADS-B airline transponder communications when it flares! Stay vigilant if you use these services while on the dayside of Earth!” Solar activity decreased to low levels over the 24 hours to 00:30 UTC on December 1, with the strongest flare, C9.0, occurring at 10:54 UTC also from AR 4299. Region 4294 (beta-gamma-delta) persisted as the most complex region on the Sun, producing most of the C-class flare activity during the period. Newly numbered Region 4296 (beta) was also large in area but not as magnetically complex. The forecast calls for a 70% chance of M-class flaring through December 3 and a 20% chance of X-class flaring. The same period brings a 10% chance of S1+ solar radiation storms, primarily driven by the eruption potential of Region 4294.

Strong M6.0 solar flare erupts from Region 4300, brief G3 - Strong geomagnetic storm - A strong M6.0 solar flare erupted from Region 4300 at 02:50 UTC on December 4, 2025, producing a non-Earth-directed CME. The flare occurred as Earth’s geomagnetic field remained in storm conditions, including a G3 – Strong interval driven by the arrival of a negative CH HSS and the flank of the CME launched on December 1. Solar wind parameters showed elevated density, strong IMF values, and Bz reaching −15 nT before transitioning to high-speed stream conditions.Solar activity reached high levels on December 4, following an isolated M6.0 flare that erupted from Region 4300 (beta-gamma) at 02:50 UTC. The event started at 02:36 and ended at 02:59 UTC.The flare was observed in GOES/SUVI 284Å imagery and in coronagraph data, with preliminary analysis indicating that the associated coronal mass ejection (CME) is not Earth-directed. A Type II radio sweep was detected near the flare peak by two USAF/RSTN stations, with estimated shock speeds of 345 km/s and 484 km/s.Radio frequencies were forecast to be most degraded over Australia at the time of the flare.Multiple radio bursts and noise storms were recorded throughout the period, including a Type IV sweep at 08:32 UTC.Additionally, a filament eruption was observed in the southwest quadrant at 11:06 UTC on December 3, but is not expected to affect Earth. Coronagraph imagery showed no additional CMEs.Geomagnetic activity was predominantly at minor storming levels (Kp=5) during the past 24 hours, with two active periods (Kp=4) recorded from 15:00–18:00 UTC on December 3 and 09:00–12:00 UTC on December 4.A G3 – Strong geomagnetic storming interval (Kp=7) occurred from 18:00–21:00 UTC on December 3, likely driven by the combined influence of the arriving negative coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) and the CME produced by X1.9 solar flare on December 1.

China’s emissions plateau amid clean energy boom - China’s world-leading levels of climate pollution are expected to stay flat in 2025, marking a reversal over the past decade when the industrial powerhouse saw its carbon emissions rise sharply. The clean tech behemoth and top coal producer globally is likely to see its emissions increase 0.2 percent based on data through September, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a nonprofit that tracks emissions trends. That extends an 18-month period of relative stability for the nation’s carbon output and occurs as energy demand is rising.The projection comes as China adds records amounts of wind and solar installations while expanding its number of electric vehicles.But the outlook over its contribution toward slowing global warming is mixed, despite the steps it’s taken to reduce climate pollution. China is set to miss key climate targets this year, and it continues to add coal-fired power plants to fuel its manufacturing ambitions.

Democrats revive effort to regulate pipeline emissions - -Hill Democrats are moving to revive a defunct proposal that would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental justice impacts of natural gas pipelines. The “FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act” — introduced by Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) in the House and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the Senate — would direct FERC to quantify a project’s climate pollution and assess how it affects overburdened communities before issuing a certificate under the Natural Gas Act. “For too long, we have placed the interests of energy producers above all else in setting our energy policy, including when deciding whether to permit a new natural gas pipeline,” Casten said. “It’s past time we put the national interest first.” The bill would also require developers to mitigate impacts by submitting specific proposals to offset emissions — potentially through carbon capture technologies or through renewable energy credit purchases.

New York becomes third state to require emissions reporting - New York state will require top polluters in numerous industries to report their greenhouse gas emissions starting in the summer of 2027 under a sweeping new policy that stops short of requiring emissions reductions. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration announced Monday the state had finalized an emissions reporting rule, which resembles rules in California and Washington state.But an earlier New York plan to launch a comprehensive carbon market similar to those in California and Washington is on hold.The New York reporting mandate affects businesses that emit at least 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year. Those include electricity generators, landfills and waste haulers.

Ohio's Unwillingness to Embrace Clean Energy - The Times Leader, LTE - Unlike our neighboring states of Michigan and Illinois, Ohio’s politicians have not embraced the economic and environmental benefits that solar and wind energy provide. Instead, Ohio’s politicians passed Senate Bill 52, where communities can effectively block solar and wind projects, something that communities cannot do when it comes to fossil fuel development. Ohio’s energy bill HB15, which passed in May of this year, was stripped of several pro-solar provisions, including a community solar program. This program would have helped poor communities access solar energy. During the past nine months, the Trump administration has mounted a blatant attack on renewable energy by rolling back environmental laws and policies favoring renewables, canceling incentives enacted in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and halting projects even when in construction. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, Ohio’s Republican politicians have yet again come up with another way to kill renewable energy projects and promote the non-renewable fossil fuel gas: methane. HB 294 would grant “clean energy status” to methane gas. This could mean gas projects might get preferential treatment over true renewable energy projects when it comes to permits by the Ohio Power Siting Board. Unlike solar and wind energy, methane is a climate changing gas itself, and when burned produces carbon dioxide, another climate changing gas. “Sen. George Lang, one of the Republican co-sponsors, said in committee that natural gas is a cleaner energy source than coal.” That’s not saying much. Sen. Mark Romanchuk, a Richland County Republican and co-sponsor, remarked that building the infrastructure needed for solar- and wind-produced emissions, but he conveniently failed to mention the emissions created to construct a well pad and all the infrastructure needed to support the process. According to a report by the World Nuclear Association, comparison of life-cycle CO2 emissions from all energy sources shows that fracked gas produces the third highest amount of CO2 with 490 grams of CO2 per kW hr. Utility scale solar produces 48 grams, residential solar produces 41 and wind are the lowest life-cycle emitters at 11 grams per kW hr. The life-cycle emissions from fracked gas include those produced from the extraction process which includes the gas (drilling), well pad and road construction, petrochemicals used to frack, compression and transportation of gas to LNG facilities and export transportation out of the country. Additionally, the fracking process also requires enormous amounts of water and produces millions of gallons or toxic radioactive brine. Harrison County saw 853 million gallons of surface water withdrawn for fracking in 2023. That represents 78% of the total water usage in the county. Wind and solar energy have a significantly lower carbon and water footprint. Calling fracked gas “clean” is laughable. At the same time politicians are wanting to declare “fracked” gas clean, they are working on legislation (HB 170 and SB 136) to give the Ohio Department of Natural Resources primacy over carbon dioxide capture and sequestration Class VI wells. If passed, millions of tons of carbon emissions will be injected underneath Ohio land. Taxpayers will be paying the tax incentives of $85 per ton of industrial CO2 captured and stored, according to the One Big Beautiful Bill. Both HB 170 and SB 136 tramp on private property rights by allowing “forced pooling,” which means that land owners could be forced into allowing the injection of carbon dioxide under their private property. The next assault on property owners may be the construction of pipelines to carry carbon dioxide across the state from industrial facilities to the injection wells; planned for Carroll, Jefferson, and Harrison counties. Mid-western states have already seen significant pushbacks from land owners who are being forced to allow pipelines to cross their farms and communities via the use of eminent domain. Iowa residents have been fighting Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline for several years. In addition, Summit Carbon Solutions’ planned route through South Dakota to North Dakota has been blocked as the company was banned from using eminent domain to take property. Will Ohio’s citizens be dealing with this legal battle as Ohio politicians invite the CCS industry into the state? Recently, S. 2975, the federal “PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025,” passed by voice vote. It is a bipartisan effort to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s safety programs until 2030. This law would also set regulations for carbon dioxide pipelines. Environmental groups worry that the industry has had too much influence and point out the deficiencies that could lead to another accident like the one that occurred in 2020 in Satartia, Mississippi, where 45 people were overcome by CO2 leaking from a ruptured pipeline. These concerns included: lack of odorization of CO2 so releases are detectable by smell; performance-based leak detection and rupture mitigation; contaminant controls to help prevent CO2 related corrosion; and prevention of the conversion of oil or gas pipelines to CO2 pipelines. Taxpayers will foot the bills for the environmental, economic, and health costs from Ohio’s refusal to embrace the real clean, green renewable energy sources: solar and wind. The U.S. Energy Association has said, “Wind and solar power are two of the fastest-growing energy sectors in the U.S. and produced as much as 17% of the country’s electricity last year.” Yet, Ohio politicians continue to push “dirty” fracked gas down our throats. They are either willfully ignorant or out of touch with reality. -- Randi Pokladnik, Uhrichsville

PA’s 2 Hydrogen Hubs Urge Sen. McCormick – Don’t Forget About Us! - Marcellus Drilling News -- In October 2024, the Bidenistas announced seven hydrogen hub projects (from 33 finalists) that would receive a collective $7 billion in federal funding (seeHydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in M-U Region). Among the winners was the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), which is a project that will use Marcellus/Utica natural gas as the feedstock to produce “blue” hydrogen, which is hydrogen made from natgas where carbon dioxide from the process is captured and either used or stored underground. ARCH2 qualified for up to $925 million of taxpayer money. Another winner was the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2) project, centered in Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware. MACH2, funded with up to $750 million, would give a few economic table scraps to the Philly area, which excites and titillates PA politicians. Both projects are appealing to U.S. Senator David McCormick to not forget them.

Trump admin stands behind Biden-era deal to close California solar plant - The Trump administration is standing behind a controversial deal that Biden-era officials negotiated to close a California solar plant funded with a 10-figure federal loan guarantee. California regulators are poised to ax the agreement. What happened: California Public Utilities Commission leaders are scheduled to vote Thursday on their staff’s recommendation that the agency reject contract termination agreements that the owners of the Ivanpah Electric Generating Station negotiated with Pacific Gas & Electric and the Department of Energy, under then-President Joe Biden. But Gregory Beard, senior adviser to the DOE Office of Energy Dominance Financing, wrote a letter to the CPUC last month urging the agency to accept the deal his predecessors cut. The saga has flipped the script, at least temporarily, on the oil-and-gas-friendly Trump administration’s assault on Biden-era energy priorities and California’s renewable goals. Instead of reversing the Biden DOE position on Ivanpah, Trump officials are sticking to the same path. And while the Trump administration has largely implemented its anti-renewable energy agenda at will on other fronts, its officials have had to take a less aggressive approach this time around, politely pleading for collaboration on Ivanpah.

Trump to scrap Biden-era fuel economy rules - President Donald Trump plans to announce Wednesday that his team is rolling back Biden-era auto standards aimed at boosting fuel economy and cutting emissions.Trump plans to make the announcement from the White House at an event featuring auto executives, a White House official confirmed Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the event on social media featuring a news story calling the move a “reset” of fuel standards that will save money for consumers.The proposal is one piece of the Trump administration’s broader agenda to obliterate the Biden administration’s climate policies, including regulations and incentives to spur consumers and manufacturers toward electric vehicles. “I terminated the insane electrical electric-vehicle mandate,” Trump said Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. The administration is overhauling fuel economy standards finalized by the Biden administration in June 2024. The Biden team tightened the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard from 46.7 mpg in model year 2026 to 50.4 mpg in model year 2031. The Trump team has criticized Biden policies they say aimed to force the swift electrification of the country’s auto fleets. As one of his first moves in office, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered his agency to immediately start work to reconsider existing fuel economy standards.“Artificially high fuel economy standards designed to meet non-statutory policy goals … impose large costs that render many new vehicles unaffordable for the average American family and small business,” Duffy told his team in a January memo titled, “Fixing the CAFE Program.” Environmentalists slammed the administration’s planned overhaul ahead of Wednesday’s announcement.“

Democrats slam Trump’s rollback of fuel economy rules - Congressional Democrats slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed rollback of auto efficiency standards Wednesday, while Republicans wholeheartedly supported the move. With the GOP holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, Democratic opposition is unlikely to affect the plans from the Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Still, Democrats will try to make their voices heard on the matter. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), long a champion of the major automakers that call her state home, said the rollback threatens certainty for the industry. “I think the automobile industry needs certainty. I think they’re tired of being a pingpong ball between administrations. The American industry needs stability,” she told POLITICO’s E&E News. “All the stakeholders need to be at the table, and we need to not make cars more expensive for people to run. So let’s give stability to the auto industry and not help the oil industry.” Numerous auto executives, including from Ford Motor and Stellantis, joined Trump at the White House on Wednesday to announce the proposal, including from Ford Motor and Stellantis. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called the move one of Trump’s “regulatory gifts to his corrupt fossil fuel megadonors.” “Trump is, yet again, choosing his billionaire buddies over the American people,” he said in a statement. “Thanks to his relentless attacks on cleaner vehicles, thousands of auto workers have lost their jobs, America has lagged back in international competition, and we’ll all be saddled with more pollution, higher costs, and worse vehicles.” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, similarly argued Trump is raising costs for drivers. “The June 2024 [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards lowered costs for Americans at the pump, made our air cleaner and more breathable, and reduced pollution to combat climate change,” said Pallone. Today’s announcement once again shows the Trump Administration is more concerned with lining the pockets of their polluter friends than providing relief to hardworking Americans.” A number of Republicans attended the White House announement, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who sponsored a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to reduce automaker penalties for violating efficiency rules to $0. “This is a victory today for consumers. This is a victory for affordability,” Cruz said. “Under Joe Biden and the Democrats, they put mandate after mandate after mandate on cars and trucks and they drove the prices up thousands and thousands of dollars.” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, agreed. “By making [cars] more affordable, making them more choice-driven by what families want and need, today is a great day for the American family,” she said. “Democrats have used many different avenues, from blue state legislation to regulations at the EPA and Department of Transportation, to repeatedly attempt to force a transition to EVs that many Americans don’t want to buy,” Capito said in a statement after the White House event, adding that the standards “placed unnecessary burdens and higher prices on consumers.”

Trump announces plan to weaken Biden-era tailpipe rules - The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed rolling back Biden-era fuel economy rules for cars and trucks and replacing them with less stringent standards similar to those introduced in the first Trump term. The proposal, which President Donald Trump announced at an afternoon White House event flanked by auto executives, would scrap tough standards for model years 2027 through 2031. In their place, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to wind back the clock to model year 2022, undoing former President Joe Biden’s repeal of first-term Trump rules. The 2024 standards from the Biden administration would have tightened corporate average fuel economy standards from 46.7 miles per gallon in model year 2026 to 50.4 mpg in model year 2031. The new Trump proposal would revise standards for model years 2022 through 2031. By model year 2031, manufacturers would be required to achieve a fleetwide average fuel economy of 34.5 mpg, according to an NHTSA press release. “People want the gasoline car,” Trump said at the rollout. NHTSA said the repeal-and-replace proposal would save $109 billion over the next five years and save families $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle. But greens said the move would raise gasoline prices at a time when Americans are coping with high overall inflation. “Drivers will be paying hundreds of dollars more at the pump every year if these rules are put in place,” said Kathy Harris, director for clean vehicles at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “That’s only good news for Big Oil, which has been given handouts time and time again by this administration.”

Trump's AI data centers push sparks energy, environment worries - The Trump administration’s data center push is spurring concerns about energy prices and environmental impacts. The administration has embraced data centers, which house the computers and infrastructure used by tech companies, including for artificial intelligence, as well as the AI they power. White House officials argue it’s important for the U.S. to win the global “AI race” and outcompete rivals including China in the emerging tech space. Just this week, President Trump announced a new initiative seeking to expand AI’s use in scientific research. The administration is also considering a move to block “onerous” state-level regulations on AI.. Earlier this year, the administration also floated shielding data centers from environmental impact scrutiny and fast-tracking approvals of the centers and associated energy projects as part of its AI framework. And they are not alone. Many Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed support for the build-out of data centers, though Democrats have been more likely to back some restrictions on the technology. Experts say that technology and data centers are expected to have massive impacts on the electric grid in the years ahead. “Utilities are expecting a lot of this load to land around 2030,” said Ben Hertz-Shargel, who leads research about the electric grid at Wood Mackenzie. “That is the period when the reliability uncertainty will come to a head, and that’s when things will get tighter. So I think it’s that time frame … of three to five years from now that we’re looking at to start seeing the material cost and potentially reliability impacts of AI demand,” Hertz-Shargel said. Electricity prices are also relatively high at the moment. In September, electricity prices were about 5.1 percent higher than they were a year ago, outpacing general inflation, which was at 3 percent. Hertz-Shargel said that prices are currently high for other reasons, including the aging electric grid and extreme weather that creates storm damage. Meanwhile, the government is also warning of potential issues in the future due to data centers. An Energy Department report from July said that increasing power demand, including from AI, was increasing risks of blackouts. The Energy Information Administration, the nation’s independent energy statistics agency, has forecast new highs in electricity usage in 2025 and 2026, saying increases in the commercial sector will be driven “largely by more demand from data centers.” The Trump administration has argued that data centers can actually help bring down electricity prices over time. Asked about the issue, a White House official recently told reporters that the additional infrastructure needed to power data centers will ultimately lead to more supply of electricity and power lines, and therefore lower prices in the long term. Hertz-Shargel said that this can be true in “limited situations” but that overall, data centers are expected to raise prices. He said that in these limited cases, data centers “consume power when others are not and that does allow better utilization of grid infrastructure, which can, in certain cases, lower energy prices for a certain amount of data center and demand contribution.” “However, once you get to anywhere near the levels of demand … that are being planned for, you’re way past that regime, and you’re in a regime where now utilities are needed to build much bigger and newer and much more expensive infrastructure, including expensive gas plants … so you’re spending much more money and you’re significantly raising the cost of electricity, both the cost of the electricity itself as a commodity and also the cost of the infrastructure that must be recovered,” he added. Higher demand, and therefore higher prices, are expected to keep more fossil fuels, particularly coal and natural gas, on the grid for more time. In the case of gas, the increased demand is likely to result in more investment. “It looks like we have a setback in our climate and decarbonization trajectory here, as we build a lot of new gas plants and some pipeline capacity and drill more. It looks like our emissions are going to go up for a while and old coal plants are being retained on the system,” s

Trump dismantles programs designed to cut electricity demand - The Trump administration is scrambling to ensure there’s enough electricity to power new data centers and stem rising utility bills — even as it dismantles some critical programs designed to help solve the problem.Many energy experts say increasing efficiency is a key solution as demand soars with the artificial intelligence boom. But President Donald Trump has taken an ax to federal efficiency programs since he took office in January.The Department of Energy has scrapped its energy efficiency office and is rolling back regulations in its appliance standard program, which forces manufacturers to increase efficiency levels for household products and industrial equipment. The agency is also proposing to eliminate the Weatherization Assistance Program, a half-century-old initiative that subsidizes equipment efficiency upgrades for low-income households.EPA is waffling on whether to continue Energy Star, a program that certifies efficient household equipment and buildings. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act quickened the expiration of tax credits for residential energy efficient upgrades.Those programs are designed to reduce electricity use — and monthly utility bills.“Energy intensive industries are starting to increase energy demand in this country. Energy prices are increasing, and we’re also at a point where new supply is constrained,” said Mark Kresowik, senior policy director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). “If the Trump administration succeeds in rolling back appliance standards and building codes and all the things it’s trying to do, costs are going to go up.”Congress has so far pushed back against some of the administration’s biggest proposed cuts for efficiency programs, but advocates fear funding reductions. Already, U.S. progress on energy efficiency is approaching stagnation, according to the International Energy Agency, while ACEEE has knocked the U.S. down a peg in a recent global ranking on efficiency.DOE did not respond to a request for comment.The Trump administration has prioritized new electricity generation, pursuing “drill, baby, drill” policies to boost oil and gas production and encouraging more nuclear power plant construction. It’s also using emergency orders to keep fossil fuel plants running past their planned retirement dates.“Energy addition is the only way we will have enough electricity to lower prices and power AI in the U.S.,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Saturday.But some say efficiency gains achieve similar goals.“Not using megawatts of power is just as important as building new megawatts, and it’s quicker, cheaper, and easier,” said Jennifer Schafer, president of the Cascade Associates consultancy and a former Republican staffer on Capitol Hill. “This should be a bipartisan issue. It’s not something that should be politicized, and it has. That’s a problem.”“If we had not been investing in efficiency since the late 1970s, we would use twice as much energy today,” she said.Will Atkinson, senior associate at clean energy think tank RMI, said energy efficiency is necessary to cut costs.“We need efficiency if we’re trying to affordability for years to come, especially with load growth,” he said.

Power Demand for Data Centers Grows 30+ GW Next 5 Yrs, Mostly in M-U- Marcellus Drilling News -There have been a number of new reports recently released predicting how new AI data center projects will affect (a) demand for electric power, and (b) demand for natural gas to generate that power. We spotted what at first glance appears to be contradictory predictions in two new reports issued this week. On Monday, BloombergNEF (the research arm of Bloomberg) issued a report predicting data center power demand will hit 106 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, a 36% jump from its previous outlook. Two days later, Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, issued a report that predicts 30 GW of new U.S. data center capacity will be needed over the next five years (by 2030)—significantly below the 50 GW forecasted by major grid operators. One report is wildly optimistic, the other pessimistic. What gives?

PennFuture, ORVI Join Opposition to PA Data Centers - Marcellus Drilling News--We have to (immodestly) say that we spotted the environmental left’s opposition to AI data centers a mile away. We were the first to alert you to PA green groups lining up to oppose data centers based on an irrational hatred of the fossil energy that powers them (see More Evidence that PA’s Anti-Frackers are Now Anti-Data Center). The list is growing. PennFuture, along with the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI), are the latest two groups to jump on the “we hate data centers” bandwagon. The two groups will host a bash-data-center webinar on December 4.

WV Makes Serious Attempt to Attract AI Data Centers Using NatGas - Marcellus Drilling News -- Pennsylvania and Ohio should be looking over their shoulders regarding new data centers and their decisions on where to locate them. West Virginia is making serious efforts to be THE destination for new AI data centers to locate in the Marcellus/Utica region. The West Virginia Office of Energy’s recent summit highlighted the state’s unique position to power the booming AI and data center sectors through its vast natural gas reserves. Like PA and OH, WV’s homegrown natural gas offers a reliable, cost-effective, and flexible solution for necessary baseload power. What’s beginning to set WV apart from its neighbors is legislation that explicitly targets data centers.

Data center boom may need 36% more power than previously thought - Electricity demand from U.S. data centers is projected to be 36 percent higher over the next decade than forecast a few months ago, signaling how quickly the industry is changing amid the artificial intelligence boom, according to a new report. The findings from BloombergNEF on Monday are notable partly because the research firm tends to have more conservative estimates of data center growth than the federal government and other analysts. According to the report, AI power demand is slated to surge by 106 gigawatts by 2035, up from 78 GW estimated in April.“Data centers are rapidly scaling in size to meet compute intensity,” the report says. “Grid tipping points are already emerging.”The updated numbers reflect more than 140 newly announced projects over the past few months and indicate that the nation’s largest grid operator, PJM, is facing a power squeeze by the end of the decade.

Wright floats backup generators as grid fix - The Trump administration is floating the idea of using backup generators to add power to the electricity grid, in a bid to lower Americans’ utility bills. Energy Secretary Chris Wright asserted on Tuesday that the country’s backup generators could contribute roughly 35 gigawatts of electricity, or enough to power tens of millions of homes. Such generators — which are often on site at big facilities like data centers, factories and hospitals — typically use diesel, natural gas and other fossil fuels such as propane. “We have 35 gigawatts of backup generators that are sitting there today, and you can’t turn them on. That’s just nuts. Emissions rules or whatever … people, come on,” Wright said at the North American Gas Forum, organized by Energy Dialogues and held in Washington. “If we just turn those generators on for a few hours a year, we’ve expanded the capacity of our grid by 35 gigawatts. That’s massive.” DOE did not respond to a request for comment and the data behind Wright’s estimate.

Litigators build toolkit to fight AI data centers - Critics of data centers that power artificial intelligence are writing a playbook for challenging the energy-hungry facilities in court. So far, opposition to data centers is largely taking place outside the courtroom. But critics are eyeing potential legal challenges over encroachment on state powers and disturbances to vulnerable species. Already, lawsuits are underway over the Trump administration’s push to keep coal plants running to help power data centers. “Emerging litigation over data centers under state and federal law will help shape how and where they develop in important ways,” said Hari Osofsky, a law professor at Northwestern University. Data centers are large facilities that house hundreds or thousands of servers, as well as the infrastructure to cool the computing equipment and keep it running. Every time a person asks an AI chatbot a question, a data center runs thousands of calculations to find an instant answer — slurping up undisclosed amounts of water and energy in the process. Estimates of the number of data centers across the U.S. vary, but one source puts the number at about 4,000, with most facilities located in Virginia, Texas and California. In July, President Donald Trump released a sweeping action plan for building out more U.S. data centers to spur AI development, including expediting permits and slashing regulations that could hinder deployment. Trump has also called for streamlining environmental reviews for the facilities and locating them on brownfield and Superfund sites, as well as “appropriate” federal lands. “As our global competitors race to exploit these technologies, it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance,” Trump said in the introduction of his AI action plan. “To secure our future, we must harness the full power of American innovation.” Advocacy groups say developers should proceed with caution. A single data center can use as much energy as an entire city. Expanding facilities means more chemicals infiltrating the water supply from cooling fluid for semiconductors, increased air pollution from construction or revival of fossil fuel-fired plants to power the centers, and higher bills for utility customers paying the price for surging energy demand. Any one of those elements could open the door for a legal fight. “The forecasted buildout of AI data centers [is] of a different nature than what we’ve seen before in terms of size and scale,” said Mandy DeRoche, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice’s energy program, during a recent press call. Earthjustice is among a host of national organizations leading the fight against data centers, including some early lawsuits over federal policies meant to ease development of new facilities. “The U.S. hasn’t seen this type of load growth in quite some time — not this fast and not so large in single locations,” DeRoche said.

Burgum calls California, New England a ‘national security risk’ - Americans wrestling with high electricity bills should put the onus on states that instituted policies leading to the retirement of “baseload” sources of power that could run continuously, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Wednesday. Burgum, who leads the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council, also said capital for new data centers for artificial intelligence won’t end up in places like California’s Silicon Valley and New England. No one is going to put data centers in places that have high electric rates, he said. “The defining factor for site selection and for capital flows in this country is becoming reliable, affordable and secure energy,” Burgum said at the North American Gas Forum in Washington. Burgum also said that California imports more than 60 percent of its oil from foreign countries — and he called that state as well as New England a “national security risk.”

TotalEnergies, Consortium Advancing U.S. Electric Natural Gas and Exports Abroad -- A group of international players is pressing ahead in the heartland of America with what could become one of the world’s first projects to produce commercial-scale electric natural gas, aka e-NG, with a goal to export the fuel to Japan. Bar chart titled “Electric Natural Gas Projects by Region” showing annual global project volumes from 2024 to 2031 in million tons. Volumes remain near zero through 2027, then rise to 0.2 Mt in 2028, 0.4 Mt in 2029, 0.9 Mt in 2030, and 1.2 Mt in 2031. Stacked bars illustrate contributions from Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, and Europe, with North America and Europe leading the growth in later years. Source: Gena Solutions. At A Glance:
Live Oak to tap Nebraska CO2 streams
Carbon-neutral gas uptake for Japan
Existing pipeline transport explored

Bizarre: French, Dutch & Japanese to Produce e-NG in Nebraska- Marcellus Drilling News --This story has nothing to do with the Marcellus/Utica (apologies in advance), other than the companies involved have operations in or purchase molecules from the M-U region. We decided to launch an occasional “Bizarre Files” to call attention to energy news that is, well, bizarre. How about this: France-based TotalEnergies, along with Netherlands-based TES and several Japanese utility companies, are collaborating to produce what is called electric natural gas (e-NG), also known as e-methane, in Nebraska. The e-NG will be exported to Japan. Here’s where it gets interesting, and bizarre…

Trump admin to review miners' silica dust health rule -- The Trump administration says it will reconsider aspects of a rule that aims to protect miners from exposure to cancer-causing silica dust on the job. In a court filing last week, the Trump administration said that the Labor Department plans to “reconsider” portions of the rule that are the subjects of an ongoing legal fight. It did not specify what exactly it plans to reconsider about the rule, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from The Hill. The rule in question was issued by the Biden administration in 2024. It lowered the legal limit for miners’ exposure to silica while on the job. Exposure to this dust can cause lung cancer, kidney cancer and other lung diseases such as emphysema and silicosis. The Biden administration’s rule also requires mine operators to use engineering controls that reduce or prevent exposure to silica dust as the primary way to meet the standard. And it required mine operators to set up medical surveillance programs and provide health examinations for miners. The Biden administration said that its rule would save more than 1,000 lives. However, it has faced industry opposition. Ashley Burke, spokesperson for the National Mining Association, has said the rule “needs to allow for” the use of administrative controls and personal protective equipment to help companies meet the standards. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, engineering controls are considered more effective than administrative controls or protective equipment at preventing workplace exposures. After the Trump administration’s latest filing, industry groups said in court that they are “optimistic” that the Trump administration’s action could resolve their issues with the rule. However, they also said they are “left in substantial uncertainty” because the administration “does not say what its rulemaking will cover, nor how long its rulemaking might take.” Supporters of the Biden-era rule says it is important for protecting people and preventing disease. “Everyone deserves to be safe at work,” said Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs and strategy at environmental organization Appalachian Voices. “If this administration wants to increase mining across the country, they need to put the miners and the workers first and protect them from silicosis and black lung disease,” Barnes said. ”

Ohio landfills take drilling waste, but don’t track or test much of it - The Allegheny Front - The process of drilling and fracking a well brings up gas or oil from deep underground. But it also brings dirt and rocks that could be contaminated with radioactivity and other chemicals. An Allegheny Front investigation in collaboration Inside Climate News found that this waste is often sent to the same landfills as household trash, and a patchwork of state rules that can allow it to slip by regulators, especially in Ohio. Tina and Bill Higgins have lived among forested Appalachian hills in the tiny village of Amsterdam in eastern Ohio for nearly 25 years. Bill said that a few years after they moved in, the Apex Sanitary Landfill was built about a mile from their house. “There’s times you just couldn’t even go out in the summertime to enjoy a cookout or anything because the smell was bad,” he said. They joined a class action lawsuit over the smell. When a new company, Interstate Waste Services (IWS), bought the landfill in 2020, the Higginses said the smell improved. But the landfill continued to get bigger. This year, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency increased the amount of waste it’s allowed to receive, to double what it was a decade ago. Between 2014 and 2022, the Amsterdam landfill accepted over 3 million tons of solid waste from the oil and gas industry, according to state records. During that time, a total of more than 7.3 million tons were sent to eight landfills in Ohio. That waste can include the ground rock and soil, called drill cuttings, that come to the surface after a well is drilled deep into the ground. It could also have things like filter socks, sludges from the bottom of tanks, and buildup from inside pipes. Folks here can be forgiven for not knowing the local landfill was taking frack waste. Ohio regulators aren’t tracking it anymore, either. “Since 2023, facilities are no longer required to report shale drilling waste separately in their annual reports,” said Ohio EPA spokesperson Max Moore in an email, though “some still opt to do so.” Moore said this reporting requirement, which started with the shale boom, was discontinued because “the data was not consistent.” Landfills also are not required to track the origin of shale drilling waste they receive; it could be from a well pad in Ohio, Pennsylvania or elsewhere. “This is the perpetual problem; we don’t know,” said Melissa Troutman, who wrote an analysis of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas waste policy for the non-profit group Earthworks in 2019. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection requires drillers to report where they are sending their waste. But even in Pennsylvania, it’s hard to tell where much of it is being sent, “because regulatory agencies are not tracking shale gas waste going to landfills adequately,” Troutman said. And that worries environmental advocates. According to the U.S. EPA, solid waste from shale formations, like the Marcellus and Utica regions of Pennsylvania and Ohio, can contain salts, heavy metals like cadmium, volatile organic compounds such as cancer-causing benzene and radioactive materials like radium. But the U.S. EPA doesn’t regulate it as “hazardous” waste. In Ohio, some drilling waste, such as filter socks, sludges and scale from pipes, is required to be tested for radioactivity before it can be sent to a landfill. These are considered TENORM in Ohio – waste that is “technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material.” But drill cuttings, which make up much of the solid waste from fracking, are not defined as TENORM in Ohio. “Drill cuttings are considered naturally occurring radioactive material (not TENORM) and do not require radium testing for disposal in Ohio’s solid waste landfills,” said Ohio EPA spokesperson Bryant Somerville in an email. Earthjustice attorney Megan Hunter, who has researched oil and gas waste regulations in numerous states, doesn’t think drill cuttings should be exempt from those tests, because it’s all radiation going into the landfill. When it rains on a landfill, like the one in Amsterdam, water runs through all the household trash, construction debris and drilling waste. “It’s sitting there like a tea bag, and every time it rains and things soak through, it creates this product called leachate because things are leaching,” and picking up pollutants, explained Duquesne University professor John Stolz, who has been studying the issue. Stolz looked over the latest leachate testing report for the Amsterdam landfill. He said if the state wants to monitor for contamination from drilling waste, landfills should measure for radium and other indicators of oil and gas waste. “They should be measuring lithium, they should be measuring bromide and strontium,” Stolz said. If test results showed elevated levels, it would indicate that oil and gas waste was contaminating the leachate. “Why [else] would there be strontium in the leachate for a sanitary landfill? I mean, there’s not a lot of strontium in dirty diapers,” he said. In an email, the plant operator said its biological organisms used for treatment have been consuming pollutants from Amsterdam and other landfills for decades. Last year, the sewage plant treated more than 60 million gallons of leachate from four landfills that accept oil and gas waste, according to the landfills’ annual reports. But the sewage plant is not testing for radioactivity; it’s not required in the permit that allows it to discharge treated wastewater into a creek of the Mahoning River, a tributary of the Ohio River. “Neither the landfill or the waste treatment plant have to monitor things that we feel are important to monitor,” Stolz said. “Because they are going to be a problem downstream, literally and figuratively, over time.” Stolz’s biggest concern is that radiation will wind up in the waterways. A study by his team and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh backs this up. They foundradioactivity in river sediments downstream of numerous sewage plants that treat leachate from landfills that accept frack waste. “We did find a statistically significant higher amount of radioactivity downstream than upstream,” Stolz said, “and water chemistries that suggested or were indicative of discharge from oil and gas.” This kind of evidence has prompted environmental groups and radiation safety experts to call for consistent regulation of oil and gas waste. Amy Mall, who authored a report on inconsistencies in state regulations for the Natural Resources Defense Council, wants federal rules for the disposal of frack waste, such as drill cuttings, so the government can require it to be tracked and tested. “And if they’re not regulated, they’re exempt from regulations – they’re not doing any of those things,” Mall said. “And so the public doesn’t know where this waste is going or how dangerous it is.” A new effort in Washington seeks to change that. Congressional Democrats introduced a series of bills in the House to regulate frack waste, including one called “Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2025.’’ It includes a long-shot bid to define the waste as hazardous. So far, only one lawmaker from Pennsylvania and one from Ohio have signed on.

Left Attacks OH for Not Regulating Shale Drill Cuttings in Landfills- Marcellus Drilling News -Here we go again. The environmental left is attacking the shale industry by accusing it of shipping drill cuttings (the leftover rock and dirt that comes out of a borehole) to local landfills in the Buckeye State (Ohio), where it will irradiate everyone and everything close to it. According to the left, drill cuttings “could be contaminated with radioactivity and other chemicals.” And, according to the same people, lack of regulations in Ohio “allows it [radioactive drill cuttings] to slip by regulators, especially in Ohio,” and end up in the same landfills as “household trash.” Is there anything to the claim that drill cuttings are radioactive and a threat to those who live near landfills?

Abu Dhabi sovereign fund accuses US private equity firm of self-dealing in lawsuit - Financial Times -- It is one of the leading gas drillers in the US with vast resources in Ohio's Utica shale. In the ensuing decade, many energy-focused private equity (PE) firms played a pivotal role in transforming Ohio's Utica shale into a major U.S. energy producer, investing billions and driving massive production growth.

Abu Dhabi Investment Council Sues to Block Energy & Minerals Group’s $800M CV - Abu Dhabi Investment Council, part of the emirate’s sovereign wealth operations under Mubadala Investment Company, has taken legal action to stop a continuation fund proposed by Houston-based Energy & Minerals Group. The fund sought to transfer Ascent Resources LLC, a portfolio company, into a new investment vehicle that would allow some investors to exit while others reinvested alongside new backers, Bloomberg reported. The lawsuit centers on governance, valuation practices and procedural transparency, marking a rare public challenge to private equity asset transfers often handled behind closed doors. Ascent Resources, the asset at the center of the dispute, is a major natural gas producer operating primarily in Ohio’s Utica Shale. Known for its substantial footprint in the U.S. energy sector, Ascent has been a key holding in EMG’s portfolio. The proposed transfer would have allowed EMG to continue managing the asset through a new fund structure while offering liquidity to select limited partners.

Packed, Loaded: Utica Oil's Infinity Continues Hunt for Big Bolt-On - Hart Energy - It took 350 deals for Infinity Natural Resources to buy 3,000 net acres in Ohio’s Utica oil and Pennsylvania’s Marcellus gas fairways, while the E&P remains on the hunt for a big bolt-on.

Pipeline operator Enbridge forecasts higher 2026 core profit - (Reuters) - Enbridge on Wednesday forecast higher core profit for 2026, as the Canadian pipeline operator expects to benefit from strong demand and new projects entering service. The company is pushing ahead with expanding its pipelines as U.S. power demand is expected to hit record highs this year and next, fueled by technology firms pouring billions to build data centers to tap the artificial intelligence boom. "We have approximately C$8 billion of new projects entering service in 2026 across our franchises...," CEO Gregory Ebel said in a statement.The Calgary-based company completed the acquisition of Dominion Energy (D.N), opens new tab utilities — East Ohio Gas, Questar Gas and Public Service Co of North Carolina — last year in a $14 billion deal, including debt.Enbridge projected an adjusted core profit of C$20.2 billion ($14.49 billion) to C$20.8 billion, compared with expectations of between C$19.4 billion and C$20 billion for this year.The company expects to deploy about C$10 billion in growth capital next year, up from roughly C$7 billion in 2025.

Utica Shale Academy obtains safety funding – The Utica Shale Academy is adding more protection after receiving grant funding for new safety equipment. Superintendent Bill Watson said the community school received a $29,490 School Safety and Security Grant (SSSG) from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to add cameras and other gear at the new interior welding lab and heavy equipment area located at 83 E. Main St. in Salineville. Construction is still underway on the facility and will feature 27 welding bays, a classroom and space for heavy equipment. Watson said the total cost for the upgrade was $39,320 and USA made a $9,830 contribution, while the funding will help provide some extra safety on the property. “We are acquiring 12 cameras and recording equipment that will be installed both inside and outside,” he said. “It will have the ability to capture both areas.” Officials applied around September and the allotment defrays costs for the cameras, installation, training, and integration as well as controlled badge access to the building. “We will know exactly who is on the premises,” Watson continued. “We hope to have it installed soon.” The Utica Shale Academy includes more than 170 students in grades 7-12 and its campus is comprised of the Hutson Building, the Energy Training Center, the Williams Collaboration Center and the exterior and new interior welding sites along East Main Street, as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center that is housed on Church Street. The community school is a dropout recovery and retention facility that focuses on career-tech education for at-risk pupils and provides certifications to enter the workforce.

PA EQB to Consider Ban on New Shale Drilling Via Setbacks Dec. 9 - Marcellus Drilling News - Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 9, to consider whether or not to accept a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State. The EQB tabled a decision on accepting the petition back in April (see PA EQB Votes to Delay Consideration of Marcellus-Banning Setbacks). The hectoring green left continues to agitate and demand that the board consider its shale-banning proposal, so the board will oblige.

U.S. Propane Production Sets New Record; PADD 2 Inventories Push Higher | RBN Energy -- EIA reported that U.S. propane/propylene inventories fell by 687 Mbbl for the week ended November 28 — a withdrawal that came in below industry expectations for a draw of 1.5 MMbbl and also below the average draw of 1.2 MMbbl for the week. Despite the modest pull, stocks remain elevated at 103.5 MMbbl, which is 7.5 MMbbl (8%) above the same week in 2024 and the five-year maximum. Inventories are also 14.5 MMbbl (16%) above the five-year average, highlighting a market that remains comfortably supplied as winter demand builds. Total U.S. propane/propylene production increased by 17 Mb/d to a record 2.93 MMb/d — about 4% above the five-year maximum — marking the second consecutive weekly high and reinforcing the strong domestic supply trend. Exports strengthened as well, climbing 339 Mb/d to roughly 2 MMb/d, a level above both the 4-week average of 1.89 MMb/d and the year-to-date average of 1.85 MMb/d, though still below the 2.2 MMb/d exported during the same week last year. The increase reflects firm international demand and higher Gulf Coast export activity, providing a steady pull on domestic supply even amid elevated inventories. In PADD 2 (Midwest), inventories continued to build, rising 193 Mbbl to 27.9 MMbbl, placing stocks 1.3 MMbbl (5%) above year-ago levels and at the five-year maximum. With volumes now 2.2 MMbbl (8%) above the five-year average, the region remains exceptionally well supplied for this point in the heating season.

U.S. Feedgas Demand Hits New Record | RBN Energy - U.S. LNG feedgas demand hit another record, averaging 19.1 Bcf/d last week, up 0.7 Bcf/d from the previous week.Intake at Sabine Pass, Cove Point, Cameron, Elba, Corpus Christi and Calcasieu Pass are all consistent with winter peak operations. Much of this year's growth comes from commissioning terminals. See the blue-dotted line in the graph below, which shows the rise of feedgas demand this year at all terminals, including those commissioning. Feedgas at the commissioning terminal, Plaquemines, rose to more than 4 Bcf/d, which is likely at or near the top of the terminal’s peak performance. Now that winter demand has arrived, feedgas intake is likely to remain high.

Trump Administration Doubles Down on LNG as Sector Breaks Records - Marcellus Drilling News - According to Reuters, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports hit a new all-time monthly high in November for the second straight month, driven by cooler weather and robust output from the country’s two largest producers. Even so, the Trump administration is considering further steps to speed up the buildout of LNG export infrastructure. For example, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering a blanket permit rather than assessing each new project individually before approving its construction.

Osaka Gas Strikes Agreement With Archaea Energy to Ship RNG From U.S. to Japan -- A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

• 844 MMBtu: A U.S. subsidiary of Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. plans to export renewable natural gas (RNG) from the United States to Japan after inking an agreement with Archaea Energy Inc. Osaka Gas will source roughly 844 MMBtu over an unspecified period from Archaea’s landfill gas processing facilities for liquefaction at Freeport LNG. Osaka Gas had targeted procurement of RNG as a part of its strategy for carbon neutrality by 2050.
• 0.4 Mt/y: Eni SpA has signed an LNG supply deal with BOTAŞ as Turkey looks to grow its influence as an import hub. Eni will supply BOTAŞ up to 0.4 million tons/year (Mt/y) for 10 years starting from 2028. The parties previously signed a three-year deal in September for an additional 0.4 Mt/y that commenced last month. Eni has targeted becoming a major LNG export player by 2030 with a portfolio of around 20 Mt/y from Africa, Indonesia and the United States.
• 882 MMcf/d: Natural gas nominations to LNG Canada reached an all time high in October and could be climbing. The British Columbia Energy Regulator reported feed gas flows to the facility in Kitimat averaged 882 MMcf/d in October. RBN estimated that average gas intake could have averaged 900 MMcf/d in November. LNG Canada’s feed gas demand and export levels have risen after maintenance wrapped up and a second train began commissioning in October.
• 140,000 boe/d: Equinor AS and Shell plc have finalized a combination deal to create the largest oil and gas producer in the UK’s North Sea. The new joint venture, Adura Group Ltd., launched on Dec. 1. Adura, owned in a split partnership between the two firms, is estimated to have a production rate of 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day (boe/d).

Could a Historically Cold December Deplete Natural Gas Inventories? Kyle Cooper Weighs in - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Hub & Flow. IAF Advisors owner Kyle Cooper joins NGI senior editor Andrew Baker to discuss the evolving North American natural gas outlook as winter gets underway. Cooper discusses the bullish near-term weather picture, with forecasts calling for the coldest December in more than a decade. He notes that the market is pricing in the risk of substantial tightening in the supply/demand balance, and cautions that the current storage surplus to historical norms could quickly evaporate, driving further price upside. Cooper also discusses the impacts of record LNG exports and the evolving electricity mix on natural gas power burns and storage trends. As demand continues to rise, Cooper explains how the supply picture will evolve as producers in the Haynesville Shale, Permian Basin and Appalachia adapt to a constantly changing market.

Polar Vortex Threat Sends US NatGas Futs To Highest Level Since 2022 - U.S. natural gas futures spiked to their highest levels in nearly three years as models now show a frigid first half of December across the Lower 48. Several forecasters are also warning of a potential polar-vortex-driven Arctic blast event later this month, which could drive temperatures even lower. Let's begin with an unusual sight (for this time of year) of winter storm alerts across the Northeast on Tuesday morning. Heavy snow (5-10" expected) in the Interior Northeast & disruptive ice (up to 0.2" accretion) in the Central Appalachians will make today's commutes HAZARDOUS. The storm exits by Wednesday morning. pic.twitter.com/kkcnacF82O NatGas futures are on track for their largest quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2022. Prices on Tuesday morning were trading near $5 per mmbtu, the highest level since December 2022. The rally is being fueled by a rapid shift toward colder early-December temperatures across the Midwest and East, which has boosted heating demand expectations. Update (1110ET): U.S. natural gas futures jumped above $5 per MMBtu, the highest level since December 2022, as traders expect colder-than-normal temperatures across the Lower 48 in the first half of December. Meteorologists, such as Mark Margavage, are focused on a polar vortex threat that could "dump the motherload of cold into Eastern North America in the coming weeks." The Polar Vortex looks like it's about to dump the motherload of cold into Eastern North America in the coming weeks... this is only enhanced by the MJO happening to be in Phase 8. #PolarVortex #PV #winteriscoming #wxtwitter #wxXpic.twitter.com/aRX8X52D5x Forecasted Lower 48 average temperatures for the next two weeks will be well below the 30-year average. As a result, heating demand soars... Here's what other meteorologists are saying:

Cooldown Cargo Waiting Offshore Ahead of Golden Pass Startup — LNG Recap -- Feed gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export terminals continued to climb higher on Monday after shattering records last week. North America LNG Export Flow Tracker for Dec. 1, 2025, showing daily U.S. LNG export volumes rising to 19.31 million Dth, alongside a facility-by-facility breakdown of deliveries and capacity utilization for Corpus Christi, Freeport, Golden Pass, Calcasieu Pass, Cameron, Plaquemines, Sabine Pass, Elba Island, and Cove Point, with a U.S. map marking terminal locations. At A Glance:
Vessel Imsaikah arrived from Qatar
U.S. feed gas deliveries again set record
Floating LNG supplies growing

Golden Pass LNG Cleared for First Gas Introduction With Cooldown Cargo, Startup Imminent - Golden Pass LNG has been authorized to introduce gas to key liquefaction equipment and storage tanks ahead of the import of a cooldown cargo expected in the coming days. At A Glance:

• FERC approves cooldown cargo import
• Carrier port call reported for Sunday
• Train 1 feed gas demand estimated at 790 MMcf/d

U.S. LNG Exports Swell as Mexico Flows Hold Steady --U.S. net exports of natural gas totaled 491.4 Bcf in September, up from 383.1 Bcf in the same month a year ago, according to newly released Department of Energy (DOE) data. Bar and line chart showing U.S. natural gas imports, exports, and net exports from 2021 through 2025, with exports consistently rising above 600 Bcf per month, imports remaining stable near 250–300 Bcf, and net exports trending upward toward 2025. At A Glance:
Plaquemines, Corpus Christi driving LNG growth
Analysts warn of oversupply
West Texas flowing more gas to Mexico

US natgas futures climb 2% to 35-month high on record LNG flows and colder forecasts (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% to a 35- month high on Monday on record flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and forecasts for colder weather and higher demand than expected over the next two weeks. Limiting gains were record output, ample amounts of gas in storage and lower gas prices around the world due mostly to the Ukraine peace talks. Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 7.1 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $4.921 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since December 27, 2022 for a second day in a row. That also kept the front-month in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row for the first time since mid-November. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to a record 109.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in November, up from 107.0 bcfd in October and the prior alltime monthly high of 108.0 bcfd in August. Record output this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual, leaving about 5% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain mostly colder than normal through December 16. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 142.0 bcfd this week to 139.7 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday. Average gas flows to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. rose to a record 18.2 bcfd in November, topping the prior all-time monthly high of 16.6 bcfd in October. In LNG news, the Ismaikah LNG vessel was anchored near Exxon Mobil/QatarEnergy's 2.4 bcfd Golden Pass LNG export plant under construction in Texas, according to LSEG data and analyst comments. The ship is carrying LNG from Qatar that traders and analysts say will be used to cool equipment as part of the commissioning of the plant. The facility is expected to start producing LNG later this year or early next year. Around the world, gas prices fell to an 18-month low near $10 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility in Europe on negotiations over a potential peace plan for Russia and Ukraine, while prices at the Japan-Korea Marker (in Asia held near a one-month low of about $11.

US Natgas Futures Climb 3% to 35-Month High on Record LNG Flows, Colder Weather Forecasts - (Reuters) – U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 3% on Wednesday to a 35-month high, on record flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for colder weather and higher demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Limiting gains were record output, ample amounts of gas in storage and lower gas prices in Europe and Asia due mostly to the possibility that peace talks in Ukraine could result in the lifting of sanctions against Moscow. That could allow Russia, the world’s second-biggest gas producer behind the U.S., to export more gas in the future. Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 15.5 cents, or 3.2%, to settle at $4.995 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since December 27, 2022. In intraday trade, the front-month briefly rose over the $5 per mmBtu psychological level of technical resistance. It also closed in overbought territory for the third time in four days. Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain well below normal through December 9, with the most frigid weather expected on Thursday, before turning warmer than normal next week. Extreme cold this week helped drive cash prices to their highest levels since January 2024 in New England and California and their highest levels since February at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana and in Pennsylvania, Chicago and New York. LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states has risen to 109.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in December, up from a monthly record of 109.6 bcfd in November. On a daily basis, however, output was on track to drop by 2.4 bcfd to a one-week low of 108.9 bcfd on Wednesday since hitting a daily record high of 111.3 bcfd on November 28. Record output has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual, leaving about 5% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 145.1 bcfd this week to 142.9 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday. Average gas flows to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. have risen to 18.4 bcfd so far in December, up from a monthly record high of 18.2 bcfd in November. Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas was on track to take in more gas on Wednesday in a sign that one of the plant’s three liquefaction trains has returned to service after shutting on Tuesday. Around the world, gas prices held near an 18-month low of around $10 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe on hopes of a possible peace plan for Russia and Ukraine, while prices at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) in Asia slid to a three-month low near $11.

NYMEX Gas Futures Hit $4.995 on Cold Forecast; M-U Spot Avg $4.74 - Marcellus Drilling News -Yesterday, the NYMEX “front-month” futures price for natural gas closed up 15 cents at $4.995 (call it $5), which is the highest closing price for NYMEX in nearly three years (since Dec. 27, 2022). Intraday trading of the front-month contract floated above $5 at points. Weather forecasts of impending frigid weather were the main reason for the increase. Futures prices are now up more than 60% compared with a year ago. “Forecasts for the coldest December since 2010 may tip storage into a deficit by Christmas,” trading firm EBW Analytics wrote in a note to clients. Fewer molecules with more demand equals higher prices. As for the spot price at trading hubs in the Marcellus/Utica region, averaging all of them together, the price closed yesterday at $4.74, nearly at parity with the Henry Hub spot price of $4.87. That’s unheard of!

US natural gas futures edge up to 35-month high on cold snap and near-record LNG export flows -US natural gas futures edged up about one per cent to a 35-month high on near-record flows of gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and as extreme cold boosted heating demand and cash prices in several regions to their highest since last winter. Limiting Thursday's price increase for most of the trading day were a small weekly storage withdrawal, reduced forecasts for demand over the next two weeks, ample amounts of gas in inventory and lower prices in Europe and Asia. Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 6.8 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to settle at $5.063, their highest close since December 27, 2022 for a second day in a row. That kept the contract in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row and was the front-month's first close over the $5 per mmBtu level of psychological technical resistance since December 2022. Analysts noted that Thursday could be the coldest day in December. Meteorologists expect temperatures to average about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) on Thursday. In New England, extreme cold so far this week caused next-day gas prices to soar to $25 per mmBtu, their highest since February 2023. That compares with an average of around $5 so far this year and about $4 over the previous five years (2020-2024). Across the rest of North America, next-day gas prices jumped to their highest since February 2025 at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana, in Pennsylvania, Chicago, New York and in Alberta in Canada. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states slid to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in December, down from a monthly record high of 109.6 bcfd in November. On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by about 3.1 bcfd to a three-week low of 108.2 bcfd on Thursday. It hit a daily record high of 111.3 bcfd on November 28. Most of the declines were in Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 144.5 bcfd this week to 142.6 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Wednesday. Average gas flows to the eight large liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants operating in the US have dropped to 18.0 bcfd so far this month, down from a monthly record high of 18.2 bcfd in November. In LNG news, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday approved Golden Pass' request to introduce, "hazardous fluids into the boiloff gas and sendout compressors, the LNG storage tanks, and the LNG pumps and receive the LNG marine vessel (i.e. cooldown cargo)." Around the world, gas prices fell to a 19-month low of about $9 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe on hopes peace talks in Ukraine could result in the lifting of sanctions against Moscow. That could allow Russia, the world's second-biggest gas producer behind the US, to export more gas in the future. Elsewhere, prices at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) benchmark in Asia slid to a three-month low near $11 per mmBtu.

Reuters Predicts LNG Exports to Slow if Gas Price Remains High- Marcellus Drilling News -A commentator writing for Reuters warns that soaring U.S. natural gas prices and falling global values are squeezing profit margins for American LNG exporters, threatening future exports. The narrowing price gap between U.S. and European markets, driven by high domestic demand and global oversupply, has reached its lowest point since 2021. The prognosticator postulates that while immediate production cuts are unlikely, a surge in new global capacity by 2027 could force reductions in U.S. LNG exports. Furthermore, rising domestic prices pose a political challenge for President Trump, as his promise to lower consumer energy costs conflicts with market tightening driven by increased LNG exports and energy-intensive data centers

New EPA rule gives oil, gas firms more time to fix equipment leaking methane -On Nov. 26, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule granting oil and gas operators more than a year in additional time to comply with mandates set by former President Joe Biden to replace leaky equipment and routinely monitor for escaped methane.The Trump administration said this rule will affect hundreds of oil and gas sources nationwide and save an estimated $750 million in compliance costs over roughly a decade."By finalizing compliance extensions, EPA is ensuring unrealistic regulations do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a statement.Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that warms the planet 80 times more than carbon dioxide in the short term. Oil and gas operations are the nation's top industrial source of methane, and the Biden era rules were designed to reduce its emissions, as well as those of volatile organic compounds including benzene, a known carcinogen. Environmental activists criticized the ruling. "This delay risks the health of millions of Americans living near oil and gas production and undermines progress by industry leaders," said Rosalie Winn, lead counsel for methane and clean air policy at the Environmental Defense Fund.The EPA first announced over the summer that it would be delaying pieces of the methane standards in an interim final rule, triggering a legal challenge by EDF and other green groups that is still pending.Although the EPA's update of the rule is limited to pushing back multiple compliance deadlines set in the original 2024 version, the agency has said it may reconsider more substantial parts of the rule later.This is the latest example of President Donald Trump's EPA rolling back industrial pollution controls set by the previous administration. In recent months, the agency has proposed giving coal-fired power plants more time to meet existing deadlines to regulate wastewater and delaying the phase-down of highly potent greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

EPA now in charge of large SW Colorado gasoline spill - Nearly a year after a 97,000 gasoline pipeline spill polluted areas of southwestern Colorado, the U.S. EPA joined the cleanup effort and took control of operations. The December 2024 spill happened on the Southern Ute Reservation near Durango and became the largest such spill on record in Colorado. It even threatened the Animas River. The spill occurred on an Enterprise Products pipeline and initially was reported to involve 23,000 gallons of gasoline, but it was later revised to 97,000 gallons. The spill polluted five private wells and last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would become involved. Details of the spill:

• Location: Southern Ute Reservation, near Durango, Colorado.
• Cause: A pipeline failure on December 5, 2024.
• Amount: Originally estimated at 23,000 gallons, but a later estimate is nearly 97,000 gallons, making it the largest refined gasoline pipeline spill in the state’s history.
• Contaminants: The spill released gasoline and other contaminants, including benzene, into the soil.
• Affected areas: The spill has impacted a portion of the Southern Ute Reservation and private property.
• Threat to water: The plume of gasoline is moving south and is threatening the Animas River, which is used for agriculture and recreation.
• Cleanup efforts: Cleanup is ongoing, with contractors excavating soil and using other methods to remove the gasoline.
• Contamination: At least five private residential wells have tested above acceptable limits for gasoline chemicals.
• Frustration: The Southern Ute Tribe has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the response and cleanup from both the company and the state.
• Monitoring: The state is expanding monitoring and installing additional treatment systems in the area.
• Federal involvement: Federal authorities are now watchdogging the cleanup progress.

The Southern Ute Drum reported on November 4, 2025, the Tribe expressed significant concerns with hazardous waste management, treatment, and storage related to the Enterprise remediation site to the EPA. In response to Tribal concerns, the EPA will ensure that the cleanup is performed in accordance with federal requirements and will also monitor Enterprise’s hazardous waste generator requirements, better known as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) compliance. The EPA has issued a notice of non-compliance to Enterprise regarding violations and safety concerns at the site, including hazardous waste characterization, storage and disposal. With hazardous waste stored near Reservation residents and the Animas River, continued delay puts people and the environment at unnecessary risk. The EPA, the Tribe, and CDPHE will conduct a joint inspection on December 2, 2025, to confirm if these issues have been rectified.

Pipeline that supplies fuel to SEA fully restored - The Olympic Pipeline line that supplies fuel to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is fully operational after repairs were completed, BP Oil confirmed. A segment of the pipeline had been leaking petroleum near Everett. The leak was first discovered on Nov. 11. Governor Bob Ferguson said there are two lines in the Olympic Pipeline, and a leak was identified in the second one. “There are two lines in the Olympic Pipeline: One that delivers fuel to SeaTac and another that carries other types of fuel. BP, the pipeline owner, has identified a leak in the second line and confirmed there is no leak in the line that supplies SeaTac,” He noted there has not been a significant change in gas prices. “We are closely coordinating on the repair and subsequent environmental cleanup, as well as monitoring the impact on gas prices. So far, we have not seen a significant change in gas prices,” Ferguson wrote. Crews working on the Olympic Pipeline found the cause of its leak after more than a week after it was identified. The leak in the pipeline disrupted fuel supply to SEA, causing some flights to be rerouted or rescheduled. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell stated in a news release that a blueberry farmer first identified the leak. According to BP, testing confirmed a leak in its 20-inch fuel pipeline. Crews are now working to repair the 20-inch segment and are developing plans for a partial restart. The Olympic Pipeline is a 400-mile pipeline system running from Whatcom County to Portland. The Olympic Pipeline transports refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, to terminal sites in Seattle, SeaTac, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Portland. Ferguson declared a state of emergency last week after a leak forced the shutdown of the Olympic Pipeline. The state of emergency is to ensure adequate jet fuel is delivered to SEA after a leak shut down the major fuel pipeline. The Olympic Pipeline, located near Everett, had a crack, prompting worries about delays in fuel distribution. The order temporarily waived and suspended state regulations limiting the number of hours commercial vehicle operators can drive when transporting jet fuel, Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office stated in a news release. The proclamation ensures safe-driving measures are in place. This leak was discovered during routine maintenance on the 20-inch pipeline between Everett and Snohomish. Early Sunday morning, Nov. 16, crews performed a leak test. Everything seemed to work, so they turned the pipeline back on, only to find more leaking the following day, shutting it down once more. “The release was first reported after discovery of sheen in a drainage ditch in an agricultural field,” BP stated. “Responders have deployed boom and oil recovery equipment to contain and clean up the released product.” Airlines operating at SEA received a warning, according to ABC News, that they may need to preserve their jet fuel due to the pipeline issue. “The Port of Seattle is aware of a continued disruption to the Olympic Pipeline that provides fuel around the region, including to SEA Airport,” the Port of Seattle stated. “Aircraft fueling is managed by the airlines, and there are no impacts to flights at this time. As the situation evolves, SEA operations is working closely with airline partners and Washington state departments on contingency plans.

Oil company asks feds to take over pipeline oversight from California - -- A company pushing to reopen a pipeline carrying oil from offshore drilling rigs to the California coast is attempting to transfer oversight of its infrastructure from Golden State regulators to federal officials.Sable Offshore notified the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last week that the company had determined that its pipeline connecting the Santa Ynez Unit — a trio of platforms in federal waters off the Santa Barbara coast — to Kern County should be considered an interstate pipeline.Sable asked PHMSA to agree with its evaluation and provide the company with guidance on transitioning regulatory oversight from the California Office of the State Fire Marshal to the federal agency, according to a financial filing the company submitted Monday. If Sable’s effort is successful, it will effectively sidestep a California regulator that has signaled skepticism of the company’s reopening plan, landing instead with the Trump administration, which has expressed support for Sable and offshore drilling.

Glenfarne Lands Another Investment for Alaska LNG With Posco Partnership --Glenfarne Group LLC said Thursday it finalized a partnership with Posco International Corp., South Korea’s largest steel producer, to advance the Alaska LNG project. At A Glance:

• Partnership provides steel, investment
• Posco could purchase up to 1 Mt/y
• Texas LNG lands another offtaker

Senate poised to undo Biden ANWR drilling restrictions - The Senate on Wednesday moved to kill Biden-era oil and gas drilling limits in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Congressional Review Act resolution, brought by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), passed an initial procedural vote 49-47. A final vote will happen as soon as Thursday. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican to cross the aisle against the legislation. No Democrat voted in favor. S.J. Res. 91 targets the Biden administration’s land management plan for ANWR’s Coastal Plain. A companion measure, H.J. Res. 131, passed in the House last month.

Alaska Republicans push back on Trump offshore drilling plan - --Alaska’s Republican senators are splitting with the Trump administration over an expansive offshore lease plan that would open large swaths of the state’s waters to drilling. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have both contacted the Interior Department after it proposed a new five-year lease schedule that would mandate 21 sales in Alaska waters, as well as expanded drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Gulf of America. The duo is particularly concerned with plans to drill in the Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, Bering Strait and High Arctic, which the U.S. has recently claimed. They want the administration to instead focus on expanding drilling in Cook Inlet, in southern Alaska. Sullivan said he has already talked to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and requested that lease sales not proceed in Arctic waters. The Alaska Republican said that he was particularly concerned that offshore drilling could hurt communities in the area that depend on fishing and whaling. “He was listening,” Sullivan said of Burgum. “I mean, what they wanted to do was put out an expansive plan and then they’re going to listen. I told him it was very important to listen to the communities.” Murkowski, similarly, said she had reached out to the Interior Department to share “concerns” with their plan. She cited the remoteness of the Arctic region, its limited infrastructure and lack of industry interest in the area as reasons why Interior should not proceed with sales in the area. “I appreciate where they’re going with putting everything on the table, but as we have seen with prior five-year lease sales, there have been recommendations that we take certain areas off the table,” Murkowski said in an interview. “I’m fully expecting that we’re going to be seeing some comments that will weigh in to that effect, and you’re going to see some of these areas taken off,” she added. Interior didn’t respond to request for comment.

Canadian LPG Stocks – Propane Stocks Tight Ahead of Heating Season; Near Record Drop for Butane | RBN Energy - Western Canada’s propane inventories at the end of October (red line and text in left hand chart below) were posted at 6.5 MMbbl, with a greater than seasonal average decline of 0.6 MMbbl versus September and stand 1.4 MMbbl (-17%) below the five-year average (blue line) according to data from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). The larger than average decline in the month appears to be a combination of seasonally higher shipments by rail and production which declined slightly versus September. Weather was certainly not a factor with Western Canada recording population weighted heating degree days (a measure of how cold was the weather) in October that were slightly lower than a year ago and 15% and 18% below the 10- and 30-year averages, respectively. In Eastern Canada (right hand chart above) October propane stocks landed at 3.4 MMbbl, with a larger than seasonal increase of 0.3 MMbbl versus September and were 1.4 MMbbl (-29%) below the five-year average (blue line). October’s heating degree days in Eastern Canada were slightly above the year ago reading and 7% and 18% less than the 10- and 30-year averages, respectively. Butane stocks in Western Canada (red line and text in left hand chart above) plunged a much a greater than average 1.0 MMbbl in October to 4.0 MMbbl and were 0.7 MMbbl (-15%) below the five-year average (blue line). Expressed as a daily rate, this is a reduction of 34 Mb/d, the third largest daily rate of decline on record for any month. Butane stocks in Eastern Canada fell a less than seasonal average 0.2 MMbbl to 3.2 MMbbl and stand 0.2 MMbbl (+5%) above the five-year average (right hand chart). The very sharp decline in Western Canada’s butane stocks appears to have been a combination of stronger rail shipments, with the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) reporting Alberta’s U.S.-bound exports at 32 Mb/d in October, their highest rate since January 2019, as well as record demand in Alberta, possibly related to strong uptake by Keyera’s Alberta EnviroFuels plant, a producer of iso-octane, for which butane is a key ingredient.

Western Canada Sets Monthly Gas Production Record - Western Canada’s natural gas production established a monthly average record in November 2025 at 20.2 Bcf/d (red column in chart below) according to data published in RBN’s Canadian NatGas Billboard. This latest high comes after a very strong recovery in supplies since the end of September when some producers shut in production in response to extremely low prices. With a sharp recovery in prices since late October, wellheads were reactivated and have combined with output from newer wells to send production to the record high. Recent daily data continues to trend at or just above 20 Bcf/d. With RBN’s current assessment that output in December will average 20.2 Bcf/d, this would bring the calendar year average production rate to a record 19.3 Bcf/d (green column in chart below) and 1 Bcf/d higher than 2024. Such an increase, if realized, would be close to our assessment made earlier this year that supplies could rise in the range of 1.2 Bcf/d in response to rising demand in Alberta and for shipment of gas to LNG Canada which entered service in June 2025.

Alberta October Crude Oil Production Down on Oil Sands Turnarounds - Alberta’s crude oil output in October 2025 dipped to 4.14 MMb/d (height of stacked columns inside dashed rectangle in chart below), the second highest level for the month, a small loss of 0.08 MMb/d versus September and a slight 0.01 MMb/d less than a year ago according to data released by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). November was only the third year-on-year loss recorded for production since October 2023. The monthly decline was driven by a reduction in the output of non-upgraded bitumen (green columns) to 2.13 MMb/d, a loss of 0.14 MMb/d versus September. Some offset was provided by a small increase in synthetic crude oil (red columns) of 0.05 MMb/d to 1.36 MMb/d, with other production categories marginally higher month-on-month. The reduction in non-upgraded bitumen was linked to the winding down of turnaround work, primarily at Suncor’s MacKay River and Firebag oil sands sites. With production down but Alberta’s refinery demand and oil shipments from the province both higher, stocks of crude oil fell in the month by 1.8 MMbbl to 59.8 MMbbl, representing a rare decline in a month that is typically tied to oil stock increases. The reduction also lowered the days of forward cover to 12.0 days (green arrow and text in chart below) and just one day higher than the 15-year low of 11.0 days recorded in February 2025 (represented by the red dashed line). This metric, a measure of the number of days that Alberta demand and shipments from the province could be sustained from oil inventories alone, has remained near its lowest levels since 2010 thanks to higher crude oil exports in the past year, primarily related to the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Year-to-date average oil production stands at a record 4.10 MMb/d, ahead of 2024’s full-year average of 3.98 MMb/d. RBN is expecting that Alberta’s average oil output in 2025 will rise 0.16 MMb/d to 4.14 MMb/d as expansion work continues in the oil sands, primarily related to the production of non-upgraded bitumen. More recent, but indirect high frequency data suggests that the output of oil sands bitumen may have reached a record in November, ahead of the current record holder of July 2025 at 2.31 MMb/d.

Ocean conservation charity loses High Court bid over oil and gas licences - An ocean conservation charity has lost a High Court challenge against the Government over nearly 30 oil and gas licences granted last year.Oceana UK brought legal action against the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), saying they had not properly assessed the impact of climate change and accidental spills when granting the licences.DESNZ and the NSTA said the licences are only for exploration and that further assessments will be carried out before final consent to extract is given, and that its approach is lawful. On Friday, Mr Justice Mould dismissed the claim, ruling that the 28 licences for oil and gas exploration are lawful.In his written judgment, Mr Justice Mould said: “The evidence before the court establishes that licensed oil and gas activities in the United Kingdom continental shelf carry with them the risk of accidents, including oil and chemical spills and, at least in principle, of a major polluting or contaminating event. “Oil spills and chemical discharges do occur.” He added that it was nevertheless reasonable for the body, which carried out the assessments, and DESNZ to “approach the task of appropriate assessment on the basis that accidental events, including spills, are ‘not part of the work plan’”. Mr Justice Mould continued: “The approach to assessment of that risk was properly precautionary.” At a hearing in March, Zoe Leventhal KC, for Oceana, told the court in London that many of the 28 licences awarded in May last year overlap with protected zones in three areas – west of the Shetlands, the North Sea and the Irish Sea. She told the court that harbour porpoises, puffins and pink-footed geese are among the species which could be affected. Rose Grogan, for DESNZ and the NSTA, said in written submissions that Oceana was taking a “scattergun approach” to its legal challenge. She said expert advice was “considered in detail” and “legitimate disagreements were reached”, and asked the court to dismiss Oceana’s claim. Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK, said: “Legally, the government’s decision to grant these licences stands, but morally, it will never be right.”

EU Reaches Deal to Permanently Ban Russian Natural Gas, Further Lifting U.S. LNG Outlook -- The European Union (EU) has agreed to permanently ban all Russian natural gas imports in a deal that also moves up the timeline for phasing out supplies. A North America LNG Export Flow Tracker graphic dated Dec. 3, 2025, showing U.S. LNG export volumes by facility, daily delivery totals, and a bar chart of flows from Nov. 24 through Dec. 3. The image lists major U.S. LNG terminals—including Corpus Christi, Freeport, Golden Pass, Calcasieu Pass, Cameron, Plaquemines, Sabine Pass, Elba Island and Cove Point—with deliveries, operational capacity and utilization rates. A U.S. map highlights LNG facility locations across Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland, plus planned sites in Canada and Mexico. The bar chart shows daily LNG feed gas volumes fluctuating between roughly 18.4 and 19.3 million Dth. At A Glance:
Deal establishes long-term ban
LNG import phase out to come sooner
U.S. currently providing most EU LNG

Ukraine’s DTEK Negotiating for More U.S. LNG as Russia Bombards Energy Infrastructure -- More U.S. LNG has been delivered to Ukraine as the country looks to secure additional fuel for the winter amid Russian attacks that have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure. Table showing U.S. Gulf Coast LNG netback prices as of December 1, 2025, detailing monthly forward values for JPN/KOR, NBP, and TTF benchmarks, estimated shipping costs from the Gulf Coast, calculated netbacks, Henry Hub futures comparisons, and margins across the 12-month strip, with netbacks mostly in the mid-$8s/MMBtu and margins generally above $4/MMBtu. At A Glance:
DTEK estimates up to 141 Bcf needed
Other Ukrainian buyers lining up deals
U.S. deliveries to Europe continue increasing

Congo LNG Set to Tip Global Supply Balance in 2026 With Phase 2 Ahead of Schedule - Eni SpA said this week that the second phase of its Congo LNG export facility is on track to ship the first cargo ahead of schedule early next year, adding to a growing list of projects poised to send more of the super-chilled fuel into the global market.At A Glance:

• First cargo targeted for early 2026
• 9 Bcf/d of new supplies coming to market
• International prices under pressure

Vietnam supports oil and gas cooperation expansion with Russia - Vietnam supports and will continue to facilitate the expansion of oil and gas cooperation with Russia, particularly through the joint ventures Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Sergei Kudryashov, General Director of Russia’s oil and gas company Zarubezhneft. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives Sergei Kudryashov, General Director of Russia’s oil and gas company Receiving the General Director in Hanoi on November 27, the Prime Minister emphasised that oil and gas cooperation has always been one of the most important pillars of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Russia. He noted that joint projects between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Zarubezhneft not only generate strong economic benefits but also help reinforce strategic trust, enhance energy security, and improve Vietnam’s technological capacity. The Vietnamese Government has adopted various agreements and intergovernmental protocols to support the operations of the joint ventures and will continue addressing obstacles in the spirit of friendship and mutual benefit, the PM told his guest. He said relevant ministries and agencies are reviewing new proposals from PVN and Zarubezhneft, and welcomed Russia’s interest in participating in additional energy and oil–gas projects beyond the Vietsovpetro framework. He asked both sides to accelerate the implementation of signed documents, maintain regular working mechanisms, support Rusvietpetro in expanding its operations in Russia, and consider accessing new oil and gas fields and nearby potential blocks. Emphasizing that Vietnam–Russia oil and gas cooperation can grow along the entire value chain, the Prime Minister called for further collaboration in areas such as LNG, LNG port and storage infrastructure, LNG supply chains, as well as greater technology transfer and joint development of oil and gas services in third countries. For his part, Kudryashov expressed the company’s desire to expand oil and gas projects with PVN, while also broadening cooperation into other sectors such as energy and minerals. He revealed Zarubezhneft’s ambition to develop an energy centre in Vietnam.

Senegal moves to stop potential oil spill - Authorities in Senegal have launched urgent measures to prevent a potential oil spill after water entered the engine room of the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Mersin off the coast of Dakar, the port authority said on Sunday. The vessel is owned by Turkey's Mersin Shipping Inc and managed by Besiktas Shipping, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. The incident, which led to the vessel issuing a distress signal, occurred overnight from 27 to 28 November, prompting the deployment of tugboats and specialised teams from Senegal's navy and maritime authority, the port authority said. Authorities did not give details about the incident. All crew members were safely rescued with no reported injuries, it said. "Authorities are working to stabilise the vessel, prevent hydrocarbon leaks, and mitigate environmental risks," Dakar's port authority said in the statement. It added that immediate measures included stopping the leak, transferring the fuel cargo, and deploying an anti-pollution boom around the tanker as a precautionary step. Images of the vessel shared online showed its stern close to the waterline, which could indicate it is carrying a full cargo or experiencing flooding. Reuters has not independently verified the images.

OPEC+, Kazakhstan Halt Planned Oil Output Rise - --OPEC+ members, including Kazakhstan, have agreed to halt their planned oil output increases in early 2026. OPEC+ decided to pause planned oil production increases for January, February, and March 2026, citing seasonal trends and shifting global market conditions, The Caspian Post informs via Kazakh media.The decision came after a virtual meeting of key producers - includingSaudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman - where members reviewed the economic outlook and agreed to take a cautious approach.. The group has been steadily boosting output each month since April, but officials say flexibility is crucial as demand patterns change. OPEC+ will reconvene on January 4, 2026, to reassess the situation and determine next steps. This comes after the alliance approved a 137,000 barrels-per-day increase for December, reflecting ongoing efforts to balance global supply and demand.

Oil India commences offshore drilling in Kerala-Konkan basin --Energy sector major Oil India Limited has commenced a landmark offshore drilling campaign in the Kerala-Konkan Basin by spudding the first well, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri announced on Saturday. He termed this landmark development an inspirational stride in India's energy journey guided by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This frontier Category-III basin holds immense potential, and the planned 6000 m deep well to be drilled 20 nautical miles offshore will be among the deepest offshore wells in Indian waters (/topic/indian-waters),  nautical miles offshore will be among the deepest offshore wells in Indian waters (/topic/indian-waters), Minister Puri wrote on X. "With over 1,028 sq. km of 3D seismic survey already completed, this campaign will probe key Cretaceous plays (/topic/cretaceous-plays) and strengthen India's pursuit of new energy frontiers," the brief X post concluded. As per estimates, India today imports 80 per cent of its oil and 50 per cent of its natural gas needs. India is now importing oil and gas from as many countries as possible to meet its demand. India is putting in all kinds of effort to ramp up its own traditional fossil-based energy production, and the latest push is to dig deep in the Andaman region. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Puri, had earlier this year asserted that the exploration in the Andamans is pointing to "good news" and may end up becoming India's 'Guyana moment'. He had noted that a large expanse of sea beds untapped and unexplored. Earlier this month, Oil India Limited (OIL) and TotalEnergies inked a "Technology Service Agreement" here in the national capital to strengthen strategic collaboration for exploration activities in deep and ultra-deepwater offshore frontiers of Indian sedimentary basins, including the stratigraphic wells as mandated by the Indian government. The agreement puts in place a framework to leverage TotalEnergies' world-class expertise in Deep and Ultradeep water exploration value chain across OIL's current and future Offshore portfolio. India has about 3.5 million square kilometres of sedimentary basin, but it was never explored beyond eight per cent area, keeping a large expanse of sea beds untapped and unexplored.

OPEC+ Keeps Oil Output Steady and Approves Historic Capacity Mechanism -- At its Sunday meeting, OPEC+ reaffirmed its decision to keep oil production levels unchanged for the first quarter of 2026 and formally approved a long-debated process to reassess member production capacities for future quotas. The production decision aligned closely with expectations set by delegates, who signaled that the group would pause further supply increases amid concerns about a potential glut. The most significant development in the statement concerns future production baselines. Building on the mandate established at the 39th meeting, OPEC+ announced that it had approved a new mechanism to assess each participating country’s maximum sustainable production capacity. These assessments, which will take place over most of 2026, will form the reference point for 2027 production quotas. This mechanism has been central to internal debates for several years, especially among members such as the UAE that argue their rising capacity is not adequately reflected in current baselines. The mechanism will cover 19 of the group’s 22 members, with special considerations for sanctioned producers, and will be carried out between January and September 2026. Commenting on the mechanism, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister said, "I care about transparency first and foremost, and the world to know what is left, and act accordingly… being transparent serves us all to bring things into perspective.” Market reaction to the meeting was muted but positive, with oil prices trading higher in early Asian trade. At the time of writing, Brent crude had risen 1.22% to $63.14 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate had increased 1.25% to settle at $59.28. Traders had largely anticipated a status quo decision, and the modest uptick reflected relief that the group was not introducing fresh barrels into a market that analysts say is showing increasing signs of oversupply. By keeping production levels unchanged, OPEC+ is signaling its reluctance to add barrels at a time when analysts have repeatedly warned of a “looming glut.” The group has already restored roughly 2.9 million barrels per day of supply since April 2025, but continues to hold about 3.24 million bpd of output cuts in place. Those cuts include 1.24 million bpd of 'voluntary cuts' and a further 2 million bpd of baseline cuts that have been in place since 2022. The combination of sticking to its production policy and approving a framework for future quota-setting reflects the group's desire to reduce volatility. The new capacity-assessment mechanism in particular will shape the political landscape inside OPEC+ over the next year, as countries prepare for contentious negotiations over 2027 baselines. Angola’s 2024 exit from the group over its assigned quota remains a reminder that mismanaging this process can carry real costs.

Oil Holds Firm in Asia as Sanctions Offset Diplomacy-Driven Optimism - Crude oil prices advanced in early Asian trade as geopolitical risk remained a central market driver. The energy sector is reacting to renewed optimism around Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, while strict U.S. sanctions on Russian energy continue to cap the downside for prices. The immediate opportunity lies in the resilience of front-month WTI and Brent futures, with short-term price floors hardening despite fragile demand expectations. The market response reflects a dual narrative. On one hand, diplomatic progress between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia is fueling cautious optimism that supply disruption risks could moderate. Negotiators described the weekend peace talks as productive, with U.S. envoys preparing for further discussions in Moscow. Markets interpret this as a potential reduction in geopolitical premium if talks gain traction. However, this optimism is tempered by structural supply constraints stemming from ongoing U.S. sanctions on Russian energy companies. These measures restrict Russian export volumes and reinforce a floor under prices. Energy traders view sanctions as a longer-lasting constraint than uncertainty around negotiations. As a result, risk premiums are now being shaped more by policy restrictions than conflict volatility. This shift in drivers is significant. The market is no longer pricing oil purely on the probability of a ceasefire. Instead, it is recognizing that even in scenarios of diplomatic progress, Western sanctions are likely to persist, limiting Russian supply back to global markets. That creates a medium-term structural support for prices, particularly for benchmark contracts such as WTI and Brent. Front-month WTI crude futures rose 1.25 percent to $59.28 per barrel. Brent futures gained 1.2 percent to $63.13 per barrel. These modest but consistent moves show that the geopolitical risk premium remains embedded in prices, even as negotiations progress. The price resilience underscores that sanction-driven supply constraints are being treated by traders as the dominant factor over peace expectations. For investors, the price action signals controlled risk rather than heightened volatility. This suggests that while upside momentum may stay limited without clear supply disruptions, downside pressure is also contained unless sanctions materially ease. Energy equities and oil-linked ETFs could benefit from this stability in the near term, particularly if broader risk sentiment remains constructive on diplomatic momentum. In the short term, developments from Moscow talks will dictate sentiment. A breakthrough could temporarily reduce the conflict premium, but without changes to sanctions, price floors remain intact. The base case is for WTI to hold within the high-50s to low-60s range, supported by policy constraints and seasonal demand trends. The alternative scenario centers on policy adjustments. If the U.S. signals openness to easing energy sanctions contingent on peace progress, oil could retrace toward pre-conflict levels. However, this remains a low-probability scenario in the near term given political positioning and strategic leverage considerations. Medium-term focus will shift to OPEC+ production guidance and inventory data trends, which would either reinforce the current support range or test whether geopolitical resilience can withstand weaker demand signals.

Oil climbs over $1 a barrel on OPEC action, Ukraine attack - Oil prices rose $1 a barrel on Monday following drone attacks by Ukraine, the closure of Venezuelan airspace by the United States, and OPEC’s decision to leave output levels unchanged in the first quarter of 2026. Brent crude futures advanced $1, or 1.6%, to $63.38 a barrel by 9:14 a.m. CDT (1514 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 94 cents, or 1.61%, to $59.49 a barrel. “Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian shadow fleet as well as a commitment by OPEC to maintain current production levels has the market in an optimistic state,” “This comes as global oil demand continues to rise despite the negativity that we continue to hear on the demand side of the equation.” The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries 1% of global oil, said on Saturday that one of the three mooring points at its Novorossiysk terminal had been damaged, halting operations. But Chevron, a CPC shareholder, said late on Sunday that loadings were continuing at Novorossiysk. Usually, two moorings are engaged in loadings, while one is used as a backup. The attacks on the CPC export terminal drove oil prices higher, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. They came as Ukraine stepped up its military operations in the Black Sea and hit two oil tankers, which were heading to Novorossiysk. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies initially agreed on a pause in early November, slowing a push to regain market share with looming fears of a supply glut. “For some time, the narrative has centred on an oil glut, so OPEC+’s decision to maintain its production target provided some relief and helped stabilise expectations for supply growth in the coming months.” Brent and WTI crude futures settled lower on Friday for the fourth straight month, their longest losing streak since 2023, as expectations for higher global supply weighed on prices. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said “the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered closed, sparking fresh uncertainty in the oil market, as the South American nation is a major producer. Trump on Sunday said he had spoken to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but did not give details.

The Crude Market Trended Higher Following a Pipeline Drone Attack -- The crude market continued to trend higher on Monday following a drone attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, while OPEC+ agreed to leave oil output levels unchanged for the first quarter of next year. The market, which posted a low of $58.83 on the opening, traded higher in overnight trading, posting a high of $59.97, on the news that one of three mooring points at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Novorossiisk terminal had been damaged causing a temporary halt in operations. Also, the market was well supported after the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday reaffirmed its plan to pause production increases in the first quarter. The market also remained supported by U.S.-Venezuela tensions after President Donald Trump on Saturday said “the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered closed. However, the oil market erased some of its gains, following the news that some loadings were continuing at the Novorossiisk terminal, and traded back towards its low, where it continued to hold support. The market traded back towards $59.60 and settled in a sideways trading range during the remainder of the session. The January WTI contract settled up 77 cents at $59.32 and the January Brent contract settled up 79 cents at $63.17. The product markets ended the session higher, with the heating oil market settling up 3.69 cents at $2.34 and the RB market settling up 4.74 cents at $1.8689. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said that the situation on the global oil market is stable on the whole, though there is some volatility and risks related to geopolitics. He also said that oil demand is lower in the winter season. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said tough issues have yet to be resolved after U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks in Florida. In Paris, Ukraine’s President received a show of support from French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and will head to Ireland on Tuesday. Ukraine’s Defense Minister was due in Brussels for meetings with NATO. Meanwhile, U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff was headed to Moscow, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. BP said its Olympic Pipeline system returned to full service over the weekend following a leak first reported in early November. It said nearly 2,300 gallons of refined products had been recovered as of Saturday, but the total amount of leaked product was still being assessed. IIR Energy reported that U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 54,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending December 5th, increasing available refining capacity by 133,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to remain unchanged at 54,000 in the week ending December 12th. On Friday, the EIA reported that U.S. crude oil output in September increased to a record high of 13.844 million bpd from 13.8 million bpd in August. Oil output in New Mexico reached a record 2.351 million bpd, while output from the federal offshore Gulf region increased to 1.983 million bpd in September, the highest level since February 2020. U.S. crude oil exports in September increased to 4.159 million bpd from 3.52 million bpd in August.

Oil Prices Rise Amid Geopolitical Risks and US Inventory Uncertainty | Ukraine news - Oil prices on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, edged up slightly at the start of trading amid assessments of geopolitical risks: possible strikes on Russian energy facilities, tensions between the United States and Venezuela, and mixed expectations for fuel inventories in the United States. Brent crude futures rose by 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.24 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed by 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.42 per barrel. On Monday, prices for both crude grades rose by more than 1%, with WTI even approaching its two-week high. “Oil prices rose as traders expect actions from President Trump regarding Venezuela and assess the damage inflicted on oil terminals in the Black Sea” – Saxo. In addition, ambiguous forecasts for U.S. crude oil and petroleum product inventories somewhat affected prices. A preliminary survey among four analysts indicated that U.S. crude inventories were shrinking, but inventories of petroleum products rose during the past week. Analysts note that the further price dynamics will depend on developments on the geopolitical stage and on fresh data regarding demand and supply, as well as potential U.S. decisions regarding Venezuela and the restoration of supplies. A moderate pace is expected to persist under a stable balance between demand and supply in the global market. All factors indicate that oil prices remain sensitive to external risks: any news concerning energy infrastructure and geopolitical developments can quickly shift investor sentiment and price dynamics in the near term. After recent moderate gains, market participants anticipate further moves by global players and new data on inventories in the United States.

Oil Prices Soften as Markets Shrug Off Supply Risks -- Oil prices fell Tuesday, Dec. 2, morning, relinquishing some of the gains made on the back of growing supply risks. The NYMEX WTI contract for January delivery fell $0.30 bbl to $59.02 bbl, and ICE Brent for February delivery retreated $0.32 to $62.85 bbl. January RBOB gasoline futures softened $0.0188 to $1.8501 gallon, and front-month ULSD futures dropped $0.0288 to $2.3112 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed, down 0.037 points to 99.325 against a basket of foreign currencies. Oil prices have been supported by a growing geopolitical risk premium amid intensifying attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, new sanctions, and mounting U.S. pressure on oil producer Venezuela. Kazakh crude oil exports were halted for one day over the weekend after a drone attack damaged a mooring at their Black Sea terminal. On Tuesday, another tanker was struck mid-voyage after loading cargo in Russia, marking the fourth attack on a Russia-linked tanker in less than a week. Despite the increased risk of supply outages, market sentiment remained bearish as the global crude oil balance is increasingly tilting toward oversupply. New supply additions have dwarfed demand growth this year, and oil producers in the Middle East still have access to ample idle spare capacity. Barring a major disruption to global supply, geopolitical risks will continue to have a limited and short-lived impact on price.

Oil eases amid uncertainty around Russia-Ukraine peace plan, oversupply worries (Reuters) - Oil prices declined 1% on Tuesday as markets weighed faltering Russia-Ukraine peace hopes against fears of oversupply. Brent crude futures settled 72 cents lower, or 1.14%, at $62.45 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 68 cents, or 1.15%, at $58.64 a barrel. Both benchmarks advanced more than 1% on Monday. Investors turned their focus to the Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday. “Oil prices are in check on expectations for a breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks that could lift restrictions on Russian supplies,” said Clayton Seigle, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But those hopes are likely to be dashed, and the market will be facing even more disruption risks as energy remains under fire by both sides.” Just before the meeting, Putin warned European powers that if they started a war with Russia, Moscow was ready to fight. Putin also threatened to sever Ukraine's access to the sea in response to drone attacks on tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea. Putin is set to start a two-day visit to India starting on Thursday, pitching more sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets in a bid to restore energy and defense ties hit by U.S. pressure on the South Asian nation. "The mixed rhetoric caused a little shakedown in oil, initially showing confidence that Russia will continue to be a supplier of oil to India," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. However, Putin's comments signalled that the peace deal may not be as close as the market would have hoped, Flynn said. The latest concerns about oversupply, which put pressure on prices, have been balanced by attacks on Russian infrastructure over the weekend and tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. On Monday, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it had resumed oil shipments from one mooring point at its Black Sea terminal following a major Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday.A Russia-flagged tanker loaded with sunflower oil reported a drone attack off the Turkish coast on Tuesday. Trump said over the weekend that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed, sparking fresh uncertainty in the oil market, as the South American nation is a major producer. OPEC+ agreed to leave oil output levels unchanged for the first quarter of 2026 at its meetings on Sunday as the group slows its push to regain market share, amid fears of a looming supply glut. U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.48 million barrels in the week ended November 28, while gasoline inventories rose by 3.14 million barrels and distillate inventories rose by 2.88 million barrels from a week earlier, sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday..

Oil Prices Fall on Weak Demand Amid Anticipation of Ukraine Peace Efforts -- Oil prices fell for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, amid broader concerns over supply surpluses and rising inventories. Brent crude futures dropped 13 cents, or 0.21%, to $62.32 per barrel by 02:21 GMT, after falling 1.1% in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 12 cents, or 0.20%, to $58.52 per barrel following a 1.2% decline on Tuesday. The Russian government stated Wednesday that Russia and the United States had not reached a compromise on a potential peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, after a five-hour meeting at the Kremlin between President Vladimir Putin and US envoys of President Donald Trump. Oil markets are closely monitoring the talks to determine whether any agreement would lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russian companies, including oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said in a note that despite concerns that the talks might end without a decisive outcome, “oversupply fears and weak demand continue to pressure crude oil prices, which need to stay above mid-$50 support levels to avoid further declines.” The Ukraine conflict, ongoing since Russia’s 2022 invasion, has seen Ukraine regularly target Russian oil infrastructure with drone strikes. Recent attacks on export sites along Russia’s Black Sea coast have highlighted the geopolitical risks stemming from the war. According to market sources citing data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US crude and gasoline inventories rose last week. Crude stocks increased by 2.48 million barrels in the week ending November 28, gasoline stocks rose by 3.14 million barrels, and distillate inventories grew by 2.88 million barrels.

Oil prices rebound as U.S.-Russia peace talks stall and supply risks intensify -Global oil prices climbed on Wednesday, recovering from the previous session’s decline, after high-stakes U.S.-Russia discussions ended without progress and fresh geopolitical risks resurfaced in the market.By 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT), Brent futures for February delivery were up 1.1% at $63.15 per barrel, while WTI rose 1.3% to $59.38. Both benchmarks had slipped more than 1% on Tuesday, but the renewed wave of geopolitical tension quickly restored upward pressure on crude. A late-night meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ended without meaningful progress toward ending the conflict in Ukraine. Despite describing the talks as “constructive,” Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov noted that critical disagreements, particularly over the status of the Donbas region, remain unresolved.The lack of movement reaffirmed what analysts have warned for months: the oil market does not expect a peace deal anytime soon. Goldman Sachs highlighted that traders and prediction platforms continue to assign a low probability to a near-term resolution or any removal of sanctions on Russian crude.The broader security environment in the region added further support to prices. Ukrainian forces intensified strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, renewing concerns about potential disruptions to crude and fuel flows. These ongoing attacks maintain a geopolitical risk premium around oil, even as diplomatic channels reopen.ING analysts also noted rising maritime tensions. Moscow has warned it may begin targeting vessels belonging to nations supporting Ukraine, a threat emerging just days after Ukrainian strikes on Russian naval assets. Any escalation at sea could complicate global shipping routes and put renewed pressure on supply chains.Market sentiment was also influenced by fresh data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). The week ending November 28 saw U.S. crude inventories fall by 2.48 million barrels, a notably sharper draw than the prior week. Such declines typically signal stronger demand or tightening supply, both of which lean bullish for oil markets.However, traders remain cautious ahead of official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The upcoming report will offer key insights into gasoline and distillate stock movements, which could either reinforce or temper Wednesday’s rebound.Market participants are now positioning around three major forces: stalled diplomacy, heightened geopolitical threats, and U.S. inventory dynamics. With none of these factors showing signs of quick resolution, volatility is expected to persist, and any new developments on the Ukraine war front could rapidly shift price momentum.

WTI Holds Gains As Cushing 'Tank Bottoms' Loom; US Crude Production At Record High -- Oil prices are higher this morning after API's report showed crude inventories fell last week, while negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine failed to reach an agreement. Prices have stuck in a narrow range in recent weeks as geopolitical concerns have countered rising supply as OPEC+ returned 2.6-million barrels of production cuts to market amid increasing production outside of the cartel. But, a lack of progress in U.S.-led negotiations to reach a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia and the Trump Administration's military build up off Venezuela continue to command a risk premium for the commodity. "Traders weighed prospects for an end to the war in Ukraine while watching for Trump's next moves on Venezuela. Ahead of today's EIA report, the API said US crude stockpiles rose by 2.5 million barrels last week. Overall, Brent and WTI remain confined to tight ranges as ample global supply continues to offset geopolitical risk," Saxo Bank noted. Will the official data confirm API's draw? API

• Crude -2.48mm
• Cushing -89k
• Gasoline +3.1mm
• Distillates +2.88mm

DOE:

• Crude +574k
• Cushing -457k
• Gasoline +4.518mm - biggest build since May
• Distillates +2.059mm

The official report was delayed but once it hit, it showed a small crude build (as opposed to API's reported draw). Products saw big builds (Gasoline largest weekly add since May) and Cushing stocks fell for the 4th straight week... Graphics Source: Bloomberg. Cushing's ongoing draws leave stocks near 'tank bottoms' once again... US Crude production hovers near record highs despite the rapid decline in rig counts... WTI is holding gains after the delayed data...

The Market Weighed Builds in U.S. Oil Inventories - The crude market on Wednesday posted an inside trading day as it failed to find momentum in either direction as the market weighed builds in U.S. oil inventories against the news that U.S. and Russian officials failed to reach a compromise on a potential Ukraine peace deal. The oil market posted a low of $58.37 in overnight trading amid an unexpected build in crude stocks of over 2.4 million barrels reported by the API late Tuesday. The market, which held support at its previous low, rallied higher on news that there was no breakthrough in the peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. The crude market traded to a high of $59.64 by mid-morning. However, the market erased some of its gains after the EIA also reported builds across the board. The January WTI contract settled up 31 cents at $58.95 and the February Brent contract settled up 22 cents at $62.67. The product market settled in negative territory in light of the builds in distillates and gasoline stocks, with the heating oil market settling down 1.19 cents at $2.3008 and the RB market settling down 31 points at $1.8272. The EIA reported that U.S. crude and fuel inventories built last week as refining activity increased. Crude inventories increased by 574,000 barrels to 427.5 million barrels in the week ended November 28th. Refinery crude runs increased by 433,000 bpd in the week, while refinery utilization rates increased by 1.8 percentage points in the week to 94.1%. U.S. East Coast refining utilization increased to the highest level since January 2023, while U.S. Gulf Coast refining utilization rate increased to the highest level since June 2023. Net U.S. crude imports fell 470,000 bpd to 2.37 million bpd. U.S. crude oil imports from Mexico fell by 431,000 bpd to a weekly record low of 131,000 bpd in the week ended November 28th. On Wednesday, a White House official said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed President Donald Trump and Ukrainian officials after a “thorough, productive meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted some U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine and rejected others and that Russia was ready to meet U.S. negotiators as many times as it took to reach an agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said senior Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov will hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday with European leaders’ national security advisers and then visit the United States. IIR Energy said U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 54,000 bpd of capacity in the week ending December 5th, increasing available refining capacity by 133,000 bpd. Offline capacity is expected to remain unchanged at 54,000 in the week ending December 12th. UBS expects crude oil prices to start recovering in the second quarter of 2026. It said its base case forecast Brent crude trading at around $65/barrel in mid-2026 and $67/barrel at the end of 2026. It forecast WTI crude trading at a $3/barrel discount to Brent crude. The Financial Times reported that Trafigura forecast China’s oil demand will fall to a multi-year low in 2026. It said Trafigura’s chief economist Saad Rahim said India’s oil consumption will grow more quickly than China’s for the first time next year.

Oil prices edge higher on supply fears after renewed attacks on Russian infrastructure --Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as renewed attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in Ukraine raised concerns over potential supply disruptions. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $62.82 per barrel at 9.24 a.m. local time (0624 GMT), up 0.2% from the previous close of $62.68. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also increased by about 0.3% to $59.11, compared to $58.93 in the prior session. Gains were driven by reports that oil depots in Russia, one of the world’s major oil suppliers, had been targeted, stoking concerns that the country’s crude production and export capacity could be disrupted. A stalemate in peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv also dampened expectations that Russian oil could return to global markets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday that Ukraine’s interests must be taken into account to achieve an honorable peace. He also referred to recent work on a US-backed peace plan to end the war, saying preparations were underway for new talks. Noting that a US delegation discussed the plan with Russia in Moscow on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s negotiating team would travel to the US again and that preparations were underway for the meeting. Meanwhile, data showing a rise in US commercial crude oil inventories capped further price gains. US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 0.1% during the week ending Nov. 28, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday. Inventories rose by around 600,000 barrels to 427.5 million barrels, exceeding the market prediction of a 1.9 million-barrel decline. Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 300,000 barrels, reaching 411.7 million barrels, the data revealed. Over the same period, gasoline inventories rose by around 4.5 million barrels to 214.4 million barrels. The data weighed on prices by reinforcing perceptions of weak demand in the US, one of the world’s largest oil consumers.

ULSD Softens, Oil Prices Edge Up as US Fuel Stocks Grow -- ULSD futures continued to soften Thursday morning while crude oil and gasoline futures held to Wednesday's gains following the Energy Information Administration's report of across-the-board builds in U.S. oil and fuel inventories last week. NYMEX ULSD futures for January delivery traded around the $2.3 gallon mark for a second day, sliding $0.0044 to $2.2964 gallon. Front-month RBOB futures, meanwhile, edged up $0.0065 to $1.8337 gallon. WTI futures for January delivery rose $0.38 barrel (bbl) to $59.33 bbl, and ICE Brent for February delivery advanced $0.33 to $63 bbl. The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed, up 0.073 points to 98.927 against a basket of foreign currencies. The EIA on Wednesday reported increases in crude and transportation fuel inventories in the week ended Nov. 28. Commercial crude oil stocks rose by 600,000 bbl, and distillate fuel oil and gasoline inventories expanded by 2.1 million bbl and 4.5 million bbl, respectively, the agency said. While fuel inventories typically rise this time of year, the builds helped alleviate some pressure off diesel futures prices, which have slumped 15% since peaking in mid-November. The European Union's plan to ban imports of fuels refined from Russian crude oil -- amid globally low refinery runs, attacks on Russian refineries and tight inventories -- sparked a diesel rally in late October. Prices reversed course with emerging prospects for Russia-Ukraine peace in mid-November, although the U.S.-led initiative on that has not brought any results. The overall market outlook for crude oil remains dire, as supply additions are expected to continue to outpace demand growth next year. The geopolitical risk premium helped support prices, but supply outages from attacks on export infrastructure have so far been short-lived. Growing U.S. pressure on Venezuela and an increasingly bellicose tone from the administration added to supply concerns. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will expand the scope of the strikes it has been carrying out for three months to "land operations" in Venezuela. Last month, crude oil exports from the country surpassed 900,000 bpd, according to tanker tracking data.

Stalled Ukraine Peace Talks Push Oil Market Higher - The oil market traded higher on Thursday as the stalled Ukraine peace talks tempered any expectations of a deal that would likely result in the removal of sanctions on Russian oil. The market was also supported by the expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its meeting next week. The crude market traded sideways in overnight trading and sold off to a low of $58.81 early in the session. The market pressured by Saudi Arabia announcing cuts to its official selling prices for January, with its prices for crude bound for Asia falling to its lowest level in five years. The cut in prices could spur additional Chinese imports, where independent refiners received the first batch of their 2026 import quotas. The market, however, bounced off its low and retraced almost 62% of its move from a high of $61.84 to a low of $57.10 as it rallied to a high of $60.02 by mid-day. The oil market later settled in a sideways trading range during the remainder of the session. The January WTI contract ended the session up 72 cents at $59.67 and the February Brent contract settled up 59 cents at $63.26. The product markets settled in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 29 points at $2.3037 and the RB market settling down 1 point at $1.8271. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his meeting with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been “very useful”, and that it had been based on the proposals discussed with President Donald Trump in Alaska. He said there were issues that Russia did not agree with and were discussed. Russia’s President said that European countries should get involved in a Ukrainian peace settlement, rather than hindering it. Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, in an interview, that Russia would take full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, something Ukraine has flatly rejected. In discussions with the United States over the outline of a possible peace deal to end the war, Russia has repeatedly said that it wants control over the whole of Donbas and that the United States should informally recognize Moscow’s control.ANZ said fears of ongoing disruptions from Russia and Ukraine continuing to attach each other’s energy infrastructure will ultimately keep Brent crude above $60/barrel. It said further upside in Brent prices would be limited as supply outpaces demand in 2026, pushing the oil market into a surplus. It said lower refinery runs rates coupled with the increases in OPEC+ output would have seen global crude oil inventories build and likely keep prices below $65/barrel in the first half of 2026. ANZ said a revival in the global economy would likely support oil prices in the second half of 2026, with prices subsequently moving towards $70/barrel. It said it expects oil prices to end the year at $62/barrel. It expects any impact on Russian oil exports to be relatively short-lived, which should cap any further upside to oil prices.According to a Reuters survey, OPEC’s oil output fell in November, despite an OPEC+ agreement to raise production for the month, due to outages in some members. OPEC produced 28.40 million bpd in November, down 30,000 bpd from October’s total.

Saudi Aramco cuts crude price to 5-year low -- Saudi Arabia has cut the price of its main crude grade to Asia to the lowest level in five years, as global oil markets continue to show signs of surplus.State producer Saudi Aramco will reduce the price of its flagship Arab Light crude grade to a 60 cents premium to the regional benchmark for January, according to a price list reported on by Bloomberg on Thursday. This marks the lowest level since January 2021.The cut was slightly larger than market expectations, exceeding the anticipated 30 cents a barrel reduction based on a survey of refiners and traders.This pricing decision comes just days after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies confirmed they would pause planned production increases during the first quarter of next year. Oil prices have declined approximately 16% in 2025, primarily due to increasing supply from the Americas combined with production increases from the OPEC+ group itself, which have outpaced modest demand growth.

Oil prices remain stable, WTI heads for almost 2% weekly gain -- Brent and WTI oil prices fell slightly, remaining stable throughout the week. Peace talks on Russia's war against Ukraine and expectations of oversupply are affecting the market. Oil prices remained stable on Friday, supported by stalled peace talks regarding Russia's war against Ukraine, although gains were offset by expectations of an oversupply, UNN reports with reference to Reuters. Brent crude oil prices fell by 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.19 per barrel by 12:55 GMT (14:55 Kyiv time). US West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell by 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.57 per barrel. Throughout the week, Brent crude oil prices were generally stable, while WTI crude oil prices are expected to rise by approximately 1.7%, marking the second consecutive weekly increase. "It was virtually unchanged today, and traded in a narrow range this week," . "The lack of progress in Ukrainian peace talks provides a supportive backdrop, but on the other hand, steady OPEC production acts as a bearish brake. These two opposing forces make trading seem quiet." The market is also assessing the impact of a potential US Federal Reserve rate cut and tensions with Venezuela, which analysts say could lead to higher oil prices. 82% of economists surveyed by Reuters from November 28 to December 4 expect a 25 basis point interest rate cut next week. A rate cut would stimulate economic growth and energy demand. "Looking ahead, supply factors remain in focus. A peace deal with Russia would bring more barrels to the market and likely reduce prices," "On the other hand, any geopolitical escalation would lead to higher prices. OPEC+ has agreed to maintain production at current levels until early next year, which also provides some support to prices," Markets also continued to brace for a possible US military intervention in Venezuela after President Donald Trump said late last week that the US would "very soon" begin taking action to stop Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, the publication writes. Rystad Energy noted in its memo that such a move could jeopardize Venezuela's 1.1 million barrels per day of oil production, which is mainly supplied to China. This week's price increase was also driven by the failure of US talks in Moscow, which failed to achieve a significant breakthrough on the war in Ukraine, including an agreement to return Russian oil to the market. These factors supported prices despite a growing supply surplus. Saudi Arabia lowered January prices for Arab Light crude oil for Asian deliveries to a five-year low amid oversupply, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

ULSD, RBOB Futures Rise on Additional Russian Oil Sanctions (DTN) -- Oil futures rallied Friday, Dec. 5, on news reports that the Group of Seven Countries (G7) and the European Union could ban all Western tankers from carrying Russian oil, a development that would affect near-term energy supplies. Media reports said Friday that the G7 and EU were in talks to replace the $60 bbl price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban. The new restriction could impact a third of the oil the country carried via Western tankers to Indian and Chinese refineries located mostly in India and China, the reports said. Traders said Russia would have to expand its fleet of non-Western shippers in the event the ban came through. They noted that Russian diesel supplies were already affected by Ukrainian strikes on refineries and by U.S. sanctions targeting Russian energy firms Rosneft and Lukoil. All this while Washington tries to find a solution to the near four-year Russia-Ukraine conflict. "This is certainly going to further disrupt the access the world has to Russian oil, particularly at a time when global diesel supplies are already tight," said John Kilduff, a partner at New York energy hedge Again Capital. Russia's decision to delay a quick end to the war in Ukraine unless the settlement was on its terms also contributed to the bullish sentiment in the oil futures market. Additionally, expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week also supported the rise in oil prices, which typically benefit from a boost in economic activity lent by lower interest rates. Market participants are expecting the Fed to agree to a third 25-basis point rate cut this year at the Wednesday, Dec. 10, Federal Open Market Committee. NYMEX front-month ULSD futures rose $0.0593 to $2.3630 gallon after a session high at $2.38. Front-month RBOB futures climbed by $0.0071 to $1.8342 gallon after rallying to $1.8515. WTI futures for January delivery dipped $0.09 to $59.58 bbl, while ICE Brent for February rose $0.46 to $63.72 bbl. The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed at 98.97 against a basket of foreign currencies.

Oil climbs to 2-week high on Fed rate-cut signals, supply concerns (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up nearly 1% to a two-week high on Friday on increasing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, which could boost economic growth and energy demand, as well as geopolitical uncertainty that could limit supplies from Russia and Venezuela. Brent futures rose 49 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $63.75 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 41 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $60.08. Those were the highest closes for both crude benchmarks since November 18. For the week, Brent was up about 1% and WTI was up about 3%, marking a second straight weekly gain for both contracts. Investors digested a U.S. inflation report and recalibrated expectations for the Fed to reduce rates at its December 9-10 meeting. U.S. consumer spending increased moderately in September after three straight months of solid gains, suggesting a loss of momentum in the economy at the end of the third quarter as a lackluster labor market and the rising cost of living curbed demand. Traders have been pricing in an 87% chance that the Fed will lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points next week, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Separately, top Chinese and U.S. officials held a call on Friday to discuss trade, including ongoing efforts to implement an agreement to their trade war. In other trade news, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will meet with the leaders of Mexico and Canada to discuss trade issues on Friday after they gather in Washington for the 2026 World Cup draw. Any talks that could reduce trade tensions between the U.S. and other nations could boost economic growth and energy demand. Investors also focused on news from Russia and Venezuela to determine whether oil supplies from the two sanctioned OPEC+ members will increase or decrease in the future. The failure of U.S. talks in Moscow to achieve any significant breakthrough over the war in Ukraine has helped to boost oil prices so far this week. "The lack of progress in the Ukrainian peace talks provides a bullish backdrop, but on the other hand, resilient OPEC production provides a bearish backstop. These two opposing forces make trading seemingly quiet," The Group of Seven countries and the European Union are in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban in a bid to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia's war in Ukraine, six sources familiar with the matter said. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia. Any deal that could lift sanctions on Russia, the world's second-biggest crude producer after the U.S., could increase the amount of oil available to global markets. Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to New Delhi since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, on Friday offered India uninterrupted fuel supplies, eliciting a cautious response even as he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to expand trade and defense ties. State refiners Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp have placed January orders for the loading of Russian oil from non-sanctioned suppliers due to widening discounts, trade sources with knowledge of the matter said. A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at Russia's Azov Sea port of Temryuk, the local emergencies center said on Friday. Temryuk handles liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), oil products and petrochemicals, as well as grain and other bulk food commodities. Markets also were bracing for a potential U.S. military incursion into Venezuela after Trump reiterated the U.S. would start taking action to stop Venezuelan drug traffickers on land "very soon." Rystad Energy said in a note that such a move could put at risk Venezuela's 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil production, which goes mostly to China.

Zelensky’s chief of staff and closest ally forced to resign amid massive corruption scandal - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak was forced to resign on Friday just hours after investigators from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) raided Yermak’s apartment as part of a $100 million scheme case known as “Operation Midas” that has shaken the crisis-ridden Zelensky government. Yermak, Ukraine’s most powerful political figure next to Zelensky, served as both Zelensky’s top aide and lead negotiator in the ongoing United States-backed plan to end the ongoing NATO-backed proxy war against Russia. In a joint statement, the NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office stated the raids were officially “authorised” and linked to an unspecified investigation, which was certainly related to the $100 million embezzlement scandal first exposed by NABU earlier in November. According to the allegations, several leading members of the Ukrainian government and a close business associate of both Zelensky and Yermak were involved in an embezzlement scheme around Energoatom, the state nuclear company. Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko were already forced to resign after it was revealed they had allegedly received kickback payments worth 10 to 15 percent of contract values from contractors building fortifications on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Other alleged accomplices in the scheme included former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and Timur Mindich—a close Zelensky and Yermak associate who is a co-owner of Zelensky’s own former TV studio Kvartal95. Mindich was reportedly tipped off about the raid and had already fled for Israel by the time investigators raided his apartment. In the following weeks rumors circulated that Yermak and even Zelensky may be next, as their well-known close association with Mindich rendered their claims of innocence in the kickback scheme both logically and politically untenable. Yermak’s voice also allegedly appears on recorded conversations with Mindich released by NABU. Mindich and his other close business associate Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoysky were instrumental in bringing the former comedian Zelensky to power in the 2019 presidential elections and Zelensky even traveled in Mindich’s personal armored car during the campaign. Zelensky also owned a high end apartment in the same building as Mindich, where NABU investigators discovered a gold plated bathroom that Mindich had built for himself. That Yermak and Zelensky himself were completely unaware of Mindich’s massive embezzlement scheme involving ministers in their own government is highly improbable. Zelensky, clearly aware that his own fate is up in the air, announced Yermak’s resignation on Friday in a video. The resignation of Yermak is the temporary culmination of a ferocious battle within the Ukrainian state and ruling class. On the surface, this struggle has been centered on a war between the Zelensky regime and NABU, which has in the past been strongly backed by both the EU and the United States as means to intervene directly in Ukraine’s turbulent and clannish oligarchical politics. Earlier in July, Zelensky—likely aware of the massive embezzlement and robbery endemic to his government—had moved to limit the power of NABU and SAPO, leading to the largest protests across the country since the beginning of the NATO-backed proxy war in February 2022. According to Zelensky, stripping the agency of its independence was necessary to combat “Russian influence.” At the same time, Ukraine’s security services (SBU), which is closely aligned with Zelensky, had carried out raids of NABU to supposedly arrest Russian spies. As a result of both domestic outrage and intervention from the EU and the US, Zelensky ultimately was forced to backtrack and withdraw his attempt to take over NABU. NABU was set up in the wake of the US and EU-backed coup of elected President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, which triggered an eight-year-long civil war in East Ukraine, leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Founded in 2015 by the right-wing nationalist government of Petro Poroshenko, NABU is almost entirely created and directed by the US. Its staff is trained directly by the FBI and European Union. In 2020, the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Viktor Shokin, complained that NABU was created by order of then US Vice President Joe Biden in order to undermine Ukraine’s own State Bureau of Investigation and “put there emissaries who listen to the United States.” In the days leading up to his resignation Ukrainska Pravda reported that Yermak was attempting to undercut the ongoing NABU corruption investigation by ordering Zelensky’s loyal security forces in the SBU to prepare charges against Oleksandr Klymenko, Head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The popular Ukrainian news outlet also reported that Zelensky had attempted but failed to call a truce with NABU and SAPO officials in a meeting following the scandal’s outbreak. Prior to his resignation, NABU officials had publicly hinted that Yermak was under investigation and that he was openly attempting to undermine it. It has been no secret that Washington and EU officials have long been extremely skeptical, if not hostile, to Yermak and his immense influence in Ukrainian politics. In July, the Financial Times ran an extensive essay about Yermak as the “grey cardinal” of Ukrainian politics, citing numerous officials complaining about his influence on Zelensky. In recent months, the Trump administration, in particular, has viewed Yermak as an obstacle to a negotiated deal—strongly opposed by its EU rivals—with Russia that would maximize US profit from the end of the proxy war that has already killed hundreds of thousands while at the same time striking a long term agreement with the oligarchic Putin regime. In an interview with the Atlantic just days ago, Yermak as the chief negotiator outright refused to even consider conceding Ukrainian territory—one of the main stipulations of the Trump peace plan—in order to end the war. With Yermak gone, the position of Zelensky has been dramatically weakened. In the population, there is immense anger and disgust over the corruption scandal, which reveals the shameless theft of money by the same oligarchs and government officials who have been sending hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians into their death, falsely promising them “democracy” and “freedom”. Zelensky’s approval has plunged nearly 40 percentage points and is now below 20 percent—the lowest mark since his election in 2019. For the first time since the beginning of the war, more Ukrainians now distrust than trust him.

Explosion Rocks Part Of Russia's Strategic Druzhba Pipeline - All Caught On Camera - While Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were in Moscow working to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, a series of attacks on Russia-linked oil tankers unfolded both before and during their visit. Now, reports are also emerging of an explosion along the Druzhba oil pipeline.On Wednesday morning, Kyiv Post cited sources in Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) that reported an explosion struck the Druzhba ("Friendship") oil pipeline - one of Europe's most important energy arteries, which moves roughly 1.2 to 1.5 million barrels per day from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine into Central Europe. Kyiv Post said an incendiary explosive device detonated on the pipeline near Kazynskiye Vyselki along the Taganrog-Lipetsk segment. The outlet cited residents who heard the powerful blast. Per the outlet: The source said the strike took place near Kazynskiye Vyselki, along the Taganrog-Lipetsk section of the pipeline. A HUR official familiar with the operation said the blast was triggered by a remotely detonated explosive fitted with incendiary compounds to intensify the fire.Footage of the incident has emerged on X...The pipeline attack is part of Kyiv's broader campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, including four Russia-linked tanker attacks in just one week and additional strikes on land-based crude-processing facilities in recent months:

• Moscow Paper Claims Ukrainian Drones Hit Russia-Linked Oil Tanker Off West Africa
• Ukraine Releases Footage Of Kamikaze Drone Boats Striking Russian Shadow-Fleet Tankers
• Another Russian Shadow-Fleet Tanker Hit By Drones

NATO's Top Military Officer Floats Idea of 'Pre-Emptive Strike' on Russia - NATO’s top military officer has floated the idea of the Western alliance conducting a “pre-emptive” strike on Russia, a comment that drew a sharp rebuke from Moscow.Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, made the provocative comment in the context of discussing alleged “Russian hybrid attacks” in Europe. He told theFinancial Times that a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action,” but added that “it is further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”“Being more aggressive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could be an option. [The issues are] legal framework, jurisdictional framework, who is going to do this?” the Italian admiral said.The Russian Foreign Ministry called Dragone’s comments “extremely irresponsible” and said it could be an effort to undermine peace talks around Ukraine. “People who make such statements should be aware of the risks and potential consequences, including for the alliance members themselves,” said Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.Zakharova also criticized NATO officials for constantly hyping the threat of a Russian attack on Europe, saying that “against the backdrop of the anti-Russian hysteria being whipped up by the alliance and the fearmongering about an ‘inevitable attack’ by Russia on the bloc’s member states, such statements not only add fuel to the fire, but also seriously escalate the already existing confrontation.”

Live: Israeli forces kill several Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza Middle East Eye. In case you missed that there is and has been no ceasefire.

It’s not just Gaza. From the West Bank to Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s onslaught continues -It is clear now that the ceasefire in Gaza is only a “reducefire”. The onslaught continues. There are near-daily attacks on the territory. On a single day at the end of October, almost 100 Palestinians were killed. On 19 November, 32 were killed. On 23 November, 21. And on it goes. Since the ceasefire, more than 300 have been killed and almost 1,000 injured. Those numbers will rise. The real shift is that the ceasefire has reduced global attention and scrutiny. Meanwhile, Israel’s emerging blueprint becomes clearer: bloody domination not only in Gaza, but across Palestine and the wider region.A “dangerous illusion that life in Gaza is returning to normal”, is how Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, described this post-ceasefire period. Israeli authorities have reduced attacks and allowed some aid into Gaza, she said, but “the world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over.” Not a single hospital in Gaza has returned to being fully operational. The onset of rain and cooling weather has left thousands exposed in dilapidated tents. Since the ceasefire on 10 October, almost 6,500 tonnes of UN-coordinated relief materials have been denied entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities. According to Oxfam, in the two weeks after the ceasefire alone, shipments of water, food, tents and medical supplies from 17 international NGOs were denied.The result is that a population whose homes, livelihoods and stable shelter have been eliminated still are not allowed to secure safer tents or adequate food. Israeli authorities hold people in Gaza in a painful purgatory, continuing collective punishment, preventing the conditions for a normal life from emerging and establishing Israel as sole unaccountable overlord, with unlimited power over the people of the territory.Gaza is at the sharp end of an expansion of Israeli imperialism, one that stretches to the West Bank and beyond. In the occupied territories of the West Bank, a crackdown that has intensified since 7 October 2023 continues to escalate into a full military siege. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced out of their homes this year in a pattern that Human Rights Watch saidamounted to “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing … that should be investigated and prosecuted”. Last week, footage emerged of two Palestinian men in Jenin being executed by Israeli soldiers after it appeared that they had surrendered. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, said that the forces involved in the killings have his “full backing”. They “acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die”. Moment Israeli forces shoot dead surrendered Palestinians – video report 1:24 And this is only a small window, in a rare filmed moment, into the bloodshed. More than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank over the past two years. One in five of them are children. More than 300 cases were suspected “extrajudicial executions”. In October of this year, the UN registered more than 260 settler attacks, the highest level since its records began 20 years ago. More than 93% of investigations into these attacks end with no charges filed. Scores of Palestinian prisoners are reported to die in Israeli prisons of physical violence or medical neglect, and those who do make it out alive recount a hellscape of torture and abuse.And still, the parameters of Israel’s mandate to assault, kill and land grab continue to widen. Last week, Israeli forces launched a ground incursion in southern Syria, killing 13 Syrians, among them children. The Israeli military refused to provide information on the group it claimed to be targeting in the raid. It was simply reserving its right to reach into Syrian territory, as it has several times since it invaded and occupied the buffer zone between the two countries, and other parts of southern Syria. Since it has done so, Israeli forces have been accused by Human Rights Watch of applying the colonial playbook seen in Palestinian territories: forced displacements, home seizures, demolitions, cutting of livelihoods and unlawful transfer of Syrian detainees to Israel. Israel intends to maintain its presence indefinitely.

UN says Israel has “de facto state policy” of organised torture - The United Nations committee on torture has said that Israel has “a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture” and ill-treatment that has gravely intensified since October 7, 2023. It expressed “deep concern over allegations of repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, waterboarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence,” as well as the impunity of Israeli security forces for war crimes. The report, published Friday alongside reports on Albania, Argentina and Bahrain, was part of the committee’s regular monitoring of countries that have signed the UN convention against torture. It covered the last two years since the start of the Gaza genocide. The UN’s committee of 10 independent experts expressed its concern about the disproportionate nature of Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks that have resulted in 70,000 deaths, the destruction of or damage to much of Gaza’s infrastructure and buildings and the displacement of 90 percent of the population. It said Palestinian detainees were humiliated by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on”, were systematically denied medical care and subject to excessive use of restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation”. It noted that Israel lacked a distinct offence criminalizing torture and that its legislation exempts public officials from criminal culpability under the “necessity” defence when unlawful physical pressure is applied during interrogations. It drew attention to the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand”, noting the age of criminal responsibility imposed by Israel is 12, and that children younger than 12 have also been detained. Children categorised as security prisoners “have severe restrictions on family contact, may be held in solitary confinement, and do not have access to education, in violation of international standards,” it states. The UN committee appealed to Israel to amend its legislation so that solitary confinement is not used against children. The UN report adds to the mounting evidence produced by Israeli and Palestinian human rights and legal advocacy groups of the torture, abuse and neglect in Israel’s detention centres, operated by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Israel Prison Service (IPS). Israel’s Channel 14 aired a programme showing an Israeli prison officer describing the abuse, while testimony of the abuse and torture have been widely disseminated on social media, accompanied by the photos and videos shot by Israeli soldiers and former detainees.

Sorry If This Is Antisemitic But I Think It's Wrong To Train Dogs To Rape Prisoners - Caitlin Johnstone -One thing I try not to think about very often is how many reports we’ve been seeing about Israeli prison guards training dogs to rape Palestinian captives in torture camps like Sde Teiman. Drop Site News has a new write-up about a testimony from a journalist published by the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center. The reporter says that during his 20 months of hell in Israeli prisons he was electrocuted, beaten, starved, and sexually assaulted on film. He also says he was sexually assaulted by a “trained dog” — just the latest in a long string of such allegations coming out of Israel’s notorious network of torture prisons. Last month Novara Media published an article titled “Israeli Prison Guards Are Using Dogs to Rape Palestinians, Former Detainees Say,” based on informationcollected by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The Electronic Intifada published an article titled “Palestinians recount gang rapes by Israeli soldiers, dogs” based on the same testimonies. In August of last year The New Arab interviewed a Palestinian law graduate who was detained by Israeli forces and said he watched as “a dog raped another hostage before my eyes” after the Israelis poured some sort of liquid on him. In June of last year Euro-Med Monitor published a report saying it had “received horrific testimonies from recently released detainees confirming the brutal and inhumane use of Israeli police dogs to rape prisoners and detainees.” There are records of Nazis and Chilean fascists using dogs to rape prisoners in this way, though according to the IHRA definition of antisemitism that western governments have been shoving down our throats lately it is against the rules to draw any comparisons between Israel and the Nazis. So I am very sorry if this comes across as antisemitic, but I think it’s wrong to sexually assault prisoners using trained rape dogs. I actually think it’s one of the most evil things I’ve ever heard of. I am taking great pains to say I don’t mean to be antisemitic with my anti-rape dog rhetoric because apparently literally any criticism of literally any Israeli atrocity can land one with that label. Just this past weekend, for example, the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism announced that children’s YouTube star Ms Rachel is a nominee for its annual Antisemite of the Year designation. To be clear, Ms Rachel has never at any time said anything negative about Jewish people or Judaism. Her one and only offense making her an Antisemite of the Year nominee is that she has been saying on social media that it is wrong to kill children. Opposition to murdering children by starvation and bombing campaigns is what led to this celebrity being accused of hating Jews. Why is an institution which calls itself StopAntisemitism equating the mass murder of children with the Jewish faith? Why are they suggesting that opposition to slaughtering kids is the same as opposition to Jews? If it was my job to stop antisemitism, I personally would not be actively circulating the idea that massacring children is synonymous with Judaism or plays some special role in the religious practices of its adherents. To clarify, I am absolutely not suggesting that the mass murder of children is an important part of Jewish life. I think that would be a terrible thing to say, not much different from the libels which have been spread about Jewish people since medieval times. But it sure does sound like StopAntisemitism is saying that. Maybe I’m just confused by this whole “antisemitism” label. Maybe it doesn’t mean what I think it means. In any case, I do think it’s wrong to murder children, and I do think it’s wrong to rape prisoners with trained rape dogs. I truly do not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or offend anybody when I say this.

Israel's Ben Gvir Promotes Officer Whose Soldiers Executed Surrendered Palestinians - Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has informed the commander of the Israeli border police’s West Bank undercover unit that he was being promoted, after two of his subordinates executed unarmed Palestinians who attempted to surrender, Haaretz reported on Sunday.A video of the execution, which occurred on Thursday in Jenin, shows two Palestinians exiting a building with their arms up and showing they had nothing under their shirts. The Palestinians then get on the ground, and it appears that the Israeli troops direct them to re-enter the building, and as they do so, they are shot at point-blank range.After the incident and the publication of the video, Ben Gvir, leader of Israel’s Jewish Power Party, wrote on X that he was providing full backing to “the Border Guard fighters and IDF soldiers who fired at wanted terrorists who emerged from a building in Jenin. The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die!”The Haaretz report said that on Friday, Ben Gvir arrived at the Israeli border police’s base in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to inform the unit’s commander that he was being promoted to the rank of deputy superintendent. An Israeli police source told the paper that the decision to promote the officer was made two weeks ago, but it needed Ben Gvir’s final approval. While Ben Gvir was visiting the border unit, three of its officers were being questioned at IDF headquarters about the execution that was caught on video. Ben Gvir released a video statement from the border unit’s base, where he said he opposed the questioning.

Report: Israeli-Backed Gang Leader Killed in Gaza -Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of an Israeli-backed militia in Gaza known for looting aid and its ties to ISIS, has been killed, according to media reports.Initial reports said that Abu Shabab was killed in clashes with “Gaza clans,” but Israeli media later reported that he died after being beaten by a member of his own group. According to the Israelinews site Ynet, Abu Shabab was evacuated by Israeli forces from Rafah but died of his injuries en route to an Israeli hospital. Abu Shabab’s death is seen as a blow to Israel’s plans for Gaza, as the Israeli government wants to use the militias it backs against Hamas. Abu Shabab’s group, formally known as the “Popular Forces,” is the largest of the Israeli-backed militias that operate under the watch of the IDF in the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza.

Egypt Denies Reaching Deal With Israel on Rafah Crossing That Would Only Allow Palestinians To Leave Gaza - Egypt on Wednesday denied that it reached an understanding with Israel on a deal to open Gaza’s Rafah border crossing to just allow Palestinians to exit the Strip and not return. “If an agreement is reached to open the crossing, it will be in both directions, for entry and exit from the Gaza Strip, in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s plan,” Egypt’s State Information Service said, according to The Cradle. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced earlier in the day that the Rafah crossing would be opened in the coming days “exclusively for the exit” of Palestinian residents of Gaza to Egypt. Under the US-backed ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to open the Rafah crossing for medical evacuations and for travel to and from Gaza.

Hezbollah Lauds Pope Leo’s Peace Message During Historic Visit to Lebanon - Pope Leo XIV delivered a carefully-worded and symbolically charged address at the Lebanese Presidential Palace on Sunday, urging political leaders, communities, and civil society to embrace Lebanon’s “historic vocation as peacemakers” at a moment of escalating regional tensions and continued Israeli aggression along the southern border. Speaking before President Joseph Aoun, religious figures, diplomats, and key state officials, the pontiff described Lebanon as a land where “peace is more than a word — it is a desire, a vocation, a gift, and a work in progress.” Despite the country’s profound political paralysis and deep social fractures, Pope Leo praised Lebanese society as one that “does not give up,” calling its resilience an “essential characteristic of authentic peacemakers.”He warned, however, that peace cannot be built “on precarious balances” or factional interests, stressing that true reconciliation requires confronting painful truths and healing generational wounds. “The truth can only be honored through encountering one another,” he said.His remarks concluded with a cultural metaphor: Lebanon as a country that “turns music into unity,” where peace must become “a divine melody capable of restoring harmony.”The Lebanese movement Hezbollah issued a warmly worded statement welcoming the Pope’s visit and message.The group affirmed that Lebanon is “a civilizational bridge between the followers of the two divine messages: Christianity and Islam,” emphasizing that coexistence and national consensus are not merely political arrangements but pillars of the country’s sovereignty and stability. Hezbollah lauded the pontiff’s longstanding stance on human dignity and rights, stating: “In your guidance and messages, we see a clear commitment to human rights and the necessity of respecting and protecting them.”Addressing global conflicts, the statement attributed the roots of violence worldwide to “the unwillingness of some to acknowledge or respect the rights of others,” in reference to Israel’s actions in South Lebanon and Gaza. Hezbollah’s statement also positioned Pope Leo’s visit as particularly timely, given Israel’s ongoing aggression, warning that Lebanon’s stability cannot be isolated from violations of sovereignty and regional dynamics.

China services activity hits three-year low while factory slump persists -- China’s factory activity fell for an eighth straight month in November while activity in services hit a three-year low, showing how persistent weak demand is affecting the country’s economic outlook despite a trade truce with the US.The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose marginally to 49.2 this month, according to official data released on Sunday. A reading below 50 shows a contraction in activity.Another index tracking non-manufacturing business sectors, including services and construction, fell to 49.5, down from 50.1 last month. It is the first reading below 50 in nearly three years.The results were driven by seasonal factors and the fading effect of a boost in consumption during a week-long public holiday in October, said Huo Lihui, chief statistician of the service industry survey centre of the National Bureau of Statistics.The data follows efforts by China and the US to curb hostilities over trade, following a meeting last month between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The countries agreed to postpone reciprocal export restrictions and China also agreed to resume purchases of American soyabeans, a point of contention between the two sides on trade. Underlining China’s efforts to increase its self-reliance in technology, the PMI readings in November showed fast expansion in railway transport, telecommunications, broadcasting and satellite transmission services. In contrast property and household services stayed below 50, “signalling persistently weak market vitality”, Huo said.Chinese policymakers are struggling to rein in overcapacity and excessive competition in some industries — a problem Beijing calls “involution” — while addressing weak consumer confidence and deflationary pressures during a property market downturn and weak jobs market. Official data showed annual retail sales rose only 2.9 per cent in October, their slowest pace in over a year. Throughout the year the government has tried to increase domestic demand through a trade-in programme that allows households to buy subsidised goods but overall consumption remains subdued.However analysts still believe China will move cautiously on any further consumption stimulus or subsidy programmes for next year. China will hold its central economic conference — a key annual meeting to set its economic agenda for 2026 — later in the month. “We maintain our view that government may hold off on major policy support until Q1 next year, since this year’s growth target appears broadly achievable,” Goldman Sachs analyst Yuting Yang said in a Sunday note, adding that the anti-involution campaign might help ease deflationary pressure in upstream sectors.“Trump tariffs haven’t impacted China’s economy much, so policymakers can save policy ammunition for the future,” said Larry Hu, China economist at Macquarie in Hong Kong. “We expect policymakers to calibrate stimulus based on the GDP target — neither missing nor overachieving it.”

Singapore Extends Secondary School Smartphone Ban To Cover Entire School Day – From January 2026, secondary school students will not be allowed to use smartphones and smartwatches outside of lesson time, such as during recess and co-curricular activities (CCAs), as part of tightened guidelines on screen use. Currently, they are limited in their use of these devices only during regular lesson time. The new tightened guidelines, which will also cover supplementary, enrichment and remedial lessons, align with the restrictions put in place for primary school pupils since January 2025. The revised guidelines by the Ministry of Education (MOE) are part of a series of initiatives announced on Nov 30 to help children and their parents develop healthy digital habits. MOE said in a statement that students’ devices will have to be kept in designated storage areas such as lockers or in their school bags during school hours. Smartwatches fall under the guidelines as they enable communication through messaging and access to apps including social media, which can lead to distractions, passive screen use and reduced interaction with peers, it added. “Where necessary, schools may allow students to use smartphones by exception,” the ministry said. A ministry spokesman said some secondary schools had adopted these tighter guidelines after they were announced for primary schools, with positive outcomes. These included improved student well-being, enhanced focus, and more physical interaction during unstructured time such as breaks. MOE said it also would bring forward the default time that personal learning devices are locked nightly to 10.30pm, from the current 11pm. This will kick in from January, meaning the devices will be on sleep mode nightly from 10.30pm to 6.30am.

A Third Of Glasgow Schoolchildren Don't Speak English --Nearly one in three children in Glasgow’s primary schools do not speak English as their first language, according to new council data, highlighting a dramatic shift driven by record migration levels that are overwhelming local resources and raising urgent questions about integration and public services.The figures, revealed in a Telegraph report, show 31% of pupils in the city’s primaries requiring English as an additional language support, up from 25% five years ago, amid Scotland’s net migration hitting 50,000 annually.As classrooms grapple with translation demands and parents voice fears over cultural silos, the crisis underscores a broader UK strain where rapid demographic changes are testing the limits of cohesion without adequate planning. 'This is a symptom of an immigration system that is way too overrun…' Glasgow City Council’s latest census data indicates 31% of primary school pupils—over 7,000 children—now need English language support, a 24% jump since 2020, per the Telegraph.The most common languages are Arabic, Polish, Urdu, and Punjabi, reflecting waves of refugees from Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan alongside EU migration.Council education chief Councillor Christina Cannon admitted, “We have seen an explosion in the number of children who need English as an additional language support.”